《Hell&#x27;s Consort》


 Chapter 1 - Escape The Sacred Valley (edited)

    <h4>Chapter 1 - Escape The Sacred Valley (edited)</h4>

    Luna opened her eyes the moment she heard a soft rustle.

    The forest was still dark, but she could almost see the tip of the sun raysing out from behind the farthest horizon.

    Alert, her ears perked up instantly at the tiniest sound.

    Even the slightest sound of tiptoes on a wet pile of leaves couldn''t escape her notice.

    Clutching a tree branch sturdy enough to support her weight, she felt her pupils dte as she narrowed her eyes into slits. Her green eyes glowed like a cat''s.

    She scanned the ground around her while trying hard not to be seen.

    Just as she thought.

    The werewolves were here.

    Her blood boiled at the sight of five werewolves circling and sniffing around her vicinity.

    She had to be careful in her hiding ce so she wouldn''t be caught.

    She toned her rage down, gathered her invisible cape closer to her body, and climbed higher.

    This was the tallest tree she could find. If they managed to follow her to the top then this would be the end.

    Why the hell were these bastards so good at tracking in the first ce?

    Her confusing trails weren''t impressive enough to give her a week''s reprieve.

    Ever since she stepped foot out of the twin caves, her powers had started to weaken.

    It only took them twelve hours to get here from there, just enough time for her to rest and to think she had already been given a head start.

    They had been after her for ten days already.

    Strangely, she found weird satisfaction in being a pain in somebody''s ass.

    She hoped that their alpha was as pissed off at her as she was at them.

    Luna couldn''t believe that one of the maidens who had promised their service to Goddess''s Artemis in order to protect the Sacred Valley, in exchange for immortality, betrayed her for a stupid werewolf Alpha.

    She wrinkled her nose in disgust.

    All of the maidens were supposed to remain virgin warriors, but Astarte had tarnished herself because of her involvement with a male.

    All of the other maidens followed suit, deeply enchanted by those werewolves'' virility which had been denied them for more than a thousand years.

    Pathetic.

    With the bow of Artemis, the fountain of immortality, the maiden warriors, and the Sacred Valley--Luna''s entire kingdom--in the hands of the enemy, she had nowhere else to go.

    When she realized she was high enough, she settled on the branch, identally knocking a dead stick--smaller than the size of a match--of the tree.

    It took almost thirteen seconds before it reached the ground.

    She cringed when she heard the werewolves howl and growl like crazy because of? her carelessness. They scratched the poor tree bark as well as the ground to mark her location.

    It looked like they were itching to tear her into pieces with their canines and ws.

    Her goal at the moment was to cross the border and travel again for a quarter mile or more to the other side.

    To the territory of the werewolves'' enemy.

    The cold-blooded killers.

    The undead.

    The vampires.

    And what better n was there then to befriend the enemy''s enemy?

    She waited until thest werewolf was gone from her hideout tree, wishing that they would think that she wasn''t there looking at them from above.

    Luna called for the Creator''s guidance, praying that her powers, and the energy that came with it, wouldn''t disappearpletely.

    She waited.

    And waited.

    +++

    Edited by: RedPandaChick

 Chapter 2 - Wolves Hunting Season (edited)

    <h4>Chapter 2 - Wolves'' Hunting Season (edited)</h4>

    Almost there.

    Luna didn''t look back.

    Not even a swift nce behind her.

    The ground was wet and muddy from the misty forest rain that beat down on her.

    Luna ran with all her might.

    Her silver hair clung to her body, and her exhtions were smoky puffs in the air.

    She couldn''t stay in the forest anymore.

    Hunting birds and rabbits for food wasn''t enough.

    She ran through the thickets while the werewolves chased after her, the distance between them a mere couple of feet.

    Three weeks hade and gone, and they were still after her.

    ''My goddess that Alpha hasn''t forgotten!''

    What the hell did he want from her?

    They already upied her home and seduced her fellow warriors.

    She didn''t mind the blisters on her feet nor the thin ribbons of blood that flowed like silk down her pale skin from a werewolf scratch, which she received when one of them almost caught her.

    Squinting through the fog, she felt in her bones that she was almost to the border.

    As she ran, she noticed how the evergreen leaves had morphed to an autumn-orange in her peripheral vision.

    Then, minutester, Luna was surrounded by dead trunks.

    Brittle branches fell.

    No leaves.

    Snow starts to fall.

    She shivered.

    Her hands were cold and mmy.

    The change of weather was a sign in itself.

    Winter fell on the Vampire Kingdom.

    She reached the deadly border and crossed a river of boiling yellowish acid mixed with magma by lifting herself off the ground with quite a bit of her remaining magic.

    Luna finally reached the clearing. She ran through the meadow and tried to feel where the invisible barrier was.

    Her face found the ss dome first.

    She touched the ss boundary with her hands.

    She was foolish enough to look over her shoulder.

    Luna cursed when she saw the werewolves jump over the wide, deadly river with ease.

    One huge werewolf, with a thick grey coat of fur, was the first one to cross. He looked her dead in the eye and snarled.

    Revenge and violence glinted in his golden eyes.

    She didn''t hesitate.

    Luna drew the secret symbol of the royal vampires.

    The magical dust that she could barely manage to activate glowed faintly. She pushed it as high as she could as it hovered in the air.

    With thest remnants of her magic, Luna projected the symbol onto the barrier and whispered, "Aperta."

    At first, the barrier resisted, but she pushed her body against the ss dome until her elbows felt like they were submerged in water. The three werewolves were now advancing towards her.

    Angered by this new development, they grabbed her shoulders, waist, and legs in an attempt to pull her back, but they immediately released their holds as if her skin had burned them.

    Indeed, Luna could smell their burned flesh.

    She closed her eyes and prayed.

    The next thing she knew, the sensation of water around her body ceased, and she fell to the ground.

    She got up from the snow-covered ground and righted her clothes.

    A little confused by the werewolvesck of movement, she lifted her hand to feel for the barrier.

    Hope lifted her heart when she felt it.

    She was inside!

    Childishly, Luna raised an eyebrow at the three mad werewolves on the other side and smirked, "I won."

    Then she raised her hands as she exulted in their angry growls and howls, but then, they turned back into their human forms to her absolute shock.

    Blinking at their suddenly naked forms, she drank them all in like she was a thirsty desert traveller who was lucky enough to have stumbled on an oasis paradise.

    She unabashedly skimmed her gaze from their heads to their toes.

    The fact that they were three men with pounds of muscle that they weren''t afraid to use to kill, Luna feared that, if it weren''t for the little bit of magic that she had learned, she would be dead.

    The two werewolves on the sides, who had brown fur, watched her in unreadable expressions, yet their stone-cold gazes gave them away.

    Scary.

    The two appeared to be rted in their human form based on their simr facial features.

    The one on the left had dark brown eyes and was taller than the other one, while the man on the right''s eyes was a lighter brown shade, and he had a buff physique.

    The werewolf with the grey fur coat and golden-yellow eyes was another story.

    His dangerous golden-ochre eyes were narrowed into slits.

    Well, dangerous seemed far too tame a word to describe him.

    Midnight hair skirted around the nape of his neck and covered his forehead.

    There was a nine-tailed fox tattoo on his chest extending to his thick biceps.

    Those perfectly moulded six-pack abs made her swallow hard.

    Nothing hid the bulge of his...

    She cleared her throat.

    After she had her fill of the male anatomy she rarely examined--except when they apanied dead bodies--she looked away, deciding it best to give their sex tools some privacy.

    If Luna had seen these werewolves in their human forms when they had piged the Sacred Valley, she might very well have been one of the maidens swooned by these living temptations.

    Still, after being appointed to be a caretaker of a holy ce by a goddess, the only choice was to flee or die at the first sign of destruction.

    These handsome men may look like gods, but any creature who tried to exploit the Sacred Mountains was blinded by greed and violence.

    They were viewed as a threat.

    Especially when they killed for magic, power, and immortality.

    ***

    edited by RedPandaChick

 Chapter 3 - Surrounded By Vampires (edited)

    <h4>Chapter 3 - Surrounded By Vampires (edited)</h4>

    Once the werewolves realized that the fountain of immortality would lose its magic because she wasn''t there to sustain it anymore, oh, they would kill everyone in in sight.

    Good thing she wasn''t there to witness the bloodshed.

    The entire vampire kingdom was as t as an arctic tundra.

    Far off, there were snow-capped mountain ranges.

    The wind sliced at her exposed skin, and her fingers and toes felt numb.

    Just when she was about to say goodbye to the group, her ears rang, and the high-pitched sound pierced her brain.

    Covering her ears, Luna didn''t even notice that she had copsed.

    Her face hit the snow.

    She moaned in pain and brought her knees together up to her chest as she pressed her fingertips into her temples.

    Her thoughts shrank, stretched, pulled, and scattered in different directions.

    Luna heard every inhale and exhale and tried to focus on them for a while.

    After what seemed like an eternity, her thoughts settled, and she calmed down.

    Her eyes found themselves glued to the man on the other side of her--the man with ethereal gold eyes.

    He looked down at her.

    Luna regained her bnce carefully as she stood up.

    Glowering at him, she hissed, "What did you do to me?"

    He reached his hand out to her, but halfway he let it fall.

    A burn mark appeared on his left hand when it touched the invisible barrier.

    As he stared at her, he extended his hand into the empty air and shifted it as if he was stroking her face, careful not to touch the barrier again.

    "Answer me, werewolf," Luna demanded again as she bared her teeth.

    Gold Eyes had this serene expression on his face, giving her a smile that didn''t reach those beautiful eyes.

    "You dug your own grave, and now you have to lie in it." Gold Eyes didn''tugh, but there was a twinkle in those eyes that showed he was slightly amused. "That should be punishment enough."

    "What are you talking about?" Luna demanded.

    "You chose to be with Death instead of me when I only wanted you to be my mate," he chastised her as if she was a child. "Look around, and you will see."

    The winter sun red of snow and ice.

    Dark silhouettes resting on the trees'' branches surrounded Luna, and a closer look revealed several drops of sttered blood on the fresh snow.

    Vampires.

    "You still have time to get back to us." Gold Eyes'' voice was deep and husky, but the hard tone in his voice served as a warning. "Stay with us. We will keep you safe."

    "Thanks for the offer," Luna replied with a sarcasticugh. "I will take my chances here."

    No longer in a yful mood, the Alpha werewolf growled, and Luna took a step back. His angry voice rang in her ears. "You will be a consort for the Vampire King."

    Luna abruptly turned her back on him, but before she could get far, she heard an empty, eerie voice--a voice t and devoid of emotion.

    She couldn''t move, and her jaw went ck.

    She clutched her own throat, choking herself.

    Luna coughed and sputtered.

    She couldn''t breathe.

    Blood trickled out of her nose and ears.

    Finally, she copsed onto her knees with ck and green spots dancing in her vision.

    Luna swore she could see a thinning silver thread every time she closed her eyes. The thread soon disappeared, and everything went ck.

    ***

    Edited by RedPandaChick

 Chapter 4 - Taken By A Kiddo (edited)

    <h4>Chapter 4 - Taken By A Kiddo (edited)</h4>

    The silhouettes in the trees disappeared.

    Someone lifted her and carried her to god-knew-where.

    One minuteter, Luna saw sun rays blinding her drooping eye. The next moment, moonlight shone on her, almost dead from.

    Luna didn''t know how many hours Luna drifted in and out of consciousness.

    Everything hurts.

    She hadn''t counted how many days and nights she had managed to stay alive like this.

    One minute she shivered from the cold, counting her loud, shallow breaths, then she was sweating profusely.

    Why couldn''t she die peacefully?

    Why did she have to endure until herst breath was gone?

    Dying people imed to see the light at the end of the tunnel as their life shed before their eyes, but there was nothing but white for Luna.

    White walls.

    White room.

    No windows.

    Luna spotted a dark angel in the blink of an eye, or it could have been a demon, standing beside her by the bed, looking down at her. Watching her. Waiting for her to die.

    His intense, scorching gaze burned into her.

    Luna felt a strange sort offort in his presence, knowing that she wouldn''t be alone.

    With the little strength she quietly possessed, she moved a hand and clutched at the stranger''s pale fingers.

    "Angel." Luna croaked, and her fingers gripped his hand even tighter.

    Her lungs squeezed painfully every time she opened her mouth to talk.

    She told him with wild, feverish eyes. "I need help."

    When Luna heard no response, Luna tried again. "Demon."

    Still nothing.

    Luna closed her eyes, and a picture of him formed in her mind.

    He was a boy, almost a man but not yet there.

    He was too beautiful to be a boy if that made any sense.

    He had silver-blonde wisps on his head she wanted to smooth over.

    He was too tall to be a twelve-year-old, and his long eyshes curled so much they almost reached his eyelids.

    He wore ck from head to toe, a startling contrast to the white surroundings.

    Luna inhaled.

    The scent of pine cones, sandalwood, and the salty, tangy, metallic smell of blood had wafted from--

    Holy goddess.

    Did Luna mention blood?

    She opened her eyes and met the kid''s droopy grey eyes. It was as if it had been days since hest slept, but there was a predatory glint in those eyes of his--dangerous and wild.

    Now that she thought about it, Luna noticed that he wore trousers with a belt and a simple cored shirt with a little ribbon on his neck.

    His skin was pale, his cherub lips were blood-red, and his chubby cheeks were flushed.

    He didn''t appear to be dead.

    She noticed his tiny little fangs when he smiled at her horrified expression as she realized what he truly was.

    This kid was a vampire.

    *********

    Edited by RedPandaChick

 Chapter 5 - Sacrificial Lambs (edited)

    <h4>Chapter 5 - Sacrificial Lambs (edited)</h4>

    The tiny hairs on the back of Luna''s head stood on end.

    The vampire, with his twelve-year-old appearance, made him as innocent as vulnerable as a child, but Luna knew otherwise.

    His gray eyes swirled with wisdom and age as if he had witnessed the rise and fall of several civilizations without the tiniest bit of interest.

    How ancient was this vampire?

    Suddenly, he tilted his head, slowly blinked, and crouched down.

    "Hello, love." His voice was low, and he had this Scottish warrior ent which made him sound older than he looked. "d to see you''re still breathing."

    The desire to kiss his bow-shaped lips intoxicated her senses, filling her thoughts with lust. She fought the urge to reach out and trace her fingertips along his jaw--to grab him by the neck and kiss the life out of him.

    She fought the urge to��-

    Oh, goddess.

    This was a kid standing before her.

    No kissing kids and certainly, no kissing of males.

    This must be the famous hypnotic voice that vampires used to control people, make them do their bidding, or to make them their victim begging for them to suck their blood.

    She had to snap out of this haze.

    Luna needed to concentrate.

    "As the Vampire King''s general, I wonder if His Highness would allow me to taste such an exotic creature?"

    The vampire boy plucked some hair strands away from her face and held her chin up, gently inspecting her ears from side to side.

    When he saw the blood trickling from her ears, his dull gray eyes shed crimson and his fangs lengthened.

    She pinched her lips together as she curbed the urge to scream.

    Luna stared back at him, wild-eyed.

    "I want to lick that blood off your face." The boy said softly enough that it made Luna shiver. "But I can''t. Not yet."

    Luna''s gaze swept over him once more, and she found him swiping his tongue across the tips of fangs as he licked his dry lips.

    He clenched his fists as if fighting apulsion that is unfamiliar to her.

    As she sucked in a breath, Luna felt her dark desires sizzle to life despite her condition.

    His piercing gray eyes oozed seduction and danger. "I''m here to help, but there''s something you have to do in exchange."

    Luna nodded desperately and the painful effort made her moan.

    "Please," she gurgled.

    Save me first.

    "Here." She saw him grab something out of his pocket.

    It was a small fancy vial with red liquid inside it.

    He removed the cork, drank all of its contents, and forced her to open her mouth.

    His lips hovered above hers.

    The next thing Luna knew, he had pressed his lips against hers, transferring the red liquid to[through] her parted lips.

    The liquid was thick, warm, and sweet.

    It became sweeter the more she swallowed.

    Mmm.

    She swallowed, takingfort from its warmth and sweetness.

    She was still so caught up in her enjoyment of the liquid that she did not notice that there wasn''t anything else to swallow while her lips remained pressed against the vampire''s lips in a kiss.

    The vampire boy forced his tongue into her mouth.

    rm rang through her system.

    She could feel that the bleeding had stopped and enough strength had returned to her limbs for her to push him away.

    He didn''t budge at first, so she bit his lip hard, which made him stop mauling her lips with his fangs.

    "Ouch. What did you do that for?" He touched his bleeding lip and scowled at her.

    She watched in fascination as his bleeding lip formed a small white scar that gradually shrank until it waspletely gone.

    "Sorry," she said, feeling even more of her strength return.

    What was in that red liquid she drank?

    Food for the gods?

    Ambrosia?

    Herbal medicine for vampires?

    Suddenly, Luna thought that her head had exploded into tiny fragments as a sharp ache pounded her temples.

    Beads of sweat dotted her skin.

    Her stomach pricked and burned as if she had swallowed a thousand poisonous needles.

    "Don''t panic. Give your body some time to adjust to the King''s blood."

    The pain grew stronger with each passing second.

    Her joints felt swollen and she had trouble drawing in a decent breath.

    It was as if she had broken all of her bones and something had stitched them back together again in fast forward.

    She felt bruised and sore.

    "You will live in the castle as the Vampire Kingdom''s property. There is no escape. If you attempt to leave the confines of the barriers, the poison you have ingested will do its rightful job and ruin your system." The boy said solemnly as if he was praying for her death. "Follow my advice, love...If you want to live a little longer, that is."

    +++

    Edited By: RedPandaChick

 Chapter 6 - Military General (edited)

    <h4>Chapter 6 - Military General (edited)</h4>

    A sudden cramp doubled Luna over, and she cried out.

    Breathe in.

    Breathe out.

    In.

    Out.

    Gradually, the pain subsided.

    She slowly straightened her body again.

    Her ears were ringing loudly as her blood pounded through her.

    "Holy goddess. Thank you for saving my life." She forced herself to give the boy a grateful smile, but then she changed her mind and frowned. "Wait. You said something about poison and the kingdom''s castle''s property."

    "You''re too in to be a High Consort and too strong to be human. It will be a shame if Vali appoints you to be a blood ve."

    Luna thought she was already healed, but a new ache in her head intensifies[d] the more this vampire boy talked.

    Too in to be a High Consort?

    Did this kid just insult her beauty to her face?

    "What are you talking about?" In the end, she settled on giving him a quizzical look while he cradled his head with both hands in boredom.

    What was with this whole Consort thing?

    Her eyes cast a veiled nce for any and on all possible exits.

    There were none.

    No windows.

    No doors.

    Just white walls with tiny holes in the ceiling.

    What kind of prison cell was this?

    "You''re the Vampire King''s property now." He answered.

    Luna pulled herself together and carefully sat up on the bed as the vampire boy loomed closer.

    "I assume I''m part of the Vampire King''s harem now? As a..." Luna furrowed her brows in confusion, and the vampire noticed.

    She waited for him to borate, but he didn''t.

    All Luna needed to end this stupid conversation was to ram a wooden stake straight into his heart.

    Without warning, she stepped forward and attempted to pull out his weapon as she clutched the golden hilt.

    She finally held the kid''s shining sword with her own hands. "Didn''t your parents tell you that kids should not y with sharp objects?"

    "You don''t want to make an enemy out of me, mydy." The admonishment was ripe in his tone as he raised his eyebrow at the sword. "Thest person who called me a kid had his head chopped off and put on a pike that is now disyed at the center of the battle arena."

    "Who do you think you are?" Luna demanded, and the kid stroked his chin with his hand as if thinking deeply before answering.

    "I am Cederic, the Vampire King''s military general, mydy." He replied as he smiled innocently. "In charge of defending the kingdom, killing those who stumble into the Vampire Kingdom''s territory and, of course, kidnapping luscious women for the Consortium."

    Kidnapping women?

    There was no time to dwell on the thought.

    She swung the sword she had stolen but only managed to m her body into his shoulder when he dodged her attack.

    The warrior general growled as he blocked her next blow easily with nothing but skill.

    Luna was surprised by his lightning-quick reflexes.

    The enemy''s ws extended and sliced her forearm, drawing blood.

    She could feel the blood soaking into the sleeve of her silky, white dress.

    She retreated against the wall as the boy grinned and flung a tourniquet on her.

    Like a snake, the band wrapped itself around the base of her throat, not tight enough to choke her, just tight enough to ensure it stayed in ce.

    "As much as this skirmish turns me on, we have to stop, mydy." Luna heard Cederic''s voice drop an octave as he whispered, "Vali would not appreciate me using his consorts for my own selfish reasons as much as I''d be delighted to."

    In the next instant, Luna''s knees buckled of their own ord, and she fell onto the floor.

    The boy was controlling her with his mind.

    Panic coiled inside her once again, but she fought against it, trying to erect some mental shield against him.

    His power proved to be too strong, however.

    A high-pitched scream pierced her brain.

    It was drowned out by the sword''s tter when she lost her grip on it, sending up an echo that reverberated through the entire cell.

    A thousand tiny knots twisted her stomach.

    She was weaponless, and her opponent could freeze her in ce.

    How could she fight him?

    "Do not panic, consort." The warrior general sent her a sardonic smile. "I''ll release you from the paralysis soon enough."

    Cold rage rushed through her, and her heart beat fast. "Let go of me."

    "Swear your allegiance to the Vampire Kingdom first," hemanded.

    "And if I refuse your offer?"

    "Swear your allegiance." Cederic snapped as cold anger rolled through him like waves. "If you refuse, I''ll make sure you die a lowly blood ve before the Blood Moon Banquet."

    "Release me first." Luna hissed in pain when the band around her throat tightened.

    When Cederic made the mistake of letting her go, Luna kicked his chest, and he stumbled backward a few feet.

    A mere secondter, she found her arms and lower body, frozen, again.

    Dark fury exploded through her veins. She hated how easily he subdued her.

    "You want to test my patience right now?"

    Luna was forced to kneel on the floor as he brought the sharp tip of his sword to her neck.

    "Swear it right now, or I''ll strike you down and kill you once and for all."

    "I s-swear." She clenched her fists and practically spat, "I will swear my allegiance, my lord."

    "Disobedient girls like you could be punished if you''re not careful." He released a defeated sigh and then drew her into his arms. She swore she could feel his lips brush against her temple. "I should''ve made you Escort so that I could y with you some more. But I think Vali would agree that you''re a hundred times better than being ranked as a warrior''s whore in the Consortium. You should be thankful."

    Before she could utter a word, they teleported.

    It happened in the blink of an eye.

    Groaning, she clutched a hand to her stomach.

    She wasn''t prepared.

    She''d never been this sick before.

    She had no time to scan her surroundings to know where exactly the vampire kid had teleported the two of them because he had taken hold of her face in both hands and stared directly into her eyes.

    "Don''t touch me."

    She tried to shake her head to get out of his grip to no avail.

    It wasn''t toote.

    She was already mesmerized by his cool grey eyes.

    He intensified his hypnotic powers on her, and she couldn''t do anything about it.

    Cederic hugged her briefly and stepped back.

    The floor creaked as he ushered her to an enormous ceramic bathtub.

    She reached for him but her arms submerged into the water, too heavy to hold up.

    "I''ll make sure the eunuchs pamper you before you enter the Harem." Luna felt his cold hand on her forehead. "We will see you at the Blood Moon Banquet tonight. Along with the other captives."

    A strange,? but wee, lethargy suddenly flowed through her body and mind, pulling her into the darkness.

    Luna''s eyelids closed, and a ck web wove itself inside her mind.

    +++

    Edited By: RedPandaChick

 Chapter 7 - Consort Bath (edited)

    <h4>Chapter 7 - Consort Bath (edited)</h4>

    Vali eased open the heavy bronze door and slipped inside the extravagant harem baths with three eunuch trainees trailing behind him. They gazed stupidly down the towels in their arms, wondering what they were supposed to do now as they peeked at the unconscious female in the tub.

    The rose-scented water is now clouded with blood from the captive''s wound.

    Vali felt his lips tighten in exasperation. "I told Cederic not to hurt the females during their capture. This kind of treatment reflects badly on me as the Head Eunuch."

    "Do you want me to call the healer, Master?"

    There was a brief hesitation followed by, "Let us clean the captive first."

    Vali lifted the female and carried her slowly to the octagonal pool built into the floor directly below the dome.

    Diamond-shaped panels of colored-cut ss were set in the dome where the misty morning light shone through. The pool wasrge enough to seat more than two dozen harem girls at a time while it soothed the tired bathers.

    "Arries and Joseph, you two wash her hair thoroughly. Use the jasmine and orchid scents just like I told you. The right amount, please. Don''t use too much as it offends the vampire sense of smell. Kyle, you are in charge of rubbing the soap all over her skin."

    Vali''s assistants sauntered across the moist mosaic tiles. Clouds of fragrant steam hung throughout the room. The trainees struggled to adjust to their job as they kept their eyes demurely downcast when Vali started to remove the female''s clothes.

    He was once also like that when he was a trainee, so he understood them. It was rather hard getting used to living through the first few decades as a eunuch but, after years of seeing naked women, it took a lot of physical contact to draw out that desire due to theirck of��

    "Is this thest of the female captives?" Arries asked.

    "Yes, she is. I wonder why she was delivered by Cederic sote. I hope nothing bad has happened." Joseph said as he looked over his shoulder just in case the vampire might be lurking around behind them. "I don''t trust the warrior general even if he looks as innocent as a child."

    "That''s a good instinct, Joseph," Vali said. "As a eunuch, your main concern is the health and safety of the females. Nobody but the eunuchs are allowed to touch and care for the harem."

    "Hmm. This female has silver hair and eyshes and her skin is as pale as the winter snow. Very unique. She''s different from the other female captives we have taken care of this week," Arries remarked as he poured honey all over her hair while Joseph brushed the captive''s back as he hovered awkwardly behind her. "What do you think, Master? Should we put her in the High Consort Harem?"

    "No. Aside from the silver hair, she doesn''t have the elven ears of a faerie nor the flexible muscles of a were. Neither is she a siren--with a hauntingly beautiful voice, an ethereal vampire, a phoenix with ming red hair, or a fleeting water nymph. I doubt the high lords would appreciate her tall frame and strong facial features. They usually prefer their consorts shorter than them, delicate looking and who have learned the most effective techniques in indulging a man''s every sexual fantasy."

    "Moreover, Cederic warned me this one caused him a lot of trouble. Because of that, he requested that this girl be ced in a lower rank." Vali exined as fingers of steam swirled behind them. "Keep in mind that only virgin females can be consorts. Those kidnapped women who are not and are very knowledgeable with the pleasures of the flesh automatically be High Consorts."

    "Cederic must have known. He''s using his position as the Vampire King''s general to persuade your decision about her rank. Should we check right now just to be sure? What if she has been touched by Cederic or the others?"

    Kyle''s hand drifted lower, slipping beneath the surface of the water as he continued down. Vali pulled his wandering hand out from between the female''s legs.

    "I was a soldier? before I became a eunuch. Cederic and I have been friends for millennia. Cederic may look like a..." Vali trailed off awkwardly then continued, "-I don''t want to say it out loud because I value my own life, but what you just implied is impossible. He is trusted by the Vampire King because he does his job properly. I also heard he has a great aversion to virgins when ites to his pleasure, I believe I will fulfill his request."

    Kyle retrieved a cake of brown olive oil soap and a sponge from the nearby marble bench then returned to the shallow pool and dragged the soapy sponge along her arms and neck. "It''s been a decade since thest empress died. Is it true that the Vampire Council has decided that it is time to hail a new one from the Consortium?"

    "Yes, it''s true," Vali replied.

    "And was this approved by the King himself or just another duke trying to ce his spy in a much higher position?" Arries asked curiously since they already started talking about royal politics. It''s best to ask interesting questions that had bothered him for a long time. "Or maybe someone closer to the King? Perhaps she will end up just like Empress Fenech who''s betrayal was found out and led to her being beheaded at the guillotine for the entire Vampire Kingdom to witness. Empress Fenech deserved that, by the way. She knew treason in this kingdom was a heinous crime. I can''t believe Duke Cyr got away without being punished. After all, he manipted the poor, poor, girl."

    "The empress had iting, Arries. She must have been power-hungry to even risk her precious life. Or, she could have been seduced by Duke Cyr''s promised her lies... The usual shit that girls believe when the men they dally with are part of the Vampire Court. " Kyle said as he dipped the bar of soap into the cold water, then smoothed it over the female''s legs,thering up her skin until it was as sleek as silk beneath his hands. "Sometimes, women are so shallow that I pity them."

    "We should not give any sympathy to the harem. After all, they''d fuck their way to the top. If you are not careful, they might use their feminine wiles against you andpel you to do their bidding and other stupid things. Such as, freeing one of them." Joseph replied as he retrieved a y pitcher, dipped it into the pool to fill it, and poured a stream of water over the female''s crown of silver hair. "Has an Empress already been chosen from among the concubines?"

    "Not yet. The Dukes in the VampireKingdom will choose the three concubines during the Blood Moon Banquet." Joseph cheerfully continued. "Three concubines are chosen from the three High Consorts, two from among the Consorts, and two from the Escorts."

    "Who are the seven females chosen?"

    "The Escorts are Lady Haiti and Ingrid, the High Consorts are Lady Marguerite, Lady Hyacinth and Lady Catriona, and the Consorts are Lady Ophelia and rence."

    "rence... rence is included?" Arries slowly lifted the pitcher in a white-knuckled grip, using every ounce of his self-control to pour another stream of water over the captive''s hair and not drop the pitcher on the floor.

    "Yes, she is," Vali replied.

    Arries lowered his head again despite the tightness in his throat. The pain that apanied the tightness hurt almost as much as the betrayal he felt from his childhood sweetheart. He despised her at that moment.

    He has risked everything, even his life, just to get into this castle to save her when, in fact, she didn''t want to be saved.

    He supposed some part of him still wanted to believe that rence was different, that she would have waited for him to save her when she was forcibly taken, by the vampire soldiers,? [from]in their vige five years ago to be part of the harem. Kyle was right.

    Indeed, women were very shallow.

    "In the eyes of the vampires, women in the Consortium are dispensable. All they desire is a warm, slick ce to spill their seed." Vali said as he rinsed the female''s body with water. "Get the towels, eunuchs. It''s time to dress her and introduce her to the Harem when she wakes up from her slumber."

    +++

    Edited By: RedPandaChick

 Chapter 8 - Consortium (edited)

    <h4>Chapter 8 - Consortium (edited)</h4>

    A moan escaped from Luna''s lips.

    She rolled to her side, burrowing deeper under the covers.

    She must have fallen asleep again because the next thing she knew, she could feel the warmth of the sunlight on her face. Her eyelids fluttered open.

    "Girl, wake up." Luna heard a woman''s voice that was so soft and soothing she barely heard her.

    A long while had passed before she was able to orient herself.

    The room appears hazy at first, but then everything slowly slipped into ce.

    Her eyes blinked open and closed.

    "You must be thirsty." The moment the woman spoke, she realized how dry her mouth was.

    "Yes." she rasped as the woman reached for the pitcher on the nightstand beside the bed.

    She poured water into the ss and offered it to her.

    Luna tried to sit up, but the feat proved impossible.

    She gripped the ss tightly, careful not to let even a single droplet spill.

    She drank deeply.

    The cool liquid soothed her throat, her stomach and moved through her overheated blood.

    Her increasingly heavy eyelids fluttered open and closed as she eased back onto the pillow and set the ss on the nightstand.

    Sleep. Luna needed to sleep.

    Just a little longer.

    However, the woman beside her gave her shoulder a soft shake instead.

    As Luna struggled to sit up, the dull ache in her head roared to full life.

    She groaned and flopped against the pillow once more.

    Her increasingly heavy eyes fluttered open and closed as she gradually eased herself back.

    Her brain wasn''t functioning on optimal levels, butmon sense finally slipped past the thickbyrinth of stupidity, nketing her mind.

    She jilted into wakefulness.

    Panic washed over her as she demanded.

    "Where am I?" The rm she was feeling made her voice sound scratchy.

    "Wee to the harem, Consort." She gave her a warm smile. "I am Lady rence. You were unconscious for hours. Unfortunately, the head eunuch, Vali, was summoned for a meeting and is busy with the preparations for the Banquet tonight, so I''ve been left in charge of telling you what is expected of us and our roles in this Kingdom."

    Lady rence was beautiful with her xen hair, pouty mouth, and wide hips.

    Luna looked down at her own chest. It was small. She couldn''t please anyone with this.

    How could she be a consort when she couldn''t even beat the size of herpanion''s breasts?

    "I don''t think I''m physically capable of being a consort," Luna said as she cringed inwardly. "I''m ugly."

    "Why don''t you see for yourself?" Lady rence handed her an enormous mirror with polished seashells surrounding it.

    Luna was stunned as she looked at herself in the mirror.

    Her face and body felt clean for the first time after days of hiding in the forest and being carried around by that stupid warrior general, Cederic.

    Her long silver hair was unbound and coursed down her back while a pair of jeweledbs drew it away from her face to expose her elegant cheekbones.

    A thin line of kohl ented the feline tilt of her silver-grey eyes.

    She stood up and turned around.

    "Oh, my goddess." Like Lady rence, she was draped in strips of blue silk deliberately designed to tantalize a man, showing hints of the treasures thaty beneath every time she moved.

    Lady rence chucked elegantly at her funny reactions.

    ''Even her giggles sounddy-like.'' Luna mused.

    "What is your name, Consort?"

    "I am Luna, Lady rence," Luna replied as she held out her hand to grasp hers and smiled in gratitude.

    It wasn''t bad to make friends in her time of need. "Thanks for taking care of me."

    "You''re wee. I know you just got here," Lady rence said as she tossed her an apple. "You should eat while I show you around where we are allowed to go."

    She caught it and wrinkled her nose in disgust.

    She had been eating root crops and fruits while she hid from the werewolves.

    Her stomach grumbled in protest, too, but she had no choice but to eat it.

    Maybe she could escape and hunt for meat somewhere in the castle''s kitchens.

    "There are five ranks in the Consortium. The Empress, the Concubines, High Consorts, Consorts, and Escorts. As we are Consorts, our role in the harem is for entertainment only. Therefore, it is limited to singing, dancing, and bloodletting."

    Lady rence continued as she gathered her skirts and continued down the corridor. "Males are not allowed to have sexual congress with us. Keeping our virginity serves as a bargaining chip when one of the King''s guests, from outside the Kingdom or one of the other members of the royalty aspire to have a trophy mate. The castle barters us as gifts in exchange for something that will give an advantage to the King."

    "Consorts are trained to be the perfect wife or mistress. The schrs will teach us Ancient Languages, ssic, Literature, Science, Mathematics, and History to keep things interesting for our future husbands. In addition, we are taught to sing, y instruments, and dance to entertain visitors during celebrations and war victories."

    "What you mean is, we are here to be pawns in a game of chess?" Luna remarked as she followed her down the dimly lit corridor that led to the harem''s door.

    So, it will be like living in the Sacred Mountains again, surrounded by maidens, but with a price?

    At least as a consort, she could avoid unwanted attention, unlike the others in the Consortium.

    Luna sighed with relief.

    She''d rather kill than be touched.

    "Yes," Lady rence answered. " Sometimes, gold, ancient treasures, rare magical objects, or knowledge of the dark arts are on the line in exchange for us. But, most of the time, we used to bargain for hexed witchcraft books to break the King''s curse."

    "The Vampire King is under a curse?" Her brows knitted together, confused. The tension increased the pain in her head, and Luna rubbed her throbbing temples with her fingertips.

    At that moment, all she desired was a moment of privacy to sort out the maddening whirl of her thoughts.

    Too much information!

    "He was cursed by the first Empress, whom he did not know was the first wife of Adam and the first female vampire created in history, the Queen of Darkness, Lilith. It is rumored that the Blood Beast possesses the Vampire King and that his soul is tied to it. He can''t control it when it is hungry."

    Lady rence added. "Blood ves are the sacrificialmbs and food for the Vampire King. They are expendable and considered to be nothing more than livestock here. Most blood ves are prisoners from other kingdoms, females whomitted unspeakable crimes, or servants who caused trouble. After taking his pleasure, the Blood Beast sucks the life energy out of a woman, killing a minimum of one blood ve every night. This is the only way to pacify it so that the King can return to normal. "

    "And then the Vampire Kingughs with the other royals and his cronies as if nothing brutal had happened. I take it?"

    Lady rence clutched Luna''s wrist hard to draw her closer, casting an uneasy nce around them.

    She acted like there might be someone lurking behind some of the colorful tapestries or priceless urns.

    "The Vampire Castle is a honeb of trapdoors and passageways," she muttered as she gathered her skirts and continued down the corridor. "Here, the walls have ears."

    Forced to keep up with her brisk steps, Lady rence chattered on and on about everything there was? to know about the harem Luna''s slipper came down firmly on the hem of her skirt.

    "Oops. Sorry." Luna was so intent on not tripping over her skirts that she was paying no mind to other''s skirts.

    She wasn''t used to wearing this colorful swirl of voluminous veils billowing around her.

    Towering eunuchs stood on either side of the tall, carved doors with arms crossed over their naked chests.

    They swung the door open for them as they passed beneath the gracefully arched doorway at the end of the long corridor and into the main hall of the harem.

    The cloying aromas of a dozen women oiled and scented to within an inch of their lives assaulted her senses.

    The kingdom''s wealth was on disy in every carefully chosen detail of the spacious chamber.

    Genuine gold leaf embellished the domed ceiling painted with intricate paintings.

    The graceful columns had been carved from marble.

    The floor had been tiled with mosaics in rich shades representing every color of the rainbow.

    It looked amazing, aside from the fact that it was still an oversized birdcage.

    The chamber''s opulence would have put the goddess'' temples in the Sacred Mountains to shame.

    Still, for the Vampire King, this was nothing more than a setting for his most prized jewels��the beautiful women reclining on pillows and couches throughout the room in various states of undress.

    "The Escorts are the warrior''s groupies," Lady rice continued to exin. "They apany the soldiers to the battlefield. Warriors then use them to release their pent-up stress and testosterone before the fight. This advantageous war strategy has served the Vampire Kingdom for a long time. That is why the army is stronger than ever."

    "The royals are ustomed to being seduced and pleasured by breathtakingly beautiful exotic women from among the High Consorts who have been taught erotic tricks unknown to the authors of Kama Sutra. Be careful with them, though. They are dangerous and so devious that they are likely to murder you in your sleep or poison your drink if they perceive you as a threat to bing Concubine or worse, the Empress."

    Lady rence sounded as if she was speaking from experience.

    "The Vampire King will pick the Empress from the Concubines. The three concubines called will be honored tonight at the Blood Moon Banquet."

    "Truly?" Luna asked intively, falling into step behind her.

    She pursed her lips, fighting back a grin.

    Oh, she was excited to witness jealous bitches in the Consortium fight for the Vampire King''s attention.

    She hoped the King yed favorites so Luna could watch the catfights on the side-line.

    As they entered the harem, a high-pitched titter assaulted her ears.

    She could make out the others'' silhouettes behind a translucent veil of purple silk shot through with gold threads.

    +++

    Edited By: RedPandaChick

 Chapter 9 - Catfights (edited)

    <h4>Chapter 9 - Catfights (edited)</h4>

    Some of the women were napping this early afternoon while young ve girls, with huge fans adorned with peacock feathers, moved to cool the humid air.

    A current of excitement had swept through the rest of their ranks, leaving them wide-eyed, alert, and whispering among themselves in the harem''s enclosed garden while having their muscles massaged by the eunuchs.

    Outsiders may covet their way of life, but once the consortium doors were shut, it was evident that their freedom was merely a mirage.

    They might be pampered and spoiled, but they were just much as captives to the Vampire royalties as servants.

    No matter their rank, they each had only one purpose.

    They existed solely to serve the King and his cronies.

    To see to their needs and provide for their pleasure only to be doomed to spend the rest of their lives beating frantically against the bars of this gilded cage.

    Luna feared that she''d be like them, always waiting for a summons to leave the Consortium just to break the soul-sucking monotony of long,nguid, hours.

    As she and Lady rence began to walk their way through the chamber, several of the women cast furtive nces at her behind theirshes.

    "Well, well, well. Look who is here?" A woman suddenly uncurled herself from a purple couch with the sleek grace of a jungle cat and sauntered over to nt herself directly in their path.

    The woman forced Lady rence into a halt while Luna huddled behind her.

    She bobbed a curtsy in the direction of this newdy.

    Luna followed suit as she spread her skirts and bobbed an awkward curtsy too.She almost tripped on her skirt in the process.

    She winced.

    She was doing a miserable job at this consort thing.

    Luna eyed this domineering woman with a cooling appraisal.

    She pouted with her plum-colored lips. Her waist-length glossy midnight-ck hair looked soft, and her dark eyes danced dangerously. She was truly one of the most stunning women in the harem.

    Her lush curves were covered by little more than scraps of translucent silk fashioned to draw a man''s eyes to her chest and the juncture of her thighs.

    Luna wanted? to shield her eyes from the image in front of her because she wasn''t used to it.

    It was blinding.

    After this, she''s going to search for virginal robes to wear.

    "You''re a new one, Silver Hair. I can''t seem to identify your species." Thedy clutched her hair and tugged sharply, sending tiny sharp needles prickling across her scalp.

    Luna had to curl her twitching hand into a fist to keep it from pping the smug expression from her face.

    Luna also didn''t want Cederic to descend on them like some avenging angel because she created trouble.

    Luna did not want to be a blood ve anyway.

    "What creature are you?"

    Now, the women openly stared at her long silver hair like she''s some rare albino monkey, not bothering to hide the wonder and resentment simmering in their kohl-rimmed eyes.

    "You should not torture the recruits, Lady Catriona." Lady rence red daggers at thedy as she pulled Luna behind her for protection.

    Yes, it was sweet, but Lady rence was drawing all the unnecessary attention to herself.

    "My, my, Lady rence." She smirked. "I admire your bravery for showing up here at the crime scene. Aren''t you afraid you are going to be the victim of yet another poisoning?"

    The other harem girls sat up straighter and leaned closer like sharks scenting fresh blood in the water.

    Lady Catriona cast a nce over her shoulder, making sure she had her audience''s avid attention.

    "This isn''t your territory, were-leopard. Remember that this ce is a sanctuary for all the girls in the Consortium. If you don''t like to see me, you should have gone back home in the forest to be the savage you really are."

    The women behind Lady Catriona copsed? their couches in fits of giggles.

    Luna suppressed a triumphant smile while Lady Catriona scowled at them.

    Lady rence might be all bark and no bite and, what''s more, a human.

    Luna admired her for her fearlessness despite her belonging to the weakest race.

    Lady Catriona nted her hands on her shapely hips and lifted her chin to an even haughtier angle as she surveyed them with contempt.

    "You are a mere human, Lady rence, even if you are favored by one of the Dukes. That won''t give you an advantage over me since I have a higher rank than you." Lady Catriona said as she gave a dismissive wave of her hand as if they were insignificant.

    "You don''t want to make a High Consort angry. But since I''m in a rather good mood today, I''ll let it slide."

    Really?

    This is her ''good mood'', acting all insulting and confrontational all of a sudden?

    How much farther did this go if Lady Catriona is in a ''bad mood''?

    "Don''t act so haughty yet, Catriona." Lady rence sighed as if she was done with her. "You are acting like an Empress when you aren''t a Concubine yet."

    "Oh, wait for it, human. If I be one of the Concubines and get to be the Empress in the future, a three-daya and a stomach ache will not be enough punishment for your impertinence. I''ll let you rot in the dungeons without food and water. The rats wouldn''t starve with you there."

    Lady Catriona gave them a cold smile.

    Although her sultry voice was still clearly audible throughout the chamber, she drew closer. "If I''m feeling generous that day, I''ll just tear you to pieces with my ws while your cadaver is hung on a wooden pole in front of the castle gates. Wouldn''t it be nice if your spilled blood was enough to tempt the vampires to drink it from the ground instead?"

    "Stop threatening me or I''ll tell Vali what you have done!"

    "Then drop out from the Concubine list. " Leaning closer to Lady rence, she lowered her voice to an actual whisper. One intended only for her ears. "You are a Consort. If you want to have power that much, why don''t you be a High Priestess? You are a virgin, so I''m sure you''d be qualified. All you have to do is pass the test. Touch the Delphi Staff at the Blood Moon Ceremony tonight and see if you have the potential to learn magic. You just have to break the Vampire King''s curse in a year, and he will grant anything you wish."

    Luna''s ears perked up at what she said.

    If she became a High Priestess, learned forbidden magic, and broke the King''s curse in one year, could she wish for anything she wanted?

    Isn''t that killing all the birds with one stone?

    "You are trying to convince me to drop out so that you''ll get the position, aren''t you? You thought one less Concubine to contend with would not hurt. The fewer harem girls in thepetition, the better your chances of being the Empress." Lady rence shot back. "Nice try, Lady Catriona, but I won''t be fooled. I knew you were the one who put the poison in my drink while I was rxing and rubbing volcanic ashes on my body to prepare for the festivities tonight. You might be prettier than me, but you''re just one insecure little bitch."

    Lady rence set her feet into motion, sidestepping Lady Catriona and sweeping the rest of the way across the chamber.

    When Lady rence nced over her shoulder, Lady Catriona shifted into a snow leopard and attacked.

    +++

    Edited by RedPandaChick

 Chapter 10 - Women (edited)

    <h4>Chapter 10 - Women (edited)</h4>

    Luna managed to m her fist into Catriona''s cheekbone with lightning-quick reflexes while she was mid-shift.

    Usually, her first instinct was not to fight when she''s not on the receiving end of someone else''s ire, but she couldn''t leave Lady rence, a vulnerable human, alone to fend for herself against a were-leopard. At least her involvement could make this fight even.

    Physically, she''d been waiting for this forever.

    This was a chance for her to release all of her pent-up anger and frustration for being detained as a consort in this Kingdom against her will and being treated like a lowlife by this self-entitled bitch.

    The warrior general would be lenient should he decide to punish them if he knew Catriona had attacked first. They had witnesses.

    Catriona''s head snapped as she was thrown to the side.

    Clutching her head, she righted herself and red at her.

    Catriona''s gaze never shifting away from Luna; she used the back of her hand to wipe the blood trickling from the cut on her lower lip.

    "Anyst words before I take you out of the Concubine List just like you nned for Lady rence?" Luna smirked as she ran a hand through her precious silver hair.

    They couldn''t afford to look weak here, not when these females were looking for every chance to bully them, especially lower ranks like her.

    Sneaky High Consorts never yed fair.

    "Get out of my face, Silver Hair. I''m better at this game than you are. " Catriona huffed. "Don''t mess with me."

    "Oh, but I want to. I don''t care if you kill me right now. I''m going to teach you a lesson. The lesson that it would be best if you learned to respect the other harem girls despite their rank. I''m going to teach you a lesson," Luna replied. "I''m not letting you get away with this."

    "You marred my face on the day of the Blood Moon Banquet. I''ll tell Vali what you did to a Concubine Candidate!" Catriona shrieked, and it sent Luna''s ears ringing.

    "I''ll rece you as the Concubine Candidate then," Luna suggested sarcastically.

    "You disrespectful bitch! You are just a Consort." She flushed red with anger as she pointed the finger at her.

    Catriona continued smugly, "I''ll suggest that you be demoted to a blood ve for the trouble you have caused."

    "I''ll tell Vali you poisoned me!" Lady rence said as she stood a couple of feet closer to Luna. "I haven''t told him about it yet because I was giving you the benefit of the doubt. I''ll have you interrogated for your sins if you don''t quit your threats."

    Guilt shed, quickly gone.

    Catriona''s eyes lookedpletely crazed when she said, "Nobody deserves the Empress'' throne except me. It''s fucking time for everyone to realize it!"

    "Is that so?" Luna shot back.

    It was obvious Catriona wasn''t right in the head.

    She was too obsessed with the throne.

    It''s no wonder she was behind Lady rence''s poisoning.

    Without warning, Luna kicked out her leg and nailed Catriona in the stomach.

    Breath whooshed out of her lungs, and Catriona skidded backwards from her onught.

    "You are going to regret this, bitch." Catriona growled as she straightened.

    Herrge eyes shed dangerously as pink flushed the exotic slope of her cheeks.

    "What you have done to Lady rence, poisoning her drinks, shifting into a were-leopard, and attacking her behind her back, is underhanded and wrong. Someone needs to punish you, and I''ll happily volunteer."

    Luna heard the harem girls in the room p as they muttered to themselves.

    Catriona''s chin lifted, and, hell, she never appeared to be more superior. "I''ll defeat you."

    "Bring it." Luna waved her hand. "And don''t shift. Instead, prove your strength to everyone by showing them that you can defeat me fair and square."

    Catriona lunged at her.

    Amid the chorus of female cheers and giggles and the eunuchs'' sincere pleas for them to stop, they mmed together and tumbled backwards. Luna hit the floor, and Catriona''s weight mmed into her.

    Catriona straddled Luna with her knees, pinning her shoulders.

    She struggled to breathe.

    Catriona punched her nose with her left fist.

    Luna yelped.

    She hadn''t expected that from her.

    Catriona''s right hand nailed her in the jaw.

    Snarling, Luna struggled for her freedom.

    Blood dribbled down Luna''s lip and chin.

    There was no hair-pulling and scratching in this fight.

    They fought like men.

    Theughter faded, the muttered jokes stopped and turned concerned.

    No one dared approach them for fear for their lives.

    As Catriona reached back to punch Luna with her knuckles, Luna worked her legs between them and kicked Catriona.

    She flew backwards andnded on her ass.

    Luna was already on her feet, and Catriona swiftly jumped up.

    Both were panting and ring.

    "Can''t stand a littlepetition, Cat?" Luna taunted.

    Several of the eunuchs braved their furies and approached.

    Catriona''s eyes slowed green like a cat''s, her teeth lengthened into sharp fangs, and she snarled at them, her leopard almost taking over.

    Luna widened her legs into a fighting stance and fisted her hands, ready for any attack.

    She held her ground.

    Catriona was in her face a heartbeatter as the wind whipped between them.

    Luna hooked her foot around Catriona''s ankle and shoved her chest.

    Catriona fell.

    Gasping, she rolled to the side and tried to shift into a were-leopard again, this time sessfully.

    The leopard advanced toward Luna, stalking her like prey, intending to destroy her.

    Luna stepped back.

    Suddenly, someone tackled Catriona while she was distracted, throwing the leopard to the ground and pinning her.

    Five male eunuchs pinned her down.

    Catriona struggled and kicked and roared.

    "Are you alright, Luna?" Lady rence was suddenly behind her, patting her on the back with concern.

    Catriona sprang for Luna again.

    Through wide eyes, Luna watched her as she closed the distance, fists drawn back.

    One of the men dove for the leopard, knocking her down again before she reached Luna.

    The High Consort scrambled forward to work her way free from her captors'' grasps.

    "Stop!" a familiar masculine voicemanded.

    Cederic.

    +++

    Edited by RedPandaChick

 Chapter 11 - Cederic (edited)

    <h4>Chapter 11 - Cederic (edited)</h4>

    Cederic.

    Luna twisted around, her heart pounding, nearly cracking her ribs.

    He looked the part of a magnificent kid as usual.

    Too bad she didn''t have the time to defend herself when Catriona''s paws connected with her back and sent her flying forward.

    As Luna righted herself, somebody rushed over.

    Damn it.

    Luna wouldn''t be foolish enough to give Catriona her back again.

    With a nce, Luna rasped at Catriona, "You should have been a snake instead of a leopard."

    Catriona shifted back to her human form, standing in front of them in all her naked glory, a smug expression lifting her lips once more.

    At least Luna had gotten a few good blows in.

    Catriona''s lips were cracked and bleeding and a bruise had already begun to form under one of her eyes.

    There was no telling what Luna would look like, though.

    Without fear and rage to fuel her adrenaline, her knuckles throbbed and her facial muscles ached.

    "What the hell is going on?" a bald man whose head looked like polished mahogany approached them and demanded.

    Luna strode to Catriona''s side, though remaining out of striking distance. "This isn''t over, bitch."

    Cederic''s eyes strayed from Catriona to Luna and from her to Catriona.

    Luna wondered which of them caused his pupils to dte, his nostrils to re and his fangs to lengthen.

    "Out!" the bald man, who was probably a eunuch since he wore their robes although it was just a tad more colourful and fancier, snapped.

    Both she and Catriona jolted in response, though neither of them obeyed.

    "Out!" he repeated, harsher this time.

    They heard the scampering of footsteps behind them as the other harem girls, the eunuchs, the servants, and even Lady rence, fled the scene.

    When there was silence, the eunuch crossed his arms over his chiselled chest.

    "There will be no fighting between the two of you. Understand?"

    "Yes," Catriona said, clearly wanting to please this man as she quickly put on her transparent clothing again. "But I was only defending myself. She attacked me."

    This lying bitch!

    "This High Consort deserved every punch Inded and nothing can stop me. She insulted the Consorts," Luna told the eunuch. "Next time, I''m not going to stop until she''s unconscious. Until she knows that respect begets respect. This kind of bullying must be stopped."

    Catriona let out a mock gasp, deciding to y the victim.

    The eunuch blinked at Luna, shock forming in those sharp brown eyes.

    Somebody whooped behind Luna and she turned.

    "Hello, love. Nice to see you again." Grinning, Cederic leaned a shoulder against the door frame.

    He was so savagely beautiful. He could be a paintinge to life. "I hear you have been projecting your blood lust onto the High Consorts, too. You must have been a vampire in your past life."

    "You are making me jealous," he added with his gaze on her.

    Luna''s brows furrowed in confusion.

    Was he flirting with her?

    Thest time they were together in the same room, they tried to tear out each other''s throats.

    The eunuch cleared his throat and said stiffly, "I need a moment with the women."

    "Well, I need a moment with the consort. The were-leopard is all yours, Vali. Scold her all you like," Cedericughed, and Vali clenched his jaw.

    He remained silent.

    "I''ll be taking this problematic consort to my chambers to give her the tongueshing she deserved."

    "But the banquet tonight��"

    "I''ll help her prepare."

    "But her gown��"

    "Vali, I have a chest full of garments for my Escorts." Cederic interrupted gently, never losing his grin. "It wouldn''t be so hard for her to try them on to find the one that fits. Besides, I''m looking forward to deciding which dress suits her best."

    "Don''t do anything inappropriate." Vali scowled. "They are still the King''s property."

    "I always do." Cederic said, and then he faced her, "Let''s hurry to my room, love. I''ll help you prepare for the festivities tonight. As much as I''d like to see my Escorts jealous, I don''t want a repeat of what happened earlier if they see you around with me."

    Cederic looked her over, his grey eyes smouldering on the shape of her body.

    He ced her hand against his arm. "I''ve seen blood on your skin a couple of times already. You don''t have to raise more of my appetites to get my attention, Luna."

    +++

    Edited by RedPandaChick

 Chapter 12 - High Priestess (edited)

    <h4>Chapter 12 - High Priestess (edited)</h4>

    Cederic rang for servants toe into his chamber to help with Luna''s preparation for the Blood Moon Banquet.

    He let himself out for a while to give her some privacy.

    He was urgently called by his second-inmand to personally meet the guests for the celebration and take the dangers out early before these uninvited rogue vampires, hunters, and other supernatural creatures created havoc.

    The servants had unpacked their rattling collection of vials, pots, and bottles.

    They dusted her cheekbones with genuine gold, shaped the pronounced Cupid''s bow at the top of her upper lip, and drew kohl around herrge eyes.

    Luna hoped that the make-up would also cover up the imperfections and the fresh bruises on her face and body from the fight with the were-leopard.

    They pouredvender and jasmine scents all over her body.

    She would do well to remember that they were doing this to make her more desirable to the vampires'' pleasure.

    Her nerves were strung so tight she feared that she would scream if another impersonal hand touched her body.

    There was another knock on the door.

    Great.

    Cederic hade back from killing potential enemies'' hearts with a wooden stake at the castle''s gate.

    Some might be in the dungeon right now to be interrogated and tortured by his soldiers for their motives.

    "I''ll take over now," Cederic ordered the servants as he came in. He pped loudly as if willing them to hurry up.

    The servants murmured as they wrapped up with the finishing touches and hastily got out of Cederic''s bed chambers.

    The door clicked and Cederic ushered her to sit back down.

    "I''llb your hair, Lady Luna."

    "Wait��"

    "It is my utmost pleasure." He drew in a breath at the crown of her head as if he was sniffing her hair.

    Luna could see his grey eyes gleaming as their gazes met in the mirror.

    She had no choice but to lean back on her chair and pray that he wouldn''t set her hair on fire.

    Luna had lost count of the strokes as Cederic gently drew ab through her silver hair until it gleamed beneath themplight.

    She closed her eyes and gave her attention to the long gliding strokes of the brush, to embrace the way it made her feel as every inch of her muscles rxed into slumber.

    It felt weird for a military general to offer? tob her hair, but she couldn''t refuse him when he was so fascinated by the colour of her hair.

    Honestly, this was better than enduring the tongueshing he originally told Vali he''d give her.

    Luna didn''t want to be punished.

    It was better to indulge him while he was not overstepping the boundaries.

    She, also, decided to quench her curiosity while he was in this kind of mood.

    "I want to be a High Priestess, Cederic."

    "Seriously, wench. Do you have a death wish?" The words were spoken with great caution and more than a touch of sarcasm. "Bing a High Priestess is like a dyed Death sentence. You have to break the Vampire King''s curse in a year, or you die. A High Priestess is trained to perform ck magic and if she does not fulfil the conditions..."

    Cederic was silent for a long time before continuing, "Dark Priestesses are extremely dangerous and could easily be corrupted by dark creatures, especially demons. They are killed if they can''t perform a sessful ritual to get rid of the curse."

    "I came into this Kingdom not knowing that I''d be kidnapped to be part of a Harem for perverted Vampires." Luna shrugged. "I''m a risk-taker. I''ll face this challenge head-on. If I die, I die. There''s nothing I can do about it."

    "Do you think it''ll be that easy? Are you out of your damn mind?" Cederic tugged the ss stopper from a costly vial of myrrh and dabbed the musky scent behind her ears and in the hollow of her throat. "There has been no High Priestesses in this Kingdom for millennia because it is impossible."

    Gritting her teeth in irritation, she sank her nails into the armchair. "I only have one wish. And that is to get out of this godforsaken ce. I want it granted by the King by any means possible. Being a harem girl in this Kingdom is not my end-game. Not in this lifetime, Cederic."

    Cederic''s lips curved upward. "Look at you, preparing to break the Vampire King''s curse to have your wish granted when you haven''t even taken the tests yet.First, you have to touch the Staff of Delphi and get its approval, open the Ancient Witchcraft Ritual Book of Hecate with your blood and help the Vampire King control his urges with your spells."

    "A High Priest will teach you the basics of ck magic. He''s an ancient and grumpy warlock, by the way, and you''ll wish you''d died on the spot the moment you meet him."

    Cedric smirked. "And the Advanced ones? You''ll practice them alone. I don''t even know what''s written in the Book of Hecate because no one has been able to open them since Lilith disappeared. I''m excited to see what you have to offer to make the rituals work if you can sessfully open the book. The sacrifices you''d make... Would it be a noble-born Vampire''s beating heart? A wicked faerie''s wretched soul? A human child? I''m looking forward to it if you can manage to be the High Priestess, that is."

    "You might try to dishearten me, but I''m still not afraid," Luna said. "I''ve decided to go through with it at the Blood Moon Ceremony."

    "Do you not value your life?" he asked angrily. "How old are you?"

    Luna gave him a guarded look and decided to tell Cederic the truth. "I''ve been alive in a ce where time does not exist. "

    "You are an immortal?" Cederic''s nose wrinkled in confusion. "But you bleed."

    "But I heal faster than a normal human," she countered.

    "You are good at fighting," Cederic murmured, his hand absentmindedly caressing her bare neck and shoulders.

    He jerked his hand back when he became aware of what he was doing. "Are you a demi-god then?"

    Luna shook her head.

    "You are taller than a female vampire. You beat the wereleopard with your own hands. Stronger. Beautiful. But you look and feel human. " Cederic observed, surveying her suspiciously.

    His eyes widened when he had finally put two and two together. "Are you an Amazon?"

    Luna''s smile spread to her eyes, lighting up their depths for the first time.

    Cederic paused, dazzled by the promise of beauty that sparkled in her shadowed eyes. "I thought Amazons did not exist. Nobody has seen one yet."

    "People assume that Amazons don''t exist, Cederic. We are no different from you. We kill people who stumbled across our territory so that no one will live to tell anyone about it."

    Cederic''s mouth opened in an enraged circle as if he had been deceived, or worse, betrayed. "Then what are you doing in ournd? Are you a spy? An assassin? Why are you here? What is your motive?"

    "I am not your prisoner anymore, Cederic. I''m not obligated to answer such ridiculous questions."

    Luna stood up regally from her chair as if she had been a practiced Consort for a long time and faced Cederic, the emerald green and peacock blue of what was considered to be her skirts rippling around her ankles.

    The gossamer silk of the skirts Cederic told her to wear for the asion was so fine it might have been woven from silkworms and spiderwebs.

    The sheer fabric wrapped in numerousyers over all of her delicate parts was the only thing that saved it from being obscene.

    They stood face to face inpanionable quiet for a few minutes, listening to the echoes of high spirits that drifted up from the hall below.

    Cederic asked quietly. "Do you really want to be High Priestess despite the risk?"

    Biting her bottom lip between her teeth, her curiosity was piqued. "Yes."

    "Then, I''ll help you in any way I can." Cederic grinned from ear-to-ear like a Cheshire cat. "I swear it on my dead vampire mother''s grave.

    Luna''s enthusiasm evaporated, her eyes narrowing in mistrust.

    Vampires are cunning creatures of the night.

    "So, what do I have to do in exchange for your help?"

    "I''ll collect your debt when the timees."

    Well, that sounded ominous.

    Sensing a presence behind them, she turned to find Vali''s shadow darkening the arched doorways.

    The Head Eunuch inclined his gleaming head toward the corridor, indicating the Vampire King''s summons to the Blood Moon Banquet hade.

 Chapter 13 - Allegiances (edited)

    <h4>Chapter 13 - Allegiances (edited)</h4>

    Crouching on a tform high above the crowd, Luna watched the scene below with wide eyes and clenched fists.

    Two zing fires erupted from the enormous fireces at the ends of the halls.

    It didn''t make sense to her at first, considering vampires were cold-blooded creatures, but then Cederic mentioned that they had guests from the other realms who wished to forge alliances and be in the Vampire King''s good graces.

    Golden light from the torches that lined the walls spilt through the room and was reflected off by the goblets, sword hilts, and jewels.

    The cup-bearers filled empty sks, with a never-ceasing flow of red liquid, the moment another toast was that lifted the goblets high in the air--was it grape wine or blood?

    "We arete, mydy. The concubines have been announced."

    "I think the banquet has already started," Luna observed, her nose wrinkling at the rich aroma of the meat.

    Swallowing hard, her stomach had churned, reminiscing of the time she fed herself of fish and fruits.

    Luna''s stomach rumbled, and she pressed it with both hands to curb the sound.

    "Not really. It''s rude to deprive the guests of food during the celebrations."

    "It''s ruder for the guests to eat without the presence of the Vampire King."

    "Wait and see. There is an order for this specific gathering." Cederic whispered. "Just shut your lovely lips and stick to me."

    The harps and violins struggled to make themselves heard over the loud noise in the hall.

    Cederic watched her as her eyes were drawn to a table tform.

    Luna nudged Cederic. "What is that man doing here?"

    The colour in her cheeks paled when she recognized the werewolf who had invaded the Amazon''s refuge.

    His head was thrown back inughter as he leaned toward the familiar-looking brte whose hands rested intimately on his arm.

    "A visitor." Cederic shook his head. "He ims he is an alpha who just imed a territory near the Vampire Kingdom''s borders and wanted to form an alliance."

    "How do these guests get in, Cederic?" Luna asked anxiously. "Did they force their way in, or were they invited freely?"

    "We deactivated our shield against outsiders during celebrations like these. It''s essential to make friends with the neighbours and pick out potential enemies among them."

    A green tint reced Luna''s pallor as she recognized the woman with the werewolf alpha.

    Astarte, the traitor of the Amazons. Luna would not permit the bitch to see her dressed like a vampire''s whore.

    Over her dead body.

    Her gaze traced the table where they satughing, cheering, and raising their goblets to toast were his favoured betas and sentinels.

    Tall and well-built, a tilt to their heads implied, yet demanded, that they deserved respect.

    They sat like kings themselves, surrounding the werewolf alpha, wearing soft leather vests and forest green shirts and breeches.

    "Take me back!" Luna said, panic ring in her eyes as Cederic reached out a hand to steady her. "I said take me back! Now! Please, Cederic!"

    "What is it?" Cederic gripped her elbow to lead her back to the alcove. "The vampire king wille out at any moment. Are you changing your mind about bing a High Priestess? I didn''t take you for a coward earlier, mydy."

    Mistaking his tighter grip to keep her trapped, she whirled to find herself tangled in the red velvet curtain that had been waiting for just this opportunity to lose itself from its ties and fall to the floor below, covering several dancers.

    For the third time in that endless day, Luna found all eyes upon her as the music slowed to a halt.

    Cederic was beside her immediately, supporting her.

    The werewolf alpha stood slowly, his blue eyes locked on hers before they trailed over her tall, slender form before him.

    Every muscle in her body tensed when she met Astarte''s gaze.

    She looked about ready tomit murder when Luna found her eyes on hers.

    Seeing Luna''s panicked eyes, Cederic flung out an arm with poise. "Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention, please."

    Cederic halted until the group could extricate itself from the heavy curtains.

    Only his hand, propelling her forward, prevented Luna from fleeing.

    "As you know, we have recruited new females into the Consortium. This youngss was one of them��a consort who aspired to be the Kingdom''s new high priestess. Everyone knows there hasn''t been one in centuries. I think this calls for a celebration along with the promation of the concubines."

    A shaky cheer rose from the crowd as they turned to Fei, the ancient High Priest, unsure of what their reaction should be.

    Fei began to stroke his beard in his seat.

    A motion Cederic knew only too well.

    Cederic cleared his throat and spoke louder. "This lovely damsel, even in her weakened condition--due to certain circumstances, has requested to join us and take her vows---"

    "Only two traits are needed to pass the test," Fei said, his deep voice reverberating throughout the room. "A woman''s virginity is sacrificed to the gods and goddesses to be a High Priestess. This female needs to be a virgin, Cederic."

    Cedric rolled his eyes. "She is a virgin consort. A war prize. Need I say more?"

    "She should have a little bit of magic running in her blood," Fei muttered.

    "Well, we will not know if we will not try."

    Stronger apuse greeted his words this time.

    "If the Book of Hecate epts her blood, then we can proceed, " Fei announced, "If she is not eligible, then I guess she will either be thrown into the dungeons or taken to the guillotine just like her predecessors who attempted to lie and break the rules."

    Cederic smirked at the old man. "I will ce a high vote of confidence on thisdy who has more of the traits you will find valuable in the future as a mentor, Fei. She will be greater than you are and exceed your expectations."

    Luna stered a smile on her face even as she hissed at Cederic out of the corner of her mouth, "You carry this too far, my lord."

    "Fei will hate you more. Trust me. It will be advantageous for you," Cederic murmured. "And pissing the warlock off is another one of my favourite things to do. I just could not let go when a chance presented itself."

    "You y with my life, Cederic," Luna whispered back. "Why would this be advantageous for me?"

    "If he hates you too much, he will leave you to your own devices sooner rather thanter. He has a habit of breathing down people''s necks. You don''t want to be monitored by the High Priest while you sleep, wouldn''t you? Annoy him as much as you can, but do not get killed for it."

    Nice advice.

    Fei stood slowly, his eyes locked on Luna as a path cleared through the crowd, a path to the centre of the room as a magic book and a staff manifested themselves in his wrinkled hands.

    Drawing a deep breath, she forced her feet to move from the tform and walk down the stairs to meet the High Priest.

    Anonymous hands reached out from the crowd to touch her arms and shoulders.

    She shied away, unsure of their motives until she realized there was wordless sympathy in the hands that propelled her to Fei.

    Stepping up on the dais, she flinched as the crowd stood one by one from their seats, vampires and non-vampires alike.

    Cederic was leisurely studying his leather boot as if this monumental event bored him.

    Fei extended his hand, and she could sense from its rigidity that failure to take it would have severe repercussions.

    Fei''s voice remained carefully neutral as he said for all to hear, "Take a Blood Oath, consort, and swear your vow of celibacy. As the High Priest and your master, your teacher, and your mentor, you are obliged to break the Vampire King''s curse in one year. Swear it on your honour as the future High Priestess."

    "As the High Priestess, I vow to uphold my celibacy for a year until I break the Vampire King''s curse and help him recover from it. I will demand that my wish be granted by the Vampire King if I fulfil my vows."

    Fei slipped a knife from his arm sheath and sliced a cut into her palms.

    The pain was bearablepared to the life she would have been living as a consort or a ything for the rest of her life.

    Freedom required sacrifices such as these, but Luna didn''t mind as long as she would get what she wanted in the end.

    She let her blood drip on the lock on Hecate''s Book of Spells.

    The heavy safety lock disintegrated and dropped onto the floor with a loud thud. A hushed silence filled the hall.

    "The goddess of magic has approved. You indeed have magic in your blood," Fei said in awe. "The staff of Delphi will be yours from now on. You can use it to predict the future with the visions it will show once it has warmed up to its new owner."

    Luna epted the staff. Dropping to one knee, Fei brought her hand to his lips. "High Priestess."

    A throaty cheer travelled through the crowd, so only Luna heard Fei''s words as he leaned into her as he asked, "And your allegiance?"

    Without giving her a chance to respond, Cederic straightened and pulled Luna away from the High Priest as he gestured for everybody to remain silent.

    "Thedy has already sworn her allegiance to me," he said clearly to everyone, well, most specifically, to Fei. "There is no need for her to repeat herself."

    +++

    Edited by RedPandaChick

 Chapter 14 - Death Wish (edited)

    <h4>Chapter 14 - Death Wish (edited)</h4>

    Fei continued to grip Luna''s hand as he pulled her to the banquet table.

    Cederic followed them and separated her from the warlock.

    Her fellow Amazon, who had been seated next to the werewolf, watched them go with a sparkle in her dark eyes.

    She could hear murmurs and low, seductive chuckles apanied by the clinks of ss.

    Cederic''s eyes were a dark invitation, daring her to walk closer.

    How foolishly impulsive of her to ept his challenge!

    Luna''s mouth dropped open in shock when she saw the vampires having a cocktail party with the harem girls.

    Well, they were civilized enough not to go for the jugr right away.

    Blinking rapidly, she took in the dim lighting.

    Then, her gaze shifted to the guests draping themselves on the couches while holding the stem of their goblets between their fingers.

    The air was thick with pleasure that Luna could almost see the slow heat building up and prating the walls.

    The food was clearly for the non-vampire guests, male and female, who stood talking,ughing, and flirting with some of the vampire nobility.

    Dinner suitsy snugly over lithely muscled Lords while the harem girls wore almost transparent silk strips of overriding themes such as red, ck, and gold with the asional daring ssh of white.

    Conversations arose as soon as the others saw her.

    Then, their eyes flicked behind her, and she almost heard the collective gasp of fear.

    A vampire approached her with a ss of red liquid in his hand.

    Luna was certain that the red liquid wasn''t wine at all.

    "Hello, mydy." The words were solid in a beautiful baritone voice, but it was his scent that was intoxicating her��rich, dark, and luscious.

    A rock dropped at the pit of her stomach. It was her gut instincts? warning her about the dangerous vampire. rmed, she drew away from the savage beauty before he could even touch her that she found herself pressed against the heat of someone.

    "My name is Jon." He smiled, shing a row of gleaming white teeth. "I hope we will get along well together."

    Heat uncurled between her legs, and she couldn''t help but react to his special scent.

    It was a unique and highly erotic blend.

    "Nice to meet you, but you feel like a threat," Luna whispered huskily, and she paused, frowning.

    She didn''t mean to make ite out that way.

    The vampire''s scent had an insidious effect on her that she couldn''t control.

    He looked down at the de now pressing against his crotch.

    He raised his head to look at her in annoyance. "Who allowed you to carry a weapon, female?"

    The vampire scent dissipated until it waspletely gone.

    "Take your weapon elsewhere, Consort. I am the right hand of the King."

    She hid the knife in discretion under her voluminous skirts, and her rushed movements didn''t escape the vampire''s intense curiosity.

    Warmth crept to her cheekbones.

    She just threatened the Vampire King''s, right-hand man.

    Cederic curled an arm around her elbow. "This is the new High Priestess, Jon, and officially the daughter of Hecate. She is not a Consort anymore. She is here under the tutge of the old man."

    "Really?" Jon raised an eyebrow. "Now that''s interesting."

    "I saw her first, so you''d better back off."

    "iming the High Priestess when she hadn''t done anything about the curse yet, are we?" Jon asked. "I think if you let thedy choose, she will choose me for sure. I''m taller and more muscr. I am big all over and can take here wherever and however she wantspared to---"

    "You can keep your big dick to yourself tonight, Jon, or I''d be happy to bust your balls for insulting me, the new High Priestess, and the military general," Luna said.

    Jon''s eyebrows rose in amusement.

    "As you wish, High Priestess."

    Giving a half-shrug, Jon wrapped her in his delicious scent for thest time before walking away from them.

    Jon''s slow smile when he saw her shiver told her he could scent her illicit response.

    It didn''t sit well with her because he might use that as a weakness.

    Once again, the effects faded with each step he took until she no longer craved his scent.

    This must be how he made women do whatever he wanted by trapping them in seduction as he did her.

    If Cederic didn''te to her rescue, what would Jon do?

    "Be careful of your words, My Lady. If you offend someone, they''ll kill you without letting you exin." Cederic''s hand was a brand on her elbow burning through his skin. "I''m not always around to babysit a witch."

    "I know, Sire. Just testing the waters." Luna murmured, watching Jon go to a small curvy blonde as he settled his hands around her waist as a mark of ownership.

    She looked up at Jon, captivated.

    It didn''t surprise her at all given that Jon was a beautiful, muscr vampire.

    He was a woman''s dreame to life with his silky ck hair and midnight eyes.

    "Testing vampires, seeing who you can offend and get away with it?" This openly amused Cederic. "You do have a death wish."

    +++

    Edited by: RedPandaChick

 Chapter 15 - Vampire King (edited)

    <h4>Chapter 15 - Vampire King (edited)</h4>

    Luna was forced to sit next to the Vampire King''s empty throne alongside three of his dered concubines.

    A submissive Lady rence and a scowling Lady Catriona were on her left while Cederic sat across her.

    Luna sat with her legs dangling off the high seat and her eyes on the sh on her palm. Her blood still dripped from the cut she made, leaving her to wonder what in the world had she done.

    Was her High Priestess vow worth it?

    The murmur at the door rose to a buzz.

    People stumbled over one another in an exciting rush, clearing a path for the king.

    Anxious faces were forced into pleasant smiles, not daring to show their fears to the vampire who made his way through their midst.

    This person is not just a man, not even a lesser vampire.

    He was the supreme High Lord in the Vampire Realm, the Vampire King, one of their ruling nobility: beautiful, lethal, and merciless.

    He was not just a vampire leader.

    He was a warrior, too, and had isted all of the vampires in this realm for thousands of years with his barrier.

    The vampire king was at least six feet tall with a muscr body and a leonine grace coiled in each movement. His strides were long and sure, and his handsome face arrested the eye''s attention. He had a chiseled face, a strong jaw, with a shadow of a beard.

    Luna''s gaze swept over him once more.

    His shoulders were broad.

    His shaggy, windblown hair was as dark as midnight, and his lush lips curved up into a wicked smile.

    His nose, cheeks, and brows were covered by a ck and silver mask fashioned after a snow tiger''s features, concealing all but the lower half of his face.

    He made her heart rate kick up a beat.

    It was as if his form had been carved by the masterful of artisans.

    The lines of his face were clean and male.

    Without a doubt, he was the most beautiful vampire she had ever seen.

    The Vampire King sat in his throne, his long fingers drumming a rhythm on the arm of his chair. "I see everyone is enjoying the celebration without me."

    A thickyer of foreboding muffled a hundred voices of people arguing into low murmurs.

    Theughter and the music halted in an instant.

    All the vampires, guests, and servants paid tribute to the Vampire King as he sat on his throne, honoring him in silence.

    The harps stood untouched, propped against the concrete walls.

    Cupbearers filed through the hall, filling goblets with wine for the non-vampire guests, fresh blood for the vampires, and ears with rumors they had heard, rumors about the curse.

    So, this was how the vampire king looked. Cold and calcting.

    He had a smile like a Cheshire cat but one wrong move, and he was ready to tear everyone to pieces.

    He was the epitome of everything that appealed to her senses.

    If Luna wanted a man, she wanted someone like him.

    All her life as an Amazon, she was stronger, faster, and unfeminine for men.

    "Bring me the blood ves."

    All eyes turned to the Vampire King as he spoke.

    The guards opened a massive mahogany door with fancy dragon carvings in them, and the blood ves were ushered inside and brought to their knees in front of him.

    The voices rose, then fell silent as he stepped off the dais and descended from the throne to pace at the lower tform, waiting for the ves to kneel at his feet.

    "These blood ves. Remember their faces when they finally ept their punishments for the unspeakable crimes theymitted." He turned to look at the crowd then resumed his pacing. "I thank the guests for their offerings."

    The Vampire King picked up one female and slid his hand up to the split of the beautiful human''s skirt.

    Luna''s eyes were fixated on the excruciating pleasure expressed on the female''s face as the Vampire King stroked the redhead''s ivory skin.

    She swallowed as the other woman moaned.

    The? Vampire King''s mouth hovered a teasing inch above the pulse on her neck, just below her ear, as he whispered a promise of ecstasy.

    Blood hit the floor, the scent making the vampires in this hall stir in a frenzy.

    Drip.

    Drip.

    Drip.

    Luna''s skin began to tingle.

    Bloodlust-ridden vampires killed viciously, and they didn''t stop until they got what they wanted.

    Drip.

    Drip.

    She heard a tearing sound straight out of a nightmare.

    The Vampire King''s parched bones swelled, filled with life, but he needed more.

    More.

    He drained them all as he licked his lips in satisfaction.

    Reaching out, the Vampire King pulled his ck leather gloves off and dropped them on the floor.

    He anchored his left hand on the nape of the female''s neck, and she shivered.

    The vampire king had a deadly touch.

    The prisoner released a sharp hiss when his long nails traced the indentations of his food''s corbone.

    Her fingers grasped his wrist with insolence and drew his hand to a halt before she pushed it away from her.

    Luna couldn''t believe what she was seeing.

    The hand that touched the Vampire King darkened.

    Luna''s eyes darted up to the Vampire King''s face in rm only to find him smirking as he watched the prisoner.

    It didn''t take long before her shoulders were also covered in that same ck, blue, and violet webbing spread throughout her skin.

    The vampire king was scaring the life out of her.

    This man...This cold man with death and cruelty in his eyes.

    Those cobalt eyes in a face that turned Humans into ves, killed beings without batting an eye, and night-dark hair which framed a look of perfect grace that had a wildness to it.

    He wasn''t pretty.

    He wasn''t handsome.

    He was not anything so tame.

    He was dangerous, strong, and deadly.

    Toote.

    He sucked the soul out of the woman as she crumpled to the ground, leaving nothing but an empty husk of the person she used to be.

    He faced the crowd, hands resting lightly on his hips. "This is what will happen to those who disobey my orders."

    Luna was furious but, at the same time, fearful of this ruthless creature.

    Her palms were so damp, and there was a thin sheen of perspiration on the side of her forehead.

    She wanted to pour out all of her hatred and spit on the Vampire King''s feet.

    All the ves brought up to him were killed.

    "Let the Blood Moon Banquet begin."

    All Luna could see now were the lush brushstrokes of sensual y--an erotic mix of male and female, the vampires, their food, and their pleasure.

    +++

    Edited by: RedPandaChick

 Chapter 16 - Cautious (edited)

    <h4>Chapter 16 - Cautious (edited)</h4>

    The banquet was held on the top floor of the castle.

    Instead of being confined to tables and chairs, the vampires and a dozen special guests, most of them men, reclined on the plush nests of tasseled pillows and satin-covered shades made of emerald, sapphire, and rubies.

    Low benches were filled with food that had been arranged beside each nest leaving more space for dancing girls to use the open area in the middle of the rectangle as an impromptu stage.

    Broad windows nked each wall of the spacious chamber.

    Their wooden shutters had been thrown open to wee in a balmy breeze along with the scent of night-blooming jasmine.

    It mingled with the enticing aromas wafting from the tters and bowls delivered by a steady pair of servants.

    The benches were crowded with bunches of plump grapes and tters of fresh figs and fruits.

    As Luna waited for this entire celebration to end, without so much as of a single problem by staying silent and eating heartily throughout the banquet, she took a carefully measured sip of the spiced wine that almost made her cough.

    But it was better than blood, wasn''t it?

    Luna had no intention of letting the liquor dull her senses.

    If she had to avoid being taken advantage of by one of these vampires,or one of the guests, who might mistake her as a High Consort or Escort, she would have to keep all of her wits about her.

    The Werewolf Alpha that had invaded the Amazon''s territory and chased Luna all the way here, however, appeared to have surrendered his wits without too much effort.

    "Come on, Wench," he sang out, already looking flushed and ssy-eyed as he caught one of the Escorts and tugged her into hisp.

    The Escort giggled as he poured wine on her cleavage on purpose, then peered through the veil that covered her nose and lips.

    As the female ducked her head and nuzzled the alpha''s neck, Luna stole a look at the jealous Astarte seated near him and caught the furious Amazon''s eyes.

    Luna raised an eyebrow and smirked at Astarte as if saying, "You betrayed the Amazons for this one pathetic werewolf?"

    That earned a scowl from her.

    Was Astarte blind?

    It''s obvious that the Alpha was despicable and he wasn''t even worth the trouble.

    But if the sex was good then who was she to judge?

    Luna could not resist lifting her goblet in a mocking toast which turned Astarte''s scowl? into an outraged glower.

    Luna turned her face away from her to confer with Lady rence, who was seated next to her, but unfortunately, she met the Vampire King''s eyes--who seemed to be blood-drunk.

    A broad smile split his handsome face as he pped in time to the music of drum, flute, and lyre while he sat on his throne.

    He had this sort of manic expression on his face as his eyes lingered on her body, making her nervous with anticipation which scared her.

    "I see the Vampire Council has already provided me with? the Concubines I need," the vampire king chuckled and the sound was like melted caramel poured over her skin.

    He was a precarious blood-drunk soul stealer.

    "You with the silver hair. Come forward and dance for me."

    Luna flinched, snapping out of her shock.

    "M-me?" She jerked and pointed the finger at herself, wondering how the hell she had ended up in this situation.

    "Do you see any other silver-haired females in this room?" the vampire king asked as he stared at her hungrily. She saw Adam''s apple bob up and down. "Come forward, Concubine."

    Oh, goddess, the Vampire King mistook her for one of his Concubines, given that she was seated next to them.

    Fei stood up. "Your highness, this female is the n��"

    "I did not ask for your opinion, Warlock. Let the wenche forward to sit on myp."

    Luna studied the Vampire King''s eyes behind the mask, which momentarily paralyzed her.

    Those irises were a work of art.

    Come to think of it.

    Those were not cobalt eyes.

    ''The are mismatched, '' she thought as she came forward, walking in his direction.

    Dark blue branched through one pupil and blended with the lighter blue of the same and the other pupil--

    She sucked in a breath.

    The other eye was the color of honey- gold or bright amber, borderline yellowish.

    Like those of a dragon.

    Or a snake.

    ''Remember not to look into the eyes of the Vampire King. Tilt your head a little bit to the left.'' Cederic''s child-like voice rang in her head. ''Talk softly, but clearly, bow when you say "Please" "Sorry". "Thank you" and "Excuse me." Finish your sentences with "Your Highness" and always curtsy whenever you see him or leave.''

    Holy goddess.

    Her first meeting with the Vampire King and she had already broken the first rule.

    Luna dropped her gaze to the floor and curtsied.

    "Your Highness, it is an honor to be graced by your presence," Luna said mechanically, copying what Cederic had suggested to her.

    She almost forgot her greeting.

    She was pathetic at being respectful and submissive.

    Nheless, she internalized Cederic''s advice, or else she could kiss her life goodbye.

    +++

    Edited by: RedPandaChick

 Chapter 17 - Seduction (edited)

    <h4>Chapter 17 - Seduction (edited)</h4>

    *********************

    THE VAMPIRE KING

    *********************

    It was bad enough that he had pissed off one female.

    The first High Priestess, who loved him, cursed him when she didn''t get what she wanted.

    Now, if he didn''t let the Blood Beast loose regrly, he would turn deadly again.

    The Vampire King reclined one elbow against the mound of cushions behind him.

    A casual observer would have sworn that there wasn''t an ounce of tension in his body.

    The ruse had been honed through thousands of years of both practice and experience.

    Even as he gave one of the dancing girls azy smile, his eyes were warily scanning the room, noting every potential threat while also making every effort to tempt his vampire and non-vampire guest''s ptes with all of the exotic delicacies at their disposal.

    After he had fed the ever-craving blood beast, he felt like himself again.

    It felt good to be back.

    He could control his faculties fully without the blood lust ruling over him.

    The Vampire King could finally touch someone without killing them.

    He had already fed that demanding beast inside of him with just enough blood and wretched souls to sustain himself in the Underworld.

    At least, the Vampire King hoped it was enough.

    Exotic and tempting beauties shimmied and twirled to the throbbing beat of the drums.

    ''Women are considered to be little more than pretty ythings to be used then discarded when a man''s attention wanders to a more enticing pleasure,'' The Vampire King thought wryly as he took another sip of his wine.

    None of the delicacies on disy this evening were more exotic or tempting than the white-haired beauty with the silver eyes dancing to the flute''s soaring melodies.

    ''This is the first time I have seen this kind of female face and form.'' the Vampire King thought. ''Maybe she is a recruit. So mysterious and ethereal.''

    The vampire king absently brought his goblet to his lips as he studied the sensual sway of her hips as if hypnotized by the suggestive motion.

    Her skirt hung on the exquisite curve of her hip bones as she danced.

    She was close to dropping it to the floor with one intense movement.

    A high slit in the fabric exposed a sh of a long pale leg every time she twirled.

    She donned a fitted bodice with sparkling jewels and flowing skirts in vibrant shades of green simr to the color of her beautiful eyes.

    Her attire was more modest than the strips of silk the other females wore, yet the sense of forbidden shrouding her aura only added to her allure.

    The small circlet of gold adorned her brow as she let her long, silver hair loose behind her back.

    A teardrop-shaped ruby dangling from a gold chain nestled between her breasts.

    Her skin seemed to sparkle due to numerous hands stroking her to increase its golden color, making her appear more attractive to the male gaze.

    Women of luxurious caliber.

    The Vampire King found it all too easy to imagine his own hands gliding over her pale silky skin, stroking oil of rose and cedarwood over every enticing inch of her.

    Unfortunately, fighting and sex were the two things that brought him to oblivion while still giving him a sense of control, but they didn''t always solve his problem.

    Sometimes, those things were not enough to satisfy the Blood Beast.

    Instead, he had to pacify it by bing blood-drunk and sucking out evil souls to maintain his life force so that he would not be taken over.

    Two powerful beings inside one immortal body.

    The Vampire King was tired of being stuck inside his body with the Blood Beast, managing its demands while trying not to fall into darkness.

    He couldn''t even remember who he was.

    Slowly, he began to die on the inside and now, over a hundred yearster, he was mostly numb.

    He had given up trying to pretend he was anything but a gue. No one was safe when he was around, and it destroyed him even more than the things he had to go through dealing with his curse. The Vampire King''s lips curved upward.

    All of that guilt was stuck in the past.

    He might not look the part, but he lived in fear of hurting his loyal subjects as the Vampire King.

    The Vampire King''s thoughts were brought back to reality when the female identally danced closer to him, bringing herself within arm''s reach, and his body reacted, humming in a carnal madness.

    The Vampire King stretched, trying to buy himself some time to alleviate his prickling skin and twitching muscles. He wasn''t surprised when it made no difference.

    His curse was making itself known again, taking him into perilous territory.

    If he didn''t get some sexual release soon after all that bloodsucking and soul-snatching, he was going to have a severe problem.

    The Vampire King spun around and yanked the female closer, grabbing her by the throat and forcing her body into his throne.

    The slender neck under his palm was warm and smooth, and he could feel the blood rushing through her veins made her pulse overwrought.

    He leaned down, covered her with hisrge physique, and drew in her sweet scent.

    Her throat wobbled under his palm as she swallowed,? "Your Highness��"

    The Vampire King shivered as goosebumps broke all over his skin from the breathless melodic tone of her voice.

    The sound of her words reverberated through his mind calming him and binding her sweetly.

    His lower body sank unto her, and his muscled thighs pinning her into ce.

    She stiffened from his bold initiative to im her right in front of the guests, but he didn''t care.

    He was too engrossed, marveling at the delicious feel of her breasts as her nipples caressed against his chest.

    She smelled good too.

    Like flowers.

    Clean. Fresh. Fruity scents.

    She pushed against him, and he lowered his full weight even more so that her hips cushioned his groin.

    Her breath came out in a rush, and her soft form wiggled against him in protest.

    "Let go of me."

    She fought him once more while he fought back a groan from the exquisite friction between them.

    He smelled her sweet, sweet arousal in the air, and it only meant one thing.

    Her anxiety and irritation had turned to something hot.

    Masculine pride puffed up her chest, knowing that she was the cause of her unconscious response.

    The realization hit, and he got hard as a diamond.

    "Lie still," hemanded in a low, seductive growl, needing to feel more of her, if not all.

    "Get off, Your Highness," she seethed, the scent of her fear reced by a sharp spice.

    He made a steady circle with his hips.

    From her soft gasps, the Vampire King knew her core bloomed from the heat.

    The erotic knowledge increased his ache like a fever.

    When the skittish consort got used to his presence,? the tension began to ease out of her as if her bones had turned into jelly as he continued his seductive motion against her lower stomach.

    Her hands flew to his waist and slid around to the small of his back.

    Her eyes widened at her sudden behavior as if she caught herself in the middle of vampire hypnosis.

    The Vampire King didn''t let her ponder for too long about her response as he brought her hips to arch against her, showing his approval and encouraging her to touch more of him.

    The effect she had on him was like a drug.

    It was like nothing he had ever felt before.

    He expressed his uncontroble lust for her and it was effective.

    Her palms moved up his spine, and it made him growl in delight.

    The Vampire king dropped his head down, so her ear was closer to his mouth.

    "I want you."

 Chapter 18 - Daze (18+ Trigger Warning) (edited)

    <h4>Chapter 18 - Daze (18+ Trigger Warning) (edited)</h4>

    Luna thought she would die on the spot by touching the Vampire King, but it didn''t happen.

    She had no idea why but her panic slowly disappeared with this new revtion.

    She took a deep breath as the hold on her throat rxed.

    Goddess, she didn''t expect that it would feel like this to have a strange male''s body press into her, overwhelming her with the sexual promise in his aura and the destructive power he could wield if he decided to squeeze her neck again or, worse, snap her body in half like a twig.

    ''What is your name, Concubine?" the Vampire King said softly.

    He slowly undted his hips when she didn''t respond, making his massive erection move in circles as it pressed against her lower stomach.

    Luna shut her eyes and tried not to wonder what it would feel like to have him inside of her while he did that.

    The Vampire King''s head drew nearer, and his lips brushed the side of her neck as light as a butterfly''s wing.

    Her lips parted from the warm sensation.? "What is your name?"

    His nose nuzzled her, and she hunched her shoulders when she felt a soft, moist stroke.

    Luna shivered.

    Goddess, it was his tongue licking up and down her throat.

    "I demand you to tell me your name as the Vampire King," he murmured. "But take your time. We can do this all night if you want."

    The Vampire King''s hips left hers. Then his thigh pushed up her legs, parting them, and brushed against her core.

    The hand from the base of her neck lowered in a sweet caress as it halted between her breasts. "Your heart is beating fast, concubine."

    "Th-that''s because you are touching me as you own me."

    "You are also doing the same. Your hands---"

    The Vampire King was right.

    Her nails dug into his biceps,? gripping him and pulling him closer.

    She immediately released him as if she had been burned by the warmth of his skin.

    The Vampire King took offense.

    He frowned.? "You can put your hands on me. You have my permission, concubine."

    Luna swallowed hard.

    Goddess, she should not even consider doing this, whatever this was.

    She was the High Priestess.

    She took a vow of virginity.

    She was in trouble.

    Luna tried to get loose and wasn''t surprised how quickly he manipted her jerky movements.

    "You are mine," the Vampire King said. "Do not resist me."

    Luna turned her head, making it known that she abhorred being in this position, but the hand between her breasts crept up her throat. He grabbed her chin as his mismatched eyes bored into hers.

    "You are beautiful, My Concubine." He whispered. "Stay with me tonight?"

    The Vampire King twined one hand in her hair and brought it upwards to take her lips within the heady wine�Cscented breath of his own, and the stiffness in her body returned. Luna shouldn''t allow herself to be seduced by the Vampire King himself.

    She shoved hard against him, not being able to move him one inch.

    The flute reached a shrill note.

    The beating of the drums thundered into a crescendo before it crashed into silence, allowing Fei''s usations to resonate through the room. "Why, my Beloved King!" His elderly voice rang like a bell as he bellowed, "That Consort has taken her vows, and you shan''t be allowed to kiss the New High Priestess."

    Catriona''s voice cut through the hall. "She''s the new Daughter of Hecate, my King! How would the Blood Beast react to her magic?"

    Language she couldn''t understand rushed out of Fei''s and the Vampire King''s lips which made her brows furrowed in confusion.

    However, his brilliant gaze was still fixed on her as his thumb gently stroked along her jawline.

    He waszy and affectionate when it came to her, but his tone became harsh and hostile when it came to Fei.

    His words felt as powerful as his body.

    Another sharp torrent of words came back from him.

    This time--it was lessbative after Fei had reasoned with him some more.

    Abruptly, the Vampire King let her go and stepped back while she dealt with the abrupt absence of his warm body over her.

    It was shocking to realize why she even longed for him in the first ce.

    "I apologize, High Priestess, for causing a scene." The Vampire King brushed her cheek with the back of his hand for thest time and then turned away from her as if nothing had happened between them. "It will not happen again."

 Chapter 19 - Hermit (18+) (edited)

    <h4>Chapter 19 - Hermit (18+) (edited)</h4>

    Yes, the night was still young, but Luna was getting old.

    Luna was sent back to her seat hurriedly after themotion with the Vampire King.

    With no one to talk to, since she was the new High Priestess and the Vampire King had threatened everyone that he would kill anyone who touched her without his permission, she was officially off-limits.

    Well, that advantage alone had caused Luna to cover her mouth to stifle another yawn as tears leaked out of her droopy eyes.

    Let it be confirmed, as the legends say...

    The vampires never sleep, especially during orgies.

    The Concubines, especially Lady rence, were already busy taking care of the Vampire King and the other nobles'' needs.

    She watched her fellow consorts pleasure the vampires in such a wild disy that it made her feel like an outsider who was looking through a spy hole.

    Females and males alike were shedding their clothes like it''s nothing.

    Like seeing naked people in the hall was as normal as night and day.

    It was very disconcerting to watch for the first time ever that goosebumps broke out on her skin.

    She cradled her head in one hand and stared into space with boredom.

    She couldn''t possibly eat until the dawn broke while the vampires surrounding her were busy mating like rabbits.

    Luna didn''t want to be a part of this any longer.

    She kicked Cederic''s legs under the table.

    She caught the military general''s eye as he continued to kiss a big-breasted,ely wench.

    The second time she did it, Cederic abruptly stopped pawing her breasts with his small hands, pushed himself out of thedy''sp, and beckoned a finger at her.

    When thedy brought her head closer, Cederic murmured something in her ear.

    It must have been scandalous since it made her squeal in delight.

    Luna remained in her seat, nk-faced, as the little menace approached her.

    "Get me out of here, Cederic," Luna whispered.

    "My Lord," Cederic gritted his teeth in annoyance. "If you want me to do your bidding, like your own personal servant, do not drop the honorifics."

    "There is something I''m curious about, My Lord." Luna smiled sharinely sweet. "As the new High Priestess of this Kingdom, and possibly the King''s savior, where do I belong in the Hierarchy?"

    "You haven''t done anything to prove yourself worthy, and here you are acting haughty because of your newly acquired status. Don''t let the power get to you, My Lady." Cederic warned. " I didn''t be the best military general overnight for nothing."

    "Oh! Enough with the threats, My Lord." Luna dismissed the conversation with a wave of a hand. "I was teasing you. I''m ecstatic to know no one will kill me without the Vampire King''s permission. I love that I can share the fact with everyone, including you�� just in case you could be nning something."

    Well, not even the military general can touch me now.

    "I could request for your death if I wanted, My Lady."

    "But who in their right mind would dare to volunteer to be the one to save the King then?"

    Cederic opened his mouth to argue, but Luna silenced him with a finger.

    "Will you wait a century or humor me instead?"

    "What do you want, Luna?"

    "Well, I just wanted to get out of here without people noticing, and so, unless you don''t want to be free of me, I could use some help from the kindest military general I know."

    "What do you want me to do?"

    "Give me my room and my private haven," Luna said. "I wanted to sleep. Besides, a virgin High Priestess should not be witness to this kind of sex game. I do not deserve this kind of ill-treatment. What if it''s going to tempt me into doing something I would regret?"

    "Not my problem, is it?" Cederic smiled a not-so-innocent smile that was out of ce from his child-like looks. "Anyhow, that old man is in charge of settling you in your chambers and to brief you on your uing mission."

    Luna sighed heavily. "Well, do you see that old hermit in this hall?"

 Chapter 20 - Initiation (edited)

    <h4>Chapter 20 - Initiation (edited)</h4>

    Luna was crazy about tagging along with Cederic in the Winter Woods.

    "Where are we going, Cederic?"

    The military general had the nerve to shrug as if he did not care.

    "You''re scaring me," Luna muttered beneath her breath.

    "I am baffled. My presence alone should be enough to scare you." He smiled. "My ego is in shambles."

    He looked me up and down as though inspecting something that could be bought and sold.

    A horse at the market or something worse.

    He chuckled softly to himself.

    "Is that a threat?"

    "Wait and see, My Lady," Cederic said. "You''ll figure it out."

    After a quarter-mile of travel in the middle of icy nowhere, Cederic raised a finger, signaling her to stop.

    Cederic appeared to be staring intently into the dead w-like branches as if he wasmunicating with someone telepathically.

    Luna''s heart leaped.

    Her horse wheeled around, and sheid the ends of her reins to her haunches.

    "Hah!" she shouted as she surged forward.

    A cloaked rider blocked the road along with three other cloaked riders behind him.

    They appeared ominous as if Cederic had called and gathered them to kill her again for being insolent and causing trouble.

    Luna''s heart raced, and her instincts told her that something was wrong.

    Turning the horse around, Luna abruptly hauled on the reins.

    "Where are you going, Girl. Tis'' me!"

    Well, it would be crazier of her not to take advantage of any moment she could to escape this Kingdom.

    She was ready to run like a devil was chasing her tail.

    "Luna!" Cederic yelled after her.

    "High Priestess!" A familiar voice.

    Older this time, Luna stopped, reined in, and looked over her shoulder.

    "Fei?"

    "Yes, it''s me, High Priestess." He trotted over to her, pulling back his hood to reveal his face.

    "What are you doing sneaking about like that?" Luna said. "You scared the wits out of me."

    "I apologize, High Priestess."

    An apology that didn''t exin at all why they had been lurking in the bushes in the first ce.

    "Where have you been?" Luna asked the question even though goosebumps still broke out of her skin. The adrenaline and panic settled down quite a bit. "Cederic and I have been looking for you for the past hour!"

    "Oh, here and there," Fei said cryptically as the pce guards followed him around, riding around her in a circle. "Preparing for your initiation as the new High Priestess."

    "Initiation of what kind, Fei?" I asked.

    "Just a simple initiation High Priestesses underwent on the first night of their mission."

    "Then, why are we all gathered here together in the middle of nowhere?" Luna frowned. "What would it take for me toplete this mission along with you, Cederic, and the whole gang?"

    "This is for your good, My Lady." Luna heard another familiar voice from one of the cloaked riders.

    It was Jon, the right-hand man of the Vampire King. "It''s better if you don''t know at first."

 Chapter 21 - Rebel (edited)

    <h4>Chapter 21 - Rebel (edited)</h4>

    It was Jon, the right-hand man of the Vampire King. "It''s better if you don''t know at first."

    Cederic quipped. "Well, it might make the new High Priestess less paranoid if she did know."

    Fei raised his wrinkled hand to shut everyone up. "Stupid girl, you forgot Hecate''s grimoire." Fei threw it in Luna''s direction.

    She caught it but almost dropped it.

    Cederic saw that and smirked.

    "Stupid girl." He mockingly repeated. "---dropping the Witch Goddess''s prized treasure under the table. Well, so much for being the new High Priestess."

    "Luna''s face went hot as she looked down the trail, mumbling as she shook her almost transparent skirts. "It''s not like I have a pocket to shove that gigantic book into here."

    "Careful with that, My Lady," Cederic muttered, chuckling. "Jon seems to be interested in what''s underneath."

    Luna hesitated and looked at Jon, and, indeed, his gaze appeared to be transfixed on her legs which were showing a bit.

    She red at him pointedly, and the bastard blew her a kiss.

    Cederic''s horse sidled tight against hers. "I think we should get moving."

    "I''m not going anywhere with you and your minions dressed like thisHigh Priest," Luna told Fei, trying to keep her voice steady. She did not want him to know that she was afraid of this initiation.

    Before Luna could react, Jon reached down and seized her horse''s reins forcefully.

    "Now, now. If all of you would please calm down. A High Priestess does not deserve this kind of treatment. Let us keep everything civilized."

    Thest time she dove into the unknown, it almost left her dead and her fate in the hands of these vampires.

    "My Lord, you don''t have to act like I am the Kingdom''s most sought-after criminal. Please tell me what we are about to do, and I will dlye with you. I do not want to be blindfolded and pushed headfirst? off? the cliffs."

    Fei nced around at the other pce guards.

    He gave a meaningful look at Jon as if they knew what to do because they had discussed their ns beforehand.

    "Trust me, High Priestess," Fei assured Luna. "Besides, Jon will be with you at all times to make sure you are safe. The Vampire King specifically ordered him to watch over you during the test. It will be painless, but Jon will not be able to help since he must keep you alive throughout the whole endeavour."

    "Alive?" Luna said. "You must be joking."

    "I am dead serious, My Lady," Fei replied. "Do you think I am funny?"

    Fei might be right about that but wrong if he thought Luna would go without a fight.

    Luna jammed her spurs into the sides of her horse, and she reared, hooves striking out and knocking away Fei''s hand.

    "Hah!" Luna screamed as she lunged down the road in a gallop. Sensing her desperation, the horse ran faster than ever before.

    But Jon''s stallion was bigger.

    If Luna stayed on the trail, he would catch her.

    Another snowy and rocky trail appeared ahead, and she swung down the path.

    Branches tore at her hair and skirts as they leapt over fallen trees, crashing through the undergrowth.

    Luna concentrated on staying low so that she wouldn''t be unseated from her horse.

    Behind them, she heard hooves thundering against the ground along with Jon''s vile threats while Cederic and Fei were rumbling in her direction, too.

    They neared a forest.

    Ahead, there was a visible break in the woods. Just beyond thaty a frozenke where the ice was so thin it would probably break if she continued to charge forward.

    She would be brought down into the water along with her horse.

    Luna screamed, deciding to risk everything again.

    Just trying to squeeze more information out of them by causing just enough trouble.

    It would be bad for the new High Priestess to die on their watch.

    The Vampire King would threaten to take their souls, especially Fei''s, alongside hers.

    Luna forgot that she was practically immortal.

    A nce behind showed Jon and the others in fast pursuit.

    Cederic was near enough for her to see the fury written on his face as one of his arms reached for her hair.

    Luna could not let him catch her.

    She applied pressure by squeezing her calves on the horse''s barrel, and it immediately responded by increasing its speed.

    She would not.

    Then a branch smashed across her chest,unching her backwards.

    Her horse disappeared from under her, and she was falling, her eyes fixed on the blood-red moon filtering through the dead branches of the trees.

    Then, nothing.

 Chapter 22 - Valley Of Kings*

    <h4>Chapter 22 - Valley Of Kings*</h4>

    When Luna opened her eyes, she saw an animal''s foreleg, her body bouncing up and down with the trotting motion of a horse.

    Where was she?

    Luna squirmed, but she couldn''t move far because her hands and feet were bound to the horse.

    Her head felt like a hundred stones were dropped on it, and she had her mouth gagged.

    Jon.

    Anger surged through her as she remembered what happened.

    Trashing and jerking from her bonds, she tried her best to get free.

    The stallion moved sideways, and she caught sight of thick forest.

    "I wouldn''t do that if I were you." Jon''s voice waspanionable, as though they were out for a ride in the gardens.

    Luna froze.

    "You''re probably wondering where I''m taking you. I''d love to say, but unfortunately, Fei had ced several restrictions on me."

    Tears of frustration ran down her forehead as Luna painfully craned her neck to look up at him.

    He smirked and patted her on the bottom. "You didn''t want to be part of the Consortium anyway, did you? Thosedies are all just highly-priced harlots, and you never struck me as that sort ofdy. Better suited to cavern than in the castle."

    Her head dropped, and Luna rested her cheek against the horse''s shoulder.

    Bile rose in her throat, and she struggled to keep her stomach contents down.

    She ate more than a lot, and if she threw up while gagged, she would choke on her vomit.

    Where is the dignity in that?

    Think, Luna. Think!

    "Here we are."

    Jon dismounted, and Luna stared at his hands as he untied the knot binding her to the horse.

    When the tension on her legs gave, Luna kicked out hard, catching him in the face.

    "Damn you!" Jon gave Luna a stern look.

    Luna slid to the ground,nding with a thud.

    Secondster, one arm caught her around her ribs, flipping her over.

    Luna''s gaze fixed on Jon''s handsome yet bloody face.

    It''s a shame it healed quickly as expected of a powerful vamp.

    Luna''s wrists and ankles were still bound �C the best she could do was roll into a seated position.

    "You can make this easy, or you can make it hard," Jon said as a matter-of-fact, wiping that sh of blood on his aristocratic nose with a clean, frilly handkerchief, the epitome of an elegant vampire.

    "Either way, you''reing with me."

    "Where?" Luna managed to make the word audible around her gag.

    He jerked a blood-smeared chin forwards, and Luna looked over her shoulder.

    Mountains loomed menacingly above them.

    Luna felt her eyes widen. It had a dark, eerie atmosphere around it like it was cursed.

    "Wee to the Valley of Kings."

    Jon left her gaping at the mountain while he led the horse over to a rough wooden corral.

    Jon unsaddled the animal while Luna wed at the knots binding her ankles, but they were tight, and her fingers were numb.

    They were metals, and the more Luna moved, the more the steel wires dig into her skin.

    Luna tried to crawl on knees and elbows, but she quickly realized it was a waste of time.

    She couldn''t move fast enough, and the dirt left marks on her leg.

    Crouched on her knees, Luna reached up and pulled off her gag.

    Taking a deep breath, Luna screamed, her voice reverberating down the mountainside.

    The horse squealed and leapt away from Jon, galloping to the far side of the enclosure.

    She called again, praying there would be someone near enough to hear or try to annoy him.

    Jon sprinted in her direction, but she managed to howl for help onest time before his fist caught her in the cheek.

    "Damn you, Jon!"

    "Fortunate of me ''cause I''m a vampire," Jon said. "We''re already damned."

    "I''ll tell the King what you did! I am the High Priestess!"

    Luna tumbled backward, and Jon grabbed her dress, hauling her upright.

    Her face throbbed, her vision hazy as she tried to hit him back, but he was good at blocking her attacks.

    "Only if you survive this." Jon released that familiar insidiously seductive scent of his as it swirled around her in a sinister caress. "By then, you are dead and useless to the King."

    Luna''s first reaction was an inevitable gasp, followed by, "I''ll tell Fei!"

    "I can do whatever I want since we are far away from the castle." Jon gave her a wicked, wicked smile. "Quite the set of lungs you have, mydy. No one will hear you. It''s just you and me here."

    "Damn you."

    "Let me just remind you, mydy, that this is entirely your choice," Jon replied. "I''m just following orders. You need to undergo initiation, and the less you fight back, the earlier this ends."

    Luna tried to crawl away, but he snatched up the rope binding her legs and dragged her down a slope, her skirts riding up around her waist.

    Sitting on her bare legs, he unbound her ankles and retied the rope to one of them.

    Then he flipped her over and untied her wrists, leaving them free.

    "You need to be able to swim. It''s the only way under the mountain." Jon tore down the front bodice of her dress, brushing her arms aside as she tried to fight him off. "Don''t worry. They were specific that your virtue remains upromised."

    "I need answers, Jon," Luna demanded. "Where are you taking me?"

    He shook his head. "You''ll learn soon enough."

    Taking hold of the rope attached to her ankle, he hauled her into the icy pool of water lying at the base of the rocks.

    Luna started to swim so that she wouldn''t drown.

    She was used to living in the mountains, onnd, a stable ground or foundation to step on all her life.

    This was the first time she swam this deep.

    She was terrified of deep bodies of water.

    She didn''t know what''s lurking beneath.

    It was not safe.

    Luna slowed down, and Jon must have noticed that because he swam back and snatched hold of her arm.

    "Pull yourself together, high priestess! The other side of this rock is a cave, and for you to get inside, you must swim down about four strides and slip under the edge. Do you understand?"

    "I''m not an idiot, Jon," Luna croaked. "But this is madness."

    Luna took a deep breath before the rope binding her ankle jerked her under as Jon dove beneath the surface. The rock was slimy under her hand.

    She swam hard even if she didn''t know where Jon was.

    Now, Luna had to find the opening because she was sure that Jon wouldn''t help her if she wouldn''t move or run out of air.

    Bubbles drifted from her lips, floating freely to the surface.

    She was desperate for breath that her lungs hurt.

    Her heart hammered faster and faster.

    Her ears popped due to underwater pressure.

    Suddenly the rock disappeared, leaving her disoriented and searching for Jon in the darkness.

    Luna found the edge of the rock.

    Following Jon''s instructions, she slipped underneath, and the water thickened for a moment, holding her in ce for a few seconds.

    Luna stood on the top of a mountain, and lightning crackled all around her.

    The rope pulled hard on her ankle, flipping her upside down.

    Jon had grabbed her arms, and her head broke the surface.

    Luna gasped a lungful of air as she found a rock protruding from the water.

    She clung to its wet edges, afraid to let go.

    It was dark in the caves.

    Luna felt the icy cold water on her body and the jaggy stone beneath her fingers.

    She inhaled the musky humid air as Jon swam towards her.

    Luna shivered, waiting.

    "Are you all right?" Jon''s voice broke the silence.

    "Damn you."

 Chapter 23 - Underground Caves*

    <h4>Chapter 23 - Underground Caves*</h4>

    Tension radiated between them, and she cursed every decision she had made that had led to this point.

    If only she''d waited at the Blood Moon Banquet and had not approached Cederic, or snuck out without telling anyone, or fought harder, or had bloody well-watched where she was riding, then maybe she wouldn''t be here.

    But Luna was here, and a morbidly curious little part of her wanted to know why. "You owe me an exnation," Luna said.

    "Aye, I reckon I do," He said. "But first, let''s have some light."

    Jon got out of the water quickly, and she weed the sound of a flint being struck, and the faint glow of me shone brighter in the darkness when he held the burning splinter to thentern.

    They were inside the caves of the Valley.

    They came through a watery entrance, and the only exit was to go through this dark tunnel.

    Jon had brought a pile of supplies and a singlentern with them, and so far, she hadn''t seen any piles of gold scattering around.

    "Well, exin," Luna said as she shivered, wrapping her arms around her icy body.

    Her clothes were torn, and the damp fabric concealed nothing.

    She didn''t expect him to answer since he was so cryptic about the whole thing, so Luna was surprised when he did.

    "Of course." Jon leaned closer to her, themp casting shadows on his face. "It is the most incredible of initiations."

    "Get to the point, Jon!"

    Jonughed as though something she had said was beyond amusing.

    Silence hung between them for a long moment. "Do you think this is some jest, or have you lost your mind?"

    Her voice echoed through the cavern. Mind... mind... mind... mind...

    "That is the best part." He leaned closer to her. "You are here to destroy monsters... Just like in the myths and legends: they''ve been living here under the mountain this entire time."

    "Why do I--? How do I kill them?" Luna asked, discreetly taking stock of her surroundings.

    The pooly directly behind her.

    If she caught Jon off guard and managed to get into the water, she might have a chance.

    Luna could hide in the trees until nightfall, just like what she did before.

    She wished it was that simple.

    "Aye," Jon said, his eyes narrowing. "You use Hecate''s grimoire, find the right magic spell, and kill the enemies yourself."

    "I don''t think that is as easy as you make it sound," Luna whispered. "Do you have any weapons I could use, perhaps? Preferably, a wooden stake?"

    Jonughed. "What? So you could stab me to death?"

    "For the monsters, I mean. They''re rogue vampires, right?"

    "They are not vampires, mydy. They are monsters. It''s hard to describe. Please see them face-to-face. You only use your mind to kill the monsters. I guess you could learn to harness your abilities now since Hecate has epted you at the ceremony. It''s a matter of you will be able to wield it or not. Effective magic usuallyes out during life-and-death situations. I guess you''re used to it already. You always stick by Cederic, so I guess that made you are a daredevil in your own right." Jon shrugged."His Majesty lives on the other side of this tunnel. This is his haven, where he hides away most of the time. The castle is quite boring. And he had to have a ce where he could avoid his Concubines and the Royal Court."

    That sounded ominous.

    Luna didn''t like the sound of it at all.

    How could she destroy monsters with her mind?

    She knew how to fight without weapons, just her bare hands,

    But only her mind?

    "His Majesty? So he owns these monsters I''m going to kill?" Luna leaned back to the cavern with a maniacalugh, and she quickly realized the stone floor was sloped.

    If she threw her weight backward, she would fall into the water. "Really?"

    Cederic was the one who could manipte or destroy things with his mind alone.

    Why isn''t he with her right now instead of useless Jon, who had his useless seductive scent all over her causing trouble on her concentration?

    "It''s just you in this battle," Jon added. "I just watch and make sure you''re alive."

    "What if I''m injured? Do I fail the test then?"

    "We get you out of here, we heal you, and then we start training again until you know how to use your mind to perform magic spells. If you give up and break the High Priestess contract, you die by the guillotine."

    Luna had her mindset towards the pool, but Jon had a tight grip on her leash, and she was no match for a vampire''s strength.

    "Help! Cederic!" Luna''s voice echoed off the water and the rock, but her screams were futile.

    "You are as stubborn as a mule. You are desperately in need of a master who disciplines you and breaks your will." Jon pped her hard. "Shut your mouth, or I''ll gag you again."

    "I''m not a stubborn or a coward. Cederic should have been here instead of you." She stopped herself from spitting on Jon badly and endured the sting on her cheek.

    It might not end well for her.

    He''d be much of a great help than Jon.

    Jon pointed towards thentern on the ground and said, "Pick that up, and start walking."

    She followed Jon''s order as she rubbed her cold hands together to get rid of the numbness.

    "Where are these monsters?" Luna asked. She needed to kill the monsters before killing Jon by staying alive. "I might as well get started."

    Jon''s eyes reflected the orange glow of the me, and he licked his lips in anticipation. "Now this I have to watch."

 Chapter 24 - Monsters*

    <h4>Chapter 24 - Monsters*</h4>

    Abyrinth of tunnels and dead ends lie at the deepest part of the caves.

    The floor was an uneven carpet of boulders and rocks, riddled with cracks that could break ankles or swallow them whole.

    Luna took each step with caution while a cold vampire walked behind her to avoid breaking her neck.

    Her wet shift had clung to her body, and it didn''t provide any warmth at all.

    She held thentern, and the lights had cast strange shadows on the rock.

    It made her heart race as she thought about monsters attacking them out of the blue until she was convinced her heart would beat itself out of her chest.

    At each intersection, countless rough markings were carved on the stone.

    Some were clear directions or warnings, but others were meaningless symbols.

    Luna needed to know how to find her way for better chances of escaping.

    "Who made these?" Luna asked, her voice seeming loud after the long silence.

    She kept her tone quiet and non-confrontational so as not to offend Jon''s hot temper.

    "I made these codes; therefore, I am the only person who can save you and keep you safe." Jon tapped one of the strange symbols with his hand.

    "I made my marks leading the way I deemed the fastest. Or safest." He amended. "I have lived long enough, and my memory seems to be failing me. Sometimes I wonder if my memories had been real or just my imagination. Better to write the directions to be sure."

    ''A vampire who confesses that he can''t differentiate his real memories from the imagination?''

    Jon was a threat.

    Luna must keep her guard up with this vampire.

    There was an arrow next to a symbol carved into the stone pointed to the right heading towards a narrow tunnel.

    Luna wasn''t even sure if she could fit in there.

    Arrows and other symbols pointed to the path on the left side, which seemed wide open and a lot safer than the other one. "Why not the other way?"

    Jon shook his head and tapped two wavy lines chalked below the markings. "Cerberus had been sighted down that path. Or their leavings, at least."

    "I''m going to kill Cerberus?" Luna''s voice shook with anger. "Wouldn''t that put me into a mess with Hades?"

    The uneasy expression on Jon''s face did not ease her fear.

    "Cerberus only guard the caves here, and they would not do any harm as long as we avoid them, but they could be a distraction," he said. "The real enemies are the Myrmidons, Nagini''s, and the Minotaurs. They are the monsters."

    "Those monsters? This is ridiculous." Luna said shrilly. "If we ever got close enough to spot one, it would be unlikely I would like to tell the tale much less kill these immortal monsters with untrained magic."

    "Aye. Even we, vampires, are afraid of these monsters." Jon pointed towards the right. "The tight spaces are safer. Let''s stick to the path where we don''t meet any Cerberus."

    Luna shone the light down the left passageway, but she couldn''t see what was beyond.

    She wouldn''t be able to tell if the passage was safe.

    Jon didn''t assure her if indeed there weren''t Myrmidons, Minotaurs, or worse lurking beyond.

    With her back against the wall, Luna squeezed into the crack reluctantly.

    They moved slowly, and Luna was starting to get exhausted.

    The crevice had remained tight for a long time.

    When the tunnel finally opened up into a bigger space, Luna sank on the damp rock with relief.

    Jon''s face wasn''t as filthy and exhausted as Luna''s when he emerged. Luna wished she was born a vampire.

    "We need to keep moving," Jon said as he passed a bottle of water to her. "The Vampire King is expecting us."

    Luna didn''t find the reminder particrly motivating at all.

    "Do any vampires ever visit this ce, you know, if they''re feeling a bit bored and curious about where the Vampire King hides during the morning hours?"

    Jon raised a curious eyebrow at her. "No one knows or can tell anyone about this ce - Fei and the Vampire King has ensured that. If you made it to the Valley of Kings to that secretir where the Vampire King resides, and if they figured that you are the high Priestess quick enough so they wouldn''t kill you on the spot, the King will make you swear magic oaths so that you would keep the secret. It''s why I couldn''t tell you anything until we got under the rocks. Witches and warlocks are serious when ites to oaths and contracts. Don''t take too kindly to those who break their word. I only knew a few people who managed to get to the other side safely. We should move right along."

    "The Vampire King." Luna sat rooted, refusing to move. "Does he know how to summon magic?"

    "Aye. "He''s a collector of all kinds of magic or hexed items all centuries and has been trading with the Fae longer than the others." Jon tossed up his hands in exasperation. "He learned everything by himself with the help of Fei, pore out every material heid his eyes on just to get rid of his curse, and with no progress at this point."

    "Trading what?"

    "Books, of all things. The Faes are good at handling their ancient text and scrolls."

    "And the Faes? What did you give them in exchange?"

    "We didn''t give them anything." Jon shrugged. "We kidnap one of their brethren, especially their nobles, ask for the books and magic scrolls the Vampire King needs and then we release them. If the King was feeling generous, we give them gold. Goblins and trolls love their gold. And if they don''t aplish what they were asked of, they are thrown and sent here, to the Myrmidons and the Minotaurs. Like the Vampire King, these monsters need to be fed, too."

    How do you kill these Greek monsters which regenerate by themselves?

    They were immortal.

    Luna would not be able to kill them with magic.

    She only read about them when she visited the sinking Library of Alexandria.

    They are indestructible; these monsters have no weakness whatsoever.

    This was a suicide mission, and she would serve as nutrition to these starving monsters.

    Does Fei want to get her killed without being given a chance to show her abilities?

    Why would they bring her here unless they want her dead?

    Fury overtook her fear of punishment.

    Her heelsshing out, Luna caught Jon in the knees and watched as he toppled over the edge of the rock and out of sight.

    Unfortunately, Jon still had his grip on the rope, and Luna''s ankle was dragged forward until her feet dangled over the edge.

    "You just don''t give up, do you?" Jon sat about five feet below her in a pool of guck, and a putrid stench rose to assault her nostrils.

    He wasn''t alone.

    "Looks like you have a friend over there," Luna said, pointing at the skeleton lying on the floor next to Jon. "It''s a shame that you didn''t share a simr fate."

    Jon looked down nonchntly.

    Curiosity might soon kill this cat as he gave the body a closer examination. "Shine thentern down this way, Luna. I can''t believe I''ve never noticed him before."

    Luna obliged because she had no other options.

    Jon would pull her over the edge if she didn''t obey his words.

    Judging from the bones, the man had been dead for some time now. Her skin broke out into a fresh set of goosebumps. "What is that, slime?"

    "Dead vampire treasure hunters." He sounded nervous, agitated. "Nagini''s. I guess they''re around here somewhere."

    "How many times have you been this way?" Luna asked, her mind turning to the real fear that they might be lost, and he didn''t know it.

    There was no chance to respond before the cavern thundered with a strange roaring noise.

    The echoes faded, reced by the wet swish of something slithering in their direction.

    Somethingrge.

    Jon''s terrified eyes met hers, and he whispered, "Run!"

 Chapter 25 - Stranger*

    <h4>Chapter 25 - Stranger*</h4>

    They crawled under the Valley of Kings''sbyrinth of tunnels.

    Luna''s foot hit a loose rock as they wriggled across boulders and her ears strained to hear the tell-tale movement of the monster, hunting at their heels.

    Whenever Luna thought they had escaped, they would round a corner, and the slithering sound of the monster would make them halt in confusion, almost as though it was toying with them.

    Should they retreat or go the other way?

    They would have certainly lost their way if not for the etched directions on the walls, serving as their guide. Luna crawled with exhaustion, hoping the monster was tired, too.

    Luna was panting and gasping for breath while Jon examined the direction of the arrows.

    They stood at the centre where three tunnels converged.

    "This way," Jon whispered. "Just a little bit more, and we will see a narrow hole. I have distracted the monster as much as I could by muting our scents. Get down and crawl that tight shaft. Once you''re through, the monster wouldn''t be able to follow."

    "RRAAAUUUGGHHH!"

    Luna went ahead in the direction he pointed, but Jon had pushed her aside and went in first.

    "You''re taking too long," Jon growled as he reached the tight bit, fell to his stomach, and squirmed his way in.

    "RRAAAUUUGGHHH!" Triumph thundered in the monster''s voice as it drew closer.

    "Hurry up! Jon. Move faster. " Luna whispered and turned to look back at the path they have taken.

    Only Jon''s feet stuck out of the narrow tunnel now.

    Luna dropped to her knees, ready to dive in.

    "RRAAAUUUGGHHH!"

    Jon''s feet disappeared, and Luna nced behind her onest time.

    Thentern''s light caught the face of the monster as it advanced around the corner.

    The monster was a white and glistening serpent, and out of its mouth shot a long, whip-like tongue. It was the first time she had witnessed a Nagini.

    Thentern flickered out as it smashed at her feet.

    Luna screamed and scrambled into the hole.

    She took her small pack off and shoved it ahead of her before diving inside.

    Luna cursed as she followed Jon crawling before her in the dark and the swish of the Naginiing up from behind them.

    "Hurry! It''sing!"

    Luna crawled faster and pushed Jon forward, praying that her ankles did not stick out of the hole they went in for the monster to catch hold.

    She was uncertain how far into the tunnel they had progressed.

    "RRAAAUUUGGHHH!"

    They wormed their way forward, and the tunnel shuddered as the creature forcibly flung itself into the rock.

    Luna shrieked as she shoved against the back of Jon''s legs, trying to get through the tight hole.

    Jon had finally reached the other side and pulled her out of the tunnel, and it made her stop panicking.

    Luna was not safe, she thought.

    Not only was she taking part in this dangerous initiation, but Jon was also too stupid to get her safely to the other side or get her into the safe zone for the meantime while she practised some spells that would aid her in this journey so she could pass the test.

    It was all for nothing.

    Luna was going to die for nothing.

    "I hate you," Luna croaked. She swallowed hard and repeated herself. "I hate you, Jon."

    The sentiment still wasn''t enough, so she howled the words. "I do not feel safe at all. I was not given any weapon except this useless witch''s grimoire inside the pack! Give me a sword, at least."

    "Why don''t you practice summoning a sword with your mind? You have already embodied the witch goddess'' powerful blood as her chosen daughter. If you want to get out of here, it will be all up to you. It''s not like I take pleasure in strolling where monsters reside." His voice was emotionless as he picked up the end of the rope still attached to her ankle. "Where''s themp?"

    "I lost it somewhere at the end of the tunnel�C feel free to go get it. I pray that you would get eaten by the Nagini." The thought of the creature devouring him didn''t sit well with her.

    She would be alone in the dark, with no sense of time or direction.

    She didn''t like to be underground, trapped in this tight, dark space with no way out.

    The chances of finding her way out were non-existent because it was Jon who knew where to go.

    "Idiot! I might sense things in the dark but, what about you? "Jon groaned. "What if we got separated?"

    "That would not ever happen if you weren''t nning to leave me, right?"

    "Hmm." Jon trailed off as if he was thinking the same thing.

    Ditching her.

    "So, you were nning something."

    Jon fumbled in his backpack for something, and she looked around inplete darkness.

    Or maybe, it wasn''tplete anymore.

    In the distance, a silvery glow pulled her in: moonlight.

    Unless, if it was another bloody monster!

    "Drop the rope," Luna whispered.

    "What?"

    "I said, drop the rope."

    Water dripped.

    Luna''s breathing was even as Jon grew still.

    A whisper of breeze chilled her skin, and the rope around her ankle went loose.

    The light was upon them before she even had the chance to run.

    Luna covered her eyes because she wasn''t so used to it.

    Someone else was in the tunnel.

    "What the..." Jon started to say, and then with a grunt, he tackled her from behind. "Don''t move. I sense another more dangerous entity approaching that isn''t like us."

    "Help!" Luna gasped, but Luna couldn''t draw breath beneath his bulk.

    Squeezing an elbow underneath her, she pushed up, gasped in a mouthful of air, and screamed.

    Luna hit his face again and got up on her knees so she could kick him hard in the stomach.

    The wind came out between the seized-up muscles in his abdomen.

    Luna tried to turn over to fight, but Jon pummeled her skull, sending a wave of dizziness through her.

    ck and green dots shed in her eyes, and abruptly his weight disappeared.

    With a muffled "Oof!" and a groan of pain, Jon fell to the ground next to her.

    Every inch of her ached, but she didn''t think anything was broken.

    She could still run.

    "I do not know where this ce is." The stranger drawled, confused.

    Luna gazed up at the man standing in front of her as she raised to her knees, his figure outlined by moonlight. "Help me!"

    Luna pleaded, tugging on the silken fabric of his cloak. "Help me, please. This vampire intends to get me killed."

    "Is that so?" His voice had the lyrical tone that belonged to royalty, a little bit familiar, although she was surprised to find a nobleman in this damned caves just for the sole purpose of treasure hunting.

    Luna was in no position to judge, though.

    She would take assistance where she could find it.

    She crawled on her hands and knees, putting the man between Jon and her.

    Anyone had to be better than Jon.

    Her eyes fixed on the glowing orb floating through the air of its own ord, fluttering around and dazzling her with its brightness.

    "How badly are you injured, mydy?"

    Luna reached up to touch the light, but she changed her mind and withdrew her hand instead.

    That''s when she realized the stranger had called her ''mydy''.

    Jon whispered carefully as he stared at her, and it sent shivers down her spine, "Who are you talking to, Luna?"

 Chapter 26 - Fallen*

    <h4>Chapter 26 - Fallen*</h4>

    A soft snort of annoyance caught her attention, and Luna looked up.

    The man was tall and lean, and a fierce intellect gleamed in grey eyes.

    His eyes beneath their thick, dark brows were his mostpelling feature.

    Their luminous depths seem to shift from grey to silver and then back again depending on the light.

    He also had the most exquisite face, sculpted jaw and cheekbones, and a full mouth.

    His tousled hair was such a deep, velvety brown that she nearly mistook it for ck.

    He wasn''t human.

    His pale skin was too wless, his motions too smooth and controlled.

    Luna''s skin prickled with a sense of wrongness.

    The man had his arms crossed and was watching her.

    "This isn''t where I am supposed to be. As much as I would have liked to see an almost naked woman in my line of sight, I prefer my naked woman in my bed in a white shift, not bruised and crouching in the dirt." His silver eyes locked with hers, and Luna shivered at the intensity in them. "What is your name, mydy?"

    "I am Luna, my lord." She answered, her lips trembling, as she turned to him. "What about you?"

    "I am not usually in a position to introduce myself." He looked away from her and shook his head in amusement. "My face alone would have given it away, but if you insist you don''t know who I am, I used to be a fallen angel before. Now I am one of the seven Princes ruling Hell, the Archdemon of Lust."

    Luna opened her mouth as if she was about to say something offensive but decided against it. She watched him warily instead, "Then what are you doing here, my lord��err��I mean, I don''t know what to call you. What is a Prince of Hell like you doing here?"

    "I have been asking that a lottely. You don''t look like a demon, and you have a vampirepanion." His silver eyes snapped back into hers. " I''m not in Hell right now. How about you? What are you doing here?"

    "I said, who are you talking to?" Luna jolted out of a fascinating conversation when Jon demanded as he threw his arms in exasperation.

    "No one," Luna answered Jon, and she wished he would stop interrupting.

    "I have to know, or we will be in much more danger." Jon looks concerned, but in the blink of an eye, he froze.

    He was frozen. He wasn''t moving at all.

    Luna furrowed her brows in confusion as she approached Jon.

    He was petrified as if he had seen Medusa, but thankfully, she can still move.

    Even the Prince of Hell was not affected by this magic.

    Luna reached out to touch Jon''s face. She almost screamed when a whole bursting with white light materialized, and her hand was almost sucked into it.

    She pulled her hand back in a panic until shended ungraciously on her butt.

    She exhaled an anxious breath.

    What the goddess was that?

    Luna drove her fingers through her long hair and stared at the puzzle in front of her.

    "Demon," Luna asked nervously. "What did you do to him?"

    "He was annoying you, this vampire. " He frowned in thought as he strode carefully towards them. "I have this uncontroble urge to kill him. Should I do the honour?"

    "No. No. Don''t." Luna stood between Jon and the Prince of Hell in case he was going to do something bad. "He''s an important person. He''s the right-hand man of the Vampire King. You shouldn''t."

    "Hmm. Vampire King, you say? Oh, how stupid of me not to notice."

    The Prince of Hell noticed Hecate''s grimoire in the open pack she was carrying, and heughed hysterically as if it was some inside joke.

    Luna felt a sudden fear as sweat trickled down her spine.

    His crazed silver eyes were hard to miss. "Perhaps, you''re the recruit in this High Priestess initiation. Well, too bad, you summoned the wrong creature."

    Luna eximed, covering her mouth with a hand. "What? I didn''t summon you."

    "You just summoned me, girl." The Prince of Hell said drily, then he added, "Your voice is familiar. Your cry for help is not something I can''t ignore entirely, and I''m not too fond of it. You must have been desperate."

    "Then, are you here to help me? "Luna asked nervously.

    She was looking for a w, something logical that would make the situation seem a little less dire. "You said I summoned you. Are you familiar then? Am I your new master?"

    "I admire your boldness for considering an Archdemon of Hell to be your servant who would do anything you wanted and fulfil your wishes."

    The Prince of Hell jerked her around to the far side of him and pushed her backward along the ledge.

    Her knees were trembling so badly that she had to reach out and rest a hand on his shoulder, or else she would topple off the edge.

    The fallen angel''s hands circled her waist, and she willingly let him pull me closer so that she could regain her bnce.

    "But you forgot this simple fact that I kill anyone who would attempt to summon me. You''re just a little girl. You are an easy target. I will kill you just like I did to the others." The Prince of Hell looked her up and down with that cynical smile of his. "Time to ept that you will die tonight."

    "Stop." Luna crossed her arms and scowled. "I will never seek to control anyone, much less the Prince of Hell. I didn''t summon you, okay?"

    "You didn''t summon me intentionally? "The Prince of Hell raised a perfectly-shaped eyebrow as he demanded in a loud whisper. "Now that''s something new. It''s not like I came in my own free will."

    "Just help me get out of here, and I will never have to bother you again." Luna wiped a weary hand across her face. " For as long as I shall live."

    "I am furious right now, summoner. " The Prince of Hell''s hands balled up, and his teeth clenched from the fury emanating from him. "I already told you I am not your ve. Should I let him kill you instead?"

 Chapter 27 - Compulsion*

    <h4>Chapter 27 - Compulsion*</h4>

    Should I let him kill you instead?"

    The Prince of Hell disappeared and materialized behind Jon as he blew a breath behind Jon''s neck.

    His breath was as dark as his soul. "I will let you off the hook, for now, little girl. If you had summoned me again, whether it''s intentional or idental, then you''re a dead, dead girl with no second chances. I will take your severed head as a trophy."

    Luna tried not to shudder at the thought of her severed head as she heard his mirthlessugh once again.

    He de-materialized out of thin air just before his floating lights winked out.

    Jon paused and stared into nothing for a whole breathless minute.

    Luna''s heart was beating loudly in her ears as she waited for Jon''s reaction.

    Did the demon control him now?

    "Who are you talking to?" Jon''s eyes turned silver and wereser-focused on her.

    He abruptly moved to kick her, and it caught her off guard.

    He kicked so hard andnded so many blows that it made it difficult to defend herself and recover.

    He did it again and again.

    As she curled up and turned her back on him to avoid his attacks, Jon stomped her instead.

    She brought her leg up to protect her side, but that only made him attack her more that she felt her forearm snap.

    Luna had given up and didn''t bother dodging his blows anymore, letting him kick her to death.

    He backed off and tied her with the rope like a lifeless doll.

    Luna rolled around on the ground, struggling to find a position that would make it possible for her to breathe with several broken ribs and her hands tied behind her back.

    Wheezing and writhing, she finally kneeled and bent forward with her forehead resting against the icy ground. "Stop it, Jon. You are not yourself. You are supposed to keep me safe."

    "Tell me who he is."

    "No one," Luna whispered as she spat out blood on his leather shoes. "I was hallucinating."

    "I shouldn''t have kicked your middle so much because now you can''t yell for help, and that''s what we need to expose this dangerous spirit. So silly of me." Jon knelt next to her folded form, ran his finger through her hair, and grabbed a few tresses.

    He will pull her scalp out at any given moment, Luna told herself.

    "You are exceedingly quiet," Jon sighed as he began to y with the chosen lock, and the exposed skin of her nape crawled. "That is a problem. How will this saviour of yours listen to your call if you don''t holler and yell like you''re supposed to do earlier?"

    "OH, SOMEONE SAVE ME." Jon momentarily changed his voice into a higher pitch before immediately switching back to his normal voice. "Just like that. Go on. Try it."

    Luna shook her head.

    Jon leaned over her, putting his lips right up against the cringing skin of her neck.

    She breathed his seductive breath across her scalp and the backs of her ears.

    Even in the scouring cold of the cave, Luna knew Jon was not acting normal.

    He was as extreme as the demon that controlled him.

    Jon acted more insane and sadistic as the seconds go by.

    First, he wanted her to shut the fuck up, and now he wanted her to yell?

    If Luna gets killed in this underground cave, he didn''t have to deal with any of these in the future.

    It must be so easy for him to say that he tried his best to help the High Priestess to seed, but, s, she has a doomed fate and got eaten up by the Nagini or Myrmidons instead of telling the King he is beating her up like an asshole until she can''t move.

    "Yell," Gritting his teeth, he said quietly.

    He sounded sane, and to Luna, that made was even terrifying than before. "Call out to them. If you don''t, I will kill you."

    Luna had no intention of summoning that dark and twisted Prince of Hell back.

    Who knows what he would do to her again?

    Them?

    Luna said between panting breaths. "I won''t fall for it."

    "You''re trying my patience," Jon said. His punches and kicks had probably caused internal bleeding, but she didn''t feel the strength of a demon behind those blows.

    Luna looked at the knuckles on his left hand that had stricken her and saw that vampire blood oozed out from the deep scrapes on his fist as it slowly healed.

    It made her smile.

    Even if she was beaten up and having a hard time breathing, Jon had most likely broken his hand in the process.

    Luna hoped they were fucking permanent.

    "Call out to them," Jon pleaded, like all of this was for her good.

    "Your salvation is so close." Jon twisted his fingers to tighten his grip and ripped the lock of hair out of her head, tearing off an inch wide of her scalp with it.

    Luna couldn''t stop a high-pitched screech from escaping the back of her throat.

    Jon grasped another lock of her hair��one that was lower and attached to even more sensitive skin.

    Luna saw blood from the back of her head streaming to her neck and staining the ground below her face.

    Jon sounded like he was tired of her not following what he asked her to do. "Call out to these spirits now and save what''s left of your skin."

    The angry bursts of power wrapped around her were blissfully fiery as she focused on her wish with will and determination.

    Finally, Luna had a grasp of something steel-hard and cold in her hand.

    She finally summoned the scythe of her dreams.

 Chapter 28 - Rebirth*

    <h4>Chapter 28 - Rebirth*</h4>

    Luna hefted her scythe confidently and swung it over Jon''s head.

    It was a miracle how she was able to manifest this kind of weapon.

    It was the first time she ever saw it, and there was no time to examine its craftsmanship when she was busy fighting for her life.

    She knew just enough about fighting to know that she was watching a perfect warrior.

    Jon was stronger, faster, and more patient than any fighter she had seen.

    Luna darted in to wound him, and he just let it leave again without concern.

    Luna was moving quickly, trying hard not to grimace and clutch her injuries.

    He leaked red fluids from several ces, but Luna already knew that he couldn''t be killed that way since his wounds would heal automatically.

    The possessed Jon was waiting for her to get tired.

    It''s either she pulled his heart out of his chest or cut his head off with her scythe.

    At least, she got the upper hand.

    She had a weapon.

    Jon doesn''t have one.

    Except for his fangs and ws.

    Incensed with frustration, Luna fought.

    Nobody could probably make out their separate shapes in the dark.

    Jon was mechanical and urate.

    Every motion is begun andpleted with surgical precision.

    Luna aimed at Jon''s neck to cut his head off once again, but he dodged it, hitting him fortunately in the front chest.

    Still, the impact sent him flying. She made a move to go after Jon while he was caught off guard.

    Still bleeding from the chest, Jon faltered and took another wound to the stomach.

    As he fell back, Luna saw her moment and attacked him to the ground.

    He tried to get up and fell back down with a grunt, blood pouring out of him rmingly fast.

    He was beginning to weaken.

    Good.

    Luna adjusted her grip on the deadly scythe and faced him grimly.

    She thought she''d felt rage before, but this was different.

    She thought about how helpless she had felt when she was tied up andpletely at Jon''s mercy while he beat her.

    This demon inside him, he''d probably done that to countless thousands of people, she thought.

    Now she had to put him down.

    It was her responsibility to make sure it never tortured anyone else.

    "See youter, Jon." The only sound she could make was a harsh, grating whisper. "Burn in hell."

    Luna saw Jon smile, and a grey cloud moved out of his mouth and went swiftly inside hers.

    She felt a panicky thrill radiate out from her belly and shoot down her arms and legs.

    Her skin crackled with desperate static, but she didn''t have enough strength to fight back over the possession and win, but neither of them wanted to quit as they battled for domination, and now the demon was free again in her body.

    Luna''s circumstances have loosed this monster into the world.

    With the sheer power of her mind, she let her scythe disintegrate, reced it with a bejewelled bronze dagger, and stabbed the de directly into her heart.

    Ignoring the fiery pain it caused her, she managed to flop over onto her broken body and lost her consciousness.

 Chapter 29 - Hecate*

    <h4>Chapter 29 - Hecate*</h4>

    Luna was suddenly hovering at the bottom of a dark rift while she panted with exhaustion, clinging to it with all her might.

    A hundred hands came through the rocks and ice and grabbed different parts of hers.

    Luna screamed as an incalcble number of writhing hands closed over her, calling her name repeatedly in the different pitch of voices while they dragged her into the dark pits of Tartarus.

    The evil souls'' clutches tangled in her long silver waves.

    When she turned back behind her, she could see them fisting her hair to grab onto her tighter.

    Luna jerked her head back, trying to pull it free, but it only caught more.

    All the dark spirits around her were closing in on her, creaking and groaning as they bent at her.

    It felt like ws running down her back.

    Gritting her teeth, she steeled herself for whatever attack they might have.

    But abruptly, everything stopped.

    The scurrying creatures in her peripheral vision had disappeared.

    The dark spirits groaned as they fell back into ce into the hellish depths of Tartarus.

    Luna peered out, looking uncertainly down at the chasm.

    Luna waited for a beat, suspecting some treachery.

    When there was none, she used her hands to guide her up the chasm wall and got to her feet.

    Her body began to tremble violently.

    Luna''s vision blurred as she got higher, sobbing with fatigue and pain.

    Was this a dream?

    Everything had fallen silent around her.

    Nothing groaned or breathed. Even the wind had stopped.

    She did not know where she was at this point.

    Luna felt like she was going crazy.

    She was not in the caves with Jon, and she wasn''t bleeding to death from stabbing herself in the chest.

    She was unconscious before this.

    Was she imprisoned in her mind?

    She doesn''t feel possessed by a demon.

    Schizophrenic.

    Who was she?

    Where was she?

    What was real?

    She was dangerously losing her grip on her mental state.

    She was about to vomit from all this confusion.

    The sound of pping wings echoed off the forest trees around Luna.

    She looked back to see a dark creature descending toward her.

    It appeared to be a simple crow at first, but the closer it got to her, the more she saw how little it resembled any winged creature she had seen before.

    The monster had a long bony beak filled with tiny, jagged teeth, and at the bend in its wings were leathery hands with long, sharp ws.

    A twitching, serpentine tail flogged the air, and dark, mangy fur covered its body in ce of feathers.

    Luna ran as the horrendous beast flew at her, its voice sounding like a cross between a caw and a growl.

    She covered her head with her arms when it got close enough to beat its horrible leather wings at her.

    She arched in agony as its ws scraped at the back of her clothes and its talons digging into her flesh.

    It crouched on the ground as if it meant to pounce on her and eat her.

    It looked even more monstrous face-to-face, its snake-like tongue flicking out of its mouth.

    Luna immediately pulled her feet back just in time.

    The creature folded its wings and then put its hands on the ground to stand on all fours. It narrowed its eyes and leapt at her.

    Luna summoned and swung her scythe at it, trying to hit its head, but before it even hit the ground, the other ones flew at her.

    She swung her weapon desperately over her head, trying to hit as many as she could.

    As she stepped backward, ws and beaks stung at her arms and neck.

    "Be gone with you!" A voice echoed from the forest behind Luna, followed by a weird crackling sound.

    The creatures started to scatter, to squawk, and to hiss their disapproval, but they didn''t seem willing to fight the blue sparks shing around her.

    A few of them lingered, hoping they still stood a chance at getting a piece of her, but the blue sparks snapped out again.

    Finally, the monsters flew away, their tails pping angrily behind them.

    Luna turned around to see her saviour.

    At first, Luna could only see the dark brown cloak covering her and the slender arm holding a twisted rod.

    Luna had seen one before.

    She would recognize that staff anywhere.

    That is the staff of Delphi.

    The only staff she had seen during the High Priestess Ceremony.

    This one looked far more knotted and less elegant than the one the High Priest Fei had possessed, but it had done the trick.

    "You can now rest, priestess. You have suffered enough. I see your spirit had arrived in the Underworld on your own in just a short time." Hecate said calmly, and Luna closed her tired eyes in relief.

    Luna finally let her guard down.

    She was safe now.

    Hecate whispered proudly. "You have passed my test."

    Just as Luna''s strength failed her again, a pair of lovely hands reached and hauled her up into the pink air of a new dawn.

 Chapter 30 - Grimoire*

    <h4>Chapter 30 - Grimoire*</h4>

    Luna gasped a lungful of air as if she was submerged underwater, drowning.

    She was about to get up, but she was held back aggressively to a small rectangr pool, a coffin which only one person could fit by a dark-skinned woman, wait--this was Hecate, her long sharp nails were wrapped around her neck.

    Luna''s whole body was submerged in purple liquid and pink lotus surrounded her.

    She didn''t dare breathe andid still.

    "Calm down, priestess." Hecate smiled, her lips blood red. "I''m not going to hurt you."

    She was wearing a turban, adorned with glittering diamonds.

    Silver and gold hoops were hanging around her ears and neck.

    Hecate''s sari was decorated with bronze feathers all over.

    She was glowing like the sun, and her almond dark eyes were soulful and held a pearl of deep wisdom within.

    "Goddess Hecate," Luna whispered.

    "It was a miracle that you still managed to call and reach out to me before the evil spirit took full control of your body. If I were toote, then I would not have separated that entity from you.

    Hecate tilted away and raised an eyebrow as if she expected Luna to protest.

    "The parasite has be too weak because you never gave up. Given your knowledge and wisdom and being the magic''s seat of power as my priestess, demon possession is dangerous."

    Hecate held out her left hand, and a blinding white bolt arced out of her palm and connected with her.

    It stung a little bit, but it made her feel rxed.

    "I admire your bravery. Dealing with dark magic and not being consumed by it will require a strong moralpass when the boundaries of a good and evil blur for a selfish High Priestess'' advantage." Hecate rified, a corner of her mouth curved up as she watched her intently. "What''s more if an evil spirit unconsciously possesses it?"

    "You have an unbreakable mind for a newbie." Hecate continued. "You are perfect as my new High Priestess."

    Hecate held the grimoire in her right hand, and it transformed into a blue ball of energy.

    "Energy can''t be destroyed." She stared at Luna dead in the eye. "It can only be transformed into another."

    "I dere you thest High Priestess. " Hecate spoke clearly, her voice ringing in her ears. "If they kill you, the Vampire King, his curse, and his entire Kingdom will die along with you. Their ruthlessness had been going on for centuries creating havoc far and wide in the neighboring realms. This will not continue any longer. I''m tired of the Vampire King. That is why I have be elusive for a couple of centuries. If anything happens to you, I will let him deal with the consequences tenfold."

    Hecate held Luna''s chin delicately and motioned at her to open her mouth.

    Luna prepared for the iing pain but there was none.

    After swallowing it, her skin glowed blue and coursed with power.

    Hecate gave her a wry smile. "You are now a living artifact."

    Luna almost cried with gratitude.

    The Goddess Hecate had favored her skills and talents for mastering manifestation magic very quickly without reading the entire grimoire yet.

    Everything, every single thing, was automatically stored in her brain.

    She will never waste time.

    The Goddess of the Moon, Artemis, then revealed herself, standing behind Hecate.

    A simple crown adorned her long dark hair hanging down her back, and her snow-white dress revealed her slender shoulders.

    Artemis had pale and smooth skin ad when their eyes met, her lips curved into a delicate smile.

    "My goddess Artemis, you''re here." Luna breathed, her eyes locked with Artemis.

    Hecate turned to faced Artemis, and in return, she bowed to her courteously. "You arrived just in time."

    "This is written in the stars," Artemis replied in a steady voice, sending a warm shiver through her. "I have foreseen these events a long time ago."

    Luna''s eyes widened, Artemis'' meaning suddenly dawned on her.

    Did she know?

    Luna frowned and began to shake her head at her, but she never got a chance to voice her concerns when Artemis offered her a fancy goblet. "Here, take a sip. I have brought ambrosia."

    "Thank you for the gift, goddess," Luna said under her breath.

    It''s unsettling to her that a goddess brought her offering instead of the other way around.

    Luna looked and saw Artemis holding Hecate''s hand as both of them reached out to her.

    "I now release you from your vows as the master caretaker of the Sacred Valley, my child," Artemis said. "You will now belong to Hecate."

    Thunder rolled across the sky as she was released from her first vow.

    "It is done," Hecate whispered as she and Artemis let go of her hands,ying her back down gently as she could. "Artemis will help me with the purification rituals to get rid of the dark energies imprinted on you."

    There was a small ck cauldron over the fire on the hearth.

    Vials and jars and pouches containing herbs and crystal littered every shelf that lined the walls and every spare inch of the counter.

    Hecate went over to stir the cauldron, keeping her back to Luna.

    A massive chandelier hung from the ceiling with shining crystals dangling like stctites.

    The walls were papered in white with gold designs.

    Hecate scooped water from the cauldron into a small bowl using arge oyster shell, grabbed a cloth, and then walked over to Luna.

    "This is your rebirth." Hecate touched tentatively at Luna''s hand, cleaning her wound of dirt.

    Luna cringed, expecting it to sting, but the hot water from the cauldron and the scent of the lotus blooms only soothed her pain.

    Artemis said as she squeezed her hand in reassurance. "You may now return to your world."

    Luna didn''t know if it would work or not.

    ording to Hecate, she coulde and go from all levels of the Underworld when she meant it to, but this was the first time she had ever tried it awake.

    She didn''t know if she could open a portal or if she was going to treat this entire thing as a dream, and she will wake up to the real world, to the Vampire Kingdom.

    She didn''t even know where her body was left.

    Was it still in the caves?

    With Jon?

    With the Vampire King''s monsters?

    She concentrated on staying calm, and she rxed into sleep.

    It was time to ascend.

 Chapter 31 - Garden*

    <h4>Chapter 31 - Garden*</h4>

    The Vampire King restlessly prowled into one of his walled gardenste that night to soak into one of his artificial pools.

    The bursts of cool wind blew the feathery clouds through the horizon.

    The night''s dampness didn''t wear off, and it only became colder as the light faded in the east.

    Indeed, he had be more powerful.

    Preserving his central castle and encasing it in a tropical protective dome surrounded by the natural arctic environment of the Vampyr Realm didn''t make him break a sweat anymore as it used to do when he was still experimenting with his magic.

    The Vampire King was already used to the cold because he can''t feel it, and the weather didn''t matter to him at all, but he did it for his human subjects so that they wouldn''t die quickly.

    The vampires need their food stock warm and fresh, and he can silently show off how powerful he was to the entire Shadow World without even opening his mouth.

    The Vampire King''s gardens are nothing but a sensual paradise.

    Swaying palm trees stood guard over the end of the garden overlooking the moonlit frozen seas.

    He was surrounded by dozens of exotic blooms of bougainvillea and other tropical flowers emitting a blend of heady fragrances.

    Broad, t stones had beenid in the sand to create narrow, winding paths perfect for enticing a man and woman to seek an even more shadowy-and private-corner of the garden.

    At any other time, the Vampire King might have appreciated the effort it must have taken to create this heavenly oasis when he was in a good mood to rx.

    Still, on this night, the breeze whispering through the trees and the melodic spill of a fountain over stone failed to soothe his raw temper.

    Ten days have passed.

    Jon and the High Priestess were not able toe back to the castle. He is sending soldiers to find them at the caves right now.

    This was peculiar, even for Jon.

    He could get in and out of the underground caves even with his eyes closed or even if he was a newborn baby.

    His right-hand man has a good sense of navigation.

    That got him wondering.

    Did he deliver the girl to the underground caves, or did he take her somewhere else and have his wicked way with her?

    Just like what he would do if he could get her alone?

    That pretty silver-haired High Priestess.

    It would be a shame if she died too early in the initiation.

    The only sounds that cut through the deepening twilight were his consort''s harps and flutes, his concubines, sshing in the warm water inviting him to join, and the lonely cry of an owl in the distance.

    A woman in front of him stared at his chiseled body hungrily like it was herst meal.

    The Vampire King''s gaze remained locked with one of his concubines as he stripped out of his only clothing, the ck kilt-like skirt. His dark hair hung around disheveled on his shoulders.

    He tried to be in the mood. He did.

    But he can''t get the high priestess out of his damn mind.

    The feel of her touch.

    Her curves against his.

    He shook his head as if that would banish her from his dirty thoughts.

    The High Priestess was off-limits.

    Fei would nag at him like the old man he was.

    He stood proudly before the women, wearing nothing but a smug smile, to bask in their appreciation.

    He should get this over with.

    Block his entire mind out and sleep without any nightmares triggered by the Blood Beast.

    He should be physically, mentally, and sexually exhausted to achieve that peace.

    As the Vampire King descended into the water, fireflies began to surround him as if attracted to his warmth.

    Thest light of dusk vanished and was reced by the aurora borealis.

    He waved them over. "Come, my concubines."

    Fragrant lotus petals floated on the surface of the water, drifting like clouds across the misty reflection of the moon.

    A doe-eyed, dusky-haired beauty knelt on the gstones behind the Vampire King, massaging his broad shoulders.

    He sat with the back of his head propped against the stone lip of the pool, groaning with pleasure every time the concubine''s delicate thumbs dug deep into the tender muscles on each side of his shoulder des.

    "I am Catriona, Your Highness." One of his concubines, a girl with really long raven locks, gave him a drowsy look, bit her lip, and started to rub his lower abdomen. "It is my sole desire to please my King."

    The trees seemed to stir around him, and he ced both of his strong arms near the bank, wondering if sleep would be difficult or just impossible.

    His tense fingers stroked one of the female''s breasts.

    "Hmm. Catriona, you say?" The Vampire King''snguor was at direct odds with the tension starting to course through every inch of his own body. "I will remember that if you make mee hard tonight."

    The two women stretched their arms eagerly as they scratched their hands over his body.

    They roughly nipped his chest with their teeth.

    They pinched his nipples and tightly squeezed his erection.

    The Vampire King groaned with rapture, his eyes closed.

    He grunted as the females continue to stroke him slow then fast, touching him everywhere.

    The Vampire King didn''tst long.

    Jets of white sticky substance shot out from his angry and swollen dick underwater.

    His voice was husky as he regained control of his breathing after the orgasm. "Do it again, concubine, but this time, use your mouth."

    Directly in front of him at two hundred paces, an eerie green glow suffused the ground and air.

    A sudden intruder was with them in the pool.

    He pushed the concubines'' greedy hands away from his body and focused on the aura of the uninvited visitor who distracted him from his nightly pleasures.

    He felt goosebumps at the back of his neck.

    The mysterious creature is a powerful magician.

    "Eunuch. Take the women back to the Red Room. " He said calmly to the concubines'' assigned caretaker. "We will resume our activities there. Prepare them for me."

    The Vampire King jerked his head toward the pce and dismissed the women, but before they could rise to go, he caught their slender wrists in his grip.

    He brought each of the concubines'' hands to his lips and kissed each fingertip in turn, eliciting delighted giggles.

    He had to appease them in case one of them was going to be his future Empress.

    He could get to know them some other time.

    Unfortunately, it''s not tonight.

    Still, he wasn''t satisfied yet.

    He needed more sex.

    He waited for them to go at a safe distance away from potential danger.

    Darkness shrouded thendscape.

    The Vampire King''s eyes could faintly discern shadowed indentations behind the rocks.

    The Vampire King called out, and it echoed in the silence. "I''ll be sorry if you attempt to harm me. The next sight you see will be the fires of the underworld."

    He knew that if someone or somethingy in wait for him, he was giving it enough warning to bait the trap.

    The Vampire King approached the thing floating far from him, every muscle a hard cord of tension.

    He looked back to find the water''s surface broken only by white-tipped froth.

    With a vicious curse, the Vampire King plunged as his hands swept beneath the water and caught in ady''s hair.

    The Vampire King gasped in a breath.

    It was the High Priestess.

 Chapter 32 - Blood*

    <h4>Chapter 32 - Blood*</h4>

    Was it the High Priestess or a lost siren?

    A dagger had pierced the High Priestess'' chest.

    No mortal could have survived the wound.

    The Vampire King''s mind, still bearing the brunt of the shock, marveled at the dagger''s craft.

    It looked familiar, and his brain kept on searching for the memory.

    Engraved in the hilt was a word that matched the fine craftsmanship.

    "Hecate," he whispered.

    The goddess of magic owned this dagger.

    Did she meet the High Priestess and stabbed her?

    Fortunately, the wound did not reach from the front to the back of her spine.

    He stripped back the thin material of her bodice to examine her wound, but then he got distracted.

    The wet clothes clung to the hills and valleys of her heaving chest like a second skin.

    The Vampire King''s gaze prated the flutteringyers of silk, his eyes caressing the ivory swell of her breasts revealed by her low-cut bodice.

    He cursed softly as she stared at her small breasts waiting for the casual brush of a man''s hands to free them.

    He gave the top of her bodice a nervous tug, a feeble attempt to cover her breasts.

    As he leaned toward her, those lips parted ever so slightly.

    He inhaled the breath of her sigh, which was somehow even sweeter than honey and sugar.

    The High Priestess was still alive and barely breathing.

    She was missing for ten days.

    ''The more it stays embedded in her chest...'' He scowled, disturbed by the direction of his thoughts.

    He reached out and pulled the dagger without any hesitation.

    The High Priestess drew a shuddering breath and yelped at the pain.

    Blood flowed freely from the wound.

    He swallowed audibly.

    He could feel his fangs extending into sharp points.

    The smell of her blood tantalized him too much.

    He didn''t dare breathe.

    He focused on the smell of her hair instead, inhaling the scent of lotus and fresh spring waters.

    He picked the High Priestess up, carrying her to drynd.

    Her head drooped against the Vampire King''s shoulder, her long silver hair, as bright as the moon, brushed the Vampire King''s beard.

    He held her so close that the thick ridge of his desire was pressing against her.

    He just came hard a while ago courtesy of his concubines.

    Now, he seems ready again.

    He couldn''t even have said what he was hungry for at that moment.

    All he knew was that he was drawn to the fullness of this woman.

    It would have been impossible to hide the fact that the High Priestess still stirred him in a way so easily as he could ever hope to do.

    What an inconvenience.

    The High Priestess''s moans grew more frequent at the jolting motion of him carrying her.

    She breathed a gentle sigh as the Vampire King lowered her head against a clump of earth.

    The Vampire King settled her into the mossy bank, tore off strips of material from his silk robes, which was set aside by his eunuch, to staunch the steady stream of blood.

    His tense fingers checked the bandages if they were wrapped correctly.

    He ran his hand over the girl''s arm.

    It was a lean arm-smooth, taut, and strangely muscrpared to the sculpted cheeks and the shoulder des that jutted out at sharp angles above her wound.

    The Vampire King''s fingers can''t help buty im to the delicate curve of the High Priestess''s corbone.

    He wanted her alive.

    Sitting back on his heels, he shed his own wrist and felt the slow trickle of blood oozing from the wound to the High Priestess''s mouth.

    He did it again every time his wound healed so that she could drink from his blood to save her life.

    The Vampire King wiped the sweat from her brow.

    Sootyshes fluttered against the smattering of freckles on thedy''s cheeks, theny still.

    He stopped feeding her his pure vampire blood. She will be as good as new, but he had to be very careful not to overdo it.

    The High Priestess might turn into a rogue feeder, and that''s another nasty problem for him to solve.

    His gaze lingered on those lips, shockingly graphic images of the pleasure they might give him rioting through both his brain and his body.

    In seconds, the temperature in the air went from mildly warm to sweltering.

    The Vampire King''s thumb traced the purity of the High Priestess''s face.

    She turned her face toward the Vampire King''s hand.

    Her mouth moved against his callused palm.

    The Vampire King jerked his hand away, remembering it wasn''t good to be fascinated by ady who took a vow of celibacy.

    With leather canteen in hand left by the concubines, the Vampire King moved a few feet to scoop up some cool and fresh water for her to drink just in case she woke up after his blood worked its way in her system.

    The limp body coughed and came to life as Hecate''s dagger whistled past his shoulder.

 Chapter 33 - Possessed*

    <h4>Chapter 33 - Possessed*</h4>

    He jerked his head around just in time and rolled to the side, sensing danger, and indeed, a dagger had whistled past his shoulder, only a hairsbreadth away from his ear.

    Turning around, he chased her, reached out a powerful arm but caught only air. The High Priestess dived quickly headfirst into the pool.

    The Vampire King leaped into the water.

    His hands searched beneath the surface, closing on the priestess''s flimsy dress and drawing her upward.

    "Let go of me." The High Priestess raised arrogant eyes to meet the dark blue of his.

    "Why?" The Vampire King asked. "So you can ambush me again?"

    He shook his head. "No, thank you. Who knows what else can you do with a sharp object?"

    "Who are you?"

    The Vampire King raised an eyebrow.

    A ghost of a smile hovered around his lips. "You don''t know who I am?"

    "Doesn''t matter, stranger." The High Priestess raised her chin. "A threat is a threat."

    Did he believe me as a threat?

    When was she, my High Priestess?

    The fires of his anger burned too deeply.

    The Vampire King couldn''t quite believe what he had just heard. "What did you say?"

    "Not important." A smile twisted her lips. "You''re going to be dead anyway."

    The Vampire King stared, mesmerized by the glittering, emerald eyes-the furious eyes of a woman.

    Howe she didn''t know?

    Had she forgotten about what happened between them at the Blood Moon Banquet?

    His gaze never leaving hers, he murmured, "High Priestess..."

    "You know who I am?" Her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

    "How could I not?"

    Hecate''s dagger glinted wet and lethal in the priestess''s clenched fist.

    He caught her wrist and gave it a vicious twist, sending the dagger flying out of her grasp.

    Ragged nails raked his arm, igniting white-hot anger.

    The Vampire King spoke softly even as his hands tightened their grip. "You are going to regret this."

    The Vampire King mped his lips together and shoved the priestess under the water.

    He drew her out, sputtering and spitting, then shoved her again.

    He wanted to drown her just for the disrespect, teaching her a lesson.

    She screamed, her voice so shrill she could wake up the entire Vampyr Kingdom.

    Again, he dragged her, thrashing and cursing, from the churning water.

    It slowly prated the Vampire King''s fury that the hands clinging to his neck did so in desperation, their deadly intent forgotten.

    The girl''s lifeless form was imprinted on his brain by a burning brand.

    Bright-eyed priestess, broken and bleeding.

    "That made me hungry." The Vampire King thought out loud. His hands shook uncontrobly when he rubbed his arms.

    He cursed at himself for his fancies.

    This wasn''t him.

    The ckness of rage bubbled through the Vampire King''s veins by what the Blood Beast suggested in his mind, what he wanted to do to the priestess.

    It was taking over.

    Once again, he was turning into a sadistic psycho without him being fully aware.

    His ws turning to daggers, he shoved the high priestess from him like a rag doll.

    Too weak to stand, the High Priestess sank to her knees and disappeared under the water.

    Abruptly he heaved a great breath, and then his massive body started to shake.

    A high, piercing cry came out of his throat, cracking through the night.

    There was another sh of brilliance.

    The Blood Beast snatched the priestess up like a puppet from the water, the heat of his anger in the face of her weakness and helplessness spreading uninvited to his loins.

    A rugged moan escaped his throat.

    Fuck her.

    He took a deep breath, smelling her.

    Her scent was more like pure lilies in his nose, and he responded to it, warming, wanting.

    He stalked around the forest, trying to work off the burn.

    ''Just do it.''

    He dragged her out of the stream, and they staggered together across the clearing.

    His skin tingled all over, itching so badly, and his spine was on fire, the burn spreading out to every muscle he had.

    He shook uncontrobly on the dirt and grass, his skin mmy, his eyes squeezed shut, his mouth moving slowly.

    I don''t.

    He pinned the High Priestess beneath him with his knees spread on the sides of her small waist, his body radiating dominance and aggression.

    He can''t control himself. He and the Blood Beast were fighting for his consciousness.

    I shouldn''t.

    He wanted her with a pounding need that threatened to consume him, and this time, the urge was stronger as if he''d never drunk blood in weeks or months.

    He fought this feral hunger, but his ws were curling unto his palms, bleeding, fingers tingling, skin tightening.

    He waspletely strung out, the very bones in him vibrating.

    She''s mine.

    The Blood Beast''s gaze traced the insolent curve of a cheek.

    His hand tightened on her wrist, digging unto her tender flesh.

    The rain was falling, and the moon had begun its descent.

    Shaking the rain from his hair, his hands moved to her waist and stayed there, resting lightly against her wet garments.

    He could have counted every rib without opening his eyes.

    Mine.

    His grip changed subtly.

    His palm felt the pounding pulse in her throat against his skin when he wrapped his fingers around them.

    She shivered when his cold touch grazed the tiny hairs of her nape.

    "You have not figured out who I am?" The Blood Beast asked, tilting his head to the side and focusing on her neck.

    His voice was so low now that his words distorted.

    Stony silence met his question.

    She couldn''t seem to breathe, although whether that was from fear or something altogether sexual, he wasn''t sure.

    "That''s a shame." The Blood Beast''s finger traced her sternum and smiled, his white fangs showing. "Would you like me to remind you?"

 Chapter 34 - Beast*

    <h4>Chapter 34 - Beast*</h4>

    Would you like me to remind you?" The Blood Beast baited her.

    When her only response was silence, he asked, "I''m sure you know how cruel I can get with such disrespect."

    The Blood Beast''s face arrested her attention.

    His mismatched eyes surrounded by thick, darkshes peered out from behind the lock of his raven hair.

    His lips were red and full, stretching into a boyish smile that could dazzle the Vampire Court and the Consortium.

    It was a mouth that could tighten to a fine line when he was annoyed by a creature''s existence.

    Her rebirth disoriented her that her brain was taking its sweet time trying to recall her memories and scan where this man��this vampire in front of him fit into her life.

    As an Amazon, fighting was the automatic response under threat.

    Now that the Blood Beast had taken over the Vampire King, she was under extreme vulnerability.

    He was deadly dangerous.

    Luna registered it in her brain that it was the Vampire King she was talking to.

    At first, Luna didn''t recognize the Vampire King because he wasn''t wearing a mask like he did at the Blood Moon Banquet.

    ''So this is how he looked like.'' She mused.

    Bu, the Blood Beast, had taken over the Vampire King the moment one sapphire blue eye turned into a reptilian yellow with golden dots simr to the other eye.

    She saw it in her own eyes how the Vampire King slowly transitioned into the Blood Beast as they fought for consciousness.

    She looked up, and two gleaming gold orbs stared down at her.

    There was a hypnotic quality to them, an erotic persuasion she couldn''t deny, even though she knew it wasn''t just the Vampire King she was with.

    "You know who I am," He said, and the words were deep and warped as he took her chin in his unyielding hand.

    Luna flinched imperceptibly, the only indication she had heard his words.

    Turning her face away from him, Luna stared back into the forest.

    His fingers brushed the translucent skin stretched taut over high cheekbones and jerked her around to face him.

    Luna refused to meet his eyes.

    The Blood Beast''s teeth sank into her neck.

    Luna''s muffled curses were drowned by the sound of him sucking her blood.

    He leaned against her and drank deeply, and Luna turned ck and blue from his touch.

    A low moan escaped her parted lips.

    Clenching her fists, she offered him no resistance as he bound her hands.

    Fangs. Those were fangs nipping at her flesh.

    Please let me go," Luna said as she tried to push him off her, but he was as hard and strong as a boulder.

    Her tears flowed in excruciating pain and pleasure, tracing a grimy path between her eyes and ears.

    A single tear slid down her face--a contrast to her calm words. "Please."

    The Blood Beast wasn''t careful.

    He was rough, manhandling her as he bit her neck.

    The stars burst into her vision. It wasn''t anything she had ever felt before.

    The Blood Beast was overridden by lust.

    Her screams of pleasure turned into pain.

    A vampire''s saliva was their advantage as a predator.

    It felt like a drug to a vampire''s prey, and they don''t want them to stop.

    A vampire victim would rather die than making the predator stop.

    Fear threaded through her passion and thickened it, adding a dangerous edge that opened her even further.

    She put her hands on his arms.

    Goddess, he was so hard, so strong.

    He was so heavy on top of her.

    The Blood Beast''s body rxed as he felt her muscles yield.

    Luna was dying at the moment.

    Shey still while the Blood Beast drained her out of her life force.

    She made a conscious effort to heal her body using the spells she had conjured from Hecate''s grimoire, which was now stored in her memory.

    She breathed evenly, trying hard to make it through until the Blood Beast was satisfied.

    Nobody could take her soul, not even the Prince of Hell himself.

    The bloodsucking seemed tost for an eternity before the Blood Beast stopped.

    Luna sighed with relief when his fangs left the punctured skin of her neck.

    Her bruises disappeared as she fixed the cells of her body by the magic of regeneration.

    The Blood Beast indeed had a deadly touch.

    No normal being in this realm could survive his curse except her.

    "Are you done, Your Highness?" Luna said weakly with a sarcastic hint in her voice as if she hadn''t had another near-death experience if it wasn''t for the magic bestowed by Hecate.

    The Blood Beast''s amber eyes widened for a fraction before regarding her coldly.

    He probably wondered why she was still alive and talking to him as his thumb traced the shadowed circles beneath her eyes.

    "I''m the High Priestess of Hecate." Luna breathed softly, losing her energy as the minutes go by.

    She jutted her chin in cold defiance as she stared into his glittering blue eyes.

    She blinked slowly and reminded him, "You can''t kill me or you will have to deal with the goddess."

    The Blood Beast growled when he heard Hecate''s name.

    Did he remember that she was the goddess who cursed his consciousness attached to the Vampire King?

    He touched the bandage on her chests.

    It had healed along with her rotting flesh from the Blood Beast''s touch, but she was too weak to fend for herself.

    Her body slumped as he stroked her long silver hair.

    Without another word, he bound her feet and threw his cloak over her.

    The Blood Beast felt the chill in the air and realized that he must wrap the cloak more tightly around her before gathering her up in his arms.

    He carried her, and she hung unmoving in his grasp.

    "Vampire King." Luna kept calling but to no avail. She can''t reach him.

    Her hoarse voice was muffled into the space between his neck and shoulder when she spoke, "Your Highness."

    Unfortunately, the Blood Beast was still in control.

    The King had wrapped the other cloak around his waist as he strode from the artificial pool.

    The Blood Beast was quiet as they moved farther away, passing through the forest.

    Luna didn''t know where they would go, but she was lulled by the gentle sway of the Vampire King''s movements as he carried her on his broad shoulders.

    Luna yawned softly, snuggled deeper into her cloak, and closed her eyes.

    She might as well rest before she knew of the Blood Beast''s ns for her.

 Chapter 35 - Queen*

    <h4>Chapter 35 - Queen*</h4>

    Luna woke up as they arrived in what could be the Vampire King''sir at the other side of the Valley of Kings.

    The military guards and the eunuchs scuttled out of their way as they passed a wide-open hallway. Nobody dared to cross the Blood Beast when he was determined to get her somewhere.

    He had a one-track mind.

    Luna was so weak she had a hard time keeping her eyes open along the whole ordeal.

    She didn''t struggle.

    What was the point?

    Every idental touch of the Blood Beast on her skin was pure torture.

    Luna focused all of her energy in her mind to heal herself.

    How will she get the Vampire King back and get rid of the Blood Beast?

    It would be difficult to mend her rotting flesh if the Vampire King had not given her his blood beforehand to heal her stab wound.

    She might have Hecate''s spells stored in her brain but she had no time to ess and to master them quickly when she just reincarnated.

    The Blood Beast had drunk her blood.

    What did he want now?

    Her soul?

    Luna couldn''t give that to him.

    Luna''s gaze shot through the unfamiliar ck gauze billowing from many open windows and wide doors.

    There were no guards posted that she could see.

    They went inside the Vampire King''s Bedroom with no furniture except a king-sized bed with a huge canopy.

    Pillows littered the floor and another pool upied the far end.

    The three chosen concubines reclined on arge bed with ck pallet of velvet-like cushions.

    Their eyes widened when they saw her deposited on the Vampire King''s shoulders, wrapping her tightly in his cloak.

    Luna didn''t know how to exin why the Kingdom''s virgin High Priestess was with the cursed Blood Beast in the first ce.

    It was awkward to see her friend, Lady rence, their snobbish enemy, Lady Catriona, and the other chosen concubine she didn''t recognize, in one empty room together.

    They were lying on the bed like naked goddesses in the moonlight, ready to be ravished by the King.

    Did she just walk into an orgy?

    Luna felt a major headacheing.

    "Your Highness?" Lady rence whispered as she sat up slowly and covered her body with a nket.

    She squinted, her human vision making out their forms in the dark.

    Luna hated to break this orgy but she had no choice but to do it.

    She did a simple illumination magic and it gave the Vampire King''s room a soft, sensual glow of silver and red hues.

    "Concubines." Luna sighed, showing onerge bruise which turned from violet, to green then to her original skin color, her cells regenerating and reparing the damages done. "This is the Blood Beast with me. One touch and you''ll die."

    With fear in their eyes, the threedies didn''t move as if they had just met Medusa''s gaze and they turned into stone statues.

    Lady rence watched her wide-eyed, urging her to exin further.

    Luna just shrugged, not knowing what to say and what to do to turn the Blood Beast back to the Vampire King.

    "Leave." The Blood Beast growled.

    "Do it quick,dies." Luna muttered resignedly as she motioned them to move towards the exit.

    What was the Blood Beast nning?

    All she knew was escaping his poisonous clutches was futile.

    She needed to get this over with.

    The other two concubines quickly scrambled to cover their bodies modestly with red silk robes they grabbed from the open wooden chest at the corner of the room.

    Lady Catriona was too proud to share her stunning naked body even in danger because she didn''t bother dressing up, probably hoping to tempt the Blood Beast.

    This bitch was courting death and that was the only thing they have inmon.

    Lady Catriona raised an eyebrow and grinned smugly, looking at Luna over her shoulder before heading straight to the door.

    Lady Catriona walked slowly, careful not to let any of her touch a part of Luna, not even the hairs on her skin.

    Luna was curiously tempted to grab Catriona''s hair and put her palm on the Blood Beast''s body just to see what will happen but that would put the others in danger too.

    The other concubines followed suit, locking the door before leaving to give her and the Blood Beast their much needed privacy.

    Either these concubines were polite or they want her to die in secret.

    The Blood Beast put her down leisurely, sliding her entire body against his front with just a thin material separating them.

    He tossed her unceremoniously unto the bed. When her back hit, air whooshed from her lungs.

    She hopped up immediately, panting for breath.

    She jerked upright, taking ck velvet cloak draping her body with her.

    "You are not like the other fragile creatures who died by my touch." The Blood Beast stalked her and climbed to the bed.

    Luna moved backward until her back hit against the headboard.

    The Blood Beast whispered to her mind, "I will keep you and make you my queen."

 Chapter 36 - Turned*

    <h4>Chapter 36 - Turned*</h4>

    "I will make you my queen."

    He pulled chains on either side of the bed and cuffed her wrists on them.

    "I''m the High Priestess. You can''t��"

    Fear trembled through her mind.

    She can''t consummate this marriage if the Blood Beast made her his queen. Luna must remain a virgin High Priestess to remain as a vessel for Hecate''s magic.

    "What are you nning to do?"

    "I am aware that you are the High Priestess. I will not mate with you, but I will bind you to my blood and soul to make you stronger. If I drink your bloodced with a goddess'' magic, then it will make me stronger too. I will make you mine no matter what so that I will take the Vampire King''s consciousness forever. He wouldn''t be back anytime soon."

    So, this was the Blood Beast''s goal. He would make her so weak, drain her of her life force, and reced it with his to bind her to him forever.

    This was the principle of the Blood Bond magic.

    He must be out of his mind making the virgin High Priestess his mate. But the consequences of that�� Would her reincarnate magical blood will make him powerful and could make him possibly ess Hecate''s magic, too?

    Wasn''t that dangerous?

    Her mind was racing through her options.

    Luna would never let him.

    She needed the Vampire King back.

    The Blood Beast moved on top of her body, stopping when he was eye-level with her. The intimacy was somehow shocking, especially with her tied down. Chest to chest, he removed her cloak and peeled off her flimsy dress.

    He growled. "If you struggle, I would rip your head off."

    The Blood Beast''s fangs were in too deep it must have pierced a bone. Her head kept falling back, tilting sideways. The monster bit her wrist this time and had drained her, making her senses numb.

    Luna''s neck was too sore, taking its sweet, sweet time to heal. ck and white spots began to dance in front of her eyes, her heart pumping as if it ran for its life.

    Luna couldn''t even lift a finger, and his venom had lost its seductive charms. The Blood Beast had left bite marks on different parts of her body: her inner thigh, breasts, and left shoulder.

    Another jolt of pain sizzled along her spine.

    Sweat and blood poured from her body, and it soaked the bed.

    He was marking her everywhere as if she was his territory. When she was at the brink of losing her consciousness, the Blood Beast shed his wrists and forced her to drink his blood until she healed, and then it started all over again.

    Draining her until she was almost on the verge of death, The Beast filled her with his blood.

    This vampire blood bond was torture. She moaned in pain and lost her breath as his blood spilled over her mouth.

    Gradually, the excruciating pain had turned into pleasure, and it pulsated in every fiber of her body. The Blood Beast kept doing this until Luna was desperate for his blood, an unquenchable thirst that felt like her entire being depended on it.

    She pulled her chains tight as she strained against the bonds that held her, gasping for breath while her body responded in a rush of wetness. Her release shot through her as she arched her back, rubbing herself in desperate motion against the Blood Beast''s cock.

    "I felt youe." He growled sharply, and Luna stared at his wide amber eyes filled with fascination. The Blood Beast''s muscles went rigid, and his fingers curled into w-like points when he smelled her arousal.

    His hips surged, and another high call came out of his throat as he began thrusting, delicious frictioning up with increasing force.

    "You''re mine, now." The voice said. "Mine."

    His moan vibrated into her mouth as he kissed her, and Luna craned her neck and twisted her head, rising to meet and capture him with her lips. cing his ws on the headboard, he ground his erection towards that secret, wet spot between her inner thighs.

    It had been hard enough to keep her body in check before he had put his mouth on her. Now that her tongue knew of his taste, she will surely crave more of him and not just his blood.

    Luna nicked his lower lip identally, lusting and aching for more of his vital fluids. Her canines grew and turned into sharp little points.

    Did he turn her into a vampire?

    By thew of the Shadow World, Purebloods were not allowed to turn other beings into vampires, or else he might attempt to create a zombie army of mindless rogue vampires afflicted with blood lust.

    She had to fight by any means she can to stop this precarious craving.

 Chapter 37 - Flashback*

    <h4>Chapter 37 - shback*</h4>

    Finding a thread of magic, Luna reached toward her mind for Hecate''s spells. Something. Anything that would save her.

    She identally essed a memory.

    The vision transformed into a smiling youngdy gazing up at the Vampire King wearing a ck velvet gown.

    Lilith, the first High Priestess, had wavy auburn hair that was so long it reached the floor, turning to gold or reddish copper depending on the lights.

    Her gunmetal eyes changed color as they adjust to her changing moods.

    She looked like a siren, so young for her age to acquire a position of power in the Vampire Court.

    The first High Priestess dered by the Vampire King was too irresistible and highly coveted by the vampires.

    Lilith was treated like royalty since the King was so fond of her, treating her as a sister and a part of his family.

    Luna felt the High Priestess''s thrill when the Vampire King held her hand and guided her as they danced together in the ballroom.

    When he touched her, her skin tingled as warmth pulsated in her chest.

    The Blood Beast''s consciousness noticed what Luna did, essing his memory.

    He tried to pull away, but she clung to it like a lifeline to figure out what happened next.

    Luna knew that it was so important, and it could potentially save her.

    The next scene showed her the High Priestess descending through a long, narrow underground staircase. Her light tread of feet made the wooden boards creak.

    She swung the heavy door outward to check her prison cells.

    A horrible vision of what the first High Priestess had done filled Luna''s mind.

    It was Lilith''s vendetta to punish the Vampire King for not reciprocating her pure love.

    Brownish-red stains soaked the ground. It was the killing ground for Lilith''s dark ritual.

    The Vampire King had married another woman, the new Empress, instead of her.

    She should have been his Empress.

    She loved him with her entire being, but he rebuked it, turning down her sensual advances.

    There were five naked females'' bodies tied to metal spikes that had been driven into the ground.

    Strange symbols had been painted on their bodies and the walls.

    Bloody cuts crisscrossed their abdomen, legs, and arms.

    She left the four to bleed and die a slow death.

    Now, herst victim, a weak female human, writhed in agony as the multiple cuts along her arms and legs burned.

    Revulsion and terror welled up in the victim''s throat at the sight of her.

    She needed the human blood to finish her unholy sacrifice, and that was to summon a powerful archdemon: flesh and blood of a female vampire, a fae, a shapeshifter, a witch, andstly, this human.

    She had already acquired four dead bodies for her revenge.

    One that would require for the Vampire King''s wretched soul bounded to Hell for the rest of eternity.

    She went to a table to get her brownstone bowl and a long dagger.

    An amused smile quirked Lilith''s lips before she pressed them together with concentration, drugging her final victims'' body and paralyzing her with magic.

    ''No one is more dangerous than a woman scorned.''

    The High Priestess hacked her throat and stabbed her in the heart multiple times without remorse.

    Luna watched in shock as the victim''s face paled and her body jerked once, then stilled.

    The victim''s eyes dulled as her soul left her body.

    Lilith bled the human to die, collecting her blood in an earthen bowl.

    She held Hecate''s grimoire with its rough leather bindings and turned up a slippery page, her hands covered in blood.

    The first High Priestess had surrounded the basement with a magical shield.

    This way, she will know when someone had trespassed before she canplete the ritual.

    Now all she needed to do was to wait for the full moon.

    Luna withdrew her awareness from the horror of what she had seen.

    She saw a name shing urgently in her mind''s eye and pulled it from her memory.

    With her mouth choking from the Blood Beast''s blood, she uttered the word like a spell.

    "Ravin."

    It was the Blood Beast''s name, the essence of the Archdemon of Gluttony.

    +++++++++++++++++++

    Author''s Note:

    Hello, readers!

    The next chapter would be the start of premium, for I have locked it at the cliffhanger, which is this one.

    What to expect from my book: a roller-coaster ride of emotions and surprises

    I will try to create characters that are 3D and are rtable and addressing some of the problems in our society that are kind of taboo.

    I like analytical psychology and philosophy stuff, so you can expect that I aim for my characters to have self-development through their reaction to internal and external conflicts, making their reactions in times of crisis as realistic as possible.

    I may not be the best writer out there, but I hope you could give me a chance.

    I am a perverted author who likes reading erotica and writing them, so expect a lot of...

    I hope you are turned on when you read my R18 chapters.

    I love you guys, and thanks for reading my story.

    If you have enjoyed it so far, please continue.

    You can unlock my premium using fast passes and coins.

    Please support me by using coins to survive this cold world with the money I earn through my dreams and creativity, which is writing.

    If you don''t have coins (it''s fine, lol, we''re the same because I had no money either, haha), you can use fast pass.

    If you use the fast pass, please don''t forget to offer me your power stones to help this poor author get into rankings.

    Thanks for reading and giving me your support, guys!

    I have to go before I cry over here. :)

 Chapter 38 - Revenge*

    <h4>Chapter 38 - Revenge*</h4>

    "Ravin." Luna had acquired the archdemon''s true name.

    There was power in a name, especially to summon entities.

    This was how a summoner could control the spirits they called in because they had gained their true essence.

    Their true name is a spell itself, having the privilege to control one in exchange for your soul.

    Had Luna unwittingly exchanged her soul to the Archdemon of Gluttony, or was it because her soul was already tied to him because of the Blood Bond?

    Luna squeezed her eyes tight as she finally understood the implications of that knowledge.

    She hadplete control over the Blood Beast �C and in this situation, she would use it.

    "Exi, seductor, plene omni dolo et facia, virtutis inimici." The magic spells tripped on her tongue like music.

    The Blood Beast stopped thrusting at her and lurched forward with his hands on both sides of her shoulders as if someone had punched the lights out of him.

    His big heavy body fell on top of her, and she pushed him off so that she wouldn''t suffocate, but to no avail.

    Luna caught her breath in heavy pants as she squirmed sideways, but it only brought her closer to his muscled forearms.

    Luna had found it impossible to escape.

    The Vampire King''s eyes were closed, his mouth ajar, his breathing deep and even.

    He looked even more attractive than Luna could ever imagine, looking so different asleep.

    Without an effort on her part, her body would automatically arch against him.

    Her ears were tuned into the slow, subtle sound of his heartbeat, and she couldn''t help but bask in his presence.

    The moonlight disarmed the more dangerous nes of his face, softening the fluid lines into rxation as he stayed unconscious.

    That set her heart to hammering against her ribs.

    A breeze of his scent wafted towards her, and Luna was filled with the light, tangy smell of him and his blood, which made her mouth water once again.

    Luna swallowed as her fangs bit into her lower lip.

    My goddess, the Blood Beast, had turned her vampire.

    His mate.

    Luna was tied to him for eternity.

    Was there another way for her to get out of this Blood Bond?

    Escape was still the first thing that came to mind.

    The Vampire King was as unmovable as a mountain boulder while Luna was still chained by the bed, held by the King''s upper body.

    Gritting her teeth as she wrenched on her cuffs, her wrists had turned sore as she tried to get out from this wretched position.

    Luna scanned Hecate''s grimoire in her mind and paused when she found the perfect spell for unlocking her shackles.

    She envisioned a white ball of light entering her body as she released the ck cloud of negative energies out of her.

    She had to perform a purification ritual from Hecate''s teachings to keep her safe from possessions and evil entities.

    She didn''t want a repeat of what had happened in the caves.

    As a newbie, she had to do it, or else she might suffer disastrous consequences from these magic spells like the first High Priestess did.

    She closed her eyes and directed her attention in her entire body, letting the white energy flow through her and then darting to the metal of the manacles on her wrists.

    Luna whispered, "Liberatio Immunis."

    It didn''t work at first, but she didn''t panic.

    Luna didn''t let her mind drift through other objects, fixated on unlocking the cuffs open.

    She enunciated the spell three times before the locks click open.

    Thank the goddess.

    Luna needed to study these spells with nobody else disturbing her and causing trouble. The pressure wasn''t a suitable environment for her to learn. Working on her own, Luna decided, was her best bet in bing the most powerful High Priestess.

    Luna pushed the naked Vampire King off her and rolled him over as heid on his back. As if in slow motion, he well-defined muscles of his abdomen came into her view.

    A sprinkling of hair narrowed into a neat V just below his navel like a cherub''s arrow pointing the way to either heaven or hell. Luna''s eyes widened when she saw his engorged cock, and she quickly diverted her gaze at the wall, at the Vampire King''s angelic face, his broad chest, or anything besides it.

    Luna picked the nkets from the floor, and gently tucked the sheet around him, draping it to his more pertinent parts.

    She need not stare at it for the rest of the night.

    Luna would often find herself captivated by seemingly inconsequential things. Every sound became more magnified than before.

    When it came to heartbeats and blood, her ears were particrly sensitive.

    There were an asional owl hoot and a solo coyote''s song punctuating in the stillness of the forest. From the floor to ceiling windows of the Vampire King''sir, Luna could see the light from a waning moon filtering through the canopy of needles and cascades across the forest floor.

    Sometimes, the pine trees obscure the moon as they stayed green throughout the winter.

    The moon was a gossamer glow and provided illumination.

    The Valley of Kings was surrounded by oceanic water, and the massive ind had its own unique, verdant ecosystems with its mountainous terrains.

    This ce must have risen from the sea through volcanic activity.

    Many races had attached mystical symbolic meaning to it, thinking they were resting ces of gods and thus are used for sacred purposes.

    Well, the Vampire King choosing this ce as his haven isn''t that shocking anymore.

    Luna positioned the unconscious Vampire King at the centre of the bed and chained him on either side instead of her revenge.

    Now he will know how it felt like to be powerless, especially when she ced different spells on each of the manacles.

    Lunaughed as she chose the right clothes and footwear for her to slip on from the Vampire King''s concubine''s treasure chest.

 Chapter 39 - Wrong Move*

    <h4>Chapter 39 - Wrong Move*</h4>

    Lunaughed as she chose the right clothes and footwear for her to slip on from the Vampire King''s concubine''s treasure chest.

    The simple red gown she picked was lovely to human eyes, but with her vampire''s eyes, she could examine how the light shined off of every stitch and tiny imperfections, which made the colour even brighter.

    As a newly turned vampire, touching things felt better than she ever had before but feeling something that had always affected her would be a different story.

    Everything would be magnified, and she would go insane.

    Luna titled her head, pondering how long would it take the Vampire King to free himself from the shackles.

    ''It was a puzzle the Vampire King needed to solve.''

    Now she will let the bastard figure out which spell worked on the right wrist from the left one, wishing he will not wake up sooner.

    She needed to know how to slip away from the Vampire King''sir real quick.

    Luna was impressed by how Cederic, the military general, did it, so she decided to try it herself.

    Searching her memories, Luna tried to remember how her room and Lady rence''s looked like so she could teleport herself back to the Consortium.

    She zoomed her entire awareness of their room''s vanity mirror in great detail.

    Before her eyes, Luna''s body seemed to explode, break apart, and a ck mist appeared from where she''d stood.

    The thick mist was moving ... faster ... faster ... swirling together and then poof.

    Luna was back in the caves.

    "Oh, dear," Luna muttered to herself. "Wrong ce."

    ''Let this self-inflicted test serve as a practice.''

    ''She can do it as long as she focused well.''

    Not.

    She had unwittingly wondered if Jon was still alive and safe, but why?

    The bastard was her tormentor, and it was none of her business, whether he was dead or alive.

    Luna prayed to the Goddess that the Nagini eat Jon.

    But then again, Luna couldn''t stop her damned curiosity from popping up.

    Now, this quick, nonsensical thought brought her back to the caves.

    Luna stepped into the tunnels with her manifested sword drawn in her hands as she stood in its shadowed corridors.

    Crouching behind a stgmite that had reached the ceiling, Luna used an illumination spell, the riotous light revealing the slime that coated the stgmite.

    The ability to focus on anything became much harder.

    Everything seemed to catch Luna''s attention. Her new senses were a hard thing to adjust to.

    So far, the thing which amazed her most had to be the Vampire King.

    Since she turned into a vampire, everything about her had been set on the Vampire King''s frequency, and Luna thought it would fade by the distance.

    As it was, she could only concentrate when her body screamed that her mate, the Vampire King, was much too far away from her.

    An inconvenience, indeed.

    Luna saw Jon in her mind''s eye, lying on his stomach with his handsome face on the ground, unmoving.

    She focused on this image, and she materialized beside him.

    Luna kicked Jon with her boots to check if he was still alive.

    No movement whatsoever.

    She sat and cradled Jon''s head to see his face.

    Overturning him, Luna screamed when Jon surprised her by saying, "Boo!"

    "What the fuck, Jon? You scared me!" Luna gasped then kicked him again for surprising her.

    Luna would kick him a hundred times for no reason except for revenge.

    She had been to hell and back, literally, because of this bastard.

    "I can talk, but I can''t move," Jon muttered as he groaned, trying to lift even a pinkie but couldn''t. "Somebody locked my joints. Was it you?"

    "I just arrived, silly." Luna''s lips curled in amusement. "I met the goddess Hecate, and I passed the test."

    "You did?" Jonughed bitterly. "Congrattions, High Priestess."

    Luna understood the principle of karma a lot, and she knew Jon did too.

    ''What you did will always get back to you in any shape or form.''

    "I don''t know what happened," Jon said, devoid of emotion.

    So, he wanted to y it this way?

    "For the goddess'' sake, Jon, don''t even attempt to forget that you beat me up."

    Luna put her feet on Jon''s back and jumped on top of him, adding more weight to his suffering to torment him further.

    Jon grunted as Luna tried to break his back, but he handled it well like the ancient vampire he was.

    "I know I did, but you talked to an unseen entity, and I just cked out after that."

    Luna stabbed her sword on the ground, half an inch closer to Jon''s face. "Well, another reason to leave you to die."

    A spectre had quickly emerged, stalking her stealthily as it threw nightmarish shadows against the stone walls of the cave.

    An executioner''s ck hood masked its features.

    Red eyes glittered deep within the hood''s recesses like an illusion, briefly seen than gone quickly.

    Luna ran a hand through her long silver hair in frustration as she grunted, pulling out her heavy sword from the ground. "Oh, goddess, another spirit to kill."

    ''If it can be killed.''

    The ck void in the pit of her stomach grew, threatening to obliterate her with anxiety.

    Fear cavorted in Jon''s eyes as the spectre''s shadows thrown by Luna''s glow lights danced on the walls.

    The massive sword in the ghastly hand of the hellish apparition gestured toward the stgmite Luna crouched behind in grim invitation.

    Well, it was her fault for unconsciously going back to the caves with Jon, and if she wouldn''t fight, then�� oh, she forgot she was a vampire now.

    Strong.

    Magical.

    She was tough to kill, not unless the spirit pulled out her vampire heart from her ribcage.

    Courage paired with anger began to build, discing the paralyzing fear she had, and Luna turned to meet the demon.

    A daring smile twisted Luna''s lips.

    Sword clutched in both hands, she advanced and parried the first vicious swing of the weapon wielded by her foe.

 Chapter 40 - Secret*

    <h4>Chapter 40 - Secret*</h4>

    The creature swung her sword at her, aiming for a severing blow to her neck, and she matched the ghoul''s swing with a lunge of her own.

    The swords shed again, the bitter ng of metal against metal echoing through the cavern.

    Gritting her teeth, Luna stepped back then pushed forward with intense focus as she blocked and parried the creature''s attacks.

    The monster was vigorous and had quick reflexes.

    She needed to be more alert to defeat it, or she could injure it enough to immobilize the monster until she could grab Jon, teleport together and escape out of these tunnels.

    The voluminous ck cloak surrounding the monster danced upon each swing.

    In the flickering recesses of the cavern, the creature cut at Luna tearing smooth flesh, exposing tissue and an ever-increasing torrent of blood.

    Luna retreated in a peculiar grace��what she could describe as vampire-like.

    The monster had sliced her leg, and it was still a shock to see the bloody gash on her skin knitting together with her own eyes.

    She grimaced, the bloody gash wasn''t a good sight, but at least she was healing fast.

    Goddess, she was indeed a legitimate vampire.

    There is no doubt about it.

    She couldn''t hold back the sweet ripple of herughter.

    Victory is hers!

    Luna rushed forward without warning and rammed her sword to the demon''s chest as she uttered another spell she had randomly found from the pages of the grimoire, giving the monster her deadliest stare.

    "Erysips."

    Her sword med, and it lodged a zing bluish fire on the demon.

    Luna snatched the sword, and with its final grip, the apparition grasped the fine steel from which it was wrought.

    The ghoul''s form had shattered apart before it could inflict one final slicing motion.

    Holding it tightly enough, Luna read the inscription carved into the hilt of burnished gold�� Vengeance.

    Who had sent this ghoul?

    Who would want to take revenge on her?

    She better get out of this ce before more demonse for her.

    Monsters and demons had gued these tunnels.

    Was this cursed site had a secret passageway to the Underworld?

    She bent over and held Jon as they materialized back to the cave''s entrance.

    Luna stared at the Valley of Kings from afar, fog and smoke blocking her clear view.

    The eerie purple glow suffused thendscape, transforming the sea into darkened velvet.

    The stars in the gxy scattered fairy dust and glitter on the sky.

    It was an ominous sign to witness the atmosphere change from purple to bluish hues while everything went dark for a while, the eclipse slowly covering the moonlight.

    She cast another illumination spell, and this time, it was in the form of a thousand glowing lotus floating in the sea enough for her to appreciate this rare urrence.

    She closed her eyes in deep thought.

    The world was quickly changing along with Hecate''s magic and vampirism she had acquired, but how long would she be able to handle it?

    Luna heard steady hoofbeats from a distance, and she saw Cederic emerge from the sodden field into her path.

    A drizzle had begun to fall.

    She opened her eyes and turned her head to look in their direction.

    Along with hispanions, the military general slowed their horses to a walk as soon as they saw her staring over the horizon.

    Their eyes widened when they saw the beauty of her magic, awestruck at the thousands of fireflies illuminating the entirendscape.

    When they neared where Luna was standing, Cederic slid off the horse and ran towards her.

    Sheathing his sword, the military general dropped to his knees in respect of Luna. "High Priestess, you are safe."

    Luna withdrew her sword, realizing Cederic wasn''t a threat.

    "Jon can''t move. Please help him first. " Luna told her as Cederic attempted to wrap her around his cloak.

    Because the military couldn''t reach her height no matter how hard he tried, he settled for handing it to her instead.

    The search party had surrounded them while Jony down, face t on the ground.

    He still couldn''t move with those invisible bonds around him since, ording to him, his bones had turned to jelly.

    "The Vampire King had been searching for you for days," Cederic informed her as he shook his raven hair from the rain.

    "I know." Luna nodded her head in agreement. " I''ve seen the Vampire King already, so it''s fine. I think he knew too well that I was alive."

    "Oh." Cederic stepped forward and squeezed her elbow. "We must go back now."

    Cederic proceeded to walk back to his stallion, but he paused when he noticed Luna wasn''t following him.

    He nced behind his shoulder as a trickle of sweat eased its way down the back of her neck.

    Did she want to go back to face her mate?

    The Vampire King''s Blood Beast?

    Luna blinked. There was no time to dwell on the thought. "Yes."

    "What are you waiting for?" The military general waited for her to mount on his horse. "You don''t want to ride?"

    Did she want to when she can teleport?

    Well, it''s not advantageous for Luna to reveal her secret right away, so she must keep this a secret for now.

    "Oh, thanks." Luna ced her sword in a scabbard before she let it vanish into thin air.

    She ran to catch up, mounted his horse, and sat in front of Cederic.

    As they go to the direction of the Vampire King''s Castle, Cederic urged the stallion into a gallop.

    Darkness shrouded thendscape as they entered a forest thick with tangled vines and clinging bracken.

    Cederic sniffed at her clothes, especially her neck. "You smell different."

    "It''s just your imagination, Cederic," Luna replied, her heart beating faster at her lies.

    Luna pulled her cloak tight around her as Cederic''s mount picked its way through the undergrowth.

    She closed her eyes and settled herself to sleep, sinking into an abyss of sleep mercifully devoid of dreams.

 Chapter 41 - Point Of No Return*

    <h4>Chapter 41 - Point Of No Return*</h4>

    Luna woke up with a jolt, and she bent over, sick to her stomach.

    Luna had spent her night sleeping only in restless fragmented dreams, haunted by images of the Blood Beast. After recovering from thepulsion to throw up, the first thing she did after recovering from thepulsion was to cover her mouth to hide her elongated fangs from the High Priest.

    Fei had watched her sleep on top of a block�� Luna almost fell over the floor when she felt the block of ice sinking in her tender skin as shey down on her back.

    The room was as dim as a cavern, lit only by a single oilmp set in atticed alcove in the wall. Curlicues of fragrant smoke from some exotic incense drifted past her nose, making her feel more than a little light-headed.

    She was hungry after seeing blood in her dreams, or... were they nightmares?

    "What is this big block of ice doing here?" Luna mumbled out the words as she covered her mouth. Her fangs had proved a major inconvenience when she talked.

    She had sensed the flow of Fei''s fresh blood, the beat of a racing heart, and it made her stomach rumble and throw up at the same time.

    Even if she were desperate, she wouldn''t dare drink blood no matter where and from whom it came. Luna knew she could stop this curse.

    She was the High Priestess, for god''s sake. She loved the power thates with vampirism but not taking the life force of other living creatures.

    She tried her best to calm down and retracted her fangs. Fortunately, it did.

    She was determined not to drink blood. Ever. If she had to find a substitute to sustain her, then so be it. Luna can''t give up her favourite food for being a vampire. She hadn''t eaten one yet since she had turned.

    Luna wondered how it would taste like.

    "Lie back, High Priestess, you have not awakened for a week." The High Priest said he poured a stream of frosty oil over her body, beginning just below her corbone down to her toes. "The Vampire King was worried about what was wrong with you when you suddenly be scorching hot at certain times of the day."

    "Oh." Luna didn''t know what to say to that. "The Vampire King?"

    Luna was about to rx into another drowsy stupor when she heard the muted creak of a door opening and closing, followed by the soft pad of bare feet approaching across the tiled floor.

    When she turned her head to see the intruder, the impact of its beauty had hit her like a physical blow. Eyes of such pure undiluted blue it was as if some heavenly artist had crushed sapphires into his paints and then coloured in the irises with the finest of brushes.

    In all honesty, The Vampire King could grab her attention just by breathing alone.

    It was the Vampire King who sauntered towards them as an insidiously seductive scent swirled around her in a sinister caress. The footsteps ceased, and she felt him standing over her, his presence itself nearly as tangible as a touch.

    He stroked her long silver hair as he sat on a chair beside her, ying with the strands like it was the most normal thing to do. "How is the new High Priestess?"

    Luna didn''t know how to respond after all these crazy events in the past few weeks, but she tried her best to be as respectful as possible.

    "As you can see, I am alive and well," Luna informed him tartly as she closed her eyes so she couldn''t see his handsome face. "How about your wrists?"

    "My wrists are fine, High Priestess. But did you know how I escaped from the shackles?" The Vampire King''s words were soft, the tone amused. "I had to destroy the metal bedpost because the chains around my wrists were much stronger."

    Luna''s eyes flew open in shock.

    Her magic spells had done worse, and she didn''t expect that.

    The Vampire King smiled, and, to Luna''s eyes, it was a smile filled with old knowledge, with centuries of experience paired with a dangerous glint in them. "Did you know that I still brought the shackles with me for more than a week? I think only you can undo them, and this is why I''m here. As a Vampire King, I had this dignity not to look like a fucking prisoner to my people."

    The Vampire King showed her his wrists, and indeed the shackles were still attached to him.

    "You have imprisoned a lot of people, my King." Luna shrugged as if what she had done didn''t matter, and without remorse, she could have pped herself.

    She thought she heard a sharply indrawn breath but quickly dismissed it as a trick of the silence and her overwrought nerves. "Don''t you want to know how it feels like, even if it''s just for fun?"

    Something about just being in the presence of the Vampire King was disturbingly soothing. The Vampire King provided much-needed relief from Fei''s courteous yet exhausting attention.

    The old High Priest had continued to apply his home-made herbal salve on her, and she breathed out a contented sigh when it indeed alleviated her ailment.

    She felt the fingers ying with her hair paused to caress the delicate skin of her chest an inch or two lower. "I was about to ask about your stab wound, but it turned out that you''re already healed, High Priestess."

    The Vampire King''s hair was cut in carelessyers that stopped at the nape of his neck and bared the sharp angles of his face.

    Tilting his head to the side as he peered straight into her downcast eyes, Luna didn''t stop her urge to pat his hair, and her fingers reached out boldly.

    The Vampire King''s hands froze for a long moment and then resumed caressing her breasts in its exquisite torture.

    "Mmmm ��" Luna moaned, tantalized even more by that sly pressure as his fingertips massaged them in concentric circles. His touch did insane things to her, and it tended to overpower any sense of reason.

    The Vampire King ceased stroking her nipples when Fei returned from the teakwood table beside them, fetching the brass brazier which contained his healing herbs.

    The Vampire King''s hand rxed and glided higher, raking through the silky strands of her hair again, massaging her scalp.

    Taking a deep breath and trying not to think about how the Vampire King''s intense dark chocte scent permeated out of his skin, Luna swallowed audibly and focused her attention on the ceiling.

    "There''s something I was curious about, High Priestess." The Vampire King gave her an rmingly marvellous human grin. Luna lowered her eyes, or she would keep getting sucked into gazing at him like one of his concubines.

    "Hmm." Luna was honestly flustered, but she tried not to make it obvious as she paused, settling her thoughts. "What is it that you want to talk to me about, my King?"

    "Fei?" The Vampire King''s called as his smirk faded, his expression slipping into cooler darkness, and Luna''s confidence headed into a nosedive. "I want you to leave this room right now."

 Chapter 42 - Battle Between Allies*

    <h4>Chapter 42 - Battle Between Allies*</h4>

    "I can''t leave the High Priestess with you, Your Highness." The High Priest''s voice boomed as it echoed in the room. It was filled with disappointment and disdain towards the Vampire King.

    "I''m the King, Fei. Even if you used to be my mentor I could do whatever I want." The Vampire King said, his voice hardening a little. "Nobody in this goddamn castle had a right to deny me."

    By the Law of the Vampyr Realm, the High Priest could be convicted with treason with Luna as the witness. Luna prayed that Fei would just shut up and let her handle him.

    "You''re Highness, you are not thinking this through clearly. As your High Priest, the High Priestess is under my wing." Feiughed bitterly as Delphi''s staff appeared on his left hand. "I can''t leave her to a scoundrel like you."

    "Then, we''ll just have to battle it out, shall we?" The Vampire King said, devoid of emotion. One of his blue eyes had shifted to gold and Luna knew half of the Blood Beast''s consciousness was out to y.

    "Obice praesidium." Luna muttered and a protective shield covered them.

    There was a pause, a hardening on the Vampire King''s stance as he touched her invisible barrier in one hand and it shattered into tiny fragments in the air.

    "I didn''t tell you to interfere, High Priestess. You are testing my patience." Luna could sense the atmosphere changing subtly as the Vampire King''s voice dropped down an octave.

    It was the Blood Beast.

    The Vampire King''s gaze zoomed into Fei''s gnarly hand on Luna''s elbow when he dragged her behind him to block him from the Vampire King''s view.

    With ring nostrils, both of his eyes hadpletely turned to gold. There was no doubt that the Blood Beast was angry and in full control of the Vampire King''s consciousness.

    He went straight to Fei, wrapped one hand around his throat, and raised him towards the ceiling. The Blood Beast had no magic but he had incredible strength.

    "Stop it. You are killing your Host''s High Priest." Luna said in a calm tone as she moved near him, staring into his cold amber eyes. She didn''t need to offend the Blood Beast. One wrong move and he would destroy Fei''s windpipe in a sh.

    "He wouldn''t let me get to you." The Blood Beast replied as unfeeling as he was supposed to be, his voice always t and devoid of emotion. "I will kill him."

    "Please, don''t. I wille with you." Luna promised, swallowing hard. "Just don''t kill him."

    Luna wanted to rush to him, put her hands all over his body, lick him, and kiss him the way a concubine would. Luna was ashamed to admit that she was aching with the need to be filled, silently begging for contact from the Blood Beast. Any contact.

    It was tormenting beyondprehension to feel the effects of being the Blood Beast''s mate as she tried to control her overriding lust.

    "I''m hungry." The Blood Beast said, watching her through narrowed eyes. "I want you now."

    Luna''s stomach rumbled but she promised herself not to drink blood. She will control her thirst with magic. She can''t show them that she was a full vampire just yet, or so she thought. She still kept her human scent so that they wouldn''t recognize that her scent had changed.

    If they knew that a pureblood vampire had turned her into one, they might kill her. She was already an anomaly in the Vampire Realm. Nobody should ever know.

    "Stop choking Fei''s throat, and I will let you drink my blood. "

    That earned her a nod of approval. She looked into her eyes as if she had finally gotten through him for the first time. He was determined to kill the High Priest and Luna shouldn''t let him.

    The Blood Beast, with his eyes still glowing in amber, stopped choking him and let him go. The High Priest dropped and scrambled to stand up from the floor but he couldn''t. He coughed as he clutched his throat with his hands to soothe his pain.

    The Blood Beast''s frown increased until it owned his handsome face. "Why didn''t the High Priest understand that you are my--"

    "Shh. Don''t. " Luna lowered his gaze and closed her eyes, praying to all the goddesses that he never mentioned the blood bond and that she was his mate. "I will exin it to him."

    "Next time, Fei, do not interrupt the Blood Beast. " Luna told Fei and there was skin bunching around his eyes as he gave her a pained stare. It was heartbreaking that she couldn''t tell him the whole truth. "He needs to feed on me because he was hungry."

    "But you''ll die by the Blood Beast''s touch long enough for him to feed on you and he will take your soul while he''s at it." There was audible stress in Fei''s tone and Luna can''t help but be frustrated too.

    "She wouldn''t because she is mine." He growled as he grabbed her waist and brought her closer to his body. "I want to kill you right now."

    Luna had learned to hold her breath so that she wouldn''t smell the Blood Beast''s sweet scent. She inched away from him so that she couldn''t even brush his shoulder with his delicious warmth.

    "Spare him his life, Blood Beast. The High Priest didn''t know about this." About them.

    The High Priest was about to unleash a stronger spell but his skin had turned to ck and blue, decaying in her own eyes. She can''t let the High Priest die so she attempted to heal him.

    "Don''t touch me or you''ll die, too." The High Priest warned her as he recoiled from her touch. He didn''t want her to die along with him.

    "It''s fine I can heal from it."

    "What do you mean you will heal?" Fei said harshly as he pushed her hand away.

    "Fei, just�� "Luna trailed off and sighed heavily. Luna knew it was better than to say anything else. "It''s a long story."

    The High Priest screamed when she reached and wrapped her hand around his neck. She absorbed the Blood Beast''s curse and put them into her body with intense concentration.

    Since she had the Archdemon''s blood in her own body, it didn''t affect her. She got rid of Fei''s illness before it could damage his system.

    "I have all the time in the world," Fei said as he panted heavily from the fear of looking death in the eye and surviving it. As he recovered from the curse, heid on the floor as he drew his knees tighter to his chest. "Tell me, High Priestess. What the fuck is happening?"

    "You should get out of here, Fei," Luna said with a sigh. "I will be fine."

    By the determined glint of Fei''s gaze, she knew he still wanted to defend her. Luna didn''t want another blood on her hands so she jumped in front of the Blood Beast, wrapped her arms around his neck, and teleported somewhere private.

    They were in one of the castle''s long dark corridors.

    She slid her hands away from his broad shoulders and the Blood Beast seized his chance. He trapped her with both of his arms outstretched on each side of her head, her back against the wall. Luna tilted her head, gathered her long silver hair to the side, and exposed her neck. "Now, hurry up and drink."

 Chapter 43 - Drink Me*

    <h4>Chapter 43 - Drink Me*</h4>

    "Now, hurry up and drink," Luna said, unafraid, as she tilted her head and gathered her hair to the side.

    It was hard to be scared of anything when she had faced an Archdemon before, and she didn''t die from the encounter.

    She was used to courting death so much that she couldn''t be bothered to jest with the Vampire King or some immortal creature from Hell.

    Luna nced up into the Blood Beast''s face with determination, jutting her chin in a challenge. Later, she noted that the Blood Beast had the same features as the Vampire King, but his hair appeared darker than before, pale-skinned and too beautiful for his own good.

    The Blood Beast shook his head in refusal of her offer. "I want a bed."

    She frowned.

    Luna didn''t think she heard that correctly.

    Was the Blood Beast serious?

    Did he want a bed than doing their business in one of the castle''s dark hallways?

    "I thought you were hungry." Luna noticed how his gaze fell to her mouth, and his pupils dted, taking over his golden eyes until only the outer ring remained.

    He appeared intoxicated by the way his gaze locked on the vein fluttering around the column of her neck.

    "I am." He said simply as he pushed her to the wall by taking hold of her hips and inserting his thigh between her legs.

    She was trapped in his arms for the second time, his muscled thigh rubbing her clit through her dress in delicious friction, and she curbed her moans from escaping her throat.

    Luna pressed her lips together. To moan would have invited more pleasure, but at the same time, she considered it a punishment to be a High Priestess.

    She swallowed hard as she struggled to find reasonable excuses, biting back a moan as she gripped his broad shoulders. " You can''t drink blood in the bed. It will get messy."

    The Blood Beast''s provocative motion as he ground his cock against her soft mound made her rake her sharp fingernails in his thick biceps.

    He growled low, and that husky voice was arrogant. "You like what I''m doing?"

    Twin pink circles painted his cheekbones, and his pulse kicked up another notch as both adrenaline rushed through his veins. His sweet, addictive scent wafting from him infiltrated her nostrils, and she breathed that in. It increased the moisture of her mouth, and the thought of drinking from his blood was a headybination. When her palm rested on his chest, she could tell that the Blood Beast''s heartbeat was strong, his energy levels high.

    "Please." Luna whimpered when it hit that particr spot. She was practically mindless with lust. Again. She can''t think straight. Herst coherent thoughts flew out the window.

    The Blood Beast lifted a hand to her throat, his fingers moving back and forth at her nape.

    The Blood Beast brought his lips closer to her ear as he murmured. "I want to touch you. Not this kind of touching. This isn''t enough for me. I want our bodies together, skin-to skin."

    As the Blood Beast''s sharp, spicy musk mixed with the scent of pine and sky lingered through her sensitive nose, Luna became hungry and weak, and she needed to feed.

    Soon. The bile had threatened to spill over as she thought about what she had to do.

    Luna''s mouth had watered, her teeth sharpening.

    She took a deep breath and exhaled. The way the Blood Beast smelled tantalized her, and she hated him for that... for sending her into a downward spiral, not being in control of her own body. With shaking hands, she fought her thirst andpulsion.

    Sucking in a breath, she prepared her vampire voice voodoo so that she couldpel him to listen to her reason.

    She needed to gain the upper hand, and she can''t do that if her brain was muddled with blood and lust. "As your mate, Blood Beast, I want you to stop whatever you are doing because it''s annoying me. I do not need your�� lustful attention. I''m good."

    The Blood Beast growled in reproach and regarded her for a long moment. He didn''t like what she said, but he did stop turning her on.

    Luna closed her eyes so that she could effectively avoid temptation, even for a little while. As she opened her eyes after finally regaining herposure, she gave him a quick and cool assessing nce as she tugged him forward.

    "Do you want me to chain you again to the bed as you did me? You had steel shackles remaining in your wrist." Her smaller height ced her gaze right at the steady pulse in his neck, and her mouth once again watered. "Do you want me to tie your feet this time?"

    She needed to prove to him that she wasn''t affected by his seduction at all.

    The Blood Beast leaned down as if he intended to share a secret with her. "I''ll just have to tie your hands and feet down before you do me, Amare."

    Amare?

    Luna''s mate, the Blood Beast, just called her love.

    Was this the end of the world?

    Concentrate. Luna raised her chin and forced herself to look him in the eye. "No, just drink from me until you''re full, and let''s call it a day."

    She attempted to move away from him, but he blocked her so quickly.

    He cupped her cheeks as those golden orbs stared deep into her eyes, his thumbs caressing that sensitive patch of skin behind her ears. "If you want to do it while standing then I can amodate you."

    Anxiety pounded through her, and the burning in her chest increased. Doing it by standing? "What do you mean?"

    The next thing she knew, the Vampire King had bitten her, gulping back every drop of crimson nectar.

    There was a sting, then only warm pleasure.

    Luna could hear him swallowing, purring as her vor met his tongue.

    His grip tightened, and he didn''t release his hold on her.

    Spots of color began to cloud Luna''s vision.

 Chapter 44 - Pleasure*

    <h4>Chapter 44 - Pleasure*</h4>

    His grip tightened, and he didn''t release his hold on her.

    Spots of color began to cloud Luna''s vision.

    The Blood Beast took a lot of blood, but still, she didn''t push him away.

    He needed it, and she had to provide for him as his food source.

    "More," Luna said the word, and it was barely audible. "Take it from me."

    Only when Luna had stilled, and her vein was almost dry as an empty cup, the Blood Beast moved away.

    With a growl, the Blood Beast swooped back in, but this time, it was his tongue marauding her mouth, his sharp teeth scraping hers.

    The kiss continued.

    Luna''s heart hammered against her ribs as desire pumped through her.

    Her fangs were elongated.

    It would be so good if she would taste his blood once again.

    Luna would bite him, suck him, and drain him.

    The urge was already there.

    Needing time to calm down, Luna tried to pull back just a little, but the Blood Beast wouldn''t let her.

    He thrust that tongue deeper and harder, scraping one of her sharp canines, and a bead of blood did indeed form, sliding down her throat.

    Sweet, calming, warming her stomach and spreading all over her, strengthening her.

    Nothing had ever tasted so heavenly, somehow soothing her hunger.

    Luna''s gazetched onto the pulse, hammering wildly at the base of his neck.

    God, she wanted to bite him, needing more of his blood.

    It was powerful and addictive.

    That little tastes were no longer enough. Her hunger soothed.

    Time to stop this.

    She was too close to falling for temptation.

    Luna was determined not to live as a vampire.

    "Please, stop." She sounded drugged, her tongue swollen. "I can''t take it anymore."

    "We are not done yet, amare."

    The Blood Beast released her chin and cupped her breast, rolling the nipple between naughty fingers.

    A bead of his sweat from his forehead dripped onto her. "I can''t do it."

    "I know you crave for me too just like what I feel for you." He murmured huskily. "You are my beloved. You are free to take everything you need."

    Grabbing his nape down with a growl, she brought the Blood Beast''s head closer.

    He bent down so that she could reach him, and she tiptoed upwards, reaching for his neck.

    Luna''s fangs cut deep, and the blood flowed into her mouth.

    Finally.

    Her teeth sunk unto his neck, and a mewling sound escaped her as she finally had the taste of her mate''s blood.

    When she tried to disengage entirely, he petted her hair with firm strokes, holding her in ce.

    "Take some more." The Blood Beast groaned as her hard nipples rubbed his chest, her breast moving up and down as she panted.

    On and on, she continued to drink, his blood propelling her higher.

    Luna disengaged before swallowing that final, life-taking gulp.

    A hoarse cry slipped from her as she wrenched her mouth away.

    Luna''s strength was instantly restored, and her eyesight became unbelievably perfect.

    Her hearing had be exponentially better, and her sense of smell became too intense, sickening, but filterable.

    Even her touch became ultra-sensitive.

    Her guilt over what she swore she would never do raged, but she never really had the time to process her shame further.

    The blood Beast''eyes seared as he plunged his tongue inside her mouth again, iming her as his hand slid down her body.

    His fingers trailed on the side of her hips as he raised her dress, gripping her panties and tearing the thin fabric with his ws.

    Luna arched into his touch as she moaned when the Blood Beast thrust two fingers inside her dripping wet core without consent, sending his digits deeper into her core.

    His thumb rubbed her clit, making her insides quiver.

    His addictive vor consumed her as he continued the kiss.

    Luna bit his tongue, desperate for his blood, savoring every drop.

    "Wait. We can''t." Luna said as she pushed him away, remembering that she was the High Priestess. "I should remain a virgin��"

    "You can remain a virgin."

    "Oh."

    The Blood Beast said as his lower body grounded against hers. "I promise that I will keep you a virgin."

    "Is that possible?" His fingers pressed her clitoris hard, and she hissed, shuddering with her lids shut. The Blood Beast''s touch wasn''t enough to send her over the edge.

    It was just enough to make her recklessly achy and needy.

    Her chest burned as her hands clung to him.

    Luna''s nails were deep in his back as her hips writhe and her head thrashed desperately to reach the peak of her orgasm.

    A third finger joined the y, his fingers moving in and out as they mimicked the motions of sex.

    "I ached to be filled." Luna panted as she shamelessly reached between their bodies and cupped his thick, straining erection.

    He was as hard as a rock.

    He pulled his fingers out of her.

    She nearly cried.

    Every nerve ending in her body was sensitized, waiting, ready to experience climax, and the Blood Beast had pulled away.

    "Beg, amare," he said.

    "Fuck you," she snarled.

    The Blood Beast breathed in and out, ragged, shallow, his eyes shooting fire at her. "That''s what I''m trying to do, but I need to control myself."

    The heel of his hand returned between her thighs, offering more of that delicious pressure while his fingers dove back into her.

    "I will--" Trembling, writhing, hurting, Luna bit down on his tongue once more, unable to stop herself from sucking and swallowing every bit of blood she could.

    The climax hit her, mming bone-deep, soul-deep, her muscles twitching, body grinding, hurting, thoughts splitting apart, flying.

    A scream ripped from her.

    A scream of pleasure and pain.

    Heaven, and Hell.

    Wonder and regret.

    She wed at his back, shredding his shirt.

    She thrashed, she writhed even harder, she cried some more.

    Luna took a moment before she could speak.

    "Are you hurt?" The Blood Beast asked quietly.

    "It hurts." Luna managed but not wanting to borate. "But it''s good. Please don''t stop."

    The Blood Beast jerked his fingers from her, and Luna almost cursed from the loss of feeling full in her tight quim, but fortunately, he was lowering his pants to free his cock.

    Palm wet from her arousal, the Blood Beast gripped himself as his hips pistoled back and forth, hand moving up and down.

    As she nced down to watch his pleasure, Luna decided to lean up and nick his jugr, drawing only the slightest heavenly bead and rubbing whatever pleasure-chemical her vampire teeth had produced into his wound.

    The Blood Beast stiffened and stilled.

    A roar split his lips and echoed in her ears.

    He shook on and on, seconds blending into minutes, minutes to a necessary eternity.

    Luna gazed up at him, dazed by what had just happened.

    The Blood Beast''s eyes were pure amber fire and his breath sawed in and out, sweat still pouring from him.

    He lifted his hand as she watched him bring his fingers to his mouth.

    Theirbined essence gleamed there.

    He licked away every drop,pletely uninhibited, and it was the most erotic thing she''d ever seen.

 Chapter 45 - Interrupt*

    <h4>Chapter 45 - Interrupt*</h4>

    He licked away every drop,pletely uninhibited, and it was the most erotic thing she''d ever seen.

    "Delicious," he muttered, briefly closing his eyes and savoring.

    He''d sensed the emotions pulsing off her and they had short-circuited his brain, causing great waves of arousal to sweep through him. Dark, carnal, and consuming.

    The Blood Beast had recovered and he was hard as a rock again.

    Exquisite, he thought. A trickle of crimson slid down her chin and her lips were red and dewy. He traced a fingertip over the seam of his lips, and her entranced gaze followed the movement.

    The High Priestess'' lips even puckered, suddenly wanting to press into his.

    Her eyes no longer glowed, but her skin was so rosy it was like the petal of a rose. The High Priestess smelled like the sweetest flower.

    "I want to do that again. I want to see your face as you reached orgasm." He growled low in his throat, pulled from her, and straightened. This time, he had fully removed his pants and kicked them off, leaving his body as bare as hers.

    Impatiently, the Blood Beast bunched the hem of her dress and tugged upward, her silver hair falling around her in tangles as the material left her.

    Then she was naked, his gaze drinking her in as his pupils dted. His fingers inched up her naked thighs and spread her for his view. "Wet," he praised. "Pretty."

    He sighed, making sure the warmth of his breath trickled down the base of her throat, to the valley of her breasts down to the soft flesh below her stomach.

    Whether she allowed much more intimacy, he would not allow his mate to leave without his scent. His mark would be imprinted on her every cell, and she would think of him every time she breathed.

    The Blood Beast knelt on the ground and parted one long leg to hang on his left shoulder to gain more ess. His head was between her thighs as he tasted, licked, and ate her.

    She cried out, arching her back as her quim''s wetness swiped his handsome face. With both of her legs quivering with pleasure, she reached back as she fisted his hair, holding him down.

    The Blood Beast continued to lick, suck and nibble at her. He kneaded her breasts, attacking her from every angle.

    "Oh, Goddess," Luna gasped when his wicked tongue flicked and circled in a naughty rhythm she''d never before experienced.

    Then he did that thing with his tongue again, sinking it as deep inside her as it could go. His teeth scraped at her clitoris and she groaned at the heady pleasure.

    He inserted a finger as he stretched her, his tongue dancing over her. Her nipples were hard and straining.

    Goddess, so good. She wanted his mouth on her breasts, too. She wanted his mouth everywhere at once. His hands enjoyed her some more, ying her like she was some kind of an instrument.

    "Come for me." He murmured, his deep voice tickling her.

    "Please��I can''t. Take it. Anymore."

    He growled low in his throat, once more bringing her focus to his face. "Don''t look away from me. Understand?"

    This time she nodded.

    "Ah. Ah. Ah. " Luna chanted as she squirmed.

    She gritted his teeth against the bliss, determined not toe like this again. It was proven to be a difficult task since she instinctively arched up to meet the thrust of his long, dexterous fingers and the way his tongue moved inside her.

    She was almost finally doing something he hadmanded her to do.

    Helpless to do otherwise, Luna climaxed as pinpricks of white lightning exploded behind her eyelids. Every muscle in her body clenched and unclenched on her bones. It was the second orgasm she had and it was pain and paradise. Pure, perfect, and shattering.

    Her desire glistened around his mouth. As she watched, he swiped his tongue over his lips, licking at the essence of her. His eyes closed, his mouth lifting in a half-smile as though he savored the taste again.

    "You look beautiful when youe, amare." His words were as electrifying as a caress, and she found herself drowning in him.

    Her fangs elongated and she was craving his blood, making her a ve of the Blood Beast dependent on his elixir for survival. She had already taken a lot and Luna shouldn''t take more or she would be in trouble. She would be a rogue vampire with blood addiction.

    Control. She needed control.

    "Hear footsteps." The Blood Beast snarled, his breath hot against her creaming folds.

    That got her attention.

    Yelping, she jerked away from him, separating their bodies. "Why didn''t you tell me sooner?"

    Luna peeked down the hall. It was empty but she had sensed their arrival.

    Luna shakily wore her torn clothes that kept on falling from her shoulders as she blushed at the wetness between her legs.

    "I don''t care. They see what they see. I owned this goddamn castle." More leisurely, The Blood Beast bent over to pick up his pants from the floor and fastened them to his waist.

    It was the Vampire King, the Archdemon''s Host. But right now, the fact didn''t make any difference since they shared the same body. Luna did not incline to correct him at the moment.

    She just wanted to cum.

    It was a wonderful experience as a virgin and he had aplished the task even if his erection was still swollen and long that it reached over his navel. His stomach was so deliciously corded with muscle and her mouth watered.

    The Blood Beast remained in front of her, blocking her from anyone''s view as a group of vampire soldiers rounded a corner.

    It was time to fulfill her end of the bargain.

    Since the Blood Beast had already fed from his mate, it was time to bring the Vampire King back and fix this hellhole she had gotten into. "Et abierunt, Ravin."

 Chapter 46 - Empress*

    <h4>Chapter 46 - Empress*</h4>

    Ravin had a hard time seeing straight. Everything was out of focus, and his eyes couldn''t seem to get hold of the High Priestess. It was strange. His vision kept sliding off her shape as if it was too slippery for his gaze.

    He tried to watch the High Priestess as she held him in her arms, but it was almost impossible to see her.

    He and the High Priestess had frolicked naked at the castle''s hallways like naughty children enved by some sensual spell, indulging every appetite, both natural and unnatural, until theyy exhausted but never sated in the cocoon of each other''s arms.

    He had pressed his face to her breasts, and she threaded her fingers through his hair with a fondness that made him sleepy as she said his name along with a binding spell.

    Ravin had never dared ask her how she had known his name. Known his heart. Known his very soul.

    It was the High Priestess''s dark magic. She had gained ess to Hecate''s forbidden spells.

    The Blood Beast toppled over her. Luna carried his weight, but he was too heavy. She tried toy him on the floor as gently as she could. Based on the aura alone, he had been reced by the Vampire King''s consciousness. He opened his eyes and blinked, those yellowish amber orbs returning to blue.

    The High Priestess dabbed at the leftover blood on his neck and sighed when the soldiers had already passed by the hallway. She used the cloak of invisibility, and they did not indicate that they had seen them.

    As the minutes ticked by and the High Priestess became visible again, The Vampire King saw the grooves of worry dug into her forehead loosening and going away.

    "What happened? I don''t remember why I was here. I blocked out once again." The Vampire King croaked. "The Blood Beast came out fully?"

    "Yes."

    Laying his head on herp, the Vampire King wished he could stroke that silver hair covering her angelic face and bury his lips and against the satin of her throat.

    "But I came back." He stretched out his hands, beseeching her. He couldn''tprehend why he was so attracted to the High Priestess.

    "Yes. I exorcised him out of your consciousness for now." The High Priestess smothered a yawn.

    "You have broken the curse?"

    "I think I did, but I can''t figure out how toplete them yet." The Vampire King could sense the trepidation growing as she replied to him. "There are too manyyers of magic, but I can drive him out of your mind for now. He bes docile when he fed on me."

    "How did you do it? You aren''t dead yet."

    It would be great toy his head for a little while longer as the side of his ear pressed against the High Priestess'' breast, but he had already overstayed on the castle''s floors.

    If one of his soldiers or servants saw him with the High Priestess in this position, he would lose his reputation as a savage he had built in millennia in just a second.

    The High Priestess shook her head and blinked innocently. "I have my ways."

    "He turned you."

    "I''m not a vampire yet, but I had his blood in my system." She whispered, realizing what he had implied.

    The High Priestess was a turned vampire, and that was against the rule of thend.

    "You survived the demon''s blood in his full form, and it had already mixed with yours? That''s impossible. You are supposed to be dead by now." The Vampire King got up into a sitting position and stood up carefully, brushing the lint on his shirt.

    Why did his shirt appear rumpled and dusty? He didn''t look presentable at all.

    The Vampire King scanned the High Priestess from head-to-toe. Her hair glimmered in spun silver threads, and her dress was torn on her shoulders.

    What did they do?

    Even he didn''t remember what they did that fateful night after he saved her at the pool.

    "As you can see, I''m alive, You''re Highness." The High Priestess took the hand he offered, and she stood up and walked closer towards him, gazing at him eye-to-eye. "I could say I''m his primary source of food now, and he can drink my blood without killing me."

    "It''s not just your blood, isn''t it?" His nostrils red as he gripped her shoulders. "Your essence. Your scent. It''s in my mouth." He saw the bite marks closing as he examined the drops of blood in her robes. "I am sure you had be a vampire."

    "I already fed your counterpart, your Highness." The High Priestess said hastily as she stared at the ground.

    "You can bring me back, so it means you can control him with your blood."

    "My job here is done." She gritted her teeth behind a gracious smile.

    "Do not run away from me. You can control the Beast." The Vampire King imed as if he couldn''t possibly have heard her correctly. He pulled her closer to her when she attempted to walk away while still having a conversation.

    "That''s my job." She repeated as she narrowed her eyes at him."I am the High Priestess."

    The High Priestess was disrespectful, and he wondered what punishment fit her crimes.

    After collecting himself enough to speak, his voice held dangerous calm. "I can''t let you go. You are important to my well-being. Tonight we will marry. You will be mine."

    "You are no different from the Blood Beast then. A High Priestess as your Empress?" She offered him a pained grin. "With all due respect, my King, I think you are out of your mind."

    "You are valuable to me." He clutched her elbow, but not hard enough to hurt, as his voice echoed in the hallway. "I have to keep you even if I can''t prate you for my sexual satisfaction."

    The Vampire King would drive both himself and the Beast beyond endurance and let kingdoms fall for nothing more than a taste of his High Priestess'' lips and im her for his own.

    "I know there is no need, my King. You have many women at your beck and call in the Consortium." The High Priestess''s voice was a hiss ripe with content. "I didn''t see any need for you to collect me in addition to them.''

    "You are essential to my existence to live a somehow normal life as a vampire. Not a beast. A freak. You being my High Priestess wouldn''t be enough or just being a mere concubine." The Vampire King continued, his voice rising with each bitten off word, "I need to im you and hide you from other males in a castle far away from here. I will build you a tower, and I will be the only one who can see you. I will visit you every day and every night."

    "I fed you, and it is done." Her chiming voice swelled with a grim finality that mocked the Vampire King''s dominating behaviour with the damning wrath of a woman wronged. "The Blood Beast will not act up unless he needed to feed on me again."

 Chapter 47 - Food Had Become Torture*

    <h4>Chapter 47 - Food Had Be Torture*</h4>

    The Blood Beast will not act up unless he needed to feed on me again." Luna said grimly as she touched a hand on her throat unconsciously, feeling scared and a little bit defensive. "There is no need to im me as your empress."

    The Vampire King said forcefully. "We will marry tonight."

    The wind gathered force, whipping the writhing tendrils of her hair away to reveal a face as terrible and beautiful as Goddess, yet utterly without mercy.

    "That''s unfortunate. I guess you have to catch me first." The High Priestess lifted her arms and disintegrated into tiny fragments.

    The Vampire King''s grasping hands sought the softness of her flesh but closed on nothing but air. Last to fade was the mocking notes of herughter, tinkling like invisible shards of ss in his ears.

    As Luna teleported just outside the castle''s kitchens, she leaned against the wooden wall to regain her bnce.

    She went inside and saw a kitchen staff busy doing their thing. Five servants were tending a whole ox on the hearth. The cooks were busy finely chopping, mashing, and straining some seasoned ingredients on their cupping boards for the cuisines they prepared for the banquet.

    There was a ck and white dog beside the cook.

    There was arge boiling kettle on an open fire pit. Garlic, basil, rosemary, pepper, salt, cinnamon, onions, pumpkin spice, and ginger wafted from the secret recipe sauce from the sauciers.

    There were rotten potatoes, turnips, and other vegetables mixed with the fresh ones that need to be taken out but they were ignored. Maybe, the cleaners were too preupied to notice it since they were mopping the floor andundering musty cloths.

    The bakers tended on the yeasty bread, cookies, and crackers rising on a pan. There was a hiss of pot boiling over, pot lids banging and the chairs scraping over the flow.

    The kitchen maids were gathered around a well-used table covered in mats and they stood up from their wooden chairs as soon as they raised their gazes.

    When the maids and manservants saw her, all of them stood straight, bobbed their heads and stared at the kitchen''s linoleum flooring for a long time, not meeting her eyes.

    "High Priestess." All of them stopped and dropped everything to pay their respects to her.

    Luna wasn''t used to the status the Vampire King had given her since she had just been to Hell recently. She didn''t know how to react.

    Like the idiot she was, she curtsied to the servants. Their eyes widened imperceptibly, probably astounded at her actions, but they didn''t speak about it. Maybe the servants didn''t want her to feel awkward.

    "Everyone, please raise your heads and keep doing what you''re doing." They stood frozen on the spot and stared at her like she spoke a dead ancientnguage they didn''tprehend.

    She raised her hands and gestured at the kitchen table, "Please continue. Don''t mind me."

    There was a long pause before they went back to work. The servants kept on stealing nces at her as they ced spices on the raw game hen, fowls, and quails, preparing them to be roasted next on the spit.

    Luna closed her eyes to focus on the flutter of their heartbeats and the shallow breaths. They were anxious about her presence as if she was breathing down on their necks and one wrong move, she could strike them dead if she wanted.

    How should they make them feel at ease?

    They must have heard of the rumors. Gossip spread like wildfire when the castle''s servants were involved. Luna wondered what made them fear her so much when they are acting like she had the Vampire King''s curse.

    Did they know that she was immune to it? Did they suspect that she was a fully turned vampire and she was the Blood Beast''s mate? This was what Lady rence had warned her about.

    The walls have ears and she had to be careful when she didn''t know who she could count on, who she could trust.

    Everyone can betray her at any moment even the Blood Beast.

    The brown-spotted bananas and apples in a fruit bowl tempted her. She also noted the vase of wilting flowers surrounded by orange pollen dust, herbs soaking up light on a window''s ledge, and old stters on the walls and floorboards.

    Three scullery maids were attending on the dirty pile of dishes on the sink.

    But what worried her most was that she can smell the smoke and what was supposed to be a scrumptious aroma of roasted meat but it didn''t make her mouth water. The smell of steaks, sausages, grilled meat.

    She shook her head in panic. This can''t be true.

    She can''t lose her sense of taste in real food.

    Please goddess, not the meat. "Can I take a bite on one of that meat?"

    She will miss how it tasted. Badly.

    "Yes, High Priestess."

    One of the kitchen maids reached out for a knife from a banged-up wooden block holding the shears and assisted her in giving her an appropriate amount of meat slices from the cooked meat for her to taste.

    Luna stuffed a hunk of cooked game hen into her mouth, ignoring the trail of grease that dripped from his chin to her white dress. She chewed voraciously, her jaws seeking to dispel the tension her mind could not.

    Luna crouched and wretched her guts under the kitchen table and everyone jumped to her defense, grabbing a chair for her to sit as they tried their best to make herfortable.

    They hurriedly clean after it. Luna had thrown up the chewed meat she had ingested along with some unidentified ck liquid.

    She curled her lip as she physically recoiled, watching the mess she made.

    "High Priestess. Are you okay?" The servant who fed her opened and closed her hands as if she didn''t know what to do. She handed her a cloth napkin against her lips in panic. "I swear I didn''t do anything, High Priestess. Please don''t kill me."

    "I''m fine." Luna inhaled a few deep breaths then exhaled, leaning her head on the table for support. She wiped the sweat off her forehead as she ran a frustrated hand on her hair. She shook her head and muttered, "Maybe I wasn''t feeling well."

    She swallowed hard as she leaned back on her chair, grimacing and stroking her throat.

    Luna felt sick to the core as she faltered a metallic taste of unknown in her mouth. If she could detach her mouth for a minute there then attach it back again��

    It was that bad.

    She needed to erase the memory of how the meat tasted like.

    Luna tried to hold back unshed tears.

    She can''t enjoy real food anymore.

    She was a vampire. There was no stopping this. She had no choice but to feed on blood.

    There was no such thing as a vegetable or meat-eating vampire.

    Those unicorns didn''t exist in the Vampyr Realm.

    "There''s nothing wrong with the way you cooked it." Luna ced her hands on the table to stand as she backed away from the food with a shudder. "For some reason, I just can''t stand eating today even if I''m hungry."

    "Perhaps, you are pregnant, High Priestess?"

 Chapter 48 - Sanctuary*

    <h4>Chapter 48 - Sanctuary*</h4>

    Moonlight flickered on and off between the clouds in this darkest night.

    Luna had spent the day scattering her scent from every corner of the castle, transporting from ce to ce, to the outskirts, and to the town markets, from the crowded areas to the wastednds all over the Vampyr Realm.

    She needed to throw off her scent so that the search party wouldn''t be able to find her easily.

    Luna had done that ever since she had escaped from her home in the Sacred Valley along with the Amazons that she could proudly call herself an expert escapist.

    She needed to lose her pursuers, the military general, and his cohorts, especially under the orders of the Vampire King.

    Luna didn''t know how long this game n could work when she was a mate to the Blood Beast.

    He could detect her by instincts alone as if her existence was written in his mind, in his heart, in his bones.

    The Vampire King probably knew by her presence, her life force leaving traces for him to follow.

    He knew where she was hiding.

    Luna was practically an extension of his life force and it was only a matter of time.

    The Blood Bond. If one of them dies, the other one''s pain would be so unbearable they would justmit suicide. They would suffer so much for the rest of their lives that the person would choose to end it.

    Fei''s solitary living space was an angr structure made of discolored stones shining sickly in the dark. Flowers and wreaths decorated his humble home. Climbing ivy and moss grew in the cracks of the stone as piles of leaves gathered in the roof.

    Latin spells carved into the walls.

    So this was where the High Priest lived.

    It was a hut located in the middle of the forest isted from the Castle and other inhabited ces.

    Luna frantically knocked on the wooden door but nobody answered. She knocked so hard that the rusty lock snapped open and she rushed to the entrance, letting herself in.

    "High Priest, I need your help."

    Luna saw Fei dressed in a habit, his sped hands rested on a well-thumbed page of an open leather-bound book as he chanted prayers about life and virtue.

    A small window had let a few rays of moonlight in. It must have been toote for her to realize that he had interrupted his meditation. There was a skull, urns, artifacts, books, an hourss, and arge burned-out ck candle that represented the brevity of human life.

    "You are back, High Priestess."

    Fei pushed back the long grey hair that fell over his shoulder. Soft gray wings framed his face, lessening the severity of his hawk-like nose and prating dark eyes. His sun-darkened face was etched with the fine lines only the wind can engrave.

    A full bottom lip belied the solemnity of a jutting jaw covered by a year''s growth of beard.

    Sweat poured between his grey braids in icy rivulets as he struck a match and lighted the candle. "Are you okay? I''m sorry I couldn''t defend you earlier."

    A fine edge of anticipation cut the air.

    "Don''t tell the Vampire King that came to you beforehand." Luna warned him. "I need to hurry up and find a sanctuary away from here."

    Fear cavorted in Fei''s eyes; the shadows thrown by his candle danced on the walls. "A sanctuary?"

    Luna nodded and the candlelight flickered brightly. The room smelled like mildew, rust, and fresh flowers. It was a confusing scent where the old had coincided with the new.

    "Tell me the truth so that I can help you." Fei stared at her intensely as if he was trying to read her mind. "What did the Vampire King wanted from you?"

    The branches creaked as the outside wind blew hard, stirring stuff inside Fei''s sanctuary.

    Luna focused on the bird and insect noises before deciding to tell Fei the truth finally.

    "The Blood Beast turned me into a Vampire."

    The High Priest sighed and closed his eyes.

    "You didn''t die. I couldn''t sense that you have turned into a vampire." Fei said as he stroked his beard in contemtion. "Your scent didn''t change. I couldn''t tell that clearly since I was just an old warlock, neither an immortal nor a vampire."

    "Cederic had noticed something different and I cloaked the intensity of scent my magic and an obscene amount of courtesan''s perfume that annoys the vampire''s sense of smell," Luna whispered but the sound was loud enough to hear in such a small space. "The Beast made me his Blood Mate and the Vampire King figured it out. He was determined to wed me and I barely escaped from his clutches."

    "By God''s bones!" He turned to look at her usingly and then resumed his pacing. "The King wants to marry you when you are the High Priestess?"

    "He wants to marry me tonight to secure me as his." Luna retorted as she faced him head-on. "He needed my blood, Fei. Nothing else."

    Fei who had been listening to her sighed heavily and said, "This is unknown territory."

    "Is there any ce for me to stay?" Luna demanded as she fisted her knuckles in desperation.

    "You can''t stay in my cell." The High Priest was pissed off at her disrespectful tone and yelled at her.

    "Then where?" Luna nervously bit her lip. "I thought I was under your wing. You''re all talk, old man."

    "The Vampire King had chosen you." The High Priest allowed a rare smile across his lips. Was he amused because it was a hopeless pursuit or was he generally happy that the Vampire King had chosen her as his wife?

    She hissed. "So I am on my own, then?"

    "I can help you find a sanctuary to hide--"The High Priest finished his sentence with an awful grimace��"I''m sorry but you need to do the protection spells yourself. You are on your own now, Luna."

 Chapter 49 - Sleeping Beauty*

    <h4>Chapter 49 - Sleeping Beauty*</h4>

    With Fei''s permission, Luna had essed a piece of the High Priest''s memory on where to locate his secret emergency shelter.

    She didn''t know why Fei had this secret shelter for his own and for what purpose.

    Maybe, this was supposed to be his hideout when things in the Vampire Castle goes horribly wrong.

    Fei told her that the shelter was located thirty feet under the ground covered in snow.

    Now, all she needed to know was how to find thendmark surrounding it when everything she saw was this damned tndscape. She was back again at the Vampyr Realm''s borders, far away from the Castles, far away from other royal vampire''s territory, far away from civilization.

    Luna found it tempting to cross the barriers but she was afraid something unexpected might happen if she did.

    She was bound to thisnd as she was bound to the Vampire King''s and Ravin''s blood as his mate, and as his primary source of food.

    She would be an idiot if she risked it when she never knew the consequences.

    It was better to hide at the moment.

    As the snow crunched beneath her boot, Luna dug into the ce Fei had instructed, until hardy tufts of grass peeked out the snow. She dug until she could see the frozen, barren patches of dirt.

    It wasn''t too difficult, she realized, when she found the rectangr hole that could barely fit a person with a hinged wooden door.

    She tried to pull it upward but there was a locking mechanism inside, halting her.

    She was an expert at unlocking things now because of Hecate''s grimoire. "Resero."

    The clouds hung low as the snow blew hard on her, wearing the pine trees down into sleek curves and peeks. Luna breathed as she tried to savor her surroundings before going inside her sanctuary.

    She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, her breathsing out in fogs.

    Her vampire abilities had made her sense these foxes catching hares, pr bears, migratory birds, geese and wolves howling as they traveled in packs from the far-off snow-capped mountain ranges.

    She smiled and took a deep breath on that clean ozone-like smell of fresh snow, surrounded with scattered and sparse trees

    Luna descended on the narrow steps of adder leading underground. As she leaned a hand on the wall to keep her bnce, she realized that it was made with reinforced steel.

    Blocking the exit withplicated magic spells and more tricky barriers consisting of nullification spells, she didn''t forget to cover her tracks and slide the door shut with the finality of a coffin lid closing.

    She had blocked the exit for good.

    No one can get in and no one can get out.

    The air was stale and humid as she expected. When she reached the end, she felt a crinkle of cold fabric. She illuminated the entire shelter with her floating glow lights and she realized it was just bedding.

    It will be months or years perhaps even a decade before she could allow herself toe out in this hibernation she had nned.

    Or maybe it would depend if how quickly the Vampire King and his search party can discover where she was and stop what she was attempting to do.

    Would the Vampire King even tread the ice-sheets and snow blizzards himself or would he let Cederic do the dirty work of capturing her once again?

    Luna wondered how pissed must Cederic be when he caught her again.

    She had been missing a lot of times and Cederic had been bringing her back to the castle for the third time around.

    With a snap of a finger, Luna set the old fire pit at the corner ame.

    Wait a minute, she didn''t even need it since she was a vampire now.

    She can feel cold but it didn''t bother her that much.

    It was a habit she needed to quit.

    She must think of herself as a vampire. The Blood Beast''s mate.

    The fire crackled and hissed as she settled on rattling snow crystals off her dress and frozen bootces. She had no blood supply because she can only drink her mate''s blood.

    The Blood Beast would not be able to ess her anymore if he can''t find her by her scent or her life force.

    Luna found no other way to avoid marriage with a man who owned the Consortium, who owned women, consorts, blood ves, concubines, whatever the hierarchy was. when the Blood Beast can only feed off her and it would be enough.

    If she marry the Vampire King, she would renounce her status as the Vampyr Realm''s High Priestess. The Goddess Hecate will take her grimoire back including her magic abilities.

    Luna can''t afford losing her power in this dangerous world, hopeless, and at the whims of the powerful vampires.

    Especially the Vampire King and his cronies.

    The Vampire court. Royalties.

    She needed to have the magic abilities to save these poor young women taken out of their will to be part of this Consortium.

    Luna heard a steady whisper of runners above the snow.

    Who else might they be if they weren''t the Vampire King''s search party?

    ''They were here already?'' That was quick.

    The birds cawed in the eerie silence and it sounded like an omen.

    Luna shifted on the bed as she tried to getfortable, covering herself with a scratchy nket.

    For a vampire, how would it feel like to be dead?

    Luna slowed her panicked breathing.

    Where would she go? Well, she will find outter.

    Whisperingfort as she tried to quell her terror, Luna tried not to w her skirts in panic as she whispered, "Requiem Aeternam"

    Laying in the dark alone, Luna started to feel lethargic as her sleeping death spell worked. She could sense her heartbeat starting to pump real slowly until it stopped.

    She was now dead.

    By choice.

    She will be trapped in this shelter in a long period of time unless the Vampire King found her and bring her back alive.

 Chapter 50 - Switch*

    <h4>Chapter 50 - Switch*</h4>

    "More." The Vampire King growled as he dropped the third dead female body he had drained to the floor that night, gulping back every drop of crimsoned nectar he could.

    Already bile rose in his throat, burning.

    He had turned into a devouring beast that had little of reason left in him.

    The female had spasmed and gasped and fought, but he still maintained his grip. Only when she had copsed, her eerie nk eyes staring in the ceiling and her vein as dry as an empty cup, did he finally release his hold on her.

    The Vampire King wrinkled his nose in distaste as he couldn''t keep the blood down.

    Fuck.

    He felt sicker than ever.

    Three days ago, the Vampire King ordered the servants to prepare for the wedding with the Vampyr Realm''s High Priestess.

    He followed the High Priest who had summoned him to get through with the wedding ceremony with determined steps as the sun dipped behind a ck-bellied cloud, mirroring the resigned gloom of his mood.

    A cooling breeze teased his brow. This was in just such a moment that he might have once felt the Blood Beast''s mocking presence, but the Vampire King thought the Beast was one-hundred percent on board with the marriage to possess herpletely as his mate.

    A sense of bleak irony assailed him as he ducked beneath a stone portal to enter a wild tangle of flower gardens, but as the twilight came, the air remained empty.

    There was no sense of anticipation.

    The Vampire King''s gloom plummeted to dread as the sun peeped out from behind the cloud to illuminate her beaming countenance.

    Everything was ready except for the bride, for she was nowhere to be found. The military could not find him even with the help of Cederic, along with their best trackers and spies. He thought the search party and the captured High Priestess would arrive just in time for his wedding.

    He had waited for nothing.

    The High Priestess'' scent was still everywhere in the castle.

    But it''s as if she had disappeared in this world, gone without a trace.

    The Vampire King crossed the possibility that she had died because there was no dead body found. The High Priestess was seenst in the Castle''s Kitchens asking for food.

    "She must have been really hungry. But she vomited what I gave her when there was nothing wrong when I tasted it." The Vampire King had heard the maid gossiped in hushed whispers. "The High Priestess must be pregnant with someone''s child."

    Furious, he had called for the kitchen maid who imed such preposterous rumors on his mate and had her executed in front of everyone in the Banquet, twisting her neck with his bare hands so hard that the head got detached from the body.

    "I will not tolerate any rumors against my future queen." The Vampire King dered as blood sttered everywhere on the carpet, staring at the servant''s detached head without remorse.

    He was on edge. Again.

    He wasn''t like this, but he was turning crazy mad. Something in his mind whispered, "KILL."

    The Vampire King would have investigated and asked questions before killing her for such a mere thing as gossip that he knew was false.

    The Vampire King''s body hummed, his skin prickled, and his thick muscles twitched.

    He stretched out his body, trying to buy himself a little relief. It made no difference.

    Maybe, he had been more touch-deprived than he realized.

    He searched for the High Priestess'' presence for every room he entered. He can''t feel her, and it was driving him mad with lust, mad with the urge to have a killing spree so that he could get away from himself.

    The Vampire King had kept the Blood Beast at bay as much as he could with sheer willpower, but it was proven to be difficult when he couldn''t be satisfied with anything or anyone.

    He pacified his Beast with the dark souls of the Blood ves for the meantime as his soldiers continously search for her. The Blood Beast was getting cranky for not giving him the High Priestess, his mate.

    Technically, the High Priestess was the Vampire King''s mate too.

    They had shared the same body.

    They also shared the same person.

    Nobody dared interrupt him from his feast except Jon. "Your Highness, do you require more blood ves in your room?"

    The Blood Beast wheeled around and snapped at Jon''s hand with his fangs, and it sounded like a shark from an ocean who scented a creature''s blood and went in for the kill.

    Jon leaped back, yanking his arm away. "My King! What''s your��Shit. Your eyes. They''ve turned."

    The Vampire King paled and then stumbled away, squinting and blinking. "Jon. I didn''t even know I was��"

    The Vampire King nced over at Jon, and immediately that odd, fixated look came back. Then his golden eyes shifted to the pile of dead blood ves on the ground.

    The Blood Beast''s lips pared off his teeth, and he growled, loud as a lion.

    "Your Highness! The curse is getting worse," Jon said urgently. "You need more blood."

    His right-hand man''s voice grated in his ears, and the only word that caught his attention was ''blood.'' He needed real food. Food his body can take down. His bile threatened to spill over.

    His stomach heaved, and he vomited all the blood he drunk from all the ves he killed tonight. There were fourteen of them, and not even one came close to satiating him to the fullest.

    If he kept this up, the dead bodies continuously piling up would make it look like a massacre.

    The Vampire King was exhausted, hungry��starving--stumbling as he leaned against the wall.

    "I need more." He needed warm blood from a live, jugr tap preferably from the High Priestess.

    But hungry as he was, weak as he was bing, for the Blood Beast to take over his bodypletely anytime now, he needed to feed himself again.

    Soon.

    The urges were getting stronger.

    As the Vampire King took a deep breath, he caught the erotic, dark fragrance he threw off whenever he wanted to be inside a female. He could feel the lust overwhelming his body.

    The Vampire King could feel the Blood Beast''s consciousness again, but he wasn''tpletely taken over yet. He stared at the full-length mirror in his bedroom with total absorption.

    Something else is in there, he thought. There was�� something else looking through as he stared at his reflection. The Vampire King saw the Blood Beast staring back at him.

    Shaking his head to get rid of his reflection in his mind, The Vampire King hated that he didn''t know the face of this real enemy inside him when its soul was already ingrained into his identity for a long time.

    Beads of sweat gleamed on his forehead as he grabbed the wall for support while he battled with himself as he clutched his chest in a poor attempt to calm his heart.

    His legs trembled.

    Time was slow as a snail.

    It took him minutes before he sagged, his back sliding against the wall to the ground as the tension left his body.

    He had won the fight but not by much.

    As he looked up back to his reflection in the mirror, his eyes were back to Prussian Blue.

 Chapter 51 - Dragons*

    <h4>Chapter 51 - Dragons*</h4>

    As he looked up back to his reflection in the mirror, his eyes were back to the normal blue ones.

    Nobody dared to stop the Vampire King as he handled his food, all animal strength, and reflexes.

    Any creature who crossed his way can''t speak anymore when he ripped their throats in a sh.

    He stretched his neck, side to side. He didn''t care anymore.

    The Beast was hungry, and no creature can satisfy that hunger in his goddamned castle.

    He might as well start killing his subjects and burn his Kingdom down.

    Hmm, he could look for the High Priestess himself and kill her for running away, for disobeying his authority. But his weakness was also his strength, for if his mate dies, then he would die too.

    "Maybe, we could burn in Hell together." The Vampire King heard the thought in his mind.

    It was an obvious statement as if it was his thought and not the Blood Beast��or was it his own?

    The Vampire King''s coattails red out behind him as he held annoying royal vampires by the neck.

    The Vampire King didn''t appreciate them when they try to tell him what to do, pacifying the cold rage he felt inside.

    Until this cold rage had turned into indifference.

    His apathy had overwhelmed the anger.

    The Vampire King was deadly beautiful in the moonlight, his face twisted into a snarl, his big body pummelling some ugly vampire dukes in his free time.

    Cederic didn''t think twice when he realized what had be of the Vampire King. The Military General knew right away that the Vampire King wasn''t acting like himself.

    As if he had changed over the week.

    He used to be an organized psychopath who knew what was right and wrong, but he always chooses to do the right thing.

    Always.

    Now, he was possessed by another type of psychopath who didn''t give a fuck and continued killing creatures without any reason.

    It must have been the Blood Beast controlling his consciousness, but then, Cederic noticed his feline eyes were still in the shade of dark blue instead of the golden ochres.

    The Vampire King, Apollyon''s real soul, was nowhere to be found in that ruthless form.

    Cederic had to do his job and fulfill his promise to his great King, who used to be his friend when he was a young boy and someone he looked up to until now.

    If Apollyon acted wrongly, whichpromised the safety of the Vampyr Realm and the entire race, then he must be put down by any one of his close circles and by any means possible. This was the promise he made as he swore his allegiance to the Vampire King.

    It wasn''t treason to kill the Vampire King.

    He just had to fulfill the promise he made to Apollyon the moment he became his Military General.

    Cederic ordered his marksman as they shifted into firing position at the top of the castle''s tower. They aimed at their King''s heart, who was about to kill another vampire in his midst.

    Cederic could not bring himself to pull the trigger as he recalled the memories he had with Apollyon, his friend. Apollyon, who didn''t have royal responsibilities.

    The Apollyon who wasn''t the Vampire King.

    The Apollyon before Lilith, that ugly High Priestess who cursed him of the Blood Beast.

    He remembered everything, making him waver in his decisions.

    Cederic''s hand shook on the gun, which contained the wooden bullets, made out of the ancient White Oak tree for the sole purpose of destroying pureblood vampires.

    He had to get this over with.

    Cederic shook his head and raised his hand as a signal to the soldiers.

    The shots were fired.

    There was a brilliant sh of white from out of nowhere like a nuke had gone off. The night turned to day as everything in the clearing was illuminated. As the brilliance receded, someone came behind Cederic. When he recognized Jon, he lowered the gun.

    "Cederic, get your firing squad out of the rooftops." Jon was hauling ass, legs pumping like he was about to get served.

    "What about the Vampire King��"

    Cederic didn''t get the rest of the sentence out. Jon hit him like a huge boulder, doing a grab and drag that ended only when they were both out of the castles'' turret. They closed the door shut as they descended towards the stairs.

    Cederic turned on Jon defensively. "I have to do it, Jon! I had no choice but to kill the Vampire King when he isn''t acting normal! I had the right as his Military General."

    "By the gods, Cederic," Jon yelled at Cederic furiously. "The Vampire King was never normal."

    A mighty roar split the night, and Jon slowly turned his head to where the sound came from. "Now, you have pissed him off."

    "What? So I''m just going to stay in the background as Apollyon ughter every one of our kind until we go extinct?" Cederic demanded as he clutched on Jon''s shirt and asked him breathlessly, "Where do you want us to go? My legs are too short for these long-winded staircases. I will teleport us to where you wanted."

    "Let''s go outside to where the Vampire King is," Jon replied. "We don''t kill the King, motherfucker, we just have to give him something to y with until we find Luna. She was the motherfucking reason why this had happened."

    As they transported through the clearing, Jon and Cederic saw a creature. Some twenty feet tall, it was built along the lines of a dragon, with teeth like a T-rex and a shing pair of front ws. The thing flickered in the moonlight. Iridescent purple and lime-green scales covered its powerful form to the ends of its spiky tail.

    "What the hell is that?" Cederic whispered as they tried to hide behind the winter trees, far away from the monster with the golden reptilian eyes.

    Jon sighed heavily before he replied, "The Vampire King is in a really bad mood."

 Chapter 52 - Return Of The Vampire King*

    <h4>Chapter 52 - Return Of The Vampire King*</h4>

    "What the hell is that?" Cederic whispered as they tried to hide behind the winter trees, far away from the monster with the golden reptilian eyes.

    The Vampire King, who turned into a monster, let loose another howl.

    Jon sighed heavily before he replied, "The Vampire King is in a really bad mood."

    He went after his soldiers and the vampires who had gathered around to stop him as they defended the outer bailey, picking them up and stomping on them as if they were toys.

    Nothing was left. Not even bones.

    Cederic sensed another presence in the Winter Forest, and he nced over his shoulder.

    The High Priest who watched the entire shit storm, along with Cederic and Jon at the outer enclosure of the Vampire Castle, felt himself beginning to hyperventte.

    Fei was there as he raised a finger which released a re of yellow, lighting a hand-rolled psychedelic herb in shaky hands. When the High Priest exhaled, tangy smoke filled the air as they witnessed the chaos in silence.

    "Since when has he��" Cederic turned back to the monster ying in the clearing.

    He didn''t know what to say, and he lost his train of thought.

    "He couldn''t keep the blood down. No blood can satisfy his hunger and he had already killed several blood ves, their dead bodies stockpiled in his bedroom." Jon exined, his eyebrows knitting together. "The Vampire King scared me so much that I hadn''t buried the corpses yet. When he looked at me, there was no recognition in his blue eyes. I couldn''t figure out if he was taken over by the Blood Beast or he was like this all along."

    "Sard." Cederic rubbed his palms in his stressed-out face. "What are we going to do?"

    As the carnage continued, Cederic began to feel as if he was watching something interesting as the dragon destroyed a huge chunk of the gatehouse when its scarlet tail whipped on them.

    He had not seen this kind of violence before. Cederic, in all his years as the military general of the Vampire King, had seen plenty of dead bodies on a battlefield and some of which had been hard-core gruesome.

    But he had never witnessed a ughter in live-action before with dragon mes burning in the background, and the shock he felt out of it felt detached... unreal.

    In a way, Cederic found the Beast graceful from the way it spun a fellow royal vampire up into the air and caught it with its mouth and chewed with itsrge teeth.

    "This was the first time I have witnessed this," Cederic remarked.

    "I witnessed the mid-shift but not the full creature like we had seen tonight. The Vampire King was good at keeping the Beast under wraps. Something might have triggered this Berserker." Jon cocked an eyebrow at Cederic. "I guess you haven''t stayed close with the Vampire King for centuries unlike me."

    "Often enough, the Vampire King feeds on the blood and the soul for the Beast. If that didn''t work, he goes for the sex. Keeps him calm. If not, he turns into the Blood Beast. This Berserker must be his fullest form."

    I''ll tell you this, Jon." Fei finally spoke after a long period of silence. "Nobody screws around with this Berserker. It doesn''t know who''s a friend and who lunch is. All we can do is to wait around until the Vampire Kinges back, and then we take care of him."

    Something was flung on the ground. They stood with a bang.

    Oh, god''s blood, was that ahead?

    "Take care of him?" Cederic murmured.

    When he nced back at the clearing, it was now empty except the Dragon.

    With another deafening roar, the dragon wheeled around as if looking for more to consume. Finding no other things to y with, its eyes focused on the fortress as it breathed more mes.

    "Can we distract the dragon away from the castle?" Cederic asked.

    "Who had magic among the three of us?" Jon muttered. "Let the High Priest do it."

    "I should do that." The High Priest agreed as he tapped his staff on the ground twice, sending a beacon of light as it expanded in different directions. "Signum."

    With the blinding brightness of the signal to distract it, the beast shook its head so much it would probably detach its horns from the vigorous movement.

    "God''s Blood." Fei shook his head in regret. "I shouldn''t have done that."

    The dragon howled as he saw the source of the firework and charged at them, running on two legs. Its weighted strides were as loud as thunder as it shook the ground.

    "Fei, we should escape from here. The monster had seen us." Cederic growled at Fei as he moved towards him, clutching his robe and holding Jon''s hand to get them out of there.

    "No." The High Priest with a tone of finality.

    Jon ran a frustrated hand through his hair and punched a tree in annoyance. The old man was stubborn. "Why? Do you want to be eaten by the Vampire King? You were the one who told us he didn''t know the difference between friend and lunch."

    "I know the Vampire King was in there. Somewhere." Fei said cryptically.

    "Old man. You are out of your damn mind." Cederic snarled at Fei. "Go ahead if you want to die. We will save ourselves. You brought this upon yourself."

    "You are an ancient vampire and you are older than me, Cederic. You''re so old that your brain had started to rot." Fei rolled his eyes and continued sharply, "I know secret information that will make this Blood Beast listen."

    The dragon lifted its muscled forelegs towards them, and Fei shouted with all his might, "I KNOW WHERE THE HIGH PRIESTESS IS!"

    The creature stopped right next to the High Priest and crouched in front of him, and its exhales fogged on their faces, creating a mist.

    Up close, the thing was hideous.

    Narrowed golden eyes. Snarling jowls. w-like daggers. Full set of sharp teeth, its gaping mouth was right out of a nightmare.

    Cederic didn''t waste time and aimed his gun in the dragon''s heart and fired. ck blood ran down its chest. The creature cocked its head and blinked as its gold eyes turned white.

    Abruptly it heaved a great breath, and then the massive body started to shake.

 Chapter 53 - Caught*

    <h4>Chapter 53 - Caught*</h4>

    The creature cocked its head, gold eyes turning to white as it blinked.

    Heaving a monstrous breath, the creature''s massive body shook as a loud screech came out its throat piercing through the night.

    There was a sh of white blinding light which forced the people nearby to cover their eyes, and then she saw the Vampire Kingid on the ground, naked.

    The Vampire King shook uncontrobly on the snow-covered ground, with his eyes squeezed shut as a sheen of perspiration broke out all over his skin.

    ck blood covered his face, his dark hair and down his chest. She could see him move his mouth slowly but she had no idea what he said.

    The bullet had dug a small hole on his shoulder when Cederic aimed the gun at him.

    Luna heard an ear-splitting roar at the same time she realized her wandering soul was back at the Vampire King''s castle.

    An instant sh of light had ripped through the de.

    Luna thought it was just an effect of her apparition''s arrival at the castle''s outer bailey, but it wasn''t just a random explosion.

    As she looked at the ground, Luna had stopped dead in her tracks.

    Something had been doing a number on the vampire and human folks, picking them off like flies and shoving them in its mouth.

    A creature.

    From out of nowhere.

    Luna''s astral spirit floated higher in the skies as she took in the bigger picture, witnessing the ughter beneath her.

    There was a dragon at the epicenter of all this chaos and destruction as it chased around innocent people running and ducking low on the ground, creating distance away from the monster as much as possible.

    The dragon was so nasty she didn''t have the guts to watch the bloody massacre for too long.

    Luna needed to separate herself from the scene and go somewhere else.

    She knew it was over but she just couldn''t stand watching this massacre any further or what was left of it.

    She didn''t know anything much about the monster that had done the damage.

    Was this monster came from the caves underneath the Valley of Kings?

    And if so, how did it escape from the tunnels?

    Unless someone had summoned this dragon.

    Why is there even a dragon in the Vampyr Realm?

    That didn''t make any sense.

    The dragon had thrown the body of a fellow vampire, and it hung from the tree. Luna''s gaze zoomed in in the direction of the Winter Forest, and she had sensed the presence of Cederic before hepleted his materialization.

    Goddess, even in her spirit form, Luna was indeed getting stronger.

    There was also another male with him, also an incredible lethal vampire she wouldn''t forget, Jon the bastard, although the goddesses only knew what Fei the High Priest had been doing with the military general and the Vampire King''s right-hand man hiding behind the Winter Forest looking like spectators in a battle arena.

    The fight had gone on for what seemed like an eternity.

    Some ancient vampires who belong to the royalty had tried to take on the dragon, punching and biting him several times with no measurable effect on the reptilian monster''s stamina or strength.

    It was midnight, but the sky was set aze as the dragon breathed more fire.

    Luna could hear the screams as if it was stuck on her mind on repeat, mixed with the gunshots.

    The mes roared as it swallowed everything on its path as it set the Vampire Castle aze. Its thick smoke was dark clouds reaching into the sky.

    Even the moon.

    Luna choked back the smoke that burned her throat so badly it hurt to breathe.

    It seemed like it was the end of the world.

    The Dragon had lit the gatehouse and the barbican aze, and the Castle''s soldiers were in a panic trying to put out the fire and save what was left of the front part of the Vampyr Castle''s fortress.

    Luna watched some of the warriors surrendered to the mes, eaten alive by the very structure they had sworn to protect.

    Luna followed as the dragon hounded at the source, where the sudden outburst of another bright light came from. That''s why she was running, into the smoke, toward the fire��right into the mouth of the beast.

    The next thing she knew, Cederic had sprung forward and shot the dragon while its intense gaze was focused on the High Priest. He had aimed for his heart and fired his gun on its shoulders instead.

    There was another bright re. The light had gone off and the monster disappeared.

    When she had arrived at the scene, Luna saw the Vampire King in all his naked glory, clutching his shoulder and falling to the ground.

    Jon yanked off his coat and put it over the Vampire King''s naked body.

    "She''s here��"

    Leaning down, Cederic tried to catch the words that were being mumbled by the injured Vampire King. "What was that?"

    "I found her."

    +++

    Luna pped a hand over her mouth to keep the scream from erupting across her quiet underground shelter as she jerked from the dream and woke up.

    She could smell the death and smoke sticking into her body.

    As she lied in her bed, tears slid down either side of her face, leaving hot tracks across her chilled skin.

    Luna had already turned into a vampire, but she could feel it was icy cold in here.

    Well, it made sense since she was under deep piles of snow.

    As the anger fuelling her from the nightmares seeped away, more desperate tears welled up and spilt down her cheeks.

    She heard her own constricted, choked-off sobs pressing close to her in this ustrophobic prison.

    Time would not change the situation.

    Tears would not change the situation.

    She had one choice, and she knew she could either make it now or hours of suffering from now.

    She needed help in removing the Blood Beast from the Vampire King,pletely separating these two entities.

    She had to summon the Archdemon of Lust.

 Chapter 54 - Shit*

    <h4>Chapter 54 - Shit*</h4>

    Luna had been trapped for what felt to her like weeks.

    She had be so desperate she even closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep, hoping to never wake up in her bed ever again.

    It didn''t work.

    She had to ask for help from the Archdemon of Lust.

    Maybe, he knew how to remove his fellow Archdemon from the Vampire King''s body.

    Do Archdemons know how to exorcise a fellow Archdemon, though?

    This was confusing her, but Lux was herst resort.

    The Vampire King must be rid of the Blood Beast''s curse so that he wouldn''t be obsessed with her, chase her, catch her and imprison her in hisir for the rest of eternity.

    Her mate must be separated from the Vampire King to avoid theseplications.

    Luna had preferred the materials she would use for this sole activity tonight.

    Closing her eyes and focused on her mind with deadly intent, she practiced casting spells, chanting them in her mind silently before she released these powerful incantations to the world.

    She couldn''t afford to make any mistakes such as releasing another powerful Archdemon in the Vampyr Realm.

    Luna barely had control over the Blood Beast even if she possessed his true name, and to think that the Archdemon of Gluttony was her mate.

    Luna made a make-shift altar, covered in a symbol-adorned cloth she made herself, through the resources she had found in Fei''s underground shelter.

    She also prepared other ritual items like incense, wands, chalices of water, cauldrons, and candles.

    Thirst, hunger, and the crushing loneliness she had suffered��these were the worst kind of punishment.

    Hell didn''t needkes of fire to torment.

    Time and solitude were enough.

    As Luna essed the memory she acquired from the Blood Beast of Lilith, the first High Priestess of the Vampyr Realm, she reyed the procedure again, on what Lilith had done to summon the Archdemon of Gluttony multiple times.

    Luna slowed down on the important scenes, taking notes carefully so that she wouldn''t make the same mistakes again.

    She had no creature to sacrifice their precious lives except herself, her blood as an Amazon, and the magic flowing inside her as the High Priestess of Hecate mixed with Ravin''s essence coursing through her veins.

    She had acquired the true names of the Seven Princes of Hell from the goddess Hecate''s grimoire stored in her mind.

    Would that be enough to summon the Archdemon of Lust?

    Will it be alright if she wouldn''t follow the summoning ritual Lilith did and make her own instead?

    Luna knew she could either make it now or suffer.

    She wouldn''t know if she didn''t try.

    Luna painted the talisman on the ground using blood magic, an effective form of sorcery used mostly with dark malevolent, and harmful intentions.

    It was an inverted star at the center of arge circle, also known as Hecate''s pentagram used for summoning spirits from the Underworld.

    It took her thirty repetitive shes on her wrists before she could draw the entire talisman with her blood. As a newly transitioned vampire, the more she lost her blood, the longer it took her to heal.

    White spots crowded her vision, and several times now she had almost passed out from hunger and fatigue. Her thirst for her mate''s blood. She hadn''t had any blood for so long.

    She nned to conduct a s��ance, a ceremony used to contact spirits or other entities, including the dead.

    Luna didn''t know if the Archdemon of Lust will show up in her circle.

    She started to doubt if this ritual was too weakpared to what Lilith had done.

    She performed protection barriers over her pentagram before uttering the incantations she had practiced. Luna couldn''t afford any blunders or she would summon the wrong creature.

    A noise in the background interrupted her: the sound of something falling, shattering, something heavy striking.

    Like something being knocked over��a heavy object striking the floor with a dull thud.

    Silence answered her. No, not silence��a noise sounded through the underground shelter, raising the short hairs along the nape of her neck.

    The thud was followed by a dragging, slithering noise��and it wasing behind her.

    Stomach contracting in terror, Luna turned her head slowly.

    For a moment she thought there was nothing behind her, and she felt a wave of relief.

    Then she nced up.

    A long, scaled creature with a cluster of t ck eyes set dead center in the front of its domed skull hung against the ceiling.

    It had a thick, t snout and a barbed tail that whipped menacingly from side to side with multiple legs bunched underneath it as it readied itself to spring.

    A shriek tore itself out of Luna''s throat.

    She staggered backward, tripped, and fell, just as the creature lunged at her.

    She rolled to the side and it missed her by inches, sliding along the floor, its ws delving on the deep dirt.

    A low growl bubbled from its throat.

    Did she identally open a portal from Hell?

    She was quick to her feet but she had nowhere to run and the thing was too fast for her.

    It sprang again to the ceiling again moving closer to her where it hung like a gigantic malignant spider, staring down at her with its cluster of eyes.

    Its jaws opened slowly, showing a row of fanged teeth spilling greenish drool. A long ck tongue flickered out between its jaws as it gurgled and hissed.

    To her horror, Luna realized that the noises it was making were words.

    "Girl," it hissed. "Magic Blood. To eat, oh, to eat."

    Fuck.

    Luna hadn''t evenpleted the spells yet.

    It didn''t take a genius to know that she had summoned the wrong demon.

    Luna could hear herself screaming as if from a distance as the demon began to slither slowly down the wall.

    Getting a hold of herself, she recovered herposure by breathing evenly as she advanced in the opposite direction of the demon''s movements.

 Chapter 55 - Archdemon Of Lust*

    <h4>Chapter 55 - Archdemon Of Lust*</h4>

    Luna had passed beyond terror into a sort of icy stillness.

    She swallowed as she pushed her silver strands away from her eyes, crouching and nting her feet firmly on the ground, ready to fight for her life.

    If she couldn''t keep a resemnce of calm, Luna would never be able to see this through.

    Preparing for the ideal arsenal to wreck this demon, Luna was having difficulty manifesting anything when she felt too weak.

    The thing was on its feet now and it crawled toward her.

    She evinced tiny ivory daggers from her fingers and flung them at the monster.

    The daggers hit its midsection, bouncing, and it shattered into broken pieces, striking the floor. The creature didn''t seem to notice. It came on towards her, broken shards splintering under its feet. "Drink the veins��"

    Luna''s back hit the wall.

    She could back up no farther in this tiny space.

    The creature tackled her and knocked her to the ground, which sent her head and shoulders mming into the ground.

    She twisted to the side, but she couldn''t, for the monster was too heavy.

    The demon was on top of her, and its oppressive, slimy weight made her want to gag. "To eat, to eat," it moaned. "Magic blood... To drink."

    She continued casting her spells toplete the Archdemon of Lust''s summoning ritual.

    The hot breath in her face smelled like blood and rot. She couldn''t breathe.

    Her ribs felt like they might shatter, and her arms were pinned between her body and the monster.

    Luna twisted, trying to work for her hand free. The demon''s lipless mouth twitched as its jaws opened slowly, a wave of stinking breath hot in her face.

    Luna''s hand came free. With a scream, she stabbed the thing blindly with an iron rapier multiple times.

    As the creature lunged for her face with its jaws wide open, she jammed a ball of holy fire between its teeth. Hot, acidic drool coated her wrist and spilt in burning drops onto the bare skin of her face and throat.

    The creature jerked back, a ball of greenish fire lodged inside its mouth. It growled in a thick angry buzz and threw its head back. Luna saw it swallow and saw the movement of its throat.

    Suddenly the thing began to twitch. Spasming uncontrobly, the demon rolled off Luna and onto its back, multiple legs churning in the air. ck fluid poured from its mouth.

    Oh, my goddess, more demons wereing out from the pentagram.

    Normal daggers wouldn''t affect these monsters.

    Luna realized that the first creature was not a weak demon when iron and salt didn''t work on them.

    The holy fire she had shoved into its mouth did destroy it, but for how long can she keep that up when she was losing her energy from her hunger for Ravin''s blood?

    "Ego vocare vobis, Luxen, ego opus tuum auxilium, venit, et deinceps."

    Luna never got to continue her spells again with too many distractions.

    Gasping for air, Luna rolled over and started to scramble away from it.

    She had nearly reached the trapdoor when something whistled past her head.

    Luna raised her hands and ducked, but it was toote.

    A heavy object mmed into the back of her skull, and she almost copsed forward into ckness. At that moment, another demon tore free from the pentagram with a high yowling cry and flung itself to Luna.

    She was too weak to summon another Holy Fire, so she jerked an iron ance, somewhere between a dagger and a long sword, towards it, hitting itsrge head.

    The sticky acid of the demon''s blood ate away her shining de as if it was rust--no like how a colony of termites devouring a piece of wood was most urate. Luna swore and tossed the weapon aside, and itnded in a filthy puddle andmenced, smouldering like a doused match.

    They fell to the ground and wrestled once again. The demon knocked the breath out of her chest, tearing at her with hands that glittered as if tipped with metal.

    Her blood gleamed at the tips of his razor-like ws.

    Too weak and too hungry to carry on fighting that she could barely think straight, Luna''s protection magic had failed her once again, and the demon extended its ws and shed at her. She threw an arm up to protect herself, and the ws raked it, sttering blood.

    The demon lunged again, and some other creature came down across its back. The demon shrieked and fell to the side.

    Luna rolled over and sank the de gleaming in her hand and sank it into its chest.

    The demon exploded in a shower of guts, blood and gore. ckish liquid exploded around the hilt.

    The demon itself, of course, had vanished--dispatched back to whatever hellish world it hade from, though not without leaving a mess behind.

    Luna finally heard his voice in her mind, both a relief and a hint of foreboding. "I see you have chosen death for the second time, little girl."

    The Archdemon of Lust was pale as he was, once again surrounded by his glow lights--paler even than thest time she remembered. He had silver eyes and delicate yet angr cheekbones.

    There were dark stains across his white shirtfront, and his hands were thickly smeared with red.

    This powerful Archdemon had killed one of his kind with his bare hands.

    "Why did you call me again?" Lux frowned in annoyance as he focused on the drawing he had stood on, which Luna had drawn with her blood.

    Luna felt embarrassed at the Archdemon of Lust''s scrutiny of her illustration.

    Was it ugly or something?

    Was this Archdemon going to insult her again?

    You are the most stupid High Priestess I had ever seen in my entire existence. That''s not the Pentagram of the Devil''s Trap." After a few seconds, he proceeded tough maniacally as he shook his head in derision, "You drew the Sigil of Lucifer, my dear. You even included Baphomet''s head at the centre. This is a portal connecting Hell to other dimensions."

 Chapter 56 - Devils Bargain*

    <h4>Chapter 56 - Devil''s Bargain*</h4>

    You are the most stupid High Priestess I had ever seen in my entire existence. That''s not the Pentagram of the Devil''s Trap." After a few seconds, he proceeded tough maniacally as he shook his head in derision,? "You drew the Sigil of Lucifer, my dear. You even included Baphomet''s head at the centre. This is a portal connecting Hell to other dimensions."

    Muffled voices came through the Sigil of Lucifer.

    Their voices were shrill grinds of metal being scratched as they let out a burst of eerieughter which made goosebumps breaking out of her skin.

    They were creatures plucked from the depths of her worst nightmare. Another scream formed, this one lodging in her desated throat. Suddenly she couldn''t breathe, could only stare in revulsion.

    Their skins were in the darkest shade of crimson and as smooth as ss, w-tipped fingers dripping with blood.

    Gnarled wings of pitted ck stretched from its back, and small horns protruded along the length of its spine.

    A long, thin tail curled from the base, ending in a blood-soaked metal spike that nged against the floor as it swished back and forth, back and forth.

    Shock and horror blended, bing an unstoppable avnche tumbling through every inch of her. What will happen to Luna if all the demons escaped from this enclosure to the--

    "Help me close the portal," Luna shouted at Lux in a terrified tone as she felt every single hair on her skin stand on end.

    Lux materialized closer, and she stepped back to get away from him. Lux''s face was so near hers they were almost kissing. "There is no question in my capabilities of locking the portal as an Archdemon, but why would I lock the portal if I want to be free from Hell and travel to different dimensions?"

    Luna bared her teeth in desperation and scowled at him, "What do you want in exchange?"

    "I wanted to have a body in this Realm." Lux looked back at her with shockingly lovely eyes that reminded her of newly cut diamonds.

    Lux shed those razored fangs in a parody of a grin��before shing its ws yfully on her arms.

    Fear overcame every other emotion inside her, yet still, she forced her voice to work. "I have your true name, Lux. I can make you do anything I want."

    "But I can move faster, little girl. I can kill you before you could even open your mouth and say my name. "

    Lux lurched forward and banged his fist on the wall behind Luna''s head. That power punch was dangerously close to cracking her skull if Lux wasn''t too controlled with his immense power. "But, I would rather you say my name in bed, though."

    "You''re all talk and no action. As always." Luna muttered in a challenge to the Archdemon, but her pride was short-lived.

    A pause, then a hiss of breath.

    When full awareness finally struck, Luna''s entire body tensed and bowed, a scream ripping free of her throat.

    Darkness greeted her as the pain spread, riding the too-swift tides in her veins and threatening to burst through her skin.

    Luna wed and pried at Lux''s tight grip on her neck.

    A warm liquid now coated her hands.

    Blood?

    "I can crush your windpipe in a sh. Do not test me." Lux pushed her against the wall as grisly cuts marred her cheeks, blood dripping from invisible talons raking her skin. "I can smell Gluttony on you. You smell like him. Did he possess you?"

    She couldn''t answer since she was too busy screaming in pain, followed by another and another, each like a serrated piece of ss scraping her throat raw.

    In seconds, panic chewed her up and spat her out.

    She was blind, bleeding��and dying?

    "I apologize, mydy." He drawled. "Maybe you can''t talk with my ws strangling your neck."

    Lux let go of her, and she dropped to the ground.

    She tried to speak��Ravin, help me, please, help me��but the words became hard and too jagged to swallow. And goddess, the burn migrated to her chest, mes sparking every time her heart beats.

    "If you don''t give me a body in the Vampire Realm, I shall bring you to Hell." Strong arms slid under her, one at her shoulders, the other at her knees, and lifted her.

    The movement, temperate though it was, jostled her, magnifying the pain.

    She moaned as Lux carried her back to Hell''s portal.

    The sharpest edges of her panic ebbed as she felt herself recover, but the healing process was too slow for her liking.

    "Luxen, ude ostium." Luna almost couldn''t force the spell toe out of her mouth. Instead, her voice cracked as she felt the veins in her neck throb in her ears.

    A curse was followed by the pound of hard, fast footsteps.

    There were no screams or grunts of agony.

    Everything went still and silent.

    Tiny rays of light pierced her line of vision.

    One second passed, two, then the light spread, colours appearing, blue here, yellow there, until she took in the full scope.

    Luna waited��and waited��seconds ticking by with excruciating slowness, the raggedness of her inhtions bingced with the taint of rotten eggs, fetid and sharp enough to nip at her nostrils.

    She cringed, confused, and frightened by the change in the air.

    Miraculously, the unbearable ze in her eyes atst faded.

    A secondter, a horrified gasp filled her as she witnessed Lux destroy all the demons surrounding them and also the onesing out of the pentagram one by one without even lifting a finger.

    They just burst out in an explosion, their demon blood sttering everywhere.

    The Archdemon leaned in close, his heartbeat suddenly a roar in her ears.? "Let''s strike a bargain."

    Author''s Note:

    So what do you think of the story so far? Pleasement down below and let me know so that I could also improve. Your opinions are wee, but please be kind to this sensitive author. Also please help this poor, unemployed author to get into the Top 50 by giving me spare power stones. The author is a hungry monster who eats Powerstones every day. Thank you for reading. :)

 Chapter 57 - Brother-In-Law*

    <h4>Chapter 57 - Brother-In-Law*</h4>

    Sealing them inside his newly formed protective barriers, Lux ced her down carefully as she struggled into a sitting position on top of the Pentagram, blocking the demons'' exit to this dimension.

    As she stopped resisting his hold on her, Luna copsed to the floor.

    Lux tugged at her hair gently to force her to look into his eyes.

    Luna grimaced through the pain as she asked, "Why do you want a body in the Vampyr Realm?"

    "For fun?" The Archdemon of Lust faced her fully, its grin expanding. "I just want a body so that I can create chaos with my brother."

    "B-brother?" Luna stuttered as her hands tented over her mouth as unwee tears tracked down her cheeks, smearing the blood already sttered there.

    "The Archdemon of Gluttony, duh. The one who possessed the Vampire King." The Archdemon of Lust began to swipe��swipe��swipe at the imaginary bodies��clothes and skin ripping, bones cracking, tissues flying and mutting.

    Lux bent down and licked her cheek full of tears and blood. "This is a bargain. Since you are a good listener, what do you want me to do for you aside from closing the portal?"

    "I wish to separate the Vampire King from the Blood Beast." Luna''s body and mind were both paralyzed.

    Her feelings were the only thing that changed.

    "How do I do it?"

    The fear of the consequences, the shock of the existences of two Archdemons in the same realm, the grief of not knowing about what the future holds for her��each pressing against her chest, nearly suffocating her.

    "I don''t think you have the strength to grant my wish when one snap of a finger and I can turn you into dust," Lux said in a deep, rasping voice. "You are pretty weak right now."

    She picked up on an undertone of pleasure as if the murder was merely a game.

    Luna''s heart crashed into her ribs, causing bile to burn its way to her chest and up her throat.

    She let out a sob, a mixture of incredulity and wrath.

    "I''m hungry."

    "For sex?" Lux''s demon ws retracted as he lifted her chin to look up at him, staring deep into her eyes.

    Lux was extremely handsome.

    If one can ignore the darkness of the Archdemon''s soul, of course.

    Luna moved her face away from his grasp.

    "For blood," Luna admitted.

    Her humiliation remained hot and deep, like a fire in her blood, but she would not admit to a moment of weakness.

    She was well aware of the situation.

    The bastard dared to twist his lips with enjoyment as she stared at him with a quiet protest.

    Oh, how that irritated her��not that she would ever tell him.

    She would never do anything to please him in any way, but Luna would never cower in his presence, either.

    Yes, Lux was a monster of the worst kind: power-hungry, egotistical, and ignorant of the truth.

    He had the ability to harm her if he so desired.

    And would.

    He already had.

    "I see you have be a vampire." More eerieughter��before Lux dragged his sharp talons on her neck again. "I could put two and two together. So the pureblood had turned you?"

    "The Blood Beast, no, the Archdemon of Gluttony is my mate." Though everything inside her rebelled at the thought of telling him the truth, she had to do it if she hoped to get rid of the Vampire King''s curse with this Archdemon''s help.

    The Archdemon of Lust always figured everything out sooner orter.

    It was better to tell him earlier on.

    "Archdemons didn''t have mates." Lux''s amusement drained, and he frowned with exasperation. "Our kind isn''t built for that."

    "He possessed the body of a pureblood vampire, and he bound me with his blood, making me his mate." Luna snapped.

    Lux''s frown morphed into a scowl, the pretence of being here to help her vanished. "You are my sister-inw then?"

    ''To get what you want--'' Finally, a flicker of a thought. It sounded like the Goddess Hecate''s guidance, and she listened to it carefully, "--you have to be patient with what you have.''

    The realization gave her the strength to free herself from the self-imposed mental prison.

    With a roar that sprang from a soul soon to be shredded by bloodlust, Lunaunched herself into Lux''s chest.

    Her sheer force knocked him off-bnce. Lux fell backward but swiftly recovered, rolling her over and pinning her down.

    Wings outstretched, he curtained the rest of the world so that only the two of them existed.

    "Non, ego sum Dominus, Luxen." Luna licked her lips in anticipation as adrenaline surged through her, making her limbs shake." Let me drink your blood."

    Lux batted her hands away and tried to��kiss her?

    "There was no need to control me, Domina." Laughing,ughing, never stopping with theughing, Lux pressed his lips against hers, blew delicious breaths into her mouth, and shivered with pleasure, ecstasy shining into his eyes. "I would dly give it to you."

    Author''s Note:

    These Archdemons also inspired me to make a story about Archangels.

    Making a special arc for that sounds fun, and I would have to read a lot of inspiration to write more.

    This gave me a lot of ideas.

    So what do you think? Pleasement down below and let me know so that I could also improve. Your opinions are wee, but please be kind to this sensitive author.

    Also please help me reach the Top 50 by giving me spare power stones. The author is a hungry monster who eats Powerstones every day.

    Thank you for reading. :)

    I know the story is fast-paced, and many things are happening in just a few chapters, but it will slow down on Volume 2 once I have established my story plot and the tension had already mellowed.

    Please give this novel a chance.

    I want to be an author who has something to impart with my readers--especially debatable and mind-boggling topics and secrets.

 Chapter 58 - Husbands*

    <h4>Chapter 58 - Husbands*</h4>

    The Archdemon leaned in close, his heartbeat suddenly a roar in her ears. "I would dly give it to you."

    Dizziness abruptly flooded her mind, her thoughts breaking apart, unable to realign themselves.

    Where was she again?

    What was happening to her?

    Her vampire''s hands were, of course, too pale, too still.

    Luna had religiously kept tabs on her appetite, and she also knew she had thrown up other human food and blood.

    The real problem here is, can she keep Lux''s blood down after ingesting it as she did with Ravin?

    Squirming as sweat dripped on her back, she was having trouble catching her breath as her gaze locked on Lux''s pulse, moisture flooding her mouth.

    The Archdemon''s skin appeared soft, his vein full.

    Blood ... Luna needed blood.

    "I would like to make this clear, Luxen." Luna pushed him off her, but she was too weak to hold Lux''s weight, and she crashed back into the cold floor. "I didn''t ask for sex, I was asking for blood so keep your desires to yourself."

    This rake held too many liberties on her person, too caught up in his role as an Archdemon of Lust.

    She needed to establish personal boundaries from this self-proimed brother-inw of hers.

    Lux stopped so suddenly, almost betraying surprise. He appeared astounded. "But I noticed that blood and sex go hand-in-hand ording to the vampires I had seen in action."

    Luna''s hand trembled as she reached out to stroke his face, using her hypnotic vampire voice to coax him to do what she wanted. "Your blood brother, the Archdemon of Gluttony, was my mate and you have to respect that."

    "Archdemons wouldn''t care so much. We always share women in Hell back in the days when Gluttony and I were young and horny. Sticking to only one being is boring, don''t you think?"

    Lux sounded like he stood at the end of a tunnel, his voice thick as honey and distant, slowing. "We can if I wanted it to."

    Was his voice trying to seduce her?

    +++

    "But I don''t want you." Luna blinked slowly, her eyshes casting flickering shadows on her cheeks.

    The High Priestess'' hazel irises were zed, dull, but when theytched on to the pulse at his neck, they lit, swirled, once more like living emeralds, glowing.

    She uttered, "Vulnus manus vestras, avertam oculos et me bibendum, Luxen."

    As if controlled like a puppet through invisible strings, Lux was forced to hold out his hand, cut his palm with one of his talons as he hovered over her, remaining an appropriate distance to his sister-inw.

    He clenched his fist as he poured every precious drop into Luna''s mouth.

    He opened his fingers, the pool of blood trickling too slowly for her peace of mind.

    The Archdemon''s wound healed quickly, its flesh weaving back together and finally sealing shut.

    +++

    Luna waited patiently as he shed his palms again.

    She contemted biting Lux''s neck, but that would be too intimate.

    Luna didn''t want to betray the Blood Beast in any shape or form, so getting physical with the Archdemon of Lust was out of the question.

    It would take a long time before she got full.

    The red liquid slid down her throat, warm and smooth but not what she needed.

    At least her stomach remained calm.

    But she wanted more than that.

    With that rush of strength bursting out from her body, Luna aggressively outmaneuvered him so that she was on top and pinned Lux to the ground.

    Her fangs were in his neck, cutting deep, his blood flowing into her mouth.

    No longer was she trying to get away from him.

    She could hear herself swallowing, purring as the Archdemon of Lust''s vor met her tongue.

    Now she was leaning all of her weight into him, nails wing past his shirt and at his skin.

    The Archdemon of Lust was already hard as a rock, arching up, thrusting his hips, and grinding his erection into Luna''s lower body.

    +++

    Lux gritted his teeth against the bliss as spots of color began to cloud his vision.

    He was an Archdemon.

    How can this High Priestess affect him like this?

    He was powerful.

    He had never experienced a single moment of his life where he struggled to bring his strength back.

    The High Priestess took a lot of blood, but still, he didn''t push her away.

    She needed it, and it was on hermand.

    She gentled her bite and finally wrenched her mouth away.

    +++

    "Thank you." Some of Luna''s colors returned as Lux eased back on the floor, gazing at her with seductive silver eyes.

    Slowly, the Archdemon of Lust reached out to grab her by the back of her neck, brought her head down, and kissed her.

    His fangs identally bit her lip, cutting the delicate tissue as drops of her blood seeped into his mouth.

    She knew the thought of drinking blood would be abhorrent to The Archdemon of Lust when he wasn''t even a vampire.

    Why was he doing this?

    But maybe Lux needed her blood.

    Was it to satisfy an Archdemon''s curiosity regarding vampires, or was it one of his kinky cravings?

    Well, Luna could give anything besides sex because she was the High Priestess.

    This will be her way of showing gratitude to Lux.

    Hopefully, a little drop of blood would not turn him identally into a vampire when she already acquired the blood of the Vampire King and the Blood Beast in her system, including Hecate''s.

    She had never shared her blood with anyone for those very reasons.

    Luna guessed she would find out what happened to people who had a taste of her blood except for her mate.

    Luna pushed him down and pinned his arms to the ground when she realized Lux wasn''t nning to stop anytime soon.

    The Archdemon was panting and trembling.

    Luna inhaled deeply, her nostrils catching a lovely, erotic scent that was dark with a hint of a biting spice.

    She felt an answering rush of wetness between her legs, and it was a guilty pleasure of hers.

    "What is that wonderful smell?"

    "Me," The Archdemon of Lust murmured as his gaze traveled leisurely to her face and body. "It''s what happens when an Archdemon male bonds. I can''t help it. If you let me keep going and have sex with you, it will be all over your skin, your hair, inside you. Your entire being. I am marking you."

    +++

    She had no idea of the magnitude of what Lux had done.

    Or did she?

    The Archdemon of Lust''s gaze intensified on her.

    She sat up, smoothing her hair from her face with a wobbly hand.

    "What are you looking at?"

    She wore an expression of annoyance, but her words were slurred and thick, her gaze still checking out his neck even if the wound had already healed.

    No, she didn''t know.

    The High Priestess'' ignorance was the best highlight of this day.

    Well, at least he didn''t need to possess a body to stay in the Vampyr Realm now.

    He doubted the stupid High Priestess would be brave enough to kill virgins for the sacrifice and perform dark rituals for him.

    "Congrattions," Lux said as he smirked. "You now have two mates from Hell."

 Chapter 59 - Detachment*

    <h4>Chapter 59 - Detachment*</h4>

    "My mate?" Luna narrowed her eyes at the Archdemon of Lust as she ran a frustrated hand through her hair. Standing up slowly and carefully, she leaned her upper body against the wall to regain bnce. Everything happened so fast that her mind spun.

    "How?" She croaked as she licked her lips, her mouth thirsting for more even if her stomach had been full now from the Archdemon of Lust''s ichor.

    It was a miracle that his blood had sustained her when the Archdemon wasn''t her mate in the first ce.

    It must be because the Archdemon of Gluttony shared the same blood as him.

    Luxen shook his head, and it was such a graceful movement. Luna''s heart jumped when he looked at her with that naked heat in his eyes which aroused her to fever-pitch.

    She knew that what prowled behind this facade was nothing tame.

    Sometimes, she forgot that the Archdemon of Lust was in front of her, the true embodiment of sex and sin.

    "Blood bond."

    They exchanged blood but what he took from Luna was just a tiny drop.

    It wouldn''t even make a difference, right?

    "But you didn''t possess any body right now," Luna said uncertainly as she caressed her mouth.

    She must have sworn that Lux was lying: drinking blood was different than licking drops of blood from her torn lip.

    That didn''t count as an exchange for her.

    Luna was suspicious of Lux''s intentions.

    What was his motive for letting her believe that she was indeed a mate?

    "I possess you right now. As your mate, I am connected to your life force." Lux said he prowled towards her, standing just a little too close, which made her press her back against the wall. "If you die I would die."

    She didn''t move.

    He might be one of the strongest Archdemons in Hell.

    This prince must be used to obedience from his cronies, but she wasn''t one of his imps. "So, my safety is your number one responsibility?"

    "Of course, Domina." Lux chuckled, and she felt the stroke of hisughter deep inside where no one should''ve been able to reach.

    The Archdemon of Lust had imed that she was his Domina after they bonded by blood. "We are joined to the hip. I''ll protect you always. I can now materialize in the Vampyr Realm and I didn''t need to possess a meat suit or a vessel like Ravin did to the Vampire King because of this. But that didn''t mean I wouldn''t make you suffer."

    Luna was having trouble concentrating on his words with him so near.

    His scent was driving her wild with lust.

    He smelled of sin, of seduction, of danger and wildness and passion, all the things she could never allow herself to feel as the High Priestess.

    The Archdemon of Lust was the ultimate temptation.

    She made him want to do things she didn''t want to do, more than what the Blood Beast made her feel.

    "You said you possessed me right now, therefore, I am your host. Can you ess my memory?" Luna froze as the words came out.

    She shut her eyes and mentally kicked herself for even suggesting to an Archdemon to ess her memory.

    What if he probed her brain and took advantage of the knowledge passed on by Hecate''s grimoire?

    She had embarrassed herself a lot of times.

    This wasn''t the time to act stupid when every decision she made had critical consequences.

    "No, I can''t. I can only possess you externally but I can also possess you internally in a way I could have preferred." He replied.

    Lux must have thought the same thing when he leaned infinitesimally closer and blew in her ear, his smooth cheek touching her face.

    "I''ll make you scream whenever I''m inside you." He whispered huskily, a distinct tone of amusement in his voice. "Not with pain. But with pleasure."

    She swallowed as she licked her bottom lip, and the Archdemon of Lust''s smoldering gaze did not miss the gesture.

    He tucked the wayward strands covering her face behind her ear.

    Despite the teasing words, Luna knew he had picked her unconscious behavior from how he fixed his gaze at her mouth, thinking about the implications.

    There was nothing she could do to correct that mistake, but at least, she could bring the conversation back to business.

    +++

    The Archdemon of Lust hated to be controlled by the High Priestess, but he had to cancel his ns of owning a bodypletely in the Vampire Realm for the meantime.

    He didn''t want to possess anything weaker than him, so he had to dy that.

    He had to explore this Realm and choose his candidates carefully.

    Luxen must find a strong vessel other than the Vampire King.

    The Vampire King.

    His wicked smile shattered the High Priestess'' hopes of getting everything under control. "You told me that your mission is to break the Vampire King''s curse, and you needed help."

    The High Priestess''s green eyes zed with a challenge when he pulled himself back to look at her beautiful face again. "Yes. Can you help me do it?"

    "Let''s strike another bargain."

    "Archdemons and their bargains," Luna smirked and tilted her head side-to-side as if stretching, preparing herself for another battle of wills. "You already are attached to me due to the Blood Bond. What more do you want?"

    The Archdemon of Lust watched Luna move and savored the lingering warm and exotic scent of her.

    The High Priestess got his undivided attention.

    Her pale vampire skin and the lushness of her lips enticed him and made him want to bite�� in the most erotic way.

    Everything about her invited the senses.

    Intrigued, Lux was intent on licking at her to see if she tasted as good as he imagined, but he must reserve that forter when she caught his prickly mate off-guard.

    "If you exorcise my brother from the Vampire King, can I detach myself from you and rece him instead?"

 Chapter 60 - Wishing Death*

    <h4>Chapter 60 - Wishing Death*</h4>

    "If you exorcise my brother from the Vampire King, can I detach myself from you and rece him instead?"

    The High Priestess reacted explosively. "Luxen, what the fuck?"

    "I''m still your mate if that happened because we already exchanged blood beforehand." The Archdemon of Lust? said clearly as he traced her Domina''s face with his eyes, caressing the skin of her lean arms at the same time.

    The High Priestess was tall but there was nothing willowy about it.

    Her body had more dangerous curves that were illegal for a virgin.

    Lux fought the urge to engage her in a passionate, sweaty, low-down, and dirty sex and make her cry in pleasure.

    This was bad for him.

    He was making himself aroused at an inappropriate time.

    He had to stop.

    "The Archdemon of Gluttony was still technically my mate even if I drive him away from the Vampire King--" She nced up and stared at him without blinking as if in response to his intent gaze, "--and no I would not adhere to this ridiculous bargain, Lux. I will not let you rece Ravin from the Vampire King."

    +++

    Luna shook her head at the Archdemon of Lust''s suggestion.

    ''Oh, Goddess save her from her troublesome Archdemons.''

    Luna prayed as she looked down at her feet and massaged her forehead with her fingers.

    The ''Vampire King and the Blood Beast'' dilemma was soplicated she almost gave up and tried to die in her sleep and when she woke up--because her conscience would not let her recover due to the events she had witnessed at the Vampire King''s Castle-- this another Archdemon was suddenly under her wing for her to control and to tame.

    Luna felt like she was running in circles already trying to solve this clusterfuck shithole she had fallen into and now Lux had dared to create more problems by that bargain?

    "After you exorcise him where would he go?" Luxen asked as he ced a finger to tilt her chin upward.

    The Archdemon of Lust had a fetish for eye contact.

    Luna stared pointedly at Lux, watching him without blinking because that was what he wanted. "Back to Hell where Archdemons truly belonged."

    +++

    "Hell?" He searched her face for an answer to the puzzle of her. "But how will you be able to survive without Ravin when you imed he was your mate?"

    "I am mated with Ravin through the Vampire King." She looked away from him and the Archdemon of Lust frowned. "If I send Ravin back to Hell, I could survive by drinking the blood of the King as his newly turned vampire. Don''t worry, I could take his blood down like I did when I drank from you."

    "Theoretically?"

    "Yes."

    "But you will never know if that would work or not. Once you separated the both of them, what if you sent Ravin to Hell and you found out that the Vampire King''s pure undiluted blood wouldn''t make you full and satisfied?"

    The High Priestess'' voice quivered a little bit. "I can keep the Vampire King''s blood down."

    He sensed the tremor in her response.

    ??You sound afraid, Domina. Ravin will find a way to drag you to Hell and the three of us will live happily ever after." The Archdemon of Lust said sarcastically as he looked at the crown of her hair.

    Thepulsion to reach over and tug her towards his body was strong, he didn''t bother to resist as he engaged her in physical contact.

    He murmured, "I think you already know that we, Archdemons, didn''t need blood but you have be our weakness."

    "This is why I had a desire to separate Gluttony and the Vampire King because it is perilous for Ravin to co-exist with the King''s body in this Realm. He was already wild and out-of-control especially when he possessed a powerful pureblood. He stole souls and drained the blood of the innocent inhabitants, killing people senselessly. What if he creates an army of rogue vampires like me and conquers all the Realms in the Night World?"

    He wondered which one of them she was trying to convince.

    "He was an Archdemon, Luna. He couldn''t control thepulsion because what he was showing you was what he was entirely made of. Gluttony is his sin and you can''t do anything about it."

    "This was my fault. The Blood Beast and the Vampire King had co-existed for millennia without my interference. I have created more chaos as the new High Priestess of Hecate. I am such a failure if I can''t even get rid of the Vampire King''s curse when all of my ns had escted to a point of no return." Luna sighed heavily and pushed him back, jerking away from his warm,forting hug. "This is why I want to separate him, Luxen. Anyway, I have multiple mates so I can survive as long as I have even one of you."

    The High Priestess began to walk towards the dusty mattress and sat there.

    She pondered if she should just do an eternal sleeping spell once again and never wake up from this living nightmare.

    "Then how about us?" The Archdemon of Lust asked as he approached, lifting his hand to stroke her hair but then he paused before he even touched her. "Please remember that if one of us dies, you will die too. Separating with one of your mates isn''t a good option, Luna."

    Fuck.

    Was there any other way to break this Blood Bond?

    All of her problems would end if she justmitted suicide.

    But then she already died multiple times, where would she go?

    Would she go to Heaven or Hell or simply just a speck of dust in this Universe?

    A ce where she didn''t exist at all?

    "You had never taken into ount in this scenario of yours, Domina?" The Archdemon of Lust said seriously. "Have you ever thought that maybe I wanted to stay in the Vampyr Realm with you?"

 Chapter 61 - Lustful Urges*

    <h4>Chapter 61 - Lustful Urges*</h4>

    "You had never taken into ount in this scenario of yours, Domina?" The Archdemon of Lust said. "Have you ever thought that maybe I wanted to stay in the Vampyr Realm with you?"

    Goddess, she had picked a hell of a target.

    ''One that could lock her away or kill her, no questions asked.'' Luna thought, a cold sweat beading over her skin.

    The Archdemon of Lust was a merciless killer like Ravin.

    He didn''t hesitate to hurt her earlier, but why should he change now?

    Why would he stay for her when Luxen would probably destroy the entire Kingdom for his personal amusement?

    Was it because she had be his mate?

    How easy it for these two-faced Archdemons to adapt and switch their character depending on the situation.

    There was no way in Hell that she would believe and trust them right away with anything.

    She leveled a piercing re at the Archdemon who was determined to make her suffer."Had it ever crossed your mind that you are mine now and as my mate, you had to take into consideration what I want?"

    In the snap of a finger, her mind separated from her body, her limbs no longer hers tomand.

    He had the same abilities as Cederic, the military general.

    Of their own ord, both of her arms were raised to the ceiling, and her feet were firmly nted on the floor, forcing her to sit with her legs spread, unmoving, in the darkened space.

    The Archdemon of Lust was controlling her.

    She had known there was a minuscule possibility that this could happen, but she didn''t expect it anyway.

    The Archdemon of Lust stood between her spread thighs; his erection was leveled to her mouth.

    He had run his hands through his hair a few times, making them sexily disheveled.

    "Well, Domina, just say the word if you didn''t wish to stay in the Vampire Realm anymore. We can always open up Hell''s portal together and live in our Kingdoms." His silver eyes glittered dangerously as he scanned her body for perusal. "Ravin and I, we will take turns on your attention and make arrangements."

    Oh goddess, did the Archdemon of Lust just suggested some sort of a wife schedule for her in Hell?

    "If that''s the case, I have no desire to go to Hell, Luxen," Luna warned him, gritting her teeth as she tried moving her muscles.

    If she could, she fancied being alone for the rest of her life than dealing with her two husbands.

    "I don''t know about that," Luxen said huskily. "Have you tried breaking the Blood Bond?"

    Luna smelled that delicious, seductive scent wafting from his skin again, and she would not allow her body to ready.

    He would think her desire was for him.

    And it wasn''t.

    Really.

    "I don''t know, Lux. I have you and Ravin''s blood in my body now including the Vampire King''s." Luna''s jaw clenched even as her nipples hardened, her mind momentarily lost in the naughty things the Archdemon of Lust''s fragrance was sexually suggesting.

    She asked cautiously, "Was I a Vampire Demon High Priestess now?"

    Luna was confused about what to call herself except an anomaly in this Realm.

    "You are the High Priestess of the Underworld. You have all the answers. Why are you asking me?" With a tilt of his chin, Luxen motioned to the bed. "Unfortunately, my talentsy elsewhere, Domina."

    Luna was a newbie High Priestess, and that was reasonable enough.

    "You are my mate so you are obliged to answer me."

    Luna trusted the Archdemon of Lust not to hurt her since he already imed they were mates.

    They needed to look out for each other, especially in these unprecedented times.

    "It is nice that my Domina had acknowledged my role as your mate." Rather than force her to stay locked in ce, Luxen released his hold on her. "Any more questions?"

    "I told you about my desire to exorcise Ravin." Her emotion was barely leashed white-hot anger. "How should I go about it?"

    Smiling smugly, the Archdemon of Lust forced her to face him. "Why would I help you?"

    Laughable. The bastard knew he had the information she wanted, so of course, he would y hard to get.

    As her mate and the owner of the life force he had connected, she should be in control of him.

    Not the other way around.

    "Please, stop pissing me off."

    His gaze fell to her lips once again, and his nostrils red.

    Did he want to kiss her now?

    A fingertip traced the seam of his lips, and she reveled in the feel of his skin on her mouth.

    His pupils dted when his eyes locked with hers, as the ck overshadowed the silver color of his eyes. His hot gaze perused her, lingering on her breasts.

    Luna''s eyes widened in shock when the Archdemon of Lust touched them, cupped them, weighed them at the palm of his hands.

    Goddess!

    "Soft. I like." Luxen said as her breasts overflowed in his hands. "I want them all over me."

    Luna will let him fondle her breasts if that was what he wanted. As long as this Archdemon would not ask tantly for sex just like Ravin.

    Time to push through with her interrogations while Lux was distracted.

    "Sit on my face." He said abruptly.

    "Wha��"

    The Archdemon of Lust wasn''t known for being subtle in his sexual conquests.

    "You don''t want to?" Luxen didn''t sound concerned and just shrugged. "I wouldn''t answer your questions."

    One day a woman wille and put this creature in his ce.

    Grind up his heart and scatter the pieces all over the Vampire Realm.

    The female poption would be better for it.

    Luna would be better for it.

    Or maybe she could do that.

    "Will sitting on yourp do the trick?" Her voice trembled, mortifying her to her soul.

    One of his brows rose in question but he didn''t look that surprised at her offer. "Hmm. I guess it''s fine."

    He sat on the bed as he scrubbed two fingers over his stubbled jaw, the very picture of an intrigued male, when she positioned to sit on hisp. "I think Lilith, the first High Priestess did a reverse exorcism spell on Ravin after summoning him from Hell."

    "Reverse Exorcism spell?" Luna repeated as she faced him, but still, she was unable to hide her breathlessness when his hands curled around her small waist.

    "From the name of the spell itself. It was an exorcism in reverse. A demon can''t escape the body he had possessed because he was bonded to it. If the host dies, the demon dies with it instead of just looking for another vessel to possess. It works like the blood bond but not as mates. His existence is connected to the body and he wouldn''t be able to leave." Luxen stared at the globes of her breasts as he yfully caressed the undersides, continuing, "It''s a parasitic rtionship where the demon sucks the life force of the host but in this case, the spirit can''t leave the Host''s body because he was trapped there forever until someone breaks it."

    He was obviously having fun.

    Lunaughed without humor. "What should I do to reverse the reverse exorcism spell, then?"

    "I''m tired of talking, Domina. I prefer fucking. Now about my request earlier��" The Archdemon of Lust didn''t back down as he grabbed her hands and ced them on his shoulders. "Please sit on my face."

 Chapter 62 - Kidnapped*

    <h4>Chapter 62 - Kidnapped*</h4>

    The High Priest could feel the Vampire King''s anger even if he had not fully awoken yet.

    It was a tangible living thing.

    Rage. Confusion. Hurt. Betrayal.

    Raw. Scattered.

    This was the first time the High Priest had felt his emotions.

    Erratic. Chaos. Powerful.

    The Vampire King was messed up internally that he neither can control his powers nor hide them.

    The White Oak must have punched a hole on his magical armor, his aura, that it had resorted to this.

    The Vampire King had all his weaknesses broadcasted. It would be difficult if the other powerful vampires--especially those who belong to the royal family--who desired the throne for themselves would strike them when he was vulnerable.

    Without his mate.

    Wild. Potent. Untamed. Unprotected.

    The High Priest turned down the corridor leading to the Vampire King''s rooms, and, ahead of them, the door flung open. Cederic stalked out of the room and mmed it shut.

    Turning up the corridor, Cederic froze when he saw the High Priest and Jon blocking his way.

    Fei noted the bottles of blood he had carried in his arms, but all of that came second to the possessive fury shown on his face.

    There was murder in those grey eyes, and Fei was certain that if he had encountered the military general alone, he would have killed Fei on where he stood.

    "His Highness is recovering--slowly but surely." Cederic straightened, and the High Priest had to give him credit for regaining herposure so quickly. "I was stuck into babysitting duty most of the time while both of you frolicked around the castle being such useless pieces of horseshit."

    "Cederic." Jon tilted his head and crossed his arms, smirking. "Did you just call the Vampire King ''baby?"

    "Stop putting words on my mouth, Jon." The Military General said icily.

    "Kid." Jon said under his breath.

    "Shut up." Then, Cederic turned to the High Priest.

    "By your leave." He hesitated only a moment before he exined to Fei, "I have watched how you took care of the Vampire King with your magic spells and herbs and I did every procedure correctly as per instruction on your notes. I needed a break since I think the King''s cells had healed his injuries already after I helped you extricate the wooden White Oak bullets from his body."

    "The regeneration was too slow, don''t you think?" Jon remarked as he stroked his bearded chin.

    "Don''t forget it was you who shot the Vampire King, Cederic." The High Priest spun around and strode off inside the room, followed by Jon and the military general. "I will be at the far corner of this room. I want the King to see your face first the moment he woke up from his sleep so he could throttle you to death and ask questionster."

    "Wonderful news!" Jon eximed in sarcasm, pointedly ignoring the tension between Cederic and the High Priest.

    He aspired to remain neutral and would not say anything to set anyone off.

    Jon will tell the Vampire King that he was innocent and he had no participation in this.

    The three of them stayed into the Vampire King''s chamber, where hey on the bed, his upper body propped up on a pile of cushions.

    His furrowed brow disappeared at the sight of them. His eyes locked on Cederic.

    The military general froze as if he was a butterfly whose wings had been pinned down on a t surface.

    The High Priest bowed. "Your Highness."

    "My King." Jon ced a hand over his heart, and he inclined his head in respect. "You are back, You''re Highness."

    +++

    "Wake up, Apollyon."

    The Vampire King frowned, batting away the sound.

    Every time he tried to sleep, the voice inside his head told him to wake.

    Dratted bastard.

    Didn''t this servant know he needed to rest?

    "Apollyon. Our mate needs you."

    "The Archdemon of Lust. He had our mate."

    Silver hair.

    A yful smile in his mind, in his soul.

    Endless, fathomless, fearless, brilliant emeralds.

    Luna''s eyes.

    ''The High Priestess.'' The Vampire King had thought.

    The first thing Apollyon saw when he opened his eyes was a long white beard, looking over at his face. It was the High Priest. Cederic stood by the bed beside him; his smoky grey eyes leveled on his.

    And that quickly, he remembered.

    The Vampire King had watched every scene in his mind''s eye as he was gradually consumed by the Blood Beast, turning him into a cold-blooded monster.

    A dragon, to be specific.

    The blood, the pain, the shattered bone on his shoulders when the White Oak bullets prated his scales when the military general had shot him in his Berserker form.

    Cederic had a good aim.

    "Damn it, amare. If I have to drink your blood, I''m going to suck you dry." The Blood Beast murmured huskily, talking to himself, forgetting that the High Priest, Cederic, and Jon were in the room with him.

    But his anger was absolute at Cederic.

    A sharp sting burned his neck, but all his vision did not go ck, as he had expected.

    "The High Priestess!" The Vampire King tried to push himself up on the pillows, but the High Priest scurried over and pushed him back down. "You must rest, Your Highness."

    The Vampire King''s consciousness switched to the Blood Beast, then back to himself with ease and in just a short period of time.

    This was impossible.

    What future he dreaded had finallye.

    The Vampire King can now bepletely taken over without much effort with the Blood Beast.

    "Your Highness, this isn''t the time to look for the girl." Jon set to fluffing the pillows and tucking the nkets tightly around him like a swaddled baby. "We had taken the wooden bullets off your body. But your magic is highly dangerous to use right now because the effects of the White Oak might activate on your system. It might backfire on you, harming your body in the long run."

    "I can''t." The Vampire King seemed annoyed at being fussed over, but he shook his head rebelliously. "My mate is kidnapped by my brother."

 Chapter 63 - Offering*

    <h4>Chapter 63 - Offering*</h4>

    The Archdemon of Lust nced at two wild boars he had ughtered and deposited at the entrance of the High Priestess'' underground shelter.

    It was either the High Priestess drew her runes outside her refuge in the middle of a blizzard, cut these butchered wild animals into pieces so that they would fit inside the shelter, or he could destroy the entrance so that he could drag the animal sacrifice inside fully intact.

    Luxen decided to choose thest option so that the animal blood wouldn''t be wasted.

    That would be a shame.

    Luxen didn''t hesitate.

    He raised his zing hands, summoned Hellfire, and aimed it at the entrance.

    The mes sted the area, and it exploded into tiny fragments, precise and clean-cut.

    There wasn''t much of a mess.

    The opening was a perfect circle, the snow instantly melting on its circumference.

    Of course, when he carried the wild boars on his back without much effort, he was relieved to find out that their animal sacrifice would fit inside the estimated size of the crater.

    ''Convenient.'' Luxen smirked, mentally patting himself on the back for a job well done, and praised himself for being so smart.

    He slid and jumped towards the hole after he had dropped the boars inside the destroyed shelter.

    The High Priestess mouth hung open before she shook her head and caught herself.

    "I thought something happened." She pursed her lips and continued, "I was scared for a minute there I thought the Vampire King had caught us."

    "We will not be captured, Domina. We will capture the Vampire King." The Archdemon smiled at the way the High Priestess stared at her in amazement rather than fear as she clutched her stomach protectively from the minor re-up.

    The High Priestess did not allow him to pleasure her, and he respected that.

    The Archdemon of Lust would never force a mate to bond with him physically in an unsuitable moment.

    Oh well, he could try other women in the meantime after this whole thing was done.

    When ites to the pleasures of the flesh, the Archdemon of Lust wasn''t that discriminating.

    He could find other women if her mate weren''t quite ready.

    It wouldn''t be that delightful with the other women if he wouldpare fucking with his mate.

    But, it was probably a wrong move to bond with a Virgin High Priestess who would choose the magical abilities she acquired from serving the Goddess instead of just asking her mate, preferably him, to ask for gifts of demon magic.

    He couldn''tprehend that, but maybe, he could persuade the High Priestess to break her servitude with the Goddess of Dark Magic and the Underworld with his tongue.

    The Archdemon could do magic with his tongue, and the High Priestess would scream with appreciation. He was looking forward to that.

    But maybe, not now. Not yet.

    He wouldn''t mind impressing his young mate with his powers if they weren''t so busy with whatever tasks she needed to aplish.

    If it were up to him to make the decision, Luxen would have grabbed her, bring her to Hell, and he wouldn''t let her go. Unfortunately, that wasn''t a part of his mate''s n.

    The High Priestess jutted out her chin, pretending to be brave. "Let''s do this."

    After Luna helped Luxen hacked the thick neck of the two wild boars as they let its blood soak the groundpletely, she walked over to stand next to Luxen.

    Her fingers yed nervously with her dress while the Archdemon of Lust silently scrutinized her appearance.

    "I find that you are beautiful when you had turned into a Vampire." The Archdemon of Lustplimented her out-of-the-blue, and she almost cackled as if the atmosphere wasn''t so serious and bloody because it didn''t fit at all.

    She wouldn''tugh and neither, would she surrender to the hunger she saw in those immortal silver eyes. "Nice try attempting to be a romantic, Luxen. Please stop because hearing those wordsing from you gave me goosebumps."

    That made his smile widen. "Are you not happy that I was alive?"

    She was a lot d.

    Being with Luxen . . . oh, well, how bad could his blood taste?

    It wasn''t delicious and satisfyingpared to Ravin''s, but at least she could take his essence down.

    That was what mattered most at the moment.

    The Archdemon of Lust held his arm up to the glow lights encircling them, revealing scars that looked years old as he turned his back on her. "The Archdemon of Gluttony was getting stronger. He had sensed my presence in this Realm but I didn''t know if he had figured out that the golden orbs I had sent him using your magic blood as my source, was a conduit to spy on his condition." His eyes searched hers. "Are you ready to call him now?"

    "I didn''t know if this will go well, Luxen," Luna whispered as her hands shook uncontrobly. "I had messed up with the Devil''s Trap and drew the Sigil of Lucifer instead. That was the first time I tried, and I couldn''t even get her spells right. I don''t want to fail again."

    Great, now she was feeling anxious.

    The Archdemon must have sensed this, and he turned, walking towards her.

    "You will fail a couple of times but you can''t be better as a spell caster if you wouldn''t try." Luxen arched an eyebrow, smirking. "Just don''t think too much."

    Luna swallowed hard as she manifested a dagger in her hand.

    She shut her eyes, retrieved the grimoire hiding in her mind, and imagined herself fluttering its pages.

    It was clear from the High Priestess''s expression when she recognized the right runes to draw. "I think I found it."

    Metallic silver eyesughed at her. "Can you do it?"

    The High Priestess nodded. "I think so."

    "Don''t be afraid." He murmured huskily as he stared deep into her emerald eyes. "You can turn to me if you messed up. Or life force is connected so let''s just fail together."

    He brushed his finger over her corbone, and the sensation rocketed through her entire body.

    That was sweeting from the Archdemon of Lust.

    But that wasn''t reassuring at all.

    "There was nothing worse than having two mates who were Archdemons, so, of course, there was nothing she should be afraid of, right?

    Wrong.

    She pped his hand away from her. Luna didn''t want him to get toofortable, touching her whenever he wanted to.

    "Let''s get this over with."

 Chapter 64 - White Oak*

    <h4>Chapter 64 - White Oak*</h4>

    "My mate is kidnapped by my brother." Suddenly, a hundred glowing orbs were floating in the room, and one particr ball, which wasrger than the others zip over to the bed, flew in dizzying circles as it hovered over the Blood Beast''s head.

    The result was a riot of light and shadows that caught everyone''s attention.

    "I have noticed these glow lights blinking at random times of the day," Cederic said, clearly amazed. In truth, the military general hadn''t even noticed that much because he was too focused on aplishing the tasks Fei had given to him.

    "I thought this was your doing or it could have been the High Priestess," Jon said as he reached for them, but he didn''t dare touch it. "She had these orbs surrounding her when we were back at the caves."

    "Oh, I don''t control it." The Blood Beast replied. "It''s here because it wants to aggravate me."

    "I believe this was sent by the Archdemon of Lust to tell me that he had materialized in the Vampire Realm." The Blood Beast growled, trying to keep the bitterness out of his voice. "I could sense that this aura is his and he had the High Priestess with him. How else could he materialize in this Realm unless he was summoned by a powerful sorceress?"

    "Archdemon of Lust?" The High Priest said as his brows knitted together in confusion.

    "You told us about the Archdemon of Lust." Cederic tapped his chin with his index finger, watching the lights reflected in the mirror on the wall. "Who is that?"

    "My brother." The Blood Beast didn''t seem to be paying any attention to them.

    "Stop that!" The Blood Beast said firmly to the glowing orbs.

    The golden orb ignored him and continued to fly madly around the room.

    "Golden orb," He said, pointing at it. "Come here."

    The light hesitated, but it slowly drifted over andnded on his outstretched hand.

    "It had recognized me so the one who did this magic trick must contain a bit of my blood but something had changed about it." He said as he stared into the golden orbs. "It seems content to maintain its purpose."

    Jon walked over to stand next to the bed as he scrutinized the glowing light. "What purpose?"

    "To watch over me." The Blood Beast had a look of satisfaction on his face as if he had figured out something. "The Archdemon of Lust had my mate as a hostage."

    Cederic cleared his throat and spoke to the High Priest. "What is happening?"

    "I have no idea," Jon whispered and shrugged.

    +++

    "Who are we talking to right now? The Vampire King spoke in riddles." Cederic asked as if the Vampire King wasn''t there in the same room with them. " His brother is the Archdemon of Lust. Was the Vampire King an Archdemon?"

    "I am not the Vampire King." The Blood Beast heard and made a dismissive gesture with his hand.

    Did the Archdemon of Gluttony and the Vampire King had integrated into only one consciousness?

    Cederic raised his head and nced up to check the Vampire King''s eyes, but they were blue.

    There was no indication of that familiar reptilian-gold eye color trademark when the Blood Beast had taken over.

    Cederic mouth hung open as he stared at him pointedly."You are the Blood Beast."

    "Yes." The Blood Beast answered, simple yet precise.

    The High Priest stared up at the ceiling as if in prayer to all the gods, his fingers tracing circles over his temples as he exhaled. "God''s blood."

    "You appear to be��" Jon nodded gravely as realization dawned on him. He chose his words carefully so as not to offend the Blood Beast. "Reasonable."

    The Blood Beast''s mouth quirked up into a half-smile. "Now that I remember, I was hungry for my mate''s blood again but I think I could handle my thirst enough to think clearly and find her hidden shelter."

    +++

    The Vampire King could hear the Blood Beastmunicating with him evidently, but he was having difficulties differentiating the Archdemon''s thoughts from his own.

    Feeling that sharp burning sensation once again, the Vampire King lifted one sore arm and stroked the back of his neck to his shoulder.

    "There is a huge gash on my back. What is this?" Warm and wet crimson soiled his pale palms, blood dripping from the huge sh. "I don''t remember where I got this. I thought only White Oak bullets have prated my flesh."

    "Ah. I apologize, Your Highness." Cederic blinked as he replied carefully, " I should have cleaned that up before you awaken."

    One of his eyebrows rose. The Vampire King''s skin was warm again, burning with the internal me of magic. "What have you done?"

    "This was the only way we could heal you. The Kingdom''s healers helped me perform bloodletting to restore the bnce of fluids in your body through the herbal potions I have concocted." The High Priest admitted, watching as he rxed fractionally at his answer. "I carried out some of the mostplex spells so that your body could adapt to the stronger blood we have acquired for you. Cederic made sure that you survived by watching over you while you are unconscious."

    The Vampire King looked at Cederic, taking in the severe look on his young face as he wore a multiyered full-body armor te except for the helmet, and he realized it far toote.

    Come to think of it, Fei and Jon had worn armored suits to protect themselves from his curse, the Blood Beast''s touch.

    Maybe, for this reason, he was able to imbibe the High Priest''s concoctions well while he was unconscious to their business.

    It was a good thing that he had survived the White Oak bullets.

    That rare and magical ancient wood was so powerful that it was a miracle he still existed.

    He was so used to the presence of her mate, the High Priestess, who wasn''t affected by his fatal touch because she had already be a part of him that he forgot that his curse hadn''t been banished yet.

    For all it''s worth, his condition had escted instead.

    As if on cue, Apollyon shivered as waves of excruciating agony filled his flesh, and he felt weird lumps under his back.

    Then he cked out.

 Chapter 65 - Summoning Ravin*

    <h4>Chapter 65 - Summoning Ravin*</h4>

    ************************

    THE HIGH PRIESTESS

    ************************

    The Archdemon of Lust mentioned that Lilith had done reverse exorcism spells on the Vampire King, so it meant that Ravin couldn''t leave the Vampire King''s body even If she attempted an exorcism spell.

    How should she solve this?

    Maybe, she will figure it out when she summoned the Vampire King inside the new Pentagram she has created.

    Luna noticed that she usually worked with a magic well under pressure.

    She could attest that, based on her experiences, as long as she isn''t hungry, she can do anything.

    The Archdemon of Lust had suggested that she perform an exorcism spell first and see the results.

    If it didn''t work, then maybe she could tweak the spells orbine them with the others until she got it right.

    Luxen had suggested that she experiment because that was how witches learn by dealing with horrendous consequences.

    The Archdemon of Lust was a good teacher.

    Luna gathered the extracted animal blood into an earthen bowl as she tried to recreate the runes she had seen in the grimoire.

    This time, she had drawn the Devil''s Trap which will render the Archdemon of Gluttony powerless and from which he wouldn''t be able to escape unless the trap is broken.

    This will prevent the demon from fighting back against the exorcism, she hoped.

    Luna closed her eyes and paused before resuming her illustrations.

    She can''t bear to make the same mistake twice, making sure she did everything correctly.

    The High Priestess grimaced as she cut her wrist with a knife, again and again, soaked the ground with her blood on the center of her new pentagram, the Devil''s Trap.

    "Et beatos vos, Ravin. Citatus in circulo. "

    ++++++++++++++++++

    ARCHDEMON OF LUST

    ++++++++++++++++++

    Somewhere in this Realm, there was a demon high lord��an Archdemon--the most dangerous of all Hell''s friends��who considered the High Priestess his exclusive property.

    His possession to torture.

    His to enjoy whatever he saw fit.

    Ravin was one of them.

    Luxen was the second Archdemon.

    The Goddess of the Underworld had poisoned the High Priestess'' eyes and marked her with the sight, ensuring she could see into the spiritual world.

    His world.

    In doing so, Hecate had brought her to the attention of other demons, as well.

    The High Priestess had to have been a willing participant in her marking, for a creature could not be forced.

    Seduced, yes. Tricked.

    She must be eager to dabble in the dark arts that the Goddess didn''t even have to force him.

    A demon never grew tired of his ything.

    He stuck around until the end��or until the High Priestess wised up and forced him to leave by destroying the Blood Bond if she could figure out how to.

    Luxen would not let her.

    Demon paired with a mortal/vampire or other particr creature in the Night World was forbidden especially if they are bonded by blood.

    The act carrying it would be a death sentence, total annihtion, or mass genocide if the Archangels caught them.

    Mass genocide for all the vampire-demon offspring.

    Not that the Archangels would kill this High Priestess if they wanted to deal with the wrath of a goddess.

    That still was not on today''s menu until Hecate found out and destroy them herself.

    There would be no coteral damage.

    Not yet.

    Luxen would protect the High Priestess.

    The Archdemon of Lust wanted her, not because of her but because creatures of the underworld loved nothing more than one-upping their brethren, their fellow Archdemons.

    Bragging rights were as valuable as gold, for it inted the ego.

    It can make someone feel powerful, especially this dark thrill of ruining someone who was a powerful sorceress when she was supposed to be under the protection of a Goddess.

    For someone who knew that she had to bond her life to an Archdemon, especially two of them, the High Priestess did not sound happy with the results, but at least the information had sunk in properly in her mind, and she had taken everything into stride.

    As if she had resigned and epted her fate.

    Maybe Luxen was too good at seducing her.

    He had sessfully tricked her into being his mate along with Ravin.

    The Archdemon of Lust spied into the orbs he had sent to the Archdemon of Gluttony to discover what they had done.

    The Vampire King was unconscious once again.

    Luxen watched a vampire of short stature wearing a full-body armor te made of the highest quality carrying a blue pitcher with a slender spout.

    He immediately assumed that it was a vampire from the Higher Ranks and the most trusted by the King since he was allowed near him in his most vulnerable state.

    The military general poured an unknown dark red liquid into the King''s lips.

    "Volo enim vos intus manifestandam hoc nunc pentagram." The High Priestess chanted as stars winked in her line of vision. "Mea, sicut ego tur vos terminus hic."

    The Vampire King shivered uncontrobly as he opened his mouth and roared in anguish.

    ck blood pooled and bubbled around him, frothing and sizzling as it seared the bedsheets.

    Steam rose, curling through the air as newly-formed intricate tattoos covered his skin.

    The Vampire King''s words ended on a choked breath as he turned his head and saw what he was lying on.

    Demon wings.

    He was half-convinced that he had imagined them.

    A pair of rich, evocative ck dragon wings that swept outward.

    He rose, shifting to look over his shoulder as a rush of white noise crashed into his brain.

    The Vampire King''s eyes widened as he stared at his talon-tipped fingers.

    His body seemed to be pulled in many directions as if someone hadmanded it.

    The Vampire King disappeared into a mist.

    ++++++++++++++

    THE HIGH PRIESTESS

    ***********************

    Something mmed into Luna from behind as she stood at the center of the Devil''s Trap, knocking her to the ground.

    When Luna crashed, she crashed hard, cracking her freshly healed cheek on the ground.

    She experienced a sharpnce of pain as the taste of iron filled her mouth, coating her tongue.

    More of those too-bright stars winked through her vision, corrosive things that grew��grew��blinding her.

 Chapter 66 - Staking Claims*

    <h4>Chapter 66 - Staking ims*</h4>

    +++++++++++++++++++

    THE HIGH PRIESTESS

    +++++++++++++++++++

    "Initium arte moras. Irritanda destinauit." Luna repeatedly muttered as her vision faded to the darkness, her mind disengaging from her soul for a moment.

    "Amare." Luna panicked when she heard Ravin''s voice as if it came from far, far away.

    Luna was lying face down on the ground and the Archdemon of Gluttony pinned her underneath him. They have stacked at the centre of the Pentagram, their bodies tangled together and dusted with ice.

    "Goddess, you''re heavy, "Luna groaned as she wriggled viciously under him to escape the Pentagram.

    How can she perform the exorcism if the spell caster was inside, trapped with the Archdemon?

    Luna nced over her shoulder and saw the Archdemon of Gluttony holding her by the back of her neck.

    Ravin had materialized into thin air inside the Devil''s Trap she created, and he fell on her back, his heavyweight crushing her.

    ++++++++++++++++++++++

    ARCHDEMON OF GLUTTONY

    ++++++++++++++++++++++

    Ravin considered his mate.

    The High Priestess only wore a dirty gown which was so thin that it was easily torn, and she shivered from the cold.

    Long hair tangled around a delicate face, the strands so silver that the smears of red visibly stood out, reminding him of his hunger.

    There was a small flicker of his thirst for his mate''s blood, abruptly zing into an inferno, threatening to overwhelm his reason.

    Ravin licked his lips in anticipation as they fought for dominion, the High Priestess never relinquishing her control as she kicked and thrashed about.

    She attempted to crawl outside the Pentagram, but he dragged her back to the .centre

    He pinned her down with his body and forcing the High Priestess to face him.

    That blue in his eyes glittered fever bright, and the skin pulled taut over his cheekbones.

    The Archdemon of Gluttony desired her blood.

    Her entire being.

    He needed to stake his im over her.

    Over and over again.

    +++++++++++++++

    THE HIGH PRIESTESS

    +++++++++++++++

    She and the Archdemon of Gluttony''s dance had barely begun, but it held a promise so raw, so rich, her heart twisted inside her chest, almost afraid of the fury of it. Ravin smiled again, his forehead still touching hers, his wings arching over to shadow them in their private world.

    ++++++++++++++++++++++

    ARCHDEMON OF GLUTTONY

    +++++++++++++++++++++++

    Sweat ran from his bare chest and the rope-like muscles of his arms.

    He was mentally exhausted and physical because of what happened back at the castle when he turned into a dragon, but his emotions were only growing darker, more powerful.

    Dark circles marred the skin under her eyes as she wore a tight expression on her face. Her cheekbones were more hollowed than they should have been, not to mention terribly bruised and scratched but slowly healing themselves.

    Her lips were red and chapped. Her eyes were ice-green, and in their depths, he saw a never-ending storm of pain--burdens no weak creature can carry.

    He realized those eyes did not belong to a High Priestess.

    They belonged to a demon''s consort.

    His.

    From the corner of his eye, he saw the Archdemon of Lust, his blood brother from Hell.

    Luxen had kidnapped his mate so that he can materialize in the Vampire Realm to wreak havoc.

    This was his own Kingdom now.

    Luxen had his Realm in Hell.

    What else could he want?

    As the embodiment of Lust, Luxen could not bed the same woman twice unless if it was forey, and so he seduced a new one every day if he felt like it.

    The only disadvantage was that if he couldn''t find a woman, he was reduced to doing crazy things.

    Men and women who fucked with the Archdemon of Lust were always drunk with arousal as they passed them unto their next sexual encounter, not caring who slid between their legs.

    He rxed his clenched jaw, trying to rx against a new onught of aggression.

    He didn''t want the High Priestess near Luxen.

    Ravin''s nails lengthened farther, almost ws now.

    Thinking of another Archdemon in his mare''s vicinity always ckened his mood.

    Punch a wall, Violence beckoned.

    Destroy something. Hurt, kill.

    He would have liked to obliterate anyone who had an audience with his High Priestess.

    One by one.

    Decapitate them, perhaps.

    Rip out their ckened, decayed hearts.

    ++++++++++++++++

    THE VAMPIRE KING

    ++++++++++++++++

    Of course, the Blood Beast was purring now, the Vampire King thought with disgust.

    The Vampire King gave the High Priestess a heated scowl.

    He remembered the day the Blood Beast had possessed him so clearly.

    The screams of the innocent in his ears, humans bleeding all around him, hurting, dying, the spirits having devoured their flesh in a rapturous frenzy.

    Only when the Blood Beast had been shoved inside his body did he lose touch with reality.

    There had been no sounds, no sights.

    Just all-consuming darkness.

    He had sworn to do whatever was necessary to control the spirit from then on, but it had been toote.

    He hadn''t regained his senses fully until the High Priestess changed everything.

    The Blood Beast and the Vampire King became one.

    Both of them were fully aware of the other''s thoughts, feelings, and emotions.

    He wanted to forget.

    The High Priestess'' breaths echoed in his ears as he locked both of her hands in his.

    Before she could react violently, he pressed her lips to her neck.

    Ravin breathed in deeply.

    His body''s response to her scent was like lightning against his skin.

    His erection strained and pushed, begging to be free.

    Ravin shifted around to adust his cock, making more room in his pants.

    Kissing and licking her entire body was the goal, and he had a one-track mind.

    He would have liked to drown in her,pletely losing himself, without fearing his control would snap and cause him to wound her.

    He couldn''t wait to get her back to his bedroom alone.

    Tiny kes of ice fell from the sky and melted when it reached the Devil''s Trap, water running in rivulets at the edges.

    The Archdemon of Gluttony shifted, her skirts pressing down against her legs as he knelt over her, his weight pressing her hips on the rough ground.

 Chapter 67 - Reunion*

    <h4>Chapter 67 - Reunion*</h4>

    The Archdemon of Gluttony shifted, her skirts pressing down against her legs as he knelt over her, his weight pressing her hips on the rough ground.

    He had her down on the floor, underneath him.

    Luna was t on her back, one arm cradled against her chest, the other pushing him away.

    The next thing she knew, his thigh shoved her legs apart, and then his hips drove into her core.

    What came against her was a thick, hard length.

    His hand tangled in her hair and pulled, arching her up against him.

    "You feel that, amare?" He rubbed his arousal in tight circles, stroking her, making her bloom for him. "Do you feel it right now?"

    Ravin pushed the straps of her gown back, baring her shoulders.

    His fingers trailed over her corbone, leaving hot mes of desire in their wake.

    Luna gasped when she felt his breath warm against her neck, her heart beating so hard she was certain he could hear it.

    Ravin''s lips brushed against the pulse in her throat, and it felt like she had her own storm raging inside of her.

    Luna''s whole body trembled as he kissed a line of fire up her neck, to her jaw, and then rested his cheek against hers. He dropped his mouth to her ear. "I missed you, amare."

    He kissed her gently at first and then harder as his control vanished.

    Luna''s lips parted, and the kiss deepened, opening up a floodgate of heat that tore through her body.

    Her logic slipped away like water in her hands, and all that was left was need and desire.

    The Archdemon of Gluttony took his shirt off, and Luna dug her fingers into the hard muscles lining his back, felt his breath hot and ragged against her lips, and at the plunging neckline of her dress.

    The air was cold against her legs as her skirts rode up, and she wrapped her ankles around him, pulling him down against her.

    Suddenly, Luna wanted was him.

    And she wanted everything.

    She gasped for air. She was so wet now, her body ready for him to drive deep into her.

    Ravin''s fangs grew ready to devour her, two long canine incisors lodging among his upper teeth.

    +++

    Dark rage threatened to rise and consume the Archdemon of Lust that his mind just nked when he saw what Ravin had done to her Domina.

    He hadn''t even noticed that he had stood on the centre of the Devil''s Trap secondster.

    Luxen materialized in his natural form, at the same time creating a sword of fire from nothing but air--the mes more intense, far purer, than any found in Hell.

    His determined gaze never leaving her, he raised his sword to sh---

    Crystalline eyes found him and widened.

    The High Priestess bolted upright but was shoved back to the ground again.

    She couldn''t move with Ravin on top of her.

    A deep-throated yell thundered through the crater, shattering the night.

    Luxen was driven by anger and possessiveness that he forgot that if he destroyed the Archdemon of Gluttony on the spot, Luna would die along with him.

    She screamed, "Luxen, desisto."

    The Archdemon of Lust paused by hermand, and the sword of mes dismissed in an instant.

    He was so close to decapitating Ravin and ending its miserable existence.

    Yes, killing was that easy for him.

    Blinking rapidly, Luxen said, "He is hurting you."

    The Archdemon of Lust maintained a tight hold of the Ravin''s torso while his free handtched onto his neck.

    "Amare, I��" The words was strangled, followed by a juicy curse.

    The agony in his voice cut through her confusion, and she screamed when she felt Ravin''s pain reverberate through her.

    A nasty-looking burn had taken root on Ravin''s exposed skin where Luxen touched him, the curse of the Blood Beast backfiring in his own body.

    He was grimaced from the pain, and his lips peeled back from his��

    Nec voluerit eum idere." Her voice cracking, Luna begged when Ravin''s blue eyes shifted to vacancy. "Please. You are hurting me too."

    The Archdemon of Lust stared back at her, blinding in their intensity. "As you wish, Domina."

    He squeezed hard, and the Vampire King, still weak and powerless from the damage the White Oak bullets that had done him dirty, sank into the ground.

    "Why is Ravin so damn heavy?" Luna asked breathlessly as the air was pressed out of her lungs. "I have be stronger as a vampire but this��"

    "Luxen." She frowned as she tried to push Ravin off her. Luxen noticed that she was having a hard time, so he helped her by kicking the Archdemon of Gluttony sideways. "Why did you get inside the Devil''s Trap?"

    "Sorry, but I wasn''t expecting it to be so crowded in here," The Archdemon of Lust replied in an annoyed voice, dodging her question.

    "Answer me, Luxen." Luna said when she could speak again, "Ut verum dicas."

    "I don''t know. I told you I was protecting you because you belong to me." The Archdemon of Lust mumbled, and his voice held an undeniable ring of truth.

    She flinched at its honesty��but she could not doubt him. "I couldn''t control it. It was an instinct."

    "I dislike that you have acquired my true name, that you hadplete and utter control of me," The Archdemon of Lust growled softly. "You couldpel me to do whatever you wished, and I would have no choice but to do what you ordered, whether that be to ughter or not. I had no liberty �C I am your ve. Your weapon."

    Oh, goddess. Please. Luna decided to change the subject. "Can you get out of the Devil''s Trap?''

    Luxen tried to punch through the barrier, but it didn''t break.

    He switched to using his sword made of Hellfire--the one he summoned almost to destroy the Archdemon of Gluttony.

    It just sizzled then vanished once the tip of the sword hits contact with the barrier. "What the hell is going on?"

    "What''s wrong?" The High Priestess asked.

    Luxen found himself saying, "I can''t get out of the Devil''s Trap."

 Chapter 68 - Breaking The Curse*

    <h4>Chapter 68 - Breaking The Curse*</h4>

    When Luna heard the Archdemon of Lust''s voice reverberating, bouncing off the dome-shaped barriers of the Devil''s trap, she didn''t waste time.

    She hacked her arm with the knife in her hand and cut deeper, her vampire blood gushing out on the Vampire King''s side profile and his entire back.

    When the wound sealed off its own ord, she sliced her pale elbows three times to hasten the process.

    She gritted her teeth in pain, still grimacing.

    Even if she was already a vampire, Luna couldn''t keep a straight face.

    She whimpered every time the sharp de touches her skin then sh--

    Luna couldn''t pretend that it didn''t hurt.

    "What are you doing?" Luxen observed her carefully as he stood inside the circle of the Devil''s Trap, crossing his arms over his chest.

    The Archemon of Lust waited for her response but she did no such thing.

    Together they watched how swirls of intricate tattoos of ck and red, streaked the Archdemon of Gluttony''s broad back as heid on the ground in his stomach, his head tilted to the side.

    The longer her vampire blood soaked his white shirt, the more prominent the symbols became.

    Luna noticed the outline his tattoos glowing in blue and purple, realizing they were the same shape as the runes she drew on the ground to create the Devil''s Trap.

    She continued on her endeavors, and the runes on the Vampire King''s pale skin connected with each other, spreading like ckthorns in his body, too simr on how grapevines move in fast forward.

    Goddess, the glyphs were working and now she had to test them properly.

    The first sacrifice was from the strongest animal blood the Archdemon of Lust he had found from the Arctic tundras'' surface in a hurry.

    The second was hers, Hecate''s magic and the Vampire King''s blood running through her veins stained with the ichor of two Archdemons.

    It had to work.

    Luna bet theirbined essence was strong enough not to sacrifice the lives of innocent creatures like what the first High Priestess did to bind Ravin with the Vampire King as a punishment.

    As a High Priestess, she would not do anything of the sort.

    Striving to create the bnce between light and dark, Luna promised to herself that she will not dance with dark magic which concerned any kind of living sacrifice unless she had no choice.

    Blood sacrifice will be enough.

    Taking a life wasn''t necessary.

    Luxen didn''t interrupt.

    He simply tilted his head in curiosity, facing her. "Are you done, Domina?"

    When she was satisfied with the results, Luna stepped back from the Archdemon of Gluttony''s unconscious form.

    "Where are you going?" The Archdemon of Lust watched her warily and when he noticed her moving backward, he attempted to grab her but it was toote.

    Luna was careful not to touch any part of Luxen and he caught nothing but air in his grasp.

    Two steps back and Luna was out of the Devil''s Trap.

    The Archdemon of Lust didn''t expect what she had done--escaping from the Devil''s Trap and left them there along with Ravin--so he hadn''t move fast as expected.

    He trusted his Domina enough.

    The High Priestess wouldn''t abandon him because they were mates.

    Now, Luxen was trapped inside the Pentagram along with his blood brother.

    "Domina." The Archdemon of Lust said casually as if there wasn''t a storm of rage ascending inside him. "You are not leaving me here, aren''t you?"

    His tone was calm, cool, and collected that it scared Luna.

    Luxen''s silver eyes darkened like the night sky and he smirked knowingly.

    Did he know what she was nning?

    Luxen was unpredictable and she wasn''t sure what he would do next.

    She needed to assure him.

    Lying was the safest option.

    Luna looked him in the eye and said, "No."

    Luxen tensed and summoned his zing sword made of Hellfire. He adopted a fighting stance by spreading his feet apart and ready to strike, as if any second by now he will destroy Luna''s Devil''s Trap by any means necessary if he didn''t like her responses.

    By the evil twinkle in his eye and the muscle ticking in his jaw, Luna knew that Luxen had figured her out but she had to keep up with this charade.

    Still, she had to act to earn Luxen--her mate''s trust.

    "So, you are setting me free after this?" He countered.

    "Hmm," Luna replied as she twirled her hair yfully. It was a poor attempt to convince him of her innocence. She was a bit disgusted by her actions because Luna didn''t do ''coy'' even as a consort.? "I only wish to get rid of the curse from the Vampire King so you can rx."

    For the meantime.

    "What are you nning to do, Domina?" Luxen asked quietly, his eyes were eerie nk now��lifeless and murderous.

    Luna exhaled by her mouth as if trying to calm herself down, ignoring the cold rageing off like waves from where Luxen stood in the Devil''s Trap. Lust was a strong Archdemon, she couldn''t underestimate him. "I can see it very clearly now."

    Danger.

    Warning.

    There was a need to tread carefully from this moment on.

    "What can you see, Domina?" He asked, his silver eyes continuously searching hers, trying to determine her lies from the truth.

    "The big picture." Luna shrugged nonchntly. "The first High Priestess was very clever."

    "Exin, Domina." The Archdemon of Lust prompted as he walked towards the edge of the barrier grimly, approaching her and she jerked backward without thinking. Wrong move. Now, Luxen was even more suspicious of her. "What have you figured out?"

    Dread suddenly curled in her stomach.

    "I told you that I was going to get rid of the Blood Beast from the Vampire King. I need to perform a sessful exorcism. The runes that Lilith had marked in the Vampire King''s body are showing."

    Luna exined as she pressed her lips together in a harsh line. "I recognized them from Hecate''s grimoires. Those runes are anti-exorcism tattoos drawn on the Vampire King to prevent the Archdemon of Gluttony from slipping away and looking for other bodies to possess. The First High Priestess basically locked Ravin into the Vampire King''s body."

    She exhaled heavily and started to massage the back of her neck. "It was his prison, his cage. He needed to be let out. We need to erase the tattoos and I need your help."

 Chapter 69 - Coerced By The Master*

    <h4>Chapter 69 - Coerced By The Master*</h4>

    "I need your help." Luna''s eyes gazed at Luxen''s silver ones as she squeezed the weapon in her clutches then loosened her hold on it before she exchanged the knife with the Scythe of Death.

    There was no turning back now.

    No regrets.

    It wasn''t just sacrificing the Archdemon''s blood and hers.

    She was putting her life on the line here.

    Like the Archdemon of Lust had said, they will never know if she wouldn''t experiment.

    She watched the unconscious Vampire King lying on the ground with morbid curiosity.

    The Vampire King had worn a white shirt, and ck gloves covered his hands as heid there on the ground.

    Her blood-drenching his body had proven to be effective when the King''s demon wings slowly disintegrated into dust then faded to smoke, drifting into the ethers.

    Now, the vampire could no longer live without the Archdemon, and the Archdemon could no longer function without him.

    They were two halves of a whole interwoven together.

    Ravin was now as much a part of the Vampire King as his lungs or his heart.

    From the very first, the Blood Beast inside him had beckoned the Vampire King to do malicious things, hated things, and he had beenpelled to obey.

    This would be hard.

    Her life was the ultimate sacrifice if she deemed unsessful.

    "I will if you promise not to revert me to Hell, Domina." He offered her a bemused smile.

    It seemed harmless, like there was nothing wrong--except when it hit her.

    Luxen showed her an unsolicited vision in her mind, shing back to the dark days of war and savagery and death when the demons had roamed freely in all realms.

    Dark days were hunger for destruction had dictated every Archdemon''s actions, and piles of bodies had littered everywhere.

    The Archdemon of Lust wasn''t lying when he told her that they had a blood bond as a mate.

    How else could he send such terrifying visions as if he suggested that this is what will happen if she tried to disobey him?

    Luna shook her head vigorously as she tried to focus on her present reality, aware of her surroundings, aware of her bodily sensations, her heartbeat, her breathing.

    She will not be swept by his projected evil massacres.

    Luna would stand her ground.

    "This is the Devil''s Trap, and only pure Archdemons can be imprisoned here," Luna said.

    Luna willed the Devil''s Trap to strengthen the barriers just in case Luxen might try something.

    The energy field became more intense, more indestructible, as electric blue sparks crackled on the threshold.

    Glowing runes floated in the space like visible air particles. "I can''t promise to iste you because you are the same kind as Ravin, but I will try."

    Destruction and havoc will soon reign, plunging the world into darkness until anyone much more powerful will finally intervene if Ravin and Lux continue to stay in this Vampire Realm.

    The High Priestess had unleashed this evil.

    Now she would be the one to contain it.

    Luxen''s clenched his fists so hard that his knuckles were about to shatter out of ce.

    He managed to suppress some of Archdemon''s most evilpulsions over the years, but it was a constant struggle. He was aware that he could break at any time in front of this Domina he vowed to protect.

    A Domina who wouldn''t hesitate to betray him.

    "Then so be it," Luna said, her determination clear as she neared towards the Devil''s trap but still maintaining a distance, in case Luxen would grab her back inside and tear her to pieces. "I would not wish the Archdemons, crazed as they would surely be, loose upon the Vampire Realm."

    The Archdemon of Lust''s lips curled into a slow, razored smile as he peered, "I will rece the Ravin if the exorcism was sessful, then."

    Luna sighed. "You can try."

    Pale hair cascaded over his shoulders in waves, and it framed a face that women would consider a sensuous delight. Luna, on the other hand, was not like mostdies.

    Luxen was a fallen angel glowing with mischief. His silver eyes had an awful glitter in them that said he wouldugh in your face while ripping out a heart and giving it to you as a gift. In addition to that, the Archdemon would expect you to be grateful.

    Nobody would even think that this man was actually an Archdemon in an angel''s skin if he arrived at the castle.

    "You think you are calling the shots here, Archdemon." Arching an eyebrow, she tilted her head and stared at him coldly. "You know what, Luxen? I changed my mind. sh your wrists."

    "I will not, Domina." The Archdemon of Lust replied, ignoring the request.

    If the High Priestess didn''t allow herself to be asked for a favour, he didn''t have to feel guilty for turning it down.

    Luna raised her chin and smirked, throwing Hecate''s ceremonial dagger inside the Devil''s Trap, and it ttered to the ground.

    It was unfortunate that Luxen didn''t catch it as it soared through the air. "Satus sanguine ritu, Luxen."

    As if on its own ord, the Archdemon of Lust''s nails lengthened intorge ws as he dug them into his skin.

    It was a message for Luna that he would rather use his talons to injure himself for the blood offering than use Hecate''s dagger.

    Luxencerated his left arm in a sh, his ichor dripping on Ravin''s back.

    The Archdemon of Lust had no choice but to follow her orders as his blood mate, his servant.

    "Let him drink your blood." The High Priestessmanded, and Luxen did what she told him to.

    Luxen kicked the Vampire King, overturning him that heid on his back.

    Kneeling, he let his dark red blood dribble in his open mouth.

    A cold draft of air swirled around them, thick with moisture and the crisp scents of winter.

    The fire raged as lights glowed brightly, pinks, blues, and purples illuminating the murky velvet sky.

    The runes glowed, pulsing with light and fire, twining shadow with gold.

    The High Priestess began chanting the exorcism spell.

 Chapter 70 - Separation Of Two Souls*

    <h4>Chapter 70 - Separation Of Two Souls*</h4>

    "Omnipotentis Dea potestatem invoco. Dea te ut."

    As the High Priestess recited the exorcism spells for separating Ravin from the Vampire King, her silver hair flew in all directions as the wind picked up their speed, creating a mini-tornado surrounding her.

    The Archdemon of Lust watched how the High Priestess transform as her power intensified, her long silver hair glowing pink and purple.

    Poisonous flowers such as mandrakes and bedonnas have grown in her shiny tresses lengthening until it reached the ground.

    Magic runes glimmered all over her skin: imprinting and marking her as the vessel of Goddess Hecate''s spell work.

    Red cheeks flushing with vibrancy, her brow bones were highlighted with gold and blue glitters, her lips were painted with seductive violet and herrge eyes stood out from its kohl-rimmed edges.

    She was holding the Death Scythe in one hand and a torch of zing blue mes glowed in the other.

    The Archdemon of Lust was certain that the High Priestess had prayed for Hecate, the Goddess of the Underworld for assistance because she wouldn''t be able to do this without the Goddess'' help.

    Hecate was the Goddess of the Underworld.

    She was the Goddess of crossroads, entrance-ways, night, light, magic, witchcraft, ghosts, necromancy, and sorcery.

    She was equally powerful in heaven and in hell.

    Hecate was associated with borders, boundaries, crossroads, realms outside or beyond the world of the living, the spirit world, the in-between, and what went beyond the veil.

    Hecate was the holder of the keys that can unlock the gates between realms and other dimensions.

    By extension of this powerful goddess, the High Priestess can unlock the gates of death.

    When she had identally essed the Hell''s Portal, Luxen didn''t tell the High Priestess that she had the special ability to open and close portals by herself with the aid of the Goddess Hecate instead of asking for his assistance.

    The naive High Priestess didn''t know what she was capable of and he had tried to trick her.

    Unfortunately, Luxen had fallen into his own trap now.

    The Archdemon of Lust had the disadvantage to be sent back to Hell along with his brother.

    He had renounced her control over her Domina the moment he had cared for her--the moment he saved her from Ravin because his possessive nature had perceived that his mate was in danger.

    Well, Luxen was under the control of his new master for now.

    She had acquired his true name.

    They had exchanged blood.

    The High Priestess'' entire form faded before a brilliant sh of pure white illuminated the entire Arctic region.

    Now, Luna''s emerald eyes radiated silver as if it was lighting the entire space.

    Luxen threw the first bolt towards Luna before she could realize that he had broken from her control and moved.

    Luxen drew back a hand and she saw the red fire in it.

    If it touched her, she''d die between one heartbeat and the next.

    The energy bolts he had conjured bounced off and boomeranged back to the Archdemon''s chest, throwing him against the barrier''s walls.

    Good.

    The next few instants went at inhuman speed as Luxen, once again, gathered his energy andunched himself upwards.

    When the barriers didn''t budge he gathered more of his energy to create fire bolts that would attack the protective shields in all directions��checking the weakest spot and focusing there so that he could get out.

    Archdemon of Lust howled in rage as he fired bolts of pure energy to destroy the Devil''s Trap.

    Luna threw back pure holy fire and Luxen had gone down, hitting him in his wings.

    Another blue and red fire was exchanged and some of Luna''s fire missed the target, forming huge holes in the wall and dust floating to the Vampire Realm in serene quiet.

    As they fought, Luna watched the Archdemon of Gluttony as he changed, tried to see the monster within emerge--but the Vampire King looked as he always had.

    Luna focused on repelling Luxen''s blows on the Devil''s Trap and attacking him with her own.

    A passing fireball singed Luxen''s wings every time he assaulted her defenses.

    Shrugging off the shrieking nerve endings, the Archdemon of Lust returned fire and it bounced back again, catching the tip of the Archdemon''s left-wing.

    Luxen never learned.

    If he just quit attacking the barriers then he wouldn''t be hurt like this.

    He kept on resisting when it wasn''t him who was the current casualty of the exorcism.

    Luna screamed as she released her blue mes."I will send you to the Depths of Hell."

    There was a sound of a loud crack.

    The Archdemon of Lust tipped to the side, faltering, and Luna saw the tear at the bottom of his wing. She struck out at the vulnerable spot and hit, causing considerable damage.

    Luxen dropped for thest instant, and the wave of fire hit the wall where he had been moments ago.

    Luxen had mmed into Ravin.

    A scream shattered the air.

    Now that Luxen had stopped attacking, the exorcism spell had taken effect on the Archdemon of Gluttony.

    The Vampire King had awakened from his slumber.

    The blood exchange with his brother Archdemon and her blood sacrifice had made him stronger.

    That was the draw, the temptation, the insanity.

    After the sacrifice ritual took hold, the blood had increased an Archdemon''s power to the nth degree.

    Luna was worried but she knew that she had the Goddess of the Underworld behind her back, supporting her.

    She would continue to guide her and she wouldn''t leave her alone.

    Luna wouldn''t allow herself to be cornered.

    She had to do the right thing and that is to deliver these Archdemons back to their rightful ce��to Hell.

    Luna knew that this was what the Goddess wanted because she had been giving her instructions, a gentle whispering in her ear as she chanted the mostplex spells.

    Luna had just repeated obediently what Hecate had uttered, just in case she made a mistake.

    Luna couldn''t afford to make a mistake.

    Or they would go back to square one.

    "Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potestas, omnis legio, omnis incursion, infernalis adversarii. Ergo, draco maledicte, adiuramus te��cessa decipere? creaturas, eisque ?tern? perdition��s venenum propinare��Vade, daemonium, .��Humiliare sub potenti manu Dea Hecate."

    Ravin.

    The Vampire King was missing a heart.

    There was a glowing red fireball where the organ should have been.

    Not stopping to think, The Vampire King thrust in a hand covered with a blue fire the same as hers and pulled out the red, throwing it at the walls of the Devil''s Trap and dissipating its destructive force.

    The Vampire King''s new heart was now a beating, pulsing reality in his ravaged chest.

    His blue eyes were open, filled with a kind of horror he''d never expected to see.

    The Vampire King began to regenerate in front of her eyes.

    He was too old, had experienced too much, to know true fear.

    Teeth bared, The Vampire King howled and the Blood Beast emerged from his body, gold inferno in his eyes, fangs lengthening past his lips . . . and a dervish of me in his hands.

    "He''s almost out of my body," The Vampire King said when he met Luna''s eyes --referring to the Blood Beast.

    Bubbles of blood started to foam out of his mouth.

 Chapter 71 - Hells Gate*

    <h4>Chapter 71 - Hell''s Gate*</h4>

    The Vampire King coughed, his heart still visible through the closing gap that was his chest.

    Luna couldn''t help but stare at the Archdemon of Gluttony''s form when he separated from The Vampire King.

    His face . . . Luna had never seen anything like it.

    The entire left side of his body was covered in an exotic tattooposed of fine dots and swirling curves, the ink pure ck against his glowing brown skin.

    It was a deep, sooty ck.

    The wing didn''t reflect light but seemed to absorb it, the edges fading into the spreading gloom.

    She recognized those eyes of molten gold, but there was no familiar light in them.

    Ravin had left the Vampire King''s body��his eyes are of madness.

    Luna could make out Ravin''s beautiful profile, backlit by a bright moon and a thousand stars winking through the crater.

    "I''m sorry, Ravin, but you need to go," Luna whispered, her eyes soft as she tried to hold back her tears. She couldn''t stop the teardrops streaming down her face as she cried her heart out, sputtering words at him like they were curses. "I don''t need you."

    As if the Goddess Hecate had sensed her faltering on her mission, she reinforced the possible scenario in her mind if the Archdemons'' stayed in the Vampire Realm.

    It wasn''t Luxen this time.

    Luna had seen a future where Archdemons lose fatal control, walking through devastated realms full of rotting corpses, watching an entire world fall into a dark age in which all hope was extinguished, children''s eyes dull with despair.

    Luna strengthened her resolve as she repeated the incantations.

    "I wonder what will happen if I kill your mate." Ravin cooed as he grabbed the little bronze dagger from the ground and knelt next to the Vampire King.

    With one efficient motion, Ravin had slit the Vampire King''s throat.

    Luna felt a sliding, throbbing heat trace across her neck.

    "You wouldn''t die, but the cut is shallow enough that you wouldn''t be able to speak," Ravin said a matter-of-factly, no longer amused. "I can''t let you go while you are doing this to me, can I? Don''t want to ruin it."

    Luna tried to scream as she knelt, losing her strength.

    A thin thread of blood shot out of her neck and sprayed across the ground.

    Luna felt a vague swaying motion.

    She could still hear her surroundings, and her vision was alright, but she couldn''t move or speak.

    She attempted to move her toes or lift a pinkie finger.

    None of her limbs responded.

    She told herself to blink, but she couldn''t even close her good eye.

    Luna was locked inside herself andpletely conscious.

    She knew she would have to watch as the events unfolded and wondered if this was some special torture that Ravin had devised for her.

    Maybe he''d poisoned the de when he slit the Vampire King''s throat to paralyze her?

    "I never expected to be free from you, Amare." Ravin grinned and licked his lips. "But I still im you as mine even if the Vampire King technically owns you."

    The Archdemon of Gluttony wasn''t affected by her wounds, and the Blood Beast had imed that he was her mate before.

    It meant that the Vampire King was her true mate.

    What the Archdemon of Lust had told her beforehand wasn''t true.

    Luxen had tricked her��telling her that if one of the Archdemons were harmed, she would hurt alongside them.

    It was aplete lie.

    The Archdemon had deceived her, and she believed that he had her best intentions.

    Carefully losing hope, Luna wanted to die on the spot now that the blood brother ritual could bepleted and the Vampire King was still inside the Devil''s Trap, unconscious.

    He was held hostage because they were connected.

    "Never would I trust an Archdemon again." Luna iled and coughed.

    She only made it worse, spraying blood from her neck.

    +++

    Chest heaving and arms sore, the Archdemon of Lust had to wait, attempting to stand up from his weakened state, and even then, his feet almost slipped, the ground was slick with the blood from his torn-up wrists, Luna''s, and the from the animal sacrifice.

    Stretching his stiff limbs as far as he was able in the confined space, his wings still crumpled, Luxen pushed out of the Devil''s Trap, but it wouldn''t budge.

    Luna''s cheek was hot��burning hot��as she tried to hang into the reins of her consciousness.

    The atmosphere was thick with a mist that collected ice crystals, and she twisted her back from side to side when she perceived that the ice had burned her skin like fire.

    The rest of her was cold, and she trembled, afraid that this was herst moment in this Realm. Something close to her smelled rotten.

    +++

    Luna felt another stinging sensation��like a jab in the back of her neck��and a liquid pain pumped through her body.

    Luna held very still and tried not to start shrieking.

    She needed to think, but it was toote.

    Feeling the effect of the Vampire King''s pain as Ravin stabbed him in the back once again, her brain switched itself off in self-defence.

    She had confirmed her suspicions that she was affected by her mate''s suffering but not the full impact.

    "Stop this, Amare. You will also kill yourself in the process." She heard the note of anger creeping into Ravin''s voice, heard the threat in his move toward her, but he couldn''te near her.

    They couldn''t escape the Pentagram.

    Waiting for her stab wounds to heal sluggishly as sheid on the ground, Luna clenched her jaw as shey through her teeth. "I''m fine."

    "I know you are hurting." Ravin tried to p his demon wings to fly away from the Devil''s Trap, but it didn''t work. "Set us free."

    "Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potestas, omnis legio, omnis incursion, infernalis adversarii. Ergo, draco maledicte, adiuramus te��cessa decipere creaturas, eisque ?tern? perdition��s venenum propinare��Vade, daemonium, .��Humiliare sub potenti manu Dea Hecate." Luna worded the incantations once again, giving everything she had just for the magic to work.

    The Devil''s Trap hollowed out, showing a dark void��a pitch-ck hole of death and darkness.

    Ravin fell into the deep chasm, tumbling and spinning toward the icy portal that glowed faintly at the bottom.

    They were at the entrance of the Underworld, in between dimensions.

    It was neither here nor there.

    Luna could see that the Archdemons struggled to escape from the portal to Hell in the flickering light of the glowing barriers.

    "Omnipotentis Dea potestatem invoco. Dea te ut." Luna yelled, her voice breaking with exhaustion.

    Launching herself inside the barriers, Luna raised her death scythe over their head, and the barriers of the Devil''s Trap burst into mes.

    With a rush of adrenaline despite her suffering in the hands of these Archdemons, she had managed to carry the Vampire Kings and push him aside out of the Pentagram.

    She wasn''t even sure if her real mate was still alive, but she can''t let these Archdemons drag him to Hell when he never even knew what was happening.

    There was no prince-charming or knight-in-shining-armour to save her this time.

    Luna needed to take matters into her own hands as the High Priestess.

    She ground Luxen two feet down into the abyss, right at the edge of the pentagram.

    Luxen tried to cut her head off, but she knocked the de of his Hellfire sword away with her scythe, and his sword went flinging up over the edge of the chasm.

    Luxen watched it moving away from him with his mouth hanging open.

    Before he could recover from his shock, Luna dug her ws into his throat as she strangled him with all her might despite the bruised limbs.

    His fire burned brighter like he was trying to scorch her, but Luna only squeezed tighter.

    Her holy fire was ten times hotter than any me, and to show him; she sent zed the blue mes directly into his neck with both her hands.

    She felt Ravin growing in size, gettingrger andrger as he bellowed with fury, and she mped on to him desperately.

    +++

    Just rust, The Archdemon of Lust tried to think, just rust, but he could no longer fool himself as ck elongated ws raked their bodies and hundreds of crimson eyes were imprinted on the barriers of the Devil''s Trap.

    It was the blood that covered his hands, his hair, his face, stiffening the ck of his wings.

    It was the blood that had seeped through his body.

    It was murky blood that clogged his nostrils with iron as he gasped in ragged breaths.

    It became tainted with rust when it touched their skin.

    Luxen looked around desperately, but he already knew he was in the perfect prison in his mind.

    Iron-rich liquid matting his hair, soaking into his body, sticking on his arms.

    +++

    Ravin screamed as he wed his way back from the dragging darkness, not realizing how long it took to wedge his hands to the edge of the void.

    He had twisted his body around in the hole, the skin rubbing off his wrists until he was holding the edge and pushing upwards.

    He just knew he didn''t stop until he shoved hard enough to get out of it.

    +++

    Both of the Archdemons were frozen and trapped inside the dark and viscous liquid. Dried and ky ghastly hands, tried to reach for them, pulling them at the abyss.

    "Open, take these Archdemons, Luxen and Ravin, and seal them up forever in Hell," she said.

 Chapter 72 - Freedom*

    <h4>Chapter 72 - Freedom*</h4>

    Luna couldn''t kill these Archdemons because they are immortal, but she was pretty sure if she could get Luxen and Ravin through the portal, she could imprison them in Hell forever.

    She knew that it was way better than wreaking havoc in the Vampire Realm.

    They still are connected with Luna, but their life forces aren''t attached in a simr way to the Vampire blood bond.

    The blood bond would make the other mate feel sudden emotions, especially shock, pain, and suffering, if their connection wasn''t that strong and unmanageable yet.

    Blood Bond is more effective to vampire mates because, of course, they drink blood.

    Archdemons can probably mate by blood with whomever they chose, but is bound to the said female is another story.

    They were pleasure-seeking rogues, and they do whatever they want.

    They weren''t capable of loyalty.

    They kill without regard��innocent or not�� and they have zero morals.

    The ice split underway below the chasm, and Gluttony and Lust stopped falling as they tried to hover in the air.

    Hundreds of hands came through the rocks and ice and grabbed them.

    "Impossible," Luxen breathed when he realized he couldn''t control the souls grasping him downward, his silver eyes locked with Luna.

    This was a Kingdom he had ruled.

    Howe that the High Priestess had controlled over them than him?

    Ravin couldn''t believe that the High Priestess was capable of overpowering an Archdemon when ites to controlling the portal.

    Maybe it was because of the Goddess Hecate''s help, her acquisition of their true names, and the blood bond; she hadplete control over them, and unfortunately, they couldn''t manipte her strong will.

    "Go to hell," Luna whispered.

    And then she released them from her hold.

    With deafening aggressive growls echoing throughout the abyss, the Archdemons were dragged into the dark pit by the hundred hands--an incalcble number of writhing arms closed over them until finally, they disappeared underneath them forever.

    The Hell''s portal closed, and the barriers of the Devil''s Trap were lifted, leaving Luna hovering at the bottom of the dark rift as she panted with exhaustion.

    Barely able to move, Luna''s vision blurred as she climbed out of the dark void, reaching the surface of the underground shelter.

    Her body began to tremble, but she squinted from both of her eyes to see them, even though her right eye was monstrously swollen.

    "ude ostium," The ground squeezed together with a grinding moan and shut with a small boom.

    She had used too much of her magic, and her wounds were healing at a snail''s pace.

    As Luna fumbled towards the Vampire King, Luna sobbed with fatigue and pain as she repeatedly called the Vampire King to wake him up.

    Luna grabbed one of the Vampire King''s hands and pried it open, rubbing her tear-stained face with it.

    "Please wake up for me, my King. I wouldn''t be able to live without you."

    cing her hand over her chest, she checked if his heart was still beating.

    There was still a pulse, it was inaudible, but at least it was there.

    "I shut the portal, and I shut it forever," Luna rasped through her tender vocal cords as she spoke to the Vampire King. "These Archdemons weren''t permitted to enter the Vampire Realm anytime soon."

    She remembered how the Vampire King was adamant about making her his Empress, marrying her when he discovered that they were mated because of the Blood Beast''s doing.

    She put her hand around his shoulders, lifting his head to settle unto herp.

    "My king, you need toe back for me," Luna said in a surprisingly tender voice as she squeezed his elbow.

    Luna took the Vampire King''s arm and put it over her shoulders, half-carrying him��half staggering-- away from the Pentagram''s markings to the mattress.

    Her neck hurt from the stab wounds Ravin had done to her mate, but, like the rest of her, it was healing.

    Luna could feel the Vampire King''s life force, feel his dying me. "Vampire King, answer me."

    Quiet, peaceful, a hush of sound. Then,

    ''I am here, my soul trapped in my own body. I can hear you but I couldn''t wake up.''

    She followed the mental thread to discover his lonely soul lying in the pitch-ck edges of his consciousness.

    Luna focused her sentience on entering his mind, used her glow light once again to illuminate that part of his brain so that he would awaken and wouldn''t stay in the darkness for too long.

    The Vampire King smiled when he saw a piece of her soul floating in his mind.

    "You are not to die, my King." Luna dared not touch him, afraid that it was an unwee gesture. "Come back to me."

    She already invaded his mind.

    Luna connected with Ravin and Luxen as ''mates,'' but it wasn''t stronger than the Vampire King.

    The Archdemons had the desire to own her because she was a powerful High Priestess, but in reality, it was the other way around.

    The closer she got with the Vampire King, most probably if they had sexual congress, Luna realized, their mental links would reach newer heights.

    Luna could feel a wide range of emotions��also telepathicmunication-- but she wasn''t thinking about renouncing herself as the High Priestess yet, now that she broke the curse once and for all.

    These assumptions of hers couldn''t be far from the truth.

    Luna had no ns to hurt his shattered soul when he had just recovered from an Archdemon''s control for as long as he could remember.

    ''I hear you, alright.'' She could hear the teasing even in that fading whisper. ''If I could just figure out how to get out of this mental prison.''

    ''Take all the time you need. I will be here.''

    The High Priestess'' canines elongated, and a strange, beautiful, golden taste filled her mouth as she felt a tear slide down her face.

    He was a strong High Priestess��a Vampire Amazon.

    She rarely cried.

    "I will perform the Blood Bond ritual again. Maybe that will bring you back."

    ''Do it.'' Weakughter in her head. ''I miss you.''

    Her heart stopped beating when his life force started to fade, and she leaned forward, her mouth overwhelmed by the taste of beauty, of life.

    The Vampire King''sshes struggled to open but failed.

    His mental voice, though weak, was adamant. "I will be with you for eternity."

    "You must live." And then she bit her lip enough to draw blood and kissed him, feeding that golden taste, that intoxicating blend, into his mouth. "You must live, amare."

    +++

    The first thing Luna saw when the Vampire King blinked and opened his eyes was blue.

    Endless, fathomless, brilliant blue.

    The Vampire King''s eyes.

    "Are you fine, High Priestess?" The Vampire King asked her, getting out of the bed as if they were still in danger, jarring her out of her thoughts.

    "You''re back, thank the Goddess," Luna eximed with joyful tears.

    She was about to wrap her arms around his body to hug him, but then he stopped her by shaking his head as if telling her not to.

    The Vampire King lifted a finger, tracing it over her cheekbone as if to test if he still had the Blood Beast''s curse, the touch of death.

    When it made contact with her face, nothing happened.

    ck and blue imprints didn''t make web on her skin like they used to do when the Vampire King touched other beings.

    She flinched, and not because he was hurting her. It was the opposite.

    The ces he touched . . .

    It was as if he had a direct line to the hottest, most feminine part of her.

    A single stroke, and she was embarrassingly damp.

    Their blood bond had intensified.

    He put a finger on her chin to make her hold still.

    He stared into her injured eye.

    Still staring at it, he leaned to the side. "What happened to your eye?"

    "What do you mean?"

    That finger passed over her jaw and whispered along the line of her neck, giving excruciating, unwanted pleasure.

    "Your eyes, they are different," The Vampire King said as he cupped her face tenderly, nodding.

    It seemed like he couldn''t look away. "The colors of your green eyes changed."

    "What are you talking about?" Luna said, her voice cracking.

    "Your other eye turned to gold and it was shifting to silver depending on the light." The Vampire King said quietly.

    "Is it scary?" Luna asked the Vampire King, paranoid that no one would ever want to look her in the right eye again.

    He started tough and then stopped abruptly, grimacing, as he clutched his healing wounds.

    His smile was less a shadow this time, those changeable eyes sliding from ck to something closer to cobalt.

    Alive.

    Electric.

    "When I was possessed by the Blood Beast, you must have noticed that I had one golden eye." He said. "This other eye��its iris was shaped like a lightning bolt--and you have them."

 Chapter 73 - Devour*

    <h4>Chapter 73 - Devour*</h4>

    Luna''s eyes widened, goosebumps breaking out of her skin at the possibility of being possessed by one Archdemon. How much more if there were two of them.

    "Do you mean that I had a part of the Archdemons inside me?"

    "I don''t know, High Priestess." The Vampire King seemed to pause as if thinking. There was a hint of genuine confusion in those blue, blue eyes. "I have no idea."

    The Vampire King watched her for several long minutes, a cold standoff that turned her blood to ice.

    Luna stared back, unwilling��unable��to give in.

    She would never cave in.

    In Luna''s eyes, they were equal.

    He may be the Vampire King, but she was the High Priestess, and there was nothing he could do to change that.

    Never will she cower in his intense gaze.

    His intimidation will not work on her because she had saved him and broke his curse.

    The Vampire King should at least thank her.

    "I want to prove something." His lips were pinched together, yet it bore no hint of a smile, yet it was the personification of sensuality. Decadent. Lush.

    Luna stiffened but still kept her eyes locked on him, even if she wanted to shield herself away from it.

    The Vampire King glowed so much power because he had drunk her blood.

    Luna was hungry, and she hadn''t fed from him yet, and she had no ns to do that.

    Yet.

    Luna clenched her teeth so hard her jaw protested. "What is there to prove?"

    The Vampire King gave her an amused look as he leaned a fraction closer.

    Surprised, Luna moved backwards, letting out an undignified squeak.

    The Vampire King stared at her for several long seconds.

    His face was so perfect that she swore it could have belonged to an ancient god. "That I can touch you for real."

    The Vampire King whispered darkly. "I miss having connecting with someone regardless of the consequences."

    Luna didn''t say a word for a minute, thinking about the implications of what he had said.

    "I''m��"

    His eyes were filled with the hottest blue mes as power crackled through around them.

    She was an inch away from escaping, running as far away as possible when he spoke, "You said I''m yours, right?"

    "Yes." The realization burned like a dagger twisted in her gut.

    The Vampire King''s fingers were on her shoulders. "And you are mine."

    "Yes, my King. " Luna''s eyes narrowed, but still, she agreed grudgingly. The words dripped off her tongue like ice needles.

    Chill silence, so cold the goosebumps returned.

    A faint smile on his lips. "I want you now."

    Luna blinked in wary disbelief.

    Her heart stopped, and when it kicked back to life, she could barely wrench the words out of her mouth. "Not in the way you think. You must calm down, my King. You are weak."

    The Vampire King chuckled, but it was the coldest, most dangerous sound she''d ever heard.

    "It''s fine I can still do it. " The Vampire King said, ignoring her words.

    He shrugged, and that movement drew her attention to the breadth of his shoulders.

    "I''m not hurt at all." His hand closed over her wrist and ced it over his erection.

    Luna swallowed, refusing to remember the time when he made her a ve to her pleasures.

    She must forget the way he touched her core at the pce corridors when the Blood Beast possessed him.

    She had to make it clear with her mind that it wasn''t him.

    This was the Vampire King.

    For the life of her, she should not associate him with Ravin''s wrongdoings.

    Luna refused to let him y with her like this, even if her body disagreed. Vehemently.

    "I''m too weak to do it," Luna said, her voice harsh with withheld emotion and desire.

    "You need blood?" The Vampire King asked, and his face was suddenly a hairsbreadth against her face. His lips neared her ear. Luna blinked and realized she waspletely under his control, where he needed her to be.

    "No," Luna said mutinously as he pushed his chest away. "It will make you weak."

    Blue mes in his eyes, but it held no violence. "You don''t want me then."

    "Oh for the goddess'' sake! "

    Using one hand, Luna kicked out with her legs and had his strong neck in a tight chokehold at the same time, catching him off-guard.

    She didn''t hesitate to push him down the bed with her hand still on his neck to assert dominance.

    It was a suicidal act when the other person in the dynamic was a Vampire King, her mate.

    Males, especially vampire males, didn''t like to be challenged this way, but she can''t help it.

    Luna was hungry and annoyed.

    She swallowed as her mouth gathered enough saliva every time her gaze slid to his nape.

    "You made me hungry now, amare." Luna''s vampire ws lengthened of their own volition, and she lifted her other hand to scratch his face with a finger.

    The spot on his cheek might have tingled, but the cut was thin enough he could hardly feel it.

    Luna watched the Vampire King''s blood trickle down his ear before the nick sealed shut.

    Temptation.

    Luna''s fangs elongated once again as a red haze clouded the edges of her vision. "If you keep teasing me I wouldn''t be able to stop."

    "Amare." The Vampire King advanced in a sh, pushing her back to the bed.

    The second he paused, his lips hovering over hers, his emotions hit her like a tidal wave.

    Relief, happiness, and most of all�� longing.

    Luna drowned in it.

    They both did.

    They had changed positions, and he was now on top of her. Luna was in the right ce where the Vampire King needed her to be.

    Below him.

    Always.

    She pulled him into her arms, weing the hard nes of his body into hers.

    The Vampire King kissed her hard without any reservation as he gloried in the purely physical and unadulterated contact he had missed for thousands of years.

    As he hovered over her, Luna gloried in the feel of his lips on her lips, her cheeks, and her throat.

    "I want to feel your skin more." The Vampire King lost patience and tore the front of her dress open, the clothing sliding down her body to pool at her waist.

    He pulled off his torn, bloody shirt and tossed it aside, so there was nothing between them except his pants.

    The frenzy of the Vampire King''s kisses faded, his lips pausing on the spot above her frantically beating heart. She felt his fingers trace down her waist, lowering her ripped white blood-stained dress further.

    "I can''t wait to devour you." He murmured.

    Luna gasped. "My King!"

    A cough echoed through the crater, and both of them froze.

    As Luna nced overhead while the Vampire King was busy, she saw a young guard standing a few paces up the crater, and his eyes fixed on the sted underground shelter at his feet.

    A squeak of horror escaped her lips, and Luna jerked the dress up around her torso, trying to reim some vestiges of my modesty.

    "Your timing is dreadful," The Vampire King looked up and said, "Cederic."

 Chapter 74 - Forced Marriage*

    <h4>Chapter 74 - Forced Marriage*</h4>

    Cederic didn''t waste time.

    He jumped andnded gracefully like a cat behind the Vampire King.

    Bending one knee to the ground, Cederic bowed his head respectfully.

    He paused, crouching on the ground for long seconds, and then straightened when the Vampire King told him to rise.

    Cederic stood up straight without giving Luna as much as a nce.

    She was grateful for the reprieve, alright, because she was trying to pull her torn dress upwards, fixing it to cover her upper body, but her efforts were in vain.

    The thin scraps of her clothing barely covered her breasts as she tried to raise them to her shoulders.

    It just couldn''t be done.

    The Vampire King saw her struggle and moved closer, wrapped his arms around her back, and lifted her to him so easily.

    He blocked Luna from Cederic''s view to keep her modesty.

    Now that the Vampire King''s torso had enveloped her into his embrace, the only thing Cederic could see was her head leaning on his naked shoulder.

    Luna didn''t know where to put her hands as they iled at the sides awkwardly.

    Having no choice, Luna''s arms settled around his neck while her legs locked around his hips. Her knees under clinging unto his forearms, and her heels dug into the muscles of his ass.

    The skin-to-skin contact with her mate sent shivers down her spine, especially when the cold breeze touched her naked skin.

    Luna''s breasts brushed the smooth expanse of the Vampire King''s chest, and her nipples hardened every time he moved, subtly caressing her back and pulling her closer towards his hard body, turning her on.

    "High Priestess, now you made me hungry." Drool dripped from the Vampire King''s open jaw, razor-sharp teeth revealed, and his ws lifted as he inched closer to her.

    He didn''t bite, but his eyes had darkened, and his voice had thickened into growls.

    Luna panted in anticipation, sweat trickling down her body.

    Cederic grumbled a bit from their physical disy, but he didn''tin, "I await your orders, my King."

    His tone wasn''t less than amand, a de that whispered warning. "First things first, I want you to tell everyone in the Castle to prepare for our wedding with the High Priestess."

    "I didn''t want to get married, my King," Luna whispered in his ear as she stared at Cederic hard.

    Their eyes met, and Cederic snickered as his eyes drifting back to the Vampire King.

    The way he smirked felt like he was mocking her.

    Luna narrowed her eyes at Cederic. ''Was that a challenge then?''

    A deep growl made her turn around to look at the Vampire King. "Apollyon."

    Luna''s heart and mind might have protested it, but she pulled back from him to lift her gaze to his handsome face. "What?"

    The Vampire King demanded. "Apollyon for you, High Priestess."

    When Cederic heard that the Vampire King desired Luna to address him by his real name, it made him gawk into a frown.

    This was the first time he saw the Vampire King renounced his royalty nonchntly and no other than a mere Amazon High Priestess whose roots were unknown.

    Luna''s brows knotted in confusion at that, too. "Apollyon?"

    The Vampire King paused before clearing his throat. "Apollyon is my real name."

    "My King." Luna hesitated. "I refuse to call you by your real name."

    Apollyon ced his hands on her waist as he lowered his voice and purred, "Why?"

    His deep baritone called to the deepest, most primitive part of her.

    Apollyon''s voice seemed to hit different, reaching into the depths of her soul.

    He gently gripped her waist and wrapped hisrge hands around soft hips before moving lower to cup her ass better.

    She bit her lip, not wanting to be aroused again in front of Cederic.

    The Vampire King was determined to seduce her to ruination.

    Time seemed to freeze before she spoke. "It''s ufortable to call you that."

    "You called me something before. What was that? Amare?" Luna just noticed that he had sneakily used his vampire hypnotic voice on her, and it was proven effective. "You consented to be my Beloved then."

    Luna shrugged, and the way her nipples abraded his chest sent another wave of pleasure in her core. She draped her lithe form around him, holding onto his body with all her might.

    Legs squeezed around his waist while her face was buried at the crook of his neck. "The Blood Beast called me that."

    "I don''t want you to mention him ever again." The Vampire King roared, his deep voice booming.

    An eerie, disconcerting silence settled through the crater.

    Even the birds flying overhead grew quiet.

    Cederic looked amused, content on being a spectator to this tableau.

    "Yes, my��"

    He rumbled, his full lips curved downward. "Apollyon.''

    Luna sputtered to appease him. "Yes. Apollyon."

    "I want to marry you as soon as possible." Apollyon jerked up, and Luna stopped breathing when his handsome face peered at her.

    He had strong, masculine features, and his blue eyes darkened when his gaze met hers. They were framed with thick, long eyshes that matched his jet-ck hair. He didn''t look at her in a way that justified her fear, but it remained in full force. "The moment we arrive at the castle, I will let the High Priest wed us."

    Luna was incapable of speech.

    The shock and horror of her situation still had her reeling.

    "But, my King." Luna licked her lips, forcing her brain to work. "I didn''t know about the condition of the Vampire Castle."

    "I don''t care about that. I will think about thatter after we wed tonight."

    Luna trembled as her terror returned fiercely, almost losing her tight grip on Apollyon''s shoulders.

    She wasn''t ready for this marriage.

    Luna didn''t have the time to heal and regain herposure yet, and now this bastard talked about marriage?

    "My King, we should wait for the dust to settle from the wreckage you did at the Castle."

    A spark of surprise in those blue eyes. "How did you know about this?"

    Luna blinked as she felt her face colour but still, she ignored the question.

    The n was not to reveal all of her powers to the Vampire King to gain some leverage over him just in case.

    "Are the fortress and the bailey repaired to its prior state?"

    "I don''t know. I am the King, my beloved. I am not usually the one that handles seeing at the moment. Jon and the rest will see to that." Apollyon''s said huskily, and his smile bore a hint of male satisfaction.

    "I can''t wait to have you." Apollyon licked his lips as he stared deep into her mismatched eyes. "I need to have you."

    Luna shook her head, her silver hair snaking around her body to her waist.

    A sick feeling knotted into her stomach. "I��I''m not ready."

    "You didn''t have much of choice, my mate."

    She cleared his throat, not sure what to say, but she told him the truth. "I am ready to marry you, but I can''t be your wife yet."

    Apollyon raised a perfectly arched eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

    She took a slow breath and blew it out.

    It didn''t help her case that she was half-naked.

    Luna hesitated, wishing it could be that simple. "I want to remain as a virgin for a while as the High Priestess."

    Apollyon''s mouth curved as if she''d said something funny. "There is no need. You already have broken the curse of the Blood Beast. Why can''t you let it go?"

    She couldn''t get out of this situation by talking.

    Apollyon didn''t care what she had to say regarding this matter.

    Luna didn''t borate and just pursed her lips instead.

    "Oh, so you wanted power for yourself." Something dark and exquisitely dangerous moved in the crystalline depths of Apollyon''s eyes as his chill fingers trailed over her spine. "You will have power as my Empress. All you have to do is sit and look pretty beside me at the Banquet, be each other''s food, give each other pleasure, and creating heirs every night. That is the most important thing."

    Something snapped inside her. "How about love?"

    Apollyonughed darkly, probably thinking she wasn''t serious. "Love?"

    The wind stopped and even the clouds in the night sky seemed to freeze.

    "Will you love me?"

 Chapter 75 - Bound*

    <h4>Chapter 75 - Bound*</h4>

    ***********************

    High Priestess Luna

    ***********************

    "Are you ready, High Priestess?"

    If a thousand years came and went, Luna wouldn''t still be ready, so she didn''t even bother to reply.

    Luna walked stiffly as she got out of the privacy screen.

    Running her hands down on her tight corset, she lifted the heavy skirts of her dark red velvet dress.

    Silver beads decorated thecy tight sleeves of her dress, and tiny onyx buttons marched up the back to its highce cor.

    She wore a simple cor of gold and onyx and a pair of chandelier earrings.

    The blood-red fabric stretched sleekly down her torso, loosening at the hip and cascading out behind her like a waterfall pouring into a river of red silk.

    Growing colder, sweat broke out of her hands even if thick, voluminous skirts buried her legs.

    Her wedding dress made her hunger for the Vampire King.

    She felt like she was about to face.

    Then, a haze of ck crept over her vision.

    It reminded her of blood.

    An urgent knock came from the door again this time, and Luna wobbled as she turned towards it, unsteady on her gold brocaded heels.

    The military general was waiting for her on the other side.

    Luna''s knees trembled, and her body swayed as she walked towards the door to open it.

    She had collided with something solid, and Cederic caught her before she could fall to the floor.

    As Cederic supported her weight to maintain upright, Luna said under her breath, "Goddess, I think I''m going to be sick."

    It felt like she was eating real food over again.

    Luna was about to retch up everything she had consumed.

    When she regained her bnce, Cederic extended his hands and offered her a gilded box.

    Curious as to what could be inside, Luna epted it and opened it carefully.

    Marvelling at how the gems glittered into the light, Luna gasped at the masterpiece of the tiara decorated with silver and gold precious stones. There was a blood-red diamond teardrop at the centre of it.

    This must be the Empress Crown.

    Luna ced them back in the box and returned them to the military general, pushing the treasure away. "I don''t think I could do this, Cederic."

    If she married the Vampire King, her virtue would be the price, and that was something she could never win back even if Apollyon promised her that he would not force Luna to consummate the marriage if she didn''t want it to.

    But what if he tempted her when they sleep on the same bed every night, and she wouldn''t be able to stop?

    What if she teased him identally, and he wouldn''t be able to stop either?

    Nobody would care whether it was against her wishes or not �C her reputation as the High Priestess, such as it was, would be ruined.

    She must remain a virgin for Hecate.

    She had to escape now, but Cederic had already fetched her, so that was out of the question.

    "Come on, High Priestess, you can do this." Cederic gave her a wide grin as if he was happy that she was suffering in front of his eyes.

    She exhaled a loud breath when he plucked the tiara out of its case and threw it in the air.

    Luna had no choice but to catch it with her quick reflexes so that it wouldn''t break.

    "You must be a sadist, Cederic, to even attempt that," Luna muttered as she attached the crown to her head.

    She didn''t expect that it would fit just perfectly.

    "Be brave," Cederic said as he reached for her hand and kissed her knuckles swiftly.

    He nced around as if afraid that he might get caught by someone for stealing a kiss from the Vampire King''s bride. "Just do as His Majesty''s requests, and this will all be over quickly."

    Luna walked through the hallways of the pce on Cederic''s arm.

    The only sound echoing through the silent corridors was the click of her heels and the rustle of her dress.

    Cederic said nothing, so Luna said nothing.

    Although she was desperate to know what to expect in this marriage ceremony.

    Do they kiss in front of Fei?

    Were they ceremonial incantations for this?

    Will the High Priest perform some high-level binding spell to strengthen their connection when they have already bonded by blood?

    For Luna, this marriage was useless unless the Vampire King nned to make her his subordinate--below him.

    Some wife he could throw his weight around and y with at his mercy.

    The Vampire King would undoubtedly treat her as one of his toys if he were old enough to y with dolls.

    She didn''t know why the Vampire King insisted on this when he had hundreds of concubines.

    Luna contented herself with examining the beautiful paintings lining the hallways as light flew up to the ceiling, illuminating them.

    No surface was left unadorned, and the wall paintings were so detailed she half expected them toe to life.

    As though sensing her thoughts, Cederic''s smile grew brighter. "It seemed like this was the first time you have seen them, High Priestess."

    "The artworks are breath-taking, Cederic," Luna said, forgetting her apprehension for a moment. "I just noticed them just today, for real."

    Those artworks had been here for a long time, and the Vampire King''s mother made them." The military general murmured as if he was suddenly far away, reminiscing on his past. "Those aren''t new."

    The ''cling ng of a ringing bell echoed through the hallways, and it took a while for Luna to understand.

    "We should hurry up. Your future husband is calling." The military general said, but his attention wasn''t on her.

    Then he paused, and Luna stopped in her tracks too.

    Cederic''s head cocked slightly as though listening for something.

    All Luna could hear heartbeat pounding.

    He rxed. "It wasn''t a good idea to make the Vampire King wait."

    "He should if he wanted to marry me, that is."

    "Marrying the Vampire King isn''t that bad now that the curse was removed," Cederic said, pulling her forward to walk faster.

    She wasn''t certain whether he was trying to convince her or himself.

    They met no one on their way.

    The pce was as silent as a tomb until they reached a vaulted front entrance.

    Cederic paused and pushed open a door.

 Chapter 76 - Kiss Of Defiance*

    <h4>Chapter 76 - Kiss Of Defiance*</h4>

    **********************

    High Priestess Luna

    **********************

    Cederic paused and pushed open a door.

    The Vampire King sat on his throne as he rested his head on one hand in the armchair, staring nkly at the floor and looking bored.

    Apollyon was surrounded by a handful of ck and white-sashed attendants.

    At the sound of her heels, The Vampire King leaped abruptly to his feet.

    For some reason, Luna couldn''t bring herself to look into his eyes as she approached Apollyon slowly.

    When she finally reached him, Luna dropped into a deep curtsey.

    "Your Highness." Turning in the Vampire King''s direction, but keeping her eyes lowered, she added, "I''m ready to marry you."

    *****************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ****************************

    "I''m ready to marry you."

    "Hmmm," The Vampire King said as he gazed at the High Priestess from head to toe with hooded eyes, drinking their fill of her as if it were their sacred right--slowly and leisurely.

    As if he had all the time in the world.

    Half-globes of the High Priestess'' breasts were on full disy, overflowing against its brocaded bodice despite the virginal high-neck cor.

    Her skin was a translucent white pearl that made her look more fragile, more alluring.

    As if the High Priestess had divined his thoughts, she tugged her corset upward, then ced a dainty hand over her cleavage to shield them from his intense gaze.

    Her modesty pricked his conscience, stirring his conflicting desires to protect and possess.

    Apollyon smirked before his ravenous gaze moved to caress her face. "I thought the disy was for me, High Priestess."

    The High Priestess'' cheeks and chest flushed a blotchy red. "I didn''t choose the dress, my King," Luna replied stiffly.

    He fought the urge to take her right there in front of his people so he contented himself with drinking his fill of the rare beauty she had possessed.

    **********************

    High Priestess Luna

    **********************

    Luna moistened her lips, nearly breathless with his rapt attention.

    The Vampire King circled her like a wary raptor, his eyes narrowed to frosty slits.

    Apollyon was dressed all in ck with the shadow of a new beard darkening his cheeks.

    He looked young yet somehowrger and infinitely less manageable.

    "Our agreement was ''no consummation'' until you renounce yourself as the High Priestess��a vessel of Hecate. I had all the time in the world to wait for you, even for an eternity." Apollyon spoke as his gaze flicked to her taut belly, then back to her eyes. "Be grateful that I was a pureblood vampire, my beloved. Our Heirs can wait until we grow weary of each other''s presence. We aren''t sure if the blood bond wouldst for the entire lifetime, perhaps, it will wear off as time goes by."

    The Vampire King nned to reduce her��the future queen of the Vampire Realm, a High Priestess and his one and only mate--to a baby-making whore if he grew tired of her?

    Luna''s confidence as the future queen of the Vampire Realm faltered.

    Did he just think she was another cow in an auction just like the females in his Consortium?

    She was the High Priestess.

    A vampire High Priestess who had the great potential to destroy him singlehandedly.

    How dare he spoke to her future bride in that way?

    The audacity of this pureblood vampire after all she had done and the trouble she had gone through to break the Blood Beast curse for him--even dealing with Archdemons.

    Luna choked back her outrage and managed a sneer of her own. "I hope you grow weary of my presence quickly, dear husband. Who knows I might find other mates who will entertain me for a lifetime better than you?"

    At the murderous re of Apollyon''s eyes, Luna feared her sarcasm might cost her head but then if he killed her for that insolence so will the Vampire King.

    Each of their life force was tied to each other and Luna must always remember that.

    Harming his own mate equated to suicide.

    Luna should piss off the Vampire King once in a while to show him who had the real upper hand.

    The Vampire King swung away from her, flexing his fingers as if to keep them from curling around her throat in anger.

    "I couldn''t believe my wife is provoking me to kill in a joyous celebration such as our wedding," Apollyon muttered as he gritted his teeth, then, his blue eyes smoldered dangerously. "Don''t try me, High Priestess."

    Luna took an involuntary step backward, wondering toote what manner of predator she had engaged.

    Apollyon moved after her, closing the distance between them in half a stride.

    Tangling his fist in her thick silver hair, he jerked her head back, baring her face to his merciless scrutiny much as he had that long-ago night in the pool gardens.

    Fear seized her as he searched her features.

    "I apologize if I have offended you, my mate," Luna whispered, hoping that would calm him down.

    His silence judgment terrified her more than any bellow of rage.

    Unmoved by her entreaty, Apollyon captured her jaw and forced her lips apart.

    Luna pushed his chest to make him stop his assault but Apollyon had caught her wrists and forced her arms away from each other.

    The Vampire King kissed her until she could not breathe at all.

    It was a possessive kiss��more of a prelude to a more exquisite rapture.

    She couldn''t stand without the bracing support of his arms wrapping around her lower back.

    Luna moaned softly, eager for more as her mouth parted to beckon him inside.

    His tongue epted her shy invitation, rewarding her with a fiercer, sweeter press, its rough satin stroking deep to im her yielding mouth.

    Apollyon captured her nape in the cup of his palm, a growl of pained delight rumbling deep in his throat.

    Luna had clung to him, swirling her tongue to joust in kind.

    Utterly overwhelmed by the hot and fragile desire that had arisen between them, the Vampire King had no choice but to tear away from her with a harsh groan despite his body''s arousal.

    ''Tonight, mydy," He whispered against her brow. Apollyon''s lips brushed hers then, as feathery and beguiling as a butterfly''s wing. "Let me see if I can persuade you to renounce the Goddess."

    "You can''t." Luna murmured.

    "We should start the ceremony if you were so ready for me, then." His eyes sparkled with pure devilment, shooting her a naughty nce from beneath his darkshes, "Forever is a long time but I couldn''t wait for you to be mine."

    With that husky vow, he brushed his lips across the bridge of her nose.

    "Don''t take that as a challenge, my King." Luna insisted.

    Apollyon rubbed the stubble under his chin and mumbled, "We should go outside. The High Priest had prepared the marriage altar at the maypole, insisting that we should stand at that damned living birch tree near his shack for the ceremony."

    Apollyon turned to go and strode right past her, making for the door while he left her standing there coldly at the throne--limp, trembling, damp with wanting.

    Then, Vampire King swiftly departed through the enormous front entry with the High Priestess trailing behind him.

 Chapter 77 - Haunted*

    <h4>Chapter 77 - Haunted*</h4>

    Despite the warmth of the air, Apollyon''s words earlier had sent chills running down her spine.

    The Vampire King was determined to persuade her to break her promise to Hecate.

    Luna brushed her fingertips on her lips, still stung by how tender it felt.

    ''No.; Luna shook her head. ''That was an act of power y in his side.''

    The Vampire King was showing her who was in control.

    She couldn''t help but resist the harsh reminder, and her eyes had drifted shut, provoking the dreamy mists of their passionate kisses.

    Goddess, it was embarrassing for a High Priestess to be that shameless in front of the Vampire King''s attendants.

    If only she could turn back time.

    Luna pulled at her cor as she shuddered by the memory, pping herself mentally for reacting to his touch like how a concubine would.

    She needed to stop these daydreams and clear her head.

    This wasn''t her at all.

    Luna pinched her cheeks to get herself back to reality.

    This must be the Blood Bond''s doing, making her crazy and yearn for something she shouldn''t.

    On the other hand, she had never considered the intimacies this marriage entailed.

    She and the Vampire King had never even talked about the rules beforehand after she had agreed to this.

    Apollyon had asked for her hand in marriage, and Luna had agreed when the Vampire King told her that he would not force her to give up her virginity for him if she wasn''t ready.

    He was willing to wait for her even if it took Luna forever to get used to the idea of the Vampire King as her husband.

    Apollyon had promised to protect her and prioritize her well-being because Luna was her mate.

    He didn''t promise love because he imed that he wasn''t capable of loving someone.

    The Vampire King had reasoned out that if Luna forced him to love her, it would be simr to Apollyon forcing her to abandon her status as the High Priestess of Hecate and consummate their marriage even if she wasn''t prepared.

    Luna realized he was right, so she didn''t even push him to offer his undying love and devotion.

    She knew she couldn''t force him because he wasn''t ready, too.

    The Vampire King had just broken free from the curse, and he needed to enjoy having physical contact without anyone dying and suffering from the consequences.

    Like her, Apollyon also needed time to adjust.

    Those were the verbal conditions that he had established at the underground shelter, but Luna couldn''t help but think about Apollyon''s future attempts of his sexual persuasion.

    In truth, Luna wasn''t quite clear on the precise nature of the inexplicable act that bound the wife to a husband.

    If she wasn''t mistaken, the Blood Beast had already shown her a prelude of the act when they were at the castle''s corridors.

    ''Are they going to do that again?''

    Luna swallowed as her hands curled around her middle.

    The Blood Beast had clearly said that it was possible to make love without losing her maidenhead so that it would be fine.

    Of course, they would do that again.

    She didn''t like to admit it, but Luna had thoroughly enjoyed what they had done, and she was looking forward to more of that with Apollyon this time around.

    Nobody exined much to her, but maybe, Apollyon will take the lead in the act, and she--a mere follower.

    The Vampire King was experienced when he had so many women in the Consortium.

    Like a good empress, Luna will do what he instructed and react ordingly.

    Lifting her skirts, Luna raced to the Vampire King to keep up with his pace, her spirits buoyed by a stubborn surge of courage and desire.

    ''Apollyon.''

    "Apollyon, wait for me," Luna called out, and the Vampire King halted, turned around, and walked briskly towards her.

    Out of nowhere, the Vampire King clutched her elbow tightly that it hurt.

    "You called my name." Apollyon choked out as he pulled her towards him, staring at her absently.

    The Vampire King was paler than normal as he nced around as if he was looking for someone to pop up behind her.

    Distracted, the Vampire King stared at the top of her head, fascinated by the Empress Crown she wore as if this was the first time he had seen them.

    Apollyon raised one hand above her head as if he wanted to run his fingers over the Empress Crown, but he stopped himself midway and just dropped it.

    Apollyon paused awkwardly, shifting his weight from one leg to the other.

    "Your hair is silver and the Empress crown matched them." He mumbled out-of-the-blue.

    It was apliment from the King that had nothing to do with her sexual attributes.

    Now, that was new.

    Mortified, Luna''s skin red so hotly she thought it might burn clear off her bones.

    It must be the end of the world.

    She fought the urge to wipe her sweaty palms on the gown and muttered, "I didn''t get to choose the color of my hair, my King."

    The Vampire King avoided any eye contact as he stared nkly into space, haunted by the distant memories.

    His grip was no longer tinged with violence, but it was as imcable as an iron manacle mped around her wrists.

    "What is wrong, Apollyon?" Luna said as she noticed his hands tremble.

    The Vampire King let go of her wrists when she tried to pull away.

    Apollyon sped her hand this time instead of as they walked side-by-side to the High Priest''s shack this time.

    Aged maidservants followed them as they tended the long trails of the gossamer silk of her long gown through the Vampire castle''s outer bailey.

    "For a minute there, I thought I saw the ghost of the first High Priestess in your ce." Apollyon snapped, his tone recovering its waspish note.

    His relentless strides carried them past other inhabitants of the Vampyr Kingdom, their puzzled faces nothing more than a blur.

 Chapter 78 - Flirting Games*

    <h4>Chapter 78 - Flirting Games*</h4>

    *************************

    THE HIGH PRIESTESS

    **************************

    The First High Priestess?

    The Vampire King''s blue eyes were wild, and he seemed spooked by something he can only see.

    Did he mean that Lilith, who had used Hecate''s magic for her gain to im the Vampire King for herself?

    Was it that evil witch who forcefully bounded an Archdemon''s soul to the Vampire King''s body as revenge?

    Luna shot him a dark look. "I didn''t y any tricks, Apollyon."

    The Vampire King threw back his head andughed.

    It was a ck sound that rolled through the courtyard in mirthless waves even as he set Luna firmly in his hold.

    This time his sharp eyes did not shy from her as they studied her critically. "I swore I heard that witch Lilith calling my name instead of your voice."

    Why would she do that?

    Why would she taunt him for no reason?

    Why would he even care?

    Did the Vampire King had a deeper rtionship with Lilith than that one memory shown to her?

    Well, if he still insisted that it was her own doing, maybe she could try that some days when he least expect it to get back at him for using her.

    "Believe what you want," Luna said sharply as she shrugged. "Suit yourself, then."

    The Vampire King opened his mouth, no doubt to add further insult to injury, and he wisely shut it again.

    Perhaps, this time he had trusted that her words rang true.

    +++++++++++++++

    THE VAMPIRE KING

    +++++++++++++++

    The fragrant tropical nights mocked the High Priestess'' agitation as primrose blossoms and violets surrounded them.

    Luna had activated her glow lights to illuminate their paths as they walked, followed by Apollyon''s most loyal attendants and her assigned maidservants.

    The sultry perfume of jasmine caressed his sharpened senses.

    Spiraling around them were green gands and arum lilies reaching up towards the sky.

    The High Priestess had subsided into doleful silence.

    It heightened his impression that Luna felt like she was marching to the gallows instead of the altar.

    The blood bond had be stronger that he can sometimes feel what her mate had been feeling at the moment or random thoughts seemed to flutter into his mind.

    Apollyon knew for a fact that they were not his.

    But as time goes by, Apollyon was having a hard time differentiating which emotions were his and the High Priestess''.

    They followed the High Priest as he summoned the both of them to meet at this living birch tree he was talking about.

    He was adamant that they pledge their marriage vows in front of this useless maypole.

    The High Priest was superstitious, and for Apollyon, it was just total nonsense.

    Apollyon didn''t think that it mattered.

    The Vampire King had married countless females here��past Empresses who betrayed him--when he was used to be under the control of the Archdemon of Gluttony.

    This would probably be the first time he wouldn''t kill an Empress with his own hands because the curse of the Blood Beast had been broken already.

    There was no need to feel guilt and shame for his past wrongdoings anymore.

    The High Priestess was his salvation, and it was the right decision to keep her and marry her��tie her down to him for eternity.

    His beloved mate.

    His everything.

    A cooling breeze teased his brow.

    Arum Lilies, or ''kings and queens'' as they are also known, symbolized the male and female union that brings fruitfulness and harmony within the Vampire Realm��seeking emotional riches at the deepest level.

    From this, love blossoms, entwining them ever more deeply into a state of being where differences vanish and the dross of greed and possessiveness was burned away in the sweet fires of eternity.

    It was unfortunate that the High Priest wasn''t aware that this marriage wasn''t based on love.

    This marriage ceremony was rushed because Apollyon couldn''t wait any longer for the High Priestess to be his and his alone��bound to him, mind, body, and soul.

    There was no question that she was his and anyone who might protest and get in the way will be killed without mercy.

    That was why he desired this marriage to be exclusive from the Consortium for the meantime, not until he made sure that it was also the High Priestess'' wish to announce this in public.

    The grand celebration at the castle will follow after a week of keeping the High Priestess to himself at his remoteir at the other side of the Valley of Kings��where he could y with his new Empress to his heart''s content.

    ++++++++++++++

    THE HIGH PRIESTESS

    ++++++++++++++

    The moment they arrived at the location, the Vampire King had mercifully banished all his attendants from the ceremony, leaving only Apollyon, Luna, Cederic, and the High Priest.

    Apollyon dutifully took his ce, and they stood side by side, clothed in the finest garments in the entire realm.

    Between them raised a maypole made of an ancient living birch tree prepared by Fei as a symbolism of their energy exchange.

    The Vampire King summoned the High priest to perform the wedding vows.

    "True love is an mutua exchange of passion, not the surrender or domination of either but of voluntary willpower and respect. Learn to befriend the states of each of your personalities, male and female, light, and the dark to be truly whole."

    The High Priest closed his eyes as he continued, lecturing the Vampire King and the High Priestess about what this marriage should mean to them in the future.

    "To truly love is to be truly whole. We must ept every aspect of our personality as well as epting the wholeness of another person. The joy of union is simple and easy. Love is its reward to the generous heart."

    "Bring the light of love with you and allow it to shine the darkest corners of your world to support each other''s dreams and goals." The High Priest said as he looked at the both of them, giving them a sincere smile.

    As the High Priest''s invitation, The Vampire King recited his wedding vow, rendering them without pause or intonation.

    "Are you prepared to recite your vows, Luna?" The High Priest asked, interrupting her dangerous musings.

    Luna''s courage had turned into fear and then to dread until she reached the final and most solemn promise.

    There was no turning back from this.

    "I am." Ignoring a pang of regret, Luna did so, shyly ducking her head to recite her vows as she struggled to hide her difort. "I worship thee ... I worship thee with . . ."

    The Vampire King cocked an eyebrow as if mocking her for being a stuttering nervous wreck.

    "Calm down." The High Priest said as he nodded with encouragement.

    Luna did not miss that yful grin before she moved her eyes downcast.

    She cleared her throat and tried again, reminding herself that she was the mate of the Vampire King.

    There was no way she could break out of the blood bond so she might as well do it.

    Luna couldn''t live without Apollyon since he was the only vampire she could ever drink from and take his blood down.

    "I worship thee with my . . ."

    Luna''s hesitance had shamed her.

    They had an agreement.

    If they could not feign love for each other, she could at least summon a measure ofpassion.

    At her prolonged silence, the Vampire King gently gathered her hands in his, gazed deep into her eyes, and said, "I worship thee with my body."

    The Vampire King''s deep, husky voice coupled with his possessive touch as he prodded her to repeat the words sent a jolt of lightning through Luna.

    A tiny wave of dismay had followed when the unsolicited memories of the Vampire King''s sexual prowess filled her head.

    She had learned from her experience how hard and unrelenting the muscled length of his body could be.

    The Vampire King''s lips twitched with mischief, and Luna shot him a re.

    She wondered if he could hear her nasty thoughts.

    As if testing her resolve of not catching feelings for the Vampire King, the High Priest dered, "You may honor your bride with a kiss."

    The Vampire King leaned down to shorten the distance between their heights, closing his eyes when his lips were a hairbreadth from her face.

    A quiver of anticipation danced down her spine as if her body had been hardwired to respond deliciously when Apollyon was near her.

    Luna puckered her lips, terrified that they would betray her by melting beneath his persuasion just like what happened back at the Vampire Castle.

    She was helpless when it came to the Vampire King''s physical touch and passionate kisses.

    Luna had to train herself not to react too much, or Apollyon would assume that he was in control.

    Her caution proved unnecessary when Apollyon''s lips brushed her brow in the chastest of pecks.

    Luna had never felt more insulted in all her life.

    She bobbed a simpering curtsy, bewildered by the unfamiliar sensation of being snubbed, "You do me the honor, my King."

    The Vampire King''s expression was grave, but the twinkle in his blue eyes had that unholy light in them. "I am your husband now. You may call me Apollyon and I shall call you Luna."

    "Fuck you," Luna muttered, and Apollyon''s brows rose in surprise at her sudden outburst.

    He just shrugged nonchntly, tipped his head towards her, and smirked before turning away to discuss something with Cederic, who stood behind him.

    Luna then added faintly, "If you wanted to y games with me, Apollyon, I will make sure that I win no matter what."

 Chapter 79 - Aphrodisiac*

    <h4>Chapter 79 - Aphrodisiac*</h4>

    The High Priest asked to be excused for a while, returning to his shack nearby to get something.

    The Vampire King nodded and allowed the High Priest to go as he continued conversing with Cederic regarding the damaged structures at the Castle.

    Jon had stayed at the Vampire King''s castle to deal with the aftermath.

    Cederic had discussed with the Vampire King, waiting for Apollyon''s instructions so that, in turn, the military general could delegate tasks to his soldiers to restore the Castle into its initial condition.

    Cederic also needed to speak to the families of individuals affected during the ident--whose kin had been killed when the Vampire King had turned into a dragon.

    The Vampire King had topensate for the precious lives lost.

    Even in warring realms, casualties couldn''t be helped.

    What an irony!

    Apollyon had taken lives without remorse when he used to be gued by the curse.

    If he carried on his merciless acts to his subjects, he would have no excuse this time as the Vampire King.

    He would be a viin in this Realm with no redeeming qualities.

    He would be justified as pure evil--like the Archdemon of Gluttony.

    Apollyon didn''t desire to be identified as that of a demonic creature.

    Never again.

    +++

    Fei came back and stood in front of their wedding altar, holding out a tray of two crystal goblets filled with a glowing blue liquid.

    "You''re Highness." The High Priest knelt in front of them with his head bowed as he raised his hands to offer another one of his homemade concoctions.

    "What is this, Fei?" Luna held the thin stem of the crystal goblet, scrutinized them, swirled the contents, and inhaled its aroma to create a mental checklist of its possible ingredients.

    She wrinkled her nose as a mix of floral smells, and bitter herbs assailed her sinuses.

    "I just got out from the curse of the Blood Beast after millennia, Fei." The Vampire King told the High Priest, "That drink does not contain any poison for me and my wife, right?"

    "That is treason, Your Highness." The High Priest stared at him with a horrified expression, tray trembling in his hand. "Why would I ever do that?"

    "I suppose you''re right," The Vampire King said as he waved a dismissive hand.

    He took his ss and shook the liquid, watching the microscopic soluble sink to the bottom as it settled down at the center.

    Luna tilted her head and raised an eyebrow as she observed his antics.

    The Vampire King didn''t miss her intense scrutiny.

    When their eyes met, Apollyon just shrugged nonchntly, his red lips curled into a bemused smile. "Cheers?"

    "It was my own recipe of mixtures reserved for vampire couples who were blood bonded to each other beforehand. As to its nature, well��" The High Priest exined. "I couldn''t say that it didn''t have any effects, but it certainly won''t kill you. At least it shouldn''t �C we had never let a turned vampire drink any before."

    Luna narrowed her eyes and squinted at the Vampire King. "Are you sure that we should drink this?"

    "I trust the High Priest had our best interests at heart. He had saved my life countless times even the times when I didn''t deserve it." The Vampire King said, and she felt a cool brush of relief.

    Then, Apollyon whispered grudgingly, "He saved me when I had to go through my hunger pangs when you escaped from my grasp. The High Priest had stopped me from killing more innocent people just to get to you."

    Luna''s stomach curdled when her mind shed to the image of that dragon that had eaten other vampires and humans in its vicinity��torn limbs and detached heads flying in all directions.

    The brutality that she had seen in her nightmares when she slept at the High Priest''s underground shelter had made her scream through the silence of that night in the Arctic Tundra.

    It was Luna''s fault then.

    Luna pursed her lips and asked to change the subject. "Can you tell me what herbs you used, Fei?"

    Maybe, Luna can figure out the effects of this liquid if Fei would tell her what it was made of.

    She could check the grimoire in her memories and search for this specific potion��that way, they could decline the High Priest''s offer if it were dangerous.

    "Everything I do is for the Vampire Realm''s own good." The High Priest avoided her question. "I am an old warlock who had high morals. I had no evil intentions whatsoever. As a healer, that will not benefit me in the long run."

    She did not like the sound of that one bit.

    Luna waited for the High Priest to exin further, but it was clear he had no intention of borating.

    "I desired to rest, my wife. I am excited to sleep without the Blood Beast fucking up my sleeping patterns and constantly showing me his desires and nightmares." The Vampire King held the ss up to examine it more closely.

    "We should drink this to get it over with." The Vampire King added, and his instruction sounded so absolute that she knew he expected total obedience.

    "And if I refuse?" Luna whispered, staring at him.

    She had noticed his cheekbones had stood out against the pale smoothness of his wless skin.

    Apollyon didn''t respond to that and just cocked an eyebrow at her.

    His blue eyes were mild, but his smile spoke of things better not said aloud.

    "I suppose you''ll just force me to drink them," Luna muttered.

    "Certainly not," The Vampire King said, lowering the ss. "But the High Priest would not let us leave if we don''t drink them. He had probably activated magic traps once we step out of this ce withoutpleting his ceremony. Fei was the one who called the shots in this area."

    "That''s right, Your Highness." The old man smiled innocently.

    She scowled at his suspicious words, but all her dark looks garnered was a grin from the Vampire King.

    "I have to drink it too so we are even." Apollyon''s tone was final.

    Luna narrowed her eyes at the High Priest then back to the Vampire King.

    "I wondered how this tastes like," Luna said to no one in particr.

    "Having never been bonded with a turned vampire before, I expected this will be quite revolting by the scent alone. Anything that isn''t your blood tasted vile to me unless it was one of Fei''s concoctions just necessary enough for me to survive without your blood." The Vampire King responded and clinked his ss against hers.

    "Bottoms up!" He drowned the liquid in one mouthful.

    Resigned, Luna sipped hers despite the reluctance.

    It tasted as sweet as honey.

    Slow warmth swept down her throat and into her stomach, spreading out from there.

    She took another small sip and then another until the ss was drained.

    "Hmm, it wasn''t unpleasant." Apollyon murmured. "The drink is quite lovely, really."

    Luna had swayed slowly from foot to foot as though caught in some unheard rhythm.

    The night suddenly seemed brighter--like it had turned today.

    All her worries and anxieties fell away, and she feltnguid and blissful.

    "Are you certain there was no drug or liquor in this drink?"

 Chapter 80 - Lunar Eclipse*

    <h4>Chapter 80 - Lunar Eclipse*</h4>

    "Are you certain there was no drug or liquor in this drink?" Luna asked the Vampire King; her voice was dreamy.

    "I don''t know, my wife." The Vampire King''s blue eyes had grown so dted that only a thin rim of ck slits remained at the center of his pupils. "Though I see it had made you rather drunk as if you were engorged in my blood all night."

    Luna couldn''t focus on what Apollyon was talking about because her eyes had already zeroed in on the side of his throat as it fluttered with the rapidness of his pulse.

    A strange urge suddenly filled her to reach up and touch him.

    She didn''t remember her hand moving, but suddenly her fingers brushed that very spot, his skin hot against hers.

    Their eyes met.

    Luna could feel the tension so thick; she could cut them with a knife.

    She exhaled heavy pants as scorchingva flowed in her veins in an overwhelming lethargy.

    Apollyon''s eyelids drifted shut, shuddering beneath her touch.

    Then his hand shot up quickly and caught her wrist, pulling it away from his skin as if Luna had burned him.

    Luna even felt slightly insulted. She couldn''t even calm down or rx in his presence.

    Did he not like her anymore?

    The dreamlike euphoria the drink had induced must have faded already.

    "I don''t think I could trust myself around you, my wife." The Vampire King said cryptically, sucking in a ragged breath, "I feel like I am not myself again. My thoughts��"

    The Vampire King shook his head as he tried to clear his thoughts but to no avail.

    Luna''s brows knitted in confusion as she prodded, "Your thoughts?"

    Abruptly, Apollyon let go of her.

    The Vampire King moved to the far side of the altar as if he suddenly couldn''t bear to see her in his sight.

    "Luna." Apollyon groaned as he opened and closed his hands, stretching his fingers in a manic way.

    Luna approached him and stood in front of him.

    It wasn''t as close as her body would have liked, but she gave him enough space.

    "What''s the matter with you, Your Highness?" Luna nced up at him in concern, but she didn''t dare touch him again when it was unwee.

    ''Can the Vampire King feel the same way she did?'' Luna wondered all of a sudden.

    ''Did the Vampire King know what it meant to be sad, hurt, angry, or happy now that she had separated the Archdemon of Gluttony?''

    ''Did he know how to be in touch with his own emotions?''

    ''Was he even capable of loving someone if he wanted to?''

    ''Can Luna wait for a few hundred years?''

    ''Can a vampire love his mate with all his heart?''

    Luna clenched her fists and tried to hold back tears as these painful thoughts crossed her mind.

    Panic crept in, and her body shuddered, every instinct telling her that she was under threat.

    ''Where did this overwhelming sensitivitye from?''

    It was out of her character.

    Her husband''s rejection must have stunned her so bad that it would probably take a while before she could recover from it.

    "I want you but the desire I currently feel is not the same as I was used to. It''s different from the normal. Somehow darker. Dangerous. I find it hard to control." The Vampire King suddenly spoke, and it pierced through the veil the strange liquid had cast over her anxious mind.

    The Vampire King paused for a moment, closed his eyes, and pressed his fingers on his temples as if trying to get a hold of himself.

    Licking his parched lips, Apollyon shook his head to clear his thoughts.

    "I thought I heard the Blood Beast''s voice whispering in my ear." Apollyon regarded her coldly as he clenched his jaw in anger, but Luna knew for a fact that she wasn''t the source of his sudden outbursts.

    He continued as he finally reinforced that iron grip of control of his mental state. "I thought that the Archdemon was back inside my head��invading my consciousness once again."

    Luna wanted to ask what kind of thoughts he had heard, but she was scared of his reaction.

    Nevertheless, she asked him because she was a risk-taker.

    There was no room for ambiguity in this rtionship.

    She had to make sure that the Archdemon of Gluttony or any other Archdemons, for that matter, we''re out of the picture.

    This forced marriage is already aplication in itself.

    "Were the thought so evil that you assumed it was the Blood Beast right away?"

    Luna knew Apollyon had perceived her query, but his face betrayed no emotion if he felt anything at all.

    "I am sorry for hurting you, my wife." The Vampire King faced her and raised a hand to brush back a tendril of her silver hair that had fallen across her face, but still, he was cautious not to touch her skin. "My thoughts�� they felt like it wasn''t my own again for a moment."

    Apollyon reached out to her and interlocked his warm fingers with her own. "Maybe, I was too used to his presence that I was hallucinating��that my thoughts aren''t my thoughts alone."

    "Your Highness?"

    They both jumped, turning to look at Cederic, who had caught their attention.

    "The ceremony here is done." Cederic bowed his head slightly and rose. "We should get back to the castle."

    Apollyon sighed and told Luna, "Give me your hand."

    The Vampire King offered his arm, and she took it, her arm dangling awkwardly on his elbow.

    She was so used to Apollyon ravaging her with pure masculine physicality every time hees in contact with her and mauling her with kisses as a greeting that normal skinship��the mild ones such as kissing her forehead or holding her hand��surprised her so much she didn''t know how to react.

    +++

    Luna felt Apollyon''s muscles flexing hard with tension beneath his coat as they returned to the Vampire King''s castle.

    Her heels clicked the surface as they descended the marble steps and through the empty courtyard filled with pinecones and carved statues. Luna''s lights glowed and danced and as they passed through the iron portcullis and inside the Vampire Castle.

    Luna gasped as hundreds of people��young and old, both vampires and humans without the status separating them--came to watch them emerge from the entrance, the crowd gathering around them to wee the newlyweds.

    Luna was so shocked that she had identally stepped on the hem of her dress and stumbled.

    Good thing that Apollyon had caught her right on time, and she clutched his arms for support.

    Most of them wore shades of grey��the lower ss--and some were dressed in vibrant colors��the middle and the upper-middle-ss--standing out like jewels in a bed of ash.

    Fingers brushed the train of her dress, and some of them dropped to their knees as they passed.

    It was unnerving for Luna to be treated like royalty because that wasn''t who she was.

    None of them said a word��as if they were silently worshipping a god or a goddess.

    They all wore the same expression��hope and tion.

    It was such a lovely moment she could cherish forever.

    For the curse of the Blood, Beast was gone.

    There will be no senseless killing and innocent souls taken by the Vampire King''s curse any longer.

    Their eyes suddenly nced up away from them as if something had snagged their attention.

    Apollyon and Luna looked up at the night sky as they followed the crowd''s gesture.

    Their eyes remained locked on the strange phenomena that only happened once in a thousand years.

    Luna''s gasp was drowned by the collective murmurs of the crowd on either side of them.

    Abruptly, the edge of the moon disappeared.

    She turned all of her glow lights off, and they winked out at hermand.

    It wasn''t as bright as the sun, but it was enough to illuminate the entire Vampire Realm.

    "I suppose the gods and the goddesses had given their blessings to our marriage," Apollyon said, and Luna tore her eyes from the sight of the growing moon to meet his gaze.

    Luna cast her gaze skyward again and murmured to herself. "I am not sure about that, Your Highness."

    They had witnessed a blue moon lunar eclipse.

    A hundred pairs of eyes watched in awe as the blue moon grew full over the Vampire Realm.

 Chapter 81 - Soul Thread*

    <h4>Chapter 81 - Soul Thread*</h4>

    ++++++++++

    High Priestess

    ++++++++++

    A cool tingling swept over her skin, almost as though countless feathers were stroking her body.

    Her long silver hair clung to the sides of her face as the icy breeze sent shivers down her spine.

    Luna couldn''t say how much time had passed as they watched the moon crept slowly, inch by inch, until only a sliver of light was visible, and then nothing.

    She pressed her forehead, and she almost copsed on the ground-- her knees buckling at the onught of emotions bombarding her.

    Lights red, and she nced up at Apollyon, who had caught her and gripped her waist.

    Luna wrapped her arms around his shoulders for support.

    There was tension all over his muscles as if the Vampire King had clenched his fists so hard that his knuckles must have had turned white.

    "What is happening to me?" Luna choked out at the Vampire King.

    Apollyon''s eyes met hers.

    She was no longer alone in her mind.

    Something was invading her thoughts.

    The Vampire King was in her mind �C his emotions, burning hotter and brighter than her own.

    Worry and guilt mixed with a hint of passion and desire built in the back of her skull until Luna almost forgot her fear.

    "Stop!" Luna screamed, her voice rising above the loud chatters of the crowd. "Get out!"

    Her entire vision fell into darkness, and Luna''s mind fractured, breaking into a million pieces of ck ss.

    +++

    She saw three glowing threads in the darkness of her consciousness: blue, silver, and gold.

    These three colours��she recognized--were the energetic cords currently attached to her soul.

    These soul ties had been bonded to her because she had allowed them.

    Now she had to cut them and see what will happen.

    She experimented on the blue thread first so that she will figure out its full effect.

    Now, she had ess to the Vampire King''s mind.

    Luna noticed that the walls of his mind were blue--like the deepest oceanic ice.

    It was frighteningly beautiful.

    It was so different from what she had seen before when she tried to bring him back to the underground shelter.

    Luna knew for a fact that the blue thread was connecting her to the Vampire King''s soul.

    She was close to cutting their mental cords through it.

    She envisioned Hecate''s death scythe in her mind and sliced their link into two.

    At that exact instant, the Vampire King''s consciousness hit her with shockwaves of pain.

    His overwhelming power crashed into her, shocking pain into every synapse.

    The true horror of breaking the Blood Bond hit her so hard, her inner walls shook, but there was no time to think.

    Her mind was silent.

    Everything stopped for her.

    In the ckness, there were no stars, only destion.

    Every nerve in her body was in excruciating pain.

    There was this strong sense of urgency to re-create the mind link.

    She screamed awake in Apollyon''s hold.

    The agony was everywhere.

    The hotva of torment coursed through her that it felt like she was being skinned alive. Yet, Luna still forced herself to be numb the wound she felt and prevent her severed mental link from trying to reaching out.

    It hurt--like being stabbed with a wooden stake to the heart.

    Her mind shouted and raged, begging, desperate for the mind link to make it through, alive.

    She wed at Apollyon''s chest, unable to breathe.

    The darkness crept in around her, pressing down harder than the Vampire King''s attempts to crush her mind and reattaching the cords to their original state.

    She was going to choke to death.

    Alone.

    She was so alone.

    Alone. Dark. ck. Cold.

    +++++++++++++++

    Vampire King, Apollyon

    +++++++++++++++

    The Vampire King was terrified by what he saw in the High Priestess'' eyes.

    There were such deep golden depths when she had opened her eyes, and he thought he could see the Blood Beast''s eyes in her--whenever he looked at his reflection in the mirror before.

    "Luna." He shook her, ignoring the attendants who had run to help them at the sound of her screams.

    Only she mattered.

    "Luna, Wake up!" She didn''t respond.

    She pretended she couldn''t see him.

    That was when he saw it in his mind''s eye��rather than felt it.

    The bond between them had snapped taut.

    The Vampire King recognized the bond, though he had never felt this deep.

    The Vampire King calmed down his racing mind to think clearly, holding fast even as Luna''s heartbeat stuttered.

    He closed his eyes, trying to bring her back.

    He had no idea what he was doing. All he knew was that his wife would live as long as their blond bond remained strong.

    ++++++++++++

    High Priestess

    ++++++++++++

    Insanity beckoned.

    Luna bit back a whimper as she felt her mental walls crumble.

    Shaking as she went even deeper, she poured everything she had into her inner defences.

    She felt the Vampire King''s mind wee hers.

    When Luna mmed into a temporary block in her mind, she advanced through the secondyer of her shields just as the block on the outer shields crumbled.

    Luna didn''t want Apollyon to be there.

    Something mmed into it a secondter��the Vampire King''s mind trying to shove into hers, destroying hers.

    "Let me in, my beloved." She heard Apollyon''s voice speak in her thoughts. "I will not hurt you."

    He pushed at the hollows of her mind as one would poke at a wound.

    Luna didn''t respond--every ounce of concentration focused on getting back into her mind and keeping the Vampire King at bay.

    The Vampire King repeated. "If you keep doing this, you will destroy yourself."

    "No. I can destroy the Blood Bond so that I could set you free." Luna insisted, determined to get her point across. After all, it was for his own good. "You deserve to be free from me. It was the Archdemon of Gluttony''s doing. You didn''t sign up for this."

    "Neither are you."

    Cracks appeared in the already fragmented shields.

    "Nevertheless, I will not let this chance slip away."

    The crushing walls of his mind came to a standstill.

    "I know I didn''t sign up for this, but we are already married." The word was t, emotionless. "Are you turning your back on me every time you get a chance to leave--like this?"

    "I would prefer the bond ended," Luna hissed. "Or better yet, I wish it never happened at all."

    "We have the same opinion, dearest wife," Apollyon said drily.

    "However, it''s something we''ll both have to get used to."

    "I don''t want to." Luna pulled her consciousness away, recoiling from his touch. "I don''t want you to know my thoughts and emotions. I will not be vulnerable, Apollyon. I will not let you control me."

    "I had no desire to control you."

    "You said you would not control me," Luna asked precisely, with venom. "What else will you do if you wouldn''t even love me?"

    "You demand love from someone incapable. Do you even know what love is?" The Vampire King said softly and half to himself. "How about you, Luna? Are you capable of loving me?"

    Luna paused because she didn''t even know the answer to that.

    How can someone who lived in an Amazon tribe--amunity where only women existed--know about loving someone of the opposite sex?

    Where a female-only knew how to worship and fight for a goddess'' territory all her life and deal with nothing but friendship or worse... betrayal?

    "See?" The Vampire King smiled faintly as he felt her mind move out from the dark recesses of her anxiety to reach for him. "Now,e back to me, and we will figure this puzzle out. Together."

    Luna had gently merged with Apollyon''s until she thought patterns began to echo his subtly.

    +++++++++

    Vampire King

    +++++++++

    The High Priestess pulled back with a gasp, allowing their two minds to separate, allowing them to think private thoughts once more.

    Her eyes flickered open again a minuteter.

    The golden orbs of her sight were now reced by glittering emeralds, futility darkening her expression.

    His wife must have thought it was strong enough to break this ultimate binding spell.

    He felt Luna search for their mental link.

    Felt her try to cut it��his heart almost stopped��but it wasn''t something she could influence because the Blood Bond was for eternity.

    The mating bond is uncontroble.

    Unbreakable.

    The Vampire King was beyond furious at her for attempting to deny him his mate, but beneath the anger were longing, need, and hunger.

    Such intense, furious hunger that it had no beginning and no end.

    For one instant, their minds were one, and he saw how Luna desperately, how wildly, how unreasonably she wanted to be free from him��enough to break her promise as his mate when they just got married just hours ago.

    Triumph shed across his face.

    Luna was his, and he was hers for a bloody long time.

    Until one of them ceased to draw breath, one heart stilled, one body is consigned to dust.

    ++++++++++

    High Priestess

    ++++++++++

    Luna''s glow lights zed again in the darkness after the urrence of the lunar eclipse.

    The Vampire King avoided eye contact, but he didn''t move further from her side.

    He unsped one of his hands around her back and lifted it in front of their faces.

    Luna''s fingers dug into his left wrist to examine it��which now bore a mysterious bluece pattern and a ck crescent moon tattooed at the back of his hand.

    Her attention was now brought to her right hand��staring at it in horror when she realized she also had the same marks imprinted on it.

    "I guess the lunar eclipse had made our mating bond much more official then."

 Chapter 82 - Sweet Surrender*

    <h4>Chapter 82 - Sweet Surrender*</h4>

    The lunar eclipse had made our mating bond much more official then." The corners of his mouth curled up as the Vampire King watched her as a lion would a rabbit.

    Upset at her failed attempts to save both herself and the Vampire King from doom closing in on them like a trap cage, Luna''s jaws clenched as her eyes fixed down on her tattoos.

    They were married in the eyes of the gods and goddesses, strengthening their blood bond.

    They had these divine beings'' protection, and their souls had been marked for eternity.

    She knew what it meant.

    If eons would pass and one of them ceased to exist as a vampire, the other mate will also draw his or herst breath with their beloved''s name on their lips.

    Their soul would reincarnate at the same ce and time.

    Regardless of their physical form, their soul would recognize the bond they had in their past lives.

    They would cross-realm after realm, universe after universe, time after time.

    Nothing can stop their fates from crossing each other''s paths again.

    Sensing both Apollyon''s anticipation with a little hint of concern, Luna felt her anxiety grow.

    She had dispatched demons��not just demons, but Archdemons��back to Hell by herself.

    As a High Priestess, Luna thought she could break the Blood Bond��it was an ancient practice by mated vampires ever since the beginning of time.

    She was powerful enough to break the Vampire King''s curse.

    She was strong enough to send Lux and Ravin back to Hell.

    Why would she think the Blood Bond wasn''t an exemption?

    Apollyon had told her many times that this was forever��even the Archdemons knew about it.

    When she was hailed as the new High Priestess, she took it in strides gracefully. Even Cederic was shocked at how easy Luna had made it seem as if she had been destined to be the High Priestess.

    It wasn''t her intention to dishonor the Goddess, but nobody else had helped her throughout this whole ordeal except herself.

    She fought so hard for her freedom, and being chained by the Vampire King made her hackles rose.

    Luna couldn''t let down her guard.

    It was just her instincts kicking in.

    This Blood Bond was new territory for her.

    Realizing she was as high-strung as a bow, she unclenched her fists as she tried to release the pressure in her body.

    She breathed evenly, getting rid of the increasing tightness in her chest.

    Why was she even acting stubborn?

    Why did she keep on making the impossible possible?

    There was nothing she can do.

    Hubris can be her greatest downfall.

    Why was she so afraid of being vulnerable with the Vampire King?

    What was wrong with her new husband?

    Apollyon was different from the Blood Beast to whom she had associated with personally��well, that was an understatement.

    They did a lot of things.

    Things she shouldn''t be doing as the High Priestess.

    As she felt the warm brush creeping on her cheeks, Apollyon tugged at her hand, and Luna was so lost in her thoughts that she had ignored the tugging.

    This time, the Vampire King had tugged a strand of her yfully, trying to get her attention. "Beloved, I can sense that you are thinking about erotic thoughts but I''m right here in front of you and you are not looking at me."

    Strong hands held her hips as the scent of his sweet, sweet blood--fresh and wild��washed over her. "Are you thinking about someone else?"

    Luna didn''t answer.

    He could already sense their connection through the Blood Bond as Luna felt him probe the corners of her mind gently.

    She didn''t feel threatened by it--but if only a little bit invasive.

    Luna couldn''t force herself to speak because the Vampire King will know if she had lied to appease him.

    "The Blood Beast then?" She witnessed how Apollyon''s eyes turned cial in seconds. The chill of his words sent shivers down her spine, death swirling into those blue depths. "What am I even doing here with you, Luna?"

    "Apollyon," Luna shouted, seizing hold of his arm when he distanced himself.

    Fascinated by the ruthless beauty of him, the Vampire King she dared call her husband, she had nearly forgotten what she was supposed to ask.

    "Can I��" There was audible stress in her voice and tone, but she summoned the courage to do it.

    Luna was sweating profusely; it was unbing for a queen.

    Showing affection to her new husband should be morefortable than killing demons or destroying evil creatures.

    ''But what if he will reject you?''

    She kept her gaze to the ground, and she murmured shyly. "I want to hug you, husband."

    The Vampire King''s face was expressionless, but Luna sensed his relief and delight in her mind.

    Tugging her against his body, the Vampire King wrapped his arms around her back while Luna interlocked her hands behind his neck.

    Apollyon had hugged her too tightly that her breasts were trapped in between.

    Her toes curled as the pleasure started to bloom in her stomach.

    She couldn''t deny that it made her feel protected and secure.

    His embrace made her feel like she was safe.

    The Vampire King then pressed his lips to the tip of her ear. "That wasn''t so hard, was it?"

    Luna said, drawing back enough so that she could look into his blue eyes and tell him that she meant her words. "I will try to love you, my King."

    Apollyon''s lips had kissed away her words with a slow thoroughness that had her forgetting her name, her body warming with a quiet, luscious sense of anticipation.

    He drew back with a hot sexual promise in his blue eyes, and she licked her lips to get a taste of his kiss once again.

    "Don''t try it, wife." The Vampire King murmured huskily. "Do it."

    "Will you do the same?" Even Luna herself was caught off-guard by her sudden question.

    Luna just blurted it out, and she almost prayed she could take that back.

    "Hmm." The Vampire King said nomittally, gently gripping at the curve where her neck met her shoulder.

    It was apparent to her why she was afraid of the Vampire King--why she was so afraid of losing her control.

    It terrified her how addicted she could be to him.

    His body.

    His blood.

    His soul.

    All of him.

    The only thing that made it tolerable was that his hunger, too, was a raw, near-violent craving.

    Luna knew because she could feel a hint of his current emotions at the back of her mind.

    Pride made her crumpled her face into a scowl. "Do I have your word?"

    High Priestess, we are already married." The Vampire King''s face was a mask, watchful, unbreakable.

    He wasn''t revealing any of his cards at all.

    Luna wondered if he had been ying with her all along.

    "So, your answer was a yes?" Luna smiled sincerely. Her grief at his refusal to even say the affirmation was buried under a wave of hope.

    She fisted a dagger and pressed it not-so-gently on his left rib to add a ir of drama.

    Luna couldn''t believe she was threatening him now.

    Was she so desperate to own himpletely?

    "Let us go to where the currents will lead us." Apollyon''s moist lips curled in amusement as he looked down at the dagger in her hand, and Luna red at him in frustration.

    She said she would try he best, but when she asked him, Apollyon dodged her requests.

    Where is justice?

    "Calm down. You are scary when you threaten me like that." Apollyon rested his forehead against hers.

    His hands slid up and down her arms, and his breath sent a cool breeze to her lips. "It makes me wonder if you are also dominant in the bedroom."

    Luna rolled her eyes and ignored him altogether as she turned her attention to the hoard of soldiers standing in front of the Castle''s walls.

    Apollyon held her chin and forced her to face him once again, pinning her with a branding gaze��a gaze of ownership��and his other hand clutched her elbow as if he had caught his primary target. "You are important to me, wife."

    "Good." There was deep warmth that came from knowing she was essential to the Vampire King.

    In the faint light, Luna could see the crowd slowly breaking out from the groups.

    Cruel, sensual lips against her cheek, her jaw, and the Vampire King growled over the noise interrupting them. "I forgot we weren''t alone in here."

    "I should probably hide you away now for our honeymoon." He grimaced, fixing his attention on the mob of people who watched the whole debacle.

    Stepping away from his embrace, Luna pushed him off her, willing her body to stop readying itself for a pration she would never allow. "I agree."

    Apollyon shouted at the guards surrounding them. "Establish curfew."

    Then to her, he said, "We need to get out of here."

    Apollyon bolted across the courtyard with her elbow in his grasp, her feet tangling in the damp fabric of her skirts, slowing her down.

    Luna thought he would keep going and drag her like a mother would do to a petnt child in a crowded market, but he paused and turned around to check up on her in an instant.

    Snatching up the train of her skirt, The Vampire King tore the thick fabric as quickly as if it were paper and tossed them on the ground.

    "Your legs are tempting me but we better move fast so I would be the only one to see them." He covered her exposed thighs from the gaze of the masses, grabbed hold of her wrist, and they teleported.

 Chapter 83 - Temptation*

    <h4>Chapter 83 - Temptation*</h4>

    *******************

    High Priestess

    *******************

    They had reached the safety of the Vampire King''sir.

    The pce guards paid their respects as they passed, cing a hand on their chest and bowing with reverence.

    The Vampire King continued to walk as if he didn''t even acknowledge their existence.

    As if something might have light up his ass, Apollyon''s urgency and impatience had started to get under her skin.

    He had dropped her arm and stepped ahead, and she hurried after him through the maze of corridors.

    He seemed to have a one-track mind to go straight to wherever room he would lead her.

    The skirts of her dress trailing behind her were still heavy even if the Vampire King had already ripped a good portion of it.

    Her pride and reputation as a newly-turned vampire kept her from asking him to slow down, even if it made her fall right behind.

    She was supposed to be quick and graceful, but this damned dress��Luna couldn''t wait to take it off.

    Can she even take off this tight voluminous gown by herself?

    She could ask the Vampire King for his assistance, but that would lead to---

    ****************

    Vampire King

    ****************

    He could smell the High Priestess'' desire filling his nostrils, messing with his control to keep his barely contained lust tight and secure for their wedding night.

    He might not be able to read minds, but he could feel Luna''s emotions right at this moment, and he was sure that his wife''s ripe, sensual body was screaming for his, too.

    He was fully erect by the time they thoroughly turned about the corridors.

    Apollyon let go of her hand to walk ahead of her so that she wouldn''t see the evidence of his need.

    The High Priestess was hardly likely to be at ease by the sight of him primed and ready.

    He wasn''t exactlyfortable with it himself.

    Luna''s anxiety had pressed hard in his skull that his headache had worsened.

    The sexual beast in him��not the savage stirrings of the Blood Beast but his alone-- batted at her scent as he recalled the taste of her blood in his mouth, hungering for more of it.

    He couldn''t let out this ferocious hunger and impose them on her, demanding something she couldn''t give.

    R*ping, his new wife wasn''t one of his ns on his wedding night.

    Apollyon was determined to keep the High Priestess'' virginity intact if that was what it took to give herplete trust in him, then he would y along until she was ready.

    Despite what he had just reminded himself, he had to fight the urge to preen.

    Knowing that the High Priestess wanted him based on her emotions was as intoxicating as a drug.

    Without turning to look at her, the Vampire King opened the door.

    *******************

    High Priestess

    *******************

    This was the room she had recognised as the one where it all started��where the hell had broken loose, where the Blood Beast had dragged her to exchange their blood.

    It was ironic toe back here with the Vampire King.

    Did he remember what the Blood Beast had done to her while he was in Apollyon''s body?

    Luna was having trouble breathing, and her muscles quickened in remembered sensation.

    Apollyon''s bulk filled the door frame as he passed through, and then he spun towards her, lifting a beckoning finger paired with ae-hither grin. "Get inside, my wife."

    Luna paused in the hallway, hesitating.

    She cast a nervous nce inside the room and saw the bed.

    Heat crept into her cheeks as she struggled to keep her wicked imagination from conjuring up shocking images of the duties a man like the Vampire King would require his wife to fulfil.

    Will they do it tonight?

    Tonight was their honeymoon.

    Will her new husband force himself on her?

    She couldn''t bring herself to walk over the threshold.

    Will the Vampire King lift the skirt of her dress, prate her, then cover her back up when he was finished?

    But the Archdemons had shown her some stimtion techniques before they do the deed.

    Her knowledge of lovemaking was limited��too limited.

    Maybe, Apollyon would respect her wish to remain as a virgin, and they would sleep together on the bed.

    Right.

    There was nothing to be worried about.

    Apollyon tilted his head and arched an eyebrow. "Is there something wrong, my wife?"

    *****************

    Vampire King

    *****************

    He could feel the High Priestess'' anxiety spiking higher, but she didn''t even show it in her expression to his credit.

    The Vampire King wished that the bond would allow him to read his wife''s thoughts sometimes every time her face turns nk, but despite his best efforts, all he felt were her emotions��and they weren''t soothing at all, either.

    And even then, especially if he was distracted, it was hard for him to decipher what was his and what was hers.

    The Vampire King eyed his wife with critical interest, considering his next words. "Were you waiting for me to carry you over the threshold as per marriage tradition?"

    "No." The High Priestess studiously avoided looking at him, but now, there was no missing the embarrassment recing the anxiety growing in the back of his mind.

    What had elicited her embarrassment?

    The Vampire King frowned, mentally reviewing his words in his mind.

    Luna was acting strange, and he didn''t know why.

    The silence stretched long beyond the point of awkwardness.

    His wife was incredibly nervous, which was making him nervous for no reason.

    He was the Vampire King.

    A king like him should never get nervous when ites to fucking since he had top-notch expertise on the art of giving pleasure to women for over millennia.

    In addition to that, Apollyon had women in the Consortium with who he had sexual congress every day.

    Not even only one female but multiple.

    He had concubines, and he had them whenever he felt like it.

    Ah, that wasn''t entirely him.

    That was what the Blood Beast had driven him to do so that he could at least be normal.

    Now, why was he acting like he was a horny fifteen-year-old boy who just had his first wild rendezvous with aely servant at the kitchens?

    Apollyon ordered himself to think of something interesting to say to break the tension.

    So far, everything he came up with sound stupid or boring.

    He might as well do what he wanted.

    The Vampire King stalked towards her and ran one hand on her hair, massaging her scalp.

    He tugged and tilted her head back as he delighted in the texture and life of her straight, silky hair overflowing in his hands.

    His lips closed in on her neck as he dragged his wet tongue, licking from behind her ear down to the swan-like curve of her neck.

    Her body jerked when he took her earlobe between his teeth, biting it gently.

    Letting go, he touched her cheek with his hand and turned her face to his.

    "Would you like to y for a bit with me?"

    The desire to tease had turned into a desire to take.

    But for the time being, he could satisfy himself with kissing her as if it was thest time.

    He would take it slow so that Luna would get used to his attention until she would be the one to beg him.

    Running his thumb over the softness of her lower lip, Apollyon wanted to taste her again more than he wanted to breathe.

    The High Priestess gave a slow nod.

    Apollyon didn''t give her a chance to change her mind.

    He bent his head and ran his lips across Luna in a quick hot slide.

    Her lips were so warm, so soft and delicious that they invited him to return.

    His teeth tugged at her lower lip and his fangs extended from the excitement.

    He identally bit them.

    Apollyon eased the hurt with his tongue, and the taste of her heavenly blood exploded in his mouth.

    He kept the kiss shallow as he tugged at her lower lip this time.

    A soft, innately female moan pierced through the silence.

    Dark heat sizzled through him.

    *****************

    High Priestess

    *****************

    It wasn''t that the Vampire King repulsed her �Che was handsome, and if she was honest with herself, the strange drink the High Priest had given her had drawn out stirrings of desire she would dly do without.

    Shivers danced across her flesh.

    Thezy greed and ardour with which he was kissing her were the most dangerous of temptations.

    His movements were so sensuallynguorous, a seduction so subtle and delicate, that she had opened her mouth to him before she knew it.

    It wasn''t threatening at all.

    Shocked at how far the liberties she had allowed him, she pulled back, her body pulling away from his as if she had been burned.

    She ran a finger over the tender swell of her bottom lip.

    Judging by the devastating skill of his kiss, his husbandly duties would probably afford her just as much pleasure as they did him, if not more.

    Luna shifted restlessly in her ce, feeling unountably irritable.

    Terrified by her reaction and the smug realization that ''she had truly desired him'' in his eyes, she said, "We should stop now, Apollyon."

    The Vampire King didn''t fight her withdrawal, but he watched her with those glittering sapphire eyes tempered by arousal.

    Luna attempted to thrust aside her feelings to better focus on his, which became an exercise of frustration.

    The Vampire King was aroused, that much she could say, but she could also sense a whisper of disappointment, unhappiness and discontent.

    It wasn''t a nice feeling.

 Chapter 84 - State Of Undress*

    <h4>Chapter 84 - State Of Undress*</h4>

    Apollyon moved past her as he stuck his head out into the hallway, looked left and right before pulling her into the room and then, he mmed the door shut.

    The instant she walked into the room, it shot through to inferno levels.

    How could she ever forget this room?

    pping a hand over her mouth, Luna faked a yawn and then directed the Vampire King an apologetic look.

    "I think I am done for the night," Luna said as she sighed as deeply as she could in her tight dress. "I''d like to get ready for bed."

    "Do you need assistance, wife?" Apollyon tilted his head as he looked her over from head to toe.

    "No, I can do it myself." She replied with a nervousugh as she stepped backwards.

    The Vampire King appeared like he was sizing her up, his smouldering gaze lingering on the curves and dips of her body--especially her slender neck, her curvy waist, the swells of her breasts--but Apollyon was more fixated at the juncture of her thighs.

    Just one look from the Vampire King and Luna felt like she was already naked, standing before him.

    Luna''s eyes widened when the Vampire King closed the distance between them again as he gripped the sequined fabric of her d��colletage, pulling her towards him roughly and bringing their faces closer.

    "This dress is so tight, wife." Apollyon pointed out, the faint echo of his husky murmurs made her heart skip a beat.

    "I know," Luna replied as she held his wrist tightly and pushed, removing his grip out of her clothing.

    The Vampire King was too strong,,, and he didn''t budge at all.

    "Let me help you by ripping it to pieces if you are having a hard time removing them." He suggested as he gave her another one of his predatory grins.

    "No, that is not the problem," Luna said abruptly, her words tumbling over each other.

    "You just don''t want me to see your naked body when I have already seen it before." He said drily as he let go of her, lowering his hand to capture her fingers and bringing her palm to his lips.

    "No, that''s not it." Luna scowled at him as she curled her hand into a fist, unnerved by the devilish twinkle in his eye. "Wait a damn minute. You have seen my naked body before?"

    Him?

    Not the Blood Beast?

    Luna didn''t dare mention the Blood Beast,,, or her new husband might go ballistic.

    "I saved you at the pool gardens,,, and you attacked me the moment you were conscious." The Vampire King shrugged, the twinkle in his eye only deepening.

    "Oh."

    Luna forgot.

    "To be honest, wife, when you threw the dagger at me. That turned me on." Apollyon replied before mumbling, "I wanted to fuck you that night, but I stopped myself because I was aware that you were the High Priestess."

    "You wouldn''t think highly of me as your husband if you thought I couldn''t control my most primitive urges. You can calm down now. We had stayed on this room for a little while, and so far, I haven''t jumped you so that we could breed a bunch of vampire babies to run about the royal nursery."

    Hisnguid,e-hither grin caught her attention, as did the huge? erection tented in his pants. As she bit her lip from the temptation presenting itself to her, that was

    when she realized he was more than capable of performing.

    It was as if it was an arrow pointing towards her, the source of his arousal. "I am not going to force you to bed if you are not ready, even if we were bonded. You have my word."

    "Actions, Apollyon." Luna crossed her arms and looked straight into his blue eyes.

    She wanted to make herself clear on what she will require of him. "Show me how you honour your words with your actions."

    Apollyon subtly ced his hand on her backside as he eyed her darkly, rubbing them. "I honour your body, but that didn''t mean I wouldn''t try to persuade you, beloved."

    Luna swallowed, her mouth suddenly going dry. "Let uspromise. I will settle with any physical contact you want because I also wanted to honour you as my husband. You have prided yourself with your iron-grip of control, Apollyon."

    Luna couldn''t believe she was allowing Apollyon to do something like this, but, oh well, it was apparent how much her husband craved physical contact after his curse was broken.

    She was obligated to give what he craved as his wife. "I will entrust you with my virginity, for now, Your Highness. I believe in you."

    "I will respect that you wouldn''t want me to help you remove your clothes."

    Gently tilting her sped hand, he ran his parted lips over the delicate skin on the inside of her wrist.

    His voice grew huskier.

    "Do you want me to call the servants?" Luna was unable to ignore the melting sensation radiating from the caress of his lips.

    She wrenched her hand free from his clutches.

    "No."

    "I wanted to rest for a while," Luna announced as she flung herself down to the nearest chair to halt his unnerving scrutiny.

    She leaned her upper body against the headrest, stress and exhaustion starting to take hold of her.

    "Suit yourself then." Apollyon turned away and began to prowl their bedchamber.

    Luna watched Apollyon shake his dark fall of hair over his shoulders and smoothed the ret silk of his waistcoat.

    The Vampire King started to unbuckle the belt at his waist, setting it carefully on the table.

    He crossed over to his closet and rummaged through his wardrobe.

    Apollyon untied his cravat with a quick jerk, folded it neatly, and put it on a shelf.

    He poked his head out of the closet, and Luna could see the dark circles under his eyes.

    The Vampire King still looked divine, but it was heartbreaking to see all his sleepless nights catching up to him, and so did she.

    "Are you going to sleep in that dress then?"

    "I was going to rest first, husband." Luna lied.

    began to undo his buttons and shrugged his waistcoat off his broad shoulders.

    Then, he started removing the silver studs from his shirt''s front one by one.

    Luna was near as mesmerised by the deliberate grace of his fingers as she was by the impressive expanse of the chest that was gradually being revealed, each stud sliding from its neatly stitched mooring.

    He pulled it off him andid it across the back of a chair.

    Luna stared at the contours of muscle rippling in his naked back.

    Hiszy movements gave her ample time to admire the intriguing y of muscles as he stirred about.

    She suddenly felt slow-burning warmth filling her body, and her fingernails bit into her palms to keep her mounting desire in control.

    Apollyon froze.

    He could probably sense the direction her mind was going.

    He knew that she admired his body.

    Squeezing her eyes shut, Luna waited for him to make some snide remark that would make her look like a silly fool.

    Luna cleared her throat to divert his attention from her emotions. "Why are you dressing in front of me?"

    "You are my wife." Apollyon nted her provocative look beneath hisshes, "You are allowed to see my body."

    "I know. Your concubines have seen them, and I''m not that interested." Luna meant it as a joke, but the anger and jealousy she felt after she had uttered the words was so overwhelming that she had wanted to kill all the girls in the Consortium her husband had dallied with.

    "Are you sure you aren''t interested?" One corner of his lips turned up, and she could suddenly sense his confidence and conceit. "Because I might take that as a challenge, you know?"

    He knew that Luna was jealous about his Consortium and the bastard revelled in it.

    Luna avoided eye contact and waved a dismissive hand. "You can disrobe at the corner over there��er---go somece where I couldn''t see your body."

    "You can look away, but if that is what you want, I will oblige you, my wife." He replied, turning away from her.

    Apollyon reached into the closet for a clean shirt and gave her onest arrogant look before he walked towards a private dressing screen at the corner of their marriage suite.

    The dressing screen had separated therge room into two: the lounging and the sleeping area.

    Luna could see his silhouette behind the silkscreen.

    She was convinced that he was deliberately trying to torment her.

    "When will you get ready for bed and wear your nightclothes, wife?"

    "After you, husband." Luna was having trouble thinking past single words, her eyes riveted to her husband''s shadowy form.

    Apollyon''s hands had voyaged to the top button of his pants, and his body began to turn to present a profile.

    Luna half-wished she wasn''t there to witness the shadow of his huge cock.

    She counted from one to ten with her eyes closed. Luna was relieved that she had a few minutes to calm herself down.

    Then, she ced her hands on her cheeks and exhaled a breath.

    Flushing fever-hot, she moved her gaze away from the panel to look at the rest of the room.

    It was spacious and airy, with multiple windows overlooking the forest.

    A massive cushion was ced on the opposite side of the windows.

    Lengthwise, it was more than enough for ten people to stretch out on.

    Luna stared at the physical things around her to fight the repeating loop of pleasure, anxiety and fear.

 Chapter 85 - A Different Kind Of Play*

    <h4>Chapter 85 - A Different Kind Of y*</h4>

    ********************

    The Vampire King

    *********************

    Everything irritated him, the High Priestess, his sexual frustration, the hot room and most especially, the nightshirt and a set of pyjamas he had never put on before.

    Apollyon even threw on a matching robe on top of them for good measure.

    Now, he knew what presents felt like: all trussed up in paper and ribbons: itchy.

    The Vampire King grimaced.

    ''Hell. If he thought the getup he had on was going to keep him in check, he was out of his mind. ''

    Apollyon wanted her so badly that what he was or wasn''t wearing wouldn''t make a lick of difference.

    Apollyon was having trouble concentrating when he sensed the High Priestess'' thoughts, making him totally aroused.

    His body was so hot he felt like his blood was going to dry out in his veins.

    He changed his mind.

    Apollyon shook his head as he took his nightshirt off again, including his silk pyjamas.

    He never wore clothes to bed not even once, and that''s not going to change, even if her wife wanted him to.

    He never had only one female for his pleasure, either.

    Apollyon didn''t bother telling the High Priestess that she had a separate household reserved for the Kingdom''s Empress a quarter-mile from his.

    He should warn his Cadre not to tell her about it or else he would have a hard time gaining ess to her wife''s presence.

    He knew she would never give him the time of day if she found out about Scleranthus.

    Scleranthus was the designated Household of the Queen, his wife and his Empress, and it was shrouded in mystery because it had been a long time ever since it was upied.

    The ce was full of traps and restrictions soplex nothing can nullify the spell, not even Apollyon himself.

    No night creature, not even the strongest vampire in this Realm, of the opposite sex, was allowed in there��even the eunuchs weren''t permitted when technically they don''t have a penis anymore.

    They disintegrate into dust once a male stepped foot on its entrance, and even if the Vampire King was confident of his warlock abilities, he didn''t try to step his foot in its soil.

    Scleranthus was cursed, and Apollyon didn''t know what kind of ancient spirits live there.

    Thest Empress in line who stayed there was Apollyon''s mother, and she rarely came out of the cursed Household.

    The past Empress he had chosen from the concubines��to be honest, he didn''t even remember her name��wasn''t even given a chance to inhabit the Empress Household because he had already ordered Cederic to behead the viper when he found out about her rtions with a Duke.

    She was hailed as the Empress, but he didn''t marry her yet at the time.

    Now he didn''t know what to do about his cock when the High Priestess was obviously against any sexual congress but making herfortable with his physical touches was a difficult feat in itself��but a feat nheless.

    The High Priestess would give in sooner orter if he were smart about it.

    The damn thing was hard, stiff, acting like a bitch, and his fantasies fluttered to the High Priestess''s hands caressing his skin as they made love, sending a cold shiver through his body.

    He came out of the dressing screen, showing her the entirety of his glistening skin.

    When Apollyon approached her, the High Priestess stood up from her chair in attention, slowly backing away from him.

    "What are you doing?" Luna asked in a high-pitched voice as they circled each other, keeping her distance.

    He would have chuckled at her demands which came out as a squeak, but the hot pump between his legs sucked the humour right out of him. "What do you think I''m doing?"

    He shed her a glimpse of what the front of him was up to.

    Luna needed to know.

    Hiding it from her was inevitable.

    Maybe, the High Priestess would take it as apliment that she was the reason of this monstrous arousal.

    Luna couldn''t take her gaze off his engorged cock no matter how hard she tried to bring her eyes back to his face.

    "Apollyon," Luna muttered his name under her breath, and he smirked.

    Apollyon heard her swallow audibly as she receded behind the couch she had flopped on earlier.

    "Where are you going, my wife?" There was a twinge of amusement in his voice. "Come here."

    **********************

    The High Priestess

    **********************

    The Vampire King came out of the dressing screen in his full naked glory that it made her momentarily speechless.

    ck-jawed, Luna tried to avoid looking at any specific part of his body, but it was hard.

    It was really ''hard'', indeed.

    She tried hard not to stare at it like it was some foreign little thing.

    Anyway, she changed her mind.

    There was nothing little about it.

    "Come here."

    Luna narrowed her eyes suspiciously and replied, "I don''t want to."

    There was a seething edge of temper in his eyes when she danced quickly out of his reach.

    The atmosphere suddenly changed��the air was thick with tension that you could cut them with a knife.

    Suddenly, she became very aware of the room and checked all other possible exits in her peripheral vision.

    "Don''t make me chase you." He growled as he reached for her hand, cold fury coating his every quiet word. "Don''t run away from me. We are just going to sleep, that''s all."

    "Without your shirt on?" Luna gritted her teeth, her own temper spiking as she sensed the Vampire King''s frustration.

    She looked at him straight in the eyes. "Why aren''t you wearing any clothes?"

    "I changed my mind," Apollyon answered in a low growl that made every tiny hair on her body stand up. "It''s going to be hot tonight now that you are here with me."

    "What was that supposed to mean?"

    "I don''t want to wear the shirt anymore." His smile when he said it was a very masculine expression of satisfaction and possessiveness, and it suited him as the Vampire King.

    Luna was about to teleport out of the room, and the Vampire King had anticipated it.

    He had advanced towards her faster than she could ever blink and gripped her neck carefully in a gesture of strength and dominance, pulling her toward him.

    It wasn''t lost on her.

    He was acting like a savage beast like Ravin all of a sudden, and it scared the fuck out of her mind.

    Was the Archdemon of Gluttony back?

    "If you teleported right now there would be a naked Vampire King attached to wherever ce you wanted to go who had his hand around your neck in a chokehold." He said, his tone was pure steel. "Do you want that?"

    She kicked him with her right foot hard, catching Apollyon on the shin.

    He didn''t wince.

    She should have kicked him in the balls.

    "You''ll pay for that." It was a silky warning.

    "Let go of me." Reaching out with her mind, she pushed the Vampire King so hard that he was three feet from her before he could even blink.

    Apollyon froze as if he couldn''t believe what she had done.

    His new wife had just attacked the Vampire King in their honeymoon.

    Hmm, too bad because he had been acting like a Neanderthal.

    Meeting those eyes, which had glowed into a lighter blue, she put her hands on her hips and tried to pretend that she wasn''t afraid of her husband at all.

    "Still want to y?" Luna arched a perfectly shaped eyebrow

    It was a taunt she had never have made before as the Vampire King''s wife.

    Maybe, fighting on their honeymoon would be better than having sex.

    "Oh, yes, wife, I want to y." The Vampire King advanced toward her with his lightning-fast reflexes; his emotions were a mix of excitement and challenge.

    He was turned on.

    The Vampire King was a crazy husband.

    Ready to use all her strength, she crouched and stretched her legs to jump high enough to the bed.

    Her action was almost catlike, moving in a light, graceful motion of a leopard she had mimicked from Catriona.

    Apollyon found Luna halfway across him, and his eyes barely widened in surprise.

    "Catch me if you can, husband." Luna taunted.

    ''Because there will be no honeymoon tonight.''

    The Vampire King started to smile, but he did not chase her further. "If I catch you, will you allow me to y with your body?"

    Luna''s lips twitched.

    That was a dangerous bet she couldn''t afford to take a part of.

    Feeling silly crouching on the top of the bed where the Vampire King wanted to y with her, she jumped off to stand in front of him so that he wouldn''t attempt the challenge.

    His hand held her neck in a possessive grasp except for this time; there was carnality instead of anger in his touch.

    Apollyon''s kiss burned her all over.

    When he lifted his head, she took a few moments to catch her breath.

    "I just want you to getfortable with my naked body because now I want you to strip in front of me as you wear the nightgown."

    Great.

    She had found an opening for a marriage negotiation.

    Luna wanted her revenge against the Vampire King��the despicable bastard--for tempting her with his striptease earlier.

    "Hmm, I guess I can do that." Luna reached out one hand to trace a finger from the centre of Apollyon''s throat down to that happy trail in his abdomen.

    She gulped when her touch stopped at his rock-hard abs.

 Chapter 86 - Self Pleasure*

    <h4>Chapter 86 - Self Pleasure*</h4>

    **********************

    The High Priestess

    ***********************

    She gulped when her touch stopped at his rock-hard abs.

    Luna''s eyes widened even more when the Vampire King''s sex stood in attention.

    She never really thought it was possible that it could get harder than before. "But promise me you wouldn''t touch me?"

    "I promise I wouldn''t physically touch you for three nights if you sleep naked tonight." The Vampire King said softly as he sank his fangs in his lower lip, drawing a tiny drop of blood before licking it away as the puncture slowly healed.

    The Vampire King''s ''bedroom eyes'' was so hypnotic that it made her feelnguid as if she was seconds away from falling asleep with him.

    Those sapphire orbs smouldered into glowing embers when sheid her conditions out. "What if you lose, Your Highness?"

    Swallowing to alleviate the dryness in her parched throat, Luna continued as she stared into his eyes, blinking slowly, "What are you willing to bet if you lose?"

    "Whatever you want, wife." Apollyon touched her hair with a fingertip, feeling the soft strands.

    The Vampire King raised a hand to caress her cheek, but she had already retreated a step.

    Luna lifted both palms to halt him and chuckled, "You aren''t allowed to touch me, remember?"

    Luna''s lips curled into a smirk, and she couldn''t wipe out the amusement in her face.

    The Vampire King was going to lose the game if he kept this up.

    She had to show Apollyon in this marriage which was really the one in control while it was still early.

    "Hmm." Her gaze flicked to his before she lowered hershes and gazed downwards.

    Luna stroked her palms leisurely on the well-defined ridges of his abdominal muscles, brushing over them to feel the texture, pressing and checking how hard they were.

    They were smooth and damp with his sweat.

    Apollyon would have mistaken it as a shy gesture, but Luna was trying to shut down her expression so that he wouldn''t figure out how delighted she was for having a husband who had a good physique.

    All that sexual prowess would probably extend to bed sport, of course.

    Luna had an entire lifetime to look forward to and enjoy the Vampire King, so there was no need to rush.

    It would be fine to be a Virgin High Priestess for a few years until she felt secure enough to stay in the Vampire''s Castle as Apollyon''s Empress.

    If she really thought about it for a moment, she was the luckiest girl in the Vampire Realm to make the Vampire King his husband.

    Apollyon was a striking man, well-proportioned, and he was the richest vampire since he was the King.

    What more could she ask for?

    Luna slowly scanned his physique from head-to-toe.

    The Vampire King was way taller than her, and his broad shoulders were muscled like a savage warrior from long ago.

    He had high cheekbones, his nose was straight, and his lips were full, lush, and sensual.

    Apollyon can have a cold, hard and calcted edge to his expression.

    Sometimes, it turned much more sinister when he smirked as if he was secretly thinking about destroying someone quickly and efficiently.

    He wore danger like a second skin: erotic and lethal.

    It was the same expression people wore when one had seen the darkest life had to offer and had survived.

    The Vampire King had survived the Blood Beast''s curse, so it wasn''t really far from the truth.

    The Vampire King was a huge catch.

    Like, very huge.

    Why was she trying to break the Blood Bond when she couldn''t do anything about it anymore?

    Right.

    Luna was stupid.

    Good thing that it didn''t actually work when she attempted to cut her cords with Apollyon.

    Luna would have the regret of a lifetime.

    Apollyon had stood in front of her as naked as on the day he was born, and her attention didn''t even faze the bastard.

    "You are touching me right now," Apollyon stated. "You aren''t afraid anymore."

    Luna didn''t turn her gaze away from him as she epted his silent challenge, returning the favour of what the Vampire King had done to her earlier.

    "Yes." She examined him unabashedly like how he examined her, like a piece of meat dedicated for only her pleasure.

    Apollyon''s eyes glowed under lowered lids, his nostrils ring, but he was still, otherwise.

    The lines of his tendons ran down into his neck and the hills of his shoulders, smooth and taut.

    She looked back to his bare chest.

    He had small brown nipples perfect for licking, and it puckered like her own.

    Luna touched one with a fingertip and then traced the bumpy ridge of the surrounding dark circle.

    The Vampire King made a sound.

    Mad with lust, Lunamanded as she tossed her long silver hair over her shoulder, bent her neck from side to side, stretched her arms and cracked her knuckles as if ready for a fight. "Get on the bed."

    Luna met the Vampire King with her most seductive stare and purred, "Husband."

    Narrowing his eyes at her for daring to order the King herself, Apollyon strode across the chamber and flung himself to his back unto the bed.

    There were a few mysterious bumps and thumps, followed by an intriguing rustling, before he finally said, "I''m ready, wife."

    The Vampire King scowled, but he still followed her orders like a good boy without much of a fuss.

    Apollyon looked disarmingly masculine, reclining there, taking up a lot of space among allce-trimmed pillows and padded cushions.

    Half of him was now tucked safely beneath the nkets.

    In her bolder daydreams, Luna had never dared to imagine the Vampire King in their shared marriage bed--much less as her husband.

    Apollyon rubbed his palm over his bare chest and his stomach.

    There was a slow surge of desire rising at the back of her mind, and Luna could sense that the Vampire King was trying to calm himself down.

    Was that the Vampire King, or was that her?

    Apollyon leaned back against the headboard with the coverlet drawn up to his waist, a look perfectly suited to an Archangel.

    Still, if the devilish gleam in his eyes hadn''t already convinced her that he was no angel, his next words would. "Now it''s your turn. Take off your clothes, wife."

    Luna''s heartbeat in her throat.

    Apollyon''s crooked smile was achingly tender as he carefully kept the sheet draped artfully across hisp. "Don''t be shy, wife. Now, hurry up. I need to see your naked body."

    Luna found a few buttons at the front, and her hands trembled as she popped them open one by one. Dragging her gown off her body, she continued to work the hooks at the back of her gown.

    It gaped forward, and she removed her shift down.

    The Vampire King''s eyes trailed after her when Luna moved to the dressing table, pulled out her shredded garments, and ced them in a hanger.

    She had the entire bodice off now.

    Lastly, she undid her undergarment, slowly peeling it back while struggling to draw breath.

    Luna bent over and pulled her heels one at a time before dropping them to the floor.

    She was naked except for her stockings and garters.

    Luna whirled around, feeling her face melt in a scalding rush of heat.

    Struggling to keep her voice as cold as her cheeks were hot, she asked, "Do you like what you see?"

    ***********************

    The Vampire King

    ***********************

    The High Priestess turned to face him.

    Her seemingly innocent eyes had been so green and silver at the same time and so wary of him, contradicting the temptation of her low neckline earlier.

    Now, Luna''s mismatched eyes were bright, uncertain, hopeful and as alluring as Eve herself.

    "You''re so beautiful." Apollyon''s voice was guttural, deep and rasping.

    He lifted his head and slowly--very slowly--perused her naked body.

    Her breasts had seemed to glow in the moonlight.

    The thought of her even now made his too-alert pricke to attention.

    He frowned, disgusted at his own weakness.

    It shocked him when his virgin High Priestess actually arched her back as if to disy herself.

    ***************

    High Priestess

    ***************

    "Luna," He groaned, her name rolling from his tongue like music. "Could you turn around for me?"

    "Let me see that ass," Apollyon asked after Luna had deposited her undergarments on the dressing table before pivoting towards him.

    She stood there, in the silence, in the cool air, allowing him to examine every inch of her.

    His blue eyes--heavy-lidded and burning sapphire--leisurely pursued her, lingering on her small but firm breasts, those bright pink pearling nipples and the tiny patch of hair between her slender thighs.

    It gave her an odd shivery feeling to watch the Vampire King''s strong, masculine hands handling his cock so roughly.

    Luna watched the Vampire King take his own pleasure as she felt warm invisible hands gliding across her own skin, watching her nakedness.

    Her heart pounded erratically in her chest as she breathed deeply.

    Apollyon''s scent was stronger than ever.

    It wasn''t fair.

    He knew exactly what he was doing to her.

    +++++++++++

    Vampire King

    +++++++++++

    The High Priestess was forbidden fruit few men could ever resist.

    Frozen in ce and unable to breathe, he prayed for self-control, but he couldn''t.

    Apollyon''s whole body tensed as he felt precisely what Luna was thinking about, his cock hardening at her reaction.

    Folding one arm behind his head and crossing his feet at the ankle, Apollyon breathed heavily and groaned as he masturbated, gazing morosely up at the room''s ceiling.

    He watched his hand move up and down over his cock then Apollyon stared at her darkly, with his mouth shaped in a little ''O''.

    His jaw ckened, and he licked his lips.

    He was so close.

    Apollyon inhaled sharply when his gaze fell to her lips, imagining it wrapped around his cock.

    The Vampire King closed his eyes as he focused all his concentration on his climax, getting trapped between the pleasure of having his hand on his cock and the reality that he was flirting with disaster.

    The vibration, the burning��it was all rising, called out of the darkest, most destructive core of him.

    He inhaled through his teeth as he continued to stroke and palm himself, imagining the feel of her silky folds riding against his arousal.

    Apollyon exploded, and he could scent the richly erotic, dark fragrance of his seed spilling all over the marriage bed.

    Itsted, like, less than a minute.

    He wished he could have poured all of his essences into his wife so that he could fully im her without question.

    When it was over, he realized the orgasm still felt empty, and it made him want sexual congress even more, but he couldn''t do anything about it even if his desire were right in front of him.

 Chapter 87 - Wedding Night*

    <h4>Chapter 87 - Wedding Night*</h4>

    *********************

    The High Priestess

    *********************

    The Vampire King wanted her to sleep on the bed naked with him while promising not to touch her for three days.

    All Luna needed to do was tempt him to touch her so she didn''t have to sleep naked with him.

    That''s right.

    Her eyes widened as she realized it was the perfect n.

    She had power over Apollyon right now.

    "You are very busy, my King." Smiling smugly, Luna strolled closer to the edge, facing him so that he could get his fill of her nudity. She ced one knee and climbed on top of the bed without removing her gaze from his. "I am not even sure if you were focused on me at all."

    "I''m starved for you, wife." The Vampire King talked right over her as his hooded gaze lingered on her neck and her chest, his lips in a tight grimace. "I''m so damn hungry, but you wouldn''t even let me have you."

    Luna had never done anything as scandalous as sleeping without any clothes on.

    She chewed on her lower lip, fascinated against her will by the mysteries thaty beneath the nkets Apollyon held unto so tightly with clenched fists.

    Luna lifted the nkets just so she could hurriedly tuck herself underneath, covering herself under the watchful, hawk-like gaze of the Vampire King''s eyes.

    What would the Vampire King do if she lifted the sheet to steal a peek at the thing which was slowly growing beneath the nkets?

    She tugged the sheet towards her identally, and the motion sent it sliding down his hipbones.

    It was toote.

    Luna''s eyes widened in shock, but she had covered her mouth to avoid making a sound.

    She already saw that his cock was already erect.

    Apollyon''s member was back in action after he had spent all his essence on the bed.

    She didn''t know if she should be afraid or not, but it was safe not toment.

    Luna remembered that the Vampire King had already promised that she could wish for anything she wanted if he lost over this bet.

    There was something deliciously wanton about the way her naked limbs glided over the sheet as sheid on the bed beside him as she tried not to graze any wayward part of him.

    The linen tickled her nipples, and it pebbled from the contact, making her want to stretch and purr like a contented cat.

    Luna closed her eyes and waited for the Vampire King to attempt anything.

    Despite her best efforts to loosen up her stiff posture and ignore him, Luna was still keenly aware of his presence.

    She was so physically close to him.

    Luna red up at the tester as she rolled restlessly to her back.

    She flipped over to her other side and red at the Vampire King''s broad back, knowing that neither one of them would get as much as a wink of sleep on this night.

    Well, it was time to tempt him then.

    Apollyon had faced away from her, lying on his side at the farthest edge of the mattress.

    Luna slowly brushed his fingertips over his shoulder and the Vampire King slightly flinched at his feather-like caress.

    When he stayed quiet, Luna murmured as she inched closer, "Husband."

    "Luna." He groaned her name in that deep, husky voice of his. "You''re killing me over here."

    "Touching me was against the rules, but me touching you isn''t," Luna whispered as she traced the arched muscles of his back.

    His whole body tensed as she felt his thoughts focused on the feel of her touch like aunched arrow, her palms moving from his spine down to the---

    ********************

    The Vampire King

    ********************

    Apollyon was already on top of her before he knew he had moved.

    He wasn''t a gentleman either.

    Apollyon pushed his thigh between her legs and found her mouth with his own, pinning her arms over her head.

    Luna''s thighs opened wide to his pressure, yielding to him ultimately.

    The High Priestess moaned his name hoarsely in her lips, urging him on.

    The sound lit off a violent shaking in him, one that dimmed his vision and sent pulses down his arms and legs.

    The taking of her consumed him, stripped him of whatever civilized lid there was on his instincts.

    He was raw, wild---

    He grabbed hold of her hair and yanked her lower lip hard with his fangs as they kissed.

    Luna arched into him, and Apollyon was sure that he would take her.

    He would take her at this very moment and in his bed, just as he had desired.

    Apollyon would persuade his wife to allow it, but there was no stopping him now.

    *****************

    High Priestess

    *****************

    The Vampire King made a sound��a growl?��and ced both hands forcibly on her bottom, pulling her roughly against himself.

    Luna felt a hard rod poking into her belly, and she just knew right away that it was his manhood.

    To be sure, though, Luna rubbed against it, and he rewarded her daring by shoving a knee between her legs.

    The Vampire King somehow found that spot, that little nub that could bring her so much excitement and pleasure just like how the Blood Beast had done it.

    The Vampire King''s head dipped his mouth on hers before she could even blink: biting, sucking, licking.

    His kiss��if such ravenous devouring could be called a kiss��overwhelmed her senses.

    He rubbed that delicious spot with his thigh while his tongue thrust into her mouth.

    She dug her fingers through his hair and hung on for dear life.

    Suckling his tongue, Luna murmured her enjoyment for a while before she was going to end it.

    Luna pushed him back and breathed heavily, "You lose the bet, Apollyon,"

    She had broken the kiss so abruptly in which the Vampire King had been enjoying so much it sent him into a daze.

    Apollyon''s distracted blue eyes turned sharp and clear when Luna willed her ws to grow and scratch his back hard enough to awaken him from the lust that had already clouded his judgment.

    Luna snapped her fingers repeatedly in his face and grinned, "Now, I want you to sleep on the couch while I sleep in the bed."

    "The couch?" He growled, bewildered as if he was seeing her for the first time after the intoxicating kiss. "Separately?"

    "Husband, there is a huge difference between a couch and a bed." Luna chuckled as she tried to stifle a victorious smile. "You aren''t going to negotiate with me. You already lost."

    "Wife, just try me." Apollyon swallowed as he nced at her swollen breasts before mumbling. "I''m good at negotiating."

    "I know you are good at negotiating especially when ites to..." As soon as the words were out, her face turned bright red.

    Luna didn''t dare continue. "I mean, maybe I can sleep on the couch, and you can sleep in the bed. It makes more sense �C since you are the Vampire King. I can''t let you sleep on that thing while I get plenty of rest on the soft mattress." Luna decided to mp her teeth shut to stop her babbling.

    "If you want, we could sleep together," The Vampire King said abruptly, the words tumbling over each other. "I''m not going to try anything as long as you keep your hands to yourself."

    Luna could sense the lie.

    His words might promise one thing, but smile said another. The mischievous glint in those gaze promised pleasures no woman can resist.

    She also felt theirbined mortification in her head, and it made her toes curl.

    There was another long silence, and the Vampire King broke it.

    Apollyon blew out his breath as he moved to detach himself from her and got up from the mattress. "Never mind." He waved a hand dismissively as he towered over the bed. "You are going to seduce me again, so it will be better if I am far away from you."

    "Just stay on the couch, husband." Luna finally said.

    ++++++

    Luna wiggled into her nightdress as the Vampire King watched closely, not even missing a thing.

    The nightdress she picked from the closet was loose and transparent, perfectly hugging her figure and long enough that she could tuck her bare feet beneath the hem of it.

    It didn''t cover much that she might as well be naked but wearing them didn''t make her feel like she was naked entirely.

    It hardly helped that her white nightdress with its fussy ruffled cuffs and high cor decorated withce appliques and embroideries was as virginal as a novice''s robes.

    Still, the fabric was white, transparent, and gossamer-like that the Vampire King could see her shapely form underneath.

    "I ordered the servants to make all your night clothes like that." As Apollyon nodded toward her nightdress, Luna clutched it close at the throat with a white-knuckled fist as she covered her breasts.

    "There is no need to cover up, wife. You can''t really stop your husband from owning your body." Luna could hear the smile in his voice, and she raised an eyebrow, giving him a look of disbelief.

    Face flushing with mortification and annoyance, she dashed across the room, sprang into the bed, and jerked the covers up over her head. "Why would you even ask me to take my clothes off when you made all my nightclothes like this?"

    "At least you won the bet, and you made the Vampire King sleep on the couch." Apollyon''s big body was sprawled on the couch and curled onto his side, resting his head on his arm and pouting like a spoiled child who didn''t get what he wanted.

    The room went eerily quiet.

    He sighed in regret, "Now, I am bored."

    With her head still buried beneath the nkets, she waited for a good minute and lifted her nkets to see if Apollyon had already slept on the couch.

    Luna tugged on the counterpane until she had her nose and eyes exposed.

    She blinked up at him as she pulled the covers up around her chin.

    "What are you looking at?" The Vampire King asked his beautiful face an unreadable mask.

    "No." Luna eximed as she sat up, clutching the sheet to her chest and shaking her messy silver hair out of her eyes. "What are you looking at?"

    Within seconds, she had put her hands on every pillow she could reach and throw it into his face, but he always caught them every single time and just ced them gently on the side.

    With a long-suffering sigh, Apollyon settled back on therge couch. "It''s been a long time since I have a good night''s sleep, but I can''t even have one when I can''t be with you."

    "I told you," Luna said. "You can sleep in the bed while I sleep on the couch if you want."

    Forget I said anything." Apollyon took a deep breath before looking away. "I''m going to wear clothes again, and then I''ll be gone."

    "Where are you going?" Luna had demanded rather sharply, and she grimaced, wishing she could take that back.

    It really sounded like it was a demanding from a jealous wife.

    His voice dropped to a low growl as if his tone has matched hers. "I have things to see to."

    All too afraid that she knew exactly what he would do, she settled back into the bed and covered her head with a nket, refusing to see what he had been up to.

    He was silent as Luna heard faint rustles of fabric.

    He had probably slept next to so many naked women in his life that she was no more a distraction to him.

    Will he go to his Consortium because she couldn''t give him what he wanted?

    Secondster, all the lights winked out, and the doors clicked shut.

    The Vampire King had left before she could utter another word that would bring him back.

 Chapter 88 - Marriage Gift*

    <h4>Chapter 88 - Marriage Gift*</h4>

    Kicking off the nkets off her because Luna had hidden for too long and it was already getting hot, Luna sat up from the bed. She narrowed her eyes towards the door, contemting if she should follow the Vampire King and stop him from going to his concubines.

    If he wasn''t getting any sexual pleasure from his wife, then the Vampire King was obviously bound to find someone else.

    Luna''s brows creased in indignation.

    Her bravado from having control over her husband had long since fled.

    Perhaps, she had teased him too much that he got angry at her?

    Will, he evene back tonight, or will they not see each other again?

    Luna didn''t even know where to go when she couldn''t navigate the Vampire King''sir.

    She realized that she had been scowling for almost half an hour already, and she forced her face to rx.

    She couldn''t make him stay if Apollyon wanted to go.

    She couldn''t give up her allegiance to Hecate and lose her strength to appease the King.

    Luna wouldn''t be able to sacrifice her virginity.

    But, if she wouldn''t, Luna would surely lose him.

    Luna closed her eyes as she recalled how the sapphire depths of Apollyon''s eyes sparkled with dormant mischief.

    It was the devil''s eyes set squarely in that angelic face that proved her undoing, knocking the breath out of her.

    It wouldn''t be difficult for his concubines to eagerly sumb to his charms when they were disyed in such dazzling abundance.

    Before Luna could realize it, she had found herself reminiscing how she had leaned forward when Apollyon lowered his head toward hers, her lips eager to meet his, savouring the musky warmth of his skin.

    Luna buried her face in the pillow, embarrassed.

    She needed to bring herself back to reality since she had been clinging to a childish romantic fancy ever since she married Apollyon.

    Luna had thought to cast her seductive spell over the Vampire King. Still, instead, she was the one mesmerized by his intense gaze urging her to give up everything for him and the tantalizing way his lips parted ever so slightly as he tried to bring himself to orgasm with her as a witness to his pleasure.

    Her skin still remembered his touch and the way his fingertips move in a gentle caress.

    The way he was so aggressive when ites to her--his desire and passion.

    Was she willing to sacrifice her advantage in this Realm so that she could keep him?

    Luna ran her hands through her hair and massaged her temples slowly to calm her mind.

    It felt like her thoughts were running in circles, and it was driving her crazy.

    She didn''t even know the Vampire Kingpletely, yet she was already acting this possessive over him.

    It was normal to be possessive because he was her husband, but this useless emotion would probably ruin her in the long run.

    If the Vampire King found out, he will use her emotions against her and ce them over her head every time he wouldn''t do what he wanted.

    Was there a hidden agenda behind this action?

    She tapped her hands to the bed as if releasing some pent-up energy.

    Drawing a deep breath, Luna syed her arms wide to stretch then rxed them.

    Losing the Vampire King at this moment was making her paranoid.

    Did Apollyon do it on purpose?

    Was this some maniption tactic?

    If this was a game and she chased after him, Apollyon would think that he had won.

    Why was she doing this again?

    What were Luna''s intentions of being the High Priestess of Hecate?

    Will Hecate''s magical power was worthy of the Vampire King, her husband?

    If she lost her position as the High Priestess, maybe Apollyon would take her power and then treat her like nothing.

    When all the powers bestowed by Hecate were gone because Luna had given it up, she will be gone too.

    The truth was, she will be just a piece of essory along with his other essories.

    Whether Luna was or wasn''t his wife, maybe he would still go back to his Consortium.

    Apollyon wouldn''t give a damn about her opinions since she couldn''t give him the sex.

    Luna flung herself back to the bed with abandon and ced an arm over her eyes, tears of frustration almost rolling down her cheeks.

    Silently cursing him in her mind, Luna hoped that her anger would reach his consciousness as he walked to whoever concubine Apollyon would go to.

    Come to think of it, Apollyon didn''t talk about the status of the Consortium with her.

    Her head was full of clouds and dreams if she thought Apollyon would give his Consortium up if she told her to.

    Apollyon could have any woman he wanted��including her.

    Would he abolish them now that he had a wife, or would he still keep them although they were blood bonded?

    The Vampire King could only drink her blood and hers alone, so drinking from his concubines or any other girls from the Consortium was out of the question.

    But what about fucking?

    Can he fuck other women except her��his wife, his Empress, and his blood mate?

    Luna had no idea because this was the first time she had mated with a pureblood vampire.

    ''But mates are very possessive.'' Luna reasoned out with herself.

    The devil in her consciousness shot back, "They can be possessive, but that didn''t mean they can''t fuck other people with no strings attached--if they really tried--just to get rid of their sexual urges."

    Luna heard that thought as if it was spoken to her, clear and concise.

    It didn''t seem like that statement came from her thoughts alone.

    It felt like it came from someone else.

    Was that the Vampire King''s thoughts she had caught by ident?

    Luna halted all movement as she stilled her mind, catching the possible intruder.

    A husky note crept into the voice in her mind, and she shivered. "I want you to perform whatever wifely duties I require of you, but I guess there was no happy ending to that, wife."

    Now, Luna was irrevocably sure that the mocking words were from the Vampire King.

    Luna should never entrust her hopes to Apollyon because the Vampire King would never truly love her.

    +++

    "I hate him!" Luna announced loudly as she swore, throwing the first thing she could grab to the wall. "The Vampire King is a vile, gluttonous, evil creature, and I hope his prick snap into two, and he dies from too much fornication."

    "Oh, my husband is a fucking viin," Luna muttered angrily as she breathed hard, her heart beating wild and fast. "I will kill the Vampire King if I find him with other concubines or with any girl at all." She flung her hands up in the air. "I will destroy him and his kingdom if he cheated on me."

    Luna was so furious that she couldn''t sleep.

    "I don''t know what to do." That much was honest.

    She scrambled out of bed, walked towards the vanity mirror, retrieved a hairbrush from the drawer, and began working on her hair.

    After that, Luna stalked over to the tall cherry wardrobe in the corner by the window and retrieved a velvet shawl, wrapping it around her shoulders.

    Her hands dug deeper into the wardrobe, and it brushed a smooth length of rosewood.

    There was a note attached to it, and Luna was shameless enough to read the message scribbled on the piece of parchment whether or not it was for her.

    +++++++++++++++++++++++++

    To my darling Empress,

    I couldn''t wait to have your mind, body, and soul. I already have your mind and soul. It''s just the body I am having problems with. I promise always to respect your decisions, keep your feelings into consideration and protect you at all costs. I would not do anything to hurt you with dangerous intent. You are my utmost priority, and I would die first before I break these promises to you.

    This family heirloom belongs to my mother''s grandmother.

    Please take my heart inside you. Keep it safe, and I would do the same.

    Your one and only husband, Apollyon

    +++++++++++++++++++++++++

    Luna tensed, her heart lurching into an uneven rhythm as she absorbed every word.

    The echo of Apollyon''s sincere message was so clear he might have been standing just behind her, near enough to touch.

    Her haste forgotten, Luna drew the rectangr box from its hiding ce and gently lifted the lid.

    A thin-silver chained ne with a tiny blood-red teardrop made of diamond was nestled in the box''s silk-lined interior.

    Luna gently plucked the ne out from the box after she had contented herself gazing at it in amazement.

    The teardrop-shaped pendant wasn''t actually crimson, but the thing changes its colour depending on the light.

    She snapped the lid shut and shoved the box deep into the portmanteau beneath the most unmentionable of her unmentionables.

    Luna went back to the vanity table to fasten the ne and admired the way Apollyon''s gift settled in her corbone like it truly belonged there.

    As she smiled at her reflection in the mirror, Luna tugged at the stopper from a bottle ofvender water on top of the table and brought it to her nose.

    She dabbed the scent on her wrists, on her neck, behind her ears, and in her hair before returning the scent bottle.

    Hopefully, this will increase Apollyon''s ardour and tempt him toe back.

    The clock ticked away another minute.

    Every damn minute wasted by her stalling will make her lose Apollyon to a bunch of pit vipers in the Consortium.

    Luna didn''t actually think that she had to fight for her husband''s attention like this.

    It was time to figure out what her husband had been up to.

 Chapter 89 - Betrayal*

    <h4>Chapter 89 - Betrayal*</h4>

    Apollyon wasn''t known for being extravagant for no reason.

    The Vampire King''s infamous orgies of excess usually consisted of females from the Consortium and other male guests held at the Vampire King''s Castle.

    Drunken guests are confronted with a dozen royal vampires and consorts smeared with blood and bounded wrists tied to the oversized king beds and couches.

    Everything in the Vampire King''s castle and the Apollyon''sir was covered in gold, adorned with jewels and mother-of-pearl.

    Besides using the finest marble and decorations such as fine wall paintings and gilded colonnades, the Vampire King''s Castle was also a technical marvel with soaring domes, revolving ceilings, ornamental fountains, and even waterfalls running down the walls.

    Large areas of the ground floor were dedicated to the banquet roomsid out in a surprising maze of rooms in all shapes and sizes��apanying an array of sun-courts, sitting rooms, ess corridors, and service room,

    The chief banqueting room was circr, and it revolved in perpetual night and day, like the Heavens, imitating the motion of the celestial bodies.

    There, non-vampire guests would dine on the most extraordinary delicacies.

    Gorging on gallons of blood and wine, they retire only to enjoy sex between courses.

    The dining room had ceilings of fretted ivory and panels which could slide back, letting a rain of flower petals and perfume from hidden pipes sprinkle down from above unto his guests.

    The Blue Peacock room, which was one of the most opulent pleasure rooms in the Vampire King''sir, used to be where the Vampire King hosted one of his notoriously wild parties in private.

    He was the only male in the room, pleasured by his many concubines.

    It was octagonal-shaped with an oculus in the dome covered with stained ss mosaics where people can watch the sunlight streaming in through the hole or pretty constetions in the sky during the night time.

    The octagonal hall led to rooms on five sides with waterfalls running each side down to the back of the wall.

    The Vampire King walked to his pleasure room with a single-minded purpose, and that was to release his pent-up frustration.

    He was sexually charged even after spilling his seed.

    His wife''s teasing once again aroused him.

    Apollyon''s desires for his mate were insatiable; his cock was like a phoenix rising through the ashes even after finishing his orgasm.

    It didn''t even give him a well-deserved break.

    In his mind''s eye, Apollyon could see his hands stroking the silky softness of Luna''s skin, his lips brushing her cheek and murmuring all of the tender words Apollyon had been too proud��or too foolish��to say.

    The images had faded away like a mirage in a desert.

    Using his hand to pleasure himself wouldn''t even be close to satisfaction.

    Now, he had to spill this cum somewhere, preferably to some concubine''s impersonal warm and wet mouth.

    The more he suppressed his lust for the High Priestess inside him, the more he set himself on fire with arousal.

    It wouldn''t really matter if he used one concubine for tonight.

    It can''t be helped.

    He just needed to get off, be back immediately to the bedroom, and sleep on the couch as if nothing happened.

    People would expect the Vampire King''s castle rooms would all be equally luxurious. Still, even by the standards of other Kings in other Realms, the Blue Peacock room was excessive even if it was located in hisir alone for privacy.

    There were moonlit pool gardens outside andmunal baths flowing with seawater and sulfur springs.

    The Vampire King reclined at his fancy couch at the Blue Peacock Room as he waited for a concubine to attend to him.

    This was the High Priestess'' fault.

    She didn''t know that she was ying with fire.

    Apollyon needed to dispel this boredom and melt the fatigue he felt from the sexual urge he can''t seem to shake off.

    The Vampire King wore nothing but a pair of loose-fitting trousers and an open ck vest beneath his rippling crimson cloak, which showed his well-defined bs of muscle in his broad chest and upper arms.

    "Mates can be possessive." The Vampire King heard the soft words in his head, and he thought he had imagined it at first.

    Apollyon was sure that didn''te from his mind alone.

    If it wasn''t his, then it was from the High Priestess.

    Apollyon''s eyebrows almost reached his hairline at the sudden development.

    Did the High Priestess know that he could hear her?

    The Vampire King smirked as he sat on a fancy chaise while waiting for the concubines toe into the pleasure room.

    As an experiment, Apollyon projected his musings to deliver the message to his mate and piss her off. "They can be possessive, but that didn''t mean they can''t fuck other people with no strings attached--if they really tried--just to get rid of their sexual urges."

    There was a pause, and Apollyon felt the High Priestess'' withdrawal.

    It felt like Luna wasn''t there on the other side when Apollyon couldn''t sense her emotions--like she had them hidden somewhere.

    The High Priestess''s consciousness was faint, but she had remained observant and watchful to him.

    "I want you to perform any wifely duties I would require of you, but I guess there was no happy ending to that, wife." Apollyon murmured huskily, hoping that it would reach her and make her feel a little bit guilty for teasing him.

    Nothing.

    The concubine he had asked for had entered the room and the lock slid in with a click.

    As the woman neared him, The Vampire King realized that she smelled like roses.

    Her lush and curvaceous body was draped in a purple wraparound gown.

    With the low, wide neckline of her gown, herrge breasts were exposed as possible.

    The girl had long, thick hair on the shades of crimson reaching up to her waist.

    The concubine smiled and bowed. "Your Highness."

    Apollyon should feel a surge of overwhelming lust and desire as he scanned the concubine''s almost naked body, but unfortunately, he had none.

    But maybe, he would be able to manage with magic.

    Her lovely pale green lingered on Apollyon. "I am pleased to serve you, Your Highness."

    As the concubine righted herself, her eyes travelled up to his form.

    Knowing he would regret it in the endless days--and nights--toe but unable to stop himself, Apollyon reached down to stroke the shimmering strands of the concubine''s hair, marvelling at its softness beneath his hand.

    The Vampire King''s palm glided over the downy curve of her cheek, the pad of his thumb skating dangerously near her lips.

    A breathlessugh escaped her, and her voice deepened a husky octave. Hershes even fluttered in a coy manner. "I am yours to use my King."

    The Vampire King said in a satin drawl. "Alterno faciem, Luna."

    Apollyon smiled, and his fangs had elongated when he saw the image of Luna in front of him in ce of the concubine.

    "Where would you like me?" The concubine with the face of his wife asked.

    The Vampire King nced around the room before focusing on the luxurious canopy bed. "There."

    He took the High Priestess'' hand and led her towards the bed.

    Luna went over as told as the skirts of her silky dress twirled behind her.

    She sat down on the satin coverlet, but when she shifted her legs up, Apollyon shook his head.

    He went over to the woman as he stood on the edge of the bed. "Get out of the bed and kneel in front of me."

    Luna sunk her knees in front of him obediently.

    When her hands went to her gown as if she were going to undo it, Apollyon stopped her.

    "Don''t take off your clothes. You are only allowed to suck my cock, nothing more." Apollyon said. "You aren''t allowed to touch me either, concubine."

    Dismay yed over Luna''s features, widening her eyes.

    This time, when the concubine inclined her head, it seemed out of shame, not deference.

    "I apologize, Your Highness." The concubine said softly.

    Her voice was high and pure, like a songbird''s call, but it grated the Vampire King''s nerves because it didn''t belong to his wife even if he had changed the concubine''s appearance into Luna''s likeness.

    "I will suck your cock now."

    As the light of dawn extended over the Vampire Realm, the early morning quiet was shattered by a piercing scream. "Apollyon!"

    +++

    Luna had thrown a velvet shawl over her transparent nightgown and slipped out of their bedroom to chase after him.

    She had teleported just outside the door to the Blue Peacock room and busted it down, running across the room to intercept him and the other Luna, her feet bare and her long silver hair streaming down her back like a child''s.

    Her pretty eyes had narrowed into slits, and a cold gust blew through the room, making the room grow colder with her in it.

    Luna''s anger was a tangible thing, and it reached out, brushing over his body like hands.

    The Vampire King''s face scrunched into a scowl as he stalked towards her, clenching his fists.

    ''Did any male saw her while she traipsed around hisir without wearing proper clothing?''

    Luna had stumbled to a halt in front of him, lifting her stubborn little chin to an angle he recognized only too well.

    Her big mismatched eyes had darkened with usation as she blurted out the one question that was going to haunt him for the rest of his life. "How can you cheat on me with myself on our wedding night?"

 Chapter 90 - Lovers Quarrel*

    <h4>Chapter 90 - Lover''s Quarrel*</h4>

    *********************

    The Vampire King

    *******************

    The High Priestess stalked towards him and halted when their bodies grew close to each other.

    Crossing her arms, she nced at the concubine''s direction with the same face as hers.

    Apollyon was sure the High Priestess didn''t even want to acknowledge the other Luna''s existence, but she couldn''t help but scan the poor female from head to toe with prejudice.

    Luna nced up and narrowed her eyes usingly at him. "How can you cheat on me with me on our wedding night?"

    **********************

    The High Priestess

    **********************

    As she entered the room and closed the door shut, Luna had seen his fangs had shed brightly.

    Luna had witnessed the Vampire King''s hand wrapped around the concubine''s crimson hair.

    The other concubine''s arched neck had exposed her milk-and-cream skin and the soft globes of her breasts as she knelt in front of him while Apollyon towered over her.

    Luna''s stomach had twisted in a vicious shock of both anger and disgust.

    Luna stood in front of the Vampire King and met his eyes squarely as they face each other, forcing herself to hold her ground.

    She knew she was dangerous.

    Blood would spill.

    There was no room for flexibility in her mind.

    "I''m not cheating, wife." Apollyon shrugged nonchntly as if he wasn''t caught red-handed. "You know for a fact that I had the Consortium."

    Luna wanted to attack him and punch his pretty face.

    Giving another scream, Luna rushed towards him.

    She got in a few good kicks before he grabbed her arms and forced her against a wall.

    She let out a piercing scream of rage and agony.

    The Vampire King growled, "Stop this, wife."

    "I''m going to kill you!" Luna''s sense of vition had her humiliatingly close to tears.

    How could the bastard dare to cheat on her on their first night as a married couple and as blood mates?

    Luna should have expected such tactics from Apollyon, but she didn''t, and it made her feel stupid. "Let me go!"

    She had been disrespected enough, especially to a mere clone of hers.

    ''No.'' Apollyon looked at her, the blue of his eyes suddenly dark��as if a storm had rolled in. ''In this state, you might force me to hurt you, and I don''t want that.''

    For a second, her heart kicked as she heard his thoughts in her mind.

    He cared, but...

    Why was he invading her thoughts without her permission?

    Luna told herself to stop staring into the depths of his blue eyes as his betrayal mmed into her brain.

    Eye contact will make it easier for him to control and pass through her defenses but she couldn''t look away as those blue orbs lit into twin mes.

    "Get out of my head, Apollyon," Luna screamed again. You are raping my mind."

    For a single fleeting second, she thought she saw shock shadow Apollyon''s expression, but then that familiar arrogance looked back at her. "You are being overdramatic."

    ******************

    The Vampire King

    ******************

    The Vampire King''s mouth tightened, his knuckles whitening as he fisted his hands.

    Apollyon had done and had been used of many things through the ages but never had he taken a woman against her will when ites to sexual congress now that the curse of the Blood Beast was gone.

    Never.

    He hadn''t done so tonight either because this concubine belonged to his Consortium.

    Apollyon shut his expression down before Luna could see them. "Of course, I respect your decision not to give me what I want, but you should also respect my decision to look for another partner."

    The Vampire King provoked the High Priestess even further to figure out her boiling point and how much he could push and test her boundaries.

    Apollyon was well-aware of how devious he was at emotional maniption and how well he could control the High Priestess through that.

    He smirked as he lifted her chin with his thumb and forefinger. "I''m not forcing you to do anything, wife."

    Luna turned her head away from his touch while she still had her back against the wall.

    She closed her eyes and exhaled.

    When she opened her eyes slowly, Apollyon had witnessed how both of her eyes had transformed into gold.

    Herrge pupils had turned into reptilian slits simr to a snake, and her fangs had extended.

    There were shiny scales of pink, blue, and gold forming on her cheeks just below her eyes��changing her facial features��and her lips had turned blood-red, more sensual.

    The High Priestess stared nkly at him as if she was in a daze, but the piercing look of her winter chill eyes told her otherwise, "Choose Apollyon."

    "I have already chosen wife," Apollyon said but didn''t borate.

    The Vampire King waited for her reaction.

    He let his mind focus as he tried to distinguish Luna''s emotions from his, but he couldn''t quite catch it.

    Oh, the Vampire King knew she was jealous, but he apuded the High Priestess for being a fast learner.

    He didn''t know she already figured out how to withdraw herself from his consciousness so easily in just hours without realizing it.

    "This is yourst chance to redeem yourself, Apollyon." The High Priestess whispered a smile that was not a smile creasing her face.

    Lines were marring the Vampire King''s forehead.

    "I wouldn''t hesitate to drop you and disappear in this Realm if you couldn''t even respect your wife and keep your dick in your pants in just one night." Calction filled her gaze, even as she dropped into less formal speech. "And here I thought you respect my decisions."

    Eyes darkly indigo with a challenge, Apollyon decided to tell her the reason why he did it, but once the words came out of his mouth, he had started to doubt his own decisions. "This is my way of respecting your choices."

    "You think I don''t recognize emotional maniption when I see it, Apollyon?" Lunaughed at the scowl in his voice, then she smirked. "This is why I don''t trust you."

    "A King like you who owned the Consortium?" Luna shrugged nonchntly. "Of course, you were an expert on emotional maniption."

    It was an odd gestureing from her.

    Something wasn''t right with the High Priestess.

    "Even if you could have a thousand years of practice, you can''t fool me."

    Naked heat sizzled between them.

    Powerful.

    Vibrant.

    The Vampire King''s eyes still locked with hers, Luna reached out her hand to trail her finger down his jaw and to his neck.

    "Now, this is yourst chance to choose."

 Chapter 91 - Psycho*

    <h4>Chapter 91 - Psycho*</h4>

    *********************

    The High Priestess

    *********************

    Luna was totally removed from her sanity.

    In the aftermath, she had be something far closer to the monster that lurked in her heart.

    The concubine was scantily dressed in purple robes that she could even see the outline of her nipples.

    Her face was obscured, and her robe was half the length of what Luna had worn as she knelt patiently in the far corner.

    When her replica got the opportunity to face in her direction, Luna could see past the mour when the High Priestess focused beyond the mask the Vampire King had created for her.

    The concubine had long auburn hair, green eyes, and curves so dangerous they could never be fully explored.

    Jealousy.

    Possessiveness.

    What a ridiculous idea.

    What a ridiculous emotion.

    She was the High Priestess, and her husband had dared attempt a betrayal.

    That darkest part of her psyche had whispered, ''Will you let him lead you around on a leash? Your husband had just insulted you.''

    Power was an intoxicating drug that is hard to resist, and it didn''t only corrupt her.

    It was bound to destroy both of them.

    But the quietness in her had changed the timbre of it to something close to evil.

    A primal, reptilian part of her mind whispered, ''You should teach them a lesson, teach them that no one stands against a High Priestess of Hecate, andes out the winner.''

    ''Kill his concubine,'' The voice in her head murmured. ''Kill his concubine in front of him.''

    It was a challenge, clear and straightforward.

    Luna''s punishment for the concubine was non-negotiable.

    As would the Vampire King be if he stood in Luna''s way.

    It was foolish for the High Priestess to do, but it felt like it was the most suitable thing to do when she was quiet.

    Luna considered it.

    Now she soaked in the darkness as if it were power.

    It wasn''t.

    The power came from within her, but theck of stimtion��a kind of sensory deprivation��excited her awareness of that power to excruciating levels.

    First, it was a hum in her blood, then a symphony, then a thundering crescendo that filled every one of her veins, stretching her tendons to breaking point and lighting her up from within.

    It was at that instant��before an internal implosion that could leave her stunned for hours��that she raised her hands and threw power at the wall in front of her.

    It buckled, then liquefied into a churning pool that reflected nothing in its ebony depths.

    Quickly, before the power could grow restless and seek to shove itself back into her body, she threw it to the room in all directions.

    "You don''t know what I''m capable of, Apollyon." Luna raised her arms as the time seemed to stop.

    The energetic field changed, and the atmosphere had turned heavy as if they were moving, no, swimming against the currents.

    Their sluggishness hindered any further movements, not entirely frozen in ce, but it was as if everything was in slow motion.

    She focused her abilities without remorse, without anything but cold purpose.

    ''It would be best if you killed the concubine now.''

    Now, choose very carefully." Luna''s voice changed--her frequency much darker and wrapped in a nket of a lighter pitch--like an Archdemon had possessed her.

    The thorns inside her had seemingly sprouted thorns of their own, scraping at her, stinging.

    She had to calm down to channel her strength outwards without hurting herself.

    "This is yourst chance to exin yourself, my King." Luna gave her husband a disconcerting grin before she strikes without warning, and all the ss inside the pleasure room shattered into tiny bits and pieces.

    Apollyon threw up a shield, reflecting her cutting power, but it was toote.

    It was a bomb that destroyed everything in its path as it exploded.

    It destroyed who she was as it consumed her inner fire with the mes of her own power, melting her, making her into a new creature like a phoenix.

    The shards of ss had hit the High Priestess'' clone, specifically, since she was close to the windows.

    Pointed shards of ss and crystals were embedded in her ribs and shoulders, and the concubine had whimpered in her pain and suffering.

    "Or I will destroy this concubine of yours!" Thest was said on a scream as the rage exploded inside her.

    Her punishment to the concubine had been just.

    Yes, the concubine needed to learn some respect.

    Apollyon''s concubine was going to beg for her mercy.

    Smiling evilly, teethpletely bared, Luna ambled toward her but halted when she realized something.

    ''I don''t want her to beg.'' The echo of her own words stopped her for several long seconds.

    Even when she was quiet, she understood the decision not to harm the concubine further.

    It was the Vampire King''s choice.

    The concubine only did what was expected of her.

    But there were ways to ensure respect without destroying the Vampire King.

    First, he had to teach her husband not to y games with a powerful High Priestess.

    The Vampire King''s eyes flicked over Luna''s face, but Apollyon made no move of rescuing the concubine.

    Maybe, the Vampire King didn''t want to enrage her further.

    "If you don''te with me, I had no choice but to kill this girl." Luna calmed down and examined her nails leisurely, looking bored. "Or I could let the fractured ss hit her eyes on the second wave to make her go blind. Don''t think that you are the only ruthless vampire around here, Apollyon. I wouldn''t hesitate to destroy anyone who mighte between us, nor would it be better��"

    Lunaughed a cool sound that whispered of the grave and sunshine in one. "If I destroy you and we shall die together?"

    Apollyon''s eyes narrowed at her.

    "What would you do if the roles were reversed, Apollyon?" Luna''s tone was vicious and the impact of those words still reverberated in the endless night.

    "What would you do if it was me who had cheated on you with Jon or any other vampire that caught my eye?" Luna asked, her tone a razor-sharp.

    "You wouldn''t." Something sparked in the Vampire King''s eyes, hot and undoubtedly lethal if let out. "You would have little interest in Cederic or Jon. He likes his women submissive."

    Her response was a smile. "That wasn''t the point here."

    "They will die," The Vampire King replied simply as he stared at her, in no mood to y games. "I don''t share that which is mine."

    "You are making me regret a lot of things, Apollyon, especially marrying you." Luna giggled, but the sound was somehow . . . off. "I shouldn''t have removed your curse and just let the Blood Beast rule this damned Kingdom, and I will let him have his wicked way with me. That way, I wouldn''t have to protect the Vampire Kingdom from possible danger because it was useless when the danger was already here, you know?"

    "If the Blood Beast was in control instead of me, would you go to his bed sweetly?" The Vampire King asked against her ear, his voice an unsheathed de.

    Apollyon gently ced her down to the floor and brought her towards him, his hands sping over her hips in outrage. "Would you prefer to whimper and beg to the Blood Beast than your husband?"

    "I could if I want to," Luna said sweetly, standing firm even as her body had betrayed her, thighs clenching as need spasmed through her.

    Lust in her throat, brutal and demanding.

    The image of the Vampire King''s long powerful fingers thrusting in and out of her as shey helpless was suddenly the only thing she could see.

    Closing her eyes just made it worse, so she flicked them open to stare fixedly at the ck shimmer of the opposite wall.

    ********************

    The Vampire King

    *********************

    The High Priestess'' eyes were fathomless when Apollyon looked at her.

    It was as if Luna had gone quiet.

    Luna''s hair flew back in that ghostly wind she alone could generate.

    The High Priestess had sounded more animal than human��or rather, vampire��just then.

    Looked at it, too.

    Blood had smeared over her lips and chin from biting her lip in her wrath, and her fangs were longer and sharper than ever.

    The Vampire King didn''t mean for the situation to escte in this manner.

    "I don''t care anymore. I''ll give you what you want." Luna said as she waved a dismissive hand. "You want sex? Then I would give it to you. It wouldn''t really matter. You used a clone of me to serve you. My soul didn''t matter to you. In your eyes, all women are just holes for your cock. Nobody was special. You can have any woman you want, so whether it was your wife or not, it really didn''t matter."

    Luna walked back and went in the direction of the door.

    She didn''t even care if the Vampire King followed her.

    If you want to fuck, then go back to the marriage bed." The High Priestessughed darkly. "I''ll be waiting for you there."

 Chapter 92 - Black Moon Lilith*

    <h4>Chapter 92 - ck Moon Lilith*</h4>

    *********************

    The High Priestess

    *********************

    Luna threw herself to their marriage bed and wrapped herself in the nkets.

    She had already made up her mind to give her virginity to her husband.

    When she thought about it, there was nothing worth fighting for in this Realm except for herself, but Luna didn''t have much to say in this matter when the Vampire King owned her mind, body, and soul.

    It wasn''t worth it.

    Sex was fairly pointless anyway.

    The Vampire King never learned.

    He was as stubborn as a mule, and he believed that the Consortium��women, in general��were mere puppets expected to dance into his tune no matter what.

    Of course, that included her.

    What made her think that she was special even as his Empress and as his blood mate?

    That was wishful thinking on her part.

    Luna had already resigned her fate to the goddess of Hecate--whatever it may be.

    She must strive to be happy and be contented as the wife of a man who had bedded multiple women, who had far more experience in sexual congress and had a Harem.

    This wasn''t her Kingdom in the first ce, and she was just a mere chess piece in this game who had a specific role to y for Apollyon''s advantage.

    There was no use fighting for something that she was sure she would lose when her husband, the Vampire King, was the enemy.

    Luna exhaled and decided to let everything go--the ns and goals she kept close to her heart.

    They didn''t matter anymore.

    She had given up her control.

    The Vampire King was free to do whatever he wanted to her.

    Luna wouldn''t strive to be his equal or even try butting heads with her husband.

    Clenching and unclenching her fists, she rxed her tense jaw as she buried her face in the pillow, trying to hide her screams of outrage and frustration.

    She will be meek, silent, and obedient like what was expected of her, like what a concubine would do or a submissive Empress should be.

    Her whole body was shaking as her mental faculties had gone down in a helpless spiral.

    Luna released all the dark power inside her system��all the negative energy--and let them go with her every exhales.

    It was the ultimate liberation to be free from the dark rage wing in her chest, perpetually seeking revenge.

    She really tried to bring herself back.

    Luna cried herself back to sleep.

    ===========

    DREAMS

    ===========

    Luna''s vision blurred as white-hot tears stung her eyes.

    Thinking of Apollyon was anguish and agony at the same time.

    Invisible fingers seemed to caress the edges of her mind, trying to get inside.

    Luna stilled and didn''t even breathe as she felt Apollyon''s invasion.

    "High Priestess." The sound of Apollyon''s voice pulled her out of her thoughts.

    The Vampire King was here.

    Luna recognized his voice and turned toward him.

    There was so much energy inside her, and it hummed like a song in her blood every time Apollyon was near.

    Still, every time Luna tried to block him out and push him away, being physically, emotionally, and mentally apart from him was torture.

    "Your Highness," Luna said as she strived for a calm tone. "You better stop this."

    Luna rubbed the sleep from her eyes, blinking at the brilliance of his annoyingly magnificent face as he hovered over the bed.

    She briefly wondered how long her husband had been standing there watching her sleep.

    As she studied him, Luna saw that his energy had pulsed erratically, scattering all the other energy around him.

    Colours winked around him, twinkling stars of crimson and azure.

    Luna was in awe of his energy, and she wanted to own it, absorb them to her advantage, leaving the Vampire King with nothing.

    So lovely.

    So pure.

    Except hers.

    Hers was too strong.

    Her gaze narrowed on the Vampire King.

    She reached inside his chest with a mental hand and squeezed so tightly that the previously unused powers hidden inside her recoiled.

    ''I loved you, High Priestess.'' The Vampire King stood, hate bleeding into his eyes as she read his thoughts. ''Is this how it was going to be?''

    Apollyon gurgled out a pained breath as he rubbed frantically at his chest, his skin growing paler by the second.

    Still, Luna held firm with her mental hold around his heart.

    The Vampire King''s voice hit her in a rush,ced with panic and frustration. "I will let you continue to hurt me until you are satisfied if you can''t even ept my apology."

    With that sudden realization, Luna released her grip on his heart.

    The Vampire King was panting, sweating.

    Horror flooded her as she realized from her daze.

    Why did she try to kill her blood mate?

    She couldn''t allow that to happen.

    ********************

    The High Priestess

    *********************

    Luna awoke from her nightmare with a warm male body snuggled against her back.

    Although she was still more than half asleep, she knew that she felt an erection digging into her ass.

    Luna remembered exactly whose warm body it was.

    Her eyes flew open.

    The Vampire King covered her body with his own, and Luna couldn''t roll over at all.

    Ah, Luna remembered that the Vampire King had needed sex.

    When ites to Apollyon, who treated women as his ythings, everything was and will always be about sex.

    He was no different than the Blood Beast.

    Ravin must have left psychic imprints on Apollyon from all those millennia of possession and attachment.

    Luna didn''t really know anything about her husband.

    They didn''t even attempt to know each other before Apollyon''s sexual demands.

    The Vampire King didn''t talk anything about himself��childhood memories��or who he was before the High Priestess had punished him for not choosing her to be the Empress.

    Her husband was in a hurry to im her right away.

    Apollyon was seeking oblivion even sweeter than sleep.

    But was he sleeping behind her, though?

    No.

    As she stirred, Apollyon slipped one arm around her waist and drew her even deeper into the hard nes of his body.

    His hand also moved shamelessly inside her nightclothes and cupped the softness of her naked breasts.

    Although Luna wouldn''t have thought it physically possible, he grew even harder.

    Luna had turned and looked over her shoulder, and Apollyon''s face emerged, peering at her.

    The Vampire King was watching her with an intense gaze, much as arge beast of prey might watch the rabbit it was eyeing for dinner.

    "You must have spilled your seed on the concubine''s mouth, then?" Luna said sarcastically as she sank back to the pillows while Apollyon kept rubbing himself on her back.

    Luna squirmed in return to the bulge of his��

    Ah, Luna realized he wasn''t wearing any clothes anymore.

    The Vampire King was ready, but he wasn''t doing anything.

    "I waste," Apollyon said quietly as he suddenly turned on his side, away from her. "I didn''t do anything with the concubine."

    He rolled back over, and a minuteter, he was on his stomach.

    The Vampire King was obviously ufortable, but that didn''t stop his palm from kneading her breasts.

    Apollyon had his priorities straight.

    He continued, "I sent her to the healer to cure her splinters."

    Luna dug her fingernails into her thighs to anchor herself, trying so hard to refuse even to face him or acknowledge his existence.

    "I don''t really care, Apollyon." It was nothing less than an order, her tone a de that whispered warning.

    The Vampire King''s antics no longer entertained Luna. "Just put your cock inside me and be done with it because I''m sleeping."

    Luna got up from the bed and started removing her clothes to get it over with.

    The Vampire King''s blue eyes widened with shock as he abruptly sat up, pulled the hem of her shirt back, nudged her arm away from him, and pushed her back to lie on the bed. "I''m not going to fuck any woman when they are in a bad mood."

    There was an indefinably masculine scent wafting from his warm skin as he curled his hand around her stomach, just a fingerbreadth away from her quim.

    Apollyon said in an unnatural silence. "I abolished the Consortium."

    Luna blinked.

    She didn''t know what to respond to that.

    She had flinched a little, but that''s about it.

    Luna wouldn''t give this emotional maniptor the reaction he needed to make him feel in control over her.

    "The Consortium. The girls." Apollyon confessed slowly, and Luna could sense the sincerity of his words. "I gave them to Jon."

    Luna didn''t copse in relief��the air continued to hang heavy with the promise of menace.

    "What do you mean you gave them to Jon?" Luna asked as she finally turned and faced him.

    "He can do whatever the fuck he wanted with them." Amusement was evident in his tone, but it was tempered with a knife''s edge stroking against her skin.

    Clenching her fists, Luna was trying really hard to hold her fury back whenever the topic was about the Consortium. "You aren''t setting them free?"

    She looked into her husband''s perfect face and knew she had never met a more deadly being in her life except for the Archdemons, of course.

    If she displeased him, the Vampire King would kill her as easily as she might swat a fly if he really wanted to.

    Luna should be smart to remember that, no matter how the knowledge infuriated her.

    "I didn''t think they wanted to be set free, wife." Apollyon''s eyes shifted to look at her lips before moving back to her eyes. "They loved the lifestyle of a Harem girl."

    She unclenched her fists now that the danger was gone.

    The force of the blood rushing back into them made her white knuckles gain colour.

    "But for what reason do you keep the Harem then?" Luna asked, her eyebrows knitting together. "We could have spent the budget for the poor masses instead ofzy girls who didn''t want to work their ass off."

    "I''m nning to gift them to the nearby Realm in case some of their royalties needed young and beautiful concubines to spoil." The Vampire King''s expression remained unchanged as if what he had suggested was the most natural thing.

    "Apollyon. You really had a twisted view about women." Luna enunciated every word clearly so that it would sink in and pierce his patriarchal mindset that didn''t make any sense. "We are not objects or toys that you could y with and throw them away when you didn''t need them anymore."

    The Vampire King nodded as if he understood, but he had that distinctly satisfied expression on his face that made her want to stab her husband in the eye. "This is already a tradition, wife. The ancient Vampire Royalty before me had started this, and we were merely upholding them."

    "This is bullshit," Luna muttered.

    "You are the wife of the Vampire King, and in the Vampire Realm, we uphold certain archaic beliefs and traditions. A woman is created from the ribs of a man. A woman is the source of sin and temptation. Women didn''t know how to think and fend for themselves. We live in a vampire civilization where women and men aren''t equal and will never be even if you are my queen. "The Vampire King''s tone made it clear that that was all the answer she was going to get.

    "Then what do you call me, husband?" Luna asked in response to the silent mockery on his face. "Aren''t you in a little bit ashamed that it was I who saved you from the curse? A woman who must remain your subordinate and not your equal? Who must do the things you ordered like a child because I can''t think and fend for myself when I have been doing that my whole life?"

    "Ah." Open interest showed in his face. "You are different, wife."

    "What do you think made me different?" Luna asked.

    "I think you are a ck Moon Lilith descendant."

 Chapter 93 - Dominatrix*

    <h4>Chapter 93 - Dominatrix*</h4>

    ********************

    High Priestess

    *******************

    Luna''s eyes narrowed as she felt a slight hum of energy whizzing through her body when the Vampire King continued stroking her. "A descendant of a ck Moon Lilith woman?"

    "Lilith was Adam''s first wife created at the same time from the same y. It was said that Lilith had joined the lower demons, depriving men of their strength and dominating them, breaking their wills." The Vampire King exined as he yed with her dress''s fabric, giving it azy tug, as his hands continued to wander.

    "Lilith didn''t sumb to Adam''s power not even once, and instead, she was banished from Adam in Eden, as she is not a suitable helpmate for him. Lilith was in great contrast to Eve, who was created from one of Adam''s ribs to symbolizeplete submission. When ites to sexual congress, Lilith wanted to be on top, and that''s not allowed."

    She can''t even believe what she had heard from Apollyon''s mouth.

    "Sexual congress? On top?" Luna frowned, shaking her head in confusion. "I am not sure what you are talking about."

    "We don''t like to be dominated by women," Apollyon said harshly as if his statement was aw in the Vampire Realm. "You can''t be on top because that would mean that a man would let a woman control them and wrap them around their finger."

    Women controlling men and wrap them around their fingers?

    Ah, Luna had understood.

    That was the greatest bullshit she had ever heard so far.

    Luna wanted to reach up to him, needing that thick length of his to fill her up.

    She was determined to show her how a woman can effectively dominate a man.

    ******************

    Vampire King

    *******************

    "You, male vampires, don''t like your women on top?" Luna arched an eyebrow as she got up from the bed and maneuvered over him. "Hearing those words, Apollyon, makes me want to dominate you."

    Apollyon probably deemed her silly as he chuckled at Luna''s words, but the next moment made him halt.

    He couldn''t believe how fast the High Priestess moved.

    One minute she was facing him, staring into her eyes as theyy on the bed, the next thing he knew, Luna was already on top of him.

    Apollyon''s thick, hard length was between her thighs, and his erection wanted to get closer, his hips surging into her core.

    The Vampire King could feel the head of him probing through her wet quim.

    The High Priestess seized his hard flesh with one hand and took his balls in her other, both overflowing her palms.

    Apollyon didn''t expect that.

    The cords in his neck strained as his head had snapped backward, breath exploding from his mouth in surprise.

    *****************

    High Priestess

    *****************

    Crazed with lust and anger and frustration, Luna yanked her nightgown up around her hips and straddled his thighs.

    She reached for his cock, held him up, and sat on him hard.

    She gasped for air.

    Luna had sat on top of the Vampire King''s cock unapologetically, bringing him inside her.

    Both of them cried out as she took all of him right to his pelvic bone.

    The Vampire King was a tremendous presence in her body, stretching her until she thought she might tear.

    Luna could feel Apollyon''s cock filling her, and she found it hard to breathe.

    "Luna!" Apollyon''s voice vibrated as he called out her name, his groans filling out the room.

    She inhaled deeply and stilled, her thighs straining as the inside of her struggled to adjust to him.

    The foreign object was hard and sharp, tearing her apart and cramping her insides.

    She flinched at the pain, whimpering, but that didn''t stop her from getting what she wanted.

    Luna rode him hard even if it felt like she was ripped into a thousand pieces.

    *****************

    Vampire King

    ****************

    Apollyon brought his hands up behind her back, feeling the shifting muscles and the expansion andpression of her ribs as she panted heavily.

    When he attempted to lift her off him, Luna pushed him back to the bed roughly, forcing him back on the mattress.

    The Vampire King fell on the messy covers, his arms and legs sying out as if he were giving himself to her without reservations.

    Without restrictions.

    "Luna, stop." Apollyon gritted her teeth as he held both of her wrists to keep her from hurting herself even further. "It''s too tight. Don''t move yet."

    The High Priestess was all over him, her insides wrapping his cock so tight.

    Luna didn''t listen.

    "Luna, wait." He growled as he can''t help but surge upward, matching her downward motions. "Ah."

    She started to move off of him.

    His hands dipped under her butt, tucked her closer, and then his erection pushed into her, hitting the right ce.

    *****************

    High Priestess

    *****************

    Luna closed her eyes, turned off her brain, and let her body go.

    "You''re so tight." Apollyon groaned.

    His lips parted, and it showed his perfect white teeth, his fangs growing. "I... feel you all over my body."

    The Vampire King was panting, flushed.

    Apollyon was shockingly aroused, his erection straining, enormous.

    Hell, Luna would have been intimidated by the sheer size of him, but she was riled up and out of control.

    If Luna had been using her brain properly, she would have backed away from Apollyon.

    As Apollyon''s hands squeezed her knees, his eyes dted.

    The Vampire King''s heat and his massive erection as he wrapped her in his musky scent promised her one hell of a wild, erotic ride.

    And in the breathless moment between them, Luna suddenly hated all his fallen-angel beauty, his smooth skin, and his delicious body.

    Luna despised the proud length of him, that sexual tool he used so much on his concubines.

    And still, she wanted him.

    With a sh of movement, Luna raked his chest with her nails.

    She sat on his hips and continued to ride him until he had a hard time breathing.

    Luna didn''t care about anything except that ce where their bodies met as she nted her hands on his shoulders and moved up against him.

    Apollyon''s chest heaved, and his abdomen clenched so hard the muscles threw shadows.

    Luna slid down on his erection and came forward and then repeated the motions over and over again.

    Her rhythm was a slow glide, each descent stretching her, each rise coating him with her body''s silky response.

    The friction was electric, and the burst of pleasure she felt helped her ept him more easily.

    Apollyon moaned with approval and pressed his body closer against hers.

    With increasing dominance, she rode him, taking what she wanted, the thickness and the heat and the length of him creating a wild, twisting knot of energy deep in her core.

    Luna opened her eyes and looked down at him.

    Apollyon reached out and pulled her hair, her silver strands tangling in his fingers as she arched up against him.

    He said as he mped his hands on either side of her face. "Let me kiss you."

    *****************

    High Priestess

    *****************

    The Vampire King''s lips parted, and Luna caught a nce at the tips of his fangs.

    Apollyon was a picture of male ecstasy.

    A slight shine of sweat covered his broad chest and shoulders.

    His head was kicked back, his chin high, his dark hair falling on the pillow, his lips parted.

    The Vampire King was watching her through lowered lids, eyes lingering on her face and her breasts and where they were joined.

    As if she utterly enthralled him.

    She looked at his bare chest.

    Four scratches streaked down her husband''s pectoral muscles.

    "No." Luna moaned as she held his wrist and pushed them back down to the bed so that he would release her grip on her silver hair. "We don''t have to kiss."

    The Vampire King''s legs shot up under her in a quick angry surge, toppling her onto his chest.

    Apollyon rubbed his arousal in tight circles, stroking her, making her bloom for him.

    As Luna fell on him, his arms wrapped around her.

    He stroked her from her waist to her thighs��anything that he could reach--with his hands, and Luna moved with him, surging, arching, feeling the bare skin of his chest against her breasts and stomach.

    Luna heaved on top of him, her breath shooting out of her lungs in a rush.

    The Vampire King moved and lifted her so quickly as he leaned back to the headboard--without separating their sexes--into a much morefortable position.

    Luna struggled as she shifted her body to feel more of him, and it made him groan, his chest vibrating against hers as he made the sexy sound.

    She raised her head and watched, mesmerized, as he licked one of her nipples in circles before taking it into his mouth.

    Luna cried out in pleasure.

    As the Vampire King suckled her, his hand slid up her inner thigh.

    A buzz, like she had too much blood, hummed through her.

    She inhaled deeply and caught a splendid, seductive scent.

    Dark.

    Spicy.

    Lush.

 Chapter 94 - Failure*

    <h4>Chapter 94 - Failure*</h4>

    *****************

    High Priestess

    ******************

    Luna had leaned lower, her hair falling on his bare chest.

    The Vampire King''s hand trailed from her body.

    "I want to take over." He rasped softly in a gruff rumble. "I want to be on top."

    She stared down at the very masculine face as she hovered above him. "No."

    Apollyon''s hands slid along her arms to grasp her wrists, yanked them closer to him as loud growls tore from his throat.

    The sound was surprising, so scary and vicious that it froze Luna with instant terror.

    The Vampire King growled softly. "It''s my turn."

    Apollyon''s nostrils red as he inhaled, and a deep groan rumbled from his parted lips when Luna continued to gyrate her hips on top of him as if she hadn''t heard hismand.

    His hand hesitated on the curve of her breast long enough to make her gasp before it ttened over her ribs, then inched lower to her hip.

    "You''re the one I want to fuck so bad you make me ache." He growled at her. "I want to take over."

    Apollyon tried to adjust and bring her underneath him, but the Luna had grabbed both his wrists and pinned them to the bed, holding them with each of her hands. "No. I don''t want you to."

    **************

    Vampire King

    **************

    Apollyon grabbed Luna by her shoulders.

    He wanted her t on her back on the bed to where she belonged while he drove inside her while he stayed on top, pinning her down with his body toplete submission.

    Luna shook her head in disapproval and even mped her palm over his mouth before he could even protest further.

    Luna pushed Apollyon''s wrists back to the bed as if that simple act could prevent him from taking over.

    "You shall stay on the bed, husband," Luna hissed in a warning.

    "Luna," Apollyon growled. "Then let me see your body."

    **************

    High Priestess

    **************

    Luna gasped when the Vampire King''s hand slid between them and fisted her nightdress.

    Luna tried to pull it downwards, but Apollyon moved faster, yanking the material all the way up her body to her neck and pushed away from her frantic hands.

    The Vampire King''s hips pumped fast, hard, and deep when he had sessfully removed them.

    Apollyon drove in and out of her quim with a wild abandon that drove her insane.

    Pleasure notched higher, nearly unbearable, and she knew she was going toe.

    Just him hammering his cock inside her was enough to draw a climax from her.

    One hand moved to her chest and squeezed, sliding down her body then diving between her thighs.

    Luna panted as she cried out, her vaginal muscles clenching around the thick shaft.

    *************

    Vampire King

    *************

    Luna rode him until he felt the pressure at the back of his spine.

    He was about to explode from the orgasm.

    It wouldn''t really take him much when his lust for his wife threatened to overwhelm him that he even thought about using a concubine.

    The pain was turning into pleasure as Luna whimpered, chasing for that seemingly elusive peak.

    She rode him so hard--moved up and down--as she ced her hand on his chest, wing at his stomach.

    It didn''t take long for the Vampire King to see stars around his vision when the climax began.

    In a sh of lightning, Apollyon exploded, and the force of the release pitched him headlong into a void where only pulsing and white heat existed.

    When he came back down from his orgasm, the High Priestess''s heavy-lidded eyes were grave, her face tight and dark.

    Luna was like a total stranger, utterly removed from him.

    The High Priestess rolled off of him and went back to her side of the bed.

    Just like that, Luna strived to bring herself under control.

    Her breathing was even as her body grew still.

    *****************

    High Priestess

    *****************

    Luna felt an answering rush of wetness between her legs as if the fragranceing from the Vampire King''s essence was simr to a touch or a kiss.

    The Vampire King thrust more deeply as if this time, the urgency was much stronger.

    He surged upward, and Luna arched up and down to the pleasure, letting the heat flow throughout her body.

    The luscious scenting from Apollyon''s body intensified as he pumped until all Luna could see, smell, and touch was the Vampire King alone.

    As Luna watched her husband''s orgasm, Apollyon''s brilliant blue eyes stared intensely between her legs and then shifted to her face.

    After it was over, Apollyon called out her name in a hoarse question.

    Apollyon hade apart so easily, his tongue sliding from between his kissable lips to swipe across his lower one.

    The release shattered the Vampire King, but Luna tried to keep going.

    Apollyon hade undone, but he continued to thrust into her, biting his lip.

    There seemed to be no end to her focus until she grew tired when Apollyon had already taken his pleasure, and she hadn''t.

    Not yet.

    Her outrage steamed out of her ears as she pictured him having sex with someone else.

    Lashing out seemed like the only outlet for the kind of power surging through her body.

    She envisioned the hands of other women grabbing onto his shoulders as he fucked them stupid, just as she had.

    Luna''s fatalistic thoughts had already invaded her mind, disrupting her climb to rapture.

    How did shepare to all the other concubines?

    Her excitement slowly died.

    Did her quim felt as good as his other Harem girls?

    Will she make him feel satisfied in sexual congresspared to the girls he had bedded then discarded?

    Her other beautiful consorts who had experienced and tasted him?

    Did she excite him as much as the others?

    Now, she wasn''t sure.

    Luna was self-conscious and unsure about her appeal.

    She didn''t like it at all.

    Was The Vampire King really thinking about her as he reached his orgasm?

    Wishing she were as violent or as sweet as someone else?

    Her hips ceased their frantic gyrations.

    Maybe this wasn''t such a great idea.

    Maybe she should stop this and leave.

    Did Apollyon''s cock enjoy her, though?

    Had he enjoyed other women more?

    Softer women?

    Lusher?

    Her grip loosened the hottest mes of her passion cooling.

    Why was she doing this to herself?

    Why did she care what he thought?

    Luna''s control evaporated under a st of fury so great she was rendered speechless.

    Did he want her?

    He didn''t know her.

    And he''d been with another concubine just earlier��

    Luna imagined him pleasuring other bodies that belong to his Consortium, and her intense sexual drive from earlier dwindled.

    In the aftermath, she was ashamed, and tears stung her eyes.

    She moved to get off his hips and realized she still hadn''te.

    Luna was in a daze when Apollyon had spilled his seed in her, but she felt nothing.

    She hadn''t reached the same heavenly experience as her husband.

    She only felt hurt and sore.

    Hurt and embarrassed because she probably did something wrong.

    She detached herself from him with a nk expression on her face.

    She didn''t want to make it obvious that the sex didn''t make her happy or made her drown in pleasure at all.

    Was this the sex was all about?

    It didn''t seem fun when it was Ravin who did that to her.

    Something was wrong with her.

    She was too inexperienced that it was so embarrassing.

    Luna wanted to cry in humiliation, but she tried to hold it in.

    Shey back down to the bed and closed her eyes, turning away from him that only Apollyon could see her back.

    She was a failure as a wife.

    "Did youe?" Apollyon asked beside her as he caressed her elbow.

    Luna flinched and moved away to the very edge of the mattress, and if some servant would have seen her, they could tell that she was about to fall off the bed.

    "Yes." She said shortly��a little bit sharply��because she didn''t know how to reply.

    Luna''s voice was soft, sad to the point of cracking. "It was��"

    "How was it?"

    "It was�� fun." Luna thought it wasn''t fun, and it hurt like a motherfucker, but she didn''t want to let Apollyon know what a failure she was because she couldn''te like she was supposed to.

    Like what a woman was supposed to.

    It was depressing.

    She didn''t want to talk about it anymore.

    "I want to sleep. I made youe." She breathed a deep sigh. "You were happy now, right?"

    "Yes. I liked it very much when you dominate me, even if that was against the rules." The Vampire King stretched out next to her and smoothed her hair back.

    "Vampire males, we didn''t usually make women lead during sexual congress. But maybe, we could do it differently. Nobody was watching us anyway. It was only the two of us."

    She could not rely on him to soothe her.

    Her life depended on her keeping it together.

    Tears slid down her cheeks like a slippery slope.

    "Right." Luna dismissed him as she recoiled from his touch, wiping her eyes. "I�� I''m tired, Apollyon."

    Luna thought she didn''t want to do it anymore.

    It was degrading for her, and she didn''t want to talk with him any further either.

    The rejection didn''t even faze him.

    The Vampire King didn''t know how to read the atmosphere. "Wife."

    "Just please shut up, Your Highness." Luna reached for the nket to cover up with, figuring her transparent nightdress couldn''t even do half the job. "I''m sorry. I''m just tired."

 Chapter 95 - Sleep*

    <h4>Chapter 95 - Sleep*</h4>

    ********************

    The Vampire King

    ********************

    Apollyon watched his wife sleep as hey on his side, with his head propped on the one hand.

    He wondered how it was possible for a virgin High Priestess to be so inexperienced, wanton, and dominant at the same time.

    The High Priestess had acted like she didn''t even want him at first, no matter how hard he tried to persuade her to give her virginity up.

    She was adamant about resisting his seduction.

    Luna didn''t even want to engage more unless it was on her own terms.

    His wife had tried to y him for her amusement, and that was why Apollyon tried to use another concubine as a way to show his Empress that he was the one in control and she should abide by his rules.

    Everything should be on his terms, of course.

    He was the Vampire King.

    If he were honest with himself, Apollyon would never cheat on his wife the moment he used his magic to mour the red-haired concubine to look like his precious Luna.

    ''It didn''t really count as cheating, would it?'' He told himself. ''They have the same face after all.''

    Apollyon thought that this logic was reasonable enough, but boy, he thought wrong.

    He didn''t understand why Luna was enraged to see him with the concubine together when he hadn''t even started anything yet.

    Luna''s eyes had turned gold, and she had gone quiet as if her soul wasn''t inside her body anymore.

    The Vampire King had panicked when he couldn''t sense her.

    He tried to probe her mind, call her soul, and bring her back to normal.

    The High Priestess had gone cold, empty, and brutal over the concubine.

    Luna was almost unrecognizable, but at least she still had the conscience not to kill her replica.

    The High Priestess was dark with jealousy that her power alone had threatened to overwhelm him, almost defeated him.

    Apollyon had underestimated his Empress.

    He wouldn''t make the same mistake again.

    She had scolded him, and it made him mad when she started talking about reversing the roles.

    What if it was Luna who had done ''mour magic'' on some other man as an object of her pleasure or worse, what if she ran off with an Archdemon and they lived happily ever after, in Hell, leaving him alone to die without her?

    Apollyon would probably chase his wife to Hell and back, and that''s a fact.

    He watched her wife in her element��where she truly belonged��and that was on his bed.

    Apollyon would probably kill anyone who would throw her Empress anyscivious stares, or any man who engaged in even the slightest flirty banter will be part of his Kill-List.

    Any man who would see her naked body will be beheaded, no questions asked.

    She was his.

    He still had that fantasy of locking her inside the ivory tower so that no one else would be able to im her and take her away from him.

    The High Priestess was his strength and weakness.

    He would keep an eye on her at all times.

    He can''t afford to lose his blood, mate��his only source of nutrition and pleasure.

    His.

    Luna had her cheek pressed to the pillow, sprawling on her stomach on top of the rumpled sheets.

    Her hands were curled into loose fists on each side of her head.

    Apollyon couldn''t resist but y with the strands of her silver hair as he stroked them down the graceful curve of her back and the soft swell of one creamy buttock.

    Even in a deep sleep, Luna had shivered at his light touch.

    With her eyes still closed, she grabbed the counterpane to cover and shield herself from the ''chill'', which had nothing to do with the weather.

    The Vampire King shook his head in disapproval and pulled the sleek satin down to see her naked back once again.

    He waited for her wife to wake up so they could do it again, but this time, he should be the one on top and giving her the pleasure she deserved.

    Come to think of it, when Luna was riding him, Apollyon noticed that she didn''t scream that much and she didn''t look too happy.

    Apollyon wondered what was wrong.

    He asked him, but she refused to answer, saying she was just tired.

    Apollyon didn''t try to read her emotions either because he couldn''t ess her mind.

    Luna was getting better at blocking him from her thoughts.

    Apollyon could hardly me her for sumbing to exhaustion.

    The High Priestess had little enough sleep for the past few weeks because of her mission to get rid of the Blood Beast''s curse.

    He also liked to think that maybe she got tired because of his sexual prowess and his seduction.

    Perhaps, he was too big for her, and his size had hurt too much that she imed she couldn''t do it again.

    Perhaps, she was sore.

    He was too big.

    It was his fault.

    Apollyon''s thoughts trailed off as he remembered something niggling at the back of his mind.

    He gazed down at the bed, and the nket had slid halfway onto the floor, revealing both the sheets that had blood smears in them.

    Apollyon''s disbelieving stare slowly drifted back to Luna''s face.

    There she was with her long and shiny silver hair streaming over their pillow and her cheeks rosy with sleep.

    The High Priestess eyes'' were closed, her mouth slightly open, and her breathing was deep and even.

    She had longshes that curled up to her eyelids, wayward strands of hair fell over her knitted brows.

    His wife had looked as innocent as a newborn babe.

    Apollyon swallowed and cleared his throat as he settled back into the side of his bed.

    After peering over his wife''s sleeping face, he sighed heavily, abandoning all hope that he could have her again.

    Apollyon realized he wanted her more than ever now that he had imed her for himself.

    His lips couldn''t help but curl in a victorious smile.

    He calmed his cock down as he focused on the cosy rhythm of Luna''s soft snoring, lulling him to rxation.

    He needed to drive erotic thoughts out of his mind.

    Apollyon didn''t need to tease himself by driving his mind to madness with his lust for his Empress.

    The High Priestess moved and turned to his side of the bed, slipping one arm around his waist.

    She drew him to her tightly into the lush cup of her body, giving him a warm hug that spread all over him, reaching the depths of his cold, cold heart.

    In turn, Apollyon smiled as he wrapped his arm around her small frame, liking the softness of her naked breasts pressed to his chest.

    Apollyon ced one leg of his over her thighs possessively.

    He felt territorial all of a sudden.

    How can this one female made him feel all sorts of emotions in a single moment?

    Groaning beneath his breath, he nced downward at his cock.

    Luna would never believe that he wasn''t to me for this.

    She was the one who initiated contact first.

    He just hugged her back as a sign of respect so that she wouldn''t be embarrassed like the good husband he was.

    Shuddering with lust, Apollyon whispered her name in her ear to gently wake her up, but her eyebrows only knitted to a scowl as she released a disgruntled moan, then nestled deeper into him.

    The sheet still draped around her thighs, and Apollyon frowned at it, treating it as a blockage of his vision to paradise.

    He pulled it downpletely and threw it to the ground.

    The graceful curve of her neck and the delicate wings of her corbone enticed him along with the dusky shadows of her nipples pressed to his chest.

    He licked his lips as he inhaled her scent.

    Luna smelled like warmvender--��a fragrance so erotic and so irresistible to a man''s nostrils--feminine and musky with sleep, which made him feel more aroused.

    The Vampire King had always prided himself on his self-control when it came to a woman.

    Every seductive word he uttered, every seductive kiss, every expert stroke of his fingertips was carefully calcted to bring about his lover''s loss of control.

    Not his.

    But here, Apollyon was on the brink of losing that prided self-control with little more than an artless touch from the High Priestess.

    Sunlight had already drifted through the window, signifying a new morning for both of them as a married couple.

    He studied his wife once more.

    The High Priestess'' parted lips were as lush and tempting as rose petals.

    He wanted to bite them with his fangs to wake her up.

    ''I promise I''ll be the perfect gentleman.''

    His words haunted him like a ghost who wouldn''t just leave him be.

    Hadn''t he told her that he wasn''t in the habit of making promises he couldn''t keep?

    It would be unscrupulous of him to satisfy his own carnal appetites by stealing a kiss while Luna was vulnerable, defenceless, and asleep.

    He moved closer and bent his head, gently brushing her lips with his own.

    Apollyon will apologizeter after he got what he wanted.

    *****************

    High Priestess

    ****************

    Luna was being kissed by a vampire who had been born to the art of seduction.

    The Vampire King''s lips were soft as a petal as it slid into her mouth over and over, using just the right amount of pressure to coax them apart.

    Her eyes fell shut.

    If this was a dream, she never wanted to wake up.

    But she could not help stirring when he entered her mouth with his tongue.

    Her hips arched towards something hard of their own ord.

    His tongue toyed with hers��teasing, tantalizing, stroking.

    Desire stirred thickly in her veins, pulsing in secret ces she didn''t want to mention.

    Hands traced the curve of her throat and wrapped his hand around her neck, moving to the delicate re of her corbone down to the aching swell of her breasts.

    He gently cupped one of them, testing its weight in his palm and flicking her nipple with the pad of his thumb and forefinger.

    She moaned as he sucked softly on the very tip of her tongue, the provocative motion sending a shiver of yearning deep into her womb.

    Luna might have been able to convince herself she was still dreaming, but she was sure she was alive and awake just by the feel of her senses tingling from the tender mastery of Apollyon''s mouth and hands.

    She couldn''t feign sleep throughout the whole ordeal.

    Luna''s small fingers clung to his shoulders, and she pushed him so she could look directly into his eyes.

    "Husband," Luna said in a gentle reprimand, her voice husky from sleep. "I would like to tell you something."

    "What is it, wife?" The Vampire King looked like he had just awoken from his fantasies as his hooded blue eyesnded on her.

    His lethargic gaze had narrowed as he stared at her eyes, then back to her lips, then back to her eyes as if he had just seen her for the first time.

    He appeared so lost, dazed, and confused by his lust.

    Tilting his head, Apollyon licked his lips before asking, "Do you have a problem?"

    Luna blushed, but her husband''s query brought a scalding wave of heat to her cheeks.

    "Are you all right?" The Vampire King searched her face with what could easily have been mistaken for genuine concern. "I fear I might have been somewhat�� over-vigorous in my attentionsst night. It was thoughtless of me."

    "I think something was wrong with me." Luna''s voice was small as she admitted what had been bothering her before she fell asleep. "Perhaps, you might want to discard me now before you proceed."

    Apollyon''s eyebrows knitted as his face scrunched in a scowl. "Why would I want to discard you?"

    He had to know.

    Luna couldn''t bear the brunt of this shame alone.

    Apollyon had to know the truth.

    "Umm��" Luna yfully scratched his broad shoulders with her nails as her gaze focused on an invisible point behind him.

    She was so embarrassed she couldn''t look him in the eye.

    "I didn''te yesterday."

 Chapter 96 - Orgasmic*

    <h4>Chapter 96 - Orgasmic*</h4>

    *****************

    High Priestess

    *****************

    "I didn''te yesterday."

    Luna didn''t dare to look him in the eye and risk letting him see just how broken she had felt over what had happened between them.

    "What?" Apollyon appeared taken aback.

    The Vampire King lifted her chin, forcing her to move her gaze back to him.

    The High Priestess nced up at him as she swallowed audibly before her mismatched eyes shifted to his mouth.

    "Something is wrong with me," Luna repeated as she continued to scratch the corded muscles on Apollyon''s shoulders.

    The Vampire King frowned, scratching his jaw in confusion.

    Apollyon didn''t understand her words at first.

    It didn''t make any sense that his wife hadn''te yesterday.

    It took a few seconds before the words sunk into his mind, hazy with lust.

    "Why didn''t you tell me?" The Vampire King breathed his wife''s name into the honeyed chalice of her mouth, tangling hisrge hands in her silver silken hair.

    Luna kissed him back with artless passion.

    She wasn''t that experienced, but she was a fast learner.

    Her kisses never failed to arouse him.

    Luna lifted her head, taking a break from the drowning sensation of the kiss to get herself under control.

    "I am defective," Luna said.

    "I''m not ming you for noting with me, my Empress. A man of my station should have a better rein over his emotions and prioritize you first. I can assure you it won''t happen again."

    Instead of relief from the Vampire King''s assurance, Luna felt loss and regret.

    "I''m not like one of your concubines."

    "No, it''s not you, wife. It would have helped if you had told me yesterday. It''s my fault, and I apologize. We should change that right away." The Vampire King''s response was something between a groan and a growl, sending a heady thrill through her.

    Apollyon''s mouth dipped into hers, giving her a tender and erotic kiss, while his hand trailed from her chest to her stomach down to that raw silk between her thighs.

    "I can''t live with that mistake. I can''t even do right by you." Apollyon muttered as a muscle twitched in his eye.

    He looked angry, but Luna was relieved to know that her husband had not med her for the mishap instead of saying rude things, nor did he ridicule her for herck of response. "As punishment for finishing earlier than you, I should make you orgasm fifty times before myself today."

    Luna gasped, not knowing how to react. "Your Highness, I don''t think that''s a good idea."

    Fifty times?

    "That sounded scary.

    "Wife. Why are you scared?" Apollyon growled as if he couldn''t bear the thought of his wife being afraid of him.

    She should feel safe and protected in his arms. "It wasn''t like I was going to kill you fifty times. Don''t worry. You will only feel pleasure."

    ''Pleasure?''

    Luna''s confusion grew.

    Will she manage to feel that with her husband''s help?

    Maybe, there was nothing wrong with her then.

    Perhaps, she couldn''t achieve that climax alone, by herself.

    For the first time, Luna realized she had her array of wiles as the Vampire King''s wife��a power over him that did not require either experience or expertise.

    He will give her pleasure.

    That''s the most important thing rather than wallowing over her perceived ws when ites to sexual congress.

    Luna was a hopeless beginner in the art of making love, and she had to learn fast.

    She had to be better at itpared to those ugly concubines--so that her husband wouldn''t leave her and choose other women to pleasure him.

    Luna was determined that Apollyon must choose her every night now that she had given up her status as the High Priestess.

    She wasn''t the High Priestess anymore.

    That wasn''t her title.

    Luna was the Vampire King''s Empress.

    Apollyon''s one and only wife.

    Anyone who tried to take over her status will be punished severely without thought.

    "We are not getting out of bed if I can''t achieve that, wife," Apollyon told her with a determined expression on his face.

    Giving her a smirk while caressing her cheek, he continued. "I want to make you so tired that you can''t even talk. I want you to pass out with my sexual prowess that you are going to wake up next week."

    "Apollyon."

    That sounded like a threat.

    Luna had never imagined that her husband could be so gentle and so ruthlessly persuasive all at the same time.

    Apollyon pulled her thighs apart just as he had lured her lips apart, his fingers breaking--petting--through the softness of herher lips with extra care.

    It pleased the Vampire King very much to know that Luna was ready.

    Herher curls had turned wetter because of her essence.

    Apollyon''s powerful body tensed and shuddered as he dipped one finger between those tender petals.

    Luna''s fangs elongated.

    She moaned deep in her throat before she buried her face against his shoulder and sank her fangs into him, licking more of his blood as she felt a wondrous sensation that threatened to shatter her to oblivion.

    The pleasure was too familiar, but she found it hard to find a word that would perfectly describe it.

    Luna felt intense bliss, agony, and desperate longing, all rolled into one specific emotion.

    She felt like she couldn''t wait for another second to reach the peak, whatever it is, yet Luna wanted it to go on and on forever.

    "Apollyon, please," Luna whispered hoarsely.

    She didn''t even know what she was asking for.

    Luna only knew that if she failed to get it this time, she might as well die.

    Apollyon knew exactly what she wanted.

    His devilish fingers had spread and teased and stroked until she was squirming beneath his hand.

    Luna didn''t know what Apollyon had turned her into.

    She only knew that she yearned his touch as she raced for that pleasure so out of her reach, making her mad with lust.

    Making her addicted to his body and his blood.

    The Vampire King was like both an angel and a demon, determined to own her soul, relentlessly urging her towards both torture and paradise.

    He gently flicked his thumb over that little bud, which settled inside her quim, and for one moment, Luna felt like she was over the edge of a cliff, suspended into that precipice of heaven and hell.

    A shattering wave of rhapsody broke over her, tumbling into the abyss of pleasure with only Apollyon''s lips to quiet her soft broken cries as she reached orgasm.

    The Vampire King was still ruthless with his pursuits, still inserting a finger inside her, in and out, stretching her, pushing her to the limit.

    Her thighs shook as it shivered from Apollyon''s onught.

    Apollyon''s lips danced over her, stroking her nipples with his free hand as they strained beneath his exquisite touch.

    Luna wanted his mouth on her nipples--everywhere at once-- as his hands enjoyed her, ying her like an instrument.

    Would that be too much to ask?

    "Yes, yes, yes." She released her grip on his neck, and her hand moved, squeezing his butt and urging him to do more. "More, give me more."

    Apollyon did so, his one hand still kneading her breasts and the other one still pumping relentlessly inside her quim.

    He inserted another finger, filling her up and propelling her higher.

    Things were different now, she realized.

    Before, when she and Apollyon had married each other, she hadn''t truly pondered the idea of him with the Consortium because he hadn''t mattered to her.

    His opinion hadn''t mattered.

    She could have left him, but she couldn''t.

    Not when her soul was tied to him forever.

    Now, despite everything, despite what he had done, she still liked him.

    It was crazy despite the tant disrespect and betrayal.

    Why did she still want him?

    Maybe it was the blood bond.

    They couldn''t live without each other.

    Her husband''s erection was already swollen and long that it had reached over his stomach, which was deliciously corded with muscle.

    Luna''s mouth had watered as she watched how the Vampire King''s hard and thick cock deliciously rubbed her thigh, and the picture made her even wetter and hotter.

    Apollyon grabbed her knees and pried her thighs apart, jerking her forward while inserting himself in the V.

    "I was angry at myself that I couldn''t even make youe the first time I had you." The Vampire King arched into her, his erection brushing against her core. "Do you know how I am going to get rid of this anger, wife?"

    She gasped but didn''t pull away.

    "Please, Apollyon." She hated how breathless she sounded.

    How needy.

    Before she could say anything more, Apollyon''s lips meshed into hers, and hisrge body moved on top of her a secondter, mounting her and pushing her back to the bed.

    "Apollyon," she repeated as she felt his cock probing at her entrance.

    Her husband thrust deep, all the way inside.

    Both of them moaned and panted at the rapture.

    The Vampire King pulled out and sank even deeper.

    Luna wed at his back when he pulled out again then sank his cock to the hilt.

    She wrapped her legs around his waist, locking her ankles together.

    Now, the disruptive thoughts had begun to circle like vultures preying on the carcass of her mind.

    Did he prefer his women to keep their legs off him and opened wide as they settled on each side of him?

    Should she drape her legs over his shoulders?

    "Luna," Apollyon called out savagely as he cupped her cheeks, forcing her attention on him. "Are you trying to piss me off?"

    Luna shook her head, incapable of speech.

    What was his problem?

    She did give him pleasure, didn''t she?

    Or maybe the way her legs were ced locked around her waist wasn''t correct?

    The Vampire King growled low in his throat, and Luna brought her focus back to his face. "Don''t look away from me. This is an order."

    Luna nodded in agreement.

    Apollyon had thrust forward again, but this time, it was a painfully, agonizingly slow.

    It was heaven.

    It was hell.

    It was everything and nothing at the same time because she needed more.

    Luna had to have more of him.

    Apollyon''s eyes glowed, hypnotizing her, holding her captive.

    Luna cried out when he moved inside her, the sound echoing around the marriage chamber.

    "You are so beautiful." The Vampire King said. "You are so wet for me."

    Her husband''s words were as electrifying as his caresses that Luna found herself drowning in him.

    "Apollyon, Apollyon. Apollyon." she chanted.

    He released her jaw to grab onto her hips and squeezed her thighs so tightly her bones almost snapped as he increased the intensity of his thrusts.

    Just like that, Luna climaxed again, and this time the Vampire King shook as he joined her, jetting hot seed inside her.

    Apollyon stilled and then copsed on top of her.

    She lost her breath and would haveined about how heavy he was, but her husband had quickly rolled to the side, locking his arms around her so that she couldn''t move away.

    "I finished at the same time. You did. Once I have you. I find it hard. To restrain myself." Apollyon said between heavy breaths. "I will give you one minute to rx. Because we are going to do it again."

    +++

    Luna felt like her soul had been catapulted out of her body from the orgasm she experienced from the Vampire King''s thrusts.

    It was a sensation so intense that she had passed out.

    Her spirit had floated into a ce she didn''t recognize--a ck hole--where the concept of time and space didn''t exist.

    Was it a dream, then?

    Surprisingly, Luna didn''t feel fear or panic as she let her body rx, embodying water movement as she rode its gentle waves.

    She couldn''t see in this pitch-ck element even if her eyes were wide open.

    Her instincts were telling her to wait for the goddess.

 Chapter 97 - Goddess Wisdom*

    <h4>Chapter 97 - Goddess'' Wisdom*</h4>

    ******************

    The High Priestess

    *******************

    Goddess.

    Right.

    Luna had to surrender this power to Hecate.

    It was time to give her powers back to where it truly belonged now that she had chosen to give her virginity to the Vampire King.

    Maybe, in the long run, she wouldn''t need it that much when she had the Vampire King to protect her from danger if he was indeed loyal to her like he had promised.

    ''Or was it just the sex talk?'' Luna grimaced at the sudden thought.

    Well, every decision made had a price to pay.

    The ckness surrounding her wriggled and wrapped around her phantom body in a state of unrest as if it was a separate entity sensing another powerful beinging.

    Luna had be like a spectre as she exploded into tiny fragments floating into the void as the atmosphere danced to dark red, green and blue hues before she became intact once again.

    For Luna, it was a message, signalling that the Goddess of the Underworld was near.

    The thick grey fog pulled at her as the different colours cast dark shadows on her pure white aura.

    Her mind spun--she was everywhere and nowhere at the same time--as Lunanded into a heavy thud.

    Luna lifted her head from the cold, marble floors and saw the Goddess of the Underworld sitting on her golden egg-shaped throne.

    She had weird-looking servants behind her--a huge grey blob with shiny flippers, small, beady eyes and sharp little fangs on their beaks.

    If a dolphin, a seal, a penguin and a manatee crossbreed, they would look exactly like these creatures.

    The monsters stood tall and proud with their bowed heads, settling their flippers in front of their stomach as they waited for their master''s orders.

    Hecate wore a purple long-slitted gown that almost reached her waist as she crossed her legs in front of her.

    The Goddess of the Underworld looked gorgeous as always, her dark wavy hair flowing like silk on behind her shoulders as it framed her heart-shaped face.

    Hecate had that knowing smirk on her face as she continued to stare at each other.

    She didn''t speak, not even acknowledging her existence in her throne room filled with orange and red tones like a rising phoenix.

    Luna''s brows rose in surprise when their eyes met.

    She immediately ced both palms on the floor and bowed her head as an act of worship. "My goddess Hecate, I am honoured to be in your presence."

    Was it time for the Goddess to take back her powers?

    "Luna, my child. That''s enough. You can stand up now.''" When Hecate called out again, Luna raised her head as she watched the Goddess stroke her small dog with its mangy orange fur,rge green eyes, massive canines and arge head that wasn''t proportionate to its body.

    Luna didn''t want to say it out loud, but the dog was ugly.

    "Watching you with the Vampire King frustrates me sometimes." Hecate nced down and cooed at her dog as if momentarily forgetting his existence.

    But then, Luna had sunk in her brain that it was her that the Goddess was talking to and not the dog.

    Luna guessed her box of chaos and surprises for the day hadn''t entirely run out, then.

    "You were watching us?" It was awkward standing in front of the goddess while she sat on her throne.

    The space was toorge that it felt like the walls were closing in on her instead of the opposite.

    She felt so alone in this vast ass-space without her husband. "You mean, you were watching us while we��"

    The Goddess of Magic cleared her throat as if to halt the flow of this conversation.

    There was no need to figure out the answer when the subtle blush of Hecate''s caramel cheeks already answered her queries.

    As Hecate uncrossed her legs, she stood up from her fancy seat, ced the dog on the chair''s cushions and descended the stairs carefully, her heels clicking on the marble floor.

    Luna almost stepped backwards by the sheer power of Hecate when she neared, but Luna had stood her ground as she sashayed towards her.

    There was nothing to be afraid of from the Goddess she had sworn to serve.

    "What I was saying was, Luna, you have to release guilt and shame you felt around the Vampire King as these emotions can attract a punishment attack. Like how you were flying in these gxies with me, you must arise and see a higher point of view. Heal your heart, child, and free yourself from this toxic mindset. It would help if you did things that would strengthen the blood bond instead of subconsciously destroying it because of fear that the Vampire King would hurt you first. You are constantly putting your mind through Hell from these perceived fears."

    Hecate''s expression softened, and she had that serene look on her face when she tucked the wayward strands of Luna''s silver hair in a maternal gesture.

    "Love is something so fragile and precious in the early stages, and there is a need to understand each other better as a couple. When it finally breaks after you keep on trying to push it away, you have nothing to me but yourself."

    The Goddess of the Underworld sounded concerned, like what a mother would say around her daughter when she was giving her some advice.

    "I don''t want to offend you, my goddess," Luna whispered when Hecate pulled back.

    "But," ncing up at her dark soulful eyes full of wisdom, she asked. "Are you saying that it was my fault?"

    "It wasn''t entirely your fault, but you have yed a part of it, Luna. The situation will be handled fairly if all parties involved, surrender their agendas as they considered the other person. This had required a great deal of trust in each side. When it came to disagreements, the attacks were mostly based on fears--that you might not receive what you gave out." Hecate replied gently as she wrapped her arms around her.

    Luna almost cried at the sensation of feeling safe and protected by a distant memory of her mother long, long gone when she used to be a human before she served the Goddess of the Hunt, Artemis.

    Her hands twitched as she didn''t know where to put them as they settled awkwardly to her sides.

    "This was where your insecurities stemmed from. These insecurities gained from these attacks amplified the hurt and the pain which caused the dispute between you and your husband in the first ce." Hecate continued to tell her so that she would learn about the truth of her and her husband''s connection.

    "Why not surrender your attachment to the oue you badly desired and instead, direct your will towards the resolution of the argument?" Hecate suggested warmly as she rubbed her palm on her back as if she was reassuring her that everything will be alright. "You must hold a strong vision of a peaceful oue, and let the pieces harmoniously fall into ce."

    Luna surrendered to the lethargic feeling, closed her eyes and decided to hug Hecate back, returning the same warmth.

    She feltforted by her warm affections, melting the frozen icicles of her heart as she breathed in Hecate''s scent.

    It was as if the Goddess of the Underworld had pushed her fears and implications of the blood bond at bay for the meantime.

    "I hope you will reflect on your actions. You have already chosen to be the Queen, the Empress of the Vampire Realm and I respect your decision. You have stated your sovereignty, and I dere your freedom. You have passed my tests, and I will be taking the grimoire from your mind now." Hecate dered, her defiant voice booming throughout the room.

    When they heard that raw power, her servants straightened their spine as they stood in attention.

    "I appreciate your wisdom, goddess," Luna replied as she stared at the ground, ready for whatever Hecate was about to do.

    "I admire your bravery, Empress, to transcend all the obstacles and sessfully sending the Archdemons back to Hell. You have great talent in castingplex spells only a few priestesses from other Realms could dream of pulling it off sessfully. You have learned from your experiences and expanded as a soul. You will now undergo a new phase, preparing for your true union with your divine counterpart."

    Hecate raised both of her palms above Luna''s head as it emitted a bright red light until it slowly took over everything like an exploding supernova.

    Luna''s vision was gone.

    "Wife." Luna heard the Vampire King''s voice in her ear. "Your afterglow is taking a lot of time, and I''m running out of patience. Are you still alive?"

    In the ensuing silence, Luna''s soul returned to her body, finally regaining her senses.

    Luna opened her eyes.

    She red up at the ceiling to adjust her vision but instead, she had found the angelic face of her husband, who currently wore a devilish smirk hovering above her.

    Ah, she almost forgot.

    "I''m sorry. My mind was away for a while." Luna gasped, breathing hard, and then it took her a minute topose herself. "What are you nning this time, Apollyon?"

    Their sexual congress wasn''t done yet.

    He growled low in his throat, pulling away from her as his tongue began its slow voyage down to her stomach.

    "My wife. You will enjoy this very much." The Vampire King dropped back to his knees and pressed that beautiful mouth of his to the gossamer curls between her thighs. "Because I will eat you now."

 Chapter 98 - Art Of Lovemaking*

    <h4>Chapter 98 - Art Of Lovemaking*</h4>

    The Vampire King pinned her down, his tongue wild against hers.

    Luna didn''t have the energy to protest against it even though her quim still quivered from the sensitivity.

    Apollyon had no ns of stopping.

    He had unveiled her open for him to worship, and she realized that her husband had made her the altar.

    She was the pleasure he had sought after, and Apollyon knew where to find it by the way; his tongue moved inside her.

    "Apollyon," Luna moaned as she lifted her head to see what her husband was up to.

    Apollyon''s blue eyes smouldered as he drank her in, his pupils dting.

    His fingers inched up her naked thighs and spread her for his view.

    "Wet," he praised. "Pretty."

    She didn''t know how else to reply.

    Luna gasped as one of his long, tapered fingers slid through her damp curls as he nudged her thighs apart.

    Her thighs went limp as her middle finger stroked against the throbbing pearl at the crux of those curls.

    She pretty much weed her ruin with open arms, or in her case, open thighs.

    The Vampire King reached out his palms as he continued kneading her breasts, attacking her from every angle.

    Apollyon licked, sucked, and nibbled at her, his wicked tongue flicking and circling a naughty rhythm she had experienced before.

    The Blood Beast Ravin had also done this to her when they had that unexpected tryst at the corridors of the Vampire Castle.

    They were almost caught in action by Cederic''s soldiers but good thing they had reacted quickly.

    Luna was so crazed with bloodlust that time that she had made some questionable decisions and allowed Ravin to do what he wanted with her body.

    This time, it was the Vampire King''s turn to please her.

    Luna moaned at the sensations she felt.

    Her mind was a heady mix of confusion, lust, and desire.

    She was so out of control that she wanted it to end, but at the same time, she wished she could stay for a little while longer or perhaps, maybe forever.

    Luna didn''t want to let go and lose control, but she couldn''t help it when Apollyon did that thing with his tongue again.

    The Vampire King''s teeth scraped her clitoris, and she groaned at the intoxicating pleasure.

    It was like a drug running through her veins, making her weak and lethargic.

    Her entire senses were focused on her body''sher region, specifically between her thighs, as she arched more to feel her husband''s tongue.

    Luna wasn''t sure if she could lift one finger.

    Ah!

    Goddess, never mind.

    It was all a lie.

    It was too early to say something that final when her hands were in his hair before she could stop them as his tongue started to thrust against her damp folds.

    Her vour filled his mouth, drugging the Vampire King sinfully into the darkness of her passion.

    Just then, Luna didn''t care about the past, present, and future.

    Right now, her husband was with her, taking her, kissing her, and touching her in all the right ces.

    Luna had hungered for this as if she had been without him for days, even if they had just started their sexual congress just hours before.

    She was afraid that she would start to crave him until eternity.

    Her husband would probably lose interest in her afterwards.

    Apollyon wouldn''t be able to help himself because that was just who he was.

    He would forget the whole marriage thing after a hundred years, and then, so could Luna.

    Apollyon''s face swam in her wetness a momentter, his nose pressing into hers as his warm breath fanned over her quim.

    Who owned this quim, wife?" Apollyon''s voice was cool and crisp, but his eyes glittered with holy fire.

    Luna was confused.

    She raised her head to look at him as her tongue darted out to moisten her lips.

    What did he expect her to say?

    "You should answer me first, my King," Luna said in heavy pants, shaking her head in refusal to y his game while having sexual congress, a life-and-death situation. "Who do you belong to?"

    "Luna." The Vampire King snarled, and his breath hot against her damp folds.

    It was a warning.

    His lips hovered over her clitoris, his warm breath teasing her as if he wouldn''t give her greater contact unless she told him what he wanted to hear.

    Luna pursed her lips, staying silent.

    She almost wanted tough because she had no ns of giving in to his demands.

    This must be another one of his power ys.

    Her quim belonged to her and her alone.

    Instead, Luna traced her fingers on the heated soft skin of his back, coaxing him to continue.

    Luna squeezed her thighs around his neck as she nted her heels on his broad back.

    "You should answer me first." Luna gazed up at him defiantly.

    Luna knew that her husband was never to obey like her.

    They have that same stubborn trait, which she didn''t know was a good thing or a bad thing.

    Apollyon lowered his head and licked her agonizingly slow that it hurt every time his tongue left her wet folds.

    She cried out, her back arching, hips shooting straight into his face.

    "This tastes better than blood," The Vampire King said as he stopped licking, his voice tickling her insides.

    That was a statement so ridiculous that it went past her head.

    The Vampire King sank his tongue back against her with a groan of surrender.

    "Hurry, Apollyon." Luna moaned as an open invitation for her husband to resume this carnal feast.

    Without warning, Apollyon sank his fangs into her left inner thigh close to her quim as he lifted her leg higher, making the blood flow to her folds so wet with her essences.

    "Please, Apollyon," Luna said in a broken whisper, not even sure what she was begging him to give her. "Oh, please."

    The instant her husband started to devour her aggressively while he licked the trickles of blood flowing from the wound to her quim non-stop, Luna knew she had gone to both heaven and hell, then back.

    She climaxed.

    Pinpricks of white lightning exploded behind her eyelids.

    Every muscle in her body clenched and unclenched on her bones.

    It was an orgasmic experience, a mix of pleasure and pain.

    Pure.

    Perfect.

    Shattering.

    Still trembling with convulsive aftershocks, Luna clung to him, her breathing in broken sobs.

    Writhing and whimpering, Luna tugged at his hair until a solid flick of his tongue sent her soaring into the heavens, where she swore she could hear angels singing.

    Or was it her moans?

    Instead of trying to muffle her wail, Apollyon continued thrusting two of his long, aristocratic fingers deep inside of her.

    "Oh�� oh, my��" The words echoed through her heart came spilling from her lips before she could stop them.

    It was never-ending torture.

    Luna arched off the bed as scorching tongues of me licked her higher and higher.

    Apollyon caressed the rigid bud with the very tip of his tongue, then drawing it into the wet heat of his mouth and sucking hard.

    Luna mped her trembling thighs together, stunned by the ripples of sensation between them.

    Luna could only gaze up at him in wonder yet still panting with desire after it was done.

    She was limp and sated.

    The Vampire King tore his mouth away from hers.

    Breathing hard, Luna wounded one hand through his hair and tugged his head back, forcing him to look her in the eye.

    "I ache for you." Luna didn''t want toe to her senses and talk herself out of this, but she had to say it. "I want your cock pumping inside of me, deep and hard."

    Apollyon''s beautiful countenance was now tight with hunger as sweat gathered on his forehead.

    He gazed deep into her eyes, and his powerful body was trembling with need, yet he held it in check. Her words surprised a helpless chuckle from him. "You have be a dirty little girl for me, wife."

    The Vampire King reached down to hold his cock��so hot and smooth and utterly unyielding��and began to shake his head as if he was regretting its massive size before slipping into Luna''s slender thighs.

    Bracing his weight on his elbows, Apollyon started to lubricate himself in the copious nectar his skilful tongue had coaxed from her melting softness.

    He slid up and down between those dew-slicked petals, creating exquisite friction that soon had her writhing and whimpering beneath him, poised on the very brink of madness.

    All it took was a nudge to shove her over the edge.

    Luna clung to him as she tumbled head over heels, borne on a quivering tide of rapture.

    Its waves were still cresting in her womb when he rocked his hips upward once again, this time sliding deep inside of her.

    Luna dug her nails into the smooth flesh of his back, biting back a cry.

    She was still clinging to him, lost in a haze of delight when their bed-chamber door came thumping open, and a shrill voice raked across her tender nerves.

    "Your Highness!" The voice trailed off.

    Apollyon hurriedly tucked the sheet around Luna, covering her naked body.

    He then rolled over to face the intruder.

    It was Lady Catriona who burst from the door as she stood frozen with her eyes as big as saucers the moment she saw Luna having sex with the Vampire King.

    Grinning like a cat that had caught the proverbial canary in his fangs, Cederic raised both of his hands as if in surrender before saying, "I tried to stop them froming here, Your Highness, but the Concubines wanted to speak to you regarding the Consortium.''"

 Chapter 99 - Pair Of Voyeurs*

    <h4>Chapter 99 - Pair Of Voyeurs*</h4>

    "I tried to stop them froming here, Your Highness, but the Concubines wanted to speak to you regarding the Consortium."

    Lady rence and the red-haireddy who the Vampire King had used his mour to look simr to Luna stood behind Cederic and Catriona wearing nothing but their luxurious, transparent nightclothes with precious jewels.

    Over a dozen of eunuchs, servants, and other consorts Luna didn''t recognize were stumbling through the door of their bedchamber as they stood elbow to elbow, gazing at their nakedness with that dumb look--a mix of shock and disbelief--on their faces.

    Why would they be astonished to find the Vampire King''s wife in the marriage bed?

    Luna made sure she had left behind enough nkets to cover her husband''s body too.

    She thought that she needed to only hide from Cederic and a few eunuchs but Apollyon��

    This is frustrating for her.

    A lot of female eyes were also busy ogling at his front, so her husband was the one who needed to conceal and not her.

    If only she could gouge the females'' eyes out from their sockets.

    But that was hical so...

    "This can''t be happening, Your Highness." Catriona''s shrieked and stomped her foot in an outrageous temper tantrum, which might have roused the entirety of Apollyon''sir. "I wouldn''t allow this."

    Luna was the Empress now, and this leopard had the gall to scream like she was the woman who deserved the position acting like a spoiled brat in front of them?

    This psycho bitch was a fucking headache, and Luna didn''t know if she had the energy to deal with her when she just lost her source of power��Hecate''s grimoire��because the goddess had taken it away from her.

    Ah. Why does it always have to be Luna to put this bitch in her rightful ce?

    Luna''s first instinct was to draw the nkets over her head in shame after the Vampire King draped them for her.

    Shebed her unruly hair with her fingers, salvaging a tiny bit ofdy-like decorum in their naked state because she couldn''t afford to not look her best in front of these audiences.

    Some of them where concubines so beautiful Luna had started to feel insecure being exposed like this, unprepared for their visit.

    Luna knew her cheeks had turned red not only because of the pulsing, wondrous pleasure Apollyon had given her not because of the sexual afterglow, but she was freaking mortified.

    She froze in her ce as shey on her back, cing both of her palms on top of her stomach like what a prim-and-properdy should do when they are caught acting all immoral.

    Luna shook her head a little.

    Why would she be bothered when her virtue was already in shambles?

    She might as well be proud that she had enjoyed the Vampire King''s rigorous attention.

    It was a shock to find that her husband didn''t mind the crowd, though.

    Apollyon ignored Catriona as if he hadn''t heard what she had said.

    Instead, the Vampire King leaned unto the pillow behind his back and slipped his arms around her shoulders possessively, brushing her lips against her hair.

    Apollyon''s blue eyes didn''t break eye contact with Catriona as a tant message that he didn''t actually give a fuck about what she felt.

    "My King! This is unfair." Catriona continued with her litanies of injustice as her peach nude transparent nightgown rippled around her. "I heard that you married the High Priestess without going through the proper process of choosing the Empress now that the curse of the Blood Beast was broken.

    "She wasn''t even chosen as one of your concubines before you married this whore." She stabbed an using finger at Luna. "You didn''t give the other concubines a chance to prove our worth as the rightful Queen."

    Catriona crossed her arms and red at Luna.

    "Is this marriage even valid when she was a High Priestess?" She mockingly said. "They have strict rules to follow by the Goddess Hecate to maintain the power bestowed on them. I heard that breaking the rules without the Hecate''s permission will have severe repercussions."

    Luna gave her a cold stare and arched an eyebrow, adopting an air of nonchnce.

    It was time for her to speak up.

    As the Empress of the Vampire Realm, Luna promised herself that she wouldn''t tolerate insolence of any kind, especially to this bitch, her former arch-nemesis: a manipting narcissist who always yed the victim card every time someone called her out on her bullshit.

    Luna smiled pleasantly at Catriona. "I deserve to be the Empress, Catriona, after all the trouble I dealt with to break the Vampire King''s curse. You didn''t even know the trials and tribtions I have went through to keep him alive and safe. I was battling Archdemons, Catriona, without any help or support I could fall back on."

    She clenched her fists in anger as she recalled her suffering, learning something along the way.

    She had made blunders and life-and-death risks just by her decisions alone.

    Luna had to think quickly on her feet, and it wasn''t an easy feat without the Goddess of the Underworld''s help.

    She nced sideways at Apollyon and smirked, "No offense, husband, but you were unconscious the whole time I was battling the Archdemon inside you and performing exorcism spells as you stay locked inside the prison of your own mind. You are so very fortunate to have me, my King, I am your savior, and if you rece me, I can''t assure you what will happen because I will chase you to the ends of the earth until I cast my revenge tenfold on my Blood Mate."

    Please think carefully before you cheat on me with one of these foolish girls again who can''t even do anything for you." Luna reminded him.

    It wasn''t a subtle warning.

    Luna made it clear that it was a threat.

    "Chasing me to the ends of the earth?" The Vampire King turned and cupped her cheek with one hand, his lips grazing the corner of her mouth as he whispered. "I''m not afraid of your future retribution, wife, but I found that really kinky. After you find me after chasing me, I will mount you and fuck you hard."

    Luna pursed her lips as she ced one palm over her forehead.

    Cheating was never a game, and she had to let him know, make the truth sink into his stubborn misogynistic brain who thought he was God''s gift to women��which he actually was but nevermind.

    It felt like her husband wasn''t taking her threats seriously and found it hot instead.

    Luna exhaled as she shook his head.

    Apollyon had missed the point but, alright.

    "You might think I''m joking, Apollyon, but perhaps, we will see," Luna whispered back and smacked his lips before pushing him away. "Just do that again and try me."

    Luna had turned her attention back to the scowling concubine, who thought she had the right to choose the reality.? "How about you, Catriona?"

    Catriona didn''t even respect their marriage ceremony, acting all high and mighty in their bed-chamber.

    This bitch needed to be punished severely.

    "What were you doing while I was busy saving ''my husband'' from the curse?" Luna asked. "Eating grapes while you pamper yourself all day? Napping while the eunuch massaged your tired muscles from doing absolutely nothing?"

    The audacity of this bitch was infinite, and Luna was already thinking about the perfect punishment.

    Luna closed her eyes and settled her head on the Vampire King''s shoulders beside her. "If you have nothing else to say that would make sense, Catriona, please leave the King and the Queen alone while we have another round of sexual congress in which no concubine is allowed to participate."

    "And bitch, don''t forget to lock the door when you leave." Luna nodded as she motioned for the door.

    It was deeply satisfying to see Catriona''s haughty face turned scarlet with rage.

    She was breathing hard as she clenched and unclenched her fists, trying to calm herself down.

    Catriona looked murderous like she was about to transform into a were-leopard right then and there and started attacking them on the bed.

    "Cederic, take that were-leopard away from here." When Catriona didn''t even move from her position, Luna said as she waved a dismissive hand at her, "She reeks of a strong floral perfume that offends my vampiric senses."

    "You have be a vampire?" Catriona''s eyes bulged as if she was about to drop dead right there on the floor. "But it is forbidden for a pureblood---"

    "If I hear a word spread that my wife had turned into a vampire, I will know who to kill first, and all of you, concubines, know how ruthless I can be." The Vampire King said calmly as he gave the crowd a sinister smile. "I will remember your faces and make the military hunt you down before slitting your throat and leave your carcass for the wild animals to feed on."

    Cederic shrugged nonchntly as he held Catriona''s wrists and pulled her not-so-gently towards the exit.

    "This concubine didn''t have an ounce of manners or good breeding at all for talking to the Queen like that," Cederic muttered as he shook his head in annoyance. "Come along, darling, before the King orders to behead all of the girls in the Consortium for interrupting his Honeymoon."

    As if that was his cue, Apollyon''s mouth came down on hers, teasing her lips apart tenderly with his tongue as if iming it for his own.

    He nibbled her lower lip with his fangs enough to draw blood.

    Biting her tongue, The Vampire King sucked the blood down his throat.

    Apollyon groaned as he deepened the ferocity of his kiss, giving her a taste of the hunger raging beneath his iron control.

    Before she even realized what she was doing, she had already risen, pressing herself against the lean, hard nes of his body.

    Apollyon leaned his full weight over her as their mouths meshed into a fiery web of gratification before they went tumbling into the bed together.

    "Ah, stop. Apollyon." Luna moaned as her husband bathed her sensitive throat in erotic kisses. "People aren''tpletely gone yet."

    The Vampire King had been naked in front of these strangers, but he remained unbothered.

    Maybe, he got so used to being naked around these women that it didn''t really matter whether he covered up or not, which was starting to piss Luna off.

    She didn''t want any other people ogling at her husband''s body, especially his past concubines.

    As Cederic pushed them out of the room, Luna heard exasperated sighs from the concubines and a few consorts as they filed towards the door.

    Even if Cederic had one hand behind the bare back of thest consort who muste out of their bedchamber, the military general had his head turned towards their direction, still looking over his shoulder.

    "Cederic is watching us." Luna murmured in Apollyon''s ear as she nced up into Cederic''s eyes before covering her naked body once again.

    The bastard just snickered at her narrowed eyes.

    Cederic might look like a young teenage boy, but he certainly knew adult things.

    "He isn''t allowed to join," Apollyon said harshly.

    Why would Luna want Cederic to join?

    Luna didn''t know why Apollyon could be so irrational sometimes.

    "No, he shouldn''t leave yet."? Luna urged as she kissed her husband softly in the cheek so that he would listen. "We should discuss the Fate of the Consortium first."

    Disengaging herself from Apollyon''s arms with as much grace and dignity as she could muster, she slid out of bed and to her feet, draping the sheet around her as if it were the toga of a Greek goddess.

    "Get dressed, husband. We should have a proper meeting with all the girls, including me, in a much favorable setting." Luna said finally. "But certainly not in our bedchamber."

 Chapter 100 - King Of Debauchery*

    <h4>Chapter 100 - King Of Debauchery*</h4>

    "Hmm." Apollyon had no indications of moving as Luna waited for him.

    The Vampire King justid there with one hand behind his head as his broad back leaned at the headboard.

    He rubbed at his chin as he scanned her from head-to-toe, one hand reaching out in the air as his fingers made a grasping motion towards her boobs.

    Luna''s brows knitted into a frown.

    What was the Vampire King doing?

    Didn''t he have any ns to make it clear to the Consortium that he already has a Queen, so the concubines didn''t have topete for the spot when it already belonged to her?

    He needed to address the girls'' fates along with her in an official meeting to show that they were all in this together.

    As the Empress and the Vampire King''s equal, she should have a say in every decision regarding the Vampire Realm and its state of affairs.

    The Empress ruled alongside the King, and she must exercise a great deal of power that was simr to the king, if not all.

    Luna had a serious n with Apollyon on how to proceed with this delicate issue regarding the Consortium, and all he wanted to do was what��touch her boobs?

    Luna shook her head and grimaced at his dirty-minded husband.

    "Wife," Apollyon called out as he dragged his fingers toward the happy trail of his stomach and held his dick upright.

    He stroked them again in front of her and bit his lip sexily before he responded in a husky voice. "I think I haven''t fucked you that hard enough when I noticed that you can still stand."

    Luna''s eyebrows rose in surprise, her eyes wide with shock. "What do you mean?"

    She walked towards the wardrobe to look for some clothes to wear before meeting the Consortium.

    Luna also wanted to create distance as much as possible with Apollyon.

    Now that Hecate had taken the grimoire from her mind, Luna finds it hard to sense where her husband''s thoughts were going most of the time.

    Yes, it was there, but it was faint.

    The grimoire must have taken arge chunk of her personal power that it had also affected her seventh sense.

    But one thing was made clear, though.

    The Vampire King wanted sex, and he didn''t want her to stand?

    What did he mean by that?

    Was he going to hurt her and beat her up to the point where she couldn''t even stand?

    She raised an eyebrow.

    Did her husband��

    Was he this violent?

    "Husband." Luna''s fingers shook a little as she searched for gowns in the closet, fearful of Apollyon''s answer.

    "Do you��" She hesitated, trailing off.

    Would he be angry if she asked him about his violent tendencies?

    Did the Vampire King gets off with beating her up with his own hands until she turned broken and bloody?

    Did Luna, indeed, married a psychopath who hurts women?

    Her mind was a beehive filled with thoughts that were buzzing like bees.

    Honesty was required in this rtionship, so she might as well ask. "Do you want to beat me up until I''m broken and in pain? Like are you turned on by hurting women? What did they call this fetish?"

    Luna scanned her brain for the word.

    It was at the tip of her tongue, unfamiliar, but she remembered it was sadism.

    "Are you a sadist?" Luna interrogated him.

    "A sadist?" The word sent a scowl on her husband''s face.

    His mouth opened and closed in astonishment before he replied, "Why would I hurt my wife?"

    Luna looked into his blue eyes as she shrugged, trying to be nonchnt about it. "You were wondering why I was still standing in front of you."

    "I promised you a lot of orgasms," Apollyon said. "I don''t break my promises, wife."

    These were promises that he was willing to oblige, of course, because he thoroughly enjoyed the bed sport and debauchery himself.

    Right.

    Her husband was a rake.

    A pervert.

    A libertine.

    "What about it?" Luna''s hands paused on a piece of the slim-fitted emerald gown, which she wasn''t sure how to wear them.

    It seemed kind ofplicated to wear without assistance from the servants.

    Luna pulled it from the hanger and raised the dress above her to examined them further.

    Hmm.

    She guessed that the gossamer gown was backless and would fit her form like a second skin, exposing an hourss figure.

    Luna went to the vanity mirror and held it against her naked body in an appraisal.

    It matched the color of her one green eye perfectly, so she decided that she would wear this.

    "You should be tired right now." The Vampire King suggested, wearing nothing but azy smile and a nket tucked around his waist.

    "But, we both have something important to do." Luna''s frantic hand movements showed her frustration as she faced Apollyon on the bed.

    She sighed deeply, "We must get our priorities straight."

    Apollyon looked at her dead in the eye, and boldly proimed, "Wife, we aren''t done yet."

    Luna gasped as she ced the gown on the table for the meantime.

    She turned towards Apollyon to address him properly, "But the Consortium��"

    "Come back here because I still want to fuck." Patting the space beside him, Apollyon pouted like a spoiled brat, urging her back to bed with him. "This is an order."

    Luna arched a perfectly shaped eyebrow and crossed her arms, squeezing her breasts in the process, oand Apollyon''s eyes fluttered to her cleavage.

    "We will meet the girls first, Apollyon," Luna said with a tone of finality. "After that, you can do whatever you want to do with me."

    She wouldn''t budge no matter what Apollyon might do.

    Luna picked the gown up and sauntered across the bedroom chamber towards the dressing screen.

    She didn''t even realize the Vampire King had already stood behind her until his hands settled on her shoulders.

    Most especially, Luna flinched at the sudden husky murmur caressing her ear. "We can handle the Consortiumter, wife. They are insignificant to us. You don''t have to care about them."

    "No, we must fix the issue beforehand before we have fun." She told Apollyon as a sh of resentment gued her.

    Why didn''t he want to listen to her advice?

    Luna wanted the girls out of the Vampire Castle, and she wanted them out right now.

    It wasn''t like she wanted them cast out in the streets like beggars.

    She wanted the girls to go home and return to their families.

    They shouldn''t have space in the Castle anymore if Apollyon really valued his life.

    The Vampire King shifted in front of her and red, "I think your stubborn refusal is a huge problem for me, an attack to my ego."

    "What?" Luna''s brows knitted in confusion as she ran her fingers through her hair.

    The Vampire King barked, acting all sulky all of a sudden. "You didn''t like having sexual congress with me. What else?"

    Argh.

    Luna was tempted to bang her head against the wall.

    Her husband had taken it the wrong way.

    Ducking her head to avoid Apollyon''s eyes, Luna could already sense the color creeping higher in her cheeks in a flush of chagrin from Apollyon''s usations.

    This was a huge misunderstanding.

    She must have the ability to injure her husband''s ego left and right.

    Luna spoke before Apollyon could, locking her hands around his neck and gently rubbing his shoulders.

    "Husband, of course, I like your---uh��I like your��" Luna trailed off, thinking if she should speak her mind but screw it.

    She will be honest to a fault when ites to her husband. "I like that you are good at giving me pleasure and��"

    She thought of morepliments that would make her new husband happy, "��ah, and your cock is, I think it was alright. The sexual congress was a�� I think it was fine."

    Apollyon''s handsome face turned into a deeper shade of scarlet, and he didn''t look happy at all.

    Was he angry at herpliments?

    The Vampire King took an involuntary step closer towards Luna, his hands closing into fists.

    Apollyon wrapped his arms around her waist and hauled her to his tool with only the thin sheet of nkets separating their naked bodies.

    "It was just fine?" Although the Vampire King''s smile never wavered, his voice whipped like a cat-o''-nine-tails through the room, sharp enough to y the flesh from bone. "My cock is just alright with you?"

    Apollyon groped one of her breasts and eximed, looking particrly insulted, that she wished the floor could open up and swallow her whole, "Did you just insult my sexual prowess, wife?"

    What did he want her to say?

    Luna shot him a startled nce, realizing for the first time that the Vampire King would make a dangerous enemy if he were just a tiny bit slighted, "That''s not what I mean, husband."

    "Then, exin." He demanded as he put her on the spot with his line of questioning.

    "What?" Luna turned as pale as her ivory skin and echoed, "I told you it was all right."

    Apollyon squeezed her butt before yfully smacking it. "The only thing you could say was all right?"

    "Ah, I think it was�� I love your cock." Luna decided to tell him what she felt with no restrictions.

    It wasn''t what a respectable Empress would say but, fine, whatever. "It feels good, especially when it hits deeper. You are al��I mean, you were the best."

    This time Apollyon''s expression softened as he winked at her. "Really?"

 Chapter 101 - Amorous Husband*

    <h4>Chapter 101 - Amorous Husband*</h4>

    This time Apollyon''s expression softened as he winked at her. "Really?"

    Luna aimed to be as honest as possible to her husband, so she responded without holding back, "Ah, I don''t have anyone else topare it, so I didn''t really know."

    Apollyon''s loving smile and sparkling eyes turned into a scowl in the blink of an eye.

    "What?" He hissed. "So you were looking for someone topare it with?"

    "I''m sorry, I mean��"

    She was telling the truth.

    "Don''t even try, wife." Apollyon continued to glower, unmoved by her deration of love of his mind-blowing skills on how to pleasure a woman.

    Luna winced at his words and thought of something that would make him feel better.

    Her husband was quick to jump into conclusions that didn''t make any sense.

    It wasn''t like she was going to search for other males to fuck to test who was better than him.

    Her husband had needed reassurance so she might as well give him.

    Luna gently sped Apollyon''s hands to hers, tilted her head sideways and stole a kiss from her husband''s lips.

    Luna moved so quick and swooped in for a smack, catching the Vampire King off-guard.

    Before Apollyon could capture her lips with his teeth, she had already taken a step back.

    Luna giggled shyly for doing something so bold with her husband while Apollyon couldn''t erase that big, joyful grin on his face.

    Just like that, his adorable childish husband was pacified.

    She had never actually thought that she would coin ''adorable'' and ''husband'' in the same sentence.

    Luna never thought that she could see this other side of Apollyon which was cute aside from his pompous, arrogant, ruthless self.

    Apollyon smiled at her as he caressed her face with one hand while the other was busy ying tenderly over her knuckles.

    She snorted and rolled her eyes yfully. "Now, let me dress, husband."

    The Vampire King wrapped her in a passionate embrace that threatened to dislodge the sheet covering her. "Hmm, so I really couldn''t persuade you to stay with me on the bed for a little longer?"

    "No." Luna''s eyes narrowed at the wall, but she hugged him in return as she stroked the muscles of his broad back.

    She swayed to the slow rhythm Apollyon had made as he snuggled closer to her neck, inhaling her scent.

    "We have a busy today." Luna murmured huskily as she melted into Apollyon''s sweet, physical touches. "You should dress for yourself now."

    Apollyon''s blue eyes sparkled with mischief as it slowly smouldered with passion.

    "But I don''t want to."

    "Then I guess I am on my own, then." Luna shrugged with nonchntly.

    Apollyon stopped giving her warm hugs as he leaned back to gaze at her.

    "Okay, I''ll go with you. I couldn''t let other men see my new bride without me watching over you." Apollyon scowled, his voice deepening into a growl. "Someone might take you away."

    "Who would take me away?" Luna nced up at him as she tried to disengage his arm from hers. "I don''t need someone watching over me."

    His jaw clenched. "Your opinion is not my opinion."

    Apollyon''s blue eyes met hers as he went to bed to pick another extra nket and wrapped the silken fabric around his waist to cover up.

    Luna wrapped the sheet she had in her hands and ced it around her shoulders.

    The Vampire King offered. "Do I need to call the servants?"

    Right.

    They still need to implement modesty in front of the servants.

    ''Husband." Luna asked with humour, smirking. "Why would I need servants to dress me when I already have you?"

    His blue eyes sparkled, ying along. "Are you calling me your servant?"

    Luna didn''t respond.

    Will the Vampire King find it offensive when she told him he was a servant to his wife?

    Luna went ck-jawed when Apollyon dropped to one knee before her and pressed his lips to the back of her hand, briefly but fervently. "I''m your servant, darling, but only when ites to sex. I''m willing to serve you."

    Luna blinked.

    This other personality of his husband was starting to freak her out.

    She had dreamed of a devoted husband, this precise moment, that she almost wanted to pinch her cheek to prove she was awake.

    Perhaps, this was his real personality before the Blood Beast possessed him.

    He was a certifieddies'' man.

    "You still need assistance. I will call the servants to assist you." Apollyon gazed up at her, his expression both earnest and beseeching. "I only have experience in undressing a woman."

    "Undressing a woman, huh?" Luna red at her husband.

    Did he just reminded her that Apollyon had a lot of females at his beck and call at the Consortium?

    It was starting to irritate the fuck out of her when she was reminded of her husband''s promiscuity before he got married.

    Luna wouldn''t ever forget the fact that he cheated on her with a replicated concubine.

    But should she let this past hinder her happiness?

    This was the number one reason why she needed to abolish the Consortium.

    There was no point in dying this anymore.

    "Don''t be angry, wife." The Vampire King said when she noticed her, shooting daggers at him with her mismatched eyes. "You are the most important thing to me."

    Thing?

    Despite the warning bells sounding an rm in her heart, she was tempted to believe his every syble, but that will only lead to madness and heartbreak.

    She bit her cheek in annoyance.

    "You should get up from the floor, husband. What would the servants think if they see you kneeling in front of your��" thing "��Empress."

    Luna continued to eye him warily instead of weeping with joy and gratitude for telling her that she was important. "Call the servants, Apollyon. We already wasted enough time."

    Apollyon probably wondered why she didn''t fall into his outstretched hands, waiting for her to hug him tightly.

    The Vampire King narrowed his eyes at her as he stood up from the floor and dusted his knees. "Yes, my wife."

    +++

    Apollyon talked to Cederic who was leaning just outside their door, probably eavesdropping in on their conversation.

    The Vampire King had ordered him to call for the servants who would assist Luna with the gown she chose.

    Luna couldn''t afford to not look her best in front of the Consortium.

    She was the Empress so even if it was hard and sometimes it made her feel insecure beingpared to Apollyon''s former sexual partners. She promised herself not to care anymore.

    A sharp knock sounded on their bedchamber door, jolting the both of them.

    Apollyon gestured that he will be behind the dressing screen to deal with his own while the maids attended to her personally.

    The servants dropped into deep curtsies the moment they entered the room.

    One maidservant had retrieved a hairbrush and began working on her hair while the other one adjusted the neckline of the serpent-coloured dress, making them snugger on the chest area and tighter around the waist.

    "Too tight, Your Highness?" The servant asked around the silver pins she had stuck between her lips.

    Luna realized she had been frowning.

    She shook her head and forced herself to rx.

    The maidservant went back to work, and Luna went back to her thoughts.

    Luna must live up to her name and act appropriately ording to her status as the Empress.

    She might not be the prettiest among all the other women Apollyon had met, butparing herself with the others would not do her any good.

    Luna was lowering her own self-esteem and own value because of her crippling thoughts when she had so many achievements and contributions for the Vampire Realm''s future which would be beneficial, especially since she was the Empress.

    That was a mistake she didn''t want to repeat.

    Sometimes, it couldn''t be helped, but she will be mindful when the fear and doubt started to trap her mind, rendering her immobile.

    She was unique, and there will be no other girl in this Realm that had the same mind, memories and experience such as her.

    Luna shouldn''t even fear if the Vampire King would leave her in the future.

    That was his loss, not hers.

    She should always remember that.

    Every time a man abandoned her will not be a loss.

    It would make her grow stronger and more independent because she really didn''t need anyone toplete her when she was alreadyplete.

    Luna didn''t know if that philosophy applied to blood mates.

    If Apollyon left, it would probably shatter her heart and kill her soul by suffering without his presence to anchor her.

    The girls pinned, tucked, and altered the gown until it made her look like a mermaid as it clung to her body like a second skin.

    Her long silver hair was swept up in a tidy knot. Not a single mutinous tendril had been allowed to escape.

    Luna wore her sparkly ck diamond tiara alongside with it.

    The emerald dress had shown the entirety of her bare back.

    Luna knew that her husband had liked it too much.

    Apollyon was too fixated on it as he caressed them with his fingers while the servants fussed over her gown''s flowing trains.

    The growing gleam of Apollyon''s gaze on her body made her hot and bothered, but she decided to shake off the feeling.

    Fortunately, he was clothed, and Luna sighed with relief.

    He wore greyish blue pants with nothing covering his upper body except a cloak wrapped around his broad shoulders.

    Her steps faltered briefly, stymied by a wave of self-loathing.

    Ah, the concubines would drool over her husband''s abs and arm muscles.

    No, Luna refused to feel anything.

    She couldn''t tell the Vampire King what to wear just because Luna wanted to hide him away from the Consortium.

    If Apollyon would order her around about her choice of clothes, then she would tell him to fuck off, too.

    Also, Luna didn''t like to be told what to do so she had no right to tell the King what was not to do to please her.

    She tried to keep her face cold and emotionless.

    ''Let them drool.'' Luna thought.

    As long as her husband was free to choose.

    The Blood Bond was already a shackle in itself.

    She didn''t want to add moreplications to that.

    After the servants were done helping her with her dress, the servants curtsied to Luna and Apollyon once again, locking the door shut as they went out of the room.

    And then, there was silence.

    Luna had worn another gauzy, transparent cloak over her emerald dress with flower petals embroidered into the thin material.

    Tiny colourful precious stones were also attached on its every lining as they glittered when the sunlight by the open windows hit them.

    "Hey, beautiful," Apollyon pressed his open mouth to her neck, showering her with kisses as his wet tongue moved over her cleavage.

    Then, Apollyon kissed her lips thoroughly, and Luna melted because she had no power to resist him.

    Oh, she knew what he was nning at the moment.

    Apollyon was trying to coax her to forget about the Consortium and tempt her to bed.

    Again.

    Luna had tried to catch her breath, but his feverish urgency was too hot for her to handle.

    If she prolonged the kisses, she would be naked in his arms, clinging to him and begging him to take her, in less than a minute.

    Still pleasuring her mouth with deep, drugging kisses, Apollyon brushed his thumbs back and forth across her nipples until they began to tingle and swell. "Luna, I''m turned on again, and I want you to do something about it."

    Her husband was clever, but she was a step level ahead of him.

    Apollyon''s hands had moved to pull the thin strap of her gown downward.

    Luna pushed him away.

    "Apollyon. That''s enough." Fighting the urge to hiss at him for trying to tear her dress, Luna primly said, "We have to go."

 Chapter 102 - Strange Love*

    <h4>Chapter 102 - Strange Love*</h4>

    Luna descended through the steps of the stairs like she was marching up the gallows.

    She had this fear of being seen in front of the Consortium.

    Luna was an Amazon warrior with her long silver hair, tall and lean stature and t chests.

    She would be judged by how different she looked from the normal dainty, feminine and curvaceous females.

    Of course, Luna knew she wasn''t the normal choice as the Empress--her? character and attitude weren''t expected of a Queen.

    Luna wasn''t nurturing, safe, gorgeous and meek at all like how other queens should be.

    Just a wallflower.

    An essory Apollyon must have expected her to be.

    If she would be honest with herself, Luna was a mix of light and shadows, night and day, masculine and feminine, yin and yang.

    Doubts and desire melting together.

    Apollyon and Luna will either conquer their light or lose it.

    Luna was too bnced for her own good but sometimes the masculine in her took over when she needed to defend herself.

    She thought this was also the reason why she kept on butting heads with her husband.

    As the feminine in this connection, she should learn how to be receptive of Apollyon''s energy.

    Of course, the Vampire King was the epitome of masculinity that his dark bluish aura bled out of him without his notice, wrapping her in his sexuality, sometimes a little bit toxic that it threatened to overwhelmed her.

    Apollyon was the true Alpha.

    Patriarchal.

    Demanding.

    Arrogant.

    Possessive.

    He always gets what he wanted.

    Well, Luna couldn''t really me him.

    She also had those qualities when the masculine energy in her takes over.

    Amazons were trained to be stronger than men and sometimes, Luna just couldn''t stand someone dominating her in terms of strength but she guessed it was better than being mated to a weakling.

    That would be disastrous.

    Luna would eat the man alive with her capabilities.

    In a sense, Luna and the Vampire King were equals if not more.

    The Vampire King walked alongside her, her arm tucked carefully in his.

    Luna needed to be aware of the yin-yang dynamic between them.

    Apollyon was the masculine--action-oriented, full of passion and should be the giver��while Luna will be still, graceful, and on the recipient of Apollyon''s energy.

    This wasn''t about acting weak.

    It was about receptivity as his wife.

    Luna thought it was the same as sexual congress.

    The Vampire King gave the pleasure through his cock and the precious seed of life thates along with it while Luna, the female, was in the position to receive it.

    It was a timeless knowledge ever since the Creator had created humans and other creatures alike.

    Luna had to wait for his initiative or it would lead to fights for sure.

    She knew this wasn''t about acting or ying roles.

    She learned quickly that there should be a certain dynamic to follow to maintain the peace between them as a married couple or else their fragile rtionship would break apart.

    Luna decided to heed Hecate''s advice.

    The art of knowing how to adapt is always useful in love but to do so, however, you must bepassionate of the other person.

    She had to be proactive in doing something to fix their issues.

    Luna had to keep in mind that her husband wasn''t a threat to sanity.

    Perhaps, that will work.

    "Husband," As she clutched his arm to lean a bit of her weight unto him, Luna asked as they continued to stroll through the long flights of stairs carefully in a parade while the servants, eunuchs and the soldiers followed them closely behind. "Don''t you think I''m a tad too strange?"

    Apollyon tried to keep her slow paces because of her high heels.

    She knew her husband was a gentleman.

    "What do you mean, strange?" Apollyon stared at her like he couldn''t keep his eyes away from her face.

    His blue eyes were hooded as he chuckled, "Are you referring to how you look?"

    "Hm. Just in general." Luna nced at him and her eyes crinkled in amusement while her left hand lifted her skirts so that she wouldn''t stumble, rolling over on the flights of stairs and breaking her ankles in the process.

    "Wife. There isn''t one person that does not have a little secret or a strange little something they have done or do and yet sometimes we go on pretending to be normal. Normal changes all the time." Apollyon exined as he detached Luna''s hand from circling his bulky arm.

    The Vampire King wrapped one arm around her waist to guide her through the steps. "Most people want to fit in, blend with others in order not to feel strange. Sometimes, standing out can make us feel vulnerable. Conspicuous. We all have our little oddities and we can exhaust ourselves trying to erase that vulnerability."

    "Sometimes, it is our nature to hide who we truly are because we are afraid of rejection," Apollyon said earnestly as he gazed deeply into her eyes, squeezing the underside of her breasts discreetly. "We do not speak of who we are and we try to convince others that we are just like them."

    Luna stiffened at her husband''s boldness.

    Apollyon blinked, trying to act innocent. "Why would you hide your own strangeness, wife?"

    Luna had caught her husband being a pervert oagain.

    Did he think she wouldn''t notice that?

    "We are all mad here, I assure you." Apollyon continued as he lifted his chin, daring her to challenge his deration.

    Craning her neck to look at his handsome face as they came down, Luna arched one eyebrow and remarked, "But I don''t want to go among mad people."

    "Oh, you can''t help with that." The Vampire King said as an amused snort escaped him. "Everyone else is mad. I''m mad. You''re mad."

    "How do you know I''m mad?" Luna asked she peered at him before lowering her gaze shyly.

    "You must be. You are brave enough. Mad enough." Apollyon responded as he tried to keep a straight face. "Or you wouldn''t be my wife. "

    Luna knew he was trying to hard not tough at their own predicament.

    Apollyon couldn''t help but smirk.? "Everyone is interesting in their own way, a little bit of different and full of secrets, good and bad."

    Luna nodded in agreement.

    Hearing that from her husband was reassuring.

    "One must never be ashamed of his own weaknesses," Apollyon said.

    "I''m used to being alone, husband," Luna admitted softly, her eyes cast downward as she focused on her steps. "You came into my life and I suddenly don''t know what to do and how to deal and care for another person besides myself."

    Then the Vampire King shed a mischievous grin. "I''m not saying that solitude is bad but it had made your will-power stronger."

    When they reached the foyer, Luna surprised to find it deserted.

    Both of them were silent for a long moment.

    "Sometimes, wife, I feel like I recognize a part of myself in you. Some of them, I like and I didn''t like. It made me remember who I really am without the Blood Beast." The Vampire King''s voice was silky, yet gruff, managing to soothe and incite her rioting senses in a single stroke.

    Recognizing the hectic patches of colour staining Apollyon''s cheekbones,? Luna knew that her husband was aroused once again or perhaps, he was embarrassed to reveal his feelings to her?

    She didn''t know.

    "I was taking back fragments of my true character which I thought I have lost. Knowing you felt like I was also learning about myself all over again. I had been an immortal for a very long time. Meeting you felt like I hade back alive from a suspended limbo."

    Apollyon lowered his gaze to her lips, a fringe of thick, darkshes veiling his smoky blue eyes. "My body fervently desire to lose itself in yours."

    The Vampire King was going to kiss her again.

    Unable to resist thepulsion, Luna moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue.

    Apollyon gently framed her face in his hands and kissed her as if it was her first kiss and hisst.

    As he swirled his tongue through the warm, honeyed depths of her mouth, the most extraordinary thing happened.

    An array of golden notes poured through Luna''s veins, glorious and sweet, soaring on wings of melody.

    Apollyon broke the kiss and it took her a dazed moment to realize the music.

    Luna and the Vampire King was about to enter the banquet hall to meet with the Consortium.

    She clenched her fists in agitation.

    The girls from the Consortium have gathered to witness her official appearance as the crowned Empress after her marriage with the Vampire King.

    Luna nervously nced over her shoulder at the trains of her borate ball gown to check if everything was in ce.

    She smoothed the silk flounces adorning the bodice of her gown before she nodded at the pce guard to open the entrance hall.

    They gazed at each other and the Vampire King kissed her forehead swiftly before facing towards the wooden double doors.

    The Vampire King''s face was both handsome and irresistible, his dark beauty reflecting the ckness of his soul.

    Her heart skipped into an uneven cadence.

    Luna wondered if the Vampire King was an overall good or a bad person.

    It was too early to tell.

    After the doors to the banquet hall opened, Cederic announced loudly, "Behold the Vampire King Apollyon and the new Crowned Empress Luna of the Vampire Realm."

    Luna heard the murmur of voices of the girls from the Consortium falling into strained silence as she arrived at her throne seated next to the Vampire King with head held high.

    The string quartet began to y their instruments in wonderfully pleasant melodies.

 Chapter 103 - Stage Actresses*

    <h4>Chapter 103 - Stage Actresses*</h4>

    ncing at him, Luna stood at the throne awkwardly, waiting for the Vampire King''s prompting.

    She guessed she would have to follow whatever he was doing because she had no experience in being part of the royalty.

    Luna didn''t pay attention to the protocols either.

    Should she let Apollyon take a seat first?

    Should Luna do it first, or should she count one to three, and they will do it together?

    This was ridiculous.

    Good thing that Apollyon bowed in acknowledgment as he gestured for her to sit on the throne before she embarrassed herself in front of the Consortium.

    Luna didn''t think twice and sat on her the Empress''s golden seatfortably and mimicked Hecate''s behavior when she received her a guest after her soul was propelled to her Queendom.

    Hwcate had her chin held high and crossed her legs as she leaned backzily on the cushions.

    Luna was giving an air of self-assurance to all the girls in the Consortium that she got this.

    She hoped it was effective enough.

    Thedies kept their head bowed as they curtsied, their pretty eyes cast demurely on the floor as they steal admiring nces at her husband''s physique before ncing up at him to hear what he had to say.

    The Vampire King scanned the crowd steadily, meeting all the audience eye to eye as if he was trying to remember their faces.

    "As you have heard from Jon and the confirmation of my military general, I am sure that the head eunuch, Vali, had already informed you of the Annihtion of the Consortium." The Vampire King informed them, his dark, powerful voice booming throughout the room.

    The crowd released some high-pitched gasps, murmurs turning to loud noises instantly.

    "What would have be of us?"

    "We will live poorer than the dogs in the street?"

    Luna''s palms were sweating, so she sped each of her armchairs, straightened her spine, and adapted a cold, bitchy look to intimidate the girls.

    She needed to be headstrong, facing the adversities and the malicious gossip thrown in her face.

    Of course, the Consortium would me her for this.

    Bring it on.

    Thedy shuddered at the implications of Apollyon''s announcement. "Are we going to be confined to another prison?"

    "I would choose this fancy cage over a cer."

    Luna narrowed her eyes at the dramatic woman.

    "I don''t want to be out and about and be captured as a ve again."

    The girls had turned hysterical as Luna watched the view from a higher angle, looking at them below the dais.

    "I am used to the lifestyle of being pampered as a Harem girl, a ve to the pleasure only a vampire could give me."

    They had already pressed their scented kerchiefs to their lips, muffling their sobs and murmuring what a terrible pity it was that they would be forever deprived of the Consortium''s way of living.

    "I don''t know other things, either."One consort whispered frantically. "How could I continue such a poor, meaningless existence?"

    "My future outside the Vampire Realm was bleak." One girl muttered. "How will we travel home?"

    Pretty heads with crowns of blondes, raven, auburn, and different shades of brown hair remained restless in their positions as they nodded and nced with each other.

    Clutching their long, borate silky gowns, they formed into a cluster, gossiping and wondering about the future of the Consortium.

    "I heard that the Vampire Councilcked in finances to fund our respective trips due to the attack of a dragon creature destroying the outer bailey and the gates."

    "Did the Vampire Council of Finance have the budget to fund our way home, or are we all alone to go with or journey, casting us out in the streets like beggars?"

    Luna fought the urge to roll her eyes in annoyance that she feared she might roll her eyes too much. She could almost see the insides of her brain.

    The assembly had turned into a hot mess.

    Some of the girls swooned as they fainted over this distressing news, gracefully falling to the floor.

    Luna had gasped when they started to fall together, crumbling in unison.

    "What if we die and meet an unfortunate ident before we even arrive at the destination, exposed by the elements?"

    She didn''t know what to think.

    "Who would protect us in our travels?"

    Luna arched an eyebrow and grimaced at their words.

    Are you going to send all the soldiers just for us and leave the fortress susceptible to invasion from other neighboring Realms?"

    It was a unique sight to see them topple over for real without hurting themselves.

    She didn''t want to be rude, but the debacle looked like a stage y in her eyes.

    It looked like a delicate mass hysteria with wannabe actresses as they sniffled gently, crying in sparkling tears without smudging their pink and peach cosmetics on their faces.

    They acted like it was the end of the world of all of the females in the Vampire Realm, and Luna just wasn''t informed about their doomed fates.

    Most of the girls now had posed sexily on the floor with their proper posture still in ce as they murmured cultured profanities.

    The lovely sunlight streaming from the stained-ss ceiling had served as an impromptu spotlight, and it was disgusting to witness the drama with her own two eyes.

    She was ashamed to be associated with these weak-assed girls and to be called a female.

    "Husband." Luna shook her head at their appalling behavior as she bit her lip in annoyance.

    Then, Luna whispered her thoughts to the Vampire King to check if their telepathic connection still existed now that Hecate had taken the grimoire from her mind.

    ''Please continue with your announcement.''

    She knew that Apollyon had heard her when he tilted his head sideways and nodded a little, a direct indication that he had understood.

    Apollyon addressed the crowd again. "I expect everydy in the Consortium to pack up your belongings."

    The Vampire King''s threat was as sharp as a de. "Only your belongings."

    He motioned a horizontal cutting motion below his chin, which meant that he wouldn''t hesitate to behead ady from the Consortium if she wouldn''t heed his warnings. "If you brought things or stole something which belonged to the Vampire Castle, you will be hunted down."

    Good thing her husband''s ire wasn''t directed at her. "You may now leave the Castle premises peacefully, especially those who needed to reunite with their families."

    "To those girls who fancied to be arranged to the Royal Family, perhaps to close rtives and some of the powerful male vampires of high stature as marriage alliances or concubinage, they can still stay here for a month," Apollyon said.

    Luna couldn''t turn her head fast enough to Apollyon''s direction.

    Of course, these pampered Haremdies wanted to live in luxury, which was their golden ticket to achieve their goals and ambitions.

    Who wouldn''t grab the opportunity?

    Apollyon didn''t return her re and just continued staring ahead, regarding them.

    Now, all of the girls inside the Banquet Hall had stoppedining as they waited for his next words with bated breath, their ears perking up.

    "I will be calling foreign visitors from other Realms to introduce my wife, Luna, the new Empress of the Vampire Realm to gain their respect and to strengthen alliances." The Vampire King''s expression turned serious. "The visitors will be mostly male who required beautiful, exotic females for their harem collection. If you get lucky, one of you could be hailed as their bride and be queen in their respective Kingdom, like how my beloved Luna had be. They would be the one to pick thedy they wanted."

    "Isn''t one month a little bit longer for thesedies to stay here when you are already a married man, husband?" That was the jealous voice prevailing in her mind, but if Luna would really think it, one month would make sense. "Let me speak my opinion regarding this matter."

    Luna had another important announcement to make.

    "I can see that this is a good decision, Apollyon." She held up a warning hand when Apollyon opened his mouth to speak. "I thought about the consorts'' safety for this."

    Luna didn''t want her husband to interrupt her.

    "In exchange for dying the Consortium''s banishment from the Vampire Castle, I would also like our visitors--these gentlemen''s amodations to be extended for that entire month also. In this manner, they would be able to get to know the woman they wanted from the Consortium and persuade thedy they picked to return to their Kingdom with them, with consent."

    "Consent is the most important thing here, and I would like to emphasize that, my King." Luna continued as she rose from her seat, making eye contact with whoever was brave enough to meet hers. "There would be no more kidnapping, bride-napping, raping, and taking females out of their own will, whatever you call it,"

    "I wanted to make sure that these women get the man they want, the dowry, and the life they can provide," Luna said with more conviction than she felt. "Your guests muste here to impress and not treat thedies likemodities."

    After all, the Vampire Realm had spent considerable time, care, patience, and money to mold thesedies to be high-value and good in everything.

    Luna decided they might take advantage of that.

    "I will see to every escort, consorts, and your concubines'' safety that they would never be ced in the hands of a cruel man." Luna slowly lowered her hands as she continued with her speech. "Since you already have organized this as a marriage market, husband, let''s turn this into an official one."

 Chapter 104 - Quiet Strength*

    <h4>Chapter 104 - Quiet Strength*</h4>

    "I agree with this decision," Apollyon said.

    Luna felt ted, but she tried to stifle the smile forming on her lips.

    Her husband had approved of her addition to his ns.

    It was the most wonderful feeling in the world.

    Luna was busy with her introspection.

    She had suggested the whole event, so it was her responsibility to make sure that everything goes well.

    "If the Empress can manage the event, then it would be fine for us," Catriona spoke up at that instant, giving her a sly smile.

    She pressed a hand over her mouth as if in surprise and nced at her husband coyly, "She was amazing, and that was why she was chosen as the Empress."

    "Your Highness wouldn''t need any help from us in organizing the uing Marriage Market," Catriona said. "Why she could probably do it on her own!"

    Luna arched an eyebrow, her lips pressed into a tight smile.

    By the way, Catriona had worded her statements. It sounded like a backhandedpliment.

    She titled her head and narrowed her eyes at Catriona as she tried to suppress her rising anger.

    She was Luna''s enemy:petitive, clever, and malicious concubine.

    Catriona was Apollyon''s other woman, his former concubine.

    Luna remembered how Catriona''s hatred and jealousy had reflected in her ssy eyes when she found them together on the bed.

    Apollyon had chosen Luna and not her.

    It would make perfect sense that Catriona would sabotage her ns.

    Luna will always look over her shoulder whenever this concubine was around.

    It would be harder to defend herself now that Luna had lost the power bestowed by Hecate.

    Luna wouldn''t be that impervious as much as she thought she is.

    One attendant had approached the Vampire King''s throne and handed him a thin box gilded with gold and bronze.

    Apollyon received the box and approached Luna from where she stood.

    Luna peeked through it when Apollyon opened the box and showed it to her.

    It was a beautiful golden wreath.

    The Vampire King unsped the beautiful thing gently and ced it over her forehead.

    The moment the wreath touched her skin, it gave her a burning sensation around her cheekbones.

    Iridescent Aurelian thin-like vines beating like tattoos spread over her eyelids and brows, making her face glow with power.

    "My Empress. I am giving this gift to you in advance instead of during the coronation where the foreign guests from other Realms woulde to visit."

    Apollyon stared into her mismatched eyes and cupped her cheek with one hand as his thumb grazed her madly skittering pulse.

    "I wanted the Consortium to witness this beforehand in exchange for your hard work, risking your life to save me from the Blood Beast''s curse."

    "You will hold the golden victory wreath in acknowledgement for the battles you have triumphed as you fight for my freedom from the Archdemon. As your husband, I am proud of your aplishments. The Goddess of the Underworld had favoured you out of all the High Priestesses-in-training, receiving her guidance and insights to help you be more powerful to achieve the feat."

    Luna felt like both she and the Vampire King had changed so quickly after everything that had happened.

    "Dear husband. How strange everything is today as things went on just as usualpared to yesterday. I wonder if I have been changed in the night?"

    Luna''s world had currently turned upside down��or right side up--in an instant.

    She was shocked and a little numb that it had finally sunk in.

    Throughout her journey, many things had happened, from just an Amazon runaway, bing the High Priestess, and bing the Empress of the Vampire Realmter on.

    She had changed throughout the night and not just in the physical sense that Apollyon hadpletely owned her mind, body, and soul.

    Luna''s life has changed dramatically, that she needed to take a moment to process everything.

    She had to remember herself, her feelings, and where she hade from.

    Luna hade so far, and so far, she didn''t feel that lost yet.

    She steadied herself and breathed in deep.

    Luna knew she was finding out who she is and her identity.

    "Do you want to say something, wife?"

    Luna paused.

    She was at a loss for words.

    She didn''t know how to describe the unease creeping into her heart.

    Luna crossed the room and lifted the scalloped hem of her gown so that she wouldn''t trip on it as she addressed the crowd.

    "Until this moment, I only knew who I am when I was faced with certain dangers and unpredictable circumstances that I found it hard to ground myself, adjusting to every new challenge thrown at me. It made me question if I was doing the right thing. Suppose I was making the right decisions. So much had changed, and I think I had found out so much about myself and others, especially the King." Luna said as much to reassure herself as her husband, Apollyon.

    "Sometimes, I fear inexperience and uncertainty as to the new Empress. Still, I will try my best to do what was expected of me and takeplete responsibility and ountability to improve the Vampire Realm inhabitants'' quality of life. I also wonder if everything I had experienced is part of a great dream. I am always concerned about whether I am living my own dreams, if this was what I wanted, making my own mistakes, following what my heart thinks is best for me, and living that dream."

    Some women had eximed and gasped at her empowering speech, twisting around to eye her with new appreciation.

    "In the Consortium, we treat the Vampire royalties and its own race as powerful. A superior society than us. The way of life as a concubine, a consort, or an escort would have liked us to live a certain dream��to marry, to have afortable ce to stay, to pleasure, and prioritize men, and then what? When our beauty fades away, and our sparkling personalities had already bored our husbands to death? Our life will turn dull and meaningless."

    The contempt shadowing Apollyon''s features made her husband appear more sinister, as if he was plotting for her downfall.

    He disapproved of her words, but should she care, though?

    "These women from the Consortium are expected to disappear and to die peacefully. Alone. Forgotten. Most women have done everything to support the people they love until theirst breath." Luna informed them grimly as she gave some of them a rueful nce. "But, who else would stand their ground to support these brave, loyal women? None."

    Apollyon stiffened, stung by his wife''s boldness.

    They wouldn''t be able to deny that she was telling the truth.

    "That dream, the collective dream as a part of the Consortium, had already stilled in your mind by years of brainwashing. The dream of the ruling nobility may not be your dream. I want all of you to remember your own dreams and wishes and make sure that it is governing your choices. It is time to break free from this collective dream and live within your own. Belong to only one dream---belong to your own."

    "Luna, that''s enough," Apollyon said as he clenched his teeth, his voice seething with fury as he tugged at her cloak without making it obvious.

    Luna didn''t waste time taking offence or pretending to misunderstand her husband.

    The Vampire King had wanted to shut her up.

    Luna realized at that moment that the most powerful chains are not of iron but air.

    They tighten around the neck without leaving marks and crushing willpower.

    Love is a trap.

    A trap she wasn''t sure she wanted to be in the first ce or not.

    The bond that prevents others from escaping should be not made out of fear but joy, not chains but freedom, not past promises but ns.

    "This isn''t an act of rebellion, Apollyon. I am only telling the truth, and all thedies in this Hall needed to hear that. Nevertheless, I would try to live up to my authenticity as the Empress, and as your wife, and as your equal."

    Luna did pause and turned to look at her husband, a spective gleam lighting her eyes.

    "You can''t silence me whether you agree with me or not. I don''t want thedies to live dependently over a man just because it was part of the ancient traditions."

    The Vampire King clutched her arm to force her to nce up at his face and red at her. "No, you are transforming the world around you to make it simr to your revolutionary ideals."

    "I want all the women to break free from this centuries-old imprisonment of not making our own decisions for ourselves," Luna said. "Always adapting or staying in situations that aren''t beneficial for us just because we are already used to it."

    The Vampire King crossed his arms over his chest, refusing to look guilty.

    "Women are forced into gender roles because of societal expectations. Always thinking about other people''s concerns��men, especially--over prioritizing ourselves."

    Luna shifted her gaze to Apollyon, cocking one silvery eyebrow. "Change ising, You''re Highness, and if you know what is best for you, you have to ept that."

    She looked around, and she was ted when the girls in the Consortium apuded grudgingly.

    Luna took that as a sign of support for her goals to improve the Vampire Realm and how it should be run--the right way.

    The Vampire King gave her a disapproving look before shaking his head.

    Apollyon stood nearly a foot taller than Luna, his broad shoulders blocking the crowd as he stepped in front of her.

    The rich aroma of his chocte scent wafted from his skin, mingling with the intoxicating warmth of his body every time he was near.

    "Luna." Apollyon whispered dangerously in her ear, "Why are you doing this?"

 Chapter 105 - Six Kingdoms*

    <h4>Chapter 105 - Six Kingdoms*</h4>

    "Luna." Apollyon whispered dangerously in her ear, "Why are you doing this?"

    Was he this determined to stop her from helping the Consortium gain their independence?

    "Nobody wanted to be directed or governed by the desires and dreams of others," Luna muttered as she nced up at him, meeting his intense gaze. "--and frankly, so do you, Apollyon."

    The Vampire King had sent winged seekers into the world to deliver the message to the far Kingdoms that he was finally cured of his ailment, and he had a new queen.

    It was a new beginning of unlimited possibilities.

    There were new adventures of passion and pleasure to explore along with her husband.

    +++++

    Luna paced outside the parapet outside their marriage chamber as the gusts of cold artic wind tore at her cloak as her long silver whipped on her face.

    Her lips curved into a frown when her ck diamond tiara slipped over her brow, blocking her vision.

    Finally jerking it off her forehead, she let her long silver hair flow wherever it pleased.

    Luna stared up at the wintry pearl of the moon suspended in the sky, seemingly lost in her thoughts.

    There was an enormous body of etiquette which surrounded proper visiting and correct courtship.

    In their morning dress, potential couples were seated in a restrained and proper garden in broad daylight where they wouldn''t dare create a scandal.

    No one will be allowed to be wildly in love yet, or in lust, perhaps?

    It was literally about this early stage of the rtionship where the Cupid''s bow was unstrung and had no arrow.

    She had already nned everything out.

    She hoped that the visitors and the Consortium would follow her rules of the Marriage Market she had created to find the girls'' suitable husbands/masters.

    She told thedies to be open to a new person who will enter their life.

    They can pick who they want to be with��anyone��as long as it wasn''t her husband, Apollyon.

    In this one month, there will be private and public meeting she had painstakingly organized where thedies who were chosen by the guests will take turns to have one-on-one conversations with each other.

    Sexual congress wasn''t allowed for this entire month, and Luna would ban any man or woman from meeting again if they would break the rules.

    The pairings will have the chance to get together, either socially, romantically, or for business reasons.

    They can attempt to seduce or talk someone into something, but sexual congress was strictly not allowed.

    Pale stars frosted the canopy of the sky, and their radiance was dimmed by the glow of the many torches scattered around the castle walls.

    The spring wind was humid, and it made Luna shiver.

    The hillside was flooded in a sea of colourful gents and fluttering pennons where the Kings'' remaining envoys from the other Realms stayed since the Castle was already too crowded.

    Luna and the Vampire King had stayed at the Castle to meet the visitors instead of his privateir.

    It was also better to keep an eye on her husband just in case he decided to meet with any of the concubines again.

    She had given her trust to Apollyon but only to a certain extent.

    She needed to check on his actions first.

    Luna couldn''t forget that her husband had cheated on her before.

    Apollyon had been meeting many people in the viges outside the Castle to take care of problems himself and Jon and the High Priest to apany him.

    She didn''t ask what it was about.

    Apollyon had asked her if she wanted toe, but Luna shook her head in refusal because she will distract him from his work.

    It was the duty of the Vampire King to create order out of chaos.

    He had the authority, leadership, and strength to establishw and order.

    The Vampire King was unfortunately patriarchal, rooted in his ways and views and regimens.

    He was confident that his decisions were the right structure and way of things.

    She had slowly established an identity for herself as the Empress.

    On the other hand, Luna had triumphed over obstacles and achieved victory through focused intent and will.

    She had to maintain discipline and self-confidence, assuming the reins of power and authority.

    Luna had this innate drive to push through her causes to make men and women equals in this patriarchal civilization with unwavering certainty even if it meant contradicting her husband every step of the way.

    Some of thedies were busy chatting excitedly on the Castle grounds waiting for the visitors to arrive for the Marriage Market''s uing events.

    The Consortium had discussed strategies, focusing more on snagging a King from the other Realms who didn''t have a wife yet.

    All the Consortiumdies wore distinct and unique fancy masks they had made themselves to keep the mystery and secrecy but enough to stand out from the rest.

    These masks will also incite curiosity on the male guests because the men can only choose their potential lovers or partners with the masks on, ording to the gowns they wore, and also through their physical petite or curvaceous frames.

    Luna decided that it would also be better for the Consortium to wear the masks through the first night to seduce the male guests with their ability to engage in flirty banters and witty conversations.

    The first event will not be focused on beauty but rather on a woman''s intelligence.

    Those women who had in features but owned a beautiful mind will have higher chances of snagging a rich husband through personality alone.

    ''Catriona, take that!''

    Now that Luna was the queen, she will do everything in her power to make Catriona suffer as revenge for being such a stuck-up bitch.

    She hoped that bitch would have a serious disadvantage in the first week from catching someone''s attention due to her egotistic attitude.

    The bachelor Kings will arrive soon to attend the Marriage tournament.

    These challenges for her event, the Marriage Tournament, will im the woman they had picked, and thedy should also choose the man because consent was important.

    Every woman was a prize in this game, and everybody will be satisfied after the month was done��a win-win situation.

    Luna looked below again and was shocked to find out that the Castle ground was now swarmed with dozens of consorts and escorts, all staring in the direction of the portcullis, looking forward to the male guests'' appearance.

    She really can''t gauge what she felt at the moment, but she was also looking forward to meeting Apollyon''s friends��alliances.

    Could Kings be friends without any hidden agendas, though?

    It would make sense that they would prioritize the wealth and security of their Kingdom before anything else.

    Do Kings have the capacity to have true friendship when they appear so stoic and serious every time they discuss territory, military, and allegiances with the neighbouring Kingdoms?

    A horn was blown long and loud, and it caught everyone''s attention, signalling the Kings'' arrival from the other Realms.

    The drawbridge of the Vampire Castle was lowered, and the portcullis was finally raised.

    The gates were thrown wide to wee all the bachelors seeking brides and lovers and married men seeking concubines and consorts.

    Luna shivered as the wind carried a wondrous aria to her ears as stringed musical instruments were ced in unison.

    She also heard the tter of carriage wheels, the murmur of voices, and the weingughter, which also sounded like pleasant wind-chimes in the atmosphere.

    The Consortium''s excitement was tangible when the cream of the other Realm''s aristocracy had gotten out of theirvish carriages.

    One by one, they were introduced.

    The Vampire king had told her that the Vampire Realm currently have allegiances with the Dragon Kingdom, the Feline Kingdom, the Faerie Kingdom, the Shadow Kingdom, the Werewolf Kingdom, and the Merfolks.

    The other Kingdoms were pretty much exnatory, but Apollyon had no time to exin the Shadow Kingdom to her because he was busy doing some Kingly work now that he had returned to normal.

    She gripped the rough, familiar stone of the parapet to steady her hands and strained her ears to hear the Kings'' names, but unfortunately, she couldn''t.

    The Kings from the other Realms showed only pretty faces, but she had glimpsed the hunger lurking beneath their masks of courtesy, absorbing the attention the females were giving to them.

    They cast sideways nces, lowered gazes, and wetted their lips as if in anticipation of sating their appetites at some dark and mysterious feast.

    Luna hoped that these suitors were good at wooing ady and weren''t going to act like a savage beast like her husband did when they first met��when he was still under the control of the Blood Beast.

    The scattered fires on the Castle walls illuminating the grounds winked at her as if mocking her rising panic.

    She prayed that everything would go ording to n.

    She examined their looks, their physique, and the dangerous gleam in their eyes.

    The Kings appeared like dangerous predators that the women couldn''t defend themselves against.

    A distant rumble of masculineughter sent a chill of despair shooting down her spine.

    It was toote for her to realize that.

    She couldn''t cut thedies off from the masculinepany, refusing to expose them from thescivious stares of these handsome scoundrels.

    Luna went back to the bed chamber and cast her own mask a furtive nce before drawing up the hood of her cloak to shield her face.

    Then, she melted conspicuously into the shadows of the outer stairs.

 Chapter 106 - Kings And Royalties*

    <h4>Chapter 106 - Kings And Royalties*</h4>

    Luna walked towards the castle grounds with a distinct purpose as she watched Apollyon stand in front of the Kings in an assembly as the Consortium gathered behind him.

    She sighed with relief to see all the girls wore their respective masks as they received the guests.

    It came as a shock to Luna that thedies had respected her enough to follow her rules religiously.

    Everyone was silent as they waited for the other Kings to line up in front of them to make the introductions easier.

    Luna can hear high-pitched giggles here and there��of course, feminine��wafting throughout the courtyard.

    The Kings from the other Realms also waited for Apollyon''s signal so that they can finally introduce themselves.

    The Kings were already unobtrusively peering under the masks and looking at thedies'' eyes through the eyeholes in their masks with intense gazes.

    They were actively picking out their chosen concubine and bride the moment they stepped out of their carriages.

    .Luna stopped the urge to shake her head at them.

    Men.

    They were of the same kind.

    Like Apollyon, they always have their priorities straight.

    Only a full-fledged siege could probably distract them from their lecherous attentions.

    The first King came from the Dragon Realms.

    He wore a giant piece of ornamental headdress which appeared like a Bison''s horns reaching towards the sky along with a light green leaf on top of his forehead.

    Luna heard from the escorts whispering in front of her that the man''s name was Draco.

    Draco had a strong masculine features really sharp and defined jawline which could probably cut a diamond.

    But of course, that was an overstatement in her part.

    He had that stable andmanding air around him befitting of a Dragon Emperor, appearing old and wise.

    He had straight raven hair that only reached up to his shoulders, fiery orange eyes and thick lips.

    He wore a gold gauntlet on his left hand.

    His chest was fully exposed that she could see his pectoral muscles since his Emperor''s robes were tied loosely around his waist.

    The gold and silver lining of his clothing formed an extensive and open V from his shoulders down to his hips, and the sleeves and the robe itself was long, its trains reaching the ground as he moved.

    Everydies outside the castle grounds were probably drooling over his pectoral muscles.

    One little pull of his orange and golden robes off his shoulders and it would be so easy to undress him.

    The other King was called Panterra from the Feline Kingdom where Catriona had belonged.

    If he was really from the Kingdom of Cats and he was addressed as Panterra, Luna assumed that he was a panther but of what colour?

    Luna had no idea.

    Should she assume that Panterra was a snow panther when he had short silver hair and light blue eyes?

    He was a man on the slender side, but his muscles looked solid and perfectly toned.

    Panterra moved in azy cat-like grace which was mesmerizing to witness.

    He wore fancy white robes with orchid embroideries on them paired with a golden wings headpiece simr to the god, Hermes.

    He also donned another snow velvet shawl wrapped around his arms while he held a thin crescent-shaped weapon on his left hand.

    Panterra had that delicate features going on, but the sharpness of his light blue eyes would probably scare and make ady swoon at the same time.

    The Faerie King wasn''t the King but a Faerie Prince named Aspen who was sent by his father to look for a bride that he had fancied, going from Realm to Realm in search for the right female.

    The moment Luna hadnded her eyes on him, she wasn''t sure if he was indeed male when both his masculine and feminine features were too bnced that she considered as perfection.

    He had arrived on a grand scale among the rest and Aspen had stood out for her out of all the bachelors for the Marriage Market.

    He didn''t have carriages along with him like the others.

    Aspen actually rode in his golden chariot with young unicorns attached to it.

    It was unique how his flying chariot had dropped from the sky before he reached the entrance.

    The Faerie Prince had long and straight auburn hair which reached below his waist, a strong, bulky physique underneath his golden armour and warrior cuff bracelets on each of his arms.

    He also wore a golden headpiece/crown��which appeared like a golden circle on each side of his ears��along with a thin veil and ribbons floating along with his silky hair.

    Beneath the armoured suits were a green robe and his gossamer faerie like wings where of green and bluish hues. Aspen was ethereal.

    The King of the Merfolk introduced himself as Phorcys, and the man had brought his wife with him.

    He was probably in need of a concubine.

    He and his wife had simr facial features with greyish undertones on their skin.

    Their faces are kind of simr to humans but not quite.

    The Merfolks appeared like humanoid creatures, and Luna had wondered why they didn''t show up with a mermaid''s tail or something.

    They have feet at the moment, but maybe they haven''t got quite used to it when Luna noticed that the female wobbled every time she took a step.

    Phorcys and his wife had golden blonde hair and small faces��smaller than the normal.

    The wife''s dress seemed like it was a tightly wrapped bandage around her body.

    At the same time, Phorcys only wore a man-skirt wrapped around his waist, exposing his muscr upper body filled with borate tattoos of runes for the Consortium women to feast on.

    Zephyr was a King from the Shadow Kingdom, and he had definitely lived up to his name.

    His aura and his overall appearance were shrouded in mystery.

    Zephyr''s feet hadn''t touched the ground, appearing like he was floating.

    ck robes were also floating along with him as if he was in a perpetual state of airborne suspension.

    Luna couldn''t see his face because he was hiding beneath his cloak as he held a bright and glowing triangr-shapedntern along with him.

    His aura had looked dark and menacing, and few girls in the Consortium were interested in him because of the constant shadow creeping behind him, spreading and following his every movement.

    Now thest one had Luna really curious.

    He was the King of the Werewolf Kingdom--the one who invaded the Sacred Valley who had persuaded Astarte to betray the Amazons.

    She wouldn''t ever forget that nine-tailed fox tattoo as he showed them proudly to the consorts, basking in the attention that was given to him.

    Now, what was he doing over here looking for females when he had captured Amazons in his new territory?

    Did he kill all of them?

    What happened to Astarte?

    Where was she and why wasn''t she with her man?

    Luna had stared so intensely as her thoughts kept circling around her mind that Remus had nced in her direction.

    She almost halted her breath in panic when their eyes almost met.

    Luna hurriedly walked towards the centre and covered her face with the hood of her cloak, blending in more through the crowd so he wouldn''t see her.

    She had worn a in white mask she had sneaked from the seamstresses'' room without the Vampire King knowing what she had done.

    Well if Apollyon knew, he would probably choke her to death because she didn''t follow his orders.

    Goddess, Apollyon must have thought she was a servant he could order around.

    He thought wrong.

    Luna didn''t have any attention to pretend that she was ady from the Consortium.

    Still, she had requested an extra mask from the seamstress so she could protect the women��especially, the human consorts, and escorts��if they faced violence or any kinds of abuse by one of these Kings.

    She didn''t trust these visitors one bit, so she had to find some ways to remain inconspicuous for the Consortium''s safety.

    Before the Coronation which will happen tomorrow, Apollyon had asked Luna to withdraw temporarily to their bedroom chamber.

    At the same time, the six Kings from the neighbouring realms would get to know the girls they have chosen for the initial pick tonight.

    The first event Luna had nned tonight was the Acquaintance Affairs, and Apollyon didn''t want her around to join.

    She thought that the Vampire King was being very suspicious for not including her.

    He told Luna specifically that he would be the only one to entertain the guests, and Luna would emerge from her hideout during the Coronation only.

    Luna clenched and unclenched her fists as she stood at the far back of the crowd, hoping that the Vampire King hadn''t noticed her out and about.

    Luna''s heart had beat faster the moment she had stepped on the grass of the Castle''s grounds afraid the Apollyon would feel that she was around through their blood bond.

    Still, fortunately, Apollyon was too busy and distracted, greeting and shaking the Kings'' hands even to notice her.

    Luna was annoyed by Apollyon''s order.

    Why would he show her off in front of his alliances only during the Coronation and then hide her away like she was dirtyundry?

    Was she ugly then that he wouldn''t allow her to meet the Kings the moment they stepped foot on the Vampire Realm?

    Did some other girl catch his eye--from the concubines and the consorts--that he wanted her gone so that he could cheat again?

    Her fears had caused her to believe illusions again.

    Luna will not distort her anxious mind with reality.

 Chapter 107 - Nudity*

    <h4>Chapter 107 - Nudity*</h4>

    Luna, with her face hidden behind the in mask, strode along with thedies from the Consortium following Apollyon and their guests as they proceeded towards the Royal Salon where guests of High stature were received.

    Luna trailed behind them at the far back, away from Apollyon''s notice.

    If the Vampire King found out what she had been up to��spying and sneaking around--he would probably lock her in their bedroom for the majority of the event, and she didn''t want that.

    She prayed to the Goddess that Apollyon would never see her tonight in the crowd full of masked women nor feel the energy she had emitted through the Blood Bond.

    Luna had been good at blocking Apollyon every time he attempted to probe her mind without permission.

    She had been practising the skill recently, so she might as well rx for now.

    The Vampire King had learned to respect her privacy when he couldn''t ess her thoughts anymore and just gave up.

    It was a feat that was hard to aplish, but she managed it through sheer willpower and constant vignce.

    Whenever Luna felt Apollyon''s aura surrounding her, she abruptly shut her thoughts down.

    Right now, Luna could see that the Vampire King was busy with weing the Kings instead of her, so that was a relief.

    Luna wound around in the sea of consorts in their borate gowns, bypassing soldiers and servants.

    The women from the Consortium had strolled as they murmured to themselves, gossiping about which King they have set their sights on.

    Every King was handsome, ethereal and had their individual charms to offer, so she was confused about who really had the right to choose.

    Luna had solely focused at her husband''s back and which King he was conversing with, but he had walked ahead than the rest of them, quietly leading the way.

    At the front door of the Salon, two armed guards greeted him.

    Tall and hideously muscled, Luna couldn''t believe that theserge men were under Cederic''s orders.

    Hmm, Luna wondered why she hadn''t seen Cederic and Jon around when these types of events were the sole reason for their existence--especially Cederic.

    That ancient vampire who appeared like a kid loved the excitement the Acquaintance Affairs brought.

    The double doors opened, and there were seven throne-like seats in a row��befitting for a Kingly Monarch--stretched out at the centre of the spacious Salon of silver, red and gold motif.

    It was just a spacious room, and there was no other furniture��nothing else��not even for the concubines, consorts and escorts.

    It was fucked up.

    So they expect all thedies in front of them while the Kings examine them one as they sat on their bejewelled chairs?

    Good thing all thedies wore masks tonight so they could at least hide from the King''s intense scrutiny.

    The Kings from the other Realms quickly upied all the seats.

    "King Apollyon." Zephyr, the King of the Shadow Realm, had abruptly spoken after he satfortably on his throne. "You had instructed in the letters I receivedst month that all of thedies were masked, so I have expected to that we will choose our future brides and concubines through their bodies."

    Choosing their pick of women through their bodies?

    Luna''s eyes widened at King Zephyr''s words, and she knew that Apollyon was also taken aback.

    The Vampire King didn''t even flinch, but hisposure appeared forced, somehow.

    Apollyon had smiled in amusement at Zephyr, but Luna could sense his growing indecision at the back of his mind.

    Luna and Apollyon had agreed that there would be no orgies, sex fest or nudity of any kind during the Acquaintance affairs.

    Apollyon might have agreed with her ns as a sign of respect for his wife, but right now, Luna didn''t think so.

    "Hmm." The Vampire King hummed as he rubbed his chin in contemtion. He ced both hands on his hips in amanding manner and spoke aloud, addressing every single one of the King.

    "All of you know that I was already cured of the curse of the Blood Beast so it would make sense that I am an already changed man." Apollyon grinned at the other Kings as if he was humouring them.

    "Now that I had a blood mate--my Empress--I could share an immortal life with; I already hold a different light in regards to viewing women. I am already giving away the Harem collection I had established for a very long time��the Consortium��, and I would make sure to respect these women just how I respected my wife."

    Luna''s heart beat faster from the happiness and exhration rushing through her veins when she heard about Apollyon''s sweet words.

    It was nice to hear that personally from him, especially in front of these people if she disregarded the fact that Luna had broken Apollyon''s order not to leave their bedroom chamber during the Acquaintance affairs.

    The Vampire King had trusted her and look at what she had done tonight.

    Luna was breaking his trust despite his heart-warming words and praise for his Empress.

    Apollyon had listened to her demands like a good husband, and Luna hadmended him for that.

    "Consent was essential for my wife, who have fought for thesedies'' rights to gain their freedom." Apollyon continued as he pointed to the women with an open palm, addressing their existence behind him as they stood, waiting for the King''s directives.

    The Prince from the Faerie Realm, Aspen, interrupted the Vampire King.

    He gave him a calcting smile before diverting his attention to thedies.

    "I would like to ask for their consent then. I don''t want to disrespect the Empress."

    The Faerie Prince said slowly; his husky voice abruptly turned wrong and hollow in her ears.

    Luna couldn''t miss the subtle change in it that it made the thin hairs of her skin rise in goosebumps.

    Her inner ear canals blocked out by itself as if protecting her instinctively from the danger of the Faerie Prince''s voice mour.

    "Ladies. Do I have your consent that you would undress in front of us so we could pick and choose amongst you?" The Faerie Prince Aspen called out in a whimsical sing-song voice which was wrapped with too much hypnotic frequency Luna found it hard to fight.

    Luna clenched and unclenched her fists as she shook her head, no.

    Luna wanted to say ''no'', but she waspelled to say ''yes''.

    The Consortium was already stripping every piece of their clothing provocatively before they even agreed to Faerie Prince Aspen''s requests.

    They murmured soft, sweet, seductive '', Yes, I will do whatever you told me to, my King''.

    His voice obviously controlled the women.

    Luna also had the urge to submit to the power of the Faerie Prince''s will now that she had lost her imperviousness from this type of magic because Hecate had already taken her power back.

    Luna was doomed.

    Apollyon would kill her if he found out.

    There was an increasing pressure inside her ears, and Luna could feel the cold blood trickling out of her earlobes.

    All thedies in the Consortium obeyed without question except her.

    If she resisted more than a minute, she would be the only girl who would faint on the spot or worse die��or she would prepare herself for the worst-case scenario.

    Luna would experience risking Apollyon''s wrath if he found out she was standing behind the consorts at the back.

    She had uttered a forced ''yes'' because she had no choice.

    Luna had started to strip her clothing along with the concubines, consorts and escorts.

    Maybe, Apollyon wouldn''t even notice it was her when she hid behind the escorts and consorts'' dainty forms, far from the prying eyes of the Kings from the other Realms.

    She inhaled deeply and exhaled, trying to calm her racing mind and heart.

    It wouldn''t do her any good to panic.

    Apollyon had already fucked a lot of women in his lifetime, so maybe her husband wouldn''t recognize it was her just by her naked form.

    She wore a mask and maybe, Luna could refuse to take off the hood of her cloak as long as she had obeyed Aspen''smands to undress.

    His demand had a loophole.

    ''Undressing'' didn''t mean she could remove her entire clothing until she was bare.

    Luna will try to test that theory after she untied theces of her corset, her skirts and the sleeves of her dress, leaving her body naked as the day she was born except for the cloak she had on.

    It had worked for the meantime.

    Luna was happy that she was able to keep the cloak to cover who she was.

    Unfortunately, there was a catch.

    She was able to conceal that she was the Vampire Realm''s Empress, but in exchange, Luna had stuck out like a sore thumb in a sea of naked female bodies.

    The six Kings were leering at the women''s bodies instead because their face was hidden while the majority of the women who were interested in marrying one of the Kings were sizing men up.

    There was more skin disyed here than usually found even in their bed-chamber.

    "Please stand on the tform,dies, for our perusal." King Panterra from the Feline Kingdom purred.

    The snow panther was over six feet tall and built like a fighting machine, made of pure lean muscle and tensile strength.

    His messy, silver hair made him look wilder.

    Luna had already lost and if she sneaked out and got out of the room...

    Ah.

    What a bad night to lose her High Priestess'' powers.

 Chapter 108 - Whores At Auction Houses*

    <h4>Chapter 108 - Whores At Auction Houses*</h4>

    All thedies curtsied despite their nakedness before they moved to the far wall of the Salon where the tform was located.

    Luna made sure that she had hidden well behind the clusters of concubines, consorts, and escorts in front of her.

    She estimated that they were almost a hundred, so she still had a good chance to escape this madness.

    The females stood on top of the tform as they organized themselves into seven lines of people with enough spacing to showcase themselves.

    Luna recognized the concubines; Catriona, rence and the redhead who Apollyon had cloned to look the same as her had led the girls to showcase themselves properly.

    Fortunately, some other girls didn''t take off their robes as a choice, and that also included Catriona.

    Like her, they have shown the Kings'' their nudity��breasts and quim on full disy��while their cloak and masks remained.

    Luna was more shocked to find Jon as he opened the double doors of the Salon and arrived at the scene along with his cohorts, bowing in front of the Kings and giving them the utmost respect.

    Sauntering towards the tform, Jon had looked at something above, and Luna nced upward, also.

    Luna saw a beam with chains attached to them.

    What the fuck?

    This wasn''t part of the deal she had made with Apollyon.

    Would he allow the Consortium to be tied up like an animal?

    "Raise your arms, darlings, don''t make it hard for us." Jon gave them an evil grin before pointing at the beam above them.

    "Hmm, I guess there was no need because all of the men in this room are already hard," Jon whispered as if his next words were intended for the Consortium alone.

    For the goddess'' sake, they would really tie the females up like a Harem ve.

    Luna bared her teeth in anger at Apollyon.

    How dare he broke her promises to her��told her lies and reassured her that thedies wouldn''t be treated like whores in auction houses.

    Well, they were indeed whores��some of them��but they didn''t deserve to be treated like animals.

    She clenched her fists, fighting the urge to create chaos.

    Luna just had to survive this and confront her husband after.

    If she didn''t sneak on this Acquaintance affair which her husband had prepared, who knows what else would have happened without her as a witness?

    Good thing that Jon only handled the first two rows while he let his cohorts deal with thedies at the back.

    After a couple of minutes, all thedies of the Consortium had their slender arms raised, and their wrists were manacled to the chains anchored to the beam above them.

    The beam was too high that some of the consorts were standing on tiptoes and their chests were thrust out.

    Any King who wanted a sneak peek could saunter unto the tform and part her cloak to touch her body, taste and have their wicked way with her if the Vampire King would allow it.

    Well if Apollyon found out she was there at the back, he wouldn''t allow it.

    He wouldn''t allow her wife to be tested by other Kings unless he had a liking to that kind of fetish.

    The Vampire King was possessive so she could throw that dark fantasy out of the window.

    She was sure there would be bloodshed.

    Luna would allow herself to be a ve but only as of the Vampire King as his master.

    If another King would touch her��

    Not that she wished for it, but Luna would put her husband in danger if she fought against it.

    It was ''Six Kings against one'', but maybe, Apollyon could still win because they were in the Vampire Realm''s territory.

    Luna sped her knees together as she avoided any contact when the Kings started to rise from their thrones and roam around the tform, checking the girls one by one like they were gorgeous art pieces of the most skilful of artisans.

    Up close, the Kings were the epitome of wealthpared to thedies from the Consortium.

    It was Phorcys, the King of the Merfolk who had tagged his wife along with her, who had turned up in front of her.

    "I would like to remove your hood so that I could see you clearly, whore." He said as he pulled therge hood of her cloak from her head. Luna couldn''t help but wince at the word ''whore''.

    What would be his reaction if he found out that he just called the New Empress of the Vampire King a whore?

    Well, so much for making new friends and allegiances.

    Luna drove the thoughts away from her mind.

    Apollyon would probably kill the King of the Merfolk after he killed her for doing this.

    The Sea King''s eyes widened when he scanned her. "You have silver hair."

    Luna''s long silver hair was messy and loose as it flowed silkily down her naked back.

    "I heard that the Vampire King''s new Empress had silver hair, and it was a pretty colour so unique that it would be hard to find another female like that." The Sea King dug his fingers towards her scalp and tugged her head upward to look into her mismatched eyes behind the mask. "If you are a silver-haired female in his Harem collection then I guess it wouldn''t be that unique anymore. Unless if I take you with me as my concubine."

    A cold sweat broke out over Luna''s skin.

    She wanted to kill the bastard for touching her desperately, but she didn''t fight, or she would bring all the attention in the Salon to her.

    She had to endure this along with the other women since she had no way to prevent it.

    Every King in the Salon watched and studied the women, looking for ws, being treated like cattle.

    Luna''s heart drummed erratically and her eyes skimmed around the room, making sure that the Vampire King didn''t see her.

    She sucked in a breath when he saw her husband talking to the Dragon King and nced down.

    "I swear to Poseidon," Phorcys cupped her perky breasts as if testing their weight in his hands like he was buying fruits. "I have a liking towards tall girls, and you look good enough to eat. If I could just take you home right now, I could buy you in a heartbeat if you were for sale."

    Luna''s cheeks reddened as the Sea King''s eyes raked over her, feeling the heat of his gaze touching her everywhere,

    How many times had the other women from the Consortium endured this?

    How many times had they been forced to disy their bodies for men without their permission?

    Luna''s hands shook with the force of her humiliation, her determination to save them increased all the more, but she had to bite her lip and stay silent for now.

    "You could bribe the Vampire King, my beloved, and if you don''t want to keep up with the pretence, the new Empress had created for this Consortium." Phorcys'' wife or concubine whined as she clutched the Sea King''s elbow pulling at his arm and bringing his attention back to her instead of Luna''s. "I don''t like to stay in this ce for one month because I''m not used to being out of the water for too long, unlike you, my beloved King. Just purchase the girls, go home and be done with it."

    "Hmm, what is thismotion all about?" Luna turned her head enough so that she could look over her shoulder.

    She didn''t notice that the snow panther from the Feline Kingdom had sneaked behind her as he gripped her hips with hisrge hands as if he was staking ims.

    Too bad, the snow panther was staking ims on the Vampire King''s wife.

    Panterra had addressed the Sea King in an amused tone, "You can now let go of this silver-haired female, Phorcys. I am interested in this female. It''s either you remove your hold out of her head, or I would sh and cut that arm off with my ws."

    "Hmm," The Sea King stared at Luna then back to Panterra who had stood behind her.

    He probably contemted if a mere woman from a Harem collection was worth the bloodshed or not.

    Phorcys gently removed his clutches away from her hair and patted her head gently before replying, "She''s all yours, Panterra. Some too many women are more beautiful than this one so I would dly give her to you if you''d like."

    "You must be a coward, then." Luna grinned, but the Sea King couldn''t see what was behind the mask. "You are afraid of the King from the Feline Kingdom."

    Well, that was for implying that she wasn''t beautiful enough.

    How dare hepare the Empress to the otherdies in the Consortium?

    "Did you just insult the Sea King, you crazy girl?" Phorcys''spanion had pinched her leg tightly as a punishment until they bruised, but the blood clot had disappeared gradually in front of their eyes.

    The Sea King and his concubine''s mouth hung open, and their eyes widened with shock when they saw that.

    Luna shrugged nonchntly like this happened all the time.

    It was one of the perks of being a vampire.

    "I will im this silver-haired female as one of my picks." King Panterra growled in approval as he stroked her long silver hair from behind,bing them with his ws. "I am thest silver-haired male in our bloodline, and I would like to keep this female to bear me silver-haired snow panther babies."

 Chapter 109 - Ownership*

    <h4>Chapter 109 - Ownership*</h4>

    **************

    Vampire King

    ***************

    Apollyon had to do a double-take to make sure about what he had witnessed.

    He narrowed his eyes, squinting at themotion at the back.

    There was rising tension between the Sea King Phorcys and his concubine along with one of her Harem girls and Panterra, the King of the Feline Kingdom was having a stand-off with the Sea King for the woman in question.

    He ignored it at first, but there was this niggling feeling at the back of his mind that he couldn''tprehend.

    Apollyon wondered if he had picked up his wife''s emotions instead of his but why would the Empress feel horror rising like a tidal wave when she was alone in her bedroom chamber just like what he had told her to do?

    He had witnessed the familiar long silver hair shing under the night lights when Phorcys had moved, showing Apollyon a view of Luna with the silky white mane tugged backwards while the Sea King had ced one insolent hand on her breasts.

    The Sea King had forcefully taken the hood of the woman''s cloak without his notice, and that answered his question.

    The King of the Feline Realm had arrived at the scene, staking ims on his Empress as he protected her from the Sea King and his concubine.

    Panterra had intimidated Phorcys and forced him to let go of her.

    He and his concubine stepped backward, looking for another consort, never looking back.

    If Apollyon was the Vampire King he used to be--while the Blood Beast had still possessed him and without his, Empress to anchor him through the Blood Bond---he would have brought her past Empresses to a gathering like this.

    He would want other men to look at her Empresses as a trophy wife, showing her naked body to the other Kings to boost his male ego.

    Apollyon wanted the crowd to envy him��that he could get any girl he wanted and pleasure her until she couldn''t walk.

    He would like everyone to know how good he can be in bed sport.

    He was stupid back then.

    Apollyon was proud when his amazing sexual prowess would be the most talked-about gossip in the entire Realms.

    Would let the six Kings��his friends and allegiances from the other Realms--watch them have sex and would have encouraged them to join in on the fun.

    Apollyon couldn''t remember how many times he had hosted orgies wit himself and the other Kings if they were so keen on being adventurous in their sexual escapades.

    They would have dressed simrly to Luna with only a cloak settled around her shoulders.

    Those Empresses weren''t important to him.

    Her naked body was open and on full disy, a fruit so ripe she would be so easy to pick and eaten right then and there.

    The King of the Feline Realm would dangerously eat Luna, and he would never allow that.

    Apollyon wanted to kill everyone who touched his Empress or just even a second nce.

    Growling low in his throat, Apollyon thought about ways on how to get his wife without causing a ruckus.

    He didn''t like how the Kings had looked at her and how his wife had allowed them when she wouldn''t even let him touch her that easily on their Honeymoon.

    He had promised himself.

    The Empress was his.

    She was his wife.

    Luna broke her promises, escaping the bedroom chamber.

    She didn''t even wait for him toe back and went on her own, instead.

    The Empress couldn''t be trusted.

    Now, his Empress was in the lion''s den because of her own doing.

    Apollyon was seriously screwed up.

    He had no intention to kill a critical man tonight such as the Sea King or the Feline King or the three Realms could go to war just because of one mischievous female--a disobedient queen of the Vampire Realm.

    It might be a silly reason for others, but now he was willing to kill Panterra if he didn''t detach his ws from his wife''s hips soon.

    He teleported in front of Luna, and here he was, facing her naked wife and the Feline King behind her.

    Apollyon stared into those familiar mismatched eyes, pouring all of his anger and hatred in his gaze.

    "Let go of that escort, Panterra," Apollyon said coldly, examining her nude body like she was a useless, forgettable concubine he could fuck for fun like a toy and then discard her after one night. "That escort is a sexual fledgeling in my Consortium. That girl does not know how to pleasure a man, so you better stay away from her. "I could give you a Haremdy of much higher value."

    The Vampire King didn''t miss the hurt in her eyes, and he wished he could take the words back.

    He heard the Empress inhaled sharply like she couldn''t breathe.

    Luna abruptly nced down at the floor, as if she had much more interest in the red carpet of the Salon rather than what he had to say next.

    She swallowed audibly and clenched her fists, moving her wrists restlessly as if she wanted to break free from the manacles but couldn''t.

    As if she wanted to escape��anywhere but here.

    Her Empress was in distress and grief, curbing the hup rising from her throat and trying to hold back tears.

    Apollyon felt like wing his own heart because of the pain he had felt.

    It was flipping between someone squeezing his heart until they burst and piercing them with a thousand needles with no sign of relief.

    The Empress must have felt that from the offensive statement, somehow.

    In his mind''s eye, Apollyon was shown a thin silver thread like it was about to stretch and snap--while his ears rang from high-pitched screams of agonizing pain and torture.

    Apollyon''s Empress didn''t show any indication from her outside appearance that it felt like her heart and mind was about to shatter from all those haunted screams.

    Then the piercing screeches in his head subsided.

    Apollyon would never forget how it made him feel.

    Luna was too calm.

    She was too calm but dead inside that it scared him.

    "Oh, if she was fledging in the art of lovemaking, then I could teach her to learn how to please me." Panterra grinned, but he didn''t obey at Apollyon''s demands." As long as thisdy is eager to learn and be a good disciple, then we would have no problems. Right, Silver Hair?"

    Luna didn''t answer and just nodded quietly, without lifting her gaze back to Apollyon.

    "For starters, escort, do you know how to suck a cock?" Feline King Panterra had grabbed her waist and pulled the globes of her butt towards his erection, rubbing at his Empress as if it was his God-given right.

    "You can teach me if you want, Panterra," Luna responded tly as if she didn''t even care about the repercussions of calling the Feline King by his first name.

    By this point, Apollyon was sure that she wanted to die,mitting social suicide.

    That wouldn''t matter to the Feline King if Luna had called him by his name when she was introduced as the Vampire Realm''s Empress, but she was an Escort right now.

    Disrespecting a King from another Realm was suicide, but he noticed Panterra didn''t care that much when he was enjoying himself, touching his wife inappropriately.

    Dread also coursed through Apollyon''s veins, Luna''s warning echoed through his mind.

    ''I don''t have anything topare it to.''

    What if she decided to fuck someone else out of curiosity?

    Apollyon wouldn''t let that happen.

    "Release the Escort, Panterra," Apollyon growled as he stepped forward, wrapped his arms around her small waist and tugged the Empress in front of him, forcing the Feline King to release her Empress.

    Had Apollyon been desperate to prove to everyone in the Salon that Luna was hers, he might have unsped her wrists from the chains, snatched her up, ripped that cloak off her and pushed her against the wall, pounding inside the sweetness of her quim while all the other Kings watch them do it.

    Apollyon couldn''t help himself.

    He needed to feel her, to know she was here and that she wasn''t leaving him.

    Yet.

    He ced his palm under her cloak so no one could see, and grazed his ws over her lower back hard enough to make it bleed, marking herpletely to remind Luna of the pleasure they had shared.

    Luna wriggled out of his grasp, jerking backwards and gasped in disbelief at his poor attempts to mark a vampire who could heal in a heartbeat.

    "Let go of me." The Empress said sharply, and Apollyon stilled at her tone.

    Luna had disrespected him in front of another King.

    He wouldn''t let her leave with Panterra for this impudence.

    The Feline King''s brows knitted together at the Vampire King as he regarded him with a new light.

    Panterra was no longer smiling and radiating good humour.

    "What is this all about then, Vampire King?" Panterra growled as the tension inside the Salon escted, catching the attention of the other people in the room. "Are you letting this Escort join the Acquaintance Affairs, and you wouldn''t even let me pick her up?"

    Apollyon was sure that the whispers were about him.

    "Is this some kind of a cosmic joke?"

    Low whispers rose from the masses until it became loud murmurs.

    The King of the Feline Realm asked out loud in a lofty tone. "Are you showing all of these delicious women to us but you never intended to give them away?"

 Chapter 110 - Disobedient Wife*

    <h4>Chapter 110 - Disobedient Wife*</h4>

    "Are you showing all of these delicious women to us but you never intended to give them away?"

    Panterra gave no signs of backing down.

    He had taken up residence behind Luna and gripped her shoulders to hold her towards him.

    Luna yelped at the Vampire King''s ws digging under her back to pull her against him, to hold her in ce.

    She didn''t protest, but Luna would never forget what the Vampire King had told Panterra earlier.

    Luna was so angry that she desired to scream her lungs out when Apollyon said that she was a fledgeling who couldn''t provide any pleasure to a man.

    She would rather be deaf than hear Apollyon say it in front of her face that she was useless as a wife because she couldn''t provide him with what he needed.

    It was the most humiliating thing she had ever heard in her entire existence, and the insult came from her husband, himself.

    Luna refused to ept it.

    It was hard to live with that fact that her husband had considered her as a woman of low value even if it was a means to an end��to save her from the clutches of the Feline King.

    It was a poisoned arrow straight to her heart.

    The tension in the atmosphere had risen up to fever pitch.

    It was merely nothingpared to the tension which had arisen between the Sea King and the Feline King.

    Both Kings stared at each other''s eyes with hostility, never breaking their gaze or else they might lose.

    Luna wanted to get this situation over and done with.

    She opened her mouth to speak up--hoping her sweet, submissive words could douse the heavy mes of their masculine pride instead of adding fuel to the fire--but she heard Apollyon''s whisper in her mind like a soft breeze filled with chocte scent.

    The Vampire King calmly said, ''Don''t interfere, wife.''

    When she heard Apollyon say that she must not? do it, Luna had the sudden urge to disobey him and interfere just for the sake of it.

    Luna wanted to see what will happen if she executed her revenge with her disrespectful husband this way, but her conscience told her not to.

    She didn''t have the power to turn back time, and Luna might have regretted the consequences.

    There were so many people involved in this.

    Luna didn''t want to be selfish just to teach her husband a painful lesson.

    "This Escort is close to my heart, Panterra," Apollyon told the Feline King calmly, but his smouldering blue eyes had said otherwise.

    The Vampire King raised a finger under her chin, forcing her to nce up into his eyes.

    "This Escort got mixed up with them even if I told thedy to stay in her room so that she will be exempted from this." Apollyon''s tone was a poisonous de pointed on her ribcage.

    It sounded like a threat, and he wouldn''t hesitate to finish her if Luna said one wrong word that would set him off.

    Apollyon''s anger was so close to the edge.

    "I like this particr silver-haired female, Vampire King. You already have a wife so why would you need a lowly Escort?" Panterra said with an evil grin. "Isn''t this the point of the Acquaintance Affairs? So that we could have a pick because you don''t have any need for them anymore?"

    "I want this female, Panterra," Apollyon said in an imperious tone, his deep timbre echoing off the Salon. "Remember that you are in my territory. You could already be dead before you could even ask for your pack since your Envoy is camped outside."

    "Vampire King. Now you are making me really suspicious." Panterra said darkly as he brought his face on top of Luna''s head, sniffing her hair and familiarizing himself with her scent, "Didn''t you say that you only have one silver-haired female in this Entire Realm and that is your Queen?"

    The Feline King wanted to see her husband lose control.

    It was obvious the Panterra was doing this to provoke murder in her husband.

    It wasn''t about owning her, but she guessed Apollyon was too blinded by jealousy to figure that out.

    Panterra arched a curious eyebrow. "I just figured out that anything that involved her will excite me."

    The Vampire King''s grip on her tightened as if he couldn''t bear the thought of letting her go. "Do you want to bid for this Escort then?"

    Panterra demanded as his ws sped around her hips. "Let''s bid for this particr female."

    They had a bidding war for her.

    Luna saw that knowledge in Apollyon''s blue eyes now glowing red in anger. "I own the female, Panterra."

    Luna didn''t panic when she heard her husband''s words.

    "Just name your price." Panterra''s fingers parted and spread her cloak until they encountered her bare skin. It was a possessive im, a show of ownership. "I might surprise you with what resources from the Feline Kingdom we could provide for you in our future agreements in exchange for this Escort."

    Her husband snarled low in his throat��and Luna didn''t think it was mere pretence. "Why are you doing this?"

    "Because it''s fun and exciting." The King of the Feline Realm gloated, "We are friends, Apollyon, I had never seen you? so worked up over a female before."

    Panterra appeared rxed and totally calm in front of the Vampire King despite him emitting a savage aura.

    The Feline King acted like he knew exactly what to do, what buttons to push.

    If Luna watched them as an outsider, she would think that they were close friends.

    Luna expected the Vampire King to kill Panterra for touching her, but maybe he didn''t want to risk the fragile alliances he had made from the other Realms.

    "Why are you willing to go this far?" Apollyon hissed in a breath.

    The vampire King''s skin became paler, and his blue eyes became more vivid.

    His husband''s perfect face and wide shoulders showed intimidation and dominance.

    Apollyon''s thick body was built for warpared to the Feline King who had the tall, lean and graceful form of a snow panther.

    Luna knew her husband would win if there would be a fight.

    This time, the Vampire King''s fangs had grown so long, protruding over his bottom lip.

    "Back at you, Apollyon." Panterra inclined his head in acknowledgement. "What are you willing to give up for this mere Escort unless she was a Queen in disguise?"

    There was a deadly silence which filled the Salon, slithering along the walls like it was a snake ready to strike.

    "You used to share the women with me on the orgies you host every time I visit." Panterra continued? with his rough, gravelly voice, "Whatever your price, I''ll pay."

    When Luna lifted her chin to look at his husband, Apollyon had chuckled at the Feline King''s statement.

    She couldn''t believe that Panterra would still insist on owning her, doing everything in his power to win Luna.

    "This woman is priceless." The Vampire King''s said as his gaze travelled to hers as if that settled the entire matter.

    Power hummed from him in great waves, as though it was barely leashed.

    This time, Panterraughed nervously and assumed a feigned casual pose, legs stretched, hands linked over thepels of his white robe. "You can have her when I''m done with her."

    Apollyon''s left arm shot out beside her head, hitting Panterra''s neck without warning.

    The Vampire King had swung around with a silver de in his hand which appeared out of nowhere and struck at Panterra.

    It happened so fast that the Feline King had no time to react.

    He dropped to the ground like he was a puppet that was suddenly cut off his strings.

    Apollyon wasn''t amused at what Panterra had said.

    First night of the Marriage Market and there was already an attack.

    This was all Luna''s fault.

    She had started all of this even if it was the Feline King who had provoked Apollyon to do this.

    Oh my goddess, was the Feline King dead?

    Luna tried to turn her head to look at Panterra''s lifeless body, but Apollyon beat her to it.

    He had snapped a finger, and the manacles on her wrists disintegrated by magic.

    Her relief died when she caught a glimpse of his burning eyes, the only hint of life in a face as still as death.

    Open fury would have been preferable to his icyposure.

    Fear seized her as he searched her features.

    She took an involuntary step backwards, backing away from him driven by some primitive instinct to escape and to survive.

    The Vampire King''s silence terrified her more than any bellow of rage.

    Luna was finally free from the Bride Auction, but she was directly sent into the prison of Apollyon''s arms.

    She realized that she and the Vampire Kingcked trust in their rtionship, fully andpletely.

    Their marriage was built on shaky foundations, and any wrong move could destroy it, crashing down in shambles where it couldn''t be repaired.

    By then, it would be all toote.

    They had to build from the ground up again.

    The Vampire King pulled her towards him.

    His tight hug had squeezed her as he wrapped her cloak to cover her naked body, never giving other Kings who watched the entire debacle to take a good look at her.

    "You have been a bad little girl, Luna." Apollyon whispered in her ear before he moved them out of the Salon, "You need to be punished."

 Chapter 111 - The Kings Punishment*

    <h4>Chapter 111 - The King''s Punishment*</h4>

    "You need to be punished."

    Tears almost welled up in her eyes, afraid of her impending doom.

    If Luna didn''t give up her virginity to the Vampire King and losing her status as Hecate''s High Priestess, it would have been so easy to escape from the situation.

    Her husband had tempted her, and now she could not do anything to fight and defend herself or teleport away from her troubles.

    Waves of anger radiated off Apollyon''s imposing shoulders when he captured her jaw, wrenching her head firmly to look into his cold, blue eyes.

    He kissed her brutally��so ironic from the way he used to kiss her before with aching gentleness.

    Now, he was forcing her lips apart while his tongue prated her mouth.

    By the time Apollyon had wrapped her so tightly with her cloak, Luna was sure that wherever her husband would have taken her, he would not hesitate to kill her.

    But the blood bond still stood between her and death itself.

    By the mood he was currently in, killing her on the spot would be quick and merciful.

    Luna didn''t know if he had it in his soul to forgive her.

    "Please," Luna whispered back as she tried to wriggle out of his grasp, but her husband wouldn''t budge.

    "Shut up, wife." Apollyon roared, his blue eyes twinkling dangerously. "If you don''t, I would not hesitate to hurt someone innocent. I couldn''t kill you as my wife, but I could certainly kill someone without an ounce of guilt if I could get this rage out of my system."

    Luna knew at that moment that there was no mercy and guilt in his ck soul.

    The Vampire King wasn''t different from the Archdemons.

    Did she save a monster with no redeeming quality at all?

    Luna choked back her pleas, knowing that it would be useless as it would just pass through one ear and to the next, but her pride was in tatters.

    It couldn''t stop the tears of regret from falling down her cheeks.

    Luna should fuel her sorrow and regret with anger.

    She wasn''t in the wrong here.

    If she followed her husband''s orders that she stay in their marriage chamber, then Luna wouldn''t find out that Apollyon had intended to treat the women like whores in an auction house for his guests'' viewing pleasure.

    All the other Kings wanted to approach them, but Apollyon had warned them, "Don''t move."

    He pointed his sharp silver de to anyone who daree running towards them to seek what was the source of themotion.

    The Faerie Prince halted, his clenched jaw dropping in shock.

    The Dragon King followed suit.

    His handsome face had darkened with confusion, wondering why Apollyon had hurt his fellow King, Panterra.

    This event could lead to a full-scale war, and all the agreements they were supposed to sign today as a sign of allegiance will be thrown out of the window.

    The Vampire King lifted Luna and carried her away, shoving her legs on either side of his hips.

    Luna wounded her arms around her neck and buried her face where his neck and shoulder met.

    The only thing which gave himfort was her naked body pressing against her husband.

    Apollyon adjusted her while his hands held her thighs, raising her higher above his hips to keep her from sliding down his body.

    A man slipped from Luna''s vision.

    Remus had nted himself firmly on their path.

    She immediately ducked her head so that the Werewolf King with the nine-tailed fox tattoo would not recognize her as the Amazon who had escaped from his clutches.

    Luna began to mumble a litany of curses and prayers to the Goddess that she wouldn''t get caught.

    Did he recognize her by the silver hair?

    At first, Luna feared that Remus would run right over them, forcibly take off her mask to see her face and figure out that she was the same Amazon warrior as the one he had seduced to im the Sacred Valley as his own territory.

    Apollyon slipped one arm around her waist as if drawing her like a shield that Luna could hardly bear the mock tenderness of his embrace.

    "Stand aside, Werewolf King." Apollyonmanded, "Unless you wanted to follow the path of my good friend, Panterra."

    The Werewolf King''s eyes were dark and hollow, but his voice rang with a conviction Luna had never heard he was capable of. "I will not stand aside and allow you to escape your responsibility as a Host to this goddamned auction."

    "This does not concern you."

    "Do you want to go to war with every King who had attended this hellhole for the sake of allegiances?" The Werewolf King Remus had stood his ground and lifted his chin in arrogance. "If all of the Kings present in this event ganged up on you because of what you did to the Feline King, you would be reduced to mere ashes."

    "You test my patience, Remus." The Vampire King snarled, his arm tightening around Luna''s waist, cutting off her oxygen. "Thisdy isn''t a mere Escort. This is the Vampire Realm''s Empress, and she is my goddamned wife."

    They didn''t even hear the Werewolf King''s response to that.

    Apollyon had already teleported into a location Luna had no idea on.

    The Vampire King threw her to the bed.

    Apollyon climbed after her, shredding the fabric of her cloak with his silver knife when Luna tried to pull her cloak, covering her body as she rolled out of bed and ran towards the door.

    Luna was determined to put a distance from her and her psychopathic husband but to no avail.

    There was no door in the room.

    It was an ivory tower with no exit.

    Was Apollyon trying to imprison her for her disobedience?

    The Vampire King had sessfully shredded her cloak, hacking them into pieces.

    Shivering in nothing but her naked body, Luna''s eyes widened as she stared into her husband''s furious gaze.

    She almost breathes a sigh of relief that Apollyon wasn''t cutting her skin with his weapon.

    Luna guessed it was too early to celebrate.

    She stilled when Apollyon moved on top of her, pushing her down to the bed with his enormous weight.

    She was rigid when she had felt the cold de skating over the fluttering pulse in the hollow of her throat down to the centre of her chest in a mocking caress.

    With a single downward sh that was shallow but enough for her to bleed, The Vampire King��her kind, loving, and patient husband from her Honeymoon��had hacked the upperyer of her skin.

    Luna yelped at the sudden shock of pain, slowly reced by a moan of pleasure when Apollyon''s tongue licked the gash, his vampire saliva working its magic.

    Every time his tongue moved at the edge of the wound and lingered there, her hips shot upward, wanting to feel her husband''s hard length.

    She wanted to remove his clothes and grind against him, hitting her sweet spot.

    "Husband." Luna''s pride crumbled as she whispered, "I want to feel your skin against mine."

    "No, this is your punishment for your disobedience." Apollyon''s voice was hard and upromising, and his hellfire gaze seared her soul.

    With a sob of anguish from her torture, she sought to wriggle out from under him, but Apollyon had caught her wrists, forced her arms apart, and grabbed for the manacles tied to each of the bedposts.

    Luna didn''t have the power to fight him as she had already lost her strength.

    She felt helpless when the Vampire King had chained her wrists, removing himself on top of her body just for a moment to tie her feet to the other remaining bedposts.

    She trashed and kicked helplessly, but it was so easy for Apollyon to overpower her.

    "Husband." Luna was breathing hard, pulling at the chains, but she felt like screaming every time she did it.

    It felt like thousands of needles prickled on her wrists.

    It hurt.

    There must be some magic attached to the manacles themselves.

    Resistance was futile.

    Luna would die trying. "Husband, please."

    Shey in bed beneath him as still as a statue, silently gauging Apollyon''s strange mood.

    The Vampire King''s eyes drank their fill of her as if it was her sacred right.

    Trembling with humiliation over her submission to appease the Vampire King, she scoured his face for a sliver ofpassion that had eluded the vengeful beast feasting on his humanity.

    Luna''s search didn''t give any results with fingers shaking in fear, for she did not recognize the man in front of her.

    Luna swallowed audibly as she tried again. "My King, you must understand that it was never my intention to anger you or hurt you. I only wanted to watch over the Consortium, and instead, I found out that you---"

    She avoided his gaze.

    "You betrayed me with your promises to keep the women safe from being treated like an animal." Luna bit back a sob and said angrily. "So, how did it feel to see your wife being treated like that?"

 Chapter 112 - Husbands Plaything*

    <h4>Chapter 112 - Husband''s ything*</h4>

    ********************

    The Vampire King

    ********************

    "So, how did it feel to see your wife being treated like that?"

    It was better not to answer her wife''s ridiculous questions or else he might murder someone��someone not her preferably.

    Seeing his wife treated like that damaged his ego, his masculinity, not in the way that his wife was damaged goods because other King had already touched what was his.

    It was because he couldn''t protect her when she needed his help.

    His Empress hadn''t called for him when she was in danger the moment she felt disrespected by one of the guests because nobody had known she was there in the first ce.

    "If the Kings would have known that you were there��" Apollyon trailed off.

    He didn''t mean to say his thoughts out loud, but it was toote.

    Luna reasoned out."How would your visitors know I was there if you wouldn''t even let mee with you?"

    Apollyon had already lost the argument.

    "Why are you stubborn?" He asked furiously. "I already told you that the Kings would meet you on your Coronation Night."

    "Tell me the truth, Apollyon. What was the reason why you wouldn''t want me there on the Marriage Auction?"

    "I had every right to do that as the��"

    "No." Luna''s voice was loud when she interrupted him. "What was the reason?"

    "I had a reason," Apollyon said.

    Luna screeched, enraged, "WHAT WAS THE REASON?"

    "Thedies in the Consortium are treated like whores because they are whores, and that''s a fact," Apollyon responded calmly despite his wife''s protestations. "If the Faerie Prince asked for pleasure viewing from the Consortium which they all obliged and took off their clothes, it does not concern me because they are unimportant."

    "We didn''t oblige, Apollyon, all thedies in there, werepelled to do it," Luna replied as she attempted to kick one leg, but she couldn''t because he had that chained, also.

    "You are a pureblood vampire and a powerful magician as well." She fumed at her, powerlessness, "You of all people should know that magic was involved."

    Apollyon paused, desiring to see Luna''s expression if she had truly repented from her disobedience.

    A part of him has felt difort for bullying his wife due to his jealousy, but her rebuke didn''t matter anymore every time he remembered the crisp of her betrayal.

    The Empress had gone out of their bedroom chamber by herself, joined the Harem Auction with her mask on without any chaperone.

    What if he didn''t see Luna''s silver hair in the tform and one of the Kings��not one but two Kings had taken a liking to her and kidnapped her to their Realm never to be seen again?

    Did she ever think of that?

    Crawling on top of her form as he settled one arm at the side of her head, he pulled the in mask made of whitece she had worn, eager to look at her tear-stained face.

    He threw it sideways, and it hit the wall that it cracked into an uneven two before it dropped to the ground.

    "I don''t care about them, but you, my Empress, is another story. You are mine. " He snarled as he tightened his grip on her hips. "You are the High Priestess. You should have been impervious to any type of magic, including the Faes."

    "That''s where you are wrong, Apollyon." Lunaughed with a sneer. "I have given up my virginity for you; therefore, Hecate had already taken her grimoire and revoked my right to serve her as the High Priestess of the Vampire Realm. I gave up my magic abilities for you and ruined my chance to be a powerful being in this Entire Realm and be your wife, Your Highness, only to be treated like this."

    "I didn''t want you there on the Harem Auction so that you wouldn''t be angry and pick fights with the other Kings if you see just single mistreatment to the females," Apollyon replied, convincing her that what he had done was for her own safety. "Knowing you, you would not hesitate to curse them out and say what''s on your mind without a filter. I can tolerate that, wife because I know you, but the Kings don''t, and they are powerful in their own right. I don''t want them to hurt you."

    The Empress enunciated in amanding tone. "The truth of the matter, Apollyon, is you just don''t want me there because you couldn''t control me."

    "Just tell me the truth." Although she was chained to the bed, Luna had exuded strength and power. "As the King of the Vampire Realm, you didn''t desire to appear weak in front of your fellow Kings��your peers because it was a threat to your ego, am I right?"

    Apollyon would have answered ''yes'' and agreed if he was frank with himself, but his pride had refused to admit that she was right.

    Not making it obvious that he felt guilty, he clenched and unclenched his fists, avoiding eye contact with the Empress.

    This was the first time Apollyon had a deeply ingrained fear of an old wound resurfacing, a scar which he thought had already healed.

    When he had drunk the concoction the High Priest had given them during their marriage, Apollyon had started to feel Luna''s emotions so strongly, especially when the Blue Moon Eclipse had shown itself.

    Apollyon had shrugged and thanked the gods instead of giving them the ability to feel each other''s feelings.

    He didn''t care that much about Luna reading his emotions perfectly.

    He didn''t care much aboutmunicating telepathically with his wife, catching each other''s thoughts regarding lust and desire, which he fancied the most.

    What feared him the most was Luna had started to figure out the inner and outer workings of his mind, and Apollyon didn''t like it out loud.

    It was as if she had known his psyche in just a short time they were together, the way he thinks about things without him saying it.

    Predictability to any other person outside himself was considered a threat.

    ''I guess my reaction was toote for this,'' Apollyon thought when he realized that another personpletely owned him, and even if it was his wife, he wasn''t ted about it.

    "So, you are doing this to show that your husband couldn''t control you, and in turn, you have this strong desire to control me through this disobedience?" Apollyon shot back, hoping that it would silence his wife and just give up this whole damned argument that was going nowhere. "Who are you seeking approval for? Do you always need to constantly validate yourself and the other people around you that you are strong?"

    "I don''t trust you," Luna whispered.

    "I don''t trust you either."

    "You broke your promise." They said in unison.

    It had no point.

    No one was going to win.

    Nobody wanted to swallow their pride and admit who was the one in the wrong.

    It felt to him like he was in a constant time loop.

    Well, Apollyon would surely apologize and admit he was wrong if his Empress would apologize to him first.

    Apollyon felt Luna''s muscles quiver as she tried to stop herself from pulling at the chains on her wrists.

    Luna was no better than his mother, his grandmother, and all the beautiful women from their lineage that had brought ruin to his family and name by being detached and cold wives to his father and his grandfather and his grandfather''s father.

    They offered no real and heart-felt love to their beloved husbands, just content of giving a rightful heir to the throne and keeping the high status of the Vampire Realm''s Empress attached to their name.

    They didn''t care about other people, not even their sons, who have been born in their flesh and blood.

    All the females in their bloodlinecked maternal instincts.

    It was probably an ancient curse.

    This was the reason why Apollyon''s male ancestors had sought out thefort of their Harem to fill that endless void being married to beautiful and calcted Empresses who had no desire to be with their husbands and would rather lock themselves in the Pce of Scleranthus just focusing on their art, onlying out once in a blue moon.

    Apollyon thought that Luna would be different from his mother, but he guessed they were all the same.

    Females were made all the same from the way down��the same tight holes.

    Apollyon gazed down at the pale exquisite globes of her breasts, struggling to fathom why he desired to have sexual congress with her now even if he was furious with what she had done, allowing other Kings to touch her so freely when she yed so hard to get, so hard to please when it came to him.

    Did she prefer other King than him?

    If she was given a chance tonight as a Harem girl, would she run away with someone else?

    Apollyon swallowed audibly as he watched his Empress inhale and exhale, acting all fiery and so worked up.

    Her generous breasts were crowned with the circles of the softest peach, tipping with ripe nipples which pebbled beneath the brutal caress of his eyes.

    He knew instinctively that it wasn''t ''desire''.

    It was fear.

    He allowed his gaze to linger on the teasing hint of shadow at the juncture of her thighs with deliberate insolence as he battled with his lust mixed with a fury so desperate, mocking every constraint he had exerted over his temper.

    Apollyon desired to force himself into her.

 Chapter 113 - Chained To The Bed*

    <h4>Chapter 113 - Chained To The Bed*</h4>

    ****************

    High Priestess

    ****************

    Luna''s courage faltered as Apollyon moved on top of her, waving the silver dagger carelessly in his hand.

    Apollyon''s shadow fell over Luna like a messenger of death as he drew back his dagger in the air, his lips quirked in a crooked grin more sneer than a smile.

    As the glittering de hung poised above her, Luna had a dreadful thought that her husband would drive it home through her breast, bidding them both farewell.

    Luna counted to five before she opened her eyes back to gaze into his dark blue ones.

    At that moment, Luna knew.

    ****************

    Vampire King

    ***************

    The Vampire King would like to do things to her wife a man would not do to an Empress--things he wouldn''t even do to a whore--, but that was a remnant of an Archdemon''s thoughts which had been deeply ingrained in his psyche.

    It wasn''t him.

    Apollyon couldn''t deny that the Empress'' naked body still excited, inspired, and enticed enough passion inside him after marking his ownership.

    His wife didn''t beg him to marry her as all the other women did.

    The Vampire King didn''t waste the opportunity to im her as his wife even if the Blood Bond had existed.

    Apollyon desired to make it official in the eyes of everyone in this Realm, not just relying on something invisible as their blood bond.

    Not all creatures would understand it except the one involved in the connection.

    He didn''t think about what to do, nor discuss, sit or ponder about his decision.

    If Apollyon had done so, the opportunity of entering her ''Wondend'' would have been lost, perhaps forever.

    He had to go after her with passion, without hesitation, and never let her go.

    It wasn''t like he had regretted it, but they needed to clear out any misunderstanding.

    Luna was ''extraordinary'' in the heart of his ''ordinary'' world.

    The Empress was his enchantment and adventure.

    But for how long would it take before he fastened his hands around her slender neck and crush the life out of her, digging his fingers to her chest and wing her beating heart as fury overrode his lust?

    Apollyon struggled to find meaning in what had taken ce at the Salon right now, but he didn''t care about the disorganization and chaos that much.

    Jon could handle theseplications very well because if not, the other Kings might have located them and attacked him as revenge for what he had done to the Feline King.

    It was more important for Apollyon to know what went on his Empress'' mind.

    Luna was confused, furious, and felt very much likeining��that he can feel.

    This misunderstanding��there was a lot for him and his wife toin about.

    "We aren''t cooperating," Luna remarked resignedly after the awkward silence, straightening her position as sheid in bed despite being chained to each corner of the bedpost.

    ''Obviously.'' The Vampire King thought as he fought the urge to roll his eyes heavenward, praying to any gods and goddesses around who might help them with this misunderstanding.

    Apollyon hadn''t experienced this with other women in the Consortium beforehand.

    They would obey whatever he told them to, like the good little girls they were.

    He had no idea a wife like Luna could be so problematic.

    "This is a vtile conversation, wife," Apollyon responded with a heavy sigh. "I don''t want to fight you anymore."

    Apollyon watched a single tear flowing down his wife''s cheeks, and it was the first time he had seen it.

    He never saw her like this��so vulnerable and so broken��as she bit back a sob, still narrowing her defiant eyes towards him.

    Come to think of it, Apollyon had rarely seen her happy and ted.

    Luna had mostly projected anger, frustration, and jealousy towards him.

    Maybe he wasn''t doing a great job as a husband except for giving her pleasure.

    He was sure he nevercked in that department.

    "I''m too impatient." Luna murmured as mortification scorched her cheeks, continuing, "I couldn''t wait for the Coronation Night just to see the visitors."

    Apollyon''s eyes widened a little, shocked that his proud Empress was the first one to apologize to her.

    He, in turn, apologized right away. "I also apologize, my wife. I didn''t keep my promise to you even if I tried to stop Prince Aspen. I should have tried harder." He shook his head as he uttered with regret. "I told you I didn''t care about other women except you."

    "I was just angry why you wouldn''t let mee with you to the Acquaintance Affairs." He nced apprehensively at her resolute face when she replied, the chill of her gaze burning through his skin. "I thought that you were ashamed to be seen with me as your Empress."

    "What?" Apollyon said incredulously.

    "I thought that you would involve yourself with the other women from the Consortium and have orgies with the other Kings without me." Luna''s mumbles escted to a frantic murmur. "I did remember what usually happened during parties like those. Maybe you have forgotten what happened in the Blood Moon Banquet, but you did snatch me up and rubbed your cock against mine."

    "Ah��I remember," Apollyon muttered as he rubbed his chin.

    "I was afraid that would happen." She admitted.

    "I would never cheat on you."

    Luna had recoiled from him as much as space would allow her when he said these cursed words.

    She had probably remembered what he had done on their Honeymoon, and it was a memory she would like to erase from her mind.

    "That''s what you said before you went out and made a concubine my replica." Luna shrugged with nonchnce, but her husky voice had hinted resentment.

    Apollyon winced and replied, "I''m sorry for making you jealous of my actions. I didn''t want you there to witness the Harem Auction. The King''s inspection of the escorts, consorts, and concubines might have offended your delicate sensibilities."

    Luna''s gaze nced upward at Apollyon''s face. "It did."

    "Now you know why I don''t want you there," Apollyon said softly as he caressed her silver strands with care.

    "You should have stopped them," Luna replied callously.

    "I don''t care what you think of me, but I couldn''t control the Kings if they chose to disrespect the women that way. They are powerful in their own right." Apollyon threw back his head andughed.

    It was a ck sound that rolled through the room in mirthless waves. "Do you want to see me hurt then? What if I was weaker than Panterra, and he killed me instead of the other way around?"

    Luna pursed her lips in fear of her husband''s barely leashed wrath, realizing she had already lost the argument.

    Of course, she didn''t want to see her husband hurt by the other Kings because of her.

    It all boiled down to her.

    It was her fault.

    "Be patient with yourself. Be patient with me." Apollyon beseeched. "I understand that it is natural to feel frustrated, impatient, and confused but trust. Trust me, my beloved wife."

    For the first time, Apollyon noticed humility in his wife''s eyes.

    It was apanied by the dangerous knowledge of something Luna had always known but had denied for herself.

    "It is unfair to each of us when I judged and convicted you before understanding your side of the story and most certainly without examining the evidence.

    "Nevertheless, we both judged each other unfairly." He supplied.

    "Both of us were at fault, and I take full responsibility for my mistake," Luna whispered as she stared at the silky red canopy behind his head instead of his blue eyes. "I''m sorry."

    "You must speak up immediately if you think my decisions are unfair and wrong," Apollyon said.

    The Empress red up at Apollyon, allowing him to witness the rebirth of the mes of defiance captured in her eyes. "Would you care to listen to me by then?"

    Luna held her breath in anticipation of his reply.

    "Yes, I will not promise because I already have a bad reputation for breaking promises as your husband, but I''ll try." Apollyon nced down into his wife''s pleading eyes��mismatched eyes of silver and green fringed by lush sableshes.

    "Don''t try," Luna said. "Just say you will do it and keep your promises."

    "How about you?"

    "I will keep my promises."

    Apollyon breathed a sigh of relief at Luna''s answer.

    "I will give you the right to object as long as you speak up instead of ring at me, acting furious and sulky all of a sudden. I can handle your feminine wiles if you just let me." He braced himself for the bacsh he would receive from his wife for telling her what he really thought of her.

    This fragile trust will require a great deal of honesty from both sides--and a thousand doses of it.

    Apollyon had glimpsed the bewildered hurt on his wife''s beautiful face.

    It was worse than the unspoken condemnation between them.

    "I don''t act all furious and sulky, Apollyon. Instead, I state my case, clear and concise, with strength and power. All you have to do was listen and act ordingly. As your Empress, I am worthy of your respect, fairness, and kindness."

    "Don''t allow yourself to be influenced without knowing the story. Sometimes, I think you have a deep bias against me which is colouring your vision. It''s a wed filter through which you may be seeing me as your husband." Apollyon stroked her face with the tip of the silver dagger in his hand, every trace of grim humour stripped from his face. " There was no need to be jealous of my past sexual partners in the Consortium, wife. There was a special reason I have married and chosen you and not any one of them."

 Chapter 114 - Silver Dagger (Trigger Warning)*

    <h4>Chapter 114 - Silver Dagger (Trigger Warning)*</h4>

    "There was a special reason I have chosen you and not any one of them." The Vampire King shrugged. "At least I had enough mercy not to behead you like one of my past Empresses��I forgot her name already because she never mattered��when she dared to y me when she became an aplice of one of the power-hungry Dukes in the Vampire Court."

    There was a spective gleam in the Vampire King'' eyes which Luna didn''t recognize. "It would almost be a pity if I shall once again be without a wife."

    "Your mere existence fires up my imagination." The Vampire King threw back his head as he savoured the roar of the wind in his ears blowing outside from the single window of the ivory tower." I''m afraid the other Kings would take notice."

    He hoped that the savage uproar of the wind would be enough to drown out the haunting echoes of his wife''s pleas as she begged him not to leave her there alone, imprisoning her."This is why I ask you to stay in our bed chamber because that was a lot better than locking you away. But, now, you give me no choice."

    "Husband." Luna groaned in despair. "You wanted to lock me away inside this ivory tower?"

    The Vampire King was deathly silent, the tension so hot and thick that even the silver dagger on his hand could not slice it.

    He had not shared his darkest shame to anyone else, nor would he ever do it.

    Apollyon would take this secret to the grave.

    He had locked away his wife not to punish her but to protect her from the other Kings who would desire her and take her away from him like what the Feline King had attempted to do.

    Apollyon reminded grimly. "If you beg quite prettily for your freedom, maybe I could change my mind."

    "Your Highness." Luna moaned through a haze of shock and relief as he became more aware that Apollyon had knelt and settled unto the V of her thighs, his deft hands gently assessing her quim for that juicy wetness, preparing her for pration.

    "Oh, the temptations of having a beauty like you, begging me to take you." The Vampire King taunted as he drove two fingers deeper inside her cervix.

    Hisrge fingers filled her with no signs of retreating.

    The only thing it did was to push them even further, digging and wing her insides that it made her scream in pain and pleasure.

    "I want you to beg, dear Luna." Apollyon mused in the softest of purrs. "I also love the idea of you on your knees, eager to do my bidding��sucking my cock."

    Luna settled back to the bed as she tried to calm down her lust. "Apollyon��."

    Her husband can disrespect her but only in bed.

    "Apollyon, what my wife?" The Vampire King pulled his long slender fingers from her without warning as Luna watched his mouth closing on those same fingers, licking them clean.

    Luna watched Apollyon closed his eyes, savouring her taste.

    Squeezing her eyes shut, Luna missed the feeling of being full inside her quim.

    She groaned as she struggled to break free from her chains once again, squirming under the weight of her husband.

    What did the Vampire King want her to say?

    Luna wanted it fast, hard and rough, but that might shock her husband to see his wife act like a whore.

    Luna settled for whispering, "I want you inside me."

    With his dark hair framing his forehead and his lips twisted into a mocking smirk, Apollyon looked every inch the fallen angel.

    Luna watched his fingers y with her quim slowly before she nced upwards at his exposed forearms, admiring how his cuffs were all pushed up.

    At the same time, his cravat hung loosely around the throat of his half-unbuttoned shirt, which only enhanced the devil-may-care attitude around him.

    The Vampire King caressed the tiny hairs at the juncture of her thighs with the silver dagger in his other hand before he brought his eyes back to hers. "Call me. Your Highness."

    "What?" Luna nced at his arrogantly handsome face and asked incredulously, her brows knitting together furiously.

    "I said," The Vampire King shook his head and repeated the magic words, "You must address me as your Highness."

    Was this some power-y type of thing her husband was getting a kick out of?

    "Are you fucking kidding me?" Luna''s hips shot upward as she attempted to jump from the bed in annoyance, but the chains prevented her from doing so, no longer able to bear her husband''s taunting. "Are we seriously doing this now?"

    Apollyon''s icy indifference shattered with a roar. "You have to ask what you want from me with the utmost respect."

    "Please." Luna''s pulse didn''t cease its expectant thundering as she forced herself to say it.

    "Please what, Luna?" The Vampire King''s voice was deceptively light. "You must beg, or you will just have to settle with nothing but a finger."

    She gazed up at him, her eyes brimming with both unshed tears and defiance. "Fuck you, Your Highness."

    With her tiny waist in the Vampire King''s grasp, he lifted her from the bed as he squeezed her butt hard and demanded, "Come again?"

    Turning her face away from him in embarrassment and frustration, Luna''s knuckles whitened as she brought up enough courage just for her to repeat it.

    Luna spat out every word with impatience mixed with hatred. "I said, Please. Fuck. Me, Your Highness."

    The Vampire King went utterly still, not even breathing.

    Then he shook his head and smirked at her helplessness, "That''s better."

    "Where did that bastard Phorcys touched you?" The Vampire King gritted his teeth against the primal urge to howl with possession--to bite her from every part of her flesh where other males'' skin hade in contact with hers.

    "Let me rece his dirty touch with mine." Apollyon wanted her to forget what happened to her at the Harem Auction.

    The experience was too degrading for a female��an Empress��of her stature. "You are only allowed to remember my touch, not anyone else."

    Luna lowered her eyes, ashamed of her own mistakes at the Acquaintance Affairs, which involved the Sea King and the Feline King, however unwitting.

    She bit her lip as she struggled to meet the Vampire King''s intense gaze.

    Luna had let these strangers touch her even if she hated it.

    It was her fault that her husband was acting like this.

    "You disappoint me, my dear Luna." Apollyon frowned at her quietness. "I had rather hoped you would plead prettily for my forgiveness because of that incident, too."

    The Vampire King stared down at her eyes, her face, her chest, her stomach and that secret spot between her thighs, appearing like a thirsty vampire who hadn''t drunk blood and had sex for a long time--a vampire who was about to draw an innocent maiden beneath him and rut her like a ravening beast.

    Luna was chained to the four corners of the bedposts.

    There was nowhere she could hide from his intense scrutiny.

    It still made her shy even if they did this a couple of times already.

    "Tell me where he had touched you, Luna," Apollyon said as he palmed her breast. He rubbed one nipple between his thumb and forefinger as it moved down to caress her stomach.

    She moaned.

    "Hmm." Her husband hadin beside her with one hand cradling his head without removing his gaze from the twins. "I swear I saw the Sea King touched your breasts like they were his goods."

    Apollyon proceeded to put one nipple inside his mouth and sucked hard that she felt the throbbing ache all the way down to her core.

    "I wonder if you coulde with just me sucking your nipples and ying with your breasts, nothing else." He nted her seductive nce from beneath hisshes. "We could try, shall we?"

    Whimpering at the pleasure, Apollyon continued doing it--a signal itself that she had revelled in the gratifying sensations he had brought up.

    This must be the situation where the saying had transpired from.

    Luna had sold her soul to the devil through the blood bond, and it would only be a matter of time before that same devil would collect.

    Nobody had told her beforehand that the devil would be so beautiful��in the form of her husband��that she would be tempted to surrender without a fight.

    "Apollyon." Luna snapped as her frustration made her more reckless. "Don''t make me wait any longer."

    "I see my Empress is very much acting like a Queen at the moment." The Vampire King said crisply as if he disliked her conduct from ordering him around.

    "Hurry up and just get on with it." Luna closed her eyes briefly as Apollyon''s own words came back to haunt her. "Your Highness."

    "You may scream if you like," Her husband suggested pleasantly as his eyes flicked down to her breasts.

    "I wouldn''t." Luna had no intention of screaming because she would not give his husband satisfaction.

    She was brave enough to handle this.

    "Suit yourself, then." He shrugged as if he didn''t care. "Just don''t forget, I gave you a chance."

    Apollyon raised his silver dagger and stabbed her one bare and creamy shoulder.

    Closing her eyelids shut, she fought the urge to scream from the punctured wound her husband inflicted on her.

    Inhaling sharply, Luna clenched her teeth as she bit her lip to keep herself from moaning.

    Gritting her teeth, she exhaled as the pain from the stab wound pestered through her system while Apollyon stimted her clit and her breasts at the same time."Are you. Going to pull. This dagger. From my shoulder or. Not?"

 Chapter 115 - Delicious Torture (Trigger Warning)

    <h4>Chapter 115 - Delicious Torture (Trigger Warning)</h4>

    "Are you going to remove this dagger in my shoulder or not?" Luna kept her tone casual and conversational but it was proven a difficult task the moment the knife was embedded on her shoulder.

    She clenched her jaw and hissed, "Are you trying to kill me?"

    Luna could only nce at her vampire blood spilling all over the bedsheets.

    She hissed at the throbbing pain as her vampire skin forcibly knit itself together to heal the gash but it couldn''t.

    It could only close around the silver dagger lodged on her flesh.

    "Killing you after we had cleared out our misunderstandings wasn''t quite I had in mind, my wife but I guess this is the best punishment I could think of." There was a feral gleam of the Vampire King''s eyes in the darkness and Luna could hear the savage despair in his voice. "It was pain mixed with pleasure."

    Luna groaned from the relentless assault of his fingers on her quim, his sharp fangs sinking into the soft mounds on her breasts. "Apollyon��ah��please��don''t. "

    She gasped a quick orgasm brought by the Vampire King''s skillful maniption as he yed her insides like an instrument.

    Luna saw white, hot stars exploding behind her closed eyelids as she squirted cream in Apollyon''s fingers.

    The white stars bursting in her vision were slowly reced by red and green dots when she opened her eyes to look into Apollyon''s hard and concentrated gaze.

    She screamed when Apollyon showed no signs of stopping.

    Her mind went nk.

    The moment she could sense the wave of pleasure inside her which threatened to build up to a climax, her soft moans turned to whimpers then rose to a crescendo of high-pitched cries of pleasure.

    Luna''s entire body shook and her knees weakened from the force of it.

    Rising up to meet his thrusts, she had screamed her husband''s name repeatedly as it echoed throughout the tower.

    By the goddess, Luna could swear that the entire Vampire Castle could hear her including the Kings from the other Realms.

    She thought she felt the world move with the strength of her orgasm as she creamed all over her husband''s hand, squirting her wetness all over the bed as the Vampire King stabbed another silver dagger on her right thigh.

    This time it was deeper.

    Blood spurted out from her thigh as it leaked all over the bed.

    Luna was bathed in her own blood as Apollyon watched her, his blue eyes smoldering with arousal.

    Luna''s eyes rolled to the back of her head, her bones turning to jelly that she couldn''t even lift a finger.

    Breathing noisily with her mouth hanging open, sheid back on the bed with her head turned sideways, her tongue lolling out.

    She wanted her husband to stop.

    She hoped that would prevent her from dying of too much sexual pleasure.

    Luna guessed her husband had enjoyed his control way too much.

    The lights in her vision had winked out and she blinked hard.

    Her ears had ringed as she tried to bring herself back to consciousness.

    Luna was too close to passing out from the pain of her stab wounds and theck of blood.

    The Vampire King had sucked her dry, drinking her blood from her breasts and stabbing her with his silver daggers at the same time.

    She swallowed audibly and bit her lip, reminding herself of the taste of blood.

    ''Any blood will not do.'' Luna thought as she pried her eyes open.

    She felt like she would die anytime if she couldn''t get hold of Apollyon''s.

    Luna swallowed audibly as her eyes zeroed on her husband''s carotid.

    She couldn''t even bring herself to speak because her throat was too dry from all that screaming,

    Luna wetted her lips as if that would even alleviate her parched throat.

    She needed to drink Apollyon''s blood soon or she would die from starvation.

    She might find herself in Hell along with Lux and Ravin.

    Luna didn''t want that.

    "Ah, I really shouldn''t be hard on you, should I? It must have been quite distressing to learn that you had just wedded a person from the male species who cared about nothing for anyone but himself. History had portrayed Amazons like you as heartless, petty vindictive wenches."

    The Vampire King''s voice softened to a velvety rasp. "After all, a proud woman like you had suffered from the humiliation of being molested by the male species you had sworn to hate with me as an exception, of course. I''m your husband."

    Who was this person in front of Luna?

    This version of Apollyon��this Vampire King��didn''t sound like his husband at all.

    Did he get too carried away from the power he had wielded against her just because Luna was tied down to the bed, syed helplessly in front of him?

    The Vampire King had the power to control and make her do what she wanted now that Luna had lost her magic as Hecate''s High Priestess.

    Apollyon had wrapped a muscr arm around her waist, sinking her body further towards the bed.

    He had parted her legs with the breadth of his hips as hey on top of her weak, incapacitated body.

    Luna could now feel the rigid heat pressed to the vulnerable hollow between her thighs.

    Would her husband enter her now?

    "Husband." Luna whispered hoarsely as she moaned, "I''m hungry for you."

    "You aren''t allowed to drink from me yet." He murmured huskily.

    Luna pulled at her the manacles on her wrists even if her whole body hurt.

    She squirmed from under Apollyon''s weight, trying to push him off her but it was futile.

    Apollyon tangled one free hand in her silver strands as he bent her head back until his lips hovered above hers, just a sigh away from Luna to bite her husband''s lips and suck his blood even if it was just a drop��just a taste.

    Luna was so ravenous she would take anyway she could from the Vampire King, even if it was just a trickle of blood from his lip, oozing down, down, down his chin, dropping to her mouth.

    She licked her lips once again as she focused on his bottom lip.

    Each desperate catch of his breath and the sound of his blood flowing through his veins rushed through her ears.

    She can''t wait for her fangs to sink into them when he kissed her.

    The Vampire King''s blood was the only thing that could sustain her.

    It was nirvana.

    "Kiss me, husband." Luna breathed softly, acting submissive. "Please, Your Highness."

    Luna added the magic words to soften him up to her requests because she knew instinctively that her husband wouldn''t kiss her.

    Luna knew of his ns even as he wrapped his arm around her hips and lifted her to the bed.

    The Vampire King was stubborn as fuck.

    This was all about punishment and not giving her the pleasure she sought.

    Apollyon was good at creating his torture devices.

    Luna found out the hard way that there weren''t reserved for his enemies alone.

    He could also use his tactics against her, teasing her and taunting her about the things just in front of her beyond her reach.

    When was this going to end?

    Probably until her husband got tired of this game or until he wanted this tost.

    Apollyon made it clear that he was the one in control here--just another one of his power-ys.

    Should Luna provoke him to get a reaction out of him?

    Her mind nked once again when the Vampire King nudged her knees apart.

    She longed to reach for him and caressed his jaw, thread her fingers through his raven hair and wrapped him in her embrace but she couldn''t.

    Apollyon had bonded her in cruelty for she was unfortunately chained to the bed.

    The Vampire King had deprived both of them of enveloping each other in a warm embrace.

    Closing her eyes shut, Luna shivered as she braced herself for the worst.

    Her entire body convulsed when the Vampire King pulled the dagger abruptly from her thigh and threw it to the floor.

    Luna''s skin had struggled to stitch itself together.

    It scared her when it didn''t healpletely when she rose to look at it.

    The wound didn''t close.

    She bit her lip once again, drawing her own blood and swallowing it.

    Ah, It was useless since that wouldn''t give her any nutrition unless she drank from her blood mate himself.

    "I want you dripping wet before Ie inside you." Her blood mate murmured as he parted the folds between her thighs with rapt attention.

    Broken gasps escaped from between her clenched teeth when his big blunt middle finger burrowed once again inside her, making her ready to receive him.

    This was never-ending torture.

    Luna wanted her husband''s cock and she wanted it inside her right now.

    She didn''t dare voice it out because she feared Apollyon''s retribution.

    Luna turned her face to the pillow as her husband continued his perversion.

    She waited patiently until the Vampire King was satisfied with the wetness of her quim.

    Devastating tingles of pleasure spread once again from his touch.

    Luna knew that if she came for the third time she would pass out and her husband would liken it to humping his rod to a dead person because she was dead to the world.

    She tried to keep herself awake but she was dangerously close to shutting down as she arched against his hand.

    Their gazes locked for a brief eternity.

    Then, Apollyon drove himself between her syed legs with a guttural groan.

    Luna''s fingers crumpled on the bedsheets as a brightnce of pain consumed her.

 Chapter 116 - Beloved

    <h4>Chapter 116 - Beloved</h4>

    *************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    *************************

    The Vampire King knew he was done for the moment hisrge hand breached Luna''s silkyher curls, his fingers moving inside her.

    He had every intention of bedding her crudely and urgently as if she was nothing more but a Harem ve to use for his pleasure alone without regard to her desires.

    Apollyon wanted to prioritize himself this time, but he couldn''t bring himself to do it.

    The feel of his wife''s fragile, delicate body shivering beneath his own body had stirred some lingering remnant of decency in his soul.

    The Vampire King settled for making her orgasm three times before he got his, instead.

    He aspired to be a gentleman when ites to his wife, but he was selfish when ites to the other women in the past in the sense that Apollyon rarely gave his concubines their pleasure first.

    He only pleasured them after spilling his seed inside their hot, wet, and tight quims.

    In the past, Apollyon had satisfied himself with the warmth of their small, delicate mouths paired with their wet saliva as he increased his tempo, watching his cock move in and out of their red lips.

    He had tortured the Empress with his fingers, priming her for his possession.

    He bit back a groan when he discovered that the cup of her womb had already overflowed with nectar for him for the first time.

    On the second time.

    It was bittersweet when Luna squirted all over the bed for the third time, which Apollyon didn''t think he had deserved.

    By torturing her Empress, he was also torturing himself.

    He couldn''t take it anymore.

    He pulled the silver dagger he had embedded on her thigh and threw it to the wall so it wouldn''t get in the way the moment hisrge and hard cock probed at her entrance.

    He positioned his red cock at her quim, which had already burst with angry veins for prolonging his gratification, leaking with pre-cum.

    He drove inside her without any warning.

    Apollyon suckled her magnificent breasts until she writhed in pleasure beneath him.

    "Husband, Ah---please," Luna moaned, her unshed tears on the verge of falling��whether it was due to pain and pleasure, he had no idea.

    "Kiss me, Your Highness." Luna swallowed, biting her own lip sexily. "I want your lips against mine."

    The Vampire King realized that his wife was the greatest temptress he had ever known.

    He was so close to his breaking point, and he didn''t want to lose control.

    His wife had tempted him to part the tender petals of her lips with his tongue, but how long would it be before that tongue betrayed him again after this?

    This was why he thought it was better to lock Luna inside the Tower for a month and skip her Coronation Night in itself, or he could choose to tell the Kings and advice them to take all the harlots they desired as an apology and go back to their respective Realms without any signed agreement for the meantime.

    It was already useless when he did the Feline King dirty like that, stabbing the snow panther in one of its pleasure points on the neck, which nobody knew of.

    He didn''t kill the Feline King.

    Apollyon just sent him to sleep.

    The Empress had tempted him to murmur hot, kinky words huskily against her mouth, the curve of her throat, the satiny cream of her belly, of her wet quim like a love spell.

    It wouldn''t take long for him to change those with words of tenderness, words of love then,ter on, it will be words of his doom.

    Apollyon twined his fingers around the side of her neck, choking her, as his cock pistoned inside her, her honeypot scorching her like a red-hot brand.

    Apollyon ruthlessly quenched every longing as he realized he was moving too fast, being inconsiderate of her wife when she yelped in pain with every movement.

    Jerking the other silver dagger from her shoulder aside, he grabbed both of her manacled wrists, linking his fingers through hers, and pressed her hands back on each side of her head.

    **************

    The Empress

    ***************

    Luna''s fingers crumpled on the bedsheets as a brightnce of pain consumed her.

    The Vampire King could have brought her to orgasm for hours on end with his mouth and fingers. However, she still hadn''t prepared herself for this fulsome, pulsing cock inside of her when her insides had turned into jelly, so sensitive and achy from too much stimtion she thought she would die the moment Apollyon''s cock entered her.

    They had done this a lot of times, but the size of Apollyon''s cock threatened to overwhelm her once again.

    Luna felt like she couldn''t breathe.

    She was too full; his size was so massive she did not know how her body could contain her again, yet somehow, her quim had adjusted magically to wee the length and girth of him into her melting core.

    She couldn''t even touch him like she wanted to.

    The Vampire King was adamant in denying her the drug-like kisses she had craved no matter how much she begged him as a punishment.

    Despite his refusal to give the loving caresses that would make her feel protected and safe, Apollyon had handled her so roughly��so desperately---like he was a traveler who had gone on days and nights without water in the middle of the dessert and finally caught sight of an oasis��not just a mirage.

    His grip was too strong on her thighs that his sharp ws had dug to her flesh.

    Luna didn''t bleed as he drove his cock inside her as it did before.

    It didn''t hurt as much as the first time, either.

    The delicious friction of the push-pull movements of his cock sent her tight quim weeping, almost driving her insane.

    Even though the Vampire King was rough with her, driving himself mad with pleasure with the desperation to reach his orgasm.

    He was greedy and selfish this time, but he wasn''t brutal.

    He spat on his palm before petting her quim and rubbing that sensitive little nub with his thumb, increasing the wetness.

    Another finger joined his thumb as he stretched her folds as much as it could allow.

    Luna''s screams pierced the entire tower, but she still couldn''t resist the urge to arch against his hand.

    Apollyon was testing her capacity for pain��testing the limits of her pain threshold and endurance. Luna had married a sadist.

    She wasn''t a submissive, but why did it feel so good when it hurt so bad?

    Luna clung to the Vampire King''s strong hands because that was the only warm contact he could give her, providing her the sense of safety and warmth in their connection.

    He wouldn''t kiss her, so she would settle with anything she could get.

    She almost swore that the Vampire King''s eyes had turned to gold.

    Terror threatened to overwhelm Luna that she had to remind herself that this was no stranger looming over her but Apollyon, her husband��big and warm and smelling of mint, of rain, of choctes, of his delicious blood and the musk of his need.

    She thought it was the Archdemon of Gluttony who had showed itself again in her husband''s form, but it was just a sudden sh of lightning that illuminated the room, followed by a p of crashing thunder.

    Luna looked behind the Vampire King towards the small window of the tower.

    Outside was a shadowy universe of torrential rain and howling winds.

    Luna squeezed his hands until their palms were mated as tightly as their bodies.

    The Vampire King had wedged himself so deep in her throbbing sheath.

    Apollyon had grounded his hips against her own, then withdrawing to do it again.

    It was painfully, agonizingly slow this time; she didn''t know what had gotten into her husband''s mind when he had switched from the faster pace he had done earlier like the Hell Hounds were after them.

    Luna realized she hated slow.

    "Faster, Apollyon." Luna pleaded as she matched his leisure pacing.

    "Ram that cock harder as you did earlier." She urged but instead of following her orders; her husband had moved slower than slow that she wanted to scream in frustration.

    "Apollyon, don''t y with me this time. I��I ache for you. Please, do it."

    The bastard just chuckled as he got rid of the chain tied to her left ankle and lifted her leg higher.

    If only she could break these heavy chains tied to her wrists, Luna would have bitten her husband''s neck while leaving deep scars behind his back full of deep scars and scratches from her ws.

    She wanted to kill her husband for this.

    "Maybe, your sexual prowess had weakened from fucking your concubines, Your Highness," Luna glowered at his hooded blue eyes, which had turned into zing embers when her words had finally sunk in.

    It was Luna''s turn to smirk at his husband.

    She couldn''t keep her smirk for too long when his body continued to bludgeon her with waves of dark pleasure as he quickened and deepened his hip thrusts that she could hardly recognize the sound of her own voice.

    With her left leg resting on his shoulder, Apollyon breathed harshly as he doubled the intensity and rhythm of his movement.

    "Apollyon---please." Luna moaned brokenly until it rose to a hoarse whimper of different versions of the Vampire King''s name. "Ah--- I can''t."

    Luna gasped when the Vampire King''s powerful body went rigid as he buried his cock to the hilt in her like how he had stabbed her with his silver daggers.

    Lightning sizzled through the tower, giving her a glimpse of Apollyon''s savage beauty as he threw back his head in exultation, roaring her name in an incantation of pure ecstasy.

 Chapter 117 - Imprisoned In An Ivory Tower

    <h4>Chapter 117 - Imprisoned In An Ivory Tower</h4>

    ****************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ****************************

    Apollyon copsed against the Empress and wrapped his hand around her neck to tilt her head sideways so he could sink his fangs into them.

    Curling his fingers in the damp silk of silver hair, he buried his face against her throat and drank her blood.

    When he was satisfied, he rolled off of her without a word and adjusted his cock in his pants.

    Ah, Apollyonm had used his Empress to achieve his sexual pleasure so well he didn''t even have the time to remove his clothes or just even his shirt.

    There was no need.

    The Empress had that effect on him.

    He seemed to be in a hurry when it came to having sexual congress with his wife.

    Apollyon couldn''t help that Luna was a temptation incarnate--a sex goddess.

    The Vampire King stared down at her as he rubbed his chin, contemting whether he should leave her on this ivory tower all trussed up as a punishment for her bad behaviour while he dealt with the Kings at the Acquaintance Affairs to fix the issue.

    He spected he wouldn''t receive any bacsh from the Kings especially, the Feline King Panterra since he had only put him to sleep.

    He didn''t actually kill him, and perhaps, that would let him off the hook.

    He wouldn''t be persecuted for his disrespect regarding Panterra or even for the other Kings from the other Realms.

    They would not me him once they found out that the silver-haired Escort the Sea King Phorcys and the Feline King Panterra fought over was the Empress-in-disguise.

    If Apollyon truly lived up to his name as the most ruthless King in the whole Realm then he would have killed Panterra and Phorcys on the spot for even touching the naked flesh of his Empress, no questions asked.

    The Empressid there in the dark with her bare legs spread apart while her other foot was unchained, the torn pieces of her velvet cloak crumbling around her waist.

    *********************

    The Empress Luna

    *********************

    Luna inhaled deeply, and the entire room was surrounded with the aroma of that familiar chocte scent, enfolding her skin.

    "Where are you going?"? Luna asked huskily as she witnessed her sore body flooded with her own blood and the scalding bounty of her husband''s seed.

    "I will be gone for a while." He replied curtly.

    Luna reached out for him, but the chains on her wrists stopped her from doing so. "You have to let me go ande with you."

    The Vampire King''s expression was a mask.? "No, I wouldn''t let you ruin this for me again."

    Luna had started to figure out his ns for her by that wicked gleam in his cold blue eyes,

    She had had enough of her husband''s selfishness.

    Luna just wanted to help so why wouldn''t he allow it?

    She had the lead role in this ruckus so she would take responsibility for this mess.

    Helping her husband how to solve this would be the right thing to do.

    She began to fight again in earnest, jerking at the thick metal chains with wooden needle spikes attached to them as if that would miraculously set her free.

    "Husband, I thought we already talked about this." She resisted, but he hadpletely ignored her spirited struggles. "Let me join you and let me p the Sea king''s face for molesting me."

    Luna already told him she wouldn''t cause any more trouble.

    What more could he ask for?

    "Now, that I remembered that fact," Apollyon said sharply. "I needed to punish the Sea King."

    "Perhaps, you could ask for an unjustpensation for your Empress'' dishonour?" Luna''s eyebrow arched as she suggested, "Something impossible? Or we could ask for unfair agreements that are in our advantage. My presence in your meetings will help you greatly because I would provide the pressure to make him do anything you want." Luna continued further, "I will y with him."

    "Enough, wife," Apollyon growled with menace. "I don''t like that you are giving him attention when you should only focus on me."

    "Apollyon, calm down." She whispered soothingly, curbing her urge to wrap her husband''s body in a? warm embrace as an assurance that he will be the first and thest man she will adore. "It wasn''t like I was professing my love to him."

    "You have acquired a certain taste for the Sea King?" He narrowed his cold, blue eyes at her, still."Do you like him more than me then after our sexual congress? Or did you realize you liked that Feline King Panterra better when he ground his member against your ass?"

    "No. I only like you and your big, fat cock." Luna aimed the sarcastic tone, but from Apollyon''s smug grin, Luna thought he had taken the statement seriously.

    "I will be back. Let me talk to the Kings and handle this alone. As the Empress, your presence alone couldplicate things." He smiled as he gave her chest and her stomach onest stroke before he went.

    "Just unchain me, and I will stay in this tower, as you said. I wouldn''t attempt anything that would put us in danger." Luna insisted, but Apollyon just shook his head in dismissal.

    He was busy ncing down at her naked body as they talked.

    Apollyon couldn''t even look at her in the eye as he watched her body struggle to break free from her cuffs.

    Luna wasn''t sure if he had paid attention to the entire conversation, either.

    When that didn''t work, Luna aimed a strong kick at the Vampire King''s groin as he kneeled over her.

    The bastard had caught her ankle and stretched her legs as far as he could before rubbing her clitzily.

    Luna screamed and shed him a nce full of hatred mixed with lust.

    It wouldn''t take another few minutes before they would be sucked back into another round of sexual congress.

    She couldn''t do this again every time they fight.

    Luna shouldn''t let him even if he dared.

    Not all problems could be solved with sex.

    Her husband was still horny despite doing all that.

    Oh, how she yearned to pummel his broad back with her fists and w the pale skin of his arms and his chest muscles, leaving a mark on him.

    But the Vampire King would remain as impervious to her blows like a stone golem, not only when she had already lost her High Priestess magic, but also Luna hadcked vampire strength when she was so thirsty of her husband''s blood��so damn thirsty.

    "At least, give me a drink." Luna moaned as she licked her dry lips and eased her parched throat.

    "Maybe, when I get back, beloved." He murmured huskily as he stroke her cheek gently. "You just have to stay put and wait for me."

    "I couldn''t wait for you any longer." She sobbed, but then she recovered her earlier spunk. "I would die without your blood and turn to ashes but if you find it alright for your soul to perish along with me then I guess, it''s up to you."

    "You''ll survive." He grinned evilly.

    "I''ll kill you, Apollyon." She groaned. "Come back here."

    "I''ll take my chances."

    "Apollyon---"

    "Maybe, I could give you three drops just enough for you to survive." He replied.

    She said angrily. "Fuck you, Apollyon."

    "I know you want to." The Vampire King pricked his forefinger with one fang and squeezed it over Luna''s open mouth, dribbling a minuscule amount of blood than what Luna would have liked.

    Itnded on her upper lip, and she ran her tongue over her mouth so that she could have a taste.

    After three drops, the tiny puncture had healed.

    "No more." Apollyon grinned.

    Damn. The Vampire King was too good at torturing her that she wanted to scream.

    "Apollyon, it''s not enough," Luna whined.

    "It''s enough for now." Apollyon shrugged with nonchnce as his blue eyes twinkled with mirth.

    Then he brought that same hand on his patrician nose, inhaled his fingers and murmured, "You smelled divine as always."

    The Vampire King smirked, his sharp fangs shing as he got out of the bed. "I couldn''t wait to fuck you again when I get back. Tying you to the bedpost was the best thing that I ever witnessed tonight." He continued in a husky whisper. "Just wait for me and be a good little girl as you wait for me to get back."

    Apollyon had probably wondered why Luna had struggled to escape him and this time; she had pleaded with him not to go and not to leave her alone inside the ivory tower.

    Luna''s curses rose to a frantic scream as anxiety and annoyance seized her, so dark and consuming that it verged on insanity.

    She begged for Apollyon shamelessly, despising herself for lowering down her pride just so he could let her go, promising him a lot of things as long as he wouldn''t lock her away in this terrible ce.

    It was an ivory tower with no doors.

    It was so high up.

    The only way to get out of here was to jump to her death if she could fit herself into the small window or take back her ability of teleportation from Hecate.

    Both seemed impossible, especially if she was all trussed up in the bed.

    With onest effort, Luna tried to wrap her free leg around her husband''s torso, clinging to him despite being chained but he grasped her ankle and tethered it back to the bedpost.

    The Vampire King paced on the parapet restlessly as if he was escaping legions of demons nipping at his heels, strode out to the window and disappeared into thin air.

 Chapter 118 - Dreams Of Gluttony

    <h4>Chapter 118 - Dreams Of Gluttony</h4>

    ********************

    The Empress Luna

    *********************

    There was no point in screaming when the Vampire King wasn''t there to hear her, no longer able to summon the will to plead.

    She lurched her arms upward, using her Amazon and Vampire strength, but it wouldn''t budge.

    She inhaled and exhaled, releasing her stress and frustration with every deep breath.

    Luna couldn''t even wipe her bitter tears with her hands.

    She had drunk only a few drops of Apollyon''s blood, which weren''t enough to give her the strength to break the chains.

    Ah, Luna realized.

    This wasn''t just Apollyon''s punishment just because she had crashed the Acquaintance Affairs with his fellow Kings.

    Apollyon did this as revenge when she had tied his unconscious body to the bed after her first attempt to exorcise Ravin when she saw his memory with Lilith, the first High Priestess, but she had put him to sleep, nothing else.

    He must probably be still offended by what she had done.

    If the Vampire King told her that he was a person who wouldn''t hold grudges, then she would never believe him.

    Luna remembered that Apollyon had told her before about the manacles.

    They were indestructible due to the different spells she had ced on each wrist, so he had no choice to destroy the bedpost so that he could set himself free.

    Luna had fought the urge tough when Apollyon had narrated that he had walked around the castle with the iron bonds wrapped around his wrists like bracelets beforemanding her to break them herself since she was the one who created the spells.

    So, her best choice was to dismantle the bedframe support and proceed from that.

    Tiny prickly wooden needles were surrounding the inside of the handcuffs itself so she would have to pull at the chains and increase the force at the end of the chains tied to the bedposts rather than her delicate wrists, or Luna would end up with shattered bones and suffer.

    That was the best idea.

    Luna prayed to the Goddess Hecate to help her escape.

    Before she cleared her mind and gathered enough power,? she focused on her arms and elbows instead of cing all her strength in her wrists.

    She counted to sixty and paused and loosened up.

    Luna counted to ten.

    She opened her eyes and jerked her left arm, striking with the force and precision of a cobra.

    Luna stumbled and fell off the bed, whimpering when the chain of her left hand mmed her in the face.

    "Ah, fuck." She moaned and groaned at the throbbing of her forehead and right cheek.

    The metal chain didn''t have to hit her in the face, but at least she was halfway free.

    Luna''s face had hurt like a m*therfucker.

    She rxed for a bit as she settled a cool hand on top of her brows.

    Thank the goddess; it didn''t hit her eye.

    She hadn''t met a blind vampire yet, but she had no intention of being the first one.

    If she could look in the mirror right now, half of her face would have violet and green hues from the bruises she had acquired.

    Sobbing quietly from this inescapable affliction, Lunaid on the floor for the meantime as she waited for her vampire body to heal the blood clot no matter how slow it would take before she ripped the other chain apart.

    Luna waited patiently as she lifted her trembling hand to examine hercerated wrist,

    She had to make sure that her momentum wouldn''t detach her right arm in the process.

    Luna braced her right hand and yanked at the other chains quickly and effectively.

    Goosebumps broke all over her skin when she heard a loud crack from her right shoulder.

    It didn''t take a genius to know that she had dislocated them.

    Luna shivered, and it wasn''t from the cold.

    After waiting for her bones to the right itself and let her abrasions knit itself together with her vampire blood, she managed to detach the cuffs off her ankles with sweaty, bloody palms.

    The bed with the silky red sheets and the fancy constetion canopy was unrecognizable.

    Luna had destroyed the bed frame for her freedom.

    The Vampire King couldn''t really me her for this.

    Grabbing the silk sheets from the floor and covering her waist, Luna positioned herself back to the bed to rest so that she could get her energy back, despite being too frail from theck of nutrition.

    All she could do was hug her knees to her chest tightly and pray that if she curled herself into a ball enough, then she would disappear.

    She licked her lips as she reminisced how her husband''s blood had tasted in her dreams.

    ++++++

    Luna heard the sound of a bell ringing as loud and as ominous as death from far, far away.

    A familiar scent drifted to her nose��a fragrance so familiar, but she couldn''t put a finger to it.

    It had the aroma of winter morning dew blended with the scent of aged pine and fresh grass, with a hint of that chocte almond scent so potent she could practically taste them.

    It was a memory so close but as elusive as a wild creature.

    Despite her closed eyelids, Luna was sure that she had seen bright shes of gold in her vision.

    Luna''s heart mmed against her ribs, sparking a burning pain in her chest.

    Gold.

    Her soul had associated the colour instinctively to only one creature without her knowing the effects of such an assumption.

    Luna didn''t think it or even dared to say his name out loud, afraid that she would be speaking him to existence by saying the Archdemon''s name.

    Words have the power, and that was the point why spells are mostly incantations.

    If he appeared in front of her now, how would she fight him off if Hecate had taken her grimoire?

    She didn''t have any ess to magic that would protect her from a powerful Archdemon.

    Apollyon wasn''t with her, either.

    Luna had no idea where she was.

    She stilled and frowned.? ''This must be a dream, right?''

    Or did she travel to another dimension again without warning--just how she met Hecate in her castle after floating into the dark void of her dreams?

    ''Calm down.'' Luna thought. ''I had to see the end of this.''

    She opened her eyes, watching at the starry skies and inky strips of silk surrounding her in amazement.

    Luna was inside a tent the same as what she had seen at the distant horizon from the balcony of their bed-chamber where the Kings'' Envoys of the other Realms stayed for the meantime while the Acquaintance Affairs had urred in the Vampire King''s Castle.

    The difference was that this tent had no top--just undting walls of dark, slippery sheets that seemed to breathe slowly whenever they caught a gentle breeze.

    Between the swaths of materials were sturdy andrge circr stone columns carved out of ck marble.

    A smaller version of her High Priestess''? glow lights danced down the passageways, hovering in the chilly night air.

    As one neared her, she saw up close; they were tiny candle mes glowing inside iridescent bubbles.

    The grass beneath her feet was covered in ck dahlias; their pretty heads bobbed drunkenly with each passing winds.

    Despite the darkness, Luna could feel the flowers'' cool dewiness and see the golden pollen that sparkled inside its dark purple blooms.

    Luna walked about a dozen steps from where she had emerged in this unknown world, but then something halted her in her tracks.

    Clutching her chest, her heart almost stopped beating at what she had witnessed.

    She regarded the silk sheets and voluminous pillows of midnight blue, charcoal grey, and deepest purple spilling over the edges of thergest and most luxurious bed she has ever seen.

    The piles of silk seemed to wink back at her--simr to the stars twinkling over her head--like glittering oil slicks in the ghastly shadow of the moonlight.

    When she moved closer and looked down at the gigantic bed, Luna caught sight of a pair of ivory white arms, followed by a man''s naked chest and his muscr stomach as he rose from the dark mass of ck silky material.

    He had the whitest skin Luna had ever seen with limbs of delicately carved muscles and shiny masses of wavy dark hair as ck as ink.

    She had only seen him once, but she didn''t remember his face quite clearly.

    Luna thought at first that it was the Vampire King because of their simr facial structure, butter she realized it wasn''t him based off on the distinctive glow of Ravin''s golden eyes.

    Her left eye had matched his eye colour every time she stared at her reflection in the mirror.

    He took a nice long stretch and smirked, "I''m d you are finally here with me, Amare."

    The man she had manifested in her dreams was no other than the Archdemon of Gluttony.

    "Nowe and lie down with me, Amare." His infectious yful tone drew Luna involuntarily to the edge of the bed.

    There was something about that voice that was so alluring and seductively sweet that Luna knew that the Archdemon had to be dangerous in this or any other universe.

    They had a connection with each other in the Realm of Dreams, even if she had performed a sessful exorcism, sending them back to Hell.

    Was this Hell then? It didn''t look like it.

    Where was the Archdemon of Lust?

    Was he here with the Archdemon of Gluttony?

 Chapter 119 - Archdemon Of Envy

    <h4>Chapter 119 - Archdemon Of Envy</h4>

    Will Lux appear and kill her in the Dream Realm along with Ravin?

    She had never imagined Hell could look like it was straight out of a fairy-tale.

    Luna had seriously doubted that this was Hell.

    Was this an illusion?

    Luna nced up to the sky and sawrge stars hanging in the dark red and purple sky as it sparkled like diamond trinkets.

    The sizes of the stars were different from the constetions appearing in the Vampire Realm or any other Realms.

    Luna was convinced she was in a different world.

    There was one yellow star more massive than the others, surrounded by the white-hot stars.

    From where she had stepped on the ck-purple dahlias, Luna saw a clear body of water in the distance.

    There were growing fruit-bearing trees of ck and red with few leaves.

    Luna looked around the ce and saw his dark pce--the grey clouds overshadowing the pinnacles on the east side of Ravin''s outdoor luxury bed.

    It was ironic how there were lush greenery, flowers and a body of water nearby where the Archdemon of Gluttony had settledpared to where his pce stood.

    His obsidian pce stood at the centre of a huge desert where she saw an asional mini-sandstorm every time the humid, hot air blew a strong breeze.

    Luna assumed this garden was probably Ravin''s oasis.

    When a demon-possessed her because of what Luxen had done at the caves, Luna''s consciousness was sent to the Underworld.

    Her soul was barely hanging by the cliff while the dark souls wed at her back and legs, pulling her with them down to the deepest pits of Hell.

    Their cries of agony and torture were unbearable.

    She pitied their poor souls, but she couldn''t deny that they had deserved it because of their own wrongdoing.

    They had served the atonement of their sins, and no other creature could prevent their suffering, not even her pity.

    The God of the Underworld had weighed their ck hearts on a scale, and it didn''t pass the test from the Realm of the Dead.

    Their hearts hadn''t weighed lighter than the feather when their deeds were ced on trial.

    The scales weren''t bnced, so they were sent to Hell.

    The God of the Underworld had kept records, unfortunately.

    Anyway, this particr Realm didn''t look to spine chilling and blood-curdling.

    Where were the tortured souls?

    Where were the other Archdemons?

    Did the demons live here in this Kingdom?

    Was she alone with Ravin and no one else?

    What if she screamed for help and no one��not even her husband��could hear her and help her?

    This was partly Apollyon''s fault.

    If he hadn''t left her chained to the bed, imprisoning her to the ivory tower, then this shouldn''t have happened?

    Peering at her body, Luna found out that she had no bruises on her wrists and her ankles anymore.

    Her limbs didn''t hurt all over, and she wasn''t thirsty with her husbands'' blood just like how she should be if this were her real physical form.

    Luna was weak in the Vampyr Realm, but she was sure she hadn''t died yet from too much thirst.

    This was a dream, she assured herself, but can she stille back to the Vampire Realm?

    Maybe, Luna''s soul had astral travelled yet again just like what she had done when she had returned the grimoire to Hecate.

    Luna had to figure out quickly if the Archdemon had the power to kill her in this Dream Realm so that she could force herself to go back to Apollyon.

    The Archdemon of Gluttony was stripped to the waist except for the robe and silk pyjama pants of such deep wine red.

    The silk robes were open, showing his chest and pectoral muscles.

    Luna kept her eyes strictly on his face, not staring at them at all even if he was the epitome of carnal temptation she had tried to resist.

    "Amare." The Archdemon of Gluttony wore an egg-shaped cap of red and gold, and despite his yful tone, Ravin had that serious expression on his chiselled face. "I missed you."

    While Raviny leisurely on the bed, he moved his leg sideways, changing? his position as if he was giving Luna some space where she could lie down with him on the bed.

    Why would Ravin expected her to drop on the bed and sleep beside him?

    Did he know that Luna was already married?

    That she already got a husband and she wouldn''t dare cheat on Apollyon?

    Ravin nced up at Luna with startling golden eyes which almost appeared like melted amber and honey.

    The Archdemon of Gluttony''s eyes were beautiful, and it used to haunt her even in her sleep, reminding her of death and the suffering she had dealt with to send them back to Hell.

    Instead of asking herself questions that she didn''t know the answer, Luna decided that it was time to speak her mind while the Archdemon was still calm about it. "Was this Hell?"

    "What the Hell am I doing here?"

    Oh, the irony. She didn''t mean it to sound that way.

    Luna blushed when he heard Ravin chuckle at her query, having? no intention to make the bastardugh from her tragic puns.

    "If you are looking for tortured souls and expecting ugly demons every time you nce left and right, I should probably tell you beforehand that you wouldn''t find ugly creatures here. You know for a fact that demons weren''t little red men with horns and a tail, although, I do have demon wings and you can find some creatures with horns." The Archdemon of Gluttony exined as if he had sensed her fears. "Those horned demons belong to the lower ranks. As an Archdemon, a Prince of Hell, and a descendant of Lucifer who used to be God''s favourite, I was born beautiful. The seven Archdemons are. After all, we used to be angels, and now we have fallen."

    Oh, my goddess, there were seven Archdemons?

    That would make sense if every Archdemon represented one deadly sin, which could also portray their powers.

    Luna''s guards went up in a second, suddenly alert, preparing herself for any possible attacks from the Ravin.

    She muttered a nullification spell, forgetting that Hecate already took her High Priestess magic because she had given up her virginity to Apollyon.

    Closing her eyes, Luna clenched her fists and re-enforced her mind shields to prevent the Archdemon from reading her mind if he ever knew how.

    Her husband was good practice for blocking anyone who tried to ess her thoughts since Apollyon had tried multiple times when he couldn''t understand her emotions.

    Luna had to be at least good at it since Ravin didn''t need to know that she had lost her powers.

    As if Ravin had noticed her attempts of blocking him, Ravin''s deep timbre echoed through her ears as he lifted one leg and ced them on top of the other, resting his head with a hand.? "I just wanted to warn you that only demon magic works here. This is my kingdom. This is my territory."

    The motion sent his wine-red pants to ride lower, and he shed her that sinewy vee on his waist.

    Ravin murmured huskily."This small paradise I have created in Hell is where we would meet at night in your dreams where I could have you, Amare."

    Eyes narrowed, Luna crossed her arms as she stared down at him. "You can''t have me because I''m already married."

    The Archdemon of Gluttony was shocked at her sudden revtion, sending pillows flying to the side.

    Ravin got up quickly as if he was ready to throttle her, "With whom are you married to, Amare?"

    Luna fell silent as she stared at the grass beneath her feet.

    There was no need to hide the truth from him, but she couldn''t bring herself to say it.

    He paused and from the serious look in his eyes, he had known.

    "You married the Vampire King after��"Ravin shook his head in disbelief and continued, "You married the Vampire King after you sent us back to Hell?"

    Luna nodded.

    "Why?" He asked softly, but it was full of venom and menace. "You couldn''t wait for me?"

    "It''s already done, and there was nothing I can do about it. "Luna shrugged with nonchnce as she shifted from foot to foot, ufortable at Ravin''s reaction.

    "It didn''t matter to me whether you are married to the Vampire King or not because in my eyes, we are married." Ravin''s cold gaze held enough usation of anger, hurt and betrayal, but despite all that, he had that determined glint in his eye to possess her.

    It scared Luna, sending chills running down her spine.

    We are tied together with a Blood Bond, and if it weren''t, I shouldn''t have been able to bring you here to my Kingdom." He said in a finalmanding tone if that settled the matter. "It took me a long while to find ways to bring your soul back to me. I couldn''t wait to hear your husky moans when I pleasure you."

    Luna swore her cheeks had reddened when the word ''pleasure'' came out of his moist lips.

    Goddess, she should confront him and order him to return her to the Vampire Realm instead of engaging him further.

    "I had struck a bargain from one of the Archdemons in Hell." Ravin continued as his starlit eyes gazed mischievously up at her in adoration.

    Luna opened her mouth in shock but mped it with her hand right away to prevent herself from screaming. "What bargain and with whom?"

    Ravin smirked as he rested both of his hands behind his head, "The Archdemon of Envy."

 Chapter 120 - Subtle Arrangements

    <h4>Chapter 120 - Subtle Arrangements</h4>

    "The Archdemon of Envy." Ravin acknowledged as he continued to study her body from head to toe.

    For some weird reason, Luna''s straight silver hair was flowing into silky waves, turning to gold when the illumination from the tiny glowing orbs encircled her as if attracted by the warmth she had emitted.

    Shocked, Luna ran her fingers through her fragrant hair as she patted the cor on top of her head.

    It was shaped like a huge m, and Luna also noted Ravin''s crown, staring at it.

    Fortunately, she wasn''t naked as the day as she was born when Ravin had brought her in this Dream Realm.

    Luna was clothed in his Kingdompared to the Vampire Realm.

    The Archdemon of Gluttony had chosen a full-length gown for her to wear when she had visited his oasis.

    ncing down, Ravin had picked a transparent material made of the thinnest silk, fitting her upper body like a glove and ring into rainbow waves from her waist down to the floor while its trails extended further like water.

    If it weren''t for the tiny diamonds covering her breasts and between her thighs, Luna would have felt so exposed in front of the Archdemon of Gluttony''s gaze.

    Based on the mischievous glint in his golden eyes, Ravin seemed satisfied by his choice of her clothing as those golden orbs lingered on her chest areas while he gave her a knowing smirk.

    The gown didn''t reveal everything, but it was enough to tease a man--have something for their eyes to feast on.

    Luna had wondered why the Archdemon of Gluttony had talked to her so casually.

    She didn''t know why they were having this conversation in the first ce.

    Tilting her head in curiosity, Luna narrowed her eyes at Ravin, wondering why he hadn''t pulled her towards him on the bed to have his wicked way with her.

    Ravin''s golden eyes held that dangerous glint in them even if he seemed so rxed as he lounged on the bed.

    Luna had waited for Ravin''s demon guards to jump on her out of nowhere, drag her towards his dark pce and hold her captive, torture her in the dungeon along with whatever this Demon Prince was hiding in the basement.

    Where there other creatures as her or were there purely demons?

    "Where are the other Archdemons you were talking about?" Luna said softly as if saying the word ''Archdemon'' would send those demonic creatures to materialize in front of her.

    Ever since she had acquired the grimoire when she realized she was the High Priestess, words have the power to be spoken into existence, so she had to be careful.

    "Do you want to visit them, Amare?" The Archdemon of Gluttony murmured as he caressed the gold band he wore around his neck, his fingers, circling the golden stone in the middle. "You have to stay for a while in my Kingdom."

    As time went by, it appeared like she can''t convince herself that this is still a dream anymore.

    "I want to get back to the Vampire Realm." She stated.

    "But your mine for tonight. Now,e and lie down with me while I''m still in a good mood." The Archdemon of Gluttonyined prettily, holding out his hand. "I wanted to peel the gown I had chosen for you. I don''t want any barriers between us: not even Heaven and Earth, not even Realms and certainly not even your clothes."

    "I have a husband," Luna repeated, gritting her teeth in the process.

    She didn''t move an inch and the Archdemon of Gluttony didn''t as well.

    So, the bastard had expected her to do his bidding?

    No.

    Never.

    "Please stop with your dirty talks." She warned him, lifting her chin in determination. "? You don''t know what I''m capable of."

    Ravin''s eyes widened for a second--probably in shock--as if he wasn''t used to people defying him, but he quickly schooled his features. "I haven''t met you for a long time since Hell had a different time periodpared to the other Realm. Sometimes I forgot the fact that you are one feisty woman. You seem to have forgotten that I was your Husband, too."

    "I already know that you are married. Since we had the blood bond, you are mine as well. I already told you that." Ravin chuckled darkly as he shook his head at her in amusement. "I don''t know about the Archdemon of Lust, though. I don''t think he needed you as a wife when he had all other girls at his beck and call in his Kingdom. He had a habit of not fucking the same female twice."

    Luna hid her distress behind a mask of scorn.

    "Return me to the Vampire Realm right now. Or else..." She left her word hanging, leaving him something to think about punishment.

    "Or else what?" His lips curled up in a smile, his golden eyes darkening.

    "Try me, Amare." He said huskily. "Try me."

    Her confidence almost faltered, but she didn''t let that deter her.

    "What will you do with me if I disobeyed you, Ravin?" Luna asked, staring bravely into his golden eyes. "Will you punish me like my husband, Apollyon?"

    Will Ravin beat her up?

    Will he tie her down to a pole for all the demons to see before he drove a wooden stake in her heart just for the sake of entertainment?

    Will the Archdemon of Gluttonyugh as he burns her while her tender flesh melts in the mes of Hell for petty revenge just because she sent him back here with his brother?

    The Archdemon of Gluttony had risen from hisfortable bed and reached for her hand, interrupting her thoughts. "I can keep you here if I want to."

    "Ravin." Luna flinched at his touch, but she didn''t dare pull away. "I think you forgot the person who sent you to Hell."

    "Of course, I remember. Now that I had arrived in Hell, I think I have quite enjoyed my time here." Ravin cradled her knuckles before stroking her palms with his fingers. "I had fun destroying all the lower-ranked demons who had tried to take over my Kingdom while I was gone in the Vampire Realm, sharing the body of that pathetic Vampire King of yours."

    "That''s great news that you are already in your element and that you have settled in your Hellish Kingdom after you have been away for so long." Luna tore away from him with a harshugh. "Now, I apud you of your achievements, but it had nothing to do with me. If you would kindly take me back to the Vampire Realm where I belong, I would dly appreciate that as the Kingdom''s Empress."

    His ravenous gaze caressed her face. "Who said I would return you?"

    "What?" Luna squeaked.

    "You are still the High Priestess if you hadn''t given your virginity to the King. Hmm, I was wondering the moment you set foot on mynd earlier. Why you couldn''t return using your magic? You have exorcised two Archdemons from Hell so that would be too easy for you unless---"

    She swore Ravin could hear the erratic thunder of her heart before he had discovered her secret.

    The Archdemon of Gluttony let go of her hand and syed his palms against her chest with shameless abandon. "Hmm, I can hear your heart in my head, beating strong and wild."

    Luna kept her silence.

    It was all toote when the Archdemon of Gluttony whispered, "Hmm, I find it tragic that I couldn''t have you the first time I have set my eyes on you and let that bastard had a im on you first."

    He knew.

    Luna froze in her position.

    It was inevitable that Ravin had learned of her weakness.

    She had given up her High Priestess magic to be with Apollyon.

    She had this innate fear that the Archdemons would be back, but she hadn''t prepared for the situation where they would actually meet face to face so fast.

    Now, she didn''t know what else to do but stand and stare at him, keeping herself expressionless so as not to give anything away that would let him think he had the advantage.

    "I''m giving you a choice as your mate, Amare. You have to stay with me in this Kingdom where all I need is a Queen." Ravin reached out to finger the curls of her long silver hair, shooting her a naughty nce from beneath his darkshes. "We will live happily ever after, grudgespletely forgotten."

    "I highly doubt that Archdemons didn''t hold grudges for a lifetime when they live a lifetime in Hell," Luna replied drily.

    Nevertheless, there was an unexinable shiver of shameful anticipation coursing down her spine due to his gentle touches.

    "I had lived too long to be living with grudges." Luna would not have recognized the cynical quirk of his smile if a diabolical sh of his dimple didn''t apany it. "My grudges are only reserved to the Vampire King, the Archdemon of Lux or anyone who would try to take you away."

    With Ravin''s slow fluid movement, he jumped out of bed and faced her, towering over her decent height.? "Hecate had taken your power as a High Priestess. What if I tell you that I could give you more than Hecate if you would strike a bargain with me?"

    "You and your bargains." Nearly breathless with hope, Luna moistened her lips and said calmly. "At least let me hear the bargain before I decide on anything."

    Was she seriously considering striking a bargain with the Archdemon of Gluttony to have her powers back?

 Chapter 121 - Challenging The Devil

    <h4>Chapter 121 - Challenging The Devil</h4>

    "I will give you an ability to ess magic if you stay with me here and be my queen for eternity." Ravin stood so close as if he couldn''t bear the thought of giving her personal space because the Archdemon thought he had owned every space in Hell.

    "I couldn''t wait to im you as mine." Ravin cupped her neck and tilted her head, whispering huskily in her ear. "I would make you forget the Vampire King''s existence."

    Luna nced up at the Archdemon of Gluttony when she felt his burning gaze.? "If an Archdemon wanted a woman, all he had to do was whisper sweet nothings softly in her ear for if she hears, it will echo in her head many times."

    The bastard had the audacity to smirk at her when their eyes met.

    Evil is, above all things, seductive.

    When the devil knocks on your door, he doesn''t have cloven hooves.

    The devil is beautiful and offers you your heart''s desire in whispered airs like a siren, beckoning you to ruinous shores.

    The Archdemon appeared smug--apanying it with a wide grin--as if he was promising her the world and expected her to jump for joy and be grateful for his offer.

    She didn''t.

    "Next. I have had enough, Ravin." Luna had expected much more than this, but she already expected her offer. "You can shut up now."

    Luna knew him well enough if it wasn''t for Apollyon.

    They used to share the same body and same consciousness even though the other was trapped when one of them came out.

    "You are in an Archdemon''s territory, and now you are telling me to shut up?" Ravin''s voice was deep and clear as he dropped his gorgeous smile, his words toneless.

    He was a threat.

    A cool, dangerous presence.

    "I think I''m better when ites to sex if that''s what you are curious about." Luna sputtered, scandalized by what he had said so casually as if they were talking about the weather.

    "You and your bargains. Was that all you wanted from me? " Shaking her head, Luna red at him. "Sex?"

    Oh, she didn''t have the mood for an Archdemon''s charms.

    It was an insult to her character.

    "You have severely low expectations on my character if you think I would agree to this. I did not sign up for this. Take me back to the Vampire Realm and pick one from your Kingdom." She was breathing hard, trying to control her temper that the action alone made her smell his scent, enticing her further. "Stop wasting my time, having this useless conversation."

    Ah, Ravin had smelled divine that she couldn''t help but inhale more of his scent despite her frustration.

    "You are acting like Apollyon, and I couldn''t handle two misogynistic pigs in one day," Luna said, noting that Ravin had smelled like crisp winter wind around a hotter me of blue.

    "Are you---" It was hrious to hear Ravin stutter because it made her feel like he was the opposite of ''danger''.

    "Are you calling me a misogynistic pig?" The Archdemon of Gluttony appeared cold and emotionless, but there was amusement in his tone. "How dare you?''

    "Yes, I am Ravin. Your mind had been incorporated with Apollyon''s that it didn''te as a shock to me that you operate the same way." Luna nced down at her feet because she couldn''t handle the naked heat in his golden eyes.

    "I can''t handle my husband sometimes, and you''re signing up also to be a bane of my existence?" Luna said without looking at the male who stood in front of her, his height towering more menacingly over her as minutes go by.

    She waved a dismissivehand, "Thanks, but no thanks."

    "But they aren''t you." He said in a grim confirmation. "You are my wife."

    If anyone would have listened to this conversation, they would probably find this amusing.

    She wasn''t amused at all.

    "I have three husbands from different Realms, and there were respected Kings, two of them were Archdemons, in their own right but why can''t nobody treat me right and just continue dishing the same old bullshit in the silver tter?" Luna said out loud,ining to nobody in particr. "By the Goddess Hecate''s name, I would rather be alone than being with one husband how much more if you and Luxen were in the picture?"

    "If you sample me in bed, I bet I can change your mind."? She heard that dark promise in his husky voice, especially when he caressed her arms, seducing her to sin, tempting her tomit adultery.

    The Archdemon looked serious as hell.

    How did onemit adultery when you have three husbands?

    "My needs are pretty simple. Ravin." Luna shifted her gaze to face him, and Ravin''s golden eyes had gone lighter. "Can I have a husband that wouldn''t put any conditions over my head at least once? A husband who wouldn''t kill me if I made a mistake? A husband who would give me everything he got without taking from me, such as asking for something in exchange? A husband who would love me unconditionally no matter what I do and regardless of who I am?"

    The colour of Ravin''s eyes was beyond amber and hazel, but it became a pure crystalline purity of yellowish hues the more she spoke to him. "A love that isn''t simr to a me that sparks in a short period of time before it crashes and burns. A love that isn''t filled with ego, suffering, selfishness, disappointment and betrayal."

    Ravin''s eyes had dted, only the jet ck of his pupils broke the startling yellowish-golden depths of them. "A love that isn''t ofck and ming each other when things go wrong. A love which isn''t forced."

    "A love that would not hold me back and treat me like I was a ve to the mating bond." Luna pressed on. "A love that isn''t focused on possessing each other like the other person is a bird that must be ced inside a gilded cage. I want a love that would give me freedom, not an irreversible contract."

    Luna parted her lips to argue with him more, but when she jerked her attention back to him, his pupils had red.

    His eyes were a sea of darkness which had already eclipsed the translucent gold in them.

    "My love for you is eternal regardless of who you are regardless of the situation, but I will love you with the only way I know how," Ravin said, his tone was t and even, yet his voice was hauntingly beautiful in its rity and pitch.

    Luna''s heart started to pound as she sensed the lethal strength which he was emitting at the moment.

    Was he using magic in his voice so that he could convince her to give herself to him?

    Did he profess his undying love for her so that she would agree to be his Queen?

    Kings were well-known for empty promises.

    "I have been an Archdemon for a very long time. I was in the Vampire Realm inside Apollyon''s body for millennia, but I have known that love was nothing if it wasn''t for all the things you mentioned."

    Ravin continued to hold her gaze without difort, and Luna automatically read them as a challenge, but every time he talked to her, his clear voice made things inside her shiver with awareness.

    The more she stayed in his presence, the harder it was to control herself.

    "There are many kinds of love a creature can experience, and I can give you that if you choose me." He said, his words clipped and cold.

    She had already suspected an odd resonance she couldn''t quite exin which had elicited a peculiar physical response from her.

    It was magic, but nothing hadpared her suspicions yet.

    Luna couldn''t believe she was caught in this tragic love triangle between the Vampire King and an Archdemon.

    She must respect her husband even if the Archdemon of Gluttony had better promises and a much more beneficial proposition.

    Luna didn''t think she would dare to rece Apollyon even if she is given a chance to experience profound love from an Archdemon.

    Impossible.

    Archdemons are ruthless, perhaps more ruthless than Apollyon, and weren''t capable of love.

    Ravin had already told her this a long time ago, so why would he change for her to make her stay?

    Can his love be real, powerful and undying?

    There were suddenly dark red embers glowing to life inside of her. "There is a clear distinction about being giving of my love and giving myself up for love."

    Just because Ravin made her feel some way like Apollyon didn''t mean she had lost hermon sense.

    Narrowing her eyes, she said, "I don''t want to love out of guilt or obligation because that''s too tiring and will lead to a lot of resentment."

    "You are an Amazon, but I admire the mystery of your femininity." The Archdemon of Gluttony folded his arms, setting his feet apart to assert his dominance. "I bet you are a sensual goddess in bed because I have sent spies all over the Vampire Realm to watch over you."

    Ravin''s voice went huskier, deeper, straight out of a woman''s fantasy, making them his ves. "My spies�� They say your sexual appetites are legendary after the Vampire King deflowered you in the marriage bed."

    "Had the Feline King struck a chord in your memory? " Ravin raised an eyebrow in both curiosity and fascination. "I hear you seem to favour Kings as your lovers. "

 Chapter 122 - The Empress Is Dead

    <h4>Chapter 122 - The Empress Is Dead</h4>

    *****************

    Vampire King

    *****************

    When Apollyon was young, he watched how his father had imprisoned her mother--who was half-vampire and half-faerie--in the ivory tower for decades and he had considered that a normal urrence.

    He was so old that he had difficulty remembering how her Queen Mother had looked like because he wasn''t allowed to see her all the time.

    In the past, Apollyon''s mother had preferred staying in the Scleranthus along with her maids without going outside not even to meet his father.

    It was unfortunate that her mother had chosen her art over her own family.

    Apollyon''s mother had a vivid imagination despite not being exposed to the outside world.

    His father did not allow her to meet other men aside from him, not even his own son.

    It wasn''t just Apollyon''s father.

    It was actually his great-great-grandfather who had ordered a witch to curse the Queen of the Vampire Realm''sir because of jealousy and paranoia that the wife they picked, who was the fairest of them all, would be taken away under their nose.

    It was a curse in their masculine bloodline to have an obsession with their wife.

    All his female ancestors, especially the Queens, were locked up in the Scleranthus for their beauty so that they wouldn''t be taken away by the enemy or could be kidnapped for ransom in exchange for ruling the whole realm.

    The Empresses in their family were treated as treasures but their roles in this tableau became clearter on.

    The Empresses had existed as trophy wives and nothing else.

    An object to show off.

    An object to love and to protect at all costs.

    An object that didn''t have a heart, a mind, a soul.

    An object for pleasure.

    An object who must obey to whoever it belonged to.

    Apollyon had learned that at an early age.

    One of Apollyon''s great grandfathers had married someone from the Shadow Realm, not knowing that she was a powerful witch.

    His great-great grandmother''s name was Amara, the first wide of his great-great-grandfather.

    She was caught meeting with a buff cook--who was the King''s favourite at that time--at the Kitchen''s quarters.

    Amara, wearing nothing but a night chemise, had asked the servant to cook for her in the middle of the night to avoid any suspicions from the other servants.

    The King had caught on that they were together.

    He had witnessed it with his own two eyes how Amara had released the servant''s cock in his pants so that she could y with it while the man poured her a drink in her wine goblet after eating the cuisines the cook had prepared solely for her.

    At that time, the Vampire King not only bit the muscled servant by the shoulder and drained him of his blood, but also he pulled thergest kitchen knife from the cupboard and hacked him to pieces in front of the Shadow Empress Amara.

    Apollyon''s great-great-grandfather had lost his mind from his Empress'' betrayal, lifted his chin smugly and gave the Empress a psychotic grin.

    He stabbed Amara with the same knife in the chest multiple times before he burned down the ce.

    He waited for Amara''s chopped flesh and other detached bodies part to cook under the zing mes.

    He found the charred body parts after the kitchen servants had put out the fire.

    The King had ordered the servant to ce her Empress'' cooked flesh in a silver tter before he ate all of them and paired it with a pint of blood.

    That way, even if his Empress was dead they would still be together for the rest of eternity.

    Inside his body.

    Inside him.

    The ivory tower where Apollyon had ced Luna for the meantime to keep her safe and away from the other Kings'' grasp was originally built for Luna''s grandmother.

    His grandmother did not cheat like Empress Amara but his grandfather had imprisoned her in this tower for a century before she squeezed herself to the small window and fell to her death, lifeless and broken.

    Oh, he had not forgotten her.

    Legend said that the King had raped her nightly in the ivory tower with ungging enthusiasm while the servants hear her feeble screams at night.

    It was whispered among the Kingdom''s subjects that Apollyon''s grandfather was quite imaginative with his punishments.

    In fact, Apollyon''s grandfather had loved his Empress too much and it was jealousy which hadpelled him to do this to his own wife.

    It was only after his great-grandfather was bored with the bed sport that he had sought sce in the arms of other women, his consorts, that she hurled herself to death.

    It was said that their ancestors were cursed because of Amara''s blood and flesh in his great-great grandfather''s veins.

    Amara came from the Shadow Realm, a supernatural race who imed that they had ess to all kinds of dark magic especially irrevocable hexes and curses.

    They were myths and rumours that it was all Amara''s doing, cursing the entire bloodline of Apollyon''s male ancestors and descendants with absurd jealousy that would drive them to kill their females.

    This was the reason why the Consortium was created to avoid triggering the ursed jealousy and the paranoia.

    The Consortium was already a tradition even before Apollyon was born.

    Kidnapping women for the Consortium only got worse when Lilith summoned an Archdemon to possess him.

    Lilith, picking Gluttony, in her reverse exorcism spells was the worst.

    As Apollyon walked to the Council Room where his meeting with the other Kings was held due to what had urred on the Acquaintance Affairs, he remembered how the chains nked every time Luna struggled to jerk her wrist from the manacles.

    He closed his eyes and inhaled his wife''s scent in his memory.

    Reminiscing the scent of her blood mixed with her arousal was the best aphrodisiac he had experienced.

    Apollyon fiddled with his cor, opening the top three buttons of his white shirt before he stretched his neck.

    He had his blood hot and running from all his imagination and he couldn''t wait to get back to Luna.

    He wouldn''t be able to hold himself back from ying with her body again but this time, he would let her go from the shackles now that Apollyon had left off steam, leaving her alone to repent and think over her decisions.

    Apollyon would make love to her slow and steady with gentle strokes to make up to her.

    He will make sure Luna would love it.

    After fixing this issue with the other Kings, he would let her drain him and tie him up if she desired it.

    Apollyon had visioned Luna in many guises after this meeting: a haughtydy sneering down with her patrician nose at him, a malicious harpy admonishing him for his greed of his blood, bewitching temptress taunting him with a flutter of hershes and a flick of her moist pink tongue as she took the initiative to pleasure him.

    He couldn''t wait to gaze at her curled on the bed like a small kitten, waiting for him to tell her what to do, eager to do his bidding with wide, mismatched eyes.

    Apollyon halted in his tracks.

    He realized each of those women were only illusions his mind had concocted to distract him for who she really was.

    She was his wife.

    Why was he treating her like a whore and a consort?

    Why did he treat her like how his male ancestors--the past Vampire Kings--had treated their wives when she didn''t deserve to suffer just like all the other Empresses in the past?

    What had he done?

    It was at this moment Apollyon knew that he had fucked up.

    Why did he keep repeating the mistakes of his father, his grandfather and his great-great-grandfather?

    The history will repeat its past cycles every time Apollyon didn''t attempt to change their ancestral patterns so that he could lead a different life��a much happier married life��than his male ancestors did.

    Did Apollyon want to make himself and his wife suffer the same fates as the past Kings and Empresses?

    Apollyon was no different from his great-great-grandfather''s or his grandfather''s or his father''s identities for being savage husbands, which was an identity he should steer clear from if he knew what was best for him

    It was the curse of their ancestors working in his system right now that he had a hard time distinguishing the right from wrong.

    He ran his fingers in his hair in frustration.

    Apollyon had made a great mistake and he was afraid that he couldn''t do something about it.

    If the others could have seen him now, they would see him as the Vampire King with unkempt raven hair and red-rimmed, wild eyes as if he hadn''t slept ever since.

    Apollyon had been seething with icy anger because of Luna''s disobedience.

    Now, it was reced with an edge of desperation, sharpening his expression.

    Standing in front of the Council Room''s double doors, Apollyon shook his head as he clenched and unclenched his fists, stopping the urge from pushing the handle to meet with the other Kings.

    The Council Meeting with the other Kings could wait.

    Apollyon guessed Jon could handle the matter for a while longer.

    He needed to prioritize his wife first more than anything else.

    Cederic saw him standing in front of the door.

    He was about to call the Vampire King to alert him of the current discussions regarding the bargains Jon had made with the Kings as an apology for the misunderstandings but it was all toote.

 Chapter 123 - Not Another Apollyon

    <h4>Chapter 123 - Not Another Apollyon</h4>

    **************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    The Ivory Tower

    +++++++++++++++++

    The Vampire King had dematerialized into thin air to get back to his Empress only to find her dead.

    Red silk sheets puddled around the Empress'' hips, baring her slender legs and her exposed breasts.

    A man couldn''t look upon such legs and not envision them wrapped around his hips.

    Her ares were on full disy, beading when the cold breeze from the ivory tower''s small window entered their space.

    Even if it was an inopportune time to even divine such sensual thoughts when he wasn''t certain if the Empress was alive, Apollyon fought the urge to feel arousal as he tugged the nkets on top of her body to shield her from his gaze.

    Seeing the Empress lying on the stone-cold floor beside the bed with the manacles attached to each wrist pricked his conscience, stirring his conflicting desires to protect and possess.

    The four pirs of the bedposts were annihted, and the bed tester had also copsed.

    The room inside the ivory tower was a mess, the silk sheets were everywhere and what used to be the velvet cloak which covered Luna was in tatters.

    Apollyon went to his wife''s side right away, cradling the crown of her head gently.

    The Empress barely breathed, and perhaps, Luna was merely unconscious.

    As the Vampire King checked out the tiny wood pricks embedded through her skin like needles, he wondered if Luna had finally met her death when she had attempted to escape from the bonds, almost severing both of her hands when she jerked the chains out from its support.

    Apollyon shook his head incredulously.

    If this were the Empress'' onest breath, then he would have followed suit, too.

    The Vampire King was sure beyond faith that he had driven her to abandon him tonight and perhaps, his Empress would never return to him again.

    Apollyon moved the silver strands--simr to the veil of webs--out of his wife''s face with care, tucking it behind her ears.

    "Wife. Did you rather enjoy ying the dead Empress in front of me, aren''t you, Luna?" Apollyon eyed her warily just in case his wife had heard him and opened her eyes, telling her that everything was all a jest.

    "Would you like me to kiss you and take your consciousness back just as you did at the underground shelter? "When you sessfully sent back the Archdemons to Hell��to where they belong?" He moved her to a sitting position. "You have coaxed my soul out from hiding inside my dormant body."

    There was no response.

    The Vampire King envisioned invisible hands gaining ess to the Empress''s thoughts, but he had encountered a block instead.

    Apollyon already knew that the walls of her mind were already invincible as before because of her constant practice of raising her hackles whenever Apollyon was near her.

    Luna was too determined to deter him from any attempts of breaching--even fighting the blood bond for as long as she can.

    She already knew what she can and can''t do.

    The Empress was good at observing what worked against him despite losing Hecate''s magic.

    Luna fortified her brainpower and strength, not allowing any disadvantage against him.

    Honestly, the Vampire King was angry at her actions for antagonizing him every step of the way, but now he realized the importance of Luna''s individuality, especially his privacy.

    Apollyon would not dare repeat the patterns of his masculine ancestors, just like what they had done in the past--just like what he had done to Luna in the past.

    He shouldn''t treat his wife as an object; neither should he treat her as something he could control because the truth was, a wife was a different person, not an extension of him.

    Apollyon didn''t own his wife''s entire mind, body, and soul, just like how his father, his grandfather and his great-great-grandfather might think of their wives and women in general.

    He must strive to be different, or Apollyon and his Empress would suffer the same fate as them.

    Apollyon raised his wife''s upper body towards him and murmured huskily in her ear. "Luna wake up for me, please."

    Not even a twitch in her eyelids or a tiny movement of her fingers.

    The Vampire King breathed heavily in panic when the Empress didn''t respond to his inquiries.

    He swallowed audibly and calmed himself down, shoving the horror and anxiety deep inside him.

    Apollyon must remain in control of his emotions.

    He wouldn''t allow himself to break down in fear just because his wife hadn''t heard him clearly.

    He was strong enough as a powerful magician.

    He would bring her back to the Vampire Realm.

    Perhaps, her soul had just wandered from too much agony because of her numerous escape attempts.

    Apollyon would move the highest Heaven and the deepest pits of Hell to possess his Empress again.

    *************************

    Archdemon of Gluttony

    First Circle of Hell

    ++++++++++++++++

    "Had the Feline King struck a chord in your memory?" The Archdemon of Gluttony raised an eyebrow in both curiosity and fascination. "I hear you seem to favour Kings as your lovers."

    Luna''s mouth parted in response, but her voice faded to a yelp when Ravin mmed into her and locked his arms tight around her body, turning her towards the bed.

    They fell together.

    Lunanded on top of him with her hands on his well-defined chest.

    Ravin''s one hand was at the back of her head, and the other one was mped around her waist.

    She jerked from his arms and tried to scramble away from him, but it was toote.

    The Archdemon of Gluttony had already locked his arms around her, preventing Luna from escaping.

    Hugging her tighter, Ravin shoved Luna''s face to the hard muscle of his shoulder which sent Luna to thrust the sharp points of her ws into his gut in surprise.

    Snarls filled her chest when Luna felt her body wasn''t her own anymore.

    She couldn''t control herself.

    Luna had no choice but to let her head fall against the smooth expanse of his moonbeam chest.

    She couldn''t��

    Luna tried to wriggle out of his embrace, but she couldn''t lift a finger.

    What is happening to her?

    "I called you with the help of the Archdemon of Envy because I wanted to be in your presence even if it was just the Realm of Dreams for now." The Archdemon of Gluttony stroked her wavy silver strands in adoration,bing it with his ws and inhaling the scent of her hair. "The Princess of Hell had a binding contract with a powerful witch in the Human Realm, so the witch had no choice but to do her bidding."

    "The Archdemon of Envy had a debt with me, you see. I requested for your soul as the payment, reinforcing our blood bond and making it stronger than your other husbands. " Every muscle in Luna''s body let go as wave upon wave of soothing rxation rolled through her exhausted limbs.

    "The moment I felt you near, I could finally calm down as I could sense our golden cords thickening the moment you stepped foot in my Kingdom." The Archdemon made a sound-- a deep rumbling hum of pleasure in his chest---as he lovingly stroked her face. "If youe back to the Vampire Realm, I would be bored and restless that I would fancy torturing some unsuspecting lower-ranked devils and innocent souls at the pit for fun."

    Ravin smiled as if he was discussing the weather.

    ''Killing his own Kingdom''s lower rank devils and torturing innocent souls for fun?''

    He talked about it with nonchnce as if his hobbies weren''t something brutal at all.

    That''s just the kind of cruelty the Archdemon of Gluttony would do.

    Luna wouldn''t be surprised if he did that in his own Kingdom when that was his modus operandi back at the Vampire Realm while he possessed the body of the Vampire King.

    She was about to shake her head in disapproval, but her limbs had frozen, and her joints had locked itself thanks to the Archdemon''s magic simr to Cederic.

    "Now that you lost the High Priestess magic you had acquired from Hecate; it became easier for me to retrieve your soul when you had no protection from any goddess, Amare." Ravin murmured huskily as he gestured to the yful winds which constantly buffed the tent, sheltering the luxury bed as it asionally drifted in to ruffle his soft ink-ck hair. "I''ve been lonely waiting for you all this time.? I want you tonight."

    Luna felt the heat of his gaze, touching her everywhere, stripping her, and her hands shook with the force of anxiety without the presence of her husband.

    She would not cheat on Apollyon even if the bastard hurt her feelings multiple times.

    The Vampire King had tried in his own way to love her even if it was kind of twisted.

    They need to work out a lot of their issues.

    Apollyon cheating on her on their honeymoon with a concubine will not justify her choice to cheat on him tonight, even if the said man had imed to be her other husband without proof.

    "Please, let me go." Luna protested.

    The Archdemon of Gluttony''s lips pressed together, providing only a tight slit for his words. "Don''t make me chain you to bed."

    Insulted, Luna forced to lift her head and re directly into Ravin''s reptilian gold eyes��pouring all her hatred against men in general to him-- even if it hurt to do so because of the Archdemon''s magic. "Do you think that would be fun on my end?"

    Did these bastards had any other threats than tying women up as punishment?

    "You really want to chain me to the bed like what the Vampire King had done?"

 Chapter 124 - Insidious Suggestion

    <h4>Chapter 124 - Insidious Suggestion</h4>

    "You really wanted to chain me to the bed like what Apollyon had done?" Luna red at him and recoiled, her determination to escape the Archdemon of Gluttony intensified.

    "Oh, this was far from what I had been willing to do for you, Amare." Ravin had dug his fingers into her wavy silver tresses and made it fan around the Archdemon like curtains closing them together. "I hate to see anyone suffer, you most of all. Stay here with me and be my queen, and I will fulfil your greatest desires. "

    Ravin was an Archdemon with no saving grace and expecting him to be different from Apollyon will lead to massive disappointment.

    "I can''t wait to sample your soft secrets with my tongue."

    Luna held her breath as she wandered nervously about what wille after from the Archdemon''s words.

    "I usually like it hard, fast and savage. But for you, I''ll make an exception."

    "No." Luna gasped and pulled back, surprised that the Archdemon of Gluttony had lifted his magic, leaving her limbs free to move.

    She didn''t jump off him right away, but she chose to observe his actions for the meantime.

    One thing Luna had learned dealing with men was that the more a female would try to escape from their clutches, the more they would pursue her with relentless vigour.

    "I wish I could change your mind, Ravin. My sexual appetites you have heard from your demon spies and cohorts are non-existent. I am a na?ve useless wife who didn''t know how to pleasure a man, much less a husband." Luna whispered in mock humiliation, hoping that she could turn him off. "The rumours you have heard aren''t true, and the Feline King isn''t my lover, at all. Ravin, you need new demons spies if you couldn''t get your facts straight."

    "You can just return me to where I came from and get someone else." Luna insisted nervously, avoiding eye contact. "There are much more beautiful consorts in the Vampire King''s Harem if you want them or you could pickdies from other Reams and bring them here for your delectation. Once you check them out and find them more pleasing, you''ll change your mind about me."

    He sat up slowly and gripped her arms, making her scramble into hisp.

    "I''ve set my sights on you, Amare because in my eyes you can''t be reced."

    Luna felt him pull her close, and she didn''t resist.

    Ravin ran his hands across his back, kissing her lightly in the cheek as he spoke. "I will have you no matter what and nothing can stop me, not even the Vampire King."

    He pushed her onto her back, and she couldn''t help but gasp when he moved on top of her with a naughty grin, changing their positions.

    Luna inhaled the Archdemon''s intoxicating scent, and she was afraid that she had already lost half the battle.

    "You will be mine tonight." He murmured.

    Luna opened her eyes and saw the Archdemon staring at her for a moment before dipping his head and kissed her again.

    Luna could not allow herself to be seduced, or she would never leave this bed.

    Although her body didn''t want to, she shook her head, preventing him from kissing her.

    Ravin stopped and propped himself up on his elbows over her with a frustrated sigh. "Amare."

    It was a warning.

    As she watched a myriad of emotions ying across his face before settling into a cold nkness, Luna could feel the Archdemon''s anger when he gripped her waist hard, almost crushing her hipbones.

    She almost shivered, shaking from the agony, but she wouldn''t give him any satisfaction.

    "I can''t stay here," Luna said, pushing him back and sitting up. "I need to go."

    The Archdemon of Gluttony frowned at her words and tackled Luna, rolling her onto her back again and caging her win his arms. "Stay with me, amare. I can keep you safe from any evil entities that may cause you harm. You know why?"

    "Why?" Luna groaned, knowing she was probably going to kick herself for thister because she already knew the answer.

    "Because I am the evil entity." He chuckled at his own joke before he reached out to tug her hair and tilt her head sideways, nting her lips against his mouth.

    Ravin''s mouth against her lips was full and soft, coaxing her artfully with a seductive kiss.

    Luna closed her eyelids,pelled to savour Ravin''s taste.

    The Archdemon''s body was warmer than normal, and his kisses had tasted slightly salty.

    The weight of his mouth was remarkablyforting that she had softened underneath him, cradling his stiff rod between her thighs.

    ''LUNA.'' Luna swore she had heard the Vampire King called her name loud and clear as if it was a lightning bolt out of the blue.

    When she opened her eyes abruptly, Luna stopped the Archdemon''s mouth from voyaging--starting from her milky white skin down to her chests.

    Luna didn''t even notice that Archdemon had already torn down her top.

    "Amare, your mind is drifting away." Ravin ced her lips on her neck, nuzzling behind her ear. "Tell me what are you worried about."

    "You are dangerous and addictive. I don''t know you and I can''t just... you know." Luna trailed off, thinking that a married Empress couldn''t fraternize with an Archdemon so easily without consequences even if it were just in her dreams.

    "I''m sorry. I didn''t mean to offend you, but you''re handsome, and many females would kiss the ground you walk on. Just pick them and not me." Luna said kindly, deciding not to piss off the Archdemon further, especially if she was in his territory with no means to protect herself. "Please return me to the Vampire Realm, Ravin."

    "It''s you I want." He bit his lip, disappointed. "Why can''t you just be the one who would kiss the ground I walk on?"

    The Archdemon of Gluttony frowned, slightly confused as he asked. "You don''t find my body to your liking?"

    Luna had just never admitted it to herself before, but maybe it was alright to tell Ravin the truth even if she didn''t mean to stroke his ego. "No, your body is just fine but---"

    The face and the body above her shifted, changing into a much more familiar form.

    Luna caught her breath in disbelief as she stared into the familiar blue eyes of the Vampire King with his arms leaning on either side of her head.

    ''This was all a dream.''

    "If you really wanted toe back for this bastard, I can be him as often as you like if his form would make you stay here in Hell with me," Apollyon said as he pulled Luna closer.

    Luna was powerless to resist.

    With her mouth gaping at him in disbelief, Luna ran her hands across his naked chest, touching Apollyon''s body, checking if it was really simr to her husband.

    To test him further, Luna allowed him to kiss her lightly as he spoke, "I can be anyone you want, Amare. Maybe more�� so much more��"

    Luna felt the lips brushing hers growing wider and more sensual as she sensed the bare muscles shoulders under her hands, turning leaner.

    Slender.

    She watched it with her own two eyes how Apollyon had morphed into the Archdemon of Lust.

    Apollyon had turned into Luxen.

    Well, this should be pretty fun and harmless if she didn''t have a husband in another Kingdom.

    Will thepany of Ravin be much easier to handlepared to a marriage with Apollyon back in the Vampire Realm?

    It would be nice if having a healthy rtionship with someone was uplicated, but maybe everything she had ever wanted was just wishful thinking.

    If she left Apollyon to elope with Ravin, can Luna finally have the freedom to be herselfpletely without being too defensive or would she risk trading another evil for another who was much more insidious?

    As the Vampire King, Luna didn''t know Ravin either, but at least she had an idea of who Apollyon waspared to this Archdemon.

    The thought of staying with Ravin in his Kingdom for a few days so that she could get to know him more was tempting but Luna was afraid that Ravin wouldn''t change his mind if she proposed this arrangement to him and keep her here for eternity, changing gilded cage after another.

    Luxen had herpletely pinned under him as he slid her hands up over her head, his intense silver eyes holding her gaze captive.

    Lunabed her fingers through his silver hair, and heughed softly in her mouth, giving her pecks and little bites.

    He probably thought that Luna had already decided to choose him as her husband over the others.

    The Vampire King''s sharp voice rang in her mind had startled her as if waking her up from a deep sleep. "Don''t let the Blood Beast seduce you. . . ."

    Luna shook her head, clearing her mind clouded with irrational desire.

    What, in the goddess'' name, had she been thinking?

    What were the implications of having sexual congress with an Archdemon?

    Luna allowed herself to consider what it would be like to live forever with the Archdemon of Gluttony in his dream pce.

    ''Not a chance in Hell.'' Luna realized.

    How can a vampire Empress survive in Hell without her blood mate, the Vampire King?

    Her grip loosened, the hottest me of her passionate kiss cooling.

    The giddy mood dissipated as quickly as it arose as Ravin retook his own shape, staring into Luna''s mismatched eyes.

    Luna felt Ravin brush his lips across her cheek as he leaned close to her ear. "Did you know what the Archdemon of Envy''s witch ve from the Human Realm had sacrificed for your soul retrieval, Amare?"

 Chapter 125 - Mass Slaughter

    <h4>Chapter 125 - Mass ughter</h4>

    "Did you know what the Archdemon of Envy''s witch ve from the Human Realm had sacrificed for your soul retrieval, Amare?"

    Luna noticed the Arch demon''s voice had deepened into a gravelly voice, with multiple high pitched tones ovepping, wrapping around it in insidiousyers.

    The sound made her freeze without the need of Ravin''s ability to petrify her bones and muscles, raising the hairs of her skin standing on end.

    Lunay beneath him, stupefied as she waited for his next words, with bated breath.

    She breathed into him as she drowned into the depth of Ravin''s golden eyes. "Tell me."

    Ravin looked down at her with an amused smile and Luna could tell that he was quite satisfied with her reaction, watching her like a predator watched a prey.

    Luna''s reaction could either be fight, flight or freeze.

    Of course, she had chosen to freeze since that was all she can do while the Archdemon stroked her face gently.

    It was so ironic that a creature from Hell, especially an Archdemon, could treat her so kindly but it was too early to tell.

    Ravin can switch characters in a moment as long as it suited his agenda.

    That was how devious Archdemons were. Luna knew better.

    "I think it would be better for me to show you." The Archdemon said as he continuously fingered her silver shining hair gently.

    Separating their bodies together as he rolled out of the bed, Luna''s body went loose as she exhaled, rxing, now that the Archdemon had lifted his heavy weight off her.

    He stretched out a hand, assisting her to rise from the soft cloud of Ravin''s soft mattress.

    Luna lifted one arm to clutch at his offered palm but she swatted his hand at thest minute.

    She tried to get up from the bed, leaning on her elbows but Ravin didn''t allow her to do it herself.

    He easily lifted her from the twisted sheets of the luxury beds before cing her down on the cool grass with an expectant smile.

    When Luna stood so close to the Archdemon of Gluttony, she peered at him from beneath hershes grudgingly

    The difference in their height made her upset her a little.

    Ravin was a tall, muscr man with broad shoulders, his red silky robes barely covered his torso.

    The ink-ck tattoos all over his skin shimmered into gold as the light from the stars hit them.

    The art on his porcin skin was mesmerizingly intricate that Luna yearned to touch his chest but she didn''t.

    Luna wouldn''t allow herself.

    One touch with the Archdemon of Glutrony was considered a betrayal to her husband, Apollyon.

    How much more if it was a forced kiss?

    The kiss she and the Archdemon of Gluttony had shared?

    Were they really forced or had she given them freely to Ravin?

    Was she controlled by any kind of Archdemon magic or did she actually did it herself, responding to him without hesitation?

    If the Vampire King knew about her indiscretions, he would kill her after he killed Ravin.

    The Archdemon of Gluttony had simply tempted her by how safe and secure he made her feel, cajoling her to earn her trust.

    Luna shouldn''t forget that these demonic beings were the same evil creatures who had enticed Adam''s second wife, Eve by assuming the form of a snake.

    "Come with me and I will let you witness what I did just to make you mine." Ravin looked behind her head, shifting his mischievous gaze to the far horizon and Luna followed his lead.

    Luna turned her head to stare at what the Archdemon had focused on.

    The gloomy medieval pce, shrouded in mystery and darkness, was perched on top of arge natural rock outcrop while the bright orange and red mes continued to ze like phoenix wings at the bottom of the cliffs.

    Luna surveyed the castle for a few seconds before ncing at the Archdemon.

    "Alright, show me then." She shrugged with nonchnce. "Don''t waste my time, Ravin."

    Luna might as well see it since she was curious.

    "Let''s make a bet, Ravin." Knowing that Luna might be pushing her luck, she decided to take a chance and ask for one more favor. "Return me to the Vampire Realm if I am not satisfied with your own offering for my soul retrieval."

    The Archdemon of Gluttony looked away as he rubbed his chin, deep in thought.

    He was seriously considering Luna''s request.

    When he finally decided that he was sure about the offerings'' ability to make her cry in delight, Ravin nodded in contemtion. "I agree with this bet of yours. I will win your heart anyway whether you like it or not, but I am positive that I will gain victory from this dare."

    She sighed with relief.

    "Swear it, Ravin." Luna arched an eyebrow and crossed her arms, lifting her chin in a challenge as she smirked at him. "If you are that confident, swear it on your name that you would take me back if I didn''t like your offering."

    "I''m sure this will prove how much I love you." Ravin cocked his head to the side, mirroring her smirk. "I swear in my name as the Archdemon of Gluttony, Ravin, that I would return the Empress Luna, my amare, to the Vampire Realm if she didn''t like and appreciate even for a little what I had done and sacrificed for her to reunite with me as her husband from Hell."

    The sh of lightning igniting more fire through the bright-red orange sky of Hell was followed by a loud crack of thunder as the Archdemon swore his oath to Luna.

    She swallowed audibly as Luna repeated Ravin''s statement in her mind, fishing for possible ws that would lead her to her downfall that would trap her soul in Hell.

    ''I couldn''t find any loopholes with that statement.'' Luna thought as she gave the Archdemon of Gluttony a puzzled frown.

    She regarded him suspiciously and narrowed her eyes at him. "Honor your promises, Ravin."

    Ravin only gave her an unsettling wide grin and kissed out the tip of her nose.

    The Archdemon reached for her fingers and brought it to his lips.

    They walked hand in hand in an unhurried pace towards the pce.

    Ahead of their path were barrennd and ugly trees with dead trunks and branches set on fire.

    As Luna and Ravin passed, the deathly sight shifted into wondrous backgrounds filled with fantastical dream imageries: healthy nts and lively flowers.

    She also caught glimpses of waterfalls gushing sparkling liquids of every color around their path whenever the Archdemon''s foot settled on the soil with every step towards his Pce.

    Luna looked over her shoulder and saw that the pool, the grass, the ck dahlias, the tents, the luxury beds and the lights were gone behind her, disappearing as if they didn''t exist in the first ce.

    The oasis disappeared like a mirage in the desert, reced with emptiness and burning mes.

    They were all illusions except for the armored dragons flying over their head as they breathed fire.

    As if by magic, both of them disappeared into the dark, blending with the stars and shimmering lights, only to arrive at the pce grounds in a snap of Ravin''s finger.

    Luna saw a great tree with huge branches full or bright crimson leaves in the middle of a vast in.

    Therge tree appeared so ancient as it stood near a deep well just outside the pce.

    Ravin walked her across the grounds, right up to the edge of the arching branches of the great tree, and turned to her.

    "What?" Luna asked, bemused by the excited look on his face.

    The Archdemon would only shake his head and smile secretly to himself in answer to her question.

    "Why?" Luna glowered at him in frustration. "What is it?"

    They were now standing directly under therge tree.

    Ravin gently released her hand and nodded his head, encouraging her. "Look above your head and see my offering."

    It took all of Luna''s nerve to not look up.

    She could sense its presence loom close, staring at her.

    Luna could hear the scratching of ws as the shadowy creatures ran around.

    Wings pped and talons jumped up and down on its branches in an ever-increasing frenzy to catch her attention as it rustled and creaked ominously.

    For a moment, she felt something lean down right next to her face.

    Luna told herself not to look and gritted her teeth to keep them from chattering with fear.

    "Is this some kind of a joke?" Luna asked with a fearful nce over her shoulder when she noticed the Archdemon slowly backing away from her. "What is above me, Ravin?"

    Luna dreaded his answer when she heard more strange squeals.

    Ravin called out and replied calmly, shrugging with nonchnce. "Just do it, amare."

    She balled her fists to steel herself, knowing that the sooner she got it over with, the faster she could return to the Vampire Realm.

    Taking a deep breath, she inhaled the faint scent of dried blood and it made her stomach growl.

    Luna licked her lips without thinking as she felt something thick and moist dripped over her silver hair trickling through her forehead to her cheek.

    She lifted her head and raised her gaze upward the long branches.

    Immediately, Luna saw a mass of things tied towards the tree branches above her.

    Bleeding hearts.

    Human bones.

    Chopped human body parts.

    Legs.

    Hands.

    Children''s detached heads tied to a string with their dead eyes falling out, hanging from the branches as they swayed to the scorching winds of Hell.

 Chapter 126 - Human Sacrifice

    <h4>Chapter 126 - Human Sacrifice</h4>

    Luna had never been so disgusted in her immortal life as an Amazon.

    Even if her short Vampire life had craved blood since it was her lifeline, the scent of the children''s essence dripping on her hair had made her look away immediately, wrinkling her nose as she leaned one hand on the dead trunk of? this ancient hanging tree.

    She swallowed hard as she held her breath at the smell of blood and the stench of the rotten flesh hanging on its branches.

    Simultaneously, the wing-like creatures appeared like the demonic version of ravens, crows, and vultures with glowing red eyes andrger ws and tiny hands attached to the tip of their scaly wings.

    Luna saw how one vulture had a dry eyeball between its beaks with veins still attached to it.

    Pressing his hands against her heaving stomach, Luna shook her head and tried her best not to throw up.

    Every child''s face was imprinted on Luna''s head since their flesh''s skin was not fully removed.

    The demonic creatures,yer byyer, gradually peeled off Their skin.

    Luna refused to look above her head again since it wasn''t needed when she could vividly see it in her mind''s eye.

    She suddenly lost the strength to stand as she crouched down on the ground, clutching both her hands on the dirt to ground her��reminding herself where she was.

    Luna''s skin tightened as if something was crawling in her flesh.

    She had risen from her position and stared at the well, instead, to distract her wild thoughts.

    Luna could feel that she was slowly losing her sanity.

    Her head was aching and spinning as she struggled to breathe.

    She lost control of her body, and her consciousness started to fade.

    Luna almost screamed when a hole bursting with white light materialized on the wall near therge ancient tree.

    She was almost sucked into it, but she pulled her hand in panic.

    +++

    Luna was suddenly transported into the scene itself��where the Human witch had made her sacrifice in a small kitchen where the dead bodies of childrenid, part by part, pile after pile.

    She had witnessed everything that happened in that dark room at an elerated pace.

    The witch who made a sacrifice had shoulder-length ck hair covered with a ck veil and long ck dress.

    It was the first time she had witnessed how people''s clothing from the Human Realm''s had looked like.

    The name��it was at the tip of her tongue��a voice telling her it was a nun''s dress.

    Thedy was a nun from a chapel, running an orphanage.

    Luna wasn''t supposed to recognize these words because she wasn''t from the Human Realm, but�� the voices in her head had exined the things impulsively, making her understand.

    She saw the six children, ranging from eight to twelve, tied to a chair.

    The witch had twisted off their nails one by one.

    Every time they scream, the witch had threatened to remove their teeth while they were still alive.

    If they as much as a twitch from the agony of the witch''s torture, the nun under the Archdemon of Envy''s contract would whip them a hundred times.

    The other children couldn''t take the witch''s slow persecution, and Luna had watched the life sh in front of their eyes as their stares full of unshed tears from holding back so much pain grew dull.

    Some children had a low tolerance of pain and died in fifteen minutes of a slow, agonizing death.

    The strongest one, an eleven-year-old female with thin-blond hair who owned the blue eyes,sted for an hour.

    She had a determined look on her face while she was scalped.

    As Luna watched this particr child, Luna was reminded of her power and the difficulties she had experienced as an Amazon, her journey from a mere consort, then to a High Priestess.

    She had be the Empress by seeding despite her own struggles, but she realized her experiences were perhaps, nothingpared to this child.

    The blond girl used all her remaining strength to fight even on herst breath, not giving the satisfaction to let the witch hear her screams.

    Luna''s face was flooded with never-ending tears as she pressed a fist against her mouth, her cheeks puffed with outrage at the injustice of this bitch hurting these innocent, helpless children.

    She can only stare at the witch''s doing, for she could not travel back in time to stop the witch''s sacrifice.

    Luna choked at the bitter tang in her mouth, burning her throat when Luna eyed the witch chopped the children''s dead bodies with arge butcher knife.

    The witch had eyes that appeared cold, dead, and t, but she was smiling pleasantly as she removed their vital organs before cing their cut-up body parts in arge basin.

    It was as clear as day that a demonic creature possessed the witch��what Luna wasn''t sure at that time was if it was the Archdemon of Envy.

    Luna watches the witch brought them to a secluded area, in the middle of nowhere, before setting the flesh on fire and burning them in the woods.

    Oh, how much she could wish to be somewhere else than here.

    She backed away with a shudder as she covered her mouth and nose with her palms from the smell of burning flesh like she was actually there with the nun.

    After she had finished with her dark rituals, the nun walked a quarter of a mile away from the woods back to the quiet highway road where trucks rarely drive by.

    The nun opened her car door, went inside, pulled the pistol from the glovepartment, and shot herself dead.

    +++

    Lunanded ungraciously on her butt, her skirts in heaps.

    She stood up and recovered, staring at the puzzle in front of her.

    Luna was back in Hell with the Archdemon of Gluttony.

    What she saw right at this moment was merely a memory, but it pierced her heart that she couldn''t do anything about it.

    The witch had already made her choice and fulfilled her contract with the Archdemon of Envy to pay her debts.

    Any interference of her wickedness will only back bounce to the one who tried to change the past events.

    The water in the deep well had shown her what had happened in the Human Realm.

    All Luna could do was to mourn for the children''s demise.

    She walked away from the ancient tree and the cursed well to regainposure.

    Even if it was done, Luna''s mind reyed what she had seen in agonizing detail.

    "I did this for you, Amare." The Archdemon of Gluttony whispered as he approached her.

    She suddenly had the urge to flee.

    Despite that, Luna remained frozen in her ce, summoning enough courage to talk about what Ravin had done.

    "So, are you ming me for this?" Luna rubbed at her exposed forearms as she shivered in disgust, continuing, "That if it weren''t for me, you would not have done this?"

    Ravin''s brows furrowed in confusion.

    The bastard hadn''tpletely grasped the idea of why Luna''s fists were shaking with fury.

    "It wasn''t me who had done this." Ravin''s eyebrows lowered and pinched together. "I told you it was the Archdemon of Envy."

    Luna desired to punch the Archdemon in his handsome face so that she could untwist his psychopathic mind.

    It didn''t make any difference, Ravin. You, Archdemons, flock together, sacrificing the lives of innocent people so easily, and it wouldn''t matter to you because you are an Archdemon. You wouldn''t care because they didn''t matter to you." Luna repeated what the Archdemon of Gluttony had said to her, devoid of emotion. "These innocent children had nothing to do with you."

    The Archdemon of Gluttony maintained eye contact, and there was no hint of remorse in his golden eyes."I wouldn''t take any responsibility for what the Archdemon of Envy had done, Amare."

    Her face nched.

    She wasn''t sure if the Archdemon felt any guilt or even apologetic of what he had done��of what the Archdemon of Envy had done.

    The Archdemon of Gluttony had passed the me on the Archdemon of Envy, washing his own hands of this unspeakable crime.

    Luna longed to avert her gaze no matter how difficult it was.

    "I asked her to strengthen our connection, so I could im you as my Queen in Hell without knowing what she had done." He reasoned out uncertainly as he ran a frustrated hand through his raven locks.

    Even if he hadn''t done it himself, because it was supposed to be the Archdemon of Envy''s payment of her debt to Ravin, it didn''t actually make any difference.

    Ravin was a horrible cold-blooded monster, and he had actually allowed this atrocity just to take her back.

    The Archdemon even expected her to be ecstatic about what he had done, positive that she would like his offering.

    Six children were sacrificed for such a stupid reason just so he could strengthen their blood bond and thicken the cords between them, beating her husband, Apollyon.

    He did this so that Ravin can drag her to Hell whenever he pleased.

    Shaking her head, Luna clenched her jaw in anger.

    "I only told the Archdemon of Envy that she could do ''whatever-it-takes-to-take-you-back'' without any specific instructions," Ravin said as his face flushed red, appearing a bit guilty now.

    She turned her back on him when he had neared.

    Luna''s muscles quivered as heat flushed through her body and said, "You are an Archdemon, Ravin. You, of all demons, should have known that you should not be vague when ites to binding contracts with other demonic creatures, especially your fellow Archdemons."

    "I thought you would be pleased," Ravin replied as he grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to face him. "I was nning to give them to you as a gift along with binding your soul to me here in Hell."

 Chapter 127 - Archangels Apparition

    <h4>Chapter 127 - Archangel''s Apparition</h4>

    "I was nning to give them to you as a gift along with binding your soul to me here in Hell."

    Luna jerked away from Ravin''s contact when he attempted to embrace her.

    "You wouldn''t need anyone else other than me." He said quietly.

    She cringed as the Archdemon gave her a pained expression.

    What Ravin had done had been absolutely disgusting, and that there was no way she would support that kind of injustice even if he imed that he was her second husband.

    Ravin was as shameless as an Archdemon��so smug at killing innocent people even if he hadn''t done it himself, nor did he have the right to stop the Archdemon of Envy from fulfilling her debts to him in any way possible.

    Archdemons--even if Ravin had admitted that he didn''t expect it to happen--wouldn''t change overnight.

    Luna must remember that for the rest of her life so that she wouldn''t be fooled by the things he had offered, such as the temptation of evesting power from an Archdemon.

    If she had bound herself to the Archdemon of Gluttony just so she had ess to demon magic to defend herself, what was she willing to sacrifice?

    Yes, Ravin said that Luna only had to stay in Hell with him as his Queen but what if Luna was forced to do any of his insidious biddings because she was bound to the devil''s contract?

    Luna imagined herself in the ce of that nun from the Human Realm.

    What if it was her who was forced to kill those innocent children from the orphanage without remorse, possessed by the devil, to pay for her wishes granted by the Archdemon of Envy?

    Luna exhaled an anxious breath.

    She would not do that just for the sake of gaining power in the Vampire Realm, having leverage over her husband, Apollyon.

    Luna knew deep in her heart that her intentions of acquiring magic weren''t right just because she didn''t feelfortable being submissive to her husband.

    She didn''t desire to gain power over him.

    Still, it was simply for equality''s sake so that Apollyon wouldn''t mistreat her like she was nothing but an essory--something he could control--just because she was weaker without magic and couldn''t fight back against him.

    If Luna hadn''t given up her virginity to her husband and kept her status as the Vampire Realm''s High Priestess, would Apollyon and her story had a different ending, or would it be the same old, same old?

    Will her husband truly change for the better?

    Luna shook her head with the hopelessness of it all.

    Because if pushes to shove, Luna won''t stay with the Archdemon of Gluttony, either, if he was the type of Archdemon who would tolerate this senseless evil.

    Archdemons were truly vile, in a sense, because that''s what they were supposed to be.

    Hell, they were already evil even before the day Luna had existed in this world.

    What made her think that it was possible to change an Archdemon''s true nature?

    ''Love?'' Luna couldn''t stop the tears running down her cheeks as she realized something about the word ''love'' itself based on her experiences. ''Love can do absolutely nothing if the man didn''t want to change his life and his attitude towards the woman.''

    A woman''s love, devotion, nurturing, affection, and forgiveness will not change a man.

    No matter how many times a woman obeyed what her husband had told her to do, do everything he would ask of her, do everything he would have liked her to do, following every single one of his rules, men wouldn''t change even if a woman increases the intensity of loving them.

    Harder.

    A woman''s love wasn''t enough.

    Men wouldn''t change because of a woman''s love.

    Men will only change if they decided to change, and that was a fact.

    Love was not all about emotions.

    Luna had to take the time rationalizing something so irrational.

    ''Loving these men who had nothing but evil to offer.''

    Promising her one thing and changing it the next.

    They had this sick need to give love then take it away if a woman did something they disapproved of, holding it over her head, holding their love and affection like a hostage.

    They destroy something so fragile without even giving all they have got to protect it.

    Men who couldn''t even cater to her needs and controlling her instead because she wouldn''t cater to theirs.

    "I also nned to give you ess to Archdemon''s magic after the soul contract." Ravin touched the base of his neck as he frowned, "I was expecting you would be happy with how far I could go so that you could be with me for eternity."

    "You are wrong. You didn''t really know me well enough." Luna averted her gaze. "Now it''s time for you to fulfill your promise. Return me to the Vampire Realm, Ravin."

    The moment the Archdemon of Gluttony''s name came out of her mouth as she asked for his permission to return her to the Vampire Realm, it rang with tremendous power that her soul was suddenly catapulted out of her body, floating in a haze of crimson atmosphere.

    Just a couple of feet away, Luna witnessed herself face to face in the same gossamer silk white gown with rainbow skirts Ravin had clothed her in his Kingdom.

    The only difference was that her replica was frozen in time as she talked to the Archdemon in Hell, Luna''s mouth perpetually open.

    It appeared like Luna was in another ce stuck in a parallel dimension in between Realms.

    With sweat running down her back, Luna ran a frustrated hand over her long silver hair.

    Luna wouldn''t allow being trapped in between dimensions, or she would die in this unknown void alone.

    She needed to travel safely to the Vampire Realm.

    Maybe, this was a glitch.

    She hadn''t found any loophole with the Archdemon''s words, so it was safe to assume that he would keep his promise to her until she arrived in the Vampire Realm.

    Closing her eyes, Luna asked herself as she waited for her inner voice to tell her the truth of what she felt,? ''Why do I want to return to the Vampire Realm, nor would I return to Ravin''s Kingdom?''

    Did she deserve this type of treatment?

    Why did she want to go back to someone abusive under the premise that they would start treating how she deserved to be treated?

    Would Apollyon still be the Vampire King who acted like the same old jester on the same Vampire Court?

    Honestly, it wasn''t even a good show, and Luna has seen this couple of times before.

    Luna deserved better than just a sexual congress from her husband.

    Without real intimacy, that wouldn''t keep her happy for long.

    Will Apollyon treat her like a bird in a cage who sang whenever she was told to as she longed for her freedom, simr to his Consortium?

    There were questions she wanted to address to herself also that she needed to figure out and solve.

    Why did love felt like a constant battle to her?

    Why did she have this constant need to defend herself and keep her guard up with Apollyon every single time?

    Why was it so hard to trust her husband?

    Why was it so hard to be vulnerable in front of him?

    Why did she find it hard to admit that she needed help and was having a hard time?

    Luna needed to tell her husband what she needed and expected from him because even if Apollyon was a warlock, he couldn''t read her mind all the time.

    After all, she had blocked him out.

    Apollyon couldn''t rely on her thoughts when she couldn''t even control it herself.

    And why did she always expect her requests to fall on deaf ears?

    "Perhaps, there was something wrong with me." Luna wanted to say that out loud, but she couldn''t because her soul had floated around in between parallel dimensions devoid of sound.

    Luna watched the crimson Ravin and her petrified self in the Kingdom of Hell before she willed herself tond her feet on the edge of the wishing well, near that disgusting ancient tree.

    Will Luna be willing to try again and make their marriage with Apollyon work this time?

    She exhaled and said, "Yes, but this will be thest chance."

    Luna decided that she will give her all, and if Apollyon couldn''t match that, then it was time to leave.

    There was a bright lighting out from the wishing well, and something materialized in front of Luna.

    She could quickly make out that it was moving to be six foot two, with grey eyes and ash-blond hair.

    The unknown winged creature nodded in acknowledgment before quickly disappearing as he hade-- like a mirage or a vampire who had turned to dust, drifting through the wind.

    ''Who was that?''

    ''Was it a fellow time traveler in the same ne?''

    Unfortunately, there was no sign of him anymore, so that no one could answer her question. ''

    Luna mped down her disappointment and went back to stare at her crimson replica and the frozen Archdemon in Hell.

    What will happen if she let herself be sucked in the white light from this wishing well, following the being that showed himself to her in an apparition?

    Luna bit her lip, contemting. ''I can''t stay trapped in here.''

    If she didn''t do something, Luna was going to be stuck here forever, trapped in this time-space dimension.

    Without thinking of a particr destination, Luna prayed to the Goddess for help before jumping into the deep, dark well.

 Chapter 128 - Wife Is Missing

    <h4>Chapter 128 - Wife Is Missing</h4>

    ***************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ***************************

    Apollyon''s breath caught when a grudging moonlight sparkled over the sleeping beauty''s innocent face.

    Apollyon caressed his wife''s forehead as he watched the rise and fall of her breasts, breathing softly.

    Two weeks had passed in the Vampire Realm, and the Empress hadn''t awakened in his Castle''s Ivory tower yet.

    Being a warlock was Apollyon''s second nature.

    He had tried to heal her of her ailment but to no avail.

    Apollyon didn''t know what was wrong with Luna even after consulting the High Priest to heal her with anything he could think of.

    Nothing and no one could ever wake her up from her slumber.

    Not loud sounds.

    Not even a shake of her shoulders.

    Not even persuasion from Apollyon, the Faerie Prince, the Shadow King, could do it despite increasing the resonance of their voice persuasion or even by magic.

    Hell, even if Apollyon dropped her from the small window of the ivory tower, the Empress wouldn''t probably wake up since she would be temporarily broken from the fall itself.

    Apollyon rose from the chair beside Luna''s bed.

    He couldn''t stand it anymore, not knowing when her sleep wouldst.

    Would this be permanent?

    Wouldn''t he be able to see her mismatched eyes again?

    Will he ever witness her charming strength, which both turned him on and irked him, every time she defied him?

    Would it be toote?

    One thing was for sure; Apollyon would be patient.

    He was willing to wait for his Empress to get back to him even if it would take an eternity.

    Apollyon would take great care of her and prioritize her needs above his own.

    How many times had he told himself that?

    Why did he keep hurting her without meaning to?

    Why was he so callous?

    As the Vampire King, was he really this selfish for his Empress that he couldn''t be considerate of her plight?

    Was it that hard to care for another creature aside from himself?

    He was determined to try it this time and make it work.

    Why didn''t he think of this sooner?

    Now Luna was lost.

    Apollyon didn''t know where she had gone, and he couldn''t recover her soul.

    Was she taken by the Archdemons, then?

    Nobody can answer the questions running through his mind.

    The Kings who visited in the Vampire Realm had understood when he told him the truth.

    As the Vampire King, he had owed them an exnation.

    The Feline King Panterra had slid off the incident since he wasn''t harmed; only his pride took a tiny hit.

    The six Kings took a vow of leniency to let the issue slide as all of them made a blood pact in the Council Room.

    Apollyon had brought each of them to the Ivory Tower to see the Empress since she couldn''t attend her own Coronation.

    He also asked them for help, but nothing they did was effective, either.

    The event was postponed for the meantime, not until she woke up.

    The Vampire King had fulfilled his promise to his wife this time, handling the Marriage Auction by himself for the past two weeks.

    If his wife was there with him, Apollyon was sure that it would make Luna happy, seeing him handle the Consortium and the Kings quite well during the Courtship rituals.

    With the help of Jon and Cederic, who had given him strange looks, Apollyon made the month-long event as wholesome as possible, acting as a strict headmistress for the group ofdies, preventing them from having sexual congress with any of the Kings like what Luna had wanted.

    The royal Kings from the other Realms didn''t like this rule, but since Apollyon had gained their loyalty to follow his Kingdom''s protocols just so they could acquire thedies they wanted, the Kings decided to y along.

    Apollyon didn''t feel good about using the Empress''s deathly slumber to manipte them and y with their conscience just for them to obey his orders.

    Luna''s condition made a fine bargain, holding her condition over the Kings'' heads to do what Apollyon tell them to do in this month''s duration.

    They were also part of the reason why this tragedy had happened--even if Panterra wasn''t aware that Luna was the Empress the first time he had seen her and imed her as his own.

    Everyone had a part in this tableau, so they might as well do something and help fix the mistakes Apollyon had made.

    Every action had a corresponding reaction of cause and effect.

    The series of unfortunate events had tumbled over each other until it reached a boiling point where nothing was irreversible.

    Apollyon wished Luna was here with him, observing the Kings behave themselves during the Courting Rituals.

    Cederic''s military guards were everywhere--in every corner of the Vampire Castle--guarding the Kings and thedies from the Consortium on their personal meetings.

    The Kingdom''s spies were allowed to watch any pair who would try to have a wild rendezvous at night--stopping them from doing the deed--or the Kings would be sent back to their Kingdom, and thedy involved will be banished from the Vampire Castle.

    So far, nobody had broken the rules Apollyon had implemented, and that was good.

    Sometimes, Apollyon wondered if someone did ever break the rules and was just too good at hiding it.

    The Kings had magical abilities, and some were just good at sneaking around, especially those who had been raised as a predator, but who cared about what they do as long as they weren''t caught yet.

    That wasn''t part of Apollyon''s business anymore.

    ''Ah,'' Apollyon thought. ''I wish the Kings had severe blue balls like me if they had followed my rules and didn''t fuck around with any of thedies from the Consortium, yet, but I doubt.''

    Apollyon hadn''t had any sexual congress in two weeks.

    That was the longest case of severe blue balls he had experienced as far as he could remember.

    Vampires were sexual creatures, and he sincerely contemted fucking his wife while she was sleeping, not in the sense that he liked fucking women who wouldn''t respond, nor did he practice necrophilia, but he dabbled at the idea that maybe it would wake his wife up from her deep slumber when she experienced the sensation of being pleasured.

    Apollyon threw the outrageous notion out of the window because he wanted to show Luna the respect she deserved. That included not doing anything to her person without her permission.

    Cheating with thedies from the Consortium��even just for a night��was out of the question too.

    His mind had no business straying from the thought of using other women just for him to bust a nut.

    Apollyon will have to wait for the Empress to do his wifely duties even if it will take her an eternity.

    Sighing, Apollyon watched his left palm and mused, ''I guessed my hand would suffice for the meantime.''

    The Vampire King hadn''t gone back to his Vampire Lair.

    He stayed with the Empress in the ivory tower, not wanting to abandon here alone in the darkness, with only the burning wax candles and the moonlight streaming through the small window as her source ofpany.

    If Luna woke up in this ivory tower, she would be surprised to see the alterations Apollyon had made to make her feel happy the moment she opened her eyes.

    Apollyon smiled as he imagined what will happen in their future reunion.

    The fantasy he had created in his mind was so vivid that he had believed it woulde true.

    The Empress'' room in the Ivory Tower became the most luxuriously appointed chamber in the entire castle.

    It possessed a fine elegance of a young, bright-looking immortal Empress--her beautiful body wrapped around in the finest velvet and silk sheets.

    He had ced fancy curtains at the vaulted ceiling as they billowed like veils of white snow fur.

    There was a magnificent chest resting on four carved ws perched at the foot of the bed.

    He brought servants over to fix the massive four-poster bed and revamp them, hanging velvet ribbons from each of the thick carved bedposts.

    Apollyon caressed one absently as he wondered.

    Now, the Empress hadin on this opulent bed in its brocaded splendor, crowned with a gilded pedestal in the center of the room.

    Apollyon ran a finger over the drawer, and he smiled in satisfaction.

    The servants had done their job properly, removing any dust and dirt on every surface.

    He even bought the Empress'' more gifts from the market he had chosen.

    It was an expensive silverb with her name carved on it, scent bottles female of all ages loved to own, gold, diamond brooch, and ruby and emerald gems.

    Still, it didn''t take away the fact that this Ivory Tower was an opulent prison before.

    It wouldn''t be a prison when he had already decided to sleep here for two weeks, expecting the Empress'' return.

    Apollyon paced in the Empress'' chamber, his footsteps muffled by the thick carpets, rugs, and tapestries surrounding the walls.

    Wind battered Apollyon in his eyes as he narrowed his gaze on the small rectangr window just enough to for a woman to hurl herself out of.

    This was also the reason why he couldn''t allow leaving her alone, sleeping with his Empress every night.

    He directed his attention on the panoramic view of his courtyard down below, bathed in a silvery quilt of the moonlight.

    A soft female sigh grazed Apollyon''s nape, faint yet audible enough to make the fine hairs of his skin stand erect.

 Chapter 129 - The Ghost

    <h4>Chapter 129 - The Ghost</h4>

    ************************

    The Empress Luna

    ************************

    The moment Luna dropped to the deep well, the crimson world she had seen in Ravin''s Kingdom had started to crumble into the pitch-ck void.

    She couldn''t see anything at all until it brightened after a few minutes.

    Something caught her peripheral vision, and that made her hurry up.

    Icy fear shot down her spine.

    Was that a giant beetle?

    Luna had the mistake of ncing behind her.

    Series of ck holes popped from different directions, releasing a green puddle of goo.

    Luna wrinkled her nose because of the distinct rotten smell.

    Goddess, will she ever remember this moment, look backing at whileughing until her stomach hurts, thinking a mere Amazon like her could time-travel, skipping from dimension to dimension?

    She watched as monsters resembling centipedes, cockroaches, and hairy bumblebees slowly came out of these ck holes from nowhere.

    These behemoths appeared like they didn''t see her, though.

    Luna assumed these creatures were the low-ranking demons the Archdemon of Gluttony had told her about.

    She felt another one of those falling sensations, and in that blink of an eye, and in between Ravin''s Kingdom and the ck holes where demonic creatures had passed through, Luna realized that maybe she had already arrived at her destination.

    She felt it in her gut that there weren''t any creepy crawly monsters lurking around anymore.

    Luna jerked her eyes open, only to find out that she wasn''t in her body.

    She could see herself from a different point of view��as she had turned into an apparition.

    The whole room in the ivory tower had changed, not in the sense that everything was rearranged and more furniture were added, but it was the same as what she had seen in Ravin''s Kingdom, but this time, the atmosphere was in a lighter shade of crimson.

    Luna looked around and blinked a few times, checking if it was her eyes that were the problem.

    It had remained the same.

    Everything was crimson when Luna arrived--from the furniture, walls, ceilings, even the air was in that same shade.

    She glided through the fancy wcurtains which had reached the ceiling and approached the Vampire King, who stood near the window as he stared at the glowing red moon and the sky.

    She floated in the air, creeping like the spectre she was.

    Luna found the Vampire King standing near the window.

    The balmy wind whipped the dark veil of his hair from his face, revealing features as soulless and foreign to her, bearing? little resemnce to the man Luna had called her husband.

    She wondered what Apollyon had been staring nkly at.

    He was too lost in his own thoughts that Luna pondered if he had the castle''s gardens, the forest, and the courtyard in mind, for he had gazed at everything with a sorrowful vacancy that worried her.

    Luna didn''t know what else she could do so that she coulde back to her body.

    Whether her soul woulde back in the Vampire Realm and reunite with Apollyon again was a mystery.

    It might be impossible, but Luna prayed for even the slightest chance of a miracle.

    Luna shook her head and wrapped her arms around her chest.

    She knew better than to be afraid.

    An abashed giggle escaped her, then another.

    She cupped a hand over her mouth, but the torrent of mirth refused to subside.

    Soon she wasughing aloud,ughing until her sides ached and tears streamed down her cheeks.

    Luna might as well y with Apollyon as revenge while she could still do it without consequences.

    Apollyon wouldn''t have proof that it was her, anyway.

    **************************

    The Vampire King

    *************************

    A soft female sigh grazed Apollyon''s nape.

    The sigh escted into a ghostly moan echoing throughout the room.

    Apollyon turned back to the sleeping Empress on the giant bed.

    He had thought that the sound came from his wife''s throat, indicating that she had awakened from her vegetative state.

    The curtains began to p wildly from its beams, and Apollyon backed away from the window, stricken with terror when he saw a female apparition he couldn''t quite make out.

    But he knew it was a female from its voice alone, even if he couldn''t see it in her fullest form.

    The moan rose to a piercing wail, and Apollyon pped his hands over his ears.

    He wasn''t sure if the keening protestations were real or perhaps, it was an auditory hallucination where he was the only one who could hear it.

    Apollyon was alone in this Ivory Tower, and he couldn''t bring anyone here to test that theory.

    Were thesementations from his female ancestors who had suffered and died in the hands of all the Vampire Kings in their bloodline, or was this Luna''s ghost, ying with his fears just for the sake of revenge?

    Apollyon tore his hands away from his ears and bellowed, "Stop it!"

    The shutters of the tiny window mmed shut, and the howling had stopped abruptly as it had begun, leaving Apollyon in total silence.

    He searched for the shadows quietly just in case some dark creature would jump in front of him, thinking that would scare him.

    With a dark gust of breath stirring his hair, Apollyon paused and waited, and the shutters swung open with a creak. A shrill whistle assailed his ears, escting into a tormented shriek.

    "Maybe, it was the wind," Apollyon muttered in his breath. "There are no ghosts of my female ancestors in here seeking revenge."

    Apollyon''s feet led him back to the corner of the room where there was a cab for Luna''s medicine intake that he had religiously given her ording to the High Priest''s instructions.

    He searched for the liquid containers and vials for the potion and brought it to the Empress.

    Apollyon stood beside her by the bed, holding a ss vial containing red liquid, looking down on her form with hunched shoulders.

    He heaved a long, low suffering sigh.

    Apollyon had thought about feeding her with more of his blood mixed with the High Priest''s magic concoctions.

    Fei was a green warlock who had much more experience in the Healing Arts.

    He had spent almost all his life learning about herbal magic than Apollyon, who had no interest in the field, so he had trusted him to do anything he could to bring his wife back.

    After uncorking the ss tube, Apollyon directed the small vial containing some red liquid and poured the perfect amount into her mouth, filling her hunger while she slept.

    It didn''t work.

    He clutched the vial with almost an intensity that could break the ss.

    Every single day and night, he fed her with the blood vial mixed with a magical potion, he prayed that it would be thest time Luna would drink, but it wasn''t. He was too close to despair.

    Apollyon glowered at the High Priest''s useless blood vial with his blood in it.

    He thought about throwing it to the wall in anger, but he ced it gently on the table near her, instead.

    If the ss breaks into tiny shards, it would be a mess to clean up and hurt the Empress by ident.

    Lifting the knife from his shaky hand, Apollyon sliced his wrist with a clean-cut, and with open palms, he let the red liquid flow into her open mouth as he held her small chin.

    There was no other way for Apollyon to feed his starved wife.

    He prayed that this amount of blood would be enough for her survival.

    Suddenly, he felt his head throb, and he pressed his temples together to make it stop.

    Apollyon''s ears were so sensitive he could heart the pitter-patter of his of the blood dripping on her pink tongue as if in slow motion.

    His senses became one thousand times heightened.

    ''Apollyon.''

    Turning his head around to look at the space enclosing him, Apollyon swore he heard his wife''s voice just now.

    ''Apollyon.''

    He stayed still and ignored it.

    ''Apollyon, I am here.'' The unknown voice insisted, and it kept on calling his name.

    ''Apollyon, it''s me, Luna.''

    The longer he heard the voice, the more his headache intensified.

    ''Help me I can''t--''

    "Stop fooling around, whoever you are." Apollyon bellowed, but the voice didn''t go away.

    He continued quietly in a desperate whisper, and his deep voice sounded broken. "Don''t get my hopes up if you wouldn''te back to me and wake up, Luna."

    *********************

    The Empress Luna

    ********************

    Luna heard a snap.

    Her mind and body have awakened from the dream-like state she was in just a second ago.

    A seemingly heavy invisible weight she didn''t know she was carrying was lifted off her shoulders, but she can''t stop herself, licking the red liquid from his veins.

    The liquid was as sweet as melted chocte and honey.

    She closed her eyes and moaned in bliss as she swallowed.

    Every drop of blood became sweeter, and it made her crave for more.

    Luna unsped her mouth from his pale wrist and licked her lips, savouring the taste by rolling her tongue.

    She can only drink the blood of the mate she had bonded: The Vampire King, Apollyon.

    She should be jumping for joy, now that her soul was back in the Vampire Realm.

    Luna raised both of her arms to reach for the Vampire King.

    Still, she had wondered why she had felt a burning sensation on her skin, only to find out that her entire body was covered with tattoos--intricate ink-nk and golden tattoos spreading around her chests, her stomach, her legs and arms like thorns.

    They looked extremely simr to the? Ravin''s.

 Chapter 130 - Sudden Declaration Of Love

    <h4>Chapter 130 - Sudden Deration Of Love</h4>

    *********************

    The Empress Luna

    *********************

    Luna blinked, and her eyes burned for a moment, taking the time to adjust to the sudden bright colours sshing in front of her.

    She uncurled her stiff limbs, noticing the dried tearstains hardening the tender skin of her face.

    Her entire body hurt like she had been whipped a thousand times as a punishment.

    The burning in her eyes and skin had disappeared, but she didn''t want to think about Ravin''s tattoos on her body.

    Was shepletely marked by him when she didn''t even agree to his bargain in the first ce: being his Queen in Hell in exchange for unlimited ess to demonic power?

    Did Ravin bind her to him without any consensual agreement?

    Luna refused to think about their bargain in exchange for returning her to the Vampire Realm.

    She didn''t sacrifice anything, nor did she agree to any bindings or contracts with him except what the Archdemon of Envy''s witch had done but, Luna was scared that their soul thread had strengthened over her and Apollyon''s blood.

    That couldn''t be.

    The Vampire King watched over her with surprised blue eyes, frozen in ce as he held the knife in one hand while the other hovered over her face.

    The sh in his wrist had healed after a few seconds.

    Inhaling the scent of Apollyon''s blood as it plopped on her upper lip, she licked the blood slowly--warily--as if one wrong move could make him drive that knife he held into her heart if she did something wrong.

    "Luna." The Vampire King said softly, and her tone sounded raspy as if it was a long time since she had used her voice. "Yes, you''re Highness?" She spoke softly in response, but he pretended as if he hadn''t heard her.

    "Luna." He called again, but this time, the timbre of his voice was deeper and had a sense of urgency.

    She couldn''t read his face because he had kept it nk, but the way his hands trembled when he stroked her hair gently, caressing her hair made her close her eyes shut, feeling drowsy.

    "Luna. Luna. Luna." Apollyon chanted her name like it was a prayer, full of fear and longing.

    The Vampire King closed his eyes, repeating her name like it was a magic spell, savouring the word like it was his lifeline, his blood.

    He made her feel like she mattered with every name uttered in his sensual mouth.

    She saw Apollyon''s Adam''s apple bobbed up and down as if he was swallowing his words.

    Luna waited for Apollyon to speak first, wondering what he had done while she was gone.

    She wouldn''t ask, she wouldn''t demand nor should she coax at him to get answers she needed.

    Luna will wait until he was ready even if it will take them the next morning for him to finally speak to her.

    Apollyon''s sleek and royal appearance in the Vampire Courts, when he faced the other Kings and his royal subjects, waspletely different thest time she saw her.

    Luna didn''t know how much time had passed by since she had assumed that the timeline in other dimensions was different.

    The Vampire King in front of her was made of rougher material, and his clean-shaven jaw fromst time was shadowed with a beard.

    Apollyon''s eyes became a richer shade of blue since thest time she saw him.

    Luna had missed his crushed sapphire eyes, turning into a hundred shaded of turquoise blue and cerulean intertwining witch each other.

    She yearned to reach out her hand to run her fingers through his long and silky raven hair which had almost reached his shoulders.

    Instead of falling into slumber again, Luna shook her head when her mind shed her images of the tortured children from the orphanage, driving her mind in disturbing chaos, filling it with the terror of a lifetime.

    Luna fought her way through the haze of the trauma she had experienced, witnessing something so brutal.

    She widened her eyes open, determined not to sleep or the nightmares would--

    "Wife," Apollyon said smoothly that it was so unexpected.

    So, her husband had finally decided to say something to her instead of just staring at her like a creep.

    Luna could see the anxiety in his jerky movements.

    Seeing Apollyon acting like this also made her nervous because she couldn''t handle this side of him.

    His confidence was unwee when he carried on to blurt out the words, "I love you."

    Luna was taken aback, but she didn''t flinch so that her husband wouldn''t treat that as an insult.

    Exhaling a breath, she calmed herself and kept a straight face instead of screeching in disbelief.

    She didn''t expect him to be like this the moment she woke up from her astral travel.

    Apollyon wasn''t the type of man to say that out of the blue.

    He was the Vampire King, and his deration of love was considered a weakness of his character.

    Luna cleared her throat, trying to find the right words to such a sudden confession from the Vampire King.

    "Cat got your tongue?" She didn''t have the chance to speak her mind when she heard his deep voice, holding nothing butughter.

    It sent the butterflies in her stomach wild, the sensual heat shifting to her core.

    "Why can''t you speak, wife?" Apollyon''s smile became sharp as he ced the knife into the back to the bedside table. "As a woman, I thought you wanted to hear those wordse out of my mouth with conviction and reassurance."

    "Before your soul went away, you kept on insisting that I promise you these things and here I am telling you." He looked down at her and muttered, "But you did not react?"

    One moment, Luna was trapped into a haze of pain and shock.

    Now she was smiling at her indignant husband.

    "Thank you for loving me, husband," Luna said, her voice gaining strength.

    That was the first step.

    Luna thought this was the most appropriate response to a love confession from a seemingly psychopathic husband, but she still had to observe his behaviour.

    One wrong thing she would disapprove of, she had one foot set out the door.

    Luna would pack her necessities and escape immediately at the first breaking dawn even if she would have to leave her blood mate behind.

    She would never make the same mistakes again after learning the lesson.

    She knew her worth as the Empress.

    Luna knew what to do now, choosing herself above anyone else, but her heart was still open for Apollyon''s love.

    Luna knew what to tolerate and what not to.

    "I missed you, my wife." The Vampire King''s stroking hand had moved from her forehead to her neck, turning her excitement into fear. "I thought I already lost you."

    Luna nced up at him, astonished at his vulnerability to admit that. "I''m here now, Husband."

    Apollyon had wrapped hisrge hand around her slender neck and whispered, "You''re mine."

    She flinched, but it was for naught.

    "Don''t hurt me."

    The Vampire King''s hand was big, gentle and patient.

    "Of course not." Apollyon''s blue eyes shed hurt as if offended by her statement. "I was checking if you were still cold because I swear your soul had left your body before this. You felt like a corpse to me."

    Luna closed her eyes and rxed into his warmth after long minutes, reassured by the calluses which spoke of a man ustomed to using heavy swords and weapons.

    How could such a man so utterly ruthless provide the safety Luna needed?

    He cupped her cheek and asked, "Where did you go?"

    She blinked.

    That was a question she wasn''t prepared to answer.

    Apollyon''s brows furrowed. "Both of your eyes are golden."

    That was an imcable statement.

    The Vampire King knew where she went.

    Well, Luna didn''t really have to answer now.

    When she looked into the Vampire King''s blue eyes, she saw that there was a cold, hard rage flickering in them which made her want to escape out of his sight but then she discerned it was Ravin he was angry about.

    The Archdemon of Gluttony had taken hold of her in her dreams, but Apollyon couldn''t do anything about it, nor did they speak regarding this situation.

    "I wouldn''t pressure you to do anything you don''t want to tell me." The Vampire King''s gaze lingered into her body, especially on her cleavage, which was exposed by her thin chemise.

    "You don''t have to block your mind from me anymore because I wouldn''t be reading them for your privacy now would I tap into your emotions because you fear I might take advantage of you." He tucked her thick nkets gently--which felt good and soft sliding unto her skin��up to her neck to cover her upper body properly.

    The Vampire King didn''t pry her for more details.

    "I will sleep with you now, wife."

    He turned to the left side of the bed and climbed towards her.

    Lifting the nkets, Apollyon settled on the empty spot beside her and faced her, opening his arms.

    Luna squinted at him for a few seconds before moving towards his embrace.

    The Vampire King slid one muscr arm around her waist, which curved around her back while the other one cradled her head just below her shoulders.

    "I can make you stay without forcing you, my Empress, just watch me." A soothing murmur before Luna shifted deeper into his warm body. "It''s a bet."

    She would have argued, but she was tired and achy.

    Luna breathed deeply, resting her head against his heart in his arms.

    Her body sighed at the scent of him.

    She missed how Apollyon how wonderful he smelled: all hot and male musk mixed with the smell of fresh pine trees and snow.

    His jaw rasped against her hair as he tucked her under his chin.

    "You''re mine, Luna." He said quietly. "Remember that."

 Chapter 131 - Changing His Ways

    <h4>Chapter 131 - Changing His Ways</h4>

    *************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    *************************

    Something had changed with his wife, and he couldn''t exactly pinpoint what it was.

    Apollyon didn''t bother telling her about the changes.

    She seemed more distant and detached from him that he feared he had lost her to someone else, to that Archdemon of Gluttony.

    Her mismatched eyes had turned as bright as gold, covered with intricate markings and demonic runes all over her body.

    He felt shivers ran down his spine every time his skin came in contact with her them.

    Luna didn''t talk much about what happened in the two weeks that she was unconscious.

    He wasn''t used to her deafening silence.

    It spoke volumes to himpared to their arguments, proving who was more stubborn.

    All he can do was hug her, not for her sake, but it was for him to make him feel good, that the Empress was lying in bed with him and not anyone else.

    He inhaled her hair deeply, catching a whiff of her heavily floral scent and feminine musk, which made his cock stir in inconvenience, ready for action.

    Moving his lower body downward so that Luna wouldn''t realize how he truly missed her, he curbed his sexual desire bynding a chaste kiss on her forehead.

    He also couldn''t stop the small smile from surfacing on his lips, deeply contented that his wife fell into his embrace without any resistance, which she had done before.

    Had she fully epted him then?

    Did she grant him pardon without asking for forgiveness?

    He swallowed audibly.

    That didn''t sit well with him.

    He should have apologized the moment she woke up, not iming her right away, saying ''You''re Mine!'' like a fucking caveman.

    Almost groaning in regret, Apollyon listened to her soft breaths carefully, making him more aware of how much it tickled his chest.

    He leaned back so that he could peer on her porcin face, which made Luna appear ghastly.

    Her brows were knitted together despite having her eyes closed.

    His precious Empress was pretending she was asleep.

    Hisrge hands paused from caressing her back, lifting it to stroke at her heart-shaped face like his fingers were made of feathers.

    Shaking his head, Apollyon fought the urge to beat himself up, for his gaze had strayed at the soft mounds of her breasts, tempting him to have a little taste.

    A day without blood and sex was a long time for him, and he had suffered for two weeks without spilling his seed into his wife.

    Of course, he wouldn''t force it if Luna didn''t ask him to fulfill his husband duties.

    He promised herself that he was a changed man, not some bloody pig, to which he had previously acted towards his wife.

    A shudder vibrated through his body, and he almost purred.

    This wasn''t the time to be thinking about sexual congress again.

    Apollyon winced as he regretted his past mistakes, following his male ancestor''s footsteps treating their wives as sex objects.

    This never-ending guilt had wed his heart like wolves feasting on their kill.

    He pushed her hair back from her face so that he could see her heart-shaped face clearly, keeping his touch as innocent as possible.

    He noticed three tense lines on Luna''s forehead��a sure indication that something was wrong.

    "Are you asleep, wife?" He murmured as he bent his head to look at her.

    She didn''t answer.

    "Wife." His lips curved as he purred, catching her attention. "Wife. Wife. Wife."

    When she finally opened her lids, there were yellow electric sparks in her eyes, glittering into its depths.? "Apollyon, what the fuck is wrong with you?"

    "Are you asleep?" Apollyon murmured huskily as his? hand traveled to her thigh, his fingers brushing the side of her stomach.

    A pause.

    "Do you think I can still answer you that I''m sleeping if I am, indeed, asleep?" Luna''s whisper was a deadly warning, and Apollyon was ecstatic that his wife''s infamous temper was back.

    Apollyon leaned in, caging her in his arms, "Are you angry at me?"

    "I am now." She red at him, yfully hitting his chest. "You are so annoying."

    He shook his head, and his mouth was a hairbreadth from hers. "So, you can''t sleep?"

    "I am trying." The Empress wrapped an arm around his torso as if seekingfort and protection while the other one was pressed against his chest.

    "I��I��" Luna stuttered, trailing off, "Apollyon, I don''t think I can sleep."

    Something dark crawled into her face.

    "You have slept for two weeks without waking up." It was a t deration.

    He rubbed his index finger to her pink, moist lips so that she, at least, would feel safe and familiar with his touch, soothing her.

    "Do you want to talk about it to me?" Apollyon saw her flick her tongue as she stared at his lower lip, and it made his hands clench on her hips. "I wouldn''t force you if you keep certain information from me. From now on, I will give high importance to your privacy."

    She froze as if the cold temperature had dropped.

    "I wasn''t sleeping for the past two weeks." A deep breath made her breasts push up to full advantage and Apollyon''s gaze strayed once again. "My astral soul had traveled to��"

    He brought his gaze back into her golden eyes. "I assume you went to Hell and back."

    "Yes." The single word was resolute.

    "Have you seen the Archdemon?"

    "I have seen things I didn''t want to see, Apollyon." Tears shimmered in her gold eyes as she clutched her stomach, feeling sick.

    She continued, shaking the memory. "Human sacrifices..."

    Those scary images must have burned in her mind.

    She heaved and wretched, but nothing came out, thank god, or the bed he had decorated for Luna would be a mess. "I''m sorry it was so vile I wanted to puke."

    That made the Archdemon a monster beyondprehension.

    "Don''t think about it." His eyes met Luna, and at that moment, he believed her and the horror she had witnessed.

    Not wanting her to relive the memory over and over, he continued, "Don''t bother telling me if it would invoke this kind of reaction from you."

    She nodded, eyes wide, "I am d I arrived back in the Vampire Realm safely."

    "I have heard that some Astral Travellers get trapped in between worlds and couldn''t go back to their own body, floating in an unknown dimension, like specters and ghosts." He felt his eyes narrow, thinking about the consequences if that happened to his wife, "Their soul will not die because they were aware, but it wouldn''t be long before their physical body started to rot. Being trapped in those ces must be simr to death."

    "I came back so easily because of you. Not so easily��I mean, but I did manage to possess my body the moment you called my name." She took a deep breath before continuing, "I guess our blood bond was too strong and had helped me in the process."

    A sh of fury overpowered his lust.

    A tendril of jealousy snaked its way up to his body, and he crushed it before it could even pester him like poison.

    Apollyon could feel his heart ricochet around her chest as she cupped her breast.

    He swore not to act so possessively like his male ancestors or else he would lose the woman he loved, but he couldn''t help but ask in smooth cruelty, "Is that a predator marking his territory?"

    His wife followed his gaze, staring down at the tattoos on her ivory skin with narrowed eyes. "I don''t know how to remove them. No matter how beautiful it appeared on my body like I was an ancient tribal warrior fighting for a goddess'' honor, I felt dirty every time I see them, reminding me of something I hate."

    Apollyon leaned in, grazing that beautiful throat with his fangs but not enough to draw blood.

    Giving ast one regretful lick, he pushed her away and raised his head to nce at her. "You said you couldn''t sleep, right?"

    "I told you it''s not because I had slept for two weeks. It was because of the nightmares shing on my mind the moment I shut my eyes." Luna fought to draw in the air. "It''s haunting me, Apollyon, and I don''t think I could deal with this."

    "I can knock you outpletely unconscious without any dreams, but I am afraid that if I put a sleeping spell on you, the Archdemon might take you away from me again if he caught you in the Dream Realm and bring you back to his Kingdom."

    "Apollyon." She said through a haze of terror only she could witness. "Not the sleeping spells, please. I don''t want to return to Ravin."

    "So do I." He gripped her bottom with one hand, driving the vee of her thighs closer to the hard ridge of his reaction. "I don''t want you to return either."

    "Help me forget Apollyon." Luna gripped his forearms. "I don''t know what to do to get rid of it from my mind."

    "Do you want me to wipe your memory?"

    Apollyon''s hands slid down, his thumbs running along the inner crease of her thigh.

    "That''s a good option, but wiping my memory will make me forget my rage and hatred against that obnoxious Archdemon. He might set more traps for me again. I would be vulnerable to his lies if I didn''t have that particr memory."

    His thumbs continued to move, touching the very edge of exquisitely sensitive flesh that ached for a harder, deeper caress. "Do you want to have sexual congress with me, then?"

 Chapter 132 - Scented Massage

    <h4>Chapter 132 - Scented Massage</h4>

    *******************

    The Empress Luna

    *******************

    "Do you want to have sexual congress with me then?"

    The Vampire King''s bold statement came out as a challenge to Luna.

    His blue eyes wavered as his hand petted her inner thighzily.

    She nced down and brought her gaze back up.

    Luna''s lips parted out of their own ord when his fingers move to toy with the hem of her chemise.

    She panted when hisrge hand grazed her naked skin as he clutched the thin cotton upward slowly, deliciously, patiently and all she wanted was for Apollyon to hurry up and ravage her.

    Luna wasn''t used to her husband, making her wait like this.

    When they made love, Apollyon desired it fast, hard, and rough, and she was alright with it.

    Luna swore these gentle, seductive caresses would be the death of her.

    If he kept stalling for another minute, she would rip her chemise off herself.

    Luna needed to forget what Ravin had done--what the Archdemon of Envy had done to the children��and if having sex with her husband was going to take her mind off the horror, then she would be ready for it.

    She waited for him to do something more, to cross her boundaries, but he didn''t proceed.

    The Vampire King used to tell her what he was about to do to her in bed.

    Sometimes he didn''t.

    He was a King who was ustomed to staking ims, piging, possessing what he thought that belonged to him��a primal instinct--and that included Luna, his wife.

    Apollyon had put a spell on her, keeping her in suspense, and the effect was an intoxicating thrill that sent shivers down her spine.

    His ''idental caresses'' on her bare skin made her want to close her eyes in pleasure.

    Luna''s eyes opened when the Vampire King''srge hand went higher to her breasts, dragging the thin chemise upward at the same time.

    He paused with his fondling when she didn''t answer.

    "You don''t like it?" He murmured huskily in her face.

    His wine-scented breath mixed with blood was warm on her face.

    Luna swallowed at the idea of drinking Apollyon''s blood again.

    She didn''t forget that before she crossed the Dream Realms to meet Ravin in his Kingdom, she had to endure her thirst for her husband''s blood.

    Apollyon had promised that he would feed her at his heart''s content, even permitting to drain her, but only after the meeting with the Kings.

    Surprisingly, Luna didn''t feel that hungry anymore because she had seen how Apollyon had diligently fed her of his blood mixed with the vial Fei had probably concocted to sustain her unconscious body.

    It was a surprise to know that she could rely on her husband in her time of need, watching her vulnerable body while she was gone.

    "Wife. I''m not forcing you to do anything you don''t want." Apollyon''s deep voice made the inner muscles in her quim clench as if he had already ced his enormous cock inside her, attacking and retreating her walls like a warrior determined to breach the castle of her hidden pleasures.

    Oh, if this were a battle, Luna would have surrendered the white g easily just from his deep, husky voice alone.

    They haven''t even kissed yet, and he had already made her feel like a quivering mess.

    Luna had her eyes closed when her husband had teased her nipples by squeezing them with his thumb and forefinger until they beaded towards his direction, like what sunflowers do when the sunbeams hit them.

    She was so into it that she didn''t even notice that Apollyon had stopped ying with her nipple.

    Luna''s eyes opened? to witness the Vampire King pulled her chemise down, covering her chest, stomach, and thighs.

    He pulled the silky nkets and tucked them up to her neck like she was his child.

    Shaking his head, he shut his eyes tight as if he was trying to avoid temptation. "I''m a changed man."

    Luna was shocked at her husband''s strange behavior that she didn''t know what to make of it.

    She didn''t know what went happened next, refusing to take responsibility for it.

    Luna''s hand crawled towards his crotch, patting the front of his pants, groping for his cock like a fucking molester.

    "It''s still hard." She blurted out.

    She just needed to check if her husband had still desired her because he acted like he didn''t, for sure.

    She cleared her throat, avoided eye contact, and whispered, "Do you want me to take care of this?"

    Luna could see in her peripheral vision that Apollyon had stared at her like she was crazy.

    He leaned back, lifted the counterpane, and nced down at her offending gesture.

    Her husband had frozen in silence.

    Awkwardly, Luna decided it was best to remove her fingers off his member one by one.

    Honestly, she wanted to curse herself and gape usingly at her palms.

    She wanted to talk to it, scold it for moving to her husband''s cock out of its own ord.

    Surprisingly, Apollyon had ced his hand over her hand over his hard phallus, which had twitched excitedly by the pressure and warmth it had felt.

    "You can help me get off if you want." He said as he started to guide her fingers, teaching Luna how to stroke its shape to bring out more pleasure.

    The more Luna followed his prompts, imitating the suggestive motion that he liked, the more his lips parted, grunting in a low voice.

    His groans were music to her ears.

    It made her feel more powerful and more in touch with her femininity, knowing that she had elicited this kind of reaction from her husband, who owned a Harem.

    She realized she could do better than those women.

    Luna wouldn''t stop until she can prove to her husband that she was the best at lovemaking out of all the women he had tasted.

    This wasn''t the time to be green with jealousy about those trivial women from the Consortium.

    This was the time to be better at lovemaking and keep her husband satisfied so that he wouldn''t dare stray.

    "There is natural oil at the side of the bed. It''s an orange extract." Apollyon''s eyes zed chrome blue as he murmured, pointing at the drawer beside Luna.

    She didn''t have to be told twice.

    Luna didn''t want Apollyon to change his mind.

    She removed her hand from the ridge of his member to reach for the scented orange bottle, but the Vampire King had clutched her hand back to his cock again, not wanting to break the spell.

    He shook his head from left to right and protested, "You don''t have to do it."

    She was shocked that her demanding husband dared to say that in her face.

    He was refusing to be pleasured, but his actions had told her otherwise.

    His gaze was on her lips while his hand on her hand had directed her again, stroking, fondling, caressing.

    Luna wouldn''t bat an eye if he decided to unfasten his pants and touch him skin to skin, more sensitive from the bareness of it, providing more sensation.

    Luna gave her husband a slow grin.

    Apollyon actually did everything she had thought as if manifesting it to existence.

    "It''s fine," Luna replied, shrugging. "I couldn''t sleep anyway."

    "I bet you just wanted to touch me." He paused. "You look so tired."

    "You look tired too." Luna lifted her hand from his cock, and this time, he let her go.

    Luna rose from the bed in a sitting position as she rummaged for the scented bottles, opening every one of them, sniffing the lid, until she smelled the familiar citrus fruit.

    "I couldn''t sleep properly when I didn''t know if your condition is going to improve or not."

    Apollyon waited patiently on the bed as his hand cradled his head, facing her.

    His gaze had tracked her movements so closely like she was his kill and he had no ns of letting her get away.

    "Good." Luna looked into that perfect face, capable of echoing cruelty like Ravin. "I would kill you the moment I came back if you didn''t even notice I was gone.

    Her husband''s intense gaze would have been ufortable and invasive if he wasn''t her husband.

    Apollyon was kind now, but who knew how long it wouldst?

    Luna cleared her mind, not wanting to be controlled by these poisonous thoughts anymore.

    "Trust me. Of course, I''m worried and very much bothered. I am your husband." Apollyon''s jaw was a harsh line to her statement, which had turned into a serious discussion despite her teasing tone. "It was disconcerting to admit that I was anxious for the whole duration of your absence."

    "Hmm," Luna said as her lips curved, emphasizing that she was making fun of him and there wasn''t any reason to be defensive. She wasn''t questioning his capabilities as her husband at all. "You don''t look like you missed me that much."

    When she found the orange elixir, Luna inhaled deeply.

    From the scent itself, Luna had figured out it was indeed orange extract.

    Luna licked the rim of the bottle, and it had proven her suspicions.

    It was orange extract��orange juice.

    Luna had no taste buds reserved for anything other than blood.

    Why could she taste this when she was already a vampire?

    Nevermind, that.

    Luna found herself asking with feign nonchnce as she returned to the bed, hopping about like an excited bunny. "Did you use other females while I was gone?"

    The Vampire King blew out a frustrated breath in response, "No. Never. I promised you I would never do that abomination."

    All the better.

    She would make sure her husband would get the best massage in his entire lifetime tonight.

 Chapter 133 - Hidden Knowledge

    <h4>Chapter 133 - Hidden Knowledge</h4>

    She would make sure her husband would get the best massage in his entire lifetime tonight.

    Luna blinked slowly as she peered at him beneath hershes, toying with the neck of the orange extract bottle and stroking it upwards then downwards.

    She made sure her husband see it, imagining her hands on her cock, wishing her fingers were on him instead of the poor bottle as a demonstration.

    The way hisrge blue eyes twinkled, darkening into a deeper indigo shade as he stared into her hand ying with the bottle, would be the death of her.

    Luna was nervously ecstatic when she had elicited the reaction she needed from Apollyon.

    She was so close to moaning just from the sight itself.

    Luna felt her quim clench at something that should be inside her before it dampened with her juices.

    How can her husband make her feel so wet by just staring at her with hunger?

    Luna''s braies would be soaked before they even get to the good part.

    She hadn''t evenid her hands on him yet.

    "I hope you are telling the truth, husband," Luna murmured huskily as she felt her cheeks warm.

    Her mouth was barely open when she spoke again, "You had been a very good boy, Apollyon."

    Honestly, Luna had felt awkward for suddenly acting out-of-character.

    She was afraid that Apollyon would point that out, telling her that he hated her role-ying.

    Thankfully, Luna hadn''t seen annoyance in his handsome face.

    Her husband had decided to y along with her if his hooded gaze was any indication.

    Luna bit her lip as she popped the stopper from the scented bottle and tossing it carelessly to the wall above the headboard, trying too hard to be sexy for her husband.

    She realized she wasn''t built to be a seductress when the cork bounced back and hit her in the face in a dull ''plop.''

    Oops.

    That wasn''t very pleasant.

    She cleared her throat as she nced at anywhere but the Vampire King.

    "Yes, I''m a good boy," Apollyon responded, mimicking her lip-biting as if he couldn''t wait to bite her lips either.

    It wasical to witness how her husband had hastily popped the buttons of his sleeved shirt.

    Apollyon didn''t even care about the blunders of her attempted seduction, which made her exhale in relief.

    Good that her husband was more focused on taking his clothes off rather than her actions.

    Apollyon rose from the bed in a sitting position, removing his clothes quickly, and threw them at the side of the bed as if he couldn''t wait to bepletely naked.

    Luna inhaled sharply when he revealed that hard muscle on his chest and that defined ridges of his stomach, leading to his happy trail down, down to his twitching rod which was covered by his pants.

    The tip of his cock had emerged from his pants as if it was a savage beast that couldn''t wait to spring forth from its cage, ready to pounce on its prey.

    "Luna," Apollyon murmured as he unbuttoned and lowered his pants down to his thighs, exposing his member to her.

    It was half-erect earlier as it twitched around.

    His angry cock had stood in attention, proud and stiff under her intense scrutiny.

    ''Angry'' was the word Luna picked to describe it because of how red and veiny it was.

    Luna was almost afraid to touch it.

    She shouldn''t let her face near it because it might poke her in the eye.

    Luna kept herself together, mustering all the courage she could get.

    "Do you want me to reward you?" She asked calmly as if she had been used to having her husband for breakfast. "I have nothing better to do, to be honest."

    She circled her hand with his cock and rubbed the tip with her thumb tentatively, gauging his reaction.

    Apollyon leaned his back towards the headboard.

    "Please." He whispered brokenly as he stretched the corded muscles on his neck, exposing his Adam''s apple.

    It was the hottest thing she had ever seen since she came back to the Vampire Realm.

    "Please. I want more of this."

    Luna''s thumb was wet with pre-cum.

    She withdrew her hand like she had been burned, not expecting that it had that kind of effect on Apollyon.

    Now, she wasn''t sure if she should do that again or not.

    His inaudible groans made him sound like he was hurt, and she was afraid toy her hand on his cock again.

    "Luna, that was��"He hissed as he closed his eyes, exhaling a breath as his palms caressed the hard ridges of his stomach and his chest with hisrge hand as if he was trying to calm himself down.

    He raised his head a little to nce at her while she was settled between his thighs.

    Their eyes met and she had paused for a second before giving him a little smirk.

    Apollyon gritted his teeth as he said in amanding tone, "Do that again but this time you have to rub my cock with the oil."

    Luna shook his head from left to right as she moved closer and settled between his muscled legs.

    Luna tried to ignore Apollyon''s erect cock which had kept on twitching, refusing to be ignored as it demanded her undivided attention.

    She poured the oil carelessly to her torso, turning the bottle upside down until it was empty.

    Luna even had to p the bottom of the upside-down bottle for good measure,

    The oil had she had poured on his upper body had spilled to the side of the bedsheets.

    Now, the room in this ivory tower had smelled like it was an orange orchard.

    She didn''t regret her decision, preferring its citrus scent.

    She hastened to catch the flowing oils back to her husband''s slippery skin and rubbed them to her heart''s content.

    His broad shoulders, chest, and stomach were slick and warm with the oil as she started to massage him hard, kneading his tense muscles.

    Apollyon must have been stressed when her soul had traveled to the Dream Realm, worrying about her absence.

    As his wife, this was the perfect way to let him know that she cared as she soothed his tight muscles.

    Luna had wondered why she could taste the orange extract when she was already a vampire and couldn''t savor anything other than blood.

    It was one of the High Priest''s creations, for sure.

    It tasted eerily the same as the one she had drunk during her and Apollyon''s marriage ceremony, but this time, it had a specific vor.

    Her nipples had suddenly hardened by its own ord, and her braies were now drenched with her juices.

    Luna thought about taking advantage, wanting to y with her quim herself like what Apollyon had done so that she could get herself off fast without her husband''s excruciating strokes.

    His fingers had induced a pleasure so potent she wanted to scream.

    Apollyon would have yed with her whenever he liked, wanting to control her release.

    She didn''t want that right now.

    Running her hands over his body, Luna had assumed she was doing a great job when her husband had let out satisfied little grunts every time she ced more pressure on her fingers.

    Apollyon hadn''tined that she had kneaded too hard, so she continued on his stomach.

    Her husband''s abdomen caved when Luna''s hands descended to his cock, shifting the moisture over there.

    Luna didn''t want Apollyon''s cock to be left out from all this action, so she also worked with it, shifting it up and down, mimicking the movement of sex.

    Apollyon''s legs quivered whenever she squeezed too hard, her clenched fists moving his shaft upwards.

    Luna did this repetitively, and her husband''s growls had grown louder, and his hips had pistoned upwards as if he couldn''t get enough.

    She stopped because she was afraid that her husband was hurt.

    Perhaps, he wasn''t enjoying this anymore.

    "Luna." Apollyon moaned.

    Perhaps, her husband hadn''t enjoyed her hands.

    Her hands were sore and tired from all that massaging.

    No matter how much force she had applied to his massage, it wasn''t effective.

    "I saw that consort kneel in front of you as you unfastened your pants."

    That thought suddenly crossed her mind.

    It wasn''t like Luna was still jealous of the Apollyon''s concubine.

    She was already insignificant at this point.

    "Were you nning to put your cock into her mouth?"

    Luna wanted to try something new with her husband.

    She had no idea if that was appropriate in this situation.

    Luna strived to be more adventurous in sexual congress to satisfy him.

    He always knew how to make her feel good, make her cry out in pleasure.

    Luna needed to return the favor.

    If not now, then when?

    Who knew when the Archdemon of Gluttony might take her away in the Dream Realm unless she never permitted herself to sleep again?

    Apollyon sat up again as he leaned both hands from the bed, supporting his weight.

    "Where else would I put it if not in the mouth?" He nced up at her in confusion.

    Then he narrowed his eyes at her hands, wondering why she had stopped abruptly with her massage.

    Luna noticed that Apollyon was disgruntled, so she brought both of her hands back on his member to appease him.

    "I didn''t know where the male race put their cock aside from the female''s quim." Luna replied, amazed at what she had just learned from the concubine. "I hadn''t seen that before, so I didn''t know how it''s done."

 Chapter 134 - Fellatio

    <h4>Chapter 134 - Fetio</h4>

    **************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    **************************

    "I hadn''t seen that before, so I didn''t know how it was done."

    "You��you didn''t know?" Apollyon''s eyes widened, and his jaws went ck in disbelief.

    At a loss for words, he cleared his throat and recovered quickly.

    "Of course, you don''t." He scratched his jaw as he stated, "You were an innocent virgin."

    The Empress had his hands on him, holding him and lightly squeezing his cock.

    It was the hottest thing he had ever seen any minute by now; his wife would have the ability to set him on fire with passion, driving him crazy with lust.

    "Not so innocent anymore." Luna''s gaze was cold.

    It was so in contrast with her smirk.

    She shrugged, giving him a savage smile that shed her fangs.

    What was that supposed to mean?

    His gaze settled on her as heughed, "Sucking a man''s cock is reserved for whores."

    The primal part of Apollyon wanted his wife to suck his cock, his eyes burning into her wife''s pink lips, but he told her otherwise, "It isn''t my wish to disrespect you anymore."

    "I am your whore, Apollyon." Luna said in a drowsy seductive voice as she whispered, "You made sure I knew that."

    "I don''t want you to do it." Apollyon swallowed at his wife''s boldness.

    Everything she had told him tonight sounds suspicious.

    "It''s alright." Returning his attention to the Empress through sheer force of will, he removed her hands from his member, recing it with his as he jerked them up and down.

    Perhaps, he could do it himself.

    "I can handle it on my own." Apollyon lied.

    "I can try." The Empress nced down coyly, making hershes appear like dark moon crescents against her pale creamy skin. "Perhaps, I can do a better job than those whores if you can teach me what you like."

    "No need." He gritted his teeth, and it appeared like he was smiling sharply at her, "I don''t want to take advantage of your weakness."

    "I just have to act like my mouth is my quim, right?" Luna pushed his hands away as if he had no right to interrupt her ns of pleasuring him.

    Apollyon wanted to fight her for the fun of it as they decide who had the right to touch him down there.

    He groaned as if he was in pain from his wife''s words instead of being wildly aroused.

    Her sensual promise sent chills running down his sensitive body, making the hair on his skin prickle with anticipation.

    He expected Luna to be angry, but she had let out an alluring chuckle, instead, "I promise I can do better than your concubines."

    Apollyon was mentally in pain from the unwanted images shing through his mind, making him feel guilty that he had almost used a concubine''s mouth in their honeymoon.

    Even if he had already repented from his past actions, he couldn''t forget it, and neither would his wife.

    Apollyonid himself back to the bed and exhaled heavily, covering his eyes with an elbow. "I don''t want to talk about my past sexual conquest anymore."

    Luna responded with a soft hum of agreement.

    Curiously, Apollyon had removed his elbow from his eyes for a little bit as he peeked at Luna''s face.

    He could sense an air of nonchnce about her like she didn''t care anymore.

    Her face was the epitome of calmness and serenity, so different from her reaction before she went to the Dream Realm.

    When Luna had seen Apollyon with the concubine kneeling in front of him in the past, she was so furious with her jealousy before she suddenly went cold.

    Luna''s cold anger had radiated outwards. He decided that the dark energy aimed at him was actually scarier than her acting all wild, breaking the ss windows, and hurting the concubine.

    As Apollyon saw the Empress'' response, it seemed like she hadn''t cared anymore if he had fucked other women or not in the past.

    His mind had started to wander to the dark side, wondering what Luna had done with the Archdemon of Gluttony in the Dream Realms.

    His wife was missing for the past two weeks, and many things could happen in that period.

    The time frame from the Vampire Realm and the other Realms were different, and Apollyon hadn''t attempted to travel to other dimensions to figure it out.

    Apollyon removed his elbow from his gaze and stared straight into the Empress'' golden eyes��the same eyes of that sted Archdemon whom he wanted to kill.

    How can you kill an Archdemon in Hell when he already belonged there in the first ce--when his natural habitat was where evil souls reside?

    Where would Archdemons go if Apollyon had ended his life?

    If Ravin took his wife back to his Kingdom through the Dream Realms, Apollyon had to find a way to quickly break their connection before he imed Luna for himself and never returned here again.

    The Empress was his and his alone.

    As the Vampire King, her blood mate, and her husband, it was never toote for Apollyon to ask this loaded question.

    He was desperate for answers.

    Apollyon made a slight growl in his throat. "Did you fuck the Archdemon of Gluttony in the Dream Realm?"

    Luna flinched, blinking rapidly, not expecting the question at all.

    As the silence went by and the cold breeze from the window sent shivers down her spine, Apollyon could feel the increasing sweat of Luna''s still palms on his cock.

    He flicked a nce at his erect member and sighed.

    Why were they having this conversation in the middle of sexual congress?

    God''s blood!

    They should be having fun.

    He was such a cock-blocker to himself with his serious discussions.

    The Empress should stay underneath him as he pounded her hard her whimpers would be heard from all over the Vampire Realm and praying his wife''s cries of pleasure would reach Ravin''s Kingdom to piss him off.

    Apollyon had tried to restrain the jealousy spreading into his bloodstream like poison.

    He wouldn''t intimidate his wife too much because he had already promised himself that he would change into a better husband.

    Sudden bursts of anger aimed at his wife wouldn''t do any good, but he couldn''t help it.

    The more he kept this radioactive jealousy inside his system, the more he needed an outlet to let it out through spilling his seed inside the Empress'' quim and ravage her, reminding her of who she belonged to.

    Apollyon shook his head as he dismissed the idea of the devil whispering in his ear, urging him to show her who was the one in control.

    Never mind, I will let you fuck whoever you want. I will give you the freedom if that would make you stay with me." Apollyon replied calmly. " I had been ruthless to you in the past. If you want to exact revenge for that, I''ll leave it to you. "

    "Why would I do that?" Luna asked in a breathless reply, her brows knitting in confusion.

    Apollyon exhaled a hiss, frustrated at Luna''s stillness.

    Apollyon just wanted to give up the issue so that they could move forward and get to the good part.

    He didn''t want to boss his wife around just when she got back from the Archdemon of Gluttony.

    His wife didn''t borate much, but from the look of her face, she had suffered in the hands of that bastard.

    He had made her witness something deeply traumatic that she wanted to forget.

    Honestly, Apollyon didn''t even think that his wife would agree to have sexual congress with her when they had a misunderstanding before she went unconscious for two weeks.

    He was d she was back, but she didn''t have to do it.

    It was a lie.

    He had wanted it so bad.

    He clenched and unclenched his fists as he pushed his back to the bed, thrusting his hip towards her.

    Apollyon desired to ram his member upwards, needing that delicious friction of her smooth palms, choking him.

    Apollyon frowned, and his brows furrowed.

    Was he being such an inconsiderate asshole for forcing her to have sex with him like what his male ancestors had done to their women?

    His train of thoughts was cut off when the Empress had pressed it into her mouth.

    "Luna, no," Apollyon said in rm as he dug his fingers into her scalp, trying to get her mouth off his cock in panic. "It''s��"

    Toote.

    Luna had already ced it in her mouth.

    The moment her head had moved up and down his shaft as she tightened her hold on the base, Apollyon knew he was done for.

    The Empress'' mouth continued to work on his cock as she fondled his balls.

    Luna had gagged when he shoved her mouth close to his balls, the tip of his cock, almost reaching her tonsils.

    "I--- won''tst long," Apollyon whispered between groans as he attempted to set the pace by pulling her hair and pushing her mouth to the base.? "I''m. Really. Horny."

    "Too fast, Luna," Apollyon growled every time her mouth glided through his shaft so easily, her teeth almost grazing his skin. "Stop. Slow down."

    His wife did the exact opposite.

    She went faster.

    The only thing he could do was go along with her rhythm, let her y, and take control.

    "Please." Clenching his jaw, he pleaded between his grunts of pleasure. "God''s blood, Luna."

    As Luna''s head bobbed up and down over his cock, Apollyon chanted her name in ruptured murmurs like he was praying to a Goddess.

    Luna withdrew his mouth on his cock as her warm saliva smeared and coated his shaft with enough lubrication.

    She gave him a smile of pure female charm before she returned to her sucking his stiff rod, licking the tip once in a while every time she pulled back.

    Apollyon couldn''t believe he could even get harder from that bewitching smile.

    His leg jerked when he was about to reach his climax.

    Apollyon''s cock burst, spilling his seed everywhere.

    He continued thrusting into her, his hand desperately guiding her mouth to bring him to the heavens until he was well-spent.

    The Empress withdrew her mouth from his shaft, the evidence of his lust overflowing from her mouth as it spilled on his chin, dripping on her chest.

    He etched the erotic scenes into his memory.

    Their eyes met as he breathed heavily.

    "It''s done. It softened." Luna said, referring to his spent cock, which had softened, indeed.

    Luna wiped his sticky cum from her mouth before licking it slowly with her tongue. "I already relieved you of your problem."

    Apollyon noticed that her eyes were a vivid shimmering gold, a startling color against her silver hair.

    "You were too fast." His hands followed her movements, and he swore if he continued watching her taste his seed, he would probably cum again, arousing him back to a fever pitch.

    Apollyon continued as he tried to catch his breath. "I would have wanted to go slow and prolong it."

    "I''m alright. You don''t have to pleasure me." Another teasing smile. "I think you already did enough thest time when you chained me to the bed and stabbed me with your daggers."

    "I��I apologize for that." He blushed, ashamed.

    "The sex was good despite the daggers you embedded on my skin, Apollyon. But I''m telling you now. I don''t want to be left out or being left behind." Luna said as she wiped his cum using the nkets beside her, cleaning his stomach, his cock, and her face.

    "I don''t want to be abandoned by my husband, even if it was for a short while. I wasn''t even mad that you deprived me of blood. I knew that your purpose for keeping me weak was to make it hard for me to escape the chains and follow you to your meeting with the other Kings."

 Chapter 135 - Childhood Memories

    <h4>Chapter 135 - Childhood Memories</h4>

    **************

    Vampire King

    **************

    The Empress Coronation was held the next morning.

    The morning dawn came with the return of his Empress.

    Apollyon had told Jon to prepare for the celebration hours after his wife had fallen asleep, with her head on his arms, the silver hair fanning over the pillows.

    He continued to stroke her hair gently as hebed it with his fingers.

    Apollyon inhaled her peach citrus scent deeply into his lungs so that he would cherish the moment for the rest of his life.

    It felt natural for his wife to be in his arms, sleeping peacefully without a care in the world.

    Apollyon had missed her so much that he had spent his time watching her breathe softly, caressing her thick silver brows with a thumb, tracing the shape of her nose with his forefinger.

    Luna must not have liked him touching her there in her slumber, for she had wrinkled her nose and sneezed.

    It was so cute that he almost chuckled.

    He did chuckle, but quietly so, or she would wake up and re at him for acting like a creep.

    Apollyon sincerely prayed to the gods and the goddesses that they could stay forever like this.

    He hadn''t noticed that the sun had slowly risen from the east, turning the dark sky into burnt orange and golden hues as the light slivered from the thick clouds.

    It grew thicker into beams until it illuminated the whole Vampire Realm, lighting it up like mes.

    If the Empress had slept lightly, the birds loud chirping on the window of this ivory tower could wake her up any minute by now.

    He patted her shoulders gently in a slow rhythm--a caring gesture as old as motherhood himself.

    The thought of his mother crossed his mind.

    Mother rarely came out from ''Scleranthus,'' and Apollyon couldn''t get inside the Empress'' Lair since he was a boy, either, since it was cursed.

    When his mother got bored with painting, she came out of ''Scleranthus'' but only on the full moon.

    Apollyon''s mother would request an audience with the King so that his father would allow his mother to see him.

    Every time he saw his mother and father together, there was always an air of animosity between them.

    When he was a young boy. Apollyon noticed that her mother had that hurt look on her face when his father argued with her.

    Father didn''t want to be questioned, silencing his mother immediately without letting her exin.

    Mother had turned cold and indifferent to Apollyon because of his father.

    Sometimes he asked himself if they really loved each other.

    His father was controlling her, and his mother was walking on eggshells around him.

    Whenever they meet, the suffocating tension was too thick that someone could cut it with a knife.

    They would fight for their sides to be heard without regard to the other person''s feelings.

    The Empress couldn''t win an argument because his father wasn''t listening in the first ce.

    Apollyon''s father had watched the Empress'' movements like a hawk, not allowing her to talk to anyone of the opposite sex.

    In a way, Apollyon''s father kept the Empress locked away in ''Scleranthus'' not only because of his unjust behavior but also because it made her also avoid her only son.

    Apollyon would have thought that his father had also wanted his mother to be hidden from the world, self-imprisoned and obsessed with her paintings, making her forget that she had a real family to love and take care of.

    Apollyon remembered her mother when she visited his room on a whim.

    It was his most treasured memory with his mother.

    He was a young boy of age ten, pretending to be asleep in his bed as he faced the wall, a sliver of light showed through the cracks of the door.

    The door creaked as it opened wide, then it mmed shut.

    From the smell of roses, Apollyon knew it was his mother.

    She tiptoed, keeping her steps light as a feather, andid down the bed gently behind him.

    His mother probably thought that he was fast asleep, but he was good at pretending.

    As a child, he had thought that if he opened his eyes, rose from the bed, and hug his mom tight with joy and longing, then she would disappear like an apparition.

    Apollyon had truly missed his mom, but he didn''t want to get his hopes up.

    He could feel his mother''sforting warmth behind his back as her arms cuddled against his small body, stroking his silky hair as she sang him to sleep.

    Her mother''s voice must have been a court singer in their Realm, for she had exactly sounded like a siren.

    He was so sure that his mother was a siren even if he hadn''t heard one since yet.

    He just heard it in the stories his nanny used to tell her during storytime.

    Apollyon had been with his nanny longer than his own mother.

    He could safely im that he had loved his nanny more than his mother and assumed the nanny was one when he was a toddler butter on, he realized, she wasn''t his mother.

    There was this sense of emptiness and longing he couldn''t pinpoint.

    It was like a hollow��there was a void somewhere in his heart that only a real caring mother''s consistency can fulfill.

    His father had told him that crying was for the weak people who couldn''t endure pain.

    He had blinked his tears away as he clenched his fists, repressing his sobs.

    He fell asleep in his mother''s embrace, but the morning he woke up, his mother was gone.

    There were no traces that she had spent the night in his bed, cuddling him to sleep, except the scent of roses in the air.

    It was funny how he had yearned for his mother at this moment when he was an older man.

    Apollyon was an ancient pureblood vampire who had been alive for thousands of years already.

    Maybe it was true that a child could never forget the one who had given birth to them no matter how messed up their childhood was.

    Thest fleeting memory he had of his mother was a self-portrait that his mother had painted.

    He didn''t dare disy it in any part of the Vampire Castle or even in his personalir.

    He had kept it hidden somewhere, but h had forgotten all about it.

    It had been a long time, but he vaguely remembered a woman with blonde hair and blue eyes so innocent yet defiant, tilting her head to the side as she gave a knowing smirk at the spectators who had taken a look at the painting.

    His mother, the Empress, had appeared confident as she stood in the archway of the castle gardens in herrge tulle ball gown the color of indigo simr to her eyes and Apollyon''s��with pine trees surrounding her covered in snow.

    His mother had worn the same red diamond tear-shaped ne��their female ancestor''s family heirloom��and the loose sleeves of her dress were transparent and decorated with phoenix patterns.

    The top of her head was adorned with flowers, gemstones, crystals, and pearls with a thin veil attached to it which shielded her long, wavy hair.

    Apollyon wasn''t surprised that his father didn''t want his mother to interact with the male species.

    The Empress'' beauty was known in the entire Realms.

    +++

    Apollyon paced back and forth at the ground floor as he waited for his wife at the bottom of the stairs with impatience.

    Running a frustrated hand through his hair, he tiptoed and nced upward at the highest tread as if doing that would make his wifee to him faster.

    The servants were busy assisting her in his wife''s outfit, and Luna had pleaded to him that he must get out of the room while she changed because she felt ufortable if he was there ogling her body while she undressed in front of the female maids.

    Apollyon had protested against her requests and imed it was preposterous, but Luna had insisted that it might feel awkward for the servants to see the Vampire King breathing down their necks.

    "They would be extremely aware of his presence, and they might not do their job properly," Luna exined to him.

    The Empress'' logic made sense, of course, but��

    Why wasn''t he allowed to see her undress when he had already seen how she looked overall in her gorgeous nakedness?

    There was no point stopping him from doing so because he was the husband.

    "That was the point." The Empress had shaken her head in disapproval, but it wasn''t evident to see her holding back herugh. "Why would you want to see me naked when you have already seen it before?"

    Luna''s lips curled up, and her golden eyes had twinkled in mischief. "You are incorrigible, Apollyon."

    "I have the��" He paused.

    ''I have the right to see you naked as your husband while you change. '' Apollyon thought, but he wisely kept his mouth shut.

    He was a changed man now, so even if he didn''t like it, he needed to respect her decision. "Never mind."

    "Alright, wife." Apollyon turned his back and was about to get out of the chamber but he forgot something. "I would honor your wishes."

    He stalked towards her, clutched the back of her neck, and gave her a severe tongueshing as a punishment.

    Luna had responded as naturally as their tongues shed in a battle of who would bring the other first to their knees.

    The Empress deserved a delicious kiss that would sweep her off her feet.

 Chapter 136 - Unhealthy Obsession

    <h4>Chapter 136 - Unhealthy Obsession</h4>

    ***************

    Vampire King

    ***************

    It was the Empress who gave in first as she wrapped her arms around him, leaning into his body, and Apollyon snaked his arms around her waist in turn.

    Groaning into her mouth, Apollyon felt his rod twitch again.

    He untangled her off his body, or she would not like what he was about to tell her.

    ''I was horny again at the wrong time.'' Apollyon wanted to tell his wife that, but maybe it was better to keep it to himself for the meantime since it sounded like he was a sex-craved maniac.

    His love for his beloved wife had turned into an unhealthy obsession, and he had to draw the line somewhere to keep himself in check.

    ''I was a changed man now.'' Apollyon kept on telling himself with conviction.

    He was different from his male ancestors.

    They couldn''t do it again.

    There was no time for a quick coupling when the Coronation Event was an hour away.

    Apollyon wanted to punch a wall in frustration.

    This wasn''t the time to think about sex when they had a lot of things to do.

    It was time to make himself scarce, or he wouldn''t be responsible for his following actions.

    ++++

    Apollyon turned his back on the stairs.

    He needed to quit acting like how a predator waited for his prey toe out of the hole it had hidden before it was time to pounce and go in for the kill.

    He took a deep breath and exhaled, keeping himself busy by brushing invisible lint out of his aquamarine buttoned-up shirt.

    He was abruptly nervous for no reason as he adjusted his velvet white robe with orange and gold edges around his shoulders.

    Tapping his foot impatiently, Apollyon adjusted his cuff links as he watched the beams of colored lightsing out from the stained ss windows on his right.

    ring at the windows, Apollyon had noticed how his outfit that day had blended in with the dark blue velvet curtains.

    He could easily blend with the background if he stood near it.

    It was unfortunate that it was of the same color.

    Apollyon considered changing his clothes because it was an embarrassment for a Vampire King to wear a ceremonial suit for the Coronation with the same color as the curtains.

    The other Kings would make aughingstock out of him.

    Anyway, he shouldn''t care anymore.

    If someone saw him andughed at his clothing choice, beheading would be his first punishment option.

    No one would probably dare, and it was a waste of time to change.

    Perhaps, it was the valet''s honest mistake.

    When his sensitive vampire ears heard the rustle of clothing, he knew that the Empress had arrived.

    Apollyon could hear the beat of his heart, slow but loud, in his ears.

    Apollyon clutched his chest to rx it, but it didn''t stop.

    He could also hear the stato rhythm of Luna''s heart synchronizing with his.

    Perhaps, it was the mating bond working its magic one again, connecting their heartbeats, turning two people into one.

    He held his breath and paused for a few seconds before turning towards the direction of the stairs.

    Eyes wide and ck-jawed, the Empress striking beauty had hit Apollyon like a blow to his middle.

    Apollyon never thought that his wife could get anymore beguiling.

    She was as pretty as one of his mother''s paintings of their kind.

    The Empress had appeared like a fairy and for a fleeting moment,

    Apollyon could see his mother''s image ovepping with Luna''s elfin features.

    Apollyon shook his head in disbelief from his abrupt hallucinations as he clenched his fists.

    He refused topare them together because they were two different people.

    The moment felt like it was in slow-motion as his Empress descended the stairs.

    He didn''t notice that she was almost in front of him since he got lost in his thoughts.

    The image of Luna as she glided down the stairs like a rightful Queen of the Vampire Realm deeply bothered him.

    It had looked familiar.

    He closed his eyes to reminisce.

    Where exactly had he seen this before?

    Apollyon had experienced a sense of deja vu.

    He thought about seeing the same scene''s exact painting, but it was a long time ago.

    Maybe, it was just an imagination.

    The Empress had worn an borate white ball gown with heavy, voluminous skirts with manyyers of petticoats and hoops.

    Precious stones were draped on the outeryers of her clothing.

    Before, Apollyon didn''t mind what the females in his Harem and his past Empress wore because he would undress them afterward, and that was the highlight and the most important part of his day, nothing else.

    Watching his wife wear such luxurious silk and taffeta fabric, Apollyon was suddenly aware of the tight corset that emphasized her ant-like waist.

    It made her breasts plumper-rger than it should be-- in which he had no problem with because it tempted him to strip his wife naked.

    It was an aphrodisiac.

    But what of the other men on the Coronation?

    Showing the Empress to the Kings from the other Realms in these clothes was a huge problem.

    Apollyon had wondered if he made the right decision.

    He had approved of her puffy sleeves, but her d��colletage was too low for his liking.

    Apollyon glowered at them in disapproval, but he didn''t say anything.

    The other Kings might nce at the exposed upper mounds of her breasts every time they conversed with her.

    Apollyon''s eyes narrowed as he unconsciously crossed his arms in suspicion when he didn''t find the family heirloom he had gifted around her slender neck.

    It was reced with a thick choker instead.

    As soon as his Empress stepped on thending, she twisted her ankles and yelped.

    She had maintained her bnce because of her quick vampire reflexes, but she didn''t anticipate stepping on the trimmings of her gown.

    Her arms--covered in white silk gloves--were iling in the air.

    Apollyon caught her just in time as she fell into his embrace.

    He clutched her waist and didn''t let her go until she had regained her bnce.

    The Empress righted herself as her face had that natural blush on her pale cheeks.

    Luna was cute when she gets embarrassed like this.

    It was a peculiar sight as rare as a white raven in the snow-covered branches of the Vampire Realm.

    "Thank you, Apollyon." The Empress muttered in chagrin and cleared her throat. "These high heels would be the death of me."

    "You are so clumsy, beloved wife." Apollyon chuckled at Luna''s statement before he swooped into her open mouth, stealing precious kisses.

    God''s blood!

    Apollyon losing his Empress had made him act like an uncouth young virgin boy who hadn''t had sex in his life.

    He couldn''t get enough of her, and that''s a bad habit he would like to rece.

    Apollyon needed to tone down this obsession, or Luna wouldn''t like it, making her angry at him for being such a clingy husband.

    Luna had tiptoed to reach his height, her mouth chasing after his lips.

    He had withdrawn from the kiss earlier than what he would have liked, then straightened up his spine.

    She pouted as if she was kissing the air.

    Apollyon grinned widely when their gazes met the moment she opened her eyes.

    Luna had probably wondered why their lips weren''t touching anymore.

    When she narrowed her eyes at him, Apollyon caressed her neck to soothe her ruffled feathers.

    "You are the most beautiful woman in the world for me, wife," Apollyon murmured without removing that stupid smile on his face.

    He couldn''t help it.

    Apollyon wrapped his arms around her again, hugging her tightly.? "No other girl can everpare to you."

    Oh, how much Apollyon wanted to be in her presence, wrapping his body with her natural scent.

    "I know you are lying, but alright," Luna whispered in nonchnce.

    Brows furrowing, Apollyon was about to argue because he was incredibly insulted by Luna''s statement, but he rxed when he saw his wife rolling her eyes at him yfully.

    He sighed in relief, knowing that the Empress had epted herpliment wholeheartedly.

    His jovial mood was suddenly ruined when he observed how the ink-ck markings of her skin had spread into intricate vines of runes, spells, and symbols he couldn''t figure out, reaching into the back of her ears when he tucked her silver hair backward.

    Luna didn''t have these marks before exploring the Dream Realms, so it was probable that her wife had contracted this from the Archdemon of Gluttony when they met.

    What had the Archdemon done to Luna that he was able to imprint these marks on her despite the distance of the different realms, making her milky skin smeared with his wickedness and impurities?

    Apollyon was desperate to ask his wife right now if she did have tantric sex with him in the Dream Realms, but he already knew the answer.

    The Empress wouldn''t do that to him, no matter what.

    Not even for the sake of revenge.

    Luna wasn''t the type of woman to cheat on him, and she had very well-proven her loyalty.

    Nobody had touched her body as he did.

    His wife would crave his touch alone.

    He had made sure that he was the best at it to keep her satisfied.

    Luna wouldn''t find other males like him when ites to sexual congress.

    Apollyon must do the only thing to ensure that she would stay beside her without messing it up and acting like a fucking barbarian.

 Chapter 137 - Outrageous Surprise

    <h4>Chapter 137 - Outrageous Surprise</h4>

    **********************

    The Empress Luna

    **********************

    The Empress couldn''t look at the Vampire King in the eye.

    She nced at her heels as if her feet were more interesting than him.

    "You look scrumptious, husband," Luna replied shyly.

    He noticed how her face and her pale chest blushed when she continued, "I couldn''t wait to get you alone again, but we have obligations to our guests."

    "I know my wife." Apollyon nodded in agreement as he held her hand and brought it to his lips, kissing each finger. "We had to discuss something with the Kings regarding the ''ident.''"

    Luna''s eyes widened in shock when she was reminded what the ''ident'' was.

    Smirking, Apollyon settled her armsfortably in his as they walked towards the venue.

    "I wonder what Panterra would do if he finally saw you up close, alive and well."

    ++++

    The Vampire King had made sure that day that it was a Coronation she would never forget as the Empress.

    Luna realized that Apollyon had overdone himself this time as he had deviated from the original goal she had made for her own Coronation.

    In the past, Luna had discussed her ns for the month-long event with him in his private study.

    The Vampire King just nodded at everything she said.

    Luna wasn''t even sure if he had really listened to her.

    He had just sat in his posh,fortable chair which was carved out of wood painted with gold and adorned with gemstones.

    Apollyon rested his head to the palm of his hand in a rxed manner as his blue eyes gazed at her so deeply she had almost drowned in his intense gaze.

    He had no other reaction except saying, "Yes, I agree, wife." and then a satisfied smirk.

    Luna immediately assumed that her husband didn''t care.

    Sometimes, he can be very strange.

    Luna thought the Vampire King was mocking her, so she squinted at him in annoyance.

    She realized that this had been Apollyon''s tactic to make her feel disconcerted just for his amusement.

    Luna had desired perfection for the Coronation.

    It was her duty as the Empress to make the guests from the other Realms be in awe of the Vampire Realm.

    It was an Empress'' pride as a wife to be good at hosting banquets and parties for her husband''s fellow Kings.

    She wanted to show them that the Vampire Castle could throw a good Banquet better than any Kingdoms.

    Unfortunately, Apollyon didn''t follow through with her ns, and it made her smile in amusement instead of being angry and pointing an using finger at him.

    Luna didn''t like it when her husband wouldn''t honor his wishes but at this moment, she knew that it was the best decision Apollyon had done.

    It was the biggest surprise of a lifetime.

    ording to her n, the Empress Coronation was supposed to be a quiet, private endeavor with the six Kings along with the females from the Consortium to entertain them while the maidservants would keep the food and drinksing.

    Everyone, except the Vampire King, the six Kings as their beloved guests, and her, would be exempted from wearing a mask on the ball.

    It was supposed to be just an intimate banquet that involved social dancing so that they could get to know one another better.

    Before the Archdemon of Gluttony had abducted her in the Dream Realm, Luna was the one in charge of nning and making sure everything went well: from the decorations, to the motif, the masquerade themes, the colors and the overall atmosphere of this Masquerade Ball.

    The Vampire King was supposed to announce her as the official Empress formally, introduce her to his peers, followed by the banquet, then, ballroom dancing with their chosen partners, afterward.

    It was as simple as that.

    But then, Apollyon had decided to change everything.

    It wasn''t a private endeavor like she had thought.

    Luna contemted running when Apollyon didn''t deliver her to the Ballroom.

    At first, Luna had assumed that her husband had made a mistake but after pointing it out, her husband had smiled a secret smile at him, shook his head, and shrugged.

    The Vampire King didn''t want her to ask any questions.

    Pausing in her tracks, Luna settled in front of him and blocked his way so that he couldn''t move forward.

    Luna didn''t utter any words and let her bodynguage speak for her.

    She narrowed her eyes at Apollyon in suspicion.

    "It''s a surprise, my beloved." The Vampire King gave her a wide smile that showcased his perfectly shaped fangs.

    She couldn''t deny that the excitement she had seen in those blue eyes was contagious.

    She was almost tempted to smile back at her charming husband, but she stopped herself beforehand and pouted, instead, "What are you nning, Apollyon?"

    "You will see when we get there." Raising his hand, Apollyon pinched her cheeks gently, and said, "Ask questionster."

    Luna sighed a good-natured sigh.? "Alright, husband."

    Perhaps she could do that.

    +++

    The Vampire King had brought her to the second floor of the Vampire''s Castle on the Eastern Balcony.

    For what reason?

    Luna had no idea.

    There was no time to ask when Apollyon had dragged her to the balustrade, and her eyes had widened.

    Stunned, she froze in her ce as she clutched the railings tight.

    It was one of the most memorable moments of her lifetime.

    It was one of the most beautiful things she had ever seen.

    Luna had covered her mouth with one hand in shock, joyful tears streaming down her face.

    It wasn''t a discrete Coronation at all like what she had mapped out.

    She had seen a huge statue higher than the second floor of their balcony, almost reaching the third floor.

    Therge statue which was carved out of marble had looked eerily simr to her.

    "Oh my Goddess, Apollyon." The Empress couldn''t even nce at her husband when she asked because she couldn''t remove her gaze from Apollyon''s tribute.

    "Is that statue��?" Luna hesitated as her throat went dry, trailing off.

    She straightened her spine as she tried to regainposure. "Did you hire hundreds of sculptures just to create this in such a short time?"

    "I don''t want to make an assumption right away or you would take me as vain but is that statue��" Rubbing her eyes, Luna blinked at the ginormous sculpture a couple of times, making sure she wasn''t hallucinating. "Is that really me?"

    As Luna watched the whole scene from the Vampire Castle''s balcony, there were thousands of people below ncing up at her expectantly with bright smiles on their faces as they murmured to themselves.

    One child who had settled her tiny legs on his father''s shoulders pointed at her and yelled in a giddy voice, "Look, papa. Purdy pwincess."

    "Attention, all citizens of the Vampire Realm and the other Kings'' envoys who have gathered in this joyous festivity��." Apollyon''s voice abruptly boomed throughout the crowd.

    They turned eerily silent without being told what to do.

    Everybody in the audience had watched the two of them with rapt attention.

    It made her want to flee from these thousands of strangers watching her.

    It had made her extremely unconscious that she wished she had worn her mask.

    Apollyon had broken her out of her musings when he circled one arm around his waist. "Please help me wee the new Empress of the Vampire Realm."

    There were beautiful women in beautiful yellow gowns, wearing silk gloves of the same color andrge feather hats.

    Their arms and chests wereyered with white frills, showing her cleavage at the same time.

    The crowd��people of ages, races, different backgrounds and cultures, different realms��cheered as loud as they could in this joyful celebration as one beautiful fairy flew around the people above them, blowing their trumpets.

    The other fairies were tasked to rain flower petals and drizzles of scented rose andvender water over the audience.

    People opened their arms towards the sky as if they were receiving the fairies'' blessing.

    Everybody had lifted their clenched fists pointed towards Luna and the Vampire King as a way of showing their loyalty, happiness, and support.

    Luna pressed her hand to her heart as she gestured a two-finger salute to the crowd in return.

    Some gentleman had thrown hats and roses in Luna''s direction as if they were showing her their gifts and offerings.

    Shy Luna was annoyed at Apollyon in the first ce for exposing her to a lot of people without warning, but now, it didn''t even faze her.

    She was so deep in her gratitude.

    Luna had tapped a loose fist against her heart as she mouthed ''thank you'' to everyone who might see.

    It was such a wonderful sight to see them so animated and lively.

    She sped Apollyon''s forearms to say, "Thank you, husband."

    "You made me so happy today," Luna swore her eyes were soft and filled with an inner happy glow. "Ecstatic. Joyful."

    She hugged him and showed her affections without holding back," I love you."

    Apollyon looked at her like she had suddenly grown two heads.

    The Vampire King moved closer and murmured in her ear, "Well, that was quick for you to tell me you love me back."

    Embarrassed for her sudden slip-up, Luna''s voice trembled as it was filled with emotion. "You are not happy with it?"

    There was an ufortable warmth in her face when she asked in stark disappointment, "Should I take it back?"

    "Nay." The Vampire gave her a genuine smile, lighting up his handsome face.

    He held her hand and squeezed it longer than necessary. "I would kill the Archdemon of Gluttony before you could take that statement back."

 Chapter 138 - Duel For The Empress Honor

    <h4>Chapter 138 - Duel For The Empress'' Honor</h4>

    ********************

    The Empress Luna

    ********************

    The Empress'' Coronation Ceremony had passed by in a quick blur.

    Luna felt like she was whisked in the balcony to show her face to the entire subjects of the Vampire Realm.

    After the Vampire King''s announcement of her as a ruling monarch, followed by her oath to the King and the Vampire Realm, her husband had bestowed a new crown on her head.

    It was different from the tiara she had worn at the wedding, and the one Apollyon had given her when she met all the women in the Consortium at the Main Hall for the first time.

    She examined the new crown in Apollyon''s hands, and her jaw had cked in awe and disbelief.

    It was a silver tiara with twelve spikes pointing upward and decorated with sparkling diamonds attached on its ends.

    Luna realized the crown would go really well with her long silver hair and her luxurious ball gown.

    But what will she do with these three different crowns at her disposal?

    Apollyon had gifted her three crowns, and it gave her a lot of options.

    She was grateful for her husband''s generosity but wasn''t this a tad too much?

    The Vampire King ran his fingers through her scalp twice and fixed her hair, patting them before settling her new tiara over her head.

    The people who have gathered at the Castle''s courtyard were a lot more than the crowd who had attended her wedding where the Blue Moon had shown itself.

    This Coronation Ceremony wasn''t just a physical crowning, but Luna was also presented with a staff adorned with red and gold precious stones as proof of her regal power.

    After taking her special vows as an official monarch of the Vampire Realm, Luna curtsied as she paid homage to her royal subjects.

    Luna didn''t notice that Cederic had squeezed himself in the Balcony beside her as he had just popped out of nowhere, carrying arge bouquet of purple tulips.

    She didn''t see Cederic was carrying them since he was too short for her to notice, appearing like he had been covered, drowning in tulips.

    Cederic was like a child who had jerked at her skirts to get her attention, making her yelp in surprise.

    He handed the sweet-scented flowers to her, and she dly took it from him.

    Luna was ted from all these gifts, but the Vampire King wasn''t contented with them yet.

    It seemed like her husband had nned to drown her in flowers instead of Cederic.

    Suddenly, there were three colorful gands of exotic tiny flowers--red roses, yellow marigolds, and blue asters--clutched in both of his hands.

    Her husband had faced her, his sparkling blue eyes filled with mirth as he hung the gands around her neck.

    Like a fish out of water, Luna had opened and shut her mouth to voice out her protest, but Apollyon had bent his head closer to hers without warning, tilted her head, and stole a quick kiss on her lips.

    The Vampire King had already leaned back before she could kiss him in return as payment for all the grand efforts he had done today.

    "Apollyon. Really? Why are you tempting me with your soft lips in front of so many people." Luna''s toes curled up from the kiss because she was trying her best not to wrap her arms around her husband''s neck and give him long, torrid kisses. "Why are you drowning me in flowers?"

    The short pecks were starting to get on her nerves.

    He gave her a satisfied smirk before he stated, "You are my flower garden, wife."

    +++

    There was a joyous fanfare in the morning air as Luna''s gaze s shifted to the tents outside the Vampire Castle.

    She had wondered why the Castle''s drawbridges had been lowered.

    After the fairies had blown their brass trumpets, signaling the end of her coronation, the crowd from the courtyard dispersed as they walked towards the hill.

    There were thousands of people walking towards the gateway, and in Luna''s vision, their tiny heads and their squeezed bodies appeared like moving ants in a procession.

    "Where are they going, Apollyon?"She tilted her head as she squinted at him, asking, "What''s going to happen on top of the Hill?"

    "You''ll see when we get there." The Vampire King''s cryptic message failed to soften the fierceness of his expression. "I think today is going to be more hectic."

    Apollyon ced a hand on her shoulder, and before she knew it, they were already inside a tent.

    Luna had only blinked once, and the Vampire King had teleported them so fast.

    They had probably arrived at the top of the hill.

    Perhaps, her husband had prepared something special in her honor.

    Luna was looking forward to another one of Apollyon''s surprises.

    The crowd outside their designated tent was loud and full ofughter and excitement.

    She also heard a sh of fighting swords.

    There was a sharp sound as if it had broken, releasing a thunderous ng as it hit the ground.

    Luna was sure she had heard a duel between sharp des based on what she had perceived from the outside.

    "Apollyon." Luna nced at him and asked. "Is there a sword tournament held in my honor?"

    The Vampire King pursed his lips and shrugged.

    Luna narrowed her gaze at her secretive husband.

    She had noticed that Apollyon had been doing that to hertely, and sometimes it irked her that he didn''t bother exining things further.

    The Vampire King wanted her to check things out herself.

    He rarely spoke to her these days.

    Hmm, that was probably a brilliant ideaing from him.

    Sometimes, the Vampire King just needed to shut up to avoid arguments because he can sometimes say the wrong things that can trigger her.

    Her husband was learning that a wife was always right.

    With that thought, the annoyance she felt for her husband faded away.

    Luna arched an eyebrow at him and smiled back at her husband in response.

    Apollyon''s eyes widened a little bit in surprise before he grinned.

    He stepped forward, and Luna moved sideways.

    She watched his back as he opened the drapes of their tent to witness the outside world.

    Luna''s curiosity had lured her like a siren, so she turned and followed her husband''s footsteps as they emerged from their tent into the sunshine.

    +++

    An outdoor festival of some sort had followed the Empress Coronation.

    Some tents wereden with ginormous rations of food for the humans, separated from the other races.

    Each of the races who had visited from another Realm had a specific pavilion for their own sustenance and refreshments.

    The different factions were divided into a cluster of tents, but that wouldn''t prevent people from fraternizing with one another from different races and cultures, especially those who belonged to the other Kings'' envoys.

    Luna saw a bunch of sick, pale men dodging, retching, and moaning as they overindulge in ale, food, and wine, but when they see the Vampire King and her crossing their paths, they immediately scrammed out of the way like a bunch of rats scampering around the market.

    They cowered in fear when they saw her husband''s face, and she didn''t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

    The Vampire King had towered even the tallest men in their vicinity like a god walking among humankind.

    Even the six Kings had that arrogant air about them, and it wasn''t only because of the height.

    Their serious demeanor gave them an air of menace, even if that wasn''t their intention at all.

    Acrobats were practicing for their performance tonight, and their bodies have flipped out and twitched close to where they were standing.

    Apollyon had pulled her hand to move her aside so that the acrobat''s feet wouldn''t hit her identally in the face.

    When they saw the Vampire King, they stared at him dubiously, picked up their bowl of pennies, and bowed in their presence.

    Their passage among themoners had earned nudges and mutters of ''the Vampire King'' before they went overboard and bowed their heads humbly to the ground.

    There were too many people, and Luna felt more exposed as they moved closer to an enormous crowd gathered around in a circle.

    She raised her head and tiptoed, trying to see what themotion was about.

    All she could see was a makeshift stadium in the middle with six thrones evenly positioned, encircling the battle arena.

    "Panterra and I had agreed." Apollyon held her hand and squeezed it tightly without looking at her as they walked towards the stadium. "Panterra had requested a public duel in your honor in exchange for the ''humiliation'' I had inflicted on him when I attacked him at the Acquaintance affairs for you."

    She swore Apollyon would have seen her turn paler than a vampire at this moment.

    "Apollyon---" Luna trailed off, but then she couldn''t help but burst out her anger. "What in the world?"

    Luna moved in front of him and stretched out her arms to block him froming near the arena.

    From Apollyon''s pursed lips full of sullen determination, he didn''t n to be stopped.

    Luna held her breath as she anticipated her husband''s gruffmand to stay out of the way.

    "It''s a duel between a man''s pride, wife. It would be better if you just let us be and cheer for me at the sidelines." He said grimly as he stepped forward, hugging her tight. "There was no need to worry, my beloved. Victory will be mine."

 Chapter 139 - Battle Arena

    <h4>Chapter 139 - Battle Arena</h4>

    After the Empress Coronation Ceremony, the fairy messengers had moved towards the fields, floating in the air with their gleaming trumpets in hand.

    Luna didn''t understand why a man''s pride for his woman''s honor could be defended through a sword duel.

    The Vampire King had imed that he was doing this for her sake, but what if she didn''t want anything to do with this?

    Luna didn''t want to include her name or y a part in this childish behavior.

    Maybe, this was firmlymon among Kings.

    When she used to be an Amazon, the women in their tribe had to fight to the death to possess what they wanted if their rival had desired to covet the same thing.

    Luna exhaled a heavy sigh as she shook her head in exasperation.

    She would tolerate this yful ''show of power'' between Apollyon and Panterra, but if the Feline King would go overboard and kill, she? wouldn''t hesitate to jump between the sword duel even if it killed her, but she didn''t tell her husband that.

    Apollyon had been patient with her since he came back from the Dream Realms, so it was up to Luna to show respect to the Vampire King by hearing him out first, watch the events unfold, judge ordingly, and see if it was worth interfering.

    Luna wouldn''t act rash now because she had already learned from her past mistakes.

    To see the sword tournaments clearly, the Six Kings were seated in their specific royal thrones at the battle arena on top of the hill at a higher elevation.

    Luna had made a mistake of nning to create something seductively feminine and passive for her Coronation Ceremony--a mysterious masquerade for the six Kings from the other Realms to no avail.

    These masculine creatures��barbaric warlords��had sought something more primal and a more savage activity other than courting concubines and courtesans.

    It was hard to change the fact that the Kings were adrenaline-seeking majestic warriors at heart who enjoyed watching other brutes pummel and stab each other with swords.

    Men are men, after all.

    It was either sex or violence.

    Every King from the other Realms had extravagantly garbed knights led by their chosen hero.

    It was pretty obvious which was the selected hero to fight in the diator games because they had worn a fancy hood made of velvet along with the symbol of their g at the back of their cloaks.

    Aside from the hood, the diators only wore a simple tunic and light boots holding no weapons.

    Each King had chosen their best heroes who had armed themselves to the teeth.

    The chosen heroes'' were only allowed to use the only sword of one kind modeled for all the diators.

    The ''Sword of the ck Rose'' will only be given when they entered the battle arena.

    This rule was to test the diators on how fast they could pick up a unique weapon and gain its mastery in a short period of time.

    The Vampire Realm was the host of the diator games today, so Cederic wouldn''t be included in the event to avoid gaining an advantage over the other Realms because the ''ck Rose de'' was made of the finest carbon steel by the best cksmith in the Vampire Realm.

    As a woman who belonged to the Amazonian race, Luna was surprisingly looking forward to the sword duels of each representative from the other Kingdoms present in this diator games.

    "At least, we chose to be merciful today as we didn''t want to offend an Empress'' delicate sensibilities." The Vampire King nced at her as he caressed her arm exquisitely with his fingers.

    After they had settled on their royal seats side-by-side, her gaze had skimmed the diator arena and the people below them: warriors, pce guards,moners, vigers, maidens, servants, and the spectators from the other Realms.

    The females from the Consortium were another story.

    Luna had noticed that every King''s side had one chosen courtesan stationed near their elevated throne, which was a surprise to behold.

    When she noticed Lady Catriona settled beside the Feline King Panterra, Luna was so taken aback, literally, as she had leaned backward to her elevated throne and almost fell to the ground.

    She was lucky that Apollyon had gripped her hand before she fell out of bnce and dropped fifty feet from her throne.

    Luna bent forward to squint at thedy beside King Panterra just to make sure that that raven hair and sparkling purple almond-shaped eyes belonged to Apollyon''s former concubine.

    She guessed it was true since that perfect caramel skin was too distinct for Lady Catriona''s attributes.

    The Kings and their female courtesans had reigned over the tournament from their thrones atop the wooden gallery, including the Vampire King and her.

    She wiggled on her cushions to adjust the petticoats of her ball gown.

    Why did she have to wear a ball gown at this type of event?

    Why did her maidservants make sure her skirts were full enough toyer the folds over the hoop?

    The midday sun had beaten down on her tender vampire skin.

    Her butt was starting to get itchy and ufortable and her breasts began to ache from being bound so tightly by the corset to make her t breasts look bigger than it was.

    Luna can manage this for a couple of hours, but she couldn''t promise her bad mood thates along with it.

    She wasn''t subscribed to suffering for the sake of fashion, but she guessed she could endure for a while.

    She rested both of her hands on her throne''s armchair and snorted, "I see the Feline King Panterra had chosen Catriona instead of me to make babies with, huh?"

    There was a long pause, and Luna had wondered why her husband hadn''t responded.

    She removed her gaze from the Feline King and Catriona when she could sense the invisible wrathing off from Apollyon like intense waves of hellfire.

    The Vampire King''s husky voice was as sharp as a de pointed to her gut. "Are you saying that you wanted to make babies with Panterra, wife?"

    Her mouth had opened in shock when the Vampire King had arched an eyebrow, giving her a savage smile that shed fang.

    Apollyon had tilted his head to settle his cold, blue gaze at her.

    That one harsh look directed at her was enough to make her shiver as she had seen the violent depths of his disagreement.

    Nostrils ring, his voice had deepened as he said, "Are you purposefully trying to make me jealous? Because I want to tell you now that I don''t like it, wife."

    Luna held her breath in silence for a few minutes, giving the Vampire King some time to calm down.

    She had only meant that as a joke.

    Luna didn''t expect her husband to be violently offended by her deprecating humor.

    "It was a joke, my beloved husband." Luna startedughing after that awkward silence, hoping to ease the rising tension between them. "Geez~"

    Luna''s fake high-pitchedugh had ended in an awkward note in the air.

    She kept her mouth shut because she knew what was better for her.

    A whispered sigh.

    Apollyon crossed his arms, and her husband was determined not to look her in the eye again.

    Of course, Luna was possessive when ites to her husband, but she didn''t think that the Vampire King was much more prone to jealousy than her.

    It was just a harmless joke but not really far from the truth.

    Technically, the Feline King had told her that at the Acquaintance Affairs, so it wasn''t really her fault for making fun of such a lighthearted matter.

    Her husband came and ruined her joke with his stone-cold handsome face, sulking in his throne and staring at basically nothing.

    It was Luna''s turn to sigh.

    Anyhow, this was better than Apollyon turning her green with jealousy that he would resort to using one of his hundred concubines.

    The man had already imed that he hadn''t used any of the women while she was gone, so that was good news.

    She was missing for two weeks, and Apollyon was as horny as a devil, so it was ''music to her ears'' that her husband who owned a Harem was capable of proving his loyalty.

    Of course, Apollyon might not know of this.

    Still, Luna had also proven her loyalty by not fraternizing with the Archdemon of Gluttony even if he had tempted her to join him in his luxurious bed.

    His tempting offer hadter evoked disgust when she saw what Ravin had allowed his Archdemon sister to sacrifice in exchange for her soul.

    Now, all she needed to figure out was how to cut their link together without any repercussions.

    How shall she appease a jealous husband?

    Luna hesitantly reached out her hand and smoothed the Vampire King''s disheveled raven locks beneath her fingertips.

    Apollyon didn''t swat her hand away, but he pinned her with an icy re that chilled her to the marrow. "Don''t do that again, wife."

    Thank the goddess!

    Her husband had finally spoken.

    "What?" Luna gave him a sincere smile and attempted another jest, "For touching your hair?"

    "I hate that you could joke about this lightly. This isn''t aughing matter." Apollyon''s expression slipped to reveal cooler darkness. "I don''t like to be cuckolded, and it''s not because of my pride as the Vampire King. My love for you had nothing to do with pride."

    Luna was honestly flustered at her husband''s confession.

    He said he loved her, and he didn''t want her to cheat on him.

    How would the Vampire King react if he knew that her link with the Archdemon of Gluttony was very much alive?

 Chapter 140 - Sword Duels

    <h4>Chapter 140 - Sword Duels</h4>

    **********************

    The Empress Luna

    **********************

    Luna didn''t care much about the number of victories gained by the other Realms.

    Why would she keep score when the Vampire Realm was exempted from the diator games?

    She pouted in her seat, ring at the crowd for their silent treatment of her promation earlier.

    She had announced at the winning diators that she was willing to duel with anyone, but not a single warrior had epted her invitation to battle.

    Were they afraid to have a sword fight with her because she was an Amazon?

    Were they scared that she would humiliate them and shatter their ego if they lost during their battle?

    Perhaps, they didn''t want to have a skirmish with the Vampire King''s Empress.

    Were theyughing inside their mind, thinking her challenge was a joke, and they just didn''t want want to the point that out and disrespected an Empress?

    In truth, Luna had made her announcement to get a rise out of her brooding husband, evincing a reaction from him, but there was none except for one? sarcastic grin as he shrugged with nonchnce.

    The Vampire King had probably thought it was a cute stunt and then continued ignoring her; his intense blue eyes focused on themencement ceremony where the champions were given their prizes: one sack of golden treasures, a fine hybrid stallion, and a woman from the Consortium the hero had chosen with thedy''s consent.

    When themencement ceremony had ended, the only thing the crowd had waited with bated breath was the sword duel between her husband and the Feline King Panterra.

    Luna knew that there was nothing to worry about.

    During the Acquaintance Affairs, she had witnessed how Apollyon had knocked out the Feline King without inflicting too much damage.

    That was a dangerous feat, subduing a powerful King without chaos and destruction.

    Luna had realized at that moment how dangerous Apollyon could be in the eyes of his peers--his fellow Kings.

    The Vampire King didn''t only have brute strength.

    Apollyon had proven that night that he could strike at the exact precision of an acupuncture needle.

    The Feline King had dropped, unconscious as if a poisonous snake had bitten him.

    The Vampire King had existed for thousands of years already.

    He must have read thousands of ancient books in his lifetime, storing all that knowledge in his brain.

    Priceless knowledge of magic integrated with excellentbat skills and swordsmanship can make an immortal invincible.

    Luna had noticed that Apollyon was good at pinpointing every paranormal creature''s weaknesses like he had poured out textbooks about their earliest history and intense study of their anatomy all his life.

    Luna had stolen a nce at her silent husband when the Feline King raised his hand, signaling that he was ready for their sword duel.

    The Feline Kingdom''s elevated throne was positioned directly in front of them, but they were so far that Luna had to squint to see his hand signal clearly.

    Even if the battle arena was created in a hurry, Luna couldn''t deny that it was well-made andrge enough to amodate the crowds present at the diator Games.

    "Husband, should we get down?" Luna asked.

    The Vampire King made no move to get down from his throne as they perched on their high seats, their feet dangling a good thirty feet from the ground.

    Luna had sighed and slumped miserably in her chair as she waited for her husband to get ready.

    She guessed that the Vampire King was still in a sour mood, for he had snubbed all of her feeble attempts at conversation since their earlier confrontation.

    Was Apollyon backing out from their sword duel just because they had a little skirmish?

    How��immature.

    She lifted one palm and ced it gently on the back of hisrge hand as it settled on the armchair.

    "Husband." Luna asked sarcastically, "Do you have ns on leaving this elevated throne to have a duel with Panterra or not, because I will just jump and throw myself to the ground?"

    Luna was beginning to wish this grim farce was over and done with because she didn''t want to see anybody hurt, especially her husband, even if Apollyon had already proven that he was stronger.

    Finally, Luna had coaxed a reaction from Apollyon when his pursed lips had curled in amusement.

    "Do you want to experience broken bones for an hour?" He turned to look at her and continued,"--because trust me, your vampire bones healing itself, and fractured skin knitting together would be most painful, especially if there were a lot of people watching you."

    Of course, the Vampire King held her chin and scrutinized her up close.

    Apollyon had noticed.

    It was one of Luna''s weakness being so exposed to a group of people in an inconvenient moment, such as falling to her short death before her vampire abilities restored themselves.

    The fairy heralds had once again taken the field, blowing the gleaming trumpets on their hands.

    It was a brassy invitation to start the sword duel between two Kings: Apollyon and Panterra.

    The Vampire King had ced a hand on her shoulder.

    The next thing Luna knew, they were already at the center of Battle Arena as they watched the Feline King Panterra and Catriona at their thrones.

    They had jumped as graceful as a cat (sometimes, Luna forget that they were feline shapeshifters) andnded on their feet without breaking a sweat.

    The pair took their sweet, sweet time walking towards them, parading themselves like a King and a Queen, while the audience eyed them with rapt attention as if they were captivated by the pair.

    If Luna were honest, she would say they looked perfect together, not only because she wanted Catriona out of the Vampire King''s Harem for good, so, yes, she was telling the truth.

    They were a great pair, appearing so proud of themselves for capturing the crowd''s interest.

    They were birds of the same feather, but it was cats of the same fur in their case.

    Luna fought the urge to roll her eyes.

    If Catriona got her alone, she would probably shove it in her face that Panterra and her were a power couplepared to Luna and Apollyon.

    She would wait for the insults thrown at her when the pair arrived.

    Let them enjoy the people''s attention before she could issue hand-to-handbat with Catriona if thedy allowed it.

    They had a settle to score, and she knew the cat was as brave as her.

    Catriona wouldn''t back down from a challenge.

    She had really considered retiring from her chamber.

    Luna had been yawning non-stop for the past hours, so she might as well liven up the arena.

    It would be a new sight for these men to see women fighting as good��perhaps, even better��in this kind of battle.

    She would live up to her roots as an Amazon Warrior, and she was sure Catriona would also fight to the death, raising the g of the Feline Realm to gain Panterra''s heart.

    Luna smirked when she realized that she and Catriona had a simr strength the first time they fought, so she might as well gain an advantage now that she was an Apollyon''s made-vampire.

    Eyeballing each other, Catriona had stood a tad too close to her as they came face-to-face.

    Luna couldn''t help but size her up.

    Catriona''srge pupils had suddenly shifted to reptilian slits.

    She had bared her teeth abruptly as if she was attempting to bite her face.

    Panterra had clutched Catriona''s nape and pulled her backward before she could attack her.

    "Catriona, stand down." The Feline King had said in amanding tone, making Catriona act docile as fast as she had transformed into her leopard face.

    Her whiskers and the dark spots on her yellowish skin had faded in the blink of an eye.

    Did Luna just witness Catriona in a mid-shift?

    Luna didn''t want to further insult the concubine, but she couldn''t help but voice her opinion as revenge for almost biting her, the Empress, in the face.

    "King Panterra."

    Luna turned towards the Feline King and curtsied.

    "I''m not sure if yourpanion was of feline or canine descent. Your dog here is acting like a bitch..." Luna trailed off as she shifted a wary nce towards Catriona beside him. "Keep her on a leash, Panterra."

    Panterra bowed in acknowledgment, his light blue eyes not leaving hers.

    She didn''t stare at the Feline King''s light blue eyes because she didn''t want her husband to feel slighted.

    Eyes narrowing, Panterra pointed at her eyes and noted, "I swear when I first saw you, your eyes were mismatched." Rubbing his chin, he paused in recollection. "I think it was green and��"

    The Vampire King moved in front of her, and now all Luna could see was his husband''s towering height, his broad shoulders, and back.

    Her jealous husband had covered her from the Feline King''s view that she could either tiptoe or step aside to keep up with the conversation.

    Cederic materialized beside her husband and gave him a sword.

    "My wife''s eyes are none of your concern, King Panterra," Apollyon said calmly as he grabbed it from him, held it tightly as he caressed the sword''s hilt.

    Apollyon aimed the sword''s sharp tip into the Feline King''s neck but not quite touching his skin.

    This act was against the rules, but nobody can really stop the Vampire King from doing what he wanted.

    This was the Vampire Realm and his territory.

    Apollyon had believed that Luna was part of his territory.

 Chapter 141 - Token Of Good Luck

    <h4>Chapter 141 - Token Of Good Luck</h4>

    Luna was horrified that the battle hadn''t officially started, and her husband was already threatening the other man because of her.

    Her stupid husband still had this notion that Panterra was still challenging his ownership over her.

    Luna pped a restraining hand on her man''s shoulder. "Apollyon��"

    A flourish of notes trilled through the hazy air.

    The trumpets had blown again, signaling the start of the sword duel.

    Goddess!

    The faeries were flying directly above them, that she had to cover her sensitive ears to muffle the loud sound.

    They didn''t give a damn what was happening.

    They just wanted to see bloodshed.

    The Feline King didn''t break eye contact with Apollyon as he grabbed the sword Cederic had handed over to him.

    Panterra continued in a rumble. "Better save your hostility for the duel, Apollyon, where you could vent it with honor for a worthy prize."

    ++++

    Cederic had dered the rules of the sword duel.

    Despite his size, his voice rang enough to convey the message well to the masses.

    ===

    Conditions of the Sword Duel

    1. The sword duel would be ended as soon as one duellist was severely wounded to be physically unable to continue the duel.

    2. Using their supernatural powers isn''t allowed.

    The duelists were only allowed to disy their brute strength and swordsmanship skills.

    3. If they wish to stop the sword duel, they only need to say the word ''I yield.''

    4. The duellists will use the ''Sword of the ck Rose'' and the warhorse of their choice.

    ===

    Both of the Kings had agreed to it and made an impromptu blood pact on the battlegrounds with the crowd at the battle arena as their witness.

    Luna had the notion that the Feline King wasn''t the type to back down from his oath, but Apollyon shouldn''t be too careless that Panterra would honor it.

    There was still a possibility of cheating.

    King Panterra was a foreigner in their midst who had issued a challenge to Apollyon in their own territory, but Apollyon didn''t seem offended by it.

    In fact, he weed it.

    Before the duel started, Luna and Catriona had a minute to say their words of encouragement and give a token of luck to their respective men.

    By the smirk on Cederic''s face, she wasn''t sure if the military general had made this up.

    Honestly, Luna had no idea what to do as the crowd watch her expectantly, probably wondering what the Empress would offer to the Vampire King.

    She gave Catriona a sideways nce so she could follow her lead.

    Perhaps, the concubine had more experience when ites to witnessing sword duels and giving tokens.

    "Wife." The Vampire King snapped a finger in front of her face repeatedly.

    Luna broke out from her musings as she stopped stealing nces from Lady Catriona to look at her husband.

    "Wife. You have to give me at least something." He lifted her chin upward to stare into her eyes, searching her gaze. "A good luck charm."

    Tilting his head, Apollyon narrowed his eyes and whispered, "You must like Panterra so much that you couldn''t remove your eyes from him while I''m in front of you?"

    Apollyon''s tone was serious but still calm.

    She didn''t think her husband was that angry, though.

    It felt like he was asking a legitimate question this time.

    "Husband." Luna sighed, deciding to tell the truth.

    She wasn''t frustrated at her jealous husband''s possessiveness anymore.

    She already got so used to it, somehow.

    Luna gave him a sincere smile as she fixed the top two buttons of Apollyon''s shirt so that no other women could see his exposed chest.

    "I already had something in mind as a token of luck to give you." She moved closer to Apollyon until they were a hairsbreadth away. "I was merely watching what Catriona had done."

    Luna caressed his broad shoulders and chest lightly, soothing him, seducing him.

    "Should I give you a kiss?"

    She didn''t give the Vampire King any time to respond.

    She had tiptoed to reach her husband''s height, settled one hand around his nape while the other one dug into Apollyon''s scalp as she scratched it lightly with her ws.

    He quickly got her point as Apollyon bent his head, his mouth opening to meet her soft lips.

    It was a slow, sensual kiss that was a sure-fire way to drive a man crazy.

    Their tongues danced amongst each other in perfect unison.

    Luna was very observant of every nuance of her husband''s inaudible groans when he was aroused, so it was easy to figure out what Apollyon liked as long as she was attentive.

    It seemed like her husband forgot that they weren''t in the privacy of their own bedchamber when Apollyon pulled her close and tried to grope her butt hopelessly, which was, s, covered inyers of petticoats.

    Luna had smiled at her husband''s grunt of disapproval between their kisses.

    He wrapped his arms around her waist and hoisted her up against him, trying to cop a feel of that secret spot between her thighs in vain.

    The daft man couldn''t get it into his carnal mind that he had to get her naked first if he wants some action because she was too engulfed withyers of skirts, and he had to remember that they were acting like two sex-craved monarchs in front of their loyal subjects.

    The Vampire King was too eager to have her despite the witnesses in the battle arena, and the sword duel hadn''t even started yet, damn it!

    Luna pushed the Vampire King and let him go, but her sted husband didn''t take the hint and moved to nuzzle her neck when she ceased kissing him, instead.

    She had to pinch her husband at the side of his stomach just to get him to stop pawing the underside of her breast.

    It was proven effective.

    The Vampire King stopped nibbling her neck and lifted his head to gaze at her with hooded eyes.

    Her husband had appeared like he was woken up from a dream he didn''t want to wake up from as his sapphire orbs watched her face, dazed and confused.

    "Apollyon. You had to have a sword duel with Panterra, remember?" Luna had said as her eyes ricocheted towards the parade of curious gawkers from the crowd: peasants from the vige, scampering children, castle servants, and a dizzying variety of masculine attentions from the warriors.

    They gave them strange, knowing smiles as if they knew what was happening behind closed doors.

    Luna blushed as she yfully punched her husband''s chest in embarrassment when the lords and the knights at the side began to cheer and whistle at their public disy. "Do you really have to act such a shameless pervert, Apollyon?"

    "Hmm." The Vampire King said absently.

    He properly donned his armor and outfitted the mount of his ck stallion when it finally arrived as it trotted in front of them with its head held high.

    They were too busy snogging each other earlier in front of an audience to notice the stallion.

    They had to prioritize their performance for the crowd, and it was one they would never forget.

    "Thank you for the kiss, my beloved." The Vampire King murmured. "I will make sure to destroy Panterra for his unwanted advances over you."

    Luna scratched her head in frustration, for she had no problem with the Feline King, but Apollyon still kept on insisting.

    Fuck, that Sea King Phorcys was even more impertinent than Panterra, but did her husband listen?

    No.

    ''Fine. Let them do what they want.'' Luna thought as she crossed her arms. ''I''m out of here.''

    She peered at what Catriona had done as a token of luck for the Feline King.

    Luna arched an eyebrow when she found Catriona untying the red ribbon sped on her dark hair and tethered it unto the left arm of the Feline King.

    She was confused at this disy of support.

    Was this supposed to be the tradition of giving tokens for the sword duelist?

    The Vampire King realized what she had been frowning at and backed off,ughing at her difort. "You were supposed to tie a ribbon on the duellist''s left arm, wife."

    "Ah." Chagrined, Luna willed the ground to open up and swallow her whole.

    She fought the urge to bury her face with her hands and whispered, "I''m sorry for that mistake."

    "I prefer the surprise kiss, actually." The Vampire King caressed her face and gave her a cheeky grin. "I would battle more sword duels if that was what it takes for you to initiate a kiss first."

    +++

    Catriona and Luna had stayed on the battle arena''s sidelines, but they didn''t stand in the same space.

    If they stood with each other way too close, there would be no witnessing Apollyon and Panterra''s sword duel because they would be busy grappling and pulling each other''s hairs.

    It was a good idea that Cederic had made sure that the two of them were at a far distance.

    Panterra and Apollyon materialized in front of them, and before she realized it, she had clenched and unclenched her fists in panic, gripping her skirts with her sweaty palms.

    The Kings had muscled their broad-nked warhorse at the battle arena as they swung their sword around experimentally, trying to get used to its weight.

    There was no question that both of them appeared majestic as they sat on their stallions, but it was her husband who had caught her eye despite the silver helms hiding his features, making him look more daunting.

    The Vampire King sat the saddle as if he had been born with it.

    She never really thought that her husband would know how to ride a warhorse when he could already teleport to save his life and travel to ces in an instant.

    The armor beneath his quilted surcoat was fancy.

    The warhorse pranced around the battle arena, its rippling drape mirroring the dusky greens and crimsons of its master.

    The steel tes enhanced the chain mail attached to his armor at his elbows and shins.

    Luna was against this sword duel, but she didn''t know why she was fighting an involuntary thrill of excitement running down her spine as she stood straight.

    ''Don''t speak above a murmur. It is unbing of an Empress.'' Luna thought as she gripped her hand on the railing, trying to stop herself from doing exactly that, but she just couldn''t help it.

    She must cheer for his husband.

    Luna will not care if it will strain her voice.

    "Apollyon!" She screamed a word past her shuttered throat and waved her hands in the air, "Emerge victorious from this duel, and I would give you a reward that you wouldn''t forget."

 Chapter 142 - The Challengers Pride

    <h4>Chapter 142 - The Challenger''s Pride</h4>

    As Apollyon trotted to the barricade''s edges of the battle arena, the military general, who acted as the official umpire of the sword duel, took the center field and bellowed, "Duellists. Take your ces."

    As Cederic introduced the Feline King to the audience, three of his men-at-arms from the Feline King''s envoy entered the battle of the arena all of a sudden.

    They covered the Feline King in tes of armor so bright they seemed to reflect the fires of the forge that had molded them.

    Luna arched an eyebrow as she scanned him from head to toe.

    It was peculiar to see that Panterra could be armored in full mboyance despite him going to war with the Vampire King vis-a-vis.

    Luna narrowed her eyes at King Panterra.

    Was Panterra''s pretty armor a hidden insult for them to decode��that he was wearing them since he wouldn''t think her husband could do no damage to his steel te, anyway?

    The Feline King was full of himself.

    When King Panterra fixed his helmet, Luna noticed that there were ck and red feathers attached to it.

    "I will see to it that I will win over you, King Apollyon, to redeem my honor." King Panterra yelled as a parting shot.

    The Feline King took up his sword and shield from his envoy, tilting his head from side to side as if stretching the muscle cords on his neck.

    Panterra dappled his mount to the opposite end of the arena.

    Cederic had nced from his left then to the right, nodding in approval for the duellists were ready.

    Now that both of the Kings were on their positions, the military general stood at the center and lifted both of his arms. "On your guard."

    It seemed like it wasn''t only Luna, who was looking forward to the sword duels.

    "Fight with honor, Your Highnesses, "The military general eximed heartily with excitement in his eyes. "Don''t show any mercy to the opponent."

    The men circled each other like wolves warily, scenting the blood of a fresh kill.

    Luna might have been more intrigued by the spectacle had she not known that the victor would have every right to make her feel like she was in debt when she was in the middle of it all.

    There was a possibility that if the Feline King won by a slim chance over Apollyon, perhaps, he would ask for something she wouldn''t be ready to give.

    She wasn''t here when the duel was agreed by the two parties.

    It could be very well, not her ''honor'' which was on the line here.

    Of course, her husband wouldn''t allow that.

    This was why Apollyon was ready to battle Panterra and emerge victoriously.

    Full-bodied cheers and cries of anticipation went up as both the Kings pulled on their warhorses'' reins as if ready to strike.

    The destriers roared towards their inevitable confrontation, their front legs lifting in a forceful forward kick motion so aggressive that it could break human bones.

    Both of the stallions charged to each other as the Kings lifted their swords, preparing for an attack.

    Apollyon rode low over his warhorse''s mount with the speed and thunder of the magnificent beast.

    Drawing his sword, King Panterra hefted it in the air with both hands.

    Luna clenched the rails once again with her heart racing over her parched throat, gritting her teeth as she waited for the involuntary suspense of shing des.

    Based on Luna''s observation, the Vampire King outweighed King Panterra when it came to their physical form, but the ck panther''s slender grace might gain an advantage.

    The Feline King had darted like quicksilver, parrying each of Apollyon''s mighty swings until their swords sh in a deadly symphony.

    Luna recoiled when her husband took a blow to the helm that would have staggered a lesser creature.

    A roar of approval went up from the crowd, tipping the scales into the Feline King''s favor.

    She turned her head and scowled at them.

    When she turned her gaze back to the battle, a downward sh of Apollyon''s de drew a dark bloom of blood on Panterra''s thigh.

    Panterra gazed down at how the Vampire King''s sword broke through his steel te in patent disbelief.

    Apollyon increased their distance before Panterra could have his revenge.

    He tipped back the facete of his helm.

    "Shall you yield?" Apollyon invited in a mocking smirk. "I fear hacking you limb from limb might offend my wife''s delicate sensibilities, Panterra."

    "I would not." King Panterra insisted in a shout.

    Everything happened so fast that it felt like it was just in a split second before Luna saw her husband lifted hisnce and they collided.

    The next thing they knew, the Feline King dropped from his mount and tumbled head over heels to the ground as he clutched his bleeding torso.

    Luna narrowed her eyes in confusion, making sure that she had truly witnessed Panterra''s downfall.

    The Vampire King''s ''Sword of the ck Rose'' had pierced the Feline King''s armor and prated his body.

    Luna couldn''t imagine how much vampire strength Apollyon had embodied for making it so quick and clean-cut.

    Her husband didn''t even break a sweat, his face cool and calm while his body was rigid with inner tension.

    Sometimes, she forgot the fact that Apollyon wasn''t a man to be messed with��that he was a powerful, immortal, pureblood vampire who had experienced a lot of hardships in his life along with being possessed by a ruthless Archdemon for centuries.

    If Panterra thought that he had swift reflexes as a panther, then the Vampire King was swifter than him.

    This kind of supernatural abilities must have been an inbred talent of his, enhanced by the stark disregard of a creature''s life.

    Truth be told, if Luna had fought with Lady Catriona in this battle arena, she would have given it her all to win, but she would also hesitate before giving Catriona some real blows��not just intended to hurt but to decapitate.

    The Vampire King fought so valiantly well, but the intensity of their sword duel had the intention of ughtering each other--not just a duel but a fight to the death.

    Lady Catriona might be a bitch, too, but she knew a bitch can still have that conscience shing quickly in her eyes before she slew one.

    The Vampire King had none.

    Her husband didn''t really have to think it through or which part of the body he would maim.

    Apollyon was cold and calcted before he slowly rxed, his body taking its time to realize that it had done its job.

    It didn''t feel natural to Luna that her husband had the killing instinct.

    The Vampire King''s bodynguage felt like it was natural as dancing.

    His moves were graceful yet brutal.

    Mindless.

    This was why it was better for the panther to stop bragging from the beginning of the sword duel because the Feline King had to swallow his words back, promising the crowd the victory that was never going to be his.

    He did not only make a fool of himself because of his pride, but he also made the Feline Kingdom aughingstock for promising things when he couldn''t even deliver.

    Luna bit her cheek in pity for Panterra.

    They can all say that it wasn''t Luna or her husband''s fault that Panterra had lost and torn down his reputation as the King of the Felines in tatters.

    The Feline King climbed to his feet with regret as he picked up his fallen helm and shook the dust off its ck and red plumes.

    Luna winced at the chorus of jeers and boos, which greeted him when Panterra walked back to his elevated throne, limping back and clutching at his left rib.

    As a casual observer, Luna would immediately know who were part of the Feline King''s envoy, for they only had their head bowed down to the ground as if they mourned for their Alpha''s loss.

    It was a wonder why the Feline Kingdom''s Envoy had still respected Panterra enough to do that despite the humiliation,

    There was a muffled rejoinder from behind Luna that was too low for her ears to catch.

    "Did you know that the Feline King was a pussy?"

    That statement provoked a round of naughty titters from the women in the crowd.

    Luna knew that Catriona might have heard it if that scowl of hers (which could rearrange her pretty face into a nasty one)? alone was any indication.

    Leopard shapeshifters had sensitive ears.

    The Vampire King hurled his shield to the ground, tore off his helm, and plunged from his own mount.

    Despite that, her husband was no less threatening without his warhorse and his sword.

    Apollyon strode towards the center of the battle arena as he smirked at King Panterra''s retreating back to his elevated throne, into Lady Catriona''s arms.

    Will the power-hungry concubine swallow her pride andfort the loser Feline King despite the second-hand embarrassment she must have felt?

    The military general shook off Apollyon''s hands with a mutter of ''congrattions'' before Cederic raised his hand, announcing Apollyon''s victory over the sword duel.

    There was a terse silence broken only by the rising chorus of amazement from the crowd of onlookers.

    Apollyon''s crooked smile was a dazzling sh of white.

    Luna didn''t know she was holding her breath when Apollyon mmed back the facete of his helm as if to hide from the people''s view while his unflinching blue gaze never left hers.

    Shaking sweat from his eyes, he bellowed, "I would be waiting for my reward on the bed chamber, wife."

 Chapter 143 - Amazon And The Leopard

    <h4>Chapter 143 - Amazon And The Leopard</h4>

    Luna thought they had to wait for Panterra to announce that he had yielded over Apollyon verbally, but he didn''t.

    She guessed that the Feline King was too proud to do just that, so Cederic had bestowed Apollyon''s victory without further ado.

    Luna''s brows knitted in confusion.

    Cederic had mentioned the sword duel rules that Panterra had to admit defeat before Apollyon could be dered the victor.

    Perhaps, he honestly forgot.

    Luna doubted that the Feline King would admit defeat in his own words when his actions had spoken louder.

    The shameful proceeding had sapped the poor panther''s ability to feign a feeble enthusiasm for bing a sport.

    She kept repeating the same thought repeatedly, willing the military general to remember the rules of the game.

    Panterra had to proim that he had lost before they could proceed.

    As if Cederic had finally heard her telepathic message by coincidence, his eyes had widened with recollection when he suddenly announced, "If there are no other challengers, I am forced to announce that the Vampire King Apollyon��"

    The spectators watched in uneasy silence before Luna jumped to her feet, cheering wildly over Apollyon''s victory.

    Luna did it just so she could get rid of the awkward pause.

    She realized everyone gaped at her, including the Vampire King.

    The crowd''s dyed reaction made Luna hesitate, but it was fortunate that they followed her lead, or things might be more tricky.

    There was a chorus of cheers and whistles from the audience, ecstatic on the Vampire King''s triumph, before Luna sank sheepishly back down, hiding her chagrin from the protective veil of hershes.

    "Stay your hand, umpire." An imperious voice rang out from below the Feline King''s elevated throne.

    Of course, the warning was from Catriona.

    Luna resisted the urge to cross the railings which separated the spectators and the arena and p the fuck out of her, rearranging her face to something unrecognizable.

    She would recognize that annoying fake husky voice anywhere based on how it grated not only her ears but also her nerves.

    That seductive high-pitched, breathy voice that Catriona used to ensnare the men specifically didn''t fail to make her cringe.

    Catriona pulled back her elegant damask-trimmed hood, and her mocking gaze wasn''t fixed on Cdederic or Apollyon but her.

    "I am more than prepared to challenge the Empress in a fair fight for my Feline King''s honor." Catriona''s voice rang loud and clear on the makeshift stadium.

    Luna arched an eyebrow and crossed her arms when Catriona wove her way through the battle arena from the muttering crowd and approached Cederic and Apollyon in the middle.

    She tilted her head and smirked at Catriona before gripping the banister, climbed over the railing, and jumped on the other side to meet her challenger.

    She was ted that the shapeshifter had said what was exactly on her mind and issued the challenge first.

    Catriona would surely experience double humiliation along with her Feline King if she lost to her.

    She would run back to her Feline King''s arms and bawl her eyes out in regret.

    Losers belong to each other.

    Disying them a wide grin, Luna blinked the sunlight out of her eyes as she walked towards the center of the arena where the Vampire King, Cederic, and Catriona stood there, waiting for her to ept.

    Apollyon looked her full in the face as he dropped to one knee at her feet and brought her hand to his warm lips in a greeting.

    "Wife," Apollyon murmured beneath the guise of kissing her hand as his yful tongue flicked out tosh her knuckles, "Will you ept Catriona''s challenge?"

    Luna found herself ncing at Apollyon.

    She nodded in approval, and the Vampire King stood up straight and faced Catriona without letting go of her hand.

    She turned her head to stare into the dark, malevolent, purple eyes of Catriona.

    Luna lifted her chin high, her shoulders were back, and her chest was thrust out when she drawled, "You must be out of your mind, challenging and Empress, darling."

    "I know you would ept the challenge because if you back down, you will appear weak in front of these thousands of people." Catriona gave her a frigid smile that would give gentledy chills of foreboding running down her spine.

    Luna gave her the coldest, intimidating look she could muster.

    "You can either appear weak in a sense where you reject my challenge, or you would be frail and decrepit if I pummel you to death in front of the crowd." There was a dark gleam in her eyes when she emphasized her next words, "It''s your choice, darling."

    "You sure are suicidal, bitch." A boomingugh came out from Luna''s belly as she gave her a half-shrug. "No shapeshifting to a leopard, dog."

    "I wouldn''t." Catriona bared her teeth, and she attempted to enter Luna''s personal space as intimidation.

    Still, Apollyon beat her to it by stepping in front of her, blocking Catriona out of her sight.

    The concubine hesitated before speaking in front of the King directly.

    Weighing her words, she said calmly without expression, "I would have announced what the Vampire King''s Empress had be, but I swore an oath as an Apollyon''s concubine��"

    "Ex-concubine," Luna corrected her angrily, and her fangs extended as well as her ws, but she willed it back to normal so that she could hide it from the spectators.

    "--that I would never tell anyone." Catriona continued.

    Did Catriona just threaten her that she would expose her acquired vampirism from a pureblood instead of being born as a vampire?

    What would the citizens of the Vampire Realm think if they found out that the Empress was a rogue vampire?

    The Vampire King looked over his shoulder because of her sudden outburst, giving her a wide-eyed look, which kind of pissed her off.

    Did he expect her to be meek whenever another girl approached out of nowhere and imed him?

    He smiled at her in amusement with her demands, and his blue eyes lit with a twinkle of mischief.

    Apollyon whispered, "I only belong to you, my Empress."

 Chapter 144 - Humiliated Twice

    <h4>Chapter 144 - Humiliated Twice</h4>

    "I will allow the ex-concubine to challenge the Empress to defend the Feline Kingdom." The Vampire King''s blessing to Luna and Catriona''s duel rang with righteous conviction. "But I can''t take responsibility for what my Empress would do to destroy you, Lady Catriona."

    "I had this thirst for blood in a different way today so I would dly take it." Luna had epted Catriona''s challenge with Apollyon''s acknowledgment.

    Based on the smirk on his handsome face, Apollyon was looking forward to a catfight.

    Cederic had that secret smile on his face because he knew this was going to be a good fight.

    Luna remembered that the military general had witnessed her and Catriona''s first meeting when she had to defend Lady rence.

    Hmm, she suddenly recalled that Catriona never yed fair.

    She pursed her lips.

    Catriona would use any tactic at her disposal, even manipting others to me her.

    Luna had to be cautious in her movements, not letting? her guard down.

    Of course, Apollyon was curious how well she could engage someone inbat.

    The Vampire King had first-hand experience of her capabilities as a warrior, but that was child''s ypared to situations where Luna had to fight to the death, risking her life with no second thoughts.

    She had her share of fighting off monsters and demons, which Apollyon hadn''t seen yet.

    Now that Luna had no High Priestess magic to fall back on, she only had to rely on her strength.

    She bounced on her tip-toe as she shifted from foot-to-foot, warming up her muscles.

    She craned her neck and stretched her arms.

    Luna couldn''t wait to show off in front of her husband.

    Perhaps, that would turn him on.

    Her husband was weird like that, and he noticed little things about her.

    Cederic didn''t need to bet told twice as the umpire. "Fight with honor, gentle---I meandies��and don''t show mercy to your opponent."

    "How about the rules, Cederic?" Luna touched her fingertips together as she addressed the military general. "Is it still simr to King Apollyon and King Panterra''s sword duel?"

    "Yes, it will still be the same except the fact that you aren''t going to use any horses." Blinking at Luna''s tone, Cederic nced at her with mirth. "I think both of you aren''t used to control destriers, so that was out of the question."

    "Repeat the rules to Catriona, Cederic." Luna saw the other woman stiffen as she continued while examining her cuticles, looking bored. "Make sure the dog hears it so that it would understand and wouldn''t attempt to cheat."

    It came as a shock for Luna that Catriona didn''t argue when she insulted her.

    It must be because Apollyon had watched the odd exchange with narrowed eyes, which might scare Catriona.

    After all, she couldn''t throw a derogatory remark on the Empress.

    The ex-concubine''s scowl only darkened further.

    The military general reread the rules as per her requests, and Catriona nodded slowly as she gave her pointed res of hatred and hostility.

    At this point, it was funny how they hated each other''s guts.

    There was something about Catriona''s entire existence that rubbed her the wrong way.

    From a distance, Apollyon picked up the sword he had used to injure Panterra and toss it at her to catch.

    Her husband had thrown the sword perfectly in the air, and she was attentive enough to catch it by the hilt as it whirled in the air.

    His ''Sword of the ck Rose'' still had the Feline King''s blood dripping on its tip as Luna used the sharp de to tear the skirts of her gownyered with petticoats.

    There was a collective surprise she heard from the crowd.

    Now, she felt light and free, but now the spectators had seen how her ivory legs looked like.

    Luna saw Apollyon scowling at her exposed skin in disapproval.

    She didn''t care anymore if he had a problem with it.

    He didn''t say anything, but Luna knew he was mad as hell.

    "Ladies." Cederic caught her gaze and then turned to Catriona, making sure they were ready before they started.

    Their sword duel was different from the Kings because they weren''t wearing armor and shields.

    It will be too heavy for a female to carry and might prove more disadvantageous because they weren''t used to it.

    Nevertheless, this battle would be more dangerous and risky because theycked protection.

    Luna wasn''t afraid to be impaled by Catriona since she would heal quicklypared to the shapeshifter.

    The military general raised both of his arms as he bellowed from the top of his lungs, "On guard."

    Catriona held her sword ready in her hands.

    Luna charged like she was an enraged bull in a bullfight.

    She didn''t hear any cheers from the crowd, but she didn''t bother to care about why they were subdued by the sight of two women fighting with a sword.

    Perhaps, they haven''t witnessed two women act like a savage berserker.

    They would probably fear her for this disy as it can break a man''s fragile ego.

    Luna''s fierce thrust of her sword gave Catriona no choice but to waste her moves in retreat.

    Her leashed, powerful movements were a jarring contrast to the leopard grace of Catriona.

    Catriona was in a constant defense position as her every swing only consisted of deflections against Luna''s relentless blows.

    Luna was used to fighting with a sword, for she had trained for a long time with her Amazon tribe warriorspared to Catriona, who had spent her life, fighting battles with her shape-shifting abilities.

    It was too early to say that she would win this battle based on Catriona''s poor attempts.

    Luna almost had the urge tough out of nowhere since she knew in her gut that she was an easy kill.

    She could prolong this as long as she wants if only to humiliate her challenger more.

    Luna kept swinging while the leopard kept retreating.

    She had the chance to whack Catriona on her ear in a t-sided blow, which would probably leave the shape shifter''s smug ears ringing for a fortnight, keeping her unbnced.

    The sword dropped from Catriona''s hand, and the shock sent her tripping over her own feet and fell to the ground.

    Her dended only inches from her fingertips.

    Luna drew her sword to face Catriona, pressing the bloody tip of her sword to her throat.

    She still had enough conscience not to treat this as a contest to the death the moment she saw her trembling eyes.

    "Shall you yield, Catriona?" Luna said, her voice was as sharp as her steel de.

    The ex-concubine''s desperate gaze was drawn back to Apollyon as if she was asking her husband to save her from her ruins.

    After a moment of stalling, Luna had had enough.

    Why can''t Catriona just admit defeat?

    She pressed her sword on Catriona''s throat, drawing blood on her skin.

    Her face had turned ashen as her breath bursting in and out.

    The challenger finally lifted her exposed palms in a time-honored signal of surrender.

    "I yield." Her voice was hoarse as if Luna''s sword had prated her throat which made her choke in her own blood.

    Her own pride.

    Panterra''s pride.

    The Feline Kingdom''s honor was in tatters, six feet under the ground.

 Chapter 145 - Dead Archnemesis

    <h4>Chapter 145 - Dead Archnemesis</h4>

    THE EMPRESS LUNA

    **********************

    Catriona had yielded the sword duel and Luna had emerged as the champion.

    Luna turned her back on Catriona, her arms swung as she walked towards the exhrated spectators and? cheered as loud as they could.

    She raised her sword with a beaming smile and waved enthusiastically, soaking the audience''s attention.

    She didn''t know their whistles of appreciation could be heard over the thunderous ps and hoots.

    They repeatedly chanted ''Empress'' like she was a living goddess.

    They roared out her name, hyping her up.

    She backed away and curtsied with each step.

    She was having too much fun engaging the crowd that she didn''t notice that Catriona was behind her.

    **********************

    THE VAMPIRE KING

    **********************

    Apollyon noticed a lone man-at-arms who had jumped up and down sorrounded by the Feline King''s envoy as if catching Catriona''s attention.

    She had sat up from the ground when she saw the man.

    Apollyon narrowed his eyes, squinting at the man-at-arms with suspicion.

    His gaze went back to Catriona who gave the man an imperceptible nod.

    It was a small movement.

    It wasn''t that obvious but it sent shivers running down Apollyon''s spine.

    His heart had slowed then beat faster that he could hear the blood pumping in his ears.

    He didn''t have a good feeling about this.

    Apollyon clenched his fists when Catriona peered at his wife beneath hershes.

    What was the message of the Feline King''s man-at-arms to Catriona?

    Was it a signal?

    And for what?

    Apollyon skimmed his gaze in the entire battle arena searching for King Panterra but he couldn''t be found.

    He had nced around the battle arena in panic, searching for King Panterra.

    What if he was nning for revenge��a surprise ambush?

    The Feline Kingdom had been humiliated twice and King Panterra was a prideful man.

    This was the reason why the Feline King had issued the sword duel in the first ce.

    He wasn''t sure about King Panterra being a sore loser, though.

    His Empress Luna was busy roaming the battle arena like she was a performer on a stage, busy showing off her prize.

    Apollyon had assumed that her rolling swagger as she carried her heavy sword around betrayed weariness from the daytime activities of the Empress Coronation.

    Luna had stepped backward as she curtsied like an opera singer after her concert.

    She didn''t notice Catriona as the leopard shapeshifter inconspicuously clutched her sword hilt just a couple of inches from her fingertips and got up.

    Sunlight glinted off the lethal de of her sword as she prepared to hurl it on his wife''s defenseless back.

    The "Sword of the ck Rose'' had a rare mineral--ck iron mixed with the de--which can prevent quick regeneration of the cut body part��but only if it was decapitated��if not careful.

    Nobody from the other Realms knew about this for the ''Sword of the ck Rose'' were specifically made for sword duels in the Vampire Realm only to wound the enemy and not to cut.

    Time slowed that Apollyon could count each sparkling speck of pollen driftingzily in the air as the faeries dropped rose petals while the others blew their trumpets.

    They flew above the battle arena, giving felicitations to the Empress'' victory oblivious of Catriona''s assassination attempts.

    Apollyon turned his head left and right in panic, horrified to realize that not a single soul��not even a stranger--was going to stop Catriona.

    The audience was busy staring at his Empress, captivated by her magnificent charms.

    He had to warn Luna before Catriona could��

    Apollyon''s hand twitched for the sword which was in his dancing Empress'' hands then went still.

    He wanted to be an honorable man at the battle arena but he knew deep inside that he was willing to sacrifice anyone for his own Empress'' safety.

    Apollyon''s Empress came first, no matter what.

    He was too far from Catriona but he prayed that he would get her first before she could stab his wife at the back, impaling her heart from behind.

    Apollyon''s wife would be dead.

    Apollyon saw a vision of his Empress'' shing right before his eyes.

    The ''Sword of the ck Rose'' prating through her ribcage and into her beating heart.

    Her vampire blood ceaselessly seeping into the thirsty ground.

    Her sweet smile, furious res, and cute pout were frozen forever in a pale mask of death.

    Her tall slender body stretched out in the coffin much as it had in her canopy bed at the ivory tower.

    Apollyon''s loud voice boomed throughout the battle arena as he screamed, "Luna! Behind you!"

    Catriona drew back her arm as she held the sword.

    The Vampire King sprang to his feet and teleported behind Catriona.

    ************************

    THE EMPRESS LUNA

    ************************

    Luna whirled with her de at the right angle and slew Catriona in a nting motion, cutting her from the left shoulder down to her right side of the stomach.

    Eyes widening at what she had done, Luna covered her mouth when Catriona''s blood sprayed to her face, her chest, and her entire front dress.

    Luna was bathed in the feline shapeshifter''s blood.

    Luna froze in her ce when she saw Apollyon behind Catriona, her husband''s ws infiltrating Catriona''s chest and clutching her still thumping heart.

    It was the most horrible sight, seeing her enemy die in front of her in somebody else''s hands.

    Thest thing she had seen was the look of hatred in Catriona''s wide purple eyes full of shock and hatred before it turned into a cold ssy gaze.

    Luna had watched how the life seeped out from her--her bright purple eyes growing dull--before Apollyon pulled his arm out of Catriona''s body and threw her warm, bloody heart to the ground like it was nothing.

    Catriona''s lifeless form dropped to the ground along with the sword she had tried to use to kill Luna.

    She stared at the dead body of the leopard shapeshifter, her stomach growling from the sight of blood flooding the ground, sttered on her husband''s arm and on the front of her gown.

 Chapter 146 - Weird Traditions

    <h4>Chapter 146 - Weird Traditions</h4>

    It was a Coronation Ceremony to be remembered forever.

    Luna stood there in silence along with the spectators, not knowing how to feel after watching her arch-nemesis get killed by her husband without remorse.

    There was a twisted part of her brain asking a peculiar question.

    ''If she did something that Apollyon hated so much which could anger him and destroy their rtionship, can he kill her like this with absolute indifference if not for their blood bond?''

    The vision of the Archdemon of Envy''s human sacrifice��the children''s organs dumped in arge basin with their limbs cut off--seized control over her mind.

    Clenching and unclenching her fists, Luna pinned both of her arms against her stomach.

    An Empress couldn''t afford to retch in front of thousands of people watching the whole debacle.

    She wouldn''t let anybody in the audience think she had a weak stomach and couldn''t handle seeing a shapeshifter''s heart rolling on the ground like it was just a piece of rock.

    The ce was as silent as a tomb.

    She and Apollyon stared at Catriona''s dead body for a long moment.

    Luna swore her pallid, nk face as blood spilled from her mouth would haunt her in her nightmares along with the witch nun''s offering.

    When she started to feel her hands unconsciously tremble, she averted her gaze.

    The Vampire King scooped the sword beside dead Catriona, his face unreadable, as he stared at it like it was a foreign thing.

    Then, Apollyon strode towards her, disregarding the fallen corpse between them.

    Luna inwardly cringed at his husband''sck of empathy for his ex-concubine.

    If Luna would think about it, the Vampire King had the right to choose who would live and die in his own territory��in his own battle arena��but the fact that her husband was so calm about Catriona''s death was what bothered her.

    She had wondered if she will suffer the same fate in the future.

    No.

    Closing her eyes, Luna shook her head, pressing her forefingers on her temples to soothe herself.

    Apollyon had every right to seize her treacherous heart out of her ribcage.

    As her husband, he was just trying to protect her, right?

    She would show no mercy to the leopard shapeshifter who tried to stab her in the back, literally.

    Luna almost jumped out of her skin when Apollyon gave a benevolent pat on her shoulder.

    "Are you okay, wife?"

    ************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ************************

    Apollyon cleared his throat as he steadied the restless beast between his powerful thighs.

    All that blood sprayed on his Empress'' ripped white dress exposing her shapely long legs--which could tempt a man to want them wrapped around his��made him aroused at the wrong moment.

    It was a major inconvenience to be seen with his cock twitching in his pants in front of the crowd who had just watch him kill his ex-concubine.

    He knew it would make the spectators get the wrong idea.

    Would it be worth it to exin it to them or would he just suffer in silence and make them assume whatever they wanted?

    He would bet that he would hear a new rumor about him from the grapevine circting in the Castle which could possibly start at the servant''s headquarters.

    Apollyon sighed heavily as his mind got creative of this possible rumor.

    A rumor about him being turned on by killing creatures and removing hearts with his bare hands would be a fire that was difficult to put out.

    It wasn''t good for his subjects to see him as this kind of King but he couldn''t do anything about it.

    He couldn''t mass control his people like a puppet master would, manipting his puppets'' strings.

    Apollyon wasn''t that type of ruthless.

    He had to save this situation before this could get out of hand.

    ***********************

    The Empress Luna

    ***********************

    The Vampire King raised a gauntleted fist, disying the menacing length of the sword he got from Catriona for her perusal.

    Luna might have ducked and parried with her husband with the ''Sword of the ck Rose'' in her hand had she not been paralyzed by fear.

    Luna was afraid that her husband would kill her next to Catriona.

    She gazed at Apollyon''s sword until her eyes crossed.

    She leaned back away in difort instead of throwing herself on it.

    She had no idea what her husband wanted her to do.

    "As your champion, I wish for a tribute, wife," Apollyon said calmly before giving her a wide grin, his blue eyes twinkling with mirth. "Don''t you have any offer for me for killing the concubine you hated so much?"

    Did he just smile at her with Catriona''s blood dripping on his fingers as if he didn''t just---

    So in the end, it all came down to Luna why Catriona''s blood had spilled on the battle arena.

    Was she happy that the concubine was dead?

    No.

    Luna clutched her hand to her chest.

    She wasn''t that horrible of a person but Catriona had attempted to kill her first.

    If it wasn''t for her husband''s warning,? she would just have to imagine that it was her corpse on the ground instead of Catriona''s.

    "Um�� I don''t��" She said in a quiet voice, trailing off. "What do you mean?"

    Luna made herself appear smaller as she nced downward, using her silver hair as a shield from her psychotic husband.

    "Am I supposed to thank my husband for killing his concubine?" She asked.

    What did his husband like to receive from her for killing a person in front of her?

    Luna blinked rapidly when she saw something twitching in his husband''s pants.

    She had spaced out in the direction of his husband''s crotch without meaning to.

    She nced upward and their eyes met.

    Luna felt her face warm in chagrin.

    She blurted out just to get it over with. "Would you want a kiss?"

    "I can ask your kisses whenever I want to." He shoved the sword closer to her throat and drawled, "I want something else."

    "Pray tell me." Luna pleaded. "What is it?"

    The Vampire King shifted from foot-to-foot in difort.

    Apollyon was getting harder and it tented his pants in front of all these people.

    "No." Apollyon shook his head, his indigo eyes dting all of a sudden.

    Her husband''s nostrils red as he scratched at his flustered cheekbones.

    "I want to��" He cleared his throat and continued, "��I want you to tie your stockings in my sword."

    "Why?" She whispered her voice barely inaudible.

    Was this a fucking jest?

    "It''s a tradition." The Vampire King stuttered, stumbling over his words. "You can ask Cederic if you want."

    Luna shot Cederic who stood not far away from them in a panicked look.

    Cederic need not be asked because he was there.

    The bastard had heard the entire exchange.

    The moment her eyesnded on his face, the military general nodded slowly and smirked.

    Luna felt so embarrassed she fought the urge to bury her face in her hands.

    She reached beneath her torn skirts and peeled off her stockings.

    Luna sensed the downward shift of Apollyon''s gaze when she bent forward to remove them from her hips, down to her thighs, her legs, down to her ankles.

    There was little she could do to cover her butt cheeks and Apollyon would have the responsibility to kill males who might see them.

    She tied the gossamer-thin stocking around his sword in a pretty bow.

    The moment they arrived at the Vampire Castle, Luna desperately wished to kick her husband in the face when he admitted that the stocking tradition was a prank.

 Chapter 147 - Stocking Kink

    <h4>Chapter 147 - Stocking Kink</h4>

    ********************

    The Empress Luna

    ********************

    The felicitations from the throng of people for Apollyon and Luna''s victory from the challengers were never-ending as they followed through their procession back to the Vampire Castle.

    Simultaneously, the real winners--champions from their respective realms--from the sword tournament trailed behind them.

    Jon had materialized at the battle arena and ced a fancy royal cape over the Vampire King''s broad shoulders after Apollyon had removed his armor one-by-one.

    Apollyon cast his helm away at the ground, recing it with his imperial crown Jon had handed to him.

    After assisting the Vampire King, Jon also approached her, wrapping Luna in a simr cloak without looking into her eyes.

    He did his job quickly without talking.

    The man didn''t even attempt to flirt with her just like he always used to do before.

    Good riddance.

    He wasn''t suicidal anymore now that her husband was there with them.

    Jon would be smart not to use his seductive scent on her in Apollyon''s presence.

    As she kept her silence, Luna ignored the awkwardness between them.

    She just had to think that Jon was aware of his debts to her, and if he knew what was best for him, he just had to keep his mouth shut and scram.

    Apollyon stepped forward, and hisrge hands settled on her waist, lifting her on his broad shoulders.

    She didn''t fight him for the first time as he carried her around like a sack of potatoes.

    He called his dark stallion ''Nimbus,'' and the warhorse trotted slowly in their direction.

    Even the warhorse had turned into a show horse as one of Jon''s manservants ced a green velvet nket over the ck stallion.

    Apollyon deposited her into the saddle before cing his foot unto the stirrup and got on ''Nimbus.''

    The Vampire King was now seated behind her.

    Apollyon had ridden on his warhorse and brought Luna along with him.

    Luna shifted her torn skirts to getfortable so that it covered her naked ass properly.

    The horse coat had felt weird on her butt cheeks the first time she sat on it.

    Clenching her fists as she held the reins tight, she wanted to scream instead of just scowling at her stockings attached to Apollyon''s sword exposed in broad daylight as if it was mocking her.

    Laurels crowned Apollyon and Luna as they exited the battle arena, including his ck stallion, while the other six Kings followed their lead.

    Each King had their champions, their heroes, and the other creatures that were part of their envoys walk behind them, with King Panterra''s envoy as thest one.

    Luna made the mistake of looking over her shoulder and met King Panterra''s light blue eyes full of hatred and bitterness while his hand clutched the bandage on his still bleeding thigh.

    He must have secretly med his husband for defeating him and for killing his future queen.

    Nobody was to me because Catriona had brought it upon herself.

    Luna watched his cold flinty gaze moved towards her husband''s back, and she winked at Panterra.

    Before Apollyon could see what''s going on and turned his head to see what��who��she was looking at, Luna caressed her husband''s nape and brought his head down for a quick open-mouthed kiss so that he wouldn''t know she had peered into King Panterra''s direction.

    Her husband had growled low in his throat when she pulled back and faced straight ahead.

    She smirked as she focused on their path.

    Luna did not miss his hooded blue gaze on her mouth.

    She licked her lips, savoring Apollyon''s taste.

    "Wife." His voice was deep and gruff.

    The full effect of his sexy voice was so potent she had clenched the walls of her inner core with the need of his stiff rod.

    Luna swore that her husband could smell the faint scent of her arousal because his other hand--which wasn''t preupied with the sword��had already gripped her inner thighs full of longing.

    His calloused fingers slowly caressed upwards towards her inner thighs, his blunt thumb dangerously close to her quim.

    "Don''t Apollyon," Luna whispered as she held his wrist and shoved it aside before he did something that would make her release a desperate moan in front of these people.

    She flinched when the faeries blew their trumpets while the spectators showered them more flower petals andurels as they walked past back to the Vampire Castle.

    She shook her head to get a hold of herself.

    This wasn''t the time to feel aroused from her husband''s wild kinks.

    She kept a wary eye on Apollyon''s hands, or they might n something dirty again.

    When it was clear that Apollyon wasn''t attempting to touch her in her most private part anymore, Luna moved her gaze as she stared at the calming blue sky simr to her husband''s indigo eyes.

    Wow.

    Even the sky didn''t fail to remind her of her husband''s magnificence.

    The view towards the drawbridge was breath-taking.

    They passed a few towns and viges.

    Luna had sat in front of her husband, and she didn''t bother turning her head around to check whatever he was doing as long as he made no attempts to seduce her.

    Her eyes had shut on itself when it settled on the forests and meadows'' greenery, keeping her in a rxed state.

    When she opened her eyes, Luna was more than embarrassed to see the Vampire King shing hisnce around while her gossamer stockings danced around as it flowed like water in the breeze.

    Her sted husband had waved his sword treating it like it was a magic wand.

    His blue eyes twinkled with mirth as he stared at her stockings in adoration.

    She had never seen Apollyon looked as proud as his face beamed in a glorious smile.

    He whistled a happy tune as he turned his head towards the sky.

    The ancient pureblood vampire had never appeared so young in Luna''s eyes.

    Apollyon looked like an ecstatic child that was given a new toy by his parents.

 Chapter 148 - Talking About Future Heirs

    <h4>Chapter 148 - Talking About Future Heirs</h4>

    Luna was d that his husband was happy, too, but not at the cost of her stockings floating in the air for all the vigers to see as they passed by, gawking at it and then turning their scandalized gaze on her.

    Her eyes had widened in horror as she stared back at them but Apollyon didn''t care.

    Her husband was too focused scrutinizing its kinky essory before herfort.

    Sometimes, Luna can''t help but question her husband''s mental stability.

    Did his beautiful wide blue eyes glow because he had killed a living creature with his bare hands, or was he ecstatic about her stockings tied to his sword?

    Both of the options indicate her husband''s lunacy.

    Luna scowled at her stockings again, her face ming, as she attempted to snatch it from the sword so that she could hack it to pieces.

    Of course, her husband didn''t allow it as he swung his de quickly out of her reach.

    Luna had overstretched her arm and leaned sideways that she almost fell off Nimbus.

    It would have been funny if the cause of her death was that she was run over by horses'' hooves if she had been human.

    Fortunately, Luna''s husband had fast reflexes and caught her before her face fell t on the ground.

    "You should be careful, wife," Apollyon muttered with immense concern as he tugged her elbow and pulled her back up. "You are clumsy but I don''t want you to be hurt."

    Did her husband had no idea why she almost fell?

    ''Yes.'' Luna thought.? ''It was because of that damned stocking.''

    +++

    It wasn''t supposed to be like this in the first ce.

    Apollyon and Panterra was just an honorary sword duelpared to the heroes who represented their respective realms.

    It wasn''t Luna''s intention to steal the show from them, either.

    It was unfortunate that Catriona''s death and King Panterra''s loss highlighted the sword duel.

    Luna winced in her saddle when she remembered how Cederic had carried Catriona''s body like it was a mutted animal carcass instead of a former concubine.

    She couldn''t control the shivers down her spine as he imagined what Cederic had done with Catriona''s spilled intestines and the detached heart.

    She wouldn''t entirely dismiss the idea that the military general would eat them if he was bored.

    Will, they put her cold cadaver in the arctic wild for the wolves and vultures to feed on?

    Luna''s nose wrinkled in disgust as she imagined Catriona''s limbs stretched and pulled apart as wild animals fought for her decaying flesh while the vultures flew overhead, waiting for their turn to maraud the rotten corpse.

    She convulsed as her toes curled up, her head spinning from those unwanted images.

    Why was she so sensitive recently?

    She was an Amazon warrior who had already seen enough carnage and bloodshed.

    Hell, she even reveled in it and took part in ying monsters, killing creatures who stumbled on their territory in the Sacred Valley, and hunting wild animals for food, and participate in gutting their insides before roasting their meat.

    It didn''t make sense that she was squeamish over dead bodies.

    Death was a natural urrence so she should have been used to it.

    She wondered if there was anything wrong with her bodily rhythms or was it a mental thing?

    After all, watching the Archdemon of Envy''s witch must have fucked her mind up.

    "Are you alright, wife?" The Vampire King had enquired from behind her.

    She was too caught up in her head--too focused on the trauma she had witnessed--that she forgot his existence and her surroundings.

    He asked, concerned. "Are you sick?"

    Apollyon yed with the silver strands of her hair as he rested his head on that space connecting her neck and shoulders.

    "I''m alright." She replied but there was a manic edge to those simple words.

    Luna retched.

    She was incredibly tempted to vomit her guts out.

    "Wife."

    She cleared her throat before swallowing, "I told you I am alright. Do you want me to beat you up?"

    She shook her head and waved a dismissive hand at Apollyon as if that would also dismiss the revolting horror of that sacrifice.

    "But--"

    Luna straightened her spine and tightened her hold on the horse''s reins and it made her husband sit up straight in his saddle, too.

    Luna stroked Nimbus'' mane to distract herself from the trepidation she had felt as she recalled the dead bodies of children in her memories.

    "Are you pregnant?" The Vampire King inquired all of a sudden as he rested his chin over her head.

    "Apollyon!" Luna''s eyes widened and her jaw clenched at Apollyon''s assumption.

    He shifted in his seat and there was a hesitation before he continued, "You dry-heave so I thought you are pregnant."

    "You��You jest!" She had stuttered, trailing off. "I''m not pregnant."

    She shook her head. "Please, no."

    In her disbelief, it felt like she had almost lost the ability to speak. "I��I''m not ready to be a mother!"

    "Should we go to the High Priest?" He asked as he gently caressed her stomach.

    Now her sted husband had thought that there was a baby inside her.

    Was it her imagination or did she just hear her husband''smanding tone tremble a little?

    "No. No need." Luna shook her head left to right harder than before as if that would convince Apollyon enough not to send her to Fei.

    "I''m not pregnant." Luna had insisted before whispering, "I don''t want to be pregnant."

    "You don''t want to have babies with me?"

    Apollyon''s voice was amand that awakened panic in her wide eyes.

    "No." She eximed. "I meant that��"

    "It''s alright for me. I''m not keen to have babies yet." There was amusement in his tone this time, but it was still tempered with an edge that stroked like a knife across her skin.

    Apollyon admitted a littleter, "I don''t want an heir."

    Luna slowly turned her head sideways to squint at Apollyon with suspicion. "You don''t want an heir?"

 Chapter 149 - Wifes Undivided Attention

    <h4>Chapter 149 - Wife''s Undivided Attention</h4>

    Luna tilted her head and arched an eyebrow.

    Her voice grated in annoyance. "You don''t want an heir?"

    "No." Apollyon''s tone made it clear that that was all the answer she was going to get.

    He refused to look into her eyes, and Luna''s lips pressed together in a slight grimace.

    She had to make things crystal clear.

    Luna wouldn''t stop until she knew the truth about Apollyon''s indifference over their future heirs.

    "You married me for that reason, Apollyon, remember?" She shifted one leg over the saddle and sat on the horse sideways so that she could get a good look at his face.

    Narrowing her eyes at him, Luna quizzed him some more, "What do you mean you don''t want an heir?"

    Luna stared at the Vampire King''s perfect face and knew she had never met a more deadly being in her life��except for the Archdemons��when he wore that stone-cold expression matched with his pursed lips in a tight line.

    "I don''t want to have an heir." Apollyon trailed off as he peered at her beneath hisshes before he added, "Maybe in the next millenium."

    Luna''s head flinched back slightly at her husband''s response, her mouth falling open.

    That was too long.

    Why did he marry her in such a hurry, then?

    "Apollyon." She voiced urgently, and she couldn''t help but stutter in disbelief, "You s-specifically told me that y-you wanted to marry top-produce an h-heir!"

    The bastard had the audacity to trap her into marriage.

    Her husband had stared into space and their surroundings��anything but her.

    Luna watched his blue eyes with intensity as if that would help her to catch his blunders.

    "So the reason you married me for an heir was a lie?" She repeatedly hit her husband on his solid chest with her clenched fist, but Apollyon just let her as he grabbed the reins from her with his other hand.

    Her eyes had watered in frustration as it threatened to roll down her cheeks, but it paused when she realized Apollyon did nothing��said nothing��and let her beat him up for her satisfaction.

    ''Wait.'' Luna paused as she scratched her cheek in thought. ''That was old news already, and she had agreed to it.''

    Her husband had let her do whatever she wanted��even tolerating her small punches as if that would make her forget the fact that he had set her up��that if she epted it, then everything would be fine.

    Luna frowned, rubbed the unshed tears from her eyes, and exhaled a sigh.

    ''There was no useining when he was already married to the man.''

    She nced down on the ground with both of her hands on top of her skirts, seated sideways on the warhorse like a prim and properdy.

    Apollyon kept her caged in his arms so that Luna wouldn''t fall from the saddle again.

    He took hold of the reins, and Luna dly let him so that she could sulk in silence.

    Momentster, the Vampire King pulled drew her towards his warm physique, and she settled her head on the crook of her husband''s neck.

    She closed her eyes as her husband pulled her into a warm hug, lulling her to let her guard down and rx into his arms.

    She deeply inhaled his masculine scent as her nose nuzzled on the side of his throat, which made Apollyon groan in pleasure.

    "Wife. About earlier, I meant that I��" The Vampire King opened his mouth to speak, but he decided to pause for a few seconds, pursing his lips into a grim line before he spoke again.

    He confessed his guilty pleasure, "The truth was I want you only for myself."

    Luna was surprised at her husband''s words that it took her a minute to respond.

    Apollyon closed his eyes and sighed heavily as if this revtion was a weakness he never wanted to admit. "I don''t want to fight with a child for your attention."

    She avoided eye contact before turning to swing her other leg back to the side of Nimbus'' saddle, riding straight instead of sideways.

    Luna couldn''t bear to watch Apollyon''s zing eyes filled with slow-burning heat, so she faced what was in front of her instead.

    "It''s going to be your child, Apollyon," Luna responded to her husband''s concerns softly as she patted her husband''s thighs pressed unto hers as they rode Nimbus.

    She continued, "He isn''t going to be your enemy."

    Luna had no idea what had urred in the Vampire King''s childhood that he had considered his future heir to be his adversary when it came to her affection.

    Her husband was supposed to love his future heir like how he had loved her if Apollyon ever loved Luna for real with all his heart��not just cheap talk.

    Their future heir was the borne fruit of their lovemaking made in their likeness and a mix of their genes.

    It didn''t make sense that Apollyon would treat his heir as an antagonist blocking him from reaching her.

    Her husband hadn''t talked to her about his family, and it had been a long time since theyst existed.

    Apollyon only mentioned the family heirloom he had bestowed on her at their wedding, worn by her female ancestors.

    Luna had seen the paintings of Apollyon''s mother scattered all around the hallways of the Vampire Castle.

    It was only Cederic who had shared something regarding Apollyon''s family.

    She hadn''t even asked the Apollyon if both his parents were still alive or where their lineage came from.

    Luna didn''t know the reason for their death, either.

    Were the Vampire King''s mother and father both vampires?

    Apollyon didn''t talk to him about his past��not even once.

    Should she ask him about it, then because honestly, Luna was dying to know?

    What if the Vampire King didn''t want her to find out about his childhood?

    Should she ask the Apollyon about his past family, or should Luna ask Cederic instead?

    Apollyon would probably scowl at her interrogations, hating her for making him remember things he didn''t want to.

    "You say it''s a ''he''��" Apollyon''s words were ice when he argued, "What if ''he'' is a ''she''?"

 Chapter 150 - A Wild Ride

    <h4>Chapter 150 - A Wild Ride</h4>

    "You say it''s a ''he''��" Apollyon stilled, and his following words were like ice when he argued, "What if ''he'' is a ''she''?"

    ''Oh, my goddess.''

    When the Vampire King used that tone, Luna had to turn her head to see what was wrong with her husband immediately.

    She had to take the reins from the Vampire King''s grip based on how tight he had clenched the rope.

    Luna squeezed his hand hard when he didn''t let go.

    She had to let her husband calm down before he urged the horse to gallop away from the procession.

    "I can''t control the gender of our baby, Apollyon," Luna responded, rolling her eyes at how outrageous the Vampire King was acting.

    As if Apollyon had understood, he sighed and unclenched his hand on the reins, releasing them.

    "Why are we still talking about babies, husband?" Shaking her head, Luna eximed. "You said you don''t want an heir."

    "I don''t want an heir, but I didn''t say I didn''t want an heiress," Apollyon replied.

    Luna had craned her neck too much, talking to her husband face-to-face, so she examined the blue sky as she felt the breeze whipping her hair.

    She reclined her back towards Apollyon''s body and rested there for a while, settling her head on his shoulders.

    She nced up at him, "You wanted a girl?"

    "I wanted a beautiful silver-haired girl who looks like you that I could pamper and treat her like my princess every second of my life." The Vampire King responded as if that was reason enough.

    "What about me, then?" She asked, inhaling the clean, bright, and spicy scent of snow and pine trees on his clothes.

    She could imagine the taste of Apollyon''s blood lingering on her tongue.

    "Hm."

    "This is why I didn''t want to have babies, too. I guess I also wanted you for myself." Luna pouted as she continued, "I felt like my moments with Your Highness are too short for my liking."

    "Touche." He gave her a half-shrug. "I want you to be mine alone for a little while longer."

    "Tell me why you didn''t want an heir, Apollyon." Luna queried as she watched him seemingly upside down.? ncing up at him,

    Luna still rested her head on his shoulders as she traced her hand on her husband''s brows, to his nose, then to his mouth. "I want to see a spitting image of you in another person."

    "You don''t need to see another spitting image of me, wife," Apollyon replied as he peered into her eyes, gripping her hips with his free hand.

    He smirked. "I''m already yours."

    She breathed, "I know."

    "I thought you said you didn''t want to be a mother," Apollyon noted.

    Luna halted her caresses on Apollyon''s cheekbones, which had stood out starkly against the smooth paleness of his vampire skin. He prompted her, "You just said earlier that you didn''t want to be pregnant."

    Luna dropped her hand and clutched the reins again, sitting up straight.

    "What I meant was that I wasn''t prepared to care for another being aside from you." She reminded him patiently. "I told you before that I am used to being alone."

    "Let''s take it one step at a time." He agreed, and Luna felt relief washing through her.

    She whispered. "I can raise your heirs if I''m fully ready."

    Apollyon''s jaw clenched.

    "Wife." He said quietly. "Nobody is really ready when ites to pregnancy."

    He just couldn''t let go of the likelihood that she was pregnant.

    Amused at Apollyon''s affirmation, Luna smiled a smile that reached her eyes. "You sound like you speak from your experience."

    "No, I personally don''t like babies for us so soon, and I am cautious when ites to fucking concubines in the past," Apollyon said with a tone of finality. "As a pureblood vampire, my seed is dead after I spilled it out of my cock."

    He shrugged with nonchnce. "Technically, I can''t have an heir if I didn''t want it yet."

    Luna snorted, "Then, why did you even ask me if I''m pregnant?"

    "We are blood bonded, so there is a slight chance that my seed might be too potent."

    Closing her eyes, Luna''s breath caught in her throat as her mind shed with snapshots of what had happened between her and Apollyonst night.

    She had massaged his body to distract herself from Ravin and made her husband cum in her mouth.

    "I��can''t control myself around you. Remember the potion the High Priest had given us during our wedding?" Apollyon murmured huskily in her ear. "I just had a feeling that it was something that would increase fertility."

    Her mind shed again to the image of Apollyon''s naked body, his muscled stomach and thighs, his��

    "Your entire existence is an aphrodisiac. The scent of your blood is an intoxicating drug to my senses." Apollyon continued, and she felt her face warm while her quim was dripping wet with need. "Everything about you arouses me. Your mouth makes me want to shove my c��"

    "Shh." Luna hushed him to keep him silent when she noticed her husband''s voice had gone deeper, and his erotic words had turned explicit real quickly. "Don''t talk dirty right now. There are too many people around us."

    "I don''t care." Smirking, Apollyon cocked his head as he stared directly into her eyes, "They can disintegrate from envy because I am desperate to have you this instant."

    Her mouth fell open as she whispered in a reprimand, "Apollyon!"

    Luna twisted her head to look left and right, ncing at the people behind them with suspicion.

    The Kings on their warhorses seemed to be out of earshot.

    Still, Luna wouldn''t erase the possibility that they could hear what she and Apollyon had chattered about because of their sensitive ears or supernatural powers.

    Honestly, Luna wouldn''t be surprised if some of them knew, but they appeared as if they were busy with themselves, talking to the females they had acquired from the Consortium.

    Luna shouldn''t be that arrogant to assume that the Kings'' worlds revolve around her.

    "Have you tried fucking someone while riding on a horse?"

 Chapter 151 - Scandalous

    <h4>Chapter 151 - Scandalous</h4>

    The Vampire King drew a breath and blew in her ear. "Have you tried fucking someone while riding a horse?"

    "Apollyon!" Covering her mouth in disbelief of the Vampire King''s shamelessness, Luna shook her head before she muttered a threat. "Lower your voice, or I would��"

    As she looked over her shoulder, Luna had skimmed her gaze on the eyes of the Werewolf King who had stolen the Sacred Valley from her.

    She immediately avoided her gaze and brought her attention back to her husband.

    Luna didn''t belong in that Amazon Tribe no more so she had no business inquiring what had happened to her fellow Amazon warriors.

    Luna belonged to the Vampire Realm as the Empress and it felt like everyone had acknowledged the fact.

    Goddess, it just came out as a shock that the Werewolf King who had that nine-tailed tattoo on his chest didn''t recognize her anymore even with her shiny silver hair and unique facial features.

    Had she changed a lot now that she became a vampire, or was it because of the Archdemon of Gluttony''s influence on her new appearance?

    "Nobody cared, Luna," Apollyon said as he pulled Luna closer to her when he noticed she had leaned forward away from him.

    His muscled thighs had enclosed her legs, overtaking her personal space.

    "As the Vampire King in his own territory, the visitors wouldn''t care what I do in my own turf or what I do with my possessions. You are my wife so I had a right to flirt with you or fuck you in broad daylight." He stated as he possessively grabbed her waist. As if he had backtracked from that bold statement, Apollyon whispered in a light-hearted teasing. "But only if the saiddy allowed me to."

    Luna opened and closed her mouth, conflicted.

    She rubbed her temples as she pulled in, slowly releasing a deep breath.

    The Vampire King had the ability to make her heartbeat as fast as the wings of a hummingbird by his flowery words alone and they didn''t even get to the good part yet.

    Now that she had calmed down, Luna tuned in to her husband''s dirty monologues as he droned on and on.

    It was funny if it also didn''t involve her but, no, because Apollyon just had to sign her up for this.

    Her perverted husband just had to include her in one of his kinky fantasies.

    She shook her head, smiling at how ridiculous and lovable he was.

    He was a charming pain-in-the ass.

    "I know you didn''t try it yet because you are my virgin," Luna swore she could hear her husband''s lips twitch in amusement and she just had to make sure by looking over her shoulder.

    She red at him when her intuition was proven right.

    "You should be happy because I haven''t tried it too. Do you want to?" His blue eyes twinkled with both mischief and delight. "It would be our first time doing it."

    ''Argh.'' Luna just had to scratch her head in frustration, struggling to find the right words.

    "Apollyon!" She pleaded, pinching his thigh hard that if the Vampire King was a human being, it would have turned ck-and-blue. "Stop it."

    Luna told her husband to stop because she was so close to agreeing with everything he had said when Apollyon gripped her inner thigh, his ws digging into her skin.

    It didn''t make her cry in agony.

    The pain was just enough to let her feel delicious tingles rippling down to her core.

    The Vampire King was good at coaxing her to surrender, convincing her to do such a taboo thing.

    Basic decency be damned!

    She could throw her innocence out into the sea if she said ''yes'' to his request.

    "Apollyon." She whispered with want. "Please��"

    "Please stop?" The Vampire King lifted his hand like her thighs had burned him and he stared at his fingers with using eyes. "

    Apollyon nced at her, making sure that she had seen his cute pout. "I guess my hand had just moved on its own.

    "I apologize, mydy." He bowed his head, contrite. "I will stop because I respect you."

    +++

    Luna narrowed her gaze at Apollyon''s sword as it motioned into a sh and cut again just like what he had done earlier, her stocking following a gesture as if he had been casting a spell.

    "Husband." Luna grimaced, a hot flush creeping across her cheeks. "What are you doing?"

    She should tell him what her problem was.

    "What do you mean?" Luna coughed as she cleared her throat, unobtrusively pointing at the stockings tied to her husband''s sword.

    Apollyon smirked as his gaze followed what she was pointing at.

    Luna covered her face in her hands in embarrassment.

    "Wife. I had told you about this already." The Vampire King bent down to whisper into her ear in a husky murmur. "I am proudly disying my wife''s tribute to my victory against the Feline King to everyone."

    "You just want to embarrass me more as revenge." She noticed the Feline King had trotted faster and brought his horse closer to them.

    Luna met Panterra''s teal eyes and red at him in a warning before she quickly slid her gaze to something else.

    The Vampire King had looked over his shoulder and noticed Panterra had surveyed his wife''s face with fierce determination.

    Luna nced down as she ced a hand over her forehead in chagrin.

    Her husband might get the wrong idea again.

    Their eyes had met purely by ident.

    As if that was Apollyon''s cue, he circled one arm around her waist and pulled her closer to his hardening bulge.

    Luna gripped her husband''s muscled thighs and squeezed in surprise.

    "You should realize by now, Luna, that I am stronger than him. He had lost the battle over your honor." Apollyon traced the shell of her ear with his moist tongue and she shivered from the sensation. "If you have eyes, you shouldn''t be looking at him in the first ce."

 Chapter 152 - Growing Horns

    <h4>Chapter 152 - Growing Horns</h4>

    "If you have eyes, you shouldn''t be looking at him in the first ce."

    "I��I wasn''t l--looking at h--him." Staring down the road, Luna denied as she bit her lip, wiping her sweaty palms on the Nimbus'' mane.

    It was true that she wasn''t leering at King Panterra at all.

    It just happened that their eyes met by ident, that''s all, but she didn''t tell her husband that.

    "Hm." Apollyon''s tone had sounded dangerously close to suspicion.

    Luna knew deep in her soul that she wasn''t cheating on Apollyon with King Panterra by just an ogle, but that nomittal hum made her feel guilty for some reason, so she decided to change the subject.

    Luna cleared her throat as she picked on her torn skirts.

    She was d that she didn''t stutter when she asked, "How many Empresses did you have so far ever since you became the Vampire King?"

    This will do.

    Luna guessed her question was a distraction enough.

    "Hm." Grunting as the warhorse trotted into a rocky path, the Vampire King squinted in recollection as he awkwardly scratched his cheekbone. He replied, his tone cold, detached, and indifferent. "I don''t remember."

    "What do you mean you don''t remember, Apollyon." Luna was sure his husband had yed her. Luna''s forehead creased into a frown as she forced herself to speak past her annoyance. "I can''t believe you are testing my patience right now."

    "You have to rx, wife, or I might assume you are really pregnant, and it''s your messed up hormones making you cranky."

    She sighed heavily as she folded her arms across her chest.

    "I''m not only cranky, Apollyon," Lunained, her gaze flicking heavenward as if she was asking for help from any goddess who will care to listen.

    She murmured her next words, "I''m also horny because of you, so answer my questions before I push you out of Nimbus."

    "I have five-six Empresses, no. I think it was seven." He shook his head in response before he added, "I forgot how many Empresses I used to have because they didn''t really matter when I have concubines and other women from the Consortium at my disposal."

    She prompted. "What happened to them?"

    "Disappeared and eloped with someone else. Some were found dead somewhere. Executed by guillotine. I didn''t care about their names either." Apollyon replied a matter-of-factly as he pressed his lips into the tip of her ear. "The Empresses are for sexual congress, simr to my concubines. They have a higher statuspared to the other women in my Harem because of their specific purpose: to produce heirs I didn''t want yet."

    "I''m no different from your concubines, then," Luna smirked as she closed her eyes, feeling Apollyon''s solid chest as she leaned her body towards himfortably.

    Sometimes, she would have liked to delude herself that this was a genuine connection and not just through physical intimacy.

    Luna would have desired to sense him more deeply, but perhaps, it will happen in the future.

    Their connection had gotten stronger just recently, and they talked to each other with ease.

    She hoped her soul strings with her other husbands would break away, and she didn''t have to do anything fatal to get it cut.

    Luna had to get rid of Ravin''s and Lux''s mark on her soul, especially the Archdemon of Gluttony.

    She belonged to Apollyon, now.

    Not Ravin, but her golden eyes had said otherwise.

    "You are very different, wife." The Vampire King bent forward and tilted his head towards her, forcing her to look into his eyes of endless, relentless indigo.

    He smirked, "Not all my Empress is an Amazon warrior who turned into a High Priestess."

    "I became an Empress for your pleasure." A small smile appeared on her lips as she pressed her shredded skirts when the strong breeze lifted them by ident.

    "Right, Luna. You exist for my pleasure, and it''s time for you to ept your fate." The Vampire King agreed as he tugged her back against his body in a tight embrace.

    Her husband wasn''t jesting when he admitted he was enamored.

    Apollyon''s actions had seconded his word, wanting to be with her at proximity, and Luna reveled in the kinship as she got used to it.

    Maybe, this was the way how her husband showed his love; through physical touches. "Don''t forget that you are mine."

    Luna exhaled heavily as she ran a frustrated hand through her silver hair.

    The Vampire King might have imed he had loved her, but he sometimes slipped with his poor choice of words.

    Luna was his wife, but she wasn''t a possession.

    The Vampire King has noticed that her yful mood had slightly shifted, and he wanted to coax her into ''his'' choice of mood��a perverted one--which he had imed that he was an expert with.

    "Husband." She moaned when Apollyon traced the helix of her ear with his tongue again, but this time, she had flinched when his fangs had pierced her earlobe.

    A few secondster, Luna had heard the sound of sucking as her husband flicked his tongue inside her ear.

    Breathing hard, she leaned back towards his husband''s body and threw back her head, and tilting it to the side, giving him more ess to her neck.

    "Let''s change to another subject." She said, breathless from her husband''s delicious assault of his touch.

    "I swore, I heard you say you are horny, or was that my imagination?" He asked after an unnatural silence, and she heard the amusement in his tone.

    Her toes curled as her husband cupped her breasts as he traced the curve where her neck flowed to her shoulder with his tongue. "Do you want me to distract you?"

    "You made me horny, Apollyon," Luna said quietly as she weed the tiny blunt needles pricking her skin from that unexpected contact.

    She murmured huskily, "I don''t think I can control myself any longer from all your sinful touches."

    Apollyon whispered as he raised his head to gaze into her face. "What do you want me to do?"

 Chapter 153 - Slow Seduction

    <h4>Chapter 153 - Slow Seduction</h4>

    "What do you want me to do?"

    The Vampire King''s deep, sensual voice she had fancied almost sounded cruel as his hand gripped the flesh on the underside of her breast before his long, slender fingers advanced upwards, ying with her left nipple until they puckered through her bodice.

    Luna''s mind want to scream, ''Don''t stop!'' but she settled with a faint reply, "Nothing. People are watch--"

    Apollyon trailed slow kisses from her neck down to her shoulders.

    He had sucked, nibbled, and bitten like a true vampire, leaving love bites in his wake.

    The delicious warmth made her feel like she had amnesia, forgetting who he was, where they were, and who surrounded them as lethargy took over. Luna''s body had warmed with a hurried sense of excitement when Apollyon said, "I can just rub your clit until youe all over the saddle instead of my cock."

    "Fuck, Apollyon." Luna couldn''t help but curse at her husband''s abrupt deration.

    "No dirty talking to me." She hissed at him as she pinched her lips together. "I will get down from Nimbus if you continue this route."

    The Vampire King had proven he was immune to her wife''s ominous threats.

    He had already considered Luna as harmless as an innocent rabbit.

    "Don''t." He paused for a while and shifted his sword to his left because his right hand had already numbed from holding it upright in a disy.

    Apollyon''s lips curved as he began to move his hand to massage her shoulders to get back to her good side. "We are almost there at the Castle."

    "I can''t stand to be near you any longer." Luna tried hard to focus on other things aside from her husband''s seduction, but it was hard.

    Once again, she shifted into her position and threw her butt backward, and indeed, she could feel that Apollyon was ''hard''.

    She was already aroused before she had sensed Apollyon''s erection, but right at this second, she was mindless with lust more than ever.

    Now, Luna''s mind had spiraled, searching her brain for potential ways on how she could get her husband''s cock inside her while they were riding a horse.

    Oh, my goddess.

    This was ridiculous.

    "You tempt me." The Vampire King''s perverted mind had rubbed off on her, and she wouldn''t ever admit this out loud.

    ncing at the sprawling Vampire Castle as they neared the riverside, Luna shifted her gaze to the stirrup and ced her left foot to dismount from Nimbus.

    She told Apollyon as she prepared to jump, "Maybe, I will ride Cederic."

    The Vampire King disagreed with her as he tugged at her corset so she could take her seat back at the saddle.

    She didn''t expect that from him, which sent her swatting the air awkwardly to gain her bnce.

    She turned her head and narrowed her eyes at him, and Luna saw Apollyon ring at her with menace.

    "Wife." Nostrils ring, he swallowed hard, and the movement sent Luna''s gaze shifting to his sexy Adam''s apple without meaning to.

    Luna swallowed as she bit her lip, nervous.

    She avoided the Vampire King''s intense scrutiny.

    "You really want to make me angry." He said coldly as his pupils dted, clenching his jaw. "Repeat what you just said."

    "I said I would ride with Cederic." Luna corrected as she looked down, not meeting Apollyon''s eyes.

    She shouldn''t have said that.

    Luna couldn''t say it wasn''t an honest mistake because she said that on purpose.

    "Well, you forgot the one word in that statement."

    Damn, the Vampire King was sharp.

    He listened to every single word she said.

    That must be a good quality of a perfect husband, but it could be his downfall if he easily gets offended.

    "Calm down." Luna giggled augh, but it came out strange in her ears. "It''s a joke."

    Apollyon''s next action almost scared the fuck out of her when he untied her stockings from his huge sword and hung them around his neck before returning thence to the scabbard attached to the saddle pommel on his right side.

    She even flinched and ducked her head because she thought her husband would behead her for her insolence with his sword.

    "What are you doing?" Luna shifted forward away from him to remove his grip on her corset, but he didn''t.

    "Luna. Calm down." Apollyon circled an arm around her waist as he forced her to remain still. "I''m not going to hurt you."

    Her struggle to escape had made Nimbus bounce into short, jerky movements into a gallop. "Don''t spook the horse."

    Apollyon tightened his hold on her as the icy wind must havee from the snow-capped mountains he had seen ruling the skyline sent the silver strands of Luna''s hair flying. "You must think me so evil."

    "Oh." Luna paused, abruptly halting her squirms, and Apollyon released his grip on her corset.

    Clearing her throat, she stuttered, "I''m��" She closed her mouth and pursed her lips in regret.

    She had thought for a split second there that her husband would hurt her, which was impossible.

    The Vampire King was grabbing her clothes so she wouldn''t dive headfirst to the ground.

    What was wrong with her messed up brain?

    "I thought wrong, husband. I''m sorry." Luna reasoned out. "I was just scared, that''s all."

    At least, she had admitted that she was wrong.

    "I do trust you with my life." Berating from her actions, Luna untangled her husband''s arm from hers, lifting his hand to her lips as an apology.

    She queried shyly, "Are you still angry about Cederic?"

    "No." The Vampire King squeezed his powerful hands on her hips, his voice exuding strength, danger, and pure masculinity, which made her want to shudder in euphoria. "I was angry that you almost jumped into a moving horse.

    Apollyonbed her silver hair with his hands before gathering them into his fists.

    He lifted her mane off her nape, licking his tongue across that sensitive patch of her skin.

    "It''s dangerous."

 Chapter 154 - Little Pearl

    <h4>Chapter 154 - Little Pearl</h4>

    "Hmm, we got side-tracked because of your stubbornness." He murmured conversationally as his lips brushed the back of her neck.

    "Anyway, about earlier��." He trailed off ad Luna could feel him smirk on her nape as he prompted , "I can make youe fast."

    Her poor ears must have turned red by the way Apollyon blew on her ear and yfully nipping her earlobe at the same time.

    Luna flinched when her husband had hit one particr spot, which made her toes curl with exhration, creating a slow-burning me in her core.

    He wouldn''t give up easily, huh?

    "I know perfectly well, Apollyon." Luna gripped the torn skirts of her gown as her breath quickened in anticipation. "You don''t have to prove it."

    She was trying to hold herself back by exuding a poker-face but honestly, in her mind, she was ready to jump on her husband the moment they enter their bedchamber.

    No. She was so horny that it shouldn''t have to be in their bed-chamber.

    They can go somewhere private as long as there wouldn''t be any people watching them.

    From Luna''s state of mind at the moment, she would reconsider doing it behind a rosebush, just not on top of a horse.

    She had enough decency to agree to Apollyon''s outrageous suggestion.

    Enthralled, Luna breathed with her mouth open as she watched Apollyon''s fingers slowly creeping down her inner thigh.

    He raised her torn skirts, exposing her ivory skin.

    His sensual caresses made her quim tighten as it searched for something to fill it up.

    Desire rushed through her bloodstream when Apollyon told her, "If you let me stroke you down there and youe, I will return your stockings."

    Luna''s gaze flicked to her gossamer stockings wrapped around his shoulders like a goddamned shawl.

    Her lips pressed into a tight line with anger, humiliation, and embarrassment for her shameless husband as she focused on his cobalt blue eyes that had captivated women in the Consortium.

    She clenched her fist before she fingered that sweep of ink-nk hair, framing his perfectly chiseled face.

    Well, wasn''t that nice?

    It could be a win-win situation for both of them as long as she got her stockings back.

    She didn''t even know if it smelled good or not for Apollyon to disy it for the entire world to see like it was a badge of honor.

    Since her husband hadn''t thrown it to the ground yet, perhaps she could safely assume that the stockings had smelled like roses.

    Facepalm.

    Why does her husband always have leverage when it came to bets and bargains?

    This was unfair.

    Great.

    Luna just had toe fast.

    That''s it.

    That''s her mission.

    Perhaps, she could pull that off with Apollyon''s help.

    She couldn''t believe she would agree to this just to get her goddamned stockings back.

    "Alright." Luna agreed. "Do it."

    There was a sh of satisfaction in his smoldering blue eyes.

    "Are you sure?" Apollyon asked her again because he needed to be sure that Luna wasn''t forced��that she was on board with his ns��before he added seriously, "You wanted this, right? I didn''t want to make you do something you would regret and me afterward."

    Luna snorted at her husband.

    Why would she regret having fun with her husband while she was with him before Ravin could take her away?

    "Let''s walk ahead and keep the Kings at a distance so that they wouldn''t see me." Luna nced upward to lock gazes with her husband, and her eyes fell unconsciously to his lips and continued, "Before I change my mind."

    "Why?" The Vampire King said, but he had already acquiesced as he moved the controlled Nimbus'' nuzzle, urging the horse to walk at a faster pace.

    He raised one hand and nced over his shoulder, signaling for the other Kings behind him to stay farther from them. "But I want them to hear you moan while I pleasure you."

    Sparks trailed like fireworks in her spine at hearing the total possession in his voice along with the dark passion on his face, which was aplete match.

    "No." With her heart-clenching, Luna''s vision had turned hazy with lust as she hid her smile, "I wouldn''t moan for them, and neither would I moan for you."

    Disappointment reced the passion in her husband''s eyes, but then it quickly shifted into a gleam of amusement.

    Arching an eyebrow, Apollyon lifted his chin in a challenge. "Is that a bet?"

    The Vampire King''s hand had infiltrated the soft, sensitive flesh between her thigh, and it shut her up, making her lose the ability to speak in an instant.

    Luna slumped back into her husband''s arms as she gripped his wrist, attempting to control the pace.

    Shutting her eyes tight, her mouth had parted in desperation as she clenched her fists.

    Luna''s exhales had sounded like broken gasps when she could feel herself dripping wet as Apollyon''s fingers drive in and out of her.

    She straightened every time her upper body bent forward and arched like a bow.

    The sensations she had felt had confused Luna.

    She didn''t know what she wanted.

    Did she like to be touched or not?

    The ache to groan in pleasure was a fist in her throat.

    She shook her head.

    Luna had toe back down to reality.

    This wasn''t a spectacle.

    She had tried to stay in control throughout the whole ordeal.

    Luna''s face flushed with warmth, but she had no idea if it was from the faint ''plop-plop'' sound reverberating in their vicinity while her husband had fingered her quim, or was it from the carnal pleasure Apollyon had evoked on her?

    Her inner thighs shook as Apollyon''s fingers had stiffened, mimicking the motions of sex and alternated it with curling them towards that little nub��that precious shiny pearl settled at the center of her.

    She gripped her husband''s forearms while he yed her expertly like an instrument.

    She gasped at the way his middle finger and forefinger had hit her pearl in quick sessions, rubbing against her tight inner walls, made her whole body shake and tremble when she had almost reached the brink of orgasm.

    There was a ravaging need inside her soul, urging her to release a throaty moan.

    "Apollyon--"

 Chapter 155 - Edging

    <h4>Chapter 155 - Edging</h4>

    "Apollyon."

    Apollyon had been good at finding the treasure as he stroked and rubbed it to his heart''s content, eliciting a raunchy reaction from her.

    The Vampire King sucked in a breath when he smelled the temptation of Luna''s earthy musk of feminine arousal wrapping around him.

    The Vampire King knew how to manipte her body, and the emotions he wanted to evoke out of her made her bow down to his will.

    It had been there all along.

    "Ah~" Luna abruptly covered a hand over her mouth to stifle her moans.

    If she was as shameless as her husband, she would not have minded that she had moaned in public, but it would be a long time before he could adapt her husband''s devil-may-care attitude.

    She felt her husband''s erection poking at her, hard and throbbing, and she had openly rubbed her butt cheeks against it without remorse.

    Luna was driven by pure sex and wanton indulgence, her sense of propriety thrown out of the window.

    "Apollyon." As she gritted her teeth, Luna''s fingers curled around the Vampire King''s forearm as she whispered, breathless, "Faster."

    The Vampire King paused, and his voice was a pure sin when he whispered, "I guess your stubborn personality had rubbed off of me, wife."

    Chuckling, the bastard did the exact opposite and moved slower, and Luna pinched her lips together instead of screaming in frustration. "You always do the exact opposite of what I want in bed."

    "Please, Apollyon~" Luna moaned as she fidgeted and squirmed in her seat, arching and grinding her secret flesh towards the back of his hand as if urging him to move.

    Gripping his wrist in ce, she turned her head to re at his handsome face. "Don''t you dare stop, or I would kill you!"

    His mischievous smile matched the devilish twinkle in his blue eyes. "Call me, master."

    "Apollyon! For the love of the goddess--" Luna shot him an inscrutable look before she looked around her, just checking if someone knew what they were doing.

    Luckily, the other Kings had stayed behind, giving them a wide berth of twenty feet for ''privacy''.

    When she realized that she and the Vampire King were alone in their space, she eximed, "Are you kidding me right now?"

    She looked down and peered at the Vampire King''s left hand under her fluffy white skirt as his long slender fingers just hovered around her wet quim.

    Those delicious fingers barely touched her lips, damn it!

    She hissed and bit her lip in exasperation before drawing a calming breath.

    Her husband had been ying with her, quite literally.

    There was an awkward pause when she stuttered, "Please, master."

    Apollyon didn''t need to be told twice once he heard the magic word for her to enter the Realm of the Heavens.

    The Vampire King had ground three of his fingers hard against her clit as he rubbed, pushed, and invaded her fortress so deep.

    "Ah. Apollyon." Clenching her fists as she grunted with her mouth open, Luna could feel that ascending wave of her orgasm as she felt the sudden twist of delicious agony of knowing that she was almost there. "Please~."

    Because Luna was too focused on reaching her climax as the Vampire King aroused her to fever pitch, she almost didn''t hear that Cederic''s horse had trotted beside them.

    Apollyon had pulled out his fingers out of her quim abruptly, and she had mourned for its loss, still dripping wet.

    "We are almost there, Your Highness."

    The military general��the fucking bastard��had interrupted her pleasure-seeking activity, and she wanted to shriek at the top of her lungs, damn it!

    There was also a hint of amusement in Cederic''s tone when he informed them.

    He knew what Apollyon was doing to her.

    If Luna wasn''t this desperate toe, she would have cared very much about what the other people would think.

    They would think that she was a whore of an Empress, of course.

    Fuck them!

    Luna had opened her eyes and saw Apollyon''s sprawling castle, the heart of the Vampire Realm, spread out in all directions.

    Dark leafed pine trees provided the soothing patches of green as it surrounded the Castle, covered heavily by the winter snow.

    She inhaled the biting freshness of the pine trees and the mountain winds to calm herself down.

    She had been cursing all day!

    "We are here, wife. We still have to prepare for the masquerade ball." Apollyon lifted her up in a proper sitting position on the saddle as he pushed her knees together.

    She noticed that she too open and vulnerable, so she pulled her skirts down once again.

    The Vampire King didn''t want Cederic to see her inner thighs, so he muttered, "Perhaps we can postpone this tonight."

    "Apollyon." Gritting her teeth, Luna whined.

    Her face flushed as she confessed, "Please continue this. I''m so close."

    They are already at the drawbridge.

    "I don''t think so." She wondered if the Vampire King knew how arrogant he had sounded to her. "When we go inside the castle, the servants would receive us first."

    "Your Highness." She refused to back down. "You are such a fucking��"

    Apollyon covered Luna''s mouth before she could curse him out in front of Cederic and the servants who had gathered around to meet them at the castle gates.

    Luna wanted to cry like a child who had her toy taken away by one of her ymates.

    The Vampire King had deserved to be disrespected in front of his people.

    How could he do this to her when she was almost close to orgasm?

    She sucked in a breath as if that would give her more courage to plead for her pleasure.

    "Master." Luna winced for saying that again since it was so out of her character.

    This delicious torture made her do some crazy stuff, and Apollyon had enjoyed her chagrin to the fullest.

    Luna begged softly, "I don''t care about the stockings anymore��just please let mee."

    He yfully smirked. "Later."

    Damn it!

    "Fine, I don''t need you. I can do it on my own." She stared at the portcullis as they entered after the castle guards lowered the drawbridge.

    Luna nced up, and she noticed that there were women from the Consortium who weren''t allowed to join the Battle Arena--because they weren''t picked by any of the Kings to be their solepanion��waiting for their arrival.

    Thedies stood at the balcony doors as all of them waved their handkerchiefs in congrattions that all of them made it out of the sword duels alive except for Catriona.

    Luna wondered what would be their reaction if they found out that the Vampire King had killed her himself.

    Would they immediately leave the Consortium and go to other Realm in fear that they would be next?

    She felt her resolve strengthen for she couldn''t wait any longer. "I have my own fingers so I will just have to figure it out."

    "Your quim is also mine." Apollyon made Nimbus standstill before as he grabbed the reins from her.

    He swung his right leg up and over the horse''s haunches and got down on the ground.

    Apollyon raised both arms as he motioned for her to get down, too. "You can try if you can separate yourself from me but remember I told you today is a busy day."

 Chapter 156 - Daydreamer

    <h4>Chapter 156 - Daydreamer</h4>

    ++++++++++++++++

    THE VAMPIRE KING

    ++++++++++++++++

    Apollyon desired for the Vampire Realm to be more united than before.

    He vowed to be a good Emperor and consider his loyal subjects'' hardships and help them alleviate it.

    The Vampire Realm wasn''t poor because the vigers can earn by mining gold, silver, diamonds, and other precious minerals.

    Apollyon wanted to implement his past ns for the Vampire Realm before he got possessed by the Archdemon of Gluttony.

    It left his political mind befuddled that the other Kings had no choice but to avoid this Kingdom after informing them, through sending messengers, that he would cut off their alliance for the meantime until he decided to resume them.

    Because of the new High Priestess Luna, he finally understood the effects andplications of an Archdemon to the Vampire Realm''s downfall.

    They had shared his physical body, he and the Archdemon, and when it was time to gain his consciousness, he did his best to keep the Vampire Realm afloat, pacifying the Archdemon by increasing the number of her Harem Collection for sexual congress and making female criminals from his Realm and other Realms into blood ves to feed its hunger.

    The six Kings (Faerie, Feline, Shadow, Merfolk, Werewolves, Dragon) he had made alliances with in the past had visited the Vampire Realm right away when they received the news that he finally got rid of his curse.

    He was ready to strengthen the friendship and sign agreements to develop their Realms, which they had sorted out for thest two weeks while his Empress was asleep.

    Now that sword duels had ended, the people had resumed the rest of the afternoon until the evening to prepare for their own celebration, which was Vampire Realm''s Night Festival.

    In contrast, the royalties would resume their activities on the Masquerade Ball her wife had originally nned for her Coronation Ceremony.

    Apollyon might have changed the flow of events a little, but he made it his soul''s mission to fulfill the Empress'' wishbut not all of them.

    Closing his eyes, Apollyon remembered how his wife had moaned while he pleasured her, and he swore he could still smell the evidence in his fingers.

    He clenched his fist, fighting the urge to ce his fingers in his mouth so that he could taste her essence once again.

    God, he couldn''t wait to eat her out like she was his dinner after another one of these stifling royal court episodes.

    Apollyon had been the Vampire King for a long time, and he had already attended a lot of royal balls that bored the fuck out of him.

    Now that his stubborn, entertaining, and lovable wife was here?

    He smirked as he shifted in his seat, ''Not anymore.''

    Apollyon had pretended to cradle his head with his palm as his elbow rested in his armchair, but in actuality, he was daydreaming what will happen tonight.

    He had it all nned out: the setting, the step-by-step process and the application of his knowledge of the Kama Sutra.

    His mind had reyed repetitive scenes of him and his Empress in their bed-chamber as they prayed to the goddess��no, they would be no praying that would take ce��but Luna could be if he stimted her enough.

    He noticed her favorite ''go-to statements'' when she was on the verge of orgasm was to chant his name like a spell or to mumble ''oh my goddess'' in fast forward.

    Ah~ good times.

    He was d that his wife had beenfortable with his physical touches and his lovenguages.

    The Empress seemed to have gotten used to him and his temperament, too, and that was good news!

    Apollyon had tried his best to change his temperament to match hers.

    It meant that their blood bond would get stronger.

    Theirmunication styles had gotten clear and concise, and he loved that his wife had started to get adventurous to sexual congress, which was fine by him.

    He wanted his innocent, virgin wife to love sex as much as he did without it being a taboo thing because it was a natural phenomenon between blood bonded pairs, and there was nothing to be ashamed about.

    Fortunately, the vague part of their rtionship had been cleared out like a cloud of smoke blown by a refreshing breeze.

    This wasn''t the time to fester misunderstandings now that Apollyon had been threatened by the manifestation of the Archdemon of Gluttony in Luna''s life, based on her distinct golden eyes and the ck-ink markings glowing gold around her body every time he touched her.

    As Luna''s husband and a possessive one at that, he had desired tosh out every time his gaze settled on the demonic runes all over her body.

    Luna hadn''t mentioned any effect of the tattoos, which indicated pain, but it scared Apollyon like a ticking time bomb.

    Apollyon''s mouth firmed as he shook his head, driving those useless thoughts away.

    He forced his rigid muscles to listen and went back to lewd his wife in his mind for a while.

    He remained seated on his golden chair in the throne room--along with the rest of the Kings--as they waited for the Empress''s entrance and the rest of the women from the Consortium.

    He had noticed he had unconsciously bitten his lip in expectation of the Luna''s dress.

    Apollyon''s gaze had been fixed to the double doors of the ballroom, his eyes never leaving the knob until it turned.

    He hooked one ankle over the other while his fingers tapped his armchair impatiently.

    When the knob of the ballroom turned steadily, Apollyon felt like he had manifested thedies by magic after staring intensely at the ballroom entrance, willing for his Empress to hurry up and enter.

    They had parted for three hours to dress up for the masquerade ball after getting rid of the blood sttered all over their clothes and skin, but it felt like she had been gone for days.

    How can he miss her so quickly when they were just together earlier?

    He was dangerously obsessed with his wife, and he wouldn''t know what to do if he lost her.

    Instead of remaining seated with the Kings as they waited for them to approach their thrones like pretty walking gifts waiting to be unwrapped, Apollyon scrambled out of his seat and headed towards the door to greet Empress Luna and the Consortium.

 Chapter 157 - Masquerade Ball

    <h4>Chapter 157 - Masquerade Ball</h4>

    **************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    **************************

    Before his Empress had arrived at the ballroom, Apollyon had sat in his throne with his brows knitted in impatience.

    He had stood from his seat, paced and moved about--unable to stay still--before he went back to his throne again.

    The moment he saw the double doors opened, his mouth fell open in shock.

    His fingers touched his parted lips in an attempt to cover them when he saw the Empress.

    Apollyon scrambled from his seat to approach her, but then he stopped in midstride.

    The first thing that he saw was the Empress

    She had her head bowed down to the ground while she held a crimson wreath on both of her white silk-gloved hands.

    A ginormous Victorian bo had obscured her whole head that Apollyon couldn''t see her face--much less herrge golden eyes.

    Her ck velvet bo had a wide brim, which made a spreading frame for her small face.

    This bo wasrger than her head.

    It also seemed heavier based on the less-than-a-hundred raven feathers adorning the bo with the darkces encircling the brim of her hat.

    Apollyon''s muscles turned rigid when his gaze skimmed his Empress'' evening gown from head-to-toe, not taking his eyes off her.

    Luna had worn a ck evening gown, which made him lift a massaging hand to the back of his neck to cool himself from his rising blood pressure.

    Don''t get him wrong, the Empress'' dark evening gown��which was made of expensive fabrics with beautiful embellishments--had exceeded his expectations as everyone who had eyes could see that it suited her.

    Apollyon just didn''t expect his former virgin Empress scantily d at the Masquerade Ball, as she had dared to wear such revealing clothing which appeared to be so close to a lingerie/nightgown suited in their bed-chamber and not in front of these Kings.

    It should have been strictly for his eyes only.

    Her supposed neckline had reached down into her waist like a perfectly-shaped ''V'' made of ck ruffles ofce, which also showcased a little cleavage and her under boob while a shining pearl ne graced her elegant vicle.

    '' His Empress hadn''t worn a corset or a brassiere.''

    He was fine with it if only he was the only man in the vicinity to drink her in with hisscivious gaze, but the Kings were also there with them, which pissed him off.

    Apollyon had red at her seductive upper body with frustration.

    Her ares would invite a man''s gaze to fixate on them as they protruded through the dark midnightce of her bodice.

    As if that was a problem in itself, Apollyon didn''t miss the ink-ck swirls and curlicues of her tattoos gleaming gold every time a beam of light hits them.

    It wasn''t only that her neck, corbone, and her chest were exposed, but also her milky white shoulders and upper arms--which had stood out because she had worn all ck--were revealed for the Kings'' eyes to feast on.

    He was furious at the fact that the Kings could probably imagine themselves touching her there and caressing her skin.

    Apollyon''s gaze locked at the full skirts of his wife''s gown.

    He breathed a sigh of relief that his wife''s mile-long legs were covered.

    He just had to think that at least his wife didn''t appear naked in front of his visitorspared to what happened at the Acquaintance Affairs.

    Narrowing his eyes, Apollyon had noticed that the fabric Luna had worn too thin, and if he squinted enough, he could see that his Empress had worn thigh-stockings underneath.

    Luna was really asking for it if she had dared to wear such transparent clothing.

    He couldn''t believe that his innocent wife would give more fodder for a masculine''s imagination.

    Apollyon fought the urge to frown in disapproval and drag her back to the bedchamber where she and that sexy nightgown belonged, but he shook his head instead of doing that.

    He had changed his perspective regarding his wife.

    He would give her the freedom to choose whatever he wanted to wear.

    As Luna''s husband, he had already chosen to change his possessive traits, and he was determined to get rid of them if he could.

    If he didn''t do that yet, he would control his urges.

    He should follow through with his consistency despite his wife''s dare, which could push him to the edge and might make him lose his iron-d control.

    Apollyon had aspired to be a gentleman tonight despite the Empress'' temptations.

    It was necessary to be resolute with the Empress.

    The art of knowing how to adapt to his wife''s whims was useful when it came to love.

    As if there was a sudden light bulb went on in his head, Apollyon had recalled that he hadn''t made his wifee while they were on the road towards the Vampire Castle as they rode Nimbus.

    Perhaps, this was her way to get back at him for not giving it to her when she had practically begged him toe.

    Apollyon knew that Luna meant no harm, and she had a desire to y with him by making him jealous of what he had done to her.

    The Empress had already figured out that Apollyon had edged her on purpose, but if this was her test, Apollyon was determined to pass it.

    Luna strolled towards Apollyon, who had stood in the middle of the ballroom.

    As he held his hands loosely behind his back, Apollyon had waited for her toe to him instead of meeting her halfway.

    Thedies from the Consortium followed closely behind her as they crossed the threshold.

    His posture stiffened in ce as Luna got closer to him with ease, her strong presence demanding attention.

    Closing his eyes as he took a calming breath, Apollyon tried to appear rxed.

    Still, there was this fluttering feeling inside of his stomach that he just couldn''t shake when Luna had stood in front of him as she lifted her chin, peering at him coyly beneath her eyshes.

 Chapter 158 - Black Magic Woman

    <h4>Chapter 158 - ck Magic Woman</h4>

    *************************

    THE EMPRESS LUNA

    **************************

    Luna jutted her chin as she nced at her husband''s face, lifting her veils ofce upwards so that he could see her.

    Tilting her head as she kept her silence, Luna kept her stares nk paired with a poker face that matched the cold aura for her entertainment.

    She had worn all ck to exude a dangerous and formidable air around her to erase her past blunder during the Acquaintance Affairs.

    That was the first time the other Kings had seen her and she was painfully naked.

    If only she could turn back time, Luna had wished this was her first meeting with the Vampire King''s alliances but it was impossible.

    All she could do to erase her dark, humiliating past was to suck it up and demand respect from the other Kings by acting as an unpredictable, seductive and strange enigma, ying with the King''s imaginations through her unique appearance in the Masquerade Ball.

    Also, Luna didn''t forget what Apollyon had done to her during their procession of victory back to the Vampire King''s Castle.

    The bastard had the audacity to refuse his Empress, prolonging his wife''s orgasm.

    How dare he do this to her?

    If Apollyon knew what was best for him, he should have given it to her when she begged instead of dying her gratification.

    The moment Luna had seen her husband when the doors to the ballroom opened, she thought it was alright that Apollyon didn''t make her climax when they had ridden on top of Nimbus'' saddle.

    She thought she could just wait until the Midnight Masquerade Ball was finished and all of the visiting Kings and theirdies from the Consortium were satisfied from flirting with each other as they escted their entertainment privately behind closed doors, but no!

    The moment her eyes had set on the Vampire King''s face, his broad shoulders, his entire physique and most especially when her eyes zeroed on hisrge hand and that sexy green vein at the back of his pale arm, Luna swallowed with anticipation.

    Her dirty mind had already envisioned his tight long fingers stimting her until her soul catapulted itself to the heavens.

    The Vampire King had conditioned her to love his touch so much that she had no desire to search for anyone else that would satisfy her.

    Luna had seen her husband in a new light for he had prioritized pleasuring her first before his own.

    He was the Vampire King!

    She would have expected Apollyon to be selfish in bed and would demand her to serve him like she was a maidservant.

    Apollyon had confessed that he had loved her and she had waited for the moment her husband would turn back on his words but he didn''t.

    Not yet.

    She clenched her fists in recollection as she maintained a cool manner.

    The Vampire King had yed with her body by dangling the forbidden fruit out of her reach, teasing her sexually until she almost died of frustration.

    Luna hadn''t touched herself just like she had threatened her husband earlier at the outer bailey.

    Perhaps, Luna could use it to her advantage.

    She could tease the Vampire King at the Masquerade Ball with it until he went crazy and couldn''t take it anymore.

    She would seduce him until he would want to take her right then and there.

    Of course, her good husband��who always insisted he was already a changed man--would try to keep his cool in front of his visitors and wouldn''t attempt such thing, right?

    Perhaps, she would be safe as long as she wouldn''t take her teasing too far.

    This was one of her few experiments of portraying the character of an irresistible minx and Luna was sure her husband would love it that he would probably want to kill her.

    Kill her with pleasure that she craved so much.

    Hopefully, she could portray it well that Apollyon would forgive her right away if she had identally offended the Vampire King.

    ''Hell hath no fury from a woman scorned.''

    Luna would give this bastard the taste of his own medicine and she would get away with it.

    Luna sensed that her husband had changed from the man he had used to be after she had returned from the Dream Realms with the Archdemon of Gluttony.

    Luna had noticed Apollyon''s side that she had never seen before.

    He was morepassionate, more generous with his affections, more vulnerable when he spoke his mind and shared his opinions.

    For some reason, the Vampire King was more selfless, honourable and definitely not controlling like he used to be.

    She would have liked to think that the reason why Apollyon had changed his ways was he was scared to lose her.

    Luna was certain that Apollyon had truly changed for the better.

    After that realization of his, it was as if their past rtionship had died and their blood bond had started from scratch again.

    The Vampire King''s heart which had bled from ego and pride was reborn, offering his new heart that was free and pure.

    Both of them had strived for openmunication and demonstrated their affections naturally.

    That, itself, was a huge achievement!

    They had beaten the odds together at the battle arena instead of always fighting and arguing with each other.

    They did that a lot in the past.

    Luna could say that she had no regrets.

    It was like nothing had changed from the point of view of everyone around them but inside Luna''s heart and Apollyon''s, she knew from this point on, everything had changed.

    She might still have a little doubt but it will disappear once his husband can prove it to her every day and night that their blood bond would secure this love.

    This masquerade ball was one of Luna''s tests which her husband had to pass to gain her trust and loyalty.

    Even if she had lost her High Priestess'' magic, it wouldn''t be toote to put a spell on Apollyon.

 Chapter 159 - The Vixen Wife

    <h4>Chapter 159 - The Vixen Wife</h4>

    *****************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    *****************************

    Apollyon''s heart had strongly palpitated that it almost jumped out of his throat when the Empress'' lips curled into a slight smile as if they had shared a secret joke.

    Clearing his throat, he had realized that the Empress had appeared so put together that Apollyon suddenly had the urge to fix his imperial crown.

    The Empress had paused in front of him while thedies from the Consortium--with their luxurious gowns--scattered around inside the ballroom as they hid their masked faces with their colorful peacock fans.

    Luna was the only one who had worn a midnight ck evening gown which made her stand out from the crowd if herrge bo wasn''t enough to catch everyone''s attention.

    The moment Apollyon saw his wife''s small, oval-shaped face, he couldn''t help but raise his hand to caress her smooth pearl skin and tuck her silver hair away from her face which was curled to perfection, adorned with red rosebuds hanging on to its strands.

    Luna wore minimal cosmetics which only made her face as pale as the petals of a mountain lily.

    Red pigments from crushed berries were applied on her cheeks and lips, achieving that natural flush of a woman who had been well-pleasured by her beau during a few rounds of lovemaking.

    Apollyon had smiled back as his wife shed a quick smile before it abruptly faded into a pout.

    She stared into his eyes steadily.

    Her light-gold eyes pupils were as deep andrge as an ocean that he was close to drowning in them; so mesmerized and hypnotized by its lure.

    "You look as beautiful as a goddess, tonight, wife," Apollyon said in a genuinepliment, pairing his words with a charming smile. "If I was a painter and I had a pick of thousands of women, I would choose you as my muse."

    "Hm." She hummed dismissively and nodded a little.

    Her dry response had made him pause for a minute.

    The Empress didn''t sound impressed at his deration of reverence to her beauty.

    Apollyon didn''t know if he should feel offended or rmed by his wife''s indifference but it definitely made him feel anxious about Luna''s unpredictable behavior.

    He didn''t believe in the saying about women being mythical creatures because apparently, they were hard to understand.

    As the Vampire King who owned a Harem, he was a self-proimed expert on women.

    He had figured out that those women from the Consortium were mindless creatures who didn''t care about the ruthlessness that was sewn into the fabric of his soul because of the Archdemon''s possession.

    They gave him what he wanted which was a furious control in and out of bed.

    All they had to do was submit without question to him.

    He needed that furious control that made women scream his name, their skin too high strung across a body that only knew hunger.

    Luna was different from those women and she had proven herself time and time again.

    She was the woman��a mythical creature.

    "You must think me a silver-tongued devil, wife." Tilting his head, Apollyon''s mouth firmed in frustration as he watched her warily, gauging her expression. "I am telling the truth."

    His Empress was so damn beautiful and he was honest about it.

    Why was it so difficult for her to believe him?

    There was no change in her nk expression except when she barely arched a silver eyebrow before flipping her long, wavy silver hair behind her back.

    It sent his gaze zeroing on her swan-like neck before his eyes peered back to her face.

    Her pouty, blood-red lips curved into a little smirk before it disappeared.

    Apollyon had wondered if he had imagined the whole thing.

    He had no idea if his wife was flirting/toying with him.

    Was she angry at him?

    As he tugged at the cor of his shirt, Apollyon had instantly wondered if he had done something wrong to Luna for her brows had somewhat drawn together as she continued to stare at him, nk and emotionless.

    He couldn''t see the difference since out of all the women he had encountered in his lifetime, Luna was the most difficult to read, well, aside from Lilith.

    "Wife." The Vampire King held her gaze as he stepped back a little.

    Maybe her wife was ufortable with his presence.

    This could also be a manifestation of the Empress'' anger for edging her.

    He gave her an evil grin as he recalled that sensual event.

    "Don''t you have something to say to me?" Apollyon asked curiously as he swallowed this deep need for her that had been pestering him since earlier.

    Shaking her head no along with that secret smile of hers, Luna kept her lips pursed and gave him a half-shrug.

    The Empress had remained silent and the only thing he could do to fill up the awkwardness was to clear his throat and rubbed the back of his neck due to his concern of whatever had ailed her.

    He had no idea what to do with her so perhaps, she wouldn''t fight back and resist when Apollyon bent his knees to match his wife''s height��avoiding herrge ck bo which had the same size of thirty piles of bird''s nests��and wrapped his arms around her body, enveloping her in a strong, powerful and tender embrace.

    Apollyon could sense her mind opening to his��her body''s craving for a far darker touch--projecting her thoughts outward to him.

    With her stiff muscles gradually rxing, Luna felt like she was melting in her husband''s warmth, her mouth drying up at his body''s slumbering heat.

    He chuckled but only in his mind or else Luna might pull back from him out of shyness.

    When Apollyon stood up straight and withdrew to see her reaction, Luna turned her head sideways cutely, refusing to look at him.

    His Empress might be skittish as a newborn colt but even she couldn''t deny this passion between them nor could she ever resist him for too long.

 Chapter 160 - The Possessive Husband

    <h4>Chapter 160 - The Possessive Husband</h4>

    *******************

    The Empress Luna

    *******************

    ''''The wind of their passions had no intention of dying down too soon.'' Luna smirked in thought.

    If thest embers of their passion had subsided until it was close to gone, then it was her turn to fan the mes to a fever pitch.

    Their rtionship was like a phoenix that had risen from the ashesbined with the precious learning they had acquired to navigate theirplicated connection, solving their misunderstandings.

    "I want to kiss you as a greeting, wife, but your ck velvet bo is blocking the way."

    A devilish smile broke into the Vampire King''s face when he pulled back from her.

    Her heart had given a little jolt, still not used to the effect he had on her��on women, in general��every time his sparkling blue eyestched on to hers.

    Luna''s throat tightened in reluctance, but she didn''t let it show to her face.

    She had lifted her ck veil so that Apollyon could see her face earlier, and now she returned it to fulfill its original purpose, and that was to hide her face.

    The mask she had worn wasn''t enough to cover her shameful act at the Acquaintance Affairs.

    She pressed her lips together as she watched him, shaking her head. "You know perfectly damn well why I am wearing the bo, husband."

    **************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ***************************

    The Empress tilted her head in a greeting, her lips curled into a small smile, and that''s about it.

    The Kings had started to rise from their throne to meet Luna as they waited for Apollyon to introduce his Empress to them.

    Apollyon knew that his wife was too embarrassed to be seen in front of their guests without this ridiculous Victorian bo.

    After all, his guests can''t help butpare her to thedy who had made not two--but three--of the Kings fight for his attention because they had thought Luna was one of thedies from the Consortium who was part of the auction.

    Everyone in the Ball Room had started moving of their own ord into an amusing blur of colors as if they were finally brought to life when the musical orchestra started to y the first set of the Waltz.

    The ball attendees'' arms and feet moved elegantly as they unconsciously swayed to the music.

    The Kings had encircled the Empress like they were wolves who had spotted their prey, and they had unconsciously found a way to trap her.

    Thankfully, the Kings were chivalrous enough to give her space without overcrowding her.

    Apollyon had casually asserted his dominance to the other guests over her by nting himself next to her and cing his hand at the small of her back as a gesture of ownership.

    **********************

    The Empress Luna

    **********************

    Luna blew out a calming breath because she had sensed the tension in the way her husband had stood next to her.

    Apollyon need not be threatened.

    Luna wouldn''t just dly go with someone who wasn''t his husband and cheat.

    She had to calm him down before he did something stupid.

    Luna pulled his arm from her back, and she noticed that he was about to open his mouth in protest, but she had effectively shut him up when Luna interlocked their fingers together.

    "Can each of us ask an invitation for the Empress to dance?"

    It was courageous for the Dragon King to speak first despite Apollyon''s intimidation.

    Draco bowed his head slightly, and his decorative bison horns almost took her bo with him.

    He raised both of his hands in front of Luna, and she had no idea what to do with his gesture.

    The Empress had stared at it in confusion before gave Apollyon a sideways nce, asking for help.

    "Excuse us for a while, gentleman," Apollyon said in a guttural growl, his low voice sending shivers down Luna''s spine.

    ************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    *************************

    Before the other Kings could steal the Empress'' attention, Apollyon desired to beat his other guests to it.

    He took a step forward and stood in front of Luna.

    Apollyon held both of her upper arms gently as he brought her to the side in their own little space, creating an intimate atmosphere and hinting for the other Kings to stay back for a while at the same time to give them enough privacy.

    Their guests had understood his bodynguage.

    Some of them lingered back to their throne, waiting for the right time to gain an audience with the Empress that he would allow.

    The others had approached their chosen girls from the Consortium who was more avable.

    Apollyon was ashamed of the way he had acted the moment his Empress had walked through the door, but he couldn''t help it.

    He needed to protect what was his.

    All of the other Kings were a threat except him, the husband.

    He had proceeded to stake his im at the Empress when she hadn''t even uttered a single word to their visitors yet.

    If Apollyon could see himself in the mirror right now, he swore that a red flush had crept across his cheekbones as he rubbed the back of his neck.

    Wincing at his strange behavior, Apollyon fervently hoped that the Empress wouldn''t notice that he had acted like a wild predator that hides his prey from his fellow predators so that they wouldn''t steal his food under his nose.

    Well, Luna was going to be his dinner tonight so it wouldn''t be far from the truth.

    It wasn''t like Luna was as weak and helpless as prey, but��never mind.

    Apollyon''s response��about the other Kings as a threat--was irrational since Luna would never belong to anyone else aside from him.

    She was blood-bonded to him and not to these other men, so there was no need to fear.

    Luna would not abandon him just like his mother had done.

    He shook his head as if to clear his thoughts.

    Apollyon had to keep that in mind that the Empress and his mother are different people.

 Chapter 161 - Feel Special

    <h4>Chapter 161 - Feel Special</h4>

    *********************************

    VAMPIRE KING APOLLYON

    *********************************

    After he pulled her gently by the arm into the corner of the Ball Room, both of them entered a nice little alcove towards the balcony, which was also served as an extension of it.

    Apollyon had wanted to be alone with the Empress for a while so he could drown in the Empress'' intoxicating presence exclusively as her husband and keep her to himself.

    Until now, he couldn''t quite believe how the great King of the Vampire Realm had resorted to this--a possessive husband.

    Those who had a good pair of eyes can clearly see that he was whipped.

    He didn''t want the Kings to ogle his Empress, so he had to hide her for a while.

    He hadn''t even formally introduced her properly to the guests.

    Musical instruments started ying in the background as it beckoned for the attendants to start dancing for the Masquerade Ball.

    "Apollyon." The Empress called him out, which sounded like both a shout and a whisper.

    She didn''t shake his hold and kicked him in resistance, and that was enough as an aplishment for him.

    His wife didn''t hate her despite her aloofness earlier as she had let him drag her to the balustrade.

    "Why are you dragging me to the balcony?" Luna asked as she made a face, wincing, "We aren''t a good host and hostess if we leave the guests to fend for themselves in this social activity."

    Apollyon nodded in agreement, but he had a perfectly logical reason to separate the Empress from the otherdies and most especially from his male guests.

    "The Royal Court Dances required thedies from the Consortium to be trained for disy and entertainment, wife." The Vampire King leaned over and ced a finger under her chin, forcing her to lift her gaze to his.

    A gentle smile curved into his lips. "Being a good husband that I was, I saved you from humiliation."

    "You couldn''t dance, my love," Apollyon informed her sadly, and his tone was eerily simr to a witch doctor who had just told her patient that she only had a few days to live.

    "Oh," Luna''s blood-red lips formed an ''O'' as she peered around back to the Ballroom where the Kings had started dancing with a few of the women from the Consortium.

    She asked, "So this Masquerade Ball wasn''t freestyle dancing then?"

    Apollyon burst out into loud guffaws as he pped his thigh hard repeatedly, almost dying ofughter.

    It took him a while to recover from what his hrious wife had said.

    Every time he decided to assume his cold straight face back, her question had circled his mind like pesky flies that had refused to vanish.

    He wiped the joyful tears out of his eyes.

    When he finally calmed down, he pursed his lips into a tight line to show he was serious. "You can''t dance in freestyle in a Royal Court Dance, wife, because it is more formal, and there are dance steps for that which you haven''t learned because I haven''t taught you yet."

    She gave an audible sigh and grimaced to herself, a sign of regret. "Then why are we having a Masquerade Ball?"

    "You seem to have forgotten, wife, that it was your idea." The Vampire King pointed out as he coupled it with a cheeky grin.

    ********************

    The Empress Luna

    *******************

    "I had a short talk with one of your past concubines which was also my acquaintance. I asked Lady rence''s suggestion before I decided for the Masquerade Ball, and when she described it to me, it had sounded like a fun event." Luna giggled excitedly as she exined to her husband why she had chosen to pick the Masquerade Ball for the event.

    Lady rence had given her some input because she wasn''t familiar with creating events in the Vampire King''s Castle.

    She was the new Empress, and nobody in this Kingdom taught her about her duties, and she wouldn''t let Apollyon do it for her because she had refused to be a puppet.

    Luna navigated her new responsibilities through her intuition.

    She might be the Vampire King''s wife, but she had a mind of her own.

    "I don''t know any Lady rence." The Vampire King gave her a nonchnt shrug.

    If Luna could roll her eyes hard enough to see her brain, she would probably turn blind right now.

    Luna settled for giving her husband a suspicious look because his response was just weird and over-the-top.

    Was he exaggerating so that she wouldn''t feel jealous of his past concubines?

    Goddess, Luna couldn''t believe she was creating something out of nothing.

    She nced at the Ball Room again, and she just noticed how her husband''s concubines, consorts, and escorts were all beautiful in their own right as the flowers on their hair, the colorful fabrics of their gown, and the emerald jewels they wore glittered under the lights.

    Luna found it impossible that none of them caught the Vampire King''s eyes enough for him to make an effort to get to know some women.

    "She was one of the concubines you have chosen along with Catriona, whom you killed with your bare hands." She muttered as she narrowed his eyes at him, continuing, "The Military General had mentioned before that you had picked your concubines yourself."

    Luna did her best to avoid mentioning the dead concubine again because the mere utterance of her name left a bad taste in her mouth, but in this context, she had to do it to make his amnesiac husband remember.

    "I did not incline to remember the names of the concubines I have picked."

    What did he mean that he didn''t know their names?

    Basically, the Vampire King just picked his concubines from the consorts based on their pretty faces, and that''s it?

    Luna pped a hand over her mouth in shock as the Vampire King added, "I can barely know them by faces, and that was the only thing that mattered in the past."

 Chapter 162 - Bewitching Empress

    <h4>Chapter 162 - Bewitching Empress</h4>

    ***********************

    THE EMPRESS LUNA

    ***********************

    "I can barely know them by faces and that was the only thing that mattered in the past."

    What did his statement tell her?

    If it wasn''t for their blood bond then Apollyon would have continued acting like a misogynistic bastard.

    Well, Luna forgot the fact that he was possessed by the Archdemon of Gluttony for a long time prior to his freedom so she thought it made sense. Plus, his father, the past Vampire King, must be a buffoon to raise someone as archaic as her husband.

    He had changed for her and that was the best part of their marriage.

    Luna watched the many young women as the rest of the guests who belonged to Vampire Royalty��not just the Kings��guided them across the dance floors with huge smiles on their faces.

    Now that the Vampire King hadn''t cared about thedies in the Consortium any longer, they felt immensely ttered by the special attention from the opposite sex where they weren''t forced to serve and entertain the male guests just because it was what expected of them.

    Can she say that the women from the Consortium were a few steps away from experiencing true freedom?

    "I am the Vampire King who can get any woman he wanted so there was no use to make someone feel special. That''s the number one rule in owning a Consortium." He exined further as he tugged at her hand and messed around with her fingers. "The past Vampire King, my father, had taught me to treat all the women in my Harem fairly to avoid conspiracies, envy, and intrigue amongst the women and especially, assassinations among the Consortium."

    This was the first time Apollyon had talked about his father and she immediately thought that his father was a misogynistic asshole.

    He was teaching his son who would be the future King, Apollyon, to treat women as an object and he had called this obvious inequality between genders, fair?

    No wonder, her husband was a piece of work��a puzzle so difficult to solve.

    Luna had realized that Apollyon inherited his twisted mind from his father.

    *****************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    *****************************

    Ears ringing, Apollyon shook his head repeatedly to get himself together when he noticed he had adapted a zed look as he stared into space every time his brain took a trip down to memoryne.

    As much as possible, Apollyon had avoided talking about his messed-up family��especially his childhood��at all costs.

    He was an ancient vampire who didn''t want to feel nostalgia for something that was already lost��something that didn''t exist anymore.

    He stared down at his empty palms and muttered, "You haven''t even danced with me yet."

    "Maybe you can teach me right now." Luna moved closer as she beamed at him, sping both of his palms, caressing the back of his hands with her thumbs. "I am a fast learner. Teach me so that I can dance with your guests."

    As his Empress had noted his strange mood, she just went along when he redirected the topic to the Masquerade Ball.

    Apollyon had never been grateful for his wife''s sensitivity.

    Luna had given him space to process his nostalgia before it could push him to the edge, driving him to spiral in? mental numbness.

    "I am fine with meeting them face-to-face now." Luna continued with her reassurance and he found her pale cheeks glowing red, which was adorable.

    His wife''s excitement was contagious, making him smile over nothing.

    "I am not embarrassed anymore." The Empress had said determinedly.

    If Apollyon had fetched a ss of blood from the dinner table before they had gone to the balcony, it would probably clog up his windpipe instead of going down to his throat properly based on how strong he had snorted from Luna''s deration.

    He nodded vigorously as if he had understood where his wife hade from but then Apollyon couldn''t help but argue.

    "Your bo had said otherwise, my love." He gave her a knowing grin as he asked politely, touching the brim of her bo, "Why don''t you just let me remove it from the top of your head?

    Straightening her shoulders, Luna lifted her chin as she curtsied, "Thank you for the offer, your Highness, but no thank you." Her lips quirking in amusement, she chimed in, "I would rather keep the bo."

    Apollyon shook his head in frustration and sighed. "How can we practice dancing if I couldn''t properly see your face?"

    You don''t need to see my face to teach me so we might as well get on with it." Luna forced a bright smile, squeezing Apollyon''s hands hard in annoyance.

    Apollyon stared at her, bewildered but then he smirked at his wife''s gesture.

    It had an opposite effect on him which felt like an adorable threat from his vixen wife.

    "Those ck feathers will make the Kings sneeze to their heart''s content if it''s on the level of their noses." He noted as he crossed his arms over his muscr chest.

    Apollyon had dly pointed out the obvious and he prayed the Empress would acquiesce to his suggestion but he didn''t expect her next response--never in a million years.

    "It''s their fault for being tall, husband."

    "You really crack me up, wife." Apollyon tried really hard not tough this time so as not to offend his Empress further.

    He settled for a smile that had hurt for his prominent cheekbones had been raised for a longer period of time. "I had never known you were this funny before."

    He wasn''t used to smiling andughing so much around anyone else except Luna.

    His Empress had made himugh and that wasn''t a small victory.

    As the Vampire King, he had prided himself on being cold, detached, and serious.

    He meant business all the time and there was no time to joke around when he had a huge responsibility at such a young age��this royal burden as the King of the Vampire Realm.

    This was the first time he had ever felt so light-hearted.

 Chapter 163 - Seducer Becomes Seduced

    <h4>Chapter 163 - Seducer Bes Seduced</h4>

    ************************

    THE EMPRESS LUNA

    ************************

    Luna stared directly into her husband''s eyes, which had turned to a rich, exotic shade of Prussian blue, nced down to the marble floor, then back to his sapphire orbs.

    Based on Luna''s observation at the past Blood Moon Banquet, she had recognized this flirting signal countless times practiced by thedies from the Consortium whenever they see a man they were attracted to.

    There was nothing wrong with imitating those women if it worked, right?

    "I have hidden charms I hadn''t shown yet, Your Highness," Luna whispered in a husky invitation.

    "Uh-huh." Apollyon drawled in a husky voice and his sensual lips had parted with need.

    The Vampire King slowly lifted the ck veil which had sheltered most of her face, his hooded gaze settling on Luna''s mask.

    Swallowing inaudibly, Luna had to pause for a while in the recollection of what she was about to say.

    Her mouth had dried up when Apollyon''s half-hearted, half-slumbering gaze seared her inside out.

    "Especially in bed--" Luna murmured the words as she continued to hold his gaze, her confident sphinx-like smile almost wobbled from extreme shyness, but she managed to blurt out, "I learned from the best of the best."

    "About the Masquerade Ball, I think it would be difficult for you." The Vampire King said out of the blue as his gaze fell unto her mouth, which also made her wet her lips without thinking.

    As he slowly erased the distance between them, Apollyon lowered his voice when he spoke, "It would be fine for the Empress to stand around and make small talks like a wallflower. I hadn''t even seen you perform a royal court dance before."

    There was this reluctance to follow through with it every time she decided to seduce Apollyon, wondering if she can do it better.

    Luna prayed that it wasn''t that obvious to her husband that her fingers were twitching nervously when she caressed his chest with her hand over and over.

    She thought that it was a poor attempt on her part because she hadn''t elicited the reaction she wanted from his husband.

    Instead, Luna was the one who was seduced by his pure masculine beauty that once belonged to a cruel vampire.

    Apollyon was an ancient pureblood who had a fallen angel''s face��all hard lines and sharp angles.

    The Vampire King shut his eyes bit by bit as if savoring the sensations of her fingers brushing over his chest where his beating heart should have been.

    Despite Apollyon''s stillness, she was vividly conscious of her husband''s incredible strength in the air.

    It was as if the Vampire King gave danger signs in their vicinity to keep interruptions at bay.

    She had lost her High Priestess magic, but if the small hairs on her ivory skin were an unspoken warning, Luna knew that it was an indication of her husband''s true power.

    Apollyon gave her a little smirk before he grabbed the wrist of the hand that was on his chest, wrapped his other arm around her body, and suddenly turned her around, shifting their positions.

    Yelping in surprise, Luna''s eyes widened in shock, but then fear took over.

    Luna shut them tight right away as she grabbed into his muscr arms.

    Everything had happened so fast that Luna was forced to shuffle back a step or two so that she wouldn''t stumble.

    The next thing she knew, her back had hit the balustrade as her husband caged her in.

    "You little minx," The Vampire King raised an eyebrow as he chuckled, "I know what you''re doing to me."

    Breathing hard, Luna nced at Apollyon as they stood together at the corner of the balcony.

    She had reclined too much at the hand railing and jerked her head back, making the ribbon of her ck velvet bo lose and detach from its moorings as it slipped out from under her chin, dropping to the rose arbor below the balcony of the Ball Room.

    "Ugh. My bo!" Luna groaned from the loss of her bo due to her negligence as she turned her head to see the ck feathers slowly descending as they detached from the top of the bo.

    Luna had no armor anymore to shield her face from the recognition of Apollyon''s guests.

    She will surely perish and disintegrate into dust when she met them the second time if they went back to the Ball Room.

    Why was Luna so unlucky?

    She shook her head and tossed her wavy silver hair back since it got way too messy when she had lost the bo because of her carelessness.

    "I told you, wife, that you don''t need the bo," Apollyon whispered in her mouth as he deliciously drove his fingers down her scalp, fixing her hair, while the other hand supported her back, keeping her upright.

    "You''re Highness." She moaned as Apollyon leaned in and trailed moist kisses from her throat down to her naked corbone.

    Apollyon then pressed his lips over her beating heart.

    Shivering at the contact, Luna tangled her hand in his raven hair.

    He gazed back into her face and kissed her lips, which set the dormant mes on her stomach aze.

    Her tense body rxed as the warmth uncoiled withzy grace into her bloodstreams, slowing down her pulse.

    Luna panted as Apollyon''s seduction intensified.

    All she could think about was sex, where they could ''do'' it, and the ache in her core, her revenge to Apollyon, was forgotten.

    If she let him continue, she would fail her mission to put a spell on her husband.

    The seducer was the one who was seduced.

    Apollyon must beughing now.

    The Vampire King was the epitome of sin and seduction.

    When he was in one of these moods, it was hard to resist him.

    The Vampire King paused, and his brows furrowed, distracted.

    Heart still racing, Luna covered her mouth with a hand because she thought the reason why her husband had stopped with his sensual stimtion was that she was too noisy, but that wasn''t the reason at all.

 Chapter 164 - Hidden From The World

    <h4>Chapter 164 - Hidden From The World</h4>

    ********************

    The Empress Luna

    ********************

    As Luna''s gaze tuned in more to her husband''s face, she had noticed the more she stared at him, the more Apollyon became blurry.

    Disturbed that perhaps Luna had gone blind, she rubbed her eyes hard but the cloudy vision didn''t change.

    She had a difficult time finding her husband in the strange shadowy light because the darkness seemed to envelop him then dwindled a little, giving her just a sh of his form before he faded.

    It was like he was sucking the light around them and controlling it, enshrouding Luna in the pitch-ck void.

    "Apollyon! What are you doing?" Luna asked worriedly as she lifted both of her hands at the back of her husband''s neck instead of his arms forfort. "I think there is something wrong with my eyes because I can''t see you clearly."

    "I''m hiding us from the world, beloved. You can do whatever you want with me.? " He said as he chuckled, snapping back into focus. "You have my permission to lewd me, wife."

    She would assume that the Vampire King had been casting protective barriers over their space.

    Luna just can''t figure out if someone from the Ball Room could see them so it was time to test that theory.

    Tilting her head, Luna narrowed her eyes to squint at him but her eyes kept on sliding right off his form as if he was vanishing.

    Luna knew he was right there with her because she could still feel his body against her.

    Eyebrows knitting together, Luna asked, "What if they noticed we were gone and search for us when we were just right here?"

    "We are a married couple who mysteriously disappeared in a Masquerade Ball. Now if you are in the shoes of one of our guests, would you search for us?" Giving her a knowing smile, Apollyon stroked her face gently, pushing the silver strands framing her face aside. He said bluntly, "They had already assumed that we went somewhere private and fuc��"

    That statement made Luna want to shatter the moment between them like ice-cold water sshed on her face.

    Her husband had distracted her too much that she had strayed from her responsibilities as the hostess of the Masquerade Ball.

    Luna''s jaw clenched with determination as she turned her head sideways when Apollyon drew her face closer to his.

    Her husband had quickly swooped in, aiming for a kiss in the mouth but he had smacked her left cheek instead.

    "Stop distracting me, husband." Luna''s voice was breathy as she inhaled his warm masculine scent of pine trees, winter snowkes, and dark choctes.

    "Just show me how to dance and I would follow your lead."

    She had shoved his broad shoulders and the Vampire King had allowed her to push him away even if he was as strong as a mountain.

    He could have a choice not to budge when she did it but Apollyon probably allowed her out of respect. He was good at acting like a chivalrous gentleman these days.

    With cold sweat running down her back, Luna had stridden out on the farthest left of the balcony to give herself space from her husband''s caging arms.

    Every time the Vampire King was in her vicinity, her mind threatened to lose herself because she damn well couldn''t think straight.

    Apollyon neither demanded nor protested why she moved away from him.

    The Vampire King''s kissable lips had turned into a cute pout as he squinted at her at the corner.

    Luna calmed her erratic heart down as she focused on the silver moon, reflecting off the man-made pool which wasn''t far from the rose garden below the balcony.

    The pine trees and the mountains from the far horizon were covered in milky-white snow.

    Being the respectful man that he was, Apollyon kept his distance, cleared his throat, and changed the subject. "Do Amazon warriors in your tribe dance for their goddess'' rituals or anything of the sort?"

    "No. We only deliver the offering, burn them to the fire, and pray." Biting down her bottom lip, Luna''s hands shook as she sped them tighter on the hand railings of the balcony to keep from reaching out to Apollyon, fighting her desire to stay in his arms once again.

    She continued in a small voice, "There was no dancing involved."

    There was just a deep knowing in her gut that was screaming for her husband''s caresses.

    Now, she was obsessed that she couldn''t get enough of Apollyon.

    Had he put a spell on her before she could do it to him?

    The ancient pureblood vampire was basically a magician himself so there was that possibility.

    "I do not doubt your ability to dance, my beloved, but it would be difficult for you to learn it just tonight when thedies from the Consortium had spent years of training for these royal court dances." He replied.

    As she clutched her heart in her chest, she discerned that the passion she had felt for Apollyon didn''t feel controlled.

    It was a raw need.

    There was this primal hunger to always be in his power and presence that sometimes it made her want to pull at her hair in frustration.

    She could never ignore the quick flutter of her heart and heat flowing in her veins every time they were left to their own devices.

    She could not me her husband for this.

    Perhaps, it was the blood bond acting up.

    She had been with him the whole day and it was the best experience to be with someone who was willing to change their behavior for the woman they had imed to love.

    Apollyon''s confession made her feel like she was on cloud nine each time she remembered it.

    She stole a look with her husband and avoided his gaze when their eyes met.? "Just teach me the basics or I had no other choice but to ept the other Kings'' offer if they offered to dance with me and I only humiliate myself further the second time."

 Chapter 165 - Dance Master

    <h4>Chapter 165 - Dance Master</h4>

    **********************

    The Empress Luna

    **********************

    Luna knew there was no need to be nervous around him, but she needed to clear her head to fulfill her sweet revenge.? "Perhaps I would ask our guests to teach me how to dance if you don''t want to."

    The Vampire King drew a long breath of cool air as he savored the roses'' sweet scent and the gardenia blooms carried by the gentle breeze.

    "You are really testing my patience even if I know you were joking." He said softly as he turned his attention to the moon, not surprised at his wife''s threats. "I don''t want your first dance to be with someone other than me." Perhaps, he finally got the idea that it was never her intention to make him jealous. "At least, I know that you aren''t afraid of me anymore when you get toofortable with your jests."

    "Calm down, Apollyon." Luna pressed her lips together as she tried to stifle a smile.

    Peering at him from beneath her mask, she said, "You can also practice your jests on me."

    Delight bubbled through her bloodstream when she ced her palms over his heart, and Apollyon had allowed it.

    She stared intensely into his gaze, looked away for a few seconds before she returned with a smirk. "I wouldn''t be offended."

    *****************************

    VAMPIRE KING APOLLYON

    ******************************

    Apollyon had wanted to say what was on his mind, even if frightened her.

    He didn''t care if his wife ran away because of how blunt he was.

    The Empress just had to deal with it as his wife. It was now or never. "I want to joke, but it would either be a sexual one, it could either be about you or something that involved other women, and it might offend you."

    The Empress took an audible breath, turning to face the gardens once again, staring at her velvet bo in regret.

    Never in her entire existence had his wife desperately needed to cover her face, and it made him chuckle.

    With her eyebrows creasing, Luna eyed him, and her tone was a little sharp when she cut him off, "No jokes involving other women."

    "It goes both ways." He repeated. "No jokes involving other men."

    She rolled her eyes yfully and epted.? "Alright."

    There was a sinister glint in his eyes when he seconded, "Only perverted jokes."

    "Yes." She responded. "I guess I can ept perverted jokesing from my husband."

    Swallowing hard, Apollyon ''identally'' leaned down as he caught the sweet scent of her perfume, and his lustful gaze had fallen upon her cleavage.

    He cleared his throat as he fought the desire to take her right then and there.

    He held her hand and brought it to his lips as he fixed her an alluring stare, "I''m lusting after you right now."

    Luna''s voice trembled as she turned, resting her elbows upon the stone balustrade. "Was that a joke?"

    "The other Kings would surely ask for your hand." Apollyon also mimicked her posture, bringing his elbows to rest on the balustrade as he stood next to her. "It''s a man''s excuse to dance with a woman to get to know them more while they could touch her body and feel her up."

    With only a few inches separating the two of them, he exined further, "They be more shameless, especially in a Masquerade Ball such as these, and they had a mask to wear. As a good husband who wanted to protect his wife at all costs, I wouldn''t allow you in their vicinity."

    "Apollyon, are you saying that Midnight Masquerade Ball is a pervert''s nirvana?"

    He chuckled at his wife''s exasperated tone. "It could be, but I''m not speaking from experience."

    The scent of flowers from his Empress'' skin teased him with each tiny breath of the wind.

    Luna red sideways at him. "You sound defensive, though, but I already know your true nature. Pervert."

    Their proximity was so damn convenient that it was easy for him to slide his hand over her and aligned his palm over hers.

    Apollyon''srge hands dwarfed hers, and Luna, in turn, curled her fingers to entwine with his.

    The realization sent a silent thrill through him, practically warming his stone-cold heart. "I will only be a pervert around my Empress if you need some reassurance."

    "Hmph. I don''t need your reassurance." Luna pouted, sulking, but her hand remained sped in his, and that was when Apollyon knew she wasn''t that serious with her next statements. "You can fuck other women for all I care if you let me fuck other men. It usually goes both ways."

    "You will not be fucking other men aside from me." Apollyon pursed his lips in an attempt to hide an evil grin. "I will kill them but not you."

    "You must remember, Apollyon, that I haven''te yet." Luna lifted a shoulder and mirrored her husband''s smirk, "I wonder who can make me."

    The wintry breeze whispered through her messy silver curls, and he fought the urge tob them again with his fingers.

    "Wife." He exhaled as he ran a frustrated hand through his raven hair. "You are really asking for it."

    "Husband," The Empress un-looped her fingers from him and turned towards the Ball Room, peering through the attendees. "I think there was an unspoken rule in a Masquerade Ball that couples shouldn''t engage in long, private, confidential talk."

    Moving swiftly, Apollyon took hold of her wrist, keeping her captive. "We aren''t inside the Ball Room."

    It wasn''t the best time yet.

    He must keep her here with him so his other guests would forget about meeting the Empress.

    He added, "We are on the Balcony so that it wouldn''t count."

    Luna looked up at him, and a riot of wholly improper thoughts raced through his mind.

    She whispered the next words in the light breeze.

    "The first music had started." She gave him a smile that lit up her beautiful golden eyes--no, not hers but Ravin''s. "You could at least teach me the basics for ourst waltz."

    Apollyon sighed as he sped hisrge hands around her waists, giving in to his wife''s requests, "Alright."

 Chapter 166 - Tempting Proposition

    <h4>Chapter 166 - Tempting Proposition</h4>

    **************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    **************************

    Luna''s golden eyes were as wide as the full moon and as pale as her smooth skin.

    She was a tall, slender woman with a powerful presence and maic charm, which will keep Apollyon entertained forever.

    Despite that, he still wanted to wrap his arms around her.

    Apollyon had wanted to protect his Empress at all costs away from the other males.

    Still, she wanted to dance with his alliances because, ording to her, it was her ''duty'' as the Empress when Apollyon had clearly told her that there was no need.

    He shook his head and sighed in resignation, "Alright. Come here, wife."

    sping hisrge hands on her small waist, he mumbled as he pressed his lower body to hers.? "Let this pervert husband lewd you."

    Luna let out a small yelp, and he knew she had felt his erection on her stomach.

    When she nced up to re at him, he smirked, "You wanted this, beloved."

    When he peered at her bodice beneath his eyshes, Apollyon''s jaw clenched as he tugged at the ckces as if he was attempting to hide her cleavage.

    Still, the gap of her elongated V neckline up to her waist was just wide enough to cover her ares, and if he tugged the thin transparent some more, it might disintegrate.

    He removed his hands from her dangerous gown and lifted it over his head, scared that he might destroy it, and his wife might end up naked in this event again.

    Apollyon shook his head and frowned in disapproval, "If someone invited you to dance, you should give the man an immediate reply."

    "So the moment the man raised both of his hands in front of me as an invitation like what Draco had done��"

    His gaze had flicked from her breasts upward as he growled, "I feel sensitive that you are calling the Dragon King by his name when you aren''t even acquaintances."

    Luna chuckled good-naturedly as she raised her hands to cup Apollyon''s cheeks and squeezed, her gold eyes twinkling with amusement. "You don''t need to be jealous, husband. It was his name, and that was the purpose of a name, so I had something to call the Dragon King."

    She beamed at him as the corner of her eyes crinkled, "I can''t just call him ''Hey, You! Bison-Horns!''"

    The Vampire Kingughed.

    "Let''s get back to my question." She cleared her throat, and her pretty face had turned serious. "So what do I do to ept his invitation?"

    Luna tilted her head as she moved her left hand to clutch at the space between Apollyon''s neck and shoulders, her forefinger caressing his nape.

    Apollyon shut his eyes and shivered--the? ticklish sensation made all the vampire blood in his veins flow sluggishly to his engorged cock.

    "I would rather you say ''no'' to everyone who asks for your hand, wife but nevermind--" Opening his eyes to nce down at Luna, Apollyon grumbled. "I should tell you the basic etiquettes of the Ball Room first before teaching you the dance steps."

    Clearing his throat, he continued with the lesson while his wife continued to stroke him lightly, the effect spreading all the way down to his spine. "So if you epted a man''s invitation to dance, you should designate what set it will be, and you shall fulfill the engagement."

    "What do you mean set?"

    He grabbed her hand away from the sensitive skin of his nape and settled it far from his erogenous zones. Apollyon replied, "It is the order of the music of the dances."

    "Alright." She nodded like the good student that she was. "I understand."

    "This is the most important part that you should remember. After dancing, the gentleman will conduct thedy to a seat unless she said otherwise. No intimate conversations allowed after the dance if the man wasn''t your husband." Apollyon exined as his hold on her hips tightened. "So I am an exception to the rule. If the man refuses to drop his hand from any part of your body after the music ceased, I had the right to step in and cut off that dirty hand."

    As she tapped her fingertips on Apollyon''s shoulders, there was a mischievous gleam in her eyes when she brought her face closer to his ear and murmured, "Something is hard Apollyon."

    "So?" Apollyon tried his best to keep his hands in the right position and not move them into inappropriate ces. "If you are a man, it''s normal to have an erection for absolutely no reason. Just ignore it, and we will focus on the dance."

    He had prided himself over his control, and he wasn''t going to break that discipline now when they were not supposed to be doing this in the Masquerade Ball.

    His Empress had requested him to teach her to dance, so he must focus on that goal and not stray from it.

    Luna had opened and closed her mouth as if she was a fish out of the water.

    Apollyon''s brows knitted together with concern.

    As if she was weighing her words, there was a hesitation before Luna spoke, "It speaks to me, Apollyon."

    He wasn''t sure if he heard that right.

    Apollyon moved his ear closer to her mouth to make sure. "What?"

    "It told me it wants me to suck," Luna said in a deadpan voice.

    Apollyon straightened his spine as he stared her down, arching an eyebrow, "What?

    "Should I?" Luna asked as her lips parted, eyes wide.

    She was the picture of innocence and seduction that he wanted to get his sullied hands on.

    Apollyon''s heart thudded heavily in his ears at sight she had offered.

    "Perhaps, it will make youfortable if you release the white liquid, and it will soften up," Luna added as she let the hand on his nape fall.

    The Empress caressed his bulge with the back of her hand, and he quickly captured it.

    "Wife." Apollyon shut his eyes and exhaled a long, heavy breath. "Stop torturing me."

 Chapter 167 - Dancing In A Moonlit Night

    <h4>Chapter 167 - Dancing In A Moonlit Night</h4>

    *************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    *************************

    The Empress was determined to test his patience and control.

    He muttered as he took her palm away from his groin. "We will now focus on the dance."

    "Alright. I offered to help you, but you turned me down." Luna shrugged with nonchnce as she nced at his crotch shyly before she brought her gaze back to his face.

    Eyebrows lifting in surprise, Apollyon''s eyes widened and his breath hitched when he thought, ''Luna did not miss a thing.''

    There was a long pause before Luna spoke again, "You don''t have to be angry."

    He gritted his teeth. "I''m not angry."

    "So..." Luna beamed at him. "What''s the next step?"

    His cock had a mind of its own that it needed a constant reminder from his brain that there was a huge difference between dancing and fucking.

    He might admit that he wasn''t satisfied by the number of rounds of their sexual congress but his wife had the uncanny ability to turn him on without even trying hard.

    "Just follow my lead, wife. I would give you permission to step on the Vampire King''s foot if you made a mistake." Clearing his throat to get rid of his embarrassment, Apollyon said in amanding tone, "There would be no beheading just because of a simple dance step."

    They stood closely facing each other.

    It was a miracle that his stubborn wife had kept her mouth shut and focused on him with a face that is akin to what she looked like when she would be ying demons.

    "Put your right hand on my left shoulder de, beloved, and wrap your right hand on my left hand." Apollyon drilled her like he was leading her to battle and she followed briskly, her blood-red lips pursed in sobriety.

    This was what she wanted so he would fulfill her wishes.

    Apollyon settled his right hand on the underside just level to her breasts.

    Luna''s gaze followed when he sped his fingers gently to the side of her right boob and frowned. "Apollyon, I don''t think your hand should be there."

    He swore Luna had noticed he was blushing when he replied tly, "I''m the only one who can do this since this was a husband''s privilege."

    His wife squinted in suspicion as she trailed off, "Uh-huh..."

    "The other males'' elbows should be stretched up to your shoulder height." He coughed awkwardly to hide his embarrassment.

    Apollyon was making excuses just so he could freely touch Luna whenever he felt like it. "I''m sping your side boob because my right hand is kind of numb so it needed to rest for a while."

    Luna tilted her head as she squinted at him. "Hm."

    "Basically, you do what I do but it should be like��" He trailed off as he nced sideways, thinking about the right words to exin everything. "You are a mirror for me. When I step forward, you step backward and when I use my right foot, you use your left since we are face to face. That''s how it usually works."

    "Alright." Luna nodded with rapt attention. "I understand."

    Since Apollyon was the lead, he needed to guide his Empress with this dance.

    Apollyon encouraged Luna to step her right foot backward every time his left foot stepped forward.

    "Like this, wife." He stepped his left foot forward and his right foot followed, showing her the right way to do the ''box step''."They should end right next to each other."

    "Should we practice?" He asked as he fiddled with his Empress'' bodice, loving the texture of it.

    Apollyon might as well savor how it felt under his touch before he removed them after this Masquerade Ball was done.

    Well, he might have destroyed the flimsy fabric of her dress if he couldn''t control his lust by the time the Last Waltz ended.

    He exhaled a breath as he prayed to the gods and the goddesses for mighty endurance.

    "A waltz is basically a three-count tempo." He informed her and Apollyon had started counting.

    "One��"

    Apollyon stepped one foot forward experimentally, and Luna was quick to follow by stepping her foot backward.

    On the count of two, he glided to his right and his smart Empress also stepped to the right and followed his lead. "On count three, we bring our feet together."

    "Try to keep your feet low to the ground as you move from side to side." He watched Luna do what she was told to do and it was the first time that his wife had never questioned his instructions.

    "That''s it." As he let out a boomingugh from that realization, Apollyonplimented his wife like he was a doting father who was proud of his only daughter''s aplishment. "Yes, my beloved, you are doing great."

    With only the silver moon as their source of light in the Ball Room Balcony, Luna leaned forward excitedly as her golden eyes glowed in the dark.? "How about twirling, husband?"

    "What?" Apollyon got too distracted from his wife''s love spell.

    If he stared at them for too long it really felt like he might drown in her hypnotizing gaze and nevere back the same.

    When her words had finally sunk into his befuddled brain, Apollyon gave her an incredulous stare as he eximed, "You want to turn?"

    Luna squeezed his hand in a pleading gesture as she bounced on her toes. "I want to twirl my skirts like how thedies do it."

    "Don''t overdo the twirling or your skirts would hover in the air and your stockings will show." Apollyon scolded her as he moved closer to her intimate space. "So we do the first two steps of the waltz and then I would ce my left foot at a slight turn on the third step. You shall follow in the same direction."

    He nced at his wife''s face to check if her soul hadn''t gone somewhere from the difficulty of his statement.? "A pair should always turn on the lead''s left."

    He continued to exin in a steady lower-pitched voice. "Do you understand?"

 Chapter 168 - Dinner Table Politics

    <h4>Chapter 168 - Dinner Table Politics</h4>

    *************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    *************************

    He continued to exin in a steady lower-pitched voice. "Do you understand?"

    Luna nodded as she sped his hand tightly. "Yes, let us try it then."

    Apollyon turned his left foot a bit, and Luna went along with his movement, dancing in the Balcony under the moonlight.

    The air was cool and crisp, mixed with the scent of pine trees as it floated in the breeze.

    Apollyon attempted to turn, and they had aplished smooth fluid circles that would make the Consortium''s headmistress in awe.

    He and Luna had seeded in their first try of dancing the waltz, and he had never been more proud of his Empress.

    "Good job, beautiful." Dropping his right arm, Apollyon released Luna and raised his left hand, and guided her forward to spin under them in a clockwise turn towards the left.

    He continued with the dance step, returning to their original position.

    "That''s it!" Apollyon observed as he gave Luna some gentle head pats, amazed at his wife''s many talents. "You are a fast learner."

    He had taught her wife some of the mostmon dances in the Ball Room, such as Waltz, March, and Quadrille''s basic steps in that particr order.

    He wasn''t inclined to teach the other Ball Room dances since they are moreplicated than the three dances he had given lessons with.

    Luna didn''t have to dance aplete set.

    Apollyon liked it that way so he can limit her interactions with the other Kings''.

    He had enjoyed teaching her wife and practicing them with her in a much slower tempo, which made the scene more intimate as he can caress her and pull her body close to his without inhibition.

    A few dance practicester, the Empress kept on stepping on the vamp of his shiny ck shoes, smudging them with dust and dirt.

    Pausing as he scowled at Luna''s heels, he was sure that his wife had fully grasped all the steps properly.

    As he examined her cheeky smile that showed the dimple on her left cheek when she peeked guiltily at him, Apollyon realized that his wife had done it on purpose to have a goodugh at his frustration.

    His lips curved in both annoyance and amusement on his Empress'' mischievous streak.

    Sometimes, Apollyon didn''t know if he shouldugh at her antics or scold her for mocking the great King of the Vampire Realm, so he settled for shaking his head and smiling to himself on how ridiculous his Empress could be.

    Luna beamed at him as her body swayed naturally to the music, her skirts flowing like ripples of water. "Dancing is fun, husband."

    She had danced so gracefully, indeed, and Apollyon didn''t expect that from his wife.

    "I don''t really like dancing, my beloved. " Apollyon said as he continued to stare at his wife''s peerless beauty openly. "I had danced a lot of royal court dances that I just got bored with it."

    The Empress'' face pained gaze settled on his, dropping both of her hands from his body and sping them together. "You don''t like dancing with me?"

    Apollyon tapped his foot to the beat of the music at the Ball Room and gave her a satisfied smile, "I can dance until the sun rises if it is? with you."

    +++

    All of the Kings from the different Realms were provided with their own tables at the Masquerade Ball as thedies from the Consortium had their pick on which King''s table they would sit with.

    This seating arrangement can also be seen as a discreet way to test the Kings'' poprity for the Marriage Auction because the more favored they were by the women, the more options they have.

    The more options they have, the more women they could bring to their Kingdom as wives and concubines.

    As far as Apollyon''s observation, the most admired King revered by most of thedies from the Consortium was the Faerie Prince Aspen, followed by the Dragon King who had the audacity to ask for his Empress'' hand for her First Waltz when Apollyon hadn''t even danced with his wife yet.

    His narrowed gaze settled for a few seconds on Draco''s strong, masculine features, which was a huge contrast with Aspen, the Faerie Prince, before his eyes moved to the Werewolf King, Remus.

    Remus must be the type of King who was loud, obnoxious, and arrogant.

    Apollyon guessed that perhaps, that was a part of his charm for thedies had gathered around him with sparkling eyes paired with bright smiles on their pretty faces, as the Werewolf King regaled them exciting tales about the battles he had won and the number of territories he had invaded through overpowering the savage tribes, piging and looting them of their resources.

    Arching an eyebrow, Apollyon watched his excessive hand gestures in a pinched expression.

    He was the new King from the Werewolf Realm who had imed the Sacred Valley for himself, which was considered the Valley of the Goddess Artemis.

    If he had indeed made it his, then that was his problem if he had incurred the wrath of the Goddess of the Hunt.

    Remus was probably a nobody before he had owned a vast territory.

    The werewolf alpha had asked for an alliance a few weeks before the Blood Moon Banquet, and Apollyon had allowed it because it didn''t really matter to him.

    If the Werewolf King betrayed their alliance, it would be easy to kill him if he kept up with this character��predictable, nd, and too narcissistic to be conscious of others'' motives and weaknesses.

    Remus was probably the type of King who relied on numbers, brute strength, and intimidation.

    Apollyon''s first impression of the werewolf the moment Remus had requested an audience and opened his mouth was that he would be a good chess piece in the game of royal politics but not an important one.

    As long as the Werewolf King wouldn''t do anything stupid, he would continue to indispensable.

 Chapter 169 - Holding Grudges

    <h4>Chapter 169 - Holding Grudges</h4>

    **************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    **************************

    Fourth in line to the poprity contest was the King of the Merfolks, followed by the brooding King of the Shadow Realm, Zephyr, who sat in silence while the women tried their best to engage them in a conversation.

    King Panterra had only a fewdies at his disposal on his table, and it wasn''t really a surprise considering the humiliation he had faced from the Vampire King at the battle arena.

    Of course, the Feline King had noticed this.

    King Panterra had nced sideways--nostrils ring with envy--at the direction of the other Kings'' who were seated on their own banquet.

    His anger was evident based on his bared teeth, which had morphed into a forced smile a split secondter as he? flexed his arm muscles with aggression to the few women surrounding him to regain his pride back.

    Apollyon also knew the reason why only a few women from the Consortium had approached him.

    They probably heard the news of his former concubine, Catriona''s death, who died in his hands.

    Ladies from the Consortium were prone to gossip, and they had probably discussed among themselves that King Panterra wasn''t able to protect the woman he had solely picked to be his consort at the Battle Arena.

    Panterra had lost his desirability to the Consortium, for thedies had perceived ''weakness'' in him.

    Thedies had quickly judged that one particr battle and assumed that Panterra wouldn''t be able to protect his Kingdom from attackers.

    Apollyon had defeated the Feline King without a scratch on his smooth, pale skin.

    The sword duels didn''t evenst a long time for him to show a good fight.

    He didn''t even notice that he had crossed his arms as he stared at King Panterra with a downturned mouth.

    It was the Feline King''s fault for messing with his wife.

    Stretching his neck from side to side as if he was preparing for a fight, Apollyon loosened up his cor, rolled up his sleeves, and cracked his knuckles.

    If the bastard requested a dance from the Empress, even if it were just a single set, Apollyon wouldn''t hesitate to put the King who disrespected his wife at the Acquaintance Affairs in his ce.

    ***********************

    THE EMPRESS LUNA

    ***********************

    "Husband." Luna patted the Vampire King''s broad chest to get his attention as she sat on hisp.

    His husband had insisted that they sit in his golden throne which was settled in front of the dinner tables upied by the rest of the Kings.

    Luna didn''t know why but based on their position that both of them were just opposite and in front of where the Kings and their cohorts sat, she had spected that his possessive husband desired to announce it to everyone who his Empress belonged to��just a seemingly harmless message with an underlying threat.

    The Kings were having the time of their lives from all the attention except King Panterra and King Zephyr.

    Each of them had a long rectangr banquet tableden with food as thedies encircled them, engaged in flirty banters and witty conversations.

    She would probably p for thedies from the Consortium as they acted like they were in theirplete element, doing their best to charm the King they had set their eyes on.

    It was ''nice'' to watch these women entertain the Kings with the bright intensity of their smile, showing perfect white teeth and their adoring eyes twinkling like diamonds as their flowery words stroke their chosen Kings'' massive egos.

    Goddess, Luna felt like she was watching a tableau as she observed thedies jump through hoops right in front of her eyes to keep a longsting impression on the Kings.

    She would have continued enjoying the scene and tell her husband about it but when she nced up to look at him, Apollyon had red at King Panterra for no reason.

    "Why are you ring at King Panterra, husband?" Luna asked as she ground her buttocks deeper into his groin to distract her husband from his grudges.

    She wrapped her hands unto the back of his neck while her legs hang sidewaysfortably on the throne''s armrest, her feet swaying along with the rxing piano while the attendees were eating their dinner.

    Luna knew she was behaving like one of Apollyon''s past concubines, but she didn''t care what the people in front of them had to say about her.

    She was the Empress, and if the Vampire King wanted her settled on hisp instead of her own golden throne beside him, then she would dly oblige as long as she was wearing a mask to hide her features.

    Perhaps, she could be shameless along with her husband and forgot about it the next morning.

    The Vampire King thrust his chest out in a menacing gesture as he rested his elbow on the armchair while his other arm wrapped around Luna''s body as a precaution so that she wouldn''t fall from his thigh.

    Nostrils ring, he growled, "I just remembered what happened at the Acquaintance Affairs, and I got angry all over again."

    "You already sorted it out at the sword duels, and your past concubine was dead because of that." Luna soothed her husband by brushing her thumb on Apollyon''s thick upper lip. "Just imagine the humiliation he might face when he arrived back at the Feline Kingdom as he brought back the memories of a feline who belonged to him, and he couldn''t even protect her as the King because you won over him."

    She noted Apollyon''s Adam''s apple bobbing up and down as he swallowed hard, before he nced down at her, biting on her thumb yfully and making her giggle.

    Startled at his action, she pulled her thumb from his mouth before he pierced it with his sharp fang.

    Luna lifted her hand andbed Apollyon''s thick raven hair affectionately as she continued, "He had lost to you, husband, and there was nothing to be mad about. Just consider Catriona''s death as King Panterra''s sacrifice to you."

    "You don''t understand why I am angry, wife, but anyway, thanks for your concern."

 Chapter 170 - Im Watching You

    <h4>Chapter 170 - I''m Watching You</h4>

    **********************

    The Empress Luna

    **********************

    "You don''t understand why I am angry, wife, but anyway, thanks for your concern." Without any warning, Apollyon lifted her so easily as if she was as light as a feather, and she yelped in surprise, clinging unto her husband for dear life.

    With his legs nted wide, Apollyon carried her in a bridal style as he stood up straight.

    The Vampire King let the balls of her feet settle firmly to the ground when he put her down.

    Luna righted her clothes as she regained her bnce.

    She knew their cuddle sessions were officially done when the third set had started, and the Masquerade Ball attendees had stood up from their seats meticulously without dragging the legs of their chairs onto the floor.

    Luna was amazed at how thesedies and gentlemen practiced the ballroom and dinner etiquette by heart, and the only thing she could be proud of for now was learning the basic dance steps.

    These civilized men and women who had a long familiarity with the royal court were way out of her league when, in fact, she was the Empress.

    Luna really needed to learn a lot from Apollyon.

    Her husband might be perverted, but he was a good teacher who was also good at teaching her some basic etiquette and dance lessons.

    Apollyon was not only a warlock who had learned magic by himself through collecting and reading rare and forbidden spellbinding books from all over the Realms.

    Well, of course, it made sense that his husband was intelligent.

    He was an ancient pureblood vampire for a very long time.

    That was one of the perks of being immortal.

    You get to know everything from the wisdom and experiences you have acquired through thousands of years.

    When the Vampire King had invited her to sit on hisp earlier, she had frozen in her ce, standing in front of him.

    She was visibly sweating as she nodded ''yes'' with reluctance.

    Of course, Luna said ''yes'' because she was scared that her husband would take it personally if she said ''no.''

    Apollyon was a King so easily offended when she turned down his public disy of affection.

    She challenged herself never to refuse her husband as long as they weren''t hurting each other or other people.

    He probably wanted others to envy their love for each other��basically, anyone who might care to witness.

    It was ironic that her husband had taught her proper decorum, and the next moment, he would pull a stunt like this.

    Facepalm.

    "The next set is about to start, my beloved." Apollyon returned to his seat, crossed his legs, and reclined at his golden throne cidly as he stared into her eyes with an emotionless gaze that scared her a little. "Go dance while I sit on the throne and sharpen my ws."

    "Husband." Straightening her shoulders, Luna nced down into her husbands'' darkening pupils.

    Luna sighed as she stroked his husband''s hair gently. "Don''t add any more deaths on your hands today."

    "We''ll see, wife." The Vampire King cradled his head in his left hand as he leaned unto his armrest, stretchingzily like a cat. "I will watch over you."

    +++++

    Luna didn''t need to approach the crowd--moping and waiting for a partner to dance with--for the Dragon King had approached her when she hadn''t even walked a few steps away from the Vampire King''s throne.

    Luna had yelped when her body hit a seemingly imprable wall, but when she opened her eyes, she figured out it was someone''s solid bare chest.

    His red silk robes with gilded lining over its edges were slightly open.

    She frowned when she nced upward to his chiseled face.

    Rubbing her forehead, Luna realized it was Draco.

    She took a step backward and narrowed her eyes at the gigantic man in which the ''Bison-Horn'' headpiece he always wore also added to his tall height.

    When her husband had given her a blessing to find a dance partner for the Masquerade Ball, Draco was already in front of her the moment she turned.

    Chewing her bottom lip, she wanted to ask him, "Why do you want to dance with me so much?" but she kept her mouth shut.

    Apollyon had told her about the rules of the Masquerade Ball.

    There would be no flirtatious banters and intimate conversations with someone who wasn''t her husband.

    She will not ask their guests unnecessary questions, and when they asked her about things, she will keep her replies short, polite, and sweet like an Empress should.

    Apollyon had been loyal to her while she was gone, so she would also do the same.

    "May I have the honor to dance this set with you, Empress?" The Dragon Emperor bowed his head slightly, his long raven hair falling unto his masculine face like curtains.

    Luna was fast enough to anticipate his headpiece before it could poke her in the eye.

    Draco straightened, and the fiery orange eyes, which appeared like ming orbs,tched onto hers.

    This time, the Dragon Emperor lifted a gauntleted hand in front of her, and she looked over her shoulder to check on Apollyon.

    The Vampire King nodded as if he was giving her permission to be with the other man.

    He still had his head cradled with one hand as he leaned his elbow on his armrest.

    Luna had wondered if he really didn''t care if another man took her.

    The Vampire King''s body had sagged into the chair without any tension, too engrossed at checking his cuticles��err, ws.

    As if her husband''s indifference had been a signal for Draco, he stepped forward and loomed over her.

    Draco cleared his throat as he lifted his hand again, but this time, it was closer to her face.

    Watching her like a hawk that had set his eyes on his prey, Draco offered her a cold, calcting look as Luna heard a hint of amusement in his tone. "Is it alright for me to kiss the Empress'' hand?"

 Chapter 171 - The Dragon Emperor

    <h4>Chapter 171 - The Dragon Emperor</h4>

    ********************

    The Empress Luna

    ********************

    "Is it alright for me to kiss the Empress'' hand?"

    They blinked at each other as an awkward smile broke across Luna''s face.

    She was the Empress for the goddess'' sake!

    Why was she acting like she was mute?

    Luna was so surprised that her throat had tightened with anxiety and she almost stumbled on the train of her gown when she stepped backwards.

    Not waiting to see the Vampire King''s riposte of Draco''s query, Luna took a deep breath, nce upwards at him and nodded warily at his request.

    Luna ced her hand which had appeared tiny in hisrge ones, drowning her hand with its size as he sped it before brushing his thick lips on her skin.

    Luna shifted from foot to foot with unease.

    She had thought that she was used to handsome men in her vicinity��The Vampire King, the two Archdemons and her close contact with King Panterra, King Phorcys and King Remus--but Luna had thought wrong based from the emotions these men had evoked on her.

    She was deeply affected and in awe of their sheer beauty--akin to having huge bark of tree falling in front of her face and she just couldn''t ignore it--but at least she could manage to keep her mouth closed.

    Luna didn''t wait for the Dragon Emperor to let go of her hand because she had already pulled away from his grasp when his lips had lifted from the back of her hand.

    Luna will not show any sign that would disy any disloyalty to her husband in front of him.

    Luna wanted to prove to Apollyon that he could trust her.

    It seemed like the Vampire King had trusted her reassurance for he hadn''t interfered when Draco offered his arm for her to snake her elbow with.

    The Dragon Emperor was clearly aware of the Ball Room etiquette for he did not hold her by the hand and drag her to the dance floor with a sense of familiarity and entitlement and that was when she knew that she would be somewhat safe with him.

    When they arrived at the dancefloor, Draco bowed his head and she curtsied along with him as the musicmenced.

    Wearing a pleasant smile as she inclined her head a little, Luna sighed with relief when it was the waltz Apollyon had told her earlier.

    She can apply the basic dance steps to this set and she wouldn''t be humiliated like what her husband had expected of her in the beginning.

    Luna will make Apollyon proud by how elegant and graceful she was at dancing.

    Draco pressed his hand on her waist as they danced.

    Luna did well when she danced at the balcony with Apollyon but right now, she tried her best to perform the steps carefully, adjusting to this new environment along with the crowd in the ball room.

    Gasping, Luna''s posture had suddenly stiffened when the Dragon Emperor had settled one arm on her back while the other one encircled her waist.

    She was about to open her mouth in protest but she realized that Draco had forcefully pulled her as he stepped towards the right and she had no choice but to follow his guidance.

    When she turned her head for a split second, there was a couple who had seemingly popped out of nowhere at their side and if Draco didn''t steer away from them, Luna would have continued and crash into King Phorcys and his mermaid concubine.

    That would create another embarrassing scene that would rival the Acquaintance Affairs where she stood with her wrists tied up, exposing her naked body in front of the guests.

    Laughing shakily, Luna adjusted her hand on Draco''s shoulders and leaned her face discreetly to his ear, "Thank you, Emperor Draco."

    She gave him a slow smile. "I appreciate your help."

    The Dragon Emperor''s lips twitched with wry humor. "There is something I''m curious about that was why I wanted to gain an audience with you even just for a little while."

    A shiver ran down her spine.

    Goddess, was this about the Acquaintance Affairs?

    If it was, then Luna needed the dance floor to crack open and let the ground swallow her whole, disappearing until nobody in this goddamned Realm remember that embarrassing moment.

    Perhaps, this would prevent people who were in that event to mention anything about what happened in the past.

    She wouldn''t be able to handle the humiliation all over again.

    Luna unconsciously straightened, forcing herself to meet Draco''s gaze.

    Instead, she replied, "Sure, Your Highness."

    She forced a bright smile and looked up at him. "You can ask me anything."

    "I just find it weird, Empress."? There was a surprising hint of suspicion tightening his grim features. "Why do you smell like you are of dragon descent?"

    Her smile wavered at the Dragon Emperor''s question as she stared at her heels, avoiding eye contact.

    "It''s not fully strong but I know it''s there for I have scented you the moment you entered the ball room." He shrugged with nonchnce when he noticed that her brows had knitted together in a mix of confusion and anxiety.

    He pressed, murmuring, "May I know what race you belong to if you would care to tell me?"

    As she messed up the dance steps she had memorized in her head because she had lost her focus, the Emperor wasn''t able to stop her when Luna''s back hit another couple on the dance floor.

    Luna got too distracted from Draco''s peculiar confession that she had panicked and lost her mind.

    It wasn''t that she was unfamiliar with the dance because Apollyon had taught her well at the Balcony and they had practiced it a lot of times but what the Dragon King said had terribly bothered her peace of mind.

    Was there something wrong with her?

    Why would she smell like she was of dragon ancestry?

    She didn''t stumble because Emperor Draco hade to her rescue by simply cing a protective hand to cradle the back of her head before she crashed into another King.

    The impact had left her reeling.

 Chapter 172 - The Faerie Prince

    <h4>Chapter 172 - The Faerie Prince</h4>

    *********************

    The Empress Luna

    *********************

    Luna''s face had been shoved into Emperor Draco''s sexy bare shoulder.

    Eyes widening, she couldn''t help but inhale his sandalwood and fresh citrus scent mixed with his natural musk.

    She was guilty of inching closer to the Dragon Emperor not only that he had smelled good but she wanted to see��she meant, smell��what Draco had been talking about.

    How did dragons smell like, ording to him?

    She also sniffed herself to check if it was indeed, simr to his.

    Luna couldn''t say if Draco had meant that she stinks of dragon breath or something or...

    Did she assume Luna smelled like a dragon shape shifter?

    Face flushing across her cheeks, she nced at the direction of the Vampire King''s throne.

    Apollyon wasn''t looking at what she did, sniffing the Dragon Emperor without his permission.

    Her husband was busy regarding a bevy of courageous and animated beautifuldies from the Consortium who had curtsied in front of him.

    They were probably asking him to be their dance partner now that the Empress was gone from the picture.

    She didn''t see Apollyon talking to them--leering and smirking at thedies--so she was sure her husband wasn''t flirting.

    Despite knowing that, Luna had her lips pressed into a white sh, not noticing that she had clenched Draco''s hand in annoyance.

    The Vampire King had his head tilted as he regarded the women one by one.

    He was just there on his throne and stroking his chin, simply listening to their feminine wiles and not instigating anything.

    Her husband must have felt that her heated gaze was on him and when their eyes met, she immediately looked away, returning to the Dragon Emperor''s face.

    Luckily, the waltz music had ended.

    As she curtsied, Luna dropped her hold from Draco''s shoulder and let go of him but Draco had refused to release her.

    "You should answer me before you go, Empress." Luna pulled at her fingers from his grasp but instead, Draco''s lips had twitched as he squeezed her hand, amused by her refusal to look him in the eye and answer his unexpected query.

    Luna didn''t know the answer to that and she prayed that her husband would interfere.

    But it wasn''t her husband who did.

    "Unhand the Empress, Draco, if you know what''s best for you."

    As she lifted her head from the ground, it was the Faerie Prince who had grabbed Draco''s wrist in a crushing squeeze, forcing him to drop it when the music had ceased.

    Speaking of the devil, Apollyon did materialize beside them and she tried not to flinch in surprise when her husband said in his deep, husky voice, "I left my gaze from you for a few minutes. Hmm, why does mischief trail after my wife''s skirts everywhere she went?"

    The Vampire King grabbed Luna''s waist and she stumbled into his embrace.

    "You look too pale all of a sudden." Apollyon noted.

    "I think you had enough, wife." The Vampire King had said as he waved a dismissive hand but basing from the tone of his voice, that message wasn''t addressed to her but to the Kings who found her at the dance floor.

    Luna released a dejected sigh, feeling like a toy who had been passed around by these Kings.

    The only difference was that they had handled her with care��like a fragile little thing��and that wasn''t good enough.

    If the situation called for them to let her go, they had to do it.

    These Kings never learn to treat her like an equal and not just some female who stood as an Empress.

    She had the chance to put these royalties in their ce tonight but she couldn''t think straight by what Draco had implied earlier.

    A vision suddenly shed into her mind��the Vampire King turning into a dragon when the Blood Beast inside him had gone berserk.

    She was all too afraid that Ravin could possess her when their fate had been tied together by a single golden thread.

    Can the Archdemon of Gluttony take her away again when she entered the Dream Realm?

    Luna wouldn''t��can''t��fall asleep tonight.

    Well, there was only one way to find out.

    "Are you alright?" Her husband prodded earnestly, cutting through her thoughts like a sharp knife. "You must be tired, wife."

    Luna nodded as she buried her nose into her husband''s chest which was warm, familiar and safe.

    "Yes, I also want to retire with my husband." Luna agreed, lifting her chin to peer into his husband''s blue eyes as it smouldered with concern. She? reluctantly conceded, "It''s been a long day and the exhaustion had been catching up to me."

    "No, you look shaken, wife." Apollyon said as he shook his head, frowning at her before ring usingly at the Dragon Emperor. "Did Draco tell you something that bothered you?"

    "No, it''s alright." Hands turning limp on her husband''s shoulders, Luna hugged her husband tight and replied in a monotone. "It was nothing."

    The dance couples had paused as they unobtrusively moved closer to check what themotion was all about.

    Grimacing, Luna had noticed the murmurs had be louder as she nced here and there.

    Her hand immediately flew to her mask, making sure for the hundredth time if she had worn it.

    It was just a safety precaution.

    She admitted that her constant worry that her face would be revealed was borderline paranoia.

    Come to think of it, the Kings had already seen her face at the battle arena but they were too far to closely examine her features.

    There was no need to be shy, she convinced herself as she fidgeted in her ce, but she couldn''t help but lower her head to hide on the curtains of her long wavy hair.

    As if the Vampire King had heard her inner monologues, his slender, powerful hand cupped her chin, raising her head towards him.

    "There was no need to hide yourself, wife." The Vampire King said with absolute confidence that it was hard to refute such reasonable argument. "There was nothing to be ashamed of."

 Chapter 173 - Under Her Spell

    <h4>Chapter 173 - Under Her Spell</h4>

    *********************

    The Empress Luna

    *********************

    "I will protect you with my life from anyone who tried to hurt you as my Empress."

    The Faerie Prince sped a hand over her husband''s shoulder and insinuated himself in their sweet conversation, breaking the magic spell.

    His dimples shed as he ran a hand over his long and straight auburn hair that reached to his waist.

    The Faerie Prince offered her a gold cuffed hand. "Let me dance with your beautiful Empress, cousin, before you take her away then."

    There was a brief pause before Luna let that statement sink into her brain.

    Luna demanded softly, "Cousin?"

    She narrowed her gaze at Prince Aspen with utmost suspicion, dropping to his seemingly transparent robes made by the finest of silver silk threads.

    Her gaze had continued to drop over his mighty legs before she brought her sights back to his shrewd light blue eyes which also regarded her with a curious fashion.

    She didn''t let her eyes linger to his muscr body or she might make her possessive husband jealous for no reason.

    "I don''t think it would be appropriate to call me cousin in my own Kingdom, Aspen." The Vampire King retorted as he swatted Prince Aspen''s hand, stepping aside. "I do not acknowledge any Faerie blood in me."

    "I am a pure-blooded vampire and even if my mother who had passed away, curse her, was a princess from the Faerie Realm." He shrugged with nonchnce as he brought Luna closer to him, circling his hand around her waist as a sign of ownership. "I am detaching any of my ancestry to your Kingdom so don''t link me with your kind anymore."

    The Faerie''s lips curved in open amusement.

    "I thought we had finallye to an agreement to make peace between our Kingdoms for thest half of the century, Apollyon." Prince Aspen quickly countered, not at all surprised by her husband''s sudden outburst.

    "I hadn''t killed your trolls and goblins even if I knew you were still looting in one of our mines, Aspen." Apollyon responded with a chuckle but his cold, flinty gaze had said otherwise. "You talk too familiar with me, Fae, but I will let it slide for now. Thedy��who I had a familial connection with, unfortunately--is dead to me and I refuse to talk about it."

    Luna nced at the exchange back and forth and she could feel Apollyon''s posture as it went rigid, ready to strike like a wild cobra.

    His emotionless face gave an air of calm but his body was the opposite.

    As he gave Prince Aspen''s sideway nces, Luna silently concluded that if Prince Aspen would go overboard, he would be the next��the second death for today.

    Prince Aspen''s eyebrows flicked upward as he lifted a shoulder. "Are you sure that Empress Ourania is dead after breaking the blood bond with the previous Vampire King?"

    Apollyon''s lips ttened into a hard line and it was clear that the Faerie Prince had pushed him too far. "I had tolerated your antics at the Acquaintance Affairs when I clearly told you not to manipte the Consortium women to bend to your will."

    Her husband''s cool response only deepened the Faerie Prince''s amusement and Luna just noticed his faerie wings fluttered under the lights at that exact moment. "s, I have included your wife by a twist of fate in one of mypulsions��"

    "��which made her astral travel somewhere we couldn''t reach with Faerie magic and I''m afraid she was going to float whenever I least expected her to." He squinted at the Faerie Prince as he clenched his fists. "You know how much I hate surprises."

    "Don''t hold any more grudges, Apollyon. It''s not good for us to y the me game." Luna chastised him as she wrapped her arm around his waist to calm him. "It was already done and there was nothing we can do about it."

    Apollyon''s expression showed upromising lines as he focused on her. "I want to have the assurance that your soul would remain here in the Vampire Realm forever."

    "Where have you gone off to, Empress?" Draco asked abruptly and she remembered that the Dragon Emperor was there with them, eavesdropping to this private conversation which he had no right to--just like the rest of the Masquerade Ball attendees.

    It was about her husband''s family that he didn''t want to talk about.

    She didn''t want anyone else to listen on to this or they might use this information to use it against Apollyon and destroy him.

    "Let''s end this conversation, gentlemen." Tightening her fists, Luna stepped between Prince Aspen and her husband.

    Luna red at the Dragon Emperor pointedly as she said, "Prince Aspen and I will begin ourst dance before the Vampire King and I will retire."

    +++++

    Luna danced with the Faerie Prince along one other couple when the quadrille started.

    Quadrille was easily understandable since it still had the element of the Waltz.

    It was the longest dance of her life.

    Luna wanted it to end so bad when she had noticed that the Vampire King had his smouldering gaze scan her from head to toe with a stark possession in his sapphire blue eyes that threatened to burn to her.

    From the way the devilish glint in his eyes became more pronounced, Luna knew that Apollyon knew what he was doing to her as he held a goblet of red liquid��probably warm blood.

    Apollyon held the stem of the goblet as he ced his thumb and forefinger, drawing little circles as he gripped the base of the ss.

    He swirled the warm blood like it was wine.

    She shed a suggestive grin at her husband for she realized that Apollyon wouldn''t be able to drink something that wasn''t hers.

    Apollyon returned her smile and winked.

    Luna carefully adjusted her hand on Prince Aspen''s shoulders because it had unconsciously slid unto his chest.

    The Faerie Prince stroked a slender finger down the length of Luna''s jaw when they did a particr turn where the Vampire King couldn''t see it from the angle where he stood.

    "Who are you and what did you do to my cousin, Your Highness?" Prince Aspen asked.

    "It''s none of your concern, Prince." Luna murmured, smirking. "--unless if you want me to put a death spell on you."

 Chapter 174 - A Sexy Time

    <h4>Chapter 174 - A Sexy Time</h4>

    *********************

    The Empress Luna

    *********************

    Luna didn''t speak to the Faerie Prince no matter how much he had goaded her to reveal her secret.

    Prince Aspen had turned his charms--his questions had started out as innocent--and the only response she allowed herself to give him was a pleasant smile.

    He might as well extricate a response from a pine tree rather than her who had her lips sealed shut.

    The Faerie Prince was too invasive and too familiar with them as a couple which was suspicious for someone who imed that he was a long distant cousin.

    The Faerie Prince had dropped his concern disguised as interrogation when it was very clear that the only response he could get from her was ''yes'', ''no'', ''hmm'' and (��)

    The quadrille had ended and the Vampire King had whisked her away without any farewell from the other Kings.

    She knew that the Kings from the other Realms were itching to be introduced to her as all of them left the dance floor, sitting on their thrones beside Apollyon to rest and leaving the rest of the women dancing with other royal vampires, their rtives and some blokes the other Kings'' had invited from their envoys.

    They had patiently waited for their turn to invite Luna to dance and get to know her more but the Vampire King didn''t care at all.

    They had stood with their mouth hanging open when Apollyon had sped Luna''s upper arm gently away from Prince Aspen as he guided her out from the dance floor, parting the crowd like how Moses had used his magic staff to pass through a huge body of water.

    Her husband didn''t even let the other Kings approach her.

    Luna had witnessed the Werewolf King and King Panterra scrambling from their thrones when she was finally free from the Faerie Prince''s clutches, hurriedly descending through the stairs.

    Luna''s breath had hitched as she kept up with her husband''s long-legged pace.

    A flush of adrenaline tingled through her body as she sensed Apollyon''s static power hummed in the atmosphere.

    Even if she had anticipated this, Luna was still surprised when in the middle of her step, the dancing couples had vanished.

    She gasped when the dinner tables, the ceilings, the orchestra, the candbras and the golden thrones also disappeared in the blink of an eye.

    Thest thing she had witnessed was the shock in the royal guests'' faces when she and Apollyon had finally dematerialize into thin air only to ssh directly into the water.

    A sudden coldness had hit her in their core and she pped her arms outward trying to break free to the surface.

    The moment her head was finally above the water, Luna had coughed and sputtered the warm water out of her lungs and gulped mouthfuls of air.

    She shut her eyes tight as she pressed her fingers on her temples, giving herself a few seconds to banish her disorientation.

    Luna wiped the water out of her face as the fabric of her paper-thin gown floated into the surface.

    When she opened her eyes, Luna realized she was in a wooden hot tub while eunuchs after eunuchs brought jugs and pot of hot water to fill them.

    Scraping her hand unto her wet hair, Luna''s eyes ricocheted around into their marriage bedchamber searching where her husband had gone off to.

    Luna saw the Vampire King emerge from the floral patterned dressing screen at the far corner of theirrge bedchamber.

    She hadn''t noticed her husband was there, changing his suit into a fluffy red bath robe which showcased his well-defined chest and half of his sculpted eight pack abs.

    Luna bit her lip when he noticed that it was tied loosely around the waist.

    She swam towards the front of the bath tub and gave her husband a slow smile, wanting to be as near to Apollyon as it would allow--simr to a moth that was attracted by the me.

    "Ah, there you are!" Luna sighed with relief as she released a shakyughter, sagging against the hot tub as the eunuchs continued to pour warm water over her. "I couldn''t find you in a minute and it made me anxious---"

    All of her sweet words talking about how she had quickly missed Apollyon flew out of the window when the Vampire King''s hands settled on his bathrobe.

    He untied the knot, showing her hisrge, veiny cock which had stood proud and erect.

    It was rather nice to know that she was the reason that she had this powerful effect on his husband when she was all wet in the bath tub and Luna hadn''t even taken off her clothes yet.

    If she wanted to stroke her ego, Luna would just had to think that she solely have the power to make Apollyon weak ande apart.

    She could destroy him with sex if she was his weakness, indeed.

    Luna''s mind had turned nk as she swallowed the saliva which had formed on the sides of her mouth, coating her growing fangs.

    "That surprise attack wasn''t fair, husband." Luna murmured as she covered her mouth, praying that her husband had understand what she said because it was getting difficult to speak clearly with these long and sharp fangs which she tried so hard to retract.

    They were still surrounded by servants.

    They weren''t supposed to know that she was a turned vampire of an ancient pureblood.

    "All is fair in love and war, beloved." The Vampire King uttered in a teasing sigh.

    Apollyon was like the fire to her candle, inevitably melting into his intense gaze.

    Luna had learned to love her husband and of course, there would be no more disloyalty and betrayal now that she had experienced the extent of how a Vampire King could love so hard if thedy had gained his trust.

    Apollyon only had his eyes on Luna and she was the same too.

    Despite that realization, she couldn''t help but throw a jest at him as she yfully stroked the rim of the wooden bath tub.

    Unfortunately, it can''t be a surrogate for the object of her desire.

    "I need something bigger than that."

 Chapter 175 - The Night Before Disaster

    <h4>Chapter 175 - The Night Before Disaster</h4>

    *************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    **************************

    The Empress had chuckled as her golden eyes flicked a nce on his member.

    "I need something bigger than that."

    "I am not flexing my size in front of you, wife." Apollyon drawled as he removed his bath robe in front of the servants, dropping them to the floor. "This monster is for stretching you so wide until I hear you scream my name."

    He didn''t care about them because his attention were solely focused on the Empress'' reaction��nothing else.

    Apollyon''s wife might have pretended that he wasn''t impressed about his size but he can always rectify that.

    He could remind her every single day and night by howrge it was inside her, making her feel every inch of him.

    Apollyon could easily adjust to the pace she desired whether it is rough, fast and hard or it could be painfully slow and gentle.

    But when ites to fucking, he would rarely let Luna call the shots because it was ingrained in his entire being to dominate and possess.

    With his wife, though, he would be willing topromise but it depends if he was in the mood.

    The Empress had decided at that moment to avoid her gaze from dropping lower from the Vampire King''s eyes but.

    He had smirked at the way Luna had practically breathed through her mouth with her lips parted and her cheeks flushed red.

    Her golden eyes had turned silver while her mouth became lusher and more cherry-red.

    It didn''t take a genius to know that his wife was very much aroused and was ready to jump his bones.

    Clearing her throat, the Empress spoke in that sexy, low voice of hers with a sense of urgency in her tone that Apollyon had mistaken as desperation. "Apollyon."

    "Wear your bathrobe again and lock the door before you decide to do anything to me, husband." Luna murmured while took a gander at the servants around them,

    Squinting at her wife for he had hated to break the erotic spell between them, Apollyon swore to himself that he would give her a fantastic show for their failed attempts at seduction, which would have led to sexual congress if it wasn''t for the goddamned Masquerade Ball.

    She wasn''t the only one who was on edge.

    They just haven''t found the right timing yet.

    Apollyon had no choice but to obey Luna''s requests.

    Hands trembling with excitement, Apollyon didn''t actually pick up his bathrobe on the floor.

    He hurriedly erased the distance between him and the door and locked it.

    Luna''s eyes went wide before they dissolve into uncontrobleughter the moment her husband returned to her. "Husband."

    "I want you to lock the door after all the servants got out of our bedchamber." Luna pped a palm on her forehead at the ridiculousness of it.

    Luna continued to chuckle as she waded in therge hot tub in a butterfly stroke, clearly enjoying the warm water.

    "Do you want them to watch us as they��" Luna gave the servants a sideways nce as they halted in their tracks with panic in their eyes when Apollyon had locked the exit, "-- continuously pour water over our heads?"

    ********************

    The Empress Luna

    *********************

    "Oh." Apollyon replied as he exchanged a knowing look with her, disying a wide grin.

    It was strange to see him walking around the room like there was only the two of them in the bedroom chamber.

    Stars twinkled into his blue eyes in amusement as he growled in approval, "Like I said, I don''t mind them watching."

    It was pretty clear that Apollyon had no problem with his nudity.

    Luna had a problem with nudity in front of so many people, well, except if she was wearing a mask.

    Yes, she was bizarre like that.

    Did that make sense?

    "You are incorrigible, husband." Smiling to herself, Luna rolled her eyes yfully and shook her head. "I want them gone because I most definitely would mind."

    Luna lifted a beckoning finger and her husband had understood.

    He walked closer to the wooden bath tub and bent his knees to listen.

    She offered a bemused smile before whispering in his ear, "I wanted us to be the only person in the room so that I could lower my inhibitions and let my guard down. You want that, didn''t you?"

    The Vampire King mindlessly bobbed his head up and down in tiny repetitive nods as he straightened his spine.

    Never in his life had he agreed to such a bold statement quite strongly.

    If Luna wasn''t so aroused that her moist skin had felt both hot and cold, she would haveughed out loud at theical look on her husband''s face.

    Without saying anything, Apollyon snapped a finger and the servants as if it was some kind of a secret code.

    The Vampire King didn''t have to say anything as all the people scrambled out of the room, some of them carrying their jug of warm water which was filled to the brim and the others were now empty.

    One minute was all it took for them to be gone.

    When thest eunuch had departed and the door of their bedchamber had finally closed shut, Apollyon had continued to parade his naked body as he proceeded to pick up the jar which was ced on the table beside the wooden tub, pouring fresh flower petals and sweet green herbs.

    He carried a pitcher with him, walked around the wooden bath tub and poured the water over her head without warning.

    "Apollyon! What the��"Luna had to squeal at him as she wiped the rose water of her face. "You didn''t even warn me."

    "I am your servant tonight, mydy." The devil had said in a low chuckle as he sprinkled various herbs such as camomile, brewswort, mallow and brown fennel on the warm water. "You can use me however you see fit."

    Never in her entire life would she imagine the Vampire King who was so into his role of ''acting-like-her-servant'' that it had sent shivers down her spine.

    "Apollyon."

 Chapter 176 - Final Night

    <h4>Chapter 176 - Final Night</h4>

    ********************

    The Empress Luna

    ********************

    She narrowed her eyes at him as she faced him head-on. "I don''t know if you have gone crazy or something, but perhaps, by any chance, have you eaten something weird?"

    "You will be the only one I would be eating tonight, mydy." The Vampire King said with a sinister chuckle that rivalled those of an evil viin as he plucked the other scented vials from the racks beside him and sniffed the aromatic concoctions. "My Lady, why don''t you move to the edge of the tub so that I could gather your hair and apply these things?"

    There was a suspicious voice that whispered at the back of her mind but she thrust it aside and did what she was told.

    "Alright, husband." She sighed in a response, angling her body near him.

    Perhaps, her husband had just wanted to pamper her tonight because he had a lot of debts to pay where their fun times were interrupted on the way home and the dance at the balcony.

    When she was within his reach, she immediately reclined her back to the wall.

    Apollyon had grabbed afortable chair to sit on, letting her husband gather all her thick silver hair.

    He randomly poured some random stuff on her head while she let her arms adrift into the surface of the water, inhaling the scent of the herbs and the calmingvender incense burning at the drawer besides their canopy bed.

    Luna''s disbelief about the Vampire King''s ability to act like a servant was reinforced when she realized her husband had done a bad job at acting like it.

    At first.

    She knew her husband was acting cute so she wouldn''t take it against him.

    Then, Apollyon picked up a royalb which had silver teeth further spaced apart so that Luna''s messy and wavy hair wouldn''t get stuck on them.

    She didn''t strike up a conversation first because her husband hadn''t spoken, either.

    Luna could just imagine how the Vampire King would have his eyebrows knitting in concentration as hebed her hair with the tiny thing.

    Her husband had painstakinglybed every silver hair strands until it shined in the cosy candle light of their bed chamber.

    The Vampire King��she couldn''t quite believe that she would have first-hand experience of how a ruling sovereign could service someone as lowly as her who was just nobody.

    She was just an escapee turned High Priestess from another Realm who became an Empress from out of nowhere.

    People had a bad impression of the Vampire King and she couldn''t deny that she had this sort of hate-like emotions for him in the beginning.

    Every time she doubted Apollyon''s love, she would remember this exact moment where Apollyon patiently disentangled, cleaned and arranged her hair, lowering his pride as a King to do this special act of service.

    After that, Apollyon had ordered her to move forward a little towards the center so he could rinse her long hair in the water.

    *************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    **************************

    Apollyon had stood from his seat to hover above her while she rxed in the water.

    He hadn''t served a woman ever since he was born and this was the first time he had done this.

    He had decided to gift her wife with something that couldn''t be reced��an experience��because as the King in the Vampire Realm, he had the ability to give her anything she wanted in the world when it came to riches and possessions.

    Luna might be happy for a while from all the golden tiaras, diamond nes and the ball gowns but the Empress wasn''t that type of woman simr to the Consortium.

    She would really appreciate it if Apollyon would give her something that no other males around her could offer and that was his time, his love and affection��treating her like how an Empress should be treated and making her feel important.

    Apollyon''s wife would never forget that he had bathed and pampered her like she had owned him as her servant.

    Perhaps, it would be a long time before he could do this ever again.

    Apollyon was a dominant man full of masculine pride but if the Empress requested it, he would probably grumble and pout as a fa?ade and then strike a perfect harmless bargain��just something both of them would enjoy.

    He slightly parted his legs to amodate himself when he had a peek of her wife''s bosoms underneath her thin gown, her nipples hardening from the friction elicited by her fabric.

    His voice had morphed into a baritone when he asked, "Does it make you feel good, my Lady?"

    "Hm." Luna paused as if she had thought about her response for a long time.

    Luna''s cheeks had flushed red as she forced the words to admit, "You did well, servant."

    There was a twisted amusement in her tone that had the corner of Apollyon''s lips twitching when he realized how his wife was good at ying along.

    Luna had inclined her head at the rim of the wooden tub, stretching her neck to peer at him.

    She settled her lethargic gaze on him and demanded huskily, "Kiss me, husband."

    Apollyon drew a long breath of air as he savoured the sweet scent of herbs and flowers on her wife''s skin.

    He swallowed hard when his eyes fell to her perfect cleavage and her sexy corbones.

    When her lips parted in an invitation, his hand sped into her chin.

    Apollyon dipped his head and swooped into her mouth, keeping those luscious lips captive.

    He kissed her fierce and hard--all the pain and frustration and longing��as he kissed her again and again with a desperate groan.

    Recalling about his mission to make Luna happy, Apollyon broke away even if Luna didn''t show any indication to end the kiss, yet.

    "We aren''t done yet, my Lady." He grinned, rubbing his thumb over her lips before letting go.

    The way his sharp nails had gently and deliciously massaged her scalp was so far better after he cascaded goat milk and licorice all over it.

    Apollyon ced conditioner on her hair which consisted of grinded herb powders tles, mint and thyme)and? let it stay for another minute before he let a stream of rosewater pour all over her head.

    He had kneaded, stroked and massaged her scalp until she smiled herself to sleep.

    Apollyon never thought that that would be thest time Apollyon would ever see her wife again.

 Chapter 177 - Surprise

    <h4>Chapter 177 - Surprise</h4>

    "Apollyon."

    Breathing her husband''s name the moment she awakened, Luna had opened her eyes and realized it was dark, but she could barely see was shades of orange, green, and yellow.

    Luna was surrounded by tall and thin bamboo trees bending towards the center in a flexible bow, hovering above her as they formed some dome, which was the sole purpose of sheltering her.

    They didn''t break despite that. She thought as she stared at the bamboo ends above her.

    Luna hadin on uneven ground, for she had wed soil on her nails with some pebbles digging unto her skin.

    She heard continuous low and unrecognizable sounds��like someone was murmuring incantations��along with the bubbling of boiling water from a cauldron.

    Someone was stirring arge cauldron atop the crackles of mes, and it took a moment to sink into her brain, after the constant t ringing in her ears had faded, that a woman was screaming like a banshee in the background.

    Brows knitting together in confusion, Luna closed her eyes to focus on the disembodied female voice whispering in her ear that she could barely hear from all that screaming��piercing into her thoughts. "There are times when you should stand strong, but there are times where you should go around a situation rather than face it head-on like you used to do. Now is the time to bend and yield, my child. Don''t resist. I will give you the strength to strive rather than suffer."

    Luna knew that she was delirious when the protective barrier lifted.

    Her vision had clouded when the bamboo trees had splintered into pieces until it faded away in the atmosphere, and she didn''t know why she had burst into tears.

    "Apollyon." She had murmured her husband''s name repeatedly, afraid that she might forget for some reason.

    She didn''t wipe the wetness on her cheeks.

    She let it fall while shey on the groundden with snow, mourning for something she was sure she had lost forever.

    There was a portal drawn around her, and her tattoo markings had reflected the surrounding runes.

    Her mind was racing as she searched her brain for answers.

    She knew something was terribly wrong when the season in Hell was cold, harsh winter while starlight from the dark sky fell unto her skin.

    Luna was sure this wasn''t the Archdemon of Gluttony''s Kingdom because this ce looked different than the First Circle of Hell.

    The weather''s temperament was simr to the Vampire Realm, but the cold was much more intense.

    Luna''s gaze had darted because she couldn''t move her body except for her head, fingers, and toes.

    She couldn''t break free from the invisible shackles.

    It was a peaceful winter night as a gentle haze softened in the light of the full moon.

    The birds-of-prey had cawed softly as they emerged through the dark and circled above her vulnerable form, against the backdrop of the loud and strange eerie vibrations of ice singing from a near-frozenke. It was like the sound of an ancient spirit awakening under the ice roaring out in the quiet night.

    She had thought about a million worst-case scenarios, but she decided to calm herself down and just resigned herself up to fate.

    Crying, she had inhaled the freezing dampness in the air and heard the nuances of the night sounds under the face of the gigantic fiery red moon.

    ''What a perfect moment to die.'' Luna had focused on the stillness as it allowed her alert senses to expand.

    Wrinkling her nose from the thick smoke from the fire mixed with the fog that had formed around her, Luna turned her head to the side to look at the magic cauldron where therge vessel made of cast iron contained a small and petite woman who was the source of all that screaming.

    At the same time, the blue and orange mes scorched her wet body.

    ''That woman had to be a witch since she had owned a simr cauldron to Hecate, the Goddess of the Underworld, but hers wasrge enough to fit a small person.''

    Luna mused as warm blood pulsed through her veins and thundering through her ears in anxiety.

    It was ironic that she could wake up all the residents of Hell with that loud screaming and foot-stomping in that small body of hers.

    Luna swallowed to alleviate her parched throat and narrowed her eyes at the girl.

    She didn''t know if the girl was shrieking from the pain of being burned alive, or was it because she was enraged about something else, throwing tantrums like a spoiled child?

    The female''s back and the waist-length curly auburn hair with gold and copper highlights. had appeared extremely familiar.

    She suddenly felt both hot and cold, her limbs tingling as her chest tightened with fear.

    It was the first High Priestess of the Vampire Realm, Lilith.

    Why is she here?

    What was she doing here in Hell?

    With her insides quivering, Luna forced herself to crawl out of the portal drawn around her unobtrusively--even if it felt like she was buried and forced to carry a whole damned castle--as she watched the witch''s every move, praying that the demon from Hell wouldn''t notice her escape.

    She must have noticed that Luna''s eyes were on her.

    One second her golden eyes had met Lilith''s from afar and the next, she had vanished, only to appear right next to her, herrge gunmetal grey orbs boring into her eyes, and Luna couldn''t look away.

    Groaning with the pain and dizziness, she couldn''t look��away.

    Eyes widening with shock, Luna couldn''t move her head or any part of her body.

    "You are awake." Creepy eyes shining with excitement, Lilith smiled at her as she grabbed a chunk of Luna''s silver hair.

    Lilith pulled at them, harshly as if she wanted to pull them out of her scalp.

    The High Priestess eveny sideways on the snow as she faced her and cradled her head with a hand, watching her in amusement.

    Lilith cooed, "You should think twice before you move out of my soul portal, wench."

 Chapter 178 - Bitch

    <h4>Chapter 178 - Bitch</h4>

    *********************

    The Empress Luna

    *********************

    "You should think twice before you move out of my soul portal, wench." The High Priestess had sneered as she watched Luna tried so hard to thresh around as if that would set her free from the invisible bonds Lilith had set on her.

    She had fisted Luna''s silver hair for the first time, and Lilith had raised one eyebrow as she ran her silver strands between her fingertips.

    It had terrified Luna more than the ill-treatment she did at first.

    She pursed her lips in silence, for the voice in her head had warned her about poking a sleeping dragon.

    It was a survival skill to bend and yield, for now, choosing not to engage as she gathered her strength and find out information Lilith would give for free.

    Perhaps, ying dead would be the perfect defense to this psychotic High Priestess when she acted a bit friendly for now.

    "Hmm." The High Priestess hummed, upied by the silky texture of her hair which the Vampire King had personally washed for her.

    Luna''s face tightened because she didn''t want the High Priestess touching the same thing her husband had touched herst.

    Luna had seen her hair in a different light.

    She will always cherish the moment of how her husband had treated her hair with love.

    Even if he was the King, he had made her special, and Apollyon will be the only one in her heart.

    With all the strength she could muster, Luna leaned her head as far away as she could manage just to make the High Priestess let go of her hair.

    Luna did it, but it was in vain.

    The High Priestess had stretched her arm out and grabbed a handful.

    Lilith closed her eyes and inhaled the sweet scent of flowers and other organic herbs with a dreamy smile on her face.

    "I saw something in the cauldron which made me want to vomit in disgust and gauge my eyes out, girl, about what Apollyon did for you." She had that faraway look in her eyes as she murmured, speaking to herself as if Luna wasn''t even in front of her. "The only thing that calmed me down was that my husband was going to do that for me soon��taking care of me because he loved me. It should have been me and not you."

    Lilith''s manic gaze concentrated on her silver hair, pulling them hard and handling them roughly. "I can''t believe my husband had liked your dirty, grimy silver hair which made you look like an olddy��a grandmother."

    She cackled at her own joke as if it was the wittiest thing she coulde up with. "You are really fucking ugly, bitch, I don''t know what my husband sees in you."

    Turning her head towards the sky, Lilithid on her back as she burst into moreughter. "I bet you aren''t even good at pleasuring him. He had just tolerated your poor attempts."

    If she could just aggressively shake her head vigorously from left to right to show disapproval, Luna would have done that.

    Still, the High Priestess had prevented her from doing so.

    Luna was grateful that she could still talk.

    At least, she could express how revolting Lilith was despite her small movements as sheid helplessly on the snow-covered ground.

    Tender and cruel is the fantasy that dips the tips of the arrows into the poison of illusion.

    After a few minutes of interaction with Lilith, Luna knew right away why Apollyon hadn''t liked Lilith before, no matter how many times she had thrown herself at him.

    The bitch was merely delusional.

    Why would she im Luna''s husband as hers and talking about it like they were the ones who actually got married in front of his wife''s face?

    "But since gauging my own eyes out would hurt and I don''t like being hurt, I should take yours and make you blind." Lilith continued as she tilted her head and attempted a cute pout but failed. "Perhaps, my beloved Vampire King would hate you if? he sees you again but I doubt my beloved would ever had another chance."

    Lilith''s voice was annoyingly high pitched when she droned on, "I will make sure you are dead when that timees."

    A shiver ran down her spine as goosebumps broke over her cold, mmy skin.

    There was nothing cute about this bitch.

    Every male will be repulsed by her beautiful face if they see what''s inside her evil, ck heart.

    "The Vampire King. Is. My, Husband." Gritting her teeth, Luna had spat every single word with a wave of ferocious anger and hatred as she forced a im ver her husband.

    Luna wasn''t good at acting meek when it came to iming what was hers, even if it will put her life in danger. "--and he isn''t going to be yours."

    Shaking her head as she chuckled, Lilith''s grey eyes lit with an insidious inner glow as she caressed Luna''s cheek in pity. "He is already mine before you came into his life, grandma."

    Luna wanted to p the High Priestess so hard that she would wake up in the next millennia, but Luna couldn''t move at all, and she swore a string of curses that would put a sailor to shame.

    Luna ground her teeth as she said in a whisper-shout. "Apollyon married me and not you, bitch."

    Amused at her frustration, Lilith eximed. "Oh, darling."

    The High Priestess had leaned closer to her ear as if she was sharing a priceless secret of hers. "He will be my husband soon."

    Luna didn''t know what her spells consisted of, but if Lilith''s mission was to conjure her back to hell, then she was sessful in doing so.

    What did she wish to aplish next in that magic cauldron of hers where she had screeched her lungs out?

    What more did she want?

    Flinching at the High Priestess'' promise, Luna''s stomach churned at all the possibilities. "What do you mean?"

 Chapter 179 - Unveiled Plans

    <h4>Chapter 179 - Unveiled ns</h4>

    ********************

    The Empress Luna

    ********************

    Was Lilith an aplice of the Archdemons to bring her back here when Ravin had promised her that he would return her for good if she didn''t like his love offering?

    "The soul portal had taken too long for it to take effect, and my blood brothers had gone somewhere to get more sacrifices. Now that you are here, I guess the unicorns that I have procured from a young and naive Faerie from the Unseelie Court who had stroked a bargain with me in exchange for the sacrifice I asked for was effective."

    Checking her cuticles as if the conversation had bored her, the High Priestess continued as she gave Luna a half-hearted shrug. "I gave the Faerie a limited ess of Archdemon magic in exchange for the blood of two unicorns��aww, those poor innocent souls��as a sacrifice so that I can summon you back."

    "I was merely helping my brothers get the particr wife they needed." Lilith blinked slowly and frowned, acting so innocent again. "The deaths of these innocent creatures are on you. Not mine."

    Why did these Archdemons couldn''t take responsibility for the creatures they have killed and kept on ming her for it?

    Did she ask to be transported back to Hell when it was their wish to drag her here for no reason?

    She was happily leaving in the Vampire Realm with her husband.

    What gave them the right to do this?

    Luna wanted to shake her head but forget it.

    She couldn''t move.

    These Archdemons were hard to understand.

    They have twisted minds.

    "You are---" As she gritted her teeth, Luna had paused before responding as she processed the information. "Howe you have ess with Archdemon magic?"

    Luna''s forehead wrinkled in confusion as she asked, uncertain. "And why are you here, Lilith?"

    "You are not only ugly, but you are really pathetic slow-witted, girl." Grinning sarcastically, Lilith arched an eyebrow as she gave Luna a dismissive nce. "Seeing my husband picked you as the High Priestess just boosted my self-esteem."

    As if a lightbulb went on her head at that exact moment, she had finally connected the dots.

    "You are the Archdemon of Envy, then" Luna''s fists shook with the intensity of her hatred.

    With chests heaving and heart pounding loudly in her ears, Luna spat the words out, "You were the one who sacrificed the children from the Human Realm to capture me in the Realm of Dreams because of Ravin''s request!"

    "Yes, girl, the one and only."

    The High Priestess had given her a look that radiated superiority. "The moment Apollyon and I will have our reunion..."

    Lilith paused and nced heavenward as if trying to halt the happy tears which had threatened to fall.

    "It seemed so far, but I guess his love for me was always there-- just steps away." Lilith''s voice cracked with emotion that made Luna clenched her jaw with disgust.

    "If I get back at the cauldron and sessfully possess your body at the Vampire Realm--" Her eyes softened with desire as if she imagined all the things that she would do when she got her hands on Luna''s husband. The High Priestess added, grinning, "--nothing will be the same anymore, but of course, Apollyon wouldn''t really notice that you are gone forever."

    There was a roar in her ears, and Luna couldn''t control the angry tears streaming down her face. "So you agreed to strike another bargain with the Archdemon of Gluttony so you could trap my soul in Hell and possess my body?"

    "This is the reason why I told you he would be my husband soon because I will take over your body." Lilith huffed in annoyance as if unravelling her ns step-by-step to a ''slow-witted-child-such-as-Luna'' was a waste of her time. The bitch had acted like interacting with her was pretty taxing.

    Same, bitch, same.

    Lilith rolled her eyes as she nodded her head in pity and resumed with her patient bragging, "Don''t worry darling, he will be so engrossed with himself because I know that Apollyon was a narcissist who had loved himself above all else before he might even notice that the one he was fucking every night was me and not you."

    Luna let out a boomingugh before she dered, "Apollyon will notice that it wasn''t me anymore, Lilith."

    "The Vampire King had loved me and not you. You are just one delusional bitch!" She will repeat these statements until it sunk into Lilith''s stupid brain, which she only used often. "You need to wake up, Lilith."

    The High Priestess set the ends of her silver hair on fire, and Luna screamed.

    Squeezing her eyes shut, Luna''s body tensed.

    She had thought for a second that the High Priestess would put the magic mes burning on her hand near Luna''s face, making her suffer in delirious agony as sheid still and just willing to ept her torture.

    Luna gained enough courage from the boiling rage inside her.

    There was an inner desire��a single-minded focus--to carry out a vendetta for the High Priestess who had done everything to destroy her peace and her rtionship with the Apollyon.

    "When I woke up at your soul portal, I had wondered who that bitch was, screaming like a hag on top of a boiling cauldron. Of what? You have used what you imed as the ''blood of the pure magical unicorns'', huh?" Luna said with a sneer as she gave the High Priestess and unsettling eye contact, probing her entire empty existence.

    "Then why are you still here--talking to me about your failed ns, Lilith?" Luna jutted her chin a bit in a smug challenge, and that made the high Priestess release animalistic growls in her throat.

    "I know why you mad at me, bitch."

    Great!

    Luna had affected her, and that was Luna''s main goal.

    "Your sacrifices hadn''t worked." Luna pronounced as she continued belittling her just as how Lilith did. "You hadn''t sessfully possessed my body, and you will never be sessful because you are the most pathetic Archdemon that ever existed in Hell."

 Chapter 180 - Envious Hatred

    <h4>Chapter 180 - Envious Hatred</h4>

    *********************

    The Empress Luna

    *********************

    Lilith''s muscles became rigid while her face and neck flushed red with anger. "Shut up!"

    "If I were reborn an Archdemon in my next life, Lilith, I would never��absolutely never wanted to be you. Being envious about others is the most pathetic feeling in the world because that just meant you don''t have the power that I have." Luna chuckled, her eyes protruding with hatred as she uttered darker, hurtful words meant to provoke.

    "You wanted to covet other''s powers that you don''t own. How does it always feel to live and think every single moment of your life, always reminding you that you will never be enough, not just for my husband, but for anyone else?"

    Lilith''s right fist had shaken before she straightened her palm and pped them across Luna''s face hard that it made a trickle of blood drizzle down her mouth and nose.

    "Damn you!"? Giving Lilith an intense, fevered stare, Luna cursed before her lips curved into a satisfied smirk now that she knew for a fact that she could get to the High Priestess.

    She had the ability to y with her insecurities, and that was the only thing that mattered for now.

    Luna had no power in Hell and if she could get by with ying mind games with Lilith, then so be it.

    Brute strength wouldn''t work on her, so Luna needed a strategy to prevent this bitch from possessing her body in the Vampire Realm.

    Luna swallowed hard as the skin on her mouth stretched into a snarl, but she kept her expression in check.

    She had to keep herself in control, figuring when to strike hurtful words and when to retreat so that she wouldn''t get ''identally'' killed by this devious witch.

    The High Priestess had proven to be so unpredictable.

    There was something in her seemingly innocent face that had unnerved her very much, and she finally recalled the reason why.

    Lilith''s wide gunmetal grey eyes paired with that amused smile was thest expression she had made before she hacked her victims'' throat and stabbed her heart multiple times even if it wouldn''t require her to do so if she wanted the person dead.

    Three stabs in the chest were enough to kill the person, but Lilith had repeatedly done so without guilt.

    Luna remembered how the High Priestess had killed female creatures from different Realms so that she could summon an Archdemon and how she ordered the nun under her control to cut up the children''s body parts as her sacrifice just for Ravin to meet Luna at the Dream Realms as the man attempted to seduce her.

    Lilith also made a na?ve fairy to do her dirty job to find her some unicorns when, in fact, they are really scarce.

    Unicorns were a wild woond creatures��the epitome of purity and grace��and only a virgin''s charms could catch their attention.

    It was a heinous crime to y a unicorn, and the na?ve faerie who desired to acquire Archdemon magic will suffer a cursed life.

    The unicorn''s blood and horns contained mystical powers.

    If Luna could examine the soul portal that had surrounded her, she would acquire the unicorn''s horns for her own use if these Archdemons were so careless and oblivious of its magic.

    Luna inhaled deeply to differentiate the scent of the unicorns'' blood because Luna didn''t know, nor did Lilith have specified where she had used the creature''s essence.

    Was it on the soul portal she had drawn around her, or did she pour all of them in the cauldron?

    Despite that, Luna could still nce around her as she observed how Lilith had created the soul portal.

    When she focused on the scent of the unicorn''s blood in the atmosphere, Luna could smell the fresh aroma of pine, mango and apricot and grapes��the fruits she had missed to taste before she became a vampire.

    Luna had swallowed and licked her lips, feeling a sudden thirst in her parched throat.

    She hadn''t even drunk to her heart''s content from Apollyon yet because she had forgotten to nourish herself when they were busy from the Empress Coronation.

    "You lived up to your name, Archdemon." Luna watched Lilith with cold eyes paired with a cold smile, "How could you kill innocent creatures when you aren''t even an Archdemon yet? I have witnessed what insidious things you have done before."

    Nostrils ring, Luna shrieked with all the contempt she had summoned within her. "You fucking disgust me. You are a psychopath!"

    "In your situation, I didn''t kill innocent people just because I liked it, girl." The High Priestess offered a bemused smile as she closely examined Luna''s singed hair strands.

    Lilith stared at Luna dead in the eye with that smug expression of hers. "Don''t forget that those sacrifices are made for you as per Ravin''s request so in a way you are part of the sacri--"

    "Evil creatures like you don''t just hurt others." Luna cut her off as she flexed her arm muscles and fingers.

    The moment she was free, Luna would prepare herself to punch this woman''s lights out and break her teeth before she could utter a spell. "You also take pride in the pain you have caused and then try to me your victims."

    The Archdemon of Envy''s face tightened in irritation which also screamed insecurity as Lilith addressed Luna. "I''m the best Archdemon there is, and I pride myself for my ruthlessness and psychopathy, girl. Honestly, I would treat that as apliment."

    Luna figured out Lilith was irritated by her words, but she still managed to let out a hard smile despite the frown that had shed her face for a mighty second.

    Grabbing the opportunity to tackle a possible weakness, Luna asked pointedly, "Why don''t Archdemons like you satisfy your thirst for blood like how you sacrifice evil people so that you will at least clean the Realms of some trash?"

    "Darling, you certainly haven''t heard of the saying that ''good people die young''."

 Chapter 181 - Third Husband

    <h4>Chapter 181 - Third Husband</h4>

    **********************

    The Empress Luna

    **********************

    "Girl, you certainly haven''t heard of the saying that good people die young--" Lilith shook her head in pity at Luna for being so clueless. "--but since you are a vampire and I can''t kill you directly in the Vampire Realm, I will just have to trap your soul in Hell for eternity."

    Fate had been so cruel to her, and she couldn''t help butment over that.

    Of all people in the Vampire Realm, why had Lilith chosen her soul to mess with?

    With the unshed tears stinging her eyes, Luna''s hands shook as her voice trembled into an agonizing whimper. "There is no justice in this universe."

    The High Priestess nodded in agreement as she philosophized, "There is still justice in the universe, darling, but from time to time, it gives advantages to the evil."

    Lilith pped excitedly as she eximed, "Nevertheless, I was ecstatic to know that my Archdemon brothers were quick to form a blood bond with you so that they can easily pull you away from the Vampire Realm whenever they want."

    Lilith whispered in a conspirational nce. "Sacrifices were easy to find, but a link to the Upper Realms wasn''t."

    "A link to the Upper Realms?" Blinking rapidly, Luna verbalized her confusion, "What do you wish to aplish with me, Archdemon?"

    "I had no��" Luna trailed off as she avoided eye contact, thinking about the consequences of her telling the truth.

    Was it safe for Luna to admit that the Goddess Hecate had taken her High Priestess magic because she had lost her virginity to Apollyon?

    Ravin already knew about it, so perhaps, Lilith had figured it out too.

    Despite that, Luna chose to hide that fact and kept her mouth shut.

    She must let the Archdemon of Envy speak first.

    "Girl, you are part of a much grander scale of ns engineered by the Archdemon of Lust." Lilith began exining, and Luna pretended disinterest to throw the High Priestess off. "My blood brother was a genius at this type of thing. We were in bed together just recently��"

    Eyes widening in shock, Luna''s mind had zoned out at the High Priestess'' questionable statement.

    In bed together?!

    With her blood brother and Envy''s fellow Archdemon?!

    Luna''s mouth fell open, and she let out a loud gasp, which made Lilith''s lips curl in amusement.

    She shouldn''t forget this, but Luxen was supposed to be one of her husbands!

    What the actual fuck was happening here?

    Lilith was ''fucking'' her blood brother��the Archdemon of Lust��while Luxen had tied a cord to Luna''s soul as her husband!

    She struggled to find the right words to express her disgust and outrage at this incestuous rtionship between Lilith and Luxen.

    Alright.

    Mayhap, Luna didn''t care about who Luxen had sexual congress with--even if technically, the Archdemon was one of her husbands��but why did this bitch, Lilith, still desire Apollyon even if she was with Luxen?

    Oh, that''s right.

    This High Priestess��the Archdemon of Envy��will never be contented with what she had and would take another man--who already belonged to someone else--to fill that empty, bottomless void of self-hate inside her rotten, stone-cold heart.

    Lilith wasn''t worthy of even an ounce of love if she kept this up.

    The Vampire King would never love Lilith, either.

    Luxen and Lilith might have only used each other for sex--simr to asking your blood sibling to have your itches scratched, and they would also return the favor.

    Goddess!

    Luna shook her head to literally exorcise all the unwanted images of naked Archdemons--Luxen and Lilith--in her mind.

    "--and Luxen had told me that he had tied a soul thread to you, so he pretty much bonded to you, making him your husband." Lilith continued, and Luna''s horror must have shown in her countenance for the High Priestess had smiled smugly as she watched Luna, "If your soul thread with Ravin fails, then we can use Luxen''s instead."

    Ew!

    May the Goddess Hecate and Artemis help her!

    Luna wouldn''t be dealing with the Archdemons any longer if they had sexual rtions with a mad witch.

    It was a nauseating material Luna had tucked away into the deepest and darkest recesses of her mind, specifically at the farthest corner of her brain.

    She had no business specting about the rtionship of this viiness and her other husband.

    Luna only had Apollyon, and that was the only thing that mattered.

    Closing her eyes, Luna recalled what the Archdemon of Lust had told her back at Fei''s underground shelter, where she had unwittingly opened a portal to Hell.

    There was a thorny ball of dread settling at the pit of her stomach as she asked in a quiet voice, "So, Luxen still desired to continue his grand n to let all the demons from Hell break loose and invade the Upper Realms?"

    The High Priestess rolled her eyes. "Well, obviously."

    Luna didn''t understand what sorcery the Archdemon of Envy had spoken of.

    Still, one thing had be clear as crystal when she had added two and two together.

    "All of you Archdemons in Hell wanted to own a physical body in the Earthly Realm because you aren''t satisfied with body possession any longer. You couldn''t control the body, especially if you possessed someone whose soul had strength simr to yours. "

    Luna looked at the High Priestess straight in the eye, and the way Lilith had avoided her intense stare had solidified her usations. "You find it difficult to take the mind, body, and soulpletely fully. Archdemons have pride in their possession because it was a reflection of their identities. Of course, you wouldn''t possess someone weak and didn''t have an ounce of power, but in exchange, you have to deal with the creature''s stubbornness to take back their power from you."

    Lilith narrowed her eyes at Luna as if she was the one to me for making her reveal the Archdemons'' ns.

    "Oops." The High Priestess breathed as she sighed with a ir of drama, giving Luna a nonchnt shrug. "I guess I had revealed too much."

 Chapter 182 - Damsel In Distress

    <h4>Chapter 182 - Damsel In Distress</h4>

    ********************

    The Empress Luna

    ********************

    "I guess I had revealed too much," Lilith whispered as she ced a hand over in her mouth, feigning shock.

    Caressing her face, the High Priestess continued as she mockingly sympathized with her temporary paralysis, "I don''t think you would do anything much when you are basically our captive."

    Luna still had some tricks up to her sleeve because she knew that she had somehow figured them out.

    "I might surprise you, Lilith, when you weren''t aware of my powers," Luna stated as she bluffed her way to intimidate Lilith more, giving her some reason to fear her. "I always like to be underestimated until shit blows upon my enemy''s faces, but that''s on you."

    "You probably wondered why you hadn''t possessed my body yet despite your sacrifice--whether Ravin and Luxen had participated in them or not." Luna shrugged and gave Lilith a sarcastic grin. "I wish you luck on your mission to make yourself miserable."

    Luna had wondered what had taken the High Priestess long to respond to that.

    Lilith had gone silent, probably wondering what kept her from possessing Luna''s body in the Vampire Realm.

    She pondered on the thought, and she had liked to think that it was divine intervention��someone who didn''t want the dark forces of Hell to win.

    The goddesses she had served in the past had saved her despite the strong potency of the unicorn''s blood.

    Lilith had been so damn proud of herself earlier, but her giddiness had now been reced with a pinched expression. "You are still under my control, girl."

    "Anyway, the way you have to talk back at me, an Archdemon Princess, really got under my skin��" Changing the topic, the High Priestess''s annoyance had morphed into a smirk simr to hers before Lilith trailed off, "I am very much tempted to gauge your eyes with my ws as I have nned earlier��"

    Lilith''s long, red, sharp ws from her left hand contracted, and Luna had held her breath in fear.

    Her heartbeat had raced that it almost exploded when she felt Lilith''s talons digging into her closed eyelids. "Perhaps, I could do thatter if my blood brothers aren''t watching me."

    As if all Lilith''s anger and horror had dissolved after recalling the hard p she had inflicted on her, Lilith had reminded her of her threats again, "I think the p I gave you earlier wasn''t hard enough to rattle your brain."

    Closing her eyes shut as Luna bit back a whimper, the High Priestess'' sharp ws had scratched Luna before she dug them on the left part of her face so deep as if she was going to skin her alive.

    Luna had anticipated the pain that came along with Lilith''s warning, but she wasn''t that prepared for the agony as she thought.

    Luna hunched over and clenched her fists when one specific nail had pierced her tear ducts, but she could do nothing except endure it until her two husbands came to rescue her.

    As Lilith moved on top of her and wrestled her on the snow-covered ground, Lilith had kept her pinned when she didn''t even need to because she was half-paralyzed on her soul portal.

    What can Luna do aside from epting the blows and ps the High Priestess had wreaked on her face?

    She had let her safety from this psychotic High Priestess up to fate, and indeed, it didn''t disappoint.

    She heard the loud screech that made her nce up, and she saw a creature with the body, tail, and back legs of a lion and the head and the wings and talons of an eagle from afar.

    The more it descended to their direction, the more it became clear to her how it looked.

    It was eerily close to a griffin with a sharp beak and nted blue eyes except for the fact that itsrge body was covered in mes like a phoenix.

    Luna saw both of her husbands riding on the griffin''s back, and they jumped from the ming beasts andnded safely on the ground.

    "Lilith." The Archdemon of Gluttony had bellowed as he lifted Lilith off her like she didn''t even weigh a ton. "What gave you the right to hurt my wife?"

    Speaking of the devils��literally��the Archdemons had made an explosive entrance as Luna could only hear the sound of a series of shuffles, thumps, and the loud hisses from the High Priestess.

    At the same time, she was dragged away by either Ravin and Luxen.

    The Archdemon of Envy had shrieked at the top of her lungs, akin to a woman being raped.

    With just one look from the Archdemon of Gluttony, the immobility spell Lilith had ced all over the soul portal had been lifted, and she could finally move her arms and legs.

    rmed, Luna had wiped the blood out of her face as her skin sealed shut��which was painfully slower than it used to.

    Now that she was free, she couldn''t wait but seek her revenge on the Archdemon of Envy before she ruined Luna''s life.

    There was a rising tension in her body as her body stiffened, preparing for a fight��if needed.

    She had witnessed Luxen yanking Lilith''s bare leg as he hauled her like a ragdoll in the snow farther away from hurting Luna again.

    Lilith had thrashed about like a demon had possessed her as she pounded Luxen''s muscr body with her fists, throwing tantrums because her blood brothers had tried to stop her.

    The Archdemon of Lust had held both of Lilith''s wrists and body-mmed her to the ground.

    As Luna''s eyes widened in shock, Ravin approached her and wrapped his powerful arms around her body.

    Her whole being stiffened at the contact, but she couldn''t deny that the Archdemon had made her feel somewhat safe.

    How ironic that Ravin could make her feel like that despite what happened thest time they were together!

    Cradling her head, Ravin stroked her hair and murmured with concern, "Are you alright, amare?"

    "Stay away from me." Luna recoiled at Ravin''s touch and pushed him away. "Please."

 Chapter 183 - Second Husband

    <h4>Chapter 183 - Second Husband</h4>

    ********************

    The Empress Luna

    *********************

    "Stay away from me," Luna recoiled at Ravin''s touch and pushed him away. "Please."

    She might have recoiled but the Archdemon of Gluttony had not seen this as a rejection.

    Still, his brows wrinkled as he wiped the remaining smeared blood from Luna''s face.

    "I just want to check up on you if Lilith had done anything to hurt you." Ravin said as he lifted her so she could lean on him better.

    "I want to go home, Ravin." Luna brought a shaky hand on her forehead as she asked, "Why are you doing this to me?"

    With increasing whimpers of pain and resentment, Luna hadshed out at him usingly. "You promised me before, Ravin, that you would take me back to the Vampire Realm for good if I didn''t like your human sacrifice with the Archdemon of Envy and I fucking didn''t."

    "You seemed to have forgotten the bargain, Amare. How could I allow such a bargain that wouldn''t benefit me as an Archdemon? We had learnt the art of making contracts with all creatures in this mad world."? As he hunched over her with slumped shoulders, it appeared like Ravin had had enough.

    He was tired of exining his actions to her because Luna wouldn''t understand the drives of an Archdemon on why they do the things they do, anyway.

    The Archdemon had sighed as he continued in a monotone voice. "If you have remembered the exact words I had uttered, I didn''t tell you specifically at that time that I wouldn''t summon you back here in Hell, Luna."

    "I fucking hate you Ravin." Narrowing her eyes, she gave Ravin a t look as her voice rose with growing intensity.

    Locking her arms into fists, she moved her rested body away from the Archdemon and increased her distance.

    Despite her legs feeling like they had turned into jelly, she carefully stood up and straightened as Ravin also did a simr thing.

    Luna muttered under her breath as they faced each other. "If you weren''t an Archdemon I would have cursed you to Hell and back but then you fucking live here, you bastard!"

    Looking a bit contrite, the Archdemon of Gluttony had stepped forward and grabbed her hand but she swatted them away.

    Gritting her teeth, she said. "Your apologies are going to be unappreciated so don''t waste your time."

    She looked past Ravin who was in front on her and turned her attention towards the bane of her existence.

    Luna witnessed how the mad High Priestess had fought Luxen like a wild animal, baring her teeth while peeking at her through Luxen''s shoulder while she scratched him with her ws.

    "If you aren''t blood bonded with that trash, Luxen, I would have ended her life as soon as she set her foot in your Kingdom." She shrieked with all her might as the Archdemon of Lust pinned her down with brute force.

    "You should fulfil your part of the bargain, Lilith." The Archdemon had reminded Lilith as he lifted her shoulders to give her a vigorous shake that sent her head, bobbing up and down.

    Luna had doubted that she woulde to her senses.

    "You will not destroy her soul in Hell in exchange for her body at the Vampire Realm. " Luxen had snapped at Lilith without hesitation and the bitch had stopped resisting, probably intimidated. "You can do whatever you wanted with it so just focus on that and leave her alone."

    Luna had hated that both of them had resumed their conversation as if she was air��as if she wasn''t even there listening to them fight in the first ce.

    She could hear their gooddamned ns out loud.

    They must have forgotten that she was a vampire.

    Everything had been all about her and Luna had resented how these Archdemons had ruined her life so easily because of their selfishness.

    "Excuse me?" Laughing at the Archdemon''s ridiculous audacity to mess with her, Luna had tried to approach them as they brawled thirty meters away from her and Ravin had pulled at her elbow.

    She turned her head to look over her shoulder and saw Ravin shake his head silently as if telling her not to interfere.

    Luna gave him a cold stare and smirked before she held his wrist and brought it down, forcing him to let go.

    The Archdemon of Gluttony didn''t yell at her for being so stubborn and neither did he resist her.

    "Fine, amare, suit yourself." Ravin muttered in indifference as he lifted a loose hand with his palms up as if saying ''who cares?''.

    Ravin''s eyes wandered to Luxen and Lilith''s direction."Just holler if you need help."

    Luna did most certainly suit herself because she had approached the two of them��but not within attacking distance from Lilith��and dered with her chest thrust out in confidence, "I would hate to break this to you, Luxen, but my body is my body. It belonged to me. "

    As Luna crossed her arms, she had noticed that Ravin had stood behind her with his legs nted wide and his arms also crossed in a dominant gesture, ready to protect her just in case Lilith wanted to hurt her again.

    "It''s a nice body, though." She heard Ravin whisper in her ear and she shivered at the dark promise in his voice.

    Luna couldn''t say that she was grateful with Ravin''s protection when he was also the reason why she had been sent to Hell in the first ce.

    Fighting the urge to shake her head, Luna knew this wasn''t the appropriate time to flirt so she simply ignored Ravin.

    "The Archdemon of Envy didn''t have the right to upy me on the Vampire Realm��"Luna addressed the High Priestess coldly as they tussled about.

    Hearing her speak with conviction, both of the Archdemons halted in their tracks.

    Moving her gaze to the Archdemon of Lust, she pointed at Luxen, "--and you most certainly didn''t have any right to trap my soul in Hell as your wife among many."

 Chapter 184 - Vampire Kings Protection

    <h4>Chapter 184 - Vampire King''s Protection</h4>

    ***************************************

    THE ARCHDEMON OF ENVY: LILITH

    ****************************************

    The wench had dared point an using finger at Luxen as she raised her voice, "You most certainly didn''t have any right to trap my soul in Hell as your wife among many."

    "Nothing can stop their advance to you, my girl. Hiding is to no avail." Lilith had scowled as she regarded her, "My two Archdemon brothers are good at ying amorous husbands if they wanted to."

    The way Luna''s mismatched gold and silver eyes had bored into hers had irked Lilith just from the fact that this weakling had owned one of Lilith''s favorite lovers, her blood brother Luxen.

    How can this wench steal one of her unofficial consorts right under her nose?

    "Return me to my one and only amorous husband this instant!" Luna had red pointedly at Luxen and ced a hand on either side of her hips as Ravin breathed down on the girl''s neck.

    Luna''s gaze ricocheted back to her. "I''m sorry I don''t mess with your leftovers, bitch."

    "I''m not anyone''s leftover, amare." The Archdemon of Gluttony had assured Luna, and the wench had ignored him.

    ring at her blood brother Ravin, Lilith threw him a knowing look, for she didn''t��for the life of her��expect to see the Archdemon of Gluttony act like he was whipped with this generic wench who had no attractive attributes.

    She didn''t understand.

    It must have been the blood bond messing with Ravin''s brain since he had been the first one to tie a cord with the girl when he used to possess the Vampire King''s body.

    Lilith''s lips pressed together as she gave the wench a furtive nce, but she couldn''t keep her silence.

    "See, Luxen?" Lilith had thrown a jab at her through the Archdemon of Lust. "You picked one disrespectful bitch."

    Lilith had pushed Luxen hard, but he didn''t budge.

    She squinted at him and gave her consort a hard smile before she kneed him in the balls.

    The Archdemon of Lust hadn''t anticipated that.

    Luxen spent a few seconds moving out of Lilith''s way as he groaned on the snow beside her, crouching his family''s jewels.

    Lilith stood up and straightened as she brushed the snow off her flowing dark-red robes.

    "I''m better than her, but then you chose her to be your wife," Lilith said casually as she wore a smug grin, looking down at Luxen, who hadn''t recovered from the blow yet.

    Since Lilith had let out her aggression at Luxen, she had calmed down and wasn''t in the mood to attack the wench any longer.

    She can at least pretend to act civilized as long as the girl didn''t provoke her to murder.

    Lilith could be reasonable if she preferred.

    Luxen must have sensed that Lilith wasn''t in the mood to fight him physically anymore, so he left her alone.

    That was a good decision of her manwhore consort if he didn''t have a desire to be castrated in his sleep after multiple rounds of lovemaking.

    "She is my wife, Lilith, and you didn''t want to be one of my wives either." The Archdemon of Lust was quick to defend the wench, and Lilith had clenched her fists, wanting to punch his flustered cheekbones.

    Luxen had acted like a young boy who had a crush on someone for the first time, and it irked her.

    He reasoned out further, "You have chosen the Vampire King over me, so it''s touch��."

    Luxen must have felt humiliated since Luna had given him strange looks.

    Clearing his throat, he performed a kick up from his back to appear cool in front of the wench, pulling stunts to gain Luna''s attention.

    Lilith had snorted at his attempts.

    It wasn''t that Luxen had failed, but he had appeared so pathetic when he was trying to impress the ugly wench.

    Lilith was better, and Luxen and Apollyon were blind.

    She was so angry at the thoughts on her head and messed up her perfectly styled auburn hair.

    Lilith made a slight growl in her throat as she stomped her feet in frustration, "I just don''t know why I couldn''t possess her body at the Vampire Realm despite the many attempts!"

    "Why did it not work again?" The Archdemon of Gluttony had crossed his arms over his broad chest. "I had told you that Luna had lost her High Priestess magic on the first night of her marriage with the Vampire King."

    "Ravin!" Luna turned towards him and yelled at his face in disbelief, "What the fuck?!"

    Lilith didn''t understand why Luna would think that Ravin would be on her side.

    Of course, her horny brother had intended to keep her in Hell and create more spawns of Satan.

    The King of Hell would be proud of them, keeping the heirs in line.

    King Asmodeus was always excited to see his grandchildren.

    That was why Luna was brought back here in the first ce.

    Ravin had ignored the wench, and from the looks of his wife''s face, Luna was ready to kill him with her bare hands, which amused Lilith more.

    "Do you want more sacrifices?" Ravin asked Lilith with nonchnce even if the wench had held him by the cor.

    "The unicorn blood didn''t obviously work because I''m still here. What made you think that other offerings would work?" Rolling her eyes, Lilith had replied sarcastically, "I don''t know. I had clearly summoned Luna using Luxen and your blood as I drew the soul portal and utilized the unicorn blood on the boiling cauldron, assisting me fully on the soul swap."

    Lilith tugged at her sleeves as she paced around, her thoughts running wild.

    "I can see what was happening on the Vampire Realm, so I knew that it had worked when I envisioned them at their bed chamber, but it had failed when I soaked myself on the water." Lilith frowned as she massaged her temples. "I didn''t know what went wrong!"

    There was an amused chuckle from the wench, and Lilith immediately turned her head to throw eye-daggers at her.

    There was a yful grin on Luna''s face as she said, "My husband had anticipated this, and ced protection spells around me, Lilith."

 Chapter 185 - Confessions From Lust

    <h4>Chapter 185 - Confessions From Lust</h4>

    *********************

    The Empress Luna

    *********************

    "My husband had anticipated this and ced protection spells around me, Lilith," Luna said with false bravado, and she paired it with a yful grin to mask her lies.

    Luna waved a dismissive hand as she added in a flippant tone, "Go and try to soak yourself in that cauldron again so that I couldugh at your failure."

    The High Priestess had snapped a finger as if she had realized something in that instant.

    "The Vampire King��he had ced protective enchantment on that wooden bathtub! Apollyon had ced magical herbs and had performed countless nullification barriers all over her body, marking her with his touch." Lilith''s eyes had taken a feverish, over bright sparkle in her eyes that was beyond mad, but Luna kept her calm to convince her of her bluff.

    Lilith wrung her hands as she paced, "That''s why I couldn''t enter it! I can''t believe Apollyon was a step ahead of us."

    Luna wasn''t sure if her husband had actually done it, but it would be advantageous for her to make Lilith assume that just until she could figure out her n.

    "Perhaps, the Vampire King had be paranoid after Ravin had taken Luna the first time at the Dream Realms." The Archdemon of Lust told her.

    Lilith''s gunmetal grey eyes had appeared wet as she shook her head in denial. "My dream of bing the Vampire King''s lover hadn''t been pushed ahead of hope."

    "You will never take over me, Lilith."

    "AHHH!" Dragging her nails down her cheeks, Lilith sobbed and screamed, and the Archdemon of Lust had moved so fast, blocking Lilith when she got ready to pounce at Luna.

    Luxen had held her the High Priestess'' wrists to subdue her, but Lilith went wild once again, beating her fists and scratching her ws at Luxen''s broad chest.

    "If I can''t even get what I want right now and you have aplished your wish, it would be my pleasure to kill that wench, Luxen." Her creepy grey eyes had protruded from the ferocity of her anger. "I would not sit here and pretend everything is alright when I couldn''t even achieve my hopes and dreams!"

    Her limbs shaking with horror, she saw the High Priestess cried dark blood as it ran down her face.

    Breathing hard, Luna gasped.

    Luna unconsciously stepped backward and stepped on Ravin''s toe.

    Losing her bnce, the Archdemon of Gluttony had caught her and wrapped a protective arm around her waist.

    "You can''t torture our wife in our presence, Lilith." Ravin''s voice sounded so deep and gruff that Luna also flinched. "Why don''t you try again after a couple of days so that you can finally proceed to the Vampire Realm and go satisfy your whims somewhere else?"

    She turned towards him and called the Archdemon out. "Ravin!"

    The Archdemon of Gluttony''s lips ttened unto a grim line, his gaze fixating on Luna as if she was the only person in sight.

    "Stay with me, Amare." Ravin watched Luna with a mixture of longing and resignation.

    He nced at Luxen, the other male in front of them, who was also Luna''s husband."I am a safer option as a husbandpared to my brother, Luxen."

    "Since you are already in my territory, you should pick me, Domina." Anger stirred a Ravin''s insult, which made Luxen fight back a snarl, making Lilith weakened her attacks on him.

    Luxen stepped forward to stare at Luna and waited for her to address him. "I have saved you twice already in case you have forgotten."

    "Luxen had too many wines and too many beautiful women visit his castle, including Lilith." Ravin quipped.

    Luxen studied both of them intently before he focused on Luna. "What do you expect from the Archdemon of Lust?"

    Luna''s mouth opened and closed, not knowing how to answer that question.

    "No female had ever spent the night in his Castle." The Archdemon of Envy had admitted grudgingly after a few minutes of silence. "Not even me."

    "I don''t trust any girl to sleep with me while I am vulnerable, so I drive them out of my bedroom after doing the deed." Luxen stepped closer towards her, making Luna''s hands tighten on Ravin''s arm for protection. "I will only allow you to sleep with me and live in my Castle, Domina."

    "Don''t listen to him, Luna," Ravin whispered like she was a guilty conscience in her ear. "The Archdemon of Lust is a manwhore."

    Luna looked over her shoulder and raised a suspicious eyebrow at Gluttony.

    She whispered back, "And you aren''t, Ravin?"

    Ravin said nothing for a while, but then he murmured, "Luxen had the curse of never sleeping with a woman twice."

    Luna grimaced because she knew.

    Luxen was fucking his blood sister, for the goddess'' sake!

    "I am not a manwhore��" Oh, the Archdemon of Lust had certainly heard their conversation.

    He continued convincing Luna, "Alright, I am, but to make my ''domina'' understand me better, let''s just say that I am a musical score who needed too many melodies to make it beautiful--"

    Anger burned inside her, but Luna managed to suppress it.

    "Pathetic." Lilith sneered.

    Luna stared usingly at the Archdemon of Lust as she muttered, "Asshole."

    "--but when I left my ''domina'' behind at the Vampire Realm, you should have expected that sooner orter, I would retrace my steps to retrieve you because you are mine," Luxen said calmly, and his confession had made Luna''s eyes widened in horror.

    Honesty had shown in his eyes, and the truth sounded in his voice.

    If she didn''t know Luxen was an Archdemon, she would have believed those lies.

    "Real smooth, Luxen." Lilith smirked, "Real smooth."

    "I am seeking love among many loves, and I have waited and looked around enough." The Archdemon of Lust hesitated as he tried to form his next words carefully.

    He added, "Bittersweet love between lovers had will be lost to time until only a few fragments remain."

    "You will forget the Vampire King soon, and it will be quick if I can keep you upied. "

 Chapter 186 - In-Laws From Hell

    <h4>Chapter 186 - In-Laws From Hell</h4>

    *********************

    The Empress Luna

    *********************

    "You will forget the Vampire King soon, and it will be quick if I can keep you upied."

    "Let go of me, Ravin. I need to go back to my husband. Apollyon is worried. "With nostrils ring, Luna thrashed about as she bared her teeth.

    She had desired to escape from the Archdemon of Gluttony''s hold. "I don''t want you any��"

    Luna had lost her ability to speak when Ravin ced hisrge hand over her head to keep her in ce.

    Her vision had started to fade, and her body had turned numb as if her vampire''s heart wasn''t pumping blood through her veins any longer.

    She blinked rapidly as she tried to regain her consciousness, strengthening her will to fight Ravin''s magic.

    Red and ck spots on the blurred edges of her vision and thest thing Luna had witnessed was the High Priestess'' smirk.

    Raising her left hand, Lilith escaped from Luxen''s clutches and aimed it at Luna.

    A thin, sharp, and long ck needle hit Luna in the forehead as the whole thing prated her skin.

    Luna''sst threads of consciousness had felt the Archdemon of Gluttonycing one arm at the back of her thighs while the other one wrapped around her shoulder as he carried her towards his phoenix-griffin hybrid.

    She didn''t know where Ravin would take her, but he had kidnapped her without resistance on her part.

    As Ravin positioned Luna to ride sideways on the griffin''s back while leaning her head over Ravin''s shoulder, she had recognized the nasal bitchy tone of Lilith,ining that she was keen on not taking her eyes off her, and that was it.

    She felt Ravin''s broad chest vibrated as he argued with Lilith for a few minutes.

    Ravin had said something sharp and hurtful in a deep growl, and everyone fell silent.

    The Archdemon of Gluttony wrapped his arms around her so that she wouldn''t fall as the griffin took flight into the bright-orange skies.

    Luna had cked out after that.

    +++

    She would have wished that everything that happened as she met the Archdemons was just a bad dream.

    ''I would wake up sooner rather thanter.'' She told herself but there was no point in lying when the truth had pped her in the face oh-so-rudely in the form of an ancient High Priestess who--by some questionable events--had turned into an Archdemon.

    If she had the opportunity to sit down and talk to Ravin, Luna would ask him about how Lilith who summoned Archdemons turned into an Archdemon herself.

    Her muscles had quivered and tensed as she felt her paranoid senses had heightened.

    She had a hard time recognizing the dream and the fantasy anymore, and it had threatened to drive her crazy.

    Everything was fucking twisted.

    Luna knew she was sweating too much, and there was this strong urge to do something, but she couldn''t because she was paralyzed.

    Luna couldn''t believe she was suffering from the inception of sleep paralysis.

    She was incredulous that her soul was trapped in Hell.

    If she was astral projecting with her soul, then this must be considered a dream not until the High Priestess finds a way to be sessful with her possession.

    Luna''s ideal reality was that Apollyon would kiss her on the forehead when she woke up and told her ''good morning, beloved,'' preferably after passionate lovemaking but NO!

    Luna tossed and turned her head, moving her stiff muscles to break out of the invisible chains binding her in her sleep.

    It was bad enough that the wheel of fortune had yed with her fate once again when the second her Luna''s eyes flew open, it wasn''t Apollyon who was the first person she would see.

    She quickly figured it out as Luna nced around the thick barriers surrounding her.

    Screaming at the sensation of the transparent walls closing in on her, Luna realized she was encased inside the ss as if she was in the process of mummification.

    Luna hated being confined, and she wanted to destroy her transparent ss case, but she couldn''t.

    Hands crossing on her chest, Luna breathed hard as she stretched her fingers and wriggled her toes, assuring herself that she could still move.

    Shutting her eyes tight, she stopped screaming and told herself that there was no need to panic.

    Her heartbeat raced as Luna focused on the people seated in front of her in blood-curdling silence, for it was her long caterwauls that had pierced the quiet throne room.

    The throne room had appeared sorge and spacious that it could amodate a thousand guests.

    Luna''s eyes had started to hurt from seeing too much red.

    Even the carpets and their throne seat were of the color red with hints of gold.

    She nced upward and spotted ten sparkling candbras hanging on the ceiling, which made her gaze also focus on the mural paintings.

    It had depicted how the Four Archdemons riding ck and sinisterrge horses��where each of them had an important role to y��as they destroyed the worldly bnce and killed all creatures, creating havoc.

    In the painting, evil forces had gained victory as they fought archangels after all the other creatures from the different Realms had perished.

    It was��to summarize the whole scene��horrific and chilled her to the bone.

    Luna paused as she could feel her head aching.

    There was a series of images in her mind shing right before her eyes, but it was too fast.

    She couldn''t remember.

    When she tried to reach for the vision and store it into memory, they sifted right through and escaped from her grasp like water��a mirage.

    There were thrones for two senior figures in the middle, which was set up with borate pomp.

    The King and the Queen were elevated in steps while the others sat on their thrones, positioned at the side.

    All of them had long red horns attached to their gold crowns.

    They had worn horrifying masks that weren''t for the weak-hearted as it covered the entirety of their faces.

    "The hunter hunts."

 Chapter 187 - Predators

    <h4>Chapter 187 - Predators</h4>

    **********************

    The Empress Luna

    ***********************

    "The hunter hunts."

    Luna became more hypersensitive to the touches and sounds around her.

    Staying quiet as she held her breath, she strained to hear the voice in her head.

    ncing around at the masks in front of her, Luna wondered if what she heard was from one of the Hell''s Monarchs or was it exclusively in her mind.

    She squinted at them, but it was difficult to determine who spoke because the voice in her head had been detached, disembodied, and devoid of emotion.

    Luna didn''t know if it was a man or a woman��a passing thought, more like��but she was sure it was one of them and she just couldn''t prove it since they had worn the full-faced white masks which hadn''t shown if their lips were moving.

    Groaning in disappointment, she knew it was futile, so she gave up.

    As she did a double-take squinting on the masks, her hair had lifted on her nape and arms when she had noticed that the grotesque masks were made ofyers of peeled human skin hanging off it like it was there for aesthetic purposes.

    Luna had fought low-level demons.

    She had also experience being the presence of three Archdemons without extreme fear��probably because two of them were Luna''s husbands and she had a soul thread with them��but these creatures in front of her who watched her, unmoving, was another story.

    She had never felt so exposed.

    Despite being shut in a ss case, Luna could feel all of their potent power, and she couldn''t help but think that her soul had be dirty, just by mere association and exposure.

    Their darkest ck aura had reeked with immense wickedness.

    She wrinkled her nose as she heaved, her sick stomach threatening to spill her guts out.

    All eyes were on her, and they didn''t even need to utter a single word to freak her out.

    They can examine her to their heart''s content, figuring out ws and weaknesses while they remained hidden.

    It made her feel defenceless, for she had no magic in her arsenal, and their malicious gazes made her skin crawl.

    She had thought of the mask she had worn that felt empowering, marvellous and fun at the Masquerade Ball as the new Empress.

    Was that ''who'' still within her?

    They were so uncannily still simr to a crocodile which had its mouth open, biding for the time until their prey let their guard down and fall through their jaws and then, they would swoop in for the kill and eat them alive.

    They were the predators that honoured their prey with a precise and skilful hunt.

    The hunter revered the soul it aimed to take because that was their mission.

    "The hunter hunts." It repeated, followed by a deep, dark chuckle with an ovepping high pitched femaleugh which made her hold back a cry as her legs and knees went weak. "To return on empty-handed would be to fail, which is not an option in the hunter''s eye."

    It was a warning.

    Limbs shaking, Luna squirmed out of the transparent ss case trapping her and the more she moved, the more the ss pressed closer into confinement.

    She had never heard something that sounded so evil.

    Perhaps, it was the High Priestess who had been messing with her mind.

    Lilith had attacked her earlier with a thin ck needle on her forehead which could contain evil incantations that would poison her thoughts, making her imagine crazy things until all she desired to die.

    Luna clenched her fists in utter determination.

    Of course, she wouldn''t let that demoness prevail because Luna wouldn''t let Lilith im her body and pretend that she was Apollyon''s wife.

    Luna would take her power back.

    She ignored the disembodied voice talking nonsense in her mind and focused on the present.

    There were six people seated on their throne��two older men Luna didn''t recognize.

    The old men had bushy white beards except for the fact that the other one had a bald head.

    She recognized the Archdemon of Lust and Gluttony, andstly, there was a woman positioned next to one of the older men.

    The other older man had a shoulder-lengthed grey hair and a facial beard simr to the other man as a Cerberus rested its huge paws, its sharp ws retracted, on the man''sp.

    He stroked the head of the tamed monster as if it was his pet.

    The woman had a phoenix perched on one of her long horns.

    Lilith was nowhere to be found.

    She had probably studied her demonic spells, amending some of the incantations which suited her needs to make her soul possession a sess the second time.

    Luna had the urge to bite her nails in anxiety.

    She was running out of time, and here she was, standing in front of these demonic royalties as if she was a freaky doll brought for their entertainment.

    Hundreds of demonic servants surrounded the throne room��some of them crafted from their minions'' souls from the upper realms--as they watched her with rapt attention.

    They take the form of skeletons cloaked in dark robes, and their empty eye sockets were reced with a red glow.

    The way they moved clearly showed that they were directly controlled by one of the older men.

    The older man with the balding head at the throne beside the woman�Cwhich Luna had assumed as the King of Hell��spoke with a cool precision as he stroked his grey beard thoughtfully. "Are you thedy, my son, had picked to be his wife?"

    If an Archdemon killed her soul in Hell, where would she go?

    Would it be heaven, or would she go back to Hell?

    Luna didn''t know what to respond, but she might also try to get killed by the Demon King.

    Was this a risk she would be willing to take?

    Perhaps, there would be a plot twist in there somewhere.

    It might send her back to the Vampire Realm if she was fortunate.

    "I don''t know if there is a difference between being picked and being forced," Luns replied carefully without traces of tears, fainting, and panic. "Do you recognize them, Your Highness?"

 Chapter 188 - Burning Witches

    <h4>Chapter 188 - Burning Witches</h4>

    *********************

    The Empress Luna

    *********************

    "I don''t know if there is a difference between being picked and being forced," Luna replied carefully, without traces of tears, fainting, and panic. "Do you recognize them, Your Highness?"

    There was a disconcerting pause that made Luna held her breath in anticipation.

    Luna kept her eyes wide as she slowly blinked, observing the King of Hell with utmost intent, regarding every nuance of his movement.

    She could only rely on bodily cues when she couldn''t see his facial expressions.

    Luna considered it a victory when the Demon King tilted his head, and it was barely a degree.

    She swallowed hard as they watched each other.

    He had slightly rested his palm on his knee as he sat on the throne with his proper posture��like there was a stick up on his ass.

    The King of Hell couldn''t read her mind, so it was alright.

    She was shocked when the Archdemon of Lust chuckled softly at the side.

    Luna knew it was him if his shiny silver hair was enough evidence.

    She turned her head and narrowed her eyes at Luxen''s direction.

    Can the Archdemon read her mind?

    No one else had reacted, so it was safe to assume that perhaps, it was the blood bond that had identally projected her thoughts to one of her husbands.

    She was about to breathe a sigh of relief when the Demon King had said loud and abrupt like it was an order, "You can''t even answer a simple question, girl."

    "You have lowprehension, Your Highness." Attempting to appear subdued as Luna gave a little bow, Luna replied with a challenge. "Perhaps, this was a case of mistaken identity, so I wouldn''t be able to answer such a simple question."

    "You can only answer a word." The old Demon King intoned a cool admonition, "A ''yes'' or ''no'' would have sufficed."

    Luna gave a sarcastic nod as if she understood��but not really.

    "What do you think I am doing here in front of you if it''s not me?"

    Then, she continued to mock the Demon King to test his limits because Luna had to know how important she was and what role she would y in this game of their pathetic ns to dominate the Upper Realms.

    How could she assist them in their unholy mission?

    "I don''t really talk to strangers, Your Highness."

    Four glowing spheres had appeared behind the Demon King, and they formed the corners of a square while they perfectly blended in the golden backdrop where he was seated behind two Doric columns.

    Now that Luna thought about it, she became more aware of why the Demon King hadn''t hurt her eyes as much as the room did.

    He had dressed in dark green robes adorned with stars and crescents.

    She also noticed a golden medallion with an inverted star resting on his chest.

    The Demon King didn''t respond except for the firestorm zing around her but thank the goddess.

    It wasn''t near enough to burn her alive!

    Luna pinched her lips together as she clenched her jaw, refusing to be cowered by such a pathetic show of intimidation.

    If the Demon King wanted to kill her, then so be it.

    Perhaps, she could prove that her spections were right, and these Archdemons will keep her alive because of the ''grand n'' Lilith had talked about.

    She could talk about whatever she wanted even with absolute disrespect.

    These masks these Archdemons have been wearing��

    Luna assumed this was a mere performance for these entitled royalties.

    "Hmm. You are one disrespectful bitch like what Lilith had warned me about." The Demon King whispered in dire tones, which felt like a subtle threat.

    They didn''t kill her yet from her rudeness, so she could consider that an achievement.

    Luna could not see his face since he had worn a mask but based on his voice, he must be wearing a somber expression.

    "I am the woman your sons should be warned about. Ady that parents should be worried about. You should keep your sons away from me." Anger had tightened her features, but Luna still went along with it and owned the derogatory remark instead.

    She regarded them coldly, "Would that answer be sufficient enough?"

    There was a cool disdain in the Queen''s voice as Luna heard her for the first time.

    "I''m not sure if Lust and Gluttony had picked their candidate well to ess the portals for every Realm."

    Luna didn''t even notice that the Queen was actually there when she had remained so still except for the asional cawing of the phoenix on her left horn.

    "I am forced, Your Highness." Luna enunciated every word as she gritted her teeth, "Do I have to repeat that all the time?"

    She gasped when she heard the Queen released a loud, long whistle.

    Three demonic servants flew towards her vertical coffin and surrounded her like vultures, waiting for her soul to be destroyed in this eternal fire which didn''t even touch and hurt her in the first ce.

    Now the firestorms had crept closer at her feet, burning her legs.

    Gasping for air, Luna let out a spine chilling scream as the demonic minions quickly grasped her arms, their cold skeletal hands passing through the barriers and covering her face.

    Shrouding her in total darkness, her entire body tremored as the zing fires tormented her.

    "Let go of me." Screaming despite her bone-seated fears, Luna defended herself, struggling fiercely to be free from the ss they had caged her in.

    She fought and kicked at the demons in an attempt to gain her freedom as the scorching hot mes licked her legs into ck soot.

    Being a vampire had its uses because her burnt skin had healed fast.

    Luna could feel the demonic runes engraved on her skin, igniting her insides differently��giving her strength.

    Later on, as she realized that the more she burned in mes, the more Luna got used to the agony until it was gone.

    It wasn''t that she was numb, and her soul was dead.

    With rasping breaths, Luna knew she was now impervious to the mes of Hell.

 Chapter 189 - Transformation

    <h4>Chapter 189 - Transformation</h4>

    With rasping breaths, Luna knew she was now impervious to the mes of Hell.

    Every second she burned, she gained higher pain tolerance.

    It came to the point that she didn''t notice or feel her injuries at all.

    For some reason, her back suddenly went through a transformation Luna could have never imagined as her entire being was set on fire.

    Eyes widening in horror, Luna screamed.

    She had demonic wings shooting out of her back when she looked over her shoulder!

    Luna gained Archdemon Wings because of the Demon King''s Hell-Fire!

    Everything felt weak, and she couldn''t even move her new wings properly.

    Luna took a deep breath and spread out her wings as she tried to lift herself.

    Tears falling at the corners of her eyes, she gritted her teeth as she stretched the unfamiliar muscles she had never used before.

    She needed to figure out how to fly and do it quickly so that she could escape.

    The transparent ss case had shattered by the force of her wings.

    Expanding her newly formed wings outward, Luna''s tears had soaked her lips from the agony asyers of perspiration broke her skin.

    Even if it had hurt like hell, she pped her demon wings even if it felt like thousands of needles had pricked the muscles on her back.

    She lifted herself out of the eternal fire and moved herself to safety.

    Nevermind, Luna didn''t think it was a good idea to stand in front of the King and Queen--just ten strides away from the throne they had seated--but she had owned that decision.

    Luna kept her face unreadable as she forced her demon wings to snap shut.

    It was a constant effort to maintain control over her faculties as she willed her shoulder muscles to loosen.

    It felt like Lilith''s ws digging on her spine.

    "I don''t sense any High Priestess magic in her bestowed by Hecate in her." The Queen of Hell watched her with detached appreciation as if seeing creatures being burned by her husband''s Hell Fire was a natural urrence. "Aside from personality, she would do just fine. We could give her the magic needed to open the portals. Luxen and Ravin had imed that she had done it herself without anyone teaching her how to. She will learn fast if we bestowed her limited Archdemon magic."

    Great!

    Now they were speaking about her like she wasn''t in the same room with them.

    "I will offer to train thedy, Queen Jezebel." The other older man seated next to the Demon King offered as he continued stroking therge head of his Cerberus. "All wild animals can be tamed, depending on the skill her master had."

    Did he call her a wild animal that needs taming?

    Luna red at the man, the other older man, and she arched an eyebrow at Cerberus--its green saliva dripping from its fangs on the man''s red trousers--and he didn''t even care.

    His form had looked eerily simr to the Demon King except that he had long white hairpared to the other bald man.

    Luna swore she could assume that both of these older men were somehow twins, but again nobody can prove that if all of them wouldn''t show their faces.

    "Why did I turn into an Archdemon? You are the one who turned me because of the mes!" Luna turned towards the Demon King as she released the turbulent fury of her anger.

    "I didn''t ask for this, Your Highness." She demanded.

    The Demon King gave her a nonchnt shrug, but she knew Luna had evoked an unexpected curiosity ring deep within his icy soul.

    Satisfaction had hidden his intrigue, and the King''s deep baritone was slightly gentler than what she heard earlier.

    "I am not the one who turned you." He said ''oh-so-softly'' that his tone would fit the image of a well-intentioned vicar and not some evil King. "It was the Archdemons who owned you now through the mating bond."

    "My self-proimed husbands!" Luna hissed as she ran a frustrated hand over her silver hair.

    Clenching her fists, she sighed and made a mental note to cool herposure.

    "Ravin must return me to normal, Your Highness, "Luna replied steadily as she red at Ravin, who had reclined in his throne at the side, watching her with intense golden eyes. "I didn''t want to be an Archdemon."

    "You are still a vampire, but you are a part of a race now, so you must swear fealty to Hell." The Demon King stated as the firestorm which had encircled her in the transparent ss coffin zed stronger that it almost reached the ceiling, the mes shimmering against the golden medallion on his neck.

    She could feel the heat of the fire, and it made her flinch.

    She was an Archdemon now!

    Luna remembered that she could survive burning in Hell for eternity.

    "I would not join this performing circus." Luna would never bend to their will.? "I don''t belong here. I don''t even know who you are with all those masks."

    "I can see that you really want me to reveal my face." The Demon King said, his deep voice hinting amusement.

    Luna had instinctively sensed danger in the air.

    "This isn''t theatre, Your Highness." Luna dered as she took a step backward but still she had disyed courage by holding her head up high. "Show yourself, Lucifer, whoever you are."

    "I am, indeed, the Demon King Lucifer, but it would be the ''Your Highness'' for you." The Demon King nodded his head in agreement.

    "Every creature in every Realm is wearing masks, girl, including you. You are trying new masks which would best suit you in a situation--" He paused as if in thought, and then he added, "--but if you wanted me to remove my mask for your peace of mind, I will."

    The Demon King stood up straight from his throne, bowed low in a greeting, and walked towards her.

    "What had been suppressed will now be revealed."

    He raised hisrge and wrinkled hand to the mask he had worn with a calcting motion.

    When King Lucifer removed them slowly, Luna''s heartbeat thrashed in her ears as she froze in her ce with terror.

    The Demon King had no face.

 Chapter 190 - Obsidian Orb

    <h4>Chapter 190 - Obsidian Orb</h4>

    "Mischief and deception had surrounded not only us because you are not exempted from this." The Demon King said.

    cing her palms on her ears in panic, Luna had her mouth open in a silent scream as she squeezed her eyes shut to get rid of the image out of her mind. "I had no face for I can speak with the Other''s voice or embody the Other''s limbs."

    When Luna realized that that the Demon King had no face, that was when she realized that Lucifer was speaking straight into the minds of the creatures around him, for he had no mouth.

    His face was as nk as an empty te, and it was the scariest shit she had ever seen in her life.

    Luna might have expected something scary and distorted, or even something beautiful yet cold and evil.

    It had far exceeded her expectations.

    Luna had regretted her demands to see the Demon King''s face.

    So, that was why every Archdemon in the throne room had donned masks so that it wouldn''t feel too awkward for the Demon King.

    He must have been cursed.

    Luna heard him chuckle in her head, and the Demon King had returned the full mask he had worn.

    He stood at his full height as he raised a palm, summoning a single golden orb with the inverted star on them while the other held a staff with a ruby crystal with the same size as the other orb.

    Her gut feeling had triggered her flight response.

    Luna''s muscles tensed.

    She desired to escape as she drew her demon wings out, but she couldn''t control it yet.

    The Demon King had anticipated this.

    Tapping his magic staff three times on the red carpet, bright red and gold circuits resonated from that point as it traveled like waves of seeding small to mammoth rings in the entire throne room.

    The red room had turned pitch-ck until there was only her and the Demon King left, and it felt like both of them were on another dimension.

    Clutching her throat to curb her scream, she nced around to search for Luxen, Ravin, and the others, and there were no were to be found.

    Luna nced down, and to her horror, Luna was standing on top of the Devil''s Pentagram.

    She was about to step out of it quickly, but the Demon King had stepped in the pentacle, blocking her path.

    Without warning, Lucifer wrapped one hand around her throat as the golden orb floated above her head, shining its weak light on her face.

    It was the only source of light in that ck void.

    The Archdemon''s fingers tightened as his sharp talons wrapped around her throat.

    "I will bestow you a part of myself��my Archdemon magic��which no one else would be able to control, not even my wife, Queen Jezebel." The Demon King sneered, not managing to hide his impatience.

    He was determined not to let her slip from his grasp. "If you die, then I guess we would have to find another girl for Ravin and Luxen to attach their mating cords with. But I think you will do so I would put my faith in you."

    ''How ironic that the Demon King could ce his faith on someone else other than himself?''

    Luna would have retorted if she wasn''t busy coughing and choking as she tried so hard to detach the Demon King''s hand out of his arm sockets, but Lucifer was too strong.

    Her vampire strength had no chance at all.

    Eyes threatening to roll from the back of her head, Luna wed at his hand with an open mouth as she gasped for air, but she fell right into Lucifer''s trap.

    The Demon King lifted her higher by the throat, and her feet had dangled from the Devil''s pentagram.

    She struggled and squirmed out of his hold, but the sted old? man wouldn''t budge.

    The only thing she could do was grit her teeth, her mismatched eyes protruding with anger and hatred for being another man''s pawn for his foolish games, which she hadn''t asked to be a part of.

    "My sons had told me you are strong, intelligent, and a fast learner. Now that you are on our side as the link between Hell and other dimensions, we can''t only limit ourselves to taking over the Upper Realms. Depending on your skills, we could gain victory over the Realm of the Heavens."

    "Why��me?" Luna tried so hard to remain awake as her consciousness threatened to ckout again.

    Honestly, she was at the point that she wouldn''t be shocked if the Demon King had detached her head out of her neck by ident.

    "Out��of.. all?" Her broken words came out simr to a whimper as her empty eyes gave the Demon King a ssy stare while ck and green spots danced at the edges of her vision.

    The only thing that had kept her focus was the golden orb near her face.

    She croaked. "Why?"

    "I would tell you the secret of our Demonkind after I hadpleted the binding spell. You, as a new-born Archdemon because of Ravin and Luxen''s blood and bing one of us, were just the beginning. I knew that your blood would resist it at first because you were under the protection of goddesses." The Demon King had said as he jutted his chin, bragging in his superior tone. "Securing you as the wife of two Archdemons will make my task so much easier, and transferring my magic to you will be met without any resistance. Ravin and Luxen''s blood had been so potent as it ran through your veins."

    "They had also sessfully tied themselves to your heart through blood exchange." Luciferughed arrogantly as he muttered to himself. "It was that effective. I had raised smart children."

    Luna didn''t have time to congratte this Demon King.

    "Fuck you." Luna mouthed, but Lucifer had understood.

    The golden orb flying over her head had burst into mes before it turned into obsidian, shrinking into a tiny one.

    Without warning, the obsidian sphere had moved like a spirit, dancing frantically before the thing entered her open mouth.

 Chapter 191 - Stay The Night

    <h4>Chapter 191 - Stay The Night</h4>

    ********************

    The Empress Luna

    *********************

    Luna clutched her throat to stop it from getting entering her system, but she had swallowed the damned thing.

    She was finished.

    She grabbed unto the Demon King''s hands on her neck, forcing him to let her go.

    Now that she had taken the Archdemon magic inside her, Lucifer released her, and Luna crumpled to the ground, gasping for air.

    Luna felt like she had been beaten up in all directions, and there was a distinct pain in her chest, lungs, and throat.

    She experienced full-body tremors, feeling electrified as if something was lighting her up from the core.

    Whimpering, she curled up her knees in a fetal position as she wrapped her arms around her belly.

    Luna''s body had shifted from hot to cold than hot in a short time, and she squeezed her eyes shut.

    It felt like she was turned inside and out. Her stomach twisted and turned.

    The excruciating sensations went on for a while before it dissolved into nothing.

    Blinking with wide-open eyes, her pulse raced as she felt her strength increase as her every exhale released a hot breath that is closer to grey smoke rather than fire.

    When it finally stopped, Luna opened her eyes to see that the ck void was reced with the throne room''s vermillion walls and ceilings.

    Squinting at the royal family of Archdemons in front of her as her left cheek was pressed on the carpets, she noticed that Lucifer was seated at his throne as if nothing monumental had happened.

    All of them were as motionless as a scarecrow as they watched her with their full-faced masks.

    Luna inserted a finger down her throat to activate her gag reflex and vomit that cursed orb.

    She had wheezed and coughed, praying she could get rid of the Archdemon magic, but it was all in vain.

    "Stop that, Luna." The Archdemon of Gluttony had said as he got up from his royal seat and stalked towards her. "You couldn''t get rid of the Archdemon magic with that."

    "You have given up the High Priestess magic for the Vampire King, so consider it as a blessing from my father." He crouched down, grabbed her arm, and pulled her up gently. "You would be better off in Hell than the Vampire Realm."

    Luna desired to shake her head in disagreement.

    "No." She closed her eyes and groaned as the overwhelming dizziness flooded her brain from that simple motion.

    Ravin had let her rest her head on his shoulder.

    "I thought you wanted power because you didn''t want to be vulnerable against the King." Ravin narrowed his gaze as he leaned his face closer to hers. "I swore, I heard you say it once."

    "Did I?"

    Luna pressed her fingers as she massaged her temple in recollection.

    She had thought about not giving up her status as a High Priestess when she and Apollyon got married.

    Luna didn''t want to be defenseless against the Vampire King''s evil schemes.

    She had tried so hard to hold onto her, but the Vampire King had manipted her to give up her virginity.

    But all of that was all in the past. "How did you know about it?"

    The Archdemon of Gluttony pretended to consider whether he would tell her or not before speaking. "I hear your thoughts, especially if you are furious or obsessed about something. Your intense thoughts ricocheted back to me again and again when you didn''t know how to control it before."

    Goddess!

    Their link to each other was very much alive even if they were Realms apart!

    Her eyes watered with both anguish and longing.

    Luna still had the chance to contact Apollyon because of their blood bond.

    She would tell him that she was alive and well and not to worry while she was gone.

    She would try her best to get back to him as soon as possible if she got a hold of his consciousness.

    She just needed to figure out how.

    Forgetting her revulsion around Ravin, she sped unto his shirt for strength and support.

    "How about now?"

    "You don''t project your thoughts so loudly anymore, and I can hear them, but it was the most inaudible of all whispers, so I don''t even try," Ravin said simply as he wrapped a hand and stroked his palm on her back, providing much-neededfort. "With my golden thread attached to yours, I can feel when you are in pain, but I can tolerate it, and Luxen can do that as well. As Archdemons, we aren''t new to pain."

    "My father, the Demon King, tortures us daily when we were young trainees as Archdemons," Ravin exined further. "If a stronger soul had arrived in Hell and train under his and my uncle''s tutge, then he/she would have a chance to rece an Archdemon and reign one of the Seven Circles of Hell."

    Luna''s eyes widened in shocked horror. "So that was what happened with Lilith, who became the Archdemon of Envy."

    "Lilith was an Ancient High Priestess and had made amazing sacrifices for my father, so that earned her higher leverage to be an Archdemon. King Lucifer was impressed with her deeds at the Upper Realms and decided to train her under him." Ravin drawled as his thin lips curved into a humorless smile. "Now, the past Archdemon of Envy was a pureblood, but Lilith had defeated her despite how strong the past Envy was. Lilith had learned fast as she cultivated her Archdemon magic, and she had slept with King Lucifer multiple times to suck a part of his life force so that she would be stronger."

    Oh, goddess!

    "A whore will always be a whore."

    Ravin corrected, "Not a whore but a subus."

    "Subus�� Whore��" Luna breathed, rolling her eyes in sarcasm. "There is no difference."

    "That''s enough talking, Ravin." Incensed, Luxen had called Ravin out as he stood up from his throne, took a step forward, and approached the both of them.

    Ravin heaved a deep sigh as he rumbled, "I am giving our wife an exnation, brother."

    "You can talk all you wantter," Luxen replied with a grin. "It''s time to decide where our wife would stay tonight."

 Chapter 192 - Rebellious Young Man

    <h4>Chapter 192 - Rebellious Young Man</h4>

    *********************

    The Empress Luna

    *********************

    "It''s time to decide where our wife would stay tonight." The Archdemon of Lust had stared down at her as his gaze traveled from her eyes to her chest.

    He leered back to her eyes when Luna nced down and saw that one nipple had slipped from her bodice.

    Pretending that he didn''t see that, Luxen cleared his throat as he focused on Ravin, "Since she had stayed at your Kingdom for such a period of time, I will offer to amodate our wife at my Castle for the meantime."

    "Lilith might visit your Castle, and from the spectacle earlier, I want her to stay from her as far as possible." The Archdemon of Gluttony frowned as he held her arms, carrying her weight and helping Luna get to her feet. "I would have preferred if she was Realms away from Luna, but her possession had deemed unsessful. We have to keep her safe. We didn''t know what crazy things the Archdemon of Envy will do."

    Luxen had leaned closer and attempted to pull her out of Ravin''s grasp. "I will keep her safe, my brother, don''t worry."

    "I like her to be with me." Fury was like a dangerous me burning in Ravin''s eyes as he brought Luna from behind his back. "Our time at the Dream Realms was shorter as I would have liked."

    She didn''t want to be with anyone except her husband, but nobody in this goddamned room would understand!

    Anyway, Luna let Ravin protect her because he was perhaps, the lesser-of-two-evilspared to Luxen.

    Clenching her fists on the skirts of her gown, Luna kept her silence even if she was trying to hold back from demanding that they bring her back to the Vampire Realm.

    She knew that she would be wasting her time because they wouldn''t have allowed them.

    Luna would just let these men fight over her because nobody else mattered except her husband, Apollyon.

    She was as meek as amb, and she could tell that Ravin and Luxen had preferred her that way.

    Her muscles quivered as she flexed her fingers.

    Luna still couldn''t believe that she had transformed into a creature she had sworn to hate.

    "We should do something about this, or else this argument will never end." Luxen had hesitated.

    He had sensed that his brother was ready to fight him for their wife right then and there.

    "It''s either you decide and admit that it was my turn to bond with my wife this time around." Luxen''s hungry gaze slid to hers. "I would never take no for an answer."

    "I would never take no for an answer, too," Ravin admitted quite strongly as he nted his legs wide to assert his dominance. "I could suggest that we live in the same Castle for the meantime and share her."

    "Who would keep your imps in line, Ravin, if you left the Castle?" Luxen took a deep breath as he crossed his arms. "You know how it got chaotic when you were gone forever."

    He narrowed his eyes at him, for he knew he had a pretty good argument that needed to be addressed. "Some idiot always wanted to im your throne, and your minions would battle it out."

    "It was aplete mess." The Archdemon of Gluttony agreed, scratching his head as he recalled the amount of effort it had required to fix it. "A survival-of-the-fittest tournament when they tried to rece me."

    "It was chaos. What was worse was that no Archdemons would give a fuck because each of us had a Kingdom to deal with." Luxen said as he shook his head in recollection, "You told me the bloody stories, and I don''t want that to happen again."

    Frowning, Ravin stared at him. "Live in my Kingdom then."

    "I also don''t want to live in your Kingdom." Luxen''s features hardened as he growled at him, "I, very much, prefer the cold weather."

    "Your father and I would like to retire, Luxen." The Queen of Hell''s warm lower-pitched voice was calm and soothing simr to drinking cool fresh water from spring.

    She rarely spoke that sometimes it would take Luna longer to register whose voices belonged to whom except for Ravin and Luxen.

    "Both of you needed to sort this out before we go." Queen Jezebel said as she tucked her brte locks behind her ears.

    "I will give you the time--" A golden hourss materialized in her left hand, and she turned it upside down. "--until the sand in this hourss runs out."

    The sand had started to move down on its narrow neck. "Your father and I will wait until the upper bulb is empty."

    Ravin had suggested, but he didn''t look too happy about it. "Why don''t you let Queen Jezebel decide?"

    "Time is running, sons." Queen Jezebel informed them. "Don''t include me in this--"

    Queen Jezebel had been cut off by a loud crash through the tall stained ss window.

    Covering her ears from the shock, Luna unconsciously ducked, which made her feel awkward because the rest in the room did not react to her.

    ncing around, her face had turned into a tomato when she realized that the Archdemons had remained emotionless and unfazed as ever as if they had expected this to happen every single time there was a meeting at the throne room.

    There was a young man��probably older than Cederic in appearance but younger than anyone in this throne room��who had ridden a winged dark horse as it trotted casually in their direction.

    The young man��well, Luna couldn''t say he was a boy, but she also couldn''t tell if she was a man, yet but perhaps, he was simr to Cederic��had worn weird clothes.

    The more the young man got closer, the more Luna''s jaws dropped at his huge-ass red hat with a ck cloth attached to it that looked simr to a horse''s tail.

    Luna wouldn''t be shocked if that was indeed a horsetail.

    He also wore something like a pleated cor on his neck��wide and full ruffles.

    The weirdest thing of all ever since this young man arrived, Luna realized that he was the only creature of Hell in this throne room who hadn''t worn a mask.

 Chapter 193 - Strange Brother-In-Law

    <h4>Chapter 193 - Strange Brother-In-Law</h4>

    **********************

    The Empress Luna

    *********************

    "Well, if this isn''t awkward, then I don''t know what is." The young man nced down at the scattered shards of colored ss on the red carpet as if he was witnessing the mess he made for the first time.

    He sighed and squinted at it for a long minute as everyone watched the man, waiting for what else he would do next.

    Luna held her breath in anticipation.

    The young man scratched his chin as he surveyed them with his forest-green eyes full of curiosity.

    He tilted his head as he peered at Luna behind Ravin and smiled, "It turns out like we are the only people who aren''t part of this theatre."

    If he were, indeed, talking to her, then Luna wouldn''t know how to respond.

    She nced at just about everything to avoid the young man''s gaze, but then she couldn''t help but return his intense stare.

    He had appeared out of ce with his weird clothes��a long-sleeved loose tunic with vertical green stripes with a red robe ced on top of it paired with a weird hat.

    He was severely uncoordinated, and his fancy clothes appeared rumpled as if the young man had just gotten out of bed.

    That''s it!

    He must be in his pajamas, and the man couldn''t stop staring at Luna as he loosely held the reins of his horse.

    She didn''t dare look away as she clutched Ravin''s upper arm in a panic.

    He appeared to be the kind of person who killed people just for fun with that innocent face of his.

    "Who is that guy, Ravin?" Luna whispered, and the Archdemon of Gluttony tensed at her question.

    "You arete as always, son." The Demon King turned his head mechanically to the young man on top of his horse and sighed, "Why did you evene here if you are tired to get out of your bed?"

    "You forgot to bring your mask." Queen Jezebel noted as she rxed her stiff posture and reclined to herfortable chair.

    He simply shrugged. "I just remembered that I forgot it before I crashed the window, but I was toozy to go back to my Kingdom and retrieve it."

    Queen Jezebel had shaken her head and sighed heavily as if she had enough of her son''s antics.

    Luna had started to doubt her reality of how these Archdemons can appear like a family with normal interactions.

    Like, of course, Luna wasn''t sure if ever they woke up from their bed and told themselves, ''What a beautiful morning. How shall I destroy the creatures'' lives today?''

    They were created as pure-blooded Archdemons and it must remain that way.

    Was that what was expected of them or--

    Was the Demon King right--that all creatures wore masks and had roles to y in this grand scheme of things?

    Were they born evil because it was a must-have trait for an Archdemon, or the circumstances had shaped them to be like this, and this was what they had chosen to be?

    Her head ached once again.

    Luna''s confused mind had turned into a downward spiral.

    She reminded herself that she wasn''t crazy yet by being aware of Ravin''s presence in front of her, effectively grounding herself that this was her current reality.

    Luna was in Hell.

    She was an Archdemon.

    Alright.

    "You are not only forgetful, brother, but also you arezy as hell." Luxen snorted as he faced his brother with his hand on his hips. "To be honest, I didn''t even expect you toe here and visit."

    Luna felt like she was invading their privacy for witnessing such a disy of how the Archdemon''s family dynamics worked in Hell.

    It was amusing and awkward at the same time, but she came to realize that it wasn''t at all.

    She wasn''t supposed to be a stranger to this royal family when she was basically an Archdemon now.

    Luna had Ravin and Luxen as her husbands, and the King and Queen were her inws under the Spiritual Laws of Hell.

    Luna had Archdemon magic to cultivate.

    She must learn how to open portals from different dimensions under this other older man''s tutge, whom she wasn''t even introduced to.

    She couldn''t escape her fate when it had already happened, but that didn''t mean she would wholeheartedly ept that the Demon King was her father-inw.

    She would have to learn how to so that she could get stronger than all of thembined, defeat them, and go back to Apollyon.

    It sounded like a good n, but it wouldn''t be easy.

    Luna knew Apollyon was waiting for her toe back.

    She had no desire to be lumped along with these evil people who refused to acknowledge peace.

    Instead, they dedicated their entire immortality to wreaking chaos and havoc to other Realms.

    "I want to see my sister-inw."

    Luna concluded that the man was an Archdemon, but who was it?

    She hadn''t seen the embodiment of Pride, Greed, Wrath, and Sloth.

    Luna had four remaining choices, and this guy was probably one of them.

    These demons lead creatures astray and expose them to all kinds of torture.

    These devils can torture emotionally.

    They caused idents, divisive misunderstandings, and even fatalities by just a whisper.

    They imnted seeds of mischief to test human beings, cheating and destroying their good intentions, seducing, tempting, and exploiting weaknesses.

    The devil worshipped power, that''s for sure, but were they doing the job they were forced to do before they even existed, or did they actually enjoyed it?

    Ravin nced up at him as the young man sat his horse aloft, scanning him from top to bottom.

    His gaze stopped at therge egg-shaped thing which was secured in its ce at his back.

    "Sloth." Ravin pointed the finger at it. "What is that?"

    So this was the Archdemon of Sloth!

    Luna bit her lip in anxiety as she thought. ''Now that she was an Archdemon herself, was she siding with Archdemons now?''

    "Hmm." Queen Jezebel had spoken when the sand in her hourss''s upper bulb waspletely consumed, indicating that the time was up. "Perhaps, my new daughter-inw could stay in Archdemon of Sloth''s Kingdom for now to avoid another fight."

 Chapter 194 - Problem Solved

    <h4>Chapter 194 - Problem Solved</h4>

    ********************

    The Empress Luna

    ********************

    "Perhaps, my new daughter-inw could stay into Sloth''s Kingdom for now to avoid another fight." Tilting her head, Queen Jezebel mused as she looked at the three of them��no, it was four of them��over.

    Now, that the time was up as shown from the Queen''s hourss, it vanished from her hand as she stood up with careless elegance.

    The Demon King and the other older man �Cwho was probably King Lucifer''s brother, Ravin and Luxen''s uncle, and Luna''s future mentor��also followed Queen Jezebel''s lead.

    "I��"

    Luna was about to say something regarding the Queen''s decision, but Sloth had interrupted in a loud voice.

    "But I just got here, mother." Sloth''s shoulders drooped as he pouted like a child in front of Queen Jezebel.

    The Archdemon of Sloth leaned forward and ced his hands on the horse''s neck, and swung his leg up and over the hunches."You aren''t even curious about my gift to my brother''s new wife?"

    Because of that huge rainbow-colored egg heavily strapped behind his back, Sloth almost lost his bnce as he dismounted.

    Luxen had to hold him by his shirt the moment his feet touched the ground.

    Sloth had his head lowered for a long minute, too fixated on his feet as if he was still looking for the cause of his imbnce.

    Luxen caught his attention by shaking him.

    Sloth nced up at his brother with hooded green eyes as if he was in a dream.

    Luna wasn''t surprised that he was the Archdemon of Sloth because he had a prolonged reaction time.

    If this man had lived in the Vampire Realm with that kind of persona, Luna would assume he was blood-drunk or had eaten too many mushrooms that had caused the poor guy to hallucinate.

    She wasn''t even sure if the man had kept up with the conversation when Queen Jezebel had proimed that Luna would stay in his Kingdom.

    As if Luxen had divined Luna''s thoughts, he asked Sloth a question. "Did you hear what mother said, Sloth?"

    Luxen gave Luna the briefest of nces. "My wife will be your guest tonight while Ravin and I sorted this? on how we would share her by tomorrow."

    "Uh��"Frowning, Sloth had pressed his lips into a stern line of aloofness. "So, nobody wanted to see my gift to this Lune?"

    "It''s Luna, Archdemon." Rolling her eyes, Luna corrected him, and she almost regretted it, for everyone had looked at her like she had grown horns.

    She couldn''t help it, though. "And you asked that question twice."

    Sloth tilted his head at her."So, you are counting?"

    Luna might slightly understand why Queen Jezebel suggested that she stayed with the Archdemon of Sloth.

    He was like a very slow kid��in all areas.

    Perhaps, Sloth was harmless like the other Archdemons made out to be in the sense that he was toozy to plot about everyone''s downfall.

    Luna closed her eyes, wondering when this will end.

    She had kept her silence while she was in this unknown territory.

    Luna had to tiptoe around the proverbial eggshells.

    Queen Jezebel''s voice was amand that filled the quiet room. "Will you agree to this, Ravin?"

    "I guess I had no choice for now." Ravin nodded in agreement. "Our wife needed rest, and if she stayed away from us for the meantime, then I guess it will be alright as long as she didn''t leave Hell. Luxen and I will talk about our future arrangements."

    "I wouldn''t let Luna in Luxen''s Castle while Lilith frequently visited him." The Archdemon of Gluttony let out a loose breath in concern. "I don''t know what Lilith is capable of, now that she had failed with her soul possession, so I need to keep Luna safe."

    "I guess I had no choice but to agree also." A smile stretched across Luxen''s lips as he watched Luna. "It will be unfair for me to let her stay with Ravin when they were together in the Dream Realm, and my bastard brother didn''t invite me to the damned party."

    You''re no fun, brother!" Luxen took a few sideways steps before he grabbed Luna''s elbow behind Ravin. "Let me hug my wife before she goes with Sloth."

    Archdemons not arguing and fighting?

    Was she, perhaps, on the wrong side of Hell?

    Luna felt the Archdemon of Lust squeezed her soul from this tight hug that it almost crushed her bones.

    Luxen was too strong, and she wondered if he secretly wanted to kill her.

    She wouldn''t be surprised if her soulless body in the Vampire Realm could have felt Luxen''s embrace by the evidence of a cracked ribcage.

    She sighed in relief when Luxen let go of her.

    "Farewell, wife." Ravin also stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her gently as if she was a fragile little thing.

    Shaking her head, Luna realized it was so different from the way Luxen had manhandled her.

    He smirked, "You will be safer with Sloth than us."

    Luna just had to voice out the question that had bothered her for so long ever since the Archdemon of Sloth arrived.

    "So, what''s inside that egg behind your back?"

    "All of us will be leaving now to return to our own Circles." Ignoring her, Queen Jezebel announced in a lofty tone, and the entire skeletal servant bowed their heads in respect.

    The other Archdemons also lowered their head.

    Grimacing, Luna curtsied awkwardly so that she wouldn''t appear so out-of-ce.

    She sighed when the Archdemon of Sloth pulled her closer to his winged horse.

    Luna almost teared up when she remembered Apollyon as she rode with him after the sword duels.

    "Why do you need the winged horse if you have Archdemon wings like mine?" Rubbing her moist eyes, Luna asked as Sloth got on his dark stallion smoothly with his wings'' help.

    As Sloth assisted her by holding her upper arm, Luna ced one foot to the stirrup and got on the horse in front of him.

    "My name is my answer."

    "Oh." Luna nodded. "Alright."

    "I''m tired. I just got off the horse, and now I had to ride it again." Brows knitting together, Slothined. "I shouldn''t have moved at all."

    "Ah." She agreed. "True."

    "Have you ever been outdoors just before a storm?"

 Chapter 195 - Land Of The Storms

    <h4>Chapter 195 - Land Of The Storms</h4>

    ********************

    The Empress Luna

    ********************

    It was a long awkward flight with the Archdemon of Sloth towards his Kingdom.

    Luna had ridden his winged horse in front of him so she had to straighten her spine so that her heavy Archdemon wings wouldn''t touch any part of Sloth.

    Her Archdemon wings were an inconvenience, and Luna didn''t even know how to use them.

    So, here she was, carrying these useless lumps of muscle behind her back.

    It felt like she had two four-year-old kids attached to her back muscles from the weight of it.

    Luna was like a cursed hunchback lugging around these burdens everywhere without utilizing it for its true purpose: flying.

    The Archdemon of Sloth also handed her his ''gift'' which he was so proud of: arge egg who changed colours.

    Luna watched it with a curious gaze as it settled between her legs as she rode the Pegasus.

    She wanted to crack the egg to see what was inside.

    When she attempted to knock it from the top, Sloth reached out and pulled her hand away from it.

    He had muttered along the lines of, "You shall not wake the sleeping dragon."

    Luna narrowed her eyes at the rainbow egg before looking over shoulder. "Is this a baby dragon then?"

    The Archdemon just shrugged and refused to answer the question.

    "Are you sure this was a gift, or you just wanted to get rid of it?"

    Oh great, Luna didn''t only acquire Archdemon Magic and train herself to use it properly.

    She had to take care of a baby dragon while learning how to open a portal secretly and escape from Hell and reunite with Apollyon.

    +++

    The fate of all the Upper Realms was in her hands.

    She had opened a portal connecting Hell to the Vampire Realms.

    It would probably be easy for her to do it again.

    Luna shouldn''t let these wicked Archdemons cross portals and dimensions to destroy creatures from other Realms for the sake of power and envement.

    The murals she saw at ceiling��

    She knew that it was the Archdemon''s mission from the beginning of time: to destroy the world and let the Archdemons reign, erasing all the creatures that would fight against them and turn creatures who had sworn their allegiance into demons.

    That wouldn''t be so far from the future if she weren''t careful.

    Luna must prevent that to restore the bnce in the Otherworld.

    She might be an Archdemon, but her loyalty will always lie towards her husband and the Vampire Realm.

    But if Apollyon knew that Luna had turned into an Archdemon, where will Apollyon''s loyalty lie?

    Would it be the Vampire Realm, the Kingdom he had sworn to protect or would it be Luna-- who became one of the creatures he hated because one Archdemon had possessed and taken a huge timeline of his immortality?

    Luna had to make a decision right now.

    Where should her loyalties lie?

    What if the moment her husband realized that Luna became an Archdemon the moment they see each other again, he would kill her like he had killed Catriona��no questions asked?

    She was considering her next step on how to forge ahead with rity in her mind.

    Luna was determined to seed ande back to Apollyon, and if he didn''t like what she had be, then so be it.

    She was doing this to protect the Upper Realms, and she will im the rewards from the gods and the goddesses.

    While she cultivated the Archdemon magic bestowed on her to open portals, she should appear strong when she was weak and appear weak when she became stronger.

    Luna will be more powerful with grace so as not to rm them of her hidden ns.

    Her head dropped as she covered her face in her hands in disappointment while the Archdemon of Sloth droned on and on about his Kingdom to which he called it ''The Land of the Storms''.

    He mentioned that the travel would be longer since it was at the deepest parts of Hell.

    The Archdemon of Sloth had lived on the ''Seventh Circles''.

    Luna had already seen Ravin''s Dark Castle before which was located on top of a cliff while fierce and almost maniacal mes of blue and orange burned below.

    She was in Luxen''s Kingdom just recently with the hailstorm and arctic snow, simr to the icy Vampire Realm.

    Luna was grateful that the Archdemon of Sloth was pretty talkative to fill out the awkward silence.

    He overshared how lightning and thunder made him feel energized and alive every time he saw them.

    Sloth also said that it made him feel high and his body feeds of that vitality.

    Her brows knitted in confusion. "Storms are disruptive and can cause damage, Sloth."

    "I''mzy to do anything." He grumbled. "Sometimes, I just go outside my Castle and wait for the lightning to strike me so that I can be fully awake."

    "So did you get struck by lightning before your grand entrance at the throne room?"

    "Yes, the electricity in my system is starting to fade, but I can''t sleep yet and leave everything to you. At least, I didn''t fall asleep and just dropped from the sky out-of-the-blue." He replied. "It happens all the time."

    "You are a weirdo."

    "An unconscious weirdo who sleeps everywhere--literally."

    +++

    Luna looked forward towards the dangerous horizon in a calm, steely gaze.

    The Archdemon of Sloth wasn''t joking when he said it was the Land of the Storms.

    Their winged dark Pegasus had a perfect vision despite the dense, ck fog as it pranced around the sky, navigating with expertise as it chose to move into the thin smoke with confidence.

    The Pegasus clearly knew what it was up against.

    The wind currents were too strong that her face was whipped a hundred times by her silver strands.

    There was a sudden sh of lightning just in front of her, and Luna screamed simultaneously with the sound of the thunder, hugging her rainbow egg tightly.

    She was afraid the lightning would hit it by ident, and the baby dragon might die.

    It had started to rain.

 Chapter 196 - Archdemon Of Sloth

    <h4>Chapter 196 - Archdemon Of Sloth</h4>

    *********************

    The Empress Luna

    **********************

    They arrived at Sloth''s Castle safely, and it wasn''t located at a higher altitude like Ravin''s.

    It was a surprise to see that not everything in this ce was dark and gothic.

    It was the shocking opposite instead.

    Fire torches were magically lit up in quick sessions as they passed some wide tunnel.

    The cavern walls seemed like it was made ofpacted sand and bricks.

    After about three minutes of the pegasus trotting towards the entrance, Luna could see the dark sky again, but it was unusual how the rain didn''t infiltrate the open courtyard.

    They were greeted by two of Sloth''s servants as they held the rainbow egg for her and assisted Luna as she got off the pegasus.

    "Please keep the baby dragon safe, Simone," Sloth said as he pped his Archdemon wings a little and got off the Pegasus after her.

    Narrowing her eyes at Sloth''s wings, Luna pursed her lips as she observed how he used them so easily so that she could learn from him.

    Luna attempted to stretch her Archdemon wings outward, but Luna tucked them back when she couldn''t even move them aside from that.

    She sighed a hopeless sigh.

    "I need to nap for an hour." The Archdemon of Sloth had muttered under his breath as he tried his best to keep his eyes open.

    His deep voice had sounded gravelly as he ordered the other servant, "Philip, entertain my sister-inw while I''m gone."

    +++

    "This is the Library of Congress, My Lady." One of Sloth''s butlers, who had a shiny grey head, lowered his head in respect and opened the door to a whole new world Luna didn''t expect.

    Her heart had seemed to freeze before it pounded harder.

    "Prince Sloth had been a collector of books rted to sorcery and healing from all over Realms so that he could read them to sleep."

    "Wow." Luna blinked rapidly, followed by her open staring at the massive room.

    Sloth''s butler was amused at her reaction and proceeded to brag, "The number of books in this Library owned by the Young Master surpassed the famous sinking Library of Alexandria."

    The Archdemon of Sloth was a book collector like her husband, and he was interested in medicinal healing simr to the High Priest Fei at the Vampire Realm.

    It was strange for an Archdemon to have those kinds of interests.

    Luna wasn''t sure what to make of Sloth since he hadn''t felt evil so far, which was suspicious enough.

    Ever since she had met Luxen, Lilith, and Ravin, she knew she couldn''t trust anyone in Hell.

    "I think I would like it here." She crossed the threshold as she nced up, up, up, to the ceiling, craning her neck at how the old and polished mahogany bookshelves almost reached the transparent dome, which showed her the dark blue clouds and the yellow lightning shes.

    Luna might have gained Archdemon wings, but that didn''t mean she could use them right now if she wanted to check the books at the top shelves.

    She had an inkling that those were forbidden.

    If she would stay here for a while, Luna had to get used to the thunderstorms.

    Luna still had the flimsy gown, which showed her non-existent cleavage.

    The heels she had worn at the Vampire Realm? click-cked noisily into the quiet Library.

    The trails at the back of her gown had been tattered from her struggle with Lilith at Luxen''s Kingdom in addition to the mes that had burned the hems of her dress.

    Also, it felt like she was inside the quietest chamber in Hell.

    She could hear her own heartbeat and her own breaths as she crossed over the threshold.

    Shivers ran down her spine as she felt the cold breeze blowing at the nape of her neck.

    Luna felt overwhelmed.

    She rubbed one hand at the back of her neck as the other one clutched a hand over her chest.

    Luna didn''t know that the Archdemon of Sloth had a thirst for knowledge that would rival a sage.

    Shaking her head vigorously, Luna watched the Library of Congress.

    The chamber was ginormous and full of books of all shapes, sizes, and contents that all Luna could do was look at it the moment she entered--with eyes wide and mouth hanging open.

    Luna walked towards the nearest book she could have a hold of.

    "Don''t touch them yet, my Lady." The butler had warned her with concern as if it was a life-and-death situation.

    Looking over her shoulder at the servant, Luna paused before her forefinger could touch the small book''s spine.

    Frowning, she put her hand down and clenched her skirts awkwardly. "What is wrong?"

    "Let us wait for the young master in his study and talk for a while."

    +++

    Philip didn''t only entertain Luna, but he told her what to expect from the Archdemon of Sloth while she waited for him.

    ording to him, Sloth was like a child because he was unbothered, radiant, and fearless.

    He sought joy above all else at any cost.

    Sloth was the type of Archdemon who struggled being bound to a persona that demanded his attention of wickedness and without guilt.

    Sloth was an eternal child who wanted to nix all the rules and responsibilities as an Archdemon.

    Luna could tell that he was rebellious in his own right and wanted his freedom so badly that the King and Queen of Hell must have let him be.

    Somehow, he reminded her of the story she had heard once, about Icarus, who perished by flying near the sun with waxed wings.

    Sloth was a young man who had blonde hair and forest-green eyes, and despite the hint of ruthlessness in his lean face, which was smooth as porcin, there was no mistaking the power of his male form.

    He might have thatzy charm along with that innocent, childlike character who just desired to sleep the moment he was awake but Luna might be a fool to let her guard down.

 Chapter 197 - Guest, Not A Prisoner

    <h4>Chapter 197 - Guest, Not A Prisoner</h4>

    *********************

    The Empress Luna

    *********************

    When Sloth had mentioned that his Kingdom was the Land of Storms, she wondered if there would be a time where the thick dark clouds and the strong winds would go away, and the perpetual darkness would be reced by bright sunshines.

    Luna had sat on the mostfortable chair that had cushioned her Archdemon wings as she reclined on it and sunk on the backrest.

    She was sure that this chair was specifically made to amodate Archdemons because it definitely felt like she was in a bed of clouds.

    Despite this bleak stormy night, the brilliant stars and constetions twinkled like a smattering of snow in the vast sky.

    She wasn''t aware of each Kingdom''s astronomy, but she could see one that appeared like a moon with a bluish tint around its light, two orbsrger than the white stars: blue and orange, and one was yellow.

    She could also see a rainbow on the edges of the clouds.

    Every Circle of Hell was different in its own way, but so far, the Seventh Circle was the most bizarre.

    Phillip, who wore a simple aquamarine tunic, was shorter than Luna.

    He appeared human with his full beard.

    At the same time, the other servant Simone, whom Luna assumed as a low-level demon, had a huge, long head, and he had red scales all over his body.

    He wore a gold tunic.

    "I have ced the dragon egg back to the ground and buried it in dung heaps, My Lady." He informed Luna and respectfully bowed his head with a white-headed eagle on his arm, its sharp talons digging into his skin.

    Simone had followed them at Sloth''s study and sat beside Philip. "This is one of my Young Master''s pet. He loves animals, and we took care of them when he was too tired."

    "The Archdemon of Sloth sleeps all the time, huh?" Luna showed her palms in front of her in a ''keep-that-away-from-gesture'' and shrugged, "How would he take care of them and recognize him as a master if the animals are used to you, Simone?"

    "The animals love Young Master," Simone stated as if that answer was satisfying enough.

    Luna opened her mouth to argue that logic but decided not to because that was a discussion for another day.

    Simone reached out his hand as if he wanted Luna to touch the eagle and take care of it for a while.

    "Uh��" Luna shook her head in refusal, but her outstretched arm had told them otherwise.

    Staring at her involuntary hand in usation, she nodded in agreement, "Alright."

    The eagle with its dark brown feathers and whitetails slowly hopped into Luna''s arm.

    Limbs shaking, her eyes widened when its beak neared her face and almost poked her in the eyes.

    Gasping, she threw her arm upwards to get rid of the eagle''s ws on her skin, and they both screamed into the quiet chamber.

    Luna gulped down her breaths to stay quiet.

    When she finally calmed down, Luna red at the servant and said, "Well, that was nice."

    Philip had sensed her sarcasm and one corner of his lips curved, "The messenger can fscent your fear. That is why it was afraid too."

    Swallowing hard, Luna tilted her head to the side and pursed her lips. "How many pet animals does the Archdemon of Sloth have?"

    "I have another one here." Simone''s eyes sparkled as he caressed his neck to his chest repeatedly with both hands.

    As she settled one hand to the table, Luna leaned forward and squinted to search for the servant''s robes to check out if he had hidden something.

    His robes suddenly morphed into something daunting as the creature turned off its camouge.

    It turned out that it was a small and slender snake with red scales and ck and yellow stripes.

    Luna screeched when it hissed and flicked its tongue, positioning to strike at Luna.

    "Take that damned snake away from me. I had enough of them." Luna shrieked as she recoiled back to her seat.

    She inhaled and exhaled to rx her beating heart.

    Luna waved a dismissive hand to show that she was unbothered. "I remembered my husband killed a snake with bare hands, and now I had to deal with two snakes in Hell."

    "Is it, Master Gluttony or Lust?"

    "Neither." She muttered in her cushion with a disgusted shudder. "One snake in Hell is enough."

    +++

    Phillip had chattered non-stop after that.

    Luna had wanted to tell him to shut up, but she knew the servant was doing his job to entertain her.

    She was a guest, so she had to put up with this until Sloth had rested.

    Philip''s dry voice echoed through the chamber so loudly it grated her nerves while Simone yed with the red snake in silence.

    Luna watched the tremendous storm outside.

    The clear red blooms of climbing roses were detached from its vines and green foliage on the garden''s walls due to the whirlwinds.

    The golden wheat which initially covered the fields from the horizon was destroyed.

    The only thing that could withstand this violence was the huge oak tree.

    From her spot, she could also see a lotus-filled pond with murky green and blue waters while old skulls and bones were scattered on the side.

    Philip, Sloth''s butler, had kept her entertained by his Young Master''s antics that she didn''t notice that she had covered her mouth in a yawn, tucked her legs under her gown, and closed her eyes.

    She hadn''t intended to sleep, but, goddess, she did!

    It wasn''t a good idea, true, but her mind and soul had unconsciously registered that she wasn''t in danger anymore.

    It was nice to have this experience of not being so vignt all the time, constantly looking behind her back.

    Luna didn''t feel like a prisoner at all.

    It was ironic how Luna swore to herself that she wouldn''t let her guard down but look at how she had fallen asleep in her chair by the window.

    Sloth would probably take a really long nap before they had that conversation, so Luna might as well rest.

 Chapter 198 - Sister-In-Law Is A Savage

    <h4>Chapter 198 - Sister-In-Law Is A Savage</h4>

    *********************************

    THE ARCHDEMON OF SLOTH

    **********************************

    He saw that his sister-inw was asleep on his favorite couch, but he had no gall to wake Lune up because she seemed tired.

    Lune''s hair had her head bowed as the curtains of her silver hair covered her pale face.

    She kept nodding drowsily, and her legs were tucked underneath her transparent gown.

    He watched his sister-inw''s tiny nipples with clinical interest.

    Sloth hadn''t noticed her choice of clothes before at the throne room, but now he wanted to wake her up and asked about it.

    He had kept his promise and only slept in his bedchamber for an hour.

    Honestly, if it wasn''t for his servant Philip who woke him up and shook his shoulders so wild that his brain might think there was an earthquake, Sloth might have broken his oath.

    Sloth had prided himself as an honorable man, so he had to drag himself to the Library of Congress and face her sister-inw even if it killed him not to lie down in bed all day.

    His two loyal servants had left them alone in his study to bake some cookies and treats and made herbal tea for their guest if she drinks it.

    Common sense had taught Sloth that sleep and paralysis potions weren''t allowed on the first meeting.

    Lune was his first guest in his Kingdom.

    He must meet her expectations.

    Lune was a new Archdemon, so maybe she would ask him questions regarding that.

    Sloth thought that her queries might be easy to address.

    He heaved a sigh of relief when he found out that Lune wasn''t as annoyingly arrogant and quarrelsome as the Archdemon of Envy.

    Sloth and Lune get along as they rode on the Pegasus, so that was progress.

    As Sloth watched Lune with cool precision, he had this urge to satisfy this sharp, unexpected curiosity ring within his existence��a thirst for knowledge��every time he came unto something new and shiny.

    He was always intrigued by observing what it will do.

    He was lucky that it fell right into his hands without much effort.

    Sloth had been an Archdemon for a long time.

    He had enjoyed his time alone--sleeping and reading the collections he had acquired both in Hell and in the Upper Realms.

    Sloth didn''t ask for anything monumental from the creatures who summoned him.

    Yes, they would live a miserable life due to unconditioned curses ced upon them the moment they gained ess to Archdemon magic.

    Sloth had never asked for someone''s soul in exchange to bind them to a life of servitude in this Kingdom.

    He wasn''t that harsh of an Archdemon.

    Sloth had a particr interest in mortals, and he would strictly bind contracts to this specific race, nothing else.

    If these humans had no sorcery and healing books that didn''t interest him, Sloth would give humans ess to Archdemon magic in exchange for all of their memories, storing them into one of his books on the top shelves.

    The top shelves contained all the forbidden books, and all their records were written all over them, and only Sloth was the only one who can ess it.

    Sloth had heard that Humanity had called his binding contracts, ''Alzheimer''s Disease'' and ''Amnesia.''

    It left people into empty husks of themselves while he gained their memories of joy, love, anger, fear, and sadness.

    These were the best stories that would put a smile on his face, helping him sleep at night.

    Even if Sloth didn''t have any memories of when he used to be a shaman in his past life, he still had other people''s memories to keep him entertained for a lifetime, and that was enough for him.

    Sloth summoned a long and polished wooden stick and held the end of it, reaching from his seat and across the table.

    He poked her sister-inw with the stick for fun.

    It barely even touched her chin, and Lune had already grabbed the stick and pulled it sideways.

    Poor Sloth had a dyed reaction!

    He hadn''t let go of the stick, and he ended up face-first on the table.

    In his effort to avoid leaning on the table because it was made of ss and it wouldn''t carry his weight, he made his right hand tond on the floor.

    It was a terrible idea!

    Sloth hadn''t estimated the distance and ced his hand to the farthest right of the ss surface.

    With his mouth hanging open in shock, Sloth could only watch the scene from a third-person point of view as he saw the future sh before his eyes.

    The tabletop overturned, and it broke into jagged edges.

    Sloth crashed onto the floor.

    His sister-inw had jumped on top of him as she positioned her left leg and the wooden stick around his neck and chest.

    Hey on the shattered fragments, bleeding.

    Sloth couldn''t move at all, for his arm had been pinned by one of Lune''s legs while his other arm was secured by her strong hand.

    His sister-inw was strong and heavy.

    No joke.

    Lune felt like she weighed more because the more she moved, the more his body pressed unto the broken ss, piercing his Archdemon wings.

    It didn''t only hurt.

    It was severely ufortable.

    She had quick reflexes, Sloth would acknowledge that, or it could be that her movements had moved like a blur, and he couldn''t follow.

    Was it his sin which had caused him to lose against this woman?

    He narrowed his eyes at her sister-inw.

    Lune wasn''t appreciative of his hospitality and goodwill at all.

    Sloth and his servants had been kind to her.

    They didn''ty a finger on her even if she was vulnerable while sleeping, not even her hair.

    Sloth gave thedy a gift.

    That was the firstborn of his pet wyvern.

    Wasn''t that enough?

    Slowly shaking his head, he gave the fledgling Archdemon a bitter smile.

    Women��no matter what Realms��could never be trusted.

    They were crazy, and he would rather be alone than having a wife like this.

    Ravin and Luxen would regret their position once they figured out an arrangement for this savagedy.

    Sloth''s? voice was deep and quiet when he asked, "Would it be justifiable for me if I poison you for this?"

 Chapter 199 - Poke The Bear And Die

    <h4>Chapter 199 - Poke The Bear And Die</h4>

    *****************************

    The Archdemon of Sloth

    *****************************

    "Would it be justifiable for me to if I poison you for this?"

    Lune''s eyes were fierce with determination as she said in a steady, low-pitched voice. "I need you to answer my questions, brother-inw."

    "Do you have to do this, though?" He pressed his lips together as his gaze nced down at the stick wedged around his throat.

    He adjusted his voice in a soft, patronizing tone that would sound from someone Lune could trust. "I can answer your questions calmly if we could just sit down on the couch face-to-face."

    Sloth wasn''t sure if it was effective but Lune''s response had been cool.

    "You attacked me first. This is self-defense." Lifting her chin in a challenge, she added a-matter-of-factly. "Don''t poke the bear if you don''t want to die."

    Sloth winced at the pain every time she squirmed and pressed that damned stick on his neck as if that would keep him docile.

    Damn it!

    It was partly Sloth''s fault but he wouldn''t admit that out loud.

    He had poked her with the wooden stick instead of waking her up as a normal creature should.

    To be honest, he was toozy to walk around the table and tap her by the shoulder or use his Archdemon wings to fly to her and smooth her silver hair away from her face before he shouted '' FIRE!'' in her ear.

    Sloth''sziness would get him into far more trouble than he was ready for.

    He had itched to tie her up and wrap a nket around her before he throws her into the dungeon for this insolence but she was his sister-inw.

    Perhaps, he can do that next time.

    "Alright." He replied, "Ask away!" instead.

    It was time to have that much-awaited conversation.

    "How did you be an Archdemon, Sloth?"

    Even if Sloth hadn''t remembered his past life, he knew he had lived as a human before.

    He was a shaman who was diligent when it came to studying books about healing and animals.

    He turned his head sideways as he took his sweet time to think more.

    "Hmm. I wasn''t a pureblood Archdemon."

    Clenching his fists, he begged for more memories toe this time but there was none.

    Opening his eyes after the recollection, Sloth told Lune how much he could remember.

    There weren''t foggy scenarios and it was more like words.

    "I was a Cambion, who used to be a half-human and half-demon, which defeated the past Archdemon of Sloth with magic that I learned from my past life."

    The more his sister-inw asked her questions about his past, the more he got the courage to say what he thought out loud with conviction.

    He was afraid that nobody would believe him if they heard it from his mouth.

    She leaned into him more and her knees had dug on his chest. "What is your name?"

    If he wasn''t careful, Sloth might think that Lune was more interested in him than bing a strong Archdemon.

    "To be honest, I don''t remember. It had been so long." Pulling his head back to see more of Lune''s face, he responded with a grimace when he felt her sister-inw''s weight again. "My brothers call me Sloth and I am fine with it."

    What would thisdy do if he told her she was heavy?

    Hm, probably insulted!

    Nevermind.

    She would think of that as a valid excuse to torture him more.

    "I was a past shaman who bridged every day and the sacred."

    Even Lilith who became the Archdemon of Envy had a memory tofort her and pull her through every time she had an existential crisis.

    Lilith was evil to the core when she was a High Priestess in the Vampire Realm.

    There was no question about that.

    But, how about him?

    How evil was his soul to be sent to Hell and be an Archdemon?

    Sloth had assumed it was because of his half-demon blood but perhaps, that wasn''t the only reason.

    "The Shaman had a knack for finding doorways into the other worlds as they would allow psychic visions and old magic to leak into this world. When there is power, there is also shadow in it. I think I fell into it deeply."

    Sloth never told this to anyone else, not even his fellow brothers or even his new mother and father, King Lucifer and Queen Jezebel.

    They knew his soul wasn''t supposed to remember.

    If they knew Sloth had thought about his past heritage then they would probablyugh at him.

    The King and the Queen would assume that he was making stories topensate for hisck of memory in his past

    Why did he tell Lune about his theories about what he used to be without any proof?

    Lune nodded as if she understood him.

    "I didn''t retain any memories except who I used to be in the past." Exhaling a breath, Sloth gained the courage to share with his sister-inw what he thought because she seemed to be interested.

    Not so many people were interested in what a drowsy and lethargic Archdemon had to say so he might as well take advantage.

    "One thing I know for sure was I let the darkness consumed me whole that was why I became an Archdemon."

    Lune''s brows furrowed when she asked, "How does this work?"

    "I am an Archdemon now." Lune paused for a moment as if she was letting that sink in into her brain. "Do I need to dethrone some Archdemon to officially be one?"

    "You don''t need to unless you want to have a Kingdom to rule in Hell but I think you wouldn''t have a problem about where you would stay." Sloth offered her an encouraging smile when something clicked in his thoughts.

    Lune was probably acting like a savagedy because she was afraid of her future.

    It had nothing to do with him.

    "My brothers would agree on the schedule of your wifely duties by tomorrow and my wild guess was either they take turns daily, weekly, or monthly."

 Chapter 200 - Secret Crush

    <h4>Chapter 200 - Secret Crush</h4>

    ***************************

    The Archdemon of Sloth

    ***************************

    Sloth regrettably informed her but he gave her a curious smile at the same time, "My brothers would agree on the schedule of your wifely duties by tomorrow and my wild guess was either they take turns daily, weekly, or monthly."

    Lune''s mouth fell open as she gasped, shaking her head in disbelief.

    Amused at her denial, Sloth continued in a slow smile, "You are an official wife of theirs since you are mated by blood and you tied cords with each other. You should expect that already."

    Bending his legs, Sloth twisted and turned under her.

    Lune had reinforced her weight on top of him in return.

    Her delicate wrists were as strong as iron, pinning him like a butterfly.

    Sloth writhed once again but this time he thrust his left shoulder with all his might.

    His sister-inw didn''t mean to free his left arm.

    When he pulled the long wooden stick from her and threw it aside, Lune''s golden eyes had widened in panic

    With rasping breaths, Lune did her best to hold him down by force but Sloth had predicted her next move.

    In a calcting motion, he waited for the perfect time to stretch one leg and wrapped them around her waist, pulling her down with him and sessfully maneuvering her.

    Sloth wasn''t a fighter but he had closed his eyes and sighed with relief.

    He smirked.

    He had her where he wanted her.

    He thought that Lune would struggle to fight and resist him as they switched positions.

    Sloth had pinned his sister-inw this time around.

    wing his muscr arms, Lune''s arms suddenly dropped to the sides.

    The broken ss shards had prated her ivory skin.

    Sloth was fascinated by how this fledging Archdemon had healed as fast as his.

    Turning her head sideways, Lune''s left cheek was pressed to the floor as she peered towards the thunderstorm outside the window.

    The loud pitter-patter of the rain was a piece of melodious music in the background.

    "Can you help my soul get back to the Vampire Realm?" Lune murmured as she avoided eye contact.

    "I don''t know what is happening between you and my brothers." Sloth had reduced the pressure of his ws on her shoulders.

    Tilting his head, he asked uncertainly, "What is your problem?"

    "I was an Empress from the Vampire Realm." Shutting her eyes tight, Lune murmured shyly as if her pride was on the line as she asked for help, "The Archdemon of Envy wanted to possess my body in the Vampire Realm to be with the Vampire King because she used to be an ancient High Priestess who was in love with him and in exchange, I will be trapped here forever in Hell."

    Sloth had noticed that Lune had nced down and bitten her lip to curb her sniffs and whimpers.

    Lune''s eyshes were like crescents on her pale and puffy face, covering her unshed tears that threatened to fall.

    "Of course, you will be trapped in Hell." Sloth moved one hand on her throat so that he could scratch his chin in confusion.

    His eyebrows narrowed, "You turned into an Archdemon and your husbands are here."

    "No!"? Lune''s voice broke in denial as she red at him.

    When their eyes met, her eyes had turned red.

    Sloth couldn''t help it but he lightly stroked her face and wiped away her tears.

    Sensing thedy''s distress, he asked in a soothing tone. "Why do you hesitate in the face of intimacy with your Archdemon husbands?"

    Pinching her lips together, Lune circled the wrist on her neck with both of her hands and sought to get his hand off her.

    It was a mistake to let his guard down so he? restrained her shoulders with both of his hands again.

    Halting, she rested her hands on her sides and sighed, "I have a husband at the Vampire Realm, Sloth."

    Sloth''s eyes widened at her revtion. "Huh?"

    Sloth was at a loss for words but he managed to utter, "That is so confusing."

    Shaking his head in disbelief, he let that sink into his addled brain this time instead of just passing through his ears. "Can you repeat that again?"

    Lune acquiesced, "I have a husband in the Vampire Realm."

    "Who did you bond with first?"? Sloth was perpetually confused, "Was it this Vampire King or my Archdemon brothers?"

    "No." His sister-inw shook her head vigorously and for some strange reason, he found that cute.

    Baphomet!

    He needed to get himself together.

    He didn''t want any females!

    He wasn''t about to beg his sister-inw to bond with him since she already had Ravin and Luxen attached to her.

    Sloth wouldn''t mess up an already messed-up rtion that even the Archdemon of Envy was fucking with Luxen!

    He was so lost in his thoughts that thest thing he heard from Lune was," You know that Gluttony had been gone for a while, right?"

    "I was busy sleeping that I waste to thetest gossip in the Seven Circles of Hell."He replied smoothly and he smiled at that small achievement.

    Sloth might be slow and his mind might float around most of the time but he could be attentive if he tried.

    "This Archdemon had possessed my husband, the Vampire King, and bonded with me by blood." Lune began and he gave her a steady nod. "When I exorcised him out of the Vampire King''s body, the mating bond split into two and a part of me was bonded into Ravin and my husband. So I am tied between the two of them. Luxen came into the picture and tricked me to drink his blood by offering to quench my thirst. I exchanged blood with him."

    Sloth''s panicked eyes had started to ricochet to different directions when he lost the trail of their conversation.

    He didn''t understand it anymore as Luna droned on, "The bastard had unwittingly tied a silver cord to my soul and now I am stuck with them."

    "Are you listening to me?"

    She quizzed him as she snapped a finger in front of his face, making sure he was still catching up.

 Chapter 201 - A Devils Contract

    <h4>Chapter 201 - A Devil''s Contract</h4>

    *********************

    The Empress Luna

    *********************

    The Archdemon of Sloth had spaced out as he tried to process her story.

    Her poor brother-inw had stared into her eyes without really staring at her like the man wasn''t even there.

    He was so confused that his soul was probably taken, floating somewhere in Hell.

    "Are you listening to me?" She quizzed him as she snapped a finger in front of his face, making sure he was still catching up.

    Sloth flinched when she broke him out of his trance.

    "Oh, I don''t know. I forgot what you said. That was hard to understand." He scowled at her and her brows knitted in confusion. "You are giving me a headache. This is making me crazy."

    Blinking rapidly, Sloth withdrew from her and got up, brushing splinters off his strange robes. "I can''t deal with this."

    He sighed heavily and returned to his seat earlier as if they weren''t wrestling with each other in the first ce.

    Shocked by his sudden change of behavior, Luna reluctantly rose from the mess and sat on thefortable couch in front of Sloth, pretending that there wasn''t a broken ss tabletop in front of them.

    She rested both of her palms on the armrest and tucked her legs under her skirts.

    Both of them simultaneously released a dejected sigh.

    "Now, this is a proper conversation." The Archdemon of Sloth murmured as he rested his elbow on his armrest, cradling his head with his palm.

    He nced down at the clutter on the floor. "I made a mess on my study and it bothers me."

    Crossing his legs, Sloth added in a murmur, "Philip and Simone will be here soon with snacks but there was no table."

    "I don''t eat snacks." She said with a straight face. "I am a vampire."

    The Library of Congress became quiet.

    She suddenly sensed danger in the air before the Archdemon of Sloth pressed his chest in a modest fashion and spoke in a husky tone, "You can eat me if you are hungry."

    Luna narrowed her eyes at him as she gave him the look.

    "I was merely jesting, sister-inw, I don''t plunder a woman that didn''t belong to me." The Archdemon of Sloth gave her an innocent look as he chuckled, "You can drink my blood if you can tolerate its taste if you are hungry. My brothers aren''t here to fetch you yet."

    Luna stared at him coldly, raising a hand, and showed her palm outward. "No, thank you."

    "Anyway, back to your ''husband'' in the Vampire Realm��" The Archdemon of Sloth must have sensed her annoyance for he had decided to change the topic for his own good. "If you insist that you have a husband, why did you im my brothers as yours and merged with them through the blood bond?"

    "I was forced to."

    He arched an eyebrow. "I don''t believe that one bit."

    "Believe what you want, Sloth." Luna tilted her head back, her gaze looking up into the skylight windows above her which showed how the lightning danced in the sky.

    Clearly, the thunderstorm wasn''t over yet as it continued to destroy tall structures outside the castle.

    She brought her gaze back to Sloth.

    Luna narrowed her eyes at him with an intensity that would make him shiver. "You don''t have any intention to help me and take my side so believe whatever you want."

    "Hmm." Sloth frowned at her as he rubbed his chin in contemtion, "I thought you needed my advice on this."

    Luna lifted her chin in a challenge, "What is this precious advice, shaman?"

    There was arge jagged streak of lightning which shed outside the tall, arched window.

    Luna fought the urge to flinch when it hit the oak tree.

    The fluorescence also gave the Archdemon of Sloth a sinister vibe when he smirked at her.

    He cleared his throat and her ears perked up with anticipation.

    Luna and Sloth continued to stare at each other as she waited for his response.

    Closing his eyes shut, he said with conviction, "You must stop searching for the right answer. You think too much. It can''t be found." When he opened his eyes, he smiled at her, "--ultimately it wasn''t important. Getfortable with the limitations of your intellect and the reality of not knowing."

    Luna blinked.

    Was he telling her she was stupid?

    She didn''t understand Sloth.

    His words were as vague as a phantasm.

    "Your advice is bullshit." Luna crossed her arms and said, "That wouldn''t solve my problems."

    "This is your current reality and you just have to deal with it. Focusing harder wouldn''t solve it and neither will increased effort." Sloth shrugged with nonchnce. "Time, surrender, and humor are your only ally here in Hell. The only way to work around your problem is not to work on it."

    "You said you are a past shaman who bridged the gap between the normal world and the spiritual world. Well, that''s basically opening up portals." Luna insisted. "You mentioned you had gone to the deep end of it..." Gritting her teeth, she pleaded even if she hated asking for help, "Mayhap, you can help me go back to the Vampire Realm."

    "Your energy was deep and mysterious, Lune, like an elusive wisdom of an unsolvable riddle. I could just taste your power in the atmosphere just from the tip of my tongue despite the fact that you are a fledging Archdemon." The Archdemon of Sloth settled back in his chair with exaggerated casualness. "You could figure out everything on your own without my help. Perhaps, I could also say that you have stronger skills than me."

    "I know what you are doing, Sloth." Straightening her spine, Luna cocked her head to the side and smirked, "You are just stroking my ego because you want something."

    "Of course, you know about Archdemons and their bargains. You had interacted with Ravin and Luxen." Sloth deliberately raised an eyebrow as he chuckled, "Plus, you are an Archdemon now so you probably know how things worked around here."

    She asked warily, "What do you want in exchange, then?"

    "Your memories with the Vampire King."

 Chapter 202 - Soul Eater

    <h4>Chapter 202 - Soul Eater</h4>

    ********************

    The Empress Luna

    *********************

    Philip and Simone had arrived at the ''crime scene'' and gasped at the ss fragments of the broken tabletop on the wooden floorboards.

    They carefully ced down the trays at their feet before they moved to pick up the bigger shards, collecting them with their bare hands.

    Their fingers bled as they continued gathering them.

    It was as if they weren''t bothered by the pain at all.

    If they had a master like the Archdemon of Sloth for aeons then they must have expected this.

    To Sloth''s servants, this scene must be normalcy.

    This theory of hers had been proven when Philip had evinced a transparent floating bubble with his hand and slipped the ss in there.

    He stretched out an arm with his palm out and motioned it upwards, bringing the minuscule bits that were hard to see with the naked eye heavenwards.

    Like a maestro of an orchestra, Sloth directed the ss particles toward Philip''s bubble and shoved it safely inside.

    Luna was just amazed at how Sloth and his two servants get along so well.

    Sloth didn''t seem too strict and he treated the servants like they were part of his life.

    +++

    Sloth was right.

    There was no surface to put the snacks which his servants had brought to him but that didn''t mean the Archdemon wouldn''t eat.

    Sloth had munched on his chocte chip cookies andpletely ignored her as if nothing else existed except him and his food.

    As she watched Sloth in front of her just enjoying his snack, Luna realized she had forgotten to drink blood from her husband.

    The only thing she could do was to swallow hard and bite her lip to prevent herself from drooling as she stared at Sloth''s mouth every time the scrumptious cookie in his hand disappeared into his mouth.

    She had to mentally p herself when every time her eyes which had strayed unto his lips, slipping unto his pale and exposed neck a couple of times.

    Waving a dismissive hand in silence, Lun shook her head vigorously as she chased away the image of Sloth''s carotid.

    Luna grimaced at how the bastard hadpletely relished on her thirst.

    He had groaned and moaned with his eyes closed, praising Simone on how well he had baked the pastries on the right temperature.

    To be honest, from Luna''s perspective, her brother-inw had sounded like Apollyon when he yed with himself and was about toe.

    Anyway, she had no business thinking about his brother-inw that way because that was just gross.

    To get rid of the image burned into her innocent mind, Luna moved her gaze to the bookshelf behind Sloth''s back and stare at it with a pleasant smile on her face.

    The Archdemon paused the chomping midway and squinted at her like she had gone nuts.

    To be honest, she didn''t care.

    ''Let him think whatever he wanted.''

    Simone dered proudly that his chocte chip cookies had a realistic-looking face with eyes, ears, nose and lips but there was a twist.

    The baked goods he made had horns with them.

    Simone added that it was a shame that Luna couldn''t eat even once because she was a Vampire.

    Philip--who had stood with his spine straight beside Sloth as he enjoyed his pastries��had casually divulged Simone''s secret ingredient that the Archdemon of Sloth can''t get over like it was his guilty pleasure.

    The secret ingredient was the ancient souls of the dead who were trapped so long on the limbo, already forgotten by their descendants who had stopped praying for their salvation.

    These nameless, neglected souls had been buried on the bottom of the murky waters at Sloth''s backyard garden.

    Simone and Philip had narrated their escapade with pride by catching these empty souls like fishes and feeding them to the Archdemon.

    Sloth had been obsessed at ''how-souls-with-no-memories'' taste.

    Luna''s eyebrows raised up to her hairline, not knowing how to react to that piece of information.

    "You just turned into an Archdemon, Lune." Sloth ced both of his hands behind his head as he spoke with biscuits in his mouth, "Why don''t you try eating souls from here?"

    Luna had reflexively opened her mouth as her tongue pushed slightly forward. "I am a vampire."She said as she wrinkled her nose, "I will not eat souls just because I became an Archdemon."

    "I heard from Lilith that innocent souls from the Upper Realms tasted so much better, though." The bastard hadughed at her disgust.

    Tilting his head, Sloth''s forest-green eyes twinkled with amusement as he continued, "Innocent children and pure virgins are hard to find."

    "No, you are just toozy to do that."

    "True." Sloth agreed.

    "I don''t need any souls inside me. That might mess me up." Luna stroked her throat as she grimaced, "I will only drink blood from my mate."

    All this talk about blood, while she was thirsty, was torture.

    "You mated with my Archdemon brothers." Sloth''s smouldering eyes strayed to her mouth before he nced back into her eyes, "I told you, you can try me if you couldn''t deal with the thirst any longer."

    She swallowed hard as he returned his intense stare.

    "I''m not hungry, Sloth." Luna enunciated loud and clear. "Don''t be a masochist and make ady turn you down twice."

    He pouted for second but he quickly masked his handsome features with indifference.

    It made Luna wonder if that was her imagination.

    "I am done with my midnight snack." Sloth pped his hands together as he brushed his clothes for cookie crumbs.

    He wiped his mouth before his gaze flicked to her form, "Are you satisfied with my hospitality?"

    Luna fold her arms across her chest, "Do I have to rate your kindness, Archdemon?"

    "No." Sloth shook his head ''no'' and gave her a half-shrug, "Anyway, I should bring you to a room closer to mine so that I could monitor you."

    "As long as it''s a different room, I''m fine with it."

    "Alright." Nodding his head in agreement, the Archdemon rose from his seat and offered a hand to assist her," To the Marriage Suite we go."

 Chapter 203 - Juicy Family Gossip

    <h4>Chapter 203 - Juicy Family Gossip</h4>

    ********************

    The Empress Luna

    *********************

    Even in Hell, Luna wasn''t granted privacy by these Archdemons who clearly didn''t know what boundaries were.

    Luna sighed as she roamed around the ce.

    It was a nice room with baby pink trimmings and whiteces.

    Her mouth ckened when she saw arge fixed pane window��simr to a picture frame--which showed a spectacr view of the white and red lightning shes from the thunderstorms.

    Luna excitedly walked towards it and ced her hands on the ss barriers, watching it with wide eyes.

    Luna figured out the Marriage suite that the Sloth had talked about was just two rooms that were connected together by a doorway.

    So this marriage suite was basically two rooms with a doorway that had no door in sight.

    The husband coulde in and out of his wife''s room as he pleased.

    Luna wasn''t Sloth''s wife but the Archdemon had told her that it the only avable room that was cleaned every day since they were linked.

    "What were Philip and Simone doing with their life if they don''t clean other rooms in the Castle?" Luna retorted as she tapped her heels on the floor with impatience.

    She swore she heard Sloth telling her he was bothered at the clutter on his Library so this man was probably a neat-freak and now, he told her that his servants didn''t clean?

    Luna frowned at him with suspicion and told him that sounded like ame excuse.

    Withholding the need to argue, Luna just glowered at him as she sat on the wife''s bed the whole time with silent judgment as Sloth stood in front of her just looking down at her with crossed arms.

    Sloth rubbed the back of his neck and cleared his throat as if that would get rid of the tension.

    He marched out of her room for a while and returned with a loose white robe with blue vertical stripes that was simr to his.

    They were all for sleepwear.

    He wore these types of clothes every day and every night that the Archdemon had probably thousands of them.

    He threw it in herp and said, "Here, Lune, change into this so that your nipples wouldn''t show."

    Sloth threw a sideways nce to the picture windows, avoiding eye contact.

    Luna noted that his cheekbones had flushed red when he added with his eyes closed, "I couldn''t stand the sight of them. I swore those nipples are staring at me and judging me better than your eyes."

    "Your eyes shouldn''t even be straying, brother-inw." Luna emphasized the word ''brother-inw'' as she kicked his leg.

    She covered up her embarrassment by squaring her shoulders and pushed him out of the door��way since there was no door.

    The Archdemon of Sloth let her drag him out of the wife''s chamber without protest but peered at the door jamb and said in a parting shot, "It isn''t my fault that they want to greet me every damn time."

    She was grateful that the Archdemon''s gaze had remained on her eyes.

    If they shifted to her breasts again, she would kick him on where it would hurt the most.

    Shaking his head, Sloth tutted shrewdly, "Tsk. Tsk. With that kind of gown, you might as well be naked."

    Rolling her eyes, she crossed her arms on her chest and covered her non-existent breasts. "Fine, whatever."

    "But then again, I''m not interested in you and bing your husband."

    "I didn''t ask you, Sloth." Luna narrowed his eyes at him for the bastard didn''t have to tell her that.

    Nodding her head in agreement, he patted him on the shoulders and said, "I have more than what is required for a female to have a husband so you are safe with me."

    She had a lot of them on her ''proverbial'' te right now.

    Luna wondered if she was safe with Sloth.

    "Because we are supposed to be family and I''m not like Luxen who shags anyone with long hair." Sloth disyed a wide grin but then it was abruptly reced with a frown.

    Scratching his chin, he said, "My sister Lilith had a lot of husbands and consorts so I wouldn''t hold it against you if you want more."

    "Don''t evenpare me to that whore, Sloth." She clenched her jaw and scowled at him.

    "There are pretty long-haired men too so you mean Luxen--" Luna trailed off with reluctance.

    How did that work?

    That must be kind of strange.

    Luna was a virgin who didn''t know how a man and another man do it if they have the same parts.

    She wasn''t introduced to that part of the world yet.

    Should she ask the Archdemon of Sloth about it?

    "Yes, he had no control when ites to his lust especially if he is interested." Sloth replied, his expression impassive. "He can''t fuck a person twice. It''s a curse, not a personal preference."

    Luna flinched as she wrinkled her nose in nausea. "Ew, goddess."

    She heard the red ball of lightning strike thrice.

    Luna covered her ears and ducked from the loud thunderps that followed.

    Perhaps, it was an unspoken rule that mentioning or calling the goddess wasn''t allowed in Hell.

    When the thunderstorms calmed down a little from the sphemy she had uttered as an Archdemon, Sloth chuckled as he muttered, "Archdemons don''t get sexual diseases if that was what you are worried about."

    Sealing her eyes shut, Luna backed away with a shudder, "The unnamed, faceless juices in his member��"

    "I don''t think your husband would appreciate this gossip."

    "I will never im the man. Luxen isn''t my husband." Luna dered as she ground her teeth in anger. "He belongs to the streets!"

    Lightning shed again and she flinched slightly.

    This time it felt like the thunderbolts had infiltrated the Marriage Suite to strike her dead.

    She would never get used to living in this Sloth''s Kingdom.

    When she finally calmed down, Luna sighed, "Now, go and sleep, brother-inw, and stop leaning on the doorway like a creep."

    "Go ahead and change." He whispered, "Good night, Lune. I will sleep now."

    The Archdemon didn''t disturb her as she changed into Sloth''s clothes and throw herself to the bed.

 Chapter 204 - Promises & Lies

    <h4>Chapter 204 - Promises & Lies</h4>

    *********************

    The Empress Luna

    *********************

    Luna had hoped that the moment she slept and lost consciousness was that she would be sent back to the Vampire Realm and narrate to Apollyon how she had this impossible dream about being married to two Archdemons and staying into her supposed ''brother-inw''s'' marriage suite, but that would turn out to be wishful thinking.

    Sleeping in Hell was simr to being knocked out and beaten down until you lose consciousness and everything you see was ck.

    Luna wished she could pretend that everything was fine and dandy like what Sloth had advised. Still, her brother-inw was azy dummy who couldn''t sympathize with her even if his unsolicited advice was partly correct: that she couldn''t do anything about it.

    She didn''t even notice that tears were falling as she slept on the bed on her left side, hugging a pillow.

    Luna was still in that haze of slumber when she half-opened her eyes and blinked.

    There was something out of ce in the Wife Chamber.

    Freezing in ce, Luna immediately shut her eyes and yed dead.

    She tried to find out who he was by the feel of his body and the timing of his every calm breath, his hand clinging to her neck like an unfastened noose.

    No, the man��it was a man, based on the hard physique that barely touched her back��wasn''t choking her with the questionable hand.

    He just let it hang loose around her.

    The man didn''t seem to be moving.

    He just slept with her without doing anything terrible except invading the privacy of Sloth''s Wife Suite.

    Well, Luna hadin in a room without a door, so that must mean that if she was asleep and defenseless, then these damned Archdemons might think she was there for the taking.

    Luna had assumed that the Archdemon of Sloth was toozy or too ''shamanic virgin priest''-eque like Fei to attempt something like this.

    A messed up Archdemon can plunder and take just about anyone they have set their eyes on--even their family or the wife of his brothers.

    Luna held the hand around her neck and rolled over, ready to choke the life out of the intruder and annihte his entire existence.

    One leg of hers was between the man''s thighs while she dug her other knee to his groin hard.

    The man let out a low growl when she pressed deeper that it almost hit his erection.

    For the goddess'' sake, the bastard was even turned on as she wrestled him.

    She had intended to hurt the man!

    Not arouse him like this!

    Gritting her teeth, Luna struggled to hold his shoulders down with her ws.

    The interloper had tried to hold her waist, tangling his lower legs around her and tripping her into submission as heid her t on her back.

    She doubted this was Sloth because the man was stronger than his brother-inw.

    Luna could tell the difference because they had brawled back at the Library, and at that time, he wasn''t this hard to budge.

    She couldn''t rule out the fact that this was Sloth, and he was pretending to be weak to humor her.

    "Sloth." Luna breathed his name, wishing it was him so that it would be much easier to kick his ass when he was easier to distract.

    It was dark in the room now that Sloth had turned his glow lights off in the entire marriage suite.

    Luna couldn''t see the face of the man as they fought for dominance on the bed--not the kind of dominance that was sexual in nature--but the more her knee remained on his upper thigh, it might as well be headed that way.

    Luna''s hands had grazed Archdemon''s wings as she leaned forward and wed his back to hurt.

    She nned to rip the man''s wings off him, but she didn''t follow through because if she did that, the man also had a chance to rip hers to shreds.

    Luna was about to ask who the man was as she struggled to fight, but the sun rising from the horizon had distracted her.

    The scenic view from the wide picture windows was a beautiful sight she couldn''t miss as the golden bursts of light gradually consumed the thunderstorms'' darkness from yesterday.

    In a split second that she lowered her guard, Luna was t on her back as the bright rays illuminated his delicate face.

    His long silver hair wasbed to the left side with sophistication, which almost covered his eyes that were as sharp as des that had scanned her features with ownership.

    "Now, why would you think it was him on your bed, Domina?" Luxen''s lips curved as he yed a silver de in his hand, pointing it at her chin.

    Crouching on top of her, Luxen stretched his silver Archdemon wings, which had appeared gold when the dull glow of light from the sun hits them. "You just got here in Hell and turned into one of us, and you are already thinking about cheating when you set your eyes on another male Archdemon?"

    "I am not an Archdemon collector, Luxen." Now that she felt so close to Luxen that he could practically hear his heartbeat, Luna exhaled loudly and forced her rigid muscles to loosen. "We might be bonded together along with Ravin, but that didn''t mean my heart, body, and soul belonged to you when you haven''t even proven anything to me yet."

    "What do you want?" Brows knitting together, Luxen''s mouth firmed. "I will destroy Kingdoms for you if you wanted. Kill people you held grudges with. You don''t have to deal with them anymore."

    Luna exhaled again and cleared her mind, trying to embody the patience of a monk before she told him that he was the problem and she might say something wrong to Luxen andmand the Archdemon to kill himself and Ravin.

    He might as well kill Lilith while he''s at it because that was what she wanted.

    Instead of saying that, she red at him andined, "I would have preferred to be greeted ''Good Morning, Bitch!'' than a knife on my throat, Luxen."

 Chapter 205 - Angel Blades

    <h4>Chapter 205 - Angel des</h4>

    *********************

    The Empress Luna

    *********************

    Luna red at him as she righteouslyined, "I would have preferred to be greeted ''Good Morning, Bitch!'' than a knife on my throat, Luxen."

    "Oh, "Luxen nodded as he narrowed his eyes at the knife on her throat as if he was seeing it for the first time.

    The man acted like he didn''t know why it had gotten there in the first ce, piercing her flesh.

    ncing down, Luna noticed that the de shined with glowing runes at them, which was almost blinding.

    Her hand shot up immediately to her throat, and she felt a small gaping hole below her chin that made her eyes widen in panic.

    Scowling at Luxen, Luna repeatedly caressed her hand on her throat to get rid of the numbness she felt.

    Blood was dripping from her under her chin down to her throat, but she couldn''t feel her face.

    It had increased as the seconds go by.

    Her Archdemon blood had leaked to the messy sheets as it left fresh red stains.

    Sloth was a clean freak.

    He surely wouldn''t like this.

    Luna could sense tingles down her spine--a burning in the area--where the tip of the de had settled.

    She wasn''t healing like she was supposed to.

    It was strange.

    Clenching her fists, Luna shook her head to get rid of this paralysis and the poison which had run through her veins so quickly like a snake''s venom.

    "Luxen." With her eyes darting around the room, Luna''s mouth had ckened as she tried to spit the words out of her cracked lips. " What did you do to me?"

    "I apologize, Domina." Luxen pressed something at the center of his weapon, and the de retracted from its handle. "This knife wasn''t supposed to be used on you."

    Pursing his lips, he paused for a minute before he continued with caution, "I guess I just had this killer instinct every time someone attacks me, and I did it unconsciously."

    "I can smell bullshit from miles away, Luxen." Shutting her eyes tight, Luna replied in lethargy as she tried to rx.

    She had stopped resisting the poison��whatever it was--, but it was still pure agony to endure them.

    Luna gritted her every word even if it will take her a minute to get her threats across, "I. Will. Kill. You. Bastard."

    Luxen tilted his head as he observed her with curiosity.

    There was no need to restrain her now that Luna was weak, and the Archdemon finally realized this.

    He carefully got up from the bed to stand a few feet away from her.

    Luxen walked around, examining her from different angles as he held the de in front of his face.

    "This was supposed to be a gift so that you could protect yourself from Archdemons who wanted to hurt you." The Archdemon of Lust clutched the short, silver, triple edged knife as he surveyed it in the dull glow of light from the outside, surrounding the marriage suite.

    Luxen shifted his gaze and said calmly, "I have smuggled a high-level weapon for you that could damage an Archdemon long term depending on how deep the de had pierced an Archdemon''s flesh."

    "How? Where did you get it?"

    "By fucking around some rebellious angels who needed adventure in bed." There was a slumbering heat in those sensual lips. "These lustful angels who had already sinned many times can easily fall under my spell and do whatever I want."

    Did this Archdemon think that she would praise him for procuring an Angel de for her protection by fucking around?

    Luxen smirked as he stared at her form, "--unfortunately, my allure didn''t work on you. I need to level up my temptation skills."

    Why didn''t these Archdemon males understand that they didn''t have to ''level up'' their seduction?

    All they had to do was care for the woman: building trust and investing in loyalty to a connection!

    "You hurt me, bastard." She choked the words as she endured the burning of her throat. "And I''m not your wife."

    Luna would never im their mating bond even if there were a silver string of fate attached between them.

    Once again, he pretended he didn''t hear her.

    "If you want to kill a demon, you stabbed it in a lethal area. Archdemons who had eaten a million souls would be immune to this kind of weapon. Lilith might be ruthless, but I doubt she had consumed a million souls enough to be impervious to this."

    The Archdemon of Lust should learn his lesson the hard way to never dip his tip to any one of the crazies.

    In a split second, Luxen''s silver gaze turned into ck ice as if he thought of something horrible. "Uncle Satan hadn''t started with your training yet, and he might appear out of nowhere. You can use this de for protection for now."

    Luxen was not her husband, but he was determined to use any means necessary to protect her from that bitch Lilith��who he was also sleeping with, anyway--so Luna might as well use him to gain leverage over the other Archdemons.

    "Since I''m not sure if you are a full Archdemon now or if you still a Vampire, I wanted to know if how Aangel''s de will affect you in the long run." He murmured darkly as he added with confidence, "I don''t think it will cripple you too much since Sloth had mentioned that you still wanted to drink blood even if he suggested trying eating souls like what an Archdemon should do."

    So this whole thing was an experiment to figure out the effects of the angel de on Luna, then?

    "Go. To. Hell, Bastard!" Luna cursed with clenched teeth, and Luxen released a dark chuckle.

    "Using it on you was worth it now that I don''t even have to fight you tooth and nail to bring you to my Kingdom." Luxen shrugged with negligence, "We yed a game of chess, and Ravin had lost. You are mine for the first half of the year, Domina."

    Luna''s skin prickled from Luxen''s deration.

    "We will get married first."

 Chapter 206 - Wolf In Sheep Skin

    <h4>Chapter 206 - Wolf In Sheep Skin</h4>

    **********************

    The Empress Luna

    **********************

    It was effortless for Luxen to invade Sloth''s Marriage Suite, carry her over his shoulder, and got her out of there without a struggle.

    Luna had bet that Luxen had a lot of experience marauding Castles both from Hell and the Underworld, stealing wives left and right wherever he found something of interest.

    There was no point in screaming when Luna knew that the Archdemon of Sloth couldn''t help her as Luxen kidnapped her right under his sleeping nose.

    Luxen''s footsteps were unnecessarily loud.

    The bastard had the nerve to chuckle when they passed over sleeping beauty with his mouth hanging open on the husband''s chamber, oblivious that Luna was already gone.

    If there were a war between the Circles of Hell, Sloth would be the first one to lose and overthrown, no doubt about it.

    Luna realized that she hadn''t seen many servants around Sloth''s Castle, so she can safely assume that he didn''t have too many subjects in his kingdom.

    Philip and Simone were nowhere to be found.

    She guessed they were too afraid to involve themselves with powerful Archdemons who visited the Castle.

    Luna wouldn''t me them, though.

    It was self-preservation to stay out of harm''s way.

    Let an Archdemon deal with another Archdemon must be their motto��

    Or they were used to other Archdemons walking in and out of the Castle without permission, so they didn''t even bother guarding it, driving them away.

    Sloth had probably weed any form ofpanionship because he had lived too long in solitude along with his animals and his two servants.

    After all, his people must have been embarrassed that they had him��a clumsy, strange, lethargic weirdo��as a King.

    That was why they left.

    Plus, the weather must have been awful in the Land of the Storms, and the sunshine rarely visited this gloomy Kingdom.

    The Archdemon of Lust will obviously mock Sloth for this the next time they see each other again��if there was a next time.

    +++

    Luna took a week to recover from that simple prick of the angel de that her ''husband'' had sampled on her first to see its effects.

    Luxen should have sampled it with Lilith first and drive it straight through the heart and help Luna solve one of her problems, but no!

    The bastard had chosen to wound her first then gave the angel de as a gift after suffering from paralysis.

    ''What a wonderful husband!'' Luna thought angrily as her hand flexed on the said ''angel de'' strapped at the side of her thigh.

    As a token of apology, Luxen had given her a thin and flexible, custom-made leather sheath encrusted with diamonds for her angel de so that she could safely attach it to her leg, which would go along well with any outfit.

    Her lips had ttened to a curl as she stared at him with cold, hard eyes, but it abruptly shifted the moment her gazeid on the fancy sheath when he presented it to her.

    As an Amazon, Luna had loved acquiring new weapons and creating cool and durable sheaths for them but never one this pretty and luxurious.

    She had forgotten her passion for weapons ever since she had experienced how wielding magic was much easier but now, seeing Luxen''s gift made her blink rapidly and stare at it in open amazement.

    Clearing her throat, Luna frowned to hide her excitement the moment Luxen smirked.

    When Luxen smirked, warning bells ring in her head.

    He had found a potential weakness, giving him another idea for maniption.

    Luna didn''t want him to know just by the expression on her face.

    The Archdemon was still an annoying manwhore to her, and that shouldn''t change despite her gifts.

    These Archdemons were good maniptors, and they had practiced the art ever since they were born.

    It took a whole damn week for the numbness of her body to fade and to feel the blood flowing on her veins again.

    She did get better, but the experience almost made her half-crazy.

    She was incapacitated in a private bedroom chamber in Luxen''s Kingdom, and the only thing she could do was ck out, wake up, stare at the ceiling, and clench her fists, praying to the goddesses to help her with this frustrating circumstance.

    Luna didn''t wish to be a victim, but she must admit that Luxen had good taste in sheaths, but that didn''t mean she would let her slide.

    ''Wait.'' Luna paused as she thought carefully, ''There seemed to be an underlying pattern she noticed when it came to men.''

    When the men she had encountered��Kings and Archdemon Princes--apologize��

    They knew they did something wrong, of course, but do they think that women would ept their half-assed apology with expensive and luxurious gifts if it were something that women really liked?

    Did they think that by promising her the world--telling her they wouldn''t hurt her and protect her-and the naive woman who fell in love made a mistake of believing, then they proceed to hurt the said woman, anyway?

    These entitled m*therfu*kers were the reason why so many women from different Realms turned crazy like Lilith!

    Luna could see a reurring pattern between these types of men, and she had witnessed this from her husband, Apollyon, before.

    Perhaps, Kings and Princes were naturally narcissistic.

    They believed that everything would be alright and forgiven after giving a ''thoughtful'' gift.

    ''Wasn''t this a way to bait every woman into epting every bullshit they throw at her because she would ept the apology, anyway, because they felt happy after receiving a ''token of their love''?''

    Maniptive f*cked up men--especially Archdemons--were really dangerous.

    It would be nice if they changed for themselves with their own decisions like what Apollyon had done because he didn''t want to lose her.

    Was this why the gods and the goddesses made her experience that kind of toxic love from Apollyon earlier in their rtionship so that she could easily recognize the difference between the real sheep and the wolf in sheepskin?

 Chapter 207 - The Body Thief

    <h4>Chapter 207 - The Body Thief</h4>

    *********************

    The Empress Luna

    *********************

    These Archdemons were fucked up.

    Luna had this fear that she might be one of them if she stayed here for too long, trapped in Hell forever.

    ''Hold up.'' She was already one of them except for the twisted mind.

    Luxen had ced her in a clean white space that was as sterile as the room Cederic had settled her with the first time she was captured.

    It could look like a sick room for people who need a witch doctor or an asylum for girls like Lilith.

    The bedsheets, the curtains, and the canopies were the color of ivory, except, her blood still dripped from her unhealed wound to the nkets.

    She wouldn''t be surprised if Luxen��with his silver hair, silver eyes, and the thick white wolf fur which covered his entire body which only showing his head, hands, and shoes--would blend so quickly in the background.

    Luna recalled what had happened in the room where Luxen had deposited her.

    She kept that amazing secret and would guard the memory with her life.

    At night, the room turned into something different when the lights went out.

    The space was pitch-ck.

    The chamber glowed with the geometric patterns and runes on the ceilings and the walls, as orange and white linear lights shed like the sun and the stars in the sky.

    Luna wasn''t sure if she was hallucinating because of the effects of the angel de, but she swore she could see the shadow of a dove encircling a diamond on the ceiling which was the center of her focus.

    That was when the magic started.

    She saw the apparition of the Angel who had once helped her, but it quickly disappeared.

    Her only proof that the angel was there with her was a single white feather falling slowly until itnded on Luna''s chest.

    Clenching her fists as she fought the force of gravity, Luna struggled to lift her hand and held them in her fingers.

    It gave her a sense of relief, knowing that she was protected, somehow.

    +++

    The next morning after her fateful encounter with an Angel, Luxen tried to lighten her dark mood using his ''charming wit'' and his ''seductive voice'', to hide how chaotic her situation was, mixing them like a love potion.

    He probably thought that it would work on her, but it was all in vain.

    It had elicited an opposite effect, instead.

    The manwhore might think this he was hrious and spirited with his puns, but she will not forget that this Archdemon was sarcastic, harsh, and brooding when he was angry.

    Luxen had been attempting to make herugh with his jokes as if that would bring her out of the darkness.

    +++

    Luna was in Archdemon of Lust''s Kingdom: the windiest, coldest, and iciest spot in Hell that Archdemons who were used to Hell Fire would probably die.

    Luna also noticed that these Archdemons take pride in their aesthetically pleasing sceneries.

    She knew Luxen was trying to soothe how stressed she was about their uing wedding, but no matter how delightful the devil was, these charms will not work on her because Luna has heard the worst from the Archdemon of Sloth about this manwhore.

    Every time she recalled? Sloth''s tales, Luna had the sudden urge to shiver in disgust and puke her guts out�� or was it just the headache and frostbite she had experienced from the eternal cold which had already seeped into her bones?

    Her teeth chattered even if Luxen had covered her form with the warmth of the thick wolf fur coat.

    +++

    The Archdemon of Lust had taken advantage of her forced silence every time he visited to check up on her with concern.

    He talked a lot about himself, and from time to time, the bastard had asked her if she was feeling better.

    ''Of course, she wasn''t alright!'' Luna''s nostrils red as she cursed him in her mind, ''This Archdemon was mocking her, for sure!''

    Now that she wasn''tughing at her jokes, Luxen had resorted to insulting!

    It came out as sarcasm to her ears that Luna felt the turbulent fury of her anger rising, but she could only mumble her hatred and watched the man with protruding eyes.

    Every time Luxen got bored because Luna couldn''t argue back, he got on the bed with her and ced his hand around her back, making sure that her Archdemon wings were correctly folded.

    She would think that this was betterpared to being raped.

    +++

    After three days, she could finally move a little and roll around the bed.

    That night, Luna slept on her right side facing the wall.

    Waking up in the middle of the night, Luna opened her eyes as she felt someone gathering her silver hair and ying with the strands.

    Calming down, Luna tried to even out her breaths.

    At first, she thought that it was the Archdemon of Lust, but the slow humming of an ancient luby clearly indicated that it was Lilith.

    The hair had lifted from her nape and arms as she felt rooted on her spot.

    It felt like the Archdemon of Envy was singing gently to a baby, and it was probably the end of the world if Luna had seen and heard of the female Archdemon''s maternal instincts in her presence.

    Luna''s body told her to run, but Lilith hadn''t harmed her yet.

    Closing her eyes shut, Luna waited, her lips trembling in fear.

    What would Lilith do next after her sickeningly sweet luby would end?

    Did Lilith know that Luna was awake?

    "I know you are awake, Luna." The Archdemon of Envy replied, answering her question as if she had heard her thoughts.

    Her voice was husky and seductive with a hint of amusement as if she had been roused from sleep, always down to make love with any one of the opposite sex.

    She was a subus who was one of those females who would do anything for Luxen�� or was it the other way around?

    Heartbeat racing, Luna remained silent.

    "I finally know why I couldn''t possess you, wench." A gigglingugh that was out-of control. "You have Apollyon''s baby inside you."

 Chapter 208 - Apollyons Baby

    <h4>Chapter 208 - Apollyon''s Baby</h4>

    *********************

    The Empress Luna

    **********************

    "You have Apollyon''s baby inside you in the Vampire Realm that''s why I couldn''t get inside." Lilith lowered her voice to a whisper, caressing and pulling at her hair gently.

    Luna''s knuckles went white from gripping the pillow beside her.

    She had no strength to fight Lilith tonight.

    "Now, herees the riddle," Lilith continued in a hush-hush,?"Did the soul of the babe came with you in Hell as King Lucifer made you into an Archdemon, or did it remain there?"

    She was carrying Apollyon''s baby right now?

    Luna stilled and she almost couldn''t breathe, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

    ''Howe she had a baby when Apollyon just told her that he couldn''t produce an heir if he didn''t want it yet?'' Luna stared at the wall but not really seeing it, distracted, ''--and his seed was dead the moment it came out of his phallus?''

    Closing her eyes shut, she cleared her thoughts until it made sense because they were a jumble of entangled yarn.

    They talked about not wanting to have an heir yet but now that she was in Hell, the babe had added aplication Luna didn''t need.

    Apollyon''s spection was true!

    The High Priest Fei had given them something to drink during their marriage.

    Apollyon called it an aphrodisiac and it had done its rightful job: enhance fertility.

    "I hadn''t told my Archdemon brothers about my assumption, Luna. What do you think they would do if I told them you were carrying the Vampire King''s baby?" Lilith snorted loudly as she traced the edges of Luna''s Archdemon wings on her back. "They want to own you so they might help me kill the baby one way or another."

    Her Archdemon wings were vulnerable��too vulnerable-- and Lilith could have easily ripped them apart if she wanted to because it was just in front of her face.

    She stiffened when she felt the Archdemon of Envy held the arch of her wings tightly as if she was about to tear them to shreds.

    Lilith might be a whore but she wasn''t stupid.

    She knew Luna wasn''t asleep.

    Luna''s mouth pinched in contempt as Lilith baited her but she refused to engage.

    She didn''t want to have this baby while Luna was exposed to danger.

    There was a tightening in her chest that prevented her from drawing breath.

    For the goddess'' sake, she was surrounded by Archdemons left and right because she was one of them!

    Lilith would kill her baby to acquire her body in the Vampire Realm and she wouldn''t let her.

    ''But you know what? I wouldn''t tell my brothers yet not unless I am sure about how to kill the baby by itself without killing its mother." Lilithughed again.

    It was a huge and deepugh for ady.

    "I have waited so long and it wouldn''t matter to me if I waited for a little while to execute my ns well. For me, your body is the most important thing so that I can have Apollyon and if I am careless I might lose this chance to have him once again. " Lilith sounded so triumphant and Luna wanted to punch the subus in the teeth so bad. "I would make him love me for good and he wouldn''t even know it''s me. I love Apollyon very much and I had suffered excessively just to get him to love me back. This was my only hope. I know this time, he will. I would be victorious."

    Every time she heard Apollyon''s name, Luna''s heart twisted into a painful knot.

    All she felt was longing and anguish and this urge for bloodshed against these Archdemons who ruined her life.

    Why was this Archdemon showing all of her cards to her and telling her all of her ns?

    Was Lilith this confident that Luna wouldn''t be able to do anything against her and thwart all of her wicked schemes?

    A queen was a lotus bloom, a dancer''s bow, the moon''s radiant reflection.

    When the Queen was seated in her rightful ce, she waited for the grace of the gods and goddesses to move through her, striving and grasping at nothing.

    If Lilith would possess her body and be the Empress, she would fall prey to contemptuous moods, casting shadows across thend.

    Apollyon would hate her.

    Not Lilith, but Luna, because Lilith was using her as a vessel.

    The Archdemon of Envy was wrathful, self-righteous, delusional, and demanding.

    Why did she keep on coveting things that weren''t hers��men that didn''t belong to her?

    Was she this desperate to be loved?

    Luna didn''t only feel angry towards Lilith.

    There was pity in there somewhere but if she let pity and kindness prevail, this bitch will never learn her lesson.

    Luna was an Archdemon now.

    She had an excuse to be ruthless!

    Where was Luxen when he was supposed to protect her?

    She didn''t have Luxen''s gift--the angel de and the leather sheath--at that time because Luxen had put it aside for safe-keeping since she wasn''t fully healed yet.

    There was no cure to the angel de except for its own soul''s capability to heal.

    That weapon might havee really handy when Lilith was here and her ''husband'' was nowhere to be---

    "Lilith." The door burst open in a loud bang and Luna shut her eyes, feigning sleep.

    Thank the goddess!

    The Archdemon of Lust came at the right time.

    "What are you doing here?" Luna heard loud, heavy footsteps as the Archdemon of Lust stalked towards Lilith''s side of the bed. "How did you get in this chamber when I surround this entire chamber with shields and concealment spells?"

    Luxen dragged Lilith out and handled her roughly as she screamed at the top of her lungs, cursing at Luxen.

    There was a series of loud thumps and annoyed grunts as Lilith shouted and kicked Luxen before the door to her chamber shut tight.

    With her eyes closed, Luna let out a huge breath and cried in relief.

    The room was as silent as a tomb just like how it should be.

 Chapter 209 - Lusts View On Love

    <h4>Chapter 209 - Lust''s View On Love</h4>

    **********************************************

    The Archdemon of Lust

    Prince Luxen from the 2nd Circle of Hell

    ***********************************************

    Luxen had lied.

    He never intended to marry Luna, not when he had ess to so many women who worshipped the ground he walked on.

    Luxen just wanted to keep her beside him.

    It was the first time he had experienced a woman who didn''t want anything to do with him, and that was a new one.

    He didn''tckpanionship in bed, but most of the time, it can get boring when the women would throw themselves at him because of his sin.

    He didn''t want to be arrogant, but many females with weak minds fell in love with him at first sight.

    He didn''t even have to utter a word when they were already charmed.

    Those strong-willed women whom he desired but were acting hard to get?

    He didn''t waste his time and used Archdemon Magic on them, especially if he was horny.

    He can only prate a woman once.

    He was the literal definition of the men who said ''wham-bam��thank-you-mam!'' and the patron god/demon of lustful men who yed with female''s hearts.

    Sometimes, Luxen pitied thedies who believed his disciples'' lies all over the Realm.

    These females always, ALWAYS, mistook Lust for Love, and that''s when a woman got destroyed.

    Luxen had coveted that starry, doe-eyed look of a young virgin woman the first time they experienced sexual pration, not noticing their satisfied seducers wearing their clothes in a hurry.

    He would have liked to capture those pretty red flush on their glowing faces in paintings and disy them on his hallways because he found it mesmerizingpared to the faces of those women who were on the brink of their orgasm.

    Love mixed with Lust gave Luxen more power than the Lust of men raping women and killing them after getting their instant fix of gratification.

    If other people find out about this kink of his, his fellow Archdemons might say Luxen was a hopeless romantic, which was bad for his reputation.

    All the Lust in the entire Upper, Middle, and Lower Realms were more than enough to charge him with power without putting in the work than the other Archdemons because Lust existed in every person''s heart.

    It was funny how these stupid young girls couldn''t see the man''s indifference as if he couldn''t get away from her��using her then discarding her like an object--because it was already soiled and dirty.

    These boys would just leave these girls on the bed with their cum on their soft stomach, not even bothering to clean them up.

    Luxen, for the life of him, couldn''t understand why foolish females preferred to live in their fantasy rather than seeing the truth.

    They were too blinded by ''love.''

    Some men were great seducerspared to these assholes, but still, they leave trails of heartbreak in their wake.

    Lust can give Luxen absolute power, especially after a coupling.

    He snatched a couple''s lust and satisfaction out of their minds.

    When there wasn''t love that should have been there before they lusted after each other, the couples felt empty because it was just mindless fucking.

    Millennia after millennia have passed.

    Few creatures only realized that a bond between couples could only be strong with love and intimacy because Lust was fleeting, and Luxen feeds off of it.

    Luxen would just snatch it right under couples'' noses.

    Once fake couples noticed that the Lust was gone and the Honeymoon Phase was over, they break up and end up hurt.

    The females were often the victims most of the time.

    If Luxen found a heartbroken woman that was gorgeous enough, he would visit her in her dreams and sex her up.

    They would forget about having sex with him the next morning.

    After binding these broken-hearted females to him, they became physically, emotionally, and mentally distant and will remain closed off and detached by other males.

    That way, they wouldn''t get fooled again.

    Luxen had pitied them, and that''s why he did it.

    Luxen didn''t want them to be hurt anymore, so they must remain single for the rest of their life.

    It would feel like a curse, but it''s for their own good.

    This was why he had sexual rtions with the Archdemon of Envy because he pitied her, that''s all.

    Poor Lilith!

    She had chased after that Vampire King for so long, even in the afterlife.

    She still wanted to be with him and did everything she could to get back to him, refusing to ept that the Vampire King had turned her down a hundred times and only treated her as a High Priestess.

    She even told Luxen herself that The Vampire King had treated her like a sister��a family.

    There was no hope that it couldn''t get closer than that.

    It was probably a case of a vain and spoiled woman not giving up because she couldn''t get the Vampire King under her seductive spell.

    She felt like she wasn''t powerful and beautiful enough.

    It was a losing battle.

    She was a perfect match to be the Archdemon of Envy.

    A man can tell you a million ways that he didn''t like you.

    Even if they don''t verballymunicate, they will show it with their actions.

    They don''t talk to you.

    They don''t contact you again.

    They don''t make ns and make time for you.

    They don''t n to include you in his life.

    These reasons were a female''s cue to leave these men alone, but some women just don''t get it.

    These women chase some more, they beg, they get hurt, and they med others when it was their fault.

    Luxen always narrowed his gaze at Lilith every time they had this conversation.

    She said that men were too confusing when the former High Priestess was an expert maniptor.

    It''s just that she was crazy with Luna''s husband!

    She wouldn''t just wake the fuck up and see the truth for what it was.

    Luxen didn''t even bother arguing because Lilith was adamant about possessing Luna''s body.

    Well, Luxen wouldn''t care as long as he will have Luna in the end.

 Chapter 210 - Sex Dungeon

    <h4>Chapter 210 - Sex Dungeon</h4>

    **********************

    The Empress Luna

    **********************

    "I had sessfully driven Lilith away from my Kingdom for now."? Luxen had informed her, adding that he couldn''t promise when she would be back to create havoc.

    When Luna was about to heal and could move her limbs a little, the Archdemon of Envy would pull this kind of stunt to scare her.

    She would have been lying if it didn''t make her fear for her life, giving her a cold sweat.

    Luna had Apollyon''s heir inside her, and she must do everything in her power to protect her child!

    "I deposited you in a secret fancy chamber located on the same floor where my dungeons could be found." He said as he paced around the room, "Lilith still managed to crack it open and get to you."

    Luna glowered at him.

    She was about to open her mouth and interrogate him for cing his fellow Archdemon and his ''supposed wife'' on the same floor of the dungeon.

    .Still, he quickly cut her off, "My protection runes were stronger at the dungeons to avoid the prisoners from escaping the basement. This chamber was reserved for guests. who needs security and protection."

    From the pristine white trimmings of the entire chamber, Luna assumed that Luxen imprisoned angels here��not necessarily female--if he was feeling adventurous in bed.

    Luxen mentioned that he got the angel de for Luna by fucking ''adventurous'' angels who desired to feel lust and danger all in one person.

    ''Adventurous'' must be a codename for angels who had fallen from grace and were kicked out from the Realm of the Heavens.

    She wanted to ask him more questions about her ''luxurious prison chamber'' andin about it, but Luxen had told her that she should be grateful that she wasn''t cuffed and trussed up on the bed like how his sexual partners used to prefer.

    ''Oh,'' Luna realized, ''This was his sex dungeon.''

    "So, I was lying on this bed where you and your bodily fluids had spilled on the white sheets this whole time, and I didn''t even notice?"

    Blushing, The Archdemon of Lust''s nostrils red as he growled defensively, "I let the servants change the sheets after I fucked with my guests, and like my sexual conquests, I didn''t use the same sheets twice."

    Luna stood up carefully from the bed as she examined the whole room.

    Removing her gaze from Luxen, who stood by the balcony with his hands on his hips, Luna''s eyes identally shifted to arge treasure chest on the headboard.

    From Luna''s experience with Apollyon''sir on the other side of the Valley of Kings, the treasure chest could contain female lingerie, nightclothes, see-through flowing dresses, handcuffs, leather straps and ties, and other toys appropriate for a sex dungeon like this.

    If she wasn''t mistaken, Apollyon''sir was used as a sex dungeon before, kind of.

    Luna wanted to open it herself to satisfy her curiosity, but she changed her mind and left it alone.

    She had no business caring about what the Archdemon of Lust, her third husband, would do in his free time.

    Luna refused to imagine the life of this manwhore, or she might gag every time she remembered that witch Lilith��who wanted to im her body and her husband and who also wanted to kill her baby��and the Archdemon of Lust had once exchanged bodily fluids.

    She would have preferred not to imagine what those two were doing in this chamber, or she? might vomit.

    "Mayhap Lilith knew where I had deposited you because Lilith had been in this chamber many times," Luxen exined.

    Yes, every time they do the deed without pration.

    Luna kept a straight-face as she let the Archdemon continue. "Even if I did the safety precautions and reinforced his protection runes, Lilith had proven her skills as a Dark High Priestess, for she had disabled the runes with her spells so easily."

    Lilith must have memorized and learned to navigate this Ice Castle even with her eyes closed, without letting Luxen know that she was here.

    After that crazy encounter with Lilith, Luxen had offered her to stay in his private chambers.

    Luna contemted for a bit as Luxen waited with patience to make up her mind.

    She remembered Lilith talking about Luxen��that nobody had seen his private chamber because Luxen wouldn''t allow anyone--not even his sexual partners--to sleep with him where he was at his most vulnerable.

    He never let his guard down, and nobody in the entire Realms slept with him in the literal sense, which was suspicious enough.

    Rubbing her chin, Luna sat back on the bed and weighed her options.

    Determined to find out Luxen''s secret, she agreed to it.

    Luna knew Luxen wasn''t stupid.

    He might be the Archdemon of Lust.

    He might be her ''second mate'' as they were tied together with a silver thread.

    He might fool around with her when ites to sex, but Luna knew he wouldn''t seduce her��not right away.

    Luxen''s curse was a blessing for Luna.

    The lustful Archdemon could technically sleep with her only once, and she must use that to her own advantage.

    As long as she wouldn''t tempt Luxen or provoke him to feel his sin, Luna could let him bring home females after females, and she wouldn''t bat an eye.

    Luna''s thoughts drifted through Apollyon.

    If Apollyon did that, Luna would probably beat his cheating ass and kill him, and both of them would die happily ever after with the baby.

    The End.

    Not.

    Luna would protect her child and the future heir of the Vampire Realm.

    How was her husband doing while she was unconscious in the bathtub?

    She had trusted her husband to find a way to get her back to the Vampire Realm.

    Apollyon was a King who took action.

    He wasn''t a male who would just wait around.

    Luna was worried that her husband was cheating, but she realized that Apollyon was the least of her concerns now.

    When Ravin summoned her at the Dream Realm, Apollyon hadn''t sought other women, taking care of her soulless body while Luna was away.

    Luna would trust her husband with all her heart.

 Chapter 211 - Lusts Affliction

    <h4>Chapter 211 - Lust''s Affliction</h4>

    ********************

    The Empress Luna

    *********************

    The Archdemon of Lust burst out at his ''sex dungeon,'' which Luna had been staying at to deliver her multiple pieces of thick fur coats for Luna to wear as he put the garments on top of the bed.

    Luxen had tilted his head as the corner of his lips curled up in amusement. "I wanted to show you something."

    Wrapping herself with warm and heavy plush winter nkets, Luna crossed her arms and regarded Luxen with suspicion.

    She stepped backward as she created more distance between them.

    When she looked over her shoulder and saw that Luna was at the farthest corner from where Luxen had stood, she dered, "I''m not interested in seeing your cock, Luxen."

    Luxen''s eyes widened at his bold statement before he gave her an incredulous stare. "That''s not it at all."

    "Oh." Luna grinned widely as her humor had flown right past the Archdemon of Lust''s head.

    She had aimed to use humor to lighten the moment.

    Luna had felt the tension in the atmosphere between themtely when Luxen visited her in this chamber.

    They were only two people in this room and no one else, and it made her squirm in her ce in difort, but she couldn''t do anything to get rid of it.

    It must be because of Luxen''s animal maism.

    Luna felt this primal instinct to procreate.

    She felt lust all of a sudden, but it wasn''t that she wanted to have sex with the Archdemon.

    It was this detached feeling that rises out of the blue like an urge.

    Lust.

    Sin.

    Thirst.

    Clutching her chest with her hand to stop her heart from beating faster,

    Lunaughed shakily, "If this ''something'' wasn''t an undercover marriage ceremony, then I could think about it."

    With a regretful shake of his head, Luxen said in a steady, low, pitched voice. "We wouldn''t get married yet until I break my affliction."

    "Ah, yes, the curse you had as the Archdemon of Lust." Luna rolled her eyes as she waved a dismissive hand. "You couldn''t fuck the same woman twice."

    The thought should have concerned her as his ''wife,'' but it didn''t.

    She didn''t love Luxen, so he could do whatever he wanted but coaxing her to another forced marriage was another story.

    Luxen had dipped his member everywhere, and that disgusted her.

    "That only applied to sexual pration, and there are other ways to enjoy the intercourse without it," Luxen said as if he had read Luna''s thoughts. "You know what I am talking about.

    Blushing as she held her hands behind her back, Luna gripped her own wrist, refusing to answer.

    She would talk about such things if it were her husband, Apollyon.

    The sexual congress within marriage was sacred and a gift from the gods and goddesses.

    No way would she divulge the physical intimacy that Luna had cherished with her husband to an Archdemon.

    It was bad enough that the Archdemon of Sloth had an invasive interest in how much she had obsessed abouting back to the Vampire Realm.

    He even wanted to take away her memory.

    Sloth might be kind at first, but she would still be vignt around these vile creatures.

    The Archdemon of Lust''s pupils dted with dark intent, consuming the entirety of his pretty silver eyes. "Perhaps, you need someone to teach you and guide you to achieve the most intense pleasure?"

    He moved to walk towards Luna, but he halted when he saw her panicked look, her eyes darting from him to the walls.

    There was no space behind her.

    Luxen had noticed that she acted like she was trapped, literally backing away in the corner of his sex dungeon.

    Luxen raised his palms in surrender to stipte that he hade in peace.

    She thought for a second there that he would rape her.

    He moved to the seat near the balcony instead and waited for her response.

    Luna caressed her hand on the angel de strapped to her thigh.

    The simple gesture brought her a weird sense offort--protecting herself from all these Archdemons--when she hadn''t learned how to ess Archdemon magic yet.

    Luxen was kind and thoughtful with this gift, and he had thoroughly enjoyed the process of acquiring it.

    He knew what she really needed to defend herself, and you know what that meant?

    Luna wouldn''t hesitate to stab Luxen if he put her in danger.

    He did pierce her with an angel de first, so he had an excuse to stab him next.

    Luna pulled out and yed the thin angel de in and around her fingers without intending to use the angel de on him.

    She wasn''t the type to bite the hand that fed her, but she can certainly use some of her intimidation tactics.

    "Who cursed you?" Raising an eyebrow, Luna asked absently as she bnced the angel de with her fingertip and paused before she yed with it once more. "What happened?"

    What was the use of a curse if the person who was cursed wasn''t suffering and got away with it?

    "Aphrodite. That vain little bitch."? Luxen gritted his words as he clenched his fists in the recollection of his past.

    With a solemn look, Luxen rose to his feet and stretched his Archdemon wings."I will refuse to talk about it unless we are married."

    Luna realized that it was better to die than consent to this marriage sham even if they were bonded.

    So the Goddess of Love had reins over him for some reason.

    What could an Archdemon of Lust possibly do to anger a goddess?

    Mayhap, Luxen had this duality that Luna should be aware of.

    She shouldn''t get fooled by this front of his, and he refused to talk about the reason.

    Goddess Aphrodite must have known his weaknesses to be able to curse a powerful Archdemon sessfully.

    Luna thought about her uing marriage with the Archdemon of Lust.

    She didn''t know where she stood with Luxen.

 Chapter 212 - Failed Manipulation

    <h4>Chapter 212 - Failed Maniption</h4>

    **********************

    The Empress Luna

    **********************

    If this Archdemon would find a way to get rid of his affliction, Luxen might pursue his wish to marry her soon and that would be dangerous for her.

    She didn''t know what an official marriage with an Archdemon entailed��the oaths and its limitations inparison to a mating bond.

    It was a battle between the personification of love and lust. Would it be fatal to her existence, or would it not matter?

    Of course, these bastards would keep her in the dark.

    Luna secretly wished that the Archdemon never recovered from his affliction so this future binding wouldn''t happen.

    She was safe from Luxen for now.

    Luna should prepare in advance on what to do with Ravin when they meet on the next half of the year.

    A vicious thought crossed her mind.

    Luxen had trusted her enough to provide the angel de in her hands.

    The Archdemon must have trusted her enough that she wouldn''t use it on him.

    What if Luna destroyed him once and for all, right here, right now?

    The Archdemon of Lust had enjoyed tasting each of his women, if only once.

    He didn''t seem ''rape-y'' (if that was even a word) and Luxen hadn''t executed a full-blown seduction on her yet��not that she wanted it.

    It wouldn''t hurt to be vignt around bedding experts.

    If she killed Luxen, Luna would be doing all of these heartbroken women a favor because they didn''t deserve to get used by an Archdemon without their consent.

    He can easily seduce them with his sin so in a sense, some of the other girls who had sex with him wouldn''t be in control.

    Luna shook her head, changing her mind.

    It wouldn''t be ethical to make her allies into enemies here in Hell.

    Luna straightened her spine and it made her chest puff out as she stepped forward with courage.

    She was gifted a powerful weapon in Hell that could kill the Archdemon in front of her if her hand slipped, throwing it to him by mere ident.

    Luna remembered she had a perfect aim with arrows and knives, so there was no need to hide.

    "We are married by the blood bond, you said��" Luna asked him with her chin held high as she walked with wide steps, "So what is the purpose of this Ceremony?"

    The Archdemon of Lust closed his wings.

    He didn''t appearrge and intimidating at all anymore, putting her at ease.

    Luna breathed a sigh of relief.

    "Oh-ho!" Luxen pped his hands together as he chuckled darkly, "Earlier, you didn''t acknowledge me as your husband and now you are iming me?"

    There was a mischievous gleam in his eyes, challenging her. "Interesting!"

    She wouldn''t back down.

    It was probably time to think like Lilith and start chaos.

    "Hmph."? Flipping her hair, Luna raised an eyebrow as she released the warm and heavy thick nkets around her body.

    She threw it back to the bed as she gave her a knowing grin, "I refuse to ept the hand of an Archdemon Prince if he wouldn''t im the throne itself."

    "You meant that you wanted me to overthrow King Lucifer?"

    Luna observed Luxen''s reaction to finding out if there was a long-standing feud between the royal Archdemon families.

    She assumed that there would be a lot since Luna guessed that only a few of them were born pureblood--the true spawns of Lucifer.

    Mayhap, she could y with their ego and their need for power over the Realms of Hell.

    They did want to dominate the Upper Realms, after all.

    Their greed for power should have started somewhere around here.

    "I know you can take charge of the entire Seven Circles of Hell, Luxen. You are powerful. It wouldn''t take much on your part if you would just aim for the throne and be greedier." She suggested, shrugging with nonchnce.

    If Luna was smart, she could escte the tension and y with both sides without their notice.

    Archdemons were good at manipting, so she might as well practice.

    "I don''t want any of that power, Domina."

    Heart shrinking, Luna''s lips pressed tight as she slightly weaved in dismay.

    She nted the idea without sess.

    Luxen gave her a bitter smile as if he figured out what situation she had been angling.

    "I would leave Pride and Avarice in that full-scale war if King Lucifer perished, which would be impossible. " He continued further, "Father is strong, and I know that this n of yours was a trap to avoid a marriage with me. " Luna winced from the statement.

    Damn it!

    She wasn''t good at maniption and it was apparent for the Archdemon of Lust had quickly figured out.

    "You are an innocent Archdemon who couldn''t even manipte well for the life of you."? Heughed good-naturedly, and it came out like a mocking snort to her. "I bet you can do better if Lilith would pretend she was a good sister-inw and teach you how to."

    Upon hearing that bitch''s name on Luxen''s lips, she wanted to scream in frustration and throw the angel de as she aimed at his forehead.

    Luna contented with clenching her fists as she glowered at him.

    Luxen had held his stomach as he continued, whimpering with delight.

    Luna had plenty of shade to throw at Luxen based on the conversation with Sloth, and it can fall into the shadow at the drop of a hat.

    If Luxen wanted to insult her, then he must be fully ready with hers.

    The Archdemon of Lust must be careful of her sharp ws.

    "Of course, Lilith is the best." Luna nodded in a mocking agreement. "You fucked your sister, and you want to include me in that horrendous rtionship?"

    She lifted a hand that showed her palms. "Thanks, but no thanks."

    The Archdemon of Lust''s eyes widened as he blinked rapidly.

    "Wait. Why did we arrive at this conversation?" He rubbed the back of his neck, "I was only going to invite you outside the Castle."

    Now, he was changing the subject.

    Luxen frowned at her as if it was her fault that they got side-tracked. "Get dressed, Domina. We will hunt for the Northern Lights."

 Chapter 213 - Hunting For Northern Lights

    <h4>Chapter 213 - Hunting For Northern Lights</h4>

    ****************************************

    THE ARCHDEMON OF LUST

    Prince Luxen of the 2nd Circle of Hell

    ****************************************

    Luxen had told Luna that they would hunt for the Northern Lights.

    Oh, and did Luxen already mentioned that he and Luna would hunt for the Aurora Borealis together or was he too distracted by how his Domina had appeared in the winter clothes he had picked for her to wear?

    She wore a gorgeous sleeveless royal purple gown which swept the floor underneath the thick heavyyers of her red velvet winter fur coats.

    Naturally, her Domina''s clothes were designed to have holes at her back so that she could fit her Archdemon wings forfort.

    Luxen checked her out as she waited for her turn to ride the sled he had procured for this hunt.

    With his hands on her hips, Luna tapped her foot on the snow with impatience.

    Luxen almost snickered as she narrowed her eyes at him, probably wondering why he got on the sled first.

    Understanding shed on her face when Luxen offered his hand to assist the future princess, and Luna dly took it.

    Honestly, Luxen hadn''t considered this hunting for the Aurora Borealis.

    It was just ame excuse to make his Domina curious and intrigued so that she wouldn''t hesitate toe with him.

    Luna had expressed that she wanted to see what it was because she hadn''t seen it yet.

    She mentioned that Luxen''s Arctic Kingdom was a close replica of the Vampire Realm except that the weather was harsh and the frozenke was too thick and dry in the Second Circle of Hell.

    The snow was colder than usual here.

    Luxen ordered his demon servant to start the sled drawn by two of his prized Arctic wolves.

    ''Yes, those were my precious babies.'' Luxen thought to himself, fighting the urge to brag to his Domina.

    Both of Luxen''s wolves wererger, had thicker fur and whiter than the snow itself.

    They werepletely adorned with red saddle pads and gold nes and semi-precious stones.

    As his servant controlled them to the right path with expertise, Luxen thrust his chest out proudly as her Domina watched them glide with grace in the snow.

    Luxen could hear Luna suck a quick breath as she raised both of her hands, enjoying the fast ride.

    His Domina''s screams and her precious tinklingughter hanging in the air were music to his ears.

    His Domina was a spontaneous female, and Luxen loved it.

    Luxen couldn''t help but raise his hands along with her and scream.

    He was a Prince.

    He will never, ever do this in front of his Archdemon Family.

    They would probably give him weird looks like how the demon servant had nced over his shoulder.

    When Luxen caught him watching in judgement, Luxen smirked, and the demon servant abruptly moved his gaze in front of him.

    The servant knew that he wouldn''t witness the next daylight if he saw his deadly smirk.

    Luxen always had that effect on his servants.

    He was an expert at mental and emotional torture, and everyone in the Castle knew he could also get immensely physical��sexual��when he needed to.

    He made it a mission not to speak so much so that his Domina wouldn''t be distracted and fully take in the environment.

    After this date--Yes! Luxen had considered this a date, and he wouldn''t let Luna say otherwise-- mayhap his Domina would enjoy hispany so much that she wouldn''t desire to leave him to go to Ravin or to go back to the Vampire Realm.

    ''He was the Archdemon of Lust!'' Luxen''s pressed his lips together as he fought the urge to smile. ''He can seduce Luna without much effort just by his merely existing.''

    Did he go overboard?

    As the sled moved rapidly into the spotless night, Luna had experimented prick her finger with her fang, and the drop of blood quickly turned to a ruby ice stone before it dropped to the ground.

    His Domina was intelligent.

    How did she figure this freezing effect out?

    Luxen hadn''t even tried it.

    He had grinned at her amazement, which reflected on her face.

    Luna''s golden eyes were wide, and her mouth hung open as she executed it again for him to see.

    Her Domina had looked like an excited child.

    He couldn''t believe that this cold, stubborn female who sent him and Ravin back to Hell could make such pretty expressions.

    Luxen rubbed his chin as he watched her with an intensity that slightly disturbed her.

    He knew Luna knew that Luxen was staring as she refused to meet his gaze.

    Luxen watched how her long silver hair whipped her face in the strong icy wind.

    Luna''s freckles were like scattered constetions.

    Luxen wanted to count and trace them together with his fingers.

    Without meaning to, his eyes fell to her cleavage.

    The low cut neckline of her bodice fit her chests snugly, and he absently nodded.

    He needed to pat himself in the back for a job well done.

    Luna had squinted at him in suspicion, and he shrugged, suddenly shifting his gaze at the passing snow tiger who chased its prey with that unique elegance that only a predator could have.

    Luna noticed the tiger, and her mouth ckened in awe as they watched the tiger caught the slowest antelope of the running herd.

    They talked about animals for a while as his Domina casually mentioned Sloth''s pets.

    Wow, Sloth would always show his rescued animals to literally anyone who visited his castle.

    She scooted away from him on her side awkwardly, not letting any part of her touch him as they sat together on the seat of the sled.

    Her mouth was in a cute pout as she stared ahead.

    Fine.'' He frowned, crossing his arms. ''It''s not like he was obsessed with Luna.''

    Luxen scooted to the opposite side too, mirroring her action.

    He was too pretty for her anyway!

    For Luxen, it was a new experience for him to have some female in his Castle whom he hadn''t fucked yet.

 Chapter 214 - Winter Wonderland

    <h4>Chapter 214 - Winter Wondend</h4>

    ****************************************

    THE ARCHDEMON OF LUST

    Prince Luxen of the 2nd Circle of Hell

    ****************************************

    For Luxen, it was a new experience for him to have some female in his Castle whom he hadn''t fucked yet.

    Of course, Luna was his wife, so it was necessary to make an exception.

    Luxen didn''t regret tricking her into performing a blood bond when he was perfectly aware of what it entailed��that his Domina would turn into an Archdemon.

    It was only a matter of time before his wish came true, and it did.

    He just wished that he had Luna first.

    Luxen didn''t expect Ravin to be tied to Luna when she mated with the Vampire King who had the Blood Beast inside him at that time, but it was alright.

    He would find a way to turn her golden eyes to silver and mark her with secret runes.

    Soon.

    +++

    The sun had disappeared for a few months, but there was a residual light reflected by the snow that was why his Kingdom wasn''t drowning in pitch-ck.

    The Second Circle of Hell was bathed within clear blue-grey light.

    His Domina nced up in the sky when at the same he did.

    They watched the smattering of stars sparkling like diamonds.

    Shaking his head as he smiled to himself, Luxen observed that the distance between those stars was simr to the space between Luna and him.

    He wanted her to be closer, but this would suffice.

    He must let her guard down out of her own ord.

    The art of seduction wasn''t to force.

    It was to coax and trick the target into believing that they wanted him because it was their sole decision.

    Their sled had passed by deciduous bare trees.

    They had already shed their leaves in quick sessions, snow coating its stiff branches into ice.

    It might appear dead because of the ck barks, but it wasn''t.

    These ancient trees survived all year long.

    They also encountered a small snow-freend, which was found at the edge of the frozenke.

    Gasping in wonder, his Domina immediately covered her mouth with a hand.

    Luna couldn''t take her eyes off it.

    Luxen snorted because he knew that his Domina had strictly avoided singing praises to Kingdoms in Hell.

    She didn''t want to be attached, refusing to discern that she was an Archdemon now.

    ''I didn''t imagine living in other Circles aside from here.'' Luxen smiled at the thought.

    Luna would see that it wouldn''t be so boring in the Second Circle of Hell.

    "This was the first time I have witnessed nt life in a freezing Kingdom." Gripping her hood so it wouldn''t dislodge from her head caused by the strong winds, Luna spoke aloud so that she could be heard over the noise of the ''swoosh-swoosh'' of the des gliding on the ice underneath their wolf-drawn sled.

    Catching Domina''s excitement in his mind, Luxen fought the urge to reach out and caress her face, tucking the wayward silver strands of her hair behind her ear, so he settled for gripping the ck iron metal of the side of his sled.

    Luxen began, "There wasn''t much nt life in the Second Circles. There were only one species of flowering nts that were found here."

    His Domina slowly shook her head with disbelief as she paired it with an awestruck smile.

    He loved her smile and the gap between her teeth.

    He loved her golden eyes tipped with silver, which echoed her hair.

    "What are they called, Luxen?" Luna''s silver hair swept across her face in the erratic winds, escaping from her wolf fur hood before it settled, "The pretty red circr blooms reminded me of blood."

    Luxen wasn''t surprised at her observation.

    Once a vampire, always a vampire.

    Luxen''s gaze had flown to the tattoo of Ravin''s runes just above her delicate jaw.

    There was something about the ck swirls and intricate patterns that were unusual.

    He couldn''t read the runes at all, nor did he recognize what it meant.

    "They are called pearlworts, Domina. They are abundant around here." Luxen responded as his face strained with remembrance regarding Ravin''s demonic runes, but nothing came to mind. He added absently. "The flowering spearworts have greyish-green leaves, and the tiny crimson flower heads were on erect stalls up close."

    Perhaps, these new runes didn''t belong to Ravin since it was the first time he had seen it.

    Luxen asked as he shook his head, not dwelling on it anymore.

    "Do you want to stop the sled so we could check them out?"

    "No need." ncing at him, Luna waved her hands in dismissal. "I just paid attention to them because it was just nice to see other colors in this except for white sheets."

    She blew out a relieved breath when he replied, "Alright."

    Shivering in the immense cold, Luna raised her legs on the seat, brought them closer to her torso, and curled into a ball.

    Luxen reached out to wrap the red velvet coat around her and tied the knot on her cor so that they wouldn''t detach from its moorings.

    Luna had let him pull at herrge fur hoodie, covering her flushed face.

    Luxen had wondered why Luna''s teeth chattered every time she faced the cold Artic wind.

    She was a vampire.

    The cold should never bother her since she was a cold-blooded creature.

    Luxen was used to this kind of weather since he lived in his Kingdom for a long time.

    Perhaps, the chill in the Second Circle was already deep-seated in her bones.

    The ice in here was nothingpared to the Vampire Realm.

    Luxen had contemted wrapping an arm around Luna''s shoulder so that he could huddle her close to him.

    He shouldn''t.

    Luna always flinched and straightened his spine whenever he was near.

    Luxen felt incredibly slighted, as if her Domina was repulsed by the mere thought of him touching her skin in any way.

    Frustration burned deep in Luxen''s gut.

    All he can do was narrow his eyes into the clearing and clench his fists, bringing his fingers together.

    Snowkes had started falling in theirp.

 Chapter 215 - Thou Shalt Not Kiss

    <h4>Chapter 215 - Thou Shalt Not Kiss</h4>

    ********************

    The Empress Luna

    *********************

    Snowkes had started falling in herp.

    Luna caught them with her hand, holding them as if they were fragile little ice fairies.

    She cupped the snowkes in her hand, and when she looked heavenwards, they see the Northern Lights dancing in the purple sky as the snow crystals fall over them.

    She watched the beautiful scene in amazement.

    Luna had never seen the skylights shift into yellow, dark purple, and green in a natural setting without magical interference.

    The blue-grey light suddenly turned red-orange, raising the hairs on her arms and giving her goosebumps.

    It had appeared like a spooky omen but still ethereal nheless.

    Luna was sure this wasn''t Luxen''s doing.

    When she had nced at him, Luxen was as amazed as she was.

    The Archdemon of Lust had disyed a wide grin as he examined them.

    He told her that they were hunting for the Northern Lights.

    From his expression, Luna had concluded that Luxen didn''t entirely expect them to appear.

    "Slow down." The Archdemon of Lustmanded at the servant who held the rope.

    The demon servant immediately pulled the harness with skill, and their speed decelerated into a slower pace, controlling the wolves effectively.

    The artdscape was stunning.

    Luna could consider Luxen''s Kingdom as a Winter Wondend.

    Its dark and vast winter skies had highlighted billions of stars, which were already stunning in itself, but if the Northern Lights apanied them?

    It was already game over.

    Luna''s entire being was focused on the Aurora Borealis, thinking that she wouldn''t see something like this ever again.

    Her goal was toe back to the Vampire Realms.

    Naturally, she wasn''t going to stay here forever, and not even King Lucifer could stop her from escaping.

    She had to learn how to open portals to other realms and dimensions quickly without alerting her future mentor��Ravin and Luxen''s uncles with her abilities.

    Luna wondered if ying dumb with these Archdemons would work. Luna had to y this game smarter.

    "Stop." Luxen had ordered his servant abruptly.

    That single word uttered with a deep, dark voice full of power made her flinch.

    As soon as the sled stopped, the Archdemon of Lust jumped out of his seat in a hurry and circled the snow vehicle to her side.

    He bowed his head and offered his hand, along with that signature smirk of his.

    Luna carefully stood up from her seat, brushed the snow from her red coat, and rubbed her hands together to keep them warm before cing her hand on Luxen.

    This Archdemon hadn''t even included gloves for her hands, but it was alright.

    She will survive without it.

    Gloves weren''t the problem.

    Luna''s problem was that she was getting used to the Archdemon of Lust''s presence.

    She missed Apollyon, wishing with all her heart that he was here instead, but it can''t be done.

    Settling for a manwhore will never be an option.

    Luna didn''t want to be rude about it and break it to him.

    Should she keep stringing her along, or should she reject him outright?

    She had stayed in Luxen''s sex dungeon in a world where she didn''t belong.

    It was still a relief to know that Luna wasn''t alone, even if the reason for her suffering was these damned Archdemons.

    Nevertheless, Luna epted Luxen''s assistance if this was the only way to repay him for staying in his Castle for free.

    She wouldn''t ept her designated role as a wife.

    Luna would prefer being called a parasite or something wholesome like a roommate.

    Entertained by her thoughts, Luna noticed that Luxen had held her hand as they walked in a light snowfall, leaving the demon servant with the winter wolves.

    They had walked for a quarter-mile to ''goddess-knows-where,'' and the snow-covered ground was getting thicker and out-of-control.

    Luna''s shoes were t, but she still tripped a couple of times.

    Luxen was quite happy to aid her every time her legs get buried by a deep snow-covered pit they didn''t expect.

    The Archdemon had a goodugh every time Luna slipped into an unseen hole, and he had to pull her out.

    "You were having fun watching me suffer, no?" Gritting her teeth, Luna squeezed Luxen''s hand hard,ining, "Why don''t we use our wings and fly to where you wanted to go?"

    "Do you even know how to use your wings?" Luxen asked, showing her a sarcastic grin, "You are toozy to lift them that is why you stumble."

    "Shush." An impatient snort. "Don''t remind me."

    "Where do you want to go?" Drawing an icy breath, Luna released it before speaking again, "Do I have to go along?"

    Luna nced up into the green-purple skies and murmured in disappointment, "I am content watching the Northern Lights on the sled."

    "Be patient." Luxen squeezed her hand, and she couldn''t figure out if it were for warmth orfort.

    "We are almost there." The Archdemon''s next words rushed with excitement. "I promise you that ce had a better view of the Aurora Borealis."

    After another three-minute walk, they arrived at the destination.

    The spectrum of green and yellow was stronger here as it appeared on the horizon.

    The multi-colored wisps billowed and danced in the sky in the howling wind.

    Both of them stood in a frozenke in the middle of nowhere as the spectacr disy zed in the sky.

    The Northern Lights were so bright and so active as if they had always been there.

    Luna didn''t believe it when Luxen told her that he had been waiting for it for weeks.

    The Aurora Borealis was as elusive as a beautiful goddess.

    She and Luxen had the rare chance to watch it until the veryst second.

    "Wow." Luna voiced her wonder as her lips parted, astonished. "Do they call it the Northern Lights because it can be found on the North?"

    The Archdemon raised an eyebrow.

    "Yes, Domina." He leaned closer to her as he looked her in the eyes. "You couldn''t find the Northern Lights in the South either. My servant could easily tell which direction the Aurora would mostly appear."

    "Oh." The moment Luna turned her head to ask him more questions, Luxen''s sensual lips swooped in and kissed her.

 Chapter 216 - Teeth Kissing

    <h4>Chapter 216 - Teeth Kissing</h4>

    ************************

    The Empress Luna

    ***********************

    Luxen''s sensual lips swooped in and kissed her.

    Her first reaction was to stare into his closed eyelids in a dazed look, surprised to see those silver eyshes with her bulging eyes.

    Of course, the man''s eyshes were pretty, but that was beside the point.

    Her second reaction was to jerk her head back but Luxen wouldn''t even let her escape from his clutches.

    Next, she told him to stop, but it came out as an embarrassing moan while his soft lips threatened to nibble her.

    "Lux��hmm-to-" Luna stammered brokenly, but Luxen had assumed her strangenguage meant she was turned on, thinking that she had consented to him kissing her soul.

    She whimpered, "Urm--hm��"

    Luna didn''t think that the Archdemon of Lust would do something like this.

    She wasn''t prepared for the onught of the sensations he brought out of her.

    This predator had lulled her to a false sense of security��one that she regretted very much��enough that she let her guard down.

    Could she say that it was her fault for falling for his trap?

    The Archdemon had slid his hands around her waist farther to the small of her back, stroking his tapered fingers around her waist.

    Luna had quickly moved her arms on his chest to shove him hard, but she couldn''t.

    Her elbows were trapped between their bodies!

    Luxen had caged her, and the only attack Luna could manage was pounding her clenched fists to his strong muscr chest.

    It had zero damage.

    Luna gasped when Luxen bit her lip hard enough to draw blood.

    She pressed her lips shut because she knew what Luxen had tried to do.

    He bit her so that she could open her mouth and give him ess to hers.

    Luna was never interested in Luxen as a husband, and he and Lilith could go and f*ck themselves without including her in the picture.

    Perhaps, this was why Lilith had glowered at her with blood-shot eyes full of anger and hatred.

    In her distorted mind, she must have thought Luna was stealing Lilith''s men away from her one by one.

    First was the Vampire King, who she was obsessed with at first, and now, Luxen was probably one of Lilith''s consorts, ording to Sloth.

    Oh, how the Archdemon of Envy must have med her for getting attention from men she didn''t even want.

    Lilith can have Luxen, but she wouldn''t let the bitch steal Apollyon!

    Luna squeezed her eyes shut in disgust.

    She couldn''t bear to look at her ''husband'' who had forcibly kissed her, demanding ess to her tonsils like it was his goddamn right.

    Luxen lifted her hips easily as he erased the distance between them, their lower bodies touching so close.

    Luxen possessively wrapped one hand around the nape of her neck while the other one dug on the fabric of her purple gown.

    Gnashing her teeth, Luna had the chance to ce her hands around Luxen''s shoulders, not to arouse him with his touch but to choke him and detach his head as her ws elongated.

    ''Damn it!'' Luna groaned in frustration.

    She could headbutt him, which would surely give him a headache for a year.

    Luxen had figured out her n when his hands flew to her hands wrapped around his neck.

    He removed them from her shoulders and squeezed them hard in a reprimand.

    Yelping, Luna choked down a sob because she could feel that she had broken a finger or two.

    Angry tears fell down her face as she tried to pull away, but he wouldn''t let her.

    Luxen brought her back again as they bumped their teeth.

    She swore he could taste the salt in her lips as she cried but he didn''t stop kissing her.

    The Archdemon was stubborn and determined to make her like it.

    Luna wanted to kick his balls because the bastard didn''t understand that she wasn''t into the kiss.

    Luna knew this wasn''t about desire anymore.

    The Archdemon of Lust''s rejection of her kiss had made a dent in his spotless pride.

    Luxen must have roamed the Lower Realms thinking he could get any woman he wanted just because he was the Archdemon of Lust.

    She never thought he would get this low, forcibly kissing her out-of-nowhere.

    Being mated to him and connected by a silver thread was a f*cking excuse, too.

    ''Luxen wouldn''t stop until I became into it.'' She thought bitterly, and it fuelled her more to fight back for her freedom.

    She gripped a fistful of his white robes and shook him with all her might.

    If this Archdemon was feeling horny and there was no other woman to use in the middle of nowhere, it was Luna''s responsibility to wake Luxen up.

    Suddenly, Luna felt Luxen''s tongue tasting her lips, and she almost melted, leaning into her touch even if her mind had screamed ''no''.

    Why was she arching into his lower body as they stood close to each other?

    It was as if there was something suddenly clicked into her head��like she finally found the missing piece of the puzzle.

    Why was she letting him touch her in inappropriate ces?

    Why did her lips almost part when Luxen coaxed them?

    Was she feeling desire, or was she influenced in doing so with Archdemon magic?

    With ring nostrils and bared teeth, Luna was now raging mad at Luxen''s callousness.

    What female would want to be married to a man like this?

    The best kisses are ones that both people want.

    No matter how much Luxen enjoyed it, it wasn''t okay to force someone to do it if they don''t want to even if it was his ''wife''.

    Seducing her with his Archdemon magic was a low blow.

    Ravin didn''t even attempt to use magic at the Dream Realms as he persuaded her to stay with him.

    The Archdemon of Gluttony was respectful enough to let her go.

    Now, Luna had to get herself together and break away from this unreasonable haze of lust!

    As she nted her legs wide in preparation to gather immense power, Luna''s fingers twitched as she tried to summon her own Archdemon magic.

 Chapter 217 - Summoning Archdemon Magic

    <h4>Chapter 217 - Summoning Archdemon Magic</h4>

    **********************

    The Empress Luna

    ***********************

    As her hands clenched into fists, Luna called upon Archdemon magic from her spirit as her mind searched for the part of her body where it had recently stored and festered.

    She summoned the strength it required to release them.

    Luna didn''t need to search for it for too long because she had established the link her in mind and that hum of power deep in her gut, connecting them.

    When she became the High Priestess, Luna had easily mastered the calling��the ability to call forth anything from anywhere.

    If she was under threat, she might as well try to evoke the Archdemon Magic from herself.

    Luna didn''t think about the repercussions as long as she could get Luxen off and stop him from mauling her mouth.

    "Kiss me, Domina." Luxen''s silver gaze red with undisguised hunger. His eyes peered at her cleavage while his hand cupped her breasts.

    Luna gasped at the audacity, wanting to stomp her foot in outrage.

    Luna had the chance to inconspicuously wiggle the angel de from the leather strap on the slit of her dress, but Luxen''s hands had pawed at her outer thigh, snatching it from her fingers and throwing them away to the side.

    Now, Luna couldn''t run, pick the angel up and stab him through the heart, for the Archdemon of Lust''s grip was so strong it hurt.

    Luna had to destroy the Archdemon once and for all if he was a real threat to her and for her baby.

    Luxen halted his exploration of her mouth, lifting his head to make a move on the side of her neck.

    Feeling as if something sucked the will power out of her to fight back against his touch, Luna lost her momentum when Luxen licked his tongue on that sensitive spot where her neck collided with her shoulder.

    This time it was gentler, tenderer and her breath caught at the soft caress.

    Luna couldn''t help but shiver and moan in pleasure, desire blooming in her core.

    How easy would it be to lose into herself as he urged her to soften against the wee hardness of hisrge form?

    She wanted him to kiss her as her brain shut off the logic moring in the back of her mind.

    Leaning into Luxen''s drug-inducing kisses, Luna felt her knees weaken with lust as if she couldn''t bear her weight any longer.

    Warm, sweet pleasure flooded through her veins as if they were ambrosia, making her weak.

    Luna''s body acted like she wanted toy down above the Archdemon of Lust''s body as they made love on top of this frozenke.

    Luxen had set her on fire with longing even in this Ice Kingdom.

    Luna didn''t know why she felt this way again.

    That was when she figured out that Luxen had made his Archdemon magic? stronger, reinforcing it with every touch and caress.

    He had evoked this wanton response from her through his magic instead of her feeling nothing but anger and a fierce rebuke.

    Apollyon''s name shed in her mind as she clutched her stomach with fierce protectiveness.

    ''I had the Vampire King''s baby.'' Luna dizzily acknowledged. ''I had no business having sexual congress with an Archdemon.''

    In an instant, Luna''s brain fog had been cleared as the strong icy wind blew at their forms.

    The Archdemon have sensed that Luna was cold, but instead of fastening the red velvet cloak around her like what a gentleman should do��simr to what she did at the sled��this time, he did the opposite.

    He untied the drawstring, and it fell on the frozen floor of theke, exposing her vulnerable form.

    She got distracted when the Archdemon of Lust trailed moist pecks on her corbone.

    Luxen was so into kissing her.

    It was ironic that her sweat was running down her back despite the wintry night.

    When Luna noticed that her muscles were jumping under her skin as if something in her wanted out, she inhaled deeply through her nose and exhaled through the mouth.

    Luna released the anxiety of how wrong she felt and rxed.

    She cleared her mind again and meditated before drawing out the deep, dark, and rich magic, linking her mind and gut.

    Luna took her time conditioning her body as if she wasn''t with Luxen, opening the channel between herself and the Source.

    With grim determination, she had envisioned the magic once again as she nurtured the tiny flicker, slowly fanning the blue mes and protecting them with her mental hands.

    There was only Luna and the me in her mind''s eye as they were shrouded in darkness.

    She visualized an obsidian orb that King Lucifer had forced on her mouth and merged it with the blue me.

    It burst into a red ball of light as it floated in the palm of her hand.

    ''I allow this Archdemon magic inside of me, lying dormant.'' Luna spoke to the mes as it grew more and more.

    She concentrated in her mind and became one with it.

    For a moment that she had stayed in this mental space, Luna had prayed that she could stay here forever and imagine that the past couple of days in Hell as an Archdemon was a figment of her imagination like Sloth had said.

    Luna had to ept it��like she epted the role as the Vampire Realm''s High Priestess��because there was nothing she can do.

    As she stretched her hand to give the zing light blue fire, some room, Luna murmured, ''Awaken.''

    She held the blue fire in her hands and brought it to life.

    Luna had sessfully summoned the Archdemon magic.

    There were a noiseless sh and an intense pressure in her ears.

    It was so eerie that she couldn''t hear any sound.

    Luxen��the Archdemon of Lust �Cwas gone from her sight.

    She sighed with gratitude because it had done its purpose.

    Luna thought it would backfire and would cause harm and misfortune when Luna hadn''t trained with Luxen''s uncle to use it yet.

    Her happiness didn''tst.

 Chapter 218 - Demonic Sirens

    <h4>Chapter 218 - Demonic Sirens</h4>

    *************************

    The Empress Luna

    *************************

    There was an ominous silence as billowing cloud, aloft in ck and white, emerged.

    As Luna threw a coughing fit, she waved her hand in front of her face, driving the smoke away because she couldn''t see.

    Luna had a stroke of rotten luck.

    The thick ice of the frozenke cracked and dissolved into water in an instant, and she fell right into it.

    She opened her mouth in a silent scream.

    Gasping in shock due to the cold water, Luna panicked, and she couldn''t think straight.

    It wasn''t easy to make a rational decision on how to extricate herself from the water when she couldn''t swim.

    Everything felt like it was in slow motion as the thick red velvet coat along with theyers of her purple gown weighed her down because of how heavy it was, dragging her to the bottom of the deepke.

    She fought against the currents.

    Luna lifted her hands to the drawstring around her neck and untied it, shedding pieces of clothing one at a time to make herself lighter.

    Mayhap, that would make her float better.

    Luna can''t swim, and she had proven that fact when she went to the entrance of the underground tunnel of the Valley of Kings so that she could get to the other side.

    Luna had almost drowned, and Jon dragged her out of it.

    That was the first, and thest time Jon did something kind to her.

    It was still a shock to know that from the High Priestess initiation, she hade this far and survived as the wife of the Vampire King and blood-bonded to two Archdemons.

    The rest of her adventure at the caves was a dark history she wouldn''t dare repeat.

    Luna didn''t know how to float, either, and she had taken Sloth''s advice into ount.

    There was no use struggling to get to the surface.

    Luna let the ice-cold water prated her ears and nose, her body turning ck as she descended.

    She was drowning, and there was no one to help her.

    It was her fault but at least on herst breath��if an Archdemon even had one��she already knew how to harness her Archdemon magic.

    ''No.'' Luna shook her head as she thrashed her arms in the water. ''She wouldn''t let herself die.''

    This was a mere test of her immortality.

    Luna heard a song sung in her ears with her eyes closed.

    It was a beguiling and intense wind-like song.

    She let the freezing water currents slowly envelop her body as the ice molecules tightened into her skin, prating her bones.

    The wind song became more insistent and charming around her as if she could hear and feel the music through her five senses like it was an intangible thing.

    With the water filling her lungs as she drowned, Luna had appreciated the harmonies blending in together.

    Her curiosity was so intense she wanted to open her eyes to know where it came from.

    Still, Luna noticed that the more her entire being focused on it, the more it resonated into the walls of her brain as it vibrated into her eardrums in a much stronger frequency.

    The effect had certain euphoria as if it was a hypnosis drug.

    It calmed her down.

    It was the kind of song that was mysterious and alluring because of its unpredictability.

    It was like a song that didn''t sound like a song.

    It was as if it was talking to her like a conversation.

    Nobody could have anticipated its next melody, catching one off-guard and therefore keeping the listener''s ear ripe for seduction.

    Seduction?

    Song?

    Luna opened her eyes and opened her mouth in a gasp, silently screaming at the sirens encircling her with their hands pressed together, showing their small shark teeth that were as sharp as a vampire''s.

    The sirens had long flowing ck hair and pearl nes settled on their naked chest.

    They swarmed around her excitedly.

    One of the sirens in their group had smacked her fishtail into Luna''s face like it was an intentional p.

    The sirens had stared at her menacingly, smiling from ear to ear as they continued to lure her with songs.

    Their melodic, angelic vocals had sessfully taken over her mind as she felt her body rx as if she was releasing her problems in life.

    The ck sirens had wed at her leg, dragging her farther down theke, and all Luna wanted was to hear their song longer and longer with a torpid obsession.

    The more they went deeper, the more Luna noticed the ice-cold waters changing colors.

    Luna swore she was hallucinating as she saw more sirens swimming towards her as their insidious faces came closer.

    The siren''s song in her head never stopped.

    Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Luna covered her ears, but it was in vain.

    The group of sirens who had taken her brought Luna to what-seemed-like ancient ruins of a temple with broken columns covered by moss and barnacles.

    There were alsorge glowing jellyfishes around it, swimming and propelling themselves forward without a care in the world.

    Corals and bioluminescent aquatic nts epassed the temple.

    There was arge basin at the center of the temple which contained a glutinous red liquid.

    The crimson liquid was bright and rich.

    It probably had a higher density than the water because it had stayed put in the basin, not mixing with theke''s blue water.

    When the sirens brought her closer to the ancient ruins, what Luna had witnessed made her feel like the tiny hairs on her neck had risen and her blood had turned cold.

    Heaps of corpses rot away inside that basin, rags of skin shriveling in their bones.

    Luna couldn''t believe that these sirens were present in Hell.

    Sirens charm men through their irresistibly sweet voices, lulling them to jump from their ship into the vast ocean, tear them to pieces before eating them.

    Perhaps, they were not sirens.

    They were ice demons who were simr to them.

 Chapter 219 - Drowning

    <h4>Chapter 219 - Drowning</h4>

    ***********************

    The Empress Luna

    ***********************

    The song will always start in a windless m that ended with death.

    These demonspped her body and soul in fatal lethargy.

    The sirens started singing their hymn again, and this time, all her senses were alert.

    Now that Luna had figured out that they were simr to sirens, she fought the effects of their allure to avoid being entranced by them.

    They forcibly ced her in the basin where the other rotting cadavers and detached limbs surrounded her, singing and chanting louder than before.

    If she weren''t careful, Luna would be eaten alive by these demons.

    Now, she just had to figure out if that would also help her get to the surface.

    Luna still tried to exhale small amounts of oxygen, determined to go upwards.

    She had to survive!

    Luna didn''t want to drown.

    Her flesh and organs might end up in these demons'' stomach.

    Well, speaking about her stomach, Luna had to constantly remind herself that she wasn''t alone anymore, for she had a baby inside her.

    Luna began to thrash from the siren''s webbed grip as Luna forced her body to float upwards to escape these ugly monsters.

    As the turbulent water conspired against her, she continued iling her arms and propelling her legs desperately.

    She needed to reach the surface.

    Luna managed to get away, but it wasn''t that far for the sirens can swim fast with their fishtailpared to her feet.

    Her useless Archdemon wings had also handicapped her, holding her back because of their dead weight.

    Luna was close to cking out and drowning, but she summoned extreme mental focus on her objective.

    More seconds have passed, and the thing she was most afraid of had started to ur.

    She might not die but running out of air very slowly was not the most enjoyable way to lose consciousness.

    With her palms stretched out, Luna desperately iled again, but this time, Luna felt different, and she could feel herself going faster and with more force.

    For some unknown reason, Luna felt a sudden burst of energy, and the will to get out of her plight came back stronger.

    She would make it!

    Luna had inhaled water, and she garbled, shutting her esophagus at once.

    It was a struggle to control her breathing.

    Closing her mouth, Luna pressed her lips together and held her breath.

    Luna couldn''t register anything because she had her eyes closed, but she swore she could hear Luxen screaming her name.

    The sirens had bared their teeth at her and hissed, but they toned down their nasty attitude when they started singing again.

    It was as if the moment they started to open their mouth and perform, the sirens'' angry faces morphed into a sense of calm.

    The sound was strongly addictive and calming to them as it is to the listener.

    Luna couldn''t help but listen to them again.

    The great love Luna felt about their hymns had turned into a great obsession as shey back on the golden basin, doing absolutely nothing.

    Luna''s body went limp, and her mind went nk.

    She gave up her effort to il her body upwards.

    Herid body had her stuck in the red gtinous liquid along with the rotten corpses for a few minutes, and her lungs had more or less given out air.

    Then, there was no pain.

    Onlyfort.

    **********************************************

    The Archdemon of Lust

    Prince Luxen from the 2nd Circle of Hell

    ***********************************************

    There was a sharp bang, followed by a long thundering growl.

    The force of Luna''s Archdemon magic had thrown him like he was nothing but a boomerang--a boomerang who couldn''te back to where Luna was.

    There was an overwhelming amount of gas emanating in the atmosphere.

    Choking at the thick white smoke he had inhaled, Luxen coughed and pped his Archdemon wings harder to go above the smoke and look for Luna, who had vanished.

    Pain shot in the left arch of his Archdemon wings, and it wasn''t doing its job properly.

    If he kept this long enough, it would take an hour to propel himself higher.

    Luxen''s flight had been clumsy and awkward, and he wondered why his right wing was pping five times harder than hiszy left wing.

    Curious at why it wasn''t working properly, Luxen nced behind his shoulder to inspect his wing, and indeed, there was arge gaping hole��a clean, perfect circle like it had been stamped out-- at the bottom half.

    Sucking in his breath, Luxen''s mind had produced a shback of Luna aiming a red ball of light, crackling with static, before she hurled it at him without warning.

    When an Archdemon''s wings get hurt, they won''t regenerate. It bled a rich dark red.

    Clenching his fists in anger, Luxen''s jaw tightened as he blew out a breath that rattled his lips.

    Luna had destroyed his Archdemon wings for just a simple kiss?

    "Come on! Thedy was obviously acting like a virgin when she was not!'' Luxen thought as he let out a quick, disgusted snort. "Luna would never fit in that image."

    He knew she wasn''t a virgin anymore, so why was she keeping this charade?

    It was just a goddamned kiss, and by the way Luna had reacted it was as if Luxen had stuck his dick into her ass without her permission!

    His nostrils red.

    He should have done that if the end game was Luxen getting his Archdemon wings almost destroyed.

    Perhaps, Luna was merely ying hard to get--like all his sexual partners--so that they could try and catch his attention again every time.

    Females Luxen had fucked once act like this when they meet for the second time, because they didn''t know about his curse yet.

    They always craved him after the first time.

    ''Luna was too dramatic.'' Luxen''s sped his hands tightly, and his knuckles whitened. ''There must be something wrong with her.''

    ''What was wrong with kissing a husband if he wanted to trace her lips with his?''

 Chapter 220 - Satans Law Enforcement

    <h4>Chapter 220 - Satan''s Law Enforcement</h4>

    **********************************************

    The Archdemon of Lust

    Prince Luxen from the 2nd Circle of Hell

    ***********************************************

    ''What was wrong with kissing a husband if he wanted to trace her lips with his?'' Luxen thought darkly.

    Luxen could have sworn Luna had liked his kiss at some point, or was it his lustful magic doing the talking?

    When the dense fog cleared a little, Luxen nced down below, and his eye widened and did a double-take.

    He couldn''t believe what he saw.

    Luxen''s mouth fell open in shock.

    He had witnessed that the sturdy thick ice of the wide frozenke was gone.

    The effects of Luna''s Archdemon magic felt like a silent denotation of a bomb. ''

    She had massed an overflowing amount of energy as its immense frequency had spanned the arctic surroundings.

    Since they were near a frozen body of water, her Archdemon magic rapidly heated the ice and was distributed with a denser media.

    It had absorbed more of that dark energy, creating more powerful shockwaves in his area.

    Luxen had noted that important observation in just a short amount of time.

    Luna hadpletely submerged into the blue water.

    Luxen had flown far away, and it wasn''t because Luxen had run away for safety from that unexpected explosion.

    Luna had tried essing the Archdemon magic alone without their Elder''s guidance, at it had backfired.

    Luxen had waited for a few moments for the fog topletely clear out before he descended slowly just in case there was an ancient demon under the deepke that would jump on him and bite a piece of his flesh.

    Low-level and middle-ss demons can acquire Archdemon magic and more strength.

    They could wreak havoc and do some serious damage if they had devoured even a tiny bit of tissue and drink their blood.

    That was why fledging and mature Archdemons were so careful.

    Fledging Archdemon like Luna shouldn''t be left alone and unsupervised if they didn''t learn to harness their magic andpleted training with one of the Elders.

    Archdemon magic was the most delicate and tricky to use, so the one who will ess it needed training and enough supervision.

    King Lucifer gave only a few people ess to this dangerous magic because it was so potent.

    It could destroy a universe if just a snap of a finger.

    Destruction wasn''t a necessary goal to an Archdemon King and the Princes of Hell.

    They only wanted to own arger domain, invading territories and Kingdoms with their power and ultimately defeat God and his Angels, ruling the entire Realm and gaining that notoriety as the strongest supernatural race that ever existed.

    Nobody knew that Luxen and his Archdemon family had craved so much power because they didn''t have any, nor did they had the power to control the other Realms in the current state.

    They were stuck ruling in Hell.

    Hell might have seven circles ruled by each of the Archdemon Princes, but it gets boring when you were stuck dealing with fewer options when it came to fucking females.

    Not all female Archdemons and demons were beautiful.

    It got boring sometimes, so Luxen had craved that variety that the other Realms could amodate.

    Unfortunately, they didn''t have the power to cross dimensions and open portals to the other Realms.

    They could only enter a realm when someone stupid and powerful enough had summoned them from Hell, striking a bargain in exchange for something that might benefit the demons more.

    Sometimes, a weak soul can have the ability to summon them, but they were easy to break down and manipte.

    Needless to say, their body was easy to be taken over.

    Archdemons could possess weak bodies for less than a minute, and they perish.

    Possessing weak bodies from other Realms wasn''t a fun activity and aplete waste of time.

    Hence, an Archdemon needed to be summoned first and depend on their conjurer''s ability before they could begin with their ns.

    That''s when the trickery, deceit, and maniption came in.

    The ''conjurer'' usually believed that an Archdemon had bestowed their power on them, but in fact, it was the Archdemons who had done the bidding.

    Archdemons could only persuade and use their maniption tactics to gain power over the conjurer, and that was a secret not everyone who wasn''t a demon was privy to.

    That was why Luna was picked by King Lucifer as the portal creator because she had existed in between worlds��as a Vampire and an Archdemon at the same time.

    Nobody, not even the strongest Archdemon King, had the power to conjure portals to other dimensions by sheer power.

    Not even the Archdemon of Envy who had prided herself as an Ancient High Priestess.

    Lilith had unwitting sold her soul to Ravin, the Archdemon of Gluttony, the first time she had summoned him.

    By binding Ravin''s soul to the Vampire King forever, Lilith figured out that she was thest sacrifice, which led to her death.

    At the first meeting, the ''conjurer'' had a little leverage than the ''summoned.''

    Still,ter, once the ''summoned'' had taken root in their mind, body, and soul through the contract, they will start to slowly steal the ''conjurer''s life force'' like a parasite, cursing them and their descendants until the seventh generation.

    Luna should count herself lucky that Satan had agreed to train her under his tutge without any spoken bargains... but what did she do now?

    She had ruined his Uncle''s reputation when she was officially his student.

    Honestly, Luxen wouldn''t be shocked if his Uncle woulde running to fix this chaos.

    Rubbing the back of his neck in regret that his innocent kiss to his future Archdemon bride had resorted to this, he peered carefully into the water''s surface.

    Luxen didn''t know if Luna could swim but it was obvious that she didn''t.

    She hadn''t shown up and had broken into the surface of the water as he waited.

    Speaking of the Devil, Luxen nced up and saw the upper-ss demon soldiers of his Uncle had descended from the green-purple skies lit by the Northern Lights.

 Chapter 221 - Angel Blade Or Blood Mate

    <h4>Chapter 221 - Angel de Or Blood Mate</h4>

    **********************************************

    The Archdemon of Lust

    Prince Luxen from the 2nd Circle of Hell

    ***********************************************

    Luna wouldn''t perish by drowning but mayhap, being torn from limb to limb and her organs being eaten might do.

    The Arcticke had been frozen since the beginning of time.

    This was the first time that it had melted.

    Luxen had no idea whatid underneath.

    He still hadn''t found Luna anywhere.

    Luxen had been amazed at the Aurora Borealis before this happened, but at the present moment, he couldn''t stand the sight of it as he nced up to witness Uncle Satan''s henchmen arriving at the crime scene.

    It was as if the dancing lights had mocked him.

    He would never be able to forget this wonderful event.

    These high-level demons, which also acted as Satan''s henchmen, didn''t look that frightening.

    They had rhinoceros for a head,rge fat asses, and normal feet.

    He sighed as he bit his cheek in annoyance.

    Luxen had many problems to deal with, and he didn''t know where to start first.

    He knew they wereing for Luna.

    They would present her to his uncle for infinite hours of torture as a punishment/training.

    Uncle Satan was a ruthless Archdemon headmaster, but many fledging Arch demons-in-training would be honored to be under him�� not literally for male demons, though.

    A lot of females in Satan''s school of training to be an Archdemon slept with his uncle to acquire more power and gain the advantage, but Luxen and Ravin would never let Luna do that.

    Luxen never really minded sharing other women, but Luna was an exception.

    He will never share Luna with other male Archdemons that weren''t blood bonded to her.

    Luxen would tolerate Ravin as long as they can spend their time with their wife fair and square.

    He had no problem with that.

    Luna can y hard to get all she wanted, but someday she will get used to him and yield to the strength of her lust, especially if he was near.

    Luna would give up trying to be free from them.

    She wouldn''t desire to get out of Hell.

    Soon, she would forget that she was a Queen of a Vampire King.

    Luxen might require Sloth''s assistance when it came to wiping her memories for a reasonable price.

    +++

    He had warned Luna not to use Archdemon magic beforehand.

    Luna had reasoned out that she didn''t even know how to ess them, so Luxen had thought she was going to be safe.

    Luxen even went as far as smuggling angel de when it was against thew.

    If one of the Henchmen found the angel de in the iceke before Luxen, then they would use it to their own advantage to kill a demon with a tiny prick and fatally hurt them.

    They would even gain more power by just mere possession.

    How much more if they can actually wield it?

    There were no honest demons��none in Hell��so the henchmen would never give them back to their Archdemon masters.

    Henchmen can be loyal to a fault, but when it came to acquiring power?

    Not so much.

    Luxen settled one hand on his hip while the other one massaged his temple.

    His thick silver brows knitted together, deep in thought.

    One, he needed to save Luna''s Archdemon flesh before she got eaten by power-hungry low-level demons.

    Second, he had to deal with Uncle Satan''s henchmen��who also acted asw and magic enforcement in Hell.

    Soon enough, they would soon swim into the frozenke after inspecting the whole area for ancient demons sleeping underneath.

    The henchmen would capture Luna for breaking Hell''s Laws and take her to Uncle Satan for custody, preparing her for a series of severe punishments.

    Luna would be taken to the Grand Torturer, and Luxen wasn''t sure if he could help Luna get away with it.

    Third, Luxen had to find the rare Angel de he had thrown away stupidly when he kissed Luna.

    It had probably sunk underwater by now.

    Uncle Satan was known for being reasonable, stubborn, and, most of all, paranoid.

    Hell!

    If one of Satan''s henchmen found out that he had sessfully seduced an angel and smuggled a dangerous de from the Realm of the Heavens, his uncle would use him of treason who nned on killing his entire family and take over his father as the King.

    As Luxen pped his damaged Archdemon wings slower until his shoes had touched the water, he remembered what Luna had suggested to him before about overthrowing Lucifer.

    He answered he wasn''t interested.

    If he didn''t y his cards right, Luxen would fall right into that fiction-turned-reality kind of narrative.

    He shouldn''t have kissed her.

    Luxen chose the angel de.

    Frowning at his stupid decision, Luxen plummeted down the icyke, and the freezing temperature had made him hiss.

    Baphomet!

    Luxen absolutely hated being wet for no reason with his full clothes on.

    He would have liked being wet if it was his dick and without clothes, preferably with sweating, moaning woman in his bed.

    ''Not like this!''

    ''Why was he dipping himself in this damned frozenke when his Archdemon wings weren''t built for swimming?'' He nced back down at the source of his irritation. ''Luna would pay for this with her body!''

    When he looked up, Camio, who was Satan''s Henchmen leader, had dived down from the sky with his head face first, leaving his fellow Henchmen behind him.

    Camio''s clenched jaw and furrowed brows showed a determination to interrogate Luxen, and he knew that the leader was headed to him.

    He was the best leader out of all Satan''s legions in the sense that he went to someone who had a higher rank than him--a prince, nheless--before doing his job as if he was asking permission.

    Unfortunately, Camio was also the one who was hard to bribe and couldn''t be manipted.

    Well, time to get the angel de while Luxen let Camio search for Luna.

    By the time Luxen caught the angel de, Camio would have Luna in his hands above the water, waiting for the henchman.

    After that Luxen would snatch her away from him.

    Luxen smirked, ''Now this is called catching two birds with one stone.''

 Chapter 222 - How Annoying!

    <h4>Chapter 222 - How Annoying!</h4>

    **********************************************

    The Archdemon of Lust

    Prince Luxen from the 2nd Circle of Hell

    **********************************************

    Luxen stopped pping his Archdemon wings in the air andpletely submerged himself into the water.

    Thest thing he saw above the surface was Camio''s nted eyes widening while his mouth opened in shock.

    It wasical how Camio had extended his hand as if to help Luxen from drowning.

    There was a strong ssh as he dove into theke.

    Water had enveloped his body, and Luxen had never been so annoyed.

    As his lips pressed into a white sh, Luxen ced his hand on his cor before he removed his robes and ripped his shirt off to make his heavy winged body seemed lighter.

    Luxen grimaced.

    The more he stayed in the water, the more the hole on his Arcdemon wing throbbed.

    He heard loud sshes in quick sessions.

    Luxen realized the rest of the henchmen had dipped into the water with him.

    He had to find the angel de quick before they did.

    It was ten against one.

    Naturally, He wasn''t a good swimmer because Luxen had been used to flying to short distances.

    If it were from Kingdom to Kingdom or visiting that night club and bar at the Underworld, named ''Ouroboros,'' he would use his prized animals, and monsters Sloth had tamed for the sole purpose of transportation.

    The Archdemon of Sloth was an expert in training these pets despite theziness.

    ''Ouroboros'' was a nightclub owned by Hades where creatures from Hell and the Underworld hang out.

    Angels from the First Heaven was the lowest one from the ranks.

    It was a just a stepyer closer to the Underworld where the fallen angels and Nephilims��half angels and half-demons��reside.

    The night club had settled at the horizontal boundary between the Underworld and Hell, and angels from first heavens were rampant.

    Angels in midheaven can also sneak inside ''Ouroboros''.

    Luxen had smuggled an angel de from an adventurous angel from the Fourth Heaven.

    Some angels on the higher levels of heaven visited the club when they had business to investigate demons, but it was rare.

    They were on different Realms but they existed on the same ne.

    When it came to depth, Hell was leveled to Tartarus.

    Holding his breath, Luxen bit his cheek in frustration.

    Luxen must be far away from Camio as soon as possible.

    Closing his eyes, Luxen paused in the middle of his dive to focus his mind on the angelic runes marked on the angel de with his senses so that he would be able to find them faster.

    He had easily found the angel de despite howrge and deep the frozenke was.

    The First-made Archdemons from Hell had an inert capability to detect weapons used by angels as a survival mechanism so that they knew whom to avoid.

    The First-made had passed their angel magic-detecting ability to the pureblood Archdemons born under the royal family.

    Luxen had used this knowledge to his advantage.

    When he felt which direction the angel de had dropped off to, Luxen opened his eyes and quickly swam towards it without waiting for Camio to figure out what he had been up to.

    Luxen looked over his shoulder and frowned at the henchman who was still stalking him with a single-minded focus.

    Despite his sore wings, Luxen swam faster to reach further depths, but Camio was still in his trail.

    How fucking annoying!

    ''Why was the henchman so determined to talk to him and refused to leave him alone?'' Luxen berated. ''Did the henchman have a crush on him? What if he found out that he was looking for the angel de? ''

    Luxen had turned his body to face Satan''s henchman with narrowed eyes.

    He opened his mouth to tell him off.

    He was about to confront the man for his behavior, but he forgot that he was still underwater.

    Luxen gasped, and bubbles came out of his nose and lips and he abruptly closed them.

    He lifted both of his hands and leveled them to his chest, palms out.

    If Camio didn''t get the hint, Luxen would probably kill him before finding the angel de.

    Camio was supposed to be chasing after Luna!

    She was supposed to be their captive, and they weren''t doing their job saving her.

    Finally, the leader of the henchman got the hint.

    Camio''s brows furrowed before cing a hand over his chest and left him alone to find the angel de.

    The henchman should save Luna fast.

    Luxen bit his lip as he iled around.

    He was losing his oxygen as he swam deeper and further until he reached a particr huge rock formation underneath the frozenke.

    Luxen could feel the power of the angelic runes around this spot.

    Luxen wasn''t wrong.

    He saw something glistened at the corner of his eye, and that was when he found it.

    The angel de was stuck between a red coral with white spots (or perhaps, they were eyes) and therge boulder.

    The moment Luxen went closer to the red coral, he swept his long silver hair covering his forehead and out of his eyes before he stretched his hand and reached for the handle.

    The tip of the de was stuck in a small white cavity and the moment Luxen pulled it out, a ck webbed hand shot out and abruptly grabbed his hand.

    ncing up, his eyes widened with shock when his eyes met the creature.

    Alert, Luxen pulled his hand right away when the thing moved towards him.

    It attempted to chomp on his fingers.

    The angel de fell from his clutches.

    His nails elongated in anger as a preparation for tearing these monsters apart.

    Luxen couldn''t afford to be distracted by this ugly creature.

    He saw shadows in his peripheral vision.

    The ck ugly creature had called out its squad with long flowing hairs as they swam with him in unison.

    Luxen didn''t expect that this frozenke had been infested with demon sirens.

 Chapter 223 - Camio, The Henchman

    <h4>Chapter 223 - Camio, The Henchman</h4>

    **********************************************

    The Archdemon of Lust

    Prince Luxen from the 2nd Circle of Hell

    **********************************************

    Luxen immediately nced to the spot where the angel de had dropped and dove towards it.

    He felt cold, sticky bumps of webbed hands wrap around his ankles, distracting him.

    He had regretted taking a peek from his left to his right.

    Luxen was grateful of the fact that, even he wasn''t a water demon per se��he had Archdemon wings and not fins��his torso, arms, legs and feet were coordinated enough, which enabled him to dive fast.

    Some of these shadow demonic mermaids swam ahead of him.

    He was practically surrounded.

    Luxen flinched when he felt something bit his lower leg with sharp teeth, piercing him and drawing blood.

    Baphomet!

    Luxen could smell the scent of his blood before it sewed itself shut.

    The demonic sirens trashed about as if they had been electrified, snarling like crazy when they scented the aroma.

    These low��level demons can gain more power if they had eaten an Archdemon''s flesh because it would provide enough strength to level up as a demon and climb into the ranks.

    Why couldn''t he hear them sing in unison?

    Baphomet!

    It can only mean that they had already acquired its target.

    The demonic sirens had their hands on Luna, preparing her to be their food and share her limbs.

    "LUNA!" In his mind, Luxen screamed with all his might, praying that Luna could hear her now that they weren''t Realms apart.

    He hoped that the blood bond between them would work when it came to telepathicmunication.

    Luna should never sleep, or she would die from the hands of these demonic sirens.

    An Archdemon might be an immortal who can''t regenerate but that someone couldn''t pretty much do anything if eaten alive.

    ****

    When he reached the top edge of the lower rock formations where the angel de was stuck, it wasn''t long before Luxen and the demonic sirens fought for control over it.

    Luxen was positive that these''low-level demons'' had equated to ''low-level brains'' because some of the demon sirens were stupid enough to hold the tip of the de as they grappled for the angel de.

    It wouldn''t take a genius to know what happened next.

    The demonic sirens had expired on the spot, turning to specks of ck dust as they dissolved into the frozenke.

    Luxen had the angel de in his possession and he waved it carelessly in front of their ugly faces like it was his magic wand.

    He could sense the fear in the demonic sirens'' obsidian eyes as they halted, regarding him with paranoia.

    They safely positioned themselves at a non-attacking physical distance, observing his next move.

    Luxen and the demonic sirens stared at each other.

    Well, Luxen hadn''t even attacked them yet.

    The demonic sirens couldn''t even decipher that Luxen was an Archdemon Prince and they need to recognise his authority.

    There was no evidence--not even acknowledgement and a sh of recognition in their eyes.

    It proved that these demonic sirens were simr to animals in that regard.

    They didn''t know him and don''t know how to respect power.

    These water demons hadn''t sworn allegiance.

    Hell, Luxen didn''t know if they belonged here in the Second Circles and he had no im to them.

    It was time to eliminate them out of his Kingdom if they don''t even know what respect was.

    He was so close to using Archdemon Magic and just sted these creatures who managed to piss him off, but it would be dangerous to do that.

    The effects of Luna''s uncontrolled Archdemon magic had a dangerous impact, melting the ice in just a blink of an eye.

    Luxen was cautious not to use any of his power while he was inside the body of water because he didn''t know the effects of the waves, the water currents and all the creatures thaty in it.

    He didn''t want to kill his mate identally even if Luna was determined to do the same to him.

    When one of the sirens opened their mouth to sing, Luxen swam closer and striked them with Luna''s angel de, not allowing himself even to hear a single note.

    It was time to nip the bud right away while it was still small.

    Despite a hole in his wing, Luxen had killed demonic sirens around him with a single blow.

    As he held the remaining oxygen in his lungs, Luxen attempted to ce the angel de in a---

    He suddenly remembered that he didn''t have a leather sheath strapped around his waist.

    As Luxen crouched down to reach the fabric of his pants, he tore arge piece of cloth on his lower leg and wrapped it tightly around the de and tied the ends together,pletely covering the angel runes so that he wouldn''t get hurt.

    He secured it at the waistband of his pants.

    It was a wrong ce to hide it because the cloth mighte loose and it might stab his upper thigh and kill him.

    He would still be cautious, though.

    It was a risk he was willing to take before Camio could see the de and spread rumors about overthrowing Lucifer.

    Luxen heard another vibration of a siren hymn being sung from afar.

    It hadn''t affected him that much initially, butter, his body had started to rx in the deep waters of theke.

    A few minutester, the siren song had stopped and there was aplete silence.

    Luxen shook his head to get out of the hypnosis and awakened his sleeping limbs.

    It was dangerous how he didn''t notice that his arms and legs were numb.

    Almost running out of air, Luxen had swum back to the surface at the speed of light.

    He had paused midway when something caught his attention.

    Camio had his Domina in his arms.

    They hurriedly came up above the surface while his fellow henchmen followed closely behind the two of them.

    Clenching his fists, Luxen was annoyed at how the leader had hit Luna''s face with his rhino horn as he sniffed her.

 Chapter 224 - Insolent Bastard

    <h4>Chapter 224 - Insolent Bastard</h4>

    **********************************************

    The Archdemon of Lust

    Prince Luxen from the 2nd Circle of Hell

    ***********************************************

    Clenching his fists, Luxen was annoyed at how the leader had hit Luna''s face with his rhino horn as he sniffed her then he lost sight of her as Camio broke through the surface.

    "Luna." His Domina''s name was the first thing Luxen had uttered the moment he had his head above the water.

    He coughed, spitting the freshwater that had went inside his nose and throat.

    Shaking his head as he wiped his face to clear the water out of his silver eyshes, Luxen blinked rapidly as he turned his head from left to right in concern, searching for Luna.

    Unease was a worm eating into the left side of his brain when he couldn''t find where she was.

    Luxen peered behind his shoulder and breathed a sigh of relief when he found his Domina.

    Luna''s form floated beneath a perfect full moon, unconscious as the wet purple dress clung unto her skin.

    Her silver hair stuck unto her forehead and her flushed cheeks.

    Luna''s silver eyshes appeared longer as the dewdrops hang unto them.

    Her pink lips were parted, but she wasn''t breathing.

    Luxen ran a jerky hand through his wet hair and bit his lip.

    Ady couldn''t be that beautiful especially when she had just drowned earlier--an almost victim of a demonic siren.

    Luxen might be selfish as he had gone for the angel de at first, but this woman in another man''s arms had evoked instinctive protectiveness in him.

    He made a slight growl in his throat with his arms outstretched in a silent demand.

    Luxen had expected the leader of Satan''s henchmen to swim towards Luxen and hand her over.

    Hemanded, "Give me back, my wife, Camio."

    Luxen didn''t appreciate that another man��even if it had a rhinoceros head and a big butt--had his dirty hands sullied on his pale Domina''s skin.

    The bastard had acted like he hadn''t seen Luxen.

    Camio only had eyes for Luna as he shamelessly shoved her hair out of her eyes to stare at her face up close.

    ''What a great pretender!'' Luxen brought his open arms to cross over his chest, ring at the henchman.

    Teeth clenching, Luxen tightened his fists in jealousy, but he still tried to y it cool.

    The henchman had clutched her shoulders and leered at her. "So, Luna is the name of this pretty Archdemon."

    There was a burning sensation in his chest as Luxen sneered, "That is my wife in your arms, Camio, so you better let her go before I kill you."

    Luxen needed to snatch her from Camio''s arms.

    Camio had wrapped one arm around her waist while the other one clutched her bare shoulders.

    He swore Luxen could even see the marks of Camio''s ws.

    He had a feeling that the leader of Uncle Satan''s henchmen was quite taken with his wife.

    "This must be a new Archdemon." Camio had caressed the bright demon runes tattooed on Luna''s pale skin. "She is pretty, but that wouldn''t make her an exception from her punishment."

    Luna might be built differently because she was a vampire, but the marks on her had proven that she was one of their own��still a full Archdemon.

    He stared at Luxen and gave him a grim smile, "Thedy had broken Satan''s Laws for the fledgelings."

    A sh of anger.

    Green spots of jealousy had filled his vision as Luxen paddled to the group of henchmen.

    His muscles had turned rigid as if he was a cobra preparing to strike, feigning calm.

    "She is a wife of mine and Ravin''s." Luxen scrutinized the leader before staring at Camio, dead-in the eye, his face impassive despite his fatal warning. "If you take her away, you will make an Archdemon Prince your enemy."

    "Then if you wouldn''t let me, you are making your Uncle your enemy. You know the rules, Your Highness." Camio said in a loud voice as if he believed that the louder the sound he made, the more believable and authoritative.

    That wasn''t always the case.

    He spoke further, "Master Satan had the highest seat of power on authority when it came to fledging Archdemons. That is why our group is created, and that is to enforce thew."

    Luxen had heard this line so many times from Camio when he dealt with the chaos a new Archdemon had created.

    It had sounded t and emotionless as if he had recited a memorized line like a broken record.

    Luxen had found the horrific expressions of the newbies amusing every time Camio broke the news before but now, not so much when it was his Domina at the receiving end.

    Not in this situation where Luna''s safety was on the line.

    Luxen was a royal Archdemon who wasn''t in his element.

    He had a hole in his wing but if Camio wanted to test him--

    He loosened his shoulders to lull the leader in a false sense of meek resignation.

    "You know how easy it is for me to kill all the members of your group, Camio." Giving each of the henchmen his innocent smile, Luxen looked over at the group with the epitome of calm.

    Camio mocked, "Not when you have a broken wing."

    Luxen had struck without warning.

    His fingernails shot into talons in a millisecond before he impaled the henchman''s shoulder from the front to the back,pletely detaching his arm.

    Luxen gripped the detached arm and threw it to his fellow henchmen behind him, offering them his flesh.

    For food.

    It was their chance to get stronger.

    Camio was powerful than a high-level demon that was why Satan chose him.

    Camio''srades didn''t hesitate to wrestle over Camio''s flesh and bite them simr to how piranhas behaved when somebody dropped a piece of meat in an aquarium, demons as they all were.

    Camio''s full-body tremored and his dark, terrified eyes protruded without blinking.

    Sweat umted on his forehead, determined not to make a sound.

 Chapter 225 - Chiropractor

    <h4>Chapter 225 - Chiropractor</h4>

    **********************************************

    The Archdemon of Lust

    Prince Luxen from the 2nd Circle of Hell

    ***********************************************

    Luxen had fought the urge to give Camio a round of apuse for he didn''t scream nor did he react.

    The henchman was forced to let Luna go.

    The leader must be a loyal client of Satan''s Grand Torturer when he trained under him before he acquired his position.

    Camio knew he was asking for it so he epted his punishment in gracious resignation.

    Luxen raised an eyebrow at this disy of mockery and insolence.

    The bastard had acted like he wasn''t affected at all.

    "That didn''t hurt you at all, Camio, right?" Luxen cocked his head at Camio and he straightened his spine, his posture rigid in preparation for his next attack.

    "You weren''t screaming." Luxen pouted as he shrugged with nonchnce. "I want you to scream when I gouge your eyes with these ws."

    He mmed Camio''s jaw so violently which sent his rhinoceros head had turned to a twisted angle of almost a hundred-and-eighty.

    Choking out a cough and a gasp, blood flowed on the corner of his lips and small ears.

    There was a collective gasp from the henchmen that made Luxen smirk in satisfaction.

    He didn''t want to kill the leader at all or maim him until he was unconscious.

    Camio needed to suffer, with his eyes wide open.

    Luxen had set an example with Camio and his fellow minions had stared at him with bulging eyes, without blinking.

    Horror was evident on their rhinoceros faces.

    Luxen cackled before he glided to the leader with elegant arm strokes.

    When he reached them, Luxen carefully seized Luna''s form from him with care.

    Camio let her go with his eyes downcast.

    Luxen was d he hurt Camio''s pride and put him in ce.

    The demon was old enough not to mess with an Archdemon Prince.

    He needed his ego nipped in the bud from time to time.

    These henchmen probably thought that he was harmless as if he was a frog they could stomp on.

    Well, this ''frog'' was a Certified Archdemon Prince.

    The power as the leader of Satan''s henchmen must have gotten into Camio''s ego that he had forgotten that he was an Archdemon Prince that he could mock if he wanted to just because his Master had the highest authority.

    After this incident, Camio would think twice before mocking him.

    It would have been so easy to kill the leader of Satan''s Henchmen but he didn''t want to deal with the repercussions.

    They were childhood friends at some point and Camio had been in this line of work for a long time.

    He took his job seriously but he had a particr weakness when it came to women.

    Of course, Luxen would be questioned and brought to trial if he killed Camio because in his Uncle''s eyes, no one was above thews of Hell (which was him because Satan had insisted that he is thew) or he was toozy to train someone to rece Camio in his job.

    He had the sole task to keep powerful Archdemons and the rest in Satan''s line.

    Perhaps, it was partly Luxen''s fault that he was treated like this by this egoistic henchman.

    Luxen had made his reputation so bad in Hell that a lot of high-level demons that were lower than him in ranks had underestimated him.

    Perhaps, humble bragging wouldn''t work in Hell because they would believe bullshit right away without fact-checking.

    He had established his reputation of ''A Prince who wasn''t a Fighter but A Lover''.

    They know of his sexual conquests from all over the Realms of Heaven and Hell without their knowledge of the curse Aphrodite had inflicted on him.

    Every demon in Hell had thought it was his preference as a ''Serial Fucker'' who never had sex with the same woman twice, thinking that was all he was.

    That was a mistake.

    Luxen''s sexual partners weren''t secretive about this either since they tell every person they meet, most especially at the Night Club ''Ouroboros''.

    There was never a day or night where he wasn''t a topic of the naughty and sexually charged conversations.

    It was his wish to keep his image that way but some arrogant bastards like Camio made him wish that it wouldn''te to this point where he had to prove what he was capable of and what he was an expert at-- destroying every creature he met.

    There was no hint of rebellion and mockery in the leader''s eyes.

    The leader''s response to his warning was absolute stillness.

    He kept his head down in submission, staring hard into the water and not meeting Luxen''s cold, hard gaze.

    "You were lucky I didn''t kill you, Camio, but if you do one wrong move that set me off��" Luxen had trailed off leaving the rest up to the leader''s imagination.

    Camio waited for his head and jaw to heal enough but it didn''te back to normal.

    "I apologize, Your Highness," Camio spoke despite his turned head was facing at the back.

    The leader had bowed at hisrades behind him because of his broken neck.

    He added further and his cracked voice was filled with remorse, "I will not dare to do such an abominable thing again."

    When Camio realized that it was the wrong direction, he moved his entire body slightly so that his turned head would face Luxen while his front faced hisrades behind him.

    It was a twisted angle in a literal sense.

    He could surely find a way to heal his injuries��especially those that involved little blood.

    Camio would heal quickly if he had the courage to bear the pain of twisting his head to the front and fix it before it can be permanent.

    Luxen smirked.

    Camio will need the best chiropractor in Hell.

    Demons can hold a grudge for a long time and they would do anything to avenge their tattered pride.

    Luxen will let him try until he perished.

 Chapter 226 - Light Me Up

    <h4>Chapter 226 - Light Me Up</h4>

    **********************************************

    The Archdemon of Lust

    Prince Luxen from the 2nd Circle of Hell

    ***********************************************

    It was Camio''s ultimate humiliation in front of his fellow henchmen as the leader of Satan''sw enforcement.

    Luxen regarded him with a sneer before he moved his gaze to his Domina who had floated away from Camio''s one arm as if she was a dead body.

    Luna was still alive and safe, and that''s all that matters.

    He didn''t have to fight and force the leader to relinquish his Domina.

    Luxen had nodded his head in approval.

    The leader was smart enough not to take her back in his remaining arm to spite him, or Luxen would have no choice but to strike his other arm again and feed them to his fellow acolytes.

    Luxen stretched his arms and waded in his Domina''s direction.

    Before he could settle his arms around her upper back and behind her legs to carry her out of theke and fly them back into the sled despite the hole in Luxen''s Archdemon wings, Luna''s whole body glowed into yellow, white and orange bursts of light like she had been set on fire.

    They watched Luna float in the water with her eyes closed and her arms stretched which were levelled to her shoulders.

    The light was so strong and bright that everyone in theke covered their eyes to block the hurting resing from her lifeless form, illuminating the whole vicinity.

    The orange mes hadpletely covered her like a cocoon of the butterfly and the rest of them with bated breaths.

    Someone from far behind murmured under his breath as he peered at her when the ring lights dulled.

    Camio''s second-inmand was courageous enough to voice out despite the debacle with their leader. "What is happening to thedy, Your Highness?"

    "My question exactly," Luxen said, peevish.

    He had nned to be patient with his Domina for a couple of weeks now, seducing her slowly.

    Luxen had been patient enough, but he couldn''t help but steal a kiss.

    Luxen was no longer in the mood for surprises in just a single night in just a span of a few hours.

    First, it was the Archdemon magic Luna had essed even if she was forbidden to.

    Second, the entire frozenke had returned to its original state.

    Third, Luxen almost lost the angel de.

    Fourth, He had to deal with Uncle Satan''s Henchman.

    Camio''s wrong decision might be to insult him, but that wouldn''t stop the bastard from taking Luna away.

    Fifth, now, what?

    Luxen had watched Luna faithfully like he was her guardian while she transitioned into an Archdemon.

    Luna didn''t know how fierce and loyal Luxen had taken that job as her husband or so he thought.

    Luna might not understand where he wasing from.

    Luxen was starting to fear that because, in her eyes, he had let her down so many times.

    Did he leave her vulnerable?

    Did she really hate him when she didn''t want to be touched even while unconscious?

    Perhaps, was she pretending she was unconscious?

    Luxen suddenly had the urge to beat himself up.

    Was he stupid to pick the angel de before his Domina?

    He had chosen the angel de for her to keep her protected while she hadn''t trained yet to be a strong and mature Archdemon, but he didn''t actually think that she would use it on him.

    For what?

    Stab him with the angel de and kill him for kissing her?

    So, it just made sense that he threw it away for the meantime!

    Who would have thought that the thick ice would crack and melt in an instant, sending it underwater?

    Wincing, Luxen had no choice but to let go of Luna because the moment his skin had touched her body, the skin on his arms burned like he had attempted to carry a huge block of burning cinders.

    Luxen''s eyes had widened as his head moved in a slow, disbelieving shake when he saw that the mes had enclosed her in a protective cloak.

    He was an Archdemon from the Second Circle, but this situation had confused him.

    Despite living in the ice Kingdom, Luxen was impervious to Hellfire as far as he could remember.

    Well, if she was indeed unconscious, Luna had firmly put Luxen in his ce with this unusual mes wrapped around her body in protection against��

    There was another blinding light that they were forced to move farther away from Luna.

    It was the type of bright light which prated the pupils, and all you see is white.

    She was transforming to someone else Luxen hadn''t recognized before.

    As she stayed afloat on the water with her face turned up in the night without a care in the world, Luna''s Archdemon wings ruptured into mes behind her back, and it was a unique sight especially in freshwater.

    The mes on her wings were simr to a phoenix because of its eternal properties.

    Every time Luna manifested her magic outside of her, the demonic runes stood stark on her flesh like they had been carved out of dark ink, gold glitters and red swirls.

    Luxen''s Domina had the power to protect herself.

    Did she even need him at this point?

    The mes surrounding her had dwindled in itsst dying embers.

    Now, the demonic runes Ravin had ced on Luna''s body slowly faded into her skin as they prated her pores, reced by the markings Luxen hadn''t recognized.

    They grew like vines of unknown symbols glowing in the dark as they mostly etched around her neck, her jaw, high around her cheekbones and the sides of her face.

    They were carved in a specific ink that can only be found in angel des to make it light up.

    The Northern Lights had disappeared, reced by a full blue moon.

    Luxen also sensed that theke''s water tides had significantly increased as they adjusted to the moon''s pull.

    He had theorized that this was also one reason why Luna''s Archdemon magic had manifested so quickly without proper training.

    Luxen had no idea, but perhaps, Luna had served a goddess before to acquire this power.

 Chapter 227 - Armor Of God

    <h4>Chapter 227 - Armor Of God</h4>

    *********************************************

    The Archdemon of Lust

    Prince Luxen from the 2nd Circle of Hell

    ***********************************************

    Snow had stopped falling on their heads and the Northern Lights ceased its unique dance.

    The dark blue skies were clearer.

    More smattering of stars and constetions of various brightness showed up as if it was the Milky Way Gxy.

    There was a roar in theke waters, and everyone who had stayed afloat in the water nced around in a panic, searching for where the sound hade from.

    The winds became stronger, generating massive currents in the surface of theke.

    Hair lifted in Luxen''s nape and arms.

    He felt like something was about to get down.

    Luxen wasn''t wrong.

    The deep bottom of theke shook hard.

    It felt like there was an earthquake.

    There was a tingling in Luxen''s limbs.

    The wave trains'' source had started from the centre where his unconscious Domina was headed as if the earthquake''s epicentre was an electromaic spot attracting her there.

    As their gazes darted from the unstable water to the surroundings, Luxen and the rest followed her carefully, remaining a healthy distance just in case something happened.

    There was another massive explosion underneath theke, creating stronger waves.

    The water suddenly rose, and the waves were much stronger this time.

    "We should remove ourselves from the water." Camio had dered as he nced around in rm, wading his remaining arm into the water. "It is treacherous."

    Like Luxen, Camio definitely knew something was up.

    There was another powerful shock wave of energy Luxen had felt in his body.

    He made an attempt to grab Luna, but something had risen above the surface of the water and Luxen was shoved away by a humungous lotus-like creature.

    Luxen gasped in shock as he narrowed his eyes at the lotus flower, swimming farther away from it.

    "What is that, Your Highness?" Camio asked behind him, and Luxen casually looked behind his shoulder.

    Luxen''s nd voice was dripped with sarcasm. "If you turn your head a little, you can see that it is arge white lotus, Camio."

    The lotus bloom had openedpletely like it was the mouth of a monster that had swallowed Luna whole out-of-the-blue.

    Nobody even knew where it came from.

    On the other hand, Luxen could also have likened therge lotus bloom into a womb who had taken Luna in like she was its child.

    This pristine white colour of the flower could never be found in any parts of Hell, and the brightness of its pallor was nothingpared to snow.

    It was the symbol of purity, grace, knowledge, faith and creation of the universe.

    There was only one thing that came to Luxen''s mind.

    He told the others in a steady, lower-pitched voice. "There was angel interference in the Second Circles of Hell."

    Hell''s gatekeepers weren''t doing their job properly!

    They were going to be punished soon.

    An Archangel had infiltrated his Ice Kingdom.

    Peering around the lotus which had eaten Luna alive, Luxen couldn''t see any visible enemy.

    The lotus bloom closed as if it was protecting its most priceless treasure.

    After a few seconds, something even stranger happened.

    The flower who had Luna levitated in the air.

    Streams of water from the life-sized petals overflowed into them, pouring fresh water over on top of their heads.

    They had to find the angel and kill it wherever he/she may be.

    ncing at each other with a curt nod, Luxen and the rest of Uncle Satan''s henchmen expanded their wings and flew upwards, circling the white lotus and checking for Heavenly intruders.

    Despite his other wing working double time because of its hole, Luxen crossed his arms as he caught Camio''s confusion across him while they inspected the flower.

    They hovered atop the lotus bloom which was closed to the centre in a tight lock.

    The only way they could check for angels was to pry it open.

    Keeping a safe distance as he evaluated its appearance, Luxen spected that the intruder could be inside the floret with Luna.

    He summoned his Archdemon Fork in his grip to tear the lotus apart, but when he gathered the strength to stab it, his weapon bounced so strongly--simr to aiming an arrow on a wall made of steel--and it dropped to the water in a ssh.

    The lotus flower glowed brightly for a second before it dulled--simr to a tail of a firefly.

    It was protected with heavy angel magic that a weapon of an Archdemon couldn''t prate it.

    He didn''t have to do anything for one of the henchmen had already caught it for him.

    Camio''s cohort who obtained Luxen''s weapon before the evil sirensid their hands on it held the powerful weapon in both of his hands and bowed.

    Luxen grabbed the Archdemon Fork from his hand, and this time, he concentrated enough energy letting it flow from his shoulders to his arms and his fingertips.

    Red electric sparks crackled in his biceps.

    Moving backwards to gain momentum, he drew his weapon and retracted it as far as he could before he catapulted the Archdemon fork to the huge white lotus.

    White bolts of lightning crackled around the flower, which could almost light up the entire area.

    Even if he aimed it at the gap of each petal, the Archdemon Fork Luxen had thrown did not puncture its seemingly delicate petals.

    L.uxen''s brows furrowed in suspicion.

    The white lotus was as strong as the Armor of God, whic was owned by Archangel Mikael.

    The Archdemon Fork didn''t work.

    It just proved that despite how powerful they were in influencing their conjurers tomit unspeakable crimes in exchange for their desires, Archdemons were powerless against one Archangel even in their own territory.

    How did this Archangel infiltrate the Kingdom?

    Oh well, at least they had a chance to kill the Archangel while he was here.

    One less Archangel in the Heavenly Realm��especially if it was the warrior Archangel��was one less of a problem.

    Luxen heard loud screeches and roars when he heard the resounding horn of the infernal trumpets.

 Chapter 228 - Apollyons Heart

    <h4>Chapter 228 - Apollyon''s Heart</h4>

    *********************************************

    The Archdemon of Lust

    Prince Luxen from the 2nd Circle of Hell

    ***********************************************

    Luxen? heard loud screeches and roars along with the resounding horn of the infernal trumpets.

    He nced up.

    The clear blue-grey skies were now tarnished by the shes of lightning, signalling the arrival of--

    Luxen saw his Satan had arrived at the scene along with Ravin followed by hundreds of legions from their Kingdom from a far distance.

    Ravin''s legion had ridden using their fiery griffins while his uncle and the rest of his henchmen rode their Cerberus.

    They drew their bowstrings and arrows and aimed fiery darts of Hellfire into the lotus flower.

    Luxen and the henchmen departed before they were caught in the line of fire before and got killed by one of their own.

    *********************

    The Empress Luna

    *********************

    Luna couldn''t move her body.

    She was one of those states where she couldn''t wake up and open her eyes, unconscious and trapped in her mind.

    Her hands tremble with the effort to lift a finger, but she couldn''t.

    She exhaled a breath, letting go of trying to force her soul to do something when it wasn''t ready.

    Luna let her limbs rx.

    This was the first time in a long while where she had felt something like this.

    Normally, when she was unconscious in the Realm of Hell, she would just ckout and nothing else and then she woke up into the new dawn, making new memories with a sight that would sore eyes to a vampire like her.

    She hated the sight of an Archdemon the first thing in the morning.

    It never failed to remind her every day of the man she had lost.

    A few minutester, Luna could see a tiny sliver of light from a waning crescent moon until it disappeared into the darkness, signalling into a new moon.

    The pitch-ckness brought by the new moon felt like as if it was a void absorbing all the light, and she found herself grasping at thest straws of that silver crescent.

    A sudden coldness hit her core when she sensed someone''s hand waving in front of her.

    She couldn''t see it, but she could make shadowy outlines moving... or was it her imagination?

    ''Was it Apollyon?'' Luna thought.

    Her mind must have filled in images where there weren''t any.

    Her awareness was trapped in a sleeping body.

    Heart beating faster in fear and anticipation, Luna could hear a high-pitched ringing in her ears.

    Luna wondered if she was back in her body at the Vampire Realm where her time in Hell as an Archdemon and meeting with them was nothing but a dream.

    She didn''t want it to be wishful thinking. Luna wanted to wake up in Apollyon''s arms and dere the good news to him face-to-face that they were having a baby whether he wanted it or not.

    Heat radiated in her chest.

    She was looking forward far into the future, and she didn''t care.

    Luna felt it deep in her gut that her husband would be ecstatic even if he might try to hide it first.

    He didn''t tell her anything about his past but based on how Apollyon had twisted beliefs about the world, about women, about himself and his family, especially to her mother whom he had refused to talk about, Apollyon was a broken child, and there were parts of him that hadn''t healed yet.

    She wasn''t going to do anything about it yet if her husband wasn''t ready.

    She would not force or control the healing of his husband''s heart.

    He would heal these dark emotions in his own pace and transmute it without her interference.

    Luna will respect her husband in that way while she showed her support by being with him but how can she show her support when she wasn''t---

    She stopped herself from assuming the worst.

    When scheming Archdemons surrounded one left, and right for weeks, Luna should have room to think positively about her situation, and that was the hope to return to the Vampire Realm.

    Luna would be back to her body and be with Apollyon soon.

    If she wouldn''t be back to her body right now despite the signs---

    Luna would probably die of mncholy and a lifetime of regret.

    She didn''t tell Apollyon enough how much she loved him.

    She had missed a lot of her chances to express how much she appreciated their time together, how fun it was to tease his husband and befortable around his presence.

    The precious memories had given her warmth in times of longing and anguish she felt as she obsessed every night how to get out of Hell.

    She came up with nothing and Sloth was right.

    There was nothing she could do.

    Luna could still feel Apollyon''s heart when she ced one palm over his chest while their fingers were intertwined, dancing at the balcony in a moonlit night.

    Every time they kissed, their sighs matched as their tongues danced, sending shivers down her spine.

    Luna was wrong that she could survive without her blood mate.

    It had been so long since she had heard the sound of Apollyon''s voice and if she could kill an Archdemon for it, then she wouldn''t hesitate.

    Looking back at her stupid actions in the past, Luna recalled how she had fought so hard for her freedom so stubbornly when she didn''t even need to because Apollyon was home.

    If his heart was a house, then Luna was home.

    As the Vampire King caressed his stomach protectively, there was no doubt that Apollyon would cry tears of joy if he found out about the baby because he secretly wanted it.

    Luna knew deep in her gut that he wanted an heir.

    He was just afraid and hesitant to have a family because he didn''t want his past��his rtionship with his own family--to interfere with their happiness.

    That scenario would probably make her cry because she had never seen her husband being emotional��archaic Vampire King and all that.

    Luna also wanted the baby because there was a part of Apollyon''s presence that would always be with her.

    She wasn''t alone in this battle.

 Chapter 229 - Dead End

    <h4>Chapter 229 - Dead End</h4>

    **********************

    The Empress Luna

    **********************

    She wasn''t alone in this battle.

    She let her mind wander into her fantasies and live there where she wouldn''t be disappointed with her current reality.

    Luna''s tears fell as she felt them leak into the corner of her eyes into her cheeks.

    Luna instinctively resisted and struggled even harder to escape��to prove a point that she was in control.

    She held on to her to the memories of Apollyon, hoping that she was back in her own body, but there was only one way to find out.

    Luna''s closed lids fluttered, and she could finally twitch her fingers s little bit.

    A white light showing in the background in the dark void of her mind, but it wasn''t clear.

    Luna could see dark scribbles as if a toddler had drawn it.

    She couldn''t make them out properly.

    It appeared like interconnected dak messy wires, sharp thorns, and long vines and entangled threads no one could separate.

    Chaos. Confusion.

    Hopelessness.

    The emotions it had evoked in her made her head spin, turning into a never-ending spiral.

    She felt like a fly caught in the spider, trapped and chained to its webs of lies and deceit.

    It was a force that stopped her from moving forward as nned.

    It is a thick, dense, upromising, and she had to fight her way through it.

    Her consciousness was trapped in a ck box, and it felt like she was fighting for life itself.

    It was a wall beyond all walls with every bramble, thorn and stoneArchdemons were controlling her fate like she was a puppet, throwing her off-course to the path she should take.

    They were interfering with her destiny like she was in a dead-end, and there was no way to get past this.

    Luna felt a hollowness in her chest, and she was close to giving up.

    The more she struggled and squirmed from the ties that bind her, the more it wouldn''t let go.

    It choked her by the neck, holding her arms and legs, keeping her captive.

    There was another tiny dot at the centre of her vision as it grew and grew into another ck hole.

    A slender hand shot out, stretching his fingers and reaching out, grabbing her face.

    The next scene shifted and showed her arge main entrance of something she couldn''t make out yet.

    She had broken free from the captivity of the darkness, and right now, she was standing at the majestic archway shaped like an enormous keyhole.

    She narrowed her eyes at it in suspicion.

    What was behind it feels so grand, heavenly and out of this world.

    Luna wondered where it would lead her.

    It must be a different Realm.

    The double doors were shut tightly, so she didn''t know what''s on the other side.

    She stepped forward and stared at the door knocker, which had the head of a lion.

    Lifting her hand to examine the round metal, she flinched when someone tapped her shoulder.

    When she turned around to face the stranger, Luna immediately covered her eyes with her arm because this creature was too ring to look at as if he was the sun itself.

    It was a man with a face she could never recognize because the light behind him was too bright like he wore some halo.

    Luna only knew that he wore a long-sleeved tunic and white robes.

    When she raised her head a little, she noticed the stranger had dark hair up to his shoulders and a goatee.

    He stretched his arm, and glorious blue mes lit up the sconces at each side of the entrance.

    "This is your dead-end, Archdemon."

    She stood in front of him in her purple dress and asked incredulously. "Dead end?"

    Clutching the fabric of her wet skirts, Luna narrowed her eyes and asked, "What?"

    Dead end?

    If this was a story, was this Luna''s final chapter?

    The impasse?

    Every one of Luna''s instincts had screamed in warning, but something silenced it.

    Feeling nauseous all of a sudden, Luna''s stomach hardened, and she doubled over.

    Hunching over as she choked down a sob, Luna''s whole body shook with violence, and she was powerless to stop it.

    Hands clenching into fists, she was forced to kneel into the ground and submit.

    She needed to get her shit together in the presence of this light being.

    Luna resisted his power as she rocked in her back and forth all the while, covering her ears with every nuance of his words.

    Noisy breathing.

    Bared teeth.

    Rivulets of cold sweat dripped in her forehead and upper back.

    The darkness of evil cannot stay in the presence of the light.

    Luna only wanted to flee with shame and remove herself in his presence.

    Will the angel kill her for what she had be?

    The stranger snapped his finger as if her trembling limbs and her anxious, hyperactive mind had been poured with a soothing balm.

    Luna sighed with relief.

    He had saved her from her topsy-turvy thoughts of almost insanity.

    He made her feel more present and see where she was headed.

    The man might have no wings behind him, but perhaps he was an angel-in-disguise.

    With both of her palms in the dirt, the stranger offered a hand.

    Luna nced up into a face that was unclear and unrecognizable, no matter how much she tried so hard to make out what he looked like.

    She couldn''t.

    The man might as well wear a mask if he wouldn''t show his image to her.

    Luna second-guessed touching hands with an angel but never mind.

    She will find it out.

    She felt a slight tingle in his fingertips as the stranger helped her stand.

    She considered it progress that she didn''t die on the spot.

    Luna''s eyebrows knitted in confusion.

    Why was she not disturbed by the angel''s presence anymore despite being an Archdemon?

    The angel let her go and ced his hands around his back.

    She decided to hear what the stranger had to say.

 Chapter 230 - The Highest God

    <h4>Chapter 230 - The Highest God</h4>

    *********************

    The Empress Luna

    *********************

    Luna nced downwards and focused at his shuffling footsteps on the ground so that her eyes wouldn''t get hurt by the res as the man stood in front of her.

    "The end you are going to face is very much the beginning."

    Luna may not see the man''s face, but his voice sounded stern.

    "This is where it started." He said cryptically.

    He was a stranger who spoke in riddles like the Archdemon of Sloth.

    It was thenguage of the gods and goddesses who had ancient wisdom and who had seen it all or so to speak.

    Having no dreams except ckouts, Luna ced her hands in front of her and pinched a part of her skin to see if this was a dream.

    This was all in her mind, but she felt the sting on the back of her hand.

    Shaking her head, Luna replied, "I don''t understand."

    The stranger shrugged with nonchnce as he replied in amusement. "No one will ever understand this."

    Luna didn''t have time for these inside jokes from the Universe she wasn''t privy to.

    "Wee this dead-end in front of you, and you will witness unimaginable wonders." The stranger stretched one arm and sped the metal bob of the door knocker with his fingers.

    He nced at her, and she kept her head down, "Do you ept this ending?"

    "I don''t��"

    He waited for several seconds, and he could feel the bright stranger''s gaze boring into the top of her head. "There are a lot of doors opening around you at this exact moment, but this must be the door you must walk through, Portal Creator--"

    Luna interrupted him like how he interrupted her. Her brows knitted in confusion, and she whispered in agitation, "Who are you?"

    "That isn''t important." It was a kind reprimand. "Do you trust me?"

    "You only have to answer me once, and we will never meet each other again." His words burrowed into her skull and dug in, and she covered her arms around her ears. "Is it a yes or a no?"

    Her fingers loosely sped on her purple dress. "I trust you, angel."

    "I''m not an angel, Luna."

    It sounded different when he uttered her name.

    The way he said it felt like he had immense power over her.

    She stepped backwards as she shifted her foot to foot in difort. "You know who I am."

    What did he know about her?

    She felt a vague sense of familiarity with him, but it''s not invasive.

    Luna didn''t feel safe when someone who wasn''t Apollyon would stare at her like he had known her entire being all too well.

    Despite being cold from almost drowning at ake, sweat ran down her back.

    ''Oh, my goddess!'' Luna remembered.

    What was she doing here?

    Was she dead?

    Was her flesh eaten alive by demonic sirens that''s why she was going to��Heaven?

    Will she be the First Archdemon soul who will pass through the Gates of Heaven?

    If Luna was ''dead-dead'' because she was supposed to be a vampire and an Archdemon at the same time, will she meet Apollyon here and live happily ever after?

    "Of course, I know you.? I created you." There was a real conviction in his voice that had zero room for doubts. "I am the omnipotent, omnibenevolent and omniscient God."

    Luna was about to curse under her breath, but she stopped for she was in front of a stranger who had called himself God.

    "I am the Universe." The stranger''s tone was strong, revealing the steel backbone of his deration as if he expected me to challenge him. "You have an important role to y in this chronicle."

    Luna''s soul chilled, feeling lightheaded.

    It seemed like her brain couldn''t wrap this strange concept around her head.

    Frowning, Luna snapped to attention.

    "What do you want from me? I am, unfortunately, an Archdemon. " Gritting her teeth, refusing to let the truth to slice her heart��refusing to admit that she didn''t belong to the Vampire Realm.

    Luna snapped, demanding the Highest God to answer her. "I beg you not to torment me!"

    In her mind, the Creator made her suffer this fate!

    "There is a difference between a full mature Archdemon and a fledging one," the Highest God replied as he shrugged and his white robes followed the graceful movement. "Fledging Archdemons didn''t necessarily be a full Archdemon."

    Luna''s mind ran a hundred thoughts per minute, thinking of the implications of his statement. "So there is a way not to be a full, mature Archdemon, turning me back to normal?"

    The Highest God answered a nonmittal hum.

    Luna added bitterly as she demanded, "Are you going to send me away?"

    "I still havepassion for you," He replied as he shuffled his footsteps.

    "You had the worst fate out of all creatures I have created." He waved a dismissive hand as he added further, "You don''t remember the past, but I will reward for your hard work."

    "I''m going to ask you once again." He asked in a quiet, gentle tone. "Do you ept this ending?"

    Shutting her lids tight to block her distracting halo, Luna focused on what she felt around the stranger.

    It gave her a sense of peace that she was inclined to take a deep satisfying breath.

    Luna felt a connection to life somehow just from his aura.

    For some unknown reason, it brought her to sudden tears.

    The Highest God created the Universe.

    He became the Universe.

    The Highest God had told her that she had an important role to y in this chronicle.

    When a protagonist reached the dead end, something riveting happened.

    Luna is the protagonist.

    There was a stubborn pause before Luna surrendered.

    "Yes."

    Grace arose inside of her as she walked through the open doorway one step at a time.

    The door began to open both inside and in the world.

    Luna stopped at the threshold.

    If she only stared straight in front of her, Luna could only see a pitch-ck void.

    When she nced down, she sucked in a quick breath and stilled.

 Chapter 231 - Thousand Eyes, Thousand Mouths

    <h4>Chapter 231 - Thousand Eyes, Thousand Mouths</h4>

    ********************

    The Empress Luna

    *********************

    When Luna nced down, she sucked in a breath and stilled.

    Luna had high hopes that the entr��e that God had led her back to the Vampire Realm or�� she would be d if she wouldn''t end up in the Vampire Realm as long as she wouldn''t go anywhere near Hell.

    The Highest God could drop her on the Fae Realm or the Dragon Realm for all she cared, and she could travel to her husband, Apollyon, by herself and walk on foot.

    Her toes dangled by the edge of the portal, gripping the side of therge doorway with her left hand as she clung unto her dear life.

    It was like she was hanging by a cliff.

    It was a good thing that there weren''t any strong winds around that might distract her and led her to fall into her death.

    Blinking rapidly, Luna saw the entire universe��outer space- and different worlds where stars,s and moons of different sizes, an extensive spectrum of colours in varying degrees of brightness and splendour moved freely in their invisible orbits without crashing into each other.

    She covered a hand over her mouth as her eyes widened like saucers.

    It was a pretty sight.

    The Northern Lights couldn''t evenpare to this attraction, pulling her in and telling her to jump.

    As her knees quivered in both excitement and fear, Luna took a step backwards.

    She was about to ask God, stalling and taking her time to postpone her passing.

    She hadn''t even looked over her shoulder yet when she felt someone''s barefoot connected with her back.

    Gasping, Luna iled her arms around to regain bnce, grabbing nothing but air.

    Her screams weren''t heard because the ck hole had absorbed them as she fell into the Universe.

    Luna couldn''t believe that God had the audacity to kick her behind.

    ++++

    Shutting her eyes tight, Luna braced for thending if there was.

    She could feel her brain slowing down during the vertical drop.

    There was no wind.

    She couldn''t use her Archdemon wings to propel her higher or lessen the crash''s impact because she wasn''t taught how.

    Her wings were pretty much ornamental at this point.

    There wasn''t a strong gravity, nor was she floating into this space.

    Anyway, the falling into the Universe didn''tst for more than a minute when she jerked awake from the visual hallucination in the blink of an eye.

    She nced around.

    Luna was imprisoned inside a transparent ss sphere without any opening.

    When she moved her hand and leg, Luna would send therge blue orb rolling.

    She knew at this point that the Creator was ying with her.

    She sighed with frustration.

    Why did she even trust that faceless stranger with a halo?

    Luna avoided stirring too much inside the globe and focused on what''s outside.

    Kneeling as he kept her hands and legs close in a crawl, Luna quickly registered that she was in a level surface because the orb didn''t move when she was still.

    The ss orb where she was trapped was inside another drawn circle.

    As she examined them the concentric circles painted with azure, lime, gold and orange in harmonious spirals, she figured out that it was a Sigil.

    This was the first time she had ever seen a Sigil symbol that was painted like this.

    The drawn circr Sigil was surrounded by human skulls carved out of crystals.

    This particr Sigil couldn''t be used by witches or demons.

    There was apelling intensity to its auric field which radiated raw, adulterated power that was otherworldly��something she hadn''te across before.

    Luna nced around, waiting for someone to appear and exin things to her because that was how it worked around here.

    Someone always appeared and walked her through this journey between Realms, jumping from world to world.

    She wasn''t a patient woman.

    "Greetings! Is anyone out there?" Luna drew in a breath and shouted, making sure she was heard despite trapped inside a ss bubble.

    Her impatience was reced by terror when something showed up slowly from the total darkness outside the rich and vivid Sigil which appeared like the shades of seawater and aquamarine.

    The monster had shaped like the truncated top of a sphere as it slowly rose, crackling with bright red energy at first.

    The creature was massive, and it his height was never ending.

    Hair lifted into her nape and arms as Luna watched it with wide eyes.

    It had thousands of wings, and his whole body consisted of tongues and eyes all zeroing unto her.

    She had never seen this creature before, nor had she experienced thousands of eyes judging her.

    Luna stilled.

    It felt like the horrific monster could count every strand of her silver hair with thoseser-like gazes, pinning her down, frozen in time.

    It was hard to maintain eye contact because she didn''t know where to look.

    Luna swallowed hard and cleared her throat in the silence that she could almost hear the pin-drop. "What is this ce?"

    "This is a ce of in-between��a ce where one transition between life and the next." The monster answered with its thousands on mouths echoing in these pitch-ck chambers. "This is a Realm through which souls pass."

    She covered her ears when all his mouths enunciated each word at the same time��some a millisecondter than the other mouths.

    Tilting her head back slightly to re at the massive creature, she realized this was the time where Luna wished she was deaf. "This Liminal Realm was an inherently mysterious ce where space and time are suspended, and the veil between this life and the next is thinned."

    Well, Luna had the urge to scream, but the utterance of the Liminal Realms caught her attention.

    She hadn''t heard of that Realm before.

    "What are you?" Luna felt like she had heard about this creature before.

    Hmm.

    A thousand eyes and a thousand mouths.

    Luna asked politely. "I assume you are an Archangel?"

 Chapter 232 - Angel Of Death

    <h4>Chapter 232 - Angel Of Death</h4>

    **********************

    The Empress Luna

    **********************

    "I assume you are an Archangel?" Luna wet her dry lips as she stared at the creature''s thousand mouths and their moving tongues as they speak.

    She cowered in fear with her elbows pressed into her side, making her body small as possible.

    Goddess!

    There were so many lips opening and closing.

    "And you are an Archdemon." He said without a doubt. "For some reason, I am considered a Fallen Angel, and we are almost cut from the same cloth except I work with the Creator." He answered in that same manner, and those sentences alone made Luna wanted to stab her ears.

    The monster''s appearance and his many voices could give his audience never-ending seizures.

    She pressed her lips in determination to ask the creature with questions. Luna needed answers.

    She gave strong eye contact even if she didn''t know where to look and said, "God sent me here."

    Luna waited for his reaction, and there was a long pause before he blinked.

    "Ah." The creature inclined his head in a curt nod. "I am in trouble, sort of."

    A thousand eyes looking away to its left before bringing his gaze back to her.

    "The Creator had led you to me, so it meant I hadn''t broken any Cosmic Laws yet and it still belonged to the boundary of my responsibility in this Universe." The Archangel nced pointedly at her, and she squirmed in difort. "I am also known as an Avenging Angel. I avenge those who had been wronged in their life."

    She winced.

    "I have been wronged and fucked over in my life ever since I had been driven out of my home," Luna replied bitterly, and it left an acrid film on her tongue. "I was living peacefully worshipping the Goddess Artemis."

    A long-winded ancient scroll with brown and yellowish stains faded with time and a tear here-and-there materialized in front of him, and he squinted at it for minutes, scanning if he was looking for something.

    Luna assumed he had found her name on his list before he waved a dismissive hand and it faded. "It is your destiny, Archdemon."

    So the Archangel could check her records and what she had been doing with her life the way a stalker can.

    Luna''s soul went cier at this realization, but as fast as the chills swept over her, the fear stopped.

    "No." Luna shook her head in denial. "The Creator wanted to see me suffer and fail many times, testing me and all that."

    She wanted to give herself a pat in the back to have said that with a straight face.

    Luna was stating a fact.

    "I''m not bitter about it because I know I''ll survive." She dered, "The Universe will owe me a lot on my next life."

    "Oh, the Universe will surely pay you back because you are here." The Archangel shrugged with nonchnce. "The Creator sent you here with his protection even if there was only one per cent chance you would emerge when I called you with the Bardo Sigil."

    Luna''s head snapped up. "The Bardo Sigil?"

    "The Bardo Sigil embodies the Liminal Realm where a soul''s death is judged before one''s next birth. You see visions that no longer exist and life not yet lived��a ce to forgive the unforgivable, to say the unsaid, to see the unseen, to love the unloved and to let go of all the things that cause us pain. This Realm can give terrifying hallucinations. " The Archangel exined.

    Luna lowered her voice to a whisper. "You look creepy and horrific, so mayhap, you are a hallucination."

    There was a long pause before he responded. ? "This is my true form. The mere sight of me could not only kill a human. It can drive lower ss angels, demons, and Archdemon to madness."

    It was fortunate that he spoke in a snail''s space and enunciated each word clearly, but it still gave her a headache.

    Luna was slowly getting used to it but her leg muscles impulsively tightened by instinct.

    If she could run away far away from here, she would. "You do."

    "Only my Archangel Brethren and the most powerful demons and gods are immune to my form, so that meant you are stronger than a fledgeling Archdemons."

    "I admit I am ufortable in your presence,"? Luna replied as she awkwardly nced down into her palms. "You have too many eyes watching my every move and your pupils move in a millisecond progression which sent shivers down my spine."

    Grimacing, she swallowed hard as she addressed him. "It gives me the chills that I want to vomit."

    His thousand eyes blinked in unison.

    There was amusement in his tone when he asked, "I look hideous and terrifyingly awful, aren''t I?"

    "Yes."

    He smiled, and a thousand corners of the Archangel''s disconcerting lips curled up. "You are really simr to her."

    "Who is this ''her'' you are talking about?" Luna asked, and the Archangel looked flustered by her question.

    "I am doing this to help her. She didn''t have much time." His thousand smiles dropped, and his lips pressed into tight lines to reveal cooler darkness and that was horrifying than the thousand eyes and thousand voices. "I will bring you to her, but you aren''t allowed to see thedy for everyone''s own good."

    "You have dodged my question earlier, Archangel." Gaining confidence, Luna''s tone was as hard as steel as she smirked, "Who are you?"

    "I am an Angel of Hell, but I work with the Creator." The Archangel''s words were soft, clearly amused by her feigned bravado. "The Creator''s Tree of Life situated below his Heavenly Throne dropped a leaf forty days before the death of a person." He exined further. "I read the name of the person. The legions of angels I lead were tasked to hunt these people down and segregate their souls to Heaven and Hell."

    "I think I know who you are." Luna snapped a finger and said. "You are the Grim Reaper, then. The Angel of Death. You are Archangel Azrael."

 Chapter 233 - Azrael

    <h4>Chapter 233 - Azrael</h4>

    ***********************

    The Empress Luna

    **********************

    Luna sighed and gotfortable by changing her position.

    Facing him, Luna whispered, "You are the Grim Reaper. The Angel of Death. You are Archangel Azrael."

    Luna had a feeling this was going to be a long conversation.

    She straightened her spine and sat cross-legged inside the ss bubble the Archangel had trapped her.

    He didn''t deny nor affirm her suspicion, but instead, he replied, "Immortals don''t really care who I am, but they will when they are killed with specific weapons."

    "What if you can''t find that person in forty days, then what?"

    Azrael''s thousand eyes blinked in synchronicity that was microseconds apart, which made it look creepier.

    ncing away for a while in difort, Archangel paused before he replied, "It led to consequences such as these."

    "What do you mean?" Luna scratched a cheek as she narrowed her eyes at him, just noticing that she had already adjusted to his thousand voices. "Would you care to borate?"

    "Am I going to perish soon that was why you are taking my soul to��where?" She frowned even though she found the irony hrious. "To Hell, where an Archdemon should belong?"

    "It''s not you." Azrael rolled his thousand eyes as he added, "I''m talking to someone else in particr."

    Luna waited for him to borate, but he stopped at that.

    "Where do you Archangels live?" Luna prompted. "Archdemons have Seven Circles of Hell, so I assume��"

    "We also have the Seven Heavens." The Archangel Azrael replied. "I live at the Seventh Heaven, Araboth, where the Throne of God and the Tree of Life existed, but sometimes I stay with the other Archangels on the Fourth Heavens called Zebul."

    "Are you sure that it''s alright to reveal Archangel Secrets to an Archdemon?"

    "Not that Archdemons would get past the lowest Heaven." Archangel Azrael''s thousand smiles bore a hint of mockery and arrogance. "You should remember that I was the Archangel who had sneaked inside your chamber one time. I can enter Hell whenever I want."

    "You are that white dove flying into the ceiling that shifted into that angel who led me back to the Vampire Realm." She gasped. "You guided me to that well beside Ravin''s ancient hanging tree."

    From his blood-curling literal form, Azrael had made her life so much simpler when he decided to morph into someone easy to stare at or perhaps, Luna had done more than staring.

    Archangel Azrael became too easier to look at.

    The Archangel flew inside the Bardo Sigil to stand in front of her, filling her vision with hisrge outstretched wings.

    Her eyes widened in surprise as exhration raced through her.

    Luna watched how incredible and strong it appeared to be despite how soft the feathers were.

    Sucking in a breath, Luna leaned one palm behind the bubble in shock that she almost rolled with it.

    The Archangel had transformed without warning.

    Azrael raised a hand which made the ss orb stay still.

    She was terrified by the sheer power of him when he had shown his true form beforehand.

    Now, that he appeared like a man with angel wings, Luna''s terror had been muted, but she couldn''t deny the power emanating from his aura.

    Archangel Azriel had shown himself in ghastly apparitions and angelic shadows, but when he resembled flesh and blood in her eyes, Luna''s view on him changed.

    The blond Archangel was taller than any male Luna had seen before, and they were tall in their own right.

    They were Kings with muscr forms.

    Warriors.

    Immortals.

    Archangel Azrael had long, and dishevelled ash-blond hair swept aside to reveal the sharp angles of his face.

    He had high cheekbones and had gunmetal grey eyes simr to storm clouds.

    His beauty was cold, detached and brooding.

    It was a lethal beauty of a conqueror.

    He wore a ck hooded cloak on his shoulders, but it didn''t cover his symmetrical abs.

    Archangel Azrael''s left hand had held a roll of old parchment.

    He was too close forfort in front of her.

    It was awkward that the ss bubble she was in was levelled to his waist down to his sandals.

    Luna nced up to stare into his piercing eyes.

    "I gave you my feather to thwart evil spirits." He waved a dismissive hand and said, "Archdemons."

    "I am the Evil Spirit," Luna admitted. "I am an Archdemon."

    There was a little spark of surprise in those cold grey eyes. "I meant Lilith. I bothered Luxen that night so he could protect you."

    His mouth curved as if he thought about something funny. "Anyway, I thought you hated calling yourself an Archdemon."

    "I ept the truth when it hit me like a p to the face." Luna stretched her wings slightly in the tiny space of the blue orbs for the Archangel Azrael to see.

    Damn it!

    She couldn''t even use this baggage to fly, and Luna had the gall to show it off to an Archangel.

    Archangel Azrael respectfully regarded them with a tiny bit of interest as his own golden-tipped wings arched gracefully behind him.

    He rubbed his chin in contemtion. "There is a difference between a mature Archdemon and a fledging Archdemon who only had the blood of Archdemons running through their veins."

    "You mean there is a way to get rid of being an Archdemon?"? Her stomach tightened at the Archangel''s sudden deration.

    Eyes widening in shock, Luna said, "The Creator had told me that before I arrived here."

    He raised a perfectly arched eyebrow. "It is an Archdemon magic given to you by Luci so it can also be an Archdemon magic taken from you."

    Chills fingers trailed over Luna''s spine when she heard that.

    "The diabolical magic was quick totch onto your soul because you had exchanged blood with an Archdemon which bonded you to them. The moment you break that blood bond is also the day where you will be free from this evil."

    Luna''s mind raced for possibilities to get rid of Archdemon''s blood inside her system, "Can you help me get rid of this affliction?"

 Chapter 234 - Almost Forgotten Past

    <h4>Chapter 234 - Almost Forgotten Past</h4>

    *********************

    The Empress Luna

    **********************

    "Hmm. I wouldn''t say more but that''s not a good idea at this moment. Ah--" Archangel Azrael faltered but then he caught himself.

    He bit his lip.

    Crossing his arms, he tilted his head at her and regarded her with a nk look.

    It came across as pity to Luna. "I talked too much."

    Flustered because she couldn''t stand pity from the Archangel, her face, neck and ears felt impossibly hot with anger and chagrin. "Why don''t you free me in this orb, Archangel?"

    "It''s not time yet. I am protecting you from my auric field that was why I ced you in that bubble for the meantime." Archangel Raziel replied and Luna could sense a ring of truth in that. "I can make fledgeling Archdemons go mad with my power alone. I can''t control your mind and force your Archdemon blood not to give explosive reactions."

    Luna felt something click in her brain in a sudden realization.

    The first time she met the Creator, she had an intense aversion to his presence that she recoiled from his touch which was probably a reaction normal to Archdemons.

    The difference was that the Creator knew how to switch it off in Luna''s mind, turning it back to normal.

    Archangel Azrael would be the type to let an Archdemon die without a bother.

    "We should hurry up. Hordes of demons were attacking the Armor of God I have encased us with as we speak." Azriel chose his next words carefully and he seemed so reluctant to reveal something, "Dragging you here is enough to upset the bnce between good and evil and we don''t know where side it would swing as the time progressed in infinite seconds. This is a delicate issue and we couldn''t afford to make mistakes and not split the path into two different futures."

    Luna didn''t have time to process Archangel Azrael''s words and her entire vision cked out.

    Her brain had shut down immediately.

    Thest thing she had heard from him was the word ''future''.

    She felt a prickling sensation on her forehead.

    It took a minute for her senses to understand that it was a brush of soft, female hands.

    Luna almost forgot thest time a woman she loved dearly cared for her.

    It had been so long that she had forgotten the ancientnguage that was long dead.

    Anguage she used to speak with her mother when she was a child.

    She even forgot what her real name was��who she was.

    Luna had only gained an identity when she became Artemis ''moon maiden'' like all the other young, vulnerable virgins the goddess had taken in to protect and teach them how to protect themselves and survive this male-dominated world.

    Luna was a name the Goddess Artemis had given her, naming her herself as if she was her new daughter the moment she had set foot on her glorious temple.

    Artemis was her second mother, in a sense, for she taught her how to be independent.

    Luna had respected her a great deal as a Goddess and the one she looked up to.

    There were things a Goddess couldn''t provide a lowly servant like her except for her ancient wisdom and teachings about how to care for one''s self, the people around her, the surroundings and the Mother Nature itself.

    Not a mother''s love.

    Never love but it was close, just to fill the bottomless pit where it should have been there.

    A filler.

    A substitute.

    But, it will do.

    Luna''s mother, who was human living a life of poverty, had perished early, leaving her alone in the streets to fend for herself.

    To avoid men who loitered on the market ce preying on innocent children, girls and young women who weren''t mature enough, Luna had learned how to hunt in the forest for food instead of stealing in the stalls from sellers and merchants like how the other homeless kids her age do.

    Some young females had been corrupted by perverts at an early age in exchange for coins--never for food and shelter.

    These men had taken advantage of them and never helped them out of their circumstances.

    Ah~ Luna thought she had buried her memories but she could still remember snippets and vague images enough to put two and two together.

    Goddess Artemis had taken her in to defend the Sacred Valley to worship and serve her Temple along with other women in exchange for immortality and super strength.

    The slender fingers gentlybed the strands of her hair beginning to the roots to its ends before she tucked them behind Luna''s ear.

    Instead of giving herfort like how it had felt earlier, Luna stiffened at the contact when she remembered how the Lilith woke her up every single damned time by ying with her hair like a psychotic and jealous Archdemon.

    Luna was literally frozen on the spot.

    She wanted to roll her eyes and break people''s necks in frustration��not hers.

    She couldn''t move again and at this point, it didn''t even surprise her no more.

    In recent events, Luna noticed the Universe wanted her paralyzed at the most important moment of her life.

    Don''t let it be Lilith''s magic or I swear to the godd��

    Luna''s ears strained when she heard the murmurs bing louder.

    Well, what else should she do when it felt like nt sap had been poured over her eyes before sewing her eyelids shut with a thread and a needle?

    Did she try lifting her pinkie finger to make sure that her mind was the only thing that worked?

    Yes.

    "It was the thread; a vein and a circuit tangling their soul together. It didn''t belong there. It had sent her into awork of distractions, throwing her off the path." A familiar, masculine voice had murmured near her.

    Luna could almost sense that the man was standing beside her as shey down on a soft bed that only one person could fit. "The detours she would make if we didn''t interfere will lead to your current reality."

 Chapter 235 - Silver Thread

    <h4>Chapter 235 - Silver Thread</h4>

    *********************

    The Empress Luna

    **********************

    "The detours she would make if we didn''t interfere will lead to your current reality." Archangel Azrael said.

    Luna recognized that it was the voice of Archangel Azrael when he wasn''t in his true form.

    The first indication was that it didn''t make her brain explode.

    "You need to strike the deepest vein in the body." A feminine melodious voice chimed in, but there was a ring of confidencecing through it. "A being that had her soul cord tied to another being couldn''t help but respond to the tug. Its connection is pumped through their bloodstreams."

    Luna went rigid when she heard the female''s voice evoked something inside her that she couldn''t exin.

    "My father exined to me that the blood bond could lift and drop spirits." The female said quietly as she released a shallow smile. "It would be confusing and multiyered, especially if it involved a lot of people."

    There was a heavy feeling in her stomach before warmth flowed through her veins like sweet honey, especially when she uttered the word ''father.''

    Luna''s closed eyes prickled with tears in recollection of his husband.

    Thedy had a father.

    Luna assumed that they had a great bond because she sensed the mncholy in her voice.

    Did her father die?

    Was her father an expert when it came to blood bonds?

    Oh!

    If Luna could only speak to her, then she would ask for thedy''s father to help her with this situation.

    These multiple blood bonds with multiple people must be a rare urrence that her father had experienced.

    "To be tied to this blood bond is such a pathetic thing." Archangel Azrael said bluntly, and the female he was talking to gasped at his statement.

    Luna could almost hear the youngdy swallow hard before she whispered, "The thread could make someone remember who they are and who their soul belonged to. The simplest ident could activate the thread, especially if you had lost the one you were connected with."

    Luna changed her mind.

    The youngdy had gritted her teeth with forced restraint.

    She was frustrated at the Archangel. "The thread of fate can bring two separated souls back together if they were meant to be."

    "I strongly believe that tethering soul cords together and establishing blood bonds is a sadist''s work."

    The youngdy continued as if she hadn''t heard what the Archangel Azrael said, "If their thread of fate were connected to someone their love, then that person would find she was free because being tethered to your love will be the only anchor your heart required."

    If you are attached? to the wrong person, it would be like life imprisonment." There was dark and exquisitely dangerous in the Archangel''s voice as if he would kill the youngdy for challenging him further. "You are a hopeless romantic, Parisia. You need to wake up."

    Just a word, and the youngdy would perish if she couldn''t keep her mouth shut.

    She burst out, insulted. "I hate you, Azrael!"

    "I don''t care." He replied with nonchnce. "I am going to make your wishe true as long as the Archangels can keep you here in the Heavenly Realm forever."

    "--As long as you do your part to save my sister." She reminded him.

    "It''s an Archangel''s job to keep you and your sister safe." Azrael sounded irrevocably insulted at her reminder. "We don''t destroy your family as long as you are on our side and not the Archdemons."

    Luna wasn''t familiar with the rtionship dynamics between the Archangel and this female.

    Still, she swore the female had a little power over him based on how simply shemanded the closest Archangel of the Highest God, expecting to be followed.

    "You said it yourself that they would still be together. Why do you still insist on interfering?" Azrael raised his voice, and it echoed loudly in the small chamber. "You are alive, aren''t you?"

    Luna imagined that thedy would flinch and move away from him, but there was no such thing.

    The youngdy did theplete opposite.

    Footsteps.

    A resounding p on the face.

    Luna heard tiny punchesnding on a muscr chest.

    The youngdy yelped when Archangel Raziel had grabbed both of her wrists to subdue her weak attacks.

    Archangel Azrael might be one of the strongest Archangel, but he didn''t hurt her.

    Nevertheless,? Luna had this unexinable yet protective urge to kill Azrael for destroying the youngdy''s hopes and dreams.

    "I''m doing this to make my parents happy." She sobbed. "I told you I am going to take my sister back, Azrael."

    By the sound of her muffled cries, Luna had assumed that the Archangel had wrapped his arms around thedy and let her cry on his shoulder.

    Good Archangel!

    There was something in thedy that was both familiar and foreign.

    Luna tried to focus her being on thedy, for it felt like her mind was desperate totch unto this mysterious creature so bad that it was almost obsessive,

    Her head throbbed relentlessly, so she gave up.

    "Clear as crystal. Now which thread you wanted me to cut?" Archangel Azrael''s question resonated like amand a warrior might say to his subordinate. "We shall not waste time."

    It was absolute, expecting instant obedience from thedy.

    "Sword of fate."

    Luna could see a white sh at the back of her closed eyelids.

    Summoning the weapon in his hand, Azrael continued in the eerie silence, "This will be the first and thest time that I would help you. I had done enough."

    The youngdy said with conviction. "I choose the Archdemon Luxen."

    WHAT IN THE WORLD WAS HAPPENING?

    Heart racing, Luna''s chest tightened.

    The air continued to hang heavy in the promise of the uncertainty.

    Of the unknown.

    "You know what will happen after this." Her voice became more urgent, full of desperation. "You have to protect us to ensure our safety. Nicollette---"

    "Hush. I know." The cold amusement was back in the Archangel''s voice, but this time, it was tempered with a razor-sharp edge of steel stroking Luna''s skin. "I will."

 Chapter 236 - Cord Cutting

    <h4>Chapter 236 - Cord Cutting</h4>

    ***********************

    THE EMPRESS LUNA

    ***********************

    She had her consciousness locked in the prison of this soul, so naturally, she couldn''t see things that were outside of her.

    Mayhap, it was the cause of Archangel Azrael''s power.

    He was the Angel of Death himself.

    His upation was to rip people''s souls outside their bodies when it was their time to die.

    Luna assumed that he would be gentle draw out kind souls but would be merciless to evil, making them suffer from excruciating pains.

    She prayed to the Goddess that the angel of death wouldn''t be too harsh on her when he started cutting Luxen''s cord.

    The cord-cutting would probably destroy her because Luxen had been a part of her for a while now, but as long as she would be free, Luna will have to get used to it.

    "Something is wrong with her, Azrael." The female raised her voice in a panic.

    "Parisia, you must let her go and leave this to me."

    "No." The bed shook a little as Luna sensed thedy''s footsteps closing into the right side of the bed.

    "I just want to see her for thest time." Luna felt the tender brush of cold, sweaty palms on her head, which trembled.

    Later, she heard soft whimpers as teardrops fell on her cheeks.

    It wasn''t Luna''s.

    "Give me a minute."

    "Enough!" Archangel Azrael said with sharp fury. "I have interfered��"

    The youngdy whispered submissively as she didn''t want to anger the Angel of Death, but she was as stubborn as Luna, "Please, Azrael."

    Luna heard wings pping strongly in the background.

    She had no idea what Archangel Azrael was doing to her body, but she felt her legs and hands weaken as insensibility began to spread to the rest of her body like slow poison.

    "I had kept her safe for you for as long as I could manage." Archangel Azraelmanded in a tone that would make demons scuttle away in abject terror. "Now that you saw her, you should go back to your room and let me handle this if you couldn''t bear to watch it happen."

    "Wake her up and let me talk to her." The youngdy insisted, "You promised me."

    "I didn''t promise that you can talk to her." The Archangel''s tone was final. "God had led her here safely, and if he had interfered in my affairs, it meant that something is about to go wrong if we aren''t careful. It''s better for everyone if she didn''t see you."

    "Azrael, Please!" The youngdy insisted as the Archangel had pulled her away from Luna. "For thest time!"

    There was a hint of menace. "Are you so selfish that you don''t care if the Cosmic Laws punish me?"

    "I don''t want her to suffer, Azrael---"

    There was a ringing in her ears before it stopped working.

    Her eyeballs move around, and her eyes slit open a little bit.

    She wasn''t able to talk or hear anything.

    She saw the faces of the people surrounding her and the movement on their lips, but there was no sounding out of their mouths.

    As she soaked into the lethargy, Luna turned her head to the side and slowly blinked, her eyes honing in on the youngdy who argued with Archangel Azrael.

    She had straight silver hair simr to hers, and when she nced at Luna...

    Her fingers trembled when she saw her face��especially her eyes.

    The youngdy��about seventeen to twenty years old��had the bluest eyes she had ever seen.

    The familiar Prussian blues were simr to the Vampire King''s.

    Luna imprinted the youngdy''s image in her mind just if Luna wouldn''t see her again.

    She had this fuzzy feeling that the female was close to what her future daughter would look like if she would survive her predicament, but that would be impossible to see her here at this very moment.

    ''This wasn''t her daughter!'' Luna convinced herself.

    Luna didn''t even know if she and Apollyon would survive from the deep shithole she had gotten herself into.

    Staring at the girl with an empty gaze, Luna''s chest tightened as tears leaked from the corner of her eyes.

    The Archdemon of Envy was determined to kill her baby because she was the only one that kept Lilith from entering her body in the Vampire Realm.

    Her soul had adjusted to the blood bond Luxen had initiated on her.

    She knew that it would be agonizingly painful to cut it--eerily simr to tearing a person''s limb.

    Her theory had been proven correct when she felt Archangel Azrael''s ghastly hand prating her chest cavity as it hollowed beneath his touch.

    She could literally feel the Archangel probe her heart, searching for the entangled threads among the veins and arteries of her heart.

    During the Blue Moon Lunar Eclipse, she had witnessed three cords ( blue, gold, and silver) attached to her, and even if she was the High Priestess at that time, Luna couldn''t cut the connection.

    She recalled how stupid it was for her to cut her blue thread with the Vampire King first.

    Luna had acted like a cornered animal.

    She was forced to marry the Vampire King when she only wanted to be free, so she had seen him as the enemy.

    Gaining freedom wasn''t easy.

    No one was truly free.

    Freedom is an illusion because to achieve it; one had to pass through the valley of the shadow of death repeatedly before reaching it.

    Luna guessed she would finally figure out how it would feel to cut Luxen''s cord without him knowing it��cutting him and erasing all traces of his blood running through her system.

    Archangel Azrael had separated the delicate silver thread expertly from the others like he had done cord-cutting a thousand times before.

    This was probably why the Highest God tasked him to aid her.

    Luna had wondered why the Archangel wouldn''t cut the Blood Beast''s thread along with Luxen.

    Perhaps, the reason why Archangel Azrael didn''t cut Ravin''s because she might lose the Archdemon magic inside her.

    It can no longer feed to demonic energy provided by Ravin''s blood.

 Chapter 237 - Lovesick Ruler

    <h4>Chapter 237 - Lovesick Ruler</h4>

    ***********************

    THE EMPRESS LUNA

    ***********************

    Luna choked in herst breath.

    It felt like his life force was leisurely draining out of her body.

    Luna wondered if what advantage they would gain in doing this and what they would tell her to do in exchange.

    Archdemons had their bargains.

    What do Archangels have to gain leverage when they help someone?

    Would these kind Archangels help her cut the cursed threads with the Archdemons without asking for anything in return, or was the first choice something a person who lived in ''La La Land'' would expect?

    Archangel Azrael rubbed the thread with his forefingers to feel its texture.

    Luna''s mind could barely feel the thread because of how thin it was when the Archangel Azriel had dug the golden rapier inside her ribcage.

    Effortlessly, the Archangel quickly cut Luxen''s cord inside her heart without a mess.

    It felt so easy, as if it wasn''t even there in the first ce.

    She exhaled a quick gasp before she went dead.

    It was thest thing she remembered.

    ***********************************

    THE VAMPIRE KING APOLLYON

    ***********************************

    Apollyon wouldn''t ept this.

    The Empress of the Vampire Realm had currently lived the life of a fairy tale in the sense that she was a sleeping princess within castle walls.

    Luna might be surrounded by abundant riches, seductive fantasies, ornate wonders, andvish adornment of the chambers offered by the Vampire King.

    Apollyon''s servants kept it pristine and elegant, just like how an Empress deserved, yet the walls are thick, cold, and shadowy.

    He sat beside her in drooping shoulders, staring at his bloody hands and the stains on his white long-sleeved shirt before he moved his gaze at his reflection in the mirror.

    He had dark circles under his eyes despite being in bed all day straight for the whole week.

    Despite being nourished whenever he was hungry, Apollyon had maintained a gaunt appearance.

    Apollyon didn''t sleep��refused to sleep for months in the beginning--because he was afraid that he would miss it when her soul resurfaced back to her body, making him weak and holed up in the Ivory Tower.

    There were times when he hadid in bed with Luna because he had no motivation to get up.

    Every time he woke up in the morning, Apollyon''s vision blurred, and his body felt cold when he checked if the Empress hade back because he already knew the answer.

    Ever since his wife was gone, the world had gone bleak and grey.

    His thoughts became more obsessive as he lost track of time.

    Sometimes, Apollyon overdosed himself with sleeping potions, thinking that would also send him to where Luna had gone that he became addicted to it.

    He had this uncontroble desire to escape this unbearable sadness through sleep, being blood-drunk in Luna every day.

    Still, he had skipped the choice of havingpanionship with other women.

    Apollyon had already dispersed the Consortium, anyway, so there would be nofort from otherdies that wasn''t his wife.

    That might make him forget his affliction, but that wouldn''t solve his problems.

    He wanted the pain to end.

    He couldn''t focus on his tasks as the Vampire King, so he let Jon and Cederic handle them for years.

    Apollyon only worked behind the scenes when he wasn''t busy drowning himself in blood and mncholy.

    He had never shown his face to the townsfolk ever again without the Empress, decreasing his interaction with the world atrge, being a hermit.

    Apollyon was guilty and ashamed, but the glittered sapphire wolf mask was futile.

    If Cederic and Jon weren''t loyal to him, then they would have already plotted for his downfall, overthrowing a useless and lovesick King.

    It wouldn''t be hard to destroy him at this point because he would dly embrace death.

    Countless spells from warlocks and witches all over the Realm, and nothing worked.

    There was a hollowness in his chest when her name drifted to his mind on repeat.

    Apollyon couldn''t help it because Luna was his lifeline, and he was bonded to her.

    Luna''s soul had drifted somewhere else, but her skin had remained as pale as mountain lilies, and her blood was still fresh as red rose petals.

    He had preserved her body in the Ivory Tower, keeping it at a freezing temperature and force-feeding her his blood through vials.

    She had been gone for so long, and Apollyon was afraid Luna wouldn''t have any vessel to return to and be a ghost for eternity, her soul floating adrift in the Vampire Castle corridors and chambers.

    He was obsessed with the loss.

    He shook his head, still in denial that his wife was gone.

    The Vampire King had waited for her every night and day, sitting by the chair and talking to her as the sun set.

    He held her hand and at night and hugged her with longing.

    He had experimented all day with the High Priest for any cure, and none of it worked.

    Apollyon covered his hand to his face.

    He hadcked the energy to do other things aside from bringing his wife back.

    He had tried his best.

    Apollyon had endlessly stared at the faded blue paints on the walls.

    The Ivory Tower was designed to keep things out and secure Luna, defending her from the enemies, but the enemies who had taken Luna away could not be seen.

    His romantic rivals to his wife''s love couldn''t be reached.

    It was a world��a Realm��he couldn''t enter.

    It had kept them in separation.

    Luna had entered Hell, where Archdemons had a long-standing obsession with property and power.

    That was why these Archdemons intended to possess influential Kings and Queens.

    To those who had no power but had potential, they kept them bonded in a devil''s contract that would ruin them slowly but surely, tricking them with their promises that were just lies and deceptions wrapped in an excellent package.

    "How naive!" Apollyon sneered at his thoughts.

    Should he try summoning an Archdemon and strike a bargain to bring Luna back?

 Chapter 238 - How Do Kings Deal With Ghosting?

    <h4>Chapter 238 - How Do Kings Deal With Ghosting?</h4>

    ********************************

    The Vampire King Apollyon

    ********************************

    Should he try summoning an Archdemon and strike a bargain to bring Luna back?

    The Devil was always in the details so people should read the fine print.

    Apollyon didn''t understand why this was happening to them.

    Why the wheel of fate was had fought tooth and nail to make them miserable?

    Were they not meant to be together despite the existence of their blood bond?

    They were blood mates, and the gods and goddesses had approved, as shown during the Blue Moon Lunar Eclipse.

    Apollyon got up from his seat as he paced around the room heavy-footed.

    There was soreness in his throat and lungs that he couldn''t stand.

    As Apollyon dragged a frustrated hand through his messy hair, Apollyon pondered if Luna had struck a bargain with another Archdemon.

    Apollyon hadn''t figured out the logical reason why his wife had agreed to such a thing in the first ce.

    What are her motivations?

    He had thought that it wouldn''t bother them in the long run because when she was the Vampire Realm''s High Priestess, Luna had sessfully sent them to Hell.

    He was a witness to that.

    He remembered.

    Apollyon remembered.

    She had told him once that she was forced to bond with the Archdemon while he possessed Apollyon and he believed her.

    Now he wasn''t so sure.

    Was it really to save his soul and granted both of their freedom or did she exchange another prison��she was so against their blood bond at first--for another?

    Had Luna made such a huge sacrifice for him because of their blood bond or was it she had secretly adored the Blood Beast��the Archdemon of Gluttony��instead of him?

    How will Apollyonpete to someone she had already chosen over him?

    Luna didn''te back so that message was clear enough that---

    The world seemed to spin.

    There was tightness in his chest.

    His heart broke in a thousand pieces.

    Apollyon rubbed the heel of his palm against his chest, hoping that would alleviate the pain.

    Perhaps, the Archdemons had lulled her wife to their spells of materialism and decadent deception for too long.

    ''The Empress fell asleep to her deepest dreams while her husband had grieved for her for decades.''

    The Vampire King and Luna had lingered in the Ivory Tower where her body rested.

    He had sensed Luna''s soul longed to run barefoot, leaving things of royalty behind.

    Apollyon recalled bitterly that she wanted to be free of him before.

    Mayhap, she had found her golden opportunity.

    Perhaps, the Empress didn''t want him anymore, and she had already chosen the Blood Beast in Hell.

    He preferred the Archdemon over him.

    The Blood Beast might have seduced her when she had lost her power.

    Clenching his fists, Apollyon caught sight of the deep shelves on the sidewall as he destroyed treasure after treasure he had disyed for his wife as his gifts and tokens when she returned.

    He crushed the ss sculptures of graceful animals that reminded him of her--swans and white tigers and white foxes made from the finest craftsmen in the Vampire Realm��because Apollyon knew deep inside that it they wouldn''t make here home.

    First and foremost, he made sure not to hurt his sleeping beloved with his negligence.

    After making his gifts an outlet of his anger and grief, Apollyon walked to the window.

    He didn''t mind the ss shreds puncturing his vampire skin, and when his wounds heal, they didn''t shut itself entirely because of the foreign thing.

    Mayhap, Apollyon wanted to suffer every time he walked in the bedchamber so that his brain could focus on the physical pain on the soles of his feet rather than his heart.

    ''If I can''t have her, then the Blood Beast in Hell wouldn''t have her too.'' There was a ruthless part of him that whispered, ''You should teach them a lesson for her disloyalty.''

    No!

    Apollyon shook his head in refusal.

    This wasn''t the Empress'' fault!

    It was the Blood Beast who had taken her.

    It didn''t make sense that she woulde to him so willingly.

    Apollyon saw the joyful glint in her eyes every time they talked to each other.

    Her smile had light up his world, the corridors, the bedchambers, the castle and the Vampire Realm.

    Apollyon had seen how the Empress had watched him so ardently.

    Her beautiful eyes were ruined with the Blood Beast''s eye colour, just like how the Archdemon had destroyed his life.

    The Blood Beast had marked his ownership of a body through their eyes.

    Apollyon didn''t consent to be possessed by an Archdemon, and so did his Empress.

    He looked through the windows as the sun had set in shimmered gold and real darkness had fallen.

    Twilight had taken over the Vampire Realm.

    Apollyon wanted the Blood Beast to be miserable just like he was��never Luna.

    He didn''t want the bastard to have her or anyone else because she was his.

    He was sure they had loved each other, and he could feel it in his wife''s caresses in the past.

    ''Love?'' Apollyon thought,ughing bitterly. ''What a ridiculous emotion.''

    If he didn''t invest affection in the first ce, then he wouldn''t have suffered.

    Killing innocent people to get rid of this bottomless void inside him will get dull pretty quickly, so he didn''t even try such a foolish thing.

    It felt like he couldn''t breathe.

    There was a part of him that wanted to rip his own heart, so to feel numb.

    Apollyon could feel that he couldn''t think that it was driving him crazy every second.

    He wanted tosh out his anger, but he held it in his cold heart for so long until darkness corrupted him.

    Rotting and decaying.

    It would be a relief to just die and not feel anything rather than float into the Vampire Realm aimlessly like a phantom searching for his wife''s ghost to dance at the balcony.

    Apollyon''s mind and heart had grown numb and weary.

 Chapter 239 - Ghost Child

    <h4>Chapter 239 - Ghost Child</h4>

    *******************************

    The Vampire King Apollyon

    ********************************

    Should he be d that he could still drink from her sleeping wife as a source of nutrition?

    Maybe, Apollyon should wait for another year, but he had waited for so long.

    He couldn''t take it any longer.

    What kind of death should he try first?

    Mayhap, he could try to experiment.

    Should he finally ept that the Empress was gone now?

    The echo of his own words stopped him for several long seconds.

    If Apollyon killed himself with his wife and his blood bond still intact, where would Luna end up then?

    Will, he let this pathetic love tie him around a leash like how the blood bond did?

    Apollyon hoped that Luna would consider the Vampire Realm her home--a ce where she could always return and where nostalgia andfort will always draw her back to him.

    There was this unspoken boundary that existed between Apollyon and thd others that most would not want to cross.

    Though some might support a beloved''s departure, a man might still hear whispers of doubt when his beloved crossed across the borders, leaving him behind and never to be seen again.

    Luna must have felt restricted by him.

    The Empress might thank him for all the things he had provided and have served her in the past, yet staying with him would never satiate her thirst for adventure and freedom.

    Apollyon knew that someday Luna would return and he will wait in surrender.

    He had watched the thick pine trees at the far distance lost in his dark thoughts.

    The evening twilight shifting from the sunset to night time with its red, orange, yellow, green, blue��

    He noticed that the atmosphere''s colour was simr to the rainbow, and it was the first time he had seen something like this.

    This was the perfect time to get lost in the woods.

    There were little fear and a little enchantment in losing one''s way and stumbling upon a treasure.

    Apollyon had likened the forest to the Empress'' lovr where he would spend his time discovering the mystical treasure and diving in too deep, lost into the thick foliage and entangled with vines.

    His lips curled with gratitude as he has momentarily forgotten how hopeless he had felt.

    Apollyon prayed that the sky was a good omen from the gods and goddesses.

    It was too beautiful, and Apollyon wished that he had witnessed them with the Empress.

    Apollyon let out a heavy sigh.

    There was no greater sorrow than to recall a happy time when miserable.

    A little whileter, the rainbow''s colourful hues had faded, and it morphed into a dark sky full of stars.

    What were also equally present were the glimmers of fairy light as if someone had thrown a handful of silver across the edge of the Vampire Realm before embracing the shadows.

    He had stared at the moon absently when he felt goosebumps broke over his skin, especially at the back of his neck.

    It felt like d��j�� vu.

    He had recalled his wife had done this before, ying with him the moment her spirit returned to her body.

    Bowing his head, Apollyon prayed quietly.

    His voice was low, humble and soft.

    Apollyon didn''t pray to any gods or goddesses because he was powerful in his own right.

    He was a god in his own little world.

    Magic and alchemy was his obsession.

    He had relied on making things happen by himself, but nothing else will do.

    It might be ufortable, but he tried.

    He rubbed the sensitive skin with his palm as he abruptly turned around, praying that it was Luna whose spirit had returned.

    There was a brilliant light shining beside the Empress'' bed like a spotlight, and a thick ck smoke swirled in the area.

    Apollyon''s muscles went rigid as he clenched his fists.

    He widened his stance, ready to attack.

    He was prepared to grapple and subdue the enemy, but instead, it was a little silver-haired girl who materialized in front of him, the fog dispersing from the cold breeze that entered the window.

    Mouth falling open in shock, Apollyon stood frozen with his back leaning to the window.

    The young girl had worn a white gown with goldces starting from the bodice down to her expansive skirts.

    She wore a white straw bo and around the crown were id ribbon trimmings with many flowers ced on one side.

    The bo was just proportional to her tiny face and therge knot under the summit of her crown under her chin made it smaller, unlike the ridiculous ck velvet bo his wife had worn at the Masquerade Ball.

    ''That was years ago.'' Apollyon let out another sneer.

    Oh, how time had passed him by, and he still couldn''t over his grief.

    The child''s appearance had shed signs of old money and opulence, so Apollyon assumed that this ghost child must be of royalty from another Kingdom.

    He made his broad shoulders slouch so that he would appear smaller and harmless and the kid wouldn''t run away from him.

    Apollyon alwayses across as a big, bad vampire in the vigers'' eyes whenever he visited towns, viges, provinces and cities during the Royal Entry.

    The Royal Entry would start as a procession carrying the King as he entered the territory.

    He was greeted and paid appropriate homage by the authorities (marquess, earls, viscounts and barons) and the people beneath them.

    Apollyon rarely visited when the Blood Beast possessed him.

    Still, he used to pay the ''vampires of royalty who were in charge of a certain dominion'' a call in the past before the first ruthless High Priestess decided to fuck his life over, inserting an Archdemon soul in his body as punishment.

    The vige mothers would usually cower in his presence, watching him with bulging eyes during the Royal Entry.

    Thedies covered themselves with nkets from head-to-toe, afraid that he will take them from the vige and bring them to the Castle to be part of the Consortium.

    Apollyon narrowed his eyes at this pathetic disy during his visits.

 Chapter 240 - Kryptonite

    <h4>Chapter 240 - Kryptonite</h4>

    *******************************

    The Vampire King Apollyon

    *******************************

    Apollyon narrowed his eyes at this pathetic disy during his visits.

    A Vampire King would never ask his military general to make married women his consort unless they had exceptional beauty, so there was no need to protect them from him.

    As they bowed their heads in respect, the wrinkles on the women''s faces when they scowled had repelled him, so there was no need to be so guarded or tremble in fear.

    Apollyon knew they were judging him in their minds despite the tant acts of reverence when he was around.

    The children��who clearly had no sentience yet-- ran away as they let out primal screams when they see the military general with him too.

    They reacted like they Apollyon and his men were monsters.

    It was alright for him because it can show in their outer appearance.

    The pureblood vampires couldn''t hide their true nature, after all.

    The military general had a poor reputation of a paedophile amongst the children''s parents.

    He was infamous for being an ancient pureblood Vampire cursed in a child''s body by the crazy High Priestess.

    Rumours had spread like wildfire that the military general only fucks children.

    It was absolutely false.

    The first time they heard the rumour about Cederic, it had left Apollyon''s inner circle baffled before they broke into fits ofughter.

    Cederic imed that older women had liked him in his teenage form, so nobody in this Realm could use him of being a paedophile.

    He had frowned how ridiculous it was.

    His users should ask the older women who were attracted to him first.

    Cederic was tired of defending himself, and he just lifted a hand loosely, his palms up in a ''who cares?'' gesture whenever some idiot mentioned that stupid gossip in front of him.

    Cederic''s young appearance might have proven otherwise so he let the women be and killed the men who would try to mock him of his height and sexual prowess despite having the body of an almost-teenage boy.

    The youngss didn''t notice that Apollyon was there because she was fixated with Luna who slept on the bed.

    The child watched the Empress with parted cherub lips as if enamoured by his wife''s eternal beauty.

    Apollyon also observed the Empress as he reclined from the window.

    His eyes can''t help but stray at the oblivious little girl in curiosity.

    He would have warned the little girl not to move because there were ss shards all around the floor, but when he had stared at thess from head to toe, Apollyon narrowed his eyes at her feet.

    It didn''t touch the ground.

    The girl''s bare feet had hovered three inches from the jagged pieces of ss scattered on the floor.

    If the kid were human or a vampire, she would surely hurt herself either way.

    The kid wasn''t.

    Apollyon had to rub his eyes to make sure he saw things clearly.

    The colour of her aura was messed up too.

    Perhaps, Apollyon had slept too much, and he just had to make sure.

    He had correctly assumed that the kid was a spectre��a ghost with long straight hair simr to his wife.

    Who was she and what was she doing here in the Ivory Tower?

    How did she get here alone by herself?

    Where did shee from?

    Pursing his lips, he watched the ghost child with knitted brows as he tilted his head to the side.

    Apollyon didn''t know the youngss personally.

    Thess had reached out a hand and touched Luna''s pinkie finger in her small hand, but her spectre hand couldn''t grasp his wife''s hand and just went through, prating Luna''s hand without being able to touch it.

    The molecules keeping her ghastly form together divided and converged once again.

    The kid must have felt like she was made of water.

    Apollyon''s posture went rigid when she heard thess whimper.

    She stomped her foot in ce as she hovered in the air, crying and wailing as she screamed, "MAMAAAAAAAAAAA!"

    Apollyon swallowed hard.

    He didn''t know how to handle a child��how much more if it was sobbing her eyes out until all the water in her small body dried up like an empty well under the summer heat?

    It was forcing him to do something about it and make it stop.

    He wasn''t good at this type of activity, so he kept himself quiet.

    ncing at the youngss'' back, Apollyon anxiously bit his ws.

    The closest physical encounter he ever had with a child was Cederic, but Apollyon thought his interaction with the ancient vampire would never count.

    He cleared his throat so that the kid would notice him there.

    Apollyon had wondered why she hadn''t noticed him yet, too fixated on the Empress who wouldn''t respond to her ghastly touches.

    Never in his immortal life was he treated like some tree in the background.

    The child wailed a high-pitched scream that woke up the entire Vampire Realm when the sleeping Empress didn''t react like she expected, "MAMAAAAA!!"

    Shutting his eyes tight, Apollyon had anticipated such predictable scream and covered his ears in perfect timing.

    He cleared his throat louder and called her out gently, "Young ghost."

    When the child didn''t respond and kept on sobbing without wiping the snot out of her face, Apollyon called the child to get its attention.

    "Young ghost." Not daring to move from his position, Apollyon whispered soothingly to calm the toddler, "Your mum isn''t here,"

    Curbing his rising anxiety because he didn''t know how to deal with a crying ghost child, Apollyon crossed his arms to form a flimsy barrier between the kid and him.

    That wasn''t so effective because it didn''t prevent him from hearing her cries.

    He had drawn an invisible line between them, and it was a boundary he will not dare cross.

    Apollyon didn''t want to crush them and identally kill them with his carelessness.

    Never.

    Dealing with cute, tiny toddlers--and a ghost at that-- was his kryptonite.

 Chapter 241 - WAAH!

    <h4>Chapter 241 - WAAH!</h4>

    *******************************

    The Vampire King Apollyon

    *******************************

    Dealing with cute, tiny toddlers--and a ghost at that-- was his kryptonite.

    He decided that it must be better to stay away as much as possible.

    He cleared his throat and said a little bit louder. "You should go back to wherever ce you belong."

    Unfortunately, it didn''t work.

    Turning her small body to face him, the child''s piercing screams had stabbed Apollyon''s eardrums as it called for her absent mother.

    He lifted his palms to cover his ears as she shouted from the top of her small lungs.

    "MAMAAAAAAAAA!"

    Rubbing her cheeks with her short, stubby hands, the child had regarded Apollyon with big blue eyes full of tears and tomato-red face, sniffing hard with her snot covered nose.

    He was taken aback when she saw the youngss'' facial features.

    It had looked like a mix between Luna and Apollyon.

    If somebody said that she was his child, he would have agreed from her familiar Prussian blue eyes that were uncannily simr to his.

    He felt goosebumps breaking over his skin as Apollyon stared at her like he had seen a ghost.

    He shook his head in denial.

    This wasn''t his daughter.

    Well, the young girl was literally a ghost.

    His wife wasn''t pregnant.

    Apollyon could discern a life growing out in his wife''s belly.

    The ability was inherent in a pureblood vampire''s primal instinct.

    He swore there was no baby.

    The High Priest had visited the Ivory Tower for Luna''s weekly check-ups, using his wife as the test subject for his awakening potions.

    The High Priest Fei had tried a hundred of them already, and none have worked yet.

    Apollyon shifted from foot to foot as sweat ran down his back, wondering if their future baby would be affected by the High Priest''s experimentations.

    The High Priest was his ally.

    Apollyon was sure of it, so there was no room for baseless doubts and suspicions.

    ''The High Priest had used organic herbs and flowers in his brews.'' Apollyon thought aloud as he scratched his chin. ''Those things couldn''t be possibly harmful to their future heir��or heiress.''

    "MAMAAAAAAAAA!"

    The young girl had thrown tantrums again, disturbing the flow of his strange thoughts.

    Apollyon winced at the sound that made him feel like he had done something wrong, and he needed to feel guilty for the crime he didn''tmit.

    Seeing the child cry in front of him had hurt more than the ss splinters stuck on the soles of his feet.

    He sighed heavily as he stepped towards the youngss, raising both of his hands in surrender.

    "Oi! Kid." Apollyon hollered as he took a step, two then three steps forward.

    He was now six feet away from the ghost child.

    Apollyon hoped that the distance would not seem predatory and drive her away.

    "That''s not your mother."

    He and the child needed to talk.

    Why did she keep calling his wife her mother?

    She was probably a lost kid from some other Realm.

    Perhaps, she was an astral traveller like Luna, but that did not fully exin why her soul had roamed their bed-chamber.

    "That''s my wife on the bed." Apollyon enunciated each word clearly to get his point across to the youngss. "She''s the Empress."

    "MAMAAAAAAAAA!" The youngss had iled her arms around during her outburst that it sent her straw hat bo askew, making the id ribbon tied under her chin crooked.

    Her adorable chubby cheeks were stained with tears and her silver forelocks stuck in her sweaty forehead.

    One finger was pointed to Luna as she bbered to him. "DEAD."

    Her wide Prussian blue eyes were rmed, which morphed into an usatory nce in less than seconds. "MAMAAAAAA, SLEEP!"

    The youngss spun and went closer to the bed, watching over the Empress as if she was her guardian angel. "Here."

    "How dare you say that my wife is dead, you brat?!"? Clutching the back of his neck in denial, Apollyon couldn''t help his blood pressure to rise at the child''s bold deration.

    Flexing his fingers, Apollyon made an extreme effort to curb his frustration.

    "Anyway, I told you that''s not your mother." Sighing heavily, Apollyon talked to the child embodying the patience of a saint. "Now go home, ghost. Your birth mother is looking for you."

    "From your clothes, I don''t think you belong here in the Vampire Realm." Waving a dismissive hand, Apollyon''s deep baritone was a cold edge to intimidate the youngss. "Begone, you noisy evil spirit."

    "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!"

    "Kid." Apollyon anxiously nced around him as if searching for anyone who could assist him with this thing but there were alone in the bedchamber.

    He looked over at his wife to see if she had decided to wake up from all these noises.

    Nope, still asleep.

    "Shut up, kid!"

    The ghost child faced him with her pretty cherub face all scrunched up before she cried aloud, "WAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

    "Young Lass." Apollyon snapped, ignoring the shards of ss as he stalked towards the girl.

    Gritting his teeth, Apollyon crouched down in front of her so that they would be on eye-level with each other.

    "You make my ears hurt and cause my brain to bleed." Apollyon''s lowered his voice into a whisper. "Please stop, kid!"

    Rubbing her eyes as a fresh batch of tears ran down her cheeks, the youngss'' screeches went louder as if the sound hade from an old hag. "WAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

    "AAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" Apollyon roared like a lion in her face to defeat the young challenger.

    He lifted his chin in a challenge and gave the kid who stared into his corrupt soul with her charming blue eyes a smug grin.

    "WAAAAAAAAAHH!" The youngss screamed louder than him.

    If he could see the future, Apollyon would know all these outcries between him and the child would be apetition on who was the loudest.

    "WAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" They shouted in unison.

    The girl stopped crying, her hands limping to her sides as she put them down.

 Chapter 242 - Bad Man

    <h4>Chapter 242 - Bad Man</h4>

    ******************************

    The Vampire King Apollyon

    *******************************

    The ghost child''s hands limped to her sides as she put them down and stopped crying.

    The youngss had eyeballed him with child-like wonder, and it was Apollyon''s turn to avoid extreme eye contact.

    Clearing his throat, Apollyon stood up and straightened his spine, narrowing his eyes on the girl with fake menace.

    He regretted scaring her because the youngss'' face had turned ashen, and her breath burst in and out.

    Hyperventting, The child''s lips trembled for a minute before she jumped, stretched her arms, and floated in the air like she was a mere dandelion seed in the wind.

    Her apparition passed through the bed canopies and the sheer draping fabric on the ceiling.

    From crying her eyes out and screaming like a banshee, the young girls'' mood had quickly shifted into excitement and joy as she squealed, ying around the bed-chamber.

    ncing up as he glowered at the child, Apollyon paced around as he called for the kid toe down, but his mind control wouldn''t work on a specter.

    He was calm at first, but the young girl covered her ears and stuck her tongue out, giggling into fits ofughter.

    The murderous re that would have made his enemies cower in fear didn''t affect her at all.

    Apollyon could only shake his head and sigh as he rested his hands on his waist.

    It was adorable and annoying at the same time.

    Was it fun to watch that he was worried about this kid?

    If this were a real flying stubborn kid, she would have messed up the whole room, but that wasn''t the issue at all.

    What if the child hurt herself and hit her head on the wall?

    Children were too mischievous, and they had a mind of their own.

    "Kid." He lifted his hand and beckoned a finger.

    Apollyon narrowed his eyes and said, "Come over here, and I will beat you up."

    Apollyon''s eyes widened with shock as he realized that it came out wrong.

    He pped his forehead in his stupidity.

    Argh.

    Apollyon usually spoke to Cederic like this when he had annoyed him, simr to this silver-haired girl.

    He frowned.

    A King should never beat a kid up.

    What was wrong with him?

    He had no idea how to handle these kids, even those who live in the vige who didn''t know that he was the Vampire King.

    Every time they were in his vicinity, Apollyon scared them off so bad by simply gracing them of his presence.

    He would let out a relieved sigh when they flee like he was a leper on the streets, begging for alms.

    Apollyon didn''t have any experience talking to a kid before and taking good care of it,

    That was why his eyes had trembled every time he and his wife discussed their future heirs.

    They had this conversation before.

    Scrubbing a hand over his face, Apollyon couldn''t help his downturned mouth from curling upward into a tiny smirk.

    Well, at least, this young girl had somehow distracted him from thoughts of loneliness, death, and revenge.

    "Beat up?" The youngss had halted her flight mid-air and narrowed her familiar blue eyes at him.

    Damn.

    She didn''t miss his slip-up.

    The ghost child dered. "Bad man."

    Apollyon figured out that the kid had desired to match his height as she flew around him.

    She pointed a small using finger at Apollyon, which for some reason, made his heart skipped a beat in embarrassment.

    "You bad." She yelled with utmost conviction that his stomach had twisted into knots.

    Apollyon didn''t expect to be judged by a strange girl with Luna''s hair and blue eyes.

    "Papa loves me."

    His brows had furrowed at thest sentence.

    It had hurt Apollyon like a poisonous arrow straight to the heart, and he couldn''t exin why.

    "I''m not your papa,ss." A downward gaze before he looked at her straight in the eye. "I don''t care."

    "I''m not a bad man." He gave her a nonchnt shrug as he added in a cial tone, " I don''t love a bad child who disobeys me."

    "You bad man." Now the child''s tears were on the brink of falling as she tried to put on a brave face. "You not love, Pari."

    Crossing her arms, she scowled, bellowing, "I hate you."

    Apollyon didn''t like what she dered one bit, and he had this uncontroble urge to rectify that.

    Shifting from foot to foot, Apollyon mimicked how she had folded her arms across her chest as she hovered in the ceiling.

    Why did he want the child''s approval as a good man this badly?

    The ghost child was a stranger.

    What was he trying to prove?

    "Don''t hate me now, kid." Apollyon cleared his throat and announced. "I have gifts for you."

    The ghost child plummeted until they were eye-level.

    They scrutinized each other: blue eyes to blue eyes.

    The youngss tilted her head at him in curiosity as she blinked.

    She didn''t speak but waited patiently to show his gifts.

    The sleeves of Apollyon''s dark green robes slid to his upper arms when he lifted his hands above his head.

    The walls of the bed-chamber glinted gold as he sprinkled gilded dust all over the room��from the ceiling to the walls down to the thick floor carpets.

    Golden orbs surrounded the dark room instead of relying on unlit candbras.

    He had replicated what Luna used to do when she was the High Priestess.

    Leaning forward, the youngss paused to examine one golden orb that was closer to her.

    Apollyon''s mouth fell open in shock when the child lifted a finger and touched it.

    He caught his breath as he gave her an incredulous stare.

    When she brought her phantom hands together, the youngss could touch the glowing sphere and physically hold it.

    It was unexpected.

    The ghost child almost showed all of her baby teeth as she broke out into a wide grin, reminding him of Luna''s breathtaking? smiles.

 Chapter 243 - Court Jester

    <h4>Chapter 243 - Court Jester</h4>

    *********************************

    The Vampire King Apollyon

    *********************************

    The ghost child almost showed almost all of her baby teeth as she broke out into a wide smile, reminding him of Luna''s.

    He abruptly looked away, and he lifted a hand to his face, rubbing the moisture leaking from the corner of his eyes.

    Apollyon couldn''t stand this distinct, overwhelming emotion bubbling up inside his chest.

    The trust in those piercing yet gentle Prussian blue eyes almost blew his mind away.

    He swore his protective instincts would kick in if he saw flesh and blood of this youngss who reminded him of his wife.

    Why did she smile andugh so much?

    What was so funny?

    Feeling self-conscious suddenly, Apollyon rubbed his cheek if there was dirt in them.

    It felt like it was his responsibility to make sure that no harm wille across this one��someone who looked like his future daughter.

    He could not stop looking at this beautiful baby girl.

    Was he turning into a delusional man for missing the Empress so much?

    The ghost child gestured animatedly at the golden orbs as her gaze took turns focusing on Apollyon then back to them.

    Her blue eyes were wide, rounded, and unblinking as she handled them with care.

    Did this mean that his golden orbs were specterspacted molecules of energy��just like her?

    Was a creature''s soul built like this?

    Without taking its eyes off the golden spheres, she spoke in a bubbly tone.

    "I did it." She whispered in an excitable hush as she jumped up and down. "I touch."

    ncing at him in awe, she eximed, "I touch balls."

    "Kid." Apollyon couldn''t believe he was about to berate a kid for her choice ofnguage.

    Narrowing his eyes at the girl, Apollyon cleared his throat awkwardly and said. "Be careful of your words, or some people might get the wrong idea."

    Her eyebrows knitted together as she pouted at his reproach. "I touch balls!"

    "You touch orbs." Shaking his head in dissent, Apollyon corrected her. "Touching balls is kind of��"

    "It''s gold." An impatient huff.

    "Floating balls." The kid didn''t like to be chastised. "BALLS!"

    He shut his eyes and shook his head in disapproval.

    Apollyon would never allow a daughter to be rebellious as this little girl, but this tiny issue can be fixed.

    "Alright, then." Apollyon uncrossed his arms. "There is no need to argue. I will get rid of the balls."

    "NO!" The ghost child whined as she hovered near him, pleading and grabbing his hand in vain. "NOOOOOOO!"

    "Don''t worry." Apollyon pretended to pat the kid''s bo tofort her.

    The act was useless because it was just nothing but air.

    At least he could get his good intentions across. "I shall give you another gift."

    She mumbled, determined. "I wait."

    With a snap of a finger, all the golden orbs disappeared, and the chamber turned back into a dark cave.

    The young girl made a noise in her throat before her shoulders drooped in disappointment.

    "If another man in real life says that they had a gift to show you, you escape immediately, alright?" Apollyon warned her for the sake of her safety. " It might be dangerous."

    This was the best advice he could impart when it was time for her soul toe back to where it belonged.

    He cared for the child so that it wouldn''t expose itself to danger.

    Right.

    "They might be bad guys who might kidnap young girls to be their ves."

    The young girl asked innocently. "They are bad men like you, right?"

    He grimaced.

    That hit close to home.

    Indeed, Apollyon had kidnapped women from all over the Realm to be part of his Consortium.

    He had married his Empress by force, refusing to grant her wish to leave the Kingdom despite removing his curse.

    Apollyon was the big, bad wolf in this Realm when the Blood Beast possessed him, and the child must have sensed it.

    "What do you think?"

    There was a long awkward pause before the young child retreated in fear.

    No, Kid." Apollyon let out a strangeugh and let the little girl create space between them. "Me, not bad."

    Now, he was talking the nguage of toddlers.''

    Great.

    Then he sighed, adding, "--and I can''t hurt you because you are not in your physical form."

    "You want. Hurt me?"

    Head flinching back slightly, Apollyon insisted. "No, Kid."

    Why would she think that?

    Did he look like a child murderer?

    Anyway, why did he keep calling her a kid?

    If this were Apollyon''s child, he would probably call his daughter a flower name like the dandelion.

    Yes!

    Dandelion.

    No, Princess would do!

    "I mean, princess." Apollyon amended as the little girl stared at him openly, "Do you want to see the gift now?"

    The ghost child nodded and smiled with reluctance.

    Now, she was more reserved and not all over the ce.

    ''Alright, she liked to be called princess.'' Apollyon filed that information somewhere in his brain if he might use that in the future. "Please be patient, princess. I will show you something amazing."

    He shut his eyes in early regret and waved his hand like it was a magic wand.

    Apollyon couldn''t believe he was performing this easy magic trick to make a kid happy.

    He was the King of the Vampire Realm and not this child''s personal court jester.

    Chagrined, Apollyon''s sharp cheekbones burned as yellow, orange, and red flowers and butterflies shoot out from his fingertips like he was this youngss'' bloody fairy godmother.

    The ghost child sucked in a quick breath in amazement.

    Apollyon smiled to himself when he saw her appreciate the wondrous disy, squealing in delight.

    He assumed that young girls would like this gift.

    He was supposed to show this magic trick to his wife when they finally reunited, but maybe it wouldn''t be a bad idea to show it to this youngss first.

    Apollyon was curious to watch the youngss'' reaction to this magic trick while his Empress wasn''t around yet.

 Chapter 244 - Claire De Lune

    <h4>Chapter 244 - ire De Lune</h4>

    ********************************

    The Vampire King Apollyon

    ********************************

    Apollyon was curious to watch the youngss'' reaction to this magic trick while his Empress wasn''t around yet.

    Mayhap, he could already imagine the joy and excitement Luna would convey in this child''s eyes.

    Would it be selfish for Apollyon to imagine that this was the young version of his wife when they basically look the same except she had his eyes?

    If this was his dream, he didn''t want to wake up.

    Therge multi-colored butterflies delicately worked in creating a gorgeous flower crown for the girl as it fluttered in the ivory ceiling.

    Apollyon also added hummingbirds with a long blue ribbon fastened to their beaks to wrap it around the flower crown like a spiral, keeping it together and added a certain faerie aesthetic to it.

    Soft petals fell from the sky when he directed the flower crown to the youngss, and the butterflies followed the sweet-smelling blooms of orchids and jasmine.

    He decided to be whimsical when he let illusory golden carps join the mini-flower crown celebration as they swam in the outside breeze blowing from the night.

    The youngss stretched her small arms as she flew towards the flower crown with a tenacious glint in her eyes.

    She couldn''t wait to get her hands on it, and the child was bouncing on her toes.

    Apollyon was about to ask the young child if she could hold the flower crown, but he guessed there was no need to answer.

    When she grabbed it with her hand, the flower crown dropped to the carpets, detaching some of its unfastened blooms.

    The dreamlike butterflies, the floating carps, and the hummingbirds faded away.

    The child''s impatience had shattered his enchantment.

    The youngss lowered her head with her lips pressed tight.

    Eyes watering, she stared at the scattered blooms and petals near the resting ce of the shattered ss of swan-like and panther figurines.

    There was an awkward pause and a half-minute silence before the specter cried again, and this time was the loudest.

    Huh. Apollyon dropped his head and closed his eyes in resignation.

    This would never end.

    Apollyon would never block this sound out when he slept at night.

    His conscience would never let him.

    He shouldn''t have made the flower crown if this triggered the child.

    It was supposed to be just a visual show.

    She didn''t have to touch it.

    Now the girl was disappointed, and he made it worse.

    Apollyon watched the young girl grasp his useless gift like she was catching river water in her bare hands.

    What was he going to do now?

    He should break the truth to the youngss in gentle tones.

    "Your spirit does not belong here." Apollyon softly spoke to the child as he stepped forward and pretended to stroke her straw bo. "It had left your body wherever you came from."

    Apollyon wondered if he was the only creature who could see the ghost.

    If he called Cederic in his mind to gete over, would he see thess'' spirit, or did he hallucinate this entire thing and believed it is real?

    Was he going crazy for the loss of his mate?

    "My Papa told me that. You, not Papa." Wiping her tears, the youngss sniffed as she motioned to the sleeping Empress. "--but this is my mama."

    "That''s my wife." Releasing a dejected sigh, Apollyon repeated patiently. "You mistook her for your mother, princess."

    "No. You, ugly! Mama. Live. In. Us. She dead. Here." The youngss wiped her nose as she cursed, her voice breaking in sorrow, "Shit. Bad man."

    "Your papa is bad for teaching you how to curse in that age. Not me." Apollyon''s voice raised its intensity as he scowled the child.

    He crossed his arms over his chest and said, "I am a kind man. I should beat up your papa, youngss."

    "No, I beat you." She shot back.

    Brave, stubbornss.

    He wouldn''t be surprised if this were really the Empress'' child.

    They both have the same qualities.

    Bold and spunky were among the reasons why Apollyon was attracted to his wife.

    It reminded him of her, and it hurt.

    He had to clutch his chest for a few seconds so that his dark emotions wouldn''t overwhelm him.

    Apollyon asked. "What is your mother''s name?"

    Eyebrows drawing together, the youngss shook her head in refusal. "Papa will be angry with me talking about mama to bad man. I open portal alone."

    "Portals?" Apollyon crouched down in front of her, matching her little height. "Why don''t you tell me about them?"

    "Nope. Nope. Secret. " She wagged her fingers in his face and Apollyon frown at the child. "Papa. Angry."

    "You imed that you are the child of that sleepingdy on the bed." He gave the youngss a charming smile that would make thedies of his Consortium swoon in delight, wishing that this kid wouldn''t be immune to his charms if he tried hard. "You look like her."

    When Apollyon visited a vige during the Royal Entry, he didn''t really try to be a charismatic King to his royal subjects.

    It was either a nk, poker-faced look or a frightening scowl, and the children who saw him beat a hasty retreat when he crossed their path.

    There was no in-between.

    The youngss nodded in agreement. "I look, mama."

    "Do you know your mother''s name, kid?"

    "Lune. Lune." The weird name rolled off the child''s tongue as she snapped her stubby fingers.

    "Papa called her Lune." She murmured in recollection as she fiddled with the skirts of her gown in difort.

    "Neighbours hate mama. They call her ire." She scowled as she spat the words, "Whore."

    Apollyon''s mouth ckened at the curse.

    He didn''t know how to react when it was the second time he heard the child curse.

    He stuttered in disbelief. "B-bad k-kid."

    He mirrored her scowl. "You call mama a whore?"

    If she weren''t a specter, Apollyon would have shaken her tiny shoulders, knocking some sense into this unruly girl. "You bad kid."

    "Neighbors said Mama had secret men." The young child told him a matter-of-factly, and her innocent big blue eyes were wide as she bit her fingernails. "They say I don''t look, papa."

 Chapter 245 - Farewell

    <h4>Chapter 245 - Farewell</h4>

    ******************************

    The Vampire King Apollyon

    *******************************

    "Neighbors said Mama had secret men." The young child told him a matter-of-factly, and her innocent big blue eyes were wide as she bit her fingernails. "They say I don''t look, papa."

    There was a falling sensation in his stomach followed by immense numbness.

    Apollyon wanted tosh out his anger and release this deep rage inside him, but he couldn''t let the youngss see him vulnerable and so broken.

    He wished to be like her, his soul leaving his body and going out on adventures, preferably with his wife, so that they would finally be reunited.

    He straightened his spine and stood proudly despite his weakened muscles.

    Leaning forward, Apollyon tilted his head and quizzed her pointedly. "What is the name of your papa?"

    Apollyon was close to dying of curiosity.

    If she was sure that Luna was her mother, was the father--

    Was it him?

    Apollyon gazed at her with an intense focus that made her look away for a second before returning to his eyes.

    "Papa calls me." The youngss had paused, and she kept on ncing to her side, her eyes ricocheting between him and the walls in difort.

    "He will be angry." Now, the young child had looked over her shoulder as if someone had whispered to her, making her p her hands over her ears in horror.

    She must have heard something only she can perceive.

    Apollyon''s forehead wrinkled with worry.

    What awaits the child when she got home on the other side?

    "No, you had to answer my questions."

    "I go." The ghost child regarded him with a haunting look, her face turning ashen, white and pallid.

    She jammed her fingers into her armpits in a self-hug as she lowered her voice to a whisper.

    "Papa told not to talk to strangers." Her lips trembled. "Bad men."

    ''Isn''t it toote for that, youngss?'' Apollyon would havemented in sarcasm, but the young child started acting strange.

    He moved backward to give her some space.

    Apollyon dragged a chair near him and sat in front of the girl but still giving her ample room so that she wouldn''t be terrified of his power.

    "I''m not a bad man." He winced because it sounded exactly like something a bad man would say to a child before stealing her away. "I will not hurt you."

    "I know." She murmured, and her eyes were downcast. "We have same eyes."

    "Yes." Apollyon agreed.

    The youngss gripped her skirts so tightly that her knuckles went white. "Bad men tried."

    He stiffened.

    "What do you mean?"

    Apollyon''s posture went rigid as he nced at her.

    Avoiding eye contact, the girl shifted from foot-to-foot as if disconcerted.

    Clenching his jaw, he was prepared to follow through with his interrogations. "What did the bad men did to you?"

    A shrill voice. "Nothing."

    It sounded like a lie, and it made him wanted to punch walls for some reason.

    A ball of dread settled in his stomach as warning bells incessantly rang in his head.

    Pursing his lips together, Apollyon clenched his fists and asked, no, pleaded, "Tell me, princess."

    He prayed that the bad men had not hurt this girl.

    He shut his eyes and shook his head vigorously, refusing to even think about it.

    Did this ghost learn how to soul travel like the Empress, or was she a long-dead soul because of unknown circumstances?

    "Nothing." Shaking her head, the child''s eyes appeared damp and overly bright when she repeated in a murmur, "Nothing."

    The youngss sounded as if she was convincing herself instead of telling him.

    "Are you sure?"

    She nodded in silence.

    He drew a relieved breath, but he still couldn''t drive the suspicion away.

    If the ghost child weren''t ready to talk about the bad men, he would dly change the subject.

    "You don''t have to lie, you know?" Apollyon gently reassured her so that the youngss would confess the truth, or he wouldn''t be able to sleep at night.

    "I will kill them for you." It might continue to haunt him for the rest of his life if his assumption was true.

    He would beat himself up if he weren''t present to protect her if she was indeed her future daughter.

    Now, tell me." Apollyon''s heartbeat pounded, and his nostrils red in anger at the notion of bad men who have hurt thess.

    They would wish they were already dead before he could reach them. "Did they kill you?"

    "Non. V-vivante." The young girl stuttered as she struggled to find the right words in her response. "Un ��tranger a tu�� les m��chants."

    This wasn''t just thenguage of the toddlers.

    This was a differentnguage Apollyon didn''t recognize.

    Running a frustrated hand over his raven hair, Apollyon''s eyebrows squished together. "I don''t understand you, princess."

    The child wrinkled her nose. "Peu importe."

    "Alright." Apollyon pretended he understood that but, not really. "Where do you live?"

    "Pas ici." She held her stomach as if she was in pain��like some force was preventing her from answering. "I live in---"

    Wasn''t it inconvenient that hernguage kept on switching?

    Apollyon had understood her quite clearly earlier, but now he was scratching his beard in visible confusion.

    Nheless, he still prompted her, "What Realm?"

    "Je pars, monsieur." A tremor in her childlike voice bothered him as she turned to flee.

    He didn''t quite catch that but was she bidding him goodbye?

    "I disappear." The youngss became less animated as she gave him a sideways nce, her sweet, innocent smile wavering. "I not back."

    "Wait." Apollyon stood up from his chair and was about to grab the child''s arm, but his hand had passed through her ghostly form.

    Thick ck fumes dispersed through the atmosphere.

    Apollyon coughed the smoke out of his lungs before he waved his hand and used his magic to clear the air.

    After having done that, he witnessed the child staring intently at the red floor carpet as if she had expected something to open up and swallow her whole.

 Chapter 246 - Apollyons Anchor

    <h4>Chapter 246 - Apollyon''s Anchor</h4>

    *******************************

    The Vampire King Apollyon

    *******************************

    A few secondster, a small rabbit hole expanded from the ground as golden and turquoise light broke into the Ivory Tower.

    There was extreme suctioning from the hole the moment it expanded a little, just enough for the youngss to plunge herself in.

    The sucking pressure grew more extreme as seconds flew by, and it vacuumed all the jagged pieces of ss.

    Apollyon held on his chair to ground himself as his inky-ck hair stuck to his chiseled face, covering his eyes.

    Everything happened so fast that it took Apollyon a long time to get himself together and stop the youngss from leaving him just how his Empress had done.

    The ghost child jumped through the rabbit hole without looking back.

    Apollyon didn''t go near it, afraid that he would get sucked by this quicksand and couldn''t find his way back to the Vampire Realm.

    Yes, he was curious about where the little girl would go but not to the point where he would join her to the unknown.

    The ghost child was too wild for her own good, but at least she had an anchor��her physical body in whichever Realm she lived��while Apollyon had none.

    No matter how far the little girl roamed, she can always find her way back.

    Apollyon couldn''t move away from the Ivory Tower because he would like to think of himself as Luna''s anchor--not her physical body.

    Apollyon wanted to be here when she got back home.

    Luna woulde back because she loved him and not because of a mere cord that tethered her blood to his.

    Once they are connected physically, then, and only then will, he would live in stillness, quiet, and peace.

    Apollyon watched the ck void closed in continuance, closing in on her sinking form until it became a tiny dot.

    It was toote.

    The child came and left through a hole she created and jumped into it, disappearing into this vast universe as if he had imagined the whole thing.

    Rooted to his spot, Apollyon blinked rapidly for a few seconds before stepping towards where the ghost had generated the ck hole.

    Narrowing his eyes, Apollyon crouched at the space where it should have been and put his palms t on the red carpets.

    Apollyon absently tapped his lips as he observed, wondering if he could recreate a portal to Hell like the youngss.

    What were the consequences he would face if he deemed sessful?

    He had read about Portal Creators before in one of the forbidden books he had acquired from all over the Realms, and it involved dark magic.

    He knew the only people who can open portals were the High Priestesses of the Goddess Hecate.

    Apollyon sighed heavily when the same old thought pestered through his mind thesest few years.

    What if he hadn''t taken his wife''s virginity?

    She would have the power toe and go everywhere she pleased, and those Archdemons��not even him will not hold her down.

    She would have escaped from his clutches and leave the Realm despite the blood bond, or�� she could have stayed with him if he didn''t act like an egotistic asshole, forcing her to marry him.

    He would not have enjoyed the tasty delights she had hidden under those skirts and the secret sweet spot between her legs.

    Apollyon would never have known true pleasure, and that was to be buried to the hilt in his wife''s womb��to finally have something he could fully call his because of the mating bond.

    He remembered how warmth permeated through his body when her skin would brush against him by ident and how the butterflies in his stomach moved in a frenzy whenever she wore something shocking and seductive.

    He finally had someone to love without fear ofing across as a fool to everyone else.

    He didn''t care what everyone would think of him anymore as long he would have this love once again.

    Living.

    Breathing.

    Love.

    He thought the blood bond would make them inseparable, but it was obvious that the pathetic cord couldn''t even do anything to make Luna return to him.

    It would have been so easy if he made her fall in love with him naturally��slow, stable, and sure.

    A river can cut through rock, not because of its power but because of its gentle persistence.

    Standing up from his bent posture, Apollyon pinched the bridge of his nose as he squeezed his eyes shut in regret.

    He added that to the list of mistakes that would haunt him tonight.

    An icy breeze blew from at the nape of his neck for the second time tonight.

    He knew someone else was in this chamber with him.

    Again.

    Why can''t people leave him alone?

    "Your Highness." Clenching his jaw, Apollyon heard Cederic spoke softly behind him.

    Apollyon was startled, but it was good that he did not flinch.

    A Vampire King should remain alert and should not react to small surprises.

    As his muscles almost jump out of their own ord, Apollyon suddenly heightened to increase the military general''s personal distance, but he curbed it.

    He knew that it was his pride talking.

    He didn''t want to appear vulnerable in front of others��too exposed from people''s scrutiny over his weakness.

    That was why he had hidden away from the rest of the world.

    He had never sensed Cederic''s presence a few seconds ago before he materialized by the Ivory Tower''s window.

    Before, he would have considered that rming.

    Sometimes, Apollyon had this paranoia losing his magic abilities because his brain had dulled, and reaction time against others was slow.

    He could sense that Cederic was waiting for him to face him and not talk behind his back like this strictly.

    Hopefully, his mourning wouldn''t lead to extreme paranoia because he needed all the strength he could get to bring her back to the Vampire Realm.

    Apollyon chose to remain in his position, standing as he faced Luna, Cederic be damned.

    He crossed his arms tightly over his chest in stubbornness as he muttered under his breath. "What is it, Cederic?"

    "The Faerie Prince Aspen is here to see you."

 Chapter 247 - Trouble Is Brewing

    <h4>Chapter 247 - Trouble Is Brewing</h4>

    *******************************

    The Vampire King Apollyon

    ********************************

    "The Faerie Prince Aspen is here to see you."

    Apollyon raised an eyebrow at that strange news. "Where is he right now?"

    What was the Faerie Prince doing in the Vampire Realm when Apollyon had clearly told the Kings in haste to pick up the women they fancied from his Consortium and fuck off?

    Well, just as long as they had consented to the King''s personal arrangements.

    Apollyon didn''t care if he mighte across as a rude host for canceling the remaining days of the Marriage Auction years ago.

    The Kings had outstayed the Castle, and all of these events were useless if Luna wasn''t here to witness its sess.

    He had managed everything well to impress her when she returned under the wire.

    If the Kings couldn''t help Apollyon''s wife return to the Vampire Realm, the least they can do was go home and not bother him.

    He wanted all of them gone.

    They needed to return to their own Kingdoms while handling his own problem.

    Apollyon didn''t tell them what happened to his wife.

    The Kings were oblivious of his recent affairs.

    There was no point in asking for help when none of them have ever handled Archdemons before.

    In the beginning, Apollyon had asked them for help, but they couldn''t do anything except regard him with eyes full of pity.

    The expressions on their faces made him livid, making him see red, but he fought the urge to strike them dead.

    His nostrils red, and Apollyon couldn''t exin how much he hated that.

    The next morning of the Masquerade Ball, the Dragon Emperor and the Fae Prince had offered assistance when they saw him at the Council Room with messed-up hair from the constant brushing of his fingers out of frustration.

    They somehow knew that something was wrong.

    Thest thing they heard of him was that Apollyon and his wife had retired early at the Masquerade Ball to enjoy the baby-making pleasures of married life.

    Apollyon wanted to keep it that way.

    He didn''t want any gossip to spread outside the Vampire Realm that the Empress was gone when they go back to their respective kingdoms.

    He might be used of killing her.

    His royal subjects were already open to her presence as a reigning monarch, and if they found out that she was eternally unconscious--

    Once, it can be considered an ident, but this ''ident'' had already happened twice.

    The Kings had sworn their secrecy at the Council Room when the Empress was missing the first time.

    If Apollyon broke the news again that the Empress''s soul was lost, his iron-d control of the Vampire Kingdom might backfire.

    He had made an enemy of King Panterra because of the Sword Duels.

    His dues to Apollyon��his tant disrespect of the Empress��was a debt already paid by his defeat and humiliation at the Tournament.

    Apollyon would never rule out the possibility of revenge when he least expected it.

    The loss of his Empress will make him vulnerable that was why he had kept it under wraps for years, and to his relief, there was no attempted siege of his Castle while he was distracted by his suffering and loss.

    Apollyon could never afford to look weak.

    Gossip and rumors can destroy a person''s reputation, but��was there a need to defend himself when his so-called reputation was destroyed a long time ago?

    Apollyon''s ''reputation'' had no use when his Empress was gone, but still, his ears perked up for Cederic''s next reply.

    "I brought him to the Throne Room, Your Highness."

    Apollyon didn''t dally in the Ivory Tower.

    He shut his eyes and materialized at the bottom of his golden throne steps.

    ncing around the unupied seats inside the Great Hall, his lips pressed into a white sh when he couldn''t find the Faerie Prince in sight.

    Was the military general toying with him just so that Apollyon could quit getting holed up inside the Ivory Tower like a voluntary prisoner and actually talk to people?

    Was the Faerie Prince even here?

    Clearing his throat, Apollyon adjusted the back of his robes before sitting down as he waited for the Faerie Prince to appear.

    He hadn''t bathed himself for two sennights, but vampires rarely reek of sweat.

    He shall not care if he smelled like roses or rotten meat right now.

    It wasn''t like the Faerie Prince would be near enough to scent him.

    He would not care if Prince Aspen had a sensitive sense of smell, either.

    Apollyon''s couldn''t help but doze off as he waited with his head cradled in one hand, his elbow resting on the armrest.

    Alerted by the murder of crowsing out of the window, his eyes narrowed to slits when they gathered into the single chair positioned in front of him.

    Prince Aspen had arrived in his golden chariot the first time, so Apollyon shouldn''t be surprised when he pulled off something like this.

    Apollyon waited until they morphed into Prince Aspen''s androgynous beauty with his long auburn hair, which was a stark contrast to his bulky physique.

    Aspen wore a ck hooded cloak, which was also a paradox to his leaf-green faerie wings.

    He minutely shook his head as he changed his stance, propping his head up with the other fist.

    Apollyon didn''t even stand and pay respects to the Prince even if he had ced a fist over his heart and bowed his head in a greeting.

    Apollyon bit his cheek and shrugged in nonchnce.

    People who disturbed his peace don''t deserve his courtesy.

    He had deeply regretted telling Prince Aspen about Luna''s soul being taken by Archdemons.

    Apollyon had asked for the Faerie Prince''s help, which he couldn''t even provide.

    It was a mistake��a slip of his emotions and a moment of weakness.

    Apollyon clenched his fists every time he was reminded of it.

    Never again.

    He didn''t waste time.

    "What brought you here, Prince Aspen?" He asked impatiently, but still, he? pretended like his long nails had interested him more than the Fae''s unexpected visit.? "Are you returning the candidate that you have taken home to the Fae Realm from my Consortium?"

    "Trouble is brewing in the Fae Realms, cousin."

 Chapter 248 - Murdered Unicorns

    <h4>Chapter 248 - Murdered Unicorns</h4>

    *******************************

    The Vampire King Apollyon

    *******************************

    "Trouble is brewing in the Fae Realm, cousin."

    Apollyon tilted his head at the Faerie Prince with a raised eyebrow, who settled himself on the chair across him. "We might be allies, Prince Aspen, but that didn''t mean I will interfere with the internal affairs in the Faerie Realms."

    Crossing his legs, Apollyon hid how appalled he was with a little smirk. "I do not wish to involve myself with the Highest Courts, especially the Royal Family, if they are fighting like pathetic little brats for the sake of power."

    "Come on now, cousin." Prince Aspen rolled his eyes as he waved a dismissive hand. "You are just running away from the truth at this point."

    "Would you please stop calling me cousin?" Squinting at him, Apollyon said, giving him a furtive nce. "How many times do I have to tell you that I have renounced any Fae blood in me?"

    He wasn''t in a good mood for years, and this faerie prince had dared insult him?

    Really?

    In his goddamned castle?

    Apollyon heaved a tired sigh before he added, "I have nothing to do with Empress Ourania, and whether or not you are trying to bait a violent response from me, I would not give you the satisfaction."

    "I haven''t even said my piece, cousin, and here you areining--"

    "I am busy, so if you have nothing important to say---" Apollyon stood up from his throne, ready to go back to his sleeping Empress and watch over her, but Aspen had stopped him with his taunt.

    "Busy doing nothing, I see?" He eyed him directly, telling him that this conversation wasn''t over yet.

    "You forgot I am eight centuries older than you, Prince Aspen." Apollyon sat back to his throne and spoke in a t voice. "You should choose your words carefully."

    "As much as you would like to think ill of me, King Apollyon, I am here because I also want to aid you of your predicament." Prince Aspen rxed when he realized Apollyon wouldn''t leave anytime soon.

    He leaned back slightly on his chair and asked, "I see your wife hadn''te back yet?"

    "Don''t remind me, Aspen." There was a heaviness in Apollyon''s limbs and muscles every time the poor state of his Empress was mentioned��like something was weighing him down.

    "Every time someone did, it switched on the killer instinct in me." Apollyon said in a voice devoid of emotion. "You''re the closest to me, and for my convenience, should I ask for your permission to beat you up legally?"

    "Unicorns in the Fae Realm had gone extinct."

    There was a long pause, and nobody moved or reacted for a minute.

    "Thest things on the list that I don''t care about are magical horses with horns, Aspen," Apollyon spoke to break the awkward silence. "Now, if you don''t have anything of importance---"

    "There was a secret cult that had been formed overnight in the Fae Realm, and I need your help." Prince Aspen said urgently, and this time, Apollyon was ready to get back to the Ivory Tower rather than deal with this nonsense.

    "That does not concern me. You and I both know that, Prince Aspen." Apollyon clenched his fists on the armrest, but he didn''t dismiss the Faerie Prince yet, giving him onest chance to redeem himself. "You are disturbing me of my peace."

    "I am disturbing your almost-a-decade of mourning for your sleeping wife. That isn''t peace, cousin." Prince Aspen gave him a look of superiority, which was thest straw.

    The next thing the Faerie Prince knew, Apollyon had already grabbed a fistful of the cor and mmed him to the wall.

    His ws lunged to his cousin''s neck, keeping him in ce while his feet hovered in the air.

    Leaning aggressively close to his face, Apollyon whispered darkly as he sneered, "Make your next words count, Aspen, and I apologize in advance if I identally killed you."

    "I have��I have heard through the grapevine t--that the cult had c-imed that they h-had ess t-to demons." He choked his words out.

    Apollyon loosened his hold and asked him to repeat the words, making sure that he had heard it clearly.

    "They had ess to Archdemon magic?"

    Now they were going somewhere.

    He let Prince Aspen go as he stepped backward, giving him space and time to recover.

    Hended swiftly on his feet in a graceful slouch.

    His cousin had coughed for a few seconds before he bent his head side to side as if he was loosening up for a brawl, and then, the bastard had chuckled like Apollyon didn''t even hurt him.

    Wasn''t he afraid of him... or he knew deep in his gut that Apollyon would not hurt him because they shared the same blood?

    If it was thetter, then Prince Aspen was a crazy bastard.

    Apollyon should make him fear him the next time Prince Aspen provoked him.

    He wouldn''t kill the Faerie Prince because the Spring Court might dere war on the Vampire Realm and persuade the other courts to join and take over his territory.

    Was this the Prince''s gambit?

    Aspen broke Apollyon''s thoughts on his ns for his cousin''s torture when he said, "I had tied this demonic cult to the mass killings of unicorns in the Fae Realm." Prince Aspen straightened his spine and stood up, his back leaning on the golden tapestries on the walls. "Thews of thend regarding the killing of unicorns are forbidden, and once a Faerie was caught in the act, they will be sentenced to death."

    "I am sure that a resourceful Faerie, despite having mediocre magic in their blood, is capable of killing one unicorn in their lifetime if he/she is strategic enough not to get caught," Apollyon replied.

    "That''s the thing." Rubbing his neck soothingly, Aspen added, "A unicorn��the rarest magical creature of all��had been killed in the Spring Courts every three months on the new moon without a miss."

 Chapter 249 - How To Catch A Unicorn

    <h4>Chapter 249 - How To Catch A Unicorn</h4>

    *********************************

    The Vampire King Apollyon

    *********************************

    "That is, indeed, strange. I have studied the history of your kind, but unicorns are very rare and powerful." Raising an eyebrow, Apollyon said in disbelief. "They weren''t easy to catch, much less killed every three months, just like what you have said."

    "The unicorn''s ability to adapt is nearly imperceptible to us, as the generations changed so slowly over countless life spans."

    "Yes." Apollyon nodded his head in agreement. "These creatures have seen thousands of generationse and go. It would have made sense just by how those old bards spoke about these magical beings."

    "They contained an ancient and eternal presence in the Fae Realm, but in exchange, they were near extinction because of the power they hold," Aspen exined. "Which leads me to the conclusion that something far greater is attacking it. When we found the dead unicorns in the morning, they werepletely drained of blood and left with an empty husk of flesh."

    "Hmm. First things first." Apollyon rubbed his beard in contemtion. "What are the ways to catch unicorns?"

    Aspen cleared his throat before speaking, "Unicorns approached pure and chaste young virgins when they see one and threw themselves upon her. The maiden offers her breast, and the animal will conduct himself familiarly with her and begin to suck it."

    The conversation was as scandalous as it was interesting.

    "Ah, that''s the adult version of the legends." Apollyon''s lips curled up in a sneer. "Unicorns are very sexual creatures."

    "Two young unicorns were attached to your chariot the moment you arrived here, Prince Aspen." He tilted his head and eyed him sharply. "How are they?"

    "I hid them somewhere safe for now." The Faerie Prince had this smug grin as if telling him that he knew Apollyon would ask him about the chariot. "I am afraid to be confronted if the truth will be told that they were the only unicorns left in the entire Realm because of the killings."

    "So did you see your owned unicorns suck a virgin''s breasts on the day of their capture?" For the first time in his years of mourning, Apollyon dared to mirror such a cocky smirk, "What is there to suck when there was no milking out of it?"

    Both know only a man cantch on a female''s tits even if there wasn''t any milk to suck on.

    "Exactly, it was ridiculous to see that the legends were real." Prince Aspen''s brows knitted in concern as he folded his arms across his chest. "It made me question if unicorns have brains or not. because it appeared like they don''t, and that exined why they went instinct."

    "Are there other ways to capture these pure and innocent unicorns?"

    "You have to taunt a unicorn like it was a bull until they hit their horns on a tree."

    Apollyon can''t help but p a palm on his forehead, muttering, "That''s a foolish reason to get captured. Not very smart for a powerful creature."

    "Even powerful creatures have weaknesses." The Faerie Prince wiped the amusement on his face only to be reced by something sober. "How is the Empress?"

    Well, Apollyon''s mirth was also gone the second his cousin mentioned the Empress.

    Nostrils ring, Apollyon''s growled. "Shut it, Aspen!"

    Disregarding his short life for the second time tonight, the Faerie Prince went on, "The loss of your Empress had left you disoriented and desperate for direction. It made you constantly grasp for meaning, long for solid ground."

    "A love lost can feel like you have been walking for endless miles in the wastnds suffering from the draught confronted by existential dread, hungry for her presence, pleading for your life to get back to normal." Prince Aspen murmured as if he was reading a poem written on a page to be performed to an audience.

    "Don''t be dramatic, Aspen." Shaking his head in regret, Apollyon had never wanted to shut a prince up.

    He had appreciated the concern until he opened his mouth.

    He wanted tough at the absurdity of it all, but he decided to tell the truth to remove the self-loathing off his chest.

    It might be nice to talk to someone other than Jon, Cederic, and the High Priest.

    "I know you are an aspiring poet to attract as many women with your flowery words, but really, I want to enjoy thepany of my wife. The simple pleasantries of day-to-day life would have been enough for me."

    "The desert you are in will offer nofort. You must pass through this, cousin. Oh, weary traveler, let the winds and sands work their deep magic on you. Someday, you will reach your water again."

    The Faerie Prince had the nerve to step forward, look him in the eye and pat his shoulder as if that wouldfort him��as if that would get rid of his mncholy.

    With his pore-less face near his, Prince Aspen whispered in his ear. "You can forget about her. You can get other women if you want her to be the new Empress. "

    Apollyon lifted a hand to sp the back of the Faerie Prince''s neck.

    He whispered his threat in a sharp baritone, "If I have the energy to punch you in the face for that, Aspen, I would, but this kind of stupidity will not deserve any violent reaction from me. I will ignore yourck of intelligence for the second time."

    Jerking his head back, Apollyon stepped backward away from the Faerie Prince.

    "Immortals had a natural inclination to remember a missing part of them. I am blood-bonded with the Empress." Apollyon said as he gave him an icy re. "Someday, you will understand what I feel if you are finally mated to your future princess."

    "Ah, I''ve seen enough to know that being mated wouldn''t end well." A shake in the head. "You know how I am jumping from Kingdom to Kingdom to find the perfect mate that my father, the King of the Spring Courts, would hate."

 Chapter 250 - Unsolicited Advice

    <h4>Chapter 250 - Unsolicited Advice</h4>

    ********************************

    The Vampire King Apollyon

    ********************************

    "He wouldn''t allow me to marry if he would disapprove of my chosen princess, and that was the best part. The Consort I brought from here was the best choice I have ever done." Prince Aspen let out an arrogantugh. "You should have seen the King''s face when I told him he was part of your Harem and a human at that. It was the best day of my life."

    "I didn''t know who you brought from my Consortium," Apollyon asked. "Who was it?"

    "Lady rence."

    "Ah, I don''t mind a woman that isn''t my wife, but I remember she is my wife''s acquaintance." Apollyon bobbed his head slowly in recollection. "She mentioned her before."

    Then, he glowered at the rakish Prince. "Treat her well, Prince Aspen."

    "Of course, I will!" Prince Aspen eximed, bbergasted that Apollyon had to suggest that.

    It wasmon sense at its finest.

    "She is my four-leaf-clover in the Spring Courts where I don''t have to be tied down by any mating bond." He continued in an amusement. "Thedy had agreed with my conditions as long as I leave her alone on her daily hobbies as she liked to learn new things."

    "She is interested in the Fae for now. The human can do anything. She is always busy, and I like it." There was mischievous lint in his eyes as he talked about the human. "When my father is around, she can be a legitimate actress. I don''t even have to marry and do whatever Father said if I keep this ruse up."

    "Good for you, then," Apollyon said ndly as he shrugged with nonchnce.

    He hoped that the Faerie Prince would fall hopelessly, irrevocably and foolishly in love with that human Lady rence so that Apollyon could get back at him for encouraging him to forget Luna and get a new Empress.

    Blood mates weren''t that easily reced, and even if Apollyon tried to, it would be useless when he couldn''t be free from these shackles unless he found someone who can break these bonds that were deeply embedded to his mind, body and soul.

    Nobody in these Realms could probably do it, and he doubted that a god or a goddess could because the soul tie was created for a reason.

    "You have an aversion to endings. ept that nothing is permanent, King Apollyon. Even if we can be immortal and live for thousands of years, we aren''t impervious to our weaknesses. We can still die, and the rug can be pulled out underneath us anytime." Prince Aspen said gravely. "Heads can roll, grounds can open up, and the castles can crumble in a split second. All we can do is hold on for the ride instead of walking the path of self-destruction. The Empress is your Achilles'' heel, and if you wouldn''t quit moping around, you will end up dead, and when it''s time for her toe back finally, you wouldn''t be here in the Vampire Realm anymore."

    Apollyon clenched his fists in anger for he despised the sympathy in the Faerie Prince''s eyes.

    No one in this Realm could understand his plight at all.

    Those who talked about the blood bond like they were secret experts made him want to punch them in the gut.

    These bastards weren''t even mated with ady approved by the gods and the goddesses.

    Apollyon closed his eyes and breathed noisily throughout the sermon to calm himself down.

    Clearing his throat, he changed the subject. "Are the unicorns still intact when you found them dead?"

    Prince Aspen had sensed his darkening mood, and he responded a quick, "Yes."

    "Now, that''s really peculiar," Apollyon observed. "If they were hungry for power, they would have extracted anything from the unicorn that was of use. Every creature knew that unicorn horns have uses when ites to healing injuries and bringing back strength and it''s the same with the unicorn tears and its tail."

    He turned slightly away with knitted brows, thinking hard. "So if everything was intact except for the blood��"

    "Everything is intact except for the blood, King Apollyon."

    "What else can the blood of a unicorn do?"

    "As far as I know, the blood of the unicorn will keep someone on the verge of death alive but for a terrible price��a cursed life. ying something so pure and defenceless for the sake of greed and power." Aspen shook his head and tutted, "Nobody in their right mind would dare tomit such a crime."

    "The killers weren''t in their right minds." Apollyon agreed before adding, "I heard the gem at the end of the unicorn''s horn can also detect poison and dark energies. Do you think they can exorcise servants of evil with the unicorn horns?"

    "I haven''t tried doing that, Apollyon. We don''t really know if we haven''t tried." The Faerie Prince glowered in his direction and shook his head. "I can be rebellious but not to that point of breaking thew and hurting innocent creatures. "

    "You don''t have to be offended, Aspen. I''m telling you that I consider it very suspicious that those horns were still intact when you found them. I wonder why the killers had deemed them useless. They can extract everything useful from the unicorns and sell them, but they didn''t." Apollyon sped his hands loosely at the back and gave him a direct gaze. "Something was definitely wrong. When I used to be possessed by the Blood Beast Archdemon, I have a theory regarding that."

    "Did I hear that correctly?" The Faerie Prince was taken aback by his confession.

    Apollyon had witnessed his ginger eyebrows almost rising to his hairline, "Did a Prince from the Summer Court just confess to a Faerie Prince of the Spring Court that he had thought about killing unicorns?"

    "It was before I got rid of the Blood Beast who possessed my body. Apollyon lifted his palms in surrender at the usation. "It was just a mere thought, alright?"

 Chapter 251 - History Of The Vampire Royal Family

    <h4>Chapter 251 - History Of The Vampire Royal Family</h4>

    *******************************

    The Vampire King Apollyon

    *******************************

    It was just a mere thought, alright? I''m not stupid enough to kill a unicorn for the sake of such an experiment." Apollyon replied defensively as his postures went rigid. "It might have made my miserable life worse."

    "I didn''t condone the killings of these unicorns, but in exchange for helping you with this and for the consort you have brought to the Fae Realm ��" Apollyon counted three seconds for a dramatic pause before speaking, "I would like to ask for one unicorn horn if that''s alright with you?

    Prince Aspen''s mouth fell open in surprise, gasping as if he had suggested something scandalous.

    "You are shameless, King Apollyon!" Giving Apollyon an incredulous stare, Aspen snapped usingly at him, "They are already dead."

    "The least you could do is give me one so that I could test my theory if they had the power to exorcise Archdemons!" Apollyon exined. "We could use it to our advantage."

    With his face turning red, Prince Aspen dragged his fingers on his hair repeatedly as he stated, "Every time a unicorn is killed, the High Faerie Courts would experience climate change such as premature winter and eternal nights."

    "Yes, but they are technically dead." Apollyon shrugged as he ced his hands in his pockets. "All I ask is for you to give the detached horns to me. Mayhap, we can use it as a weapon if we are dealing with Archdemons."

    "King Apollyon, I thought you are freely giving your women from the Consortium." Prince Aspen had started to pace, and Apollyon wondered if he was asking for the impossible. "How dare you use Lady rence as leverage to get what you wanted when she was already with me for years?"

    "I''m not taking the woman back, Prince Aspen," Apollyon reassured him.

    He fought the urge to smirk when he noticed how the mighty Faerie Prince had gotten so defensive when his wife''s acquaintance was mentioned. "I am merely asking a favour in exchange for my gifts when you visited my Kingdom."

    "Alright." Prince Aspen narrowed his eyes.

    When he let out a heavy sigh, Apollyon was amused at how easily Prince Aspen had given in. "I have hidden the horns myself, anyway, because it might have some use sooner orter."

    "One unicorn horn is all I ask."

    "Fine." Prince Aspen''s lips pressed into a tight smile before he ced a fist over his chest. "I, Prince Aspen of the Spring Court, swear an oath to give King Apollyon of the Vampire Realm one unicorn horn as a gift in exchange for Lady rence."

    Aspen dropped his hand to the sides before adding, "I also wanted to tell you that they were punctured marks on the dead unicorns'' necks as if vampires had bitten them."

    "We had strict Fae sentry who patrolled the borders of our Realm, and we found no vampires in the vicinity," He informed him.

    "Of course, they would be no vampires in the Fae Realm, Aspen." Clenching his jaw, Apollyon narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "The alliance might have resumed after the failed marriage of my parents in hopes of your grandfather''s ns to merge the two Realms--"

    Prince Aspen cut him off.

    "I think you forgot that the King of the Seelie Court was also your grandfather, Your Highness."

    "My father, King Gwythyr, had anticipated this that it led to my mother''s imprisonment in the Vampire Kingdom, not allowing her to visit the Fae Realm so that you kind would not be able to take over the Vampire Realm."

    Queen Titania and King Oberon were perpetual rulers of the Summer Court.

    Empress Ourania, their youngest daughter, was sent to marry his father, King Gwythyr, the past Vampire King.

    The Vampire Royal Family was as broken as a fallen vase.

    Nothing in this Entire Realm could piece them back to its original state except if a warlock had the power to iste a certain object, turning back the time without affecting the other things around it. Still, no creature was capable of holding that immense amount of power.

    He didn''t remember anything that happened in their family when he acquired the curse.

    Still, the people around had told him that when the Blood Beast had possessed his body the first time, he had gone berserk--eating vampire and human''s souls alike--and destroyed the Kingdom the moment heid his hands on a creature.

    He didn''t know at that time that it was the High Priestess'' doing.

    Apollyon''s touch had be deadly, turning their skin ck and blue before they rot in front of his eyes like his touch was a colony of termites eating wood.

    It was like seeing everything in a third-person point of view.

    Trapped in his own mind, he was there when the Blood Beast had eaten any soul he could get his hands on.

    Apollyon watched them vanish in seconds.

    Monthster, Apollyon had taken back his consciousness after the Blood Beast got tired of his own tyranny.

    Cederic had exined to him what had happened to the Vampire Realm when he was under the control of the curse.

    He didn''t know that it was the work of an Archdemon.

    Apollyon''s mouth had fallen open when he found that Cederic had turned into his adolescent form, the exact age he and Apollyon met as childhood friends.

    Before bing the King''s hand, Jon, who used to be a Viscount, had aided Cederic to save the Vampire Realm from ruins.

    He had given Jon the position as the King''s Right Hand in his loyalty to the Crown and his contribution to getting the Vampire Realm under control.

    Cederic had informed him that Lilith had cursed him into eternal juvenility because he had known it was her who did this to the heir of the Vampire King.

    Everyone but Apollyon knew of Lilith''s obsession to marry him to be the Empress of the Vampire Realm.

    In turn, Apollyon had remained oblivious to Lilith''s attempted seduction, but he never gave in.

 Chapter 252 - Pandoras Box

    <h4>Chapter 252 - Pandora''s Box</h4>

    ***********************************

    The Vampire King Apollyon

    ************************************

    She was a High Priestess who pledged her virginity to Hecate, and he? had no desire to anger the Goddess of Magic.

    Apollyon only saw Lilith as a beautiful and kind ''sister'' who had numerous men falling at her feet.

    Unfortunately, he wasn''t one of them. Still, he tolerated her eagerness to stick with him everywhere he went and talk to him with those sparkling eyes, catering to her needs forpanionship out of kindness.

    He never crossed the line and thought about anything more than a friendship.

    Apollyon noticed that men had worshipped Lilith, and she obviously enjoyed the attention as they ced her in a pedestal.

    She had the image of an innocent virgin who was untouchable--so out-of-their-league--because of her new status as the First High Priestess of the Vampire Realm.

    Many men had this fetish to corrupt innocent girls from time to time, and Lilith had provided that innocent image of the men''s enticing fantasy for her exquisite beauty.

    That was why men were after her despite her status as the High Priestess��the forbidden fruit.

    Apollyon figured out early that Lilith can drive a man crazy, but sometimes, he wondered if her innocence was a maniptive act to get what she wanted.

    For some reason, Apollyon found his father, King Gwythyr, had a fondness with Lilith that was more than strange.

    This was also why Apollyon had avoided being linked to the High Priestess.

    He kept everything tonic.

    Who knew how his father would react?

    Before Lilith became the High Priestess, King Gwythyr had hinted in jest that he wanted Apollyon to marry Lilith so that she could be a part of the Royal Family as a princess.

    Apollyon had politely refused, choosing to follow the tradition when he realized that political marriage wasn''t in the cards for him anymore.

    He had loathed political marriages as he had been a product of one.

    Apollyon let the eunuchs pick the consortium''s best concubines and chose his Empress from the line-up.

    +++

    Cederic had broken the news that King Gwythyr, his father, had engaged the Blood Beast in a battle, hoping that his son will recognize him and turn back to normal.

    Apollyon could only conclude that the Archdemon of Gluttony had eaten the past Vampire King''s soul and perished.

    In contrast, his mother, Empress Ourania, had disappeared in the Vampire Realm like she had ceased to exist.

    If King Gwythyr was bonded with his mother, Apollyon assumed that his mother was already dead.

    Apollyon was hailed as the new Vampire King while everyone feared him because of the Blood Beast''s curse.

    He was left to deal with the aftermath along with Cederic, a strong and brave warrior who had turned into a boy, while Jon, a former Viscount, became the King''s Right Hand.

    Lilith was nowhere to be found along with Apollyon''s concubines only to find them five yearster, on the farthest corner of a basement without the knowledge of the Vampire Castle''s inhabitants.

    The women on the floor were lifeless, and their hair was scattered in multiple ces.

    Their body was slumped over as their arms remained attached to the chains.

    Dried blood had stained the cold floor.

    He found shes across their gut, spilling out a nest of glistening grey snakes.

    Multiple stab wounds on the upper body: neck, corbone, chest.

    Some of their skin was a fine meshwork of red threads while the others were devoid of it, pitted by burrowing insects.

    When they broke down the basement''s heavy metal door, it was clear that what happened in the basement was a ritual for the blood sacrifice.

    Turning away to cover his nose, Apollyon''s stomach heaved when the smell of rotting meat invaded his nostrils.

    The concubines'' once gorgeous-coloured irises were now without eyelids as they stared into the ceiling filled with cobwebs, their lipless mouth hanging open.

    They were utterly still and slightly frozen.

    The rest was history.

    The Faerie Prince''s voice rang in a lethal tone that it prated his thoughts, "The King had kept the Empress in istion because your father didn''t want her to return to her past lover."

    Apollyon''s eyebrows rose as he shuffled back a step.

    His mother had a lover in the Faerie Realm before she married his father?

    He brought a shaky hand to his forehead when he felt his vision spin.

    "He couldn''t keep his jealousy in a tight leash." Prince Aspen continued brutally, "Your father, the past Vampire King, had med the Seelie Court for his preposterous usations. Perhaps, he was the one who had evil ns on taking over the Fae Realm."

    Swallowing hard, he touched his temple while closing his eyes and counting his breaths.

    Apollyon''s triggers and suppressed emotions were switched on as the scenes of his childhood memories shed in his mind.

    It felt like talking about his mother and father had opened the Pandora''s Box, and he couldn''t make it stop unless he had to kill the Fae Prince in front of him.

    He inhaled deeply before exhaling a sharp breath.

    That shouldn''t be an option while Apollyon still mourned for his Empress.

    Apollyon desired to leave the past in the past, especially when it came to his messed-up family, but now those memories that had long been buried had resurfaced because of this conversation.

    Why did Prince Aspen have to bring it up?

    He clenched his jaw as he straightened his spine and ced his hands to the sides.

    Apollyon needed to face his fears in the eye and tell them to go away and fuck themselves.

    He couldn''t refuse to talk about his family forever.

    He wanted to recover from this until it wouldn''t affect him anymore.

    Apollyon couldn''t show his weakness to the Faerie Prince, or else he would be in danger.

    He had to deal with his problems once and for all.

    "No, Aspen." Apollyon shook his head as he stared at Aspen with a rueful smile, "I wouldn''t allow you to me the Vampires for the unicorn incident just because it had been drained of blood."

 Chapter 253 - The Unseelie Courts

    <h4>Chapter 253 - The Unseelie Courts</h4>

    **************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ***************************

    "Not all crimes rted to blood were rted to Vampires." Apollyon reminded him sternly, and Prince Aspen''s face expressed a hint of remorse. "Have you ever tracked down the Unseelie Courts yet? You should consider those Faeries as your enemies instead of me."

    Apollyon heaved a deep breath as he longed for his wife''s touch and all those nights where he made her shiver in a passion-- passions he had long denied every night as he reminisced on the warm scent of Luna''s skin and the satin feel of her lips.

    He couldn''t defile his wife''s body when she was asleep because he was sure that was a crime.

    That would be too simr to mating with a corpse, and he wasn''t that desperate.

    Yet.? "I am busy finding out ways to get my Empress'' soul back to the Vampire Realm."

    The Throne Room doors suddenly opened, and Cederic emerged from the entrance while two servant girls pushed a small handcart.

    The military general had led them to the table as he nced around, looking for them.

    It took Cederic seconds before he found that they were at the opposite end of the walls across him.

    Cederic squinted, probably wondering why the Faerie Prince had leaned into the wall while Apollyon covered him, his back facing Cederic and the servants.

    Turning his head, Apollyon had met his military general''s gaze.

    Cederic had raised an inquisitive eyebrow, watching them from head-to-toe.

    He had stared at them like they were doing something hush-hush, and Apollyon can only glower back at him.

    Well, not having sexual congress with his wife for years hadn''t turned him into a sodomite if that was what Cederic was curious about.

    Apollyon cleared his throat awkwardly as he motioned the Faerie Prince to get back to the table to continue this conversation.

    Prince Aspen followed as they strolled back to a small mahogany table prepared for the visitor upon meeting the King.

    The maidservants curtsied while Cederic bowed as they approached and Apollyon and Aspen acknowledged them in a nod.

    The servants pulled the chair for them.

    They satfortably in front of each other while Cederic stood behind Apollyon, simply observing them with pursed lips.

    The maidservants kept their head low as theyid organic food and desserts specially made for the Faerie Prince, setting down bowls of red velvet, honey and strawberry shortcakes.

    The servants sure knew what Prince Aspen liked because they didn''t need to be told that the Faerie had preferred milk in his brandy.

    Cederic had poured Apollyon his brandy and spilt Luna''s blood vial in it.

    He inhaled its aroma before taking a sip of his goblet.

    A delicious tremor raced through him.

    The taste alone made him remember how tempting Luna''s kisses were, and so was the thought of nuzzling her slender neck.

    His cock twitched in a re of false anticipation.

    Mayhap, he could turn into a unicorn, find his wife in Hell and suckle her breasts, but Apollyon was the reason why his wife wasn''t a virgin anymore.

    Apollyon allowed the burning spirit to slowly slide down his throat, appreciating its smoky vour along with his beloved''s blood.

    He had done this many times.

    He was used to the splitting headaches and the vomiting when he woke up from these bottle-aches due to excessive blood-drinking and alcoholism.

    It wasn''t satisfying as passions of the flesh, but it will do if he preferred to drown himself in oblivion instead of sorrow.

    "You had imed that Archdemons had taken her and I didn''t believe you before." The Faerie Prince began after taking a sip of his own, "Only an Archdemon can kill unicorns on a massive scale. I don''t think Faes from the Unseelie Court had the capacity to kill unicorns and extract their blood every three months."

    "The only thing the killers need was the silver blood of the unicorns because of its magical properties. " Apollyon replied a matter-of-factly. "This demonic cult could have been created from the Unseelie Court, Aspen. See how they didn''t even bother hiding the dead unicorns because they wanted to do such malevolent acts in the open."

    "They have taken pride in such a horrendous crime." Prince Aspen seconded.

    Swirling the mixed brandy in his goblet almost absent-mindedly, Apollyon said, "Their crimes might be out in the open, but the Unseelie Court had remained hidden in the dark because they do not like the light."

    "Yes but my theory still leaned towards demons. Members of this cult might have worshipped demons and made the blood of the unicorns as offerings in exchange for something in return. I wouldn''t rule out that most of the cult members were part of the Unseelie Court who recruited Faeries from the Seelie Court for an unlimited source of power where they didn''t have to follow the rules. Afterall, the unicorns can only be found in the Seelie Court''s territories." Prince Aspen''s fingers tightly clenched the wine goblet. "You know how the Faerie folk works, King Apollyon. Nobody could tell if we are inherently good and bad and if given a chance to do something to gain leverage over the other, they wouldn''t hesitate."

    "That doesn''t only apply to Faerie Folk, Prince Aspen, but also, most creatures."

    "It would be a full-scale rebellion, and I am afraid that they would be sessful in overthrowing the Royal Family." Aspen closed his eyes in a faint sigh. "These monsters forming cults had lurked in the shadows, having ess to forbidden magic of ancient demons."

    As Apollyon polished off thest of his brandy in three gulps, the dangerous heat had threatened to rise once again, and the Empress wasn''t around for him to spill his seed.

    He shook his head to get himself together and remarked, "The Unseelie fae are often merciless and are likely to be aggressive without provocation."

    As if he was given a divine inspiration--a brilliant idea, he snapped his fingers.

    "How about the Shadow Realm?" Leaning forward, he asked the Faerie Prince eagerly, "The Shadow King Zephyr was here during the Marriage Auction and the Coronation of the Empress. Haven''t you asked him about this?"

 Chapter 254 - Solitaries

    <h4>Chapter 254 - Solitaries</h4>

    ******************************

    The Vampire King Apollyon

    ********************************

    "Haven''t you asked him about this?" Apollyon leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs.

    As he let his palms rest on his knees, he tilted his head and smirked, "As far as I know, the Faerie Realm was divided into two Courts: Seelie and the Unseelie Courts. The Unseelie Courts consisted of Autumn and the Winter while the Seelie Court which you belonged��"

    The Faerie Prince cut him off.

    "We��"Prince Aspen emphasized without looking at him as he filled his mouth with the precious honey cakes.

    Narrowing his eyes, Apollyon brushed him off, "You always im that we were cousins, but my bloodline had belonged in the Summer Courts while you were in the Spring Courts. Being in the Seelie Court didn''t automatically mean we are cousins, Prince Aspen."

    "Oh, but we are!" Prince Aspen shrugged. "My father, the King Nuada of the Spring Courts, is your mother''s stepbrother."

    "Alright. Whatever you say."

    Still, Apollyon didn''t understand why Prince Aspen insisted on this useless connection.

    He shrugged, "I don''t care about this ridiculous family tree you held in a high regard."

    Apollyon wasn''t aware of his mother''s side of the family because Empress Ourania wasn''t treated as a Faerie when she stepped foot on the Vampire Realm.

    He only knew much about the Fae because of the books he have pored out in the past when he became obsessed with magic and knowledge.

    She was considered a vampire when she became part of the Royal Family and bonded with his father, King Gwythyr, by blood.

    When Apollyon was young, he remembered his mother telling her bedtime stories about the Fae when she visited his bed-chamber to help him sleep well.

    It didn''t happen often.

    His father only allowed his Empress to visit his son when young Apollyon threw wild temper tantrums, demanding to see his mother as he yelled and screamed and cried his heart out.

    Clearing his throat, Apollyon went on, "Anyhow, it would be both foolish and incorrect to assume that the Seelie Court is good and the Unseelie Court is evil."

    "Correct.", Prince Aspen nodded in affirmation, "The Fairy Court all serve a greater bnce, and none are so simple as mere ''good'' and ''evil'' or ''ck'' and ''white''."

    "In the beginning, the Courts have struggled for overt power, passing leadership between them based on the seasons." Prince Aspen said grimly, "In the modern era, the courts had operated within their own individual spheres, and each controls its ownnds within Faerie."

    "Now before you me the Vampirekind, Prince Aspen, have you monitored the movements of the Solitary Faes in your Kingdom? I think you should be worried about them instead of us." Shaking his head slowly, Apollyon added, "In my opinion, Solitaries were more dangerous than the vampires because they live in your Courts freely without swearing any allegiances. "

    Apollyon grinned darkly. He couldn''t halt a faint smile. "They didn''t have any promises or oaths to bind them with thews of the Fae. Don''te here ming our kind if you hadn''t done your investigations properly, Prince Aspen."

    "We don''t consider the solitaries as dangerous, and the Spring Court had decided to give them freedom if they don''t want to swear their allegiance." Prince Aspen replied.

    "Ah~ that is when you are mistaken, Aspen." Apollyon jutted his chin as he deliberately raised an eyebrow. "I think you have forgotten how the Shadow Realm was created, History could repeat itself. I say your mother and father, King Nuada and Queen Gloriana, have been too lenient about this."

    "You, lots, might want to be cheerful and engage in parties, pranks and amusement all the time but you couldn''t celebrate for too long not when this is happening behind the scenes." Their gazes met for a silent moment before Apollyonmented, "No offence but the Faes from the Spring Courts are too na?ve."

    Folding his arms over his chest, The Faerie Prince raised an eyebrow and gave him a smile which appeared forced, "I didn''te here to be insulted from someone of the Summer Courts."

    "You insult me by saying I belong to the Summer Court, Prince Aspen." Apollyon smirked, "You are doing the same thing."

    Prince Aspen lifted a shoulder. "Touche."

    "Solitaries are closely allied to witches, so there is a slight chance that they knew how to summon an Archdemon through their own exploration of the dark magic," Apollyon said pointedly in annoyance. "It wasn''t the Vampire kind, I assure you."

    "I''m not ming you, cousin." The Faerie Prince flicked him a nce before he observed his brandy like it was the fascinating thing. "I am merely sharing my spections with you, and I just thought you should know that blood sacrifices of innocent creatures were mentioned."

    "I can''t cross out the possibility that someone was summoning Archdemons in our Realm." Prince Aspen leaned slightly on the table, propping his head with a fist. "For what purpose?"

    "Why? Because of the greed of power and materialism, of course!" Apollyon pointed out the obvious as he gave the prince a furtive nce. "It''s the root of all evil in these Realms, and the Archdemons were more than willing to provide their aid so they could manipte the conjurer, take them over and gain that as well. You could take a lesson based on my experience with one."

    Apollyon gave him a hard smile.

    He couldn''t imagine that from being possessed by the Blood Beast, he was now giving the firsthand experience of his suffering to educate the other Realms about demonic possession. "Archdemons had no power in your Realm as long as no one from the Faes had enabled them by selling their soul.

    "What if it was the Solitaries who were forming this cult of unicorn killers that you are talking about?" Apollyon stated. "I say that the puncture wounds on the unicorns'' neck were to frame our Kind to divert the suspicion on them."

    "We see them as themon ground between the courts because of their impartiality. Solitaries will never be a threat in the Faerie Realm." Prince Aspen raised his voice but not to the point of yelling at him, but it was close. "They live simple solitary lives, cut off from therger supportworks, and they still respect the Reigning Monarchs."

 Chapter 255 - Meeting His Grandparents

    <h4>Chapter 255 - Meeting His Grandparents</h4>

    ****************************

    The Vampire King Apollyon

    *****************************

    "Social interactions with others are not avable because they had chosen this lifestyle." Aspen insisted quite strongly as he made frantic sweeping hand gestures. "I don''t think solitaries will have the capability to form cults as ruthless as this one."

    Squinting, Apollyon noted how the Faerie Prince had reacted defensively and said, "We never know until we dig deeper. Never trust general impressions, Prince Aspen, but concentrate upon the facts and the details."

    "Don''t rule them out." His eyebrows knitted as he pressed on, "Anyhow, I had limited knowledge about the Shadow Realm, but I knew they had been a part of the Unseelie Courts before. It was a small group of people that grewrger in secret until the Autumn and the Winter Courts have known of its existence, but it was toote."

    "Ah, King Apollyon. King Zephyr had created the Shadow Realm not too long ago. It was about half a millennium. King Zephyr had belonged to the Winter High Courts a noble. He was rumoured to be a consort of Queen Mab, but it was proven false." Prince Aspen narrated the History of the Faerie in a disapproving tone. "His Shadow Army he regarded as? ''Umbra'' just popped out like mushrooms one day and marched to all the Highest Courts asking for permission to create the Shadow Courts. The Reigning Monarchs had been so surprised about their visit when they just popped out of nowhere, literallying out of the woodwork��from the Castle''s walls forming ck clouds and silhouettes."

    "I can almost say it was a surprise ambush from King Zephyr. He had politely asked acknowledgement from the Reigning Monarchs in a binding oath." Aspen continued his narrative air of annoyance. "Now binding oaths could be very tricky to handle as they are full ofndmine and loopholes, but Zephyr had managed to create the perfect oath of acknowledgement on paper where the Monarchs of the Unseelie and Seelie Court only had to read aloud."

    "I didn''t know that this happened." Apollyon had understood the Faerie Prince because what King Zephyr had done had hurt the pride of the Seelie Monarchs which he belonged.

    He couldn''t rte to the Prince''s outrage because Apollyon''s heart didn''t belong in the Faerie Realm. "Was King Zephyr that powerful that the Reigning Monarchs had let him get away with this?"

    The Faerie Prince grimaced at the word ''powerful''.

    Everything rted to power will also rte to arrogance, thinking that there will be no other creature better than them.

    "The Shadow King was powerful, no doubt about it��" Prince Aspen acknowledged in a disgruntled tone, "--but I will credit it to his intelligence for crafting the perfect oath which was powerful to bind the greatest of Monarchs who had lived millennia more than him."

    Crossing his arms across his broad chest, Apollyon noted, "I will not strictly credit it to his intelligence but his audacity as well."

    "There are things in the Faerie Realm that not even the Unseelie Courts deigned to dabble in." The Faerie Prince murmured, "The Shadow Realm was a personification of a Faerie''s nightmare. King Zephyr and his creatures of darkness and gloom weren''t well-understood, but they have already existed on the fringes of Faerie Realm from since the dawn of time where only one Highest Court had existed."

    Apollyon said decisively despite the unease growing at the back of his mind, "I could say that Shadow Magic and Archdemon Magic are somehow simr."

    "I think they are two different things." Prince Aspen replied with a smile, and there was a shrewd glint of knowledge in his cousin''s eyes.

    What did Aspen know about Archdemons that he wasn''t sharing?

    Apollyon exined further. "Shadow Magic required a sacrificing a part of oneself to the shadow in exchange for the ability to shape it or gain from the dark benefits it offers."

    "They don''t sacrifice themselves to Archdemons, just like how conjurers do." Aspen shot back.

    "But you can''t deny the simrities between the two." Apollyon gave him a rueful grin. "Don''t rule out the possibility, Prince Aspen."

    "After all, nobody really knew where Shadow Magic had originated." He lifted a hand to rest them on the table, tapping his fingers on the surface. "Perhaps, it was the Shadow Courts who have summoned the Archdemons to take over the Highest Courts."

    Aspen lifted an eyebrow at his words. "I find it interesting how you can make such an unbridled assumption to an ally of the Vampire Realm. The binding oaths would have never allowed that."

    Clearing his throat, Prince Aspen went on. "The Seelie and Unseelie Courts wouldn''t have agreed if they say just a single word that would threaten the safety of the entire Fae Region."

    "There is only one thing to test that theory." Apollyon thoughtfully ran a hand along his jaw and demanded, "I wille to the Spring Courts and aid with the investigation provided that King Zephyr would also be there. It would be an advantage for both of us to clear the reputation of our kind by proving ourselves innocent."

    Smirking, Prince Aspen retorted smugly, "So, you agreed to go with me, King Apollyon."

    It wasn''t a question but a statement.

    Shrugging, Apollyon rose from his chair as he finally conceded, "If King Zephyr is there, then yes. The Shadow Realm had secrets of their own that I would have liked to discover."

    Aspen paused for a moment in his surprise.

    Apollyon had fit into his ns easily, which only happened once-in-a-blue-moon.

    In an attempt to hide his amusement, Aspen joked, "You sounded like you have a crush on him."

    "I will crush you, Aspen." He nced down at him with the coldest gaze he could muster. "I want King Zephyr to be there. If we are dealing with insidious Archdemons and their pathetic conjurers, we need all the help we could get to destroy them."

    Prince Aspen slowly lifted his gaze to meet his steady regard. "It''s time for you to meet your other side of the family, cousin."

    The Faerie Prince chuckled as he stood up carefully from his seat, "The Seelie Courts had been dying for you to step on the Faerie Realm."

    "Yes, I could not wait to bring my sleeping Empress with me and introduce her to them."

 Chapter 256 - Satan Of Hell

    <h4>Chapter 256 - Satan Of Hell</h4>

    **********************************************

    The Archdemon of Lust

    Prince Luxen from the Second Circle of Hell

    ***********************************************

    Before they were caught in the fire line and got killed by one of their own, Luxen and the henchmen departed.

    As they neared to their location, the fire arrows shooting off from the Ravin and Satan''s Legion bounced off from the petals simr to Luxen''s Archdemon Fork.

    Demon archers and knights rode their griffins and Cerberuses as they had scattered in the dark sky like red ants aiming their weapons from above while the others positioned themselves at the side.

    They pulled back their bowstring and gripped the arrow, ready to draw again and aim with just a signal.

    Earlier, Satan''s henchman had advanced towards them to meet him halfway, and Camio had given his master a briefing on the earlier events.

    Luxen almost had the urge to roll his eyes because, like the baby he was, Camio wouldin to his Uncle Satan how Luxen had ripped his arm without reason.

    Of course, Camio would fail to mention that he had disrespected an Archdemon Prince by not giving his fianc�� back despite asking politely.

    Demons were no different from other creatures.

    When they do something wrong, they always tell other people a false story that would fit their narrative better, demonizing the other personpletely.

    Satan briefly closed his eyes as if he were sending his thoughts into the darkness.

    His uncle, Satan, didn''t need tomand his legions because he couldmunicate to them through telepathy.

    Well, Luxen had considered telepathy a mild word.

    Satan can control weaker demons on a massive scale so it would be easier for him to dominate these demons who had sworn allegiance to him.

    These demons had dly given their power away and expected to be utilized.

    It was a lower-ranked demon''s pride to be under the control of their masters, binding their blood to Satan.

    It wasn''t really an exchange of blood, but once a low-ranked demon swore their allegiance and drink their chosen Master''s life essence, it would be easier to control them like this.

    Luxen had attempted something like this with his Domina as a master-servant alliance, but he couldn''t resist the taste of a Dark High Priestess of Hecate and see how that power felt like.

    Luxen had initiated the blood bond with the High Priestess so that he would have a solid anchor in the Vampire Realm, staying as an Archdemon without possessing a creature that was weaker than him.

    This was also the basis for an Archdemon''s seduction to have her mind, body and soul��a chance to get drunk on a Goddess magic.

    It wasn''t part of the n to be sexually, mentally and emotionally attracted to the High Priestess because of a pathetic thread.

    It led him and Ravin to unwanted frustration in Hell.

    Luxen didn''t expect an overwhelming sexual dissatisfaction if it wasn''t with the one they were blood bonded to that was why Ravin was desperate to im his Domina.

    Because of Luxen''s curse, sexual dissatisfaction was a prettymon thing as an Archdemon of Lust.

    Luxen was alright with the feeling of emptiness that came next after a one good fuck and then he was going to find anotherdy suited to her needs.

    He might be thirsty for his Domina, but Aphrodite''s curse had led him to have her only once so of course, he would make that shit count.

    Ravin had thought about this and blood bonded with Luna beforehand so that he would be rooted in the Vampire Realm the moment he separated with the Vampire King.

    Unfortunately, their mate had another n of her own.

    It gave him power, indeed, but the Domina thought five steps ahead of them.

    No matter how much they tried to tempt her, Domina was determined to send them to Hell, and she delivered.

    He swore he wouldn''t be outsmarted by a woman much more a fledging Archdemon even if she was the woman who had the power to stir his loins whenever she was near him.

    Luxen would never let her get away even if he made an enemy out of Archangel.

    It made him more hell-bent on owning Luna for himself now that the Heavenly Realms had dipped their holy fingers in where they didn''t belong.

    He never shied away frompetition or any challenge.

    +++

    Luxen had stayed away for the most part while Ravin got closer to the white lotus that had eaten their wife.

    Luxen witnessed how Ravin jerked his hand back when he touched the closed lotus blooms.

    An annoyed growl escaped his throat when his skin got burned.

    He got zapped and almost copsed when his demon wings failed to support his weight.

    Ravin almost fell to the siren-infestedke, and Luxen wasn''t aware of whether tough or cry��withughter.

    It wouldn''t fit the situation, though.

    It was stupid how Luxen''s brother had ignored the angelic runes glowing on the edges of each petal.

    The Archdemon of Gluttony had caught his sarcastic grin and approached him.

    He asked him what was going on and Luxen shrugged in response.

    Simultaneously, Ravin left their uncle as he inspected each angelic rune, interpreting them to figure out which Angel it belonged and who had protected his Domina.

    Satan pped his Archdemon wings and flew higher to the night sky with only the moon, the stars and the glowing lotus flower as the source of light.

    Well, not anymore.

    Luxen had added his incandescent orbs to light the entire area as Satan raised a finger, signalling a silentmand.

    Time ceased as a great and invisible shock wave fell over the entire demonic legions before they fired the weapons all at once.

    Satan had increased Archdemon Magic''s intensity in each of the fire arrows to make it stronger, giving out more effective damage.

    The fiery orange of the demonic fire arrows had turned into hotter blue mes in between as itunched unto the white lotus.

    They bounced like they weren''t even sharp simr to what had happened earlier despite Satan adding more mana to the demon fire arrows.

 Chapter 257 - Messy Love Triangle

    <h4>Chapter 257 - Messy Love Triangle</h4>

    **********************************************

    The Archdemon of Lust

    Prince Luxen from the Second Circle of Hell

    ***********************************************

    Frowning at this weird phenomenon, Satan had ordered their Legions to halt their attack for the meantime because it was a waste of mana.

    It didn''t work on the lotus flower despite increasing their attacks through Archdemon magic.

    Satan''s Legion ced their bows and arrows down, remaining unmoved in their position.

    Satan nced at Ravin then to Luxen, giving a little nod before the three decided to advance toward the Lotus.

    Luxen bowed his head, respectfully at his Uncle.

    The First Made Archdemons were the strongest in Hell.

    It wasn''t good to get on their bad side now that his Domina was in trouble for using Archdemon Magic by illegal mean to get away from her mate and destroying his territory.

    Luxen didn''t even know where this damned lotus came from.

    "What is happening?" Satan asked Luxen.

    Scratching his jaw, Luxen gave him a half-shrug because he didn''t know.

    Widening his stance, Ravin inserted himself between his uncle and Luxen, blocking him from Satan'' view.

    His Uncle didn''t castigate his brother for the tant disrespect.

    Wondering by himself if there was any favouritism at y, Luxen narrowed his eyes at his Uncle before he moved his gaze back to the Archdemon of Gluttony.

    Crossing his arms, Ravin glowered in usation. "You didn''t take care of our pretty wife properly, Luxen."

    Luxen''s arm shot out to grab Ravin by his cor as he brought his face closer to his.

    Baring his teeth, the Archdemon of Lust glowered back at his brother. "Why don''t we check the lotus flower and figure out how I summoned something so heavenly?"

    Luxen watched Ravin struggle to free himself from keeping him in his position.

    His strength was strained due to his broken wing, identally releasing Ravin.

    His brother''s burst of power broke through his control.

    Ravin manoeuvred his hold on him using his arms and elbows, kicking his left thigh.

    Immense pain exploded through his body that he almost lost the strength in his wing muscles as the throbbing pain made great waves up to his stomach.

    There was painful tightness in his throat as his limbs trembled.

    Luxen didn''t gasp nor express his agony because Satan was present.

    It would be a disgrace to be seen as vulnerable Archdemon in front of his Uncle.

    Who knew what his Uncle Satan had plotted in his scheming mind if he saw just one sign of weakness?

    Luxen advanced quickly, and Ravin tensed and widened his stance, preparing for the fight.

    sping his other hand to Ravin''s torso, Luxen increased the pressure on his hands to throw him aside.

    In a heartbeat, Luxen brought back the Archdemon fork in his hand and hit Ravin in the shoulders.

    He didn''t mean to kill his brother by impaling him.

    He was just offended at the Archdemon of Gluttony''s implication that he couldn''t handle such a simple girl for six months.

    As heat flushed through his body, Luxen let the Archdemon magic flow from his arm to his weapon as his entire body crackled with electric sparks.

    He sharply smacked his weapon a few times in hopes to bash his head with it, but Ravin was quick to grab the Archdemon Fork from his hand.

    With ring nostrils, he drove Luxen''s own fork into his neck as if to behead him.

    "This is for my Amare''s revenge," Ravin swore.

    It was a threat that Luxen didn''t doubt for a moment.

    Luxen strongly pped his Archdemon wings and flew backwards, but it was barely an escape.

    Lifting his arms in a cross to protect his head, he closed his eyes and cringed when Ravin pounced with fluid stealth.

    Luxen was ready to meet his fate without a choice.

    He still believed that his Archdemon brother wouldn''t end him.

    Luxen had practically helped in his separation with the Vampire King, but then, Archdemons weren''t a race which was known to be grateful.

    They kill and torture creatures as a way to show their gratitude.

    Luxen opened one eye, wondering why he felt no pain when he could hear Ravin''s momentum as he sharply smacked his weapon a couple of times.

    Was Luxen''s protection barrier effective despite his weakened state?

    There was an invisible barrier cast between Ravin and Luxen.

    In his effort to get to him, Luxen''s brother banged the weapon repeatedly to destroy it.

    The air around them suddenly shimmered.

    In the blink of an eye, the barriers morphed into thick red walls before it shattered into triangr shards from Ravin''s Fork''s constant beating.

    Ravin was prepared to strike at Luxen again, but the Archdemon Fork had vanished into thin air from Ravin''s hand, turning into a red mist.

    They paused for a while as they confronted the red mist in a frown.

    Someone cleared his throat, and Ravin and Luxen turned their heads toward t the direction.

    "My nephews, aren''t you too old to fight for a mere female in front of your Uncle?" Satan demanded with a hint of impatience. "Both of you are somewhat preupied with each other instead of the Archangelic Invasion in our Dominion."

    He narrowed his gaze in distaste, "I don''t like not being the centre of everyone''s attention, but I guess it is understandable since I waspeting with yourdy, am I right?"

    "I apologize for this outrageous behaviour, Uncle. This wouldn''t happen again." Ravin faced their Uncle respectfully bowed in front of Satan. "I am angry that Luxen had put my Amare in harm''s way."

    She isn''t just his property but mine as well. If she is broken beyond repair, then my blood bond with her will be affected." Turning to Luxen, Ravin''s lips were twisted with annoyance as he said, "She should have just stayed with me. I will not trust you anymore around what is mine, Luxen."

    Ravin didn''t wait for Luxen to argue or Satan toment on that passive-aggressive remark because he already flew to stand behind their Uncle''s back, watching Luxen with golden eyes full of malicious intent.

 Chapter 258 - The Grand Torturer

    <h4>Chapter 258 - The Grand Torturer</h4>

    **********************************************

    The Archdemon of Lust

    Prince Luxen from the Second Circle of Hell

    ***********************************************

    "Both of you are somewhat preupied with each other instead of the Archangelic Invasion in our Dominion," Satan tilted his head and asked, "Where did this thinge from?"

    ncing at his Uncle, Luxen''s head shook fiercely before heaving a weary sigh, "I don''t know."

    Flicking a sideways nce at the magnanimous lotus flower before he brought his cold gaze back to Luxen, Satan demanded, "You keep shrugging when I asked you about this thing-in-question, nephew."

    Ravin muttered to himself behind Satan, "I can sense that our wife is inside that stupid flower."

    "I am a Firstborn Demon, Luxen."Satan''s cold features hardened as he said, "The demon fire wouldn''t destroy it despite increasing the intensity of my magic."

    Muscles going rigid, Luxen announced, "It is the Armor of God."

    Every demon in the vicinity who had heard the name of God in Hell sucked in a shocked breath.

    "How can that be possible?" Ravin gave a small shake in his head. "This makes no sense."

    The dark evil surrounding Satan intensified as his anger became horribly tangible.

    Weaker demons exposed to Satan''s dark aura have turned physically ill.

    "I have eyes, Luxen." Frowning, Satan''s attention remained on Luxen as he asked, "Did the fledgeling Archdemon summon the Armor of ''He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named''?"

    Satan prompted, "Exin your side of the story if it is simr to the one my henchman had told me."

    "My question is, what did the henchman tell you exactly, Uncle?" Luxen stepped forward in a challenge as he faced his uncle without fear. "Do you want me to fit in with his version of the story, or should I proceed with mine?"

    "I don''t know why you hated my henchman this much when you get along well before." Satan''s eyes glittered in cold amusement when Camio approached their circle in perfect timing. "Let us hear your story out starting from the moment the thick ice on the frozenke had melted, Luxen."

    Swallowing hard, Luxen stared at Ravin, to Camio then back to his Uncle for a tad too long.

    Luxen felt a re of unease.

    He didn''t know how to break this news to everyone, confirming what the henchman had probably told his uncle.

    How can he dy his Domina''s imprisonment if he told Satan the truth?

    In Hell, Satan''s rules are rules.

    No matter how devious and ruthless an Archdemon was, no Archdemons are above the Law of Hell except the ones who made it.

    He took a deep breath before admitting hurriedly, "My Domina had learned how to summon Archdemon Magic."

    Luxen witnessed how Ravin''s jaw ckened in surprise.

    Shaking his head in disbelief, Ravin whispered darkly, "Who taught her?"

    There was a thick, icy danger in the air cloaked in the air.

    It had the same feeling as being tied to a chair as if he had been tortured in an Archdemon inquisition.

    Luxen lost the ability to think on his feet, but he decided to fuck it and tell the truth. "She learned it herself."

    There was no point in lying.

    Ravin will help him save the Domina.

    Ravin''s voice lowered an octave, "Was she in danger?"

    Luxen ''s response was utter silence. His reluctance was unmistakable.

    He wasn''t about to tell his brother that he forced Luna into a kiss.

    Luxen needed an ally to keep Luna safe at this point.

    Ravin scowled at him, not taking his silence well.

    He had a hard expression on his chiselled features, and his arms were straight and locked into fists.

    "Ah, I get it." Slowly nodding his head, Satan turned to face the Lotus Flower as if he had expected the petals to open up and show Luna inside.

    When it didn''t happen, Satan red at it in disappointment.

    "This was what my henchman had told me. Your wife, who was still a fledgeling Archdemon, had broken the Rules of Hell by using Archdemon magic without the supervision of her Master when she was, in fact here, in a short period of time." Satan''s frown had quickly morphed into a smile edged with cruelty, "The Grand Torturer had been bored due to the decline of rebellious fledgeling Archdemon in recent years."

    Satan had strictly referred to the new generation of fledgelings studying Archdemon magic under his tutge, straightced and obedient.

    This would be an interesting debate if these traits would be good for future Archdemons.

    Satan was the best Master when it came to training new fledgelings before they challenge the reigning Archdemons in each Circle of Hell.

    His most favourite thing about priming the new fledgelings was when Satan and his students discover a newfound skill and teach them how to cultivate it.

    Satan preferred teaching girls.

    They were pleasing to the eyes, and they know how to kiss ass, worshipping the Higher Ranks with their sickly sweet words and praises of how amazing their trainer was.

    "She didn''t mean any harm, Uncle." Luxen insisted.

    "Hmm." Satanughed darkly without warning, and the harsh sound of it brought chills down his spine. "What happened to that hole in your wing then?"

    Ah, Luxen was busted.

    Gritting his teeth, Luxen reasoned out. "It was an ident."

    Good thing that Ravin had followed through with the discussion and helped Luxen convince their Uncle, "Please let it slide."

    "What did you really do to your wife, Luxen?" Again, Satan chuckled, his expression mocking as he regarded him. "You were a ruthless Archdemon, but you don''t hurt people you can use before you have gained their trust."

    Ravin glowered at him, "Did you hurt our wife, Luxen?"

    Grimacing, Luxen shrugged with indifference to his brother''s usations because to put it simply, Ravin was telling the truth.

    He replied, "We should just forget the whole thing and never speak about it again."

    "Your wife will be in the custody of the Grand Torturer." His Uncle gave an impatient click of his tongue, making his stomach tighten into knots.

 Chapter 259 - Object Of Mockery

    <h4>Chapter 259 - Object Of Mockery</h4>

    **********************************************

    The Archdemon of Lust

    Prince Luxen from the Second Circle of Hell

    ***********************************************

    "I will carry the Lotus with me for further study whether thedy woulde out of the Armor or not." In his uncle''s voice, the tone awakened this unresolved trauma inside Luxen during his time with the Grand Torturer once.

    When Luxen was young, this sharp, deep timbre had indicated that Luxen was in trouble and he will be punished during the training.

    "Since nobody in this Circle knew where it came from, I was curious about the process of how this fledgeling had summoned something from the Heavenly Realms when she had Archdemon blood in her. No evil can summon armours that belonged to Archangels. Who was she in cahoots with her allies in the Vampire Realm? Did she have any contact with Archangels before?" His Uncle said out loud, but he wasn''t addressing anyone in particr, "I wish to know how to do it, break her down step-by-step and cultivate the skill myself. I would have an advantage if I could duplicate the Armour and use that weapon against ''He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named'' Himself!"

    Luxen''s scalp prickled as he sensed his uncle''s intention, knowing that Uncle Satan would torture the answers out of her and would enjoy her suffering very much.

    Satan covered a palm over his lips and stretched his arm towards the Lotus like he was blowing kisses��deadly red ones.

    Thousands of tiny red globes with spikes all over them simr to sea urchins came out from Satan''s breath as it clung to the Lotus,pletely covering up the Armor of God.

    Not a white space of the petals could be seen.

    At this point, Luxen clenched his fists, wanting to peel those red things sticking on the angelic runes so bad.

    When his Uncle experimented on the things that fascinated him, he will disregard other creatures involved in pursuing his satisfaction and curiosity.

    Baphomet!

    Luxen was stuck in a rock and a hard ce.

    He needed to protect Luna.

    When Satan advanced towards the Lotus, appearing like it had been covered in blood, Luxen swiftly moved in front of his uncle, blocking him of his ns to take Luna and the Armor of God back to his Kingdom.

    "No." Luxen held his arms outstretched in grim determination. "You shall not hurt the Domina." He must protect his wife from harm, even if it sacrificed his pride. "It was my fault."

    Raising his eyebrows in surprise, Satan let his hands dropped to his sides.

    "She was merely defending herself from me." He insisted.

    "That is why she had sted Archdemon magic on me without holding back." Luxen sighed dejectedly as he continued in a monotone. "Her unconscious had thought she was in a life-and-death situation."

    Ravin dered furiously. "You raped her."

    "That was too extreme." Narrowing his eyes at Ravin, Luxen ran a frustrated hand in his hair.

    Waving his hand in frantic dismissal, he snapped, "It''s too far from the truth."

    "Ah." Ravin correctedter. "You forced yourself on her."

    "It was just a kiss! goddamn it." Cheekbones burning in chagrin, Luxen bellowed the truth from the top of his lungs as if it was the gospel, "IT WAS A DAMNED KISS, ALRIGHT?"

    Everything fell silent as Satan and Ravin stared at him, regarding him as if Luxen had grown two heads!

    The only sound in the Arctic region was the asional screeching of the griffins, mocking his sexual prowess.

    Luxen clenched his jaw as he glowered at them, fighting the urge to bury his face in his hands in regret.

    Clearing his throat, Luxen confronted them with his head held high.

    He, a strong Archdemon, shall not care about the lower-ranked demons'' opinions.

    It wouldn''t matter.

    He exhaled a frustrated breath and regained hisposure.

    "You are supposed to be the master of seduction--the Archdemon of Lust." Squinting, Ravin tilted his head as he scratched his cheekbone.

    "What is happening?" He looked confused and didn''t hold back, "Have you be impotent?"

    Ah.

    What had Luxen done?

    How could he let themugh at his expense?

    Nobody in the Second Circle was willing to give him a break over this mistake.

    "The wife didn''t want you?" Satan widened his eyes in disbelief that Luxen had never wanted to be somewhere so bad--anywhere but here.

    "That''s sad, Luxen." His uncle approached and ced an arm around his shoulders yfully,

    "First time being rejected?" Satan gave him a conspirational nce, "Even an old man like me can get a girl so easily, and I don''t even have to say anything."

    ''They only stick to you because of your status as a Firstborn Archdemon.'' Luxen wanted to retort, but he pursed his lips and kept his mouth shut or else it might be Domina who might suffer from his mockery to Satan.

    He avoided eye contact so that he could freely roll his eyes.

    Who knew if his Uncle could still get it up?

    Luxen wasn''t interested to know.

    The insults kepting from his Uncle, and Luxen wished he was deaf.

    He wanted tosh out at others, punching them in the face out of frustration and embarrassment.

    Telling others he had endured them with grace was a gross understatement.

    Wait until his fellow Archdemons knew about the curse Aphrodite had ced on him which Luna was the only person who knew of.

    Luxen aggressively cleared his throat to make them stop because they had thoroughly enjoyed making fun of him.

    "I have revealed the truth even if it might ruin my reputation in the Seven Circles. Now, I want to request my Domina''s freedom from her rendezvous with the Grand Torturer soon, Uncle." Luxen kept his face nk, letting them know their ridicule didn''t affect him at all, nor did it decrease his masculinity.

    He just wanted to move things forward.

    Luxen ced his palms in his chest, ready to take responsibility for all the me, "As her husband, I don''t want her to get hurt nor suffer in my expense. It is my---"

 Chapter 260 - A Wifes Schedule

    <h4>Chapter 260 - A Wife''s Schedule</h4>

    **********************************************

    The Archdemon of Lust

    Prince Luxen from the Second Circle of Hell

    ***********************************************

    "As her husband, I don''t want her to get hurt nor suffer in my expense. It is my---"

    All of them saw the giant red lotus bloomed in a gradual motion in front of their eyes, revealing Luna curled up into a ball.

    Sheid at the centre of the floret with her Archdemon wings safely tucked below her.

    A golden haze surrounded her as she slept, cradled in an elevated bed of honey while white feathersnded all over her clothes as an Archangel imed her.

    Her eyes were closed while his palms were wrapped protectively over her t stomach.

    The slit of her flowing lc dress draped over her thigh, exposing her long ivory legs.

    "I guess there was no need to kill thedy just to pry the Archangel''s Lotus open, then." Hearing the wonder in his Uncle''s voice, Luxen knew that Satan was awestruck at the elegant disy, but that didn''t mean their Domina was safe from her punishment for summoning magic without the trainer''s permission.

    "The future of Hell looks promising with thisdy''s existence. She will fit right into my ns of revenge to the Heavens." Satan was determined not to let her get away. "I will bring thedy with me right now so that I can train her."

    "If you want to train her right away, can you spare her from meeting with the Grand Torturer?" Even if Luxen''s ego was now in shambles, he still petitioned for Luna''s safety with his head bowed, showing total submission.

    "No can do." Satan clicked his tongue as he wagged his forefinger in his face, wearing that smug grin. "Rules are rules. Even Archdemons aren''t exempted, Luxen. Not even you."

    Luxen''s jaws clenched as he cursed his Uncle in his mind for this.

    Tilting his head, the old man tried to appear contrite but failed miserably at it. He sneered, "Do you remember your time with the Grand Torturer when you were punished?"

    "How long will she be with you, Uncle?" Ravin asked their uncle politely, knowing what was at stake.

    To save Luna, they had to grovel to the firstborn Archdemon.

    "She will train with me along with the fledgelings, and until she knew the rules and used Archdemon magic properly as my student, I wouldn''t give her back." Satan squared his shoulders with an air of superiority as he lifted a hand to fix his crown. "Thest decision will depend on me."

    Satan shrugged with nonchnce. "She will be my property."

    The Archdemon of Gluttony stared at his Uncle in stunned disbelief.

    Scowling, Ravin argued, "She is my wife first before she became a property of Hell."

    "Mine." Satan retorted. "I turned her into an Archdemon."

    "Ours." Luxen dered, referring to Ravin and him as Luna''s blood mates.

    Luxen can''t believe they had resorted to this.

    Other demons would have never believed if Luxen narrated this exact situation to anyone who might care to listen.

    They sounded like three youngds fighting for their ownership over their ything.

    "If you have decided with that, can my Domina stay with me for onest week?" Luxen raised his head and met his Uncle''s shrewd gaze. "She was unwell��"

    Ravin asked pointedly. "Why was she unwell?"

    The Archdemon of Gluttony never missed a thing, huh?

    Luxen replied, and it came out as a question. "She was paralyzed?"

    Ravin almost went ballistic.

    "You hurt her so that she wouldn''t escape. You kept her paralyzed," Ravin murmured with gritted teeth. "Did you do magic on her and let her suffer?"

    The two of them shared a long silent gaze.

    Luxen had never wanted to kill Ravin this much before, but he didn''t want to admit that he owned an angel de and tried it on her for a little bit.

    Worse, he would also be sent to the Grand Torturer.

    "Uncle. Don''t let Luxen have my wife." Furious, Ravin faced Satan, hoping that his Uncle would listen to him. "He had his chance, so I want my Amare to be with me even for just a week."

    "Give me three days." Luxen asserted, cutting him off.

    He will not be taking a ''no'' for an answer.

    "You had your turn, Luxen." Ravin red at the Archdemon of Lust. "I will not allow you to hurt her any further. You can''t be trusted with my Amare."

    Luxen shot back in anger. "And you can be trusted?"

    Ravin jutted his chin. "We shall know if she stayed with me."

    Luxen and Ravin watch their Uncle hover at the Lotus petals'' edges.

    The Firstborn Archdemon wasn''t stupid to enter the auric field, or the Armor of God might destroy him.

    Luxen had this strange vision of Satan sucked into the golden centre as the petals shut itself quickly simr to how the crocodiles snapped their jaws shut when their prey had wandered close enough for it to snap down and have a snack.

    This Lotus could also be simr to a carnivorous nt in the rainforest, trapping insects in their digestive nds--but instead of flies, they trap Archdemons.

    Even the inner petal whorls of the lotus shoot lightning sparks to any witless demons who dared to draw near.

    They waited for a while to find out the floret''s next move.

    The massive floret lowered itself slowly back into theke waters until it disappeared into bubbles of mist.

    "The Lotus Flower had separated itself by its own free will," Satan observed as he rubbed his chin in contemtion, not at all surprised. "I guess the Archangel have control over it despite it being in Hell."

    Demonic sirens broke through the water surface and surrounded her as Luna floated without care, riding the imperceptible waves like she was a message in a bottle.

    "Ravin will have her for a week then after that I am going to take her away," Satan announced. "She will be in my custody after her punishment for breaking the Laws of Hell.

    "Uncle, let me handle her rather than Ravin," Luxen demanded. "I can do better. It was a mistake."

    Satan mused, "I''m sorry, but my decision is final."

 Chapter 261 - Wicked Thirst

    <h4>Chapter 261 - Wicked Thirst</h4>

    ************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *************************

    Luna''s lids fluttered before she opened them, gasping for breath in a desperate attempt not to drown.

    For a moment, she iled her arms around in panic as the hot water sshed outside therge t basin she was in.

    She had thought about the sirens below the frozenke who were determined to ce her in a simr ceramic life-sized bowl and make a soup out of her alongside the blood and rotting flesh of the corpses they acquired.

    Thank the Goddess!

    There weren''t detached heads and chopped limbs floating in the water with her.

    When she realized she wasn''t in danger, Luna sighed with relief and rxed into the water.

    She had sluggish, heavy limbs and dry, parched throat paired with this lingering sensation of floating in the water like a piece of wood.

    Did somebody drug her?

    The flimsy linen cloth wrapped securely around her body as the pale pink liquid clung into her hair and skin.

    She lifted her arm and saw that she was covered in red and ck rose petals.

    If she stretched her arms downward, Luna could touch the bottom of therge basin bath with her hands.

    A sickly sweet��too sweet and tangy��scent drifted through her nostrils.

    It was invasively pungent that she could practically taste it in her mouth.

    Luna scrunched her nose and held her breath, but it didn''t fail to make her gag.

    She waved a hand on her face to drive the smell out.

    As she raised her head to look around her, Luna realized she was inside an elegant t-shaped bowl which contained hot sweet-scented water while she was covered in herbs, leaves and flowers.

    There were thickyers of smoke from the heated water, emanating to the entire room epassed by light, airy and almost transparent shell-pink curtains.

    The colour schemes seemed like the perfect location to seduce someone to their deaths.

    "Hmm. It sounded like someone like Apollyon would do." Luna muttered to herself, her heartbeat racing at the notion of meeting her husband in the Vampire Realm.

    ''Mayhap she was back, but Apollyon had ced her body in a different location.''

    As she scraped a hand through her long silver hair, a thought crossed Luna''s mind.

    ''This felt like she was back in that bathtub Apollyon had created for her before Lilith had brought her to Hell,''

    She coughed out the steam she inhaled.

    ''This was clearly a different room than the bedchamber in the Castle.'' Luna heard a cynical voice inside her head and her shoulders drooped in disappointment.

    Her hope and determination wavered that it almost brought her to tears.

    Bringing her knees closer as she wrapped her arms around her legs in a hug, Luna sat at the edge of arge hot basin and buried her face in her hands.

    She clenched her fists.

    Luna never felt more alone in this world.

    It seemed like Luna had died and resurrected, but she couldn''t remember what happened in the in-between.

    She racked her brain, recalling the recent events.

    It felt like she was missing something important as if there was a chunk of her memory removed.

    Luna didn''t feel like something had changed.

    Every time she forced herself to remember, her head ached, sending her into a wave of nausea.

    Luna had no memories between the period where she drowned in theke waters at Luxen''s the Ice Kingdom and the second she turned up here in this��

    She couldn''t turn her head fast enough, searching for the exit when she heard a heavy door opening and sealing shut.

    "Oh, my goddess." Arge frame which belonged to a male at his prime suddenly took shape behind the shell-pink curtains.

    Her stomach almost shrivelled in hope and anxiety.

    Luna swam to the edge of the bath to create distance and check out who he was.

    ''Please be my husband. Please be my husband.'' Closing her eyes shut, Luna chanted the words like a prayer. ''Please, goddess. Let it be my husband.''

    "Apolly��"

    Luna gasped, covering her hand to her mouth in shock.

    The pink curtains opened, and surprisingly, it was her husband, indeed.

    Ravin.

    Shifting his attention to her, The Archdemon of Gluttony parted the translucent pink curtains aside and held them.

    Luna licked her lips without thinking as her eyes travelled to his overall strong physique, the broad, muscled shoulders, the defined chest and chiselled abs.

    Chills run down her spine, brushing her nipples.

    Ravin only wore a white loincloth simr to hers, but he was wrapped around the waist like a small towel.

    The Archdemon''s skin glowed from within, and her throat dried up at how magnificent his body had looked like in which she had no business admiring.

    Luna was married to Apollyon, and she will only im him, no one else--even if they were as handsome as her husband or for any Archdemon in that matter, standing in front of her.

    Luna brought her gaze back to his Ravin''s face.

    She swallowed hard when she saw the naked heat in his smouldering bright amber eyes.

    "Amare." Tilting his head, Ravin stepped forward, and she froze, covering herself, "You don''t look happy to see me."

    Narrowing his eyes at him, Luna didn''t even feel the need to fake her expression.

    "No, Ravin." Biting her lip, Luna nodded in agreement. "I am not happy to see you."

    "Oh." Ravin''s lips curved as he stared at her. "I see someone is feeling peevish because she was thirsty."

    Luna stared back. "Shut up."

    Ravin blinked, hisshes inappropriately long for such a man to exist.

    "Listen. You just woke up from the destruction you have caused in Luxen''s Kingdom, so I understand." Straightening his spine, Ravin rested a hand to his hips and offered his free wrist near Luna''s mouth. "Here, drink some of my blood."

    "Oh," Luna said. "OH!" Then, she eximed, finally understanding. "You mean that kind of thirsty."

    Nodding slowly, she regarded him beneath hershes. "I thought you meant other�� "Luna trailed off in a whisper, "--things."

 Chapter 262 - Feisty Lady

    <h4>Chapter 262 - Feisty Lady</h4>

    *************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *************************

    Nodding slowly, she regarded him beneath hershes. "I thought you meant other�� "Luna trailed off in a whisper, "--things."

    "What did you think?" Ravin smiled, and there was a danger in that smile as he murmured, "What things?"

    "Nevermind." Luna shook her head in refusal as she retreated, summoning the willpower to resist his slow seduction. "Thanks for the offer but I''m not thirsty."

    "Ah~" The Archdemon chuckled evilly before he replied in a husky voice. "I certainly know what you mean."

    Luna screamed aloud in surprise when the Archdemon of Gluttony pulled the short white cloth around his waist and revealed his cock.

    It was too big, despite already sporting a half-erection.

    How could Luna remove her gaze from it when it hadmanded her attention, disyed just a few feet in front of her face?

    She did not sign up for this.

    Luna immediately covered her eyes with her hand as she swam to the farthest edge of the bathtub in seemingly expert stokes because of the shallowness of the water, quick out of the Archdemon''s reach.

    Good thing that the bastard never attempted to grab her hair back,? just letting her be.

    Luna knew deep inside that it wouldn''t do much if Ravin desired to make her see hisrge package, but she tried to get it out from her sight.

    Out of sight.

    Out of mind.

    When she turned around to face him again, Luna peeked through her fingers while her other hand was outstretched, shielding the sight of his cock from her angle at the corner of the bathtub.

    When the Archdemon met her gaze when she nced up, his lips curled up in amusement, "I thought you meant this thing."

    Ravin gave a half-shrug, watching her with a hooded gaze. "You want it?"

    Raw fear bloomed in the pit of her stomach, but she hid it with an air of nonchnce. "You are so cocky, Archdemon."

    "I am cocky." Ravin''s fingers trailed the contours of his abdomen before he stroked his cock.

    Damn it.

    The bastard had the nerve to be witty, and here she was, staring at him in a guilty pleasure, ck-jawed and speechless.

    Luna raised an eyebrow and smirked, ignoring that her bones had turned to jelly and she can''t fight off Ravin''s advances if he tried.

    "Apollyon had a bigger cock, and it hits my clit just right." Closing his eyes shut, Luna grasped for herst visual memory of her husband as she murmured, "My husband''s." Luna faked jagged breaths and hot, deeply sexual moans for good measure. "He stretched me so wide that I screamed his name when he rubbed against my walls, making me tighter, wetter."

    Blushing at her own words, she opened one shut-eye to witness Ravin''s reaction.

    Ravin''s lips parted as his deep voice lowered, "Are you challenging me, Amare?"

    It was a wrong move.

    From the re of his nostrils and his dark red cheekbones, her second husband was turned on? rather than insulted.

    "No, idiot." Exhaling a frustrated sigh, Luna swore and threw her hands up in an ''I give up!'' gesture.

    She pointed an using finger at him and yelled, "You are supposed to feel slighted!"

    The Archdemon of Gluttony had the nerve to chuckle.

    "Well, no parts of me will ever be small, Amare." He leaned closer. "--but if you want me to prove something, I can hit it for you."

    Fists clenching, Luna huffed in annoyance, "I''ll hit you."

    Her personal jabs at his member were proven ineffective.

    She wouldn''t let Ravin prove anything to her.

    Squeezing herself at the corner to make herself small, Luna hugged herself in a poor attempt to cover her exposed body or better, make herself invisible from his scrutiny.

    The pink rose water in the bathtub still smelled sickly sweet that it made her want to vomit.

    A fragmented echo of her memory shed across her mind.

    Luna paused, shut her eyes and massaged her temples.

    Unwanted torrid kisses in her lips.

    Archdemon Magic.

    A red ball of lightning.

    Did she kill Luxen with it?

    If she killed Luxen, will she die too because of their blood bond or not?

    But she was still alive!

    Nevermind, Archdemons can''t be killed that easily.

    If they were, they would probably find a way to resurrect with their cheats and tricks.

    Ravin didn''t wait and took her confusion as an opening to get in the bathtub with her.

    He advanced towards her and Luna felt like a cornered animal in front of a predator, not knowing whether to fight, fly or freeze.

    Luna pulled herself together in a few seconds with her heartbeat pounding hard.

    "Get away from me, you��you nutcase." Luna shrieked as she pushed the pale pink water in his direction, sshing him in the face.

    "I''m already in the water so calm down," Ravin growled because every time he opened his mouth to speak, the sshes of water got in.

    "Get out of the tub and remain outside of it." She ordered him as she gargled and spat the water out of her mouth when Ravin did the same thing as his revenge. "We will have a conversation if you want."

    Turning his back to avoid Luna''s water attacks, Ravin asked her, concern etched in his face. "What is wrong with you?"

    I am here, almost naked." Luna replied, indignant.

    "I am your husband." Ravin sighed. "You are safe with me."

    "I will not calm down until you and your---body move away from me."

    Luna stopped her attacks when the Archdemon listened to her simple request, settling at the farthest corner of the bathtub across her.

    "I''m just naked in the bathtub which is the most natural thing." He leaned his arms on either side of the rim of the bathtub. "No harm is done."

    She coughed at his statement and responded in a promise, "I''ll kick that thing between your legs."''

    Ravin appeared ready to devour her as the dark pupils of his golden eyes turned into vertical des, "You are one feistydy."

 Chapter 263 - Two Peas In A Pod

    <h4>Chapter 263 - Two Peas In A Pod</h4>

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    "You are one feistydy."

    Luna''s head flinched back slightly as she squinted at him in confusion and ire.

    Did Ravin say that?

    "No, I am not acting feisty." Settling her palms on her knees as she sat primly on edge, Luna poured her hatred in this one icy re.

    She jutted her chin and demanded, "I want to go home to the Vampire Realm, where my husband is."

    "I like respectabledies who are feisty deep inside." Ravin smiled as he scanned her appalled face, descending to her neck and her exposed corbone and chests.

    "Women I am usually involved with before you knew their ce right away when they stepped foot in my Castle." He added in a calm whisper, "In my bedroom, t on their back with their legs spread."

    Ravin''s lips curved, and his smile lit up his golden eyes. "But for you, I will make an exception, Amare."

    Luna spat, "Fuck you."

    "I will ept that as apliment." Smirking, Ravin gave her a half-shrug, "I know you want to."

    Luna blinked at the sheer audacity of the Archdemon and replied, "No, thank you. I had enough of this."

    "I''m your husband, Amare." He raised an eyebrow. "At least, I''m not an asshole like Luxen and turned you immobile for weeks."

    She fought the urge to roll her eyes and cover her ears.

    Once this conversation about ''I''m your husband.'' started, this will never end.

    Luna decided to keep his mouth shut instead of arguing that Luxen and Ravin were all the same.

    Did Ravin even have a distinct personality that was different from Luxen?

    These stupid conversations about husbands made her feel like she was going around in circles, listening to a broken record.

    Did Ravin even have the capacity to talk about anything else that was remotely interesting?

    Luna shook her head in disapproval. "You are no different from him."

    One minute Ravin was chilling at the farthest edge of the tub across her, the next second he was already in her face.

    The Archdemon didn''t even let her blink twice.

    He wrapped one hand around her neck.

    It wasn''t tight to choke her to death but still hard enough to give human, bruises like a prized blue-purple cor.

    "I would appreciate it if Amare wouldn''t lump me with the Archdemon of Lust." Ravin didn''t do it in full force but just enough to force someone in submission. "I might not know the details, but as one of your husbands, I don''t like what he had done to you in his Castle."

    Luna raised an eyebrow and winced, biting the inside of her cheek in annoyance as she sped her hands on his wrists.

    She pursed her lips and kept her head down, staring at the water in fascination.

    It would be better to keep Ravin in the dark about what happened while she was in that state of paralysis.

    It was because of the angel de Luxen had smuggled from an angel, making Luna his target practice and the one he would give the angel de to as a gift.

    What a twisted Archdemon!

    If Ravin found that out and tell others, she would be in trouble.

    Ravin paused for a whole minute, probably staring at the crown of her head, pondering what to do next.

    "You haven''t asked me anything about what happened." Standing only inches from her, Ravin gripped her chin with his hand so that he could stare into her eyes.

    He asked, "Do you remember anything while you were inside the White Lotus?"

    There was nothing wrong with Luna''s speech earlier, but when Ravin mentioned this Lotus, she suddenly struggled to find the right words. "W-white Lotus?"

    "You were covered by the Armor of��"Ravin trailed off, hesitating whether to say something or not.

    "Have you talked to an Archangel recently?" He asked with urgency in his tone, which made Luna''s heartbeat pounding in her temples.

    "I��"

    Eyebrows squishing together, Luna was about to respond when her body copsed and sent her reeling.

    She let out a high-pitched gasp and exhaled a groan when she knelt at the bottom of the tub,

    She was afraid that her bones had turned to jelly again.

    Luna''s eyes widened in shock when she realised she couldn''t even lift a hand or tell Ravin where it hurt.

    She had gone numb.

    The Archdemon''s attention shifted to her, supporting her weight.

    Ravin wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close, his brows wrinkling in concern.

    He stroked her forehead gently snd the tenderness alone could make a girl get the wrong idea that an Archdemon cared. "Are you alright?"

    "R-Ravin." Luna moaned his name as she swallowed hard. "It hurts. My head."

    Luna closed her eyes when spots started to fill her vision, "It felt like it was splitting into two, Ravin."

    She pleaded in shallow breaths. "Help me."

    Cradling her in his arms, Luna sensed a slight panic in Ravin''s voice as he caressed her face.

    Ravin whispered, "Don''t force it, Amare."

    "I can''t." Luna grimaced when her thought spun as she focused, pulling that hidden memory into the light.

    She raised her voice in frustration. "I need to remember."

    Ravin tried to stay calm. "Don''t be so stubborn."

    The more she forced it, the more it felt like something squeezed her lungs. "I hate forgetting something important."

    "Stop it, or you will perish." This time, her Archdemon husband sounded pissed off.

    Running a shaky hand through his dark hair, Ravin gritted his teeth and urged, "Don''t strain yourself."

    Luna''s heart stopped as she wed into his shoulders.

    She sobbed, "Ravin."

    When Ravin sensed that Luna''s shoulders had drooped as she rxed her stiff muscles, he knew that she had finally given up uncovering her memories.

    "Good girl. It''s alright, Luna." He murmured in her ear as he kissed her forehead, "You will not be able to recover it yourself no matter how hard you try."

    He tensed, offering her a sad shake in the head. "The Archangel had locked your memory."

 Chapter 264 - Lick You All Over

    <h4>Chapter 264 - Lick You All Over</h4>

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    Luna managed to meet Ravin''s fierce golden gaze with her tired eyes wide open. "I want to get out of this tub, Ravin."

    I want to sleep." She murmured, blinking drowsily as she faced him, "I''m exhausted."

    "I should have known." Ravin guided her to the side of the bathtub with tender care so that he could lean unto it while Luna sat on top of his naked body.

    Grabbing her waist towards his, Ravin stretched his legs as she nestled on his chest. "The demonic runes I ced on you were fading, reced by Angel Dust all over your body."

    She tensed, "Angel Dust?"

    Did Ravin know she got in contact with an Archangel''s apparition before?

    As usual, the Archdemon couldn''t keep his hard-on under control, but both of them decided to ignore it.

    She didn''t care to nce down.

    Luna had treated it like air as it poked unto her ass.

    She couldn''t see it, but it was there.

    "I have washed your entire body nine times already, and this is the tenth." Ravin drew in a deep breath, and Luna could sense that he was sniffing the crown of her hair. "It''s noting off entirely despite scrubbing your skin and soaking you with demon blood."

    She turned her head to nce up at him. "This pale pink liquid---"

    He wrapped his arm protectively around her body, and she didn''t struggle.

    Fighting with a mature Archdemon was futile because a fledgeling could never overpower him. "I slew some demon imps on our way here to my Kingdom."

    "Oh." Luna''s mouth formed into a silent ''O''.

    Luna soothingly rubbed the throbbing ache on her forehead and murmured in an icy tone, "So I''m not in Luxen''s Ice Kingdom anymore."

    "You are back in my Kingdom." Ravin''s voice lowered in deep baritone as he whispered in her ear.

    Luna sucked in a sharp breath.

    She paused briefly as her heart clenched with pain. "The Hellfire Desert Kingdom with the Crimson Skies."

    "You remember." There were pride and amusement in those two simple words.

    Luna''s heart was heavy as her mind clouded with fear, pain and terror.

    Just for a moment, Luna thought she might turn physically ill.

    "Of course," Luna wrinkled her nose in disgust, remembering the chopped limbs and detached heads of the children with empty eye sockets.

    She gave a deep shudder as her stomach revolted.

    The vision in her memory escted her piercing headache as she battled the tears that threatened to fall.

    Luna pressed a hand to her twisted stomach, and Ravin''s hand came to rest upon her hand in a gesture of unspoken sympathy.

    "You were tainted by the Archangel." He interrupted her dark thoughts as he told her grimly, "Angel Dust is a lethal poison to demons, especially to a fledging like you."

    There was a sudden air of danger that crackled about him when he mentioned the Angel Dust on her body.

    Luna knew Ravin didn''t like the Archangels marking her. "If an Archdemon touched you, they would feel excruciating pain like I did."

    "The first time I carried you in my arms, my skin turned ck and blue upon contact." Ravin heaved a weary sigh. "Instant knife shes manifested unto my flesh, and the next minute, I was bleeding profusely."

    "I don''t feel any different." Luna shook her head as she nced around her, "Where is the Angel Dust you are talking about? I don''t see it."

    Luna dragged her chilled fingers on her arms, and she shivered.

    Ravin had noticed her shivering, and he grasped her hands in his warm grip, "The sticky silver of dust glittering on your skin. That is Angel Dust."

    "Angeldust can burn an Archdemon''s skin like this. That was why I need to cleanse you." He said quietly. "You can smell that sickly-sweet smell?"

    There was a faint pause before he added, "That is the scent of Angel Dust. It could make you vomit and burn your stomach like acid if ingested."

    "I didn''t remember being tainted by---" Luna remembered the man who had given him angel feathers when she lived in Luxen''s sex dungeon.

    That was thest encounter she remembered with an Archangel.

    Did Ravin know about it?

    Brushing his lips on her ear instead of the neck, Ravin''s tightened his grip on her, "I need to clean the Angel''s Dust which you have acquired from an Archangel''s contact so that you will heal faster."

    "H-how?" Luna stuttered as the Archdemonughed.

    ''" First things first." Ravin lifted a hand and pressed his wrist unto her lips as an offering. "You need to drink."

    Luna strongly insisted. "I told you I am alright."

    "Don''t make me tell you twice, Amare." It was the sound of razor shing over her skin, sending chills over the nape of her neck.

    Luna saw no need to argue any further and did what he ordered.

    Parting her lips, Luna''s fangs elongated, biting his wrist so hard she swore she had pierced bone.

    Luna drank Ravin''s Archdemon blood in gulps, never wasting even a drop.

    Moaning in bliss every time Luna swallowed his essence, she licked and sucked Ravin''s bloody wrists to her heart''s content.

    Ravin groaned in response, his cock surging upwards when her tongue glided towards his punctures.

    She drank his blood like Ravin was water, and she was a thirsty traveller in the desert.

    Luna was the greedy traveller who finally had the taste of her desires.

    Luna gave a choked cough as thest trickle of blood slid down her throat, and Ravin''s wounds had sealed shut.

    Wiping Ravin''s blood off her mouth, Luna lifted her head and met Gluttony''s concerned gaze with a frown.

    "You were thirsty." Ravin studied her face, warily as he brought her hand to his lips, "Why do you keep denying what you need when I have offered for free?"

    A thick lump threatened to choke her when she heard Ravin''s words. "I don''t need your help."

    "You just have to endure it then," Ravin''s tongue flicked over the sensitive skin of her wrist, "I''m going to have to lick you all over to get rid of Angel''s Dust on you."

 Chapter 265 - Silver Tongued Devil

    <h4>Chapter 265 - Silver Tongued Devil</h4>

    ****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    "You just have to endure it then," Ravin''s tongue flicked over the sensitive skin of her wrist, "I''m going to have to lick you all over to get rid of Angel''s Dust on you."

    The Archdemon of Gluttony had hit the nail on its head when he asked Luna about denying her needs like she didn''t deserve them to be met by someone else.

    The unfortunate truth was Luna didn''t want to rely on anyone for assistance.

    Did that also mean that she thought she wasn''t lovable enough to deserve help deep inside?

    To deserve her desires?

    If that was the case, Luna didn''t think highly of herself despite being the Vampire Realm''s Empress.

    She deserved everything that was given to her without treating it as transactional.

    Interacting with her maniptive husband Apollyon in the past and the Archdemons striking their bargains with her every chance they get had made her see that everything in this world was conditional, and to be honest, it made Luna paranoid.

    She didn''t like depending on anyone, not even for nourishment, but his changed husband, Apollyon, was an exception to this personal rule she had lived by.

    She deeply inhaled the scent around her.

    The Archdemon had smelled like blood and sex as he ran his fingers through her wet silver hair, disentangling them as if he had a right touch her so intimately.

    Luna lifted a hand as she gathered all of her hair strands on her left shoulder so that Ravin would cease ying with her hair.

    "You''re quiet." The Archdemon spoke in her ear. "Do you have anything else to say?"

    Luna winced, frowning.

    Ravin''s suggestion was just so absurd that it didn''t deserve any response.

    Luna shook her head hard in refusal to Ravin''s scandalous offer.

    "Don''t even try to lick any part of me, Archdemon." Squirming in her position, Luna gritted her teeth as she tried to get free from his grasp. "That stimting act is reserved for the Vampire King alone."

    "Amare, I never said I was going to stimte you."? Luna can feel Ravin sending out some strong, seductive vibes that were almost suffocating.

    Ravin''s pheromones had wrapped around her body as he enveloped her in his arms.

    "I am going to eliminate the Angel Dust on your body by marking you with my saliva, and if you are going to be stimted from my act of kindness then, that is on you." A bark ofughter. "It will be your fault. Not mine."

    Luna swallowed hard because she was seriously contemting this, "Wouldn''t ite off by itself?"

    "No," Ravin replied.

    Luna suggested. "How about rubbing a cloth all over my skin to get rid of it?"

    Silence.

    "Believe me. I have tried. Even bathing you in demon blood nine times to get rid of the angel toxins wasn''t enough." Ravin said in crystal clear rity and Luna''s stomach dived from the repercussions she will face from the Angel Dust. "Wiping it with a cloth or anything wouldn''t do much."

    There was a long pause filled with sexually charged breaths.

    "Let me do it." Ravin''s voice was echoed into the walls of her mind, putting her in a trance.

    Luna knew what she was doing because she had experienced this with Luxen.

    She snapped out of it so easily as she uttered with conviction, "I wouldn''t let you."

    Luna bent forward as she tried to escape.

    She twisted from him, but he held her elbows, pulling her towards him again.

    It sent her ass digging into his member, and now the Archdemon was aroused because of her own doing.

    Luna stopped her gyrating motions when he heard Ravin''s guttural groan of pleasure.

    Luna fell right into his trap.

    "You are testing me right now. Good thing I already prepared for this while you were with Luxen," Ravin stated. "I am determined to keep you with me in Hell as my wife. I shall embody the patience of a saint."

    "Actually, Ravin��" Luna said, fighting to keep her expression calm and collected.

    She needed to trick him out of this.

    "I don''t want you to lick me because I don''t want to make you sick," Luna murmured, feigning concern. "You are my husband, after all."

    "I am a stronger Archdemon so? I can handle it better than you."

    "Angel Dust made me feel dirty as fuck." Luna said randomly, keeping him upied and making him forget about removing the Angel Dust, altogether. "I stink."

    "Fledglings couldn''t handle even the slightest Angel Dust, and you are still alive." Ravin snorted. "At least it wasn''t that strong as the moment you got out from the Lotus."

    Luna sighed, raising her hands in surrender. "Alright, I hate to say this, but I guess I would let you."

    The bastard gave her a smug grin as if Luna was his genie in the bottle, and she had fulfilled his first wish.

    Then, Ravin''s brows knitted in concern as he asked, "What if you decided to kick me because it is ufortable for you? Do you think you can handle licking?"

    The way he behaved as if he cared for her made Luna wonder if he had ingested demon drugs.

    Luna nced up at him, watching the Archdemon with new eyes. "It depends where you lick, Ravin."

    "I would have to do it all over your body because it''s there."

    She flinched as the beads of sweat on her spine turned to ice. "Is it really everywhere?"

    Ravin nodded.

    "Alright," Luna said quietly. "Tie me up or better yet, knock me out so that I wouldn''t feel a thing."

    "I will tie your hands so that you wouldn''t kill me identally with Hellfire just like what you did with Luxen."

    "I don''t think I have the energy to use Archdemon magic."

    "You shouldn''t, or Satan woulde to get you."

    "Did he��" Luna trailed off, "Was he there when I was unconscious?"

    "I didn''t know If Luxen had told you not to use Archdemon magic without your guide''s supervision," Ravin said behind her as his hands securely held her waist. "It is against the Laws of Hell."

    "Goddess." Rivulets of sweat ran down her forehead. "What will happen to me?"

    "Later. I had to lick you first and remove the poison out of your skin."

    "Nevermind, I''ll do it myself." Luna lifted an arm and took a long gentle lick of her skin.

    Flinching, Luna''s mouth opened out of its own ord as it switched on her gag reflex.

    The Angel''s Dust clung to her tongue like poison; its bitterness evoking a knee-jerk rejection response.

    Luna''s mouth remained open because she couldn''t bear to close them, not when the Angel Dust was in her tongue.

    "Hawth teh gat redth ef thaz?" Luna spoke to Ravin urgently with her mouth wide open, but it sounded wrong.

    She was asking him ''How to get rid of this?''

    Luna shouldn''t have tasted it.

    "Ah." Ravin quickly shifted her from hisp as she pushed her to the rim of the bathtub.

    As Luna gasped in surprise, Ravin braced his hands on either side of her head and smirked, "I guess I had no choice but to kiss you."

 Chapter 266 - Master Manipulator

    <h4>Chapter 266 - Master Maniptor</h4>

    **************************************************

    The Achdemon of Gluttony

    Prince Ravin from the First Circle of Hell

    **************************************************

    Ravin''s pleasure was like hot coal, it did not me yet it burned.

    As his face loomed closer, Ravin closed his eyes as his mouth slowly descended into hers.

    The first thing he did was part his lips to bite into her lower lip to see if it was as soft as it looked��as pink and supple as the peaches.

    ''Would her nipples taste so much better if he had licked them first?'' Ravin wondered.

    Ravin kissed her lightly on her trembling lips, hoping that he wouldn''t scare her.

    Luna had to get used to the way his lips had moved.

    One little thing that might set her off, and Luna will push him away.

    When Luna started to rx, Ravin cupped her cheek with a hand while the other one possessively squeezed the nape of her neck.

    He pushed his body against hers, pressing her unto the bathtub.

    With his mouth wide open, Ravin caressed her tongue with his before he went deeper, coating her Angel''s dust-covered tongue with his saliva, marking her as his and not the Archangel''s.

    She moaned as her fingers kneaded into his bare shoulders, and Ravin ground his erection into her soft feminine belly.

    He knew he got her when she had slightly parted her legs.

    Ravin dropped his arms to the water.

    He brought her parted legs to cling unto either side of his waist as he rubbed against her quim.

    As she subconsciously thrust her breast to rub her nipples against his chest, Luna gasped in surprise when Ravin''s hands pulled at the short purple-grey cloth that covered her upper body.

    Ravin smirked when Luna let him tug at her flimsy clothing, setting her mounds free from the tube top.

    With every piece of clothing he removed, Ravin had considered it a step closer to victory!

    As he wrapped an arm around her to stroke her upper back where Luna''s Archdemon wings were attached, Ravin''s fingers settled under her small chin as he raised her head towards him for better ess, sucking her tongue with his lips to get rid of the glitters of silver poison.

    When Ravin broke the kiss, he watched Luna regarding him with a dazed look, gasping for air.

    Luna''s eyes were zed over, her tongue darting out as she licked her quivering lips.

    Chest heaving, her ivory skin was gloriously flushed.

    She leaned her weight into him with her knees trembling at his onught.

    Ravin''s lips curved into a slow smile as he brushed his thumb on the corner of Luna''s lips, wiping the mixture of his and her saliva. "Would you still allow me to lick your body after this?"

    A myriad of emotions shed across Luna''s beautiful face, which was fascinating to see.

    In that few seconds, he witnessed uncontroble desire, a shadow of guilt and shame before it shifted back to arousal, but thest one was his favourite.

    His Amare was determined to resist him.

    Luna can dream because resistance was futile when it came to his seduction.

    Swallowing hard, Luna''s hands clenched briefly before she released them. "Yes."

    +++

    The Archdemon of Gluttony had the sceptre ofmand all along.

    His n was simple.

    To conquer a rival, one must change tactics and perspective, faking a retreat and staging a surprise attack.

    Ravin and Luxen had yed the game of chess in his Archdemon Chessboard Chamber.

    They picked their strongest demon representatives from their Legion as their pawns fight against each other.

    The Chess Game''s goal was to determine whom Luna would perform her wifely duties.

    It was a gamble to sacrifice their Henchmen and High-Level Demons in their Legion in a stupid game.

    As the reigningmander, he had to gauge and estimate his own warriors'' strength inparison to his enemies'' picks.

    It would be a one-on-one battle during the face-off.

    The Chess Board Chamber''s floor had monochromatic squares alternating ck and white.

    The surroundings were an opalescent white light, and the boundaries can stretch to all directions in infinity.

    Ravin and Luxen had represented the Kings'' chess piece while their strongest President acted as the Queen.

    The rest of the chess pieces were represented by a mix of High-level, Mid-Level, and Low-Level Demon Knights from the Legion.

    Ravin never intended to share Luna with Luxen.

    He was looking for ways on how to eliminate Luxen from Luna''s life behind the scenes.

    Luxen was oblivious of Ravin''s ns to sabotage Luxen and Luna''s rtionship.

    Ravin had considered the Chess Game as a joke.

    He had chosen most of his chess pieces from the weakest link in his Legion because he never nned to win.

    Ravin had massacred the weakest warriors of his Legion to acquire his Amare.

    A small sacrifice for such massive rewards.

    He wanted to make Luxen think that he was weak so that he wouldn''t figure out his next ns.

    Pretending to be weak had made Luxen grew arrogant.

    Ravin''s brother had let his guard down and messed up everything by himself.

    He had deduced that his Amare already had a grant hatred with Luxen ording to what little information his brother had told him at his Kingdom.

    Ravin smirked at Luxen''s bad luck because? that was what he liked.

    That was Ravin''s goal��the end game.

    If Luna would be forced to choose the lesser between two evils, Ravin knew she would choose him over any situation if he yed his card right.

    As her Archdemon husband, he would be willing to oblige.

    When that timees, she would be conditioned to choose him by her own free will.

    He couldn''t wait for the day that this will happen.

    Nevertheless, he had to be patient in keeping up the ruse.

    Luxen never knew of Ravin''s ns to be a hero in Luna''s eyes��a rescuer and a saviour��and at the same time, making Luxen, the viin in Luna''s perspective.

    Now, Ravin got her where he wanted her.

    Luna was in a warmer disposition to kiss himpared to Luxen, who couldn''t even wait.

    Ravin didn''t have to force Luna because he had already coaxed her to kiss him.

    The Archangel came in at the right time, wrapping Luna in that Lotus Flower, marking his Angel Dust all over her body.

    Poisoning by Angel Dust would be worth it if Ravin could get close to Luna.

    Anyway, it wouldn''t affect stronger Archdemons like him.

    It would be much easier to conquer his wife once he got past the licking stage and then---

    Before his Amare knew it, they would be making Archdemon babies in the next sennight.

    Ravin would make it his Amare''s habit to get used to his touch and his presence by her own doing.

    He would show and make her feel so desired until his only reflection would be mirrored into her eyes.

    Luna wouldn''t care about anyone else.

    After all, vanity was the soul of love.

    He would not make the same mistake as Luxen did.

    A smart man learned from his mistakes while a wise one learned from others'' mistakes.

    Ravin would be more coaxing and inviting Archdemon, who can empathize and understand his Amare, promising the right things and keeping his promises.

    Ravin will let his Amare think that all of her decisions were based on her own free will.

    He will make her assume that Luna had all the choices when she had none because Ravin was the one calling the shots.

 Chapter 267 - Moist

    <h4>Chapter 267 - Moist</h4>

    ******************************************

    The Archdemon of Gluttony

    Prince Ravin from the First Circle of Hell

    *******************************************

    "Do you think you could speak properly aside from that ''yes''?" Ravin caressed the back of her neck, tracing her spine down to the small of her back with his fingertips. "I don''t think a one-word response is enough to know if I have cured you of your predicament."

    Luna''s eyes had remained closed, not giving him the response he wanted.

    Ravin watched Luna as her head lolled to the side as if she had lost her strength.

    Luna''s head almost leaned towards his shoulder, her weak, lithe form, pressing into his muscled flesh.

    A tiny pang of sympathy pinched his conscience, demanding his attention.

    Ravin wondered if his Amare had passed out, but he thought otherwise.

    Luna''s ws digging unto his shoulder des was an obvious indication.

    Was Ravin too rough with his drugging kisses or was he too forceful as the Archdemon of Lust?

    Did Amare felt like his delicious pecks had vited her?

    Thest thing he wanted was to be an asshole like Luxen.

    Ravin loosened the hand he had wrapped around her throat.

    He wondered if he had sucked a lot of energy from her because that was what Archdemons do.

    If vampires sucked blood, Archdemons would drain the energy of their target.

    Mayhap, Ravin had unconsciously done it to Luna, because of the blood bond.

    A male Archdemon was also well-known for being an incubus, sucking the female''s energy he coptes with.

    "Amare."Ravin''s voice lowered when he felt Luna shiver, the tiny hairs on her skin standing on its ends.

    Ravin lifted her chin to meet her heavy-lidded amber eyes as he rubbed his thumb on her thick lower lip. "So you have decided to ignore me again and refuse to say anything, huh."

    He moved his hand from Luna''s jaw to squeeze her cheeks, cajoling her to open her mouth.

    He had forced Luna to nce up at him, meeting his shrewd gaze.

    Thankfully, Luna was annoyed enough to open her eyes as she bestowed him her most defiant nce.

    "If you don''t want to talk, let me check your tongue to see if the precious saliva of an Archdemon Prince worked its magic." He inserted his thumb on her parted lips, merely inspecting if the silver glitters of the Angel Dust still coated her tongue.

    Luna chomped on hisrge thumb hard with her front teeth, and Ravin pulled it at once.

    "Y-you weren''t moving for a minute there." Ravin drawled huskily. "I thought you were so mind-blown you have passed out from such an amazing kiss."

    Ravin was shocked at what Luna did, but he hid the proof of his desire.

    Now, he imagined what other dirty things her pouty, cherry-red lips and those pearly white teeth could do.

    "Just hurry up and do it, Ravin."

    Clearing his throat, he asked, "Are you ready?"

    As Ravin swept Luna''s bangs away from her forehead, he realized that Luna''s hair had curled from the root to its ends and her fingers had pruned from staying at the water for too long.

    Her golden eyes glittered with undisguised desire, "As ready as I''ll ever be."

    Clenching his fists, Ravin restrained himself from grabbing her hips and shape the curve of her waist with his hands, but that would be taking too far and might earn him a deserving p in the face.

    Even if his cock was half-desperate, he fought the urge to lift the thin cloth that covered his Amare''s quim and bury himself under her warm, honeyed depths until the sun rose.

    Ravin had promised to lick, and as an honourable Archdemon, he shall deliver.

    For now, Ravin needed to concentrate on the task-at-hand so he would be able to pass his Amare''s test of loyalty.

    His right arm touched the underside of her breast, and he savoured the feel of his skin rubbing against her warm, soft flesh and her rosy ares puckering against his pectoral muscles.

    Ravin angled his face to her flushed cheeks, drew in a breath as he inhaled the scent of her skin.

    He settled his tongue on her, and she hissed at the first contact.

    The caress of his tongue on her cheekbones made her flinch, and she tried to push him off her.

    sping her elbows tight to keep her from struggling, Ravin retreated and traced her jawline with butterfly kisses.

    Ravin explored her upper body with gentle care.

    He slithered his tongue all over the swan-like curve of her neck, flitting on her sharp corbones which was elegantly adorned by a small red gem settled on her vicle.

    Luna was the personification of temptation.

    The taste of her sweat along with the demon blood and smattering of Angel Dust was a dangerous blend of drug snaking through his primed body, lulling him into wanting multiple rounds of sex with any female he could get his hands on.

    Ravin needed to summon self-control.

    The subtle maic attraction had mesmerized him as the dark potions he poured along with the demon blood permeated the atmosphere,? blending into the bathtub''s hot steam, bing denser and more tangible.

    It was the icing to the proverbial cake.

    He could me everything unto his lust as the sexual tension escted to a fever pitch.

    As his fingers move to massage the balls of Luna''s shoulders, Ravin''s mouth glided to the silky expanse of skin on her chest down to the globes of her breasts spilling from the short linen top he hadn''t removed all the way.

    Luna moaned as if she was on a precipice��that fine line between pain and pleasure--every time her tongue stroke every inch of her skin.

    Ravin raised his head to observe the stream of saliva he had smeared over Luna''s face, neck and chest so far.

    The demonic runes he had ced upon Luna the first time they had met in the Dream Realms with Lilith''s help did not only fade, but they vanished as if his marks on her body didn''t even exist in the first ce only to be reced by something else.

 Chapter 268 - Mark Of The Triple Moon Goddess

    <h4>Chapter 268 - Mark Of The Triple Moon Goddess</h4>

    ******************************************

    The Archdemon of Gluttony

    Prince Ravin from the First Circle of Hell

    *******************************************

    With every lick of Ravin''s tongue of Luna''s skin, the Angel Dust cleared out from her face and chest, leaving a minimal taste of poignancy in his mouth.

    When he swallowed the tiny silver particles coating his tongue blending with his spit, it wasn''t entirely unpleasant.

    Ravin was a strong Archdemon, so he wasn''t fazed at all or��was he bluffing to help Luna from suffering and would rather face the consequences of ingesting Angel''s Dust himself?

    He can''t help but satiate his curiosity, but if he could y as Luna''s knight-in-shining armour and have his wicked way afterwards, then he would take the risk.

    He was the Archdemon of Gluttony.

    Ravin can endure the vour without grimacing as he carried on.

    Parting his lips to trace her sternum, he stared at the three small red triangr shapes carved on her ivory skin just below her cor bone and settled above her breasts.

    Ravin''s hand flew to her chest as he rubbed his fingers hard against it in panic, hoping it was just his imagination.

    His muscles went rigid when he couldn''t remove the marks.

    If these were new runes, he hadn''t recognized who this belonged to.

    He swore it wasn''t there earlier.

    Mayhap, the Angel Dust had caused him to hallucinate.

    When he bent his head to examine it closer, he realized that the triangles were equidistant to each other, perfectly aligning from the centre.

    There was an inscribed circle at thergest triangle in the middle, while the remaining triangles at the side have inscribed crescents facing opposite each other.

    Ravin cocked his head to the side as he scratched it gently with his nails, probing for its authenticity.

    He had this eerie spection that this was the mark of the triple goddess showing the moon phases, starting from the waxing crescent, the full moon, and the waning crescent.

    Hecate.

    The Mother.

    The Maiden.

    The Crone.

    Why did the Goddess of the Underworld''s symbol reveal itself?

    Was this a warning for Ravin not to push his luck with her any further?

    Ravin''s demonic runes had vanished along with the Angel Dust with everyp of his tongue only to be reced by Hecate''s emblem.

    Luna wasn''t Hecate''s High Priestess, and she wasn''t a virgin anymore, either.

    What was happening?

    Why would an Archangel and a Goddess im thisdy as if they couldn''t wait to get their hands on her?

    Was there something Ravin was missing here?

    His eyes narrowed in confusion. ''What was Luna capable of?''

    Certain goddesses had the gift of sight��who can see an individual''s future.

    Was this about Luna''s ensuing potential and the role she would y in the Last Judgement?

    Will Luna gain more power in the future as an Archdemon and hold a High Position in Hell?

    The Underworld was the boundary separating Heaven and Hell.

    They had remained neutral despite having the best of both worlds.

    They must want Luna to be on their side against the Archdemons.

    Those creatures who derived power from the Underworld could practice ck and white magic with little to no consequences because they know how to bnce��just enough execution of dark magic that wouldn''t send practising priestesses, alchemists witches to Hell.

    They knew perfectly well not to draw the line.

    If the Underworld acquired Luna as theirs, then the scales between good and evil wouldn''t be tipped to either side.

    ncing down at Luna''s new ink patterns, Ravin pressed his lips together and smirked.

    If Hecate wanted to dip her pretty nose where it shouldn''t belong, Ravin would not consider it a warning but a challenge.

    Luna was an Archdemon and his blood mate, so she was a property of Hell.

    Ravin wouldn''t let anyone take her away from him.

    He would see to it that anyone who might attempt, he will destroy without remorse.

    Drawing in husky breaths, Luna nced up at him briefly with hooded eyes before shifting her gaze to the ceiling in a poor attempt to downy her arousal.

    "What is wrong, Ravin?" Luna''s face flushed somewhat when Ravin decided to y with her erect nipples by rubbing them slow, distracting both him and her from the unexpected revtion.

    Luna closed her eyes and murmured, "Why did you stop licking?"

    His fingers brushed her silver hair out of the way to the back, and the knuckles stroking the mark of the triple goddess sent her heart beating wildly.

    Ravin liked making her nervous with anticipation.? Ravin said, "Your chest."

    Hands clenching into fists, Luna''s pale face showed the epitome of calm as she asked, "What is wrong with it?"

    "Nothing." He replied in amusement.

    Luna narrowed her eyes at him suspicion before ncing down.

    She removed her fingertips from Ravin''s shoulder des to brush at the triangr shapes on her chest.

    "What is this?" Luna''s eyes widened in shock. Brows knitting together in confusion, Luna red at them in scrutiny. "I don''t know where this came from."

    It appeared like Ravin was in for another surprise when his gaze zeroed in on the red rings, as thin as a thread, on her pinkie, ring, and middle finger as Luna rubbed at the red-ink patterns on her chest.

    Now, this?

    He didn''t know what it meant.

    Ravin sped her hand and observed the rings.

    The redness on the ring and middle finger was still bold and vibrant, while the one on the pinkie had started to turn pink as if the red colour had started to fade.

    Scowling, Luna pulled her hand from his and folded her arms. "What is wrong, Ravin?"

    The Goddess of the Underworld wasn''t important right now.

    He had to resume his seduction with his Amare.

    Shaking his head, Ravin changed the subject. "I want to try something."

    He caught her by surprise when his handnded on her breasts, massaging them fully.

    Luna gasped when Ravin increased his palms'' speed and pressure, pressing into her nipples in a circling motion.

 Chapter 269 - Bondage?!

    <h4>Chapter 269 - Bondage?!</h4>

    ******************************************

    The Archdemon of Gluttony

    Prince Ravin from the First Circle of Hell

    *******************************************

    As Ravin gaged her reaction with extreme focus, he yed around with his fingers to find out what would give Luna the most pleasure.

    Luna''s muscles went rigid as she tiptoed with her eyes sealed shut, thrusting her nipples towards his skillful touch.

    Ravin''s lips traced the shell of her ear, flicking his tongue back and forth to that sensitive spot connecting Luna''s neck and shoulder.

    He quickly figured out that it was his Amare''s erogenous zone from the sound of her purring alone.

    Ravin unexpectedly pinched her protruding ares, sending a rush of wondrous sensation throughout her body.

    A shudder vibrated through her entire being, and her toes curled.

    Luna gasped a sharp breath before releasing a groan of pleasure.

    Her knees trembled and gave out.

    She had achieved her orgasm in a short period due to Ravin''s nipple stimtion.

    Luna felt as if she had been running for a hundred miles straight without rest.

    Squeezing her eyes shut, Luna opened them wide in a conscious effort to stay awake as her heart beat erratically. "I did not��" she inhaled deeply��"ask for this��"Luna exhaled sharply in a whoosh, "--Archdemon."

    He stretched his wings before Luna, diverting her attention to the movement of his wings instead of what he did.

    Keeping his face nk, Ravin replied with utter detachment.? "It will feel better to massage your breasts before I started licking them moving downward."

    "You lie." Frowning, Luna muttered as she poked an using finger in his chest, "I can smell bullshit, Ravin, and it smelled like the wordsing out of your mouth."

    "I did it without malice, Amare." Ravin shrugged with nonchnce as he spread his wings to cover her personal space.

    He came closer, and Ravin smirked when he sensed unease reflected in her golden eyes.

    He nced down.

    "I only want you to feel good." Desire crawled up into his spine as he asked huskily, "Do you feel good?"

    Her forehead wrinkled in contemtion.

    Luna reached a hand to caress her tender breasts, soothing the pale pink marks of his fingers imprinted on her soft mounds, "I feel��weak and tired."

    Ravin bit his lower lip as he admired his masterpiece, screaming to be fondled.

    "Oh." Tilting his head, Ravin ran his knuckles on her flushed cheeks and murmured, "Is that why you can''t stand properly?"

    He nodded as if to sympathize with her problem.

    He sped her waist, and it made Luna freeze.

    Staring at the remaining sparkles of angel dust at the corner of her lips, he suggested, "I think we should move this to the bedroom."

    He didn''t wait for Luna''s response.

    Ravin folded his wings carefully before hoisting her upwards.

    Ravin carried her so easily as he deposited her on his broad shoulders, hugging her arms tight to avoid them wing his back or ripping his Archdemon wings.

    "Put me down, Archdemon! I have two legs that can still keep me upright!" Luna screeched from the top of her lungs as if she had been vited, and he let her.

    He didn''t stop her if that''s what she wanted.

    Let her scream until she lost her voice.

    "You are tired," Ravin replied absently.

    He had a one-track mind which was focused on the bedroom.

    "I am merely assisting you." Ravin hadn''t even started with the dirty things yet. "If you are feeling aroused by me simply helping you, I guess that is a ''you'' problem."

    He recalled that Luna had suggested beforehand to tie her up so that he can do his job to properly lick her.

    A wonderful suggestioning from her own mouth.

    "I was never aroused by you, Ravin!" Luna turned her head to glower at him, but it was impossible in her position. "You are so full of yourself!"

    Luna will never know how much that deration amused him when she was so obvious.

    Her body craved him like how a vampire craved blood.

    She might as well be an inanimate object because her requests to be put down had fallen unto deaf ears.

    "Yes. Yes." He heaved an exaggerated sigh. "I know that no matter what I do, you will never be aroused, so I gave up a long time ago."

    He had fastened one hand to the edge to help him rise out of the bathtub while the other gravitated to the curve of her butt and her inner thigh.

    Ravin''s palm didn''t attempt any misconduct to avoid Amare''s suspicion and ire.

    "I don''t know why you are so affected by my actions." Ravin deadpanned. "I haven''t even tried anything yet. Believe me."

    Ravin was pretending that his conscience was as clean as a nk te.

    He was such a good liar.

    He can believe his own lies and utter them with conviction, persuading the other person that it was the truth.

    "You will know if I am seducing you because it will be tantly obvious." He murmured. "It would be as nasty and as crude as my brother Luxen."

    The warm water sloshed on his thighs as he stepped out of therge tub.

    Hended on both feet on the cold tiles.

    He ignored Luna''s wild protests and threats as Ravin called for an imp through telepathy.

    The imp came knocking on the door three times before he barged into the private luxury bathroom, ncing around in panic.

    When the imp found him standing by the transparent shell-pink curtains with Luna struggling to escape, it smiled a smile that reached her tiny ears.

    The imp was fast when Ravin called, but he was clumsy as fuck as he tripped his thin awkward legs on the white table--its color blended through the white walls--and the thick animal furs on the floor.

    "You''re Highness." The imp, whose height didn''t even reach Ravin''s waist, bowed his head down.

    His long sharp nose almost hit the ground.

    He offered a blue gauzy robe for Luna and a clean fluffy white towel to wrap around Ravin''s waist.

    "Prepare the chains and the flogger, imp. Amare suggested earlier that I tie her up in a game of bondage." Hemanded. "Her wish will be mymand."

 Chapter 270 - All Tied Up

    <h4>Chapter 270 - All Tied Up</h4>

    ******************************************

    The Archdemon of Gluttony

    Prince Ravin from the First Circle of Hell

    *******************************************

    Ravin transferred Luna to a special room in his castle called, ''The Pleasure Room'', to which his demon servants also called the Red Room, carrying her like a heavy sack on his shoulders beforehand.

    He set her feet down, grabbed the clothing from the imp''s small hands, and hurriedly put the see-through sapphire fabric on her.

    Next, he helped her button from her throat down to what he could reach, which was upper thighs.

    Ravin''s servant nced up at them and noticed that his Master was in a hurry.

    The imp assisted him as it tied the ribbons around her waist. sping the fluffy towel in his hands, Ravin wrapped them tightly around his waist, tucking it into ce.

    He didn''t let Luna take a step in the direction of the door.

    He carried his Amare in his arms��with one of his arms under her legs while the other one supported her back.

    Lunained about her nudity, and the way she had imed that he had ''wed'' her butt cheeks had hurt his eardrums, but it didn''t fail to entertain him.

    Ravin didn''t feel angry or annoyed at her behaviour.

    It was partly his fault for doing things a nakeddy would hate.

    That was why he made it a point to arrive into the bedroom, lock the door, tie her up and gag her to silence her moans--not necessarily in that order.

    Ravin bolted like a monster was chasing after them as he ran through long hallways.

    When they finally arrived, the imp trailing after them twisted the doorknob for them.

    Ravin and Luna entered through the threshold of his ''Pleasure Room'' like the groom carrying his bride.

    This kind of bed had been the subject of double entendre for demons ever since it became a trend.

    This was a must-have in every Archdemon Pce that existed in Hell.

    If Heaven was a bed, then; this was what it would feel like.

    The King-sized bed in the ''Pleasure Room'' was sorge it had taken almost the entire space of the area itself.

    The ginormous bed had four-posts reaching high up to the ceiling.

    Draped across the upper space were pink canopies--recing the ceiling--while gauzy sapphire curtains surrounded the bed.

    The cushion was engulfed in vintage coverlet while the floor had thick fur carpets that appeared as cosy as the furnace of blue Hellfire next to it.

    Fornicating in this luxurious King-sized bed could make a man orgasm into new heights during their best orgies.

    He had installed vertical mirrors from the ceiling to Ravin''s visual consumption floors.

    Some special mirrors were positioned all over the ''Pleasure Room'' in a certain specific angle that he desired.

    AS he threw Luna unceremoniously to the super-soft mattress, her tall, pliant form almost sunk in as if she was lying in a bed of cotton clouds.

    The motion also sent the loose ribbon of her soaked sapphire robes to unfasten, disying Luna''s ripe and wet body for the taking, waiting to be feasted on.

    Was it just him, or did Luna''s hips became wider and curvier than thest time she had seen her?

    Didn''t he notice that Luna''s breasts looked fuller and heavier in weight?

    He wanted to massage them and test them for their weight to make sure, but he changed his mind.

    He had already done that at the bath.

    Ravin shook his head hard,pletely disregarding the idea that his Amare might be pregnant.

    Perhaps, she had drunk more blood than what was required of her body.

    That was why it was like this.

    .She must be well-nourished, which also made her appear healthier.

    Yes.

    That must be it.

    Ravin stood in front of her as he watched her on the bed with nothing but a white towel wrapped around his manhood.

    "You''re Highness." The imp emerged by his side, supplying the velvet treasure box that was half the imp''s size, which had contained the flogger and the chains. "I have the two items you requested."

    "Ravin." Luna yelped as she backed away from him until she hit the headboard.

    Ravin wondered what got Luna so afraid when she hadn''t even seen what was inside.

    Oh, he forgot Luna heard hismand to the servant.

    He opened the treasure box, pulled the weightless ck chains and the flogger before giving the velvet gilded wooden box back to the imp.

    Breathing hard, she red at the items in his hands. "What the��"

    Luna wasn''t so innocent after all.

    She knew what the chains had entailed when it came to fornication, forcing the chained into submission, but that wasn''t the case here.

    Letting his gaze trail slowly from the crown of her head to the toe, Ravin promised as he held the chains and the flogger in his hands.

    "Don''t worry, Amare." Walking closer to the bed as he rose into a full height, he gave her an evil grin. "You will be safe with me."

    Ravin jumped towards the bed and crawled towards her.

    Scowling at him, Luna''s lips ttened in a curl as she bared her teeth. "What you are telling me right now does not match your gestures, Ravin."

    Luna''s hackles rose, and she expected that Ravin was aiming for her wrists so that she could tie her up.

    Luna still managed to get in some kicks��aiming for his manhood.

    She wasn''t able to injure his family jewels, but her persistence had sent his white towel flying at the side of the bed.

    Ravin thought that Luna was just probably desperate to see him erect.

    Grabbing both of her hands, Ravin ced them over her head and quickly secured her wrists with the metal cuffs along with her ankles before he tied the chains attached to it unto the bedposts.

    She fought his advances as they wrestled each other naked for the longest minute of his life before he had finally taken her captive.

    Lunay t on her back, all trussed up, as he sessfully tied her to submission.

 Chapter 271 - 101 Naughty Ways To Use Chocolate

    <h4>Chapter 271 - 101 Naughty Ways To Use Chocte</h4>

    ******************************************

    The Archdemon of Gluttony

    Prince Ravin from the First Circle of Hell

    *******************************************

    Lunay t on her back, all trussed up, as he sessfully tied her to submission.

    Luna tugged at the chains that had locked her wrists which was also tied to the chains on her ankles.

    The more she tried to pull her handcuffs apart, the more the chains around her ankles would tighten.

    Luna would be forced to raise her legs, opening her thighs in disy in front of him.

    The movement exposed the delicious thin triangle of hair between those thick thighs.

    He definitely liked what he saw so he let Luna struggle with the chains before realising that every time she moved and tried to get up by herself, he would see a glimpse of heaven.

    Ravin concluded that Luna, with her wet silver strands fanning over the pillows, was sexier in a King-sized bedpared to the bathtub where he could only see her upper body her head, her flushed face, her thick red lips moistened with angel dust and his saliva, the curve of her neck to her shoulders and the stark corbones which stood out.

    Now, Ravin''s wandering eyes could devour the plump, perky shape of her breasts and the secret spot between her legs which was covered with tiny bits of silver-blonde wisps.

    He swallowed hard and licked his lips in anticipation.

    An Archdemon can eat evil souls trapped in Hell, feeding on their dark energies, and fears of the creatures they came into contact with.

    They also eat the hearts and the bones of their fallen enemies such as stronger Archdemons they had bested in the battle to acquire their power.

    Archdemons can also devour raw meat if they chose to, but the only raw thing he would devour was the female Archdemon in front of him right now.

    He couldn''t think about anything else aside from pouring melted chocte from her stomach to her thighs.

    When he had possessed the body of the Vampire King, draining blood and sucking the souls out of the living creatures was the highlight of his day, but the taste of hot melted chocte will always have a special ce in his heart.

    It was one of his obsessions when he arrived at the Second Circles of Hell.

    Ravin had tasked his servants to gather anything from the corners of his Kingdom��from strange fruits to beans�� grounding them into a fine powder and boiling them in the right temperature to recreate the same taste.

    After months, one of his servants had proven sessful and the first sip of the sweet, dark chocte melting in his mouth.

    He was in love.

    That one fine morning had brought a state of bliss, spreading through his overwrought nerves during his separation with Luna.

    "Imp." There was a fluttery, empty feeling in his stomach that was difficult to dismiss.

    It felt like an urge��an addiction to spill the dark brown syrupy liquid glistening on Luna''s milky skin--making his mouth water. "Get my favourite chocte sk in the cer."

    "Yes. You''re Highness." The imp replied in a strained, high-pitched voice as he lowered his head before he got out of the door quick to do Ravin''s bidding like the devil was on his wobbly heels.

    The servant was courteous enough to m the door on his way out.

    As he waited for her servant for the magic ingredient to make this event more memorable, Ravin climbed on top of her as he braced his hands on either side of her head.

    With her eyes darting to him and the possible exits, Luna pushed herself back to the bed to avoid his lips from touching hers as he bent down.

    He knew he wouldn''t be able to hide the hunger in his eyes, and neither will he attempt to hide his raging hard erection.

    Stroking her hair gently, Ravin chuckled. "You can still be safe even if you are tied."

    There was angry vein pulsating at her right temple as her face reddened. "What is the purpose?!"

    Ravin found her ring nostrils cute.

    He found her as frightening as a baby dragon.

    "You told me to tie you up so that you wouldn''t resist. I can lick you better without your interference, Amare." Ravin said a matter-of-factly. "It''s a win-win situation. We will not finish the deed if you keep struggling."

    Flexing her fingers, Luna pulled at the chains on her wrists. "I would prefer if you knock me out and just do it, Ravin."

    "That would be unfortunate." He frowned. "I have a better idea than that."

    "Let me think," Luna replied in sarcasm. "You want to bathe me in chocte so that it would taste good for you?"

    Ravin didn''t care if he would spill melted chocte all over the ce.

    That would be his demonic servant''s problem.

    They could change the sheets after having fun with his Amare.

    "The Angel Dust is a little bitter, but it''s nothing an Archdemon can''t handle."

    "I already tasted the Angel Dust, and it tasted vile." Luna red at him. "I think you are bluffing about the taste."

    "Alright." Ravin acquiesced. "That could be possibly one of the reasons I need vour, so it''s one of the pre-requisite about licking the poison off of you."

    She lifted her chin. "Knock me out, then."

    "There''s no need."

    Ravin rolled to the side and pulled the white fluffy towel clinging on to the edge of the King-sized bed.

    He tore two thin strips lengthwise using both hands.

    He moved beside her with leonine grace band blindfolded the striped cloth around her eyes.

    "You can sleep better with this, Amare."

    He ced the other strip of fabric over her mouth and rolled her over t on her stomach, tying it at the back of her head.

    Ravin had gagged her to prevent her from speaking or crying out.

    He turned her back into her original position.

    "You told me to hurry up and do what was promised." There would be no more distractions. "I shall continue my voyage on the remaining inds on your map I have not explored yet. With my tongue."

 Chapter 272 - Brown Leather (Trigger Warning)

    <h4>Chapter 272 - Brown Leather (Trigger Warning)</h4>

    ******************************************

    The Archdemon of Gluttony

    Prince Ravin from the First Circle of Hell

    ********************************************

    Ravin regarded her with a sad smile as Luna gritted her teeth, exerting a powerful force to pull her handcuffs apart.

    No matter how much Luna struggled with her freedom, if Amare didn''t know how to harness her Archdemon Magic to one specific thing��in this case, the supernatural handcuffs��then it would it be futile.

    Hands trembling with excitement, Ravin fiddled with the flogger in his hands.

    "Luna. Stop." Shaking his head, he clicked his tongue in disapproval. "I told you to stay still, didn''t I?"

    Ravin held the flogger''s falls with his hand, gathered it into his palm, and gently tugging it with the other.

    Without warning, Ravin gripped the hilt tightly and dropped his arm downward, abruptly releasing the falls with the other hand.

    Mouth falling open, Luna choked out words she couldn''t give voice to because she had a gag on her mouth.

    Proceeding with caution, Ravin started to flog her lower legs, breasts, arms, and upper shoulders��lightly at first.

    She flinched in surprise, followed by more twists and turns, sending her breasts to jiggle as well as incoherent words of fury.

    He had no malicious intent to hurt Luna.

    Ravin had this uncontroble desire to y with Luna''s body, giving her the ultimate pleasure.

    This was to enhance the sensation of licking her sensitized skin to soothe them.

    He can give it to him better than that pathetic Vampire King.

    He repeatedly struck a specific area with uracy as her adrenaline built up.

    Luna gasped before letting out a prolonged husky moan, and the sound threatened to push him overboard.

    He scented Luna''s arousal, and his nostrils red, lungs expanding to their fullest, deep, satisfying breaths.

    "Ah." He gripped the hilt and let the falls hit. "Your whimpers are music to my ears."

    Raising the flogger once again, he took hold of the tails and dropped its tips at her stomach, but this time, he increased his strikes'' speed, hitting the same spot with dead uracy.

    Luna''s lips quivered, and her entire form shuddered, her knees locking together.

    Flogging wouldn''t causesting damage.

    It only gave a short stinging sensation with every quick hit.

    He swore his cock had leaked pre-cum without the slightest physical provocation.

    If he didn''t stop himself, Ravin would havee right then there.

    He aimed and hit again and again. "You like that?"

    Luna hissed with pain, but her body was telling her brain otherwise.

    Parting her legs, Luna nted the soles of her feet against the bed, meeting his every il.

    Looking at his Amare''s face flushed with arousal made him growl with gratification.

    Ravin did it with more force until he was satisfied with the red marks on her pale, ivory skin.

    His breathing grew morebored as he asked her in a deeper, softer voice, "Does it hurt?"

    A slow, disbelieving shake in the head.

    There was an unnatural stiffness in Luna''s posture as she swallowed hard.

    Ravin carefully massaged her arms, her breasts, shoulders, thighs, and legs, rubbing the reddish spots of her body where he had flogged her with his palms to appease her tender flesh.

    Ravin already knew the answer.

    His flogger was made of brown suede, made of soft leather, and quite flexible. It delivered a nice thud with just a little sting, which could give his female a heavy massage on their skin rather than hurting them.

    Now that he was done with flogging, he set it down beside her within grabbing distance and crawled to get the decanter of melted chocte the imp had fetched from the cer.

    Ravin pulled the stopper of the antique crystal sk with adorned gemstones containing the melted chocte mixed with cognac.

    He straddled her defenseless body in a kneeling position without sitting on her stomach, careful not to crush Luna with his weight.

    As he watched her nudity with open interest, Ravin''s gaze can''t help but stray to her naked breasts begging to be licked and sucked, jutting towards his mouth.

    The sight had sent his lust into overdrive again, and he wanted to fuck her.

    He shook his head as if that would eliminate his dirty thoughts.

    "Stay still," Ravin told Luna as his fingers exerted a gentle pleasure around her throat.

    It wasn''t hard to choke but just enough to assert his control over her.

    Luna drew loud breaths as a copious amount of saliva soaked the gag on her mouth, flooding through the corner of her lips.

    He imagined those thick, moist lips moving up and down his cock as he clutched her hair, pushing and pulling, guiding her through the suction the way he liked it.

    He wondered if Luna had experience with fetio or did he have to teach her how to make him cum.

    Will he whip her with the flogger if he didn''t swallow his seed, or was it too early for his mind to wander that far off?

    As he exhaled from his mouth, he sensed the slow-building heat ran through his veins until it felt like it burst into scorching me. Ravin''s heated blood had started pooling into the south.

    It felt like a wyvern had breathed fire from his nape down to his spine as he stared her down.

    Ravin''s eyes lingered on the chocte cognac, spilling over her bare skin, sticking unto the chains every time Luna writhed with the cold liquid cascading through her flesh.

    He groaned at the erotic image before he grabbed her upper arms tightly as hetched his mouth unto her nipples, licking it in circling motion.

    Slowly.

    Gently.

    The chocte cognac had this unique vor that he couldn''t get enough.

    He could barely discern the taste of the Angel Dust in his tongue as it exploded into a spicy, fruity, sweet, and bitter taste.

    As he licked on her body further, the more he grew intoxicated by his Amare''s exquisite aroma.

    Ravin''s eyes widened when he raised his head to look at her flushed neck and chests.

 Chapter 273 - Mystery Of The Three Rings

    <h4>Chapter 273 - Mystery Of The Three Rings</h4>

    ********************************************

    The Archdemon of Gluttony

    Prince Ravin from the First Circle of Hell

    ********************************************

    Ravin chuckled in surprise, not knowing that Luna''s nipples could even get harder than that.

    It was extremely responsive with every flick of his tongue.

    He should have bathed her within his chocte and cognac blend instead of the demon blood.

    Disying a wide grin, Ravin hummed against her warm skin as he fluttered more kisses on her flesh.

    He made it his mission to stimte her sensitive nerve endings in a mad rush.

    Ravin detached his lips from her nipple, blowing her wet ares.

    He cared for both of her nipples with undivided attention as he blew, sucked, and licked her tits with great fervor, and his cheekbones went hot when he was rewarded with sexy moans.

    Luna convulsed for a few seconds that he started to wonder if she was alright.

    Mayhap, the sensation felt like he had put some ice on each of her nipples?

    "Let me show you something amazing, Amare."

    Squeezing both of her ares with his thumb and forefinger, he let a minuscule amount of Hellfire run through them but not enough to create serious burns.

    Ravin sent her electric shocks three times in back-to-back with his fingertips.

    Luna''s nipple rose slightly, her wails of rapture reverberating through the ''Pleasure Room.''

    After a minute of calm, Ravin sent another set of tiny sparks on her nipples.

    She jolted, thrusting her breasts towards his palms.

    Squirming and wrenching against her chains all at once, Luna tried to moan his name but failed, followed with a stretched hiss.

    "Ahh."

    It was such a tempting sight with her messy wet hair, hands, and feet being bounded and rumpled floral sapphire robes.

    As her groans grew louder, Luna whimpered when he tugged at her pink ares with his teeth.

    Ravin pulled her handcuffed wrists away from her face when she tried to dislodge the blindfold from her eyes.

    He groaned as he petted Luna''sherhair. "You like that, Amare?"

    Luna begged in high-pitched husky moans. "Ahhhh~."

    Ravin made it a point to store the sound into the forefront of his mind.

    He just had to remember the sound of her moans, and he would be erect in a second.

    He will not have any problem with impotence.

    He wouldn''t get tired of hearing them every night.

    She exhaled into a whoosh. "Hah."

    He chuckled as she tugged her wrists once again.

    cing a gag in Luna''s mouth and securing both her hands and feet was the best idea.

    There would be no objections.

    Noints.

    Just pleasure.

    Ravin wouldn''t hear any protests as he concentrated on his task.

    He trailed more kisses from her sternum down to her stomach as he bit and licked, careful not to break any skin.

    He poured a little bit of the chocte cognac at her navel, and her lower belly caved in every time hepped unto it as if he was a cat drinking milk.

    After giving her breasts their well-deserved attention, Ravin focused on licking the expanse of her stomach clean from Angel Dust until he felt like his senses were drowning, wrapped around Luna''s intoxicating perfume.

    Inhaling deeply, he savored the scent of alcohol along with the smell of msses, smoky maple syrup, leather, and the liquid chocte.

    His sensitive nose had picked up the aroma of her sweat from the other scents because it had stood out from the rest.

    He barely caught a whiff of her arousal, and to him, it was the most potent aphrodisiac in the seven Circles of Hell.

    His nostrils red, realizing that if he inserted his middle finger inside her, she would be so wet down there he could swim for hours.

    His mouth was less than a handbreadth away from the soft mound between her thighs.

    ''Perhaps, he could...

    No, he shouldn''t.

    Ravin wouldn''t pump his hard cock inside her because he needed to gain Amare''s trust.

    This was still the beginning.

    Dyed sexual gratification will lead to long-term rewards.

    As he began with her left arm down to her hand, he paused when the mysterious rings caught his attention.

    Squinting at the thin-thread circlets as he sped Luna''s left hand, he wondered if they were rted to the red string of fate based on its red color.

    The shape of rings represented the infinite, strongly tethering a connection to another.

    A ring embodied a cycle with no beginnings and endings, showing the intimate bond between two lovers.

    For this reason, a ring worn on the finger shall symbolize eternal love that surpassed space and time.

    Brows wrinkling in confusion, Ravin noticed that the fading red band on her pinkie finger hadpletely disappeared.

    Only two of the rings had remained in her ring finger and middle finger.

    ''Hmm.'' Lowering his head closer, Ravin studied them again, ''Something wasn''t right here.''

    If these rings represented the blood bond, then one out of three of Luna''s connections with her blood mates had been severed.

    It was just a theory of his with no basis.

    Luna admitted that she had no idea where it came from.

    These random shapes and tattoos inked on Luna''s skin were probably from the Archangel or Hecate''s doing after removing the Archdemon runes Ravin had ced on Luna as a mark of his ownership.

    Lilith had assisted him as payment for a favour she had asked in the past century.

    He ran his hands through his hair in frustration.

    Ravin had no idea if it was him, his brother Luxen, and the Vampire King.

    Agitation ate away his thoughts like a cannibal, making his scalp prickle.

    Ravin brought a hand to his chest and closed his eyes shut, scanning his Archdemon body for any peculiar sensation that would alert him of a broken attachment with Luna.

    It would be impossible not to feel if a soul cord was severed in his system because their mind, their heart, and their soul were somehow connected due to the blood bond.

    He heaved a relieved sigh when he found none.

 Chapter 274 - Playing With Fire (Trigger Warning)

    <h4>Chapter 274 - ying With Fire (Trigger Warning)</h4>

    ********************************************

    The Archdemon of Gluttony

    Prince Ravin from the First Circle of Hell

    ********************************************

    Ravin was d that he was still in this game to win Luna''s heart.

    He wouldn''t care if his Archdemon brother or the Vampire King''s connection with Luna was destroyed by the Archangel, whether by n or by ident.

    His arm hung limply to the sides at the sudden realization.

    He was just thankful that it wasn''t him.

    Nothing can bring Ravin and his Amare apart as long as it wasn''t him.

    Honestly, Luna should have been his in the first ce.

    Ravin had initiated the mating bond first as the Blood Beast, iming her as his before everyone else.

    It was unfortunate that Ravin had possessed the Vampire King.

    In addition to that, the Archdemon of Lust came into the picture.

    The bastard had taken advantage of the fact that Luna was also tied to his blood and soul, forcing her to be his wife.

    The Vampire King had this vapid excuse that he couldn''t drink other blood other than hers.

    His jaw tightened in irritation as he recalled how the Vampire King could be selfish and pathetic.

    He didn''t even love Luna.

    The bastard just wanted to acquire Luna for himself so that Ravin and Luxen wouldn''t be able to get her.

    Ravin''s lips pursed every time Luna talked about her husband.

    The name of the Vampire Kinging out of her pretty mouth irritated the fuck out of him.

    She was still loyal to that clown, wanting to return to him and to that stupid Vampire Realm, despite transforming into an Archdemon.

    She easily adapted to her new environment,? staying in Hell for more than a month, without a fuss.

    Why could she forget the Vampire King, altogether, and stay in Hell with him?

    Ravin had possessed the Vampire King, and he knew the bastard had no redeeming qualities at all.

    What did she like about him?

    What did he have that an Archdemon of Gluttony didn''t have?

    His true Archdemon form might be daunting, but his humanoid physique tended to drive women crazy, demons, or non-demons alike in his personal observation.

    Creatures can immediately tell that demons that can shapeshift, especially humanoid creatures in the Earthly Realms, were the strongest of Archdemons.

    Ravin was more powerful because he had his own Kingdom in Hell and can wield Archdemon Magic.

    Clearing his throat awkwardly, he remembered that Archdemon magic could be powerful, but the catch was it can only be utilized in Hell.

    In the case of using it in the other Realms, Archdemon Magic needed to be in the presence of a living conjurer.

    Nevermind, that.

    He nced down to estimate its length.

    Ravin could swear he had arger phallus than that Apollyon.

    ''Hmm, mayhap a few inches longer?'' Ravin mused.

    It wouldn''t be right for women to fuck something small.

    That was his personal rule.

    Soon, Luna will know how his enormous tool could feel and how snug he could fit inside her.

    Ravin was never at a disadvantage, but Luna kept choosing the Vampire King even if he was right in front of her.

    He narrowed his eyes at Amare''s prone form on his King-sized bed.

    Luna was all trussed up for his delectation.

    If she kept acting hard-to-get, she would miss a whole lot'' of things.

    ''Apollyon must have tricked his Amare with a love potion.''? Rubbing his chin in reverie, Ravin nodded in agreement at his own thoughts.

    That Vampire King had Fae blood in him.

    That was why it was easy for him to summon magic.

    The High Priest had taught him well.

    Nevertheless, Ravin was determined to convince her with his mastery when it came to pleasure.

    The night was still young, yet he revealed the remaining tricks up his sleeve.

    As his hands clutched her thighs apart, Ravin didn''t let Luna shy away from his tongue as he sunk his nails into her flesh in a gentle but firm grip.

    Ravin''s breath whispered against her abdomen as he moved into her quim, dancing his tongue around her smoothher lips.

    As Luna held her breath, her lips had quivered when his tongue slithered inside herbia.

    Wriggling unto his face with impatience, Luna''s quim was sweet wetness and trembling fire.

    Ravin ttened his tongue into her pinkish entrance, pushing into her clitoris hard with a sharp flick.

    Luna screamed, crying out as if someone had stabbed her to death.

    He gave her a startled look, followed by an evil smirk.

    It must be because her senses had heightened into a dangerous crescendo from too many sexual triggers.

    He couldn''t say that it wasn''t far from the truth because he had stabbed her quim with her tongue.

    He only did it once.

    Ravin brushed the tiny hairs and petted her fleshy mounds before he would go on his merry way.

    Grabbing the crystal sk from the bedside table, he poured the remaining chocte cognac over her legs for lubrication, overturning the decanter without reservation.

    Breathing hard, Luna flinched as the hues of weing amber liquid spilled over her inner thighs and legs.

    Being blindfolded must have made everything unpredictable for Luna, increasing her sensory perception.

    Luna will not know when this delicious torture will end.

    It will make her eager for more, which also had the same effect on Ravin.

    Ravin paused for a minute as he got himself under control.

    Luna stayed still, as well, when she noticed he had not moved.

    "Amare." Ravin caressed her neck lightly as his cool fingers caressed her cheek. "Your desire was too contagious, and as the minutes go by, it would be harder? for me to remain neutral."

    He liked giving and receiving pleasure.

    Right now, he had to be the one making the sacrifice to gain Luna''s loyalty.

    He didn''t want to pose any real danger in Luna''s eyes.

    From the outside, it would appear that Ravin was the one in control because he was in the dominant position while he had Luna blindfolded and hogtied, panting and waiting for his next move with anticipation.

 Chapter 275 - Fetish (Trigger Warning)

    <h4>Chapter 275 - Fetish (Trigger Warning)</h4>

    ********************************************

    The Archdemon of Gluttony

    Prince Ravin from the First Circle of Hell

    ********************************************

    Everything was all about Amare''s somatic pleasure.

    Ravin was the instigator, but he had to remain detached as he watched her.

    He always liked to y to fire.

    Ravin was an Archdemon, so it was in his blood.

    He needed to control his animalistic impulses.

    He must avoid forcing her to do anything without his Amare''s consent, as Luxen did.

    That would be a recipe for disaster.

    Nevertheless, Ravin preened with masculine arrogance.

    He had tied her up, licking the Angel Dust off her body as she told him to, and he delivered, but still, a primitive part of his brain whispered that her pain was his pleasure and her pleasure was her pain.

    Ravin wanted to do more than that.

    Nevertheless, he gave her multiple orgasms, but that wasn''t enough by Ravin''s standards.

    Even if Ravin had halted his sexual torture on her quim, her fingers clutched the sheets above her head as her toes continued to tremble.

    Ravin could smell the fragrance of the chocte cognac as his tongue began their exploration over the undiscovered territories of her sweet, pliant form.

    His mouth descended lower, melding long licks and a passionate kiss here and there as he poured all of his desires��the want and the longing--which spoke volumes.

    At that moment, he suddenly felt vulnerable.

    He moved along to her beautiful, feminine feet, his favorite.

    "You have beautiful feet, Amare," Ravin murmured as he lifted both of her legs for inspection, hisscivious gaze sliding from her quim because he had other things to focus on.

    As he admired the shape and curve of her feet, Ravin grinned in amusement when he noticed that her toes were short and clean.

    He examined each foot for a few minutes, awestruck at how sexy and feminine they were.

    He preferred her walking around his Castle barefoot.

    Finally, his Amare will live with him, even for just a week!

    Ravin liked the unobstructed view of her legs down to her toes.

    Hell, Ravin would have preferred her naked, but Luna would never allow that.

    pping his forehead gently, Ravin shook his head in regret and groaned.

    As he felt the surging tide of warmth, Ravin''s cock wiggled as it pulsated at the wonderful sight, forcing him to get back to work.

    His highly advanced mind had no business feeding him with strange imagination, such as Luna wearing heavy with colorful anklets along with short and loose translucent dresses.

    She had cradled their Archdemon baby in her hands, meeting him after an exhausting meeting with his family.

    He dismissed the notion, diverting his thoughts to the present.

    He gave her a dark smile, forgetting that she couldn''t see behind her blindfold.

    It was a shame that she wouldn''t know what hit her.

    "It will be an honor to massage your feet, Empress." He lifted his head to catch a glimpse of her face, expecting her face to be a charming shade of crimson, which was probably simr to his expression.

    Ravin assumed that Luna did throw him a strange look from the wrinkle on Luna''s forehead.

    ''Ah.'' Ravin thought. ''His Amare was probably wondering what was wrong with him.''

    There was nothing wrong with him.

    He had just indulged his fascination with pretty feet.

    "Don''t worry, my Empress. I promised I''m not going to hurt you." Ravin was determined to make her stupid with lust without him being a real participant.

    All he can do was watch her get off again and again until he was pleased.

    "It''s more of like��" Ravin hinted, "--How can something so bad felt oh-so-good''."

    Luna was still as if his sudden actions petrified her.

    Her gestures had told him that she was afraid of him.

    "Hmm-mm," He hummed, nodding, "You will understandter."

    Without a sound, Ravin descended near the edge of the King-sized bed to amodate Luna''s legs as he lowered them back to the bed.

    Dragging the hilt of the flogger on one foot, Ravin wished it was his cock rubbing and thrusting the underside of her foot before dragging the cock-shaped hilt of the flogger upward to her cute toes.

    Without letting the tails smart on her pale, pinkish skin, Ravin abruptly iled the heavy suede leather on her thighs and front legs with precision, doing it three times.

    Luna groaned, gritting her teeth to get rid of the gag on her mouth.

    But that wasn''t the main part of the show.

    Ravin threw the flogger aside and spread the chocte cognac over her ankles, the bridges, her toes, down to her Achilles heels.

    Next, Ravin began rubbing one foot in a gentle massage.

    She gasped as hundreds of nerve endings awakened at this experience.

    He gave each foot equal attention so that the other wouldn''t get jealous.

    ''Hrious, Ravin.'' He mused, sneering.

    He could rte because he was fighting his Archdemon brother over a woman .''

    Inhaling deeply, Ravin sniffed her feet, and his nostrils red with delight.

    Of course, it smelled good!

    Luna just came from the bath, and the taste was the usual perfect blend of demon blood, chocte, alcohol, and poison.

    It wouldn''t make sense if it weren''t.

    Ravin began kissing her toe one by one, including its high arches.

    A few minutester, of stroking her feet with hands drenched with alcohol, Ravin bent his head down as he started biting, licking, and sucking her toes one by one.

    With his eyes clenched shut, he continued cing Luna in a trance because Ravin was close.

    So close.

    She kept on flinching and pulling her feet away that Ravin had to sp her heels tight so that she wouldn''t do it again.

    Ravin might be the dominant one in this scenario, but there was nothing more submissive than licking at a woman''s feet.

    Ravin couldn''t deny that the power dynamic had suddenly shifted.

    Right now, he wasn''t the Archdemon King anymore but a mere servant of carnal pleasure for the Vampire Empress.

 Chapter 276 - Heaven In Hell (Trigger Warning)

    <h4>Chapter 276 - Heaven In Hell (Trigger Warning)</h4>

    ********************************************

    The Archdemon of Gluttony

    Prince Ravin from the First Circle of Hell

    ********************************************

    Right now, he wasn''t the Archdemon King anymore but a mere servant of carnal pleasure for the Vampire Empress.

    She must have put a spell on him because she can''t get her out of his veins.

    Ravin swiped at her soles.

    Luna panted at the weird and intense sensation he had stirred in her.

    The erogenous zone can evoke a tickling sensation.

    Luna''s shock was an indication that she hadn''t encountered this before from someone else.

    ''If she hadn''t tried something like this with the Vampire King��'' Ravin smirked in thought. ''All the better."

    It was incredibly sensual to watch Luna squirming from his toe kisses.

    Ravin''s tongue went in and out of the gaps between his toes.

    Luna, rebellious as always, shoved her entire toe inside his mouth to see how much he can take.

    She might think he was annoyed, but Ravin actually liked it, and he bit at her hard enough to bruise.

    The atmosphere became erotically charged all of a sudden.

    Grabbing his cock, he leisurely ground his tip back and forth over her foot.

    Luna curiously rubbed her toe against it.

    The chocte cognac had served as the best lubricant, easing the friction.

    AS his skin tightened, a wave of tingling sensation started from his groin spread along his spine.

    The tension kept growing, the blood pumping through his veins, filling his cock, and his posture went rigid.

    Ravin felt his balls throb and pulse from within.

    His cock was a wild beast Luna had awakened.

    He arched his neck backward as he rubbed his tip against her.

    With every stroke, he became more sensitive, engorged, and strained.

    Ravin gripped his stiff shaft and stroked it with his one hand, pumping as he rubbed it against Luna''s foot as his mind focused on the erotic thoughts in his head, enthralled on his arousal, chasing that elusive orgasm.

    He got to the point of no return as his pleasure rose.

    He fanned the mes of his lust as it licked into the edges of his awareness higher.

    It was painful, growing from a want to a need in a second.

    An addiction, and he will do everything to get that fix.

    He wanted to prolong his climax some more, but his erection had refused.

    Heart pounding wildly, Ravin''s mind abruptly went nk, losing track of space and time for a few seconds.

    Ravin''s eyes rolled back, and his lids pressed shut.

    With a deep groan, Ravin shuddered in an uncontroble intensity.

    Ravin''s brainpletely shut off, and his entire Universe sucked into that ck hole at the pit of his groin, waiting�� waiting��and then it exploded, flooding into somece with white brilliant lights.

    He had quenched this insatiable, mind-shattering thirst.

    His entire body and mind went numb and floating into space.

    Feeling lightheaded, Ravin''s chest and stomach contracted.

    His muscles went weak.

    He rxed.

    Ravin was spent and exhausted.

    It felt like he was in the state between falling asleep and waking up, both helpless yet inplete control.

    Would it be sphemous for an Archdemon like him if he said that this must be what Heaven felt like?

    Ravin wasn''t able to stop himself froming over her heel, spilling jets of semen all over the bed.

    Ravin''s orgasm was shorter and more intense than he expected.

    He didn''t think he could ejacte with just a few rubs.

    Mayhap, Ravin was so aroused that he didn''t even notice.

    "Amare." Crawling back unto the bed, Ravin''s wing brushed hers, and he leaned forward, his warm breath in her ear. "You know I want you, right?"

    As his lips gently touched her slender neck, her face heated. "I will do anything in my power to keep you here." His nose tickled her ear as he embraced her from the side, feeling her softness and warmth. "You will not have a choice."

    He felt the urge to squeeze and hug her tight, needing to check if she was really there with him.

    Ravin wanted to keep her Amare close to him for eternity in Hell.

    As his strongrge hands gripping her hips, Ravin flipped her over as heid t on her stomach.

    He was the one who put on her transparent sapphire robes.

    He will be the one to rip them to pieces with his ws.

    She looked sexy on them, especially with the yellow cherry blossoms stitched on the back but the dress got in the way of his mission, so he needed to bid them farewell.

    He tore them apart, leaving her bare naked.

    Ravin brushed Luna''s hair from the back.

    He leaned in, sping his fingers possessively on the back of her neck.

    Moving downwards, Ravin started kissing her nape, which made Luna unconsciously lift her shoulders to the side of her jaw as a tide of goosebumps cascaded all over her back.

    He inclined his face towards her back and breathed her scent in.

    Ravin wouldn''t hold back because, at this moment, nobody in this world except Luna and him.

    He did to the front area of Luna''s body, Ravin wouldn''t forget to give her the same station.

    He flogged her pale, voluptuous back and thighs with the same enthusiasm until he was satisfied, collecting drops of alcohol cognac from the crystal sk as a substitute for massage oil and also gathering the moisture from Luna''s chest and stomach.

    He smeared them all over her back before Ravin began wiping the Angel Dust off her, running? his hands on her bare calves and his lips followed.

    Ravin massaged her soft flesh as he shoots off sparks from his fingertips, like matches grazing her skin with me.

    Ravin pressed his heavy, muscr body against her.

    Every time his tongue caress the smooth expanse of her skin, Luna flinched as her postures went rigid, only to feel peace and tension at the same time.

    Luna''s resistance was starting to crumble.

    She was a ve to his warm lips and gentle hands.

    If he can get her to be addicted to him, Luna will do his every bidding like all the other female demons he had dallied with.

    The ''Pleasure Room'' had witnessed enough sticky and thick Archdemon saliva without missing a single speck of Angel Dust, smelled musky enough, the scent of arousal, and heard enough sexual moans and groans that would make the walls blush.

 Chapter 277 - Guilty Conscience

    <h4>Chapter 277 - Guilty Conscience</h4>

    *******************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *******************************

    A simple kiss have lead to touch, leading the chemistries of bodies to sex.

    When Luna was in the bathtub with Ravin, the sexual tension was electrifying before the first kiss.

    Each raspy breath was alive with possibility and magic.

    After the initial feeling of anger and distaste, Luna''s heart and thoughts were racing a hundred miles per hour with pathetic questions such as, ''what would someone who wasn''t her husband be like?''

    ''How would their tongue feel like whenever they meet her their mouths meet?''

    With curling lips, Luna could feel her cheeks burning, but she refused to let him affect her.

    Honestly, Luna wasn''t keen on kissing his Archdemon husband in the first ce.

    Luna was just foolish enough to believe that she could neutralize angel dust''s effects by her saliva.

    It was wrong to taste it because she wasn''t strong enough to ingest the poison.

    Now, Luna had no choice but to let the Archdemon of Gluttony handle it by kissing her with his tongue, iming it was a sacrifice on his part.

    It was either Ravin had a heroplex, or he did it out of sympathy for his ''wife.''

    Luna didn''t believe it one bit that the Angel dust didn''t affect Ravin''s system.

    She found it impossible that it wouldn''t affect Archdemons.

    There was a part of Luna that wasn''t buying his excuses at all.

    Men rarely do that because they were all driven by lust.

    Mayhap, Ravin had refused to speak to him about its effects because he didn''t want to appear weak, keeping with Luna''s perception of him as a hero.

    If it was thetter, then her Archdemon husband had been trying too hard.

    Surprisingly, Ravin hadn''t asked for anything in return even before or after helping her.

    He didn''t bind her through any stupid contracts in exchange for that.

    Ravin had desired what had happened in the disguise of ''trying to help'' her with his predicament.

    Next, he would probably suggest that she should thank him.

    The Archdemon manipted her nipples with his expert hands, making her cum so quick that it was akin to a sneeze.

    For a minute, Lust squeezed her chest so tight that she could barely breathe.

    As she exhaled, the blush on her face withdrew only to descend into low, damp ces.

    A true, intimate kiss required bravery and surrender, making someone vulnerable.

    It sent cold chills down her spine, and it felt like her heart had awakened.

    Despite the earlier separation, this heightened sensation of merging and letting another person in...

    Two creatures bing one.

    A moment that can change creatures'' lives.

    It was risky but a beautiful business.

    She had jerked her head backward, hitting the rim of the bathtub, reeling with shock.

    When his arms came around her, it weakened her resolve.

    His lips had parted hers with gentle persistence, sending wild tremors along her nerves.

    It felt like her mind had spun a few seconds before she adjusted, returning the kiss when Ravin drew her towards him as he grabbed her possessively by the neck.

    Luna''s mouth had yielded because she had no choice.

    She let him kiss her and didn''t fight back so she could get rid of the glitters of poison in her mouth.

    Ravin had evoked these sensations from her that only Apollyon should have ess to.

    Apollyon should only be the man who carried the key to her pleasure but�� why Did Ravin came into the picture only to destroy that unspoken arrangement Luna had with her husband?

    Her heart hammered as loud as the rhythm of a drum.

    Ravin''s intense efforts to stir her lust burned like embers with every inch of his seductive touches.

    "I think we should move this to the bedroom." Ravin dered as he deposited her on his shoulders.

    She had snapped, yelling at him to put her down and let her go, but she might as well be screaming to a dark void because the Archdemon was having none of it.

    Luna didn''t know what to think anymore when it came to intimacy.

    Intimacy is multiyered, and she needed time to process.

    It required careful reflection.

    Luna didn''t have time to consider what sensual, taboo, eptable, and shameful was.

    "Prepare the chains and the flogger, imp. Amare suggested earlier that I tie her up in a game of bondage." After wrapping a towel around his waist and helping her dress, Ravinmanded his demon servant. "Her wish will be mymand."

    Ravin had brought her into what appeared like his own sex dungeon,plete with a ginormous King-sized bed, shell-pink, and sapphire testers, furry carpet rugs near the hearth, embroidered demon runes on the coverlet, and most of all, there were mirrors all over the walls.

    How narcissistic and self-absorbed did this Archdemon have to be?

    Mayhap, the Archdemon of Gluttony, was so in love with himself--too engrossed with his reflection-- that he would rather watch himself pleasure the woman on the looking ss than focus on the woman''s pleasure.

    They must desire to be in control at all times because it made them feel superior and more powerful.

    Ravin threw her into the silky soft mattress, and Luna sunk into the bed like it was almost quicksand.

    Was it essential to have a fancy pleasure room for every Archdemon in Hell?

    Should she demand one for no reason?

    "Don''t worry, Amare." Ravin rose to his full height as he walked closer to the bed, smirking, "You will be safe with me."

    She retreated from him until her back tapped the headboard.

    There was no escaping now.

    They wrestled for a bit, but she was still overpowered.

    Luna hated asking for help from anyone, but if she saw this scene from a higher perspective, she understood that the Archdemon of Gluttony had gotten a kick out of this power y the moment he had cuffed her wrists along and chained her ankles to the bedposts, iming that it would be better to lick her without any struggle.

 Chapter 278 - Liar And A Cheat

    <h4>Chapter 278 - Liar And A Cheat</h4>

    *******************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *******************************

    As Ravin tied blindfolded and gagged her to submission, Luna''s pride as an Empress was in shambles, but she still managed to jut her chin in silent outrage.

    She had to face him head-on and ept her fate.

    She knew she was pressured to do this, but in her mind, it felt like she had unwittingly blurred her boundaries just by allowing Ravin to tie her up and lick her over.

    Luna knew the bastard had thoroughly enjoyed chaining her wrists and ankles together, licking her entire body, including the most delicate and secret spot between her thighs, making her wet.

    He didn''t linger.

    She felt her licking her down there, but it was only once.

    It wasn''t like she had anyints.

    Luna was thankful the Archdemon didn''t rape her.

    Blushing in recollection, she shook her head to exorcise the sensual memory out of her mind.

    She didn''t see anything because she was blindfolded, but she felt the sensation Ravin had brought forth.

    Wait, a minute!

    Did she forget that Ravin was the one who was Lilith''s aplice in contacting her through the Dream Realms in exchange for a favor?!

    Luna should remind herself every time he saw the Archdemon of Gluttony that he was one of the instigators of killing children.

    Luna should remind herself every time he saw the Archdemon of Gluttony that he was one of the instigators of killing children.

    She bet he didn''t even care about those human sacrifices, and he couldn''t be bothered at the horrific sight under his ancient tree every time heid in bed and sleep at night.

    If the Archdemon attempted to ckmail her by telling her just a single word, indicating that she had owed him for this, then Luna wouldn''t hesitate to summon Archdemon magic and sted Hellfire on his wing.

    ''No.'' Luna shook her head, changing her mind.

    Luna didn''t want Sataning at her.

    Ravin even gave her some tiny inappropriate touches here and there.

    Luna had a baby with Apollyon, so she had no business cavorting with the devil.

    Was she cheating on Apollyon because she became so aroused?

    Had her moans expressed sexual interest, making her sound needy?

    Had her lips parted in an invitation by itself as their tongues merged?

    Ravin had no redeeming qualities at all, and the bastard hadckedpassion and empathy.

    She summoned her anger from the depths of her heart to hate such a monstrosity.

    Did the Archdemon of Gluttony even love her as a husband would, or did he crave just someone to dominate and disrespect like how devils do?

    She was sick in the head for liking Ravin''s touch.

    She was disgusting.

    Luna''s stomach churned.

    She deserved to perish.

    The realization made her weaker than before.

    +++

    The Archdemon was too slick with his words.

    If she weren''t careful, Ravin would sneak into her heart like an invisible parasite that will y with her emotions, manipte her mind, and sucking the energy out of her soul until all that was left was an empty husk.

    Ravin used to do this when he had possessed Apollyon as the Blood Beast in the Vampire Realm, so she wouldn''t be surprised if she attempted something like this again.

    It was the Archdemon''s second nature despite his striking appearance.

    Ravin will use everything in her arsenal to persuade her to forget the Vampire King, not only with his superior, devilishly handsome looks but also his sexual prowess.

    Luna wouldn''t be able to withdraw from his touch when she was all tied up.

    Luna clenched her jaw as she let her inhuman strength flow through her arms.

    There was never a moment where she didn''t strive to pull at her chains so that she could break free from the bondage.

    She swore that Ravin''s chains and handcuffs were a supernatural element to it.

    Every time she struggled to pull them apart that her teeth would fall off from gritting them hard, a rush of helplessness threatened to overwhelm her, enticing her to surrender.

    Furthermore, Ravin''s licks sent her mind to faraway ces like a sweet distraction.

    Everyp of his tongue as he poured melted chocte all over her skin was a voyage Luna had hated to love.

    The Vampire King hadn''t done that for her.

    They had been together for so little time, and these Archdemons were persistent in ruining her life.

    Men take pride in their sexual capabilities, showing it off to females they were interested in, but at the end of the day, no matter how many times they can thrust their pelvis in a minute or how long they couldst in pleasing a woman, lust can never love.

    Luna noticed that male Archdemons, male in general, didn''t take rejection very well--especially Luxen.

    +++

    Luna found Ravin''s wet kisses were whimsical because she was blindfolded, but it started this fire within her.

    Ravin''s tongue was a bright me on Luna''s body, even if she had strained and writhed in her chains to fight her desires.

    She didn''t want to want it, but it appeared like she will have to eat her own words.

    Every wriggle of the oral muscle on her skin as it coated her with his Archdemon saliva warmed her body, escting into a blistering peak that made her insidesbust, and her inner walls squeeze in need.

    When Ravin licked her quim once or twice, it almost sent her over the edge, but the stimtion wasn''t enough to ignite her release, sending her to gush like a waterfall between her legs.

    Luna wanted that climax so badly, but she didn''t want to look at Ravin, grinning with arrogance the moment he took the blindfold off her.

    If that happened, Luna would take a deep breath and hold it in before punching him in the face.

    The Archdemon of Gluttony had assumed that Luna had the desire to y bondage with him when she only suggested being tied up as a joke.

    Luna''s high-pitched wails echoed through the chamber as the flogger''s heavy falls hit her flesh.

 Chapter 279 - Putty In Her Hands

    <h4>Chapter 279 - Putty In Her Hands</h4>

    *******************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ********************************

    At first, Luna was enraged for the sheer audacity that she would let an Archdemon like him beat her to death, massage her whipped flesh with chocte-scented alcohol and lick her afterwards.

    She couldn''t anticipate when and where Ravin would flog her next because Ravin always switched it up.

    Luna could only see the thick white cloth covering her eyes.

    She could only rely on her brain to conjure the images up for her based on what she had felt and heard.

    Ravin''s groans made Luna swallow hard because her body had bloomed for him in response.

    Wriggling and writhing, Luna''s body had betrayed her mind.

    She hated how her lust had piqued whenever she heard herself moan and hiss at the bites.

    She swore she could hear his heartbeat when his chest grazed her skin.

    Luna swore she could hear Ravin''s heartbeat when his chest grazed her skin.

    Ravin''s fingers came with electric tingles like he was shooting lightning bolts in his warm hands.

    The sting wouldn''t kill, but it definitely hurt.

    Nevertheless, it wasn''t anything an Archdemon can handle.

    Once Luna started getting used to the sensations, it felt amazing, making her more rxed after Ravin gave her tenshes on her belly, back, thighs, legs, and buttocks.

    If she heard some other creatures enjoy being humiliated like this, Luna would haveughed in their faces.

    Luna felt tingles over her body, and she gasped.

    She didn''t want to admit it, but what Ravin had done so far weren''t so bad at all except when the Archdemon had ced her foot in his mouth.

    Did Ravin... rub his cock against the arch of her foot?

    She blinked rapidly at her blindfold as she froze in ce.

    She was at a loss for words, not because she had a gag on her mouth, not knowing how and what to feel.

    It would be no use to bend her neck forward to figure out what Ravin had been busy with because she could see nothing, but she couldn''t understand why her blood had thickened, turning sluggish as it settled in her core.

    Her husband, Apollyon, had eaten her before in her sex, and she learned what he liked so that she could return the favour as well.

    But biting foot and licking toes?

    This was new... and strange.

    As her stomach twisted, Luna wished she could forget about what happened and move on with her life.

    Luna wouldn''t be able to see Ravin the same way again.

    He wasn''t the Blood Beast.

    He wasn''t the powerful Archdemon of Gluttony.

    He was a foot-eater, a footman who liked to worship females'' feet and get off their soles.

    Luna didn''t find the Archdemon of Gluttony disgusting just because he liked, well, feet.

    Whatever tickled his pickles, Luna wouldn''t judge.

    Still, nothing could top Ravin agreeing to Lilith to sacrificing innocent children.

    There was nothing more revolting than that.

    Again, Luna was just d that the Archdemon didn''t shove his cock in her mouth or worse, in her quim,? because those were Apollyon''s property, her husband''s paradise, and it was forbidden for the rest of the Realms.

    Mayhap, she could control Ravin with the power of her feet.

    He would be putty in her hands.

    Luna''s mind had already reyed a recent memory of their lip-locking, feeding her thoughts with obscene images of Ravin''s tongue expedition.

    After unlocking the handcuffs on her wrists and her ankles'' chains, Ravin took the blindfold off but not taking the gag off her mouth.

    Not yet.

    The bastard must have preferred her meek and silent and do his bidding without questions--someone who wouldn''t argue his logic and fight him every step of the way.

    As she rolled to the side to face the Archdemon, Luna opened her eyes to the dimly lit room and stared at the canopies of a luxurious King sized-bed of azure and pink instead of the ceiling.

    "I am done with my task, Amare," Ravin murmured huskily as he watched her with a hooded amber gaze.

    Luna had no idea what the exact time it was.

    Gauzy curtains epassed the four bedposts while the windows were covered with thick drapes so that they could have some privacy to hide their dirty deeds.

    ''Dirty deeds?''

    There was a tingling in her chest at the sudden thought.

    ''Luna had cheated with her husband!'' She realized as she clenched her jaw in disbelief.

    If the Vampire King found this out, he would be livid.

    He would use her and leave her for not being loyal to their mating bond and look for another Empress.

    She shook her head.

    Luna wouldn''t let that happen.

    Would her husband kill her if he knew?

    What about Apollyon''s baby Lilith had told her about?

    ''Nothing happened with Ravin, and there was no sexual pration.'' Luna mused as she pinched her lips together, staring into a spot behind the Archdemon''s head in a daze.

    His mouth had opened and closed as if he spoke to her, but she was too lost in her own thoughts.

    She still has a saving grace!

    ''It was fortunate that Ravin had a strange obsession with feet.''

    Luna would never allow the bastard from burying his sex into her forbidden depths.

    What if Apollyon would think that she had acquired the baby from one of the Archdemons because she had stayed in Hell for more than a month?!

    She was sure that the past Vampire King would kill her and the baby for this indiscretion, but her husband was now a changed man.

    Apollyon would believe her words above all else.

    Yes!

    If Ravin told Apollyon about this, Luna would tell Apollyon that Ravin was spouting nonsense.

    He shouldn''t believe the wordsing from an Archdemon''s mouth.

    They were all lies.

    Good.

    Luna would be fine as long as she would act ordingly: realistic and without reluctance.

    She would make sure that Apollyon and Ravin wouldn''t meet.

    Luna needed to learn how to ess portals quickly under Satan''s tutge so that she could lock all these Archdemons in Hell while she came out safe on the other side.

 Chapter 280 - Caring Archdemons Are Creepy

    <h4>Chapter 280 - Caring Archdemons Are Creepy</h4>

    *********************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *********************************

    "Amare." Ravin''s silky, raven hair was a mess as the wisps stood, kinking out in random directions.

    If he weren''t an Archdemon of Hell, females would have found it adorable.

    Ravin had noticed that she had spaced out, fixating on his hair.

    He immediately caught on as he consciously tangled his fingers over his messy curls.

    Clearing his throat, he reclined one hand to the cushions as he sat with his knees to the side.

    The posture showed how rxed he was after his orgasm.

    He lifted his other hand as if to trace her sternum.

    When his fingers ran perilously close to the soft rise of her breasts, Luna swatted that hand away and rose from the bed.

    She also tamed her silver hair, which probably resembled a bird''s nest.

    ''What would Apollyon think of her if he found out about this?'' Luna thought it was a frantic obsession to make her head in a spin.

    Luna can only sigh in regret.

    From the corner of her eyes, she could see pieces of fabric from the sapphire robes Ravin had torn from her body with his ws on the edge of therge bed.

    She remembered how Ravin had easily ripped her clothes off, massaged her back and rid her of Angel''s Dust as well.

    Like her husband, the Archdemon was an expert of removing clothes from a woman.

    Luna''s form had been exposed too often, consciously and unconsciously, and she felt extremely vulnerable under his perusal.

    Crossing an arm to cover her breasts, Luna used her other arm to pull at the coverlet under them so that she could cover her naked body with it.

    She still had a gag on her mouth.

    Luna decided to remove the abomination after she hid her state of undress.

    She threw a murderous look at the Ravin when he made no move of getting his heavy ass out of bed, preferring to watch her struggle with the nket as he cradled his head with hands.

    Luna meant Ravin''s bigger head, not the one below.

    The other head had physically powered down, his cock turningid after his orgasm while Luna�� well, her multiple orgasms felt kind of��empty.

    She didn''t want the Archdemon to do something about that, and she wouldn''t tell her, either.

    Luna wanted her real husband, Apollyon.

    Not him.

    Mayhap, only her husband, Apollyon, could make her feel sexually satisfied because their blood bond was stronger than the others.

    Apollyon gave her a lot of attention in bed whenever she awoke or slept beside the Vampire King.

    She clicked her tongue as she sighed in regret.

    Moisture pooled at the corner of Luna''s eyes.

    She turned her head away from Ravin so that he couldn''t see what was wrong with him.

    As soon as her head swivelled to the right, she saw the flogger Ravin had used to il her skin.

    Her hand slowly reached out to its falls as she rubbed the texture with her fingers.

    The brown tails were made of weighty leather made of suede, and the grip of the flogger was shaped simrly to a phallus.

    Luna nced down at her form to check for bruises, momentarily forgetting that she was both an Archdemon and a Vampire.

    She might feel unbearable pain during physical blows, but she will heal as long as demon weapons, angel des and Archdemon magic weren''t used on her.

    She was pretty much invisible, but she can''t shake the embarrassment of her submission in such a helpless endeavour, tied up and flogged for sexual pleasure.

    Luna desired to be in control.

    It was her nature to be dominant.

    Mayhap, Ravin would allow her to flog him to death in the future.

    She would procure an angel de from Luxen''s heavenly bitches, break it into irregr shards and attach them to the flogger.

    That would be such a cool weapon to own.

    Luna can''t help but smirk despite almost tearing up just a minute ago.

    Shaking her head, Luna realized her mood swings were acting up again.

    "Amare."

    Ravin stared back at her with knitted brows and a little scowl, wondering why she was smiling to herself.

    Of course, Luna would be ecstatic of plotting Ravin''s downfall foring unto her foot like a pervert.

    Luna narrowed her eyes at him as they stared at each other, wondering what his problem was.

    "You should lie back to the bed," Ravin said as he ced his hands on her shoulders and pushed Luna back to the bed.

    As he bent his head down, his lips were against her jaw as he whispered, "I need to clean you up."

    Luna pulled at her gag to talk back, but Ravin swiftly moved her hands on her elbows, pinning her to the mattress.

    Mouth opening in outrage, Luna pummelled at his firm chest so that he could let her go.

    All she could do was groan some incoherent words.

    She needed to untie the cloth on her mouth.

    The moment Luna was set free, she should have attacked him like a wild cat first and throttle him before she searched for nkets.

    "Rx, will you, Amare?" Ravin stilled beside her as he spoke in his silky smooth voice, cruel and sensual.

    "I will not harm you." His rigid posture, along with the rising tension in the air was like the calm before the storm. "After cleaning you up, I shall cover you with the nkets."

    The bastard said one thing then do the other thing.

    He promised not to hurt her then proceeded to use the flogger.

    It didn''t hurt, though.

    ''I don''t believe you anymore, Ravin.'' As she poured all her hatred in her gaze, Luna screamed in her mind, hoping that Ravin heard them.

    Ravin flinched as he covered his ears, suddenly taken aback.

    Did the Archdemon of Gluttony hear her thoughts?

    Was their blood bond getting stronger because of this physical connection?

    Luna red at him in usation, and Ravin raised his hands in surrender as if that would prove his innocence.

    Ravin shrugged with nonchnce,? "Look. If you are afraid I would do something bad, then I would cover myself."

    As he picked the white towel hanging from the edge of the bed, Ravin wrapped it snugly around his waist.

    The fluffy towel was considerably shorter, but at least, she couldn''t see him walking around and interacting with her on the bed, naked.

    She lifted her head to nce down at Ravin''s lower half.

    When his prick had proved that it wasn''t a threat to her anymore, Luna rxed back to the cushion in a light thump.

    Reaching out, he sped her fingers and brought them into his soft and warm lips. "You don''t need to hide from me because I have seen it all."

    Ravin plucked the blindfold from the side as he went on all fours, descending to her feet.

    He wiped the sticky, white cum from her soles clean.

    It wasn''t only that.

    Ravin had inspected the expanse of her ivory skin, as she searched for any more bruises.

    He lifted her arms and legs, twisting her here and there.

    He was careful and serious.

    If Ravin noticed some minimal blood clots, he massaged them with his slender finger to increase the blood flow.

 Chapter 281 - Traumatized

    <h4>Chapter 281 - Traumatized</h4>

    *********************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *********************************

    When he had this grim expression on his face, the lines of his forehead made him appear starkly masculine.

    Without thinking, Luna''s gazended on that sinful mouth that had licked every inch of her.

    Those lips were a pure temptation, soft, and toxic in a way only an Archdemon''s mouth should be, but it could be something a vampire would want to sink their fangs into.

    Now all she could think of was that wet tongue trailing over her neck and her chest as sheid on the bed, impassive.

    When he was satisfied with her condition, Ravin advanced towards the edge of the bed, rolled the lengthy coverlet, and swaddled her like a new-born baby.

    When he was done, Ravin nced down at her and thrust his chest, looking so damn proud of himself.

    He had wrapped her inside the nkets so tight Luna appeared like a worm.

    Ravin dusted his hands off for a job well done before he turned his back and held the doorknob.

    "I will now give you privacy, Amare." He let out a dark chuckle, and her thighs clenched at how deep it sounded, "I''ll be gone."

    "I''ll be gone."

    Those three words echoed into the walls of her brain, and every bounce made her headache that she lost her inability to think.

    Luna lifted her head and paused for a few seconds, letting his words sunk in into her stunned brain. There was a sh of memory of Apollyon during their wedding night.

    She couldn''t haul her arms out of the nkets fast enough as the thick fabric enveloped her body from head to toe.

    Luna swore she had screamed ''EEET'' in desperation before removing the piece of fabric out of her mouth and spat it out.

    Breathing hard as she rolled off the coverlet, Luna shouted at Ravin to ''WAIT'' for the second time.

    It was louder t than the first one, and Ravin had heard her before he locked the door.

    Goddess, don''t let this bastard lock the door of his sex dungeon.

    She refused to be treated as a prisoner in the Vampire Realm and certainly not in Hell.

    As Luna finally got herself together, Luna demanded sharply, and her voice came out in a rasp from screaming and moaning earlier, "Where are you going?"

    She clutched her throat and grimaced, waiting for his response.

    There was this pause that made her hands fidget.

    Luna felt like a ball spiked with needles was stuck in her throat, losing her voice.

    She was already sweating bullets when Ravin answered, "I have things to see to."

    Luna''s eyes bulged as she squirmed in her nkets in panic.

    Thest thing that Luna had seen was his broad back, his cloak dancing like waves trailing his heels, as Apollyon faced the door, telling her that he would go somewhere.

    Luna screamed as she felt full-body tremors, shaking her awake.

    ''Apollyon had gone somewhere so that he could cheat with the consort!'' Luna recalled as she clenched her fists.

    Luna''s nostrils red in anger, wanting to bury that consort alive as she relieved that memory again and again.

    Why was she feeling like this?

    She was in the present.

    There was no point in looking back on the past because it didn''t exist anymore.

    Why was she hurting herself by recreating the same old trauma?

    Did Ravin know what happened between Apollyon and her before?

    Ravin knew how to trigger her, driving her to insanity.

    This wasn''t real.

    Apollyon wouldn''t cheat on her just like Luna had remained loyal to her husband.

    She was doing a pretty bad job at it.

    As Apollyon said, thedy was insignificant in their lives.

    Thedies from her Consortium were already sent home or moved to another Kingdom as another King''s wife or concubine.

    She told herself that and exhaled slowly, relieving the strain in her muscles.

    Luna thought that she had made peace with the past, but why did it still disturb her until now?

    She even saw her own memory with the Vampire King merge with the Archdemon of Gluttony in the present!

    Why did it cross her mind when Apollyon and Ravin were two different creatures?

    Luna had to remind herself to set the two apart.

    The Blood Beast was a separation from Apollyon''s identity.

    "Luna." Ravin had immediately climbed by the bed with a jaw set and knelt by her side.

    Any lingering amusement earlier had died a quick death when he asked,? "What is wrong?"

    She cut off the thought before her memories of Apollyon cheating could creep into her mind again.

    "I was giving you privacy because I thought you want to be alone." Ravin assisted her in a sitting position while she was under the nkets.

    Raising a hand to stroke her hair, he murmured, "You want to be away from me, am I right?"

    "I��" Please don''t leave me. Luna shook her head and replied, "I don''t know what to say."

    "Are you alright?" His ming golden eyes gazed at her. "Did I punish you too hard with the flogger?"

    "No. Yes. No. " She murmured. "I don''t know."

    He frowned, "Do you want me to stay for a little while andy in bed with you?"

    "I feel so alone." Luna brought a shaky hand as she wiped the tears flowing from her eyes. "But, I want to be with my husband, Apollyon." At the mention of Apollyon''s name, the Archdemon closed his hand over her wrist. "Ravin, please help me return in the Vampire Realm."

    "My heart belonged there." Her voice choked with tears. "It hurts me that I can''t be with my mate. Please help me, Ravin.? Please."

    Ravin wrenched his hand away from her fingers. "I want to be with him and not you."

    Luna pleaded as she sped his shoulders in anguish in turn. "He will think I had been cheating on you. I don''t want him to think that I wasn''t loyal."

    "I love Apollyon, Ravin." Luna sobbed as she put off any attraction she had felt for the Archdemon. "You have to ept that."

 Chapter 282 - Fake Love

    <h4>Chapter 282 - Fake Love</h4>

    *********************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *********************************

    "I love Apollyon, Ravin." Luna sobbed as she put off any attraction she had felt for the Archdemon. "You have to ept that."

    "I can''t." Ravin hugged her, and she sagged against his chest.

    "I''m sorry." He said sadly, and Luna hated the pity in his voice. "For so long, I have waited for you to be mine. Now that I have you in my arms, I couldn''t bear the thought of letting you go."

    Gasping, Luna''s chest hitched. "Is this for your sexual pleasure?"

    "You know if I only wanted sex, I could get any woman in Hell if I wanted them," Ravin replied as he traced the shape of her lips with his eyes. "I could get them anywhere to sleep with me whether I use Archdemon magic or not, persuading them with my natural charms."

    Luna pulled back from his embrace.

    "Ravin, I had been living peacefully in the Vampire Realm before you dragged me in Hell and I still don''t know what you wanted from me." Luna clenched her fists as she wiped the angry tears from her eyes."

    "Tell me the truth, Ravin, and make it as clear as day." She asked, scowling at him. "What do you want me to do for you now that I am here?"

    "I want you to perform your responsibilities as a wife of an Archdemon, Amare."

    "Bullshit." She sneered at howughable it was. "I don''t need to perform any wifely duties for anyone else other than my husband."

    Luna waved a dismissive hand. "Give me another logical reason."

    "I want you to follow my orders and never challenge me."

    She grimaced.

    "We are blood-bonded, Archdemon."? The more he conversed with Ravin, the more she was convinced that the man was a psychopath--a dark, sexual Archdemon psychopath who killed children. "I am not part of your legion. We are equals."

    Leaning closer, Luna sped her fingers around his throat.

    She stared into his dark amber eyes as he felt his Adam''s apple bobbed up and down. "If you say that again, I would make sure you can''t produce Archdemon heirs."

    He angled his head closer as if he was about to kiss her. "I want to learn how to love you, and I expected to be loved back."

    "That''s the mistake of your kind, Ravin." Releasing his neck, Luna held her breath as she pushed him off her. "You expect--and feel entitled even��that you could get what you want."

    The Archdemon wasfortable invading her personal space.

    She would not let him kiss her again.

    She needed to think about her husband and her baby.

    "If you love someone, you should let them go if they can''t reciprocate."

    "You will reciprocate."

    The sensual web snapped.

    "No." Her voice quaked with anger as she rocked back and forth. "If you love someone, you should think about what makes them happy and make their wishese true. If they wish to be free, then you let them.

    "If they love you, they will find their way back to you." She said in frustration. "You deserve someone who will love you back as you said."

    "Archdemons don''t love, Amare." Ravin shrugged with nonchnce. "Love is a gift from Heaven." He smiled an effortless smile, and Luna''s heart thudded with the unwanted effect. "This is why we possess bodies because we don''t have anything to call ours because everything will be taken away from us in the end."

    There was a pounding in her ears.

    "Ravin. Don''t you see?!" Clenching and unclenching his fists, Luna fought to urge to punch him in his beautiful face. "Of course, everything will be taken away from you if it didn''t belong to you in the first ce!"

    "But you belong to me." He tilted his head and said smoothly, "I will learn to love, and you will help me."

    ''Goddess.'' Luna sighed a dejected sigh. ''Somebody help this Archdemon!''

    "You must return? me if you loved me." Luna gave him a shrewd nce as she lightly pressed a palm on his cheek.

    She tried to bring out a seductive, mesmerizing voice with Archdemon Magic to use it against Ravin. "Prove it to me how much you love me, Ravin."

    "Ah~" He purred, chuckling.

    "Amare is a fledgeling Archdemon trying to y tricks on me." Clicking his tongue, Ravin caressed her face with his knuckles as if her beauty utterly enthralled him. "I''m sorry, but those poor attempts wouldn''t work."

    "Are you implying that I was faking my tears?" Luna''s eyes widened at his preposterous implication.

    Baring her teeth, her voice rose in anger, "How dare you, Ravin?"

    She crossed her arms, and the bastard had dared to nce down at her cleavage. "You are a monster!"

    "I wouldn''t go that far. I didn''t imply that you were faking your tears. I didn''t say anything of the sort." Ravin argued.

    He rubbed his chin in contemtion. "Now that you mentioned it yourself, mayhap those were real fake tears to manipte me."

    A pause. "Women, no matter what race, use that technique all the time when they don''t get what they want."

    Narrowing her eyes at him, Luna dered. "You are a fucking asshole. I think you have surrounded yourself with scheming female Archdemons that you can''t determine the difference between fake and real."

    His deep baritone was sensual. "It was a jest."

    "What?!"

    Luna was pissed off because Ravin''s jests sounded like he meant it, or was she guilty of doing it?

    Was she turning into an evil Archdemon?

    How could the Archdemon of Gluttony make her feel all sorts of emotion in such a short span?

    "The blood bond between us still existed." He said out-of-the-blue and Luna raised an eyebrow.

    "So, was Apollyon." She stated a matter-of-factly.

    Jutting her chin, she added, "The Vampire King is my priority in this blood bond."

    "Don''t be so sure about that." He shot a quick look on her fingers, but she ignored it.

    "What do you mean?"

    Luna''s arms were starting to ache a little from holding the coverlet together to hide her breasts from the predatory gleam of Ravin''s eyes.

    Ravin said drily, "One of the three soul ties you have with your mates had been cut."

 Chapter 283 - Weakness

    <h4>Chapter 283 - Weakness</h4>

    *********************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *********************************

    Ravin said drily, "One of the three soul ties you have with your mates had been cut."

    Luna was taken aback.

    There was a moment of silence.

    "How would you know that, Ravin?" Her brows wrinkled in suspicion. "Do you know how to cut a soul cord?"

    "I don''t. Nothing happened to me." He shook his head slowly."The two individuals involved in the connection would feel unbearable loss once it was severed."

    Luna paled at the idea of losing her soul tie with Apollyon.

    "Apollyon had told me that it would be pure, unadulterated agony, a sickness without a cure."

    She repeated what the Vampire King had told her before. "It would feel like someone had ripped your heart from your chest, and you find it hard to breathe. You will be sick for years and decades. If the blood bond were stronger, you would wish you were dead."

    "When you cut the cords that tied two mates together, it will perforate the very core of your heart, creating deep wounds that would eternally bleed." Ravin nodded his head in agreement. "Heartbreak can poison you little by little, crushing and tearing your insides. Both souls would shatter into fragments."

    He continued in mock sorrow, "It is a lifetime of self-inflicted pain, torture, and destruction."

    Ravin smirked.

    Raising an eyebrow, Ravin said, "What Apollyon told you could only apply if the other one on a mating pair is dead."

    Lips parting in surprise, Luna clutched at her chest. "I don''t feel anything."

    Ravin tilted his head as he yed with her silver hair. "Mayhap, there was a way to cut cords that wouldn''t lead to living like a suicidal zombie."

    As her ears perked up in interest, Luna blinked, "Cutting cords..."Luna trailed off. "If I know how to do that, I will cut all these three cords attached to my heart with that magic knife so that I could set myself free. Her eyebrows knitted in determination. "I would choose the one who is right for me without fate interfering with my destiny."

    "Anyhow, it definitely wasn''t me, so our strings of fate will be entwined for a very long time." Ravin lifted his shoulders in a ''who cares?'' gesture.

    Luna scowled at Ravin''s suggestion. "I want to be free from you, Archdemon."

    She clutched his wrist to stop him from acting so familiar with her. "How could I love you when you don''t give me a choice?"

    "That''s not love, Ravin." Luna punched him in the chest, and Ravin let her. "That is obsession."

    "You don''t love me." She straightened her spine as her eyes burned with resentment. "You are obsessed with me because I''m not giving you what you want. If I give you what you want, you wouldn''t be so adamant about keeping me here with you in Hell."

    The Archdemon didn''t know how topromise.

    "Do I obsess over blood here in Hell when it was easy for me to get my blood supply from you and Luxen?" She cried, "No!"

    "Exactly." He snapped a finger. "You don''t give me what I want."

    "You don''t understand, Ravin." Luna clenched her fists and punched the mattress in frustration.

    "We are two different people with different wants and needs." Luna was tempted to throw temper tantrums, "Neither am I your puppet, nor am I an extension of you. I have my own mind and soul, and I can think for myself, thank you very much."

    "You can''t control me or whom I love." She enunciated every word. "I? love the Vampire King, and you have to deal with that."

    "What if you realize that you don''t love the Vampire King, and you mistook that love because of the blood bond?" Ravin blew out a frustrated breath, "He was the first man you were involved in. It would be safer for you to explore your options."

    Out of the blue, Luna thought about devising a fool-proof n.

    One of these days, she would trick Ravin to swear an oath in the form of a binding contract.

    It was time for her to be as devious as Lilith.

    "Ah~" Luna crossed her arms and carefully watched his following reactions. "You fear that I would go to the Vampire Realm and wouldn''te back."

    He eximed, "Which is the truth!"

    Luna had to know how to attack his weakness.

    "Of course, it is the truth!"

    She will try until she would sessfully hook the Archdemon into her bait. "You don''t believe in your skills to win me over, then? How insecure!"

    He quickly assumed a stony expression, feigning indifference, but his golden eyes had trembled a little, giving his secrets away.

    "You are a walking paradox, Ravin," Luna''s whispers rose as she slowly gained the confidence to pin down Ravin''s weaknesses,ying it out in the open. "You demand my love and my loyalty, but you fear being vulnerable."

    "Take me back to the Vampire Realm and see if Ie back to you." Luna''s eyes wandered around her, and she could see Ravin and her half-naked form in the mirror.

    "Consider it a test." She gave him an evil grin. "It would be fun."

    He growled softly. " I don''t want you to go."

    "Deep inside your heart, you already know the answer that if you let me go, I wouldn''te back anymore. Attachment can be strong because of the blood bond, but it isn''t love, Ravin." She lifted a hand, rubbing the fine hairs on Ravin''s chest soothingly. "The so-called love you carry behind your back will not be enough for the both of us, to keep your dark tower of obsession from crumbling."

    "An Archdemon Prince shouldn''t look that pathetic,"? Pouting, Luna spoke quietly without breaking eye contact. "It wouldn''t sustain us for long. You might as well end it while it was still early. Hm?"

    "Don''t mock me, Amare," He insisted, and Luna''s soul chilled at his words, "I will be enough for you, and you will realize that."

    Her heart was a hummingbird in her mouth.

    "You are stubborn as a bull."? Luna''s heart was now consumed by hatred, but she toned her rage down. "It would have been kinder if you killed me, Ravin. You have turned my haven into hell."

 Chapter 284 - Beat Him Of His Own Game

    <h4>Chapter 284 - Beat Him Of His Own Game</h4>

    *********************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *********************************

    "You have turned my haven into Hell."

    He said in a low murmur, "I could fight for you against anyone else, Amare."

    Luna shed him an arctic smile. "But what''s the use?"

    If Luna were upright, she would have been prowling like a tiger wanting to be released from the cage.

    Baring her teeth, she hissed, "I will not fight for you."

    As she clutched at the sheets with her fists, Luna''s cheeks flushed and pressed her thighs together.

    Archdemons knew what words to say to seduce a woman.

    Nevertheless, Luna would never fall for it.

    "You will learn to love me," The Archdemon told her with conviction. "Love can be learned if you tried hard enough."

    Lines marred her forehead at the white lies Ravin had no problem saying.

    How many female Archdemons had he fooled with his flowery words?

    "Love can''t be learned, Ravin, but it can be faked." When Ravin made no move of getting off the bed, Luna showed her disinterest by turning away, scratching at her cuticles. "An Archdemon wouldn''t be able to keep that up. As time passed by, they will find someone else, and the mask falls off, leaving the other person cold and miserable."

    I wouldn''t let my mask fall off." He replied smoothly as he sped her hand, interlocking their fingers together.

    There was something hot and lethal in Ravin''s gaze. "I am used to wearing them all my life."

    "Then, there was really no point in staying with you." She turned away from him, recoiling from his touch. "I don''t want to love you out of obligation."

    Luna whispered sadly, "You can''t learn how to love someone, Ravin, and that''s the truth."

    As she pulled the nkets closer to her body forfort, Luna gave Ravin a cold, ssy stare.

    "Leave, Archdemon." Luna murmured, "I don''t need you."

    Ravin shrugged, unfazed by how fast Luna could switch her temperament, simr to how the weather can change from one moment to the next.

    "Wee to my ''Pleasure Room,'' Amare." The danger in the air heightened after his loaded sarcasm.

    She stiffened.

    Luna''s palms were a little damp with fear.

    "This ce is my property." Ravin''s voice was rough as he emphasized the word ''property.''

    "Just minutes ago, you were in distress for reasons I can''t pinpoint, and I came back tofort you." Ravin''s eyes locked with hers as he tucked the curtains of silver strands behind the shell of her ear.? "We argued, and I let you address your feminine wiles."

    "Now, you are ordering me to leave the room?" His scowl, paired with a frown on his mouth, made his aura moremanding.? "You should think twice before you disrespect me in my own Castle."

    She had to irritate Ravin so that she could get back to the Vampire Realm.

    She smiled to herself, having the perfect role model in mind.

    Luna can be a spoiled brat like Catriona and Lilith.

    Luna clicked her tongue and shook her head, "If you respect yourself in the first ce, Archdemon, I shouldn''t even be here. Nobody wants a bad wife to run the Castle."

    Naked heat sizzled between them.

    "Oh. Now, you are trying to be difficult so that you can get rid of me?" Ravin''s voice has a husky drawl to it. "How predictable!"

    "You know how I adore a bad wife, Amare. I can do a lot of wicked things to her body as a punishment." His hungry golden eyes had enveloped her, triggering unwanted emotions such as anger and hatred with a hint of a craving she couldn''t exin. "Your pain will be my pleasure, and I will train you to like it."

    Luna was aware of how close Ravin was, but what happened next?

    She didn''t see iting.

    He had angled his head and swooped in for a smack.

    He didn''t part his lips to wriggle his tongue inside, nor did he move his mouth.

    When he pulled back, Ravin''s expression was unreadable.

    Luna''s hand lifted to her mouth out of its own ord, rubbing her lower lip.

    Ravin''s golden eyes twinkled in mischief.

    He broke into a boyish grin. "I''ll go, Amare."

    This time, Luna watched the cords of muscles rippled all over his body, broad over his back and thick in his arms and legs as he stood by the door.

    The Archdemon was an experienced fighter.

    Ravin had no desire to kill her despite how ugly her manners were.

    Yet.

    Sometimes, Ravin being an Archdemon Prince, always flew past her mind.

    The Archdemon of Gluttony didn''t let her have thest word, for Ravin had leisurely got off the bed and close the door shut like he didn''t deliver a searing kiss to her mouth.

    When she had the ''Pleasure Room'' all by herself, Luna shut her eyes tight and massaged her neck, feeling vulnerable.

    She was sometimes confused about what she really desired.

    Luna realized her mood swings had made her irrational.

    Mayhap was the baby in her tummy, making her feel like this.

    When Ravin had turned to leave his sex dungeon, Luna had stopped him from going.

    It had reminded her of Apollyon''s abandonment during their wedding night.

    When the Archdemon offered to stay with her, Luna suddenly wanted to be alone.

    She couldn''t stand what Ravin had said about love equating to obedience.

    What nonsense!

    She didn''t understand how masculine minds work.

    Did they want to be desired by women and pleasure them until their egos swell?

    Did they need someone to take care of them as wives because they couldn''t care for themselves?

    If it was, women could rule all realms with this precious knowledge.

    How powerful would it be if a man''s self-assurance depended on how many times a woman smiled at them in a day or how manydies and consorts adored them and belonged in their Consortium?

    If a man''s pride and dignity can be dependent on that level��

    If a woman could raise an arrogant man''s self-esteem high up to the ceiling, then it would be so easy to tear their confidence down with words and destroy their visions for the future.

    Women can be powerful if they want.

    It wouldn''t be a big deal to put arrogant men in their ce.

    ******

    AUTHOR''S NOTES:

    Hello, I would have liked to reply to one of my privileged readers here.

    I can''t reply to yourment and address the topic because I have identally pressed the delete instead of the reply button.

    I''m sorry.

    She had observed that a part of the recent chapter update had bordered on rape, in her opinion. :)

    We all have our opinions, and I respect them.

    I made this corner to make things clear, and I wee any types ofments from my readers.

    It is called rape if there is pration, and in my recent chapters, they aren''t.

    Weeeeee~

    I am not romanticizing rape by any means (PLEASE NO.NEVER!), and Ravin and Luxen were Archdemons.

    Their kind was well-known for being incubuses, so basically, you can call them rape-y through seduction even if they were Luna''s husbands.

    I think this is where the double standardse in.

    Ravin and Luxen...

    It is their nature as Archdemons.

    I''m not even going to sugarcoat it.

    In the legends, demons had raped human women to birth, evil half-demon children to create chaos on earth.

    If you notice, the two brothers were toxic as hell and sometimes showed they cared about Luna because she was the wife.

    She was also the one who sent them back to Hell, lol, so in a way. They were punishing her, keeping her in Hell, as revenge.

    The Archdemons mated with the wrong person.

    They tried to impress her, but not enough to redeem and hide how indifferent, cold, and toxic they are.

    They im they love her, but their thoughts consist of owning her, possess, and control.

    Some males do this in real life too.

    They bait their women with their ''act of kindness'' so that they would cling to that tiny sliver of hope that these bastards would change for their women because they ''love'' them.

    That isn''t always the case.

    They don''t even know what love is like, and they go on dering their love for her without reason, even if they only met once or twice.

    Not many interactions to get to know a person.

    The Archdemons only know how to hurt and torture and manipte, and we aren''t sure if they woulde to know how to love Luna for real.

    SOME males, NOT ALL, are like this in real life, so please be careful who you trust.

    They want you to cling to that hope, their ''little act of kindness'' so that you wouldn''t leave them when he starts the abuse, because all you remember was him being kind to you, which is SUPER RARE than all the sacrifices you have made for him.

    Many people only have the courage to abuse the one they feel safe andfortable with within many instances.

    These demons can abuse you through passive-aggressiveness, gaslighting with their words, and invalidating your emotions.

    Ravin and Luxen were somewhat psychopathic because that is their nature as Archdemons.

    The question here is, would they change their nature, or would they remain the same as the story progresses?

    And would Luna wait around and stay for these toxic Archdemons too long to find out?

    She wants to go back to Apollyon, but the blood bond had tied her to these two brothers.

    Will she give in to Ravin if he sessfully seduced her?

    Ladies, please, please, this is just fiction!

    If you encounter someone like Luxen and Ravin in real life, please run!

    I have written some significant signs of a psychopath in their character so that you might notice the red gs right away.

    This is why I made them like this to help you notice certain traits in real people.

    This can go both ways. Some females can be as devious as Lilith and Catriona.

    Sorry for my male readers. I don''t wish to alienate you.

    In the topics of BDSM:

    It is important tomunicate what you will allow and wouldn''t allow with your partners by using safewords.

    I admit Ick that in my story, even if I have many BDSM chapters.

    Please understand that my characters had not been taught about the rules for this since they had no ess to the Inte.

    Those safe words.

    Consent.

    Clear and concise agreement.

    For me, BDSM is quite hazy and blurred.

    One little thing could set something off, and the person wouldn''t know if the other had crossed the line without propermunication.

    In addition to that, Luna was gagged. *facepalm*

    That was why I ced double POVs in the event, or I guess I will be in trouble.

    I don''t want to be that author who glorifies rape. :''(

    Luna suggested jokingly to be tied up and consent to the body, licking to get rid of the poison.

    The flogging was spontaneous.

    Luna was gagged, so she can''t really say if she approved it, butter, she is alright with it.

    But would Ravin actually care if Luna liked being iled or not?

    The foot fetish was...hm.

    I am not a foot person, but I have included that in my story because I came across a certain article.

    I want to write about it.

    If you aren''t a foot person, you wouldn''t care because yeah, it''s just foot, and you wouldn''t understand why someone would be turned on by it, but the subject of sexualizing a woman through their foot without permission...I think it will be called harassment.

    Imagine holding the feather of Ma''at as you weighed in the scales of justice with the heart of the soul against the feather.

    Share your judgment.

    Let me know your thoughts on thement section.

    I am curious about your views.

    Yay!

    Thanks for reading!

 Chapter 285 - Who Are You?

    <h4>Chapter 285 - Who Are You?</h4>

    *********************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *********************************

    Luna was lying on her stomach in peace as shey on the mattress with her eyes closed shut, not noticing that she had dozed off.

    As soon as she awakened, her muscles had turned rigid when she felt goosebumps all over her skin.

    She froze.

    Someone was staring at her that she could feel the scorching holes searing her back, sending shivers down her spine.

    Lips trembling, Luna held her breath.

    Her ears became hypersensitive to the sound.

    Luna feigned slow breathing and soft snores as she waited for the creature''s next move.

    She didn''t stir.

    Luna locked palms on the bed and threw a sideways nce.

    There was something or someone on the bed with her because the bed had dipped with the creature''s weight and movement, tossing her naked body like she was sd.

    The intruder wasn''t discreet with his twists and turns.

    ''Please don''t let the mysterious creature know that my eyes were wide awake.'' Luna prayed as she pressed her lips together in silence.

    She didn''t want to give herself away.

    If Ravin were creeping on her while she slept, Luna would flog him.

    Instead of acting all creepy and scaring her, Ravin should have shaken her shoulders to rouse her if he needed something.

    Her adrenaline spiked, making her more alert and ready to fight.

    She wouldn''t give him anything that would involve herself anymore.

    She had given him the liberties of licking her naked body.

    It would be the first, and the final act Luna would allow the Archdemon.

    Hands turning mmy, Luna rubbed her palms on the mattress at a snail''s pace.

    If it were Lilith disturbing her restless sleep again, Luna would summon Archdemon Magic to kill this bitch once and for all.

    Luna didn''t forget what had happened at Luxen''s sex dungeon as Lilith took advantage of her short term paralysis.

    She wouldn''t care about Satan regting her Archdemon magic.

    As her long silver strands fanned her naked back, Luna noticed that her nkets weren''t wrapped around her anymore as if they had been kicked off in her sleep.

    Chilled fingertips traced her spine, sweeping her hair to the side.

    The sudden contact made her flinch.

    It was dark in Ravin''s ''Pleasure Room''.

    The Archdemon had extinguished the orange orbs and took it along with him, leaving the flickering blue mes of Hell Fire by the hearth as her only source of light.

    It wasn''t enough to illuminate the pitch-ck of the area.

    The sheer curtains epassing the King-sized bed had added to the dim and cave-like darkness of his sex dungeon.

    In the blink of an eye, Luna spun around, seeing shades of monochrome.

    Fists tightening, Luna didn''t hesitate to jump at the intruder.

    She wrestled the masculine form into a bear hug.

    His broad shoulders tensed as her soft feminine form molded on her brawny form like they were two pieces of a puzzle fitting perfectly.

    Luna almost let her guard down because the man''s shape and form had felt so familiar, lulling her into a false sense of security.

    When the blue Hell Fire zed from the furnace, she had identally grazed the side of his jaw with her knuckles, seeing a little of his side profile.

    The intruder had worn ck from head to toe, making him invisible in the shadows.

    Thick and winged-shaped eyebrows stood starkly into his ashen face.

    His beard had grownpared to the clean-shaven look Luna was used to.

    Luna''s pupils dted as she increased her focus, making sure she wasn''t mistaken.

    Long raven locks were slicked back to show his forehead.

    Luna''s heartbeat raced, nearly exploding, as she murmured, "It can''t be."

    It wouldn''t make sense that her husband, Apollyon, would be in Hell unless he figured out how to rescue her.

    Mayhap, someone had destroyed Apollyon into ashes!

    No, Luna didn''t feel their connection vanish, so his physical form must still exist.

    She shook her head in denial, but she clung to that tiny sliver of hope.

    ''No.'' Luna''s chest pained even at that single word of dissent. ''It is impossible for her husband to be here in Hell.''

    Even if there were a one-in-a-billion chance that Apollyon was there with her on Ravin''s ''Pleasure Room,'' that event would be as obscure as Satan visiting the Seventh Circle of Heaven.

    Not unless the Vampire King had a new High Priestess summoning Archdemons in her free time.

    With her breasts bouncing freely as it hit the intruder''s forehead by ident, Luna continued to fight despite the obvious difort.

    Warmth had flooded her cheeks in chagrin.

    With her newfound Archdemon strength, Luna''s arms had held the intruder in a tight chokehold while her legs had wrapped around his opponent''s midsection, hugging his opponent''s back and keeping his arms pinned to his body.

    As Luna''s muscles tightened around her enemy, her face had disyed a victorious grin when she realized she had control over him in a dominant position.

    It must be too early to celebrate.

    Luna didn''t expect the intruder''s arms to burst forth after Luna had enclosed her thighs around his lower hips.

    He stretched his arms backward.

    The mysterious man''s strong hands mped unto her ribcage as heid down to his back while she was behind him, pushing his weight unto her as he reclined to the mattress.

    Breath whooshed out from her lungs in a gasp.

    Luna didn''t anticipate that move.

    Luna scrambled to escape and move aside in vain.

    He took her down so easily.

    She was trapped under these pounds of muscle, and the only thing she could do was writhe and squirm.

    Luna held back a cry when the man kept bumping and grinding at her front while she was beneath his brawny physique.

    Later on, she realized that her sharp ws had already sunk unto his shoulders, and the man was also trying hard to escape from her clutches.

    When Luna''s elbows had finally released his neck as she pulled out the demon talons embedded unto the intruder''s dark shirt, the mysterious man pivoted his body towards her, crushing her like she was a fly caught by a ck spider.

    He whispered, "Luna."

 Chapter 286 - Why Are You Here?

    <h4>Chapter 286 - Why Are You Here?</h4>

    *********************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ********************************

    He whispered, "Luna."

    Threerge light orbs floated above their heads, bathing Apollyon''s handsome face in orange light.

    Raven hair.

    Blue eyes.

    Few silky strands fell over his forehead while the others draped beautifully over his chiseled jaw.

    As Apollyon pinned Luna underneath him, Luna''s mouth fell open, and her fingertips touched her parted lips in shock.

    The first second she had known it was Apollyon in front of him, Luna''s eyes had watered, and her heart skipped a beat, choking into a sob.

    She desired to express all the million loving thoughts racing through her current mind, condensing them into a sweet, passionate kiss.

    The yearning, sadness fused with her love for Apollyon threatened to burst, and then the intense emotions deted when cold, hard logic started creeping into her mind.

    She absorbed the dark negativity that came along with it.

    Luna had thousands of questions in her mind.

    How did Apollyon get here in Hell if he wasn''t an Archdemon?

    When Lilith had failed to possess Luna''s body in the Vampire Realm, did she bring his soul in Hell because of her desperation?

    She gasped as made-up scenarios surfaced on her mind like bullets.

    ''No. No. No.'' Luna convinced herself, shaking her head, bewildered.

    She grabbed unto Apollyon''s arms, clinging on for dear life. ''Lilith could never be powerful, unless��" The quiet voice in her head trailed off as her brain backtracked, searching for memories that could support her theories. ''Lilith had summoned her soul, using blood sacrifice of Unicorns along with Ravin and Luxen''s Archdemon blood that they had exchanged with her, making Luna their ''wife.''

    She was in a daze that she forgot Apollyon''s existence for a minute.

    Luna didn''t know what Lilith would ughter this time for her sacrifice.

    Lilith had to find a connection to acquire Apollyon''s soul and sessfully bring it to Hell.

    A sudden realization hit her.

    Squeezing her eyes shut, Luna covered her face with an elbow.

    She couldn''t bear to look into her husband straight in the eye when she was the reason why her husband was here.

    It was her.

    Luna''s vampire blood and their mating bond were enough as a connection to Apollyon''s soul.

    She didn''t remember Lilith physically taking something away from her, whether it was blood or��

    Horrified at the possibility, Luna was on the verge of tears.

    The Archdemon of Envy had mentioned before that she couldn''t get inside Luna''s body in the Vampire Realm because of the babe in her stomach.

    If Lilith could kill Luna''s baby without her notice, then Lilith should have gone to the Vampire Realm.

    Lightheaded, Luna''s tensed muscles lost all her strength, trembling as a wave of hot and cold seeped into her bones.

    That wouldn''t answer why she had brought Apollyon here instead.

    ''My baby was safe.'' Breathing heavily, Luna repeated in her mind repeatedly until she can believe it.

    Luna would make sure that her unborn baby would be safe.

    She lovingly caressed her stomach, not so in aforting gesture to her rising concern over her baby''s safety, but she thought about when would be the right time to break the news to her husband that her body in the Vampire Realm was pregnant.

    Luna had a feeling that her baby wasn''t growing in her stomach yet and still very much a seed.

    Should she tell Apollyon right now while they were in an Archdemon''s castle?

    Luna changed her mind.

    Ravin''s ''Pleasure Room'' might have invisible entities around them, especially if mirrors surrounded them.

    Mirrors can be portals used by witches to summon Earth Spirits.

    Some demon servants might have called Ravin to alert him of Apollyon''s invasion by now.

    Luna was stuck, feeling abruptly smothered by Apollyon''s physique, and feared for her husband''s well-being at the same time.

    Like in Apollyon''s Castle, the walls have eyes and ears.

    Ears ringing, Luna had lost the ability to speak.

    She should be grateful to have this pleasant connection with her husband, even if they were justfortably gazing into each other''s eyes.

    She should be happy that she was reunited with Apollyon, even if he was acting strange.

    Why did Apollyon act like he had seen Medusa at first sight, as if she turned him into stone?

    Why didn''t he ce his lips on her skin and taste every inch of her?

    Honestly, Luna had expected him to whisper sweet nothings in her ear and shower her with kisses, telling her how much he missed her while she was gone.

    She would fall into his arms, cocooned into the warmth of his embrace as they made love in her second husband''s Castle.

    Wouldn''t that be the biggest revenge Luna could inflict on Ravin, who destroyed her and Apollyon''s peace and happiness?

    Apollyon didn''t, and her stomach clenched in disappointment.

    Was he even Apollyon?

    Perhaps, he didn''t miss her at all.

    But he was here, wasn''t he?

    He was content on staring deeply into her eyes, and sheter became used to it, too.

    Her husband had asionally nced at her lips, noting how she breathed in her mouth and the way herrynx move when she swallowed hard, keeping her thankful tears at bay.

    She didn''t want to shock her husband with her overflowing cup of emotions, pouring all of her feelings unto him.

    He might get overwhelmed with its intensity.

    Thest thing Luna wanted was for Ravin to discover that Apollyon had sneaked in the Archdemon''s ''Pleasure Room.''

    Nevertheless, Luna patiently waited for the Vampire King to acknowledge her first.

    ''Please show me how much you missed me, Apollyon.'' Luna thought as she gazed at him, licking her lips in anticipation. ''Take that! Read my mind, husband!''

    Finally, Apollyon lifted one hand and paused, hesitating.

    He carefully sped her wrist, moving her arm aside so that it wouldn''t cover her face.

    His gaze wandered around her features.

    Either Apollyon was searching for something in her, or he wasmitting every detail of her face into her memory.

    Why did he make her feel like they wouldn''t see each other again?

 Chapter 287 - Why Did You Do It?

    <h4>Chapter 287 - Why Did You Do It?</h4>

    *********************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ********************************

    Luna''s eyes darted to Apollyon and then to the door.

    She had this forbidden fantasy about Ravin catching her fucking Apollyon in his ''Pleasure Room.''

    Mayhap, the Archdemon will be furious to be cuckolded by the Vampire King.

    He would surely get the hint and would leave her alone.

    She had no intention to cheat on Apollyon with Ravin no matter what.

    If Ravin would stay away from her and halt with his seduction, then there would be no more betrayal.

    Luna had heard from Ravin''s own mouth that he didn''t know how to love, only to have.

    She had assumed beforehand that Ravin was fine sharing her with his brother Luxen, but it turned out he was keeping up appearances.

    He had imed earlier that he would fight for Luna against anyone else so that she would learn to love him and only him.

    Ravin had hated Luxen and Apollyon.

    He would loathe Luna with his entire being.

    If Ravin had a brain after that set-up, surely he would let her go.

    The Archdemon of Gluttony would return her to the Vampire Realm because she was a disobedient, cheating wife.

    Apollyon and Luna would live happily ever after in the Vampire Realm.

    It would have been so easy; wishful thinking, that is.

    +++

    Few minutes had passed by.

    Luna wondered why Apollyon hadn''t said anything yet except her name.

    He wouldn''t exchange his deep, beautiful voice to an Archdemon for a bargain, would he?

    Apollyon had this grim expression, which bothered her deeply, driving her insane.

    It made her wonder what she did wrong.

    Not giving up with his cold, unresponsive husband, Luna decided to make a move first.

    Narrowing her eyes at him, she whispered, "Who are you?"

    She didn''t mean to make it sound like an insult, but she just had to make sure.

    Luna searched the hard lines on his face, and his lips curled into a frown.

    "Did you forget you have another husband in the Vampire Realm?" Apollyon asked as he yfully pinched her cheek.

    She breathed a sigh of relief, and then her lips curved, showing him a little smirk.

    She replied saucily, "Did you forget how to kiss your wife as a greeting?"

    Luna ced her hands on her chest to satisfy her need to touch him.

    His lips curved, and then Apollyon kissed her, and Luna smiled against his mouth.

    She was happy that she finally got what she wanted.

    Luna felt like the entire world cease to exist as their tongues danced.

    She could watch the entire Realms burn as long as she was with Apollyon.

    As she rubbed her naked breasts against his, Luna pulled at the waistbands of his ck pants to bring him closer.

    Groaning, Apollyon sank his lower body into hers, making her wishe true.

    Her husband was sexy when he was turned on.

    Then, Luna wrapped her arms around Apollyon''s waist, her fingers sinking into his beefy ass.

    She can''t help but grin in amusement as they continued the kiss.

    She moaned in pleasure when he ground his cock against her soft mounds.

    Luna whimpered in his mouth. "I love you, Apollyon."

    Her husband didn''t reply to her confession, and she wondered if her husband didn''t hear her.

    Apollyon broke the kiss only to nibble at her earlobes and trace the shell of her ear with his tongue.

    As her husband started trailing kisses over her corbone, Luna''s hands wed his broad back when he buried his face into the curve of her shoulders.

    He pulled back, and Luna saw him wrinkle his nose.

    Her eyebrows were drawn together. "What''s wrong?"

    Apollyon shook his head before he swooped in again,? pushing his mouth unto hers, more firmly this time.

    He ced a hand around her back to lift her upright.

    Luna yelped as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

    As he buried his fingers starting from the roots dragging them to the ends of her hair, Apollyon amassed her thick silver volumes and massaged her scalp.

    Sweeping her long hair aside, Apollyon gently tugged her hair, and the motion made her head jerk backward.

    The Vampire King pulled her hair hard, and Luna whimpered in agony, "It hurts Apollyon."

    Kicking and thrashing her legs to untangle herself from him, Luna pushed him off in annoyance.

    Apollyon was quick to wrap his fingers around her neck, locking her down to the mattress.

    She was already scowling to see what his problem was only to meet his cold sapphire eyes.

    "Luna." His silent, eerie voice made the hairs on her nape prickle.

    Apollyon whispered unto her hair. "Why do you reek of Ravin?"

    Chills ran down her spine, and she had a loss for words.

    His face was an inch away from ripping her throat, sending the pulse of her neck to quicken.

    She blushed, and Apollyon didn''t look pleased.

    Apollyon''s fists clenched as he positioned them on either side of her head, and Luna''s tears threatened to fall.

    "You probably liked to be tied up with chains and ropes in interesting positions." He whispered as he reached for the chains Ravin had used on her, which was hanging awkwardly by the bed.

    He inspected it himself before he showed it in front of her face.

    "Apollyon��I��I t''s not what you think." Her guilt twisted heavily in her stomach, and it got tighter and tighter every time he glowered at her in usation.

    She swallowed hard.

    Luna hugged herself, feeling the need to defend herself from Apollyon''s harsh usations. "Ravin didn''t have his way with me because I am loyal to you!"

    She had to prepare herself.

    Luna blew out a breath to calm her down. "I wasn''t cheating��"

    Her husband cut her off. "I don''t care, Luna, as long as I can have you tonight."

    Luna flinched, suddenly taken back.

    He came here all the way from the Vampire Realm just to what�� fuck her?

    Luna noticed that Apollyon''s skin was throwing off a scent that Luna wasn''t familiar with.

 Chapter 288 - Are You Alright?

    <h4>Chapter 288 - Are You Alright?</h4>

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ****************************

    Luna noticed that Apollyon''s skin was throwing off a scent that Luna wasn''t familiar with.

    She sniffed his neck, and he didn''t smell the same anymore, or did her memory fail her?

    Was he releasing some pheromones to lure her into having sex when she didn''t feel like it because she had to straighten things up?

    Mayhap, she had stayed in Hell for long, and her sense of smell had quickly adapted to Archdemons.

    Scenting vampires at once must have shocked her nose.

    "I wouldn''t stay long," Apollyon added as he chased for her lips again, distracting her.

    What?

    Where was her husband going?

    ''Were the devils on his heels for entering the gates of Hell?''

    It broke her trains of thought, "Apollyon��"

    His Prussian blue eyes shifted to the sky''s color until they were closed to silver.

    He leaned his weight unto her, crushing her chest.

    Luna unconsciously trailed her fingers down his spine to soothe him.

    Apollyon murmured huskily. "I just want to be inside you."

    He shifted his grip on her neck as he caressed his thumb on her throat and corbone.

    Arching her back, Luna groaned as she reveled in the sensation. "Oh~."

    But...wait.

    "What?" Her brows knitted in confusion.

    Luna didn''t want to have sex with Apollyon, not when he had dismissed her as if her exnation wouldn''t matter!

    Her heartbeat raced, and the throbbing pain in her heart felt like somebody stabbed her with a wooden stake.

    Her willpower weakened every time she saw Apollyon''s eyes, drowning her with his intense gaze.

    Shaking her head, Luna shut her eyes tight, getting a hold of herself.

    +++

    When Luna told her husband she loved him, Apollyon didn''t respond.

    It bothered her because Apollyon would usually reply that he loved her back whenever she uttered those three words.

    He would never hold back in his affections.

    ''Why was he acting like this?'' Luna bit her lip. ''Did he hate her now?''

    He didn''t even know that Ravin had only tied her up and didn''t do anything aside from licking her to get rid of the angel dust.

    If he thought she was cheating on her, why was he acting like he didn''t care?

    She squinted at him.

    Apollyon just refused to listen to her version of the story.

    He would be assuming false things, and Luna didn''t like that.

    She balled her hands into fists and exhaled, ''Did he even have the right to be angry at Apollyon like this when she was the one who cheated?

    Luna''s jaws clenched.

    ring at him, she finally decided to speak her truth. "I will let you have me if you listen to me."

    There was a long awkward pause before he tilted his head and smirked.

    "Oh, Luna." Without removing his gaze from hers, Apollyon rubbed his erection in circles, which made Luna''s mouth parted in a silent moan. "There would be no talking if I am doing this to you."

    Shutting her eyes tight, Luna was so tempted to release a keening whimper, but she contented herself with a hiss.

    She was as tight as a bowstring.

    If Apollyon kept this up, she woulde, and there would be no more discussion.

    Apollyon would vanish as he had appeared like magical wisps of smoke.

    Luna was determined to keep him here.

    "How long would this pathetic story take?"

    Caught by surprise, it took her half a minute to decipher Apollyon''s words.? "Pathetic?"

    She was busily arching her back against Apollyon when he abruptly lifted his lower body away from her quim.

    Huffing in frustration, Luna missed the delicious contact right away.

    It was as clear as day that her husband was teasing her by letting her feel the sneak peek of paradise for a few seconds.

    Gritting her teeth, she rasped. "Are you. calling my words pathetic, Apollyon?"

    Keeping his intense eye contact, Apollyon whispered while grinding against her again. "Do not be angry, Luna."

    Luna momentarily forgot what they were talking about in the first ce.

    "I will listen if you still want to tell me." He said.

    "Now, you sound so reasonable about it as if you will do anything just to fuck." Narrowing her eyes, Luna leaned forward because it felt like they weren''t close enough.

    "Don''t you feel the same, as well?" Apollyon let out a naughty chuckle.? "I know you don''t want to talk, Luna."

    Her cheeks flushed, feeling embarrassed at how her words didn''t match her actions.

    Luna found it hard to resist the sexual heat of her husband, who had known her��in the biblical sense��inside and out.

    Apollyon had kept her at bay every time she caressed the front of his bulge before pulling his pants down.

    "If you want to fuck other males, I would let you be." He growled, but he did the same thing as her, doing the exact opposite. "I want you now."

    He wanted to fuck, but every time Luna showed him with her body that she wanted it too, he would lessen the contact.

    ''Just do it. Take me.'' Luna wanted to scream in frustration. ''Stop teasing me and giving me a taste if you can''t really deliver.''

    Apollyon kissed her, deep and punishing, along with razor-sharp nips and licks.

    Raising his head, he asked, "Don''t you miss me?"

    She wanted some action, but she will have to wait.

    Not yet.

    Luna slid her arms around him. "I think something is wrong with you, Apollyon."

    "Nothing is amiss." Apollyon had started being violent when she said that.

    He grasped her thighs and parted her legs with the determination only to possess and conquer.

    Luna gasped in shock.

    "I just find it useless that you want to narrate every dirty wicked thing you did with the Archdemon to your husband." Luna swallowed hard as he pushed hisrge thumb on the hood of her clit.

    "Are you purposely trying to make me jealous when it''s been so long for me?"

    Apollyon ced his palm on top of her sensitive, hot mound as he rubbed it hard, increasing the pressure and friction.

 Chapter 289 - Take Me

    <h4>Chapter 289 - Take Me</h4>

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    Apollyon ced his palm on top of her sensitive, hot mound as he rubbed it hard, increasing the pressure and friction.

    She wanted tobust!

    Sometimes, she felt like Apollyon didn''t desire her enough that he would allow an Archdemon to lick her body without bursting a blood vessel.

    "You are serious when you said you didn''t care about whether I fucked him or not!"? Luna cried in both in and pleasure as she gripped his wrist.

    Luna wasn''t sure whether she wanted him to stop or not when he kept her crazy like this.

    Her husband can please her like no other.

    Apollyon used it as an intoxicating weapon to possess her.

    "I really didn''t care." He replied in a whispered shout as his electric blue eyes glittered with lust. "--but one thing you should know was that I miss you, Luna."

    He was a drug��a craving Luna will never get enough of--and she will never refuse if he offered her a taste.

    Shaking his head, Apollyon shrugged with nonchnce.

    "It''s just that I am not interested if you are just going to narrate what I have witnessed." sping her hips, Apollyon bent towards her to flick his tongue against her lower lip. "Do you understand me?"

    ncing up at him, she asked, incredulous. "You have watched what Ravin did to me?"

    "He was moving on top of you, taking liberties to lick you the angel dust off your skin." Apollyon''s unfamiliar scent was much stronger this time, deep-seated into her pores, only to settle at the hot aching ce between her thighs. "I can even smell the scent of his cum on your calves and feet as he rubbed them with a cloth. It''s Ravin''s announcement to all demons who might try to take you away. They will know that you have been imed, and they shouldn''t mess with you."

    A hint of unease crawled up her spine.

    "Why didn''t you��" Luna trailed off as she felt her clit pulsating with want when Apollyon stopped his delicious stimtion with his hot and moist palm. "Why didn''t you save me from the Archdemon if you don''t want him to touch me as you do?"

    Apollyon noticed how needy she was when she squirmed against his unmoving hand, so he continued inserting his middle finger in and out, creating delicious friction in her inner walls.

    He replied, "I''m alright with it."

    The rush of liquid heat threatening to flow inside her halted.

    "You are alright with it?" Frowning, Luna said aloud, feeling like an idiot in her own ears by the way she repeated her husband''s words.

    Luna reclined with her elbows and glowered at him, pissed off. "Something was wrong with you, Apollyon."

    Luna had said that three times already, and did she listen to her intuition?

    "You told me yourself before we got married." Luna red at him in usation. "You don''t like to share me with anyone else, just like how I never wanted to share what''s mine, which is you."

    "Hmm." Apollyon hummed before smirking.

    His mouth was still a hairsbreadth away from hers as he replied. "I changed my mind."

    Clenching her fists, she asked calmly. "Do you have a new Empress in the Vampire Realm?"

    Apollyon shrugged. "No."

    "Concubines?" Luna prompted, but her hands had already soughtfort from his hard, sculpted, hot chests as he petted them in desperation. "Consorts?"

    Luna didn''t want Apollyon to be with other girls, aside from her.

    Luna scowled, ready to kill whoever tried to snatch her mate.

    "You are my only one, Luna." Those dark blue eyes glowed silver for a second.

    Mayhap, it was an imagination.

    Her gaze moved at his knuckles when he caressed her aching breasts in affection.

    "You don''t have to tell me anything." Apollyon kissed her forehead gently, her cheeks, and her mouth.

    Reaching out a hand, he brushed her eyelids with his fingertips. "You don''t have to exin yourself because I understand you."

    "I love you, Luna." He murmured, "I miss burying myself into your honeyed depths��"

    Luna groaned when she felt Apollyon''s hand between her legs as he added another finger inside her, prating oh-so-slowly.

    "Hmm. I should be grateful to Ravin." Apollyon chuckled as he stretched her wide.

    "I didn''t have to do more work to make you wet." Luna could only shut her eyes as she bloomed when Apollyon yed with the soft petals. "He did a good job arousing you, so I don''t have to do anything more."

    Nostrils ring, Apollyon nced down at her with light blue eyes that had smoldered into shades of silver when the light orbs illuminate his face at a certain angle. "I think you are ready for me."

    Luna gazed at him with dreamy, half-hooded eyes.

    He abruptly inserted three fingers inside herher lips, motioning the push and pull motions of sex.

    Luna cried out. "Apollyon--"

    His pupils had dted into widened ck pools before it shrunk its size to the narrowest of slits.

    He untied his dark cloak with negligence, throwing it to the floor.

    Next came his loose ck shirt as he gripped its hem.

    He pulled it over him, but it didn''t pass over his head. for some reason

    Luna''s mouth watered at the symmetrical abdominal muscles in chiseled perfection and the corded muscles on his shoulders and arms.

    His muscles appeared like they were as hard as a rock in her eyes.

    Apollyon''s pectorals were more defined that she wondered if her husband had stayed outdoors more than a pureblood vampire should because he had lost his ivory skin only to be reced by a light tan.

    He did quick work on unfastening his pants, and his erection sprang, leaking with pre-cum.

    He gripped the helm of his cock.

    As he shifted his position to align himself with Luna''s, Apollyon rubbed the tip against her outer lips, coating his ns with the copious amount of her wetness.

    Ah~" Luna moaned. "Apollyon~."

    Her husband didn''t need to prepare her for his shocking entrance.

    In that instant, he drove himself into her.

 Chapter 290 - Size Matters

    <h4>Chapter 290 - Size Matters</h4>

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    In that instant, Apollyon drove himself into her.

    She gasped as her fingers wed his broad back in distress despite how shockingly amazing it felt.

    Lips parting, Luna curbed her moan by gritting her teeth.

    Luna felt like all her breath was expelled from her lungs as she felt the full pressure of Apollyon''s cock inside her.

    It hurt, but it was the kind of pain that felt delicious��like every nerve was on fire.

    Apollyon groaned after his thrust all the way in, and it was intense.

    Luna thought that Apollyon was acting desperate--like he hadn''t had sexual congress with someone for millennia, and it showed in his actions.

    From Apollyon''s small smile, he must have known that Luna had loved how he filled her ache.

    "You are so tight and wet for me," Apollyon murmured as he sped her upper arms, raising Luna''s hands above her head, making her breasts lookrger and fuller.

    Her quim was dripping wet with arousal, and Luna thought it was probably enough for lubrication, easing Apollyon''s massive size in her entrance.

    As her inner walls mped against her husband''s member, it felt like a foreign thing.

    The feel of it��

    It felt right and wonderful, but at the same time, why did it feel like something was wrong?

    Mayhap, it was the size!

    He didn''t fit perfectly as he used to!

    It wasn''t like her husband''s dick had shrunk thest time she remembered it.

    She felt the opposite��or was it her imagination?

    What a strange thought!

    Right now, Apollyon''s cock was biggerrger than life��stretching her more.

    It felt nice, but she had to make sense of this change.

    Her eyebrows knitted in confusion.

    Luna was a virgin and a loyal wife to Apollyon.

    Her first andst pration was her husband.

    It wouldn''t make sense that his cock had felt different all of a sudden.

    Do faithful wives feel it if there was something wrong with their husbands'' proportion, or should Luna have to feel grateful that Apollyon didn''t shrink?

    "Luna." Apollyon''srge hand pawed her breasts and squeezed gently. "Is everything alright?"

    Giving him a shy nce, Luna gave an imperceptible nod.

    He was long and huge down there that it made her feel overly full every time his hard cock twitched inside her quim.

    Apollyon saw no need to give her more time to adjust.

    He was ready to go.

    Nothing could stop him from thrusting inside her quim.

    Luna felt empty when he withdrew without warning. Then, he pulled outpletely before ramming his cock so hard, hitting that sweet spot.

    Luna let her eyelids fall shut.

    The sensation can make her see sparks and glitters over her closed lids.

    It was even better than being filled up.

    It hurt so bad, but it felt so good.

    She parted her lips and let out a long, breathy moan.

    Every time her husband hit her that deep spot with her long, rapid strokes, Luna felt electric shocks radiating all over her skin.

    Giddy with lust, Luna couldn''t think of anything else.

    The initial pain had already subsided when her vaginal muscles had finally adjusted to him.

    Apollyon pulled out from her again.

    Luna saw herself gripping at his upper arms so that she could pull him back in, not letting him go.

    She was about to burst into tears when he smashed exactly where Luna wanted it.

    He did it again and again, increasing the pressure.

    The intensity of his thrusts grew stronger, and instead of Luna screaming at how rough Apollyon had handled her, strangely enough, she could only feel relief.

    If Apollyon made her beg for it just like he used to do, then they would get in trouble.

    They weren''t in the privacy of the Vampire Castle''s bed chambers.

    They were in Hell, in an Archdemon''s Pleasure Room.

    Luna and Apollyon shouldn''t get caught.

    They had to keep their moans under control, or else Ravin would find out.

    Apollyon''s tongue kisses fanned the sizzling embers inside her zing into firestorms.

    Every time Apollyon rammed his dick to the hilt, Luna''s quim burned hotter, bing wetter.

    The desire was like a drug exploding into her brains and flooding into her bloodstreams when Apollyon whispered, "I love you." in her ear while his member moved in and out of her quim.

    As if his body was infused with a rush of adrenaline and excitement, Apollyon grew longer and harder inside her, which made him go even deeper.

    Luna felt like she was so close to the edge of her orgasm as Apollyon switched between fast, shallow thrusts and slow, deep thrusts with expertise.

    She was a fool staying in a hurricane that was her husband, consuming her and eating her alive.

    Her quim had swallowed him whole to the base, and her walls pulsated with the delicious friction of their sexes.

    As Lunaid on her back, meeting her husband''s thrusts in perfect harmony, Apollyon decided to grab and pull both of her legs up, resting them on his muscr shoulders.

    With his hands on either side of her head as he knelt in front of her, Apollyon propelled her passion aloft.

    Luna watched her husband''s blue eyes darken while he winced in concentration, breathing noisily with every exertion.

    Sweat dripped from Apollyon''s forehead, and itnded on her chest. "You like that, Luna?"

    When his vigorous thrusts became more urgent, Apollyon had changed his speed and rhythm, angle, and depth.

    "Yes! Yes! Yes!" Luna chanted in a high-pitched whimper.

    Closing her eyes shut, she savoured the feel of her husband''s thrusts, hardness to softness, as she ground to meet every single one of them.

    The rhythmic pounding was a primal act as old as time--deeply sensual and incredible.

    Her husbandbined his unpredictable thrusts with his hips moving in circles, giving her clit the extreme stimtion it deserved.

    "Ahhh~" Luna moaned, losing herself in ecstasy.

    Shivering from head to toe, her body was warm and tingly as the temperature was built slowly with every wave of sensations.

    Her time hade.

    The orgasm had hit her like a p on the face.

 Chapter 291 - Positions

    <h4>Chapter 291 - Positions</h4>

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    The orgasm had hit her like a p on the face.

    Screaming in silence, Luna came, praying nobody heard her except Apollyon.

    She lost track of time and space, and her soul had shattered into pieces, not wanting it to stop.

    As her muscles spasmed, Luna''s existence melted into euphoria.

    Apollyon didn''t give her time to recover.

    Still sensitive from the orgasm, Luna whimpered in difort when Apollyon continued impaling her with his massive cock.

    When she got used to the rhythm again, her entrance started heating up with electric waves of pleasure, spreading out into her core, her thighs, and her nipples.

    Luna parted her lips and started moaning, losing herself in ecstasy.

    "I want to fuck you so good that I can barely contain myself," Apollyon whispered as he bent down to put her nipples in his mouth in turn,pping at the ares and pulling it with his teeth.

    On his knees, Apollyon sped one of Luna''s calves from his shoulders and put it down.

    Apollyon pressed the back of her thigh to keep it in position while he lifted her remaining leg on his shoulder higher.

    Leaning closer, Apollyon furiously thrust inside her quim in desperation.

    Whenever his pubic bone smashed against her clitoris, Luna''s eyes threatened to roll at the back of her head because it just felt so good.

    "You feel so good, Luna." He murmured as if he read her mind.

    All the blood in her body was running down south to that tiny bud of pleasure--the devil''s doorbell.

    Luna would have never thought she was so close toing again.

    Apollyon''s breathing became rushed and heavy as he stroked her breasts."You make me lose my mind at how tight you are."

    Luna made the mistake of ncing above because she saw an ugly face at the top of the gauzy curtains, watching them with white-dotted eyes and a small mouth with shark teeth hanging wide open.

    Their eyes met, and the demon servant quickly detached his grey hand from the drapes.

    She wanted to confront the demon, but she was so into it.

    They needed to stop.

    "Apollyon." Luna panted, biting her lip. "I saw a demon servant watching us."

    She added in a strained voice."He is going to tell Ravin."

    Apollyon pressed a forefinger on top of her lips as if telling her to shut up.

    "Let him be." He said.

    Luna froze when his beautiful sapphire eyes glittered dangerously.

    "Let the imp call the Archdemon." Scowling, Apollyon shrugged. "I don''t care."

    Luna shouted in a whisper. "Are you out of your damn mind?"

    "I think I''m losing my mind over you, Luna." He watched her with hooded eyes, drunk with pleasure.

    Apollyon purred, "I think I''m not fucking you enough when you can still talk to me like that."

    He pulled out from her quim from out-of-the-blue, interrupting her focus to climax.

    Her husband shifted their positions with ease as if she didn''t weigh a ton.

    Luna gasped, caught off-guard when Apollyon twisted, flipping her to the side.

    Now, Apollyony on the mattress behind her, inserting himself once again from behind.

    His cock had fitted snugly at her core.

    Apollyon pushed his thick, hard phallus upwards, speeding up his momentum like crazy.

    He slightly lifted her in front of him, with her back cradled against his front.

    Mouth parting wide, Luna brows knitted, wincing.

    She gritted her teeth when her husband started to pull at her foot, spreading her legs as further as she could take.

    Apollyon''s hand snaked around her hips, reaching for her wet, honeyed depths to stimte her bundle of nerves.

    "Your wetness can''t be matched." Apollyon''s mesmerizing deep baritone could tempt her tomit sin and deliver herself to Hell. "You are getting wetter and wetter."

    When Apollyon noticed that her anticipation was building, so close to her climax, he stopped her from falling to the edge of the proverbial cliff and gently caressed her breasts and stomach instead.

    He did it a couple of times, and it made her want to screech in ire.

    Luna pinched her lips together and silently swore the bastard''s name in her mind.

    She squeezed her vaginal muscles hard in revenge that he gasped��a mix between a groan and a growl.

    He let out a deep rhythmic grunt paired with his thrusting, and it was one of the hottest sounds Luna had ever heard. "You squeezed me so hard it felt like heaven."

    Heart racing, Luna held her breath as she waited for it to happen again.

    Apollyon gently pressed her mons with his free hand, making? his fingers pulse in her clit along with every deep thrust.

    "Ah--Apollyonnn~" He made her body tingle with extreme pleasure.

    He buried his face into her neck to muffle his groans, his warm and wet tongue licking against the swan-like curve of it.

    The Vampire King was hot to the touch, and Luna felt like she was, too.

    "Ohhh." Apollyon hummed a sexy moan against her skin.

    As Apollyon''s breathing became shallower, Luna grabbed hold of his hand when he pinched her nipples too hard.

    She whimpered when she felt another intense orgasming.

    Digging his fingers on her thick silver mane, Apollyon pulled her hair, jerking her head back as he continued rubbing her clitoris hard. "Come for me, Luna."

    Waves of warm pleasure washed over her when she creamed on his dick, and it felt like the time she had tasted the ambrosia Artemis had given to her once.

    Her mind spun before it shut down.

    Luna''s muscles loosened with exhaustion, copsing against him.

    Each position her husband tried with her gave her a mind-blowing experience, creating different new waves of sensations.

    Groaning, Apollyon''s entire body convulsed when he came, his warm seed erupting like a volcano inside her quim.

    He released jagged, irregr breaths as he stroked her stomach, spreading his cum all over her. "You are so beautiful when youe."

    After Apollyon unleashed his seed inside her, he stopped straining and copsed back to the bed, drained, content and satisfied from the hours of lovemaking.

    In a snap of a finger, Luna''s body jolted.

    She was awake.

 Chapter 292 - Not A Dream

    <h4>Chapter 292 - Not A Dream</h4>

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    Luna was jolted awake.

    When she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was the thick blue and pink bed canopies.

    Sheid on her back with her head on the pillow, naked as a newborn babe, her legs and arms spread apart.

    Blinking, Luna wasn''t sure of the difference between fantasy and reality anymore.

    It had been a long time since shest dreamed of Hell.

    Ever since she arrived here, her sleep consisted of just total darkness.

    It was the same feeling when Luna was knocked unconscious, and the world seemed to fade away into nothingness.

    Groaning, Luna felt sore.

    She had lost her strength as if all her energy was zapped out of her.

    Despite the heaviness in her limbs, Luna stirred to check if they were any traces of the dream she had just a minute ago.

    Thest thing she remembered in the dream was Apollyon rubbing that sticky, white substance all over her stomach and breasts.

    She could feel no wetness all over her body, but when she inhaled, she swore she could smell the sweet and salty scent of semen and sweat in the air.

    Mayhap, she was hallucinating.

    She ran her sweaty palms slowly over her front as she lifted her hand to her face.

    Luna found no traces of semen on her body.

    For good measure, Luna let her fingers trail in her mounds to examine any discharge, but there was none.

    She heaved a sigh, not knowing if it was of relief or regret that it was just a dream.

    As she carefully rose from the bed, Luna made a mental note of what she felt right off the bat.

    Closing her eyes, she calmly expanded her awareness of her body for a few seconds before she found something shocking.

    Grimacing, Luna squeezed her inner walls and found them deliciously throbbing and achy inside--that distinct, delicious sensation where one was thoroughly fucked.

    It felt like something was shoved inside her quim for a long time, then feeling empty afterward.

    Luna shook her head in denial.

    Now, she was confused.

    Was her dream about Apollyon real, or was it merely a wet dream resulting from a lustful imagination?

    She bit her nails anxiously as her mind raced with made-up scenarios.

    Dreaming of her husband, Apollyon, managing to visit her in Hell, was a miracle in itself.

    He was the Vampire King.

    There was no way he could visit Hell on his own if he weren''t an Archdemon.

    If it was Apollyon''s soul, then he might have sought help from a Goddess of the Underworld.

    If it wasn''t the Goddess, then he must have made a bargain with an Archdemon.

    Hmm.

    Impossible.

    He had been possessed by an Archdemon and suffered the curse for a long time, so that that decision wouldn''t make sense at all.

    Her husband might be misogynistic and stubborn, but he wasn''t stupid.

    He must hate the Demon Kind after what Lilith had put him through.

    Will Apollyon hate her, too, after knowing she was an Archdemon?

    There was a knot twisting in her belly as she tilted her head, mentally weighing her queries.

    The Apollyon, in her dream, didn''t have his priorities straight.

    Isn''t it suspicious that he didn''t ask her about the Archdemon wings and just proceeded straight to the fucking?

    He didn''t even care about the possibility of her cheating with Ravin despite iming he saw them, saying he was alright with it.

    Something didn''t add up here.

    Was there a possibility that the man in her dream wasn''t Apollyon?

    Mayhap, Luna must have missed Apollyon so much that he showed up in her dream, demanding sex the moment they see each other because it was what she wanted.

    Luna knew how dreams could be.

    They can show their most wanted desires because it wouldn''t happen in reality.

    As she leaned her back to the headboard, Luna bent her knee and stared into space in recollection, daydreaming about the sex positions in her dream, chuckling to herself as warmth flooded her cheeks.

    From the way Luna had received Apollyon''s kisses in the dream, she knew at once that her husband was her salvation and downfall.

    The magic of her imagination brought her immense shame and decadent delight.

    She didn''t care.

    She wasn''t a maiden anymore.

    When her husband had taken her virginity on the wedding night, it gave her a sense of confidence as a woman, making her feel powerful, enchanting, sensual, and full of vitality when it came to mating.

    Luna had fallen down the rabbit hole.

    She had longed to be rescued, waiting for the Vampire King to break her from captivity in Hell if he could.

    Her fantasy was abruptly suspended when the door to the ''Pleasure Room'' mmed open.

    Luna covered her private parts with her hands in desperation.

    Unfortunately, she only had two of them.

    The Archdemon of Gluttony stood by the door carrying a huge and heavy sword of metal with one hand while the other hand brought a ming blue torch.

    She was quick to pull the nkets on the edge of the King-sized bed and hurriedly wrapped it around her naked form.

    Half-naked, Ravin disyed his chiseled warrior physique, not caring to wear a shirt in his own Castle.

    This time, the Archdemon had put on loose, crimson pants.

    Ravin was breathing hard as when he arrived at the scene.

    Luna frowned without knowing what got him in a panic.

    "Where is he, imp?" Ravin stalked nearer towards the King-sized bed and wrenched the curtains to the side, fully exposing her.

    He nced at her then moved his gaze to the mattress for a long minute before he brought his attention to the imp who followed him.

    The imp was ugly, and he looked familiar with that white-dotted eyes and shark teeth, including that greyish skin.

    He flew around with his bat wings that were enough to carry his small height.

    "I saw�� I s-saw him e-earlier with the ldy��"The imp stuttered, swallowing hard, "��he is g-gone, Prince Ravin."

 Chapter 293 - Desert Roses

    <h4>Chapter 293 - Desert Roses</h4>

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    No one in the First Circle of Hell can answer her questions about the intruder.

    When the Archdemon of Gluttony had furiously barged in his ''Pleasure Room'' looking for him, not once did he address Luna at all.

    He fired his interrogations at the demon servant instead of her.

    Luna felt like air.

    She had asked Ravin what was wrong, feigning her innocence, but he just pursed his lips and shook his head in response, telling her that she need not poke her nose to where it didn''t belong.

    Crossing her arms around her nket-covered chest, Luna narrowed her eyes at him in suspicion.

    Ravin was hiding something Luna didn''t know.

    Scowling at him, they had a petty argument, all of them she couldn''t recall, but she was diverting the subject from anything rted to the intruder.

    The Archdemon gripped a metal sword in his hand and a Hell Fire torch on the other.

    As Apollyon''s wife, it was Luna''s responsibility to keep him safe.

    Thest thing she saw in Ravin''s face was his golden eyes losing their sparkle, and his expression was somber and shuttered as if he didn''t want to speak of this anymore.

    He exhaled a breath, dropped the tip of his sword to the ground, turned around, and shut the door.

    Luna didn''t understand Ravin''s behavior.

    Why didn''t he ask her anything about the incident?

    Perhaps, he must have expected her to lie to cover up the truth about Apollyon.

    Did he know that her husband was the intruder?

    Luna wasn''t good at lying out-right, anyway.

    Now that she knew that her dream was actually real, Luna sighed with relief.

    She had high hopes that it was her husband Apollyon who hade to save her in Hell, disappearing when he felt that Ravin was close to discovering them doing naughty stuff in his Pleasure Room.

    Apollyon must have shown himself to reassure her that he was there for her and would help her get out of Hell, biding his time and aligning his strategies for the uing rescue.

    Mayhap, Apollyon, was desperate to be inside her when he arrived because of how much he missed her.

    It would be understandable!

    Luna already knew from the start that her husband usually showed his love through physical intimacy, so it made sense that he would want to have sex right away, right?

    Frowning, Luna wasn''t so sure about that.

    If a person loved someone, wouldn''t they ask about their well-being first before he/she demands to have sexual congress with his/her beloved?

    The Apollyon she encountered had acted a little selfish.

    She couldn''t shake this strange feeling that maybe, it wasn''t him.

    Luna closed her eyes shake her head.

    She must believe it was him for the sake of her sanity.

    Luna wouldn''t be able to forgive herself if she let someone other than her husband fuck her like that, pretending it was him all along.

    Luna would rather die.

    Right now, she had to behave submissively to Ravin so that she wouldn''t raise any rms while she waited for Apollyon to save her.

    She had to trust that her husband wille in perfect timing.

    The next morning, Ravin had finally given her clothes.

    Raising an eyebrow, Luna found outter that the gown Ravin had handed over was intended for his enjoyment rather thanfort.

    She couldn''t drag the nket around the Castle anymore, so she grudgingly wore it.

    Nevertheless, shemended Ravin for figuring out that she couldn''t remain naked forever, not if the Archdemon decided to lock her in the Pleasure Room.

    When she watched her reflection in the mirror, she found a close-fitted coral gown that had a severely low-cut on her d��colletage��just an inch from exposing her nipples--when she put them on.

    A female imp who assisted with the dress ced a heavy orb-shaped crown on top of her head for a final touch.

    It made her squirm in difort when Ravin''s servants already acted like she was a real wife to their Archdemon Prince.

    +++

    It had been several days after the incident.

    Ravin said he wanted to go on a rendezvous with her, and Luna agreed because she didn''t want to be confined in a room like a prisoner.

    The Archdemon of Gluttony had shown her around the First Circle of Hell just like how Luxen did before she was submerged underwater in the frozenke, surrounded by sirens.

    The stark difference between the two brothers was that Ravin had remained distant and gave her personal space, unlike Luxen, for which she was grateful.

    One thing that stood out to Luna about Ravin''s Kingdom was these vibrant flowers of baby blue, pink and purple, appearing like roses growing in the dry, hot wastnds.

    These desert roses were pretty much visible around the Kingdom and can be found near oases.

    It was strange to know that an Archdemon knew his aesthetics despite his ruthlessness as a tyrant.

    A person might think it was impossible to grow dazzling gardens in a desert, but everything is possible in Hell, depending on the Archdemon ruler''s strength.

    The state of a Kingdom in Hell relied heavily on the magic abilities of the Archdemon ruler.

    If a strong Archdemon desired to rule a Kingdom in Hell, he had to challenge the current ruler and kill him, eat his heart and flesh, so that he could take his ce��survival of the fittest.

    Ravin brought Luna outside his Castle''s patio, giving herpany.

    Both of them took a seat under a gazebo,? facing the flower garden and the obsidianke.

    Even if Ravin was quite brooding and serious at the moment, he was able to fill her mind up with the details after she went unconscious.

    "My uncle and I arrived at the Second Circles of Hell only to find you eaten by a gigantic lotus," Ravin narrated. "Satan was there to punish you for using Archdemon Magic against Luxen, shooting him in the wing."

    "Good for him." Luna shrugged with nonchnce. "Luxen deserved it."

    "You will be punished for that."

 Chapter 294 - Three-Day Countdown

    <h4>Chapter 294 - Three-Day Countdown</h4>

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    "You will be punished for that." Tilting his head at her, Ravin moved his chair forward so he could lean his arm on the outdoor table and cradle his head with a hand.

    He might have assumed easy, rxed mannerisms but Ravin was a predator deep down.

    Archdemons moved withnguid grace.

    Luna knew that they only do it so that their prey would getfortable, put their walls down, and then they would pounce for the kill.

    As if on cue, Luna''s eyes widened as she put a hand over her mouth to feign a mock surprise.

    "That''s shocking. Boo-hoo!" She even made airy motions of rubbing her eyes out as if she had been crying.

    "I''m so afraid of Satan." Luna''s voice had fake-trembled in sarcasm.

    She paused to look at Ravin''s reaction and he? wasn''tughing at her jests as he should.

    His brain must have been slow to catch up with her humor!

    Exhaling, Luna had given up messing with Ravin.

    She rested her palms on her crossed legs like a prim and properdy. "You told me when we were at the bathtub that it was Satan''s rules for fledgling Archdemons not to use the magic without proper training, h, h, h." Luna waved a dismissive hand. "Nothing new there."

    "So, I''m getting punished." She deadpanned, putting on a show for Ravin so that he could see how calm she was. "Not today, Satan, not today."

    Ravin cleared his throat and focused his gaze on her, "You only have three days before I hand you over to the Grand Torturer."

    Chills ran down her spine as the hands resting on her knees trembled in fear.

    There was a pregnant pause.

    "The Grand Torturer? Hmm," Luna pursed her lips as she smoothed the skirts of her gown coolly. "That''s the first time I have heard of that."

    "The name alone is pretty much self-exnatory."

    ''Of course, it was, smartass.'' Luna bit her cheek to curb her annoyance.

    Hands balled into fists, Luna asked, "What do you think would he do to me, Ravin?"

    "I think he will just want to see you face-to-face, be in your presence for half an hour, bid you farewell, and tell you to have a nice day!" Ravin turned slightly as his lips curved, covering his mouth with a fist as if it would hide his smirk.

    ck-jawed, Luna called him out. "Come on, Ravin!"

    ring at him, she pointed an using finger at him for having fun at her expense. "You aren''t taking me seriously."

    "Luna from the name alone, you know the man tortures demons that break the Rules of Hell." Ravin lifted one shoulder in a half-shrug.

    His gaze shifted to the female imp whom he had tasked to bring some green bushes, pink and red desert roses along with baby blue blossoms from the garden.

    The female imp came back, cing the things she had painstakingly gathered on the table between them.

    Ravin ignored her and proceeded to make flower crowns while the demon servant taught the prince how to weave them together without talking.

    Luna assumed they were having a mental conversation.

    "I don''t understand why Hell had rules, Ravin! " Luna scratched her head in frustration. "Hell is chaos. I would never expect Hell to have ordered so torturing me for using Archdemon Magic didn''t make any sense."

    As she tapped her fingers on the table, she watched how Ravin murdered the flowers in a poor attempt to create whatever it was he desired.

    For what purpose?

    Luna didn''t know.

    She had nothing to do so her hands flew grudgingly on the desert roses and the bushes right away as she followed their example because Luna had nothing better to do.

    "It''s not about doing it for the right or wrong reasons. All of the Archdemons and the fledglings need to learn discipline and recognize authority from the First Born Archdemon Monarchs." Ravin''s Archdemon wing rose slightly and identally brushed the imp. He jolted from the touch and lowered them so it wouldn''t rub against the servant. "That is why that rule was made."

    He continued, "Fledglings like you need to learn respect so that the future Archdemon rulers could also earn the respect of their Legion if they rece a ruler from the Seven Circles through challenging them."

    "Satan didn''t like to kill the new fledgling Archdemons right away, no questions asked, for their disobedience," Ravin exined, ncing at her for a second before he returned to weaving the desert roses together.

    "Some fledglings were powerful than the others that is why they have easy ess to Archdemon magic. It would be a shame to kill the potential. " The imp assisted him like she was his fairy godmother which was ironic since she appeared like a goblin. "The Archdemon King could use them against the Creator in the Final Judgment to lead armies against the Archangels."

    Luna was stunned from the onught of information bombarding her brain in such a short period. "How do you think will I be tortured, Ravin?"

    "It''s up to the Grand Torturer." Ravin smiled and his dark beauty stood out when a tiny dimple materialized on his left chin.

    With her eyes on his face, Luna watched, mesmerized, because she couldn''t believe she just noticed it.? "I''m not one. How could I possibly know?"

    Clearing her throat, Luna focused on the conversation once again. "You are a pureblood Archdemon, right?"

    She squinted at him warily. "Don''t you have any knowledge about him?"

    Leaning forward to the table, Luna whispered. "Weren''t you tortured even once in your life when you are a fledgling?"

    She doubted Ravin would answer but she still hoped she would.

    Males, whether they are Archdemons or not, whether they are Kings or lowly servants, they would never show and tell their moments of weaknesses.

    Her theory was proven right when Ravin replied in a neutral tone as if he was downying something. "I refuse to talk about it, Amare, but one thing you should know is that the Grand Torturer oozed dangerous powers."

 Chapter 295 - Do You Love Me?

    <h4>Chapter 295 - Do You Love Me?</h4>

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    "I refuse to talk about it, Amare, but one thing you should know is that the Grand Torturer oozed dangerous powers." Luna''s gaze flew on Ravin''srge, veiny hands.

    The Archdemon clenched his fists so hard that his knuckles whitened, almost crushing the flowers in his grip.

    Nostrils ring, Ravin said, "He wasn''t a ruler of the Seven Circles, but he was the most insidious of the First Born."

    Ravin had refused to tell her about his appointment with the Grand Torturer, and it scared her, making her shift in her seat in difort.

    If Ravin had been an Archdemon for a long time, nothing in all of the Realms could faze him, but what did the Grand Torturer do to make him anxious?

    What had the First Born done to him in his Torture Chambers?

    The Archdemon''s golden eyes darkened as he spoke, "He can pull your deepest fears, denial, suppression and the hidden evil in your unconscious, mirroring them back to you. The Grand Torturer would break you and make you lose your mind along with mental, physical and emotional torment."

    He picked another pink desert rose, ran his fingers on the soft petals gently before crushing the poor rose in his palms.

    Luna gasped, covering a hand over her mouth.

    What did the low desert rose did to him to deserve this?

    "The Grand Torturer is the embodiment of that saying, ''You are your own worst enemy''. He would give you trauma for the rest of your life as an Archdemon." Ravin''s amber eyes were cold, so full of hatred, but Luna wasn''t sure if it was directed towards her. "All strong Archdemons learn how to find a creature''s weakness and break them down because of him. You will learn from him and thank him someday. The pain and agony inflicted from the Grand Torturer are so ugly that when an Archdemon is released, you would wish to inflict the pain unto others so that you will feel better and the agony inside you decreases if only for a little while."

    Luna whispered. "You are scaring me, Ravin."

    Ravin shrugged with nonchnce. "Amare, you asked me, and I replied."

    Her thick silver mane lifted off her head as a strong gust of southern wind hit her.

    "As this pink desert rose, Amare, you wouldn''t ever the same after he gets your hands on you."

    Luna watched the Archdemon of Gluttony open his palms, and the breeze pushed the crushed rose petals upward, scattering in the wind.

    The world seemed to slow down as Luna watched the floating pink petals with an empty stare until they were gone from her sight.

    She inhaled the scent of the desert roses lingering in the air around her.

    She was that same desert rose in the hands of those who had no intention of keeping her.

    Her heart broke.

    Things have changed and not for the better.

    There was soreness in her throat that made her have difficulty getting her word out.

    Luna asked coldly. "Is there any ways to escape punishment?"

    Ravin''s jaw was a grim line when he replied. "You can''t escape Satan''s legion, Amare. He wille with the Grand Torturer and surround every corner of my Kingdom, chasing after your beautiful behind."

    He paused, and his lips curled up a little in that inside joke of his. "It''s one against a hundred Knights."

    Giving her a half-shrug, Ravin added, "A fledgeling Archdemon might use her faulty summoning magic, but he/she can''t win against an Archdemon''s Legion unless you have a Legion of Archangels fighting for your freedom."

    "So, are you telling me to sit back and rx in your patio for the rest of my days, waiting for Satan''s Legion to capture me?" Luna scowled.

    She was always the individual who took action, and assuming a passive role when it came to her life wasn''t a cup of tea.

    The Amazon in her had immense hatred on waiting and doing nothing.

    "You are a useless Archdemon husband, Ravin," Luna told him calmly despite the burning insult.

    She was so frustrated that her ws had shoved at the insides of her skin, sinking into her skirts while she rested them on her knees. "You told me it was me against Satan''s Legion."

    Fighting back a snarl, she gritted her teeth, "Have you no ns of helping me get away?"

    "Ah~" Tilting his head, Ravin smirked, licking his lips before biting them. "Now, you are iming me as your husband as per convenience."

    He dered cheekily and watched her underneath his longshes. "Interesting."

    "There is nothing you can do about it. ept the punishment and get it over with." As he reclined to the back of his chair, Ravin stretched his arms and shrugged his shoulders back, loosening his muscles that had bunched up ever since they had started talking about Satan''s punishment.

    "If you struggle, the fear against the Grand Torturer will increase, and you are prolonging the inevitable. Controlling the oue will hurt you more in the long run. Who knows?" Amber eyes twinkling with mischief, Ravin''s smug grin intensified as he bent and stretched the finished flower crown in his hands. "It might not hurt that much as you expected it to."

    "Here." Ravin''s perfect white teeth almost blinded Luna as he grinned from ear-to-ear like a puppy.

    He stood slightly from his seat and bent forward, stretching his muscled arm to hand the gorgeous flower crown of pink and blue desert roses.

    "This is the first flower crown I made for you, and this was my first time at making them." He informed her and Luna nced at him in panic before her gaze darted to the female imp, staring at Luna wearing an expectant grin.

    Luna didn''t know what to do, and the next thing she knew, she epted it without thinking.

    Ravin asked out-of-the-blue, "Do you love me now?"

    Brows knitting in confusion, Luna''s mouth parted at how ridiculous that her Archdemon ''husband'' didn''t care at all and gave her the flower crown instead.

    "Are you fucking kidding me?"

 Chapter 296 - What Is Love?

    <h4>Chapter 296 - What Is Love?</h4>

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    "Are you fucking kidding me?"

    Luna was taken aback.

    Was this the reason why both of them were making flower crowns made of desert roses in his gazebo because Ravin would like to give them to her so that�� what?

    She will love him?

    The Archdemon was clueless.

    Luna needed to educate him, or else he mighte across as a fool.

    She stood up and fixed her gown, brushing invisible lint on her skirts if there even was.

    Sitting back on her chair, Luna nced up at Ravin before staring at the bright flower crown in her hand, not knowing what to do with it.

    Based on the hopeful smile of the female imp beside Ravin, Luna guessed that the demon was proud of herself for teaching the Prince how to make this gorgeous wreath.

    Ravin and the imp stayed in their position along with their frozen beams, waiting for her joyous praises.

    Sighing, Luna started. "Rav--"

    "Do you like it?" The Archdemon cut Luna off as the corner of his eyes crinkled.

    Leaning back in his chair, Ravin ced his hands behind his head with masculine confidence.

    When he brushed a hand through his ink-nk curls, Luna realized Ravin was simr to a peacock preening in front of its mate. "Is it beautiful?"

    "Where did you get this foolish idea, Ravin?"Luna''s spections were correct. The Archdemon was fishing forpliments, and of course, Luna would never give what he wanted.

    She fought the urge to roll her eyes. "You don''t earn the love of ady if you give her a flower crown."

    "I had seen it happen before when I was in the Vampire Realm as the Vampire King." As lines marred his forehead, Ravin nced at the flower crown to check if something was wrong with it, but he found none.

    Now, he stared at Luna as if something was wrong with her.

    "Ady from the Consortium had a secret affair with a shepherd from a nearby vige. I didn''t let such a lowly creature touch one of mine because I don''t want ady from the Consortium to be sullied on by another man''s grubby hands." Ravin told her.

    Luna sucked in a cool breath of air when she realized how that sounded exactly like what the Vampire King would use to say.

    Sometimes, Luna forgot the fact that Ravin was the Blood Beast.

    "I ordered the castle guards to hunt the missing concubine, and they told me that she was frolicking with the poor man at the grasnds. When I arrived at the site to deliver their punishment, I caught the shepherd professing his love for the woman by bestowing a flower crown in her head." Ravin continued.

    "So, you based your view on love based on that scene alone?" Without holding back, Lunaughed out loud with unrestrained mirth.

    Shaking her head, Luna pped the table in hysterics, wishing it was that easy to love someone.

    She burst into another fit of giggles.

    Gasping for air, Luna wiped the tearsing down from her cheek.

    Every Archdemon in Hell had gone insane.

    Ravin cleared his throat awkwardly, "The concubine was giggling while the shepherd whispered sweet nothings in her ear, promising her the moon and the stars."

    He shrugged. "After that, I killed them with my touch and ate their souls."

    Luna stoppedughing and paused.

    She kept her face nk. "Well, that escted quickly."

    "Anyway, I forgot to tell you something." The ckness of his dted pupils now covered the Archdemon of Gluttony''s brilliant stars on his eyes. "Did you know that the only one Archdemon I know who returned from? the Grand Torturer unscathed was Sloth?"

    Was this valuable information?

    Perhaps, she could learn something from her ''brother-inw''?

    "Hmm~Let me guess.? " Tilting her head, Luna hummed, speaking in undertones. "He did not remember anything about his torture."

    The Archdemon of Sloth was obsessed with other people''s memories, storing them into his books at the Library of Congress, so it would probably make sense if he could erase his own memory, right?

    "Nobody knew what Sloth had done. No Archdemons would be brave enough to tell anyone what happened during their time at the Torture Chambers." Ravin stared at her with an intensity that could melt the ice before shifting them to to the crushed desert roses in his hands.

    He was unconsciously destroying them again.

    "We can''t afford to show even the slightest weakness here," Ravin added. "Mayhap, if you had trained with Satan after a while before you got punished, you might figure out how to tolerate the punishment."

    There was an awkward pause.

    "What''s your weakness, Ravin?" Luna asked quietly.

    It was his turn to be perplexed. "What?"

    "If it''s not me, then you don''t love me enough."

    "You aren''t my weakness. Of course, I don''t know how to love because you refused to teach me." Ravin tapped the table in a distracting rhythm. "As much as I don''t like to see you hurt, if you can survive the Torture Chambers, you mighte out as a stronger Archdemon if you don''t let your monsters break you." There was a rising tension in the air, and it felt like there was a growl building at the back of his throat.

    For a second there, Luna thought Ravin had cared, and he was toning it down to give her courage instead of making her cower in fear.

    ''Yes.'' Luna thought.? ''It must be wishful thinking on her part.''

    He demanded, "Do you understand?"

    Luna nodded in agreement, and Ravin exhaled in relief.

    "Rules in Hell might be stricterpared to other Realms, and He-who-must-not-be-named had ced full restrictions on us. Even Archdemons have rules to follow despite being Monarchs." Ravin borated."

    "My father and uncle are pretty lenient about what demons and Archdemons can do in Hell when it came to chaos and destruction, but the primary decree must be followed strictly." He added.

    "Hell is a loveless Realm, but our reptilian brain can recognize respect to those who are powerful. God is love, and there is no room for that in here." Ravin growled as he told her. "God is our enemy."

    "You said that there is no room for love in here, Ravin," Luna asked, and this time, she was prepared for whatever his answer might be. "Why would you want me to love you when you im it is from the enemy?"

    "I want to know how it feels like, even if it''s just a taste. They say love is a moving force that controls everything. People can do anything for love. Some people destroy themselves for it." The Archdemon answered the truth, not even bothering to sugar coat lies. "I just want to see it for myself how love can make someone powerful."

    ''"So you want to love so that you can learn how to control, and I was just the unluckydy who was your first target." Luna said, pping her hands in apuse to an Archdemon''s fuck-up reasoning.

    "Wow," Luna said in mock amazement. "You were simr to what my husband used to be before he found that as his mate, I was irreceable. Your Archdemon traits as the Blood Beast must have bled out into his. Poor Archdemon!" Luna eximed. "Love can make you strong and weak at the same time. You must know by now that you couldn''t control me with anything because I already love someone and that someone also loves me."

    "Why does love insist that the loved loves back?"

    "That''s a tough question." Blinking rapidly, Luna dropped her exaggerated expression only to nce down at her skirts awkwardly as she tucked some stray hair strands behind her ear. "I don''t know."

    Your husband." Ravin began. "Are you sure he loves you, or was he just using his love to control you as well?"

    "You were just a mere maiden when you became the High Priestess-- the epitome of innocent arousal, na?ve sensuality, and precarious purity��a beauty so addictive due to your wless, youthful glow along with the dark magic you wield. Once you had a taste of the forbidden fruit--it had made you riveted and curious--and it drew you to shadowy Kingdoms and dark royalties."

    "I know the Vampire King hade in your room that night, Amare." The Archdemon''s tone was harsh in her ears, echoing in her mind full of doubts. "But are you sure that''s him and not someone else pretending to be him?"

    The tiny hair on Luna''s nape stood on its end as goosebumps broke all over her skin.

    Luna fought to keep her breathing even as her hands flexed on the flower crown, so close to tearing Ravin''s gift into pieces.

    "Do you love him enough to recognize the difference between the real and the doppelganger?"Ravin smirked, shooting her with a quick look. "Because there is no way in Hell--"

    "Do not test me, Archdemon!" Snarling, Luna''s real voice split into creepy high and low registers that made it sound like an Archdemon had possessed her in her rage.

    Luna forgot she was already an Archdemon.

    Furious, Luna''s ws were out on their own as she shed the table between them into two with her bare hands.

    The flowers and the shrubs the imp had gathered were thrown away.

    Closing her eyes shut, she breathed in and out as she retracted them with effort.

    There was no way the man who had sexual congress with her that night wasn''t Apollyon.

    She refused to acknowledge it.

    Ravin was doing this to make her doubt herself and she wouldn''t let him.

    "Ah~" Not dropping his smirk at Luna''s loss of her temper, Ravin shifted his gaze from her to something behind her back. "Speaking of the devil!"

    He rose from his chair and walked around the broke. table. "My brother is here."

 Chapter 297 - Are You Gae?

    <h4>Chapter 297 - Are You Gae?</h4>

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    With lips trembling, Luna turned her head. "Luxen?"

    It was the Archdemon of Sloth.

    Ravin didn''t wait for Sloth to approach them because what was there to stay at the patio and talk when Luna had already destroyed the table at the gazebo?

    Until now, Luna didn''t notice that her hands were shaking with the force of her anger.

    Gritting her teeth, Luna shot up from her seat as she turned towards them, standing at the hidden gates at the gardens'' entrance.

    Luna was careful not to trip along the fine sand, and she squinted at her footwear as if she had seen them for the first time.

    The female servant had let her wear ankle boots paired with a tight-fitted salmon pink gown, iming that it was His Highness''s orders.

    As warmth flooded her cheeks, Luna wrapped her arms around herself as she shivered, recalling how Ravin had ced her foot in her mouth.

    She wanted to forget how it made a thousand butterflies fluttering in her stomach.

    "Pretty Lune," Sloth called out as he raised one hand awkwardly in the air.

    He just lifted his open palm as if he was pledging his allegiance, not even bothering to wave her over.

    Sloth was probablyzy even to do something small as that.

    Tilting his head, Sloth made his voice louder this time. "Hurry up, will you?"

    She winced. Luna took that personallying from someone who was the Archdemon of Sloth.

    "Yes, I''ming over." Luna did the exact opposite, sauntering towards the fountain, simr to howdies from the Consortium did it in the Masquerade Ball.

    Ravin pressed his lips together, holding back a smile while Sloth narrowed his eyes at her while he tapped his foot impatiently on the marble.

    With his forest green eyes in a daze, Sloth pouted, "You took too long."

    "No, Sloth." Luna stepped forward to enter their circle. "You are the one who took too long."

    She rolled her eyes, scowling at no-one-in-particr. "You haven''t witnessed the drama that was my everyday life."

    "I guess I waste to thetest gossip in the Seven Circles." Sloth blinked. "Again."

    Ravin raised an eyebrow. "Did youe here just to gossip, then?"

    "Not my intention at all��" Sloth paused, scratching his chiseled jaw in contemtion. "��so I just woke up��"

    "Nothing new right there��" Luna quipped.

    Sloth shrugged with nonchnce. "I am not averse to gossip if we still have time for that."

    "So, what brought you here in the first ce?" Ravin nced at him before shifting his gaze to examine therge basket he had been carrying ever since he entered the gate to Ravin''s patio.

    "Ah~Yes." Sloth took a few seconds to process the question.

    He had shaken his head vigorously, not to show disapproval but to wake up his stunned brain, waiting for it to catch up. "The conversations keep changing without my permission."

    Sloth observed, blinking. "It took me a moment to understand."

    Moving closer into Sloth''s personal space, Luna grabbed his cor with her fists to interrogate him of his time with the Archdemon she feared the most. "Is this how you survived from the Grand Torturer?" Luna''s time was running out. "Torturing him with your lethargic attributes?"

    She stared at him with intense focus, needing all the knowledge she can get from Sloth to survive the Grand Torturer without suffering.

    "Can everyone wait for me to speak so that I can address all your questions?" Sloth sped his long, slender fingers on her wrists as he stepped backward.

    "I am confused as to why I am being choked." Face flushing, Sloth shut his eyes tight and spoke. "I have two people talking to me at once, and I had a hard time catching up."

    "Stop it, Amare." Ravin wrapped his arms around Luna''s waist in a back hug, pulling her body away from Sloth. "You are giving him a hard time because your face is too close."

    Ravin growled softly. "He wouldn''t like it."

    Luna didn''t let go of Sloth''s cor,pletely ignoring the one behind her. "Should I make it one person by eliminating Ravin?"

    "You were moaning for me a few days ago, and now you want to kill me?" The Archdemon of Gluttony brushed his wing on her shoulder.

    He whispered in her ear, "Feisty, bad girl."

    "Shut up." Luna looked over her shoulder and red at Ravin.

    "I will discipline you after this." Luna could sense the hunger, sex, and passion in his deep voice, making her freeze in ce.

    "Moaning?" Sloth''s eyes widened with shock.

    "I licked all of her��"

    Luna let go of Sloth to face Ravin, poking an using finger at his broad chest. "Shut up."

    "You are still young, innocent, and inexperienced, Sloth." Lifting both of his hands in surrender, Ravin moved his gaze from the crown of Luna''s head to give Sloth a conspirational nce.

    "You can''t rte to this conversation." Ravin chuckled.

    "I am slowly regretting my decision to visit the First Circle of Hell from the Seventh only to be insulted the moment I arrived." Exhaling, Sloth fixed his cravat and smoothed his suit with one hand. "Maybe, I should go back and sleep."

    "Yes." Grinning wolfishly, Ravin nodded in agreement. "Don''t dare waking up."

    "Ravin!" Luna scowled at Ravin, who just gave her a half-shrug.

    She had a feeling that the Archdemon of Gluttony was doing this for attention.

    Luna couldn''t believe a day would arrive that she would be defending his brother-inw.

    ring at Ravin, she snapped, "How rude!"

    "Sloth is an involuntary celibate who had no interest in women."

    Sloth and Luna both gasped at Ravin''s bold statement.

    There was a pregnant pause.

    Did the Archdemon of Gluttony imply that Sloth was gay?

    "Perhaps, that''s b-because��" Luna stuttered as she exined in frantic gestures.

    Sloth looked like he was about to sleep or faint in his position.

    Poor brother-inw!

    Clearing her throat, she said as if this would exin everything, "He had mentioned that he was a shaman before in his past life whose spiritual practiceter crossed to the Dark Arts."

 Chapter 298 - Little Dragon

    <h4>Chapter 298 - Little Dragon</h4>

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    "He had mentioned that he was a shaman before in his past life whose practiceter crossed to the Dark Arts." Luna defended as she squeezed Sloth''s upper arm,pelling him to support her statement.

    It made Ravin scowl on where her fingers had curled.

    She caught herself touching her brother-inw inappropriately, and she abruptly her hand to the side.

    The open resentment in Ravin''s handsome face made it seem like she was touching Sloth''s genitals, but she didn''t.

    Pale cheeks ming as red as tomatoes, Ravin raised an eyebrow in suspicion.

    "It was just spection." Luna flinched slightly when the Archdemon of Sloth backtracked with his words, making her a liar.

    She knew it was outright deception when he refused to meet her eyes. "I lost my memories, unlike Lilith and others who weren''t Pureblood Archdemons."

    Frowning, Luna was sure that Sloth was convinced when he told her about his past when they were at his study, and like the idiot she was, she believed him.

    Mayhap, Sloth didn''t want Ravin to know about it, or was he confusing her on purpose?

    Did he tell her to keep it a secret from everyone, or was Sloth lying from the start and just told her this made-up sob story to gain her sympathy?

    Without taking her eyes from Sloth, Luna told Ravin while gaging Sloth''s reaction. "He told me he is a Cambion, so it would make sense that he was drawn to Archdemon Magic."

    A strong breeze swept across them that it sent her silver hair and dress flying in all directions.

    It was so strong and loud that it brought chills all over her skin.

    Sloth was near Luna, so he moved to stand in front of her and raised an arm to block her face from the sand that came along with the wind.

    It could probably rip one of her wings if it wasn''t made of both muscles and stretched skin.

    Luna was also tall and thin as a twig, so the gust might send her back to the Second Circle of Hell if she wasn''t careful.

    Thin branches, wildflowers, and prickly leaves from the desert trees fell on them like hail and snow as they stood their ground, waiting for it to stop.

    She nced up at Sloth''s squinted eyes--lit with an inner glow--before Ravin pulled him away with brutal force.

    "Luna." Her jaw ckened when Sloth was abruptly reced by Ravin, who was fussing over her as a mother hen would.

    Cupping her cheeks in his hand, Ravin asked in a misced concern, "Are you alright?"

    Giving Sloth a sideways nce, Luna made sure that her brother-inw was unharmed when Ravin pulled him off her.

    "Nothing, Ravin." Sighing, Luna grasped his wrist and shoved it to his sides. "The wind did not take me back to the Vampire Realm, so rest assured that I am here."

    "No." A shake in the head. "Did your eyes hurt from the sand?"

    He sped her chin, tilting it from side to side. "Did Sloth kiss you all of a sudden like Luxen?"

    Oh, so this was what the concern was all about. "You can tell me, and I would beat him up."

    Luna fought the urge to roll her eyes.

    "Ah, Ravin, you were standing behind me, so in that angle, it might look like I am kissing her, but I did not." Sloth stared at them in a daze before peeling the nkets off the thing in the basket he had been carrying all this time. "I have not kissed anyone with or without permission in Hell, so rest assured that��"

    "It''s good that you are a virgin." Ravin interrupted with a murmur, plucking at the dried leaves stuck on Luna''s hair.

    Sloth coughed. "Excuse me?"

    She tiptoed to take a peek at the thing, but Ravin kept on blocking her view of Sloth.

    What was inside the damned basket?

    "There is something strange about Sloth today, Luna." Ravin decided to make everything more awkward, "I have never seen him with ady before, and I don''t like the fact that he is visiting you for no reason."

    "I had a reason why I am visiting your wife, brother." Sloth corrected him. "The egg I brought as a gift for Luna when she turned as an Archdemon had hatched."

    "Luna needed to take care of it while it was newly hatched so that it will follow hermands." Sloth gently tugged the velvet quilt and stepped closer to show them what''s inside the basket. "You have to train the dragon while it is still young."

    Luna and Ravin nced down at the basket.

    "Aww~" Luna squealed in a whisper. "My goddess!"

    As she clutched a hand to her cleavage, Luna felt like tearing up in happiness and excitement. "That is the cutest dragon I have ever seen."

    The baby dragon was content to its slumber, stirring with slowness and grace.

    Its eyes weren''t open yet as ity so still.

    The baby dragon''s wings were still smaller than its overall size, but it fitted perfectly on Sloth''s basket.

    Luna longed to touch the red and ck scales with her hands, wondering if they were warm or cold.

    She almost did.

    "Don''t touch it yet." Sloth swatted her hand away. "It is asleep."

    "After all that chaos earlier?" cing a hand over her mouth, she whispered, "Goddess, the baby dragon is a heavy sleeper."

    Luna couldn''t take her eyes off it. "What does it eat, Sloth?"

    "Good thing, you asked." Exhaling, Sloth rubbed his stomach. "The baby dragon and I are hungry."

    "Do you mean the baby dragon also eats---"

    "You can fish sinful souls at the obsidianke, Sloth." Ravin pointed at the darkke disyed in front of them.

    It wasn''t that near, but they had to walk half a mile to get there. "I would like toe along with��"

    "You can''t." Sloth''s arms hung limply to the sides when Luna pulled the basket handle, carrying it herself.

    "Only two Archdemons can only fit the small canoe." His gaze wandered to Luna before it shifted back to Ravin, "Your wife shoulde along with me so that I could teach her how to feed the little dragon."

    Feeding his little dragon, huh?

    "I trust you to take care of my wife, brother," Ravin said grudgingly. "--and I hope you could help her be at ease with the Grand Torturer''s meeting."

 Chapter 299 - Desert Kingdom

    <h4>Chapter 299 - Desert Kingdom</h4>

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    Ravin had walked with them to the obsidianke as they passed through the well-hidden gates at the back of the garden.

    The imp followed the three of them, as well, because Ravin had tasked her to watch over Luna and serve her when she needed assistance.

    The imp had demon wings that fluttered like a hummingbird so it could quickly fly to safety.

    Luna and Sloth were going to fish for wicked souls.

    Until now, Sloth still insisted Luna ate just even one soul as a dare to which she had politely refused.

    In her thoughts, Luna was actually considering it so much.

    The moment they arrived at theke, Luna will need a little bit of persuasion from him.

    Sloth observed her with a shrewd gaze, knowing she was close to giving in because he hadn''t kept his mouth shut about how good it tastes mostly to Archdemons.

    Ravin was quiet, listening to their nonsensical banters, and so far, Ravin hadn''t pressured her to do it which was strange.

    What would happen to her if she ate a soul?

    Will it make an Archdemon stronger?

    Will Luna''s soul be corrupted from how wicked the soul was? Luna mused. ''You are what you eat, after all.''

    She needed to take a risk and try things she hated the most if that would help Luna prepare with her punishment with the Grand Torturer.

    Walking ahead of them was the imp, who guided them towards a wide zigzag path to the obsidianke.

    They had to take a long walk up and down a system of barchans--crescent-shaped dunes.

    Both Archdemons take turns catching her whenever her ankle boots dug into the precarious sand, and Luna appreciated them for their chivalry.

    Luna was positioned between Sloth and Ravin, standing out like a sore peach thumb.

    Her eyes darted around the Shadow Demon Knights in the desert, bowing their heads in respect for the Archdemon Princes.

    Sloth and Ravin''s gaze had flitted at the demons with glowing red eyes for a second before they forged ahead.

    The four of them went past the Shadow Demons without a spectacle, and Luna sighed with relief.

    She still had this unconscious belief that even as a fledgeling Archdemon, Luna will never belong in Hell.

    It would be a matter of time before Luna would meet gutsy Archdemons and Low-Ranked Demons.

    They would kill her without remorse, eat her heart and soul and im her Archdemon Magic as their own.

    She would not survive.

    The Battle Royale will be held after the fledgelings had aplished their training with the Master.

    After preparing the fledgelings for this tournament, full-fledged Archdemons would do everything to win against all odds, defeat an Archdemon Ruler and take over a Kingdom in Hell.

    This was the epitome of entertainment for the Archdemon Royalties.

    It will be the end of her if she couldn''t learn how to fly, learn how to protect herself and train under Satan to wield this Archdemon magic.

    In addition to that, the Archdemon King had tasked her to learn how to create portals.

    She was the only one who could do it because she still had a connection to the Vampire Realms.

    Luna will not be able to rely on Ravin forever, and no Archdemon help her of her predicament.

    She was all alone with nothing but herself to rely on��for now.

    Clenching her fists, Luna told herself over and over. ''Apollyon''s soul hade to in Hell to get her back.''

    She will trust that it was Apollyon who visited her, making sure she was alright before he could set his ns into motion.

    Not even the Archdemon of Gluttony could change her mind about it.

    Luna refused to believe Ravin''s maniptions, suggesting that Luxen shifted his form into her husband.

    Scowling, Luna pressed her lips together. ''That''s bullshit.''

    +++

    If she had eyes at the back of her head, Luna knew these demons were checking her out boldly as they swarm in groups, boring their creepyrge eyes unto her form.

    They would found out her possible weaknesses and prepare for an attack.

    Crossing her arms over her chest tightly, Luna needed to get away from them and hide.

    Luna didn''t notice that she had walked at a quick erratic pace, leaving Sloth and Ravin behind.

    Luna screamed when a hand sped on her elbow.

    Heart racing, the adrenaline rushing through her bloodstreams threatened to overwhelm her.

    Her muscles were still tense when she turned around and realized it was Ravin.

    Suddenly, Ravin took off the fox-fur doublet he wore and gave it to Luna without saying anything.

    Squinting at him as she took it from his hand, Luna epted it in a hurry, putting it on to cover her d��colletage.

    It led her to the conclusion that the Archdemon of Gluttony didn''t wish for anyone to see her breasts if there were other men around them.

    Sloth also removed his pristine white cloak, settling it over her head to cover her.

    Grabbing her arm, Ravin pulled her closer and ced a hand around her shoulders, shielding her from the demons.

    Her knees almost buckled with relief, making her legs wobbly as she walked, faltering.

    Luna felt like a dwarf as she and Ravin trekked side-by-side, disliking the fact that Ravin had once again taken liberties of touching her without permission.

    Sighing, she let him be as long as he was protecting him from his Legion''sscivious gazes.

    By the time they arrived at theke''s shore, Luna''s feet were sore and aching.

    The low-ranked demons guarding the other side of the Obsidian Lake eyed them with open interest.

    When they saw the two Archdemon Princes with Luna, they bowed their heads for half �Ca �Cminute before they scrammed out of sight simr to the nocturnal creatures do when the sun rose.

    Luna guessed that Ravin hadmanded the Legion to privacy with his mind.

    Theke filled her ears with the sounds of water hitting the shore, and when she looked back, Ravin''s castle had faded from the distance.

 Chapter 300 - First Impressions Dont Last

    <h4>Chapter 300 - First Impressions Don''t Last</h4>

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    The imp held the rope that bound the canoe to the shore, pulling it to the docks.

    Sloth was the first to step into the canoe as the imp flew around Luna in agitation.

    Luna knew the imp didn''t like to be near the obsidianke.

    Ravin noticed it and generated a hundred golden orbs hovering in the dark purple skies, illuminating the Obsidian Lake.

    The body of water abruptly went still like it was a huge ck mirror.

    The wicked souls had sensed that the Archdemons would be hunting them for food just like how preys do.

    Luna and Sloth were thinking the same thing when he whispered, "You should extinguish the lights, brother. You have alerted the prey of our presence."

    Hands outstretched, Sloth was ready to catch Luna if she fell to theke and hurt herself. "I got your wife, Ravin."

    Luna ced her cold hands on Sloth''s warm ones and led her down towards the canoe. "She is safe with me."

    The Archdemon of Gluttony nodded, leaving a single orb emitting a faint, cozy light.

    The imp finally untied the canoe''s tether from the stone pir and jumped in, gripping the paddle in her tiny yet strong hands.

    He handed the basket that contained the baby dragon to Luna as they sailed away at a slow pace.

    "Return to me, Amare." The Archdemon of Gluttony didn''t forget to stroke her hair twice before kissing her in the forehead.

    Luna''s eyes widened as she froze in ce, not expecting an Archdemon to be too sweet that she could hear every single pound of her chest, drowning her ears.

    It felt like she wasn''t there for a few seconds.

    Luna didn''t even notice that Ravin had gone back to the Castle, and she was still standing there in a daze while the canoe had already set sail.

    Sloth had pulled her hand down to sit, cing the basket in herp.

    The gentle current soon caught hold of the canoe, and they drifted across theke.

    The dark, murky waters underneath the canoe fell away with every row of the imp.

    This scene might have been romantic if it was her husband, Apollyon, with the canoe with her instead of Sloth, who had an absent smile stered on his ivory face.

    Soon.

    Apollyon wille back to get her soon.

    Luna started to feel anxious because the most unreliable man in the entire Circle of Hell was in front of her, and she was in the middle of another darkke simr to the one she had fallen into at Luxen''s Kingdom.

    Shaking her head, Luna swore she was not about to fall like an idiot dragged by demonic sirens just because she couldn''t swim, only to be swallowed by a gigantic white Lotus and wrapped in Angel Dust.

    "I have you all alone." Seated at the opposite side of her, the Archdemon of Sloth''s back was hunched over as he hugged his knees, swaying to a slow rhythm.

    He was like an unbothered child in a young adult body��not an adolescent.

    Sloth looked about two years younger than her in physical appearance.

    "Even the Archdemon of Sloth had hidden agendas, hmm?" Luna thought that Sloth had brought her here for a purpose, and it''s not only because he and the baby dragon was hungry.

    Knowing Sloth, he was azy Archdemon, so it would be reasonable that he didn''t want to suffer hunger as well.

    Plus, he had Simone and Phillip to feed him and looking after everything in his Castle, so why didn''t they provide for Sloth and the baby dragon?

    "I know you want something from me, Sloth." Luna snapped, "Don''t waste my time."

    "Alright." He grumbled, pouting. "I guess I have no choice."

    Sloth bent forward and crawled towards the imp, who had her brows knitting in concentration as she rowed the paddle, her back facing the Archdemon.

    Oblivious to Sloth''s attack, the Archdemon grabbed her by the shoulders, snapped her neck, and tossed her out of the boat as the wicked souls swarmed like piranhas towards the dead imp who had lolled its head to the side��broken neck and purple tongue sticking out.

    It took her a minute to react, and the first thing she did was release a primal scream.

    sping her hands at the edge of the boat, Luna was about to jump out to save the imp.

    The only thing that stopped her was she couldn''t swim, and she didn''t want a repeat of what had happened at the frozenke with Luxen.

    These wicked souls would want to eat her to gain power like how the demonic sirens had almost done.

    "Lune." Sloth was about to stand up from his seat and stop her, but the boat almost overturned from the imbnce.

    "Don''t try to save the imp." He held out a calming hand and remained seated.

    Sloth''s forest-green eyes gleamed in the darkness. "Its death wouldn''t affect your life in the long run."

    Swallowing hard, Luna observed the dark evil shadows rose from theke''s bottom to open their mouths, tearing the imp into pieces.

    What if she was next in Sloth''s long list of people to kill?

    Speechless, Luna''s mouth fell open as she picked the paddle at the center of the canoe, which was in the imp''s small hands just seconds ago, not taking her gaze of Sloth.

    Her fingers had trembled, gripping the scull like it was an efficient weapon against him while her other hand soughtfort on the basket she had on herp.

    Luna thought that Sloth was as slow as a turtle.

    It turned out that you can''t rely on impressions alone.

    She couldn''t believe she had watched Sloth kill the imp in just a split second, and she hadn''t even blinked yet.

    If she weren''t experiencing full-body tremors right now, Luna would have hit Sloth with the weighted paddle in her hands and pped his handsome face with it.

    "What the fuck, Sloth?!"

 Chapter 301 - Fucked Up

    <h4>Chapter 301 - Fucked Up</h4>

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    "What the fuck, Sloth?!" Luna screeched at him as their canoe floated in the middle of theke with no apparent direction.

    It was pure luck that the paddle didn''t join the dead imp when he threw her away.

    "Don''t worry." Sloth finally said, giving him a half-shrug. "It wouldn''t affect you."

    The obsidianke was quiet once again after the wicked souls returned to the deep.

    Luna''s muscles remained tense as she held the basket in a protective gesture, expecting Sloth to attack her any minute.

    "Are you fucking kidding me?" ckjawed, Luna stared at him as he had gone off the deep end.

    She even thought that the bastard was the most sensible Archdemon in Hell except for the fact that he was slow andzy, but it turned out he was cut from the same cloth as them.

    "You traumatized me!" Luna snapped so loud that Sloth flinched. It was a wonder that the baby dragon in her basket hadn''t woken up yet.

    Sloth imed to be a shaman in the past, and most shamans should have a good head on their shoulders.

    Definitely, not him.

    As she red at the bastard, Sloth arranged the ratted pillows behind his back, ignoring her concern about his mental well-being. "It had already been eaten by the wicked souls to gain strength enough to be imp themselves."

    Luna''s eye twitched as she clenched and unclenched her fists. "What had she ever done to you?"

    She waited for him to speak, and Luna prayed that his excuses would make sense.

    Tilting his head, The Archdemon of Sloth replied at her question with a question. "What had the imp done for you that you would save it enough to throw away your life in a second?"

    Luna remembered the imp gathering the vibrant flowers and cing them on the table so that Ravin could make her a flower crown.

    She remembered the imp''s expectant smile when Ravin had asked her if the desert roses she had picked were pretty.

    She watched her fear the darkness of theke just as she did.

    But Sloth''s question made her pause and thought twice?

    Was it worth it to sacrifice her life for an imp she didn''t know and had no impact on her life, whether it was dead or alive?

    As if Sloth had seen the inner workings of her brain whir and figured out the answer, Sloth pped his hand once to get her attention. "Don''t act on impulses and use your brain."

    The single orb floating above their heads descended, and the lights red like a mini-firework when it got too close to the deep midnight waters.

    She hated to admit that Sloth was right.

    "Wow." Luna sneered, "I can''t believe I just heard from azy Archdemon like you to use my brain."

    "If you still doubt me, why don''t you touch dirty water?" Sloth waved a dismissive hand. "Imagine submerging yourself in this Obsidian Lake while they dragged you to the bottom and tear you apart."

    Luna stared into theke, perplexed at first nce.

    The dark, murky waters pulling her into depths were fraught with nightmares, suffering, and pain of the wretched souls suffering from their sin.

    "I heard it in the grapevine that you couldn''t swim when the demonic sirens caught you."

    A small intake of breath.

    "That''s an infinite grapevine you have there." Luna was shocked, but she didn''t let it show. "I can''t believe the gossip from the Second Circle of Hell had reached the Land of the Storms."

    "Go on and try it!" Sloth urged in a sing-song voice, swaying from side to side. "See what happens~"

    One thing about being an Amazonian was that she wouldn''t back down from a fight.

    Luna reached out to touch the nasty liquid in her hands, epting Sloth''s challenge.

    It was just a quick touch, but she couldn''t erase the memories of destruction and carnage from these wicked souls.

    The waters had painted multiple war scenes, idents, illness, untimely deaths, and murder.

    Fall of civilizations.

    Piles of cadavers on toppled cities.

    Creatures in chains, groveling at the feet of their unholy masters while they bleed.

    Soldiers piging viges and raping innocent girls.

    Iniquitous and maniptive men and women.--faces once beautiful and cruel but were now unrecognizable for how dirty they were and eyes that were full of greed and devoid of hope.

    "One thing you should know to survive here in Hell, Lune, is that you can''t save everyone," Clicking her tongue, Sloth told her a matter-of-factly. "You should value your life, above all else. That imp shouldn''t matter to you."

    He shrugged. "It''s the lowest creature in the Hierarchy."

    Luna snarled as she curbed the disturbing images rising in her mind again. "So, you killed the imp to teach me a lesson?"

    "All of us are indispensable in some shape or form, but you have given the imp''s short life, meaning. You even assumed the imp''s gender, attaching a memory of ''hers'' in your brain when it had no direct involvement in your life." Sloth exined as he let his fingers skim over the obsidian waters. "This is why you are affected by the things around you, always ready to sacrifice yourself and be the heroine." He looked at her dead in the eye. "You became anxious, and it messed you up in the head."

    "So now, I''m the one who was messed up?" Gritting her teeth, Luna forced her hands to rx from their clenched grip on the basket handle. "Your servants had told me that you love the animals you have taken in your Kingdom---"

    He didn''t let her finish. "Loving them makes me feel like a good person, you know, on the inside."

    As she shivered, Luna wrapped the white velvet cloak tightly around her.

    Luna paused, recalling that Sloth had given the same cloak to her while they were in the desert to hide her from the Demon Knights.

    "You are fucked up."

 Chapter 302 - Marked By The Beast

    <h4>Chapter 302 - Marked By The Beast</h4>

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    You are fucked up." If Luna wasn''t feeling vulnerable, she could have returned it to him and throw it into his face, iming she didn''t need his ''kindness'', but she needed it forfort.

    She lifted the quilt to touch the baby dragon''s forehead to distract herself from Sloth.

    Luna asked quietly as she shifted in her seat, refusing to meet his eyes. "Do you kill them if you feel like it?"

    "My animals had a higher status in the Hierarchy. I took the time to take care of each of them and training them because when they grow, they are utilized by the royalties as pets, as means for travel or used for war so to answer your questions, no." Sloth replied. "They are too precious and belonged to the higher Hierarchy rather than the imp you cared so much."

    A shake in the head.

    "You have gone mad, Archdemon."

    Talking to Sloth had disheartened her and being with Archdemons for a longer time will make her think that all other creature''s lives were worthless except hers and the people she cared about.

    Luna sighed.

    It was time to change the gloomy subject.

    She threw eye-daggers at him. "Who''s going to row the boat now?"

    "You?" He quipped, and Luna expected that,zy Archdemon that he was.

    "There are no other people here except you and me." cing his hands over his head, Slothy back on the ratted pillows, closed his eyes and rxed.

    "The baby dragon does not know how to use the paddle."

    Rolling her eyes, Luna answered, "Well, obviously."

    "I will hold the basket." He offered. "It wouldn''t be a problem anymore."

    The canoe rocked as Sloth bent over, crawling with his hands and knees towards her. "Lune, there is something I have noticed about you."

    "What?"

    Taking his time, Sloth was careful that the canoe wouldn''t flip over. "I think the reason why you are suffering in Hell because you couldn''t mind your own business."

    Luna smoothed her sweating palms against her skirts, ring at him. "I thought you are done analysing who I am."

    Sloth pretended like he didn''t hear what he said as he leaned forward. "If you didn''t choose to be the High Priestess, all of these would not have happened."

    "What do you want me to do, Sloth? Turn back the time?" Heaving a loud sigh, Luna asked incredulously, "Why did you even kill the imp all of a sudden, Archdemon?"

    "You told me not to waste my time, and I didn''t." He pulled the basket from herp and reced it with himself, kneeling over her.

    Luna''s skirts were pressing down against her legs when Sloth pounced on her like she was his prey, forcing her toy her back on the thin cushions underneath him.

    Gasping, Luna tried to shove him away from her, pushing at his shoulders and kicking her legs against his.

    It would appear like they were a pile of bodies tangled against each other to the outsiders, and Luna couldn''t escape.

    Sloth was a tall, young man, but she couldn''t believe that he was heavy.

    "Don''t move��" Sloth put one hand on her waist to steady her so that the canoe wouldn''t capsize, "--or we would fall into theke, and the wicked souls would eat you instead of us eating them."

    Luna pressed her lids shut because she didn''t like to face Sloth, cross-eyed when the man was too close. "Can you just talk without getting too close?"

    She pushed off his chest and said in a warning, "Do you want to be killed by my Archdemon husband?"

    "Now that you mentioned it, you reeked of Ravin and Luxen." Sloth''s weight pressed her hips into the cushions as he opened the sp of the cloak he had given her with a click.

    He inhaled deeply, and his dark pupils had dted, taking over his forest-green eyes.? "Whenever I get near you, I can sniff a familiar aroma on your skin."

    ncing around to check if Ravin was there, Luna said in a whisper-shout, "What are you doing, Sloth?"

    He started to unbutton the doublet Ravin had given her, pushing it back and baring her shoulders.

    It was toote to shove his hands away from her d��colletage.

    Sloth caressed the back of his hand on her corbone. "Luxen had a stronger scent on youpared to Ravin."

    Feeling his warm breath against her throat, Luna shot back, wiggling underneath him, "So what?"

    Now, you had the Mark of the Beast." Sloth trailed his hands over her sternum, leaving hot mes in their wake.

    He whispered in Luna''s ear, and his blond hair brushed softly against her cheek, "Did you mate with him?"

    "No." Grinding her teeth, Luna replied. "I did not mate with either of them, Sloth."

    Heat flushed through her body, and her heartbeat pounded like she was in a life-and-death situation.

    "I told you I have a husband in the Vampire Realm." Her tone was final. "Now, get off me before I push you out of the canoe."

    "Hmm. I can''t connect the dots around you. You are always shrouded in mystery." Sloth had heeded her warning and retreated, folding back his wings.

    Hands outstretched, Sloth helped Luna to a sitting position as he squatted across her.

    "My servants had told me that Luxen had taken you from the Marriage Suite, and there was nothing that can be done. Something happened at? Luxen''s Kingdom, which had ced you in danger. You had used Archdemon magic against Luxen which made him the subject of ridicule of every Archdemon in Hell for his punctured wing." He narrated each statement as if he was ticking off a checklist on his fingers. "You were going to be punished, and Ravin had requested Satan a week so that he could care for you before he handed you over to the Grand Torturer."

    "But why?" Sloth tilted his head, watching her warily, "Why, oh, why did you smell like you were bathed in Luxen''s cum when you were with Ravin all this time?

 Chapter 303 - Lie To Me

    <h4>Chapter 303 - Lie To Me</h4>

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    Sloth tilted his head, watching her warily, "Why, oh, why did you smell like you were bathed in Luxen''s cum when you were with Ravin all this time?"

    ''Bathing in the Archdemon of Lust''s fluid?''

    She gasped.

    Luna couldn''t rule out the possibility that it wasn''t Apollyon who had fucked her when her intuition had practically sent warning bells into her head early on.

    A sudden coldness hit her in the core.

    "No. No. No. No. No. It can''t be, Sloth." Luna pressed her palms on her ears, her voice shaking in firm denial. "It was the Vampire King who had slept with me that night!"

    Swallowing hard, Luna remembered Apollyon rubbing his seed all over her stomach before vanishing, and Ravin burst out in the room.

    Luna ced a fist over her mouth when she recalled that specific memory, making her double over.

    She recalled how Apollyon''s dark pupils morphed into narrowing slits of silver for a split second,? mistaking them for desire.

    Silver eyes.

    Luna should have known it was weird for Apollyon''s Prussian blue eyes to turn silver.

    It wasn''t the Vampire King, ut the Archdemon of Lust.

    "You are lying to punish me! I don''t believe you. " Nostrils ring, Luna screamed as her words echoed in the quiet afternoon, the high-pitched tone bouncing back to her ears.? "YOU ARE LYING TO ME, SLOTH!"

    Luna breathed noisily, and her face flushed red from the exertion of her screams.

    "What''s in it for me if I lie to you, Lune?" It angered her more that Sloth was unbothered by her anger. "At least I am brave enough to tell you the truth no matter what reaction I had elicited from you."

    Giving her a half-shrug, he added. "You can kill me if you prove me wrong."

    There was an eerie silence on her part.

    Luna couldn''t prove Sloth wrong.

    He clicked his tongue when she didn''t respond. "Even a part of you knew it was the Archdemon of Lust, Lune. Your mind can tell you it wasn''t your Vampire King, and sadly, you fell for his appearance."

    Sloth touched his fingertips together, appearing like the evil mastermind he was. "Just admit he tricked you, and you will feel much better."

    "Luxen knew how to manipte a creature if he/she was in a haze of lust, most especially if the person couldn''t distinguish fantasy and reality anymore." Sloth''s lips curved slightly, and it wasn''t amusement. "It''s either you fucked Luxen, or you fucked Luxen, simple as that."

    The world seemed to spin in slow motion.

    Luna gripped the edge of the canoe and vomited.

    Nothing came out but liquid she wouldn''t dare look at.

    Her stomach was tied into knots, and there was pain at the back of her throat.

    Shoulders hunching over, Sloth had inched behind her back.

    Sloth gathered her silver hair away from her face while she gagged into the dark waters with his fist.

    Luna would like to think that Sloth helped her so that no dark souls would pull her hair while she was bent over, dragging her to the bottom to feast on her flesh.

    She couldn''t believe that the Archdemon had the nerve to still act like a gentleman after the shit he put her through.

    Squeezing her eyes shut, Luna absently stared at the water.

    No, she had no right to be furious against Sloth.

    He wasn''t the one who posed as her husband the night she was weak from the need to be closer to Apollyon.

    Luna missed Apollyon so much.

    Her vision became blurry from crying, and there was a tightness in her chests and limbs.

    After dry heaving, she wiped the drool off her mouth and coughed, breathing hard.

    She reclined to the cushions at the stern and closed her lids shut, lifting her elbow over her forehead to block everything out��including the crazy Archdemon in front of her.

    Hands clenching into fists, Luna carried out more deep breaths, grounding herself to her current reality.

    Luna thought that it was the Archdemon of Sloth who had gone off the deep end, but if some other people she would speak to were going to imply for the ''nth'' time that she had sexual congress with Luxen then, she would jump off the canoe and die a slow death.

    She would have prepared to be eaten alive by these dirty souls.

    If Apollyon found out about this, she had no courage to face her husband again.

    She wasn''t stupid as the Archdemons think.

    Wincing, putting two and two together.

    Cold sweat trickled down her back, sending chills running down her spine.

    She might have inadvertently fornicated with that bastard, Luxen, if she would admit to her sin, but that didn''t change the fact that the real Apollyon still waited for her at the Vampire Realm.

    The Archdemon of Lust had pretended he was Apollyon that night, and she was too stupid to let him have his way with her because she missed him so much, believing deep in her heart that it was her husband that hade to save her!

    She had believed in her wish so hard that she refused to see the truth for what it was!

    A rush of blood roared in her ears, and her jaw hurt from grinding them too much.

    Luna couldn''t even detect the mour Luxen had used to pretend he was Apollyon.

    He didn''t even have to act that much, and she had bitten the bait: hook, line, and sinker.

    Luna should have looked at him carefully and asked him many questions before she let him touch her.

    Had she provoked the Archdemon of Lust to this deception because she had destroyed a wing?

    As the world seemed to dissipate around her, Luna wallowed in her regret, rubbing at the pinpricks of invisible needles stabbing her in the chest.

    Luna had refused to see it, to admit it.

    Shaking her head as if that would get rid of this nightmare she was currently living, Luna had reacted in rage, acting out in ways that were unnatural for her--like breaking things and snapping at high-powered Archdemons.

 Chapter 304 - Regret

    <h4>Chapter 304 - Regret</h4>

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    Luna refused to listen to Ravin when he implied that she couldn''t distinguish her real husband from a shapeshifter.

    She didn''t listen, letting the shapeshifter got what he wanted with her��sex.

    Ravin had insinuated an idea into her head that it was the Archdemon of Lust, and Luna assumed it was a poor maniption tacticing from him.

    Now, another Archdemon had pointed it out.

    Luna didn''t expect Sloth to support Ravin''s earlier statement.

    Sloth didn''t push through with his theories.

    The Archdemon had enough respect to give her the space she needed to process this.

    She couldn''t hide and run away from the truth anymore.

    Gritting her teeth in anger at herself rather than these Archdemons, Luna couldn''t stop the tears leaking from the corner of her eyes as she let out a small whimper.

    It was her fault.

    Why couldn''t she recognize her own husband?

    Was Luna that desperate to be with Apollyon, agreeing to have sexual congress right away so that she could feel his presence, making her feel protected and secure in his embrace?

    Was Ravin right from the start all along?

    Did Luna really love the Vampire King for real when she couldn''t recognize the difference between the real and the doppelganger?

    Was their rtionship just purely sexual aside from the Blood Bond?

    Luna''s heart thudded dully in her chest as her whole body went numb.

    What did she even love about Apollyon?

    Did she love him for who he was, or was it because of that damned red strings tying their souls together?

    She couldn''t answer her questions, and she didn''t know what to do next.

    Where will she go from here now that she had cheated on her husband?

    Would she still deserve him when he was faithful to her despite her disappearance?

    Ignorance was bliss, and self-loathing was her best friend.

    Her husband might have forgiven Ravin for tying her up and licking the Angel Dust from her body if she was to tell him because it was for her own welfare.

    She swallowed hard.

    Apollyon didn''t have to know that, but if the truth woulde to light, then she would have no choice but to admit that it happened.

    This was the reason why the ''Apollyon'' who visited her in her dreams had told her he didn''t care whether other men touched her or not because it wasn''t him in the first ce!

    Would Apollyon still ept her despite Luxen marking her from the inside?

    Berating herself for her actions, Luna tried to live in denial, and she preferred to live in that lie...but she couldn''t do it forever.

    Patting her leg to bring her thoughts back to the present, Sloth asked softly, "Are you alright?"

    Luna wasn''t alright.

    "Fuck you, Sloth." In an instant, Luna rose from the canoe''s stern and held Sloth by the cor.

    She wanted to vanish and cease to exist rather than suffer from this one terrible mistake that could potentially ruin her life.

    If she couldn''t have Apollyon''s forgiveness, she might as well feed herself to the evil souls settled under theke and drag the Archdemon of Sloth with her.

    "You are attacking me for telling the truth." Sloth didn''t struggle, but he let out a dejected sigh. "You even wanted to save the imp when no one was pointing a sword to your neck to do it."

    He shook his head and clicked his tongue. "Wrong choices will lead to unfortunate events."

    Baring her teeth, she growled as fear and exhration ran through her veins. "Don''t get me angry, or the both of us are going to swim in these Obsidian Lake.

    He deadpanned. "I know how to float."

    Luna raised her chin as sheshed out with a snarl. "Since you are toozy, I doubt you know how to utilize those arms so that you could swim."

    "You are right." Sloth quickly agreed, thereby ending the argument. "I don''t."

    "What''s done is done." The Archdemon lifted his hand to her face, wiping the tears staining her cheeks.

    "Stop crying over spilled milk," Sloth murmured and forced her to release his grip from his shirt by squeezing her wrists. "Now you know the truth. We should move on."

    Luna let go as she pleaded in tears. "Do you think it would be this easy for me?"

    Hugging her knees to make herself smaller, Luna rocked back and forth in sorrow.

    "You are an Archdemon with no life. You sleep, eat and wake up." Luna observed grudgingly as fat tears started to drop from her cheeks again. "You had no motivations."

    If she had enough strength to be a mature Archdemon, she would have challenged Sloth and defeat him so that she could live the kind lifestyle he had. "You just move with freedom, ride that go-with-the-flow wave of yours."

    Shaking her head, Luna whispered, "That''s not who I am."

    "No." Sloth insisted as he wore a thoughtful expression. "You can''t change the past, but you can still change the future, Lune."

    "I wouldn''t let you hold yourself back because, in a way, it would hold my ideals back, too." He said cryptically, and there was this unnatural stillness before he continued, "The next thing I''m about to tell you will require you to move on very fast."

    "What do you mean?"

    "You know Lune?" Sloth began in a low murmur that she had to lean forward to hear him. "Luxen''s deception was the first revtion I have figured out today. You should be prepared for what I was about to say next."

    Once again, Luna figured out that Sloth was in that strange zone in his head.

    "You should have started crying when I finished because you, my sister-inw, are going to cry uglier the moment I reveal more secrets to you," Sloth spoke in the air rather than making eye contact with her, and Luna''s brows knitted in confusion.

    "I''m not sure if there was something worse than what you told me." Luna sniffed, "Spit it out, then."

 Chapter 305 - Conspiracies

    <h4>Chapter 305 - Conspiracies</h4>

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    "I don''t know if you know that my brother Luxen can only sexually prate a person once." Tilting his head, Sloth began, and his amusement was evident as he slowly snapped out his wings, "He must be the type of Archdemon who engage in a performative type of sex that wouldn''t involve pration."

    Luna nodded in agreement since that wasn''t new to her.

    Luxen had told her about his curse unleashed by Aphrodite, but she didn''t know that Sloth knew about it, as well.

    Luna had believed that Luxen was keeping it hush-hush because it might be perceived as a weakness to the other Archdemon.

    These prideful, vile creatures hated appearing weak to their kind.

    Ravin had mentioned before that Luxen never fucked the same person twice and had a habit of dallying with both males and females he felt immense lust with.

    Luna thought Ravin had meant Luxen''s rakish ways since he was the Archdemon of Lust.

    So, Sloth and Ravin were also aware of this.

    It turned out that Luxen''s curse wasn''t a secret in the Seven Circles like she thought it should be.

    She didn''t pay mind to it because it wouldn''t concern her.

    Narrowing her eyes, Luna asked, "What about it?"

    Luna bit her nails in anxiety, and a divine idea came through her mind.

    Mayhap, Sloth had found a connection why Luxen had assumed Apollyon''s form and deceived her.

    It wasn''t like Luna had trusted Luxen wholeheartedly.

    Nobody in their right mind would count an Archdemon to be loyal to them, but she had trusted him enough not to devise this cunning scheme because she was their wife, and they were bonded by blood.

    Was Luxen too desperate to own her when he had agreed to share her with his brother?

    This didn''t make any sense.

    She didn''t make the slightest provocation towards Luxen except for the fact that Ravin had taken her in his Castle.

    Satan had given Ravin permission to extract her from Luxen''s dominion, and she was unconscious so that she couldn''t me her for that.

    Why?

    Perhaps, Luxen had tricked her as revenge for punching a hole in his wing.

    Sloth''s face remained expressionless as he continued, "If he were interested in a female, he would prolong his seduction for as long as it would take because once he had prated a woman he liked, it was game over for the both of them."

    Luna blinked.

    "The curse Aphrodite had given Luxen could only apply to his women."

    Luna''s mouth fell open at his statement.

    "When he goes crazy with lust for a woman while the seduction was taking ce, he will get a severe case of blue balls when he didn''t want to prate her yet, so Luxen would find a man to seduce so that he could get rid of it." He said.

    As she covered her mouth and nose with a palm, Luna''s stomach went into free-fall.

    Luna soothed her throat and grimaced.

    She was about to throw up again.

    "This was the reason why he also dallied with men because Aphrodite''s curse didn''t work on them.? In truth, Luxen didn''t swing that way, and he had strongly preferred women. He did it because he had no choice." When Sloth saw her disgusted expression, Luna noticed he was choosing his words deliberately, "You were his wife, so I thought he would treat you differently and would draw out his desire for you as much as possible. If his lust was unbearable, he could have easily seduced a male or a female demon nearby, but he chose to shapeshift into your husband, instead."

    Lips pulling back, Luna bared her lips as her sharp canines elongated on their own.

    Luna desired to destroy Luxen so much until he petered out into the ethers.

    She clenched and unclenched her fists, thirsty for the Archdemon''s blood.

    Luna would have a pleasurable sense of release when expressing this violence.

    The Archdemon of Lust had done her dirty, and he would pay for it.

    If Luna was still High Priestess who possessed Hecate''s grimoire, she could have quickly forced these Archdemons into submission whenever they did something she didn''t like.

    If her voice as the High Priestess still had power, Luna would call them their real name.

    They would go towards her without any clothes on, and their hands and knees were on the ground, simr to dogs.

    She would attach their cors on their necks, and she would parade them in the entire Circles of Hell as she held their chains in her hands, wearing a smug grin.

    Luxen deserved the most outstanding humiliation for raping her.

    Sloth reminded her calmly, breaking her thoughts of retribution.

    "Clear your mind, pretty sister." His nonchnce on her rage felt like the Archdemon had seen way worse. "We aren''t done yet."

    Mayhap, Sloth forgot how to sympathize with another creature based on how he killed the imp without remorse.

    "It was a miracle you were talking too much today." Cracking her neck from side-to-side to release the tension,? Luna closed her eyes for a minute as she blew out a breath. "Are you enjoying my misfortune?"

    "My mind is working in overdrive right now, so I need to spit the conspiracies out before I forget them." Sloth straightened his spine and folded his hands to hisp. "This was also the reason why I killed the imp. Lune."

    His face was sombre."It is loyal to its Master, and its Master isn''t me."

    Sloth''s forest-green eyes were cold, challenging, and flinty. "This way, we would be safe, and our discussions wouldn''t be in any Archdemon''s ears."

    "Now listen." Sloth''s stare grew unfocused once again, and it made Luna felt like he wasn''t really present with her in the canoe. "The moment Luxen usually pounce was at that point where he would be alright to discard the woman afterwards. "

    "I think it was too early for Luxen to discard you." He said darkly, and there was an edge of cruelty in his tone, "I wonder what happened why he wanted you pregnant."

 Chapter 306 - A Welcome Distraction

    <h4>Chapter 306 - A Wee Distraction</h4>

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    "I wonder what happened why he wanted you pregnant."

    Luna''s pulse raced as the sound of heartbeat thrashed in her ears.

    She gripped the edge of the canoe so hard that the ancient wood had cracked from the pressure of her fingers. "Pregnant?"

    Their canoe had floated in the tranquilke as the painfully vivid crimson skies slowly transmuted as dark as the wicked souls that flooded them, their shadowy ws creeping on the edge of their boat.

    Sloth gracefully waved his hand.

    More golden orbs showed up in the atmosphere when the darkness fell, simr to humungous fireflies, casting an orange glow on the murky waters of theke.

    They did a wondrous job scaring the monsters away.

    Luna straightened her spine from thefort of her cushions as she nced up at the ck sphere that loomed in the dusk, simr to the moon.

    If she was in the Vampire Realm, this vision must indicate twilight in the Second Circle of Hell.

    Luna interlocked her fingers together as she looked at the moon, hoping the goddess had heard her prayers.

    The Underworld must be near the Second Circles so it wouldn''t be possible for the Goddess Hecate to hear her wish to get back to the Vampire Realm.

    It was either that, or she will find a way to die, carrying this eternal shame and regret along with her, without including Apollyon.

    She loved Apollyon, and she couldn''t stand making him suffer along with her.

    If it came to that, Luna would make the necessary sacrifice if that would make Apollyon''s life bearable when she was gone.

    She had to get back to the Vampire Realm first.

    Luna got distracted from her thoughts when the quilt that covered the baby dragon had moved as if something was shoving the fabric out of the basket.

    Looking over her shoulder, Sloth turned his head back to stare at Luna, his green eyes sparkling and gleaming with excitement.

    "The whelp is awake." Sloth stretched his hand, bringing the basket to hisp.

    He made funny faces at the baby dragon, no, she just figured out that it was called a whelp.

    He said with a wide grin. "We talked too much and almost forget about it."

    As if on cue, the whelp opened its mouth and let out a small growl. "ree~."

    "Anyway, Luxen''s scent on your skin didn''t dissipate because I could sense that he thoroughly rubbed his seed unto your body." Sloth exined as he continued to entertain the whelp, tickling its belly with his fingers. "Male demons do this to female demons they had imed as their wife that was why it was called the Mark of the Beast."

    Sloth started to move at the edge of the canoe.

    As if by magic, A wooden stick emerged from his palms, stretching into a long one.

    Luna remembered it was the same wooden stick Sloth had used to poke her at his study when she was asleep.

    "When Luxen had sexual congress with you when he morphed himself as the Vampire King, did he cum inside you or did he just pull out and spill it on your skin?" Sloth asked without looking at her, and Luna couldn''t speak.

    His attention wasn''t on her, and that was fine.

    She would prefer him not to look at her because it gave her the privacy she needed.

    As she crossed her arms around in protection, Luna had never felt vulnerable.

    She cradled her stomach as if she was in pain as dread coursed her veins.

    Apollyon��the Archdemon of Lust--didn''t pull out when they did it.

    "Hm."? With a slight shake in the head, Sloth let out a bitter smile. "Based on your expression, I already knew the answer. "

    Sloth snorted, clicking his tongue. "So, the Archdemon of Lust had clearly marked you of his essence."

    "How careless of Luxen to do that!" Sloth said loudly as he cradled the whelp in his arms while he had the long, wooden stick in his grasp.

    In turn, the animal had stared at him with stars in its green eyes as if he was its long lost mother.

    Would her future baby vampire look at her like she was his/her world?

    Sloth had started fishing for the wicked souls.

    He ced the tip of his wooden stick into the murky waters, waiting for some stupid soul that would bite the bait.

    "There is a possibility that you will get pregnant if his scent on you wouldn''t disappear in the next few weeks." Sloth casually stated as he focused on his task.

    "But Sloth��" Luna swallowed ufortably as her? mouth opened of its own ord, her tongue pushing slightly forward.

    It felt like her excessive saliva was choking to death.

    She was about to vomit for the second time, but she clenched her fists so hard that her ws had dug into her palms.

    She wanted to tell Sloth of his predicament in hopes that he could help her.

    Shaking her head, Luna said softly. "I''m already pregnant with the Vampire King''s baby."

    "What the��" Sloth raised his wooden stick from the waters, and this time, a long dark shadow was attached at the end of it.

    This time, the Archdemon had narrowed his green eyes at her. "You are pregnant with---"

    Luna replied in a quiet voice. "Luxen raped me while I was pregnant with Apollyon''s baby."

    "Who is this Apollo?" As the dark shadow Sloth had caught on his stick wriggled awkwardly, it untangled its mouth from the tip of the rod and jumped back to the murkyke.

    Sloth turned his head towards the water, staring at his potential catch in a daze as it swam away.

    It was toote.

    The wicked soul hadn''t stayed long enough for Sloth to feed it to the whelp.

    Using that same stick, Sloth scratched his head in confusion while ignoring the whelp''s cries.

    Squinting at her with judgement, Sloth''s jaw a hard line when he asked, "Did you also fornicate with the God of Light?"

 Chapter 307 - Pregnancy Scare

    <h4>Chapter 307 - Pregnancy Scare</h4>

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    "How promiscuous!" Sloth eximed as he started rocking the whelp gently to halt its screeches.

    ring at him, Luna thought infuriatingly, ''Promiscuous?''

    ''God of Light?''

    ''Did he mistook Apollyon for Apollo?''

    The more the Archdemonforted the sobbing whelp by patting its rear gently, the more its cries pierced their ears until they bleed.

    Luna sighed at how hopeless this conversation was.

    Sloth''s voice was already soft and calm before, and now, it got to the point where Luna couldn''t hear what he said.

    As if reading her mind, Sloth leaned his face closer and raised his voice so loud it scared the whelp into silence, "Now, I''m afraid I would be next in line!"

    ''Sloth being next in line as in her future victim?''

    She stared at him up and down before she massaged her temples.

    How many times did Luna have to repeat that she wasn''t interested in anyone else?

    The Archdemon of Sloths'' assumptions deserved a kick in the nuts...or better yet, knock him out and put him back to sleep for eternity.

    Luna didn''t understand the Archdemon of Sloth, sometimes.

    Whenever someone else talked to him about their stories, ideas, and other things that were in that person''s mind, the Archdemon was slow, turtle slow, to understand as if his brain processing was wed.

    Exining oneself to Sloth if one didn''t have enough patience will have their brain cellsmit mass suicide.

    Sloth didn''t have his priorities either.

    The subject-at-hand had strayed to other stupid things that Luna couldn''t keep up.

    They were talking about the Vampire King''s baby growing inside her.

    ''Luxen also nted his seed inside while she already had a baby.''

    This was what she was trying to say, but did he follow through?

    Now, the bastard had the nerve to talk about being promiscuous and making love to the Sun God?

    The only mysterious thing Luna had observed about Sloth was that he could exin his ideas adequately, and that was the only moment where he spat his ideas fast.

    His train of different, nonsensical thoughts was so divergent that nobody will know what hit them when Sloth started connecting all the dots.

    Luna had been experiencing this with him.

    She had difficulty catching up that she didn''t even know what emotions to feel with all the seemingly random stuffing out of his mouth.

    All of these things had a vital link with each other and will have the power to solve all of her problems if she just had to listen carefully.

    She will gather all the patience in Hell to deal with the Archdemon of Sloth.

    He must be living inside his head for too long since all his Archdemon life, Sloth was either sleeping, taking care of his beloved pets, talking to his servants once in a while, and poring over his collection of memories in his Library of Congress.

    Luna inhaled so deeply that her lungs almost burst from intion, and then, she exhaled afterward.

    She did this exercise a couple of times to keep calm, or else a vein in her neck would probably burst from frustration.

    Honestly, a conversation with Sloth was like talking to a talking whelp.

    "Sloth. Get over yourself." Luna ran a frustrated hand through her hair, gritting her teeth from all those negative emotions all rolling into one.

    How many times did she have to prove herself today?

    As she crossed her arms defensively, Luna scowled.

    "If you thought me promiscuous, then you are delusional."? She dered harshly, but he didn''t seem fazed by it. "Apollyon is my husband in the Vampire Realm and not Apollo, the god of light!"

    Sloth blinked slowly.

    When his eyebrows reached up to his hairline, Luna knew it had finally sunk into his brain.

    "Oops, my bad!" ncing from left to right, Sloth dropped his gaze quickly to the sniffing whelp, refusing to look at her.

    "So, Apollyon was the Vampire King." He nodded, murmuring, "Alright. Clear as crystal."

    "I thought you were somehow connected to the Greek Gods and Goddesses, Lune, that''s why I thought you have made Apollo, the god of light, your husband." Sloth regarded her beneath hisshes, stealing a peak on her d��colletage.

    He pointed with his mouth, referring to the marks on her chest. "Those tiny, red triangles on your chest are a symbol of the Triple Moon Goddess."

    "The Triple Moon Goddess!"? There was a flutter in her stomach. "Isn''t that Goddess Hecate?"

    "The Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone were tattooed on your chest."

    Luna nced down at her sternum with narrowed eyes and her chin touching her corbone.

    She had to know what the Archdemon was talking about.

    "But why?" Gritting her teeth, Luna threw her hands up in the air in frustration. "I am not the High Priestess of Hecate any longer."

    "Ah. She wants you in the Underworld." Sloth replied unexpectedly that Luna''s eyes widened a little.

    She stared back at him with wide eyes.

    "It will be easier for her to know where you are and what you have been doing." Luna''s brows knitted in confusion, but she let Sloth continue. "Mayhap, Hecate marked you so that it would be easier tomunicate with you for some reason. Hecate had no control over Hell, you know?"

    "She might want to recruit you as her spy against the Archdemon King." Sloth ced his long magic stick back to the murky waters after cing a tiny orb at the end of it as bait. "I noticed that the first paragon in the triad��the Maiden''s waxing crescent��had vanished on the red triangle."

    "That meant you are not a maiden anymore." Sloth said. "You are pregnant, Lune."

    Clenching her fists, Luna hated the pity in his gaze. "You have be a Mother even in a Goddess'' eyes."

    ''Even the Goddess Hecate knew what she was up to.'' Luna thought angrily.

    "I am not ready to be a mother at this time, especially not a child from someone I hate with all my heart."? Luna spat.

    Fury churned in her gut.

    Her fury decreased bit by bit when she stared at the whelp, which had its eyes closed again, smiling as the gentle waves rocked their canoe.? "Hopefully, I wouldn''t be pregnant with Luxen''s child from that one terrible mistake."

 Chapter 308 - REEE~

    <h4>Chapter 308 - REEE~</h4>

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    "Hopefully, I wouldn''t be pregnant with Luxen''s child from that one terrible mistake." Luna didn''t notice that she had squeezed her arm to the point of bruising.? "There is still a possibility that I wasn''t pregnant with Luxen''s baby, Sloth."

    A rush of adrenaline flowed through her body as she felt a tingling sensation at the back of her neck.

    It felt like her body was turning hot and cold, and her mind wanted to detach itself from her soul.

    She felt a strong wave of anxiety, and she didn''t want to let it control her. "I wouldn''t ept that baby because I will only value my future child with my husband."

    Blowing out a noisy breath, Luna whispered, "I will not make space for any Archdemon inside of me."

    "You were his wife, so his seed would be most potent inside you if the blood bond between the both of you was still here, but anyway, there is still a slight chance that you wouldn''t be pregnant with Luxen''s baby," Sloth agreed with her.

    Being a future mother made her feel happy and sad at the same time. "I have so many things to learn."

    "I agree that there would be a lot of trouble that mighte your way, but it sounded like you were making excuses because you are still enamored by the charms of eternal youth." Sloth shrugged.

    Luna felt like her pulse was at her throat when she imagined herself cradling a child in her arms, just like how Sloth had done with the whelp.

    Did she have the capacity to care for a child with unconditional love and adoration?

    Even the Archdemon knew how to care for the whelp than her.

    She sighed.

    Lips curving in amusement, Sloth continued, "Being a mother is just the next face of womanhood, and it is part of the cycle of life to ovee the challenge."

    He was probablyughing at her expense. "You might have lived for hundreds of years, but still, you must grow up because you have no choice but to cross the threshold."

    The more Sloth reminded her that she would be a mother someday, her headache intensified.

    When the dark water started to ripple in giant circles around the tip of Sloth''s magic stick, Sloth didn''t waste time.

    He lifted his stick to the sky as the three of them nced at the poor soul that had bitten the bait.

    Before the wicked soul could flee, Sloth hurriedly turned the stick towards the whelp''s mouth.

    "REEEE~" The whelp devoured it in just one gulp, smacking its lips in satisfaction.

    Luna noticed how happy the whelp was with the first dark soul because it had purred, burying its face in Sloth''s neck.

    "Regarding that symbol of the Triple Moon Goddess, I suggest you hide that or else Satan and Lucifer might kill you for treason against Hell itself, seeing it as a sign that you are loyal to the Goddess Hecate instead of the Demon kind. They will see that you have chosen a goddess who only wanted to use you for something rather than your family into which you have married into."

    She rolled her eyes.? "As if my ''so-called Archdemon family'' don''t want to use me."

    The hypocrisy in this Archdemon family was disgusting.

    The sheer audacity could make its weak-minded victims go insane.

    Luna watched Sloth dipped his wooden stick to the water again, catching another wicked soul for the whelp.

    "That was why my soul was here in Hell in the first ce, wasn''t I?" Luna said sarcastically, "--so that my ''family'' could use me for opening portals to different Realms for their own malicious agendas. My ''family'' had trapped me with bargains and forced blood bonds left and right."

    Luna flipped her long silver hair behind her back in annoyance. "I''m d I had the Mark of the Hecate. I would rather serve her even if I''m not a High Priestess anymore as long as I could escape."

    "REE~" The whelp let out a small growl as if it understood Luna and agreed with her.

    "The symbol of the Triple Moon Goddess..." Luna pressed her lips together. "Ravin was the first one who noticed this when he tried to get rid of the Angel Dust on my skin. He even imed that it was nothing. Hiding it from me."

    "Hmm. Interesting." Humming, Sloth drawled, shifting his hold on the whelp as his intense gaze snaked through her breasts. "From the low-cut gown he asked you to wear, Ravin wanted every demon to see Hecate''s symbol as if it was a deration of some sort."

    Sloth regarded her as if it was the first time he really saw her as a woman.

    She wasn''t used to seeing her brother-inw this way.

    He only watched her female form with clinical interest most of the time.

    "I think he might have guessed that Satan would have great use for you as a spy in the Underworld rather than you being loyal to Hecate." His hooded green eyes darkened and smoldered, the emerald forest glittering into its depths. "Ravin might have assumed that your number one loyalty will be from Hell because you are an Archdemon, and you aren''t Hecate''s High Priestess anymore."

    Ravin also said that the Archdemon of Sloth wasn''t used to interacting with women.

    Her brother-inw hadn''t stuttered in her presence yet.

    Luna guessed Sloth had only seen her as a neutral, genderless thing.

    Sloth cleared his throat when he felt the awkward tension in the air. "I still conclude that Luxen had every intention to make you pregnant, though."

    "REE~" The whelp screeched, interrupting like a sharp knife cutting the air, breaking the strange tension in the atmosphere.

    Sloth was shocked at the whelp''s snarls that he almost dropped his favorite wooden stick at the obsidianke.

    Luna pressed her lips together to avoid snorting at how clumsy Sloth was that she could almost see Sloth''s life shing before his eyes.

    "That was close."

 Chapter 309 - A Pact With Another Devil

    <h4>Chapter 309 - A Pact With Another Devil</h4>

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    "That was close." Sloth exhaled in relief when it didn''t drop to the water.

    If she weren''t troubled of her own mess, she would haveughed at how Sloth''s face had turned ashen, clutching it in his chest as if it was his lifeline.

    "Ravin had told me once that one of the three soul ties I had with him, Luxen, and the Vampire King had been cut," Luna informed him.

    As his momentary fear for his magic stick vanished, Sloth caught another wicked soul and fed himself this time. "Well, that''s new."

    Like the whelp, Sloth swallowed the soul in one gulp. "I''m not familiar about blood bonds because I had never been in one, but how did Ravin know that one of the three soul ties was cut off?"

    "I don''t know how he figured it out, and I refused to believe him." Avoiding his scrutiny, Luna swallowed hard as Sloth caught soul after soul in quick session, taking turns in feeding himself and the whelp.

    She wanted to try eating it too, to satisfy her curiosity.

    Luna had already drunk Ravin''s blood a few days before, and he hated to admit that Sloth was right.

    Shea needed to find a substitute for food.

    Ravin and Luxen''s blood was fuel to her soul in Hell.

    If she could learn to nourish herself, Luna needed to eat other souls like how Sloth had suggested.

    This way, she could break away from her dependence on her Archdemon husbands.

    They initiated the blood bond with her so that they could drag her to Hell whenever they liked, using her for creating portals.

    The Archdemon King had great trust in her to gain that skill because she used to be a High Priestess before, and she had tried opening a portal between Hell and the Vampire Realm.

    They only need her to recreate that to push through their evil ns in controlling the entire Realms.

    Luna noticed that her fingers were trembling as she clutched her skirts.

    She needed something to distract her, so she reached out her hand to stroke the whelp on the forehead.

    The whelp closed its almond-shaped eyes and bumped its head into her palms, its loud purrsforting her as nothing had ever done since she arrived in Hell.

    Luna''s rigid muscles loosened as the whelp gave her a toothless smile.

    The stress that threatened to burst inside her brain had fizzled out.

    "I would never trust anything thates out of Ravin''s mouth, including that bastard, Luxen," Luna said with conviction.

    Tilting his head, Sloth''s mouth ttened to a grim line, "Do you trust me?"

    There was a silent pause before Luna replied, "It will depend on what you can do for me."

    "Ouch." Sloth winced, and the little smirk on his face made Luna think it was sarcasm. "That hurt."

    "I will only ask two questions from an Archdemon who sought to gain my trust," With a set jaw, Luna said curtly. "I will ask why you are helping me?"She trailed off, "--and what''s in it for you?"

    She whispered. "You have to pledge your honesty before you answer."

    "You are shrewd, sister-inw, but I wonder why you kept being dragged in the mud by my brothers, especially Luxen, don''t you think so?"

    She looked into Sloth''s delicately handsome face, which almost appeared either bored, sleepy, or in a daze, but he couldn''t hide the intellect behind his nonchnce.

    "We will get to thatter because I told you I have a reason why I''m here."? Sloth''s voice was deep. "We just need to brainstorm this properly because a lot of people are involved in this grand scheme of things."

    Luna''s heart beat elerated as she felt an icy bite of fear in her blood.

    She almost felt like something ominous was about to happen.

    "Anyway, something monumental must have happened with Luxen that disturbed his usual modus operandi when it came to his females. I haven''t heard him do this to someone before, pretending he was someone else for his prey." He whispered as if what he was talking about was a secret taboo of horror that should be better left unsaid. "His devilishly handsome face and physique was his pride when it came to seduction, and usually, his targets wouldn''t mind.? Even weak angels and Nephilims were enamored of his charms and always returned for more. It would hurt him to use another face aside from him, so he must have been pretty desperate."

    "Sloth. What if Ravin was telling the truth?" Beads of sweat fell from her forehead. "What if it was Luxen''s soul tie which was removed from mywork that''s why he did this to me?"

    "I know enough to understand that once a soul tie was cut to destroy a blood bond, the couple involved in the connection would feel the insufferable loss, so of course, it would be obvious who was who." Sloth replied. "You would know right away who was removed from your system because he would appear messed up."

    Anger stirred inside her. "What if Luxen morphed into Apollyon because he wanted to hide how miserable he was?"

    "I am sure that Ravin wasn''t the one who dropped from thework of your blood bond because when I met him earlier, he looked alright to me." Sloth''s face remained calm and unrevealing. "It was probably Luxen or your husband at the Vampire Realm, right?"

    "No. Please! Not my husband! "Breaths bursting in and out, Luna''s body shook uncontrobly. "I don''t want to be separated from him forever."

    "That would be bad for you. "Sloth replied as he stared deeply into her eyes.? "Aside from your body, your husband is your anchor in the Vampire Realm."

    "Let''s say it was Luxen because he was acting out of character. How about you? You should feel like something was missing, right?" Sloth asked conversationally as he bit and swallowed another soul he had caught from theke. "Do you feel a sense of loss inside you to the point like you are dying?"

    The night breeze ruffled his hair, but the strands settled back as soon as it had passed. "Breaking off a soul tie that is mutual in the first ce will lead to a withdrawal symptom between the couple because your body had used to sending a connection to this link."

    Luna hesitated, "No, I''m alright like Ravin."

    "Perhaps, you didn''t feel it because you were unconscious for a few days because of the poison from the Angel Dust, which Ravin had licked from your body." Sloth''s green eyes turned to pure obsidian in the blink of an eye at the mention of the Angel Dust. "That''s why you also had a faint scent of Ravin underneath Luxen''s because you were covered in his spit."

    "And here I thought you were alwayste to the gossip in the Seven Circles of Hell."

    "I''m notte to the gossip." Sloth grinned, and his eyes turned back to normal. "Ravin had casually shared the fact when I arrived for no reason at all."

    She sighed.

    "Why are you helping me, Sloth?"

    Luna didn''t want to ask because deep in her heart, she already knew why.

    It was inevitable.

    "Ah~Finally, you asked." The air seemed to stop moving as the Archdemon watched her with a Cheshire cat smile, "I havee to strike a bargain with you."

 Chapter 310 - Agreement

    <h4>Chapter 310 - Agreement</h4>

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    Three days in Hell hade.

    Today was the day that the Grand Torturer would take her.

    Luna spent most of her remaining days in istion, caring for the whelp Sloth had given her like it was her own child.

    Honestly, Luna was grateful for the animal, and Sloth couldn''t have given it at the perfect time.

    Through this whelp, Luna could prepare herself for motherhood, nurturing it and taking care of its needs.

    She had learned to prioritize the whelp rather than herself.

    It also kept her destructive thoughts at bay before they close in on her, trapping her in her own mind and caging her in the ebb and flow of her anxiety.

    It was nice to have something else to distract herself from this sense of foreboding.

    Luna''s thoughts about the future were vague, but a small and bleak prison cell was one of them.

    Every time the whelp cried, Luna rushed to its crib Ravin had gifted her and cradled it back to sleep.

    She was getting too attached to the whelp, and sometimes, it always crossed her mind if it was possible to bring it to the Vampire Realm with her.

    She wondered? if Apollyon would cringe orugh at her ''fake baby noises'' when she cooed at the whelp, hopefully raising her future children there with her husband.

    Not knowing the time zone between Hell and the Vampire Realm, Luna pondered about how much time she had left in the ultimatum Apollyon had given her before he moved on from her disappearance.

    Time flew quickly in the Vampire Realmpared to Hell, and Luna could feel her chest tighten in desperation.

    Mayhap, Apollyon had waited for several years already, and if she prolonged this, she wouldn''t be surprised that her husband had a new Empress.

    +++

    Luna talked to the whelp in response when it growled and purred at her every time she fed it with souls, diligently riding in the canoe at the first sunrise and the sunset.

    Still, Ravin squinted at them every time he saw them together at the back of the garden, ying with their heart''s content.

    Ravin jealous as hell when she gave the whelp her attention, and he would sit in silence with them to avoid feeling left out, whether under a tree, by the patio, or at the chamber.

    Ravin goes wherever Luna went, following her around like a lost puppy.

    Luna knew that Ravin didn''t like the whelp based on how he gritted his teeth, clenched jaw, and downturned mouth, but she apuded him for making an effort not to show it despite his obvious frustrations.

    Taking pity on him, Luna pacified the Archdemon by wearing all the skin-tight gowns he wanted her to wear around the Castle without anyints.

    Luna knew Ravin was ecstatic when she emerged out of her own private chamber, in which Ravin had agreed, showing a lot of mile-long legs, white arms, and half-bare chests for his delectation.

    She shook her head every time she caught Ravin''s eyes straying to her d��colletage while they talked, and when she turned her back and looked at him over her shoulder, he was staring at her bum.

    Luna rolled her eyes. ''Men and their love of female bodies.''

    In his eyes, it seemed like Luna had reced him with a mere animal, but the fact that Ravin didn''t kill the whelp and slit its throat, the moment Luna wasn''t in her private chamber, was progress.

    Ravin must have known it might hurt Luna, making her hate him all the more, and the only thing he had wanted from her was love.

    +++

    Luna didn''t tell Ravin that she can nourish herself with the souls she had fished for the whelp.

    Now, Luna had two mouths to feed, fishing at the Obsidian Lake for the both of them.

    Sloth had proven himself right when he fed her a soul the night where they made a pact.

    Luna felt fuller and stronger as an Archdemon when she ate souls than drinking Archdemon''s blood.

    The blood tasted sweeter, and it settled in her stomach better than the soul.

    The first time Sloth had caught one for her, he gripped the soul''s head with his hand, urging her to open her mouth so that he could feed her with it.

    Eating wicked souls would taste scrumptious when its essence touched its tongue as the decadent and rich vor exploding in her mouth made her shudder, but when her lips had swallowed the shadow''s tail, it left a bad taste in her mouth that made her want to rinse her mouth with water.

    Sloth had chuckled at how her face crumpled at the taste.

    The whelp, seeing her adopted mother''s expression, had snorted.

    +++

    When she woke up on herst day at the Ravin''s Castle, she walked towards the window and stretched her arms upward, looking at the picturesque scene that was oblivious of her impending doom.

    The early morning skies vivid shade of crimson.

    It wasn''t the brilliant rays of the sun that almost blinded her eyes, but it was rather the mini-sandstorms that managed to pass a part of Ravin''s Castle.

    In the Dream Realm, Luna remembered that Ravin''s castle was on top of a cone-shaped cliff scorched with Hellfire.

    They hadid on an outdoor chaise in the middle of the desert while oases surrounded them.

    Since Ravin had indicated that they met in the Dream Realm the second time, Luna thought that most of it was an illusion except for the children''s chopped-off limbs.

    Nevertheless, she didn''t want to ask because she knew she would be disappointed.

    She already knew that Ravin had consented to Lilith killing those children as a sacrifice, so asking him and expecting a different answer would be in stupid.

    +++

    Ravin didn''t specify if the First Born Archdemon woulde for her along with Satan''s Legion.

    He didn''t even know how many Presidents and Knights woulde for her capture tonight.

    The Archdemon had told her that Satan was as unpredictable as the weather in Hell despite having obsessivepulsive attributes.

    "There was no point in predicting what his next moves are," Ravin said. "Everything will be fine as long as you fully surrendered to my Uncle''s will."

    ''Resistance to the powerful Archdemons was futile.'' Luna needed to nt that idea deep in her subconscious and curb her stubbornness, or else her bargain with the Archdemon of Sloth would fail.

    To make the long story short, Sloth had struck a bargain with her, and she agreed.

    Sloth''s request was simple.

    He was an Archdemon with no memories in Hell, but he had recurring dreams of being a shaman in the Human Realm.

    Sloth can''t validate the im himself if he had no proof.

    It became more rampant recently that he had nightmares all the time, disturbing his bnce as the Archdemon of Sloth.

    Sleep was important to him, so he had to find something to put his nk te of a mind to rest.

    Sloth wanted Luna to teach him ''Portal Creation'' because he imed he had that skill in the past in the Human Realm, which was also why he was sent to Hell, and he just had to remember.

    After learning the skill as quickly as Luna could, he woulde to her rescue from Satan, and they would hide in the Human Realm from their pursuers for a while before he delivered her back to the Vampire Realm.

    Sloth''s bargain was detailed and specific-- mentioning the Vampire Realm and keeping her safe from harm all the time--and she trusted it, for he had pledged his loyalty without hesitation.

    Sloth would do anything to remember because he wanted to know what purpose would feel like.

    That was how badly Sloth wanted to go to the Human Realm to recover his memories.

    Luna wondered if they will be sessful.

    +++

    It was time for Luna to go.

    Ravin had told the truth when he told her that his uncle was unpredictable.

    She had expected Satan''s Legion to surround every corner of Ravin''s castle to bring her to the Grand Torturer, but instead, she only found a single guest in Ravin''s Throne Room when Ravin had called for her to meet her abductors.

    Luna entered, and she knew it was him the moment she stepped her foot on the threshold.

    Frowning, his sharp, hawk-like gaze had zeroed in on her as if she was the only creature in the room.

    Tensing, Luna froze in ce as she watched him in trepidation.

    The first thing that stood out to Luna about the Grand Torturer was his enormous height, muscr build, and smooth, tanned skin.

    He wore a simple shirt that stretched over his tight, thick biceps and wide shoulders and dark trousers.

    Swallowing hard, Luna openly stared at his muscled arms and legs as if the only thing that alleviated his boredom from torturing Archdemons was lifting heavy weights.

    With his long dark hair swaying at his waist, he walked briskly towards her in quick, elegant yet purposeful strides and conquered her with his strong, powerful yet menacing aura.

    Fear chilled her spine as her heart hammered into overdrive.

    As she openly stared at his face, Luna could see thick, dark raven-winged eyebrows, high cheekbones, and a sharp jawline that could cut diamonds when he stalked towards her.

    He caught her and gripped her wrists, pulling them at her back before he carried her in his shoulders.

    A soft whimper escaped her lips.

    Luna fought down a scream of terror.

    Before Ravin could stand up from his throne and ease her for the punishment, they disappeared into the night without any farewell to her Archdemon husband.

 Chapter 311 - The Seed

    <h4>Chapter 311 - The Seed</h4>

    **********************************************

    The Archdemon of Lust

    Prince Luxen from the Second Circle of Hell

    ***********************************************

    Luxen had watched Lilith sitting on a small chair at the center of her Magicarium, surrounded by thin-spaced concentric circles.

    The Magicarium was her private conjuring room, located at the basement of her castle, where she kept herbs, ingredients, grimoires, cauldrons, and magic mirrors.

    Sometimes, Lilith worked in the kitchen with herrge cauldron on top of the hearth, or she would do her rituals in the woods every time she practiced her spellcasting, close to the herb gardens.

    She didn''t want to destroy her Kingdom, so she moved away from there to keep her castle safe.

    Luxen had admired Lilith''s dedication to the study of magic and alchemy, such as brewing potions and conjuring souls with her perfect pentagrams and magical geometric shapes, but not enough to make her his.

    Lilith was doing all of this with a hidden agenda.

    She wanted what Luna had owned��the man she loved with all her heart and soul--in the Vampire Realm.

    The man who didn''t love her or acknowledge her existence at all.

    +++

    "What had rejected me what was I most needed, Luxen." She had replied when Luxen asked her about this thousand-year obsession. "I want to feel connected with the Vampire King, but when it came to him, all I face is istion."

    Ah~" Luxen had drawled. "You are an orphan of your own heart."

    +++

    Opening the door slightly just enough for him to peek, Luxen was aware of Lilith''s every move.

    Lilith had left her conjuring room unlocked for other Archdemons to visit, and Luxen let himself in without hesitation.

    Lilith was never shy of her work, especially the sacrifices she had made, encouraging other demons to watch her so-called ''art of destruction.''

    Tonight, Luxen noted the dried, torn scrolls on herp, the stains of her own blood on her knees, and the gash on her neck, taking its sweet time to heal.

    Her long red hair amassed with curls appeared darker as crushed rose petals and glossier as silk lingerie, sweeping behind her back.

    Lilith wore a silky, faded gown simr to dead sunflowers.

    The thin, loose strap of her gown kept falling on her shoulders, creating a sexy, disheveled look.

    Her lips were coated with a brown akin to a burnt wood while emerald beads cuffed her wrists.

    A delicious scent of vani and mint not only made his senses alert but also made him instantly hard as steel.

    It was Luna''s scent that Lilith had copied in preparation for the swap.

    In the early days, Luxen recalled how Lilith was adamant about teaching him Underworld Magic despite Luxen''s obvious disinterest.

    Lilith was blind to his indifference, already iming him as her friend when they didn''t know each other well.

    As the Archdemon of Lust, it was Luxen''s style to look for gorgeous female demons to prey on, especially the ''seemingly innocent'' ones because deep down, no fledgling Archdemons were truly innocent.

    It was like asking an Archangel to live in Hell as an Archdemon for an hour.

    Lilith was a ''nobody'' the first time she arrived in Hell.

    She was just one of the thousands of chosen fledging Archdemons in Hell who were lucky to train under Satan to practice Archdemon Magic.

    Everyone was busy increasing their discipline and strength in battle, but Lilith found that a boring endeavor, so she tried stirring up trouble so that she would get noticed by the Master.

    She became rather infamous when she shared her unholy crimes of her past with anyone who had ears.

    For some reason, the news had traveled to Satan''s ears, which made her the apple of his blurred eyesight.

    Luxen knew it was her way of begging for attention from anyone who she mighte across, always seeking validation for her magic abilities and constantly proving herself that she was an asset in Hell as an Archdemon when she didn''t need to.

    There was no need to sleep with his Uncle to get ahead over other fledglings because other Archdemons had always seen her potential.

    Still, every time she opened her mouth, demons lost all respect to the Archdemon of Envy, including him.

    She chose to sleep with the old man, which was on her.

    Satan, his old uncle, had given Lilith ''special sses'', which also included a not-so-pleasurable war under the sheets with an old man who couldn''t get it up anymore.

    She quickly learned Archdemon Magic infused with the sexual energy of her Master, defeating all of her enemies in a snap of a finger.

    She was so smug of her acquired powers.

    She was also the First Archdemon who challenged the past Archdemon of Envy in a battle without taking the other challengers out of the battle first.

    In a sense, it was suicide, but the oue had perfectly worked for Lilith.

    He stalked towards the external boundary of her magic circle and crossed his arms, waiting for Lilith to nce up at him and acknowledge his presence.

    Therge triangle drawn in a thick white outline inscribed in the concentric circles was covered in Archdemon blood, soaking her bare feet.

    It may seem like someone had attacked her from all that blood dripping on her pale skin as she sat on her chair casually, staring at therge mirror in her hands, which showed an image of the Vampire King Apollyon and Luna naked, kissing each other in fervent longing and desire.

    ''No.'' Luxen mused. ''It wasn''t the Vampire King and Luna.''

    It was him who pretended to be Luna''s husband and deceived her so that he could nt his seed in her.

    She wasn''t her wife anymore.

    That was why he had agreed to this in the first ce.

    Hopefully, this would reinforce the blood bond back between the two of them.

    It was a mystery why it was cut off in the first ce.

    With her gaze still fixed on their lovemaking, Luxen interrupting Lilith scrying into the mirror and spoke, "Luna was very fertile, and I nted the seed with intent in that nourishing core of hers."

 Chapter 312 - Revenge Is Sweet

    <h4>Chapter 312 - Revenge Is Sweet</h4>

    **********************************************

    The Archdemon of Lust

    Prince Luxen from the Second Circle of Hell

    ***********************************************

    With her gaze still fixed on their lovemaking, Luxen interrupted Lilith, scrying into the mirror and spoke, "Luna was very fertile, and I nted the seed with intent in that nourishing core of hers."

    A FEW DAYS EARLIER...

    The moment Luxen had felt that his soul tie with Luna was cut off dead, the pain was so unbearable he had jerked himself awake in quick confusion before it shifted into dread, clutching his chest with a trembling hand as if an angel de had stabbed him in the heart.

    With rasping breaths, Luxen had stretched his free hand and fumbled his fingers on his drawer, his palm blindly searching and wing for something to alleviate the agony.

    Twisting and turning in his bed-chamber, Luxen gritted his teeth as he recalled the blurred fragments of his dreams before this.

    His illusory vision was like an ancient papyrus torn around the edges, soot slowly taking over the image of a silver string.

    He saw a sh of masculine hand cloaked with angelic runes on his skin, holding a golden rapier.

    Luxen''s eyes were wide as he watched the image hopelessly.

    He suddenly lost the ability to think and speak clearly from that vision, and he couldn''t protect the soul tie himself by snatching the rapier from the Archangel''s hand.

    The string he saw in his mind''s eye was stretched and pulled so tight, creating too much tension.

    His desperation was a sure sign of death that was toe.

    It would be easier for the Archangel to do its job as his the rapier hovered above for a few seconds before he sliced through it, rubbing the rapier''s edge a few times before the Archangel''s hand vanished, leaving Luxen and the silver string for a few minutes of sheer terror before it snapped back and finally broke into two.

    Luxen''s grief wasn''t gradual.

    It came out in waves so strong it flowed through him like a river in his bloodstream, threatening to sweep him away.

    It pulled him from his reality.

    He couldn''t open his eyes as he felt a heavy force pressing down on him.

    His mind had shown him the tears of his soul, making him wonder if he coulde back alive and escape from this mental prison?

    Sorrow had started creeping in, and then came emptiness, the kind that wouldn''t disappear.

    Luxen had never wished for Luna''s presence than ever before, wanting to hold and nurture her if he had another chance.

    Luxen had felt a myriad of emotions as he felt his mind free-falling into a ck hole of nothingness.

    As an Archdemon, he swore he had never felt something this intense before---confusion, dread, terror, desperation, grief, and a brief death followed by numbness.

    Luxen''s mind had cked out for a few days, and he wouldn''t be surprised if he found out that Luna also had the same experience after the cord-cutting.

    It was the night Ravin had taken Luna home instead of him.

    He had fallen asleep with a grudge, plotting for revenge against Luna for destroying his wing.

    He nned to mark Luna with his seed for the first and thest time so that he could tie her forever in his Kingdom.

    She wouldn''t be able to leave him because she was pregnant with his child.

    Luxen had licked his lips before falling asleep, looking forward to getting his hands on her.

    Hell, he could even sneak into Ravin''s Castle and snatch Luna right under his nose.

    It was terrifying to wake up only to remain unconscious for days in his bedchamber and have his soul tie cut from his future wife.

    No Archdemon cared enough to know to check up on him except Lilith.

    On the third day of his death-sleep, she had visited the Ice Kingdom, iming she was bored and wanted him to fuck her in the ass because he was the best at it.

    Honestly, Luxen had never felt so grateful for his mind-blowing skills in bed.

    Lilith had found Luxen unconscious in his bed-chamber, and no matter how many times she shook his shoulders, he wouldn''t budge.

    Lilith used Archdemon Magic and some brews she had brought over from her Kingdom and sessfully awakened him.

    It took Lilith a day to figure it out.

    All this time, Luxen had treated Lilith so poorly--and when he said poorly, it meant treating her like the whore she was--and because of this event, he was suddenly haunted by his guilty conscience.

    They weren''t even friends in the first ce.

    Luxen had only tolerated Lilith because she always made herself avable to him, always greedy for his attention when she got bored with other Archdemons.

    Which Archdemons in their right minds would refuse free ass and tits?

    Out of all the Archdemons he had shared his pureblood with and the members of his Legion, only Lilith had cared enough to nurse him back to health with her knowledge of healing art which was effective for mates who had been severed of their blood bond.

    Luxen had an inkling that Lilith had specific expertise in this area because she was obsessed with Luna and the Vampire King.

    Her research of the blood bond''s inner workings made her pore over ancient texts in Hell so that she could figure out how to break the blood bond between Apollyon and Luna.

    She knew what to do after a blood bond was broken so that she could soothe the Vampire King in the future.

    Lilith had helped him deal with his grief until he adjusted to the loss of the blood bond, and in a way, he was grateful for the reprieve.

    Luxen had thought he wouldn''t be able to recover, but he was adjusting painstakingly every single day until he was well enough to execute his final act.

    There was no such thing as kindness in Hell because everything in Hell was debt and every favour was conditional.

    Luxen owed Lilith the truth, telling her that Luna came into contact with an Archangel to cut their soul tie, and now, she was free of him.

    "How in Hell could an Archdemon, and a fledgling one at that, summon an Archangel?"

    Lilith had asked a valid question, but they hadn''t figured out a valid answer until now.

    Luxen might have almost lost his mind when he realized that Luna and his blood bond was gone after their soul tie was cut with the help of the same Archangel who had enclosed her in a gigantic lotus.

    He also shared to Lilith all of his ns to ruin Luna''s life by impregnating her with his seed so that she would still belong to him one way or another.

    "The true seed is elusive." Lilith had said cryptically as she ran her fingers on Luxen''s face. "If we follow any story towards its origin, it spirals farther and farther back in time. The seed will always be the fruit it bears." She murmured, licking her lips in excitement. "Your child with Luna will be an Archdemon, and once the seed had taken root, my Archdemon soul could finally enter her body at the Vampire Realm."

 Chapter 313 - Sex Magic Ritual

    <h4>Chapter 313 - Sex Magic Ritual</h4>

    **********************************************

    The Archdemon of Lust

    Prince Luxen from the Second Circle of Hell

    ***********************************************

    Lilith didn''t respond to Luxen''s smug deration.

    It made him narrow his gaze at her, tapping his foot with impatience.

    Lilith always had this habit of ignoring men, believing that she was above them and other men were beneath her.

    Luxen was fast enough to catch this cat and mouse game, and he wasn''t ying.

    She was just a little girl who was insecure deep inside.

    There was potent generative energy around them that stirred his insides, making him feel antsy and impatient.

    Neither did Lilith nce up at him to bestow him a gracious smile for their sessful ns, nor did she make a single gesture to congratte him for a job well done.

    ''Wait a minute. He didn''t need any ''congrattions.'' Luxen paused and ced his foot down, smirking.

    He knew it himself that he had done a good job making his Dominae all over hisrge, pulsating cock.

    It had stretched her so wide she probably couldn''t walk properly around Ravin''s Castle.

    ''Of course, Luxen had done a good job!''

    His attention moved back to the magic circle, noticing something he hadn''t seen before the first time he had stepped inside the ''Magicarium''.

    Resting his hands on his knees, he bent down to squint, making sure if they were what they were.

    Stepping backwards, Luxen almost jumped in surprise when he figured out two snakes were slithering inside the fiery orange pyramid, which was inscribed on Lilith''s circle.

    The snakes were protecting the pink flower at the centre of the triangle--like it was their egg.

    Hmm, it must be a pre-requisite for Lilith''s ritual.

    Luxen never gave Lilith the satisfaction to feel like she was a princess seated on her throne, and he was her knight waiting for hermands just because she was the most beautiful Archdemon in Hell next to his wife.

    He will continue sharing his conquest, pretending that the Archdemon Priestess had heard him. "The coupling might have been shorter than I have expected, so I wasn''t able to initiate the blood bond again."

    "You don''t need to drink her blood and for her to drink, yours, Luxen." Lilith raised an eyebrow, ncing up at him with the elegance only a seductive woman can pull off.

    Nevertheless, despite Luxen admiring the delicate curve of her neck, her signature arrogance was back into full force. "If you tried initiating the blood bond again, the wench would figure out that you are an impostor."

    "We still don''t know if our souls could be tied together again after an Archangel had it cut off." Crossing his arms, Luxen gave her a cruel smile. "I could do it and trick her into exchanging blood with me."

    "Give credits to the wench, Luxen, because even I know she wasn''t that stupid but, suit yourself. We are still young Archdemons in terms of Demon Age, but you do you'', Luxen." Lilith tilted her head in a warning. "If the Archangel gets a hold of you by trying to connect the string, then you are pretty much done for."

    "Marking her body with my seed had calmed me down, but it wasn''t enough. Like there was a gaping hole inside where my Archdemon heart should be." Luxen forced himself to look away from Lilith in recollection." I can sense where Domina''s presence should be, but I''m getting used to this emptiness."

    His hands fell to the sides as he continued, "It can be bearable sometimes, making me doubt the existence of our connection, and it rallied my attention from time to time��sometimes it''s too strong that it felt like he would explode and sometimes it was just a dull chronic ache on my chest cavity."

    Luxen shook his head as if that would make him forget how it felt. "My mind sometimes filled me up with memories of her again and again until it overflowed, bleeding out of my brain, and then I just want to lose myself inside someone to distract myself and run away from my thoughts."

    There was a dullness in his chest as Luxen felt another wave of heaviness he wanted to get rid of. "It''s like an addiction that I had lost my grip with��

    "Enough, Luxen." Lilith was expressionless at first until Luxen saw her ssic pretty face redden as if she had held her breath.

    Her grey eyes darkened with an intensity that made him nervous.

    "You, of all people, know how much it triggered me!" Breathing hard, Lilith finally snapped, but it didn''t have the same intimidation if they were eye-to-eye because she was still seated primly on her little chair.

    Her fingers clenched on the edges of the mirror so hard her knuckles whitened.

    She snarled. "Why do you even have to talk about that girl when your connection didn''t exist anymore?"

    He shrugged with nonchnce. "I''m just wallowing in regret because our soul tie was cut before we even get to the good part." Luxen''s eyebrows gathered in a scowl,"��and now the good part had ended as quickly as it began."

    Lilith threw her head back andughed mockingly. "That''s the withdrawal of your addiction talking."

    "Trust me." Lilith rxed, and her anger over Luxen''s longing with Luna had dissipated in a snap of a finger. "You don''t even want her anymore."

    "Of course, I do,"? Luxen replied. "I want to be with her because she didn''t give in to me so easily as other Archdemons do."

    Lilith couldn''t have stood up so quickly that she threw her rectangr mirror to the side and stomped her foot towards him, leaving her little chair that had turned upside down in her wake.

    Baring her teeth in anger, Lilith poked an using finger at him, "You are delusional!"

    "Same, sister, same. "ncing down at her, Luxen pressed his lips together into a small smile. "You are doing all of this for the Vampire King who didn''t know you��both the literal and in a biblical sense."

    "The truth sometimes soothes, but sometimes it burns." Luxen''s tone was matter-of-fact. "It''s a shame I couldn''t enjoy the best quim I had felt in my entire life as an Archdemon ever since Aphrodite had cursed me."

    A shadow crossed over her face.

    How easily Luxen could trigger Lilith withparisons.

    "I''m not interested in what you do, and neither am I interested if she was wetter for you or not." Closing her eyes, Lilith exhaled a heavy sigh.

    She always did this when she caught herself arguing with him for such nonsense, and Luxen found it amusing.

    Lilith narrowed her eyes at him. "Luxen, it''s time for you to do what I have asked of you in exchange for saving you from the severance of your mating bond with the wench."

    "Your request for me to insert my seed inside my Amare''s womb in which I enjoyed in immense pleasure wasn''t enough, then," Luxen murmured, tucking stray red strands behind her ear. "That didn''t end there. That was why you told me toe here, hmm?"

    "The end is near, and it is present in the beginning," Lilith whispered, lifting a hand to rest on his broad shoulders. "Luxen, I want you to stand inside this triangle and jerk your seed off on the pink flower while I start with the ritual."

 Chapter 314 - Secrets Revealed

    <h4>Chapter 314 - Secrets Revealed</h4>

    **********************************************

    The Archdemon of Lust

    Prince Luxen from the Second Circle of Hell

    ***********************************************

    "I want you to stand inside this triangle and jerk your seed off on the pink flower while I start with the ritual."

    Taken aback, Luxen raised an eyebrow, giving Lilith a fixed stare. "Why would I trust you that you wouldn''t screw me over if you include me in your ritual?"

    Clearing his throat, Luxen gripped Lilith''s palms which rested on his shoulders, annoyed with its invasive familiarity. "I don''t know anything rted to Underworld Magic."

    Shivering from the feel of her long nails dragging on his chest, Luxen gently put her hands down. "This doesn''t make sense to me."

    "Well, of course, it didn''t." It was a relief not to tell this woman that her fingers on his body felt like hairy spiders crawling on the thin fabric of his shirt. "You aren''t a practicing High Priestess," Lilith said, her arms hung awkwardly to her sides. "You know that Archdemon Magic can only be used if I have someone from the Spirit Realm to conjure me and bring me to the other side."

    Luxen nodded in agreement with that because that wasn''t new.

    "That Fae who conjured me in exchange for the unicorns wouldn''t be useful right now. " There was a hint of desperation in her voice as it rose into a higher volume. "My goal was to get inside Luna''s body. First, I have to establish a connection between her and me. Underworld Magic will be most suitable to use because it woulde from within me and not any conjurer, to which I would try to link with the wench''s body in the Vampire Realm."

    "Are you sure that the Underworld Magic is going to work than using the Archdemon Magic?" Tilting his head, Luxen paused for a moment as he rubbed his chin in contemtion. "I think Archdemon Magic is more reliable if you can manipte the conjurer to do what you want. If you would use the magic you have acquired from Hecate, it might backfire on you."

    "I''m in a hurry, Luxen, and I had no time to coax my conjurer from the Fae Realm." Lilith''s brows knitted in determination. "I had no time to be gradual and subtle."

    Lilith turned her back on him, stepping inside her magic circle but then she hesitated, her feet hovering on the top of the pyramid. "The Fae is somewhat of a leader of an infamous group of rebellious Faes. I will risk the magic I had learned from Hecate. It wouldn''t backfire because I paid a hefty price for it. My life."

    Lilith faced him again, but this time, Luxen had seen how her grey eyes appeared lit with mes as they trembled, searching his face. "It was Hecate''s mistake for trusting my potential since it became the source of my power."

    She whispered. "She couldn''t take it from me."

    "I was the reason why she always took the grimoire''s copy with her in which a few of my sessors had ess to." Lilith had paced back and forth as she pressed a fist on her mouth. "I have torn the forbidden pages of the original grimoire and burned them myself so that I will have more power over the High Priestesses."

    "Hecate even took Luna''s grimoire with her after the Vampire King had taken her virginity." Lilith''s face appeared like she was on the verge of a mental breakdown.

    Mayhap, it pained her to admit that her archnemesis had fucked her obsession first. "She had pledged her loyalty to the Vampire Realm instead of the Underworld, and that''s her choice."

    "Hmm." Luxen hummed, staring into the magic circle and the triangle inscribed in it without actually looking at it.? "I think what you are nning will work, Lilith."

    If Lilith could get to the Vampire Realm, perhaps, she could create the portals herself to bring them demons in the Vampire Realm if she wouldn''t be distracted by that Apollyon.

    He was so immersed in Lilith''s assumptions that his mind was a Hellhound, already sniffing��scanning, rather��for possible loopholes in every word she uttered.

    As if something finally clicked into his brain when his gaze focused on the triangle, he wondered why it had appeared familiar. "I just remembered��"

    Luxen wouldn''t give up until he had taken a bite of something juicy��juicy information. "When I was making love with Domina, I saw this same red triangle you have drawn on the floor inside your magic circle on her chest��"

    "It''s the mark of the Triple Moon Goddess, Luxen. It is the beginning of the beginning��the mother beyond the mother. " Lilith cut her off. "This triangle represented a woman''s womb. The womb is also considered a portal from the Spirit Realm to the world where new and old, good and evil souls can pass through to be born by soul contracts."

    "Ah." Luxen drawled and pressed his lips in thought.? "So, Hecate had basically disowned her and marked her again." He raised an eyebrow and asked, uncertain. "For what purpose? Did she be her High Priestess again?

    ''When the Goddess of the Underworld is involved, I swear things would escte in a much grander scale in the name of a higher purpose." Lilith replied in quiet resignation.

    She sighed. "You and Ravin should keep the wench under control in case she and the goddess might attempt to foil the Demonkind''s ns."

    "This higher purpose is vague."

    "We can''t see the Higher Purpose, but it sees everything��watching and waiting." Luxen had witnessed an unholy twinkle in her eyes, and it made him watch her with suspicion. "We, Archdemons, shouldn''t let our guards down against her because we still didn''t know what those marks entailed and what it can do for the wench."

    Luxen gave her a condescending smile. "How did you know about the marks, Lilith?"

    Clenching and unclenching her fists, Lilith wrenched her anger under control with sheer effort, "You saw me earlier while I was scrying on the mirror, and her tattoos were obvious while you were lovemaking."

 Chapter 315 - The Set-Up

    <h4>Chapter 315 - The Set-Up</h4>

    **********************************************

    The Archdemon of Lust

    Prince Luxen from the Second Circle of Hell

    ***********************************************

    "You saw me earlier while I was ''scrying'' on the mirror, and her tattoos were obvious while you were lovemaking."

    "Ah, Lilith, I didn''t know you had it in you to watch two people coupling," Luxen''s lips curved as he lifted a finger to poke Lilith''s soft cheek. "I know you are watching me specifically and not my Domina."

    Squinting, Lilith turned her head quickly to bite at the insolent finger, but Luxen had pulled it quick, making Lilith chomp on air.

    As he chuckled, Lilith crossed her arms over her chest, refusing to feed into Luxen''s ego as she changed the subject. "The waxing crescent had disappeared, and only the full moon and the waning crescent were left."

    It was interesting how his brain had worked in that instant.

    He finally had this sense of understanding of Lilith''s ns of using the magic she learned from Hecate instead of their own.

    Luna was very much connected to Hecate now that she had the Mark of the Triple Moon Goddess.

    Luxen paused for a minute before he let that sink in.

    He snapped a finger and eximed. "Luna had left maidenhood to be a mother."

    Then his delighted tone shifted to a husky murmur, "The mother of my child."

    Lilith tilted her head, raising a curious eyebrow at him. "I see you still didn''t get it, Luxen."

    With a slow shake in the head, Lilith clicked her tongue. "The Mark of the Triple Moon Goddess was already there her chest before you dipped your wick inside her. You didn''t notice them the first time because you were so eager to mate with the wench." Lilith said, wearing a pinched expression. "That lust of yours could be your strength and your downfall, Luxen."

    "When I saw her naked for my delectation, I couldn''t control myself. The musk of her arousal��" He made a show of sniffing the air deeply and exhaling loud. "It was heaven to my senses."

    "Her scent and the feel of her skin was divine. " He pressed a kiss to his fingers in exaggeration. "She felt so exquisite I give mypliments to her Creator."

    "Ravin had aroused her so much at his Pleasure Room, so I made it my responsibility to take care of her afterwards." Lilith gave her a side-eye, and Luxen was happy enough to fulfil his mission to annoy her. "I am a gentleman? to her like I am to you, sis--"

    "I''m sorry to interrupt you with your dreams of finally having the wench to yourself--"As she raised a sassy finger and settled it over his moving lips, Lilith continued, "--but I just want to tell you that she was also pregnant with the Vampire King''s child."

    Luxen flinched, taken aback.

    He looked at her as if Lilith had spoken anguage he didn''t understand.

    "What?" He blinked rapidly, at a loss for words while he processed the enormity of that revtion.

    Lilith jutted her chin and gave her a smug grin, realizing she had been sessful at shutting him up.

    Domina? was also pregnant with the Vampire King''s child?

    Luxen''s insides felt like there was nothing there except for anger and disappointment.

    So, that bastard had imed her first before Ravin and Luxen could.

    With rasping breaths, he felt his body burning up from all the suppressed rage bubbling inside him like acid.

    Luxen gritted his teeth and snarled, "Why didn''t you tell me?"

    Lilith dropped the smug grin when she saw his countenance.? "There was a reason I didn''t tell you this, Luxen."

    Luxen''s knuckles went white from clenching too hard. "I should have killed the baby when I had the chance."

    Lilith took a step backward away from him in fear, but Luxen wouldn''t let her.

    "You can''t kill the baby here in Hell. I''m afraid that if you did something to the baby''s soul here, it would also affect Luna''s body in the Vampire Realm." Lilith stumbled over her words as she exined everything to Luxen in a sh. "Hypothetically, if you were indeed sessful in killing the baby''s soul here after I told you about it, the baby would also be dead on the Vampire Realm while it was still inside Luna''s stomach."

    Luxen raised a hand, and Lilith flinched, thinking that he would p her to death for keeping Luna''s pregnancy a secret.

    "I would not hurt you, sister."? He grabbed her wrist so she couldn''t run away from him.? "Please continue."

    Lilith paused, gauging Luxen''s reaction carefully just in case he decided to throw caution to the wind and go berserk and destroy her Magicarium. "If her baby with Apollyon had already formed an underdeveloped body in the Vampire Realm, the wench would die from the toxicity of a vampire miscarriage while she couldn''t go back to the Vampire Realm and do something about a rotting unborn child."

    "I wouldn''t let Luna either because it was supposed to be me who should be inside her body," Lilith uttered with conviction.

    Lilith was dedicated to owning Luna''s body so she could be with the Vampire King forever.

    It''s not an Archdemon''s job to care for other creatures, and neither would they care about stepping on others for the sake of their desires.

    They do what they want.

    Lilith would be unstoppable once she got inside his Domina''s vessel.

    Luxenmended her for the sleepless nights so that she coulde up with this.

    This just proved that anyone could do anything as long as they put their mind to it.

    "If you endanger her immortal body in the Vampire Realm, it might also endanger Ravin and you, somehow, but you had broken off from the blood bond and nted a seed inside her womb." Lilith reasoned out as she nced up at him, her pleading grey eyes beseeching him. "You wouldn''t be affected if something might happen to Luna, and most of all, your Amare had carried your child, and if she knew what''s best for her, the wench wouldn''t leave anytime soon."

 Chapter 316 - Enjoy The Show, Baby

    <h4>Chapter 316 - Enjoy The Show, Baby</h4>

    **********************************************

    The Archdemon of Lust

    Prince Luxen from the Second Circle of Hell

    ************************************************

    "You wouldn''t be affected if something might happen to Luna, and most of all, your Amare had carried your child, and if she knew what''s best for her, the wench wouldn''t leave anytime soon."

    "Ah~ Lilith." Luxen''s eyes searched her face with an intensity that made her shuffle her feet in difort. "You are the perfect Archdemon for the job if you wanted to steal someone else''s desires."

    She broke eye contact, and then she gave him a half-shrug. "I would take that as apliment."

    Amused, Luxen added anotherpliment that would make Archdemon females blush, "You are as vicious as these slithering snakes on your magic circle."

    She squinted at him with suspicion, "You, of all people, know that I am as poisonous as your venom, Luxen."

    Lilith turned her back without a word, entered her magic circle, crouched down to flip the cloth of her basket, and arranged its contents.

    ''Did she just dismiss him that easily?''Luxen narrowed his eyes at her back grudgingly, his gaze skimming on Lilith''s thick red hair down to her waist and halted on the globes of her ass.

    He can admit it was a fine ass, but he shouldn''t be interested in them because he will have a wife and a child to take care of soon.

    Luxen stared at the back of her head and followed her.

    When he paused on the first step, he half-expected the concentric circle would somehow crumble, and he would fall to the rabbit hole.

    Nothing happened.

    Doubt started to cross his mind regarding her sess, and as if she had sensed his uncertainty, Lilith looked over her shoulder to stare at him.

    Luxen swore she had eyes at the back of her head.

    He cleared his throat and was surprised to find the devil''s fruits on the basket, which was simr to how apples on the other Realm looked like. "I finally get where you''reing from. I think there is also a possibility that the Archdemon child that I have nted inside her in Hell will also take over the Vampire King''s baby inside Luna."

    Since Lilith had told him that the womb had also represented creation, sacrificialmbs for this ritual will not be necessary.

    The devil''s fruit can also show abundance and fertility, and Lilith had talked about a seed��his seed specifically��will always be simr to the fruit it bears.

    Her spells from the Underworld had tangible symbols to represent them.

    "If she were sessful in entering her body again--" Luxen trailed off as he pulled at the hood of his cloak. "Would it be simr to the dynamic of the Archdemon of Gluttony and the Vampire King? Two souls sharing one body of a newborn?"

    "We still don''t know about that. You are thinking far ahead, Luxen. Hypothetically, if Lunaes back from her body carrying two souls of two children, they will eithere out as twins, or they were going to share one body." Lilith replied as she slowly prepared for the ritual.

    As she lit numerous candles epassing the magic circle, she cast the entire Magicarium in an orange glow. "Well, that''s only if Luna coulde back to her body if I had already upied it until eternity, so your question is invalid."

    "What if you seeded in owning Luna''s body?" He asked. "How about Apollyon''s unborn baby inside your stomach?"

    "The seed had no soul since it apanied her in Hell, so it will remain frozen for the whole duration that I am in Luna''s body in the Vampire Realm. I couldn''t bear another child for Apollyon because it is had taken space, but it''s alright. I don''t see the need to produce heirs." Lilith replied. "I only wanted him to be mine, nothing else. If Apollyon desired to have an heir, mayhap, I could summon a demon and insert the soul to the seed, but that''s only if I am bored."

    "You can certainly bring the devil out of people, Lilith." Luxen couldn''t stop himself from grinning. "With your dark schemes, you will bring out the killing instinct of someone who wouldn''t stop at nothing to take revenge on you."

    Lilith will surely meet her match with his Amare if she could be stronger as an Archdemon after meeting with the Grand Torturer.

    It was a waste that Luna wasn''t aware of all of this because he couldn''t figure out who was more brilliant between both females.

    "These mes will represent her vitality, and her vessel is a sacred gift I give to myself," Lilith murmured like it was a prayer as she continued lighting the candles one by one instead of snapping her finger so that she could do it once.

    Luxen had figured out she had done this on purpose because it was part of the spell.

    Crossing his arms, Luxen''s widened his stance and tilted his head at her. "I wonder if the Mark of Hecate would serve as a protection for Luna, or would it aid you in your ritual."

    "We will find out after this." She replied, reigniting the fire that a harsh gust of wind had put out.

    "Now, hurry up and jerk off on the petal. I need to arrive in the Vampire Realm as soon as possible!" Lilith stood up after thest candle and walked towards him. "My husband is waiting for me, Luxen."

    "Apollyon will be worried." She bit her fingernails as she scanned the magic circle again, checking if she had to do anything more. "I can''t wait to be with him."

    He covered a palm over his mouth as he yawned.

    "I am spent with my lovemaking with my Domina."? Blinking slowly, Luxen grumbled, "I want to rest for a while and do itter."

    "No, you have to do it now." Lilith snapped, but she caught herself.

    She knew that she had to suck it up because she was the one who had a favour.

    "You are the Archdemon of Lust." Lilith clutched his sleeve as she pleaded at him with herrge, grey eyes. "You can manage toe if you tried hard enough."

    "Aren''t you starving, sister?" Luxen smirked and leaned in closer, whispering into her hair. "You could help me if you suck me with your mouth."

    "Luxen, you mentioned you just came back after making love with the wench." Lilith gritted her teeth and wrinkled her nose in disgust. " I will not let that bitch''s cum wet my lips. No, you have to do it on your own."

    "Fine.'' Luxen sighed as he lifted her chin with a hand to gaze at her face for thest time. "This will be thest time we would ever see each other, so it''s your loss. You will never taste me again."

    "Thanks for the offer, but I will have Apollyon''s." She said tly. "He would taste much better, and I''m getting bored with you."

    "Women." A shake in the head. "Alright, suit yourself."

    He sauntered to the centre of the circle and took his cloak off. "You might as well enjoy the show since I will be using that same face you and my Domina was crazy about."

 Chapter 317 - Dragging Sleeping Beauty Out Of Bed

    <h4>Chapter 317 - Dragging Sleeping Beauty Out Of Bed</h4>

    ************************************

    THE VAMPIRE KING APOLLYON

    *************************************

    Prince Aspen from the Spring Courts had returned to the Faerie Realm just as quickly as he had arrived at the Vampire Realm.

    After the night of his visit, Apollyon hadmanded the military general to prepare the carriage that he would use for the travel the next morning.

    He was convinced that Prince Aspen was telling the truth about the unknown Fae who had caught hold of Archdemon Magic, but it was just one of the theories, for now.

    Apollyon didn''t want to get his hopes up, but he had no choice but to hang onto these wild possibilities.

    He was grasping at straws here.

    Mayhap, this unknown Fae had summoned one of the Archdemons from Hell, but Apollyon didn''t know if the Archdemon-in-question had broken through the Faerie Realm or not.

    They had to find the Archdemon in the Fae Realm, if there was, or search for the Fae who can wield Archdemon magic--if that person can.

    Apollyon didn''t want to be a bad guy and pray that an Archdemon would grace the Realm of the Fae and create havoc, but he had longed for his wife that he would rather be the bad guy instead.

    He would do everything, even summon an Archdemon, himself if he can, but sadly, only High Priestesses could dabble in that work, and only thetter was willing to pay for the sacrifice.

    Prince Aspen''s story wasn''t unfamiliar, for the High Priestess Lilith had done this before.

    Killing creatures as pure as unicorns was a dark sacrifice.

    No'' sane'' person would do just like what Lilith had done before��summoning the Archdemon of Gluttony after killing her chosen virgins from all over the Realms.

    The difference was that Lilith had hidden her crimes in the basement along with a protection spell while the Fae had killed the unicorn out in the open, and nobody from the Fae sentinels had caught the culprit.

    Lilith had worked alone when she performed her ritual to summon an Archdemon, but Apollyon had a suspicion that the Fae had a group of people assisting her in the ritual.

    Catching those unicorns alone is difficult.

    How much more if they killed one every month?

    Apollyon never backed down from a challenge.

    With the aid of Prince Aspen, King Zephyr, and the faerie sentinels, he would catch then torture the truth out from them, and in exchange for their lives, the Faerie could summon Luna back to the Vampire Realm.

    It was Archdemon Magic who had taken her away, so of course, it was Archdemon Magic who will bring her back to him.

    He had suffered from sleepless nights for months, and even if he pushed himself to exhaustion, he couldn''t rest.

    Every time Apollyonid in his bed, he forced his eyes shut for a few minutes before they opened, wide awake and just staring into the canopies, blinking slowly, waiting for sleep to take over his befuddled brain and embrace him in its loving arms.

    When he finally lost his awareness for a few minutes, that''s when he knew he had dozed off.

    The relief was short-lived because after unconsciously counting a hundred sheep, the sun had risen once again by the window of the Ivory Tower, stabbing his eyes, feeling like his eyeballs were soaked in acid.

    When Apollyon turned to peer at his sleeping wife beside him, he always prayed to any god and goddesses who might listen that death would befall on him if he woke up and Luna wasn''t still there.

    But he was alive, very much alive, and he had to go about his life day after day, suffering.

    The gods and the goddesses must have hated him, and he was paying for the sins he hadmitted. ''What a fitting punishment!''

    After Luna, he swore he would never love someone like this again because it only brought nothing but pain.

    But the night after Prince Aspen had visited him, Apollyon had slept like a baby the moment his head had hit the pillow.

    It was the first time in a long, long while he had woken up well-rested and in a higher spirit.

    His unconscious mind might have forced his body to shut down right away so that he would have enough strength to catch the criminal the moment he arrived at the Realm of the Fae.

    Yawning, Apollyon stretched his arms and stared at the window with a small smile.

    He will have his wife back, no matter what, and not even Heaven and Hell could stop him��even if it took him forever.

    +++

    Apollyon might have renounced his Faerie blood, but he decided to refrain from any insults and backhandedpliments he had prepared the moment he met with his mother''s side of the family.

    He imagined himself surrounded by the Faerie Folk, arriving in his fancy open carriage embellished with the sun at the centre while a smattering of gold stars filled the navy blue of the coach.

    He had merely imitated how Prince Aspen had arrived on the Vampire Realm with a flying chariot.

    Their magic carriage flew high up in the sky as they travelled by air so that they would arrive at the Faerie Realm as soon as possible.

    He let Luna rest her head on hisp while she curled up on the front seats, the white fox fur covering her fragile form.

    Luna breathed softly as Apollyon stroked her hair, and the rhythmic rise and fall of her chest made him calm down.

    Before they started the journey, he had asked the servants to clean her up and made her wear a loose and simple lc gown and a tiara fitting for an Empress, while Apollyon had worn a white tunic with goldcework and rich embroidery.

    Even if she was asleep, Luna had to look presentable to his grandparents.

    It took a lot of effort on his part to maintain their vehicle''s flight because he was still reeling from the heartache.

    Fortunately, the High Priest was there to assist him if something went wrong.

    Apollyon had only brought the High Priest--because he just wanted to tag along--and even if it was strange, Apollyon also brought his one and only Sleeping Beauty--Luna.

    Apollyon will not ept any downright animosity or the slightest disrespect towards his sleeping Empress.

    His family should ept her because she was chosen as his mate by the gods and the goddesses, and not even the royalties from the Summer Courts could oppose that.

    Cederic and hundreds of his soldiers would follow them soon at the Faerie Realm as they travelled the long distance by horseback.

    Apollyon had never felt so vulnerable on the entire ride of their open carriage because it felt like he had brought a knife to a gunfight.

    The Court borders between the Seelie and the Unseelie Courts were visible.

    The Summer and Spring Courts were located in the northern part of the Faerie Realm, while the Autumn and the Winter Courts were located in the South.

    Never in his life as the Vampire King did he imagine that he would step foot in thend of the Fae when he swore he would never go there.

 Chapter 318 - I Dont Want My Trash Back

    <h4>Chapter 318 - I Don''t Want My Trash Back</h4>

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    VAMPIRE KING APOLLYON

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    Apollyon nced down from their flying carriage as they headed to the Spring Courts to meet with his cousin, Prince Aspen.

    The Spring Court where his cousin had belonged hadnds of rolling green hills that stretched for countless miles, surrounded by thick forests,? serene mountains and crystal clearkes that can be seen on the horizon.

    Apollyon had also seen a vast expanse of spring fields in the wild��an endless meadow of tall grass, flowers, and hedges surrounding the manors and estates Fae owned from the Higher Courts.

    There were grasnds with vibrant grasses taller than most humanoids which could be a perfect hiding ce for criminal Faes.

    Apollyon shouldn''t forget to suggest that to Prince Aspen when they go out at night to hunt for the dark Faes if he hadn''t checked them already.

    The Faerie Realm was breath-taking, but Apollyon wasn''t about to admit that out loud, so he kept his lips pressed together in a grim line.

    Apollyon swore he wouldn''t have any regrets about not visiting the Faerie Realm earlier rather than just visiting today for the first time.

    ording to Prince Aspen, Apollyon was supposed to visit the Summer Court to pay respects to his mother''s side of the family first before visiting the Spring Courts.

    Apollyon had refused, saying that he must deal with the investigations first because Luna was his top priority and not his estranged Faerie family.

    The Fae Prince from the Spring Courts had given him a funny look because the news will soon spread to the Summer Courts that the Vampire King had arrived at the Spring Courts first, and they would likely take that as an insult.

    King Oberon and Queen Titania of the Summer Court would have a bad reputation for not reaching out to their grandson without offering their hospitality before the Spring courts.

    Apollyon had told the Faerie Prince that he didn''t care because deep inside, he had made his wife as an excuse, somehow, to dy his meeting with his mother''s side of the family.

    He hated it, and as much as possible, Apollyon would like someone to apany him there as a buffer��Prince Aspen and King Zephyr, specifically--so that he wouldn''t bear the brunt of his grandparents'' bottled-up animosity.

    Apollyon was afraid it would explode in his face because his mother and father didn''t exist anymore, and he was scared of hurting them because he didn''t have it in him to hold back.

    He wasn''t a coward.

    Apollyon considered himself a courageous king and a warrior. Still, honestly, he would rather go to a battlefield or go to Hell and fight the Archdemons who had taken her wife rather than deal with this toxic m��nage.

    When Apollyon finally caught a glimpse of the castle of the King Nuada and Queen Gloriana of the Spring Courts, he willed his magic carriage to descend.

    Prince Aspen had finally agreed that Apollyon paid courtesy to the Spring Courts first, receiving him in a weing celebration.

    Apollyon told Prince Aspen to specifically inform his parents��the King and the Queen of the Spring Courts--that he wouldn''t stay the night in the castle because he had somewhere to be, and he was just there until the rest of his envoy from the Vampire Realmarrived.

    The Faerie Prince''s confusion was visible when his longshes moved in a slow blink.

    "Where would you and your Envoy stay if not in the Spring Courts, cousin?" Prince Aspen raised an eyebrow and asked, "Did you change your mind and decided to visit the Summer Courts and ask for assistance to cater to your needs?"

    "No." Apollyon waved a hand in dismissal. "Who said I am staying with the Summer Courts?"

    "You were the one who visited my Castle to ask for help on the investigation, so naturally, my Envoy and I will stay on your Manor for the meantime." Apollyon squinted at him when he shifted in his seat and straightened his spine.

    He was too tense, and that alone was suspicious. "I''m sure a Faerie Prince like you could amodate your guests easily, just like I did for you during the Marriage Auction?"1

    Clearing his throat, Prince Aspen began, "As much as I have appreciated your hospitality in your Kingdom, I can''t allow you to be in my Manor, cousin. My wife---"

    Apollyon cut him off, his lips curling into a little smirk. "What about your wife, Prince Aspen?"

    As his eyes widened in surprise, Prince Aspen shook his head, correcting himself. "Not my wife! I meant my fianc��."

    His cousin sighed a heavy sigh.

    "It was a mistake. I had no intention of making her, my wife." The Faerie Prince was either whispering to no-one-in particr, or he was trying to convince himself.

    "Ah. Lady rence." Apollyon drawled as he yed with the stem of his goblet, "A human concubine of mine you had brought home from the Marriage Auction, hmm?"

    Apollyon noticed how the Faerie Prince Aspen had controlled each nuance of his movement all the time, but now, he couldn''t miss how his posture went rigid all of a sudden.

    "Yes, cousin. She isn''t your concubine anymore." The Faerie Prince had enunciated every word with a sombre expression. "Please be aware of your words because I don''t like to attach the word ''concubine'' when I had given her a new life the moment she came along with me."

    Gritting his teeth, Aspen continued, "In the eyes of the Fae, Lady rence will be my future wife."

    Apollyon liked the hint of unease in his cousin''s tone, and it was the first time he had heard something that perturbed the Faerie Prince.

    It would be nice if Apollyon could make him angry and make him lose control without being too obvious about it.

    He could bully his cousin as a distraction for missing Luna.

    "I told you I would bring my sleeping wife with me, Aspen, so I don''t know what the problem is." He responded solemnly, but deep inside, Apollyon was chuckling in amusement.

    "I wouldn''t take away your wife, fianc��, whatever because I am already blood-bonded and happily married to my wife." Apollyon continued impishly, still maintaining a nk expression. "I think you are making excuses because you couldn''t amodate me and my men because your manor is too small."1

    "No, our manor is alright." Frowning, Prince Aspen unclenched his fists. "I just don''t want you around her."

    There was something else in those words that whispered insecurity for his fake human fianc��.

    Did Prince Aspen had a hidden affection for her wife''s friend?

    Apollyon should try and y with him as revenge for what he had done at the Marriage Auction,pelling the women to take their clothes off, including his wife.

    "Then, hide thedy away from me if you don''t trust me, cousin." He smiled graciously in response. "It''s not like I want to steal her away, and if I could, I shouldn''t have offered her to you in the first ce."

    Shrugging with nonchnce, Apollyon gave him a fixed stare. "Why should the Vampire King, your ally to the crown of the Spring Courts, needed to adjust to this nonsense?"

 Chapter 319 - A Happy Funeral

    <h4>Chapter 319 - A Happy Funeral</h4>

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    VAMPIRE KING APOLLYON

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    It was fascinating to see the stark contrast of the different Courts from the Faerie Realm from up above, and you will notice where the borders were located right away because of the contrasting colours between them.

    The Spring Courts had light and vibrant colours such as pastels, rose pink, sapling green, spring sun yellow, and robin''s egg blue to represent their cheery and optimistic nature.

    The Spring Court had the scent of renewal��freshly grown grass, spring flowers, and rabbit furs.

    Prince Aspen had told him that the Fae in the Spring Court had represented healing magic like the High Priest that was the top reason why Fei wanted to go with him on this journey.

    Apollyon also thought about asking all of these witch doctors if they know how to bring Luna''s soul back from the Archdemons who had taken him. If they would be sessful, he could give the witch doctor all their wants and desires.

    Hopefully, Prince Aspen can rmend him, someone.

    The summer courts'' colouration was simr to the Spring Courts��still rich and vibrant but more intense, stronger, bolder, and a certain degree of strength on the deep sky blue, sunflower gold forest green, and bonfire red.

    The Summer Court had that musky scent of earth after the rain��ozone and mildews, heat, and humid air.

    They had this air of being unapologetic for taking up space and too blunt and straightforward with their words that they mighte across as arrogant and hedonistic.

    Apollyon bet they dabbled in dark magic but mayhap if it was only necessary.

    A dark rich shade of muted earthy tones such as the orange hues of the calico cat, autumn leaves ranging from pale pink, gold, crimson, and mauve were the trademark of the Fall Court, which embodied natural destruction, the scent of death from old spilt blood, fresh mushrooms and the decay of wet leaves.

    Fae from the Fall Court was melodramatic, brooding, and the most cut-throat of all Faes.

    They were the type to end life and destroy anything that would block them from reaching their goals.

    Apollyon had thought that if the Solitary Faes weren''t the culprit, then he would make the Faeries from the Fall Court one of the suspects just by temperament alone.

    Apollyon had a small grasp on Fae Politics, so it wouldn''t be a surprise to use the Fall Court.

    Many of the conflicts that have led to war among the Fae had started from them.

    Apollyon had his own copies of ancient texts from the Fae''s History with his own hands, and he didn''t know if the entire Fae Folk were aware that the Fall Court had a speciality in shapeshifting and blood magic.

    Blood Magic was the precursor to a blood sacrifice, leading to a Fae summoning Archdemons if he/she was powerful and gutsy enough.

    Apollyon remembered Prince Aspen had told him about the criminals extracting the unicorns'' blood without taking anything else.

    ording to his cousin, the dead unicorns had two puncture marks on their neck, which looked like fangs, and he had yet to see them.

    Prince Aspen had first thought that rogue vampires might have roamed the Spring Courts when in fact, Apollyon had kept his subjects under control, so that was out of the question.

    Because some of these Faes had also dabbled in blood magic, he had theorized Vampiric Faes'' existence on the Fall Courts and the Winter Courts.

    That was why his grandparents from the Summer Courts married their daughter, his mother Empress Ourania, off to the cruel Vampire King to breed an advanced vampiric bloodline on the Summer Courts, which would threaten the Fall and the Winter Courts.

    That was also why Apollyon hadn''t visited the Faerie Realm.

    He didn''t want to be included in their bullshit.

    In the Faerie Realm, politics were ruthless.

    Nowadays, people from the Royale Courts didn''t involve themselves in a full-scale war but yed mind-boggling games of maniption tactics and hidden war strategies to intimidate the other Courts instead, constantly reminding them of who was more powerful.

    The Fall Court killing these unicorns might be one of their ploys to scare the Spring Courts, or... they could be summoning Archdemons because what else would they do with all those pure magic blood unless it was a sacrifice?

    Apollyon kept the knowledge to himself for now.

    In case that a faerie witch or a warlock might overpower him in terms of magic, then forbidden knowledge will save him if he didn''t reveal all of his cards right away.

    The Winter Court had snow-white colour in high contrasts, winter wood ck, pale sky blue, and holly, berry red as their aesthetics.

    They had the scent of cold, sleeping life��first frosts, snowkes, hibernating bear furs, and crushed mint.

    King Zephyr from the Shadow Realm was once part of the Winter Court who had decided to break away after creating a Shadow Army for himself in secret.

    Fae from the Winter Courts was cold, highly dubious, and maniptive.

    One of the things that added to the danger was that they were secretive, silent, intricate, and detail-oriented, preferring to arrange things in their favour without anyone else noticing.

    They had enjoyed twisting the meaning of their words to suit their purposes, which was potentially dangerous for those to whom they speak.

    The Four Courts of the Faerie Realm were separated with gardens of crimson roses sitting underneath the sky as bushes with the height of ten feetced with delicate roses filled dark, ckthorns resting underneath, encircling the garden.

    They were probablyced with barriers and high-level protection spells to deter outsiders.

    If one managed to traverse a Court''s boundaries, they would have to pass through mazes andbyrinths with magic spells and booby traps in them once it was activated when one fallen petal hit the forest floor.

    Prince Aspen had received Apollyon at the gates of the castle owned by the Spring Courts, and indeed, he wasn''t jesting when he said that he would throw a weing celebration of his arrival.

    They spin around in their soft yellow and green dresses, giggling and touching the jewels attached to his carriage with wide, curious eyes.

    The young, seductive dryads who had fresh fruits and flowers adorning their leafy shawls made doe-eyes at him, but Apollyon wouldn''t be fooled.

    These Faeries can be narcissistic and hypersexual dilettantes, and most of all, he had a wife.

    The moment their flying carriagended on the asphalt, the light-skinned elves had already carried a bed, positioning them on the right side where Luna had curled up.

    The elves didn''t need him to say a single word because they have already kneeled in front of him with theirrge heads on the ground, jumped inside their open carriage, and transferred Luna efficiently to the bed which was covered with flowers,ying her there like the Sleeping Beauty she was.

    Crystals also graced the edges of Luna''s bed.

    One little spring faerie with green wings had hovered on top of Luna and gently ced the bouquet of blue roses on her lifeless hands as they rested on her stomach.

    The way Prince Aspen''s servants had treated Luna��'' Rubbing his neck awkwardly, Apollyon shifted from foot to foot.

    It felt like he was watching his own wife''s funeral.

 Chapter 320 - Queen Of Backhanded Compliments

    <h4>Chapter 320 - Queen Of Backhanded Compliments</h4>

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    VAMPIRE KING APOLLYON

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    The Spring Court Faeries with sun tattoos and golden manes threw flowers over their heads as they danced and sang gracefully, spreading happiness and joy throughout the celebration.

    From their angelic facial features and child-like innocence, Apollyon could see why the other courts had seen them as na?ve.

    The marching band of wood elves walked on each side of Apollyon, Luna, and High Priest as they walked through the Spring Castle''s main entrance as if they were in a procession.

    As the elves hit each of their huge drum that was bigger than their size in an upbeat rhythm, they sounded like rolls of distant thunder��a reverberating sound that echoed to his soul.

    It matched well with the woodwind instruments, string ensembles, and the heaven-like voices of singers so full of emotions, their crystal tones floating in the atmosphere.

    Apollyon found the Faerie choir strange at first, but he knew better why he felt like dancing all of a sudden when he was supposed to mourn his lost wife.

    The harmonies of the singers'' voices wereced with Fae Magic, nting a seed of forced ecstasy in his mind until it branched through his bloodstreams like an addictive drug��an auditory massage to his exhausted brain.

    There were too many things that would need his Fae Magic and not enough strength.

    Shaking his head, Apollyon dulled his hearing as he bowed his head to meet Prince Aspen, the King and the Queen of the Spring Courts, and the other royal family members: Fae prince and princesses he wouldn''t remember afterward because he didn''t care.

    Apollyon knew he was half-Fae, but as he stood there with the High Priest and his sleeping Luna, he never felt so alone in this never-ending sea of strangers.

    As a certain type of silence filled his voice, everyone was eager to talk to him and catch his attention.

    Still, he wanted to focus on the King and Queen first, all the while making sure that Luna was beside him in her flower bed as the elves held unto the sides, rolling it forward along with him like it was a long food cart on disy for the guests.

    The elves had paused beside him when Queen Gloriana decided to strike a conversation.

    Queen Gloriana was a mature woman who had worn a velvet dark blue gown with the same color as his carriage.

    She had an ivory crownrger than her head on top of her long and curly xen hair.

    Her d��colletage was cut low, which made herrge breasts spilling out of her corset.

    Apollyon wished he could wash his eyeballs from this unholiness.

    He shouldn''t have nced down.

    Wincing, Apollyon strictly fixed his gaze on his aunt''s dark blue eyes.

    He didn''t find the exposed cleavage a pretty sight when it came to other women--most especially his aunt-- and he wanted to erase the image of it in his mind forever.

    Apollyon would only appreciate a female body if his wife would wear something like that, and no one else could satisfy him except her.

    He had never wished for Luna''s image so bad in those sexy, luscious dresses��hopefully wide awake.

    He gritted his teeth as he stood there, frozen in ce.

    There was no point in arousing himself with thoughts of his wife��not when he was facing his aunt.

    Queen Gloriana had stretched out her slender arm, offering the back of her hand to kiss.

    Apollyon stared at it nkly before he finally got it.

    Clutching her fingers, Apollyon bent his head to hover his lips on hervender-scented skin.

    He had lived like a savage for years because of the Blood Beast and his Empress''s loss that he forgot the basic conduct of being a gentleman.

    He could sense every pair of eyes on the party was on him that he could feel them burning holes on his fancy tunic.

    "Queen Gloriana," Apollyon murmured, shing the Queen his signature rakish smile.

    He didn''t have the mood to be a rake today, but if he did, that would give him a leeway if hemitted another major faux pas.

    Of course, they would forgive a handsome and charming Vampire King rather than a grumpy one.

    "You didn''t tell me that your mother is beautiful, Prince Aspen." Letting go of Queen Gloriana''s hand, he gave Prince Aspen a forced smile.

    Ah��God''s Blood!

    It was hard to portray a charming smile when he wasn''t feeling well.

    He was still worried about Luna''s predicament.

    Clenching his fists, Apollyon was determined to get his hands on those motherfucking Archdemons who destroyed his life.

    "You are the one and only son of Princess Ourania and the Vampire King?" Queen Gloriana spoke in that lyrical tone from the High Courts.

    Apollyon moved his gaze back to Spring Queen''s dark blue eyes as they zeroed in on him with an intensity that made him ufortable.

    The mischievous twinkle in the Queen''s eyes and that tight-lipped smile triggered a dark instinct in Apollyon.

    He knew what wasing next.

    Apollyon had foreseen insults after insultsing for him.

    Fae Folk were the masters of backhandedpliments.

    He had desired to be anywhere but here, away from these shy idiots.

    "The Vampire Realm had been stagnant for a long time." She drawled in a husky tone. "I just heard recently from my son that the Realm had started breaking out of its cold hard shell."

    Queen Gloriana tilted her head and smiled a smile that didn''t reach her eyes. "This is the first time I had seen the Vampire King out of the Castle and not acting like a hermit--simr to what he had done for the past centuries."

    As he casually ran his fingers through his raven hair, Apollyon sighed a bit.

    Honestly, he was tempted to groan in regret, immediately hating? his aunt at the first meeting.

    Let the Queen''s insults begin because he would throw one of his own as well!

    Apollyon had prepared himself mentally for this battle of wills.

 Chapter 321 - Queen Gloriana

    <h4>Chapter 321 - Queen Gloriana</h4>

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    VAMPIRE KING APOLLYON

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    Apollyon had prepared himself mentally for this battle of the wills.

    "I had taken over the throne for a long time, Queen Gloriana." He shrugged as he nced down at his sleeping wife beside him, caressing her fingers with his thumb forfort. "The Vampire King and my mother are dead because they were mated by blood despite how unstable the rtionship was."

    "Oh, I didn''t know that my cousin had problems in their marriage." Queen Gloriana yfully patted his shoulders, and his cold, sharp gaze immediatelynded on where her slender hand had touched him. "They seemed so in love to me. You were the one who killed your parents, am I right?"

    "Queen Mother." Prince Aspen leaned closer and shook his head at her in a warning.

    "I didn''t mean to insult anyone, my child." Herugh tinkled like wind chimes in the air, but to Apollyon, it sounded obnoxious.

    "I just want to make sure that what I heard were facts." Tilting her head, Queen Gloriana smiled graciously, "There is always some grain of truth in all the rumors that came across our ears, right?" She winked. "Vampire King?"

    If all women in the entire Realm had the level of charm as Queen Gloriana, Apollyon would have vomited.

    Apollyon found Queen Gloriana''s scent too sweet that it almost gave him a headache.

    Her words were like honeyed venom��forceful and predatory and her dazzling energy cloyed into his aura with a force that made him want to avoid this conversation altogether.

    It might disrespect his aunt, but he didn''t like to look at Queen Gloriana in the eye, not when she was determined to be rude to him first.

    The Spring Queen must learn that respect needed to be earned, not freely given.

    It didn''t mean that he was in her territory, and he owed her for her hospitality didn''t mean she can insult her like this just because she was a Queen.

    He might be her nephew, but that wouldn''t change the fact that he was the Vampire King.

    He wouldn''t let the Spring Queen get away with this.

    "If you want the truth, Queen Gloriana, I would dly tell you, but I doubt it is any of your business."

    Gasping, Queen Gloriana covered her hand over her berry-coated lips.

    "My. My." She said in a sing-song voice.

    Instead of striking at him back like a deadly cobra, she watched him coyly beneath her longshes. "You are as prickly as the thorns of a rose, Vampire King."

    "Speaking of the roses, you''re Highness��"

    "You don''t have to call me you''re Highness, darling��"

    "Queen Mother." Curling his fingers on his mother''s arm, Prince Aspen sighed. "Please."

    She ignored her son and smiled at Apollyon. "Queen Aunt will do."

    "You''re Highness." Apollyon refused to y along with this fake ''we-are-all-family-here'' mentality if that was what she aimed for.

    Real family doesn''t insult their family like this.

    He stepped backward from their circle and pushed Luna''s flower bed forward so that they could see her clearly. "I would like you to meet my precious rose, Empress Luna."

    He wasn''t alone, and the High Priest was busy talking to other Faeries rather than help him deal with the spectacle.

    The royal family gathered around the flower bed to watch her while the curious elves tiptoed and stretched their short necks to check Luna out.

    Some of the spring faeries hovered above them to see what themotion was all about.

    Apollyon was proud that his sleeping beauty got the Faeries'' attention, but now he changed his mind, wanting to hide Luna away.

    What if someone decided Luna was valuable and decided to steal her away when he wasn''t looking?

    This is a bad situation.

    "Ah, that''s a shame." Queen Gloriana pouted.

    "Your mate is gorgeous, King Apollyon."? Lifting the heavy skirts of their ball gown, she moved a little to peer at Luna''s ivory face. Luna''s eyes were closed, and her pink lips were slightly open.? "If you weren''t married, I would have arranged a marriage between you and my daughter, Princess Alisabethe."

    Princess Alisabethe was a young woman whom Apollyon thought wasn''t of the marrying age like what Queen Gloriana had implied.

    She had worn a triangr golden crown as aquamarine stones adorned her greyish hair braids.

    Her two pairs of aquamarine faerie wings were as translucent as her form-fitting geometric patterns ofce on her neck down to her belly, and the skirts of her gown were made of feathers clinging unto her legs.

    Apollyon could tell that Princess Alisabethe could be a faerie fashion icon.

    She had aquamarine eyes, pointy, elven ears, and small cherub lips.

    Still, her face wasn''t striking for his taste��too boring and in��that at first sight, people couldn''t care about what she looked like because the dress had already caught their attention.

    "I apologize, Queen Gloriana. I already have a mate." Apollyon replied in mock-regret. "It''s a shame to refuse such promising beauty."

    Why do Queen Mothers pressure their sons and daughters to wed so young?

    Prince Aspen had even forced himself to possess a human concubine that his parents hate as his future wife just to annoy them and stop the marriage themselves.

    Didn''t they figure out how a forced marriage was reckless and would end up destroying people''s hearts?

    "Wife." King Nuada Silverhand spoke up at the right time. "This must be the reason why the Vampire King had brought his sleeping Empress so that he wouldn''t be set up with one of your daughters."

    "You can leave the married man alone now." Apollyon noticed that the King of the Spring Court looked slightly amused as he rubbed his goatee. "This is his first weing celebration in the Realm of the Fae. Do not pressure the young man."

    "I forgot that you had visited the Spring Courts first before the Summer Courts, King Apollyon." Queen Gloriana said.

    Crossing his arms, Apollyon said drily, "I''m sure Prince Aspen had told you the reason."

 Chapter 322 - The Spring Courts

    <h4>Chapter 322 - The Spring Courts</h4>

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    VAMPIRE KING APOLLYON

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    "I''m sure Prince Aspen had told you the reason."

    "My son had told me, and I apologize. My memory had failed me a while ago." Flipping her xen curls, Queen Gloriana murmured as she nced down at Luna with pity, "What happened to your Empress? Isn''t she unconscious?"

    Queen Gloriana lifted a hand to touch his Empress'' face, and his hackles rose.

    When her fingernails touched her cheek, he swatted her filthy hand away, not caring that he was a mere guest in the Spring Courts.

    Hell, they could strike him down on where he stood for his insolence.

    An awkward silence settled inside the Spring Halls, but the pixies weren''t able to read the atmosphere and kept on showering them with dandelions over their heads.

    The Spring Queen clenched her fists as she narrowed her eyes at him, and before she could reprimand him, Apollyon bowed his head and apologized. "I''m sorry for that, Your Highness. As you said, my wife and I had been solitary for years that I''m not used to someone else touching her with familiarity. "

    I''m also here to find a cure to her ailment," Apollyon said as he caressed his trembling hands on Luna''s face. "If you could refer a witch doctor to help my wife��"

    Nodding as if she understood, her face softened, "I could, but I just couldn''t believe what my son had told me about your Empress and seeing it with my own two eyes."

    "Yes. One day she suddenly decided not to wake up." Apollyon straightened his shoulders and ced his hands behind his back to instill confidence in himself to get his Empress back. "She wasn''t dead, but her soul was held, hostage."

    "Like, astral traveling, yes." King Nuada wore a quiet mask of uncertainty. "Some Faes were gifted by ascending through Realms and crossing dimensions with their minds."

    "These Faes who had strong psychic abilities can travel to other dimensions, worlds, and realms with their eyes wide open." King Nuada said in a low voice, and the faeries around them strained to hear his words. "irvoyance is also a projection of your consciousness to the future, but astral travel shouldn''tst for years like what your Empress had done."

    There was an icy breeze on his neck, which sent chills down his spine.

    "Are you sure she isn''t dead yet?" Queen Gloriana asked again. "You shouldn''t have brought her here, or else you might put her in danger."

    She gave him a look of disapproval, but she hid it by covering her face with a silk fan. "It would have been safer to send our best witch doctors to your Kingdom instead of bringing her here."

    "No, I find it more convenient to bring my Empress in the Fae Realm, Queen Gloriana." Clenching his fists, Apollyon forced himself to take a breath. "If your hand-selected witch doctors couldn''t help my Empress, I could ask for assistance from the other Courts and meet up with them in case they were interested in being an ally to the Vampire Kingdom."

    "As your Queen Aunt, Apollyon, I''m only looking out for you." When her small smile shifted into a frown, Apollyon knew that he had triggered her with that barb, and he took that as a small victory.

    She continued, "Faes would think that you are married to a doll if you are carrying your Empress around like unnecessary baggage."

    Darkness swept over him, and he was close to pping Queen Gloriana with her insensitivity disguised as concern.

    "Queen Mother! Stop this." Clenching his jaw, Prince Aspen whispered, "The Vampire King is our ally."

    "I am only speaking what''s on my mind." Queen Gloriana curtsied, but that didn''t mean she was forgiven, "I apologize if you are insulted, King Apollyon."

    "I wouldn''t stay long in your Castle, King Nuada. Queen Gloriana." Apollyon gripped his own wrists as he held his hands behind his back. "You are well aware of why I am here."

    "King Zephyr, Prince Aspen, and I--" He said with a clenched jaw,? "--we had a mystery to solve."

    +++

    King Zephyr was there at the celebration with his wife, who wore a golden crown molded into a wreath of spring''s first flowers, crafted with emeralds, sapphires, and amethyst.

    The woman he had brought with him at the Spring Courts wore a white strapless dress that fit her snugly from head to toe while the Shadow King wore all ck.

    Both of them were contented at standing at the corner in a loose embrace, whispering and staring at each other, oblivious of the other guests.

    Apollyon can''t help but flick his gaze on the new couple with envy.

    He couldn''t enjoy the celebration without his Empress to entertain him, like how King Zephyr''s wife had distracted him from the crowd of onlookers.

    Apollyon had specifically requested Prince Aspen to invite King Zephyr to the Spring Courts to aid them with the investigation.

    He had secretly hoped that the Shadow King would have the Fae''s attention.

    He was the one who had the infamous reputation of tricking the Faerie Kings and Queens into letting him create a whole new realm for the Shadow Masters, not Apollyon.

    The Spring Faeries knew how to celebrate life by these exciting parties for their amusement.

    Music continued to fill the Spring Court Halls as the sweet tones of unique voices harmonize together to form one sound.

    A few fairies and couples have reacted to the symphonies by swaying gracefully in their positions while others continued to chatter.

    Nevertheless, it still spoke to them in some manner as it slowly in the background.

    If he weren''t careful to ground himself to the present, then he would be sucked into the celebration and lose his awareness.

    He wondered why Queen Gloriana and King Nuada allowed King Zephyr into the Spring Castle without so much of a fuss?

    Was there a way to divert their attention away from him and his Empress?

    Would the Shadow King mind if Apollyon called him and his wife over to join the circle, or should he leave them alone?

    After the singers performed a couple of rxing sonatas, the musicians had yed a lively tempo, and it lifted his spirits, somehow, despite his annoyance with Queen Gloriana.

    Apollyon wondered if faeries could read an atmosphere or not.

    Mayhap, he hadn''t expressed the vexation in his face enough��that he refused to talk about arranged marriage and the status of his Empress--but the Queen kept pushing it.

    How could Prince Aspen deal with this kind of intrusive mother every single day?

    Apollyon was d that he was an ancient vampire who didn''t need his parent''s supervision.

    He didn''t want them to be so involved with his life��asking this and asking that.

    They were better off as dead because they didn''t love him like how Luna did.

    Nevertheless, Apollyon didn''t want to insult the Spring Queen, so he kept his mouth shut every time his rage threatened to burst outwards.

    If Queen Gloriana aimed to make a Prince from the Summer Court to flip out in front of the crowd and ruin his reputation in the High Faerie Courts, then he wouldn''t give her the satisfaction.

    He had a mission to fulfil.

 Chapter 323 - Culprit

    <h4>Chapter 323 - Culprit</h4>

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    VAMPIRE KING APOLLYON

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    When Cederic arrived at the Spring Courts at twilight with his soldiers and Apollyon''s Envoy trailing after him, Apollyon had stood up from his seat at the royal banquet with Queen Gloriana at his right and Princess Alisabathe at his left.

    He had enough!

    From the duration of the banquet, all he did was sigh, breathe and talk a little.

    No one was foolish enough to offer food to a vampiric fae if they don''t want to be his food.

    His eyes twitched slightly when Princess Alisabathe offered him her blood in a whisper.

    Princess Alisabathe might have thought she was indiscrete.

    Grimacing, Apollyon scratched his cheekbone in silence.

    From the way that every single faerie''s ears in the banquet had perked up in interest.

    Apollyon knew that they had heard the offer, but Princess Alisabathe was aware that he had a wife and even brought her here.

    Was the Spring Princess blind, or so nd that she couldn''t find a mate on her own, or did she consider that if a wife was unconscious, then the husband was free for the taking?

    He didn''t argue with Princess Alisabathe.

    Apollyon turned his head to the side, look her in herrge aquamarine eyes, and said a short and direct, "No, thanks."

    Everyone gasped, and the princess bowed her head in humiliation.

    She didn''t initiate any conversation, and he was grateful for the reprieve.

    Apollyon never talked to anyone after that and just sat there��either, watching Prince Aspen across the table and observe his rtionship with the royal family or staring at the woond faerie paintings, the dark red and gold of the wall tapestries, and the delicate intricacies metal ornaments from the ceiling down to the floor.

    Each piece of furniture in the Spring Hall was carved in fine oak with jewels and precious stones.

    Apollyon watched the sumptuous feast in front of him with boredom.

    The table wasdened with faerie food: fresh milk and cream for the younger faeries while adults take a sip of their beer and ckberry wine as they munched on their dessert.

    Vegetables, sweets, and dairies were their favorites.

    The fruit cakes were zed with honey with sprinkles of chocte and hazelnut.

    They also have beans, leaves, roots, and other things he wasn''t interested in inside their bowls and tes because he wasn''t a goat.

    One thing Apollyon admired was the chef of the Spring Courts had taken food into art seriously.

    The ting was spectacr, and each dish was either in the shapes of animals, birds, trees or scenes of nature or from the fae legends.

    The royal family seemed tight-knit based on their bodynguage and the way they talked.

    Apollyon squinted at the male sessors, and his goal was to make them squirm in difort so that he could figure out their weakest link.

    It wouldn''t take long before they figured out he was watching them like a hawk.

    When they noticed his blue eyes boring holes on their skulls, they stared back with the same intensity, their lips curling in amusement.

    Apollyon shrugged in response, unfazed.

    The Princes of the Spring Courts weren''t easily intimidated.

    He couldn''t see any rivalry from the siblings yet from this celebration alone.

    They would show their true colors soon, especially in a conflict.

    Apollyon was sure that the other Princes who were hispetition to the throne would show off to catch the unicorn killers in the Spring Court.

    Since Prince Aspen was a representative of the Faerie Realm to the Vampire Realm, Apollyon would support his cousin in this if it could make the Vampire Realm gain an advantage.

    Prince Aspen and Apollyon were acquaintances who made them slightly closerpared to his other allies.

    It didn''t help that both of them share something inmon��fae blood.

    Nevertheless, Apollyon was secretly relieved that no one was forcing him to interact with anyone.

    Sometimes, Queen Gloriana included him in shallow conversations, and Apollyon''s job was to smile then nod once in agreement, and they would leave him be afterward.

    asionally, Apollyon would input his ideas only when the topic interested him��especially Faerie Politics and Magic.

    He was just there in the banquet with his head cradled in one hand, watching them eat andugh heartily.

    It came as a shock to Apollyon that from owning a Consortium and knowing how to please women, his character did aplete turnaround into that of a hermit who found it awkward to talk to women that weren''t his wife.

    It was his choice to live like a hermit in an ivory tower with his unconscious Empress, spending most of his recent years there, waiting for her every single day.

    His vampire charms were a little rusty at this point, so he didn''t bother talking to the women who don''t matter to him.

    Why would he force himself to do things he didn''t want to do?

    He was a King, and Kings don''t need to talk if they don''t want to.

    Before the banquet began, Apollyon had insisted on sitting with Prince Aspen so that they could talk about the progress of their case of the criminal faeries.

    Still, Queen Gloriana was adamant that he sit beside her��which was the seat of power--because this celebration was dedicated to him.

    He had gone along with Queen Gloriana''s request, but now that Cederic was here, he had an excuse to be somewhere else.

    Queen Gloriana even persuaded him and his Envoy to stay a little longer at the Castle since his Envoy needed to rest from the journey, but he refused.

    "I''m sure Prince Aspen can take care of us in his Manor, Your Highness," Apollyon said politely after he had uttered the farewell he had practiced in his mind three times to the Queen. "I would like to stay in your son''s Manor."

    "You would be morefortable in the castlepared to the manor, nephew." King Nuada suggested.

    It is my preference. " He replied grimly. "Don''t take my refusal as an insult, Your Highness. I want to work with Prince Aspen closely on the investigation."

    Apollyon fetched his sleeping Empress without waiting for their response, who was in his High Priest''s care.

    No one can hold him back any longer.

    He hated wasting time.

    The two of them were settled on the farthest corner of the Hall.

    He clenched his fists as he walked towards them.

    They should be looking for the culprit by now.

    "We shall go now, Fei," Apollyon said curtly, and the High Priest abruptly stood up.

    He didn''t eat any faerie food, and that was smart of him.

    "We will meet Cederic and the others outside," Apollyon told him as he ced his arms beneath Luna and carried her in a bridal style, lifting her off from her flower bed. "I told the Faerie Guards not to let them in. It is my order."

    "Ah, yes." The High Priest said drily. "If they entered the Hall, the Spring Queen would not let us leave."

    So, he also noticed that the Spring Queen was an unreasonable female.

    Prince Aspen suddenly materialized beside him.

    Apollyon narrowed his eyes at him, but the urgent tone of Prince Aspen''s voice made him halt.

    "My sentinels had caught someone, King Apollyon."

 Chapter 324 - Lilac Manor

    <h4>Chapter 324 - Lc Manor</h4>

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    VAMPIRE KING APOLLYON

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    "My sentinels had caught someone, King Apollyon." After ncing from left to right, Prince Aspen leaned closer to whisper in his ear.

    Apollyon''s hackles also rose as he peered around their surroundings in secret.

    They shouldn''t rule out the chance about the criminal spies in that celebration.

    Lips pressed together, Apollyon paused before he? whispered back. "We should head out of the Spring Hall."

    Fortunately, the faerie guests during the celebration were indulging in too much food and wine at that point.

    The King and the Queen of the Spring Courts had also loosened up so Prince Aspen, the High Priest, and Apollyon, who had carried Luna in his arms, had sneaked out of the celebration sessfully, meeting with Cederic and his soldiers on the other side of the portcullis so that all of them could head to Prince Aspen''s Manor.

    On their way to Prince Aspen''s residence, Apollyon had let his cousin ride with him on his air coach with the High Priest Fei and his sleeping Empress.

    Prince Aspen''s guards had guided Cederic and his Envoy towards the Lc Manor on horseback.

    As he felt heat creeping into his skull, he tapped his fingers on the side of his carriage to release his pent-up aggression.

    Nostrils ring, Apollyon wondered why his cousin didn''t allow him to meet their captive right away, insisting that they settle at the Lc Manor first before they tortured the captive for his knowledge of the killings.

    Apollyon didn''t even know the full story on why the captive had been caught.

    He just wanted to spill some blood on the ground, finding someone to me for Luna''s disappearance, and take responsibility for his grief if someone would mention summoning an Archdemon.

    When he finally had a few minutes of silence to cool his head, his tensed muscles rxed, not realizing that he had been stiff the whole time since the Spring Celebration.

    At that moment,? even if he didn''t care about whether the captive lived or die in his hands, Apollyon had also discerned that it was bad to kill just about anyone just because he couldn''t handle his anger and misery wing at his heart.

    When his thoughts stray to these negative emotions, Apollyon found it hard to breathe.

    He just desired to escape from himself because he had constantly med himself.

    Apollyon couldn''t handle the pain and the shame that he could do nothing to save his wife.

    He had never felt so powerless in his life especially if Luna was concerned.

    Even if he killed the captive with his excruciating torture, his death would do nothing.

    It didn''t make his grief disappear nor would it return Luna to him in the vampire Realm.

    He exhaled heavily, a little bit d that Prince Aspen had sensed he was in the mood of an executioner.

    It would be a waste if he would go with Prince Aspen to interrogate the captive, asking him three questions about Luna and he ''identally'' killed the prisoner.

    This must be the reason why he had insisted that Apollyon and his Envoy should settle in each of their roomsfortably before they go to the prison cell.

    Prince Aspen had also told him of his n to meet Lady rence first, saying Apollyon had no choice but toply since he was a mere guest of his.

    "Whatever, you say, cousin." Apollyon shrugged as he wrapped his arms around Luna''s shoulders, resting her head at the crook of her neck.

    Sniffing the crown of her hair, hended a loving kiss on her forehead as he murmured, "Just admit that you miss your fianc��."

    "Shut up." Prince Aspen muttered as he flipped his long auburn hair, "I just want to inform thedy that I wouldn''t be staying at the Lc Manor tonight and that you and me, the High Priest, and your military general have something important to do."

    "Hmm. That''s pretty specific." Apollyon stroke his chin in contemtion. "You don''t want her to get the wrong idea."

    "I need to be both specific and vague as much as possible." Prince Aspen reasoned out. "I haven''t told her about the killings of the unicorns because if she found out, Lady rence will insist toe with us. She''s a human who need not know of Fae-rted matters."

    "Do you sleep together with Lady rence?"

    "No!"

    Apollyon smirked at his outburst.

    Clearing his throat, Prince Aspen continued, "I wouldn''t sleep with the human, King Apollyon. Over my dead body. She was just here at the Faerie Realm to fulfill a role.

    "My parents considered Humankind as the weakest race so I would not mate with the humandy and risk having a child who is Half-Fae." Grimacing, Prince Aspen shook his head, "I don''t want my child to not carry superior genes. I would be more than a disgrace to the family."

    "I thought that was your goal��to be a family disgrace." Raising an eyebrow, he said sarcastically. "You should have stepped it up a notch and you will be victorious."

    "No. I had no intention to reach that point and I don''t want to find out." Prince Aspen regarded him with a cold gaze. "I don''t want to be the second prince banished from the Spring Courts."

    Apollyon chuckled. "Coward."

    "Call me whatever you like." His cousin shrugged. ''I''m nning to keep Lady rence around as my fianc�� to scare my parents from anydy they might throw in my path for an arranged marriage."

    "I would like to be live as a handsome rake, for now, thank you very much." Straightening his shoulders, Prince Aspen brushed his fingertips on the fox fur nkets he had for Luna. "I don''t want more responsibility in my hands and I would like to sample more beautiful women in the next century."

    "Ah yes." Apollyon nodded in agreement.

    "It would be a bad idea to mate with a human especially if you are blood bonded with her." Lifting a hand, Apollyon showed off his ws in his cousin''s face. "One scratch of my ws and they dropped dead."

 Chapter 325 - Choose Your Weapon

    <h4>Chapter 325 - Choose Your Weapon</h4>

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    VAMPIRE KING APOLLYON

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    Prince Aspen''s estate was less than five miles away from the Castle of the Spring Courts.

    They have passed through a nearby faerie vige which was probably his cousin''s tenants.

    Prince Aspen was the High Lord in Lc Manor.

    Sprawled across a rolling greennd, Lc Manor was magnificent and well-taken care of as seen from the outside despite the thick forests that veiled the residence.

    The patios, balconies, and staircases were artfully enriched with flowers that only bloomed in spring��daffodils, tulips, Lily of the Valley, hyacinths, bluebells, lcs, included.

    The floral scents were pleasant to his sensitive senses as they stood with a that drew him close.

    It was even more opulent on the inside as ck and white chequered the marble floor like it was a giant chessboard, flowing to countless doors and a sweeping staircase.

    When they arrived at the Lc Manor, Prince Aspen had hurriedly assigned a room for his sleeping Empress first.

    As Apollyon carried his wife by the shoulders, a butler showed him to a bedroom with baby blue walls with gold patterns and moldings.

    The butler tugged at the drapes, which hanged from the towering headboard to assist Apollyon.

    He ced Luna carefully on the bed and tucked her under the nkets.

    Next, Apollyon opened the silk with gold velvet curtains by the window so that the full moon could shine its borrowed light into the Empress'' face, hoping the Goddess of the Moon can give Luna strength and power to resist temptations from the Archdemons.

    He sat on an ivory chair beside Luna as he clutched her hand to kiss each of her fingers.

    As he stroked the back of her hand with his thumb, he just had this niggling sense that he was close to getting his wife back.

    Apollyon gave her onest kiss and murmured on her parted lips, "I love you, wife."

    Caressing her head gently, his mouth hovered around hers like butterfly wings, kissing her again.

    "Hang in there. I swear to the gods and goddesses that I wouldn''t let anyonee in between us." Apollyon whispered, "We will catch the faerie who had summoned an Archdemon, and I will summon your soul back here. Soon."

    After they shut the door, the butler stood firm on showing Apollyon his own chamber beside Luna''s despite insisting that he would be sleeping with his Empress in the previous room.

    The butler shook his head in refusal, iming that he had sensed his agitation when Apollyon was around the Empress.

    Apollyon stood outside the hallway as they red at each other in a battle of wills.

    "You need to clear your thoughts, Your Highness." Bowing his head, the butler said politely in a murmur, "It''s not good for you to stay in your Empress'' Room because her predicament had distracted you. Your energy levels are all over the ce."

    How did the butler know that?

    Apollyon squinted at him.

    Prince Aspen.

    Queen Gloriana.

    King Nuada.

    Princess Alisabathe and now this butler?

    Gritting his teeth, he was close to snapping his neck, but he clenched his fists, resisting the urge.

    Who was he to stop him from staying with his wife?

    Running a frustrated hand through his raven hair, Apollyon said to no one in particr, "Does every faerie in the Spring Courts couldn''t mind their own business?"

    Apollyon waited for the butler to raise his head, but the butler didn''t respond.

    So, the stubborn butler wouldn''t move unless he acquiesced to his suggestion.

    Unclenching his fists, Apollyon exhaled a heavy sigh as he rxed.

    His aggression was getting out of control, and perhaps, the butler was right.

    He needed to curb this killing instinct inside him by staying away from Luna in the meantime.

    The helplessness he felt around her must have triggered his ''agitation,'' which led him to be rash and impulsive.

    This must be the dangerous effect of having an Archdemon possess his body for centuries.

    His morality as an immortal had corroded over the years��like a hard rock which had already worn away by the strong currents of life, breaking into smaller pieces until it was gone��until it waspletely lost.

    When Apollyon didn''t get what he wanted, he would strike his enemies dead without batting an eye.

    He only had apathy for the people he didn''t care about and rage for his enemies who tried to take something that belonged to him.

    Nevertheless, he couldn''t believe that Prince Aspen''s old butler had the audacity to tell a Vampire King what to do and what room he should stay in.

    Apollyon had realized that he needed to practice ''mercy'' to strangers.

    The butler was only concerned with his well-being, even if it was unwarranted.

    Giving in, Apollyon nodded in agreement without much of a word, extending his olive branch back to the butler and to all the creatures that might need his serenity in the future.

    Hurting others wouldn''t do anything for him.

    It didn''t do anything, and the act itself will not get his wife back.

    +++

    The servant had given Cederic, the High Priest, and Apollyon a short tour around the estate, walking them around Lc Manor showing him the study, the private library, an infirmary well-stocked with faerie herbs and medicines, and arge gallery of woond faerie paintings.

    He also showed Prince Aspen''s throne room��a dais in the center with a giant throne of roses carved in ivory.

    The butler led them to a long hall stretching ahead to the giant ss doors at the other end of the house.

    There was a second rose garden which was grander than the one in front.

    Prince Aspen was there, seated at arge worktable, covered in various weapons��crossbows, pikes, swords, and fairy knives made of forged iron.

    "Pick your weapons, cousin. It''s time for us to go." He started to pick his weapon-of-choice��a crossbow��and strapped it along his arm. "Anyway, I think it would also be best to leave Cederic and the others behind."

    Cederic raised an eyebrow at Aspen. "Why?"

    "I agree, Cederic." Apollyon turned his head to stare at his military general. "You and the High Priest must protect Luna here just in case something happened while I was gone."

 Chapter 326 - I Want To Kill

    <h4>Chapter 326 - I Want To Kill</h4>

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    VAMPIRE KING APOLLYON

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    Apollyon had cleared his throat, breaking the eerie silence as they entered the woods, walking through the path by the riverbanks.

    There was no sound of crickets or wild animals howling in the night, but he could hear the mellow burbles of the stream as it traveled along its bed, bubbling over rocks and branches.

    The river was a snake of turquoise in contrast to the dark green of the forest.

    The trees stood tall with pride as Apollyon and Aspen passed through.

    "So, we got settled at your Lc Manor earlier---" Apollyon trailed off as he followed Prince Aspen''s trails, wing at the vines and cutting the branches.

    He could have sworn these nts were alive, trying to get a hold of his long tunic.

    After onest swat in the air, he finally ripped the top of his tunic and threw them aside without a care.

    "Yes."

    As Apollyon stared at his cousin''s back, he noticed that Prince Aspen had slowed down his pace.

    His cousin briefly nced over his shoulder with a re before he forged ahead, " What about it?"

    Apollyon smirked as he saw his cousin straighten his spine.

    From his curt tone alone, Prince Aspen was aware of where the conversation was going.

    "I haven''t seen Lady rence."

    Prince Aspen exhaled so loud as if he was running out of patience.

    Now, he had turned around to face Apollyon with a clenched jaw.? "You don''t have to see her."

    "Lc Manor is arge estate." Glowering at him, he growled as he crossed his arms. "That is why you couldn''t see my fianc��."

    Apollyon had no intention of taking his ex-concubine away from the Faerie Prince.

    He was done with the boredom and the awkward silence.

    Annoying his cousin was good enough as a distraction.

    "You kept her hidden because you don''t want me to persuade a concubine toe back to the Vampire Realm."

    "No." cing his hands on his hips, Prince Aspen massaged his forehead as he paced back and forth. "Lady rence told me that she didn''t want to go outside of her room with all these Vampires and Faerie Sentinels patrolling around Lc Manor."

    "I want her to be safe." He said sharply. "She told me she didn''t want to see any men for now."

    Pokerfaced, Apollyon replied in sarcasm. "She must consider you a female in that long straight auburn hair of yours."

    "Yes." He agreed.

    Surprised, Apollyon raised an eyebrow.

    Prince Aspen rubbed his jaw in contemtion. "Having androgynous features is a blessing and a curse at the same time, but Lady rence wasn''t attracted to me at all."

    His cousin''s brows knitted in confusion.

    "Perhaps, she preferred extremely masculine men simr to a barbaric warrior," Apollyon said as his eyes strayed on the river.

    He continued with nonchnce, "��but still that didn''t exin that the Lady-of-the-Manor wouldn''t greet a significant guest like the Vampire King."

    Brief crescents of yellow, green, and red as fishes leaped into the water surface as they swam snd the billions of drops of water moving together were rxing and hypnotic chimes to his ears.

    "I find it strange that I haven''t seen her around."

    "We just have too many empty rooms. That''s why you hadn''t seen her." Prince Aspen had lowered his voice that it sounded like a growl, "I told you I had no problem with providing a ce to stay for you and your Envoy."

    From the defensiveness Apollyon had heard in his tone, he realized at that moment that annoying his cousin would be his favorite pastime aside from being with his sleeping Empress.

    "As the King of the Vampire Realm, that is the bare minimum of what I am asking of you in exchange for asking for my help."

    Prince Aspen squinted at him for a long moment.

    Apollyon stared back with a nonchnt shrug.

    Why would a mere Faerie Prince intimidate him when Apollyon was centuries older than this brat?

    He should call Prince Aspen ''brat'' sometimes to assert who had the upper hand when it came to power.

    "We are helping each other." At that point, Aspen had an inkling that Apollyon was merely provoking him, so he returned to their path, treading into the rich brown and green hues of the forest floors.

    Aspen murmured, "I am also helping you to find a possible conjurer who had summoned an Archdemon for this unicorn sacrifice."

    A strong gust of wind tousled Apollyon''s hair into a bird''s nest,plete with the fragrant leaves gracing his silky locks.

    He smirked. "Touch��."

    A milky white mist had settled over them.

    Apollyon had lit three light orbs floating above Prince Aspen''s head for their convenience.

    He couldn''t speak for Prince Aspen, though, so he might as well aid his host.

    Apollyon wanted to ask why they were hiking deep into the woods for thirty minutes to meet the captive when his cousin had told him that his sentinels had put him to prison.

    Well, he hadn''t seen how a faerie prison looked like and if they were settled deep into the forest.

    Apollyon snapped impatiently, "Are we there yet?"

    "You will surely know when we get there, cousin." Prince Aspen sighed. "You don''t know how to be patient."

    "If I am not patient, I should have killed you by now, Aspen, and your mother and your father and your sister and your butler or anyone I might cross paths with and set me off with the slightest of words."

    "You are annoyed."

    The Faerie Prince was best at stating the obvious.

    "Yes, I am triggered by the word ''patient.''" His lips pressed into a white sh. "I had waited for my wife toe back for years, and if that isn''t patient enough for you, then I should probably kill��"

    Prince Aspen had understood and abruptly changed the subject. "We should n a strategy on how to deal with the captive."

    The sky had almost vanished as they went even deeper.

    He began, "Faeries are bound to speak only the literal truth."

 Chapter 327 - Tricking The Trickster

    <h4>Chapter 327 - Tricking The Trickster</h4>

    ****************************

    VAMPIRE KING APOLLYON

    *****************************

    Prince Aspen began, "Faeries are bound to speak only the literal truth."

    Unfortunately, Apollyon was aware of that fact, but that didn''t make it any easier.

    "Faeries can still be devious and tricky even if they couldn''t lie."

    Apollyon remembered that when dealing with Faerie captives, they had to be specific and meticulous with their questions.

    "Fair Folk can mislead and manipte." Prince Aspen nodded in agreement as he slowed his pace to match Apollyon now that the forest had cleared up a little bit. "Many fairies are tremendously adept at leading others astray while never speaking a false word."

    As his lips curved upward, Apollyon could only shake his head in amusement as he watched his step carefully. "This is why I don''t trust the Fair Folk, Aspen."

    His cousin turned his head to look at him. "You act like you aren''t Half-Fae."

    Apollyon didn''t respond.

    He had told his cousin a million times that he had already renounced the Fae blood in him.

    "Asking a captive faerie a question three times willpel them to answer, but they aren''t bound to give helpful information or refuse to disclose the answers to a question." Apollyon recited a passage he had read in the book he had read aloud regarding the Faes'' History.

    He inhaled the fresh air deeply, and his lungs were full of a spring night''s presence.? "If a faerie makes a promise thrice, it is as closely bound as they can be."

    "Promises and oaths bind faeries to keep them as well as keeping up the ends of their bargain." Prince Aspen''s brows knitted as he frowned, "The captive could have sworn their secrecy to whomever Archdemon they had served. We had to be strategic enough on how to torture the captive with unbearable pain but not enough to kill them."

    "It would be difficult if they can''t even talk even a word because of their oaths."? Aspen sighed heavily, and a visible mist came out of his mouth as they continued walking through the woods.

    He nced up, and Apollyon did the same as well.

    Branches thick with leaves had already reached into the sky as the silver light from the moon had only filtered through in fragments.

    "Well, that''s their problem, not ours," Apollyon said darkly as he caressed the knife strapped to his leather boots. "I''ll make sure I could torture them so well they would rather vomit the words out of their mouth than die a short death."

    He couldn''t wait to do that.

    "Forged iron is a faerie''s weakness, and when it touched them, it can cause them excruciating pain."

    "I noticed that, cousin. All the weapons you have disyed at the work table were all made of iron." Apollyon agreed, and his heart had raced when he noticed the light at the end of the forest. "I know it can kill a vulnerable lesser Fae, but the powerful ones were far more likely to survive and recover from such injuries. "

    "Faeries had disliked the mere smell of it, and if we use forged iron during the torture, they would quickly surrender, but that still depended on their oaths." Apollyon knew that his cousin was getting serious when he gathered his thick gold auburn hair in a tie at the back of his neck. "We could estimate the captive''s strength if he wouldn''t cower against it."

    They were almost there.

    He had seen more ancient souls of the Fair Folk he hadn''t seen before, sitting on branches and roots which hugged the earth.

    Some Fair Folk appeared like mushrooms and ghosts while the sneaky ones camouged into tree trunks and leaves.

    Not appearing like humanoid faeries such as pixies he had seen at the Spring Banquet, they were figures which could either be stuffed animal dolls standing upright��spirits of the forest--he couldn''t quite exin, looking like they came out straight out of a child''s imagination.

    Both of them had stumbled into a faerie dragon''sir at the end of the clearing.

    It was built at the boughs of a tree on top of a massive rock, made out of materials they had gathered from the forest floor.

    "The Faerie we had caught..." Aspen trailed off as they carefully approached their, peering at the faerie dragon curled up in its nest made of dry grass, leaves, spider silk, branches, and mud. "He had some magical items with him that we don''t recognize its uses."

    Aspen rested a hand on his hip as he regarded Apollyon before returning to gaze at the faerie dragon''s treasure. "One thing I am sure that the captive isn''t the ring leader. My faerie sentinels had started with their torture since early afternoon just a few hours after you arrived at the Spring Castle."

    The faerie dragon appeared like a chameleon with butterfly wings as it hid the magic items near its belly. If Apollyon reached out the items while the faerie dragon was sleeping, he would surely chomp on his arm.

    Apollyon narrowed his eyes at the magic nes with glowing green pendants secured safely on the dragon''s nest. "It must be a coincidence."

    "There is no coincidence, cousin." Aspen paused and looked him in the eye. "Everything is connected."

    The leaves danced an enchanting symphony of a bird song along with the flow of the water, whispering their songs to the wind.

    "I don''t believe it." Apollyon shot back.

    He clenched and unclenched his fists as his bad memories resurfaced in the present, along with the overwhelming emotions that came with it.

    Gritting his teeth, Apollyon forcefully shoved all of the unfortunate things back to the dark corners of his mind.? "I can argue with you all day about that, but I chose not to."

    Focusing on the faerie dragon and his treasure, Apollyon had spection that since the faerie dragon had guarded the items, they must be immune to it. "Tell me about the magic items the captive had acquired and where it could it possibly belonged."

    +++

    "We hadn''t touched or attempted to use it." Aspen folded his arms across his chest as he pointed out, "It might be a trap and might backfire on us if we tried. The Fae isn''t telling my sentinels anything. That was why both of us had to see them for ourselves."

    Apollyon could feel the faerie dragon encasing itself within a strong energy shield, repelling most magic and conventional attacks, as Prince Aspen talked.

    "How about King Zephyr?" Apollyon raised an eyebrow. "Why didn''t you tell him toe with us?"

    "I don''t trust the Shadow King, King Apollyon."? Aspen drawled as he watched him with suspicion, wondering why Apollyon kept insisting on including him in this. "There was still a chance that the Shadowkind was also behind this." "He might act as a spy to his advantage."

    "��or we could trick him into bing our trusted ally, making him our ''spy," Apollyon suggested. "We can unmask him as a spy with his own knowledge against his own Kingdom."

    "He had tricked all the Faerie Kings and the Queens of the High Court." A shake in the head. "It would be impossible to trick the trickster."

 Chapter 328 - Target Practice

    <h4>Chapter 328 - Target Practice</h4>

    *****************************

    VAMPIRE KING APOLLYON

    ******************************

    "He had tricked all the Faerie Kings and the Queens of the High Court." The Faerie Prince shook his head. "It would be impossible to trick the trickster."

    Apollyon smirked, taking advantage of his alliance, anyways. "The best thing we could do was to drag King Zephyr as ourst resort."

    It would be easier to defeat the Archdemon Magic with something of simr caliber.

    Prince Aspen mirrored his smirk. "That''s a good n."

    Aspen prowled closer to the faerie dragon''sir, and the movement might have caught the creature''s sixth sense because it had stirred.

    Ah.

    Apollyon realized that the dragon was pretending to be asleep.

    "I have kept you in the dark at the Spring Celebration because I want to keep this information a secret as much as possible," Aspen said as he bent his head to peer at the unmoving creature.? "The captive had acquired magical abilities that were out of this world--- magic that was unheard of. You would think I am lying if I tell you."

    Its feathery antennae sprouting from its head had twitched in unison to Aspen''s steps.

    "From what I have seen, the Fae had ess to Archdemon Magic but only to a limited period." Aspen continued, "His appearance also changed as the time went by where we had bound him to the Hanging Tree."

    Bound him to the hanging tree?

    Apollyon raised a questioning eyebrow. "We are here, but I have yet to see this ''hanging tree'' and the ''prisoner'' around us."

    Prince Aspen ced his index finger and his thumb in his mouth to release a loud, piercing whistle, waking up the faerie dragon in front of them.

    As its turquoise scales shimmered into sparkles dancing from its body, it turned its head to look at them with beady ck eyes before emitting a small keen.

    The faerie dragon rose from its nest and pped its butterfly wings, opening its mouth to sing a unique melody.

    Apollyon knew that the song was loaded with magic from the pleasant yet powerful vibration in the air.

    It was so pure in its power, and he felt that it was purging the forest of negative energies.

    The night elves appeared out of nowhere as the mour disappeared, revealing a dead ancient forest with mammoth snags left to dpose at a snail''s space.

    Apollyon realized that the night elves hade out from the hollow crevices and cavities of the deadwood.

    They approached the faerie dragon''sir and formed a circle with Apollyon and Prince Aspen.

    They watched the faerie dragon''s iridescent coat of scales turned into the colors of the rainbow as it sang in a wail, flipping its long tail from side to side.

    After the Faerie Dragon''s song, the closest snag''s thick, rotting trunk slowly opened up to reveal the captive out of its cocoon.

    This seemingly dead tree was teeming with life as one of its dead branches moved to snake itself around the captive, pulling him out.

    The half-naked captive hung upside down, unconscious.

    His feet and wrists were all tied up.

    Apollyon stepped closer, and Prince Aspen ced a hand on his shoulder to hold him back, warning him not to be near the captive within grabbing distance.

    As he looked over his shoulder, Apollyon gave him a curt nod.

    Apollyon returned his gaze on the faerie captive, and his muscles went rigid.

    Prince Aspen wasn''t joking when he said that the captive had also changed its appearance.

    He had sharp and pointy ck horns, curving from the front to the back, forming a ''C'' on top of his bleeding blond head.

    His face was unrecognizable because he was covered in Archdemon runes, including his upper body.

    Apollyon''s pulse sped up as his heart pounded in his ears like an incessant drum.

    It was eerily simr to Luna''s after she had acquired it from an Archdemon who had forced a blood bond on her.

    The faerie captive might not have been the Archdemon summoner, but the runes in his body had indicated that he was bound to one by an oath.

    Gritting his teeth, he tried to control his ragged breathing from both rage and excitement.

    That was all Apollyon needed to see to know that this faerie had conjured��or must be one of the original conjurer''s allies��a real Archdemon to gain power, however limited.

    At least, the runes had proven that there was a demonic disturbance in the Faerie Realm, and he hadn''t wasted his timeing here with his sleeping Empress.

    Giving him a questioning gaze, Prince Aspen spoke abruptly, "What do you think?"

    Apollyon said in a low voice, "Archdemons."

    That one word alone was a confirmation in itself, and he felt a jolt of a spark lit up his body.

    He smiled, determined.

    Apollyon can save Luna after hunting down these ''faerie demonic cult killing unicorns.''

    It would be easy.

    He would ask the ring leader to summon her wife back from Hell in exchange for their freedom.

    "I''m not shocked at all." Prince Aspen sighed with relief. "At least, now that you had verified its existence, I can now sleep at night peacefully without doubting King Zephyr''s involvement in this."

    The dark faerie captive was unconscious because of the faerie dragon''s magic song of purification.

    The faerie dragon that had safeguarded the captive''s magical items can scent a creature''s will.

    It was effective with absorbing, redirecting, and nullifying demon magic.

    He doubted that an Archdemon had possessed the captive because he stillcked the strength of not getting caught.

    As he studied each of the Archdemon runes, Apollyon asked. "What had the captive done when your faerie sentinels had caught him, Prince Aspen?"

    "My best guess was�� this faerie had just acquired demon magic from his cult just recently because the faerie sentinels had caught him practicing in the forest. They had found it strange." Prince Aspen replied. "It was the first time they had seen someone wield magic like his. He can summon a bright ball of sickening green energy from his hand and throw it into a creature, making itrger than life or tiny as an ant."

    Apollyon''s eyes widened with shock. "That kind of ability shouldn''t exist."

    "He can choose." He deadpanned. "He had tried it into a kingfisher once."

    "Where is the kingfisher now?" Apollyon asked. "Did it turn to normal?"

    "No. We have hidden it. I don''t think I can erase its existence unless I killed it." Aspen rubbed the back of its neck in frustration. "The bird was sorge that I could ride behind its back, and we can fly into the sky."

    "That''s high-level magic that even I couldn''t do." Apollyon frowned as he nted his crossbow into the ground to cock it properly. "The Faerie Realm will be in destruction if these kinds of faeries had roamed around freely, killing unicorns in exchange for limited Archdemon Magic."

    Apollyon lifted it back and settled it on his shoulder to aim.

    "Exactly."

    He removed a forged iron arrow from the quiver behind his back and ced it on the rail.

    "I should wake the bastard up."

    Settling the sight on the hanging captive''s shoulder, Apollyon squeezed the trigger and fired.

 Chapter 329 - Im Back, Apollyon

    <h4>Chapter 329 - I''m Back, Apollyon</h4>

    ************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    *************************

    The captive had his ck faerie wings almost torn apart, almost lifeless as any cadaver and just as pallid.

    Fae blood filled Apollyon''s nostrils as he held the crossbow on his arm and shoulder.

    Anything that wasn''t Luna''s blood wouldn''t make him hungry.

    It had the opposite effect instead, making his stomach lurch and his mind float somece else.

    "King Apollyon." The Faerie Prince had grabbed him by the shoulder when he showed no signs of stopping his torture on the faerie captive.

    He stepped in front of him like a fool, blocking his vision of the captive by stretching his arms outward.

    Prince Aspen had stood in front of him, but his cousin might as well be invisible because, in Apollyon''s world, it was only him and the captive.

    He found an opening and shot another iron bolt on the prisoner''s back.

    The screams of the prisoner''s agony were music to his ears.

    It made Apollyon forget that he was a failure as a husband, if only for a moment.

    Raising his hands in surrender, Prince Aspen gritted his teeth, "Stop, or you will end up killing the dark faerie."

    He merely pretended he didn''t hear that, but his only response was a burst of edgyughter echoing into the night.

    He was on the verge of self-destruction.

    Mayhap, it was for the best.

    Blinking rapidly, Apollyon didn''t notice that a single tear had slid down his face.

    He wiped the tear away before Prince Aspen couldment about it.

    "Listen to me, Apollyon." Prince Aspen spoke, frustration evident in his clenched jaw. "If you kill him right now, we might not get a chance to capture someone from the cult."

    As he peered over Aspen''s shoulder, Apollyon met the captive''s pained stare.

    The dark faerie had refused to answer a question, so he must deal with the punishment and die a turtle slow death.

    Apollyon muscles quivered as he drew in slow, steady breaths.

    He deserved this for making a Vampire King like him painstakingly repeat his question thrice only to be met with protruding dark eyes, pairing it with an eerie silence.

    He had expected something far better than this��something easier.

    He thought that he could make him confess who their ringleader was, where their hideout was and which Archdemon have they summoned to acquire their powers, but he was wrong.

    The captive had no response except to cry, groan and scream in anguish every time the forged iron hit his flesh.

    "They would figure that the Spring Courts have captured one of their members. " Aspen continued, trying hard to pierce through his reptilian brain like a guilty conscience. "They would be more cautious next time." No. Prince Aspen was cold, hard logic��the sword of truth��but Apollyon can''t help but reject the idea. "This might be ourst chance to get a hold of someone from their team."

    "Oh, don''t worry, Aspen." Apollyon''s voice was as deep and cold as his revenge. "These immature male faeries, like this bastard over there, will always show off their newly acquired magic from the Archdemons."

    He narrowed his gaze back to Aspen. "There will always be someone stupid and careless in their cult so we wouldn''t run out of cult members to kill and torture."

    "That isn''t the point." Aspen reasoned out, "I thought you want your Empress back as soon as possible."

    Baring his teeth, Apollyon felt his heartbeat against his ribs as he cocked his crossbow with another iron bolt, "We will hunt every single one of them until the ringleader remained."

    "You are not listening to me." Prince Aspen snapped a finger in front of his face as if that would clear his mind fog. "Torturing them to death for your own satisfaction and not for extracting information will make you lose sight of your goal."

    This time, it almost sounded like Prince Aspen was pleading, "Be reasonable, cousin."

    "He''s not dead yet." He said loudly, convincing himself rather than the Faerie Prince.

    "Three more iron bolts, and he will be." Prince Aspen snapped.

    "I will onlynd onest iron bolt." He shrugged.

    "You can torture him all you want but not to the point of death." Prince Aspen shook his shoulders, growling in his face, "We have nned this earlier."

    "This motherfucker is disrespecting me." Anger intensified at the back of Apollyon''s head that he could feel the heat creeping from his nape to his temples. "He can''t even answer a simple question."

    "Then rephrase the question. We shouldn''t give up this easily." Staring at him, the dead-in-the eye. Prince Aspen enunciated every word, "Ask the right question, and he will answer. "

    "We had been doing this thankless job for hours." Apollyon wanted to listen to his cousin, but his inner voice urged him to kill the captive for good.

    He finally decided not to care and pushed Prince Aspen aside. "Get the hell out of my way!"

    He was a deaf man with tunnel vision, determined to punish the faerie for not revealing his secrets.

    "I will ask you for the twentieth time." Stalking towards the faerie captive like the hunter he was, Apollyon yelled louder as he aimed his crossbow at him, "Who is the Archdemon that your ringleader had summoned?"

    "I��d-don''t know��." Coughing blood, he stuttered, and the small curve of his lips irked Apollyon all the more. "I''m t-telling��the�� -truth."

    As Prince Aspen pulled on his crossbow to distract him, Apollyon just shrugged his hand off, proceeding to nt another forged iron bolt on the prisoner''s back.

    At this point, Apollyon had no sympathy left on the prisoner who hadin on his stomach with almost a hundred forged iron bolts sticking out from his back like he was a porcupine.

    The faerie captive had fallen off from the clutches of the Hanging Tree.

    Apollyon realized that the snag had a mind of its own.

    Its dead branches and vines had slowly unwrapped themselves from the captive, sensing that the dark faerie was already on itsst breath and there was no use clinging unto it anymore.

    The deadwood had let go of him when they sensed the captive''s breathing was ragged, shallow breaths.

    After all, it takes one to know one.

    The captive was literally on his deathbed, but Apollyon could have sworn that the arrogant faerie was acting like he was merely having a cosy afternoon nap.

    "We need to go home." Aspen stepped in again and forced him to turn his back from the dying captive now that Apollyon hadnded onest arrow. "I will let the faerie sentinels continue this tomorrow until you are in the right state of mind."

    Prince Aspen was right.

    Apollyon had a disturbed mind, an empty shell of cold blood and a hot head when it came to the captive.

    Mayhap he needed to rest at the Lc Manor ande back when Apollyon was calm enough.

    "Night elves." Prince Aspen nodded to the creatures watching the bloody debacle and whistled.

    The faerie dragon began to sing for the second time, activating the mour to hide the dead forest where they lock up their prisoners.

    Just as Apollyon had found hope, it immediately slithered out of his hands like water.

    Apollyon quickly gained it back again when he saw his wife waiting for him outside Lc Manor as they got home.

 Chapter 330 - If Your Heart Is A House, I Am Home

    <h4>Chapter 330 - If Your Heart Is A House, I Am Home</h4>

    ******************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ******************************

    Apollyon couldn''t believe his eyes as they passed over the small river bridge on their way to the Lc Manor''s entrance.

    He blinked and squinted at the vision from afar, clutching his chest like it was on fire.

    Apollyon mused as he felt chills running down his spine,? ''Was this a dream?''

    Earlier, he had strolled side-by-side with Prince Aspen inpanionable silence as the midnight sky gradually shifted into hues of orange and yellow, bathing their exhausted forms in the sunrise.

    As he nced up into the heavens, he saw white bleeding heart doves flying.

    Silver pixies, which appeared like nature spirits from the stream, hovered above their heads as if making sure that Prince Aspen and Apollyon would arrive at the Lc Manor safe and sound.

    They chattered in small, high-pitched voices in his ear in anguage he didn''t understand.

    In a way, their presence had distracted him from his failure and disappointments.

    He needed to set himself free from the prison of his own mind.

    Apollyon had started to doubt his abilities to save his wife, but he decided to elevate��to choose to make this failure work for him and propel him higher.

    He would never give up on his Empress.

    They had spent the night into the Whispering Forest where the Spring Courts hide their high-valued captives without sess.

    The captive had no other confessions that were of great importance.

    After brainstorming on their way back to Lc Manor, Apollyon and Aspen had figured out that night was that the ring leader had summoned an Archdemon without the cult members knowing of who and where they got the Magic from.

    The members have been kept in the dark of who their ring leader was.

    The killing of unicorns had been a test or some form of initiation for the new members.

    Since they weren''t aware of all the other members of this demonic faerie cult, they must have been recruited through a series of secretworks where they only interact with cult members they had known within that circle without any proof of the structure of this hierarchy.

    Apollyon had told Aspen of this earlier.

    They had to capture every single one of them until only the ringleader was left, but that would be too difficult.

    Aspen was right, though, when he said it would take forever.

    If wordse out that Apollyon and Prince Aspen were the ones hunting every single one of them, they also wouldn''t be able to hide their identities for very long.

    The hunter would be the hunted.

    It would be a battle between the Spring Courts and their allies��hopefully, the entire Faerie Courts-- versus a new breed of demonic fairies who had ess to Archdemon Magic.

    What if they had recruited new members as a recement for the captives that had been tortured?

    Faeries were smart, mischievous and cunning.

    Like all other creatures, most of them wouldn''t shy from gaining more power to make them stronger.

    It wouldn''t matter who and where it came from, as long as they could inflict pain on those who had wronged them.

    Faeries wouldn''t be called faeries if they weren''t petty and vengeful.

    He had to think of another strategy on how to get hold of the cult leader as soon as possible without dealing with his/herckeys.

    Sometimes, he wondered if the cult leader was a female or a male because, as far as he knew, only Dark High Priestesses can conjure an Archdemon.

    Well, there was no need to trouble himself with the things he didn''t know yet.

    He would find out in the future if Apollyon had captured the cult leader.

    Apollyon had walked over the golden walk bridge as he stared at the thin bamboos and mangroves sprouting at the riverbank.

    One minute, he was lost in his own thoughts as Prince Aspen trailed behind him, and the next thing he knew, Apollyon had seen a woman with long silver hair standing at the entrance to the Lc Manor with her back facing them.

    Butterflies fluttered in his stomach.

    She wore��she wore��that familiar blue gown��Apollyon had chosen for his wife yesterday morning at the Vampire Castle as he ordered his servants to dress her up.

    Licking his dry lips, Apollyon closed his eyes and took a calming breath.

    She had settled under the shade of a tree, busy observing the thick canopy of leaves above her.

    His lips parted as he tried to breathe from his nose, but he still found it hard to breathe.

    Apollyon clenched his fists so hard that his knuckles had turned to white.

    Apollyon''s�� vision of thedy had abruptly blurred as he tried to vanquish these damned tears that wouldn''t stop leaking from the corner of his eyes.

    He paused in his tracks as he bit his lip, waiting for the silver-haireddy to turn her head to look at him as he stood at the centre of the bridge, holding his breath in fear and anticipation.

    Why wouldn''t she turn?

    ''Can''t she feel his intense gaze on her through the blood bond?'' He thought in desperation.

    Apollyon''s heartbeat was like a roaring thunder in his ears.

    Why couldn''t he feel her presence��her warmth��inside his heart now that she was here?

    He stood there, frozen, rooted in his spot, staring at the woman without really seeing her.

    What if it wasn''t Luna, and he got his hopes up for nothing?

    His disappointments had already piled up as high as the Ivory Tower for the recent years every time he woke up early in the morning to witness his wife still sleeping beside him.

    Apollyon had no desire to add something to that.

    He wasn''t a masochist.

    "What''s the matter, cousin?" Aspen had tried to catch up to him to see what was wrong, but Apollyon would never let the Faerie Prince see him cry like a sissy for such a simple sight of his wife up and about.

    "Fuck this!" Apollyon muttered, changing his mind.

    He should be happy now that his wife was back!

    He should be jumping for joy that he didn''t have to torture more dark faeries!

    Apollyon must run towards his wife and quit acting like a coward.

    "LLUUUUNNNNAAAAAA!" Waving his arms, Apollyon bellowed with a huge grin on his face.

    He swore his voice had woken the entire Lc Manor, including the vige, but who cared?

    He didn''t wait for the silver-haireddy to turn her head, and neither did he wait for Aspen to see his pathetic face.

    Focusing on Luna and the tree, Apollyon teleported in front of her in a split second.

    He didn''t even check because Apollyon knew in his heart that it was her all along.

    Wrapping her into a tight embrace, Apollyon rested his chin on her shoulder and sniffed her neck and her hair.

    The all too familiar scent of vani and a hint ofvender made him cry tears of joy.

    "Apollyon!" Luna breathed as she rested her hands on his shoulders, looking at him with the emerald eyes which sparkled and gleamed in the sunlight.

    cing his hands on her small waist, Apollyon lifted her, and her skirts had floated in mid-air as he swung her around the garden.

    He was finally home.

 Chapter 331 - Growth

    <h4>Chapter 331 - Growth</h4>

    *************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    *************************

    As Luna and Apollyon stared into each other''s eyes, he felt like he was on top of the world.

    He gave her a bright smile as he lowered her feet to the ground.

    Apollyon hugged her so tight that the onlookers might think that this would be thest time they would see each other.

    Apollyon didn''t dare let go, afraid that when she closed her eyes, the Archdemons would retake her soul without warning.

    Anyhow, Apollyon should not let Luna sleep.

    They should do some activities that would prevent that, or else he would live in constant paranoia.

    It was hard to be a Sleeping Beauty''s husband.

    He must keep her awake at all costs.

    Bothered by the thought of those damned Archdemons, Apollyon didn''t notice that he had squeezed his wife so hard that she yelped in pain.

    He muttered a quick apology for cutting off her cirction.

    "Are you alright?" With his hands still wrapped around Luna, Apollyon pulled back a little, staring at her with a smile that can''t be contained.

    I��I��" Luna had stuttered, speechless, and he swore her cheeks were flushed red.

    Swallowing hard, Luna nced up at him for a second before clutching each side of his tunic with her fists in desperation.

    He beamed at her, happy that their feelings were mutual.

    Luna bit her lip, and her hands had trembled as if she was fighting back the tears.

    Apollyon felt like tearing up, too, and he rapidly blinked them away.

    Vampire Kings do not show emotions that would make them appear weak.

    Most of all, Vampire Kings should not cry in front of their wife.

    He lifted her chin with a finger, forcing her to have eye contact with him.

    He saw that her eyes were red from the tears falling down her cheeks.

    "I''m not used to this." As she pinched her lips together, Luna swatted his hand away from her face and nced down. "Your dark blue eyes were so intense it felt like you can see right through me."

    Apollyon''s brows knitted in confusion as he scowled.

    He didn''t know why Luna couldn''t bear to look at him, covering her beautiful face with the curtain of her silver hair.

    Luna whispered, distressed, "I''m afraid, Apollyon."

    "Why would you be afraid of your husband?" He had no idea why his wife was acting shy all of a sudden.

    One thing he remembered about his wife was, she always had something to say.

    He soothed her as he ran his fingers through her hair, "I love you, and I wouldn''t do anything to hurt you."

    It''s not like her to be ashamed unless�� she did something wrong.

    Did she have sexual congress with other males aside from her husband?

    Adrenaline rushed from his body as he felt cold anger had turned his veins into ice.

    Nostrils ring, Apollyon had flexed his fingers to curb the dark emotion.

    It was bad to use his wife of things he had no proof of.

    He wasn''t the one who was dragged to Hell, so he had no right to judge her.

    Apollyon had trusted her wife not to lie or to betray him.

    Now wasn''t the time to create more problems.

    Their rtionship was strained and as fragile as a ss vase.

    It was up to him to continue where they have left off and turn their rtionship back to normal.

    As he bent his head closer, Apollyon murmured as he traced the shell of her ear with his tongue, "I''m d you''re back. I miss you, wife."

    There.

    Mayhap, that would turn her back to her normal self.

    Luna shivered at the sensation as she leaned her entire being into him, simr to how a blooming flower would gravitate to the sun, basking into the sunlight to nourish them.

    Apollyon waited patiently for her response, still wearing the huge smile stered on his face.

    From her stunned expression, it appeared like she couldn''t believe she was back in her body as she felt his physique up.

    Luna was probably just as shocked to see him.

    She touched him everywhere with her hands��his face, his neck, his broad shoulders, and his pectoral muscles-- like it was her first time.

    Mayhap, she had just forgotten how his body felt like.

    After a few minutes of petting him like a prized animal, Luna was released a contented sigh.

    Frowning, Apollyon ced a hand on her cheek and squeezed them gently, "You didn''t answer if you missed me, wife."

    He couldn''t help but envelop her body in his embrace as they swayed from left to right, following the rhythm that only he could hear.

    Luna didn''t protest and yed along as she hummed a pleasant tune of a slow waltz.

    She leaned his head on his shoulder, deeply inhaling the masculine scent from the crook of his neck.

    Apollyon was ecstatic, and he couldn''t get enough of her warmth.

    She was alive and standing in her beautiful blue dress, speaking and dancing with him as they had done at the Masquerade Ball.

    He had missed this time being with her, and it felt like she hadn''t really disappeared in his life.

    Apollyon had anxiously waited, praying to the goddess for her safe return.

    He wasn''t a believer of a goddess'' miracle, but now he was.

    "I miss you so much, Apollyon." She finally replied in a husky murmur, and to him, that was a small victory. "It''s been a while since Ist saw you."

    "It''s not ''a while'', wife." Apollyon scowled over his head as he saw Prince Aspen approaching them from where they stood. "You have been missing for years."

    There was an incessant pounding in his ears.

    "Ah, yes." Luna trailed off. "The time frame��"

    His senses were on high alert as he made a slight growl in his throat.

    Apollyon didn''t want any male near his wife now that she was back.

    He didn''t want to share her attention.

    "What had happened while you were gone?" Apollyon asked rather sharply. "Where have you been?"

    He wanted to make sure that Luna wasn''t involved with any Archdemons.

    Caressing his chest, Luna gave him a pleasant smile. "It''s a long story."

    "Tell me. I have all day to listen." Apollyon held both of her hands, pulling her towards the tree rings made of bricks for them to sit on.

    "Sit down." He sat first as he tugged her forearm to do the same. "I want to know what you have been doing."

    ''Who you have been doing.'' Apollyon thought darkly.

    "It''s not important anymore, Apollyon." Luna waved a dismissive hand.

    "Those Archdemons are gone." She dered, but Apollyon didn''t miss the shadow that had crossed her face. "They wouldn''t take my soul back to Hell anymore."

    "Are you sure?"

    "Rest assured." She beamed at him and licked her lips. "I would stay by your side forever."

    Apollyon wanted to ask more questions, but he decided against it.

    Instead, he cupped Luna''s cheeks with his hands tond a kiss on her parted lips, but a loud, booming voice had stopped him.

    Annoyed, Apollyon turned his head around to search where the disturbance hade from.

    It was Cederic.

    Cederic had grown back to his original form.

 Chapter 332 - Thats Suspicious

    <h4>Chapter 332 - That''s Suspicious</h4>

    ****************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ****************************

    As he nced around to where that loud, booming voice came from, Apollyon''s brows reached to his hairline when he witnessed Cederic back in his original form.

    He had so many questions crowding his mind, taking a minute to sort them out.

    How did he manage to remove the curse Lilith had ced on him all of a sudden when they have tried everything to return him to normal in the past?

    Had the High Priest done something to him and Luna while he was gone?

    Was there a Faerie Doctor who aided his military general and his wife to break their curse?

    Apollyon frowned.

    Had the Archdemon who the Dark Faerie conjured visited Lc Manor while Apollyon and Aspen were busy torturing one of their cult members?

    But why would they help them when they were out to capture the conjurer and strike a bargain with the cult leader?

    Things weren''t adding up, and they had unfolded unexpectedly.

    He wasn''t sure what to make of it.

    In addition to that, Luna had dismissed his questions when he asked her how she could return.

    Luna told him that the most important thing was that she was back in this Realm, and she had no intentions to go back to the Archdemons.

    Of course, Apollyon was d that he heard that from his wife''s mouth, but why did he have this inkling that he couldn''t trust those words?

    Cederic emerged from the Lc Manor''s double doors as he stalked towards them with wrinkles on his forehead along with an angry scowl.

    Apollyon had wondered if his military general had truly seen them because it seemed like he was searching for something.

    His aimless actions told Apollyon that Cederic had roamed around the Lc Manor for a while now.

    The bark of the tree had momentarily covered him from Apollyon''s angle.

    Was he looking for clothes because the ones he brought from the Vampire Realm will not fit him anymore?

    Apollyon realized that his military general was stark naked after a few more steps in their direction, his balls dangling with every stride.

    He just covered his tool with his hand as if that was enough.

    It wasn''t.

    Cederic had grown his beard back over his chiseled jaw, and his bone structure became more pronounced--strong cheekbones, full lips, and a masculine square chin.

    His blond hair had turned a darker shade of gold, and the sun''s early morning rays made it appear bronze.

    His grey eyes were the only thing Cederic had sustained, whether it was his adolescent form or his muscr adult physique.

    Cederic still had those shrewd grey eyes as he narrowed his gaze at Apollyon and Luna, who had her back turned from the irate military general with her eyes closed, still anticipating?his kiss.

    Good.

    Apollyon shouldn''t let Luna see other naked males aside from him.

    He couldn''t believe that his awakened wife wasn''t the most shocking thing Apollyon had ever seen today.

    Cederic carried a short knife around Lc Manor like a serial killer as he wore his birthday suit that was determined to go on a killing spree.

    "What''s wrong, Apollyon?" Luna gave her a questioning nce.

    Before Luna could turn her head to follow where Apollyon had been looking at, Apollyon abruptly sped her chin to with a hand to keep her gaze on him and him alone.

    He stared into those deep emerald orbs of hers and whispered, "You shall not look behind us. Do you understand me?"

    Luna''s eyes glowed before nodding twice.

    Giving him a pleasant smile, she nced down and acquiesced, "Yes, husband."

    Apollyon raised an eyebrow at her unusual response.

    "How obedient." Apollyon released his hold on her chin when he noticed that Luna had followed hismands without question.

    He wasn''t used to this because his wife would never follow him blindly without asking questions.

    ''She must see things for herself.''

    That was her attitude.

    He raised an eyebrow and smirked, "Who are you, and where is my wife?"

    Luna''s posture went rigid, but she still kept her gaze on the ground.

    There was a silent but deadly pause.

    Squinting at the crown of her head, Apollyon wondered if he had said something wrong.

    She could tell that what he said was merely a jest, right?

    Clearing her throat, Luna finally spoke, "Do you not like it when your wife is obedient. You''re Highness?"

    "Is something the matter?" Apollyon was too focused on his wife that his head flinched back slightly when he heard another male voice near them.

    He nced upward to witness Prince Aspen standing behind Luna.

    Apollyon''s arm shot out to grab Prince Aspen.

    That way, the charming Faerie Prince would stand beside him and nowhere near his wife.

    "Is that the Empress of the Vampire Realm, King Apollyon?" Prince Aspen asked, ring at Luna''s bowed head.

    "You can see that thedy had silver hair and had worn a simr blue dress at the Spring Celebration, cousin," Apollyon said sarcastically. "No, this isn''t my Empress."

    Luna shifted in her seat in difort, but she kept her silence.

    "I find it strange that you have woken up at the Faerie Realm, specifically in Lc Manor, for no reason after all these years, You''re Highness." Prince Aspen scratched his chin as he regarded her with suspicion. "I don''t think this is just a mere coincidence."

    Legs nted wide, Apollyon crossed his arms over his chest and replied defensively, "It''s called a ''miracle,'' cousin. The gods and goddesses must have answered my prayers when we couldn''t find out the truth from one of those cult members."

    "Gods and Goddesses don''t work--"

    "So, we are in the Faerie Realm," Cutting the Faerie Prince off. Luna muttered to herself as she clutched the skirts of her gown until her knuckles went white.

    She asked softly, "For what reason are we here, You''re Highness?"

    Prince Aspen shook his head at Apollyon, telling him not to reveal anything about the demonic faeries to his wife.

    Clenching his jaw, Apollyon pursed his lips and decided not to--even if he was deeply insulted by Aspen''sck of trust in the Empress.

    "We were here so that I could save you." Apollyon moved closer so he could pat Luna''s head, "It turned out you didn''t need saving after all."

    "You couldn''t save me. You''re Highness." There was a crack in her voice that hinted pain, "I was in the control of the Archdemons. I can either save myself, or the Archdemons had already decided to let me go."

    "So was it the former or thetter?"

    "The Archdemons had let me go without protest."

    Aspen slightly cocked his head and frowned, "I don''t believe you, Empress."

    A soft whimper escaped Luna''s parted lips, and it alerted Apollyon''s protective instincts.

    "Cousin. Don''t be rude." As his pulse quickened, Apollyon''s mouth twisted into a tight line as he grabbed his cor with both hands, "Could you just be happy that my wife is back for once?"

    Aspen ignored him. "Could you raise your head so that I could see your face clearly, Empress?"

    Luna followed Prince Aspen''s request and slowly raised her head, meeting his gaze head-on.

    Apollyon noticed that his wife had a nk, unemotional look on her face.

    "Now, tell me." Aspen ordered in his unnatural deep voice filled with hypnotic charm, "Do you know who I am?"

    There was an infinite pause.

    "I know that you are a Faerie Prince," Luna lifted a hand loosely with her palm up in a ''Who cares?'' gesture. "It wouldn''t matter if I know who you are."

    Apollyon was about to ask if she had just forgotten the Faerie Prince or if she had lost some of her memories.

    In a sh, Cederic had teleported in front of Luna and wrapped his fingers around her neck, forcing her upright and pushing her violently to the bark of the tree.

    Apollyon couldn''t say if he were grateful that Cederic had found some trousers to wear when he had assaulted his wife out of the blue.

    With her green eyes almost bulging out of her sockets, Luna screeched as she wed at his strong hands.

    As his heart speed up painfully for seeing his wife hurt by his own friend,?Apollyon could see red clouding his vision as violent rage made him go blind.

    "Let''s listen to your military general first," Prince Aspen dered, using his hypnotic voice to soothe his rage.

    ''How can Apollyon listen if the first thing Cederic did was to kill his wife?''

    "NO!" Apollyon bellowed as he lunged for Cederic so that he could throw him over his shoulder and mmed him to the ground. "Can''t you see that Cederic was the instigator?"

    His anger was like mes that threatened to consume him as his fingers frantically grabbed Cederic off Luna, but Prince Aspen had blocked him and pushed him far from them.

    "Thedy doesn''t know me, Apollyon. She is an impostor!" Prince Aspen said as he pointed an using finger at Luna. "If something is too good to be true, then it isn''t true."

    Cederic raised her upwards in a choke and shoved her back to the dirt.

    No screams wereing out of Luna''s parted lips as her eyes threatened to roll at the back of her head.

    Cederic!" Apollyon''s voice grew louder, stronger. "Stop it!"

    Aspen had pushed him with supernatural strength, but Apollyon could fetch the crossbow he had set aside before he had embraced Luna.

    As Apollyon moved quickly behind Cederic for a sneak attack, he was ready to kill his own military general.

 Chapter 333 - No Proof

    <h4>Chapter 333 - No Proof</h4>

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    Vampire King Apollyon

    ****************************

    As Apollyon moved quickly behind Cederic for a sneak attack, he was ready to kill his own military general.

    "I will kill you." As he pulled onest iron bolt from his quiver, Apollyon cocked the weapon, aimed it at his shoulder, and released the trigger.

    It''s a shame it wasn''t a wooden arrow because it appeared the man had a death wish.

    The military general crumpled to the ground and as heid on his stomach--simr to the tortured captive at the Whispering Forest.

    Cederic had a forged iron embedded on his left shoulder.

    The bastard had deserved it.

    Well, that was what he got for strangling Luna and holding her upwards by the neck, then dropping her like a ragdoll afterward.

    "Luna." Apollyon bellowed as he moved around the fallen Cederic.

    He cradled Luna''s upper body and checked if her injuries had quickly healed as a vampire should.

    The faint bruises on his general''s fingertips hadpletely faded, but the ws digging into her skin took almost half a minute to heal.

    "Are you alright, wife?" Apollyon''s hands were trembling as he stroked her hair away from her face.

    "It-thought I w-was g-going to d-ie, A-pollyon." Luna''s cheeks were swollen as a river of tears streamed down her face.

    She sniffed a few short breaths. "It r-really h-hurts t-to s-swallow."

    Choking down a sob, Luna swallowed hard as she caressed her throat.

    "You aren''t a good actress at all." Cederic groaned as he lifted his head to look at them. "You must have forgotten you are in a vampire''s body."

    Apollyon thought that Cederic would be unconscious for a long time.

    Forged iron did not affect vampires.

    He had no time to search for a wooden arrow, either.

    As long as no one would pull the iron bolt out of his shoulder, Cederic''s wound wouldn''t heal.

    "You have recovered from your injuries." Cederic gritted his teeth as he wed on dirt, summoning the strength to pull at the iron bolt himself. "What are you bbering on about?"

    Apollyon''s rage returned as he glowered at him who was on the ground. "Are you telling me that it would be alright to strangle my wife because she was a vampire, and she could heal anyway?"

    "When she had disobeyed you at the Marriage Auction, and you stabbed your wife twice as a punishment. You had your wicked way with her in that Ivory Tower, afterward��"Cederic paused.

    His left arm reached behind his back, got hold of the iron bolt, and pulled it himself.

    He didn''t scream as his vampire blood spilled unto the grass, but Apollyon could see the mist forming near his open mouth as he panted heavily, his deep wound sealing shut.

    Cederic groaned when he rolled over so that he would lie on his back this time. "Do you think it was alright to stab her just because she would heal as a vampire?"

    "I didn''t like what you did to her that night, you''re Highness, but I was just d that Luna had forgiven you." Cederic sighed as he stared at the canopy of leaves above him.

    As he took a couple of calming breaths, Apollyon saw no reason to annihte his military general without exnation.

    Cederic had a point, but he wasn''t going to admit he was wrong, and neither would he insist that he was right, either.

    He still had visual shbacks of what happened at the Ivory Tower, where he had ''punished'' her.

    It never failed to bring chills running down his spine because Apollyon somehow knew it was his fault that Luna was caught by the Archdemons that it took her two weeks to return.

    "Now, will you forgive me for strangling thatdy pretending to be your wife?"

    ''Thatdy?'' Apollyon''s ears perked up at the deliberate insult.

    He promised to listen to what Cederic had to say, but if he continued these jabs at his wife, Apollyon should go back to Lc Manor and fetch some wooden arrows and make Cederic''s heart his second target practice.

    Nevertheless, Cederic became his military general for a reason, and he wouldn''t do something like this if he didn''t find Luna a threat to him and the Vampire Realm.

    Why would he Cederic do something like this?

    He still decided to listen to him with patience and judge afterward.

    Luna murmured, "Cederic��"

    The Military General had spat the name like it was a curse. "Lilith."

    "Lilith?" Apollyon''s eyes widened with shock. "That forged iron bolt on your body can''t make someone blind, Cederic."

    "Can''t you see this is Luna in front of us?" He stopped caressing Luna''s face as he fixed his gaze on Cederic.? "This isn''t the first High Priestess of the Vampire Realm."

    "Are all of us seeing the same person?" He asked calmly, returning his gaze to Luna.

    "This can''t be mour." The whole thing was just ridiculous. "Why would you mistake her for someone else?"

    You know the only bitch who cursed me. You''re Highness." As Cederic clenched his fists at the iron bolt in his hand, he glowered at Luna with malice, but he thought better not to attack, "I have tried so hard to get the curse off me for centuries that I havepletely given up."

    "I w-would b-be g-d if y-you k-kill that bastard for m-me, husband." Luna raised a hand to rest on where she could feel the beat of Apollyon''s heart. "H-how dare h-he choke t-the E-mpress?"

    Cederic rolled his eyes and ignored his wife''s outburst, "I was watching over the Empress while she was asleep as usual, but the moment thisdy opened her eyes, I turned back to my original form."

    "So, you or the High Priest hadn''t called a Witch Doctor to get Luna back?"

    "You know Faerie Witch Doctors can''t do anything about Archdemon Magic, cousin."? Prince Aspen interrupted, and it caught the three of them off-guard because it took him a while to speak again. "I know you have tried everything in the Vampire Realm."

    Prince Aspen was just there with them with his legs nted wide and his arms crossed, listening to the conversation that Apollyon had forgotten he was there in the first ce.? "You are getting your hopes up because of what my Queen Mother had told you about our best Witch Doctors."

    "I was just hoping they could." Apollyon replied, "We don''t know what would work and what wouldn''t because we are dealing with magic we aren''t familiar with."

    "You are just thinking that way because your ego would not ept that we had failed our mission at the Whispering Forest."

    "What is the Whispering Forest?" Luna asked softly.

    Before Apollyon could tell her about the faerie captive who was a member of the demonic cult, Prince Aspen''s query had caught his attention. "Don''t you think something is fishy that she had suddenly woken up out-of-the-blue in the Faerie Realm?"

    "Mayhap, it was a coincidence."Apollyon insisted with a scowl.

    "There is no coincidence in this world." This must be Prince Aspen''s favorite line.

    "Please, Apollyon." Luna''s eyes watered again as she gave him a pained stare while also giving Cederic a sideways nce,? "You must behead the general for his insolence."

    "Lilith. You had never changed.? In the past, you have always wanted me dead, but you chose to give me a curse worse than death itself��turning me into an eternal child so that you could shatter my pride as the Vampire Realm''s Military General." Cederic said as he bared his teeth in anger, "You aimed to destroy me from the start, and I managed to survive this long."

    "Lilith is dead, Cederic. Why are you ming Luna for your past grudges?" Apollyon was proud. His voice sounded normal as he clenched his fists. "She hadn''t done anything wrong with you."

    "Couldn''t you just appreciate that the High Priestess'' curse was lifted so that you could finally live the life you should have lived in your adult body?" These usations about Luna being Lilith were already getting on his nerves, and he just wanted Cederic to stop. "In my opinion, you should be grateful for this."

    "Not at the cost of your real wife''s safety, Apollyon." Cederic''s lips curled into a grimace. "I hate to say this, but as your military general, Luna had a special ce in my heart, and I have found her first."

    Apollyon released Luna as he stood up from the tree ring, looking down at Cederic, "Are you telling me you wanted my wife from the moment you had picked her up to be a part of my Consortium?"

    "Don''te near that bitch. You''re Highness." Cederic warned. "I''m telling you. That''s not your wife."

    "You have no proof." Apollyon was tempted to crush Cederic''s skull with his foot.

    "I am the living proof. You''re Highness." Cederic jutted his chin. "Don''t let that woman drink your blood, and neither should you drink hers. Next thing you know is you might be blood bonded to an Archdemon."

 Chapter 334 - Attempted Seduction

    <h4>Chapter 334 - Attempted Seduction</h4>

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    Vampire King Apollyon

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    Apollyon had chosen to ignore Cederic and Prince Aspen''s warning.

    He proceeded to carry Luna like a princess, keeping her away from Prince Aspen and Cederic who had this irrevocable belief that an Archdemon might rece Luna.

    Cederic had assumed it was Lilith because he had turned back into his adult form.

    Apollyon was convinced that Lilith was dead because he and Cederic had seen her corpse in the basement,?along with her virgin sacrifices, with their own eyes.

    "Apollyon." Luna hupped, and her eyes were simr to water dams. "You wouldn''t believe your military general over your wife, right?"

    She wouldn''t stop crying, and it made Apollyon''s heart soften.

    He fought the urge to be cold and judgemental when it came to a woman''s emotions, especially his wife.

    Luna''s body must have contained so much pain during her time with the Archdemons that Apollyon''s heart had reached out to her, wanting to offer unconditional love.

    Cederic had called them out as he tried to stand to catch up to them, but he almost stumbled.

    Forged iron might have a certain effect on vampires because it made Cederic''s limbs heavy and his muscles weak.

    Prince Aspen decided to aid him, cing Cederic''s arm around his shoulders, allowing the general to lean on him so that he could stand upright.

    Cederic wouldn''t need Aspen''s help at all if he could use his ability to teleport.

    Apollyon had guessed that the forged iron might have also fucked that up even if his deep wound from the iron arrow hadpletely healed.

    "You should have killed Cederic when you got the chance, husband." Luna pleaded in her crystal tears. "Why did you leave him to insult me at the Lc Manor''s courtyard garden?"

    Clenching her fists, Luna punched him repeatedly on the chest. "He tried to kill me, and you justnded one iron bolt at his back. Only one!"

    "That was thest forged iron bolt from my quiver." Apollyon calmly replied. "Should I have searched for more iron bolts and hit him with it for your satisfaction?"

    "You should pick a wooden arrow next time." As she covered her face, Luna continued to sob. "If you were a real husband, you should have killed him and that cousin of yours."

    ''If something is too good to be true, then that isn''t true.'' Prince Aspen''s voice was a constant ring in his ears.

    +++

    Apollyon brought Luna back to her designated room in the Lc Manor.

    He knew that Luna had required his warmth and empathy.

    He nned on providing that as her husband, but there was this strange feeling he couldn''t exin.

    He settled her gently to the bed, giving Luna an intense stare because it appeared like she was acting out of character with all these overwhelming tears.

    After fluffing the pillows, he murmured, "You can nowy your head down, wife."

    Apollyon ced an arm around her back to support her as shey down, but the moment her head touched the pillow, Luna rose again and locked her hands around Apollyon''s neck. "I have been asleep for years, husband."

    She murmured huskily, pulling Apollyon to her bed, and he let her.

    Clutching his wrist with her fingers, Luna leaned closer to kiss him on the lips.

    He felt her tongue probe the seams of his lips, but he responded like a dead fish instead, not kissing back and initiating more contact.

    As she started tearing the front of his tunic, Luna breathed into Apollyon''s closed mouth.?"I have no intention of sleeping tonight."

    Apollyon knew what his wife had implied about not sleeping, but honestly, Apollyon didn''t feel like fucking, and he and Prince Aspen had stayed up all night to torture the captive.

    He just wanted to rest for a while now that Luna was back.

    Of course, Apollyon was d that he wouldn''t suffer from constant paranoia, but there was a part of him that didn''t like to be in his wife''s presence right now.

    His intuition told him something, but he refused to acknowledge it because they were mere spections without proof.

    Cederic and Prince Aspen were sessful at instilling doubt in his mind that he couldn''t remove this niggling suspicion.

    When he finally had enough of Luna''s attempted seduction, Apollyon grabbed both of her wrists away from tearing his clothes off and kept her hands to herself.

    Frowning, Luna must have sensed his disinterest that her face was now flushed with annoyance.

    Apollyon started to panic when Luna untied the strings of her corset frantically.

    The bodice of her blue gown loosened.

    When he saw the ivory globes of her breasts, revealing her dark, rosy ares, Apollyon swallowed hard.

    He licked his lips as he watched them bounce with every little movement.

    As Luna started to strip, Apollyon jumped out of bed to keep his distance.

    Breathing hard, Apollyon averted his gaze away by staring at the wall, supressing his lust for a wife he wasn''t sure of, "Why do you think Cederic had tried to kill you, Luna?"

    "I did nothing." Luna replied as Apollyon heard the rustle of her clothes when she removed them, "I just woke up from my long slumber, stared at my hands and my legs in excitement, then went straight to the mirror. I was d that I was finally back in this Realm."

    Why would Luna go straight to the mirror to see her reflection the moment she came back?

    "I saw Cederic''s reflection in the mirror and he had suddenly grown out of his boy clothes so of course, everything had been torn to pieces." Luna narrated in a low husky voice, "He tackled me from behind, naked, mind you, and we wrestled for each other for a minute. I kicked him in the nuts, and the bastard had punched me in the jaw, husband, but I couldn''t prove it to you because I already healed from it."

    Frowning, she finished, "I don''t know why Cederic hated to see me."

    Apollyon clenched his forearm briefly to get a hold of himself, "And, then what?"

    "He went unconscious."

    Apollyon had caught her.

    "What did you do to make him unconscious, Luna, when the Goddess Hecate had already taken her magic from you?"

 Chapter 335 - A Desperate Wife

    <h4>Chapter 335 - A Desperate Wife</h4>

    *************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    *************************

    "What did you do to make him unconscious, Luna, when the Goddess Hecate had already taken her magic from you?"

    No one in this Realm could get the upper hand or pull one over his military general if that person didn''t have magic or power stronger than an ancient vampire.

    Unfortunately, Luna had none of those things because she had already lost her High Priestess Magic the moment Apollyon had imed his wife''s virginity.

    The real Luna will not have any magic left except for her strength as a vampire and an Amazon.

    Apollyon finally caught something from this confession, wondering if this Luna can make such a believable excuse.

    Turning around, Apollyon was supposed to stare at her with a look full of hatred and usation, but his mind had turned nk when she found Luna leaning against the headboard while her naked, lithe body was securely tucked under the sheets.

    Her seductive and confident pose had screamed Luna as the owner of Apollyon''s pleasure.

    Their eyes met, and Apollyon hated the sexual tension rising in the bed-chamber.

    "The Goddess Hecate had bestowed Underworld Magic back to me in Hell, Apollyon."? Luna was nestledfortably against the cloud of pillows with her head cradled against one hand. "I was her favoured High Priestess, and I epted her blessing."

    "I needed it so that I coulde back to you." Luna shrugged, smirking. "Aren''t you happy that I am back, stronger than ever?"

    It was ironic how she was crying a few minutes ago, upset by Cederic''s actions.

    Still, the tears that had stained Luna''s cheeks had glistened prettily in the sunlight unfiltered by the silk curtains of the room.

    "Of course, I am." Squinting at her, Apollyon''s face tightened as he focused on anything that was above Luna''s neck so that he wouldn''t be tempted with her allure. "I was just asking you questions so that I could make it clear to Cederic and Aspen not to doubt you."

    Her scarlet lips pouted prettily, "I am disappointed that you weren''t here with me the moment I woke up, husband."

    "I wasn''t here to watch over you because we had things to do in the Whispering Forest."

    "What were you doing in this Whispering Forest with the Faerie Prince, Apollyon?" Luna gave him a furtive nce, "You aren''t trying to search for Spring Faeries to fuck while I was unconscious because you couldn''t wait for me, right?

    "No." Apollyon kept his response vague. "I had apanied him there to investigate."

    "What is it about?" Frowning, Luna pressed.

    "The Faerie Prince wanted to keep it discreet, wife, so I can''t tell you." He couldn''t bear to trust her yet, so Apollyon lied to her. "I have sworn an oath to the Faerie Prince not to tell others. This is between the Royal Family of the Spring Courts, King Zephyr and me."

    It would be bad to reveal their secret about capturing the leader of this demonic faerie cult in front of a suspected Archdemon who had allegedly imed his wife''s body.

    "Don''t you trust me, husband?" Gripping a fistful of her nkets, Luna lowered her head, and her chin had trembled as if she was about to cry again. "I know you don''t want to tell me because that Cederic and the Faerie Prince had influenced you of his nonsense."

    Apollyon didn''t respond, and it made Luna drag her nails down her wet cheeks in desperation.

    "I don''t know what else you want me to do, husband. I am passionate and loyal to you." Luna screeched at him as she threw punches on the mattress.

    Luna was having a temper tantrum, and Apollyon tried so hard to keep his indifference.

    "Why can''t I leave a mark on your heart of stone?" She screamed, thrashing about like a child, "My love for you will transcend even after death."

    "I think I am regretting my decision ofing back to you, Apollyon, when you act like you don''t trust me all of a sudden." Now, Luna had grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled at them, whimpering, "You let what Cederic said to get to you, ying with your thoughts, entertaining the idea of me being an Archdemon and that dead High Priestess Lilith at the same time."

    At this point, Luna was hysterical, her face contorting with rage, "Did you know how ridiculous that sounded?"

    He said, devoid of emotion, "It felt like you have changed, Luna."

    Eyes widening at Apollyon''s sharp tone, Luna rubbed at her upper arms forfort. "Nothing had changed. I am still me. I think you are the one who changed Apollyon." She muttered anxiously to herself, "If? your love for me had cooled and died down, we should start everything from scratch. I''ll do anything in my power��"

    It was this difort that he couldn''t understand, like, all of those loving emotions��sadness and yearnings-- inside his heart had gone stale.

    Mayhap, Apollyon was exhausted from everything that happened for the past years, and he finally found relief.

    He had hated to see his wife shed tears, but he had no desire to be identally mated to an Archdemon like what happened to Luna either.

    Apollyon sighed as he lowered down his gaze.

    He couldn''t afford to make the same mistake as his wife because that would destroy them.

    He changed the subject. "Didn''t you recognize Prince Aspen when he asked you who he was?"

    "Of course, I know, Prince Aspen, husband, and I know he was your cousin. I was merely jesting." Luna''s posture went rigid before blowing out a noisy breath. "Who cared about other men when I have you by my side? You are the most important man to me, and I had no interest in anyone else."

    "I love you, Apollyon, and if you really loved me as a husband, you should punish that Cederic and that cousin of yours." Luna raised her voice, but it sometimes wavered, "I didn''t deserve this kind of treatment as your Empress. I couldn''t bear to face them every day with their hostile gazes using me of Lilith."

    "I will always be met with guilt and shame for something I didn''t do." She sputtered, "I don''t like to see them ever again because they are making me fear for my life."

    Luna was so angry that she had shifted in her position.

    The coverlet dropped from her breasts, ying peek-a-boo with Apollyon''s ming passion.

    As beads of sweat ran down his forehead, Apollyon''s fingers ached from the need to touch and caress.

    He crossed his arms over his chest defensively, slightly parting his legs to amodate his size because he could feel himself getting hard.

    If Apollyon can confirm that thisdy''s soul was, in fact, Luna, then he shouldn''t have to waste his time, drooling over how tempting his wife was, and jump her sexy bones at once.

    Now, he wondered if his wife was doing this on purpose to y with his desires, but there was this nagging possibility that this wasn''t his wife.

    Apollyon had taken a few steps backwards.

    He didn''t want to look at her because a part of him felt like it was wrong.

    A sudden realization had shed light into the darkest corners of his mind.

    Clutching his heart, Apollyon realized he couldn''t feel the blood bond between them.

    The soul tie wasn''t there, and he couldn''t sense Luna''s consciousness like he used to before.

    It wasn''t that his wife had improved on blocking him from her mind.

    This Luna right here wasn''t her.

    "Apollyon. Why are you so quiet?" Biting her lip, Luna asked, "Do you not believe me as your wife?"

    "Do you hate Cederic, Luna?"

    Gritting her teeth, she dered with utmost conviction, "I hate the bastard with my entire being."

    "Why?"

    "Because�� Because��" Luna trailed off as if gathering her thoughts, "Cederic was the one who captured me to be part of the Consortium."

    "So you hated bing the High Priestess, saving me from the Archdemon of Gluttony and bing my blood mate?"

    "No. " A shake in the head. "Things might have turned well for us. You know how much I love you, Apollyon, right?"

    "Cederic had said he had liked me first. What do you think of that?" Luna curled her hands into tight fists, and her green eyes were wide, glossy and feverish. "Aren''t you concerned that he would take me away from you as the Archdemons had done?"

    She insisted, "You must kill him, Apollyon, for our peace of mind."

    "I''ll think about it," Apollyon said tly.

    "Thank you, husband." She exhaled a huge relief, and her body sagged, "You are the best."

    "Alone." Apollyon said coldly, "I''ll think about it alone."

    Her hackles rose again, alert, "You aren''t going to sleep here?"

    "Prince Aspen''s butler had prepared another room for me."

    "No, I want you now, husband."? Luna insisted as she climbed out of bed, reaching out to him with desperation, "I am a champion who had defeated the Archdemons who wished to take me. You are my reward, Apollyon."

    "You should not have stripped, my Empress." Apollyon shook his head as he stalked through the door, leaving her behind, "You are wandering in the wilds of peril, and I do not wish to join you."

    Unperturbed, Luna chased after him.

    There was aggression in her voice as she bared her teeth, "You are obliged to do your husbandly duties now that I am back."

    "I think I should sleep alone for now so that I wouldn''t disturb you."

 Chapter 336 - Behind Bars

    <h4>Chapter 336 - Behind Bars</h4>

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    Luna''s hands were sweaty, making the iron bars shine in ces where her bloody palms had gripped them.

    The obsidian walls were made of ck iron, thick and hot to the touch as the demon fire, preventing any tortured screams from prating the next prison cell.

    These obsidian walls were a requirement for all torture chambers and prisons in Hell specifically made for Archdemons.

    It could also nullify Archdemon Magic.

    Satan''s prisoners wouldn''t attempt a jailbreak, leaving them to rot.

    In Luna''s opinion, as one of Satan''s prisoners, there was no need for her to attempt that.

    Thousands of predatory legions would hunt her down in the end or it would be the one and only Grand Torturer chasing after her.

    Luna wasn''t the type to waste her time on a useless endeavor again.

    She would have had, before, but not anymore.

    There was no guard stationed in her prison cell.

    Satan had seen to it that his prisoners wouldn''t need them because they were already trapped in their own minds.

    The Grand Torturer was the best at inducing nightmares, terrifying illusions, and phobias when the prisoners shut their eyes and sleep.

    This was her everyday routine-- never raising her head when the torture began.

    Luna''s body had remained on the dirt of her prison cell.

    It was utter humiliation.

    As Satan''s prisoner and his favorite student, the ultimate goal was to escape.

    Still, Luna had no pride left because Satan ensured that none remained, except for total obedience.

    This was the sad fate of Satan''s favored students��those who had the potential to be a ruling Archdemon in Hell.

    They shall suffer under the Grand Torturer''s hands to make them excel in summoning Archdemon Magic.

    Even Ravin and Sloth had unforgettable experiences with the Grand Torturer, but they refused to disclose what had been done to them.

    Luna didn''t remember all the evil things that had been done to her.

    Mayhap, she had lost her mind.

    Luna had no idea how long she had been here in her small cell.

    She couldn''t tell if time slowed down whenever the Grand Torture flogged her back with ming ''cat o'' nine tails'' as she prayed for the end of her suffering, or would the time pass by quickly, moving unto the next day.

    Then it was time for the Grand Torturer to visit her and inflict pain all over again.

    When it was time for Satan''s lessons with the group of fledgling Archdemons he had gathered in his Castle, Luna was taken out of her prison, training with them, wielding?the forbidden magic from the sun up till sundown.

    If fledglings like her used archdemon Magic without Satan''s supervision as their Master, they would be locked up in prison.

    Of course, her fellow students wouldn''t dare.

    Luna was the living proof of such a consequence.

    Other fledgling Archdemons had worn ck hoods, and she had never seen a familiar face��a friend��but in contrast, Luna was exposed from head to toe wearing only a simple dress Ravin had given her every time he visited, providing her Archdemon blood to drink and bringing the whelp with him, hoping that its adorable sight could cheer her up on her bleakest of days in prison.

    The ''past Luna'' would have cried tears of joy when she saw the whelp Sloth had given her had quickly grown.

    Luna would have reached out her hand to caress its head while Ravin had cradled it in his arms, showing it to her for the first time in two weeks like he was a proud father.

    Ravin would have made a good husband seeing how well he cared for Luna''s whelp that it was now attached to himpared to Luna, who had nurtured it while it was still a child.

    Distance had kept them apart.

    The whelp might have thought Luna had abandoned him when she had no choice but to leave because she was taken captive by the Grand Torturer.

    It was a child at that time so that it wouldn''t understand her situation.

    The whelp looked at her as if it didn''t know her while its exciting reactions were reserved for Ravin.

    Lunapared the whelp and her husband, Apollyon.

    Honestly, she wouldn''t be surprised if her mate had found someone new when he had waited for his wife for too long.

    She noticed Apollyon was a sexual creature.

    Mayhap, he had bonded with another female if that was possible.

    He could be trying to find a way to cut their soul tie so that he would be free of her.

    Luna sighed.

    She wouldn''t me Apollyon if he did that.

    Would he be thankful if Luna decided to let him go so that he wouldn''t suffer anymore?

    Ravin had trained the whelp well, and it was also good at following itsmands.

    He had shown her.

    Luna was jealous of their bond.

    She very much enjoyed Ravin and the whelp''s visit in the beginning, butter on, she hated it.

    Whenever they watched Luna from behind bars, her eyes remained dry, and her expression was impassive.

    The Archdemon of Gluttony noticed her cold demeanor but didn''t speak of it.

    When Ravin initiated a conversation--asking her how she was and constantly reassuring her that she would be released once she learned how to use Archdemon Magic and open portals in the different realms--he told her that everything would be alright.

    "Lies!" Luna had yelled at him with disgust, "Why would I believe you?"

    Nevertheless, she acted like she didn''t care because his Archdemon husband''s monthly visit had made her feel miserable.

    "I don''t want to see you again, Ravin!" Gritting her teeth, Luna screamed, "Leave me alone."

    Ravin was had mmed his fist on the wall in anger when she confessed this truth to him.

    Now, Luna was alone and isted, just like she always wanted.

    Good riddance.

    Not.

    Luna missed them, but she was trying hard to be strong.

    That was the reason why he was here with the Grand Torturer.

    Leaning her forehead against the irom bars, she croaked, "What doesn''t kill you make you stronger."

 Chapter 337 - Is That You, Husband?

    <h4>Chapter 337 - Is That You, Husband?</h4>

    ****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ****************************

    ''What doesn''t kill you makes you stronger.''

    This phrase had stuck into Luna''s mind whenever she felt like dying.

    Unfortunately, Archdemons like her don''t die.

    She chanted this like a mantra in situations where she felt so weak and vulnerable.

    It was a prayer she would utter when her persecution began, which became a habitter on.

    It was initiated by the Grand Torturer first--murmuring in that disembodied and distorted voice of his��that what doesn''t kill Luna will make her stronger in the long run.

    She believed it.

    The Grand Torturer had told Luna once that she should count herself lucky that she was chosen to learn Archdemon Magic under the best Master, iming that hardships, pain, and suffering will make her stronger and pick up these powers fasterpared to others.

    It was his special blend of mind conditioning.

    ''What doesn''t kill you makes you stronger.''

    The Grand Torturer''s deep baritone was difficult for her ears toprehend, but her mind could.

    It showed how easy the firstborn Archdemon could invade a fledgling''s mind.

    Luna had learned Archdemon Magic with the Master Satan only to be delivered back to her cell and punished by the Grand Torturer without reason.

    Satan had considered Luna as one of his favorite students.

    He never missed apanying the Grand Torturer to her prison cell because he enjoyed watching the Grand Torturer break her spirit after his lessons.

    Luna had secretly enhanced her knowledge and abilities in silence.

    Sometimes, she pretended like she couldn''t do some of the training exercises, hopeful that the old man would buy her act.

    When she had recovered from the Grand Torturer, Luna would have a special lecture with Satan when it came to ''Portal Creation'' so that Archdemons could finally pass through the Middle and Upper Realms.

    Luna swore she had be better at it, or she had promised herself.

    That was the only way she could escape from this prison.

    After the Grand Torturer would make her suffer, he would feed her strong demon souls of high quality, giving her immense strength after his repeated torture.

    He was a psychopath and his Master Satan, who gave her both the poison and the cure.

    How could he act as if nothing happened?

    Like the bastard didn''t hurt her!

    Like his Archdemon blood didn''t spill all over the prison cell!

    Just because Luna had the capacity to heal herself as an Archdemon because she had drunk their blood and ate dark souls for her nourishment didn''t mean that the trauma he had put her through was gone, making her mind a clean te.

    These Archdemons had their empathy shut off ever since the day they were created.

    Their sick form of joy was indifference to others'' pain and sucking other creatures'' life force with a smile on their faces.

    The wound might not have existed because it had beenpletely sealed shut, but the pain remained and stored in her memories forever.

    They said only the Archdemon of Sloth had survived the Grand Torturer.

    Mayhap, he had snatched his own memory with the Grand Torturer, including his name and the memories of his past life, to get rid of the nightmares he had inflicted on Sloth.

    Sometimes, Luna had regretted treating Ravin and Luxen callously for being two bored Archdemons vying for her attention to be her husbands.

    Luna had no idea why they were acting like this when her attention wasn''t anything special at all.

    Of course, it all came down to the nature of the blood bond they have forced on her.

    For some reason, Luna had cut her soul tie for Luxen but for what cost?

    She both had the seed of an Archdemon and a Vampire inside her, waiting to be born in this cruel world.

    Luna was tempted to die so that she could relieve herself of her suffering, but Satan had turned her into an Archdemon, and Archdemons didn''t die in Hell.

    +++

    The Grand Torturer was also known as ''Morning Star,'' and he had that name for a reason.

    A metal club with an attached ball, with one or more spikes, hit his target with a blunt force and a puncture attack to kill or wound.

    He had shared that it was his favorite weapon when it?came to torturing rebellious fledglings.

    The prison cell would either be suffocating quiet due to total istion or pierced with her screams when the torture began.

    The Grand Torturer didn''t like to see or hear her cry and wail.

    He would ram her skull to the thick iron walls to shut her up.

    Luna had quickly figured out that he preferred the screams.

    The Grand Torturer didn''t talk much, but the moment she could feel a slight drop in the air temperature in her cell, that was the announcement of his arrival.

    Tonight, Luna could sense his presence despite waking up from her slumber.

    Luna had a bed without a mattress attached to the walls and a thick nket, but it was useless when she foundfort on the ground, lying in her pool of dried blood.

    Ovee with paralyzing fear, Luna''s body went rigid as hair lifted on her nape down to her arms.

    As her right cheeky firmly on the dirt, Luna became aware of the chains digging unto her wrists and legs.

    She couldn''t move because she was restrained without her notice.

    Every time she stretched, straining against the chains with all her might, it still wouldn''t budge.

    Luna knew that ''Morning Star'' hade.

    Her muscles had tensed as she anticipated for the spiked ball to hit her.

    The pain had taken over her entire brain.

    She felt her spine split into fragments as her mind almost cked out, her vision blotched with violent spots and colors, moving and merging into undefined patterns behind her closed lids.

    Luna slowly blinked as her eyes forced themselves to open.

    She had expected to see the Grand Torturer showing up in her vision.

    It was her husband, Apollyon, who had swum into her view.

 Chapter 338 - Mistaken Identity

    <h4>Chapter 338 - Mistaken Identity</h4>

    ****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ****************************

    Luna had expected to see the Grand Torturer show up in her vision, but her husband, Apollyon, had swum into her view, standing before her.

    It happened for a split second.

    Gasping, she lifted her head upwards, her eyes widening in shock.

    When her sight had cleared bit by bit, Luna''s vision of Apollyon morphed into the Grand Torturer like a mirage.

    Now, she was back in the prison cell with the Grand Torturer with a weapon in hand.

    As Lunay on her stomach with her wrists chained at the back, she narrowed her tired eyes at the man, making sure that it was truly the Grand Torturer in front of her and not her husband.

    The Grand Torturer''s weapon had Luna''s blood around the spikes.

    The repeated daily torture had made the dry, and hard blood turned liquid again, drizzling down into the shaft.

    Her eyes scanned left to right, looking for Apollyon or anyone whom she could ask for help.

    She whimpered in anguish, not because the Grand Torturer had her overturned--making hery on her wrists and back after shattering her spine with the Morning Star---but the fact that it wasn''t her husband who hade to save her.

    Luna screams echoed throughout the prison cell as sorrowful tears stream down her face, keeping her soul alive in the furnace of this pain.

    At that moment, Luna had questioned her reality if she had just imagined seeing her husband in a vast space of a room, so different from the cell she was in.

    In that vision, she wasn''t sure if she had seen unconscious faeries--with their ankles shackled into heavy iron balls--in Apollyon''s background.

    Blood had spilled everywhere.

    All of the captured fairies were unrecognizable, for they had grown ck, pointy horns.

    Dark Archdemon runes simr to hers covered their faces and upper bodies.

    Was her mind ying with her, imnting false memories into her mind--when Luna swore she had seen these piles of dead bodies with broken faerie wings behind Apollyon?

    Her heart pounded so loud it felt like it was about to explode.

    Were they really dead if these demonic faeries'' necks, arms, and legs were bent in an awkward angle like they were dolls?

    Had her husband killed all these demonic faeries to summon her back to the Vampire Realm?

    At the moment, Luna''s mind cleared out without a tinge of madness.

    She must use that as an advantage.

    It was either Luna used her mind to escape from here, or she would lose her mind.

    "Where have you been?" The Grand Torturer made her break out of reverie from that sudden question.

    Luna couldn''t get a word out except her low groans and ragged breaths.

    Her body was busy reattaching her shattered bones back together inside her bruised flesh.

    She hoped that her healing abilities as an Archdemon would fix them sessfully no matter how slow it might take.

    It would be akin to repairing a broken ss back to its original state.

    "Hmmm." Tilting his head, the Grand Torturer''s lips curved in amusement.? "It felt like you had attempted to use a different kind of magic that I couldn''t sense you for a second there."

    She trembled in fear as sweat trickled down her face.

    He grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled it back so that she would face him. "Can you use other kinds of Magic aside from what the Master had taught you?"

    As he raised the Morning Star, the iron ball with spikes fell heavy on her leg.

    As she wed her grimy fingernails to the dirt, Luna arched her back as the throbbing pain rushed through her spine like someone had set her on fire.

    Luna''s face contorted as her eyes shut tight.

    Head spinning, she burrowed herself close to the ground in an attempt to hide from the Grand Torturer.

    Luna could only shut her eyes tight as more tears leaked at the corner of her eyes.

    The pain slowly faded, and her breathing slowed when she started to heal.

    Jaws clenching, Luna wondered if her spirit could endure more of this torture.

    This would be a never-ending cycle if she couldn''t escape.

    The Grand Torturer abruptly released her silver locks, and the strike of the Morning Star against her stomach hadpletely shattered her with the pain that radiated into her soul.

    Baring her teeth, Luna rolled over to the side and curled into a ball, letting out a long hiss.

    Shey so still on the ground, and her breathing was shallow.

    She felt bruises in every corner of her body.

    The pain was too great to handle that it rendered her speechless but not yet unconscious.

    Luna had gone numb, and her limbs felt like they didn''t belong to her.

    Everything hurt.

    All she can do for now was cry��not to gain sympathy from the Archdemon but in hopes to release the pain and the misery.

    +++

    In the blink of an eye, the Grand Torturer was gone, but she wasn''t alone.

    Luna winced and nced at the floor to stare at her feet, and she realized it was hers.

    She was back in the Realm of the living!

    From the corner of her eye, she had noticed the presence of the Faerie Prince Aspen and King Zephyr, who were content on leaning their backs against the wall with their arms crossed, listening to Apollyon''s interrogation.

    They might have a rxed stance, allowing her husband to run this show, but this underlying tension in their muscles can only belong to a predator.

    Their sharp gazes were alert and vignt.

    One unpredicted move from the quarry, and they were prepared to move in for the kill.

    Luna couldn''t understand why Apollyon had her arms chained to the low ceiling.

    Luna''s soul still felt the pain the Grand Torturer had inflicted on her in her prison cell.

    Her legs had trembled that she couldn''t support the weight of her body any longer, so she sagged as she bent her knees.

    Head lolling to her side. Luna let her body swing back and forth while her wrists carried her weight.

    Her feet were inches above the ground.

    "Lilith." Luna had heard Apollyon whisper in her ear, and his deep voice sounded like he was underwater.

    Luna slightly lifted her heavy lids and blinked.

    Why did Apollyon call her Lilith?

    He was close enough to see her face.

    She wanted to nce at him, but her head hurt.

    Did he not recognize his own wife?

    Luna should have been ecstatic with the reunion, but why can''t Apollyon recognize her?

    "Lilith." Apollyon held her chin with his hand, lifting them towards his gaze.

    She looked at him wide-eyed.

    Luna saw Apollyon in that spacious room surrounded by the dead bodies of chained demonic faeries.

    "When are you nning to leave my wife''s body?" Apollyon had wrapped his fingers around her neck. "I have done everything I could for this fucking ritual! Aren''t these dead bodies not enough for you?"

    Luna was back in her own body, but why did her husband keep on calling for the Archdemon of Envy?

    "Apollyon." Luna sobbed, blood trickling down her mouth to her neck. "This is me."

 Chapter 339 - How Can I Convince You?

    <h4>Chapter 339 - How Can I Convince You?</h4>

    ******************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ******************************

    "Apollyon." Luna sobbed, blood trickling down her mouth to her neck. "This is me."

    Luna was back in her own body.

    Trembling with excitement, Luna''s eyes roamed around her legs and arms.

    This wasn''t a dream.

    She lowered her head a little, making her hair fall on her cheek.

    Luna just wanted to check if she had silver hair, reassuring her that she hadn''t possessed the wrong body by ident.

    She still had her silver hair, so why was Apollyon calling her Lilith?

    Her wish toe back to the Vampire Realm hade true without any help from the Archdemons in Hell.

    How can Luna break her bargain with Sloth now that she was back in the Vampire Realm?

    She swore an oath to teach him how to create portals to the Human Realm, and in return, Sloth would help her get back to the Vampire Realm.

    It was a bargain she couldn''t fulfil anymore.

    Anyhow, the answer shouldn''t matter.

    It wasn''t like she would see those damned Archdemons ever again.

    She didn''t have to care about Sloth because Apollyon had summoned her soul back to this Realm first.

    There must be a price for this, and she had this fear of knowing what it was.

    Whom did Apollyon strike a bargain with so that Luna would be able to return?

    Luna prayed that Apollyon would not strike a bargain with any Archdemons, but the evidence had shown her otherwise.

    WIth bulging eyes, Luna gasped at what she had just witnessed.

    This room had be a fountain of red, and the blood wasn''t that noticeable as it pooled all over her feet.

    The faeries with long and curved ck horns had Archdemon runes all over their skin.

    They were real, and all of them were dead.

    The bright reds had already darkened into brownish hues on the iron-covered tiles.

    Luna wrinkled her nose in disgust at the smell of blood that wasn''t her husband.

    "How many times have you tried this script, Lilith?" Apollyon''s Prussian blue eyes were wild with anger. "Couldn''t you be more creative than this?"

    He pulled her hair backwards, forcing her to gaze at him, "Imand you to give my wife back!"

    "Husband." Averting her gaze, Luna stared at the horror behind him in shock. "Did you kill? these faeries behind you?"

    Apollyon gritted his teeth. "Now, you are acting like you have no idea what we were doing."

    The sound of heartbeat thrashed in her ears. "You are no different from Archdemons if you can mass murder these faeries around us!"

    "The ritual should have worked by now." Apollyon anxiously muttered as if he didn''t hear her.

    He dragged a frustrated hand to his raven locks Luna had yearned tob her fingers with, but she had to address what had bothered her first.

    Apollyon was determined not to have a happy reunion, constantly insisting that she was Lilith when she was clearly not!

    Then his wish was hermand.

    "I can''t believe you killed all those creatures just to get me back, Apollyon."? Luna spat as she pulled at her chains. "Why are you doing this?"

    "Now, you are appealing to my conscience?" Apollyon threw back his head andughed.

    There was a slight edge of madness to it which sent chills down her spine,

    "You can do better, Archdemon. I had no shame and guilt when it came to rescuing my wife, and neither would I have them when I can finally destroy you for ruining other creature''s lives." Apollyon smirked. "You don''t fucking deserve any mercy from me."

    "But��"

    "Stop this act and give me back my wife."Apollyon bellowed as he paced around like a maniac.

    From the wild glint in his eyes, he appeared crazy and desperate.

    Pointing an using finger at her, Apollyon said, "An Archdemon will not have the power to point her finger at me when you have done more evil deeds."

    Luna grimaced, and Apollyon didn''t miss that. "Are weparing the number of our sins now?"

    He red at her with bloodshot eyes. "Just go to Hell, Archdemon."

    Clenching her fists, Luna was very much tempted to scream at her daft husband.

    She just wanted her Apollyon to free her, but that wouldn''t happen unless she could convince her husband that she was who she imed she was.

    Luna took a deep breath and exhaled through her mouth.

    When Luna opened her eyes, she stared straight into Apollyon''s deep blue ones as if she was searching for his heart, searching for his soul if he still had one.

    "Bloodshed is the devil''s ink, husband. Wicked and cruel is the me that encircles and swallows up other''s mes. " Luna cried out, and her lips had trembled, "I don''t want any more blood to spill in your hands! Do you understand me, Apollyon?"

    "You are ruining yourself, bing a monster of your own making." Luna continued to search if there was still humanity left in that cold yet intense gaze of his.

    "I don''t want you to be an Archdemon!" She yelled at him, and his eyes slightly widened like he didn''t expect her to do that. "Do you know how sick you are for killing these on behalf of me?"

    Can he recognize her now?

    "Not on behalf of you, Archdemon." He said.

    ''Oh, help me, goddess!'' Luna thought.

    He still didn''t. "Don''t be delusional."

    When Luna had expressed her anger, Apollyon became angry too.

    Letting go of her silver locks, Apollyon threw his hands up in the air as if saying he had given up. "What magic words do you need?"

    "Should I spill more blood��one that was innocent��and not these demonic faeries around us?" Baring his teeth, Apollyon swore a string of curses as his hands shook with the force of his wrath. "Do you want me to kill more unicorns? Tell me what you want so that you would get out of my wife''s body, and I''ll do it."

    Prince Aspen abruptly cleared his throat as ''dead'' silence fell in the room.

    It was true.

    Most of the creatures in this room were ''dead'' for a blood sacrifice initiated by his husband.

    "I apologize, cousin, but I wouldn''t let you kill any more unicorns. " Prince Aspen said. "These demonic faeries are enough for a blood sacrifice to make Luna return."

    "Why is Lilith still here then? I don''t have any more patience left in me." Turning his head, Apollyon addressed Prince Aspen Luna felt like she wasn''t even there in the first ce. "Perhaps, killing the conjurer was thest part of this damned ritual!"

    "Don''t be rash to kill the High Priestess, Apollyon." Prince Aspen replied calmly as he gave the High Priestess across Luna a sideways nce.

    The High Priestess they talked about had long green hair, reaching her waist, and a body that was as thin as a reed.

    Luna realized it was a Faerie High Priestess if the gossamer wings were an indication.

    Unfortunately, thedy was unconscious, chained to the ceiling like her.

    Not dead.

    Yet.

    "Let''s wait for a little bit."

    Thisdy must have been the one who summoned her from Hell back to this Realm as per Apollyon''s request.

    Nevertheless, Luna tried again. "I am Luna, Apollyon."

    "I have told you many times that you weren''t a good actress." Clenching and unclenching her fists, Apollyon stepped away from her to regain hisposure.

    He appeared like he was close to punching her in the face for iming that she was Luna.

    "It was a mistake that I might not have noticed at first, but Cederic did. " Apollyon''s lips curled as he stared at her with disgust. "I''m not your fool anymore."

    What had Lilith done to Apollyon?

    "You can''t manipte me with your tears." A shake in the head. "My Luna will never leak a dam of tears just like what you do every time you don''t get what you want, or I don''t give you attention."

    "Apollyon. I am your wife." Luna said slowly, as if exining to a daft child. "Listen and get it in that stubborn head of yours."

    "We are getting rid of you, Lilith. Why are you still here?"? Scowling, Apollyon fiddled with the chains of his ne. He wasn''t listening to her. "I told you to get the Hell out of Luna''s body and return to whatever the Hell you came from."

    "You can''t lie to me anymore." He didn''t cry, yet his voice was choked with emotions. "I am tired of your lies."

    "Return my wife to me. Is that difficult to ask?"? Apollyon whispered pleadingly. "I have done everything I could."

    Argh.

    This conversation was getting old!

    With her jaws clenched and her eyebrows knitted together in a scowl, Luna could only sigh in ire.

    Why can''t her husband believe in her?

    "I wouldn''t be shocked that you became an Archdemon yourself in exchange for summoning the Archdemon of Gluttony to possess me."

    There was a tightness in his expression when he stepped closer to intimidate her.

    "You should have been so damn proud of yourself. You can''t me Cederic and me anymore for your misfortunes." Leaning closer, he whispered,? "Stop acting like a victim when you are not one."

    If he would keep denying her, Luna swore she would cry again.

    She was trying to be strong for both of them, but her tear ducts had a mind of their own.

    "Apollyon. I am the real Luna." Luna couldn''t help her tears from falling any longer as she thrashed about, attempting to kick Apollyon with her legs.

    "I don''t know why you are talking like I am that ancient High Priestess Lilith who was obsessed with you." She screamed her heart out, sobbing like a baby.

    "I am not the Archdemon of Envy." She insisted between angry hups. "I am not Lilith."

    Apollyon did a slow p.

    "So, you finally spilt your secret after all these years." He snapped a finger in her face as if he had caught her proverbial hand in the cookie jar.

    Apollyon gave her a smug grin. "Our spections were true that you have be an Archdemon."

    Luna stopped crying because all her precious tears would be a waste to a vampire husband who refused to listen while his friends sat back and watched themotion as if this was some form of sick entertainment.

    She couldn''t wipe the tears from her cheeks, so she continued to sniff in regret.

    "Apollyon." Despite her burning anger, Luna had to speak slowly and calmly, enunciate every single word so that his bull-headed lover would understand. "What do I need to do to prove that the ritual you did with all these dead bodies was sessful and that I am your wife, Luna?"

 Chapter 340 - Archdemon Vampire

    <h4>Chapter 340 - Archdemon Vampire</h4>

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    "You don''t have to do or say anything,"? Apollyon said.

    He loosened his cor and unbuttoned the first few buttons of his shirt, showing his corbones and pectoral muscles.

    "This ne King Zephyr, Prince Aspen, Fei, Cederic, and I have was made of pulverized unicorn horns mixed in this diamond and an onyx pendant. It can determine if one is an Archdemon or not." Apollyon chuckled and Luna felt like he was mocking her. "The ne had reacted on my skin while I am standing in front of you, Lilith."

    "You are an Archdemon," Apollyon told her with conviction, poking her in the chest.

    Luna gasped.

    Her husband''s eyes were like sharp des stabbing her in the heart with these false usations.

    Wait a minute!

    Luna might not be the Archdemon of Envy, that bitch Lilith, whom Apollyon had hated so much.

    Still, she couldn''t deny the fact that she became an Archdemon because Ravin and Luxen''s father, the Archdemon King, had turned her into one!

    If she told him that, would he believe her?

    From the way Apollyon spoke to her with immense hatred, Luna shouldn''t reveal that she became an Archdemon just yet.

    "Apollyon." With a heavy sigh, Luna repeated for the fifth time she came back to her body. "I am Luna."

    "I am Lunaaaaaaaa." Thrashing her legs about in a tantrum, Luna would repeat this until it would sink into his befuddled brain. "Please!"

    "I made your wishe true by reuniting with you." Luna insisted louder, yet her voice came out in a hitch. "Shouldn''t you be happy to see me?"

    As she pulled at her chains, Luna didn''t expect that she had to spend a long time convincing her husband she might as well shed bloody tears if that would make him believe her.

    Not.

    "Why wouldn''t you return to me when what you desired was in front of you all along?" Shoulders drooping, she whispered in defeat, "I am Luna."

    Apollyon growled as he wrapped his fingers around her slender neck. "I don''t believe you, Archdemon."

    With her arms and legs shaking at the force of her anger, Luna was tempted to release a high-pitched scream until all the ears of these living creatures would bleed.

    She fought the urge by taking a thousand calming breaths.

    "Right." Luna gave her husband a cold nce.

    No one, not even her husband, was willing to listen to her truth.

    She swallowed hard, dragging one foot forward and the iron ball at the end of her chain followed.

    "You wouldn''t believe me because you had already shut your mind," Luna said grudgingly as another tear leaked at the corner of her eyes. "It''s as if you don''t believe that I woulde back to you forever, Apollyon."

    ncing at her feet, Luna choked out her next words, "Do you even love me?"

    Apollyon''s posture went rigid before turning his back away from her.

    He didn''t want to see her upset.

    "''I have been disappointed a lot of times throughout these years." Apollyon murmured, pain evident in his voice, "I don''t want to get my hopes up only for it to crumble down, and I would end up more hurt than before."

    King Zephyr and Prince Aspen were silent observers in this tableau, and they had this idle posture that felt like they couldn''t be bothered.

    Their extreme vignce from earlier had gradually faded.

    Bored, King Zephyr had scratched at his cuticle as if he had other things to do than be here.

    It was obvious he was no longer interested in the conversationpared to Prince Aspen, who had his eyebrows knitted together--intent and focused on her every word��trying to catch her lies.

    King Zephyr must have noticed that Luna and Apollyon''s argument wasn''t new, and the conversation was going around in circles, not moving forward.

    Even if Apollyon kept on insisting that she was Lilith, King Zephyr''s and Prince Aspen''s subconscious must have told them that she wasn''t a threat because she wasn''t Lilith.

    Luna''s gaze had strayed back to the unconscious Faerie High Priestess, wearing an elegant leaf dress, across her.

    She had that angelic yet mischievous beauty with her cute button nose.

    Herrge freckles can be seen from Luna''s position far away, but something strange about her perfection.

    As she narrowed her eyes, Luna realized that the Fae High Priestess--who Apollyon had ordered to summon her back in this Realm--had a skin that was as smooth as ss as wrinkles surrounded her jaw.

    It was eerie, making the Fae High Priestess seemed like she was wearing a mask made of wax that was so realistic it could be mistaken as her real features.

    Luna had regarded the Faerie High Priestess''s exposed legs and arms marked with Archdemon runes.

    From the strong diabolical aura emanating from the unconscious Fae, Luna thought she must be an Archdemon conjurer, but she couldn''t tell which Archdemon she had served.

    Closing her eyes in concentration, Luna tapped into the conjurer''s aura and ignored Apollyon''sints about the meantime.

    Luna absorbed her dark energy, storing its scent in her brain and estimating the power it held.

    Luna had increased her knowledge in Archdemon Magic, and it became her source of power.

    In such a short time, Luna had learned how to effectively wield it to destroy her enemies due to Satan''s difficult lessons and the constant torture of the ''Morning Star.''

    She might as well take advantage of this.

    It didn''t take long for the conjurer''s limited Archdemon Magic to register in her senses.

    Oh, goddess!

    Luna opened her eyes, glowering at the demonic High Priestess with hostility and resentment.

    She was sure that the Fae High Priestess'' power came from the Archdemon of Envy!

    Mayhap, this was the Faerie Lilith had ordered to kill the pure-hearted unicorns in the Faerie Realm for her blood magic ritual so that she could be victorious in dragging Luna''s soul to Hell with the aid of her Archdemon husbands!

    Good riddance!

 Chapter 341 - Blood Bond

    <h4>Chapter 341 - Blood Bond</h4>

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ******************************

    Luna had gotten rid of Luxen, but she wouldn''t be able to do the same if she was, indeed, pregnant with an Archdemon child.

    As her jaws clenched with anger, Luna couldn''t wait to exact revenge on the people who have ruined her life.

    This demonic Faerie across her was why Lilith was sessful with her blood magic ritual in the first ce.

    Distracted, Luna didn''t notice the man emerging from behind thedy.

    The stranger was taller than Prince Aspen and had the muscled physique of an ancient warrior.

    He had golden-copper hair and a full beard around his chiselled jaw.

    Luna squinted at the stranger, and he scowled back at her, baring his teeth like a ferocious wild animal.

    He had a savage yet menacing aura around him.

    ''Why was this unknown man so angry at her?'' Luna''s eyebrows knitted in confusion. ''What had she done to deserve this?''

    Fortunately, the stranger didn''t dare stalk her and attacked her while she was chained to the ceiling.

    Luna couldn''t defend herself.

    From Apollyon''s cynicism, he hadn''t nned to protect Luna from their angrypanion, either, because all of them must have thought she was Lilith for some reason.

    When she focused on his face, she abruptly felt a sh of recognition in his familiar grey eyes.

    ''Was that man, Cederic?'' Luna had remembered that Lilith had cursed him. ''Had he grown without her notice?''

    Cederic didn''t break eye contact as they stared at each other. ''Was it broken?''

    Too many revtions in just a period of time.

    What was happening in this Realm?

    She remembered that Apollyon had told her once about the different time frames between Hell and this Realm.

    Luna had been in Hell for months before Apollyon had summoned her back using the power of the Fae who conjured Lilith.

    She was gone from her body for two weeks in that short period Luna was with Ravin the first time he took her to his Kingdom,

    Did this mean that an hour in Hell would be two weeks in the Middle Realms?

    Was she separated from Apollyon for years?

    Was it almost a decade already?

    How could her husband endure this abomination when months had felt like an eternity to her?

    Nevertheless, Luna decided to throw caution to the wind and trust her husband.

    She wouldn''t give up, no matter how many times he refused to believe in her.

    The truth will always win in the end.

    "I''m here, now, Apollyon, and I will be patient in answering all of your interrogations until you let your guard down enough to let me in," As she jutted her chin, Luna said with confidence, even if her body was dead tired from repairing itself.

    She still had some broken bones and sore muscles left from all the torture she had experienced from the Morning Star.

    She should be grateful that she had escaped from her prison although her husband had tied her to chains, iming she was Lilith.

    Luna shifted a little to alleviate the pain in her spine. "I will be patient because I love you."

    Apollyon averted his gaze and stared at the wall behind Luna for a second.

    She didn''t miss his flushed cheekbones as he shifted from foot-to-foot.

    Did Luna make her nervous from that abrupt confession?

    Can he feel her heart''s sincerity, now?

    "Save all those ''I love you''s until I can confirm that you are my wife." Apollyon faced her again and offered a hard smile. "I will never go easy on you."

    Sighing heavily, Luna''s lips pinched together in a frown.

    Clearing his throat, Apollyon''s hand lifted to his ear as he touched his earlobe. "There might be a slight chance that you aren''t Lilith, but I wouldn''t let any other Archdemon like you possess the body of my wife. We had suffered enough." He paced around with his hands behind his back, regal yet restless. "I want you to leave my wife and me in peace."

    Luna stared at him, dead-in-the eye. "As your wife, Apollyon, I also wanted to live in peace with you back in the Vampire Realm, away from these demonic faeries."

    Luna was surprised her voice didn''t falter.

    "You had told me that before, Lilith." Apollyon moved forward as he gravitated towards her. "You persuaded me to leave the Faerie Realm so that we could go back to the Vampire Realm, pleading to pull out my Envoy from the Spring Courts." Apollyon lowered his voice and added, "You said you wanted to live happily ever after like we used to."

    Luna was tall, but Apollyon had towered over her, but she wasn''t afraid of this dominant male posture at all.

    She closed her eyes when he leaned in, cing his lips closer to her ear, "You told me that we must leave Prince Aspen to handle his own problems with the demonic faerie cult as their members killed unicorns for their initiation so that they could gain Archdemon Magic,"

    "I don''t remember telling you any of that bullshit, Apollyon." ncing up at him with a scowl, Luna was pissed off at how muscr and broad-shouldered he was, using those assets to intimidate or seduce.

    "I just returned from my own body from Hell." Gritting her teeth, she reasoned out. "I didn''t know that somebody had taken over my body while I was gone."

    If something had finally clicked into Luna''s head, she screeched,

    "Goddess!" Her spine straightened, and Luna could feel a burst of energy rushing in her legs to support her weight. "It was Lilith."

    Why did it take her long to figure this out when all the clues were in front of her?

    She knew that there was no Archdemon other than Lilith, who was the mastermind behind all her suffering.

    Luna didn''t think that Lilith would be sessful in stealing her body, but how did Apollyon figure out that the one inside her body wasn''t his wife?

    Perhaps, it was their Blood Bond!

 Chapter 342 - You Make Me Crazier

    <h4>Chapter 342 - You Make Me Crazier</h4>

    ****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    Perhaps, it was the blood bond that aided Apollyon to recognize Lilith as an impostor!

    Her husband''s mind might have released a warning against Lilith.

    Lilith might have done something stupid to give her away, and Apollyon must have known Luna so well to notice the difference.

    His intuition was spot on, and Luna was d that everything worked out for the best.

    Nevertheless, Luna''s nostrils red as her lips pulled back, baring her teeth in anger.

    It turned out the Archdemon of Envy had executed her ns without Luna''s knowledge.

    It was her mistake to be so preupied with Ravin, Luxen, Sloth, Satan and the Grand Torturer that she had no idea what the Archdemon of Envy was up to.

    That was why Apollyon had called her Lilith one too many times, refusing to believe her!

    Muscles straining against her skin, Luna had sagged and hunched over, and she had to rectify that quick, "She told me about her ns, Apollyon."

    Luna fought the urge to release a guttural scream and the adrenaline rushing through her body made her muscles twitch.

    "She was the one who dragged me to Hell with the help of male Archdemons who tricked me into the blood bond while I was busy getting rid of your curse of the Blood Beast." Luna had to force air into her lungs because she forgot to breathe, "They were sessful in forging a soul tie with me that time."

    There was a heart-stopping pause.

    Her eyebrows rose in question when his husband settled hisrge hands on her hips out-of-the-blue.

    Luna had no idea if Apollyon was doing this on purpose.

    Apollyon had frowned at her with disgust as he kept on calling her Lilith earlier, using her of deception.

    He was in a state of denial, and now, his body wanted her all of a sudden?

    "The memories you have told me had matched with mine." Apollyon''s deep voice sounded like gravel, but to her, it was simr to a sweet and syrupy drug she had drunk before falling into slumber.

    Luna felt these warm tingles all over her body, releasing all the tension.

    ''FINALLY!''

    OH, MY GODDESS!

    IT FINALLY SINK INTO HIS STUBBORN BRAIN THAT SHE WAS HIS WIFE AND NOT THAT BITCH, LILITH!

    There was an overwhelming feeling in her chest like her heart was expanding--like it was about to burst.

    THANK THE GODDESS HE WASN''T REFUSING THE TRUTH!

    "Apollyon. I am Luna." The speed of her pulse diminished bit by bit, and Luna had finally sighed with relief that her husband had finally believed her. "Do you believe me now?"

    She wanted to jump straight into Apollyon''s arms and squeal with joy, but unfortunately, the cold iron still cuffed her wrists.

    When she nced up at him, Apollyon had eyed her warily with his head cocked his head to the side.

    She kept her lips sealed.

    Apollyon was closer to epting the truth, and she wouldn''t blurt a thing that would sabotage it,

    Despite the pure frustration, Luna realized it was better not to force Apollyon.

    Form that suspicious half-hooded gaze of his; Luna wouldn''t dare request Apollyon to unchain her.

    Shaking his head, Apollyon questioned. "Why did you let these Archdemons take over your life, Luna?" He gripped her and squeezed her hips hard but not enough to hurt, "Our lives?"

    At least, he had stopped calling her Lilith.

    Her stomach churned.

    She didn''t know if Apollyon had used her again, or was she mistaken?

    "I''m just d that I could sessfully get rid of the Blood Beast from you, and I was cursed with two Archdemons in exchange." Luna shot back in a stammer. ? "They might not possess my body physically, but in a way, they had owned me."

    They might be mates, but it was hard to read his mind when they have been apart for so long.

    Closing her eyes, Luna tried to reach for Apollyon''s consciousness in hopes that she could feel him and read his mind.

    At least, she would have an idea of whatever he was thinking about her so that she could do something about it and reassure him.

    Luna''s mind carefully advanced into his, only to m into a mental blockage.

    She had whimpered, flinching at the mental barricades that had cropped up at once.

    Luna opened her eyes and met Apollyon''s scrutiny.

    She lowered her head and frowned.

    An invisible barrier had formed, securing their thoughts around each other.

    Was he aware of her attempts to crack his mind open?

    Was he the one who blocked her like she was an uninvited guest when she was his wife?

    It must be Apollyon''s defence mechanism.

    Being apart from a mate was like losing an important part of yourself, simr to a cut-off limb.

    It felt like they were gradually losing their connection, even if the blood bond was still present.

    Luna began, "When the Archdemons have brought me in Hell, Lucifer, the Archdemon King had turned me into an Archdemon."

    Apollyon demanded, "How?"

    "The Archdemons had tricked me, Apollyon, and that was in the past." Heart burning with betrayal, Luna almost yelled her words because it felt like Apollyon was ming her for an honest mistake. "I couldn''t do anything about it. It wasn''t my intention to leave you behind out of my own free will."

    "You know how the Blood Beast��the Archdemon of Gluttony��has forced me into a blood bond. You were aware of that. "Luna paused, observing his reaction.

    Apollyon nodded.

    He was all ears. "Go on."

    Luna continued, "Before I was taken, I had Archdemon marks all over my skin two weeks after the Marriage Auction night. The Blood Beast had failed to convince me to stay with him as his Mate in Hell, and I refused because I chose you over him, Apollyon,"

    Luna bared her teeth, recalling what Lilith had told her in Hell. "The Blood Beast was desperate to make me his, so he had a bargain with Lilith."

 Chapter 343 - I Still Get Jealous

    <h4>Chapter 343 - I Still Get Jealous</h4>

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ******************************

    Luna scowled at how mentally disturbing it was now that she remembered the Archdemon of Envy''s whimsical actions.

    She hated being helpless!

    "Lilith had desired you so much she wanted to possess me, iming that she should be the one you were supposed to marry."

    "Luna." Pausing, Apollyon murmured as he lifted his hands to fiddle with her iron handcuffs. "What you are telling me--"

    The stranger, mayhap it was the adult Cederic, lifted a hand, catching Apollyon''s attention. "Don''t free thedy yet, King Apollyon. You must remember what Lilith had done during our spection of her identity."

    Apollyon snapped out of his reverie and flinched from the military general''s warning.

    As the Fae Prince straightened his spine, he shifted where he stood against the wall, "Think twice before you do something. You can be illogical and impulsive when it came to your Empress!"

    Shaking his head, Apollyon glowered at her as if it was her fault, "I''m calling you Luna even if I am not one hundred percent certain that you are my wife."

    Sighing, Luna guessed that they still had a long way to go��too many back and forth conversations--before Apollyon could ept her in his heart without a doubt.

    Luna understood him even if it was unreasonable in her point of view.

    Her husband was just being too cautious.

    He wouldn''t want Apollyon to be easily fooled by some other malicious priestesses pretending to be her and it should be a two-way street.

    What would Apollyon do if he found out that she had mated with Luxen which could possibly bear her an Archdemon child in the future?

    If that happened, what would happen to Apollyon''s baby in her stomach?

    If her husband had freed her, she would have bitten all her fingernails in anxiety.

    Luna could only pray that Luxen''s seed wasn''t that effective so that she wouldn''t have figured out the answer.

    Clearing his throat, he agreed, "That Ancient High Priestess is delusional."

    Luna took a deep breath, wishing that this heavy discussion would be over soon. "When I was dragged to Hell by one of her vicious rituals, I found out that he was the Archdemon of Envy, husband. I have heard Lilith talking about a conjurer from the Faerie Realm. She had tasked the Faerie to offer unicorn blood for her because of its magical properties."

    If she talked for another hour, Luna would probably faint from theck of blood and energy.

    Luna continued her narration, feeling zapped from the Morning Star. "They said murdering pure-hearted creatures such as unicorns, children and innocent virgins would be the greatest sacrifice that the Archdemon Magic would require."

    She licked her parched lips and her eyes zeroed in on Apollyon''s carotid.

    When she brought her gaze back at him, she saw Apollyon swallow hard before casually covering the said spot of his neck with hisrge hand.

    Mayhap, that would also clue him in that she was his wife because Luna was still very much a vampire when it came to her husband even if the darkest souls were more appetizing in her taste buds recently.

    That was what she ate in Hell if she didn''t want to be codependent on Ravin for her survival.

    Luna''s voice rose as if that would give her the zeal she needed, "This kind of magic will have no limits and boundaries not unless the Archangels would step in to destroy and repeal the evil magic that was done."

    "That''s if the Archangels find something of worth to interfere." King Zephyr, the Shadow King''s lips twisted in a grimace.

    All his dark-greyish hair converged into a single point on top of his head and his long, ghastly robes were floating inches above the ground. "Well, not unless, if the Highest God of the Universemanded them to step in."

    Luna''s eyebrows knitted together. "I am not sure if the Highest God had stepped in for me but I have seen an Archangel twice and that was it."

    "Archangels usually mind their own business and lead everything up to a creature''s fate," King Zephyr replied in a gruff voice. "I think these guardians are kind of heartless that way, just watching their ward suffer."

    "They made sure every living creature in every Realm knew their lessons for the growth of their soul. That would determine the life they would live unto the next." He shrugged. "If they had strayed away from their path that was when divine interventiones in."

    Squinting at him in suspicion, Luna observed. "You seem to know a lot of things about Archangels, King Zephyr."

    King Zephyr only smiled a secret smile. "You didn''t address why Lucifer turned you into an Archdemon, my Empress."

    "The Archdemon King turned me into an Archdemon because they wanted to use me as their Portal Key."

    "A portal key?" A strong animalistic noise came from Apollyon as he stepped forward in front of her, blocking her vision from the Shadow King.

    Luna had no choice but to bring her gaze back to him,

    Ah~ Apollyon and this jealous streak of his.

    He must have slowly warmed up to the fact that she was his wife.

    Well, her lovely bastard needed to hurry up before she got tired of this game.

    "How can they turn you into an Archdemon when your soul is that of a vampire?"

    "You know that I have a body in the Vampire Realm. King Lucifer, the Father of all Archdemons, had turned me an Archdemon, iming that I have be a wife to both of his sons, the Archdemon of Gluttony and Lust."

    She swore she had heard her husband snarl from that but she pressed on, ignoring her fear to reveal more of her secrets.

    "Do you remember at the underground shelter where I have attempted to hide from you, husband?" The more she narrated the entire thing to her husband, the more Luna got frustrated with how helpless she sounded. "I had identally opened the Gates of Hell, summoned the Archdemon of Lust to help me perform a reverse exorcism with you, tricking me into forming a blood bond with them."

 Chapter 344 - History Repeats Itself

    <h4>Chapter 344 - History Repeats Itself</h4>

    *******************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *******************************

    Luna was under the control of these Archdemons the whole time!

    It left a bad taste in her mouth to admit that.

    As his royal red cape drifted around his shiny, ck shoes, the Vampire King paced around in front of Luna as he rubbed his chin in contemtion, staring at nothing in particr. "I have my spections based on the Archdemon runes on your body when you returned to me the first time your soul was taken at the Ivory Tower."

    Apollyon nced at the floor intensely as if the answer to the question in his mind would reflect on the faerie blood pooling on her feet. "Your eyes had turned golden simr to the Ravin, simr to the golden eyes I have when I used to be possessed by the Archdemon of Gluttony. That was why we had the mating bond in the first ce because Ravin had imed you as his while he owned my body, and I took responsibility for that."

    Exhaling a heavy sigh, Apollyon dropped his hands to his sides, "My mind might not have known at that time, but my heart and soul knew that you are mine from the start."

    ''"But�� Luna." Apollyon paused before he could take another step.

    Turning his head, Luna''s husband fixed his gaze on her, and she shivered.

    She didn''t miss the pain shing across his face, "I can''t believe after all these years, you finally rified the blood bond you had with Ravin and the bargains you had with another Archdemon in Hell so that you could break the curse, for my sake."

    Apollyon clenched his fists, and Luna could feel Ravin and Luxen''s death imprinted in that cold eyes of his. "In the past, I have no idea that the situation had be treacherous for us to navigate in the future."

    It was my fault for being sox, Apollyon." Luna shook her head as her lips trembled. "I didn''t care that Ravin had forced the blood bond with me first. You know that."

    "I thought nothing woulde out of it because I have sent them to Hell," Luna told him as she tried to inch closer to him, but the chains on her wrists wouldn''t allow her.

    "I thought so, too, and it was a mistake to think that the Blood Beast would not create any more problems for us." Apollyon snarled low, and his scowl reflected regret in his handsome features. "I had seen it happen with my eyes when you performed the reverse exorcism spell, sending both Archdemon brothers in Hell, but the blood bond with the Archdemons was aplication we don''t need."

    Luna''s gaze followed him with every turn as he pieced the puzzle together.

    As if he finally caught unto something, Apollyon halted, changed direction, and marched towards her with his face wearing a cold, unreadable mask.

    Luna''s shoulders caved as she averted her gaze.

    The sudden intensity in his gaze had scared her.

    Her husband had licked his lips when his gaze identally flew to her chest.

    Apollyon lifted his gaze back to her face, "If the Archdemon of Gluttony didn''t force you into the blood bond, you wouldn''t be mine in the first ce."

    Luna knew that her husband was angry, but she didn''t know if it was directed to her, himself, or the Archdemons.

    "I couldn''t hate you for that because it was your mission as the High Priestess." Gritting his teeth, Apollyon forced his words out, "I am not a hypocrite."

    At least, Apollyon rified that he wasn''t angry at her, but a lethal pause followed that deration.

    "But when you also had a bargain with the other Archdemon, Lust..." Apollyon trailed off, and his expression was livid, "As the King of the Vampire Realm, I am grateful for the efforts you have done, but as your beloved husband��"

    "You just shed light on everything you had kept in the dark for so long, excluding me from your life." Apollyon rasped, ring at her with hatred, "I didn''t know that this was the reason why this is happening to you, to us." Apollyon gestured towards her, "--and you had kept me in istion for years."

    Wide-eyed, Luna''s mouth opened, but nothing came out.

    Apollyon leaned closer, and their faces were close to kissing, but he had no intention to do that.

    As he cupped her cheeks gently with hisrge hands, Apollyon growled, "Why didn''t you tell me about your situation from the beginning so that we could have done something about it before it got to this point?"

    She could feel Apollyon''s mint-scented breath fanning her face.

    Closing her eyes, Luna drew a long deep breath, inhaling his masculine scent. "You can''t do anything about it, Apollyon."

    "It is hopeless." Luna opened her eyes, giving him an apologetic smile. "I don''t want to bother you."

    A single tear rolled down her cheek, and Apollyon caressed them with his thumbs, wiping them away.

    "It''s not about being a bother to your husband, Luna." His blue eyes had softened, but his mouth tightened into a firm line. "You don''t trust me to keep you safe."

    A whimper escaped from her lips.

    They had this conversation before, and history will surely repeat itself.

    Luna must clear this misunderstanding, or they might fight again.

    She was tired of arguing, of fighting. "Of course, I trust you, Apollyon."

    Luna wanted to be with his husband in peace.

    "I just trusted myself enough to handle this problem on my own." Her head lifted, locking eyes with his husband''s icy blue gaze. "I guess that made me arrogant."

    "You don''t trust me enough that I would take care of your needs." Her husband''s words were harsh as one hand lowered to her chest, fisting the material of her corset.

    He yanked her towards him. "I am powerful, wife, but this refusal of yours to ask for my help felt like you were looking down on me and my abilities to be a perfect husband for you."

 Chapter 345 - Your Shield

    <h4>Chapter 345 - Your Shield</h4>

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ******************************

    "I thought if I don''t tell you, the Archdemons would just go away from my consistent efforts to ignore them, refusing their deceptive offers and bargains." More hot tears streamed down Luna''s face, and there was pain at the back of her throat, which made it difficult to swallow, "I want them to leave you out of this. I would rather be hurt than you, Apollyon."

    "I wanted to believe you so bad, but I can''t rely on the words of an Archdemon. I''m torn that you have be an Archdemon, but my heart is telling me that you are my wife." Apollyon let her go, and there was audible stress in his tone. "This conversation about you not trusting me��you not asking for help just because you don''t want to bother me as if I''m busy doing something else..."

    "This felt like d��j�� vu, ain''t it? You are the only female I have ever met in this entire Realm who is adamant about being independent and doing things alone. Luna, I aim to be your husband, your lover, your best friend, your caretaker, someone who would aid you and lighten the burden you carry around your shoulders." Apollyon''s hoarse voice sounded furious when he grudgingly told her, "You are always worthy of my love and attention. We can get through this together as long as you don''t abandon me when you are always determined to have your way."

    "If you don''t want me to read your thoughts, then tell me what''s on your mind." He pleaded, "I have changed. You don''t have to be so afraid anymore."

    Luna was still confused by her soul''s abrupt arrival from this Realm, terrified at the demonic sacrifice Apollyon had ordered the conjurer to do to bring her back.

    She was in pain because Apollyon still didn''tpletely believe that she was Luna, but that will surely change after this heart-to-heart talk.

    Apollyon had remembered their past conversations.

    He still hadn''t forgotten her!

    "You have suffered enough from Lilith''s obsession with the curse of the Blood Beast." Luna had no malicious intent of isting her husband in the process, but if she could turn back the time, she would do it again.

    Everything Luna did, leaving her husband out of her business with the Archdemons, was to protect Apollyon so that he wouldn''t suffer with her to keep up with every bargain she had made with them.

    "I did it to protect you." In a way, Luna was sacrificing herself to protect his husband. "You must understand."

    "I am your shield, Luna, but you are discarding me for that purpose." Apollyon''s voice lowered, "I thought my heart had died in my chest a long time ago, reced by a bottomless pit."

    When she nced up at him, Luna noticed that her husband had this gaunt appearance that was eerie, as if he had wasted his life away before this reunion.

    Her heart longed to reach out to her husband''s pain.

    "You don''t trust me enough to help you with your situation!" Apollyon continued as hebed his raven locks with his fingers in frustration. "We are husband and wife who belonged together."

    Luna noticed how his fingers had trembled with suppressed anger, "I can''tprehend how a person can have a blood bond with three people, and it happened to my wife, out of all people."

    "I thought that a blood bond between vampire mates was exclusive." Apollyon faced her head on, and Luna sniffed, fighting back the tears, "The soul tie would be so strong that it didn''t necessarily end even until death."

    "It wasn''t my intention to be blood bonded with two Archdemons, and I was sessful in sending those Archdemons back." Luna wailed as she fixed her gaze at the floor.

    Luna had cried so many times today, and she didn''t want to let her husband witness her tears only for him to look away because he couldn''t handle the emotions which threatened to overwhelm him, "We were married for a short time before I fell deeper into their trap. It was easy to turn me into an Archdemon because I already had Archdemon blood running through my veins after Gluttony, and Lust tricked me into the blood bond."

    "I''m really angry about you were bing an Archdemon," That was an understatement from his husband.

    The word ''Archdemon'' can make Apollyon''s blood boil in anger, hot steaming out from his nose and ears, "I me myself that I hadn''t prevented this. Like the past Vampire King, my father, we were cut from the same cloth."

    Apollyon said as he clenched his fists, biting back a growl, "It felt like I don''t know how to care for my mate and keep her safe from harm."

    "It''s not your fault, Apollyon, and I''m not ming you." Luna sobbed, her tears falling on the bloody iron floor, "I may not know anything about your family, but you are you. You are my mate."

    "I have done everything I could to save you, but I felt like I was blind all these years." Apollyon replied, drawing in steady breaths, "I don''t know what I''m doing, whether it''s right or wrong. I have tried everything just so you could return to me, resulting in nothing because I don''t know how and where I can ess Archdemon Magic."

    Guilt ate at him, and Luna felt helpless.

    Her weakened legs were close to giving up.

    "It made me think you don''t really need me in your life, after all."

    He wasn''t listening.

    It wasn''t his fault!

    "I suffered in Hell, Apollyon." Luna watched him with trepidation, not because she feared her husband but because of the memories of her time in Hell resurfaced.? "Even if I was trapped there against my will for a long time, doesn''t mean that I don''t need you. In Hell, Lucifer tasked another Firstborn Archdemon, which was his brother Satan to be my Master who would teach me the ways of how to wield Archdemon Magic to create Portals."

 Chapter 346 - Losing Me Is Better Than Losing You

    <h4>Chapter 346 - Losing Me Is Better Than Losing You</h4>

    ****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ****************************

    "I had suffered from torment every day, and Satan had imed that it would make me stronger." Luna''s heart hammered strongly as she narrated, "It would help me wield Archdemon Magic faster because I was conditioned to have stronger survival instincts."

    It wasn''t Luna''s scheme to make her husband me himself for her affliction as she told him these things.

    She just wanted to describe what had happened to her in Hell, filling in the details where she was gone so that he wouldn''t feel left out anymore.

    Apollyon said that he had suffered istion from her because she was keeping her secrets.

    Now, Luna will have to reveal them all, not caring about her husband''s reaction.

    "I was under constant threat." As a cold sweat trickled down her back, Luna closed her eyes as she lowered her head in the humiliation of her suffering.

    She swallowed hard. "They had taught me how to destroy Archangels who might get in our way so that Archdemons can freely travel all over the Realm and rule the Universe."

    "Well, I don''t care about the Universe, Luna." An animalistic growl rose in his throat, but Apollyon quelled them down, reced by a carefully controlled voice, "The entire world can burn, but I only care about you so that nothing evil can reach you and hurt you."

    Luna''s eyes widened.

    "You don''t have to." A slow disbelieving shake in the head. "As the Vampire King, you might have this preconceived notion that females were a weaker species in an archaic vampire civilization for thousands of yours."

    Luna''s fist tightened. "You should be aware that I am perfectly capable of being your shield, Apollyon."

    Apollyon was surprised at her sudden deration.

    It was clear that he didn''t expect this from her.

    "As your mate, it is also my duty to protect you." Well, Luna wasn''t like her husband''s past concubines, so he might as well get used to her. "Husband, I would go to war for you and bring an army with me if I could."

    Apollyon caressed the shape of her face, tracing Luna''s jawline with his fingers.

    "I don''t want you to, and neither do I need you to," Apollyon said soothingly in a husky tone.

    Luna''s gaze lifted to his arms, and she watched his muscles flex.

    "You don''t need to prove yourself to me that you are a strong independent woman because I already know." Apollyon scrutinized her, and it felt like they were drowning in each other''s eyes, searching for each other''s soul.

    They were now seeing eye-to-eye, as Luna and Apollyon, as husband and wife and as blood mates, for the first time she arrived this Realm. "You didn''t be my mate so that you could fill a role in the mating bond."

    Apollyon shifted to Luna''s side, unlocking her handcuffs one after the other.

    "I know." Luna had sessfully convinced her husband of the validity of her ims.? "We have talked about this before."

    Luna knew that King Zephyr, Cederic, and Prince Aspen had listened to the entire conversation.

    With joyful tears in the corner of her eyes, Luna was d that all of them agreed that she was the real Luna and not Lilith.

    She had exhaled a relieved sigh when nobody foiled Apollyon''s attempts to bestow her well-earned freedom.

    "You keep saying you know, but you don''t understand. You don''t always have to be strong, Luna." Apollyon murmured in a husky tone as he crouched on her feet, quickly getting rid of the cuffs on her ankles. "Not being strong all the time doesn''t make you weak."

    "Asking for help and relying on your husband doesn''t make you weak." Luna''s limbs were finally free from the chains. "It would help if you changed that belief because I am also perfectly capable of dying for you. But you don''t want me to prove that, don''t you?

    "I am your shield when you are tired of fighting." Apollyon straightened and stood in front of her, "--when you are weak with defeat."

    He held both of her wrists, gently rubbing the sensitive skin, "I will avenge you."

    Luna''s emotions came into brutal waves that she couldn''t help but cry.

    She cried with her head lowered, not making a sound so that Apollyon wouldn''t worry about her.

    Her fingers curled into fists.

    It was impossible to do that.

    "You should have told me about this before it escted into this, Luna. You became one of the creatures who tried to ruin our life. For me, it''s tough to ept this just because I wasn''t a good husband to you." Apollyon reached out, gripping her hunched shoulders, and she kept her gaze down. "I wasn''t a good protector because you have hidden a lot of important things from me. Why is this happening to us? I don''t understand. Why are we suffering like this?"

    A whimper escaped in her closed mouth as big, fat tears gathered around her chin, dropping on her blood-stained feet.

    When Luna lifted her head, she witnessed Apollyon''s tears streaming down his face. "I thought my heart had died in my chest a long time ago, reced by a bottomless pit. Losing you was like a night to my soul."

    It was like a wooden stake stabbed into her heart to see her husband like this.

    Oh, how much Apollyon had changed from the cold, heartless man to someone who had the ability to love as deep as the ocean!

    "Underworld tar had filled my lungs as I drowned in this void I was in." Apollyon murmured as he circled his arms around her back, "I would have preferred to lose myself than losing you, Luna."

    He yanked her hard, and Luna was wrapped into her husband''s warm embrace.

    As if on cue, Luna froze up, petrified for a second that this wouldn''tst and she would be summoned back to Hell by the Archdemons any minute by now.

    Luna''s mouth opened to a silent scream, so afraid that this was just an illusion created by the Grand Torturer only to morph into an insidious nightmare.

 Chapter 347 - Not The Only One

    <h4>Chapter 347 - Not The Only One</h4>

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    Luna''s mouth opened to a silent scream, so afraid that this was just an illusion created by the Grand Torturer before it morphed into an insidious nightmare.

    Swallowing the sour taste in her mouth, Luna''s stomach rolled at the memories of the Morning Star''s torment.

    Luna shut her eyes tight, and her hands shook like a leaf as she slid her arms around his waist.

    She fisted the fabric of his clothes as she buried her face around his chest.

    As if sensing the anxiety closing in on her, Apollyon crooned, "You''re safe now, my beloved wife."

    His masculine scent was like a drug to her senses, and her fangs lengthened out of the blue.

    Luna parted her lips to amodate it, squirming in difort, but she had already bitten her lip, tasting blood.

    After taking a whiff of his gruff, potent, and virile mate, Luna couldn''t stifle out a small moan because of how good Apollyon smelled.

    She was fully aware of her nipples protruding on her husband''s chest, brushing against his tunic.

    Her head was close to his ear, so he must have heard that.

    Apollyon pulled back to see her face in concern, but Luna pressed her face just below his shoulder and locked her fingers together behind her husband''s back so that he wouldn''t move.

    Luna could feel a flush of warmth creeping onto her cheeks.

    She didn''t want her husband to see how she was excited to jump his bones when she just arrived in this Realm.

    What would he think of her if he figured it out?

    Luna''s brows furrowed in confusion.

    Would she think of Luna as obsessed with him just like Lilith?

    Luna didn''t want to be lumped into the kind of bitch Lilith was in all kinds of situations.

    Apollyon''s irresistible blood, the masculine sweat on his skin as well added with another hint of musk andvender, made her feel safe and protected.

    It was the most sensual thing she hade across in her entire existence.

    Mayhap, it was the blood bond that made her feel like this.

    Her husband''s presence and smell calmed her down, reminding her of the here and now.

    Luna was there with her husband and not in Hell with the Grand Torturer.

    Apollyon was there right in front of her.

    Luna squeezed her husband in longing.

    He was real and not her imagination.

    When her knees gave out due to exhaustion, Luna leaned all of her weight unto her husband, and he caught her, hugging her waist as tight as he could so that she wouldn''t fall.

    "Wife."? Stroking the back of her long hair, Apollyon kissed her hair and whispered, "Thank you for returning to me."

    "Hold me closer, husband." Luna rested her cheek against his chest, her fangs digging inside her lower lip. "I''m afraid."

    It confused her why she would feel intense sexual attraction to her husband when it wasn''t the right time to do that.

    "Don''t worry. I wouldn''t let go." He reassured her, and Luna could hear the relief in his voice. "We''ll make it through this. "

    You need to know that we are a team. You will not do everything by yourself." Pulling her closer, Apollyon murmured in a husky drawl, "We will stay together. Do you understand?"

    "I don''t know what to do." Luna said, and her voice came out in a higher pitch than intended, "What if they would take me back and we couldn''t do anything about it?"

    "I want to keep you safe from the Archdemons if they decided to chase after you in this Realm or drag you to Hell again." Apollyon''s voice was opposite to hers because it deepened into a baritone,

    "I am no Archdemon, and I have no Archdemon Magic." Luna could hear Apollyon''s heart hammering in her ear, "Should I be an Archdemon?"

    "You don''t need to." Luna winced at the fact.

    Shaking her head, Luna reminded her husband, "I am an Archdemon now, husband."

    There was no need for her husband to suffer what she had experienced.

    "I learned Archdemon Magic." Luna pulled back, stared into her husband''s eyes, and said with conviction, "I will create my own Demon Legion to defeat them if theye for us."

    "Things might be harder for us if you don''t get rid of the Blood Bond with the Archdemons." Apollyon peered at her, "My head hurts, trying to figure out a strategy to destroy your soul tie in Hell, but I would never give up on you."

    He whispered with a hooded gaze, "On us."

    "My soul tie had already been cut with the Archdemon of Lust."? Tears welled inside her eyes and slid down on her cheeks at Apollyon''s promise, but she still tried to smile at her husband, telling him that piece of good news. "I only have to get rid of my blood bond with Ravin, and I will be free."

    It touched her heart, and her overwhelming love for her husband threatened to burst.

    She didn''t even bother to wipe her tears away as they drowned in each other''s gazes.

    Will Apollyon hate her for crying so much andpare her to that attention-seeking Archdemon of Envy who tried to steal her body, though?

    Apollyon lifted his hand, wiping her tears a thousand times the moment she arrived in this Realm. "As your beloved husband, I just couldn''t ept the truth that you have blood bonds with two other Archdemon males without my knowledge and my permission."

    Tucking the stray hair strands behind her ear, Apollyon calmly stared at her. "When I told you that you only belong to me, you must haveughed at me from behind my back while you were with your Archdemon husbands."

    A small sound came from her as she gasped.

    "Husband." Luna''s eyes widened with shock because he had assumed the wrong things. "No!"

    "I''m afraid that every time you fall asleep, you go with one of these Archdemons, and then when you wake up, you will act like I was the only one, pretending that everything was alright."

 Chapter 348 - Cant Read You

    <h4>Chapter 348 - Can''t Read You</h4>

    ********************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ********************************

    "I''m afraid that every time you fall asleep, you go with one of these Archdemons, and then when you wake up, you will act like I was the only one, pretending that everything was alright." Apollyon''s lips pressed firmly together in a frown, but there was sensual anger in his blue eyes, "--and then, if you were with me, you will act as you love me."

    The air around the room stopped moving.

    The dead bodies of demonic faeries with their feet and wrists chained into ck iron balls and chains seemed to fade away in her eyes, including King Zephyr, Prince Aspen, and Cederic.

    She didn''t care what their reactions might be because right now, only the two of them existed.

    Apollyon watched her without blinking, and Luna watched his Prussian blue eyes turning into dark obsidian, "I am afraid and angry that you weren''t taking our blood bond seriously the whole time, and you were just lying to me."

    "Apollyon, that''s not what I��"

    I thought there was no escape Luna. The emptiness I felt--- " Apollyon trailed off, hesitating, but he revealed his emotions, anyway.

    "Your presence is my only cure to this madness." Apollyon watched her beneath his eyshes, "This is why I want to possess your heart, body, and soul so that something such as this wouldn''t happen again."

    Luna raised a questioning eyebrow.

    Why did her husband so intent on possessing her like he was his property?

    He might as well be an Archdemon when he perished in this Realm if he kept this up.

    "You don''t need to be greedy because you already have me." Luna sniffed, and more tears fell, but this time it was of pure joy.

    And, here, she thought she didn''t have it in her to cry more.

    "I am already a part of you. My love for you will have no conditions." Luna smiled a grateful smile, yfully punching him in the chest. "My love for you knows no bounds because I would alwayse back to you even if fate were determined to keep us apart."

    "I love you, Apollyon." Luna raised her arms and settled them around her husband''s neck. "I am yours forever."

    "Nothing will ever be the same after this," Apollyon murmured as he lowered his head, making their foreheads touch.

    Chuckling, Apollyon closed his eyes, lowered his head to im her lips as he swiftly.

    How sly!

    Did her husband think that Luna would make it so easy for him to steal a kiss?

    Lips curving in amusement, Luna quickly covered her mouth with her palm, making Apollyon kiss the back of her hand.

    Startled, Apollyon abruptly opened his half-lidded eyes and rapidly blinked as if he had woken up from a peaceful slumber.

    He pulled back and nced down at her with a frown.

    He pouted with a glower, "Why didn''t you let me kiss you, wife?"

    "Why is it hard for me to feel your mind when I am your real mate?" Luna shot back and mirrored his re. "We are blood bonded, so it would be easy for me to read your emotions and thoughts, but now, I can''t do it." She asked, worried. "Why can''t I sense your presence in my mind?"

    There was a pause filled with death.

    "Oh."

    Luna wrinkled her forehead, unsatisfied at his response.

    That ''oh'' didn''t tell her anything of importance.

    Apollyon didn''t care to borate, either.

    "Make the silent scream inside you, Apollyon." Luna urged him as she clutched at his shirt. "Make those unnecessary thoughts crumble. Can you feel me in your mind?"

    "I can''t," Apollyon replied. "Not right now."

    "Don''t let your mind think too much and listen to your heart instead." Luna pressed on as she closed her eyes, reaching into her husband''s mind once again, "What do you feel around me?"

    "I feel---"Luna could sense the change in his mood, and it made her feel rxed, not grasping desperately into his privacy anymore when he began to let her in, "My mind felt serenity for the first time in years that you weren''t with me, Luna."

    Luna was aware of an invisible hand uncovering her husband''s mind.

    She was careful not to do something that would sabotage her efforts to reconnect their mental links.

    Sensing that Apollyon had lowered down his guard when she probed into the edges of his consciousness, Luna sighed with relief when the barriers cropping up around her husband''s thoughts crumbled bit by bit,

    Luna opened her eyes and gazed into his gorgeous irises with a smile, "Serenity will quell a passion that was, borderline, obsession."

    Apollyon cupped her chin with hisrge hand and tilting her head upwards, "There was never a day where I never obsessed about your return, wife."

    "I am back, Apollyon. Thank you for listening to me." Luna whispered, and she couldn''t look away from him even if she wanted to. "Thank you for allowing me back into your life, into your mind."

    "You were the rush that I crave, and it felt like I was going insane. You were gone for a long time." A shadow passed across his face. "I thought that you were never going to return."

    His tone was full of sorrow. "I was a mess."

    Luna pressed a palm unto his chest, and she could feel her husband''s heart beating faster under her touch. "Our blood bond is still there, right?"

    "It is here." Holding her hand on his chest, Apollyon reassured her, and his obsidian eyes had turned back to normal. "I''m just cautious around Lilith before I summoned you back so that she wouldn''t figure out our ns to get rid of her."

    "King Zephyr had made the shadow barriers of our minds, including Cederic and Prince Aspen. Nothing can see through our thoughts if someone pried for information without our knowledge." He exined further, "I am capable of keeping my thoughts private from mind readers, but we need another blockade reserved for Archdemons, just in case."

 Chapter 349 - Dead Bodies In The Basement

    <h4>Chapter 349 - Dead Bodies In The Basement</h4>

    ********************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ********************************

    "We had kept our secrets heavily so that no enemies could outsmart us," Apollyon said.

    Luna gave the Shadow King a sideways nce.

    As Luna leaned closer to her husband, Luna''s voice lowered to a whisper, "I have no idea that King Zephyr had powerful tricks up his sleeve."

    King Zephyr replied. "I want my Shadow Kingdom to be in peace."

    Noticing that he didn''t want her attention on any other men the moment she arrived in this Realm, Luna blinked without leaving her gaze from Apollyon.

    She wanted to honour his husband''s wishes.

    Anyway, Luna had prayed that the Shadow King didn''t have sensitive hearing, but here he was, addressing her statement.

    "Helping the Faerie Prince of the Spring Courts and the Vampire King through this was also a way of clearing the name of the Shadowkind."King Zephyr told her in a surprisingly gentle voice, "Other Fae might see us as mysterious, strange, and secretive. Those qualities would make other creatures wary of us, but our kind just wanted to be differentiated from other Faeries. Establish our own Kingdom."

    "We didn''t mean any harm." He shrugged and the shadow-like gesture of his robes dancing with every movement. "The Shadow kind was mostly reclusive, and we desired to be left into our own devices."

    Turning her head towards him, Luna curtsied in her sky blue dress with a Bardot neckline with ruffles made ofce.? "Thank you for your aid, King Zephyr."

    For the first time, Luna had noticed something else in this unfamiliar room aside from the sticky brownish stains of blood on her feet, the scent of rust, and the pale, bluish corpses with sharp, pointy horns on their head and Archdemon runes on their skin.

    These demonic fairies were all drained of their life essence.

    All of them gathered on the floor, tied into chains.

    Luna''s stomach almost revolted.

    Luna was slightly relieved that all of them had their eyes closed because she didn''t want to look at their corpses for too long.

    Her eyes never stayed on a single face for recognition to imprint it in her memory forever.

    The room wasrge, with low ceilings and no visible windows.

    There was old furniture clustered at the right corner covered in linen cloth.

    The smell of dust, the papery smell of old books and fabrics which had started to decay, tickled her nose, making her sneeze.

    Luna deduced that this room was some basement or storage area for old royal paintings, sculptures, artworks, masks, weapons, and other historical pieces Luna hadn''t seen before.

    She fixed her stare at Apollyon, King Zephyr, Prince Aspen, and Cederic, then returned her gaze to the corpses.

    Sighing, Luna shook her head in regret.

    She will never learn how to adjust to the kind of creatures she had surrounded herself in.

    Even if she was an Amazon before bing a Vampire Archdemon, Luna should have been used to this disy of ruthlessness.

    Still, this intention to kill with tant disregard to the consequences will never sit right with her.

    When she used to be part of an Amazon tribe serving the Goddess Artemis, the killing can be made for the sake of protecting their territory��the sacred temples.

    The Amazon warriors will kill when the need to defend themselves arose.

    No experience of hers could bepared to these stomach-churning foulness disyed in front of her.

    Was she looking at the harsh reality of how powerful people, such as Kings, can kill anyone in the Realm without facing bacsh?

    Mayhap this tragedy was for the better.

    These faeries who dabbled in Archdemon Magic had been relieved of a life of struggle and suffering, cut short by this blood-curdling sacrifice.

    Noticing that she was absently staring at the wall where King Zephyr and Prince Aspen stood, Luna cleared her throat, "We will repay the debt in the future, King Zephyr."

    "No need." King Zephyr shrugged, looking bored. "Seeing your reunion with the Vampire King made me miss my wife." He wasn''t lying because his expression told her he would rather be anywhere but here now that Luna was back in this Realm for good.

    As he straightened his spine, the Shadow King bowed his head in respect. "I shall disappear and go back to see her."

    "Wait, King Zephyr!" Luna eximed, raising a hand to stop him.

    King Zephyr''s paused, and his intense dark eyes were on her.

    It made her panic when the Shadow King began to walk��no, float��towards her.

    "Apollyon." Luna looked over her shoulder and whispered, "What do we do with all these dead demonic faeries?"

    She nced at King Zephyr, who had appeared beside her once, and she did a double-take.

    Terror kicked Luna in the chest when she saw him up close.

    The Shadow King moved silently that she almost screamed.

    Same with King Zephyr, Prince Aspen had a sensitive hearing, also,? "Well, first off, we aren''t letting them rot in the basement of Lc Manor."

    "Lc Manor?" rmed, Luna twisted to face Apollyon and held his forearm. "Husband. Are we not on the Vampire Realm?"

    "This is my home." The Faerie Prince informed her, "My human would not appreciate them if she came across the basement. She is an adventurous little girl who had a strange hobby of checking out all the empty rooms in my Manor."

    Cederic, who had watched over the Archdemon conjurer, had approached them, and Prince Aspen followed suit.

    Anyone who wasn''t chained to iron balls and ceilings gathered into their circle to begin the awkward discussion.

    "We are in the Faerie Realm, Your Highness," Cederic addressed her question.

    "So this is why there are so many faeries over here," Luna murmured, d that Cederic had finally acknowledged that she was the Empress.

    Apollyon''s eyes were blue mes when he focused on her. "It wouldn''t be possible to abduct these many faeries in the Vampire Realm."

    Luna''s brows furrowed. "Howe the demonic faeries have grown in number?"

    "I thought Lilith, the Archdemon of Envy, only had a binding contract with her conjurer." Luna pointed at the unconscious High Priestess with the green hair, who was the only demonic faerie that had been spared.? ncing around, she demanded, "How did it escte into this?"

 Chapter 350 - Dispute

    <h4>Chapter 350 - Dispute</h4>

    ********************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ********************************

    "How did it escte into this?"

    Luna squeezed her eyes shut, suppressing the memories of mass murder she had witnessed in her life.

    It refused to return to the box at the darkest corner of her mind, strictly reserved for traumatic experiences.

    Her first memory was the virgin sacrifice done by Lilith to summon the Blood Beast.

    Her second memory was seeing the Blood Beast in action when he ate souls at the Blood Moon Banquet.

    Her third memory was when Apollyon turned into a dragon and killing everyone in his vicinity, looking for her.

    Her fourth memory was Ravin''s ancient tree in his castle''s courtyard with children''s chopped head and limbs hanging over its branches.

    These dead bodies of demonic fairies were the fifth memory.

    Luna would never be immune to this kind of sight.

    She took a deep breath and was hit with a rush of the rotten smell.

    It still made her nauseous.

    She didn''t want to see these things ever again, especially if it was her husband''s doing.

    She didn''t know why Apollyon was nonchnt about this.

    He must be used to mass murders.

    "You don''t have to worry, wife."Apollyon interrupted.

    Grabbing her hand, Apollyon pulled her closer when he noticed that the other men surrounded her or mayhap; he noticed Luna was squeamish and about to faint.? "The conjurer needed them as sacrifices so that she could summon you back from Hell."

    "That was the only reason why she wasn''t dead yet." Cederic quipped.

    "We made a pact." Her husband exined, "We would spare the life of the conjurer if she can sessfully summon you back and exorcise Lilith''s soul from your body."

    Prince Aspen had his arms crossed over his chest as he nodded in agreement, "Of course, selfish as a solitary Fae was, she would value her life out of all the members she had gathered in her own demonic cult, so she agreed."

    "She had no choice but to agree." King Zephyr said, "It''s one against two powerful Kings and a Faerie Prince."

    Smirking, Cederic raised a finger, "And a handsome and adult Military General, don''t forget that."

    "Now that she was sessful at summoning me back to my own body, what made you so sure that she wouldn''t do this again, gather a new batch of faerie for another initiation to gain limited Archdemon Magic?" Luna pointed out.

    "Beloved." Apollyon replied."I can wipe out her entire memory from her childhood until now."

    "I will also add multipleyers of barriers so nobody could unlock what''s inside her mind." King Zephyr said. "Her brain might still identally utilize Archdemon Magic despite getting rid of her memories."

    "Some might just be bottled up at the darkest corners of her mind." Prince Aspen seconded, "That would be dangerous."

    "She would be a useless solitary faerie with no memories." Her husband gave her a nonchnt shrug, and she found herself tucked against Apollyon''s chest as if that should, somehow, pacify her. "She would be a mentally impaired faerie with no knowledge and skills to survive. She would be a new-born baby in the body of an adult faerie, left to fend for herself."

    She grimaced. "Don''t you think that is too harsh for the Faerie High Priestess?"

    "Are you saying she didn''t deserve to be punished for a crime against the Faerie Nature?" Prince Aspen scowled at her question, looking offended.

    Luna pinched her lips together in silence, wincing.

    She almost forgot she was the bitch who killed pure-hearted unicorns so that she can deliver her to Hell straight into the Archdemon''s arms. But she had no intention to kill the creatures who messed up her life.

    She would rather torture them as a punishment, never to die.

    Death is an escape to a life full of suffering.

    "That''s like a reverse situation of mine. She will be a child forced to live in an adult''s body. " Cederic said with conviction. "It''s a befitting punishment for the conjurer, but to be frank with you, Your Highness, I think it is pretty lenient."

    "Death would be too easy for Lilith''s conjurer." Prince Aspen nodded. "Killing pure-hearted creatures such as unicorns��" He trailed off as his nostrils red with anger, "Thedy is destined for living a cursed life."

    "What a waste of a pretty face," Cederic murmured as he nced at the unconscious Solitary Faerie. "She had a corrupted heart."

    "I find it unfair that you didn''t give these faeries who had dabbled into Archdemon Magic a chance to live just like the conjurer, Apollyon." Luna clenched and unclenched her fists in frustration.

    She couldn''t find justice in this act.

    Luna didn''t like that her husband was involved, either. "You could have wiped these demonic faeries'' memories as a punishment and give them a second shot at life just like what you have intended with the one who summoned Lilith."

    "Luna," Apollyon spoke in a low tone. "How will we able to get you back if the Faerie who summoned Lilith had no blood sacrifice to offer, making the ritual sessful?"

    "Wiping a lot of these people''s memories and locking their entire subconscious with shadow barriers for the rest of their life would be inconvenient for me and will require a lot of energy." King Zephyr reasoned out.

    "I would rather kill these greedy demonic faeries rather than search for the blood of the unicorns, Archdemons, love so much," Apollyon said with his jaws clenched.

    The sickening miasma of blood simmered in this airless space, and she fought the urge to gag.

    She buried her face into the spot between Apollyon''s neck and shoulder, weing her husband''s seductive scent.

    Luna inhaled, drawing in the clean, fresh scent with a hint ofvender into her nose.

    "They are unrecognizable, Luna." Prince Aspen shook his head; his long auburn air fluttered around his long, white robes. "They are an abomination to the Fair Folk. If we let them live and roam around the Faerie Realm, they would create havoc with their newfound Archdemon Magic to create chaos."

 Chapter 351 - My Husband And His Psycho Friends

    <h4>Chapter 351 - My Husband And His Psycho Friends</h4>

    ***************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ****************************

    "They couldn''t differentiate a friend or a foe and attack anyone who might get in the way to their desire for power."

    The more she inhaled her husband''s scent and heard the rush of blood running through the corded muscles of his neck, the more her mouth became dry with thirst.

    "You don''t understand, Prince Aspen." Gritting her teeth, Luna pulled back and caressed her parched throat with her fingers. "The four of you killed too many of these faeries who had ''allegedly'' turned into demons without knowing their circumstances on how they had turned out like this. You allowed this mass murder to happen. "

    Prince Aspen merely shook his head, and his androgynous features were expressionless. "The faeries who had demonic entities inside them needed to perish. Archdemon Magic has tainted them, so they can''t go back to who they were before. They are puppets for an Archdemon in exchange for magic."

    Lips curving upward, Cederic shrugged, "They had grownrge in numbers, and we had no choice but to eliminate them. Lilith had found out that her conjurer in the Faerie Realm had sessfully formed a cult. She had intended to use your body, Your Highness, to build her own demon army in the Faerie Realm and wreak havoc."

    Luna gasped, and chills ran down Luna''s spine at Cederic''s words.

    It was a relief that she hade at the right time before the Archdemon of Envy executed her wicked ns to destroy the Faerie Realm and her rtionship with her husband.

    Nevertheless, Luna still tried to y the devil''s advocate because she couldn''t help it.

    "What if there was still something good left in these demonic faeries, and we never got the chance to know because you have killed them all?"

    She needed to know that the creatures she had surrounded herself with still had conscience somewhere deep inside them.

    If there weren''t, what made them different from the Archdemons she had abhorred if they didn''t have a conscience?

    Why was killing others so easy for them, and they didn''t even bat an eye?

    Luna hoped that their purpose wasn''t a meager power y.

    It would be nice to know that she was still safe with her husband.

    Was he still the same even if they hadn''t seen each other for almost a decade, or had he changed because of their tragic circumstances, making their rtionship strained?

    As much as how her husband had doubted her identity as Luna��her wife��she also needed reassurance that her husband''s character hadn''t changed at all.

    It wasn''t Apollyon who replied, even if she had anticipated his response above all else.

    "Evil is the absence of ''good'' because it had been corrupted. You can see that in their faces and forms." King Zephyr motioned on the dead bodies on the floor. "The corruption had be total and entire that it is no longer left either."

    Luna wished she hadn''t followed his gestures and nced down at the sleeping corpses with tangled yet intact limbs and curved spines.

    "They are no living creatures. They are no longer an entity." King Zephyr moved closer to stand beside her like a midnight shadow,pelling her to shift her gaze on his hypnotizing dark, obsidian pupils. "Only the foolish and unknowing can deny that it is still good even if it is consumed by evil when the soul had already corrupted by it."

    Luna glowered at the Shadow King.

    Did he call her foolish?

    King Zephyr added a-matter-of-fact. "These creatures had be nothing, Empress."

    "I would take responsibility," Apollyon whispered as he caressed her back in aforting gesture, but the sudden contact had elicited an opposite effect, instead.

    It made her posture more rigid. "I will make sure that you don''t suffer from my choices."

    "What''s done is done. All of them are already dead." Prince Aspen had told her, "Unless you can cast a spell unto these piles of dead bodies, insert demon souls in them and control the undead, you know? Build that Archdemon Legion for yourself to protect your Kingdom from the enemies."

    Horror choked off her saliva from Prince Aspen''s outrageous suggestion.

    That would be the greatest nightmare she didn''t want to deal with.

    Luna wasn''t confident if she can control the demons,pelling them to work for her, serving her as their Mistress and a part of her Legion.

    Luna thought that was impossible for now.

    "Ah~" Cederic clicked his tongue. "Don''t give the Empress ideas."

    Pulling back from Apollyon''s embrace, Luna argued, and her voice almost cracked trying to exin herself. "Who in their right mind would summon demons in this Realm? Give me a break!"

    "I''m not crazy enough to dominate other realms with an Archdemon Legions." Eyes darting from Prince Aspen to Cederic, Luna made frantic sweeping gestures in her hands. "I just wish to protect the Vampire Realm and the one I love without bringing Hell over here."

    Luna paused when the four of them gave her strange looks.

    She swallowed hard before addressing Apollyon. "Couldn''t you find any other way to summon me back in this Realm without all this blood in your hands?"

    "I am impatient to get you back, wife, and I grabbed the opportunity right away," Apollyon answered with a nonchnce that deeply bothered her.? "I had no time to think of other ways except using the solitary faerie and her cult."

    A step forward.

    As Apollyon moved her long silver hair away from her slender neck, his half-hooded eyes had started to trace her body, "Their lives were already cursed the moment they killed the unicorns. I bet if I met with their souls in Hell, they would thank me for the favor."

    She had been horrified at Apollyon''s answer that her eyes had widened in shock.

    Why would these dead bodies, with the gaping maw of their necks dripping with blood, piling on top of one another, thank her husband for killing them as a favor?

    Luna stood frozen in her ce and widened her senses, hearing the slow ssh of fresh blood dripping on the floor.

    Luna realized her husband was officially mad, including his friends.

 Chapter 352 - Shameless Lover

    <h4>Chapter 352 - Shameless Lover</h4>

    ****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ****************************

    "What if there was a chance to turn them back to normal?" Terrified, Luna''s voice was raw and small when she asked, "What if it was a mistake on their part because they had been pressured to join this cult, or they were ckmailed, and they had no choice?"

    Exhaling a heavy sigh, Apollyon replied patiently. "You can''t me me for this, wife. They brought it upon themselves for killing the unicorns. Consider it as their punishment, and let''s end this discussion."

    From the scowl on his face, Luna knew that her husband didn''t like it when she moved away from him.

    Let''s return to our bedchamber, wife." He grabbed Luna''s arm and pulled her back towards him.

    Apollyon murmured huskily, " I want to have sex."

    Luna flinched, taken aback at how casual that sounded.

    Her eyebrows had almost reached her hairline in surprise.

    How can her husband say that to her in front of King Zephyr, Prince Aspen and Cederic and keep a straight face?

    Luna almostughed, but she fought it because that would be inappropriate.

    She shook her head at how absurd and scandalous her husband was acting.

    She knew Apollyon didn''t feel shame at all if he wanted it but was it right to say that while all these dead bodies were huddled in the basement?

    Did he dismiss her pity and sorrow with an attempt at dark humour, or did he desire to have sexual congress with her at this moment?

    She didn''t want to dwell on her thoughts for too long, or else Apollyon would be sessful in distracting her.

    "Are you sure that all of them are evil because if not, what made you different from them?" Luna shrugged his hold on her and red at her husband, "Mass murder is evil, husband."

    "First of all, the conjurer did it for her sacrifice in exchange for her freedom." Prince Aspen said as he nced around the chalk-white skin of their pale cadavers. "--so technically, she was the one who killed all of them."

    "Second, every sin carries its own punishment. This is their punishment." A cold de of anger filled the Faerie Prince''s words. "Third, go back to the first, sit with it and let it sink in."

    Swallowing hard, Luna watched Apollyon with wide eyes. "Unbeknownst to us, you might be forced to pay for this crime in the future."

    "Someone had to." She was bombarded with the image of blood and death, and her brain fought the past terrifying visions converging with the present. "I''m afraid when that timees; I will lose you, Apollyon."

    "If we didn''t kill these demonic faeries for the conjurer''s sacrifice, I would lose you too." Apollyon raised a hand on her face, blocking her eyesight with his freezing palm. "Don''t dip your eyes down, and just keep your eyes on me."

    "These corpses will disappear if you kept them out of your sight." Her husband murmured as if he was casting a spell, his deep baritone fading in her ears. "Out of your mind."

    As she turned her head away, Luna circled Apollyon''s wrists with her fingers and ced his hand down.

    "Apollyon." She forced her gaze back to the shredded neck of these demonic faeries and whispered, "Keeping the dead bodies out of sight and out of my mind will not erase this ruthless crime against creatures."

    Prince Aspen ran a frustrated hand through his long auburn hair, "This argument is going in circles, and the Empress wouldn''t give up."

    "My argument is, you only have to punish and kill the demonic faerie that deserved death." Luna had gritted her teeth. "I bet not everyone who had been drained of their life force in this basement had deserved this fate. Some of them were forced to y the cards they have dealt with."

    "I''m afraid theck of justice for their lives would backfire on you��on us. Divine retribution might chase us to the ends of the world." Luna warned them, but they acted like they didn''t care. "This is why a public trial is important. Why didn''t you seek help from the nobility of the Spring Courts?"

    "Trust me." Prince Aspen smirked. "We don''t care about anything unless things have gotten out of control."

    "You know how Spring Faeries are." Apollyon shrugged. "They keep sweeping their problems under the rug."

    Prince Aspen frowned at him. "Hey!"

    "That''s why the Spring Faeries are the first Faerie Court that I have tricked." King Zephyr added.

    "Are you sure that it would be alright for you to share that in front of a Faerie Prince from the Spring Court?" Her husband asked King Zephyr, his lips curving in amusement.

    " Apollyon," She didn''t understand why they wouldn''t listen to her concerns. "I just don''t like that you have taken matters into your own hands!"

    They call her an Empress, but they didn''t treat her like one.

    How easy they have dismissed her like she was some servant who didn''t deserve to be heard!

    "We have to take matters into our own hands for the sake of the greater good," Apollyon replied without apology.

    "A rotten apple spoils hispanions. We are merely getting rid of bad apples." He held both of her hands and yfully caressed her fingers in a soothing motion. "Nevertheless, you and the safety of the Spring Courts is our priority."

    "When you are asking questions like this makes me doubt your identity as the Empress of the Vampire Realm once again," Cederic said, and Luna''s head jerked up at him.

    She wasn''t used to his height.

    Cederic was almost as tall as her husband as he watched her face warily like a hawk.

    "Luna." She went absolutely still at Apollyon''s cial tone. "Are you happy now that you have returned to me?"

    "Of course, I am."

    "But why are you asking questions that didn''t matter?" The rage was obvious behind those cold words. "Are you purposefully making me jealous?"

    "Making you jealous of what?" Luna''s eyebrows knitted in confusion. "Of the corpses?"

    "The way you are defending them sounded like I have killed one of your lovers or something."

    "No!" Luna waved both of her hands in dismissal.

    As he crossed his arms over his chest, Apollyon gazed at her with suspicion. "Perhaps, you didn''t wish to return to me because you had gotten used to cosying up to your Archdemon husband."

    "Apollyon. Don''t be ridiculous." She swallowed hard, horrified, wondering if he subconsciously knew what had happened with her and Luxen. "Don''t even try changing the subject."

    "Do not suffocate the moment under an avnche of words." Apollyon''s eyes moved over her. "Leave King Zephyr to return to his wife, and we shall go back to our bed-chamber. Nobody will disturb us since we will be busy. Cederic and my soldiers will aid Prince Aspen and his Faerie Sentinels to get rid of the corpses.''"

    "Why do I have to be left behind to deal with the disposal of these dead bodies?" Prince Aspenined. "I also have a fianc�� who needed��"

    Apollyon faced his cousin and blinked, "Who needed your what, cousin?"

    There was a pause filled with tension.

    Clearing his throat, the Faerie Prince rubbed the back of his neck, awkwardly, "I forgot that she needed nothing from me."

    "Alright. It''s my Manor''s basement, anyway." Prince Aspen turned towards the military general. "Let''s deal with this, General Cederic, so I can rest peacefully tonight."

 Chapter 353 - Exposed To The Truth

    <h4>Chapter 353 - Exposed To The Truth</h4>

    ***************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ****************************

    "Husband." Tucked under red silk sheets gliding along their bare legs, Luna hadidfortably on the bed beside her husband in a flimsy nightgown.

    Wide-eyed, Luna was awake and had no intention of falling asleep.

    There wasn''t a need.

    Apollyon didn''t look sleepy either, so they might as well talk.

    "I wanted to ask about Lilith."

    "Hm." Apollyon hummed absently as he turned his head to nce at her.

    His arm was around her as she rested her head on his armpit.

    "Even if we had sessfully driven that Archdemon away and I have brought you back, that fiendish name of hers stille out from someone''s mouth after all these years," Apollyon said coldly, but she knew his rage was addressed at Lilith, not her, for mentioning it. "I am tired of it constantly ringing in my ears like an annoying mosquito. I only had immense hatred for that bitch that ruined our life. I shall ban that name when we arrived back to the Vampire Realm."

    Luna snorted. "How will we address the Archdemon if you banned her name?"

    "We shall create a moniker for the Archdemon of Envy."

    "What do you suggest?"

    He raised an eyebrow, "Hag?"

    Luna cackled as she yfully punched him in the chest, "You are really funny, husband."

    "I''m happy and contented now that you are back, wife." Apollyon''s intense sapphire gaze remained fixed on her, and Luna missed his undivided attention. "You brought a light back into the smiles I have lost in your disappearance."

    She ced her palm on top of her lover''s heart, gently patting him in the chest.

    Luna smiled back so that her husband would have reasons to smile whenever he saw her face.

    She wanted to be her husband''s strength.

    Squinting at him, Luna whined. "Don''t change the subject and fill me out on the details when Lilith took over my body."

    She rubbed her palms on Apollyon''s nipples with just enough friction to arouse him. "I have no idea what happened and how she did it because the Grand Torturer had taken me and locked me in prison. I broke one of the rules of Hell as a fledgling."

    When his eyelids fell shut, and he began to groan in pleasure, Luna removed her hand on his chest.

    Was he still listening to her?

    She had told Apollyon that she would have to postpone the sexual congress and content herself in her husband''s arms.

    Apollyon did not push and respected her decision.

    Luna couldn''t believe that the Vampire King now was capable of consistency.

    It was shocking, considering how she had met and known Apollyon.

    People do change, but in her husband''s situation, it was drastic that he must have been unrecognizable to his past peers.

    Giddy, Luna''s lips curved upward, feeling lucky that she had married well.

    Her birth mother would be proud.

    They still had many years to catch up and talk about, but why did it feel like they weren''t separated for a long time?

    There was no awkwardness at all.

    They were two puzzle pieces falling perfectly into ce when Apollyon had sessfully summoned her back through Lilith''s conjurer.

    "I am more interested in your story in Hell," Apollyon murmured huskily as he pulled her closer to him. "Tell me what happened."

    He turned to the side to face her and caress her hips with hisrge hand.? "I am worried about you."

    "Are you alright?" The motion brought her silk nightgown upwards, exposing her flesh.? "Have you recovered from your suffering?"

    "What''s this depressing conversation?" Sighing, Luna did the same and caressed her husband''s side.

    He was deliciously warm and half-naked for her perusal.

    The ridges of his corded muscles brought herfort, reminding her that she was present with her husband.

    She wasn''t in Hell, and this wasn''t a dream. "We just couldn''t take a break even if we are in our bed-chamber."

    "This isn''t our bed-chamber." Apollyon nced around the room as if he just remembered something and he needed to check it out for some reason.

    Luna also followed his line of sight.

    Red velvet canopies encircled the bed.

    Silver curtains with royal blue trimmings hang by the floor-to-ceiling windows.

    There was a vanity mirror beside a gigantic wardrobe.

    Old furniture carved in ivory and ancient wood.

    Persian rugs by the ming hearth, keeping their private room at just the right temperature while the rxing scent ofvender permeated through the chilly night air.

    The floors were all covered with fluffy carpets.

    There was nothing wrong with it, though.

    "This is mine," Apollyon told her. "I slept separately with Lilith because I have sensed immediately that she wasn''t you."

    "Good," Luna said. "You are a loyal husband."

    "I am." He nodded, and the conviction in his deep baritone bothered Luna because she definitely wasn''t a loyal wife, for she had identally fucked Luxen without her knowledge.

    She didn''t have the heart to admit that to Apollyon,

    He would hate her and use her of cheating!

    Averting her gaze, Luna pulled back, keeping a little distance.

    "You look ufortable. Is there something wrong? " Apollyon observed as he traced the shape of her jawline with his fingers. "Would you have preferred I slept with the impostor?"

    "Of course not!" Luna didn''t mean to raise her voice like that.

    Apollyon had raised his eyebrow, wondering why she had reacted so defensively.

    She cleared her throat, fidgeting. "Tell me what happened, husband. I want to know your side of the story because the time frame is longer in this Realmpared to Hell."

    "I wonder what you have been doing." Luna''s hands were now on her husband''s neck, scratching the skin with her fingernails to mark him.

    "A couple of years back, Prince Aspen and I had gone to the Whispering Forest to interrogate a demonic faerie. After that fruitless endeavor, you came back out-of-the-blue."

    "That wasn''t me, Apollyon."

    "Yes. The military general had alerted me about her when his curse broke the moment she woke up in your body." He said. "I have dealt with the impostor. We figured out quickly that it was Vampire High Priestess who became an Archdemon."

    Apollyon''s hand rose upwards without warning, squeezing the side of her breasts.

    "It was Lilith," Luna said, mirroring her husband''s victorious smirk. "She was the Archdemon the Faerie High Priestess had served, gaining limited Archdemon Magic in exchange for the blood of the Unicorns."

    "You were right. It was her who stole your body, pretending to be you." Apollyon agreed. "It also became easier for the conjurer to make her demonic faerie sacrifice work because it was still Lilith who she had to drive away from your body, the same Archdemon she summoned in exchange for her Magic."

    "I have no idea how Lilith managed to do that."

    "It wouldn''t matter as long as you''re back for good." Apollyon moved closer, erasing the distance between them. "I''m just afraid that they would retake you."

    "No Archdemons can take me back to Hell ever again, Apollyon. I had trained under the tutge of a Master in Archdemon Magic. It will be hard to defeat me now because I would fight them by any means necessary."

    Apollyon lifted her chin and stared deep into her eyes. "You sounded like a true Archdemon."

    "Because I am." Luna shrugged.

    Then she asked the one question she was afraid to address. "Apollyon." Luna just had to make sure. "You didn''t sleep with Lilith while she was inside my body, pretending to be me, right?"

    "No. I''m telling the truth." He faced her straight on as he jutted his chin. "I am loyal to my wife''s soul."

    The serious look on his face showed that he was bored of just touching.

    "Thank the goddess!"

    Apollyon''s sapphire eyes smoldered into hot coals boring into hers.

    "I always felt like there was something wrong when I was around her. She kept seducing me when I hadn''t figured her out at first." Apollyon exined. "Cederic had watched over us like a hawk, determined to keep us apart. Prince Aspen had also sensed that there was something wrong with her when she couldn''t remember certain events and names."

    "The Faerie Prince was pissed off." He said and Luna''s lips parted when Apollyon''s other hand had descended, parting her legs with his long, nimble fingers without notice. "He couldn''t believe ady would ever forget his pretty face, iming it was impossible."

    "He is a handsome...prince with an...unforgettable beauty." Luna kept her breathing even despite her husband''s gentle caress on her soft, sensitive mound. "He must have...imed that... nobody could forget his name--" Apollyons''s long tapered fingers stopped rubbing her hard throbbing clit and Luna glowered at her husband in frustration, "--even if they had just seen a glimpse of him."

    "You have guessed right." Apollyon smirked.

    The tension in Luna''s muscles loosened and she watched him with hooded eyes. "It was either she lost her memory, or she didn''t have the memories in the first ce.

    "The hag imed she had lost her memories, iming it had been a long time since she was gone. We didn''t believe the bullshit, especially now that Cederic had grown." Apollyon''s nostrils red, but Luna wasn''t sure if it was from arousal or anger.? "I just yed along, but I didn''t let it reach that point."

    "I am perfectly capable of self-control. I don''t want to have associations with Archdemons." Her husband reassured her, and she leaned more to his touch as a show of her trust. "I was afraid that I might have a blood bond with one. I don''t want a repeat of your situation with the Blood Beast."

    "How about you?" Apollyon lifted one muscled leg of his and settled it on her thigh.

    His pupils were dted as he licked his lips. "Did you sleep with your�� other�� mates?"

    "I��I''m pregnant with your child, Apollyon."

 Chapter 354 - Darkest Secret

    <h4>Chapter 354 - Darkest Secret</h4>

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    Apollyon did not doubt that they would bleed as her long, sharp fingernails dug into her palms,? "It boggled my mind how she had sessfully possessed me without my knowledge."

    "I��I''m pregnant with your child, Apollyon."? As she bit her lip, Luna admitted shyly and averted her gaze. She would rather stare at her husband''s chest rather than deal with his probing sapphire eyes, afraid that she might say the wrong thing.

    Apollyon didn''t respond.

    Luna could feel a rising warmth on her cheeks as the seconds went by.

    She clenched her fists, waiting... waiting...

    Her husband must have blinked at her shocking confession in disbelief if the rise and fall of his muscr chest with a smattering of thin hair was any indication.

    Her husband would believe her, right?

    What if he doubted her and assumed it was an Archdemon''s baby.

    Luna''s soul was cold--so cold.

    Apollyon jerked his head back and lifted her chin with his finger, forcing her into intense eye contact.

    Luna couldn''t hide away from her husband because he didn''t allow her to look away, not even once.

    "What? When? How?"? His voice raised its pitch with an excitement that was barely contained.

    If he were happy with the news, then it would be fine!

    Apollyon''s breathless queries made her heart flutter like a burst of light had infiltrated inside her chest.

    She giggled at Apollyon''s priceless reaction.

    He nced at her stomach as his hand on her sensitive flesh moved upwards.

    Frowning, he asked, "Your stomach is still the same, though."

    "I just came back to my body. It''s still very much a seed." Luna exined, chuckling at her husband''s words.? Did he want her to immediately have a big stomach when the baby hadn''t grown yet? "I think it would grow in a couple of weeks now that my soul had returned to my body along with the baby''s."

    "I can''t believe this," Apollyon eximed as he cupped her cheeks,nding a cute smack on her nose. "We had been separated for almost a decade!"

    "You know that the time frame in Hell was different from this Realm, Apollyon." Luna''s eyes closed of their own ord during the kiss, but her ear-to-ear grin remained.? "To me, I was just missing for months."

    "But for me, seven years of missing you felt like forever." Sighing, Apollyon enveloped her in his embrace. "I suffered more than you--"

    "I know it''s unfair, Apollyon, and I''m so��"

    "No! No! That''s not what I meant."? Apollyon waved a hand in dismissal. "I''m notparing your suffering with mine, wife. This isn''t apetition on who suffered more during our separation."

    Apollyon ced his hand at the back of her head and proceeded to caress her hair, giving her a sense offort, "I''m just d that it was harder to be away from you in my situationpared to you because I don''t want you to get hurt and drown in your sorrow for a longer time. That''s bad for the baby."

    Luna whispered as she began to tear up. "I know."

    "I''m worried, my beloved." Apollyon''s eyebrows were drawn together as he lifted her nightgown.

    He scrutinized the soft flesh of her stomach.

    Apollyon caressed her womb and scowled, "I couldn''t feel her presence yet."

    "It''s there. I could feel our baby''s spirit in my womb, but it needed to get settled in my own body first before it grows." Burying her face on Apollyon''s neck, Luna stored her husband''s scent in her brain for eternity just in case they get separated again.

    "It must be a shock of her life when you had taken her spirit with you, and suddenly she had a physical vessel."

    "She?" Withdrawing from him, Luna raised an eyebrow, amused. "Now, you were assuming the gender of our baby again."

    "I told you I wanted a girl." Her husband''s eyes looked darker and mncholic, "I remember when you were gone, wife��"

    "Hmm." Luna gave her husband a questioning gaze. "What is it?"

    "There was a ghost of a silver-haired child who looked like you visited the Ivory Tower," Apollyon told her, his lips quirking at the memory. "It was funny how she had imed that you were her mother."

    "My heart ached so bad when she couldn''t recognize me as her father if ever she was our child for real." He said in regret. "Mayhap, it was a mere hallucination because I have missed you so much."

    "Tell me more."

    "She had the same eyes like me." Apollyon noted, amazed, "I thought--"

    He sighed. "I had this inkling that she was our daughter, but maybe it was just my depression ying tricks on me."

    "Did she stay long?"

    "No. She said she had to get back home because her father might scold her for wandering into our Realm." Luna felt like the mood in this bedchamber had turned a little bleakpared to before. "Now that I think about it, if she insisted her father isn''t me, then she wasn''t your daughter, either. She can either be a ghost or a figment of my imagination."

    There was a heart-stopping pause.

    Apollyon looked like he was choosing his words carefully before he spoke, "This baby you''re talking about is ours, right? Not your baby with other Archdemons?"

    Luna couldn''t speak and let out a nervousugh instead. "Of course, it''s yours, Apollyon."

    He released a tension-filled sigh.

    "I''m just kidding, wife." Apollyon''s eyes crinkled, his kissable lips disying a wide grin, "I heard only ''truth'' when you said it was mine because your voice had resonated in my mind.''''

    "Ah." Luna nodded, and her voice trembled, "Really?"

    A drop of sweat trickled down her forehead.

    "You don''t have to look so pale. I know you are loyal to me, just like I was loyal to you. I trust you wholeheartedly, and I believed in you." Apollyon yfully pinched her cheeks when he noticed her strained expression, "I know you only have eyes for me. You proved it to me when the Archdemon of Gluttony had taken you in the Dream Realm."

    Luna immediately blocked her thoughts using the Archdemon Magic she learned from her Master, just in case her husband had tried to read her mind at that moment.

    "You were missing for two weeks, and not once did you give in to his advances. You didn''t stay long even if he had convinced you. That is what you told me." Apollyon''s eyes sparkled, and it made Luna grimace. It was weird that her husband wasn''t suspicious of her at all, treating her as if she could do no wrong. How would he react if he found out the truth about Luxen?

    "It wasn''t my intention to stay longer, husband, but the Archdemon of Envy had trapped me in Hell so that she could take over my body," Luna replied, shifting about the bed, trying to roll over to the other side.

    Unfortunately, Apollyon had gripped her in ce so that she couldn''t even escape him.

    Luna didn''t like to look at her husband for too long, afraid that he would sense the lies in her eyes and wordsing out of her mouth, hiding a secret that could potentially destroy them.

    She sighed, giving up, and focused on the subject of Lilith instead. "I have observed that the Archdemon of Envy was obsessed about you for some reason. You don''t know how much she angered me when she addressed you as her husband as if she had already taken my identity when she was merely sharing her ns to make me suffer in paranoia."

    Luna gritted her teeth in anger. "Lilith was the one who admitted that her ns of taking over me had failed because of the baby inside my body."

 Chapter 355 - Baby Names

    <h4>Chapter 355 - Baby Names</h4>

    *************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    *************************

    "Luna." Apollyon''s expression was grave as he rubbed his stubble in thought, "She didn''t kill our baby and reced it with something else, right?"

    "No!" Luna''s eyes widened, and she pped his shoulder.

    It was stronger than expected.

    "That''s ridiculous, husband." Apollyon could hear Luna''s heartbeat pound in his sensitive ears. "Don''t even think about that."

    ***

    Apollyon had asked Luna if she had slept with the other Archdemons she had mated with, but Luna changed the subject with much more shocking news.

    Luna was pregnant, and he didn''t know what to make of it.

    Apollyon couldn''t exin his feelings about being a father and having an heir/heiress to the Vampire Realm.

    It was still a mix of positive and negative��numb, worried, happy, excited, yet anxious.

    Luna wasn''t ready to tell him everything about what happened to her in Hell.

    As he gave her long sideways nces, which she had every intention to ignore, Apollyon hated how his wife had kept him in the dark whenever he pressed for more information.

    She always changed the subject every time Apollyon referred to her other Archdemon husbands.

    Apollyon just let her because he didn''t want her to feel sad, ufortable or relive her memory of the traumas he experienced in the Realms of Hell.

    He swore to himself he wouldn''t push his wife when she wasn''t ready to reveal her secrets.

    The two of them were together for two hours, so he still had a lot of time to coax the truth out of his wife in the most creative of ways.

    What Apollyon had in his creative mind involved touching, groaning, eating and riding--something.

    The bed frame should shake, and their screams should prate the thick walls.

    They wouldn''t sleep tonight, and he wouldn''t let the people in the rooms next to their rest, either.

    The entire Lc Manor shall hear his wife scream his name.

    Luna didn''t want to talk about when she was taken to prison and tormented by the Grand Torturer.

    Apollyon''s stomach rolled with dread, and his heartbeat turned sluggish.

    Was Luna helpless and sexually abused by any of the Archdemons, or had she fought back and imed victory over them?

    Apollyon didn''t want to imagine the worse just because her wife couldn''t fill in the details.

    His wife was an Amazon who had transitioned into a vampire, so she might have fought for her freedom just like how they had locked horns at the beginning of their marriage.

    Apollyon couldn''t remember the times were Luna was weak during a fight.

    In his ancient mind, his memory of her was that Luna had enough strength to rise against her enemies.

    She was always capable of finding ways of defeating them.

    Luna didn''t stay down for long, and that was one of the qualities he had admired and hated (in the past) about her.

    He kept his reaction calm and serene, shoving his spections under the rug and pretending to be blind.

    Luna was a nervous wreck when Apollyon mentioned other Archdemons aside from Lilith, and it wasn''t hard to miss.

    What was Luna hiding behind her strange reactions?

    Apollyon contented himself with skin-to-skin contact, extremely grateful for her physical presence.

    She didn''t protest when he yed with her quim for a while, not for the sake of what wille next, but he just liked touching them, checking out if they can still produce the same copious amount of nectar as before.

    All the diamonds in the world couldn''t rece all their conversations and his wife''spany.

    As they cuddled face-to-face, Apollyon purred in satisfaction every time their chests deliciously rubbed against each other.

    He just heaved a deep sigh and let everything slide for now.

    It was either that, or Apollyon would jump out of bed and punch the walls repeatedly, escting the power of his fists with every single smash to destroy Prince Aspen''s Manor.

    Prince Aspen would dere him a fugitive who had left his property in shambles, and his Faerie Sentinels would chase Apollyon, his wife and his Envoy.

    He didn''t want the Vampire Realm as an enemy of the Spring Courts.

    Apollyon just wanted to figure out everything from Luna''s point-of-view, damn it!

    If Apollyon were the Vampire King he had used to be, it would be easy for him to reach into Luna''s consciousness and probe into his wife''s mind without permission��invade her precious privacy to seek answers that could satisfy him, but he was a changed man now.

    He couldn''t do that because he had respected his wife''s privacy.

    As he paid attention to his wife''s words and expressions with narrowed eyes, Apollyon could sense something was terribly wrong.

    He noticed that Luna started freezing out when he had specific queries when it came to her loyalty such as--if she ever had sexual congress with another in her time in Hell?

    Luna couldn''t look him in the eye and tell it to him straight.

    Did she cheat on him, and she couldn''t admit it because it might destroy their fragile rtionship?

    It wasn''t like the years of separation had destroyed it.

    If their love were a house, Apollyon would describe that it was made of ss.

    One thing he had learned about being Luna''s husband was patience.

    He waited almost a decade to reunite with her, and now, he was obliged to wait another year to make his wifefortable enough to tell him the truth.

    Jaws clenching, Apollyon pinched his lips together as he stared at his wife.

    The detail was akin to hundreds of tiny puzzle pieces Apollyon should put together to see Luna''s bigger picture.

    Shaking his head, Apollyon finally decided not to dwell on useless things, "How do you feel about our baby, Luna?"

    I''m excited for it to grow in my stomach so that I could show her how handsome her dad was." Luna replied in a sing-song voice, and it was the most pleasant thing he had heard, making his stomach flutter.

    "Now, you have finally agreed with me." Smirking, Apollyon peered at her beneath hisshes as he yed with the hem of her nightgown. "You said it''s a ''her''."

    "What if it''s a ''he'', Apollyon?" Luna asked as she swatted his hand away, smoothing her skirts to cover her milky white thighs.

    Luna imed that she didn''t want to have a sexual congress, but she wasn''t averse to his sexual touches.

    What did she want?

    His wife was hard to read.

    Did she desire him right now or not?

    Was she ying hard to get, or was she trying to be modest? "If the baby turns out to be a male, he might have feminine traits when I birthed him into the world if we keep referring to him as a female."

    He stroked her heart-shaped face with his fingers. "We should give the unborn baby a temporary name."

    "Can we call it, Leo, for now?"

    "Ah. That''s a nice nickname for the baby." He sighed then smiled. "We can call her Leonore if she would be born as a girl."

    Luna''s green eyes darkened, chuckling with delight. "If he would turn out as a boy then, we shall call him as Leonard."

 Chapter 356 - Ostara, The First Day Of Spring

    <h4>Chapter 356 - Ostara, The First Day Of Spring</h4>

    ***************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ***************************

    Luna never shied away from public disys of affection, but she had refused sexual congress with him behind closed doors.

    Apollyon became worried that he had acquired a habit of biting his nails when his wife shared that she didn''t feel like doing it when he seduced her at night, iming that she was exhausted.

    Once again, Apollyon respected her and didn''t enforce his ''husbandly rights''.

    He took her consent with a sincere heart.

    He was just disturbed by this sudden absence of sexual intimacy, afraid that his wife had lost her physical connection with him.

    Now that his wife was pregnant, Apollyon''s urge for it became stronger, craving it more than blood.

    Blood will always rank a bit higher to a vampire''s needspared to sex.

    If? his brain began conditioning him this way, it would be dangerous if he couldn''t satisfy this urge.

    Luna and Apollyon didn''t go back to the Vampire Realm yet.

    His wife had insisted on travelling and seeing wonderful sights that the Faerie Realm can offer.

    She told him of the whimsical faerie paintings she had seen lined up on the Vampire castle walls, created by Apollyon''s mother, Empress Ourania, Princess of the Summer Courts.

    At the same time, she was imprisoned in the Pce of Scleranthus by his father.

    Apollyon wanted to humour his wife and give her whatever she wanted��spoil her and their unborn baby with his time, gifts, attention, and most especially his love.

    If she showed a desire to stay in the Faerie Realms, he would allow her as long as he would be by her side.

    At least, he had his wife all to himself and bond with her more during these moments.

    This was the first time he had stepped into the Faerie Realms, so he was excited to travel too.

    Apollyon also nned to kill two birds��no, four��because he would introduce her to each court''s ruling nobility to gain their favour, making friends with their potential allies.

    It would be not easy to convince the remaining Courts, but as long as Apollyon had his wife beside him, his chances would increase.

    Nothing could resist his charming Empress if she turned on her charms and magnify them.

    Apollyon and Luna will celebrate the ''Ostara''��the first day of the spring during the vernal equinox--with the Royal Family and the rest of the Spring Courts.

    The Vernal Equinox was a special event because it was when the day and night were equal.

    The Spring Courts never ran out of parties because the Royal Family loved these events.

    As his insides flooded with warmth,? Apollyon couldn''t wait to parade her Empress around��that she was awake, safe and alive��for all the Fair Folk to see.

    It was so different from the past year when Lunaid in her flowerbed proceeding to the Spring Castle like her funeral.

    There was a variety of food on their table��mostly fruits, cakes, and wine--which the servants hadden out to the early guests.

    The sight and aroma of food were pleasant to his vampire senses, but unfortunately, they couldn''t eat any of them.

    That didn''t stop the faerie servants from offering them, though.

    They have settled in their respective seats reserved for the Vampire King and Queen at two o''clock in the afternoon.

    The celebration will start at six o''clock, which was four hours from now, so they still had time to roam around the city docks overlooking the river, walking hand-in-hand and taking in the romantic view.

    "Ah, husband," Luna whined softly as she leaned towards him at the table.

    He could see the entire gxy as he stared deep into her green eyes, sparkling like stars.

    Luna raised one foot from under the table and caressed it from his ankle to his thigh, almost rubbing against his crotch.

    Apollyon''s spine straightened from his seat at the sudden contact.

    Did she do this on purpose when she couldn''t be bothered every night?

    His rod began to harden when she moaned, "My feet hurt."

    Apollyon swallowed hard and curbed his libido down, shoving them back to the deepest recesses of his dirty mind.

    Clearing his throat, he let his stool drag on the wooden boards as he bent his head down to catch the errant foot that had seduced him.

    His cheekbones flushed with warmth when he witnessed her inner thighs up close.

    He blinked rapidly as he let his gaze travel to her shapely legs.

    Her ivory legs were parted, and it was amusing to see his wife sit like him��as a man��in those feminine clothes, and at least, she had worn underwear beneath her transparent skirts.

    Apollyon was the only man allowed to see her hidden secrets of pleasure.

    That morning, Lady rence had let his wife borrow some clothes that she could wear for the ''Ostara'', but all of them were of smaller size.

    He preferred Luna''s clothes to be tighter because they showcased her curves well.

    When Luna wore a whiteced halter-neck top, showing that her stomach already had a growing bump, everything she had worn was small and tight.

    His wife was taller than other women.

    Her light green skirts with multipleyers flowing around her like ripples of water should have left gorgeous trains at her back, only reached an inch above her ankles.

    When he had grabbed her foot, he noticed that her Achilles heel was red and sore from the repeated scraping of her skin. "Why did you wear Lady rence''s shoes if it didn''t fit you?"

    He scolded her in a growl, "I could have ordered someone to buy at the Market, or we could go together so that you can choose the one you liked."

    "I don''t want to waste money," Luna replied as Apollyon carefully removed her shoes and ced them close to each other under the table, leaving her momentarily barefoot just enough for her wound to heal and seal shut. "The floorboards are squeaky clean, so I might as well walk barefoot for now."

 Chapter 357 - Unpredictable

    <h4>Chapter 357 - Unpredictable</h4>

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    Vampire King Apollyon

    **************************

    As he gently ced Luna''s delicate feet down, only the tip of her small toes touched the floorboards.? "The floorboards are squeaky clean, so I might as well walk barefoot for now."

    "Are you looking down on me again?" Apollyon scowled at the shoes she borrowed from Lady rence. "It''s not like your husband isn''t a King of the Vampire Realm. I can buy you anything you want."

    She let out a husky moan, her feet swinging under the table in an adorable temper tantrum, "I want to walk barefoot, Apollyon."

    Apollyon sighed at how strange his wife was acting.

    He knew thedy in front of him was the real Luna, alright, because she still had this strange charm that made him lose control, sending his heart into overdrive.

    There was no question about that, but she had changed.

    Mayhap, it was the pregnancy that triggered her hot and cold demeanour.

    How effortless she pushed his buttons!

    "You can be barefoot, wife, but I wouldn''t let you walk." His gaze shifted to the floorboards Luna had talked about, and he let his forefinger touch them, rubbing it against his thumb. Indeed, his wife had told the truth. The servants must have cleaned them so well there was no trace of dust. "Just tell me where you want to go, and I will use my teleportation abilities."

    "But I want to walk around and see the view." Luna protested.

    "I''ll carry you behind my back." Satisfied, Apollyon fixed the table cloth and straightened his spine, dragging his stool closer to the table. He grinned.? "Easy."

    "I want to talk to other females, husband, that''s why I borrowed Lady rence''s clothes for Ostara as an excuse!"

    "Are you saying you are tired of talking to me and seeing my face?"

    "No. I want to talk to a female with regards to pregnancy." Luna leaned both of her forearms on the table and stared at him straight in the eye. "I don''t know how to keep the baby safe."

    "You don''t have to know how to keep the baby safe, wife. I will kill anyone who might harm you and the baby." Apollyon had picked up a fork and spun it yfully in his hand, stabbing it unto the strawberry on top of the cake. "You don''t have to worry because I will always be by your side, and I wouldn''t leave you alone."

    Apollyon also feared having to share with their future child in his wife''s heart.

    He constantly reassured himself that everything would be fine.

    It''s not like he would run out of love with Luna.

    His child will learn how to love him once Leo came out of the womb.

    Apollyon would give Leo unconditional love until his heiress''s cup would overflow, and she would give her love in return.

    Luna sighed, looking away from him, watching seagulls take flight above the river instead of the cake he had destroyed.

    "You are so sweet, husband, but I''m not used to this side of you." She frowned in disapproval.

    Was it because Apollyon had wasted faerie food, or she hated him for being sweet?? "Anyway, Lady rence was happy to lend me her outfits since Prince Aspen couldn''t bring her to the celebrations on the Spring Courts either. The Royal Family had frowned on their rtionship, but they let Prince Aspen do whatever he wanted."

    Apollyon had stared at the gentle currents of the river and how the gonds swayed against the wind.

    The clear, turquoise waves glittered like diamonds under the afternoon sun.

    Apollyon couldn''t continue this dead conversation with his wife regarding Lady rence.

    What did he know about pregnancy when he hadn''t made some female pregnant because his sperm was dead once it was out from his body?

    Not unless Apollyon drank The High Priest''s potion.

    He couldn''t talk about Luna having extreme mood swings, blood cravings at random hours and ces and her sudden exhaustion after being energized on the previous days.

    Being with his wife was a roller-coaster ride��one that he was unsure of.

    He had experienced highs and lows with her and ups and downs, not knowing what to do and which way to go.

    He always prioritized his unpredictable, pregnant wife because she had to befortable above all else.

    He will jump through hoops like a performing entertainer in case she needed something.

    They would do everything at her own pace.

    Apollyon would tell her every day that he loved her no matter what she looked like, and there was nothing to be insecure about as her stomach grew bigger, carrying their child.

    He wouldn''t leave her side.

    He would assure her that everything will be alright.

    "Wife." Apollyon returned his gaze on his wife''s beautiful face.

    He tapped the back of her hand, catching her attention, "Tell me what''s on your mind."

    Luna''s posture went rigid as her gaze flew to his face, startled, "There was no need to tell you. You can read my mind and my emotions because we are mates."

    "I should tell you that I wouldn''t even bother."

    Luna took a deep breath, "You used to do that so freely before because I can sense you when you tried to."

    "I don''t want you to be angry at me for invading your privacy." He scowled. "Your mind is your mind."

    "Hmm." The scent of the warm wind and the river surrounded them, fresh and wild.

    "I can still feel you skirting the edges of my consciousness right now. Were you looking for something in particr?"? She inhaled and exhaled. Nostrils ring, Luna recognized her husband''s scent enveloping her. "Scanning my memories in Hell, for example?"

    It had been three weeks since Luna came back from Hell.

    She still hadn''t given him enough fodder to verify his assumptions, making his imagination was run wild.

    Gritting his teeth, Apollyon promised not to break down his wife''s mental barricades, but as the weeks went by, he became more tempted to do it, but he couldn''t find a way to destroy Luna''s Archdemon Magic with one of his own.

    Did Luna participate in some Archdemon Orgy that she wished to keep as a secret?

 Chapter 358 - Playing Pretend

    <h4>Chapter 358 - ying Pretend</h4>

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    Vampire King Apollyon

    *************************

    "I tried attempting to feel you through our blood bond, and it hurt to know that you have also blocked me." Apollyon clenched his fists and made a cutting remark, "You are hiding something from me, and I don''t like it."

    "Nevertheless, thank you for giving me the privacy I needed." Luna''s voice trembled as if she was forcing her words out, "I don''t want you to see the things I have suffered in Hell."

    "What''s done is done, and I would carry the memories when I perish in this Realm." Leaning backwards, Luna averted her gaze and stared at the uneaten food in front of them, instead. "I don''t wish to burden you with my torment, and I know as my husband, you will me yourself because you cared too much."

    "Let''s not talk about it anymore. It will ruin both of our moods." Luna brought her arms against her body as if hugging herself in a protective gesture. "Let''s just move on."

    There was also something Apollyon noticed which needed to be addressed.

    "How quickly you have duplicated the mental cloaks King Zephyr had taught us, but yours is stronger. I had sensed it, closely wrapped around your thoughts, cloaking it from outsiders including me." There was a knot forming in his stomach, painfully reminding him of the truth that his wife had another husband aside from him.

    "I''m not about to force my way in and rape your mind even if I have kept my mind open for you just in case you are interested."

    It made him murderous, knowing that it was the Blood Beast, the Archdemon, who possessed his body in the past.

    Luna flinched at the word ''rape''.

    Apollyon wondered if she had experienced that in Hell, and his wife didn''t want to admit that in fear of his reaction.

    ''No.'' Apollyon shook his head.

    He wouldn''t dwell in the worst-case scenario.

    He should wait for Luna to tell the truth instead of driving himself crazy with baseless assumptions.

    "I also wondered about that, husband." Luna ran a frustrated hand through her silver locks. "Lilith is a stronger and mature Archdemon than me."

    Apollyon rubbed the side of his neck and said, "I hate to admit it, but that''s a known fact right there."

    "Why couldn''t she fight back against King Zephyr''s Shadow Barriers��against the four of you?" Luna asked, narrowing eyes at him in suspicion.

    Did she expect her husband to lie?

    "I was d that you had sessfully defeated Lilith, but I would have expected her wrath would lead to the total annihtion of the Faerie Realm when you attempted to summon me back from my body.When she found out that you knew about her secret. That she was Lilith, instead of me." Luna continued as she caressed her lower lips with a finger, deep in thought.

    He was a simple man.

    Apollyon watched her lips and imagined them wrapped around the base of his shaft.

    "We had spent almost a year hunting all the demonic faeries down in secret with this ne I had told you about��capturing them in silence, drugging all of them and chaining them? into forged iron until we had Lilith''s conjurer in our hands." Luna witnessed the dark tendrils of smoke encased in the onyx diamond pendant as Apollyon pulled it out from under his tunic.

    Luna nodded at his statements, and he hid his ne back.

    The smoke showed that it had detected Luna as an Archdemon with diabolical magic.

    "Thework and their recruitment of their cult members were as meticulous as a connection of a series of spiderwebs," Apollyon exined further as he gave her a half-shrug. "Torturing them had no use since all of them had sworn an oath to protect the cult leader''s identity. The cult members didn''t know the existence of the magic ne made of crushed gem on top of the unicorn horns which we had hidden under our clothes."

    "When the number of the cult member''s increased along with the increase of their member''s disappearance, we had given the strongest of Cederic''s trusted assassins and Faerie Sentinels with these magic nes, hunting them during the new moon or the full moon." When a servant passed by their table carrying goblets of wine in his tray, Apollyon lowered his voice, "When they were hunting unicorns for their initiation, we were hunting them in silence. We hunted those demonic faeries for twenty-four hours by shift, patrolling the entire Spring Courts without alerting the enemies."

    "We captured a lot of them during the initiation while our team of captors wore a disguise so that they wouldn''t find us and hunt us in return." Pausing, Apollyon nced around, checking their surroundings for a minute.

    When there was no one around their vicinity, the volume of his voice returned to normal, "The cult members were pretty obvious. We noticed they had also worn a ne of their own to ess Archdemon Magic stored in that cursed snake-green pendant of theirs."

    "Our nes can react to dark energies, especially Archdemon Magic. It also reacts to Shadow Magicians like King Zephyr. The onyx diamond could send signals in our body, warning us of danger if the person in front of us wielded Dark Magic." Apollyon said, his lips curving in amusement, "We had already known it was Lilith before the nes were created, so I pretended that everything was alright, acting like a good, doting husband who had refused to sleep with her."

    Luna raised an eyebrow. "It''s hard to believe you have sessfully kept her at bay for almost a year."

    "You didn''t know of my secret talent, wife." Apollyon straightened his spine as he stretched his arms upward.

    He wasn''t used to sitting down in one ce for a longer period of time. "I can act very well if I set my mind to it. Lilith was easily pacified with a sincere ''I-love-you'' from me, pretending like I care for her well-being."

    Luna recoiled from him, gawking at him as if she didn''t recognize him all of a sudden. "You scared me when you said that, Apollyon. Nothing had happened between you, right?"

 Chapter 359 - Footsies

    <h4>Chapter 359 - Footsies</h4>

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    Vampire King Apollyon

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    "You scared me when you said that, Apollyon." Luna gasped in shock, covering her mouth with a palm.

    "Nothing had happened between you, right?" She whispered as she glowered at him in suspicion.

    "Of course not!" Apollyon frowned, reaching out for her arm on the table and flipped them over, stroking her wrist with his thumb.

    "I told you before, on the first night you arrived." He trailed his fingers against her skin, and he liked that it sent shivers down Luna''s spine.

    "Rest assured. You are the only one in my heart and soul." Smirking, Apollyon repeated for the millionth time.

    "Apollyon."? Luna recoiled from him, gawking at him as if she didn''t recognize him all of a sudden.

    "You weren''t pretending that you loved me like how you did with Lilith so that she wouldn''t be suspicious of your ns, right?" Apollyon''s heart sank when his wife doubted him like this. "I''m afraid, Apollyon. That you are only pretending with me."

    Well, he wasn''t a good actor like she thought he was.

    "I would give you permission to ess my memories even if you don''t allow me to see yours if you want. If you think I am only pretending with you, why don''t you see it for yourself?" He jutted his chin and paired it with an arrogant smirk, "I am an open book when ites to you."

    "I believe in you, Apollyon, just like how you believed in me." Luna also said for the millionth time today.

    Did Apollyon believed his wife with all of his heart, or was he lying to himself?

    "I did everything Lilith wanted from me��just shallow physical contact��but I told her that I was exhausted every time she enticed me with sex." To prove how attracted he was to Luna and not Lilith, Apollyon inconspicuously removed his shoes with his hand and settled hisrge foot lightly over her small one.

    "It was hard." Apollyon stared at her and winked. ��I was hard--" He corrected, "��since she was using your face and your body, but I endured all of it because I love you."

    Luna''s scowl shifted into one of barely concealed amusement.

    Apollyon''s lips curved at her expression, trying to hard not to smile.

    Pinching his lips together, he turned serious. "I was cautious not to be mated with an Archdemon since we have spections that she was the High Priestess Lilith. Cederic was one of Lilith''s suitors before she became the High Priestess."

    "Cederic knew about her habits and the way she acted or speak, iming he knew her best since he had undergone a strange obsession phase with her," Apollyon exined further. "Cederic also thought that perhaps, he was under her love spell or became a test subject for her love potion she wanted to try on me as the heir of the Vampire King."

    Apollyon watched her silver hair whipped her beautiful face due to the soft, spring breeze. "I don''t want to build the stacks against me, and neither would I risk losing you if she had established a permanent residence in your body."

    "So you didn''t drink her blood for your nourishment, and she hadn''t drunk yours in return?"

    "Never." Apollyon shook his head, and Luna heaved a sigh of relief. "Lilith kept on offering her blood for me to drink. I refused her because I don''t want to risk it. I just told her I wasn''t hungry, exining that strong ancient pureblood vampires like me could withstand the bloodlust longerpared to the others."

    "Weren''t you hungry that you couldn''t drink from me?" Luna pressed on as she covered his hand with hers.

    He liked that she liked touching him as if she couldn''t resist him.

    "I was lucky that the High Priest had stored your blood in vials and bottles in advance for travel purposes before Lilith took over," Apollyon replied in a low voice. "Prince Aspen and I were actively hunting for the rest of the cult members, so we transferred all of my food to another location so that Lilith wouldn''t find them."

    She watched him closely and observed, "I think you would have preferred me asleep rather than be up and about with Lilith controlling my body."

    "Lilith possessing you is the worst nightmare of my life." Shaking his head, Apollyon leaned forward and massaged his temples. "Anyway, Prince Aspen also moved Lady rence in another estate of his. I drank my blood supply in secret and in certain rations. That was why my vampire strength and magical abilities weren''t that strong at that time." He remembered how problematic that time was, hiding and sneaking around with his food away from Lilith. "I also noticed that Lilith never told her she was hungry and needed blood from me as her mate. She was always the one who offered her blood for me to drink."

    Luna snapped her finger in realization.

    "That''s because she didn''t need blood, Apollyon."'' Luna said wide-eyed. "Blood can satisfy a vampire''s thirst, but only a soul could satisfy an Archdemon."

    "The Blood Beast had possessed you before, Apollyon." Luna shifted in her seat without pushing Apollyon''s foot away from her cute ones. "Ravin had used his deadly touch to take the souls from his victims."

    Squeezing his hand, Luna asked, "Have you seen Lilith do that?"

    "No." That would be ridiculous. "If she were a smart Archdemon, she wouldn''t let me see her eat souls. That would blow her cover." Apollyon''s voice was dry with humour as he shrugged with nonchnce. "I wouldn''t hesitate to strike her down."

    Luna''s toes curled under his foot, but she still didn''t remove it from under him.

    Apollyon applied pressure unto the bridge of her foot in a jest.

    He knew Luna could feel how heavy his foot was because she had thrown daggers at him with her eyes. "So, Lilith hadn''t sneaked out of Lc Manor to follow you wherever you go and catch you hunting the demonic faeries?"

    "King Zephyr had been careful, shrouding the four of us in shadows, including the rest of the soldiers and sentinels."

 Chapter 360 - Self-Proclaimed Genius

    <h4>Chapter 360 - Self-Proimed Genius</h4>

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    Vampire King Apollyon

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    "The Faerie Prince even went as far as using mour to their entire surroundings once they leave a ce so that creatures who have spied on them would lose their path and go crazy. We have used a massive scale of magic every night so that we could be sessful with our mission." Apollyon began, but his smirk turned into a frown when Luna pulled her foot away, and Apollyon''s soles touched the thick wooden floor of the docks.

    Hmph.

    His wife was no fun today, refusing to y along!

    Brushing his disappointment aside, Apollyon continued with his story, "The Demonic Faeries might have killed unicorns at the start, butter on, they became more aggressive, more savage, killing other faeries for no reason in retaliation for their missing cult members we have already captured. We made it in time when we captured Lilith''s Conjurer before it became a full bloody war."

    Luna licked her lips as she watched his mouth, "Did Lilithe to find out your secret mission?"

    "Lilith knew, but it was toote for her to do something. We had captured her conjurer before the Archdemon of Envy could get her hands on her and took over the cult to build her Archdemon Army." Apollyon grasped her fingers and lifted them through his lips, not breaking away from their intense eye contact.

    He kissed each of them with a slow thoroughness that he could sense Luna''s sweet anticipation at the back of his mind. "After that, King Zephyr, Prince Aspen, Cederic, and I found a way to befuddle her mind with magic. We had her chained at the basement along with our captured demonic faeries andpletely at our mercy where she couldn''t use Archdemon Magic."

    Her skin was warm against his lips, and Apollyon''s tongue dared to lick a single stroke at the back of her hand.

    Luna''s green eyes darkened with hunger as she nced around them.

    A surge of spring faeries in their festive floral gowns had arrived at the location for the ''Ostara'' as they roamed around the docks and looking for their table reservations.

    His wife pulled her hand back and held it close to her chest.

    Breathless, she asked, "Where did Prince Aspen and Cederic dispose of the dead bodies?

    "Honestly, I don''t know, and I''m not interested in them. The fewer people who knew what had been done to them, the better. My best guess is that all of them might be carried off into a secluded ce and burned to erase their horrible demonic deformities from the Faerie Realm''s knowledge."

    "They became sacrifices to the Archdemons," Luna replied, oblivious of the faeries hovering around their table. "They can either turn to fledgeling Archdemons or food for other demons to increase their strength and level up in the hierarchy."

    Well, of course, his wife knew about things in Hell.

    He could not rte for the life of him.

    Apollyon felt left out and it irked him that Luna had experiences he wasn''t familiar with.

    Apollyon scowled at the spring faeries behind them, checking them out as if they were waiting for Apollyon and Luna''s acknowledgement to pull them out of their interesting conversations in exchange for small talks.

    He waved his hand at them in dismissal, hopefully informing them that he and his wife are busy seducing each other in broad daylight and they couldn''t be disturbed.

    Apollyon might have held his death re back, but he magnified his unapproachable aura instead, filling the space above them in the dark, ominous wisps of smoke.

    "You sounded like an Archdemon."

    "You did great, husband." Luna ignored his remark. "Everything is clear to me now."

    "You can ask me anything, wife." Apollyon''s voice was as alluring as his caresses in the night. "I will never shy away��from your queries until you are��satisfied."

    "I''m...sorry." Luna didn''t seem to understand his sexual innuendo. "No matter... how hard I try, I couldn''t...be transparent to you... as you are."? She nced down on her trembling hands settled in herp. "I don''t want you to...burden you with my memories....of torment and other��"

    Here they go again!

    "You are never a burden." Apollyon sighed, "Please stop this before I get angry."

    "I''m sorry."

    "You don''t have to apologize. You are not a burden, alright?" Apollyon said patiently. "You make it sound like I couldn''t handle you and your truth."

    He hated how his wife was about to cry for the millionth time this week.

    Her sensitivity must be due to pregnancy.

    "I can handle you, wife." It was up to Apollyon to be understanding of his wife''s strange moods. "I will ept whatever memory you wanted to show me. It already happened. It''s not like I can do anything about it."

    "Knowing you, I''m sure you are going to me yourself for not protecting me." She had bowed her head, her silver strands covering her face. ''I''d rather not."

    Apollyon knew deep inside that he will me himself for her suffering, but he wasn''t going to mess up and admit it, or else she wouldn''t want to share her memories in Hell anymore.

    He responded, "Take your time. I wouldn''t force you." Apollyon? said soothingly, "I''m sure you would tell me in the future if you trusted me enough."

    "Thank you for saving me using Lilith''s conjurer and exorcising the Archdemon soul from me. It was the best n you coulde up with at that time, and it wasn''t right for me to me you for the death of the demonic faeries when you had no other intention but to bring me back." As she sniffed, Apollyon swore he saw a single tear fell. "It might be selfish of you��of us��but we had no other choice. If Lilith had sessfully taken over my body and create her own Archdemon Army in this Realm, trouble would escte far greater than this."

    "At least, you and the rest have kept thisplicated situation hush-hush." Luna raised her head, peering at him beneath her longshes,? "It was a smart decision for the greater good before it became worse."

    Apollyon joked, in an attempt to make his wife smile again, "I''m a genius, aren''t I?"

 Chapter 361 - Seventh Princess

    <h4>Chapter 361 - Seventh Princess</h4>

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    Vampire King Apollyon

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    Apollyon joked, in an attempt to make his wife smile again, "I''m a genius, aren''t I?"

    Even if her cute nose was a little red, Luna glowered at him and said firmly. "You''re getting conceited, husband."

    "Tch." Apollyon pouted at her, squinting as he crossed his arms over his chest, "You don''t praise me enough."

    He desired to be showered inpliments by a beautiful wife.

    Luna sniffed, and he thought she had cried again, but this time, she was beaming from ear-to-ear, showing all of her front teeth. "You are the most handsome man and the most powerful King I have ever met."

    He narrowed his eyes at her, keeping his lips pressed in a tight line, "That didn''t sound sincere."

    Luna''s spine was as stiff as a board, wincing at his jest.

    Had she taken him seriously this time?

    Apollyon thought that he should make her squirm in difort for his amusement.

    "You are the best man I had ever sampled in bed." Luna blurted out all of a sudden.

    Apollyon choked on his saliva.

    He had cleared his throat and rubbed his chest at the same time.

    "That sounded like I''m not the only one you sampled." Apollyon feltpelled to ask his wife as he scowled, "You had an orgy in Hell with your Archdemon husbands, am I correct?"

    Luna blinked, frozen in ce.

    As if she realized that she had uttered the wrong answer, she changed tactics, "I love you, husband. You are the best at everything. Every man I see reminds me of you. You are the only one I recognize��mind, body and soul. If I could turn back the time where I first met you, I would marry you in a heartbeat." Luna said loudly that other faeries standing and talking near them have heard and looked over their tables. "

    That''s more like it." Apollyon smiled proudly at her, pleased, "I will graciously ept thepliment, you''re Highness."

    Apollyon returned his gaze to the spring faeries who couldn''t mind their own business--especially women who were busy gossiping in the cliques they had formed at the event.

    He glowered at them.

    As his eyes ricocheted through every face of the guests, Apollyon prayed that nobody recognized them--even if they were passing acquaintances-- so that as the ruling royals of the Vampire Realm, they wouldn''t be obligated to chat unless it was the Spring King and Queen who arrived.

    Thankfully, Prince Aspen, King Zephyr and his Queen weren''t there at the ''Ostara'' yet.

    Before Apollyon could go back and drown in his wife''s green eyes, he made the mistake of meeting Princess Alisabethe''s scrutiny from her faerie clique.

    He was sure that it was the Spring Queen''s daughter in that indigo? dress covered in a thick wolf fur coat with her long ash-grey curls, almost reaching her waist.

    As if the daft girl had read his stare as a social cue to approach their table, the precious daughter of Queen Gloriana sauntered towards them.

    ncing high above them, Apollyon noticed that the wisps of dark smoke he brought forth to conceal them had twirled heavenward instead of doing its rightful job.

    He cursed.

    "Hello." Princess Alisabethe had stood between Luna and Apollyon''s round table, lifted her skirts with her gloved hands and curtsied. "You''re Highness, Apollyon." She bowed gracefully at him.

    Apollyon didn''t miss how her eyshes fluttered coyly before shifting her gaze to his wife.

    Princess Alisabethe turquoise eyes remained on the floor as she addressed his wife in a t tone, "Empress."

    His wife''s bright countenance faded in the blink of an eye, reced by cold demeanour.

    It wasn''t only him.

    Luna also noticed Princess Alisabethe''s mocking lilt in her voice.

    Luna raised an eyebrow, ignoring the female standing before them. "Who is thisdy, husband?"

    "You seemed to have lost your memory, Empress, but it''s alright." Princess Alisabethe eyed her with pity. She interlocked her fingers and brought them close to her face, assuming a cheerful and sweet persona, "I will dly adapt from yourck of memories and remind you just in case you weren''t fully healed from your ailment."

    It sounded close to a passive-aggressivement, but then again, it depended on the receiver.

    If the receiver perceived it as an insult, it is an insult, and nobody could change that person''s mind.

    Luna chuckled for a whole minute in her stool, settled her hands on the table and stood up gracefully, towering over Princess Alisabethe.

    Tilting her head, she crossed her arms and scanned her from head-to-toe, "Did you just make me sound stupid, little princess?"

    "No, Empress. That is not my intention at all." Eyes widening at Luna''s ims, Princess Alisabethe waved her hand in dismissal, " I just want to offer my help just in case you needed them."

    "Thank you for your help, princess, but you should help yourself for now." Luna smiled graciously and curtsied. "I already have my husband to aid me. "

    " The way you talked and ogled at my beloved��" Apollyon could sense irritation buried under a wave of amusement. "It seemed clear that you are a single female who imed other women''s husbands in your fantasies."

    "Wife��"He shook his head and clutched her arm, "Don''t."

    Apollyon had trusted his wife to y it cool in front of the princess, but if he added Luna''s pregnancy to the question, a peaceful resolution in the future would be impossible.

    Still, Apollyon braced himself, alert and vignt for any kinds of threats to his wife.

    Apollyon and Luna might be in the Spring courts'' territory, but one touch from the princess that would harm Luna, Apollyon would strike the seventh princess dead.

    He wouldn''t be sorry.

    Princess Alisabethe paled at his wife''s words, opening and closing her mouth like she was a fish out of the water.

    Clearing her throat, she quickly recovered her pleasantposure, "I came here to introduce myself, Empress, in case you still have no idea who I am. I have heard that you have been cured of your strange illness by one of Queen Mother''s witch doctors she had sent to Lc Manor. I am Queen Gloriana''s youngest daughter, Alisabethe. I am the Seventh Princess of the Spring Courts."

 Chapter 362 - So Bold

    <h4>Chapter 362 - So Bold</h4>

    *************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    **************************

    I am Queen Gloriana''s youngest daughter, Alisabethe." There was a gleam in her turquoise eyes as Princess Alisabethe''s smiled, "I am the Seventh Princess of the Spring Courts."

    Every Spring Faerie near the vicinity had nced at their table, wondering what themotion was all about.

    When they caught sight of Princess Alisabethe there, their elven ears had perked up, eavesdropping on the conversation.

    Some��and Apollyon meant, most--of the cliques had unobtrusively lingered in their area.

    It was as if they were already expecting a scene��an explosive, dramatic one that they would never forget.

    "Good afternoon to you too, Seventh Princess!" Luna eximed abruptly with a huge smile on her face.

    The sudden change of her attitude made Apollyon raise an eyebrow.

    His wife held his hand, which covered her forearm, and pushed it down.

    She inhaled and exhaled a heavy sigh.

    "It''s a good day today, isn''t it?" Raising a hand to cover her eyes from the harsh rays of the sun, she looked up at the sky and then fixed her gaze at her. "The weather is nice for the ''Ostara,'' and did I say you look gorgeous?"

    Princess Alisabethe had nced up at his wife to maintain eye contact.

    pping her hands, Luna asked without breaking from her character, "Now that you have introduced yourself, do you have anything else to say to us? You were bothering my husband and me. Do you mind?"

    Apollyon straightened his spine and puffed up his chest, situating himself between his wife and Princess Alisabethe to avoid catfights.

    "Princess Alisabethe, I would like to wish you a good day along with your parents��the King and Queen of the Spring Courts." He murmured as he faced Luna, raising both of his hands to cup her cheeks so that Luna would only focus on him and calm down. "My wife and I are busy discussing interesting��things."

    "I am also bored chatting with the peeress of my clique, Vampire King. I bet I can add more interesting��" Princess Alisabethe trailed off and lowered her voice in a husky tone, "--things into your conversation."

    "I read a lot of books, and I know a lot of stuff. "Her chilling whispers sounded like she was talking straight through his brain. "You can ask anything from me if you would like to learn about the Fair Folk and the Faerie Realm."

    Tip-toeing to match his height, Luna lifted her arms and wrapped them around Apollyon''s neck in a hug. "You might know a lot of things, little princess, but you don''t know how to read the atmosphere. "

    Apollyon''s hands wrapped around her small waists in a subconscious gesture, loving how his cufflinks glide against her skin.

    She remarked, "I don''t know why you have this assumption that you and my husband are close."

    "We aren''t that close, Empress, but I had conversations with your husband that I have enjoyed immensely while you were present with us." Princess Alisabethe was behind Apollyon.

    "I don''t wish to bother you. "He could feel the youngest princess of the Spring Courts stepping forward, moving closer to his back, that he could feel the warmth emanating from her body along with the glorious scent of gardenia blooms. "I thought the Vampire King wished me to apany--"

    "Ah." Apollyon cut her off loudly as he mentally pped himself. "That was before, Princess Alisabethe." Apollyon grimaced, forgetting about how he included Princess Alisabethe in a pathetic love triangle with Lilith in Luna''s body before.

    "It''s alright." He didn''t tell Luna about this, so she had no clue about his past strategy. "You don''t need to help me---"

    Luna would kill him if she found out.

    "What did she mean, Apollyon? Exin. " Luna''s mouth was close to his left ear as she looked at Princess Alisabethe over his shoulder.? "I don''t understand a single word with regards to her ''helping'' you."

    His lips curved upward as he blocked Princess Alisabethe from Luna''s line of sight.

    As much as he liked females fighting for his attention and see his pregnant mate acting possessive over him, it would be cruel to add fuel to the fire.

    Apollyon didn''t doubt that Luna can fight with the faerie princess and defeat her without breaking a sweat.

    She had be stronger--her soul had altered into an Archdemon��but he didn''t want to put their baby in danger when Leo had just adapted in her Mama''s womb.

    "Later. Wife." When Apollyon felt that she was close to blowing her top, he pleaded as he diffused the rising tension before it turned into mayhem. "We''ll talk about thister."

    "Alright, husband. I would give you the benefit of the doubt." Luna whispered huskily, sounding like a threat that was as sharp as a de, " But you knew who you belonged, right?"

    All of his blood rushed to the south when Luna''s front rubbed against his twice during the intimate hug.

    Apollyon lips parted in a silent gasp, shocked at how his wife had acted so boldly in iming him in this broad daylight where every spring faerie guests could see them.

    They stuck out like a sore thumb��acting like two horny young newlyweds who couldn''t get their hands off each other.

    In that instant, Apollyon got hard as a diamond, and his cheekbones and the tips of his ears might have flushed red.

    He swallowed hard, wanting to adjust the monster in his pants, but he couldn''t.

    "The Spring Queen, Queen Gloriana, was my mother who wanted to be King Apollyon''s matchmaker." Princess Alisabethe spoke aloud.

    "Wife," Apollyon exined right away before she could get the wrong idea. "Queen Gloriana wanted me to be thisdy''s husband, but I already told her that I am already blood bonded to my Empress. Good thing that you had awakened ahead of time, or the constant matchmaking wouldn''t have stopped."

    "We. Don''t. Want. To. Be. Bothered. Princess. Back. Off." Baring her teeth, Luna enunciated each word properly as she skimmed her elongated ws down Apollyon''s back, deliciously tracing his shoulder and the curve of his spine. "My husband isn''t interested in you. Do you know how easy it was to tear you apart with these ws?"

 Chapter 363 - All The Luck In The World

    <h4>Chapter 363 - All The Luck In The World</h4>

    **************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    **************************

    "Do you know how easy it was to tear you apart with these ws?"? There was a burst of tinklingughter which sounded almost cruel in her voice. It was eerily close to Lilith, or perhaps, Apollyon had imagined it. "Don''t mess with an ancient, darling."

    Strawberry and vani scent pervaded his senses.

    The hairs on Apollyon''s nape rose, his nerves tingling as the cock in his trousers stirred.

    Apollyon need not be primed for sex because he was ready to go.

    Was Apollyon this thirsty and deprived of sexual contact because his wife had refused his advances ever since she returned from Hell?

    He had no idea why his wife had initiated this bold overture.

    Was she jealous of Princess Alisabethe that she staked her ims on him in public?

    Well, his wife had nothing to worry about.

    He was as loyal to the blood bond as a werewolf alpha.

    "Easy there, wife." Apollyon noticed that his voice had turnednguid and sensual as he uttered a gruff whisper in her ear. "Princess Alisabethe isn''t a threat. Let''s ignore her, and she will get bored and will leave us be."

    Hurt was evident in Princess Alisabethe''s gasp.

    Hisrge hands had wandered from his wife''s hips to the globes of her ass.

    He wasn''t holding his wife back from attacking the princess.

    No, that wasn''t the purpose.

    Apollyon didn''t hesitate to molest his wife in a spring celebration.

    Luna''s face rested on Apollyon''s shoulder, and she pulled back, searching his eyes in suspicion.

    As he met her gaze head-on, Apollyon shifted them on her scarlet lips and lingered there.

    "We might be thankful for the hospitality of the Spring Courts, but that didn''t mean she can bother us." Luna snapped at Apollyon, and her fangs elongated in her ire. "You don''t know how much power I''m holding back because I don''t want to create a scene."

    His wife''s attention abruptly shifted to Alisabethe.

    "You there, little princess." Luna glowered at Alisabethe as she pushed him to the side, but Apollyon was as unmoveable as a boulder, "I''m going to ask you straight to the point."

    "Do you want my husband for yourself?" Apollyon saw his wife shed a cold smile, her sharp ws ready to swipe at the spring princess at any given moment,? "Are you interested in him just because you were paired by your mother when you knew he already had a wife?"

    "Nobody can handle the Vampire King better than me, princess." Her pupils dted in a split second, turning her emerald green eyes to ck, "Continue dreaming because he will never be yours!"

    "He led me on, Empress!" As she clutched Apollyon''s tunic at his lower back, Princess Alisabethe had blurted out, "I want to tell you that the Vampire King, your husband, had led me on!"

    "Shut up!" Scowling, Apollyon immediately figured out the spring princess'' intentions.

    Princess Alisabethe was there to reveal his past actions to make Lilith jealous!

    "Your assumptions of my past conduct are wrong." Apollyon''s jaws clenched as he sped her wrists on his tunic.

    Shaking his head, he couldn''t ept this insolence.

    It was only his Empress who was allowed to touch him.

    Princess Alisabethe yelped when the bones on her wrists cracked from the pressure of Apollyon''s fingers.

    "You have read my kindness as flirtations." He wasn''t worried because their royal witch doctors could fix it. Apollyon didn''t know if they could fix thedy''s pride after this humiliation, and nothing could change that. "I''m not interested in you because I had a wife."

    "Why did you act like you are interested in me, then?" Apollyon''s muscles stiffened when the Spring Princess cried; her piercing usations rang into every guest''s ears.? "I loved you like a fool!"

    "Husband!" Luna shrieked, and from the way her ws were positioned in front of his face, it felt like his wife nned to tear him to shreds.

    Apollyon had wrapped his hands around his pregnant wife''s waist, physically removing her from this explosive scene.

    "What is this bitch talking about?"

    "You made me look stupid! When I knew that you already had a wife, I tried to be as courteous as possible, offering my assistance in the Faerie Realm, in case you needed it along with my older brother Prince Aspen." Princess Alisabethe followed behind them as she screamed, "I left you alone once your wife had awakened from her slumber. I minded my own business during the Spring Celebrations, but you always call me to join you and your wife at your tables��flirting with me and asking me questions about the Fair Folk while ignoring your own wife. Every one of these guests knew that you were smitten with me, and it''s only a matter of time before you leave your wife and be with me."

    "Oh, God''s Blood!" Apollyon muttered to himself. "This is a mess."

    He forgot that he had his wife with him and heard that.

    "Is it true?" Luna demanded with gritted teeth as she punched him in the chest, "You led her on, Apollyon?"

    "Let me exin but not here." He murmured as he ced one arm around her shoulder, dragging her to a secluded area away from the other Spring Faeries.

    "You can''t escape from this." Luna spat at him in contempt, and her green eyes watered in his perceived betrayal, "You can''t possibly tell me that you will exin and talk about thister twice."

    The bright and full colors of the midday had morphed into soft hues of me and heather as if the universe had decided to pour red, gold, and purple into the dark blue sky.

    It would have been a romantic setting for reunited couples like them.

    Because of Princess Alisabethe''s ruckus, Apollyon had overpassed the sun descending for the horizon.

    Their first outdoor rendezvous was a failure, and now he was left to deal with an angry wife.

    He would need all the luck in the world.

 Chapter 364 - Kabedon!

    <h4>Chapter 364 - Kabedon!</h4>

    *************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    *************************

    When they were far enough from guests, Luna wrapped her arm around his lower back, urging him to walk briskly.

    Apollyon went along, covering his mischievous grin with his free hand.

    ''Ah!'' Apollyon mused, ''Something was wrong with me.''

    "This needs to be addressed." Luna red at him sideways, herrge green eyes almost protruding.

    She gritted her teeth, "I want the answers now."

    Why was he turned on seeing his wife mad with jealousy?

    Apollyon shook his head, snapping out of it.

    He didn''t have any business feeling like this, and it wasn''t his intention to make his wife jealous.

    This was an evil trait that a kind and a caring husband should never own.

    He didn''t want to feel manipted with jealousy, either.

    It was a toxic behavior.

    He couldn''t help but relish in her intense emotions, which were close to bedevilment.

    Not only did it feed his ego, but it was also an affirmation that his wife was possessive of him just like he was of her.

    He didn''t advise this tactic to check how much Luna valued him as a mate.

    It was hical, disturbing his conscience.

    Nevertheless, deliberate or not, it was effective.

    Luckily, the screaming had stopped, to which Apollyon sighed, relieved.

    Both of them turned their heads in unison, looking over their shoulder to watch if Princess Alisabethe went after them.

    Still, the spring princess had remained by the docks in picturesque background of rainbow mes zing in the evening sky.

    From afar, Apollyon could see that Princess Alisabethe''s face was red, her short eyebrows knitting in a scowl.

    With clenched fists, Alisabethe''s nostrils red as she widened her stance.

    Apollyon and Luna were at the docks during midday.

    How quickly it changed to nightfall when it was still five-thirty in the afternoon?

    The rest of the faerie guests surrounded the youngest princess of the Spring Courts, whispering encouragement andfort while they frowned at their direction��their res were full of judgment that was specifically aimed at him.

    Apollyon could still feel the faeries boring holes on his back with theirrge using eyes.

    They returned their gazes to their path, forging ahead to where only Luna knew.

    When they had walked far from the docks, the spring faeries disappeared from their view.

    Luna''s hand sped Apollyon''s, their fingers interlocking with each other.

    They were in the capital city located at the heart of the Spring Courts called ''Krinoniapolis.''

    Her adorable silver brows knitted in determination as they abruptly turned into a corner after passing twenty colorful mushroom-shaped buildings for the faeries that belonged to nobility and the higher sses.

    They went inside a narrow alley that could only fit three people if they stood side by side, effectively hiding them from prying eyes and eavesdropping ears.

    Apollyon saw it was a dead-end.

    A rectangr flower pot with thick bushes of white rosesid at the bottom of the wisteria blooms cascading all over the ck walls, intoxicating them in a seductive fragrance.

    From the way Luna had hauled him at the end of the alley, his wife must have thought it was the perfect spot to hide a husband''s corpse.

    Apollyon prepared himself as Luna pushed him back and locked him between her outstretched arms, pping her palms fiercely against the wall.

    It shook from her Archdemon strength.

    He could feel the rough bricks beneath his tunic.

    Despite exerting physical domination over him, Luna was the one breathing hard.

    Apollyon caught a whiff of his wife''s arousal, and his nostrils red.

    The sexual tension in the hot and humid air around them was as thick as butter sliced with a knife.

    When his vampiric sense of smell, he knew that Luna was wet down there.

    His fingers had itched to examine if her quim still dripped with sweet nectar as before--stretching, filling, and testing them for their sticity and wetness.

    Was she tight, and could she amodate four of his digits?

    Chills ran down his spine as blood pooled at the base of his cock, his shaft growing and the brazen tip poking against her lower belly.

    Wrenching his raging lust and transforming it into self-control was like rolling a huge boulder uphill.

    Apollyon managed by clenching his fists to his sides, or better yet, he crossed his arms over his chest.

    His wife was unpredictable, so Apollyon had to observe her next move.

    "How could you, Apollyon?" Luna snapped at him, and her pained stare would forever haunt him. "I am pregnant with your first heir."

    She leaned forward, and her erect nipples in hercy halter neck top brushed against his chest.

    Luna''s voice rose, trembling, as she breathed noisily, "You cheated on me with the Spring Princess just because I disappeared for years?"

    Apollyon didn''t want to exin much, but he only said a word that would halt his wife in her tracks,

    "It was Lilith, Luna. I did not cheat." He licked his lips, and his eyes were fixed on those glowing green orbs, "You might think that I had led this girl on, but everything I do is with a purpose."

    "What is this purpose, pray tell?" Luna pressed a hand over his bulge, and for a second there, Apollyon almost thought she was going to crush his family jewels��their future heirs and heiresses--with her fist.

    Luna was feisty, and he missed this side of her, unafraid and without tears of guilt and shame.

    Sweat trickled down his forehead, but it wasn''t of fear.

    It was of desire��a burning passion��to jump his wife''s bones after an agonizing week of dealing with walking, breathing temptation.

    "Speak before I render you impotent."

    He need not be told twice.

    "During my attendance on every Spring G held by Queen Gloriana and King Nuada, I brought the newly awakened Lilith with me to re-introduce you to the Spring Monarchs." Apollyon''s eyes lingered at her sexy corbone and her breasts straining against her top before shifting them to her lips. "This was one of the few times where I had no choice but to be in her presence after weeks of hunting the cult members of the demonic faeries."

 Chapter 365 - Put You In Your Place

    <h4>Chapter 365 - Put You In Your ce</h4>

    *************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    **************************

    "This was one of the few times where I had no choice but to be in her presence after weeks of hunting the cult members of the demonic faeries." Apollyon carefully circled his hands around her waist. "It was a well-deserved break from our responsibilities after our investigations."

    Luna tilted her head as she perused her with her sharp predatory gaze, sending a rush of adrenaline in his blood, "What did that little princess had to do with this?"

    "I have kept Lilith at arm''s length, avoiding situations where only the two of us were together like the gue. Lilith was clingy who wished to be joined at the hip with me every damn time, so I needed a buffer to distract Lilith from seducing me. I might not know you very well, but I know for a fact that you are anything but that. She isn''t you, and it''s obvious."

    Apollyon mirrored back her gaze and bit his lip before grabbing her hips towards his to erase the distance between them.

    Luna gasped in shock, but she didn''t stumble in his arms.

    Both of her hands were still on the wall, supporting her.

    Hesitant, Luna tucked her silver hair behind her ear and nced up at him.

    Her palms returned on each side of Apollyon''s shoulder as she gave him a death stare,? "So what Princess Alisabethe said at the docks was true?!"

    "Not all of them. I was afraid that I wouldn''t be strong enough to resist Lilith when she wore your face and your irresistible form, so I used Princess Allisabethe as a buffer so that Lilith''s wrath would be aimed at her rather than me for my disinterest," Apollyon exined.

    Still, he was having too much fun watching his wife''s expression. "You know how jealous females are."

    He shrugged, smirking, "They rarely me the man they are with and me the otherdy, instead."

    Apollyon tugged her body against his as he encircled his arms around her waist, locking her in his embrace.

    His brows knitted in concentration.

    Apollyon was dead set on having her tonight.

    He wouldn''t let her arouse him and then give him blue balls afterward.

    "I missed your beautiful face when youe and the scent of your sweat, breathless from exertion while we made love."

    "Apollyon!" Eyes widening, Luna''s voice rose in disbelief, "That didn''t change the fact that you led her on by seeking herpany in every Spring G and brought her over to your table with Lilith, talking to her about random shit��"

    "Not random shit." Apollyon bent his neck and yfully hit her forehead with his, "I asked her about the History of the Fair Folk if they had recorded about Fae summoning spirits before, but I didn''t specify the existence of Archdemons."

    "I need to gather more information at that time." Apollyon shifted to press his lips to the tip of Luna''s ears. "She told me there were no records about it except for some dark Faeries had deviated from the Courts they belonged to, acquiring strange magic that nobody had seen before."

    "It is simr with Lilith''s conjurer and her cult members'' situation."

    "It also made me suspicious of King Zephyr and his Shadow Kingdom." Apollyon''s voice lowered between a groan and growl, "The Shadow Court''s emergence is a model for the far future Kingdom of Lilith'' conjurer and her cult members if all of them were handled well, trained with organization, discipline and had a set of rules for the new batch of Faerie Courts to thrive."

    Luna drew back and recoiled from him when he started nibbling the shell of her ears. "I found it suspicious that King Zephyr can somehow neutralize a little of Lilith''s Archdemon Magic."

    "Shadow Magic might be of a different breedpared to Archdemon Magic, but they were simr."

    Luna narrowed her eyes at him, "Do you think King Zephyr had a bargain with an Archdemon to create a Kingdom of his own?"

    "We were reluctant to ask for his help, but everything came out alright," Apollyon said as he stroked her silver hair away from her face, fascinated by her unique beauty. "As a King of the Vampire Realm, I can see that he is an honest and dependable ally, Archdemon conjurer or not. He might be silent and brooding, but his heart is in a good ce, for he had saved a lot of innocent faeries from the demonic ones during the hunt. I trust him with my life after helping me rescue you, Luna."

    "Do you consider him as your friend along with Prince Aspen?"

    "Calling them friends would be taking too far."

    "But you trusted them with your life after proving their loyalty to you." Wonder filled his wife''s voice, and he wasn''t sure why. "I''m happy, Apollyon, that you are capable of trusting other people, and you have others to depend on aside from the rest of the Vampire Realm and me."

    Luna''s green eyes danced along with her gorgeous smile. "You have changed for the better. I wouldn''t regret loving you because you always try your best to be a good person despite your past."

    "I am not my past, wife, and neither will that determine the person I want to be." Apollyon''s face scrunched up in a scowl. It was a contrast to the deep warmth filling his heart, knowing that his wife had learned to love him after learning his lessons.? "I strived to be the only person you would ever want, and I tried my best to prove every day that I am deserving of your love."

    "Thank you for being considerate, husband."

    It was the least he could do.

    He took great pride in his abilities to keep his mate happy.

    Smiling, Apollyon gripped her hands pressed on the wall and moved them to rest on his broad shoulders. "Princess Alisabethe didn''t lie when she announced to everyone that she was a bookworm. The youngdy is intelligent, if not a little delusional. I never showed any indication that I wanted to leave my wife and marry her when we only talked about the Fae''s History. Nothing else."

    "I understand that she would get the wrong idea--"

    "Yes." Apollyon lifted a hand and stroked her neck up and down in a gentle caress that sent goosebumps popping on her arms and back, "In her eyes, I preferred talking to her instead of my wife. I didn''t love her, but the princess assumed everything on her own. Men aren''t difficult to understand, Luna. If we truly want something, we don''t beat around the bush. We are straightforward, and we will let you know through our words and actions."

    Apollyon kissed her with a slow thoroughness that would make her forget about where she was and what she wanted to say as his body warmed with slow anticipation.

    When he drew his head back, Luna''s lips chased him as if she was an addict craving for him like a drug.

    "Women are pretty much the same, Apollyon. If we like someone, we will make sure you know."? Luna''s voice was a husky whisper��full of hunger and sexual promise. "��therefore, I should remind you of your ce."

    Apollyon watched her with hooded eyes. "What ce?"

    Your mouth on my quim." Luna lifted a finger to touch his lower lip, spreading the moisture of their shared saliva.? "Right. Now."

 Chapter 366 - Hmm

    <h4>Chapter 366 - Hmm</h4>

    **************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    **************************

    Your mouth on my quim." A finger caressed his lower lip, spreading the moisture of their shared saliva during the kiss.

    She murmured in a slow blink, "Right. Now."

    Apollyon''s mouth fell open at how shameless his wife sounded, "Luna��"

    "Shocked?" As if Apollyon''s shock had given her courage, Luna jutted her chin in a dare, all the while her fingers trailed down his chest down to the bulge of his trousers without breaking eye contact.

    After ncing around, her green eyes couldn''t have been more than ck as they returned to him.

    She said in a breathy moan as she fondled at his lower lip, "Would you prefer I ride you or suck you with my mouth?"

    Was this d��j�� vu?

    It felt like this had happened before with Lilith, who was in Luna''s body, except for the mad desperation.

    "I d-don''t know what''s wrong with you, wife." Apollyon stuttered, and he cursed at how pathetic it sounded.

    Squinting at her, warmth flushed across his cheekbones as he cursed in regret.

    He couldn''t live with this embarrassment.

    Vampire Kings do not stutter in the presence of their beloved.

    Clearing his throat, he unconsciously fidgeted in his position instead of pacing around.

    He needed to release this pent-up frustration, but he had to wait it out. "You are Luna, right?"

    He looked down at her with a scowl, "You are not Lilith?"

    "I��I''m serious." Luna said, wearing a soft, sphinx-like smile as she fiddled with the buttons of his shirt, making his heart beat rapidly, "I wouldn''t back off from this offer." What would she do next? "I want to��"

    As he watched her with hooded eyes, Apollyon''s face, neck, and ears were impossibly hot when Luna loosened the belt of his trousers.

    Sweat gathered on his temples, dripping in his clenched jaw.

    He just stood there with his back against the wall, frozen in ce, his cock sprung into Luna''s hands.

    Apollyon parted his lips and groaned when she pumped it up and down without warning--once, twice--and now it was leaking with pre-cum.

    He gritted his teeth, and his eyes fell close from the delicious friction, making his nerves tingle and his mind soar.

    If Luna kept this up, he wouldn''tst long.

    With lids shut tight, Apollyon clenched his fists as he groaned hismand even if the proof of his desire was against it.

    "Luna, stop."? A growl rumbled out of him.

    A good wife that she was, Luna followed his order for the first time that he half-wondered if the fake Luna had taken over.

    Luna stopped pumping him of his precious seed before it fell to the ground.

    It was the sweetest torment when she didn''t remove the grip on his rod.

    Apollyon could feel the few calluses on her palms.

    ncing up at him as she watched the slightest nuance of his expression, Luna asked in a frown, "You don''t like if I use my hand to make youe?"

    He made the mistake of inhaling, and he became more obsessed with the scent of her arousal permeating in the air. "You aren''t this aggressive---I mean�� "He cleared his throat, "There is dominance in you, but not to this degree."

    "What is your preference then?" Luna''s brows knitted in confusion, bothered by Apollyon''s doubt, "Had it changed from my disappearance?"

    "You are still my wife, right?" Apollyon''s hand covered Luna''s hand that was on his shaft and squeezed, loving the feel of her hand on his prick, "Luna?"

    "Yes, I''m still Luna." His wife''s smoldering look and that diamond twinkle in her eye was a strike of lightning down his spine.

    The zip of desire and excitement flooded his body with sluggish warmth.

    "I felt detached from you for a while because of my uncontroble jealousy with Princess Alisabethe, husband." Luna exined, and the scent of her arousal became stronger, "I want to be the one to make you lose control." Her words made his nipples bead and made his dick throb. "Fill me up and mark me with your seed."

    Apollyon had nced above them to deflect his lust which was a challenge he nned to win.

    Night had fallen in Krinoniapolis like a whisper of ink-ck over their heads, illuminated by the stars, which appeared like sprinkled pixie dust.

    Blinking, Apollyon paused, rubbing his chin to examine his thoughts, and ignored Luna''s indecent proposal.

    He didn''t like making his wife wait when it came to her pleasure, and he wasn''t the patient type when it came to this, as well.

    It was torture, but his patience would help him reach greater heights.

    Sexual congress with the wife was his utmost priority, but he liked to tease Luna for a little bit as revenge for the blue balls for the past week.

    Luna wore nothing but sultry underwear every night, iming the weather was too hot and humid.

    Luna was a vampire who was a cold-blooded creature, and Archdemons were ustomed to fire.

    Sheid next to him and did nothing but sleep in his embrace.

    He didn''t sleep a wink, cursing in his mind for Luna''s self-imposed abstinence without exnation.

    Apollyon couldn''t even do something to alleviate his raging erection.

    "Husband." Luna took a deep breath and sighed in annoyance. "You were asking for this for the past few weeks." Luna edged towards him in a tip-toe, urging him to look at her, but he shook his head in refusal.

    She pleaded, "I''m primed and ready for pration."

    "Hmm." Apollyon''s lips were pressed tight to keep himself from smiling.

    Apollyon didn''t forget how Luna had refused his sexual advances when she returned from Hell as if she didn''t want anything to do with him.

    His wife was fine with innocent touches and skin-to-skin contact, but if he attempted to escte the act into forey, Luna was quick to pull away from him, cover her mouth in a yawn and retire to bed, iming she was exhausted.

    Now, his lonely nights would take a one-eighty degree turn.

    There was something fishy going on.

    Apollyon suggested, "Should we go home?"

    Luna replied. "We can go back to the ''Ostara'' and do it on the table."

 Chapter 367 - Elephant In The Dark Alley

    <h4>Chapter 367 - Elephant In The Dark Alley</h4>

    *************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    *************************

    "We can go back to the ''Ostara'' and do it on the table,"? Luna replied as if this was the answer to the problem.

    He couldn''t have looked down at his smug wife fast enough, "What?"

    Apollyon''s muscles tensed when Luna tightened her hold in his prick without any prompt from him.

    "Are you bothered about the food that we have left at the docks?" Tilting her head, Luna asked him, "We can just set them aside if you want."

    "We are going to��"He shuddered when Luna rubbed the tip of his cock with her thumb. "��in front of those people?"

    Luna got the upper hand in this narrow alley.

    She could either make him climax, or she could snap his dick into two with just a word that would set her off.

    "Well, it depends how much you wanted me." His wife''srge dark eyes were fixed on him, still wearing that secret smile. "I want you now, Apollyon. Don''t you want me to be shameless just like you?"

    Apollyon exhaled a harsh breath when Luna had released his cock and settled her hands on her knees.

    "How about you?"

    "If they want a good show in Ostara by the way those faeries ogled us, we will give them a damn good show." He swallowed hard as he watched her bend forward with feminine grace, not missing the globes of her ass he wished to squeeze while he fucked her with her back on the wall. "I can do it in front of the spring faeries."

    "Wife." Apollyon tried hard to tuck his erection back to his trousers while her mouth wasn''t wrapped around his cock yet, or else...he would be finished.

    Apollyon fumbled with his belt, only to fail miserably because of how stiff it was.

    Giving up, Apollyon whipped it out in the open air once more.

    There was nothing he could do about it.

    "Is something wrong with you?" He glowered at her as he crossed his arms defensively over his chest, "What you are saying didn''t make sense to me."

    Blinking twice, his lips parted when he saw her kneeling on the ground, positioned in front of his hard cock.

    He muttered a curse under his breath when she nced up at him while she was on his knees.

    "I want Princess Alisabethe to see us so that she wouldn''t attempt to own you again."

    "We don''t have to do that to prove that we are together." Apollyon was surprised he was still capable of speech when his thoughts had scattered from his brain, "We are blood bonded, after all."

    It was the most beautiful sight��his wife''s submission of this battle of wills��that a groan escaped from his throat.

    Biting his lower lip, Apollyon was going to explode right then and there from this visual stimtion.

    "I want to throw our blood bond in her face," Luna said calmly as she tugged at the fabric of his trousers, lowering them for easy ess. He almost lost the conversation before the words sank in.

    Throwing the blood bond in Princess Alisabethe''s face?

    Did Luna want this, or was this for the sake of making a point��to execute her revenge for the Spring Princess due to jealousy?

    Apollyon shook his head and gave her the benefit of the doubt.

    ''It must be the pregnancy hormones talking.'' Apollyon thought.

    "We can do it in private." Apollyon''s nostrils red as he settled hisrge hand at the back of her head,bing his fingers with the silver strands of her hair and kneading her scalp at the same time.

    He emphasized each word, "Behind. Closed. Doors."

    Vampire wives became clingy and obsessive with their husbands during the duration of a woman''s pregnancy.

    This wasn''t new, so it was his responsibility as a husband to adjust and understand his wife.

    "I want to show her who owns you, Apollyon." Gritting her teeth, Luna grabbed a fistful of his trousers, shaking him, "I hate that she couldn''t even acknowledge that the man she''s iming is married!"

    Apollyon''s stomach dropped, and it took him a long minute to respond,

    He closed his eyes and exhaled in disappointment.

    "So it''s not about your desire to have sexual congress with me." Apollyon kept his hands off her, letting her go.

    He nced at anything but her as he ran a frustrated hand through his hair, "You want to inflict pain on Princess Alisabethe for her insolence."

    There was a deadly pause, and Apollyon''s body flushed hot with suppressed anger mixed with lust.

    "Luna." Clenching his hands into fists, he fought the greatest seducer by not touching himself and make himselfe to get rid of the throbbing ache in his balls.

    This felt like another d��j�� vu.

    He was tempted, but he just had to make sure before they do it. "I don''t wish to pressure you with my needs, but we needed to address the elephant in this narrow alley."

    Sitting quietly on the ground, Luna folded her legs under her thighs while resting her buttocks at her heels.

    "What elephant?" Luna asked, uncertain. "There is no elephant."

    Realizing that he can''t bear to look away, Apollyon gazed at her.

    At the same time, his insides burned with passion, "When we are at home, you didn''t want to mate with me while we are in bed together, and I respected your decision, content with the intimate touches you allow me."

    "The moment my caresses became more intimate, you fake a yawn, tell me you are exhausted, and then we slept, and I let you, but you can''t hide from me forever." Apollyon? scowled at her as he lifted her chin with a finger when Luna began to avert her gaze, bowing her head as if she would rather stare at the ground. "I was confused why you didn''t crave me just like I craved you, and now you are telling me that you want to fuck me for all the spring faeries in ''Ostara'' to witness?"

    "For what purpose?" He demanded, "You are initiating sexual contact with me because you don''t desire me right now." Luna flinched at his words. "You want to have your revenge with Princess Alisabethe!"

 Chapter 368 - No Doubts

    <h4>Chapter 368 - No Doubts</h4>

    *************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    *************************

    "You want to have your revenge with Princess Alisabethe!"

    Luna settled her hands primly on herp, and her voice broke in a grudging whisper, "Are you seriously taking sides with the Spring Princess?"

    He would punch himself in the face if he let her cry because of him.

    "I am suspicious of your identity." Apollyon finally told her the truth as he spat them out, almost stumbling over his words."Do you remember the name of the? King who desired to im you at the Marriage Auction?"

    He expected a short and direct answer.

    If Luna beat around the bush, he would think of the worse.

    "How could I forget?" Annoyed, Luna shook her head to escape from his hold on her chin. "Why do you have to remind me of an embarrassing memory?"

    "Just tell me who it was, and I will let this strange behaviour slide, Lilith." The moment Apollyon had uttered the cursed name of the Archdemon of Envy, his erection turnedid in an instant as if he had jumped into a pool of ice-cold water.

    Reluctant, he fixed the belt of his trousers and secured his member inside.

    He sighed, relieved that he can keep his family jewels safe from his wife''s wrath.

    Apollyon knew that the future of a happy ending was bleak.

    He wouldn''t be having sex tonight if this wasn''t his wife, and that''s alright.

    Luna''s response was a reassurance, "I''m Luna, husband." Luna still had her hands on herp in an unmoving stance, but her scowl showed how pissed off she was at his query. "It was King Panterra who dered I produce silver-haired babies for the Feline Kingdom."

    His wife didn''t deserve this kind of treatment��thisck of trust.

    Luna wasn''t a criminal just because Lilith had upied her body once.

    "I''m sorry, wife." Apollyon awkwardly shifted foot-to-foot.

    Far across them, the soft golden glow of themp post blinked twice, and he thought it would cut off, but it didn''t.

    If someone happened to pass by on the street and see them in the dark alley, they would think he had pped Luna until she was on her knees.

    Hopefully, nobody else would be able to see the Vampire King and Queen arguing over nothing.

    "Luna." As Apollyon leaned towards Luna, his fingers curled around her upper arms, helping her stand-up, and Luna let him carry her weight. "I am paranoid that Lilith had reced you without my knowledge."

    She refused to meet his eyes, adapting her sullen look.

    "Good thing that I have answered right away then," Luna replied in sarcasm. "I thought you would knock me out on the spot."

    "I would never hurt you now that I''m sure it''s you."

    Luna''s eyes were wide, yet her brows were furrowed. "I am deeply offended that you can''t differentiate your wife from that hag."

    "I had to ask you questions." Apollyon said as he pressed a hand on her shoulder infort, "I am cautious for the sake of our future."

    Luna shrugged it off, yet her green eyes were shooting fire at him, "You should be proud of yourself, husband. I want you so much that I''m willing to throw my spotless image as the Queen of the Vampire Realm so that you would desire me more than the others."

    "Did being an Archdemon make you bolder and fearless, not caring about what others might think?"

    "I just��I''m scared to lose you now that I am pregnant," Closing her eyes, Luna admitted as she stared at her hands, "You wouldn''t dare find other girls if I matched your character and your infinite sexual drive."

    "I am already yours!" It felt like Apollyon had been stabbed with a wooden stake at the heart. "Your jealousy with Princess Alisabethe is getting out of hand."

    He rubbed his chest as guilt consumed him. "Are you trying to be a chameleon, pretending to be like me so that you can match me?"

    "The truth is I''m exhausted, husband." Luna''s voice bled vulnerability as he lowered her head, appearing to shrink in her ce. "I wouldn''t be able to keep up with you, but I''m trying to."

    Grimacing, Apollyon turned away and faced the wall, covering his face with a hand while the other pressed unto the bricks.

    "You don''t have to act out of character. I don''t want you to do that."? He kept telling himself that the hormones made his wife less interested in sex, but now that she told him about the truth, Apollyon halted for a long minute to examine himself.

    Was he too much?

    Was he being inconsiderate for desiring what he wanted that Luna had resorted to putting on an act to satisfy him?

    Had he forced his wife to do this?

    He wasn''t doing a great job being Luna''s husband.

    "I think you have changed, wife, even if I believe you are not Lilith."

    "I have changed for the better." There was pride in her voice as her brows knitted in determination, "I''m capable of protecting you��"

    "--and kicking my ass if I pissed you off."

    "Good that you know it, then." Her arm limped to the sides as she stepped backwards. Why did Luna appear like she couldn''t wait to get away from him?? "I am also d that I can protect the baby with Archdemon Magic."

    "Before I ept this new character or not, I just want to tell you that you don''t have to force yourself if you don''t want to do it."

    Apollyon was lying to himself, yes, but Luna was his top priority.

    "I was turned on for real before you fired a million questions at my face," Luna admitted.

    "I would have preferred if it was your seed exploding��" Luna trailed off, leaving his dirty imagination to supply the missing words.

    "Nevermind, Apollyon. I''m not in the mood anymore." Shaking her head, his wife turned around and walked back to the exit, "Forget I said anything."

    Desperate, Apollyon fell into step behind her and reached for her forearm, "Let''s go back to celebrate the ''Ostara.''"

 Chapter 369 - Truth Or Dare

    <h4>Chapter 369 - Truth Or Dare</h4>

    **************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    **************************

    Apollyon pulled Luna, forcing her to turn around and face her again.

    He remembered all the memories and the time they had spent together before her soul was abducted to Hell---how she tried her best to get rid of the Blood Beast''s curse.

    She gasped when Apollyon pushed her to the wall, gripped the curve where her neck flowed into her shoulder and sank his fangs into her bare skin.

    He had curbed these primal instincts for so long, only treating Luna with gentle care, but now this wild beast had wed out of his being in victory, like how a warrior deciding to im a vige maiden as a spoil of war.

    Luna didn''t resist, nor did she fight back when Apollyon pinned her body and pressed one muscled leg of his at the juncture of her thighs.

    Apollyon drank his wife''s blood in gulps, and he felt like he was catapulted to the heavens the first time it touched its tongue.

    The rich vour and aroma made his body react, loving the taste of her with every swallow.

    It didn''t take long for his cock to awaken from its slumber twice.

    mes licked his senses until he broke out in a sweat.

    Apollyon was surprised when Luna raised a hand, reaching at the nape of her neck, untying the ribbon of her halter top.

    Her generous breasts spilt out of her bodice, and his mouth watered.

    Luna''s dark ares beaded under Apollyon''s scrutiny, and it protruded even more, when a cold spring breeze passed, making her shiver in delight.

    Apollyon swallowed hard, fascinated by how it jiggled like delicious milk pudding from the slightest movement.

    From this drastic change in his wife''s behaviour, Apollyon was worried that it was Lilith since this had happened before.

    The Archdemon of Envy was obsessed with sleeping with him and offering her blood when she upied Luna''s body.

    Apollyon was satisfied with her answers, affirming that Luna was in front of him and not Lilith.

    It wouldn''t be hard to differentiate them if Apollyon let logic took over his heart.

    "Fuck me good, husband," Luna whispered in his ear, and those naughty words made him more savage��almost drove him insane.

    Both of his hands lowered to her hips, tearing the fabric of her long, flowing skirts to get ess to her quim, ying with its soft, sensitive petals.

    He stretched her and filled her with his digits bit by bit��a slow and pleasurable push and pull��which made her release a long, breathy moan.

    Apollyon continued to drink for another minute, releasing his saliva in Luna''s skin.

    She moaned at the unexpected aphrodisiac, pushing her over the edge while his powerful fingers moved in and out of her.

    He increased the speed and the angle of where it hit, switching between her inner walls and her little wet pearl.

    Luna gritted her teeth when she was close, and her form bucked forward like a bow strung tight.

    She let out a husky scream, and her body jerked in her climax.

    Her limp body almost slid across the wall.

    It was only Apollyon''s leg between hers that kept her upright.

    With his fingers soaking wet inside her, Apollyon abruptly pulled his fingers out and growled. "You are dangerous, wife, but I love this bold side of you, but the words you say? are��"

    Hmm, delicious.

    Luna tasted like honey.

    "What?" Breathing hard, Luna rasped with her eyes closed, "You don''t like it?"

    "Never mind." Apollyon shook his head as he brought his fingers to his lips, licking her juices clean. "I''m just shocked by your---"

    "��shamelessness?"

    "Of course, I want you, shameless, wife." Apollyon nced down as he watched the vampire bite heal. "It''s sad that it onlyes out once in a blue moon."

    "I know you weren''t supposed to be like this before you went to Hell." As he locked his hands with Luna, he dragged her hands over her head to get a good view of her breasts.? "I am just confused about your behaviour."

    When a woman is pregnant, her biological make-up changed a lot, causing lots of emotional ups and downs. Apollyon and Luna were in one of those days.

    "I thought you wanted me earlier." He smirked as he withdrew to look at her face, retracting his fangs. "How easy you have dismissed me as if I wasn''t your husband."

    Tilting his head to the side, he watched Luna''s parted lips, still struggling to breathe.

    He rubbed his erection against her quim, and she cried out.

    "My dick is still hard, and you already lost your libido?"

    "Every time I expressed my needs, you used me of being Lilith," Luna said firmly with her eyes still closed. "I don''t want to bepared to that hag, Apollyon."

    Apollyon was mesmerized at how his wife''s closed lids looked like crescents from up close, and the silvershes adorned them were so ethereal.

    She looked like she wasn''t from this world anymore.

    Luna will never look normal to him, and he liked it.

    "There wasn''t a time where Lilith hadn''t taken measures to seduce me, desperate to ride my cock."

    Luna''s eyes opened, and dted pupils reced her dark green eyes with glowing emerald specks scattered inside the rings. "Are you calling me desperate?"

    Apollyon''s breath caught at how magnificent Luna''s eyes were that he didn''t notice that his wife had glowered at him in ire.

    "I''m just cautious for you, my beloved." Apollyon gave his wife anguid smile before he bent down and trailed loving kisses on her jaw. "I don''t want to cheat with another woman. I expect you to do the same also."

    "I noticed you act so defensive when I asked you about your other Archdemon husbands, but I just let it slide." Apollyon murmured, inhaling the exquisite scent of her bare skin and added, "It happened one too many times, and I''m starting to panic."

    Luna''s spine went as stiff as a board, and he wasn''t surprised anymore.

    "Now, tell me the truth, Luna." He withdrew back to meet those Archdemon eyes. "Have you fucked anyone in Hell aside from me?"

 Chapter 370 - Shut Up And Kiss Me!

    <h4>Chapter 370 - Shut Up And Kiss Me!</h4>

    *************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    *************************

    "Have you fucked anyone in Hell aside from me?"

    Apollyon knew that it would take a lot of courage for Luna to say'' yes,'' but it would also take a lot of strength to say ''no.''

    He had asked Luna about this twice, but he still expected the same answer.

    No.

    Apollyon couldn''t help it, and if he could, he would like to hear it again and again for reassurance.

    It was like an obsession of his.

    Every time doubt settled in his brain like a tick he couldn''t get rid of, Apollyon waspelled to ask his wife this question so that he could narrow his eyes on her face and see her strange reaction again, trying to sense the lie despite her iming that it as the absolute truth.

    "No." Instead of her usual reaction, Luna''s eyes didn''t ricochet away from him and brushed him off.

    This time it wasn''t different.

    She exhaled a deep breath and looked at him straight in the eye, which was new, "I didn''t let anyone touch me besides, you, Apollyon."1

    "Hmm." Apollyon hummed as he gently wrapped her fingers around her throat, still not removing her gaze, "Are you sure that nothing else happened while you were there?"

    His lips curled to form a cruel smile.

    Luna remained as still as? prey who caught sight of a predator in an open field, "You weren''tpelled or worse��raped��by one of those Archdemons?"

    "You are the only man I want and will ever need." Luna swallowed hard, smiling in a sensual grace.

    It made Apollyon forget how almost close he was toshing out if his wife answered ''yes.

    He would probably set these mushroom buildings on fire.

    She repeated, "You are the only man I allowed inside me."? 1

    Nevertheless, Apollyon paused for a bit, skirting the edges of Luna''s consciousness to spy on her, but he couldn''te in.

    He gritted his teeth in frustration when the dark imprable walls of her mind cropped up when it sensed him near.

    Archdemon Magic was strong and potent.

    All the Realms were lucky that it fell into his wife''s hands.

    Rest assured that Luna wouldn''t use them in immoral acts.

    Out of all the creatures, Apollyon had met, Luna had a strong conviction always to do the right thing.

    She had a strong sense of justice and a moralpass, even if it would put her life in jeopardy.

    When his mental link with Luna scanned for lies in the words Luna uttered, Apollyon''s heart and mind fought, telling him different things.

    His heart told him to trust Luna, while his mind just refused to ignore her bodynguage and her micro-expressions.

    His mind had perceived a ring of truth in the subtle nuances of her voice, but the rest of her actions didn''t match.

    It drove him crazy the more he thought about it.

    Apollyon''s face scrunched up between rage and confusion. "I trust you that what you''re telling me is the truth."

    Nodding in agreement, Luna looked up at him. "I told you I am capable of protecting myself. You know how I am."

    Luna gave him a slow smirk as she straightened with his thighs between her legs.

    She wrapped her arms around her husband, enfolding him in her embrace. "I will always find a way that I will be victorious in the end."

    "I felt this awkward tension around us whenever the Archdemons are mentioned��I can''t feel our mental connection." Apollyon tilted his head back as he stretched his neck from side to side in irritation.

    How many times had he told Luna about this on repeat?

    "I only hear static from your end when you answer my queries regarding your time in Hell." Apollyon didn''t want to admit this, but he was close to sounding like a broken record, "I thought you were hiding something from me."

    "That''s just your imagination, husband." Luna rubbed his broad back to soothe his concern. "Your conclusions are faulty. "

    Clearing her throat, Luna tried to make out the dip and ridges of his corded muscles while pressing her bare chests on his pectorals at the same time.

    It was the most delightful of sensations.

    "It will make you act upon false assumptions."

    "Don''t think too much," Luna whispered and he rxed. "Everything will be alright."

    Baring his teeth, Apollyon clenched his fists when his brain snatched a memory in the darkest corners of his mind.

    He looked at her with growing suspicion. "I am on edge when I sensed the slightest change on your aura whenever I asked you about your Archdemon husbands."

    "If I tell you something as important as this, you should take me at my word." Luna pulled back to get a good look at his face.

    "I want the both of us to talk about this openly about how we feel so that we would clear up misunderstandings," Apollyon said. "This will strengthen our rtionship and manage our conflicts."

    "You are right." Luna sighed in resignation as both of her hands rested at the small of his back. "Now that I am carrying a child, these feelings and experiences are new for the both of us, so it''s normal to feel confused and unsure about what''s going on."

    "Enough of that question. I don''t want to hear them again." On her tip-toes, Luna pouted her lips a little to reach Apollyon''s mouth. "Now, shut up and kiss me."

    Eyes widening a little, Apollyon froze at the sudden shift in their conversation, and he unconsciously licked his lips before it kicked to a corner.

    When it came to Luna, he wasn''t the type to stay mad for too long.

    He was a simple man with simple desires.

    Joy and relief rapidly squelched his anger whenever Apollyon felt the rising pleasure in his groin.

    "How feisty." Why did Luna have to make his hunger for her less bearable when was this adorable? Apollyon''s? hunger had quickly turned into a raw, violent craving when he was exposed to his wife''s antics. "Your wish is mymand."

 Chapter 371 - Im Ready

    <h4>Chapter 371 - I''m Ready</h4>

    *************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    *************************

    "Your wish is mymand."

    Apollyon''s hand encircled the back of her nape, and his possessive touch was a searing brand.

    His lips parted were like soft silk as he pressed them into Luna''s mouth.

    As his fingers tightened around her neck, Luna let out a low moan.

    Arousal kicked him hard in the gut.

    It was easy for Luna to melt his heart.

    Apollyon''s heart yearned to be reunited with her, and his wish to enjoy a blissful marriage together had finallye true.

    After losing his wife for a long time through challenging circumstances, Apollyon craved for their love to deepen.

    "The more I restrained myself and retained my seed, my desire for you doubled," Apollyon murmured huskily in her skin as hended a kiss on the curve of her shoulder.? "You drive me insane with lust."

    Apollyon inhaled her, and he couldn''t get enough of the scent of mint and vani mixed with her sweat.? "You smell great that I can''t help myself."

    His arms wrapped around her as if he couldn''t bear the thought of letting her go. "The moment you returned in this Realm, your irresistible scent drives me insane��every day and every night, I want to devour you."

    "You wanted to drink more blood?" Luna said huskily, and Apollyon could hear the delight in her words.

    Perhaps, Luna had missed the excitement of someone��specifically, her husband--drinking her blood for nourishment.

    They had been apart for a long time, after all.

    He thought that Luna wouldn''t drink his blood anymore, and she could survive without it since she had already turned into an Archdemon.

    Apollyon was worried about that, but luckily, Luna had proven that she was a vampire through and through, and they would still share simr vampire traits.

    ''No." Apollyon let out a burst of sensualughter. His fingers crawl down her spine down to the small of her back. "I will eat you out until you are soaking wet."

    Luna lifted her hands to knead the muscles on his broad shoulders before he unbuttoned the hook of his tunic, revealing more expanse of his magnificent chest.

    She didn''t hesitate to rub her palms against his chest and abdomen.

    Her dted pupils were fixed on his body, loving the texture of the small hairs on his flesh in contact with hers. "You know how to seduce me with those words, husband."

    "It''s you who seduce me so without effort, wife," Apollyon replied with a seductive grin. "You can seduce by leaving yourself open to seduction."

    He swallowed hard as he peered at her rounded breasts beneath hisshes.

    Apollyon moved her long silver strands behind her back so he could feast her breasts to his heart''s content.

    "Like, right now." He bent his head down and gave each of her nipples equal attention by taking turns-pping, sucking, and gently nipping at them with his teeth.

    Luna gasped, moaning, as her frantic hands flew at the back of his head, massaging his scalp and running her fingers on his raven locks.

    He pulled back and observed her chest.

    "You just have to stand before me naked, your breasts on full disy." Apollyon''s saliva on his wife''s dark and swollen ares glistened in the moonlight. "I cane simply by the wondrous sight in my vision."

    Apollyon wanted Luna to surrender her control if she desired to indulge in his favorite fantasies.

    When he ordered her to part her legs, Apollyon expected her to bow her head with total obedience.

    In reality, Apollyon''s wife didn''t want to submit, and her head was as stubborn as a bull, so he had to throw his flights of fancy out of the proverbial window��for now.

    "You are the greatest seducer, husband." Luna''s lips curved as she caressed his cheeks, "You''re going overboard with thepliments."

    Apollyon gave her another kiss that would sweep her off her feet, their tongues dancing over each other. "A millionpliments wouldn''t be enough to describe your beauty, my love."

    He can''t imagine his long, stiff cock could get any harder than this, reminding him that he hadn''te yet, and it made him release his hold on Luna.

    "There is no deeper meaning than what is obvious." Luna''s hand lifted to his neck as a show of ownership, sping them around his throat, "I am beautiful, husband."

    She shrugged. "Facts are facts."

    "Cheeky girl." Apollyon let his hands drop to the sides, only to settle them at the back of Luna''s thighs.

    He kissed her again in silent tenderness.

    Apollyon must have missed her so much, seeing how he couldn''t get his hands off his wife that she had let him touch her withoutme excuses. "You know how much I would love to y with your body, don''t you?"

    Luna need not be told.

    She inched closer to him as her trembling, eager hands began to strip him of his tunic, dropping them to the ground.

    Lunanded pressed moist kisses on his corbone.

    Heat coursed through him, almost drowning into this gut-wrenching need to fuck��to im�� to possess his wife. His.

    Apollyon brushed his fingers yfully at her buttocks before he lifted her legs with his strong, lethal hands.

    He backed her up against the wall, her legs wrapped around his and her ankles locked behind his ass.

    It would be easy to pound her in this position as he increased his speed and deepened his thrusts.

    Luna would scream at the pain and the pleasure.

    Apollyon would marvel at how good he was at making his wife feel satisfied.

    He stared at Luna with hunger when he smelled her arousal.

    "My hands are busy holding you up, beloved," Apollyon murmured as Luna watched his naked upper body with parted lips.

    Her fangs had elongated once again when her eyes zeroed on his neck.

    "Why don''t you tug at my trousers and release my cock again?" Apollyon told her, gritting his teeth.

    He couldn''t wait to be inside her.

    "You have done it with expertise earlier." Moving one hand to reach her inner thighs with his fingers, he rubbed against her wet quim, "I''m ready to prate you."

 Chapter 372 - Mental Injury

    <h4>Chapter 372 - Mental Injury</h4>

    ***************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ****************************

    "I''m ready to prate you."

    Liquid heat bloomed at her core when Apollyon dug his long fingers on her inner thighs, his fingertips rubbing against her swollenher lips.

    Her cheeks med as her breathing raced, but Luna didn''t move.

    It hit different when Luna did that in her own free willpared to his husband''smand.

    "Luna." Apollyon''s voice broke in a husky growl. "Don''t make me wait." He bared his teeth as he focused on her tiny hard nipples, bent his neck forward, and give her one long lick at her sternum.

    As he bit her lips to keep from moaning, Luna clenched her inner walls in anticipation as if she already had Apollyon''s cock inside her.

    The raw need in his voice made every hair on her body stand on end, "I want to be inside you."

    She didn''t want her husband to suffer anymore.

    For the second time, she untied his belt''s fabric, which kept his trousers together, allowing his pants to slip onto his strong, bulky thighs.

    There was a soft rustle when it dropped to his ankles.

    In this narrow alley, Apollyon was naked as the day as he was born while Luna had taken off her halter neck top and thrown it to the side.

    She frowned.

    What if somebody walking down the street saw them acting like savages, having sexual congress in the dark alleys?

    The flowing light green skirts were the only clothing she had left, but it was as recognizable as tattered rags from how Apollyon tore them with his ws so he could touch her there.

    The Vampire King and his Empress will appear homeless once they were done with the deed.

    How would they search for appropriate clothes which would cover their privates?

    Can the two of them return to Ostara and managed to look presentable in front of the King and Queen of the Spring Courts, or would they return home to finish the burning passion they have started, the hunger spreading like wildfire in their veins?

    Oh my goddess, she just remembered!

    "Apollyon." Covering a hand over her mouth in shock, she whispered urgently, "Apollyon." Luna pped her husband''s chest as her legs became restless. "I destroyed the clothes I borrowed from Lady rence."

    "I don''t care." Apollyon groaned with his head bowed down.

    Sweat trickled down his forehead, busy trying to shove his straining hard cock pointing towards her quim.

    Both of his hands were busy carrying her weight, and sadly,? his husband didn''t have three arms.

    It was up to her to aid him, but she couldn''t.

    Luna was still bothered by Lady rence''s clothes.

    She had started to make friends with another female despite her awkwardness, and she couldn''t afford to make a mistake.

    Luna shifted in Apollyon''s hold as she bit the inside of her cheek.

    She had experienced a hundred betrayals in her life that her heart had shut off from other people, shielding her innermost thoughts and feelings from the world--except the one who mattered to her.

    Luna had forgotten what friendship felt like, and she had blown off her chance to be close to Lady rence by granting her husband to destroy the dress she borrowed.

    "Apollyon."? Luna''s head fell towards his shoulders just in case he hadn''t heard her concerns correctly,

    Frowning, she whispered, "Lady rence will hate me for destroying her clothes."

    Apollyon sighed with a mix of surprise, amusement, and frustration. "I can rece it with a thousand gowns of thetest trends in the Faerie Realm." He paused to nce up at her while the tip of his prick probed at the hot moisture in her sensitive flesh.

    "Don''t worry about this."? Apollyon groaned as if he was in unbearable pain. "She would be even dder that I tore her skirts with my ws."

    "The fragile foundation of our budding friendship��"

    "You don''t have to be friends with Lady rence." Apollyon raised her higher, shifting her position to align his cock better, analyzing which angle would hit her pleasure spot best. "Your husband is enough."

    Jaws clenching, Apollyon pushed his thick shaft in her tight quim bit by bit.

    But Luna was so tight��too tight��and he didn''t know the cause of it.

    Was she still anxious about the damned dress?

    Ridiculous!

    Was that important than their first coupling from her return from Hell?

    Apollyon waspelled to withdraw.

    Luna moaned for the loss of his shaft halfway on her tight sheath.

    Apollyon leaned in to whisper in her ear. "The love I will offer you will surpass all those future friends of yours, including those fucking Archdemons��"

    "But, husband��"

    "I see you are still distracted by unimportant things," Apollyon said in a husky tone as he sucked her dusky nipples on one and then the other.

    "You really have your priorities twisted, Luna." He bit hard on her ares, and it bled.

    Luna yelped and he soothed them with a moistp of his tongue.

    Apollyon had held her against the wall, pressing her back on the bricks in a sort of rough y.

    He asked her, "What are we doing right now?"

    Luna could barely keep her eyes open as she moaned, "S-sex?"

    He gave her an evil smirk before pinching her inner thighs as a little punishment, "Why don''t you stop talking and start moaning?"

    Parting her legs as wide as he could, Apollyon''s cock surged as he thrust himself deep into her.

    Luna cried out as his stiff, throbbing member��forced, no demanded��its entry inside her kingdom without an apology of its size.

    Memories of herst sexual encounter bombarded her with images of Apollyon in the Blood Beast''s Pleasure Room.

    Luna''s skin tightened as if spiders were crawling into her flesh.

    Nauseous, her stomach heaved in disgust, and she wanted Apollyon to stop and lower her to the ground.

    She didn''t know if she could go on fucking her husband without being traumatized by the image of Luxen haunting her at the back of her eyelids.

    As if Apollyon had sensed that her mind wasn''t in the present, Apollyon tilted his head to draw her mouth into his, parting her lips with his tongue.

    A groan tore from him as he squeezed her thighs on each side of his hips.

    As her sex tightened even more, Apollyon rocked his hips faster, and her moans grew louder.

    ''This is Apollyon.'' Luna repeated this like a mantra. ''This is my real husband.''

    It didn''t long for Luna to cry out when she felt Apollyon''s swollen shaft explode inside her.

 Chapter 373 - Archdemon Butterflies

    <h4>Chapter 373 - Archdemon Butterflies</h4>

    ******************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ******************************

    Luna had returned to the ''Ostara'' with a shirtless husband after their tryst in the dark alley.

    Apollyon''s tunic was wrapped around her legs while its sleeves were securely tied around her waist.

    In exchange for her husband''s small sacrifice, the Vampire King''s bare chest and sinewy stomach were exposed to the female faeries.

    Brows knitting in a scowl, she had no choice but to ept his husband''s kind offer.

    He didn''t like his wife''s quim to be exposed to the male faeries.

    In contrast, Luna didn''t want other faeries to see her husband like this, especially Princess Alisabethe.

    That Spring Princess might think Apollyon had done this to get her attention.

    That Fae Princess liked to assume when it came to her husband, and her audacity made Luna grind her teeth.

    Luna had expected the faeries to look at them funny, to whisper to the nearest faerie in their clique to gossip, or to openly ridicule their appearance because it was obvious what they had done before this.

    She swallowed hard, nervous.

    When she nced around, Luna sighed in relief when no eyes had watched them with judgment, too focused on the celebration.

    Like Apollyon always told her, "No one cares."

    Luna''s lips curved upward.

    Apollyon could have never been right.

    Never-ending daffodils with their attached leaves and stems rained under the white-gold moon with the stars in the dark heavens as their backdrop.

    Three pairs of unicorns with their glowing horns pranced around above their heads as every creature present in the ''Ostara'' watched the performance with parted lips and wide, sparkling eyes.

    The crowd was full of awe when Luna heard the chorus of ''oohs and aahs.''

    They pped to the rhythm of the woodwind instruments yed by faerie girls dressed like ballerinas in their purple tutus with wings drenched in gold and silver.

    The faerie boys were also dancing to the beat of the drums as they waved the colorful gs representing the Spring Courts.

    The sky was full of elegant aerial dancers with their long salmon pink gowns, moving in a mesmerizing liquid-like motion, holding a string of glowing blue mes attached to its ends in each of their hands and swinging them around in circles.

    "Wow. " Luna''s eyes and mouth widened in surprise as she pped with the rest of the faeries.

    It was a type of dance Luna hadn''t seen before.

    In her amazement, she momentarily forgot about her dark memories of Luxen''s image converging with her husband and the half-truths she had uttered back at the narrow alley.

    Despite the guilt which threatened to eat her heart, Luna still chose to heed her own discernment.

    It was dangerous to tell Apollyon the truth about what happened between Luxen and her when she just came back from Hell.

    Their rtionship was too fragile to handle without expecting a violent reaction from her husband.

    She was afraid that it would demolish what love they have left.

    She had to walk on eggshells, skirting around the topic, while she was still unsure of the future.

    Knowing her husband, Apollyon wouldsh out, not at her, but his anger would manifest in the real world.

    His unpredictability might cause danger around others, seeing how he had killed creatures��such as those demonic faeries��without remorse.

    Apollyon had done the right thing for the sake of the greater good, but what was he capable of doing if he had turned evil because of her confession?

    It was her responsibility to bring him back if he was acting like a vicious Archdemon.

    Apollyon might have the same fate as Lilith��A High Priestess of the Vampire Realm, who transformed into an Archdemon because of the blood sacrifices she had made.

    Clenching her fists, Luna was determined her husband wouldn''t turn into an Archdemon like her.

    She focused on the now.

    Luna desired to contribute to the show as a gesture of her gratitude to the Fair Folk for helping her return to her husband.

    She will cherish the second chance the gods and goddesses had given her.

    The death of the demonic faeries as a sacrifice will not be in vain.

    This was also her way to test her acquired Archdemon Magic.

    She might as well use them in this Realm so that the torment she suffered from the Archdemons wouldn''t be futile.

    Closing her eyes as she focused on her intentions, Luna lifted a hand to her lips and raised her arm upwards as if she was blowing kisses in the air.

    Silhouettes of monstrous red monarch butterflies with ink-ck edges came out of her mouth and joined the gathering, swirling around the guests as eager children chased them to touch their ghastly tails.

    Everyone, including Apollyon, sucked in a collective breath as they openly stared at her, marveling in this beautiful chaos.

    Luna felt hundreds of eyes on her form, which made her nce at the floor in difort.

    As thest monarch butterfly came out of her parted lips, Luna raised her chin and smiled at every creature who dared to meet her eyes.

    The servants had arrived carrying goblets of wine on their trays.

    Some of the faerie guests standing by the docks as they watched the performance had returned to their tables and sat down to eat more cakes and drink wine.

    The rest of the faeries had swayed to the magical music, making every creature''s soul float in happiness.

    Luna hadn''t seen the King and the Queen of the Spring Courts.

    She nced around her to search for them just in case Luna and Apollyon missed them, but it turned out they hadn''t arrived yet.

    Apollyon still had to introduce her, the real Luna, to King Nuada and Queen Gloriana.

    Prince Aspen wasn''t in ''Ostara'' yet, and she wondered if the rest of the Royal Family were alright.

    Perhaps, they want toe inte to the celebration, coveting Ostara''s grand entrance the way the ''life-of-the-party did.

    As her husband noticed her still and silent beside him, Apollyon caressed her forearm before sliding hisrge fingers in hers, pulling her to where it wasn''t that crowded so that they could have some little privacy.

 Chapter 374 - Wallbanger

    <h4>Chapter 374 - Wallbanger</h4>

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    Apollyon and Luna strolled leisurely to the edge of the wooden docks.

    Luna allowed her husband to guide her��no, he had almost dragged her there from her turtle pace.

    Honestly, she needed a little tugging since her legs were still weak, trembling from her husband''s intense thrusts that she swore his massive prick had torn something important down there.

    Luna winced with every step--limping--as if someone had beaten her up at the alley.

    Now, the faeries they have encountered--especially the women with blue and green ribbons in their hair--ogled her and Apollyon with theirrge and dark almond eyes.

    They paused at whatever they were doing to stare at her husband''s corded muscles.

    Luna red at them and let out a sharp hiss.

    Turning their heads in unison, all of them averted their insolent gazes from the Vampire King in fear of the Vampire Empress.

    Apollyon had fucked her good, as promised.

    He did a great job filling the throbbing ache in her core that she couldn''t walk properly.

    Still, she could feel his seed dripping in her inner thighs.

    Nevertheless, Luna couldn''t stop the foolish grin on her face because she had a taste of her husband''s blood.

    Still full from yesterday''s feeding, Luna didn''t drink a lot, simply nipping at his flesh to infuse her saliva on Apollyon''s veins.

    Apollyon wasn''t joking when he told her that her wish is hismand.

    She wouldn''t be shocked if her husband had almost entered her stomach and hurt their baby (but that would be an exaggeration).

    Luna''s mind suddenly shed her an image of Luxen fucking her instead of her husband, and her giddiness shifted to nausea in a split second.

    She sighed, grimacing.

    She regretted her decision to be intimate with Apollyon tonight.

    Her mind was a dangerous master.

    Apollyon kept giving her a sideways nce and Luna could tell that he wanted to hear what she had to say.

    While the faeries continued to dance in the sky in their flowing pink gowns, Apollyon halted at the edge of the docks and Luna did the same, listening to the song of the river currents.

    It was blue.

    "Apollyon," Luna whispered to her husband, who was beside her as he moved to stand behind her back.

    Luna could feel his naked upper body as he wrapped an arm around her, his left hand resting on her stomach.

    Eyes focused on the horizon, she said, "There are some things I don''t understand about us."

    Apollyon didn''t say anything at first but after half a minute, he rested his chin on the spot between her neck and shoulders as he enveloped her in an embrace. "Things are exactly as they seem. Love didn''t have to be logical."

    Her husband had told her tomunicate, so Luna might as well get her concerns out there. "Sometimes, I wonder if we don''t have other things inmon aside from our blood bond and this mutual desire for each other''s body."

    Tension filled the air as Apollyon took his sweet time to respond, but he didn''t sound angry when he did.

    Luna raised an eyebrow in surprise because she had expected, well, frustration?

    He sounded calm, instead, gentle. "Are you saying that we aren''tpatible?"

    Her stiff muscles rxed as she answered, "No."

    Apollyon lifted his hand from her stomach and settled it on her chest as if he desired to feel her heartbeat. "Do you think I am coercing you to make this rtionship work?"

    "No." Luna shook her head and exhaled, "I''m looking for��"

    "You will only find what you are looking for when you lose it," Apollyon said cryptically and her eyebrows knitted in confusion. What did he mean by that?

    "We need to find ourmon ground." Luna said. "I don''t want our differences to destroy us."

    "The differences you see could be perception, but you know what they say that opposites attract. Why?" Apollyon tugged her into the curve of his form as if she was his treasure that should be protected at all cost. "Are you going to look for someone else if we don''t match despite our blood bond?"

    When Luna turned to look at him, Apollyon had already nced down at her, his blue eyes glowing, "Perhaps, some other fishes in the sea such as one of your Archdemon husbands?"

    "Why do you insert those Archdemons in our conversation?" Luna closed her eyes so that she could avoid his stare which said a thousand of unsaid things, "I hate them Apollyon."

    Luna shook her head when she felt Luxen flickering in her mind again. "I don''t want to talk about them. I want to talk about us."

    She opened her eyes and added with a frown, "--and may I remind you, I only have Ravin''s soul tie with me while I already cut the cords with Luxen. I just had to find a way to get rid of it of the Blood Beast for good."

    "We will find a way, wife, and we wouldn''t give up on that mission," Apollyon said with conviction. "There was no need to hurry unless you are in imminent danger."

    "I shall not pressure you and dump more burdens on your shoulders." Stroking her silver hair with his fingers, Apollyon said, "I told you we are a team, did I?"

    Butterflies fluttered in her stomach,

    Luna felt like she was weightless with joy, floating like those faeries above them.

    She craned her neck towards him and smiled, "Thank you, husband."

    "I care about you a lot, beloved. You are important to me, and sometimes, you might think otherwise. " He cleared his throat awkwardly, and Luna leaned deeper into him, thinking about how adorable he sounded with his open confession. "I love you very much."

    She smiled.

    Apollyon was anything but shy.

    "It is my responsibility as your husband to make sure you eat well and rest more for the sake of your health. I want our baby to be born withoutplications and that you wouldn''t get hurt. When our heiress grows in your tummy, I will assist you in everything."

 Chapter 375 - I Love You

    <h4>Chapter 375 - I Love You</h4>

    ****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ****************************

    "You can rely on me, your husband, so that you can rx."

    Luna held his hand, which rested on her chest, and spun around to hug her husband.

    Heat radiated throughout her heart as if it was growing flowers, giving her a warm fuzzy feeling.

    This must be what spring felt like if it were an emotion.

    "Thank you, husband, but I can do those things myself." Apollyon''s dark skin had a natural musk with a hint ofvender and mint as she inhaled. "I think I can rely on you from time to time, but I don''t want to be co-dependent on you but not too much."

    ''What if we got separated?'' Luna thought, but she didn''t mention that as she slid her arms around his waist.

    Then, she raised her hands to brush against his broad back, her fingers loving the ridges of his spine.

    Apollyon wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace as hebed his fingers in her hair. "I know you can do amazing things. You are intelligent, vignt, and powerful, but I can be your escape��your safe ce when you are tired of looking after yourself." He tucked her head under his chin, and Luna closed her eyes, just basking in her husband''s body heat.

    She had never felt so safe. "Pregnancy will make a female vulnerable from danger and will require you a lot of your energy." He murmured huskily. "--so you need to focus on that."

    Luna could feel the other faeries'' eyes looking at them, probably wondering how the Vampire King and his Empress showed their affections for each other so freelypared to the other monarchs��especially in arge celebration such as these.

    Apollyon didn''t care about what the crowd might think, and she wished she could have the same attitude in life.

    He did what he wanted, and Luna aspired to be like that, yet, sometimes, her inhibitions got the best of her.

    If Luna tried to be bolder, Apollyon watched her with careful suspicion, using her of Lilith.

    Luna sighed, not knowing how to act.

    She wanted to be as shameless as her husband, requiring her to be more adventurous.

    "You don''t have to worry about everything." Apollyon''s said. "Even if crazy things are happening around us, I will watch over you and protect you."

    Luna nced up to see him wear a cold, unreadable mask��the mask of an immortal who had lived beyond the millennium.

    She sucked in a breath as if someone had punched her in the gut.

    Apollyon''s handsome face had that effect on her.

    She was lucky to have him in her life��someone she could rely on and someone who loved her for who she was despite her ws.

    No other man could stand her character and put up with her for real except her mate.

    What Luna felt for her husband was strong and powerful that it almost brought tears to her eyes.

    Instead of making her husband concerned, Luna gave him a cheeky smile, refusing to back down, "We will protect each other."

    "I''ll take care of you." Apollyon''s blue eyes crinkled at the corners before smacking a quick kiss on the mouth.

    He nipped at her lower lip, "Stubborn, cheeky girl."

    Pulling back, Luna caressed Apollyon''s lower back as she gave him a half-shrug. "--but you love me anyway."

    "Like I said, stubborn, cheeky girl." Apollyon let out a huskyugh, and then, his palms caressed her back before it lowered on her hips, peering at her beneath hisshes, "I had never met a female as stubborn as you. I''m d I am melting your heart like how a mate should."

    "I have melted your heart first, Apollyon." Luna reminded him softly��a sort of jest but still carried a grain of truth, "You are a misogynist through and through��"

    "That was millennia of mind conditioning of the males from our ancestral bloodline."? Apollyon raised a hand to brush his fingers across her cheeks. "This was how the Vampire Realm operated for a long, long time, so you can''t entirely me me for this. I will do my best not to be like my ancestors."

    "You haven''t told me about the history of the Vampire Realm," Luna said in a cute pout. "You haven''t told me about your family and your childhood."

    "You didn''t tell me much about your past, either, so we are even," Apollyon told her as one hand rested on her ribs just below her breasts. His fingers, on his other hand, were busy ying with her lower lip, "I only knew you were sheltered in the temples when you served the Goddess Artemis as a warrior maiden. That information would be enough for me. Our past isn''t important anymore."

    "I know you have changed for the better. I am d to have changed your view on women in general--" Luna trailed off, smiling, "--but not all of them."

    "I am learning, my beloved--" Apollyon stroked down the curve of her waist.

    Wasn''t her husband satisfied with what happened in the narrow alley?

    Luna watched her husband coyly, "Hmm?"

    Apollyon stared at her for a long, still instant before his lips curved into a secret smile.

    Did he want a repeat of that?

    Her husband was insatiable.

    "You are a worm---"

    "Worm?" Her eyes widened, and Luna raised an eyebrow at him, "Did you just call your wife a worm?"

    There was heat in Apollyon''s eyes as he whispered in his bedroom voice, "You are my silkworm, and I am your cocoon."

    Luna pped her hands as sheughed until her stomach hurt.

    "You''re getting strange, husband. Your metaphors are hrious-- " Her pure joy radiated to the depths of her soul that she felt like dancing along with the music with the other couples. "--but sweet."

    She had returned to her husband for good.

    "Alright." Luna gave her a wide grin. "I will agree to be your worm as long as you will be my cocoon."

    Apollyon gripped her chin and kissed her tenderly.

    He whispered, "I love you."

    The trumpets were blown into a full st, and Luna and Apollyon flinched, startled by the sound.

    The Spring King and Queen had arrived for the Ostara.

 Chapter 376 - Spring Monarchs Grand Entrance

    <h4>Chapter 376 - Spring Monarch''s Grand Entrance</h4>

    ****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ****************************

    "Husband," Luna muttered under her breath as they stood side by side with their backs facing the river.

    She crossed her arms and squinted at the huge rectangr block as it advanced towards the docks'' direction where the celebration took ce.

    Luna thought at first that the rectangr block moved by itself, and when she tiptoed to get a good look since the crowd already blocked her vision, she noticed that hundreds of gnomes carried the block while the King and Queen of the Spring Courts were on top of it as they moved about.

    She also witnessed animals following at the back of the block, such as litters of chipmunks, red foxes, beavers, deers, and rabbits.

    A faerie threw fruits at them so that they would trail after the moving stage.

    Luna''s lips parted in shock when tworge green frogs with a height simr to a child were thest creatures who trailed after the processions.

    "Apollyon." Luna rubbed her eyes at sight, "Do we see the same things?"

    She hadn''t seen anything as big as those frogs before.

    "Apollyon, Apollyon." Luna tugged her husband without removing her gaze from the monstrous frogs. "I think I imagined those things." She pointed the finger at them. "I swear those frogs are strange��"

    "Ah. Those frogs are an anomaly." Apollyon said, and Luna could sense that there was an exnation in there somewhere.

    "Of course, they are," Luna eximed. "Are frogs in the Faerie Realm this big? They don''t eat children or the smaller Faes, right? And how can the Spring Monarchs let the gnomes carry their stage instead of the strongest and the burliest of the Fair Folk?" Shaking her head, Luna clicked her tongue, "These poor gnomes�� they would shrink more from carrying that block on their back."

    Apollyon nced at her and gave her a knowing look before he snorted, trying to hold back hisughter. "Small people don''t shrink if they carried things heavier than them, wife."

    Luna opened her mouth to speak, but the trumpets'' blow interrupted her that she forgot what she was supposed to say.

    Apollyon''s eyes had a mischievous sparkle in them as if he also had something to exin but perhaps..ter.

    Her husband shook his head and motioned at the guests around their vicinity.

    It was getting crowded.

    In the end, Luna could only inflict a yful smack on Apollyon as she returned her gaze to the parade with a huge smile on her face.

    She raised an eyebrow when she saw the King and Queen of the Spring Courts, whom she hadn''t met in person.

    King Nuada and Queen Gloriana stood on top of the rectangr block like it was their own personal stage, waving their hands to the crowd in glee.

    Queen Gloriana had her xen hair (which appeared almost white) in a loose bun while short curls framed her small, mature face.

    She wore a long, white off-the-shoulder gown with pink ruffles covering herrge, a little saggy (no offense) breasts.

    As their stage neared their location, Luna could clearly see King Nuada and a few of his grey hairs on his thick mahogany-brown hair with a thick, short beard to match.

    Luna also knew that instant that King Nuada only had Queen Gloriana in his heart.

    She watched the King hugged the Queen from the back, tucking his jaw on the spot between her neck and shoulders.

    It was eerily close to how Apollyon had acted around her earlier��so sweet and attentive��his voice dripping like honey with every word.

    Luna nodded her head.

    This must be how real mates were like in public and behind closed doors.

    The consistency of these masculines was admirable, and Luna waspelled to step up her game as the feminine in their blood bond.

    She needed to be honest and loving to her husband.

    She need not live in constant fear about their connection crashing down.

    The spring faeries who were on the ground appeared restless on theirte arrival.

    They weren''t shifting from foot to foot, restless with fear and difort, but rather they were restless, jumping up and down in excitement while their eyes and mouth were wide with awe, simr to the reactions the guests had given at the aerial performance.

    Their reactions must be pretty normal to the spring faeries, but it was dramatic and over-the-top to Luna''s opinion.

    In therge crowd, it seemed like only Apollyon and Luna had worn a stoic mask.

    The spring faeries must have loved the Spring Monarch as much as they loved the parties.

    The crowd gathered and walked towards the rectangr block to meet the Spring courts'' King and Queen with great delight.

    The edges of their makeshift stage were adorned with spring flowers�� most of them white, yellow, and scarlet-- simr to the ones steadily raining on them, along with the glorious music of harps and flutes in the background.

    Ahh.

    This experience was utter bliss, and she would never experience this joyous celebration aside from the Spring Courts.

    Luna bet that not even the Vampire Realm could replicate them.

    The kinds of celebration in every Realm must be dependent on the character of its rulers.

    Take the Spring Courts, for example.

    It was like they were living inside a fairy tale.

    Luna was afraid when the time came when everything��including her sweet memories of her reunion with Apollyon��will be taken by the Archdemons.

    The faeries didn''t crowd around the Spring Monarchs when the Faerie Sentinels had ushered them inside their fancy outdoor carnival tent with the Spring courts gs on top of it.

    "Their golden thrones must have been ced inside that tent, no?" Luna asked her husband.

    "Yes." He nodded. "That tent was for the Spring Monarch''s privacy."

    "The Spring Court is one of our alliances." Her eyebrows knitted in confusion. "Are they so poor that they can''t even provide us the Vampire King and his Empress'' private tent?"

    "Why?" Apollyon''s eyebrows rose in question, yet his smirk said otherwise, "Do you want to do it again in a tent?"

    Before Luna could answer, Princess Alisabethe had disturbed the peace as she approached them with a man in her arm.

 Chapter 377 - Liliths Lover?

    <h4>Chapter 377 - Lilith''s Lover?</h4>

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    Before Luna could answer Apollyon, Princess Alisabethe had disturbed their peace as she approached them with a man in her arm.

    The man she had locked arms with was a faerie eye-candy with hisrge nimbus-grey eyes and grey hair covering his forehead.

    Luna assumed the faerie was old because of the grey hair.

    She had expected wrinkles on his face, but...it was actually the opposite.

    The faerie had the palest face Luna had ever seen��as clear and smooth as ss skin. Luna would even get as far as iming that the arm candy''s skin was better than Princess Alisabethe.

    "Empress." Princess Alisabethe called out, and Luna''s attention abruptly shifted from the arm candy to her. "I am still reeling from the shock of yourck of recognition of me."

    "I med it on your ailment at first." She scowled. "I understand that you are sick in the head because you have spent years in your slumber. I shouldn''t be shocked that you are losing your memories regarding Apollyon and me."

    Apollyon and her?

    Gritting her teeth, Luna clenched her fists as anger bubbled like acid in her stomach. How did she have the audacity to tell her that she was sick in the head when she was the delusional one?

    Luna burst into a mockingugh as she thought of that.

    ''Oh, so Princess Alisabethe had no ns to give this subject up.''

    If she argued with her or engaged in a physical fight��

    Was that how an Empress like her should react��allowing a mere princess like her to ruin her night?

    Luna wouldn''t dare going down on her level.

    Only rabid dogs fight with rabid dogs.

    Alisabethe took a step closer towards her, and Apollyon blocked her in an instant with hisrge physique.

    "Careful with your next words, Princess Alisabethe--" The bitch had the nerve to nce down andy her owlish eyes on her husband''s chest. "If you don''t, I would make you sleep longer than my wife here."

    Luna''s hands itched to p her.

    "Trust my husband when he says ''longer'' because what he actually meant is ''forever."

    Apollyon straightened his posture and stalked forward to shove her back without a qualm.

    Gasping in shock, Princess Alisabethe retreated as her hold on the faerie beside her tightened.

    Her turquoise eyes sparkled with tears, and Luna bit her cheek in annoyance.

    Did he bring this man as a shield, then?

    Perhaps, Princess Alisabethe brought her strongest Faerie Sentinel so that if this spoiled brat angered them, another blood will shed instead of hers.

    This Princess Alisabethe was a headache.

    As she exhaled a heavy sigh, Luna felt the knot on her rigid muscles loosen when she calmed down, finally letting the rabid dog be herself.

    She will not fight fire with fire.

    "I think this is interesting, husband." Luna smiled at the spring princess. "Let''s listen to what she had to say."

    Hopefully, if she let Princess Alisabethe talk, she could either humiliate herself twice, or she might give her valuable information regarding Apollyon and what Lilith had done in the Faerie Realm while she was on her body.

    "Empress Luna." The arm-candy abruptly spoke, and Luna''s gaze returned on his soft and gentle features. His face was small with a chiseled jaw, and his lips were small. His thick upper lip was shaped like a cupid''s bow.

    The rest of his beautiful face was stoic and expressionless, blinking once in a while, yet he had that small smirk at the corner of his lips as if he was slightly amused.? "I see no recognition in your face when you see me."

    Luna dropped her gaze to his shiny shoes, her eyes moving upwards to his trousers and his dark red dress shirt underneath his light brown suit jacket.

    From the way it glimmered in the moonlight, the suit made it look as shiny and expensive as leather.

    Luna''s eyebrows knitted in confusion. "I don''t know who you are."

    "Apollyon." Luna nced at her husband in rm.

    Of course, the arm candy was a darling to look at, but Luna''s personal preference was not to be with a man prettier than her.

    She could only describe Apollyon''s beauty as savage, never failing to seize her attention.

    There was a wildness in her husband''s cold outer shell that was fascinating, but it would probably make an ordinary woman cower in fear.

    She shook her head with a small smile on her face.

    Luna pointed at the faerie with his thumb, as she expected her husband to exin, "This man��"

    Apollyon raised an eyebrow at her, yet his expression remained stoic.

    Females would never know what hit them when they have someone as powerful as the Vampire King in their arms.

    Princess Alisabethe wouldn''t know how to handle his husband''s scorching sexual maism, and neither could she tame him when the Vampire King exploded when things wouldn''t go his way.

    That was what she had suffered at first she found a way to enve the wild beast in him.

    As Luna scanned the tall and slender faerie from head to toe twice, Luna noticed that elegance charged his every step.

    How many girls had this faerie breed insecurity in their hearts just by his mere existence?

    The man was both pretty and handsome simr to Prince Aspen, having that signature androgynous beauty that the males in the Faerie Realm have.

    Luna wasn''t jealous at all.

    She had no desire to covet other creature''s beauty when she had no one to impress except her husband.

    Apollyon was very much in love with her, so there wasn''t a need to be envious.

    It was different from the other faeries at their vicinity, though, as they openly stared at their unlikely group.

    A new faerie clique in Ostara had formed when Luna saw Prince Aspen holding Lady rence''s hand as she waved at her, on their way to approach their circle.

    "Empress. I am one of Princess Alisabethe''s brother." The arm-candy said as he red out his golden wings. "You seemed to have forgotten that I was your lover."

 Chapter 378 - His Muse

    <h4>Chapter 378 - His Muse</h4>

    "Empress. I am one of Princess Alisabethe''s brother." The arm-candy said as he red out his glorious golden faerie wings in the air. "You seemed to have forgotten that I was your lover."

    Wide-eyed, Luna had to blink at the faerie prince five times to make sure she clearly heard him.

    She extended a foot forward in a confident gesture.

    Raising an eyebrow, Luna crossed her arms and smiled. "You might be cute and all, young man, but I just want to introduce my husband, Apollyon, beside me so if you think that your life had no value as Princess Alisa��"

    "Luna," Apollyon whispered. "We should leave Ostara and return to Lc Manor."

    "Why?" She tilted her head at him in a frown. "I don''t understand what is happening."

    "It''s a long story--" Apollyon looked at her, and in that intense moment,? she saw his gaze glittered with hunger. "--one that I would exin to you when we get home after I have a taste of you."

    "I haven''t done that, yet so we might as well get going." He murmured, but he also made sure that the royal siblings heard his sensual promise.

    "No, you have to tell me."

    "Not here. " Apollyon turned towards her and angled his face so that Princess Alisabethe would not see his expression, side-eying her and the Faerie Prince behind him.

    To Luna, that tranted to ''not in front of these people''.

    "I don''t want to go home yet," Luna whispered back. "Perhaps, after celebrating the Ostara."

    "Empress Luna. I am confused as to why the Vampire King hadn''t killed me yet for iming to be your lover. I knew it was our secret, but hisck of reaction made me think that he already knew." Arrogant words matched with an arrogant smirk.

    It must be true. " Luna was sure the young man wanted to die. "Was my sister, Princess Alisabethe, telling the truth that he had allowed our open rtionship to bloom?"

    "Husband." Luna''s eyebrows knitted in confusion as she nced up at Apollyon, wondering why he was silent the whole time.

    A blooming open rtionship?

    Shock and humiliation made her chest tight."What is this man talking about?"

    "I am a painter, Your Highness, and your husband had asked me to make you my muse for my debut as a Faerie artist." Princess Alisabethe''s arm candy examined her with feverish grey eyes, and she swore he was undressing her with his stares. "The King and the Queen of the Spring Courts had been supportive of my dream and the Vampire King, as well. He was the one who brought us together, and I have taken a liking to you. I know he was your mate��"

    "You havepleted the paintings for your art gallery, Prince Aelfric, so I''m asking you now to leave me and my wife alone. Empress Luna will not be your muse anymore now that you are done with the paintings." There was a deadly chill in her husband''s tone. "Of course, you already know who is buying all of them."

    "Are they naked ones?" Her muscles went stiff.

    "Fancy meeting everyone here." Prince Aspen spoke beside Luna, and her soul almost jumped out of her skin.

    Luckily, Luna didn''t flinch and only froze with a hand resting on her wild, beating heart.

    Prince Aspen and a meek Lady rence who stood two feet behind him greeted them with a little bow, and Apollyon and Luna greeted them, likewise, in respect.

    When Prince Aspen raised his head to greet his siblings, Aspen did a double-take to make sure it was them who were in Luna''s circle.

    Prince Aspen turned his head to stare at Apollyon nkly before he bent his head back andughed to his heart''s content.

    Luna can only watch Prince Aspen as he clutched his stomach and wiped the tears in his eyes with his robes while Apollyon closed his eyes and sighed.

    "Ah." Eyes twinkling with mischief, Prince Aspen chuckled as he covered his mouth with a palm. "This? sticky situation would be difficult to exin to your wife, King Apollyon."

    "What is difficult to exin?"

    Was this other Faerie Prince rted to Lilith?

    Had she made him her lover while she was in her body and Apollyon let her?

    Clearing his throat, Prince Aspen changed the subject. "Before the spring, the earth is dark and cold from the winter. Before the winter, the fallen trees from the autumn storms hadid atop the ground''s decaying leaves. The darkness and dposing soil were reced by a purity that is light and bright, isn''t it, Aelfric?"

    "Time had quickly passed us by." The Faerie Prince who imed to be her lover nodded in agreement as he nced up at the sky, murmuring, "I remember watching snowkes atop the snowdrifts sparkle with crystalline light in the sunshine."

    Luna clutched her husband''s arm as she moved closer to feel his warmth.

    The Vampire King was the most possessive man in this Realm.

    She couldn''tprehend Apollyon''s nonchnce from Prince Aelfric''s ims as she let her hand slide to his fingers and locked them together.

    Even if Apollyon couldn''t address her questions, at least she could sense her husband''s presence, and that would be enough.

    Perhaps, her husband had figured out that love didn''t have to be apetition.

    Passion manifested itself in a rivalry, but true love flowed where the river currents were not against it.

    True love is peace.

    This must be the reason while her husband was calm.

    Lust is a wildfire that consumed a heart in anxiety.

    She felt peace in Apollyon, but she couldn''t be truly at peace with all these Archdemons clinging unto her life force, especially with this new faerie in the equation.

    They are the banes of her existence who were determined to make her life miserable.

    For now, Luna willed her ears to listen to the nonsensical musings of the faeries in their clique.

    "--the first snow hade and gone, followed by the first day of spring. We are here to witness it first thing in the morning." Prince Aspen continued, "The first spring glowed as the bright flowers fall in the light of the full moon, turning everything enchanted tonight."

    Princess Alisabethe joined in the awkward conversation. "Everything felt fresh and new, don''t you think?"

    "Ah, spring. No matter what happened in the past, everything can be fresh and new again." Prince Aspen took a deep breath to inhale the nightly spring breeze.

    He exhaled. "The past does not equal the future. This is why the Spring Faeries didn''t dare miss Ostara because we believed that witnessing the first day of Spring along with the Monarchs will make the future shimmer, sparkling bright as the sun rays."

    Lady rence spoke with her head bowed low as her hands sped together in front��the epitome of politeness. "Ostara is a state of grace; You''re Highness,"

    Luna asked. "So, nobody will be sleeping until sunrise, then?"

    "Yes." It was her supposed lover who answered as he winked at her. "We will dance all night."

    Apollyon fixed his gaze at him as he squeezed Luna''s hand in his. "We all know that the Fair Folk loved dancing."

 Chapter 379 - Demonic Attacks

    <h4>Chapter 379 - Demonic Attacks</h4>

    The crowd had gathered in arge zing fire which almost reached the heavens, and the three pairs walked slowly, helplessly drawn towards the faerie ring.

    The other faeries left their food and wine goblets covering the table as if a collective spell had passed over them.

    Luna caught Lady rence stealing nces at her.

    Still, she couldn''t approach her future friend to exin about the skirts she borrowed because Apollyon was adamant not to let her go and talk to anyone now that the faerie dance will begin.

    Prince Aspen held Lady rence''s hand and tugged her to their respective positions in the faerie circle.

    Apollyon was also keeping an eye on Princess Alisabethe and Prince Aelfric across them.

    He must have thought she would go straight into Prince Aelfric''s arms and elope with the faerie prince as his lover when she didn''t know why it came to that point.

    Apollyon and Luna stood side-by-side in the midst of the crowd in silence while everybody fixed their gazes at the King and the Queen of the Spring Courts.

    Queen Gloriana lifted a finger as a signal before the most romantic music she had ever heard yed in the air.

    Luna nced around in a panic when the rest of the faeries began to take a step forward because she hadn''t learned the steps for tonight''s faerie dance beforehand.

    The spring faeries stretched their muscles, jumping around in excitement as all of them held hands to form a circle around the bonfire.

    What if she stepped on the skirts of the spring faerie and humiliated herself?

    Her eyes widened in surprise when her foot took a graceful stride effortlessly as if the sweetest melodies controlled her movement.

    With their hands joined, the guests danced round and round in mirth, alternating between linking their arms with the rest and turning to face their partner in a repetition of choreographed dance steps.

    The rest of the spring faeries also sang along with a voice full of power as they pped into the rhythm.

    Luna didn''t need to do much since her body danced all by itself.

    It felt like everyone was in a trance.

    Luna gaged the extent of Queen Gloriana''s power, bewitching the crowd to dance when shemanded them to��in just a slight movement of a hand.

    It was simr to how Prince Aspen canpel thedies with his voice.

    Luna can counter Queen Gloriana''s magic with her Archdemon Magic but was there really a need to when her magic would, never in a million years, teach her how to dance when she wasn''t familiar with it?

    She found it a good thing that she didn''t have to be anxious about the steps when thepulsion of the faerie enchantment made her appear like she had practiced dancing all her life with feminine elegance, enthusiasm, and talent.

    The faerie magic also lifted her low spirits from her confusion about what happened earlier with Princess Alisabethe, Prince Aelfric, and Prince Aspen.

    Her ears found the music irresistible, and the sensation of her toes as it touched the ground after spinning in her husband''s tunic was downright addictive.

    All she had to do was forget all of her problems with the Archdemons, her destructive secrets, and her fears regarding her rtionship with her husband.

    She should focus on the music and the center of her world��her mate, Apollyon.

    The magic of the Spring Faeries was more potent on the First Day of Spring.

    That must be why it was easy for these faeries to entice other creatures to stay during the faerie dances.

    When the creatures began to lose themselves��their identities--in the enchanting music, by then, it will be toote.

    What were the consequences if a creature became too exhausted to move?

    Would they dance until their feet rot to death, turning into a skeleton?

    Luna heard that humans were too gullible, falling for this trick again and again until their faerie abductors wipe their memories of the human Realm to make them his/her servants.

    So far, Luna had counted ten abducted human girls in the bonfire dance as they twirled and turned with the other faeries in unison.

    She noticed that their pupils were dted yet zed over.

    As a victim of abduction, she will never agree to this as a way of acquiring servants no matter what the Realm was.

    Apollyon''s voice was low as he fixed his gaze on her face. "I know what you''re thinking."

    Pausing, Luna pirouetted under Apollyon''s raised arm before she replied, "Are you reading my mind?"

    "No, but I know your gaze is looking at the human girls," Apollyon said coolly as he gently squeezed her hips with his hand in a warning. "There was nothing you could do to help them return to the Human Realm once the Fair Folk have them in their clutches. It was these humans'' choice? to step in the faerie ring."

    She gripped his shoulders tight, narrowing her eyes at him. "They weren''t armored with protection from Fae Magic."

    Apollyon shrugged. "Humans should wear iron in them at all times."

    "They should have known better not to be seduced by these beautiful, mischievous fairies. Little did they know that they could never return to the Human Realm." Apollyon pulled her to his arms after another spin. "Five minutes of dancing in this dream-like fantasy might equate to seven years of disappearance."

    "What did the poor girls do to deserve this fate?" Luna murmured as she nced down at their dancing feet.

    "The world had never been fair to us, wife, and? you didn''t deserve your fate either."

    "I want to help them, Apollyon."

    "You shall not interfere." It was an absolute statement for her husband. "We will respect the cultures and traditions of the Faerie Realm, and we could do nothing about them not unless the Spring Monarchs decided to change the rules." He added, "We are in the territory of the Faerie Realm, epting the hospitality of the youngest Prince in Lc Manor. Let''s not create furthermotion."

    "It doesn''t sit right with me to leave these women to be a ve of the faeries," Luna asked. "What if they were killed or abused by the master who had chosen them?"

    "What if one of them will marry one of the Faerie Princes, and you are robbing them of their destiny?" Apollyon informed her, giving her an icy nce. "Lady rence is a human and a past consort of mine. I have not yet seen Prince Aspen hurt her in the years I have waited for your return in the Lc Manor."

    "Prince Aspen might be strange, but he had a good side to him," Luna said. "Have you ever hurt Lil��"

    "Save your questions in the bedroom, wife. I will not answer while we are still around these many people." The quick shut down felt like her husband had mmed a window in her face.

    Her soul hurt, but it was understandable.

    Apollyon must be angry at Prince Aelfric''s im as Luna''s lover, but he couldn''t exin it yet because they were in public.

    They couldn''t afford to mention Lilith''s name in the Faerie Realm, and they wouldn''t get suspicious of the deaths of the demonic faeries their group had kept a secret with.

    Killing hundreds of faeries��whether demons ate their soul or not��was still a crime without the knowledge of Queen Gloriana and King Nuada.

    "The different passage of time in the Faerie Realm and the mortal world is a serious problem for the rescued humans. I suffered for years in this Realm while you are in Hell, wife." Apollyon said, and his tone was soft and soothing.

    He must have sense Luna''s distress. "If you return these girls, they will have to deal with the loss while they were away��humans age. Parents may have died, and loved ones may have married someone else. Wife, if we aren''t tied together through the blood bond, I would rather you not return to me because I couldn''t stand our reunion when there is this doom looming over us that I could lose you anytime. I don''t want to suffer again and lose myself."

    "Don''t get me wrong." He added, and Luna watched her husband''s sapphire eyes turned ck. "I still love you, but I will ept that I had lost you forever when all the hope in my heart had finally depleted. It would be easier to be separated from your loved one without the blood bond."

    Luna closed her eyes for a few seconds and forced them to open. "I can feel your honesty, husband. It hurts, but I appreciate it."

    "You have to think before you act. Don''t be impulsive when you rescue people because these people may not want to be rescued." Apollyon''s intimate murmur still came out as admonishment for her. "If you love me, don''t put yourself in danger.."

    It didn''t feel good because she felt like a child, tempting her to act in defiance.

    She would have fought Apollyon in the past, but there was no reason to argue when her husband had only cared about her.

    "If they ask specifically for your help, that is when you show yourpassion. Don''t waste your energy and resources." Apollyon continued, and Luna nodded in agreement, realizing that what he said was right. "You only need to focus on us and how to get rid of your soul tie with the Blood Beast."

    Abruptly, the dancing ceased, and Luna and Apollyon nced up when they heard screamsing from above.

    Panic was a hummingbird''s wings beating at the back of her throat.

    Luna''s heart froze.

    Hundreds of dark apparitions attacked.

 Chapter 380 - Mass Hysteria

    <h4>Chapter 380 - Mass Hysteria</h4>

    Luna''s heart froze.

    Hundreds of dark apparitions attacked the spring faeries whose only mistake was to hang in the air, raining spring blossoms above the guests.

    Total darkness shrouded the bright atmosphere of Ostara with only the silver full moon as their guiding light as the aerial faerie dancers, the g bearers and the musicians fell to the ground one by one with their eyes and wings closed--simr to what Prince Aelfric and Prince had described.

    The smell of decay from the demonic apparitions permeated the air.

    Their skins were peeled off their gnarled bony hands, showing the salmon-pink of their muscles as if they were burned alive or all of them were submerged into a gigantic pot of boiling water.

    Some of the spring faeries couldn''t stand the stench and covered their nose.

    The spring faeries who performed earlier had reced the white flowers free-falling with their bodies.

    They were unconscious and unmoving likerge moths as their wings fluttered closer to the mes before they dropped dead.

    Then, it abruptly hit them.

    Winter had fallen in the Spring Courts, or��so she thought.

    As the dark, shape-shifting demons moved closer, surrounding the spring faeries in every direction, trapping them inside the faerie circles, Luna felt like the environment was ice cold��as cold as wintry as the second circle of Hell, Luxen''s Kingdom.

    Even as a vampire, the cold was too intense for her��a Vampire Archdemon--to handle.

    How much more if she was a mere spring faerie?

    It felt like all of them were being dragged into the ice-cold depths of the Second Circle of Hell.

    Tiny hairs of Luna''s skin stood on its end as she shivered in fear, so afraid that this was Luxen''s legion that hade to take her and im his demon heir.

    The cold reached into the canals of her ears as it seeped deeper into her pores, creeping its way into the bloodstreams until it reached the heart.

    From afar, Luna could have sworn that they were King Zephyr and his Shadow Masters, deciding to visit the Ostara to join the celebration so that they could satisfy their curiosity and pay respects to the King and Queen of the Spring Courts.

    Upon a closer look, Luna realized those gliding dark creatures with towering heights weren''t shadows.

    Luna had ruled out that it was King Zephyr''s doing because she couldn''t find any valid reasons why the Shadow Kingdom would attack the Spring Courts out-of-the-blue.

    If King Zephyr had resentment with the Spring Monarchs, he should have done this a long time ago, leaving Luna��who just came back from Hell��and Apollyon out of this.

    Luna had this inkling that these demons were the souls of the faeries who almost turned into demons before her husband killed them.

    Was this the demonic faerie soul''s revenge for torturing them with cast iron and burning their tainted, evil forms?

    The demons'' sharp ws wrapped around the spring faerie''s neck, pulling their victims'' faces towards them.

    They opened their mouths without holding back, almost ripping their jaws until the bloody gash reached the victim''s ears.

    The ghastly shadow demons were sessful in possessing the bodies of the spring faeries.

    Luna''s eyes widened as she covered her mouth in shock.

    All of the guests gathered on the ground nced up, gasping at the strange sight.

    A hand gripped her arm, and she nced sideways, only to meet his sapphire gaze.

    It was her husband.

    Relieved, Luna''s fear dissipated in an instant. Apollyon promised to keep her safe no matter what.

    ''I''ll protect you.'' Apollyon''s promise rang in her ears over and over, and she trusted that line, enforcing her iron grip on her primal fear so that she could remain logical and properly analyze the situation.

    The Spring Monarchs remained calm as if waiting for these dark apparitions'' next move as the rest of the spring faeries tried to catch the ones who fell like birds who had been shot on air.

    Every guest in Ostara released blood-curdling screams.

    All creatures were in hysterics, fearing off their aura like a tsunami, washing away their bodies into oblivion.

    The legion operated like they were shadows�� shadow-like shapeshifters, to be exact, forming into a colossal ck gauntlet as it smashed the wooden docks into smithereens, leaving a half-circle.

    The loud explosive sound made it sound like a leviathan had fallen from the heavens.

    In that split second before the shadow gauntlet hit them and strike them dead, Apollyon teleported Luna in a safe space, closer to the Spring Monarch and disappeared afterwards, leaving her with Prince Aspen, who was protecting Lady rence, the King and Queen of the Spring Courts, Princess Alisabethe and Prince Aelfric.

    "I''ll be back for a while. Stick with the King and the Queen." Apollyon said urgently as he hugged her and squeezed her tight, followed with a kiss. "I have to do something to save us."

    He released her and turned his back.

    In a snap of a finger, her husband, who swore he would protect her, disappeared.

    "Apollyon!" She called out around her, looking for Apollyon, but he was gone.

    She had lost her husband amidst the disruption, and Prince Aelfric held her hand and brought her behind him in a protective gesture.

    "Where is Apollyon?" She screamed to herself as she searched for her husband in the anxious crowd, not expecting an answer.

    If Luna saw the docks of Krinoniapolis in a bird''s eye view, it would appear like a god had eaten thendmark like a cookie.

    "You''re Highness." Prince Aelfric replied, breathless with exertion.

    It appeared like he had run a distance to stick with the rest of the monarchs just in case they needed to initiate high-level magic together, keeping each other in the family safe as well.

    He nced at Luna, clenching her fists in reassurance. "I think the Vampire King wanted to do something about the bonfire before it gets worse."

    "I apologize, Prince Aelfric." Luna gripped her supposed lover''s hand on her wrist and pushed them away. "You might think me vulnerable at this time of crisis�� but please don''t hold my hand."

 Chapter 381 - Krinoniapolis Massacre

    <h4>Chapter 381 - Krinoniapolis Massacre</h4>

    "You might think me vulnerable at this time of crisis�� but please don''t hold my hand."

    Baring her teeth, she frowned at him as she pointed an using finger at his clean suit. "My husband would not appreciate it."

    "I am your lover, Your Highness." Prince Aelfric''s eyebrows knitted in confusion as he settled a palm over his chest. "You should be familiar with my touch whether or not we are in the presence of the Vampire King or not."

    Luna''s soul was too sensitive even to understand the bullshiting out of the prince''s mouth.

    The mass paranoia made her double over, consumed by the sheer panic of her separation from her husband and the safety of their baby.

    "Brother. Not today. "Princess Alisabethe clutched Prince Aelfric''s shoulder as she looked at the ground, then returned her gaze to Luna with disgust for daring to vomit in front of them."This isn''t the time and ce to argue about that."

    She knew she wasn''t acting like the Empress of the Vampire Realm but who cared about etiquette when she felt like crap all of a sudden?

    Luna, ''pregnancy'' and danger never mixed well.

    She felt sick to the stomach, and she had to let this stress out, or she might faint from the pressure building up inside her mind.

    "Your Highness," Lady rence was immediately on her side with a Faerie Prince chasing after her. "Are you alright?"

    "rence!" Prince Aspen shouted as he gripped her upper arm with his fingers into her skin. "Don''t try to escape from my sight ever again."

    "Lady rence." Luna straightened her spine as she wiped the corner of her lips clean from any residuals. "You should listen to Prince Aspen."

    Clenching her fists, Luna steeled herself as she gained her courage back.

    Her husband must be doing something important that he had to go somewhere to save them all.

    This wasn''t the time to cower because she had literally been to Hell and back. "Tonight is a dangerous time for humans."

    These demons operate like they were one��with a single mind, controlling their movements--or�� these ghastly apparitions were sensing each other as they navigate in their surroundings.

    Luna couldn''t��for the life of her��knew who were controlling these demons since it was rare to see a demonic legion merge in unison without an Archdemon Master.

    The Archdemon Master wasn''t that powerful to control a legion from Hell.

    Luna''s intuition told her that it could be Lilith''s conjurer.

    The demonic apparitions--where their face should have been--were just an expanse of grey skin with two decaying craters where their eyes as if these creatures werepletely wiped out of their identities.

    Luna should have expected this, not noticing that she already summoned the zing sword of Hellfire in her right hand while her other hand held a scarlet shield edged with gold.

    A shadow of a raven mid-flight emzoned the shield.

    She wasn''t sure how she brought this forth��utilizing Archdemon Magic had proven itself unpredictable.

    The possessed faeries charged at the untainted ones and killed them with their bare hands, tearing them apart with their ws.

    Face turning pallid, Lady rence cried out when one jumped at them.

    He almost had Lady rence in his grasp, but Prince Aspen lifted his hand, crushing the possessed faerie''s windpipe without touching him.

    Prince Aspen was theplete opposite of Apollyon because when Apollyon killed a creature, his hatred was almost palpable.

    There was always a reason behind his intense rage, but Prince Aspen was a different story.

    There was an eerie calmness in the Faerie Prince''s feminine features��almost serene.

    Blood spurted into Luna''s face as she watched the organs exploding out of the evil faerie''s ribcage from the extreme pressure of Prince Aspen''s power.

    How easy was it for Prince Aspen to kill his own kin without batting an eye?

    When Luna stabbed another possessed faerie who dared to advance towards them in the heart with her sword of Hellfire, she watched the bedevilled creature in horror when his eyes rolled at the back of his head, his muscles turning rigid before he fell to the ground.

    The evil spirit left the body in a thick dark cloud of smoke, returning its original form before its senses zeroed in on another faerie to possess, entering into another spring faerie''s mouth.

    Luna''s frowned as she pulled her sword out of the dead faerie''s body.

    The poor faerie Luna had killed with the sword had perished while the real criminal escaped, and the new host parted her lips into a scream, making the demon enter the body with ease.

    The spring faerie, chosen to be the new host of this parasitic demon, had her bright green eyes foggy as it shifted her pupils into white.

    It shivered in its ce and began killing the rest, snatching the wild child in her mother''s arms when it was within her reach.

    The possessed faerie held the child in a headlock as if she was about to rip her head off.

    Muscles turning rigid as she fisted the hilt of her sword, Luna swung at the possessed faerie and immediately cut off her head before it could hurt the child.

    She killed the rest of the demonic faeries in a few seconds as the possessed bodiesy broken on the floor, covered in blood.

    More blood.

    Burnt flesh.

    Blood everywhere, dripping thick on the docks which remained in the Ostara.

    Luna would have never thought that this beautiful spring night could have turned darker than it was because of these demons, turning the nearby river into ink with just their collective presence.

    She realized that it was useless to kill all the new hosts of these demons because these evil spirits would leave the dead body like it was a mere shell��a vessel�� without suffering any consequences.

    Luna didn''t know if her sword of Hellfire could hurt them, but every time her sword touched their skin, their flesh released white-hot steam as if their new host couldn''t stand its scorching mes of Hell.

 Chapter 382 - Rainstorms On Fire

    <h4>Chapter 382 - Rainstorms On Fire</h4>

    No sound came out from the mouths of the possessed faeries when the sword of Hellfire burned the evil spirits from the inside out.

    It was rather a silent scream from their parted lips but the manifestation of their torment sent signals straight into her brain��a roaring sound, getting louder and louder--before the parasitic demons find another host to live in.

    She straightened as she nced around at her surroundings, evaluating the battle.

    Oh, goddess!

    They have a lot of demons to y when they weren''t supposed to be in this Realm.

    If she continued to fight the possessed faeries��killing them with Hellfire��these demons will gain victory, nheless, because these parasites would jump from host to host until no creature was left.

    Luna noticed the smoke of the bonfire raised far behind Prince Aelfric''s back, the ashes simr to the colour of his hair floating into the ethers.

    The wildfire turned the dark sky like it was sunset all over again, its fiery orange mes devouring the massive gold and ivory statues of the King and Queen of the Spring Courts when it finally had a taste of the tall Doric columns at each corner of the docks as it crumbled down in the chaos.

    The massive ze which all of the faeries danced around during the joyous ceremony had turned into a monster, licking everything it reached aze.

    Perhaps, Prince Aelfric was right.

    Apollyon vanished to deal with the rming wildfire.

    It was getting out of hand. Luna didn''t think that her husband had abandoned her when things got tough.

    The rest of the spring faeries who have pure souls should be prioritized.

    Her lips curved upward not because her Archdemon side marvelled in ruins, but she loved that Apollyon understood that she was capable of protecting herself.

    People ran around to escape the debris from the Spring King and Queen''s golden statue and the rest of the structures made for the celebration falling over their heads.

    Everyone was anxious to get away from the docks.

    The spring faeries were also afraid to risk flying because they might be caught by the demons and possessed their bodies, decreasing their chances of making it out alive.

    Luna guessed the ck night wasn''t so dark from the shadow demons anymore because of the roaring red wildfire spreading through the wooden docks��even turning the sky into an ominous blue-green and purple as the dark fog covered the full moon''s gleam.

    Like Luna, Apollyon also held a heavy sword of his own.

    As she looked around in a three-sixty-degree turn, Luna finally caught a glimpse of her husband as he stood in the middle of the battle between the possessed spring faeries and the pure ones, facing the river in a calm observation.

    Her husband reacted fast.

    It was a good idea to focus on putting out the fire first, for the enormous bonfire had escted into a firestorm with every blow of the strong winds.

    Did her husband realize that it was useless to kill the tainted spring faeries since the demons would jump from one creature to another, controlling them like they mere puppets, and they were the ones who manipte the strings��their bodies and their movements?

    It was time to stop the fire, especially if the rainstorm the Spring Monarchs had brought forth wasn''t effective.

    Like Apollyon, King Nuada had also figured out early that the fire was a serious disadvantage in this battle, crippling their chances of survival?

    Apollyon stretched his sword in front of him at chest level before he slowly raised them upwards.

    Arge air basin carrying hogsheads of water as it sloshed in its invisible container that he almost emerged, almost consuming the entirety of the river water.

    As he carefully brought the tip of his sword heavenwards, the mammoth-sized basin containing the river water followed suit, hovering above their heads.

    Apollyon abruptly lowered his sword, and the aerial basin broke, releasing all of its contents, as the liquid dripping down like fat raindrops which were strongerpared to what King Nuada had created. It was like a firestorm in the middle of a rainstorm.

    The Spring King had summoned a typhoon which blew gusts of wind rather than the water they needed.

    Some of the mes had turned to smoke as the heavy rain sessfully extinguished the mes as it aided King Nuada''s rainstorms.

    Ostara, which should be a joyous celebration of the First Day of Spring�� had ended up in bloodshed for all the other courts to witness.

    Luna was afraid that only the strongest��the Spring Monarchs, Apollyon and Luna�� will remain.

    If these demons were sessful in possessing all the bodies of the powerful ones, then not only would every single creature be dead, but the Spring Courts will be annihted from the map of the Faerie Realm from all the power these Monarchs hold in thisst battle.

    Everyone was a mere puppet in the end��an empty shell with no thoughts and feelings for this unknown demonic Legion to y with.

    Will Luna never know who the Archdemon was��the puppet master who had the brain behind this, controlling this demonic legion?

    Will they be able to possess their bodies and control them as well?

    As if sensing that the powerful monarchs had a strategy in mind, the demonic apparition stretched their ghastly arms in unison, effectively covering the moonlight.

    In a few seconds, their greyish forms held each other''s hands, connecting and stretching into a massive cloak of ck fabric as if they were the reincarnation of night itself��the absence of light��as they covered the guests of Ostara in the entirety of the faerie circle.

    Luna held her breath as her heartbeat raced, nearly exploding out of her chest.

    In her time in Hell, Luna never saw this type of demon that can stretch into anything to this extent.

    She and the rest were trapped into the dome-shaped cage of darkness created by these dangerous demons through their malleable forms.

    Gritting her teeth, she squinted as she looked for Apollyon.

    "Apollyon!" Luna called out, and it came out as a husky screech, almost close to tears when her glowing lights wouldn''t work in this dark cage.

    Apollyon must have tried too because she could sense Apollyon''s frustration at the back of her mind.

    Their mental link through the blood bond had strengthened, and Luna immediately shut her husband down with barriers so that he wouldn''t figure out her secret.

    "Luna!" The voice was as faint as if her husband was getting far away from him.

    ''I''m sorry for shutting you out, husband.'' Luna thought as silent tears streamed down her face.

    Luna, despite her vampire''s eyes, could not see a thing.

    It was as if she had gone blind.

    The stampede in front of her increased the distance between her and her husband.

    Stumbling in her steps, Luna almost got thrown to the side as bodies bumped against her shoulders, shoving her with their outstretched arms.

    A burly faerie��which could have been a muscr sentinel��almost mmed her to the ground.

    The piercing screams behind her drowned out her voice as she called out for her husband.

    "Apollyon!" Feeling ustrophobic in this small dark space of the legion''s trap, Luna wrapped her arms around her stomach in a protective gesture if someone identally hurt her precious baby. "Where are you?"

 Chapter 383 - Fear Is An Illusion

    <h4>Chapter 383 - Fear Is An Illusion</h4>

    It was hard to see the enemy inside the demonic legion''s trap, so her sword and shield were useless.

    Luna squeezed the hilt of her sword of Hellfire as a parting gesture before she let her weapons vanish from her hands.

    Learning how to utilize Archdemon Magic was the best skill she had acquired in Hell, and if she might say so, she would even go as far as thanking the grand Torture for the torment he had inflicted on her when she thought it would never end.

    She was grateful for that bastard Satan, Ravin''s uncle, for humiliating her every ss while he taught Archdemon Magic to fledglings like her.

    Satan imed that he gave special treatment to his favorite students to grow stronger and learn the lessons fast.

    Clenching her fists, Luna would never forget how Satan brought her in his stupid ss for all his students to see, with her hands and feet tied into a chain with an iron ball like she was a half-human and half-beast in a freak show.

    She was the only one who didn''t wear a hood out of all the students, exposing her open wounds, long white scars, and bruises for disy, for the other fledglings'' delectations.

    Luna was just a random fledgling to be mocked to them, for she was the only one who had her face shown to the others.

    Satan made sure that every fledgling would remember her, marking her as easy prey.

    She might not be participating in the Battle Royale as a mature Archdemon to possess a Circle in Hell and be a ruler because her husband sessfully conjured her back to the Faerie Realm.

    Her muscles tightened in readiness, spreading the balls of her feet in a fighting stance.

    All of the torment she experienced in Hell and the sacrifices she made�� was all for naught.

    It was a preparation for gradually building her power up to be ready for this moment.

    The Archdemon Magic, she worked so hard to gain, would not let her down, but she should gain the courage to fight this unknown Legion with her acquired Magic.

    Pain can be transformed into power.

    Luna will not flee from pain and fear, but rather, she must use them to find the true essence of what she desired, turning it into courage.

    Luna regained her bnce and straightened her posture, deciding to shut her eyes.

    Arms outstretched, she let her sense of touch guide her.

    It might give her the focus she neededpared to squinting her eyes in the dark to make out the shapes in front of her.

    It was strange that her vampire eyesight didn''t work well in this cage like she was trapped in another dimension where the dark wasn''t the dark at all.

    That must be why her vision didn''t work properly.

    There was no moment where she didn''t struggle with hardships, so it didn''t make sense why she was crying like a baby.

    Biting her lip, Luna''s eyebrows knitted in determination as she hurriedly wiped the tears from her wet cheeks.

    The diabolical presence of these unknown Legion amplified her dark emotions��one she didn''t want to deal with.

    There was no use crying for Apollyon when she was the one who shut him out of their mental link, creating mental and physical distance between them.

    Luna swallowed hard as her hands limped to her sides.

    As per Apollyon''s words, she got her priorities twisted--choosing a moment of separation with her husband than risking her secret.

    A memory of the events regarding the tainted faeries shed in her thoughts, and she wondered why any of these demons hadn''t possessed any royals of the Spring Monarch yet.

    She advanced and killed many of the possessed faeries, but none of these devils entered her mouth, taking ownership of her body.

    None took advantage of Prince Aspen, Prince Aelfric, and Princess Alisabethe.

    Of course, these demons wouldn''t make the mistake of possessing a human such as Lady rence.

    Nope, not in the presence of Prince Aspen.

    Wait a minute...

    Did power prevent these dark apparitions from taking over the bodies of the creatures who held strength and courage in their souls?

    Can these demons sense fear, entering the bodies of whoever carried the greatest willpower while the rest was spared?

    Couragees from power��in believing that one could defeat all odds they mighte across, including these demons.

    Fear was also contagious emotion, causing mass hysteria��a shackle.

    This collective cage was a unified illusion of the masses��an unbreakable cage of their own making.

    This must be the reason why all the creatures were trapped in this dark cage because these unknown Legion fed on terror, corrupting the weak souls until they became a shadow, like them, until no one was left.

    These demons increased their power by consuming the fear of the masses, causing this hysteria.

    But fear��

    Fear is an illusion, and one must learn how to deal with it so they can get out of this cage.

    Luna should face her fears, like how a rock showed its resistance to the wind, remaining still and quiet before choosing the best option to fight.

    From mere observation, one can understand how to change their strategy by analyzing the situation from a neutral perspective.

    She must remove herself from the situation first, imagining it as if she was from the outside looking in to think clearly and see the big picture.

    "What should I do?" Luna asked herself in silence as she listened to her intuition.

    Something else inside her chose to answer.

    "You shall rx, child. Allow the body to guide the spirit before the mind can guide the body." Eyes widening in shock, Luna can hear Hecate''s soft, maternal voice echoing in her mind. "You cannot teach the flesh if it is not willing to learn from you."

    It was a challenge initiated by the Goddess of the Underworld.

    Luna wasn''t a High Priestess of Hecate anymore.

    Why did the Goddess desire to connect with her again?

 Chapter 384 - I Eat

    <h4>Chapter 384 - I Eat</h4>

    Why did the Goddess desire to connect with her again?

    Caving her shoulders in, Luna fought back a groan when the mark of the Triple Moon Goddess burned in her chest.

    As her hand flew to the tattoos, Luna rubbed her palms against the embroidered texture of her top in a poor attempt to soothe it.

    The ache was almost unbearable on her skin, as if someone pressed a firece poker on her skin.

    Despite her sudden loss of sight inside the ck dome made of demons, Luna still heard the roars and snarls of the tainted faeries in her ears, along with the sharp cries and bellows of their victims before they got killed.

    With her hands outstretched, Luna remained untouchable because of her power.

    No evil spirit dared to possess her body because she was an Archdemon herself in a vampire bodysuit.

    These diabolical wraith-like creatures knew��the Archdemon who controlled them knew��who was untouchable or not, and that included her.

    They might not be able to make one of the Spring Monarchs a vessel; that''s why they were demolishing them from the inside, using their own kind to attack one another.

    The brain behind this demonic ambush was a clever one.

    Since her husband had sessfully banished Lilith from her body through the demonic faeries'' blood sacrifice, Luna had a theory that Lilith''s conjurer caused this.

    Who else had ess to Archdemon magic aside from her?

    Luna''s pulse sped up as her heart pounded in angst.

    She must have found a way to counter Prince Aspen''s Fae Magic.

    Didn''t hepletely wipe out the conjurer''s memory from the day she was born until the present?

    Luna''s body tensed as cold sweat trickled down her back.

    ...or did the Archdemon of Envy found a way to stay in the Faerie Realm outside Luna''s body?

    Shaking her head, Luna dismissed the idea.

    It can''t be done.

    She refused even to consider it.

    It was just impossible.

    Nevertheless, it wasn''t only fear fed these shape-shifting demons every time they jumped from one spring faerie to another.

    They also ate their host''s soul to make them stronger and consume the rest of the pure souls in their vicinity.

    This mayhem finally made sense to her!

    It wasn''t just about creating destruction like what these demons were born to do, such as wiping out the existence of the Spring Courts; they also do this to secure a Kingdom of their own, powerful enough to take over the rest of the Faerie Realm��attacking the nearby Faerie Courts (Winter, Summer, and Fall) including the Shadow Realm.

    Her head spun as she felt her legs weaken from that realization.

    Luna''s fears were the real demons to y at this moment.

    She had to do something about the unknown Legion who arrived in Ostara unannounced.

    It was time to trust the Goddess.

    ''Fear is an illusion, child.'' Hecate whispered. ''It''s time to break free.''

    Willingness and drive can guarantee sess.

    Luna slowly purged the crippling anxiety from her mind, body, and soul.

    As she forced her eyes open, Luna froze at what she witnessed.

    Luna can finally see the night sky without the presence of the barriers of the demonic legion.

    She heard her pulse pounding in her temples.

    When she let those negative emotions creep back into the dark recesses of her thoughts, eating her from the inside out, the ck dome trapping them inside took shape.

    Goddess Hecate was right.

    Fear was an illusion...but she couldn''t break this wall down by herself.

    All of the Ostara guests had to help, but it would be hard passing down the information to help the collective.

    Not everyone can remain calm under duress--especially the less brave.

    A cold hand settled on her left shoulder.

    Before Luna could draw her sword and shield back to kill the possessed creature, Apollyon''s husky baritone came out in the dark. "Love."

    Butterflies fluttering her stomach in that single word, she said, breathless. "Apollyon."

    Even if she couldn''t make out his shape when Luna made no conscious effort to get rid of her fear, Luna could feel him as she held unto her husband in a hug.

    Apollyon wrapped her arms around her waist and brought him closer to him, raising her feet off the ground.

    "How did you find me?"

    "You can''t hide from me, wife." She could imagine him grinning with masculine arrogance as he murmured in her ear. "These shape-shifting demons were mere illusions, but only a selected few will know."

    Her husband was a smart Vampire King. "You figured it out."

    "Luna, don''t do it." He said urgently as he gripped her shoulders tight. "I know what you are nning to do."

    "You do?" Luna asked, a bit rmed.

    She couldn''t let him have ess to her memories in Hell.

    "I can hear your thoughts now," Apollyon said, and it came out like a snap.

    Luna flinched, but she recovered immediately when her husband added, "You don''t have to worry about me sticking my nose into your memories in this crucial moment." Apollyon reassured her as he pulled her in his arms.

    "Whatever you are thinking in the present."Concern was evident in his voice. "Don''t do it."

    Her stomach churned, but he didn''t let her fear overwhelm her. "If I don''t, we might not be able to escape."

    "No, we can escape. I found the weakest point on the edge of this and made a small hole on the ground to the other side." Apollyon bent his head, and Luna could feel his moist lips touching the shell of her ear. "It is simr to the barriers I created for the Vampire Kingdom, but the magic didn''t work so well on the barrier itself because of these demons. I had to work hard to destroy a small portion of it and create a hole on the ground."

    "Some parts of this dark barrier are thinning, shifting, changing, so it made sense that some of its coverage are weak." Luna nodded in agreement. "They were hundreds of apparitions... but their forms are too stretched over a wide area to contain all of the guests."

    "Let''s go before they notice the hole I made, and I have to find another weak spot all over again." Apollyon''s said quietly as his hands lowered to her hips, squeezing each side in a pressing need.

    "But the others��''

    "Let them figure it out on their own. Everyone will be dead in this cage, and only the strongest wille out alive. If we wait for them to figure it out---" He trailed off, and his next statement came out jerky."--the creatures around us would not listen anyway."

    Luna considered herself a strong Archdemon, so she might have to make a sacrifice.

    "I''m sorry, husband, but I have to do it." The prerequisite for Archdemon magic��all kinds of magic--is thought. Once put into action, the idea will turn to reality. "For the greater good."

    Even if it felt as if all of Luna''s bones had no strength and her limbs had lost their power, she allowed the Archdemon magic to consume her.

    She would stick to the original n.

    Luna will eat the demons herself.

 Chapter 385 - Demon Snake Spirit

    <h4>Chapter 385 - Demon Snake Spirit</h4>

    Luna will eat the demons herself.

    Luna did it so that she could concentrate on taking her power back inside herself while not allowing the residual strength of her aura to bleed out of her form in this Realm.

    Her jaws clenched in concentration, inhaling through her nose then exhaling through her mouth.

    Luna can discern the image of her form in the sable vision behind her closed lids in her mind''s eye.

    A silver glow epassed her dark form, outlining her shape, as well as the red tendrils of her life force, trying to break free from her.

    Luna''s brows wrinkled as she bit her parched lips.

    This wasn''t good.

    She recalled what Satan had instructed her before.

    These wisps of residual energy were Archdemon magic.

    It should be contained inside the figure in her mental image.

    She grimaced even as she rxed her posture, her palms open as she lifted them high.

    Luna was wasting them due to theck of focus.

    In truth, she was still a newbie when it came to cultivating this higher level of Archdemon Magic.

    She wasn''t the best yet at the time when she fled from the Grand Torturer''s prison.

    Memories of what happened in Hell disturbed her in full force.

    Her Master Satan might be a bastard in Hell, but his ruthless training in Archdemon Magic taught her how to increase the magical force of her soul to withstand any torment from the Grand Torturer; that was why she survived the ordeal for months.

    It was a repetition of healing and hurt��poison and antidote��until her husband helped her break the cycle with the demonic faeries'' death.

    No��they might have helped in conjuring her back to her vessel, but somehow, her concerns with the demonic sacrifice were right.

    Did Prince Aspen, Apollyon, Cederic and King Zephyr believe her hunches?

    Her body tensed as her muscles quivered in anger.

    Luna might have no proof yet that these unknown demonic legion were the avenging souls of the demonic faeries, but she found no other culprit aside from them.

    A Legion couldn''t work together with discipline without its Archdemon Master.

    No Archdemon could bring their Legion to attack the Faerie Realm no matter how powerful they were, not even Satan, because all Archdemons were trapped in Hell except Luna.

    Luna wasn''t sure if Lilith waspletely gone from the Faerie Realm when Apollyon told her that she upied her body for years.

    Did she just magically vanish from Luna''s body, or was she able to possess her conjurer without them knowing when Prince Aspen already imed he wiped out the solitary Fae''s memory?

    Everything all boiled down to Lilith and the conjurer.

    Luna felt a slight chill at the back of her spine.

    The deaths of the demonic faeries in their hands came faster than they thought.

    Like a rubber band, Apollyon and the rest can only stretch the evil crime so far before it smacked them in the face.

    Apollyon might have respected her decision, for he didn''t bother her with small talks.

    She could feel his warm presence, protecting her from the tainted faeries who mighte near them as she focused on her manifestations

    Yet, her mind was sessful in distracting her with more notions.

    If she didn''t pull through with this quick, all of the inner mes of spring faeries would be extinguished��and for what reason were they murdered if the rest of the Faerie Courts found out?

    Fear.

    Their cause of death couldn''t sound any more pathetic than this.

    Maybe, there was a mistake in Apollyon''s blood offering.

    Perhaps, it was wrong to allow Prince Aspen to burn the dead bodies.

    Luna knew how sacrifices to demons work.

    The Archdemon of Sloth told her that Archdemons usually prefer creatures with pure souls such as children, virgins and unicorns because they are the most delicious gifts and the rarest to consume. What will happen if evil beings were sacrificed?

    Would the ritual work well?

    Would it fail?

    If the blood sacrifice was faulty because they didn''t follow the rules��

    Panic was a knife twisting in her gut��slow and painful.

    Did that mean Lilith was still inside her body and not sent back to Hell?

    Another blurred imagery shed at the back of her mind,

    She let her consciousness tread forward with care, grasping the precious thing with her mental hands as she clung to it like a fish''s mouth caught on a hook.

    Luna wasn''t sure if it was a memory of hers, but something inside her whispered that this evocative impression was important.

    As if she was spying on it through a looking ss, Luna waited for the blurry mosaic to sharpen into rity.

    All the tiny hairs in Luna''s body stood on its end.

    Her supernatural senses heightened all the more when Lilith stirred in her sleep as shey alone in the cold and dreary dark universe where she was the only bright thing.

    With wide eyes, Luna froze and held her breath in terror, expecting Lilith to open her eyes but... she just brought her knees closer to her body as she hugged herself in her glorious dishabille.

    Luna didn''t waste time and checked her soul out of that haunting picture, focusing all of her consciousness to secure and confine Archdemon Magic inside her physical form.

    Lilith was still inside her body, and the blood sacrifice was a failure.

    Shaking her head, Luna pulled herself together and drew a deep breath.

    She got rid of the rising anxiety of that knowledge by emptying her mind.

    "Daemonium. Anguis. Spiritu."

    Parting her lips wide, Luna''s pulse raced as she finally drew out the Archdemon Magic from her body.

    It came out of her mouth, forming a giant mist of a bright green snake as its shiny body went on forever, slithering into the atmosphere.

    It had red eyes and sharp fangs the size of a mammoth''s tusks as sparks of lightning came out of its bright scales.

    When Luna''s Archdemon Snake Spirit took an experimental lick on the shadow barriers trapping all of them, Luna could only tell one thing.

    She was positive they were the souls of the demonic faeries.

    And Lilith wasn''t gone for good.

 Chapter 386 - Snake Empress

    <h4>Chapter 386 - Snake Empress</h4>

    **************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    **************************

    Now that Apollyon figured out that these demons formed a barrier to lock them inside this indestructible cage of shadow hemisphere, his sensitive sight alternated into reality and illusion flickering into quick shes of dark and light.

    In battling these demons, one had to rx his muscles, make their mind nk for a long period, and practice discernment.

    If Apollyon eliminated the fear in his mind with a conscious iron will, the barriers created by the demons vanished into nothing.

    He swore if other creatures stared at the barriers for too long, they would realize that it was mass hysteria that caused this unfortunate circumstance.

    It would probably trigger a seizure to all those who are brave enough to distinguish the mour.

    Wow.

    After this was over and all was well, Apollyon would, no doubt, witness the Spring Courts'' humiliation for not recognizing the strong mour these demons used after feeding on dark energies.

    Of course, it would hurt the pride of the Spring Courts.

    It would be hard to admit defeat when the Fair Folk are the Masters of illusions and mour themselves.

    Despite its shadow-like movements and wraith-like appearance, the demons'' forms were corporeal, and like the rest of the Demon Kind, they can possess any creature that they perceived as owning a weak soul.

    These evil spirits can sense the weak easily through the creature''s overwhelming negative emotions, sending these demons a signal, words written all over their faces which said ''EAT ME.''

    These insidious demons��

    They still existed in the here and now and were real, except that some of the things they do weren''t.

    All demons didn''t have a physical form in this Worldly Realm, and their strength could be measured by the number of creatures who can see them in their naked eye, and they needed a body to possess to dere their wicked existence.

    With his eyes shut tight, Apollyon silenced his mind to hear his wife''s thoughts��her inner monologues��to sense her in the pitch-ck atmosphere.

    Nobody dared attack him as the demons continued to pounce unto the weaker spring faeries��to possess their bodies, kill the rest who was unlucky to be in their vicinity without thought.

    When their host got killed, they would transfer into another.

    He frowned when he almost couldn''t detect the location of his wife.

    After a few minutes of catching her soft and inaudible spiels, Apollyon didn''t let go, taking hold of them with his imaginary hands as if it was a golden thread, leading him back to her.

    ''I will eat.'' Hearing those peculiar words in his wife''s voice, Apollyon teleported behind her and clutched her shoulders.

    Apollyon''s heart stopped momentarily when Luna enveloped him in a hug after copping a feel of his muscr shape.

    With eyebrows rising in surprise, Apollyon''s arms hang awkwardly in the air before he let them settle in her back.

    He smirked and squeezed her, his heart filled with warmth.

    In times of crisis, Luna never forgot to remind him of his importance in her life.

    Luna and Apollyon could escape if they found the weakest point on the vault''s surface.

    He exined that to his wife, but she shook his head instead, refusing to heed his game n.

    Ah.

    Apollyon sighed in frustration, but he listened to Luna''s statement before judging her but not even his wife could escape his disapproving scowl in his face when he heard such a stupid, reckless idea.

    Hundreds of questions bombarded in his anxious brain.

    Eating demons?

    Do Archdemons feed on weaker demons?

    Could Luna handle eating demons in her vampire body without harming the baby?

    He kept all those queries inside and pursed his lips shut, or else he might regret it.

    These were the times where she didn''t like that his wife had a mind of her own, for she was determined to rescue the rest without delivering her pregnant self to safety first.

    Sometimes, Apollyon just wanted to give himself a mental p, you know, wondering why his wife was concerned about the rest of the spring faeries, disregarding the one creature that she should only care about��their child.

    Nevertheless, Apollyon trusted Luna''s judgment no matter how nonsensical and outrageous it was because she was an Archdemon who knew what''s best to handle these demons and defeat them.

    Apollyon will let her do her thing while he protected her on the sidelines, making sure that no tainted creatures would advance and attack them.

    If his wife''s strategy didn''t work, then his n will be thest resort.

    With his back facing Luna, Apollyon circled her as he shed at the possessed faeries with vigor using his sword.

    Nothing aided him except his supernatural sense.

    Strong gusts of wind alerted Apollyon, and he looked over his shoulder to check what was going on.

    He could feel the air currents throwing sparks around his wife, including him, and he flinched when it crackled under his skin.

    Apollyon could barely see a thing, but the sudden bursts of light made him witness what was happening around them.

    He couldn''t summon a simple glowing orb inside this trap, which might also be Luna''s situation.

    She must be using Archdemon Magic so she could produce these sporadic bursts of luminescence.

    What happened next made Apollyon step backward away from his wife the moment she parted her lips.

    Green mist emerged out of her small mouth in thick smoke as it alternated into wisps.

    Apollyon continued to retreat from his wife, craning his neck as he nced up, up, up to the creature forming from the thick smog as lightning shed around its shiny scales.

    His wife summoned a strong colossal serpent with a heavy mass almost asrge as Lc Manor, and it was thergest snake he had ever seen��the greatest size for a snake to exist in a Realm.

    It could easily tower castles and mountains, and his massive fangs could cut down ancient barks.

    The serpent''s color was of green jade, and its yellow rings ran down its scales.

    As its reptilian eyes opened, the snake nced down at him with its sharp gaze before it shifted its attention to the shadow barrier and took a long lick at its surface.

    Apollyon could hear the serpent swallow, rolling the taste of the demons in its tongue before its triangr-shaped head withdrew far enough and catapulted itself at the thick barriers, destroying the wall with a loud explosion.

    The forceful attack made a gigantic hole, sending the shadow demons to fill the hole with their forms, cover them in panic before the rest of the spring faeries could see them, and fly away from their makeshift prison.

    Now that the serpent realized that space increased because of the hole, it didn''t feel constricted anymore as it stretched towards the crater and coiled its body, revealing more length behind it as it rattled its tail in excitement.

    The rest of the pitch-ck shadows formed a thick, dark ring as it choked the neck of the serpent, which settled at the hole of the shadow barriers, crushing it into a pulp.

    Apollyon stood there, mesmerized as he watched the two demons'' familiars battle with each other.

 Chapter 387 - Demon Serpents VS. Shadow Demons

    <h4>Chapter 387 - Demon Serpents VS. Shadow Demons</h4>

    **************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ***************************

    Apollyon stood there with his jaw ck in awe, mesmerized as he watched the two demon familiars battle with each other.

    He almost released his sword because what else can he and the rest of the Spring Monarchs do?

    They could only fight fire with fire��a strong demon against a weak demon��so they should trust and leave everything up to his wife.

    These unknown devils knew better than to mess with an Archdemon��Apollyon''s Empress��if they were aware of the Demonic Hierarchy in Hell.

    Apollyon knew that these evil spirits knew how powerful Luna was from the demonic familiar she summoned to defeat them.

    Snakes had long been associated with dragons, and the ascended masters of dragons were Archdemons.

    The jaded snake opened its mouth wide, let out its tongue as it squirmed, wriggling in the air.

    It didn''t take long before the loud hissing turned to a piercing scream.

    Apollyon thought it came from the snake, but the loud shrieks reverberating in his ears were closer to him, and it sounded familiar.

    When Apollyon nced around in panic, his eyes widened in shock, immediately materializing behind Luna, who was crouched in a crawl, with one palm and both of her knees on the wooden docks stained with blood��blood that wasn''t hers, thank the goddess!

    Fixing her stare on the ground, Luna''s long silver hair curtained her face while her other hand clutched her throat, wing at her skin as she coughed uncontrobly.

    Apollyon licked his dry lips in worry, observing her with wrinkled brows.

    Wrapping his arms around her waist, he pulled her back to a sitting position so he could see what was wrong with her.

    Apollyon''s gaze flitted from her to the chaos around them.

    He situated himself in front of his wife as he forced her to face him by cupping her jaw with his shaky hands.

    Sweat trickled on his temples as he shook her hard, waking her up from her lucid dream.

    "Luna." He growled low as he gently pped her cheek awake. "Stop hurting yourself."

    Why was she raking the sensitive skin of her throat with her fingernails when there was nothing��

    Hurt clenched his heart into a tight squeeze.

    Apollyon couldn''t stand seeing Luna rip the front of her embroidered top, exposing the bloodycerations oozing from her ivory skin.

    Grabbing her wing hand from her neck, Apollyon reced them with his fingers on her slender neck, raising her head towards him.

    Her head bobbed sluggishly from side to side as if her neck couldn''t carry the weight of it�� or perhaps, she was drunk with the unlimited power the Archdemon Magic had given her.

    "Luna." As he crouched closer to her and bent forward, Apollyon murmured as he caressed her silver hair away from her face and tucked them behind her ear.

    Apollyon gazed at her with rasping breaths, and Luna watched him with a nk stare with bloodshot, hooded eyes.

    "Are you alright?" It was like talking to someone whose consciousness wasn''t present in this dimension.

    Yes, Luna''s body and soul were here, but her mind��

    She wasn''t present.

    Luna''s green eyes dted into glowing red pupils, taking over the opaque whites of her eyes.

    What he saw just now affirmed his spections about her mind.

    Luna''s consciousness transferred to the demonic serpent.

    Apollyon had seen the same sharp gaze when it nced down at him during the fight.

    The summoned demon spirit was a part of her.

    When some of the dark apparitions molded into a thick dark band shrinking to choke the serpent, it led to Luna''s pain as she wed at her throat, trying to get rid of it since she felt the attack deep in her bones.

    "Wife." Apollyon urged as one of his arms supported her back, cradling her, while the other one shoved the silver strands away from her ashen face.

    Luna''s eyes appeared dead to him.

    ''No!''? He shook his head in refusal.

    Apollyon clung to her as he took deep breaths to calm himself.

    He wouldn''t let himself feel fear, or he would be providing the enemy with more strength instead of helping his wife.

    "Luna." Swallowing hard, Apollyon repeated with calm. "Tell me if there is anything I can do to help you."

    "There''s nothing you can do to help me." Apollyon knew she heard him when Luna smiled.

    She let her eyelids fall shut, and his eyebrows knitted in confusion when she added with an apologetic sigh. "You should let go of me before you get hurt."

    "Why?" Apollyon clenched his fists, continuing to stroke his knuckles on her cheeks.

    She wasn''t going to sacrifice herself and their heiress for the greater good, will she?

    Infiros." Breathing hard as if it was herst, Luna gritted her teeth as she recited the magic spells. "Ignitio."

    There was no response for a few seconds before a blinding light covered her entire form.

    Apollyon ced one forearm over his vision so that it wouldn''t damage his sensitive sight.

    The immense heat and lightning sparks jumped out of Luna''s body.

    Apollyon prided himself as a pureblood with a high threshold for pain, but the hurt forced him to let her go but in the blink-of-an-eye before Apollyon could remove his burning arm that cradled her, the weight lifting off him.

    Luna vanished from his embrace.

    Muscles tensing with extreme vignce, Apollyon stood up in a hurry and aimlessly ran around the demonic trap.

    The mirage kept distorting his perception because of his rising panic, making him lose all hope as he looked for his wife.

    He jerked a frustrated hand through his hair as his eyes scanned the spring faeries--the pure and the tainted ones as they fought each other--looking for his wife''s silver hair.

    Where had she gone off to?

    Did Luna suddenly have the power to teleport or was she taken back to Hell by the Grand Torturer?

    ''Please not now!'' He beseeched and when Apollyon nced above him to pray to the gods and goddess, the colossal serpent entered his vision.

 Chapter 388 - Griffins

    <h4>Chapter 388 - Griffins</h4>

    ***************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ***************************

    ''Please not now!'' Apollyon beseeched, and when he nced above him to pray to the gods and goddesses, demanding them to show his missing wife, the colossal serpent entered his vision.

    Another flush of adrenaline tingled through his body from the sight.

    There was no reason to be startled at its appearance when the demon serpent was hard to miss as it floated in the sky.

    With every stretch of its thick and lengthy form, it mmed against the demon barriers, and the recipient of the damage shattered into specks of dust, effectively destroying it without meaning to.

    Some demons weren''t able to return to their individual forms.

    The rest would either morph their remaining demon essence into another whole demon, or they would cease to exist because they burned themselves out from consuming too much power after taking in damaging blows.

    Maybe, fear wasn''t enough to sustain them as a demonic Legion because of the snake spirit.

    All the spring faeries were ignorant of how these shape-shifting demons operate, and Apollyon couldn''t me them either because he wasn''t aware of it in the first ce.

    Apollyon even raised a curious eyebrow during his discussion with Luna when he figured out that his wife also knew about it.

    Apollyon''s wife was smart when it came to how the enemy worked and making him feel loved and desired, but the rest of his wife''s charms will be up for debate.

    It was nice that the serpent hated to be constrained in such a tight and enclosed space.

    Apollyon blinked rapidly along with the rest of the spring faeries when the demons who possessed the tainted ones moved out of their bodies to aid their fellow demons attacking Luna''s serpent, uniting their sprits on the ck circlet.

    The thick midnight ring which throttled the snake''s neck shattered into pieces as the serpent shed its old skin to reveal a new one.

    Apollyon felt it in their dark auras that these devils were highly strung, and some of them didn''t recover from the heat of the demon snake spirit.

    The serpent''s new skin of ck and red burned the fear-eating demons with Hellfire, effectively weakening their troops.

    He finally saw his wife settled at the top of the snake''s triangr head.

    It was Luna''s rightful throne as the summoner of the demon familiar.

    Apollyon''s rigid posture released all its tension.

    Chills ran down his spine as the tiny hairs on his neck stood on its end as he watched Luna, mesmerized by the silver-haired beauty that was his wife.

    Her dripping wet locks were a gorgeous mess of curls as the strong winds blew them into all sorts of directions.

    He had never seen her look so smug even as she wore a poker face with her brows slightly knitting in a grim determination��so bold and confident to face death itself in her torn halterneck top and the loose tunic he tied around Luna''s waist, showing her shapely calves.

    She was an Amazonian Warrior through and through as he saw her sword and shield materialized in her hands.

    Luna had gone to Hell and back, and it was time to prove how powerful she was an Archdemon.

    Even if he appeared busy scrutinizing Luna, Apollyon will remain alert and vignt, using his Fae Magic to catch her if she slipped from the scales and fall.

    As he clenched her fists, Apollyon felt regret that he was a mere audience watching on the sidelines because it was his job as a husband to protect his wife.

    Why was it the other way around?

    He sighed as he bit his lower lip until it bled in ire.

    Never in his entire immortal life as a Vampire King was there a moment where he felt helplessly emascted.

    It wasn''t a good feeling to be a supporting role in the middle of a battlefield.

    After this battle, Apollyon would find ways to covet the power of an Archdemon so that he would be stronger than his wife to protect her.

    Watching Luna attempting to stand up at the top and regaining her bnce as the serpent moved its head around was a feat herself.

    It came to a point where the deformed demons burst into fragments before they could even retreat to regain their energy and attack for the second time.

    Their anxiety leaked out from their barriers around the Demon Snake Spirit was palpable.

    Their nervous tension and the desire to flee from Krinoniapolis vibrated in the air.

    Did these fear-eating demons finally felt fear over the Demon Snake Spirit?

    That must be sad and overwhelming when they were literally the embodiment of fear.

    Apollyon''s lips curved in a sardonic grin.

    This battle wouldn''tst an hour because he already knew who will win.

    Thousands of pieces of old snakeskin with green scales and yellow rings on its cold, shiny form rained on top of their heads as the strong breeze made it descend in slow motion along with the drizzles of rain shower from the Spring Monarch''s typhoon, quenching the remaining mes from the bonfire.

    The demons got rid of the dark prison they built around the spring faeries by separating themselves into individual souls before clustering to morph into a griffin.

    It advanced, quick and nimble, as its paws wed at the snake''s green shield of armor without warning.

    Luna''s serpent was extremely fast in evading the griffin''s sudden attack and sessfully flung itsrge head out of the way and bounced back, tossing the enemy from afar with a victorious hiss.

    The griffin screeched loudly with its beak in a war cry and angrily struck back at Luna in a rampage. Due to its size and length, it was easy for the snake spirit to throw its body towards the demon griffin and coil around the lion''s midriff, constricting t it to death.

    Before the griffin pulled back its head and ate one of the snake''s glowing red eyes or push Luna off her seat of power, she jumped unto the griffin and drove the sword into the dark demon griffin electrocuting it with the red lightninging out of her weapon.

    Immobilized by the severe burns inflicted by the sword, the snake spirit strangled the griffin''s neck before opening its jaws wide enough to swallow the demon griffin whole.

 Chapter 389 - Gone

    <h4>Chapter 389 - Gone</h4>

    *********************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    *********************

    Immobilized by the severe burns inflicted by the sword, the snake spirit strangled the griffin''s neck with its form before opening its jaws wide enough to swallow it whole.

    It was a good thing that his wife was quick enough to pull her heavy sword out of the griffin''s neck before prancing back to the serpent''s head and settled up there!

    The griffin''s wings sprawled as it pped at the roof of the snake''s wide-open mouth, and its hind legs continued to kick at the seams of its muzzle.

    "Luna!" Apollyon bellowed in anguish, wishing that she heard him in her mind.

    He moved about, unable to stand still and settled in one ce.

    As his gaze returned on the giant serpent, Apollyon''s muscles jumped under his skin as he clenched his fists.

    He desired to be with her on top of the serpent''s head, but he wasn''t sure if he wouldnd there correctly because it was moving.

    "No. No." Apollyon muttered to himself as he paced like a maniac, convincing himself that his wife had it under control and there wasn''t a need to mess it up with his sudden presence.

    Apollyon trusted her.

    It was thest kick of the dying hose, anyway�� but in this scenario, it was a griffin.

    The griffin must have believed in its capability to defeat the great serpent.

    They didn''t break into ck shards from their merged shadow form, or maybe��the serpent''s jaws had prevented their escape since its fangs had already sunk deep into its corporeal form.

    The serpent''s muscles twisted and turned as its hook-shaped fangs shoved the demonic griffin inside its throat.

    There was a gigantic bulge on the snake''s body where the shadow griffin passed through.

    Everyone, including the spring faeries on the ground, could monitor its progress.

    Red and white electric sparks shoot off the lump to defend the serpent''s insides from the Legion'' onught engulfed in its digestive juices.

    "You can do it, wife." There was audible stress in his voice and tone as he grounded his teeth, muttering to himself. "I''m right here waiting for you."

    His hands clenched into fists, not letting his gaze of the serpent.

    What was happening to her at the moment?

    Apollyon knew that his wife was hurt from making herself a container for these demons after the giant serpent ate them.

    He had witnessed how Luna wed at her throat when the dark apparitions formed a thick band to choke the Demon Snake Spirit she summoned.

    After all, his wife and the giant serpent were one.

    The evil spirits hadn''t given up yet, tearing the insides of the snake''s thick flesh with its beak and ws as the lump moved, demanding to be freed.

    Rubbing his arms as a slight chill caressed his bare chest, Apollyon''s gaze scanned his surroundings, searching for more evil presence on the rest of the spring faeries just in case there were demons left to eliminate after this shadow griffin��but there was none.

    No one was attacking the other.

    Apollyon nodded at the untainted faeries, who were brave enough to meet his gaze.

    The spring faeries were finally rid of their fears.

    Luna''s serpent had these evil monsters subdued so that they couldn''t feed on negative emotions.

    They could finally see the truth.

    Everyone''s eyes remained fixed on the colossal red snake as they stood frozen in ce, their mouth hanging wide open, ck-jawed in amazement.

    Like him, the faeries of the Spring Courts watched and waited with bated breath, wondering what will happen next.

    Can the dark apparitions still pull off a surprise attack inside the serpent''s body for good, or were they finally defeated?

    Apollyon and the spring faeries waited for another long, agonizing minute until the shadow griffin came to rest on the serpent''s stomach for good.

    As he heard a collective sigh of relief and the release of tension in the atmosphere, Apollyon clutched his sword tightly as he scowled.

    His wife��

    Apollyon was bothered that he decided to teleport at the top of the giant serpent''s head to check up on her, but his mind link with his wife connected abruptly.

    He strained his ears to listen.

    ''Save me.'' A weak, breathy voice said at the back of his mind. ''No. Strength. Left. I��''

    The ink-ck heavens of the night changed into breaking dawn, bringing a sunlit crown to epass the starlit sky.

    Will it seed to bring life after death in Ostara?

    "Wife, hang in there," Apollyon said out loud, and his tone came out cold, hard and dangerous from concern. "I will be there in a second."

    The snake basked in the golden rays, absorbing the sunlight into its red scales.

    Closing his eyes, Apollyon''s mind focused on the snake''s moving head to find where his wife was.

    A soft warning. "Don''te here, Apollyon."

    Confused, Apollyon forced his eyes wide open and witnessed the giant lump of the serpent''s body where the griffin was, glowed orange before it vanished. "Why?"

    He sensed her mind shutting down before she whispered brokenly, ''I love you��''

    The colossal serpent shook before it exploded into fragments like the shattered ss of a broken mirror.

    Luna and the thousands of ck and red shards floated in the midair for a while before they morphed back into thin wisps of smoke and entered Luna''s mouth.

    Luna fell from the sky, and he teleported at the right time to catch her in mid-air.

    Both of them fell as he carried her in his arms, cradling her as if she was his most priceless treasure.

    Apollyonnded them to safety.

    "Wife." As Apollyon nced down at her,? he screamed in his rage when he noticed that her back was shattered and her bones were strangely twisted. "Wake up."

    How did a joyful aerial dance during the dusk end up into destion and ruins?

    "WAKE UP, LUNA."Apollyon bellowed as tears rolled down his face when he noticed she wasn''t breathing. "DON''T LEAVE ME AGAIN."

    Wee to the celebration of Ostara, the first day of Spring, and like every celebration, it will be a day to remember for the rest of the living and the dead.

    The Massacre of Krinoniapolis.

 Chapter 390 - Three And Then Some

    <h4>Chapter 390 - Three And Then Some</h4>

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ******************************

    A single hand gently massaged one of Luna''s breasts beneath the rough friction of herce fabric.

    As few moments went by, her nipple protruded from the onught of the rough callused palm, belonging to a masculine who clearly knew what he was doing.

    He knew the best ways to bring out a woman''s greatest pleasure, that''s for sure.

    Luna parted her lips in a long, breathy moan and wrapped one of her legs at the back of the man''s thigh, inches away from his beefy ass.

    When her Achilles heel caressed bare skin, Luna figured out that the man was naked as he leaned his heavy weight unto her as if he was turned on by her toes caressing him from behind.

    She detected hisrge erection twitching between them, probing the seams of herher lips with bold enthusiasm.

    Her lips curving upward, Luna slowly raised her arms which were spread-eagled to each side of the bed and slid every inch of her skin unto his broad shoulders before resting them at the back of his neck.

    When Luna pulled him closer, the man leaned his body towards her.

    Luna could sense the dips and ridges of his abdominal muscles rubbing against the soft skin of her protruding belly, including the sensitive mound.

    She swallowed hard.

    It was so tantalizing and seductive that she could cry out from delight every time he moved as his warm skin glided against hers and their sexes stroking against each other down there.

    The man pushed his erection against the hood of her quim, hitting her bundle of nerves.

    Breathing hard, Luna saw no need to open her eyes yet because she wanted to savor the delicious sensation in the ink-ck of her closed lids, letting her imagination run wild as it took over the scenario of her dreams.

    It had been a long time since Lunast dreamed in her body, ever since her soul was taken in Hell.

    Being in that godforsaken ce was a living nightmare, and Luna hoped that everything that happened with Ravin, Luxen, Satan, and the Grand Torturer was just a figment of her imagination.

    It was hard to exin to his husband that her constant astral travel from the Spirit Realm to the Worldly Realm made her insane.

    She couldn''t distinguish the fine line between reality and illusion as well as the clear boundaries between Hell and this Worldly Realm when she closed her eyes and sleep.

    Was this a dream?

    Was this reality or��

    Was she back in Hell after swallowing the souls of the demonic faeries at Ostara and witnessing Lilith''s soul slumber in the hidden confines of her consciousness?

    Two Archdemons in a single Vampire body with a vampire baby and a possibility of an Archdemon child clinging unto her soul was asking for trouble.

    Luxen might have spilled his seed inside her after pretending he was Apollyon, but that wouldn''t guarantee that he was sessful in making her pregnant with an Archdemon baby.

    Her eyebrows knitted together in a scowl.

    She would reject some of the ideas Sloth had injected into her mind.

    Luna''s tensed form rxed bit by bit when the man pinched her are with his long fingers before groping and squeezing them in lethargy, taking turns with the other without leaving one behind when it came to hisscivious attention.

    Holding her breath in anticipation, Luna waited for the wet and moist mouth of a warm male to take in her red, swollen nipples, licking them a thousand times, sucking them hard, and grazing them with his teeth.

    Just thinking about those dirty thoughts made her arch her back to push her breasts against his hand as liquid heat pooled between her legs.

    Her entire body warmed up as his fingers kneaded over her chest, ying her like an instrument like an expert musician, and her task in the present was only to make a sound, singing his praises in a moaning crescendo.

    Luna became slowly aware of the man''s other hand as it entered the picture in her mind.

    The man slightly lifted her waist and grasped the globes of her ass in a tight squeeze while the other continued to y with her breasts.

    He massaged her chest and her ass for a while before moving his arms and ce them on either side of her head.

    Then, he buried his face on her neck, inhaling her scent.

    What would he do next?

    Luna moaned when he did what she had been waiting for.

    He finally ced his lips on top of her nipples and sucked hard that she cried out, but her lips pressed tight in disappointment that her husband did it without removing hercy top.

    She yelped in surprise when he tore her bodice, peeling them with his teeth.

    He buried his nose in her cleavage and took another deep breath as if he was obsessed with the smell of her sweat.

    As he began trailing kisses along her jaw, Apollyon''s short stubble burned a little when it came into contact with her flesh, and his every exhtion tickled the tiny hairs on her skin, making her shiver in suspense.

    The burning sensation of that beard...

    Luna paused as she bit her lip, deciding to open her eyes and check who she was with.

    Her muscles tensed when she couldn''t open her eyes as if someone used a dark thread to sew it shut.

    Chills run down her spine at this revtion.

    Luna could freely move her bare arms and legs as it grazed into the silk sheets, but she couldn''t open her eyes?

    She tried to guess where she was and whose bed her body hadid or which man did these mysterious hands massaging her belonged to.

    Well, wait a minute��

    Luna shouldn''t be asking that question because who else would be touching her except her husband?

    Of course, theserge calloused palms and lips on her breasts belonged to Apollyon, right?

    Chin trembling in panic, she noticed that the mattress above her head cave in as if someone else was there on the bed, hovering in front of her face.

    Suddenly, two pairs of hands were touching her at once.

    "Fancy a threesome, Amare?"

 Chapter 391 - Lucid

    <h4>Chapter 391 - Lucid</h4>

    ****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    Suddenly, two pairs of hands were touching her at once.

    "Fancy a threesome, Amare?" The deep baritone rumbled out of his chest as he whispered in her ear.

    She tensed for a second before she experienced uncontroble tremors all over her body.

    Why was the Archdemon of Gluttony on top of her and the bed of all ces?

    Why were they two pairs of hands reaching for her, pulling and grabbing her clothes until she was naked?

    Was she back in Hell with them when Apollyon sessfully brought her soul back to the Faerie Realm?

    Why?

    Was her reunion with her husband a mere imagination?

    No, Luna had returned to the Faerie Realm and reunited with him.

    Was it because the blood sacrifice of the faeries was a failure?

    Shaking her head in denial, she chanted in her thoughts. ''No, no, no, no.''

    The blood sacrifice wasn''t entirely a failure.

    The only downside to this was that Lilith was still trapped somewhere in Luna''s consciousness after forcing herself to eat the Demons'' souls to save the Spring Courts.

    This was a dream--a manifestation of her fears in her subconscious, inducing these nightmares haunting her in her sleep.

    Her emotions were all over the ce, going overdrive, paranoid that the Archdemons were only after her, chasing her from Hell and beyond.

    Luna needed to get out of here even if she had to run far away buck-naked, not caring about the people who will see her.

    She can clearly remember her memories at the Faerie Realm��the demonic attacks at Krinoniapolis were the reality��and these Archdemons viting her right now was simply a nightmare.

    Luna was tempted tough out loud like a maniac because these hallucinations��all her emotions and her trauma��were akin to real torture.

    Her facial muscles crunched up in a grimace as she forced her eyes to open to check if the man in front of her was Ravin because who else would call him Amare if it wasn''t him?

    Unfortunately, Luna still couldn''t open her eyes after numerous attempts.

    She bared her teeth at the man as she groaned in frustration, her hands wandering around the feel of the man''s physique and the corded muscles around his neck and shoulders, still not giving up with her inquiry.

    Luna might be blind as the time she was trapped in the dark prison made by the demonic faeries at Ostara and when she was blindfolded in Ravin''s Pleasure Room, but she was sure that the man who had the outrageous audacity to take liberties upon her person wasn''t her husband��even in her wildest dreams she knew the shape of him.

    Beads of sweat trickled from the side of her forehead to her long silver hair fanning on the bed.

    How will she be able to escape this ce without her sense of sight if she was truly back in Hell?

    Her legs muscled tightened as if preparing for an escape.

    She was pinned under a heavy weight as if she was a monarch butterfly captured for them to y with, plucking its beautiful orange wings piece by piece.

    Luna''s heart hammered as another realization of hers sunk in.

    Should she be a little d that she didn''t return to Satan''s dungeon and suffer from the Grand Torturer''s never-ending torment?

    Now that he knew that Ravin was the owner of this big body up against her abdomen and settled his hips over hers, who owned the rest of these hands stimting her flesh unless it belonged to another creature hovering above her?

    The desire which made her muscles lose tension, parting both of her lips and legs were unwarranted.

    There wasn''t any use in ncing up when she couldn''t see.

    Who was this other man?

    Her ears perked up in interest, patiently waiting for them to speak so that she could listen to their voices.

    As if they know what she was up to, both turned eerily quiet as a tomb except for the soft rustles of the silk sheets with every discreet move of their bodies, their rasping breaths of need, and her soft whimpers echoing in this room.

    Luna''s brows knitted in confusion as she focused on the pair of hands kneading her breasts under her bodice as well as the hard muscle of forearms caressing the skin of her arms, feeling the level of smoothness between both skins topare the two.

    Luna didn''t think they belong to the same person.

    Also, her gut feeling told her that the hands on her breasts had long, slender fingers and fewer calluses on his palms than the previous one, and he was far better at kneading her, bringing her to the peak of her pleasure.

    Biting her lip to curb her soft ''aahs,'' Luna contemted if the adept hands on her breasts belonged to ady based on how elegant it moved as it glided across her chests, spreading the saliva on her ares Ravin had left when he licked and sucked her there.

    Luna cried out when he abruptly pinched her nipples so hard after lulling her in a force rxation.

    She parted her lips to demand what they were doing to her body, yet no sound came out of her throat.

    Swallowing hard, Luna tried once again as she writhed under the man''s bulky physique with her small hands sliding over his pectoral muscles to shove him off her.

    Luna couldn''t talk, and her breath caught in her throat in a panic.

    She could only moan and groan to express pain and pleasure but never with her righteous anger.

    Her forceful actions made it worse because the more she attempted wriggling as if she was a worm bathed in salt, the more the man''s erection buried itself in her sensitive mound.

    "I find it unfair that you have fucked Luxen when you wouldn''t even let me touch you, Amare," Ravin said in a strained voice.

    ''What was unfair?'' Luna thought angrily.

    ''She didn''t consent Luxen pretending to be her husband just so that she could fall right into his sick, twisted game!''

    Ravin circled a hand at the nape of her neck possessively as he brought her closer towards him.

    He grazed his lips against hers. and murmured, "I miss you, Amare."

    As he burrowed his nose at the crook of her neck, Ravin licked the sweat of her skin as she whimpered, afraid of what she will do to her.

    Baring her teeth in anger, Luna wanted to kick Ravin, but with her legs pinned under his muscr thighs, it wouldn''t do any good.

    It would make her stretch and open her legs all the more, giving Ravin wide ess to her wet quim, the tip of his prick leaking with pre-cum pushing and sliding against her clitoris.

 Chapter 392 - Two Pricks

    <h4>Chapter 392 - Two Pricks</h4>

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    When she couldn''t take all the sexual triggers happening all at once, Luna came all over the tip of his prick as it stroked the inner walls and the hood of her clitoris without even entering her.

    Everything she did, no matter the choice, will always lead her right back into his trap.

    A brief moment of panic made her scream.

    The hands squeezing her breasts lifted, and she knew the other man who settled above her head was gone from his position.

    Luna wasn''t even finished catching a breath.

    Hands already gripped her skirts, grabbing at her ankles and pulling them in opposite sides to part her legs wide enough for him--them--to enter.

    Luna stayed like that for a few minutes, hearing only heavy breaths as if both were watching her down there, syed for their view.

    Arge hand drifted lower and she gasped in surprise when his fingers slid into the quivering folds of her quim as it moved in and out of her.

    They weren''t done with the torture yet.

    In an instant, one of them lifted her so that she wouldy on top of someone else.

    When he probed her slick opening with the tip of his cock, his rock-hard erection flinched and slipped, failing to enter her.

    She gasped for air as the sound of her heartbeat thrashed her ears.

    Smearing her with his precum made her wetter and more slippery than before, soaking her with both of their juices.

    After trying twice, the man underneath her was sessful, and her body bucked, weing him despite warring with her mind.

    Her heart exploded with the strain when his cock impaled her.

    Ravin''s hips arched to meet her as his free hand clutched at her leg.

    Struggling to breathe, Luna threw back her head in both pain and ecstasy as she wed on a man''s body, but it felt like he was made of brick walls.

    Her lungs felt like she had inhaled acid when her walls tightened around his hard shaft.

    Gasoline ran through her bloodstreams, setting her on fire.

    Warmth flushed across random parts of her when she felt his cock swelled even more as it jutted upwards.

    "Amare," Ravin murmured as his cock rested against her cervix. "You feel so good."

    Moaning, Luna squirmed out of his grasp, but the man whose prick she rode restrained her wrists with a single hand.

    "Even if you managed to escape from Hell for the meantime��" A hand cupped her chin as he paused, rubbing his thumb over her bottom lip. "--I wouldn''t let you forget what happened between us."

    It seemed like Ravin had both of them positioned at the edge of the bed because his calves and her feet were hanging.

    Luna felt another presence standing behind her as the other man tangled his fingers on her hair as he shoved her face towards Ravin''s chest, whoid on the bed beneath her, forcing her to lean unto him.

    Ravin wrapped his arms around her back, locking her in an embrace, as he continued to thrust repeatedly inside her.

    Luna whimpered with every surge, her quim stretching to amodate his size.

    "Let''s see if you can take the both of us inside you," Luxen said as he palmed her buttocks in hisrge hands.

    Luna trembled as shards of pain cut into her abdomen, griping Ravin''s cock so tight that he groaned in pleasure.

    Luxen''s cock pushed forward until the tight seams of her ass surrendered under his relentless invasion, pausing for a while to give her time to adjust before he sank inside her.

    The two men began to move, alternating thrusts.

    As she gritted her teeth, the two cocks deeply embedded within her made her stomach feel full and engorged as she tried to process the sensations.

    It threatened to consume her, but she didn''t want to let go because reaching the climax would be like betraying the husband she loved.

    Luna pulled away, but Luxen held her in ce by wrapping her silver hair in a fist to meet every single one of his thrusts.

    "You can never escape from us, Domina." Luxen''s words came out in a snarl, edged with lust and need.? "Not even the Highest God could take you away from me."

    Ravin gripped her hips in his hands.

    Luxen stood behind her while Luna bent over in front of him as he pumped into her with speed, smacking her buttocks with his palm with even greater force.

    Ravin fused his mouth to hers as he picked up his own pace to match Luxen as his brother filled her again and again from behind.

    Her release crawled the nape of her neck down to the base of her spine as she felt electric sparks all over her body, almost ascending at the peak... but she wasn''t there yet.

    "Ah." Her voice came out in a high-pitched gasp which for some reason made Luxen thrust even harder while Ravin fucked her from below, moving his cock in a rapid circr motion so that he would hit her clitoris.

    "Ahhhhh~"

    Luna could feel them harden even more as they neared their release, panting as if the three of them were racing against each other to the top.

    "You''re so tight." Luxen held her inner thighs tightly as he chuckled in delight."This must be what heaven feels like."

    The Archdemon brothers kept pumping in and out of her holes without any ns of stopping.

    Her body jolted as waves of pleasure snaked from her core to the rest of her limbs.

    "Ahhhhhhh~"

    Ravin''s mouth continued to suck on her nipples, and Luna knew she was at her limit as she grabbed his shoulders, tempted to release a keening wail.

    Eyebrows knitting in concentration,? Luna wasn''t able to open her mouth and tell them to stop because she already came right then and there.

    Fireworks behind her closed lids exploded around her, and she could hear nothing else except the constant ringing in her ears, screaming her heart out from the pain and ecstasy.

    Tears streamed down her face.

    Luxen''s body shook with the force of his release as he buried himself deeper into her ass while Ravin''s cock stiffened as hot jets of semen surged inside her body.

    Limped and sated, Luna copsed on Ravin''s chest.

 Chapter 393 - Forgotten Nightmare

    <h4>Chapter 393 - Forgotten Nightmare</h4>

    ****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ******************************

    A shocking jolt woke Luna up in her slumber.

    Luna opened her eyes, and her lips were parted as if to scream.

    As she blinked rapidly, the dark ceiling was the first thing she saw.

    The hundreds of shining silver stars were a stark contrast to the gloomy backdrop.

    The room was smaller than the chambers at Prince Aspen''s Lc Manor as her gaze flew to the four corners of the space.

    Luna wondered if she was still in the Faerie Realm.

    Beads of sweat formed on her back��cold and mmy��and she pondered whether it was from the sinking paranoia that she was in Hell but a different circle or was this another unfamiliar Realm her soul had identally visit.

    She asked herself what world she had found her soul in to test her mind again and again because it felt like she was one little step forward to the brink of madness.

    A few seconds passed by.

    Luna was still breathing hard from her forgotten nightmare before.

    She expelled onest whoosh of air from her lungs to get herself together.

    The dream was close to fading from her memories, but something in her gut told her that it was important and needed to be addressed.

    Racking her brain in recollection, no mental image popped in her mind to fill her up with something--anything.

    Only sensations of�� what was it about?

    Her head spun as she pressed her fists on either side of her temples to alleviate the aching pressure.

    She moaned in regret.

    It was a dream she couldn''t remember.

    Was this a sign that she was losing her grip in her perceptions of the real world?

    What was considered real when all of these different Realms existed without the other Realm''s knowledge?

    Was it considered an illusion if nobody can visit and see this Realm aside from her?

    ''Wow.'' Luna sighed. ''Crazy people must have it hard.''

    Luna thought she was close to bing one.

    If she told people that she had been through Hell and back��literally��would they believe her?

    ''This was her real reality.'' She chanted in her head a couple of times before she was satisfied.

    Every few minutes, Luna convince herself that over and over as sheid down in bed to keep her sane.

    She wasn''t in Hell.

    She was in the Faerie Realm, but�� where was Apollyon?

    Where was her husband when she needed his presence��where she needed him the most tofort her from this nightmare?

    He didn''t leave her forever, wouldn''t he?

    Didn''t Apollyon promise on the night before Ostara that he would protect her and be her anchor when her mind scattered to somece else?

    Luna exhaled a sigh�� a mix of both relief and longing.

    If Apollyon was here with her in this room, she could hug him, and she would instantly feel better.

    Luna wasn''t sure, nor would she care about what else she was capable of with Archdemon Magic. She could practice opening portals if she could have the free time to do so with her husband''s supervision because the skill could be a great help if she found herself in Hell once again.

    If Luxen and Ravin brought her back through their soul tie, Luna could either kill him by improving her Magic, or she would open a portal in the Vampire Realm, greet them ''Have a wonderful day!'' and bid them goodbye before her grand escape.

    As sheid in bed with her back, Luna was so lost in her thoughts when she noticed toote that something heavy had settled in her stomach.

    When Luna lifted her head a little to peek at it, the first thing which greeted her face was wide almond-shaped reptilian eyes with pupils narrowed into slits, glowering at her with intense judgment.

    A chonky midnight-ck cat sat heavily on top of her with its paws and tail tucked beneath them, looking like a loaf of bread.

    It purred loudly, and she couldn''t only hear her purr, but the sound vibrated in her stomach.

    The cat didn''t meow or did any fancy tricks, such as talking to her in hernguage.

    It contented itself by staring at her with its wide yellow eyes.

    Luna didn''t know what to do with it, where it came from and who it belonged to but it felt like the feline''s task was to guard her with those unblinking gazes while Apollyon wasn''t here yet.

    She sighed again.

    "Where did my husband ran off to this time?" She asked out loud to no one in particr��perhaps, she was talking to the cat.

    Instead of making her headache with concern for Apollyon, she lifted one hand to pet the cat, but before her palm could settle on its head, it stood up from its ''catloaf'' position as its paws pushed hard against her stomach.

    Luna let out a little ''oof'' when the cat jumped to the floor without warning.

    It didn''t hurt the baby she carried while it rested on her protruding stomach, but the abrupt movement just surprised her.

    The cat still stared at her as it swooshed its tail from side to side as she stepped one of her paws forward, still gracing her with that shrewd gaze as if urging her to get up and look around the room.

    Luna rose out of bed and went straight to the small window to take in the golden wheat fields, watching it with amazement.

    It seemed like this house was located near the mountains.

    Birds chirped in the glorious sunlight.

    Bees buzzed outside while yellow butterflies fluttered inside the room.

    Opening the window, she allowed the fresh air to enter the room and the sweet scent of pale orange hydrangeas and purple gloxinias at the small garden while she arranged the same flowers ced on ss vases on top of the table.

    Deciding to forget her dreampletely, Luna hummed a song and pulled the flowers by its stems to put it back again in a gorgeous array as she smiled to herself, but she paused when her mind never heard more haunting words, ''Fancy a threesome, Amare?''

 Chapter 394 - Mad

    <h4>Chapter 394 - Mad</h4>

    ****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    ''Fancy a threesome, Amare?''

    Luna''s eyes widened, holding her breath as she stood by the table, frozen in ce.

    ''Fancy a threesome��'' Those words echoed in her head in Ravin''s deep voice, bouncing into the walls of her mind in a slow dissonance with each other, creating ag.

    Stumbling into an uneven step, Luna moaned, feeling like someone had cracked her head open with a jagged rock.

    Ravin refused to leave her alone, his words circling her thoughts like vultures waiting for the game''sst breath before tearing its flesh up.

    ''No, these voices in her head weren''t real.'' Shaking her head, Luna took deep breaths as she muttered, "My mind was still in a state of survival from the traumas I experienced in Hell, protecting me, telling me to be careful, to be distrusting, to be paranoid, yet it was giving me more harm than good. This traumatized brain is not helping me normally live, to be sane, but there was no way I can throw it away and rece it with another one."

    "--but everything would be alright as long as I could cultivate Archdemon Magic to open portals so that I could escape no matter what Realm I found myself in," Luna smiled at no one, in particr, cheering herself up.

    The act of smiling��of stretching mouths and lips curving upwards��will make someone happier and brighten their days even more.

    Luna just had to fake it until she made it.

    The curl of her lips dropped a little when Satan crossed her mind.

    As his favorite student, Master Satan taught her during his individual ss how to utilize Archdemon Magic in opening portals.

    Still, she already escaped from prison before she could take a test.

    "No Archdemons can catch me because I would be as slippery as an eel." She promised herself, smiling as she gritted her teeth, "Not even an Archdemon husband like Ravin and certainly not Lilith."

    Nobody will have the ability to open portals like her, and most especially, no Archdemons can ever pin her down.

    ''I find it unfair that you have fucked Luxen when you wouldn''t even let me touch you, Amare,'' The voice in her head murmured, followed by Luxen''s huskyugh as he clutched her inner thighs as she pounded her from behind, ''You''re so tight.''

    A scream escaped from her throat.

    It was a scream of distress��a cry for help.

    Luna dropped the flowers in her grasp and pressed her knuckles all over her temples to alleviate the splitting headache.

    It felt like she heard those words just recently.

    Eyes falling shut, Luna''s eyebrows closed in concentration.

    Ravin�� Ravin�� Where did she hear that?

    Luna swallowed hard as if that would get rid of her heart hammering in her throat.

    No visual memory of hers struck her along with that particr line.

    Luna could only see the pitch-ck darkness at the back of her closed lids.

    ''I heard that in the dream!'' Luna finally recalled in both fear and exhration. She scowled. ''��in the dream, I only retained my sense of touch but the loss of sight and the ability to speak��

    ''You feel so good.''

    Luna clenched her fists in anger, and her entire body trembling from the haunting words.

    She screamed at the top of her lungs.

    The recollection of the dream struck her like a bolt of lightning.

    She finally remembered what happened before she woke up in this Realm.

    Ravin, Luxen, and Luna...

    The Archdemon brothers forced her into a threesome and vited her body, possessing her without consent.

    Something in her heart broke, and it can''t be fixed.

    Luxen had raped her with Apollyon''s face, but what happened in the dream before she woke up... was that real?

    Did they summon her back to Hell so that they could--

    Or was it her mind making up those scenarios?

    Hands shaking with terror, it felt eerily authentic, and she had no other way to figure out the truth.

    The back of her hand swatted the ss vase by ident, and it came crashing to the floor.

    She nced down to witness the trickles of blood flowing from her pale legs.

    Some of the ss shardstched unto her calves.

    Luna saw Ravin''s apparition at the corner of her eye.

    Her hands clenched and unclenched into fists as she bared her teeth, her gaze still fixed at the floor.

    Why did she have to live with a life like this��living with the memories of the Archdemons who have taken everything she had ever wanted��her past, present, future, and every essence taken from her?

    Luna only desired to live with Apollyon in peace in the Vampire Realm along with their children.

    Would that be too much to ask for the gods and the goddesses?!

    Why can''t she be free from those cold-blooded monsters, fucking her life over and over again?!

    "Ravin!" As she raised her head and turned, Luna stalked towards him.

    "You��" Her smile was a curl of distaste as she jabbed a finger on his chest. "Weren''t you contented of how much you have destroyed my life yet?!"

    "You and Luxen��" As if the bastard heard his name in her mouth, Luxen''s apparition appeared beside where Ravin stood, staring at her with detached pity.

    Nostrils ring, Luna hated the look in their eyes so much that she went back to the table, picked up the rest of the ss vases and hurled them at Luxen and Ravin.

    The ss didn''t touch the Archdemons because they didn''t have a physical body in this Realm and that fact made her shriek in rage.

    The Archdemons didn''t speak and just watched her make a scene alone in this room.

    The vases hit the wall--a series of a loud crash followed by the other-- and some of the shards bounced right into her face.

    When she felt something was embedded on her cheek, she plucked it out with a fingernail, but she didn''t miss the drops of blood dripping down her chin tond on the floor in soft ticks.

    The sweet, delicious smell of her own blood permeated as the sunlight spilled inside the dark room.

 Chapter 395 - A Beautiful Face

    <h4>Chapter 395 - A Beautiful Face</h4>

    *************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *************************

    The sweet, delicious smell of her own blood permeated as the sunlight spilled inside the dark room.

    Luna let out a chuckle.

    Her brows furrowed when she remembered her dream.

    She nced down at the blood pooling beneath her feet, not noticing that her bare soles turned the ss shards into soft glittering fragments the more she walked all over them.

    She became ustomed to the sharp edges, adapting to the hurt and the pain.

    Her scars might vanish as her vampire blood sealed it shut, but it wouldn''t heal if she didn''t take out the pieces of ss one by one.

    The floor was a mix of blood, pulverized ss vases, and the ruined flower petals of salmon-pinks and purple and green leaves.

    Luna realized that day that she found the scent of flowers and blood make an interestingbination.

    "How funny!" She chuckled.

    Later on, Luna''s chuckles turned into something big and loud before cackling like a maniac, and her sardonicugh was apanied by tears smeared with blood.

    Clearing her throat, Luna tried to get herself together.

    Bending over, Luna picked onerge piece of broken ss and pressed the sharp edge in her throat.

    Her vampire blood dribbled from her forearms to her elbow, dripping into the wooden floor.

    If this went on, it would turn the pool of blood into an ocean.

    Her heartbeat elerated as she thought of her ns.

    Shutting her eyes tight, Luna didn''t hesitate to sh her throat, and she gasped.

    Her jaws clenched.

    Luna bit her lip to curb her cries and reced the shard with her palm, pinning it at the wound to slow down the bleeding.

    She can drink Apollyon''s blood when he arrived if he still wanted to see her awake.

    Loss of blood can make her weak, but maybe, that would make her husband think twice about leaving her alone next time.

    This pain and damage wouldn''tst, and she would quickly heal as a vampire.

    She only did this to intimidate these Archdemon bastards in front of her.

    Breathing hard, Luna flexed her fingers with the strong urge to p their faces.

    They don''t really care about her in the long run.

    Their ims about loving her went too far that it made her want to throw up.

    "Both of you disgust me." Luna lifted her chin as she glowered at them. "I did not ask for that dream to happen. I have a husband."

    There was no response except their cold, nk stares.

    "You just want me to own my soul." Luna carried on as heat flushed through her limbs. "There was no use ying with their ruse, iming you love me because of the blood bond and all that bullshit."

    It hurt her pride, but she had to do it.

    "Please let me go." Luna whimpered as her nails bit into her own palms."I beg you two."

    Both of them shook their heads in refusal, and the urge to tear these handsome bastards into pieces was overwhelming.

    "There is no benefit of being with me. All of you Archdemons were just greedy sons of a bitches." Luna exined as she gritted her teeth. "You cling to me so that you could cross the Worldly Realms and gain power."

    "It had nothing to do with me." Her arms swung around as she stomped her feet on the silver fragments in anger.? "I wouldn''t let you enter in this Realm to wreak havoc on other people''s lives just like you wrecked mine."

    Her hands quivered at the force of her anger when Ravin and Luxen, who stood in front of her, vanished like the apparitions she thought they were.

    Luna''s heart froze in her chest as her eyes widened in shock.

    At first, Luna couldn''t believe that they were a mere figment of her imagination.

    She thought they had followed her in the Faerie Realm as they watched her with their dead, nk stare with their broad backs leaning against the wall and their arms crossed over their chest.

    It finally sunk in that she was talking to no one else.

    She thought Ravin and Luxen were sessful in entering this Realm, but it was actually a delusion of hers.

    Luna hurried to watch herself in front of the mirror.

    It was of a beautiful and sensual silver-haired woman wearingcy lingerie as she stood in a ck corset, her green eyes lighting up like a million stars.

    She scanned her reflection with intense scrutiny.

    No perfection is worth enough, and she hated that fact.

    Luna hated how she looked even if she tried so hard not to care.

    Was this the face Lilith wanted to im as her own so that Apollyon would love her?!

    The same face Ravin and Luxen couldn''t let go out of all the women they have been with?!

    WHY?!

    "This is the face you like, huh, Ravin?!" Luna demanded as she talked to him through her reflection. "This face?!"

    "You''re a man." Luna could see a throbbing vein of her temple from the force of her anger as she fought back her tears. "Was it all about beauty?!"

    "I am not your mate, you bastard!" Crying was never on her list of options except to win. "If I can''t get rid of you no matter how hard I try, I would make you leave me alone!"

    Luna dered, "I will destroy me!"

    She felt the freshness of the cool breezeing through from the open window, but she ignored it.

    "I will make myself so ugly you couldn''t even look at me or stand in the same room ever again," Luna screamed and shed her face twice with the piece of shards before someone came in, bursting through the door.

    "Luna," Apollyon shouted, and his footsteps were fast heavy thudsnding on the floorboards as he stalked towards her.

    He faced Luna for a few seconds before moving a few steps forward to ce the bouquets on the table behind her.

    Apollyon returned, grabbed her hand, which held the ss shard, and angrily threw it to the side, "What are you doing��hurting yourself?"

 Chapter 396 - Paranoia

    <h4>Chapter 396 - Paranoia</h4>

    ****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ****************************

    "What are you doing��hurting yourself?"

    "I may not be the most beautiful female in this Realm, Apollyon." Luna shook her head with regret as she nced down at her bleeding toes, sobbing hard, not daring to meet her husband''s gaze after all her secrets."��but I think owning this face and this physical form was a curse. Maybe, it would be better if I cease to exist."

    "You aren''t cursed, wife. You have no right to tell me that you want to disappear." Her husband lifted her chin and forced her to make eye contact, and his Prussian blues widened in surprise when he saw the thin scars she inflicted on herself fading bit by bit.

    When Apollyon looked at her in the eye, it felt like he could see right through her��all of her secrets and insecurities.

    She immediately averted her gaze.

    Luna was afraid and so in love with him that she couldn''t bear to see him look hurt.

    She knew that he also took offense if she hurt himself because he clearly told him how she was a part of him, didn''t he?

    "Even if your beauty is not as deep as the ocean, still when you shine and grace me with your smile, my world bes brighter." Apollyon wrapped his arms around her and brought her closer to his chest in a tight hug. "Are you alright?"

    She wanted to say no, but she sniffed in his chest instead. "Apollyon."

    "What is it?"

    "I''m going crazy, Apollyon." A teardrop rolled down her cheek as she sped the fabric of his shirt. "Help me."

    "You aren''t crazy, wife. Repeat after me." Apollyon ran his fingers through her hair, soothing her. "I am not insane."

    She scowled, "Are you mocking me?"

    Luna wasn''t able to pull back from him because he cradled the back of her head with a hand and shoved her face back to his chest.

    "No. You have to stop telling yourself that you are crazy because if you do that, you are going to turn into one. It''s like a magic spell, you know? When you utter a spell, your current reality will alter itself to adapt to your magic." Apollyon exined, and Luna thought it made sense. " Like your magic spells, words have power. Do you want to be insane for real?"

    "I think I can still adjust to a mad wife pretty well as long as the saiddy wouldn''t leave me." He added with dry humor.

    "I swear to the goddess you are teasing me with this." As she curbed her mounting frustration, Luna said in a whisper-shout as she smacked his lower back once. "This is a serious concern of mine, husband. I don''t want to be insane."

    "Alright." He released her, and when she nced up at him, Apollyon cupped her face in her hands, wiping the blood and tears from her face with his thumb in a gentle caress as her scars slowly healed. "If you don''t want to be insane, then repeat after me." Apollyon enunciated. "I am not insane."

    "I am not insane," Luna repeated like an obedient little child as her brows furrowed, determined. "I am not insane, Apollyon."

    "You''re not," Apollyon replied gently as he watched her with truepassion.

    Her lips parted in awe before shifting into a small smile.

    It was a rare sight to see the Vampire King like this.

    Luna would treasure for the rest of her life.

    "If you be insane, I will bring you back with my sexual appetites."

    ************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ************************

    "Apollyon." Luna''s voice rose a bit louder with every mention of his name. She clung to him so tightly as if she had no ns to let him go. "Apollyon."

    "I''m here, wife." Smiling, Apollyon reminded her, whispering his words in her ear again and again until it sunk into her mind.

    He squeezed her into a bear hug, making her feel his presence until she wasn''t afraid anymore.

    Honestly, Apollyon adored this clingy and sweet side of her as much as he liked the bold Luna at the Ostara.

    He just had to make sure that she didn''t be Lilith beforehand.

    "I''m right here." Kissing her in the forehead, Apollyon''s voice dropped lower, "I''m sorry."

    He murmured huskily in her ears. "I''m sorry for leaving."

    "Promise me that you wouldn''t ever leave me again?"

    "Even if I left you for a moment, I will still find my way back to you." Apollyon stroked her back in aforting gesture. "Always."

    He could tell that it made her rigid muscles loosen.

    "It should be you who should be promising that you wouldn''t ever leave me again," Apollyon said in concern."You worried me for days,"

    He recalled the chill horror which held his soul in a tight grasp when he saw Luna in front of the mirror, shing her face with the ss. "I thought you disappeared on me again and went back to Hell after eating those shape-shifting demons with that colossal snake spirit of yours."

    Apollyon asked quietly. "When did you learn to summon those ancient demon familiars?"

    "Satan taught me."

    He halted.

    "Ah." He smirked, amused. "It had been a long time since I have heard that name. Last time you mentioned him was the day you returned to me."

    "He was the Archdemon of Gluttony and Lust''s Uncle," Luna said a-matter-of-factly.

    He clicked his tongue before adding bitterly, "You told me before but you don''t talk about Hell as much as I am curious about it."

    Sudden tension filled the atmosphere as the sweet scent of flowers and Luna''s blood infiltrated his nostrils, making Apollyon''s stomach growl in hunger as he fought this uncontroble urge to drink her blood after she cut herself with ss.

    Clenching his fists, Apollyon swallowed hard as his gaze sharpened on the crook of her neck like a flying hawk catching sight of a small mouse in the fields.

    This overwhelming need threatened to consume her at such an inopportune time.

    Luna was feeling weak right now, and as a good husband, he must be considerate of his feelings.

    Should he ask permission or��

    Apollyon made the mistake of ncing at the floor, and as if on cue, his mouth produced more saliva when he witnessed the delicious blood pooling at their feet.

 Chapter 397 - Ambitions

    <h4>Chapter 397 - Ambitions</h4>

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    "Hmm. With all this blood--" Apollyon abruptly averted his gaze from the broken shards on the floor and nced around as if he was searching for someone around the room.

    He cleared his throat awkwardly as his eyes zeroed on the deep cut at the side of her neck, still dripping blood on her dark, wet corset.

    Apollyon''s pupils were narrowed into dangerous slits before he brought it back up to her eyes. Licking his lips, he said, concerned. "I thought someone attacked you while I was gone."

    "I thought so too," Luna replied as she scanned him from head-to-toe, wondering why her husband felt so antsy as if something was making him shift from foot-to-foot.

    Luna exhaled a heavy sigh.

    He would soon drive her crazy if she didn''t stop guessing what made him ufortable or, better yet, should she ask him, instead? "It turned out I was just paranoid."

    "When you ate those demons, Luna��" Apollyon trailed off as he returned to her. From the look on his face, it felt like curiosity warred with his hesitation.

    Apollyon sighed as one hand rested on his hips while the other one rubbed the back of his neck. "I''m really concerned about our baby. Will it take a toll on your physical form? Would the demons you ate harm you and the baby in the long run?"

    There was a short pause. "No, the baby and I will be fine. I have gotten everything under control."

    "Hmm." Apollyon nodded in agreement, yet he squinted at her with suspicion.

    Giving her a little, regal bow, he apologized. "I''m sorry, wife. I shouldn''t be asking those grim questions when you just woke up from your slumber."

    He raised his head as he brought her fingers in his hands. "Anyway, the witch doctor assured me that you are going to be safe, and your whole body is perfectly fine after taking those demons inside you."

    ''Taking those demons inside me?'' That statement made Luna wince as her chest tightened, slow warmth flushed her cheeks.

    Not long ago, Luna dreamed about an unwanted threesome with Ravin and Luxen!

    Her chin quivered as she touched her opposite elbows, hugging herself as her mind reyed it in her head over and over.

    Luna''s skin tightened as if spiders were crawling all over her as she shivered in disgust.

    Her body might have felt good at that moment��-bucking and writhing in Ravin''s and Luxen''s thrusts while they stretched her as tight as a bowstring--but her mind screamed how wrong the nightmare was in so many levels, sending her into bouts of disgust and paranoia.

    Luna closed her eyes and shook her head.

    She didn''t want to be reminded of that, tempting her to make another mess to express this uncontroble rage and relieve her stress.

    Why did she even dream of that out of all things?

    It wasn''t like Luna desired to have sexual congress with those Archdemons��not even in her guilty pleasures. These Archdemons were the most nightmare one could ever have.

    It felt like she wouldn''t wake from the nightmare, afraid that she was already awake, leaving her in ruins and losing people close to her, people she loved, and the people who loved her.

    Luna needed to get these Archdemons off her back, or else her life would be eternal run in thebyrinth, never finding an exit.

    Getting rid of them from her life would turn her sane.

    "I don''t want to see you mar your face with sharp objects, wife." Apollyon''s tone came out harsh from his concern and frustration.

    "It''s my fault, Apollyon." Luna smiled at him, but it didn''t reach his eyes."Everything."

    She moved her gaze to stare at the wall where she saw Ravin and Luxen leaning against it, tears leaking at the corner of her eyes. "I thought that if I became ugly, the Archdemons will hate me and couldn''t stand to see my face. I want them to leave me alone."

    "Luna, you don''t have to hurt yourself and ruin your face for their satisfaction��for Lilith''s. It''s not your fault." Apollyon said as he brought her cold fingers to her lips, kissing them with reverence."A creature''s face can''t define its beauty alone. The quest for beauty is not empty. You are the most beautiful to the eyes of people who loved you."

    "I love you, and I don''t care about anyone else." Apollyon reassured her. "��but those Archdemons�� they didn''t need to have a logical reason to break other creatures. You''ve got it all wrong." He scowled, raw power emanating from his aura from the violent force of her anger. "It''s not about beauty at all. They do what makes them happy as long as it fits their agenda. It''s a form of entertainment to them, ying with other creatures'' lives like they were mere toys."

    "They wouldn''t give up, not until they break me."

    "Ruining your beautiful face isn''t the answer." Apollyon let go of her hands to push back the silver strands covering her face. "We would fight the Archdemons head-on, and we wouldn''t give up until we became victorious. We would get up after every fall, and no one can hold us back."

    "I will make sure we would rise again after I am momentarily defeated." Luna pressed her lips together and said."I will be thest Archdemon standing in this Realm."

    "How I wish I could turn myself into an Archdemon without losing a part of my soul like you did so that I can stand with you, fitting myself with you and your goals," Apollyon smirked as he held her jaw with a hand and drew her closer before he began licking her small face to get rid of the blood.

    Luna bit her lip, allowing her husband to lick her wounds. " "I would not let you turn into an Archdemon. We didn''t want other Archdemons��especially female Archdemons--chasing after your firm behind, don''t you think?"

    She closed her eyes and murmured, "Trust me when I tell you that being an Archdemon isn''t good, husband."

 Chapter 398 - I Want To Tell You A Secret

    <h4>Chapter 398 - I Want To Tell You A Secret</h4>

    *********************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    *********************

    Luna closed her eyes and murmured in a rasp. "Trust me when I tell you that being an Archdemon isn''t good, husband."

    Apollyon''s fingers glided along Luna''s skin in a slow caress, giving her face three good licks as the tip of his tongue lingered on the cuts before itpletely sealed shut.

    He rolled the taste of her blood in his tongue as if he was drinking wine, savoring it. "It''s just a wish, wife." He raised his head to meet those emerald eyes of hers as she blinkedzily with desire, "It didn''t mean I''ll move heaven and hell to make ite true.

    "Why do every time I see you, you became more desirable in my eyes that I couldn''t help myself?" Luna swayed in her feet as her legs threatened to give out from Apollyon''s confession.

    He stepped closer towards her, and Luna stepped backward until her buttocks bumped the table.

    Apollyon''s quick reflexes saved his precious flowers from falling to the ground.

    He caught it with a single hand and pushed it back to the table surface.

    Apollyon sighed with relief when the bouquet of hydrangeas and gluxianas he brought in today didn''t suffer the same fate as the ones adorning this room.

    "You can''t be up and about, always moving all the time." Frown lines marred her forehead at the reprimand.

    Apollyon still held on to his temper by a thin thread when she realized that she was still standing on ss shards barefoot.

    He gripped her hips with both hands and lifted her, depositing Luna in his broad shoulders.

    She gasped when he carried her like a sack of potatoes, but she didn''t protest.

    Apollyon stalked towards the bed and dropped her there with the sleeping ck cat he had tasked to watch over Luna.

    The ck cat didn''t give flying fucks that his ward was hurting.

    "You need to take some time off for your own good and our baby." He stared at the animal icily before shifting his gaze to his wife''s wide, curious eyes. "I will deal with the mess."

    Apollyon stood at the center of the room, shut his eyes, faced his palms on the floor, and slowly raised them upwards, leveling them to his chest.

    The glittering silver fragments glinted when the sunlight hit them.

    In an instant, Apollyon pressed his hands together in a loud p, and it clumped into a ss orb��a crystal ball��with thin swirls of blood-forming on the inside.

    It was a cool trick that produced a beautiful creation, trapping Luna''s gic code for as long as it took.

    Her wife green eyes twinkled with excitement, impressed, and that was enough for Apollyon.

    A wife''s happiness and safety were a husband''s responsibility.

    "Why did you leave me earlier, husband? "Allowing the ss orb to float in the air for a few seconds, Apollyon raised a finger and pointed the table, directing the globe to settle inside the bouquet. "Where did you go?" Luna crawled on all fours as if she wanted to get out of bed to get the bouquet from the table. "I was angry--"

    "Is that why you are throwing the ss vases with the flowers I picked for you every day?" Apollyon folded his arms and gave her a cial stare. "Because you couldn''t see me when you woke up?"

    Apollyon wanted her to stay on the bed, and she understood.

    She halted in her tracks, dangled her legs in a sitting position, and faced him shyly. "I miss you."

    Apollyon''s lips curved in amusement.

    He carefully picked the bouquet from the table and handed them over to his wife. "The witch doctor told me you would be waking up today, so I went down the mountain to fetch some fresh blue poppies to give you."

    "Is that why you are carrying all those flowers?"

    As she inhaled its delicate scent, Luna smiled at him, "They are beautiful, Apollyon."

    Apollyon lifted her chin with a finger. "As beautiful as you, wife."

    Luna blushed, and she nced down at her feet. "Thank you."

    "You distract me when you blush." Giving her a mischievous grin, Apollyon pulled the bouquet from her grasp to ce it back to the table, but she clung unto it like a lifeline.

    "What do I do?" Luna''s striking green eyes with golden streaks were wide with concern, cradling the blue poppies like it was her own child. "Where do I put your gifts if I destroyed all the ss vases?"

    "Later," Apollyon said, grabbing at the bouquet a little stronger.

    Luna released her hold with a soft exhale.

    "We will think about themter." Apollyon ced the flowers gently back to the table and started taking off his jacket, throwing it aside. "I should tend your wounds first."

    Luna''s eyes devoured him as she bit her lip, staring at his nipples.

    "You''re not healing quickly as you should be."

    She swallowed hard and brought her gaze to his lips then to his eyes.

    "I want to lick you all over."

    ***************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ***************************

    "I want to lick you all over."

    Speechless, Luna stiffened as she met Apollyon''s eyes, recalling the time Ravin licked the Archangel''s Dust off her skin.

    What if Apollyon sensed that the Archdemon of Gluttony did this to her before?

    Heartbeat racing, Luna drew out her power to cloak her thoughts so that Apollyon wouldn''t have ess to that memory.

    Apollyon stepped closer to her, settling between her legs as he stood. "You''re hiding something from me again.

    "Your thoughts��" Apollyon''s blue eyes were hard as steel, yet his voice was polite. "I wasn''t probing your mind at all, but the way you abruptly blocked me made it even more suspicious."

    Guilt ate her from the inside out. "I��"

    Apollyon deserved to know the truth.

    Luna couldn''t live peacefully when her secrets keep piling up.

    Her jaws clenched as she prepared herself.

    It''s time.

    Clearing her throat, Luna said quietly. "I have something to tell you, husband."

    "Shh." Apollyon didn''t want to hear her excuses.

    Putting his hands on her shoulders, Apollyon pushed her down the bed and pinned her with his body.

    "Let''s just ept the way things are now and give yourself some time to rx."? As he nuzzled her neck, Apollyon growled low, "Wife."

 Chapter 399 - Hypocrite

    <h4>Chapter 399 - Hypocrite</h4>

    ****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    Brows knitting into a scowl, Luna couldn''t figure out how to spill her secret when she couldn''t seem to find the right timing to do so.

    She was busy thinking about how to open up the topic and what she should talk about first.

    How will she find the right opening so that his husband wouldn''t be shocked when Apollyon finally found out about Lilith trapped in her body while Luxen had put a baby in her stomach?

    Closing her eyes, Luna inhaled thete morning breeze as their horse descended from their house to the fields of golden ears of wheat.

    Apollyon promised to bring her outside and breathe in the fresh air because she was cooped up inside the house on top of the mountains for three days already.

    Luna exhaled as she nced upwards, blinking at the clear blue sky while she prayed for the goddess'' guidance.

    She had too many secrets with her, and she was afraid the time woulde when she would take everything to the grave.

    Luna never knew these days if she would still live long enough as an immortal or would she perish by one of those Archdemons.

    If she wouldn''t take matters into her own hands, the days will note where she could finally tell her husband the truth.

    The truth will set her free from this overwhelming guilt and paranoia.

    "Apollyon. I have been working very hard trying ahead, run as fast as I can to outrun the Archdemons chasing after me, but it seemed like I was stuck in the very same ce." Luna began as their brown stallion continued treading downward with care.? She was seated at the front as she leaned her back to Apollyon. "There is no discernible progress for my efforts."

    "At this point, the only answer I can see is to work even harder," Apollyon replied as he casually circled his hands around her waist as if she would fall anytime.

    Her husband was protective, which Luna thought was too much. "The only way to get out of our current situation is to elerate, get intense, and push for the breakthrough just ahead of us. We can get rid of the Blood Beast as your mate by figuring out how to cut the mating bond first."

    "You are an Archdemon now, and the possibilities are endless with the new power you acquired."? Apollyon''s tone was a sharp de as if he was a little envious. "You might have the ability to cut the soul cord yourself."

    Luna nodded as she rested her nape on his broad shoulders.

    Having a reliable husband was a dreame true.

    "I can''t figure it out yet, but I will try. Nevertheless, I have already eaten the souls of the demons." Luna''s eyes never let the tall golden ears of wheat, reaching for the sun, and she thought it was ready for harvest.? "It increased my power as an Archdemon, so maybe, I can teach myself to learn new tricks."

    "Let''s have faith that what is happening is for the best."

    Clearing her throat, Luna dered. "Apollyon. I have something important to tell you."

    There.

    Luna thought this was the perfect opening.

    "I have been trying to gain the courage to get it off my chest, but you said you wanted to get acquainted with my body on the bed, so I lost the chance to tell you." Her muscles tightened in preparation as she quit resting her pliant form on him and straightened her spine. "I��"

    "I think I have something more important to tell you, so hear me out first, and then I will listen to yours." Bending his head, Apollyon moved his chest closer in a slow deliberation that Luna could feel his heartbeats from the fabric of her golden thin-strapped low-cut sun-dress embellished with precious gems and embroidered flowers.

    "I am also going to exin why I was gone," Apollyon added. "I wasn''t only picking flowers for you near the foot of the mountain."

    "I was negotiating with the Spring Monarchs." His tone was so sharp it would probably draw blood. "They want to dere war on us."

    "War?! For what reason?!" Luna said incredulously as she strained to turn her head to face him.? "They have no gratitude when I sacrificed myself to contain the souls of demonic fairies!" She scowled, narrowing her eyes at him. " I took their deaths as my responsibility!"

    "Stop it, wife. I told you before that it wasn''t your burden to carry. The fates of their souls were in their own hands." Apollyon snapped, and Luna could tell his temper was spiking up again when he loosened the reins, urging the horse to move faster to get to their destination��a destination only Apollyon knew. "They chose to be utilized by an Archdemon in exchange for the limited power they can wield��making Lilith their source of Archdemon Magic." He gritted his teeth. "Do you understand?"

    Luna drew breath and released it before speaking. "It might be tempting for you to oversimplify death and sum it up as nothing, Apollyon. The resonance of death can''t be contained. Witnessing this massacre��the ending of another creature after relinquishing their control in all forms��had deep consequences in someone''s life. Mine and everyone else''s!" She told him with an impatient sneer.? "he witnesses'' lives are forever changed, and I will not turn back to normal. What happened at Ostara��" Her voice strained with reason. "It left a mark of ash upon my heart."

    "You need to bring yourself back here to the present, Luna. You have to get yourself together. Don''t be all in your head and not in your heart." Apollyon said quietly as he settled one hand to her throat, forcing her to tip back her head and rx in his shoulders. "You''re pretty squeamish for an Amazonian Warrior, and here, I thought you had seen it all as an immortal. I guess being sheltered in a temple of a goddess can equip you with strict morals. You killed a lot of possessed faeries at Ostara, and you didn''t seem to have a problem with that, nor did you hesitate."

 Chapter 400 - Unmet Expectations

    <h4>Chapter 400 - Unmet Expectations</h4>

    ****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ****************************

    "You killed a lot of possessed faeries at Ostara, and you didn''t seem to have a problem with that, nor did you hesitate."

    Blinking rapidly, Luna clutched the horse''s mane in panic as she stuttered, "I-I was p-protecting the children from that time."

    "So, what you are saying is, the lives of children are more important than the tainted faeries at that moment, just like how I considered you more important than the corrupted faeries of Lilith''s cult," Apollyon whispered in her ear as he caressed her throat the way he would pet a cat, the warmth of his palms sending chills down her spine. "So it''s alright to kill to protect others than sacrificing the demonic fairies to protect my wife. You have done it on Ostara, and you still argued with me the night I summoned you back."

    Astounding silence.

    "Ah~" Giving her a sardonic grin, he murmured, "The hypocrisy is astounding, beloved."

    Gritting her teeth, Luna scowled as she pulled his wrist and, shoving them away from her, "Two wrongs will not make a right!"

    "You sound defensive." Apollyon chuckled, and Luna elbowed his ribs in annoyance. He didn''t react. Maybe, it didn''t hurt. Perhaps, she should have elbowed him harder. "The look on your face when you frown with those protruding green eyes spikes up my amusement."

    Luna cleared his throat, "The death of the demonic faeries is still my fault, and I already amended the dangerous situation for the benefit of the Spring Courts."

    "The end." Jutting her chin, Luna shrugged. "Problem solved."

    "Are you, by chance, a masochist?" Apollyon asked, and his mischievous smile switched into an imprable mask in a span of seconds.

    "As much as I would like to prove you wrong because it turns me on when you get so fired up about our arguments, I don''t want to hear you ming yourself ever again."? He continued.

    "Everything isn''t your fault, devil''s advocate," Apollyon said grimly. "You know I did the right thing. You want to prove I''m wrong because Ick the morals you require of me, is that it?"

    "I? know enough to figure out that you haveck morals ever since I met you." Luna replied with a grudging conviction before wincing. "��but I would have expected you to be better now that you have changed."

    "Ah~" Apollyon snapped his fingers in front of her face in realization.

    Luna squinted, shifting her narrowed eyes from the horizon, away from the grey mountain peaks with the set blue and silver-white shades in the background to look over her shoulder in a glower.

    "I think this is d����j�� vu, but I forgot the exact moment��" Apollyon trailed off in recollection before adding," I knew you had told me something like this before when we just married at the Vampire Realm. You even made that speech during your coronation in front of the Consortium as the Vampire King''s Empress, encouraging thedies to do what they want."

    "You wanted to annihte the foundation of a Patriarchal Kingdom because you believed that it is the right thing to do." Apollyon sounded like he spoke through his teeth with forced restraint. "--so it alles down to your expectations of me."

    There was a deadly pause before her husband spoke again. "Please make sure that you are realistic with them as well, Luna. As your husband, I can''t be dancing to your tune all the time. I am my own person with my own set of beliefs that are different from yours."

    "You will lose all your respect for me if I do everything you wanted like I''m your servant. Did we already agree to this before? " Apollyon said drily, and his lips curved upward in a sardonic grin. "You can only treat me as your servant in bed, and that''s it."

    "You always strive to do what''s righteous��what you perceived as morally right��but have you ever considered the fact that what''s right for you might be wrong for others and what''s wrong for you could be right for me at the time? You''re not always right, beloved."

    Luna wanted to argue with that, but she kept her mouth shut.

    There was a painful tightness in her throat.

    "You hated the way I treated you and controlled you before, and here you are, wanting to do the same?" Apollyon asked.

    Luna swallowed hard, and her guilt squeezed her heart that she struggled to breathe. "It was never my intention to control you."

    "I''m not being controlling anymore to you, wife, so I hope you wouldn''t control me either. Don''t think I don''t love you when I don''t agree with everything you say. We shouldn''t forget that we are still separate people even if the mating bond had connected our souls." Apollyon''s hands sped the reins so tight she swore she could see his green veins bulging from his pale skin.? "Don''t enforce your truth on me because I will not be swayed no matter how many times we talk about it. I am entitled to my truth just like how you are entitled of yours." Luna gasped, taking offense to her words.? "I will kill whoever I want to kill, and you can kill whoever you want without my interference. Let others make their choices and take responsibility for it."

    She didn''t know why Apollyon was angry at her these days.

    Was it a crime to care about other creatures?

    "Our love would not be enough to help us ovee the obstacles," Apollyon said a matter of factly. "We have to nurture our mutual respect as vampire mates."

    Pour love, and someone will quench their thirst.

    "You don''t get where I''ming from."

    Offer the heart, and someone will feed on it.

    "You have pretty high standards you require for an evil Vampire King to reach, don''t you think?" Apollyon reasoned out and exhaled. "I might be changing a little bit as I adapt to you and having you as my wife despite our forced blood bond because of an Archdemon."

    "Changing for the better to suit you is a way of showing you my love, but you can''t change everything about me to suit who you are." Apollyon''s words were like poisonous arrows embedded in her gut because Luna knew that what he said was true. "You have to ept me for who I am, just like I try to understand who you are by being a considerate husband."

 Chapter 401 - You Humble Me

    <h4>Chapter 401 - You Humble Me</h4>

    ****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ****************************

    "You have to ept me for who I am, just like I try to understand who you are by being a considerate husband."

    "Well, thank you for your consideration and for keeping me safe." Luna said coldly, cial enough to give her husband well-deserved frostbite."I really appreciate it."

    Shaking his head, Apollyon rubbed her back in aforting gesture. "I think this self-me of yours is the source of perceived insanity. Don''t worry, as your husband; I am here to keep you sane."

    She exhaled a frustrated sigh as she ran her fingers through her hair as the blue poppies tied on her silver strands dropped to the grasnds.

    Before Apollyon decided to show her around the beautiful sights in these mountains, her husband had given her beautiful poppies earlier and tied a few of them unto her silver hair, iming that it would make her more enchanting.

    It turned out he was makingme excuses so that he could y with her silky tresses.

    "You are having fun humiliating me like this, right?" Frowning, Luna crossed her arms over her chest. "Do you enjoy frustrating the fuck out of me?"

    Sensing her hurt, Apollyon began to tease her as he gently groped her breasts, tweaking her nipples with his thumb and forefinger like they were his little knobs to y with. "Not so much as I would love to fuck the fuck out of you."

    Apollyon manipted her with sex every single time they argued with each other as if that would appease her every time white steams woulde out of her ears in annoyance.

    Sometimes, Luna wondered if he thought of her as his whore from the Consortium, or was he merely showing his affections through physical contact?

    She exhaled, giving him a side-eye instead of screaming in frustration.

    Glowering at him, Luna''s tone sang with utmost sweetness��an irony to what she currently felt. "You are inappropriate for a Vampire King. You act like we hadn''t done it before we traveled down here, Apollyon."

    Luna knew the horse had trotted closer to the foot of the mountains, and Apollyon became more careful with handling the reins when they moved into steeper slopes.

    Tall grasses and trees now reced the silver-gold fields amid the afternoon sun with bright green leaves and long wide branches as they followed the pebbled paths.

    "I want to lead you by example��your role model," Apollyon smirked as he caressed her protruding stomach under her loose sundress. "You will be as inappropriate, and I will look normal beside you."

    **************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    **************************

    There was a long silence after that.

    Apollyon thought Luna wouldn''t speak to him ever again after he shared his concerns, challenging her twisted version of morality��one that he would never��-never in a million years��-ept and agree with. Her arguments felt weak to him, just feeding into this inted sense of ''good'' which can do more harm than ''bad.''

    To him, his wife was acting like she had a moral high ground on other people, regting and frowning those who did otherwise.

    Frown lines marred his forehead. Apollyon couldn''t entirely me his wife for this as he tried to understand where she came from.

    He would let her believe how she wanted to believe, but Apollyon will not be swayed about feeling guilt about m*therf*ckers who deserved to die.

    "I��I''m sorry, Apollyon," Luna said out-of-the-blue while he enjoyed the fresh air in this part of uncharted territory at the Spring Courts��a ce where only their solitaries lived in peace, surrounded by earth. "You were right."

    What''s with her sudden change of heart?

    He raised an eyebrow at his wife''s rare acquiesce.

    She paused, and he waited patiently for the rest of her apology. "Maybe, I was controlling to you because I have high expectations of you, and you were correct when you said I wanted you to change." She exined, and it made him smirk when he found out that his hunch was right.

    "I find yourck of morals�� disturbing. Intimidating." Like every woman in this Realm, they seek to change the man they loved from the inside and out, and that''s not necessarily good. "It was simr to Archdemons."

    "Before we can forgive one another, we have to understand one another," Apollyon replied.

    "It''s not new. Vampires have been predators ever since the dawn of time, as normal as how the sun rises in the east and descends in the West." He nced upwards at the sunny rays, and a verdantndscape rose when they finally arrived at the bottom.

    He positioned themselves in an earthy path and slid off the horse. "It is in our nature, and an Amazonian warrior, like you, can''t change nature and animal instincts itself."

    "I have witnessed too much death, Apollyon-��mass murders of children, women, demonic faeries." Luna stared nkly at her trembling hands as if she imagined them soaked in blood. "The Massacre of Ostara. I have seen too much it''s making insane." Luna clenched her jaw. "I don''t understand why the numerous sight never takes a toll on you and your sanity."

    "I could say I''m used to it as an immortal," Apollyon replied as he looked around the green hues, staring at the blue poppies in the meadow which he had picked for his wife.

    Both of them were so far from their home at the mountaintop that he could barely see it. "I only think death is merely a sleeping state in the passage from this life to afterlife. Death is an initiation into Heaven,? Hell, and the Underworld. It is as natural as the gift of birth as we wait for our baby to arrive."? Apollyon shrugged with nonchnce. "You are now a Vampire and an Archdemon, wife. If you don''t want to go insane, you should never take death personally."

    A sunlit cloud passed by, providing them shade from the outdoor lights painting their skin with warmth.

    "You are right. I will try that." Luna said as she got off the mount, and Apollyon caught her in his embrace. "I can''t be insane in the middle of a brewing war."

 Chapter 402 - Breaking Of Alliances

    <h4>Chapter 402 - Breaking Of Alliances</h4>

    ***********************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ***********************

    Apollyon gripped her waist to assist her when she got off the mount, and she fell right into his embrace without breaking eye contact.

    The corners of her vision blurred as she focused on her husband''s striking Prussian blues��beautiful and exotic to look at.

    Up until now, those intense eyes never failed to make her heartbeat like she had been running��running�� all her life, and when she finally saw himing towards her, and time stopped.

    Nobody dared to look away, or else they would lose the magic in drowning into someone''s soul as everything felt like it was moving in slow motion, and when she saw him, she fell in love, and Apollyon smiled.

    He smiled because he knew.

    Luna didn''t have to do anything else except to settle her hands at the back of his neck and wrapped her legs around his hips as he clung unto him like a ko.

    Her husband already had everything under control. She closed her eyes as her long silver strands flew to the left, dancing in the wind in this early summer morning.

    It was the best feeling in the world to be in her husband''s presence after a long separation, rxing�� enjoying��appreciating the beauty of nature in peace away from the crowd.

    If she told Apollyon that she preferred to live in the countryside instead of the pce, would he humor her and live with him forever in that small house blooming on the mountain top along with the skies so out of their reach?

    There were times where she forgot that both of them had responsibilities in the Vampire Realm. Luna sighed, and she bit her cheek in frustration.

    "The intensity of the Battle of Krinoniapolis had abated, yet we have another problem." Apollyon''s gaze darkened, watching her with half-closed lids, which Luna fondly called his ''bedroom eyes,'' and Luna looked away as she rested her head on his shoulder.

    "I already told you that the Spring Monarchs had dered war on us, didn''t I?" Apollyon murmured drowsily as he held buttocks in one hand while the other one was pulling at the reins of the horse as the three of them walked in the direction of an ancient oak tree.

    Her lips curved in amusement.

    Luna loved a man who was good at multi-tasking.

    Nevertheless, Luna''s hooded eyes widened when it finally sunk to her befuddled brain that they were talking about the war again.

    How many times did she have to hear the word war in just one day?

    Mentioning the word for the nth time will not make it seem more real to her.

    She couldn''t imagine the gravity of the situation and the catastrophe it would bring to the Vampire Realm and the Spring Courts.

    The lives of creatures from both Realms will not be spared, affecting the creatures around them.

    Luna massaged her temples to soothe her headache.

    The cycle of suffering will continue if no one wanted to retreat.

    "The peace talks I am currently having with King Nuada and Queen Gloriana are still ongoing," Apollyon said.

    "Are we breaking alliances with the Spring Courts now?" Luna forced her eyes wide open, groaning in frustration.

    She was tempted to sleep as the sound of nature lulled her in a serene luby.

    Maybe, if she slept outdoors under an ancient tree as sheid in a bed of grass and blue poppies, no harm woulde to her.

    Those Archdemons wouldn''t dare disturb her mind with nightmares if Mother Nature cradled her in her loving arms.

    It would be nice to live here forever with her husband and dispose of her title in exchange for peace, happiness, and freedom��away from the war between the Vampire-kind and the Spring Courts.

    When she nced around the meadow, all Luna could see were the shades of green in the forest.

    "How about Prince Aspen?" Luna prompted, forgetting about her impossible wishes. "He was the representative of the Spring Courts��an ambassador for the Vampire Realm. He should help us with it."

    "We are still allies with the Spring Courts, and I am using Prince Aspen to aid me with the negotiations along with King Zephyr. So far, the Spring Monarchs was willing to listen." Apollyon informed her as he gently ced her down to sit near the gigantic roots of an ancient oak while he encircled the tree to tie the brown stallion at the back.

    Luna turned her head as if searching for him despite knowing he was just right behind the tree as she listened to her voice.

    She felt this niggling feeling of random paranoia when her husband was out of her sight.

    Goddess, Luna noticed, was bing clingier and more stubborn! She bit her lip in shame.

    It''s getting out of hand!

    Shaking her trembling hands to get rid of this rising anxiety appearing out-of-the-blue, Luna focused on what her husband was saying instead of her thoughts.

    "But I don''t know how long it willst. The aggression from the ruling nobilities of the Spring Courts is palpable." Apollyon continued, and his deep baritone sounded louder when he returned.

    Heat radiated through her chest when Apollyon finally showed up as he walked towards her, her back leaning against the rough surface of the trunk, rubbing against the contrast of her pale, smooth skin.

    "They are even more cautious of my presence when they called me to attend the Council. There was never a moment where the atmosphere isn''t tense, constantly bringing up that I am a Vampiric Fae and I would break the peace treaties like the ruling nobility from the Fall and the Summer Courts have done, not honoring their promises." Apollyon clenched his fists in anger at the Spring Court''s audacity to judge his loyalty based on his what he was.

    If looks could kill��

    Apollyon nced down, baring his teeth to scowl at the grass, which didn''t do anything to him. "One noble told me that I might belong to the Summer Courts, but the kind of Fae that I am couldn''t be trusted."

 Chapter 403 - They Dont Know You Like I Do

    <h4>Chapter 403 - They Don''t Know You Like I Do</h4>

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    Achdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    Apollyon nced down, baring his teeth to scowl at the grass, which didn''t do anything to him. "One noble told me that I might belong to the Summer Courts, but the kind of Fae that I am couldn''t be trusted."

    "The entricities of character do not necessarily lead to unreliability," Luna told Apollyon, defending him. "One must look beyond appearances to see the essence of feelings and intentions."

    "They don''t know you as I do." Luna looked him in the eye, and Apollyon noticed.

    They stared at each other for a silent moment.

    The warm breeze would make their messy hair a beautiful nest for the robbins chirping from the branches.

    Apollyon stepped closer to her, and his big body blocked the slivers of sunlight shooting from the canopy of leaves and branches above their heads, shading her from the sunlight.

    "I knew you were capable of loyalty, somehow, even those times where the Consortium wasn''t abolished yet. " Luna smiled. "I was waiting for you to show your cards to me and y them right, or else I would vanish from your life despite being your blood mate."

    Prussian blue eyes narrowed. "Do you trust me?"

    She found it a peculiar question.

    "Yes." Luna didn''t dare look away from him because as she told the truth. " I trust you."

    Apollyon raised an eyebrow at her confident response."You have to tell me your secret after we discuss this brewing war with the Spring Courts, then."

    "I will," Luna repeated and nodded her head at him. "I will tell you." Clearing her throat, she rubbed the nape of her neck awkwardly. " I think today is the right time to reveal my secrets."

    "But,ter." Luna sighed. "Possible war strategies against the Spring Courts are more important to discuss."

    She swore that she wasn''t running from this anymore, hiding her memories from him as guilt ate her heart from the inside out like termites.

    Having these concealed secrets inside was like allowing a parasite to live in her body.

    How ironic that it wasn''t far from her reality because the Archdemon was still inside her somewhere.

    Apollyon needed to know that so they could do something about it.

    She shouldn''t wait for the Archdemon of Envy to wake up before they take precautions to get rid of her.

    Luna also thought that this constant refusal to expose her secrets and lies made her think she had gone mad.

    Her husband deserved to know, and Luna was prepared for all kinds of reaction��even the wild rage, she predicted.

    "It''s a mess that I don''t have to deal with, but I have to,"? Apollyon said as he casually dropped to the ground andid down to the thick grass.

    Folding his arms, Apollyon put his hands at the back of his head to rest.? "I can easily go to war with the Spring Courts if I chose to, but I couldn''t sacrifice your safety for the sake of something stupid as pride. This war isn''t about the death of their kind."

    "It''s all about the pride of the Spring Courts for allowing the Massacre in their own territory in the First Day of Spring��where their powered is the strongest and at its peak--while the rest of the Courts are watching."? He continued.

    "The Spring Faeries��" Apollyon clicked his tongue in frustration. "They might be fun-loving, but they are too impulsive. I want to get this over with."

    "I don''t want to go to war, Apollyon, without a cause." She whispered as her gaze shifted to the gorgeous green canopy, the sunlight ying peek-a-boo behind the cluster of leaves as it sparkled like diamonds.

    Being with Apollyon under the shade of a tree was food for her Archdemon Soul.

    Clutching the grass and the dirt, Luna straightened her spine only to leave the tree bark and crawl on all fours to settle beside Apollyon.

    "Didn''t the Spring Faeries learn anything from the Ostara Massacre?" Luna demanded as she rested her head in Apollyon''s outstretched arm. "Did they want to witness the deaths of more Faerie Sentinels? Don''t they have a conscience?"

    "What about the family of those soldiers, especially the children they would leave if they go to the battlefield and die?" Luna asked indignantly. "Families might lose their brothers, their fathers, and their sons to Thanatos."

    "You sound so sure that they would die." As his lips curved upward in amusement, Apollyon stretched his free arm to cover his face, his fingers spreading toward the sun.

    The leaves began to dance in the wind.

    "That''s because they would die, Apollyon," Luna said in a tone that was as sharp as a de that can cut diamonds. "I would make sure all of them will face death if they make an enemy out of the Vampire Realm. But I would probably kill the Spring Monarchs first before I allow that to happen."

    "You are bloodthirsty, wife." Apollyon brought his palms down to cover Luna''s eyes, and then he whispered, "I like that. I thought you lost the trait the day I sacrificed the souls of the demonic faeries to Lilith."

    "Well, to be fair, they have started it, after all."

    She argued with her husband earlier, and it went on pretty well now that she apologized after her husband made her realize things that were essential to their rtionship.

    It came as a shocker.

    Luna had no idea that her husband was capable of being the mature one, and she appreciated that Apollyon made efforts to lead her well as the husband.

    So far, Luna had noints about her husband''s shift yet, but she was looking out for the next time he hurt her pride.

    Luna finally epted that in life and love, sometimes, one had to get off her high horse and lower down pride to admit when one was in the wrong to make a rtionship work in harmony.

    "You finally understand that sometimes being cruel means being kind." Apollyon let out an evil chuckle as he faced her, pulling her closer.? "I got rid of the demonic faeries of this Realm--"

    "Only for them toe back to be eaten by the Archdemon soul they brought back to her own physical form." Luna interrupted, shaking her head. "How fast the wheels have turned on them and us!"

 Chapter 404 - Peace Negotiations

    <h4>Chapter 404 - Peace Negotiations</h4>

    ***********************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ***********************

    "Youined about the Spring Faeries having no sense of gratitude for your sacrifice to eat the shape-shifting demons, right?" Apollyon murmured as he lovingly caressed the silver strands away from her flushed ivory face while his arm cradled her head.

    Every time Apollyon looked at this silver-haired beauty beside him made him think she was a personification of mother-of-pearl. "--but I didn''t tell you the real reason why they wanted? to dere war on us yet."

    "Tell me, husband." Luna urged, her hand sliding inside the V of his loose white shirt, feeling the warmth of his skin as she stroked the small hairs on his chest. "I''m dying to know."

    Apollyon closed his eyes and purred. "Well, the Spring Monarchs thought you were the one who summoned the shape-shifting demons at Ostara because you want to y the heroine and save the day. "

    "What?!" Luna''s fingernails raking his pectorals surprised him more than her sharp tone.

    "Why would they dere war on us if we saved their kind fromplete carnage and annihtion." Apollyon opened his eyes only to see his wife''s pretty face in a scowl. "That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard! It would have been alright if we are real enemies here, but we are not!"

    "Same," Apollyon said as he smoothed the wrinkles of Luna''s forehead with his thumb. "I thought so at the beginning."

    "Are they out of their minds?" Eyes wide, Luna asked incredulously.

    Apollyon knew she didn''t expect a serious answer. "For what purpose would I want to y the hero?" It was more of an inner monologue rather than a hypothetical question.? "This didn''t make any sense."

    "Yes, you''re right."

    "--but I''m still d that you proceeded with the peace talks, Apollyon. Knowing you, you wouldn''t hesitate in going to war when the safety of the Vampire Realm is at stake." Luna bit her lip, thinking hard, and Apollyon smirked at how adorable she appeared.

    Shaking his head, Apollyon realized he needed to stop acting smitten to his wife as if they just got married.

    "I thought that the Spring Courts are dering war with us because they found out that you killed the demonic faeries as a sacrifice to summon my Archdemon soul back!"

    "The Spring Monarchs had rified their point at one of these agonizing meetings,"? Apollyon replied as his gaze fell to those luscious cherry-red lips.

    He let out an inaudible groan.

    Apollyon needed to stay focused and get his mind out of the gutter as well.

    It was bad to be distracted when they were talking about war.

    "There was never a moment where I''m not tempted to kill everyone who attended. If they wanted me to y the role of the viin, I should have left the Spring Fair Folk to die at Ostara, leaving them to y each other? while we are nowhere to be found, returning to the Vampire Realm."

    "Those Spring Monarchs are stupid," Luna observed.

    "I don''t know what happened, but in every Spring Faeries'' eyes, you are the viin, wife."

    "What?" Luna sighed in frustration as she shifted her gaze at the ancient oak tree''s wide branches and the quivering leaves.

    "Why did I became the viin for saving these Spring Faeries?" Luna asked. "I don''t understand."

    Apollyon brought his free arm to settle on the grass as he waved them to the side as if he was making a snow angel, loving the feel of the tips of the green des clinging unto his sleeves.

    Today was a special day, and Apollyon hadn''t appreciated nature this much.

    It felt good toy in a bed of grass with his wife, even just for a moment.

    "My job is to rectify that image of yours as the Vampire Empress. I swear someone is ruining your reputation, which might end up in a full-scale war. There must be a misunderstanding."

    "Something wasn''t adding up, Apollyon. All of the Spring Faeries who have a pair of eyes at Ostara have seen me summon the Demon Snake Spirit to save the remaining guests from being possessed." Luna said. "I''m sure the Spring Monarchs had appreciated the fact that I helped them avoid the carnage when all of their powersbined wouldn''t win against those demons if I didn''t eat them."

    Apollyon peered at her with hooded eyes.

    He desired to rx and sleep in his wife''s embrace at the house, but Luna told her she was cooped inside that house for so long, sleeping for three days.

    She was tired of being confined in an enclosed space like a prisoner, iming she felt toasted and stuffy when the only clothes she wore were corsets.

    He still decided to humor her and offered to apany her outside, roaming around the mountains as they rode Prince Aspen''s brown stallion at the barn.

    Apollyon was busy these days because of the Spring Courts, and he prayed that everything would be resolved sooner rather thanter.

    He missed his wife, and he wanted them to have a good time, enjoying each other''spany.

    Nevertheless, Apollyon was d that the witch doctor had an urate prediction on what day Luna would wake up from her slumber as her body recuperated and adjusted from digesting those demons. (if there was such a thing)

    The Fairy Witch Doctor must have told him the truth.

    The ck cat he brought to the house to guard Luna sessfully did its job, catching his wife''s soul before it got pulled away somewhere else.

    Well, Apollyon was relieved that the ck cat with golden eyes wasn''t useless.

    Apollyon whisperedzily as he closed his eyes, "It''s time for us to regroup? and learn from our experiences rather than blindly forge ahead and go to war with the Spring Courts."

    "Tell me who dared challenge the Vampire Realm?" Luna replied, determined. "They aren''t only battling with a Vampire King but an Archdemon Empress."

    Apollyon opened an eye as he nced down at her. "Who else would do you think is trying to push the Vampire Realm in a corner?"

 Chapter 405 - Vicious Rumors

    <h4>Chapter 405 - Vicious Rumors</h4>

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    "Ah." Luna grimaced as she continued bitterly, "Was it that delusional princess iming you want to rece your wife and marry her, instead?"

    "It''s just a spection of mine. I think that Princess Alisabethe was the one who started the rumours that you sent the shapeshifting demons at the celebration of Ostara to destroy the Spring Courts. Because you have proven that you were the only one who can control diabolical creatures. The Spring Monarchs have witnessed you summon a Demon Snake and neutralized the threat with ease. "How can a vampire subdue a demonic legion except for its Master or a stronger demon, unless, that someone--you--who is at a level above their hierarchy?" Apollyon told her as he listened to the calming whispers of the wind.

    "Alisabethe also had a reason, spreading that malicious rumour to spite me because I, apparently, led her on," Apollyon continued. "Rumors have also spread in the Spring Courts that you, my wife, is also an Archdemon."

    Luna pped a hand on her forehead, and the pitch of her voice rose in a panic. "How can that stupid gossip spread like wildfire? I am afraid, Apollyon. There is a grain of truth in every gossip--"

    Apollyon interrupted her." ��sometimes it can be an exaggeration. My spections are... it was either Prince Aspen or King Zephyr who betrayed us and told someone from the Spring Courts that you became an Archdemon or... they drew out the conclusions themselves at Ostara."

    One of the things Luna hated in this worked was to be med for a crime she didn''tmit, including the things she hadn''t done before.

    Luna raised her head towards him as she clutched at the fabric of his loose shirt in desperation. "Princess Alisabethe suspected me first instead of King Zephyr, who was in the territory of the Spring Courts?! Shouldn''t they point fingers at the Shadow Kingdom?! Those shape-shifting demons were simr to the umbras summoned by Shadow Masters--"

    "��except the fact that they can possess demons." Apollyon reasoned out. "That''s why they can''t point fingers at King Zephyr."

    She gasped. "What would they do if they found out that I am a true? Archdemon?"

    "Just like what is happening now," Apollyon replied calmly. "They would dere war against us because, in their eyes, you were the one who controlled those shape-shifting demons. They could also me you for killing the unicorns as the leader of that demonic cult and make you responsible for the blood sacrifice of the faeries who turned themselves into monsters--devil worshippers--if words got out---"

    Frustrated, Luna red at the sun while its golden rays behind the tree canopies red back at her. "I don''t want to be a scapegoat, Apollyon."

    "I wouldn''t let them, either. I told you I would protect you, didn''t I?" Apollyon''s harsh tone sounded like he wanted to draw blood. "If someone found traces of evidence about Prince Aspen burning those corpses..."

    Her blood boiled with anger at the Spring Courts. "Are we sure that Prince Aspen did what he promised to do? Did Cederic see him burn these corpses?"

    "Yes. Cederic told me that they disposed the cadavers and set them on fire without destroying the forests surrounding it."

    "You couldn''t hide the thick, ck smokeing out from burning that many corpses, husband. Can all of them be trusted? How about Prince Aspen''s Faerie sentinels who helped in carrying the dead bodies?" Luna demanded. "What if one of them told one of the Spring Monarchs and brought evidence with them after they burned those demonic fairies in the forests?"

    ''This wasn''t Apollyon''s fault,'' Luna reminded herself, breathing hard.

    Luna exhaled as she massaged her temples, calming herself down when she noticed she was close to snarling at her husband.

    "Hmm." Apollyon faced her with an intense gaze and caressed her jaw at the back of his hand.

    The tone of his voice was pragmatic when he said, "I would tell Prince Aspen to investigate his Faerie Sentinels, as well. You don''t have to worry."

    "I told the Spring Courts that I had sent you back to the Vampire Realm along with the High Priest and Cederic while I remained here in the Faerie Realm to deal with the negotiations. Just in case they would attempt to snare the Envoy while I''m not there to apany you during your travel." Apollyon informed her, and she thought that it was particr juicy information��one she could sink her teeth.

    "I will keep you with me at all times when I am not a hundred per cent sure that the Spring Courts could be trusted now." Luna listened intently at Apollyon''s words. "We will know if the Spring Monarchs betrayed the agreement if Cederic contacted me that they were ambushed on the way to the Vampire Realm."

    Luna sighed with relief, and the tension of her muscles loosened. "You did well, husband,"

    Apollyon responded to this crisis well.

    "Very smart." Hopefully, they could set up more traps just in case the Spring Courts did something unexpected.

    They have to be prepared at all times to initiate a counter-attack.

    "Where are we, anyway?"

    ''"We are still in the uncharted territory of the Spring Courts. Only solitaries Faes live around this area. As the Spring Courts alliance representative, Prince Aspen promised our safety while we remain hidden from the general public so that we wouldn''t stir political unrest." Apollyon exined, ying with her hair''s strands bybing them with his fingers for the thousandth time whenever he felt bored.

    Luna hadn''t seen Apollyon y with his raven locks yet, so maybe, she should do the same to him sometimes."Prince Aspen''s trusted Faerie Sentinels and the vampire soldiers I picked from the envoy hung around were patrolling the mountains to ensure our safety and alert us of attacks from the armies of King Nuada and Queen Gloriana."

    "Basically, we are living as fugitives." Luna observed, and it was supposed toe out as sarcastic but Apollyon replied in a blunt, "Yes."

 Chapter 406 - The Curse Of Scleranthus

    <h4>Chapter 406 - The Curse Of Scleranthus</h4>

    **************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    **************************

    "Basically, we are living as fugitives." Luna observed, and it was supposed toe out as sarcastic, but Apollyon replied in a blunt, "Yes."

    "The Spring Courts must have hated my presence, for they know who I am and what I looked like." Lifting her head to settle closer between the ball of Apollyon''s shoulder and his armpit, Luna wrapped her arm over her husband''s stomach as well as her leg, taking over his thighs.

    Luna was upfront about iming her ownership over Apollyon, announcing them to the chirping birds and the squirrels running around their rxed forms on the grass.

    "We were too exposed at the Ostara because of themotion created by Princess Alisabethe and Prince Aelfric. " Her eyebrows drew together in concern. "They would recognize us right away if we went back to the outskirts of the Krinoniapolis."

    "I bet they would kill us at first sight to avenge the deaths of their loved ones. You ate those shape-shifting demons, so they think of them as a part of you��that you killed their family." Apollyon let out a heavy sigh as he scrubbed a hand over his face. "You have be a scapegoat."

    Why are they so unlucky?

    "Why are the odds always piled against me��against us?" Luna''s voice weakened in its power as she nced at him with pain in her eyes. "I must have done something bad if I ever had a past life."

    He stifled augh.

    "I think you are the gods and the goddesses'' creature to y with," Apollyon said in jest, but if he thought about it, it was closer to the truth.

    She squeezed her eyes shut as tears rolled down her cheeks. "Don''t say that."

    Apollyon was happy that his wife was back, but these series of unfortunate events wouldn''t leave them alone.

    He couldn''t just kill all the Spring Monarchs in one go, either, because their alliances with the rest of the Faerie Courts mighte for them.

    Apollyon didn''t like that his wife might worry herself sick over this, acquiring dark circles around her eyes when the war wasn''t official yet.

    There was still a chance that Apollyon could mend this minor dent in his previously spotless alliance with the Spring? Monarchs, so all wasn''t lost.

    They have to prepare for the possibility, but that didn''t mean that the war would push through for real.

    There was an aching dullness in his chest when Apollyon saw how anxious Luna became when he told her about the peace negotiations.

    A thought crossed his mind.

    Was it better if Apollyon didn''t tell her about it because she might me herself again for causing problems with the Faerie Realm?

    Apollyon noticed that her wife was mentally unstable��no, he didn''t mean that his wife was on the brink of madness��but maybe, she was too sensitive because of the pregnancy.

    These recent events might have taken a toll on her mind, giving her stress.

    Any kind of stress for the mother was dangerous for the baby in her womb.

    Apollyon shouldn''t have told her this.

    It was his fault.

    Apollyon didn''t want to hear his wife me herself again.

    He couldn''t stand it, so Apollyon would rather argue with her, get her all worked up, and they would end up in bed together, making up afterward.

    Apollyon had blown her mind with his skills... and then she wouldn''t think about anything else.

    Sexual congress was a good stress reliever based on his past experiences, which might apply to his wife.

    Apollyon used it to pacify the Blood Beast from eating more souls when Ravin still possessed his body in the past, and so far, Apollyon thought it was effective.

    They could try that activity more often since Apollyon also enjoyed it very much.

    "If the war pushed through, I would have to send you to Scleranthus," Apollyon said grimly. "You will not be allowed to get out if I didn''t visit you outside the entrance."

    "Scleranthus?" Tilting her head, Luna squinted at him in suspicion. "What is that?"

    Oh, Apollyon forgot that he hadn''t mentioned Scleranthus to her yet.

    The Pce of Scleranthus was where Empresses lived in the Vampire Realm.

    An Empress wasn''t required to sleep with their husband every night when the King had the Consortium at his beck and call if he desired to enjoy the pleasures of the flesh.

    The Empress was only tasked to bear the Vampire King''s heir, so she only came out from herir once a month to perform her wifely duties.

    After the deed was done, the Empress will stay hidden at the Scleranthus until the Vampire King called for her again.

    The Pce of Scleanthus also prevented other men from coveting the Empress if they ever got the chance to see her otherworldly beauty.

    Apollyon broke the ancient traditions of his pureblood vampire ancestors because he didn''t want to be apart from his blood mate like how his mother and father were.

    "I can''t believe I''m going to tell you this, but I need to do it." That deep growl Apollyon made as he warned her made her frown. "Scleranthus used to be the Vampire Empress''ir."

    Luna gasped in shock.

    "It is cursed," Apollyon added, "Any males who would step foot on the entrance drop dead in an instant."

    ***************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ****************************

    "Apollyon." Luna narrowed her eyes at him in suspicion. "Isn''t that a bit��"

    "Only females are allowed in that Empress'' Pce." Apollyon rified, yet for some reason, it came out as a near growl.

    She narrowed her eyes at him. "Howe I have never heard of this before?"

    What was this sudden anger from Apollyon when they were merely talking about a mere pce for women only?

    What was he hiding from her?

    So it wasn''t only Luna who was hiding a secret from her blood mate?

    "Because I didn''t want you to stay there because, like my father, I might lose my ess to you, my own Empress, and I didn''t want that."

 Chapter 407 - No Means NO!

    <h4>Chapter 407 - No Means ''NO!''</h4>

    ******************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ******************************

    "I didn''t want you to stay there because, like my father, I might lose my ess to you, my own Empress, and I didn''t want that," Apollyon said without hesitation. "If you don''t want to see me, I can''t? force you to meet me outside Scleranthus unless Ipel ten girls to drag you if you refused."

    If Luna were in Apollyon''s shoes, she would have done that as well.

    She knew that Apollyon didn''t want to be separated from his mate, and knowing her previous stubborn self; Luna would have taken advantage of the fact that no man can get inside their if Apollyon told her about the Scleranthus, the residence of the Empress,

    She wouldn''t get out of the Pce, either, even if the evil Vampire King she perceived threatened to set the Pce on fire.

    Pouting, Apollyon ced onerge hand over hers. "If you didn''t want to see me, I can''t? force you to meet me outside unless Ipel ten girls to drag you out if you refused."

    Luna snorted because both of them drew out the same conclusion.

    "Don''t worry. You don''t have to. If I''m angry at you, I will not hide inside Scleranthus. I would make sure you know." Luna reassured him as she gently patted him in the chest before she got up into a sitting position, smoothing? her skirts with her legs outstretched, brushing the lint off her loose floral gossamer gown.

    Apollyon''s body jerked upward and quickly stood up so that he could offer his hand.

    Luna smiled at him and settled her hand on his palm.

    Apollyon pulled her up without warning, and she stumbled straight into his husband''s arms, leaning her weight towards him.

    His hands casually settled on her waist as if they belonged there.

    Apollyon towered over her despite being a tall woman as both of them stared at each other. Sometimes when they stood so close like this, it made her heart flutter.

    Her husband''s presence intimidated her at random moments, and she still hadn''t figured the reason behind it.

    It was amazing how a man could make her feel more feminine and vulnerable by his silent dominance, demanding her full attention.

    Luna breathed through her parted lips, feeling the sexual tension surrounding them.

    Again.

    It never disappeared--always there, just lying dormant, until someone pushed the right buttons.

    Swallowing hard, Luna averted her gaze and focused on his Adam''s apple bobbing up and down.

    Apollyon didn''t let her get away with brushing him off.

    His left hand left her lower back to raise her chin and nted his lips over hers.

    +++

    Apollyon apanied her as she explored thendscape, walking hand-in-hand.

    When they descended into a grassy area with stones and boulders, Apollyon didn''t let her descend herself and insist on carrying her.

    Luna only acquiesced because she couldn''t look around the mountains if she disagreed with him treating her like a helpless cripple.

    She knew this was her husband''s way of pampering her.

    It was unfortunate that she wasn''t good at acting like a spoiled wife.

    She couldn''t stifle augh at how romantic he was because it was ridiculous�� but at least they were having fun fooling around like they were innocent and yful children instead of immortals.

    "It used to be my mother''s home." Apollyon abruptly spoke as Luna listened attentively while watching at the low-hanging clouds which covered the mountaintops into a mist. "She only came out once in a blue moon, refusing to see her husband and her son because she was too obsessed with her paintings than us."

    Luna can understand how Apollyon''s mother was obsessed with the paintings because they were too many of them in the Vampire Castle than she could count. "She would rather drown herself in her art and focus on her muses than care about her son. I hate her very much, and I''m d she was gone." Grimacing, Luna didn''t know how to react to the deration.? "Sometimes, I wondered if I was the one who killed her when the Blood Beast had taken over me."

    Luna''s eyes widened in shock as she turned to look at him. "The Archdemon of Gluttony killed your own mother?"

    "I don''t remember." Apollyon couldn''t meet her eyes and focused on anything but her.

    As she inhaled the scent of the wildflower blossoms and grasnds in the crisp air, Apollyon continued, "Both the Vampire King and the Empress disappeared, so I am not sure."

    "I don''t know." He shrugged with nonchnce as he brought his hands behind his back. "I''m just d they are out of my life. None of them contributed to my development except the High Priest''s ancestors."

    "That must be why you still respect Fei," Luna said softly as she stepped closer to him.? "I know so little about your life."

    "I know so little about your past, but that''s alright with me," Apollyon murmured. "I told you what matters most is the present."

    "Apollyon." As she grabbed his sleeve, Luna locked arms with him as she enjoyed the feel of his corded muscles in her fingertips. "I want to fight alongside you."

    He shoved back strands of his raven locks and growled,? "No, you will not."

    "But��"

    Apollyon cut her off with a snap and snarled, "There will be no trouble if you aren''t stubborn. If they get a hold of you, they might held you hostage and force the Vampire Realm to retreat and admit defeat." He bared his teeth as he fixed her a deadly stare, "I don''t want that."

    "I will not be caught."

    "Don''t test me, Luna."

    Luna clutched the fabric of his shirt, pleading to him, "Apollyon, we need all the strength we could get for this battle if it happened."

    "Yes, if it happened. "Apollyon pursed his lips. "But I already told Prince Aspen of my ns. I''m going to leave you out of this because of the baby."

    "I would have to hide you away before exposing you to even a single one of our enemies. I don''t care if you disagree with me." His tone was an absolute unrelentingmand. "I would lock you in the Ivory Tower even if I have to."

 Chapter 408 - AHHHHHH!!!

    <h4>Chapter 408 - AHHHHHH!!!</h4>

    ******************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ******************************

    "We don''t know what will happen."

    "You are my weakness, wife. If you get captured by the enemy, I will not hesitate to retreat and admit defeat." Apollyon''s tone was acerbic as his cial Prussian blue eyes scrutinized her, sending chills down her spine. "You don''t want that to happen, right?"

    "I am powerful, husband." Luna matched Apollyon''s ice. "You forget I am an Archdemon."

    "No. You forget that you have a baby." Apollyon held her wrists and clutched her fingers tight in his grasp."I would have told you to go ahead and do that for fun��destroy them to test the strength of your Archdmemon Magic."

    Nostrils ring, anger overrode everything else as he pulled her close. Luna caught the subtle scent of Apollyon''s skin��a natural masculine musk with a hint ofvender. "I would love to see that in real life, but sadly, that would only happen in s fantasy. You are pregnant; Luna and pregnant wives aren''t allowed into the battlefield. No matter how powerful they are."

    "I can''t change your mind."

    "No. You can''t." It came out as a growl. "Over my cold. Undead. Body."

    Luna pressed her lips together��not knowing whether tough or cry at that statement.

    Apollyon had no business being this funny in such a grim conversation.

    "I can escape." Luna settled her palms on his chest and gently pushed him off her. "You can''t stop me."

    "You have to learn how to prioritize the baby instead of me. You are going to be a mother now." Apollyon insisted as he cupped her cheeks while scowling,? "I will drug you. I have to."

    "Apollyon!"

    "Luna, I want you to focus on offering resources from your womb to build the child while I deal with the peace negotiations for now. Hopefully, I could carefully handle it and avoid the war itself." Apollyon exined. "We are only talking about possible scenarios. It isn''t the real deal yet. We wouldn''t have to go to war with them as long as the Spring Monarchs wouldn''t push me to the breaking point."

    "But if they start making unreasonable demands for the Vampire Realm? and? push through with the war if we don''tply with their nonsense rules��"? Apollyon trailed off and frowned, "Well, I''m sure they would probably attempt ying dirty to test if they could get away with it."

    "You can''t give yourplete trust to a Faerie''s words unless it is a sworn agreement."

    "If the Spring Monarchs would attempt to manipte or deceive me during the peace negotiation like how King Zephyr had pulled one over the entire Faerie Realm, the Vampire Realm would fight them head-on." Apollyon''s response was so sharp as if her mere presence was sandpaper rubbing against his rising anger. "They gave me no choice but to ept the challenge. This would get even moreplicated if they decided to seek military help from other Realms to increase the numbers of their soldiers."

    "We will not have any idea who would aid them while we are searching for more allies to join us," Apollyon exined further. "Some of the allies of the Spring Courts are our allies too. I wouldn''t even be surprised if they wouldn''t interfere because it''s too divided. I would prefer if no other Realm interfered at all because I am confident that we would win."

    "Apollyon, sacrifices need to be made," Luna insisted, and Apollyon looked like he was prepared to lock horns with her stubbornness. "I will need to devote more time than I wish to focus on Archdemon Magic just in case you would change your mind and allow me to help our troops."

    As Apollyon steeled his gaze, his lips parted as if he wanted to argue, but Luna covered his mouth with her palm.? "Trust me that we will find a way out of this and keep baby Leo safe in the process,"

    Luna spoke and released the mouth she held hostage.

    "Don''t push yourself to the limit, wife, or you might suffer from dire consequences," Apollyon sighed in his frustration.? "Catastrophe awaits the irrational and the ambitious. If you think everything is all about going up and reaching the peak as an Archdemon to gain power, you''re following the fool''s path and missing the real magic."

    "Speak for yourself." Luna crossed her arms and cocked her head at him with confidence, "Who told me earlier that he wanted to be an Archdemon to gain more power to defeat our powerful enemies?"

    "What I''m saying is, no matter how high you ascend from the magic you have learned, what is within your heart is the most important. Don''t forget who you are, where you came from, and who you belonged to."

    "I think the power I have is not enough."

    Don''t think and be like the other Archdemons even if you be one. Those monsters were like hungry ghosts��always feeding��wanting more and never satiated. Those Archdemons were never contented with their power and control--striving for addiction and insatiability because they are always searching more for more''s sake." Apollyon replied, and Luna gasped after she witnessed something rare.

    "I just want you to be careful and keep your identity as the wife I loved, and I know." The slightest change in her husband''s expression showed vulnerability before it vanished, reced by a stoic mask. "I don''t want to lose yourself if you became greedy."

    She sighed, realizing Apollyon didn''t want her to change to the point of being unrecognizable.

    "Emptiness can haunt you��a feeling ofck, of wanting, of the craving to fill with something, anything. Be patient and don''t do anything rash trying to acquire more power if it will put you in danger," Apollyon ordered. "Do you understand?"

    Luna witnessed how Apollyon''s love can be so strong in that split-second exposure of how fragile his emotions were on his handsome face when it came to her.

    She had to remember that her husband only cared about her above all else.

    That was why he was strict, which he perceived as being unreasonable at first.

    Bowing her head, Luna replied��soft and yielding. "Yes, husband."

    As his rigid posture loosened, Apollyon rewarded her with light pats on the head. "We have hit an obstacle and failed, now is the time to reflect on how to do things differently next time."

    "We are where we should be." Watching him in a brand new set of eyes, Luna nced up at him and murmured. "Everything will be alright."

    "Now tell me your secret."

    Luna flinched, taken aback at the sudden switch of the subject.

    This was the moment of truth.

    She swore to herself that there would be no running.

    Luna cleared her throat. "I have two secrets, Apollyon."

    "Let''s hear it."

    "I would only let you pick one from the two." Luna said, sweating bullets, "Pick a number."

    Apollyon frowned, "I am confused."

    "What secret do you want me to reveal? It''s a game." Giving him an awkward smile, Luna averted her gaze as she shifted from foot to foot. "It''s a game." She repeated as if reassuring herself, her hands shaking as she clutched at her skirts. "Pick either one or two. Do you want to listen to secret number one or two?"

    Blue eyes narrowed at her with suspicion. "I choose secret number two then."

    "Alright. You should prepare yourself." Luna''s chin quivered as she tucked silver strands behind her ear. "I had sexual congress with the Archdemon of Lust in Hell."

 Chapter 409 - You Got It All Wrong

    <h4>Chapter 409 - You Got It All Wrong</h4>

    ******************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ******************************

    ncing down at the wildflowers growing on the grassy spots beneath her foot, Luna wondered if her husband heard her confession the first time. Apollyon wasn''t speaking to her.

    She bit her lower lip in frustration.

    If this excruciating silence stretched for a bit longer, the more her heartbeat raced.

    Her skin was cold and mmy when she rubbed at her forearms to get rid of this eerie chill plummeting over them despite the gentle warmth of the sun as the thick white clouds covered them, providing them shade.

    Luna closed her eyes shut as she waited for a violent reaction��an explosion of rage��from her husband before she tried to borate.

    This approach might work against her, but in her mind, she just wanted to make sure that Apollyon was willing to listen to her first��her version of the story--instead of falling into deaf ears.

    In an instant, her breath burst in and out in a panic that one hand flew to clutch at her chest as it finally sunk in that she told Apollyon her secret��the one which bothered her the most�� without holding back. Luna''s chest felt lighter than before, but she remained frozen in ce, her posture rigid in exhration.

    If the both of them get past this, their marriage will strengthen, and nothing��not even Lilith--could ever keep them apart.

    She was proud of herself but, at the same time, afraid of his reaction.

    Now, what made her more afraid was theck of reaction. This was a sensitive matter to her, and she hoped that Apollyon would be mature enough to deal with this��to handle this truth��because if not, she would regret it for the rest of her life, thinking that she shouldn''t have told him.

    She trusted her husband to endure it like medicine, to swallow it even if her words would leave a bitter taste in his mouth.

    This secret would heal the both of them now that it was out in the open.

    Luna nodded a little, bracing herself.

    Her husband told her that a sessful rtionship usually came down to one thing:munication��talking things through.

    She hoped her husband was right about that.

    Her eyes remained fixed on the ground.

    There wasn''t any response from Apollyon yet.

    Should Luna repeat them to make sure?

    When she gained the courage to peer at him beneath hershes, Apollyon blinked twice and squinted at her.

    Broad shoulders turning rigid, his blue eyes protruded as he bared his teeth, "You must have seduced him, Luna." His hands jerked as he pointed at her with an using finger. "You must have given him signals that you are his for the taking whether you were aware of it or not the moment you epted the Archdemon as your husband."

    Gasping, Luna''s eyes widened as she covered her open mouth with a frown.

    Frown lines marred her forehead. ''How did Apollyon arrive at that conclusion?''

    Standing her ground, she swore that she would try her best so that they wouldn''t fall into another petty argument with her husband.

    "I didn''t." Luna shook her head heartily, which made her hair strands whip her face, refuting Apollyon''s strange presumption.

    Tiny pinpricks of hair tingled in her overheated skin that she was tempted to strip off ayer despite wearing a thin and loose sundress. "He seduced me, Apollyon."

    "Don''t get it wrong. Luxen was the Archdemon of Lust." Her lips were chapped despite being exposed to the wind, and she wet them, demanding, "Why would you use me of being the seducer instead of him when he was the devil incarnate of seduction��of Lust?"

    Sweat trickled down the nape of her neck, and she clenched her fists until her knuckles went white. ''That didn''t make any sense to me, Apollyon."

    Apollyon turned his back on her and stared at mountain peaks from the distance as if he couldn''t bear to look at her.

    He crossed his arms as he widened his stance. "Your acknowledgment of your blood bond with Luxen must have been the trigger, making him think that it was alright for him to take what belonged to me." His tone was cutting like a knife''s edge, and it sounded like he was grounding his teeth as he curbed his rage. "Did you agree when he told you that he was one of your husbands?"

    Every anxious shallow w breath made her smell earthy moss and the vegetation in these mountains.

    The wind whistled along the slopes as the leaves rustled in the direction where it blew while the rest of them drifted to the ground.

    "I think.... I did. I''m not sure." Luna replied quietly as she clenched her fists. "I epted that we were blood bonded in Hell because it was a fact. That didn''t mean that I wanted him just because I acknowledged this soul tie between us."

    The atmosphere suddenly changed, and rabbits, hopping at the fallen leaves and tufts of grass silvered with frost, halted as if sensing a predator.

    There was no other predator here in this mountain other than her husband as she sensed anger rolling off him like tidal waves.

    Rubbing a hand down his face, his voice lowered in a harsh growl, "Why were you with him in the first ce, wife?" His deep baritone broke from the intensity of his anger, and it was heartbreaking for Luna to hear the sadness, loss, hurt, and desperation in them.

    He snapped. "You should have stayed the hell away from him!"

    A raw scream floated into thin air, and tears leaked down the corner of her eyes.

    Luna was so enraged that she didn''t notice that she was screaming and sobbing her heart out.

    She buried her face in her hands.

    Her legs weakened, and she almost fell to her knees, but she never gave in.

    Steeling her spine, Luna moved in front to face him as she wailed, "I can''t stay away because I was trapped in Hell, Apollyon."

 Chapter 410 - To Love You Is To Hurt Me

    <h4>Chapter 410 - To Love You Is To Hurt Me</h4>

    ****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    "I can''t stay away because I was trapped in Hell, Apollyon." Luna''s voice came out as a loud shriek, and her fingers grasped the hem of his shirt as she pleaded in a whisper, "I have no choice."

    "Did you attempt to fight back and reject his advances?" The hatred bleeding from his bloodshot eyes showed the scared child within, the boy whose parents starved the love and loyalty he craved.

    The sight made Luna''s heart stop because she just realized the extent of her husband''s weakness reflected in that single look.

    His clenched jaw trembled.

    "Did he force you to have sexual congress with him?" Apollyon demanded, but his fierce queries toned down a little when? he asked, "Were you hurt?"

    Luna knew that despite Apollyon''s rage at this perceived betrayal, her husband was still concerned about her well-being.

    He cared about her despite what Luxen did.

    Wiping the tears rolling down her cheeks, Luna sobbed when she returned to the memory that she wanted the Archdemon of Sloth to eliminate.

    She begged him to erase them, but Sloth was against wiping any memories while still focused on their mission to open portals to different Realms from Hell.

    Fortunately, she was back in the Vampire Realm for good, and she didn''t have to deal with Sloth''s bargain anymore.

    Luna recalled how she felt so dirty afterward when she figured out Luxen raped her using her husband''s face.

    Even if the memory was tragic, Luna needed to remember that moment and what she felt when he found out how Luxen deceived her.

    The anger, rage, desperation, and terror would fuel her to plot for her revenge,ing back to annihte him if she became a stronger Archdemon.

    Grieving for Apollyon''s hurt and her innocence, Luna''s fingers began to numb when he gave her a long, pained gaze so intense she felt guilt wing at her heart, and she awkwardly released him, averting her eyes."No, he didn''t force me."

    There was tension in his stand-offish manner--a tightness in his face��showing that he would rather be anywhere but here with her. "So, you allowed him to have a wicked way with you. You gave him your consent!"

    "No, Apollyon! I didn''t consent to him touching me!" Luna shouted at him, indignant, as she shook her head in refusal. "Luxen used you!"

    "Never mind that. He must have seen you naked." Scowling, Apollyon ran his fingers through his raven hair out of frustration as he muttered to himself, not listening to her. "That was why he was tempted to taste you, to im you for himself and worship your body like you were his goddess."

    "Husband." Luna desired to shout the truth at the top of her lungs so that it would echo and bounce back around these quiet mountains, sinking in unto his reptilian brain, "Listen to me."

    As he paced around, Apollyon''s handsome face reddened with anger, appearing like he could turn into a dragon and breathe fire at any minute. "The Archdemon must have watched over you and nned this for a long time because the more he desired you, the more you became his obsession, eager to unleash his lust like how I always feel for you every time you are near me."

    "Apollyon. You misunderstand." Luna raised both of her hands to cradle his clenched jaw, "Luxen assumed your��"

    "Loving you, Luna..." Apollyon pushed her away, and his voice chilled her to the bone. "Loving you. Hurts. Me."

    Lips parting, Luna was reeling from the shock when he saw the pain in his soul, drowning from her betrayal after Luna demolished the thick emotional barriers around his wounded heart full of unhealed scars.

    His heart was repeatedly hurt and beaten down by the people who were supposed to love him.

    Her.

    Apollyon was unprotected and left to fend for himself since childhood when it came to love, and being detached was what he did to survive in this world.

    Luna couldn''t stand to look at him for too long because it felt like she was also exposing herself to him when she saw herself reflected into those Prussian blues.

    She saw a crack in his stoic mask, but Luna realized Apollyon had no intention of letting his mask go.

    Never.

    He wore this particr mask every time his emotions were threatened; it? was a defense mechanism that became a part of him.

    Later, this imprable mask reced the real, never allowing it to fall off for millennia as the King of the Vampire Realm.

    It remained on his face, and this mask of cold indifference and rage kept his face hidden until something triggered him.

    Luna gasped in horror at what she had done��how horrible of a wife she was��even if it wasn''t her fault.

    Apollyon was holding on to his anger by the thinnest of threads.

    Soon, he will rece the love he had for her�� and the heartbreak with something else.

    Disappointment.

    She only had the most unfortunate luck as the receiving end of Luxen''s trickery, leaving the bastard to get away with his crime and making her deal with the dire consequences of his actions.

    Apollyon might never forgive her for this, for feeding him with half-truths and running away from problems that will eventually chase her down.

    As she looked back at the situation, Luna admitted that she was careless about dealing with the fake Apollyon at Ravin''s Pleasure Room, resulting in making a mistake.

    She didn''t bother checking Apollyon''s identity and epted him right away without suspicion.

    Luna should have known better not to engage with anyone in Hell because nobody couldn''t be trusted in that Realm. Not even the Archdemon of Sloth who can kill anyone when he felt like it.

    Luna was left to pick up the eventually broken pieces of their rtionship, eventually.

    It still scarred her for life, knowing that she was the reason behind it.

    Apollyon expected the worse in everyone in the past, but he gave her a chance out of all the people he knew... only to give her the leverage to destroy him.

    And, she let him down.

 Chapter 411 - The Blame Game

    <h4>Chapter 411 - The me Game</h4>

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    Luna let him down.

    Her recklessness was the cause of Apollyon''s affliction, and it would haunt her forever.

    Tears ran down her face when Luna realized that she had hurt Apollyon so bad.

    It was still a mystery to her if he can recover from this.

    The consequences of her actions might be irreversible.

    Apollyon''s hand shot out in front of her before he held the back of her neck in a tight sp, and Luna froze. "I think Luxen was tempted to have sexual congress with you because you were already his in his mind, and the mating bondpelled him to do it. He couldn''t help it because being sexually attracted to your mate is an instinct."

    Glowering at her, Apollyon gently pulled at her hair, tipping her head back as if he wanted to invade her thoughts through her eyes. Luna averted her gaze, "That''s usually how a husband act around their mates. Not doing it with his wife is simr to fighting those sexual instincts."

    "It was just impossible for Archdemons to repress it��and it was the Archdemon of Lust. You should have avoided him as much as possible!"? Apollyon growled with possessive fury, and it pissed Luna off, wanting to kick him in the shin.

    This was the reason why she didn''t want her husband to know her secret, making her guilty for hurting Apollyon with the truth shifting to frustration real quick. "You know it deep inside that being in close vicinity with an Archdemon of Lust was ying with fire!"

    Luna couldn''t stand his ill-judgment of her past behaviors when she couldn''t do anything about this because no matter how powerful an Archdemon was, she couldn''t turn back the time.

    Didn''t he understand that, or did he want them to argue again and go around in circles?

    Luna let her rigid muscles rx, her hands limping to the sides to indicate submission, and begged, "Those Archdemons told me that the blood bond didn''t work like that for them, husband,"

    Why was she begging for the understanding he promised before when he couldn''t even deliver?

    This was her nightmaree to life��Apollyon being stubborn and not believing her side of the story.? "Archdemon males are detached, and they told me they didn''t mind sharing their women and they could look for other women they have taken a fancy��"

    "Are you sure about that?"

    "--but weren''t clingy when it came to sexual��"

    Luna began to exin, only to be cut off.

    "That didn''t mean those Archdemons didn''t want to do it with you, Luna." Apollyon''s scrutiny shifted from her eyes to her vulnerable throat, his fangs lengthening. "Of course, these Archdemon males were tempted with you, especially when you are within sight. They might tell you otherwise, but you already know that their words couldn''t be trusted. You know you are interacting with Archdemons in Hell, and to me, it felt like you trust them more than me when you are always so suspicious of my actions before. They aren''t afraid to act on their darkest passions to the ''wife'' they owned through their deceptions. You should have been more careful!"

    When he bent his head closer to graze his sharp canines on the side of her jaw, Luna hunched her shoulders in fear, even if her husband hadn''t done anything to hurt her.

    Yet.

    Would he tear the skin on her throat like how a monster would?

    Nevertheless, Apollyon was careful.

    No husband in their right mind would damage their pregnant wife to death even with immense hatred and rage.

    Hopefully, her husband was still in his right mind.

    "You told me he was one of your husbands with who you already cut soul ties, am I correct?" Apollyon asked as he hauled her against his chest as if reminding himself that she still belonged to him despite the ident. "Did it happen before or after you cut your soul cord with Luxen or not?"

    "It happened afterward, Apollyon." Luna turned her head to get rid of his hand sped unto the nape of her neck, but he didn''t budge.

    She didn''t want him to touch her right now when the only thing she could get from him was a judgemental gaze��never empathy and understanding.

    Apollyon couldn''t provide that for her.

    Nevermind, if she needed that, she might have to look for them somewhere else.

    "He raped me for retaliation! "Luna added, baring her teeth as he narrowed her eyes at him, "He was so angry that I found out a way to get rid of him, cutting him out from my life and out of the mating bond."

    "Then, why would you let him near you when the blood bond was already gone? I still couldn''tprehend why you allowed the Archdemon of Lust to touch you��to have ess to you as I do!" Apollyon snarled, and Luna could hear the jealousy in his voice. "I thought I was the only one you loved, and you wouldn''t rece me no matter what."

    "I remained loyal to you despite how many years have passed. You were gone with no signs ofing back. Yet, I still clung to that tiny sliver of hope because I love you, and I know I could find a way to bring you back in this Realm." The jagged edge of his frustration made his words sharp, and it was ironic how he was rubbing his thumb against her throat. "Were you even happy that you are with me now, or were you just pretending this whole time?"

    "Did you feel regret that I summoned your soul back to your physical vessel? when in fact, you are already adjusted living in Hell and doing better at being Archdemon after acquiring the magic you needed from Satan when Hecate had taken yours?" He asked quietly.

    "Luxen used your face, Apollyon! I didn''t lie to you at Ostara!" Luna sobbed, squeezing his shoulders hard to wake him up from his blindness. "I told you I didn''t let anyone touch me, besides you."

    He snapped. "--but you should have known better!"

 Chapter 412 - I Will Show You

    <h4>Chapter 412 - I Will Show You</h4>

    ********************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ********************************

    Apollyon''s bluntness shocked her, that she released a piercing scream of suffering.

    His words, "You should have known better!"? reverberated in her skull,? ringing into her ears on repeat in never-ending torture.

    Why couldn''t her husband sympathize with her situation?

    Something is wrong with Apollyon.

    "Why are you silent?" Apollyon tilted his head as he wore a cruel smirk. "Maybe, you couldn''t answer me because all my assumptions are true."

    Gritting her teeth with exertion, Luna shoved him off her hard, but he remained as still as a huge boulder. "Apollyon. What things don''t you understand about rape?!"

    "I didn''t do it on purpose. He came to me, not the other way around." Luna huffed in frustration, tempted to make him fly to the other side of the mountain. "I might have made a mistake to wee him inside me when he used your face and your form."

    "I''m sorry, but it sounded like ame excuse to me, wife. I expected you to keep your promise, but you betrayed my trust. You know why? Because I did keep my promise to you despite you questioning my morals. You, of all people, know how shameless I am when it came to pleasures of the flesh��especially when it came to you." Apollyon''s eyes heated as if he was already imagining wicked things��hot and erotic images of her that drove him to madness when he thought about other menying their hands on her. "But since I want to honour you, I was cautious and kept my tool in my pants. I never expose my nakedness with Lilith when she upied her body as a physical vessel. She seduced me, but I didn''t give in. I told you."

    "If you want me to be honest, I would tell you that I have kissed her to keep up with our ruse to capture the demonic faeries, and she wouldn''t be suspicious of our ns. Lilith epted the mere breadcrumbs I gave her because she was hungry for my affection. I only did it to pretend. A harmless kiss��no more and no less." He spat. "But you��"

    "It''s my fault, I know!"

    It was partly her fault because, as Apollyon said, she should have known better.

    But she had no control over what happened, either.

    Luxen tricked her, and she became a willing participant, thinking it was her husband.

    "Maybe, you had learned to love your other husbands when you were in Hell. You didn''t have the heart to tell me the truth until now. You lied to me, Luna. I consider your half-truths to be lies because you have kept me in the dark." Apollyon said in a whisper-shout.

    Apollyon''s statements made her think that he thought she was the type of woman who would choose temporary pleasure over the consequences that wouldst in an entire lifetime.? "You and Luxen must haveughed at me after you did it together, treating me like a fool. Maybe, it was one of your fetishes to make Luxen shapeshift into me��I don''t know." Luna''s mouth hung wide open at how ridiculous he was, and she wondered if her husband was joking. "I couldn''t find any other reason��"

    "You''re making excuses to not believe in me anymore because you were hurt, Apollyon."

    He went silent.

    Trembling, Luna couldn''t take his hurtful condemnation anymore.

    "Your mask had cracks on them. You weren''t invincible like you think you are, husband. Do you think I wouldn''t notice? In your mind, I betrayed you, and I don''t deserve a second chance because you think it was like you are permitting me to hurt you again. This is why you sting me with your venomous ims. I know that your ego is in shambles. You think the only way to restore your pride is to inflict pain on me as I did you. Is your ego more important than me who suffered from the hands of the Archdemons?" Luna''s pitch rose with every question as her hands fisted to her sides. "You dare to tell me that my time in Hell was fun--All the torment I suffered to reach the level of Archdemon Magic I have? You think I was opening my legs to every Archdemons I meet?"

    Apollyon appeared murderous and she smirked.

    Was it because Luna''s statements hit the nail right on its head?

    "You still cheated on me behind my back! You betrayed me for a quicky in the sheets! I kept my promise to you even if the time is longer in this Realm was longerpared to yours. " Apollyon released her from the cage of his arms and lifted her chin, "How dare you��"

    Luna''s vision blurred as everything began to move in slow motion.

    As she clutched her aching head,? Apollyon''s usations vanished, and his voice turned louder, grabbing her forearms to keep her upright, but her knees had given up.

    It took her a moment to understand what Apollyon was saying, butter, she realized he was desperately calling her name in her ear over to wake her up.

    Luna slowly blinked, breathing hard as she heard her husband telling her not to leave him.

    Apollyon dropped to the ground along with her.

    Toote to notice that she had copsed, Apollyon caught her just in time before she rolled down the mountains, cradling her back.

    "Are you tired of speaking?" Luna gritted her teeth, and her ws went out from the intensity of her fury, seizing Apollyon''s arm. "Are you tired of assuming things that happened to me in Hell when you don''t even know what I''m going through there?"

    "I am fed up with your ''You should have''s'' and your other hurtful usations against me, ming me for being Luxen''s victim. Yes, I am a victim, Apollyon." Luna''s voice broke at the word ''victim.''? "Your beloved wife became a victim of rape."

    "Are you ashamed now? Did it make you less manly to have me as your mate?" She cried sorrowful tears, "I thought you told me not to me myself for the things I didn''t do, but how?! How can I not me myself for this when you are already ming me without hearing me out?!"

    "I shouldn''t have told you, Apollyon," Luna murmured grudgingly. "I should have shown you."1

 Chapter 413 - Bearing Witness

    <h4>Chapter 413 - Bearing Witness</h4>

    **********************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ***********************

    She invaded Apollyon''s mind.

    Immense pressure rammed itself into his skull, followed by an insistent pounding in his head as if a tinkering hammer had buried nails in every part of it.

    Gritting his teeth, he was forced to release Luna as he pressed his palms on his temples in hopes to alleviate the gut-wrenching torment.

    Snarling, Apollyon thrashed at this sudden burst of energy, pressing, shoving against the barriers of his mind while his senses focused on his agony.

    Apollyon thought it would never end.

    The next thing he knew, Apollyon became slightly aware of the grass prickling underneath him.

    At thest moment, a memory of Luna at their house on the mountaintops shed across his mind before his mental barricades were taken over by the relentless icy grip taking hold of his entire brain.

    Her secret about Luxen must be the reason for her peculiar behaviour that, at times, he used her of being Lilith because she was acting out of sorts.

    He knew it was his wife along with him, but her recent changes since their reunion made him doubt her identity, sometimes.

    It turned out it was guilt and paranoia over the rape that made her throw the ss vases on the wall and hack her face with the ss shard.

    Luna was afflicted with hallucinations.

    She might suppose that she owned a cursed face for attracting these Archdemons into her life.

    That was why she med herself.

    wing his nails against the dirt, Apollyon mused in his silent wrath as his precious wife''s exquisite beauty hovered above him.

    As he breathed noisily, he couldn''t fathom why his wife expected him to forgive her right away.

    The consequence of this situation will lead to a domino effect of conflicts that would be harder to get out of.

    That was why Apollyon strongly persisted that Luna should have stayed away from any Archdemon in Hell, not to be in their vicinity and engage them in a conversation.

    It might be a mistake��an ident on her part��and Apollyon didn''t want her to me herself when she couldn''t do anything about the rape.

    Yes, that was true, but what would happen if the roles were reversed?

    What if Apollyon slept with Lilith because he didn''t know that it wasn''t Luna''s soul inside her physical body?

    Would his wife forgive him right away for that when she ''hypothetically'' didn''t even touch anyone in Hell because she avoided the Arch demons like the gue knowing better that they couldn''t be trusted?

    Luna was just d he didn''t have anything to do with Lilith, who was inside her soul because Apollyon was careful.

    He was so ecstatic when Luna came back, meeting him at the gardens of Lc Manor and kissed Lilith without knowing it.

    That was as far as he could get with physical contact with the Archdemon of Envy.

    He might not have believed Cederic at first when he insisted it was Lilith in his arms as he lifted her and spun her around under the tree.

    The military general used his sudden growth spurt as evidence.

    Apollyon witnessed how Cederic and grown, yet he still hoped that his wife was indeed his wife.

    He was logical enough to ept the possibility even if his whole heart was against that.

    It was a good call to listen to the people��Cederic and Prince Aspen��around him but Luna��

    ''Did you ever think about the fact that I was alone in Hell, Apollyon?'' An angry thought urred in his mind, but it wasn''t his. ''You were the only person I have in my life, and I had no one else to rely on, but you weren''t there for me when I needed you the most. Of course, I know that these Archdemons couldn''t be trusted. I''m sorry. I relied on my ''so-called Archdemon mates'', hanging unto them so that I could survive in Hell. ''

    ''How easy was it for you to invade my mind when I put up my cognitive walls the moment I recognized the traces of Archdemon Magic on me?'' Apollyon replied through telepathy.? ''The ne on my chest is hotterpared to before.''

    ''I can hear you very clearly, Apollyon.'' Luna warned. ''Think twice before I hear your thoughts.''

    Some of her silver strands tickled his cheekbones, and he desired to lift a hand upward to stroke Luna''s face, but he lost the strength in his arms...or was it because he couldn''t afford to make her think that all was forgiven after her betrayal?

    She might think it was easy to do it again.

    Luna would cheat with one of the Archdemons because he hadn''t inflicted a solid punishment through this emotional crime.

    Apollyon''s eyes turned heavy with every blink as his tense muscles rxed when his wife''s words finally sunk in his fading thoughts. "I should have shown you."

    When he opened his eyes, he was inside arge room with an evenrger king-sized bed that almost took the whole space instead of the mountains.

    Gauzy sapphire curtains reced the meadow.

    Apollyon wondered if the vision in front of him was one of his memories with his wife.

    He squinted around the ce.

    Mirrors reced the walls, connecting from the ceiling to the floors.

    Apollyon never recognized this luxurious space at all, but the way it was built, simr to his Vampire Lair''s pleasure rooms, made him panic because he knew what would happen in here.

    A breeze blew the curtains away, and Apollyon''s eyes protruded when he saw the exact moment another man with the same likeness drove himself into her wife, followed by a rhythmic pounding that was all too familiar��a strenuous activity known since the dawn of time.

    Luna wasn''t lying when she told him that the man was him, and Apollyon didn''t remember doing her in this room.

    Hearing his wife''s little moans made his blood run cold because those moans should be reserved only for his ears.

    Adrenaline rushed through his body.

    "Stop! Stop!" Apollyon bared his teeth, his lips pulling back as he let out a guttural roar. "I don''t want to see them, Luna. Stop it! Right. Now!"

 Chapter 414 - Alone

    <h4>Chapter 414 - Alone</h4>

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ******************************

    Luna wanted to let Apollyon see every single thing as revenge, to make him suffer through prolonging the vision but that might act as a lightning st that could send him to a downward spiral, shocking him into anguish and despair.

    It wasn''t only her husband who was devastated by this sharp truth.

    No, she wouldn''t do that.

    He might think that she was proud of what she did with the other Archdemon when it was actually the opposite.

    This would be the first and thest time that she would recall this vision, pull it from the darkest recesses of her mind and then she would bury it afterwards, pretending it never happened.

    She didn''t want Apollyon to hate her even more from what shemitted with Luxen.

    Despite being wounded from Apollyon''s allegations earlier, she still has a conscience left even if he entirely passed the me on her.

    Now, they will see if Apollyon would still think the same after this.

    Luna snapped a finger in front of Apollyon''s face and he broke from the trance she made and Apollyon got up in a sitting position.

    "I''m sorry for cavorting with the enemies just because I want to learn what I can do so that I could hurry up and return to you. I''m sorry for not being careful. Everything is my fault. Are you happy now?" She whispered haughtily in a challenge.

    "You didn''t show me what happened before that, Luna." Apollyon''s hand shot on her forearm as his unfocused eyes zeroed on her.

    He scowled. "What else are you hiding from me?"

    To sacrifice the present in order to secure the future or to sacrifice the future to endure a better present?

    Either choice held a bitter taste in her mouth but Luna chose to sacrifice the present by revealing one of her secrets and that wasn''t all of it yet.

    Would he still love her if he found out that not only did she have sexual congress with Luxen when there was also a possibility that she would be carrying an Archdemon baby?

    It was an unnecessary thing to do.

    She shouldn''t tell him that information yet when it came to an unreliable source such as the Archdemon of Sloth.

    Luna would choose what to believe from the wordsing out of hiszy mouth, making sure that what she picked out from his spections were facts.

    There was still a chance that it wasn''t true and if she told that secret to Apollyon, it would be the end.

    "I thought you told me to stop showing it to you." Luna taunted him.

    Luna decided to tell Apollyon bit by bit so that her husband wouldn''t get a heart attack from the problems and conflicts clinging into her life like demonic parasites sucking her energy and her life force.

    The concealment of her secrets was giving her constant headaches every day, urging her to dump all of the burdens on her poor husband.

    "No. No. No." His head made a vigorous shake as if making sure he had woken from his nightmare. "I changed my mind. I don''t want to see them again. " Apollyon looked haunted as he ran a frustrated hand through his hair.? "I''m so angry right now."

    "I wished you haven''t shown me." He bared his teeth and his fingers were flexing as if he had the urge to choke someone to death��hopefully, not her. "I want to get rid of that memory."

    She knew.

    Luna knew deep in her gut that Apollyon would react like this��deeply hurt, angry and heartbroken.

    His suppressed rage was like a ticking time bomb as she waited for him to explode andsh out at her.

    Luna would have expected him to set the fields of golden wheat on fire but maybe, she hadn''t pushed him enough to get to that point.

    "You were so angry you sounded like you want to kill the nearest, breathing creature nearby. Who else was that creature?" She gave him a sarcastic grin to disconcert him. "Is it me?"

    At that moment, Luna realized her eyes were empty wells.

    She didn''t enjoy gracing her husband with a cutting wit but she was determined to make him reflect back on his actions. "Are you sure you don''t want to see it again? Do you want to kill me for being so weak��for being the victim, Apollyon?"

    His nostrils red. "Don''t joke about killing you, Luna, because even if that happened, I couldn''t leave you because of the blood bond unless I want to kill myself."

    "You have to witness it yourself, Apollyon because you were blinded by your pride and your ego. " Luna said and Apollyon tensed. "You have to be aware that this bastard has used your face and I mistook him for you because I wanted to be with you!"

    "You keep asking me if I have cheated with Lilith and Princess Alisabethe at Ostara. I have exined everything in a clear and concise manner without hiding anything from you while you keep dodging my interrogations pertaining to your Archdemon Husbands.? I deserved the truth, wife, and it took you a long time to tell me, making it fester into your psyche." Apollyon said in a growl. "You might not notice it but I think it damaged you one way or another. You can''t me me for being angry at you��for hurting yourself as well as me, your husband, for taking too long to get it off your chest."

    "I took too long, husband because I wanted to enjoy my time with you because I missed you so much when I got back from Hell. I don''t want to ruin you��ruin us." Luna exined. "I was waiting for the right time to tell you but the shapes shifting demons got in the way and I didn''t have the chance."

    "Now, I want you to remember the feeling of happiness and longing when you saw me wide awake for the first time��when you haven''t found out that she was Lilith. You told me you kissed her because you were ecstatic. But from what I have caught from your thoughts earlier, Cederic and Prince Aspen were able to pull you back from that haze of hunger from meeting your beloved. Nobody else stopped me, Apollyon, because I was weak and alone." Luna''s eyes stung when she was reminded of her struggles.

    How could Apollyon minimize her suffering earlier? "I didn''t think twice because I was giddy, believing that you acquired a stronger magic to break into Hell alone. I was hoping that you would find a way while I tried my best to do what I can, fending those Archdemons. I fell for Luxen''s trap of seduction at once when he morphed himself into your image."

    "You were right. When I saw his back, I thought it was me. I almost mistook what you have shown me as my memory except for the fact that I couldn''t recognize that ce."

    What if it was the other way around��seeing Apollyon fucking Lilith in a vision just because he believed right away that it was her?

    Luna would probably destroy half of the Realm.

    She wouldn''t be harsh in his judgment with Apollyon, admitting to herself that she might also me him if Apollyon slept with Lilith.

    "He��" Apollyon''s fingers squeezed her arm in desperation as he moved closer to her.

    Luna took one look at his face and she knew he needed her. "I don''t want to remember what I have seen."

    "I hate it, Luna." She opened her arms and Apollyon went into her embrace. "I have heard your moans and that bastard�� It makes me upset! I feel anxious that it''s wing me to pieces! I want to kill the bastard." He swore as his skin bunched around his eyes. "This is the sole reason why I want to be an Archdemon��so that I could kill those bastards who did this to you!"

    Thinking that she already spent all of her tears, Luna cried in silence once again as she stroked Apollyon''s back tofort him.

    "I can''t ce paper over cracks and simply pretend that everything is alright. Tell you that everything will be alright."? Hearing that from Apollyon crushed her hopes of reconciliation. It made her feel like she was bleeding inside. "I need more time to process this. Alone."

 Chapter 415 - In His Feelings

    <h4>Chapter 415 - In His Feelings</h4>

    ****************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ****************************

    Apollyon teleported to a ce he only knew, and he didn''t bring his wife with him.

    He was adamant about being alone so that he could think and figure out the next step.

    Something inside him died.

    He couldn''t stop himself from mourning this situation--from suffering this loss--, and it was up to him to continue this with his mate and forgive her for that rpse.

    He might not absolve her right now but maybe...in due time.

    This wasn''t about forgiving her so that she could get rid of the guilt in her chest.

    Apollyon will forgive his wife for his sake so that they could surrender, move on and let it go.

    Only time can tell, yet time couldn''t heal this ck hole in his heart.

    It would only get barely tolerable once he got used to the heartache.

    Thest thing Apollyon witnessed before he let his form fade was an image of his wife, a silver-haired pregnant woman in a yellow sundress sitting on the grass with her gossamer skirtsid out around her.

    Luna appeared like a flowering buttercup at the centre of an open meadow under the thick clouds passing in the winds.

    He couldn''t erase the heartbreak on her countenance, so he might as well depart.

    He wasn''t sensitive and mature enough to handle his wife''s pain because even he couldn''t handle his own.

    How much more if he was left to deal with the aftermath of this revtion?

    She wasn''t the only one who was having a hard time, and he wasn''t in the position tofort her, either.

    Apollyon told her the truth.

    Everything wasn''t alright and will never be.

    He desired to be his wife''s hero, but no matter how powerful he was, he couldn''t turn back the time, and pointing fingers wouldn''t make a difference.

    He just wished that didn''t happen or�� Apollyon wished he had the knowledge of magic which made his spirit cross from the physical realm to the spirit realm of heaven, hell and the underworld.

    Luna could have avoided Luxen''s trap if it was the real him who learned and acquired that power, but it was toote.

    He was toote.

    ''It was all his fault that Luna was��'' Apollyon shook his head to dissolve the nasty vision in his head.

    It would be hard to live like this when all he desired was to silence his mad thoughts, making him feel inferior over Luna''s Archdemon husband, feeling guilt over not keeping his promise to protect her,pelling him to miss his wife''s absence and forcing him to think about death again and again.

    Apollyon had to get rid of this, or else his brain might explode.

    It would be hard to forget this unless someone offered to wipe this vision.

    For now, Apollyon was better off without his wife so that he could think without interference and deal with his own wretched emotions.

    When these negative sentiments arose to the point of driving him stark raving mad, Apollyon must learn how to feel, process and grieve, even if it hurt like hell.

    He would have to face it head-on.

    Sweeping his problems under the rug wouldn''t do any better.

    Apollyon tried ignoring his pain and sorrow before, and it only got worse, festering in his heart to the state of dposition, making him numb, cold and detached.

    Apollyon didn''t need to return to the past when his reptilian brain only knew how to cope with pleasure, anger, and possession.

    He wouldn''t hesitate to dere ''MINE'' and stamp his ownership to each possession of his.

    Apollyon always got what he wanted, and if he didn''t, he would hurt and kill those who get in his way of achieving his goals.

    He realized he was too primitive and unrefined as the Vampire King����A King shouldn''t act like that, merely driven by these wild instincts.

    Wisdom and patience should be the things he must prioritize.

    Luna wasn''t safe when he was around.

    His mind wasn''t stable enough tofort her when he didn''t feel like doing that.

    Apollyon already said many nasty things to her, and he regretted them when he recalled every word, wishing he shouldn''t have opened his mouth.

    He was insensitive, ming her for the entire fiasco without caring about her feelings.

    Apollyon shouldn''t be angry at his wife in the first ce when Luna didn''t mean it.

    He saw it with his own two eyes that she was tricked, but why couldn''t he stop this urge to condemn her?

    Apollyon just wanted her to be careful!

    Staying away from the Archdemons was was simr to avoiding catastrophe.

    Yes, it already happened, but Apollyon didn''t think that Luna knew the gravity of the situation--of how dangerous they were--and he had a feeling that she was merelycent.

    This must be one of those rare times where she let her guard down, and she fell for the trap anyway.

    +++

    Nevertheless, Apollyon was grateful for meeting his wife, even if it was a pure ident from the start.

    It was the Blood Beast who was the first one who staked a im on her.

    FApollyon thought he was just an unlucky pureblood vampire who had to deal with the consequences of having a mate he didn''t ask for and one who hated his guts.

    Luna was never afraid to speak her mind.

    She never cowered from any argument.

    Every squabble forced him to look inside himself andpare himself against her.

    Apollyon could say that they were each other''s mirror.

    It might be hard to reflect on oneself and ept the hard truth that there was something wrong with him.

    An individual is a god in their own little world, but this eptance also made him aware of his ws.

    Nobody was perfect.

    This way, Apollyon can observe how he could rte to his wife''s feelings better, trying his best to understand where she wasing from so that he could express his love.

    The eptance of both their ws will lead to respect and love for each other with humility.

    +++

    Luna was the brilliant light that gave him the rity.

    The range of emotions she made him feel was a rainbow upon the blessed sky, and its colourful sparks symbolized hope after the cold, rainy day.

    To ept his mate despite the odds was to ept himself and vice versa because she was his precious mirror.

    The things he hated about Luna the most were the same traits he possessed which he tried hard to reject.

    The things he loved about Luna the most were also the simr traits Apollyon didn''t know he had because he couldn''t see the good in himself and recognize it for what it was.

    To love a mate was to love himself.

    Luna was the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow that Apollyon was determined to chase and im that treasure as his because it was what he deserved, butter, he figured out that what he coveted was in in sight all along.

    Apollyon was also a pot that was already full of heaven''s gold, and it was the only treasure that he will ever need.

    ''Who they were today'' and ''who they were tomorrow'' may be different, but Apollyon will never forget that they were still the same person.

    Despite the unfortunate circumstances, Luna was still the same woman who became his mate.

    It was time for him to figure out how to destroy an Archdemon of Lust.

 Chapter 416 - Will O Wisp

    <h4>Chapter 416 - Will O'' Wisp</h4>

    ***********************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ***********************

    It was easy to teleport to this ce when one had visited here too many times.

    Apollyon became familiar with all the ces he frequented in the Faerie Realm.

    Prince Aspen was an effective ally and a guide to their Kingdom.

    Apollyon had stayed in the Spring Courts for a year at most, so it was easy to navigate ces through teleportation.

    He would have a hard time using that ability if he wasn''t acquainted with the ces, which were the limits of teleportation.

    Apollyon wasn''t convinced if that would work in a spiritual Realm such as Hell unless he found a way to separate his spirit from his body, and Luna would take him there.

    The only way to defeat the Archdemons was to be an Archdemon himself while not losing the real him, simr to Luna''s.

    He would soon figure that out, and no matter what, Apollyon would stick to that n whether Luna liked it or not.

    He already hinted at his ns to his wife early on, and she was strongly against it.

    Luna shouldn''t be surprised if he managed to do that.

    She knew no one could stop him from exacting revenge for Luxen.

    He wouldn''t tell her, and it would be an auspicious surprise.

    Apollyon had closed his eyes and imagined the same position where his favorite sofa at the Will O'' Wisp pub, and vo!

    Hended exactly on their designated chairs.

    Apollyon''s eyes widened in surprise when Prince Aspen was already there, seated across the round table with a goblet in his hand, his pretty feminine-masculine features bathed in soft orange lights.

    "What brought you here, Vampire King?"

    It took longer for Apollyon to reply as he looked over his shoulder.

    He nced around the vicinity, checking for suspicious faeries or, worse, the Spring courts'' hired assassins.

    A Vampire King could never be too careful because one spection of his was that the ''Will-O-Wisp Pub''was the only establishment that weed Vampiric Fae for secret assassination purposes.

    The walls were built in ancient white oak, which was known to kill pureblood vampires.

    He didn''t know if it applied to the Vampiric Faeries as well.

    This wasn''t the first time Apollyon entered the Will O'' Wisp, an infamous faerie pub for the Spring courts'' ruling nobility.

    He and Prince Aspen were patrons in this pub where they rx, drink thetest faerie wines, and concocted brew while looking out for odd rumors when both of them were inconspicuously hunting the spring faeries who Lilith''s conjurer recruited.

    Apollyon admired the Will O''s Wisp pub because it served beers, wines, and high-quality spirits, although he couldn''t taste their food.

    After all, he was a pureblood vampire.

    In addition to that, he was already mated with Luna, so his menu only consisted of his wife''s blood he stored in his vial he brought every day to drink just in case he forgot how it tasted.

    He also avoided drinking from Lilith.

    Lilith might have insisted on drinking each other''s blood whenever they meet, but he was cautious not to dig a hole in his own grave.

    Prince Aspen and the rest helped distract Lilith after Apollyon gave her fake attention through sugary-sweet talks that would make ants swarm in his tongue before making excuses, iming that he was busy initiating the alliances with the rest of the Faerie Courts.

    Lilith was pacified with whatever excuses he made as long as he wouldn''t forget to reassure the chatan how much he loved her and missed her whenever he was busy with the trade agreements he created.

    Hungry for his love, starry-eyed Lilith was pleased with just the validation of her existence.

    Sometimes, Lilith wouldn''t dare seduce him when Apollyon pretended he was tired and would content herself with a kiss.

    He took advantage of this role y of hers as an obedient wife.

    It made his life easier not to cheat on Luna except for the obligatory kisses he must bestow upon her so that he wouldn''t stir the monster within.

    The Will O'' Wisp also served special wines which can settle in a vampire''s stomach.

    Apollyon sampled the drinks to quench Prince Aspen''s curiosity, daring him to take down liquors presented to some of the Vampiric Fae aristocrats from the Fall and the Winter Courts.

    The Spring Courts weren''t strict when it came to other nobilities from the Unseelie Courts visiting the pub, but perhaps, the rules might change after the incident at Ostara.

    That time, Apollyon added droplets of Luna''s blood to the ''White Stag'' and took a sip.

    The crisp, tangy vor of blood merging with the sweet and sour aroma of green apples and lemons burst in his tongue, teasing his nostrils with a hint of vani.

    Anise, green wormwood, purple flower petals, and other unknown herbs floated on the colorless liquid.

    That night, Apollyon was in too deep with the wine.

    He almost consumed two casks, toasting his longing and sorrow with Prince Aspen before the bastard told him the next morning that it was the strongest highly alcoholic spirit found in their wine cer reserved for the Vampiric Faes.

    Prince Aspen narrated y-by-y what happened at the pub and what they talked about.

    Still, Apollyon insisted that thest thing he remembered was him taking a few sips and waking up the next day with the Faerie Prince in the Hanging Tree Forest, where they kept the captured demonic faeries.

    Hepletely cked out, and he had no memories to fill in the nks.

    Prince Aspen gave him a strange look as Apollyon got up from the forest floor with a splitting headache and told him that he captured fifty members of the conjurer''s cult with ease, and Apollyon did it without assistance.

    He still didn''t know what happened, and Prince Aspen refused to tell him, so he just forgot about it.

    It was a mysterious story he could live without.

    Apollyon shifted in his seatfortably, leaned back to fix his gaze at the Faerie Prince, and crossed his legs. "My wife and I fought."

 Chapter 417 - The White Stag

    <h4>Chapter 417 - The White Stag</h4>

    "My wife and I fought."

    From the valuable faerie antiques and gs as decors, Apollyon can assume that the Spring Monarchs owned the Will O''Wisp Pub because they always drink and hang around the gaming tables in their free time.

    Prince Aspen was even here on his respective seat, although both didn''t n this and came here separately.

    It was a peculiar coincidence.

    He was pissed with his wife''s secret, but this made him smirk.

    What would outsiders think he was meeting a Faerie Prince, the alliance representative of the Spring Courts to the Vampire Realm, out in the open despite the obvious discord between the two Realms?

    Would they use the Faerie Prince of treason when the war hadn''t officially started?

    They were only a few aristocrats on their floor, yet he could feel them throwing agitated nces in his direction.

    Did he care?

    Never.

    It felt good to intimidate the rest of the nobles with just his mere presence knowing how these bastards did his wife dirty by pushing for war when the only thing the Vampire Realm did was to save them from the shape-shifting demons.

    Frowning at the heavy wooden circr table made of fine mahogany carved with faerie magic symbols, Apollyon picked the soupdle and spun it around his fingers in annoyance.

    Ungrateful bastards!

    Prince Aspen shrugged and his long raven hair swayed with grace. "Tell me about it."

    He ignored Prince Aspen and focused on the distinct brushstrokes of? Prince Aelfric''s woond paintings on the walls, instead.

    Apollyon might think thating here was akin to entering a lion''s den due to the tension between him and the Spring Courts because of what happened at Ostara.

    The royal aristocrats were settled on the third floor of the Will O'' Wisp because the higher status a creature had, the higher service he/she would be given in the establishment.

    "No, I don''t want to talk about it." He settled his elbows on each side of the armrest and looked upwards.

    Thousands of red, blue, pink, and yellow spring flowers were meticulously tied on sparkling golden threads hang over the ceiling along with the glowing orange orbs attached to the chandeliers. "It''s a private matter which can only be fixed between mates."

    "So, is the problem fixed yet?" Prince Aspen asked without taking his eyes off of the purple liquid swirling in his ss. "Were you already forgiven by the Empress?"

    "Give me some credit, brat." Apollyon''s gaze settled over him as he squinted. "Why did you immediately assume that it was my fault?"

    "So it was hers." Prince Aspen drawled and nodded his head. "I got it. Is it just a lover''s spat, or was it something major?"

    Apollyon paused, hesitating, but decided to give the brat a clue about it as he put thedle down. "It''s a secret that could make or break our rtionship."

    It took Prince Aspen a while to respond as he gulped all of his goblet''s contents,? licking his lips to savor the taste. "Is she pregnant then? Are you not ready to be a father?"

    "Why am I telling you these things?" Apollyon settled both of his feet on the ground and straightened his spine. "I don''t want to talk about it, Prince Aspen." Crossing his arms over his chest, he growled, "If you ask another question regarding that, I would��"

    "You would, what?" Aspen gave him a half-shrug. "Kill me so that the Spring Monarchs would push through with the war against you and the Empress?"

    "Is this a threat?"

    "This isn''t a threat, Your Highness. One should be careful how to handle a political ally. Remember who provided a sanctuary for you and your Empress despite the escting turmoil between the two Realms."

    Apollyon''s lips curved upward. "That sounds like a threat to me."

    Aspen leaned forward and whispered, "I will take responsibility for the Vampire Realm''s protection because you helped us get rid of the mass killings of the Kingdom''s most precious unicorns. The Spring Monarchs were now aware of our past movements regarding our investigation of the crimes done by the demonic cult. I passed pieces of evidence that we captured them and sessfully got rid of them. My reports are almostplete, and Queen Gloriana was checking all of the documents. We wait for her judgment. It wouldn''t be long before this is over."

    "If that''s the case, why did Queen Gloriana''s interrogations made it appear like she was using that the Vampire Realm was at fault and my wife''s a criminal?"

    "You might notice that Queen Gloriana was lenient on you, and her jabs at the Spring Council were targeted at your wife--"

    "Of course, I would take offense at that." He clenched his fists.? "My wife is a part of me, and talking shit at Luna, whose only mistake was to save the Spring Faeries at the celebration, was an attack against me. I took Queen Gloriana''s insults personally." Apollyon''s tone was soft, but his barb was as sharp as a scalpel. "I should have taken Luna and escape? out of there, leaving all of you to die, but my wife is stubborn."

    Prince Aspen''s eyes showed a hint of regret. "I am thankful for you and your wife for saving us, but you know this isn''t all about what happened at Ostara."

    "Princess Alisabethe, then."

    Prince Aspen groaned as if bringing up the name stressed him out.

    He leaned his back on the cushioned seat and massaged his forehead. "You know how I loved my sister, Your Highness, but she was too obsessed with you, and Queen Mother is enabling this behavior."

    "I don''t want to hurt women because my wife wouldn''t like it, but I am tempted to start first with your sister," Apollyon said.

    "There must be something about you that makes these women insanely neurotic over you, Your Highness."

    " I had enough," Apollyon growled. "I want them to leave me alone."

    A wench wearing short ck skirts, fis stockings, mini-aprons, and red heels to get more gold coins from gentlemen sashayed on their table, holding a quill and papyrus in her hands. "Are you ready for your order, Your Highness?"

    "Give me three casks of the White Stag."

 Chapter 418 - Plans For The Upcoming War

    <h4>Chapter 418 - ns For The Uing War</h4>

    *************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    *************************

    Prince Aspen blinked before cing his goblet down the table in a clunk.

    "Three casks of the ''White Stag''?" His voice rose in rm, regarding Apollyon as if flowers were bursting out of his ears. "You must be out of your mind, Your Highness."

    The waitress interrupted as she bent forward, facing Apollyon.

    She ''identally'' showed her well-endowed breasts, the loose cleavage on her dress dropping lower. "Is there anything else you would like to order aside from the White Stag, You''re Highness?"

    "You are pretty." Prince Aspen''s voice turned huskier as he saw the same thing Apollyon witnessed seconds earlier before he shifted his gaze to the empty goblet.? "Are you on the menu, youngdy?"

    "I apologize for the Faerie Prince, young miss, but the man already had a fiance waiting for him at his Manor," Apollyon said, hearing the sound ofughter of other Fae aristocrats not far behind them.

    He had no idea if these bastards wereughing at them or where they wereughing at their own jests.

    Prince Aspen had caught the waitress''s attention, and she faced him, gracing him with a flirtatious curtsy. "I think it would be alright if we kept it a secret from this fiance of yours if you still wanted to eat me."

    "I am officially disgusted." Apollyon wrinkled his nose and said aloud, "I shall leave and find another pub nearby."

    "No, it''s alright, my Lady." Ignoring him, Prince Aspen held out a hand, and the waitress hesitantly ced her small fingers in his. "I will pull you aside for a conversation without the Vampire King''s presence."

    Aspen kissed each finger as he maintained eye contact, and the young miss gave him a coy smile.

    "You should stay away from this libertine. The Faerie Prince went to my Kingdom, picked one of my concubines, and brought her to the Faerie Realm to be his fiance. But he kept her locked up inside his Lc Manor, instead."

    The waitress gasped.

    "She never saw the sunshine ever since. Nobody knew if the human girl is still dead or alive in the dungeons because nobody saw her again." Apollyon warned the young miss in a polite tone.

    He leaned one elbow on the armrest as he cradled his head with a hand, looking bored. "If you want to share the same fate, go ahead."

    Scowling in his direction, Prince Aspen gritted his teeth as he whispered. "You''re Highness. You saw my fiance at the Ostara because I brought her there."

    The waitress covered her mouth in surprise; her dark brown eyes riveted on Apollyon.

    "See, young miss? It came from his own mouth that he had a fiance he hid somewhere." Apollyon made grand gestures at the Faerie Prince with his hands. "The Ostara was the first and thest time I have seen the concubine in the years that I have stayed in his Manor."

    "You get where I aming from?" The waitress nodded at that. "Stay away from the man while you still got the chance, or else you would be the next victim."

    Prince Aspen gave him a sarcastic grin."Not only are you cock-blocking me, but you are also ruining my reputation."

    "You are also ruining my reputation, Prince Aspen." Apollyon gave a sharp grin of his own. "It''s not enough that you gave me and my wife a small house in the uncharted territory of the solitaries. You have to stop the Spring Monarchs from threatening us because we will fight to the death if you push us to a corner. You have to put Princess Alisabethe on a leash if you knew that she was ruining our image from the Spring Faeries."

    "I thought we were allies here." Gritting his teeth, Apollyon lowered his voice. "Don''t wait for the moment where I have no choice but to strangle that spoiled rotten princess with my bare hands."

    "Hey!" Prince Aspen pointed the finger at him and called out, "It''s also my youngest sister you are talking bad about!"

    Apollyon shrugged, giving him a piercing nce. "You know who is in the wrong, Prince Aspen. If you want to ''really'' help us, do something about your sister. The Spring Monarchs would follow if she took her words back and stop spreading foolish gossips? about my wife being a high-level demon who desired to invade the Faerie Realms."

    The waitress gasped when she heard the word ''high-level demon.''

    "I will, but? you have to be patient." Prince Aspen acquiesced. "I told you this would be over soon."

    Blinking a few times, Prince Aspen pinched his lips together as he gained hisposure. "Mydy. One cask of the White Stag would be enough for the both of us."

    "No, I need three." Apollyon insisted in a low growl.

    He paused, smirking, "You really don''t know what happened that night, huh?"

    Prince Aspen never failed to intrigue him, but Apollyon already knew that the bastard wouldn''t tell.

    "Nevermind," Aspen smiled a secret smile as mischief glinted in his eyes. "You will be drinking a cask tonight, so keep your eyes open and observe how you act."

    Apollyon let out a sigh because he already knew it.

    He will know the answer tonight.

    To the waitress, Prince Aspen ordered, "Lady, please serve us one cask of the ''White Stag'' and another cask of my previous order, ''Purple Rose. Nothing else."

    He announced merrily, "We, gentlemen, will drink faerie wine and talk about women all night."

    The waitress listed their order, and then she was gone, descending to the spiral staircase to prepare the liquor.

    "You don''t look too good that I discouraged one of your future victims, Prince Aspen."

    Prince Aspen winced as he changed the subject. "I was about to ask you about your problem with the Empress, but you wouldn''t spill the tea, so I''m going to ask you if you could lend me an ear." Cocking a curious eyebrow, Apollyon angled his head in interest.

    "Lady rence wanted to return to the Vampire Realm along with you and the Empress if the war would push through."

 Chapter 419 - Gentlemen Talks

    <h4>Chapter 419 - Gentlemen Talks</h4>

    *****************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    *****************************

    "I hate women!" Prince Aspen said out loud as he raised his goblet in the air.

    Fae gentlemen from different age groups old enough to drink nced in their direction in surprise.

    When they figure out that it was the Faerie Prince whose deep voice stood out in the noisy ambience, the male aristocrats also lifted their own drinks while giving them a roguish grin as if they approved of that noisy deration.

    Apollyon''s gaze ricocheted around each of the cosy circr tables to check if there were many women on the Will O'' Wisp''s third floor.

    Fortunately, there weren''t many gentlewomen on the third floor.

    It made him sigh with relief when the fewdies who apanied their husbands only regarded them with detached amusement.

    He assumed women weren''t insulted.

    They could probably understand? Prince Aspen''s sentiments.

    Reaching for the cask, Apollyon poured the contents of the ''Purple Rose'' on Prince Aspen''s goblet after he drank the previous ones in huge gulps.

    How can a Vampire King like him serve a Faerie Prince like this as his own personal waitress?

    This was the fifth time he refilled the Faerie Prince with the liquid, and here he thought, he would be the one getting drunk tonight because of Luna''s revtion!

    Apollyon grimaced at that, but he realized it was alright because at? least his head was still clear to rethink his decisions to get wasted.

    "You know there is a fine line between love and hate." Apollyon said as he put the ''Purple Rose'' down and poured himself the colourless fluid of the White Stag. "These two contrasting emotions are equally consuming passions."

    "Women are challenging to understand! They are so unpredictable and confusing! Our ''left'' is ''right'' to them, and what''s ''up'' might be ''down''!" Prince Aspen whined as his head began to sway into a rhythm only he knew. It made the purple fluid slosh in his own goblet.

    "Sometimes, they are difficult to reach! So hard to get! Lady rence turned my simple world upside down!" Apollyon could see that the ''Purple Rose'' was getting to him as he listened to his every sloppy word. "They always seem to do the opposite of what I thought!"

    Shaking his head at him, Apollyon chuckled. It wouldn''t take long for the ''Purple Rose'' to take him down before the ''White Stag'' run through his bloodstreams. "Yes, my wife can even turn my boredom into excitement with her antics. It was fun while itsted."

    "Lady rence��" Prince Aspen stared nkly at the rim of his goblet before shooting daggers at it with his eyes; he might as well be staring at Lady rence. "--she made my life difficult."

    It was the current object of his ire, and Apollyon wondered if he was attempting to use Fae Magic to shatter the ss with only hisser-beam focus.

    "The woman doesn''t know how to stay still and obey or go along with what I want for us. It''s frustrating me!"

    Apollyon reflected on what Prince Aspen said because he could rte to it.

    Somehow, it made him d that he wasn''t alone in his dilemma.

    Aspen took three sips, and the White Stag made his tense muscles rx into both a state of awakening and slumber. "Maybe, nothing worth havinges easy."

    Prince Aspen sighed. "Tell me about it."

    "My wife is as stubborn as a mule. If any more unknown entity bestowed her with more power, especially the evil ones--" Apollyon trailed off, savouring the heady sense of pleasure the moment its citrus taste and smoky vani along with the scent of woodsmoke exploded in his tongue. When he swallowed, the liquid felt like gasoline burning his oesophagus. Like sex, the faerie spirit felt nasty and euphoric at the same time. "--it would send our lives in peril from all the enemies chasing after her to get her under their control, making her their puppet."

    "You are her mate, and you have connected through your souls." Prince Aspen said in a thoughtful nod as his gaze focused on him. "Couldn''t you draw enormous power by using her as a source? You said it yourself. There is a reason why these bastards chase her to the ends of the world. So that they could derive this specific magic and strength from her."

    "I have spected that, but I haven''t tried doing something about it from all these problems arising left and right. My wife and I couldn''t catch a breath." Apollyon muttered to himself in annoyance, "Now I understand why she didn''t want me to tell me her secret in the first ce."

    He squeezed the wrist of his hand, which held the stem of his ss to distract himself.

    Prince Aspen raised a curious eyebrow as his neck bent forward, "What secret?"

    Apollyon swallowed the remaining white fluid in his goblet and licked his lips. When he spoke, his voice lowered into a threatening growl, "I might be drinking, but I''m still sober. The secret is between my mate and me."

    Prince Aspen understood, and he brought the topic back to his past concubine. "I might hate? Lady rence for her decision at this moment, but no matter how hard I try, hating her will not only hurt her but me as well. She is my star, the fire of hope that can warm my heart even the coldest nights��"

    He interrupted. "Lady rence only warms your heart because she couldn''t warm your bed."

    Now, Apollyon knew Prince Aspen was officially drunk when he started pouting poetic words as he did before.

    "The human did but only once." Prince Aspen''s tone was sad, and it made Apollyon feel awkward because he wasn''t in the position to reassure someone when he was unhappy like him.

    Prince Aspen added with a whisper of regret. "My fake fiance told me it was a mistake."

    Apollyon said in jest, "Maybe, you aren''t good in bed like you thought it was."

    "I thought it was that." A quick prating nce before Prince Aspen squinted at the insult. "But she said she didn''t wish to get involved with me anymore. So that things wouldn''t get moreplicated if our ruse ended."

 Chapter 420 - Permission To Kill

    <h4>Chapter 420 - Permission To Kill</h4>

    *****************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    *****************************

    Apollyon figured that the night had fallen as the stained ss windows faded just in time to reveal a wide terrace.

    The sun started to set as its amber glow drained from the horizon.

    The starlit sky settled like tiny diamonds cushioned in ck velvet as the guests weed the lull of piano music, so full soulful emotion, followed by a beautiful aria sang by a Faerie.

    Frowning, Aspen held the stem of the goblet and gently shook it in circles so that the aromatic herbs would settle at the bottom.

    The purple liquid continued to swirl even if he already halted to let it rest. "Lady rence told me that she wasn''t thinking clearly when she reciprocated my advances, iming it was a moment of weakness on her part. I spected that she wanted to return to the Vampire Realm because she wished to avoid me after what happenedst two weeks."

    Apollyon''s response was augh as he poured himself another ss.

    It was amusing to find out that a mere human could ruffle Prince Aspen''s feathers when the Faerie Prince was known for his detachment when it came to his women.

    "You meet a person you are attracted to." Apollyon began to create a scenario as his fingers tightened on the stem of his ss. "Do you go past and let it stay in the fantasy, or would you make a move and follow to the ephemeral ending? The endless choice between regret and remorse might haunt you if you wouldn''t act on it."

    Was that a scenario for the Faerie Prince, or was that aimed for himself regarding Luna?

    What if he would regret not forgiving Luna right away if he made her wait for too long?

    No, if she loved him, she would understand that real forgiveness can''t be done overnight.

    He shook his head.

    Apollyon shouldn''t force it.

    Prince Aspen gave him a sarcastic grin. "Yes, if I could lock her up in my bedchamber, then everything would be alright.

    Apollyon winced because that was exactly what he would do if his wife would leave her. "I wish I could turn back time to correct my past mistakes with my wife." He was hit with many bullets today, and it forced him to reflect on his actions. "

    Ah." Groaning, Apollyon buried his face in his hands. "I can''t me my wife for this rpse. I me myself! The enemy is unreachable, and I can''t kill him!''" He bared his teeth in frustration. "I want to destroy him just like how they ruined our rtionship. I couldn''t take this anymore. I need to find a way to get my revenge one way or another! I need someone to me��someone to destroy for the meantime��to get this rage off my chest."

    Prince Aspen tutted. "You don''t have to find another person to me for other people''s faults, Vampire King. That is unfair to your future scapegoats."

    He glowered at him. "Of course, you would know, Prince Aspen. You are part of the Spring Monarchs."

    Clenching his fists, Apollyon said in a mocking whisper. "You have to endure it until it''s bearable. Just keep it to yourself. Yes! It is unfair to be the scapegoats to the Spring Monarchs!"

    Apollyon snarled and pped the table with a palm. "You, lots, should find another scapegoat to y with or this scapegoat might fight back and kick you all in the bloating heads."

    Prince Aspen winced at the cold hard truth. "You know how to aim your barbs with the precision of a professional dart yer, but I think you are just shifting this anger inside of you to me, who is the only creature willing to listen."

    "Oh right," Prince Aspen covered his mouth with a hand. "You have no friends."

    "Shut up." Apollyon snapped. "At least my fiance wouldn''t be leaving me to return to the Realm where she came from��to the Vampire King who previously owned her as a concubine."

    "Shut up."Prince Aspen red at him. "I shouldn''t have told you if you were going to mock me like this." He pped his forehead in rue. Not wanting to admit defeat when it came to verbal insults, he retorted, "You drink like a man who his woman had cheated on!"

    Lips parting at the insult, Apollyon''s hand banged the table, catching the attention of the tipsy noblemen seated near the terrace.

    Apollyon narrowed his eyes at him. "What did you say?!"

    It also made the singer and the pianist looked at them like drunk troublemakers who desired a brawl.

    He quieted. "It''s merely a jest."

    "Don''t even jest like that, Aspen." Because it was true.

    Calming down, Apollyon poured the White Stag into his goblet and drunk it dry as his cold fingers cupped the bowed ss.

    Apollyon could sense that the best parts of his brain had dulled from the White Stag.

    He prayed that he wouldn''t switch his logic off and allowing this foolishness to control him.

    It was a miracle that he could still understand their conversations--that he could respond with rity and speak the truth from his heart.

    Can they release this condensed pain in their soul by drinking to their heart''s content so that they could unite with their beloved with a sense of invincibility, or was this a cowardly act��an escape from dealing with the storm clouds blocking them from what they should suppose to do?

    Will this White Stag in his goblet make him addicted to this familiar numbness��the one thing he would run to every time life disappointed him?

    Will Apollyon let alcohol rot his brain in this pub, living in the cage of his primitive brain instead of talking to his wife about what he felt?

    Will the two of them be able to move on from this?

    Prince Aspen didn''t speak for several minutes as they tuned in to the pleasant singing in the background. "Trust me on this, cousin. I would do everything in my power to clear you and your wife''s image in the Spring Courts so that Lady rence wouldn''t leave me."

    He frowned. "She trusted the Empress with her life more than me."

    Apollyon blinked in surprise. "Is this why you were flirting with the waitress earlier? So that you would have another option after my wife take Lady rence with us?"

    "It was a poor attempt of picking up other girls, but I''m determined to make Lady rence stay in the Faerie Realm." Aspen sighed. "I couldn''t let her go."

    Apollyon told him the truth. "My wife and I might have fought, but I couldn''t let her go even if my rage felt like a dark entity taking over me."

    "I think this is the time to wipe the te clean and start over. Make sure you are calm enough to talk about it before you face her again. Heal yourself and the situation and give it time."He could sense the sincerity in Prince Aspen''s voice. "All we have to do now is surrender."

    Apollyon murmured, ashamed to even admit that as the Vampire King. "That''s hard to do."

    Prince Aspen exhaled. "I''m tired of struggling,? forcing Lady rence to do what she wanted. I guess I''m just going to let her be."

    With jaws set, Apollyon focused on the view outside the terrace.

    He put his goblet down and asked, "Will you allow me to kill all of your prisoners convicted with rape?"

 Chapter 421 - Let Me In

    <h4>Chapter 421 - Let Me In</h4>

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    Luna stared at the ceiling of their cabin in the mountain tops with nothing but the moon''s luminescence from the open window and the ck cat to apany her.

    The moment she went back from the meadow, riding the brown stallion by herself on her way to the cabin, sheid down the bed and tucked herself in.

    That was the conversation she most feared and it made her nightmarese to life: Apollyon leaving her alone in the field while she sobbed her heart out.

    When she lost her voice, Luna figured out that no amount of screaming will make hime back.

    Apollyon told her that he wanted to be alone for now, to process his emotions and she must respect that whether she liked it or not.

    A revolting thought crossed her mind. ''He wouldn''t cheat on me with another woman to level the ying field and wanted me to forget about it afterwards, would he?''

    She shook her head, refusing to believe that. ''My husband wouldn''t dare.''

    As she stroked the sleeping ck cat curled up in her stomach, Luna tried not to think about the impact of the secret she told Apollyon about.

    If Apollyon still wanted to stay with her and remained as his vampire mate then good.

    If not�� Luna wouldn''t know what to do.

    She trusted that Apollyon would still ept her even if he was already dirty in his eyes, fornicating with an impostor.

    Luna had to give him freedom just like how he had given her because that was how love was supposed to be��giving each other freedom to stand on their own while still giving them loving support from a distance to keep them going especially if they were having a hard time.

    Apollyon and Luna were together for a reason��so that they would learn how to better themselves as a person and not to be codependent on the other as a couple.

    She hated waiting for a long time as this impending doom settled over her like a storm cloud that wouldn''t leave but for her husband, she would be right here where she left him even if she collected dust in this cabin.

    Apollyon had waited for her for years while she was in Hell so why she can''t do the same?

    Luna should have to endure it even if the oue was bleak.

    She loved him, after all.

    Now, she just had to stop thinking altogether.

    Luna''s lips curved upward as she shifted to the side, facing the smattering of white stars in the ink-ck heavens.

    The ck cat meowed thrice when she dropped from her stomach to the bed.

    It was a tantint about shifting the ck cat from its fixed position.

    Nevertheless, the cat opened its golden eyes wide and blinked before itid its head on the mattress.

    Looking back, the ''past Luna'' would have been so insecure if this happened to her early in the rtionship.

    That girl couldn''t handle a simple problem when it came to Apollyon, how much more if she encountered this kind?

    She noticed toote that there was something wrong with her, and her recent interactions with her husband brought that realization to light.

    Why would she think that everything and everyone was out to destroy her when they haven''t done anything yet?

    Nothing can destroy her if she wouldn''t let them devour her whole.

    Was she so cautious and distrustful of other creatures that she kept others at a distance?

    A tear fell down the inner corner of the eye as it clung to theshes of her other eye.

    Once her tear ducts started to open, her teardrops were like twin dams that couldn''t be stopped as she cried in silence.

    Was she shifting the me on the people around her because she couldn''t trust herself to regte her emotions when dealing with pain, agony and betrayal?

    Was it imperative for her to live in survival when there was no need to put her walls up all the damn time especially to her husband who only wanted to help her?

    If that ''past Luna'' was still in there somewhere inside her, that distrustful girl would have run after Apollyon to exin, to fight and to argue until the sun went down, telling him that she was only a victim of her circumstances and Apollyon have no right to express his anger to the situation because it wasn''t her fault.

    Luna exhaled as she buried her face in the soft pillow.

    If she thought about it, Luna had changed so much because of her experiences.

    That suspicious girl was still a part of her but she wasn''t the same girl, anymore.

    She didn''t change but she wasn''t the same either.

    The deafening silence in the area vanished bit by bit if she relished at the sound of the chirping crickets, the howling of the cold breeze and the asional hoots of the owls clinging to tree branches.

    She fought the urge to turn to the other side.

    Luna had done that a few times earlier but her mind didn''t want to listen.

    Still, she looked over her shoulder.

    Apollyon was right that she was a masochist, craving the thousands of needles prickling her heart when the sickening reminder ede her mind with silence and madness that her husband wasn''t home yet.

    How many times had she told herself that staring nkly at the empty space wouldn''t make her husband return faster?

    He can only return only if he wanted to and she couldn''t control that.

    Luna closed her eyes as she let her muscles rx, listening to the lulls of the creatures in the night.

    She began to lose the awareness of her surroundings as sleep embraced her in its peaceful arms but three loud knocks on her door jerked her awake.

    The knocks were so strong that she thought someone was fighting with the thick wood.

    Bringing the nket with her to cover her skimpy nightclothes, Luna got up from the bed to open it but it''s toote.

    Her husband, who reek of potent spirits, fire and blood, destroyed the door of their house.

 Chapter 422 - Bed Looks Beautiful

    <h4>Chapter 422 - Bed Looks Beautiful</h4>

    ********************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ********************************

    "Apollyon!" Luna whispered as the nket she clutched on her fingers dropped on the wooden floorboards in a soft rustle, her hand covering her open mouth in shock.

    He busted the thick and heavy wooden door, detaching it from its hinges as it dropped in a loud bang.

    Swallowing hard, Luna''s eyes ricocheted from the pathetic door on the ground�� to her husband''s cloak smeared with blood standing at the threshold as he carried a huge shiny ax then back to the thick door frame.

    The Vampire King appeared like he was ready to fight!

    But who?

    Her?

    Will her husband kill her with the ax in his grip just because he was tricked into having sexual congress an Archdemon?

    Flinching at the loud crack, Luna''s eyes searched around the room, and when she nced down, she realized that the sound came from the thick ligneous door abruptly splitting into two as if it was a dyed attack.

    Come to think of it.

    Luna didn''t have to make sure if their massive door was still there when the strong gusts of stormy winds and therge, condensed clouds with the color of gray in every shade and depth were an indication that their small cabin weed the storm.

    The atmosphere was so thick and humid that she could probably swim it.

    Thunder followed lightning in a few seconds, and Luna curbed a gasp.

    There was nothing to fear with nature when the real threat was right in front of her.

    Rainstorm can''t hurt her aside from getting her wet.

    Well, Apollyon must have learned something from the rain.

    Luna''s fingers unconsciously flew to her mouth as she bit her nails in anxiety, peering at Apollyon, whose face was covered by the cape.

    He remained still, his legs separated in a wide stance.

    "Apollyon." She squinted at the object in question. "Why are you carrying an ax with you?"

    Apollyon threw an ax to the side, and the sharp edge hit the wall deep, clinging so tightly as if it was a? house decoration.

    Luna''s gaze helplessly followed the ax, and she couldn''t figure out if she were d that it wasn''t embedded on her forehead and slit her skull open or should it make her upset that it damaged their house.

    She thought it was her who was going to demolish the house in shambles from all the ss vases she had thrown.

    It turned out that she was alsopeting with her husband.

    "I''m not carrying an ax with me, wife." Apollyon smiled a smile that didn''t reach his eyes as he removed the hood of his cloak to reveal his chiseled face smeared with blood. "Not anymore."

    Her nostrils red.

    That blood wasn''t his.

    The scent seemed like it belonged to a group of people.

    "Apollyon." Luna''s hands limped to the sides as she thought about Apollyon killing faeries without remorse just so he could get rid of his rage towards her ��so that he wouldn''t hurt her when he came back into her arms. "Apollyon." Gritting her teeth in frustration, Luna wanted to point out the obvious. "You destroyed the door."

    The Vampire King shrugged without care.

    Frozen in ce, Luna murmured, "Have you been drinking?"

    He walked towards her sluggishly as the raindrops falling outside turned into big fat drops of water as it flooded inside the small cabin.

    "That''s not important right now, beloved." Apollyon''s breath smelled like alcohol with a mix of fragrant herbs.

    As her husband mantle fell to the floor in a heap, the clothes he wore still reek of spirits��and the blood��

    There was blood all over his shirt.

    "What about all this blood on your clothes?" Her hands flew to his clothes as she frantically unbuttoned the shirt, "Who did you kill?"

    "Wife." His voice was gruff.

    ''He is calling me wife, again.'' Luna mused. ''That must be a good thing.''

    Luna noticed that when they argued this afternoon, Apollyon called her Luna the whole time as if in his mind he already renounced her as his wife.

    That scared her a little bit now; her heartbeat slowed to normal, knowing that her husband was back for good.

    But this husband in front of her��she wasn''t sure if she still recognized this psychopath.

    Did she really love a man who enjoyed killing without sense?

    He watched her with hooded eyes. "There is something I wanted to destroy in this house aside from the door."

    The static in the air sent chills running down her spine, making the tiny hairs on her back stood on their end.

    Apollyon stood so close to her, and she breathed like she was running out of air.

    She rasped. "What is it?"

    Smirking, Apollyon tilted cocked his head towards it, "The bed."

    Her eyes widened in shock when blue lightning shed behind her husband--at the empty rectangle where their door should have been.

    Luna witnessed how his cold, hard Prussian blue eyes brightened into light blue as his dark pupils narrowed into slits. "The bed looked pretty great tonight."

    Was there a possibility that this wasn''t her husband?

    Nobody moved in the darkness for a minute.

    Dealing with the Archdemons had truly affected her psyche, making her doubt her reality.

    Ever since Luxen''s deception urred, Luna was careful in handling and meeting people.

    She didn''t want to be tricked by a demon again.

    Her Archdemon Magic increased, and it became easier for her to read people''s aura beforehand, making sure it matched with the form.

    One can never be too careful in the Faerie Realm because, like Archdemons, they were known for their mour.

    She might see through them if one attempted, but she never knew if a Faerie can shapeshift.

    Shutting her eyes tight, Luna took a deep breath before allowing her consciousness to converge with the outskirts of his mind.

    Her mental hands probed him with grace as she settled her open palms in her husband''s chest.

    It wasn''t a forceful assault but as graceful as the ebb and flow of the tidal waves on the shore.

    When she heard the resonance of her name in his mind, Luna sighed with relief and opened her eyes to see him fix his gaze at him.

    She could sense his body heating up, and when she nced down at his erection��

    It made her feel alive with excitement, curious for what was toe.

    "I will make love to you."

 Chapter 423 - Make A Wish

    <h4>Chapter 423 - Make A Wish</h4>

    Apollyon squeezed her upper arms so tight as they exchanged raspy breaths.

    He murmured drunkenly in her mouth, "I''ll make love to you."

    Gritting her teeth, Luna fisted her hands and pulled away from his grasp. "Apollyon. This doesn''t seem right."

    Apollyon acted like he didn''t want to let her go at first, but when the fingers encircling her arms loosened, her muscles rxed. "You didn''t answer me when I asked you if you killed someone."

    One hand wrapped around her upper back as his fingers trailed on the curve of her spine like butterfly''s wings descending to her lower back.

    Now, both hands spread over each globe of her ass.

    Apollyon pped it hard enough to inflict that smarting pain and pleasure, making her quim ache with need.

    Closing her eyes, Luna moaned in a long hiss, toote to notice that her hands were now resting on Apollyon''s nape.

    Liquid heat bloomed at her core like gasoline, and Apollyon was the match that lit her body on fire.

    Apollyon lifted one hand from her buttocks so that he could unfasten his pants and growled, "That''s because I didn''t want to answer."

    Luna merely observed him as he struggled to do it with one hand.

    He added, "I will leave that to your imagination."

    A wave ofnguid warmth uncoiled in her stomach as her secret flesh quivered, and she was tempted to drop her hand lower and do something about it.

    She bared her teeth in a growl, "There is nothing left in my imagination if you have blood all over you, husband."

    "Then I guess you already figured out the answer you need," Apollyon said absently as his blue eyes nced down at his fly, his brows knitting in confusion as if he already forgot the mechanism on how to untie his belt.

    Apollyon didn''t want to remove his grip on her buttocks, but he had to figure out a way to set his erection free.

    He wasn''t impatient to fuck her and rip his pants into pieces which was a shock.

    As her husband''s hand hovered unto his belt, he squinted at it like it was a puzzle he needed to solve��a strange dilemma he saw for the first time.

    Biting her cheek, Luna stared at the bulge.

    That was when she knew that Apollyon was dead drunk.

    Should they even do it when her husband couldn''t perform when his mind wasn''t in the right ce?

    A sigh of disappointment.

    What if he forgot how to have sex after drinking the alcohol concoction he just had?

    Apollyon was drunk right now, so she might as well pull some information out of him.

    Drunk words are literally sober thoughts.

    "Why did you do it, Apollyon?" Her voice softened, coaxing him to tell her the truth without avoidance, "Did you kill innocent people for no reason?"

    As if her sudden question broke Apollyon''s trance, he lifted his head and looked her in the eye for the first time.

    It was her real husband inside those Prussian depths��-not the one who was the psychopath with the ax, and she exhaled with assurance.

    "Contrary as you might think, I didn''t kill innocent for no reason." There was a tic in his jaw when Apollyon gritted his teeth, "I killed them so that I could take my revenge and for those bastard''s victims as well."

    Shaking her head, Luna ced a hand over his heart, and her fingers were now smeared with strangers'' blood. "I don''t understand! You can only avenge me when you killed the Archdemon of Lust... which is impossible."

    "I know that." The harsh lines of his face showed how determined he was as he gripped her waist in a possessive fury. "That is why I''m trying to find ways to summon an Archdemon so it could turn me into one. I think you are capable of turning me into Archdemon, wife. You can try��"

    Luna cut him off. "No. Apollyon.? I wouldn''t take part in making your insidious dreamse true. Even if I can turn you into an Archdemon, I wouldn''t do it."

    "How selfish! Even if you didn''t help me, I would find a way to do it myself!" Luna red at her husband as he went on, exining the reason for his insistence. "I killed many Faeries today so that I would be a worthy Archdemon! I tortured convicted criminals at the prison earlier--those criminals who the Archdemon of Lust had possessed."

    Luna''s mouth was wide open in shock. "Did you mean those criminals convicted with rape?"

    Apollyon was looking for the trouble in the Faerie Realm!

    What if the war between the Vampires and Faeries pushed through because of this?!

    She wanted to tell her husband about the consequences of his impulsiveness, but she didn''t dare.

    That might hurt Apollyon even further, and there was no point talking sense with a drunk husband!

    For the first time, Luna understood the suffering she caused him.

    Her husband couldn''t stand his suffering from her revtion, so Apollyon decided to dispatch them himself to gain justice for her.

    "Yes, those bastards who raped their neighbor''s women and those deranged pedophiles who raped babies have a special ce in my heart. It was satisfying to see the me of life snuffed out of their eyes." He gave her a slow arrogant smile and jutted his chin as if he expected her to give him a round of apuse for a job well done. "I wouldpare the pleasure I felt close to drinking my mate''s blood. Ah, even the happy-go-lucky Faeries from the Spring Courts, who were known for doing all they can to avoid pain and heavy responsibilities and choosing to exalt in wine and merriment every single day, weren''t rid of these stone-cold monsters."

    She sighed. "Too much blood on your hands already, Apollyon."

    How many times had she told him that?

    Did he listen?

    No.

    Apollyon sluggishly pressed a kiss on her brow. "I''m going to keep doing this until I be an Archdemon. Lilith became an Archdemon this way, so it might increase my chances to be one if I y my cards right."

    Luna began to see what her husband was saying.

    He was as stubborn as a mule and she also wondered how a drunk vampire can still keep himself upright.

    Nothing could change his mind when he finally decides that.

    "Apollyon, you don''t have to do this anymore. We are mates. I will figure out a way so that you can ess Archdemon Magic from me. Archdemons are vessels of immense power. That''s why conjurers aren''t afraid to summon them despite the consequences." Luna threw her arms around his neck and forced him to lean down so that she could press her cheeks against his, "Let''s find another way where we don''t have to involve other people, sucking them into these blood sacrifices."

    "I talked about this with Prince Aspen. The cult leader who killed the unicorns conjured Lilith''s power from Hell as the Archdemon of Envy''s vessel, but the conjurer wasn''t able to bring her in this Realm when Lilith had nobody to manifest herself in. She helped me summon you through the sacrifices I made and brought you back to your body." Apollyon told her.

    "I didn''t know if it would work, but I trusted it because it was myst resort, but I''m d it was sessful." He caressed her face, rubbing her dried tears with his thumb. "Bing an Archdemon is my main priority right now."

    "If we could pull that off without getting another Archdemon into the mix--" Luna trailed off and let the threat hang in the air, her stomach twisting into knots.

    "Let''s not think about that. I answered your question honestly, so you have to let my bloody fingerprints all over you tonight." Apollyon murmured in a sensual promise as hisrge hand squeezed one breast.

    Luna gasped in surprise.

    "Apollyon! This isn''t something to joke about." She gently pped him in the chest, scandalized by his behavior. Did he think her breasts were his toys to be yed with? "You will mess up the bed with all this grime!"

    Tilting his head, Apollyon slid his hands through her skin and held her fingers, marking her with the blood of his prey.

    It was disgusting, but Luna should be d that those criminals were dead.

    She prayed for their souls to rot in Hell and not destroy the Spring Courts.

    "Do you want me to get cleaned up first?" Apollyon blinked slowly as he said in a husky drawl. "My wife must think me a savage. Want to bathe naked in the rain with me?"

    "No. Just take your clothes off." She let all of her love for Apollyon pour in her gaze. "Completely."

    Apollyon followed her demands like a good page, and this time, she assisted her drunken husband in undressing him.

    Licking her lips, her eyes scanned him from head to toe, lingering on the parts which made her heart skip a beat when she watched her husband''s form.

    The sight of his strong, corded muscles on his arms and legs incited the animal in her.

    He looked sorge and masculine as he stood in front of her, and he let her have her fill with the man she craved that it physically hurt.

    "Do you find me dirty after I killed the criminals?"

    She shook her head. "No."

    "Good," Apollyon said. "I don''t find you dirty, too."

    Luna''s skin was sensitive from his touch, and her quim swell with desire, and she couldn''t wait to rub against him.

    She knew that Apollyon also hungered for her tonight, but Apollyon being so insanely patient drove her insane.

    He might be intoxicated with alcohol but having him so close to her like this made her addicted to his irresistible musk.

    Breathless, Luna nced up at him. "Does it mean you forgive me?"

    Apollyon didn''t respond.

    He cupped her cheeks and kissed her.

 Chapter 424 - Im Hungry

    <h4>Chapter 424 - I''m Hungry</h4>

    ****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ****************************

    Apollyon tilted his head, and Luna adjusted her face ordingly to kiss him better, content on following her husband''s lead. He took delicious turns in devouring her mouth, grazing his fangs at her lower lip as their tongues danced in sync, making her knees weaken and tremble.

    Luna let him do whatever he wanted to her these days. She would y along to when and where he would like to do it and what kind of positions he wanted to get the most out of their pleasure.

    She knew how her husband missed her from her soul''s disappearance, but she wasn''t that into it from the start and avoided having sexual congress with him as much as possible because her guilt over what happened with Luxen consumed her for weeks.

    Her husband might be hurt from her revtion, and she didn''t know how long he will project that hurt out in the world.

    Luna would have to deal with thatter if he made more sacrifices in his bloody path to be an Archdemon. She won''t stop him if that''s what he wanted because he can''t be controlled.

    Five more secrets to reveal to him��. but she would do it at the right ce and the right time.

    She hoped her secrets wouldn''t pile up as time went by.

    At least, she was now in her husband''s arms, and he didn''t leave her from that one.

    Now, she was a hundred percent sure that their love was strong enough to survive any storms.

    Other secrets will be nothingpared to this: just a mere hup��a bump in the road.

    Apollyon''s hands cupping her jaw moved to the side of her neck down her shoulders as she kneaded her with his expertise.

    She missed his gentle, loving touches.

    Luna moved closer, but it wasn''t close enough, wanting to feel her skin against his.

    Her small hands gripped and caressed her husband''s lower back before she let one of her hands stroked the stone-hard ridges of his abdomen, her fingers petting those hard-earned muscles.

    She lifted her head to gasp for air from that one long kiss and let out a sigh of relief.

    She could rest easy now that the cat was out of the bag!

    Apollyon''s lips lifted to nibble at her ear, and she released a long moan as his mouth descended to the sensitive skin of her neck--sucking, nipping, andpping the expanse of her skin.

    She, in turn, could stroke all of him with her palms all day so that she could memorize his shape.

    No, she missed everything about him.

    Luna thought that her husband wouldn''t return to her anymore, and she sniffed, fighting the urge to cry, while her thumb rubbed against the tip of his erection.

    Now, she was free from the burdens��she was as light as a feather��as if she could float in cloud nine at any minute.

    Apollyon paused and nced up at her when she made a sound, and he did a double-take when he saw tears rolling down her face.

    "Wife," Raising both his hands in surrender, Apollyon''s eyes widened in rm. "Why are you crying while your hands are pumping my cock?"

    A sob caught in her throat as she wiped a tear on her cheeks.

    He pressed another kiss on her cheek, on her mouth, then to her shoulder.? "Do you want to stop?"

    She forced herself to say, "I''m just happy, husband, that you dealt with the secret well."

    "It doesn''t matter to me as long as I have you in my arms and not him." Growling as if he was enraged at the reminder, Apollyon ttened his rough palms to the curve of her butt and half-hauled and half-carried her towards him higher, grounding his erection against her quim, which made her toes rose inches from the floor.

    "I would erase the traces of that bastard until you''re finally clean from him, Luna." Gritting her teeth, Luna groaned in pleasure as he squeezed her hand and rubbed his cock against her. "How dare that Archdemon covets what didn''t belong to him?!"

    She smiled with her eyes closed, relishing the onught of sensations bombarding her at once as she clung to him like he was his lifeline. "Thank you for loving me enough not to leave and decided to move on from this with me."

    When she opened her eyes to stare at him, Apollyon had that stubborn male expression on his face when he said, "Let''s not talk about it anymore because it triggered me." Rage glittered in his Prussian blue eyes, and hisshes lowered to hide them. He pulled her into his embrace, "Promise me not to mention it ever again."

    "Yes, husband."

    The nightclothes she wore felt suddenly abrasive against her sensitive skin.

    Eyebrows knitting in confusion, she realized the sad truth that she wasn''t naked yet.

    Why was Apollyon not doing anything about it?

    Was he just contented about kissing her?

    She thought she heard him tell her that he wanted to make love to her!

    "Husband." Luna patted Apollyon''s back to get his attention. She said softly, "I still have my nightclothes on."

    "Oh." He slightly pulled away from her and squinted at her face before his gaze lowered down to her form as if he just figured it out the first time. He blinked thrice, and Luna covered a hand over her mouth to stifle a chuckle.

    Her husband might be aroused, but Apollyon was still dead drunk.

    "I didn''t notice that you aren''t naked yet." Apollyon brushed his fingers on her stomach with reverence, "Let''s get you out of that clothes."

    Luna knew why Apollyon thought she was already naked. Her nightgown was so tight it clung to her like a second skin, and it was a transparent light pink color, which was close to the shade of her skin in the dark.

    Apollyon clutched the hem of the thin fabric, and she raised her arms so that he could pull that over her head.

    He threw her nightclothes to the side and watched her from her head down to her toes with a hooded gaze, his glowing blue eyes lingering to her breasts beading under her scrutiny.

    Luna straightened her spine. If her husband wanted to check out the goods, she had to stand properly and show it with pride.

    Raising a hand, Apollyon cupped a breast as if testing them for its weight like an eager buyer in the supermarket assessing the quality of the goods he had his eye on.

    Shaking her head, she chuckled in amusement at his behavior.

    It wasn''t like this was the first time her husband had seen her breast or her nakedness, for that matter.

    Her husband was drunk, but it seemed like the alcohol made him lost his memories.

    Lifting her chin, Luna raised an eyebrow at her husband. "Satisfied?"

    "Everything is the same. ��."Apollyon murmured without removing his intense scrutiny on the thin hairs on her quim.

    Licking his lips, Apollyon''s hand dropped lower to lightly stroke her mound.? Then, he nced up at her with a wicked glint in his leers. "To me, it always felt like I have never seen this before every single time."

    Apollyon grabbed her forearm and tugged her towards the bed.

    "Now, lie down and open your legs." Hemanded, appearing like the man who was desperate to taste her. "I''m hungry."

 Chapter 425 - How You Want It

    <h4>Chapter 425 - How You Want It</h4>

    ******************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ******************************

    She didn''t follow Apollyon''smand right away.

    Luna closed the cabin''s window.

    Theirrge, unmade bed was already drenched from the strong winds which carried the storm, including the intense chill that could prate bones and make a non-vampire''s teeth chatter.

    Luna also told her husband that she would only do his request to ''lie down and open her legs for him'' after Apollyon did something about the space where the cabin door should have been.

    She reasoned out that they can''t be having sexual congress while the rainwater seeped into their cabin''s floorboards and ruin them.

    It''s their temporary residence, so they have to take care of it before doing something else.

    Crossing her arms, Luna watched her husband as she stood her ground, naked for his perusal, as she jutted her chin at the broken door, "If you want a piece of this, you have to fix what you destroyed. first."

    After she said those words, the downpour turned heavier as the water pellets drummed the roof and the window.

    As if on cue, sudden streaks of bold light shed in the night, making her flinch.

    No one, not even her, could fathom why her husband brought a bloody axe on his way home and decided to cut their own door with it.

    It was especially adverse to do that at this time since there was a storm outside and the rainwater had flooded theirrge cabin.

    Biting her lip in a mix of ire and mirth, Luna curbed the urge to scold her husband for this foolish error.

    Apollyon narrowed his eyes at hermand, iming that Luna was manipting him with sex because nothing would happen if he didn''t fix the broken door first.

    Apollyon looked too eager to get down on her from the start, but now, she wasn''t sure if he was still interested.

    Was it a terrible mistake to ruin his seductive mood?

    She darted an awkward nce at her husband.

    Was she sessful in cock-blocking her husband without meaning to when she was only setting their priorities straight?

    Nevertheless, Luna was looking forward to how her intoxicated husband could fix the broken door.

    Even if they were husband and wife for quite a time, she still couldn''t estimate the extent of Apollyon''s magic.

    Luna had seen him fix the ss shards from the broken vases and formed them into a crystal ball, so it should be easy for him to do the same to the door.

    In a way, what Apollyon said might be true because she was using sex to get what she wanted so that he would follow through with his request.

    That''s what a wife does, right?

    Without moving from his ce, Apollyon turned around, stretching his hand with his palm facing the ceiling.

    When he raised his hand in that position up to the door frame''s level, the door''s wooden parts, which broke into two, moved on their own and stood up and attached themselves to cover the door opening.

    Apollyon''s attention returned to her when it was done, reporting like how a soldier did to amander, "The cracks and fissures from the yful strikes of my axe will still be visible, but it will do."

    yful strikes?

    So, he did it for fun?

    Luna almost got a heart attack when she saw him swinging the weapon!

    She even thought it was a ploy to intimidate her at first.

    A haze must have gued Apollyon''s mind.

    "If you want to go out of the cabin without the heavy oak door falling on you, I suggest you try teleportation like what you did at Ostara, or you can jump out of the window. Better yet, don''t go out of the cabin to avoid the spring faeries'' persecution." He reached out to pinch her in the cheek with his fingertips. "Now lie on the bed, wife." Apollyon gestured to the bed. "I will not ept to be tortured on purpose any longer."

    Luna didn''t need to be told twice and climbed on top of the bed while her husband followed behind her on all fours.

    As Luna manoeuvred toy her head on the pillow, she leaned on her elbow, raising her head a little to see what Apollyon was up to.

    Brows wrinkling his forehead, Apollyon held the right heel of her foot while his other hand gripped her knee to open her legs wide, and Luna resisted him with a straight face.

    "Don''t y with me, wife,"? Apollyon growled low as he glowered at her, and she bit her lip to hide her smirk.? She knew he knew what she was doing.

    He clenched his fists. "This isn''t the time to tease me."

    Giving in, Luna slowly opened her legs, and Apollyon''s lips curved upwards, satisfied at the view she had bestowed him.

    He murmured silkily, "I''ll make you pay for that."

    "By making me feel good?" Luna gave her an innocent grin and shrugged. "Go ahead."

    "Saucy wench." Grabbing her ankles, Apollyon pulled them apart and stuck his face down there.

    While she nted her heels on the mattress, Apollyon stared at her quim in fascination for a good minute before he stuck out his tongue and began licking her folds, flicking and teasing her entrance.

    Apollyon mped hisrge hands on her waist to force her down when she began squirming and thrashing from the pleasure.

    "Too hard." Luna gritted her teeth. "Apollyon!" She groaned when he was licking her clitoris too hard, and it started to hurt.? "Slow down."

    Apollyon slowed down like she told him to and began treating her quim like it was her mouth, kissing it deep andpping his tongue over her inner flesh while inserting his long digits in and out at the same time.

    "There." Writhing and moaning, Luna guided his head in the directions where she wanted. "Right there, Apollyon."

    "Apollyon~" He sucked her swollen clitoris, and Luna became more aroused that he almost pushed her over the edge.

 Chapter 426 - Q U I M

    <h4>Chapter 426 - Q U I M</h4>

    **************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    **************************

    Luna wasn''t his wife if she wasn''t teasing him every chance she got.

    She even resisted spreading her legs as he told her to do.

    In the end, when he attempted to part her thighs, she gave in.

    Apollyon felt a rush of adrenaline mixed with the ''White Stag'' injected through his bloodstreams made him sluggish yet aroused as all those warmth shoot down straight to his cock.

    Devouring his wife was always his favourite part of the sexual congress.

    Apollyon recalled how Luna had watched him earlier with a strange look on her face as she leaned her elbow on the mattress, cradling her head with a hand.

    It was a striking and surprisingly seductive pose that indicated how rxed she was nowpared to thest few weeks hiding that secret.

    She wasn''t worried about their problems anymore, and he would prefer that it didn''t happen in the first ce.

    He shook his head as he tried to forget what Luna told him this afternoon.

    Out of sight.

    Out of mind.

    The alcohol was effective in numbing his pain, and he would like to keep it that way.

    Apollyon wished he could see her in that pose all night, but they have more important things to do.

    Her quim was so smooth, soft and wet that it felt like he was running his tongue inside his cheek.

    He knew that Luna liked it whenever he went down on her, even if she didn''t want to admit it.

    Sometimes, Luna was bold and shameless, but there were times when she was shy and reluctant when it came to bed-sport.

    Apollyon thought that it depended on her mood.

    He wanted to make sure that both parties enjoyed the activity together, and Apollyon also liked the intimacy it brought to their rtionship.

    He desired to mark her by running his hands over her breasts, stomach, ass and thighs, envelop her into his embrace, reminding her over and over who she belonged to.

    Apollyon spent a lifetime of experience pleasuring the women in his Consortium, so he knew what they preferred when it came to devouring them down there.

    These encounters were only practices for the real deal--his mate.

    It was time to put his tongue skills into good use and blow Luna''s mind.

    He will see if his wife can withstand the amazing things his tongue could do.

    Apollyon applied what he had learned about Luna''s preferences when it came to eating her quim.

    Apollyon flicked his tongue as its rough bumps ran over her clitoris.

    She moaned as her eyes fell shut.

    Then, he moved his tongue up and down to her little nub before moving into circr motion, alternating from side to side.

    When he wanted to bring her closer to the edge, Apollyon let the tip pulsate rapidly in her quim and hitting her clitoris at the same time.

    She was getting more aroused, and more juices came out from her, and Apollyon licked them like he was a cat who got the cream��a cream which had a tangy scent.

    It was the most potent drug he had ever tasted.

    Apollyon not only used his tongue to drive her insane but also his nose as he immersed and dove deep in her quim with his face.

    Luna made loud noises, and he smirked, knowing that it was him who can turn her into a trembling mess when it came to making love.

    That, itself, was an affirmation that she liked what he was doing and that no words can say how much she was enjoying this.

    He nced at her, liking how her nipples perked in the cold air as she squirmed and angled her pelvis on his lips without inhibition.

    She was a sensual creature.

    "Husband." Luna tugged at his hair so that he could meet her gaze, and Apollyon gave her a mischievous grin.? "Why are you stopping?"

    A pause, "I''m catching a breath."

    Luna squinted at him with suspicion before she rested her head back to the pillow. "Alright."

    She waited, and Apollyon''s mouth moved closer to blow air on her sensitive folds.

    Luna shivered. "Husband!"

    Apollyon raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

    Lifting her chin, Luna scowled at him, "What are you doing down there?"

    He ignored her as he slightly inserted his finger without getting too deep as she needed.

    "Such a pretty quim." Apollyon cooed, letting out an evil chuckle as he looked at her up close.

    Face flushing in chagrin, Luna''s hand flew to her mound as she tried to cover herself from his scrutiny.

    "Don''t cover this beauty right here." Apollyon swatted her hand away and mped his fingers on her inner thighs to make her stay in ce, wide open for his delectation.? "I want tomit them into my memory while I still have the chance."

    "Oh," Luna whispered as she pushed against his hand. "I thought you were sarcastic."

    "No, I find it fascinating." He said in wonder. "It''s different from the others."

    "Are youparing my quim to other women you have seen?"

    "Hmm." Ignoring her jealousy, Apollyon gave her three deep and long licks before he replied, "You taste the best too."

    "Well, at least I''m the best." Luna sighed as she yed her breasts with her fingers as if she took the matter of arousal into her own hands. "Don''t worry. I don''t n on going anywhere either." Luna pleaded, "Now stop teasing me and hurry up, husband."

    ***************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    Apollyon brows knitted in determination as he began to take her to even greater heights.

    The pleasure building up was more intense this time than before because he had teased and edged her.

    Luna was having difficulty telling how she felt because all of her coherent thoughts have gone out of the window.

    Even the lips of her numb mouth had gone dry.

    Talking seemed futile as her entire body quivered with the force of her lust.

    Apollyon set the rhythm, and he knew he found the right ces to hit and linger when she gritted her teeth.

    As her thighs spasmed from the onught, Luna could hear the beat of her heart throbbing on the same rhythm of the ache in her little bud of pleasure.

    It wouldn''t take long before she reached her climax.

    Her whole body shook, and she was running out of breath.

    She was as tight as a bowstring, and she could feel herself giving in.

    Luna felt like her mind was drowning with the rapture he had evoked on her,

    Her entire being was focused on that one tiny little bud of pleasure and the movements of her husband''s tongue sucking and licking it.

    Apollyon''s hand was an anchor keeping her down on the mattress because she couldn''t help but arch and grind against his mouth.

    Breathing hard, her body had raged with the urge to climax that she would do anything to get it.

    Eyebrows knitting in a scowl, Luna parted her lips, moaning.

    Her body burned despite the storm outside.

    Heavy liquid warmth settled at her core, growing��? increasing�� threatening to overwhelm her before a wave of tidal pleasure wash over her consciousness.

    Her orgasm was massive.

    She screamed his name when she came, gasping for breath while she clutched the sheets.

    Luna wailed as tears leaked at the corner of her eyes, so weak and euphoric at the same time.

    When he released her, Luna copsed on the bed with her legs still shaking but her husband��.

    Her husband had fallen asleep with his face between her inner thighs.

 Chapter 427 - What Happened?

    <h4>Chapter 427 - What Happened?</h4>

    **************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    **************************

    Apollyon winced as the ck clouds behind his closed lids turned red from the unwee daybreak, which almost made his irises blind when he opened his eyes a bit in the bright sunlit room.

    No. He took that back.

    Apollyon could only squint as he still couldn''t fully open his sensitive eyes, and he left it at that.

    Raising an arm to block the painful rays of the sun, he cursed out loud when it didn''t make a difference.

    Thankfully, someone might have shut the windowst night because he couldn''t feel the sun''s heat in full st, scorching his pale skin, but then again, the light shining as he faced the window was enough to burn his eyes.

    That only meant that Luna hadn''t closed the thick drapes by the window.

    It disturbed his sleep even if the soft mattress felt like clouds underneath the hard nes of his physique.

    When he turned his head away from the window, Apollyon groaned from the ache in his skull like a ripple of ache, turned into a wave over his temples and then into a tide as the pain reverberated in his skull.

    Frowning, he almost thought that this swirling room would be permanent.

    The only good thing about this morning was the chirping of the birds who adored the sunrise��its soothing melody reduced the throbbing in his forehead as the colourful hues of the Spring Realm was slowly blooming like it was spring tide all over again.

    He desired to rouse from his sleep, swing one leg to the ground, and move the heavy curtains to the side by himself, but when he attempted to do just that, he retreated to the duvet because of another delicious, warm female draped across him which made it hard to move��and he didn''t like to move, not while his wife was deep in her slumber.

    He prayed that her sleep wasn''t that deep because that might send her to Hell with those Archdemons, and he didn''t want that to ur.

    Exhaling a sigh, Apollyon had to rub the side of his neck to calm down when his blood pressure began to rise as he reassured himself that everything was going to be alright.

    Feeling overheated, Apollyon kicked the nkets covering his��.

    Apollyon''s hand caressed the tiny hairs on his chest as he shoved the coverlet down, finding out that he was stark naked?

    He lifted his head to nce down at his upper body, absently trailing his fingers to his abdominal muscles down to his prick, which stirred, turning stiff with arousal with every stroke of his lower stomach.

    When did he take his clothes off?

    Apollyon''s eyes wandered around the cabin, and three strange urrences caught his gaze at once.

    A huge axe was lodged in the wall as if it belonged there.

    The second thing was that their door was split into two, yet it stood on the door frame like nothing was amiss and then the floor�� Apollyon had to lean his elbow on the cushion to check if he had seen things crystal clear.

    His eyebrows raised in surprise when he saw that the cabin was flooded with rainwater.

    There was a tinge of red on the puddle surrounding his cloak and the rest of his clothes on the wooden floorboards.

    A thick mist had settled inside their room.

    The mist made sense because their cabin was settled at the mountaintops, but the rest of the mysteries?

    Not so much.

    When did he exactly arrive back at the cabin after his surprise meeting with Prince Aspen?

    What else have they talked about aside from women and the war with the Spring Courts?

    Scowling, Apollyon rubbed his chin in contemtion but thinking hard made his headache intensify as if it was about to crack itself open.

    Apollyon''s mind raced, searching for answers as he stared nkly at the ceiling, recalling yesterday''s events.

    Had he identally spilt Luna''s secret to the Faerie Prince?

    Thest thing he remembered was he was drinking the ''White Stag'' at the Will O'' Wisp pub, and then, he cked out after that.

    He clenched his fists.

    For the life of him, it felt like his thoughts were all frozen!

    How could the ''White Stag'' be so intoxicatingst night only to betray him like a bitch causing problems?

    Luna moaned in her sleep, and it caught his attention.

    Apollyon just needed to look at his beloved wife, so he gently tilted his head at her so that it wouldn''t feel like an axe had tried to embed itself into his cranium.

    His wife''s head settled on the crook of his arm, her chest rising and falling with every breath, but when he saw her one breast when the nket slipped,? he noticed that she wasn''t wearing anything, either.

    Did they have sexual congress when he arrived at the cabin?

    Last night must have been fun, but many things had happened that wasn''t stored in his memories.

    It was a shame he didn''t remember.

    Wrapping his form, which was chilled to the bone cosily under the covers, Apollyon stared at her serene face for too long.

    His heart skipped a beat when Luna abruptly opened her eyes like she knew he was watching her the whole time like a creep.

    Eyes widening for a split second, Apollyon shut his eyes and buried his face on the pillow, which made him feel waves of dizziness.

    He pretended to sleep, but he guessed it was toote since Luna already found out��especially now that his lips had curved in wicked delight.

    "Husband." From the familiar tone of that voice, she knew that his wife was pouting at him, sulking, "Don''t even pretend that you are asleep because I just saw you open your eyes."

    His grin stayed put while he still had his eyes closed as he stretched his arms. "I just woke up, wife. It''s not like I was staring at you the whole time."

    "I''m tired of? you pretending that you wanted to make love to mest night."

    That got Apollyon''s notice, and he opened an eye to see her reaction.

    "What are you talking about?"

    "You told me you wanted to make love to me, but you end up falling��"

    A huge white wolf broke their heavy door twice while a female faerie with long brown hair rode its back.

 Chapter 428 - War Is Coming

    <h4>Chapter 428 - War Is Coming</h4>

    *************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    *************************

    "Who are you?"

    Apollyon didn''t recognize the girl on the wolf''s back, who seemed a bit young when it came to faerie age. Maybe, she was around Cederic''s appearance when Lilith cursed him.

    He narrowed his gaze at the girl because she didn''t look like a Faerie from the Spring Courts.

    If ever she was standing in a crowd of spring faeries at Ostara, she would stick out like a sore thumb with her tanned skin, burgundy bodice with a ck corset wrapped around her waist, and long, colorful skirts with green and orange triangr patterns all over it.

    Apollyon nced at his wife to see if she knew her.

    Luna raised her head a bit to see the stranger, but there was no recognition in her frown.

    "Brother--"

    Apollyon''s temper red up at the word as he gritted his teeth.

    He was supposed to be patient in front of his wife to prove that he was a changed man but early morning, a migraine, alcohol, and an eyesore are the necessary ingredients to make a time bomb.

    He didn''t like strangers��especially random faeries��calling him like this with ease to create the illusion of closeness.

    He wasn''t about to let it slide, even if it''s a young girl.

    Prince Aspen was the only exception to that because he was an ally.

    He abruptly cut her off with a snarl. "Don''t call me brother, faerie!"

    She bowed her head in an instant. "I apologize, Your Highness."

    The young faerie''s long, straight and shiny dark brown hair, which flowed like chocte waterfalls, wasn''t the only thing that surprised Apollyon; it was the faerie wings on each side of her face where her ears should be.

    Those wings on her head were yellow and green hues with midnight ck on their edges as if they belonged to a monarch butterfly.

    There was no way this girl must have flown through the atmosphere with her head.

    Apollyon almost snorted at how that would look like from the people below her, and he was curious to see that but maybe in his dreams.

    He still wanted to sleep.

    He hadn''t seen this kind of faerie in the Spring Courts before, so it would be safer to assume that maybe, she was an enemy.

    Satisfied at the apology,? he exined to the young faerie, "Just because I am half-Fae didn''t mean I''m everyone''s family rtive."

    Apollyon wasn''t convinced if therge white wolf''s fur, which the young girl''s fingers had held on to, belonged to a werewolf��a wolf shapeshifter��or was it just a typicalrge animal in the Faerie Realm.

    Not all animals and things were normal here in the Spring Courts, so Apollyon must still be careful.

    Without taking his suspicious eyes of the strange faerie and her wolf, his hand carefully groped the duvet and covered his wife''s exposed breasts.

    His wife''s body wasn''t for anyone''s view��not even a thirsty shapeshifter hiding under that mass of white wolf''s fur.

    Apollyon must y the role of Luna''s protector at all times so that there wouldn''t be any repeat of some other man going past his wife''s defenses just because he wasn''t present.

    He needed to guard his treasure��his pot of gold--from all those greedy hands so that they couldn''t get a piece of her and her Archdemon Magic.

    "Husband." Lifting a hand, Luna stroked his chest in a soothing motion, and Apollyon hummed in approval, basking in the touch of his vampire mate. "Give the child a break." Her lips moved closer to whisper in her ear. "Curb your sarcasm and keep it to yourself."

    He barely kept his frustration in his voice. "My head hurt fromst night, wife."

    Luna''s lips parted in surprise as if she recalled something awful. "Ah." Pinching her lips together, she averted her gaze to hide her expression. "I think you drunk too much alcohol yesterday that you fell asleep on me."

    "Yes, drinking with Prince Aspen was thest thing I remembered." Apollyon raised her chin with a finger as he breathed in her mouth,? "You have to kiss me better so that the pain would go away."

    "I think this isn''t the time to��"

    The girl cleared her throat to interrupt her flirting as she swung her leg high enough so that she could safely dismount off the white wolf. "I am a Faerie from the Summer Courts."

    A pause.

    She must have expected Apollyon to be shocked by that smug smile of hers.

    "I don''t care. " Apollyon raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Who gave you the permission to disturb us early in the morning?"

    He ced a hand to rest behind his head, showing the summer faerie that he couldn''t be bothered.

    She clenched her fists as she kicked his bloody cloak on the floor with her shiny ck shoes, and he didn''t know if he did it on purpose."I''m here to send you an important message."

    "Of course, you would. You have wings on your head like the Greek God Hermes." Apollyon observed as he gestured at her face. "I''m guessing you are here to alert us of our impending doom."

    He wondered if he had seen herst night when he couldn''t remember what he did after drinking the ''White Stag.''

    What Prince Aspen told him yesterday at the Will O'' Wisp was wrong.

    How could he observe the effects of the ''White Stag'' if his brain would shut down on itself if he reached the threshold?

    Only the Faerie Prince knew what he was capable of after drinking the cursed spirit.

    A year had passed from the Hanging Tree Forest incident, and the bastard would still insist that he figured it out himself.

    The summer faerie began. "The King of the Summer Courts��King Oberon, your grandfather--have sent spies on the Spring Courts after they have heard about what happened at Ostara--"

    "Oh. Are you here to me us for that? The rumors must have scattered like wildfire! I find it interesting that everyone in the Faerie Realm knew how evil we are from saving these ungrateful bastards!" Apollyon let out a sarcasticugh. "After all, we were the ones who sent the demons all over the Spring Courts to wipe them out of their existence."

    He clicked his tongue in annoyance. "There is nothing new with your message. Couldn''t you wait for us to get dressed to get the audience of the Vampire King and the Empress? "

    "Youngdy," Luna asked for rification. "Did the Summer Courts figured out the real story of the whole ordeal, or did youe here with the belief that the rumors were true?"

    The young faerie ced her hands on her hips as she glowered at them like she had the right as Luna and Apollyon lounged on the mattress without a care in the world. "That isn''t important right now, Your Highness!" Did this little girl have to shout at them like this was a matter of life and death? "We are running out of time."

    Luna threw her a confused look. "Why would time be running, summer faerie?"

    "The Spring Monarch''s militia will be here soon to capture the both of you."

 Chapter 429 - Under Attack

    <h4>Chapter 429 - Under Attack</h4>

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    When Luna heard from the summer faerie''s mouth that the Spring Courts'' militia woulde to capture her and her husband, she didn''t hesitate to swing her leg out of bed and went straight to their wardrobe, naked.

    At first, she didn''t care who saw her body initially as she rummaged forfortable clothes, butter, she changed her mind and looked over her shoulder.

    The faerie messenger was quick to give her the modesty she needed and faced the door.

    Therge wolf was smart enough to do the same.

    Luna wore the indigo bodice and a long flowing skirt in a hurry before covering herself with the sleeveless armor breastte.

    She wrapped a golden sword belt around her waist.

    Apollyon had given her this brand new set of clothes as a gift a week after she came back to him.

    Her husband liked to shower her with expensive gifts, but of course, Luna would choose his love over material things.

    Apollyon was still on the mattress with the sheets barely covering his lower half, exposing his sinewy muscles with one hand behind his head while he faced the ceiling with his eyes closed.

    Did he go back to sleep?

    Squinting at her lethargic husband, she pulled him some simple clothes from the cab and threw them in his face.

    Apollyon didn''t react.

    He just held the fabric in his fingers as he tilted his head at her in confusion.

    Did her husband care if the Spring Courts arrested them for some unknown reason?

    Apollyon slowly got up from the bed, and Luna assisted him like he was her child, getting him to wear his clean underclothes and his trousers quickly and wrapped the tunic around him afterward.

    The young faerie asked. "Are you ready to go with us, Your Highness? Empress?"

    When Luna was done clothing him, Apollyon sat down on the cushions while clutching his head. "I am still confused about this quick turn of events. So, the peace negotiations at the Spring Council and Prince Aspen''s petition to let us slide for ridding the demonic faeries were useless?"

    "Yes." The Summer Faerie crossed her arms as she tapped her foot impatiently on the wet floor. "It deemed useless because of what you didst night, Vampire King."

    He scowled at the girl''s back. "What did I dost night?"

    Luna knew what Apollyon did, but it seemed like her poor husband didn''t remember.

    Both of them nced down at his bloody clothes on the floor.

    Apollyon turned to look at her in question, and Luna gave him a half-shrug.

    She had spections about what Apollyon did when he confessed to her that he might or might not have killed those who the Archdemon of Lust possessed with his ax--convicted rapists at the Spring Courts'' Prison House.

    Anyhow, Apollyon was inebriated yesterday, so what was circling on her thoughts right now might not be true.

    The Summer Faerie faced them and changed the subject, "The Vampire Realm is too far away from here, and the barriers around them might be infested with Faerie Sentinels. They might attempt to kill you if they saw you return."

    Apollyon''s lips curved upward, yet his Prussian blue eyes were cold and hard. "You must be delusional to think that my wife and I couldn''t defeat them if we returned."

    "There is also a chance that you might get trapped in this cabin once the militia arrived, Your Highness." A tight smile. "They wouldn''t arrest you without strong magic in their arsenal."

    Feeling suddenly cold, Luna wrapped her arms around herself.

    When Apollyon noticed that she neededfort, he rose from his seat and hugged her, his chin resting on her shoulders, and Luna hugged him back. "We don''t know if where the wheel of fate will turn on whose favor."

    She sighed.

    She thought her life would finally go easier on after she told Apollyon her secret.

    With every ray of sunshine she had in her hands, a gray cloud would soon follow.

    Likewise, when things weren''t going their way and hit rock bottom, the only ce to go back up was the top.

    Whatever ns and schemes theyy out for themselves to reach their goals, they will be at the mercy of fate and fortune not unless the gods and goddesses interfere.

    "Husband." She urged. "We need to decide right now if we still wanted to go to the Summer Courts."

    "The Summer Courts will offer protection to the grandson of King Oberon."? The summer faerie informed them. "It is the nearest refuge we can go to to keep you safe from the Spring Courts."

    Luna found the offer tempting.

    "I will leave this decision up to you, Luna." Apollyon murmured, "Do you want us to go to the Summer Courts?"

    She nodded.

    "Alright. No, problem." Apollyon withdrew from her embrace to look her in the eye. "As much as I would like to avoid meeting my family there but your wish is mymand."

    Then, he turned towards the Summer Faerie, "I am not familiar with the terrains of the Summer Court, so I doubt if I can safely teleport the four of us there. I couldn''t imagine specific details on how our destination looked like, and we mightnd in a different ce. Can you let me ess your memory if I can?"

    "No, husband," Luna said. "That would be an invasion of her privacy."

    "The real question here is, did she want to help us out with her memory, or are we going to stand here wasting time staring at each other?"

    "I want to use my new skill��" Luna trailed off, reminding herself that she shouldn''t tell Apollyon of her newfound abilities to open portals through her Archdemon Magic when the stranger was here with them.

    Luna wasn''t certain that they could trust the girl.

    Who knows what she will do with the information?

    Luna gasped in surprise when her sensitive ears picked up the whistle of arrows before theynded on their cabin''s walls.

    They were under attack.

 Chapter 430 - Summons

    <h4>Chapter 430 - Summons</h4>

    ****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ****************************

    Their cabin was under attack.

    "I told you we were running out of time." The Summer Faerie closed her eyes and exhaled.

    When she opened her eyes, she bit her lower lip in regret or was it indifference?

    As the girl''s warm caramel eyes zeroed in on Apollyon''s clothes fromst night withser-like focus, she held out an open palm and fisted them abruptly as if she was crushing something in a pulp.

    The rumpled fabric, which was soaked in blood, burst into mes.

    "There." She said.

    Luna''s eyebrows raised in amazement, for she had set the garb on fire without affecting the wooden floorboards underneath it. This mysterious messenger had strong Fae magic in her blood. "I have erased evidence against you, brother."

    "I have a great time chatting with the both of you." The girl''s hand went limp. "I should have made us tea while we are it."

    Apollyon narrowed his eyes at her in annoyance. "You deserved to be left in here so that the Spring Courts could tear you to pieces, little girl."

    "Why would they hurt me when I did nothing wrong?" The summer faerie blinked with innocence. "Have you heart about the saying, ''not to shoot the messenger''?

    Luna couldn''t help but smirk.

    This young girl was sarcastic even in the presence of danger.

    Just from this brave attitude of hers which was almost heartless, Luna could tell that she and the youngdy would get along.

    Large arrows made of iron hit them from the sky through the roof, creating holes and craters on the damp floor.

    When she nced up, her eyes widened when two arrows directly descended and almostnded on her forehead.

    Apollyon, who had sensed them in an instant without even a glimpse of where the metal arrows were, pulled her towards him on a split second before they fixed on the ground.

    They almost stumbled from the momentum, but Apollyon quickly regained his bnce and supported her weight with her fast reflexes.

    Luna knew they had been surrounded from above and around them. Apollyon helped her stand properly before caressing her face.

    "I will make create thick aerial barriers to protect this house for the meantime." Apollyon said calmly, breathing hard. "��but I can do this forever."

    Luna knew that her husband had done something about their attackers from above because no more arrows had infiltrated the cabin.

    Apollyon straightened his spine, and she noted that he was sweating profusely from the exertion of keeping the aerial barriers in ce.

    Barriers take a long time to prepare to protect and nullify any kinds of magic but who knew that the Faerie Realm would attack them anyway?

    Not wasting any more time, Luna''s ws lengthened, and she shed her left palm with it, making her blood drip on the floor.

    She attracts spirits who were bound to this Material Realm for some reason��those who couldn''t go to Heaven, Hell and the Underworld--because of her blood.

    It gave them strength and vigour when these spirits whose real rotten bodies served us soil nourishment in this Realm feed on her.

    The blood of an Archdemon was so potent that these spirits trick themselves into thinking that they have acquired a real form, giving an illusion that they were alive.

    Dark shadows with spherical caps as heads crawled out of the woodwork.

    They flew around in a frenzy passing through the walls of the cabin, searching for the blood she spilt with their acute sense of smell.

    When some of them found her offering, they positioned themselves better on the drops of blood on the ground,? their ck tongues licked the wet floorboards, fighting against the rest to get a taste of her.

    After consuming the ichor, all of the ghosts rested on the walls while their head and their eyes stuck out, watching them withrge and eerie glowing orbs, frozen in ce, waiting for hermands.

    His lips parted in wonder at the eerie ghosts who were as still as the statue.

    Apollyon watched her with a brand new set of wide eyes.

    He didn''t need to ask because Luna already knew what he was on about.

    "The Spring Courts already painted us the bad guy." Tilting her head, she smiled at her husband. "Might as well y the part right."

    The Vampire King and his Empress might fall, but they will do everything to rise again.

    Bad things happen to good people, and good things happen to bad people.

    As impersonal as it may sound, it is the way it is.

    When Luna watched the summer faerie, it appeared like she became one of her summoned souls because, like them, she didn''t move an inch.

    Her hunched shoulders were cowering in fear as if she was making herself small so that the souls wouldn''t target her.

    She looked at her like she was a monster.

    Was being an Archdemon imply that she was a monster?

    Luna didn''t know if she should be amused or feel pity towards her.

    Where did her earlier confidence go?

    The summer faerie pointed at one ghost who was creeping on the wall with a trembling finger. "Are those dangerous demons at Ostara?"

    Luna took a deep breath before exining. "No. They aren''t the shape-shifting demons like the one at Ostara. These are dead souls trapped in these mountains. They wouldn''t do any harm. Some of them can touch things in this Realm, but the best thing they can do is scare the Faerie Sentinels away with their forms and illusions. I will order them to mimic like the fear-eating demons at Ostara, but that''s about it. They wouldn''t possess anyone because these are mere soul��not demons."

    Apollyon grinned even if his eyes looked tired and sleepy."You are brilliant, beloved. These chilling phantoms work like a scarecrow in the fields. They can buy as more time to think about our next move if they hovered around the barriers and scare them away."

    "Daemones in figura," Luna uttered the words, and the souls moulded into the same image of the demonic legion at Ostara.

    The young girl finds watched them shift and released a blood-curdling scream.

    "Ire," Lunamanded.

    The souls were quick to disperse from the walls and vanished, fulfilling their mission as gratitude for her Archdemon Blood.

    "Husband. You must strengthen the barrier." Luna looked over her shoulder to tell Apollyon. "There''s something I want to try."

    Beads of sweat trickled from his forehead, and Apollyon had copsed on the bed, feeling exhausted from keeping the barrier in ce. "You want to try teleporting us in the middle of nowhere?"

    "I will see if I can find a way to get us out of here." She replied. "In addition to that, your head still ached from what you drank yesterday. Leave this up to me."

    Apollyon''s response was a raised eyebrow. "Are you telling me that I can''t multitask?"

    "No, Apollyon." She shook her head. "I''m not looking down on you right now just because I want to feel superior��that I am powerful than you because I''m an Archdemon. Think of this as a wife caring for a husband when he was feeling under the weather because of his shenanigansst night."

    "Alright." Apollyon nodded, grinning. "No offence taken."

    She stared at the spot where her blood flowed and shifted her gaze at the gash she created with her ws, realizing she had to do it all over again because her wounds have healed fast.

    She didn''t want to tell Apollyon about this, but she guessed it was better to show it to him.

    This will be the first time she will create a portal to another Realm by herself.

    Magic without a Master to help her ground her energy to give her intense focus on one thing was difficult because when she didn''t concentrate, the magic will tend to scatter and fail its intent.

    She desired to be sessful at it, but by being a good Portal Creator, the Archdemons would chase her to the ends of these Realms to get their wicked hands on her.

    Luna might be powerful as both an Archdemon and a Vampire, but that didn''t exempt her from avoiding hardships and misfortunes in her life.

    It was quite the opposite.

    The more her knowledge and abilities on new types of magic increase, the more she became a ma for bad luck.

    Did she be indestructible because of the bad luck fate kept throwing at her, or did the bad luck��the stumbling blocks��followed after bing indestructible?

    She had no idea what came first because both were strongly attached.

    It was like the argument ''Whates first��the chicken or the egg?''

    Because of this, Luna concluded that greater power and misfortunese hand in hand.

    Should she be thankful for having Archdemon Magic when she had to pay the price of being tricked by the Archdemon of Lust? At the same time, the Archdemon of Envy lived free rent in her body��using her as a physical vessel for her dark, twisted games Luna wasn''t privy about?

    She would have to learn if she could ess Lilith''s brain, or better yet, she should learn how to exorcise the bane of her existence first without telling Apollyon about this.

    Luna would also forget her bargain with Sloth so that Apollyon and Luna would live happily ever after.

    More knowledge must mean more obstacles to ovee because her understanding of how everything worked also increased.

    She turned towards the summer faerie. "Come here and offer me a memory of the Summer Courts, youngdy."

 Chapter 431 - Long Lost---

    <h4>Chapter 431 - Long Lost---</h4>

    ********************************

    Arhcdemon Empress Luna

    *********************************

    "Youngdy." Luna couldn''t help her lips from curving upwards at the fear in the summer faerie''s countenance in this dire situation.

    The summer faerie''s muscles turned rigid, frozen in ce. "You don''t have to give me that face."

    Smiling, Luna extended out a hand so that the young girl would trust her.

    She added with a sense of urgency. "I thought you said we are running out of time."

    Her ears refused to listen.

    Stepping backward, her wide brown eyes watched Luna in trepidation while ncing around the walls as if she expected the ghosts Luna conjured toe back and possess her.

    The young summer faerie must be horrified at what she witnessed from the summoning, even if Luna already exined that these wandering spirits wouldn''t harm her or anyone.

    Words on the streets regarding the Massacre of Krinoniapolis must have crippled the summer faerie into believing that Luna was the bad one despiteing here to alert them of the Spring Court''s ns of capturing them.

    "I''m afraid." Her voice was strong yet shaky. "I''m afraid of you and your power."

    She had to put them at ease, or else there would be no progress.

    "I wouldn''t harm you because you are here to help." Lacing her voice withpulsion magic, Luna reassured the young girl and beckoned a finger at her.? "You are making this difficult for us to escape."

    "Do this for your King Oberon." Luna reasoned out gently as she intensified the control of her resonance.

    "Yes, I am doing this for my grandfather." The summer faerie muttered to herself as if it was a reminder��a mantra that would give her courage as she strode towards her. "He wanted to see the Vampire King��his grandson."

    Apollyon''s eyes narrowed at her. "Your grandfather is King Oberon? You are part of the Summer Monarchs?"

    She nodded as she advanced to Luna in careful steps. "I''m your sister, King Apollyon."

    Luna let out a gasp, her eyes widening in surprise and Apollyon appeared taken aback.

    Sister?

    The girl remained firm, calling the Vampire King her brother even if Apollyon already expressed his intense dislike.

    Prince Aspen had called him ''cousin'' many times, and Apollyon let him be because the Prince was determined to call him that.

    Luna also found it interesting how her husband interacted with other people aside from her.

    The Faerie Prince was the only exception to Apollyon''s hatred of lineage and family rtions, but she guessed their budding friendship would be broken because of the war.

    Luna''s heartbeat raced.

    What if she was his sister from the Summer Courts?

    Apollyon shook his head in disbelief. "You look too young to be my sister, youngdy."

    "I think you meant that I was your cousin, simr to how Prince Aspen always insist that I was." Her husband''s brows drew closer as his handsome face tightened in ire. "You must be a daughter of King Oberon''s son or daughter."

    "No. My mother is Empress Ourania." The girl insisted.

    Empress Ourania?

    Did that mean that the Vampire King''s mother, who Apollyon thought was dead a long time ago, was finally alive?

    She recalled the vague details Apollyon had told her about her mother''s disappearance. Still, his secretive husband didn''t borate, saying that they should both of their pasts behind them because only the present and the future mattered.

    Now, he was going to swallow his words back because of this revtion.

    "What?!" Apollyon got up from the bed and paced around the room as he ran his fingers through his dark hair. "What is this��"

    The girl exined further. "My mother, Empress Ourania, escaped from the chaos at the Vampire Realm. She told King Oberon that her son had turned into a monster and killed her husband��the past Vampire King."

    "My mother is alive?" Apollyon paused a mid-step and looked at the summer faerie��really examined her facial features, trying to see if there was a resemnce between them.? "I don''t believe you, kid."

    "She left the husband her grandparents have chosen for her to gain a political alliance with the Vampire Realm. Their schemes backfired on them when they received the news that you��her son��had gone mad and ruled the Vampire Realm, iming that you wouldn''t recognize her as your mother��that you would kill her on sight if you saw her roaming around the Realm. She witnessed how you devoured your own father, King Gwythyr, after turning into a dragon, and she believed that you would also do the same to her, so she had no choice but to flee." She replied.

    "But I��" Luna watched her husband''s Prussian blue eyes grew cold and averted his gaze, looking past the spot on the wall behind his sister rather than her. "I resented my mother''s disappearance for centuries. I hope she could tell the truth that she didn''t want anything to do with me��that she abhorred my existence."

    Sighing in frustration, Luna knew Apollyon felt like punching someone in the face when his hands locked into fists and from the rage bleeding from his aura.

    Once again, she saw a glimpse of that vulnerable child who craved his parents'' love. "I wouldn''t buy her excuses."

    "Apollyon." She told him in a soothing tone as she raised a hand to stop him from stalking towards them like a predator. What would he do? Kill his sister for telling the truth? "Calm down. Don''t hurt the summer faerie."

    Apollyon endured a lot of problems these past few weeks, and Luna sworest night that she wouldn''t add herself as one of those issues on Apollyon''s te.

    She was determined to keep the promise, but she didn''t expect that Apollyon''s half-sister would be her.

    "No, you are wrong, brother. You were precarious at that time." The girl said as she stood in front of her, and they were now facing each other. "Mother said that you seemed possessed by another entity, and you were not yourself. You weren''t cognizant of her actions when she tried to stop you from killing your own father."

 Chapter 432 - Portal Creation

    <h4>Chapter 432 - Portal Creation</h4>

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    "Mother said that you seemed possessed by another entity, and you were not yourself. You weren''t cognizant of her actions when she tried to stop you from killing your own father." The summer faerie borated as she observed him from the corner of her eye while her attention was on Luna.

    Luna was quick to amend her statements. "Empress Ourania was right. It wasn''t the Vampire King. but the Blood Beast."

    Like a good husband, Apollyon didn''t approach them when Luna warned him not to.

    She couldn''t trust her husband that he wouldn''t bombard this young faerie with questions instead of keeping his aerial barriers in ce from the Spring Court''s attack.

    Apollyon was exhausted, and this girl revealed her identity at such an inopportune time, which made her husband distracted from his task.

    Nevertheless, Apollyon''s sister''s tense shoulders rxed when he kept his distance, and Luna understood why.

    Her husband had thrown the girl murderous looks after she stirred his resentment towards his detached mother.

    This bitterness red up out-of-the-blue as if his sister had poked the sleeping dark dragon in his heart for fun.

    Crossing his arms, he scowled at her sister. "I didn''t remember anything, and I didn''t recognize anyone. I am his son!" The volume of his voice rose with every sharp word. "She shouldn''t have been there for me when I needed her the most."

    "I was alone." Apollyon''s mouth pinched as he murmured, yet his tone was merciless.? "The truth is she just wanted to deny that she left me because she wanted to save her hide and start a new life��start a new family-- in the Faerie Realm because she hated my father and me."

    As if his sister had also sympathized when she saw a glimpse of vulnerability in his eyes before he went stone-cold again, she whispered. "You have to see her for yourself in the Summer Castle, brother. Empress Ourania and our grandparents wanted to see you."

    The youngdy stood in front of Luna and settled her small, caramel hands on her outstretched palms.

    It wasn''t thepulsion magic that gave her the courage to walk towards her, but she desired to let his grandfather and Empress Ourania meet her older brother.

    She was risking her lifeing here to send them a message, and she was grateful for that.

    "Are you ready, sister?"

    "Yes."

    "Close your eyes, sister," Luna ordered before letting her eyes fall shut, expecting the girl to do the same. "Think of a specific ce in the Summer Courts where you wanted us tond and project this thought towards me as if you are sending a telepathic message."

    The summer faerie obeyed. "Yes, Empress."

    Luna''s eyebrows knitted in confusion when she was shown three locations at the same time as she probed the girl''s thoughts�� an old woman with her dark hair tied up in a bun in a lc dress as she yed with the sparkling waves by the seashore, a child flying a monstrous kite as she ran through the rolling green hills with tall pine trees on the edges and a young man in the middle of the woods--who Luna thought was a Prince of the Summer Courts based on the gold essories adorning his forehead, his ears, his neck, and his wrists��as he meditated, sitting on top of the stone while the water fell down his back.

    Thest image with the waterfalls was the clearest vision she sent through her mind, but this girl should make up her mind.

    Luna sighed in disappointment. "I don''t want you to think about anything else aside from one location. You have to concentrate, or we might get stuck somewhere else." Luna''s tone was blunt but with a hint of affection.? "I need your cooperation since? this will be the first time I am doing this."

    The summer faerie swallowed hard.

    "You don''t want to be trapped in a limbo full of demons with us by ident, would you?"

    Luna''s consciousness began to fixate on the memory of the summer faerie, which showed her the final location on where they wouldnd, but her husband''s anger kept on clouding her mind that she couldn''t focus.

    "Husband." Her heartbeat thrashed in her ears when she could sense from the back of her mind that Apollyon''s barriers were starting to weaken. "I could sense your dark rage overtaking my mind. You have to learn how to curb them, or we wouldn''t get anywhere."

    "I apologize, wife." Apollyon gritted his teeth. "I would fight my anger until we arrived at the Summer Courts and meet my lovable mother. When I found out that Empress Ourania was alive, now I was determined to go there myself. There are some things I need to tell the woman who gave birth to me."

    The summer faerie couldn''t resist speaking to her brother.? "I''m d that you are warming up to the idea of going to the Summer Courts. It''s time for you to meet your family."

    "Alright." Her chest heaved as she pushed down Apollyon''s bleak emotions to the background. "Quiet your mind for a minute."

    She opened her eyes when she finally got a clear image of the waterfalls by the woods.

    "Atria. Introitu. Aestatis." Four golden orbs floated in the air at the waist level.

    The four shining globes were connected by glowing silver lights, forming into arge diamond rotating around Luna and the summer faerie before it embedded on the floor, cutting through the wooden floorboards.

    Luna pulled the summer faerie''s wrist without any warning and positioned it at the center before shing one forearm, allowing her blood to drip five times on the ground.

    She let out a shocked cry of pain before Luna cut her own palms with her ws and let it trickle.

    The Archdemon Magic was nowplete.

    Luna and Apollyon''s sister was now surrounded with dazzling lights as if they were standing on top of a star for a few seconds before the floorboards crumble.

    Luna screamed when she fell into the water.

 Chapter 433 - The Summer Courts

    <h4>Chapter 433 - The Summer Courts</h4>

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    Luna screamed when she fell into the water.

    Two traumatic memories shed in her mind as she iled her arms around in the water in a panic because she couldn''t swim.

    Shutting her eyes tight so that the water wouldn''t burn her eyeballs like acid, she recalled the moment Jon had brought her to the underground caves for her High Priestess initiation and the first time she used Archdemon Magic on Luxen and punctured a hole in his wing.

    It made her submerge into the defrostedke as demonic sirens preyed on her.

    Pain ripped her in the chest, lungs, and throat, and she felt like giving up��giving in and lose consciousness.

    Luna hated drowning in bodies of water��the sensation of her lungs burning with theck of oxygen when she held her breath, of water filling her ears, and of feeling hopelessness when she the water kept her limbs sluggish underwater.

    The terror of drowning made her mind nk as if the currents had washed away all of hermon sense.

    Few minutes have passed by as she blindly thrashed with her arms and legs.

    Luna was forced to open her mouth as she choked and inhaled the water running out of the air.

    Before it could render her unconscious, she felt someone grab her wrist and quickly pulled her upward.

    Luna''s face hit the water surface, and she gasped while her short savior kept her afloat by holding on to her waist.

    Arge animal with thick and wet fur shifted underneath her and carried her weight.

    When she wiped the water off her face with a palm, she opened her eyes to see Apollyon''s sister dragging her to the crest of the waterfall.

    She swallowed, breathing hard as she paddled her useless arms. "Where is Apollyon?"

    "The Vampire King is still on the other side. I didn''t call him here yet to save you first because it appeared like You''re Highness didn''t know how to swim." Apollyon''s sister answered loudly while the wet faerie wings on each side of her head fluttered rapidly to dry herself.

    You''re right. I don''t." Grimacing, Luna turned her head away from her, allowing the summer to continue without the droplets pattering straight into her eyes.

    Her yellow and blue faerie wings stopped flitting across her face so that she could tilt her head and stared at Luna.? "My brother is safeguarding the barriers in? the cabin to fight off the Spring Faeries."

    Luna''s body felt weakened when she found out as if she was zapped out of her energy.

    "I know that, but what is he doing?!" She asked impatiently as she clicked her tongue in disappointment. "He should be following us right now! It wouldn''t be long for them to figure out that the ghosts weren''t demons!"

    "I heard you tell the Vampire King that it was your first time doing this, so I screamed at my brother to wait in the Spring Realms just in case you''re unconscious." The summer faerie exined as she pointed a forefinger upwards, and Luna looked up in her direction.

    Instead of seeing a wide-open sky framed by a green canopy, Luna saw the portal, which showed her the ceiling of their cabin, and her eyes widened in surprise.

    Wow!

    Luna couldn''t believe what she saw right now.

    She was sessful in opening portals to different Realm!

    But her happy days would be over once the Archdemons found out how to create them.

    "My wings are wet now, so? I will have a hard time flying above. The portal is pretty high, so I guess we are just going to shout ourmands." She let out a good-naturedugh as they swam together. " It must have been a unique experience for someone like me to shout at a pure-blood Vampire King."

    "I find it great that you didn''t open your portal on top of the rocky outcroppings, or I will be dead the moment you dropped us here without warning. But still, your ability to open portals to different Realms is amazing." She gave Luna a slow disbelieving shake in the head. "How did you learn to do that? I didn''t know that anyone could do that for real. Pureblood Vampires can materialize from one ce? to another, but I have never seen a creature in all of the Realms��much less a Vampire��who can open portals through different Realms from the mere ess of another person''s memory and summon ghosts��"

    Her posture stiffened at her queries, and she contemted on telling her the truth.

    Yet, one thing Luna learned was she couldn''t trust someone blindly without proving themselves worthy.

    Luna would have preferred that her sister-inw didn''t figure this out.

    She fixed a cold gaze at her and said in a veiled threat, "I would prefer if you don''t tell anyone."

    "So what happened at the Massacre of Krinoniapolis was true?" Apollyon''s sister covered her mouth in shock as she asked in a high-pitched tone that pierced her ears up close. "Were the? shape-shifting demons of Ostara under your control so that you could scare the Spring Monarchs and eat them afterward?"

    Luna sighed��how many times did she have to address this question?

    "No, the shape-shifting demons at Krinoniapolis weren''t under my control." Luna pinched her lips together when her anger with the Spring Monarch''s betrayal red once again. "I ate them for their benefit of the Spring Courts so that the legion would not possess a spring faerie and kill the rest before they transfer to another vessel. It''s getting out of hand, and I have no choice. It would be a repetitive cycle until all of them were dead. I need to sacrifice myself."

    Her eyebrows raised at that. "All these powers I have witnessed from you in such a short time, are you sure that you are still a Vampire, sister, or where you like what the rumors said an Archdemon?"

    Luna ran her fingers over her slicked hair against her scalp. "Later, youngdy. I will answer your questionster."

    Trees clung to the cliffs full of ledges and crevices of the waterfalls, ferns grew in the shade while lichen and moss clung to the boulders and tree trunks as a frothy cascade of water plunged through the pool.

    Sunlight glittered across the water as the dragonflies fluttered about.

    The summer faerie climbed out of the wet rock tforms first, and when it was Luna''s turn, the girl assisted her by pulling her forearms as therge wolf pushed her upward with its head to support her weight.

    The mossy boulders were a bit slippery when she climbed out of the water, but she managed.

    As Luna stood up and tugged at her wet skirts to squeeze the water off the fabric.

    Luna shivered when the cold water seeped into her bones.

    She also plucked a few slimy algae sticking unto her clothes when she climbed from the rocks.

    Her face flushed in chagrin when she realized that the wolf could swimpared to her.

    This was one of those times where she wished she was a dog.

    She could feel the heat of the sunbaked rocks and pebbles underneath her thin sandals as they pressed into the soles of her feet.

    The air was saturated with water despite the summer heat.

    Luna inhaled the scent of rich earth as flowers perfumed the air.

    ''Goddess!'' Beads of sweat trickled from her forehead, and she wiped it with the back of her hand. '' It was hot in herepared to the cabin.''

    Tall grasses slid across her calves.

    The power and brilliance of the roaring waterfalls as they fell towards the pool made her desire to stay still and enjoy this beautiful dream��the fish scales shing through the clear turquoise waters as lush grasses and wildflowers and foliage surrounding them.

    Luna was in the Summer Courts, and she had sessfully created a portal just like what the Archdemons had taught her so that she could free that monstrosity.

    Ha!

    As if she would do that!

    Luna locked his fist in determination.

    That wouldn''t happen unless they get their hands on her.

    She had to find a way to remove the other Archdemon inside her, but she still had urgent things to do.

    There was another loud crying from above, and Luna flinched, startled. "Meoww~"

    "Wife. I''m descending with the cat." Luna heard Apollyon''s voice boomed in the quiet of the woods, but it was overwhelmed by the sound of the roaring waters and the birdcalls when he shouted at her from above. "The witch doctor told me that she would get the cat after three days of guarding you, but she didn''te."

    It was amusing how he was close to sounding like a god.

    Luna ced a hand at each corner of her mouth, and she shouted back, "Let'' leave it there just in case the witch doctor returned to this cabin. I think it''s good enough to hunt when it is that fat."

    Water sshed and sprayed at them when the cat jumped from the portal into the water.

    Luna squinted at the ck cat, who dropped like a rock. "Well. I guess not."

    A few secondster, the cat didn''t rose to the surface.

    It didn''t know how to swim, so therge wolf who was still lounging in the water found it his mission to save it.

    "The aerial barriers I made will disappear once I''m not here in this Realm," Apollyon called out again. "Are you ready to close them?"

    "Yes, husband. I''m prepared to close them right now." Luna replied, yelling at the portal. "Let go of the barriers and descend this instant. I don''t want to leave you behind."

 Chapter 434 - Lets Go To The Village

    <h4>Chapter 434 - Let''s Go To The Vige</h4>

    ***********************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    **********************************

    When Apollyon jumped out of their mountain cabin to the portal, Luna released her hold on the opening above the pool when he emerged from his shoes up to his neck.

    Her eyes widened in panic when she thought that her judgment to close the portal was too premature.

    Luna just expressed her concern that she didn''t want to leave her husband behind��and when she said ''husband'', that meant all parts of him.

    She caught her breath when she stood at the edge of the pool with Apollyon''s sister, the chonky cat who shook the water out of her midnight fur along with therge wolf.

    She bit her fingernails in that split second,? thinking that Apollyon wouldn''t make it out��that his head would be stuck at the other side of the Realm--but it was fortunate that the opening only snatched a few hairs in his head.

    Her tense muscles rxed, and Luna sighed with relief.

    Like all of them, Apollyon didn''t expect that he would drop into a waterfall, like a stone, so he didn''t prepare at all.

    Huge wavespped the shoreline from Apollyon''s drop, and its impact sent a big ssh on their forms as he hit the pool.

    Luna wasn''t able to run or turn her heads sideways.

    Rainbow shimmered from the edge of her vision when the waves made her wet again.

    She just finished drying herself off from nature''s elements.

    Now she had to do it again!

    It''s hot in the Summer Courts, so maybe, she will dry faster if she stayed under the sun for too long.

    As Apollyon broke from the surface, he rubbed the water out f his eyes and nced up to see birds flying overhead and the clear blue sky, checking if the portal was shut with sess.

    He turned his head to look at her and smirked, showing the charming dimple on his left cheek.

    Luna giggled as she stood on her tiptoes.

    She beckoned a finger, and her smile remained. "Come here, beloved. I don''t like to make you wet, but I think it couldn''t be helped."

    From the corner of her eye, Luna could feel Apollyon''sister watching them back and forth with a curious gaze of wonder, suspicion, and awkwardness.

    Apollyon swam towards them in graceful strokes and climbed out of the blue-green waters of the pool by holding the rocks.

    Deers in the woods began to wander close to the pool for a drink.

    Squirrels were running around the trees, and the grasses and Luna could feel their fur brushing against her feet.

    Her husband took a few steps towards her,? raised her chin with a finger, and ate her lips.

    Beads of water dripped down their chins.

    When Luna settled her hands on his broad shoulders, she was reminded of the fact that his young sister was watching them.

    Luna withdrew and pushed him back, averting her gaze.

    Apollyon wasn''t stubborn, and he let her, content on observing her with a mischievous twinkle in his gaze.

    "You are amazing." Apollyon gave her a knowing stare as he caressed her face with the back of his hand. "This is why I want to be like you."

    Luna winced, knowing what her husband had implied.

    Apollyon wouldn''t let go of his desire to be an Archdemon like her now that both of them knew she had the ability to open portals all over the Realm, which might also include the Spiritual Realms of Heaven, Hell, and the Underworld.

    At least, Luna figured that she had dominion over the Material Realm using blood magic, so it would be easy for her to escape if an Archdemon like Ravin or Luxen materialized in front of her.

    Now, she just had to find a way to get rid of Lilith before her child was born.

    She narrowed her eyes at him and yfully punched his chest. "You are a naughty husband."

    "Only naughty for you, beloved," Apollyon whispered in her breath before nting one surprised kiss in her mouth.

    Moisture seeped in their clothes, and the tiny hairs on her nape tingled when a humid breeze blew her silver strands.

    Clearing her throat, Luna could feel her face flushing with warmth in chagrin��but she could me the sun''s heat if someone asked--as she locked her fingers together when Apollyon''s sister stared at her with wide innocent eyes.

    She must have been shocked at watching her brother kiss his wife without reason as if they were still newlyweds.

    "You are too cold and wet. We should get you out of those clothes." Stepping backwards,? Apollyon frowned as he held her forearms, surveying her from head to toe. "That might be bad for Leo."

    Apollyon''s sister prompted, confused. "Leo?''

    He nced at his sister, who was standing beside them, observing their exchange with her hands on her back, as still as a statue. "Summer Faerie."

    Flinching as if Apollyon''s low growl snapped her back to the real world, her nk stare turned sharp as he regarded her husband. "Yes, Your Highness?"

    She didn''t ask her husband why he couldn''t acknowledge his sister because there was still a part of him that didn''t believe what she had shared��that his mother was alive��without seeing her with his own two eyes.

    It could also be that this was how Apollyon renounced any family ties which connected him to his mother and the rest of the Summer Courts Royal family after his mother abandoned him like he was nothing��like he wasn''t a son who craved the loving bond of a parent.

    Luna unconsciously flexed her fingers as she bit her lip in anger.

    She was fuming just by imagining how Apollyon was feeling right now behind his smile.

    How can Empress Ourania do that to her own son when he needed her the most��when he needed someone familiar to bring him back to himself and not turn into a monster?

    If his mother had stayed with him while the Blood Beast possessed him, would it make a difference?

    Apollyon said as his masculine musk and the scent of his blood drifted through her nostrils. "I need a new set of clothes for the Empress."

    Luna swallowed hard.

    Why was she hungry all of a sudden?

    "We all need them. You''re Highness." The young girl replied, "We must go to the Vige so that we can borrow clothes."

    He gave her a prating nce. "We should hurry up, then. My wife might be sick."

    "Do vampires even get sick?"

    "No." He said bluntly. "We are expecting a baby, and I don''t want to risk anyplications."

    Apollyon''s sister gasped at how casual he just told her that she would be an aunt at a young age.

    "I also don''t like to go to the Summer Pce to meet them right away. I need to familiarize the area first so that it would be easier to teleport." Apollyon exined. "I couldn''t teleport to locations if I don''t have the same memory to get me there."

    +++

    They left the waterfalls in the woods and passed through a jungle that didn''t seem to end, and they continued to walk, following his sister''s lead while the summer faerie rode the wolf.

    Luna sighed with relief when the trees in the thick forest lessened, giving them a wide birth.

    The woonds became more deserted, and the trees were now reced by tall grass, nts levelled at their waist, and bright summer flowers.

    No green canopies shade them from the scorching heat of the sun that all of their clothes were now dry even if they haven''t arrived at the vige.

    The Summer Court might as well be a desert if there wasn''t nature surrounding them.

    The air was humid, and the verdantnd was flooded with yellow sunflowers.

    It was so bright that it hurt the eyes. "It''s getting hot in here, husband."

    His husky voice was low, "You should know that it isn''t me this time."

    "Apollyon." Luna finds him so ridiculous that she was about to cackle, but then her calves felt numb from walking that she couldn''t feel the lower half of her body anymore.

    "I����" She hesitated to tell him and stomped her foot on the ground with every step to regain the sensation, but she made out pinpricks on her skin. "I''m losing strength."

    "Why didn''t you tell me sooner?" Apollyon grabbed her forearm. "You must tell me if you are exhausted."

    "Don''t hold it in." He urged. "I will carry you there to the vige."

    "No. I''m alright."

    He tutted. "You are stubborn again. We are almost there anyway."

    "You told me your head was aching with the spirit you drankst night."

    "I didn''t remember telling you that," Apollyon replied as they continued to walk at a slower pace.

    "I could see it on your face. You aren''t well either."? Luna reasoned out. "You grimace with every step as if every stride is cracking your head open."

    As they descended from the greenwood, Luna could finally see the vige from below, but she ignored her path.

    Her foot slipped on a jagged rock, and she fell, rolling downhill like a tumbleweed in the desert and her knees scraping against jagged rocks.

    "Luna!" Luna heard her husband shouted from above, and in an instant, he was right there beside her, his hand supporting her back.

    His voice rumbled, sounding pissed off. "I told you I would carry you, didn''t I?"

    "I''m sorry. I will heal." Luna heard in her own ears how tired she was. "Please don''t be angry."

    "I''m not angry." Apollyon''s clenched jaw remained even if he got rid of his scowl. "Don''t worry about it anymore, and you don''t have to apologize."

    "Just help me get up, and we shall continue walking."

    Apollyon snorted. "See? You can''t even get up."

    She didn''t respond for a minute as she licked her lips to keep them moist in this hot weather. "I can. As you said, we''re almost there."

    "I think you aren''t used to the weather in the Summer Courts. You''re Highness." The Summer Faerie spoke, cutting in through the conversation."Even the Spring Fairfolk who visited our Realm find it hard to adjust even if they are indoors. How much more if we are out in the open?"

    He glowered at his sister. "You should have shown my wife a memory of your vige instead of these waterfalls in the woods too far from civilization."

    "Husband." Luna closed her eyes and caressed her parched throat. "Don''t be angry with your sister anymore."

    Her husband''s strong andpetent hands held the back of her thighs as he carried her in his arms without effort.

    "I''m not angry." Apollyon said as his fingers tightened on her side." Just stating a fact."

    "I''ll walk or fly for the meantime since my faerie wings are already dry, your Highness." The Spring Faerie offered. "I will let Xerxes carry the Empress in his back."

 Chapter 435 - Wrong Timing

    <h4>Chapter 435 - Wrong Timing</h4>

    Luna had told him that he could protect her better if his hands were free.

    Apollyon nodded in agreement since her logic would make sense.

    If she was honest with herself, Luna didn''t want her husband to carry her all the way down to the mountains to the vige.

    Apollyon might tell her that she didn''t weigh a ton or he had immense strength as a pureblood vampire so that she wouldn''t feel bad while he carried her in his arms.

    She knew that both of them were tired of using their own powers.

    Trickles of sweat dropped from her husband''s forehead as they walked under the heat of the sun, but that wasn''t the only reason.

    Even if his mind was in no position to use high-level magic from his ear-splitting headaches because of the alcohol he drank, Apollyon did it despite being exhausted from the aerial barriers he made to keep the militia of the Spring Courts at bay.

    She repeatedly licked her lips as she wiped the sheen of sweat on her cheeks, chin and forehead that it became a habit.

    Luna was also drained and dehydrated for using her own blood for her Archdemon Magic to create portals to different Realms.

    Still, at least, she was now lying on therge wolf''s back��who had the name Xerxes--while Apollyon''s sister flew twenty feet above them using her head.

    Lips parting in amazement, Luna stared at Apollyon''s sister flying with the faerie wings on either side of her head where her ears should have been, her long chestnut hair fluttering along with the wind currents.

    They were descending to the vige at a slow pace, and the asional blow of the hot breeze alleviated her difort.

    At least, she wasn''t exerting any effort anymore by walking and keeping herself upright when all she desired to do was lie down like this.

    Earlier, when she slipped on a rock and tumbled downhill, Luna wished it could roll forever until she arrived at the foot of the mountains to the vige without effort.

    Unfortunately, she didn''t think she had enough strength and gut to turn herself into a ''wheel'' in fear of not returning into a human form again.

    A slow smile crossed her face.

    She was grateful that the wolf was massive enough that she could liefortably in its back.

    Luna grabbed at the tufts of its silver fur whenever she was about to fall with every rough jump so that it could avoid sharp stones and boulders in their trails.

    The sun was a brilliantntern, casting a vivid, sharp glow that was almost blinding due to the absence of the tree canopies.

    As she turned her head to the side to give her husband onest look before she rested, their eyes met.

    Looking at his hypnotic Prussian blue eyes, she abruptly had a strong awareness of her own heartbeat, making her nervous.

    As if her smug husband knew the full effect of his charms on her, Apollyon gave her a yful smirk while he gave her a firm eye contact which gave her no choice but to avert her gaze.

    The more she ogled at her husband''s eyes and lips then to his muscled shoulders visible under his thin shirt,? the more her mouth became moist with increased saliva��especially when her gaze drifted through Apollyon''s carotid, which she couldn''t wait to sink her fangs into.

    Her breath quickened as she recalled what Apollyon didst night when he put his mouth on her quim before he fell asleep and��

    Breathing hard, Luna flexed her fingers as her hands tingled with the need to touch.

    As if on cue, her core flooded with warmth as her inner walls squeezed, waiting for something to fill it up.

    Why was she feeling like this?

    Biting her lip, she rested one hand over her lower belly as she presses her inner thighs together.

    This wasn''t the time to be aroused when Apollyon''s sister was flying overhead!

    Thank the goddess!

    The girl couldn''t read her mind.

    She focused her attention on other things instead.

    Apollyon carried the fat cat in his arms like his baby and stroked the animal''s head.

    Luna wished that it was her head he was petting instead of that stupid cat who wouldn''t even let her touch its fur.

    Why did that felinee to her only at night, sleeping on her stomach, without allowing her toy her hands on it?

    She narrowed her eyes at the cat.

    As if it felt her watching her with malicious intent, it matched her scrutiny with its golden gaze.

    "Are you alright there, beloved?" Apollyon nced at her with concern as he watched his path at the same time, "If I did something wrong to offend you, you have to tell me now so that I can fix it."

    Until now, Luna couldn''t believe that the Vampire King was capable of being sweet and considerate of her feelings.

    She also had to step up her game too.

    From now on, she should be careful so that she wouldn''t hurt her husband with her insensitivity and stubbornness when all he desired to do was to help her.

    Luna was lucky to have Apollyon when he was willing to forgive her for her past mistakes and ept her wholeheartedly, trusting her enough not to do it again.

    If that wasn''t true love, then she didn''t know what was.

    Luna sighed. "No, nothing Is wrong."

    ''I was just aroused, hungry and exhausted at the same time.'' She thought, but she stripped off the desperation so that Apollyon wouldn''t detect them at the back of his mind.

    Knowing him, he would probably suggest they hide behind a bush or something while they make his sister wait, and that shouldn''t happen.

    Better not to say anything.

    "I will sleep, husband."? Luna settled a forearm over her eyes while her other hand stroked the wolf''s thick fur on the side of its belly. "Wake me up when we get there."

 Chapter 436 - Filthy Rich Vampire

    <h4>Chapter 436 - Filthy Rich Vampire</h4>

    "No."

    Luna awoke to a cold, unyielding voice of a familiar man�� it was her husband!

    Despite her fuzzy, unclear brain, thest statement her ears caught when she blinked her eyes open was, "My wife didn''t need to try the dress herself."

    She didn''t notice that Apollyon had shifted her while she was asleep as she wiped the tiny drool at the corner of her mouth that had long been dried.

    Luna remembered earlier that she was facing the sky and lying on the wolf with her back to it.

    Now her cheek was against the wolf''s fur, clinging to the animal, while her stomach rested against the wolf''s back.

    She was vaguely aware that it was simr to sleeping on a velvet pillow.

    Her fingers dug into thisrge predator''s flesh and got up to nce around.

    Lips parting in disbelief, her eyes widened in shock at the crowd around them.

    They have arrived at the vige, and she was a little upset that Apollyon didn''t wake her up as he promised.

    She could understand her husband''s decision, though.

    Apollyon didn''t want her to exhaust herself for no reason because he cared about her and their baby, Leo.

    She was zapped of strength from creating the portal, making her crave Apollyon''s blood.

    Her nerve endings stirred and tingled in anticipation.

    She couldn''t wait to quench her thirst when she finally got the chance to be alone with Apollyon without his young sister trailing after them.

    Luna fought back a grin.

    Her young, innocent mind shouldn''t witness what adults do behind closed doors, or she might be scarred for life.

    They were gone from the Summer Woods, where all of themnded on a waterfall.

    The trees with a couple of hundred feet tall were reced by the hustle and bustle in this part of the vige.

    They were currently in the vige market surrounded by the Summer Fairfolk of young and old wearing bright, joyful smiles.

    The Fae in the Summer Court was considered more polite or mannered but still capable of cruelty.

    Apollyon had mentioned before that Faes from the Summer Court could be frivolous, venereal, hot-headed.

    Of course, many of them may have good intentions, but they ultimately have their own ulterior agenda and stretch the truth to fit their motives.

    They were the kind of entities that would stab someone in the back but with a smile and warm food at the same time.

    Luna guessed they were better to handle than Archdemons.

    Luna noticed that the Summer Faeries came on too strong with their appearance.

    They were full of bright and intense colors tattooed on their skin, making it shimmer with veins of pure gold.

    Most of the Faeries from the Summer Courts had elven ears and long, chiseled faces with otherworldly features.

    Some of their hairs were dyed in different hues and tones, with emerald leaves covering them.

    Dryads and nymphs with golden features and root-like hands roamed around the marketce while some of the fire spirits and sylphs hovering above them.

    The way they dressed was too mboyant for her liking.

    All Luna can see was color so intense to the point of being warlike and aggressive��a little mismatched but still put together.

    It made her temples throb from their vibrant clothes sparkling under the blinding light and scorching heat of the sun.

    She was a mere drop in the sea of upright bodies as the buyers haggled with the goods while the sellers tried to match them so that they would still gain a profit.

    The rest of the people around them were catching up with each other while keeping their families close.

    Luna still couldn''t believe that she had been asleep through this entire ordeal despite the cacophony of the Summer Faeries who have gangly limbs and long silky hair.

    "You''re awake. You''re Highness." Apollyon''s sister must be tired of flying since she saw her standing as she stroked her wolves nuzzle.

    Luna raised an eyebrow, surprised that the beast can keep this cool in front of these strangers.

    It must be a domesticated animal since it was acting like it had been here a hundred times, and the crowd didn''t freak out on the animal''s presence.

    "You''re Highness?" The seller��who was a middle-aged faerie with skin that appeared velvet-smooth and have dark green wings--looked over her shoulder to get a clearer view of her while her hands clutched the hanger from the clothing rank. "Is that a princess you brought here in the Summer Courts, Princess Sapphire?"

    Ah. So Princess Sapphire was the name of Apollyon''s sister.

    Their minds were too upied from escaping the Spring Realm that both of them didn''t bother asking for his sister''s name.

    She was a unique princess who her family didn''t shelter.

    It was odd that her husband''s young sibling was sent on dangerous missions like what she did at the Spring Realms, going to the cabin alone with no otherpanion except the wolf carrying her.

    She was trusted as a messenger despite her age.

    The crowd appeared like they were washed over by sea waves moving this and that, side to side, while their eyes were pulled away from one stall to another.

    Luna could feel them throwing her a sideways nce.

    "Wife. You''re awake." Apollyon turned towards her and held her hand to rub his thumb against it. "I''m trying to buy you a new dress, but thisdy insisted? that you have to try it on first to see if it would look good on you."

    "If she insisted, then��"

    "But you need to be whisked in the inn." Apollyon''s deep voice rumbled in his chest. "You need to get proper rest in afortable mattress. Sleeping on the wolf might make your back sore."

    Luna exhaled a sharp breath. "Alright. Lady, I think that would do. We could return it if it didn''t fit."

    "I don''t ept returns, Your Highness, because you might destroy my dresses even if it wasn''t on purpose."

    "Alright." She nodded. "We wouldn''t return it."

    "Lady. Don''t waste my time." Apollyon''s tone was as cold as ice. "Just give me that fine emerald dress for my wife so that she could change her rumpled clothes."

    "Brother." Princess Sapphire raised a hand to get noticed. "I didn''t bring money with me to buy that expensive dress you want for the Empress."

    Panic overwhelmed her chest when the Summer Faeries'' ears perked up when they heard the word, ''Empress.''

    The hot summer weather Luna felt intensified when she felt them closing in on her, their warm bodies pressing in, which made her feel ustrophobic.

    Princess Sapphire added. "Empress Ourania wouldn''t give me money unless I ask for it."

    "You are a poor princess, then."

    "I have money in my belt, but it is from the Spring Courts," Luna spoke up.

    "Currencies in the Spring Courts was different in the Summer Courts, so that money on your pockets has no value here."

    "Then, take this, Summer Lady." Apollyon threw a golden ring with arge ruby gem and the seller caught them mid-air. "I want all those clothes in the Vinca Inn whether they fit my wife or not."

 Chapter 437 - The Ring

    <h4>Chapter 437 - The Ring</h4>

    ******************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ******************************

    When the dress merchant held the ruby ring Apollyon had thrown at her, she nced up at her husband then back to the ring in her fingers before she went down from her stall, wailing her apologies on her knees and begging him not to cut her head off at the Summer Castle.

    The Summer Faeries paused their daily affairs in favor of watching the spectacle like all creatures do.

    From the look on their curious faces, it wasn''t every day that they would get to witness something like this.

    The clothier imed that there was aw in the Summer Courts that a faerie would be punished if someone saw or suspected her of possessing a si ring from the Royal Family.

    Anything that had the royal crest on it can never be used as payment, modified or broken into parts in any way or else they would be imprisoned for a death sentence.

    The clothier verified Apollyon''s identity as a Faerie Aristocrat based on the si ring he casually tossed at her as payment and she mentioned all of that in front of all the Summer Creatures in the marketce.

    Everyone gasped, including her except Apollyon who wore a mask of indifference.

    From what Luna could gather from the si ring, it is worn by people of great wealth and importance as a signature to differentiate them from the rest of the aristocrats for easy recognition.

    The clothier said that the faerie symbols engraved around the gold band indicated that Apollyom was the son of Summer Princess Ourania and the Vampire King Gwythyr.

    She even shared that her great-great-grandmother had attended that millennium wedding.

    The centre stone also depicted the royal crest of the Summer Courts.

    It was a golden phoenix inside the ruby stone.

    Luna peered at Apollyon''s countenance and it didn''t reveal anything except a clenched jaw and a pursed lips.

    She narrowed her eyes at her husband.

    It felt like this was the exact reaction he expected of the clothier from that si ring, scrambling on her knees and begging for forgiveness.

    Apollyon wasn''t arrogant nor did he punish thedy for her impertinence.

    He just stood still as he nced down at her in shock.

    There were no further arguments after that.

    All of the Summer Faeries present in the marketce ced a palm over their chest and bowed as they paid them respect.

    Mouth agape, Luna nced around in panic when they did that.

    She gave Apollyon a fixed stare as if urging him to do something to make them stop, Apollyon just gave her a nonchnt shrug.

    It was awkward.

    "I didn''t force them and there was no use stopping them, wife.'' She heard Apollyon''s thoughts addressing her concerns and she squinted at him. Can he read her mind now? It must be because she was a bit weak. ''Let''s wait for them to raise their heads in unison and be done with it.''

    Like her, Apollyon also wanted to get this over with!

    She will never get used to this special treatment!

    Now, the whole world knew that the son of Empress Ourania��the current King of the Vampire Realm��was here to visit the Summer Courts instead of their earlier n to keep it hush-hush.

    Apollyon and Luna also desired to familiarize the Summer Courts beforehand so that they could have an escape n prepared.

    It turned out they have already failed when they promised they wouldn''t do the same mistake again back at the Spring Courts.

    After the merchant found out that Apollyon was the Vampire King and a son of a Summer Princess, she returned the ruby ring in his hands and called her sons from the back of her shop to carry every luxurious garments from the wooden chests.

    The clothier offered to make the necessary adjustments of her new gowns including undergarments, nightwear made of silk andce and other articles of clothing Luna needed right then and there.

    The moment Luna tried every fancy garments the clothier could get her hands on inside her small, yet decent shop, Apollyon wasn''t ashamed to request for more low-cut bodices and seductive corsets while her body was being measured by three shop attendants.

    The clothier promised to finish all of them and deliver them to Vinca Inn at ten in the evening.

    The haberdashery near the dress shop they have picked also took Apollyon''s measurements for new tunics, cloaks, leather boots and hats for him to wear since they have left all of their belongings in the mountain cabin.

    Nobody from both shop owners asked them about the payment yet and they gave no opening to discuss that and she gave up.

    Every time she brought the topic, the two merchants brushed them off.

    The wordsing out of these clothiers'' mouth were nothing but praise and gratitude for choosing them to be a royal dressmaker which made her eyebrows knitted in confusion.

    Everything was escting quickly!

    Luna''s gut told her that these merchants would use her husband''s name and status to make their business popr to the masses and the nobles.

    Now, they were on their way to Vinca Inn.

    They walked on the busy roads while she circled her arm around Apollyon''s biceps while Princess Sapphire rode her wolf prowling a good distance behind them.

    "Husband." Luna tilted her head at him while her husband looked ahead, deep in thought. "Do you think the purchases are necessary when we didn''t have the money to pay the merchants yet?"

    "I didn''t care about the si ring on my pinkie finger but they wouldn''t ept that as payment," Apollyon replied absently. "The clothier is afraid to die."

    Luna''s hand dropped toce her small fingers with hisrger digits. "I should find outter if we can exchange the money I brought from the Spring Courts. I don''t like to owe debts."

    That caught Apollyon''s attention since she heard him snort. "That definitely sounds like you, wife. You don''t like having debts even to your husband. Is this what you think love is��purely transactional?"

    "Husband!" ring at him, Luna pinched his skin as she whisper-shouted, "Don''t you think it''s too early to attack my person so early in the morning?"

    Apollyon bent down his head and nted a quick kiss on her cheek, thinking that it would make her ire vanish. "Then, I will attack you at night."

    "Hmmph." She pouted even if she felt a flutter of happiness in her chest, daring her to break character, "You''re all talk and no action."

    "I think you are asking me to prove something in broad daylight."

    "No." Luna exhaled. "Forget about it."

    "No." There was amusement in his voice when he squeezed her hand to pull her to the side so that she wouldn''t get hit by a stagecoach. "Tell me what you want."

    "No. I want to ask you something else." Luna said grimly and Apollyon''s eyes lit up with interest.

    "What is it?"

    "Even if you didn''t show much reaction, I think this was the first time you figured about the ring."

    There was a long pause before Apollyon answered.

    Luna thought that maybe it was because they can already see Vinca Inn looming across the wide road.

    "It''s been given to me by my father since I was young." Apollyon began. "He said that it belonged to him but I have no idea that it was from the Summer Courts."

 Chapter 438 - Vinca Inn

    <h4>Chapter 438 - Vinca Inn</h4>

    *******************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *******************************

    "It''s been given to me by my father since I was young." Apollyon began. "He said that it belonged to him, but I have no idea that it was from the Summer Courts."

    From the outside, Vinca Inn appeared delightful and warm.

    Still, she saw too many peopleing and going at the door as she heard joyful music, entertained voices and lovely tinkles ofughter from the inside drifting into their ears across the street.

    Hard nks and tree trunks made up most of therge building''s structure.

    Luna noticed that the travelers ahead of them were tossing coins at the wooden box near the doorman''s shoes and her brows wrinkled with worry as she examined the wooden box looming closer in her vision.

    They didn''t exchange the coins she brought from the Spring Courts to the currency in the Summer Courts.

    Apollyon''s sister took her job as a messenger too seriously because she only delivered the message without carrying money with her when she was supposed to be part of the Summer Monarchs and a unique princess.

    Apollyon, who she currently held hands with as they walked side-by-side towards Vinca Inn, pulled her behind him and gave her a mischievous smile.

    He let go of her hand and entered the premises with confidence as if it was his god-given right.

    Her lips parted in surprise for a second before she pursed her lips and assumed a haughty expression, praying that the armed faerie sentinel wouldn''t ask her money just like what he didn''t do to Apollyon.

    What else would she give him that was of value?

    Luna and the armed guard''s eyes met, and he nodded his head in acknowledgment, gesturing to the metal doors inside the inn.

    Apollyon offered her his arm as they walked around the vast space, which was also packed with many people.

    Aside from the bedroom, the Vinca Inn also had a dining room and a cosy tavern.

    Luna sucked in a breath with amazement as she looked around, momentarily forgetting all else.

    Marble pirs embellished with bright red flowers and vines supported the upper floor as candbras hang on the ceiling.

    Several long tables are upied by what seemed to be onerge group of people getting together.

    The other, smaller tables are also upied by people who clearly enjoyed something more intimate.

    It was as lovely inside as that of the outside.

    Vinca Inn wasrger than expected.

    A summer aristocrat must have owned this.

    "The armed guard didn''t ask you and me for money." Luna''s brows furrowed as she regarded Apollyon. "I don''t know why we were exempted from the entrance toll."

    "Members of the nobility are exempted from paying fees at any inn or hostel."

    "Ohh. The armed sentinel must have assumed we are royals from our appearance since the merchants we met at the marketce insisted we wear the garments they made even if we haven''t paid them yet. They forced us to y our part through the attendant''s help."

    "Yes. On the outside, we looked capable of paying for the lodging and other amenities. No matter where you go, appearance always mattered to indicate status. Even if you are the richest Empress from a faraway Realm, if you dress shabbily, you will be treated like shit by the people who didn''t know you." Apollyon said.

    "Sad truth."

    "Ah. You didn''t know, wife." Apollyon''s touch lingered as he caressed her forearm. "I forgot that I hadn''t brought you to any inns or taverns on the Spring Courts."

    That made her curious��not angry but strictly interested. "You didn''t bring Lilith or any other girls in there?"

    Apollyon winked. "If you count Prince Aspen as a girl since he has feminine features, then I would count that as a ''yes."

    What had Apollyon eaten that he was extremely flirtatious today when she thought he was having ear-splitting headaches?

    Luna knew.

    But she wasn''t going to mention that.

    "I''m alright with Prince Aspen." She gave him a slow smile. "You are sure you didn''t take Lilith, Elisabeth, or any other girls there and having fun without me around?"

    He raised an eyebrow, serious. "Are you jealous?"

    She tugged at his arm so he could bend a little to hear her whisper, "Just making sure you are still mine."

    "I am." He ced a hand over his heart and Luna could feel the sincerity even just from his tone. "There''s no need to be jealous. I should be the one who should be jealous��" Apollyon caught himself and waved a dismissive hand.

    "Nevermind." He exhaled a frustrated sigh. "I don''t want to remember."

    Luna grimaced.

    Her poor husband must have remembered her secret and he was forced to live with that fact every day.? Time wouldn''t heal but it can only make it bearable. She didn''t like making her husband suffer or watch him like this.

    "Brother." Princess Sapphire popped up beside her. "I left the cat at the stables. Pets aren''t allowed in Vinca Inn, so I have to leave it there."

    Luna thought that it wasmon for the Summer Fairfolk to have wings instead of their ears.

    Princess Lucia must be a special case.

    She observed that the merchants at the marketce didn''t treat her like royalty even if they recognized her as Summer Princess.

    Why was that?

    Luna was still d that the Fair-folk at the Marketce didn''t bully or mistreat Princess Sapphire for being different. But she could tell there was something odd in the family dynamic of the Summer Monarchs if they were sending their teenage daughter on dangerous missions as a messenger.

    It was either Empress Ourania trusted her daughter''s powerful Fae Magic enough to keep her safe, or�� she didn''t care if Princess Lucia died.

    Honestly, Luna wouldn''t be shocked if it was thetter.

    Empress Ourania didn''t care about her son Apollyon either.

    She must have heard the news from the Spring Courts that her son was alive and well��clear from any demonic possessions��the first time Prince Aspen visited the Vampire Realm for Luna''s Coronation or that time where Apollyon visited the Spring Castle or the Celebration at Ostara.

    Apollyon''s mother had so many chances to meet her son, but she didn''t take it since she was detached from her son''s growth.

    ''What a heartless mother!'' Luna mused as she gritted her teeth in anger. ''What did she want with Apollyon now?

    ''What changed her mind?

    What made her reach out?

    Did she want to meet her son, or was it only because of his grandfather��King Oberon''s wishes?

    "What about Xerxes?" Luna asked Princess Sapphire as she tried to get rid of the resentment clouding her thoughts. "What if he ate other animals at the stables?"

    "You''re Highness." When Luna looked over her shoulder to see where that unfamiliar voice came from, her gaze fell on the young man who meditated, sitting on a rock as cascades of water fell down his back in Princess Sapphire''s memory.

    He had light blond hair almost covering his tanned face.

    He had a scar just under his left eyebrow running across his almond-shaped amber eyes and ending on the bridge of his long nose. "I am Xerxes."

 Chapter 439 - Odd Inkeeper

    <h4>Chapter 439 - Odd Inkeeper</h4>

    ****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    Apollyon tugged at her forearm as he pulled her to stand behind him for protection while he stared down at the young man with arms crossed and a clenched jaw.

    Luna wasn''t sure if her husband heard the young man introducing himself when he was busy scowling at him with menace.

    Ever since she told him about her secret, Apollyon had be overprotective, thinking every unknown male who walked in this Realm was a threat.

    "No."? Luna stood her ground and clutched Apollyon''s biceps to soothe him��that she was right there with him and there was no need to fight.? "The young man isn''t an enemy."

    She was determined not to make a scene after what happened in the marketce, even if it turned out alright in the end.

    Apollyon turned his head and gave her strong eye contact, but his Prussian blues were devoid of warmth. "You have seen him before?"

    "That is Xerxes, Your Highness. He is a lone wolf shapeshifter." Princess Sapphire quickly diffused the tension in this tavern as she held onto Xerxes'' loose sleeve.

    His dark brown shirt was an open V at the front, showing decent muscles forming on his chest.

    A thin string of a drawn octagram��an eight angled star��was tattooed on his upper body.

    "He saved my life when I was young and stupid to wander deep into the forest."

    Luna frowned at that.

    Why would a young girl be lost in the Summer Woods all on her own if Empress Ourania was watching over her as a good mother would?

    "Queen Titania took him under her wing after he brought me back to the Summer Castle. Xerxes was exiled by his own pack and lived in the Summer Woods alone like a vagabond." Princess Sapphire continued. " He is my knight now. My grandparents trust him to protect me during missions so that I could gain my independence faster."

    "That''s great." Apollyon''s tightened muscles rxed, and it was good that they have dodged another dangerous situation.

    It felt like her husband was ready to kill a stranger with just one wrong move towards her.

    Sometimes, she wondered if this was Apollyon being vignt, or was this almost paranoia?

    What Luxen had done to her must have gotten to his brain that he couldn''t trust a male around her even if he convinced himself that he would forget about the ident.

    Luna''s shoulders slumped.

    This unwarranted possessiveness would only cure her husband if he became an Archdemon and destroy the Archdemon of Lust.

    Now, that Apollyon was fine with Xerxes'' presence, his lips curved in amusement. "Too much had happened so early in the morning. The Spring Courts couldn''t even wait to attack in the afternoon."

    "Nobody can ever be prepared in a surprise attack, Your Highness," Xerxes replied calmly, and his words matched with his serene brown eyes. "You can try to convince them not to attack during the peace negotiations. But you know how a Faerie Monarch can say one thing and do another."

    "The Fae''s inability to lie will lead them to rely on evil schemes, deceptions, and cruelty. They are a master of twisted words, omissions, riddles to get what they want." Xerxes added as the breezeing from outside the metal doors turned his blond hair a bit messy. "The Faerie Monarchs are master maniptors. They can tell half-truths, and the more powerful Fae can tell white lies."

    An angry vein pulsed in his forehead. "I didn''t even know what I did."

    Princess Sapphire''s posture stiffened, and she let go of Xerxes'' sleeve.

    "Brother." She leaned closer to him and whispered, ncing around to make sure no one else heard her except their group. "I can''t believe you forgot something important as setting the prison house on fire. You killed some criminals in there. I don''t know how many faeries you killed, but some of the bodies were already toasted when the sentinels arrived. That means they were already dead and their skin already melted and sloughed off into kes and sheets."

    Apollyon took a step backward away from her.

    "I don''t remember." His eyes fell shut as he rubbed his brows. " I don''t��"

    "Stop it, Apollyon. Don''t force yourself." She rubbed his broad back. "What''s done is done."

    He asked, "You knew about this?"

    "I have an inkling. You told me some thingsst night. You were too drunk enough to tell me the truth. I managed to piece the information together." Luna was quick to tell him kind words in a soothing tone.? "You killed faeries who are already messed up in the head when you tortured them."

    Apollyon brought his attention back to her sister."I must be acting up when I drank the White Stag. If what you said is true, then I shouldn''t regret killing them, even if it''s thest straw that broke the camel''s back. Even if the Spring Courts dere war on us."

    "I just found it funny that the reason why they sent their Spring Militia was because of their prisoners who were already sentenced to death before you set them on fire," Xerxes said.

    He might have said he found it funny, but the young werewolf wasn''tughing.

    Luna squeezed Apollyon''s forearm. "I agree. I think it''s a waste of time and resources."

    "To the Spring Faeries, it was a matter of pride that they areing after you after what happened at Ostara," Xerxes noted. "Your sessful escape from the Spring Courts was a huge blow on their ego and a question to their strength and power."

    Tired of talking about the Spring Courts, Apollyon wrapped his arms around her waist to bring her closer in a hug.

    He bent his head to nuzzle at her ear, and his chest rubbed against her tightening nipples, "We should look for the Innkeeper to seek for room amodations so that we can rest from the world."

    "Yes." Princess Sapphire said, hearing them. "No person can make himself a guest without the innkeeper''s assent."

    Luna chuckled as she felt a flush of warmth on her cheeks. "Where is he?"

    Xerxes pointed. "Over there."Why was the innkeeper of Vinca Inn a frog wearing a huge ck feathered hat?

 Chapter 440 - Crazy Frog

    <h4>Chapter 440 - Crazy Frog</h4>

    ****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    Luna was taken aback when she saw the ''innkeeper'' on the receiving area sittingfortably on his long blue couch with some darker stripes on it.

    Why was the innkeeper of Vinca Inn a frog wearing a ck feathered hat?

    As she frowned at the amphibian who was busy making paper nes out of the documents on his table, she wondered why Apollyon''s cat wasn''t permitted to step its front paws on the threshold.

    And no, they couldn''t me that to the feline''s ck color iming it was bad luck.

    Why would they warn their guests that no animals will be allowed inside the premises when the innkeeper was an animal himself?

    Apollyon took a step forward to the innkeeper''s desk, but Luna curled her arms in his to halt him in his tracks.

    "Is there something wrong, Luna?" Apollyon asked as he tilted his head at her.

    Luna lowered her voice. "We don''t have paid for the lodging and amenities when your sister didn''t have the money."

    "I was going to ask if they would ept the currency from the Spring Courts."

    Luna closed her eyes and exhaled.

    When she opened her eyes, she told him, "Princess Sapphire already told you that it wasn''t allowed."

    How many times did Apollyon''s sister have to tell them?

    "That didn''t make sense." Apollyon''s eyebrows knitted in confusion. "They are the most popr among the travellers from the other Realm. I can see different gs on the walls. Maybe, they would ept money from the Spring Courts."

    "I didn''te here often to Vinca Inn, Your Highness, so I wasn''t sure if we can find a money changer around here." Princess Sapphire nced around the small boutiques at the corners. "I heard that Vinca Inn had a variety of shops in this level that we could check. That''s why I told you that you could also buy your clothes in here."

    "At least, we headed to the market ce to get them for free for the meantime." Apollyon caressed the ck corset around the emerald dress he was adamant for him to wear, his Prussian Blue eyes twinkling at her with mirth.

    He wanted that specific gown on her, and he got it. Luna could feel how smug it made him get what he wanted for free. "If only I could? sell the si ring, I would have paid for everything just because my wife didn''t want to be in debt."

    "Yes, I don''t like that for us." The orchestra inside this spacious tavern began ying sweet music, and some of the summer faeries began dancing in pairs. "A King should never be indebted to anyone. It''s bad for your reputation."

    "Honestly, we don''t even have to pay for other stuff. I could sell the onyx diamond ne I had to the innkeeper. He will probably pay arge sum of money from those gems. How much more if he found out it was created along with the crushed powder of the stone found on top of the unicorn''s horn?"

    "And, use you of what, a unicorn killer from the Spring Courts?" Luna''s hands fisted before she unclenched them. "Never mind. It''s a priced item, so we can''t give that away."

    Luna pinned his husband with an intense gaze. "I have other ns."

    +++

    She figured out toote that the innkeeper was actually inside his own office at the corner of this huge tavern, but he was encased in ss-as if he was an ancient artifact that needed protection.

    The innkeeper, a frog who can stand upright like a humanoid creature, wanted people to see him in his transparent office.

    At the same time, he desired to see the long tables upied by happy, excited clienteles enjoying themselves.

    When she entered his office while Apollyon, Princess Sapphire, and Xerxes trailed after her, a transparent curtain smacked her face when she entered.

    She had to whisk the invisible drapes away from her face in annoyance.

    Was this some jest?

    Luna was lucky that she didn''t hit her head in any unseen ss around this area.

    As he casually leaned an arm at the back of his couch, the ugly frog smirked at her when he found her groping the air for invisible ss, her face flushed in embarrassment.

    Now, everyone in this part of the vige knew that this was her first time in the tavern!

    Clearing her throat awkwardly, Luna stalked towards his messy desk and sat on a chair across from him. "Are you in the innkeeper of the Vinca Inn?"

    "Yes." Luna expected him to sound human the moment he opened his wide mouth, but he didn''t.

    His vocal sac vibrated when he croaked, "Are you a guest?" The frog nced to the chandeliers in his ceiling, hitting the dangling clear quartzes with his paper nes.

    He was too preupied with his paper nes which she realized were contracts signed by the guests of Vinca Inn.

    What an irresponsible innkeeper!

    He was ignoring her as well.

    She found Apollyon grabbing the vexatious curtains at the entrance, circling the strange cloth with his fist, and tugging hard.

    It was made of flimsy material, so it easily detached before he threw it to the side.

    Apollyon fanned out his cloak before he sat on the chair and rested his chin in hand.

    Now, that caught the innkeeper''s attention!

    It was either he desired men, had a misogynist''s heart, or maybe, he was a shy innkeeper.

    Luna would bet that the innkeeper hated the female race because he regarded her with cold indifference.

    "I am the Vampire King, and this is the Empress of the Vampire Realm." The way the innkeeper''s smooth green face paled and abruptly changed his demeanor felt like Apollyon''s casted hypnosis on him, and Luna enjoyed every second of that.

    "We only brought the money from the Spring Courts with us. We are about to roam the shops to exchange the currency of our money, but my wife over here can find a better payment than these mere coins, which wouldn''t be hard to find if you are an owner of a famous inn."

    The talking frog narrowed his ck, beady eyes at him. "What do you suggest?"

    Apollyon smiled a mysterious one. "My wife can get rid of your curse. Someone had cursed you into a frog, right?"

 Chapter 441 - A Test Of Power

    <h4>Chapter 441 - A Test Of Power</h4>

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    "Someone had cursed? you into a frog, right?"

    The frog shifted into a morefortable position as it stretched its back legs, its sticky toes resting them on the striped pillow.

    Why did her husband assume that the innkeeper was cursed and he wasn''t a shape-shifter? Anyway, what shape-shifter in their right mind desired to be in his frog form while he watched over his infamous inn unless he wanted to beughing stock?

    She might be shocked that Apollyon offered her magic to the innkeeper to break his curse.

    But she couldn''t deny that this frog had secret powers of his own too.

    The paper nes, which were made of the contracts between the innkeeper and the travelers, floated around the chandeliers.

    The paper nes can either be floating in the air through telekic control or physically isted to freeze.

    He might have Fae Magic in his blood, but that didn''t mean he was impervious to curses.

    The innkeeper returned the paper ne between his webbed fingers on his desk.

    He still refused to look her in the eye, pretending she wasn''t there, and only regarded Apollyon.

    Luna squinted at the innkeeper.

    This tant disrespect against her must be on purpose.

    Now, she was having second thoughts about helping this frog if he kept this up. "It''s true that I was cursed once upon a time." A short pause. "It all started when I turned down a traveler when she entered Vinca Inn seeking amodations. It was raining hard, and she came to the premises almost midnight. When she took the hood of her cloak, I was terrified of her wrinkled face that it seemed like it was anotheryer of skin folding altogether. She had a long nose with warts and skin lesions all over her, and her thinning grey hair made her appear almost bald. I was afraid that if I let her stay in Vinca Inn, she would leave some contagious disease on the beds and the nkets. She had a lot of money in her pockets and even offered to pay thrice, but I called for the armed guards to throw her out the door in the rainstorm. I couldn''t risk my business shutting down if my clientele catching infections. I have broken one of the rules of hospitality as an innkeeper upheld by the Summer Monarchs. We aren''t allowed to discriminate against travelers who have money��who can pay for the lodgings and amenities of the inn. The next day, I was turned into a frog, and I was like this ever since. "

    "Are you sure that it was the old woman''s true form, or was it a mour?"

    "I came from one of the elite family in the Summer Courts, and the magic running through our bloodline was old��an aristocrat but a far rtive from the royal family." The frog croaked low, but his anger rolled over her skin like waves. "I would have known if she was a faerie from another Court shrouding herself in mour. If I can''t see her true form, it meant she must be powerful."

    "Well, my wife is more powerful than that."

    Her mouth fell open in shock before she aimed a kick at Apollyon''s shin for sounding so arrogant. "Apollyon!"

    What is her husband doing?!

    She didn''t want to disappoint the innkeeper if she failed to break the innkeeper''s curse.

    "We can''t pay for the room we required from the Vinca Inn since we only have money from the Spring Courts." Apollyon returned his gaze from the frog to her. "If you are fine with our proposal, we can begin."

    Luna knew that Apollyon desired to test her abilities.

    That was alright with her because she also needed to figure out the limits of her Archdemon Magic before she burned out from creating portals.

    The Vinca Inn had multiple rooms for its guests from the second floor to the third floor.

    The ground floor was busy and loud that the noise could be heard in inaudible murmurs through the soundproofed ss in the innkeeper''s receiving area.

    Drunk people were now dancing on top of the tables when the slow rhythm of the music changed into an upbeat one.

    Men were gambling on the tables, while many intoxicated adults cried when they lost a bet or a woman.

    It was still early in the morning, but Luna could see that one or two couples were already fornicating in broad daylight.

    Several Summer Faeries were calmly eating the breakfast the waitresses had served them as they watched the spectacle with mild interest.

    Luna understood why the innkeeper''s office was encased in ss-��so that he could witness this daily entertainment in the main hall from a detached perspective.

    Her lips curved upward.

    It was amusing to see the Summer Faeries acting like many delinquents when they get drunk��while her husband became a murderer.

    Luna frowned at the realization.

    "Spring Courts, huh?" The frog''s webbed hands rubbed his vocal sac in contemtion. "You told me that you are the Vampire King and the Vampire Empress, am I right? I have heard some rumors��"

    Luna cut him off. "Whatever you heard, those rumors aren''t true."

    He shrugged. "You know what they say. Rumors are exaggerated versions of the truth."

    "Still, that isn''t the truth."

    "Anyhow, if you only carried money from the Spring Courts with you, I will introduce you to a friend of mine, a banker, who can change your coins into the local currency. But if you can break my curse, I would be eternally grateful to you and your wife. I will make sure to pay that debt in any way I can." Beady eyes, which made him a little less froggy, mmed into hers. "I have gone to a lot of witch doctors and told me it was hopeless. Even my family have kicked me out for being such a disgrace and tainting their image to the ruling nobility."

    Luna crossed her arms over her chest, and she tilted her head at him because the way this frog behaved around her made her second guess if he deserved her help. "Why couldn''t you look at me, innkeeper? It made me think that you were kicked out because of how rude you are to women like me."

    "I couldn''t stand the look of disgust from the women when they see me, so I would rather not look at? them, either."

 Chapter 442 - Summer Ally

    <h4>Chapter 442 - Summer Ally</h4>

    ****************************

    Arhcdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    As she lifted the skirts of her emerald gown, Luna revealed a brown leather sheath strapped to her thigh and pulled the dagger quick before Xerxes could look away.

    The youngd was a gentleman through and through, which was different from her Apollyon, who watched her every move with a hooded gaze, mesmerized at the way she exposed one pale leg and covered them with a flick of her skirts.

    Giving her husband a mischievous grin, Luna tested how sharp the dagger was and stabbed it at the innkeeper''s desk and wrenched it back.

    The edge of the de made a clean hole that was about three and a half inches deep, and the innkeeper''s wide mouth was agape that she could see his esophagus.

    Luna shrugged her shoulders at Apollyon in satisfaction after showing off, and he winked at her in return.

    She clicked her tongue.

    Her husband was flirting again like it was only the two of them in this ss room!

    Hopefully, this lightheartedness would continue.

    Apollyon bought it for her at the marketce, drifting away while she and the shop''s attendants were focused on the gown measurements.

    Her husband desired Luna to use a dagger to wound herself instead of her ws.

    Apparently, Apollyon said that he liked how Luna used weapons, especially daggers, with a hypnotic grace that made him obsessed with her even more��well, not unless she used the weapon against him.

    He would probably let her but only during y fighting. Her husband never ceased to surprise her.

    "Please don''t hurt me." The innkeeper croaked as he dropped his folded legs from the sofa and sat properly�� primly��with his webbed hands on his small knees.

    As he straightened his spine, he watched the dagger in a rapid blink while his moist green skin brightened into almost yellow.

    Frogs must have paled that way!

    "This isn''t for you, Mister��"

    The innkeeper supplied. "Mister Henry, Your Highness."

    "Do you have a cup around this ss room?"

    Mister Henry opened his desk drawer before he could even nod to affirm that and produced a golden chalice.

    "Lumiendo." Apollyon muttered under his breath before a strong cerulean stream of fragments turned the thick ss into a surface of mirrors where lights reflected and bounced into unpredictable angles.

    Thest thing Luna had witnessed something close to this was at the Masquerade Ball, where he tried to hide both of them doing dirty things in the balcony away from prying eyes.

    Apollyon''s spell unleashed a blinding light for a short period of time, cloaking them from the guests at the tavern since this ss room made them too visible from outside the innkeeper''s receiving area.

    The innkeeper fixed his stare at him, and his dark eyes squinted in suspicion, "You did that same spell for this room before I could. Your familiarity with Fae Magic astound me."

    He handed him the chalice, and Apollyon took it from him. "You are the Vampire King, you say?" He slowly croaked, "Are you perhaps�� the son of Empress Ourania and King Gwythyr of the Vampire Realm who she was forced to have an arranged marriage with?"

    Apollyon shrugged. "That''s right."

    "I thought the entire Vampire Realm was annihted by a monster!"

    "Yes." Apollyon said with nonchnce. "I am that monster."

    The innkeeper said grimly. "You killed your own father that''s why Empress Ourania was forced to leave you there in the Vampire Realm."

    Apollyon chuckled, but there was a manic edge to it. "Everybody is telling me my mother is alive except me. So it is true."

    Despite her husband brushing the subject off like it didn''t matter to him, she knew it mattered a lot more when she saw him fisting the stem of the golden chalice in anger that she was afraid it would break.

    "Husband." Luna said softly and settled her hand on his muscled thigh tofort him��remind him--that she was still there with him and he wouldn''t abandon him as his mother did.

    Apollyon''s cold Prussian blue eyes turned neutral as she melted the frost in them with her caresses. Her husband exhaled a sigh as if saying, ''Let''s get this over with.''

    When Apollyon was sure that his spell was established while Xerxes and Princess Lucia kept their watch, Apollyon positioned the chalice under her bleeding wrist when she shed her skin with her husband''s gift.

    Luna did it thrice before she was satisfied, and every cut took a bit longer to heal.

    Her body had weakened because of the portal she made, and now, she was going to break this stranger''s curse with her Arch-demon blood.

    Never had she ever imagined that she would be helping people to break their curse��especially if it was done by demons--when she has cursed herself for the rest of her life as an Archdemon.

    Luna and Apollyon were ''functionally immortal'' in the sense that they will live forever unless something unnatural urs to them, such as a curse or straight-up murder through magic.

    Her soul was an Archdemon now, and she had no clue if she can still be killed with a stab in the heart.

    Nevertheless, she wasn''t going to try and test that.

    Apollyon gave her the chalice, and Luna ced a palm on the rim and closed her eyes, setting her intention for a solid minute chanting a mantra in her mind.

    She focused her entire being on the chalice as her demonic energy transferred from the warmth of her palm to the rim, encasing the golden cup with the potency of the blood magic.

    "Now, drink my blood, Henry." Luna ordered as she handed him the chalice when she was done. "if my blood is stronger than the witch who turned you into a frog, this should repeal the curse and turn you back to--"

    Henry didn''t even let her finish talking because he already grabbed the chalice and drank her blood in one gulp.

    There was a blinding light before Luna could finally see the real Henry.

    "I am eternally indebted to you, Vampire King��" Henry''s head turned towards her and looked her in the eye for the first time. "Empress."

    Apollyon titled his head in amusement. "Then, swear your allegiance to the Vampire Crown."

 Chapter 443 - Pretty Savage

    <h4>Chapter 443 - Pretty Savage</h4>

    ************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ***********************

    A huge advantage for making a faerie born with a golden spoon in his mouth swore their allegiance to the Vampire Crown.

    Apollyon and Luna woulde first before the Summer Monarchs after swearing on his real name in Mister Henry''s heart and mind.

    Mister Henry will bepelled to serve them for the rest of his life for breaking the curse.

    Lunaid out the ground rules that instant and Apollyon was charmed at how quickly she handled the negotiation without letting Apollyon cut in and interfere.

    These were when Luna desired to appear stronger and dominant, showing to the innkeeper that she had the upper hand now.

    Why would Mister Henry swear his allegiance to the Vampire Crown in the first ce if he kept dancing around what was expected of him?

    ''God''s blood!'' Apollyon mused. '' The summer faerie was ying with fire.''

    He wanted to escape them because he inadvertently subjected himself to their power as a summer faerie should. Faeries��either from Seelie or Unseelie Courts--were slick creatures.

    Even Prince Aspen�� a man he considered a friend who was now demoted to a stranger��was the same.

    When? Mister Henry diverted the subject while he wiped the sweat on his lip, Luna mmed the table in ire, forcing the innkeeper to promise in details and specifics through a verbal contract.

    Apollyon fixed his stare at his beautiful wife, who morphed into this cut-throat fierce warrior towards Henry in a span of a minute when he tried ying her through ambiguous words.

    He clicked his tongue at the poor innkeeper in amusement.

    Apollyon didn''t want all that rage from his wife directed at him.

    He always desired peace between Luna and him to have ess to her every minute of her life.

    He also vowed to himself that whenever they argued, they should resolve it within the day so that they wouldn''ty down the bed together while the resentment festered in their heart and darkened their thoughts.

    Apollyon could see Mister Henry''s life shed before his eyes when Luna flung the dagger to the wall behind the innkeeper in her frustration to keep their new subject in line.

    He raised a curious eyebrow, not expecting this thirst for blood from his wife.

    Blood trickled down Henry''s neck as the de grazed his bluish-gray skin while he froze on his couch, his breath bursting in and out.

    The ss didn''t shatter.

    Thin vein-like cracks on the white solid walls could be visible while the light continued to bend and bounce inside the room.

    "I don''t have a good aim but my goal was to pin your midnight wings, Henry." His wife lowered her voice so no one from the outside of the room could hear what they did in the innkeeper''s receiving area.

    She was smiling at him along with that frosty nce. "Do you want me to prove that I can hit them the second time?"

    Leaning back on her chair and crossing her legs like an impressive queen in her throne, Luna told him about his responsibilities as a subject to the Vampire Realm, reassuring the innkeeper that vowing his allegiance to them would not make him a ve.

    Mister Henry''s role will strictly be an informant of whatever was going on with the Summer Courts, including facts and rumors circling the vige.

    Neither would they order him to do something dangerous such as killing other Summer Faeries for their benefit of the Vampire Realm or make him hide dead bodies in the future.

    Apollyon let out a little snort at thetter as he yed with the golden chalice he grabbed from the desk. ''It was too early to say that.''

    The tavern might be a questionable ce to gather information.

    Still, they have to exploit that since intoxicated tongues can turn loose, and Vinca Inn, the most famous inn, in the Summer Courts will be under the Vampire Realm''s control�� invading one establishment at a time.

    Apollyon already learned his lesson from the Spring Monarchs.

    They couldn''t let their guard down from the Summer Monarchs even if he was a part of the royal family and having a powerful Fae bloodline running through his veins.

    Nobody in the innkeeper''s office noticed how he turned the chalice upside down and poured thest drops of his wife''s blood into his mouth.

    Apollyon licked his lips as he fixed his stare at the bowl.

    He was fine with other creatures drinking Luna''s ichor if it was for healing purposes and removing demonic spells, but if it was a secret lover��.

    Apollyon squeezed the stem of the chalice, and this time it broke.

    He let out a short, inaudible gasp. Yet, Mister Henry and Luna argued with the promises, throwing aggressive words as sharp as knives, glossing over the fact that Apollyon broke a property of Vinca Inn.

    Summer Faeries, especially innkeepers, abhorred broken tablewares in their inn.

    Xerxes and Princess Sapphire blinked at him with wide innocent eyes, and he shrugged, "Oh well."

    Mister Henry couldn''t turn Apollyon and Luna down if they asked for help, providing them with their needs��the best room in the tavern, horses and stagecoaches, horses servants, clothes and connecting them with powerful and wealthy people aside from the Summer Monarchs.

    Mister Henry was a genie in a bottle who should grant their wishes in the Summer Realm.

    He was sweating bullets on his forehead.

    Apollyon dispelled the poor innkeeper''s fears and told him that there was nothing to worry about and abuse faeries who did their job well.

    He said that particr line when the verbal contract was being forged.

    Apollyon rested his elbow on the desk to cradle his head, watching Mister Henry''s clenched fists until his knuckles went white.

    It felt like he wasn''t expecting that his wife to be sessful in getting rid of his malediction, and now, the innkeeper''s tendons stood out from his thick neck, realizing he had bitten more than he can chew.

    Then, he inconspicuously ced the detached cup and the base under the table to hide it.

    Apollyon sighed with relief when the meeting ended, which was singlehandedly done by his wife while he listened, demanding specifics here and there once in a while.

    Both parties were satisfied with the agreements made, and three of them stood and shook hands.

    A Faerie''s word and acquiring his real name was enough��no blood pact needed.

    That might put Mister Henry in a deeper hole more than he needed to be in.

    Nobody knew aside from him that his wife was an Archdemon.

    +++

    It wasn''t only Luna who dislike being indebted to other creatures.

    She only allowed herself to beg if her life was on the line.

    If he couldpare the Summer Fae''s appearance to that of a human, the innkeeper who turned out to be a decent older man in his forties.

    He read in a book that Fair folk in general also hated being indebted to any creature, so they ovepensate, offering a lot of things to their helper until the debt would be passed to the other.

    After turning keys to the knob, the menservants opened the double doors to the best suite in Vinca Inn.

    They handed them a golden key with a design so special it would be considered as an art and made themselves scarce--pronto.

    Apollyon was the first to cross the threshold as he nced around the sky blue walls hand-painted with flowers and delicate curlicues.

    His gazended on a giant emblem sculpture installed on the wall itself above the bedchamber��two eagles attached while each of them only had one wing stretched in mid-flight.

    Two swords pierced their heart at the center while an imperial crown sat at the top of their heads.

    Apollyon didn''t have time to examine them closely when someone with supernatural strength and speed��stronger than an ancient pureblood Vampire like him��attacked him from behind.

    Everything happened so fast that he could hardly make sense.

    He was pushed against a wall with long ws digging unto the chest where his heart was to keep him in ce.

    The walls of the chamber shook a little from the impact.

    The next thing Apollyon felt was sharp fangs sinking into his shoulder, and he groaned, his arms wrapping around the attacker not to squeeze her to death but to embrace.

    He bent his head down so that she would have easy ess to him.

    When he opened his eyes to peer at the attacker between hisshes, he saw her mouth drooling with his blood, slurping, drinking him in huge gulps as her fingers mped hard at the nape of his neck, preventing him from escaping her clutches.

    Luna''s green eyes were no longer human as the whites morphed intoplete ck.

    "Husband." Luna murmured in a snarl, and she wed at his tunic to rip them off him. "You''re really good at trying to make a devil out of me."

    "You attacked me in broad daylight without even locking the door��not caring anyone who saw us." Apollyon growled as his hands roamed around the soft curves of her body, squeezing one breast.

    Pulling at his cor to bring him closer, Luna''s voice became a harmony of two pitches, and it sent shivers down his spine. "I''m hungry. I have been fighting this thirst at the waterfalls so that your sister wouldn''t know how savage I am."

    He could barely think when Luna pulled at the bands of his waist, turning his lust into a raging storm. "That''s a long journey."

    She breathed. "At least I had a taste of you now."

 Chapter 444 - Christening The Luxurious Bed

    <h4>Chapter 444 - Christening The Luxurious Bed</h4>

    ***************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ***************************

    She let out a delightedugh before nuzzling at his neck. "At least I had a taste of you now."

    One of Apollyon''s hands rested on Luna''s buttocks while the other circled her back to support her weight so she wouldn''t fall.

    As if reading his mind, Luna raised both of her legs to lock around his hips while her fingers rested on his nape.

    After tearing his cor into pieces with her ws, Luna''s tongue was a soft, moist stroke on his left shoulder as shepped at the blood, nipping at the piercing with her fangs��so opposite from the electric aggression which made the hairs on his skin stand on its end.

    Apollyon''s entire body was hypersensitive to her touch and the texture of garments abrading his skin.

    Now,? Apollyon was her prey, and she had set her sights on him with a one-track mind, almost tearing the skin of his ivory flesh overwhelmed by this primal instinct.

    At first, doubts began to creep his thoughts regarding this woman''s identity that he halted in his tracks, fighting thepulsion to rip the front of her emerald gown he chose at the dress shop because it matched the gorgeous color of her eyes.

    He was petty with the dressmaker, but at least, he got it for his wife for free.

    "Luna. Reassure me if this is still you. " He pulled her a mass of the thick silver hair, forcing her to face him. "Your eyes have turned ck."

    "Hm." She hummed as her lips curved in a yful smirk which made his fangs lengthen. "What if I tell you I''m Luna when I am not, husband. Would you catch on quickly?"

    Lustful rage twisted in his gut, and his arousal hurt like a bitch, straining against his trousers. "Don''t jest with something as serious as this or we would stop."

    Tilting her head, she brushed her warm fingertips lightly against his nape.

    The humid breezeing from the open balcony overlooking theke didn''t cool the fever in his blood either.

    "Your ckmail wouldn''t work, Apollyon." Luna smiled as she let brushed the globes of her breasts against his firm pectorals. "I will make sure of that."

    Luna dug her hands through his raven locks and pulled his mouth to m against hers.

    Apollyon loved the taste of her blood as he yfully nicked her lower lip to taste them.

    Their tongues tangled, danced, licking, and sucking.

    Her arousal mixed the scent of her blood, luscious citrus fruits, and the scent of rich pine cones permeating through the air, which made him harden even more as he gripped her wide hips.

    Apollyon abruptly remembered their heiress when Luna''s baby bump was pressed against his abdomen, and he wrenched his mouth from her in a low growl before adjusting his hold on her.

    He needed to take it slow for her so that it wouldn''t hurt their beloved Leo.

    Lifting her, his big hands cradled her buttocks while she wrapped her legs around his waist tight.

    Even if his need for his wife threatened to enve him, Apollyon''s consciousness tried reaching out to her, and he couldn''t find any barriers put up against him, which was a surprise.

    If he could, it could be easy for him to merge and take over her because she was vulnerable.

    Too vulnerable.

    It made Apollyon felt a pang in his heart but one that felt right.

    There was a lightness in his limbs as happiness radiated through his chest.

    Luna had destroyed the walls she established against his possible invasion of privacy, letting her guard down and surrendered to himpletely at his mercy.

    If she kept this up without acting so defensive every time, the more Apollyon wanted to trust her and not interfere with her thoughts, digging her memories without consent so that he could figure out that the truth.

    Luna didn''t have anything to hide from him, and that made him back off from probing her memories in Hell.

    He will ept this rightful closure��not opening the covered wound so that healing can progress faster no matter how slow, and he will partake in his wife''s healing of the mind.

    If Apollyon knew what''s best for their rtionship, he wouldn''t dare open the ''Pandora''s Box'' so that the insidious Archdemons and her experiences in Hell wouldn''t put a wedge between them.

    Never again would he allow that.

    No Archdemons can separate him from his true mate, especially the babe in his wife''s stomach.

    Their power dynamic was now reversed instantly, just from the change of her green eyes into midnight ck with overly bright diamond sparkles.

    Hissing with clenched teeth as his lust mmed into him like a sledgehammer, Apollyon stalked towards the bed with her in tow without effort.

    He gently ced her on the bed before he got out of his clothes, lifted her skirts, and brushed his hand against the damp curl between her thighs.

    Apollyon came down on top of her, pinning her down.

    Apollyon''s lips crushed hers at the same time he shoved two digits inside her quim as he mimicked the sexual thrusts taking her higher�� faster��harder before she screamed and broke apart.

    Her inner muscles clenched so tight that Apollyon wished to rece his fingers with his cock inside her, dripping with her cum.

    Luna''s arms slipped around his back when he leaned closer, loving the sensation of her pebbled nipples rubbing against his chest.

    As his mouth trailed kisses from her jawline to her ears, Apollyon could feel his spine lock as he pushed his cock in her quim, balls deep inside her.

    Her quim mped him so hard when Apollyon pushed both of her spread thighs to thece coverlet made of spun in gold.

    He could perceive her secret flesh pulsing like a drum against his shaft as their blood ran hot in through their veins while she milked him with her warm and wet juices.

    He felt so good that all he can do was groan whenever the tip of his prick hit her cervix.

    "I still love you. And not even the end of the world can stop me from doing that." Apollyon growled while his noisy breaths matching his every thrust. "Don''t you ever think that you have be dirty just because that bastard touched you through his deception.You are not!"

    "You are still mine and that wouldn''t change. " He bared his teeth in righteous anger. "I will make sure that he will pay for what he did!"

    Luna''s hand on Apollyon''s shoulder raised to trace his sharp cheekbones with his fingertips.

    He kissed her once, twice�� and it felt like it was never-ending.

    "Thank you for loving me." She rubbed her nose against his. "I love you too."

    Nostrils ring, his cock hardened, even more, when her feminine musk wrapped around him like a drug, holding him prisoner as he pounded into her with such possessive fury that he was half-afraid that he would break the bed in this suite.

    "Oh, Goddess!" Luna arched into him as she matched into the wild, rough rhythm Apollyon had set. He devoured her screams to keep her silent without alerting the whole tavern that they were making love.

    A snarl tore from his gravelly throat, which was almost unrecognizable, and he spilled his seed into her.

    Her ink-ck eyes shifted into her normal emerald ones, and Apollyon exhaled, grateful that the change of his wife''s eye color wasn''t anything serious.

    He would hate having sexual congress with Lilith without knowing it.

    Luna didn''t have to carry his weight, so he quickly rolled to the side when it was done and pulled her in his embrace.

    Both of them were still breathing hard from the erotic exertion, and they stayed like that for a good five minutes to enjoy the afterglow,pletely sated to the bones.

    Sexual congress was a good stress reliever.

    All the tension in his muscles loosened into rxation, and it was the only highlight��the good part--of his bad day starting from the Spring Court''s betrayal.

    Having a wife by your side at all times was a blessing he wouldn''t take for granted.

    Apollyon''s lids grew heavy until it fell shut.

    As he slowly drifted into slumber, Luna''s words woke him up, made him alert.

    "When am I going to be free from all of this, husband?" Luna asked softly. "I mean, we��" She corrected as she held his hand, which hugged her waist. "When are we going to be free?"

    A pregnant pause.

    "We are free now." Apollyon murmured huskily as he trailed kisses at her nape and the pale skin on her upper back. "We aren''t in the Spring Courts anymore."

    "Mmm." Luna hummed in her throat, which sounded almost like a moan.

    "Is there something else you aren''t telling me about?"

    She sighed. "No, nothing."

    Apollyon red at the back of her head when he felt a slight activity in her mental defenses as if she was inconspicuously hiding her thoughts from him.? "And then, the mental shields are back." He was happy and warm earlier, and now he felt cold--emotionally cold. "It''s making me a bit suspicious when you do things like this that I became obsessed." Would she think she wouldn''t notice? " It''s harder to sleep at night."

    "I apologize. It''s like�� It''s like a defense mechanism." Luna made amends, rmed when she sensed him pulling back as well. "I''ll take them down."

    "No need." Apollyon''s hands were like iron manacles on her hips when she turned to face him, keeping her in ce. "Do what you want."

 Chapter 445 - Mine Or His

    <h4>Chapter 445 - Mine Or His</h4>

    Request from Uniqueness_12 (sort of)

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    "No need." Apollyon''s hands were like iron manacles on her hips when she turned to face him, keeping her in ce. She could hear him gritting his teeth from suppressed anger. "Do what you want."

    Biting her lip, Luna fought back a whimper from that cool response.

    She could tell Apollyon was pissed off, but he didn''t say anything.

    It was obvious from how he sent those rolling waves of ire from his rigid muscles to her through physical contact.

    She was akin to a cactus or the thorns on an exquisite red rose determined to keep everyone around her at bay through her hard, tough and prickling exterior.

    Luna was as sensitive as a mimosa leaf, shying away from people who wanted more from her, desiring to get to know her more.

    It wasn''t a surprise that her beloved would find her hard to reach, which can be annoying when it came to marriage.

    Still, Apollyon believed he could handle her through patience.

    He didn''t give up on his goal to be closer to her as his lifelong mate despite him being the impatient one.

    He was the Vampire King, after all��a pureblood vampire who owned a Consortium--who can get anyone if he wanted, but he still chose her despite the warning signs.

    Looking back, Apollyon never made her feel like he was forced to be with her because of the blood bond.? Unlike her, who was in constant denial of what she felt for Apollyon.

    Apollyon showed interest that he liked to be with her and waited for things to settle so that they could strengthen their bond.

    Luna loved Apollyon to be close to her at all times after their separation. But now it was her fault that he abruptly shifted into something which was so detached and cold in the blink of an eye.

    It was the kind of frost that was deep-seated in her bones.

    Apollyon did it so easily that it felt like he could just easily switch his emotions on and off.

    He was both her beloved mate and a shrewd killing machine.

    His rough, calloused palms didn''t stop their slow caresses on her stomach, and that''s when she knew that her husband''s anger hadn''t reached the boiling point.

    Yet.

    Apollyon''s muscled forearm was under hers while her back cuddled against his chest in a spooning hug.

    His chest hairs felt like rough silk against her skin.

    It was the most beautiful thing.

    But that abruptly changed due to her unconscious behaviour, ingrained deep in her brain as she ced her mental shields back up when fear began to kick in.

    Thick dark clouds over her thoughts, and it was toote for her to realize that she had hurt her husband by this imprudence.

    She desired for her husband to trust her.

    She shut her eyes and bit her cheek as she berated herself for all the stupid things she had done to Apollyon because of how dense she was when it came to love.

    Why was she doing the ring opposite?

    Sometimes, Luna just wanted to kick her own ass, which was directly shoved to Apollyon''s groin.

    A brilliant thought crossed her mind, and she opened her eyes, smiling in amusement.

    "Are you angry, husband?" Luna faced him with sliding her arms around his torso, but he still wouldn''t budge.

    When she felt that Apollyon wouldn''t remove his grip on the underside of her breast anytime soon, she allowed her limbs to rx until he let her guard down.

    Their battle of wills took long minutes of ying dead in the Master''s bedroom as their pliant formsid in peaches and cream pillows and golden coverlets made ofce.

    She swallowed hard when she felt Apollyonbed her thick mane of hair as he attempted to untangle them with his fingers.

    The pool she dipped after opening the portal should take responsibility for this mess!

    But at least, it gave her husband something to do��something to distract himself with��instead of sulking like a child--behind her.

    Apollyon ignored her question.

    He grabbed a fistful of her silver hair, and she inferred that this scenario could either go both ways��

    Her stomach fluttered in anticipation.

    Luna could imagine her husband inhaling the sweet summer scent of the sun and morning dew in every strand, or he would scoff at how it smelled like a rotten flesh of an animal.

    Luna waited for her husband''sints, but Apollyon did none of those things.

    It was safe to assume that her husband still adored her despite her unwashed hair.

    The mating bond did its purpose to shackle two creatures into a soul marriage, forcing them to ept their lover''s imperfection.

    After that, Apollyon set her silver hair down gently to the bed, letting it fan on the pillows.

    "Do you think our Leo would have silver hair like this, beloved?" Apollyon murmured behind her that she could feel her husband breathing down her neck. "I still couldn''t forget about the child who visited your room once while you were sleeping for years��"

    wing the tendrils of her hair on the mattress with his fingers, Apollyon trailed off as if recalling the same scenario in his mind''s eye.

    I can vividly remember how she looked like." He continued in a dream-like drawl,? "The silver hair and midnight-blue eyes suited the child."

    "Thess also had a knack for mischief like you." There was a hint of amusement in the deep timbre of his voice, which made her sigh in relief.

    Now that Apollyon''s hands couldn''t stop her from turning around because they were riveted on ying with her hair, Luna took that chance to face him to his side of the bed and slid her arms around his torso, hugging him so tight as if she wouldn''t see him again.

    She buried her face against the shoulder where she had bitten him hard due to her manic blood lust.

    "You really don''t listen to your husband, huh?" Apollyon rumbled, and the hot, firm muscle of his chest sent delicious vibrations on her lips when she nted a soft kiss where his heart was, loving the dark scent of his ivory skin.

    "No." Luna nced up as she searched his Prussian Blue eyes, assessing if he was still angry at her. "I don''t listen to my husband if he is? busy sulking."

    Giving in, Apollyon cleared his throat awkwardly and proceeded to kiss the top of her head, but it was more of her husband inhaling her hair.

    "I want Leo to have this silver hair like that ghost."Apollyon continued as he picked a couple of strands, rubbing them between his thumb and forefinger. "I just had this strange inkling you know? That she is our precious Leo. She kept calling you Mama during her astral travel."

    He released the lock of hair to trace her nose bridge with his fingertip.

    "I assumed thess definitely had your ability to open portals with another Realm." Luna closed her eyes, marvelling at his caresses because it made her feel how much he cherished her. "Maybe, the ghost was an older spirit of our heiress."

    When her lids lifted, Luna''s face scrunched into a frown as she regarded her husband. "That theory of yours make me confused, Apollyon. I remember you told me that she didn''t recognize you as her father." Luna''s tone was sceptical, and that made Apollyon defensive.

    "��but she have? the same eye color as me!"

    Eyes widening in rm, Luna backtracked so that her husband wouldn''t get upset because deep inside, she knew how much that piece of information troubled him. "Maybe it was a coincidence. The silver-haired blue eyedss can just be a mere visitor because her spirit got lost with her portals. She must have wandered too far."

    "You know how children are." Luna patted his bare chest to soothe him.

    She knew that, like her, her husband didn''t like to be proved wrong when it came to things like this.

    "Or maybe��" Hopefully, Apollyon wouldn''t get upset from her implication. "��maybe, it was a hallucination of yours."

    Luna was relieved that Apollyon regained hisposure after scowling at her for a good five seconds.

    "I don''t even know if you were pregnant with our baby at that moment."

    "She said you are not her father." Luna reasoned out as she wed at his back in frustration. It wasn''t hard enough to hurt and make him bleed��just enough to catch his attention. "Who else would be my husband if not you?"

    Her husband must be excited for their baby that he was iming this ghost child as his just for her silver hair.

    He was too possessive for his own good!

    This is what I''m afraid of, wife." Apollyon growled, and the sound sent electric sparks all over her skin because of the underlying threat around it.

    "What do you mean by that, husband?"

    "Wife. I think I finally knew why that Archdemon did what he did to you--pretending to be me." He asked, and there was a dangerous aura around him which made Luna''s heart skip a beat. "Did he know that you were pregnant with our child, Luna?"

    Her mouth hung open in shock, and she wrenched herself away from him. "I don''t know, Apollyon." She shook her head in denial. "As much as possible, I didn''t engage with the bastard to a? conversation unless it was important��such as potential information to escape Hell."

    Eyes of Prussian Blue bore into hers. "I think he wanted to own you by trapping you into pregnancy. And that silver-haired child could either be my daughter or his."

 Chapter 446 - We Got Issues

    <h4>Chapter 446 - We Got Issues</h4>

    *******************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *******************************

    Eyes of Prussian Blue bore into hers. "I think he wanted to own you by trapping you into pregnancy and that silver-haired child could either be my daughter or his."

    Luna''s eyebrows knitted in confusion.

    She averted her gaze from Apollyon''s scrutiny to think for a moment.

    "What are you talking about?" She asked, incredulous. It was impossible for thess to be their child and she hadn''t even seen her with her own eyes yet. "I don''t know, husband. This is making me confused." Biting her lip, she scratched her forehead.? "Something might have happened between Luxen and I." Luna whispered, staring nkly at the deep wing of Apollyon''s corbone to take her mind off the gravity of her husband''s suspicion. "I don''t think I had the right to tell you this, husband, but I also have my spections that he wanted me pregnant too the moment he found out that our blood bond was broken."

    "Do you think he will be sessful?" There was no need to nce up to see Apollyon''s expression at that instant.

    Breathing hard, his shoulders trembled from the force of his anger.

    He growled, "What if he was sessful? in inserting his seed inside you and that might kill our baby to rece it with his?"

    "No. No. No." Shaking her head, herposure shattered like ss in front of Apollyon. "This discussion wouldn''t have happened if you didn''t insist on iming that ghost as ours." Feeling trapped and suffocated from that query, Luna''s wish was to escape from Apollyon''s arms and disappear.

    When she attempted to shove at his chest, he brought her even closer.

    "Calm down, beloved."rmed, Apollyon caressed her spine to quell her rising panic. "I know you hated to discuss the possibilities of this but we have to talk about it."

    Breathing in gulps of air, Luna hoped that it would slow down the heartbeat thrashing in her ears.

    "Let''s face this once and for all and let''s stop walking on eggshells."? Later on, she focused on Apollyon''s rough voice as they wrapped around her cold skin. "We will stop sweeping our problems under the rug and pretend everything is alright. You and I." Her husband''s words were controlled. "So that, we will know what to do if this misfortune happened."

    It took a while for her to be as calm and sensible as she pulled herself together. "It''s just a lost child with silver hair, Apollyon. Mistaking me as her mother was just a coincidence. It made sense that she would not recognize you as her father because you aren''t the one. Just because she had blue eyes didn''t mean? she was a spitting image of you and I. "

    "But she was." Apollyon insisted but as if he didn''t want her to be anxious, the warmth of his palm wiped the rivulets of sweat on her spine against the fabric of her gown. "She just didn''t recognize me as her father."

    Luna exhaled a heavy sigh of sorrow.

    "You told me that thess had blue eyes and the Archdemon who deceived me had silver ones and I have green eyes."? She wouldn''t let her stubborn husband believe in this hallucination. "So, no, Apollyon. That wouldn''t happen. Not in this Realm."

    "We will never know." Apollyon said. "I am talking about what-ifs."

    Tracing his lower lip with the pad of her thumb, Luna exined. "Even if you suggest a theory that I could be pregnant with an Arch demon''s baby, I would move heaven and earth so that it wouldn''t happen. Besides, I''m already pregnant with Leo so that would be impossible."

    "You were in the Realm of Hell!"

    You can''t impregnate an already expecting mother."

    "This is messed up." Apollyon clenched his fists before he unclenched them, resting them on her arm. "We still don''t know what kind of insidious things the Archdemons are capable of."

    It felt like invisible spiders were crawling under her skin when Apollyon said that and her body shivered.

    Despite being an Archdemon, Luna still didn''t know what she was capable of.

    How much more if it was an Archdemon who was in the game long before her?

    "I''m just throwing that idea out? here so we can discuss this calmly without my rage getting in the way." Apollyon said grimly, his lips a thin, straight line.

    It was a shock that Apollyon was level-headed about thispared to her.

    This must be the effects of the alcohol he drank with Prince Aspen.

    All his rage against the Archdemon of Lust was repleted after he killed the rape convicts in the Prison House, iming those were the type of creatures the Archdemon of Lust would love to poison their mind and control them with his sin.

    "We should stop looking back." The deep timbre of his voice was mellow as he held her chin and bent his head down his head to kiss her on the forehead with utmost reverence. "Whether it was beautiful memory to live in or an ugly one, we already overcame that and learned a difficult lesson."

    "I know." She met Apollyon''s gaze. "It was a bitter medicine which is hard to swallow."

    "Luna. It''s time to leave this regret and nostalgia behind us." He responded as he tucked a wayward strand of hair behind her ear. She could feel the sincerity in his gaze. "It''s a heavy burden we carry at all times which we no longer needed. It will just slow down from my schemes of revenge. But, there is something I want to ask of you and I expect you to? rise to the asion."

    She blinked. "What is it?"

    "I already told you that I don''t like it when you abruptly hide your thoughts from me just like what you did earlier." Apollyon didn''t meet her eyes as if he was ufortable showing his vulnerable side.

    Luna admitted that it was her fault.

    She replied, contrite.? "I apologize, husband."

    A shadow crossed his face as his blue eyes darkened, smoldered. "It drives me a little crazy when you suddenly do that in the middle of an important conversation."

 Chapter 447 - Sweet Talker

    <h4>Chapter 447 - Sweet Talker</h4>

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ******************************

    A shadow crossed his face as his blue eyes darkened, smoldered. "It drives me a little crazy when you suddenly do that in the middle of an important conversation."

    Luna peered at him beneath hershes. "I''m sorry for hurting you. I will try my best not to do it again."

    Apollyon was silent for a few minutes before he spoke, "Your brain needs to understand that there was no need to defend yourself against me because I would not hurt you. It? made me paranoid. It bes? easy for me to turn ''suspicion'' into an obsession of mine to crack your head open."

    "You are going to use an ax to crack my head, husband?"

    "No. No." Apollyon raised an eyebrow. Clearly, he didn''t understand. "I wouldn''t even bring an ax near you and our baby."

    "Alright." Even when he was intoxicated with alcoholst night, Apollyon threw the bloody ax he used to kill the convicts at the Prison House to the walls of the cabin before he even approached her. He might not remember that, but Apollyon was telling the truth. "I believe you."

    "Even if you may want to withdraw and to hide, there is no running away, alright?"

    Apollyon waited without blinking, holding his breath as if eager to hear her response.

    Luna felt like she wasn''t ready to rewire her mind to do the opposite, forcing herself to be an open book to her husband.

    Luna''s words hitched in her throat because she was hesitant to speak up, but there was no turning away from this.

    "This newfound reluctance��." Lines marred his forehead in frustration, yet Apollyon''s words didn''t bleed with anger. It was an unsettling feeling. "You used to tell your story before and you speak with courage, ready to share your words and thoughts to me. I know you are also careful not to hurt me��"

    "��because I love you and I have hurt you enough."

    Apollyon''s face was closed as he wore an unreadable mask this time. "You know that I am a dominant vampire who is ustomed to getting what I want. But don''t be afraid to tell me what you require of me so that we can talk about it, sort? the problems out and we move on." He said bluntly. "The more you hold on to dark secrets and grudges to yourself without telling me, the more it destroys us."

    " I don''t want that to happen, husband." A sob caught in her throat as she searched his countenance. "I love you."

    "I know and I can feel that you love me too. Our strong, unbreakable bond will spite those Archdemons who thought they have the power to keep us apart." His jaw was set, and the fire returned. Apollyon''s hand flexed at her nape in a stark possession. "Only both of us have the power to separate from the other, you understand?"

    Luna nodded in silence as sorrow bubbled up inside her.

    "As long as neither of us would give up, we would not let those bored motherfuckers to y with us and control us. Do it for me. Do it for out child''s safety."

    "Yes, husband. We wouldn''t." Luna replied. She looked away before he could even see teardrops falling from the corner of her eyes. "I suddenly felt like crying."

    Apollyon''s tone softened as she pulled at her hands which covered her face. "Don''t cry, wife. It''s alright."

    Sniffing, she tried to cover up her weakness by letting out a harshugh. "For a long time, I felt so hopeless because of their maniption."

    Too many things left unsaid were slowly revealing themselves, and Luna was thankful for her husband''s maturity.

    Ever since Apollyon came back, he never failed to surprise her.

    He had changed. So much. For the better.

    Apollyon allowed her to mourn her loss of power from the Archdemons as he caressed her cheeks stained with tears.

    She could take her power back from those Archdemons if she wanted to.

    She wouldn''t let them destroy Apollyon and Luna''s blood bond.

    Luna realized she didn''t want to cry any longer.

    She had no more tears left to cry.

    Blowing out a breath, Luna changed the subject. "It wasn''t a jest when your sister told us that it was so hot in the Summer Realms even if we are indoors."

    Luna looked into the stunning Prussian Blue of his eyes mixed with both love and desire for her.

    "You are a vampire-like me, beloved."Shifting a fraction, Apollyon yfully ced his muscled leg over her hips. "You should be adjusting to the weather quite easily."

    "Husbannndd." Moaning, Luna buried her head in his chest and hugged him so tight it was almost an aggressive attack. "Your leg is heavy."

    "What?" Apollyon rolled over to her side, and now he was positioned on top of her, wrestling her lithe form while he was buck naked.? "I bet it''s hotter in Hell because of the eternal mes."

    "I can''t. You have to let go of me. It''s hot. I''m drained from using High-Level Magic." Lunained, and it came out muffled to his amusement. She sounded like she was underwater. "I drank a lot of blood from you but this ze inside me��.It felt like it is wing at my skin as if it wanted to get out."

    "Oh!" A pregnant pause. "You haven''t taken your clothes off."

    "Maybe, that''s the reason. I just lifted your skirts and ripped your underwear off when we made love." Apollyon added, a matter-of-fact as he went back to his side of the bed instead of suffocating her with his weight.

    "Oh, right. I should do that." Throwing the coverlet draped over her to the side,? Luna got up from the bed and undressed her emerald gown before jumping back to the bed beside her husband. "You said you wanted to rest, husband, because you used too much of your magic from the aerial barriers."

    "Yes, I want to rest." He said absently, his attention somewhere else.

    Knowing her husband''s preferences, she wasn''t surprised that he desired to do it all over again.

    Apollyon''s gaze told her another thing.

    Warmth flushed her cheekbones when Apollyon threw her breasts a fascinated nce.

    "Head still aching?"

    "A little bit."

    Luna reached out to kiss his forehead. "There. Your headache should be gone in a minute."

    Apollyon pouted. "My lip hurts too."

    Luna kissed his lips.

    "The left nipple of my chest." Apollyon pulled her hand and ced it over his heart. "It hurts and it needs to be licked."

    Luna muttered. "Naughty husband."

    "I feel tired but I don''t want to fall asleep just yet." Apollyon propped himself with an elbow and watched her. "I? don''t want to close my eyes. I''d rather stare at your face and fall in love with you all over again."

    She chuckled as heat radiated through her chest.

    "Sweet talker." Reaching out a pillow over their heads, she shoved them yfully on his handsome face and whispered. "Go sleep."

    Author''s Note: Please read ''Reminders for Privilege Buyers'' on the Auxilliary Chapters to understand what is happening to my privilege chapters. You can ask your questions there. Thank you.

 Chapter 448 - Vulnerability

    <h4>Chapter 448 - Vulnerability</h4>

    ****************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ****************************

    "Wow.The Hedge Maze in the Summer Pce is beautiful." Parting her lips in awe, Luna nced around the intricatework of winding pathways, and he also did the same.

    Apollyon couldn''t see anything specific aside from one or more blind alleys, but his wife didn''t mind.

    Glorious in the summer sunshine, the Hedge Maze in the Summer Pce, upying a quarter acre of space, was a retreat for the Summer Aristocrats to escape from the political intrigues in the royal courts.

    The maze''s dividers between the passages were made of vertical hedges or green shrubberies��cut with a square top--growing more than six feet so that nobody could see through them.

    The hedge maze also had flowerbeds and sculptures of gods and goddesses made out of marble. Pixies and sprites flew around within the folds of the edges.

    Hedge bushes were made of yew, boxwood, and hollies thick with branches and leaves.

    A fancy gazebo towered at the center where lovers have a romantic tryst on the second floor.

    It was an effective ce to hide.

    That day, Apollyon made it a point to haul his wife when he sensed her feet sending them astray to their destination.

    She observed everything as if she owned a new set of eyes, her amazement bottomless as they walked hand-in-hand. "All the flowers are lovely."

    "Not as lovely as you. You are the most beautiful flower in this garden." He replied, holding her hand in a tight sp as he ced his right hand to the wall''s surface connecting to the outer boundary so that they wouldn''t get lost on their way to the central gazebo.

    Apollyon would never let her out of his sight.

    It wasn''t like the Archdemons can take her, but he had to be careful as a husband.

    There was a slight hesitation in him, but he decided to let his wife know how he truly felt as he stared ahead. "Other people might downy you as if you are a weed but to me you are a rare wild flower."

    "One thing which always stuck to my mind was when you told me when we were newly wedded that you want to be free. I knew you were different. You have an adventurous spirit who just desired to be free." Turning his head, Apollyon squinted at her in jest. "Hopefully not free from me."

    "Don''t worry I love you too much to be free from you." Luna promised in a husky voice.

    Raising an eyebrow at her, he gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

    "Really?" He smirked. "I will shackle? you to the bed tonight."

    Without warning, Apollyon came to a standstill, and Luna drew to a halt as well.

    Without letting go of her fingers, Apollyon''s free hand plucked a hibiscus from the hedge and ced its stem behind her ear. "There. Flower meets wildflower."

    When he saw how his wife''s countenance blushed at the same color as the flower, heat radiated through his chest because he knew his wife was a bit embarrassed by her tant adoration.

    "If you love a flower, don''t pick it up because it will die and you wouldn''t love it anymore. If you love a flower just let it be. Love is not about possession. It''s about appreciation. " Frowning, Luna scolded him, but it wasn''t that serious. "Why do you keep on cing flowers in my hair, Apollyon?"

    He shrugged and kept walking with her in the bright, early morning. "Just because."

    She retorted with an impish grin. "You also did it at the mountains."

    Unnatural silence.

    Apollyon recalled that fateful day and he couldn''t help but clench his teeth until his jaw hurt. "You look like a spring goddess to me at that moment and? you ruined it by revealing��"

    A tight smile didn''t reach her eyes. "We promised each other? that we wouldn''t go there."

    "Yes. I was the one who told you that." Apollyon stated, "I will keep my promise."

    "I heard that this maze garden was created for your mother ever since she came back from the Vampire Realm."? Luna said almost half an hourter of strolling on the empty pebbled route without meeting anyone else in the maze.

    "I already guessed that." Apollyonughed a harsh sound, but it came out empty and hollow. "I heard she liked to be surrounded by beauty because that''s her only saving grace."

    "Apollyon. Don''t say that to your mother." Reading the tension from his legs and his rigid spine as if he would rather be anywhere but here, Luna said gently, "I might hate her for abandoning you but we have have no idea about her story so I can''t judge her yet."

    A strong breezed ruffled both of their hair as it rustled the hedges. "Everything I would hear from her mouth would probably sound like a pathetic excuse to me." Apollyon said, voice devoid of emotion, "I don''t even know what to talk about. I''m d that you are here."

    The gazebo was a narrow summer house that came straight right out of a fairytale.

    Hmm, a fairytale indeed!

    The petals scattered at the stairs made it even more inviting.

    Located at the center of the hedge maze, the gazebo was elevated for about six feet so that the guests could take a look at how the entirebyrinth appeared from above.

    That would make sense because they are still one of the territories in the Faerie Realms.

    The foundation of its columns was made out of strong solid wood as painted with a muted gold.

    The bright color sparkled when the sunlight hit the gilded crown of the dome.

    The bougainvilleas and honeysuckles were wrapped around the cop as their delicate vines circled the pirs.

    Wearing an ecstatic grin, Luna pulled at her husband''s hand while they rushed through the stairs so that they could take their positions and pick from the empty seven chairs from arge circr table.

    Apollyon, the gentleman, pulled the heavy ck chair, giving her an expectant gaze, and gestured for her to sit.

    He gave her a questioning nce.

    Luna wasn''t used to this that she couldn''t figure out what Apollyon meant.

    When she finally did, she smiled from ear to ear and kissed him lightly on the cheek before brushing the invisible lint off her skirts and sat down.

    ncing up at him, Luna began as she rested her elbows on the ss table. "Are there people arriving in the garden besides us? Empress Ourania isn''t here yet."

    There was no grand entrance when they visited the Summer Pce.

    It wasn''t like Apollyon desired the Summer Monarchs to roll down their red carpets for them like the Spring Courts.

    He preferred meeting his mother in a calmer setting.

    Apollyon had no idea how he would react to someone if he felt��

    Apollyon clutched his heart and asked himself, ''What did I feel for his mother right now?''

    Nothing.

    He went still as a statue.

    His heartbeat became erratic before it slowed into calmness.

    ''What did he feel for Empress Ourania?''

    When his sister told him the first time his mother was alive, Apollyon was fuming with anger, but now he wasn''t sure.

    He felt detached.

    Indifference was the right word.

    He couldn''t care less about her business.

    If she wanted to meet her son right now, Apollyon would talk to her, but that''s about it.

    Empress Ourania might have given birth to him, but they were practically strangers at this point.

    He didn''t miss her at all because the tears he shed for his mother, who refused to see her when he was a boy, were twin wells that were dried up a long time ago.

    As far as he was concerned, his mother was already dead.

    He only had his mate to love and cherish, and he was satisfied with that.

    Why was he here, ready to meet Empress Ourania then?

    Was he seeking a fight, or was he seeking closure?

    The only closure he got from this rtionship was time.

    He was used to her absence��her perceived death��that it became normal to him.

    The painful sting of her abandonment in his heart hade and gone.

    Apollyon already had the closure he needed by epting the fact that his birth mother wouldn''t love him as he loved her.

    There was no point living a life in denial.

    "Apollyon." Luna ced her hand over his and her brows furrowed in concern, distracting him from his thoughts. "You have gone quiet. Are you alright?"

    He shook his head and pulled himself together before sitting down. "I don''t know."

    "Would you like to talk about it?"

    No.

    He liked to say no, but this was his wife who he trusted��his blood mate.

    A pregnant pause filled by the buzzing of the bees and the quick flutter of pixies'' wings surrounding them.

    Apollyon thought that Luna would ignore the question, but she waited for him to speak.

    He felt immense pressure��a dullness in his chest that wouldn''t go away.

    But she was more patient, letting the awkward tension hang in the air.

    Apollyon couldn''t stand it.

    He wanted to brush his wife off by not responding or scaring her to drop the subject, but he was determined to change his initial reaction.

    He told her the truth instead because insensitivity might hurt his beloved.

    "I want to. I''m just nervous. But maybe after meeting my family��" He blew out a breath. "I don''t know what to expect."

    "Everything will be alright." She reassured him. "I will be by your side throughout this whole ordeal."

    This anxiety...

    Thest time he felt this was when he married his wife.

    "Hold my hand?"

    "Yes."

    "Do you think��" Apollyon asked softly as he wore that stoic mask he wore to shield himself from the hurt, "Do you think she would ept me for what I have be or would she be disappointed?"

    "I don''t know. I might not be your mother but as your wife, I am not disappointed that you are my blood mate." Luna''s green eyes were calm and full of love. "When you truly love someone, you are all in, always trying your best to develop not only for yourself but for me."

    "Sometimes people will struggle to understand you and when they have this trouble, they may well try to fit you into one box or another they are already familiar with. When you don''t fit any of those boxes, you are likely met with disapproval. Let them do it." Lifting a hand, she caressed his face as her fingers lingered on his jawline. "You are not perfect in my eyes but I love you just the same.? As long as you are real, the right people who match you will always be there for you no matter what. And that would also include your mother, Apollyon."

 Chapter 449 - Mother

    <h4>Chapter 449 - Mother</h4>

    ****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ****************************

    Luna enjoyed her time with Apollyon as they talked about anything that came to her mind in the gazebo, and she could also see that her husband enjoyed herpany.

    Apollyon never lost his smile or took his eyes off her as he cradled his head with a hand while his elbow leaned on the table.

    Whenever she got conscious of Apollyon''s undivided attention, she felt this sweet adrenaline rush bubbling deep in her heart simr to how one got intoxicated by overwhelming ecstasy under this summer sunshine, the warm breeze caressing against their skin and the pleasant scent of flowers surrounding the gazebo.

    If they weren''t expecting a visitor right now, Apollyon might have hauled herzy buttocks to the second level and make love to her there.

    This hedge maze was a lover''s paradise.

    Apollyon and Luna surveyed the entire gazebo and never missed the second floor.

    As they climbed upstairs, they realized that the gazebo''s upper level would serve as a royal observatory for simple astronomy��timekeeping, determining star and positions.

    Apollyon told her that those weren''t the only purpose of the observatory.

    Judging from the dark red mattress, silk coverlets, and cushions strategically ced near the telescopes, he knew the location wasn''t only for romantic stargazing or weather forecast.

    It was a ce for a private romantic endeavour between lovers.

    She noticed herself giggling from Apollyon''s ridiculous antics, feeling alive again every time they kissed and every time he got a chance to steal one from her.

    They roamed around the second floor for half an hour, breathing in the fresh air as they listened to birds chirping.

    The sun''s rays turned brighter and hotter than she could feel them scorching the expanse of her skin.

    Over a period of time, the summer day became unbearable as they observed the entirety of the hedge maze.

    Squinting, Luna saw someone approaching the gazebo.

    She expected four other Summer Monarchs to meet them since they were seven chairs pulled back from the circr table. Still, there was only one person, gathering the voluminous skirts of her blue gown and walking towards flights of stairs��rich with an elegance that only a Monarch can pull off.

    She oversaw her steps with her head bowed down, and not once did she nced upwards to see them hang around the second floor.

    Thedy''s bright auburn hair covered her face, so she couldn''t tell who it was.

    When she turned her head towards her husband, Apollyon''s reaction was enough.

    Luna somehow knew that it was his mother.

    Apollyon tugged at her wrist so that they would descend downstairs together because his mother, Empress Ourania, had arrived.

    And she hadn''t brought anyone aside from herself, which was strange.

    What was going on?

    Frown lines marred her forehead.

    Where was Apollyon''s grandfather, who his sister imed about wanting to meet him, then?

    Was that a jest?

    The silence was filled with tension at the round table as their lips were pinched in a tight line while Empress Ourania sat across them, rooted to her spot.

    There was no love lost between mother and son.

    It was cold in the gazebo in the midst of a hot summer.

    Detached.

    These two people might as well be strangers.

    As minutes passed by, it seemed like no one nned to initiate a conversation first.

    Nobody dared to open their mouth and make even a tiny sound, but their limbs moved despite this.

    Luna tapped her fingers rapidly on the wooden surface while her husband''s foot tapped up and down on the smooth marble with impatience.

    Arms crossed, Empress Ourania stared at them with wide blue eyes without really seeing them.

    Her beautiful mature face was as white and pallid as the small silver tiara with the shape of the crescent moon she wore.

    "My child." Finally, Empress Ourania spoke up, yet her voice was soft and trembling from heartbreak, "First and foremost, I would like to talk about the past and I want to hear some of your adventures."

    Despite her unwarranted fears of the so many ways this conversation going downhill, Luna could see the interest and longing in his mother''s countenance to hear what Apollyon had been up to and what he had be.

    "I could tell you a lot of our adventures ever since you left me out in the cold, Empress Ourania, but there was no use going back to yesterday because I was a different person then." Apollyon said with icy bluntness. "You don''t have to treat me as your son. I have a brand new identity now after your abandonment." He tilted his head and smirked, "One you don''t need to know better."

    There was a sh of agony and hurt in her Prussian Blue eyes before her expression shuttered.

    Empress Ourania desired for him to share so she could be entertained and, perhaps, get to know them a little better.

    Luna would have loved to share her story to his mother too��how she came from the Sacred Valley as an Amazon and turned into a High Priestess to save the Vampire King who became the Empress of the Vampire Realm,ter on.

    Anything as long as she could revive this dead conversation.

    Relieving the past was no good, and that wouldn''t help Apollyon''s mother from knowing her son.

    Even Luna figured out her husband had changed too much that he was unrecognizable.

    It was time to move forward.

    "Empress Ourania." Snaking an arm against Apollyon, who sat beside her, Luna attempted to diffuse the situation. "The history is not a way to establish a connection with my husband. He was a different man now."

    Apollyon couldn''t heal from his mother''s abandonment if they kept reopening the wound, taking a trip down the memoryne, instead of leaving it be until it healed into nothing but a scar.

    Empress Ourania''s gaze shifted from Apollyon to hers.

    Tiny hairs lifted on her nape and arms when her lips curled in resentment.

    At her.

    But why was she angry at Luna?

    What did she do?

    Empress Ourania was the one who had issues with her son.

    Not her!

    Was it wrong for her to be the mediator as Apollyon''s wife?

    There was a tightness in Empress Ourania''s expression when she lowered her voice. "I would have preferred if I talk? to my son privately, Lady."

    "I am not your son, Empress Ourania." The muscles around his arm tensed as Apollyon bared his teeth, nostrils ring. "You are just a mere princess from the Summer Courts who gave birth to me."

    "Apollyon!" Luna whisper-shouted.

    There was no need to bebative so early in the morning.

    The Empress wasn''t the enemy.

    "��and my wife stays here with me. What you say wouldn''t matter whether or not she was with me." Apollyon went on heatedly as if it was a grave insult for his mother even to suggest that. "No amount of conversations can change my view of? you, mother."

    Gasping, Empress Ourania covered her mouth in shock. "I��"

    Her eyes appeared damp and overly bright, as if she was about to cry.

    As if on cue, tears rolled down her cheeks, and she wiped them away with grace.

    That was the first time today that Apollyon called her ''mother,'' but the word was spat andced with venom.

    "��and don''t? you call my wife ady. She has a name." Apollyon''s gaze was hard, but the deep timbre of his voice was devoid of aggression. "I am the current Vampire King and this is my wife, Empress Luna."

    "I apologize for my errors." Empress Ourania said. "Vampire King. Empress Luna."

    Apollyon jutted his chin in smug arrogance, satisfied that he put his mother in her ce.

    Luna hated this dark side of Apollyon, who took pleasure in hurting other people so that he could feel better.

    His malicious traits began to break free from the surface of his subconscious, and his mother was the trigger.

    Luna raised both of her hands levelled to her chest in a gesture to calm them down, and began, "Erase your prejudices against each other, Empress Ourania. Apollyon. We should start anew without having arguments of where this rtionship went wrong." Apollyon and his mother should focus on creating new memories and share recent experiences instead of throwing barbs at each other. The past will not leave a powerful impact on each otherpared to the present. "Let''s keep everything civil."

    "I also want to create a nk te for me and? you, Apollyon." Empress Ourania gave Apollyon a pained stare as wrinkles bunched around her gorgeous blue eyes. "��but it felt like you aren''t interested in establishing a brand new connection with me as your mother."

    "We should stop living in the past. Stop musing over what once was and forever speaking about it." Apollyon said grimly.

    "It was you who is constantly referring to the past, my son." Empress Ourania told Apollyon sadly. "Not me. Your memories of me are overriding the present conversation and I couldn''t do anything about it." She wrung her hands as her shoulders curled over her chest. "You abhorred me because in your eyes I was a bad mother. When all I did was protect you from your father''s ire."

    Empress Ourania''a arm was outstretched as she reached for Luna''s hand. "You must help me make my son understand, Empress Luna."

    "Don''t believe her, wife. This was all an act." Apollyon''s blue eyes were now tainted by a darkness she couldn''t exin.? "Don''t let that woman brainwash you."

    It was the watchful eyes of a predator aimed at his own mother.

    "Apollyon."

    "You are the one who never left me. So she will try hard to steal you away from me, persuade you that the fallout wasn''t her fault. Her goal was to make me suffer like my father, King Gwythyr, did to her from the start. She think I was an extension of him." Apollyon spat as he pulled Luna''s hand away from her mother''s reach. "That I would make her suffer as well. She didn''t really love me. She desired to take a revenge on my father. Unfortunately, he was dead before she could even do that."

    "Apollyon." Luna pointed out gently as she rested a hand on his thigh. "You must stop using your mother with things you can''t prove."

    Luna saw a sudden sh of light which almost blinded her.

    She closed her eyes in hopes of getting rid of it but still, lightning-sparked behind her closed lids. When she opened her eyes wide, Luna flinched when she began to see colours and energy fields forming shapes around beings, especially Apollyon''s mother.

    She can glimpse them so clearly and crystal that she felt she was losing her mind.

 Chapter 450 - Twin Tempers

    <h4>Chapter 450 - Twin Tempers</h4>

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    When she opened her eyes wide, Luna flinched when she began to see colors and energy fields forming shapes around beings, especially Apollyon''s mother.

    Frozen in ce, she can glimpse them so clear and crystal that she felt she was losing her mind.

    ck silhouettes danced like mes, creeping around her the crown of her head and shoulders.

    The expanse of her exposed skin felt strange like she could feel this malicious gazeing from Empress Ourania''s aura resting on her.

    Auras didn''t feel like spirits such as this one.

    Something she couldn''t pinpoint was attached to Apollyon''s mother.

    Why was her aura dim and a bit sinister?

    Tempted to give in to her fear and tell Apollyon and his mother about what she felt, Luna banished this eerie sensation by herself and tried to purify the energy around them.

    It might just be a dark entitying close to Empress Ourania''s aura. But it didn''t actuallye from her.

    There was no need to rm them if she could handle it.

    Bringing forth her Archdemon Magic, she willed for a small dark cloud that she could only see and infused it with a stronger power to feed on this unknown entity in Empress Ourania''s atmosphere.

    She watched the ck cloud formed its mouth into an ''O'' above Empress Ourania''s head to slurp the shadows around the menace in her aura, but nothing happened.

    Surprised, her summoned cloud''s eyes were as wide as its mouth as it flew above them in a panic, wondering why his task didn''t work as it should be despite the strength of its suction.

    It almost swallowed Empress Ourania''s hair in her mouth.

    From an outsider''s perspective, Apollyon''s mother gathered her long auburn hair and drew it to the right side, and safely tucking them over her shoulder from the strong warm winds.

    Luna wiped the sweat on her forehead with her palms and gave up after her little cloud did it three more times.

    The ominous shadows in her aura remained.

    She snapped a finger, and her summoned cloud vanished into dark tendrils of smoke.

    Luna brought her attention back to the conversation at hand.

    Empress Ourania sat quietly as she waited for Apollyon to finish his outburst. "There is no need to be wary about sharing yourself to me, Apollyon, if? you would only allow yourself." She crossed her legs and rested her hands primly on her knees. "I am your mother. I wouldn''t force you to do anything that you don''t want."

    That''s good." Apollyon nodded in agreement, and Luna could hear the sarcasm in his words. "I would not allow anyone from the Summer Courts to pressure me into things, either."

    Empress Ourania casually dabbed the corners of her eyes with a dainty handkerchief.

    "Since, I''m already here, I should talk about myself." Maintaining eye contact with his son, she added, "You are determined to shut me down when I asked you questions about yourself and your adventures."

    "I don''t understand why you are expecting a happy reunion in the first ce when you have disowned me based from your actions." Apollyon responded without bitterness. "I might be a part Fae but nothing in my life is a fairy tale. I had my share of hardships. You weren''t there to support me when I needed you and I have lived with that. It is what it is."

    " I was trying to be polite and put you at ease since this is your first time in the Summer Realm." Her mother pointed out. "This was also the first time since we talked since I left you in the Vampire Realm��"

    "��so that I could fend for myself against the Blood Beast which possessed me--"

    "��which I couldn''t do anything to help you get rid of it." Her mother cut him off. "You must have preferred that I die along with King Gwythyr, right?"

    "I didn''t prefer it." The stark shadow on the delicate skin under his eyes made him appear emotionally exhausted. "It was a fact I believed to be true for the rest of my existence with the Blood Beast."

    Empress Ourania gave her another one of her frosty nces before shifting them to her son, "Your wife suggested that we should move on to the present. But every time I say something, you keep on connecting it back to the past, Apollyon. You said that you have no emotions for me but it felt like you have a suppressed resentment in your heart. I want us to talk about it, one-on-one, but you don''t want to." Apollyon met her gaze head-on now that she was more offensive rather than defensive, "You stubbornly bring your Empress into the picture when this issue was between you and I. You are using her as a shield to hide from me because you hated dealing with me. Isn''t that it? In your mind, I was already dead!"

    Luna was tempted to roll her eyes at Empress Ourania.

    Why was she constantly bring her up again when she kept her mouth shut all this time and left them to argue?

    Did she have an issue specifically with her, or was she just jealous because Luna has Apollyon''s loyalty with her?

    "Yes, you are right." Apollyon gave him a half-shrug. "You are already dead to me. And it isn''t my habit to bring back dead. That will only haunt me for the rest of my immortality."

    Luna''s mouth fell open, shocked that her husband can dare say that in front of his mother without holding a part of himself back.

    He must have really hated his mother to remind her of her shorings over and over again.

    At least, there were no more tears except anger scrunching her lovely face.

    Chills ran down Luna''s spine when she heard Empress Ourania''sughter. "Then, if being a ghost is the only way I can return to you, then I will haunt you until you wee me back as your mother. Apollyon."

    "You don''t know how much I love you and miss? you but King Gwythyr, your father, was determined to keep us apart!"

 Chapter 451 - Manipulative King

    <h4>Chapter 451 - Maniptive King</h4>

    ****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ****************************

    "You don''t know how much I love you and miss you, but King Gwythyr, your father, was determined to keep us apart!" In an instant, the light, airy voice lowered as she pounded her fists against the table, breathing hard. "It breaks my heart, but I have no choice to leave you alone because I am a mere Empress who has no power over the Vampire Realm."

    Empress Ourania''s statement raised questions inside her mind, but she didn''t dare to speak them because she already knew the answer.

    The Vampire Realm came from a patriarchal civilization, and Apollyon had told her that.

    He learned things from his father and whether he was a good teacher or not was questionable. Luna shouldn''t be surprised that the Empress had no power despite her rank if it was the King who said so.

    "A King assessed the state of the Vampire Realm. King Gwythyr was the one who make decisions and rule ordingly. Your father had a dual nature. He was either seated in benevolence and strength, fixing the long-standing discrepancies of the Kingdom and guiding the Kingdom towards peace. Sometimes, he was corrupt, oppressing the weak out of the need to control."? The Empress exined.

    Luna watched her clench and unclenched her fists as she continued, "He was unpredictable and he could switch and easily go to the extreme sides of the spectrum. King Gwythyr had taken the throne with grace and humility but when someone challenged him, he can act from a ce of fear, scrambling to uphold his image and power to protect his ego because he considered me a threat."

    "I simply followed your father''s wish, Apollyon. It was his wish that I separate myself from you. I have to act like I don''t care about you so that he can''t use you against me. To control me. " Her voice trembled as if she was trying her best not tosh out at them. "But you couldn''t me the King anymore for your woes when you killed him yourself. So, now you made it your sacred mission to torment me just like how he made the both of us suffer!"

    "You are lying!"

    "You got everything wrong! You just confirmed my suspicion, Apollyon! Your father, that bastard, had brainwashed you to hate me! " When she spat those words out, she exhaled a loud breath as if arge thorn was removed out of her chest.

    "No. I chose to believe him! What he told me about you matched your actions as I grew older!" Apollyon shot back as he mmed the table this time. Empress Ourania and Luna flinched as the circr table made of ironwood cracked under Apollyon''s palms. "You don''t have to lie and neither would you twist this sick narrative in favor of you just because King Gwythyr was dead! He didn''t show me much affection except for being the provider and I am alright with it. But. You! You didn''t even try so don''t change my mind anymore!"

    "Husband. Please." Luna''s hand gripped the back of his thigh. "Sit down."

    Apollyon didn''t listen as he jabbed a finger at his mother.

    "I don''t believe you! I will not allow you to twist our history! It was father who told me that you have washed your hands off me. You gave me so that he could take care of me since I was the heir he desired. That you were done with me after you sessfully provided him a heir." Apollyon''s face was flushed as he bared his teeth. "He let me know as a young boy that you don''t have maternal instincts left in you to care for a child in this unwanted marriage, iming that it should be your parents who should raise me because they were the ones who forced you! You would rather be alone in Scleranthus and paint your artwork on your heart''s content than deal with me."

    "Apollyon." Luna made her voice louder as she stood up from her chair and circled an arm around his back, urging him to sit down. "Don''t lose your cool."

    "Apollyon!" She repeated sharply since Apollyon must not have heard her request the first time. "Let''s change the subject into a less explosive one please."

    Why are Faeries from the Summer Courts so.... vtile?

    When she squeezed Apollyon''s biceps to the point of bruising, that was when her husband turned his head and looked at her with bloodshot eyes.

    Apollyon''s dead nk stare focused on her face as if he realized for the first time that she was right there with him.

    There was a pounding in her ears when she saw that fiery gaze consumed by his rage.

    Apollyon pulled his chair back and sat down.

    Luna followed and flopped back to her chair from all this zing tension.

    Clearing her throat, Empress Ourania heeded her call and changed the subject. "I was d to know that no one from the Summer Courts coerced you into visiting the this Realm. It was your decision to see your family. The Summer Monarchs. And If Princess Sapphire hadn''t told you that I was alive,? you wouldn''t even dare to set foot in here. I don''t understand why you? visited the Spring Realms first instead of prioritizing your family."

    Apollyon shifted his strategy, and this time, he kept his rage under wraps. "It''s our decision. Most especially, my wife did convince me to visit the Summer Realm."? He added, his face smooth and expressionless. "My Empress wants me to see and talk to you if I still need to tie up loose ends between the both of us. Well, it turned out that the loose ends didn''t exist in the first ce."

    "Apollyon." There was a hesitation before Empress Ourania spoke as if she was weighing her words. "Are you not happy that I''m alive and well after all those years where you thought that I was dead?"

    A bark ofughter was caught in his throat but he tried to wear an inscrutable expression, instead. "I don''t feel anything except apathy. I? epted that you are as my dead as my father for a long time. It wouldn''t make a difference."

 Chapter 452 - Catty Behavior

    <h4>Chapter 452 - Catty Behavior</h4>

    *************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    **************************

    A bark ofughter was caught in his throat, but instead, he tried to wear an inscrutable expression. "I don''t feel anything except apathy. I epted that you are as my dead as my father for a long time. It wouldn''t make a difference." Tilting his head, Apollyon gave her a condescending smile. "Why are you so determined to pull emotions out of me when there was nothing to pull out? I might have some magic in my blood but I can''t pluck them out of thin air."

    His Empress asked him to be cid when it came to his mother, but he couldn''t forget how Empress Ourania triggered him with just one utterance.

    Earlier, Apollyon contemted being polite to his mother despite his abandonment.

    He desired to be the bigger person--someone that his wife would be proud of him--, but when his mother asked him to get rid of Luna from the gazebo and leave her out of the conversation, Apollyon took that disrespect personally.

    His mother wanted to talk to Apollyon privately as if his wife had no right to listen to their exchange.

    And Ourania called Luna a ''youngdy'' instead of her real title as ''Empress''?

    He narrowed his eyes at her in suspicion.

    Was this a calcted backhandedpliment to his wife he picked up on?

    So, Empress Ourania had no ns to acknowledge Luna as his wife and the new Empress of the Vampire Realm.

    Why was that?

    Was this an overt disapproval of her as a daughter-inw since she held? a special role in his life?

    A knot twisted in his gut.

    But why��when the three of them can call each other ''family'' on paper?

    Princess Sapphire was the Summer Courts'' emissary.

    Didn''t she inform their mother that Apollyon would arrive in the Summer Realm, bringing his mate with him?

    Was she even aware that he was blood bonded with Luna like how she was blood bonded with King Gwythyr?

    Wait a minute��

    A niggling thought crossed his mind.

    "How did you live, mother, when you are blood bonded with my father?" Apollyon asked, watching every nuance of her reaction and her every quickened breath.

    No clue was given from that.

    Empress Ourania nced down on the table.

    She knew better not to bite the bait.

    "It''s a secret I would bring with me to the afterlife."

    Apollyon pressed on as he shot her an using nce. "Are you telling me you found a way to break a mating bond? Isn''t that impossible to do without assistance from a Higher Power such as a god or a goddess?"

    "It''s none of you concern anymore." Empress Ourania met his gaze.

    She raised her chin as if daring him to challenge her. "I already broke the blood bond with King Gwythyr so that he wouldn''t waste my precious life and suffer with him. I have already suffered enough in his hands."

    Brows wrinkled in his forehead.

    Apollyon was bewildered by this.

    Empress Ourania''s words were anathema to everything he had believed about his parents.

    Now, he was lost, afraid that his memories about his mother were failing him.

    Who was at fault that their rtionship had turned into this?

    He can feel his mother''s love when he was a child, but as he grew older, Empress Ourania didn''t want to see him anymore and locked herself in Scleranthus.

    Who was lying between the three of them?

    Frustrated, Apollyon''s hackles rose as he gritted his teeth. "I think you arepelled to keep your mouth shut regarding this. You had a vow to someone else that you wouldn''t reveal how you did it."

    "When your half-sister returned to the Summer Pce after you two are settled in the Vinca Inn, Princess Sapphire told me something I was curious about." Empress Ourania lifted her gaze and looked at him directly in the eye, searching for the depths of them while her long, bright auburn hair flitting in the warm, balmy breeze.

    Prussian-blue to Prussian blue.

    Both of them have the exact eye color, and he resented the fact.

    "I came here, determined to find the answer. Was it true that you thought you have also killed me? the night after an Archdemon possessed your mind and body?"

    He gave a small nod. "Yes."

    His mother asked calmly, "Were you guilty about it before you found out that I was alive?"

    Apollyon said nothing, hating that she was capable now of acting serenepared to before.

    ''This wasn''t good.'' His jaws clenched in annoyance.

    Getting under her skin was a mission he would pursue. "If I feel guilty, would that make you a good mother?"

    When Empress Ourania left the Vampire Realm and arrived at the Summer Courts, her parents must have weed her back to their arms and showered her with kisses.

    Did she remember him as the beloved son she had left alone to rule over the Vampire Realm and deal with an Archdemon possession at the same time without anyone to stand behind him--the support he needed from a loved one tofort and soothe him every time he came back to himself��-that all will be back to normal soon even if they were white lies?

    He would have asked her that question, but he knew that would initiate a long-standing argument.

    Apollyon''s mother appeared beautiful with her hair down, and the blue dress matched her eyes.

    Everything about his Fae mother was angelic and ethereal��seraphim in this Material Realm.

    If he was honest, Apollyon could see a part of himself in her because they do resemble each other. His father added a wild and dangerous edge to his stark masculine features, but he was more grateful to his mother''s superior genes.

    Apollyon could understand why King Gwythyr was obsessed with her peerless beauty, which was almost divine, not letting other men in the Vampire Realm see her.

    His mother''s had reddish freckles scattered like stars around the milky-white gxy of her delicate elven features.

    In his view, Empress Ourania was still the same when? she left him except for the ancient wisdom within her gaze.

    Both of them were separated for millennia.

    Of course, they were different from who they used to be before.

    He was even surprised that his mother hadn''t forgotten him until now, even if he expected her to.

    Did she hark back on his existence every time she stared in the mirror to see those same Prussian Blues staring back at her?

    "You can''t me me for leaving you in the Vampire Realm." Apollyon exhaled a harsh breath as anger, hurt, and resentment turned his muscles rigid. How many times did he have to hear his mother justifying her actions with this stupid, selfish reasons��that what she did was the right thing? "��and I might be from the Summer Courts but you are still part of the family. You are safe here."

    "As one of the Summer Monarchs, you are wee to seek refuge here." His mother proposed. "The Summer Realm is a safe ce for you to go."

    "I admit that I also need to satisfy my curiosity if you were real. That you were alive like what Princess Sapphire told me. I don''t really care much aside from those two reasons." Apollyon''s response was solemn. "I am here to see it for myself if Empress Ourania was alive. d that you''re alive and well, I would tell you that, if that would make me conciliatory in your eyes."

    "I don''t see you as my mother now, Empress Ourania, and I would like to keep it that way." He continued, "I will promise to be amiable as long as you don''t dare call me son ever again. We are two Monarchs from different Realms who met here in this location to discuss an alliance."

    "The alliance huh?" Empress Ourania''s smile was dry as she threw a quick nce at Luna who was listening to their exchange in silence.

    Apollyon reached out for her hand, locking their fingers together so that she would feel included even if this was nothing to do with her.

    "You are just like your father. Blunt and straight to the point." She might have said this kindly, but all this information turned into sarcastic remarks when his brain processed them.

    "We will have a conversation about that. It would be odd if a Faerie Court didn''t have an agenda." Apollyon said warily as he watched his mother''s odd behavior around his wife. "I see that we are waiting for four more people to arrive."

    "Your Grandfather will be here soon as well as Queen Titania and my daughter, Sapphire."

    Invisible ws prickled on the inside of his skin. "Who is Sapphire''s father?"

    "A lover." She replied cryptically.

    "You must have a strange lover." Luna observed and she found this as an opening to rejoin the discussion. "Princess Sapphire had her wings on each side of her face. You know that that''s not what Faeries from the Summer Courts looked like."

    "It does not concern you." Empress Ourania''s arms folded as annoyance crossed her features.

    "When ites to my only daughter, I don''t mind following your wishes, Apollyon." She ignored his wife for the hundredth time and it bothered him, "We will be allies here. Not mother and son."

    Then you don''t need the title as the Empress of the Vampire Realm, Princess Ourania." Apollyon said, "My wife had that title now."

    A burst of feminineughter from the Summer Princess. "Do what you want, King Apollyon. I don''t care about that useless title in the Vampire Realm. I''m d that I got rid of you and your father when you don''t even give me the bare minimum of the love that I deserved."

 Chapter 453 - Its Hot In Here

    <h4>Chapter 453 - It''s Hot In Here</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (May 2021)

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    Running her hands around her long silver hair, Luna nced around the gazebo for the remaining guests as she licked her chapped lips.

    The three of them were eyeballing each other in there for almost an hour, and the Summer King and Queen hadn''t arrived yet.

    Releasing heavy breaths, Luna massaged her temples.

    The sun''s fever must have passed on to her, giving her a massive headache.

    Snow would be good right now, but that would be impossible in this Realm.

    She was a vampire, but her body wasn''t adjusting ordingly like Apollyon, and she didn''t know why.

    Something was wrong with her.

    "Where are they, Empress Ourania?" Frowning, Luna wiped the sweat off her forehead before lifting her aquamarine skirts to bare her inner thighs under the table.

    She will not care about proper decorum for now.

    At least she hadn''t taken her clothes off.

    "The clock ticked and ticked to mark the passing of every second." Turning his head to check if she was alright, Apollyon''s blue eyes fell on her milky thighs and stayed there, mesmerized that his callused palm abruptlynded on her left leg.

    He murmured absently, "We are the Royals from the Vampire Realm. If you kept us waiting like this, I will see this as a disrespectter on."

    ''What a naughty gentleman.'' Fighting a smile, Luna exhaled as if that would provide her the cool air she desired so that her gowns could at least be tolerable.

    Her smile dropped when she became more aware of the texture of her clothes.

    The gown she wore was one of many gowns the dressmaker from the marketce delivered at Vinca Inn.

    Did it have to be this hot if she wore these gowns, which already have a thin fabricpared to other Realms?

    Weren''t these clothes tailored and adjusted to the weather in this Realm, or her body couldn''t adjust?

    "We have all the time in the world, Empress Luna. King Apollyon. It''s not like you are in a rush. There is no sign of imminent danger around," Empress Ourania scrutinized her son, and Luna swore those Prussian Blue eyes appeared like an eagle.

    Her tone was a little sharp as well.

    Did she know what Apollyon was doing, flirting with her and stroking her inner thigh in broad daylight while his mother was just across the table?

    Luna''s hand cupped the back of Apollyon''s and pushed them out of her knee while she nudged her thick skirts down.

    She might be inappropriate with her skirts earlier, but exposing her mmy legs will make her husband shameless as well. "��please be patient." Princess Ourania''s tone was impatient. "I told you that they will be here soon."

    "They aren''t moving quickly enough. I''m not a patient King, Princess Ourania. We are not here to chat forever. If this isn''t important, my wife and I have to move on." Apollyon informed Empress Ourania, and Luna supported him by saying, "Please understand, Princess Ourania. We have left our Kingdom for too long without its King''s supervision."

    Despite being surrounded by tall vertical hedges made of shrubs and other flowers blooming in the summer as well as the cool shade of the gazebo, Luna could still the heat prickling under her skin as it permeated in their surroundings.

    The fabric of her gown pressed to the sweat trickling down her back and against her legs was an irritation she didn''t need this morning.

    Apollyon''s hand rested on her back.

    He must have noticed that she sweltered from the high temperature.

    With the use of Fae Magic, Apollyon called on the winds to wrap around the gazebo to cool her skin.

    Luna breathed a sigh with relief when her heartbeat slowed, and her body temperature decreased.

    Her husband''s attentiveness of how she felt at that moment was much appreciated.

    "I wonder about that��." Empress Ourania trailed off as she narrowed her eyes at her. "I only heard that you were asleep for a long time in the Vampire Realm, Empress Luna, because someone have ced a curse on you."

    She must be referring to the fact that they left their Kingdom because they have business at the Spring Courts.

    "Yes, Princess. That''s true." Luna replied while Apollyon rested his hand on her leg, which was already covered by the blue-green skirts of her frock. "The Spring Monarchs had helped me and my husband to find a witch doctor to cure me of my affliction."

    Luna was amazed that she told a lie that in a straight face.

    ''"Hmm." A soft hum at the back of her throat. "Who was this witch doctor, King Apollyon?"

    Raising an eyebrow, Apollyon didn''t think that Empress Ourania would want to get the specifics. "I don''t remember. I didn''t give much importance to the old woman. I only bought the potion from her."

    Luna kept her face nk, yet she was d that Apollyon''s countenance didn''t change when he pulled those lies out of thin air.

    Hopefully, their stories would match, and his mother wouldn''t be too suspicious, but the way she pinched her lips together told Luna something.

    Can a Faerie Monarch know if someone was lying, or was that only limited to the fact that they couldn''t lie?

    Princess Ourania might be a powerful Monarch from the Summer Courts, so she can probably get away if she attempted to lie, twist her words or find a way to move around it.

    But what if what she told Apollyon was the truth��that it was King Gwythyr who separated the two of them?

    Was Empress Ourania untrustworthy, or was she a mere victim of her own circumstances like Luna''s experiences with the Archdemons?

    "I find that strange that you didn''t cure her first when you are well-versed with Fae Magic, Apollyon." Princess Ourania leaned in closer to the table and lowered her voice in a whisper. "Every Fae Monarch is well-versed with Fae Magic. What can? the best witch doctor heal than a Fae Monarch couldn''t fix?" A fake smile. "The Spring Monarchs didn''t want to help you from the start."

 Chapter 454 - Personal Agendas

    <h4>Chapter 454 - Personal Agendas</h4>

    New Chapter For the Highest Tier (May 2021)

    ****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ****************************

    "No. They only rmended me their royal witch doctors" Apollyon''s hand on Luna''s leg tightened in a gentle squeeze as if in reassurance or perhaps, he wanted to touch her there.

    Her lips curved upward in amusement as she stared at the questionable hand.

    Apollyon can either be bold and possessive sometimes. "��and even if a Spring Monarch offered to heal my wife, I wouldn''t let them touch a single hair in her head."

    Princess Ourania recoiled at Apollyon''s words and shuddered.

    Luna was about to ask what was wrong with her, but she already spoke, "Thatst statement made me nauseous, child, paired with that familiar face of yours." Her voice shook along with her hands as she brought them close to her chest.

    Empress Ourania didn''t dare remove her gaze from Apollyon.

    Her Prussian Blue eyes were wide marbles taking over her face, and she looked like she had seen a ghost. "That voice. That expression when you said it. You sound like your father." One hand stroked her throat as a way tofort me. "I remember how he used to tell me that nobody would touch a single hair of my head and he took that literally. I only went out of Scleranthus every full moon. To provide him an heir."

    Luna didn''t know what to say to that.

    Based on these conversations and snippets of gossip here and there, Apollyon''s father seemed to be a ruthless King and a horrible husband.

    There was no need to tell her about this fact because she already got a hunch from the way Apollyon acted at the beginning of the rtionship.

    He was raised by a chauvinist who only saw women as an object for pleasure.

    The? Kings in the Vampire Realm owned a Harem ever since the Kingdom rose to power.

    Luna couldn''t me the Blood Beast for taking charge when he was all out having fun, draining blood and eating souls of females and when the problem already existed before that.

    Lilith cursing Apollyon by attaching an Archdemon to his vessel only made matters worse in the Vampire Realm.

    "I am not like King Gwythyr, Princess Ourania."? Apollyon said darkly. "Don''t lump me in with my father just because I was his son. You must have seen him in my face since you look spooked."

    Perhaps, her husband hit the nail right on its head because now, Empress Ourania was fingering her ne like it was her personal tic.

    Watching her act like this made Luna''s stomach quiver.

    Apollyon''s mother wasn''t herself in the span of a few minutes as her nk stare recalled disturbing memories only she can see. "No need to be scared that I would hurt you because we are different people with different experience. No two people can be exactly the same."

    Grimacing, she pressed a hand on her stomach. "You look like him and you sound like him. This is why I didn''t want to see you."

    "What changed your mind?"

    "I want to be brave. I want to face my fears." Empress Ourania''s voice broke as she leaned back to her chair.

    When she looked at Apollyon, her eyes appeared cold, dead and t.

    It was enough of an indication that his mother wasn''t pleased with this reunion after all.

    One shouldn''t one''s expectations too high.

    Disappointment will feel like the world was crashing down on one''s feet.

    "The tension had escted between you and the Spring Courts. That''s why I thought it would be better if I sent Sapphire to tell you the truth so that I can meet you. It''s now or never."

    Apollyon snorted. "This meeting is clearly made me an experiment to test your inner power, Princess, and we are the same. Did I traumatize you?"

    Sometimes, Luna liked to pinch Apollyon''s forearm hard, urging him to be morepassionate?

    Luna''s heart reached out to his mother.

    What had she experienced in her arranged marriage with King Gwythr which made her react like this?

    His mother''s behaviour was clearly distressed, and Apollyon still had the nerve to jest about something sensitive?

    She shook her head.

    Perhaps, Apollyon didn''t know how to read the atmosphere properly!

    "Don''t be like him. You are too possessive that you might clip out your wife''s wings and ce her in cage, strangling the freedom out of her." Princess Ourania warned, and her Prussian blues trembled when she nced at Luna as if she was watching her death right in front of her eyes.

    "It''s alright, Princess Ourania. Your concern about us is much appreciated." Luna spoke in a quiet, gentle voice, praying that would assuage the unhealed wounds in her mind and heart inflicted by King Gwythyr.

    May Luna''s words be a healing balm to soothe the agony and pain she had endured before she figured out how to break their blood bond. "The Vampire King did that before and I gave him a piece of my mind."

    "Oh." She prolonged the ''o'' as she shot her a nce. "Did he? That wasn''t news to me, Empress Luna." Her jaw was set, and she swore that her voice raised a bit, "After all, an apple didn''t fall far from the tree."

    Tilting her head to the side, Luna wondered if there was a veiled jibe in her words as she observed her.

    They said that eyes were the windows to the soul, but�� why can she feel the hostility in her gaze? Luna tried to ignore it, but she couldn''t help but assess if Princess Ourania was on their side.

    What was her personal agenda in meeting with her son now when she had so many chances to do so when Apollyon announced to the Realms that he got rid of the Blood Beast?

    "Every time I recalled the memories I have whenever those situationes up, it amused me now instead of being angry all over again. Those moments where I feel like we were bulls locking horns fighting each other head to head. Apollyon was stubborn but I was more stubborn than him." Luna said.

 Chapter 455 - This Love

    <h4>Chapter 455 - This Love</h4>

    New Chapter for Highest Tier (May 2021)

    ******************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ******************************

    "There were a lot of obstacles thrown on our way that went on for a long time."

    "That sums up my connection with King Gwythyr, my dear." She shed them an ironic smile before she stared down at her hands and avoided eye contact.? "I was burned by his callousness many times and I kept forgiving him. Every time I do that, I lose a part of myself which ultimately kept me sane until the prison became a safe space for me. "

    "The Pce of Scleranthus was the only ce providing me with security that not even my mate could give. I collected the hurt he inflicted on me in thousand jars and all of them were full until I learn to detach Like you, King Apollyon, I also changed." Princess Ourania said bluntly, sharing her history without any resistance. This time, Apollyon was quiet. "King Gwythr had changed me."

    For the worse.

    How unfortunate!

    These were the times where she could count herself lucky when she married Apollyon�� and not some bastard like King Gwythyr, who wasn''t willing to get off his high horse.

    Well, Luna forgot she was still blood bonded to the Archdemon of Gluttony.

    It would be difficult topare the two since the other one was an Archdemon, but wouldn''t it be simr?

    "Problems kept on cropping up as if Fate was determined to keep us apart. But the mating bond made our connection stronger. We did not allow that to destroy us." Luna told her, thinking that this was the only way to console Empress Ourania from the suffering in King Gwythyr''s hands.

    A downturned mouth.

    "The mating bond can''t do anything to improve a rtionship." She nced at Luna with pity. "Not breaking free from the shackles is self-torture."

    "No,Princess Ourania. We never gave up and parted ways even if I was determined to be free from Apollyon at that time."? Luna said as she embellished the memory in her mind,? "Looking back, I realized I was stupid. Why would I leave someone like him when all he did was love me in his own way? It might not be the right way for me. But Apollyon made some adjustments and it showed."

    "Good for you that Apollyon caught on to the fact that you can''t have someone wrapped around your finger forever." Empress Ourania said bitterly.

    Luna mped her lips together.

    She knew Apollyon''s mother had be jaded to the men in her previous life at the Vampire Realm.

    She will not add to the hatred over Apollyon''s male vampire ancestors.

    She shook her head and replied, "It''s a trial and error. Nothing is a perfect rtionship because the people involved aren''t perfect. Apollyon wasn''t ashamed to let me feel how important I was to him. I saw courage in his vulnerability." It gave her so much strength and confidence to be real and open up more when she saw the sincerity in Apollyon''s glowing eyes gazing at her. "I confess there were times where she felt unadulterated fear of feeling like a fool in front of him. That everything he told me was a lie."

    Apollyon''srge was gentle against her cheek as he cupped her face. "Beloved, you should trust me always."

    "I''m learning, beloved, every single day." It was the hardest thing she had ever done��trusting a person after a series of betrayals. Even if everything in her shouted warnings not to pour all of her faith into him, Luna still tried her best not to let her fears hold her back. That trust made their rtionshipe this far. Honesty might hurt them, but it had set them free.

    Apollyon had proven himself to earn her loyalty.

    What else was there to prove?

    "When it came to love, Apollyon and I�� we both speak differentnguages. But we tried to understand them despite the confusion. We both lowered down our pride to make it work. It was hard." It was harder than they would have ever thought�� "��-but Apollyon was willing to listen because he didn''t want to lose me, either."

    "Your father was very afraid to lose me, King Apollyon, but that didn''t stop him from treating me like a pricelessmodity."

    "Being with Apollyon made me valuemunication." Through these challenges, they got to know things about each other. Both of them learned to understand themselves in this rtionship. "Perhaps, King Gwythyr and you, Empress Ourania, arecking in that area."

    "It happened a long time ago, dear." She heaved a dramatic sigh. "He isn''t going to materialize from his lost ashes anytime soon."

    "Talking to each other have increased the intimacy between us and it continued to improve. We also rest the urge to worry, fret and rush into something we hadn''t decided on as a couple. I learned how to decide things in consideration of his feelings. And him, as well." They never forget to take a moment to slow down to attend to their responsibilities in the rtionship. Most of all, we didn''t care about what other people would say about us. "We don''t base on our love on pleasing others. I didn''t force myself to stay. Sticking with Apollyonter became a decision of mine aside from this blood bond after he proved himself time and time again that he will be loyal to me."

    Every fight felt like they were in the middle of the whirlwind��in the eye of the storm.

    They have to be calm so that they would fix the underlying core of their issue.

    "I want to talk to my wife while we watch the sunrise, bathing in the moonlight while we gaze at the stars as we sleep out in the open or strolling with her in the forest, watcheing the leaves changing color. Time stopped and worry seemed to slip away whenever I am with my Empress and I cherished every moment. We enjoy each other''spany. I treat her like it was thest day I will ever see her again."

 Chapter 456 - Not Cut From The Same Cloth

    <h4>Chapter 456 - Not Cut From The Same Cloth</h4>

    New Chapter for Highest Tier (May 2021)

    *************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    *************************

    "I want to talk to my wife while we watch the sunrise, bathing in the moonlight while we gaze at the stars as we sleep out in the open or strolling with her in the forest, watching the leaves change color." Apollyon told her as he dropped his hand and returned his gaze to his mother.

    "How romantic!~" Wearing a forced smile, Empress Ourania chirped as she pped her hands twice in approval but then she broke eye contact and nced down, smoothing down the skirts of her gown.

    Her bodynguage didn''t match her expression at all, but he didn''t allow that to affect him.

    "We enjoy each other''spany. I treat her like it was thest day I will ever see her again." Apollyon said fondly, his lips curving upward.

    Hearing a soft whimper, Apollyon looked at Luna again and found her shedding tears.

    Thest line must have got her.

    Her eyes were bloodshot as she fought back tears.

    Empress Ourania might not understand the real reason why Luna cried, but Apollyon prayed every day that it wouldn''t be thest day.

    "That''s great!" Apollyon could sense the sarcastic tone from a mile away as she crossed her arms over her chest, her lips a white sh as she gave them a wry smile.

    They weren''t stupid!

    Grinding his teeth, Apollyon brows knitted into a scowl.

    Was there something wrong with telling his mother how much he loved Luna?

    Did they have to ruin their parade?

    If she was a good mother, she should be happy for them!

    Was it that hard not to spread negativity when they first met each other after a long time?

    Shouldn''t she try to be more supportive or show a bit of enthusiasm for Luna, who was now her daughter-inw?

    Princess Ourania was going to be a grandmother soon.

    No, she wouldn''t be a grandmother if Apollyon wouldn''t tell her in the first ce.

    He clenched his jaw.

    From this situation alone, Princess Ourania hadn''t changed as she told them.

    She was still an irresponsible mother in his eyes.

    Her conduct towards Luna and with them as a couple bred in more suspicion.

    She couldn''t fake goodwill and neither could Apollyon.

    His mother will not have the right to know that his wife was expecting a baby soon.

    Of course, she would do something about it to ruin that.

    From that point on, he would reinforce his earlier schemes to keep everything shallow with her.

    His mother could pose as a danger to his wife if she found out that Luna was pregnant.

    If she was determined to behave like a child, then he should annoy his mother all the more!

    "Time stopped when I''m with her." shing his wife a sincere smile, Apollyon brushed it with the back of her hand as it rolled down from the corner of her eyes. "Worry was a veil which slipped away whenever I am with my Empress, and I cherished every moment.

    Anxious, Empress Ourania felt shortness in her breath as if she was running, hurried, and rushed.

    Apollyon could see a visible dark green vein pulsing on her forehead.

    He could hear her heartbeat racing with anger, making her more reactive to triggers.

    He saw how his mother war with herself to keep her focus calm and clear while she switched into an unreadable mask instead of her fixed smile.

    Apollyon asked despite knowing the answer. "Are you alright, Princess Ourania?"

    Chest heaving, Apollyon''s mother shook her head as if she was trying to get rid of our words ringing in her mind.

    "Enough!" Muscles turning rigid, Princess Ourania made her voice louder. "You are making me feel like I don''t know what love is all about."

    "We aren''t making you feel that you haven''t felt love before, Princess Ourania." She shifted in her seat. "I''m sorry. Perhaps, I talked too much."

    "Don''t apologize, wife." Apollyon held her hand. "It''s not your fault that she couldn''t handle her insecurities and me on other people, instead."

    "Apollyon!"

    "I don''t understand why it''s making you angry, Princess Ourania." Apollyon growled.

    "I''m not angry, alright?" Princes Ourania shot back but then she lowered her voice.

    She did that every time she felt like she was blowing a fuse. "I just don''t like to listen to things like this. It sounded all fake to me."

    "Our love wasn''t a perfect fairy tale and we told you the truth." Luna said softly."We understand that you have been burned by the mating bond��-"

    Princess Ourania cut her off as she red at his wife, "Not all people can experience what we have."

    Noisy breathing. "The two of you might think you are special, huh?" Jutting her chin, she demanded, "Do you think you were rightfully chosen by the gods and the goddesses?"

    "We make do of what was given to us." Luna said, "Because we know that we have the power to make a better future from our current situation."

    She let out an evil chuckle.

    "History usually repeated itself. Empress Luna. Maybe you are just ashamed to admit that you were just forced to marry the Vampire King. Why are you leaving this information out when it was the most obvious thing?" She added with arrogance, so sure of herself. "All their Empresses do including me.All the royal wives suffered in the hands of their husbands. Some of Apollyon''s ancestral bloodline in his father''s side'' hands were tainted with blood because they killed their women. You don''t have to put on this performance of an ecstatic couple. Just stop lying."

    "I''m not lying!"

    "Like I said, you don''t have to tell me anything about the two of you."

    "You must not have experienced it then, Princess." Apollyon gave her a half-shrug.

    "Not with your father." Ourania replied, "He was a bastard and I was wondering why you aren''t."

    "Are you alright with the existence of the Consortium, Empress?" Empress Ourania''s eyes were wide as she asked Luna with mock concern, "Apollyon would never give those harlots like King Gwythyr, I take it."

    "There is no consortium." Luna replied, "Apollyon abolished them after we were wedded."

 Chapter 457 - Mated To A Vampire King

    <h4>Chapter 457 - Mated To A Vampire King</h4>

    New Chapter For the Highest Tier (May 2021)

    ***************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    **************************

    "There is no consortium." Luna replied, "Apollyon abolished them after we were wedded."

    Empress Ourania drawled, not losing her smile. "That''s impossible, darling. The Consortium is a long standing tradition of the Kings in the Vampire Realm."

    Luna chuckled, amused at the Princess''s stunning response.

    Giving her a mysterious smile, Luna rested her hands in herp like a primdy, "I gave your son the ultimatum." She shrugged. "I gave him the freedom to choose."

    "Of course, the Vampire King desired both, silly --"

    Tilting his head, Apollyon gave a cool nce at his mother before she could insult Luna by calling her ''silly girl.

    She cleared her throat.

    Closing her eyes, she exhaled a heavy sigh and peered at her beneath her thick orangeshes, almost curling up to her eyelids.

    "��Empress." Princess Ourania finished.

    Now, both of them were mirroring each other''s movements.

    She also rested her long, slender hands on her knees. "I apologize." She did a graceful bow.

    When she lifted her chin, she said, "I am still adjusting to the fact the my son already have her Empress."

    She cocked her head at Luna as they watched each other in interest.

    As if they were sizing each other up.

    Luna raised an eyebrow at her in surprise.

    Did Apollyon''s mother see her as a threat?

    "I wonder why would you would let her choose when the answer was already obvious." Princess Ourania insisted as if she couldn''t fathom the possibility of making Apollyon pick between the two. "Of course, the Vampire King will want to have both!"

    "No. No. No." If Apollyon hadmon sense, which Luna was grateful he had one, of course, he should favour his mate above all others! "No wife who was in their right mind would be alright being married to a man with a Harem."

    Heat flushed in her body as she felt the possessive fury rose inside her like a tidal wave.

    She recalled how her husband cloned someone from the Consortium during their wedding night when she tried so hard to keep her virginity from him.

    Apollyon''s audacity almost killed her or made her want to kill the woman, but at least they have already sorted that problem out. "I didn''t want my husband to have orgies with women ande to me after he was done with them."

    Luna circled an arm as her other palm stroked his hard biceps. "Right, Apollyon?"

    "I don''t want them, wife. The more I nurtured our connection, the harder it is for me to do something like that." Apollyon''s gaze shifted from her eyes to her lips, then back to her eyes. "��unless, I force myself to and attempt to use the women in the Consortium to hurt my wife."

    Princess Ourania''s eyes were hard and flinty. "You dared challenge my son as the current King of the Vampire Realm. You are dancing with the devils, Empress."

    Apollyon and Luna looked at each other, sharing the inside joke. A jest that wasn''t even funny. "I actually did, Princess Ourania."

    "Did you really agree with the Empress'' conditions, King Apollyon?" Empress Ourania''s Prussian Blue eyes widened in shock as if she couldn''t believe what she heard. "You chose her over the Consortium?"

    "Allowing your husband to keep his Consortium should make you angry and disgusted, Princess Ourania. Rather than us telling sincere love messages to each other in front of you, iming they were fake." Luna taunted.

    Biting her lip, Princess Ourania''s face contorted with anger. "Can you just imagine servicing your husband during the Full Moon when his prick already came from the remnants of his whores''��"

    "Luna!" Apollyon had to stop her as if he already figured out what he was going to say.

    He pulled her towards him, and her head leaned on his broad shoulder.

    "You are going overboard!"He murmured along with a low chuckle.

    Toote.

    Empress Ourania already understood her point.

    There wasn''t a need to borate.

    "How dare you offend my delicate sensibilities!"

    Luna snorted. "Your sensibilities are already offended a long time ago. Don''t even pretend to be righteous."

    "Girl." Apollyon''s mother clutched the table, her knuckles white. "You forget I am a Summer Monarch��"

    "And I am the Empress of the Vampire Realm." Luna raised her chin and smirked. "What can you do aside fromparing our title?"

    "I am Apollyon''s birth mother but I don''t approve of you at all!"

    ''So?'' Luna pursed her lips. ''That didn''t her the right to look down on her.''

    She was just a Princess, after all.

    Luna was holding back a? part of herself so that she wouldn''t strike at her like a cobra.

    What would Apollyon think?

    She was capable of keeping her cool.

    There was no need to act like a war freak.

    Wait, she changed her mind.

    "Touche. I don''t approve of you too." Luna rested an elbow and cradled her head with a hand. "I was looking forward to meeting you in personal rather than your self-portraits on our hallwaysof our castle.? My first impression of you from those bewitching paintings were different from what I am seeing right now." Luna didn''t want to strike a jibe against Apollyon''s mother, but she couldn''t stand it. "How disappointing!"

    "Don''t worry." She sneered, "The disappointment is evident on both parties."

    Apollyon was just there beside her, covering his face from the weird exchange, arge grin evident on his face.

    He wasughing his ass off hearing them argue like newlyweds, and Luna didn''t know what to make of it.

    Frowning at her husband, he pinched the side of his stomach. "Enjoying yourself, husband?"

    "Immensely, beloved." Apollyon''s said huskily as he stole a kiss from her cheek.

    "It might be unfamiliar to you, Empress Ourania, but as as the current Empress, I want you to know that we have a leverage against a Vampire King whether? he like it or not. Even if we might be shackled to a mating bond, it wasn''t only us in this connection. The males are in it, as well, so they will have a hard time constantly if they wouldn''t listen to your requests. The only mistake you did was cower in his submission."

 Chapter 458 - Tragic Love Story

    <h4>Chapter 458 - Tragic Love Story</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (May 2021)

    +++

    "It might be unfamiliar to you, Empress Ourania, but as as the current Empress, I want you to know that we have a leverage against a Vampire King whether he like it or not. Even if we might be shackled to a mating bond, it wasn''t only us in this connection. The males are in it, as well, so they will have a hard time constantly if they wouldn''t listen to your requests. The only mistake you did was cower in his submission."

    Luna continued, "I didn''t tremble in front of Apollyon especially when I found out who he was after I got rid of the Blood Beast''s curse."

    "The Blood Beast..." Princess Ourania looked at her son. "At that time, I thought�� if you couldn''t recognize King Gwythyr, how can you recognize me?"

    "I took advantage to the situation to save myself. But I was hopeless at that time." Princess Ourania admitted as she rested her arms on either side of her chair. "I knew I would die in your hands from the unspoken hatred you have of me when you were growing up. Your despair with the Blood Beast�� I saw that as a way out for me. My freedom. I''m sorry if it hurts you but I want to be honest."

    Apollyon clenched his fists and then rxed them.

    "I want tosh out but that wouldn''t change the past."

    Luna reminded him softly, "Those vtile emotions inside of you, husband, is a waste of space."

    "How did you get rid of it pf the Blood Beast, Empress?"Princess Ourania inquired. "He was unstable. I figured out there was another identity inside him because he didn''t recognize his own father when he devoured him to pieces."

    "There was." Apollyon began. "It was the High Priestess King Gwythyr picked for me the moment I assume his throne. You remember that girl, father was so fond of? That girl was supposed to be part of my Consortium but he desired her to be the High Priestess to preserve her innocence--Some beautiful virgin the aristocrats can look up to and fantasize about for her beauty and untouchable status. Lilith loved the attention from the men but she hated that she couldn''t have me."

    Princess Ourania nodded, her auburn hair danced like silk on her shoulders and when the sunlight hits them it turned into spun gold. "I remember, Apollyon. Your father have given you the freedom to choose the woman you are going to marry��"

    "--because he said that being married to you was the bane of his existence. That if given the ability to travel in the past, he would tell his? younger self not to agree with the arranged marriage with the Spring Courts to breed royal vampires to the Fair-folks. Its only purpose was to acquire a superior gene of vampires who was capable of magic��more powerful than the Vampiric Fae from the Winter and the Autumn Courts." Apollyon replied.

    "Your father must not have told you, King Apollyon, but he actually came to the Faerie Realm to break the time-honored contract of the ancestors between the Summer Courts and the Vampire Realm. Nobody coerced him. He had the power to say no and not uphold the tradition since he was the King. I made the mistake ofing to the Throne Room to talk to my mother, Queen Titania." Princess Ourania told them and Luna''s ears perked up in interest. "I was just there to confirm what kind of painting she was gifting the guest at that time, and it was the Vampire King, King Gwythyr who sat across them. After taking one good look at me from head to toe, King Gwythyr canceled the agreement he made with my father and told me right then and there that he would marry me and bring me to the Vampire Realm after getting to know me as his future wife."

    She knew so little about Apollyon''s mother.

    It turned out that Apollyon wasn''t familiar with her as well.

    "This was the first time I have heard of this."

    "The n was��my parents gave me and your father a week to get to know each other before we wed. For him to woo me with love and gifts. Things everyone surmised what a woman loved��tempting promises, flowery words and gifts. Like you, Empress, I was stubborn. I didn''t give him any indication that I was attracted to him no matter how handsome or charming he was. There was something about him which made me uneasy. I didn''t trust him at all. I already had a secret lover at that time. But I don''t want to tell him frankly or else my parents would force me to reveal who my lover was and have him killed for cavorting with me who already have a fiance from another Realm. I kept my mouth shut and I couldn''t lie to him. One the third night since the Vampire King''s visit, I sneaked out of my room since my lover and I have nned to elope and move to another Realm, but you know what King Gwythyr did?"

    Apollyon gave his mother a wry smile. "Of course, I would know."

    One that he would likely do if he found Luna escaping her room and eloping with another man.

    It had been forever but Apollyon remembered who his father used to be and how he behaved while Apollyon observed King Gwythyr growing up. "He killed your lover, right?"

    "In front of my eyes. It traumatized me." Pupils dting, Princess Ourania''s eyes turned nk and she shuddered. "I can still clearly recall the way his fangs lengthened as he ripped Aidan''s throat. He was a Faerie Sentinel tasked to guard and protect me. But he wasn''t able to protect himself from King Gwythyr. He caught him at the location we promised to meet."

    "One week of bing acquainted to the monster turned into three days. Since my betrayal had broken the contract, the Summer King and Queen gave the Vampire King the permission to take me to the Vampire Realm for a Marriage Ceremony. My parents were ashamed of the incident and washed their hands off me, iming I brought this upon myself." There was audible stress in her voice as her words tumbled over each other. "On that same night he killed my lover, she forced the blood bond on me by draining me to death and feeding me his own blood after a minute of death, sessfully establishing the blood bond."

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 Chapter 459 - You Are Here

    <h4>Chapter 459 - You Are Here</h4>

    New Chapter for Highest Tier (May 2021)

    ***************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ***************************

    "On that same night he killed my lover, the Vampire King forced the blood bond on me by draining me to death and feeding me his own blood after a minute of death, sessfully establishing the blood bond."

    Luna''s mouth fell open because it felt familiar.

    Why did that story sound simr to what she had experienced with Apollyon before?

    Princess Ourania''s narrative seemed like something the past Apollyon would do.

    But Luna can''t decide if it would be because he was in the Blood Beast''s control, or would he��the real Apollyon--do that himself without the Archdemon''s possession?

    Blinking rapidly, Luna thought hard, losing into her early memories with Apollyon as they raced through her mind for easy ess.

    Luna paused when she found the image she had been looking for where the Vampire King found her floating in the blue waters of his private pool.

    That was the exact moment the Vampire King took an interest in her and imed her for his own, initiating a blood bond with her.

    No, it was the Blood Beast.

    No, was it Apollyon?

    Luna forgot.

    While she was still delirious at the waters, she swore that Apollyon intended to cure her of her wounds.

    But then the Blood Beast took over and identally turned her into his mate.

    Luna''s gaze sharpened at Apollyon''s mother. "So Queen Titania and King Oberon washed their hands of you because they wouldn''t like to break the agreement they made with the Vampire King." She tapped a finger on her chin. "You weren''t honest to the Summer King and Queen about your secret lover, either."

    "Right." Her eyes darkened. The atmosphere around them felt bleak as if it was affected by Princess Ourania''s disposition. "I knew my parents loved me. But they were dismayed that I broke my oath and made King Gwythyr mad with rage. This incident was the perfect fodder for the rumormongers. It spread throughout the Faerie Realm, shaming? me for trysting with a lover while having a fiance from another Realm at the same time, asking why I? chose to y with fire when it was already announced in the entire Faerie Realm that I was going to marry King Gwythyr. All the masculine Fae said that King Gwythyr had the right to kill Aidan for making him look like a fool. They sympathize with the Vampire King."

    "That''s fucked-up, Princess Ourania!" Luna protested.

    "I''m not surprised." Apollyon''s countenance showed disappointment. "The Faeries must have nothing going on with their life except spread false rumors and half-truths."

    "��-because they believed they can get away with anything." Princess Ourania said. "��and that includes me and the Fae in general. Fair-folk in the Summer Realm had am explosive temper when it came to jealousy."

    Luna''s mouth fell open when Princess Ourania threw that out there.

    Jealousy was truly in the Summer Fair folk''s fiery genes because Apollyon had them.

    "The male faeries resonated with him, calling him the jilted fiance while I was called the whore." A grim twist in her mouth. "He became even more angry. Kings don''t take rejections very well."

    "That I can rte to." Luna muttered wistfully.

    "The Vampire King bared his fangs at me. I can recall how his pupils switched from dtion to the narrowing of those dark slits in a span of seconds. I was sobbing from the death of my lover and moaning from the emotional pain."? She watched them with an unfocused stare as if she was lost in her memories of that horrible night. "It was like a knife twisting against my chest. I cowered? when he shouted at me? and clutched my arm to the point of bruising me, dragging me in the middle of the night back to the Summer Pce and demanding an audience from my sleeping parents in their bedchamber. He wanted to gain their permission to turn me into his vampire mate at that instant."

    At least, King Gywthyr still asked for permission even if his eyes only saw red.

    But that will not change the fact that the man expected an agreement from them no matter what.

    The choice was ''yes'' or ''yes.''

    It was an illusion of giving control to the Summer Realm.

    Luna exhaled a relieved breath.

    Apollyon was a better man than King Gwythyr.

    "Queen Titania and King Oberon have no choice but to agree with the Vampire King to establish the blood bond. Or else he would dere war on us. The Vampire King threatened my parents that he would kill them if they stopped him from imprinting the blood bond. It will be a never-ending feud that would pass down to our descendants if my parents decided to break the contract and save me from him. Faeries are very particr with their vows. Nobody can interfere since I broke the contract first." Princess Ourania forced a smile, but it didn''t reach her eyes. "I had no choice but to ept it his demands."

    "I am sure that the Summer King and Queen wouldn''t allow me to run away from responsibilities. If I run away from home after this shocking event, they would be the first one to hunt me down to honor their promise with the Vampire King.? I was still reeling from the death of my lover. Yet, I didn''t even know where his body was buried. My parents wouldn''t allow me to see him after your father and I left our meeting ce."

    "How about now, Princess Ourania?" Luna queried. "Did the Summer King and Queen epted you when you returned to the Summer Pce after Apollyon turned into a monster?"

    "They didn''t at first. King Oberon scolded me,manding that I follow his orders to get back to the Vampire Realm because he only wanted peace for both Kingdoms.? I told them��." Princess Ourania''s stance remained unmoving, but her next words seemed to be deliberate. "I told them King Gwythyr and my son is dead. I told him I had no ce to go back to."

 Chapter 460 - Selfish

    <h4>Chapter 460 - Selfish</h4>

    NEW CHAPTER FOR Highest Tier (May 2021)

    *******************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *******************************

    I really thought you were dead, King Apollyon because I couldn''t see or feel your presence anymore when the Blood Beast consumed your soul." Princess Ourania gave him a slow smile.

    "I thought you were gone but now you are here." Her Prussian Blue''s eyes shined with sincerity as she locked eyes with Apollyon. With her palm pressed to her heart, she said. "There was nothing I could do. I couldn''t stand watching you destroy yourself with my own two eyes. I don''t want to feel helpless. I want to be free from you, your father and the Vampire Realm. You might think it is selfish of me��"

    "You are right." Apollyon said, and his tone was as sharp as a knife''s edge. "You are selfish."

    "Listen to me, Apollyon, and let me finish exining it to you."

    Luna drew a breath and released it. "Husband."

    "Please listen to your mother! Do it for me, please?" Luna pleaded sweetly as she squeezed his muscled thigh, and Apollyon flinched in surprise.

    Apollyon''s gazended on the hand on his leg before he turned his head towards his mother. "Go ahead and say your piece irregardless of my reaction. That wouldn''t leave a huge impact on me."

    Luna let out a groan of disappointment.

    Nothing could change her husband''s mind if he was determined to keep up with this.

    Like Apollyon''s mother, Luna was tempted to throw her hands in an ''I give up'' gesture, but she didn''t. She was close to quitting convincing her husband to understand his mother.

    "I see you still wouldn''t give a damn even if I told you the truth about what King Gwythyr did to ruin my life." Princess Ourania demanded. "What kind of son are you?"

    Apollyon''s attention was on other things as he scratched the cracks on the table with a fingernail.

    "I''m the kind of son who had emotionally detached from his mother a long time ago. I have released my expectations of a perfect mother whether what you said was the truth or a lie." Apollyon replied as he averted his gaze. "I meant that not in a way to spite you but I already epted the fact that we couldn''t fix what was already broken and it''s alright."

    Luna''s fingers touched her parted lips in surprise from Apollyon''s confession.

    "This is how I coped up with the hurt from your abandonment. I felt like a thing, Mother. Like a toy, you could pick up and leave whenever you want to without repercussions. Like I was nothing to you. Purging you from my mind and heart was slow and steady but I did it." Apollyon said coldly.

    His words maye across as arrogance to Princess Ourania but to Luna, it was precious knowledge to know what her husband''s true feelings were.? Not all men can talk about their weaknesses as Apollyon did to his estranged mother. "The resentment I felt right now is more of an external thing.? It is present but not all consuming to the point of destruction. I can still manage them without lunging for your throat and strangling you. Don''t get me wrong. I''m still angry but it didn''t affect me or control me."

    He didn''t hold back to be vulnerable in front of the princess.

    This time around, Apollyon was mature with his response. "It hurt but I lived with your choice since I''m also affected with it. We are all trying to live even if our loved one''s choice wouldn''t align with us even after talking it out."

    Admitting weakness and acknowledging one''s ws is a sure sign of strength.

    Apollyon was a real king--not only in her heart but an epitome of a good one.

    "Father is dead." Apollyon added, and his tone was a matter of fact. "You can make up these stories all you like. But King Gwythyr''s narrative he carved in my brain from childhood until now, and I would like to keep it that way whether it was false. We can''t change the past and i can''t promise that our rtionship as a mother-and son would be better."

    "Can you even feel the slightest bit of sympathy to your mother who went through a lot of hardships just for you to be born in this world?" Her vocal pitch rose, insulted that Apollyon still preferred to believe the dead Vampire Kingpared to her.

    "You want my pity?" Apollyon shrugged his shoulders, and his mother said, "No."

    "You made it sound like I should be grateful. Sure! I can say that I ''m thankful if it appeases you. Thank you for bringing me into this cruel world." Apollyon''s response was an amicable one. "If it weren''t for you, I wouldn''t meet the love of my life. My beloved Empress. My blood mate, Luna."

    Luna almost melted from Apollyon''s romantic words.

    "I thank you for that." He gave his mother a sardonic grin. "But I didn''t ask to be born in this world so you don''t have the right to hang it over my head---"

    "----I apologize for my husband''s behavior, Princess Ourania but Ipletely understand your struggles," Luna cut him off, blocking out Apollyon''sints beside her as she tried to keep up with the conversation. "When we are in difficult circumstances, we can feel fearful, doubtful, intimidated from confronting the events that aren''t in our control as they unfolded in front of us. All of these circumstances entered our lives through the choices we made."

    "Despite this, we still had the right to be assertive and take up our space in this world. We should not let others minimize us." Arm outstretched, Luna reached for the Princess''s wrinkled hand across the table and cupped the back of her hand as a sign of reassurance. "We might feel frightened at the moment. But you seemed to have forgotten that you are powerful in your own right, Princess. You outlive the husband you hated with your strength and tenacity��-"

    "��and even left her son in the process��"

    "Give your mother a break." Squinting at him, Luna finally snapped at her annoying husband as she figured out what Apollyon had been doing.

 Chapter 461 - Pregnancy Announcement

    <h4>Chapter 461 - Pregnancy Announcement</h4>

    New Chapter for Highest Tier (May 2021)

    *************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    **************************

    "We shall not y ''judge'' to other people''s reaction to suffering because we operate differently. Your mother thought that was the best decision at that moment!"

    With her in-born righteousness, his wife was quick to figure him out.

    In truth, Apollyon was ying with her mother''s guilt so that she would me herself for the rest of her life.

    He wasn''t that angry with his mother.

    Apollyon just wanted to punish Ourania for his amusement as his revenge.

    ''We shouldn''t constantly me others for their past mistake. It can be corrected through self-discipline and I have learned it the hard way. Some of them might have already made atonement for their sins.'' Luna thought grudgingly and returned her gaze back to? Princess Ourania, ignoring him.

    Apollyon heard her thoughts perfectly clear.

    Luna was very open with them recently and Apollyon appreciated her trust.

    Still, Apollyon wasn''t certain if she was now doing this on purpose after their conversation at the Vinca Inn.

    "You should also learn how to put yourself in other people''s shoes, husband. Understand what they are going through and why they did the things they do. Even us aren''t perfect, you know?" Luna reminded him. Power can go over people''s heads sometimes and make creaturesck empathy. "We have this conversation before."

    "Hmm." Apollyon hummed as he pondered about giving his mother encouragement to make her feel important as per his wife''s request. "Sometimes we realize that we are more than capable to cope up with bad situations we found ourselves in. We can berger than what we are scared of as long as we build up the confidence and get rid of it, Princess Ourania."

    He wasn''t doing this just because he forgave her already.

    Luna blinked in surprise but she quickly regained herposure.

    "You have nothing to be afraid of now. I''m d you finally found the courage to confront what you have been hiding from. I figured out that you knew Apollyon was in the Spring Realms the moment he arrived at the Spring Castle. But maybe,you were also trying to prepare yourself for the moment you two meet."? Luna guessed out loud as she leaned her head back on the chair and observed the geometric pattern of the ceiling in this gazebo. "It took you a long time but you did it."

    Narrowing her eyes, Princess Ourania said, "You have wise counsel, Empress Luna. It''s well appreciated. Thank you very much but I don''t need them anymore. I can manage on my own."

    Apollyonughed but there was a dangerous edge to it. "My wife can say whatever she wanted to say whether you like it or not, Mother. We are guests here but all you do is act rude against my wife. Do you have something against her?"

    "None." Princess Ourania said quietly as if abruptly recalling that her son was capable of snuffing out her life as easily. "None at all. I just want to mind her own business. "I just want to rify the rumors I have heard from my daughter, Princess Sapphire. Is it true that Empress Luna can summon demons?"

    "Ah~ This is the reason why the Spring Monarchs challenged us into a war because of that rumor which didn''t make sense." Apollyon replied and his mother nodded. Understanding dawned in her eyes because she became a victim of these vicious rumors as well.? "It''s a rumor created by some delusional princess who expressed her obsession with me in front of my wife. Her ims went as far that I was marrying her to rece my Empress."

    "The Spring Courts was being petty with that but most of all, I think they have considered you both a threat in the Spring Courts. It''s either they found this urgent need to contain you or kill you from what happened in Krinoniapolis and take responsibility for it. That didn''t happen before in the History of the Faerie Realm. At least not that I know of. It''s either the Spring Monarchs wanted to kill you or they did it just to drive both of you out of their Realm." Princess Ourania exined and it made Apollyon put on his guard. "

    Luna''s stomach dropped. "We will know if the Spring Monarchs'' sentinels will chase us all the way from here."

    "I heard from Princess Sapphire that Empress Luna is pregnant with your first heir? Was it true?" Apollyon shook his head before his mother couldplete the question.

    Still, the Summer Princess pressed on. "I couldn''t see the baby bump from here since you are wearing that."

    Her Prussian Blue eyes scanned Luna from her face down to her cleavage and paused at the Empire waist gown.

    It had a fitted bodice ending just below the bust, giving her a high waist appearance, and a? gathered fitted skirt that was long and loosely fitting, skimming the body without the voluminous petticoats.

    It was convenient for Luna to hide her baby bump since almost all of the gowns in the Summer Courts are in this fashion.

    It was more suitable for women living in a warm climate.

    It was either worn to disguise the stomach area or emphasize the bust which was perfect for women who preferred to conceal their pregnancy.

    Apollyon deflected the question redirected the subject. "I hope Queen TItania and King Oberon would make this meeting count. They might attempt to justify these questioning over useless things, prying with my wife and I''s privacy and wasting our time."

    Luna sighed. "Princess Ourania. I should tell you the truth."

    "No, Luna. There is no need to tell Princess Ourania about this."? Apollyon''s tone was ruthless. "I want to keep this to ourselves."

    Coaxing her husband to tone down his wariness, Luna leaned her head against the muscle of his arm.

    She whispered/ "It''s going to be alright."

    ''Give your mother a chance to make it up to you, Apollyon.'' Luna projected her thoughts towards her husband.

    Hearing Luna''s telepathic message, Apollyon muttered to himself in response. "Fine. My wife is pregnant for four months already, Princess Ourania."

 Chapter 462 - Too Sore

    <h4>Chapter 462 - Too Sore</h4>

    New chapter for Highest Tier (May 2021)

    ***************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ***************************

    As Princess Ourania opened and shut her mouth like she was a fish out of the water, Apollyon''s mother had no time to react to her husband''s shocking news when the three of them saw King Oberon and Queen Titania riding their unicorns.

    The Summer Monarchs took their sweet time as they enjoyed their surroundings as their attention ricocheted to different things at once, feasting their eyes on the beauty of the hedge maze, garden, and gazebo.

    Queen Titania and King Oberon weren''t curious enough of the Vampire King and his Empress''s presence.

    Or maybe, they were too caught up in the beauty of their pce gardens as the servants followed behind them as if there was a flower procession.

    King Oberon was an older immortal with a great build.

    He wore a gold helmet over his head, so Luna couldn''t see what the Summer King looked like.

    King Oberon paired it with a breast and shoulder te armor with protective crystals all over his wide shoulders and the front of it to absorb dark magic aimed at him as he wore a red tunic underneath those hard shells.

    The royal equestrians riding these majestic creatures trotted towards the gazebo and their Faerie attendants from the Summer Courts.

    These were the times Luna would question the validity of the Monarch''s ims that unicorns were extinct in the Faerie Realm.

    Howe?

    It appeared like this was one of the prerequisites to be considered a true Monarch.

    ''You have to own one and show it off to the visitors.''

    Luna nced at Apollyon and saw him squinting at the unicorns as well.

    Then, she went back to the unicorn watching.

    Why wouldn''t he wonder about this?

    Apollyon went to the Spring Courts with Prince Aspen to stop the demonic faeries from sacrificing these beautiful animals.

    These Monarchs might have taken care of these innocent creatures and feeding them well.

    But why did they capture these wild animals to use them like this?

    Yes, capturing them wasn''t the same as killing these animals for a blood sacrifice.

    But to these unicorns, it must have felt restricted to being confined in the stables than being free in the wilderness.

    But if the Summer Monarchs released them in the wild now, some stupid Summer Faerie might hunt them as long as a Faerie Sentinel missed them.

    A cruel world, indeed!

    Biting the inside of her cheek, Luna returned her gaze to Apollyon, and their eyes met simultaneously.

    Both of them must be thinking about the same thing about the unicorns.

    Or was it her wish to know that Apollyon can still feel empathy for these gorgeous creatures after hunting those demonic faeries and killing them with no remorse?

    How many unicorns'' deaths have he witnessed?

    Frowning, Luna learned from Apollyon that she shouldn''t interfere if it weren''t her business in the first ce.

    His words stuck to Luna''s mind.

    An abrupt, unbidden image of the Archdemon of Sloth shed through her thoughts.

    Surprisingly enough, Luna could hear Sloth''s voice coinciding with Apollyon''s in an instant.

    Luna sat there in her chair, frozen in ce as Apollyon sitting beside her, Princess Ourania and the entire gazebo faded away except for the Archdemon of Sloth''s head positioned directly in front of her face, too close forfort.

    As she blinked once or twice, Luna couldn''t appreciate his masculine beauty--hair spun with gold and forest green eyes--when he scared her with these unwanted surprises.

    Sweat trickled from the side of her temples down to her clenched jaw, gritting her teeth to escape this mental prison she created for herself.

    ''I told you that sticking your nose into other people''s business will only lead into trouble, didn''t I?''? The Archdemon of Sloth said in a disembodied voice.

    She knew Sloth was the one who told her about his advice before.

    What was creepy about this was that his lips weren''t moving---like a ventriloquist.

    Her skin felt too sensitive, as if her nerves were raw and frayed.

    At that moment, Luna felt like her consciousness was trapped in a world where the only sign of life was Sloth''s face, distinct in the ck background.

    Sweat broke out from her forehead as she reminisced one particr memory.

    The Archdemon''s lips were pressed together in a sardonic grin as he added, ''It'' not worth it, pretty Lune.'' Sloth''s ghastly hand-pulled something from behind him and threw her the bloody head of the imp whose neck he snapped at Ravin''s obsidianke filled with dark, icky souls.

    She almost screamed when a drop of greenish slimended on her open eyeball.

    A snap of a finger smacked her out of her reverie.

    "Wife." Luna flinched because it felt like her husband was shouting in her ears. "Are you alright?"

    "It felt like I have lost you for a second." Luna had no response for him except breathing hard as if death was chasing her heels. "Your eyes were as dark as the night sky."

    She heard Apollyon''s voice, but it felt like her head was underwater for a long time. "I apologize, husband. I must have been tired. We woke up too early this morning."

    "I apologize." Not removing his gaze from her, Apollyon caught her fingers and kissed the back of her hand with reverence. "Perhaps, I was too vigorous with my attentions yesterday."

    "Apollyon." Luna blushed. "It isn''t that."

    "Then, what?" Apollyon tilted his head and watched her with concern. "Are you so��"

    Luna had the idea that Apollyon was about to say ''sore,'' so she ced her palm to cover his mischievous mouth.

    Her hand stayed over his lips for a good minute before something moist stroked her palm, and she yelped, removing her hand immediately.

    It was her husband''s naughty tongue!

    Princess Ourania gave them a strange look.

    "Those eyes��" Chuckling to himself, Apollyon tucked her hair behind her ear. He murmured, "You did this before at our royal suite at the Vinca Inn."

 Chapter 463 - Bad Day

    <h4>Chapter 463 - Bad Day</h4>

    New Chapter for Highest Tier (May 2021)

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    "Those eyes��" Apollyon chuckled as he tucked her hair behind her ear.

    Leaning closer to her, Apollyon murmured, "You did this before at our royal suite at the Vinca Inn."

    "Ah yes." Swallowing hard, Luna recalled Apollyon telling her about it when she pushed him against the wall and bit the corded muscles of his neck.

    Squirming in her seat, Luna gripped her armchair tight, averting her gaze. "You told me about this before. And I couldn''t find the reason why it happened."

    "Are my eyes still bleeding into ck right now?" Luna asked.

    There was a tremor in her voice that made Apollyon frown in concern.

    A pause. "No, it''s back to green."

    "Thank the goddess." Luna exhaled a sharp breath, relieved.

    Luna made the mistake of following the hard angle of his jaw when she stole a nce at him.

    "Hmm. I would like to assume that you do that every time you are turned on." Apollyon said in a drawl as he watched her like a hawk catching sight of his prey.

    "Perhaps��" Luna replied cryptically, allowing Apollyon to fill in the nks in his mind.

    "You are strange, wife." Apollyon had that cheeky grin on his face, and Luna narrowed her eyes at him.

    She fought the urge to pull her hand away from her husband since he was busy ying with her long, delicate fingers by squeezing them and scratching them with a fingernail.

    What was he on about? "Why, husband?"

    They faced each other without a care in the world.

    In their world, only the two of them existed.

    Those who interfered or tried to get in the way��an Archdemon, for example��will have to be destroyed.

    Bow-shaped lips pressed together as if he was the messenger of death, Apollyon asked grimly as he poked his finger in her cheek, "Are you turned on by the sight of your grandparents riding those unicorns in a flower procession?"

    Her gaze flicked upward to the ceiling as if she was asking guidance from the heavens.

    "You arefortable making fun of me, husband." Luna tugged at her hand, but Apollyon held unto it tightly, wearing a glorious smile which radiated happiness and affection.

    Breathless, Luna''s heartbeat stopped momentarily when she saw the sparkle into the ocean depths of her husband''s knowing gaze.

    He knew the effect he had on her and took full advantage of it.

    She felt so weightless in his presence��as if every single one of her problems dissolved into nothing but a distraction.

    Apollyon brought her back to the present and taught her how to live in the moment when she was bombarded with peculiar visions of the Archdemons she left behind in Hell.

    As Apollyon shifted into a calmer demeanour, he asked her as if searching for an assurance that nothing was amiss with her. "Is everything alright with us? You don''t have anything to say to talk to me about, beloved?"

    Apollyon cared about her well-being.

    It wasn''t his usual interrogation in the past that would usually make her worm out of the ce before she could even answer Apollyon''s first question.

    No need to make Apollyon worry about her hallucinations.

    Not yet.

    "I''m fine."

    It wasn''t real anyway.

    She can still manage.

    If it got worse, she would tell her husband about it.

    Not too far away from them yet out of her earshot, Luna saw Princess Ourania watched them in a scowl as they whispered in each other''s ears.

    Apollyon''s mother made no noise when she got up from her chair and stood near the stairs to greet the Summer Monarchs without their notice.

    Well, there was no need to throw eye daggers in their direction, and it made her eyebrows raise.

    They weren''t judging her with how awful of a mother she was to her husband.

    They were just two lovebirds flirting!

    Don''t tell me she was still jealous of their close bond between Luna and the son she left behind?

    Lifting a hand on her knitted brows,? Apollyon smoothened them with the pad of his thumb. "I was tempting you to smile from that jest but you are giving me that frown."

    She shut her eyes tight and exhaled.

    "I''m not frowning, husband." At least, not for him.

    "Smile for me, beloved." He urged gently.

    When she opened her eyes, Luna acquiesced to her husband''s request even if she forced a fake smile.

    She beamed at him, but he made sure she saw his dissatisfaction by frowning at her weak grin.

    As he judged the brilliance of her smile for a few seconds, Apollyon returned a smirk of his own and said, "Let''s greet the Elders?"

    Her lips quirked at the word ''Elders,'' and Apollyon did the same��like they were sharing an inside joke. "It sounded like someone who would appear like High Priest Fei. "

    "Indeed. Just old people, in general." Apollyon stood from his chair, did a gant bow, and offered a hand.

    Luna settled her mmy fingers on his open palm, gave his hand a tight squeeze before she rose from her chair.

    Her other hand ttened the rumpled skirts of her turquoise gown.

    They walked to stand to the other side of the stairs away from his mother as if Apollyon wouldn''t allow her to be near Luna.

    Queen Titania and? King Oberon would surely find them strange for doing this.

    Whenever she was in Princess Ourania''s vicinity, Luna had this odd sensation, and she couldn''t exin why.

    She gave her husband a questioning nce when they halted at the edge of thending, and Apollyon understood.

    "I have this slight strange feeling about Princess Ourania." Apollyon''s jawline stood stark when he told her his brutal opinion about his mother. "I don''t want you near her without me if I can''t figure out what''s bothering me about her."

    So her intuition was right-on-point.

    Luna wasn''t crazy for having those thoughts.

    Apollyon had picked his mother''s aura from that conversation.

    "Luna." ncing at her, Apollyon stepped closer to her side and slid his arm behind her back. "Even if the bad days are unavoidable, let us choose to be happy. Tell me if you''re having one and I will make it better."

 Chapter 464 - Apollyons Grandparents

    <h4>Chapter 464 - Apollyon''s Grandparents</h4>

    New Chapter for Highest Tier (May 2021)

    ******************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *******************************

    King Oberon''s gauntleted hand fisted the lead ropes around the unicorn''s neck while Queen Titania sat on her saddle regally with something on herp.

    Even if Queen Titania''s beauty was starting to fade from her fragile and discoloured spots on her pale skin with golden undertones the expanse of it, his grandmother was still the spitting image of Princess Ourania but with few silver strands painted on her long auburn braids.

    She had blue eyes fifty shades lighter than Princess Ourania that it seemed electric as it glowed under the summer heat.

    A pretty floral bo adorned with sunflowers was worn over Queen Titania''s head and tied into a pink ribbon under her chin.

    Her long, pointy nose stood stark in her sophisticated profile.

    She looked down at them while she was seated from the unicorn''s saddle.

    The way she jutted her chin gave her an air of a crown''s arrogance.? Turning her head, Luna moved her lips closer to his ear as he whispered, "Husband. Now that I know that Queen Titania and King Oberon, I think I finally got the gist of where this is going."

    "Me, as well." Apollyon nodded in agreement. "It''s not about seeing the future. It''s about anticipating of what was toe."

    "I can already see that based from how many times we exined ourselves."

    "I only desired to find the final resolution. Whates after." Apollyon''s sigh was a harsh sound like he was exhausted from talking to his mother.

    How much more if both of them will discuss with his grandparents?

    Can he handle it?

    "Some people love to feel they are important enough to take up another''s time for no sound reason." Luna slid an arm behind Apollyon''s back as her fingers clung to his waist. "Do you think they are going to waste our time with stupid questions about what really happened at the Spring Courts?"

    At this point, she didn''t care if the Summer Faerie have sensitive hearing from afar.

    "I guess so. But I don''t think it was going to be a long story simr to what Princess Ourania had discussed with us. There will be no interrogations about thatpared to what I have experienced at the Council of the Spring Courts." Apollyon replied.

    "This will only serve as confirmation to what the Summer Monarchs heard about the rumors circting throughout the Faerie Realm inparison to what Princess Sapphire had figured out about us from her? diligent spying." Luna said.

    "The Faes and their rumor mill��." Apollyon clicked his tongue.

    Speaking of the devil, Luna saw Princess Sapphire flying close behind the Summer King and Queen''s impromptu parade to the gazebo.

    "This half-sister of mine must have leaned towards her mission as a messenger and observed the citizens, gathering secret information from them. She relied on what she have heard from her trusted Spring Faeries."

    "That girl wouldn''t survive if she stalked you outright." Luna whispered.

    His Prussian blue eyes darkened as he looked at her. "I would have killed my stepsister if she got so close to me by ident when I was full of angst."

    "It''s good that she was careful."

    "The Spring Monarchs treated me like I was criminal without a proof. This maltreatment of a King from the Vampire Realm might be one I could ept even as they threw me petrified nces. Their reaction to me made me hide you away from the ungrateful Summer Monarchs to the Solitary Fae''s uncharted dominion." Turning his head, he breathed into her hair, and Luna could feel her pulse speeding up. How can Apollyon make her ache with just a chaste kiss?? "I don''t like them giving you strange looks if I brought you with me to the Spring Council."

    Hearing a distinct sound of harmonicas and violins up above, Luna''s lips curved upward. She witnessed their aerial performance while ying their musical instruments with pure, unbridled joy, like how the Spring Faeries performed at the Ostara. "--and now you became a real fugitive in their eyes. They shouldn''t have dared."

    "Thank you for keeping me safe, husband." Returning her gaze towards him, Luna''s breath was caught in a sensual murmur as she ced her other hand on his chest. "I abhor their prying eyes on me as well."

    No matter what season they belonged to, the Faerie Monarchs always preferred to have a grand entrance.

    A flock of birds with lengthy beaks and feathered wings joined the celebration.

    It might be over-the-top for her, but she wasn''t a spoilsport, either.

    She would let them have their fun but neither at the Vampire King and Empress'' expense.

    When the Summer Queen''s unicorn walked closer and closer to the gazebo, Luna could see another furry animal with a luxurious coat, a beautiful broad chest, a?rge head, an upturned nose, jewel-like aquamarine eyes that have a wide space between them and silky fur.

    It was simr to the witch doctor''s cat who watched over her while she was unconscious at the cabin on top of the mountains, except that it had a unique face shape.

    Apollyon had brought it back from the Spring Realm to the Summer Courts.

    Amused, Luna wondered if his husband had brought his adopted ck cat here, would they get along despite the different breed?

    As she observed Queen Titania''s stocky cat sitting on the front of the saddle, her sensitive ears picked up on the soft and sweet ''meows'', and it melted her heart.

    Nevertheless, the orange cat''s gentle and docile nature didn''t stop her from narrowing her eyes in disbelief at it.

    The cat''s posture, which was simr to Queen Titania,manded respect.

    She would have expected the t-faced cat to be grumpy and annoying like their ck cat at Vinca Inn. It broke her expectations, and she felt cheated.

    King Oberon and Queen Titania got off the unicorn''s saddle with their grooms'' and other servant''s assistance.

    "I apologize for keeping you waiting."? Queen Titania eximed as soon as she and King Oberon met them while carrying arge, orange cat. "Wee to the Summer Tea Party."

 Chapter 465 - String Quartet

    <h4>Chapter 465 - String Quartet</h4>

    New Chapter of Highest Tier (May 2021)

    ******************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ******************************

    The Queen''s attendants carried a huge pretty vase filled with sunflowers and ced it on the table while some of them tied the rest of the flower gands to the things their eyes have set on.

    She smiled as they waited for them to finish their job.

    Luna bet the attendants have trained for this aesthetic standard��a bright summer palette��only the Summer Faeries knew.

    They loved flowers so much that their presence was always there in every celebration��dancing and ying musical instruments as well.

    Sprites scattered fragrant petals of sweat pea, gardenia, iris, jasmine and honeysuckle on the floor.

    Apollyon, Luna and the few of the Summer Monarchs were now seated on their wing chairs made of carved wood, designed by the most talented artisans from the Summer Faeries.

    It wasn''t just a hand-carved luxurious armchair with upholstered frames of dark green, backs and armrest.

    It was also highly detailed with ornaments with rosettes, acanthus and shells on the top rails with lovely scrolled legs.

    This mboyance of the gilded furniture turned into a magnificent work of art after the faerie attendants they brought from the Summer Castle polished the chairs so well as if their life depended on it.

    Before they allowed Luna and the rest to sit down, they ensured that everything was perfect and in good condition.

    They made it their mission to make the antique chairs painted with gold shimmer under the sunlight from the wax they used to clean them.

    Noting the small cracks on the circr tabletop made of marble at the gazebo inflicted by her husband''s outburst, they spread the silk tablecloth to cover the vein-like fissures on the surface before theyid out the tableware and the food for the Summer Tea Party.

    Four musicians sat on their own stools in a small circle facing each other, and Luna realized it was a string quartet with violin.

    She didn''t know about Apollyon''s reaction, but she was looking forward to their performance.

    When all of them sat down, King Oberon had taken off his golden masked helmet as he allowed his groom to hold it for him and left his te body armour on.

    Luna wondered if King Oberon felt cool underneath all those iron tes attached to his leather undergarment aside from his tunic, or was he just used to this because he lived here for thousands of years in this hot summer weather?

    She finally knew how King Oberon looked like.

    His thick beard neatly trimmed wrapped around the underside of his jaw in a clean line.

    Midnight ck hair crowned his head, and eyes of faded blue-grey stared back at Luna and Apollyon.

    His aura was so forceful, with too much power only an ancient immortal could have.

    Like all Fae, King Oberon had this masculine beauty in him, which was almost violent, stunning other people in the same room as he wasn''t used to this kind of spirit.

    His stony countenance were harsh lines, and high cheekbones and a battle scar shed across his eyebrow.

    His face was stripped of any emotions, clearing his throat and grunting to acknowledge their presence, letting Queen Titania doing all the work to make their guests feelfortable at the table.

    More cheerful and warmer than Queen Gloriana, Queen Titania was up to the task, though, so King Oberon was forgiven.

    It was always the women in the family who had the unspoken responsibility to make the visitors feel wee to satisfy their instinct to nurture and care for others.

    Apollyon and Luna were positioned just across the string quartet behind Queen Titania and King Oberon while Princess Ourania was seated right next to Apollyon.

    His husband was serious when he told her he wanted to keep Luna away from her.

    Princess Sapphire was on Luna''s left.

    Princess Sapphire whispered in her ear that Xerxes wasn''t here to join because it was strictly a gathering for the Summer Monarchs to meet Apollyon.

    Luna raised an eyebrow at that.

    She guessed that the royal family of the Summer Monarchs wasrge enough to upy an entire Summer Castle from generation to generation.

    Perhaps, some of them had perished or left the Summer Courts to explore other Realms and start a family to a Kingdom they chose, leaving the nest to speak?

    Or was it the same-old, same-old tradition of arranged marriage in the Faerie Courts?

    Queen Titania''s cat had snuggled on herp without a fuss.

    The furry animal was as still as a rock as the Summer Queen brushed the beautiful bright, orange coat, untangling its fur with a small cat brush.

    There was no time for small talks because the two violinists began to y the first note.

    After that, the cello and the vi followed.

    The atmosphere at the hedge maze garden was calm and serene as the sound of the violin travelled pleasantly in their ears, alleviating Luna''s stress in an instant.

    This was one of the few times when she felt that music had set her free, singing to her that she could get whatever her heart desired.

    It evoked the deepest oceans of her emotions,pelling her to swim in them.

    Bittersweet memories resurfaced when the dark melodies yed by the cello flowed in harmony with the rest of the instruments.

    The tiny hairs on her skin stood on its end when she felt the vibrations of the magnificent music.

    Luna closed her eyes as she allowed it to lull her into sleep.

    "Don''t sleep, wife." Luna heard a husky murmur. She was only half aware that her head was leaning on her husband''s arm as they sat next to each other. "You must have been tired because of mest night."

    Luna loved the music from the string quartet, but she was forced to stir when Apollyon said that naughty statement she was sure his grandparents heard.

    Her eyes abruptly opened.

    "Shh." She wanted to silence him, but it wouldn''t be effective if he saw her smile. She couldn''t help it. "Not here, husband."

 Chapter 466 - The Faerie Tea Party

    <h4>Chapter 466 - The Faerie Tea Party</h4>

    New Chapter of Highest Tier (May 2021)

    ****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ****************************

    Lune enjoyed the faerie tea party hosted by the Summer Courts, and the enchanting melodies from the string quartet were her favorite part so far, especially when they began ying more fun music.

    She could tell that the musicians enjoyed their performance as they smiled from ear to ear while court attendants waltzed around the marble floors.

    Luna, Apollyon, and the rest of the Summer Monarchs watched them twirl their gossamer white skirts.

    The expanse of their forearms was marked with golden tattoosyered with silver specks of dust.

    Luna noticed that female faeries in the Summer Courts weren''t fond of wearing sleeves, except for the thin strings, keeping the front and the back of their bodices attached as it settled delicately on their shoulders.

    The swan-like curve of their neck, their delicate corbones, and their slender arms was bare except for the golden curlicues and faerie symbols covering them.

    As Luna peered at them beneath theirshes, she took in their glorious forms from head to toe, wishing that Apollyon would allow her to wear something that thin to get rid of this frustrating heat trapped inside her. This heat threatened to fry her brains off because she couldn''t take it anymore.

    It was like she was in her own personal Hell.

    Pouting in jealousy, Luna straightened her spine and exhaled.

    Apollyon might have helped alleviate this painful warmth by the asional blowing of the hot summer breeze he brought around her. But as time went by, it felt like it wasn''t enough.

    She felt like jumping out of her skin as she wiped the sweat on her arms, cooling her pale skin.

    Every time her husband asked her if she was alright, she forced a smile and replied, ''yes. Then, she would repeat her mantra that she can endure anything.

    This conversation wouldn''t take long since Apollyon''s ring issues were now addressed.

    Apollyon might be a bit cordial with this Summer Tea Party in respect to his grandparents, yet his right leg, leaning towards her left leg, shook with impatience.

    Luna figured out that he was bored and desired to get this over with.

    Now, both of them had to y along with this borate gathering for just a quick and straightforward conversation.

    That was when she knew that Apollyon was bored.

    She was in the Summer Realm for five days already, but she still couldn''t adjust.

    Apollyon seemed to be doing alright adjusting to the weather as if he belonged here, feeling at home in the Summer Courts except her, and that didn''t sit right.

    And there wasn''t any question with his grandfather-inw and grandmother-inw or any female in the Summer Monarch who could sympathize with her since they lived here since forever.

    The several yful musical pieces have kept her spirits upbeat, but when it ended, her panic rose to the surface as if desperate to fill this sudden awkwardness as she stole nces at the Summer Monarchs.

    Nobody could look at anybody straight in the eye because they were all strangers in real life.

    Everything in the gazebo was quiet as the four musicians got up from their chairs,? carried their instruments and their stools along with them with the other faeries'' assistance as they exited from the gazebo, along with the grooms with the unicorns'' ropes in their hands, the court attendants and the rest of the servants.

    After the men bowed and thedies curtsied, all of them scattered on different paths of the hedge maze and literally walked off without the Queen telling them as if this was the norm.

    And then they were gone. As if they weren''t there in the first ce.

    There was no trace except the flowers and petals they left behind.

    Since Luna''s hand circled her arm around her husband''s, she felt his muscles tense when King Oberon cleared his throat.

    Luna sensed that her husband had prepared himself to begin this important discussion first to gain the upper hand in case of possible negotiation.

    As frown lines marred his forehead,? Luna''s eyes sharpened on King Oberon with vignce just in case she needed to say something to support her husband.

    Who willy out their cards first?

    Both men opened their mouths, but Queen Titania was faster.

    "I love tea parties." Queen Titania chirped, but there was a slightly inhuman ring to it as her voice went past Luna''s ears like the clear sound of windchimes.

    It was too angelic that it leaned towards diabolical.

    The Summer Queen utilized her hypnotic voice like what Prince Aspen did at the Marriage Auction.

    During that time, Luna was powerless to resist when the Hecate had stripped her of her power after giving her virginity to her husband.

    Ever since Luna became an Archdemon, she realized she was immune to a lot of low-level magic, and that included the simple tricks a Faerie Monarch could do.

    Was this attempt a deliberate move to control them, or was this the true voice of a powerful Summer Monarch?

    "We don''t eat and we don''t drink anything Fae, Queen Titania." Apollyon replied even as Queen Titania had already stood up from her chair to pick the silver teapot and served tea to King Oberon first.

    "Your mother is a vampire. We imported drinks from merchants of the Winter Courts for Vampiric Fae so that you can enjoy it with us." King Oberon responded slowly, his voice deep and gruff. "You will not die if you drink it."

    "No." Licking his lips, Apollyon couldn''t help but watch the red liquid spilling out of the spout because it appeared like blood. Just not his wife''s. "I am mated unlike my mother, so I can only drink my mate''s blood."

    "You surely have no problem drinking alcohol in the Will O'' Wisp." Princess Ouraniamented as she sliced therge sandwiches into triangles.

    "Will O'' Wisp?" Luna raised a curious eyebrow as she nced up at him, waiting for his reply.

    Was it the spring pub Apollyon told her about where she had a drink with Prince Aspen?

 Chapter 467 - Passive Aggressive

    <h4>Chapter 467 - Passive Aggressive</h4>

    New Chapter of Highest Tier (May 2021)

    ****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ****************************

    "Will O'' Wisp?" Luna raised a curious eyebrow as she nced up at him, waiting for his reply.

    Was it the spring pub Apollyon told her about where she had a drink with Prince Aspen?

    "Princess Sapphire was too young to get in there if she ever spied on me." Apollyon said as he watched his mother with suspicion.

    Princess Ourania gave them a half-shrug before cing the sandwiches she sliced on her parents'' tes while Queen Titania was busy preparing the tea.? "You don''t understand. Princess Sapphire wasn''t a mereckey. She was the head spy." Luna''s jaw dropped at her nonchnce. "The rest of our spies looked up to her for their next move."

    That confirmed what Apollyon and Luna had thought about the fact that Princess Sapphire wasn''t alone.

    Her husband guessed that their approach of espionage was systematic.

    Who would have thought that a fourteen-year-old teenage royal princess could be the leader of a group of unknown spies following her husband around the Spring Courts without their knowledge? "The princess might be brilliant when it came to? perilous missions but training this young girl to do these things is beyond me, mother."

    "Xerxes is my protector��" Round eyes met her husband''s while her mouth chewed on blueberries. "--and? you aren''t a bad person so I don''t consider you too dangerous, brother."

    "You see��" Apollyon smirked, amused by his sister finding him harmless as a teddy bear"--That statement usually makes me prove that what you just said was wrong."

    King Oberon cleared his throat loudly as he pointed an using finger at his grandson. "Apollyon." His grandfather''s tone was as brutal as lightning hitting a tree. "First time you met your sister and you are threatening her."

    Propping his elbow on the table, Apollyon said coldly as he rested his chin on his hand. "I will only im her as my half-sister if I know who her father was. I haven''t seen him anywhere."

    Queen Titania snorted. "That''s interesting. Even we don''t have any idea who her lover was or what he looked like, grandson, and we just leave your mother be."

    Shock rooted Luna on her chair.

    Apollyon''s mother still hid a lot of things from her parents.

    "She is good at hiding her secret lover way before you were even born."

    "We know she had a lover." King Oberon nodded. "This time, Princess Ourania was honest but we haven''t met the man who got her pregnant."

    "I never knew my father and mother refused to tell me who it was."

    Luna patted Princess Sapphire when she detected anguish in her voice.

    "No need to tell you if he wasn''t here in this Realm anymore, Princess." Princess Ourania cooed with an unsettling smile on her face.

    "So, he was dead before Princess Sapphire had the chance to meet his father?"

    "You could say that."

    The elegant crockery looked poised around the flower petals ad gands scattered on the table, absorbing the warmth from the ambiance.

    There was a bowl of fresh strawberries soaked in rum, yam cakes zed with sugar, sandwiches, cheesecakes with vani cream on top, mango and pineapple fruit cakes, chocte cookies, and puddings which can infuse a bouquet of vors in a Faerie''s tongue.

    The visual stimtion was superb in that it made her mouth water, but she and Apollyon couldn''t eat anything from here since it would only make them feel sick.

    She loved the taste of her mate''s blood, but this was one of those times where she wished the Blood Beast hadn''t turned her into a vampire.

    Luna felt awkward that she was the only adult female in the room who wasn''t doing anything while the Summer Queen served them with tea by herself instead of hiring a court attendant for this. What a good host!

    She made a full circle around the table to pour each of them with the tea.

    The fragrant scent of hibiscus mixed with honey permeated the air.

    It must have been made with dried hibiscus flower steeped into hot waters for many hours, including other faerie herbs.

    Luna saw her standing between them when it was Apollyon''s turn.

    Head-turning, Luna asked, "Let me take over, Grandmother."

    The hand that held the teapot paused on Apollyon''s cup when Luna''s hand gripped the shoulder and handle.

    "Empress."? Luna gently pulled it, and she was d that the body didn''t sear her fingers. "No need to do that."

    "It''s fine, darling." Queen Titania''s light blue eyes were incandescent mes. "I''m the host of this tea party."

    "Let me handle it."? Luna urged as she carefully got up from her chair, wearing a bright smile on her face. "Your Highness."

    She could sense Queen Titania''s resolve wavered.

    Rolling her eyes in annoyance, Princess Ourania enunciated. "Maybe, you can do it at your own tea party, Empress Luna. You, desiring to take away the teapot from my mother, makes you look ill-mannered."

    "Wife. Leave it be." Apollyon pulled her wrist hard.

    She yelped when her buttocksnded back on the cushions,? "Sit down."

    Luna was trying to help and bepassionate to Apollyon''s grandparents so that they would like her, unlike Apollyon''s mother, who threw passive-aggressivements here and there.

    Her lungs constricted, making it harder to breathe.

    Was Apollyon angry at her for attempting to help his grandmother?

    ''You don''t have to be pushy to force them to like you. People will either like you or not. It had nothing to do with you serving them whatsoever. Don''t do anything.'' Apollyon told her in her thoughts, and she could sense his ire, and she wondered if it was directed at her. ''My wife isn''t a servant.''

    Luna finally understood.

    ''Apollyon.'' As warmth flushed her cheeks, Luna mused as she scowled at him. ''You got toofortable reading my mind over here.''

    ''I like talking to you but I should be careful with my words in front of the Summer Monarchs.'' Apollyon asked calmly. ''Do you have a problem with me talking in your head?''

    ''I''m alright with it.'' Luna replied. ''But we have to pay attention to the Summer Monarchs or we might sound like idiots if they ask as something.''

 Chapter 468 - Mysterious Blaze

    <h4>Chapter 468 - Mysterious ze</h4>

    New Chapter of Highest Tier (May 2021)

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    ''I''m alright with it.'' Luna replied. ''But we have to pay attention to the Summer Monarchs or we might sound like idiots if they ask about something.''

    ''Wife. I just want to make this clear about doing something for others and this is a clear example.'' Apollyon began as he went on with his sermon, invading her thoughtsced with mental frequencies of anger��of winning at all costs.

    Luna just allowed it because her husband meant well.

    ''If my mother was hell-bent on hating you for no reason, Princess Ourania wouldn''t be necessarily kind to you just because you acted like a court attendant for her in one day.''

    Ah.

    She hated to admit that her husband was right. ''Some people don''t feel obligated to be amiable just because you did good things for them. That''s not how it works. ''Do you understand?''

    Frowning, Luna didn''t nod, or the Summer Monarchs would think she had gone crazy since all eyes were already on her for creating a scene.

    ''Yes , husband.'' Luna replied to Apollyon in her musings dryly. ''I will just leave them alone. You and your mother is correct. I am not a host of this tea party. There is no point for me to act like a servant.''

    ''The Summer Monarchs wouldn''t see that as an act of goodwill. You are asking to be stepped on by the other Monarchs if you continue this route.''

    She almost snorted, and Princess Sapphire had looked up from her te to throw her a sideways nce. ''Let them try and I will let them see how to summon a demon snake spirit.''

    ''Wife. Let''s stay out of trouble here.'' Apollyon picked up his teacup and brought it close to her nose, smelling the rxing aroma. ''The Summer Courts might be quick to turn on us just like the Spring Courts did. It was a shame I considered Prince Aspen a friend.''

    ''Well, they wouldn''t have gone through the pains of spying on you and convinced us to visit the Summer Courts if they were just going to betray us all over again.''

    Princess Ourania was hiding her hatred in the form of brutal honesty. Watch her behavior carefully just in case.'' Apollyon warned.

    ''Don''t worry, Apollyon.'' Luna thought kindly as she looked at her in the eye. ''They are still your family. Give them a chance to prove themselves. If they don''t, I''ll let them see what an Archdemon is made of.''

    Luna could hear Apollyon''s dark chuckle, and it was the best thing she had heard��no, thought��in her mind all day.

    Lastly, Queen Titania poured the warm red liquid of hibiscus tea on Princess Ourania''s teacup as she sat back down her berg��re.

    At that point, Princess Ourania was done preparing the cake slices and sandwiches for the Summer Monarchs who can eat real food.

    Luna sighed as she also recalled what happened at Ostara.

    How many times did she have to witness this abomination, throwing the fact that she couldn''t eat this sweet stuff just like she used to do when she was an Amazon?

    "You should know your ce in the Summer Courts, Empress Luna." Princess Ourania said sardonically as she flipped her ming orange hair towards her back, exposing a creamy shoulder of her gauzy aquamarine gown.

    The quick, jerky movement also sent the white flower petals dropping from her headdress.

    Clenching his fists, Apollyon glowered at her as he opened his mouth to defend Luna, but his mother was quick to amend that since she couldn''t handle any bacsh from her son, who never knew how to hold things back.

    Raising a finger in front of Apollyon''s? scowl, she continued, ? "Now, I am not saying this in a mean way, Vampire King."

    Princess Ourania also looked at Luna for good measure so that she wouldn''t be left out.

    "I want the Empress to just sit back and rx! She? gestured at all of them with her hands and eximed. "The more she argued with my mother over serving tea��Apollyon''s mother paused dramatically and emphasized, "��over serving tea in another Realm above all things��" She repeated, pinching her lips together as she exhaled. As if it took everything for her to exin herself in aplete statement. "What Monarch in their right mind desired to be a servant in another Realm that wasn''t hers?"

    Wincing, Apollyon''s mother jutted her chin and peered at Luna. "Just feel honored, darling, and we will continue this discussion about the Spring Courts now that? King Oberon and Queen Titania are here. " Princess Ourania went back to cing some fruit cakes over her te and muttered to herself. No need. They could clearly hear that. "Both of you are so impatient."

    Princess Ourania clicked her tongue.

    "Like I said before me and my husband arrived, my dear grandson and grandaughter��." Queen Titania''s light blue eyes went soft, filled with an inner glow. "We apologize for taking too long to get to you."

    Raising an open palm, Luna said, smiling warmly at her. "It''s alright. Queen Titania. You don''t need to apologize."

    Princess Ourania made a sudden noise in her throat.

    "The atmosphere can easily shift when one met someone else that is higher in the hierarchy. You were so quick to judge me from my past but you were quick to pardon others and ept their excuses." She said to no one in particr before she cut off a tiny slice of her lemon-yellow cake coated with buttercream and took a bite.

    cing his teacup back to the sauce, Apollyon pressed a finger to smile lips. "Queen Titania wasn''t the one who left me, Princess."

    "King Oberon and I have a lot of responsibilities in the Summer Castle today." Queen Titania said. "The weather went overboard that it had set the Castle''s turrets on fire. It is so hard for us to extinguish the mes as we carried the water from the ground up. Nobody knew where these fires originated. Everyone was asleep."

 Chapter 469 - Melodrama

    <h4>Chapter 469 - Melodrama</h4>

    New Chapter of Highest Tier (May 2021)

    ******************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *******************************

    "Nobody knew where these fires originated. Everyone was asleep. The mes came along with the sunrise and usually killed the Faerie Sentinel wemanded to watch over the top of the turret before we could ask where it came from." Queen Titania said as she nced down at the fruit cake she had on her te, stabbing the strawberries around and dipping them into a bowl of vani cream.

    Luna was slightly taken aback by how casual the Summer Queen narrated the deaths of the Faerie Sentinels as if it was normal��as natural as night and day.

    They must not mind sacrificing those people at the turret for the safety of the Summer Castle.

    If she would be in the Faerie Sentinel''s shoes, the moment she would be tasked to guard this mysterious ze at the turret, she would flee from the Summer Courts, never to be seen again.

    She would rather disappear and y dead than experience literal death.

    Blinking, Apollyon pinched his lips together in confusion. "That is strange, indeed, Queen Titania."

    "Do you mean that people outside the Castle were rmed the moment they see this mysterious fire zing at the top of the turret��" Luna paused as she let that sink into her mind, "--and then when someone from the Summer Courts climbed up the stairs--��"

    "��all they found where dead Faerie Sentinels with no zing fire when we got there." King Oberon finished.

    There was an awkward silence before Apollyon spoke up, his voice quiet and thoughtful. "Maybe, you were toote to see them every single time, King Oberon. The Monarchs always take their time even when it came to? urgent matters. Monarchs don''t want to be rushed and wanting to do things at their own pace." Apollyon tilted his head towards his grandfather and smirked,"��or did your knees hurt from rushing to the top?"

    Luna had no idea whether tough or cry, but she covered her mouth just the same.

    Did he mock the Summer King and Queen that they are too slow to catch this mischievous fire?

    Passive, aggressiveness?

    Huh.

    Two can y the game.

    Like Princess Ourania, Apollyon never held back his jibes on his grandparents.

    But in Apollyon''s case, his stone-cold features were a nk te.

    No one ever knew what his goal was.

    That must be the reason why the Summer Monarchs quickly brushed his insults off like it they were breadcrumbs off their clothes.

    Her husband must have inherited this random mean streak from his mother.

    "I could see the Summer Castle from this gazebo and I am sure that would be long journey without skills of teleportation." Apollyon observed as he rubbed his chin in contemtion.

    "You are right. But there was no need of teleportation if I stay in the spare room at the highest tower reserved for the watchers." King Oberon didn''t feel offended at all. "When we get there, there was nothing except the Faerie Sentinel''s burnt bodies hanging onto the parapet. As if they were desperate to jump and fly to escape, but they couldn''t." His grandfather''s voice was weak and fragile when he talked about the deaths. "Each of them died in agony and the torture of death by burning. "Faerie wings have limited altitude we can fly in.? We can''t recognize who was who since their skin was covered with soot, yed, and torn, and the muscles shrank visibly to the point of contortion."

    Luna felt a dropping sensation in her stomach as she listened to the sentinel''s struggles, imagining them in her mind''s eye.

    "Did you hear screaming from the assigned guards?" Luna asked.

    She exhaled a harsh breath as she felt this invisible hand squeezing her heart.

    "It was abrupt. " King Oberon replied.? "As if the Faerie Sentinels were struck by lightning, exposing them to extreme heat."

    "You even rested at such an ufortable room not built for Monarchs, King Oberon. You took the matters into your own hands. But you still haven''t caught the perpetrators despite that." Apollyon''s jaws were clenched at this misfortune. " I wonder who are the bastards behind that."

    Luna answered Apollyon in her mind. ''Only a god or a demon can do something vile as that.''

    "I haven''t caught the bastard yet who made these mysterious mes. This level of mischief��" King Oberon''s grip on his teacup tightened, and Luna was grateful that the ceramic didn''t explode in someone''s face. "I think this isn''t a mere natural urrence."

    "Do you think it''s mour?"

    "mour might kill Faeries but that is impossible. Faerie Sentinels, who possess strong powers and unique abilities, were picked specifically from the Summer Viges. Their eyes were already highly trained from the start to detect even the most powerful of mour. They can see through the weaker members of the royal family''s attempts when they do it." Queen Titania replied as she stared at her.

    Then, do you think it would be Faeries who practiced witchcraft or any kinds of magic unbeknownst to us?"

    Princess Ourania must have been annoyed by Luna''s queries since she banged her fork on her te. Picking up her table napkin, she wiped the corners of her scarlet-painted lips as she gave Luna a frosty nce. "No Fae in thisnd are stronger than the Summer Monarchs, dear, since this is our territory. Who else would know this Realm well than King Oberon and Queen Titania? Please be careful of what you say, Empress."

    Leaning behind her chair, Luna snorted as she stretched her arms above her head and settled them on her armchair.

    Goddess, she was seated for a long time only for Apollyon''s mother to criticize her when she was only kind? Princess Ourania�� she didn''t deserve her kindness. "I could say the same to you. I will be careful of what I''m saying. But you should care enough to listen to what was going on in the Summer Castle. What would, a mother like you, do during the day if you aren''t taking care of your own daughter?"

    "Mind your own business."

    "Touche."

    Without warning, Queen Titania threw the contents of her teacup in her daughter''s face.

 Chapter 470 - Mental Anguish

    <h4>Chapter 470 - Mental Anguish</h4>

    New Chapter of Highest Tier (May 2021)

    ****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ****************************

    Without warning, Queen Titania threw the contents of the teacup, sshing pinkish-red liquid in her daughter''s face.

    It seemed like Princess Ourania didn''t see thating.

    With her fast reflexes, the only thing she could do was raise a hand to cover herself.

    Unfortunately, this wasn''t a p in the face.

    Even if she blocked herself from her own mother''s assault, that wouldn''t mean she was waterproof.

    Princess Ourania gasped as she got out of her chair abruptly; the legs of her chair dragged across the floor as it moved backward.

    Everyone in the Summer Tea Party froze and sat in their chair with their eyes widening in shock, their gaze shifting back and forth between Queen Titania and Princess Ourania.

    Moving three-step backward away from Queen Titania, Apollyon''s mother was as still as a statue for a few seconds as she breathed through her mouth, rubbing the water out of her face and shaking off the wet sogginess of herce sleeves.

    Luna swore she could have seen steams of smokeing out of Princess Ourania''s red nostrils.

    Still, Apollyon''s mother was beautiful despite that crazy glint in her air and her wet auburn hair. Luna picked up her spoon and fork for no reason.

    Oh no!

    This vampire wouldn''t dare dig into these fruit cakes.

    She just wanted something to hold unto as she waited for their next exchange with bated breath.

    It turned out it wasn''t only her.

    Apollyon''s hand settled on her lower back.

    His shoulders were tense.

    Arms crossing over his chest, King Oberon watched his wife and his daughter with slightly narrowed eyes.

    There was no anger reflected in that blue-grey of his, but it felt like��his stoic countenance was that of a father who had witnessed his daughter doing something like this before.

    Perhaps, this wasn''t new to him as well as Princess Sapphire, who continued munching on her chocte cookies and swinging her legs under the table happily, without a care of what her mother was on about.

    Now, even Princess Sapphire had considered this rpse normal, and it made Luna think if there was a point in Princess Ourania wasn''t right in the head.

    Lips parting in amazement, Queen Titania carved a unique image in her mind like a written stone tablet.

    How can she act so regal after spilling tea all over her daughter?

    This wasn''t the behavior of a Queen, yet Luna loved it.

    Dried hibiscus tea drenched Princess Ourania''s closed lids, rolling from her cheeks down to her chin and corbones.

    The bodice and the skirts of her sapphire gown were stained with red.

    Princess Ourania should be thankful that her blood wasn''t spilled in this summer afternoon.

    "Princess Ourania!" Queen Titania called her name out. Two sharp words and teacup were all she needed to call out the bullshit of Apollyon''s mother to Luna. "What is your problem, girl?

    She wasn''t doing anything to provoke her.

    Her mere presence must have triggered something inside Princess Ourania''s heart.

    Frowning, Luna had this sudden realization.

    The idea was like a lightning streak hitting her brain. At the Spring Courts, Princess Alisabethe acted differently around her.

    During Ostara, the girl was always fuming with jealousy to the point of desiring a husband that wasn''t hers in the first ce.

    What''s worse?

    She did that in such a public ce while Luna was present with Apollyon, making a fool out of herself withplete disregard of her dignity as a Monarch.

    Her greed also made Luna drown in her insecurities, if only for a moment.

    Good thing Apollyon was quick to remedy that.

    This triggers envy with herself and the other women whenever Apollyon was concerned��Did this intensify because she hadn''t removed Lilith from her body?

    Even if the Archdemon of Envy stayed dormant in her body as a vessel, that would not change the fact that she still didn''t get rid of this bitch inside her.

    Her stomach churned at the thought.

    Luna had to do it soon.

    "It''s been a long time ever since you behaved like a child, Ourania." The orange cat seatedfortably on Queen Titania''sp was disturbed from its nap since the Summer Queen stopped brushing its bushy fur and ced the stocky cat gently to the ground. Queen Titania held the skirts of her aquamarine gown with gold embellishments as she stood up with poised elegance. "Why are you doing this now? Tell us what your problem is with Empress Luna. And here I thought, the with doctors have cured you of your mental anguish."

    Everyone waited for Apollyon''s mother to exin herself.

    Her chest rose and fell as she glowered at the wet floor, fisting her hands on the res of damp skirts in a tight squeeze.

    "I''m just so angry, Queen Mother." Princess Ourania''s jaws clenched, fighting back her tears.

    Yet, her teardrops still sparkled like diamonds, washing down small bits of red petals sticking on her flushed cheeks.

    Ah.

    Luna guessed ugly crying wouldn''t work in the summer Royal Family.

    "I don''t feel mental anguish anymore from my experience with King Gywthyr since I have recovered from it. I am angry and resentful of why you need to humiliate me like this!" Princess Ourania spat with all of her hatred.

    Queen Titania''s eyes were cold. "You are the one humiliating like this for being unreasonable."

    She ran a frustrated hand on her long auburn hair and raised her voice. "I am your daughter. Why are you defending this stranger? This woman is just Apollyon''s Empress! She isn''t connected to you in anyway! Even you care for that boy, Xerxes---"

    "After all these centuries, you still act like a spoiled brat who was deprived of what you want?"

    "Did you ask me for what I want, mother?" Princess Ourania gritted her teeth, and her blue eyes protruded as her face contorted with rage.

    She enunciated each word properly. "Did. You. Ask Me. What. I. Wanted. Ever In. My. Life?"

    Queen Titania tilted her head to the side and crossed her arms over her chest, mirroring King Oberon. "You already have the freedom, Ourania, a long time ago. You are free to do whatever you want. We already apologized for our mistake of allowing King Gwythyr to force you into marriage.? Tell me what else do need from us?"

    Princess Ourania shook her head as she shed her a bitter smile. "Nobody in this god damned family understands me. I''m out of here."

    Apollyon''s mother stormed out of the gazebo.

    ''Apollyon, should we call your mother back?''

    ''No. There was no need.'' Her husband was quick to answer in their mental connection. ''We already talked to her for too long. I detest her presence.'' Mouth pressed into a grim line, Luna blinked as she listened further, ''It''s better to leave her alone.''

    ''There must be something wrong with her, Apollyon. I didn''t? know what I did to evoke such strong aversion to whatever I say.'' Luna projected to him, and she could feel quiet violence swirling at the back of her mind, and it wasn''t hers. Luna softened to calm her husband down. ''Or at least, I have an idea but I''m not sure if that reason was valid.''

 Chapter 471 - Why Are You Obsessed?

    <h4>Chapter 471 - Why Are You Obsessed?</h4>

    New Chapter for Highest Tier May 2021

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    ''There must be something wrong with her, Apollyon. I didn''t? know what I did to evoke such strong aversion in her to whatever I say.'' Luna projected to him, and she could feel quiet violence swirling at the back of her mind, and it wasn''t hers. ''Or at least, I have an idea but I''m not sure if that reason was valid.''

    My mother isn''t right in the head, wife. Let''s leave it at that.'' Apollyon ordered.

    Luna felt hopeless, but she still wouldn''t give up on her wish to mediate between Apollyon and his mother''s rtionship. ''But it''s your mother.''

    ''She is an estranged mother and my beloved wife is a priority.'' Her husband''s tone might be emotionless, but his words cut like a knife. ''We must leave her alone.''

    As she unclenched her fists, Luna ced the spoon and her fork gently on the table and began, "Queen Titania. I don''t know if I have yed a part in this for you and Princess Ourania, to create a scene but I��"

    "My wife will not apologize." Luna couldn''t have turned her head fast enough as she let out a small gasp.

    Apollyon knew since he cut her off immediately. "Please keep my mother in line, Queen Titania. She must? think my wife is an easy target. She is gettingfortable with insulting her own daugter-inw. I will not hesitate to fight back to regain my wife''s honor and dignity if I have your permission that you wouldn''te after us if I punished her."

    Queen Titania had already returned to her seat, casually taking a sip of her tea after pouring herself a new one. "I didn''t expect Princess Ourania''s mental anguish to lead unto this."

    Fair folk from the Summer Courts, known for their fiery and intense nature, were prone to outbursts of anger and aggression as their way of dealing with negative emotions.

    Apollyon and Luna''s presence might cause Princess Ourania''s negative emotions to rise from the surface.

    Queen Titania''s eyes were focused on her feline''s fur.

    Brushing them with herb, the Summer Queen spoke to them, "When Princess Ourania returned from the Vampire Realm alone after decades, we were wondering why she hadn''t brought King Gwythyr and you. Your grandfather and I thought that your family were visiting for the first time in a long while. She only told us that something terrible had happened in the Vampire Realm. We even offered send the Summer Militia for a rescue attempt as the Vampire King''s ally but she said that there is no use. That both of you were already dead. She stated that the entire Vampire Realm waspletely wiped out by a fire-breathing monster and that''s it. Princess Ourania said she didn''t n to return because there was nothing there for her to return to."

    ''I am not sure whether she prayed that the Vampire Realm to be destroyed or she didn''t like to keep her hopes up that it would still be there.'' Luna thought.

    "All she does was paint all day and all night with a good two to three hours of sleep." Queen Titania continued. "She wouldn''t talk that much to me or to her father regarding her problems. It felt like she had shut herself mentally from the world, contented on surrounding herself with her art. In the past, this mental anguish of hers have caused her to hallucinate. I caught her having a conversation with herself once, talking to someone beside her while she painted,ughing to herself��"

    "��orughing to someone''s jokes nobody else could see aside from her?" Luna interrupted.

    Had Princess Ourania gone mad?

    Apollyon inclined his head in sudden interest. "How about invisibility magic?"

    "We can see through mor, King Apollyon." Princess Sapphire answered. "That simple magic is reserved for humans and other weaker creatures."

    Luna regarded the Princess with a squint. "Spirits? Ghosts? Demons?"

    The young Fae might be eating her food heartily, but she hadn''t missed a single thing in this discussion.

    "Does she have a new blood mate after the death of King Gwythyr?" Apollyon asked. "If the blood bond is strong and open, they canmunicate their thoughts despite the distance." Like Luna and Apollyon. "We haven''t seen any masculine creature around my daughter and she rarely goes out from her room."

    Luna realized after a few seconds. "Maybe, it was Princess Sapphire''s father."

    "Mother always implied that Father was gone." Princess Sapphire watched Luna with twin light brown orbs as she chewed. "Perhaps, he was dead. I have never seen my father not even once."

    Queen Titania exhaled a sigh."I have watched Princess Ourania carefully and from what I have witnessed she simply didn''t care about anyone, not even for Princess Sapphire. I? am not familiar with how her brain works. If she was even angry at me for taking Xerxes under my wing after he saved my Princess Sapphire--"

    "Mother is doing better as the time passes, grandma. We must give her a chance.? She must be in a bad mood because King Apollyon or the Empress must have said something which triggered her." Princess Sapphire replied.

    King Oberon finally spoke, "Well, my daughter needs to learn how to manage her emotions without letting it devour her from the inside out. It''s not somebody else''s responsibility to regte themselves to avoid her triggers." He turned towards Queen Titania and added icily, "Wife, you must teach our daughter that. She is a grown woman who already have her own child to take care of. She should be mature enough to know that not anyone would take her side in an argument especially if she is unreasonable. Princess Ourania craved a sense of control. That she must get exactly what she wanted."

    A pause.

    The Summer Monarchs continued eating while the vampires watched.

    The subject about Princess Ourania might have ended in a suspended note, and Apollyon had to leave it at that so he could finally ask the real reason why they were sent here.

    And this wasn''t about Apollyon''s mother.

 Chapter 472 - Tree Of The Four Seasons

    <h4>Chapter 472 - Tree Of The Four Seasons</h4>

    New Chapters from Highest Tier 5

    *****************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ******************************

    "I heard you wanted to see me, King Oberon. For what reason do you want to meet your grandson?" Apollyon asked quietly.

    He almost thought he saw pain shed in his grandfather''s blue-grey eyes.? "I only saw you on Princess Ourania''s paintings so I wanted to see if you in flesh and blood."

    And here he thought, King Oberon desired to end the conversation about her, and now, he was using his mother as a deflection to ignore her question.

    Brilliant.

    "We have a private room for Princess Ourania full of your portraits. From your childhood until now. A millennium had passed, and you are still her obsession."

    Stretching his neck from side to side, Apollyon spread his legs in a dominant gesture and leaned back on his chair, rxed. "Have you actually seen how they look like, King Oberon? Because I don''t think she would show that to you if her goal was to prove that she wasn''t crazy like you used to think. Come on, give your daughter some credit."

    "You were right, grandson." Sweat loomed in his forehead, and Apollyon was skeptical if this hot summer afternoon was the reason when King Oberon was unaffected a few minutes ago. Was there something King Oberon had seen which disconcerted him?

    "Why don''t you tell me what it''s all about, grandfather, and quit this unnecessary suspense."

    Luna nodded in agreement as her hand rested on top of his on the armchair.

    Whenever Apollyon felt this mysterious dread, Luna could feel what he sensed in that instant and showed her support without him needing to say anything.

    These were times when Apollyon felt that he was lucky to have a mate who loved him and epted him despite his imperfections.

    Apollyon and Luna waited for a few minutes for King Oberon''s response. But once again, the Summer King dropped the subject.

    ''What the f*ck?''

    Rubbing the back of his neck in an attempt to lower his blood pressure, Apollyon was tempted to overturn this damned table into his grandfather''sp until everything, including the food and crockery, came crashing down.

    If it didn''te out wrong in front of his grandfather, Apollyon would have told this old man how much of a tease he was. But that line was reserved for a wife, not a grandfather.

    Queen Titania must have sensed Apollyon''s anger rolling off him like waves because she cleared her throat and exined on King Oberon''s behalf.

    "Your mother, Princess Ourania, Apollyon." Queen Titania began. "As a way ofpensation and a way of removing our guilt as parents for what we have done to her, by forcing her into marriage with King Gwythyr to whom she clearly suffered mentally from, we gave her an entire floor in the Summer Castle for herself. After she told us her story of torment from the Vampire Realm, King Oberon and I made it our mission to give her whatever she desired so that she could be happy again, returning that smile back to her face. And she was happy by herself ever since she came bach to the Summer Realm�� or so we thought."

    Apollyon nodded, his eyes set on his grandmother.

    This time Apollyon hoped that they would finish the story to understand what made the strong Summer King feel spooked. "The top floor of the Summer Castle was hers. We made it as luxurious as possible, following her every request on that floor with extreme attention to details. We didn''t want to disappoint her of our actions. Like she instructed, no one was to go unto that floor except her and everyone followed this? including us to show our respect that we wouldn''t do anything topromise her freedom again."

    "It was just recently that our daughter had allowed strangers to visit her floor to see all her work of art, especially the Summer aristocrats who were her patrons. There are portraits in there of you�� The stages of your growth. From the day you were born. from your childhood, to puberty until to the man you have be. It was right in front of us. Lined up in a chronological order in a specific time line. I walked down the hallway, it felt like I have seen you in personal because of how detailed you appear in her paintings��like you were alive and you were about to descend from? the background. What I see right now in front of me is the exact same face that I have which made me think that Princess Ourania had seen you as you are before today." King Oberon said.

    Frown lines marred Luna''s forehead. "I also noticed this too, King Oberon. You, King Titania and Princess Ourania wasn''t surprised to see King Apollyon. And, what''s strange is that.. Princess Ourania didn''t hesitate to show her distaste on me�� which also made me think that she had seen me before."

    "Queen Titania and I have seen you before in one of Princess Ourania''s paintings. Centuries way before the news had spread all over the Faerie Realm that the Vampire King was alive and have gotten rid of this curse, they call the Blood Beast. It''s thest painting she ever made,. There was a sense of darkness to it that it gave me the chills when I saw her recent painting. At first, we didn''t think much about it. We thought you were our daughter''s imaginary friend when she wasn''t getting out of her floor and socializing with the rest of the Faeries."

    "But it''s not." Luna insisted.

    "Yes. You are Apollyon''s wife." Queen Titania gave a little nod. "Our daughter have predicted your existence so urately centuries before this meeting."

    "I think you already knew that we had lived in the Spring Courts for a year. What made you think to contact us now?" Raising an eyebrow, Apollyon drawled, "My wife and I�� Do? you want us to be a potential chess piece for your games against the Spring Realms?"

    "No." King Oberon said. "We need you to find the Eternal Tree of the Four Seasons.1"

 Chapter 473 - Moving To The Summer Palace

    <h4>Chapter 473 - Moving To The Summer Pce</h4>

    ******************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ******************************

    Her brows knitted in confusion as she stared at King Oberon. "Tree of Four Seasons?" Was it just a tree that can live through the four seasons in the Faerie Realm? Anyhow, Luna wasn''t afraid to rify her initial assumption. "What is that, Your Highness?"

    "I know what that is. It''s a myth, Luna."? Apollyon answered and Luna''s attention shifted to her husband. He continued as the warm breeze made his silky dark hair brush over his forehead. "That Eternal Tree existed at the time when the Faerie Realm wasn''t divided into the Four Courts? they currently have now."

    He turned his head towards King Oberon and Queen Titania as he gaged their expression warily, waiting for any signs of confirmation.

    "It was at the time when the all the Faerie Courts have lived harmoniously without greed and power. When gods, goddesses and even a few angels walked the Earth to watch over creatures the Highest God of the Universe have made." Confidence became more evident in his tone when Luna saw the Monarchs nodding in agreement. "Gods and goddesses were rarely seen but we know they are here with us. Sometimes, they appear in dreams and vanish as they please. They only show themselves to the creatures they have chosen yet only if their choice to make themselves known wouldn''t interfere with fate."

    Oh.

    So it was simr to how, the Goddess of the Underworld, Hecate, had chosen to connect with her from time to time.

    Luna must know something about her fate, making sure that she followed through with her destiny. Her grip tightened on her armchair.

    Luna was meant to be an Archdemon.

    "Everything was peaceful before the inevitable division of the Fae Realm." King Oberon said as he regarded them with an intense gaze that felt like he was speaking with his eyes. "��until the ''Watchers'' began to misbehave and turn away from their real mission given to them by the Highest God."

    She inclined her head, allowing her silver strands of hair to brush against her arm. "Watchers?"

    "From the name itself, Watchers are the heavenly beings we call ''angels''. They walked the earth to guard and watch over the Highest God''s Creation. They are visible in every Realm but they are only a few of them who was tasked to stay here. Just enough to keep all creatures in line and keep them away from evil."

    "Hmmm." Picking the table napkin, she felt the texture of the fabric between her fingers as she thought for a long minute before asking what''s on her mind. "If evil is an entity, they can''t possibly win among this guardian angels called, ''Watchers'', right?"

    "I have almost lived an era where evil, wasn''t an separate entity like it was now. It might sound that the world I used? to grow up in was like a different world. JIt was a world where evil have originated from free will." King Oberon chuckled to himself as he nced down at his te absently as if he was reminiscing his precious childhood memories.

    Can he still remember something as an Ancient?

    "The Watchers are tasked to provide help whenever people needed them. They can be witnesses to injustice. They listen and execute fairness in behalf of the victim right away to promote peace within a region. Everything was alright as it should. But everything went wrong when one Watcher, a Holy One, have broken his covenant with the Highest God andmitted his first sin." His mature countenance might have been too young but his voice was a bit husky and timeworn as he exined. "Evil have corrupted him because of his freedom in his choice."

    Luna was slightly taken aback. "Committing a sin?" The volume of her pitch rose in shock as she let that sink in. Aren''t Archangels supposed to be perfect and can do no wrong? "I couldn''t imagine how a Heavenly Being ca do something like that because I have met��" Luna abruptly shut her mouth instead of narrating her encounter with an Archangel, recalling that she and Apollyon had this agreement.

    Nobody should know that she had ties with the Spiritual Realm.

    Luna halted and allowed the awkward silence to fill the air, refusing to speak any further.

    Goddess, she shouldn''t have done that!

    If the Summer Monarchs found out that her soul had been to Hell and survived, that might lead her into trouble. They might react simr to the Spring Courts and use her of being an Archdemon��to which she was.

    They would think she was the harbinger of demonic legions on this Realm and the Vampire Realm would lose an ally if they decided to gang up on them along with the Spring Courts.

    Apollyon''s squeeze on her forearm was enough to seal her lips.

    Now, she could sense Apollyon''s suspicion from the back of her mind and she decided to keep their telepathic line open to gain his trust.

    "Luna." Apollyon said quietly and his tone can cut like razors yet there was a seductive purr to it that only a wife could sense.

    Her spine went rigid not because of his tone but the way his fingers caressed her lower back, moving upwards to the arch of her spine.

    Luna remained still, breathless. "I didn''t remember you telling me something like this before."

    Oh, my goddess!

    Was this a threat?

    Luna had opened her mouth to exin but she shut her lips, instead, and left it at that when he told her.

    She lowered her gaze to screen her expression from Apollyon''s grandparents. "Let''s talk about this after we return to Vinca Inn."

    "Please don''t return to Vinca Inn anymore, King Apollyon, and move in the Summer Castle with us instead." Luna would have liked to protest because she liked it there.

    In addition to that, she and her husband had their privacy.

    Well, that must be counterintuitive!

    How sure was she that no one could hear her scream every time Apollyon pounded her between legs as their royal canopy bed creak in unison with his thrusts?

 Chapter 474 - The Firstborn Demon

    <h4>Chapter 474 - The Firstborn Demon</h4>

    New Chapter of the Highest Tier (May 2021)

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    How sure was she that no one could hear her scream every time Apollyon pounded her between legs as their royal canopy bed creak in unison with his thrusts?

    Luna''s palms flew to her cheeks to cover her blushes.

    Apollyon''s grandparents shouldn''t know about her inappropriate thoughts.

    ''Staying in the Summer Courts��'' Luna ran a hand through her silver hair out of frustration.

    Would it be alright for her to stay within Princess Ourania''s vicinity when Queen Titania and King Oberon had confirmed with their own mouths that Apollyon''s mother was batshit crazy and had an unhealthy obsession with her son through her paintings?

    Princess Ourania even predicted her presence in her son''s life, whom she imed to love very much. Apollyon''s mother wasn''t reluctant to antagonize her, and Apollyon also made the mistake of sharing her pregnancy.

    What if parasites begin to eat her rotting mind and control Princess Ourania to physically attack her and kill her baby Leo if her mental abuse were mere pokes in Luna''s strong psyche? "My husband and I will think about it, Queen Titania." Luna replied.

    ''Are you sure, wife?''

    ''It would be bad to turn down your grandparents for their hospitality.'' Luna replied to Apollyon in her mind, and her husband could read them perfectly. ''I think they just want to get closer to you and get to know? you better.''

    ''Alright. Don''t worry about my mother.'' Apollyon said in amusement. ''I will attach myself at your hip and we will be inseparable.''

    Luna couldn''t help but smile.

    "We would be d if? you could stay with us in exchange for asking help from you." Queen Titania requested as her gaze moved back and forth between her and Apollyon. "The Realm of the Fae''s and the rest of the Kingdoms'' will be in your hands."

    In our hands?

    Luna raised an eyebrow as she hesitated to speak. "I don''t understand why that is when we were just talking about Watchers. Please continue exining, Your Highness."

    Queen Titania pursed her lips before she spoke. "I haven''t finished the full story of this myth yet so that you can understand. The Watcher, this light being, was so enamored by the lovely young Fae and made efforts to get closer to her."

    "At that time, the Fair Folk have retained this same appearance from this current present to the past, with profiles that are sweet, peculiar and close to nature. Nothing much had changed except for the fact that almost all Fae have ess to magic in this current present." She exined. "Nobody knew how to wield Fae Magic from the start of the civilization. This Angel was sessful in forming a close bond with the Fae by teaching her the Magic of the Heavens."

    Apollyon blinked in surprise. "I think I have read this somewhere from a dusty, old page in my grimoire collection. This myth exins the origin of Fae magic. This was the first thing I have read before I began learning Fae Magic by myself."

    Luna sucked in a breath.

    Apollyon might be a Vampire, but he knew where his roots came from.

    As an immortal, her husband was a studious learner and lover of all kinds of History.

    "It wasn''t long before this Watcher fell in love with the Fae at once. But he didn''t confess his feelings to the Fae at once. Thest thing the Angel wanted to do was pressure thedy when she wasn''t ready to ept him. He was determined to make the Fae tell him she love him first after falling for his slow seduction. One day, the Angel found out that the woman he loved and taught magic got married to another male Fae without the Angel''s knowing."

    Luna covered her mouth as she gasped, knowing that this can turn into a tragedy real quick.

    "The man she married was the grandson of the King of the entire Faerie Realm. What made the Watcher bloody furious was that she was chosen by the grandson of the King to be his princess because the Fae Monarchs have learn Magic from her. The secret knowledge from the Heavens the Angel shared have spread at an rming rate throughout the Kingdom. Those who learned and practiced magic consistently got better at it and challenged the Faerie Monarchs, sessfully usurping them out of the throne. The Kingdom was divided into the Four Courts,ter on, and signed an agreementto im the boundaries of their territory. After that, King and Oberon have ruled the Summer Courts after the Faerie War."

    "The Watcher have expected the Fae to keep a secret. He trusted her enough to legally bound her with a verbal contract. Any type of contract an Angel and a creature from the Earthly Realms is considered a sin since Angels aren''t allowed to have intimate connections with women. The Angel felt used by her so he raped her to stake his im." Grimacing, Luna felt like something was lodged in her throat as she imagined the young Fae''s broken body with bruises all over her flesh from the Angel raping her for her betrayal.

    "He targeted anyone who knew how to ess these powers within them simr to what he taught the Fae and killed as many of them as he could." King Oberon said. "This is why the the rest of the aristocrats are fighting for their own seat of power after the Faerie Monarchs died. The most powerful in the Faerie Realms in terms of magic each formed an army of their own and battled against each other. It went on for a long, long time before they agreed to separate the Faerie Realms into Four Courts."

    "How do you tie this myth to this Tree of the Four Seasons?" Luna asked. "And why does it have anything to do with me?" She gestured at her husband, "To us?"

    "You see Empress.? I never told you the good part yet. The Watcher had turned into a Fallen angel. And his offspring with the Fae he imed to love and raped after wards, was the First Born Demon in the Earthly Realm."

 Chapter 475 - The Angels Fruit

    <h4>Chapter 475 - The Angel''s Fruit</h4>

    New Chapter for Highest Tier (May 2021)

    ******************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ******************************

    "You see, Empress.? I never told you the good part yet. The Watcher had turned into a Fallen angel. And his offspring with the Fae he imed to love and rape afterwards, was the First Born Demon in the Earthly Realm." King Oberon uttered with certainty as he added with a little smirk,? "The Fallen Angel have married the Fae and ce her under his control. Yet, the pure Magic he extracted from the Source, The Highest God, was corrupted because of his transgression. Copting with women wasn''t part of the Deity''smand. The expanse of his skin was marked with dark tattoos and symbols of anguage no one knew.One thing is for sure. It is not from the Heavens."

    "You im that the offspring was a Firstborn Demon��"

    "Demons? are the surviving souls of the Nephilim after the Archangels hunted them one by one and destroyed their physical bodies with their Sword of Heavenly Fire." The fine rim of silver in his blue eyes glowed under the shade of the gazebo as King Oberon narrated with a hint of glee. "The Nephilims'' spirits survived, roaming the earth as demons. The Archangels never interfered with the Faerie War happening at the same time because they have their own war to attend to.? Nevertheless,? demons were adamant to include the Fair Folk and the other races into the war with the Archangels. Some of them have possessed the bodies of the weaker Faeries as their physical vessel. It made the Archangels difficult to purge them since they either have to severely injure the possessed creature with the Sword of Heavenly Fire which can also lead to their death or they had to perform an exorcism rite to detach the demon from their vessel. These abomination�� some of them were quick to transfer to another creature and they have to do it all over again."

    "Like what happened at Ostara." Apollyon muttered a string of curses.

    Luna felt a stone dropped in his stomach. "Did the offspring have a physical body in the Earthly Realm?"

    She understood the danger and all of them have the right to be worried.

    History might repeat itself.

    "The Fallen Angel and the Fae have produced Nephilim��a superhuman race who were also taught about the forbidden arts and sorcery so that they could fight the Archangelsing for them. The Fair Folk were created with flesh and blood to look after nature so if a female have bred with a demon, then they would own a physical body in this Realm, but a more powerful one."? Queen Titania answered.

    "What happened with the other Watchers, then?"

    "Hearing that the illicit union between a light being and a woman from the Faerie Realm, the other Watchers decided to have intercourse with other women they desired, following the steps of the first Fallen Angel. These Watchers have sumbed into temptation by their own choice. As far as they were concerned, they found the consequences bearable, living as a Fallen Angel in the Material Realm with their chosen women. Fallen Angels cannot be guilty of carnal desires since theyck flesh, but they can be guilty of sins that are rooted in spirit and intellect. They left their Heavenly abode to experience sensuality." King Oberon surprisingly returned his attention to her husband, noting Apollyon''s arm caressing Luna''s back. "��in this way, I can see that Fallen Angels are simr to Vampires."

    Apollyon didn''t stop touching her.

    Even if her husband had too much sensuality in his bones, Luna still epted him even if his grandparents disapprove of his behavior.

    "I would like to think that the Watchers at that time have mistaken ''love'' for ''lust'' for these women because it was a foreign thing to them as Angels to feel such wild passion. But like angels, vampires were never immune to sin."

    King Oberon gave them a half-shrug and Luna noticed that the Summer King''s face was a close temte to Apollyons''s cold, hard profile. "It wasn''t only the Watchers who were corrupted by their sins. Other Angels were casted out of heaven in a rebellion against? their Highest God and hurled them and the rest of the rebellious angels to the Material Realm. Their leader, ''Morning Star'', joined forces with the Watchers who turned into Fallen Angels to scatter all over the Realms to tempt creatures into sin. Forbidden Magic and Sorcery sent the Realms in chaos and destruction as greed, pride and envy made them seek more power that had infinite depths, battling each other until they die. Stronger demons were created and born from the collective vices of all the creatures in the Realm."

    These Fallen Angels might have turned into Archdemons themselves but Luna didn''t know any ''Morning Star.''

    "The Archangels were quick, cut-throat, and merciless to eliminate the Nephilims. The Fallen Angels were more difficult to handle since a few of them weren''tpletely annihted by the sword.? "It was the moment where Archdemons and their legions were rampant on Earth, creating chaos and destruction everywhere they go, terrorizing creatures they could find. Some were powerful enough to seriously injure gods and goddesses and rob them temporarily of their true power. Later on, the Archangels worked, hand in hand, with the gods and goddesses to confine the fallen Angels, Nephilim, and demons to bind their existence into a Realm where they were left to fight among themselves to rule their own Kingdom unless one was summoned, ultimately condemning them to Hell. After ying the Fallen Angels, their ethers were sucked into a magic container held by an Archangel before they could have the chance to regenerate."

    "Princess Sapphire told me beforehand. "Queen Titania''s eyes darkened as she raised her chin in a challenge. "You insisted that you weren''t the one who summoned the demons at Ostara."

    "Yes, I did not."

    "But you were able to contain them without them taking over you. Your body was able to confine those shadow demons like you are a magic vessel." She prompted, her voice was strong as steel. "Where do these demons go after they entered your body?"

    Irritation simmered inside Luna yet she wouldn''t cower. "I don''t know."

    "That is why I want you to find the Tree of Four Seasons if it still existed. It can purge any souls or demons out of your body that didn''t belong to you."

 Chapter 476 - Just Another Pawn

    <h4>Chapter 476 - Just Another Pawn</h4>

    New Chapter for Highest Tier (May 2021)

    **************************

    Archdemon Empress? Luna

    **************************

    Luna was lost in her own thoughts for a while now after leaving Queen Titania''s tea party.

    It was only the Summer Monarchs who were enjoying the food and the tea they have prepared for their beloved ''vampire guests.''

    Her husband wouldn''t allow her to drink the tea Queen Titania gave her, threatening to snatch the teacup out of her hand and pour it to the hedges if she gave the hibiscus tea just a single sip.

    She argued with him for a minute since Queen Titania told them that she had mixed another concoction that a Vampiric Fae would like.

    In the blink of an eye, Apollyon barked at a disapproving ''NO.''

    Sulking, Luna pouted her lips.

    Apollyon became more strict when it came to any liquid she drank, paying attention to things that would harm her and their baby, Leo.

    Queen Titania smiled at their exchange as she informed them that there was no poison in there.

    They can clearly check themselves since the crockery was made of silver.

    Now, Apollyon had announced her pregnancy to her grandparents, wearing a dour countenance.

    They never pushed after that, respecting their decision not to touch anything while they continue their discussion.

    It was a bit awkward, but Luna was getting used to it as a Vampire��watching people eat in front of them, not knowing whether to openly stare at the person eating or avert their gaze to the arrays of fruitcakes at the table they couldn''t eat.

    King and Queen Oberon imed that this Tree of Four Seasons could bear a special fruit to purge out demons inside a physical vessel.

    Queen Titania told her about Princess Ourania''s only painting of her, holding this special fruit in her hands.

    They think it was a premonition that Luna was the only one who can find this mythical tree.

    And here was the moment Apollyon and Luna have been waiting for��

    The Summer Monarch finally shared their secret agenda on why the two of them were specifically in the Summer Courts, and it wasn''t about meeting Apollyon''s big, happy family.

    Queen Titania requested that Luna find the Tree of the Four Seasons in the Faerie Realm and bring the special fruits to them so that every Summer Fae can have their slice and protect themselves from demonic attacks, including them.

    The Fate of the Summer Courts was literally in her hands, after all.

    Princess Ourania''s painting said so.

    Luna sighed. ''How would she even find it if it wouldn''t show itself for the second time when the Angelic War have already ended?''

    The moment they gave her this mission, she didn''t have the heart to tell her grandparents that she couldn''t get the hidden Tree of Four Seasons to show itself to her when she was an Archdemon.

    What an irony!

    She was an Archdemon who will be searching for an item that exorcises demons out of their body if a possessed creature eats this fruit, making them immune to demonic attacks.

    What were the possible effects if she finally got her hands on it?

    The Summer Monarchs made the ''safety of their loyal subjects'' their excuses when Queen Titania and King Oberon needed to ingest this fruit so that no demons could use them and take them over through demonic possession.

    This will serve as a safety precaution from what happened at Ostara.

    Apollyon was right.

    This wasn''t about family.

    The Summer Monarchs were using them as a pawn, and she had no idea what to think.

    +++

    Hand-in-hand, Apollyon and Luna roamed the courtyard by themselves to familiarize the Pce grounds.

    They weren''t strolling out of leisure like what the Summer Monarchs would think when they excused themselves from the simple gathering at the gazebo. But they were doing this out of necessity, just in case Apollyon and Luna decided to stay at the Castle instead of the Vinca Inn.

    Her husband was quick to notice secret spots to teleport if one of them got in trouble.

    The presence of Princess Ourania living in the same vicinity as them was a looming threat considering that she had an unhealthy obsession with Apollyon.

    In addition to Princess Ourania''s mental state, she was able to predict the future--that Luna would soon be Apollyon''s wife, as seen from one of her paintings she created centuries ago.

    Apollyon''s mother must have waited for this exact scenario to happen.

    What else could she predict aside from Luna finding the Tree of the Four Seasons?

    Luna never saw the painting Princess Ourania kept hidden in her private floors in the Summer Castle.

    Hmmm.

    She might suggest to her husband that both of them should sneak in there with his grandparents'' permission.

    The Summer Castle was a remarkable sight.

    The sun shone brightly as it rose above the horizon.

    Its brilliant rays outlined the high Pce, shaped like a gilded cage with fortified walls made of bluestone surrounding it.

    The Summer Castle had five stories of decoration filled with exquisite details.

    The towers pierced the skyline with their eye-catching golden yet skinny spires.

    Apollyon and Luna hadn''t entered the grand halls yet, but Luna expected the rooms to be more spacious, elegant, and full of mour than the popr Vinca Inn.

    There was no sign of a burning fire at the castle turrets like King Oberon, and Queen Titania stated at the gazebo.

    Luna thought that the mysterious me was probably an evil god''s prank.

    Who in their right mind finds pleasure in taking the life of a Fae Sentinel by burning it alive?

    But they also couldn''t erase the possibility of this strange urrence being a work of a demon.

    Who would like killing other creatures to satisfy their strong urge for senseless torture except for making themselves feel better and more powerful? than the rest

    Only a bored Archdemon is the right answer.

    But the question was, who was controlling them?

    Was there a possible Archdemon conjurer in the Summer Courts?

    Luna was sure her husband''s consciousness had already reached out to hers, but he didn''t bother with interrupting her, content on theirpanionable silence.

 Chapter 477 - Pheromones

    <h4>Chapter 477 - Pheromones</h4>

    New Chapter for Highest Tier (May 2021)

    ***************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    Luna was certain her husband''s consciousness had already reached out to hers, but Apollyon didn''t interrupt her, content on theirpanionable silence.

    Out of all the things Luna, Apollyon, Queen Titania, and King Oberon discussed, the myth about the First Made Demons bothered her the most rather than this Tree of Four Seasons.

    She had gone to Hell, but he couldn''t figure, for the life of her, who between Satan and Lucifer was the Watcher who turned into a Fallen Angel!

    Did Fallen Angels transform into an Archdemonter on?

    Where are they, and why couldn''t she see them when she stayed in Hell for months?

    Ravin, Sloth, and Luxen didn''t introduce her to some of the First Made Archdemons.

    Did they still exist except the Demon King and his bastard brother who ordered the Grand Torturer to punish and make her stronger and perform Archdemon Magic?

    At least as a current Archdemon, Luna figured out the origin of the DemonKind was, and this information might be important in the future.

    Maybe, somewhere along her journey, she could use this knowledge as a weapon to defeat the Archdemons who ruined her life.

    She was itching to solve the mysteries circling like vultures over her thoughts.

    Luna informed her husband that she would be interested in staying in the Summer Pce with him. But Apollyon only snorted in response, telling her to think about it for three days if Luna changed her mind.

    They will not only live with her grandparents (who are somewhat amiable in her presence because who wouldn''t when they need her to do something)��but both of them would also be dealing with her mother.

    Exhaling a heavy sigh, Luna could stay here in the Summer Pce if Luna knew how to avoid thedy who hated her guts.

    In Vinca Inn, nobody knew them, and most of all, nobody would give a damn about what they do, so that ce was more advantageous to them.

    Never mind that they have an unlikely ally at their side who can assist them with any of their requests since the innkeeper would be loyal to them than all the servants of this Summer Pcebined.

    She wiped the sweat at the back of her neck and gathered her silver hair in both hands, twirling them in one direction tightly before letting it go, flowing like silk behind her back.

    The portcullis at the outer gatehouse served as additional security along with the colossal metal door, and the outer gatehouse was the only easy way across the moat and inside the Summer Castle. Any other side would be futile.

    It was easier to prowl this Castle if one was a vampire? (especially one who can teleport like Apollyon) as long as one can familiarize the entire location''s ins and outs.

    They will have no problem escaping.

    Apollyon and Luna got out of the inner gatehouse to explore the outer court, admiring the view absently and strolling at the Castle without an aim in mind--just two sweet couples locking arms around each other.

    Any Fae who mighte across them will know that their minds were a bit absent as they walked at a snail''s pace, thinking about the real gravity of their situation.

    Would the mythical Tree of Four Seasons reveal itself to her as what Princess Ourania''s painting had shown?

    King Oberon told her that thest time that mythical Tree existed was during the First Angelic War.

    The Summer King wasn''t born yet when this ancient tree existed, and this myth was passed down generations after generations from his childhood and still went on until he achieved victory as the King of the Summer Courts with Queen Titania by her side.

    The First Angelic War came in first with a long historypared to the Faerie War that King Oberon was lucky enough��or unlucky enough to witness.

    Did Luna have the power to hold the special fruit in her hands despite being an Archdemon to help this present and future Fairfolk to prevent any kinds of demonic possession like what happened at Ostara?

    Because if that happened one more time and Luna would have no choice to rescue these ungrateful creatures by ingesting more demons in her system, she would once again reveal her true nature, which would ultimately lead to her demise.

    King Oberon also informed them of an Archangel watching over it.

    Those people who can find this mythical tree in the Faerie Realm must be worthy in the Archangel''s eyes.

    But how can an Archdemon be worthy?

    Can Luna eat it to get rid of this another Archdemon who has not yet awakened in her physical body, or would this special fruit also send her to Hell and would nevere back?

    Would this be the right time to tell Apollyon about Lilith?

    Now, Apollyon stood with Luna side-by-side as they leaned their elbows to the bridge, and she nced down at the blue-green waters of the moat surrounding the Summer Castle, keeping them cool in this hot weather.

    The summer winds threatened to melt them into ethers.

    As she wondered why Apollyon wasn''t suffering as much as her when he was the one who was used to the Arctic Tundras, Luna didn''t hesitate to bend over and ripped her long skirts off with her bare hands, exposing her pale, sweaty legs.

    Her husband''s eyes widened before narrowing his eyes as he grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to face him.

    From the clicking of his tongue, Luna knew her husband didn''t like her showing a lot of skin for the masculine gaze, but she looked him in the eye and shrugged with nonchnce.

    Tearing a strip of an aquamarine fabric into a ribbon, she tied her hair up in a ponytail to which Apollyon took a step backwards, scanned her from head-to-toe, and nodded his head, dark realization in his Prussian Blue eyes.

    He finally got the idea that she felt hot as she fanned her face with her hand.

 Chapter 478 - Not In Broad Daylight, Please!

    <h4>Chapter 478 - Not In Broad Daylight, Please!</h4>

    New Chapter in Highest Tier (May 2021)

    ******************************

    Arhcdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    "I don''t want to tell this because you might find me strange, wife." Apollyon''s blue eyes smouldered as he took a glimpse at her lips before it returned to her eyes.

    She caressed the hard angle of his jaw with a hand as she nced up at him, wearing a smile. "I already find you strange. Tell me what is it, then."

    "It''s not a fetish of mine."

    She took an involuntary stepped backwards, and Apollyon noted her slight withdrawal.

    He narrowed his gaze at her sandals, but he said nothing.

    Apollyon shouldn''t be surprised.

    That line made it even more suspicious. Lunamented. "That sounds like a fetish."

    "I like it when you sweat." Apollyon said bluntly as his attention moved to the torn aquamarine gown he gifted her when he finally had his money exchanged to the currency in the Summer Courts. "The smell is stronger in the Summer Realm since you are sweating a lot."

    "Does it��" Luna dropped her hand from his face, all the while averting her gaze as her face warmed in chagrin. "Does it smell bad?"

    "The scent of it��." Apollyon paused as if he was weighing his words carefully before he went on, "It''s fragrant and addictive. The scent bes sweeter. If I don''t have any ounce of self-control I would be all over you."

    He took a step forward and towered over her.

    Bending his head, Apollyon leaned closer to inhale the crown of her head.? "I want to fuck all the time. Ever since we arrived here. I think it''s your pheromones. The attraction gets stronger and the masculine mate is more affected by this. The urge to breed is strong especially when the female is pregnant."

    "Oh my goddess!" Luna gasped, covering her mouth in shock.

    It must be the damned pheromones attracting him to her.

    It''s because of the pregnancy that she was sore and worn out.

    She couldn''t exin it, but Apollyon''s seductive words struck a chord in her, sending her into overdrive.

    It was a kindle to the mes flowing through her bloodstreams, igniting the passions inside her, which made the tiny hairs on her skin stand on their end.

    The sunshine was deep-seated into their bones, making their bright day even hotter and making her husband''s chiselled perfection glow.

    At the moment, his aura was gold, and it was the happiest colour she had ever seen today, so different from the darkness she had seen from Princess Ourania.

    "No wonder you are acting like you are a sex-deprived maniac when I always give you when where and how you wanted it every single time. You are more intense than normal."

    Apollyon''s cheekbones were flushed.

    "I apologize that I always tire you in the bedchamber." It wasughable how her husband had the nerve to feel embarrassed.

    She saw Apollyon''s brows knitted in determination.

    Luna''s gaze fell unto his Adam''s Apple bobbing up and down as he swallowed hard.

    Onerge hand cupped her nape possessively before his fingers caressed her scalp for a few seconds.

    She loved the sensation of his nails scratching against the sensitive skin at the back of her skull.

    He gently tugged her head with her thick silver locks between his fingers, and Luna was forced to nce up at him.

    Apollyon''s mouth swooped in and kissed her with expertise.

    As sweat dripped down her back, Apollyon''s heating out of his skin made her even hotter as he wrapped his arms around her.

    Luna allowed her eyes to fell shut, reassuring herself that Apollyon''s existence wasn''t a dream.

    This embrace was particrly unique. It calmed something inside her soul, making her more content to dwell in each passing moment.

    As she lifted her arms to rest her hands on his broad shoulders, Luna swore she would treasure him with every second of her life that they were together.

    Luna only felt joy when she was with her husband.

    But, she suddenly remembered that they weren''t alone.

    A lot of Faerie Sentinels watched them.

    Spies.

    She pushed him away.

    Luna shook her head to get a hold of herself.

    With bared teeth, she said in a whisper-shout as she clutched his front tunic. "Apollyon,you really have no shame. You are jumping me in broad daylight on this bridge. I can sense Fae Archers'' eyes watching us from the arrow slits behind the castle walls."

    "We are just kissing out here." Apollyon told her with such cool arrogance that made her want to p the back of his hand for rubbingzily against her erect nipple.

    He bit his moist lip as he gave her cleavage a quick furtive nce. "I''m not peeling off your bodice."

    ''Uh-huh.'' Luna raised a curious eyebrow at him.

    Apollyon was already taking her clothes off with his mischievous gaze, and his muscles were all bunched, which meant something was ''up''.

    It wasn''t like she didn''t appreciate her husband''s attention.

    Luna folded her arms across her chest as her knowing gazended on his crotch area.

    Tilting her head, she focused on him and murmured huskily, "--but I want you to."

    Apollyonughed.

    It was the most glorious sound to hear a grumpy loved oneugh, and she was the only one who could do it, making her feel like you are flying high in the clouds.

    "Shameless wife." Apollyon smirked as he took a step forward. "Come here."

    "Please, don''t." Giggling, Luna danced out of her husband''s reach when he stretched his arm to lock his fingers on her wrist.

    Apollyon was the epitome of dangerous temptation when he whispered, "I saw arge bush at the courtyard earlier."

    Luna pped him in the shoulder. "Stop jesting."

    "I like the smell of your skin, the feel of your arms wrapped around my back. Your legs locked around my waist. You always give your husband what you want and I have noints. I am not searching for anyone else."

 Chapter 479 - Hot Summer Kiss

    <h4>Chapter 479 - Hot Summer Kiss</h4>

    New Chapter in Highest Tier (May 2021)

    ******************************

    Arhcdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    "I like the smell of your skin, the feel of your arms wrapped around my back. Your legs locked around my waist. You always give your husband what you want and I have noints. I am not searching for anyone else." Apollyon''s lips curved when he finally got the chance to mp his hands in her hips, keeping her in ce.

    Dragging her fingernails across his chest, Luna couldn''t stopughing at how stupid yet romantic her husband sounded, "That sounded like a libertine''s poetry. If you were courting me with those lines, I would have turn you down, run away and never look back."

    At that sweet moment, Luna desired to dip her feet into the cool water as she sat on the cool grass at the edge of the moat or maybe, they could rest under the shade of the vast canopy of green foliage rather than dealing with the brilliant light hitting her in the face.

    Apollyon''s invitation towards a certain bush was very tempting, but it was never toote to get a hold of herself. Fortunately, there was no rest to shade in that ce, and they were too big to hide at such a small location.

    After theughter faded, Apollyon said a sensual promise, "I can convince you to do the opposite." The way her husband challenged her made her want to initiate a heated kiss that would rival this hot summer.

    Slowly biting her lip, Luna watched her husband''s mouth before returning her gaze to him, using the exact technique Apollyon used earlier to seduce her.

    His breath hitched from her intense focus, and she knew he could also feel the sexual tension around them.

    Apollyon raised his hands to cup her cheeks, and she broke eye contact, sensing his urge to kiss her twice...thrice��

    Luna could see the inevitable future, and that included both of them ending up half-naked in this bridge exposed in the Summer Fair Folk''s gaze.

    Seducing Apollyon in broad daylight to get back at him was such a bad idea.

    It was only a notion she could fantasize about but only in the privacy of their bedchamber.

    Apollyon caught her by surprise as he imed her mouth in a passionate kiss that made her moan as she wed at his tunic to get him closer, eager to please him. Luna devoured his lower lip with the same urgency he had.

    She acquiesced and allow the kiss to go on and on as long as it can still count as innocent, and when she meant ''innocent,'' Luna intended that no clothes were taken off.

    When Apolloyn''s mouth began to trail tongue kisses on her neck down to his chest all the while, grounding his cock against her lower belly, she stopped him once again from taking it too far as she shifted from his hold and jolted him out of his ardor.

    "Apollyon." Her eyes strayed to the bright pink water lilies soaked pure sunlight floated with elegance in the moat. Its heightened hues were a stark contrast to the topaz sparkle of the waters, bathing the golden bridge with a floral aroma.

    "Not here." Luna whispered, but her mind asked her, ''What''s the worse thing that could happen?''

    Was it really her, or was it a suggestion her husband had imnted in her head?

    Luna saw a glimpse of the brutal angle of his jaw as he gritted his teeth, one palm sliding to his cheek.

    "I want you now." Apollyon growled.

    "You can have all of me." She patted him in the chest, and she felt the strong and steady heartbeat underneath her palm. "Later."

    He exhaled in frustration. "Alright."

    Topensate for his disappointment, Luna walked straight to his arms and rested her cheek, content on hearing his heartbeat. "You look like a child who was given his favorite toy in the world. But his mother had taken them away because it wasn''t the right time to y with it."

    "You are not my toy, wife. But the best thing I canpare you is blood. You just taste so delicious to me. You''re the best thing that ever existed in my life." Apollyon grumbled in his deep baritone that she could feel the delicious vibrations on his chest.

    Luna''s mind had spaced out from smelling Apollyon''s clean and fresh musk with a hint of flowers, cool saltwater, and nature, as well as the bright, warm sunlight lingering on his skin, making her body ache with lust. It took her a minute to let all of his words sink into her befuddled brain.

    "��and you love me. Someone who loves me despite my ws�� made it easier for me to love you despite what had happened to us." Apollyon continued.

    "Stop it. You are full of flowery words today." Clutching the front of his tunic, Luna said softly that it almost came out as a breathy moan. "I think you must have eaten something strange."

    Apollyon gave her a wolfish grin, "I only only eat my wife. There is nothing? strange about that."

    ''"Husband," Shaking her head, Luna clicked her tongue as she watched at her husband with a delighted smile, "You are a hopeless case. You and your sexual innuendos."

    "I know you are swooning over them, my beloved." He gave her an evil chuckle before his tone became more serious. "You should know that I would never leave you no matter what. That is the extent of my love. We can ovee anything." Rubbing his palm against her back in an attempt to wipe off her sweat with her own clothes, Apollyon pressed a kiss on her forehead as he murmured in her hair, "And our heiress will be born soon. I am excited yet afraid."

    "Why are you afraid?" In return, Luna stood on her tiptoes tond a kiss on his throat before her sandals settled to the ground. "You don''t have to be."

 Chapter 480 - Funny Apollyon

    <h4>Chapter 480 - Funny Apollyon</h4>

    New Chapter of Highest Tier (May 2021)

    *************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *************************

    "I''m afraid that you will cast me aside and be busy with the baby." Apollyon replied, scowling. "I can''t stand my wife ignoring me all day long to soothe the crying babe."

    Luna admired that her husband was honest with his feelings and wouldn''t hesitate to tell her what he thought. But she had to say something to assuage his insecurities as a husband. "No, Apollyon. I will have time for you because��" She paused, weighing her next words.

    She squinted at Apollyon as she watched his reaction closely. "--we will take turns about taking the baby." She gave him a half-shrug and shed her a sphinx-like grin. "I''m not the one who tried very hard to make an heir for you."

    A pause.

    Apollyon nodded slowly.

    "That''s true. I was the one who kept on inserting my seed inside you because I enjoyed the act more." He murmured as his Prussian Blue eyes darkened like storm clouds��aplete irony to his next statement��but there was fragile innocence twinkling behind his intense gaze. "But I''m ecstatic about Leo as well."

    ''Really?'' Luna raised an eyebrow in suspicion. ''He didn''t look like it, though.''

    Still, Luna felt somehow relieved even if she was unsure if her husband was ecstatic for real. "Good husband." Luna lifted her chin in a challenge as she asked him a rhetorical question, "You will not run away from your responsibilities with me, do you understand?"

    "Or what?" He asked, his lips curved upward in amusement as he poked her in the cheek, "You will castrate me with Archdemon Magic?"

    Gritting her teeth in annoyance, Luna grabbed his hand and pushed it away from her face. "Yes. I will castrate you and put your prick in a jar and ce them underneath my pillow."? She deadpanned, batting her eyshes. "In memory of my dead husband, Apollyon, who is good in bed but can''t even take care of his spawn.

    From Apollyon''s cheeky countenance, Luna knew he was going to tease her further. "That''s a brilliant memento. Go and do that. It can give you wet dreams if you use it and make yourselfe. But it would hit different without your husband."

    Wincing, Luna pped her husband yfully on his shoulder, and her husband had to gather her wrists in his hands to make her stop.

    "Apollyon!" Lunained. "That''s a really nasty image."

    "Good." Apollyon''s smile was wide. His blue eyes lit with a mischievous inner glow. "If you are turned on by what I said, I would have? to question your sanity."

    "You are ridiculous!" She stared at him grudgingly as she pulled her wrists from his grasp.

    "Just for you." Apollyon let her go easily. "I like making youugh."

    Luna pped a hand on her forehead and rubbed his palm across her sweaty face. "I don''t know what to do with you."

    "Then, do me." He smirked.

    "Later." Luna replied.

    Crossing her arms over her chest, she tapped her foot on the old moat bridge impatiently. "If you have any concerns about being a father you should tell me now."

    "Wife." Apollyon held out both of his hands to hold hers as they stood face to face at the side of the bridge, their fingers linked together. "The baby might hate me because I don''t have any experience with it. How do I hold it so that its tiny head wouldn''t get crushed with my strength?"

    "Apollyon." She sighed, feeling hopeless as she squeezed hisrge hands. "Why would you crush our baby''s head, you idiot. She''s not even in this world yet but you are already thinking about these idents."

    "I might do it identally that''s why I''m afraid to hold its fragile form." He looked concerned, and Luna would haveughed if it wasn''t for that grim twist in his mouth. "What if I drop it?"

    "You''re making excuses." Luna scratched an itch in her cheek as she replied.? "Maybe, you don''t love our future baby enough."

    "No." His Prussian Blue eyes were dark and serious. "I''m just want to be careful with our baby. I think I need to borrow someone''s babe in the Vige to practice with it."

    "Apollyon." She scratched her head as she felt the heat prickling down her scalp. "You might get used with child stealing. Just practice with your ck cat in Vinca inn alright?"

    +++

    Apollyon and Luna decided to return to Vinca Inn after watching the sunset here at the Summer Courts, ording to Princess Sapphire''s suggestion.

    She said that the golden Summer Castle would look like one giant star in the orange sky.

    That will be a sight to behold��like a fire sparked hand of the universe stretched and stroked the heavens in an eternal ze simr to a phoenix.

    The only thing they could do was to stroll around ces where they were allowed to visit as guests as they chatted about every little thing their eyes have set on, taking notes on things which they could find useful just in case it gave them more information about the Summer Monarchs.

    It was amazing that they never ran out of something to talk about.

    They might stumble across a few Summer Fae from the ruling nobility, but the way they stared at them disconcerted her.

    At least, they were respectful enough to bow their heads and greet them.

    After that, they would run away from them like they have seen ghosts.

    That wasn''t the only instance that they were treated like that.

    It appeared like the servants in the Summer Castle also avoided them like the gue.

    Luna appreciated their avoidance because they didn''t like attention anyway.

    But what was the reason?

    "What do you think, wife?"Apollyon asked without looking at her.

    His gaze was focused on the gilded ivory columns of the hallway. If the sun was a castle it would look like this one. "I told you that we shall have three days to decide if we want to stay here in the Summer Courts."

 Chapter 481 - The Man Wants What He Wants

    <h4>Chapter 481 - The Man Wants What He Wants</h4>

    New Chapter in Highest Tier (May 2021)

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    "What do you think, wife?" Apollyon asked without looking at her, and his gaze was focused on the gilded ivory columns of the hallway instead. If the sun were a castle, it would look like this one. "I told you that we shall have three days to decide if we want to stay here in the Summer Courts."

    "What do you want?" Luna asked as she raised her hand to let her fingers trail across the precious stones fixed on the walls.

    "No." Turning his head to the side, Apollyon threw the question back at her. "What do you want?"

    She shrugged as she matched Apollyon''s long,zy strides. "I will want what you want."

    "All I want is you." Apollyon said. "So whatever you decide I will agree to it because I love you."

    Hands on her hips, Luna sighed, "I don''t want to decide so I want you to lead us where you like. Having no choice is much easier. At times like this, I am d to have a husband who decides for me."

    Grinning, Apollyon stepped closer to her and grabbed her by the waist. "Be careful what you wish for because you just might get it."

    Luna shifted away from his hold as she ran ahead of him for a few feet.

    Then, she faced him while walking backward and told him. "I trust you enough to know your limits and respect my boundaries. I don''t have to worry. My handsome husband will respect me and will not try to control me this time."

    "I think you forgot about the fights and arguments we used to have when I''m tying to decide for you and what you have to do in your life so that you could fit to what I desired for you." Apollyon said in a warning. "I might get used to ordering you around."

    Luna noticed Apollyon squinted behind her from time to time just in case she might hit something across their path.

    Aww~ How sweet!

    Her husband was kind enough to look after her well-being.

    Blinking back tears of joy, she made efforts to brighten her face with a smile. "Ordering me around is strictly reserved for bedroom y. But I want you to decide on this since I was? the one who decide for us toe here so that you could meet your mother."

    I don''t think it went well. My expectations were too high."She bit her lip. "You aren''t happy about the meeting with her, so I apologize."

    "I''m alright but I didn''t like how she treated you at the gazebo." He scowled. That must have infuriated him. "It felt like she had a problem with you for some reason."

    "Hmm."

    Monumental chandeliers greeted them at every entrance towards the Grand Hall.

    Its bright golden orbs were maintained through the Fae Magic of the Summer Monarchs,? inviting the guests'' eyes upward by its sparkle as it shined its beauty in the opulence of the ballrooms and hallways.

    Luna stood by one of the scattered ornate windows made of stained ss of the Summer Castle, feeling the warmth of the sun rays upon her skin while Apollyon watched the view outside.

    From up there, they could see the moat bridge over the Faerie-made trench connecting two grasnds.

    She could also equipment to see the vast gatehouse with colossal metal doors and a drawbridge which was the only way in if one was to decide to conquer this castle.

    Luna thought that only demons could invade this ce because of how heavily protected it was.

    The externalyout of the castle was in a perfectly symmetrical pattern, including the huge crention of archers and artillery that Luna thought the one who created it was a genius'' obsession which had a great eye for art. And war.

    The lovely hedge maze gardens in the Summer Courts were well built too.

    The firm walls of the fortress were made of blue and dark red stones with a shade of gold lit by the light of a loving sun��a reminder to the royalties that the qualities of their heart and soul should also be made of real gold.

    "Apollyon." Luna clutched the hem of his tunic. "Should we spy on what your mother was doing right now after she walked out on us? I''m dying of boredom."

    "Me too." He quickly snapped out of his reverie and replied, "I want to see her painting of you and me."

    Frowning, Luna muttered to herself. "I could tell how much she hated me based from that painting."

    Apollyon said, "I am more interested with her old painting of you and the tree of the Four Seasons."

    "Right." Luna nodded in agreement. "Let''s waste our time on other things instead of allowing my pheromones to control you."

    Apollyon pulled her towards him without warning, "You make it sound like I couldn''t resist you." It was a dark, sensual murmur that made Luna''s breast ache. "Is? that a challenge?"

    "Let''s y a game. Don''t touch me or kiss me until sunset." Luna smirked, "If you do it and broke the rule, we will not have any sexual congress tonight even once."

    "That''s easy." Apollyon said, relieved. But then he watched her with suspicion. "As long as you don''t seduce me on purpose."

    Luna suddenly had the urge to flee when Apollyon figured out her ns.

    Was she this predictable?

    Ignoring his implication, she said, "Call. Game start."

    "Wait a second." Apollyon tucked her deeper into his body as he embraced her with a single arm, widening his stance. What''s my reward?"

    Her eyebrows knitted in confusion. "I told? you we will have fun tonight."

    Eyes following her slightest movements, Apollyon bent his head closer and rubbed his nose against hers, "We always do it every night. Something should be added to increase the stakes."

    "Y-your H-highness r-really knows h-how to b-bargain." Flushing beet red, Luna cleared her throat to get rid of her stutter. This was the first time in a long time where she had stumbled over her words in her husband''s presence. "What do you want then aside from that?"

    "I? want a role y."

 Chapter 482 - I Spy With My Little Eye

    <h4>Chapter 482 - I Spy With My Little Eye</h4>

    New Chapter in Highest Tier (May 2021)

    ***************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ***************************

    Their footsteps were a consistent percussion in the Summer Pce.

    They climbed through the first staircase they see on the way up to search for? Princess Ourania''s private floor and sneak into the chamber or the secret hallway King Oberon and Queen Titania mentioned where she disyed her paintings.

    Luna and Apollyon would count themselves lucky if she were somewhere else.

    Both of them agreed about not leaving the Summer Pce until they witness the paintings.

    This was also a chance to observe her and what was wrong with her without getting caught.

    Their loud and rhythmic steps as Apollyon and Luna walked in unison echoed in the silence as the sound bounced back from the walls with the colour of bright pastels and gold, which made the ambience more serene.

    Her husband, gentleman that he was, insisted that he held her by the elbow like his child as they climbed to a couple more floors just in case she might take the wrong stride, ''slip and fall to the ground, rolling like a? tumbleweed in the desert.

    It was aical image Apollyon have supplied in her mind. Luna sighed, but she couldn''t hide her amusement either, her lips curving upward.

    There was no use arguing with her husband''s logic when he had switched into this ''overbearing husband'' persona in a snap of a finger.

    Luna and Apollyon were on board that Princess Ourania was horribly messed up, but they can''t figure how much.

    Despite that, Luna desired to stay on the Summer Courts.

    She was determined to get her hands on the special fruit from the Tree of the Four Seasons in hopes of getting rid of this pestilence inside her��the Archdemon of Envy.

    As she clenched her fists, her footsteps became heavier as her face scrunched up into a scowl, remembering how the bitch had dragged her and made her suffer in Hell.

    How can she take her revenge and torment Lilith, as she did her?

    Hopefully, this magic angel fruit can help her with that.

    "Wife."

    "Hmm?" Luna turned hummed without removing her gaze from the staircase, not noticing that her husband called her name a few times before she answered.

    She was lost in her own thoughts, and this time, she made sure to protect them from Apollyon''s interference.

    "You angry again? I don''t like to be ignored by my wife." Then Apollyon added, muttering to himself. "I was expecting you to seduce me by now so I''m not ruining your ns by looking into them."

    It was good that he made no attempts of mind-reading!

    "Apollyon." Luna kept the nuance of her voice neutral so as not to rm her husband. "What would you do if I tell you something about Lilith?"

    Breathing hard from her anger, not by her exertion to climb the stairs while being pregnant, Luna was just relieved that the bitch didn''t rise to the surface yet.

    That delusional Archdemon didn''t belong in her physical vessel.

    The High Priestess Apollyon captured from the Spring Courts who created her own demon cult must have been strong to put Lilith to sleep for a long time but not enough to exorcise her out of her vessel.

    The question was��for how long?

    Before she confessed to her husband about Lilith, she had to make sure that Princess Ourania wasn''t a threat to the safety of their baby first.

    Apollyon took a deep breath before he asked rather sharply, "What about her?"

    It was clear from his tone that her husband was pissed from hearing her cursed name. "As much as possible, I don''t like her name to be mentioned. She was already out of our life and I made the necessary sacrifice. Done. Finito."

    ''You think it''s the end, huh?'' Luna let out a strained smile which made Apollyon''s grip on her elbow tighten that she was forced to halt.

    "What do you mean by that?"

    "I will tell youter after we found the paintings." Luna walked closer beside him until their arms touched. "It is connected to that."

    "Alright."Apollyon grunted. "I trust you."

    She believed that a painting could be a tell-tale sign if the artist had gone mad that she wasn''t safe to be around sane people.

    In respect to her rude mother-inw, Luna remained on the fence about her mental state because maybe, Princess Ourania was behaving like a spoiled child in the present after not being given the thing she wanted when she was younger.

    It must have been a coping mechanism.

    Luna would let it slide the first time and give her the benefit of the doubt.

    Her jaws were clenched as she gripped the balustrade. "The problems never end, husband."

    "We will take them one step at a time."

    She bit her cheek and kept her mouth shut.

    Apollyon must have thought she meant about climbing the stairs.

    Nevertheless, his advice was well-appreciated.

    "This floor, Apollyon." This floor was lit in a soft golden glow as hand-painted rose petals were spread upon the walls. "I think this is something special."

    Both of them passed by ivory statues of? King Oberon and the rest of the Summer Monarchs, including some people she didn''t recognize dispersed around the Pce.

    As she scanned her gaze from their thick-ted armour, she realized they look like soldiers.

    Sentinels.

    Heroes of the past.

    Some sculptures were also made in praise of certain gods and goddesses Luna wasn''t familiar with in vibrant colours.

    All things she has witnessed in this ce looked ancient, but it stood its ground with ease so far.

    Who knew if these statues would outlive the Monarchs for ages toe?

    The hall was full of nts and flowers in bloom��a charming aesthetic that can feed the heart and soul of an art lover.

    "The way this floor was designed�� its screams ''a mad artist lives here'' from the realistic sculptures she made."

    Luna approached the first room right next to the stairs, bent over and peeked through the keyhole.

    A stream of light prated a darkened room revealing a solitary figure seated on afortable couch.

 Chapter 483 - The Eye

    <h4>Chapter 483 - The Eye</h4>

    New Chapter in Highest Tier (May 2021)

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    A stream of light prated a darkened room revealing a solitary figure seated on afortable couch with royal blue cushions and fancy wooden carvings painted gold.

    No, she was mistaken.

    It was a long chaiserge enough that two people couldy together in there.

    Scattered blue velvet pillows were on the cushions and the floor.

    Luna''s scrutiny could make out Princess Ourania''s movements as she held something in her hand.

    It was a mirror chiselled with silver and adorned with precious gemstones.

    She swore Princess Ourania was speaking to someone.

    But she wasn''t certain if Apollyon''s mother was talking to her reflection, or�� was she talking to another person in the room to whom Luna couldn''t see?

    Squinting at her form, Luna''s sensitive ears couldn''t pick up any words in the conversation��not even a mumble.

    She pressed her ear on the keyhole, hearing nothing.

    There must be a dark void sucking out any sound in this room to avoid confidential information from being spread through gossip.

    Princess Ourania''s scandals might have stirred the general public''s curiosity, so she did this as a precaution.

    This must exin theplete utter silence in this hallpared to the previous ones Apollyon and Luna have explored.

    Apollyon''s mother must be hiding something important.

    As her vampire eyes adjusted to the shadows, the warm air in the atmosphere on that floor turned to ice, sending goosebumps along the expanse of her skin.

    A cold hand lightly caressed her neck, shooting off tiny electric sparks from his fingertips that she hunched her shoulders and shivered.

    Turning her head slightly to the right, Luna checked if her husband was ying tricks on her while bent over the mysterious keyhole.

    But, no. It wasn''t her husband.

    Apollyon''s hand wasn''t anywhere near her head, her nape or her back.

    One hand of his was lightly pressed at her buttocks, and that''s it.

    Apollyon stood behind her, wearing a nk expression and looking a bit bored.

    When their eyes met, Apollyon tilted his head at her as he raised a curious eyebrow.

    Apollyon opened his mouth to ask what''s on her mind, but she ced a finger on her lips and spoke with her eyes before gesturing to her temple.

    He shut his mouth.

    Her husband was smart, and he got her signal at once that they should speak through their minds. What was the use of their blood bond anyway except for that purpose?

    ''Your grandparents are right, Apollyon.'' Luna said. ''She is speaking to herself, facing a handheld mirror.''

    Returning her attention to the vision in the keyhole, Luna witnessed Princess Ourania lifting her chin and smiling smugly in the mirror.

    At the same time, her long purple-coated fingernails rested on her chest. This time, Apollyon''s mother had changed into a shiny silver ball gown with a hint of blue after Queen Titania had thrown hibiscus tea on her face in irritation at the gazebo.

    Now that she thought about it, it was a coincidence that Queen Titania and Princess Ourania and Luna wore gowns in variations in blue.

    ''Any other person around her?''

    Luna''s left eye looked to the right then to the left as she shifted her form, trying to get a view of the rest of Princess Ourania''s room.

    If someone caught them wandering in this private hall where no guests should be allowed, Luna might appear like a fool with her buttocks sticking out while her husband''s palm massaged them as she spied on the keyhole.

    Hopefully, the rule was still in ce.

    Princess Ourania''s private hall was off-limits from anyone aside from the Summer Monarchs.

    There would be no maidservants and Fae sentinels traipsing around here.

    Should she kneel to getfortable?

    No.

    Luna might lose her self-respect with that.

    ''I don''t see anyone else so far.'' Luna projected her thoughts to him. ''She might be used to talking to herself when she was alone in her room. I think some people do that.''

    ''I could not hear anything from the inside.'' Apollyon thought.

    ''That is the mystery.'' Luna told Apollyon as more furniture, and antique ornaments took form. ''This entire floor is protected with Fae Magic. But it''s a little dark�� sinister.''

    ''I sense something strange about my mother. I can''t say it''s something demonic or evil.''

    ''Something else had your mother under protection.'' Luna agreed. ''I just couldn''t figure out where it came from.''

    ''What is she doing right now?''

    ''I think she was preening herself, admiring her own damned reflection in the mirror.''

    ''You know what the legends say. Mirrors can also be a conduit to speak to the gods.'' Apollyon told her.? ''Mirrors can be portals to the Spiritual Realm. A high Priestess can summon an evil spirit or trap them In there? with the right ritual, We can probably summon an Archdemon with that.''

    Her lips parted in surprise.

    This must be why Luna was afraid of mirrors.

    ''Or an Archdemon. But your mother does not have ess to Archdemon Magic and I would have known right away if there was some demonic activity around her.'' Luna smelled the aroma of scented candles, but no candles were lit inside the chamber. Frown lines marred her forehead. ''Maybe, she just loves herself too much as a way to recover her identity.''

    ''She thinks she lost them to other people''s influence when she was a bit young and naive.'' Apollyon stepped forward as he caressed his fingers on her back, urging her to step aside so he could watch as well.

    Luna answered. ''I think there is no harm in that.''

    ''All I can tell is that this woman had no sense of responsibility for her own life. She disgusts--''

    Luna''s mind nked abruptly that she hadn''t caught her husband''s words.

    Her heart was beating fast when her spying eye caught a quick movement on the other side.

    As her eyes wandered the furniture, Princess Ourania''s form disappeared as darkness came like a thick velvet curtain covering her sight.

    Something peeked at her through the other side of the keyhole.

    It was an eye of solid ck without distinction between pupil, iris and white, appearing like a ragged hole��an endless void.

 Chapter 484 - Broken Puzzle Pieces

    <h4>Chapter 484 - Broken Puzzle Pieces</h4>

    New Chapter in Highest Tier (May 2021)

    ******************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    It was an eye of solid ck without distinction between pupil, iris, and white, appearing like a ragged hole��an endless void.

    Luna thought she was holding her breath from the creepy sight.

    Heartbeat racing, Luna lost the ability to speak.

    All her muscles went rigid, triggering her fight and flight response, but she remained there, crouched in front of the door to Princess Ourania''s bedchamber with her left eye pressed to the keyhole, determined to see this through and figure out what this creature was.

    Because it was sure as hell didn''t seem human.

    Perhaps, this was the one Apollyon''s mother had been talking to.

    It wasn''t there before, but for some reason, it had chosen to reveal itself.

    Luna and the dark eye stared at each other for a few seconds before she watched the fine rim of silver around the creature''s iris glowed in the dark.

    ''Apollyon. There is a strange creature��''

    ''Let me see.''

    ''Wait.'' Luna''s eyebrows knitted in confusion. ''I''m trying to figure out what it was.''

    There were no scuffles of feet that should have been there.

    Only deafening silence.

    Behind its dark background, the creature''s eye floated backward from her point of view until it grewrger, and she finally saw its true form.

    Her stomach dropped.

    Luna fought a scream, trying to escape from her throat.

    ''Your face have been exposed too many times to our enemies.'' Apollyon told her sharply. ''Move, beloved, and let me handle it.''

    Luna stepped aside as Apollyon peeked through the keyhole.

    ''Wife.''

    Luna prompted. ''Did? you see it?''

    Apollyon replied. ''There was nothing there except my mother.''

    She shuffled back a step or two in disbelief.

    Why can''t her husband see it?

    Not even a blind person could see how horrible it looked.

    ''No, it''s there, Apollyon.'' Luna insisted that she almost said her words out loud instead ofmunicating to him in her mind.

    Covering her mouth with a palm to remind herself to shut up, Luna projected her words to him through telepathy.? ''I saw it with my one eye.''

    Luna squeezed Apollyon''s forearm and pushed him to the side. ''I swear it''s there, Apollyon. Let me take over.''

    Hand flying to her chest, Luna was surprised to find that it was no longer there.

    Apollyon''s mother reced her vision.

    With curtains closed, Princess Ourania sat in a world of istion.

    There were no paintings around her private bedchamber.

    It was a hall of mirrors with her reflections are her onlypanions in her own sanctuary--her own version of heaven.

    All this time, Luna thought Princess Ourania had been talking to herself, reassuring herself of false truths.

    The mirrors can''t lie, but her obsession did, indulging her with images she wanted to see.

    Then, the creature came into view as it stood in front of the keyhole once again, wearing that small smile that was quite smug.

    It was a monster with a beautiful maiden''s face with smoothvender skin in a body of a bird-of-prey with white eagle wings and long ws on their hands.

    The creature had deep obsidian eyes that it felt like you are pulled into this infinite dark void when you stare at it for too long.

    Narrowing her eyes at it, Luna took a moment to scan her brain from all the ancient texts she had read when she used to be Artemis'' warrior maiden to figure out what it was.

    When her memory finally caught that specific page from a particr book, she realized it was a harpy.

    As if the harpy saw the dark realization in her eyes, its lips curved upwards in amusement as it stretched itsrge eagle wings, reveling in her fear and feeding off of it.

    Luna saw its lips move, but she couldn''t hear a thing--as if a vacuum sucked all the sounds in the bedchamber.

    Squinting, Luna attempted to read the woman''s lips on the harpy''s face.

    ''Nobody can see me except the people who have ties to the Underworld.'' It mouthed.

    ''Underworld?'' Luna''s mouth fell open in shock. ''Can Luna see the harpy because of the Mark the Triple Moon Goddess imprinted on her chest?

    "Is someone there, Ceno?" Apollyon''s mother called out, and that was the only sound revealed to them from the moment they arrived there.

    ''Oh my goddess!''

    Princess Ourania can see this harpy?

    Why?

    How?

    As far as Luna knew, Harpies were destructive wind spirits known to be ''snatchers,'' abducting evildoers and torturing them to on their way to the Underworld to bring them to the Erinyes��the three goddesses of vengeance and retribution.

    They were employed as instruments to torment the guilty.

    Luna remembered Apollyon telling her that his mother just disappeared, thinking that she had died from his hands when he turned into a monster.

    When a person mysteriously vanished from a Realm out-of-the-blue, there could be a chance that harpies took them to punish them.

    But for what?

    What did Apollyon''s mother do to be involved with a harpy?

    What did she do in the Underworld that Princess Ourania had a harpy familiar by her side?

    Now, Luna was certain that Queen Titania and King Oberon weren''t aware of this creature prowling in their daughter''s bedchamber as if it belonged here.

    Harpies were known to be vicious, cruel, and violent, but this harpy was calm, shing Luna a secret smile as if they were sharing some twisted joke.

    Luna began to panic when Princess Ourania got off the couch and began to move towards the door.

    She backed away in quick, jerky steps away from the door and whispered to Apollyon. "We must go."

    Apollyon grabbed her by the waist and teleported to some random ce in the Summer Castle.

    The melodic rainbow of harmony in the atmosphere seemed like theynded into an ongoing celebration with the gayest of ambiance.

    Apollyon and Luna heard the ringingughter of future victories.

    Her sensitive smell could already scent the sweet aroma of good bread and wine as the great hall doors opened.

 Chapter 485 - Lore Of The Four Seasons (Act I)

    <h4>Chapter 485 - Lore Of The Four Seasons (Act I)</h4>

    New Chapter in Highest Tier (May 2021)

    *******************************************

    Archangel Uriel ? (me of God)

    First Guardian of the Garden of Four Seasons

    *******************************************

    Archangel Uriel''s new ward was still a paradise��a garden full of trees and flowers.

    He had more freedom to wander inside this enchanted garden rather than the previous one he looked after, which was just as lovely.

    Still, the outskirts of the Garden of Eden was more naturalpared to this ce--so heavilyced with magic and protection.

    Before this, Archangel Uriel was tasked to watch over the Gates of Eden, ying trespassers with his ming sword.

    He strictly followed the rules of their Highest God that no Archangel could enter the Garden of Eden without His permission, so Archangel Uriel was stuck at the gates.

    Nevertheless, Uriel was aware that their Highest God made new creatures--a new race-- that was close to His heart, settling them inside the Garden of Eden to protect them from harm.

    Archangel Uriel hadn''t seen the creatures inside the Garden of Eden even until he moved to this Garden of Four Seasons.

    He was alright with that.

    It wouldn''t matter whether or not Uriel knew these new creatures'' form, and neither shall it affect his life in any way.

    The Garden of the Four Seasons was located at the exact centre of the Faerie Realm, hidden from those that weren''t worthy and didn''t possess a heart of gold.

    Buzzing bees, dancing birds, and small animals darted around him, and they thrived around here in the absence of wild predators.

    Archangel Uriel tiptoed through the nts as his citrine robes floated amid the green leaves and delicate blooms of golden buttercups.

    White and magenta petals caught in the breeze, making him lift his eyes towards the sky.

    Archangel Uriel breathed deeply and exhaled, enjoying his own piece of heaven on Earth.

    He stretched his wings as they shimmered white-gold in his peripheral vision.

    That fateful day, it was Archangel Uriel''s turn to be a Watcher for the Tree of Four Seasons in the Realm of the Fae, recing Archangel Michael from his post to guard the Fair Folk as well as hunting the fallen angels who disobeyed God, reigning over thend and terrorizing the innocent inhabitants in this Material Realm, inflicting mass destruction left and right.

    Now, the rest of the Archangels being led by Archangels, Michael and Raphael, were on this mission to rid the existence of Nephilim in this Material Realm to maintain the peace.

    This wouldn''t have happened if some of the Watchers hadn''t rebelled and copted with the women.

    Watchers were still angels without flesh and blood, but their strong spiritual power allowed them to materialize that it was almost as if they have acquired a physical form on Earth.

    Due to the absence of real flesh, the Watchers have no reason to feel lust towards a woman''s body except for their pride.

    Maybe, the Fallen Watchers desired females to fall in love with them because they felt lesser than the males or... was it because of envy that Angels could never experience the pleasures of the flesh?

    Was it because of harmless curiosity, or was it because of their secret inner desire disguised as obscure temptation?

    This was also why the Nephilim��half-angel and half-human��belonged to a superhuman race because even if these creatures die after the Archangels hunted them one by one, their souls continue to live on, stronger than ever.

    Their spirits were corrupted by evil due to the sins of the Fallen Angels who sired them, turning them into powerful demons who can inflict more damage to the rest of the living creatures.

    Archangels who were illuminated by God''s given grace were incapable of feeling any desire for sin. But other angels weren''t blessed with this grace which made them capable of transgressing the Laws of God.

    As the old saying from the human race went, ''They dug their own graves, now they have to lie in it.''

    Once they broke their oath to the Lord and decided to revolt against Him, they can''t turn back.

    The Creator saw this as an irrevocable rejection of His reign for freely choosing evil��for choosing to fall from grace, thereby epting their fate as Fallen Angels.

    When he was called by God from his original post at the Gates of Eden, Uriel overheard cherubs and seraphs talking about Fallen Watchers getting punished by evesting fire after the Highest God finished created their own Realm where they can''t leave��where they were free to spread evil and chaos on their own until they killed each other in their goal to show off how powerful they were.

    God had named the Realm ''Hell'', announcing that the prison for Fallen Angels and their demon offspring was almostpleted.

    It wouldn''t take long before they can imprison the evil which roamed the Earth.

    Archangel Uriel would have preferred to go with Archangel Michael to destroy the Fallen Angels and the Nephilim to avenge their Highest God from their unforeseen betrayal. But, unfortunately, Uriel was stuck watching God''s properties on Earth.

    Perfectly aware that he had no right toin, Archangel Uriel wished he could acquire a mission that would require him to use his ming sword for real.

    He was tired of carrying them around when there were only a few trespassers who would dare challenge him, boring him to death.

    Uriel needed an excuse to engage in a fight where he can be as pitiless as the demons who hurt the innocent.

    If he were patient enough, the Highest God would send him to the battlefield at the Final Angelic War between the Archangels and the Fallen Angels.

    There were no signs of threat around this new ward of his, so Archangel Uriel would change his fiery sword and carry a book to read in his free time.

    ''There was amotion by the gates of the Four Seasons, and Archangel Uriel flew right away as he pped his wings, excited to find at what it was.

    It was a tall and gangly knight covered with armour which didn''t quite fit him, riding on a ''rouncey'' used for destitute warriors in this Realm.

    "What brings you here, knight?"

 Chapter 486 - The Lore Of The Four Seasons (Act II)

    <h4>Chapter 486 - The Lore Of The Four Seasons (Act II)</h4>

    New Chapter in Highest Tier (May 2021)

    *******************************************

    Archangel Uriel? (me of God)

    First Guardian of the Garden of Four Seasons

    *******************************************

    "What brings you here, knight?"

    "Are you a Watcher?" The Fae''s voice was muffled since she was determined not to take off her helm and show her face to him.

    She wore heavy full te armor, totally encasing the wearer.

    He narrowed his eyes as he stared at the light sword in her hand.

    She was a perfect vision of a knight riding atop his horse with the clear blue sky in the background.

    As he crossed his arms over his chest, Archangel Uriel wondered if the medieval knight was a real knight or was she showing off in hopes of intimidating him?

    She moved no further, appearing like she had no ns to get off her malnourished horse.

    It was clear that the knight was waiting for his reply, so he humored her.

    As he scanned her from head-to-toe, Archangel Uriel replied warily, "I am Angel of the Earth."

    Raising her sword in front of him, thedy continued talking down on him with a haughty chin. "You are a watcher, then."

    Archangel Uriel blinked. "Not a watcher." This was going to be a long talk. "Don''t make me repeat myself, Fae."

    Folding his wings, he tilted his head at her, not knowing where to look.

    "I am the guardian of this forbidden ce." He said calmly, "Who are you?"

    "A Fae cannot give you a real name." She replied in a deeper voice, insisting on pretending to be a man. His lips curved upward as he fought a snort. Did she think he wouldn''t notice? "Even if you are an Archangel I cannot be enved."

    Uriel shrugged without care, shifting his gaze to the pink blooms of the cherry tree near him as he touched the nearest branch with his fingers. "Then, tell me what people call you by."

    "You can call me Merle."

    Archangel Uriel blinked in surprise. "That did not sound like a female name. And you can quit deepening your voice now, youngdy." He said rather sharply. "I am not a fool."

    Without warning, he threw the sword she pointed at him with his mind, and it pierced a dark trunk that stood starkly from the evergreens behind her, making her gasp.

    Breathing hard, both of her arms held the lead rope tight as if she was ready to flee from there. "But you are not one of the Fallen Angels who disrupted our vige and abducted our women to be their wives to produce Nephilims to fight other angels. With the right training and strategy, they could be strong enough to defeat an Angel."

    Giving her a cool nce, Archangel Uriel snorted this time."Angels are stronger than the Nephilim, knight. Get? your facts straight."

    "I know." She said, and he could sense the quiet desperation in them. "But the numbers of the Nephilim in the Faerie Realm are growing��"

    "And the Angel Kind have done a good job killing? them to make them stop from dismantling the your world��"

    "But the Nephilim''s souls were bound to this Earthly Realm, Angel." The knight said, and Archangel swore she saw her limbs quiver with anger and frustration, "They have turned into demons and it is harder to defeat them. We have no weapons against these spirits. The esoteric knowledge from the Fallen Watcher passed down to the Fae he was obsessed with made a quick expansion to the Fair Folks. But it was a limited type of sorcery which wouldn''t work all the time on demons. It is a hit and miss. They can possess the Fae who were weaker than them like parasites controlling the mind and body of their hosts."

    His brows knitted into a scowl, "Why are you telling me this?"

    "It is your duty to protect the different races in this Earthly Realm, Angel."

    "Not necessarily." Archangel Uriel shook his head. "Sometimes, a guardian angel is only the witness to the birth of the people whose lives he will oversee."

    "The guardian angels fly so high as to beyond our sight, but they are always looking down upon us." The knight said cryptically, but it was easy for Uriel to perceive it as an insult. "Are you not going to do anything for the Fair Folk when you actually lived in the heart of the Realm, Angel of Salvation?"

    He abruptly put his guards up. "I see you know who I am."

    She said as a matter of fact. "Archangel Uriel."

    "Who sent you here?" Without looking at her, he pulled out a dagger from his forearm sheath and twirled it around his fingers. "The entire garden of the Four Seasons was ced under a heavy mour.? Only those who have the purest heart and purest intention can see the gates like what you have done."

    "Archangel Ariel showed herself to me in my dream and left me this." Rummaging from a small string sack settled in front of her stomach, the knight pulled out something and showed Archangel Uriel an earth-toned feather. It was true. He can recognize it as Archangel Ariel''s! "She gave me a mission to save the Fair Folk and this will guarantee me and my pony for safe passage."

    "Now that you are here in my ward? What do you want to achieve?" He made his tone ruthless��simr to the sharp edge of his angel de as he ran them lightly across his skin. "What kind of mission did my fellow Archangel gave you?"

    He made sure that she perfectly understood that he was suspicious of her appearance.

    Sighing, the knight replied. "I am here to gather fruits from the Tree of the Four Seasons."

    Archangel Uriel clicked his tongue.? "No, youngdy. There is a reason why an Archangel like me is guarding this tree to protect the fruits from getting into the wrong hands."

    "I have Archangel Ariel''s feather in my hand because she have bestowed it to me." The knight insisted. "Your fellow Archangel trusted me. You just have to believe that, Angel."

 Chapter 487 - Lore Of The Four Seasons (Act III)

    <h4>Chapter 487 - Lore Of The Four Seasons (Act III)</h4>

    New Chapter in Highest Tier (May 2021)

    *************************************************

    Archangel Uriel? (me of God)

    First Guardian of the Garden of Four Seasons

    ************************************************

    "Hmm." The sense of urgency made Archangel Uriel empathize with her, her words wing into the heart. But he had to be cold since the rules of Heaven existed for a reason.

    He drawled in a subtle dare, "What if you just found Ariel''s feather randomly and now? you are iming it as a pass so that you can get inside and steal the fruits in this garden?"

    She flinched, taken aback by the logical usation. Mayhap, she wasn''t used to this level of trust. Nodding, she cleared her throat and replied calmly, "I understand your doubt, Archangel. You said it yourself that only creatures who carry the purest intention can find this mored garden." Archangel Uriel opened his mouth to argue but the knight quickly shut him up when she raised the volume of her voice, "Now, if you im that I did it through sorcery, does that mean you let a poor Fae knight like me defeat an Archangel like you when I have limited knowledge of the art?"

    Archangel Uriel ran a frustrated hand through his thick blond hair and licked his lips in annoyance. "Don''t think I can''t see through your poor maniptions, Knight. What do you want to do with the fruit from the Tree of Four Seasons? As its guardian, I can''t give them to you that easily." His eyes narrowed. "The existence of the fruits on this Realm have a strict purpose.''''

    She straightened her legs and squeeze the horse with her calves, urging it to move forward. "I needed it, Archangel."

    Archangel Uriel said as he nced up at the knight as its horse approached closer until they were face to face. "You are not my God, Knight."

    "Archangel Ariel showed herself to me. She told me? that Faeries who have taken a bite on this special fruit in? your garden will be protected from any demonic possession for the rest of their lives." She said as she shifted her weight on top of the horse."One bite. Anything more than that will spell trouble." He warned. "Who would be the one to regte the bites of every Fae who might need the cure to a demonic possession?"

    "Me, of course. If you only give them to me." Her tone was sharp and impatient. "I am under Archangel Ariel''s protection."

    "Indeed."? Archangel Uriel knew that she told the truth based on the aura around her, wrapping her in a protective cloak of light purple energy mixed with pink which was Archangel Ariel''s energy. Every time he focused on the knight, it made him feel deep peace and trust towards her but he wouldn''t dare show it. "--but who shall stop the other Fae''s greedy hands to steal from you if they found out? you have it?"

    "I will take a bite first before I start my long journey back to my vige. The demons can''t go near me and the rest of the vigers any longer if I managed to bring the fruits to them for our consumption." The knight told him as she gave him a nonchnt shrug. It came out lithe and graceful that he was certain it was a woman underneath all that steel.

    "You are under Archangel Ariel''s protection to keep you safe from harm but that fruit wouldn''t prevent you from getting killed by Nephilim and Fallen Angels." He said bluntly.

    "You did not know how much we have endured because you weren''t there to see our struggles, Archangel." Her voice quivered from the force of her anger as she clenched her fists. "But the demonic presence terrorizing our vige was more of a threatpared to the Nephilim and the Fallen. Your fellow Archangels did their best to quell the rise of these evil creatures yet they find it hard to expel the demons when they hide themselves by possessing innocent creatures."

    "That''s not true." Archangel Uriel lifted his arms and stretched them, yawning, before he proceeded to gently caress the rouncey''s face. "Archangels can easily exorcise demons from the victim''s body through the angel de and magic from the Heavens."

    "I am not doubting the power of Archangels like you. But the demons get stronger by the second as they do everything to master their powers in their spirit form. We need to protect ourselves from possible possession. They are growing in numbers." She exined to him and it sounded like a demand.

    He grimaced.

    This interesting conversation was starting to get nd for his taste.

    "I am aware of that, Knight. I am guarding these fruits so that the Fallen Watchers couldn''t get their hands on it. One whole fruit can? reverse the corruption of evil in their souls into good. God does not want that." He responded without remorse��only cold hard facts��as he stared at her, hating that he couldn''t see her face or look her in the eye. "The Watchers have to take responsibility of their choice. Since their spirits were sullied once, they might regret what they have done so they would desire to be good again by eating the magic fruit. But then, being evil will alwayse across their mind. Because they already have a taste of the forbidden. They would resort into sin, falling into temptation. Then, they would eat the fruit to be good again. It will be a never ending cycle that would turn into an addiction. And the power of this garden will be abused by other creatures��Fallen and Fae alike."

    "You see the ''gregori'' 1are determined to establish an Army against their God after being banished from the Heavens. Now, we are in the middle in this god damned battle when it shouldn''t have anything to do with with rest of the FairFolk! We only desired to be protected from demonic possession, Archangel!" The knight yelled at him and this time, she wasn''t trying hard to hide her feminine voice. "I thought your presence here was to save the race! What are you even doing here, hiding while the world is in chaos?"

    "You think I''m hiding, Knight?" Archangel Uriel grinned for the first time in his istion in the Garden of Four Seasons.

    "How about you?" With cold purpose, he focused his mind,pelling her to be utterly still. "Take your armor off before I do it myself."

 Chapter 488 - The Lore Of The Four Seasons (Act IV)

    <h4>Chapter 488 - The Lore Of The Four Seasons (Act IV)</h4>

    New Chapter in Highest Tier (May 2021)

    *************************************************

    Archangel Uriel? (me of God)

    First Ward of the Garden of Four Seasons

    ************************************************

    Archangel Uriel could almost hear thedy swallow hard underneath her full body armor, sensing the dark tendrils of fearing off her aura when he urged her to reveal herself.

    He released his hold on her form with his mindpulsion so that she would be free to follow an Archangel''smand.

    He could almost hear her breathing hard and exhaling a huge sigh of relief when the magic bonds he put on her loosened.

    As a servant of God, Archangel? Uriel was particrly implementing free will over the other creatures they watched over.

    There was no need to use brute force or hypnotize her with his angelic voice.

    An intimidating silence from a Holy Being would be enough.

    He tapped his foot on the fresh tufts of grass on the uneven ground. It made him wonder if the knight already knew that he knew she was ady.

    Without further ado, the knight leaned forward, swung her right leg up over the horse''s haunches, andnded both of her feet lightly on the ground��as graceful as a jungle cat.

    Archangel Uriel watched the knight approach him walking briskly without fear, her steel chest puffing out.

    Nevertheless, he couldn''t help but notice the subtle sashay on her waist.

    His lips curved upward as she paused in front of him, head held high.

    So, she still wanted to keep up with this ''I''m a man'' act?

    Did he think that an ancient, powerful Archangel like her couldn''t tell the difference?

    Tilting his head, Archangel Uriel waited for her next move as he slowly blinked at the small opening of her great helm, covering her full face, except for vision.

    He stared intently at her eyes, noting they were amber where stars shine, the color of the warmth of the sunlight, of a wheat harvest and fallen autumn leaves of gold.

    Archangel Uriel pinched his lips together, fighting a gasp to escape from his mouth.

    He never thought that such a sight would arrest an Archangel like him, taking his breath away.

    He had never seen such beautiful eyes on a creature.

    His curiosity of what her face looked like with those lovely eyes rose even more.

    Squinting, he bent his neck forward unconsciously as he peeked to see more of her profile.

    But the knight made his desire easier to achieve and fully satiated his interest when she raised her hands and lifted her great helm off her head, allowing her long, apple red hair cascade into beautiful waves around her, which was a stark contrast to her worn-out panoply.

    His lips slightly parted in awe when their eyes met while he returned his angel de absently back to his forearm sheath.

    In his perception, this beautiful youngdy knight will never be a threat.

    When his God decided to create thisdy in her own race, he must have found her special and showered her with otherworldly attributes��with Archangelic features so beautiful he hadn''t seen someone with her gaze in Heaven before.

    He did not intend to exaggerate, but this was what he truly felt at this time.

    Her golden eyes could rival those of the Angels he knew who were created as perfect divine beings serving their God through His Grace.

    Despite seeing those wide golden orbs earlier from behind her helm, nothing could prepare him from the real thing.

    Archangel drowned in those lovely depths, not expecting to be rescued.

    He would dly stare at them forever.

    No, that would indicate falling in love with a creature from this Earthly Realm.

    It was forbidden for Angels to take an interest with a Fae.

    How much more if an Archangel fell in love and engage in fornicating with this woman?

    No. Archangel Uriel shook his head. He was overthinking, taking his admiration with thisdy knight a little too far just from the color of her eyes?

    When did he turn too vain to care about a woman''s face?

    He averted her gaze immediately as he berated himself for his rpse.

    He will not be a Fallen Angel just from a simple infatuation with a pathetic knight who couldn''t even hold her sword hilt properly as she waved them around in front of his face as if that would frighten him.

    "Is there anything wrong with how I look, Angel?" Thedy asked."Your face looked as if you have been struck by lightning."

    Archangel Uriel replied without removing his gaze from her."No, nothing at all."

    Keeping his face nk to feign boredom, his eyes scanned her sun-kissed face��as if she was the type ofdy who never stayed indoors, busy practicing archery skills and swordsmanship on unsuspecting tree trunks in the forest.

    In his mind, thisdy was just an aspiringdy knight who knew nothing about the dangers of a youngdy up and about, pursuing adventures in this dangerous time where the Fair Folk��who were initially created to be stewards of nature and the Mother Earth��were caught into the Angelic War. At the same time, they deal with their own Fae Civil War.

    The remaining ruling nobilities from the Faerie Realm invaded and imed territories in their greed to possess power and gain the loyalty of their acquired subjects.

    At the same time, the souls of the Nephilim gued thend.

    "Now that you have witnessed who I am, will you grant my request to provide me with the fruits I need to protect my vige?"

    "If? you want the fruits, you have to stay here with me until the Tree of the Four Seasons produced them."

    As far as he could see it, every angle in these wars was a lose-lose situation.

    If God found this to be increasingly problematicter on, Archangel Uriel guessed that God would wipe out the His entire creation with a Great Flood and cherry-pick his favored survivors from the chaos.

    That was her first meeting with the woman who was her downfall.

    He did the worst thing an Archangel who had a mission to fulfill on Earth would do.

    Archangel Uriel fell in love with her.

 Chapter 489 - The Lore Of The Four Seasons (Act V)

    <h4>Chapter 489 - The Lore Of The Four Seasons (Act V)</h4>

    New Chapter in Highest Tier (May 2021)

    ************************************************

    Archangel Uriel? (me of God)

    First Guardian of the Garden of Four Seasons

    *************************************************

    Thedy knight who liked to be called ''Merle'' stayed with Archangel Uriel for almost two seasons, waiting for the tree to bear fruit.

    Time flew fast.

    He could perfectly recall Merle visiting him outside the gates, riding her gaunt and skittish warhorse, acting all high and mighty as she pretended to be a man during the twilight in thest summer.

    Now, it was the opposite.

    Archangel Uriel smiled.

    He rarely smiled when he was alone as he preserved this special garden as his God-given mission.

    He wasn''t lonely anymore because he had an excitablepanion to amuse him, regaling him with stories in this Earthly Realm which he found unbelievably ridiculous.

    He wasn''t certain if thedy knight made them up just to make himugh, or were they real? Archangel Uriel couldn''t believe that brave, haughty Merle can transform into a cheerfuldy knight after slowly warming up to him as they got to know each other more during the wait.

    At first, Lady Merle was cranky and impatient on the first few weeks, always asking him every single hour if the fruits were there yet until he exined it properly to her.

    "It takes time and a specific temperature for the tree to finally bear fruit,dy knight."

    "But their flowers have bloomed already."

    Lady Merle was right.

    The Tree of the Four Seasons has blossomed, adding a lovely aesthetic to thendscape.

    This particr tree rose ten feet from the ground.

    It stood at the heart of this garden with leaves growing out of its branches in four colors which showed the four seasons in the Earthly Realms��snow white which represented winter, vibrant green for spring, scorching oranges for fall and molten gold for summer��and casting shadows unto the grass.

    The Tree of Four Seasons appeared as if it was drenched by colored fire from afar since the red leaves stood stark in the naked eye.

    It shouldn''t take long for it too��-"

    "Can you just stay in the present and learn to appreciate the beauty of this garden, hmm?"

    Archangel Uriel''s ward was a wide and open garden that was parted into two by a sloping snake-like river.

    A copse of cypress pines stood proudly on one side while a thicket of bamboo clustered on the farthest gates, guarding the boundaries.

    There was a vast meadow stretched past the river where Archangel Uriel can stroll as he inhaled the crisp air in the morning air as the unearthly mist surrounded him.

    He had the feeling that this was going to be the first and thest time Merle could visit here.

    "It is indeed beautiful but I can''t, Angel. I can''t enjoy myself? with this wonderful view right here while the people in my vige suffer from demonic possession." She murmured, her eyebrows drawn together as she nced up at the tree for the thousandth time today. "I couldn''t deliver the fruits there any sooner. I am mentally anguished, exhausted of the thousand things running across my mind where every route I chose will only lead to a dead end."

    Facing her, Archangel Uriel said bluntly as he ced the scroll he carried around in hisp. "Whose fault do you think it is? Certainly not me, Merle. Nobody else is doing this to you except yourself. You should stop thinking since wouldn''t make Falle faster."

    "I can''t seem to stop it, Angel. Time is ticking for the Fae. Archangel Ariel''s mission is causing me a lot of anxiety and distress that I can''t think properly. What should I do next? What is currently happening in the Faerie Realm while I was cocooned into the safety in this garden? It isn''t fair for the others to be constantly living in fear of those demons while I sit here with an Archangel under this stupid tree, just waiting for it to yield for a very long time, without a care in the world!"

    He could tell Merle was trying to be patient as she waited for the fruits despite the Angelic War ovepping with the War of the Fae and the threat of the ''Nephilim-turned-demons'' loomed over her.

    "Well, at least, you called the tree ''stupid'' and not the Archangel. I could say we are on the way to establish a true friendship. Don''t fret and empty your mind,dy knight. Beating yourself up will not alleviate the suffering of your people. Tormenting yourself along with the Fae in your vige will not make the situation even. Now, stop this nonsense."

    In their moment of silence, worry and concern etched on her countenance every time Merle nced up to the branches only to sigh in disappointment, expecting the Tree of Four Seasons to yield only to find nothing.

    Archangel Uriel disliked the frown lines marring her forehead.

    Gazing down at her while she stared at her fingers, he made the honest mistake of bending his neck down to kiss the crown of her hair.

    His eyes widened when Merle abruptly tugged his forearm and brought him closer to give him a quick smack on the lips.

    Withdrawing from him, she jerked her head and cleared her throat.

    Her beautiful, innocent face was flushed with embarrassment despite initiating the kiss herself.

    Recoiling from her as he shifted to the side, Archangel Uriel glowered at her as he gritted his teeth, "Don''t love me. You will get nothing from me, Merlettta. That is the fate of Archangels like me. I can love you from afar but I can''t be with you. Because first and foremost, my loyalty is to God."

    "I will remain with you throughout, offering help and support." Despite his anger, he still reassured her. "Yet I know my limitations of my influence in your life. This is a responsibility of an Archangel. Fate and destiny will y their part and this is the only role I y in yours. I can''t give you what you want aside from the fruits."

    Merle swallowed hard. "What I will achieve is not predetermined by fate alone. It can''t dictate how I live my life but is determined by my choice. And, I choose you."

 Chapter 490 - The Lore Of The Four Seasons (Act VI)

    <h4>Chapter 490 - The Lore Of The Four Seasons (Act VI)</h4>

    New Chapter in Highest Tier (May 2021)

    *************************************************

    Archangel Uriel? (me of God)

    First Guardian of the Garden of Four Seasons

    *************************************************

    It was the night where Merle was finally free to go home when the exquisite blooms ofst spring bore fruit in thete fall.

    She can finally get the special fruits she wanted so badly in this garden ever since the first day she arrived at the gates.

    In the first few weeks, Merle was consistent with her wish to save the Fae in her vige from demons.

    But all that changed when he and Merle got closer as they established a stronger bond while they waited together for the Tree of the Four Seasons to bear fruit.

    They were two different creatures who had no choice but to talk every single day for the duration of almost three seasons.

    Archangel Uriel didn''t want to be arrogant, but would it be safe to assume that Merle changed her priorities because of him?

    He couldn''t deny that they were strange moments where she made him clutch his heart every time she arrested him with words that made his heart flutter.

    They know many things about each other, and unfortunately for him, that made his feelings grew more intense as the days went by.

    And that wasn''t good for an Archangel like him.

    Why did her presence feel so natural when she was by his side as if she belonged to him?

    He had to figure out ways to un-love her before it was toote.

    The more he tried to get rid of it, the more he became gued with the thoughts of her leaving the garden while he sulked her absence under the magic tree she came for. It wasn''t him.

    Archangel Uriel found it amazing that hisdy knight endured her stay in the Garden of Four Seasons with him all this time.

    They were times where he yed the part of a moody and detached angel, answering her questions about heaven in a few single words��mostly, yes, no, maybe.

    She was giving her a suspicious gaze when he did this.

    Merle knew that he was a bit distant as their separation neared, but he was adamant not to reveal his feelings, and he was afraid that she could sense them.

    It was a bit strange that Merle was slow when it came to plucking the fruits out of the Tree of the Four Seasonspared to before, where she was harping on him every single hour of when this magical tree would produce the one thing she most coveted.

    That made him smile.

    When he caught himself in the act, he frowned.

    What did she want aside from fulfilling the mission Archangel Ariel had given to her?

    Right. Because in all honesty, Uriel knew.

    Merle was glum because she had professed her love to him only to be��

    Archangel Uriel disliked hurting her feelings because he did like her.

    Very much.

    Not only did he like her, but he loved her with his pure, angelic heart��an evesting love a true Archangel could give that she would never forget. In her ears, his words might be full of cold indifference, but he never failed to show her how much he cared about her.

    A love full of respect and without the unbearable lust to own and to possess thedy.

    He was ready to set her free and wish her well.

    He promised to himself that he would just be contented loving her from afar.

    Anything more than that, he will be severely punished by God, so he kept their rtionship tonic��as to how a guardian angel should act around his ward.

    He was determined not to turn into a fallen angel, just like what his brethren had done for the sake of a woman.

    This was why the Earthly Realm was suffering from demons because the evil had sessfully corrupted angels who have fallen into temptation.

    He will not be like the ''gregori.''

    But was it selfish for Archangel Uriel that he didn''t outright reject her whenever she professed her love to him and just changed the subject every time she brought it up?

    She made herself known, not hiding her feelings for him, and he didn''t know what to do with it except avoiding it.

    How time flew and how their attitudes have changed.

    An eternal scowl scrunched her cute face the whole day, so Archangel Uriel can''t understand why she was pouting like a spoiled child who didn''t get what she wanted instead of jumping for joy.

    She had the thirty fruits in her drawstring bag, and he had given her his blue feather, turning them into a ne, to protect her on her journey home so that demons would avoid her when they sensed that she was under his protection.

    Now that she had everything she prepared in the small tent he made for her in this garden, Archangel Uriel followed merle as she made her way to her ''rouncey'' tied at the tree trunk to stroke its neck and shoulders while she fed it with a carrot.

    Her horse made a massive improvement in its body condition after he taught Merle how to discern a good pasture in the gardens so that it could gain healthy weight.

    The ''rouncey'' happily munched on it as it released a big sigh, lowering its forehead and pushing gently against her chest.

    Merle reced her perpetual glower when she saw her horse rxed as its nostrils red happily.

    After that, Merle left her horse near the tent Archangel Uriel made for her and proceeded to walk towards the river, carrying a thick, fluffy robe he gave her to dry herself and the tunic she will wear when she finished her moonlit bath.

    Archangel Uriel constantly reminded himself that this was herst night in his garden, and he needed that fact to sink into his brain and train himself to be alright with her near departure.

    When they arrived at the side of the riverbed, Archangel Uriel never expected Merle to take her clothes off in front of him.

 Chapter 491 - The Lore Of The Four Seasons (Act VII)

    <h4>Chapter 491 - The Lore Of The Four Seasons (Act VII)</h4>

    New Chapter in Highest Tier (May 2021)

    *************************************************

    Archangel Uriel? (me of God)

    First Guardian of the Garden of Four Seasons

    *************************************************

    "What are you doing, Merle?" Archangel Uriel whispered, breathing hard.

    It was the first time his knees weakened at the sight of a naked woman that he just had to stretch one arm and leaned his palm from the trunk of a ck willow tree near the river, never taking his eyes off the expanse of Merle''s pale skin glowing like diamonds underneath the moonbeams.

    He took one look, and he was gone.

    She was his Medusa, the only girl capable of turning him as hard as a stone.

    "What do you think I''m doing, Angel?"

    Well, it was a mystery why he was feeling like this.

    He had seen this many times in the Earthly Realms without the intention of spying on creatures copting out of sheer curiosity.

    At the same time, he performed his duties as a guardian angel.

    An Archangel with an overflowing cup of God''s grace inside his heart will not feel anything with the pleasures of the flesh except for extreme disinterest.

    He was a good Archangel, and he will never attempt to do that abomination.

    It wasn''t his intention to spy, but Archangel Uriel was better at not knowing what it felt like after hearing the male Fae groan as he pounded himself inside a female.

    At the same time, she moaned and wailed as if she was hurt��deliciously hurt while the bed shook viciously from the force of their passion.

    The first time Archangel Uriel saw how the sex was done, he felt a detached curiosity and indifference.

    The creatures might have enjoyed the act immensely, but Uriel felt nothing.

    To him, that was good news!

    If he felt unaffected, it meant that he was filled with God''s grace that sexual desire--like the one he had seen--never bothered him.

    If he felt lust after witnessing a sexual act between couples with physical bodies, it meant that his spirit was in a state of corruption, the evil eating away what was the ''good'' left in him, making him forget who he was and his loyalty to the Highest God.

    But why when it came to Merle, the experience was different.

    It made him feel some way��some type of�� did he feel this desire for her naked form the moment her silk tunic slipped out of her shoulders and arms before it dropped to the ground?

    He swallowed hard when his gaze scanned her from the crown of his bright red hair covering her limbs like a hazy, red cloud, his eyes lingering on her face as it lowered to her winged corbones, the colour of her dusky nipples protruding from her milk-coloured breasts, down to her soft, t stomach.

    He clenched his fists which made him w at the wood, scraping dust and wood chips in his fingernails.

    His scrutiny stopped at her delicate toes before he brought his gaze back to her golden eyes.

    His muscles tightened at his groin area when his gaze got stuck to the thin red hairs curls at the crux of her long legs.

    For some reason, her bodypelled him toe closer.

    Then, he took two unconscious steps forward.

    Archangel Uriel clutched his heart with his free hand as he became more aware of the sound of his own heartbeat pulsing in his ears while the sound of chirping crickets and stream burbles as it faded away.

    He was wrapped in this tension-filled silence closing in on him like a prison��a prison of desire he didn''t mind being trapped into as a Fae, but as an Archangel�� he couldn''t.

    It couldn''t.

    His mind told him to escape from there��from Merle''s trap��but his flushed body told him otherwise. Lips parting, he froze in ce and kept firm eye contact.

    Was this a ploy to turn him into a Fallen Angel?

    Or was she this desperate to be with him when he pushed her away many times?

    Maybe, it was her revenge after he rejected her when he only did it for his and her safety.

    If this were Merle''s temptation challenging him of his worth as an Archangel for her own amusement, then he wouldn''t lose in her pathetic test.

    Archangel Uriel tilted his head and smirked at her. "Why didn''t you turn away from me when you undressed and just did it without any warning? While my eyes are on you? Are you this shameless to be touched, woman?"

    Merle exhaled a heavy sigh as she turned her back to descend carefully to the river.

    The distinct line of her spine and pert buttocks were fully exposed to him, "It wasn''t like you would do anything to me, Angel. I''m sure you have seen a woman''s naked body before. You said it yourself that Archangels are immune to this. I don''t know what''s wrong with you." She finished with eyes full of child-like innocence.

    "I never thought you would go this far, seducing me when I already told you from the start that it wouldn''t end well."

    "What does it matter, Angel? I confessed my love to you but you didn''t seem affected by it."? Looking over her shoulder, she matched his cold gaze, which made his eyes slightly widened in surprise."If you don''t like seeing me naked, keep your eyes off my body."

    His body tensed in both fear and exhration.

    This was the first time in his whole existence where he felt an erection, his spiritual form craving to be touched by another.

    "It''s not that simple if you exposed yourself on purpose." Archangel Uriel''s legs parted in a wide stance as he amodated himself.

    "Suit yourself." Merle shrugged as she slowly dipped her legs in the water until it reached her hips."This will be thest night I would see you, anyway. Enjoy yourself. I''m sure you would have some fun watching me ''please'' myself in the water."? She murmured huskily, "Uriel."

    He growled low as he bared his teeth at her."Why are you trying to pry on my weakness, Merle?"

 Chapter 492 - The Lore Of The Four Seasons (Act VIII)

    <h4>Chapter 492 - The Lore Of The Four Seasons (Act VIII)</h4>

    New Chapter in Highest Tier (May 2021)

    *************************************************

    Archangel Uriel? (me of God)

    First Guardian of the Garden of Four Seasons

    *************************************************

    As she allowed her arms to float in the water, she faced him, and her golden eyes gleamed in the dark. "You are not a weak Archangel and I epted the fact from the start. I don''t have the power to seduce you, anyway, since I wasn''t built as an enchantress. It''s either you remain here or walk away from me."

    Grinding his teeth in anger, Archangel Uriel was pissed at how nonchnt she was as she stretched her arms and waded in the river for a graceful swim.

    The moonlight shining on the dark blue river made the water drops sparkle like tear-shaped diamonds in her red hair.

    Her beautiful curls turned t as they pressed into her face as it showed her short, pointy elven ears as opposed to the hazy, soft cloud dancing behind her back.

    He saw Merle jerked herself upwards before she sunk her head and shoulders underwater.

    Merle didn''t rise in that same spot where she vanished, and the golden-eyed Fae was reced by streams of bubbles floating on the water surface.

    Panic raced through his chest, but he didn''t let it show.

    "Merletta?" Archangel Uriel muttered, not allowing his concern to bleed out into his trembling voice. Wincing, he regretted that he called her with a pet name he made specifically for her during her stay, which meant ''little Merle''.

    "Merle."? He took another reluctant step forward, worried that she was drowning after her entire body was still submerged in the water for half a minute---

    Yes! Archangel Uriel counted for more seconds until it turned into horrifying minutes, his spine straightening with vignce. "Are you alright or do you want me to rescue you?"

    Frozen in ce, Archangel Uriel waited for another painful minute which felt like an hour.

    He was so eager to jump to her rescue.

    He let out a huge breath when Merle catapulted herself back to the water surface with a gasp, inhaling and exhaling as her life depended on it.

    She ran her fingers over her hair, keeping them away from her wet face.

    He watched how the water hugged every inch of her otherwordly skin gently.

    Merle blinked the droplets out of her eyes and choked, "Angel. Why didn''t you save me?"

    "I almost died." Rubbing her eyshes with a palm, she squawked, "You really hated me so much that you don''t care if I die in front of you?"

    "Do you think this is just a game, Merletta?" Shaking his head, this was the hundredth time Uriel reminded himself that they would part ways soon, and there wasn''t a need to call her that.

    Merle might not be aware of the meaning behind this.

    She wasn''t his ''Merletta'' anymore.

    It was better than she was oblivious to how much he truly felt for her that night.

    From the start, he had lost her right to im her as his own because Archangels, like him, have no right to possess someone.

    He felt a painful tightness in his throat.

    Archangel Uriel approached her to the riverbank and stared her down with his arms crossed. "If I told you I loved you the way you loved me during the short period that we live here together in the Tree of the Four Seasons, what would you do?"

    He loved her so much, and it was pure agony that they couldn''t be together but, he will be brave enough to admit to himself that Merle was his first love aside from his Creator.

    Both Merle and the Highest God would have his unwavering love and loyalty.

    Merle''s mouth fell open in shock as she sluggishly swam towards him, not quite believing what the Archangel said.

    ncing at the piece of soil and rocks falling away from the river currents, it took her a minute of silence to let his confession sink in.

    "So you do love me, huh?" Merle whispered before she lifted her chin to meet his scrutiny. "You do love me because I can feel the intensity of your gaze." Her voice trembled in a whisper. "As if you were longing for me when you think I wasn''t looking in your direction."

    "You didn''t answer me, Merle. What would you do for us if I wouldn''t give our love up? Do you want me to be the sole creature you hated if I turn into a Fallen Angel?" His voice rose in its intensity. "Do you want me to bear you a Nephilim child before it turned into a demon? You swore you hated so much for destroying your vige?

    "I only wanted you to be honest and say it to my face." She beseeched him as herrge golden eyes wavered.

    Archangel''s Uriel''s mouth twisted in a grimace. "Now, you know. You can''t deny you were terrified with the repercussions. Telling you the truth is useless because nothing can be done."

    "Why couldn''t you tell me sooner?" Merle snapped. "We should have cherished ourst time together instead of you acting distant and cold towards me."

    "It hurts me, Angel, that you love me and pretended like it was nothing." Her eyes were red as if she was about to cry.

    He never saw her cry yet, and he became the cause of her sadness. "Dismiss me like I was nothing to you when you loved me for real."

    He took a deep breath, unclench his fists and rxed his muscles. "This is just friendship, Merle. Nothing more. Now that you are returning to your vige, forget about me and let''s treat each other like strangers."

    Archangel Uriel turned his back from Merle before he walked away.

    +++

    Archangel Uriel stood at the top of a rock formation while he thought about what Merle had told her.

    Did he make the wrong decision?

    Should he have told her earlier about his feelings so that they could spend more time together in the garden to cherish each other''spany instead of him running away like a coward?

    Something rustled behind him, and he already knew who it was before he could swivel.

    "What brings you here, Lucifer?"

 Chapter 493 - The Lore Of The Four Seasons (Act IX)

    <h4>Chapter 493 - The Lore Of The Four Seasons (Act IX)</h4>

    New Chapter in Highest Tier (May 2021)

    *************************************************

    Archangel Uriel? (me of God)

    First Guardian of the Garden of Four Seasons

    *************************************************

    "What brings you here, Lucifer?" Archangel Uriel asked him when they were face to face.

    Lucifer''s purple wings were soft dark shadows in the night as he stretched them before folding them behind him.

    "Just visiting my best friend who is clearly not in the mood to talk." Lucifer replied, his eyes shining silver in the darkness. "It''s a shame that you don''t seem happy to see me."

    "Did you just arrive in this garden?"

    "I was about to look for you but I just discovered something else." He replied with a smile as he walked closer to stand beside him at the small teau overlooking the Garden of the Four Seasons below.

    Archangel Uriel returned his gaze to the meadow when Lucifer asked, "If I may ask politely, my fellow Archangel, aren''t you supposed to be alone watching the Tree of the Four Seasons?"

    "Yes." He said he tried hard not to shift his attention to the direction of the river where Merle was, or Lucifer would find out. "And?"

    "Why is there a tent over there?"? Lucifer pointed at the makeshift tent Archangel Uriel created for Merle made out of wool and line as ropes, and wooden poles held them up. "I was just about to check what was inside��or who was inside."

    With a clenched jaw, he said, "There is no one in there."

    "Don''t lie to me."

    "I''m telling you the truth." Archangel Uriel gave him a half-shrug. "Can you sense? a creature moving up and about inside that small shelter?"

    Lucifer nced at him sideways, and he could see him smirking in his peripheral vision. "You sound so defensive, Uriel. There must be something in there that you wouldn''t want me to see."

    "Did you go inside the tent and touched my things?" He kept his tone calm and even.

    "No. I don''t take what doesn''t belong to me so I didn''t. This why I am asking you what''s in there to spare me the trouble."

    Scowling, Archangel Uriel disliked how his best friend became invasive with his questions, making him feel like he was doing something wrong in the eyes of God. "Nothing in particr. I just ce my things in? there."

    "Are they precious?" Lucifer tilted his head to squint at him with both wonder and suspicion. "That''s new. Archangels don''t have material things that they value except themselves and their loyalty? to the Creator." The way he clicked his tongue made Archangel Uriel clench his fist and avert his gaze as much as possible. "Now you are making me interested."

    If Lucifer didn''t know about Merle yet, then it would be safer for her that he deflect Lucifer''s queries.

    "It''s none of your business, Lucifer. You should learn to respect the boundaries of other Archangels. "Archangel Uriel shot him down so he would stop deriving outrageous conclusions by himself and tell their fellow cherubs about him.

    Lucifer was a cherub who is the epitome of perfection, wisdom, and beauty in the Earthly Realms.

    From the decades that Archangel Uriel was away from Heaven to stay on the Earthly Realm and fulfil his mission, he might have heard a nasty rumour or two about his friend acting rebellious in the sense that he desired to know every Archangel''s secrets by observing them like a hawk as if he could trust nobody, not even him, his best friend.

    "I can feel you pushing your luck these decades. Your intense curiosity over things such as power, magic and the origin of Angel Kind made me wary of you. I can sense that discontent had festered into your heart in these past few centuries." Archangel Uriel told him.? "Can you tell me why?"

    It took Lucifer long seconds to reciprocate a biting response, "I will not answer that question so I will keep my mouth shut and mind my own business so I don''t have to deal with it."

    His lips curved upward in a victorious grin. "Now, you make me want to be all over your business so that you will know how it felt to be examined by a fellow Archangel."

    Archangel Uriel was effective in pissing his best friend off. "Why are you here on Earth instead of watching over the Throne of God?"

    "Hmm." Lucifer drawled, "Am I truly the only cherubim who is cking off his responsibilities?"

    "I want you to get back to the throne and watch over the Throne." Archangel Uriel said grimly as his hand gripped Lucifer''s forearm, dragging him far from his view of Merle just in case Lucifer could see her bathing in the river after implying that he was alone in the garden. "If you aren''t there then who else is keeping an eye on God''s holy domai to destroy any presence of sin and corruption?"

    ''It will be alright." Lucifer replied. "I''m here because there is something I would like to request of you."

    "What is it?"

    "Can we exchange angelic posts?"

    Archangel Uriel was taken aback. "Why?"

    "I am sure you would ask." Lucifer frowned. "Can you not ask and just agree?"

    Archangel Uriel sighed.

    "What am I even agreeing to?" Why would Lucifer think this was going to be easy. "Is there trouble in the Heavens?"

    "I was just bored, watching over God''s Throne." Lucifer waved his hand in dismissal. "I wanted to oversee the Angelic War happening in the Earthly Realm."

    "So this wasn''t a mission given by God but a demand of your own making." He concluded.

    "When you were assigned to protect the Garden of Eden, you told me that you desired to stay at the Throne of God. What ever changed to that dream of yours? I am giving you a chance to try and do it. Maybe you will like it there. You hated casting? Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden after Satan tempted them to eat the fruit of knowledge. Then, you were tasked to stop them and their descendants from re-entering the garden only to search Adam and his dead son''s body so that you could bury them back to Eden. Don''t you think it''s stupid? Aren''t you tired of this nonsense?"

    "It''s not about being tired. I just desired to be alone in my thoughts in nature. So I am contented with watching over gardens if God wanted me to. It''s not stupid." Archangel Uriel reasoned out. "You were given so much power and gifts among all the cherubims. Your strong persuasion made me think a thousand times before I ept this sudden offer. Stop forcing me to be tired when you are the one who is bored."

    There was an awkward silence.

    "Now I know why you are acting like this, Uriel." Archangel Uriel''s acute senses became more alert when he followed Lucifer''s gaze, strayed dangerously close towards the river. "Is it because of? thatdy?"

    Merle''s movement must have caught Lucifer''s eye when she rose from the water, naked, as she dried her wet limbs with the fluffy robe and proceeded to wear her dry tunic, oblivious of the angelic stares around her. "Is it a wife in the Earthly Realm you refused to sleep with because you are afraid to turn into a Fallen Angel?"

 Chapter 494 - The Lore Of The Four Seasons (Act X)

    <h4>Chapter 494 - The Lore Of The Four Seasons (Act X)</h4>

    New Chapter in Highest Tier (May 2021)

    *************************************************

    Archangel Uriel? (me of God)

    First Guardian of the Garden of Four Seasons

    *************************************************

    "Is it a wife in the Earthly Realm you refused to sleep with because you are afraid to turn into a Fallen Angel?"

    Archangel Uriel''s eyebrows almost reached up to his hairline in shock before giving him an irritated nce. "Nothing happened between us, Lucifer."

    "Your tone sounded like you wanted something to happen between you two, though."

    His lips pressed together in a grim line.

    "Stop it. Don''t be ridiculous." Archangel Uriel sped his hands tightly that his knuckles went white. "Don''t even suggest such a stupid scenario."

    Lucifer must not have valued his life, for he didn''t drop the subject as he taunted him, "Are you sure you weren''t lovers currently living together without fornication?"

    "No." For some reason, Archangel Uriel''s intuition refused to tell Lucifer that Merle was there for the fruits of the Four Seasons.

    After all, he was unaware of Lucifer''s intentions why he was there. " She was just a? young Fae who got lost in this Garden."

    "Did she tell you where she was headed to?"

    Archangel Uriel told him a bald-faced lie. "I didn''t ask. I just took her in the gardens, made a makeshift tent for her to stay at until she was ready to return home."

    "How long did she stay?"

    "Two seasons?" Unsure, Archangel Uriel replied in a question and maintained a straight face. "She stayed to protect herself from demons bound in this earth."

    "Hmm. The Garden of the Four Seasons is in the heart of the Faerie Realm. It''s hard to find if you don''t? focus your entire being about your intention to find it."

    No.

    No.

    No.

    Why did warning bells kept ringing in his head when it came to revealing information to Lucifer?

    "Did she have magic items with here?" Lucifer asked that so casually he might have thought that Uriel didn''t know what he was doing, spying on them!

    Did his presence have anything to do with Merle and the mission Archangel Ariel had given her?

    Would it be safe to tell Lucifer this?

    He was his best friend, a fellow Archangel who had had the rank of cherubim in the Angel Hierarchy.

    Maybe, Archangel Uriel was just careful after all the rumours he heard about Lucifer while still guarding the Gates of Eden.

    In God''s eyes, Lucifer wasn''t good��he was the best out of all angels.

    He was ordained to hold the highest position in the rank of cherubim, and God trusted him enough to give him more power and gifts among the heavenly angels.

    It came to the point that Lucifer was head-to-head with the most powerful ''seraphim'' when it came to? Heavenly Magic.

    Mind you. Lucifer was still very much a cherubim��a lesser rank from the ''seraphim'' which was the strongest of the Angel Kind.

    Nevertheless, the seraphim, Archangel Michael, refused topete with him because there wasn''t any purpose in proving his strength except for braggings. Lucifer taunted the ''seraphim''��that Archangel Michael was afraid to get beaten by someone from the lower rank such as Lucifer.

    The seraphim bit the bait and continued ignoring him from starting unnecessary brawls between Archangels.

    They should only do things ording to the rules in alignment with God''s virtue.

    All Angels in the Realms strictly followed them except for Lucifer, who tended to get rebellious every time his boredom struck him like lightning.

    Overall, Archangel Uriel thought Lucifer was a good and powerful Archangel. Still, someday, his dissatisfaction with his current powers might be his downfall if he kept challenging Archangel Michael for the sake of his pride.

    He always wanted more.

    "I don''t know why you are so invested with her." Archangel Uriel ced a hand on his shoulder and his friend stared at it in amusement.

    "She looks beautiful to me. Her skin was as pale as snow. Her hair as red as fresh blood." Lucifer listed Merle''s attributes in his fingers as he returned his gaze to thedy.

    She walked from the tree by the river bank to her tent. "If I am prepared to turn into a Fallen Angel tonight, I might get her pregnant so that I could have her for myself."

    Archangel''s grip on Lucifer tightened, but his friend did not indicate that it hurt. "Don''t even try."

    Lucifer''s brows knitted in confusion before he reced it with a knowing smile. "Uriel, are you jealous of me because of her?"

    "Not at all. What you just told me is fucking twisted."Archangel Uriel could barely hide his snarl when he snapped at him. "Did you just agree with epting the consequences and be? a ''grigori'' after raping a woman who belonged in this Realm? Are you out of your damn mind?"

    The bastard had the nerve to chuckle."This is the first time I see you get worked up by ady, Uriel when I only asked me a hypothetical question, I gave you a hypothetical answer. It didn''t mean that I would follow through with it."

    "I''m doubting that." Archangel Uriel''s hand on his shoulders shifted to the side of Lucifer''s neck. One wrong move, and he would snap him into two right then and there. "I don''t like the way you look at her body. She isn''t a piece of meat for your sole consumption."

    Lucifer didn''t seem to care.

    "And she''s? yours?" He raised an eyebrow. "Staking a im, aren''t you, Uriel?"

    "Let''s just stop looking at her." He said as he gave Merle a sweeping nce, unconsciously pausing on her pale legs every time she took a step forward. "It''s her body and she doesn''t need ourscivious gazes on her."

    "You are telling me that when you were the one? who can''t take your eyes off her, Archangel Uriel." He cleared his throat and averted his gaze abruptly when Lucifer regarded him with suspicion.? "I am not thescivious one."

    Gritting his teeth in anger, Archangel Uriel decided to remove his hand on Lucifer''s neck and turn his back from the edge of the teau.? "Let'' s leave her alone."

    "I can see that you love her, Uriel." Lucifer said, and Archangel Uriel never looked his way so he wouldn''t reveal his secret.

    Taking a deep breath, he denied. "No."

    "This is the first time I have seen you act like this." Lucifer insisted. "I think you love her very much."

    "No." Uriel repeated with clenched fists.

    "There is no point in denying it.

    There are ways to be with her without being corrupted by evil and turning into Fallen Angel like the rest of the Watchers.

    "What are you suggesting me, Lucifer? Do you want me to break my loyalty to our God?" Turning towards him, Archangel Uriel demanded as he stabbed an using finger on his chest. "I don''t understand you. You should have been the one to tell me to get back to my senses!"

    "You can be with her and elope to another Realm where the rest of the Archangels couldn''t find you." Lucifer proposed. "I will help both of you live happily ever after."

    "There is something wrong��"

    " In turn, I can be the Guardian of this Garden and rece your angelic post."

 Chapter 495 - The Lore Of The Four Seasons (Act XI)

    <h4>Chapter 495 - The Lore Of The Four Seasons (Act XI)</h4>

    New Chapter in Highest Tier (May 2021)

    *************************************************

    Archangel Uriel? (me of God)

    First Guardian of the Garden of Four Seasons

    ************************************************

    Archangel Uriel didn''t intend to tell Lucifer about his dilemma with Merle because he was still suspicious of his friend''s presence in the Garden of Four Seasons.

    Hence, he gave him the watered-down version of his story as long as Lucifer wouldn''t find out about his love for the lovely red-haired beauty, already cocooned in her tent away from the prying eyes of his fellow cherubim.

    Clenching his fists, Archangel Uriel straightened his spine with his chest thrust out, widening his stance as if ready for a fight.

    He abhorred his friend''s predatory gaze on the curves of Merle''s delicate shoulders and wide hips.

    Lucifer looked at her like how a Watcher would before he sacrificed all the good in him to achieve the sexual pleasure he coveted out of jealousy for those who had a flesh.

    For Archangel Uriel, the sole reason for the Watcher''s fall from grace was because of lust��the pleasure of the flesh��because if an Archangel fell in love with a woman for real, there was no need to possess and mark her as his through fornication and ruin her life, regardless of the consequences.

    An Archangel did have a heart, but...was it hard to love a woman without making her suffer, bearing a ''Nephilim'', and bing an outcast while the Archangels chase her to kill her child, turning it into a demon?

    This screamed irresponsibility to him whether or not the Fallen Watcher was determined to protect his woman throughout despite all the Archangels were against them.

    Good will always prevail from evil.

    It wasn''t a matter of God-given grace in their being.

    They shouldn''t have fallen from temptation in the first ce.

    Was this lust so strong that it could overpower the Watchers, or was there another sinister being at y?

    Lucifer only smirked as he asionally nodded at his story, but Archangel Uriel never bought his lies.

    His friend must have sensed that Merle was everything to him.

    Archangel Uriel sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck, almost close to giving up, when Lucifer advised him, "You should talk to her about the future of your rtionship instead of wasting time and talking to me, my friend. I can''t help you with that because I''m not the one involved. Anything I say wouldn''t matter."

    He chose not to mention that he loved Merle and that she was a mere stranger who got lost in the garden he had to deal with.

    It was an Archangel''s responsibility to protect creatures in the Earthly Realm as long as they didn''t interfere with their fate or God-given mission.

    He made it clear to Lucifer that there was nothing between him and Merle.

    He wouldn''t let his fellow cherubim think that the Fae was his weakness.

    "If you allowed her to leave you here in the Garden,? you would make the biggest regret of your life. If she began his journey tonight, someone might take her away once? you let her out of your sight." Lucifer had voiced out his ultimate concern, which led him to pace around like a maniac who couldn''t keep his calm.

    "I want to keep her safe but that means that she remain here with me forever. I can''t leave this garden because this is my responsibility to our God. I have no choice but to let her go."

    Archangel Uriel didn''t say anything about the blue feather ne with the powerful Heavenly magic he gave Merle.

    He knew that it was enough, but the presence of Fallen Angels and Demons made him doubt if Merle can survive.

    She can--as long as no demon tricked her into taking it off.

    "Merle could return home on her own. I trust her but it is me who had a problem with my own decision." He stopped pacing as he exhaled a breath, nodding and muttering to himself. "I am? not certain if I am doing the right thing."

    Archangel''s eyes widened in surprise.

    It was a slip of his tongue.

    He shouldn''t have made a mistake.

    He had given a hint to Lucifer that he will missdy Merle''s presence in his garden because she was returning home.

    Archangel Uriel decided to throw caution to the wind and spill it. "This? heart of mine told me not to let her go but my mind tells me that it is for the best. I would forget about her after a short decade."

    "It would have been better if she was human but thedy Merle is a Fae who will remain an immortal as long as nobody held a grudge enough to kill her." Lucifer said with a shrug. Then, he stepped closer and whispered, "You should kill her. That would solve all your problems."

    Archangel? Uriel gave him a dubious scowl.

    "It''s a jest." Smiling, Lucifer raised both arms in a cating gesture.

    "I don''t understand how the most powerful cherubim can jest about something as grave as that."? Lucifer was starting to get on his nerves with all the strange nonsense spouting off his mouth.

    "Killing is a sin." He told his friend just in case he forgot.

    "Killing is only a sin in the Earthly Realms. Archangels are superior beings than these low creatures." Lucifer stretched his exquisite purple wings when there wasn''t anyone around to show off to. "We can kill whomever we wanted."

    Archangel growled. "Lucifer."

    "What? We are killing the Nephilim in this Realm." Lucifer said in a condescending tone. "God tasked Archangels to kill babies and children out here and we followed his bidding--"

    "��so that these evil creatures wouldn''t reach adulthood and make everything worse." Archangel Uriel cut him off. "We are tasked by God to contain the threat and control the situation to protect the rest."

    "Think whatever you like. Sacrifices will always be made in the battle between good and evil." There was a hint of mockery in his tone as Lucifer added, "I will stay and guard? while you go inside her tent and talk to her about your ns. Be honest and tell her what you would you do if you aren''t an Archangel."

 Chapter 496 - The Lore Of The Four Seasons (Act XII)

    <h4>Chapter 496 - The Lore Of The Four Seasons (Act XII)</h4>

    New Chapter in Highest Tier (May 2021)

    *************************************************

    Archangel Uriel? (me of God)

    First Guardian of the Garden of Four Seasons

    ************************************************

    ''Be honest and tell her what you would you do if you aren''t an Archangel.''

    Lucifer''s words couldn''t stop ringing in his head as he spread his blue-feathered wings, each of them dusted with golden tips, sorge that he could see him in his peripheral vision.

    The tiny rocks crumbled under his sandals as he took careful yet absent steps to the escarpment before he dropped down with his arms outstretched, closing his eyes and taking flight.

    As he soared in the sky, feeling the strong winds as it lifted the strands of his blond hair, he realized that his thoughts weren''t focused on his mission as God''s Archangel.

    His distracted mind was too focused on the possibility of Merle and him living together without bringing a ''Nephilim into this world��without breaking his covenant to his God.

    There should be a way to get around this!

    Archangel Uriel pinched his lips together.

    She left Lucifer at the top of the teau as he flew towards the direction of Merle''s makeshift tent while his head was above the clouds.

    At that moment, all he knew was that he should get to her.

    When he opened his eyes, Uriel looked down, and he could see the incredible aerial view of the wide gardens.

    His sharp gaze zeroed on the Tree of the Four Seasons he had sworn to protect, and he felt this resentment crushing his heart.

    The magical fruit of the Tree of the Four Seasons was the thing that brought them closer and also symbolized why they couldn''t be together.

    Why him, out of all the Archangels, was chosen to experience forbidden love?

    If he could, he would have asked God to be spared from this cruel fate.

    Maybe, God did this on purpose to test his loyalty to him.

    If he could turn back time, he wished he didn''t set his eyes on Merle.

    His lips curved upward as a single teardrop fell from his eye.

    An Archangel showing human emotion?

    This was new.

    He wiped them with the back of his hand.

    Archangel Uriel never even thought it was possible.

    "What would I do if I am not an Archangel?"? He asked himself as the chill of the water went deep-seated into his bones.

    Archangel Uriel safelynded on the ground and shook off his wet wings before folding them close.

    "Merle. Merle." Archangel Uriel called out as he opened the p of her tent and peeked at the entrance.

    He saw her looking at her reflection in the mirror,?bing her long red hair, dripping wet, while Archangel Uriel could only see her back.

    The strap of her grey tunic was so thin and loose that it kept on slipping out of her shoulder, making her entire upper back exposed.

    "What are you doing here, Uriel?" Merle asked, scrambling to fix her clothes. "What do you want?"

    "You have to get out."

    A spark of surprise in her golden eyes. "Why would I have to get out?"

    "You shoulde in��" Merle stopped herself and shook her head, changing his mind. "No. You will only mess up my shelter."

    Uriel made a small wave in his hand. "It''s not yours. This is yourst night in my garden."

    "Alright." Merle muttered. "Are you telling me to get out of this tent because you are throwing me out of your garden?"

    "No." I don''t want to enter ady''s home, even if it is temporary, without her permission."? Beckoning a finger, he murmured huskily,? "Come, mydy."

    "Alright." Merle gave in, and her excitement was contagious. "Let me braid my hair."

    "No need. I will mess it up."

    "What do you��"

    Archangel Uriel had a wide grin on his face as he released the p of her tent, waiting for her patiently in the rain while he nced up at the sky, letting the fat raindrops soak his wless face and his messy blond hair while running his hands through it.

    This will be the first time and thest time that he wouldn''t let himself back when it came to Merle.

    "Uriel." Merle called out as she exited out of her shelter. And he couldn''t turn around fast enough when he heard her name.

    He stalked towards her to meet her halfway.

    Merle paused in the middle of approaching him, gasping when he saw the look on his face.

    Archangel Uriel took the remaining steps to get closer and paused when she was within reach.

    He focused on her lips with an intensity that could make ady melt like thest snow on the first day of spring.

    Archangel Uriel seized her long beautiful braids with longing and untangled them with his fingers.

    Noticing that Merle''s face was as fragile as a flower, hisrge hands gently cupped her jaw as he swooped in and brushed his lips against hers.

    This time he was the one who initiated, bringing her more warmth than a shelter could ever give her.

    Thunder crackled so loud that it made Merle flinch.

    It was followed by a strike of lightning shing through their closed lids.

    Their hair was blown by the storm winds.

    The whole world seemed to stop on its axis as Archangel Uriel kissed her so tenderly.

    Magical droplets beaded through the crown of their head, washing away all their doubts and the frustration of experiencing a star crossed love.

    As their lips locked together in the rush of the rain, Archangel Uriel wrapped her in his embrace.

    Everything else seemed to blur.

    His entire senses focused on every nuance of her movement.

    It was a heavenly moment that made his love burst from his heart to his throat, demanding to be expressed.

    Archangel Uriel was the first one to break the kiss.

    He gazed into the golden depths of her gaze, and in that sh of a second, Archangel Uriel saw a young boy with dark hair and the same golden eyes as hers.

    The boy had wings behind his back, but it didn''t appear close to an Angel.

    He quickly dismissed it as a quick hallucination.

    Finally, Archangel Uriel told Merle how he felt as he held her cold hands. "I love you, Merle."

 Chapter 497 - News About Luna

    <h4>Chapter 497 - News About Luna</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (May 2021)

    ******************************************

    The Archdemon of Gluttony

    Prince Ravin from the First Circle of Hell

    ******************************************

    This early morning,? a messenger arrived at his castle, bringing a scroll written in Satan''s penmanship and marked by the crest of his circle.

    Ravin couldn''t figure out why his uncle had to showcase his message in such an borate way when a few words from his minion would be enough.

    He paced around in his bedchamber as he rubbed his chin in contemtion.

    The messenger even had the audacity to demand that Ravin received the scroll at the throne room, as per his Master''s order.

    He epted important notice from demons in the Higher Hierarchy in his study. When it insisted that Ravin meet the messenger at another location, he knew that it was serious business.

    He didn''t bother changing his clothes after he woke up from his sleep and just kept himself in pajamas like what his younger brother Sloth did every day,? riding his monstrous pets as he wandered around the Circles of Hell in that same old clothes.

    It must be an official meeting��one that involved the Royal Family of Archdemons.

    Unfortunately, they couldn''t deliver the news in spirit.

    When he arrived at his throne room, Ravin realized that? Satan''s messenger wasn''t from the low-ranked demon in his legion.

    His demon servant told him that it was Camio who waited outside the doors, the henchman of Satan''s legion, who had the head of a rhinoceros between his shoulders and arge animal behind.

    Ravin recalled that Camio was there at theke with Luxen when he arrived to save his ''Amare'' from his brother''s clutches and y as Luna''s hero after purposely losing a game of chess with his brother.

    After his servant had let him in, Camio approached him while Ravin was seated on his throne.

    He knelt at his feet and handed him the golden scroll.

    When he read it, it was news about Luna, his Amare. Just like he thought.

    Preparing himself for the worst, Ravin unrolled the scroll so that he could read the contents.

    He was utterly devastated when his Uncle told him not to visit Luna anymore in her prison cell since they were training her under extreme conditions.

    With ring nostrils, he roughly rolled it back and threw it in front of him. "Again? They weren''t satisfied with the punishment yet?"

    Ravin rose from his throne and glowered at Camio''s back, who had bowed down, quivering in fear. "I saw her suffering with my own two eyes every time I visit and I couldn''t do anything about it."

    It was tempting to stomp his foot and kick him so hard until the henchman screamed, simr to what the Grand Torturer had done to Luna right now. "If that wasn''t extreme enough as a punishment for using Archdemon Magic without proper training��"

    "Did Master Satan told you specifically when he would n to let her go?" Camio whispered shakily without ncing up at him.

    "He told me that after she learn how to create portals between Realms."

    Camio pressed his elbow closed to the sides, making hisrge body as small as possible.

    It was an effective strategy for Ravin, making him pity the henchman. "During your visit, was there any indication that she was sessful at her mission Satan gave her as a fledgling Archdemon?"

    "If she did, she would have used that to escape her prison but the obsidian walls of her cell will prevent her from doing that." Breathing hard, Ravin tried to be rational. "I always reassure her that she will be released from prison soon and she just had to endure her punishment for using Archdemon Magic a few more weeks. I have seen hersh-out many times. After that, she just shut down on me on my recent visit. Something isn''t right here." His face scrunched up into a scowl. "What happened in my Uncle''s Circle, Camio?"

    "Nothing significant is happening as far as I know of, Prince Ravin."

    Immense heat flushed through his body as he ground his teeth in anger, sending the double doors of his Throne Room to m loudly. "You know something. Don''t even pretend to be innocent, henchman."

    Camio lowered his voice as if he did not intend to reveal this. "Master Satan does not order me around because he was stuck in his Castle most of the time, testing the limits and breaking the will of his fledgling students to make them stronger."

    Ravin''s legs nted wide on the floor as he stood up from his throne.

    "You''re lying! I know you know what is happening behind the scenes, Camio." Ravin yelled at him.? "I want my Amare to get out of this situation. Wasn''t she punished enough in the hands of the Grand Torturer? It''s been almost a month, and your Master had allowed me to visit her every week. What is wrong this time?

    "I am only King Lucifer''s messenger." He stayed, rooted, in his ce. "I did not open the scroll I delivered in your hands so I am not aware of what it said. I only ask you not to shoot the messenger."

    The more Camio tried to deflect him by washing his hands off this situation. It made him want to destroy the henchman for his loyalty to his Master, "I will not shoot you. I will devour your spirit." Ravin said as he grabbed him by the shoulders, forcing him to meet his protruding gaze. "Maybe, you know something and I will acquire your Master''s secret with regards to Luna."

    "Prince Ravin." Camio''s face had turned ashen as he calmly said, "I''m only trying to do my job and follow Satan''s orders."

    "If you think this message will scare me into canceling my weekly visit to my Amare, then you are wrong."

    As if recalling something, Camio''s eyes blinked into focus, grasping Ravin''s wrist. "Prince Ravin, you just mentioned that Luna refused to talk to you when you have visit with her pet dragon recently. What if she begged your Uncle to ban you from visiting so that she could keep you out of sight?"

    Oh.

    Ravin was taken aback.

    She didn''t like to see me, huh?

    It made him want to visit her now.

    "Take that useless scroll back to Uncle." Smirking, he shoved Camio to the floor and nced at the scroll not far from the henchman. "I will pretend I haven''t seen that."

 Chapter 498 - Feather

    <h4>Chapter 498 - Feather</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (May 2021)

    *********************************************

    The Archdemon of Gluttony

    Prince Ravin from the First Circle of Hell

    *********************************************

    Ravin made preparations to meet his Amare in one of Lucifer''s dungeons.

    His female demon servants could tell that he wasn''t in a hurry as they stood in line near the walls with their head bowed down, carrying thick fluffy towels and fragrant soaps in their hands.

    Nobody dared to move when he entered.

    Complete silence filled his bathroom, and he preferred it this way so he could think about Luna.

    Did she not want to see him again like what Camio told him in the Throne Room?

    Did something happen to her at her prison cell?

    Had the Grand Torturer gone overboard with his punishment?

    Before the Grand Torturer had taken Luna from his Castle, Ravin had told him to do anything his Uncle asked for except raping her.

    He knew female Archdemons have it hard during the training.

    Luna already suffered mentally by what his brother, Luxen, had done to her, pretending to be the Vampire King and taking advantage of Amare''s longing.

    If Ravin''s heart were rotten to the core, he would have raped her before Luxen did to trap her with him, but he didn''t!

    Ha!

    It was a shame that his brother Luxen, who reced Asmodeus in the Second Circle of Hell, had resorted to rape because of the one woman who he couldn''t seduce��who was immune to his ability to bring out the most potent lust in every man and woman alike, no matter what creature it was.

    Luxen was in a hurry to im Luna.

    His brother was desperate when his blood bond with her was cut off.

    The Archdemon of Lust might have ruined his initial ns.

    Hopefully, this could make his Amare turn away from Luxen in revulsion straight into his arms.

    Ravin was patient enough to y the hero. The good guy. The one who would tell his mate that everything would be alright.

    Now, Ravin will be visiting Amare after he made some efforts to be handsome and presentable.

    He came to stand in front of the tall mirror, stretching his demonic wings in their full splendour.

    His irises appeared like they were made of pure gold, and they were so different from his mother, Queen Jezebel, to which his brother had a huge resemnce.

    He ran his fingers through his ck as midnight hair, curling at the sharp angles of his face, which were simr to his father, the Demon King Lucifer.

    He can''t deny that he had a beautiful profile and a strong body made to conquer.

    He would a woman''s sanity in question if she didn''t fall for him right away.

    Every time he had a dilemma to solve, he contemted all his choices during bath as he reconnected with his true desires and to ask himself what he felt deep within.

    He needed a moment of rity when it came to his mate.

    Was it his time to rescue her out of her prison cell and deal with his Uncle''s ire for meddling with his affairs?

    That question earned him a frown as he walked towards the bathtub.

    Ravin should have saved her after the first week she was caught. But Satan and the Grand Torturer would have thwarted him every step of the way if he did that from the start.

    He can keep her in his Castle and hide his Amare from Satan''s sight. But then, they woulde and barge through every door in his Castle to bring her back to the dungeons.

    It was useless by that point.

    Ravin only wished that Luna could endure the torment that the Grand Torturer put her through.

    After all, she was an Archdemon who had a strong spirit.

    The agony might be unbearable, but at least, her immortal will always heal.

    The more she got used to it, Luna would acquire more power to mend her broken bones quicker if one challenged her during a battle between Archdemons.

    Amare couldn''t afford to be weak.

    The imposing columns of the bathroom were linked to a perfect archway at the exit, while the ceiling was iid gold and red silhouettes of demons and masks painted at the centre.

    This bathtub was close to his heart because of the memories with Luna after she woke up after losing consciousness.

    This was where he had taken Luna after she got out from the Lotus created by an Archangel.

    He was thankful to that fearless Archangel who dared to activate the Armor of God in Hell in the Devil''s Territory.

    The Archangel was so strong that even one of the first Archdemons like Satan was powerless to destroy it.

    The Archangel''s presence was a blessing for him. Because of that, he was able to covertly take Luna from Luxen''s clutches and got closer to her enough to allow him to do things�� things that only lovers do if they were alone in their bedchamber.

    The water on the pool was mixed with drops of demon blood, crushed souls from theke and other special minerals found in his Kingdom, turning the expanse of his skin smooth and even.

    The silent women scrambled around him quietly to assist him when he began taking off his tunic out of his shoulders and arms.

    He shivered a little as he climbed on the bathtub, one leg over the other, naked.

    Ravin was now seated on his small pool, and the bottom felt like cold stone.

    He looked over his shoulder.

    Any minute by now the dragon Sloth had given Luna to take care of as a gift will arrive and��

    "REEEEEEEEE~" The whelp''s loud screech was cut off when it bumped its head on the bathroom door, dropping like a rock to the ground.

    "Ulk--" That didn''t sound good.

    Ravin checked if it was alright.

    One of his servants was about to pick it up, but it moved, crawling on its limbs on the ground to approach him.

    Just when he assumed that the whelp was toozy to p its wings, it fluttered thrice, enough to jump and ssh into the pool with him.

    "Rere." Holding it up with both hands, Ravin smiled at the first baby he had taken care of. ''Want toe with me and go get your mother?"

    Ravin''s smile dropped when he saw an Archangel''s feather stuck in its mouth.

 Chapter 499 - Necklace

    <h4>Chapter 499 - Ne</h4>

    *********************************************

    The Archdemon of Gluttony

    Prince Ravin from the First Circle of Hell

    *********************************************

    Ravin''s smile dropped when he saw an Archangel''s feather stuck in its mouth.

    Eyes widening in surprise, Ravin almost released it out of his slippery hold.

    Still, he dropped the whelp to the suds, anyway, lest someone from his demon servants saw the feather and spread rumours around the entire Kingdom that he had an Archangel imprisoned in his dungeons as a prisoner. Or maybe he would have usations of betraying the Royal Family of Archdemons by coddling an adventurous Archangel who got lost in his Circle instead of just exploring the Underworld.

    Some demons were good at spinning stories like that. Loyalty will not matter if they get something in return out of that information��as all demons would.

    Ravin shook his head to clear his mental chatters as he ced his hand on top of the whelp''s head. The oues racing through his brain were too outrageous to happen, but better safe than sorry.

    He lowered his head and whispered, "I''m sorry, Re, but I have to."

    cing a hand over its head, he drowned Rere''s face for a little bit so they couldn''t see his mouth while his servants pour fragrant perfumes and grounded herbs into his literal bloodbath while some of them lit up three ck candles at each corner of the room.

    From the excited look of itsrge reptilian eyes, it looked like it didn''t mind as it stared at him like he was its own world, enjoying his attention.

    The whelp blew from its wide mouth, churning out bubbles yfully.

    When it realized that it couldn''t eat the residue of the evil spirits and demon blood mixed in the bath due to the scented perfumes and herbs mixed in the water, the whelp coughed, and it sshed red water from its mouth and its nostrils.

    It was smart enough to know that ingesting those stuff would upset its stomach.

    "Baby." He wiped a palm across his wet face, muttering a string of curses. "I was? supposed to be bathing to get clean and now you are throwing up on me."

    "Reee~" It growled happily as its head rose fully underwater, giving him a wide smile full of sharp teeth. He pped a hand across his forehead when he noticed the feather gone.

    Ravin loved the whelp because he was the one who raised it while its mother was temporarily in prison. But it was also the bane of his existence.

    Closing his eyes in regret, Ravin let out a groan as he leaned his head on the cold tub.

    The whelp can be careless like his Amare. Now, he knew that Rere''s sharp teeth had released the Archangel''s feather unto the water.

    What shall this entail that he had a blue feather in his pool?

    Was it dangerous?

    Will it kill him?

    When he opened his eyes to stare at the whelp, it was oblivious to his conundrum.

    Now, he had to search for the feather away from the prying eyes of his servants.

    "Stupid, little dragon." He clicked his tongue and said, "You should be happy that you are mine like my Amare or I would be eating you for breakfast due to this insolence."

    As he waited for the right timing, he gave the dragon a little scratch on the spot between its nose, and it purred like a cat, its tiny pleasant growls creating ripples on the red water.

    The tendrils of smoke from the mes reached through his nostrils, and the Archdemon Magic infused in them improved his mood like how a drug would, calming him down.

    When his female servants had finished the initial preparation, they began to inch closer, reaching for his arms to rub the cloth to his neck, arms and shoulders while sharp fingernails massaged his scalp, and he moaned from how great it felt like, wishing it was Luna who did this to him.

    He would have appreciated his servants'' assistance today if not for the whelp and the feather he brought.

    So, Ravin had no choice but tomand the female demons to scram and get out of the bathroom, making it clear that he didn''t want to be touched.

    There was nomotion.

    They quickly followed his orders without question, got out of his bath, and thest servant even shut the door gently when they all left.

    As he peeked through the area, he sighed.

    He was finally free.

    It was time to bathe himself and the mischievous dragon he had. Perhaps, not one but two. Maybe,ter��priorities, priorities!

    The Archdemon of Gluttony was toorge to submerge himself underwater because of his wide demonic wings, so he settled for groping for anything solid at the bottom of the pool which could work against him because the feather was thin and light. His eyebrows knitted in confusion.

    ''Wait a minute, if it was that thin then it should float on the water surface!'' He mused. ''Damn, this suds from the liquid soap his demon servants had spilled was a struggle.''

    He noticed the whelp swimming vigorously at the farthest side of the pool across him as if its life was on the line with its short limbs while dragging its soapy wings.

    "What are you up to now, Rere?"

    Ravin shifted around the tub as he sneaked behind it just in case it found the Archangel feather.

    This little thing had to pay for the trouble it caused him!

    As his eyes ricocheted around the suds where the whelp was headed, Ravin spotted the blue feather almost immediately.

    He stretched an arm and snatched the wet, blue feather beneath his fingers before it could guzzle it down.

    It was the first time he touched an Archangel feather, and it was also the first time he realized that it was tied to a thin white cord which was almost invisible to the naked eye like a handmade ne. The next thing the Archdemon of Gluttony knew, his consciousness was stuck into another world and another timeline.

 Chapter 500 - Ancient Memory

    <h4>Chapter 500 - Ancient Memory</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (May 2021)

    *********************************************

    The Archdemon of Gluttony

    Prince Ravin from the First Circle of Hell

    *********************************************

    The Archdemon of Gluttony felt like his consciousness was transported into another world and into another timeline.

    It was dark in this new world. It was nighttime, and he was alone.

    His bare feet stood in a palette of green fields, but he couldn''t feel the grass underneath his soles.

    Ravin was in an open meadow.

    This was strange.

    Ravin''s spine straightened as he nced around his surroundings with vignce.

    He was certain this wasn''t a dream since Archdemons in Hell couldn''t do that.

    Ah. The mysterious blue feathered ne brought him here.'' He mused. ''But how?''

    The owner of this ne was too powerful��more powerful than an Archdemon like him��to trap his consciousness into such a tiny thing with just a single touch.

    He wasn''t aware of where the whelp acquired it and who did ite from.

    He tilted his head to the dark purple sky as the raindrops cascaded over his face.

    Closing his eyes, he focused on the sensation.

    He couldn''t feel the cold drizzles touching his naked skin, his face, nor did it wet his hair.

    Yes, Ravin was naked with the absence of the suds all over his toned body.

    He was in the bath with the whelp before this. He raised his hands so that he could observe himself.

    As he thought, his form was a mere spectre.

    Everything he will touch will pass through him.

    He couldn''t feel the ssh of deep puddles even if he stepped at them on purpose.

    His consciousness entered a distinct memory of the Archangel whom the blue feather belonged to.

    Sighing,? Ravin realized that the shower passed through him like the spirit he was, enriching the dark soil on the ground, turning the des of grass into something glossier.

    At least, no one else could see him like this.

    If the Archangel''s feather had imprinted on a strong-willed consciousness of an unsuspecting Archdemon, then this item must have been too Ancient.

    Who knows?

    It might hold a secret knowledge that nobody knew about.

    Something incredibly tragic must have happened to the wearer of the ne that it had sucked an Archdemon to its past world, demanding he be a witness.

    Ravin paid this small adventure no mind as long as he wouldn''t turn into a victim.

    He would be lucky if he found out the secrets of the universe so that he could travel from Hell to the Material to and fro.

    It was every Archdemon''s dream to achieve that level of freedom!

    There were a lot of things an Archdemon can''t unsee that he had survived.

    Well, Ravin was prepared for the horrors he will witness, so he already somewhat prepared himself.

    Suddenly, Ravin felt his soul stir in this unknown world.

    He never felt more alive as lightning shed at the teau on the far horizon.

    With his sharp eyesight,? Ravin could see one Archangel with purple wings standing over the edge of the teau, looking in his direction.

    As he crossed his arms over his chest, he frowned at its shape as he pondered if the Archangel with the purple wings could see him.

    His form looked incredibly familiar.

    Ravin wondered if he should approach.

    He felt the air around him turned electrifying when he heard something rustle from behind.

    When he looked over his shoulder, the first thing he saw a beautiful young woman with braided bright red rich silken locks, wearing a simple grey bodice for sleepwear outside from her small home.

    Now that the red-haired woman was already wet from the rain, her gossamer-thin clothes almost showed the mounds and curves underneath as it stered too close to her hourss shape as if it was a second skin.

    She might as well be wearing cobwebs.

    Ravin quickly detached his gaze from the woman.

    There was no point in admiring a beauty that wasn''t his Amare. He shifted his attention to another Archangel in front of her, who was different from the one standing at the teau.

    The blond Archangel watched thedy grimly as if they were talking about death before Ravin got there.

    He raised an eyebrow when he peeked at the colour of his wings.

    The colour of his feather was simr to the one his whelp had brought in his bath!

    It belonged to him!

    The Archangel had enormous wings filled with blue feathers dipped in gold.

    Now, why did this Archangel forced Ravin to relieve this memory?

    Why, out of all Archdemons, did he have to see this exact memory?

    Did this have significance in his life?

    He stepped closer to them, wondering if they could sense his ghastly presence.

    Ravin could see the heart-shaped face of the red-haired woman up close.

    She was as pale as a ghost with wide and innocent golden doe eyes which dominated her entire features.

    It was a mere coincidence why thier eyes have a simr shape.

    It was the exact colour and the size of his irises to what he had seen at the mirror this morning. Who was this female?

    Was she an Ancient Demon Ancestor of his?

    Ravin closed the distance between them, standing at the side of the couple where he could observe them--because what else would he do?

    He raised an eyebrow and tilted his head at the red-haired woman, regarding her face while she held into his Archangel lover''s hands as if she didn''t want to let go.

    Was this theirst farewell?

    Ravin can''t tell.

    Nobody had uttered a word yet as they basked in each other''s presence.

    He stared at thedy and his Archangel in their lovestruck faces back in forth, getting pissed at the wishful reality he desired with his Amare that was out of his reach, especially now that he was stuck in this Archangel''s memory instead of visiting her in the prison cell to help her escape.

    If this unlikely couple were that in love in the feather''s memory, they could have just skipped to the good, romantic parts and go straight to the horrors of the demonic presence and the negative energies surrounding this event.

    "The rain had stopped." The Archangel spoke. "We should start your journey home."

 Chapter 501 - Ravins Point Of View

    <h4>Chapter 501 - Ravin''s Point Of View</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (May 2021)

    *********************************************

    The Archdemon of Gluttony

    Prince Ravin from the First Circle of Hell

    *********************************************

    "The rain had stopped." The Archangel spoke, and his intense gaze did not leave thedy.

    Ravin could tell from his cold blue eyes how much the Archangel longed for the woman despite feigning detachment.

    He hated the look on the Archangel''s face.

    He didn''t deserve the love and devotion twinkling in the red-haired Faerie''s eyes.

    Ravin scowled as he shifted from foot to foot, feeling disconcerted. Archangels weren''t supposed to fall in love with creatures from the Material Realm.

    It was against their Creator''s Laws!

    Even Archdemons knew about it!

    What was he doing?

    Was he ready to ept the consequences of turning into a Fallen Angel, or was he merely raising her hopes to get her undivided attention?

    Ravin wrinkled his nose.

    This Archangel disgusted him. ''How could such a pure creature iming to be a servant of God fool such a young, naive Faerie all the while pledging his piety to His Creator?

    He probably promised her the world when he couldn''t give it.

    Not loyalty.

    Not devotion.

    Nothing that would reciprocate thedy''s feelings with the golden eyes simr to Ravin''s.

    These bastardly acts should only be reserved to Archdemons like him��fooling innocent women who fell for their rakish charm and devilish seduction.

    Not this Archangel!

    Wait a moment!

    Why was he acting overprotective over this unknowndy in the memory?

    Was he bothered because of their coincidental likeness?

    "We should start your journey home." The Archangel said.

    Ravin focused more on the sharp angles of the Archangel''s features.

    His form was simr to that of a creature from the Earthly Realm.

    As an Archdemon, Ravin was familiar with the real horrific dispositions of archangels.

    It was easier to distinguish them that way.

    If the Archangels assumed a humanoid profile, Ravin found it hard to tell who was who, especially if he only saw them a few times and based on the description given to them by his fellow Archdemons.

    They should recognize their enemies in every form so that they could defeat them.

    Archdemons always practice the ability to y an Angel with the sword of Hellfire in just a single nce.

    "We?" There was an excited gleam in the woman''s golden eyes, endearing her to him as she squeezed the Archangel''s hands.

    Ravin felt a strange flutter in his chest to see her happy, just like how he felt for his Amare when she was around. "Did I hear that correctly, Uriel? Are youing with me to the vige?"

    ''Uriel?'' Ravin blinked at the name.'' Archangel?''

    Finally, someone spoke names!

    It was an important piece of information.

    Archangel Uriel, huh?

    The name was familiar, but Ravin hadn''t seen that Archangel before in his whole existence.

    Ravin was an old Archdemon trained under the best of the best��the First Turned Archdemon from the dawn of time, his father, the Demon King Lucifer, representing the Archdemon of Pride.

    When he first learned Archdemon Magic, he was also under the tutge of? Satan, the Archdemon of Wrath.

    But why couldn''t Ravin tell who this Archangel was?

    Brows knitting in confusion, Ravin''s mind only came up with a nk.

    Well, that shouldn''t be a mystery.

    It wasn''t like these Archangels visit Hell like they were frequent guests.

    No Archdemons knew each of them on a personal level.

    The red-haireddy eximed, jumping up and down like a child who had received a lot of gifts. "I''m so happy!"

    "You should be." The Archangel smirked, pulling her to him into a tight embrace that made Ravin a bit jealous. "This would be the first time I am leaving this Garden."

    "I am ecstatic!" She giggled as she bounced from foot to foot.

    The stoic Archangel couldn''t help but return a wide grin.

    At least, he made an effort not toe across as an indifferent scoundrel in front of his lover.

    "I couldn''t wait for you to meet my family." Thedy said as she wrapped her arms around his waist. "I am? sure they would like you."

    "Merle." Archangel Uriel murmured in her hair as he caressed her back. "I don''t want to insult you but you are getting ahead of yourself."

    "I apologize," Merle replied. The baby hairs on her forehead floated in the gentle breeze as she nced up at him. "Will the Highest God allow you to elope with me?"

    The Highest God?

    Is he an Archangel eloping with a Fae?

    "I? can''t elope with you, Merle." ''

    ''Good. Of course, His Creator wouldn''t allow it!'' Ravin scowled. ''This Merle should let that sink into her brain that she was dealing with an Archangel.''

    Ravin was certain that the red-haired girl''s thoughts were in the clouds for pushing the impossible.

    He clicked his tongue in disapproval, but even the sound Ravin made didn''t catch the Archangel and the Fae''s attention.

    "It''s not allowed but��"

    "You have asked permission, then." Merle prompted as she watched him with a puppy-eyed look.

    The Archangel paused for a few seconds as they stared into each other''s eyes, utterly seduced.

    Clearing his throat, Archangel Uriel replied. "No, I didn''t ask for permission."

    Giving him a slow blink, Merle embraced the poor Archangel tighter. "So you are breaking rules for me?"

    Thedy was brilliant when it came to the art of seduction.

    He couldn''t stand a chance if he remained close to her in such close vicinity.

    Archangel Uriel sighed a hopeless sigh and closed his eyes. It was either that or avert his gaze so that he wouldn''t fall for the Fae''s charm. "Merle,? I just want to keep you safe from harm. The ne I have given you might repel the demons from your trails. Still, I don''t trust the Fallen Angels from causing you harm once they got you alone."

    It was clear that Archangel Uriel was too smitten.

    It wouldn''t take long before he turned into a Fallen Archangel.

    "You really love me, Uriel." Merle buried her face in his chest and murmured, "You make me happy."

 Chapter 502 - Third Wheeling

    <h4>Chapter 502 - Third Wheeling</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (May 2021)

    *********************************************

    The Archdemon of Gluttony

    Prince Ravin from the First Circle of Hell

    *********************************************

    It wouldn''t take long before he turned into a Fallen Archangel.

    "You really love me, Uriel." Merle buried her face in his chest and murmured, "You make me happy."

    Like a shameless creep, Ravin dared not look away as the Fae with the moonlight skin reached out to the Archangel, her golden eyes flickered like a scorching amber me.

    Merle grabbed the Archangel''s beautiful yet cold face in his hands as she tiptoed, pressing her lips to his. The Archangel��how dare he?�� moved his hand from Merle''s waist to her lush curves and traced the arch of her spin as they kissed.

    Then, Archangel Uriel gripped her neck possessively before he cradled the back of her head, angling her face to his so that he could devour her mouth easily.

    Thedy moaned in her throat, and Ravin had a short auditory hallucination of his Amare moaning for him in the Pleasure Room, which made his cock stood in attention.

    Frozen in ce, Ravin swallowed a groan.

    This was so wrong on so many levels.

    Why was he imagining doing things to his mate while he watched this couple feast on each other''s lips?

    Ravin quickly averted his gaze and took a step backward away from them, yet he stayed within earshot.

    The Archangel and the Fae appeared so serene in each other''s arms.

    ''Ravin mused. ''So this is what true love looks like.''

    He even dared to raise and wave a hand in front of the Archangel''s face just in case it could sense his spirit.

    There was no reaction from the powerful Archangel, confirming his early assumption that this was a memory from the Archangel''s feather tied on the ne he touched.

    Their amorous kiss spoke volumes of passion, and Ravin can also see how vulnerable it made them��especially the Archangel.

    It was the Archangel who turned his head first and pulled back his chest, heaving.

    Archangel Uriel groaned as the woman''s eyes held his, her pupils dted.

    "Don''t mention anything about love again, Merle. It''s dangerous for me." He growled, breathing hard. "I don''t like repeating myself."

    "Alright. Don''t get mad." Her lips showed an honest smile as she uttered words of love. "I don''t understand why you are so peevish with just a kiss."

    His gaze lingered on her. "Because an Archangel like me isn''t supposed to kiss you,? Merle."

    Right. It was brave for an Archangel to do that in the presence of another Archangel looking in their direction as it stood on the teau.

    Ravin knew that love between Archangel and a Fae would end badly, and Uriel was aware of it, and the innocentdy was going with his flow.

    All his thoughts stopped as if his heart had taken over them.

    The bitterness in his heart had grown faster than the weeds cropping up in this meadow after the rainfall.

    Their love wasn''t meant tost forever.

    Maybe, it did, but it shall remain as a memory. Based on Ravin''s observations, a lost love was a pain that would kill soft and slow, and it would be hard to survive.

    This kind of love didn''t exist anymore in this world��the kind that would span far longer than a lifetime. It would take a lot of courage, passion, and determination to walk into the light after living in the darkness.

    Ravin will not stand a love so true because when it dies, it will leave a hole in his heart only to be filled with hatred and resentment.

    This was the reason why he preferred to force a mate rather than pick someone himself. Archdemons weren''t capable of love, so his Amare would be enough for him.

    He only knew a powerful love��the type of love Ravin feared that should be caged because it was too dangerous.

    It might feel beautiful to them, but for him, it only offended him all the more, making Ravin ufortable.

    The lovers shined so bright, emitting a brilliant light around them, which made him feel weak.

    They showered such love and positivity, illuminating the shadowy caverns in his heart and driving the monsters away.

    Ravin closed his eyes and shook his head. How dare this couple showed the promise of sweetness when it came to love?

    It was the kind of love that transcended time and worlds.

    Merle''s golden eyes painted a picture of her emotions, whispering, "What about your responsibility as the guardian of this garden, Uriel?"

    "Archangel Lucifer. " Archangel replied as if that exined everything. "He will take care of the Gardens of the Four Seasons while I am gone."

    Archangel Lucifer?

    Ravin''s mouth fell open as he covered a hand over his mouth.

    He was taken aback.

    Was this the timeline where his Archdemon father used to be an Archangel?

    He turned towards the Archangel with the purple wings standing at the escarpment.

    Was it his father, the Demon King for real?

    "Can he be trusted?" Merle smiled shyly. "I don''t see him anywhere."

    "You don''t have to see him, Merle." Alert, Archangel Uriel clenched his fists as he frowned. "I don''t want you to be interested in other Archangel besides me."

    "I am certain of you, Uriel." She smiled in reassurance. "I told you earlier that I choose you. No Archangel could evenpel me to think other wise."

    "We will be quick, Merle. I will carry you so that both of us could fly to the vige."

    "Would you leave me immediately when we get there, Uriel?" Her golden eyes were bright with concern.

    Archangel Uriel raised a hand to tuck stray hair strands behind her ear and touched the blue feather tied at the cord of her ne. "I will stay with you until all the Faeries in your vige have taken a bite of the special fruit. I shall be by your side to regte the cure of the demonic possession. Someone might steal it from your hands and abuse the power it holds, especially the Fallen Watchers."

 Chapter 503 - Cheeky Archangel

    <h4>Chapter 503 - Cheeky Archangel</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (May 2021)

    *********************************************

    The Archdemon of Gluttony

    Prince Ravin from the First Circle of Hell

    *********************************************

    Now that the reality of their situation had sunken in, the romantic atmosphere, to which Ravin could probably imagine invisible cherry blossom petals falling over the couple, were now reced by impending doom.

    He could see it in Archangel''s grim countenance as if he already anticipated it.

    Ravin remained at the Archangel''s side to observe him further while they waited for Merle toe out of her tent after Urielmanded her to get her belongings.

    Maybe, the blue-winged Archangel carried the key to bring him back to the First Circle of Hell.

    Nevertheless, Ravin was still unconcerned regarding his future since he had never heard of an Archdemon trapped in a mere memory of an ancient item before, not that he knew of it, and Ravin never intended to be the first.

    Tapping his foot on the grass due to his impatience, Ravin scowled at the p as he thought about scenarios why this Merle took too long in there.

    He was tempted to rip the p apart with his ws, or he could go straight in and intrude uninvited like the spirit he was since he was going to pass through anyway.

    Ravin sighed with relief along with Archangel Uriel when the redhead, Merle, emerged from the entry wearing a shy smile when her gazended on her lover.

    Every time Ravin see her ming red hair and her golden eyes reflecting his own, it made his heart stop before it fluttered like a hummingbird.

    He didn''t understand why his stomach clenched with just the sight of her.

    Hands on his back, the Archangel scanned thedy from head to toe before giving her an approving nod.

    They were so smitten with each other that Ravin was tempted to roll his eyes.

    Perhaps, he was just churlish that his Amare wasn''t as enamored of him as Merle did Uriel. This time, Merle had worn a long and dry tunic that was thicker than her sleeping garment earlier.

    She was dragging a ck drawstring sack on the ground containing--

    "Did you count? if you have thirty fruits in there?"? Archangel Uriel approached her as he pulled the heavy bag from her grasp.

    Fruits?'' Eyes wide with calm vignce, Ravin straightened his spine, and all his muscles were tensed. ''What fruits?''

    He wished to see what''s inside the bag and what these fruits looked like, but nobody made a move to open it for him.

    Neither could hepel one of them to do it when Ravin didn''t exist in this world!

    Was this what the Archangel mentioned about being the cure for the rampant demonic possessions in the Earthly Realm��the time when all the Nephilims were killed and turned into Archdemons?

    Ravin heard about this before.

    His father, the Demon King, taught him about the History of the First Archdemons, who originated from Fallen Angels and Watchers.

    So, his consciousness was trapped during the time where Archdemons didn''t exist yet.

    It would be interesting to know if his father, King Lucifer, had tampered with the facts rted to their Ancient History.

    History is like a story in a way, and it depended on who was telling it because it could either be the version of the past events which everybody could agree upon.

    "I already did, Uriel." Merle''s reply was proud.

    "Good." The Archangel said as he carried the drawstring bag in one elbow while he wrapped his free arm around her waist. "We must go now."

    "Alright." She muttered as the hair on her arms lifted, quivering in fear.

    Merle''s elbows were pressed to the sides as she remained as still as a statue.

    Ravin thought it was impossible that thedy could get any paler. "I''m ready."

    Leaning forward, the Archangel chuckled as he tucked the crown of her head under her chin. "You are supposed to be holding unto me." His jaws brushed against her hair as he inhaled her scent. "Circle your arms around my neck, Merle."

    Like the obedient girl she was, she raised her arms and quickly locked her fingers together at the back of his neck. "I was afraid that I will choke you identally while we were flying. Do you think it will be alright?"

    "Ridiculous." Archangel Uriel murmured. "If you only hang unto my shoulders, you might slip. You need to have something else to hold unto. I know you have waited for a chance to be close to me all day so it would be easy." Then, he added, "You can''t tell the Highest God that I have forced you into this."

    Even Ravin snorted at that.

    Archangels weren''t innocent as he thought he was.

    The red-haireddy snorted at the same time he did. "You are getting cheeky, Archangel." She tilted her head and stared at him with huge golden irises. "What if I might turn out heavy?"

    "No.? You are as light as a feather."

    "How about this?" She asked in a husky whisper, "Is this fine?"

    Merle raised her shapely legs to wrap around the Archangel''s waist,tching unto him tight.

    Breath catching in his throat, the Archangel swallowed hard from hisdy''s abrupt advances.

    "Yes." The Archangel grunted as dark red colored his cheekbones. "Just don''t press your lower belly? too much or I can''t concentrate."

    Merle loosened her legs as per the Archangel''s request.

    "Great."

    The redhead wasn''t that innocent as well.

    Ravin watched Archangel Uriel''s wings stretched in a wide into a hauntingly beautiful blue edged with gold.

    The p of his wings brought a strong gust of wind which almost made thedy''s tent flutter from the ground.

    The Archangel and the Fae rose without warning, soaring up into the dark purple sky.

    Damn!

    Ravin only had to blink twice, and the unlikely pair was already gone from his sight.

    He had contemted following them to whichever vige Archangel Uriel shall bring Merle, the sole wearer of the blue feather ne, but something in his gut told him that was the least of his concerns.

    He needed to go where the Archangel Lucifer was.

 Chapter 504 - Beelzebub

    <h4>Chapter 504 - Beelzebub</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (May 2021)

    *********************************************

    The Archdemon of Gluttony

    Prince Ravin from the First Circle of Hell

    *********************************************

    Ravin had flown towards the small teau where the other Archangel stood with his hands behind his back, scanning his gaze below with an air of authority as if he was overlooking the territory which belonged to him or which shall belong to him in the future.

    Ravin trudged towards his father before he became the Demon King.

    Who was he when he used to be Archangel Lucifer?

    Ravin should be visiting his Amare in her prison cell so that he could get her from the Grand Torturer, but this memory proved itself to be more interesting.

    What deep, dark secrets and lies did an Archangel turned Archdemon hold?

    A slow smile was stered on his lips.

    Ravin couldn''t wait to find out as he settled beside Archangel Lucifer, staring below at the expanse of the enormous fields, meadows and a variety of trees.

    It appeared like his father was waiting for someone.

    It turned out that someone was Beelzebub, and hended behind them so silently that Ravin could barely hear the beat of his wings and the sharp sts of wind as he pped them.

    Ravin was taught in Archdemon History that Beelzebub was good at dispatching God''s Archangels during the Angelic War.

    Well-known as a great assassin, Beelzebub used to be a Seraphim, a lesser Angel than Lucifer in terms of power, before he turned into a Fallen Angel.

    The Demon King Lucifer promised Beelzebub to assume the title of the Archdemon of Gluttony and rule the First Circle of Hell after all the fallen angels and demons alike were captured by God''s Archangels, trapping all of the evil spirits, demons, fallen angels to Hell.

    When Ravin was born, the Demon King desired to make Ravin his son, the Archdemon of Gluttony, so he betrayed Beelzebub and destroyed his own ally.

    He also killed Asmodeus, who was reced by Luxen, as the Archdemon of Lust.

    He perfectly understood the Demon King about this.

    The people who helped you usurp someone who sits rightfully on the throne will also be the very same person who would betray you if they think you weren''t good enough as their leader and not deemed fit for the position.

    These fallen angels could steal legions right under your nose, and they wouldn''t be sorry.

    It was better to kill than be killed.

    It would be a long time before those ancient Archdemons regenerate from the deepest pits of Hell where even Archdemons and the rest didn''t dare venture out��the Eighth and the Ninth Circle of Hell.

    It was the right choice since no other Fallen Archangel would dare challenge him of his reign.

    Beelzebub stood on the right side of Archangel Lucifer while Ravin stood on the left side.

    They weren''t aware of his presence as a spectre that it made him smirk in amusement.

    Who would have thought that both the past and the current Archdemon of Gluttony stood in the same ce with the same person who exchanged their fates together on a whim?

    Turning his head to Archangel Lucifer, who watched the majestic nighthawks flying in the distance, the? previous Archdemon of Gluttony asked, "Did you convince Archangel Uriel to side with us?"

    Archangel Luciferughed at his query.

    Ravin doubted if Beelzebub understood the slight mockery, "I did not try to tell him of our ns, Beelzebub." It made sense.? All the Archangels during this time were sharp and hypersensitive over their fellow Light Beings'' words due to the rising rebellion of the Fallen Watchers and the Nephilims. "But, I did nt the idea in his head to pursue the woman he was with regardless of the future consequences."

    "I couldn''t sense his presence in the garden anymore." Beelzebub said darkly��a devilish smile stered on his face. "So he is gone to travel with thedy?"

    "He was on board with the idea on the guise of keeping an Earthly Creature safe." Lucifer''s tone was sarcastic. It was one of the missions of an Archangel��-"

    "To watch over the weak." Archangel Beelzebub finished for him.

    "Archangel Uriel was incredibly devoted to his Master so I highly doubt that he would betray God and turn into a Fallen Archangel like us."

    "Oh." Beelzebub raised an eyebrow. "So he didn''t intend stay with the woman even if he left his post like you suggested?"

    Lucifer gave him a sideways nce as he straightened his posture. "That can change. It is too early to tell since Archangel Uriel didn''t promise his woman anything. You know how the women from the Earthly Realms do when they be too enamored with Angels on Earth. Some are creative enough to seduce if they don''t get attention. ome women just loved to y with fire when they see some ''gregori'' have acquired Fae lovers of their own."

    "Innocent or not, I have seen the woman? do that to Uriel beforehand." Lucifer raised his chin, returning his gaze to the fields.

    His lips curved upward in a small smile.? "It would only be a matter of time before the stoic Archangel would be tempted. I am nearly tempted to im her myself. She is beautiful with that angelic face and alluring body." His voice deepened into a growl.

    Lucifer''s hands clenched briefly and released as if he already imagined the red-haired woman in his arms. "I can understand why Archangel Uriel was smitten with her."

    "No." Beelzebub woke him up from his lustful daydream. "It''s not time for you to be a Fallen Archangel, Lucifer."

    "It''s not time yet but it''s almost there. God just needed to notice and dere war against the one third of His own Angels in Heaven I have convinced to join the Angelic War while we join forces with the ''gregori'' here on Earth." Lucifer promised.? "We can''t return to the Heavens for now so Earth would be ours. And then, if we sessfully conquered this Realm, I will lead us to ascension in Heaven and raise my throne above the stars of God. I will be the Most High."

 Chapter 505 - Archangels Rebellion

    <h4>Chapter 505 - Archangels'' Rebellion</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (May 2021)

    *********************************************

    The Archdemon of Gluttony

    Prince Ravin from the First Circle of Hell

    *********************************************

    "It''s wasn''t time yet but it''s almost there. God just needed to notice and dere war against the one third of His own Angels in Heaven I have convinced to join the Angelic War while we join forces with the ''gregori'' here on Earth." Lucifer promised. "We can''t return to the Heavens for now so Earth would be ours. And then, if we sessfully conquered this Realm, I will lead us to ascension in Heaven and raise my throne above the stars of God. I am the Most High."

    Unfortunately for these fallen Archangels, Beelzebub and Lucifer were too smug to realize that a war with their Creator was futile.

    To them, Losing wasn''t a future possibility.

    It was a pity, really, because, at that moment, only Ravin knew of these Archangels'' fate.

    They would turn into Fallen Angels, simr to the Watchers.

    The good Archangels will capture all of them��both fallen angels, demons, and evil spirits�� and sent them to Hell.

    Unless someone from the Earthly Realm would attempt a conjuring through the sorcery, the ''gregori'' have taught the creatures.

    "I saw it in his eyes? that he loved the Fae with him but not enough to be Fallen." Archangel Lucifer continued.

    The other Archangel inclined his head at him and drawled. "How do you know that Archangel Uriel loved the Fae?"

    "You see, Beelzebub? We, Archangels, were neutral when ite to the weak creatures in this world."

    He nodded in agreement. "We are required to assume this detached care and sympathy to their day-to day affairs."

    "I saw a myriad of emotions shing across Uriel''s face when we talked about hisdy. Archangel Uriel watched thedy from afar with a hint of longing in his eyes and a lovestruck look in his face. It disgusted me at how easy my friend had broken from his character on being God''s most trusted cherubim to guard his precious gardens." Lucifer replied calmly and half-shrugged. "I couldn''t believe my fellow cherubim was too weak to handle a Fae who have stolen his heart."

    Even when the Demon King used to be an Archangel, his father, Lucifer, never believed in love.

    Archdemons never knew what love was because it was a weakness.

    It was just a tool to gain power.

    "Was that the things that would give a weak Archangel away?" Beelzebub asked the obvious. "Emotions?"

    As far as Ravin knew, Archangels don''t show any particr emotions.

    They chose to remain as neutral as possible, not driven by a strong urge to do something because they were driven by a certain cause.

    Not even a sentiment.

    They have a strong sense of justice and draw a clear boundary between what was right and wrong.

    Even Archdemons like him were sometimes led by the emotions evoked on the seven deadly sins they represented.

    Does emotion is what makes creatures wicked, goading them to do something they might regretter on?

    Archangel Lucifer answered with a wicked smile. "I think this observation would be useful if we wish to sway other Archangels to turn over the dark side. We don''t have to do anything. If we needed Archangel Uriel on our side, we could use his woman to? our advantage. As of now, he is none of our concern." He continued with utmost confidence. "As long as he was smitten with the girl, he would be easy to take down."

    "Two hundred Watchers have fallen because they have chosen to live their angelic post and abduct women for sexual pursuits. What had our brethren turned into?"

    Shaking his head, Lucifer clicked his tongue in disappointment with his brethren. "I am beginning to question if they can be persuaded to a War against God if the ''gregori'' operates on Lust. I am sure they have some grudge against the Creator when their Kind is being hunted one by one. God is unworthy to be the omniscient, omnipotent Creator and be looked above all else. It should be me."

    Even in the past, the Demon King was determined to steal God''s Throne, and he wasn''t hiding the fact.

    Ravin wondered if the rest of the Archangels were aware of the rebellion at this point.

    "If the Creator represented justice and fairness, God should give his power equally to all his Angels instead of just giving it to the gods and goddesses beneath him. Why did he give the gods and goddesses freedom to do whatever they want while He suppress our existence under all these stupid rules?"

    "Exactly." Beelzebub agreed. "A Creator doesn''t want to be eclipsed by his Creation so of course, he wouldn''t allow anyone to share His throne in Heaven."

    Ravin and Beelzebub shared simr thoughts.

    "Archangel Uriel had gone with Hisdy. Some Watchers actually learned to love these creatures? I can understand if they were just fooling around because they had nothing else to do on Earth. But actually loving these lower life forms? How pathetic." Lucifer held his hands loosely behind his back. "We all know the Creator had some trees which bore magical fruits. But only the Archangels tasked to protect these trees knew of its purpose. The Fallen Angels were looking for this garden but they couldn''t locate discover it except for us who have descended from Heavens."

    "We need to get rid of the Garden of the Four Seasons now. Archangel Uriel had allowed you to rece him as a Guardian for the time being." Beelzebub said. "The Fallen Watchers just figured out about its existence because some Archangels have kept the knowledge under wraps."

    There was a mischievous glint in his eye as Lucifer walked closer to the escarpment, his sandals hovering on the very edge of the cliff. "The Fallen Angels would surely side with us for taking care of their offspring." He looked over his shoulder at Beelzebub and smiled, "It''s time to burn this entire ce? to the ground."

    Lucifer fell at a fast rate, dropping like a rock as Ravin heard loud peals ofughter.

    When Ravin peeked below, he saw Lucifer stretched his magnificent purple wings as he soared above God''s Creation with zing fire and smoke on the trees trailing after his wake.

 Chapter 506 - Ravin Wants Out

    <h4>Chapter 506 - Ravin Wants Out</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (May 2021)

    *********************************************

    The Archdemon of Gluttony

    Prince Ravin from the First Circle of Hell

    *********************************************

    Ravin was d to realize that touching an Archangel''s feather didn''t burn his Archdemon hands.

    There was no purpose for an Archdemon to be trapped in this memory.

    In a snap of a finger, the Archdemon of Gluttony''s view changed.

    His consciousness got transferred to another ce.

    Maybe, he had already broken from the trance the blue finger had given him.

    But it was the first step of returning to his Kingdom��the First Circle of Hell.

    Now, he stood at the center of the room, which had walls painted as red as blood.

    He nced around.

    No windows.

    He was enclosed in a small, red box that he can barely fit.

    As he narrowed his gaze at the wall surface, Ravin swore he could feel them closing on in on him even if it wasn''t moving.

    He kept his breathing even as he calmed down.

    The deafening silence made him flinch at his own footsteps because the ringing was so loud in his ears.

    He must get out of here quickly!

    Ravin didn''t like rooms where he could barely stretch his demon wings.

    It reminded him of when his Uncle, the Head Master Satan,? taught him Archdemon Magic when he was a fledgling Archdemon.

    Shaking his head to drive away horrific events from his mind, he couldn''t forget what the Grand Torturer put him through to gain the unlimited power he had now as the Archdemon of Gluttony.

    The heavy chains.

    The iron balls.

    Whippings.

    Multiplecerations from the acquired Angel des.

    He experienced a thousand slow repairs of his broken bones and the cuts on his flesh since he was deprived of eating souls for that endurance test.

    He thought he was bleeding in his prison cell for an eternity until he was told that he had passed Satan''s test, and he was finally set free.

    It was the longest moment of his life--full of agony and suffering��and he could rte to his Amare in that department. Ravin didn''t want to undergo all that torture again.

    At least, no one will be able to challenge him into the tournament to steal his Kingdom and win.

    Luna needed to suffer in her prison cell to gain strength and resilience so that she could do whatever she wanted in Hell.

    She just had to get past Satan''s test as he did.

    Own a Circle in hell?

    She could.

    Beat an Archdemon in a battle because they pissed her off?

    Easy.

    Create portals so that she could go whichever Realm she desired to visit, including the Vampire Realm?

    She can.

    As long as she brought the rest of the Archdemons with her since out of all the Archdemons, Luna was the only one who had a physical body.

    His Amare just had to endure, and all will be over soon.

    She wasn''t alone like she thought she was.

    Ravin will help her get through it.

    He tried to be kinder towards his mate when he visited, but she took it for granted and refused his goodwill.

    Ravin was resentful, but he was always willing to try again when it came to her.

    This red room was a shade darker than his Pleasure Room in his Castle.

    It was filled with hundreds of enormous pocket watches hanging by its golden chain attached from the top of the ceiling at different lengths.

    When he observed the luminous dials at a closer look, he realized that all of them were pointing at different times.

    ''What is this situation?'' He felt something dropped in his stomach. ''He did not identally time traveled in the past through the Archangel''s feather or did he?''

    Ravin rubbed his chin in contemtion as he squinted at the minute-hand in each dial closely for any action.

    All of the pocket watches seemed to be frozen in time!

    There was one pocket watch that caught his attention at the farthest corner of the red room.

    Without thinking twice, Ravin approached it, not allowing the other watches to touch his skin just in case it might set a dangerous rm into motion.

    After ducking and dodging here and there, he finally came face-to-face with this particrly small��

    It wasn''t a watch.

    The markings and the luminous dials were absent.

    Ravin figured out that something was different in this watch.

    From afar, it appeared like a golden circle encasing a broken mirror split into two.

    There was a dark hole from the cracked ss, which seemed like a bottomless dark pit on the other side, which Ravin thought was some portal.

    If he could decipher how to get inside this broken mirror, maybe, it would bring him back to the present.

    As he held the gilded edge of the mirror with his hands, Ravin inserted his head cautiously on the cracked hole, all the while avoiding the jagged edge of the ss to touch his neck.

    Lowering his head, he stared into the abyss long enough until he felt it staring right back at him, sending shivers down his spine.

    He also heard inaudible whispers in his ear, which only happened if an Earthly summoner conjured an Archdemon.

    Chilled fingers caressed his nape.

    It was indeed from the other side!

    But who dared summon him at this time?

    Ravin didn''t like to go to the Material Realm since his mate was here.

    He will have to bring his Amare there if the conjurer still insisted!

    He waited for the rest of the eerie chants, but it abruptly stopped.

    That was fine for him!

    Closing his eyes, he muttered. ''I want to return to the present, blue feather. I am done here.''

    Ravin''s theory was proven true when he saw a brilliant explosion of white light around him, turning him into a supernova, as the ck hole in the mirror sucked him back to his present reality.

    Yet, there was only one single problem threatening to turn his world upside down.

    He was nning to give the ne to her as a gift.

    But Luna had disappeared.

 Chapter 507 - Left Behind

    <h4>Chapter 507 - Left Behind</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (May 2021)

    *********************************************

    The Archdemon of Gluttony

    Prince Ravin from the First Circle of Hell

    *********************************************

    Ravin didn''t prepare himself at the bath, taking too long to take care of his appearance for nothing.

    Before he visited one of Lucifer''s dungeons and located Luna''s prison cell, he was determined to show his best appearance as an Archdemon.

    He walked to the passage with wide, confident steps.

    Wearing the blue feather ne as he cradled the whelp around in one arm, Ravin was taken aback when he found Luna wasn''t there as he stood in front of the steel bars which separated him and his mate.

    She disappeared.

    Hands gripping at the cold metal, Ravin narrowed his eyes at each corner, searching for his mate.

    It was dark inside yet, and he can''t bring himself to see Luna lying on the dirt��battered and broken from the Grand Torturer like what Ravin experienced in his hands before he turned into the Archdemon of Gluttony.

    He swallowed a sour taste in his mouth as he thought about the worst.

    Staying alert, his ears perked up for any groans as he scanned the cell.

    The tangy scent of iron and rust permeated the air, which could mean that she was too weak to heal the wounds inflicted on her.

    It wasn''t just her thick, dried blood staking a im in her cell.

    They were hundreds of fledging Archdemons who were punished in the dungeons if they broke his rule.

    Few fledgling and non-fledging Archdemons chose to suffer in the hands of the Grand Torturer in their daring ambition to ascend into a Higher Level Archdemon in the quickest way possible.

    It was the only way!

    His Amare was forced into this, and it was for her benefit.

    Of course, Ravin desired her to be powerful to defend herself and kill less powerful Archdemons without breaking a sweat.

    As the saying goes, ''No pain. No gain."

    Clenching his fists, he was tempted to destroy his Uncle''s dungeon in his rage, but that wouldn''t solve anything. He needed answers right now.

    Luna wasn''t aware of his true feelings��how bad he wanted to rescue her from Satan''s hands!

    Ravin thought as he paced around the corridor like a maniac.

    How many times had he convinced himself every night before he went to sleep that not interfering with Satan''s ns was for her own good!

    For thest time, Ravin looked out for any sudden movement in the shadows��any signs that she was there, but there was sound.

    No cry for help.

    As he ran a frustrated hand through his dark hair, he checked each prison cell, searching for the Grand Torturer with silent desperation.

    But the Archdemon couldn''t be found as well.

    Where were they?

    He pinched his lips together as he felt a tightness in his chest.

    Ravin couldn''t find her anyway in Satan''s Castle��not even one of the sses for fledgling Archdemons.

    Maybe, Luna was taken somewhere for a? personal lesson between her and his uncle.

    Satan must have been adamant about this private meeting.

    Yes.

    He ced a hand over his proverbial demon heart and exhaled a harsh breath.

    ''Nothing is wrong.'' He muttered to himself. ''His Amare wouldn''t leave him not because she wanted to, but she just couldn''t.

    Her circumstances and her tie as an Archdemon wouldn''t allow her to.

    No need to panic about losing his mate twice.

    Now, Ravin had to check in on them just in case he might have done something so wicked and performed some experimentation on Archdemon magic on her.

    He reassured himself and nodded his head, walking towards the direction of Uncle Satan''s private study.

    Perhaps, he taught her about Portal Creation instead of thoserge open areas he chose for a group Archdemon Magic lesson.

    Ravin figured out his Uncle kept ''Luna''s identity and purpose'' a secret to the rest of the Archdemons so that he can use her for himself and attempt both the Spirit and Material Realm in domination.

    Her hidden skills about Archdemon Magic wouldn''t fall into the wrong hands.

    ''That couldn''t be.'' Ravin backtracked.

    If Satan was the type to betray his father, the Demon King, Lucifer must have tried everything to tear him down, like what he did to Asmodeus and Beelzebub.

    Who was his Uncle''s true enemy here if he was hiding Luna from everyone, including Ravin?

    He must quit these assumptions running through his mind and start with the interrogation.

    Ravin didn''t bother knocking the door on his Uncle Satan''s study and just kicked the door open, barging inside to surprise them��or whatever the Hell he was doing with his Amare.

    Hopefully, there was no rape involved like what his stupid brother did.

    Despite his ancient age, his uncle still pretended to be slick with the fledgling female Archdemons, manipting them to sleep with him to gain leverage over others.

    Luna wasn''t the type ofdy to give into Ravin��when he was officially her husband��because of the blood bond, so it would make sense that she would refuse any seduction thrown her way, especially to the one who tormented her.

    Nevertheless, he still trusted that his Uncle didn''t have the guts to do that, considering that his Amare was already mated to him. Everyone in the entire Archdemon Royal Family was aware of it.

    "Where is my wife?" Ravin took urgent strides towards Satan, who sat at his writing desk while the light from the circle window above illuminated the entire study.

    When he caught a glimpse of another person who stood near the medieval instruments, weapons, and chart of symbols ced on the walls, he smiled when he realized it was the Grand Torturer. Now, Ravin could kill two birds with one stone.

    "You know that your mate was gone, Ravin." The Grand Torturer replied. "I thought she was sessful in creating a portal and left us all behind."

    "That can''t be." Nostrils ring in his anger, he almost forgot that he still carried the dragon in his arms.

    It was fortunate that he caught himself before he identally squeezed his baby to death.

    "I couldn''t believe this is happening."

 Chapter 508 - Bring Her Back

    <h4>Chapter 508 - Bring Her Back</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (May 2021)

    *********************************************

    The Archdemon of Gluttony

    Prince Ravin from the First Circle of Hell

    *********************************************

    Ravin couldn''t bear to lose his mate again just when he and Luna became quite close, gaining an ounce of her trust.

    "I don''t know what happened when I was there myself. Perhaps, the fledgling Archdemon couldn''t take it anymore and had perished, sending herself to the Ninth Circles so she didn''t have to deal with the other torture devices I cane up with." The way the bastard just shrugged it off made him want to beat him to a pulp.

    "No. My mate was never weak." Grinding his teeth, he stalked towards the Grand Torturer until they were face-to-face and glowered at him.? "I know she can heal from those wounds. It might be slow due to theck of nutrients when she refused my blood and the souls I caught for her every visit��"

    "I told you in that letter that you aren''t allowed to visit, didn''t I?" When Ravin turned his head, his ssy eyes were cold and hard. "You have broken my rules."

    "Do whatever you want, Uncle. I have every right to see my mate."

    Ravin returned his gaze to his target, who grunted, "And now you couldn''t see her even if we turned the Nine Circles of Hell upside down."

    "Whose motherf*cking fault is this?"? He got into his personal space and jabbed a finger at his chest, staring him down. "I know it is you, Grand Torturer. You must have done something."

    He merely inclined his head and gave him a serene response. "It''s not just something, Ravin. I have done everything to make her suffer as per Satan''s request. The aftermath isn''t something you can me on me just so that you had a good reason to kill me from your grudges of what I did to you and the rest of the Archdemons. You know who I am. I am the Grand Torturer."

    His upied hand flexed on the whelp''s stomach, and it let out a cornered growl. "If? it''s not you, then who is responsible for this?!"

    Rere must have sensed his rage as its wed paw clung to his tunic.

    "No one. This is an ident no one could have prepared for. Not even me. The girl had proven herself to be? unpredictable." Satan said as he repeatedly banged the table loudly with his fist. "Who would have a thought that a fledgling Archdemon could escape her obsidian prison when I owned the mostplex dungeons in the entire Hell. I took pride in its possession as the ruler of the Fifth Circle. Ravin,your mate had ruined my reputation to everyone in Hell, making me a disgrace!"

    "Then, you better help me find her if you want to gain back that squeaky clean spotless reputation of yours." Ravin''s tone dripped with sarcastic venom.

    "The girl had a responsibility to set us free from Hell. She is chosen by the Demon King to be an Archdemon to be our savior but she vanished without warning. How dare she?" Satan scowled to no one in particr. "She became so powerful that the nullification barriers around my dungeons weren''t triggered by the slightest invocation of Archdemon Magic? Impossible. Someone from the outside must have helped her escape."

    "I saw her vanish in front of my eyes while I stepped on her back. Pushing her face to the mud." Ravin imagined the presence of other demons in the neighboring cells, screaming their heart out. Theirrge bloodshot eyes must have protruded that they almost detach from their sockets every time the Grand? Torturer was too bored. Sometimes, his uncle Satan suggested to pull a limb or two and watch them slowly regenerate while the victim and the instigator watch the whole process.

    "Thest thing I saw that night was she had broken into tiny fragments as it floated into the ethers."

    "That night? What particr night? When did she disappear?"

    "She disappeared from her prison cell yesterday. I saw her helplessly lying on the ground while I began to administer the daily whishes. She couldn''t even move to fight back and make me stop which reinforced my idea that her escape was the work of an outsider." The Grand Torturer rubbed his chin as he stared at the point behind Ravin''s head, deep in thought.? "I have never felt or seen her summon Archdemon Magic in that condition and technically, no demon should be able to."

    "You are still a bastard!" Ravin snarled.

    "Don''t snarl at me, Ravin. I am only performing my duties as the Grand Torturer. There must be an interference I couldn''t pick? up on."

    "What if it was Vampire Realm?" Satan asked as he cradled his head in one hand, his elbow resting on his study.

    Ravin stared him down for a few seconds. "What do you mean? How can the Vampire Realm have ess to Archdemon Magic?"

    "Who in our family of Archdemons you know are conjured in the Earthly Realm?"

    "Archdemon of Envy." Ravin answered. "Lilith."

    "Call Lilith here." Satan ordered, and Ravin didn''t even notice the tiny imp standing at the corner he was talking to. "And tell her to bring your brother, Luxen, with her so that we can figure this out. There must be some kind of other? triggers we didn''t know of."

    "Uncle. We are perfectly aware of the trigger here. Who are you fooling around?" He moved slowly and deliberately to his uncle''s study table and sat on one of the chairs across from him. "Isn''t this the purpose of breaking the willpower of the a fledgling Archdemon? Luna might get stronger when it came to her fortitude to gain ess to an unlimited power residing deep within an Archdemon, but you are also torturing her because it was easier to control and manipte her when her mind bes too broken.? You would want my mate to be your servant. To dedicate her immortal life to do your every bidding for the sake of the Demon Kind."

    "Yes and like you, I will do everything in my power to bring her back to us."

 Chapter 509 - Love Game

    <h4>Chapter 509 - Love Game</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (May 2021)

    ********************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *******************************

    "Another celebration we had no idea of?" With a small smile stered into her lips, Luna inclined her head and raised an eyebrow at Apollyon, disregarding the guests staring in their direction as she and Apollyon made their way inside the Grand Hall.

    She exhaled a breath, a bit nervous that her simple, sheer gown would look out of ce in this party.

    Luna was afraid her simple presence would embarrass Apollyon''s dignity as a King.

    She came from a unique background no one else had, and she wasn''t good at keeping up appearances.

    Luna fell short from the sea of borate ball gowns of bright colours, exotic pieces of jewellery, and avian headdresses the Summer Fae wore from the glimpse of it.

    Luna didn''t even want to begin at their postures and the way they carry themselves because their elegant poise and perfection screamed ''aristocrats'' while she, on the other hand��

    Luna had to stop herself.

    Sometimes, her mind got too caught up in the moment, especially when surrounded by strangers, worrying about irrelevant things.

    Did her silver hair look shiny and straight? Was her appearance in this celebration fit her image as a ruling nobility from another Realm?

    Did she walk a true Monarch gracefully would, or would they gossip about how pretentious she was as they hide their condescending smirks on their plumed ostrich fans?

    Her husband was right that she should rethink her priorities from time to time.

    One of her arms snaked around Apollyon''s as her fingers lightly held his wrist in a possessive manner��just in case, the otherdies might think that the Vampire King was a bachelor like what Spring Princess�� Luna almost forgot the name.

    Ah. Yes, that was Princess Alisabethe who thought Luna''s husband still in the market.

    Sometimes, a marrieddy just had to mark her territory with her tongue.

    But that would beter if? Apollyon won from their bet.

    His skin was hot and smooth to touch, and she loved how it felt.

    For now, Luna would be satisfied with clinging unto her husband for the duration of the party while the other hand fiddled with the outeryer of her skirts. This kind of event made her remember that she was the Vampire Realm''s Empress.

    It made her self-conscious about not reaching the standards

    It was bad for Luna to be all worked up for no reason and stop it.

    She was tempted to click her tongue and frown at her behaviour, turning hypersensitive when she was too vignt.

    These thoughts pestered her as flies would on a basket of rotten fruits, and she had to ''shoo'' them away.

    In the few seconds she figured out the cure for her anxiety, Luna''s lips curved upward as she nced up at Apollyon''s face.

    She swallowed hard as her mouth turned moist from the increasing saliva.

    Her husband had the ability to make her mouth water in just a single smile and the dazzling blue of his eyes.

    Her cheeks must have been so pink in front of everyone.

    "You know how all these Faeries work." Apollyon nudged her gently with his shoulder as they walked side to side. "They love their parties very much."

    Everything around them began to fall apart magically.

    In Luna''s mind, only she and Apollyon existed.

    The strangers in this party were brief.

    The goddess knew if anyone in this Hall would ever meet again in their future.

    Luna bet they wouldn''t give a damn about them after they saw her once or twice, but Apollyon--

    He kept her rooted in her current reality.

    Every time she was with him, the winds of doubt could not sway who she was in his life.

    His mate.

    Who cared about what anyone''s thoughts aside from herself?

    The only opinion she should care about was the Vampire King because he was the only important thing to him.

    He told her many times that she should feel more confident in her own skin.

    He chose her to be his wife, after all.

    "I thought the Summer Faes don''t prepare celebrations everyday at their Castle like how the Spring Courts did."

    "This looked like an official yet private celebration to me." Apollyon observed as his gaze swept across the venue. "Normal Summer Faes are practically non-existent in this Hall."

    "Yes. I noticed."

    "It made me wonder who we are waiting for."

    "Doesn''t matter who? we are waiting for when the Faes have all these sweet pastries disyed on the banquet and I can''t even eat it." Luna sighed as she yfully squeezed his wrist. "I miss eating fruitcakes, Apollyon. The best thing I could do is just stare at them during? the Tea Party andmit each and every one of them in my memory. Before some Fae started slicing and shoving them in their mouths."

    They continued walking through the crowd.

    "Beloved. Feast your eyes on the fairy cakes in this gathering and store them in your memory. Because all those cute things you have in your mind would vanish once I got you beneath me while I sink both my cock and my fangs unto your flesh."

    Warmth flooded her core.

    "Apollyon!" Gritting her teeth, she whispered,? "Quiet down."

    "I will make you moan for me."

    "Shhh!"

    Apollyon bent his neck closer to her ear, and she pulled back to re at him.

    "I will fuck you to oblivion��" A slow, cheeky smile. "--Your Highness."

    That made her speechless for a few seconds. "Stop it, Apollyon."

    Luna pinched the back of his hand, and he didn''t react.

    "Don''t make me search for a corner so that I could feast on your lips right now." She muttered.

    Apollyon turned to look at her and raised an eyebrow, "How easy you have forgotten, Empress. You aren''t supposed to kiss me until sunset or there would be no sexual rtions tonight."

    Her mouth opened in shock.

    Did he throw her challenge back to her face,? appearing so smug about Luna falling unwittingly in her own trap she had originally set for her husband?

 Chapter 510 - Mischievous Afternoon

    <h4>Chapter 510 - Mischievous Afternoon</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (May 2021)

    ********************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *******************************

    Did he throw her challenge back to her face,? appearing so smug about Luna falling unwittingly in her own trap she had originally set for her husband?

    "I take what I said back." Luna whispered grudgingly.

    She forgot that the game had already begun, and she almost fell for Apollyon''s flirtations.

    The Vampire King had millennial experience on how to charm thedies he wanted effortlessly.

    Goddess, she was at a disadvantage here.

    Luna was the one who proposed this game.

    It wouldn''t make sense if she lost now.

    The rake had the nerve to be quite smug when he reminded her about the challenge.

    "Tch." She scoffed.

    That mischievous twinkle in his eyes would be the death of her.

    Luna made the mistake of merging her consciousness with Apollyon''s.

    Alright.

    Honestly, she did that on purpose to find what his ns were and cheat ordingly.

    But, really. It turned out to be a huge blunder!

    She could hear her own husky purrs echoing, bouncing from the corners of her mind as she moaned in her throat.

    She saw an image of warm male hands grasped soft, feminine thighs as Apollyon pressed her against the wall, fucking her to oblivion as his mouth bit the soft mounds of her breasts, licking and sucking with his tongue over the wounds.

    Closing her eyes, she let out a whimper as Luna shook her head to get rid of it from her thoughts.

    He was sessful in turning her on with just a few seconds of his wild imagination.

    "Having fun reading my mind, Luna?" Apollyon murmured as he watched her with those Prussian blues flickering like twin hot mes.

    She was breathing hard, and her response was shrill. "You did that on purpose."

    Apollyon knew that he was affecting her focus as she saw that tiny hint of a smile on his lips.

    Tilting his head to the side, he kept a straight face."I don''t know what you are talking about."

    He might have thought that she was too easy to fall for that maneuver.

    Never.

    Never.

    She should retreat and wait for the right moment for a sneak attack.

    Luna pinched her lips together as she allowed that awkward silence to hang around them.

    ''Keep that quiet and build the tension without doing anything.'' That was the n.

    Luna narrowed her eyes at him for a few seconds before Apollyon pulled her to the side to blend into the crowd.

    Her beloved husband must have felt her muscles tensing from the difort of too many prying eyes on her form.

    She hated their attention, but she didn''t have the courage to glower at everyone.

    For sure, they would eyeball her just the same in a staring contest without averting their gaze.

    It was understandable considering the bold, curious and fiery nature of the Summer Faeries.

    She bet these aristocrats knew who they were��no introduction to this society was needed.

    While Apollyon and Luna were at the hallways exploring the Summer Castle, they had seen some of the Summer Fae in their fancy clothing when they passed by on the way to this Hall.

    No one dared to look at Apollyon and Luna for too long when they were with a few of their peers. Now that these Summer Faeries were cozying up into their inner circle, they suddenly have the courage to whisper among themselves and stare down at her?

    Damn.

    What a bunch of cowards!

    The only thing Luna can do to win from her judgmental enemies was to use her Archdemon Magic to call for a small firestorm like the one which never failed to show up at their turrets every morning.

    No, never mind.

    She wouldn''t go to the trouble of recreating that even just for a jest because that might backfire on her, and she will get med for the whole incident, just like what happened at the celebration of Ostara.

    Luna was determined not to be a scapegoat and let her husband fixed her mess while she was at it.

    All of the Summer Fae aristocraticdies were well-thought out as theypliment the women next to them.

    ording to the current season''s trend, they must be wearing the fancy ball gowns, which were decided by the Summer Monarchs'' royal tailor and seamstresses.

    The ''herd mentality had a strong presence here when all of them were influenced to wear all the rage just because the one they deemed an expert said so.

    Their decisions were influenced by this person.

    During the celebration, all of the women were beautiful in their own right, but their individuality waspromised because of this trend.

    They all look the same, which was inauspicious for Luna.

    In her simple dress with the color of aquamarine water, she was an oddball--sticking into this group like a sore thumb while her husband fit in perfectly well given by how glorious he appeared like in his white and gold tunic.

    At the same time, rich dark hair was swept to the side, highlighting his cheekbones and his sharp jawline.

    With all these blue-bloods following the popr styles, Luna grimaced as she scanned her gaze from their bold dresses which the top of their shoulders uncovered, flowing down into a beautifully draped neckline and showing their generous cleavages Luna hoped that her husband wouldn''t be checking out when Luna wasn''t looking at him.

    Their dresses were loosely fitted as the sheer fabric-covered just below their elbows.

    The only thing Luna had inmon with thedy was the Empire silhouette line with a belt, helping them entuate their waist,? giving the women a rxed yet graceful look as the dress skirts widened, reaching all the way down their feet.

    While the rest of the Summer Fae wore towering heels that were almost simr to their men''s height, Luna was satisfied with ts since she wasn''tfortable with anything other than this,

    She might look more feminine when she stood near Apollyon.

    She might be ufortable with the intense eye-to-eye contact couples with simr height enjoyed if she wore those heels.

 Chapter 511 - Talking Bodies

    <h4>Chapter 511 - Talking Bodies</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (May 2021)

    ********************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *******************************

    Luna''s peers wore ornate nes, earrings and bracelets and pieces of jewelry.

    Still, she only wore Apollyon''s gift to her��the red teardrop-shaped ne given to her by her husband, iming that it was passed down to all the women in his family''s ancestral line as a precious heirloom.

    It was too stuffy in the Great Hall despite all the ss doors in the terraces were open, overlooking the enchanting Hedge Maze Garden.

    It was nice to see the growing shrubs along with their gorgeous flowers on the boundaries, which, Luna realizedter on, formed an intricate keyhole as they strolled across the terrace for a bit, away from the hawk-like gazes of the Summer Faeries.

    Finally, Luna calmed down and got a hold of herself, breathing evenly.

    Goddess, her husband, was temptation incarnate.

    How can he steal her breath away with just one look?

    Clearing her throat, she admitted,? "About earlier. Thanks for reminding me about the game, beloved."

    It wouldn''t be fun if she lost that early just because she forgot.

    Frowning, Apollyon''s hand on her waist sneakily shifted to the curve of her butt. "In that case, I shouldn''t have reminded? you."

    Luna snorted as she grasped his naughty hand and settled it back to her waist. "I know for sure you will grab any opportunity to throw the rules at my face."

    "Fuck rules."

    "No, Apollyon." Luna tried to hold back herughter as she kept her face nk. "I would rather fuck you--" She trailed off for a few seconds to be dramatic. "��perhaps, on the next century."

    Apollyon''s brows knitted into a scowl as his hand gripped her lush curves.

    "Don''t joke around." He was pissed off. "That is not aughing matter."

    Luna''s lips pressed into a tight line as she fought the urge to giggle.

    It must have hit him close to home.

    "Oh? Try me, beloved." Luna turned to face him, and Apollyon quickly settled his hands on each side of her hips. "I will make? you mad with lust. I will be as bad as I can. Call me, Bad Luna."

    He blinked at her sudden shift, breathless and caught off guard.

    Nostrils ring, his blue eyes lingered on her face.

    There was a hint of red in the sharp angle of his cheekbones when Luna whispered while she caressed his broad chest.

    "Bad Luna, huh?" Apollyon''s intense gaze made it seem like he was ready to pounce her, but he ruined the atmosphere by the mere utterance of, "You must? be bad at seducing me."

    He wasn''t ying along now.

    How stubborn!

    "Scratch that." She gritted her teeth in ire as she squinted at him. "Call me, ''naughty girl'', instead."

    Apollyon shrugged, yet, his pupils were dted when Luna licked her lips, bringing attention to her mouth. "You will just have to y this game better, then."

    Luna slowly caressed her palms on her chest upwards, cing them on his shoulder.

    "I will only y with your��." Luna said in a slow, breathy moan as she watched Apollyon''s reaction. "-- body if you would allow me to."

    She swore she had seen his eyes went huge for a fraction of a second.

    Apollyon raised a hand to slowly rub against his face as if he was curbing a wicked grin before running the same hand through his silky, raven locks.

    Panicking, Luna flushed pink, immediately burying her face in his chest from embarrassment.

    It was either that or scream for eight hours on the terrace.

    ''Why was she being self-conscious now?'' Luna muttered to herself.

    Her fingers clutched his tunic even more.

    The bastard was clearly amused because his tight-lipped smile was too big, and the corner of his eyes crinkled.

    Was heughing at her poor attempts to seduce him, or was she exaggerating too much?

    ''Oh goddess!'' Luna swallowed hard. ''What the fuck was she telling him and where did this linese from?''

    She might regret this if Apollyon might make fun of her because he found her strange and disgusting for trying too hard.

    She can''t take it if that''s what he thought.

    "We should go inside and dance with the other guests so we don''te off as rude."

    Luna released Apollyon, turned her back on him and returned to the ballroom whether she would follow her or not.

    The Ball Room was epassed with twelve pale yellow columns as the arched ceiling was decorated with intricate golden patterns while the floors were made out of marble.

    The walls were lined with heavenly mosaics of conquerors and victors.

    Windows were made out of stained ss, while the draperies and curtains were adorned with jewelry and burnished corners.

    There were two imposing golden thrones��which must be for the Summer King and Queen--which sat beneath the canopy as fourfortable seats which were inerpared to the royal seats were settled close to the ruling Monarchs.

    All the seats were covered in texture andyered etchings.

    The cushions and thefortable pillows were adorned with embellished quilting.

    Luna thought that the aristocrats who attended this celebration must be expecting an audience with King Oberon and Queen Titania.

    They were also told that the ornate balconies overlooking the entire Hall were reserved for those people of Higher standing.

    Some of the Faeries found their ce in the brightly decorated marble benches��all of which were line perfectly symmetrical while the rest were starting to dance when the jester started to perform his music.

    Luna and Apollyon began to dance together, and her cheeks began to warm every time her husband caressed her here and there, which made her soul ignite and sparkle bright.

    He was adamant about seducing her.

    It happened so spontaneously, and his? clever husband would find a way to make her mad with lust.

    She would not let herself give in.

    It was part of the game.

    From this moment, Luna wouldn''t talk to him.

    This was her strategy.

    She would let her body do all the talking.

 Chapter 512 - Gathering Information

    <h4>Chapter 512 - Gathering Information</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (May 2021)

    ********************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *******************************

    Luna felt her heart and soul grew with a burst of happiness.

    Sighing a relieved sigh, she was d to know that he didn''t find her awkward.

    "Did I hear you correctly when you said you want to dance with someone else aside from me?"

    ''Yes and I wanted to spice things up.'' Luna thought after shielding her mind from Apollyon, just in case he was spying on her. ''I will make you miss me for a few minutes and then tempt you to kiss me first.''

    How can she make a husband feel hot and bothered by the way he made her feel?

    Clenching her fists, Luna tried holding herself back from throwing the rules of their game out of the window and kiss him on the dance floor because she was ready for it. But, they still had a mission to fulfil.

    Now, she just had to make him burn as hot as fire.

    "I wanted to separate for now, husband. Aren''t you tired of seeing my face all day and all night?"

    "No. How about you?" Apollyon asked softly as he stroked the arch of her spine, making her shiver. "You don''t like me anymore?"

    Luna returned the favour as she tried touching him everywhere without being obvious about it.

    If her husband was getting bold with his touches in this public event, she could outdo him.

    "You stupid, King." Their bodies swayed from left to right in the slow rhythm of the music. Luna rested her cheek against his sculpted chest and inhaled the scent of sunshine, pine trees, lcs and that unique blend of his musk, which must be her mate''s pheromones, sending her heated sexual sensations. "I will like��no, I will love you until eternity so what you said just now is impossible."

    "Good." He smiled but then those kissable lips curved into a frown the moment he recalled something.

    He was suddenly upset. "Then why do you want to dance with other men on this party?"

    Luna''s hand moved lower, but Apollyon quickly clutched it and settled her palm back to his shoulder.? "Gathering information about the Summer Courts, beloved. You might be a the estranged son of the Princess Ourania but that didn''t mean that the entire Summer Courts could be trusted. We have learned our lessons from the Spring Courts. Any moment, they could betray us with some twisted story to justify their actions."

    As they said, the absence will definitely make the heart go fonder.

    Hopefully, he would think about the fun times and sex the two of them had while he was busy gathering information from thedies.

    She trusted her husband to do a good job.

    This was also the reason why Apollyon was willing to change himself, getting rid of his negative traits so that he could be with her and keep her to his side forever as his mate.

    Luna only had little to noints from her husband''s current behaviour, and she liked it.

    They werepatible after so many arguments.

    At least, Luna became braver inmunicating what she needed from Apollyon in this rtionship, and he was honest and true to himself when it came to his needs.

    She realized that pain and hurt were inevitable when it came to their marriage.

    But these conflicts were opportunities to fix their problems and teaching each other how to love each other better��learning what their likes and dislikes for the sake of their improvement as a couple. Hopefully, nothing would happen that would change how they treat each other.

    "Right." Apollyon''s pupils dted as he nced around them, making sure that they maintained their distance from the other couples and stayed out of earshot. "We should not trust easily or else what happened at the Spring Courts will repeat itself."

    She massaged his shoulders a little and whispered, bringing her mouth closer to his. "I want to ask around the gentlemen around here and introduce myself to them. Do that to? thedies and ask around for information."

    Her gaze on his lips, she dared Apollyon to kiss her, but neither did he withdraw nor press his lips closer to hers, which was a bummer.

    "What information?" Apollyon breathed in her mouth.

    "Anything interesting about the Summer Courts." Biting her lip, Luna averted her gaze from him and nced at the floor, watching her dance steps--deep in thought.? "I''m interested about your mother than any other Monarch, Apollyon."

    "My mother. I don''t care about her anymore but I preferred to leave the past behind. The paintings she had kept hidden is what caught my attention. If you want me to know more about her then I guess I could be charming to thedies to get some."

    "You don''t have to put your charm on." Her nails dug on the fabric of his tunic.

    Luna stared deep into his eyes as if she was looking for his soul.? "Your face is already enough. I suggest you to be stoic so you don''t catch their interest. They might cross the line and wants to acquire men that don''t belong to them."

    "Yes, beloved." He replied. "I can prove to you if I am a good husband if this is one of those little tests."

    "This isn''t a test for cheating husbands, Apollyon." Her free hand continued travelling on his stomach, shifting lower to his erection. "It is a mere suggestion of mine."

    Apollyon allowed her to inconspicuously rub the back of her hand against it twice before she felt it grow even harder.

    Luna smiled a sphinx-like smile as she made it a point to brush her breasts against his chest.

    If she continued to torture her husband like this, Apollyon might decide to drag her into a hidden spot so he could have his wicked way with her and then he would lose.

    Luna felt his bulge rock hard in mere seconds, twitching around as if there was some wild animal inside his pants.

    Hearing her husband''s inaudible groan of suffering from blue balls was music to her ears. "Luna."

    Feeling more courageous, she cupped his erection all of a sudden, and he let out a low growl.

    That was thest straw.

 Chapter 513 - Severe Blue Balls

    <h4>Chapter 513 - Severe Blue Balls</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (May 2021)

    ***************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ***************************

    "You have to stop this." Apollyon felt the familiar pain in his balls every time his wife attempted seduction��whether it was innocent or a nned one.

    All the blood from his body rushing towards Apollyon''s cock gave him a massive erection.

    The experience became more frequent and ever since her wife''s return.

    She didn''t realize how easy it was for her to stimte him.

    By merely catching just the whiff of her scent, he can make himself aroused for a prolonged period of time without relief.

    Circling his hand on her delicate wrist, he raised her arm upward, far away from his groin. "I thought that you wanted me to investigate Princess Ourania."

    "I apologize, Vampire King." Luna''s eyes squinted as she disyed a wide grin, her eyes lit with an inner glow of mischief.? "I just can''t help myself but touch it when it moved."

    He clenched his jaw, "Now, you are ying innocent."

    She might be a virgin at first, but his wife wasn''t that innocent in his eyes.

    Apollyon knew that she was a goddess capable of dominating him in the bedroom despite theck of experiencepared to his Harem girls at the Consortium.

    Luna wasn''t the best when it came to sexual techniques and positions, but who cared?

    She tasted, smelled, and felt so good.

    Luna was his mate, and he enjoyed every second that he was with her.

    That was the only thing that mattered.

    She made it up with her enthusiasm to please her husband, and that was enough for him.

    If Luna kept teasing him and stroking his cock with her fingers, he woulde right then and there in front of his peers like an uncouth young man in his puberty.

    Sadly, there was no release in sight yet.

    He was so close to orgasm if she continued this heavy petting, getting him all hot and bothered.

    He knew she would stop as soon as she realized she was going overboard, never finishing the job.

    Apollyon must endure.

    "What''s wrong, Apollyon? Don''t want to talk?" Giving her a coy nce, Luna guided hisrge hand to her breast, and he pulled his hand away before it could evennd on those soft, bouncy flesh. "Want to have sexual congress with me?"

    He grounded his teeth.

    This must be her revenge for his random touches earlier.

    He must have affected her in some way, but that wasn''t enough to make her lose.

    The heavy ache gave him immense difort that he couldn''t perform the dance steps properly. His limbs were all tensed up.

    Of course, Apollyon knew that the only cure was either to fuck his wife.

    But that might make him lose the game.

    The other choice was to excuse himself from the celebration and find a secret ce to masturbate in the early afternoon��in broad daylight--but that would mean that he had to leave Luna behind.

    That was out of the question.

    The more Apollyon became more aroused, the more he would suffer from the wrath of his blue balls.

    He needed to get rid of this, so he imagined naked old women dancing around them in the ballroom.

    Miraculously, it alleviated some of the mild pain.

    His mind had cleared enough to continue their conversation as if nothing happened.

    Clearing his throat, he began, "Luna. I don''t want? you to smile and be as grumpy as possible when talking to the men, do you understand?"

    This was a great concern of his ever since her wife proposed that idea, so he might also get the idea out there.

    She tilted her head and smirked, "Husband. How can I gather information with that?"

    Her tone was closer to a breathy moan which reminded him of the hot, steamy nights Apollyon spent with her as she murmured, "The moment they see me scowl, the gentlemen would run away and they wouldn''t dance with me."

    Did she desire their attention?

    It made his eyes narrow at her even more. "Then why don''t you sit down on a chair and rest while I seek for the information you need among these women?"

    "What?" Chuckling, Luna dropped her hand from his shoulder and moved them down his leg, caressing them. It was a miracle that his wife wasn''t mad at his suggestion but found them amusing instead. "You want me to be alone, sitting in the corner, watching you dance with thedies?"

    "You might get tired carrying the baby in your stomach while you dance and twirl your skirts around for the gentlemen." He replied as he rubbed his jaw against her temple.

    Of course, it made sense.

    He wasn''t the jealous type at all when it came to His Consortium, allowing the guests to use whichever women they liked, but when it came to his mate, he was very possessive of her.

    "Apollyon. If you are afraid of me dancing and flirting with the gentlemen in the Summer Courts, there is no need to worry. No one will dare flirt or steal a woman who already have a baby bump." Luna reassured him as her good-natured smile remained. "Do you understand?"

    "No."

    She belonged to him, and Luna understood that perfectly. But she didn''t want her to have any contact with the gentlemen. The scar in his heart regarding the male Archdemon who raped her was still fresh.

    Apollyon wouldn''t like that to happen again.

    Well, his wife was a powerful Archdemon, so it wasn''t like someone could steal her under his nose, but what was wrong with being worried about his wife''s safety in thepany of strangers even if they were just in the same room?

    She snorted. "If you still aren''t married, would you flirt with a pregnantdy?"

    Biting his lip, Apollyon paused for a few seconds to think about his response. "I could banter if she was someone I am interested. But that would be the most I can do."

    "See?"

    "Alright." Closing his eyes, Apollyon exhaled a heavy sigh."Your wish is mymand."

    When Apollyon opened his eyes, he openly stared at her green ones. "How many times tonight?"

    "Pardon?"

    "Sex." He shrugged. "The information I will gather for you had a different reward."

 Chapter 514 - A Slave To My Lover

    <h4>Chapter 514 - A ve To My Lover</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (May 2021)

    ********************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *******************************

    "Sex. The information I will gather for you had a different reward." Apollyon shrugged as if he didn''t say that a bit louder.

    She just had to take took another glimpse around the ballroom.

    The jester''s brightly coloured clothes and entric hat immediately caught her gaze as she stood in front of the musicians, busy ying as a conductor.

    Her eyes widened when the stranger winked at her, and she abruptly averted her gaze.

    He had overlooked the jester, but he had this strange aura surrounding him that she couldn''t exin in the few seconds their eyes met.

    Luna thought the jester must be tired of singingedic arias about the hypocrisy of the aristocrats present in the ballroom.

    Still, no one batted an eysh or reacted strongly to the insults.

    It must be because the jester can actually sing well, or they don''t care since this skinny, mboyant man had no credibility in the Summer Courts.

    "I see my husband is a good negotiator."? Her sweaty palm had slipped through his husband''s shoulders in surprise that she had to lift them and rest them at his nape.

    As she felt the musical vibrations of the instruments, the melodious notes flowed like spring water in her bloodstreams��so pleasant and soothing.

    Her limbs were rxed, making her almost sluggish as she danced with Apollyon.

    Brushing her breasts against her husband''s chest might be capricious, making her nipples ache and her heart beat faster. "It''s not like you would win my first challenge, Apollyon." Tiptoeing to reach his height while she performed the dance steps without thought, Luna brought her lips closer to his ear.

    "You can''t resist me." She whispered. "��and now you are asking for another reward from collecting intelligence from the guests?"

    "I''ll try to resist you, beloved." Apollyon''s lips moved closer to her mouth, daring her.

    Luna withdrew immediately.

    When she realized toote that it was her chance to allow him to kiss her first, the bastard pulled back, smirking. "The game is still on." Her jaws clenched as she curbed a regretful groan. She shouldn''t have.! That was her chance to win the game!? "I told you. If you are the first to initiate a kiss, you will be my sex ve tonight."

    "No. You will be mine." Luna tugged her hand from his grasp so she could prick her forefinger with her fangs and pressed it against her lips.

    "I will use your cock wisely, Apollyon." She murmured. "I''m not wearing underwear right now."

    A gentleman dancing with a pale summer faerie wearing a white gown heard that despite the loud, ssical music.

    His eyes huge in their direction, and thedy she was with only gave them a side-eye nce. Gripping her hips tight as if he expected her to run from him, the Vampire King let her blood seeped on his tongue when his lips parted.

    Her lips curved upward.

    Luna didn''t want to behave as an Empress right now, and Apollyon''s eyes were hard as he licked at her finger. "Don''t start with the dirty stuff while my mind is on the mission, Luna." The rings of her Prussian Blue eyes glowed."Save it for the bedroom."

    Luna was getting a little bored now and decided to stir up trouble and take offence at her husband''s statement.

    Exhaling a long, deep sigh, she let her face rx to get rid of her amusement.

    Then, she feigned hurt by lowering her head, her shoulders hunched over.

    "You are the one who started it the sex ve, Apollyon."

    "Calm down, wife." Apollyon lost his concentration and almost stepped on her skirts.

    Fighting back a smile, Luna pinched her lips together, thinking how he almost stumbled from, rmed."It''s not like you are going to be my sex ve forever. It''s just ''role-y." His tone was both upset. "We are just pretending, alright?"

    "Hmph. I think? you have a fetish about your harem in your Consortium."

    "Here we go again. I''m not asking you to pretend to be another nameless, faceless, Harem girl of mine." Apollyon ced a finger under his chin and raised her gaze to his.

    "I just want you to be my you��my Harem Girl for the night." He pleaded gently. Luna was so tempted to look away because she almost tore fromughter when her husband thought she was crying. It was unfortunate that Apollyon still didn''t realize that it was all a jest. "I missed the chance when you decided to be the Vampire Realm''s High Priestess." Suddenly, he stopped dancing, and she was forced to halt, as well.

    They awkwardly stood there at the ballroom with the rest of the couples, breaking the rules of etiquette.

    Wait a moment!

    Luna gasped when she recalled something from the book Apollyon had given her a long time ago about the golden rules royals must follow.

    From the start, Both of them already broke the rules of the Ball Room when they started talking while dancing��talking dirty at that!

    She had the urge to p her forehead.

    "Are you mad?"

    "No. I think I misunderstood��that you wanted me to act as one of of your Harem Girls."

    Luna didn''t suppress her giggles ofughter at that point.

    She could hear Apollyon sighed with relief.

    "You are my Harem girl, wife. The one and only." He settled his powerful hands in her hips, not caring the strange looks of the people around them.? "I would never ask for more than one."

    "Are you sure?"

    She was just d that they weren''t standing at the centre where too many couples gather.

    "Yes." His husband''s pureughter quenched her soul.? It was the most beautiful thing. "I have a ''Luna fetish''."

    Damn!

    The Vampire King really know what to say to keep her attention.

    "Alright. The rules have changed." Luna''s knees quivered from the promise of ecstasy after their mission. "If you kiss me first, I will not deny you with what you want. But I will make you my ve, Apollyon."

 Chapter 515 - Caelano

    <h4>Chapter 515 - Cano</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (May 2021)

    ********************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *******************************

    When the song was about to hit itsst crescendo before its melodies weave into the next, Luna pried her hands off Apollyon.

    Still, his fingers curled unto hers, settling one hand back to his shoulder while he had the other in his grasp, interlocking their fingers.

    "We must separate now, Apollyon."? She reminded him with a gentle squeeze.

    Apollyon wore that wicked grin on his face as he hummed? ''Mm-mm'' as he shook his head in refusal.

    His Prussian Blue eyes were on her, but it appeared like her husband wasn''t listening to a single word.

    He still liked to y around with her when they had important matters to take care of?

    "Hmm." Luna frowned and clicked her tongue in disapproval. ''It was time for a surprise attack so that he would let her go.''

    "I love you, Apollyon." Luna blurted out of the blue to surprise her unsuspecting husband.

    Apollyon exhaled a sharp breath as he blinked in surprise, taken aback.

    He didn''t release Luna and pulled her even closer to his hard, masculine body as he emitted a strong and dangerous air around them, but to her, it was the opposite.

    As he cocooned her into an embrace, his warmth brought a sense of protection.

    The other thing was that the feel of the contours of his muscles evoked memories of passionate nights, which made her shudder in ecstasy.

    "I didn''t expect that you would tell me these words first, you clever minx." Apollyon bent down to touch her forehead against his and pressed the tip of his nose to hers.

    Luna''s eyes widened, and her racing heartbeat drummed in her chest from Apollyon''s gesture.

    The Vampire King never failed to jolt her awake with adrenaline as if his sweetness was an electric shock itself, lifting the hair of her nape.

    Luna sighed a hopeless sigh as she closed her eyes.

    It was a rarity to see her husband like this in the Vampire Realm.

    Now that they were in the Summer Courts, she could see that Apollyon was more lighthearted�� freer.

    Apollyon desired to y games with her that would incite passion.

    She noticed that intimacy was essential for her husband.

    Maybe, it was just an excuse that he was an amorous mate.

    Although Apollyon''s muscles were all bunched up from the strain of his erection with no relief in sight, her husband appeared more peaceful and contented and his overall disposition--more rxed than she had ever seen in him these past few weeks.

    His jovial aura spilled like warm sunshine of the early morning after a rainy night while she strolled to riverside without knowing where it would end. Luna felt like she was as light as a dandelion seed, floating in the air, breathless, as she felt the heat radiating in her chest.

    Perhaps, it was love.

    How poetic!

    It was his love for her that changed him, recing those scowls of anger and frustration due to her past actions��of constantly hiding things from him.

    Luna used to be scared of Apollyon''s feelings for her��so afraid his love would shine a light to the deepest part of herself that she didn''t want him to know, and neither did she want to pay attention to what it needed and craved.

    His happiness was contagious that it wasn''t hard to mirror his bright, yful countenance.

    He became more attuned to her mind and heart.

    It must be her pregnancy which improved their connection and brought them closer.

    Swallowing hard, Luna was so close to kissing him and sink her fangs into his bow-shaped lips when it was so near. But she resisted.

    "I just noticed that I only said it a few timespared to you. I want you to know that." Her voice was shaky as she replied,? "I couldn''t have imagined my life if you weren''t right here with me. Now will? you let me go, my love?"

    "Onest song, please?" There was no hint of humour. He sounded serious and ready to go when the hand on her lower back pushed her against his erection. "I will miss you."

    Apollyon knew what to say to prevent her from leaving.

    At this moment, Luna was so close to screaming in frustration, but she held back and jerked her head backwards.

    "Apollyon. I''m n-not going a-anywhere." Oh, dear! Now, she was stuttering like a nervous wreck.

    Herughter was shaky with need as she pushed him away from her. "We are just in the same room."

    "Yes." "It''s not just a room, beloved. It''s a Hall." Wow! Her husband still had the nerve to be sarcastic about it. "I still have to keep my eye on you."

    "You are incorrigible." She yfully pped him in the shoulder.

    "Ah." Apollyon groaned that she could almost make out his vampire fangs growing a little. "I want to bite you but I can''t."

    This ancient vampire was too cute for his own good that her heart melted, especially when he began to assume the ''puppy-eye look'' to persuade her into anything.

    Instead of turning into a monster, eating and throwing people around in anger like a wild child in a temper tantrum like he used to.

    Apollyon finally learned how to make someone his ve without doing all that.

    Unfortunately, she was determined not to be his ve tonight.

    Perhaps, on another day where she was in the mood.

    Maybe, it was time to change the subject.

    "About your mother--"

    She felt the atmosphere grew colder when Apollyon warned her in a lethal tone. ''Don''t speak, Luna. Think.''

    Luna adjusted ordingly just in case Princess Sapphire''s spies were around.

    ''The paintings weren''t there in her room when I peeked at the keyhole.'' Luna mused.

    ''I remembered my grandparents talking about the paintings disyed in a hallway.'' Apollyon replied. ''Maybe, it wasn''t there. What else did you see? Your face was ashen when you told me that we must go.''

    ''Apollyon. I saw a harpy from the Underworld.''

    ''Underworld? What did Princess Ourania had to do with the Underworld?''

    ''I don''t know.'' Luna said. ''Do you know any harpy named Cano?''

 Chapter 516 - Lost In Her Thoughts

    <h4>Chapter 516 - Lost In Her Thoughts</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (May 2021)

    ********************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *******************************

    Luna had the Goddess of the Underworld in her side because of the ''Mark of the Triple Moon Goddess'' on her chest.

    But she had no idea if she had the power to call on Hecate with it.

    Only Virgin High Priestesses were capable of doing that�� or not, she had no idea.

    The Goddess Hecate already talked to her from time to time when she felt like it.

    Maybe, the Mark of the Triple Moon Goddess only served as a conduit for clearermunication.

    Luna danced with her new partner, who invited her first, and Apollyon allowed it, his Prussian Blue eyes not leaving her even if he danced with a beautifuldy who had curly dark hair and smooth chocte skin wearing a red gown with gold cuffs adorning her forearms and legs.

    They were having a good conversation, but Apollyon''s gaze was on Luna the whole time, watching over her like an intimidating guardian angel.

    Luna''s partner was a skinny, middle-aged (in terms of the human race) raven-haired man wearing a brown tunic simr to a tree trunk as he wore a dark cape over them.

    Can an Archdemon even have the right to disturb a busy goddess to answer a few questions?'' She tilted her head to the side and pursed her lips. ''How many Priestesses called on her name? to assist them with Underworld Magic?''

    Well, there was no harm in trying.

    But today wasn''t the right time to ask Hecate about the harpy on Princess Ourania''s side.

    Luna was the only one who could see the harpy, and Apollyon was a vampire with sensitive eyes.

    He told her about the ghost of a silver-haired child who had simr Prussian Blue eyes as him, iming to be her daughter.

    There was also an instance when Luna found her way back to her sleeping form on the bed with the help of an Archangel. But Apollyon could only feel the icy st of wind when she blew air out of her mouth, making the tiny hairs of his nape stand on its end.

    The soul''s visibility to people in this Material Realm must be the spirit''s decision whether he/she wanted to be seen by the person they desired tomunicate with.

    She was so deep in her thoughts that Luna hoped her dancing partner wouldn''t mind if she stared into space or had a tendency to look down multiple times, just mindlessly doing the steps to match him.

    If Luna can see and hear the harpy while her husband--

    ''Nobody can see me except the people who have ties to the Underworld.''? It opened its wide, full lips, but there was a sounding out of it.

    The harpy spoke to her mind with its pale face and long ws when she least expected it.

    Staring at its deep obsidian eyes made her shudder involuntarily and made her knees weak as she danced with the stranger.

    Princess Ourania''s room was not only filled with gilded mirrors but was also filled with deafening silence��but that was on Apollyon and Luna''s side as they stood at the other side of the door.

    Apollyon''s mother had someone to talk to inside the room, but people spying outside will not be able to hear a single word.? It was the kind of quiet that can drive someone crazy.

    Luna might also learn how to read the movement of people''s lips so that she could ess secret information.

    The existence of Apollyon''s mother was shrouded in mystery and suspicion she might as well wear a cloak.

    Was there a possibility that she was a High Priestess?

    This must be why Apollyon''s mother had dark clouds as her aura hanging over her head.

    She was connected to creatures from the Underworld, yet she wasn''t a Virgin High Priestess.

    The only exnation that made sense was that she was brought to that ce by someone!

    But who was her link there?

    Was it a lover?

    Biting her lip, she thought about Apollyon''s stepsister, Princess Sapphire.

    She was definitely unique, standing out from all the faeries normally built with wings in their backs.

    Did her absent father had a connection with the Underworld?

    "Cano." What was your purpose as Princess Ourania''spanion?

    Were you a familiar who protected her, or were you tasked to keep an eye on the Summer Princess to make sure she wouldn''t spill the secrets she had seen during her visit from the Underworld?

    "What did you say, mydy?"

    Queen Titania and King Oberon also implied at the Faerie Tea Party that Apollyon''s mother had a painting of Luna holding a magic fruit they call the Tree of Four Seasons.

    Eating the fruit can exorcise a demon upying the vessel which didn''t belong, preventing that from happening in the future.

    Her jaws clenched in determination.

    Luna needed to find this fruit so that she can get rid of the sleeping Archdemon of Envy.

    That bitch, Lilith, was still trapped in her body, and she hadn''t figured out how to get rid of her.

    Luna was afraid that if she did something on her own and chucked out Lilith out of her body through Archdemon magic she still wasn''t sure of, it might backfire on her.

    She will wake the sleeping monster up from her slumber, take over her body and pretend that she was Luna again.

    If it happened, what if the Archdemon of Envy would be better at acting as Luna if she became aware that they were in the same body?

    Her hand clenched in her partner''s grasp and abruptly loosened it.

    Too many questions needed to be answered, and to all these problems, she was the only answer and solution.

    She felt pain in the back of her throat.

    As of now, Luna can feel the gravity of the situation and her responsibility as a mother.

    Goddess, she didn''t even want to start about the baby Leo!

    Lilith was the first one who knew about Luna''s gestation when she nned to take charge of her body, but the Archdemon didn''t hurt the baby in her stomach.

    Why did she not find a way to kill her Leo?

    The stranger cleared his throat, waving a hand over her distracted gaze as she stared nkly on the walls. "Are you still with me, mydy?"

 Chapter 517 - Dancing With The Marquess

    <h4>Chapter 517 - Dancing With The Marquess</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (May 2021)

    ********************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ******************************

    "Are you still with me, mydy?" The man asked.

    Luna flinched.

    The volume of his deep baritone was soft and gentle. Still, to Luna''s mind fog, it was an upromising arrow, hitting the barriers between her environment and her isted thoughts as the ss shattered, lugging her back to the current reality.

    Her skin tingled as a sudden coldness hit her in the core, and she didn''t know where it came from.

    Was it from this Summer Fae in front of her to make her more attentive?

    "P-pardon?" She stuttered as her gaze swept the ballroom, catching a glimpse of where the Vampire King was.

    Because of their tight mating bond, Luna''s intuitive eyes already figured out where to gravitate.

    In just a few seconds, theynded right into Apollyon''s form.

    Even with her eyes closed, she can still feel his presence due to his bright blue and gold aura in the midst of darkness, calling to her like a siren''s song.

    Apollyon was the north star her ship would have followed in a calm night of seafaring.

    In that way, Luna knew which direction her head would turn and see him for herself.

    She let out a breath, releasing all the tension in her body.

    Her husband was easy to find as long as they are in the same room.

    They were like the opposites of a ma��a true fateful connection where one couldn''t get out of no matter how many times one pushed away from the other.

    There he was��her husband with his Prussian Blue eyes on her as their gazes met, boring holes into her form as Luna danced with the stranger in his ck cape.

    Luna smiled slowly, relieved at sight. There was even a slight happy skip in her dance steps which also increased her partner''s enthusiasm.

    The corner of Apollyon''s lips curved upward in a smirk before he returned his attention to the beautifuldy in his arms when she asked her a question.

    Luna was a bit amused when his smirk abruptly reced into a straight line as he pressed his lips into a tight line, making himself unapproachable for her sake.

    Apollyon knew she was watching them, and she appreciated her husband''s cold and aloof protective shell to strangers.

    She averted her gaze, or else she would burst intoughter.

    This time, Luna wasn''t jealouspared to the ruckus at the Ostara when the Princess of the Spring Courts kept iming her husband will divorce Luna to be with her.

    Like Lilith, that girl wasn''t right in the head.

    Apollyon and Luna hade a long way.

    Her insecurity over Apollyon cheating on her was just a speck of dust in the hundreds of problems she had to deal with.

    Honestly, she shouldn''t mind if her husband decided to y around.

    She would respect his decision and let him go.

    A woman as powerful as her shouldn''t chase a man��not even the man who belonged to her.

    Men can chase her all they want.

    She will not have to do anything to impress anyone.

    She told Apollyon many times, yet he proved to her always that he wasn''t a cheating husband.

    "This is the second time I have asked if you are still in the same Realm with me." The Lord said again.

    Luna nced at his face so tan it must have been kissed by sunlight for too long.

    His dark eyes were as sharp as des as he inclined his head, watching her with intense scrutiny. "It looks like your mind have already wandered far from here."

    "I apologize��" Frowning, Luna reminded herself that she must be careful not to get too lost in her own world. They might never know when the danger might make itself known.? "I was just out of sorts, my lord." Luna reasoned out as she kept up the pleasant smile on her face. "Did you say something?"

    He raised a dark, bushy eyebrow. "What?"

    "I meant, did you tell me something and I wasn''t paying attention?"

    He shook his head. "Not at all." When the lord uttered, ''all,'' it sounded like the word ''owl.'' He had a unique ent Luna had never heard of before. "I will not initiate a small talk during a dance when thedy doesn''t want to."

    "I sincerely apologize."

    "Now, you are apologizing twice." He replied with sensual elegance.? "Please don''t."

    "No. I want to." Luna replied.? From his detached scrutiny, she realized that it was just cold and empty flirtation��nothing else.? "You might find me rude for ignoring you, my lord. I have a lot of things in my mind��"

    "��and you were sorting them out." The lord finished for her. "You are a heavy thinker, mydy." A slow smile. "You shouldn''t let that prevent? you to have a great time during a celebration."

    "You are right." She told him. "I don''t know what to call a fine gentleman like you��"

    Her dance partner chuckled darkly before he responded, "I am Lord Caspian. A marquess in the Summer Courts. I introduced myself earlier before the Vampire King allowed me to dance with his precious wife even if he didn''t want to part with you."

    Goddess!

    She gave herself a mental p in the forehead.

    From her behavior, the Marquess might think that she had no ounce of respect in her peers as she had turned her nose up to the nobles who had a lower rank than her.

    She couldn''t even remember a simple introduction.

    "I��" Luna decided to say it. "��apologize. I didn''t mean to offend you, my lord."

    Hopefully, the marquess would ept her apology, and they wouldn''t get the wrong idea of her as the Vampire Realm''s Empress.

    Her reputation was already ruined as an evil Demon Conjurer in the Spring Courts.

    She wasn''t about to start here in the Summer Realms.

    "I just heard you say the word ''Cano''." Lord Caspian said casually.

    Luna gasped, but she caught herself and made her face neutral.

    "It must have bothered you."

    ''Did she said the harpy''s name out loud?''

    "That''s a really ancient word, mydy." He added, "''Cano'' meant ''darkness''."

 Chapter 518 - Art Of Veiled Threats

    <h4>Chapter 518 - Art Of Veiled Threats</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (May 2021)

    ********************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ******************************

    ''Did she said the harpy''s name out loud?''

    "That''s a really ancient word, mydy." Lord Caspian added, "''Cano'' meant ''darkness''."

    The Marquess must have seen a myriad of expressions shing across Luna''s face before assuming a nk countenance.

    This Lord Caspian, who told her the meaning behind this harpy''s name, sent goosebumps across the expanse of her skin.

    Howe this Marquess figured out what the name meant when her husband, an Ancient Vampire who probably lived more centuries than this Fae, knew?

    Why?

    How?

    Swallowing hard, Luna kept her eye contact with Lord Caspian so that the marquess wouldn''t look at her pale bare arms full of tiny dots.

    Some arrogant nobles take pride in disturbing their fellow aristocrat''s minds, especially those of a higher status.

    She had witnessed minor, and major power ys when she was identally included at the Marriage Auction, naked.

    Her husband had invited other Kings to visit their Vampire Castle to discuss his return to rule the Vampire Realm, trade andmerce exchange of their territories, the borders,? and re-establishing the alliance between the Six Kingdoms.

    As the Vampire Realm''s Empress, Luna had slept through the important part of their meetings in the Council Room when the Archdemon of Gluttony abducted her soul once in a dream.

    Some Kings had the audacity to challenge another King even if they were in thetter''s territory.

    In contrast, some Kings were just happy about instilling fear and doubt in another royal by nting nasty ideas in their head with witty and sarcasticments, dubious jests, vague and mysteriouspliments and insults, and their veiled threats.

    Based on Luna''s short experience in the Spring Courts, Princess Alisabethe was a good example. Prince Aspen did it for the sake of showing off that he always got the upper hand in every situation. And Queen Gloriana, as well, ording to her husband.

    For some reason, Luna noticed that Apollyon had a deep grudge with the Spring Queen without exining to her why.

    Was there a? huge misunderstanding between them before the Spring Monarchs used her of summoning demons to wipe them out and invade the Spring Realm?

    Luna had no idea.

    She wouldn''t be surprised if the Summer Faeries were also capable of this.

    Exhaling a huge breath, she realized that the Spring Courts strung them along that she found it hard to trust anyone in here.

    Depending on the situation, A ''Fae'' friend can turn into a foe in a matter of minutes, so she was skeptical and wary of every situation given to her.

    Did ''Cano'' really meant darkness, or was it a wild guess from the Marquess, taking great pride in intimidating an Empress with their fake expertise?

    There was no sense in keeping these questions to herself because that might make her lose her mind if they were left unanswered!

    Lifting her chin, Luna peered at him between hershes like how those snotty aristocrats do��Princess Alisabethe''s behavior was Luna''s perfect example--when they looked down on low-ranking individuals in the Hierarchy.

    She said in an annoyingly nasal voice, copying the Spring Princess'' mannerisms straight to her facial expressions and gestures. "Was it just a wild guess, Lord Caspian?" Luna brought her face closer to his ear since they were of simr height and whispered, "If you told me lies just to make an impression to an Empress from the Vampire Realm, I could tear your neck from my fangs for the insolence."

    It was a huge shift from the shy, naive, and dazed Empress from earlier.

    She had to deliver her message to the Marquess that a shape-shifting Archdemon wasn''t one to mess with. "Who knows? I can tear the right carotid while my husband shred the right. In that way, we can detach your head but it will be messy."

    stering an amiable smile on her face, Luna pulled her head back so she could look at him.

    All the muscles in his body stiffened, especially his neck she was talking about.

    He didn''t let his terror show, but Luna can sense his horror from the look in his eyes alone.

    Your next words will determine whether it would be worth it or not."? Luna added as she diminished the wild Archdemon traits in her.

    He clutched her hand with trembling sweaty palms, and it made her proud of herself that she was sessful in making him anxious.

    Luna was worried that she must have pushed him too far with the veiled threats despite her efforts toe across as yful.

    There was this heavy dullness in her chest when she began to feel regret.

    "It was only a jest---"

    "I can assure you that I am? certain, mydy."

    It made her speechless for a few minutes.

    So, Lord Caspian meant every word he said!

    Did the Marquess knew Cano or not?

    Luna was already suspicious with this Lord Caspian as she squinted at him, her lips curved downward in a frown.

    She wouldn''t give Lord Caspian the satisfaction to evoke a potent, negative emotion if that was his goal.

    Nevertheless, she was thankful for the opportunity to unfurl such as interesting conversation.

    He might give her useful information if she pushed him.

    Luna raised an eyebrow. "If you knew what it meant, Marquess. I guess you must be really old." She inclined her head at him and upped her charms. "Where did that knowledgee from?"

    "Are you the Empress of the Vampire Realm?"

    Oh.

    Now, he was dodging her question.

    What did it have to do with Cano?

    Luna decided to y along for now.

    "You figured it out." It was obvious. "If you still doubt, want me to show you my fangs, my lord?"

    "Everyone had been talking about it since early in the morning that the Vampire King had arrived to visit, Your Highness." He began, stumbling over his words in a hurry to inform her. "Everyone thought that Princess Ourania''s son with King Gwythyr had perished just before she returned to the Summer Courts. The Summer Princess rarely exposed herself to her peers because she mourning for herte son. Now that we found out that the son of the Vampire King was alive, this party was thrown out-of-the-blue as her official resurgence in the Society and her engagement with a nameless Prince nobody knew."

 Chapter 519 - Ill Cut Your Hands Off

    <h4>Chapter 519 - I''ll Cut Your Hands Off</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (June 2021)

    ********************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ******************************

    The Marquess had no chance to reveal further about this Princess Ourania''s peculiar engagement when their waltz was about to end, and it was time to change partners.

    Even if thest note of the waltz wasn''t even finished yet, Lord Caspian removed hisrge hand on her back and released his grip on their raised arms as if he couldn''t wait to take her hands off her, dropping Luna like a hot potato.

    She narrowed her eyes at his nk countenance, contemting whether she should take this as an insult when Luna was the one who started the veiled threats and then, passing them off as a joke just like how the Summer Fae do it with expertise.

    For Luna, it was hypocritical that their kind couldn''t ept the same.

    They should say "thank you," just like how they dished the same sweet and spicy backhandedpliments out to other creatures.

    "We aren''t done with the discussion yet, Lord Caspian."

    "If you aren''t aware of social dance etiquette in the Ball Room,? this isn''t the right ce to have a long discussion, Empress."

    "I want to know more about the engagement between Princess Ourania and this Prince." Luna demanded.

    "So, the Summer Monarchs hadn''t told you about this?" Lord Caspian scanned her from head to toe, wearing the signature smirk of a sardonic Fae ready to exchange insults with the target. "I shouldn''t be surprised. You look ill-prepared, your Highness. You and the Vampire King must have strolled around the corridors and just entered the halls filled with the Summer Faeries." Luna bit down her bottom lip, but she didn''t cower.

    It was like a poisonous arrow piercing through her heart.

    She must have deserved this if she was the one who dragged him first in the mud.

    She gave him a dismissive nod as if she hadn''t heard him. "Another dance, my Lord?"

    "Not only the Empress is ill-prepared but also ill-mannered." A hard smile. "Only the gentlemen are allowed to invite��"

    Bringing forth the Archdemon Magic inside her, Luna interrupted him by willing a strong thread-like silver wire to circle both of his wrists.

    The Marquess''s desire to get away from Luna as soon as possible was nixed.

    Luna could hear his heartbeat pounding as his dark eyes widened with terror.

    She tightened the pressure until she could see the reddish-brownyer of the raw muscles underneath his brown skin.

    "Don''t test my patience, Marquess." Luna whispered calmly so that the Summer Fae around them wouldn''t get suspicious. If she let the wire dig another inch of his wrists, a Summer Fae''s blood would drip on the floor. "You know who is more powerful between the two of us."

    "What do you want from me?" Gritting his teeth in agony, Lord Caspian said under his breath, "Your Highness?" He didn''t dare move, yet his voice had trembled, "How can a Vampire use magic as strong as this one."

    "Don''t fight. Or you will have no hands in a split second." The couples in the Ball Room dispersed in her peripheral vision as they looked for new partners. She had to hurry up before some woman rescue the Marquess from her clutches. "Answer my question. Where did? you figure what Cano was?"

    "It''s from a book I have read a long time ago. Back when I was a child, Your Highness." Staring at his almost invisible cuffs, Lord Caspian choked out his words as his hands quivered from the pain, "I don''t have it in my possession and I don''t remember what it''s called."

    "We are done here." In the blink of an eye, Luna released the wires, and the Marquess took an uneven step backward, "Remember who am I, Marquess." Luna murmured before she turned her back on him. "I can make your worst nightmarese alive."

    +++

    All the ensuing waltzes with the other men Luna was partnered with after Apollyon was familiar, so she had a good time, instead of being self-conscious and focusing on each of her movements.

    These gentlemen were good at leading her during the court dance.

    Luna followed where her partner might guide her as he pressed one of his hands on her lower back and urge her in a certain direction.

    Luna stepped ordingly without looking over her shoulder because she trusted her partner, confident that they wouldn''t bump against another couple.

    Music, dancing, and celebrations were part of the Fairfolk''s identity.

    It is in their blood.

    The only difference they had with the other Faerie Courts was the intensity of their enthusiasm and how often they celebrate anything under the sun.

    The rhythm of the fifth waltz was slower than normal.

    It was so slow that she might fall asleep in between seconds, and her recent partner, who appeared younger than her, wearing a light blue coat and a brown hat simr to the color of his curly chocte hair and innocent eyes, would be the only one who would notice.

    Funny enough, Luna recalled the time her husband had taught her the waltz at their balcony during the Masquerade Ball.

    The scent of jasmine blooms saturating the cool breeze that night, the swishing of her skirts against Apollyon''s muscled thighs, and the feel of his strong, hard biceps and torsos under her palms were still fresh in her mind.

    That was the first time she experienced how charming and yful her husband can be. From the provocative grazes of the back of his hand and his drug-inducing kisses on her lips and neck as they hide away from the rest of the visitors.

    She had kept insisting that she learn dances, but he vehemently refused.

    Apollyon was too obvious with his jealousy, telling her there was no need to learn them.

    Grinning widely, Luna showed them her pearly set of white teeth that might blind the people around their vicinity if they made the mistake of ncing at her.

    It was a night to remember!

    Unfortunately, they couldn''t do that here, which diminished the fun by half, for they have more pressing things to do.

    At that time, Luna figured out Apollyon was afraid that she would prefer to sway and pirouette with any gentlemen other than him and putting their hands on her in a close embrace.

    Luna understood. Because she was also hesitant to allow her husband to dance with the other women��especially snotty, spoiled princesses who weren''t ashamed of going after a married King. Now, Apollyon had changed his mind.

    He trusted Luna, although she identally broke her loyalty once with the Archdemon of Gluttony and allowed her, albeit with reluctance, to dance with the other males in the Summer Courts.

    Later on, Luna realized that it was alright to give each other freedom with someone else.

    Not every person hanging around each other was a threat to the mating bond.

    Both of them needed to take a step back and rx.

    As she turned her head, she caught a glimpse of her husband and sighed with relief.

    Now, she can immensely enjoy her interest in dancing, but her mouth started to hurt from stering a pleasant smile for too long.

    After the young man, she danced with another three gentlemen before Princess Ourania''s arrival in the Great Hall was announced.

 Chapter 520 - Superior Gene

    <h4>Chapter 520 - Superior Gene</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (June 2021)

    ****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ****************************

    Luna had no idea how long she danced with a gentleman other than her husband, but it was long enough for the Herald to announce the arrival of the Summer Monarchs.

    The heavy, double doors of the Great Hall creaked open as two burly Fae Sentinels on full-body armours and bronze helms, which covered their entire face, pushed the wooden blocks forward, revealing the Herald before he blew his trumpets, "Behold! The Summer Monarchs. Queen Titania and King Oberon."

    King Oberon and Queen Titania had walked through the red carpet, their mature faces grim yet slightly detached from the rest of thedies and gentlemen pping for them with huge smiles on their faces.

    They kept their visions focused on their gilded thrones.

    Both of them didn''t turn their heads once, smile, or wave at the aristocrats surrounding them on the sidelines.

    No happy greetings.

    The noblemen and noblewomen never stepped on the red carpet''s line as they respected the King and Queen''s boundaries.

    Everyone knew that they were the Summer Monarchs just from how they carry themselves with poise, confidence, and elegance.

    Queen Titania''s chin jutted upwards, giving her an entitled air as if she was turning her patrician nose up to the rest of them.

    Luna couldn''t understand why King Oberon insisted on wearing armour tes over those brown leather fabric underneath a paired golden hem covering his entire head and face.

    She thought that witnessing him like this at the Tea Party was the first and thest time she would see King Oberon pull off something as strange as this.

    He was acting like the head of his Faerie Sentinels, for the goddess'' sake!

    Luna sighed, guilty.

    Raising her eyes upwards, she begged for forgiveness from the goddesses.

    She shouldn''t be judging King Oberon if she didn''t like to be judged for her choice of simple clothing from her fellow peers!

    Luna liked simple.

    King Oberon liked entric.

    End of story.

    What Luna only hated about King Oberon right now was the way he clenched his fists and puffed his chest with arrogance.

    The Summer King appeared like he was ready to brawl at a moment''s notice if someone challenged him.

    Luna could even imagine the smug look on his face despite the helm he wore.

    Queen Titania''s dainty hands rested in front of her halter-neck gown, simr to the bright green of a fresh new leaf.

    The dress''s silhouette made her hourss body stand out as the silk clung to her like a second skin.

    The beautiful hues of yellow from the top down to the dark green bottom were pure art.

    The high slit exposing her left leg was just exquisite.

    This was the first time Luna saw her let down her long hair.

    She gasped, and her eyes widened in surprise.

    Luna couldn''t take her eyes off her face and form.

    Wow!

    Queen Titania was as beautiful as always.

    Maybe, more beautiful than Princess Ourania, who had an attitude of ming her the Summer King and Queen from the way she was brought up.

    That her entire life wasn''t hers because she was forced to marry the past, Vampire King, to honour an old agreement between the Vampire Realm and the Summer Courts.

    There was nothing for Luna to worry about if they were talking about the genes of her future baby.

    The fruit didn''t fall far from the tree. And, Apollyon''s family tree was superior.

    Top-notched beauty.

    It was almost angelic for his female ancestors while the male ancestors were devilishly handsome.

    Luna couldn''t talk about their state of mind, though.

    The auburn strands hang gracefully at her back, bouncing with life in every step she took while King Oberon matched her elegant strides.

    Luna''s gaze immediately flew to the open terrace, checking the intensity of the sunlight to estimate the time she and Apollyon spent in the Ball Room.

    The sky was still a brilliant blue with fluffy white clouds casting mysterious shadows on the ground as it driftedzily in the gentle breeze.

    At the far horizon,? the sun slowly shifted downward as it shone through the thick summer forests.

    The harsh, blinding rays of the zing midday sun turn into something mellow as it prepared itself for the sunset.

    Nevertheless, the Summer Faeries'' form shimmered with little sweat, twinkling like diamonds in their forehead and bathing in the afternoon sunlight as it nted into their windows and terraces.

    Wiping the sweat from trickling to her chin as if she had cried, Luna realized she wasn''t that exhausted, but she was having a hard time feeling the soles of her feet and her calves.

    Her Achilles heel, her hallux, and her pinky toes were blistered a couple of times due to her t shoes.

    Anyway, there wasn''t a need to worry because the physical scars will heal again and again because she was a vampire.

    The only injury a Turned Vampire like her couldn''t heal was heartache, hurt and shattered pride.

    Of course, thest waltz for the idle guests was now followed by the lively and cheerful court music to celebrate the arrival of the Spring Monarchs, led by the talented jester as he sang songs about courtly love.

    His loud yet deep, soulful voice resonated in the Great Hall.

    His thick, whole vibrato made her feel goosebumps from how good his tone sounded without any musical apaniment.

    For the first time, Luna witnessed the aristocrats pinching their lips shut in respect to their King and Queen instead of opening their mouth like a gaggle of chickens gossiping about whomever they liked to ridicule. Just like what they did when she and Apollyon entered the Great Hall uninvited.

    Luna can tell that the Ball Room would be much more crowded after introducing Princess Ourania''s fiance since all the aristocrats would want to be on the dance floor and mingle with the rest.

    Later on, she realized that what happened three hours ago wasn''t official yet, and it seemed to be a repeat simr to what happened at Ostara as she celebrated with the Spring Courts.

    At least, they allowed doing the Courts to do what they want to have fun before the real one started.

 Chapter 521 - *wink* *wink*

    <h4>Chapter 521 - *wink* *wink*</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (June 2021)

    ****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ****************************

    Some of the high-borndies fetching Faerie confectioneries from the banquet set their te down to their respective tables.

    The rest of the women who gossiped at the sidelines broke their circles to step towards the edge of the thick red velvet carpetid out by the helmed guards from the ascended golden throne of the Highest Monarch to the entrance.

    And then, the King and Queen could even reveal themselves and step forward.

    She frowned.

    It must be the Fairfolk''s tradition to let the aristocrats dance until their heels rot or their toenails fall off before the party hosts arrive to make the scene jovial and pleasant.

    The guests would be contented to be free and idle while they waited for the Royals.

    Everyone will be in good spirits: eating fruitcakes and bread with cream and jams, drinking milk and wine to socialize with their fellow aristocrats, and dance with strangers.

    At midnight when the guests have lowered their inhibitions due to alcohol, some of these mated couples or random unmated strangers pairing themselves will sneak out from the Great Hall and find a private ce to do the deed.

    While Apollyon and Luna explored the second floor of the gazebo at the Hedge Maze Garden, where they could find an observatory, they found telescopes for stargazing and weather forecasting.

    At the same time, dark red cushions and coverlets were settled near it.

    Her husband suggested casually that they should fuck there sometime and watch the stars and thes naked when there was no one was around.

    She was so aroused by what he told her that she clutched the fabric of his chest and pulled him closer, wrapped her hands around his neck, and gave him an open-mouthed kiss.

    Apollyon kissed her back with his tongue, exploring the inside of her mouth with scorching heat.

    Groaning, he pulled away, iming that they were in broad daylight and it would be awkward to meet her mother with an erection.

    Luna nced at Apollyon, who was at the other side of the carpet, alone, with no woman clinging to him.

    Good.

    She wouldn''t have to grab someone''s hair and drag her ws to the poordy''s king scalp if she would as much cling her hand on her husband''s arm when he minded his own business.

    Everyone must have known that Apollyon was the Vampire King and Luna was the Empress.

    She was d that the Summer Courts were caught on fast to the situation.

    No one in their right mind would want to steal a mated individual when their mate watched over like a hawk unless she was as desperate as the Spring Princess.

    Nodding her head in approval, she gave Apollyon a wink, and her husband winked back along with a knowing smile that made her breathless.

    Her core flooded with delicious warmth.

    "Princess Sapphire and the Vampire King��" He shouted louder, but he cut himself off.

    "Never mind." The Herald muttered to no one in particr. "He isn''t here."

    Luna''s mouth opened in shock as she returned her gaze to Apollyon, who gave her a half-shrug.

    "Andst but not the least, Princess Ourania and Sir Tristan from the Fall Courts."

    Luna jerked her head slightly backwards in disbelief. Sir Tristan from the Fall Courts?

    She blinked rapidly at what she had heard.

    Lord Caspian clearly told her about an hour ago that Princess Ourania was engaged to a Prince that the aristocrats didn''t know.

    Who knew if this Prince really existed in real life when Apollyon''s mother was known for talking to imaginary friends!

    Since when did this Prince demote as a Knight?

    Was it a mistake on the Marquess'' part?

    She scratched at her chin, squinting at them.

    Did Luna hear him right, or did Lord Caspian heard wrong if he caught this gossip from the grapevine?

    She clicked her tongue.

    No one was truly reliable in the Court, huh?

    While they were in the Spring Courts, Apollyon told her that rumours spread like wildfire in the Spring Courts.

    It can escte to an unpredictable exaggeration of problems and character assassinations.

    More often, it can destroy people''s reputations.

    A victim of such gossip will never lead to a positive oue.

    It will go downhill from there.

    It did more harm than good.

    Since Apollyon and Luna were two mates who kept to themselves, they really had no desire to defend themselves when nobody in their area witnessed their great ideas.

    Apollyon would probably be the type who struck at those who talked ill about them, no questions asked, but since she was pregnant, her husband would avoid confrontations and escape from there just like what she wanted.

    He was good at heeding her request.

    Luna didn''t want any more deaths on behalf of her in Apollyon''s hands.

    What happened at the Prison House in Krininianopolis was enough, and neither will she allow her husband to drink into a stupor again.

    For that to be effective, Luna would never be tricked by a husband, shape-shifting Archdemon.

    If she had the slightest suspicion of her husband''s behaviour, she would interrogate the man for one hour before she let him lift her skirts and touch the intimate parts of her.

    Perhaps, the Marquess did it on purpose to throw her off the scent!

    With clenched jaws, Luna crossed her arms in irritation.

    Out of all the things�� she hated being tricked despite the threats she had given Lord Caspian.

    Luna wasn''t doing a good job at being a viin.

    She was an Archdemon!

    Maybe, she just needed a little more practice with directness instead of beating around the bush when it came to scaring her perceived enemies.

    After King Oberon and Queen Titania had settled on their thrones, Princess Ourania, who had her long auburn hair divided into two and braided over her shoulders, followed their footsteps.

    Cherries, verbenas, daisies, bellflowers, and sweet-scented herbs were tied at the end of the braids.

    She wore a tiara with the crescent shape as she wore a boat-shaped neckline of white feathers, which showed her cleavage.

    Her sleeves were long and loose, with the colour of the rainbow, and she had a tight golden corset just below her breasts.

    Apollyon''s mother was too luxurious to look atpared to the man she was engaged with.

 Chapter 522 - Playful Trickster

    <h4>Chapter 522 - yful Trickster</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (June 2021)

    ****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ****************************

    The man Apollyon''s mother had engaged with��

    Hmm.

    ''How else should she say this?''

    Narrowing her eyes at this Sir Tristan from the Fall Courts while Princess Ourania''s slender hand on his gauntleted hand.

    Like King Oberon, Sir Tristan wore full-bodied armor.

    She scratched her lower lip in thought.

    Did Sir Tristan do this to please the entric King so that he would be more epting of their son-inw in marrying their widowed daughter?

    Why did King Oberon insist he wears this full iron helm painted with gold?

    She had asked a gentleman she had danced with about, and he replied that it was called ''galea,'' a Summer Faerie''s soldier helmet.

    King Oberon and Sir Tristan wore golden ''galeae'' while their Faerie Sentinels wore bronze ones.

    The rest of the gentlemen attending the engagement party haven''t donned such a thing except the King, Sir Tristan, and the soldiers.

    The male Summer Fae were clothed in tunics, coats, cloaks, jackets, leggings, and pantaloons with embellished cuffs, cors, and hems that wouldst them a long time.

    Each button was personally carved with detailed etchings by the craftsman that was unique to them.

    King Oberon''s galea was more distinct from his Faerie sentinels because of his crest andrge white feathers attached to the helmet''s crown.

    King Oberon''s soldiers had no crests attached to their ''galeae'' while Sir Tristan had the crest made of dark red, stiff horsehairs on his ''galea.''

    It was clear that the white feathers on the ''galea'' unted a higher status than the guards and the Knights, showing that the Summer King was the strongest warrior and defender of the Summer Realm.

    Luna had heard the History of the Faerie Realm when Queen Titania told her about the Lore of the Four Seasons.

    King Oberon was the most brilliant, savage, and fearless warrior who imed the Summer Realm''s territory back when the unified Faerie Realm crumbled due to the death of the one true family of Monarchs.

    They had no choice but to defend their people, im their newfound territories and establish their own borders, all the while fighting off demons while the Archangels had an ongoing war with the Fallen Angels.

    The Summer King must have been so proud of his contribution to the foundation of the Summer Realm.

    This must be why he insisted on wearing his panoply.

    At least, he wasn''t waving a sword in the air or carry his shield around.

    He was a good military strategist and a leader of his own army, while Queen Titania was the best when it came to casting powerful spells in Fae Magic.

    Apollyon''s mother held the shaft of her ruby scepter in one hand.

    Thin and delicate gold chains surround her sweet oval face as it hung just an inch below her eyes down to her neck like a tassel mask.

    When Princess Ourania emerged from the doors and entered the Great Hall, Luna finally got a chance for a closer look as Princess Ourania walked at the side of the carpet where she stood. Eyes widening, she sucked in a quick breath.

    Luna quickly realized that she thought wrong about Queen Titania.

    Apollyon''s mother was the real winner when it came to unparalleled beauty.

    Unlike the stoic Queen Titania, Princess Ourania swept her gaze at the crowd from left to right and smiled with her chin slightly upward, sauntering the red carpet towards her white throne with fine poise and elegance.

    The top of her head emitted tiny sparkling orbs, making her appear like she was an angel with a crown of halo or perhaps�� they were mere firefliespelled through magic to float around her crescent tiara.

    Flowers of bold pink, white, red, yellow, and purple hues abruptly rained over Princess Ourania andnded on the long trains of her white gown as she glided slowly with his masked fiance''s assistance.

    Frown lines marred her forehead.

    She turned her head from left to right to see if the others have the petals resting on their clothes too.

    A soft light petal perched at the hair near her brow, followed by another two petals of pale pink petals of a rose.

    Luna nced up and saw four adorable children holding a basket full of flower petals--who had the appearance of little ones around five to eight years old in human age.

    She smiled at them and waved at a little blond girl who met her eyes and grinned back at her.

    Luna can see something familiar in her peripheral vision.

    When Luna''s gaze shifted to the right side of the high ceiling,

    Princess Sapphire, with her wings pping at each side of her head, was up in the air with her arms crossed over her chest, supervising the children.

    But, her intense glower over Princess Ourania and Sir Tristan''s as they held each other hands was unmistakable.

    She wished she could alleviate her pain, but she couldn''t.

    Luna thought those chocte brown eyes bled hatred and jealousy towards the engaged couple, and her heart ached for her.

    It must be hard seeing her mother switching from a father she hadn''t met and known to another unknown stranger when her own mother couldn''t even take care of her own daughter and show her love.

    It was painful to watch Princess Sapphire like this, so she brought her attention back to the flower boys on the

    Giggling peals of pureughter, the young fairies'' multi-colored wings fluttered excitedly.

    They fetched a fistful of blossoms from the baskets and threw them on top of their heads as if they were young gods goddesses granting their blessings to the mortals.

    These kids were even smart enough to match the flinging of their flower-filled hands to the beat of the live music in unison.

    "You loved the kids, wife?"

    The tightness lifted in her chest when she heard her husband''s voice.

    Turning to face him, she immediately hugged him and patted his chest. "Apollyon, you scared me. You should be on the other side��"

    When she looked over her shoulder, Apollyon was there on the other side of the red carpet near the isle of Sir Tristan, scowling at Princess Ourania when she passed by him the way her half-sister did.

 Chapter 523 - And You Did This For What?

    <h4>Chapter 523 - And You Did This For What?</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (June 2021)

    ****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ****************************

    When she looked over her shoulder, Apollyon was there on the side of Sir Tristan, scowling at Princess Ourania when she passed by him the way her half-sister did.

    Her eyes protruded in shock, and she didn''t dare breathe in fear of what would happen next after realizing that the man who gripped her arms wasn''t her husband.

    Shifting her attention from the mother she hated, Apollyon must have sensed her distress and give her direct eye contact.

    Luna stiffened, and she couldn''t make a sound, but she held onto the shapeshifter.

    Limbs quivering, Luna''s knees were about to give up from the fear of having a shapeshifter this close after she had been raped by one.

    She felt her heart pound so fast before it stopped and thought, ''Was the man pretending to be Apollyon, the Archdemon of Lust, ying tricks on her��reminding her about the abomination he did?

    Was he visiting the child he thought he had given her after spilling his seed inside her?

    The bastard!

    Going ballistic and destroying the man in front of her was the initial reaction but logic prevailed.

    She shook her head in denial. ''But, it can''t be.''

    That son-of-the-devil didn''t have the power to escape Hell by himself.

    She was an Archdemon, so she might have found out based on his aura if he was Luxen pretending to be her.

    A scream was a wild animal caught in her throat, begging to be released, but Luna hated to create amotion in Princess Ourania''s engagement party.

    Luna saw the exact moment Apollyon''s gazended on the man who held her�� Luna felt a flush of adrenaline from that one look from her husband as if he feared for his life.

    Apollyon''s fear made Luna slightly panicked, but she didn''t let him go.

    As she turned her head to face him bravely, Luna changed her mind and look down at her feet instead.

    She fisted the handful of her shirt without looking at him out of fear of what she might discover. Luna wasn''t ready to see Luxen, in case the mour abruptly wear off since she was a strong Archdemon, unlike before.

    She can sense him this time.

    As she buried her face on his chest, Luna pretended she still assumed that he was Apollyon.

    Let this stranger think she was just a simple wife who missed her husband in just a few hours.

    The shapeshifter had the nerve rx his tensed muscles��as if he just deactivated his fight and flight response to a threat�� as he wrapped his arms around her back into a warm��scorching--embrace to soothe her.

    Apollyon''s doppelganger was hot��literally hot and scorching--for some reason.

    Luna was tempted to jerk her head back, look him in the eye and see what was going on with him.

    Normally, Apollyon would rest his hands closer to her lower back or just above the globes of her ass because he desired to squeeze them, but this one was strangely respectful and gentlemanly.

    Both hands were close and fisted, and he didn''t spread his fingers on her spine.

    One thing was for sure.

    This doppelganger had no intention of feeling her up, which was also the exact opposite of what Luxen normally does because he was the Archdemon of Lust.

    Now, the shapeshifter shoved her off a little so he could see her face and gauge whether she fell for the trick or not.

    The only right thing to do at that time was to read his aura because that might answer her questions instead of just a wild guess.

    When Luna closed her eyes, as she concentrated on what she can find about this stranger, normally, she saw patterns, lights, and colors when she shut them, but this time was theplete opposite.

    The pitch-ck darkness of his closed lids shifted when a small me burned at the center until it grewrger, but it felt like it was burning on a safe space.

    It didn''t feel dangerous at all until it began bursting like white-hot stars, and she felt like something, or someone was burning her alive.

    She opened her eyes, but the only thing she could see was how Apollyon''s tunic looked from up close.

    The tiny details of their close were even simr.

    "Beloved." The man said in Apollyon''s voice, and she literally flinched.

    Luna had to get himself together and talk to him.

    Find out why he was doing this.

    Goddess!

    These strangers must get off at the idea of pretending to be her husband!

    Luna clung to him, but she let out a huge breath, staying calm.

    No need to alert the shapeshifter that she knew where Apollyon was.

    The doppelganger was too stupid to think that she wouldn''t recognize her husband when she was incredibly attuned to the entirety of him�� his body, aura, and life force��due to the increase of mating rituals and the hormones she emitted from the pregnancy.

    "I don''t believe you." She replied. " I just met my husband''s eyes just met a minute ago, stranger."

    One of his hands lifted from her back and sped her chin, forcing her to look him in the eye.

    Luna can see someone else underneath her husband''s unique eye color, his Prussian Blues morphing into dark greens.

    "Oh." He seemed to be taken aback by her calm response. "I thought you and the bastard were fighting." At that point, the doppelganger must have thought that Luna already caught his deception.

    ws elongating, they dug through the fabric of his clothes into his flesh to make sure he was real and not just a hallucination.

    She even shaped the hard pectoral muscles with her palms for good measure. "Maybe, I picked the wrong target."

    Luna squinted to see his face clearly when the mour began to wear off. "What do you want from me?"

    "Nothing." He just clicked his tongue, shaking his head in regret.? "I picked the wrong target."

    The man dropped something, and it exploded into mes.

 Chapter 524 - I Dont Care

    <h4>Chapter 524 - I Don''t Care</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (June 2021)

    ****************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ****************************

    It was just a few minutes when Apollyon had taken his eyes off Luna on the other side of the carpet to watch his mother gloating over the fact that she will marry another man��one that, curiously, wasn''t Princess Sapphire''s father.

    Apollyon clenched and unclenched his fists.

    His breathing was harsh, and his nostrils red from all the hatred in his heart, pouring all his grudges in one intense scrutiny simr to how he filled the rim of his goblet with the White Stag at the Will O'' Wisp on the day Luna told him about the secret.

    At the moment, the hurt he felt when he found out about Luna having sexual congress with an Archdemon who pretended to be him was simr to the pain he felt as he saw his impulsive shell of a mother marrying someone without even telling him this morning that tonight would be his mother''s engagement party.

    Not even Queen Titania and King Oberon.

    Not even Princess Sapphire, who was there with them drinking tea, hadn''t told him about it.

    He thought she had the potential to be an ally that he could trust in the Summer Courts��

    Did his mother even inform Sapphire about this Sir Tristan when nobody in the audience had seen this Knight before in real life?

    Earlier, Apollyon had condemned the presence of the aristocrats with Luna for their destructive habit of spreading rumors.

    As he was surrounded by the same crowd he had sworn to hate for their sh judgment, Apollyon couldn''t help himself but catch thetest gossip they had over this Sir Tristan.

    His ears perked up from the information.

    One, Sir Tristan was an unknown Knight from the Fall Courts.

    Second, nobody knew how he looked underneath that panoply of his.

    When he observed the Summer Queen on her throne, Apollyon saw her wear a grim expression.

    Her light blue eyes were cold and hard as she stared at the knight''s hand holding her daughter''s fingers as they walked down the aisle as if she was thinking,? ''How dare she brought this stranger into the family regardless of their poor background?''

    King Oberon wore his golden helm so Apollyon couldn''t figure out what''s on his mind.

    Did his mother tell Queen Titania and King Oberon about this abrupt engagement party beforehand?

    If his grandparents knew about the engagement, one of them could have opened the awkward topic and said, ''Hey, you son of a bitch��bastard, whatever. Your estranged mother is getting engaged with a lowly Knight from the Fall Courts no aristocrats had ever known. By the way, it''s up to you if you would attend or not. Your presence wouldn''t matter. It wouldn''t stop the event nor, would it change the oue. But we would absolutely prefer if you don''t interfere.''

    It wasn''t like he wanted to interfere.

    ''Really?'' The devilish side of Apollyon asked him. ''Why were you wistful when these two creatures walked down the red carpet on their way to sit on their throne with the Summer King and Queen?

    ''Well, I just preferred to be informed.'' He mused. ''It wasn''t like I was interested in my mother''s love life.''

    Baring his teeth in anger, Apollyon''s hand flew to his chest, wing at his tunic to get rid of the simr ache he felt in his heart when she saw how his mother had drastically changed.

    From the earliest memory Apollyon had of his mother''s love��visiting his room, embracing him, and singing him to sleep even if they just fought with his father, Princess Ourania waspletely unrecognizable.

    People change.

    His mother did that a couple of times, sneaking into his room to visit after his father, King Gwythyr, called her toe out from the Empress Pce to meet with him at the secludedir of the Vampire King opposite to the Scleranthus.

    Apollyon had no idea if his mother and father talked about him every time they shared their official bedchamber.

    Millenia had passed.

    The strong bond of a mother and child when Apollyon was young wasn''t there anymore.

    There was zero love and even the slightest care.

    Not even as universal emotion such as empathy.

    It can''t even bepared to air because at least air can be felt.

    Apollyon just felt somehow betrayed that no one in the Summer Monarchs bothered to tell him about it after iming that ''all-of-us-are-family-here'' bullshit.

    At first, Princess Ourania imed that he was her son at the Fairy Tea Party.

    Out of spite, he told her that he didn''t want to do anything with her anymore.

    The woman respected his request dly, and he was grateful for it.

    As he nced around at the aristocrats surrounding them, he searched for Princess Sapphire or Xerxes to see if the two attended Princess Ourania''s engagement party.

    Unfortunately, both were nowhere to be found, but Apollyon could scent Princess Sapphire''s presence in this Ball Room.

    She must be around here somewhere.

    Well, even if Apollyon did find her, he wouldn''t have anything to say to her step-sister either.

    He would bet his immortality on the line that Princess Sapphire wasn''t notified about any of this.

    That rebellious royal spy of a sister might have a violent reaction to the news and create a ruckus.

    Sapphire will strongly oppose the marriage if she found out her mother married someone other than her father, whom she hadn''t even met yet.

    His step-sister hadn''t even met her birth father face-to-face.

    She couldn''t even find out if her unique wings were a gic malformation from her father!

    Apollyon wouldn''t be surprised if someone told him right now that this Sir Tristan wasn''t introduced to his sibling.

    He pitied his pretty kid sister for being born in this world without knowing who spawned her.

    At least, Apollyon knew who his father was, even if he didn''t do a great job being one, and King Gwythyr tried his best to raise him alone when Princess Ourania began to iste herself in Scleranthus.

 Chapter 525 - On Purpose

    <h4>Chapter 525 - On Purpose</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (June 2021)

    ****************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ****************************

    Apollyon allowed himself to drown in the thoughts of an abandoned son who his mother had left to dally with treacherous men who couldn''t stay with her for a long time.

    There was this dark, murky feeling lingering through the expanse of his skin.

    A sharp de twisting into his gut.? Apollyon couldn''t understand why but it felt like there was something about his wife.

    He looked her over once or twice.

    Then, Apollyon glowered at the male fairies near her just in case they might try something funny.

    But no one was acting suspiciously.

    Suddenly, Apollyon heard a strange ringing in his ears before a scream pierced through his brain like the strongest of ymore, giving him that rity to drive the clouds away from his mind.

    It hit him like a lightning bolt to the tower of wing resentment he had and smashed them into a million pieces.

    He froze in ce, standing still and quiet as a tree grounding itself to the roots.

    Apollyon blinked slowly as if he was under a self-imposed trance.

    Then, he allowed his ears to pick up the chatters of the audience regarding Princess Ourania and Sir Tristan.

    He perfectly heard what they said, but he didn''t try to understand what they meant.

    Apollyon let it pass to his other ear without personal judgment, treating it like a one fine breeze passing by him. It was nothing.

    The amazing sound of the jester singing his heart and soul out with his loud yet deep baritone, along with the murmurs of the crowd, sent his goosebumps to rise.

    But there was this urgency at the back of his mind.

    Distress bubbled inside him, but it was an emotion that felt like it didn''t belong to him personally. When he became more aware of his element and focused on the present, he heard a high-pitched screaming in his head in that familiar voice of his wife,pelling his entire being to face Luna on the other side of the carpet.

    He was taken aback by the vision in front of him.

    There was another man who held Luna in his arms.

    Blood pounded in his ears his vision clouded with red.

    He just let her out of sight for a few minutes only to witness this?

    The stranger''s hands were locked on her hips, and she didn''t push him away like how a loyal married woman should.

    His hands shook from the force of his anger as he gritted his teeth.

    How easy would it be for her to almost bring him to the edge with all those provocative touches? Sometimes, she gave those priceless caresses for free but so quick to take them from him to tease him further. To edge him until he went mad and can''t take it anymore.

    Luna wouldn''t flirt with him for the rest of the night and do something like this on purpose to make him jealous.

    Apollyon couldn''t ept it!

    Before he went ballistic, Apollyon had to squint at the two figures, making sure he wasn''t hallucinating about her wife embracing another man in front of him without feeling an ounce of shame!

    His wife''s hands were settled on the man''s body.

    Upon closer look, Apollyon saw that she was wing at his chest with her long sharp nails.

    She wasn''t caressing him at all but she was pulling him closer.

    His brows knitted in confusion at sight.

    Had she been held hostage if they were standing so close like that?

    What if his wife was in danger, and she waspelled to do this because she was controlled?

    Apollyon couldn''t see the stranger''s face because he was looking down at his wife and sniffing the crown of her head.

    The man''s thick raven hair was short, silky curtains on his forehead.

    His eyes widened while his lips parted in shock.

    Apollyon became rmed when he realized that the man she was with wore simr clothes like him and even assumed the same build Apollyon had seen himself when he looked into the mirror this morning before he left with his wife to visit the Summer Castle.

    Before he could even wonder why Apollyon was surprised when his gaze shifted to the stranger''s countenance when he raised his head a little.

    They have the same face!

    Was it the Archdemon of Gluttony doing this in hopes of stealing her right under his nose?

    Apollyon moved forward, but he was immediately scolded by one of the Summer Guards for shoving other aristocrats out of the way and taking a step forward on the edge of the carpet.

    Without removing his gaze on Luna, he tried teleporting at the same spot where she and the other Apollyon stood, but something blocked him from doing using Fae Magic.

    The strong electromaic field shielded the two of them from any attempts of rescue, and it seemed to be not his wife''s doing but the man she was with.

    Luna was staring at him over her shoulder with wide misty green eyes, appearing torn.

    It almost sparkled under the golden orbs floating on Princess Ourania''s head as she slowly walked in that white gown.

    Apollyon knew that look.

    She was pleading with him not to cause amotion and trust her to handle it herself.

    Heat flushed through his body as muscles jumped under his skin.

    Never again!

    Apollyon can''t stand on the sidelines and let her deal with a threat.

    He can''t lose her again to Luxen if he was that Archdemon and not a Fae aristocrat who was pranking them for fun.

    Apollyon will make this trickster wish he was dead.

    After a few more tries, Apollyon found the weakest spot of this magic nullification field at the right timing and destroyed it and grabbed Luna''s forearm.

    For that split second, he saw a red stone being dropped on the floor on Luna''s feet.

    He didn''t wait to find out what it does and teleported his wife to safety.

    The explosion seared the air so strong that all the windows in the Ball Room shattered, ripping the Summer Faeries apart until they were nothing but charred flesh and specks of dust.

 Chapter 526 - A Magnet For Misfortune

    <h4>Chapter 526 - A Ma For Misfortune</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (June 2021)

    ***************************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ***************************************

    The explosion seared the air so strong that all the windows in the Ball Room shattered, ripping the Summer Faeries apart until they were nothing but charred flesh and specks of dust.

    Apollyon heard anguished cries from the crowd echoing through the Great Hall where she had transported Luna from.

    When he turned his head to catch a glimpse of it, that ce appeared like the floor had opened up to reveal a? small hell, burning the Summer Faeries who were trapped with the huge lick of cruel mes.

    The marble floor remained firm, but the fire burned anything it could reach, especially the carpets, tapestries, and fabrics of gowns.

    But Apollyon couldn''t care less about the aristocrats and the Summer Monarchs because he only had a tunneled vision of the woman who was his wife.

    Adrenaline rushed through his bloodstreams, making his muscles on his limbs all bunched up with paranoia.

    The f*cking enemies almost had her, and he broke through the stranger''s nullification field just on time. Apollyon knew the man was strong. But, Apollyon might have gotten stronger from the blood he drank from Luna.

    He shouldn''t forget that he was feeding on an Archdemon, and that should also be a possibility to turn him into one.

    That was why it was easy for him to prate the doppelganger''s defenses.

    But with him drinking Luna''s Archdemon blood.. will it make her Archdemon blood weak and diluted? Will his wife lose her powers in the long run for feeding on a Vampire?

    God''s blood!

    This wasn''t the perfect time to think about that.

    "Who was it, Luna?" Apollyon snarled after taking her to a safe location inside the ballroom away from the fire and the stained ss on the window shattering to the Summer Faeries from the force of the explosion.

    His hand on her forearm tightened into a squeeze, but he loosened his grip when he remembered it was his wife.

    He was hurting for something that was out of his control.

    Apollyon''s wife might be a strong Archdemon who can handle his strength, but he still had to remember that her wife was pregnant��and whether she was pregnant with Leo or not��he must treat her like she was made of delicate china.

    Now, that didn''t mean she was weak.

    His respect for her should drive her to treat her properly no matter what the situation or what his emotions were.

    It wasn''t her fault, so he should control his reaction and turn down any ming, as well.

    The enemies might find her easy to destroy her because she always got into trouble.

    After all, she gets distracted sometimes.

    It was his responsibility as a husband to cover her Vampire and Archdemon Empress'' weak points.

    This time, he repeated his question in a whisper.

    "Who was it, wife?" Shaking his head, Apollyon realized it was the wrong question and hugged her tightly in the middle of the fire. "Are you alright?"

    She replied in a soft, shaky voice as she "Yes."

    Heartbeat racing, Apollyon unclenched his fists and pulled his precious wife towards him, and embraced her with utmost longing.

    "I��You f*cking scared me!" He cursed, not at her, but he did it to get this rage off his chest for almost losing her. "You aren''t going to ever separate from me and dance with other gentlemen." He growled. "Do you understand?"

    A few hours without her felt like forever.

    He hated the short separation, but he only acquiesced to her wife''s request to dance with other gentlemen to humor her since it appeared like she was tired of talking to him and seeing his face every day.

    He also took this chance to find out if he can be interested physically with other women, dancing with them in proximity and touching their lower back. At the same time, they brought him closer, which shocked him at how desperate some thirsty noblewomen can be if they knew they were in thepany of the King.

    Did all of these women knew he was married, and the woman he was with from the moment they entered the Ball Room wasn''t just a date, or where they were pretending to be blind like the Spring Princess did?

    He had the urge to click his tongue and stare at this woman coldly in disapproval, but he contented himself with shrugs and pretending to be a bad conversationalist.

    At that point, he wasn''t even doing the mission Luna had given her about asking the women about his strange mother to gather some information.

    ''At least, she was in his arms now and that was the most important thing.'' He thought to himself, sighing with relief.

    "I just kept my eyes away from you for a few moments and this happened to you." The incident made Apollyon''s baffling mncholy over his mother''s sudden engagement cut off.

    In a way, he was grateful to get out of that unfamiliar emotion but not to the expense of his wife getting stolen by a f*cking doppelganger!

    Pursing his lips, he ground his teeth in ire as his gaze darted to the ensuing chaos of the Ball Room.

    Apollyon''s entire being turned more vignt as he hugged her so tight she might find it hard to breathe.

    Large hands wrapped around her small waists, Apollyon can''t help it, but he fought the urge to squeeze the life out of her just because he let his fear get the best of him.? "I already expected that this would happen. Trouble seemed to find you even if we were at the Spring Courts. I knew it was inevitable."

    "Apollyon." She sobbed as she buried her face in his chest just like what she did to the stranger. "i must be the most unfortunate person which existed in this whole Realm." Luna whimpered

    "Shh. Calm down, beloved." Apollyon whispered. He kissed her forehead and stroked his fingers on her long silver hair. "Don''t cry anymore."

    ''"What if your mother med me for this again?"

 Chapter 527 - Who Was It?

    <h4>Chapter 527 - Who Was It?</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (June 2021)

    ******************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ******************************

    ''Luna nced up at him as skin bunched around her eyes, giving him a pained stare, "What if your mother med me for this again?" There was audible stress in her tone as she clutched each side of his tunic, clinging unto him with desperation. "That I was the one who made the fire explode on her engagement party?"

    "No, wife." You had nothing to do with this. They would use me first before they would do that to you." Apollyon stared at her as he pinched his lips in a grim line. "This isn''t your fault. I am her son. I will not allow her to disrespect you."

    "She already hated me, Apollyon." Her fingers were getting restless as she wrapped her arms around his waist. "And the fire started where I stood. She will do everything in my power to pin me down��"

    "And I will everything in my power to defend you from any allegations against you." Apollyon muttered under his breath with gritted teeth, feeling rage boiling over just from the thought of it. "The first person who opened their dumb mouth and utter your name, using you? of the person behind this explosion, I will make sure I will squash their faces with? their bare hands until their head explode."

    "I don''t think��"

    "Wife. I was the person she had a bad blood with. Not? you. Being my wife does not give Princess Ourania the right to me you for anything just because she hated my guts. " Apollyon reasoned out. "Now, you must tell me what happened before that bastardid his dirty hands on you and during the explosion. Do it."

    Shaking her head, Luna caressed Apollyon''s back repeatedly to soothe herself. "Apollyon. I''m worried about this. The fire." She raised her arm to point at it, and Apollon looked over her shoulder. "It''s still there. Nobody managed to put it out yet." The Great Hall was toorge, and all the stained ss from the tall arched rectangr windows and the skylights cracked and shattered into pieces from the loud st. "The smoke is suffocating the--"

    "Their wings can fly them the nearest exit, beloved." He interrupted bluntly with a frown.

    "Some fairies are hurt."

    The mes rose with impatience to challenge the Summer Monarchs, who helped the sentinels and the aristocrats extinguish the mes.

    The sulfurous scent of burnt hair clung to her nostrils.

    She almost puked with disgust when it was followed by an awful acrid odor of burnt flesh.

    There was no bloody death. But the way the mes destroyed the Great Hall was crude and cruel, demanding to consume everything it pleased and turn them into ashes using the eternal fire the doppelganger brought over the engagement party.

    Turning faerie sentinels into a shriveled mass of ck soot must have brought this arsonist joy.

    "The Summer Monarchs are already doing something about it. King Oberon and Queen Titania didn''t rule the Summer Monarchs if they couldn''t solve the problem without any help from outsiders." Apollyon''s exnation was a slight reassurance, but she couldn''t help but retort, "Summer Faeries aren''t impervious to fire."

    Apollyon shot back. "Out of all the Courts, they can stand scorching heatpared to the rest of the fairies."

    "We must help them." Luna pleaded with her eyes and hope for the best that her husband would fall for it.

    "I would rather get you out of here." Apollyon scowled at her. "We must go."

    Luna''s feet rose from the ground as he lifted her off to deposit her in his shoulders. But her hands were quick to shove his chest hard that it threw him off two steps backward.

    "You stubborn little��" His Prussian Blue eyes glittered dangerously as he stalked towards her. He mped hisrge hands around her waist. "You will not go near that eternal fire, do you understand?"

    "No, Apollyon." She stood her ground and lifted her chin. "We will help them. If we escaped, they might think we are behind this."

    "Luna. I can''t let you go near the fire, alright? He mighte back if he saw you." Apollyon growled and brought her closer. "Stay in my line of sight."

    "Husband. We must--" Luna paused, and then she shook her head in frustration.? She disliked that Apollyon''s eyesckedpassion for other people. "This isn''t the time to talk."

    Apollyon was quick to change his mind when he saw her upset. "I will agree to help them put out this fire if you just talk about what happened. I will make sure everyone will see what we have contributed to their safety. Hell, I could even hire some witnesses if they wanted."

    "Alright. " Closing her eyes, Luna sighed with relief, and she began, "I was busy watching your mother and Sir Tristan but the colorful petals falling from the ceiling caught my attention. When I looked up, there are children holding their flower-filled baskets. I also saw Princess Sapphire overlooking the entire event. Until someone asked me if I loved the kids since my eyes were probably sparkling at how adorable they looked. He called me with the pet name you used ��"

    "The bastard must have observed us for a while to pick that up." Her husband''s forehead creased with worry. "But, what was the reason?"

    Luna looked him in the eye and replied, "He had the same voice as you have and I also thought he was also referring to our Leo. He looked like you, Apollyon. But now? that I remember, there is something strange about him."

    Apollyon''s voice raised, "Did Luxen slither from the hole he lived in just to taunt us?"

    "No, it wasn''t him."

    He pressed on, "Ravin?"

    "I almost saw his face behind his mour because I have focused all my power to see through it. But thest thing I witnessed were dark green eyes��not gold or silver."

    "Not an Archdemon." Apollyon cursed quietly at the revtion. "It must be a Summer Fae ying tricks on you and using mour."

    Luna nodded in agreement. "He must be powerful if he was a Fae, husband. It''s impossible for a simple aristocrat to maintain his mask for a few minutes enough to fool an Archdemon."

 Chapter 528 - Canceled

    <h4>Chapter 528 - Canceled</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (June 2021)

    ******************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ******************************

    Luna nodded in agreement. "He must be powerful if he was a Fae, husband. It''s impossible for a simple aristocrat to maintain his mask for a few minutes enough to fool an Archdemon."

    "What? else did he tell you?" Hands gripping her arms, Apollyon prompted her further.

    From the way Apollyon stared at her, he appeared as if he was about to kill someone if Luna told him something about the doppelganger that might set him off.

    "He told me that he picked the wrong target." Luna shook Apollyon''s grip on her arm so that she could show him the size of the stone with her hand. Caving in, he released her. "Then, he dropped this red stone that was the half the size of a fist. I swear it reflected my image like a mirror before it exploded and caught fire."

    As Apollyon rubbed his chin in contemtion, Luna could almost imagine the cog and wheels whirring in her husband''s mind as he connected the dots and made it made sense.

    Her husband snapped a finger in his face as if he had arrived at the most brilliant conclusion. "The turrets, Luna! That Fae must have been the one to set the Castle on fire and burned the guards alive."

    "Turrets? Oh my goddess, Apollyon!" Luna eximed in a high-pitched voice. Apollyon''s gesture was too contagious, and she didn''t notice that she had unconsciously snapped her fingers until she caught herself.

    She locked her fingers together and settled her hands in front of her.

    "You are right.? I remember Queen Titania and King Oberon had told us about that strange phenomenon." She whispered. "Everyone can see the fires from below. But if someone climbed the stairs to reach it, the Faerie sentinels stationed at night to catch the arsonist was already a mass of charred toast. The culprit remained free but no one was fast enough to catch this prankster."

    "King Oberon even sacrificed thefort of his bedchamber and stayed the night in the nearest room so that he could reach the turret easily the moment someone set it on fire." He added. "Nobody in the Summer Castle bore witness except you."

    "See?" Apollyon gave her a half-shrug in a ''Who cares?'' gesture. "I will screw them over if they pin this down on you when you were the only witness. They can me you all they want." Apollyon smiled a sinister smile. "But over my dead body."

    The orange mes glowing red and yellow hues were hot and violent, following their movements and torching the Summer Faeries'' insides without a care. Some of the Summer Fae''s magnificent wings were caught, and they fell backward,nding on the floor from the force of the explosion.

    Their limbs scrambled to put out the me licking their precious wings as tendrils of dark smoke floated towards the ceiling.

    The Summer Monarchs and the rest of the Summer Faeries who were uninjured from the explosion, formed a circle around the eternal fire as all of them raised their hands towards the ceiling to call on dark gray clouds, bringing forth a strong rainfall just like what Apollyon had done to extinguish therge bonfires during the chaos at Ostara.

    Luna concluded that the ability to call rainclouds fell on the Summer? Fairies'' expertise due to the scorching heat from the sun in this entire region.

    The Summer Realm needed a heavy downpour once in a while to wet the soil for the flowers and vegetation''s new growth as their source of food.

    After a few minutes of loud singing and murmured incantations, rain from the condensed nimbus clouds forming above them began to fall unto the eternal fire.

    But, nothing happened.

    Luna doubted they could still save the nobles who were caught in those gigantic mes.

    "The fire was too strong that it couldn''t be put out by water alone. It''s not just a simple fire spell through Fae Magic. It came from someone who can wield a stronger magic close to or greater than the Summer Monarchs." Apollyon remarked thoughtfully as both of them turned to look at the zing fire at the farthest side of the Great Hall where they can safely observe the ensuing chaos. "How can someone keep a mour for a long period of time in a group of powerful aristocrats?"

    "Were you able to see right through the impostor, husband?" Luna asked. "You are not just the Vampire King. I know you are a powerful Fae magician because you have the blood of the Summer Monarchs."

    "I saw him myself. You were right. We look the same, and his mour did work on me." Anger radiated outward Apollyon-like waves, simr to the heat radiating outward from the destruction of the terrible mindless fire who had no conscience and pity as it burned whatever was blocking them.? "I know you are telling the truth when you told me he used me as mour to get closer to you, and you embraced him back to which I am angry about.

    "Now,that I remember when I saw you with him, it got me all worked up." He ran a frustrated hand through his hair which brought Luna''s attention to his scowl. "Don''t tell me you can''t tell the difference from that dummy while I stood on the right side of the aisle just across you?"

    Luna''s hackles rose at the sudden usation. "I clung to him because I was quick to figure out he wasn''t you when our eyes met! The bastard thought that I couldn''t find you in such a crowded room while we are separated. I can''t let him escape for pulling such a stupid stunt." She matched her exnation with a scowl.? "Are you seriously picking a fight with me right now?"

    "We will discuss about thister." Apollyon said, his voice low and hushed as his Prussian Blue eyes smoldered when he scanned her from head to toe, drinking every detail of her. "I got sexually excited the whole afternoon for nothing. Our game is canceled. Temporarily."

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 Chapter 529 - Rescue

    <h4>Chapter 529 - Rescue</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (June 2021)

    ******************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ******************************

    "The fire is growing out-of control, husband." Luna murmured as she fisted the fabric of Apollyon''s chest while her other hand sped on his waist.

    Eyes widening, her lips parted with shock when she found out that it didn''t burn any of the carpets and other things in its brilliant blue at the base, roaring with an orange ze wrapped in dancing gold as if it was a seductress, calling out to her to swoop in and save those Summer Fairies who were trapped as they cried in agony.

    Her mouth went dry as if she couldn''t bear to look at the Summer Fae.

    Breathing hard, her mouth went dry from the exertion of willing herself to drive the living nightmares bombarding he mind.

    shbacks of her experience in Hell with the Archdemons all came back to her.

    This wildfire appeared like how Hellfire can torment these poor souls without a choice.

    No one helped them as they endured the pain from their skin peeling from their bones while everyone watched them like freaks disyed on the show.

    They couldn''t avoid it.

    They couldn''t escape it.

    Luna could only stare at it hopelessly while the remaining aristocrats who were brave and powerful enough not to leave, to run away and hide in whatever hole they can hide with instead of helping their fellow noblemen and women.

    Shame on them!

    Finally, Apollyon voiced out the truth that everyone was afraid to mention. "Nothing is happening!"

    The Summer Monarchs invoking the rain from the clouds they have gathered on the ceilings of the Great Hall was useless.

    When Apollyon and Luna got closer to therge fire, she thought that it had a mind of its own from the way it shifted about.

    Literally.

    Every Summer Fairies in the Great Hall noticed, and they were all frozen in ce, not knowing what to do to help when the one solution they have in their mind wouldn''t work.

    "We need something stronger than this. King Oberon." Apollyon urged him. He even dared to taunt his grandfather to make him decide faster. "You aren''t losing your infinite power with old age aren''t you?"

    Luna didn''t think it was a good idea but, maybe a grandson had some privileges.

    Apollyon could get away with this.

    "I am the King here, grandson." King Oberon dered in a loud booming voice. "I am themander of the Faerie Sentinels here."

    It appeared that Apollyon didn''t care if the Summer King thought that he was challenging his reign as he waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. "Tell your minions to close all the exits in the Hall, King Oberon. We need to make the rain stronger and create flood. We must fill them until it leveled our chest to kill this fire."

    She figured out that this was a different type of fire, indeed.

    This must be a type of Hellfire which only burned moving creatures if it got too close, the tiny ball of mes jumping out from the source once it got its sight on the target, clinging into the Summer Fairies''? clothes like leeches until the mes devour them alive.

    It knew where the people were as if it could sense its perceived enemies.

    It was either that or someone was manipting the fire out of his sheer will.

    She brought her fist to her lips and bit her knuckle, ncing at each of the fairies'' faces circling the wildfire with suspicion as they strengthened the rainmaking ritual.

    She wondered if the culprit was there all along, controlling this eternal fire and blending in among the crowd, treating them like fools.

    "I have to get in the fire, Apollyon."

    "Wife." Apollyon''s face was devoid of expression when he stared at her. "Are you out of your mind?"

    She replied silkily. "Would you approve if I said ''Yes''?"

    He squeezed her forearm, and then it gentled. "You annoy me when you act like this."

    "You need to care about other people, husband." Luna dared to smile even if her heart was pounding in her ears.? "We aren''t the only people who live in this world."

    Bending his neck, Apollyon dug his fingers at the back of her head, and his mouth swooping in for a torrid kiss, "Do whatever you want. I will do what I want. Later."

    ******

    Can an Archdemon like her survive this strange fire?

    The Summer Fair Folk represented the element of fire, and they celebrate this traditional ritual during the Summer Solstice.

    The First day of Spring was called the ''Ostara'' while the first day of Summer was known to be''Litha.''

    Luna knew about this since one of her dance partners droned on and on about it due to excitement since ''Litha'' was just two weeks away from Princess Ourania''s engagement party.

    At that time, she fought the urge to roll her eyes.

    She forgot that Fae''s rank was in the hierarchy, but she could tell that he was excited to travel to the Human Realm.

    He informed her that the veil would be thinner during the summer solstice.

    She would have told him to be careful what he wished for because he did get it. But that didn''t mean the Summer Fae would nod their heads in approval if some madman desired to go overboard with the celebration and burn creatures alive for the sake of his enjoyment.

    It was simr and different at the same time.

    Well, she could say that this eternal fire couldn''t rece the bonfire, the screams of the victims suffering couldn''t bepared to singing lively music and most of all, Luna wasn''t dancing on top of the fire, she was inside the wildfire to save the Fae aristocrats who can still survive from the major burns.

    She was careful not to inhale.

    Luna couldn''t feel any pain when she leaped unto the zing mes as she thought.

    No one from the Summer Monarchs or anyone at that stopped her from doing so.

    She could hear their amazement that some of them almost stopped chanting when they saw the mes licked and rose around her form, but it didn''t consume her.

 Chapter 530 - Red Stone

    <h4>Chapter 530 - Red Stone</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (June 2021)

    ******************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ******************************

    If these weren''t powerful aristocrats from the Summer Courts who were in danger right now, they should have perished from the first few minutes of their immtion.

    Their strong Fae Magic has provided them with extreme tolerance to this scorching pressure of the mes.

    But for how long will itst?

    Luna bit her lip.

    From the blood-curdling howls of screams of torment giving her ear-splitting headaches, Luna could tell how unbearable the pain had be to the Summer Faeries who were trapped in the wildfire.

    She thought the caterwauls would permanently shatter her sensitive eardrums.

    ''Goddess!'' Luna surmised. ''This would never end not until she did something about it and rescue them.''

    It was good that her husband quickly agreed to this another yet, stupid stunt of hers even if both of them already promised to each other that they should be discreet in the Summer Courts.

    Apollyon had urged Luna not to show the ruling nobilities what she was capable of.

    They might attempt to eliminate her if they deemed her too powerful.

    Her husband was determined not to repeat what happened at the Ostara celebration where the Spring Militia hunted them like fugitives, and Apollyon setting the Prison House of Krinoniapolis was thest straw!

    Her lips curved upward in a sardonic smile. In that case, Apollyon shouldn''t worry too much.

    Luna wouldn''t be eating demons tonight, and neither will she allow her husband to kill aristocrats who would use her of setting the guests on fire nor question her ability to dance in a wildfire without burning.

    They might discover that she might be an Archdemon like what the Spring Monarchs have initially thought.

    Apollyon was right.

    She was the sole witness of the criminal who set the turrets on fire and burning the Faerie Sentinels to death, so the Summer Monarchs have no right to condemn her after she saved the rest of them.

    Rather, he would iste themselves than be betrayed by allies who never hesitated to spout lies and gossip just because of rejection and other nonsense.

    All of the survivors were shouting so loud.

    The huge blisters on their body made them fall on their knees as they burst into mes.

    Their system can only process and tolerate so much pain before they stopped their loud, intense howling until it sumbed into this eerie silence.

    At this point, their bodies have shut down from the immtion.

    When the aristocrats thought they had no chance of escaping the fire, they stopped resisting the mes, wholeheartedly epting their fate simr to the Faerie sentinels tasked to guard the turrets.

    Luna hated that some of these powerful aristocrats had given up despite seeing her enter.

    The clever fire had spread through objects and furniture without igniting any of them, but only moving from Fae to Fae.

    The wildfire produced balls of me attacking them in their vicinity until a creature got swallowed by it.

    As the ze intensified, the plumes of hot air became denser, and the smoke rose and spread across the ceiling, mixing with the dark clouds which produced the rainfall.

    Some of the smoke had escaped from the shattered ss windows.

    The doorways were locked due to King Oberon''s orders after Apollyon suggested it to him. Apollyon''s grandfather was the King of the Summer Realms.

    He must have hated that moment where his grandson had something better in mind than him.

    Luna might not feel the burn as she moved around the ze, but the hot noxious smoke made her hold her breath.

    Navigating in this fire was like swimming underwater.

    The mes surrounding her body changed color as she did so��from ring orange then purple--as she stalked forward to the unconscious victims.

    She was wrapped in a golden light growing brighter and brighter as she reached for the crumpled form of a gentleman and pushed him out of the fire.

    When Luna looked over her shoulder, she realized that the body on fire had sustained its own me.

    Her heartbeat raced from the disturbing sight.

    The rest of them who were safe from the fire should figure out how to douse it without the fire transferring to another since the me had a mind of its own.

    It can jump from flesh to flesh!

    ''Please don''t touch the victim or the mes might transfer through physical contact!'' Luna warned as she projected it towards her husband. ''Smother the remaining mes with water if you can!''

    Apollyon caught that inner monologue, and she heard his deep voice echoing through the walls of the Great Hall as he announced to everyone.

    Her husband was so in tune with her mind.

    He listened well and believed her words, no questions asked.

    Luna appreciated his trust in her to solve the problem.

    Everyone followed her husband''s advice as they directed water from a separate rain cloud to extinguish the remaining mes on the victims'' clothes until it cooled down the burn.

    Since it was clear that nothing��not even a strong rainfall--can put out the fire, she had to physically remove them herself in a desperate attempt after a quick second discernment if they were still dead or alive.

    Some of the Faeries lying on the ground had lost consciousness after suffocation.

    Luna pushed about fifteen people caught on the wildfire and left those who couldn''t make it because their organs can no longer function from the damage.

    Apollyon''s help to produce rain that was as strong as the edge of the waterfall, producing thousands of gallons was enough to create a flood that can reach up to her waist.

    The rain flood sessfully extinguished the wildfire into a pit of glowing embers forming on the floor.

    There it was!

    Luna squinted at the red stone Apollyon''s impostor dropped before this ident.

    She didn''t pick it up right away and waited for it to cool.

    When she kicked it gently with her foot, it created a shower of sparks before it crumbled into charcoal.

    Summer Aristocrats were dead because of just one cursed stone.

 Chapter 531 - Aftermath

    <h4>Chapter 531 - Aftermath</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (June 2021)

    ******************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ******************************

    Apollyon didn''t care if she was scorching or not from entering the wildfire and hugged her immediately that her feet rose from the ground when he lifted her.

    "Is? the baby alright?" Apollyon asked as he put her down and tucked the stray strands behind her ears away from her sweaty face.

    "The baby and I are alright." She replied in a scratchy voice. "We are well protected by my magic."

    "Thank the goddesses. The anxiety almost killed me. " Apollyon eximed.

    She almostughed from the fact that her husband had adapted her favourite words if not for the disaster in front of her.

    Apollyon hand''s cupped her cheeks and showered kisses to her parched before adding,? "I don''t want my Leo to be toasted in your stomach while you rescue these strangers."

    After they made sure that the floodpletely wiped out the fire, King Oberon ordered the bronze-helmed guards to get rid of the water, throw it out of the Great Hall, and clean up the mess.

    The dark cotton clouds began to drift away when the collective Fae magic stopped holding them back to condense themselves at the high ceiling.

    Some of them couldn''t even exit the tall windows'' jagged cuts before the sun''s soft rays of twilight came and dissolved them.

    Expensive vases with hydrangeas and white lilies settled on decorative pedestals have survived the fire.

    The elevated part of the Grand Hall, where the golden thrones of the Summer Monarch sat, were untouched by the water.

    It was fortunate for the Summer Fairies that the fairy cakes and the wine bottles weren''t destroyed from themotion since the banquet table was located far from the isles for the couple to get to the throne.

    The tablecloths were dripping wet when the servants began to drain the massive room from the downpour of the rain.

    When Luna nced up, she saw the children, fluttering their fairy wings, holding the flower baskets, stare back at her in dazed shock.

    Her breaths became short.

    Luna was overwhelmed with emotions that she thought her heart was about to burst, so she averted her gaze and looked down at the floor.

    Luna apologized for the loss of the pure innocence in their eyes after seeing such tragedy.

    The cloying scent of the contorted burnt bodies of the Fae aristocrats brought tears to her eyes. Luna stood there with her head bowed down, staring at the blocks of dark mass.

    It was obvious that the engagement party was ruined. But can the celebration continue despite the ruined gowns and pantaloons and the sulphurous stench of death pervading in the atmosphere?

    Theirvish and extravagant gowns,? tunics, headdresses adorned with gemstones, and the precious pieces of jewellery bearing the family crests they wore were nonexistent.

    The nobilities were stripped of their identities and their position in the Summer Hierarchy. Nobody would have thought they were Summer Fairies of higher standing.

    Nobody can tell who they were before as theyid on the wet ck and white marble floor with their shrinking muscles and blistered skin.

    What about the loved ones they had left before they were burned to death?

    These aristocrats believed they would have a good time in the Summer Castle.

    What would be their family''s reactions if the King''s messenger knocks on their door and tell them the bad news��that their mother or father wasn''t able toe home because of this misfortune? That the loved one who they are waiting for until midnight was already dead?

    "Luna." Apollyon urged her gently, wiping the tear stains from her cheeks. "You must stop crying."

    "I can''t. I cant��" Luna shook her head repeatedly.

    Facing Apollyon, Luna settled her hands at the back of his neck, sniffing at his chest. "I can''t help it."

    "Come here." Her husband murmured in a soothing tone, tucking his chin over the crown of her head while his hands were wrapped around her. "You must be sensitive to what you have witnessed. Let it all sink in."

    "A-apollyon." Luna huped. "I feel�� I can''t look." Her voice broke as she whimpered. "I want to get out of here."

    Like King Oberon had told them at the Tea Party this morning, they were unrecognizable as the guards who were tasked to watch over the turrets to pinpoint the culprit''s identity.

    Luna had no idea why the impostor had chosen her husband''s form to use for his mour and attack the aristocrats.

    At first, she thought it was the work of the Archdemon of Lust, taunting her and her husband about his deception to make her his, topel her to have sexual congress with him.

    The bastard couldn''t escape Hell when his Archdemon spirit was bound to reign the Second Circle unless someone conjured him here.

    But she was rightfully wrong to assume that if the dark green eyes behind the impostor''s mour of her husband''s face were any indication.

    They manufactured a fatalistic eternal fire that was hard to quench.

    He was dangerous.

    But how could he do this abomination to his fellow Fair folk if he was indeed one?

    There was no chance that Luna could conjure that devil Luxen, as well, even by ident.

    ording to Ravin, an Archangel had already cut the soul ties between her and Luxen.

    The Archdemon of Gluttony told her that he offered to lick the angel dust off her in the Pleasure Room.

    Luna had another theory in mind that she wished she hadn''t thought of.

    What if the impostor assumed the Vampire King''s form to frame him up in this incident?

    They might think that her husband was the arsonist.

    Apollyon had vocally expressed his hatred and disdain to his biological mother as soon as he set his eyes on her in the Summer Courts?

    Will the Summer Monarchs me him for this?

    "Just hug me and don''t look at it." Apollyon interrupted her train of thoughts, "I warned you beforehand but you still wanted to help." He scolded her, but his tone was gentle.

 Chapter 532 - Engagement Ruined

    <h4>Chapter 532 - Engagement Ruined</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (June 2021)

    The author suffered from overfatigue and my stomach is upset. I will only update once today at 6/28/21 instead of two chapters. I''m sorry. Two chapters will resume tomorrow. Thank you for understanding.

    ******************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ******************************

    "Just hug me and don''t look at it." Apollyon interrupted her train of thoughts as he referred to the dead bodies. "I warned you beforehand but you still wanted to help." He scolded her, but his tone was gentle as he stroked her hair with a hand.

    "A-Apollyon."? The motion was soothing to the heart, calming her down almost immediately when she became overwhelmed with emotions.

    Were all of these feelings hers?

    Or was it because she was too sensitive because of the pregnancy?

    Her world seemed to spin that she had to cling to her husband. "I don''t know why I am crying so much." She shook her head as she sniffed. "I can''t seem to stop it."

    Was it her fault that she couldn''t save all of them because she dilly-dallied with Apollyon when he asked her too many questions?

    ''No. No. No.'' Luna paused when a sudden realization kicked in, and her tears stopped streaming down her cheeks. ''If Apollyon found out, she was ming herself, yet again, when he read her thoughts, he might p her to next week out of frustration!

    She cut off her musings and backtracked, removing herself as a factor or else she might convince herself that she was the Harbinger of Misfortune.

    She knew how Apollyon hated her self-sacrificial tendencies, and he made sure she knew it.

    From that day onwards, she promised herself that she wouldn''t me herself any longer.

    I don''t have any regrets helping them, Apollyon." Her chest ached from the effort of speaking while sobbing so hard.

    She nced up at him as she rubbed her eyes to dry them. "I just feel sad."

    "I understand." Apollyon murmured, holding her even tighter. "It''s alright to be sad. For some reason, I felt��I feel what you feel."Her body was soft and yielding in his arms. Maybe, that made him feel soft, as well. "It made me sad seeing you like this."

    For the first time, her husband was sympathetic to her for having empathy for these dead creatures.

    Summer Faeries'' lives were lost, and their existence was loved by the people who knew them.

    To Luna, they mattered whether they were strangers to them or not.

    Some of these aristocrats must have contributed something great to Society.

    This time, it was way worse from the demonic possessions at Ostara.

    At least, the Fae from the Spring Courts who were possessed by demons only felt pain when the sword stabbed them in the gut.

    The Summer Faeries have suffered death by burning.

    Immtion would be incredibly intense.

    It was the worst pain imaginable.

    The shrinking and contracting of their muscles made the joints of their elbows and knees flexed while their fists were clenched from the fiery, excruciatingly painful experience.

    Apollyon was particr that Luna detached from other people''s pain.

    Hepared ''empathy'' to ''crying over spilled milk'' because no amount of sobbing and pinning down me can help her bring them back.

    Honestly, Luna expected that he would tell her to stop the waterworks and move on because these creatures had nothing to do with their lives.

    "I don''t think I would be able to sleep, Apollyon." Luna said as she regarded her surroundings with a nk, empty stare. "The victims'' screams still ring in my ears even if the mes are long gone."

    "Don''t worry." He reassured her. "I will distract you as much as I can."

    "Now that the Great Hall was empty from the rain flood, we should call on the official Royal Healers of the Summer Courts." Queen Titania told the Faerie sentinels who waited for the Monarch''s orders.

    Luna could sense their slight relief from the way their tensed shoulders rxed as they scampered to open the doors of the Great Hall as they fetch the royal healers.

    Some of them called for the servants to clear the floor from the ss shards scattered everywhere during the explosion.

    Guards began to clear out massive debris that they could handle while the others ced the dead ck bodies in a sheet of canvas attached between two poles to transport them out of the Great Hall.

    Aristocrats who were practitioners of the Healing Arts stepped forward and provided assistance and care to the victims.

    Even if it hurt Luna to see them in agony, she decided to help them treat their injuries.

    But Apollyon blocked her from the survivors.

    He stopped her from doing so because she might be weak from the rescue.

    In addition to that, Archdemon Magic used on Fae might have severe consequences.

    All the more to add something that might pin her down for being strange.

    When the royal healers finally arrived, a few victims were already healed from the burns with the help of their peers, while the rest required special attention because they had it worse.

    The aristocrats who took care of them were mostly noblewomen.

    They were sent home early after they depleted their Healing Magic while the rest of them remained.

    Nevertheless, Apollyon was determined to go. "We shall go if you desire it, wife."

    "You and your wife can''t go yet, Your Highness." Princess Ourania spoke sharply as she held Sir Tristan''s gauntleted hand.

    "Why?" Apollyon''s eyes gleamed at his mother like the point of a sharp silver de glinting in the sun.

    Princess Ourania raised her chin. "I begged the Summer King and the Summer Queen to refuse the Vampire King and Queen to escape from the premises until we fullyplete the investigation."

    "Are you min��" Apollyon paused when Luna told him in his thoughts. ''Calm down, husband. Don''t be too quick to react or they might think we are too defensive.''

    "We aren''t running from anything, Princess Ourania." Luna pulled away from Apollyon and smiled at her. "We will stay until the end of? the engagement party with Sir Tristan."

    Luna knew that Apollyon''s mother hated her smile.

    Her posture went stiff as she regarded her with cold eyes full of contempt. "What is there to continue, Empress? My engagement with my beloved is ruined because of you!"

    "You did this on purpose because you didn''t like how I acted during the Tea Party this morning." Her eyes were bloodshot as she shrieked. "Just tell the truth and admit that this is your revenge!"

 Chapter 533 - No One Is Allowed To Leave

    <h4>Chapter 533 - No One Is Allowed To Leave</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (June 2021)

    ******************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ******************************

    "What is there to continue, Empress?" Princess Ourania''s posture went stiff as she regarded her with cold eyes full of contempt. "My engagement with my beloved is ruined because of you!"

    "You did this on purpose because you didn''t like how I acted during the Tea Party this morning!" Her eyes were bloodshot as she shrieked. "Just tell the truth and admit that this is your revenge!"

    Her eyebrows shot up to her hairline as her lips parted in shock.

    The usation had rendered her speechless for a few silent seconds.

    "What?" It almost confused her.

    Where did Apollyon''s mother found the audacity even to say outrageous things? "Are you out of your mind, Princess Ourania?" This was the only exnation! "Why would I even do that?"

    She took a step backwards from the blow, and Luna thought she would stumble if Sir Tristan weren''t there to assist her.

    "How dare you call me crazy?" Princess Ourania raised her voice.

    She was literally taken aback, scandalized at Luna''s bold statement.

    That alone gave her courage to fight back��fighting fire with fire��fighting word with words.

    If Apollyon''s mother had the strange desire for public humiliation, her wish was hermand. "Trust me. I can call you ''crazy'' in one thousand words without calling you crazy." Then, tilting her head, she gave her a condescending smile. "I am really creative when ites to people like you."

    "Well, ''people like me'' are the Princesses of the Summer Courts!"

    Luna crossed her arms over her chest and rolled her eyes. "Well, I pray to the all the gods and goddesses that you don''t multiply and you go extinct. I will make sure you are thest one of your kind."

    The Great Hall was as silent as a burial site.

    It was close to the truth because chunks of burned faerie aristocrats were taken from here an hour ago.

    Frown lines marred her forehead, "What?"

    Princess Ourania''s stupefied expression made Luna almostugh, but she tried her best to keep a straight face.

    Maybe, Apollyon''s mother couldn''t believe what she just said, not expecting her to dish out what bullshit she had served her.

    She stated the obvious in a whisper. "You don''t respect your mother-inw."

    "Well, you don''t respect me, either." Luna shrugged as she checked her cuticles, feigning boredom as an insult to her ''mother-inw''. "You were the one who began acting rude to me first. I just matched the energy you have been putting out into the world."

    "And how dark is that energy I? put out which gave you the signal to treat me like this?"

    "Why? You are criticizing your daughter-inw for even the littlest mistakes, throwing passive-aggressivement s here and there. Don''t you think I have a brain to notice what you are doing, making a fool out of me and making me look bad in front of the Summer King and Queen? The say those who are critical don''t like to be criticized. You disgust me." Luna had to pause to scan Apollyon''s from head to toe.

    She even added a snicker. "I did not exist to please you."

    Apollyon cleared his throat before he spoke. "My wife existed to please me, Princess Ourania.The deration might seem out of ce after what happened in this room but I just want to make it clear."

    "You might think you are perfect and you have no w. You can''t tell me and my wife what to do."He said tly. "Criticism is not an opening move to interact with your son''s wife, mother. It''s either that or you have stayed away from the Summer Courts'' eyes for too long."

    "You can''t expect kindness from people who you are rude with. If I''m not an Empress of the Vampire Realm, I would spit on you and pull? your hair out of your��"

    ''Wife. I thought you said not to react violently or they might think we are too defensive.'' Luna cut herself off when she heard Apollyon''s amused voice invaded her mind. ''You are as explosive as the wildfire from the red stone you are talking about. We must endure this until they allowed us? to go. You can''t let her get to you or she might consider it as your weakness if you are too caught up in this.''

    Luna nodded in approval and added in a gentle voice, "Please understand the most basic rule when interacting with me and my husband. We have zero tolerance for bullshit. You make it seem like I haven''t done anything right." She had to tell this arrogant hag what was on her mind. "You can''t put me down and belittle me or make me feel small without consequences, Princess. I should be thankful that I''m not like you. I don''t need to hurt others in order to feel better about myself.. You are just a Princess who can''t even find a Prince of her own and settled for a lowly Knight."

    "Empress." She thought it was a statue who called her, but it was actually Sir Tristan.

    He was so still and silent beside his fiance in his panoply that Luna almost forgot his existence.

    "You don''t know what my fiance had gone through. Don''t criticize when? you never walked a mile in her shoes." Sir Tristan''s voice was cool. "Having a sharp tongue will cut your throat."

    Apollyon burst out intoughter, and Luna stiffened at the abrupt sound.

    When he was through, Apollyon raised an open palm towards the knight. "Whoever you are Sir Tristan, you have no right to talk to the Empress of the Vampire Realm like that. Especially with that golden helm on covering your head. You look like a coward."

    When he crumpled that same hand into a fist, Sir Tristan''s golden panoply shrank with terrible nging noises that Luna had to cover her ears in fear.

    His screams were so loud and shrill that they could probably be heard in the next vige.

    The metal constricted his form while he was inside them, and he fell to the floor.

    "Stop!" Apollyon halted it, and Sir Tristan stopped howling.

    Princess Ourania jumped to his side and knelt beside him, sobbing. "You aren''t contented with what you have done to the Summer Aristocrats that you have to hurt my fiance, Apollyon?"

    Apollyon''s arm fell, giving his mother a disdainful smile. "You are ming my wife and now you are ming me when you are the only one who started all this?"

    "You are so just like your father." Princess Ourania spat, pouring all her hatred in those six words.

    Apollyon stiffened as he glowered at them.

    His jaw was set.

    "You should remember who raised me before you open your mouth."

    His handsome face was cold that Luna almost couldn''t recognize this stranger who had the face of her husband.

    Princess Ourania held Sir Tristan''s elbow, and the cubitiere and the brassard broke into pieces.

    Other than that, Princess Ourania''s fiance was unharmed and in one piece. Luna sighed with relief that her husband didn''t kill another person in the Great Hall.

    "That''s enough, Princess Ourania." King Oberon said. "We will start with the investigation so that we can set everyone free before the night ends."

 Chapter 534 - Anxious

    <h4>Chapter 534 - Anxious</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (June 2021)

    ******************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ******************************

    The Summer King was dead serious when he decreed that all the guests in the Great Hall weren''t allowed to leave.

    King Oberon and Queen Titania conducted their interrogations while they sat on their elevated golden thrones.

    Meanwhile, the remaining attendants of the engagement party, like Apollyon and Luna, found their own seats among the long tables at the farthest side of the Great Hall.

    There wasn''t so much noise in the tables except for low nervous chatters from the aristocrats, making the eerie atmosphere quite tense from the obvious smell of death and trapped smoke inside the building.

    The Summer Monarchs called the aristocrats one by one to stand in front of them just below the few flights of stairs, asking them questions as if they were potential criminals while they look down at them with their haughty chins.

    From the look of the intense focus of the Summer King and Queen, Luna could tell that they hanged unto every word of thedy or gentleman they called over.

    Unfortunately, Luna had no idea when she and her husband would be called when none of them knew the order of the interrogations.

    The Summer Faerie Sentinels hunted even the guests who had fluttered their faerie wings and flown away out of the sted windows right now to bring them back here as per King Oberon''s order.

    The rest of the Summer Fae Aristocrats ate the untouched food, taking their time to chew every small bite without enjoying the pastries much.

    ]Their eyes were averted, avoiding eye contact.

    They kept their eyes on the te, wearing unreadable masks.

    The first time,? Luna almost warned the Summer Faeries, taking a slice out of their strawberry and vani cakes, not to eat them since it might be dangerous for them.

    The sweet, soft and moist texture might feel like a delicious sponge melting in their mouth.

    But they still had to be careful of random tiny shards of ss flying andnding unto their food mixing with the buttery icing due to the explosion earlier.

    Otherwise, their bleeding tongue and blistered stomach might regret it.

    "ss shouldn''t be part of Fae diet." Luna muttered to the noblewomen in front of her, and those who heard her raised their heads and stared at her with wide, round eyes as if she had grown two heads.

    Luna blinked as she pursed her lips as he regarded them with the same intensity.

    After half a minute of silence, they looked away, and that was Luna''s cue that she was dismissed.

    It was clear that they don''t understand where she came from.

    Face flushed with humiliation; she sighed with regret.

    She should have minded her own business.

    She shifted her attention to the gentlemen who were taking a sip of wine from their goblets absently, staring into space.

    Luna couldn''t me them.

    Maybe, they were still in shock from the terrible events that have urred.

    Their beautiful, elven faces were devoid of emotions, but she couldn''t tell if they were mourning.

    The burnt fumes of the victim''s dead bodies stuck to every single thing in the room, reminding them of this horrible tragedy that can make someone wake up from nightmares until the wee hours of the night.

    Faeries might be known for being maniptive and ruthless to other Realms.

    But that didn''t mean all of them were immune when it came to witnessing their peer''s demise with their own eyes, watching them with a helpless look on their face while their fellow aristocrats were burned to death. Anybody else can suffer as long as it wasn''t them.

    There was nothing they can do, and that would eat away the little conscience they have left.

    Any attempts of saving them will also make them suffer the same fate.

    Watching them die is a punishment in itself.

    That was why Luna was ready to help the ones who had the potential to survive.

    The Fae Aristocrats weren''t heroes, and Luna understood because it was their choice.

    After witnessing that cataclysm, no one in here would probably sleep a wink until the morning, including her.

    Not unless they were the psychopath who dropped the red stone and set the floor on fire.

    Luna gave a sweep of a nce to the Summer Faeries around her, making sure to halt on each of their faces to check even the slightest curve of a smile as they hide their amusement.

    Who in their right mind would smile?

    If the impostor was still here with them in this room, he must have thought he was quite lucky for using her husband''s form in his mour so that he could get away with it.

    Luna clenched her fists as he gritted her teeth.

    She couldn''t stand sitting idle while she waited for the Summer Monarchs to release them.

    They were supposed to search for the culprit right now.

    They were waiting precious time.

    If Luna discovered who framed her husband up in this engagement party they didn''t want to attend in the first ce, she would make sure that he would suffer the pain of his victims.

    Luna would have to strap him to an iron pole, summon her own Hellfire and slowly burn him alive in public while the Fae Aristocrats and his victims'' families watch him die.

    "Everything alright, wife?" Apollyon turned his head to look at her weird as if he felt her hatred bleeding from her aura, "You look like you are about to murder someone."

    ''I would literally murder someone if someone would use you as the one who dropped the stone if someone had seen your impostor do it.'' Luna answered in her thoughts as she picked the pastry knife and began twirling it around her fingers.

    "Me as well." Simr to the gentlemen, Luna''s husband tapped his foot on the ground with impatience as his sharp Prussian Blue eyes were fixed unto the King and Queen''s thrones likesers.? In their scarred heart and minds, they were probably counting the time when the investigation would end like her husband. "Fae Magic surrounded the throne. I can''t pick up what they are saying despite my sensitive hearing. I think they are keeping a secret."

 Chapter 535 - Set You On Fire

    <h4>Chapter 535 - Set You On Fire</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (June 2021)

    ******************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ******************************

    "Did you? do this on purpose for the earlier argument with Princess Ourania?" Apollyon asked too calmly as he stood at the bottom of the stairs, ncing up at the elevated thrones of the Summer Monarchs.

    Princess Ourania and Sir Tristan sat at the right side of the Summer King and Queen''s royal seats, looking down at them.

    Apollyon''s fingers were interlocked with hers, and his mother noticed.

    Princess Ourania''s lips were pinched together as she glowered at their joined hands with tant contempt.

    Apollyon and Luna had no idea what had happened, but they were surprised to find out that all of the guests were released from the Great Hall after the individual inquisitions��except them!

    She clenched her jaw in frustration.

    Luna couldn''t understand why the Summer Monarchs decided to save them for the st'' when they weren''t the ''best.

    She fought the urge to curse the Summer Monarchs in their faces.

    They already caused enough ruckus from the earlier argument they had with the engaged couple, and she didn''t want to add to their ire.

    Well, they can''t say it was their fault when Apollyon''s mother started this.

    Apollyon and Luna were stuck, seated on the tables while the attendants left one by one.

    What kind of brains do they have��to think that she and Apollyon would be alright with keeping them here as thest one among all the guests, including those Summer Aristocrats who had escaped from the wild explosion to which the sentinels have brought them back one by one for the inquisition?

    For the goddess'' sake, it was almost midnight when thest guest aside from them went home!? This engagement party was stupid!

    When she finally noticed what the Summer Monarchs had in mind, Luna had lost all her patience.

    She was tempted to resort to pulling hair out of boredom��preferably her mother-inw''s light auburn long hair.

    Now, Apollyon was the oppositepared to Luna''s current mood as they waited for the King and Queen''s response.

    Well, She would hope their logic would make sense, or else she would find a way to recreate the wildfire and use them on Apollyon''s mother!

    Hopefully, that would melt all the biased resentment in her heart.

    "Is this some kind of a jest, Your Highness? Because if it wasn''t, it''s not�� " Luna had to pause to curb the ''f*cking'' curse from slipping out of her mouth when she remembered that it was King Oberon she was talking to, "--funny!? Why would we be thest people you would ask for the inquisitions when we were here the whole time? Do you think we have all the time in the world to make an Empress and the Vampire King wait like this?"

    Luna had to throw a cool nce in Princess Ourania''s direction.

    There was no other person in this room who had the most malicious scheme in mind!

    Luna would point an using finger at her first!

    Her husband was the one who was grumpy at first, scowling at the Summer Monarch''s direction, trying to read their lips to figure out what had been discussed since they couldn''t hear a single thing.

    Luna surmised that it was simr to a mirror-filled room where they have found Apollyon''s mother talking to herself without any sounding out of her mouth��only eerie silence.

    Magic barriers which vacuumed all the sounds in the room were ced on the walls.

    There must be something that was discussed without their knowledge when Apollyon noticed the sound-proofed barrier around this area.

    Now, they just had to figure out their exnation.

    "We picked both of you for thest inquisition since you will stay in this Summer Castle for the night. We are sending all the aristocrats home early."

    Luna raised an eyebrow at that.

    Apollyon drew his breath as if he had summoned all the patience in the Faerie Realm to deal with his grandparents.

    Then, he released them before speaking,? "Don''t force us when we haven''t agreed to your invitation. You didn''t ask our opinion regarding this. Forcing us to stay at the Summer Castle tonight without any exnation makes me suspicious. Thank you for the offer. But my wife and I would be staying at the Vinca Inn, King Oberon. Queen Titania."

    "Alright." Queen Titania shrugged as she settled her hands on herp. "Suit yourself. But be prepared." She challenged, and her powerful voice echoed in the emptiness of the Great Hall. "This will take a long, long while."

    "I am prepared, Queen Titania. But if this interrogation would take longer than five minutes,? I would set your thrones on fire."

    "Apollyon." Luna almost choked on her saliva when she heard Apollyon''s statement.

    It was also what she had on her mind!

    She wondered if her husband heard the evil ns she had been scheming for revenge.

    Her smirk curled into a frown when she recalled the freak ident from earlier.

    She had no right tough.

    This wasn''t aughing matter.

    "The countdown had began the moment we got up from our chairs. Don''t waste our time and let''s begin." Apollyon squeezed her hand in reassurance without looking at her. "My wife and I had other more important things to do."

    Instead of Queen Titania, it was Princess Ourania who spoke to her. "In that quick second before the explosion, the guests have seen you drop a stone while I walked down the red carpets. You were with your Empress." Her using tone made her roll her eyes as she pointed the finger at her when she mentioned, ''Empress.'' "That only strengthened my belief that both of you have nned this to ruin my engagement party! You see, Queen Mother. I know that my words have weight in them." She turned her head to Queen Titania as she sought an ally to her cause.? "I am not a princess who would use without basis."

    "There was no evidence."

    "But, they are witnesses around who have seen them!"

 Chapter 536 - Hephaestus

    <h4>Chapter 536 - Hephaestus</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (June 2021)

    ******************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ******************************

    "We didn''t have time to n, Empress." Luna shot back, and her tone was as sharp as the jagged edge of the ss on the window. "We just figured it out that today was your engagement with your beau. So our only fault was we made the wrong choice to celebrate with you."

    "Don''t worry." She reassured her. "We? would never make the same mistake again."

    "I already told you during the Tea Party, mother. Whether you live or die isn''t important to me. Your existence doesn''t matter. Why would I go through all that trouble to kill you and include other people in Hell? I am not that petty. I have lived without your existence. The Aristocrats haven''t done anything to my wife and me. We are powerful together. You can''t hurt us. If we want to kill you, it will be quick.? We don''t need these borate schemes unless if we wanted to be as dramatic as you." Apollyon exined with a tired sigh. "If this were you framing me up because I don''t want anything to do with you after meeting me, this tactic wouldn''t win me over."

    "It came from your own mouth that you would set the thrones on fire. Your grandparents have heard it, Apollyon." Princess Ourania''s Prussian Blue eyes protruded as she stood up from her throne in anger. "They have ears at each side of their head. How can you throw that threat around so easily? That''s because you have done it before!"

    "Did I set your thrones on fire?"

    "We will wait for the five minutes you promised."

    "I don''t im any mother had the same face and mind as you," Apollyon replied through his teeth with forced restraint. "You are ming us for something we didn''t do. So what do we get from ruining your engagement party?"

    "You just want to see me upset!"

    ''Bitch, please.'' Luna gritted her teeth in frustration.

    At this point, she would choke Apollyon''s mother just to shut her up. ''You aren''t that important to our life.''

    "What''s wrong with you?" She was the type of woman who had no right to be a mother and raise a child.

    That child would be like her��a hot,? beautiful mess of an old hag.

    Luna can''t believe this shrew had married another man when she couldn''t even take good care of Apollyon when he was a child and, ultimately, Princess Sapphire.

    Disgusting!

    "I''m onlymitted to making my wife happy," Apollyon replied. "Seeing you upset is not on my list-to-do." If Princess Ourania went overboard, she will the first name on Apollyon''s Kill-List. "There is nothing that can change your mind. Believe what you wanted to believe if that helped you sleep at night."

    "Apollyon!" Apollyon''s mother was now shrieking. "Why couldn''t you just respect me?!"

    "Respect is earned, Princess Ourania. Unfortunately, that isn''t innately applied to creatures who are older than the one you are asking from."

    "I give birth to you! Couldn''t you ept who I want to marry?" Now, she had resorted to begging after insulting them? What the f*CK? "Can''t you just be happy with my decision?"

    "I don''t care if it was the horse you married and not the Knight!" Apollyon bellowed, and Luna flinched. It was clear that he was fed up with her. "What do I have to do to make you believe that it wasn''t me?"

    "I am your mother!" Tears fell from her beautiful eyes as she screamed. Her voice was strained. "Why can''t you just forget the past and love me as you should?"

    "You see, Princess Ourania. I can''t love someone who gets off on hurting her loved ones on purpose. Thank you for removing yourself from my life. You might be the one who gave birth to me, but? I am not a part of you. I am not an extension of you. You don''t own me."

    "Apollyon��"

    "I am tired of this argument." Apollyon''s response was cool and soft. Dangerous. "We can''t get anywhere with this." One word that might set him off might push him to kill. "It''s a repeating cycle. King Oberon. If you would like Princess Ourania to handle this from here,? we will excuse ourselves. I refuse to talk to a child any further."

    "Well, then." King Oberon told him in a loud, booming voice. "You know the usations thrown at you. I want you to tell us what happened and defend? yourself."

    "King Oberon. You became the Summer King for nothing. The Fair folk have the ability to determine truth from lies. So listen carefully because I am just going to say this once."

    "I was on the isle on Sir Tristan''s side before the explosion while my wife was near Princess Ourania--"

    Luna cut her husband off, deciding that she should be the one to continue the story, "I was looking up at the ceiling as I watched the little fairies, throwing flower petals above our heads. Then, I heard my husband''s voice from behind, and I faced him with excitement. I thought he teleported to me that I immediately hugged him without my knowledge. We exchanged a few words after that, but it didn''t feel right. When I looked over my shoulder, I saw my real husband, who was in shock. Our eyes met before he saw the man with me, and Apollyon was aghast when he saw that he looked like him. I tried to hold on to the fake Apollyon''s torso so that he wouldn''t escape as I feigned my ignorance. The impostor quickly figured out that I caught him. Before he dropped the red stone, he told me that he picked the wrong target."

    "He picked the wrong target?" Raising an eyebrow, King Oberon''s posture stiffened. "Tell me about this stone. What did it look like?"

    "There was no evidence anymore when it turned into a parched substance. It is red, yet it can reflect images like a mirror. The moment he dropped it on the floor, it caught fire, creating a massive explosion." Luna repeated just what she told Apollyon.

    King Oberon gasped when he heard her description of the object. "That sounded close to a Hephaestus stone."

 Chapter 537 - Old Hag

    <h4>Chapter 537 - Old Hag</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (June 2021)

    ******************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ******************************

    Apollyon didn''t wait for King Oberon''s approval to exit the Great Hall.

    Fortunately, no other Summer Faerie Sentinels came running after them as they walked through the threshold and that only meant one thing!

    The Summer Monarchs had released them after they figured out the perpetrator.

    Let them discuss why the red stone was thrown on the day of Princess Ourania''s engagement party.

    Luna and Apollyon couldn''t care less since it had nothing to do with her.

    She didn''t have any debts with the God of Fire.

    That also exined why Luna couldn''t see through his mour right away.

    Gods were stronger shapeshifters than Archdemons.

    Apollyon and Luna might not be in the same room as the Summer Monarchs.

    But that wouldn''t prevent them from talking about the odd urrences the moment they arrived at the top floors of the gazebo.

    Raising her arms in the form of a cross, Luna threw herself to the bed, dead-tired from all the dancing and waiting for their turn during the inquisition.

    Shended on her back.

    The mattress felt as soft as a cloud, and Luna moaned from the feel of it.

    She was in heaven!

    "I could not believe that the red stone was owned by the god Hephaestus." Luna said out loud in a mid-yawn, and she covered her mouth. "Now, that I think of it. When you saved me from the explosion, I swear I saw him drag his left leg a little bit."

    "It was merely King Oberon''s assumption based from how you describe the stone. The incidents happened? too fast and you were the only one who have seen the stone clearly. He took your word for it." Apollyon replied as his fingers fluttered on her ankles before taking each shoe off and settled them under the bed.

    "What did the God of Fire have to do with the Faerie Realm? I haven''t asked King Oberon the exact date when the fire attacks began at the Castle''s turrets. Faerie Sentinels have sacrificed their life to find the culprit. And many of the Aristocrats have died from the wildfire this afternoon. I hope this will end soon. I am tired, Apollyon." Luna blinked rapidly, slowly, and then she closed her eyes. "Can''t the gods and goddesses bestow me peace of mind aspensation from what? I have suffered in Hell?"

    "Am I not your peace of mind, beloved?" Apollyon murmured in her ear, his voice low and oddly hushed.

    Flinching, she lifted her shoulder from the ticklish sensation.

    Wow!

    Luna didn''t notice the corner of the mattress dropped from his weight when he climbed with her.

    Her hand groped for the nkets and covered her lower half as a shield.

    Yet, she doubted if it was effective.

    "You, as well. You don''t give peace." Luna rolled to her side and faced him. "I just want to sleep at night without someone waking me up with his erection buried on my buttocks while you hug me from behind."

    "I feel cold when you hog all the nkets. You don''t leave everything for me." Apollyonined as he nced at her waist. He pulled the coverlet, but Luna kept it in ce around her waist. "See?"

    Face flushed with warmth, she cleared her throat and spoke. "You don''t need the nkets. You are a vampire, Apollyon. You can perfectly withstand the cold."

    Apollyon raised an eyebrow at her, staring at Luna with a smouldering gaze. "But you are a Vampire since I turned you. You can withstand the cold."

    "The nkets is for my stomach. I like to huddle it around my waist." Luna reasoned out. "It makes me feel warm. I can fall asleep in an instant."

    "I can make you warm, though."

    She knew what Apollyon had in mind, but she was tired to do it until dawn.

    "You don''t make me warm, Apollyon." She averted her gaze as her fingers curled onto the edge of the coverlet, "You make me hot."

    "Hot. And bothered."? His Prussian Blue eyes twinkled withughter, yet, there was a wild and reckless edge to it.? "My favorite mood of yours."

    Her husband never failed to make her squirm.

    "Don''t start." She pulled away from him, and her husband let her go.? "You libertine! You handsome rake!" Luna yfully punched his chest as she whisper-shouted.

    Yet, she can''t wipe the smile out of her face. "Those sweet lines will do no good. You can''t seduce me."

    "Anyhow, I don''t need the nkets. I only need you." He caught her fist, and his arms closed around her form, strong and protective. "The nkets will be yours. I will ask the royal seamstress to make you five coverlets with the designs and the textures you want."

    Five coverlets?

    She frowned. "That''s a bit overboard, husband."

    "I have heard that pregnant women are very particr about that."

    "Well, you heard wrong." Luna replied. His tunic muffled her voice. "Let''s just share. I feel guilty for keeping it all to myself."

    "I am relieved that King Oberon knew you were telling the truth from the nuance of your voice." Apollyon said."The Fair Folk can''t tell a lie as much as they could lie. Some of the Monarchs in the Faerie Courts might not be outright liars. You know how? they can manipte their words toe out as truth to suit their purposes."

    "Like your mother, for example. You are Half-Fae, Apollyon. Can you determine her intentions��whether she was lying or not? I have a lot of questions to ask her if she wasn''t such a madwoman."

    "She is a madwoman." Apollyon agreed. "If you didn''te into my life, I would have turned into a madman. Sometimes, I wonder who turned my mother into something like this."

    Luna pushed his chest so that she could look up at him. "Princess Ourania told us before the Tea Party with the Summer King and Queen. I think it was because of her parents forcing you to marry your father. From what I can get from her side of the story, your father is horrible. He killed the Fae your mother loved and dragged her back to the Castle to marry her right away and turn her into a vampire."

    She sighed. "I want to sympathize with your mother, Apollyon. But the way she treated us is disgusting. She can''t even be kind for an hour and be civil around us. I just can''t force myself to love--"

    "Don''t force yourself." Apollyon''s response was quiet as his arm settled to her ribs. "I''m not telling you to love her when I can barely stand her selfishness. But we should do better when it came to our responses."

    "I agree. We should not match how immature she was." Luna nodded, but her heart and mind told her ''no.''" It just pissed him off whenever she recalled the old hag opening her mouth. "She is so frustrating��ming us for something we didn''t even have the heart to care about!"

    Apollyon asked softly."We should not give her power to control our emotions and ruin our lovely days just to satisfy her whims, alright?"

 Chapter 538 - Will You Still Love Me?

    <h4>Chapter 538 - Will You Still Love Me?</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (June 2021)

    ******************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ******************************

    In the Vampire Realm, Apollyon dressed as a royal at all times, wearing borate and long tunics and robes made of silk gathered at the waist, embroidered with golden leaves and tied with golden belts.

    He refused to be out of style.

    Only the blind among themon people would mistake him for someone other than the King.

    Apollyon couldn''t believe how he cared so much about his image as a ruling Monarch.

    Yet he had given that up--wearing for something simpler and practical such as shorter cloaks, tunics and shirts--since he would be travelling with his wife.

    At this point, he didn''t care about what everyone thought of him.

    Apollyon recalled how his father taught him to be a future King at a very young age.

    King Gwythyr was strict and cut-throat, but he had spoiled him as a kid.

    Anything Apollyon wanted, he shall get it as long as he would obey King Gwythyr''smands and follow his father''s will.

    He strove to be the epitome of prestige.

    One unruly hair on his forehead or the prince''s golden crown was knocked askew by a child''s enthusiasm, a crumpled shirt, dirt or a tear on his luxurious wolf fur robes during wild boar hunting were considered weaknesses to his allies who came over.

    Millenia had passed.

    Apollyon''s memories were blurry that he couldn''t remember what they looked like.

    Apollyon defied his father only twice.

    Once.

    When Apollyon was nine years old, he insisted on bringing a cute dark-eyed ck pup wagging its tail as it followed him around while he and his father strolled around the vige marketce and talking to the merchants.

    He begged his father to bring the dog back to the castle and take care of it as a pet.

    King Gwythyr refused, iming the mutt was a weak and useless predatorpared to a wolf cub.

    He convinced him that he would find him a wolf cub to raise as a huntingpanion.

    He was such a spoiled young brat that he thought he just had to throw a temper tantrum in public so that his father would approve of the dog, but it turned out it was the opposite.

    King Gwythyr kicked the pup, and it yelped.

    He perfectly recalled how the young Apollyon''s mouth parted in shock at how the Vampire King stomped hisrge boot on the animal until he died from the incessant blows.

    Eyes wide, Apollyon stared at the poor creature as it whimpered with every hit.

    Frozen in ce, Apollyon wished that the precious ck dog he had his eyes on would die right away so that it didn''t have to suffer anymore��so that he didn''t have to cringe with his father''s every kick on the poor animal.

    From that point on, Apollyon didn''t darey his gaze on a dog ever again.

    The second one was that fateful night he killed King Gwythyr.

    That was the time when he turned into a fire-breathing monster, devouring both vampires and servants running around on sight.

    Lilith had stitched the Archdemon of Gluttony''s soul into his.

    Shepletely ruined his life just because he had no interest in her before and after she became a High Priestess.

    Lilith made many attempts to be closer to him in the past��simr to what she did previously at the Spring Courts while hunting Lilith''s conjurer with Prince Aspen.

    The snake almost seduced him to drink her blood.

    It was the very same tactic she used��propositioning him to be his secret lover and offering him with her blood and flesh back when she was supposed to be High Priestess of the Vampire Realm.

    Apollyon made the mistake of allowing her to enter his life.

    Lilith into his lonely heart who only longed for a true friend he couldn''t find in the Consortium.

    A Crown Prince with an absent mother--who would rather stay in Scleranthus--was a position he didn''t like but had to ept.

    It was what was expected of him.

    It was his fate to be the Vampire King.

    Apollyon had rejected her like a gentleman when she entered his bedchamber out of nowhere as she learned to use Underworld Magic for the first time.

    She was supposed to treat his refusal as a saving grace so that she wouldn''t have to betray the Goddess of the Underworld.

    Lilith stripped in front of him without batting an eysh, made Apollyon avert his gaze and turn away from her.

    He did not dare look.

    Not even once.

    Lilith''s confidence at offering her virginity to him made him close his eyes and exhale a harsh breath, wondering if she was chaste in the first ce.

    Looking back, he knew, as an adult prince in his puberty, that he can have any woman he desired.

    Apollyon was tempted to ept her proposal, but he endured the stirring in his loins and told her not to speak to her again.

    Who in their right mind would mess around with the High Priestess his father had appointed from the Human Realm when Apollyon wasn''t certain what kind of rtionship this beautiful woman had with King Gwythyr?

    What could go wrong?

    Everything.

    "Apollyon." Luna interrupted his trip to memoryne, and Apollyon sighed with relief.? "What are you thinking? about so deeply that you have gone silent on me?"

    He was d she did because it was a nightmare.

    It took him thousands of years to find his mate.

    He wouldn''t lose her and let her escape his clutches.

    Apollyon was determined to love her for another thousand years or so��even until the afterlife.

    He would follow her to the ends of the earth��to whatever Realm she would reincarnate after they perished.

    They were inseparable as lifelong mates.

    He was adamant about keeping it that way!

    He should find the means to shackle her to him if their physical vessels turned to ashes. "How can I bind you to me if someone managed to end my existence?"

    "Your question is scaring me." Luna looked at him warily. "No one would end you because I would have to kill them first before they get to you."

    "I told you before. I want to be an Archdemon." He gave her a disdainful smile. "Would you still love me if I be a ruthless Archdemon?"

 Chapter 539 - Feelings

    <h4>Chapter 539 - Feelings</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (June 2021)

    ******************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ******************************

    "Would you still love me if I be a ruthless Archdemon?"

    "Of course." Luna murmured. "But, you will not be ruthless because I would rein you in."

    Her dainty hand lifted in front of their faces tond on his brow so that she could smooth it with her thumb before it would knit into a scowl. "We will be the first good Archdemons in the History of Hell."

    Apollyon nodded with satisfaction, but then he had another question in mind.

    "If I have be an Archdemon and my vampire body had turned into ashes, would you still love me even if I have possessed a different body than I have?" Apollyon asked.

    Luna had to narrow her eyes at that because she found it ridiculous.

    Was this a trick question?

    "Apollyon." Luna hated what Apollyon had implied, wishing it wouldn''t happen. Not even in an alternate reality.? "What are you on��"

    "Just answer me."

    "Of course, I would love you. It''s your soul I fell in loved with��" Luna replied. Her husband might have a vtile temper, but he was still capable of being gentle and understanding.? "--when you changed yourself when I didn''t trust you before. It was never about your appearance."

    "I knew it was never about my appearance." The corner of his lips quirked with wry humour. "It wasn''t enough to bend you against my will."

    "Having a handsome husband was just the icing to the cake." Luna smirked as her thumb moved to stroke the darkshes of his left eye. "You are the only stroke of good luck from my never-ending misfortunes. I must have saved a King in my past life."

    "You did in this life, beloved." Leaning forward, Apollyon''s mouth brushed leisurely against hers as he breathed in her red velvet lips.

    Apollyon''s touch was so gentle that it made her melt.

    Apollyon stretched one leg over hers and hugged her.

    The warmth was simr to sitting next to a lit firece in the cozy parlour.

    "I love you." It was a candid, sleepy sound escaping from him. "I was surprised we even made it this far."

    "If I told my past self that there was nothing to fear when it came to your husband and that he would respect, listen and support your decision even if he doesn''t necessarily agree with it, she would haveughed in my face." Luna smiled as she pictured talking to her past self regarding their strange husband.

    "You don''t get harmony when everybody sings the same note. We made it work because we disregarded our differences and move forward, trying to stay in tune with each other." The enticing scent of pine cones,venders and choctes drifted through her nostrils when he was this close to her. "And trust me, wife. If I turn into an Archdemon, I will only kill evil people who will try to mess with us. That''s it." He shrugged with nonchnce. "I promise."

    Luna gave him an odd look. "That smile is something sinister, husband. I think determining the bad from the good people is difficult��"

    Apollyon''s head flinched back slightly in surprise. "What do you mean, difficult? If a person is caught in the act doing something evil, we must kill the criminal on sight. We couldn''t let him run amok because he might do something worse to the rest."

    "What if we are the viins in everyone else'' story?"

    "Bing a bad person in someone else'' story is inevitable. We can''t let the Archdemons win even if we are one. We make mistakes because we aren''t perfect. But we should never forget to alwayse back to the light."

    "You are right, Apollyon."

    "Of course, I am right." Luna''s hand on her husband''s cheek fell to the bed when he rolled onto his back and got up.? "You should listen well and follow what your husband said."? The next moment, the bastard was on top of her as he locked his arms on each side of her head. "Just lie back and don''t move."

    "Husband." Luna''s eyes widened when he began stripping, which made her heart pound at her throat. "Why are you taking your clothes off?"

    "I thought we are going to have��" He trailed off, a bit unsure.

    Luna narrowed his eyes at him as she jutted her chin, daring him to say the word.

    Apollyon snorted, yet he continued to slide his biceps out of his tunic.

    "Sex?"

    "No!" Luna screeched. Then, breathing hard, she pushed his washboard muscles away, even if they made her mouth water.

    "You s-still w-wanted t-to��" Luna sputtered, scandalized, "The deaths didn''t faze you at all?!"

    Apollyon blinked at her in response.

    "Tell me the truth."

    "Tch." He pouted. "You, women, always care about feelings."

    "Yes, I care about your feelings!" Luna admitted. "How are you feeling right now?"

    "Oh, my lovely wife." Groaning, Apollyon surveyed her face in disappointment. Then, he buried his face in her neck, inhaling her scent.? "Is this another inquisition aside from the one we just left?"

    "Tell me the truth because that bothered me."

    "Hmm. I don''t want to lie and I will not sugarcoat the truth to soften the blow. I am disconcerted at the explosion and the Summer Nobles who have died along with it. This isn''t something new? to me as I have seen something worse in the past." The smothered reply of deep baritone vibrated against the skin on her shoulder. "I am just? d that the impostor hadn''t taken you away from here and I have grabbed you before he could."

    "Now about his identity, I am not certain if he was the just a bored god? who frequent the Summer Realm just so he could burn faeries and check how much they can tolerate before they die." The warm yellow lights of her golden orbs in the observatory spread over his masculine features like a soothing balm. "Maybe, it was a strong Fae Magician, blending among the crowd of aristocrats to Princess Ourania''s engagement party."

 Chapter 540 - Look At The Stars

    <h4>Chapter 540 - Look At The Stars</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (June 2021)

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    "Based from her attitude, I wouldn''t be surprised if she did make an enemy out of a powerful Fae who got his hold of the Hephaestus''s stone. My mother is irrelevant to the gods and goddesses so it is impossible." Apollyon inclined his head as he focused on her lips. "Is the inquisition done?"

    Luna bit her lip to stifle a grin. "It is but I will not be fucking my husband tonight. I want to watch the stars."

    +++

    Luna stood on the second floor of the gazebo, which also served as the Summer Court''s observatory.

    Crickets chirped in the midnight.

    Their only source of light was Apollyon''s hundreds of incandescent orbs floating around the gazebo, like monstrous fireflies, casting the observatory in a soft, romantic glow.

    As she thought, the observatory was a good spot for a couple''s tryst, and the Summer Monarchs approved without saying it out loud.

    It was also amazing to note some of the flowers she had seen as she leaned towards the ledge, looked down, and made a sweeping nce on the hedge maze garden.

    Luna''s lips parted in awe when she realized she hadn''t seen these white and golden flowers in the morning��. or so she thought.

    Maybe she had just forgotten.

    As her gaze fixed on the precious blossoms, Luna racked her brain for a single memory she had.

    Apollyon must have sensed her dilemma when she told her that these flowers only bloom at night and their gorgeous petals would close during the day.

    It was a wonderful sight to behold, but that wouldn''tpare to the stars and gxies she would see in the observatory''s telescope.

    All the mattresses were clean.

    The thick coverlets were flesh andundered.

    Everything in here had a faint scent of jasmine and roses.

    She wouldn''t be surprised if the walls and the floor were sprinkled with flowers and herbs to make it seem fresh and rxing since florets ced on vases couldn''t survive from the heat of the sun at the observatory.

    Luna peeked through therge, heavy telescope with her right eye, which almost took half the room''s space and adjusted its direction.

    The telescope made her see the clusters of stars from a closer look, and it blew her away with its sparkling brilliance��especially those that weren''t visible even to vampire''s eyes.

    Luna was excited when she saw an interesting smudge on the lens, making her already sensitive senses heighten.

    It was bluish with a little bit of dust and clouds in the sky as she peered into the vast unknown.

    But Luna only had one problem.

    Her husband.

    She thought she had already escaped her husband''s seduction after fixing the length of his cuffs while he put on his tunic again before this.

    Luna assisted him by tying his belt around his waist for her benefit to avoid his temptation sessfully.

    Unfortunately, that was ineffective.

    Luna made sure her husband would hear her heavy sigh."Apollyon."

    "Yes, beloved?" He murmured in his ear in that husky, deep voice that made her hunch her shoulders from the delicious sensation.

    Apollyon knew it made her feel some type of way, eliciting raw emotions from her core, such as desire.

    The cold gust of wind blowing through her form wasn''t the reason while shivers ran down her spine.

    It was Apollyon blowing in her god damned ear, and it tickled like hell!

    Gritting her teeth, she whispered without looking over her shoulder, "Can you be serious for once?"

    "I''m serious, wife. I did what you want." He drawled. "You want to watch the stars and I allowed you even if I preferred another more�� enjoyable activity."

    "Stargazing is romantic." She responded dryly, pretending that he didn''t affect her at all. "You can''t tell me otherwise."

    "That is why we are watching they night skies with the telescope, aren''t we?"

    "Don''t even pretend to be innocent with me, you libertine!"

    "What''s wrong?"

    Her heart pounded with a mix of frustration and annoyance mixed with��she didn''t want to admit it��lust.

    Luna closed her eyes for a few seconds and breathed.

    When she opened her eyes, she demanded, "Could you just stop thinking about inappropriate thoughts until tomorrow?"

    "No.It''s all think about all the day, beloved. I can''t. Just go and continue watching the skies while I stand right behind you."Apollyon said softly as he stepped even closer, his chest touching her back. "It wasn''t like my thoughts can harm you."

    "Husband." Luna removed her gaze from her eyepiece and straightened her spine. "I can''t concentrate with what I am doing if you are standing too close to my butt."

    "Alright." He stepped backward, no questions asked."I will move if you are ufortable."

    "You forgot to remove your hands on my breasts." Apollyon''s cool fingers settled lightly on her chest moved a bit.

    "Oh. I thought they were your waist." Apollyon feigned surprise, but they stayed there despite the gentle reprimand.

    Luna didn''t know whether tough or scold him for this!

    At least, she was certain that her husband wasn''t a great actor.

    "Groping your distracted wife in an observatory is not allowed."

    "Why would my hands distract you? It''s just there on your breasts." Apollyon exined. "It will make your entire being to focus more. Not on the stars--" He trailed off o purpose to emphasize his next words, "--But on me."

    Oh, goddess!

    Here they go again!

    "You seducer! This must be how males say to get their women to submit."

    "It''s a well-known fact that husbands need to massage their wife''s breasts to make it rounder andrger."

    Facts?" Luna''s fingers clutched Apollyon''srge hands on her breasts and physically removed them.

    His limbs dropped to each side, "That''s the first time I have heard of it."

    "It''s just a jest."

    "You want them as big as watermelons, huh?"

    "Not necessarily." Apollyon replied. "That''s too��"

    "Go ahead and find a big-breasted b*tch to be your consort then!"

    "Why are you so testy?"

    Luna was so pissed off that she had to face him, scowling and poking an using finger on his chest. "I''m already carrying our baby and she is slowly growing. You want me to suffer by lugging more weight and break my back in the process?"

    Prussian Blue eyes fixed on her face, Apollyon smiled slightly, "Beloved. I would love to break your back."

    "What?" She didn''t get it.

    "While I fuck you from behind."

    "Stop. I''m watching stars, Apollyon!" She convinced herself, eximing in a burst of fury. "I''m watching stars right now."

    "Do you have to remind yourself so bad?"

    "Stay away." She lifted her chin. "Don''te near me until your head is clear enough."

    "I am merely flirting while my wife while she is immersed in stargazing. I will stop." Apollyon''s lips descended andnded a kiss on her cheeks, "Be thankful, I''m not naked. I can''t even touch you withoutints."

    "I can''t stargaze if you aren''t into it, Apollyon." She said, boxing his ears despite the sudden kiss, which made butterflies flutter in her stomach. "You need to concentrate with me."

 Chapter 541 - Fickle Empress

    <h4>Chapter 541 - Fickle Empress</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (June 2021)

    ****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ****************************

    Her husband had heeded her request to focus on the stars, never cing his hands on her body where it shouldn''t belong.

    Luna sighed with relief.

    Apollyon didn''t put up a fight and respected her wishes to keep his hands to himself.

    Sometimes,he contented himself with subtle touches here and there but only to? guide Luna while they watched the stars.

    It wasn''t like her breasts, hips, and buttocks were mas for Apollyon''s hands. But maybe the Vampire King was obsessed by a woman''s femininity.

    He had a Consortium for the longest time.

    Was that the reason or did she drive him crazy with her pheromones every? time she was near him like he told her this afternoon?

    He had the uncontroble urge to hold her and bury her nose, inhaling her scent.

    She recalled how he confessed that she was his drug, which made her cheeks flush with warmth.

    As her tense shoulders begin to rx, the knots twisting in her stomach out of nervousness would finally cease.

    Swallowing hard, Luna clenched and unclenched her fists.

    She was adamant about rejecting her husband''s advances tonight.

    Any seducing attempts would be shot down without remorse. Her brows knitted in determination.

    She can''t let herself anticipate sexual rtions regarding the burned aristocrats who died in the Great Hall.

    Luna saw the act of enjoying marital pleasures as disrespect when they should be mourning these strangers'' deaths.

    As usual, Apollyon advised her to untangle her emotions from the rest of the Summer Faeries and detach so that they could move with their life, unaffected by other people'' affairs.

    Apollyon stated that Luna was an autonomous individual who can do whatever she wanted whether these dead people approved it or not.

    Luna narrowed her eyes at him every time he gave those suggestions.

    Whether having sexual congress when they should be mourning was respectful or not, Luna should not let the dead Fae''s feelings control the actions of the living.

    Apollyon might be close to a psychopath but Archdemons in Hell were just a different breed.

    She just had this inkling that he was teaching her how to desensitize herself from all these blood-curdling tragedies she had witnessed because, in a way, her husband did love her.

    He would tell her? weird things he thought that it would make her feel better but it even made her worse because his suggestions would only work on someone like him.

    Oh well, if she had desensitized herself enough by being exposed to repeated mass ughter from time to time wherever they went when she wasn''t under threat since she was an Archdemon, then her response would be less and less intense.

    Was that what her husband hoped for her to aplish, like how she had acquired a taste for blood when she turned into a Vampire?

    She was just afraid that she would go with little to no emotional disturbance and nothing but apathy to the victim throughout the years as Apollyon''s mate.

    This will surely make Luna stop helping others even if she was capable of saving them with Archdemon Magic if she could.

    Needless to say, Luna needed to learn how to bnce what worked for her and what will not.

    Her husband''s advice was wee, but she had a mind of her own.

    Apollyon asked her to sit on the chair and wait for a while while he rotated the huge telescope in a specific area of the sky, iming that he had a surprise for her.

    Her husband was upied with turning the mps and focusing knobs to fine-tune the adjustments he desired to whatever surprise he had in store.

    Seeing Apollyon using the telescope with ease and confidence and so much expertise made him an impressive husband in her eyes.

    What can''t the Vampire King do?

    He was intelligent, and his masculine feature was pleasing to the eyes.

    Apollyon might act like he was a God''s gift to women all the time but he was, indeed, God''s gift among men and women.

    He knew how to charm thedies to take their clothes off by just taking their clothes off.

    It was strange magic thatpelled other creatures without actually using magic itself.

    Luna wouldn''t admit how much she wanted to smooth his tumbled midnight raven hair kiss his brow.

    When she unfastened his tunic and spread them open, she recalled the wide expanse of his bare chest, desiring to caress his superb abdominal muscles with her fingertips.

    She liked it when she was deliciously pinned beneath him like a butterfly.

    She would squirm and thrash? while he circled his hands on either side of her wrists and then, he would rub his groin against hers.

    "Wife. Whatever you are thinking, you have to stop." Apollyon growled a warning, "That''s not stargazing."

    She flinched.

    Oh, great!

    She was caught.

    Apollyon knew what she was fantasizing about.

    She wanted to p herself mentally.

    It was her mind''s fault for unwittingly making her wet with arousal.

    Her imagination was running wild and she couldn''t believe that her husband was on it the whole time.

    She had rejected her husband earlier only to desire him after a couple of minutes had passed.

    Luna was a fickle, pregnant Empress.

    "I''m sorry." She sputtered, and when? he protested, scowling, "Get out of my mind."

    "I like it there."

    "It would probably be best if you do." She red at his eyes bright with mischief. "It''s my privacy��"

    "To fantasize about me?" He stepped forward and stood in front of her while his bulge was lower than her eye-level but her gaze was drawn to it, "You are giving me an erection and I can''t do anything about it."

    Luna had to nce up, up at him to meet his Prussian Blue eyes.

    "Good."

    "It''s notfortable."

    "If it''s still there after one hour, I would suck them for you." Luna got up from her chair and changed the subject. "Let me see your surprise in the telescope."

 Chapter 542 - Rings Of Saturn

    <h4>Chapter 542 - Rings Of Saturn</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (June 2021)

    ****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    "Hmm." Luna asked as her fingers held the eyepiece, careful not to shift the telescope''s bearings. "What do we have here?"

    "It''s a like this Earth." She heard Apollyon murmured just behind her. "It is called Saturn. It is a billion-and-a half miles a way from our Earth."

    "Wow! It is very far." The extreme distance had already made the fascinating objects faint. Luna couldn''t believe that something that far can be reached through the telescope, no matter what size it was. "I see how its rings looked like."

    She was also amazed at how Apollyon was able to hunt the exact location of Saturn when it couldn''t be seen with a vampire''s eyes.

    The was very dim and small in the telescope.

    How much more if one only used his hunches on where he could find it?

    "The rings surrounding them was very thin."

    Luna could sense the amusement in the nuance of his voice when he replied, ''Yes.''.

    Her husband must be grinning at her excitement over seeing this light yellow.

    "Nobody in this Realm have the capabilities to travel that far just to find what lies there beyond."

    "Are you curious about thoses, Apollyon?"

    There was a slight pause. "No."

    "Do? you want to go to ces that are unknown to every Kind if you could, Apollyon?"

    "If I was given the chance, I would go and travel to thoses if I am unmated, my beloved. But there isn''t any need to explore others when you are my world." As she rubbed her cold hands on her flushed cheeks, Luna had to close her eyes and exhale a breath when her husband added,? "You are my Heaven on Earth."

    "Stop making me blush with your words, will you?" Luna protested as her left eye opened to continue and peer at Saturn in admiration. "You embarrass me with your words."

    He chuckled darkly.

    Luna felt Apollyon''s warmth as he moved closer, standing by her side and cing one hand behind her lower back.

    "I like it when you blush especially when I begin thrusting deep inside you."

    She gasped in shock, but she closed her mouth when she realized that Apollyon''s jests lived for her reactions.

    Luna had to stop giving him one so that he would quit with his romantic nonsense before she fainted, scandalized by her husband''s dirty talks.

    Luna tried topete with him, but she always fell short when it came to his shamelessness.

    Apollyon was a top-notch dirty talker.

    Verypetitive.

    Nevertheless, Luna attempted to change the subject again, "Do you think they are Realms and other creatures who lived there?"

    "We aren''t the only living creatures in this vast universe." Apollyon replied. "The High Priests and the High Priestesses, who were magicians and head schrs in ancient civilizations, taught their Monarchs with their intense studies regarding thenguage of thes and the stars to predict the future. Weather inquiries were made on a day-to-day basis based on the positions of this heavenly bodies."

    Luna was a bit relieved that they finally moved on to a more interesting topic��astronomy.

    Talking to Apollyon about a variety of things under the sun and moon might make her intelligent.

    "The concept of time have established? to its perfect uracy based on its movements." Apollyon added, "Some important questions always revolve on the time of harvest to avoid scarcity of food source in the entire Realm. The whole vige in the Faerie Realm have lived a life of abundancepared to the Human Realm''s drawback of not having an ounce of magic in their blood."

    "Humans are the weakest out of all the kinds I have seen. I was once a human before the Goddess Artemis took me to be her immortal warrior maiden. The goddess noticed that I am the odd one and no matter how hard I try, I can''t seem to get along with my sisters well. Bercause I just mind my own business, perform my chores, train to improve mybat and archery scales and go on patrol to watch the temples from invaders. After that I would sleep."

    "Some of these humans were too afraid to learn magic since the only way to do that was to summon a Fallen Angel from Hell. They couldn''t possibly conjure an Archdemon well since they aren''t created into immortals. Just from the simple act of invocation can take half of the years a human were meant to live on Earth. Humans couldn''t handle the strong wicked power it hold so they need to sacrifice creatures just to sessfully summon one along with spells and incantations. They had to do everything right. A human can die while it invoked an evil spirit if the sacrifice and his/her life force wasn''t strong enough. This is also why cults are created to increase their ability to invoke one or two Archdemons if they can and share their life forces with their members to even them out. The bigger the sacrifice, the stronger the conjurer bes."

    "That''s nasty." Luna''s shoulders hunched over, wincing from the information.

    To Archdemons, more massacres meant more life force to have ess with.

    "I just hope all the forbidden knowledge regarding summoning unholy spirits from Hell stays hidden even if we can''t destroy all the vile creatures who got a hold of these demonic grimoires."

    A sudden cloud moved in to block the view.

    Luna was pissed off that she groaned when the Saturn disappeared from the telescope.

    "That''s impossible especially if they are too consumed by the seven deadly sins. Many creatures would like to be in your position, wife. A creature can only obtain Archdemon Magic through siphoning from the Archdemon they have conjured from Hell while the Archdemon can materialize on Earth through the shared life force," Apollyon replied.

    "I hold Archdemon Magic within me and didn''t siphon it from anyone else since I am an Archdemon."

 Chapter 543 - My Saviour

    <h4>Chapter 543 - My Saviour</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (June 2021)

    ************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ************************

    Luna lifted her face to look at his bright blue eyes since she can''t see a thing from the telescope anymore. "Who do you think taught the High Priests and Priestesses to create all these tools by themselves to observe the skyand spread their knowledge to the rest?"

    "You remembered what King Oberon and Queen Titania said about the Faerie Tea Party?" Apollyon murmured as he stared at her, his long ck eyshes fanning through his high cheekbones, and she drank in the sigh of his rxed face.

    A strong breeze ruffled and yed with their hair as it passed by, and Luna shivered from the cold.

    Her nostrils could also detect the fresh smells of pine trees with a hint ofvender clinging to her husband''s tunic. "It was the Watchers who taught the First Faeries, the magic of the Heavens. Butter, it became corrupted since the Angels tasked to watch over all creatures broke their covenant with the Highest God."

    "Magic had be convoluted as it passed down to the next generation." Lunamented as she leaned closer over her husband''srge, masculine form.

    Being with him made her feel protective, and she couldn''t help but gravitate towards him. "I would have assumed it would be the gods and the goddesses, Apollyon."

    "In the past, the gods and goddesses were very particr when it came to sharing knowledge to the creatures in the Material Realm. They had to make sure that the individual could be trusted after observing them from afar." Apollyon said firmly as she listened intently, nodding in agreement. Her husband must have read all sorts thousands of books and grimoires to know all these things.? "They watch what? they do with their life and judge the choices they have made. They valued consistency, potential and resolve of their chosen to fulfill its destiny."

    "Just like how the Goddess of the Underworld had chosen me for the second time, Apollyon."

    Apollyon''s gaze on her green eyes dropped to her chest when he noted, "You have the Mark of the Triple Moon Goddess in your chest." It remained there as he raised a hand to rub the back of his neck in chagrin. "The Mother, the Maiden and the Crone." Apollyon''s spine straightened.

    He stood taller as if he already made up his mind and reached out his hand to pull her bodice lower.

    Apollyon let out a soft growl when he saw her tattoos�� or was it because of her cleavage?

    "It''s beautiful and it suits? you." Apollyon''s sounded drugged, and his Prussian Blue eyes were hooded. "I like seeing it on your pale skin."

    "I have no idea about its purpose." Luna replied grimly as she watched him bite his lower lip.

    Apollyon''s s wide shoulders tensed as if he realized something. "She basically left a Mark on you, warning others that she chose you for a mission. That meant she didn''t want other gods and goddesses to mess with you or they would be facing her wrath."

    "I find it suspicious but I trust the Goddess Hecate to protect me from Archdemons."

    "It makes me jealous."? Apollyon squinted at the tattoos as his hand caressed the edge of her bodice.

    She shivered a little when his cool fingertips tracing Hecate''s symbol on the top of her breasts.

    It felt like tiny sparks of lightning infused themselves in her bloodstream. "I want to leave a mark on you as well. So that every one will know you are mine."

    "No need. I am already mated to you." Luna reassured him as she lifted her arm to stroke the ruffled waves of hair on his forehead due to the strong breeze. "All the creatures around us already know I''m? yours since we are pretty much inseparable."

    "Your natural scent have mixed with mine that was why I felt more drawn to you. I think it would be enough." Apollyon replied as one corner of his lips curved upwards, showing male satisfaction. "For now." He inclined his head, and Luna''s arm dropped to her side after fixing her husband''s hair. "You can ess Magic from the Underworld as Hecate''s High Priestess, right?"

    "I think I can try but I doubt I am Hecate''s High Priestess, Apollyon." Luna shrugged. "It might have some adverse effects. I am not a virgin anymore so I''m not eligible to be one."

    "Hmmm." He rubbed his chin in contemtion.

    "I work with Archdemon Magic all the time so that I could get used to it more than anything. It''s fairly new but I am slowly improving my skills after all the horrible training those Archdemons have put me through. But the Goddessmunicate to me sometimes even if I am not her High Priestess." Luna replied as she masked the worry she felt from her husband''s inquisition. "I think she marked me so that I cold hear her messages better."

    She hadn''t told him about the sleeping Lilith trapped inside her.

    Her husband had no idea that the conjurer had only called Luna back to her own body without exorcising the Archdemon of Envy.

    Would it be right to tell him now, or should she do itter?

    She didn''t think tonight was the right time.

    "When was the exact moment The Goddess Hecate gave you the Mark of the Triple Moon Goddess? Maybe, that would give us clues on why she decided to give them to you."

    "I don''t know the exact moment the Goddess had given me this since it was already there when I woke up. I was unconscious when the Archdemon of Gluttony rescued��"

    "Stop." Apollyon cut her off and snarled, his brows a downward sh towards his be, "I don''t want to hear about those Archdemons anymore."

    He clenched his fists in anger when she mentioned her Archdemon husband.

    Luna continued, even if he had already turned his back away from her. "He told me that I had drowned into ake and then arge Lotus Flower from theke trapped me inside, coating me with Angel Dust. I thought Hecate''s Mark would help me get out Inferno but it was actually you who conjured me back? to my physical vessel."

 Chapter 544 - I Have Seen This Before

    <h4>Chapter 544 - I Have Seen This Before</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (June 2021)

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    Apollyon continued to show her many heavenly objects when the midnight blue sky became clearer after a particr faint gaseous cloud passed by.

    The Moon was big and bright.

    A portion of the moon seemed smooth and silky surfaces, while a face of it had lumpy areas and craters.

    Apollyon had shown her three prominent constetions in thete spring sky.

    One had the name of Virgo, thergest and longest constetion and home of thousands of gxies.

    It was also named the Maiden, which represented Persephone (Demeter''s Daughter), containing one of the brightest stars��one hundred times brighter than the sun.

    Apollyon then showed Luna the second and the third constetions, Cancer, and Gemini which were positioned next to each other, so it wasn''t that hard to find.

    He told her that constetions were believed to be portals where the souls from the heavens above descend into the newly born bodies.

    Cancer might be the faintest among the others, but it also consisted of a wonderful swarm of stars called ''Praesepe''.

    They looked like beehives, but they were used as the celestial weather station in all Realms.

    If it wasn''t visible in a clear sky, it was a sign of an impending violent storm.

    The Highest God, the Creator, was a brilliant artist, making outer space his own canvas of beautiful clusters of stars that blew her mind.

    It was a shame that it appeared like a faint, fuzzy cloud from the naked eye, but the clusters of stars looked like shards of ss in a kaleidoscope in the telescope.

    If she stared at them for too long, the giant balls of stars felt like they were living creatures, twinkling in chaos with the rhythm of a heartbeat''s pulse.

    The river of darkness in the background was an infinite velvet ck cloth while the stars sparkled like jewels, shining bright like yellow and white diamonds, rubies, emerald greens, and purplish sapphire-- thousands of light-years away from them.

    This must be what heaven looked like, and her eyes could wander in it for hours, making her feel at peace.

    Luna was in awe. But there was something peculiar about all these million stars as she peered through her eyepiece.

    The view on therge telescope in this observatory made her feel like she saw something like this before.

    Her stomach felt queasy, as if rocks had settled at the pit of her stomach.

    Suddenly, green and ck tints danced around her vision.

    rmed at her current state, Luna raised her head too quickly to tell Apollyon that she felt faint. But she began to sway from the movement that she had to lean on to the telescope and clutched the tube to stay upright.

    Her vision went pitch ck for a few seconds that she thought she had gone blind.

    She saw thousands of eyes staring back at her in the dark.

    Luna screamed.

    She felt gusts of winds strong enough to create a tornado and the sharp echoes of thousands ofrge white wings pping in seeding beats.

    Angel feathers flying everywhere as her vulnerable formid inside a drawn circle glowing blue.

    Her entire being was pinned to the ground like a captive butterfly.

    Luna couldn''t read the symbols, and she didn''t know what type of sigil they had created for her.

    "Wife." Apollyon''s urgent voice in her ear woke her up from the nightmare. "Are you alright?"

    Opening her eyes, Luna replied and straightened, "I remembered something I shouldn''t have."

    She was d that her husband was there to catch her if she fell throughout the whole ordeal.

    "What about it?"

    "I��I c-can''t speak." The pain at? the back of her throat choked her as she sputtered, "I c-couldn''t t-tell you."

    "How about you try showing me in your mind?"

    "I-I can''t."

    "I can''t get in your head." Apollyon''s hand tightened on her front as she hugged her from behind., "You''re blocking our mind link and pushing me away with strange barriers."

    Luna couldn''t breathe or think as she pounded in her chest. "Those didn''t belong to me, Apollyon. It wouldn''t let me show you."

    "Don''t force it." He urged, yet his voice was gentle. "You have to calm down and rx."

    Luna gagged, but there was nothing to vomit except dry saliva.

    "Just stop it and don''t force? yourself anymore. You don''t have to tell me, alright?" Squeezing her forearm, Apollyon''s voice wobbled with concern when Luna began sweating bullet on her back, "Do you remember who I am?"

    "My husband."

    "Name?"

    Her head spun as she tried to remain steady."Apollyon."

    "Where are we?"

    "Gazebo." She rasped as she leaned her weight unto him. "Observatory."

    "How many fingers can you see in my hand?"

    Luna said groggily as she glowered at the two long fingers waving in front of her face. "I haven''t gone blind, Apollyon."

    "That''s the spirit."

    Luna''s breathing slowed as she tried letting go of her racing thoughts, grasping helplessly at the uncovered memories buried in her mind.

    "Perhaps, you are too exhausted from standing for too long." Apollyon said calmly, "You? are a pregnant woman dancing for hours with the noblemen and staying upright staring into the outer space."

    "Apollyon. I can''t tell you more but I felt like I have been to the Heavens before."

    "It''s impossible for an Archdemon to step one foot into just a single sphere of Heaven. You would simply cease to exist from how pure and and holy the Heavenly Realms were."

    "Maybe, it wasn''t a sphere in Heaven then." Luna swallowed hard, feeling drained and exhausted all of a sudden. "But I remembered floating into the outer space. Seeing the Creator of the Universe. I saw the universe itself. The star clusters and bright nebe in the telescope triggered these forbidden memories. I''m not sure if it was true or a mere hallucination."

    "Maybe, it''s true. Why would you feel sick if you open your mouth and describe the exact things you have seen? My best guess is a Higher Power is stopping you from telling anyone."

    "I�� think so. You are right."

    "Your memory is valid, Luna. You are not going crazy." He murmured, "I believe you."

    "Thank you, husband. I''m d you are here." Luna said quietly,? "I don''t know what I would do if I''m alone."

    "You should rest now." Apollyon settled one arm behind her thighs while the other was on her back, carrying her in a bridal style,? "I''ll take you to bed, beloved."

 Chapter 545 - Back To Bed

    <h4>Chapter 545 - Back To Bed</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (June 2021)

    ******************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ******************************

    Just like earlier, her husband gathered all the pillows and positioned them behind her upper back. Then, he settled her gently into the pale salmon cushions, handling her with care as if she was his favorite rose.

    It wasn''t like she was a flower that would get damaged if her petals were handled roughly, but Apollyon was adamant that he treat her that way at all times.

    After tucking her into the bed and covered her with the nkets up to her waist, Apollyon lifted one knee after another as he climbed next to her.

    He was rubbing the strands of her silver hair with his thumb and forefinger, simr to what he would do to make her nipples pucker up, but she averted her gaze so that she could allow her dirty thoughts to fade away.

    Luna should remember that she was tired!

    "When will the timees when you don''t have to tell the truth without restraint?"

    Luna almost flinched when her husband spoke abruptly after she had allowed her mind to focus on the crickets'' luby.

    Blinking slowly, Luna replied without looking at him.? "I don''t know, husband. I am an Archdemon but a lot of restrictions were ced on me."

    Then, Apollyon''s hand right next to her lifted her head so that she could bury one arm beneath her. Luna''s eyes slightly widened in understanding, and she used him as an arm pillow.

    "I hated it when you think you have gone insane when you are not. You shouldn''t care for what the mind says is real or not real." Apollyon murmured as his other hand closed over her to caress her baby bump,? "If you are insane then what am I?"

    Luna had little energy to giggle at him, but she did.

    Right.

    If she were insane, Luna would hail her husband as the God of Insanity from how impulsive and rash he was--especially when another creature pissed him off.

    He was prone to rage and selfishness in the past.

    At least, Luna''s husband was now aware of his weakness.

    In turn, being with Apollyon also made her aware of her own faults.

    They don''t have to reject and push personal conflicts by dismissing them and shoving them under the rug.

    They only have to be aware of their mistakes, acknowledge that they have hurt other people in the process, and do better.

    Having negative emotions was normal since nobody here was perfect and wless, but it was an individual''s reaction to every situation that can make or break the character.

    All creatures in the Material Realm had the right to develop their character if they desired to be the best person they can be.

    Being married to Apollyon was a difficult challenge to handle in the early stages.

    She was d that her husband had been working on his patience from the moment he got married to Luna, and that was what mattered the most to her.

    Even Luna, herself, had practiced self-control in the midst of provocation, and Apollyon''s mother was an obstacle she wished she could eliminate.

    Princess Ourania was a piece of work and a threat to her peace.

    But, Apollyon was right when he said that they should not be bothered by her presence.

    ''Don''t feed her with negativity and simply ignore.''

    Apollyon''s mother was proved to be a difficult dare to theirposure.

    "I don''t want you to be dictated or controlled about anything."? His Prussian Blue eyes met hers when she turned to face him.

    Luna stretched one arm around hisrge torso to return his warm embrace.

    She couldn''t help but notice how beautiful they were, especially if he regarded her with love and adoration.

    Her heart hammered, and it seemed to rise to her throat.

    She couldn''t respond for a minute, speechless and overwhelmed by how much her husband cared about her.

    He wasn''t ashamed to tell her that he was worried despite his amusing sexual perversion.

    Can she find another husband like this one in another life?

    "It is what it is, Apollyon." Luna sighed in regret. She would have a lifetime and an afterlife full of regret if she would lose him and take him for granted, "I just have to ept this and wait until it''s gone."

    "Don''t resist and take that memory seriously because it will turn out fine. Your mind is? just a monkey puppet on strings." Apollyon''s tone was a bit hard, as if he was a military general telling her to get her shit together. However, Luna knew that he only meant well.? "It talks you into your fears and doubts when you could yfully dwell on our time together instead."

    "My mood for you has been ruined twice," Luna told him.

    He replied softly, ''I know you wouldn''t be keen if I pull your heartstrings to bring happiness."

    "You are still adorable to me. I apologize that I am like this," Luna bit her lower lip as she peered at him between hershes, "I apologize that I am like this. Please understand that it had nothing to do with you."

    "Then, you wouldn''t y with me?" Apollyon''s velvet ck eyebrows were drawn together, and his blue eyes glowed almost close to silver.

    In the blink of an eye, his icy silver-blue gaze smoldered, and his pupils dted in an instant until the blue was nearly consumed in ck.

    "You don''t want me to make you orgasm?" He asked, "Maybe, that will loosen up how tense you are."

    She gasped.

    "No. You probably wouldn''t let me rest." Luna said softly, "I''m exhausted."

    "I will make you more exhausted."

    "Apollyon��"

    "You don''t have to do anything, beloved." His voice stopped her. " I will just make youe quickly before you fall asleep."

    She brought her eyes back to his, "How about you? I can''t serve you."

    "As long as you will make it up to me tomorrow." Apollyon murmured as he stared at her lips,? "I will be alright."

    Luna could feel Apollyon''s hand moved lower between her thighs and lifted the thinyers of her turquoise skirts to her stomach, slipping through her underwear.

 Chapter 546 - Magic Fingers

    <h4>Chapter 546 - Magic Fingers</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (June 2021)

    +++

    Luna could feel Apollyon''s hand moved lower between her thighs and lifted the thinyers of her turquoise skirts to her stomach, slipping through her underwear.

    Apollyon bent his head to kiss her neck and her upper breast before he fully slid a finger inside her slit.

    He yed with her quim, slowly, gently, until he heard her breathe faster, her body all tensed up in anticipation.

    A shiver rose through her body when hisrge fingers syed on her mound.

    Luna felt the tiny needles of sensation when her husband grabbed the small hairs of her sensitivebia.

    "Hmm."? When he felt that his fingers were already wet, it made him more aroused��the fact that it would be easier to give her pleasure.

    He slowly built her up and finger-fucked her to oblivion. "It seemed like I don''t have to lick you down there when you are already this wet."

    After he inserted one finger, Apollyon inserted another one and traced her entrance with his equally wet thumb, rubbing her clitoris once in a while in a circling motion and gave them both the attention it desired.

    He gently slid her thumb in and out, prating her deeper, and bent his middle finger and forefinger in a e-hither gesture.

    "You like that, beloved?"

    Luna moaned when he hit the right spot.

    "Answer me or I will stop."

    "Yes."

    She was grinding against his hand.

    His other hand teased over her stomach as it lowered to caress her inner thighs.

    "No." "I like it. Please." She was high-strung, her pale flushed with arousal as her mouth parted in a gasp. "Don''t make me wait too long, Apollyon."

    He chuckled darkly as he kept up with the rhythm, gradually increasing his speed and intensity, "You want me to stop?"

    Luna moaned in protest.

    "I like your moans. " Apollyon began changing his rhythm, ying the luscious sensitive skin around her opening.

    Both of them were lost in their breathing, their movements, and their pleasure. "Moan louder, beloved."

    She did, and it sounded like a seductive aria in his ears.

    Her moans grew louder, and his cock grewrger, hotter, but he kept his focus in stimting her.

    "If you want to rest? you have toe fast."

    Eyes falling shut, Luna arched her back and ground her hips against his middle finger hard.

    His finger-fucking turned rough and intense as he looked her deep in her dted pupils covering the entire emeralds.

    Luna''s entire limbs shook before she let go without any reservations.

    She became more electric.

    Apollyon slowed down when she was about toe, and she screamed in desperation.

    He knew he had sessfully tipped her into the edge when he saw brilliant stars and gxies in her eyes exploding like supernovas.

    It took only a few lethargic strokes for her toe undone.

    +++

    She gulped in oxygen as she tried to catch her breath, burying her fingers on his raven locks, and he raised his head a little to show her a devilish smirk.

    It felt like the invisible mental chains that held her captive fell away from her in a massive ''clunk'' as they hit the floor.

    Now, Luna was freer than before as she felt her entire muscles rx and a little bit drunk in a yful way.

    Her orgasm was unexpectedly bizarre and made her ridiculously better.

    +++++

    Fingers glistening from her wet juices, Apollyon licked his fingers clean like he was a smug tomcat that got his cream. "This is your chance to sleep now, beloved, or else I would get you out of your clothes and take you higher than that."

    Luna immediately closed her eyes and didn''t dare challenge Apollyon.

    Aware of his own heartbeat thrashing in his ears, Apollyon tried very hard to hide the fact that he was running out of breath as he wiped the sweat that trickled from his brows.

    His hands clenched briefly before releasing them as he fought the urge to explore her nakedness, touch her breasts and ask for something more.

    At least, his wife was satisfied while he suffered from blue balls like this afternoon before the explosion at the Great Hall urred.

    A cold dip in a freezing pool in the Winter Realm was all he needed at the moment.

    "Good night, husband." Luna shifted in the mattress to hug him.

    He stiffened when her thigh touched his rock-hard erection.

    Apollyon''s cock twitched from the slightest stimtion, and he cleared his throat in difiture.

    "If you finally drift off, I would like to ask for your permission that I will be gone for a few minutes to patrol around the Hedge Maze Garden to make sure we are safe from dubious creatures." His voice lowered as his tongue darted out to lick his lips. "Don''t be afraid, alright? I told you beforehand so that you wouldn''t be panic when you notice that I wasn''t beside you." So why was his mouth suddenly dry as fuck? "I don''t want the impostor to appear ande get you if I don''t ce proper nullification barriers around us."

    "Oh, goddess." Leaning on her elbows, Luna was about to get up and protested, "I should help��"

    Apollyon nted his hands on her shoulders to push her back down. "But you are exhausted."

    He glowered at her, throwing her those death res which weren''t effective at all. "Just leave everything to me."

    Breathing hard, Luna stretched her arms to each sidezily like a cat, "Aren''t you tired as well, husband?"

    "I am." He bent his elbow, leaned them on the mattress, and cradled his head with a palm as he nced down at her.

    "I can''t wait to be with you so that I will be quick." He told her as he brushed her forehead lightly with the back of his hand, Don''t worry, wife."

    "Yes."

    "It should be me who is worried every time when you fall sleep." Apollyon muttered to no one in particr as he rolled to the side and got out of the bed, "��but, I am slowly adjusting to getting rid of my paranoia."

    Luna snorted weakly as she covered her eyes with her forearm. "Don''t worry husband. I would not go to Hell. No one can make me go back because I will destroy them into nothingness."

 Chapter 547 - Inner Demons

    <h4>Chapter 547 - Inner Demons</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (June 2021)

    ****************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ****************************

    Apollyon was tempted toy beside her on the mattress and sleep with Luna until the sun came up, but he couldn''t.

    She was fast asleep an instant after he made here.

    Every time he stared at her porcin white face with red rosy cheeks down to the smooth swell of her breasts, the more his hard body craved her.

    She was so innocent and vulnerable as sheid t on her back while her hands rested on her stomach.

    Thick silver strands fanned around her pillow, and the moonbeams shining on them made it look like they were made of white silk.

    At that time, they have no choice but to leave the observatory because it will be scorching hot in there, and it would burn their vampire skin.

    He still had many things to do before he can rest with his wife, so he had no choice but to get up and fulfill them.

    It was a husband''s responsibility to keep his wife safe from harm.

    He had been careless at the Great Hall, too distracted by his mother''s abrupt engagement party that he had ignored his impostor''s presence beside Luna.

    Apollyon thought that the impostor was embracing his wife at first nce.

    His muscles quivered from his clenched fists at the thought.

    He wanted to punch the balustrade, but that would destroy the Summer Court''s observatory, but his wife might be disappointed.

    It was a relief that she had noticed the difference quickly between him and the trickster when their eyes met, and she had clung to the impostor to prevent his escape.

    Her exnation had made sense and victoriously dispelled his fears.

    If his wife made a mistake the second time at his mother''s engagement party, such as not recognizing him as the impostor, then that would confirm that she didn''t know him as her husband well enough at all.

    It was the manifestations of his worst fearsing to life.

    It would fuck him up inside real bad, hurting him like the sharp ws of ck rage raking in his chest.

    In that millisecond when Apollyon witnessed Luna on Princess Ourania''s side on the red carpet, daunting memories shed across his mind as he imagined a repeat of such an unholy thing�� his precious wife having sexual congress with the Archdemon as he dragged Luna back to Hell.

    He would be powerless to stop Luxen unless Apollyon became an Archdemon.

    Her wife might be an Archdemon, but despite her amazing disy of powers after learning them in a short period, he doubted her capabilities to defend herself and win them all.

    At least, that gave her the ability to walk wildfires.

    ''Two was always better than one. ''

    Apollyon gripped the guard railing tight as he pressed his lips together in determination.

    He would figure out a way to be an Archdemon soon, and he would never give up on that dream.

    She told him that she was determined to figure out who he was behind his strong mour, but she failed.

    The impostor who, surprisingly, got his hands on the ''Hephaestus? Stone'' dropped it to the ground on purpose, causing the eternal wildfire to wreak havoc on the Great Hall.

    The culprit had done this so many times before at the turrets.

    His wife''s close encounter with this dangerous man can be evaded if she didn''t request to dance with another male partner as she insisted!

    If she had chosen to dance with him and no one else, Apollyon could have kept his eyes on her all the time, and that would have never happened!

    He shook his head and sighed.

    It wasn''t her fault that she was the impostor''s target.

    He wasn''t certain if the culprit had chosen her as a target randomly or��was it already nned for a long time?

    Apollyon shouldn''t be angry when the whole ordeal was done, but he abhorred feeling insecure and unstable.

    But, there was no need to scold his wife like this or me her for anything.

    It was pure torture to have those thoughts of betrayal when the impostor wasn''t the Archdemon of Lust in the first ce.

    ''It was a Summer Fae who was just too good with his mor,''? Apollyon told himself in reassurance. ''It was just a mere coincidence that? the Fae have used your form to? frame you up.''

    He had not forgiven that situation and never will, but he epted her wife back.

    She had unwittingly cheated on him with the Archdemon of Lust in Hell after the bastard shifted to Apollyon''s exact form!

    He will never allow her any chances to do that again with another male.

    She might think Apollyon have trusted her wholeheartedly despite the incident, but he never did.

    His wife was adamant about her freedom, and Apollyon would provide that illusion as long as he can.

    The metaphorical cage he created around her was still there, but it was arger cage with more space than the previous one.

    He would not let her escape him if she chose to leave him with any man.

    It was mere negligence on his part that the trickster got a hold on her even for just a minute.

    Nevertheless, it was an ident for a reason.

    He should keep his focus on his pregnant wife at all times and not somewhere else.

    There was no point in beating himself up over it.

    The only way was to do better.

    He scrubbed a hand over his face in regret before his hands fell to the sides.

    He turned away from his sleeping beauty and walked to the edge of the parapet.

    Apollyon peered into the night of the wide expanse of the Hedge Maze, looking out for intruders before he surrounded it with nullification barriers to revoke any Fae Magic that would harm them.

    He glowered at the shrubs as if finding faults unto the midnight blossoms glowing under the moonlight.

    Something is moving from the corner of Apollyon''s eye, and he turned his head in that direction.

 Chapter 548 - Intruders

    <h4>Chapter 548 - Intruders</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (June 2021)

    ****************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ****************************

    Something is moving from the corner of Apollyon''s eye, and he turned his head immediately in that direction.

    Squinting at the group, Apollyon leaned forward to the banister to get a clearer view of what or who they were.

    His vampire eyes can see clearly from the far horizon but his unconscious gesture was just to make sure she wasn''t seeing things.

    One was a faerie and another was a werewolf.

    His brows knitted in confusion as his scrutiny stalked trailed on their stealthy motions.

    From the way they moved, he could tell that they were hiding something.

    He briefly wondered if they were gathered towards the Hedge Maze Garden to keep themselves hidden from the rest of the Monarchs as they discussed what happened during Princess Ourania''s engagement party.

    Where they here to discuss how their ns have seeded to ruin such a beautiful asion by killing the Summer Aristocrats they abhorred as their heartless revenge�� or would the three argue about their frustrations for failing to kill the Summer Princess and Knight when the two of them were the target from the very beginning?

    Apollyon hadn''t noticed any werewolf-faerie duo yet while he and Luna have explored the Summer Courts.

    Of course, the intruders were far from the center of the Hedge Maze Garden where the gazebo was located so he wasn''t certain if he had seen it correctly.

    Perhaps, he could safely assume that it was his half-sister, Princess Sapphire, and Xerxes.

    Apollyon narrowed his eyes at the stranger they were with.

    He couldn''t pinpoint who and what it was when he had no faerie wings behind his back.

    He waited patiently for them to shuffle their feet and move about in their position when the three of them paused at the small entrance of the estate.

    He could perfectly see in the dark and the light the moon borrowed from the sun had helped, but the group was slightly covered by the trees situated around the lovely garden itself.

    The only thing he could do was to guess who they were based on the broken outline of their shapes.

    He rubbed his chin in contemtion as he hummed to himself.

    Those people were suspicious yet as evident asrge red gs waving in the open field in broad daylight. His lips curved upward in a smirk.

    Curiosity can kill the cat but in his case, his curiosity was a burning me that kept him alive.

    Well, he just had to be patient and find out.

    Apollyon looked over his shoulder to check if his charming wife was still asleep and she was.

    A slight snore wasing out of parted pink lips.

    He took a few steps to reach her on the salmon mattress, fisted the soft, thin material of her turquoise skirts, and pulled them down to her ankles so that she wouldn''t identally expose her legs if she shifted sleeping positions.

    Next, he grabbed the coverlets and tucked her in properly, and enfold her pliant body up to her shoulders.

    Their conversation about nkets from earlier crossed his mind like a lightning bolt.

    He recalled that ever since his wife came back from Hell and her baby bump started to grow, her hip and stomach area were prone to coldness.

    That was the sole reason why she hogged the nkets every time they fell asleep when Apollyon mentioned her habit as aint.

    Apollyon can''t help but smile to himself because he found it adorable.

    He stared at her face for a few seconds before he bent to kiss her forehead and gave her hair onest stroke.

    That was how love should be supposed to be likemunicating each other''s needs and having the other person fulfill them if they can as long as there was no force, condition behind it.

    As much as possible, Apollyon should keep maniption out in their rtionship to keep it real.

    He really valued these kinds of conversations they had, treating each moment like pearls and collecting them in his treasure box.

    He appreciated that she trust him enough to voice out her needs and expected him to meet them. At least, she trusted him a lot even if he didn''t trust Luna wholeheartedly especially if she dealt with another man in her vicinity.

    Apollyon just reigned himself in and pretended he was alright with it.

    If he kept it cool, there would be no unwarranted fights.

    There was no need to worry because he was sure that Luna would never dare to cheat on him.

    But he couldn''t trust any males hanging around in her vicinity and what they were capable of.

    Was he being unreasonable?

    He didn''t care.

    Apollyon was d she told him.

    Even if he can sometimes read Luna''s mind and pull those thoughts out of thin air, it was a bit different if his wife would say the words straight to his face.

    "Sleep tight, beloved." He murmured in her sweet-scented skin. "I will be right back."

    Apollyon snapped a finger and all of the golden orbs floating around the observatory vanished.

    Luna''s current source of light was only the moon.

    It was for the better so that his glow lights wouldn''t alert the enemies.

    He also ced a solid ck dome on the observatory made out of darker Fae Magic to keep his treasure hidden and to warn the intruders what a formidable magician he was.

    It also served as a warning to those who sought to covet what belonged solely to him.

    He teleported to the location near enough for him to see and hear them clearly with his vampire senses but far enough to detect his camouge.

    It was Princess Sapphire riding Xerxes in his werewolf form and she brought another person with them. The three of them paused at the small entrance of the Hedge Maze Garden.

    Princess Sapphire had faced the small entry filled with climbing vines and flowering nts sitting on top of the arched arbor only to turn to face the stranger who followed them.

 Chapter 549 - Stranger Danger

    <h4>Chapter 549 - Stranger Danger</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (June 2021)

    ***********************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ***********************

    Apollyon hadn''t seen Princess Sapphire the whole time he was there in the Great Hall, and he assumed that her half-sister would rather be anywhere than there.

    Yet, he only saw his half-sister during the Summer Monarch''s inquisition.

    Princess Sapphire gave her grandparents a clear and direct response.

    Queen Titania and King Oberon were satisfied from her answers, yet his half-sister''s snobbish countenance towards her mother and Sir Tristan wasn''t overlooked.

    All of them frowned upon the youngdy''s behavior as she glowered at her mother, showing how irritated she was at her mother''s decision to marry the Knight in the future.

    It must be shocking to see Princess Ourania get engaged to another man that wasn''t her father without her knowledge.

    Of course, she would be pissed at their mother!

    Princess Sapphire hadn''t even met her birth father yet before this, and Apollyon''s mother pulling on stunts like this would drive a wedge between their mother and daughter rtionship.

    She could have told his half-sister the truth before she let her impulses run the show.

    Apollyon thought that people would change after millennia had passed, but it was the same old, same old bullshit and selfishness he had witnessed from his mother��who was the worst example of how a mother should be.

    He thought that the Summer Monarchs would like to keep her out of this.

    Princess Sapphire might have felt what Apollyon had felt that moment when he watched his mother walked down the isles with her dainty hand on the knight while their eyes were set on the throne.

    "What do you really want from me?" Princess Sapphire''s voice lowered as she bared her teeth at the man in front of her.

    She was riding the werewolf who was still as a statue.

    Xerxes was eerily silent and made no move to attack the stranger despite his half-sister''s evident frustration.

    Perhaps, the young man was waiting for the stranger to be the aggressor��to be the first one to attack.

    Princess Sapphire''s dark brown curls were almost close to ck, especially in the night, asplimenting shades of purple verbena and pink aster crown.

    The pretty wreath slightly gathered her curly hair upwards, allowing the brilliant yellow-green faerie wings to stood stark at each side of her head.

    Up until now, Apollyon couldn''t figure out how those small wings on which reced where her long elven ears should have can be strong enough to carry the weight of a? young adult.

    It made him wonder if Princess Sapphire was a daughter of a powerful creature whom she had inherited such unique deformity.

    Was it a god, or was it another mysterious creature who wasn''t allowed to breed with faeries to cause such a w?

    Well, aside from this obvious deformation, Princess Sapphire was a strong, young faerie who was wise beyond her years with a heavy burden to carry.

    She had the responsibility of holding a ''spymaster'' position in the Summer Courts sat heavily on her shoulders despite her young age.

    Princess Sapphire wouldn''t have acquired that elite position from all the mature adult sentinels who vied for it if she wasn''t a Fae Magic powerhouse inside her.

    There was no doubt she could protect herself if the odd stranger in front of her were a threat.

    In addition to that, Xerxes was also there to protect her, so he didn''t have to interfere unless the stranger they were with was a dangerous one.

    Apollyon was too far from their location as he inconspicuously climbed a tree and kept himself hidden from the thick branches.

    He was careful.

    His light predatory movements prevented him from making a sound.

    No leaves from his tree had fallen as he peeked through the canopies.

    He doubted those faeries could pick the slightest decibel up from a distance.

    They would think he was a mere squirrel.

    The darkness had aided him in his mission, as well as a simple cloaking spell that would make his form and his scent undetected.

    ''Oh, the world had turned upside down.'' Apollyon smirked as he leaned one hand into the tree trunk. ''His half-sister had spied on him before.''

    Now the spymaster was the target of his espionage.

    He shifted his attention from Princess Sapphire to the interloper.

    If he already exuded an odd aura from Apollyon''s view at the observatory, he was even more baffling up close, and he didn''t know what to make of his form.

    Blinking rapidly, Apollyon frowned at the dark blue cloak and tunic he wore. Because it seemed like the prints of the fabric were made of twinkling stars and gxies he had witnessed just a few hours ago with his wife as they peeked at the midnight sky using the telescope.

    Was this just a mere coincidence?

    Nevertheless, that wasn''t the most shocking part.

    The stranger''s limbs were covered in charcoal ck in the darkness.

    At first sight, one could have the first impression that he didn''t own arms and legs.

    His shoes and hisrge beaded ne were made of shiny gold, and of course, his mask was.

    His golden mask had the horns of an ox attached to it, while the hole on the other eye wasrgerpared to the other eye.

    The faerie wings were absent, so Apollyon was certain he wasn''t part of the Fair Folk.

    But based on what he had seen, Apollyon couldn''t figure out what and who this oddball was when he was covered from head to toe.

    "Who are you?" Princess Sapphire asked as she raised a hand, summoning a tiny ball of bright energy until it grew bigger as it sucked the power from the trees and shrubs around her like she was creating a small sun of her own.

    Was it the sr energy the nts have absorbed during the daylight?

    He hadn''t seen this type of magic before. Apollyon''s lips parted at how amazing it appeared as if she was carrying a real star in her hand.

    "I am here to meet my daughter."

 Chapter 550 - Hair

    <h4>Chapter 550 - Hair</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (June 2021)

    ***********************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ***********************

    "You are not my father!" Princess Sapphire''s voice sounded like she was speaking through her teeth with forced restraint.

    "How did you know I am not your father, child?" The stranger''s response was careful as he tilted his head at her. " Have you seen him before?"

    "No." His sister shot back and asked him a question,? "How will I know you are my father if you haven''t taken that stupid mask off?"

    "I am your father!" From the volume of his deep baritone, Apollyon knew that his half-sister was sessful at pissing her father off if that was what he was hoping.

    His ck legs widened their stance as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Your mother told me out-of-the-blue that she didn''t want me anymore and left me without my consent."

    "A woman does not have to ask for consent if she desired to leave the rtionship." Princess Sapphire whispered in annoyance at the man''s audacity to im her mother when Princess Ourania didn''t want anything to do with him.

    Her tone was slightly shaking when the stranger tried to step forward but, he changed his mind immediately after Xerxes''s snout twisted in aggression, followed by a growl that would make the target realize that he was about to be torn to pieces.

    Apollyon could tell that Xerxes was a bit apprehensive at the unknown man as one of his hind legs moved a little backward, but he knew that the young man was a fighter, through and through, when it came to protecting his ward even at the cost of his life.

    She was on her mother''s side for the first time instead of this masked man iming to be his father.

    "I am tired of the men in my mother''s life keeping their identities hidden." Sheined to no one in particr. "I have never seen that Sir Tristan in my whole life and now she was engaged without telling me beforehand?"

    It was more like an inner monologue of her repressed feelings towards their mother.

    Apollyon could slightly sympathize with her experience.

    "I must not be Princess Ourania''s child. How can she disregard me like I was nothing but air? I''m present��just around her��and she knew it." She added, raising her chin and thrusting her chest out. "My mother just choose to ignore me most of the? time."

    As he exhaled an inaudible sigh, Apollyon realized how his sentiments were a bit simr to Princess Sapphire.

    It only confirmed that no one from the Summer Pce was kind enough to inform them of this engagement party.

    How much more if it was the marriage itself?

    Well, Apollyon desired to renounced any association he had with Princess Ourania from the moment they first met at the Faerie Tea Party, so he shouldn''t care about any of these except for his half-sister.

    ''Yes.'' He nodded.

    He was doing it for his sister.

    He should at least care for her when her own mother wouldn''t.

    Apollyon was just there hiding among the branches just in case this self-proimed father who was absent in her life would harm her.

    "Here. This might prove that I am your father." The stranger pulled something out from his fancy tunic with a part of the universe drawn on it and casually threw it towards Princess Sapphire.

    Xerxes and his sister were frozen in their ces, and their spines were as rigid as steel.

    Eyes widening in fear for his sister''s life, Apollyon''s entire muscles tensed before he made a split-second decision to save his half-sister, no questions asked.

    They must have thought the same in that short moment.

    That would have exploded in Princess Sapphire and Xerxes'' faces and burn them to death.

    Jerking forward, Apollyon was about to teleport underneath the flower arbor to grab his sister and the werewolf and transfer them to a safe ce.

    Still, the stranger''s statements had stopped him from doing so.

    He almost fell from the tree from the restraint.

    As he gave himself time to be logical, he quickly realized that it wasn''t the Hephaestus stone wasn''t the thing that was tossed at their feet.

    At least, that was what he could make out from what he had seen.

    He heard his wife perfectly describe the Hephaestus stone, and it was nowhere simr to the mysterious item.

    Everything happened as fast as lightning.

    It was fortunate that Apollyon didn''t react instantly when he recalled what the stranger said.

    Why would this man spend his time convincing his child that he was the father if he would throw the magic firestone and kill them?

    If he intended to kill without a conversation, but he didn''t. , he should have hurled the Hephaestus stone the first time he saw Princess Sapphire and Xerxes

    It spared him from revealing himself during his espionage.

    Apollyon swore he had caught a glimpse of a long lock of uneven ck braids cut by a knifending in a soft ''flump'' in Xerxes'' front paw.

    Seconds felt like minutes as the three of them nced down to stare at it with intense scrutiny.

    He must be her birth father!

    Then, Princess Sapphire''s father spoke softly, "Let''s go to my Kingdom."

    Aghast, Princess Sapphire''s mouth opened in shock as her hands clenched on Xerxes'' thick silver fur forfort.

    "That is my hair!"? As she nced around? looking for an escape, she? shrieked at him, "Why are you carrying my hair around, you creepy monster?"

    It was proof of his paternity, and Apollyon believed him.

    "I sent your mother a message to get her permission to visit me after she decided she would have nothing to do with me--" The bull-masked stranger exined. "--but your stubborn? mother sent me this instead, telling me that she would never allow you to go near me and I should just be contented with this."

    "This is the reason why my mother cut my hair so short when I was a child so that she could give them to you!"

 Chapter 551 - Black Cat

    <h4>Chapter 551 - ck Cat</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (June 2021)

    ***********************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ***********************

    "I sent your mother a message to get her permission to visit me after she decided she would have nothing to do with me." The stranger told Princess Sapphire calmly.

    Yet, Apollyon could sense the underlying ire underneath his disguise. "But your stubborn? mother sent me this instead, telling me that she would never allow you to go near me and I should just be contented with this."

    Apollyon scowled. ''Something isn''t right here.''

    This wasn''t the time to interfere.

    He tilted his head, waiting for her next reaction.

    Princess Sapphire, Xerxes, and Apollyon assumed incorrectly.

    His half-sister might think he was a creepy monster, but Apollyon''s mother would have won if there was a contest.

    It was Princess Ourania''s idea to offer her hair strands in the first ce.

    What mother in a healthy mental state would do that to the father of her child if it weren''t for revenge?

    "This is the reason why my mother cut my hair so short when I was a child so that she could give them to you!" Princess Sapphire shrieked at the stranger so loud, and she pointed an using finger at him when she said ''you as if it was his fault. "You must have done something to piss off."

    Apollyon clicked his tongue.

    It wasn''t good.

    Some women in this Realm were used to me the man for anything.

    She added in the deration, "I will not im you as my father just because you have my hair in your possession!"

    "I showed you a proof. What more could you ask for?" The stranger stalked them like a predator, trapping them by the small door so that they couldn''t escape him.

    Unless Xerxes would tackle his chest with his front paws and bite the man''s head off.

    It was either fight or flight: fight the masked stranger or open the door to the Hedge Maze Garden or expose their vulnerable backs.

    Princess Sapphire was preparing for an attack as the ball of light energy stopped growing in her palm.

    Raising his hackles, Xerxes let out a low growl and bared his teeth as a warning as he tried to maneuver when he was about to close in.

    The man was a bit rxed and yful, making Apollyon doubt if he would hurt his own child or not.

    The werewolf began to lose patience.

    He stood on two legs to show his dominance before he attacked.

    Suddenly, a ck cat jumped from the nearby bush, and Xerxes halted because he recognized who it was.

    It was the cat that a faerie witch��who was rmended by Prince Aspen-- had left at the cabin to watch over Luna, iming that she will get the cat after his wife woke up from her sleep and her vampire body already adjusted to the demon souls she had eaten at the Ostara.

    How did it get here from the Vinca Inn?

    Xerxes immediately avoided the feline so that he wouldn''t get crush its small form.

    The stranger was sessful at evading him as well.

    He could see the regret in the werewolf''s sharp eyes the moment he lost his momentum.

    Apollyon had the shock of his life when the thick white mist swirled around the cat and transformed into a faerie��

    ''No, it wasn''t a faerie because it had no butterfly wings behind her back. '' Apollyon covered a hand over his open mouth.

    It appeared like a goddess, but he couldn''t recognize who she was.

    Goddesses never showed themselves to other creatures unless it was necessary to do it.

    They show themselves to the women they chose to be their servants, priestesses, warriors, and apprentices, or they could show themselves to men if they have missions to fulfill a prophecy and be a hero.

    Apollyon''s eyebrows knitted in confusion as he stared at the tableau in front of him.

    Why was the goddess here, and who was she here for?

    Was it Princess Sapphire, Xerxes, or the stranger?

    Or was she here because of him?

    After thest sentence flew from his mind, his eyes met the goddess'' brown ones.

    She averted her gaze immediately and ignored him.

    Her attention focused on the man wearing the peculiar golden bull mask.

    The goddess was wearing a dark cloak covering her entirely except her face.

    Her hair was parted into two and settled over her shoulder like long curtains.

    Silver and gold head chains adorned her hood, extending to her wide forehead.

    Apollyon''s eyes were still wide in disbelief.

    The ck cat watching over Luna as it slept on her stomach was a goddess.

    "I don''t know what you are ying at Hecate but your High Priestess is immune to a god''s wildfire." The stranger murmured.? "No creature, not even the Summer Monarch who had a great tolerance to the element of fire, next to dragons, could survive them. You of all gods and goddesses knew that I had derived the scorching mes from the under the volcanoes. It is simr to the intensity of Hellfire. How did that happen, Hecate?"

    "It is none of your business." She said tly as she linked her fingers together.

    Hecate?

    The Goddess of Magic and the Underworld was their ck cat all along?

    And the High Priestess immune to wildfire?

    Were they talking about his beloved wife?

    It was good that Apollyon could still hear their conversation when their voices turned softer.

    It was clear that Hecate knew that Apollyon was hidden behind the tree branches despite the far distance.

    Both of them shared sudden eye contact!

    He doubted it was a coincidence.

    Did the man who imed to be Sapphire''s father figured that out, too, or was Hecate just too powerful of a witch to disable magic of any kind?

    It was either she had the sight, or she was the source of all Fae Magic.

    Did ancient Fae Magic really came from the Fallen Watchers, or did it originate from Hecate?

 Chapter 552 - Ouranias Love Affair

    <h4>Chapter 552 - Ourania''s Love Affair</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (June 2021)

    **************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    **************************

    "You couldn''t answer me?"? The man snorted.

    Then, he gave Hecate a disdainful smile. "Don''t look the other way and pretend to be ignorant. The only thing I want to do is to take my child with me."

    He turned to look at Princess Sapphire, who was throwing daggers with her eyes. "Princess Ourania had her for the fourteen years of her life." His posture was tense.

    Apollyon could see that he was tense.

    He clenched and unclenched his fists as if he was ready for a fight. "I just want to make it up to her."

    "I told you not to interfere with my ns, Hephaestus."

    Hephaestus?

    The God of Fire?

    Apollyon grabbed into the branches for support, but he was still careful not to make a sound.

    He had too many surprises in a short period that he wasn''t sure what to think anymore.

    Why was Hephaestus here?

    Was he the one who killed the aristocrats with the wildfire from the stone he dropped at the Great Hall?

    Apollyon''s pale face darkened by the minute he put two and two together.

    If he was�� then it was Princess Sapphire''s father who ruined his mother''s engagement party with a Knight.

    Did the god do it as revenge because he didn''t want to see Princess Ourania happy with a new man?

    What oath do they have for one another?

    It made him more curious about their rtionship, if there was even one.

    Knowing his mother, Princess Ourania might have tricked the god into doing something for her.

    Princess Ourania was a maniptive mother as far as he could understand from their exchange.

    How did a god, like him, able to impregnate his mother when she was so out of touch with reality?

    There must be some secret behind this.

    When did this happen?

    Apollyon''s question made him scowl.

    If Hephaestus was the impostor who killed the aristocrats in the Great Hall, why, out of all people who attended the engagement party, did he use Apollyon''s form as mour to fool the rest of them and killed the aristocrats?

    Why did he tell his wife that he picked the wrong target?

    He had so many questions, but the best thing he could do for now observed them.

    He had a feeling that his eye contact earlier with the Goddess Hecate was a sign that he need not interfere and go to the arbor and join the tense discussion.

    "Why are you giving an Archdemon such power��your power--enough that she could defeat a god or a goddess if she wanted to?" Hephaestus asked, "Where does your loyalty lie?"

    Were they talking about Luna?

    Princess Sapphire raised an eyebrow. "Archdemon?"

    Chuckling, Hecate''s eyes gleamed like a sparkling diamond in the dark. "My loyalties will always lie to me and to the Underworld because it is my duty as the Goddess. You should have heeded my warning, Hephaestus, when I told you to stop seducing the Summer Princess in the short period where she became my guest in my Kingdom."

    Casually sauntering in front of? Xerxes and Princess Sapphire, Hecate blocked the two from Hephaestus'' sight.

    "You lived off from my hospitality in a while after you and your wife''s countless affairs and your sexual advances towards Athena were rejected. You have used my poor guest as an outlet for your��" Hecate''s gaze scanned him from head to toe and her lips curved upward in a smirk. "-- sexual frustrations."

    "I thought I loved her, Hecate." There was a long pause from everyone after his confession. Nobody spoke nor reacted. Maybe, they couldn''t believe what they heard. Hephaestus continued, "Princess Ourania wasn''t a mere outlet for my misfortunes in love. I was gruff,ugly andme but she was kind to me? and genuinely interested in the work that I do. She was the only one who respected me out of all the women I have encountered in my lifetime. "

    Apollyon could hear the hurt when his voice cracked a bit.

    He never thought that a God could sound vulnerable.

    Maybe, they could when it came to their heart. It was their weakness.

    "With her smile as glorious as the morning sun, I thought Princess Ourania had loved me as? she kept finding me in my workshop In the Underworld and asked me a lot of questions while I created the weapons��"

    "The weapons I have asked of you in exchange for staying in my Kingdom, Hephaestus." Hecate interrupted.

    She shook her head in impatience, as if she already knew this would happen. "I told you to stay away from her while she was there��"

    "She was the one who came to my bed!" But, Hephaestus exined stiffly in his righteous anger, "I didn''t force her to do anything like what I did to Athena."

    "So, Princess Ourania seduced you." Her response was matter-of-fact. "Did you give her something in exchange? The Summer Princess was a mercenary through and through."

    "It is none of your business." He waved a dismissive hand and shifted his gaze behind Hecate. "It is time for the child to know me as the one who spawned her�� who made her a demigod.

    "You were a genius and a spy master at a young age." He looked over at the child, he imed, as he and Xerxes growled again, responding to the threat.

    "You aren''t who you are holding greater power than the rest of? your peers if it wasn''t for me."He said in a bold deration which pissed Princess Sapphire off.

    "I did it by myself, father�� or whoever you are. I don''t care. I achieved the position on my own without your guidance and especially not because the Summer Monarchs have humor my interest just because I am the Princess!" Princess Sapphire cried out as she faced him head-on. "You have no right o discredit my achievements because I had beaten all the Summer Faeries who coveted the position! I became the victor after passing all the tests. You have no right to take the glory away from me!"

 Chapter 553 - Hephaestus VS Hecate

    <h4>Chapter 553 - Hephaestus VS Hecate</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (June 2021)

    ***********************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ***********************

    "You have no right to take the glory away from me!"

    Hecate looked over her shoulder and glowered at the bright ball of light energy forming in Princess Sapphire''s raised hand.

    She didn''t give it up despite Hecate''s presence between her and Hephaestus, and that might put the Goddess of the Underworld in a bad mood.

    Apollyon shook his head in disapproval.

    Princess Sapphire didn''t trust the goddess to protect her.

    It made sense that Hecate had taken it as an insult.

    Apollyon''s sweat trickled from his brow as he pressed his lips together.

    He feared for his half-sister''s life in the presence of these two powerful beings with no one to guide her on how to deal with either one.

    "Dissolve your weapon, girl." Hecate whispered in a cold, ruthless tone, and Apollyon wondered if this was how shemunicated with his wife.

    Strict.

    He didn''t like that.

    Princess Sapphire matched Hecate''s death re with an arrogance that only a child who believed she had the upper hand and continued holding her weapon up.

    Apollyon admired his sister''s audacity to disobey the goddess�� but that would get her in trouble. God''s blood! She was more stubborn than his wife!

    The goddess only smiled at her disy of defiance.

    Shadows swirled around the arbor as she cast a sudden bolt of darkness on Princess Sapphire''s fireball.

    Pitch ck clouds swallowed the light energy, and it vanished in an instant. "Don''t test me, darling, or I might control? your beloved werewolf, Xerxes, and take him to the Underworld with me."

    "I��I apologize, Goddess." She immediately backtracked at the mention of the werewolf,? "Please keep Xerxes out of this."

    "Only if you are good girl, Princess Sapphire. Trust me and I will handle this one." Hecate reassured her when his sister''s behavior turned docile. "Those weapons will not have any use against your father."

    "My father?" Her countenance was the epitome of disgust.

    "Yes." Hephaestus''s voice softened to soothe Princess Sapphire''s visible distress. "I am your father and you belong to me. I will train? you to be my apprentice. I am the God of Fire, Hephaestus, and I can teach you the art of making weapons." He promised her, but he made no move towards her. "If? you train with me, you will be invincible among all the Summer Faeries."

    "I don''t have a father who is a killer!"? Princess Sapphire''s face was red with anger as she yelled at him, If you are really Hephaestus, then you must be the one who is responsible for the deaths of the innocent tonight! Why did you do it?!"

    "Was it to get back at my mother for marrying another and leaving you behind?" The intensity of her voice raised with every question. "Did you think it through before you dropped your stone? Did you really think I would love you for this?!"

    "You didn''t ask me for what I want." She repeatedly rubbed her hands against Xerxes''s fur forfort.

    There was audible stress in her posture and tone. " If you are really my father did you take into consideration where I want to stay and where I want to be with!"

    "I have heard your prayers every day the moment you wake up and every night you cry yourself to sleep." Hephaestus said.

    Sapphire''s lips parted in shock as a myriad of expressions were shown on her face. "How did you��"

    "I''m here now. Come with me to my home, my child, and I will give you all the love I could give you more than what your heartless mother could give. What more could you ask for?" Hephaestus reached a hand out to her.

    Yet, it was only a mere gesture since Hecate had created a? shadow of imprable shields every time he stepped out of line.

    "My freedom." She said with conviction. "Take your mask off and let me see your face."

    "I don''t care what you think of me if I wouldn''t reveal what I look like." His lips pressed into a white sh. "I will abduct you if I have to."

    "Hephaestus." Smirking, Hecate tilted her head at him as she rested a hand on her hip. "What made you think that I would let you?"

    With a slight wave of her hand with murmurs of dark incantations in her scarlet lips,? hundreds of ghastly winged monsters appeared out of nowhere as if they were hiding in the shadows for a long time waiting to be summoned by the Goddess of the Underworld.

    Why did Luna have the exact abilities as Hecate?

    He recalled how his wife called out the trapped souls haunting the Solitary Fae''s territory to distract the Spring Militia.

    Both of them assumed she could do it because Luna was an Archdemon.

    Did she unwittingly became Hecate''s High Priestess despite not being a virgin because she had the Mark of the Triple Moon Goddess on her chest?

    "Don''t make me animate? the dead people? you killed in the wildfire, Hephaestus." Hecate smiled, revealing straight pearly white teeth.

    Apollyon almost forgot that she was also the Goddess of Necromancy. "It wasn''t the aristocrats'' fault that Princess Ourania? cased you aside when? you have no use of you anymore, only to be reced with a poor Knight."

    "You think I would be afraid of you?" Hephaestus pulled out a small white egg underneath his tunic and dropped it.

    Apollyon thought it was another firestone, and he flinched when he heard an inaudible ''ck'' when itnded on the ground, expecting an explosion.

    But that would be impossible since Hecate was there.

    The goddess wouldn''t let the children die. And if the God of Fire valued Sapphire as his daughter, he wouldn''t allow anything to harm her.

    Nevertheless, Apollyon''s eyes fell shut, and he ducked his head just in case.

    There wasn''t any mighty st of a supernova.

    When Apollyon opened his eyes again, a dragon with bronze wings, golden scales, and giant rubies for eyes roared loud in the full moon, showing its razor-sharp teeth.

    It was an automaton made by Hephaestus himself.

    The bronze dragon''s whole body was on fire.

 Chapter 554 - Wake Up!

    <h4>Chapter 554 - Wake Up!</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (June 2021)

    ***************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ***************************

    The bronze dragon''s whole body was on fire, lighting up the night simr to Princess Sapphire''s ball of light from the nt''s life force ��a replica of a small sun.

    Apollyon sucked in a quick breath as he admired Hephaestus''s automaton.

    The dragon was a gorgeous art made of metal, but it didn''t look that good if one should face this monster before they died.

    So, this was the God of Fire''s magic in its purest form, huh?

    He can make these metalse alive while the Goddess of the Underworld was to animate the dead souls and manipte them to her will.

    He might as well join if he wasn''t mated with Luna.

    This battle is a must-watch, but not in this view.

    Apollyon was too near, and he might perish if the fire burned his heart or his brain.

    If it was only his half-sister who could only pull this kind of magic off out of all the Summer Faeries in this Court, Apollyon could tell that she might have inherited the power to carry this sr energy from her father, Hephaestus.

    Of course, Hephaestus didn''t be the god of Fire for nothing!

    It contained incredible power inside its machinations. That was why the ze didn''t melt its bronze armor.

    Despite settling himself in a higher elevation than Xerxes, Princess Sapphire, and Hecate, who stood at the arbor with the dragon in front of them, Apollyon still had to clutch on the branches keep his bnce as he nced upon the dragon''s head.

    Jerking his head back, his mouth fell open in amazement.? "Wow."

    Its head was so huge that Apollyon could only see a side of its face and one side of its round ruby eyes emitting a strong, blinding red light.

    How tall was it?

    Apollyon could estimate the sleek creature''s estimated height was thirty feet, towering over other ancient trees and fae-made structures around it.

    The ground shook from the force of the winds as it pped its mechanical wings and the wings made a ''aaaang'' sound as it flew heavenward to the dark sky.

    Shoulders hunching over, Apollyon cringed inwardly when he heard the unpleasant sound and covered his ears.

    It wouldn''t make his ears bleed, but he could barely stand it because of his sensitive hearing.

    The loud and long ringing noise sounded like a metal hitting another metal object.

    Apollyon''s entire muscles tensed when he remembered that his wife was asleep in the observatory! He closed his eyes for a few seconds as he took that short time to regret his life choices.

    Why did theye here in the first ce to sleep in the observatory and yed with the telescope to watch the stars?

    No, Apollyon wasn''t rueful about the new memories he made with his wife at the gazebo.

    They were priceless to him.

    The question was: why did the god and a goddess choose this location to pick a fight?And why were they fighting over Princess Sapphire at dawn?

    If this was all about the ego to prove who was more powerful, they should have saved their energy until morning so that every Summer Faerie would see them destroy the? Monarch''s property!

    No one would dare me Apollyon and Luna over this debacle if they weren''t present here in the first ce.

    Will the noise wake Luna up as the roars reverberated throughout the expanse of the garden?

    It must have disturbed the nocturnal animals lurking behind the trees, simr to him.

    There is no need to wonder and wait for another tragedy, simr to the wildfire at the Great Hall.

    He had to move his wife to safety, especially when the God of Fire, the one and only culprit of the faerie immtion,? was near the vicinity.

    Apollyon prayed everyone in the Summer Castle would wake up and find out what these powerful beings were up to when they see a huge dragon by their windows as hundreds of ghosts released from the shadows swirled around the area.

    ''God''s Blood.'' Wincing, Apollyon shook his head.? ''Never mind that.''

    The bronze dragon opened its mouth as a yellow-orange ball of fire simr to what Princess Sapphire held in her hand earlier came out of its throat.

    Hecate didn''t give the automaton to breathe fire and destroy every living creature in the Hedge Maze Garden.

    As she extended her left arm in front of her,? a magic bow materialized in her hand as she pulled back her other arm.

    sping the thin string, she stretched the extremely long and sharp icy arrow with her hand, aimed it at the mouth of Hephaestus'' dragon, and shoot it in a quick, precise movement.

    The icy quiver Hecate shot sessfully entered its throat and repressed the fire before it could do damage.

    The dragon btedly realized what it had done and closed its mouth.

    The Goddess of the Underworld smirked when the magic arrow turned the dragon''s bronze armor into blue ice, and they cracked into thousands of pieces.

    The souls and demons also helped with entering the automaton''s internal parts for speedy destruction.

    After that, Apollyon didn''t know what happened next.

    He realized this wasn''t a show anymore.

    This was real.

    His eyebrows were drawn together as his gaze flitted back and forth to the Hephaestus and Hecate.

    If he didn''t get Luna out of here to keep her from harm, then it would be his fault the second time. He didn''t care about anyone else.

    "Fuck it." Apollyon cursed and teleported back to Luna in the observatory in an instant.

    Let the Goddess of the Underworld deal with Hephaestus and save Princess Sapphire and Xerxes while he dealt with his sleeping beauty in the gazebo, which was unaware of what was happening around them.

    Only Apollyon could feel this urgency when his wife was dead to the world.

    "Wife." Apollyon knelt beside the mattress as he shook her shoulders, so strong her head lolled from side to side. "You have to wake up."

 Chapter 555 - Stay Away From Drama

    <h4>Chapter 555 - Stay Away From Drama</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (June 2021)

    ***************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ***************************

    "Wife." He knelt beside the mattress as he shook her shoulders, so strong her head lolled from side to side. "You have to wake up."

    Eyes still closed, Luna stretched her armszily in the bed, and it almost hit Apollyon in the forehead if he hadn''t ducked.

    It seemed like his wife was still oblivious to the chaos not far from them.

    Shaking his head from side to side, Apollyon rubbed a palm over his face as he had a love-hate notion from the sight of his beloved struggling to keep her eyes open.

    She blinked rapidly to lighten her heavy-lidded eyes.

    "Hmmm." Moaning, Luna squinted at him to focus on his face as if making sure that he wasn''t a part of a dream.

    She still hadn''t made any move yet as she stared at him, still lyingnguidly on the mattress like an innocent seductress absently waiting for his nextmand, dazed and confused.

    Maybe, she didn''t hear him the first time.

    "Wife." Apollyon said gruffly.

    Cupping her face with a hand, Apollyon caressed her rosy cheeks with his thumb.

    No matter how much he tried, Luna was still lethargic that he felt like a monster for disturbing her from her beautiful sleep. "You have to get up."

    It was clear that getting out of bed to escape wasn''t one of her options.

    Loud thuds and thumps rented through the air.

    Frown lines marred his forehead.

    Apollyon looked at his wife''s countenance closely if she could hear the bronze metal parts of Hephaestus'' dragon shattering, ripped apart to tiny pieces by Hecate''s arrow.

    The sounds of dull, heavy objects falling were followed by high-pitched explosions that were too sharp for a vampire''s ears, echoing terribly as if it was an anguished howl of a hurt leviathan.

    But there was no change in her reaction.

    ''Don''t tell me that you can''t hear them, Luna?'' Apollyon mused gently so that he wouldn''t overwhelm her as he spoke through Luna''s mind.

    Silence only answered him.

    Even if she was wide awake, his beloved was so out of reality as she faced him without responding.

    Maybe, she was too exhausted that she had thrown her mind somewhere.

    He sighed.

    It would be a shame to move his sleepy wife around.

    He better make it quick.

    "Luna." Apollyon snapped a finger in her nk face, and she lost her eye contact with him only to shift her attention to his hand.

    He noticed that her clouded eyes became clearer with every snap.

    "Can you clear your sleepy head and focus on what I am about to tell you, beloved?" He urged her as heced it with hypnosis to get Luna to obey her without question.

    Would this magic work with a vulnerable Arhdemon?

    It felt like he was talking to a baby��a baby in an adult''s body that was put in a trance.

    "Wife." Apollyon called her again, scooting at the edge of the bed, and brought himself closer to hernguorous body.

    The jasmine scent emanating from her hair and skin infiltrated his nostrils, and he almost lost his concentration.

    How can a vampire mate''s sweat smell so good, especially during sleep?

    Apollyon cursed.

    These damned pheromones bothering him at the wrong moment!

    This time, Apollyon increased the doses of his power as he brought his lips closer to her ear, "We have to get out of here, beloved."

    Green eyes almost bleeding into pure ck, her pupils dte as if she finally understood what was going on.

    As if by reflex, Luna leaned her elbows on the mattress and lifted herself.

    ncing up at Apollyon, Luna was all eyes and all ears as she pressed her lips in concentration.

    Her silver hair was curled and messed up from the pillow as it hung loosely around her shoulders.

    She looked so out of it.

    He would have whispered how adorable she was if it wasn''t for the loud explosions in the background of Hecate dismantling the bronze dragon with another set of her magic arrows coated with eternal ice.

    "Why?" Luna covered her mouth as she yawned and stretched her arms heavenward.

    Inclining her head at him, she asked groggily as she settled her hands on herp, "What is happening, husband?"

    "I''m sorry to disturb your sleep, beauty, but we must go." Getting up from the floor, Apollyon climbed to the bed and wrapped one arm around her back while the other slid underneath her legs.

    Luna''s eyes widened as she noted Apollyon''s haste to remove her from the bed.

    "Is there a war?" She scanned around the observatory in panic.? "Was the Summer Courts after us and med us for your the failure your mother''s engagement party?"

    "This will be quick." But then, Apollyon deadpanned as he carried her in his arms, "You don''t have to do anything."

    "Is this a jest, Apollyon?!"

    "Shh." Apollyon looked down at her and replied, "We are returning to the Vinca Inn."

    "Why what is��" Luna couldn''t finish her words when the Mark of the Triple Moon Goddess turned bright red just below her corbone.

    It emitted a bright red light in the dark but not strong enough to alert the others of their presence. "My c-chest seemed to b-burn, Apollyon. It hurts."

    She shut her eyes tightly as she clutched her chest.? "What is happening to me?"

    "You have to calm down and rx." Apollyon told her gently and kissed her forehead. "Breathe in. Breathe out."

    He kept his features smooth and emotionless so that Luna wouldn''t suspect that the Goddess of the Underworld showed up in the same Realm as them.

    "Can''t you hear it, wife?"

    "What sounds?" She said in a whisper-shout.

    Apollyon''s brows raised a little when he noticed that everything turned quiet all of a sudden.

    Luna looked at her like he had grown two heads.

    The sounds had betrayed him, making him appear like he was the crazy one!

    Did the battle between Hephaestus and Hecate end?

    "Don''t mind it." Apollyon shrugged. "We will disappear and remove ourselves away from this madness."

    Apollyon and Lunanded on their king-sized bedroom at their luxury suite in Vinca Inn.

 Chapter 556 - Meet And Greet

    <h4>Chapter 556 - Meet And Greet</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (June 2021)

    ****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    "Apollyon." Luna''s gaze flittered across the room as she stated the obvious aloud. "We are in Vinca Inn."

    "I told you." Her husband said, his shrewd blue eyes narrowed at her.

    Both of them were on their King-sized canopy bed while he knelt on the mattress while he still carried her in his arms.

    Exhaling a heavy sigh, Luna just prayed that his outdoor shoes didn''t mess up their pristine beddings.

    "What happened at the gardens?" Luna titled her head at him with interest. "You informed me that you will be away to monitor the area and ce barriers around us to alert us of intruders?"

    "Indeed, there are intruders present the garden''s domain." Apollyon began, but then he paused to correct himself, "��- well, they aren''t intruders when all of them were assembled at the far entrance. I was pleasantly surprised that you didn''t wake from the dragon''s mighty roars."

    "Roars?" Luna''s brows knitted in confusion.

    "Never mind."? Finally, Apollyon settled her gently on the bed of their luxurious suite. "By the time your clouded mind cleared from your deep sleep, the goddess already dismantled the automaton with ice and freeze the metal with magic."

    "Goddess?" Luna''s voice raised with anticipation as she held his cor and pulled him closer. "What goddess, Apollyon?" She demanded, "Who was it?"

    "It was our��" Apollyon shook his head as he hesitated to speak, weighing his words.

    Luna squinted at him because it felt like he was omitting something that he should have said.

    After careful consideration, he uttered? the words, "It was the Goddess of the Underworld, Hecate."

    "Oh my goddess, Apollyon!" Luna eximed, giddy with excitement.

    If she wasn''t pregnant, she could stand up, jump up and down the bed, and break the bed frame.

    "She was here? Why was she here?" Luna said in a whisper-shout as a flood of happiness swept over her that her emerald eyes were probably shining right now. "Maybe, she desired to meet me and talked to me about the purpose of her mark on my chest!"

    "No, wife." Apollyon said wryly. "It wasn''t because of you."

    Her arms crossed over her chest.? "Have you talked to her?"

    "No."

    Apollyon was victorious at dampening her mood.

    "You don''t even know the reason." She jutted her chin and replied,? "I want her to exin in personal."

    "No. I wouldn''t let you." He told her, and his tone was final. "We will stay here until the dust settled."

    "Why would we run away and scape the garden, husband? She wasn''t a threat." Luna reasoned out as her hands clutched the coverlet in frustration. "I haven''t seen her form in this Material Realm, either."

    Luna pondered if it was still the same when she brought her to the Goddess'' Kingdom.

    Her husband interrupted her musings. "I wasn''t aware that they were allowed to step foot at the Earthly Realm in this era, so I was shocked to see them assume a physical form."

    Them?

    "So there is more than one goddess?"

    That escted quickly.

    Apollyon''s lips curved upward in a sardonic grin, yet he wasn''t revealing anything. "Their appearance weren''t blinding to the eyes so I assumed it is not their not powerful, corporeal form."

    In the past, the gods and the goddesses used to roam around the Earthly Realm freely.

    "Maybe, she was here because of an urgent matter?"

    Chuckling softly, he remarked, "It is an urgent circumstance, indeed."

    "Husband." Now, she was pissed off. "Could you just tell me what it''s all about and quit the cryptic replies?"

    Luna glowered at him.

    "Alright." Apollyon responded with exquisite politeness that was almost sarcastic. "Hephaestus and Hecate is at the entrance fighting with their mythical creatures."

    "What?!

    "Why are they fighting in? the Summer Courts?!"

    "It was Hephaestus himself who dropped the stone, killing the aristocrats with his wildfire." Apollyon waved a dismissive hand. "I wouldn''t reveal more. I''m am relieved that we weren''t there to take part in the destruction. You and the baby could finally rx to? your heart''s content."? She observed that Apollyon''s brilliant gaze smoldered for some reason. "Lie back down and sleep. Now."

    "How could I sleep if my mind was already wide awake when you disturbed me?" Luna inquired, "I vaguely recall you jiggling my shoulders too much that my brain thought there was an earthquake."

    "I''m sorry, wife." Apollyon''s hungry gaze moved over her before he bent his neck forward to kiss her on the neck, "But it''s either you sleep or I will keep you up until the morning."

    "Apollyon, this isn''t the time to think about that." Luna persisted quietly, " I want to meet her and? you can''t change my mind."

    "No." He ced his hands on her shoulders and forced her to lie down as he settled himself on top of her, his knees on either side of her slender form.

    "You can''t stop me."

    Closing her eyes, Luna willed for the mattress to dissolve around them as she created the portal with her mind.

    As sheid from the bed, a huge chasm opened below Luna, sucking her whole body.

    She brought Apollyon with her since the Vampire King was on top of her.

    Both of them passed the ck hole, connecting between two present locations.

    pping her arms as if she expected it would grow her wings in an instant,? her neck stretched as she nced around her surroundings.

    She helplessly floundered from the unexpected fall.

    Luna met Hecate''s eyes when she fell from the sky in the middle of a battle.

    She noticed that Hecate was making sure the dragon remained in pieces as she controlled the restless souls and demons to hold the broken bronze metals and crushed them into smaller pieces, preventing them from morphing back together and animate the dragon.

    In that split-second glimpse of them fighting by the arbor at the entrance, Xerxes fought with the man who wore a golden bull mask as he wore a midnight blue tunic which had the universe painted in them.

    Luna assumed it was Hephaestus.

 Chapter 557 - Hecates Mission

    <h4>Chapter 557 - Hecate''s Mission</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (June 2021)

    ***************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ***************************

    For some reason, the God of Fire attempted to snatch Sapphire from her position while seated on the werewolf''s back.

    Growling wildly, Xerxes responded to the threat and bared his teeth to bite at Hephaestus'' arm during the struggle.

    When its huge canines dug through his ck vembrace��a metallic armour which clung to her forearm like a second skin, Xerxes immediately dropped dead to the ground as if he was struck by a cobra, leaving Hephaestus to grab Princess Sapphire and carry the child over his broad shoulders.

    Luna screamed at the sight of the werewolf curled up like an infant as the toxic ck metal forced him to transform back to his mortal form.

    With his back turned away from the goddess, Hecate seized the chance and aimed her magic arrow at Hephaestus''s back.

    As she witnessed the arrow as if it was possessed a spirit of an ice dragon swooshing in the air halfway before it hit the god of Fire, her husband was able to clutch the fabric of her turquoise dress before she mmed the ground and teleported her back to Vinca Inn,nding once again on top of their luxurious bed.

    "Are you crazy, wife?" Apollyon was furious, but she didn''t care as she was too focused on the Goddess of the Underworld in action.

    Bending over at the portal, Luna peeked as it shrank on the mattress, watching the battle between Hephaestus and Hecate.

    The gap slowly sealed shut just enough for arge leaf-shaped soul made of ck mass to materialize in front of their faces.

    Luna gasped and scrambled backwards away from it, expecting an attack from the hollow-eyed creature.

    "I am here to deliver a message from the Goddess." It spoke in a disembodied low, and scratchy voice.

    We are ready to hear them, soul." Apollyon''s voice thundered as he grabbed Luna''s body towards him in a protective gesture.

    The soul cleared its throat before its disembodied voice changed into Hecate''s resonance. "The husband is right, my child. You don''t need to interfere when this is an issue that I must solve. This will be? thest time that I will set foot on the Earthly Realms. I only did this to get rid of the God of Fire so that Princess Sapphire and Xerxes can remain with you after I inform you of the mission that you have to fulfill."

    "I know you are curious of the Mark of the Triple Moon Goddess on your chest." It added as the soul flew higher that Apollyon and Luna were forced to nce at it as it paused at the ceiling. "I have ced my seal upon your? skin to establish an open line ofmunication but then I decided to tell you while you are in your husband''s presence because I know you have the tendencies to hide secret."

    Jaws clenched, Apollyon turned his head to glower at her in suspicion, and Luna averted her gaze in shame.

    "The mission has been a long timeing. I have tasked Princess Ourania, Apollyon''s mother, to deliver the prophecy but she is too upied from other things that doesn''t align from the new purpose I have given her. She is not willing to change. She couldn''t forget her past with King Gwythyr. She was too prideful make amends with his son.? All her attempts of doing so were not genuine. She constantly take people for granted especially her daughter, Princess Sapphire, and favored getting love and attention from the other men who adored her unlike the Vampire King."

    "Princess Ourania didn''t care about anyone but herself." Apollyon''s arm settled on her back while they sat cross-legged on the mattress.? "Asking her to care would be like looking for Archangels in Hell."

    "I have high hopes for Princess Ourania to improve after I had taken her in the Underworld. I have given her more ess to a more advanced magic to prepare her for? the test��she had a millenia to improve herself before she met her own son��but she didn''t. I bestowed her the forbidden knowledge of her own son''s fate so that she could assist him whenever she needed help and be closer to him when the timees. She might be in the Summer Courts with her family but I let her see snippets of your life in? her dreams so that she will know what happened to you while you were in the Vampire Realm." The messenger continued.

    The hollows of its eyes turned wild and shaky with anger. "She wasn''t willing to be humble and admit her mistakes when she yed a part in this tragedy. I will respect her decision to choose a different path but we have to move on."

    She knows what Apollyon had gone through while he was alone in the Vampire Realm, and she still chose to be rude?

    "I vehemently agree, messenger." Luna nodded her head in approval while Apollyon remained silent, waiting for the soul''s next words.

    "Not only did she misuse the power I have given her in exchange for the agreement, she also abused it to her heart''s content. There is no hope for her to improve. I will punish her at the right time. It didn''t mean that she had suffered tremendously at the hands of the past Vampire King that people around her, especially those who wanted to love her, should put up with this unreasonable behavior." It said wryly.

    Luna could imagine Hecate''s expression when she decided to deliver this message.

    "It wasn''t their price to pay. It was a shame that Princess Ourania was so jaded she couldn''t help you with the mission like I intended her to do."

    "I am ready to fulfil my mission, goddess." Luna knelt and bowed her head to the mattress concerning the goddess'' message.? "Please tell me what it is."

    "The one inside you is about to wake up." It answered, "Lilith is sucking the life force out of your baby and it is stunting her growth."

 Chapter 558 - Archdemon Familiar

    <h4>Chapter 558 - Archdemon Familiar</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (June 2021)

    ***********************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ***********************

    Apollyon''s muscles still quivered as his nostrils red from breathing hard with all the adrenaline pumping in his bloodstreams.

    He was still furious about what Luna had done earlier, opening a portal of her own so quickly with just a single thought.

    He wondered if Luna created the space chasm to defy him for forbidding her to see the Goddess of the Underworld or it was an ident on her part because she was a powerful Archdemon.

    Did she fervently will it to exist when she closed her eyes as sheid t on her back beneath him, or was it just a passing thought about wishing she could see the Goddess she served although she was in the middle of a battle with another god over a kid?

    Then the strong magic she possessed turned it into a reality?

    It was so abrupt, and he didn''t expect it to happen when she actually dared to return to the Summer Castle.

    "I am ready to fulfill my mission, goddess."? Luna said with reverence. "Please tell me what it is."

    He nced down at her back while she knelt on the bed, bowing her head to Hecate''s messenger as if it was the Goddess herself.

    Apollyon frowned in disapproval.

    He didn''t like Luna like this, even if it was an ethereal being perceived to be her superior.

    It wasn''t right for the Luna, an Archdemon Empress, to pay her respects to this�� lowly�� leaf-shaped dark mass.

    His wife was of a higher status and possessed a much stronger powerpared to this weak blob!

    The strong aura of Hecate''s messenger should make his skin crawl as if he were coated with grease and dirt by the presence of an evil spirit.

    But for some reason, the soul had a simr energy to Luna''s creatures summoned at the mountains to distract the Spring Militia.

    It had no ill effects on him.

    The soul might be from the Underworld, but his aura didn''t feel icky and evil as a demon.

    Maybe, his wife made the mistake of idolizing the goddess too much that it extended to her servants when his wife was capable of being a goddess herself.

    After centuries of getting used to the abilities she yields as a Vampire and Archdemon, Luna would be stronger or simr to Hecate if she aspired to be.

    But his wife, although rebellious, impulsive and dominant at times, was capable of humility and respect��just not to her husband every time.

    Apollyon hated how she acted towards this creaturepared to him, who she should be bowing to and apologizing to appease him for her mischief.

    He wasn''t averse to his wife meeting the dark goddess if ever Hecate would allow that and talk to her.

    But Apollyon wasn''t keen to ce themselves (especially his wife) in danger and dropping from their sudden portal in the sky,nding in the middle of a battle between two godly beings.

    He was lucky that he had grabbed Luna'' clothes while mid-air and brought her back to safety.

    He gave no fucks whether masked Hephaestus would destroy the whole Summer Realm with his automaton to fetch his ''daughter'' and bring her to his Kingdom located under volcanoes.

    He was certain Hecate would do something about it.

    It had nothing to do with him nor his wife.

    It was just unfortunate that Luna desired to see Hecate.

    "The one inside you is about to wake up." Apollyon scowled as his gaze shifted to the soul floating through the ceiling.

    Its unnatural presence brought tendrils of red mist along with it, and its visible miasma left imprints on the walls like spatters of blood before it vanished right before his eyes.

    What did he mean that the one inside is about to wake up?

    He squinted at the soul as he ran a frustrated hand through his raven hair.

    ''Whose insides?'' He mused, expecting his wife to react and answer his question through their mind link. ''A vampire baby can wake up while it was still formed in the womb?''

    There was no answer, and Apollyon half-expected it.

    What was new?

    Luna''s mind was as silent as a tomb and could establish strong barriers simr to the fortifications of the Vampire Castle if he attempted a mind link only when it is convenient for her.

    He sighed as he tried to calm himself down by loosening the top button of his tunic.

    There was this unexinable feeling in his stomach as he licked his lips, waiting for the shoe to drop.

    Apollyon can neither agree nor refute the idea because this was the first time he had a mate and became a father.

    His parents weren''t a good example of child-rearing.

    There was no vampire nanny to ask and learn from.

    What was even more suspicious was that he felt that his wife''s entire form had stiffened beside him as she abruptly exhaled noisy breaths that bothered him.

    "Lilith is sucking the life force out of your baby and it is stunting her growth."

    Lilith?

    The Archdemon of Envy?

    "What did the messenger mean Luna?" Apollyon demanded, and his voice rose like a bad-tempered brute, "Did it meant that Lilith is still inside your body?"

    "I don''t��" Luna rose her head from her submissive bow, and she had a nk look on her face when she muttered, "I don''t know, Apollyon."

    She didn''t even turn her head towards him, looked him in the eye and tell him the truth as if she was ashamed and guilty of something.

    "Are you sure you have no idea about this?"

    Apollyon didn''t expect in his entire life to have a wife that was more secretive than him.

    He was the man who should be keeping secrets, damn it!

    But, instead, he forced himself to be an open book, basically changing himself to keep his mate.

    Luna promised that there would be no more secrets.

    "My child." The soul continued, "You need to summon a specific Archdemon Familiar from Hell while you figure out how to get rid of Lilith. She became a co-owner of your body because of a spell she made. No amount of exorcism could get rid of it without divine intervention."

 Chapter 559 - Frustrations

    <h4>Chapter 559 - Frustrations</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (June 2021)

    ***********************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ***********************

    "My child." The soul continued, "You need to summon a specific Archdemon Familiar from Hell while you figure out how to get rid of Lilith. She became a co-owner of your body because of a spell she made. No amount of exorcism could get rid of it without divine intervention."

    "A spell? What spell did Lilith do to my wife?" He demanded harshly, "The High Priestess who summoned the Archdemon of Envy knew exactly what she was doing during the exorcism."

    Apollyon''s eyebrows knitted into a scowl as he tried to make sense of everything. "I followed the exact process of the conjurer''s instructions to aid with Lilith''s banishment. I don''t understand."

    A hazy cloud took over and covered his mind. He tried to get rid of it with a shake in the head��or perhaps,? a hard punch on the mattress will do.

    A loud thump and a crack were heard from underneath their King-sized bed when he allowed his anger to take over.

    He could feel Luna flinch when his frustration caused the bed frame to shake.

    As he heaved noisy breaths, Apollyon calmed himself down after rying all his ire into that one strike.

    The escting rage vanished inside him, and then he was alright.

    As he turned to check up on his wife, he found that she was far from him and out of his arms'' reach.

    Her emerald eyes were wide, and her hand had covered her mouth in shock.

    Frozen, she sat across him with her knees bent and her calves underneath her as if Hecate had hit her once with her ice arrow during her battle with Hephaestus'' dragon.

    "A-Apollyon." Luna''s trembling voice was barely audible as she brought her arms close to her chest in a gesture of self-protection. "Please�� Please d-don''t be angry at me."

    "I''m sorry, wife. I apologize, but I wasn''t angry at you."? He clenched and unclenched his fists as he bowed his head down in shame.

    He couldn''t look at his wife in the eye when she had that terrified look on her face��especially if it was his fault.

    It wasn''t that he had no self-control, but Apollyon was a King who needed to remove this dark emotion in his heart through external efforts.

    When Apollyon reached for her, Luna recoiled from his touch.

    He swallowed hard at her response, and he felt like a savage brute living in a jungle rather than the King.

    Hispse of judgment must have scared her, thinking that she would be his next target.

    Apollyon wouldn''t ever dare to punch his wife in the face.

    But Luna must have assumed that due to his explosive reactions.

    Eyes moist and twinkling, as if she was about to cry, she murmured. "I''m afraid, Apollyon."

    He exhaled a harsh breath and immediately regretted the disy of violence.

    "Of what?" He asked. "Of me?"

    Luna shook her head.

    "Then, what is the problem?"

    "Nothing."

    He narrowed his eyes at her, and it made Apollyon wonder if she was hiding something from him again, indeed!

    "I''m sorry about what I did earlier when I told you that I wanted to see Hecate and dropped us in the middle of a battle. It was stupid of me." Luna admitted as she nced down at her sped hands on herp. "That must also be the reason why you punched our bed so hard? that the innkeeper might throw us out, and we had no ce to stay."

    Well, Apollyon already recovered from the fear of losing Luna after that event with the surprise portal.

    He had to reassure his wife that it was alright and it wasn''t her fault that he was furious because it was the Archdemon of Envy that he would give everything in the world (except his wife and the Vampire Realm) to get a chance to kill her.

    "I��I can''t promise that I would never do that again but know this, wife. This anger wasn''t directed at you but at the situation itself. Lilith��" Apollyon shook his head once and bit his cheek to stop himself from exploding with rage.

    That bitch really needs to be cursed all day and all night from the pain and trouble she inflicted on Apollyon and Luna''s marriage.

    He bit his lip as an awkward silence filled the room while his wife waited for him to continue.

    Luna made no move to return to his side and tell him that it was alright.

    There was still a part of him that hadn''t changed.

    Well, he wasn''t born perfect, but he could, at least, try so that his wife wouldn''t feel threatened by his presence when he was in his dark mood.

    "I�� I lost my control." It was perfectly normal, Apollyon convinced himself as he made his tone gentler. "I am so mad at everything, but I would never hurt you. I thought Lilith was��" Fuck it! He would not repress his frustration for Luna''s sake. " I thought we were able to get rid of that bitch!"

    He wasn''t mad at Luna, alright?

    Apollyon could admit that he was fuming over the possibility that Lilith was still trapped inside her somewhere.

    His hand was raised to rub against his aching temples then down to his face.

    Apollyon glowered at the soul. "So, how will this work between my wife and Lilith? You said she was about to wake up, messenger. Can we learn how to avoid any trigger that would wake Lilith up?" Apollyon asked, but he immediately thought about an important detail that answered his question. "We can''t. Because our baby Leo would suffer."

    God''s blood! Howplicated.

    "Why would you suggest summoning an Archdemon familiar to get rid of Lilith?" Luna quizzed the ghost. "We don''t need any Archdemon familiar when I am an Archdemon myself."

    "When the timees when Lilith takes over, you would be reced by Lilith." The ghost began, "Let us imagine your vessel as a chariot."

 Chapter 560 - Is This Foolproof?

    <h4>Chapter 560 - Is This Foolproof?</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (June 2021)

    ***********************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ***********************

    The soul opened its mouth to respond to her, "When the timees when Lilith takes over, you would be reced by Lilith. Let us imagine your vessel as a chariot."

    This time it danced around the atmosphere as it swayed from left to right, like an earthworm wriggling once it was cut into two but only in slow motion.

    Hecate''s dark mass of a messenger probably imagined itself as this chariot as it said.

    The formless red mist swirling around it turned as definite as small shes of lightning crackling around them in the blink of an eye.

    Apollyon wondered if this thing was as weak as it portrayed to be.

    He knew that it wouldn''t do any harm since it was Hecate''s messenger, and he could safely call his wife as an unofficial priestess of Hecate.

    Despite being married, Luna had the perks of using Underworld Magic because Hecate stamped the Mark of the Triple Moon Goddess on her skin.

    Well, he better watch it closely around Luna just for sure because the bright streaks grewrger by the second, and he can''t figure out where it would hit next and what its effect would be.

    "You are the one who holds the reins right now while Lilith is behind you as a passenger, recuperating from the exorcism." It continued.

    ''Recuperating from the exorcism done by her conjurer at the Spring Courts?

    So, the green-haired slender Spring Faerie, the demonic''s cult leader, was effective at inflicting damage enough to put the Archdemon of Envy to sleep for almost months without waking up and taking over his wife!

    ''Thank the gods and the goddess!'' He mused.

    Apollyon should thank the Three Fates for helping them avoid early destruction when they weren''t ready to handle the gravity of it.

    At least Hecate''s messenger had warned them early on.

    But then again, this momentary relief wouldn''tst forever.

    "You can''t exorcise her while she is hidden inside you, and neither can you get rid of her when you aren''t in control."

    It was a relief that the spectre lowered itself at an eye-level near the headboard so that Luna and Apollyon wouldn''t have to strain their necks from looking towards the ceiling.

    "Why couldn''t she get rid of Lilith when this other Archdemon was literally inside her?" His forehead creased with both anger and frustration. "I think it would be easier for my wife to do it. So why would there be a need for an Archdemon Familiar?"

    He wouldn''t allow any Archdemons near her at all.

    If a ghost could smirk, it should probably appear like the one in front of him. "I already told you the reason, Vampire King. Have you ever exorcised a demon when it hadn''te out of its own ord?"

    It was right.

    Apollyon hadn''t tried banishing an Archdemon if it didn''t show itself.

    As far as he could remember, Luna performed a reverse exorcism on him when the Archdemon of Gluttony had taken over Apollyon at the underground shelter.

    "Apollyon and I wouldn''t know if we wouldn''t try," Luna said.

    The ghost shed them a mischievous smile. "Then if it was easy like you said Archdemon Empress, why didn''t you do it the first time you knew about it?"

    "You knew about this, and you didn''t care to tell me?" Apollyon could feel a vein twitching in the side of his forehead.

    "Wife! Why are you fooling around with me every damn time?" He bellowed as hisrge hand curled around her arm."Tell me the truth. Did you even take your promises seriously?"

    "No, I am not fooling around with you, husband!" Her hand gestures were wild as she tried to exin. "I couldn''t feel the Archdemon of Envy upying this physical vessel of mine. It was so different that I couldn''t exin."

    "When you were possessed by the Archdemon of Gluttony in the beginning, you can feel his presence, right?" Luna gritted her teeth when she spoke and was a bit defensive. "That something foreign was inside you. Sometimes, you have an idea what he did while he took the reins. Sometimes, not."

    "I can''t see what he was doing most of the time since I was so out of it, butter as centuries passed, I found a way to somehow merge his consciousness with mine, even just for a little while. It was hard that some of Ravin''s Archdemon traits have bled into my mind. This is why you think I think and act like them��ruthless and without conscience."

    You could feel the struggle when both of you fought for control." Luna scooted closer to him and squeezed his thigh. "You don''t have any doubts that he existed in you even if you hadn''t figured out immediately what Lilith had done."

    Just like that, Apollyon rxed and agreed grudgingly. "Yes, you are right."

    "I saw a vision of Lilith sleeping into oblivion while I had the chance to peek into my consciousness. I wasn''t certain if it was just fear that supplied me with these horrible illusions. Can you me me for not telling you so that you wouldn''t worry too much over a mere spection?"

    "I already told you that you could tell me those things to get it out of your chest." Apollyon softened. "You don''t have to suffer all alone when I am here."

    The ghost cleared his throat and interrupted.

    "As I said, you need to summon an Archdemon Familiar from Hell. Someone as strong as Lilith should be able to keep her in check as well as follow your everymand. The Three Fates have foretold a prophecy to Hecate. Lilith waking up will signify the end of this world, and she will summon demons from Hell and bring them here as revenge for her lost love."

    Luna stiffened, and her tense expression was unreadable. "Then, if I summon an Archdemon Familiar, wouldn''t thatnd me in a deeper trouble?"

 Chapter 561 - End Of The World

    <h4>Chapter 561 - End Of The World</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (June 2021)

    *************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    *************************

    "Then, if I summon an Archdemon Familiar, wouldn''t thatnd me in a deeper trouble?"

    ''Of course, it would!'' Nostrils ring, Apollyon''s eyes protruded from avoiding his vtile nature for the nth time that night as he glowered at Luna. ''This was obvious! It was clear as day!

    But you know what infuriated Apollyon the most?

    It was the fact that Luna sounded like she considered the decision of summoning one.

    Apollyon nced at her earlier, but he had to double-take when he heard that straight out of her mouth.

    It shocked him to the core as if someone had turned his stomach into hard ice.

    Nevertheless, Apollyon waited patiently for her next words so that he could justify his future outbursts.

    Nobody can me him.

    Apollyon was tired of all the bullshit the Archdemons had put him and her wife through.

    He wasn''t just about to support the idea of bringing the Archdemons who hurt her and yed with her life like they were the best of friends!

    Why would he even summon the bastard who shared his body and made his life miserable for millennia?

    "This is preposterous!" Apollyon thundered.

    This wasn''t a damned fairy tale!

    Must he and his wife''s story had to experience an epic tragedy all their life to humour these bored gods and goddesses?

    Apollyon was perfectly aware that the world was unfair ever since the day he was born but this�� This was getting to him.

    He was exhausted.

    Apollyon managed a low growl, "Don''t even think about doing it, wife."

    Luna tugged at her silver hair as she gathered her knees closer, rocking back and forth.

    "But what about our baby, Apollyon? Lilith is taking Leo as a hostage! The ghost already told us that the bitch is stunting her growth." She spat.

    "It was all because of Lilith''s spell that she created with the help of her fellow Archdemon. The enchantment she used to make your physical body as her vessel was attached to your baby''s life force, and she was able to do that because of a fertility spell. That is why she got a hold of your offspring and attached herself to your flesh with sess."

    Surprised, Luna stopped sobbing and raised her head to stare at the ghost, "A f-fertility s-spell?" Then, she huped as she wiped her face with her hands, "With the h-help of an A-archdemon?"

    With clenched teeth, Apollyon demanded,? "Was Luxen the Archdemon who helped her with the fertility spell?"

    The quiet tension, whichsted for a few seconds, was enough.

    The ghost bowed and responded with mock-gravity, "The Empress already knew the answer."

    Apollyon''s jaw tightened to a rigid line as his eyes darted to his wife, whose cheeks had flushed crimson.

    "Was this the reason why that bastard pretended to be me?" He asked quietly. Apollyon knew the source of his wife''s chagrin. "--so that he could insert his seed inside you and activate the fertility spell Lilith had given to the Archdemon of Lust?"

    For the first time, Luna looked at him in the eye and never averted her gaze when they talked about this. "Yes, husband. I told you that I didn''t seduce him. I wasn''t interested in Luxen at all, so he pretended to be you so that they could set their? evil ns in motion."

    "The Goddess Hecate couldn''t tell the full effects of the fertility spell. She couldn''t see the future in its entirety. Only fragments. Your life records in the Material Realm had been restricted. And the Fates only revealed that the Archdemon inside you would start the end of the world. Lilith will not be able to kill the baby, but she might weaken it to the point that she might have disabilities or impairments if ever it was strong enough toe out." Its exnation made Apollyon scowl.

    He sat there with Luna, frozen and revolted at the thought of his heiress entering the Material Realm with abnormalities.

    As a father, he wouldn''t let that happen.

    "Lilith wasn''t just a co-owner of your vessel, Your Highness. She became your offspring''s parasite. When she had gathered more strength from your baby, it will be a battle of who will have control of the reins when your vessel imed both of your soul like hers. Your physical body can''t even tell the difference if you switched."

    Apollyon reached out for Luna''s hand to anchor him to the present.

    ."Lilith was a bad actress before." Hemented on breaking the tension. "If she takes over you, it will be easy to spot."

    "She already made a mistake once." There was a casual softness in her voice as she ced her hand over his. "Lilith would be more careful this time if she wanted to avenge herself from the exorcism you have done. In her eyes,? you have betrayed her."

    "We will make the necessary preparations."

    Fisting her fingers on the coverlets from both fear and exhration, Luna''s face looked grim yet determined as if she was ready to summon her own Archdemon? Familiar even if her entire being was against Hecate''s suggestion. "Who did the Goddess Hecate rmend to be my Archdemon Familiar, messenger?"

    "The Archdemon of Gluttony will do, Your Highness." The ghost suggested as it jumped up and down in excitement.

    Apollyon''s breathing was irregr before he yelled with gritted teeth, "No! Not that bastard who possessed me in the first ce." Chest tight with fury, Apollyon had to climb out of bed and pulled Luna along with him, "This is stupid!"

    The ghost appeared vaguely amused by his reaction. "Ravin will be Luna''s familiar as Hecate''s High Priestess. It was already arranged by the Goddess. He will follow whatever you tell her because you have acquired his true name. The son of the Fallen Angel is also your mate, and he will lead you to the Tree of Four Seasons."

    "The Tree of the Four Seasons? The Summer Monarchs had mentioned this before." Luna broke quietly.

    "It was the only way to get rid of Lilith. Eating the fruit will be the only way to get rid of her and stop the rest of the demonic legions she will bring over from possessing all the creatures in this Material Realm. "

 Chapter 562 - Fulfilling The Prophecy

    <h4>Chapter 562 - Fulfilling The Prophecy</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (June 2021)

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    "How do we find the Tree of the Four Seasons?" Luna had asked Hecate''s messenger.

    She needed someone to make it make sense for her because something didn''t add up here.

    What did that have to do with the Ravin��the son of the Fallen Angel�� whom the ghost imed that this particr Archdemon would lead them to the Garden where this Tree of the Four Seasons could be found?

    Why did it have to be him out of all the Archdemons in Hell?

    Hecate''s messenger''s hollowed eyes glowed like green orbs when it exined. "Hecate intended Princess Ourania to help you with the mission and defeat Lilith. But she let her grudges with everyone got the best of her. She had a union with Hephaestus. Princess Sapphire was the fruit of her seduction with the God of Fire. She had personal issues with everyone��her daughter, her parents and the both of you, Your Highnesses. Now, she continued her rebellion with Hecate by her engagement with the Knight from the Fall Courts when she should be guiding the both of you to fulfill your roles in the prophecy."

    "She is unstable, ording to my observations, herald," Luna replied. "She isn''t fit to guide us where to find the Tree of Four Seasons."

    "Even your Master can make mistakes, huh," Apollyon remarked in biting sarcasm.

    "The Goddess made the wrong choice of giving Princess Ourania a second chance due to her poor circumstances. But thedy had made her suffering with King Gwythyr, and the Summer Monarchs define her as a living being. It was just a shame that my Goddess negotiated Princess Ourania''s gift of prophecy with Apollo. She decided not to fulfill her role to save this Realm on the grounds of free will." The ghost responded. "All we can do now is adjust and move on to find a recement. Hecate signed the Archdemon of Gluttony for it whether he liked it or not. It was meant to be."

    Apollyon''s handsome face contorting with anger, Apollyon grabbed Luna''s wrist to pull her closer as if they were under threat, and she gasped.

    "I don''t want Ravin to deal with my wife!" Her husband rasped, and his blue eyes were wild with unease, "Their cords to each other aren''t severed yet. I don''t want the Archdemon to be associated with her by any means."

    Hecate''s ghastly herald exined that the Archdemon of Gluttony would be easier tomand as a familiar because of Luna''s blood bond with him.

    Luna nodded her head slowly in understanding as she remained silent during the discussion.

    How could she forget something important as a blood bond with the Archdemon?

    Luna wanted to crawl with shame and regret.

    She forgot that her soul was still tied to the bastard.

    Ravin was why her life was a hank of a yarn that was a pain to untangle.

    Being with her husband''s presence as they traveled from the Spring Courts and the Summer Courts lulled her into thinking that she wouldn''t have to deal with other Archdemons��especially her other forgotten husband��because there was no chance she would return to Hell.

    It would be a major headache to sessfully conjure Ravin��her remaining Archdemon mate�� in the Material Realm.

    Luna would have this dilemma of having her estranged Archdemon husband with her, attaching himself to her everywhere after binding him in this ne to be familiar.

    It would require Ravin to work with Luna near and having him at her beck and call.

    Apollyon might like the proud Archdemon��his immortal enemy and the bane of his existence�� to be a servant but not hers.

    "The ownership of a familiar cannot be transferred to you, Vampire King." Hecate''s herald answered his unstated question as if it already read her husband''s mind.

    Apollyon''s have worn an inscrutable expression, but the dark aura was as ck as the mists surrounding Hecate''s messenger.

    His utter jealousy over summoning Ravin rolled off him like waves.

    "Well, is there any other Archdemon my wife could choose as a familiar rather than that fiend?" Her husband didn''t even spare her a single nce when he asked the herald.

    It was as if she wasn''t there in the first ce.

    It tilted its head which changed forms depending on the direction of the breeze, "Do you want to pick the Archdemon of Lust then?"

    The Vampire King''s eyes were filled with fury as she felt strong bursts of powering out of Apollyon''s hand into her wrist, "Do you want to die, messenger?"

    It let out a long, evil chuckle.

    The ghost wasn''t threatened by the Vampire King.

    "I am already dead." The herald shrugged. "You can not kill me twice."

    "Lust shape-shifted into my form and defiled my wife to aid Lilith with the fertility spell! I can''t face the bastard without killing him!" Apollyon clenched his fists. "I haven''t figured out how to kill that Archdemon."

    "You will hurt your wife if you hurt the Archdemon Familiar." The ghost stared at them. "Forging a connection between a master and servant is inevitable."

    Apollyon''s stone-cold countenance with his glittering Prussian Blue eyes as he stared at the wall appeared like he just realized his nightmaresing to life.

    "Picking another Archdemon, other than Ravin, would be difficult. You will need to start over and establish a new solid bond before making that Archdemon your familiar. That would take a long while before you matched each other''s wavelength." The herald stated as he stared at Luna. "Ravin is already used to your energy since he was the first creature who was blood-bonded to you, Your Highness."

    "He will be so drawn to you, and you have already acquired his real name. You are also in possession of Hecate''s grimoire. What could go wrong?" It shrugged. "It wouldn''t be hard for you to make him your ve. You are strong enough to do it. Your voice ofmand will be much harder to resist." Then, it shifted its attention to Apollyon and asked, "Don''t you also want to seek revenge with the Archdemon, Vampire King?"

 Chapter 563 - Indecisive

    <h4>Chapter 563 - Indecisive</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (June 2021)

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    Luna woke up from her slumber from the moment her ears perked up from the sweet and bright chirping of birds as they chased and yed around.

    Some must have perched their tiny feet on the warm banister.

    Sunlight streamed from the floor-to-ceiling ss doors of their luxury suite to the terrace.

    Luna''s mind was keen to watch the actual sunrise. Still, she decided to stay by Apollyon''s side, cuddling hisrge and muscr torso even tighter with a small smile as she basked into the smell of his delicious musk and the warmth his manly physique emitted.

    If she wasn''t Apollyon''s wife, outsiders might think she was a maniac from all her sniffing.

    Her husband''s scent was an addiction she would rather not recover from.

    She knew he was still asleep as he felt his soft exhtions in her forehead as he enveloped her into his embrace��warm,fortable and secure.

    Nothing can hurt her, so she didn''t bother opening her eyes and move her limbs, or else she might disturb her moody husband and identally wake him up.

    That would make her husband''s temperament even worse.

    Luna''s smile dropped, turning into a frown.

    There shouldn''t be any reason Luna should be happy as her memories of what happenedst night and at dawn shed across her mind as if it was God''s life review that was shown to her before she was dead.

    He was already pissed off by the idea of summoning the Archdemon, who ruined his life for a long time while he was the King of the Vampire Realm.

    She understood that he abhorred the idea but if they have no other choice��

    They had to think about this more since her baby''s life was on the line because dying Hecate''s mission meant cing Leo in danger in the hands of Lilith!

    Yesterday, Luna couldn''t believe what she had heard when Hecate''s messenger suggested summoning Ravin as her Archdemon Familiar.

    The ghost said that a familiar would act as her personal servant. If that was the case, she could order Ravin around like a loyal pet if she wanted to. Luna acquired the Archdemon''s true name before.

    Luna was stronger and better! Her eyebrows knitted in resolve. She can force that Archdemon bastard what to do, and he will have no say in it.

    From now on, she can consider herself as a High Priestess now since she had Hecate''s Mark imprinted on her chest.

    Therefore, it would be easier for her to conjure an Archdemon.

    She was also informed that the Goddess of the Underworld had returned the abilities she bestowed upon her before she snatched them away when she had given her virginity to Apollyon on the wedding night.

    Smirking, Luna thought about encircling Ravin''s neck with a thick ck cor, activating an electric shock every time he disobeyed her.

    At the same time, she fisted the iron chains in her hand, pulling him and dragging him around the pce like he was her dog.

    She was looking forward to that.

    Goddess, she would make Ravin suffer like what he did to her in Hell.

    An eye for an eye.

    A tooth for a tooth.

    This would be the only chance for retribution��for ying with her emotions, making her feel helpless and handing her over to the Grand Torturer.

    Because ording to a fiend''s twisted mind, putting her in custody with his Uncle Satan along with the Grand Torturer''s machinations was for her own good.

    Luna thought it wasughable that the very same Archdemon��the anathema whom she tried so hard to get rid of when she was hailed as the High Priestess��was also the same creature who would aid her with Hecate''s new mission.

    The Archdemon Familiar would keep the demonic legions Lilith have summoned under control. Luna had little doubts if she had the ability to keep Ravin docile. But she would do her best for Leo''s sake.

    Her daughter needed her help.

    She must be confident in her power to make the damned bastard his familiar as per Hecate''s instructions from the grimoire the ghost provided her before it went ''poof!''.

    The Archdemon of Envy was the first High Priestess of the Vampire Realm who Hecate trusted to hold the forbidden knowledge of Underworld Magic.

    Lilith was given the original grimoire of the Goddess only for her to break her allegiance through her death, sacrificing her soul to the Archdemon of Gluttony for the sake of revenge to Apollyon, who was a Prince at that time.

    Apollyon rejected her sexual advances because of her status as the Kingdom''s High Priestess.

    Her inted ego as the most beautiful, sought-after virgin also took a hit, ording to what her husband had told her.

    Furious, Lilith couldn''t bear the brunt of the humiliation.

    She was a human who allowed the power King Gwythyr had given to her into her head, and she had tapped the most forbidden of Hecate''s magic to summon the Archdemon.

    Lilith even ripped thest pages where most advanced spells and incantations can be found and kept it to goddess-knows-where.

    The power Lilith held as a human being was not enough to contain the strength of Ravin, which led to her demise.

    Her revenge for her unrequited love had led her to an untimely death.

    Luna''s imagination would be as good as her desire to observe nature early in the morning instead of raising her husband''s ire over what the Hecate''s messenger told them hours after midnight.

    She contented herself with thinking arge ball of fire stretching its bright rays the same way she would extend her arms upward after waking up, and she visualized the slightly mixed brown and yellow hues of the mountain forests while both light and shadow dancing on top of theke, hugging the Material Realm like a warm nket.

    Luna was toozy to get up, and she liked the feeling of the coverlets over her cold baby bump.

    But in reality, they had no choice but to face the music and go to the Summer Courts to find out what happened while they were gone.

    She only had two things to keep in mind.

    Conjure the Archdemon of Gluttony and find the Tree of the Four Seasons.

 Chapter 564 - Clear As Crystal

    <h4>Chapter 564 - Clear As Crystal</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (June 2021)

    (Sorry for this recap. I want all my readers to be on the same page and that we understand everything that happened so far in this story and why it is happening. There is no room for ambiguity because Ravin will being soon!)

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ****************************

    Apollyon and Luna will return to the Summer Courts this morning to find out the aftermath of the battle of the Goddess Hecate and the God Hephaestus.

    Hephaestus sessfully took him down when Xerxes made the mistake of biting the god''s ck armor on his forearm.

    The werewolf dropped dead.

    She remembered what Hecate''s messenger told her at dawn what Hephaestus was doing in the Hedge Maze Garden.

    He tried to unseat Princess Sapphire from Xerxes'' back, abduct her and swing the child over his bulky and wide shoulders like he was the leader of a progressive cannibal tribe from his luxurious blue robes and therge golden mask of a bull he wore on his face.

    Hephaestus found Princess Sapphire, who stood stark despite the darkness and the thickness of the flowering vines clinging unto the arching arbor, and decided that she was a weak target in the face of a snarling huge silver werewolf.

    It felt like the God of Fire was just out hunting at the Summer Courts after midnight and search for his prey because he was hungry and in need of fresh meat to appease his growling stomach.

    Well, that was what Luna thought at the beginning.

    It turned out that the God of Fire was having a tug-of-war with Xerxes over Princess Sapphire because Hephaestus desired to take his child home.

    Yes, there was an emphasis on the world ''his child'' that got her knitting in eyebrows in confusion.

    Luna''s brain was slow to process the first time she heard the story from Apollyon''s mouth.

    Her husband had to repeat the whole story regarding ''Hecate��Princess Sapphire��Hephaestus'' because she doubted if he heard him correctly.

    Hecate''s herald also backed her husband, supplying the necessary information like three courtdies forming a circle to gossip.

    It turned out that Luna was in a deep sleep at the observatory to notice what was going on what words have been exchanged between Hecate and Hephaestus during that time.

    Everything was interesting to hear that she almost wished that her husband hadn''t forced her to nap at that time, even if she was exhausted from all that dancing.

    For the first time, Luna saw how animated Apollyon was when he filled her in on the nasty details as the entire drama unfolded in front of her eyes.

    Finally, all of it started to make sense!

    Princess Sapphire was actually the daughter of the Hephaestus and Princess Ourania.

    Apollyon''s mother was captured and brought to the Underworld by Hecate.

    She gave her a second chance after a life of torment, suffering from the chaos in the Vampire Realm with her son, who was possessed by an Archdemon through Lilith''s curse, and the wake of King Gwythyr''s death in their son''s hands.

    Hecate was preparing Princess Ourania to take on an important role to save the Earthly Realm.

    The Fates had informed the Goddess of the Underworld about Lilith-- who will soon rece the Archdemon of Envy in the far future.

    Lilith will be the one to initiate the end of the world.

    The Second Great War of the Angels and Demons on Earth will bring chaos and destruction to the rest of the Realms.

    World peace will be stirred by never-ending chaos.

    Unless the Goddess of Magic would do something about this.

    She had to take responsibility for all this trouble��for Lilith became her first High Priestess who used her ancient grimoire for her evil agendas.

    Yes, it was apse of judgment on the Goddess'' part�� both Lilith and Ourania��and she openly admitted that, ording to the herald.

    The Three Fates also yed a part in it.

    It wasn''t like Hecate could do something about it.

    When fate chose to interfere, the situations that will follow.

    The free will of everyone involved in this tableau was unstoppable, as if they were lined up dominoes falling over the other.

    Destinies of creatures were set into motion.

    Gods and goddesses can only do so much meddling before they change the entire course of the future.

    They were aware of their limitations.

    These divine beings have free will, which made them care for their decisions.

    Yet, they also intervene but only to a? certain degree.

    While Princess Ourania was in the Underworld, training with the Goddess of Magic for her new gifts of prophecy which Apollo had given her through her bargain with Hecate, Hephaestus had an affair with Apollyon''s mother while the God of Fire was there to forge special weapons that Hecate''s future High Priestesses could draw out on their time of need.

    Hecate was already aware of this. But she didn''t expect Hephaestus to impregnate the Summer Princess.

    Who seduced who first?

    The Goddess had no idea.

    Hecate was driven to send Princess Ourania back in the Summer Realm in a hurry, waited for things to settle in the future until this very moment and hope for the best.

    After all that meticulous nning, what happened after a millennium wasn''t the one the goddess expected.

    Princess Ourania was useless!

    She would not step up to the te.

    Luna will have to choose an Archdemon Familiar instead of relying on someone rebellious and selfish who may or may not tell the exact vision she witnessed on the prophecy.

    Apollyon''s mother wasn''t meant to be their guide to the Garden of Four Seasons.

    The herald actually shared the Summer Princess'' half-lies might be more dangerous than making the son of a Fallen Angel as a servant.

    It might be chaotic in the Summer Courts right now, but they have to pay a visit just if Xerxes needed some help.

    Apollyon and Luna might help the poor werewolf shapeshifter heal if the royal witch doctors couldn''t heal the poor man from that toxic metal on the armor he took a bite of.

 Chapter 565 - Early Morning

    <h4>Chapter 565 - Early Morning</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (June 2021)

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    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    Princess Sapphire couldn''t lose her loyal protector when the deranged god was around, lurking in the shadows in the Summer Pce.

    Hephaestus would grab at any chance to abduct Princess Sapphire again or hurt Princess Ourania as revenge for being made like a fool, so they have an obligation to keep an eye out on these two.

    She would have aided her Goddess Hecate during her battle with Hephaestus when she teleported back to the Hedge Maze Garden.

    But instead, Luna dropped straight in the middle of the conflict and unwittingly brought Apollyon along with her.

    Lips parting in shock, Luna gasped at the vision of hundreds of specters and shadows circuiting around the entrance.

    Some of them were on the ground, holding on tightly to the copper-colored pieces of metal lying around the ground.

    Looking back at the startling experience, she found it amusing to see her husband''s panic-stricken reaction at that exact moment before he grabbed her by the clothes, pulled her towards him, and hugged her tight before carrying her back to their luxurious suite at the Vinca Inn at the right time.

    Then, Apollyon exined to her the bronze dragon''s appearance, which Hephaestus summoned after his short argument with Hecate over Princess Sapphire and her mother.

    The automaton''s presence popped out from the white egg-shaped stone Hephaestus pulled from his tunic and tossed it to the ground like how he relinquished the firestone on the Great Hall.

    Hecate destroyed the bronzed dragon by using ice arrows to counter the eternal fire inside its throat, where it breathed fire.

    Luna remembered how her heart seemed to freeze then continued to pound when she saw that.

    The ghastly herald also added that Hephaestus'' eternal fire was the fuel of the bronzed dragon''s life while its clockwork heart served as its engine.

    It made Luna wonder if Hephaestus'' possession of the evesting me came from Hell itself.

    Was the God of Fire connected to the Archdemons from Hell?

    Then, why did Hephaestus have easy ess to it?

    Luna thought her questions were valid, but they have other important matters to deal with rather than fixating on other being''s affairs.

    Her Goddess Hecate was powerful enough to handle Hephaestus and keep him away from Princess Ourania and their daughter for as long as she can��? if it didn''t change the fate of everyone involved.

    A goddess had to be intellectually aware of everything they do if they want to change something.

    But not too much, or else their actions might change destinies in the long run.

    It will beplex to navigatepared to the beginning.

    Perhaps, this outlook could apply to Archangels and Archdemons too.

    Archangels and Archdemons could be as strong as the gods and the goddesses if they wished to be.

    The oue was either one way or another.

    Sometimes, the reality of the predicted oue was totally on the opposite side of the spectrum.

    The gods and the goddesses could at least kiss their expectations goodbye!

    The ghost also confirmed Apollyon''s assumptions that the Goddess didn''t like Luna''s interference during the confrontation despite her selfish desires to meet the Goddess.

    Hecate sent the herald to talk to Luna and make sure she was aware of her unnecessary actions.

    This must be why Apollyon was adamant about leaving the Hedge Maze Garden without informing her what was going on.

    Luna should stop feeling guilty about not being able to help Princess Sapphire and Xerxes during the battle.

    It was the Goddess''s will that she must agree on.

    She will make it up to them this morning after Apollyon woke up from his nap.

    He must be exhausted from dealing with a rebellious wife.

    As an Archdemon, Luna can consider herself and the rest of the Demon Kind as unknown variables and dark horses, who had the power to change other people''s fate if they act on their own, which they rarely do so if it meant betraying their leader or master.

    Her lips curved upward in a smirk. The Demon King Lucifer and that Grand Master Satan would be a leader she would never follow.

    ''Those disgusting ancient Fallen Angels��.'' Luna scowled at the wall behind her sleeping husband.

    She would rather forge an unexplored path to lead herself while she faced the darkness in her quest to find her own light.

    Her mate would help her and would stay by her side no matter what happened.

    Archdemons and Archangels can act on their own.

    Yet, they arepelled to follow the innerpass that will guide them. It was the Higher Power to whom their existence was driven to answer despite having free will.

    This must be why the Fates were having a hard time predicting the future when Archangels and Archangels were involved.

    The Fates were limited to share tiny fragments with Hecate.

    Their visions were constantly changing, so it would be harder to pick up its authenticity, or else they might be used or punished for being a liar.

    Every single creature lived aplicated life at some point.

    During their discussion with Hecate''s messenger,? Apollyon suggested that Luna summon another Archdemon aside from the Ravin.

    Apollyon imed that it felt like a massive disrespect to him being in the same room or even in the presence of the Archdemon, who made him suffer for the longest time.

    She might have warmed to the idea of not choosing Ravin.

    But who else would she make her Archdemon Familiar then?

    Archdemon of Sloth?

    She winced.

    That Archdemon was too slow and toozy, and he would probablyin a lot if he became her familiar.

    There was no way she would allow Sloth to be her servant.

    He would give her some ear-splitting headaches.

    Later on, Apollyon agreed to make Ravin her Archdemon Familiar as his brilliant mind came up with creative ways to torture the Archdemon without hurting her.

    His husband took the herald''s promise of revenge as an interesting challenge.

 Chapter 566 - Gone Of The Deep End

    <h4>Chapter 566 - Gone Of The Deep End</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (June 2021)

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    Archdemon Empress Luna

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    The infirmary soon warmed from the rush of curious Summer Faeries��the Monarchs, the Faerie Sentinels, a few aristocrats and a whole lot of castle servants��? to check on Xerxes whoy on the bed, unconscious.

    Everyone wondered what transpired between him and Sapphire in the gardens, but no one had an inkling because Princess Sapphire has not spoken about it yet.

    The werewolf shape shifter''s pale colour returned after the royal healer smeared healing salve all over his half-naked form while pouring a vial of orange, herbal concoctions on his dry lips.

    "Is Xerxes alright?"

    Trapping her fingers between Xerxes'' silky hair, Princess Sapphire''s replied without removing her from Xerxes,? "He is alright, mother. He will still need rest. I already told you that a lot of times."

    Bringing Apollyon with her as she circled her arm around his, Luna walked towards the clean bed where Xerxesidfortably as the sweet scent ofvender perfume permeated in the air.

    Unfortunately, the poor young man still had his eyes closed, but at least he was safe.

    Luna allowed her hand to fall on the cotton sheets.

    "How about you, Princess Sapphire?" Luna asked softly, "'' Are you alright?"

    She snorted, smirking, "It''s silly that you have asked how I was doing before my mother herself."

    It was clear as day that Apollyon''s sister had mocked her own mother, but she gave no reaction��just wearing a mask of indifference.

    Luna will not be the one to add more fuel to the rising bonfire.

    Before she and Apollyon arrived at the Summer Castle, they promised each other that they wouldn''t talk too much so they wouldn''t make a mistake.

    Only Princess Sapphire, Xerxes, Hecate and Hephaestus knew they were present in the Hedge Maze Garden during their fight, if only for a minute.

    They refused to be dragged down and put their ''already-filthy-reputation'' from the Spring Courts down to the mud.

    They will not get their hands wet because Apollyon and Luna will be washing their hands out of this incident.

    The Vampire King and his Empress weren''t there in the Hedge Maze Garden in the first ce.

    Luna only said a short, "hmm" without paying them any mind as he focused her attention on Xerxes, instead.

    Neither ''agreeing'' nor ''disagreeing'', and she could tell Princess Sapphire wasn''t happy about it.

    "It was too early to be waspish, Princess, and you are already giving me this attitude." Princess Ourania''s Prussian Blue eyes shed in a warning.

    Sapphire refused to acknowledge her existence by looking at her, which made her mother even furious.

    "I wouldn''t apologize if I''m telling the truth." Sapphire shrugged.

    Then, Sapphire shied away from her mother by taking a step towards Luna, turning her into a physical shield as she stood in the middle of their verbal joust while the rest of the Summer Faeries listened in silence.

    Nobody stepped in to break the tension.

    They either don''t care what hurtful words were thrown in this argument between mother and daughter, or Princess Ourania casually abusing her child was fodder for entertainment for the Summer Monarchs and the rest.

    Apollyon stood behind her as he ced hisrge hands on her shoulders, ready to pull her away at the slightest hint of physical altercation.

    Everywhere? Apollyon and Luna went, a toxic environment that affected her emotions.

    It wasn''t good for her baby.

    It was around ten o''clock in the morning.

    Still, the sun''s heat from the open windows, nature''s song of small animals and rivers, the beautiful paintings, caramel leather chairs and the bright floral blooms surrounding the metal beds failed to prate the cold emotions in the atmosphere.

    Luna didn''t look in anyone''s direction.

    For a few seconds,? she could feel this silent stand-off between the two as the tension escted from bad to worst real quick.

    Apollyon anticipated this and hauled her backwards before grabbing her daughter by the arm, her long nails digging into her flesh.

    "You didn''t wait for me to ask me that question." Apollyon''s mother spoke through gritted teeth.

    Princess Sapphire yelped from the pain.

    Positioning Luna behind hisrge body to keep her safe, Apollyon stepped in by squeezing his mother''s wrist, and Luna prayed that she would let go so that nobody got hurt.

    "Let go of your child, Ourania." Luna seconded as she stared at her husband in rm, her gaze swinging back and forth between them.

    At this rate, her husband might snap her wrist if his mother continued being stubborn, and she wouldn''t let go.

    "It isn''t good to cause her stress when she was probably traumatized about what happened." Luna reasoned out. She willed Apollyon''s mother to release her daughter immediately, or�� the Summer King and Queen could interfere and lock Princess Ourania in the dungeons.

    This way, Apollyon can release her wrist and stop hurting his mother with it.

    There was no way thisdy was mentally stable by how she terrorized everyone with her threats and maniptions.

    The rest of the Summer Faeries were already looking at them like they were crazy, fighting beside an unconscious young man when he should be in a peaceful environment to heal faster.

    "You should release Princess Sapphire before you hurt her, Ourania." Apollyon scowled at her.

    Princess Ourania''s face contorted with pain, but she was stubborn. "You have no right to tell me what to do with my daughter!"

    Luna shook her head and rolled her eyes when she heard that.

    ''Here they go again!'' She mused.

    Luna thought Apollyon''s mother was never a threat to them because she hadn''t witnessed her true power yet as blue blood.

    Luna''s mouth opened in a silent scream when Apollyon''s mother finally released her daughter''s arm, which also made Apollyon let go of her bony wrists, attacking Xerxes with a sharp light spear which dropped from the ceiling and hovered over the shape shifter''s forehead.

    "Poor girl." Princess Ourania clicked her tongue. "Is this why you couldn''t talk about what you have witnessed?"

 Chapter 567 - Refusal

    <h4>Chapter 567 - Refusal</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (June 2021)

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    Archdemon Empress Luna

    **************************

    Everyone in the royal infirmary gasped when the bright orange spear came out of nowhere and halted just a couple of inches over Xerxes'' forehead.

    Tilting her head slowly at Princess Princess Sapphire, Apollyon''s mother crossed her arms over her chest and changed her tone.

    "Of course, I am concerned about you." She drawled in a pout as her light blue eyes fixed on the youngdy. Not on Xerxes. "You are my only daughter. You are precious to me."

    Now, all of them were holding their breath, waiting for the moment Princess Ourania would get distracted by just a slight offence and kill her daughter''s best friend.

    For the life of her, Luna couldn''t understand Apollyon''s mother even if she knew that she was mentally unstable.

    How can Apollyon''s mother ask about Xerxes if he was alright and end up threatening the unconscious man the next minute just because she was pissed off about her rebellious daughter''s disrespect?

    Princess Ourania became angrier when Apollyon jump to his half-sister''s defence.

    He couldn''t bear to witness this tant abuse while the rest of the Summer Faeries in the room watched in silence.

    Where they already used seeing this scenario?

    Did the Summer Monarch consider this normal that they didn''t dare step in and stop this?

    Princess Ourania argued with Luna and Apollyon like this at the Great Hall as if she didn''t care about her reputation as a Summer Monarch. King Oberon and Queen Titania let her be because she was already old to know better.

    Princess Ourania had no idea about the concept of shame.

    Luna saw Princess Sapphire swallow hard before speaking warily, "You only asked about Xerxes, mother. From the moment you have seen me outside at the arbour until we reached the royal infirmary." Her face showed no emotion, yet her trembling voice hinted fear. "Let''s just forget the fact that you didn''t bother asking your child."

    Still, as a statue, Princess Sapphire never kept her wide brown eyes off the jagged tip carved on the crystal spear. "Don''t pretend to even care about my well-being because you really don''t have to."

    "Sapphire." Nostrils ring, Princess Sapphire yelled at her in usation and jabbed a finger at her face. "How can you be so condescending of me! I am your mother!"

    It was getting loud in the royal infirmary, and she doubted it was good for the patients settled in there.

    "Yes, you are my mother, and I acknowledge that." Her reply was a whisper.

    She glowered at her. "You are just stirring up trouble, you evil child!"

    Luna flinched, taken aback when Princess Ourania called her daughter--evil.

    It was time to put Apollyon''s mother in her ce.

    The Summer Monarchs would let this crazy olddy roam around the Summer Castle with this audacity!

    Luna shifted her attention from Xerxes to Apollyon''s mother while her husband had one arm wrapped around her waist while he stood close behind her.? "You didn''t get the reaction you wanted, and now you are calling your child evil?"

    "Don''t interfere, Empress!"

    ''Leave it be.'' Apollyon thought. ''Let King Oberon and Queen Titania handle the monster they gave birth to.''

    ''Alright.'' Luna pressed her lips together in a grim line. "�� but, I am really close to doing something I might not regret.''

    Princess Sapphire''s nostrils red when she dered, "I was supposed to ask how you are faring after your loyal protector got sick from something you never exined to us. You were silent the whole time."

    "As I said, I don''t know." Sapphire took two steps backwards, and Luna immediately settled her hands over the fourteen-year-old girl''s hunched shoulders when she felt her motherly instincts began to kick in.

    Princess Ourania gritted her teeth when her squinting eyes followed her daughter''s movements.

    She didn''t like that she was seeking protection from her and went straight to Luna.

    Princess Sapphire appeared so ashamed and vulnerable when she looked around the royal infirmary and found the aristocrats chattering in the background with their eyes on her.

    "How can you not know, Sapphire?!" Princess Ourania''s pale face was flushed as she yelled at her, "You and the werewolf boy were inseparable. You may know what happened to him when you were just there holding Xerxes in human form with you cry there in silence!"

    Luna didn''t notice the Knight beside Princess Ourania until he stepped forward and spoke up. "The Faerie Sentinels alerted the Summer Monarchs of the strange collective sound of moaning from pain and anguish. Faeries staying in the Summer Castle have reported hearing about low and sinister whispers in their ears. The rest of them found themselves woken up from their sleep by the sound of screaming and driving them mad."

    "I can clearly hear them, especially during the early dawn. It was close to ghosts crying and wailing in the dead of the night like they were tortured to their deaths. It became louder as it echoed throughout the walls of the Summer Castle." Queen Titania said in agitation, yet her beautiful elven features remainedposed. "Can you tell me what happened at the Hedge Maze Garden, granddaughter? When we arrived there, the surrounding thick groves before the entrance were destroyed as if a behemoth of a monster have stomped on them. Other than that, there was no trace of debris or traces of what actually appeared except the tree trunks snapped into two. You refuse to tell us anything. Was there a need to keep this a secret?"

    Princess Ourania averted her gaze from the Summer Queen and whispered,? "I don''t know what happened."

    "You know, Father, I can tell it when my Sapphire is lying! My child was just avoiding queries anymore because she is toozy to deal with it."

    "Don''t pretend as you know me from the inside and out, mother. I may be your child." Princess Sapphire glowered at her mother, "��But I''m not your property."

    "Princess Ourania." Apollyon thundered because he could understand his half-sister''s sentiments, "If your child didn''t want to talk, just leave her be."

    "We will not force you anymore, granddaughter." King Oberon said softly, "You can stay with Xerxes and get some rest. Princess Ourania, dissolve your crystal spear right now��"

    "I want to talk to you, Princess Ourania." Luna said, "Alone."

 Chapter 568 - Big Bad Villainess

    <h4>Chapter 568 - Big Bad Viiness</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (June 2021)

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    Archdemon Empress Luna

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    Luna looked over her shoulder to catch a glimpse of her husband''s countenance before she said, "I want to talk to Princess Ourania."

    Clearing her throat, she followed it with, "��alone."

    Large hand squeezing her hips, Apollyon''s voice lowered, "What are you up to, my lovely Empress��." Apollyon didn''t wait for any response.

    He loosened her hold on her, only to move and stand behind her, blocking her conveniently from Princess Ourania''s view with his huge muscr body.

    Luna''s shoulders lifted and fell, sighing as she threw his mother a furtive nce before shifting her gaze to Apollyon.

    She stared at him from head to toe.

    He was as a mountain-of-a-man.

    Handsome with his chiselled features and jawline so sharp they could probably cut ss.

    He can look like a wild and savage marauder, appearing so rough around the edges when he hadn''t shaved his beard or when he ran his frustrated hand over his raven hair��those silky dark strands that she would like to braid with her dainty fingers.

    She noticed that it had grown long from thest time she saw him at the Vampire Realm.

    "What do you need to tell my mother that you don''t like me to hear?" Apollyon asked casually without turning his head in her direction.

    He might feign his tone to sound detached, but Luna can tell it was just a front.

    Something was up with Apollyon.

    Now her husband''s Prussian Blue eyes were cold, hard and flinty as he regarded his own mother with an intensity that he might as well throw daggers with those orbs.

    Luna figured out that he was in his overprotective mode.

    It made sense because she belonged to him.

    Almost crossing the line of possessive and overbearing.

    Why was his husband acting as his mother invited her to talk when she was the first one who initiated it?

    Luna clutched at the long sleeves of his light golden shirt, which exposed his sinewy chest.

    When he made no move to give her attention, she pulled at his arm��stronger this time.

    Tiptoeing to reach her husband''s tall height, Luna murmured. "It''s alright, husband. This wouldn''t take long."

    Finally, Apollyon listened to her and met her gaze when she added, "I will be back in a minute."

    He brought his face closer, and his lips barely moved when he muttered, "Princess Ourania didn''t even agree to your invitation yet."

    Gritting his teeth in frustration, Apollyon gazed into the depths of her emerald eyes before eying her lips all of a sudden when she replied, "The conversation we would have would be between mothers."

    Luna inconspicuously settled a hand over Apollyon''s pectoral muscles, which felt like they were carved by the finest artisans in the world.

    She rubbed her cold palms against the tiny dark hairs on his chest.

    They generated this lovely warmth that sent electric tingles to her spine.

    It melted her heart when Apollyon''s grim and suspicious countenance eased into rxation from their skin-to-skin contact.

    The frown lines marring his forehead turned smooth.

    His scowl was soon reced with a small smile before he gave her a full grin, showing his pearly-white fangs, as he lifted one hand to pat the crown of her head with gentle affection.

    Her husband''s sudden facial transition from ''angry to happy'' made her beam at him in satisfaction.

    Luna d to know that she can lift her husband''s spirits like this with just a single touch even if her husband had no ideas of his ns yet.

    "You will not be able to rte from our discussion, Vampire King." Luna reiterated as she petted her husband''s chest like he was arge panther she was in possession with to soothe him just in case she had hurt his ego.

    Men��especially a domineering King like him��would either bark orders, demand exnations, pout or throw tantrums at everyone around him when faced with this discrimination.

    It was outrageous to separate men and women in the room parlours, especially if the men were left out from not knowing what the women were up to and what they were talking about.

    Maybe, the men would think that they were the subjects of the gossip.

    Well, scratch that!

    It wasn''t all men.

    Luna thought this only applied to mates��when husbands would always like to engage in activities their wife was doing-especially if it felt dubious. "We will be talking about important things in the women''s parlour�� in secret."

    Smirking, Luna drawled as she wagged a finger saucily in his face. "You know that men aren''t allowed in there."

    There was a mischievous sparkle in his blue eyes when he said in jest, "A King was never forbidden to ess the women''s parlour from the different Kingdoms I have gone to. I bet it wouldn''t be that strict in the Summer Courts since I am part of the Summer Monarchs�� "Apollyon trailed off.

    When Luna glowered at his implications that he was raiding women''s parlours in his past, the hint ofughter in his voice made her realize his mate was teasing her. "��but alright. I will allow you to go without me."

    "Do you wish to have Princess Sapphire with you? The Summer Queen?" Apollyon looked around the royal infirmary as if expecting these two women he suggested or other Summer Faeriedies to step forward and offer to apany her.

    Yet, no one dared to step in despite waiting for almost half a minute.

    Princess Sapphire shook her head no while Queen Titania gave them a half-shrug.

    Luna bit her cheek.

    She wasn''t surprised at all.

    Who would want to be in Princess Ourania''s vicinity after she disyed ruthless power with Xerxes? She even abused her own daughter in front of everyone.

    Well, maybe, she was the only woman courageous enough to stand up against the big bad viiness.

    "If you are not preupied with anything, Princess Ourania��" aside from abusing her daughter, of course, but she didn''t tell her that! "��can you lead me to the women''s parlour so that we can talk... in private, Your Highness?"

 Chapter 569 - Womens Parlor

    <h4>Chapter 569 - Women''s Parlor</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (June 2021)

    ************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ************************

    Luna''s eyebrows slowly knitted into one, connecting above her nose as she scowled at Princess Ourania''s back.

    Time had passed by as Luna navigated the Summer Castle with Apollyon''s mother.

    No one else might be there to apany them��no Faerie Sentinels, no servants and no attendants of Princess Ourania''s�� like? Luna requested from the start.

    But weirdly enough, she didn''t meet any other Summer Faeries around the Castle, either, while she walked with Princess Ourania.

    Was this merely a manifestation of her wish at the royal infirmary�� or was there something sinister with the Summer Castle�� or Princess Ourania herself?

    She frowned.

    Luna had to turn her head from left to right to catch a glimpse of any living creature who tread with them and squint far off the corridors to see if a Summer Fae walking towards them but there was none.

    She recalled the moment when she strolled the upper floors of the Summer Castle with Apollyon where Princess Ourania''s mysterious bed-chamber was located.

    Apollyon''s mother was in that room full of mirrors, inside, talking to herself, her lips moving yet there was no sounding out of her lips.

    When Luna peeked into the keyhole, there it was�� a fury from the Underworld.

    It was Princess Ourania''s pet that both of them could only see.

    That fact made Luna specte if Apollyon''s mother passed the test of being Hecate''s High Priestess.

    It was as silent as a tomb there, at the hallways outside that room as if all the sounds were sucked through magic.

    "Hm." Luna hummed a short sound to get rid of this bile in her stomach rising unto her throat.

    She swallowed it back and caressed her throat like a nervous tic.

    Biting her lip as she felt this unease, her eyes became hypnotized to the sway of the scarlet robes'' hem.

    Luna focused on them if only that would get rid of this rising anxiety which gave warning bells inside her head.

    Let these damned bells ''cling ng in her mind, then!

    She wasn''t afraid of this bitch.

    She clenched her jaw.

    Luna''s eyes darted everywhere around her and she got to a point, wondering if they were still in the Summer Castle.

    Did Princess Ourania ce her in a trace without her notice?

    Later, she decided to focus on calming her anxious breaths while she and Princess Ourania carefully descended on the staircases which appeared never-ending.

    Luna held on to her light pink skirts tightly so that she wouldn''t trip.

    As they continued this long trip to the women''s parlour, she became impatient.

    It was either Apollyon''s mother was secretly giving her a tour of the Summer Castle''s unexplored parts or this old hag was trying to get her lost from howrge the entire Castle was and how her current surroundings appeared eerily identical to the previous levels that Luna couldn''t recognize where she was.

    A few minutester, they reached the part of the Summer Castle where it was dark.

    The gloom and doom sucked the sunlighting out of the seeding circr ss windows that seemed to get smaller as they strolled deeper.

    She noticed that all of the rooms were closed and she had a feeling they were all empty.

    Sometimes, Luna would look over her shoulder then turn her whole body and briefly watch what was behind her when she felt icy cold fingers caressing on her nape.

    Luna let out an inaudible gasp in this supernatural quiet and the short sound echoed through the walls she might as well released a scream.

    Princess Ourania halted before spinning to face her, the skirts of her blood-red gown swirling around her feet like it was her garden. "Is everything all right, Empress?"

    She paused and tuck her arms to her sides. "I''m alright. Nothing to be worried about."

    Apollyon''s mother blinked. Then, she raised an eyebrow and scanned her gaze at her form from head to toe. "I''m not worried."

    Luna''s lips parted in surprise but then she closed them immediately.

    What a bitch!

    "We are almost there."? Turning her back, Apollyon''s mother continued gliding to their destination while she followed. She told her,? "One more staircase to go."

    It felt like they were alone, living in the Summer Castle.

    Was this some kind of a spatial illusion like she thought?

    Did she do this on purpose��instilling fear on her before the discussion so she could get the upper hand when they arrived at the women''s parlour?

    Luna smirked, gaining confidence. ''This must probably a detour to scare her.''

    Luna asked no one in particr. "Why is the women''s parlour so far away from civilization?"

    "I thought you want to keep this conversation a secret." Princess Ourania replied without breaking off, "I am just catering for the request of the current Vampire Empress."

    Luna had no idea why sudden goosebumps broke out on the expanse of her skin from Princess Ourania''s response.

    Was it just because she braided her long silver hair and ced them in a bun, thereby, exposing her neck, or was a ghost breathing down her neck?

    Was there any phantom existing in this Material Realm that was invisible to an Archdemon?

    Luna can see ghosts, monsters, evil spectres, spirits, shadows and demons because of the power Hecate had given her as her High Priestess.

    She literally went to Hell and back and it was pure torture.

    She even thought that there was no way out but she did.

    It wouldn''t make sense that she would be afraid of just an old, selfish hag who can''t do any harm except insulting creatures when she didn''t get what she desired or bullying people when she perceived them weaker than her.

    They arrived through the final staircase Princess Ourania was talking about.

    Luna let out a relieved sigh as they stood at the edge of thending.

    Both of them could finally discuss Princess Sapphire in the women''s parlour.

    Her feet were sore from all that walking and she was looking forward to sitting on afortable couch while the maidservants.

    Excited, Luna took a step down and she felt an abrupt pain in her heart.

    When she nced down, a sharp orange crystal spear was embedded from her back, passing through her chest.

 Chapter 570 - Selcis Bloodline

    <h4>Chapter 570 - Selcis'' Bloodline</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (June 2021)

    ************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ************************

    Luna lost her bnce from Princess Ourania''s surprise attack that she rolled from the top of thending until the bottom of the staircase.

    Some part of the crystal spear she impaled her with broke into jagged pieces as sheid to her side on the bloody ground.

    There was a painful tightness just below her stomach, and it felt like sharp ws were ripping her flesh apart that she closed her eyes shut from the burning ache in her core.

    She could barely hear the tter of Princess Ourania''s heels as she took her sweet, sweet time descending to the bottom of the staircase. Luna could feel the fabric of her gown touching her form as Apollyon''s mother bent forward, grabbed her shoulders and turn her over from her fetal position.

    "You really think my son loved you, Empress, huh?" Princess Ourania clicked her tongue as she twirled a bright orange spear in her hand simr to the one she brought forth at the royal infirmary to threaten Xerxes as a result of Princess Sapphire''s disrespect.? I was hoping you wouldn''t make the mistake that I did with his father. King Gwythyr destroyed my life even after his death."

    "Such a delusional girl!"

    Why did she still insist that Apollyon was simr to the past Vampire King?

    "I will make you understand of the horrible monster you married into since it would appear that you don''t realize it." Princess Ourania looked down before crouching beside her.

    "I want to save you." Apollyon''s mother said in a sing-song voice as she caressed her head the way Apollyon did at the royal infirmary.

    "U-urk��" Luna couldn''t speak as she tried to stop the blood flowing out of her chest with her bare hands staining her pale pink dress.

    Her heartbeat raised as she tried to scamper away from her, but she was too weak when she had multiple stabs on her upper body, but it wasn''t healing.

    She sped the embedded crystal on her chest with her trembling fingers to pull them out.

    The thick fluid was warm while her own body grew cold as it left her flesh.

    "Did you even learn about the ancestors of the man you were mated into? Apollyon''s lineage came from the Kings of the dawn of the Vampire Civilization recognized as the royal family of Selcis." Princess? Ourania continued calmly as her fingers tighten on her weapon. "The royal bloodline of the oldest male heir in this family are considered to be scorpion-ic which will bring death and misfortune to whoever he was mated to. Like a fatal scorpion, your association with the masculines in their stemma will bring about a venomous sting��whether conscious or unconscious��that might paralyze and kill you slowly. And, every second, might feel like a lifetime."

    Princess Ourania was the delusional one!

    Luna wanted to scream at her, but she couldn''t, as she choked in her own blood when she felt trickles of them running from her ring nostrils as she tried her best to breathe.

    How can Apollyon''s mother do this to her with sparkling blue eyes and a warm, caring tone, as if she had a great satisfaction for killing her slowly?

    " Haven''t you questioned yourself about the source of your suffering?" She tipped her head back andughed. "If you really think about it, everything started the moment you came into contact with my son, wasn''t it? Just like how I suffered the instant my eyes met with King Gwythyr."

    Her shoulders stiffened.

    Princess Ourania''s gaze turned vacant when she stared absently at the wall, reminiscing about her past, before the same light blue eyes sharpened, honing in on her like a weapon.

    From her countenance, Luna knew her jealousy and resentment over Apollyon''s pure love out on her.

    "Until now, I wished that I haven''tid my eyes on the bastard who destroyed me! Who made me like this!" Her voice raised in volumes, resonating into Luna''s head as it rang with the force of her rage. "No matter what I do, whether or not, I would do everything in my power to show my love to my children�� even jump through hoops to please the Vampire King and my daughter Princess Sapphire. Every precious effort would be in vain. I am already toote. So why even bother doing something about their hatred of me? I would rather do nothing than doing something and still being persecuted!"

    Luna''s entire form went rigid in fear as she brought her knees together to protect herself when Princess Ourania raised one of her heels and ced them on her side of her face before she pressed it down and applied pressure strong enough to break her jaw.

    She gritted her teeth, enduring the pain.

    "You should thank me for waking you up about the truth of this mating bond. He is only interested in you because you are beautiful and immortal, just like his father did. That is the only reason Apollyon is amiable with the mating bond. Nothing else. Pure-blooded vampires are very shallow, and they will never love you back. Only treat you well if you are still useful to them. If someone would take the beauty, sex, and power you had, you will be thrown away like trash." She said calmly, "The Selcis'' love isn''t true. Their love is an obsession. They desire to rule over you. Apollyon is controlling you like how his father, the Vampire King, controlled me."

    She could feel the blood gushing in a constant flow from her legs, and she shrieked from the pain of the idea of losing a child instead of what she felt from Princess Ourania''s assault.

    Her pulse became slower and weaker as she moaned her husband''s name repeatedly, hoping he will hear her.

    If he wouldn''t arrive on time, baby Leo will die.

    "This is why I am trying to help you, Vampire Princess."

    "You�� are helping��.me��by killing me��. Yourself��" Luna sputtered, and she began to see bright shes of colour in her vision. The kind of hue which made her thoughts spin and split her brain into two.? "Fuck. You."

    Another orange crystal dagger materialized in her hand and stabbed her in the shoulders and on the chest repeatedly.? "Die. Bitch. Die."

    Luna''s blood sttered everywhere, but most of them stained Princess Ourania''s face.

    Luna bit her lip to stop her cries silent.

    After a few minutes of her never-ending onught, Princess Ourania''s serene countenance contorted into a rage, and she halted, spearing her with her orange crystal.

    Itnded with a clunk when she threw it aside and hit a gold pedestal.

    "Why wouldn''t you die, you bitch?!" Her hands clenched on her cor as she shook her shoulders. "I pierced your heart with my spear. You should have turned into ashes by now."

    "I thought you are a vampire!" Princess Ourania''s light blue eyes were so wide that the whites almost took over. "I heard? you at the Faerie Tea Party that your diet consisted of blood from your mate?" Her chest rose and fell from breathing hard. Biting her fingernails, she muttered as her eyes darted from left to right, "Did I miss something?"

    "Apollyon��"

    "I already shut him out with Underworld Magic so that he could barely detect where you are."

    "APOLLYON��" Luna shouted at the top of her lungs, and Princess Ourania pped her hard.

    She held back another scream as another wave of dizziness hit her.

    "Shut up, bitch."

    ''Apollyon, help me.'' Luna thought, but there was no response bouncing back to her mind.

    The Fury abruptly appeared behind Princess Ourania.

    "Cano." Apollyon''s mother stood up immediately at the creature''s presence as if she was caught with her hand on the cookie jar. "What had taken? you so long?"

    "I made sure this dimension was locked and separated from the Summer Realm." It answered. "Your son would have a hard time locating this dark dimension."

    So this was the reason why it took so long to get here!

    As they wandered around the Summer Castle, Luna was focused on following Princess Ourania and checking her every movement warily for anything suspicious, but she found none.

    She knew that Princess Ourania had a sinister aura, and never did Luna let her guard down around her.

    It turned out that it was the Fury, ''Cano'', who was doing the dirty job for Princess Ourania while her only task to this ambush was to lead her here.

    She couldn''t believe they passed through dimensions without her knowledge.

    She hadn''t picked up Cano''s maniption of dark magic because she was too focused on Princess Ourania!

    "You heard that, Empress?" Princess Ourania kicked her stomach, and she groaned in agony. How can Apollyon''s mother kill her own granddaughter like this?? "If Apollyon attempted a teleport with your mind link, he will find that the one in this exact location at the Summer Pce will be. We are in another space just between the material the spiritual ne. A Vampire King, even as strong as him, will not have ess to this. This is my familiar''s power."

    Then, she shifted her attention to her Familiar. "Maybe, it will take her a day to turn into ashes. Just tie her hands behind her back, including her feet, with ropes that nullify the power she owned, Cano. Break the sharp ends of the crystal spear on her form so that she could fit into the metal box. Wrap them in metal chains and hang her upside down. It will be her end. My son would never suspect a thing. " She ordered the Fury as Princess Ourania regained herposure.

    Luna blinked until her eyes couldn''t open anymore.

    Then, she surrendered her mind to the night until there was nothing at all.

 Chapter 571 - Right Here Waiting

    <h4>Chapter 571 - Right Here Waiting</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (June 2021)

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    Scowling, Apollyon waited for his wife as he stood near the entrance of the royal infirmary with his back against the wall, one foot tapped on the floor with agitation while his arms were crossed over his chest.

    It wasn''t like he was impatient to see his wife, and he couldn''t bear another hour to be apart from his mate.

    He might as well be one of the Faerie Sentinels who were positioned at each side of the door to watch over the patients in case the culprits decided toe back and hurt their victims for the second time�� or worse, silence them.

    While his wife requested a discussion with Princess Ourania to the women''s parlour, Apollyon took the chance to talk to Queen Titania and King Oberon.

    The small crowd of Summer Faeries in the royal infirmary slowly diffused when they figured out that they couldn''t get any more information from Princess Sapphire and her sleeping werewolf.

    ''The Fairfolk and their love for gossip! It was a persistent illness to the rise of the Faerie civilization.'' He shook his head slowly as he rubbed a? palm over his face. ''It will do no good.''

    ''The very same creatures who were eager to acquire details of another creature''s life to gain power for ckmailing, spreading malicious rumours that can ruin others were also capable of not caring whether a child was hurt and humiliated in front of them.'' Apollyon scowled at the wall in front of him as he stood by the hallway with the Faerie Sentinels.

    He recalled how these Fae could watch Princess Ourania grab his half-sister''s forearm and pull her towards her like a rag doll.

    The obvious boredom in their mildly pleasant countenance appeared cruel in Apollyon''s eyes��especially those gentlewomen who averted their gaze and examined their cuticles, pretending they never saw it.

    Maybe, they thought the daughter deserved it because she talked so rudely with Princess Ourania before she jostled his sister around in her anger.

    Apollyon thought otherwise. Princess Ourania was ludicrous, and his sister acted in the offence.

    It became her defence mechanism towards their mother. Apollyon knew better because he acted simrly as well.

    Princess Ourania''s children weren''t the problem.

    It was even better that no one from the Summer Monarchs had an inkling about what happened in the Hedge Maze Gardens.

    That would be a secret he, Princess Sapphire, Xerxes and Luna to keep.

    Four of them witnessed the ident.

    At least, they could use Princess Ourania'' secret as the God of Fire'' lover to gain the upper hand.

    If his mother would me them for anything just because she felt like it (he wouldn''t be surprised if Princess Ourania did this if insanity would keep on eating away her brain), then Apollyon can use her of scheming with Hephaestus at the engagement party to kill the Summer Aristocrats on the Great Hall.

    Including all the poor Faerie Sentinels who died from their secret investigation of the eternal fire''s appearance.

    If Apollyon''s mother would attempt to bring Luna and Apollyon down with her nonsense, then he wouldn''t hesitate to hold and sink his ws on her leg so that he could bring her down with them.

    He had already warned his mother about doing them dirty because he wouldn''t let his biological mother hurt the one he loved.

    After all the Summer Faeries in the infirmary made themselves scarce, Apollyon asked his grandparents to remain in the room with him and Princess Sapphire.

    He could, at least, take the initiative to discuss his mother''s behaviour towards his half-sister with his grandparents.

    Just how his wife decided to set his own mother straight when ites to the young spymaster.

    Princess Sapphire had so much potential as a Faerie, only to be treated like an invisible crap��like a creature with no feelings at all.

    Princess Ourania had hurt her own child and humiliated her in front of everyone with no interference from the King and Queen.

    It was strange how they let his mother do whatever she wanted.

    He squinted at them in confusion as they talked, seated on the infirmary beds.

    His grandparents exined that they allowed their daughter to behave like this because of what they had done to her, forcing her into a loveless marriage with King Gwythyr.

    As her parents, King Oberon and Queen Titania, med themselves for taking control of her life. Taking her power to choose and find her freedom.

    Now, they made it their mission not to meddle in their daughter''s affairs, and that included how she raised Princess Sapphire.

    They weren''t allowed to have any input with her methods.

    Apollyon''s mother imed that his grandparents have no right since they did such a poor job at parenting her, which ruined her life.

    King Oberon also told Apollyon that this argument was a never-ending cycle of victim mentality, making excuses and ming others for faults.

    So, they decided to keep their mouth shut with Princess Ourania''s dealings to end it.

    They will not dare rock the boat and open their daughter''s unhealed scars with her previous rtionship with King Gwythyr and Apollyon in the past millennium.

    It appeared like his mother hadn''t moved on from it yet when Apollyon was already healed from his mother''s negligence.

    Apollyon swore that he wouldn''t be like her mother when dealing with her future heirs and heiresses.

    Queen Titania informed him that the Summer Faeries had several cases that were mostly rted to crimes of passion, revenge, jealousy and resentment because of the Summer Fair Folk''s too intense and bold nature.

    Seeing an explosive exchanger between a mother and a daughter wasn''t new.

    Apollyon heard that their kind was prone to strong, overwhelming emotions which needed a hell of a lot of discipline to control��especially when it came to love and hatred.

    There was a fine line between the two.

    It can swing from one to another like a pendulum.

    It was in their blood.

    When his mind began to hush, Apollyon could hear his wife screaming his name..

 Chapter 572 - Rose Turning Lily

    <h4>Chapter 572 - Rose Turning Lily</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (June 2021)

    *****************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    *****************************

    Suddenly, Apollyon could hear his wife screaming his name while he was staring absentmindedly on the wall in contemtion.

    ''Apollyon!'' It was Luna''s high-pitched voice calling out to him.

    Pressing his hands on either side of his head, Apollyon covered his ears to alleviate the shocking pain of that high-pitched call.

    It was a fierce cry of help from his wife, piercing his brain like it was stabbed in the knife from the left side of his temple to the left.

    He can''t pick up anything from his wife''s side except her hollers which did not tell him anything of what transpired between her and her mother.

    Yet, it didn''t stop there.

    It continued to reverberate in his thoughts, echoing, as if it was an auditory hallucination.

    ''Wife?'' He replied quickly since her tone sounded urgent and in dire need. ''Are you there?''

    Apollyon waited for a reply but he was only met with eerie silence which turned him cold from the inside out.

    Flinching, his shoulders hunched over in shock.

    ''Luna. You aren''t answering me.'' Apollyon gritted his teeth as he thought. '' Where the Hell did my mother take you?''

    This time, he allowed his wife to make her feel the gravity of his frustration.

    His self-control was a dam that finally broke.

    Earlier, he was holding himself back from forbidding his wife to go with his mother alone.

    He was a simple man easily seduced by his wife''srge green eyes and her provocative physical touches in front of everyone.

    Apollyon''s jaw tightened as he frowned.

    Both of them agreed that her mother was a cuckoody but Luna still pushed through with it.

    What are they going to talk about which prohibited a man''s presence?

    Was it really necessary?

    He allowed the private discussion because he trusted her ability to protect herself as a strong Archdemon.

    Now, she could be in trouble but he wasn''t there to help. ''Answer me right now or I will hunt you down, wife.''

    There was no response and he couldn''t hear Luna''s voice trying to reach out to him anymore.

    His attempt atmunication through their mating bond was met with a dark boundary covering Luna''s mind.

    It had the power to absorb any levels of energy that made contact with its surface and transmute it within that thick obstruction.

    His eyes widened in surprise when he realized he couldn''t go to where she was through teleportation because of this.

    He could feel the pressure of something jagged pushing into his heart and mind.

    Clenching his fists, Apollyon fought to maintain his bnce when his knees began to weaken.

    Apollyon lost all his strength as he crumpled to the ground and fell to his knees, breathing hard.

    The unbearable ache in his chest felt like an invisible hand squeezed his heart so hard until it exploded with fresh vampire blood sttering on the walls��the red creating a stark contrast leaf-green.

    Apollyon grimaced, turning his head from left to right.

    He squinted at the hallways to check if someone nearby had done this to him.

    The Summer Monarchs were already out in the vicinity except for Princess Sapphire and the patients.

    There was nobody with him in the corridors aside from the Faerie Sentinels guarding the royal infirmary.

    rmed, the armed guards rushed to his aid, as they barked questions at him that he couldn''tprehend.

    Why did this happen from out-of-the-blue?

    Apollyon could only shake his head, his mind too befuddled to answer the guards right.

    Both of them pulled at his arm and ced them around their shoulders, assisting them to stand��instead of carrying him like a foolish drunk that they should throw out of the tavern and kept his dignity as the Vampire King.

    They carried him to the infirmary as Apollyon groaned, clutching and wing at his tunic until his callused palms could feel his heartbeat��. turning slow and faint.

    Almost dead.

    Apollyon''s eyes fell shut.

    That was when he saw a vision of Luna��falling from such a high ce with the thickyers of her pink gown flying all over the ce.

    Her long silver hair detached from its golden pin with hanging diamond beads��? as if she was a snow-covered leaf falling from the tree branch, floating through the breeze before it reached the murky ck waters.

    Phantoms with glowing yellow eyes waited for her, creeping in the shadows.

    Her lips were parted in a frozen scream and her green eyes were wide in disbelief.

    Apollyon''s eyes fell on her chest.

    There was a gaping hole where her heart should be that Apollyon''s hand could pass right through it.

    Blood gushed out of her pale legs.

    The scent was so potent that it forced Apollyon''s fangs to grow and that broke him out of his trance. He opened his eyes.

    "I am good, sentinel. You can release me now." Apollyon said as he regained his strength back t his limbs,? "There is no need for me to go to the infirmary."

    They released him before they could even reach the infirmary''s threshold and bowed their heads respectfully. "Yes. Your Highness."

    For a second there, Apollyon swore that he couldn''t hear his wife''s life force.

    Fear, panic and anger and all those negative emotions cropped up and this internal battle urred within him, trying to one-up the other.

    He didn''t care who was the winner because he needed answers.

    Apollyon halted as his left eye twitched in ire.

    Was her life in danger?

    He ran a jerky hand through his hair as he looked around.

    ''What did Princess Ourania did to her?''

    ''Luna. Are you alright?'' Apollyon thought hard as he projected them specifically through their mind link but he couldn''t feel her anymore.

    This was different.

    She wasn''t hiding her thoughts from him like she usually did when she had a secret she wasn''t ready to tell.

    It felt like she was gone from the Material ne.

    Hopefully, she wasn''t anywhere near Hell.

    Apollyon straightened his spine, paying full attention to his mind link with Luna and stretching his awareness as much as she could to catch even a glimpse of Luna''s words.

    He halted her efforts when he saw Princess Ourania across him at the corridors as she tried to turn into a corner.

    She was wearing all white.

 Chapter 573 - How Dare You?

    <h4>Chapter 573 - How Dare You?</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (June 2021)

    ***********************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ***********************

    Princess Ourania had changed into a long, white gown, and it draped loosely from her neck then to her shoulders as it flowed to down her limbs.

    It covered her entire frame except for her head and her long, slender hands.

    Her clothes made Apollyon frown. Didn''t she wear a scarlet gown earlier, when she was at the royal infirmary as she argued with Sapphire, Luna, and him?

    This was strange.

    Precious emerald beads hang at the hem of herrge butterfly sleeves, edged with goldces.

    Her white skirts appeared like they were made of mountain lilies trailing behind her as she walked with her fiance, Sir Tristan, who still walked around the Summer Pce wearing that god-damned helm over his head in public.

    Apollyon was certain nobody in the Summer Courts had seen how that knight from the Fall Courts looked like except for his mother.

    But why would they keep his identity hidden until now?

    This was suspicious.

    It was his mother who was eager to marry the Fae.

    She should be proud of Sir Tristan by revealing his features to the rest of the Summer Fair folk so that they would know who was twisted enough to marry such a beautiful princess despite the nasty attitude towards her children and the people who were close to them.

    Yes.

    Her treatment between her own children and other people had a sheer contrast with each other.

    Still, Apollyon observed the princess'' and the knight''s arms linking together as they walked through the corridors, and it made him scowl.

    His mother must like being someone''s trophy wife.

    At least, she would have someone to worship her��someone that could fit into her agenda. Nevertheless, he didn''t like this pair at all.

    Apollyon, of all people, knew that if both individuals didn''t have the same social status in a rtionship, both parties would struggle for power and control.

    In his opinion, Princess Ourania didn''t want a husband.

    Instead, she desired a love ve.

    Well, if that was what his mother wanted, he will stay out of it as long as she stayed out with his business.

    Something was even more suspicious.

    No Luna was trailing after the engaged couple on their return to the royal infirmary.

    At that moment, Apollyon''s fear felt like a heavy rock had settled at the bottom of his stomach.

    Apollyon''s eyes darted around their vicinity, like twin guns honing on to his target, trying to catch a glimpse of her Empress.

    Yet, Luna was nowhere to be found.

    His paranoia wasn''t a cold hand caressing up and down his spine, sending shivers all over his body.

    More of a lightning bolt charged with panic striking him in the brain and sending adrenaline through his bloodstreams.

    Thetter urged him to move towards them and demand where his wife was. His body tensed in anticipation.

    Apollyon couldn''t live if he found out that his wife got hurt anywhere because of his mother.

    He should remove all threats and keep her safe and if that included his mother, then let it be.

    When the Faerie Sentinels helped him stand up when he suddenly lost his power, Apollyon recalled the vision he had of Luna falling while she was bathed in her own blood.

    That strengthened his resolve.

    It made him blink once and materialize right in front of them without thought.

    Princess Ourania was too engrossed with talking to her fiance that she didn''t notice Apollyon was there. Not until she bumped into his chest.

    Even Sir Tristan couldn''t prevent Princess Ourania from the mild collision despite clutching her forearm.

    Sir Tristan pulled his fiance towards him and shook his head, and he didn''t know what that gesture meant.

    "Where is my wife, Princess Ourania?" Apollyon towered over his mother like a dark mountain of menace as he glowered down at her.

    Princess Ourania slowly turned her head and faced him.

    The Knight released her, and Princess Ourania stood up straight, meeting his cold gaze.

    "I don''t know. After the discussion, your wife and I separated ways because she hated being seen with me." His mother shrugged innocently as she looked down and peered at him beneath hershes. "I could say that the feeling is mutual, so her wish is mymand."

    "No. You are dodging my question." As his hands curled into fists, Apollyon replied with contempt. "Where. Is. My. Wife?"

    "As I said, I don''t know where she was. I do not care about her. So why are you asking me, Apollyon? You should be asking her." Princess Ourania jeered mockingly in her virginal gown as she crossed her arms over her chest. "You are his mate. So it is impossible that your body couldn''t physically detect your wife''s whereabouts."

    She acted so haughtily and confident as if she could do no wrong.

    "You are lying."

    "Ah~ I''m not that powerful to tell a bald-faced lie like the rest of the Summer Monarchs. However, I am doing my daughter-inw a favor by leaving her alone." She gave him a pleasant smile. "It isn''t my problem. Use your powers, Apollyon, and don''t bezy." Lifting one hand, she carefully ced it on his shoulder as she brushed a lint of his clothing. "Find her yourself, son. I am not your wife''s keeper."

    Catching her delicate wrist, Apollyon bared his teeth, and he stepped closer to intimidate her, forcing her to step backward. "Tell me where she is."

    "Your mother had spoken, Apollyon." Sir Tristan said as he stepped into view, inserting himself between him and his mother with a bold swagger.? "Please listen to her and don''t let her repeat her answers more than once."

    Apollyon looked at Sir Tristan and gave him a sardonic grin, revealing a set of fangs.

    This Knight from the Fall Courts will be another toy of his mother.

    She will throw him away like trash after being done with him as she did with the God of Fire.

    Then, Apollyon''s muscles rxed as his smirk dropped.

    The next thing they knew, Apollyon grabbed Princess Ourania to the side while his other hand lunged for her slender neck and pushed her against the wall.

 Chapter 574 - Her Blood On You

    <h4>Chapter 574 - Her Blood On You</h4>

    New Chapter for the Highest Tier (June 2021)

    ***********************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ***********************

    "Let go of my fiance, Vampire King." The Knight from the Fall Courts ordered, pulling his sword from the scabbard behind his back and pointed it at him. "Stop it."

    " Sir Tristan."? Apollyon turned his head slightly at him then scoffed at the pointed sword on his side, which didn''t even reach his flesh.

    He doubted that his mother''s fiance had any intention to incur the wrath of the Vampire King and expecting a ''thank you'' from him. "It''s either you do something about it and protect her yourself or don''t do anything at all."

    From his actions alone, Apollyon knew that he wouldn''t dare.

    The Knight saw that he never saw him as a threat and allowed the tip of his sword to hit his ribs.

    "She hadn''t done anything wrong.''" Sir Tristan growled. He was all bark and no bite. "Why are you doing this?"

    "It didn''t matter," Apollyon muttered as he lifted Princess Ourania higher and shoved her back against the wall even more.

    He will not be satisfied if he didn''t hear her bones crack and snap from all the suffering she had caused Luna.

    Apollyon wasn''t aware of what transpired at the women''s parlor but he had a bad feeling.

    His skin burned hot from the paranoia that it felt like his soul desired to jump out of his skin and escape this anxiety that had eaten him up from the inside and out.

    "I can see right through your denials, mother." Apollyon looked at his features reflected in her light blue eyes, but hers were filled with hatred. "Care to tell me why you suddenly changed your clothes from the scarlet gown you wore earlier?"

    Gritting his teeth, Princess Ourania''s hands wed the insides of Apollyon''s wrists as she forced them apart with all her might.

    Her eyes squeezed shut as her pale and freckled face turned a dangerous shade of red from the exertion.

    His mother can''t push him to release his grip on her neck because she was weakerpared to him since she was female.

    But, Apollyon didn''t feel triumphant.

    Not yet.

    Who knew what this ancient Fae had in her sleeves?

    A feeble mind clouded with revenge was capable of inflicting pain on unsuspecting individuals.

    At this point, she was a loose cannonball.

    Perhaps, Princess Ourania had learned something in this lifetime��from her experiences at the Faerie Realm to her self-istion in the Vampire Realm, her short stay in the Underworld with Hecate, and her bargain with Hephaestus��if there was anything rted to the magic that can defeat him.

    The orange crystal weapons she revealed at the royal infirmary were the first of their kind.

    Apollyon had never seen someone use that before, cultivating that power from the bottom of the earth with such grace and ease.

    After seeing his mother show off her powers by threatening Xerxes, he knew not to underestimate Princess Ourania.

    She might prove herself to be a formidable opponent.

    Princess Ourania couldn''t take the pain anymore and scream so loud that the sharp ringing sound sent vibrations through their eardrums.

    Few minutes after second-guessing themselves if they should interfere between the Summer Princess and her son, the faerie sentinels guarding the royal infirmary finally approached them when his mother started sobbing, a waterfall of tears leaking from her bloodshot eyes.

    Apollyon took pity on her and loosened his hold on her throat for a second, but her whimpers grew in volumes.

    Acting as a delicate female was her ploy to manipte the sentinels and the Knight to side with her vulnerability.

    "Didn''t she already tell you that both of them discussed the women''s parlor?" Sir Tristan demanded. "Why don''t you find out if she was still there?"

    Apollyon snorted.

    "And waste? my time when the real culprit was here?" He returned his attention to his mother instead of the cowardly Knight from the Fall Courts. "You still didn''t answer me why you changed your clothes, Princess Ourania."

    "Quit acting with your fake cries and pretending you are weak in front of these men."? He taunted her. "You can manipte their sympathy, but you can''t fool me."

    "It��It. Hurts. Ack."? His mother sobbed. "P-please. Stop."

    The thought made him more desperate,? squeezing his mother''s throat until he almost crushed her windpipe.

    But not quite there.

    "I can smell your blood on her. You are insulting the Vampire Kind if you think I have no idea." Apollyon wasn''t that ruthless. He still gave her space to draw lungful of breaths with her red nostrils and open mouth in case she got her pride out of the way and spilled her secret. "No amount of soaking your body with sweet-smelling flowers and herbs can get rid of the scent of her blood on your skin.? She is my mate, and I know you have hurt her even if I hadn''t seen it. You have to tell me, or I will kill you."

    Princess Ourania stopped crying and smiled despite the struggle to speak.? "I��don''t know. What. You. Meant. Let go."

    Apollyon''s muscles flexed as he raised her almost two feet from the ground, and his mother swung her heels to kick him in the shin.

    Scowling at her, he stepped back to avoid her legs and used his mind control to halt her thrashing.

    He also used a strong Fae Magic to freeze the sentinels and Sir Tristan in ce.

    So it would be harder for them toe to her rescue now.

    Baring his teeth, the Knight snarled as he fought the magic Apollyon ced on him and the sentinels. "If you are a real man, you shouldn''t hurt ady who can''t fight back and match your strength. So please spare my princess."

    "I challenge you to a duel. Let''s do this man-to-man. If you don''t want to, I will call you coward, Apollyon." He spat.

    Apollyon gave him a sardonic grin and said, "You are the one who hadn''t even shown your face to the Summer Courts. Who is the most cowardly between us then?"

    "No need."? Apollyon heard Luna''s voice. "What is all thismotion about, husband?"

 Chapter 575 - Girl Who Cried Wolf

    <h4>Chapter 575 - Girl Who Cried Wolf</h4>

    New Chapter in Highest Tier (June 2021)

    *************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    **************************

    "What is themotion all about, husband?" Luna asked with a soft nonchnce that made Apollyon turn his head side to side to see where that voice came from.

    When Apollyon looked over his shoulder, he found that his wife was right behind him, her expression unreadable.

    Luna''s face was calm andposed, but her scarlet lips were pale as they pressed into a tight line.

    Nevertheless, Apollyon was relieved to see her beautiful face, knowing Luna was safe and wasn''t in imminent danger.

    He closed his eyes for a moment and exhaled a huge breath, shaking off his vision about her, falling, with her heart ripped out of her chest as blood gushed from her limbs.

    He even had this dark assumption about his mother, pushing Luna off a balcony or any higher ce in a fit of rage.

    From his observation of his mother''s behaviour with everyone, Apollyon knew that Princess Ourania wasn''t short of doing exactly that.

    His assumption was wrong and would have cost his mother''s life--an innocent one.

    But, maybe, Apollyon allowed his fear and panic to creep into his skull and control him after seeing that image.

    His reaction was instantaneous---make the criminals suffer before killing them.

    It was a primal thing, and it operated from the base of his dark subconscious--especially if his wife was involved.

    "I don''t understand why you are attacking your mother, Apollyon. You should release her now." Lunamanded, but the powerful effect was reduced when Apollyon felt her hand caressing his lower back.

    Few seconds of physical contact with his mate made his tensed muscles rx, and his anger towards Princess Ourania diminish.

    "You are hurting the poor woman." Luna crooned as he felt her hands settled on his shoulders.

    He could feel her cold breath blowing near his ear.

    Her sudden light, airy tone made him blink slowly as if he was under a hypnotic spell, calling out to him like a siren. "Princess Ourania hadn''t done anything wrong to us."

    He blinked in surprise, taken aback.

    Princess Ourania hadn''t done anything wrong when she made it her mission to remember insulting them more than five times a day?

    Apollyon released his hold of Princess Ourania even if her hands still circled his wrists like iron manacles as he gently ced his mother down.

    With her back sliding against the wall, her mother dropped to the floor like she was a puppet with her limbs snipped out of its strings.

    Her legs had given out on her, and he wondered if this wasn''t just an act.

    Apollyon towered over her as he glowered at her with scrutiny while she coughed and spluttered from the harsh treatment.

    Should Apollyon say sorry to his mother for thinking about detaching her head out from her neck if she attempted killing Luna for her selfish reasons?

    No.

    Perhaps, not.

    It was fortunate that his wife arrived at the scene before the murder urred from a mere misunderstanding.

    Apollyon snapped a finger and released Sir Tristan and the rest of the Faerie Sentinels from their invisible bonds when he froze them earlier.

    These people began fading away when he ignored his surroundings.

    Nothing existed except for him and her in this world.

    As he settled his hands on top of dainty ones resting on his shoulders, Apollyon murmured her name in a deep, hoarse voice.

    "Luna." Then he turned around to face her, and his eyes made a quick scan from head to toe to assess injuries.

    When he was satisfied, Apollyon hugged her so tight all of a sudden before she can even utter a word.

    She gasped at the contact as if it pained her.

    "What''s wrong? Are you alright?" Apollyon tilted his head a little and whispered in her ear, "I thought... I thought..."

    "Nothing. I''m alright." She finished.

    Luna''s shoulders caved as if she didn''t want Apollyon''s chest to touch hers.

    Did her chest hurt?

    Was her heart really ripped out of her ribcage, or... was it because he was connecting every little detail to make his early vision real and justify his evil actions towards Princess Ourania?

    It made him pause.

    He must try to be more logical and strategic when it came to revenge and not allow emotions to make the best of him.

    ''"I thought something had happened to you. I had seen a vision when you called my name." Apollyon added.

    My wife is standing in front of me right now.'' Apollyon reminded himself. ''She isn''t dead, and my mother didn''t kill her.''

    The ck gown his wife wore didn''t miss his notice.

    He was the kind of husband who paid attention to Luna''s clothes before he undressed her.

    Apollyon swore she donned a light pink gown of cherry blossoms before they visited the Summer Courts.

    Even Princess Ourania had a change of clothes too-- changing from a gown of rose petals to having elegant white lily skirts.

    Frozen in ce, Luna''s elbows seemed to be stuck to her ribs while her forearms were raised in the same level as if she didn''t know where to put her hands.

    It was unnatural.

    Did she suddenly forget what to do when her husband hugged her?

    Keeping her hands on her waist, Apollyon pulled back to see her face and observed her warily, "Why did you call me and screamed my name?"

    "I apologize, husband," Luna replied in a soft voice and lowered her head in a respectful bow. "I didn''t mean to cause you distress."

    "It was a false rm." Her cold green eyes felt dull and empty as she raised her chin towards Princess Ourania, "I was just a girl who cried wolf, you see."

    He tilted his head at her as he frowned in confusion.? ''What did his wife mean by this?''

    She smiled as she withdrew from Apollyon.

    Apollyon''s gaze followed his wife''s eyes when those emerald orbs fell on Princess Ourania, who stared back at her in bewilderment.

    Her limbs quivered in fear as Sir Tristan crouched beside his mother, struggling to help her get up on her feet.

    Luna stepped forward and reached out a hand. "Why do you look like you have seen a ghost, Princess?"

 Chapter 576 - Seen A Ghost

    <h4>Chapter 576 - Seen A Ghost</h4>

    New Chapter for Highest Tier (June 2021)

    *************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    *************************

    Luna stepped forward and reached out a hand.? "Why do you look like you have seen a ghost, Princess?"

    Luna tilted her head as she watched Apollyon''s mother pale at the sight of her.

    The pure terror in her countenance made her cheekbones appear gaunt-like. Haunted.

    Princess Ourania''s orange hair so light it seemed like they were spun in gold were voluptuously braided to go along with her diamond crown turned into a mess of untangled knots, falling over the forehead and also covering her eyes.

    Her wrinkles bunched up around the corner of her eyes like crows'' feet, making her eyebags more pronounced.

    Apollyon''s mother snapped out of her trance and looked down at her offered hand, acting like Luna would grip her throat without warning.

    Apollyon had charged at her and shoved his mother against the wall by the throat, after all.

    Would it make him a bad person if he didn''t feel remorse after he had done it when his wife wasn''t even harmed in the first ce?

    If he was honest with himself, attacking his mother actually felt good.

    Would he admit that to his wife when he promised he would change for the better?

    Having power and control over people was his greatest temptation.

    He couldn''t help this nature of him.

    Apollyon became conscious of his dark, violent tendencies when Luna became his mate after exorcising the Archdemon who possessed him.

    He knew that bastard, Ravin, was his first mate in the first ce, but he would never acknowledge that.

    He was drawn to Luna''s existence like a moth to a me.

    A warrior of justice who was always ready to sacrifice herself for others.

    He made it his life''s mission to teach his mate how to be selfish and disregard the rest.

    He taught her how to be strategic in decisions, only choosing the route to benefit the two parties.

    Yet, he wasn''t doing a great job at it. Sometimes, she seemed to listen after a long period of contemtion.

    Luna was a bright white light exposing his behaviors that weren''t considered normal when this was the only way how he operated all his life as the Vampire King.

    In the short time where they were together, she taught him how to care a little.

    But he wouldn''t extend the same indulgence to his mother.

    Whether it was intentional or not, Princess Ourania''s constant provocations provided him with the perfect trigger, and he grabbed the chance to release these pent-up frustrations locked away in the depths of his heart.

    The darkness he kept hidden was almost hateful and self-destructive that he might as well attempt vengeance to get it out.

    He didn''t like losing control.

    Apollyon promised his wife that he would do better.

    But if he killed the source of his emotional instability, his mood would improve greatly, wouldn''t it?

    The Vampire King would go back to normal, and then his wife would be d of this development.

    Luna''s green eyes were wide and innocent, but her pout made her appear curious of his mother''s mental state, in contrast to Princess Ourania, who brought her arms close to her chest as if she didn''t want her skin to touch any part of her.

    "I hope you didn''t get a concussion from what my husband did to you. I apologize for his behavior, mother. I will convince him not to do it again--" Luna trailed off as an unspoken threat hung over the Summer Princess, and the Knight''s heads... or was it just his imagination? Then, Luna added with a shrug, "--but only if you didn''t something dirty, right, Ourania?"

    "Did I miss something wife?" Apollyon asked, concerned.

    His gaze moved back and forth to Luna and the Summer Princess. "I only attacked my mother when I smelled your blood on her skin."

    "Oh?" Luna''s eyes which sparkled with mischief turned as hard as gemstones all of a sudden. "Hmm. That''s interesting. I wonder how she got them."

    Apollyon nodded as he stood beside her. "Well, obviously, Ourania changed her clothes. And, I noticed you changed yours too."

    Luna raised an eyebrow at him and gave a short, coldugh. "It must be a coincidence, right, Princess?"

    Princess Ourania''s lips were pressed together as Sir Tristan halted, caressing his fiance''s back infort to nce at her.

    Apollyon asked. "Where did you get that midnight blue gown?"

    Luna''s expression didn''t change as she smiled at him. "You really want to know?"

    "It made me think that she also changed her clothes to get rid of the evidence if she did hurt you as I saw in my vision." He replied as he rubbed his face in frustration.

    Both women were dodging his queries like they were bullets, skirting around the subject.

    "Could you tell me what happened?"

    Princess Ourania snapped out of nowhere. "Who are you? You are not the Empress!"

    "After our discussion, Princess Ourania identally---"

    "What did you do to Cano?" Princess Ourania interrupted, growling harshly.

    As the awkward silence prolonged, Princess Ourania''s bloodshot eyes turned wild and desperate.

    Her dted pupils fixated on Luna''s face alone as if she only had tunnel vision for her.

    She didn''t speak anymore.

    Her teeth chattered as if she was dumped in an icyke, biting her fingers in anxiety, appearing more of a fragile woman who suffered from hallucinations.

    "Please keep your hands to yourself, Empress Luna." Sir Tristan declined her offer as he respectfully pushed her hand towards her, "I will assist my fiance, thank you."

    Sir Tristan lifted Apollyon''s mother by the elbows and settled one arm around her.

    His other hand sped unto her other wrist as she helped her walk with shaky legs, limping out of the scene.

    Like Apollyon, Sir Tristan must have been exhausted by the early morning''s events with Xerxes and Princess Sapphire and, now Apollyon and Luna''s incident followed.

    This man couldn''t catch a break when he only desired peace.

    Too bad for him.

    He will never have peace because being married to Princess Ourania will feel like she was dragged to the deepest pits of Hell and back.

 Chapter 577 - Odd

    <h4>Chapter 577 - Odd</h4>

    New Chapter in Highest Tier (June 2021)

    The author suffered from overfatigue and my stomach is upset. I will only update once today at 6/28/21 instead of two chapters. I''m sorry. Two chapters will resume tomorrow. Thank you for understanding.

    *************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    *************************

    Apollyon eyes Princess Ourania and Sir Tristan''s back as both slowly walked away from them as nothing happened.

    Luna looked at him in question, and Apollyon merely shrugged.

    It seemed like the Knight from the Fall Courts wouldn''t follow through with the challenge.

    His gaze fell from Luna''s grim countenance to her hand.

    "This isn''t done." Luna said under her breath as she gestured at the Faerie Sentinels whom he released from hispulsion along with Sir Tristan when they tried to interfere from killing his mother for good.

    He raised an eyebrow at the long thin sword with a golden hilt when it materialized in her grip while she regarded the guards with a curiosity that? Apollyon could only describe as blood lust.

    From the way she peered at the men beneath hershes, Apollyon couldn''t tell if she was flirting with the sentinels not to seize them and throw them to the dungeons.

    She even bit her lip as she waved and twirled the des around the back of her hand.

    Apollyon glowered at the sentinels who observed her sword skills, mesmerized.

    Was this an intimidation tactic or part of her charm?

    Apollyon thought Luna seemed delicious in her long-sleeved ck gown as grey wolf fur graced her shoulder pads.

    Luna let her silver hair downpared to the bun she donned on earlier as diamond beads hang at the end of her fox hairpin.

    ''Such a beautiful, glorious warrior Empress��. '' Apollyon mused as he gave her a slow scan from her head down to her toes.

    ''Fortunately, it was a mate that he owned and nobody else.''

    Not that he would allow Ravin to get a hold of her and take over her faculties when he was contracted as her ve.

    Apollyon and Luna were vampire mates.

    Hopefully, any Archdemon ves of hers will be his too.

    He and his wife would have to find a way to skirt around the rules when it came to Underworld and Archdemon magic.

    ''One Archdemon ve with two masters was the dream.'' Apollyon smirked. ''They would find a way to make this work.''

    Luna raised her hand above her head before her sword at them. "Any of you who would like to challenge my man in a duel, in ce of Sir Tristan, will have to face me."

    ''My man, huh?'' Apollyon widened his stance as he crossed his arms over his chest. Then, smirking, he turned his head in her direction. "That''s romantic, wife, but I can defend myself."

    For some reason, Luna averted her gaze when his scrutiny got too intense for her liking, and her porcin face blushed.

    She cleared her throat, and Apollyon inclined his head at her in puzzlement.

    It was strange for her wife to initiate and then dismiss him in her chagrin.

    Apollyon noticed some of his wife''s behavior was odd when she appeared in front of his mother.

    Even, Princess Ourania acted like she had seen a ghost as if she did something bad and now karma appeared before her in his wife''s likeness.

    Gripping their own weapons in their hands, the Faerie Sentinels who helped him get to the royal infirmary earlier frowned at Luna before they looked at each other in confusion.

    He could tell that they had no idea whether to arrest them for throttling the Summer Princess for reasons unknown or leave them be if they valued their life.

    Apollyon lifted his chin in arrogance as he dared the sentinels to attack them, subdue him by cuffing his wrists but they didn''t.

    The stand-offsted for a minute before the two ced their swords back to their scabbards, respectfully bowed their heads and returned to their posts.

    He heard Luna exhaled a soft sigh when she willed her sword to vanish into the ethers.

    "You strangled your own mother, Apollyon!" Luna punched him angrily on the chest, but it didn''t hurt. "Have? you gone mad?"

    Apollyon retracted his fangs before he grinned wide. "I thought she hurt you when you called out to me." But then, he suddenly remembered his vision and his velvet brows drew together in a scowl.? "Is everything alright with you?"

    "Yes."

    Right.

    There was no need to worry about his wife since she could protect herself well, including him, as long as she wouldn''t let her guard down.

    She was more than capable.

    Apollyon needed to get this paranoia out of his system.

    Maybe, His dangerous vision about her wife was merely a product of exhaustionst night.

    His agitation at seeing Hephaestus and Hecate''s battle over Princess Sapphire? as Luna dropped them in the middle of it ate away his strength in magic.

    His brain must have absorbed the shock and frustration from that early dawn and they carried on in the present moment.

    In addition to that, Hecate''s herald took a long while to exin everything about Princess Ourania and Hephaestus'' past.

    And don''t even get him started about Luna''s mission to summon an Archdemon familiar before Lilith took over her.

    They should hurry up and make Ravin her ve before the Archdemon of Envy had the chance to rece Luna and summon demons in the Material World.

    Relieved, Apollyon''s mouth quirked upwards as he offered her a hand.

    She settled her dainty hand on his palms and murmured, "I thought that we would get ourselves into trouble with the faerie sentinels, husband."

    "They wouldn''t dare arrest the King of the Vampire Realm with only the two of them. It wasn''t like I would allow us to go down in a fight."

    "I still can''t believe they left us alone." She replied without looking at him and kept her gaze on the Faerie Sentinels, "They must think we are important than the Summer Princess then."

    Apollyon led her back to the royal infirmary to talk to his sister. "I am not surprised. All of? the of Summer Faeries already think she was mad. Of course, they would side with us rather than my mother."

    "It would be a different story if you attacked the Summer King and Queen in their own castle."

    "It only served her right." Apollyon said. "I also did this for Princess Sapphire."

    "Princess Sapphire?"

 Chapter 578 - Royal Infirmary

    <h4>Chapter 578 - Royal Infirmary</h4>

    New Chapter for Highest Tier (June 2021)

    **************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    **************************

    They went back to the royal infirmary to talk to Princess Sapphire, and they found her sitting on the chair next to the sleeping Xerxes while she stroked her fingers lightly on his hair.

    She was like a dark-haired angel watching over the werewolf shapeshifter��except for the faerie wings on either side of her head.

    While he was asleep with her wife on their luxurious suite at Vinca Inn after the herald''s visitation,? Apollyon was able to piece all the information he had gathered so far.

    He recalled that Hephaestus, the God of Fire, was exiled by Zeus and Hera because he was born different from the rest of the gods and the goddesses.

    Apollyon didn''t know what deformities Hephaestus had, which made him hide and establish his workshops underneath volcanoes to avoid the insults from divine beings and other creatures who saw his true form.

    It wasn''t mentioned from the ancient books Apollyon has read so far.

    At least, bing a hermit after his peer''s rejection turned Hephaestus into a master of his craft, and that was, forging exquisite weapons for the gods and goddesses.

    He built his earned reputation as the cksmith of the gods by designing Zeus'' Aegis breastte, Aphrodite''s famous girdle, Eros'' bows and arrows, Hermes'' winged helmet, and sandals, as well as all the thrones and equipment in Olympus.

    He heard at Hecate and Hephaestus'' confrontation at the Hedge Maze Garden that the Goddess brought him to the Underworld to create weapons for her.

    That was also when Hephaestus met Princess Ourania when Hecate stole her from the Vampire Realm to prepare her for the prophecy, which she had no ns of following through.

    Princess Ourania tried with the wed God of Fire and gave birth to a wed Faerie with butterfly wings attached to her head.

    Apollyon saw the face of the Fire God was covered with a full mask while his midnight blue robes of the universe covered him from head to toe while he was confronting Xerxes and Princess Sapphire at the arched arbor by the entrance.

    He might have seen Hephaestus up close, but the only defect he could make out about him was probably, a horrendous facial feature or a physical disability in his right leg.

    Luna had also mentioned that she saw Apollyon''s impostor limping away a split second before he dropped the firestone.

    During the battle between his automaton and Hecate''s ghastly shadows, Apollyon also noticed that Hephaestus appeared like he was dragging his other feet while he ordered his metal dragon around to distract the Underworld Goddess. At the same time, he tried to steal his daughter away from the werewolf.

    In short, all the evidence pointed at Hephaestus as the culprit, and Princess Ourania must take responsibility by talking to god about their daughter.

    His mother owed it to Hephaestus as the god''s lover in the past.

    He sat at the edge of a vacant bed just across his half-sister, and Luna followed suit, perching herself close to him in silence.

    Settling her hands firmly on herp, Luna quickly surveyed her surroundings with nonchnce before her eyes settled on Princess Sapphire.

    He was about to open his mouth to ask his half-sister''s permission that they discuss this ''elephant in the room'' in private, but Princess Sapphire figured out his query before he could utter a single word.

    She rested forefinger on her lips.

    Apollyon could tell that the young spymaster wasn''t keen at speaking about what happened at dawn with Hephaestus and Hecate when she gave Apollyon a long stare before she nced at the doctor''s direction��who was busy picking up sks that contained herbal concoctions and mixing them after adding the correct amount.

    The Fae doctor noticed the three of them staring at him while he shook the container with the bubbling light green liquid.

    He stared back at them with the same intensity, lowered his spectacles, and raised an eyebrow at them. "Is something the matter? Your Highness?"

    Princess Sapphire shook his head. Then she stood up carefully from her chair and said, "Brother. I would like to fetch Xerxes his favorite food at the top of? the mountains. The ce where the three of us fell by ident?" She trailed off, and Apollyon nodded in understanding.

    "It was Xerxes and I''s favorite spot to rest after our training. He liked to catch golden fishes there and eat it." She exined further. "It might heal him faster after drinking the cure the Faerie Doctor had prepared for him."

    Can you help me?" She titled her head at us expectantly, waiting for their consent.

    His half-sister must have meant the waterfalls they hadnded to escape the Spring Court''s militia. He pinched his lips together as he recalled the incident.

    It was almost hrious that Luna created a portal just above it, and all of them got wet.

    The walk from the top of the mountains down to the vige dried them up from the sun''s natural heat.

    "You know where it was located, right? Can both of you meet me there to? talk? about��. things, Your Highness?"

    "Yes. I would like to try fishing even if I don''t eat those scaled animals myself." Apollyon replied. "I would like to give it try."

    What do you think, wife?" Apollyon''s head turned in his wife''s direction. "You want to rx and bathe on the waterfalls while we are there?"

    He would like to see his wife in her clothes drenched for the second time, but today will not be through a mishap.

    Warmth settled in his loins, and he pressed his legs together.

    It was indecent to be aroused by his wife in front of his half-sister.

    "Hmm. I''m alright with it." Luna replied softly as he gave him a half-shrug. "You can transport us there since you already know where it is."

    "Please go ahead while I prepare for the meeting and change my clothes, Your Highness. I haven''t changed since yesterday because I was busy making sure that Xerxes was fine until this morning. You can also return to Vinca Inn to acquire a dry set of clothes to wear after we hang around the waterfalls."

 Chapter 579 - Fantasy Come To Life

    <h4>Chapter 579 - Fantasy Come To Life</h4>

    New Chapter in Highest Tier (June 2021)

    *************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    *************************

    Their lungs were filled with fresh air and the sounds of birds chirping and the sound of random animals trotting around the waterfalls.

    For the first time, which felt like a long while, Apollyon could finally rx herepared to the Summer Castle.

    He just can''t.

    It felt like some unseen threat followed him and his wife around, and he hated being that exposed to their enemies and the future ones��those who wouldn''t hesitate to betray them for their own selfish reasons. He already learned the lesson in the Spring Courts.

    He also liked that Luna wore a secret smile on her lips as if her inner happiness radiated from the inside.

    It was contagious that a small grin made its way onto his lips.

    After half an hour, Princess Sapphire met them at the location, and she did change into new set clothes like she said, donning red robes wrapped around her body with strings attached to fasten them.

    No one would have any doubts that this young girl belonged to the royal family from the intricate dragons embroidered on the silk cloth and the ckces stitched at the hem of her skirts and the wide-bell-shaped sleeves which made her seem like she acquired another set of her wings.

    He also watched his wife shamelessly as she stripped her midnight ck gown down to her bodice, allowing the pieces of art to drop on the grass in a soft rustle.

    Luna knew that his eyes were only on her.

    She turned her body to face him so that he could get a clearer view as she watched him watch her before she was dipping into the cold summer pool.

    Apollyon thought that Princess Sapphire would use Fae Magic to fish, and he was looking forward to how she will do it.

    Would it be something unique?

    The answer was no.

    But it did surprise her how Princess Sapphire caught big and slippery fishes by fixing a small worm as bait with its stringed hook connected to a small branch as a fishing rod.

    The orange scaled fishes were still fast despite their size, their armours glimmering in the morning sun.

    Apollyon had witnessed this way of living at the farthest territories of the Vampire Realm where humans lived.

    Humans feed themselves by farming, hunting and fishing while the vampires kept them as their blood supply, like how they kept their animals in pen.

    These were the few viges where he got his blood ves every time he ran out of female criminals to feed the Archdemon of Gluttony in the past.

    Faeries didn''t eat meat as far as he was concerned. The Spring and the Summer Fair folks stuck to a certain diet of milk, honey, choctes, cheese, fruits, jam, wheat and eggs since they couldn''t live without their sweet cakes and pastries.

    The Fall and the Winter Faeries'' diets consisted of blood.

    The only thing that all the Fair Folk had inmon was their obsession with wine.

    In their Realm, the Vampires were at the top of the food chain.

    These mortals were lucky if they didn''t get killed in the process and onlypelled in a trance during the vampire''s feeding.

    "We need to talk about what happened this dawn." Apollyon began.

    "Brother." Princess Sapphire coughed, catching herself. "I mean, Your Highness. I don''t even know where to start."

    "Then let me start it for you," Apollyon said as he quickly dipped a hand to the water to catch the fish when it swam towards him. "You are a demi-god. You are the daughter of Hephaestus."

    Princess Sapphire took a long while to answer as she carefully unhooked the fish and ced it in her bucket.

    "Unfortunately, yes." She sighed without looking at him. "Up until now, I still can''t believe it."

    "Me, neither. I never thought that I woulde across a demi-god in the Faerie Realm. Those creatures probably lived in a specific Realm where the gods and goddesses kept them in secret so that their wives and husbands wouldn''t figure it out and incur wrath all over the rest of thend." Apollyon said. "If my mate had? a child with another man, I would probably do the same and turn the world upside down if I could."

    Luna looked at Apollyon with a strange look on her face before she proceeded to swim farther from them.

    He noticed that she shed him that unreadable nce a couple of times when she returned from her discussion at the women''s parlour with his mother.

    Apollyon had no idea what they meant.

    Was it a signal for something he was too dumb to catch unto?

    She was a beautiful siren with her thick silver hair floating on the clear water while wearing a thin chemise, exposing a? long line of her cleavage.

    He could see her generous curves amodating her baby bump and her growing breasts, especially when her clothes were wet--

    God''s blood!

    It was his fantasy that came to life that he couldn''t help but lick his lips indiscretion.

    Apollyon was careful that his half-sister wouldn''t think that he was ready to jump his wife''s bones.

    If she weren''t there with them, Apollyon would have the happy ending he desired.

    He would have to endure hours of a semi-hard cock before it went to the point of no return.

    He exhaled a heavy sigh and ran his hand through his hair before he held on to the wood��not his own wood but the dead log.

    Mouth dry at how alluring his wife appeared as the tiny droplets on her skin twinkled like stars under the sunlight, Apollyon''s Adam''s apple bobbed up and down as he sat on a dead log which he settled both ends at the smallest circr arc he could make at the pool.

    It was simr to how he envisioned her at the royal infirmary, bathing in the pool with nature as her background.

    Apollyon should get himself together, even more, today than yesterday, at the dance floor with Luna''s teasing.

    To avoid temptation, Apollyon let his eyes wander somewhere else.

 Chapter 580 - Obvious Signs

    <h4>Chapter 580 - Obvious Signs</h4>

    New Chapter for Highest Tier (JUNE 2021)

    *************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    *************************

    "How are you faring from the revtion, Princess Sapphire?" Keeping her head above the water, Luna asked softly as she paddled her long arms gently as if they were angel wings.

    Her nk gaze was fixed on the blue sky, and her slow blinks made her look like she was about to fall asleep any minute by now.

    "I''m alright." Princess Sapphire replied, unsure,? "I just don''t like Hephaestus around me."

    "You don''t want to im the God of Fire as your father then?"

    Apollyon didn''t know why his sister''s face suddenly flushed pink.

    "Yes. Why would I like him after I discovered that he was the powerful bastard who made the Great Hall explode?" She snorted.

    "I already have a monster for a mother." Her lips quirked in a sardonic grin. "I wouldn''t ept an absent father who just popped out of nowhere which is a monster as well."

    A suddenfortable silence fell on the three of them.

    Apollyon knew that everyone agreed to the inevitable truth.

    "What if hees back around?" Luna said.

    Princess Sapphire slightly flinched when a tree branch fell from the left side of the forest in a loud crunch.

    Startled, all of them simultaneously nced in that direction just in case they spoke of the devil''s existence.

    After craning their necks to figure out the cause of the noise, Princess Sapphire exhaled a heavy sigh when she realized it was nothing but paranoia, thinking that her father would attempt another abduction.

    "Hecate will keep him away from me in exchange for something." She began.

    "Does it involve you and Xerxes apanying us on our mission?" Apollyon prompted.

    Princess Sapphire closed her eyes for a minute as if to calm herself.

    When she opened them again, her expression was grim. "Hecate didn''t borate. She said you would be the one who will exin it to us."

    "I will tell you when the timees," Apollyon said.

    For some reason, Luna examined him with an intensity that made him incline his head at her to see if she had anything toment on.

    It can''t be exined.

    It would be better not to say anything to his half-sister right now.

    Not when his intuition was telling him not to.

    "Maybe, after Xerxes had fully recovered and we will start the journey."

    "It''s going to be far, huh?" Luna slowly dipped her head into the clear water and sunk for a long minute.

    Bubbles rippled up through the water before she flung herself to the surface.

    Her wet silver hair somersaulted in the warm breeze.

    Then, she driftedzily into the wet stones surrounding the pool and leaned her back against it, rxing at the edge.

    Apollyon spotted something strange. His vampire eyes couldn''t be mistaken. "What is that on the back of your neck, Luna?"

    "What do you mean?" Luna''s hand immediately shot to her nape as she caressed it. "I don''t know what you are talking about."

    Sunlight shined on her porcin features which made it appear like she was made of ss.

    "Come here." Apollyon beckoned a finger.

    "I don''t have an eye on my palm to see what was behind my head, Apollyon," Luna said sarcastically.

    "I saide here." Apollyon didn''t mean it, but his tone was cold and hard. "Let me see what it is. I thought I saw a ck spider when you gathered your hair up for a second."

    "It''s nothing, Apollyon." She rested her head against a polished stone and made no other move.

    "I can handle a small spider." His wife watched him with hooded eyes. "Just let the poor thing rest there if it wanted to."

    "What if it was poisonous?" He growled low. "I can''t ignore it. Come here."

    Luna let out a seductive chuckle. "No. You are the one who needs me right now. You should be the one who must approach me, Your Highness."

    Apollyon stared her down before he took his shirt off and threw them at the grass behind him.

    "You couldn''t feel that hairy spider at your nape? Was it a real thing, or was it a permanent mark on your skin that I haven''t seen yet?" Apollyon asked coldly before he jumped on the water with a huge ssh.

    The water was just at the level of his torso.

    He dug his feet to the smooth rock bottom mixed with sand as he approached her with a scowl.

    "Just let it slide, Apollyon."

    Now, he could sense a slight quiver in her voice.

    "I don''t really need to see this right now." Princess Sapphire added in annoyance.

    Apollyon assumed she was rolling her eyes.

    "It isn''t my part of the n to take a bath in this pool. I just nned to watch you and keep you safe just in case Hephaestuses back out of nowhere, but this Empress right here��"

    "��is openly flirting you?" Princess Sapphire supplied.

    "Would you leave if I tell you to so that I could flirt with Apollyon to my heart''s content?" Luna asked out of the blue.

    Apollyon''s jaw clenched in disbelief.

    "From that longing gaze in your eyes, Apollyon, I thought you desired to be alone with me without your half-sister in the picture."

    "No." Apollyon eyebrows knitted in suspicion. "I would like to keep her here, thank you very much."

    "God forbid my existence would stop? the two of you from doing something only adults do." His sister made funny, disgusting noises as her hand clenched the metal handle on his bucket. "I will be gone with my fishes and return to the royal infirmary. Just don''t let me witness this abomination."

    "Don''t go." He told Princess Sapphire while his eyes narrowed on his wife.

    Crossing her arms over her chest, Luna pouted, "What is wrong? Turning cold in just the blink of an eye despite that monstrous arousal?"

    "Wife." He winced as his barefoot stepped on an uneven rock. "Not in front of the child."

    "It''s simple." Luna shrugged.

    The corners of her eyes crinkled when she smirked. "Allow her to leave If she didn''t want to stay with us."

    "Luna. I''m bing suspicious of you."

 Chapter 581 - Mission

    <h4>Chapter 581 - Mission</h4>

    Newest Chapter on Highest Tier (July 2021)

    *************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    *************************

    "Husband." Apollyon heard his wife call him for the hundredth time today, and he halted in front of their door at their luxurious suite to appease her��if this was really her.

    Apollyon frowned as he wondered if his judgment could be trustedst night.

    After all, Lilith was weak from resisting the exorcism he did with her own conjurer, that demonic cult priestess, from the Spring Courts.

    There was no way to tell when Lilith woulde out.

    Nevertheless, he remained calm and alert as he observed thisdy''s movement the whole time he was in her presence.

    He heard her wife''s feet stomping the wooden panels of the stairs in annoyance as it creaked with every step.

    Grimacing, Apollyon waited for her to reach thending.

    This time, he chose not to return to their room in an instant as he did earlier to get spare clothes for him and his wife while they dallied in the waterfalls.

    After their discussion with Princess Sapphire, Apollyon left her at the tavern and returned to their rented room by himself.

    He witnessed how her intense, calcting gaze scanned the people and her surroundings at Vinca Inn thoroughly.

    It was either she behaved like it was the first time she saw them and wasmitting them to her memories, or she gave a nonchnt glimpse if she perceived it was unimportant.

    Jaws clenched, Apollyon couldn''t hide his anger and disappointment when there was no sh in recognition when he introduced her to the Vinca''s Innkeeper.

    As the middle-aged Fae nced at him in visible confusion, he remembered how the cursed Faerie returned that same gaze to his wife, staring at her like she had gone mad for not recognizing him when she was the only one who turned therge frog back into his original form.

    That oblivious reaction was thest straw that broke the camel''s back.

    Everything in Apollyon agreed that this wasn''t his wife, but there was still a part of him that wanted to refuse��to deny the truth.

    How can he know for sure?

    Hecate''s herald told them at dawn that the Archdemon of Envy was getting stronger inside Luna''s vessel.

    Yes, little by little.

    If Apollyon heard him correctly, the ghost promised that this wouldn''t happen overnight.

    Lilith would take her sweet, sweet time since the distinct dark energy was barely discernible.

    Apollyon''s onyx ne containing the ground powder of the unicorn''s horn wouldn''t work, either.

    He will just hurt himself since his Archdemon wife could also trigger it to sear his skin.

    The forbidden spells might have failed to drive Lilith away, but at least it was fatal enough to make his wife hold the reins of their shared vessel for almost two months.

    He considered it a? blessing�� a miracle��from the misfortunes.

    As far as he knew, Lilith was a fragile Archdemon than Luna.

    There was no way in Hell that she could take over without a trick.

    Unless something happened during the meeting at the women''s parlor that he didn''t know of.

    "Apollyon. Is this how you are going to act? Like a f*cking child?" His wife''s frustrated voice was pitched a bit higher right now as she got closer. "It was simply a jest that I want your sister gone! You have given me naughty gazes at the pool while we are there. I know you desired me because I saw it with my own two eyes."

    Her tone abruptly changed when she whispered. "But then your loving expressions morphed into a mask, shuttingpletely with just a single word I said." She mewled.

    It was softer than Apollyon''s sensitive ears could barely pick it up.? "What have I done to set you off?"

    He would haveughed in her face if he was facing her.

    It was Lilith who was wearing a mask and not revealing her identity.

    Yet, this time, she had changed tactics.

    The change was drastic.

    In the past, she was acting all desperate to connect with him like a lizard searching for water in the desert and pretending so hard to act like an affectionate wife.

    Before, she performed as a mercenary submissive with a hidden obsession, and currently, she was taking the role of a nonchnt, seductive Empress.

    Thetter persona was a bit simr to his wife, but it was unnatural.

    Her reactions were off, sometimes.

    But, her presence and personality weren''t strong and distinct enough to identify her from Luna, but she could be holding back.

    Apollyon didn''t want to confront her right away.

    Maybe, this was Lilith''s attempt to fool him by being slippery as a snake.

    Inconsistent.

    nk as a page.

    Formless as water.

    Lilith can take her time to adjust with various masks around her, taking up new identities and experimenting with them so he couldn''t pin her down.

    Then, she would strike at a moment''s weakness and take advantage of it.

    "If you wanted to keep your sister there, then it''s alright." She huped. "I''m not forcing you? or her to obey a mere suggestion."

    Luna sounded like she was about to cry from her perceived rejection at the waterfalls, which made Apollyon''s resolve waver a bit.

    Apollyon acted like a jerk at the pool, and he did it on purpose.

    What if he wasn''t the problem then?

    What if she was making him feel like a jerk when he wanted Princess Sapphire to be there as a buffer just in case she was the Archdemon of Envy?

    Shoulders stiffening, Apollyon answered, "But, you already gave her the idea that you wanted her gone,"

    "What was the point?" She whimpered, "The discussion was already over when you told her that you would discuss? this mission when Xerxes had recovered!"

    He rubbed a hand over his face as his annoyance rose.

    If this were the true Lilith, she would start crying louder, extend this drama downstairs and gain sympathy from the guests.

    He was incredibly suspicious of her identity.

    There was another way to check that out except doing that and see her reaction.

    "What do you think about the mission, Luna?"

 Chapter 582 - Be Seduced, Apollyon

    <h4>Chapter 582 - Be Seduced, Apollyon</h4>

    Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (July 2021)

    ***************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ***************************

    Apollyon couldn''t bear to look at the foreign Archdemon who possessed his wife''s body.

    If he did, imagining this other hag in Luna''s likeness would be easier.

    He might learn to subconsciously hate her own wife''s physical vessel because of Lilith''s foolishness��of trying to own what didn''t belong to her and obsessing over someone who already had a mate.

    Can''t she find other Archdemon males to frolic with and was more than willing to be with her?

    Or was she after the charm of wanting something that she couldn''t have?

    Honestly, Apollyon would rather choose to stare at the owl''srge eyes carved in the center of their wooden doors.

    Yet, he had no choice but to see every nuance of her facial expression.

    He spun around to face her only to see her standing there at thending in her pale yellow dress with the red bow tied to her chest and the stair''s handrail in her grip.

    She watched her with wide green eyes full of innocence as if she was pleading for him toe and provide her with the much-neededfort a wife needed from a husband after an argument.

    A Vampire King was never squeamish.

    If he could prove thedy in front of her wasn''t Luna for the second time, he would probably vomit in disgust if he was duped into having sexual congress with this madwoman who was still obsessed with him after millennia.

    He might also gather evidence to back up his spection without getting too close and make her feel as defensive as a cornered animal.

    Steer away from any serious conflict and keep everything as casual as discussing the weather.

    That was it!

    He remained in his ce and settled his hands behind his back.

    Clearing his throat, Apollyon puffed his chest up and asked in a deep,manding voice. "What do you think of the mission, Luna?"

    "I��" Luna''s voice sounded hollow as it echoed in the silence of the corridors.

    The luxury suite they rented for the whole month was located on the top floor of Vinca Inn.

    Both of them were all alone in there, and Apollyon knew this would end badly.

    He even asked for Princess Sapphire to stay with them since the space was so huge that ten middle-ss Summer Faeries could probably live there for a month infort.

    Apollyon will take responsibility for her safety as the young spy master''s guardian next to the Summer Monarchs.

    In reality, he still needed his sister to serve as a barrier between ''Lilith,'' extending it from the waterfalls to their bedroom, just in case.

    So that he wouldn''t be tempted by the Archdemon of Envy if she attempted another seduction using Luna''s form.

    This time, Apollyon didn''t think he was strong enough to resist her.

    It would have been different if Luna didn''t tease her the whole day while they were cavorting in the Summer Castle.

    The moment he recalled the sensual shbacks during their dance at the Great Hall and their tryst at the observatory, his lower stomach tightened, and his balls hurt with this urge to release.

    Of course, Princess Sapphire refused the offer because she didn''t want toe in between lovers.

    It would be awkward, but he would prefer that rather than being with the enemy in the same room.

    "I will do everything in my power to do everything which was required of me."

    Too vague.

    Apollyon didn''t know whether to choke her to death when his wife was also inside this vessel.

    God''s Blood! Apollyon should have followed Luna and his mother from afar.

    Sneak in and avoid detection from anyone.

    It might not be easy.

    He could at least try that rather than experiencing this dilemma.

    He clenched his fists as he fought this uncertainty inside.

    He was a Vampire King who hated doubting himself, but Luna''s strange behavior must be brought to their attention.

    Both his mind and intuition were telling him the same thing, but ignorance and denial made him feel secure.

    If this was Lilith, how will Apollyon bring her back?

    "��and that is��." Apollyon trailed off and tilted his head at her, waiting for her to borate it by herself.

    Luna didn''t answer as she shifted her unreadable gaze from his eyes to the wooden floorboards.

    Did she know or didn''t know?

    Why was she giving him a hard time for something so simple?

    He observed her warily as he crossed his arms over his chest, tapping his foot in impatience.

    He would have preferred she would mess up the answer to his queries.

    Alright.

    Apollyon was one hundred percent certain this wasn''t his wife.

    There was no doubt about it.

    Lilith''s selective amnesia wouldn''t work forever.

    Now what?

    What shall he do next?

    Keep on pretending?

    Nobody spoke as both waited for someone to open up the subject.

    For the first time in forever, Apollyon had many things to say, but he was speechless.

    She didn''t dare lift hershes to peer at him, dawdling by the top of the stairs.

    Now, who was having a hard time reading who?

    She was the one whoined that he was the one who had screened his impassive countenance.

    Now she was acting like what she used her of?

    Luna, no��Lilith slowly lifted her eyes and gave her a bewitching stare, licking her lower lip. " I want to have fun with you. Just the two of us." She sauntered towards him and murmured huskily,? "I thought you wanted it as well."

    Apollyon almostughed.

    This madwoman was hopeless.

    "I wanted to, but something changed my mind."

    "Tell me about it, husband." She raised a hand to touch Apollyon''s chin with her fingers, but he turned his head away to avoid it.

    "I just felt like it." Apollyon shrugged. "There is no reason."

    "What is this sudden denial?" She scowled, breathing hard as she muttered a string of curses. "It didn''t mean that you don''t like to do it with anymore doesn''t give you the right to refuse me! Am I? too selfish to also want you for myself?"

    "Let''s just get inside the suite, wife."

 Chapter 583 - A Mans Boundaries

    <h4>Chapter 583 - A Man''s Boundaries</h4>

    Newest Chapter On Highest Tier (July 2021)

    **************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    **************************

    "Let''s just get inside the suite, wife."

    Apollyon pulled the golden key from his pocket, inserted it in the suite''s keyhole, and turned it until he heard the click.

    The wooden carving of the owl blinked thrice before the double doors opened to reveal the panoramic view at the terrace. "I know you want me for yourself, but I still had the right to refuse you if I don''t want to do it."

    Luna gasped in surprise.

    It took her a minute to process his words.

    "But�� But you are my mate, Apollyon." Luna whispered. "I thought you loved me."

    "I thought we made this clear that we should respect our boundaries, wife."

    "Why��why would y-you do that?" She demanded in a whisper-shout, outraged by his sudden audacity. " Does this mean you don''t want me anymore? Are you releasing me from the mating bond?"

    Apollyon smirked, shaking his head as he remained still, not giving her the privilege to even talk to him eye to eye.? "I have the right to say no just like you have the right to say no, wife." The Archdemon of Envy didn''t deserve that level of acknowledgment.? "Do you understand?"

    Her response was an eerie silence.

    Thin gauzy aquamarine curtains danced like sea waves in the air when a strong warm breeze caressed his face, pulling back his messy raven hair from his forehead.

    As he swept his gaze through the area, his eyes fell to their canopied bed without thinking.

    Brows knitting into a scowl, Apollyon wondered if this was where ''sleeping with thy enemy'' came from.

    Maybe, he could sleep on the floor or the leather couch in the sr.

    Velvety carpets covered the flooring for the tenant''s convenience if they want to traipse around the ce barefoot.

    Yet, there was this one problem he couldn''t elude.

    Lilith would be suspicious if he just denied her out of nowhere.

    The moment she noticed, she might grow more desperate as the days went by like what she did in the past.

    Well, it was either that or she wouldn''t.

    Apollyon already refused her seduction once at the waterfalls when he preferred Princess Sapphire to stay until the end rather than choosing their alone time as a couple.

    Luna''s resentment would grow even more if she figured out that he had no intention of sleeping with her.

    Now, he must create a valid reason for notying with her on the bed.

    If Lilith were smart, she wouldn''t make the same mistakes and reveal herself when she should be behaving like his wife.

    Lilith must not know that he knew about her.

    With his temples throbbing into a full-blow headache, Apollyon rubbed the back of his neck in frustration.

    He also had to find a way to help Luna gain more strength and take over her vessel.

    And then, Luna could summon an Archdemon Familiar so that they could find the Tree of the Four Seasons as soon as possible.

    His wife will eat the fruit it bore, and then, it would sessfully get rid of Lilith.

    No amount of exorcism spells done by conjurers and priestesses will be effective since Archdemon Lilith had done the ritual from Hell.

    But that special fruit will finish the job.

    If? Lilith had truly taken over Luna''s physical vessel right now,? Apollyon just had to behave simrly to the past. Leave her be, ignore any of her sexual advances and find someone who could shield him from this madwoman''s undivided attention.

    He wished it was that simple.

    He had Prince Aspen and Cederic from the Spring Courts before.

    Those cock blockers had kept him upied with their night escapades hunting demonic Fae cult and destroying them, which distracted him from Lilith.

    Perhaps, he could ask Princess Sapphire and Xerxes. But then, a sh of understanding hit his mind like a bolt of lightning.

    His mouth was slightly parted in shock.

    This might be the reason why Hecate wanted them to join the mission.

    She might have foreseen this, but she didn''t tell her herald to share everything with them.

    ''Hmm. Maybe, the best course of action was to stage a fight so that he could have a reason to avoid her like the gue and shut down attempts at make-up sex. '' Apollyon contemted. ''This will be his scheme for a couple of days while they stayed at Vinca Inn.''

    Clearing his throat, Apollyon nced at her while he held the door open for her to? enter, "Are youing inside or not?"

    Luna threw him a surly look as she advanced towards him with weighted footsteps.

    "Fine." She spat.

    ring at him, she muttered how much of a prick he was by disregarding his wife''s feelings.

    Apollyon raised a curious eyebrow at her,? amused by Lilith''s delusions.

    Did she want to be his wife so bad that she attached herself to Luna''s vessel and thenined about him when in fact, she got what she desired��him?

    Pathetic.

    Maybe, the best way to make Lilith release her obsession was for Apollyon to break her heart into pieces until she wished she should never covet another woman''s mate.

    He moved out of her way and leaned against the door with his arms crossed over his chest.

    The door wasrge enough for six burly Fae to enter simultaneously, but she still chose to pass right next to him.

    Her bare arm brushed against his, and she gave her a quick sideways nce.

    Her silver hair was still dripping wet, and the urge to dry them with a? terry cloth was strong.

    Her hair strands are tangled and unruly, tempting him tob them himself as their dewdrops sparkled like diamonds behind her back.

    The smell of his wife''s rare blend of dark chocte on her scent, which usually made his mouth water every time she was near him, still permeated on her sun-kissed skin.

    His hard body knew that a whiff of her blood and the drugging smell of her sweat mixed with her arousal could turn him on in an instant.

    This time, it did not affect him whatsoever, unlike before.

    The second, Lilith took a step and crossed the threshold; Hecate''s grimoire resting on the table abruptly opened as blood poured all over its pages.

 Chapter 584 - Spider

    <h4>Chapter 584 - Spider</h4>

    Newest Chapter in Highest Tier (July 2021)

    ***************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ***************************

    The second, Lilith took a step and crossed the threshold, Hecate''s grimoire, resting on the table abruptly opened, as blood poured all over its pages.

    Every fragile sheet inside the book fluttered from the strong gusts of wind from the terrace, emitting a blinding light.

    The blood was as bright as a scarlet poppy.

    It was a sticky dark red slime moving slowly as if it was an entity by itself as it continued to flow from the ancient grimoire''s spine.

    The consistency of the blood flow was enough to cause an rming flood in their royal suite.

    An old page fell from Hecate''s grimoire andnded softly on the bloody floor.

    Apollyon bent over to pick it up as he squinted at it.

    The leaf was brown and uneven as if it was burned around the edges.

    At first, he thought it was a nk page but when he flipped it to check the other side,? he saw a message written in a bloody cursive.

    His eyes scanned the words in silence so that Lilith wouldn''t figure out what was written, ''This soul had a debt to pay by destroying me.''

    Apollyon shifted his gaze from the paper to the creature who used his wife as a bodysuit and he couldn''t help but smirk.

    Did he mean, Luna, or Lilith?

    Luna yelled and clenched her fists in a panic. "Make it stop, Apollyon!"

    "I don''t know how to." Apollyon nced down and stayed still just in case it decided to target him.

    The blood came out thick and strong as it crawled and slid on the velvet carpets, leaving brown stains all over them and mingling with the floor. "You should be able to since you are ordained as Hecate''s priestess. The Goddess gave her grimoire to you yesterday."

    She willed him to do something about it when all? the blood gushing from Hecate''s grimoire began trailing towards her,? "Would you just stand there and watch it consume me?"

    ''Yes, I think so.'' Apollyon thought but he didn''t say that out loud. ''I''m good.''

    It wasn''t like they could ess each other''s minds when they weren''t mates in the first ce.

    "Let''s just wait, wife. Maybe, Hecate''s grimoire is trying to help you."? For some reason, the creature was dryer than expected despite its almost liquid form.? "Just wait and see what it would do. Stop running away. Just stay put and let it do its work." It slicked the ground and clotted in sickening speed the way it tried to heal an open wound."The Goddess of the Underworld will not harm you. Trust in her like you always do."

    "I can''t."? Luna''s emerald eyes turned dull as if she finally gave up, asking for Apollyon to help.

    "You can''t or you don''t?"? Her ivory skin paled even more if that was possible as if his query bothered her. Apollyon inclined his head at her, "You must have done something to anger the Goddess, wife."

    He could hear loud and urgent footsteps from below as they scurried to the top of the stairs.

    The sounds halted when they paused at the locked entrance to open their rented royal suite with their spare keys.

    Without warning, their wooden doors burst open as the Summer Fae guards employed by the Innkeeper barged inside.

    They nced around the surroundings in their fighting stance, ready to subdue the threat but the thing was, there wasn''t anyone around.

    The two hired guards straightened their posture as their alert yet confused eyes settled on Hecate''s grimoire which produced more blood as time went by.

    "What is happening here, Your Highness?"

    Luna almost ran to the door.

    Apollyon snapped a finger and the double doors immediately shut by magic, locking him and his wife as well as the guards who made the unfortunate error of rescuing the Monarchs from the Vampire Realm.

    Desperate, Luna pulled the ornate door handles so hard she was close to detaching them from the door itself.

    When that didn''t work, she kicked and punched the door with all her might while screeching.

    Yet, it was all for nought.

    "The door is strong." Apollyon observed her coldly, rubbing his chin in contemtion, "I expected it to cave from my wife''s onught."

    "This room wasn''t cold the best luxury suite in the Summer Courts for nothing, Your Highness." One guard informed him,? "But, the Empress had enough power to destroy the Vinca Inn''s property if she kept this up."

    "I can pay for whatever damages in case my wife did something," Apollyon said. Blood stuck to Luna''s sandals up to her legs when it finally decided to reach her.? "But not tonight."

    The sticky blood formed into a giant blob which was simr to Luna''s height, wrapping around her like she was mummified by this faceless monster.

    Her body was covered in this crimson gunk from head to toe, muffling her cries for help.

    Apollyon''s eyes bulged and he almost lost the ability to think.

    As the sound of heartbeat thrashing into his ears, he rushed to the threat to watch it closer.

    He knew that it wasn''t from this world.

    Maybe, it came from the underworld who have lost their way, seeking out darker energy that they could find and feeding on something strong and real.

    As his wife struggled to escape from the unknown monster, Apollyon only waited at the sidelines, trusting the Goddess to find a way to bring his Luna back.

    After a few minutes of groaning as if the formless glop was trying to chew Luna, it released its hold on her.

    Apollyon immediately grabbed his wife''s forearm to whirl her around and face them.

    The creature seeped into his wife''s pale skin as if Luna''s body was a sponge absorbing it herself�� or was this creature possessing her?

    It was the scariest thing to look at but what came next was even more shocking.

    "A��pol��lyon." Luna moaned as she heaved like she was about to vomit.

    Something forced her mouth to open and Apollyon jerked his hand away when his eyes fell on her exposed tonsils.

    A spider was creeping out of her tonsils.

 Chapter 585 - Subdued

    <h4>Chapter 585 - Subdued</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (July 2021)

    ****************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ****************************

    "Get out." Apollyon bellowed, warning the guards at the Vinca Inn. "Let me handle it."

    Apollyon stretched an arm as he stalked forward towards Luna, blocking them from her just in case these Fae attack her with Fae Magic out of terror.

    Their eyes were wide with fear, but thankfully, they didn''t need to be told twice.

    Both of them advanced towards the terrace as if the devils were at their heels.

    Soft whirs of their thin yet transparent light green wings, fluttering quickly in the air, resonated around the room until there was silence.

    Apollyon looked over his shoulder and saw the terrace empty with the asional gauzy curtains floating in the winds like blue water.

    He realized they were gone as if they were never there in the first ce.

    Both of the guards have jumped from the balustrade at such a high altitude.

    The spidering out of Luna''s open mouth scampered at the floor the moment itnded on its feet.

    Red sore cuts suddenly appeared on his wife''s exposed throat, corbone, and chest from the boat neckline of her bright yellow dress.

    Just from the mere sight of it, Apollyon could already feel the burning pain in his chest and throat as he clutched his heart.

    Apollyon''s hand covered his mouth in shock as more round, ck spiders, the size of half of his fist, came out of these small wounds as they crawled to the fabric of her dress.

    Some were light that they could surf in the breeze beforending on the carpets.

    Now, they were too many of them scuttling around with their eight hairy legs.

    Chills ran down his spine, freezing in ce as if he had seen Medusa himself.

    All the spiders moving around the carpet gathered at the center as they climbed on top of the other, morphing into a single monstrous ck spider with hairy legs.

    Stepping backward to give the creature more space, Apollyon craned his neck to look at the monster with eyes exceeding the number of fingers he had.

    It loomed over him, watching him with blinking eyes before it opened its mouth to reveal fangs and silken strands of webs.

    Since when did these arachnids live in his wife''s body?

    Was she cursed�� or was this the manifestation of Lilith''s darkness inside her?

    So, was the active pool of blood cleansing his wife from all these impurities?

    Apollyon held his breath as he heard the sound of his heartbeat thrashing in his ears.

    This was the first time he had witnessed something this oundish, and he was tempted to rub his eyes and punch himself in the face to make sure this was real.

    Clenching his fists, Apollyon widened his stance as he prepared to fight the monster with a magic spell. But the blood overflowing from the grimoire beat him to it.

    It slowly exuded from Luna''s skin to attack the monstrous creature from behind.

    The thick, gunk of blood stretched itself to its limit to amodate the monster as it wrapped around therge spider-like how a piece of paper would do to a stone.

    He had other questions in mind as he narrowed his eyes at the two beings fighting for dominance.

    This formless, faceless, brainless thing also did this to Luna to release all these toxic spiders inside her form.

    He even dodged a stray bloodstain when the spider tried to break free from the trap, munching and tearing the slime with its teeth.

    Yet, it was hard to catch them since they can bend their form like water at will.

    Nevertheless, Apollyon let himself rx and sighed with relief as he observed from afar, allowing Hecate''s minion��whatever this was- to do all this work.

    To Apollyon, a minute felt like forever.

    After all, he was a mere audience to this sh, but he was d he didn''t have to fight them and break a sweat.

    He waited until the spider had given up.

    The gunk of bloodpletely encased the spider in a seemingly hardened chrysalis until the spider''s battle cries went silent as a tomb.

    After that, the gore shrank all of a sudden.

    He could hear the loud crunch of the spider''s broken bones until it was reduced into the size of a small pearl as it dropped into a soft ''clink'' on the floor.

    Hecate''s grimoire''s fluttered its pages again despite the absence of wind in the room.

    The red pearl ascended and advanced towards the book, radiating as bright as the sun, and the small thing vanished among the leaves.

    Apollyon heard a loud thud at his right, and he witnessed Luna falling to her knees, and he immediately advanced in her direction to assist her.

    It appeared that his wife was unconscious.

    Apollyon held her gently, adjusting her to lean against his arms.

    Her eyes were closed, her lips were pale, and her skin was pallid as if she was about to dissolve in the wind, appearing as fragile as fine china.

    Apollyon took a deep breath twice to make his trembling voice even. "Luna. If you are in there, somewhere, please don''t surrender. Not now."

    Or else, he would regret it.

    Ages of life-long regret of being apart from a mate.

    Of times forever lost, stolen by just giving up until it all slowed down into nothing.

    "Pleasee back to me, beloved. Hecate had helped in bringing you to the forefront. Please take control of your vessel." Apollyon pleaded as his quivering hand caressed her forehead in aforting gesture. "Every single moment�� one second�� one minute�� I always notice that you aren''t the one who is by my side. Come back to me. Now. Don''t wee the darkness and let it consume you."

    Apollyon can''t let her go.

    Suddenly, darkness enveloped the room like a nket.

    Just when Apollyon thought that it wouldn''t end, it disappeared in an instant.

    A circle of brass came out of nowhere and shone brightly in front of Apollyon with thin silvery threads hanging unto them.

    Hecate''s herald appeared just in time��when the battle between the spider and the grimoire was done.

    "Perfect timing," Apollyon said in sarcasm as he nced up at him quickly before returning his attention to Luna.

    "We sessfully subdued Cano."

 Chapter 586 - Ravin In Summer Courts

    <h4>Chapter 586 - Ravin In Summer Courts</h4>

    Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (July 2021)

    *****************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    *****************************

    "We sessfully subdued Cano." So the ghastly herald informed Apollyon while it floated at the top of their hands.

    Its hollowed eyes produced an erratic burst of white light when it focused on his wife before it dimmed slightly.

    He fought the urge to shake his wife''s shoulders awake from impatience because it might make her condition worse.

    Instead, Apollyon cast his gaze at her face as clod despair slowly seeped into his bones.

    What was hope?

    It was just a tiny flicker in his cold heart.

    "Who is this, Cano?" Apollyon asked as his right hand squeezed on Luna''s upper arm while his left supported her back while he knelt on the floor.

    "Cano is an underworld spirit trapped in the pages of the forbidden section of Hecate''s grimoire. Lilith tore those darkest pages herself, memorized everything, and found a way to destroy them so that other High Priestesses will not have ess to this secret information." It exined again in that disembodied voice of his, and Apollyon nodded his head in agreement.

    "Are you telling me that Lilith unwittingly set this monster from? the Underworld in the Material Realm a long time ago?" His voice was deadly soft when he inquired.

    "Yes. Cano was the only Fury of Hecate who betrayed her by siding with Hades more. Well, maybe it didn''t side with either of them on purpose from the start, simply sitting on the fence whenever disputes in both their territories arise. But the Goddess of the Underworld perceived its two faces. Ack of pure loyalty. Cno continued to double deal between Hecate and Hades. Until the Goddess found out that Cano had fanned the mes because of its desire to see war and witness chaos in the Underworld, feeding on the darkness whiches with it."

    "Cano." Apollyon'' let the name roll on his tongue for a minute. Then, a sudden recollection of his conversation with Luna while they danced at the Great Hall made itself known.? "I almost forgot! My wife had mentioned the name to me at the Great Hall to ask around the Summer Fae aristocrats if they could recognize it. I recalled that she wanted to find out if the name had any connection to my mother and the Summer Fae could enlighten us."

    "So, you saw the creature before it decided to? help Lilith take over the High Priestess?"

    "My wife got worried that she had gone mad when she saw this creature at Princess Ourania''s room by ident as we strolled the Summer Castle. " Apollyon''s mouth was a full frown. "It was a creature that Luna could only see��."

    "No." Apollyon shook his head, correcting himself. "Luna and my mother could see this Fury.? I had the chance to peek at the keyhole to see who was inside. I saw Princess Ourania talking to someone while alone, but I couldn''t hear what was said. I wouldn''t call my wife a liar, but I couldn''t affirm Cano''s existence because I? can''t see it. Until now."

    "Don''t forget that Princess Ourania and the Empress have links to the Underworld."

    "Indeed."

    Reaching out, Apollyon caressed Luna''s face with the back of his hand.

    Whether on purpose or not, a mate''s abandonment promised a new kind of pain that would crush a soul.

    The sight of his wife''s unconscious body and the threat of Lilith''s soul--taking the reins of a physical vessel that didn''t belong to her--looming over them felt like mncholy had befallen on him as if he was told that he wasn''t allowed to see the sunshine anymore.

    When will she wake up?

    He scowled.

    ''Maybe, she will after taking a rest. And hopefully, Luna was the Archdemon who won the battle of domination.''

    "It was unnecessary for the Fury to create conflict when Hades and Hecate already made agreements about ruling the Underworld." The herald continued to exin as it floated in the air, "Trapping Cano in Hecate''s ancient grimoire was a punishment for being a? hidden traitor. Its powers were strong enough to protect the current holder of the spellbook to whom Hecate bestowed it. Yet, once someone attempted to damage the goddess'' prized possession, the Fury would activate the curse and avenge Hecate. Cano had no choice but to perform its penalty and make the High Priestess suffer for the rest of her life. The Goddess of the Underworld was big on trust between her and her priestesses, so if the holder would fail to respect her, then Hell would break loose."

    "Lilith was a human who risked her life to summon an Archdemon to possess me, and she paid for my suffering with her life for the sake of revenge."

    "Lilith had torn the forbidden section of the grimoire just a few hours before she was struck dead." The ghost added further,? "Cano''s mission was to make the defiant and ungrateful priestess'' life a living Hell. This is why Cano had stuck to Princess Ourania. She was the nearest female who resembled the hidden dark depths of Lilith''s heart. I still can''t believe that the Fury attempted to help Lilith take control of the vessel instead of cursing the Archdemon. Cano was deceptive through and through. His hidden agendas didn''t align with the Goddess Hecate at all."

    Nostrils ring, Apollyon remarked as his anger burned like mes as it fueled his bloodstreams, "History really repeated itself. Just like how this Fury chose Princess Ourania, returning to Lilith when it found a golden opportunity."

    "Cano''s presence suppressed Luna at her weakest and aided Lilith to take over Luna''s body prematurely." Hecate''s herald replied,? "For a long time, it became Princess Ourania''s familiar for its own selfish reasons, but then it decided to move on to? Lilith because it had sensed her evil presence and decided right away that? Princess Ourania was nothingpared to her. Hecate set the trap properly when she took the grimoire back, and everything went well. It might be a risk, but at least we got rid of the Fury earlier. Cano had given the Archdemon of Envy awareness and summon demons in here."

    "I bet Cano would love to see this world burn to the ground."

    "We must summon the Archdemon Familiar tonight."

 Chapter 587 - Bad News

    <h4>Chapter 587 - Bad News</h4>

    Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (July 2021)

    *******************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *******************************

    Just a few seconds of awareness made her head ached even worse.

    Luna let out a shrill moan from the throbbing pain that seized her thoughts, making it hard to form a coherent one.

    It felt like someone had hammered arge iron nail at the top of her skull.

    "My baby!"? Luna screamed the moment she regained consciousness, thrashing around her bed like a fish onnd.

    Honestly, Luna had no idea what happened after Apollyon''s mother had pushed her to the stairs except for the scarlet gushing out of her legs.

    Leo was the only one she cared about right now.

    She hadn''t even opened her eyes yet.

    She did in a panic and got up from the safe cocoon of her bed all of a sudden, making her see green and dark spots overshadow their luxurious chamber in Vinca Inn.

    Closing her eyes, she whimpered. "Ah."

    It wasn''t easy to turn her head to the side, or it might send her world spinning.

    Nevertheless, Luna knew that Apollyon was right beside her, seated on his chair in silence as he waited for her to be ready.

    Her husband didn''t need to speak.

    His domineering presence will always make himself known that he was in the room.

    It didn''t help that he was her mate.

    Of course, she knew that!

    Now, it wouldn''t take long before Apollyon shouts at her for putting herself at risk, demanding an exnation from her during her private meeting with Princess Ourania.

    She inhaled and exhaled short, fast breaths.

    "Baby? What happened to the baby, Luna?" Apollyon let out a deep growl as he squeezed her limp and cold fingers gently as if he was providing her with strength. "Is everything alright? Does your stomach hurt?"

    "The baby isn''t dead, right? Apollyon?" Luna''s voice was high as it wavered in desperation.

    A sheen of sweat clustered on her cheeks, chin and her forehead.

    Her chest felt sore as if she just survived multiple stabs. "it''s still there? I didn''t lose her?"

    "I could still hear her heartbeat as she moved around." He replied angrily, not at her but at the thought of losing their heiress.

    Luna could feel hisrge hand stroking her baby bump in a loving caress. "Lie back against the pillows, beloved, and don''t move. I should scold you, but I don''t want to cause you any distress when you are still recovering."

    She swallowed hard when another wave of pain hit her.

    All of her muscles bunched up and tensed from thest memory she had before darkness consumed her mind.

    A piercing light of rity shone through the murky depths of her mental bruises, making her grind her teeth from this scorching anger, growing, threatening to consume her from the inside and out. But, she still mustered to rein this savage, destructive emotion with cold and calcting intensity as she faced it head-on without fear and took control of it�� to concentrate it into a single goal and n for her revenge.

    She wouldn''t let this emotion die out.

    It will continue to burn embers to fuel her schemes against Apollyon''s mother for harming her baby.

    Painful tears stung her eyes as they blurred her vision.

    What did Luna do to deserve this?

    Why did that woman attempt to kill her and the baby?

    Was it because of her jealousy?

    Was it because she couldn''t stand seeing Luna happy and in love with his son just because she was miserable with King Gwythyr?

    Would she ruin her just because Luna''s feelings were reciprocated by the? Vampire King��thest descendant of the Selcis bloodline whom she believed were all wife murderers?

    She recalled? Princess Ourania had pushed her from the stairs after getting here lost in the Summer Castle on purpose.

    Luna clutched the thick, warm nkets covering her sore, tender form.

    As she exhaled a sharp breath, regret and guilt were like tidal waves from the shore washing her to the great oceans.

    It was quite a long journey to get to the women''s parlour, and they walked alone with no one in sight

    . Yet, her hairs on her skin stood on its end, and her senses remained vignt.

    Her intuition whispered a soft warning she didn''t catch.

    At that time, Luna can''t tell that Princess Ourania''spanionship was pleasant, but it was enough to let her guard down for a bit when they descended to thest stairs.

    It was a mistake that her back faced Apollyon''s mother, making her vulnerable to surprise attacks.

    "Apollyon." Luna sobbed. "I am sorry. I messed up."

    "What happened? during? your discussion with Princess Ourania?"

    As she wiped the teardrops staining her cheeks, Luna wasn''t prepared to answer her husband''s pointed questions.

    She knew? Apollyon might put all the me on her for wanting to talk to his mother alone.

    There was no time to tell Apollyon about the grand schemes she formted that morning about the dynamics between his mother, the God Hephaestus and Sapphire.

    She would rather not.

    Her mate might stop her and ruin her ploy with another n he had in mind.

    Apollyon was a stubborn and strong-willed? Vampire King.

    He was also a brilliantmander and tactician when it came to warfare as long as it wouldn''t involve his emotions or loved ones.

    Apollyon can be irrational. He was also upromising when it came to her safety which he should be--considering what had urred with her and his mother.

    She wouldn''t be surprised if he refused any propositions from her.

    Her husband insisted oning along, but she still refused his presence, promising that she would be safe, and he trusted her with all his heart even if he was against it.

    But Luna betrayed that trust by putting herself and their baby in danger.

    "Luna. You are still? mine, aren''t you?"? Apollyon''s voice broke, and his face seemed to crumple, "You are still my wife?"

    "Apollyon--"

    "I demand an assurance from you, beloved."

    Surprised at his strict baritone, Luna hesitated before answering him."Yes. I am your wife."

    "Lilith had taken over you, Luna."

 Chapter 588 - Two Sides Of The Story

    <h4>Chapter 588 - Two Sides Of The Story</h4>

    Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (July 2021)

    *******************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *******************************

    Averting his gaze, Apollyon''s lips were pressed into a grim line while hisrge, warm hand resting on her baby bump.

    "Lilith had? taken over you, Luna." He said without warning and any reservations, and she let out a small, short gasp.

    It was a soft but deadly whisper.

    Leaning closer to the side to make sure she could hear it correctly, Luna attempted to prop herself up with one arm.

    Her sore body quivered uncontrobly from this ice-cold numbness freezing in her bones.

    When she made the mistake of ncing down her chest, she spotted bright, mysterious red cantankerous sores with light yellow pus oozing out of her pale skin.

    Lightly touching it with her palm made her hiss.

    Luna winced, her mouth opening involuntarily as she pushed it slightly forward.

    She abruptly lifted her gaze back to Apollyon.

    Out of sight.

    Out of mind.

    Grimacing, Luna blinked away thest fading image of her wounds out of her mind.

    "What did you just say, husband?"

    Her entire thoughts were clouded with paranoia.

    It took him a minute to decide before telling her about everything that happened when she lost consciousness.

    Luna thought that it was thest time she would ever see Apollyon again.

    Her heart was pierced by Princess Ourania''s weapon from front to back.

    And that their heiress would never see the light of this world due to miscarriage.

    Luna''s oversight that Princess Ourania would never dare hurt her in the Summer Castle was her own undoing. After that, Apollyon''s mother can talk all she wanted��like a dog who kept barking but could not bite.

    It turned out that the Fury, Cano, whom Princess Ourania instructed to finish her off after she stabbed her multiple times with her crystal spear, didn''t follow through with themand.

    The Summer Princess might be Cano''s master, but it was attracted to Lilith''s darkness even more.

    So, the Fury decided to cure her vessel''s predicament and gave the Archdemon of Envy the strength to control her body for a while before Hecate''s grimoire came to the rescue, getting rid of Cano and subdue Lilith.

    Luna''s heart almost stopped the whole time Apollyon was talking.

    When he was finished, her heart restarted, beating as fast as a hummingbird''s wing.

    "Lilith couldn''t wait long enough?" She shoved her fingers through her long blond hair in frustration. "Why didn''t that parasite just stayed behind me for the rest of her Archdemon existence?"

    The stakes have now be higher." Apollyon said. The look in his Prussian blue eyes felt like he had seen even turning into hell. "Lilith taking control over your physical body must be a sign from the gods and the goddesses, urging us to do something about it. Fast."

    Biting her lip, she pressed her temples with both hands and took deep breaths.

    "This is all my fault, Apollyon." It was her choice��her proposal��to meet Princess Ourania on the women''s parlour. She desired to keep the discussion private and handle it herself, already taking Apollyon out of the picture if her ns might backfire.

    Shaking her head, she uttered darkly, "I want to get out of this room and kill Princess Ourania.? I don''t care if she was your mother."

    "Luna." Apollyon took one of her bloodstained hands and wiped them with the nket, caressing it with his thumb. "You just recovered from my mother''s Underworld familiar. Those unhealed wounds in your body. It was all Cano''s doing."

    Luna''s hand tensed as she raised her voice in anger. "That goddamned Fury did me dirty!"

    Can you tell me what happened on your side?" His husband''s voice held a lethal warning, demanding her to tell the truth. "What did Princess Ourania do to you?"

    She narrated how Apollyon''s mother had pushed her down the stairs and stabbed her with that crystal spear she used to threaten Princess Sapphire by hurting Xerxes with it at the royal infirmary.

    As if that wasn''t enough, Apollyon proceeded to stab her again and again until it damaged her vampire heart thoroughly along with the agony of her bloody miscarriage when she fell.

    All her limbs were shaking from the force of her anger.

    Apollyon listened intently without interruption.

    There was no other emotion in his cold, hard features except anger��quick and ruthless��but she could see guilt and fear flicker across his face in the blink of an eye.

    Luna finished. "You can''t stop me from taking my revenge."

    "My mother isn''t our priority right now. However, if we kill her, having her head in a silver tter will lead us toplications with the Summer Courts. I want to do it myself." His tone was non-negotiable as he clenched his fists. "You remember that Hecate told us that we must? bring Xerxes and Princess Sapphire to the journey."

    "I thought I could do it on my own. I''m so pathetic." Luna admitted as her vision blurred from the tears. "You should be angry at me."

    "God''s blood! You aren''t pathetic, wife. Now? I am so close to killing my mother for what she had done to you." Apollyon rose from his chair to sit on the bed wrap her into his embrace. "F*ck being civil with her!"

    Oh, how hisrge frame made her feel safe.

    "We don''t know each other for a millennium. She is a stranger to me. If she attempted to kill the baby, it would only be right to punish her with death. She will not escape from my wrath."? Apollyon''s body shook with rage. "I am just holding myself back but getting rid of Lilith is our top priority. My family is my? top priority."

    As she caressed Apollyon''s back, Luna closed her eyes, and tears started streaming down her face.

    "Apollyon, you should scold me for my stupidity like you always did in the past."? She murmured.

    "Scolding you will not make any difference. You aren''t a child anymore but an adult who can think for yourself. Doing that will only drive a wedge between us.? The only thing we can do now epts the consequences." Apollyon said. "Get enough rest�� before we summon the other Archdemon if that''s what it takes to get rid of Lilith."

 Chapter 589 - We Will Begin

    <h4>Chapter 589 - We Will Begin</h4>

    Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (July 2021)

    *******************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *******************************

    "Are you ready, Luna?" Apollyon asked her once he finished drawing the summoning circle on the royal suite''s red velvet carpets.

    As she remained seated on the edge of the canopied bed, her eyes flitted to the stters of slimy blood here and there--marked on the floor and the walls--including her limbs.

    Something poured out of the grimoire, simr to a dark reddish waterfall, until it flooded the whole ce.

    Later on, it turned into formless yet fluid-like gunk of blood that can take shape with anything it wanted.

    To get rid of Cano, who transferred its servitude from Apollyon''s mother to Lilith at its own whims,? the strange bloody thing separated into smaller goops before it sunk into her pores and cleansed her from the Fury''s darkness.

    He also told her about a ck spidering out of her mouth.

    She groaned in disgust, and Apollyon paused to let her adapt to the image.

    It was either she swallow hard or gag in front of Apollyon.

    Goosebumps rose from her arms when she heard about the arachnids crawling on her form.

    Hands and toes curling, the sensation felt so raw, real, and vivid that it felt like a muscle memory--even if she could barely recall.

    Her body remembered, but her mind thought that the clusters of spiders breaking out from the sore holes on the expanse of her pale chest were mere illusions.

    As he heard the story earlier from her husband, Luna can''t help but shiver as if cold, ghastly fingers were running up and down her spine while sheid on their canopied bed surrounded byfortable nkets and pillows.

    His deep baritone was rxing and more than pleasant.

    He could pass as a traveling bard for a King��actually, no.

    Apollyon was her storyteller, and she was a special patron for this newfound talent of his from how easy he owned her undivided attention.

    Nevertheless, her husband must be bored of her limited reaction due to overfatigue.

    She was either blinking in shock, opening her mouth for a long yawn, and releasing an asional short gasp from the duration of the tragic and scary bedtime story filled with ghosts and monsters.

    Luna''s eyes widened many times in fear as she imagined the scenarios Apollyon relived for her benefit.? After that, her husband demanded that she rest for a longer period to prepare for their next exhaustive activity.

    Unfortunately, it wasn''t sexual congress but an evocation to make an Archdemon of Gluttony, her ve.

    As her husband gently stroked her forehead, Luna''s eyes easily fell shut after a couple of minutes while her husband droned on and on.

    His husky murmurs became inaudible as they faded from her ears like a song from a farawaynd.? But why would she be afraid of her own shadow��her own kind?

    It didn''t make sense.

    As her husband gently stroked her forehead, Luna''s eyes easily fell shut after a couple of minutes while her husband droned on and on.

    His husky murmurs became inaudible as they faded from her ears like a song from a farawaynd.

    She clutched the grimoire''s hardbound cover, scratching its leather case with her fingernails in agitation.

    Luna was a brave Vampire Empress who wasn''t scared of anyone, even to this other parasitic Archdemon sucking off her baby''s nutrients.

    It was her mate''s blood on her veins that kept them alive and healthy and Lilith had the audacity to share Apollyon with her in this manner?

    She scowled.

    Hell to the No!

    "It is done, dear husband." With the grimoire in her hands, Luna got up from the bed and stalked towards him. "I am checking the summoning field. Making the same mistake twice will be a stupid choice. Not an error."

    ording to the Vampire King, what had urred for the whole day was like living in a nightmare. In Luna''s opinion, it felt like she woke up from peaceful darkness where time didn''t exist, only to wake up just in time for the dust to settle.

    Yet, things hadn''t ended for their convenience.

    The excitement just started.

    Hours had gone by quickly, and the early morning had quickly shifted to twilight without her notice.

    Lilith took a huge chunk of her memory that she could onlye up with a nk the whole time she took the reins.

    "You have learned from the past." Apollyon stood there at the center of the magic circle with one hand on his hips while holding a stick with a tiny me at the end.

    He had finished lighting up the candles he asked for the innkeeper''s servants to deliver. "Hopefully, you will not be opening a portal from Hell and bringing the demons here yourself instead of Lilith."

    Luna frowned as a ceremonial dagger appeared in her grasp. "Don''t even seek something dangerous as that, or you will jinx the ritual."

    "It was a jest, wife." Smoke and incense from the burning candles formed curlicues in the air as they covered her husband''s face. "You look serious as if this is a matter of life and death."

    Luna snorted. "I have suffered the consequences of summoning two Archdemons turning me into their mate. Never again."

    "Alright." Apollyon stepped closer as his hand lifted his face to caress her jaw. "What will be our sacrifice?" He motioned at the locked double doors with a thumb. "You want me to kill a criminal? at the tavern downstairs?"

    Apollyon was apathetic about the chances of destroying the whole inn for summoning Ravin, iming that the Innkeeper of Vinca will be paying his debt in full for getting rid of his curse.

    Luna wondered if it was Hecate who turned the Summer Fae into one as a punishment since she just realized that the Underworld Goddess had an affinity to those sickly green amphibians.

    "No need," Luna replied as she gave the grimoire to Apollyon so that he could hold them for her. "An Archdemon blood in a vampire''s body will be enough to do wonders."

    "Stay out of the circle, husband." She sliced deep wounds on her wrists twice. "We will begin."

    Luna started chanting.

 Chapter 590 - Plot Twist

    <h4>Chapter 590 - Plot Twist</h4>

    Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (July 2021)

    *******************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *******************************

    Low murmurs of litanies from Hecate''s grimoire were uttered despite herck of understanding of what this entailed, resonating on the four corners of their royal suite.

    The wordsing out of her mouth felt alive, electric, and tangible--as if they were vibrating with power enough for the spells'' ramifications to stick not in this room but for the entire building along with the ground it stood on.

    Her incantations could siphon her Archdemon energy to fulfill their wish.

    The adverse effects of summoning an Archdemon Familiar in Vinca Inn would probably haunt this ce''s inhabitants for centuries toe.

    Well, other Fae might attempt to summon a demon due to its known history, or worse, they could open a portal from Hell without thinking much of the consequences.

    All the Summer Faeries in this establishment would find that their ignorance was bliss.

    From what Luna''s sensitive ears could pick up from below, the predictable crowd were on the ground floor, gathered at the tavern for merriment, indulging root beer, wine, and fruitcakes like they always do every night without a miss.

    As she told him to, Apollyon moved quickly out of the circle, observing her with an intensity that can bother a person terribly if they weren''t Apollyon''s wife.

    She could literally feel his warm gaze boring holes on her dress, searing her back.

    Luna could imagine his eyes were cold and hard while scowling as he crossed his arms crossed over his chest, ncing around the suite asionally��especially the entrance and the exit��just in case he had to neutralize a threat.

    ording to Apollyon, two strong and muscled guards barged into their exclusive chamber to help him with Lilith, who was screeching in despair,? while she was wrapped in the blood slime.

    The Summer Faeries were terrified the moment she vomited spiders, morphing into an arachnid behemoth.

    Things might be serious at that time. But when it ended, and they have already dealt with the aftermath, she found it hrious to imagine the brave sentinels'' faces.

    Perhaps, they didn''t witness the worse of ck magic.

    Apollyon ordered them to get out, and they didn''t think twice.

    They jumped off the balustrade and flew away.

    The grimoire''s magic handled the monster while Apollyon watched on the sidelines.

    It might be an easy battle for her husband, but the event raised the stakes higher.

    By now, she figured that her husband was a master in creating strong, nullification barriers for both magic and keeping unwanted creatures out��especially their enemies.

    Apollyon, the kind husband that he was, took responsibility for her protection.

    No guards and servants can enter their royal suite with Fae Magic easily without fighting tooth and nail to defeat her Vampire King. As opposed to the previous situation where Apollyon wasn''t prepared for the guards of Vinca Inn when they intruded on their privacy.

    It wasn''t like they needed salvation. Apollyon and Luna could handle the problem themselves.

    She told him to do everything that the book instructed them for the evocation while gathering enough strength.

    Apollyon followed withoutints, but he was dead silent the whole time��immersed in his own world while he replicated aplex diagram from the fragile parchment on Hecate''s grimoire and moved it to the ground.

    The evocation of Archdemon Familiars was different from the magic circle she had witnessed in the past.

    There was an upright triangle ovepping with an inverted triangle drawn together inscribed in the circle.

    At the center was a drawing of what appeared like an eye��only one eye.

    Every corner of the star had a? ck candle settled on the points.

    Apollyon had drawn it using the Archdemon blood he extracted from her on a wooden bowl to preserve its magical properties, all the while cingyers afteryers of lock spell to secure the Archdemon from Hell.

    Her husband didn''t want this to fail.

    Luna continued to chant for almost half an hour, and she wasn''t done yet.

    Almost halfway through.

    Goddess!

    Summoning an Archdemon familiar and trapping them in the circle proved to be difficult.

    She had a hard time in the beginning, but she eased into it and learned fast.

    Sometimes, her words can trip and stumble out of her mouth, but she paused, careful not to stutter and mess this ritual up.

    Finally,? she got the hang of the words, especially those which were difficult to pronounce.

    When she was near the end of the litanies,? she drew the Archdemon sigil, which represented Ravin.

    From the quick, unexpected shift of day into night without Luna''s notice, the temperature was akin to standing on top of a graveyard at midnight.

    She was a bit tempted to stop the ritual and wrap herself with her favorite nkets.

    The natural light from the terrace dimmed along with the sunset.

    As the book floated in front of her face, Luna had difficulty reading the spells while she had her left arm outstretched. The other hand held Hecate''s ceremonial dagger.

    As she squinted, Apollyon was quick to assist her when he willed golden orbs to materialize and float around the bedchamber, providing her light so that she could read the litanies well.

    Suddenly, there was a loud, crashing music and cymbals around them that she flinched and straightened her spine.

    Goosebumps broke out from her skin, and she shivered from the chills running down her spine.

    Luna could hear a loud booming voice in her ears��so loud that it could probably destroy her eardrums.

    It sounded like the Archdemon was talking to her, but she couldn''t understand a thing.

    "Wife. Get out of the circle now. " Apollyon bellowed as hisrge hand shot out and clutched her forearm, pulling her towards him.

    When she lifted her head, Luna began to see a physical form appear at the center of the circle.

    Luna abruptly stepped out of it before the Archdemon had a chance to swing at her and reel her back to Hell.

    She squinted at the thick mist of smoke and incense clouding her vision.

    After a few minutes, it cleared a little.

    There weren''t only one but two Archdemons standing before them.

    Ravin.

    Sloth.

 Chapter 591 - Sloth And His Mushrooms

    <h4>Chapter 591 - Sloth And His Mushrooms</h4>

    Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (July 2021)

    *****************************************

    The Archdemon of Gluttony

    Prince Ravin from the 1st Circle of Hell

    ******************************************

    The next day after Ravin found out about Luna''s escape from Satan''s dungeons, he visited his brother to return the whelp that he had given Luna their marriage gift.

    After all, the former High Priestess of the Vampire Realm was married to his two Archdemon brothers, Ravin and Luxen.

    Until now, Ravin still wondered how his Amare got out of the obsidian walls of the dungeons when Archdemon Magic wasn''t supposed to work in there.

    In addition to that, Luna had lost her strength from the Grand Torturer''s merciless torment, breaking her physically and mentally.

    It was either her mind had finally reached the breaking point. It essed that secretpartment in her brain to activate this colossal power within her--creating portals and jumping from one Realm after another in that short period of time.

    It was almost an impossible feat for a fledgling Archdemon.

    If that was the case, then King Satan was right to choose her out of all the fledglings because of her hidden capabilities... or it could be that someone powerful outside of the Realm of the Seven Circles of Hell had helped her.

    Ravin frowned as he followed Sloth''s butler, Simone, leading him from corridor after corridor.

    The dimly lit sconces were their source of light as they all aligned in the castle''s walls.

    Finally, they turned into a dark corner and descended on the wooden stairs that creaked with every step to his castle''s basement.

    He had been wondering about all of the mystery behind Amare''s disappearance since yesterday, thinking about all theories he had formted in his thoughts.

    First, of course, the creatures who were responsible for Luna''s jailbreak would be the Goddess Hecate, aiding her with the Mark of the Triple Moon Goddess tattoo above her chest, or it could be the Vampire King, her Amare''s husband, who assumed he had imed her first... but Ravin doubted that.

    He was just a bastard who thought he was invincible just because he was the Vampire King.

    Yes, he had great knowledge of Fae Magic--whether it was ck, grey and white--stored in his brain for reading too many grimoires and other books from other Realms during his free time.

    Now that he thought about it, his thirst for the lore of magic was simr to Sloth.

    It was just that the Archdemon of Sloth could take things too far as an obsession.

    The Vampire King had a lot of time in his hands, and he had a lot of gold coins to spend for book merchants.

    He knew all of this because he had possessed him for a long time.

    Unfortunately, that infinite well of facts stored in his rotten mind didn''t mean he could be as strong as Ravin--an Archdemon.

    He can still fall behind his Amare in terms of magical strength, who was already an Archdemon.

    An Archdemon can only match an Archdemon when it came to the mating bond.

    He hoped his Amare would get bored of the Vampire King soon and realize that Ravin was the only man in her life who was better suited as his mate.

    Ravin and Simone walked unhurriedly to the narrow pathway with tiny jail cells on the left just enough for angelic prisoners to be in a sitting position for the rest of their lives as a sick form of punishment.

    The Archdemon of Sloth also had a reputation as the best breeder of ferocious and vile monsters in the Seven Circles of Hell.

    If he had given an animal as a gift to an Archdemon and the receiver didn''t like it, the monster would be returned to the castle and trapped in this ce along with the Angels; Sloth had captured for fun.

    Even if Sloth was the most mellow Archdemon of all, Ravin knew that the man didn''t be a ruler of the Seventh Circle if he wasn''t sick in the head to some degree.

    He nned to force an angelic captive to establish friendship with his monster pets in Hell, suffering together like animals inside the tiny jail cell that can barely contain both of them.

    Two creatures were forced to form a camaraderie with him, the Archdemon of Sloth as the viin, until the time where he would stop feeding the confined monster, forcing it to show its true colours. It would have no choice but to eat its friend to survive.

    The angelic captive will also have no choice but to kill his pet to defend themselves and carry the guilt for the rest of their immortal life.

    Sloth was sly and maniptive like that despite the innocent facade.

    His perpetual hooded eyes from his lethargy shouldn''t make other Archdemons underestimate him.

    ''And the bastard said he waszy?'' Ravin smirked. ''Yet, how can he make someone suffer for so long for his amusement?''

    It was his deception.

    He kept everything hidden and under wraps so that no one would know what he was capable of.

    Unlike Lilith, the Archdemon of Envy.

    She was a little insecure of her strength as a powerful Archdemon, so shepensated by chattering about all of her achievements to anyone who might care to listen.

    As they neared a dead-end, Simone stopped at a trapdoor that wasrge enough to fit a single person.

    "The Prince is here, Your Highness."

    Ravin nced down at it and measured the square with intense scrutiny.

    Now, he wasn''t sure if he would fit with the whelp sleeping at the knitted straw basket on his back.

    "If I finally reached the bottom, could you drop the whelp for me so that I could catch it?" Ravin didn''t wait for a response.

    He slid the strap of his straw basket from his arms and gave it to the butler.

    "Yes, Your Highness."

    Anyway, there was no point in taking care of the dragon when his Amare wasn''t there to witness the progress of their baby.

    As Rere grew bigger, it also became wild and disruptive.

    There was no purpose in keeping it anymore.

    Simone opened the trapdoor to reveal metal stairs down below. "I''m going to disturb him and his mushrooms."

 Chapter 592 - Amares Disappearance

    <h4>Chapter 592 - Amare''s Disappearance</h4>

    Newest Tier for Highest Chapter (July 2021)

    *******************************************

    The Archdemon of Gluttony

    Prince Ravin from the 1st Circle of Hell

    ***********************************************

    It was dark, cold and humid in this enclosed chamber with no windows.

    The only entrance and exit to this secret garden was the trapdoor.

    Sloth brought forth the orbs floating around them as their only light source while they see each other move about.

    Ravin could see that the Sloth grew luminescent mushrooms of blue, yellow and green, appearing a bit strange and poisonous, in this hidden chamber of his.

    Sloth sprinkled something he didn''t recognize on top of the mushrooms nted in thoserge boxes in front of him.

    It appeared that his Archdemon of Sloth was too busy to engrossed with his new project.

    Ravin could only assume that his brother was propagating mushroom seeds�� spores��or whatever they call it for whichever purpose he had in mind.

    A hundred hardbound books were piled up on the sturdy table next to him while Sloth, who wore long scarlet robes, had his back turned.

    Without making a sound, Ravin yfully sneaked behind him and ced a hand on his shoulder. "What are those mushrooms for, Sloth?"

    Sloth''s reaction was dyed for one and a split second.

    He let out a short gasp, clutching his chest in surprise. "You scared me."

    Shaking his head, Ravin grinned at him in both mockery and amusement. "You did notice that your reaction waste?"

    "You didn''t make any noise," Sloth muttered as he returned the almost invisible powder he had sprinkled over his mushrooms on a small dish.

    Ravin could barely see them despite the crystal skull radiating bright gold to provide illumination for reading books. "I was too engrossed with studying the new type of mushrooms that I have."

    "Why? What''s the purpose of breeding them?" Ravin shrugged as he brought his attention back to the mushrooms. "I heard from our fellow brothers that you have an affinity for them but not to this extent."

    "It''s a secret. You don''t have to pretend that you are interested." The Archdemon of Sloth sped his forearm to divert his attention from it, but Ravin insisted, stubborn Archdemon that he was, and swatted his hand away.

    "I am interested." Ravin advanced towards Sloth''s boxes and paused a few feet from it to observe it from afar just in case these seemingly harmless fungi might attack him out of nowhere.

    It was better to be prepared.

    Compost made of sawdust, grain, straw and wood chips surrounded the nt-like forms on therge rectangr boxes instead of soil for their nourishment.

    "I know you would rather sleep most of your waking life, so this is an odd sight for me." He added further.

    "I can''t reveal much to you. I don''t want to talk too much or else I would get tired from working. If you have no other things to say other than judge me in my own Castle, then you can leave." Sloth said as he acquired a book on top of the pile, opening and closing it as if he was anxious about Ravin''s presence for some reason.

    What was so important with these magic mushrooms?

    Ravin inclined his head as he settled his hands on his knees and bent over to get a closer look. "If I eat it, would it increase my power?"

    "Don''t eat it. I did not grow these things for Archdemons." Sloth''s deep, confident voice sounded a bit unstable when he warned him. "It''s just a recreation of mine that I want to cultivate."

    "I doubt that."

    "It was sporadic to find you up and about, working hard and doing all these things, instead of finding you every time sleeping on your bedchamber." Ravin drawled.

    "I hate small talks." Sloth interrupted him quickly.

    The Archdemon of Sloth always talked slow, but he seemed to be in a hurry at the moment as if hellfire had been lit under his ass.

    Sloth plucked thergest mushroom and held it close to him.

    Ravin stood and stretched his legs before he returned his gaze towards the blue fungi in his hand.

    Well, Ravin should stop wasting time, as well.

    "I''m returning, Rere."

    "Why?" It was Sloth''s turn to raise an eyebrow at him. "Wait. I just noticed my sister-inw isn''t here. She was always here to apany you in Hell everywhere."

    He looked around the basement, expecting his Amare to show herself all of a sudden, but nothing happened.

    Then, he gave him a confused, nk stare. "She had no other ce to go when she couldn''te back to the Archdemon of Lust. Their mating bond was already broken."

    Ravin''s eyes widened in surprise before he switched into an icy demeanour.? "So, you know about it. All this time, I thought you didn''t care about anything at all. Have you acquired a particr taste at my Amare at the Obsidian Lake, Sloth?"

    "No. Never. Unless if you desired to let her go." Sloth averted his gaze. "Lune is wee in my home if she wanted to." She admitted rather bluntly. "I like her."

    "There was no point when my Amare was already gone."

    "Gone?"

    "She escaped Satan''s dungeons." He confessed.

    "That is impossible."

    "I thought so too." Ravin exhaled a breath, and it came out as a hiss. "Not unless someone helped her. Goddess Hecate must have helped her." He clenched and unclenched his fists. "I also had a gut feeling that she already figured out how to create a portal at that point."

    Staring at him in shock, Sloth mmed the book he was holding with a heavy thud on the table. "When did this happen?"

    "I just found out the other day when I couldn''t find her after visiting her prison cell like I always do. Uncle and the Grand Torturer didn''t even bother to inform me about the news. They just went on about their days like nothing happened, thinking she would be back."

    Sloth''s gaze quickly shifted to the whelp who slept soundly inside the straw basket on his back. "So you are returning the whelp I have given her?"

    "There was really no point in raising it when my Amare couldn''t see my efforts being a good father and this mischievous whelp had done magic on me for some reason��-"

    Suddenly, a magic circle glowed purple beneath their feet.

 Chapter 593 - Two Archdemon Familiars

    <h4>Chapter 593 - Two Archdemon Familiars</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (July 2021)

    *******************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

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    As he locked an arm around her hips, Luna could feel Apollyon''s soft breaths as he murmured into her ear.? "Why are they two of them, Luna?"

    He tugged her closer to him and her posture stiffened��not from her husband''s touch but from the sight in front of her.

    "I don''t know, Apollyon." She replied, her eyes wide as purple ghastly mes encircled the magic circle.

    The same sigil Apollyon had drawn on the suite''s carpets�� the six-pointed star with the eye at the centre--burned like hellfire at the back of her hand.

    She let out a short gasp followed by a moan as her fingers released the ceremonial dagger and clutched at her other hand and rubbing it back and forth,? dulling the inmmation.

    The purple mes didn''t spread throughout the royal suite.

    They morphed into spirits with human-like faces expressing rage, hate, jealousy and grief.

    The two man-sized shapes Luna could make out inside the magic circle grewrger andrger into something else until one almost reached the ceiling.

    It was eerily close to the shadows of a dragon and Luna swore she had seen this before at the Vampire Realm.

    It was the Archdemon of Sloth and Gluttony turning into their berserker form!

    They would destroy the entire Vinca Inn and the Summer Realm if she let them continue transforming.

    "Wife. Turn them back to their human form if you can. Apollyon instructed her in dread as his grip tightened on her arm. "They might destroy Vinca Inn if? they growing in their berserker forms like this."

    Exhaling a huge breath, Luna said calmly as she closed her eyes, "I will see if I can turn them back into normal Archdemons."

    She willed them to return to their human-like forms and the burn of the Archdemon Sigil in her hand diminished.

    When she opened her eyes, Ravin and Sloth were in their humanoid forms as if they didn''t attempt to be dragons in the first ce.

    Curled ck demon wings pped behind their back while their feet were few inches above the magic circle.

    For some reason, they made no move to escape and act all mad and violent.

    Luna''s heart stopped when she met Ravin''s golden eyes glowing in the darkness caused by the spell. "You summoned us, Amare?"

    "Amare?" Apollyon''s voice held the tiniest hint of suspicion.

    "It didn''t mean anything, Apollyon." Luna ced her hand over Apollyon''s arm which was wrapped around her hips.

    Ravin''s cold hard gaze scrutinized the action and smirked. "It meant, ''my love''. After all, she is my wife."

    Instead of being jealous like Apollyon always do, he sounded amused, "She is mine, Archdemon."

    A flicker of anger shed across his face. "I imed her first."

    "She is pregnant with my child."

    When Apollyon said that, Luna was suddenly overwhelmed by a strong sense of responsibility for her baby.

    It was a reminder of why she had evoked an Archdemon Familiar in the first ce.

    The life form��this cosmic soul--in her womb must be safe, nurtured and protected by her body.

    It wouldn''t happen if she couldn''t get rid of Lilith.

    As Leo''s mother, she should be willing to ce the needs of her child before her own and give it without reservation. This was her sacrifice.

    She didn''t care whether the child''s hair or eyes or whether she will be a boy or a girl.

    The only thing of true importance was that her child was healthy.

    Despite all the best efforts and careful steps? Luna had taken, she remained unsure of the oue of evoking the Archdemon of Gluttony to be her ve.

    It was an unvoiced and acknowledged fear that just refused to be banished.

    Nevertheless, Luna shouldn''t allow fear to overshadow all else.

    Jaws clenched, Ravin''s response was arrogant. "Well, That didn''t mean I can''t take her away."

    "Well, too bad." Apollyon shrugged. Luna was surprised that her husband was rxed the whole time he talked to the one who possessed him for millennia. "That''s not the reason why we brought them here."

    Ravin ignored Apollyon and gave her a sly grin instead. "You did follow the mission of bringing the Demon Kind to this Material Realm. You kept your promise as an Archdemon."

    "No. This is because Lune had a promise to fulfil for me while she was in Hell." Sloth interrupted.? "This isn''t about her mission as an Archdemon."

    "What is this promise this man was talking about, wife?"

    Luna shook her head in response to Apollyon''s question and proceeded to interrogate the other Archdemon.

    "Sloth." She demanded, "Why are you here?"

    "Don''t worry. You can simply ignore me. I will be silent. I wouldn''t cause any problems." Sloth said as he waved his hands in front of them in rm, exposing his palms. "I''m just d I got out of Hell. I''m excited to see what other Realm looked like. I will behave like a good Archdemon."

    "Just bind him to you, wife," Apollyon said. "I think he wouldn''t cause many problems."

    "Bind?" Ravin scowled as he crossed his arms over his chest. "You can just release us."

    "Do you think I''m stupid enough to release two Archdemons in? the Summer Realm?"

    "Then what was your purpose of having us here then?"

    Despite being a fledgling, everyone acknowledged how brilliant Lilith was at seducing any Archdemon who might be useful for her rise.

    She was admired by her fellow Archdemons for her angelic face.

    Ravin had told her about this before.

    Most of the male Archdemons just have these special kinks about angels who lived near the Underworld and have sex with them.

    They desired to make Lilith a consort.

    If Lilith sold herself cheap then, of course, everyone would be after her.

    Now, Luna had to deal with this she-devil sharing her physical vessel.

    She was a clever bitch and Luna needed to be more clever than her.

    Hopefully, she wouldn''t find a way to control Sloth and Ravin after binding them to her��not a mate but as her Archdemon Familiars.

    "I am coercing you two Archdemons to be my familiar."

 Chapter 594 - What Happened In Hell Must Stay In Hell

    <h4>Chapter 594 - What Happened In Hell Must Stay In Hell</h4>

    Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (July 2021)

    **********************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

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    "I will not allow you to turn me into your familiar, Amare." Ravin''s curled demon wings beat faster, creating small windstorms inside the royal suite.

    It sent the vases falling from the table in an ear-piercing crash while some of the lighter furniture was pushed to the wall tapestries.

    With his arm wrapped around her,? Apollyon held her down and kept her feet to the ground so that she wouldn''t fly outside as the curtains at the terrace did.

    Feeling like she was trapped in the eye of the storm, Luna''s palms covered her face as her silver hair continued whipping her skin like it was self-inflicted punishment.

    "I will not be a contracted ve in this Material ne." He dered in a loud booming voice as she heard him incessantly m hisrge build against the barriers of the magic circle with a loud bang.

    "You can''t! I am your Archdemon husband." He grunted in between exertion. "How could you do this to me?"

    From the force of his rage, which can drove him to violence, Luna wouldn''t be surprised if the Archdemon of Gluttony would turn into a berserker if he desired to.

    Well, Luna wouldn''t allow him. He can try, but she already has him under control.

    Fortunately, she already controlled them the first time she summoned these two and followed Apollyon''smands.

    "I don''t understand." Luna heard Sloth answer, but the steady nuance of his drawl made him think he wasn''t doing anything.

    Of course, she didn''t have to see him know that the strange Archdemon was toozy to do anything except watch Ravin go mad.

    "If you are the Archdemon of Sloth, I can clearly see the effects of sleep deprivation." Her husbandmented, and Luna wasn''t prepared for the insult.

    Her lips curved in a smirk.

    She couldn''t believe her husband could be this petty.

    The royal suite''s atmosphere became as dark as night--if that was even more possible��despite the floating orbs around them.

    Demons with human-like faces became fuller and more defined, portraying negative emotions and opening their mouth in a silent scream.

    They appeared like white dancing masks moving in a frenzy around Ravin and Sloth.

    "REEEEEEE~" Luna heard that familiar squeal which made her mind hunt through her memories as she figured out where and whom it shoulde from.

    Yet, it was all in vain.

    Giving up, Luna allowed her hand covering her face to slide down a little to squint back at the magic circle.

    "Oh, goddess!" It felt like her beating heart stuck to her throat as her gaze fixed on the animal who had the size of a toddler peeking behind Ravin''s back.

    It was the baby dragon Sloth had given to her as a stupid marriage gift a week before the Grand Torturer picked her up and imprisoned her in Satan''s dungeons.

    Now the whelp''s innocent eyes in the past sparkled with mischief.? "You even brought the whelp with you?"

    Taken aback by Luna''s question, Ravin paused from destroying the multiyered barriers both Luna, and Apollyon made to secure the Archdemons inside the summoning field.

    He looked over his shoulder for a second.

    The whelp''s mouth stretched, giving them a wide grin.

    A sh of recollection mirrored in his eyes.

    The gold in them was so bright they were twin stars when he returned his gaze towards Luna as it glittered with frustration.

    His dark wings continued to p behind him, but it wasn''t that strongpared to before.

    "Baphomet! I was supposed to return this to Sloth because I know you have no ns ofing back because of the Grand Torturer." He growled at her. "We were discussing your disappearance when you summoned us out of the blue."

    This is the? reason why I am here, Lune." Sloth tangled his fingers on the rich strands of his blond hair. "I guess you only intend to summon Archdemon of Gluttony?"

    Luna refused to meet his nk gaze, but she admitted, "Yes."

    "I''m disappointed." Sloth sighed. "I thought I was here so that you could keep your promises."

    Then, he shook his head and clicked his tongue.

    It was his judgment of the actions she chose, and that made her narrow her eyes at him in irritation. "Do not betray a trust."

    "Oftentimes, the very advice given to others is not adhered to by the person giving it,"? Apollyon said as he watched Sloth''s response to his honesty. "Archdemons do not behave with honesty and honor."

    Ravin gave her husband a half-shrug.

    It was either the jab that had no effect on him or agreed to this universal truth.? "Everyone deserves a second chance."

    Luna snorted. "Not everyone, Ravin."

    The Archdemon of Sloth frowned as he rubbed his chin in contemtion. "You are an Archdemon, too."

    Luna chuckled. "Archdemons never yed fair, Sloth, and you know it."

    ''An Archdemon tricking her fellow Archdemons shouldn''t surprise? them when they were already known for it.''

    When she regained herposure, she told the Archdemon of Sloth just in case he forgot their true nature. "I may be an Archdemon, but the Demon Kind can''t force me to do anything I don''t want to do. Not all Archdemons aren''t capable of living by the very same standards you expect them to live by, Sloth. So let''s not delude ourselves even further. You don''t have any hold on me here. Because I''m going to own both of you." She will stand in direct opposition to hypocrisy, dishonesty, cruelty, and injustice and honor her personal truths. Luna wasn''t stupid enough to release this abomination to the Material Realm without an eternal leash on each of their necks.? "I will not allow injustice or cruelty to the innocents if I set you free out here."

    "Whatever promises my wife pledged to you, know that she wouldn''t be obliged to do it when you be her familiar," Apollyon stated with a hint of icy control.

    "Did you tell him what we have done in the Pleasure Room, Amare?"

 Chapter 595 - No Right To Make Demands

    <h4>Chapter 595 - No Right To Make Demands</h4>

    Newest Chapter in the Highest Tier (July 2021)

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    Archdemon Empress Luna

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    "Luna." Apollyon released his hold on her as if her whole body was caught on fire, and he was scalded from the heat.? "What the f*ck is he talking about?"

    As Luna angled her head towards him, Luna found him stepping away from her.

    Apollyon''s teeth were bared.

    Luna expected disgust in his countenance, but it turned out that his emotions were all wiped out.

    Luna swallowed hard as she returned her gaze to Ravin and glowered at him.

    "Based on your husband''s reactions, I don''t think he knew much about what we had done in the Pleasure Room."

    "It''s not true!" Then, with her palms up and facing towards her husband, Luna waved her hands in refusal. "Don''t listen to him, Apollyon."

    Hopefully, Apollyon wouldn''t notice how exaggerated her gesture was.

    She wasn''t lying, but nothing did happen between them.

    "He was implying that something had happened between us, but all of it was false." There should be no room for secrets within the marriage because it could cause great hurt. "Nothing."

    Her vessel felt suddenly hot and cold.

    Yet, this wasn''t the perfect time to talk about what happened at the Pleasure Room between Ravin and her.

    "Well, that''s interesting." Ravin''s mouth twisted in a devilish smile as his golden eyes sparkled tiny diamonds before his pupils dted and bled into ck.? "I don''t think it is in my ce to admit our precious secret. I want Luna to confess it from her own sensual mouth." He droned on withzy heat, which made her husband''s features crumple with a dark rage. "A mouth I have kissed oh-so-thoroughly."

    Apollyon clenched his fists as he imagined it was his thick neck he was wringing in his hands.

    Husband!" Luna called out to him when Apollyon stalked towards the magic circle as if he was a predator in a trance,pelled to finish his prey once and for all.

    The dangerous look on Apollyon''s face felt like he would stop at nothing to destroy Ravin for bing his physical vessel in the past and iming his mate for his own.

    Luna had to run towards him, cling unto her forearms, and hauled him backward, far away from the magic circle.

    ''Don''t you fucking dare step on the magic circle, or I would lose you to Ravin, do you understand? He might possess you!'' Luna''s consciousness was quick to merge with Apollyon as she sent him her furious thoughts. ''You have to think before you act!''

    ''I am trying.''? The strength of his mental response still kept ringing in her mind. ''You should practice what you preach.''

    He jerked her elbow and shook his forearm, and Luna was forced to let go of him.

    Hesitant to reach out to Apollyon, Luna kept her arms pressed to the sides as her eyes scanned him.

    Her husband whirled around to face her as he squeezed her shoulders.

    Apollyon''s blue eyes glittered as they belonged to a snake that was about to strike.

    He growled low, "Why did you kiss him, wife?"

    "Those are tant lies! He was baiting you to get on your nerves." She said in a whisper-shout.

    "Don''t believe him." Luna licked her lips and swallowed hard to alleviate her parched throat. "He is an Archdemon!"

    "As if you weren''t an Archdemon, Amare." Ravin''s tensed shoulders rxed as if his violence faded away in an instant.

    His demon wings pped backward and returned to the center, floating above the eye Apollyon had drawn with her blood.

    Ravin smiled a mysterious smile and nodded slowly, "We will see."

    ''Even if I sew the Archdemon''s mouth shut myself, his mere presence in this Realm already got under my nerves.'' Apollyon replied in their mind link as he watched her with a? cold-blooded gaze. ''Now, hurry up and do something about it, or I might do something I wouldter regret, wife.''

    ''Are you going to trust the one who made you suffer by possessing you for a millennium or the one you had a blood bond with and the one who was pregnant of your first heir?''

    She didn''t like to manipte her husband, but the subject was too difficult to navigate if she told him what urred at Ravin''s Pleasure Room scene by scene.

    The Archdemon of Gluttony cleared his throat.

    "Truth had the power to hurt," Ravin said out-of-the-blue.

    Luna and Apollyon turned to him in unison.

    "--and Amare must hate hurting you if she went out of her way to escape the subject."

    She felt the tiny hairs on her skin stand on its end, hearing his response.

    It sounded like he heard some of her thoughts.

    "I don''t want to be my Amare''s familiar." But, he added, "I want to be her only mate and rece the Vampire King."

    Sloth raised his hand like he was an eager student who desired to get his teacher''s attention. "I will be fine being an Archdemon Familiar as long as you feed me with memories. If I can''t travel from Realm to Realm, I''m just going to live that kind of freedom through other people."

    How dare you make demands on my wife!" Apollyon bellowed as he jabbed an using finger at Sloth.

    Cringing from the loud volume, Luna calmed him down by attaching herself unto his husband as he ced her hand against his beating chest.

    "You desired to make a pact with the devil and make me a familiar." Sloth replied with the ease of an Archdemon who didn''t care at all��with no attachment to the oue of being Luna''s familiar. "Servitude will require an offering. It should tempt us enough to make us do something for you."

    "Archdemon blood allowed me to jailbreak the two of you from Hell." The purple mes around the summoning field grew even stronger and brighter in approval. "Whether you agreed with it or not, you already paid the price."

    "What is the reason behind all this?" Ravin asked, squinting from the sudden, painful brightness of the barriers. "There must be a reason why you desired to make us your ves.? Is there an enemy you can''t defeat yourself?"

 Chapter 596 - Taunting Your Other Husband

    <h4>Chapter 596 - Taunting Your Other Husband</h4>

    Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (July 2021)

    ****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

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    "Is there an enemy you can''t defeat yourself?

    He narrowed his golden eyes at each of their countenances, expecting a strong reaction. But he didn''t know that Apollyon and Luna already discussed in their mind link about not giving him the power to upset them.

    There was a few seconds of awkward silence as they stared at each other in their royal suite aside from the low keening wails and haunting murmurs from the tormented souls trapped in the magic circle.

    Dark suspicion made the atmosphere even more sinister.

    Diabolical.

    "We have." Apollyon''s deep baritone rumbled like thunder as he responded coolly.

    Luna noticed that her husband''s emotions were erratic from the Archdemon''s presence.

    One moment he was calm and level-headed.

    The next moment,? he would be driven to violence with just one wrong word that might set him off.

    At least, the Vampire King tried his best to be more cordial despite Ravin''s provocation. "Both of you will figure it out soon after the Rites of Binding."

    ''" I haven''t seen Lilith anywhere in Hell recently." Sloth inclined his head at her curiously, and his leaf green eyes felt like they can almost see through her��skin deep.

    Luna swallowed hard from his probing gaze, but she dared to look at him straight-in-the-eye to show that she wasn''t afraid.

    Did he figure out that Lilith found a way to get into this Realm by knitting her soul towards her physical vessel?

    "She should be hanging around Satan''s Castle the moment you were caught by the Grand Torturer."

    "If you don''t have enemies around you in the Summer Courts and you still want me here, then you must be really in love with me rather than your husband," Ravin said, and she kept her face nk.

    In the eyes of her husband, Luna''s reputation was already tainted enough after telling him the truth about Luxen shapeshifting into Apollyon and bedding her with her consent.

    She didn''t want to ruin it all the more now that Ravin hade into the picture.

    Luna made mistakes��questionable judgments-- she would rather erase than live a life full of guilt and regret. But she learned to ept what was done and learn from it.

    In the beginning, her husband had judged her for her actions, misunderstood, and reacted poorly, yet, he still gave her a second chance.

    Apollyon granted her forgiveness because he loved her and trusted her that he would never betray him.

    Luna had no ns of making Apollyon regret his decision.

    All she desired was to live her life with Apollyon on a clean te without entangling herself with Archdemons�� but, unfortunately,? that had proved to be an impossible feat.

    She should remember that what she did in the past coulde back to haunt her long after she forgot her dishonesty.

    The Archdemon of Gluttony was already a walking disaster, and there wasn''t only one Archdemon but two of them in the Summer Realm.

    Ravin knew everything she did��all the dirty secrets in Hell that she kept from her husband--over her head as if he held the mechanism to release the weighted, angled de of the guillotine while she waited anxiously for it to drop.

    If Ravin went too far in ying with Apollyon''s dark jealousy��. Oh, Goddess Hecate!

    She needed help from this hopeless situation she found herself in.

    Luna stood, frozen in ce and unable to speak her mind.

    She clutched her stomach when she felt nausea.

    For a moment, she was confused if she should move closer or step away to the magic circle as her eyes ricocheted from Apollyon to the Archdemons back and forth��. back in forth.

    As her anguish threatened to drive her crazy, Luna exhaled a long breath before burying her face in her hands.

    How can thinking about Ravin''s future threats felt mentally crippling, as if she had already positioned her head under the de for decapitation?

    Apollyon''s silky dark hair fell over his forehead when the gusts of wind around the barriers diminished a bit. "I am giving you the freedom to speak your mind. In a few minutes, you will be our? future servant."

    "What do you mean ''our''?" As he leaned forward to make sure he heard wrong, Ravin asked pointedly.

    "I will be your servant?" He growled at Apollyon with glinting golden orbs behind the messy dark curls on his forehead. "Do not make me a servant to the Vampire King, Amare."

    "You will be my wife''s familiar." As nned, Apollyon''s countenance didn''t betray any reaction, and? "As her mate, her dominion over you will be extended to me."

    "LIES!" Ravin bellowed as he advanced towards the barrier again to get to them, but he bounced back, his skin ck-and-blue from the impact.? "Amare! Tell me that this bastard is lying to me."

    "Wife. Stop engaging these Archdemons and begin the Binding Rites. Now." Apollyon said in a hard voice so direct and powerful it might have the power to crush bones with just a fleeting thought.

    That made her jump into motion.

    Releasing Apollyon, Luna said in amanding voice. "The Archdemon of Gluttony, bearing the true demon name of Ravin, and the Archdemon of Sloth, bearing the true demon name of Maximilian, found from the Magic of Circles in Hecate''s ancient grimoire I bind the two of you to me as my Archdemon Familiar. You will aplish everymand I give you after stating your true demon name."

    Picking up Hecate''s ceremonial dagger on the floor, she raised it and traced the same sigil Apollyon had drawn on the floor in the air with the sharp de.

    As she let her eyes fall shut, Luna repeated the lines six times and pronounced the words properly while she focused on their true names and their features.? "If? you disobeyed my orders, both of you, Archdemons, you will simply cease to exist in all? the existing Realms in the past, present, and future."

 Chapter 597 - Wheels Are Turning In My Favor

    <h4>Chapter 597 - Wheels Are Turning In My Favor</h4>

    Newest Chapter in Highest Tier (July 2021)

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    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ********************************

    "Your first task as my Archdemon Familiars is to keep me, my family, and my loved ones safe��Apollyon and the future heirs and heiresses of my husband, and the only mate I will acknowledge; for the rest of my life, the Vampire King. Both of you wille after I summoned you." Luna said calmly yet she poured all of her anger and resentment into her glower, killing them with her dark and intense look.? "You will never attempt to hurt my loved ones and me because every hurt you inflict to us wille back to you a thousand-folds."

    She was so preupied with holding unto her memories that she had turned her back on the amazing possibilities avable to her right now��making Ravin and Sloth her Archdemon Familiars.

    If she desired revenge, she could execute it whenever and wherever she felt like it because she was able to make these powerful Archdemons her ves.

    Luna could also use these two as a weapon to their enemies since she can control them as their master.

    "The second task is, you have to keep the Archdemon of Envy inside me under control if she overpowered me in my vessel. Keep an eye on her and prevent her from summoning demons from Hell. "

    "Why would we stop an Archdemon''s purpose to break the Demonkind out of God''s prison?"

    "Do not interrupt me, Ravin." Luna willed for the magic circle to send lightning bolts to Ravin''s right wing.

    The purple mes surrounding the barriers were like quick, reddish rust burning his curled leather wings as if it was made of iron.

    With a gasp and a low growl,? the Archdemon of Gluttony was down in an instant as he wed at the ground in desperation.

    It wasn''t like he lost the ability to stand upright.

    Luna''s words have pinned him to the blood-drawn magic circle on the ground as a punishment.

    Gravity was his enemy. He couldn''t even lift his cheek from the red velvet carpets.

    The third task is to help us through our journey to find the Tree of the Four Seasons and acquire the fruit we needed to get? rid of Lilith." Luna finished.

    "Lilith?" Sloth asked as he held her gaze when their eyes connected.

    Muscles tensing, he didn''t dare move so that he wouldn''te off as a threat.? "Have you be Lilith''s physical vessel?"

    Luna''s eyes flicked to the glowing blue mushroom in his hand in suspicion but she simply ignored it.

    She ignored his question, as well, refusing to answer her future servants.

    She continued to read the promises upheld by Familiars from Hecate''s grimoire out loud so that her new Archdemon Familiars would be aware of the rules of having them at her beck and call.

    "Familiars share its life with their bonded Master. I, Luna Pris, am the Master of the Archdemon of Gluttony, Ravin. And the Archdemon of Sloth, Maximillian. I will also have capabilities to be in tune with my Archdemon Familiar''s emotions but they wouldn''t have the capacity to sense mine."

    Like an established one-sided blood bond.

    "Why are you interested in knowing our emotions, Amare?" Ravin hissed at her.

    ''Because as my future Archdemon Familiars, I will also be responsible for your well-being because we are linked together.'' Luna pondered but they didn''t need to know about that.

    She ignored him like how she ignored Sloth.

    In his frustration, Ravin punched the floor where the magic circle was drawn which shook the foundation of Vinca Inn as if there was an earthquake.

    Unfortunately, the entire room was all covered with incantation spells that were strong enough to withstand an Archdemon Prince''s attacks.

    It did no damage except the paintings,? tapestries and ornaments tumbling off the walls.

    She nced at her husband and almost beamed at him, proud at hisyers andyers of protection barriers to keep Ravin and Sloth inside the magic circle.

    Luna''s binding spell was short, clear and straightforward ording to the instruction of Hecate''s ancient grimoire.

    Without hesitation, she proimed the true demon names which popped up in the ancient grimoire the minute Ravin and Sloth entered the summoning field.

    Familiars became bound to their Master after the ceremony''spletion.

    It was Luna''s choice not to attach these Archdemons into objects or animals as what she had read from Hecate''s ancient grimoire--in fear that these Archdemons might figure out a grand scheme to escape them since these things couldn''t contain the power they hold inside.

    It couldn''t hold the Archdemon''s strength within, increasing their chances for the effects of the binding spells to gay haywire.

    From the beginning, Luna already figured out that the vessel of powerful Archdemons must, at least, be on par with them when it came to magical strength��like how Lilith had the audacity to share her physical body using Archdemon Magic.

    Lucifer had also turned Luna into an Archdemon so the Archdemon of Envy had used that to her advantage.

    No animal or object would be able to match an Archdemon''s power, rendering them useless if they were summoned from Hell to be Familiars.

    These diabolical parasites would choose Monarchs from the other Realms in the Material ne to be their hosts.

    Destroying the things that Luna bound them with might set them free and wreak havoc in the Material Realm.

    Giving them the ability to take charge will be an irreversible curse to all the creatures in this world.

    "For my own protection and security, the damage I shall receive from my enemies will be transferred to my Archdemon Familiars as it should." These Archdemons will be her personal shock absorbers.? "If I, Luna Pris, their Master died, so will my? Archdemon Familiars. Ravin and Sloth will be sent back to Hell, never to be summoned again by a witch or a High Priestess from the Material Realm.? And if and only if my Archdemon Familiars aplished the three main tasks or they have done enough to my liking. I will return these Archdemon Familiars to where they belong in one piece."

 Chapter 598 - Shut Your Mouth

    <h4>Chapter 598 - Shut Your Mouth</h4>

    Newest Chapter in Highest Tier?(July 2021)

    *********************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ********************************

    Sloth and Ravin couldn''t do anything.

    The barriers around the magic circle wouldn''t budge due to the multipleyers of locking spells Apollyon created over them to make sure that the Archdemons wouldn''t escape.

    Attacking the strong invisible fortress will do no good except searing their flesh during contact.

    Ravin was held by gravity while Sloth, thezy Archdemon that he was, didn''t even bother to try. Luna recalled that she told her husband about when she identally opened a portal to Hell and summoned the Archdemon of Lust.

    It was the most epic mistake she had made, drawing the wrong magic circle she found on Hecate''s grimoire because she was in panic and in a hurry to solve her problems.

    Not reading the forbidden section properly wasn''t a valid excuse.

    At least, she learnedter in life that she had to calm down and think clearly even if she was under immense pressure.

    Now, she had an embarrassing bedtime story to tell her heirs and heiresses after all of this bullshit was done, and Lilith, the Archdemon parasite, had been removed from her physical vessel when they got hold of the fruit from the Tree of Four Seasons.

    "In the name of the Goddess of the Underworld, Hecate as my witness, Ravin and Sloth are my Archdemon familiars in the Material ne."

    She nted one step in front of her in a wide stance and aimed the sharp de at the magic circle with strong precision.

    Lifting a hand quickly, he was able to lift the locking spells momentarily so that Hecate''s ceremonial dagger could pass through.

    Fortunately, it worked since It didn''t bounce off from the barriers and nged to the walls.

    Instead, the dagger plunged through the thick and heavy protective bands until it prated inside like how a wooden bullet could punctureyers of flesh until it reached the heart to get a kill.

    The purple magic circle exploded into dark blue and ck until the top floor of Vinca Inn was annihted.

    Wooden floors and furniture flew everywhere, and some portion of the ceiling dropped as if the sky had fallen on them.

    The binding had shocked her to the core.

    Now that the three of them were connected, Luna didn''t expect to suddenly understand the needs of her Archdemon Familiars like cognitive attacks bombarding her mind��left and right.

    She tried to take it easy and diminish the intense, overwhelming emotions drowning her heart.

    Their intent to kill creatures were wild, and she tried so hard to rein them in so that it wouldn''t drive her crazy.

    Luna will need to spend time with Familiars who weren''t of this Realm and take care of her them.

    Yes, Ravin and Sloth were her servants, but the three of them still have to forge a connection so that it would be easier tomand them.

    This must be simr to how a Knight trained his destrier.

    She wondered what she mightmand these Archdemons first once she made them hers.

    "You, Archdemons, deserved this for making me suffer." Luna dered brutally as her voice echoed in the quiet of?their room,?"Turning both of you into my ves is my revenge for making me feel weak."

    "Don''t me others for stealing your power if it was your choice to give it away in the first ce."

    Luna was taken aback as she wore what might be a scandalized expression: wide green eyes, open-mouthed shock and a palm over her chest. "My choice?!"

    It triggered something at the dark corners of her brain.

    Was the Archdemon of Sloth right��implying like all of this happened because she did it to herself based on her choices?

    "F*ck you, Sloth!" She jerked an using finger at him as her voice rose in frustration,?"You have no right to diminish what I have been through and invalidate my suffering. You think I brought this upon myself?"

    "Not doing anything or by allowing others to decide on?your behalf is a choice, Lune." He replied cryptically.

    The blond and green-eyed Archdemon Prince was so full of himself and so out of touch with other people''s reality and experiences that Luna loathed his words like they were dirt.

    Anyhow, she halted and pinched her lips together in hesitation.

    The Archdemon of Sloth had a point.

    Why was she clinging in the past?

    It was time to face up that the past was gone for good, like water slipping away from her cupped palms.

    The memory of what she had gone through in Hell was a repetitive cycle of suffering that she must grow out of and bid it farewell.

    This wasn''t who she was.

    Memories shouldn''t make her feel powerless.

    It was absolute stupidity, making herself miserable. It was time to let it go.

    "You think I didn''t do anything to improve my condition when those senile First-Made Archdemons joined forces to make me suffer? If that is what you think, then I don''t care. Your opinion is none of my business." Scowling, Luna stalked closer towards the magic circle and raised her chin with all the arrogance she could muster. "I will let your insolence slide, Familiar. Now, for my firstmand, Sloth. Kneel in front of me. Your Master."

    Sloth knelt as his knees automatically weaken and dropped to the ground.

    "REEEEEEEEEEEEE~" Rere, the whelp, squealed from the straw basket behind Ravin''s back as if it was announcing to all the people inside the dpidated royal suite that it was alive and well��that it had survived the st in one piece.

    It faced her with a huge grin on its snout, revealing a wicked pair of sharp fangs before he crawled out of his leaf-knitted cage and used the back of Ravin''s head as momentum to jump high�� but it miscalcted.

    Luna knew that the whelp was excited to fly and leap into her perceived mother''s arms.

    However, it forgot to stretch its wings in preparation for its flight.

    Rere didn''t go very far and fell face-first to the ground with a short, worrisome, "Urk."

    "Oh, goddess." Luna found herself stepping towards the magic circle, which had tendrils of smoke emerging from the bloodstained outline to fetch the delighted yet clumsy whelp, but she remained in her ce in respect of Apollyon,

    He might think that she was too attached to the Archdemons and the animals she associated within Hell.

    She fought the urge to help the strange little creature who loved devouring dark souls from Obsidian Lake.

    Luna clenched her fists on her dress and asked no one in particr, ncing down at it.?"Is it dead?"

    "Don''t worry, Amare, it just hit its face on the ground like the one you put me through," Ravin responded as he raised his head from the carpet to stare at her, giving her a condescending smile. "I never thought you wanted me so bad enough to summon me from Hell and make me your ve. Our surrogate baby in Hell is always disobedient. Just leave it be. It will wake up soon."

    Apollyon''s Prussian blue eyes were deadly when he regarded her, "Surrogate baby?"

    "You are not the only husband who had a baby with the wife--"

    "Ravin��" Luna cut him off before he said something that might upset her husband. "My thirdmand for you as my familiar is to stand up and shut your mouth for an hour."

 Chapter 599 - Empress Had A Harem

    <h4>Chapter 599 - Empress Had A Harem</h4>

    Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (July 2021)

    ******************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ******************************

    Luna wasn''t surprised when the guards burst into the thick wooden doors of their royal suite.

    Yet, she couldn''t help but gasp when she saw the menacing group infiltrate the royal suite.

    They regarded her like she was a criminal they must capture no matter what.

    Her hands tightened on Hecate''s ancient grimoire as she hugged it closer to her chest.

    She already half-expected them toe back this time, with more weapons and reinforcements, after the fiasco, they have witnessed that early afternoon.

    People downstairs must have heard loud noises such as high-pitched screams of agony, the banging of furniture, wall ornaments and ss vases crashing onto the floor.

    No. It was probably the monsters'' strange caterwaulsing from their private chamber which bothered the guests on the floors beneath theirs.

    That must be the reason why they reported it to Henry, the Vinca Innkeeper. He, in turn, sent for the guards to figure out what was going on.

    The guards of Vinca Inn had seen things unimaginable that had scarred them for life and Luna understood that.

    Well, who wouldn''t be when they saw thick slimes of blood moving as if it had a mind of its own while it gobbled the Vampire Empress who had hairy spidersing out of her moonlit skin?

    After the two guards exited their rented suite by jumping through the terrace, Apollyon immediately ced spells around their private space especially at the possible entrance and exit so that nobody from the outside could barge in without permission and interrupt while they summoned the Archdemon of Gluttony.

    Her husband did great work at constructing the measurements of the geometric shapes with perfect uracy. It was a fantastic work of art. He must have inherited that talent from his mother which made her frown at the summoning field.

    Still, Luna was proud of her husband.

    He made summoning demons so easy as if he had draw magic circles and uttered protection spells around it since the dawn of time---as if he had done this more often than her--from how meticulous he was with everything.

    Perhaps, it was because Apollyon loved her so much that he was being extremely cautious as he followed the instructions Luna read aloud from Hecate''s grimoire. It was sweet of Apollyon to give her a helping hand when it came to the preparations of the summoning ritual and extend her resting period.

    Apollyon''s Fae magic rescinded the moment the evocation and the binding of her Archdemon Familiar were sessful.

    The binding rites had ended for a few minutes already and Apollyon stalked towards the door, blocking the guards at Vinca Inn from getting further inside the chamber and dealt with their concerns.

    Heart beating as fast as a winning horse on the race track, Luna nced at Ravin and Sloth on the magic circle behind him in wide-eyed panic and returned her gaze at the guards. The guards hadn''t seen them yet since they have to advance closer beyond the sr to do that.

    At least, the crowd was preupied with the fallen debris from the ceiling and the cobblestones from the hole in the roof as they picked up the huge ones and put them aside.

    As they roamed idly near the doors they just busted open, the guards cleaned up a bit while the head soldier discussed the damages Apollyon would pay for Henry''s property. it served as a temporary distraction for now and she had to think fast.

    There was no way in Hell, she could hide these two full-grown Archdemons from the Summer Faeries'' eyes.

    She was about to shower them with illusion spells in a hurry without the guards'' notice but it turned out that Ravin and Sloth had thought about this in advance.

    At that moment, Luna realized that these two became Archdemon Princes for nothing.

    Without having to tell his ves, they already applied mour on their tiny horns and ck curled wings.

    Thank all the gods and goddesses!

    Combing her messy silver hair from the strong gusts of wind from the summoning ritual, she cleared her throat and showed them how confident she was---that she wouldn''t cower.

    She wasn''t guilty at all.

    Nobody would know she was an Archdemon.

    Ravin was still on the carpets while heid on his stomach with his right cheek and palms resting on the floor.

    He couldn''t talk back since she ordered him to as a Familiar.

    The only response he could make was to clench his sharp jawline while he scowled at--not her, but to her husband.

    The pupils of his golden eyes were narrowed into slits.

    Of course, this self-proimed Archdemon husband of his had a problem with his real husband.

    Oh, goddess!

    Luna let out a soft groan of regret as she rubbed a sweaty palm on her face.

    This situation was all messed up.

    Out of all Archdemons, why did the Goddess Hecate have to choose Ravin to be her ve when Sloth could--oh!

    Maybe not.

    The Archdemon of Sloth was toozy to be a full-fledged Familiar.

    Until now, Sloth was still kneeling in front of them and he was staring into space as if he was alright with the position.

    The bloodstains on the red carpet appeared scorched and covered in ck soot as if the purple mes already spent theirst dying embers.

    "Pleasee with me, Vampire King. Empress." The head guard of Vinca Inn told them, "--and those two..." He gave them a respectful bow, thinking they were Princes from another Realm. "I don''t know if you are part of the King or the Empress'' Harem--"

    "I am not into same-sex rtions, Fae sentinel," Apollyon growled.

    "I apologize, Your Highness." All of them ced their fists on their chests and bowed again.

    When all of them lifted their heads in unison, the Head Guard gave her a questioning nce, "Then it must be the Empress?"

    "No. My wife is mine alone." Apollyon said. "She had no Harem."

    "Alright, Your Highnesses." The head guard regarded Sloth and Ravin in suspicion while they remained in the magic circle, "Whoever the two of you are, you muste down with us."

 Chapter 600 - Bad Ravin

    <h4>Chapter 600 - Bad Ravin</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (July 2021)

    ********************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ********************************

    No matter how many times she denied to the Head Guard''s query about owning Ravin and Sloth as a part of her secret Harem, the determined Summer Faerie would regard her with intense scrutiny as if staring deep inside her soul wouldpel her to tell the truth when what she told her, in fact, was the truth.

    Why was the Head Guard acting like she smuggled these men by uwful means for her sexual satisfaction?

    He even covertly implied that her husband was the real owner of Ravin and Sloth.

    Her husband''s hand lifted and sped her hand to his while her other hand clutched at her skirts.

    As the man caressed the back of her dainty hand with his thumb, Apollyon''s attention was on hers the whole time as he eyed her with deep concern underneath those Prussian Blues.

    Sometimes, he nced down at her steps to make sure that she wouldn''t trip.

    He made sure he would catch her if she fell down the stairs the second time.

    The first time was brutal.

    She could have lost her baby at that time if that Dark Fury, a renegade from Hecate''s Furies in the Underworld, chose to kill her like what Princess Ourania ordered instead of healing her physical vessel heal and helping Lilith take over.

    She fixed her gaze on the broad backs of thest pair of the guards in front of them while she and Apollyon were sandwiched by her Archdemon Familiars at her back like they were breathing down their necks.

    It was a miracle a turned Vampire like her was still alive today since her un-dead heart was severely damaged.

    She was grateful that the Goddess Hecate protected her. Luna never thought her husband would be more paranoid than her

    . She gave him some awkward, asional nces as well.

    "Be careful of our baby this time, wife. We were lucky that Cano made a selfish choice in the first ce to save your physical vessel.--"? Apollyon peered at her baby bump between his long sootyshes. "��including Leo."

    Then, he raised his chin to meet her gaze, scanning her face earnestly for a few seconds. "Once at the dance floor�� You said you needed to work undercover to investigate. Twice was at the royal

    infirmary when you sought an audience with my mother--"

    Luna exhaled a soft sigh.

    "I didn''t know she was that dangerous, Apollyon."

    She vehemently recalled what happened that morning when Apollyon''s crazy mother pushed her and pierced her with the long crystalnce from back to front.

    Too much vampire blood cascaded from her chest and to the front of her gown while shepressed her quivering hands on the wounds to stop it. She knew that her Princess Ourania hated her guts, but she hadn''t figured out that it was to that extent. "I thought she would insult me with words. That I could handle. Words can''t hurt me unless they are spells."

    "You saw what she was capable of at the royal infirmary when she threatened Xerxes to scare Princess Sapphire."

    "I did," Luna replied as her hackles rose from the perceived usation. "I thought I could defend myself from��"

    "You thought that you are invincible?"

    She didn''t respond.

    "This is themon mistake when you are handed a power you aren''t prepared for." Eyes of Prussian Blue asked her with a quiet calm.

    He didn''t sound angry, but it was the scariest thing as if he could see right through her act. "Don''t just rely on it, beloved, and underestimate your opponent. They have something under their sleeves."

    "Yes, we have."Sloth answered, and Luna''s brows almost reached up to her hairline in surprise.

    Frowning, she looked over her shoulder, and she found him rubbing his chin in contemtion. "Hmm. Why did it feel like it? was a sin to hear this hush-hush conversation."

    "Sloth, don''t speak for half an hour." Shemanded in a whisper.

    When the Archdemon opened his mouth, no sound came out, and he pouted at her.

    "REEEEEEEEEEE~" The whelp Ravin was holding in his arms screeched in excitement.

    "It was Cano''s dark magic cing us in a sort of parallel dimension." Luna squeezed his hand and exined, pleading for mercy as he ced her on the spot. "I was too anxious that I couldn''t focus."

    "I am not scolding you, but you have to be careful with your actions. You are also responsible for Leo''s life." Then, he told her bluntly, "You are a mother now, do you understand?"

    Her shoulders stiffened. "Yes."

    "I will never let you out of my sight again. You would have to kill me first to get rid of me."He inclined his head at her,? "Are we clear?"

    She didn''t respond.

    Her hurt pride felt like tiny needles pricked her heart.

    "Beloved. Answer me."

    "Yes, husband."

    Ravin ced a hand over her shoulder as if he wasforting her from her husband''s ire.

    With bared teeth, Apollyon hit his breaking point, and he finally snapped, shoving the Archdemon against the wall in an instant. "Beloved, tell your ve not to touch you like that!"

    The Head Guard paused the flights of stairs, turned his head and nced up at them.

    The Archdemon of Gluttony chuckled darkly as if he expected this violent reaction from her husband.

    This bastard clearly knew what he was doing.

    "Ravin, you aren''t allowed to touch me," Luna dered as she moved closer to her husband and wrapped an arm around his waist to soothe him. "You and Sloth will not cause trouble while we speak to the Vinca Innkeeper, alright?"

    When all of them had descended reach thending, the mere presence of her two Archdemon Familiars behind her stirred unabashed curiosity among the? Summer Faeries at the tavern��especially thedies who openly gawked at the men she was with.

    Luna would admit that the Archdemon Princes were the epitome of perfection.

    The gentlemen seated at their table paused their mugs of root beer right in the middle of toasting when they caught a glimpse of their bunch.

 Chapter 601 - Pretty Sloth

    <h4>Chapter 601 - Pretty Sloth</h4>

    Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (July 2021)

    *******************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *******************************

    Luna, Apollyon and Ravin, who held the whelp called ''Rere'' in his arms like how a father carried his newborn child with the empty straw basket strapped to his back, were already a strange sight to behold.

    In addition to that, Sloth, who walked beside Ravin, didn''t act natural at all.

    He kept ncing around the tavern in slow movements, eying every little thingzy interest.

    He touched whatever his free hand could reach while his other hand clutched the glowing blue mushroom with yellow-green spots on its cap.

    One minute Sloth was right there behind them with Ravin as they approached the Vinca Innkeeper''s office.

    The next moment he was gone.

    Her eyes scanned the crowd and caught him when Apollyon alerted her about the rogue''s disappearance.

    There!

    Luna and Apollyon abruptly stopped trailing after the guards and witnessed Sloth straying towards the Summer Fair folk''s tables to scrutinize their food up close.

    "Sloth." She called out to him, and everyone stopped talking and stared at her.

    He might as well dip his pretty-handsome features in the strawberry shortcake''s vani icing of this one sophisticated Summer Fae who ate alone.

    There was no denying that the Archdemon of Sloth heard her call.

    He raised his gaze away from the cake to look over his shoulder, gave her a nk gaze before ignoring her with a shrug.

    Luna didn''t think Sloth would hurt thedy out of the blue based on that grin on his face.

    Telling him to shut up for thirty minutes was already a blessing.

    It already solved half of her problems.

    "I��I��" From that nervous stutter, she seemed like a shy daughter of a banker.

    A wallflower who had no luck in finding a husband.

    She just had the chance to get lost deep into Archdemon''s forest-green eyes, and she didn''t look away, hypnotized and mesmerized by what she saw in them.

    Thedy wore red, exposing a decent cleavage from the boat neckline of her dress, which matched Sloth since he also wore the same colour.

    The? Faerie nced up at her Archdemon Familiar with a quizzical look on her face as it turned scarlet as the simple gown she wore.

    "You just called the Familiar''s name, wife," Apollyon noted. "You forgot what you wanted from him."

    Then, he? told her under his breath,? "If I could just im these ves for myself, I would make them suffer on behalf of the Demonkind for what they put you through."

    She could see that the seemingly innocent, harmless Sloth had caught the attention of older Summer Faeries.

    He possessed that unearthly beauty andzy��almost effortless��grace.

    He easily enchanted the women in their vicinity with his pale face, twin flush on his sharp and delicate cheekbones, hooded green eyes which darkened and smouldered from time-to-time and his small cherub lips which she guessed could make defenceless Faeries go madly in love with.

    Honestly, the Prince of the Seventh Circle of Hell could pass as someone who belonged to the Summer Fairfolk.

    Sloth can appear like the Fae himself.

    He had that unique bnce between an innocent and mischievous young Fae switching from the temperament of summer and winter back and forth.

    Sloth can take it to the extreme from the opposite side of the spectrum.

    From hot to cold.

    From boredom to curiosity.

    From an Archdemon who rolled around in bed all day and then woke up one morning to annihte the enemies.

    Like Sloth said earlier, the Archdemons always kept something under their sleeves.

    They have a hundred tools in their arsenal��whether it was a physical weapon, what they were born with and what they were trained for.

    At first sight, it was easy to figure out what Sloth''s tactics were.

    Seduction.

    It was always their initial tactic.

    Like how Ravin and Luxen attempted to control her.

    These Archdemons weren''t born red with horns and tails.

    They can be beautiful and irresistible since their ancestors��the First Made Archdemons--came from the Fallen Angels, who used to be God''s favourite.

    Even in Hell, she was loyal to her husband through and through except for that one ident with shapeshifting.

    Luna groaned.

    She didn''t want to remember.

    Perhaps, she could ask Sloth, the memory collector from Hell, to get rid of it.

    But he needed to get him to the Vinca Innkeeper''s ss room first while every guest in the tavern watched and waited.

    "Sloth,e back here." She raised her voice and assumed a strict tone. "You aren''t allowed to separate from me whenever you feel like it."

    Every single one of them turned their heads towards her and regarded her like she had grown two heads.

    Luna sounded like she was disciplining a kid.

    For thest time, Sloth ruffled the youngdy''s short, curly hair with affection.

    The Archdemon didn''t resist hermand and actually returned to their group.

    Luna had to keep an eye on her Archdemon Familiars.

    Even if she had them by the neck since they were her personal ves, doing her bidding until she finds the Tree of the Four Seasons and got her hands on the fruit to get rid of Lilith once and for all.

    Ravin was also maic to the girls, but his menacing aura was very simr to her husband.

    The girls react to Ravin the same way as they do with her husband.

    Every time Luna was with Apollyon, all thedies in the tavern--whether it be serving wenches, musical performers, Faerie grandmothers who appeared in their forties in their time and the married women who clung to their husband''s golden tattooed arms�� only gave his physique longing gazes and admiring sideways nces when she was around.

    They knew she was the Empress, and nobody can steal her Vampire King.

    Now, she had three men around her, and it felt different.

    The moment Sloth went back to their group, it felt like interested women had closed in on them like hungry wolves to ensnare the Archdemon for earthly pleasures.

 Chapter 602 - Nowhere To Stay

    <h4>Chapter 602 - Nowhere To Stay</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (July 2021)

    ***********************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ***********************

    Their group''s conversation with Henry, the Vinca Innkeeper, didn''tst long.

    The friendship they forged with the owner from the day she and Apollyonnded on the Summer Courts and entered the establishment copsed like how the ceiling of their royal suite did the moment Henry saw the ancient grimoire she clutched on her chest.

    Henry imed it looked familiar until his memories started to sink in.

    At least, the physical damages of the building during the binding rites can still be fixed.

    But she was sure this wouldn''t.

    A sh of recognition morphed into many expressions such as shock, fear and terror all in one second before he forced neutrality.

    It turned out that her hunch was right.

    Hecate cursed the Vinca Innkeeper into a frog as revenge when he refused to amodate her a room because of her ratty disguise.

    She recalled Henry told her that the witch who cursed him appeared like an old hag, seeking shelter in the rainstorm.

    No wonder the Goddess was insulted for his insolence! Henry must have treated the divine being rude without his knowledge.

    It was a test from the Goddess of the Underworld.

    Henry had failed miserably the moment he threw her out of Vinca Inn a long time ago.

    The innkeeper connected the dots, and he quickly figured out that Luna was working under Hecate because she possessed the ancient grimoire.

    Since all of them were in his ss office, Luna thought that Henry would confront her about it in front of the guests in the tavern, but he let it slide.

    Perhaps, he didn''t care about it anymore since Luna already turned him back into a Summer Faerie, and he had already paid his dues living as a frog for the longest time.

    Stroking his beard, Henry regarded Sloth and Ravin with suspicion.

    He must not know where to ce these two strangers in the picture.

    The Innkeeper asked them simple questions such as their names or where they came from, but her Archdemon familiars yed the role of two silent statues behind her very well��just there giving him an unnerving stare.

    Henry cleared his throat and began talking about the money they had to pay for the damages while we listened to his reasonable demands.

    It was clear that one of her familiars hated wasting time.

    Ravin was able to shut him up and made him twitch in difort when he stalked towards the innkeeper''s table and slipped the straps of the empty straw basket he carried the whelp in.

    It was supposed to be empty, but then every Summer, Faerie gasped the minute Ravin had pulled pure gold bars from it and ced them one by one.

    Luna''s eyebrows almost reached up to her hairline when she saw that it was real.

    She smirked at Henry''s eyeballs almost falling out of his sockets.

    Archdemons can give earthly pleasures since they can grant material wishes to those priestesses who could summon them from Hell.

    The Vinca Innkeeper already epted Ravin''s payment for the damages of his property when he picked each of the precious gold bars carefully and shoved them inside his drawers while his guards openly gawked at the scene.

    After that, Henry gave them an hour to pack their things from the royal suite and go.

    They were on their own now.

    *******

    Since they were kicked out of the premises, the four stood outside the Vinca Inn with the luggage Ravin, and Sloth packed in silence using their Archdemon Magic.

    Her husband and Archdemon Familiars had everything under control that she didn''t need to lift a finger.

    They were lost, not knowing where the Tree of the Four Seasons can be found.

    Should they return to the Summer Castle after what Princess Ourania had done?

    If only she could start the journey since she already acquired the Archdemon Familiar Hecate told her to bind with.

    But she didn''t even know what to do, what decisions to make and what they need to do next.

    "Which way do we ought to go from here?" Luna asked no one in particr.

    Maybe, she would have to let her husband decide when she was too confused.

    Apollyon will be her rock��the one to anchor her to stability-- whenever she felt like escaping the situation.

    It was only natural to ask her husband for advice since he lived way longer than her.

    After all, he knew more than what she did.

    Sometimes, they just needed to voice out their frustrations as a couple and promise to do better.

    It was either that, or they wouldin about the world around them.

    They can argue like an old, immortal couple who were married for centuries.

    They can have stupid misunderstandings simr to the time they just got married, and both couldn''t stand each other''s guts.

    Yet, they always achieve somemon ground.

    Even if they were separated for months on her side when Lilith dragged her to Hell, Luna learned a lot from her husband.

    If she wanted people to change, she must change herself first.

    He taught her not to demand or expect others to change.

    Then, punish them for not meeting her expectations.

    Until now, she wondered if this wasn''t all a dream.

    She was surprised to see him waiting, doing his best to bring her back.

    He never looked in another woman''s direction despite everything--despite his old reputation.

    She trusted that he was telling the truth.

    Apollyon trusted her, and it made her ashamed of herself.

    "It depends on where do you want to go," Apollyon replied.

    "I don''t know where��"

    "Then it doesn''t matter which way to go." Apollyon cut her off. "We go where you desired to go."

    Her husband wasn''t helping.

    It felt like he would do whatever she told him to do when she wanted him to take control.

    "Until you know that, it will be hard for me to offer you any advice at all."

 Chapter 603 - For Show

    <h4>Chapter 603 - For Show</h4>

    Newest Chapter in Highest Tier (July 2021)

    ****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ****************************

    Later that night, Apollyon, Luna and her two Archdemon Familiars, Ravin and Sloth, went to the Summer Castle to seek an audience with King Oberon and Queen Titania, hoping that their offer to amodate them as guests in their Castle still stands.

    The Summer Monarch might think that they were fickle, so quick to change minds, but she didn''t care as long as they had a ce to stay before they travelled to find this secret garden Hecate''s herald told them to find.

    It was a shame that they were kicked out by the Vinca Innkeeper, himself, despite her lifting Hecate''s curse but, it was alright.

    Luna didn''t expect Henry to pay her back for that since her decision to help Henry was sincere even if her husband said otherwise.

    They stayed at the royal suite for almost a week.

    It was supposed to be a n to trap the Summer Fae to be indebted to her for the rest of his life.

    Well, it worked.

    It went on smoothly until she summoned Ravin and Luxen that evening.

    Their group exited the office with hangdog expressions.

    Her husband called? Henry ungrateful under his breath after shamelessly epting all that gold bars from Ravin in front of them and for refusing to fulfil? theirst wish to stay in the building for onest night but the innkeeper had shut down their attempts at negotiation.

    Anyway, they had no right toin when the building''s damages were their fault.

    Apollyon demanded spare rooms to upy in the Vinca Inn temporarily so that they didn''t have to bring their things elsewhere in the dark.

    Henry refused.

    From the wicked gleam in Apollyon''s blue eyes, he appeared like he was ready to strangle him right then and there.

    "Every misfortune can be a blessing in disguise." Luna reminded Apollyon when she noticed that he was brooding beside her by the entrance.

    He was still annoyed about Henry''s attitude after the guards reported the incident.

    They didn''t ask about what happened.

    They just straight up told them that they needed to take responsibility for it.

    Luna agreed but her husband didn''t if the deep frown lines on his forehead were any indication.

    She held hisrge hand and didn''t let go. "Maybe, it was for the better."

    Apollyon can use teleportation if he desired to move their belongings in the Summer Castle while the Archdemon Familiars deal with the rest.

    What''s the use of binding these bastards if they couldn''t even utilize them?

    Thinking about it right now made her annoyed that the noises around her had increased decibels.

    Their problems were simple. but it got harder to think about because of Ravin and Sloth''s presence.

    Will they continue to be harmless or will they act out like wild demons when they got the chance, destroying this Realm for fun?

    Upon their arrival to the Summer Castle, Apollyon''s penchant for violence lessenedpared to the time when all of them were inside the Vinca Inn''s premises.

    She thought it was a good thing.

    He must be adjusting to the idea of docile and silent Archdemons following them around.

    It was wrong of her to think that since it was the calmness before the storm.

    The Summer King and Queen granted their request Apollyon and Luna needed a week to prepare for the mission.

    Hopefully, at that time, Xerxes would be strong enough to apany them on the journey.

    Hecate told them that they must bring Apollyon''s half-sister no matter what.

    For what reason?

    The Herald didn''t exin.

    She knew for an experience that goddesses can be very secretive.

    They wouldn''t reveal too much,? iming it might change the course of events.

    They can only go so far for mortals and immortals, nothing beyond that unless it had grave consequences.

    Apollyon told her bluntly that night that he wasn''t in the right mood to be bothered with mundane things and she was alright with that.

    As the chambein led them to their rooms, Apollyon paused as their group graced the hallways and voiced out his desire to sleep with her out loud that she stopped, mid-stride, almost stumbling.

    He surprised her, even more, when he pulled her forearm and spun her around, cupping her face and giving her torrid kisses in front of Ravin and Sloth.

    She kissed him back for a few seconds before she settled a hand on her shoulder and pushed him back a little.

    Of course, she always loved Apollyon''s random kisses but her stomach hardened in nausea when she realized this was all just for show.

    It felt somehow forced as if they were pretending to have a happy marriage in front of her Archdemon Familiars.

    There was no need to prove to anyone that they were happy.

    Was she showing off their rtionship with Ravin somehow?

    It wasn''t like her Archdemon husband had feelings, right?

    That would make them appear weak, Ravin told her, and they don''t like that.

    "I can''t wait to have? you tonight." Luna noticed that Apollyon made sure that the Ravin heard that loud and clear as he gave him an inconspicuous nce in his direction.

    The moment she heard his strange deration, she rubbed her face with her palms to wipe the sweat off her forehead and buried her fingers in her hair in frustration.

    Muscles turning rigid, Ravin, her supposed Archdemon husband, didn''t react well to that.

    His jaws were clenched as he watched her husband with cold, hard eyes.

    Sloth was a silent spectator as he clutched the straw basket with Rere and his glowing mushroom inside.

    Ravin''s muscr legs widened in a fighting stance as his eyes glowed like golden orbs under that messy dark hair of his.

    Luna could detect Ravin''s emotions as her Familiar since she included them in the binding rites, thinking that it would give her great advantages to know what they felt during the situation and then, act ordingly.

    Yet, the contract backfired on her.

    Now, Luna can feel that Ravin preferred that she wouldn''t be out of his sight... or else he would lose control.

 Chapter 604 - Love Triangle

    <h4>Chapter 604 - Love Triangle</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (July 2021)

    *******************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *******************************

    Princess Ourania was nowhere to be found while they were at the Summer Castle and Luna understood.

    It made sense that Apollyon''s mother would be hiding from them when she realized her daughter-inw was still alive after she pushed her downstairs.

    If she were made up of a thicker skin, Princess Ourania would have shown up when the Summer King and Queen weed them at the portal.

    It was fortunate that she didn''t possess the sheer audacity to get in her line of sight because her own son might be her cause of death.

    If Apollyon was greedy for revenge,? he might have also taken Sir Tristan''s life.

    At least, she knew that both had a good head on their shoulders when both of them had gone hiding.

    Now that her husband''s ns had been ruined, he had found another target that night in the face of the Ravin.

    "What''s wrong, Familiar?" Apollyon stepped forward and got into Ravin''s face, but he didn''t touch him as if he was found the Archdemon, the dirtiest thing. "My wife is your Master. You are nothing but a ve."

    "You might im that you are blood-bonded. I heard you are iming you are her Archdemon husband when you are in Hell?" He didn''t betray any emotion as he held Ravin''s re which was full of hatred.? "If you cease to exist in all Realms, I would give you the honor."

    Staring at them in disbelief, Luna didn''t understand what was going on in front of her.

    When she was in Hell, Ravin didn''t act this possessive when she was with Luxen.

    She scratched at her cheek as she stood in the middle just in case a fight might break out.

    Luna didn''t want their group to be kicked a second time.

    Well, he might get frustrated with the Archdemon of Lust''s presence from time to time.

    Yet, their interactions remained cordial.

    Was it because they were brothers and they were used to sharing their women?

    What was the difference between being angry at her husband when they shared a physical vessel the moment Lilith''s curse on the Vampire King activated?

    "Apollyon, don''t." Luna didn''t have time to think. He just pulled her husband away from Ravin and demanded in a high-pitched voice. "Why don''t you just get along for now?"

    "He looked at me the wrong way."

    "He can only look at you because he can''t speak his mind," Luna exined, but her husband refused to acknowledge her no matter how many times she wed against the arm she clutched, urging him to look at her and get his attention.

    There was a painful tightness in her throat when he saw Apollyon like this��a brutally handsome face devoid of emotions.

    "Ravin, I am lifting mymand to silence you." Luna had to risk making Ravin speak so that she could effectively shut him down in front of her husband. "Why are you doing this��making Apollyon angry on purpose?" She stared up at him, her eyes narrowed. "Don''t fight my husband."

    When her order finally sunk into the brain of his Familiar, he straightened his posture, and his shoulders rxed. "You are mine too."

    Turning her head, she informed a tensed Apollyon simr to a coiled snake waiting for the right time to strike.

    As he breathed hard, she locked arms with him for reassurance when he was about to tackle the other man to the ground.

    "Husband, calm down and let me handle this." She shifted her gaze to her Archdemon Familiar and spoke the truth. "I love Apollyon, Ravin." She pleaded,? "Please."

    "Do I look like I care?"

    Without warning, her husband lunged at the Archdemon of Gluttony.

    But before he could smear a huge red slice on his cheek with his ws, Ravin''s brawny form flew as if he was shoved by a strong invisible entity towards the statue at the corner andnded in a crash. The Archdemon''s injuries healed in an instant, but the demon''s dark blood was everywhere.

    It turned out that her initial order to her Archdemon Familiar was still effective.

    She told him not to touch her husband.

    Apollyon''s Prussian Blue eyes protruded with anger as he pointed an using finger at him. "You need to shut him up."

    "You don''t love me, Ravin,"? Luna said coldly, and Apollyon nodded in approval for telling her Archdemon Familiar bluntly that he wouldn''t stand a chance. "In my heart, you already lost."

    Sitting up,? Ravin''s shoulders were hunched over as he picked the splinter off his clothes. "I have epted that you had other husbands a long time ago." A downturned mouth. "I don''t want to? breathe in the same air as him."

    "Enough," Lunamanded as she turned her back on her Archdemon Familiars. "Follow the chambein so that you can rest in separate rooms."

    Ravin did, but Sloth was still behind them when Apollyon started opening their door.

    "Sloth." Luna whirled around, stretched her arms, and blocked the entrance to their bedchamber.

    She asked him pointedly as her lips pressed into a white sh, "Where do you think you are going?"

    Brows knitting in confusion, the chambein turned around in surprise and noticed that the Archdemon Familiars weren''t following her to get to their bedchamber.

    For some reason, warmth flooded her cheeks when the chambein scanned her gaze from head to toe with suspicion.

    She might get the wrong idea about the three men following her inside the bedchamber.

    "If you have a brain, you should know that you aren''t allowed in our bedchamber," Apollyon sneered at him. "This ismon sense even for a ve like you."

    Even she was shocked to find Sloth setting his heart on entering Apollyon and Luna''s room.

    Sloth gestured a forefinger at his mouth, telling her that her order was still very much effective.

    Goddess!

    The Archdemon of Sloth couldn''t answer her question, and she forgot about it.

    Being a master to two Archdemon Familiars was messy!

 Chapter 605 - Go To Your Rooms!

    <h4>Chapter 605 - Go To Your Rooms!</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (July 2021)

    *******************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *******************************

    "Sloth." Luna''s hands rubbed her ice-cold face down to her sweaty neck out of frustration and exhaled a sigh.

    Then, she stared into the leafy green depths of Sloth''s gaze while she let her limbs fall into her light pink dress and wipe the moisture off her palms.

    "I have lifted mymand about your speech." Her voice hardened simrly to the tone her husband used with Ravin. "You can now talk to me."

    Sloth inclined his head and watched Luna, then to Apollyon, who stood menacingly behind her with his hand on the side jamb while the other rested near her shoulder, lightly stroking her silver hair right there as if he was iming ownership of her by the rampant touches.

    From the outside, his yful gestures might appear like it was an attempt to lighten an atmosphere between them as if they were part of her husband''s n for seductive forey before they went to bed.

    But, Everyone would think otherwise.

    It was another one of his derations of ownership.

    This time it was more subtle so as not to trigger her other Archdemon husband.

    As he brought his gaze back to Luna, he spoke in a rasp as if he hadn''t used his voice for a long time. "As much as I remember, you told me that I wasn''t allowed to separate from you whenever I feel like it."

    Oh, goddess!

    Luna had to breathe for a few seconds to regainposure.

    These Archdemon Familiars take everything word for word.

    As she raised a curious eyebrow, the chambein watched and waited for her Archdemon Familiars to trail after her.

    She kept her face as nk as Sloth.

    Luna dilly-dallied at the corner of the hallway, hunching her shoulders as if that would make her invisible from the escting tension.

    It was either that...or she was twiddling her thumbs to see if Luna, the Empress of the Vampire Realm, would actually invite Ravin and Sloth inside their bedchamber.

    Impossible!

    Luna clenched her fists.

    She would not be fodder for gossip in the Summer Courts for owning a Harem like how the guards of Vinca Inn thought.

    "Follow the chambein and go to your individual rooms." Scowling, Luna crossed her arms over her chest and scolded them like they were two children instead of two adult Archdemons. "You aren''t allowed to get out of your room unless I brought each of you out of it, do you understand? Ravin? Sloth?"

    Her stern words sounded like punishment for unruly kids running around the hallway at midnight and creating trouble.

    Come to think of it!

    It was almost the witching hour.

    Apollyon and Luna needed to rest to regain their strength, wake up early in the morning to confront Princess Ourania and arrange a meeting with Princess Sapphire.

    It took a while for Sloth to tell her the truth, which also exined Ravin''s sudden abhorrence towards their separation.

    Apollyon and Ravin''s ill-tempers rose, and they even had a sh.

    Of course, it had a reason. "As Familiars, it will physically hurt us of losing you from our sight." He tiptoed a bit as he examined what their bedchamber looked like from behind them. "You will know how my brother and I will feel once we are deposited in our--"

    Apollyon cut him off like his tongue was a sharp knife. "You will get used to it. A Familiar will not inconvenience their Master and sleep in the same room as her husband."

    Sloth was the epitome of calm when he asked him with interest, "How dare you to talk down on us when we are more powerful than you, Vampire King? Aren''t you ashamed that you aren''t stronger than your wife?"

    "At least I wasn''t her ve." Apollyon shot back with sarcasm, and Sloth grimaced.

    She let out a surprised gasp.

    Her husband exchanged his savage insults with the Archdemon of Sloth as if they were merely talking about the weather.

    From the sly grin on his face when she nced up at him. she knew he liked every minute of it.

    Earlier, they had a short mental agreement about Apollyon not starting another conflict with either Ravin and Sloth.

    It was a sincere request of hers--with the emphasis of ''sincere.''

    They have the Archdemons by the necks, and she can control her Familiars at will.

    What else could her husband ask for?

    Nevertheless, Apollyon reluctantly concurred.

    And yet, he pulled another stunt like this.

    Ravin was a few steps ahead of Sloth since he obeyed hermand to follow the chambein to their individual rooms.

    The attendant paused, which meant Ravin had to halt too.

    He had to watch his so-called rival touch her so freely.

    It was clear from that intense look of his golden eyes that he desired to devour her like she was a deer to his wolf.

    Didn''t she think that she wouldn''t notice Ravin regard her like he was a thirsty man looking for water in a dessert every time the scorching gaze leave a trail of embers in her wake?

    "Well, are you sure you aren''t her ve, Vampire King?" Ravin smirked.

    Hmm.

    Did shemand Ravin to shut up and mentioned his name or not?

    "Before we part, I would like to ask you a question." Luna spoke as she addressed Ravin with suspicion, "Do you have any idea about the Tree of Four Seasons?"

    "I don''t know what you mean." Ravin drawled as he kept direct eye contact��golden eyes to her emerald ones.

    She narrowed her gaze at him, and he smirked.

    As her Master, she could already sense his lies from a mile away.

    Apollyon could sense it as well.

    Yet, he lifted her in his arms in a hurry to get under the sheets, "We will figure it out, or we will find another way to extract the information out of you."

    Apollyon was about to get them inside the bedchamber and shut their door with a foot, but she pleaded, Wait, husband." Apollyon listened and stopped. "Don''t lie to me, Ravin."

    "Hecate told me you know what to do about this." Luna said as Apollyon let him face her again, "Now, Answer me with yes or no. Have you seen the Tree of Four Seasons before?"

    "Yes." Ravin''s hand lifted to finger his ne, which seemed like a blue feather.

    "Do you know where it is?"

    "No."

 Chapter 606 - Jealousy, Jealousy

    <h4>Chapter 606 - Jealousy, Jealousy</h4>

    Interrogating Ravin regarding the Garden of the Four Seasons was a fruitless endeavour.

    Hmm.

    Alright.

    If Luna thought about it, maybe, it wasn''t as useless as it seemed.

    Earlier, they managed to get hold of a lead from their conversation.

    It made a tiny difference.

    So, the Archdemon of Gluttony knew about the Tree of Four Seasons before and saw it himself...which told her that her Familiar must be old----like a First-Made or a Firstborn Archdemon.

    Was he older than the Vampire King''s great, great grandfather?

    Luna didn''t know.

    Not knowing the history of Apollyon''s vampire ancestors made her mood bleak.

    Did he see her as his wife, or he didn''t care?

    She just wanted to understand him better.

    A memory shed in her mind about Apollyon''s mother talking about the Selcis'' bloodline, all the while kicking her repetitively with an utter disregard for her granddaughter.

    She told her that these men would lead to their wives'' ruination.

    Perhaps, it was another attempt of hers to me the Vampire Kings in line for her madness.

    For now, the idea, the timeline and the ancient history of Archdemons were irrelevant, but she can''t wrap her head around the fact that she could make someone this powerful as a ve.

    Luna sensed that Ravin tried to avoid telling her the truth about the Tree of Four of Seasons so that he could get the upper hand over them with the information he possessed.

    But, it was all in vain.

    A Master will always have the upper hand.

    Even if their group of four weren''t aware of this, the Goddess Hecate had already set the n in motion from the past to the far future, and Ravin became her backup.

    It was surprising that the Hecate''s herald insisted that it must be Ravin out of all the Archdemons.

    Was it because he was her Archdemon husband, and he will be easier to manage?

    She doubted that.

    There must be another purpose.

    Immortals didn''t have a definite concept of time.

    They would have a nonchnt attitude about it unless chaos loomed in the Material Realm.

    They lived in the present and didn''t care much about the past and the future. If it came then, it will.

    This situation can be a prime example that gods and goddesses make mistakes sometimes.

    She bit her lip.

    Did this also mean that supreme fate will not change despite the interference of the divine beings, or was it Princess Ourania''s choice to fail Hecate''s mission miserably because of her involvement with Cano and Hephaestus?

    She shook her head and let out a sigh.

    A being''s fate inparison to free will was a paradox that can make someone go insane.

    Princess Ourania was supposed to be the one to help them find that garden to get rid of Lilith--before she could take over her physical vessel again and summon demons from Hell.

    She was delusional enough to think that if she was sessful, she could make Apollyon her ve as well.

    Her chest tightened as if an invisible fist had squeezed her heart.

    To ruin and rule this Realm with her fellow Archdemons, that was her revenge.

    The Archdemon of Envy might be pathetic, but she can be unpredictable.

    After millennia, the High Priestess never gave Apollyon up as if they were blood bonded.

    The Archdemon of Envy will try even harder, but the third time will not be a charm.

    That bitch wasn''t observant enough to replicate her behaviour, and she must have realized that by now.

    Nevertheless, it was fortunate that she asked the right questions, and they got an honest response from her Archdemon Familiar before she got to bed with her husband.

    From all the trouble they dealt with today, she forgot to ask Ravin the most important queries to help them with their journey.

    At least, she did something about it.

    It was wishful thinking on her Familiar''s part.

    Ravin couldn''t lie if shemanded him to.

    She might be blood-bonded with her Familiar.

    But of course, Ravin would do everything in his power to swear his loyalty to the Demonkind first and foremost.

    Not even the Archdemon''s mate gave her special treatment in Hell.

    Her tensed muscles twitched as she recalled the Hell Satan and the Grand Torturer put her through.

    It wasn''t like she wanted it, but... Well, Luna can force Ravin to do something against the Demonkind as his Master.

    One corner of her lips curved upward.

    Well, the bastard can try.

    It was a delight to watch the Archdemon lose his pride and watch him struggle like how the bastard''s golden eyes crinkled with amusement every time she was in her mercy.

    It was payback time!

    "Wife." Apollyon''s gruff voice jolted her out of her thoughts.

    She quickly nced around their bedchamber as if reminding her absent mind that her husband had already shut the door after sending Ravin and Sloth to go with the chambein to have a good rest.

    "Wha--" Luna''s smirk faded almost immediately as her mind raised for a proper response.

    He scowled as his Prussian Blue eyes nced down at her, "You aren''t paying attention to me. I have whispered your name over and over with patience." Then, carrying her in his arms like an Empress, he stalked toward their canopied bed and ced her on the mattress. But, there was something deadly when he added, "Your mind is somewhere else."

    She was indeed distracted, and her husband might take that as an insult. "I''m sorry."

    Now, Apollyon pulled the light orange sheets off the king-sized bed underneath her, and she adjusted ordingly so that she wouldn''t fall off.

    He threw them to the floor without a logical exnation. "What are you all smirking about with that unfocused gaze a minute ago?"

    "Nothing." She replied breathily as she brought her arms close to her chest.

    What was happening?

    "Thinking about your Archdemon Familiars in my presence?" Apollyon ced one knee, then two on the stripped bed and crawled towards her with a dangerous glint in the vivid blue of his gaze. "You shouldn''t have told them to go to their rooms if you wanted them here. I would dly stay in another room while you fuck those two at the same time."

 Chapter 607 - Sense Of Familiarity

    <h4>Chapter 607 - Sense Of Familiarity</h4>

    New Chapter for Highest Tier (July 2021)

    **********************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    **********************

    Apollyon ced one knee, then two on the stripped bed and crawled towards her with a dangerous glint in the vivid blue of his gaze. "You shouldn''t have told them to go to their rooms if you wanted them here."

    He had no idea what Luna was looking for as she stared back at him, searching his countenance with eyes that had a hundred things to say, but she never spoke about it.

    She didn''t dare avert her gaze, and he was relieved to see it.

    If she couldn''t look at him in the eye, Apollyon would ept that as guilt or shame around his usations.? "I would dly stay in another room while you fuck those two at the same time."

    He never really meant it because his mind was totally the opposite, but he just wanted to test the waters and see his wife''s reactions.

    Luna''s response was a nervousugh as she lightly punched her in the chest.

    "What is wrong with you, husband?" Her voice was small as she constantly shifted and pushed her back against the headboard and merged with it.

    "Don''t just ignore me and give too much attention to other men," Apollyon said bluntly, and she expected her utterpliance. "Do you understand me?"

    She blinked for a few seconds as she let that sink into her mind.

    The moment she raised an eyebrow was when he figured out that she finally understood.

    Taking another deep breath, she closed her eyes and exhaled a sigh.

    When Luna opened them again, she began, "Husband, let us get one thing clear as well. I have to put this out there."

    The concern on her countenance felt like she wanted to change the subject to assuage his distrust.

    "Be honest and tell me." She made it sound like he was harder to manage in the presence of her Archdemon Familiars.

    Luna raised a hand to cup his cheek, and he leaned unto her touch.

    He couldn''t help but ce his hand over it and feel the lovely warmth emanating from her skin. "Have I given you any indication that I want Ravin and Sloth, Apollyon?"

    "No," Apollyon replied with his jaws clenched.

    His otherrge hand clutched the bodice of her light pink dress and yanked her closer to him, hating the distance between them while they discussed her Archdemon Familiars, "Why are they acting like they were familiar with you then? You sounded close to each other." Heined in a husky growl, "That Archdemon of Sloth. You never even told me about that bastard. He called you Lune. He even gave you a nickname as if the two of you have a rtionship."

    Apollyon wanted to know the truth behind the stranger''s behavior so badly since Luna had never talked about him��not even once. And that Archdemon husband of hers��

    "Don''t even start with that bastard calling you Amare."

    "Amare." She rolled that word in her tongue, and he frowned. "I don''t know why he calls me that, but I don''t give it much importance," Luna exined further. "You and I don''t even know what it meant."

    In his sensitive ears, the lilt in her voice sounded like it was an excuse.

    It made his irritation re into anger which can turn into a massive scale if left unchecked.

    Yet, his cock suggested releasing all that intensity by pounding into her and making here.

    "I don''t like the tone of familiarity he used. It sounded too intimate in my ears."

    "It''s just your imagination, husband." She sighed for the hundredth time ever since she summoned those Archdemon Familiars.

    Why did his reptilian brain process that as denial?

    "I am not neurotic to be friends with the same creatures who made my life Hell."

    Apollyon shook his head in frustration.

    Yet, the hand on her chest already moved to caress her bare arm.

    "Tell me what really happened in Hell." He whispered, ying with the thin strap of her light pink dress, moving it from side to side.

    A rush of hot desire coursed through his veins as he swallowed hard when he examined the delicate wings of her corbones.

    His wife''s curves of her neck, shoulders and waist never failed to fascinate him. "I just don''t understand your dynamic from the short observation I have."

    "Apollyon--"

    "Exin to me so that I could sleep better tonight." He spoke, not caring if that sound pathetic for a Vampire King being all jealous.

    "Nevermind." He couldn''t help it. "I don''t think we can sleep with what I''m nning to do tonight."

    Well, she must have been wondering why he had taken off the bedsheets.

    It was because Apollyon was nning to have bouts of lovemaking with his wife all night.

    But only if she allowed him to.

    He will not force her, but he will try his best to get her in the mood.

    The temperature in the room turned heated as the sexual tension between them also rose.

    Apollyon made his intentions known as he flicked a nce at her parted lips.

    Her breathing became faster, and it made him want to gloat, knowing it was him who made her feel this way tonight.

    Apollyon fought the urge to smile.

    It wouldn''t be so difficult to get what he desired.

    "Husband." Luna said, "I almost lost our baby early this morning if it wasn''t for Cano healing my physical vessel to help Lilith."

    As a future parent, Luna should be a gentle and fierce protector of her child''s innocence, youthful awe and sense of wonder after her birth.

    Before she had the privilege to do all those things, she needed to make sure that her baby would still be alive at that point.

    Not all mothers deserved a child, and Princess Ourania was an example of that.

    "Alright. Give me onest kiss, and then we are just going to cuddle and talk." Apollyon thought his request was rational. "That''s all we do recently, but I will be considerate and respect my wife''s body as she wished. "So much had happened today, and you deserve to rest."

 Chapter 608 - Not Forgotten

    <h4>Chapter 608 - Not Forgotten</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (July 2021)

    ***************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ****************************

    Apollyon told Luna that it was eptable if she didn''t perform her marital duties tonight.

    In addition to that, Luna was pregnant with their child. But his traitorous flesh told him otherwise.

    He knew what to do, but his body refused to listen.

    His intense scrutiny fell from her emerald eyes to her moist red lips down to the pale, glossy skin of her cleavage.

    He didn''t stop there as his gaze lowered even more to her baby bump, which wasn''t visible with the thick feathery skirts of her empire waist dress.

    Luna''s baby bump grew continuously, and he prayed that his wife''s miscarriage didn''t stunt their child''s growth in any way.

    Luna sat with her legs folded behind her thighs while her dainty hands rested on her knees.

    When he brought his gaze back to her lovely face, Luna moistened her lips and, all the while watching his.

    It went on for a few seconds.

    Apollyon noted her obedient form as she slightly shivered in anticipation.

    Well, what was Apollyon waiting for? For all of the crows in the Summer Realm to turn white?

    He gave her an innocent smile as if telling her, ''this would be quick.''

    Hisrge hands cupped her face.

    Then, her eyes fluttered shut when he kissed her like a rogue vampire starving for blood.

    Her pliant form immediately swayed to his despite her stubbornness to press her back against the headboard in fear of his frustration with her Archdemon Familiars.

    It felt so warm in the room, which made him want to strip his jacket.

    This strong desire to run his hands all over her lithe body was a physical ache that drove her mad with lust.

    His cock twitched in preparation for the banquet of blood and flesh.

    The sacrifice?

    His wife.

    She was so alluring that the sight of her made his gut clench with this animalistic urge to conquer.

    To devour.

    ws extending, he shed the thin strap of her bodice.

    Luna moaned as their tongues mated with each other.

    When his hand drifted from her face to the back of her neck to massage them and bring her closer, Luna turned her face and pulled away from that he ended up kissing her ear. "That''s enough for you, husband."

    "Give me onest kiss." Apollyon bit his lower lip, but he didn''t let go of her and continued massaging the tensed muscles of her nape��slow and seductive.

    "I already did."

    "Please, wife." Apollyon whispered, "I need one more, or I would die."

    Pouting, Luna cupped Apollyon''s neck just below her jaw and yfully shook them from side to side, "If I give you another one, you would ask for three, you greedy man!"

    "I am only greedy when ites to you." He replied, holding her wrist and putting it down, "You know how much I hate sharing my wife. But I still allowed you to have two Archdemon Familiars to get rid of Lilith, didn''t I?"

    "Do? you want me to praise? you for your generosity, Your Highness?"

    "You can." He nodded, "By screaming my name while I''m thrusting��"

    "Not tonight." Luna interrupted her as if she knew where this conversation is going. "My body still hurt."

    "You are a vampire." That got his concern as frown lines marred his forehead. "Is there some part of you that hadn''t healed yet?" He demanded, "Tell me."

    "Husband. You don''t have to act like I was dying." Luna''s hands tugged at the fabric of his clothes. "It''s just that my muscles are sore and screaming with agony."

    "I would have preferred if it was the good kind of sore�� inner��muscles."

    Now, her emerald eyes were dancing with mirth. "Stop."

    It made him chuckle even more when she undid the top two buttons of her shirt.

    "I''m just trying to coax you with more kisses until I''m satisfied, but it''s alright," Apollyon admitted as hebed the mass of her silver hair with his fingers. "I can live without making love to you for another five nights. Any more than that, and I would protest."

    "Fair enough." Luna shrugged. "If I were in your ce, I would protest too."

    "Now you''re tempting me." He whispered as a wolfish grin shed across his face.

    Apollyon and Luna decided to stop teasing each other with kisses.

    He picked up the bedsheets he had thrown away at the side and helped his wife put them back underneath them.

    He didn''t ask questions and just went along with her wishes.

    Out of curiosity, Luna asked him why he set them aside in the first ce, but he only shook his head in refusal.

    He wasn''t going to ''spill'' his secret that he just wanted to y rough during sexual congress but not so rough that it will hurt the baby.

    It was the kind of roughness that made him remove everything that was in the way.

    "I thought that Lilith was the monstrous bitch of all."? Apollyon began as Luna''s hand stroked the tiny hairs on his naked chest with her palm after requesting that they strip all of their clothes.

    His wife approved of it and it was a pleasure taking turns undressing each other. "I forgot my mother''s existence before I decided that."

    Luna will never follow her mother-inw''s disgusting behavior if she ever became one

    Apollyon would ensure all of their safety and hear their baby''s contagiousughter as she ran around the Vampire Castle.

    Baby Leo will being into their life soon.

    After all of this had finished, his only desire was to keep their heir/heiress away from any Archdemons.

    "There is something that is bothering me, wife. You might have thought that I have forgotten about it, but I don''t." If there was one thing he didn''t want to discuss, it was this. But he had to do it for his own peace of mind. "When you evoked the Archdemon from the magic circle at our royal suite, you just dismissed Ravin''s implication, simr to how you shove your well-kept secrets under the rug as if you don''t want me to discover them. Exin to me what happened at the Pleasure Room with Ravin inplete detail."

 Chapter 609 - Promise Me You Wouldnt Kill Me

    <h4>Chapter 609 - Promise Me You Wouldn''t Kill Me</h4>

    Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (July 2021)

    ****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ****************************

    The soothing sensation of petting her husband''s chest with her palms was simr to the way she would pet a cat with the texture of velvet fur.

    She did this to relieve her stress from all that urred thesest few days, and Luna thought she deserved this moment to rx.

    "Exin to me what happened at the Pleasure Room with Ravin inplete detail."

    It was like a sudden punch in the gut which threatened to push the air out of her lungs.

    Taken aback by Apollyon''s sudden demand, her hand paused on top of where his beating heart was and remained there.

    Her entire muscles were stiff as she held her breath.

    Nothing in her moved except her eyes ricocheting from left to right as she thought about what to tell Apollyon that night on the Pleasure Room with Ravin.

    Should she tell him the truth or the half-truth?

    Those were her real options because she promised that she wouldn''t lie to Apollyon ever again.

    Well, she could manipte things in her favor, answering his question with a question, but he might be quick to figure that out and would be even more suspicious.

    She shook her head lightly as it rested in Apollyon''s warm bicep.

    He would never let this go if he wasn''t satisfied with her response.

    Her secrets were like the proverbial ''bone'' to his ''hell hound'' senses.

    If she truly respected her husband, Luna wouldn''t bullshit her way out of this as she did at their royal suite during the evocation ritual.

    If her husband thought to ask the questions twice and wouldn''t let it go until she told him everything, her excuse from earlier wouldn''t work anymore.

    "Hmm." It sounded like the low groan Apollyon makes when he bes aroused, which made her even more aroused. "Your reaction just now is very suspicious, if I might say so."

    Oh, goddess!

    That tantalizing deep baritone that sent warm tingles on her ear as he whispered was her downfall that she couldn''t even keep her face nk.

    How could he make her anxious about telling him the truth to sending butterflies in her stomach? Her entire mind shut down for a second before it started again when he prompted, "Are you hiding secrets from me again?"

    As her slender fingers curled into a fist, Luna realized that she couldn''t ignore her husband forever.

    "Did you forgot to tell me that you fucked Ravin because you don''t want to anger me anymore after what happened between you and Luxen?" Luna''s heart stopped momentarily when she heard that from Apollyon himself.

    "Both of us knew that a chamber called a ''Pleasure Room'' would not be used for worshiping rituals unless we are talking about a different kind of worship here." He droned on as sarcasm held him in its grip that she could see the smirk on his lips despite refusing to meet her gaze.

    Luna noticed this approach was scarier than the one where he was confrontational.

    It felt like her husband was being considerate yet mocking at the same time��or was she looking too much into this?

    If she nced into Apollyon''s blue eyes right now, she might give away her fear with just one look.

    She squeezed her eyes shut and grimaced when his demands finally sunk in.

    It wasn''t unreasonable.

    He had the right to know.

    "You aren''t responding." Then, she felt Apollyon pulling his arm settled under her neck and rose out of bed. Then, he ced one arm beside her head to observe her.

    Chills run down her spine, and Luna swallowed hard from the vision of the personification of heaven above her��twin blue orbs of Prussian skies watching her with usation. "Forging believable lies for me, Amare?"

    Her heaven had quickly turned into a Hell.

    "Don''t call me that even if it''s a jest." Luna''s tone held the tiniest bit of insecurity.

    Their voices sounded simr that it crept him out.

    It almost felt like Ravin was shapeshifting into her husband.

    It would make sense that they have simrities since their souls were merged into one physical vessel, and they have shared consciousness at one point. "I''m not formting wellposed lies, alright?" Luna said defensively as she stared straight into his eyes, "Let me just remember what happened since you want me to narrate exactly what happened in the Pleasure Room."

    He tilted his head at her. "Will you wake me up when you are finished recalling then��because it''s taking too long."

    "Promise me you wouldn''t kill me."

    "I think I have heard the worst of your secrets with that other Archdemon who detached from your blood bond. You shall not die in my hands. I can handle anything. Try me."

    "If you say so." Luna thought that she should seize this moment to correct her mistakes before they start their journey. Then, perhaps, it wouldn''t be as bad as she might think.

    "You have this unconscious habit of keeping your secrets from me. It must make you feel good that you got the upper hand in this rtionship."

    "No!" Luna said in a whisper-shout.

    "You are confident that I don''t keep any secrets from you, and it gives you the upper hand when you don''t tell me anything. We mirror each other to a great extent. Admit it. You want to have control over me as much as I would like to be." He took her fine-boned hand and brought it to his lips. "You have a strong desire to dominate me, right, my Empress?"

    Oh, Goddess!

    Apollyon had seen right through her and hit the bull''s eye.

    "You want to control my emotions so that it wouldn''t affect you, right?"

    Her constant avoidance and deflection were too dangerous.

    The cosmos would still boomerang it back to her and bit her in the ass.

    Did he need the details?

    Luna would give them.

    "Husband. I''m now ready to tell you the truth." Luna began. "An Archangel helped me get rid of my blood bond with Luxen. I got Angel dust on the expanse of my skin that Ravin had to lick me off. Every part of me."

 Chapter 610 - Moment Of Truth

    <h4>Chapter 610 - Moment Of Truth</h4>

    Newest? Chapter For Highest Tier (July 2021)

    *********************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *********************

    Without holding anything back, Luna told him what happened from the moment she was carried to Ravin''s Kingdom in the First Circle of Hell after the huge white lotus, to which the Archdemons called the Armor of God, eaten her spat her out.

    Ravin even spected that it was the exact moment her soul tie with the Archdemon of Lust was cut off due to an Archangel''s help.

    She didn''t remember all of that because she was unconscious when she drowned herself in the defrostedke in Luxen''s Kingdom at the Second Circle.

    Ravin understood, and even Sloth agreed��that perhaps, the Archangel erased her memory after the cord-cutting when she returned her to Hell.

    She noticed quitete that it was already gone like it wasn''t even there in the first ce, and Luna didn''t dare leave any information behind. It was quite a long story since the events followed from one situation to another as quick as a lightning sh that she could hardly keep up, especially since she was out of it.

    Luna further exined that she was unconscious for three days because the Angel Dust had seeped into her pores.

    While she was insentient in her bed, Ravin tried his best to remove the golden specks of glittering dust on her body with the help of his imps through diligently rubbing the cloth again and again until her snow-whiteplexion grew red from the constant friction.

    Still, her condition got worse that Ravin had no choice but to strip�� Luna had to pause when he witnessed Apollyon''s clenched his jaw and the hand leaning on the mattress crumpled the fists on the bedsheets.

    Apollyon''s features hardened all the while staring at her with icy blue eyes that she wondered if her husband''s soul was still in those hidden depths.

    Her eyes widened with fear from the emptiness and cold rage emanating from his aura that she hesitated if she should continue.

    Luna went on as she averted her gaze from time to time in difort, telling her that Ravin assisted her in bathing her himself.

    The water mixed with demon blood and other nameless liquids and solids, but they still didn''t work.

    He suggested that licking her was the only cure to this Archdemon''s bane, and Luna agreed simply because she wanted Ravin to ingest the Angel Dust and perish.

    Unfortunately, her wish didn''te true, and Luna had to endure the consequences.

    Some parts of the story were borated in great detail, but she considered her husband''s feelings.

    She wasn''t about to expose how much of a bad a wife she really was for what she allowed to let the Archdemon Gluttony do to her.

    Luna tolerated Ravin''s behavior, so it was her fault.

    Nostrils ring to amodate his harsh breaths, Apollyon''s arm muscles flexed when he ced a finger below her chin as he forced her to look at him.

    "Wife."Apollyon said under his breath, "Why did you have to let him do that?"

    "I thought about it, really, Apollyon." It burned her throat just bying in contact with her tongue''s saliva, but it didn''t seem to affect Ravin. "I tried to remove them myself, but I had a huge reaction to it."

    "I think that''s because you were an Archdemon." Then, he asked in a carefully controlled tone as Apollyon gritted his teeth, "Why wasn''t Ravin affected by the Angel Dust if he was an Archdemon?"

    "I don''t know. I always wondered about that." Luna answered, unsure, as her soul cried in humiliation. "Maybe he was stronger."

    He didn''t want to admit that her involvement with Ravin and Luxen emascted him.

    It didn''t feel good to be cuckolded, even if it was for his wife''s health and freedom.

    But he had no choice because he wasn''t there to help her, and she did what she can to survive.

    Hopefully, her husband appreciated the honesty.

    "I''m sorry, husband. I''m really sorry for that incident." Apollyon''s eyes seemed to soften from the apology. "I am at the mercy of these Archdemons. They made it their source of entertainment to crush my willpower."

    His jaw was set. "You just tore my pride as the Vampire King to shreds, beloved."

    "It takes a lot of strength to say ''no'' from Ravin''s offer." Guilt stabbed her through the heart as she reasoned out. "All I wanted to do was get away from there as fast as possible."

    Apollyon sank his lower body into hers, and her tall and slender frame fit perfectly to hisrger shape."I''m just worried, wife. You still haven''t removed the blood bond with Ravin. I wonder if he reacts to your sweet scent just like it did me because of the pregnancy. You know how blood-bonded mates are."

    "The Archdemon didn''t act wild and possessive, though."

    "I notice that he likes to be around you at all timespared to that? Sloth." Luna held her as Apollyonined angrily, "He likes to touch you."

    "I already told him not to. Just think of him as my Familiar instead of a mate, husband, and we will be alright."

    He swallowed her words with another kiss, coaxing her to respond with his tongue, and she did with fervor.

    Luna cherished every one of them because that was how she knew that he still wanted her and did not treat her with disgust as if there was no salvation for her for what happened in the past.

    If this was her husband''s trick to get more kisses from her, then his n had worked.

    "You must know that I don''t want him, and nothing happened between us." Luna said as she tugged him in her embrace, "Ravin had respected my wishes not to force me into anything rted to sex, and he did. After eliminating the angelic dust, he just left me to sleep alone in the Pleasure Room."

    "I was sleeping peacefully, so exhausted from the dread shame shrouding me in a dark cloud because you might think I am cheating you with him. " She added sincerely, "Nothing happened, Apollyon. You must believe me when I say so. You must believe your wife instead of those Archdemons, Apollyon. Whatever it is, you have to believe in me first. That''s all I ask for."

    +++

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 Chapter 611 - Remnants Of His Anger

    <h4>Chapter 611 - Remnants Of His Anger</h4>

    Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (July 2021)

    **********************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    **********************

    He wanted to keep his distance like he always does when he was pissed off with his wife, but he can''t make himself do it.

    When Apollyon stared deep into his wife''s emerald eyes and her downturned mouth,? Apollyon truly believed that nothing happened between Ravin and her except that dark confession she had about the Archdemon of Gluttony licking `her skin to get rid of the angel dust.

    He froze in shock as he listened to her entire narration without cutting her off, and Apollyon convinced himself that all of this had happened already.

    The past should rather stay in the past. Now, Luna was back with him after sessfully escaping Hell.

    He doubted that Luna still cared about how many women he had fucked in his Consortium.

    Yet, the Archdemonpping his wife'' skin�� His Empress�� Apollyon didn''t want to think about the scenarios as he banished those sickening thoughts.

    That kind of intimacy was only reserved for mates.

    Well, that Archdemon was also her mate.

    Was this karma he was currently in?

    Now, he knew how a wife might feel if her husband had a Consortium on the side.

    It made him sympathize with those husbands whose wives have cheated on them for him.

    It was disgusting, but it made him feel even morepetitive.

    He detested looking at himself as a cuckolded husband because it shattered his masculine pride.

    But if he exchanged the destruction of his ego with his wife''s safety, he would drop everything to be ready and build it from scratch.

    eptance was the key to healing a broken, angry heart.

    This time, his tower will have strong fortifications made of iron and steel so that he could protect himself and his loved ones better.

    "That Archdemon of yours." His cheekbones burned with temper.? "I would make that Familiar of yours suffer under my watch."

    "Don''t create more trouble, husband." Luna ced her hands on his hips in an attempt to calm him down, caressing it up and down, and he shivered a little. "I am still their Master."

    God''s blood!

    Apollyon forgot that he might hurt his wife if he straight up executed his revenge without thinking it through.

    "I like making him jealous over you," Apollyon admitted. "It makes me want you now."

    Luna''s expressions were shuttered before it went nk, as if his words had hurt her so bad.

    Apollyon swallowed in difort, not knowing what to do with his wife.

    He shoved a hand through his hair.

    Her hands on his hips clenched into fists, and he nced down.

    She effectively caught his attention.

    "We need to clear things up between us."

    "There is nothing to clear. It already happened." There was steel in his voice when he gritted his teeth. But it softened when he said, "I''m grateful for not keeping me in the dark any longer."

    "Apollyon," Luna argued. "I needed to hear it from you that you wouldn''t listen to anyone but me."

    "I will believe in you," Apollyon responded coolly.? "But I will not be satisfied until I reimed you from him."

    Luna frowned at his tone. "You don''t have to reim me when I wasn''t in somebody else'' s possession in? the first ce."

    "I will not do any harm." He said sharply as his frustration rose even more, every single time he remembered that bastard who possessed him before. "I have this uncontroble urge to lick you all over your skin."

    "Oh, goddess. Apollyon, please." She murmured when Apollyon''s head dipped down to ce one good lick on her neck with her tongue slowly, and she let out a pleasurable moan.

    "If I do it, you wouldn''t be reminded of what your Familiar did to you. You would remember me instead." He murmured huskily, and Luna''s limbs quivered from his sudden onught of desire.

    "Apollyon. Don''t be stubborn. You are my husband. You don''t have to do any of that. I wouldn''t forget you." She cupped his jaw with his hands and stared at him. "I only cared about you, and no one cares about me as you do. No one else. You know you are the only one that I ever loved. You can feel it. It''s in our blood bond."

    "I am not only angry at what you have endured with these Archdemons in Hell," Apollyon said as he pushed her silver hair away from her face and tucked it behind her ear. "I couldn''t imagine the pain you had to go through? to decide the same vile creatures to be your Familiar."

    Tears fell at the corner of her eyes, and Apollyon wiped them with his fingers,

    "Just remember that everything you and I did had led to this point." Luna whimpered, "We must prioritize our baby''s health so that she wouldn''t die because of Lilith''s parasitic nature."

    As frown lines marred his forehead, he ced his hand over her protruding abdomen. "You can still feel Leo inside your stomach, right?" Startled, Luna released a short gasp when she felt a kick and something inside her stomach twisted and turned.? "Did you feel that kick?"

    "Yes." Goddess. It hurts. Luna''s jaws were clenched when she added, "Perhaps, baby Leo loves being caressed by the Vampire King."

    Apollyon gave her a child-like grin as if she offered him the world and ced it on his feet.

    This wasn''t all about the two of them anymore.

    Blue eyes twinkling with excitement,? it darkened into a sombre one when Apollyon asked, "Do you think she will be alright when shees out from the womb in about five months?"

    His voice had a hint of panic in them.

    "In about five months?" Luna''s lips parted as her eyes widened in shock, "I hope we have found the fruit from the Tree of the Four Seasons at that time. Who knew what the Archdemon of Envy might do if she got a hold of��"

    "As long as these Familiars obey? your orders��." Apollyon trailed off and sighed. He decided to lie his back on the bed with his wife once again, "Don''t you dare forget their names, wife and everything will be alright."

    That night, Apollyon gave up tracing her body with his tongue and let his wife slept all she wanted.

 Chapter 612 - Obedient Servant

    <h4>Chapter 612 - Obedient Servant</h4>

    Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (July 2021)

    ****************************

    Arcdemon Empress Luna

    ****************************

    The next morning, Apollyon and Luna fetched Ravin and Sloth from their individual rooms in the Summer Castle.

    Yesterday, Queen Titania had instructed the chambein to deposit four of her visitors in the East Wing and assigned the unknown princes from the far Realms with individual bed chambers, three rooms down, from the where Luna and Apollyon''s bedchamber was to give them privacy as a couplepared to the rest.

    The Archdemon''s first meeting with the King and Queen at the gatehouse went well.

    She had introduced the Archdemon of Gluttony as Rav while Sloth as--well, she couldn''t let Queen Titania and King Oberon call him his Archdemon name--so Luna hade up with the name Sloan on the spot.

    They had no say in her decision because....they literally had no say because they couldn''t speak because of hermand to shut her Familiars up.

    At least, these two Archdemons knew what to do without her ordering them to bow down their heads a little to greet the Summer Monarchs.

    They were easier to contactpared to before.

    For some reason, their group broke the royalties'' habits to keep other people waiting for them that night--whether it was their fellow Monarch from another Realm or not.

    In the beginning, Luna might have thought it was a tant disy of entitlement.

    It was a rathermon power-y move that her husband practiced during the Crowned Heads'' visit from the Six Kingdoms.

    But then sheter realized that it was just how it worked here in the Faerie Realm.

    The Faerie Kings and Queens had assumed supremacy in this Realm while the rest of the race also thought the same.

    The Fair Folk were the first kind who was taught Magic by the Angels who used to walk on Earth.

    Fae Aristocrats used to wait for hours to seek an audience with the King and Queen, including them. The Summer Faerie Tea Party at the gazebo was an example.

    Now, it felt a bit different, as if they had asked each of their servants and soldiers to alert them if they were within sight around the Castle.

    Frowning, she bit her lip in suspicion.

    Luna wondered if something had changed internally for the Summer Monarchs.

    Are they looking out for their blood?

    Did this have something to do with knowing Princess Ourania''s horrific secret--a murder attempt on his wife by stabbing her from the back with her crystal spear--or was this vignce still connected to Princess Sapphire and Xerxes''s incident from yesterday?

    Did they already figure out Haephestus'' role in this picture?

    Luna doubted that.

    Walking side-by-side with her husband while she snaked her arm around his, they went to Sloth''s room first.

    She pondered about knocking softly on the wood, but when she neared, Luna realized that the door was ajar as if the Archdemon expected them to enter anytime soon.

    Luna carefully opened the door by pushing it forward, revealing a neat and pristine private room.

    Clearing her throat, Luna prepared herself to enter the room, but Apollyon pulled her forearm almost immediately and shook his head with a scowl when she turned her head towards him as if he can barely tolerate his presence.

    Apollyon was determined not to let her in Sloth''s bedchamber first.

    Was he protecting her eyes just in case she might see the Archdemon buck naked and covered with nkets from the waist down?

    Stepping aside, Luna gave way to her husband first before she crossed the threshold herself.

    Luna had low expectations that the Archdemon was awake, but the bastard never failed to surprise her.

    Indeed, the King of Sleep wasn''t dead to the world caught by slumber itself.

    "Are you setting us free from this room now?" Sloth''s back rested against the mattress while his long legs dangled at the center edge of the bed.

    He had ''Rere'' in his grip, lifting the animal up and down above his head. "It was unfortunate that I could open the door, but walking over the threshold sends a powerful st of air tackling me backward. I have bruises all over me."

    For once, Luna was d that Sloth didn''t attempt to throw the whelp high enough until it reached the canopy and then catch it like it was nothing.

    Rere was a young beast who had a simr attention span as a toddler.

    From what he heard from Ravin, it appeared like he brought Rere to the Seven Circle to return Rere to Sloth because of how troublesome it was, taking care of the mischievous brat.

    Keeping himself under control, Apollyon''s fists were clenched as he stalked towards the bed in silence; he might as well be floating. Luna followed him. "Whose fault do you think is that?"

    "Mine." Sloth continued to respond without acknowledging their presence. "It''s nice to feel pain again."

    "How many times did you attempt to break out from this room?" Her husband asked.

    "I was sted only once. So I''m not stupid to do it again." Sloth''s said in sarcasm. "Ravin can be stupid, though. I bet he would at least try five times."

    "No one is telling you that you are stupid, Sloth."

    Hearing that, Sloth turned his head towards her direction and smiled at her, "I am a good Familiar." Just a little bitzy, but I still woke up early in the morning to serve the Master."

    Luna noticed that Sloth was able to handle the creature''s temperament well---better than Ravin, its foster father, when the egg hatched.

    Based on the squeals of excitementing from the whelp, perhaps Rere figured out that Sloth was the original master by instinct after ying with him.

    It felt like it would rather be with Sloth than with Ravin from the look on its snout.

    "Get up and leave Rere in the straw basket, Sloth."

    "Yes, Master." Rising out of bed, Sloth immediately followed hermand and put down Rere on the straw basket beside the drawing table. "Sleep well, whelp."

    "You must keep yourself awake for the whole day, Sloth." Luna ordered, "Do you understand?"

    "Yes, Master Lune."

 Chapter 613 - A Little Sight-Seeing Cant Hurt

    <h4>Chapter 613 - A Little Sight-Seeing Can''t Hurt</h4>

    Newest Chapter of the Highest Tier (July 2021)

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    When Apollyon and Luna fetched Ravin and Sloth from their rooms to venture outside, they couldn''t quite believe what took ce.

    She considered Sloth as a docile Familiar, epting his new role as an Archdemon like he was born for this role--probably.

    Luna noticed that he was just drifting like a ghost with a look of mild interest as he followed them around when they walked to Ravin''s bedchamber.

    Did bing someone''s ve in another Realm made him feel detached or was he just so out of it that he hadpletely disregarded the consequences of being her ve?

    No, she didn''t think so.

    The Archdemon had noints whatsoever except for her asional orders to shut up when he started droning on and on about the things he learned about the Material Realm from that floor to ceiling library he had in the Seventh Circle of Hell.

    Like Sloth, Ravin was ready when the three of them stood by the door.

    Apollyon was adamant that she didn''t go anywhere near her Archdemon mate so they agreed that he would be the one to face him.

    Before her husband could lift his hand to knock, Ravin already turned the knob and opened it.

    Eyes widening in surprise, the three of them stood outside as they watched Ravin from head to toe, wearing a white dress shirt with a matching burgundy jacket and pantaloons.

    He was all dressed up and ready for their activity that day.

    They had specific agenda and that was to find the location where Princess Ourania hid her irvoyant paintings around the Summer Castle.

    Their group could start with that.

    All of their ns changed when Sloth requested to see the outside of the Summer Castle.

    Ravin also agreed with this so that they could have a breath of fresh air before they did their job.

    They were their female Summer Faeries when their group stumbled upon what appeared like a vast garden.

    It was a neat array of red flowers.

    A few of them were recognizable.

    Chrysanthemums.

    Marigold.

    Anemones.

    Zinnias.

    Poppies.

    Roses.

    Tulips.

    These florets were enormous that Luna wondered if they hade across a demonic potion from the Spring Courts because this scenario looked familiar as hell.

    "What do you call this ce?" Sloth asked.

    "This is an apiary where the Summer Faeries manage the colonies," Apollyon answered as they got closer and closer to the caretakers who were nothing but three dots from afar.

    Now, they became clearer andrger than life. "It is where we grow bees to supply the Summer Castle and the entire vige with honey. It is the basic ingredient for all the food here in the Faerie Realm."

    "Faeries must have sweet tooths then."

    "We release them from the beehives from nectar and pollen And then we collect them before twilight." One of the Summer Faerie heard them and answered their query when they met face to face. "Here is where we managed the colonies."

    ncing around in amazement, Sloth said, "I never thought that this is how Faeries collected wild honey out of these massive honebs."

    "Faeries love their sweetener," Apollyon told them as if that answered all of their questions.

    When she nced up at him, Luna could tell that her husband was fascinated about this ce too.

    "Hello, Your Highnesses." The tree Summer Faeries gracefully curtsied in front of them altogether. When they straightened up, they were perfectly synchronized as if it was a rehearsed dance. "The three of you didn''t quite look real in this area."

    Ravin watched at them with hooded eyes and murmured, "Do we look so out of ce to you, mydy?"

    Hands settling in front of their skirts, they all giggled and blushed. "Yes, Your Highness. Ethereal."

    "Hmm. I wonder why all of you think that."

    At that moment, Luna can see the past Vampire King in Ravin''s behaviour in a shback.

    She was forced to dance as a consort in see-through clothes while he sat on the throne.

    That was Ravin and not Apollyon.

    Those golden eyes bled with charm and charisma.

    He whispered conspiratorially and smirked, "We can perfectly blend in this environment."

    "I doubt that You''re Highness." The Summer Faerie with a round knitted cap was bold enough to step away from the group and brushed the invisible lint off his maroon jacket. "You look handsome, Your Highness. If you woulde and dance with me at the party we could--"

    Shaking his head, Ravin''s mouth curved downward. "I''m sorry."

    Then her eyes bounced to Luna''s eyes before she asked Ravin, "Do you already have someone?"

    "I already have a wife." Ravin gestured at her and Luna had to squeeze her eyes shut in regret. ?"I''m not interested in ravishing anyone in front of my wife.

    "Your wife?"

    "That silver-haireddy is."

    Luna grimaced.

    She had to massage her temples because this was going to start another war soon.

    Thedy''s response was rather hesitant, "Oh."

    Ravin added. "You can shift your attention to the one with the blue eyes."

    Thedy with the white-blonde hair asked, "The one who res like the tiger?"

    She red at her familiar and Luna had to step forward in front of Apollyon just in case this Summer Faerie tried to flirt with him.

    "The tiger is my husband." She announced with clenched fists, "He is the Vampire King."

    There was a collective gasp from the girls. "I apologize, Your Highness."

    "Prince Ravin is? an ant I could step on easily." She could hear Apollyon''s amusement when he said that, "What an eyesore."

    The silent beekeeper of the three, spoke softly, "Are both of you sharing the same woman?"

    "She is my wife." Apollyon and Ravin said in unison.

    Luna could tell that the two of them are about to argue then and there but she had sessfully doused the rising mes of anger with the statement, "I think Sloth would be interested in bedding you, mydy. He can be bored sometimes."

    "I''m not interested in women." Sloth replied almost immediately.

    "You are interested in men?"

    "I like the bees."

 Chapter 614 - Obsessed With Bees

    <h4>Chapter 614 - Obsessed With Bees</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (July 2021)

    ****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    If her husband was amorous before, Luna could perfectly describe that his libido was on fire today.

    Actually, the sudden fever in his blood began this morning.

    Luna thought that the reason behind this was that he knew that someone else��the Archdemon of Gluttony��was after his mate.

    Even if she was already pregnant with his child and her Archdemon mate had already lowered his status by turning into a Familiar, Apollyon wasn''t reassured.

    In everyone''s eyes, a Familiar can never be worthy of his Master in a romantic sense.

    Ravin''s solid presence behind them wouldn''t allow him to let his guard down.

    Ha!

    As if she would allow herself to be stolen again.

    Luna and Apollyon weren''t touching each other as they observed the apiary in fascination.

    Still, she stood close to her husband that her bare arm asionally brushed against the fabric of his plum-colored sleeve.

    While they walked outside, Luna had caught him trailing his fingers on her bicep down to her forearm in a seductive caress.

    It sent warm tingles straight to her core that she couldn''t help but shiver.

    Frowning at her bodily reaction to his proximity, Apollyon was quite concerned that he asked if she was alright, murmuring if she needed a jacket to make her warm in the early morning, but she shook his head in refusal.

    Apollyon couldn''t grasp the idea that she wasn''t that weak to sumb to the Archdemon''s temptation regardless of Apollyon''s presence.

    Luna often told Ravin that she only loved Apollyon and pleaded not to force her into sex.

    Despite being alone in Hell, Ravin was able to gain her trust for a little bit and was grateful for Archdemon''s self-control.

    It was a surprise that he didn''t rape her while she was there.

    For some reason, the Archdemon of Gluttony respected that and never attempted sexual pration while she was in his Castle--except for Luxen, who shape-shifted into Apollyon.

    Nevertheless, her husband becamepetitive when there was no need to, always vying for his affection and attention, as if her Familiars presence had kicked her his desire into overdrive and made him want her more like a sensual craving, teetering on the edges of sexual desperation.

    She bit her lip as she shifted to the side away from him.

    Luna was worried about Apollyon''s sexual jealousy.

    His motivation to have her became intense��too intense-- as if she turned into his shiny new conquest all over again.

    As if they weren''t married in the first ce.

    It was the first time they met, and Luna was a mysteriousdy he desired to pursue and seduce.

    Apollyon made her nervous because of his unpredictability.

    She couldn''t deny that her husband''s behavior aroused her, alwaysplimenting her on the gowns she chose to wear and telling her how beautiful she was and that he was lucky to be her husband.

    It felt excellent, and her husband''s genuine appreciation fed her hungry heart.

    Or was there a hidden agenda?

    Today, she wore a thin, elegant light coral dress that covered her from head to toe, silhouetting her slender form with a Mandarin cor and puffy -long sleeves.

    She decided not to show any skin so that her Familiars wouldn''t cast their gaze upon her.

    In that way, her husband wouldn''t be pissed either.

    Apollyon never took his eyes away from her even if the rest of the females, who were the Master Beekeepers and monitored the entire apiary, wore borate headdresses and voluminous gowns.

    Luna figured out that thesedies might be aristocratic daughters in the Summer Courts.

    She recognized that hunger in his eyes, turning into a lighter shade.

    The plum clothing he wore made him appear soft, kind, and even more of a beautiful Summer Faerie, but that didn''t make his sharp features less ruthless.

    The Vampire King, who wore pastel colors, with his dark raven hair and blue eyes, can make him appear innocent and angelic, but his masculine face and reputation said otherwise.

    Apollyon can''t fool her with his ''gentleman'' aura.

    His savageness can extend towards the bedroom.

    Her husband desired longer and more vigorous sex, and he couldn''t be stopped unless if she told him no.

    The Vampire King can take rejection without making her feel guilty about it.

    He was always insatiable, and she liked that about him, but she couldn''t help but wonder if something was wrong with him.

    Apollyon was quick to get hard, and he was ready to go at it again a lot sooner.

    Luna experienced powerful orgasms because of this.

    Perhaps, her husband''s primal brain thought this was how he could reim her from what had urred with Luxen��by flooding out any other semen that might be present inside her.

    Just thinking about it made her feel like a stone had dropped at the pit of her stomach.

    Apollyon in Ravin''s Pleasure Room made her gag.

    She was so preupied with her husband that she didn''t notice what her curious Familiar had been up to.

    Sloth inclined his blond head curiously at the short ginger-haired Fae in a white frilly gown with orange tulips adorning her head and pointed at the long trumpet in her hand. "Can you teach me how to call the bees with the trumpets?"

    "It''s not yet allowed, Your Highness." The Fae replied apologetically. "We shall do itter, or the yield for today might be affected. The Summer Monarchs will give us an earful if we don''t produce the necessary yield to their satisfaction."

    "Please--"

    Now, Sloth switched his seductive charm on, and Luna ordered him before he could persuade the poor woman.

    "Sloth, no."

    Sloth really had a huge interest in animals no matter what Realm.

    Sloth turned towards Luna to convince her, "But the bees..." He was pouting now when he added, "They aren''t here in the apiary. I want to see if they were as big as the flowers around us."

    "You wanted to go outside." Not any more than that. "I have allowed you to outside to get some fresh air."

 Chapter 615 - Tolerate It

    <h4>Chapter 615 - Tolerate It</h4>

    Newest Chapter of Highest Chapter (July 2021)

    ****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ****************************

    "You wanted to go outside," Luna said out loud as she threw daggers at him with her eyes, not daring to take her eyes off him.

    Goddess!

    She had to stop herself from chasing after him, who had advanced towards the Summer Faerie holding the long and shiny golden trumpet he desired in a rather boorish manner.

    The Archdemon of Sloth might look like a lithe and delicate man with wisps of light blond hair, leaf green eyes and long limbs from god-knew-what Realm they could introduce where he reigned as a prince was,? but he still towered over the three beekeepers.

    Luna could feel that the sylphs in charge of collecting honey from the beeswax noticed themotion and regarded them with rm, thinking that thedies were in trouble.

    It took everything in her power not to physically grab the Archdemon Familiar by the arm and drag him in his ce where he belonged��where Ravin also belonged.

    Behind her.

    He hadn''t done anything yet, but from the coiled tension in his muscles, the blond and pretty Archdemon felt like he was about to strike and steal the trumpet any minute by now.

    Luna was wiping the sweat off her brow when she? reminded her familiar again, "I have allowed you to outside to get some fresh air."

    "I''m just curious, that''s all." Sloth said, and from the amusement in his voice, Luna figured out that the bastard was smiling. "It''s not like I''m doing anything about it."

    Ravin snickered, "Are we supposed to thank you for treating us like dogs tied on a leash?" He shrugged as he scanned his gaze towards the horizon where nothing exceptrge red flowers can be found. "I''m unimpressed since I was in the Vampire Realm for a long time--"

    Luna had to watch Apollyon''s reaction to seeing if he found Ravin offensive, but her husband was fixated on Sloth.

    He didn''t care about Ravin at the moment.

    "--but the change of scenery in the Summer Realm is greatpared to the Vampire Realm, so I will go easy on my Amare and be obedient."

    "Don''t mess with their work, Sloth." Apollyon backed her up and stepped forward to speak to him��man to man. "I''m warning you."

    "Apollyon--" Closing her eyes, Luna scratched her head in frustration and sighed.

    Hopefully, this situation wouldn''t blow out of proportion.

    The moment she opened them,? Luna ced her hands on her hips and snapped at her familiars, "Let''s go back to the Summer Castle. We still had things to do. "

    She turned her back in an instant, expecting them to follow her.

    They still need to search for Princess Ourania''s paintings!

    Only silence followed him as she stomped her foot into the direction of the Summer Castle.

    Her sensitive ears perked up at the sound of Sloth''s whisper, "Thank you, Lune, for listening to my request, Lune. Even just for a few minutes."

    Lips parting in a gasp, Luna was shocked and speechless when she heard someone blow the trumpets.

    She twirled around and saw Sloth at the top of a tree as his demon wings pped while he yed the instrument.

    Busy bees withrge eyes and ck and yellow stripes on their bodies buzzed so loud that they could make all of their ears bleed swarm around the apiary.

    *************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    **************************

    Apollyon had to ept the truth that he wasn''t powerful enough.

    Neither of Luna''s Familiars was afraid of him in the first ce, nor are they scared of Luna as their Master, and it left a bitter taste in his mouth.

    It was either that this entire situation meant nothing to her and just exined it as Sloth''s boredom about Hell, or... he was soaking all the visual information in these foreignnds so that he could plot against them in silence and strike at them at the right time.

    Honestly, Sloth can control those bees if he learned how to use the trumpet and used it to gain an advantage.

    It appeared that Luna was blind to the possibility as they walked through the corridors back in the Summer Castle.

    His wife dismissed Sloth''s behavior as yful and not a threat to their safety.

    "Luna." Apollyon abruptly said in the awkward silence. "I want to speak to you in private."

    "Ravin and Sloth." Narrowing her eyes at them, Luna jabbed a finger at their chest. "Stay here both of you until my husband, and I get back to fetch you."

    Luna counted about twenty rooms which they had already passed before her husband stirred her into a secluded corner by holding her by the forearm.

    She yelped when he pushed her against the wall.

    "Wife." Apollyon began in a gruff murmur, "As a Familiar of two Archdemon Familiars, do you have a backbone in telling them ''no'' when you don''t want them to do something..or do you have a soft spot for this Sloth?"

    "Apollyon." She let out a nervous chuckle, and his hackles rose.

    Did she brush the serious situation off?

    He scowled.

    "They''re just bees, and I let him enjoy controlling them with the Fae''s trumpet just for a minute! There was no harm done, alright?" She defended him, and the strain was evident when her voice became higher. "The bastard was so horrible at calling them over that only a few of them returned."

    Shaking his head, he pressed on, "Wife. This isn''t aughing matter." His arms lifted to put his hands on her shoulders as he shook her gently, "Do you understand me?"

    Even if they were her Familiars, one could never be too careful, especially that Ravin can behave the opposite of Sloth in an instant.

    "You don''t know how to wield this power. You shouldn''t be a Master with that thinking you have." Apollyon exined further as he stared into her wide emerald eyes, "These aren''t your pets, Luna. You are controlling Archdemons here. One wrong move, and it is a life and death situation." His wife deserved an earful for letting Sloth''s behavior slide. "Never be too lenient about them, and I would remind you over and over just in case you forgot."

    +++

    A/N:

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 Chapter 616 - A Masters Responsibilities

    <h4>Chapter 616 - A Master''s Responsibilities</h4>

    Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (July 2021)

    *******************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *******************************

    Luna could tell that her husband was pissed off at her from the slightest movement of his brows and his gritted teeth as he stared her down, breathing hard as all of his muscles were bunched up.

    The message that came across her cut her like a knife.

    The unspoken essence was like a sword shing on her chest while her wrists were tied.

    When her husband was in the mood to tear her to shreds, he couldn''t be stopped.

    Apollyon had a point.

    Yet, every time he told her about what she did wrong felt like she wasn''t good enough for the position and it seemed like it was the irrevocable truth.

    Unfortunately, her mind had checked in and out from the discussion because she was having none of this.

    She was too busy feeling bad for herself to hang on to his every word��every ruthless word.

    Luna knew Apollyon was angry but where was it directed?

    Was it because of what she did by letting Sloth off the hook or was he mad about the existence of the Archdemon? Familiars in this Realm and he just took it out on her because he couldn''t do anything about it?

    It felt one-sided when all she did was nod her head in agreement.

    How easy it was for one man to make her feel insecure.

    It hurt her pride that she just wanted to end? this and return to Ravin and Sloth to continue searching for Princess Ourania''s paintings.

    While her husband droned on about herck of experience in controlling the two Archdemon Familiars, she nced down at the floor.

    She sniffled and looked away from his scrutiny and his judgment of his carelessness.

    Now that Apollyon pointed it out, she became too conscious of her decision to let Sloth y with the bees for a minute.

    Was it a? mistake on her part?

    Was she too lenient in handling her Archdemon Familiars?

    Shoulders hunching over from guilt, Luna pressed her back against the wall when Apollyon brought his face closer that her lips could feel the chilly breathsing out of his mouth when he spoke to her in a whisper.

    His limbs had a slight tremor in them as if he was holding back rage.

    Hearing her husband scolding her like this in a quiet corner away from the rest felt like she was a brainless moron who must be taught properly how to handle ves.

    Of course, her husband would have expertise because of the Consortium.

    Yet she didn''t want to point that out or she would get in trouble.

    Her husband wouldn''t appreciate it.

    He might think she was being petty when all he did was warn her of the consequences of unruly Familiars.

    She should still be grateful that her husband considered not exposing her in front of her Archdemon Familiars like what he did when the Kings visited the Vampire Realm during the Marriage Auction.

    Never again would she find herself in that helpless situation and remain stuck there to deal with shame in front of their visitors.

    He knew better not to humiliate her�� was she the one who humiliated herself?

    As her anxious fingers fiddled with her skirts, Apollyon must have noticed that she was quiet��too quiet��that his frustrated monologue shifted into something else��something more understanding of her predicament instead of nagging at her to get her act together with her Familiars.

    His tone was less cold and savage when he told her that he will prepare himself for the worst so that he could do his absolute best in protecting her,ining that those Archdemons never cared about his status as the Vampire King because they were not from this Realm.

    Apollyon reiterated that these devils did not hold an ounce of power because Luna was the ringleader and the puppet master��the one who can control them with amand and an utter of their true name��and it was an ability that nobody, not even she, should take lightly.

    She closed her eyes and exhaled soft breaths.

    Luna forgot that how easy it was for her tomand them and make them look like fools in front of a huge crowd��make them loathe their demonic existence.

    She sighed in regret.

    It wasn''t right that she was tolerating Sloth''s behavior.

    Finally, Apollyon was done with his litany of reprimands and his hands fell from her shoulders to her clenched fists.

    "I apologize, wife. Are you angry at me for telling you about Sloth''s antics earlier?" He asked softly, "I''m doing this because I care. Don''t think that I hate you for doing that. I don''t like seeing you hurt."

    "No. I just realized you were right." Luna raised her head and continued, "I need to discipline them. Draw the boundary before they persuade me to tolerate their behavior. I think I might have done this on purpose since I can sense his emotion about training these creatures in the Seventh Circle and giving it to other demons when he got back and I unconsciously sympathized with his desire. I indulged him to try the trumpets for a minute, allow him to steal from the beekeeper and see if he still finds them as fascinating."

    "I noticed you didn''t use his true demon name right away." Apollyon''s Prussian Blues were probing.

    It didn''t feel good for me to be their Master because I''m starting to see them as beings with wants and needs." Luna exined as she rubbed her palm against her forehead.

    I didn''t think too much of it since I was going to stop him if he did something evil. If you are so mad about them, I can lock them in a room if you prefer." She offered.

    "As much as I desire to lock the Archdemons in a room until they rot, we wouldn''t be able to monitor what they do." Apollyon''s hand cupped her cheek and said, "A Master shouldn''t be charmed into doing the things your Familiar wanted. It must be the other way around. Don''t make the situation worse by loosening their leash. You must take responsibility for your Familiars, Luna because I can''t do that part for? you."

 Chapter 617 - My Sacrifice

    <h4>Chapter 617 - My Sacrifice</h4>

    Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (July 2021)

    *********************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *********************

    As she listened to all of her husband''s honestints with an open mind and ears, Apollyon told her bluntly that she despised those Archdemon Familiars around her vicinity, hanging behind them like another set of insidious shadows, from sunrise until midnight.

    Luna replied that they had no choice about this since it was the Goddess Hecate''smand, and the binding rites were already done.

    All she ever wanted was for Apollyon topromise with their existence.

    Surprised, Apollyon waved his hands in front of him in dismissal and exined that he wasn''t ming her for the situation at all, which made her exhale a breath of relief.

    It turned out that he wasn''t mad at her.

    He thought it was the perfect time to voice his frustrations, advising her that it would be best for them not solely to rely on tricksters and find clues if they could.

    She also honored Apollyon''s wish to separate with the Archdemons for a while while they searched one floor to another.

    Their group met at the staircase when they found nothing.

    They returned to the room filled with gilded mirrors��the room where they found Princess Ourania with Cano the first time.

    Shemanded Sloth and Ravin to break into the room with the use of Archdemon Magic.

    As they searched for the paintings, they didn''t find anything important that could have given them an indication of where to find the Garden of the Four Seasons.

    All the ck mirrors and self-portraits were removed from the walls as if they were ripped apart.

    As if the culprit was in a hurry to hide them.

    Checking the room for more pieces of evidence was futile.

    Later, the four of them gathered outside to think about their next move.

    They came across a servant, and Apollyon asked immediately, "Do you see Princess Ourania anywhere inside the Castle?"

    The maid curtsied gracefully even while holding a rag in her hand, "She is practicing with her fiance, Sir Tristan, in dueling, Your Highnesses."

    Sir Tristan?

    That pathetic Knight who couldn''t even stand a chance against Apollyon?

    Luna frowned at the idea of Princess Ourania mastering the art of the sword despite the unique power she held.

    Apollyon''s mother can generate orange crystals around her, shaping them into whatever weapon she desired in that instant.

    So, what was her aim?

    Was she preparing for their confrontation now that she was back in the Summer Castle alive and well?

    Did she want her to die and stay dead this time?

    Maybe, this madwoman offered marriage to Sir Tristan so that she could bring this weak Knight to the Summer Courts without suspicion and train her in sword fighting.

    Well, she picked the wrong person to be her instructor.

    Sloth asked, "Who is this, Tristan?"

    "A Knight from the Fall Courts."

    Mayhap, this lowly Knight from the Fall Courts might be a skilled swordsman all along.

    Only the male royalties and aristocrats, knights, warriors, sentinels and soldiers from the Fae Militia were heavily trained in this area, priding themselves on the suffering and discipline they went through.

    Yet, training with strong and resilient metal weapons wasn''t appealing to female Faes��especially the iron dius��since, in their mind, their magic was enough.

    Nowadays, swordsmanship was rarely used on the battlefield anymore.

    Swordsmanship became an avenue to defend a woman''s honor and dignity in a joust or a duel.

    Fae Magic always ruled when two Faerie Realms fight.

    So who was Princess Ourania defending up against?

    Was she preparing for Luna''s revenge the moment she finallyes to collect the debts?

    Killing other creatures had no rules.

    For the first time in a long while, Ravin looked at her seriously, which meant business. "You said we were looking for the paintings Princess Ourania made,? Amare. She is hiding that room housing her paintings in a special mour that would take me longer to decode. However, I can learn how to crack which Magic she used and reverse it. or... I could kill this Sir Tristan to disturb the Summer Princess'' mind and persuade her to tell us."

    Sloth''s lips curved upward. "Well, that escted quickly."

    "I just felt like it." Ravin brushed the silky dark brownish-ck hair away from his golden eyes. "You seem to bristle when Princess Ourania''s name was mentioned."

    "She is Apollyon''s mother, Ravin," Luna replied.

    "That made me want to kill the woman who spawned the devil himself. Wouldn''t you find it interesting?" Ravin stepped closer towards her, and her husband immediately blocked him, keeping their distance away from each other.

    "Kill her, and I would never shed a tear over that madwoman who tried to kill my wife."

    "She tried to kill Amare?" Ravin shifted his attention to her husband. "--and you allowed your sick mother near her when she was pregnant?"

    "--It was my fault," Luna said.

    "--None of your business." Apollyon''s interruption drowned her voice.

    "Oh, it is my business." Ravin smirked, "I am the one who will decide who was worthy enough to kill a wife of an Archdemon."

    Apollyon''s shoulders went taut as he growled in his face and jabbed a finger on his chest, "Dream on, Familiar, and shut your mouth."

    "Shut up, Ravin." Luna directed and pulled Apollyon away from the Archdemon. "Ten minutes. We will watch her shadows in silence."

    They followed where the maidservant told them of Princess Ourania''s whereabouts.

    Rhododendron Colosseum was also a well-knownndmark in the Summer Castle, wheremanders train their recruits for the Summer Militia.

    Here, jousts, duels and captured ves and criminals from other Realm fought to their death were considered normal to provide entertainment for the Summer Fair Folk.

    Apollyon''s mother was seen wearing full-bodied armor except for the helm.

    Luna had no idea if Princess Ourania had seen them spying on her and Sir Tristan at the highest outermost seats on the empty colosseum.

    Today, she wasn''t the one making the sacrifice but Ravin.

 Chapter 618 - A Duel To The Death

    <h4>Chapter 618 - A Duel To The Death</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (July 2021)

    *************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *************************

    The colosseum they went through, was a public amphitheater made of stone and concrete built through magic and can hold a thousand Fae.

    Each story of the arena was encircled by arcades framed on the exterior with columns.

    On the way there, their group passed by a meadow full of white and yellow flowers surrounded theke just as the maidservant told them to.

    It was a structure located east of the mountain where they sshed on the waterfall the instant they arrived at the Summer Realm from the Spring Realm and it also owned a massive retractable vrium to shield the spectators from the sun.

    Luna noticed that the colosseum in the Summer Courts was enormous and sophisticatedpared to their arena in the Vampire Realm where? Apollyon killed Catriona.

    The four of them settled on the marble seats at the uppermost story of the colosseum and continued observing Sir Tristan and Princess Ourania.

    Honestly, Sir Tristan appeared like the fencing instructor of Princess Ourania instead of fiance,plete with teaching Apollyon''s mother in military training and jousting techniques.

    Right now, Sir? Tristan was teaching his fiance how to swing a sword into the enemy while on a horseback.

    She did all those things instead of practicing how to walk straight without dropping the book in her head, knitting colorful embroideries and memorizing each and every cutlery on the table during meals, learningnguages and ying music like how a gentle-bred noblewoman should.

    Was there a need to be a savage or did she turned out like this because of Apollyon and Luna''s defensive reaction in the Summer Courts?

    Indeed, the colosseum was a witness of thousand hand-to-handbats between Fae diators��whether it was the same gender or the opposite gender.

    Some of these contests were between men and animals,rger groupbats, a training ground for the Summer Militia and mock battles.

    Minor contests included duels and jousts where people involved will solve the conflict with their sword-fighting skills.

    This wasn''t a ce for Summer Princess like her.

    After a few minutes, Luna carefully stood from her seat as her hand cradled her baby bump.

    Her husband immediately stood by her side and held her elbow gently to assist her.

    Sloth and Ravin follow her as they descend through the stairs to the bottom and meet both of them at the center.

    "I was eagerly waiting to hear from you, Princess Ourania," Luna said out loud when her foot reached the floor-covered sand while Apollyon''s mother got off her warhorse. "Is there anything you wanted to say to me?"

    Frozen in ce, Princess Ourania said nothing but her horrified blue eyes protruded as if her eyeballs were about to fall out of their sockets from staring at her too much.

    "Speak, Princess!" Luna demanded as an excited giggle bubbled inside her. "You are too quiet that it creeps me out!" She said mockingly, "You aren''t guilty about something, aren''t you? You can tell me. I''m always here, waiting to listen in case you have a problem. I am willing confidante."

    "No." Apollyon''s mother said with conviction as she held the thin orange de in front of her, and a brilliant light sliced across Sir Tristan''s helm when the sunlight hit Princess Ourania''s weapon. "I don''t need to exin myself to you."

    "Is it because what you have done to me can speak for itself?"

    "I��" Princess Ourania anxiously stood at the center of the colosseum in difort as if a spotlight was directed on her.

    Luna interrupted. "Perhaps, you aren''t ready to face what should have been a ghost when you tried to kill me?"

    Luna was determined to wound Princess Ourania today.

    Of course, she didn''t want any blood on her hands.

    She would let her Familiars do the dirty work so that she could get back at her for shoving her to the stairs and stabbing her with ance from back to the front that she almost lost her baby.

    An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.

    This time, a life for a life.

    She must pay for what she had done.

    "Stop it!" Princess Ourania screeched as she glowered at her, her fists were clenched tight on the hilt.

    Crossing her arms over her chest, Luna tilted her head and smirked at her. "This sounded like a rude awakening to you, doesn''t it? I challenge you to a duel."

    "Not, right now! I''m not ready for a duel." Princess Ourania sounded ufortable and hesitant to speak up as if she wanted to withdraw and hide but she and remained still.

    "The time for sleeping and dreaming is over,"? Luna spoke strongly as she lifted her chin in a challenge. "Don''t turn away from this moment, Princess Ourania, because this might be yourst attempt to kill me." She gritted her teeth, "Do it in front of my face if you are brave enough. Never behind my back."

    "Shut up!" Princess Ourania pointed her sword at her and Sloth, knocking the weapon out of her hand, was the quickest Luna had ever witnessed about him.

    The Archdemon of Sloth took his contract as a Familiar too seriously that his behavior had changed.

    "Wake up,? Princess." Luna advanced closer and pinched her cheek at once. "Don''t cower too much." She shook her head and whispered, "It doesn''t look good on you."

    If blood and tears were her currency, then Apollyon''s mother should also be willing to pay the price. Luna can break apart as long as it served a purpose but, not today.

    Princess Ourania''s serious stare mirrored her resolve, reflecting only the desire for her opponent''s death and her strong desire to cut, bruise, hurt, lock and strike at what she perceived as the enemy.

    Her.

    To leave her alone to rot and die while she expected a word of thanks from ridding the Realm of abomination.

    "I ept." Princess Ourania finally dered after she taunted her. "I decided to partake in a duel."

 Chapter 619 - A Life For A Life

    <h4>Chapter 619 - A Life For A Life</h4>

    Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (July 2021)

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    "The? Knight from the Fall Courts might feel like withdrawing, but both of you are already visible." Her arms were crossed over her chest.

    Luna slowly paced from left to right before Princess Ourania, who straightened her spine, clenched her fists on her blue skirts, which matched her eyes.

    Apollyon''s mother narrowed her eyes at her with biting contempt. "There is no running away from? us."

    Luna''s lips curved upward, smug, satisfied that she can push Apollyon''s mother around after she singled her out and chose her as a target.

    The advantage of having two Archdemons as Familiars was that it gave her a boost of confidence��that she was invincible.

    Her husband was her security nket, but she didn''t want to see her hurt.

    Ravin and Sloth will do the dirty job, letting her experience what loss was when someone she loved was taken away from her.

    Well, killing Sir Tristan wouldn''t give much of an impact if he was merely a toy to a bored Princess whom she can chew and spit out.

    She doubted that Apollyon''s psychopathic mother hardly have feelings for everyone.

    In this duel, death was the goal rather than the first blood, striving for a duel by effectively killing the opponent.

    "What made you think that we will withdraw, Empress? That we would run away from you?" Sir Tristan''s hand was on the lead rope attached to the halter of his destrier''s head and brought it forward so that he could join their conversation. "Just because my fiance and I are outnumbered doesn''t mean that we are afraid of all of you." He said as he readjusted his bronze helm. "Bringing two Princes from unknown Realms following you around the Summer Castle might provide the illusion of strength, but that will not make you more intimidating."

    Sadly, he didn''t take it off to get a good look at his appearance, especially Ravin and Sloth.

    They needed to know all the people around them to look out for potential enemies and mark their faces.

    Turning her attention to Sir Tristan, who stood beside Princess Ourania, Luna shrugged, "Why? Are you scared?"

    Sir Tristan shook his head.

    As she shifted from foot to foot in her difort, Luna couldn''t look at the Knight in the eye behind his mask while he could perfectly see her. "Not at all, Your Highness. A duel is a duel, and I must defend the Summer Princess'' honor."

    "I don''t understand how you can use Princess Ourania of being a killer when you are obviously in front of us." Sir Tristan''s voice was loud and full of bluster. "Don''t you think it''s the other way around? You, vampires, had an insatiable lust for blood that you would do anything to get them." Luna''s eyebrows raised at that. "Unsophisticated swine."

    Weren''t most Faes in the Fall Courts are vampiric?

    He was basically a pot calling the kettle ck.

    "Fuck you!" Luna spat.? "Are you calling me a god damned liar?" Her chest was thrust out as she held her elbows wide from her body from the sudden bursts of anger.

    She could feel Apollyon and her Archdemon Familiars'' aura behind her.

    She just knew she was supported.

    Luna would like to throw those insults back to him because thest time she checked, those didn''t fit any of them. "Do you have to convict someone as a criminal only if the victim has died in front of you as proof?"

    Sir Tristan replied as if he was gritting his teeth. "I am always around the Princess, and I haven''t seen? her attack you!"

    Her legs nted wide as if she was ready to start the duel. Nevertheless, he still managed to curb her desire to y the Knight so that she could shut him up forever. "You haven''t seen her push me down the stairs and almost lost my baby, Knight. You should attach a cor on her slender neck and tie it to a leash so that you would know her whereabouts and secret agendas."

    "That wouldn''t work, wife. Birds of the same feather usually flock together." Apollyon rumbled like thunder as he glowered at Knight from the? Fall Courts. "Perhaps, he was also in on it. I really like owning your head." His fists were clenched on either side of him. "If you could choose me to represent her as her second, I would be ecstatic. We will let you choose from the three of us, mother. But I would prefer it if it was me. I am the husband who must protect my Empress'' truth and dignity."

    "I will pick the man with the blond hair and green eyes."

    "Slo��"

    "Sloan."

    Sloth''s eyebrows raised to his hairline as he pointed to himself. "Why, me? I''m just an unknown prince from a farawaynd. I don''t want any of this. I''m too slow and tired to fight. Would you mind not picking me to fight alongside the Empress? I am weak."

    "Isn''t that great?" It was Princess Ourania to wear a smug expression as she scanned Sloth from head to toe. "The more you tried to formte excuses, the more I choose you to be with her."

    "I would pretend I didn''t hear that and get myself a weapon." Apollyon brushed him off and stepped forwards to face Sir Tristan instead of Sloth. "Call the servants and provide us with swords of the same kind."

    "What is the price in this duel?"

    "King Oberon and Queen Titania told us about the old paintings you made. We will battle with those items as our prize."

    "I wanted to have the Empress'' baby and raise it on my own." Princess Ourania said simply as if she wasn''t asking for the world.

    "Are you out of your damned mind?" Luna''s ws extended from her knuckles as she prepared to tear Princess Ourania''s throat. "Did you forgot that you almost killed your own grandchild, and now you want her to raise as your own?"

    "I didn''t. I doubt the Summer Monarch would listen to you if you have no proof, no? You don''t know how to take care of your child if you still desired to dance with danger." Princess Ourania settled her hands on her hips and tutted,? "You''re doing it again by challenging me in a duel. You never learn, girl."

    "Then, if you allow it, I would also take your life as my prize."

 Chapter 620 - Hypogeum

    <h4>Chapter 620 - Hypogeum</h4>

    Highest Tier for Newest Chapter (July 2021)

    ***********************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    **********************

    Princess Ourania whistled to get the attention of two ravens soaring above them.

    Their ck feathers on their spread wings were a stark contrast to the blue sky.

    One screeching raven heeded her call and descended towards them, standing at the center of the colosseum, growingrger andrger when it flew nearer in Princess Ourania''s face��

    No.

    Its sharp talons didn''t w at her face.

    It pped itsrge wings and carefully settled on the Summer Princess'' left shoulder while its feathers fell and swirled around her.

    The gusts of winding from the wide expanse of the bird''s wings messed her hair up that Luna had to hold onto her long silver hair to keep them from whipping her face.

    At least the strong gale kept her vampire''s vessel cool under the sun, or else she would melt.

    Luna saw Princess Ourania gazed at the raven in silence while the animal stared back at her.

    Both appeared like they were talking with their eyes.

    Sir Tristan waited patiently beside her, not interrupting their silent conversation for a minute.

    After that, Princess Ourania allowed the raven to jump on her forearm before she catapulted it upwards to gain momentum.

    All of them watched the raven as it flew into the direction of the Summer Castle.

    Of course, Princess Ourania sent the raven to the Summer Castle, carrying the message to announce the duel involving the Summer Princess and the Empress from the Vampire Realm.

    She figured out that the Summer Fair folk would be entertained from their duel, amused at the two Monarchs with their respective champions.

    She bet that they had no idea that it was going to be a fight to the death.

    Well, they wouldn''t care as long as the dying in a terrible, gory, bloody death didn''t involve them.

    The weather was determined to torment her as to how standing in her killer''s vicinity did.

    A couple of feet separated the two from their band.

    At the moment, all Luna can do was give Apollyon''s mother the narrow-eyed death stare as well as Sir Tristan when they started giving her and Sloth sideways nces as they size them up.

    Trickles of sweat already dripped from her forehead and her back which made her body less hot.

    Yet, it was as ufortable as the sun rays, which felt like tiny needles dipped in boiling water before they prickled her scalp and pores.

    As she breathed even harder, the head-ache inducing heat and the dust inside the arena made her ce a hand over her eyes to shield them from the sand particles merging with the breeze.

    Sir Tristan, Princess Ourania, and their group were asked to follow a Fae Sentinel towards a hidden trapdoor in the arena to descend beneath the colosseum.

    He led them to a maze of underground chambers, cells, tunnels, and passages.

    The underground had a little natural light in the morning.

    It wouldn''t hurt the vampires.

    Nevertheless, it was cooler here than above, but she hated these suffocating tunnels.

    It was smaller inparison to any other caves she had been in.? She recalled when she went to the caves of the Valley of Kings and got possessed by the demons.

    It was the first time she met the Archdemon of Lust��whoter became his undoing.

    The Fae Commander in charge of the colosseum walked ahead in their little expedition, followed by Sir Tristan and his fiance.

    Princess Ourania and Luna were set apart by his husband to protect her just in case his mother attempted a sudden attack.

    Ravin and Sloth nked behind her like tworge ominous shadows.

    Both weren''t talking for a change.

    They kept their mouth shut without her verbalmand.

    Luna looked sideways.

    It made her wary that they weren''t chaotic��so well-behaved that goosebumps broke out of her skin.

    They were merely observing their dynamic in silence.

    She told them beforehand not to arouse suspicion from the Summer Fair Folk of their kind, and they followed it without question.

    They passed by a hundred wild animals inside their pens for show fights as they navigated inside the tunnels.

    The stench of dried blood and death dripped from the grounds and walls even if each cell was cleaned by pages and squires training to be Faerie Sentinels in the Summer Courts.

    Their group started searching the ce to look for the men-at-arms in charge of bestowing them the ck-and-gold armor for the Monarchs and the swords used during the duel.

    They found the men-at-arms organizing and rearranging things in their steel cabs.

    When they entered the room, both of them bowed respectfully.

    Few words were exchanged between them as the Sentinel pointed at her and Sloth to provide them the necessary equipment for the duel.

    They unlocked therge treasure chests with magic and rummaged with care.

    Secondster, they gave each expensive luxurious piece of their armor with reverence.

    Princess Ourania and Sir Tristan were also given armor suits other than what they wore.

    The men-at-arms went to another room and visited the Armamentarium and presented them the four identical swords.

    Before Sir Tristan and Princess Ourania separated from their group to search for a chamber to change into their ted armors peacefully, Apollyon asked permission from the men-at-arms to check theirs and their opponent''s weapons just in case they had something special in them.

    His request was met with their opponents'' disapproval, but the Faerie Sentinel allowed it to avoid cheating.

    ''It sounded like the Monarchs had little power in the underground,'' Luna surmised.

    Princess Ourania smirked in satisfaction when he found nothing dubious.

    Was she was happy that she wasn''t caught?

    Luna glowered at them.

    Apollyon carried her armor tes for her while Sloth had his in his arms as they went to separate rooms to change.

    When they found one, Apollyon shut the door and locked it with Fae Magic.

    "I don''t want you to? return to the arena, wife." He whispered.

    +++

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 Chapter 621 - Coming Before Battle

    <h4>Chapter 621 - Coming Before Battle</h4>

    Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (July 2021)

    ****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ****************************

    "I don''t want you to return to the arena, wife," Apollyon whispered. "I can''t let you go there without me."

    She couldn''t see his expression because he had his back turned on her.

    Licking her lips, Luna matched the softness of his voice. "It''s already done."

    Apollyon turned around to face her this time as he strode towards the cot nearby to put down the metal pieces there. "Let me fight in? your ce."

    Her stomach twisted.

    Luna remembered Apollyon telling her that Summer Fairfolk''s nature was fiery and warlike among the? Faerie Courts and too intense than the Spring Faeries.

    Their thirst to draw blood when it came to war was simr to how a vampire reacted to their blood lust.

    Yet, their thirst for violence only applied to participate in a war where they had the upper hand, satisfying their ego after defeating their enemy with their smart brain, brute strength, and the magic they possessed.

    He was afraid that Princess Ourania and Sir Tristan would destroy her in the duel when she had barely escaped from his mother once.

    "It''s not allowed in the Duel Code." She exined with gritted teeth. Sometimes, her husband can be as stubborn as her. "I was the one who challenged her. I will be the main duelist to defeat your mother. Not you."

    Apollyon tensed from her reply.

    He ran his fingers through his midnight hair, and his gestures became unrestrained in his frustration that his arms swung around.

    His anxious blue eyes set on her, he bellowed. "I can''t allow this duel to happen!"

    She sucked in a breath and sighed, "Sir Tristan is Princess Ourania''s second. It''s a battle of Fae between Archdemons. Sloth and I will win this. "

    "Luna." As if his mind kicked into gear, Apollyon advanced closer and closer until he stopped in front of her.

    Neck bent forward, Apollyon''s face was near hers that they were almost kissing when he murmured, "Why are you challenging my mother without my consent?"

    "Have you forgotten that I am your husband?" He used her, but she never looked away because she knew they weren''t true deep inside. "You don''t listen to me or do what I say." Apollyon shook his head in regret, and the warning tone in his voice vanished. "Did you forget that you are pregnant with our heir? Don''t you care about our child at all?"

    She took half a minute to answer as she let that sink in.

    "I care about her, Apollyon." Their heir was her everything. "This is why I am doing this."

    His cold, hard eyes seem to soften. "If you want Princess Ourania killed, I would have done it for you and kept it a secret."

    "And what? Have you imprisoned by the Summer Courts?"

    "We will not be sent to the prison-house," Apollyon replied. But, just like what they did in the Spring Courts, he wouldn''t allow themselves to be caught. "We are already gone, escaping the Summer Realm to look for that god damned fruit we need to remove Lilith''s attachment to your physical vessel."

    "How do we search for the fruit if we can''t find the Tree of Four Seasons? You see. This is the only way to find out the fruit''s location in your mother''s paintings. She was originally trained by Hecate to be an oracle painter to find the garden''s whereabouts. The quicker we got hold of all of them, the sooner we could start our journey. You must trust us that we can win this." Her brows furrowed with determination as she said in a pleading tone. "Sloth might be a bit of an airhead, but he is a strong Archdemon who defeated the preceding Prince of the Seventh Circle."

    "I just don''t want you to fail, wife." His lips pressed together as he crossed his arms over his chest. How can this vampire still be handsome despite his eternal scowl? Being married to her must have caused grey hairs to grow on the top of his head.? "She should have chosen me to be your second."

    "Princess Ourania already chose Sloth as my second. There''s nothing we can do about it."

    "I want to be the one to protect you."

    "I want to protect you too." Luna attempted a small smile as she caressed his broad chest. "Don''t worry too much."

    "Every time you said that you always get into trouble, and I will be the bear the brunt of the consequences," Apollyon said in a heavy sigh and squeezed his eyes shut. "Watching my mate suffer is not something I would like to? get used to."

    "I love you, Apollyon."

    Apollyon''s eyes opened, and she held his undivided attention.

    Without taking her eyes off her husband''s smoldering gaze, Luna began to unravel the ribbons on her waist.

    She unbuttoned the stuffy cor on her neck before she held onto the hem of her light pink dress wrapped around her lithe form.

    She slid her arms out of the bell-shaped sleeves and stripped her skirts in front of her husband.

    The silky fabric dropped to her feet, stroking the smoothness of her legs.

    "You can''t make me feel better about your reckless decisions by manipting me with your ''I-love-you''s''��." Scowling, Apollyon''s cheekbones were flushed as his eyes traveled to her breasts which grew heavier by the second.? He added huskily. "Or your gloriously rosy nipples��"

    "Puckering from your stares?" Luna smiled a sphinx-like smile. Then, her countenance grew serious. "I truly love you. I love our child. I''m doing this for our family in the future so that we can finally live in peace."

    "I love you too. And I believe in you." Apollyon cupped her left cheek andnded light kisses on the right side of her jaw. It felt so delicious to her senses that she can''t help but moan in pleasure.

    Then, Apollyon whispered in her ear, "I can''t believe we are betting our heiress on this duel."

    "Losing was never an option for me, Apollyon."

    "You know I can make youe in five minutes, don''t you?"

 Chapter 622 - Sex On Fire

    <h4>Chapter 622 - Sex On Fire</h4>

    Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (July 2021)

    *******************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ****************************

    "You know I can make youe in five minutes, do you?" Apollyon''s blue eyes were twin pools swirling with depth.

    If those eyes were oceans, then she would happily drown as the sirens living in those dark pupils hypnotize her with their songs of passion and desire.

    They would grab her ankles while they drag her down to the bottom.

    To explore the unknown.

    She would ept her fate with a smile on her lips.

    Without taking his eyes off her, Apollyon raised a hand to her silver strands of hair falling like curtains.

    Slowly...

    Oh, so slowly, he tucked the wayward threads behind the shell of her hair before his hand dropped to her shoulder.

    She hunched over without meaning to, and her cheeks flushed with warmth.

    Apollyon''s fingers lightly stroking the length of her arm as he clutched her warm hand in his grasp and squeezed them.

    His feather-like caress felt ticklish that she couldn''t help but shiver as they continued to stare into each other''s eyes.

    She thought the sudden shift of hot and cold bringing chaos to her senses was thest symptom of her excitement, and she changed her mind.

    Now, all her blood rushed through her core as erotic heat pooled between her thighs.

    It had been a long time since she shared sexual congress with her husband because she was either dead-tired or they were too busy solving problems and removing obstacles.

    At that point, sex had be a distraction for both of them.

    They couldn''t afford to cloud their mind with lust.

    At this moment, Luna didn''t have to think because she would be fighting in the arena with her Archdemon Familiar.

    This was the perfect time to reach the peak of sexual bliss and achieve nirvana.

    "Husband. You are too slow." Luna said, and it almost sounded like a moan as she watched him with hooded eyes.

    Her hand flew to her bare chest in an attempt to cover herself.

    She hated that her thoughts were going wild.

    It was strange how she would like Apollyon to pound her hard on the rickety cot until it broke when she still had a duel to win. "So where is this ''five minutes'' you have been bragging about?"

    Her entire limbs werenguid when Apollyon moved closer and wrapped her in his embrace.

    Suddenly, goosebumps broke out of her skin.

    Both of them were a hairsbreadth away.

    They fit perfectly in all ces, especially down there.

    Her husband''s erection was hard and ready.

    It was a miracle she could still stand when her knees quivered from the realization.

    The strong sexual tensioning off his aura made her feel shy because of the delicious chocte scenting out of his pores.

    She licked her lips in anticipation.

    What else can she taste in just five minutes?

    Apollyon''s gaze fell unto her tongue, and he cracked a mischievous smile. "Are you counting?"

    She shook her head ''no''.

    "Why aren''t you wearing undergarments, wife?" His voice rose.

    Luna thought he would be happy about it, but why did he sound angry?

    Raising her chin in a regal manner, she exined, "Just in case you wanted to touch me anywhere, you will gain easier ess to me. It''s an open invitation."

    When Luna was aroused, her emotions can be primal and lustful of Apollyon''s glorious form.

    If a husband was too irresistible for his own good, all she could think was sex.

    She yearned for his cock to fill her up with his seed, and she was in the right mood to ept him.

    "Hmm. I like where your thoughts are going." His muscles rxed when he epted her reasoning, but then something made him clench his jaw as he narrowed his eyes at her, "Are you sure you are doing this for me and not your Familiar?"

    "What do you think?" Luna shrugged.

    She shifted her focus on the doorknob to make sure it was locked.

    She couldn''t have her Familiars bursting into the small room while her husband fucked her to oblivion. What would Ravin and Sloth think?

    "I wish he could hear us while fuck you hard with my cock."

    As if on cue, moisture dripped in her legs when her husband settled hisrge hands on the globes of her buttocks.

    His warm hands massaged them. It felt so good that she closed her eyes.

    A few secondster, she felt a biting p on her ass cheek, and she whimpered in surprise.

    He spanked her three times, and all she could do was sink her fingers on his broad shoulders.

    Hooking her fingers on the waistband of his pants, she pressed her breasts to his pectoral muscles and purred like a cat.

    "Too much bragging, husband."

    Then, her voice shifted into a demanding tone she used tomand her Familiars, "Get out of your clothes. Right now."

    "What do you want me to do?" He murmured in her ear, followed by a dark chuckle as his palm stroked her spine up and down." Eat you out first before I thrust inside you or.."

    She would havee right then and there from all the dirty talking, and she wouldn''t be satisfied.

    "Just thrust inside me. You don''t need to do much." She pleaded as her hands desperately pulled his pants down. "I''m already wet. Please."

    "We''ll be fast. I have teased you enough." From her husband''s dark chuckle, Luna figured out that he enjoyed dirty talking to a sex-deprived pregnant wife until she begged him to fuck her.

    Her quim will turn into an oasis in the desert.

    He looked down and ced his hand on her abdomen with reverence while he shed her a quick grin.

    Her eyes widened, startled.

    She swore she could hear Apollyon praying in her mind that the goddess would keep their baby safe during the sex.

    Luna beamed a smile at him in amusement before---

    She yelped when he carried her to the cot, and she sat down.

    It might be unstable, but at least it was clean.

    After cing the parts of the armor suit to the ground, he cupped her face and kissed her.

    Luna responded with fervor.

    She knew her eagerness could drive Apollyon crazy that''s why Apollyon didn''t linger.

    He untied the belt of his pants, and his hard cock sprang to life.

    Lunaid down the cot and opened her legs in a V.

 Chapter 623 - Five Minutes

    <h4>Chapter 623 - Five Minutes</h4>

    Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (July 2021)

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    Luna didn''t care about having sexual congress in a small empty chamber underneath the colosseum where she would fight to the death against her mother-inw.

    As her heart beat matched her every inhale and exhale, Luna held on to the back of her thighs and held unto her ''V'' position so that her husband could enter her quim easily.

    Her naked body started to cool from her sweat as she kept up with it.

    She frowned when Apollyon wasn''t doing anything in front of her.

    "Husband." She raised her head a little to get a good look at him.

    She scowled when she saw her Apollyon''s dark hair as messy as a bird''s nest. His jacket was all rumpled while one hand held his erect cock.

    "What are you doing?''" She huffed in frustration.

    He swallowed hard when he scanned her overall pose looked down at her quim before bringing his gaze back to her eyes. "Where is this five minutes you promised?"

    He promised her five minutes, so she decided not to make it harder--no pun intended...

    No.

    She meant that her husband didn''t need to work for it or make him beg.

    She had a habit of teasing her husband and make it look like she didn''t do it on purpose.

    It was a secret Apollyon had no idea of.

    "You are flexible." He stated the obvious.

    That made her raise an eyebrow.

    Luna curbed her burst ofughter and kept her face nk.

    "You look great in this position that I can''t take my eyes off you. Let me observe you some more." He said breathlessly as if he was praying to the goddess, staring at her growing breasts, her puckered nipples down to her belly and the delicate hairs forming a triangle on her quim.

    cing his palms on either side of her head, he gently settled on top of her so that he wouldn''t harm the baby with his weight.

    "You are a work of art, beloved. You are beautiful in my eyes. Always." He murmured as he watched her like a starving man in a banquet, taking her time to watch every inch of her. "I do not care much about what you wear. The most important thing is what''s underneath them."

    Sometimes, her feminine power can get to her head, making her think that she can gain control over her husband with sex instead of the other way around.

    Her knowledge of her husband''s weakness made her feel like a goddess.

    Luna flushed in chagrin, but she can''t help but tease him, "Want to hire a sculptor to preserve the image?"

    "No." He pinched his lips together. "I don''t want the bastard to see you naked--even for the sake of art."

    Her smirked dropped when he fastened his pants back as if he didn''t want to have sexual congress with her anymore.

    "Apollyon." rmed, Luna propped herself up with a forearm, making the rickety cot creak as she grabbed her husband''s wrist to bring him back to her. To cushion his hardness against her softness. "Where do you think you are going when we aren''t done yet?"

    He cleared his throat and looked away. "Five minutes is up. The Familiars will be back soon. I don''t want them to see you like this." Apollyon rumbled as he nced at the ground to pick up the ck breastte first. "I will help you with the armor."

    Luna''s lips parted in surprise.

    "You are still hard." Her constant reminder of the time was supposed to be a jest! Apollyon took it seriously.

    She began to panic when he set his feet to the ground as if he was about to stand and leave her with unbridled lust.

    "Let me do something about it, husband."

    If he left her hanging in the precipice of her orgasm, she might lose in the duel from loss of concentration.

    Why was her husband doing this?

    Ah.

    The five-minute countdown was up.

    True to his word, he dropped everything and stopped to assist her with putting the armor on.

    She got the breastte he picked up and set them aside.

    "They aren''t here yet." She whispered, convincing him even further, "We can do it in three minutes."

    She reached for his prick in case that would help him get ready for action.

    As she felt the stiff rod inside his pants like a small animal, she began rubbing her thumb on the tip, and Apollyon shivered in ecstasy.

    Luna unfastened his pants, and he let her release his cock for the second time.

    She didn''t think it was physically possible that he would grow even harder, but she loved it when he started leaking with precum.

    It wasn''t long until he resurrected his desire to ravish her.

    He was forced toy down when she climbed on top of him and settled her quim above his erection.

    She ripped his jacket open with her extended ws, ripping them to shreds.

    Her ws retracted when he ced a palm over his heart.

    Apollyon groaned when she started doing slow, suggestive gyrations against his hard cock, mimicking the motions of lovemaking. A dance that was as old as time itself.

    Moaning, Luna''s eyes fluttered shut from the delicious friction between their sexes.

    He yed with her taut breasts and stroked his thumbs over her puckered nipples.

    Finally, she got a reaction from her husband!

    "Oh goddess, please!" She gasped every time his shaft hit her clitoris perfectly. "Inside, Apollyon." Her teeth were clenched when she felt herself almosting, but she wasn''t there yet. Sweet, sweet torture. "I want you inside me. Now."

    "Very imperial. Empress." It was a need so passionate she would die if he didn''t take her. Her husband responded with a clenched jaw, "I want you too."

    "Apollyon hoisted her up by the waist.

    His hands trembled as he adjusted his cock to her slick entrance as if depriving him of sex made him hungry and nervous.

    Both of them groaned when she sank to the hilt.

    The walls inside her quim felt like pure fire when Apollyon started thrusting as if his life depended on it.

    Their grunts and whimpers grew louder, echoing in the underground chambers.

    She wanted to disappear out of embarrassment, but she needed toe first.

    Three loud knocks banged the door.

 Chapter 624 - Lucky Charm

    <h4>Chapter 624 - Lucky Charm</h4>

    Newest Chapter For? Highest Tier (July 2021)

    **********************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    **********************

    Three loud knocks hit the door, and they both halted from fucking like rabbits cooped up in their burrows.

    Shocked, she shut her mouth so that she didn''t make a sound.

    It was fortunate that the force of their knocking wasn''t hard enough to destroy the door itself.

    Luna curled her fingers on the ridges of his hard abdominal muscles.

    Her husband''s long-sleeved jacket was still on. Yet, the first few buttons were unsped.

    The fabric near his stomach was ripped into shreds while she was in a hurry to unbuckle his pants to expose his manhood, mindlessly riding him like he was her warhorse.

    If someone would ask her what took them so long in the chamber to wear the armor suit, she could use that as an excuse that she was practicing for the uing duel��well, just in case the judges (the Summer Monarchs) and the spectators would demand to see a joust between the duelists.

    After giving Apollyon a small nod, she slowly turned her head in the direction of the door.

    The simple movement made her wince, feeling full from her husband''s immense size that she felt like he was everywhere.

    Nevertheless, Luna didn''t expect Apollyon to stop ramming his cock inside her inner walls.

    She thought he would go on and on, regardless if other creatures were aware of their deeds.

    "Our five minutes is done." Her husband whispered.

    She returned her gaze to peek at him, "I don''t hear any further knocks."

    His hand adjusted from her waist and settled to the underside of her breasts.

    Her core was wet and aching, still hungry for her husband''s seed to spill inside her.

    She bit her lip and cursed in her mind.

    It had been too long for them.

    Why were they experiencing constant interruption during the sexual congress?

    Luna wanted to shout her query to the world.

    Will a reasonable exnation woulde back to her?

    If she heard another knock on the other side of this chamber, she swore she would go ballistic and kill whoever it was if she couldn''te at this moment.

    They would be her first victim before her duel with Princess Ourania.

    Blinking in silence, she waited as she scowled at the entrance.

    "Are you still there, Your Highnesses?"

    Her mind nked as her mind processed that familiar voice, and she muttered in relief.

    Thank the goddess. It''s not Ravin or Sloth.

    Maybe, Sloth wasn''t finished with putting on the armor suit.

    Ravin must be helping him since he is slow to figure it out.

    The Archdemon didn''t need to wear the armor.

    "He got the wrong timing," Apollyon muttered as his hand trailed upwards to cup one breast.

    "Leave the Fae sentinel be." Luna replied, "Just focus on making mee, or you will be my second victim for strangtion next to the sentinel."

    That same wandering hand of his wrapped around the sides of her neck, and it wasn''t tight enough to choke.

    "My mate is a savage." His Prussian Blue eyes glittered like diamonds in the dim light.? "I like that."

    Apollyon smirked, and she mirrored the same.

    The Faerie Sentinel must have heard their conversation that he felt the need to speak again when nobody answered him. "Your Highnesses. Princess Ourania and Sir Tristan already ascended from the underground. They are waiting for you there to show up with the other Prince. You can feel that the hypogeum''s ground is shaking right now from the massive crowd seated on the colosseum." Luna could sense the inaudible panic in his tone.

    "I predict they are more than a thousand of Summer Faerie had gathered here to watch since women''s duels were extremely rare in this Realm."

    ''Thousands, huh?'' She thought to herself as her husband caressed her throat up and down, simr to how she would pump his cock with her fingers if given a chance.

    "Sentinel. It''s not the ground that is quaking for my wife and me but the cot." He ground his teeth as he growled,? "Give us some privacy if you don''t want me cut you into pieces and feed you to the tigers I saw in its cell on the way here--"

    Finally, the Summer Fae got the idea as he responded in a panic voice.? "Yes, Your Highness. I will tell the rest of the duelists to wait a bit more��"

    The sound of heavy footsteps became lighter in her ears as they scampered away from the small chamber as per the Vampire King''smand.

    "If I hear another interruption, I''m going to kill that someone. No questions asked." His tone was sharp with sexual frustration. If she weren''t frustrated too, she would haveughed at his serious countenance. "It might be rude for me to ask you this, but five minutes wouldn''t be enough. I need thirty minutes."

    Letting out a short gasp, her eyes widened in shock when he dered, "Let them wait like the way they treated us."

    Her mouth opened to respond, but Apollyon began to move already as he continued to shove his cock into her--up and down.

    Luna caught the primitive rhythm in an instant as she impaled herself over and over.

    "Ah! Ah! Ahh!" Every fiber of her being was so tight and hot��especially her quim, and herher lips clung to his hard shaft for dear life as he went in and out.? In and out. "Apollyon! Ahh." She couldn''t take it anymore. " I�� I''m going to��"

    Apollyon was picking up speed, and her pleasure was gaining momentum.

    His teeth were gritted as he grunted from the exertion.

    "Oh, goddess." Luna hissed.

    Their heartbeat drummed alongside their quickened breaths.

    Brows furrowed from concentration; she felt like she was about to scream.

    She squeezed her eyes shut and cried, "AH!"

    Her tensed muscles rxed when both of them reached their orgasm.

    Apollyon shot jets of semen inside her.

    It was warm.

    "Mmm." The chocte scent of his cum wrapped around her like a cloak that she felt like she had bathed in a tub full of his seed.

    "Are you satisfied?"

    "Yes." Smiling from ear to ear,? Luna allowed herself to copse on top of him as she murmured, "You are my lucky charm."

 Chapter 625 - Weak

    <h4>Chapter 625 - Weak</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Chapter (July 2021)

    ******************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    The sexual congress was so hot and intense that she was still catching her breath a minuteter.

    Luna was absolutely mind-blown by his effect on him, and she was proud to dere that he made her feel sexually satisfied.

    Her husband''s countenance was a mixture of amusement and pride when she told her husband in great detail what she liked about it and praised his sexual prowess.

    From underneath her, she could sense that Apollyon''s blue eyes lit up like a child receiving a surprise gift from his parents as he smiled at her.

    Well,? that was if her husband''s parents weren''t horrible.

    "Win for me, wife," Apollyon murmured huskily as both of them gazed at each other for a few more breaths.

    She fought the urge to roll her eyes at him andugh because he might think it was an insult. "I will not ept defeat easily."

    Did her husband had to remind him over and over when that was her goal all along?

    How interesting!

    Luna allowed a snort toe out of her lips. "I would never allow your mother to raise her as her own when she couldn''t even take care of you and Princess Sapphire."

    "Yes. I was surprised to hear her wanting her granddaughter as the prize. I don''t know what to think."

    "You don''t need to think too hard, husband. She was already out of her mind when she attempted to kill the baby and me." Luna''s tone was urgent as her heart pounded like the beat of a drum that threatened to drown her reality, "Why do you think she wanted our baby for herself other than making us miserable like her? I don''t know why she was doing this. We only served the karma she dished out onto us. Nothing more. Nothing less." She can feel her paranoia kicking in like ice in her veins, and it didn''t feel good.? "If it''s some sick revenge, I don''t know what else we had done to offend her when we did nothing."

    Luna could barely tolerate Princess Ourania''s insults of her as Apollyon''s wife. How much more if she offended her with personal acts of violence?

    She was lucky that the Knight from the Fall Courts taught her some fancy techniques in swordy here in the colosseum when they arrived.

    This way, she could challenge her into a fight by putting her on the spot.

    She needed every trick up her sleeve if she wanted to stay alive from two Archdemons.? Nevertheless, Apollyon was pissed off because his mother hadn''t chosen her second and chose Sloth instead.

    Luna thought it was smart of her to challenge Princess Ourania into one.

    She had every right to since Princess Ourania hadmitted an offense to her person.

    "We offended her by merely breathing." Apollyon sighed. His handsome face was somber as he continued in a gravelly voice, "Princess Ourania telling me that she was happy to see me in the gazebo was all an act. We exposed her of her folly, and she hated me all the more for aside from the fact that I am King Gwythyr''s son. She hated my father with a passion for trapping her into marriage."

    "It''s sad, husband, when we let the past dictate our future. When we allow our mistakes, our negative experiences, and our grievances to define who we are. We will turn into someone like Princess Ourania who couldn''t move on, haunted by the ghosts of her past." Luna whispered sadly as Apollyon caressed her? cheek with the back of his hand, "Everyone around her thinks she was insane because, in the present moment, the past doesn''t exist anymore."

    "You are right," Apollyon said calmly as he slowly let go of his frustration with his mother. "I see the importance of not allowing the past to hold us back. If one of us stayed there, it would be hard for us to be on the same page. Even if we are mates who had the strongest bond, our rtionship will crumble." "My mother was the prime example of that worst-case scenario."

    Her gaze searched those hypnotic blue eyes of his. "Promise me you wouldn''t turn into someone like your mother, Apollyon. Let us not allow hatred and envy cloud our mind that all we could see is red."

    "I promise." The corner of his lips curved upward as he put his outstretched arm down. "We had to think of our tactics with a clear mind? to ensure our victory."

    Right now, that old hag wasn''t with them in the chamber, but why was her mother-inw''s name present in their conversation when they just finished making love.

    Apollyon shook his head, determined to stir the direction of the subject to another territory. Instead, he grinned wolfishly when he inquired, "How do you feel right now?"

    "I''m wide awake. You make me feel alive like I have fire running through my veins." She squeezed her eyes shut before widening them in front of her husband,? surprising her with a prolonged kiss to get a taste of him onest time before the duel.

    It was unfair to be undressed in the same bed while her husband still had his clothes on. Nevertheless, she still felt safe andfortable with each other.

    It felt good to spend time with her husband as he wrapped her in an affectionate embrace while she sat atop him.

    Intimacy was an aphrodisiac and a drug to her ego.

    It made her want him all the more. It boosted her confidence, making her think that she could take on the world and ept the challenges Princess Ourania threw at her.

    Anything was possible.

    Limitless.

    Apollyon hoisted her up carefully so that she could get off from his softening prick.

    After the sexual congress, the rush of blood on his sex retreated and made themselves scarce.

    She quickly rolled over, fitting herself in the cot as she snuggled at his side to cuddle with him to make their bond stronger.

    "I feel the opposite." Apollyon''s gaze was hooded as he blinked at her drowsily, "I''m feeling weak."

    +++

    A/N:

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 Chapter 626 - Stay Out Of The Game

    <h4>Chapter 626 - Stay Out Of The Game</h4>

    Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (July 2021)

    ********************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *******************************

    "I''m feeling weak."

    ''Did her husband just told her that he felt weak after lovemaking?'' Luna''s brows knitted in confusion, and then it switched to rm in an instant.

    That didn''t seem normal for Apollyon to experience.

    He was a powerful creature��the Vampire King!

    Did she identally drain him from his strength because of her strong desire to win the duel with Princess Ourania?

    Her teeth sank to her lower lip in concern.

    Was it her fault?

    Apollyon pulled apart from her just a little bit and lifted her chin with a finger so she could look at her in the eye. "It felt like you have ced a sleeping spell on me."

    Her eyes widening in surprise when Apollyon adjusted to the side.

    He spooned her and settled an arm around her waist.

    Her husband didn''t need to speak.

    Luna just went with the flow and adopted her husband''s gestures.

    She figured out that he wanted both of them to lie on their sides and face the wall where the rectangr boxes were lined up.

    Her anxiety slowly vanished when her husband''s lips explored the back of her head and neck as hebed her silver hair with his fingers.

    "Perhaps, another round can wake me up from this lethargy? This time I will be at the top." She remained still as her husband whispered huskily in her hair while her head restedfortably on his outstretched bicep. "I was merely practicing on the first sexual congress, wife. I can promise I willst longer than the first."

    Apollyon''s semi-hard cock standing in attention as it shoved itself in her ass.

    She responded with a soft, drawn-out moan.

    Her mind tuned all distractions as she fixated on their positions on the bed.

    She answered, resisting temptation. "I still have a duel to win,? Vampire King."

    The tiny hairs on the expanse of her skin stood to their ends when the small underground chamber''s temperature abruptly dropped as if ice particles were suspended in the atmosphere.

    Her eyes ricocheted around the ce they have entered in rm, wondering what caused it.

    Were the goosebumps caused by her sweat cooling her skin from the arduous exertion, or was it because someone invisible watched over them?

    She became hypersensitive to touch and sound.

    Luna couldn''t figure out the purpose of this room because it didn''t look like a jail cell.

    At least, she figured out that the chamber was made of stone.

    It wasn''t empty in itself.

    The cot where she and her husbandid was settled near the wall.

    Threerge rectangr wooden boxes were neatly arranged across them, starting from the door to the farthest end at the back.

    The small chamber felt like a storage room or a crypt.

    She squinted at every object in the room, pausing for a few seconds to examine what they were.

    What were important things hidden inside those locked boxes?

    Were they coffins?

    She shuddered as she interlocked her fingers together to calm herself.

    For some reason, the thought of corpses trapped inside made her shiver.

    She guessed they were ancient relics that were long forgotten.

    Fortunately, the guard was nowhere to be found, so they were free to do whatever they wanted here.

    Should they check what was inside?

    Luna thought about it for a few seconds and decided not to.

    It might have stirred her curiosity, but that curiosity might kill her someday.

    It was strange enough that her Archdemon Magic couldn''t provide her a rough guess of what was inside even if she used her power to scan each box.

    Her intuition told her that their sizes were simr that the things barely fit inside.

    Yet, she couldn''t recognize its form based on its aura.

    They couldn''t be detected by her power.

    Luna carefully twisted and turned on the narrow cot to face her husband, angling her body away from the unknown wooden boxes.

    The Summer Monarchs might have dangerous secrets that might lead her to her doom if she were to discover them.

    Apollyon told her that thirty minutes would be enough to lie down on the narrow cot and enjoy the afterglow with him.

    The heat from earlier might have dissipated as they came down from the high of their orgasms, but Luna realized that their hearts and minds were still connected as their glorious scents mingled while hugging each other.

    They cuddled, kissed and talked some more.

    Her nerves stirred and tingled with the need to touch and be touched.

    Luna didn''t care if she initiated kisses first.

    Before, she would have shied away from showing her devotion to the Vampire King, afraid that he might perceive that as a weakness��giving Apollyon another avenue to force her to bend to his will.

    However, Luna didn''t trust her husband before.

    She refused to show how much she loved him out of fear and doubt that he would somehow use her and then cast her aside when he was done ying with her like how a rich little princess would treat her oldest rag doll.

    It turned out that her distress was unfounded.

    How can a woman who imed to desire real love left the doors of her heart closed and forbid anyone to enter?

    She asked herself when she was forced to dive deep within her heart to examine her inner reflection.

    It might be a huge risk to trust the Vampire King to love her as his mate forever, but her leap of faith had paid off.

    If given another chance to travel back in time, Luna would do it again.

    There was only one drawback to the past�� and it was her stupid involvement with Archdemons.? Now that their bond got stronger, she wouldn''t hesitate to show Apollyon how much she loved him.

    She might have made mistakes, keeping her secrets and white lies back then.

    Never will she allow herself to live in guilt from all the things she had hidden from her husband. They were gone for good.

    "Don''t interfere with your magic at the duel, husband." Her fists tightened on the fabric of Apollyon''s shoulders as she gave him a determined stare, "It''s against the rules, you understand?"

 Chapter 627 - The Familiars Reward

    <h4>Chapter 627 - The Familiar''s Reward</h4>

    Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (July 2021)

    ***********************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ***********************

    "Don''t interfere with your magic at the duel, husband." Apollyon was astonished when Luna''s fists tightened on the fabric on his shirt as she gave him a determined stare. "It''s against the rules, you understand?"

    The dangerous glint in her emerald eyes was a warning.

    Apollyon''s hand remained sped on her naked waist that he wished he could somehow find a nket to cover her naked form.

    Her nudity was a glorious sight to behold.

    Yet, the need to discuss other important things regarding the duel made him ignore the visual feast in front of him to focus on what her wife said, " Apollyon. You? have to promise, or we might break the rules and lose."

    He might have a stubborn streak simr to his wife, but there was an obvious difference between being stubborn and stupid.

    Apollyon? leaned his face closer and gave her a sardonic grin,? "I will be ready to wield magic from the sidelines if I caught my mother cheating in the duel."

    You need to be quick and try to save me if that happened." Her thumb and forefingernded on his patrician nose, giving it a gentle pinch, as she whispered back, "I am more confident if you watched my every move."

    "I will. I would be d if? you get rid of my mother? for everyone''s safety."

    "Killing her is too merciful." The dark rings around her irises glowed red. He witnessed the sight in Sloth and Ravin'' eyes before when they zed at him for looking down on the two Demon Kind who were demoted to be Familiars. "I would rather damage her spine and suffer paralysis for the rest of her immortal life."

    "You are even more ruthless than me." Apollyon chuckled darkly as hisrge hand moved from her pregnant waist towards the small curve at the side. "Your Familiar, and I will keep an eye out of Sir Tristan and my mother just in case."

    His gaze strayed from her serious face to her four-month-old baby bump as he wondered if their unborn child wouldn''t slow her down during the battle.

    He already asked her wife about this concern a thousand times, but she only reasoned it out with the phrase ''pregnant women weren''t crippled''!

    He couldn''t fight against that argument.

    She was strong, and she could do a lot more to protect her child.

    "Yes. Help me change so that I could get to Slo--" His beloved was about to get off the cot, but he stopped her by gripping her forearm.

    "How can you be so sure that he is reliable?" Scowling, Apollyon asked in a low voice, "His nk face and lethargic demeanor tells me theplete opposite."

    "As my familiar, he will be forced to obey whatevermand I have due to our binding contract."

    "Are both of? you talking about me?"

    Both Luna and Apollyon were startled when the Archdemon of Sloth spoke from the other side of the door.

    "Sloth."Luna was the first to react, and she covered her nipples with both hands by reflex.

    Turning her head slightly towards the door, she snapped,? "Are you eavesdropping on us?"

    Sloth replied, We have been here in a few minutes, waiting for you toe out of there, so? that we could finally return above the Hypogeum."

    Apollyon sighed with frustration as he carefully got up from the cot without making a sound.

    His jaws clenched as he pondered about what other things they have done which the Familiars heard.

    After all, he had sessfully seduced his wife before the duel.

    Of course, she couldn''t resist him.

    Ravin growled, "Princess Ourania and Sir Tristan might not know what you are doing, but they already went back to the arena and left us behind."

    "You''re still naked, Lune?"

    Apollyon abruptly jumped out of the cot when the two Archdemons destroyed the door he had locked, falling in a loud thud.

    He almost flew towards Luna''s light pink gown, picked it up from the ground and threw it over her exposed flesh.

    "You are not allowed to look at my wife, Archdemon."

    "We are here, familiars, Vampire King," Ravin replied, to which he can only be described as the calm before the storm. "No need to cover up when I have already seen it all. We have heard and seen everything."

    "I didn''t. Not yet." That Sloth bastard had the nerve toin!? "I haven''t seen anything worth seeing yet."

    Luna''s familiars peeked at the small chamber to cover the fact that they were stealing naughty nces on the rumpled dress turning into a makeshift nket.

    It was a hopeless attempt for decency.

    Apollyon''s fists clenched so hard his knuckles went white.

    He curbed his desire to get into a fight and pummel the strange Archdemon because he needed all his strength to protect his wife in the arena.

    Keeping still, his wifemanded. "Sloth. Get out of the room!"

    Her strong voice was slightly muffled by the fabric covering her face.

    "I''m out of the room, Master." Sloth answered in amusement. "No one told me not to open the door either."

    "Stay outside and close the door!"

    "Please put on the? ted armor, Amare, unless you want to battle with Princess Ourania naked."

    Apollyon''s shoulder tensed, giving Ravin an intense glower as he advanced towards him, but his wife quickly solved everything.

    "Shut up for ten minutes, Ravin." His wife swatted the fabric over her head so that she could re at the Archdemon of Gluttony, who stood on the other side of the door, never crossing the threshold.

    A huge smile cracked Sloth''s countenance as he nced at Ravin, who had gone mute before ncing at Luna. "You didn''t shut me up."

    The Archdemon of Gluttony pressed his lips in annoyance as he had his arms crossed over his chest.

    "I had a mission for you, Sloth."

    Luna rose from the cot with caution, so she didn''t sh anything to her Familiars. "If you managed to decapitate Sir Tristan in this duel, I would allow you to y with the bees on the apiary for an hour without my supervision."

 Chapter 628 - Secret Boxes

    <h4>Chapter 628 - Secret Boxes</h4>

    Newest Chapter For Highest Chapter (August 2021)

    *******************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ******************************

    Apollyon squinted at both Familiars as he gave them a hard smile.

    His beloved might not notice this, but Apollyon could sense Ravin''s fury from his stiff posture, eye twitch, clenched jaw as his cold, hard stare glittered towards him than anyone else.

    The powerful tension on his limbs was an indication of his need tosh out at something.

    Nevertheless, he used every ounce of his self-control.

    If he did that, his wife would punish the Familiar and put him in his rightful ce.

    In the past, Apollyon was jealous of other men circling his wife, like how the others gravitate towards the sun.

    Yet, he had no sympathy for the Archdemon because he was one of those pathetic men who imed women who already had a mate waiting for them at their bedchamber.

    He scanned his Archdemon rival from head to toe with the look of utter disdain.

    It was clear from Ravin''s reaction that he desired Apollyon''s wife for himself.

    Yet, a mere Familiar could never act upon those desires even if the man imed that he was one of the husbands.

    The Archdemon of Gluttony might wear an inscrutable expression to conceal that strong emotion.

    Still, he knew that Ravin was jealous about him apanying his wife everywhere, wishing it was him in his ce.

    It served him right that the Archdemon Prince in Hell was reduced to a mere ve.

    "I had a mission for you, Sloth." Luna rose from the cot with caution, so she didn''t sh anything to her Familiars.

    He strode towards his beloved, stood in front of her, effectively hiding her from theirscivious gazes.

    As she settled her feet to the ground, Luna remained seated and said, "If you managed to decapitate Sir Tristan in this duel, I would allow you to y with the bees on the apiary for an hour without my supervision."

    Sloth gasped in surprise, and his moured demon wings almost stretched outward as if he was about to fly from excitement.

    Apollyon shook his head in disapproval as he glowered at the two smug Familiars.

    ''Wife.'' He was taken aback by his wife''s decision that she resorted to speaking to her in their mind link, "You do not do favors for ves, do you understand? They might turn? this privilege like it is their right to demand things for you in exchange for? yourmands.''

    ''I can handle this.'' She projected back to him. ''I am their Master.''

    God''s Blood!

    Too many times, it crossed Apollyon''s thoughts that overconfidence was his wife''s downfall.

    "How about Princess Ourania?" From his giddy tone, Apollyon could tell that Sloth was excited about his future reward. "Should I collect her detached head as a gift in exchange for my momentary freedom?"

    He was speaking fasterpared to earlier, and his dark green eyes sparkled.

    Before, the Archdemon of Sloth was bored with everything in this Realm except being in his wife''s presence and checking out animals and sceneries.

    This was the extent of how much he loved the bees.

    Apollyon answered for his wife. "We can''t kill her if she knew where the paintings were, Sloth."

    "Oh."

    "Ravin and Sloth," Luna called their names again, and the action induced him to grit his teeth in frustration. "Wait patiently for me outside this chamber. I will be ready in a moment."

    He wished his wife would call his name more often than these fucking bastards!

    Grimacing, Apollyon ran a frustrated hand over his raven hair in frustration.

    Yes, both of them were outside, but they could still see everything that went down in their chamber! The door wasn''t closed yet since his reckless wife forgot to mention her Familiars'' name when she ordered them to shut it.

    Nevertheless, he still forgave her because maybe, she just forgot.

    He let out a low growl every time he recalled their earlier conversation regarding the true names of her Familiars.

    Luna must not forget them in everymand because? Ravin and Sloth might decide to turn on her.

    Having a Master-Familiar rtionship will not promise loyalty between both parties.

    Now, Apollyon just had to remind her that his wife had to keep her wits around her during the duel. One wrong miscalction can ruin everything and put both her life and their heiress in danger. Since nobody moved to shut the door, he made it his mission to do it himself as he stalked towards the door and shut it in the Archdemons'' faces.

    Quickly returning to his beloved''s side, Apollyon observed? Luna''s loins dripping with cum, and he hoped that it didn''t bother her as much.

    As he cupped her jaw with a hand, Apollyon raised her chin to gaze into her eyes, "Don''t clean up my seed on your thighs. I want your Familiars to know exactly who you belong to."

    His wife didn''t have any problem with it as she nodded in agreement.

    Apollyon titled her his head to expose his neck, "You want any desserts?"

    His sex was his wife''s main course.

    His blood was the dessert.

    Narrowing her eyes at him, she hugged the gown to conceal what was in front.

    Luna stood up in front of her husband, and he stepped backward to amodate her and give her space.

    Then, she whispered as she kept intense eye contact with him, "You are purposely trying to keep me here. We should go."

    Apollyon reached out a hand, aiding her to stand, and his wife took on his offer.

    He helped her wear the inner padding first before donning the panoply piece by piece.

    The gauntlets and the ck and gold helm of the armor came inst.

    He was about to tell Luna that he was done with putting the armor on her, but she requested to open the boxes inside the small chamber from out-of-the-blue.

    The good husband that he was, he humored her.

    Apollyon approached the nearest wooden box to get it over with since he assumed they were empty anyway, and his wife was merely curious.

    It wasn''t easy to unlock it despite using the mostplex of Fae Magic, but he did.

    The moment he raised the cover,? his eyes widened in shock when he realized it containedrge angel wings.

    Detached wings thick with white feathers.

 Chapter 629 - Get The Wings

    <h4>Chapter 629 - Get The Wings</h4>

    Newest Chapter of Highest tier (August 2021)

    *********************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *********************

    "Don''t bother with what we had witnessed earlier, wife." He regarded her with a smooth and expressionless as his hands were sped loosely behind his back. "I don''t want you to be distracted. Focus on your duel with Princess Ourania and Sir Tristan. Don''t think about anything else."

    Luna''s brows furrowed at her husband''s suggestion. He was right but it was easier said than done, though.

    She gazed down to the floor. "Yes, husband."

    "Don''t be careless and get stabbed by the sword." Apollyon''s tone was now simr to how amander ordered his subordinate but she wasn''t in the least insulted about it since he was just worried about her and the baby''s? well-being."No blood on your skin like you promised, do you understand?"

    ''Or else the Vampire King might punish her?''

    The corner of her lips lifted with a hint of a smile."Yes, husband."

    Apollyon raised an eyebrow before he scowled. "You rarely say yes to whatever I say except today. Come here." Her husband beckoned a finger at her and Luna immediately obeyed without question as she stepped closer towards him. "Now where is my good luck kiss?"

    They already did at the underground chamber.

    Yet, Luna didn''t protest.

    She removed the helm on her head and allowed her insatiable husband to haul her for a kiss.

    The Vampire King''s scent still lingered when they broke apart.

    He smirked and said, "Good."

    Her lips quirked in amusement.

    Maybe, Apollyon was referring to the kiss.

    His face appeared rxed and Luna noticed his mood improved a little bit so she asked him a favor, "Husband, I have a request for you."

    "What is it?" Her husband''s expression remained amicable and she took advantage of it.

    cing a palm on his chest, she stood on her tiptoes and murmured, "Go and leave Ravin to protect me in case your mother cheats in the duel. I will now bind him to a verbal contract."

    Apollyon took a minute to let his wife''s suggestion sink in before he demanded, "Do you think I am stupid? Why would I leave you with two Archdemons while I''m gone?" Snatching her wrist and pulling her away from the small gathering of champions and wellwishers, he whisper-shouted in her ear, "You have to kill me before I step my foot outside this colosseum."

    It made Luna wince.

    "I want you to take all the angel wings from the boxes on? the small chamber and move them somewhere safe." She reasoned out with gritted teeth, "I want to know where the Summer Courts got them from without the angels attached to it."

    "We can do that after you win."

    "Do it, husband. We might never have the chance to ess the Hypogeum after this." Luna insisted as her gauntlet clenched into fists. " Just be quick."

    "Alright." She sighed with relief when Apollyon finally gave in. It made her think that the Vampire King was actually curious about them too! "I will be quick. The Duel Ceremony will start at any minute so you have to givemands to the Archdemon of Gluttony while I''m still here." That was his condition and she was d it wasn''t impossible to do.? "I want to hear your orders in person so that I can correct you if I found a potential loophole."

    As if Ravin had heard her call his name, her Familiar had left Sloth--who was busy waving his hand at the spectators--and? appeared behind Luna, caressing her forearm with the back of his hand to get her attention.

    It was a mere light contact but Apollyon ground his teeth as he glowered back at the Archdemon.

    Did Ravin think her husband would be intimidated with a mere staring contest when Apollyon had seen the same gold flecks of those pupils every time he looked in the mirror when he used to possess his physical vessel?

    "Before my husband, Apollyon,es back from his task, the Archdemon of Gluttony, Ravin, Prince of the Second Circle of Hell, will be in charge of my safety just in case Princess Ourania breaks the rules and cheats in order to defeat me while he was gone." She told Ravin and shifted her attention to her husband.

    In this Realm, only the Vampire King, the Empress'' only mate, had the power over her and she would bestow it to him without exchange, no one else.

    Luna gave him a half shrug and asked, "Satisfied?"

    "That will do." That was thest word Apollyon said before he walked away without looking back, leaving her to stare at Ravin who was still silent even if his ten minutes was finished.

    +++

    The four champions��two main duelists (she and Princess Ourania) and two seconds (Sloth and? Sir Tristan)--wore their ck and gold armor tes while armed with simr swords the men-at-arms at the Hypogeum had given them to settle their quarrel.

    Duels and jousts were the only alternatives so she could achieve justice.

    It wasn''t called the trial by the battle for a reason.

    If Princess Ourania allowed? King Oberon and Queen Titania to interfere with their quarrel as to the judges for a royal court trial, Luna doubted that they had the capacity to stay neutral when the family was involved.

    She mused as she bent her head from side to side and stretched her limbs.

    Both of them will have the dilemma to either choose their own daughter who became mentally unstable because of the responsibilities they imposed on her to step up and honor the long-standing agreement of marriage between the Vampire Realm and the Summer? Realm or�� they could choose to support their estranged grandson since he did the right thing.

    Apollyon''s mother would swear an oath that she didn''t literally stab her in the back and pushed her down the stairs.

    Heat flushed through her body which made her pulse sped up from anger.

    Luna already figured out that Princess Ourania had the ability to lie.

    Since she had the pure blood of the Summer Monarchs running through her bloodstreams, Apollyon''s mother was strong enough to deceive them with her words.

 Chapter 630 - Take Care

    <h4>Chapter 630 - Take Care</h4>

    Newest Chapter For? Highest Tier (August 2021)

    ****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ****************************

    Since she had the pure blood of the Summer Monarchs running through her bloodstreams, Apollyon''s mother was strong enough to deceive them with her words.

    Princess Ourania saw no need to skirt around the subject or throw their focus off from innocent half-truths.

    Luna and Apollyon used their opponent of a certain crime which Apollyon''s mother refused to admit.

    Unfortunately, Luna couldn''t gather witnesses since Princess Ourania and Cano led her to an unknown dimension.

    The derangeddy had the f*cking audacity to deny her usations when she was guilty!

    With gritted teeth, she glowered at Princess Ourania and Sir Tristan practicing at the farthest fringe of the arena while she flexed her arm, swinging her swords over and over as if she was slicing through the air.

    She barely noticed Ravin standing close to her with his legs in a wide stance, observing her with arms crossed over his chest.

    When the Summer Monarchs arrived at the Colosseum to witness a? rare duel between female royalties, the Commander of the Faerie Sentinel informed the King and Queen of the Summer Courts about the duel.

    King Oberon and Queen Titania were made aware of the conflict since they would stand as the judge.

    In Luna''s opinion,? a solemn affirmation uttered in front of the Summer Court Trial against Princess Ourania will be ineffective due to possible perjury and maniption of the ruling nobility who favored the Summer Princesspared to a Vampire King from another foreignnd.

    This was the reason why she was determined to win the duel, and she trusted Sloth to do his rightful mission.

    Speaking of the devil,? his scatterbrained Familiar noticed toote that he was all alone at the center as he slowly spun around, his gaze taking in the entire colosseum and the thousands of Fae spectators arriving like swarming ants searching for empty seats to settle.

    Sloth had already twirled in his ce about three times before he saw her with Ravin.

    The Familiar ran in their direction like an eager penguin.

    She sighed, shaking her head.

    That was when she figured out that this was the first time the Archdemon schr had worn a panoply because it was too heavy for his tall,nky frame.

    "Here you are," Sloth said, breathless, as he looked around her vicinity. "Where is the Vampire King?"

    "The Vampire King had important matters to take care of," Luna replied a little louder so that Sloth could hear her from all the noise from the Summer Faeries.

    "So, you aren''t important?" He inclined his head, and she squinted at his visor.

    Luna saw his green eyes crinkle. "Calm down, Master. It is merely a jest." He gave her a half-shrug. "I thought the three of you left me here to kill the opponents by myself."

    "Scared?"''

    "I''m fine with killing them both myself." He stated with utter confidence. "I don''t die, Lune."

    "Right." Luna nodded in agreement. "I just realized that I don''t die as well, but I can''t say for my daughter."

    "Are you sure you only have a daughter, Lune?"

    She blinked, taken aback. "What do you mean?"

    "We talked about this before." Sloth nced at Ravin before he returned his attention to her. "How quickly? you forget."

    Luna nced around them quickly to make sure no one was eavesdropping near them.

    Then, she gave him a disconcerting stare, "We talked about a lot of things, Sloth. Please borate."

    She waited for him to speak, but he didn''t.

    "Do you mean I was carrying another child inside me aside from the Vampire King''s heir?"

    "Who knows? I don''t know."He grinned slyly, "What do you think?"

    Groaning in disappointment, Luna bent her neck from side to side as she stretched her limbs. She suddenly had the strong desire to beat him up before the duel even started.

    Sloth added, "I don''t provide answers. I only ask questions."

    Luna prompted with impatience. "The Summer Monarchs hadn''t given the signal to start the duel yet. It will start once every Summer Monarch is seated on the marble seats instead of roaming around and catching up with thetest gossip. Better tell me now, Sloth. Imand you to tell me what you have in my mind as my Familiar."

    "Luxen spilled his seed on you, and you still have no idea if it bore fruit inside your stomach."

    Luna rolled her eyes. "We had already talked about this." She was looking for Sloth to supply her new information! "He couldn''t make me pregnant when I''m already pregnant."

    "I heard Lilith had used a fertility spell before she managed to attach herself on your physical vessel. She had used that spell on you, Lune, not herself.? You told us about the reason why we are here, didn''t you? You need us as your Familiars to keep Lilith on a leash if she got to hold the reins of your consciousness and decided to take over the world through bringing our kind in this Realm. But did you ever think about the trigger on why she showed up out-of-the-blue?"

    "Princess Ourania stabbed me in the heart, which left me feeling weak as a vampire, but I didn''t die because Ravin''s father had transformed me."

    "Do you think that was the only reason? What if it was connected to the baby, Lune?" Sloth continued in exasperation as if he knew Luna wasn''t going to believe his theories. "What if you almost losing the baby trigger her? connection to the physical vessel because she wasn''t attached to you but to the baby itself?"

    "Enough of this, Sloth!"

    In her ire, Luna crouched, closing the distance between them and raised her sword to strike over at Sloth''s head, but he easily ducked, jumped out of the way from her and aimed the tip of the de at the side of her neck.

    In fear for her life, Luna froze for a second as her heart pumped like crazy.

    Then, she realized that her Familiars would never hurt her.

    She straightened her posture, and Sloth immediately dropped his sword.

    "I will kill Sir Tristan and spare the Princess'' life so that she could bestow the paintings that you needed. I would rather be anywhere than here... but thanks for the reward even the Vampire King hated it." Sloth said, smirking, " I will not tell you to take care because I will take care of you."

    +++

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 Chapter 631 - Bet

    <h4>Chapter 631 - Bet</h4>

    Newest Chapter For? Highest Tier (August 2021)

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    "You might think I am weak for relying on you."

    "You are too prideful for your own good. Asking for help is a sign of strength. Not weakness." Sloth mimicked her and straightened his posture as he looked her over, "I am here to support your rising power and guide you to achieve victory. We are unstoppable."

    Azy Archdemon such as Sloth was capable of motivation?

    Luna could only snort in disbelief.

    "Ravin." Turning her head towards her other fuming Familiar for being muted, Luna stated in a strong voice, "Return to the sidelines and observe me."

    The Archdemon of Gluttony went still, his limbs shaking as he attempted to remain in ce to resist her verbalmand.

    In the end, her rebellious Familiar couldn''t do anything about it.

    As she ced her hand on her hips, Luna saw how hard his jaw was clenched from the rage he had for relinquishing his control by force.

    She believed that silencing Ravin would do her good so that he couldn''t threaten her and make her feel bad or blurt out things from Hell that would make Luna or her husband pissed off.

    It was a justified decision, and her entire being agreed.

    Ravin realized there was no sense in putting up a fight.

    After a minute of silent mutiny with his cold, bright amber eyes studying her, Ravin gave up and turned his back to approach the podium where the Sentinel told him to stay with the Summer Aristocrats.

    The Summer Monarchs were seatedfortably in their special cushioned chairs��with their names carved into the stonework of their seats�� than the rest of the Fae.

    The arrangement reflected the social status of the Fair Folk, with the King and Queen perched on the nearest elevated tform to the north side of the arena called the Royal Box, which provided them the most prominent position and the best view of the duels.

    The Royal box was raised above the podium on a dais.

    The courtier arrived at the center of the arena, followed by his two delegates.

    Everyone in the crowd fell silent.

    He shouted loud enough for the people at the back to hear his deep, masculine voice, "Which champions will you be betting on this duel?"

    She held her breath as she prepared for the worst.

    Luna was shocked to find the thousands of audiences had raised their fists in the air and hurled things at them in unison.

    She thought that they would throw stones at her.

    She and Sloth were outnumbered by the Summer Faeries!

    Luna raised her light shield as a cover, closed her eyes and prayed to the goddess that their enemies wouldn''t give them a disadvantage at the battle if they continued stoning them to death.

    When their weapons finally hit her armor, it didn''t hurt at all, neither did it damage her shield.

    The ngs didn''t stop.

    The sound grew even louder as they continued to pelt them with thin, circr--

    "This will serve as good luck to the champions!" The courtier announced with glee.

    "Wow! This is amazing." Sloth''s astonished voice made her set her shield aside to look up at the sky.

    She raised her hand upwards as she followed the other duelists'' gestures by reflex.

    Gold coins rained over their heads!

    Well, it was better than bullets or arrows.

    "Are they betting on us with real Fae coins in the Summer Courts?"

    Heat radiated through her chest, and she couldn''t help but crack a smile as she watched the spectators on the colosseum.

    "I see that people are betting on the Summer Princess and the Knight from the Fall Courts rather than the Empress of the Vampire Realm and the Prince from��somewhere."

    She was ecstatic that at least some of the audiences were on their side.

    Yet, a realization had left a bitter taste in her mouth.

    Did they think this duel is for entertainment instead of her achieving justice?

    How dare they bet on such a serious matter?

    Luna was doing this for her baby''s honor!

    "If I picked all these coins? and stayed here in the Summer Realm, will I be able to livefortably as an Aristocrat?" Sloth asked out of the blue, catching any coin that fell from one empty hand.

    "Dream on, Sloth." Luna put her arms down as she held the shield and the sword in the other. She gave him the side-eye.? "I would send you to Hell first."

    His gaze scanned the eyes behind her visor.

    "You forgot about our bargain, Lune. How horrible." Sloth''s mouth might be covered by his helm, but she could imagine the Archdemon pouting as he sulked, "You agreed to send me to the Human Realm. Are you breaking our contract right now?"

    She blinked rapidly, remembering the promise she made at the boat with him.

    Luna tried toe up with a believable excuse to cancel that agreement.

    "You weren''t the one who set me free from Satan''s dungeons, Sloth." In addition to that, the Archdemon belonged to her now! "It was my husband."

    "Hmm. That answered the question running through my mind. You disappeared from Hell and left no traces." Sloth said.? As golden coins continued to bless them, Luna inched closer towards Sloth so that she could differentiate his utterance from the loud cheering of the crowd''s battle cries as if they were the ones fighting themselves. "So, it wasn''t you who opened the portal to the Vampire Realm? You failed at being a Portal Creator like how Satan intended you to be."

    Without warning, her awful memories in Hell resurfaced from Sloth''s words.

    She immediately buried them to shield herself from the wave of pain and embarrassment pulsating in her temples.

    She didn''t want to remember the horrible moments where she was tested.

    Her only wish was to move forward with confidence, carrying the wisdom she learned from the torment.

    She guessed that as long as her Archdemon Familiars are present, she couldn''t prevent the mental bruises from aching from time to time.

    Luna pursed her lips. "Ask questionster and avenge me, Familiar."

    "Duelists. You may nowe forward."

 Chapter 632 - The Great Pretender

    <h4>Chapter 632 - The Great Pretender</h4>

    Newest Chapter For The Highest Tier (August 2021)

    **************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    **************************

    The sun currently worked even hardpared to the time before they descended to the Hypogeum, meet the men-at-arms and change into their panoplies.

    The brilliant sun-rays stretched its golden arms and hugged whomever it came across with.

    They zeroed in the Colosseum and found Luna in ck and gold armor.

    The cascading heat rose to another level and prated her already warm body wrapped in metal, coiling around her like a snake and constricting her breathing.

    Unfortunately, the sun had singled her out among all the living creatures in the arena.

    The sand on the soles of her sabaton was expansive golden brown and as dry as a desert.

    A strong breeze blew from the northeast, and she thanked the goddess for that, but she frowned when it failed to cool her skin.

    They brought sand particles on her visor instead, and she squeezed her eyes shut.

    The Summer Fairfolk''s coin shower finally ended, and it made her sigh with relief.

    When she opened her eyes, Sloth spoke under his breath that only a Vampire could hear that one could barely see him open his mouth.

    It wasn''t that obvious when he warned her before they even came forward to approach the courtier and their opponent. "Don''t underestimate the Knight, Lune. I saw him train Princess Ourania with the sword when we just arrived at the colosseum. The moment he noticed us there watching them, he changed his fighting stance into something weaker as if he didn''t want us to catch on to his pretentious nature."

    Her brows furrowed at Sloth''s words.

    Did he mean that Sir Tristan was a strong Knight putting on this facade?

    She shook her head at him.

    That can''t be!

    "My husband and I had a confrontation with Princess Ourania. Sir Tristan went to her rescue. The pathetic Knight wasn''t able toy a hand on us." Luna even pitied the faceless Knight as she smirked,? "He was that weak I felt embarrassed for the Apollyon''s mother. The bitch could have chosen someone powerful to defend her antics."

    "Do not exclude the possibility that the Knight was doing it for show." It was the first time she heard Sloth speak with conviction, and it felt like he had struck her with a lightning bolt. "I heard Faeries from the Fall Courts are the ruthless and sneakiest Fae of all��worse than the Fae from the Winter Fair Folk."

    With gritted teeth, Luna slowed down her pace to match her Familiar when he slowed down.

    "Where did you get all this information when you just got here?" Luna figured out he did this on purpose so that she would grip his forearm,? "You never left my sight."

    "I have my ways, pretty Lune."

    That response didn''t satisfy me at all!

    "You? know too much."

    Pinching their lips together so as not to reveal their ns, Sloth and Luna faced the courtier.

    The courtier dered that the seconds who represented the main duelist would also be subjected to legal punishment if defeated.

    Sloth didn''t even look worried when he grinned at her.

    Before thebat, each duelist swore that their case and testimony about the Summer Princess'' attempted murder was true.

    That they carried no weapons other than the long, narrow de the men-at-arms from the Hypogeum had given them.

    The four participants were not allowed to use magical aids.

    The team that breaks this rule will be vanquished.

    "This will be thest time I will ask this question." The Courtier said as the birds circling above them cast a shade on his face, "Will the Summer Princess apologize and take responsibility for the Vampire Empress'' usations?"

    Luna was getting pissed off, but she held her frustration in.

    It was mentioned in the rules that the courtier would attempt a? reconciliation before the meeting even took ce. But she and Princess Ourania decided on this duel at the spur of the moment.

    She couldn''t me the courtier when he was doing this because it was his job.

    "No. Never." Princess Ourania spoke mechanically,? "I don''t apologize when I am not in the wrong."

    Luna scowled at the heartless bitch!

    Apollyon''s mother had no choice but to ept her challenge, or she might lose face.

    She hoped for her death, but that would be too easy, right?

    "Will Empress Luna defend her honor and stand with her challenge?"

    "I am here, aren''t I?" Luna answered, "Courtier."

    Duels were the surest way to defend their reputation through the value of words.

    What was more romantic thanying their lives to a promise--cross her heart and hope to die?

    Can this backstabber face her and im victory through her own skill?

    Will she use Sir Tristan to further her hidden agendas?

    Will she finds a way to cheat out of this trial?

    She couldn''t wait to impress Apollyon''s mother with her martial arts--offensive and defensive closebat techniques--to reinforce her warrior status as an Amazon in case the old hag didn''t know.

    It didn''t matter whether she was her mother-inw or not.

    Luna wouldn''t hold herself back anymore in fighting for justice, honor and vengeance.

    "We will now begin." The courtier took off the gauntlet on his right hand to officially start the duel.

    "All the duelists will face the judgment of Fate. The winner will be able to defend their honor through victory while the loser will be dealt with ording to thew of the Summer Courts."

    "I thought this is a fight to the death,"? Sloth said nkly as he waved his sword in the air.

    "Well, it depends on the oue."

    Luna''s gaze scanned the Royal Box and peered at King Oberon, who wore his red Imperial Robes as he held a staff, while Queen Titania wore a pale yellow airy gown with a light blue flower crown with a matching veil on her long hair.

    King Oberon and Queen Titania can only do as much coddling with Princess Ourania.

    The Summer Monarchs cannot help her escape from the hole she dug into.

    From the corner of her eye, she saw her husband Apollyon approach the Royal Box and took a seat at the right side of the King.

 Chapter 633 - Too Distracted

    <h4>Chapter 633 - Too Distracted</h4>

    Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (August 2021)

    *********************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *********************

    Luna sighed with relief when she saw Apollyon seated at the right side of the King.

    Then, her attention shifted to Ravin, and their eyes met.

    It was a littlete for her to spot Ravin, leaving another empty chair between him and King Oberon.

    At first, she thought that the Ravin was secretly thoughtful to provide room for the Vampire King when he returned from his task.

    But that scenario was a mere fantasy.

    Still, it was a sight to behold to see the two men behave even if she wasn''t there at the Royal Box to stop them from tearing at each other''s throats--considering the immense hatred both men had for each other''s presence--although they shared the same physical body for almost a millennium.

    Her brows furrowed as her left hand slightly eased her hold on the hilt of her sword.

    Perhaps, Ravin didn''t want to engage with the Summer King, so he created distance.

    If someone from the Royal Box initiated small talks with him, well��that would be awkward. Everyone in that tform might assume that Luna and Apollyon had brought an impertinent Prince from some Realm to their Kingdom as their guest.

    They would think that Ravin''s silence meant that he was too high and mighty and couldn''t be bothered to talk and answer questions.

    That might get him into hot waters, especially if King Oberon was in a bad disposition.

    She grimaced in regret, taken aback by her choice to silence his other Familiar.

    Hopefully, this duel wouldn''tst for more than ten minutes.

    Despite their separation, Luna could tell that her husband''s eyes were on her.

    He talked to King Oberon, whose upper body was slightly turned towards her husband as he ced his forearms on the armrest, listening and asionally nodding at Apollyon''s words.

    She didn''t know what the conversation was about since she was too far from their location to hear them.

    Apollyon''s posture was the tensest out of all the spectators in the Royal Box since he didn''t lean against the cushioned backrest.

    Lost in her husband''s gaze, the creatures around her slowly disappeared like a mirage from the corners of her vision, leaving the two of them in their own world.

    ''You''re quick, Apollyon.'' Lunamunicated to him with their mind link, and Apollyon''s shoulders jolted as if startled by the rity of her voice echoing in his brain.

    She realized that her powers became more intense the instant she acquired two Familiars��as if their presence boosted her strength as an Archdemon in this Material Realm.

    ''I have to be quick, or else I couldn''t keep an eye on you. '' Apollyon projected his thoughts to her in an unyielding tone. ''Ravin might be your Familiar, but I don''t trust any of them with your life.'' Now, she knew he was still miffed by her suggestion as he moved the angel wings to another location in a hurry! She bit her lip. ''You should only trust in me.''

    There was a fluttery feeling in her chest when he said that.

    ''I do trust you, husband. You are the only one I know who can steal the hidden Angel Wings from the Hypogeum without Ravin and Sloth knowing.'' She exined.

    Who knew what they would do with the angel wings if they found out about them?

    They might use them for spells to break free from the binding contract, simr to how the Summer Courts had utilized them for reasons unknown.

    Did they found a way to kill the angel whose wings they belonged to?

    ''The Archdemons must not know about the wings yet. They might use that to their advantage.'' He said. ''We will let them know if we are more certain of their loyalty as your Familiars.''

    ''They have mastery of all kinds of Magic in the Spiritual Realm.'' Luna told him.

    ''Then, we will corrode their true identities as Archdemons from Hell.''

    She didn''t know if they can manage to pull that off when their demonic identities were engraved deep inside their soul for thousands of years that no one, not even their Master, could mess with them.

    ''Where did you put the angel wings?''

    ''Focus on your duel, beloved, or I might think you are too obsessed with me here in the Royal Box even to concentrate.''

    ''Huh.'' Luna''s eyes narrowed at Apollyon before her lips quirked in amusement. ''You are the one who is too obsessed with me.''

    Raising her chin haughtily, Luna sent Apollyon some snippets of naughty memories of what they did at the underground chamber.

    As she sensed Apollyon''s unbidden sexual excitement, her sphinx-like grin widened, even more, when her husband spread his legs apart to amodate his--

    "Lune."

    Everything happened so fast.

    The fuller of a sword nged oh her ''pauldron'' once, and she almost jumped, thinking that one of their opponents already attacked her.

    It turned out it was just Sloth.

    One of these days, the Archdemon can give her a heart attack!

    ''Stop making goo-goo eyes with? the Vampire King." Her breathing had elerated from the shock. "Get ready. The courtier is about to pick up the gauntlet."

    Yes, the courtier had already dropped the gauntlet, which signalled the official start of the duel.

    Luna had discussed the angel wings with her husband that she couldn''t hear the rest of the courtier''s instructions as he waved the light spear in his grasp.

    Two of his delegates dodged and danced away from his attack in a yful reenactment around the gauntlet buried in the sand.

    Was this some sort of a ceremony?

    Alert, her muscles tightened with readiness from Sloth''s caution when the courtier bent over, his thick shoulder-length brown hair covering his face.

    The moment he picked the gauntlet up and raised it in the air, bright blue lights burst above them.

    She saw Sir Tristan closing in on her with his sword raised over his shoulder, preparing to strike.

    The Knight had picked her as his first target.

 Chapter 634 - The Second Duel

    <h4>Chapter 634 - The Second Duel</h4>

    Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (August 2021)

    ******************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ******************************

    Sir? Tristan was charged for Luna, and she ran backward while facing him.

    The knight was fast, but she was faster than her motion created a mini-sandstorm in the arena. Yet, despite the haze and the dust particles infiltrating her visor, her eyes were wide open, not daring to lose their opponent out of her sight.

    Sir Tristan halted, and she also did.

    Luna heard him cough, but she didn''t attack yet, searching for the right position to stage a surprise attack.

    Her legs widened in a fighting stance as one foot stepped forward.

    Their battle was almost simr to dance as she watched his movements mirroring hers.

    They circled one another as they gripped their swords.

    Luna gave him, which radiated superiority to intimidate him.

    If Apollyon was her second, her husband might have told her that it was too early to celebrate victory when she hadn''t brought Sir Tristan down to his knees, but she couldn''t help but smirk.

    In this duel, she got the upper hand.

    She was that sure.

    Luna didn''t even bother searching the arena for the Archdemon Familiar, wondering if he had alreadynded a blow to Princess Ourania because she trusted him enough that he had kept her at bay. At the same time, she focused on the Knight from the Fall Courts.

    Sloth had warned her about the pretentious Knight��her future father-inw�� if she didn''t kill him first.

    Sir? Tristan chasing her as his first target instead of Sloth?

    How cowardly of his to chase after a woman first.

    She grinned sardonically.

    If Sir Tristan thought that she was weak and a vulnerable Empress,? then he thought wrong.

    She will let him have her but only for a bit��just enough for her to y with him.

    Nobody had inflicted first blood yet.

    The pressure had already taken a toll on her.

    Instead of making her anxious, it made her scowl at the Knight with determination.

    Her muscles rxed as she lulled Sir Tristan to a false sense of security.

    This made the Knight pursue her with aggression.

    Her outstretched hand shot pierced her narrow de to the Knight''s chest, but she wasn''t able to reach him.

    It was either she finessed out of the way as he retreated as if he had predicted it, or her arm wasn''t long enough.

    The Knight shed his sword to her forearm with blinding speed, but she was able to lift her small shield in a second to block him.

    Then, as she infused more strength in her arm, she stepped forward and lunged at him to deliver the blow.

    She drew momentum with a jump, pushing him so that he would fall helplessly to the ground, but? Sir Tristan was able to retreat.

    As she bounced to the balls of her feet, Luna cursed the Knight when she realized he was able to hold his own as he parried at her, she gave him another powerful strike that almost sent him flying backward, but he still stood his ground in defense.

    His feet were anchored to the ground like a rock.

    Luna gritted her teeth in frustration when he blocked her next attacks.

    Sir Tristan was a force to be reckoned with despite her having Archdemon strength.

    She guessed she just had to wear him off.

    She slid forward to sh at the arm which held his de, but he slightly turned to intercept her weapon with the shield.

    Her foot stomped hard on his foot that the metal should be enough to crush his toes, forcing him to lose bnce.

    Luna decided to quit relying on her sword and kneed him in the groin.

    Then, she raised her sword to execute a stab.

    Sir Tristan could only duck low.

    Suddenly, Luna felt dizzy, and her limbs were tired and trembling like she was about to fall asleep.

    She couldn''t move a muscle, nor could she think clearly about her next step.

    There was this painful tightness in her throat.

    Everything happened in slow motion.

    She was breathing harder.

    Luna felt like she had lost control over her physical body as if someone had sucked the energy out of her.

    Her entire being was wrapped in this toxic miasma of negativity simr to a demon.

    She was hurt, battered and bruised like a decaying trunk of a tree.

    Luna was an Archdemon, so she can recognize the magic that was drawn from Hell.

    Yet, this was different.

    The ground shook as it seeped her life force from the top of her head down to the soles of her feet.

    Her demonic senses perceived that it came from nature.

    So why did the arena smell earthy��the kind of scent where the gentle rain had saturated the dry soil from dusk till dawn?

    Luna wrinkled his nose as she breathed.

    Her flesh and bones turned sore as green spots clouded her vision.

    Something tickled his nostrils, and she almost sneezed from the spores permeating in the atmosphere.

    The ground exploded, and the sand floated in the air before she could figure out what had urred.

    She coughed uncontrobly as the tiny granules infiltrated their lungs.

    Her brows furrowed in confusion.

    Was this a fungi attack?

    Sir Tristan''s face was so close that for the first time and Luna slowly blinked, witnessing the color of his eyes from the visor.

    They were blue-green simr to a? deep beautifulgoon that only hides a cutthroat, pretentious and sly,petitive fox like Apollyon''s cruel mother.

    She would have thought that this was the first and thest moment she would witness how Princess Ourania''s fiance looked like despite wearing that bronze helm he had since he arrived from the Fall Courts.

    Sir Tristan was able to regain his footing as he swiftly moved to the left.

    Her consciousness withdrew in and out from the reality that she was about to get killed.

    She could only stab her sword on the ground so that she could have something to lean on and keep upright.

    Taking the offensive, Luna could hear the Knight chuckle darkly as his sword''s edge aimed to cut at her torso.

 Chapter 635 - My Champion Is A Maniac

    <h4>Chapter 635 - My Champion Is A Maniac</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (August 2021)

    **************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    **************************

    Apollyon noticed that something was amiss with his wife but the ground erupted from out-of-the-blue.

    No!

    That wasn''t the only reason.

    Squinting, he stood up from his chair at the Royal Box, hoping that could give him a clearer view.

    The grains of sand danced with the wind like a shape-shifting fabric of turbulence which made them lose the ability to see ahead since their vision was obstructed by the explosion.

    As the wind gathered at the arena, even more, the brilliant blue sky above the colosseum dulled into golden dust.

    "Luna!" Apollyon bellowed as he called his wife''s name to see if she was alright.

    His heart started to burn when he heard no response.

    He ran a jerky hand through his hair and closed his eyes.

    With bared teeth, Apollyon was about to teleport inside the arena but he couldn''t.

    His eyes opened again to focus on the barriers around the colosseum.

    It was blocking any outer resources of magic from the spectators.

    It was too thick and potent that he found it hard to interfere.

    "Return to your seat, Vampire King." King Oberon said. "Nobody is allowed to interfere in the duel."

    "My wife is in trouble!" His hands were fisted as he loomed over the Summer King. "She got the upper hand over Sir Tristan but someone is using magic on her as an attempt to make her lose."

    That was thest thing he had seen before another gust of strong wind blew loose sand and dirt from the surface.

    The dust rose to the highest tier of the colosseum��the Aristocrat''s Podium and the Royal Box��that everyone in there had to cover their faces beneath their cors.

    Some of the women were luckier since they had a scarf around their neck to cover their nose and mouth from the dirt as the Faerie Sentinels guarding the Royal Box kept them under control with Fae Magic for the Summer Monarchs.

    At least, he could still sense their mental link so he was certain she was alive, however, he had no idea about her condition.

    "It''s just your imagination" The King responded calmly as he kept his gaze focused on the arena as if he didn''t mind the disturbance around them.

    "Magic isn''t allowed." Speechless, Apollyon''s mouth parted in disgust as he glowered at King Oberon.

    His grandfather dared to say that to his face when it was clear as day that someone at the arena had cheated!

    Their opponents were the only culprit��Princess Ourania and Sir Tristan. "The courtier hadn''t dered anyone using magic to win the duel."

    He growled, "But��"

    He halted when King Oberon gave him a death re as he inclined his head at him. "You have no proof."

    Apollyon said with conviction, "I will have proof if I am actually there."

    This time Queen Titania had interfered, "Obey your grandfather, Apollyon, and just watch the arena."

    ***************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ***************************

    As Sir Tristan moved in for the kill, Luna squeezed her eyes shut, resigning everything to fate.

    Her legs weakened as she fell to the ground.

    The next thing she heard was the sound of swords shing thrice followed by the scent of Fae blood permeating in the atmosphere.

    When she opened them again, she found Sloth''s head emerging where Sir Tristan''s head should have been.

    She realized in shock that the Archdemon Familiar had shed his sword on Sir Tristan''s neck and sessfully beheaded him.

    The entire colosseum fell silent when the Fall Knight''s headless bodynded on the ground on the dull thud.

    "Sloth." Luna''s hands were trembling as she quickly pulled the helm from her head.

    Her lips quivered in a mumble as she peered at the Knight''s detached head rolling at the bloody sand.

    "What the fuck did you do?!"

    Her Archdemon Familiar let go of his bloody sword and shield to remove his helm��only to reveal a messy blond hair and a smile that was cold and void.

    Evil.

    A sort of emptiness that cared whether one had suffered from the conscience of his actions.

    "I? am slow in normal situations, Lune." His forefinger raised her chin to make her look at him, "From what purpose do I conserve my energy for?"

    Ravin and Apollyon appeared beside her in an instant and Sloth took a step backward, creating as much distance between them now that her husband was there.

    "Why are you here?" Luna demanded.

    Overwhelmed, she felt like she couldn''t breathe.? "Princess Ourania��"

    "The duel is finished." Apollyon offered a hand and pulled her to her feet as his probing gaze quickly scanned her from head to toe. "Are you injured anywhere?"

    "No. No." Shaken, Luna shook her head, staring nkly at her husband''s chest. "I''m alright."

    "The Knight is dead," Ravin informed her.

    Of course, Luna knew about it!

    Sir Tristan''s blood was sprayed all over her visor that tiny drops of them prated her eyes.

    What about Apollyon''s mother?

    As the gravity of the situation finally sunk in, she searched for him frantically and called his name in rising panic,

    "Sloth! Sloth!" Biting her nails, she shouted as she looked around the arena, "Where are you��"

    She found Sloth attacking the courtier with his bare hands to gouge his eyes out while his two delegates screamed bloody murder.

    A sudden coldness hit her core and she froze with her mouth hanging open.

    The Archdemon of Slothughed like a maniac as he cupped the bloody eyeballs in his hand before he shoved them in his mouth.

    Luna felt like she was trapped in her own house of horrors��one that she should have gotten used to as an Archdemon.

    Apollyon tried to block the savage Archdemon from her view when he saw her reaction. Yet, her fingers dug at his shoulders to stop him from trying.

    "He is not a Prince from this Realm!"? Someone yelled from the second tier reserved for the high-ranking Faerie Sentinels. "That man is a savage demon from Hell."

    Her second raised his gaze to the spectators after hearing that.

    His forest green eyes sparkled as if it was apliment, reflecting a sick form of joy by his cruelty.

    Slothughed. "Will using a spoon and fork would not make me a savage in your eyes then?"

    +++

    A/N:

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    Don''t force yourself to spend if you don''t have it in your ount!

 Chapter 636 - Justice

    <h4>Chapter 636 - Justice</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (August 2021)

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    Archdemon Empress Luna

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    "Will using a spoon and fork would not make me a savage in your eyes then?" Slothughed like the maniac that he was, and she didn''t know how to react. "It''s either you are on our side, or? you die."

    His hand, his mouth and his ck armour breastte were dripping with the royal adviser''s blood.

    There was no hiding that in broad daylight.

    Luna could tell that Sloth loved killing despite beingid backpared to the rest of the Archdemons she had met.

    The Demon kind had no morals whatsoever.

    It made sense that he didn''t hold back when he was given a chance to kill, inflict pain, and cause distress to others.

    Not caring about a creature''s death was their primal nature.

    Slight moisture built up from the corner of her eyes in angst.

    Was the? Archdemon of Sloth so unruly that he even had the nerve to make a pun out of this?

    She swore she would never regret bringing an Archdemon Familiar in this Realm, using them to defeat their enemies. But this fiasco convinced her to reconsider her life choices.

    An ordinary Fae��who had a richer status than those seated on the upper segment��shouted at the top of his lungs. "He beheaded the future Prince of the Summer Courts!"

    With a slight shake in the head and a soft sigh, Luna buried her face on Apollyon''s chest as if that act was simr to burying her head in the sand and forget all of this.

    She would rather turn a blind eye and erase the memory of Sloth''s long arm stretching towards the courtier''s face and holding it in a tight sp as if he was merely wrapping arge rock with one hand.

    After that,? his nails had elongated to w at his eyes sockets.

    Apollyon was a savage, too, but she bet that he couldn''t even recreate what Sloth did.

    Her husband had no affinity for human flesh or souls.

    Not anymore.

    Yet, the horrible image itself was already burned in her mind like a tattoo�� especially when she saw the moment Sloth inconspicuously brought his face close to the courtier''s mouth.

    The delegates screeched their lungs out in horror when dark grey fumes began to leak out of his parted lips.

    Sloth''s victim groaned from the agony when his palms came in contact with the Summer Fae''s skin. All of them helplessly watched the courtier''s soul sucked from his vessel be eaten by the Archdemon.

    Oh, Goddess!

    Did the Summer Faeries figure out that he was an Archdemon?

    She fisted the fabric of her husband''s sleeve in dread.

    The spectators were right, though.

    Who in their right mind would kill a creature by hacking his eyes out and eating them in front of the audience?

    Not only did the victim lose his eyesight and his soul, ck and violet bruises spread throughout his body as his life force slowly diminished until the courtier was good as dead.

    Sloth released the limp courtier''s upper arms, and he dropped to the ground in a dull thud, leaving the middle-aged-looking Fae appearing like an empty husk with white lips, empty eye-sockets and the wrinkled expanse of his skin.

    The scene was close to what she had seen at the Blood Moon Banquet when Apollyon had fed on a female ve''s soul.

    The Blood Beast''s insatiable hunger��Ravin''s�� dictated how Apollyon would live his life as the Vampire King.

    She thought that her experiences in the Consortium would never be brought up again.

    It felt like it happened a long time ago.

    Nevertheless, there was no way that she could justify her Familiar''s behaviour.

    She was grateful that her Familiar fulfilled his mission to keep her safe, but thousands of Summer Faeries witnessed Sir Tristan''s beheading and Sloth devouring the Courtier!

    How will they escape from possible imprisonment if the Summer King and Queen desired it?

    "No enemy in their right mind? would gauge the courtier''s eyes? out of the blue and eat them with their bare hands!" Another Summer Faerie shrieked as she threw her allegations at her Familiar. This time it was a woman''s voice. It made Luna lift her head to look at the Fae. "It was a gruesome death!"

    "Yes, I am not in my right mind simr to the Summer Princess." Giving her a half-shrug, Sloth responded with cold-hearted indifference. "Well, I should eat everyone''s eyes, so you don''t think of me as a savage... or---" Then, he smiled pleasantly at the woman and continued, "-- you could pretend that you hadn''t seen anything just like all of you, especially the courtier, had done, turning a blind eye when Princess Ourania''s team cheated and broke the rule."

    Luna took deep breaths to prepare herself before she broke free from the safety cocoon of her husband''s embrace.

    As he cleared her throat, she realized it was time to turn towards the woman and look her square in the eye.

    "Prince Sloan told the absolute truth. I thought that it was my fault��that I was careless at the middle of the duel due to arrogance�� and I almost got killed by Sir Tristan!" Luna made her voice louder so that they could hear crystal clear. "I thought I was the only one who noticed the opponent using magic, and the Knight almost overpowered me!"

    Apollyon took his time to scan the crowd.

    Then, he stopped at the Royal Box to face the Summer Monarchs.

    "Allowing the enemy to defy the mandate of the duel when my wife and her second did their best to follow them had put the Empress and our heir in danger. Who shall take responsibility then?" He demanded in a loud, booming voice as he rubbed his palm against his wife''s lower back tofort her. "Cheating should be dered as an obvious defeat by the royal adviser. But the f*cking bastard didn''t react to it, so I thought I was mistaken! "

 Chapter 637 - Monstrosity

    <h4>Chapter 637 - Monstrosity</h4>

    Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (August 2021)

    ****************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

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    "Cheating should be dered as an obvious defeat by the royal adviser. Unfortunately, the bastard didn''t react to it, so I thought I was mistaken." His cold gaze strayed to the dead courtier on Sloth''s feet for a few seconds.? "It turned out that he had let our opponents slide so that they could gain easy victory against us!"

    Then he shifted to Sir Tristan''s detached head.

    Summer Fair folk who hadn''t witnessed the duel might think it was just a dropped helm, but the surge of dark blood pouring from the gorget to the sand was enough of an indication.

    A bemused smile escaped his lips.

    The Knight from the Fall Courts and the courtier deserved this punishment of Luna''s familiar, and no one, not even his wife, could have told him otherwise.

    He would have done the same thing.

    "Does this mean that no guests from foreignnds weren''t allowed to conquer any member from the Summer Monarchs because their egos are so fragile they just couldn''t bear the shame of losing in the arena?"? Apollyon ground his teeth and fisted his hands when he recalled how the Summer Monarchs tried to stop Ravin and him when they tried to save Luna.

    Apollyon scowled at the Summer King, specifically.

    "Am I right?" He bellowed that his wife had flinched beside her.

    Nobody from the Royal Box had the answer to his question.

    It was clear that someone was using magic in the arena.

    No des from the hands of the four duelists can cause the ground to explode.

    If their opponent insisted that they didn''t use any enchantment, the courtier was the only culprit.

    Well, they would never figure out the answer anymore since he was dead.

    A triumphant grin graced his handsome face as Sloth announced, as a matter of fact, "Killing the courtier is the justice I want."

    Everyone averted their gazes in false remorse except for King Oberon, who stroked his beard in contemtion while Queen Titania tilted her head to study him.

    He should have expected this, but he was still surprised.

    At that point, Apollyon realized that the spectators were aware of the vitions.

    Yet, their actions told a different story.

    Now, they desired to cover it up by not speaking about it.

    Shoulders tensing, Apollyon realized that his family in the Summer Realm were never their allies in the first ce.

    "The courtier clearly had a preference to the Summer Monarchs instead of being fair in the duel. Only the courtier and King Oberon had the power to stop it, punish the rule breakers and determine the winner if they say so. What was the point in dering the rules they should follow and stalling on that stupid ceremony when he already intended for Princess Ourania and Sir Tristan to win? "Tsk. Tsk." Ravin clicked his tongue andmented, "How pathetic."

    Apollyon quickly looked him over before he gave Luna a questioning nce.

    So the Archdemon of Gluttony''s ten-minute silence had ended?

    "That is not a Prince but a demon!" Another Summer Faerie pointed an using finger at Sloth, still not giving up with his wild guesses over the Familiar''s true identity.

    Apollyon let out an exhale to calm down his spiking adrenaline.

    Gods Blood!

    They were so close to the truth.? "Pray tell what Realm did hee from?"

    "I am the Prince from the Realm of Ghouls." Squeezing his eyes shut, the Archdemon raised both of his hands happily, gesturing towards the sky as if he was distracting himself from his persecution.

    "Ghouls?" King Oberon asked, raising an eyebrow, "Those creatures who ate human flesh?"

    "Those horrible creatures aren''t supposed to exist!"

    "Human flesh came in second. Our first desire is to eat souls. We are an ally of the Vampire Empress. and I am the first of my kind to venture this far from our Kingdom." Sloth said calmly as he pointed at the Archdemon of Gluttony to officially introduce themselves to the Summer Fair folk in the Colosseum. "My brother Rav is also here, and we came from the Kingdom of Ghouls."

    He shed them his pearly white teeth.

    His lies were so smooth that strangers would have believed him without question.

    "We wanted to keep this a secret from the Summer Monarchs, but I guess��. the secret is not a secret anymore."

    A collective gasp was heard from the different segments of the Colosseum.

    The false revtion had hit them like a lightning bolt.

    Face turning red from his rage, King Oberon carefully stood up from his throne and thundered, "You haven''t introduced us to your guests properly, Vampire King. Empress Luna. Thest thing you could do is to inform us what they are and where the hell these Princes came from when they set foot on the Summer Castle!"

    Queen Titania followed suit? as her fingers curled on the fabric of the skirts of her gown, "Have they eaten any Fae from the Summer Courts?"

    Cocking her head at her,? Luna answered with a slight quiver in her tone as she crossed her arms over her chest, "They haven''t. Well, except for this moment."

    Luna broke free from Apollyon to step closer to the Summer King.

    She mockingly bowed to address him with disrespect.? "Your grandson and I made sure to watch over them to ensure the safety of the Fair Folk."

    "She is lying, Your Highness!" A male voice shouted from the crowd.

    "I can tell from the ring of your voice? that you spoke the truth." King Oberon said.

    Apollyon forgot that the Summer Monarchs were truth finders as well as maniptive tricksters!

    "So, you knew from the moment Princess Ourania''s team swore her innocence before the duel that she was lying?" Apollyon stomped his foot so hard that it slightly shook the ground as he snapped at his grandfather''s betrayal, "And you tried to stop me from interfering when they used magic against my wife even if it wasn''t allowed?"

 Chapter 638 - You Killed Her!

    <h4>Chapter 638 - You Killed Her!</h4>

    Newest Chapter of Highest Tier? (August 2021)

    *************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *************************

    "You tried to stop me from interfering when they used magic against my wife even if it wasn''t allowed?"

    "If you still had an ounce of respect for your grandfather, don''t put him on the spot among his people, Vampire King." Queen Titania warned.

    From a distance, she could see her Prussian Blue eyes changing into a lighter shade of electric blue that was vibrant, alive and crackling with radiance.

    When Queen Titania''s dark pupils turned into thin slits simr to a snake, Luna realized that the Summer Queen''s glower became more intimidating and she wasn''t easily intimidated.

    Her skin prickled.

    Powerful, ancient wisdom swirled in her intense gaze as the Queen''s lips curled in contempt. "That also didn''t change the fact that your Empress'' second is a monster!" Apollyon''s grandmother stated as another using finger pointed towards her Archdemon Familiar the second time today.

    She wouldn''t be thest.

    Luna''s jaws clenched as her eyes ricocheted between the angry Summer Monarchs who looked down on them from the Royal Box.

    She didn''t say anything back to them.

    It wasn''t that the Summer Monarchs had rendered her speechless.

    She just couldn''t believe their audacity to convey their wrath against their group for being entitled to justice.

    Her mind raced with frustration.

    The situation was getting out of hand!

    Why were they considered the viins in the arena when they weren''t the duelists who cheated?

    "Monsters? So is everyone. We are all monsters here, including the Summer Monarchs." Sloth responded out loud far across them as he took off his gauntlet and proceeded to wipe the scarlet smudges around his chin,? "We turn into monsters depending on our greed and desire."

    Luna rubbed her fingers on her brow as her headache intensified.

    Sloth was right.

    Everyone was a monster here.

    All of the spectators were monsters for having a thirst for anyone''s blood and suffering but theirs.

    Blood flowed like red poppies on the sand where the vanquished heroes struggle to fight only for their flesh to turn into ash and meet their eternal rest.

    Unfortunately, Luna''s enemies ran out of their luck.

    They also did not die an honourable death.

    "I desire to win for my Empress, and I need to be one to protect her. Being called a monster by a mere Fae is not my problem," Sloth added.

    "Mere Fae?!" The Summer Queen''s eyes protruded, and her jaw dropped in disbelief at her Familiar''s insult.

    Oh, goddess!

    "Don''t pick up a fight anymore, Prince Slo--an." Apollyon scolded him like he was a naughty child whose hand was caught inside the cookie jar.

    From his cold blue eyes, Luna assumed her husband didn''t miss her Familiar regarding her as his... master.

    Not his Empress!

    But, her jealous husband would never understand!

    "I''m not picking up a fight." Sloth shrugged. A smirk was stered on his handsome countenance as he faced Apollyon. "I''m just saying to make things clear."

    Her head turned slightly to her side when she heard her husband approach.

    He sped her metal fingers tight to let her know that he will always be there to support her... or was it stark possession that made him act like this?

    Nevertheless, her husband''s presence as they faced King Oberon and Queen Titania gave her the courage to talk back.

    "Queen Titania, you have no right to call my��." Luna cleared her throat and continued, "My second did the right thing to protect me and defend my honour."

    Then, she regarded the spectators with a feigned indifference by waving her hand in dismissal, "Anyone who opposed what he had done? to the courtier shall descend on the arena and ept our challenge."

    "If you want to be eaten by my second, then please let him do the honours." Luna made her voice stronger and steadier to scare those Summer Fair Folk who were against their victory. "The Ghoul Prince is still hungry."

    She gestured at the Archdemon of Sloth, who had licked his fingers clean after wiping the courtier''s blood on his chin.

    "Anyone? Why is everyone bing silent?"? Watching her Familiar made her more aware of Sir Tristan''s blood smearing her nose and cheeks, and she winced.

    "If no one wants to challenge my wife and the Ghoul Prince, then all of you must shut your mouth." Apollyon said. "This duel is done."

    Her husband bent his neck closer and whispered to her ear. "We need a new courtier."

    As if his other Familiar heard Apollyon''s words, Luna found Ravin behind Sloth.

    She heard him announce, "How about you, delegate?" He picked up one of them by the back of his neck and ordered, "Imand you to announce my Empress'' victory!"

    With quivering pupils ricocheting between Sloth and Ravin, the delegate obliged in fear of being eaten by the older Ghoul Prince.

    Sloth''s made-up story about him and Ravin''s royal background was a lie, but it could have been closer to the truth.

    "P-princess O-ourania is guilty of h-her murderous attempts to k-kill the Empress of t-the Vampire Realm a-and her future heiress!" The delegate proimed.

    Nobody cheered from the crowd or hoisted them��the champions--up in the air to congratte them, and she already expected this.

    After the delegate''s statement, Ravin shoved him harshly to the ground and walked towards her and Apollyon while Sloth followed him.

    The Summer Monarchs were strongly against them.

    She finally figured out why when she heard an inaudible whimper from the south near the walls dividing the arena and the lowest segment.

    The remaining duelist was there.

    Princess Ouraniaid t on her stomach as her entire form was buried under the sand.

    The only thing which emerged was her bright red hair and her right leg broken at an odd angle.

    With gritted teeth, Luna stalked towards her Familiar and circled her fingers on his neck, "I told you to spare her life, Sloth!"

    "The Summer Princess is still breathing, isn''t she?"

    "She is not moving!" Luna tried? to shake him, but her husband pulled her back from choking the Archdemon for breaking his promise, "You killed her!"

 Chapter 639 - Im Sorry

    <h4>Chapter 639 - I''m Sorry</h4>

    Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (August 2021)

    **********************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    **********************

    "You killed her!" Luna exploded, and she was forced to release her Familiar when Apollyon''srge hands mped around her waist and physically remove her away from Sloth.

    Her Familiar had the nerve to sh an innocent smile at him with blood-smeared lips shaped like a Cupid''s bow.

    He stood in front of her but not within choking distance since her husband made sure of that.

    He stared at her straight in the eye since they were more or less of simr height.

    "Paralyzed and dead are two different things." Slothmented as he shifted his weight on his other foot and rested one hand on his hip while the other held his helm. "I made sure to hit all the pressure points."

    Pressure points?

    He gave Princess Ourania a nce of disinterest as if she was a mere carcass of a dead animal he couldn''t be bothered to deal with.

    Luna''s gaze followed Sloth, and she gasped, grimacing at the poor sight.

    "Prince Slo-an."

    She couldn''t even look at the bloody raw puncture wound at the back of her head.

    How much more if she actually had to help overturn Princess Ourania to see if she was still alive?

    Nevertheless, Luna shut her eyes tight before she could angle her body away, reminding herself that the madwoman deserved this. "Do you think she can recover from what you have done?!"

    She couldn''t draw near to Apollyon''s mother in case she was truly dead because that image would haunt him for the rest of her life.

    Her husband understood that she felt nauseous from all the spilt blood in the arena.

    She was thankful that he stood like a warm living boulder behind her as her back was slightly pressed against his chest.

    Fortunately, his broad shoulders were enough to cover Sloth''s carnage.

    "She should be grateful? that she was alive after hurting you, Empress."

    Other people might think the carnage was a special work of art from the prideful way he behaved about what he did to Apollyon''s mother.

    Luna shook her head, feeling hopeless for her Familiars.

    An Archdemon''s mind really operated differently.

    "I have made her debilitated for the rest of her life that she will wish she was dead. You told me to avenge you, Lune, and I fulfilled my mission."? His innocent smile, in contrast to that mischievous sparkle in his dark green eyes, never disappeared that Luna desired to knock it with a strong punch to the teeth as she scowled at him. "I want to have fun in the apiary tonight with? you."

    She threw him a confused look.

    Her ire vanished when Sloth''s request sunk in.

    "If you, please meet me there and grace me with your wonderful presence?"

    "What do? you mean by that, demon?"

    "Apollyon!"

    ''Don''t expose their identity in front of the Summer Monarchs and the spectators!'' Luna spoke to him through telepathy.

    "I meant it as a curse!" Apollyon growled defensively.

    "So the? mind link is very much present between mates." Ravin observed, and Luna shifted her attention from Sloth to his brother, "Howe I didn''t have the ability to talk to the Empress using this method? I can''t feel Amare''s emotions, either."

    "It''s a nk te for you in here, Prince Rav." Apollyon tapped his forefinger to his temple as he stared hard at the Archdemon of Gluttony. "My wife only belongs to me. She was powerful enough to block you if you attempt to contact her through the mind link. In addition to that, you have lowered your status. So in her eyes, you aren''t worthy of bing her husband."

    Ravin chuckled darkly, "Aren''t you unworthy too? As long as I exist in this Realm, I still have a chance to steal her under your nose when I am so close to her."

    Ravin attempted to pull her towards him, but she was quick enough to step backwards.

    "Enough of this." She had to stop this exchange of insults before it could get worse! "Prince Rav, you should be careful of your next words if you don''t want me to silence you."

    "I have punished Princess Ourania ordingly, Vampire King. Can I have the Empress to myself at the apiary as my reward?" Sloth asked for the second time, not giving it up.

    Her eyes widened at his shameless Familiar''s audacity to say this in front of her husband. "I want to express how much I am enjoying my time here in the Summer Courts with her."

    Now, she was sure that Sloth desired to die in the hands of the Vampire King if he kept testing his limits!

    "Prince Sloan from the Kingdom of Ghouls. Not only did you behead Sir Tristan, ate the courtier''s eyes like a savage, made my horrible mother paralyzed, and I am d for what you did, but you wished to be alone with my Empress in the apiary?? Without me? Huh. You do have a death wish."

    "Apollyon. You have to calm down." Taking a deep breath, Luna swallowed hard and tried to defend Sloth from her husband''s wrath. "This�� Prince is a bit childish! Don''t think of him as a man, husband."

    ''The Familiar was not only slow, but he couldn''t properly read the atmosphere.'' She thought grudgingly.

    You remember what he said at the apiary, right? The Prince told us that he isn''t interested in women. He is interested in bees."

    "I can attest that nothing happened between my brother and the Empress," Ravin said, and his attempt of helping wasn''t helping at all. "I made sure of it."

    "Oh, you did? Of course, you did." Luna looked over her shoulder to see her husband''s face morph into astonishment than anger until it settled into a scowl. "What else have you done her while I was not with her?"

    "I am her husband." Apollyon barely kept the growl out of her voice. "I will never leave her alone with psychopaths like the both of you."

    Sloth grinned. "As if you weren''t a psychopath like us--"

    "I��" Her familiar was cut off by a harsh feminine whimper.

    Something Luna thought was dead burst back into life.

    "E-mpr-ess." It was Princess Ourania moaning in agony as her leg twitched. "I��m s��sorry."

 Chapter 640 - Boomerang

    <h4>Chapter 640 - Boomerang</h4>

    Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (August 2021)

    ************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ************************

    "I��m s��sorry."

    Luna heard Princess Ourania moans of suffering, which made her release a short gasp.

    For a second there, Luna was so caught up in her husband''s argument with her Archdemon Familiar that she forgot her existence.

    Of course, she didn''t mean it as an insult.

    The Summer Princess'' pauldrons (shoulder armours) quivered from immense effort as she tried her absolute best to lift herself and turn herself upwards to face them.

    Luna averted her gaze as shame wed at her heart.

    Unfortunately, nobody from their group had intentions of helping her.

    Apollyon''s mother, Princess Ourania, was the enemy, after all.

    Crossing her arms over her chest, Luna glowered at the Summer Princess'' nted spine.

    How dare this murderer''s existence made her feel guilty like this!

    Luna recalled the news Sloth had told her with glee.

    Yes!

    The Archdemon Familiar punished her by hitting all the pressure points necessary for body paralysis.

    Luna still couldn''t figure out how to cope with that because she had to think twice whether or not Apollyon''s mother deserved it even if his threepanions��including the Summer Princess''s son--said so.

    Now she had to ask for maidservants from the Summer Courts��if the Summer Monarchs would allow it��because Luna had to make sure her ears were thoroughly cleaned.

    She blinked rapidly in surprise.

    After regaining herposure, Luna raised an eyebrow, "I''m sorry?" Luna repeated as she apanied it with a loud snort.

    Did she hear Apollyon''s mother apologized to her?

    For what?

    For everything?

    From pushing her down the stairs and stabbing her in the back that she almost lost her baby or�� was this a delirious murmur of someone who experienced a near-death experience?

    Was she in another parallel Realm?

    "What? Is this some jest?"

    Maybe, the Summer Princess finally realized she wasn''t invincible as she thought she was--despite her sword lessons with the one her Familiar just beheaded!

    There were no records of Fae sessfully defeating an Archdemon without the Archangel''s help in the Ancient History Books.

    Sloth''s victory was decided from the moment their opponent epted the duel.

    "Are you apologizing to me right now?" Luna didn''t mean to sound sarcastic as she tilted her head to peer at the side of her face. "You could have spared yourself the trouble if you didn''t ept the Empress'' challenge, Princess."

    "I told you she is alive." Sloth said smugly.

    Princess Ourania''s breathing was harsh.

    She was about to respond, but her lungs wouldn''t allow her.

    It was now or never!

    She should better tell the Princess her piece where she couldn''t talk back at this moment.

    There was a fluttery feeling in his chest as she pressed her lips together.

    This was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to boomerang her rude treatment back to her like a verbal p in the face!

    "You were wounded in the past. You continue to weave stories about your hurt and losses that live in your heart and mind. You distrust any love and connection, rejecting Princess Sapphire, especially my husband. Did it remind? you of someone?"? Luna asked tartly, referring to the previous Vampire King. "I don''t know what your motives are. Do you unintentionally cause hurt, or do you wish to hurt?"

    "You are an ancient Fae, Princess Ourania. You should know that you are old enough to be ountable for what you feel and what you do."? Luna continued. "Stop ming others. You doing that makes you look pathetic. Powerless."? She met Apollyon''s blue eyes as he wore a stoic mask before she shifted her attention back to the Summer Princess'' tangled red curls. "You think you are manipting others by ying the victim. You couldn''t figure out that ying that role all the time will make you most vulnerable to maniption of your own doing."

    "S-top." Princess Ourania whimpered, but Luna wasn''t finished.

    "Sp-are me, E-empress." Princess Ourania rasped, "P-please for��give me."

    "King Gwythyr might find it easy to manipte you because of your weak and cowardly nature, sneaking around like a fox when you think no one was looking.? You are a sheep in a wolf''s clothing. You are not that strong as you think you are", Luna smiled. "You don''t have the strength to take responsibility for your actions. Having you as my mother-inw is an embarrassment."

    Hopefully, this final statement shattered her.

    "So, how does it feel to have a loved one be taken from you?"

    "Sir Tristan��"

    "Enough!" It was Queen Titania who screeched so loud her high-pitched voice must be heard from the colosseum to the Summer Courts.

    Luna was toote to notice the Summer King and Queen had descended to the arena and stalked towards them with Faerie Sentinels in their wake.

    From the beginning, she thought that the Summer Monarchs didn''t care about their daughter''s well-being��that they just let her do whatever she wanted.

    This was the first time Luna saw the Queen approaching her daughter''s side in a hurry.

    She knelt without caring about her soiling her royal gown or making a scene in front of the thousands of spectators in the colosseum.

    King Oberon and the Faerie sentinels lifted the Princess and turned her to lie on her back instead.

    Just as she thought, Sloth had punctured her forehead, her left bicep, her hip and her thigh with his sword.

    Princess Ourania looked horrible that she almost couldn''t recognize her.

    "My daughter had apologized for her faults, Empress! What more do you need from her after your Ghoul Prince beheaded Sir Tristan and hurting her to this point?" Queen Titania''s voice? even rose in volume as she nced up at her in distress, "Tell me, and I would provide for it."

    Luna flinched, taken aback by Queen Titania''s words.

    She didn''t know the answer.

    This sudden feeling of uncertainty was difficult for her to manage.

    Why was she doing this in the first ce?

    Did she actually feel happy turning Apollyon''s mother into a faerie vegetable?

    King Oberon addressed Sloth with his lips curling in rage, "Aren''t you satisfied with what you have done to my daughter, Ghoul Prince?"

    +++

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 Chapter 641 - Unnecessary Guilt

    <h4>Chapter 641 - Unnecessary Guilt</h4>

    Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (August 2021)

    *******************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *******************************

    King Oberon addressed Sloth with his lips curling in rage, "Aren''t you satisfied with what you have done to my daughter, Ghoul Prince?"

    Sloth was slow to face the Summer King and he? simply shrugged, "No, I''m not satisfied. I want the Summer Princess to be hogtied with heavy stones attached to her neck and throw her into the river to die."

    King Oberon pped her Familiar so hard that his digits had left a dark red mark on Sloth''s pale cheekbones.

    Luna gasped at the Summer King, not expecting that this stone-faced male Fae would lose control.

    "Served him right." Queen Titania muttered along with a smirk.

    Every spectator in the Colosseum cheered, marveling at the royal drama unfolding in front of their eyes.

    Good!

    More fodder for gossip!

    "My daughter didn''t deserve? this and your usations!'' King Oberon jabbed a finger at his armored chest.

    Sloth merely smiled, his green eyes bright, as he caressed his clenched jaw. "My daughter might be cold and selfish but I had never seen her harm anyone."

    Apollyon''s outstretched arm shot out between them as he pointed out, "How about what happened at the Royal Infirmary, King Oberon? You were there when the Princess almost hit Xerxes with her crystal spears as it plummeted from the ceiling and this was also how she attempted to hurt my wife. All of you knew that the werewolf was unconscious but she still threatened him so that she could control Princess Sapphire." He used his own grandfather calmly in favor of Luna''s familiar, "Did you interfere to secure your granddaughter''s safety?"

    "That was an exception." King Oberon stated, "We aren''t certain that your mother had attempted to hurt your wife, Vampire King."

    "Whether she actually attempted to murder my Empress doesn''t matter. She epted the challenge, she lost so she is guilty of the sin." Ravin spoke up with a smirk, "You are already ancient enough to know this, King Oberon. Aren''t you the one making the rules in the colosseum? Like the Empress had pointed out�� don''t tell her that the rule makers are? the only ones allowed to break the rules?"

    "I will kill you, ghoul prince!"

    Sloth raised an eyebrow at the Summer King''s outburst. "Before you do that, you should look at your hands."

    King Oberon did.

    Mouth agape, his dark eyes widened in fear at the ck and blue webs spreading throughout the hand he used to p her dangerous Familiar. The stench of rotten flesh permeated from his fingers.

    "People in this Realm can be obsessed with finding the cause of their suffering. When they can''t handle the truth of ming themselves, they me others instead. I am slowing down the effects for you, My King." Sloth told King Oberon who stared at the Archdemon like he was a personification of death. "I wish you well and I hope you find the right cure. Let this be a lesson for the Summer Faeries not to touch the Ghouls without consequences."

    +++

    Luna was a solitary figure sitting at a log in the middle of a forest.

    It was simr to a raised ind of solitude separating her from her husband and her familiars, creating a distance between them.

    The world can wait.

    She needed something more--rity of thought without distractions.

    Apollyon, Ravin and Sloth had granted her the freedom to reflect and contemte alone.

    Her resentment and anger over the Summer Monarchs still festered just below the surface.

    Every time something triggered it, it simmered until they boil over.

    She had made an escape from a difficult situation and she gave herself time to process everything. Still, Luna remained overwhelmed as she swung her pale legs on the cold aquamarine pool to calm herself from the emotional fall-out caused by their actions at the arena.

    Only in quiet waters do things mirror themselves undistorted and she had taken that wisdom to the letter.

    A quiet mind can give her an adequate perception of the world.

    This was why she had returned to the waterfalls Princess Sapphire had taken them to when theynded on the summer Courts.

    As she looked up at the slow-movingrge cotton clouds, Luna contemted her role in this Realm. Distraught, Luna swallowed hard as she fought the overwhelming rush of tears in her eyes.

    She didn''t think that the time wille that she will question her own values��to reconsider right and wrong in her quest for justice.

    Yet, Luna had wanted to run away from the colosseum to untangle theseplicated emotions buried in her heart.

    Why was she feeling guilty about what Sloth did to Princess Ourania?

    She should feel ecstatic about her victory but it just didn''t make any sense.

    ''Didn''t you take part in killing Sir Tristan? Your familiar just obeyed your orders. Weren''t you happy to inflict the same pain Apollyon''s mother had inflicted on you when you thought you almost lost her baby?'' She asked herself as she wiped the tears staining her cheeks, ''Didn''t you want her to suffer from losing the one she loved?''

    ''Yes, but Princess Ourania wasn''t sessful in erasing her heiress'' existence.''

    Was there really a need to punish her?''

    Luna dug her fingers through her scalp as she sniffled in frustration.

    ''I did this so Princess Ourania would learn her lesson.'' Nodding in agreement, Luna told herself as she justified her actions. ''After? this incident, she wouldn''t dare do this again to her and to others.''

    ''I��m s��orry.''

    The sound of Princess Ourania''s apologies was permanently carved into her brain.

    ''Did she really mean it?''

    ''Do I forgive someone who tried to kill me and the people I love?''

    ''Do I need to hold on from this pain or do I need to let it go and forgive her?''

    Her thoughts passed through the present to float gently in the breeze and drift away into the sky.

    Light footsteps made soft crunches behind her and she stayed still because Luna already knew who it was.

    "Husband. Didn''t I tell you? that I want to be alone?"

 Chapter 642 - Reflection

    <h4>Chapter 642 - Reflection</h4>

    Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (August 2021)

    ************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ************************

    "Husband." Luna''s legs stopped her legs from waddling the clear blue-green of the pool that she could see the sparkling rocks underwater. "Didn''t I tell you? that I want to be alone?"

    The tall trees surrounding the waterfalls were still.

    Bright green leaves fell from the branches, which made the forest''s atmosphere tranquil.

    She thought that the roars of the water would calm her soul.

    It turned out that the sound of her husband''s voice would do.

    "You are too silent than normal. I will be more worried if you keep this up." Apollyon''s deep baritone startled her when she finally heard him speak. She knew that the water sshed on her legs was lukewarm, but why did it feel like her blood was frozen in her veins when Apollyon found out about her destion? "Talk to me, wife."

    "If you keep the distance between us for far too long, it may be difficult to return." He spoke softly despite the roars of the waterfalls. "Why are you crying? I didn''t understand. Did Sir Tristan hurt you in some way?"

    "No." Luna sniffled for thest time as she swung her legs solidly to ssh her face on purpose. There!

    That would hide the fact from Apollyon that she had wept.

    When droplets of water trickled from her cheek, she looked over her shoulder, praying to the goddess that his beloved could ignore her bloodshot eyes and slightly red nose.

    This endless weeping will cease, and stability will be hers once again.

    "The Knight from the Fall Courts was an excellent swordsman, and I was careful that he wouldn''t inflict damage on me so that you wouldn''t punish me with whatever you had in mind."

    Apollyon''srge body towered over her, sheltering her from the sunlight, "I am d that the panoply was able to protect you from serious injuries. If what you told me was true, I would have believed that Hephaestus forged all of the royal armors himself without the? Summer Monarchs knowing."

    "The metal was thick that it could have prevented Sir Tristan''s beheading, but Sloth was able to sh through his neck. It was as swift as a strike of a cobra." Luna returned her gaze to the pool to avoid her husband''s piercing blue eyes, "The Archdemon Familiar was powerful enough to shatter Princess Ourania''s helm into pieces when he pierced? the back of her head."

    "You fulfilled your promise? to me." Luna''s shoulders hunched over when Apollyon sped the back of her neck,"��but there are still smears of blood on your face."

    "Not mine."

    Her husband released her hold on her nape when he sat down beside her, "I didn''t state whose blood it shall be." Then, his hand settled under her chin to turn her head towards him,? "Therefore, I win in this bet, and you owe me."

    "What do you want?"

    Apollyon''s thumb caressed the softness of her lower lip, "I want you to submit to me whenever I want to."

    Her skin turned rough as goosebumps prickles her skin.

    Luna scowled.

    "Better." Apollyon''s frown turned into a smirk. "I would rather you be mad at me than cry in my face. I don''t want to see you hurt��especially if I am the cause of those precious tears."

    "It isn''t you."

    Frozen, Apollyon''s smile dropped, and his eyes narrowed at her.? "Then, who is it? Your Familiars?"

    Luna snorted.

    She was used to Apollyon''s unreasonable jealousy that she couldn''t figure out if he were sarcastic or not.

    Luna had ordered Ravin and Sloth to keep an eye out around the forest just in case the Summer Monarchs ordered Faerie Sentinels to spy on them.

    She nced around the area.

    So far, it was only her husband who didn''t adhere to her request for long.

    "Princess Ourania."

    "Don''t waste your tears on my mother, beloved." His tone was a razor-sharp sword. "She isn''t worth yourpassion."

    Luna nodded her head in agreement. "I couldn''t believe that she said sorry to me. That haughty princess actually lowered her pride to say sorry to me at the arena in front of everyone."

    "I agree it was a strange urrence. That admission humiliated her." Apollyon''s hand slid to the side of her neck to pull her face closer to his, "Royals never admit they were wrong unless��"

    "There must be something behind it. I''m not sure if her apology was real. Did she do this to gain sympathy from the spectators to make us appear as the viins, or was she regretting her actions after Sloth had paralyzed her?" Luna murmured as she searched her husband''s countenance.

    "The woman does not deserve my pity." He growled, "Though, one thing I was sure of is that her jealous antics ended here."

    "Husband. They say forgiveness was the key to freedom. But I don''t think forgiving Princess Ourania for what she had done to us would set me free? Should I set myself free from this resentment choking the life out of me? "The events of the duel sucked my energy. My knees are weak."

    The truth was, Luna didn''t even feel good about her revenge.

    She couldn''t even stand to see Sir Tristan''s headless body.

    Nobody wins after so much pain was unleashed in the world.

    "Do you regret what happened?"

    "No. Yes. "Luna exhaled before she turned around to face him. "I don''t know."

    She acknowledged the pain.

    Luna just wanted to cry her heartbreak out to release all of them.

    There was no point in denying that she actually did.

    "Don''t take everything personally, and you will feel less mncholic. Let go and move on." Her husband told her. "You don''t have to struggle or make it tougher than it needs to be."

    As Apollyon said, was she closely involved in this duel even if it was over and done with?

    Should she take a step back?

    Their forms were mirrored in the silent waters below, and they were the finest of mirrors.

    Yet, both of their reflections were beautifully smudged and broken.

    Apollyon and Luna weren''t perfect.

    Neither was Princess Ourania.

    It was time to strap an armor for the next stage of the journey to protect her heart.

    It wouldn''t be good for her to stay for too long in the Summer Courts.

    "Let''s bring Princess Sapphire and Xerxes. Tomorrow, we must go search for the Tree of the Four Seasons."

 Chapter 643 - Wish Granted

    <h4>Chapter 643 - Wish Granted</h4>

    Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (August 2021)

    ***********************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ***********************

    Her husband was patient enough to wait for her to process all of her emotions regarding the horrible events earlier, but she still couldn''t help herself from getting shbacks.

    Queen Titania had ordered a Faerie Sentinel to delve through the sand with his bare hands and carry Princess Ourania''s broken body in his arms.

    She recalled the exact moment where she had stood there with Apollyon, Sloth, Ravin, Queen Titania, and King Oberon in the arena as they surrounded the Faerie Sentinel who lifted the Summer Princess'' body who couldn''t move an inch of her limbs.

    Princess Ourania''s wide and round blue eyes��which was simr to her husband''s--stared nkly into the vast space of the blue sky as her head lolled to the side.

    After Apollyon''s mother apologized ten more times, she never said anything other than that after Luna covered her ears and told her to shut up.

    Luna had shaken her head in loathing because she didn''t want Apollyon''s mother to blurt out the ''word'' sorry anymore.

    It felt so unnatural that it sent shivers down her spine.

    Luna was aware that words would soon lose their meaning if the person had uttered them over and over.

    To her, itcked the sincerity she required to forgive the brutal acts she had done.

    There would be no question that the Summer Monarchs felt more loyal to their daughter, who suffered from the marriage they had enforced upon her when she was young,pared to their estranged grandson they just met from a closed-off Realm whose father had emotionally abused his mother.

    They believed the Summer Princess'' old narrative that it was King Gwythyr who drove her insane.

    She might feel guilty about what her Familiar had done to Princess Ourania, but she just couldn''t ignore the fact that the bitch deserved it.

    She had no regrets.

    To be honest, Luna''s heart softened when she saw how pitiful Princess Ourania''s conditions were, but she hardened her resolve.

    Sympathy to the opponent was considered a weakness.

    Yet, she still had to be grateful that she and her baby had thwarted death.

    Far into the future, her suspicious mind shed her a made-up situation of Princess Ourania luring her in an unknown ce for the second time after gaining her trust from that stupid apology.

    Then, she would stab her in the stomach repeatedly while she wore that pleasant smile on her face.

    Her own blood would spill on the floor while the Summer Princess apologized for the things she had done to her in the past, all the while trying to kill her again.

    Since the courtier had dered it himself from the start and the delegate confirmed it at the end when she and Sloth won the duel, all of the Summer Faeries knew about Princess Ourania''s murder attempt.

    It felt like the loyal subjects of the Summer Realm had already given Apollyon''s mother an instinctual pardon after Sloth''s merciless beheading of her fiance and Princess Ourania''s permanent paralysis.

    Her hunch was right.

    Every Summer Faerie cast roles for Luna and Apollyon to y��the Viins of the Summer Courts.

    They couldn''t control their perception of them since this Kingdom wasn''t their territory.

    The Queen had sent the Summer Princess to the royal infirmary because the stab wounds were taking a long time to heal.

    Princess Ourania was one of the Summer Monarchs, and Luna was aware of her strength in Fae Magic.

    They found it strange that the gash wasn''t knitting together as it should.

    From his satisfied smirk at the arena, Sloth wasn''t merely jesting when he said that Apollyon''s mother was numb from the waist down.

    Archdemons always kept their promises.

    Sloth also used Archemon magic on King Oberon.

    Luna doubted that their royal witch doctors would find the cure for his skin rotting if Fae magic can''t regenerate his cells.

    Their bet healers can slow the disease down, but King Oberon''s days were numbered for his insolence--pping the Archdemon Prince of the Seven Circles.

    Luna exhaled a tired sigh.

    When the Summer Monarchs realize that, they would chase them to the ends of the earth to find the cure.

    Can the Archdemon provide the antidote, though?

    With this blond and green-eyed innocent-faced Archdemon, Sloth didn''t act like the man who just unleashed a deadly illness on the Summer King as he climbed on top of the tree and yed the trumpets in the apiary to his heart''s content.

    Large bees swarmed back to their fae-made beehives.

    Each of them was the size of the gazebo at the Hedge Maze Garden.

    Her victorious Archdemon Familiar halted the trumpet when he saw her staring at him and waved.

    Unconsciously, Luna waved back.

    His lips curved into a giddy smile before he resumed with his music.

    "The Vampire King had already left you with us twice," Ravin murmured behind her.? "Was he too confident not to consider us as a? threat?"

    "No." Luna abruptly dropped her smile as she ced her hands behind her back. "His decision to leave me had nothing to do with you, Ravin. This meant that he trusts me."

    "Where is he?"

    "You have asked that twice. You must hate to be separated from him." She retorted.

    "He shouldn''t let his guard down and leave his wife to two Archdemons."

    "And those two Archdemons were my Familiars. Servants. Never forget that, Ravin." Luna looked over her shoulder before she turned to face him.

    "You don''t deserve to even stand in the same Realm with me nor breathe the same air as me. Sloth might have made up about two Princes from the Ghoul Kingdom and told the Summer Monarchs. Yet in truth, you have no status here." She said coldly.

    "You have told me that, and I''m getting sick of it."

    Ravin''s body was so tense that it appeared as fury had possessed him.

    Luna stood her ground as she tilted her head.

    "What are you going to do about it, Ravin?" She smirked, "Kill your wife?"

 Chapter 644 - Pushed To The Limit

    <h4>Chapter 644 - Pushed To The Limit</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (August 2021)

    *******************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *******************************

    "From calling me a servant and treating me like nothing in this Realm to raise my status as your Archdemon husband? Where did all this confidencee from?" Ravin''s voice was husky, but she could tell from his tone that he was on the edge of anger. "You called yourself my wife when your husband isn''t around. So you really want to be mine?" He mimicked her gesture and tilted his head. "It will be easy for me to fulfill all your wishes. Just say the word that you unbind me from the contract and then��"

    "No." Luna was ufortable at the sexual hunger stark in his countenance that it made her shift from foot to foot. "It''s a slip of the tongue."

    "Tongue?" He straightened and crossed his arms over his chest. "My tongue had sampled all of you, and I am finding the right moment when I could reveal all of our secrets to the Vampire King. Then, maybe, I would reveal it when the mating bond which kept both of you together would be weak."

    She blinked, "Is this a threat?"

    Luna shouldn''t allow her familiar to talk this way.

    Ravin bent his neck and leaned his face closer as he licked his lips, watching her mouth, "I would tell him about that particr memory where I licked you all over with my tongue in the Pleasure Room. Then, I would tell him I left you on the bed when you wished to sleep alone��naked, might I add. Then, I would tell him the Archdemon of Lust fucked you out of rage that you couldn''t be his after an Archangel cut the soul thread which tied him to you." Straightening his posture, he shed her an arrogant smirk, "How about that?"

    Luna''s mouth dropped open at Ravin''s bluntness that she covered her mouth with a palm.

    "You can''t use what happened in Hell as your secret weapon and hang it like a noose over my head, Ravin. I already told my husband everything." She pped a hand on his chest in her anger as she said harshly, " Anything you tell him will be useless because he trusted me that I am telling him the truth."

    Ravin scanned her from head to toe, and it made her swallow hard.

    The sexual tension was heavy in the air.

    She would never allow herself to feel anything for this bastard.

    "Did you tell him about the bathtub?" He asked, "When I kissed you, and you kissed me back?"

    Luna averted her gaze and stared at the grass on her feet instead.

    She let out a mental curse because she would never tell her husband that.

    She had no excuse if her husband asked her why she did it.

    To be honest, she was more afraid of her response.

    "Such a tease, Amare." Ravin drawled, "Just say you want me, and we will return to Hell. Live happily ever after."

    "Do you think I''m stupid? You never made me happy in your Kingdom, Ravin." Her anger was a monster with ws and teeth. Scowling, she jabbed a finger to his shoulders and said,? "I''m not returning to Hell with you. I am not fixated on pain and torment."

    "You wille to like pain. It will make you powerful."

    "Bullshit. I epted your help to get rid of the Angel dust on my skin before they sink into my pores. That''s all." Breathing hard, she shrugged. "Don''t make it seem like we did anything more than that."

    "Your moans wouldn''t sound like a siren''s song to a devilish pirate like me if you think it''s just me helping you, Amare."? Ravin jerked a finger under her chin, and she swatted them away.

    "Stay where you are, Ravin," Luna warned and his feet were nted to the ground.

    She didn''t like the man touching her when Apollyon was not there.

    It felt like the ultimate betrayal.

    The summer sunset had passed as Sloth continued to y the trumpet until the night, which led the bees to return to their colonies and store the nectar they got from the vast garden on the honebs as the mild scent of flowers filled the atmosphere.

    The three beekeepers ordered the servants to nted tall trees around the hives to shelter them to from the strong winds.

    Upon Luna''s request,? thedies made themselves scarce after instructing Sloth how to deal with the bees in the apiary.

    Luna had exined that it was the Summer Monarchs who gave Sloth the permission to manage the apiary in one day as a reward for winning the duel.

    Believing her lie, thedy aristocrats obliged after her Archdmeon Familiars had swept them off their feet with their charm.

    "So, how does it feel to make Princess Ourania suffer?"

    "You don''t need to know."

    Liuna was alright after she was given the time to process her emotions and cry it out until it was gone.

    Nevertheless, she should be more careful around the Princess, or else her husband will scold her for being careless and unfocused.

    Luna needed to value her life more because she was also carrying their future heir inside her stomach.

    "You really know how to y with my emotions, Amare. First, you told me I am familiar. Then? you im me to be? your husband only to dumb me down as someone who shouldn''t care about you." Luna began to feel strange when she inhaled the sudden aroma of the Archdemon''s musk.

    It was warm and exhrating.

    Masculine lust.

    Luna''s brain nked, and her mouth watered.

    "��and I want to care about you. I want to know if you are alright." He said quietly, "The roars of the waterfall might be loud, but I have intuitively picked up on your sadness."

    "I a-m a-alright. Thank you very much." Luna recovered from her stutter as she shook her head to get herself together.

    She stepped backward to get away from him,

    "My husband cared for me. Unlike you, he didn''t just ask if I''m alright just to butter me up."

    "You wound me. Do you really think the Vampire King loves you, Amare?" Ravin abruptly hauled her in his chest, and she let out a little scream.

    Before she could push him off, her husband grabbed an arm and punched him in the gut.

    Apollyon had arrived.

 Chapter 645 - Fistfight

    <h4>Chapter 645 - Fistfight</h4>

    Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (August 2021)

    ***********************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ***********************

    "Apollyon! " Her shrill voice rang into the night and startled crows flew from the trees'' branches.

    Eyes wide with shock, Luna caught herself and nced around the beehives in panic just in case she might have disturbed them and attack her.

    In those few seconds, Luna saw that all the hives were shut. It made her feel a sudden lightness in her chest.

    . Sloth had locked the bees away with Archdemon Magic and she didn''t notice because she was too upied by the brawl between Ravin and her husband.

    Her hands were frantic as she searched for two aggressive shadows in the dark.

    Ravin was thrown backward from that powerful punch as Apollyon stalked towards him tond another one.

    "Stop, please!" She screeched as she walked briskly in their direction, "Ravin. Stop moving!"

    She heard a constant gust of wind behind her which could only be wings which belonged to--

    "What is happening here?" Luna flinched in surprise when she heard Sloth''s curious voice, "I was too focused on ushering the bees back to the hives and both of you are already engaged in a fistfight."

    With his wish fulfillment, the Archdemon of Sloth had moved on from the apiary to the next interesting thing he could see.

    "Let this serve as a warning to you, Sloth," Apollyon growled when both of them moved closer. Lips quivering, Luna held her breath at what she saw, "I will pummel you like Ravin if you touched my wife."

    "I don''t touch anyone''s wife and lure them to my bed like my Archdemon brothers." Sloth replied calmly as he watched his brother being beaten to a pulp with a nk gaze, "Even if I try I don''t know how."

    It was disturbing to watch and hear from the Archdemon of Sloth that he didn''t care about Ravin at all.

    "Help. Me. Sloth." Ravin groaned as he coughed blood.

    She smoothed and re-smoothed her skirts in difort.

    Yet, Luna didn''t quite understand why he still had a smirk on his face.

    ''Was he enjoying this?'' Luna narrowed his eyes at Ravin.

    How twisted!

    ''Was he only pretending that it hurt him?''

    "Sorry, brother." Sloth said as he? raised his hands in surrender,? "I am staying out of this love triangle to remain in my Master''s good graces."

    Luna grimaced with every punch her husbandnded on Ravin and the Archdemon couldn''t fight back because he was bound to hermands.

    Ravin gasped with every hard hit that she closed her eyes because she couldn''t bear to look at more blood after what happened at the arena.

    The gruesome images of Sir Tristan''s detached head and the courtier''s empty eye sockets were so detailed that it felt like this situation had sent her mind back to the past and trapped her in there, threatening to drive her mad.

    Hair lifted at the back of her neck.

    Later, it was followed by a burst of maniacalughter which was unnerving to her.

    Didn''t the Archdemon feel any pain before his body healed from the hits?

    Her husband would be insulted.

    Apollyon had shown no mercy to the Archdemon.

    Nevertheless, the bruises he had from Apollyon''s cruel blows healed fast but then it made her knees tremble.

    Breathing hard, Luna''s eyes were suddenly tired and her body felt heavy as if she was running out of life force.

    Her vision went ck as if someone had snatched her consciousness and trapped them inside a box.

    Squeezing her forearm, Sloth whispered in her ear when her back had leaned slightly against his left chest. "Are you alright, Lune?"

    Her heartbeat raced at the realization and she clutched at her heart to control it

    Shaking her head, Luna realized she fainted for a few seconds.

    Luna pulled herself together and straightened her posture.

    "Husband." With her sweaty palms, Luna grabbed his forearm and pulled him back from Ravin as far as possible. "He can''t fight you back anymore. Imanded the Familiar not to move. You must stop hurting him."

    The Vampire King stopped and went eerily silent.

    Apollyon released Ravin''s cor and turned to look at her with blue eyes tinged with madness, "Are you on his side, Luna?"

    Taken aback, Luna released him as she let out a whimper.

    Her voice was small when she asked, "What?"

    "I asked? you if you are on his side?" He spat.

    The shock almost rendered her speechless.

    "What kind of question is this?"? Luna released him. "Of course not."

    "Are you sure that the Vampire King really trusted you, Amare?" The bastard had the nerve to give him a seductive look despite lying on the ground bathed in his own blood,? "��because it appeared like he didn''t."

    Apollyon growled at his implication. "Shut up. Wife, make this bastard shut up, beloved."

    "Be silent, Ravin."

    "I should have challenged this bastard to a duel after Princess Ourania''s and Sir Tristan''s," Apollyon murmured.

    "Hmm. The Vampire King must found the violence in the colosseumcking for his taste." Sloth observed. "I say the Vampire King needed an ice-cold bath to clear his head."

    She agreed.

    That would probably knock some sense into her savage husband.

    Did he have to do this for a mere hug?

    "Apollyon." Luna swallowed hard as she ran a frustrated hand through her messy silver hair. "Don''t be rash. There are our Familiars. Our allies, husband. You have to calm down."

    Scowling, Apollyon demanded in a silent fury that was as deadly as being in the eye of the storm. "How can I calm down when I saw him hugging you and you allowed him?"

    "I didn''t allow him." Her gaze shifted from Apollyon to Ravin when she heard his dark chuckle, "Look, Ravin isughing. He is doing this to make you jealous." With gritted teeth, she pointed at him. "He must have seen you first before I did and attempted a hug."

    "Calm down Vampire King. It was simply a hug." Sloth opened his arms wide as if to prove a point. "It wasn''t like someone''s prick had��" He pinched his lips together and waved a hand in dismissal,? "Nevermind. I take that back."

    +++

    A/N:

    Did you enjoy reading about? Luna''s adventures in Hell''s Consort?

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    One golden ticket is earned by the reader if he/she had spent 300 coins worth of gifts or chapter unlocks in one month.

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 Chapter 646 - Putting Devils To Sleep

    <h4>Chapter 646 - Putting Devils To Sleep</h4>

    Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (August 2021)

    ***************************

    ARchdemon Empress Luna

    ***************************

    "It was simply a hug." Sloth opened his arms wide as if to prove a point. "It wasn''t like someone''s prick had��" He pinched his lips together when realization kicked in.

    She couldn''t believe that he had the audacity to say that in front of him.

    His insensitivity earned him a disgusted look from her.

    It was a massive understatementing from the Archdemon.

    Apollyon''s scowl zeroed in on Sloth as he took a step forward.

    Her husband found a new target.

    "Nevermind." Sloth waved his hand in dismissal, "I take that back."

    "These Familiars are testing my patience!"

    Miraculously, Luna had regained her strength back after Apollyon had stopped his assault on Ravin, so she was ready tomand these mischievous devils again.

    "Close your eyes and sleep, Ravin. Sloth." Luna whispered as if she was singing a luby.

    A particrly cold breeze ruffled his blond locks before Sloth paused, shut his eyes bit by bit and fell gracefully toy on the grass along with Ravin''s soft snores.

    "I hope we could just let them sleep like babies until eternity," Apollyon said as both of them looked down at the faces of peaceful demons who had the appearance of angels.

    Ravin--with his messy dark brown hair and chiselled jawline wearing a spare tunic which matched his mane. Pretty Sloth had donned a rose coloured tunic thatplemented his blond hair and innocent countenance.

    Yet, they only kept this image only when they were asleep.

    Her husband added, "Our life would be better without these damned Archdemons in this Realm."

    "We need them, ording to Hecate." Luna sighed, "Lilith is not going anywhere from my physical vessel."

    Apollyon took one look at her face and tucked the wayward strand of silver hair behind her ear when it blocked his view on her profile.

    "Can you figure out the triggers you have which induced Lilith to take over you?"

    "No. I don''t know yet."? The fact that she couldn''t control Lilith if she decided toe out crushed her heart.

    The delusional High Priestess had taken over her physical vessel twice.

    This time, the bitch had endangered the life of their heiress.

    Her jaw clenched to stop herself from sobbing for the hundredth time today.? "That crazy woman is hard for us to predict."

    "Wife." Apollyon reached for both of her hands andpelled her to face him, "I would ask you for thest time."

    "Can I really trust you alone with Ravin?" He asked as he stroked her face gently. "That you wouldn''t let him do anything to you?"

    His Prussian Blue eyes spoke volumes, and it was full of unease and doubt.

    "Yes. I have sworn my love and loyalty to you."

    "Then what have I witnessed earlier? Are you going to say that my eyes are ying tricks on me?"

    "It''s a trap set by the Archdemon of Gluttony. He was inside your body for so long, so maybe, he did that on purpose. He knew what makes you tick. Don''t allow Ravin to manipte your emotions. He already knew that I am your weakness."

    Apollyon gave her a knowing look as if he finally understood. "So you don''t want me to react right away?"

    "No violence as much as possible. Don''t lose control."

    Apollyon bent his neck and pressed a kiss to her brow.

    "You are too beautiful for your own good. Maybe I should lock you up so that you would avoid men. That would help me keep my emotions in check."

    His husky voice brought warmth to the soft ache on her lower stomach.

    "You want to lock me up? Do you want me to follow your insane mother''s footsteps?"

    "That''s the only thing that is stopping me, beloved. And the fact that I want to be different? than my father, the past Vampire King." Apollyon''s gentle fingers lowered to caress her nape. "I wonder if you can keep your cool if Lilith s arms were draped around me. Can you promise that you wouldn''t react if another girl tried to kiss me?"

    The ugly notion tied a twisted knot in her stomach as she replied, determined. "I will make her taste her own blood, Apollyon."

    "Exactly. I can''t help but be possessive of my mate." There was a light pressure on the side of her throat when Apollyon squeezed them,? "You are mine. It is my right to stake my im on you among other males. Do you understand?"

    "First, I wouldn''t ever be stolen from you and second, you are the only mate I have in my heart, do you understand?"

    "If my Empress said so." Apollyon used to be stubborn and dominant, so it was surprising to hear it from his own mouth. "I will do what you want me to, beloved, as long as you avoid Ravin like how I avoid Lilith when she takes over you."

    She didn''t want to think about that, so he changed the subject. "Have you? told Princess Sapphire and Xerxes about the mission?"

    "Yes. All of us, including the Summer Monarchs, have met in the infirmary. It''s good that you and Sloth weren''t there, or you would face King Oberon''s wrath because of Princess Ourania''s sick condition."

    "King Oberon''s hand?"

    "The decay of his flesh is slow as Sloth had told him in the arena. It didn''t bother the Summer King that much except for the colour of his skin, so they were focused on my mother''s healing. All they did was pretend I wasn''t in the same room while I called Princess Sapphire to leave Xerxes and meet me outside." Apollyon said.

    "They can''t hurt you since we won the challenge byw. You are their grandson too. It was just unfortunate for the Summer Monarchs had? to deal with the aftermath while we left the colosseum unscathed." Then, she asked further, "So, did Princess Sapphire and Xerxes agreed to go with us on Hecate''s mission after exining it to them?"

    "Yes."? Apollyon agreed as he allowed his hand to fall to his side. "I also heard from Princess Sapphire that the Summer Monarchs would attempt to kill the Archdemons in secret."

 Chapter 647 - Doubts

    <h4>Chapter 647 - Doubts</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (August 2021)

    ***********************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ***********************

    Apollyon returned to the Summer Castle to obey his wife''s request to bring Princess Sapphire and Xerxes along to carry out the Goddess Hecate''s mission without the Summer Monarch''s knowledge.? Both of them walked out of the royal infirmary without any second ncesing from King Oberon and Queen Titania.

    They were too upied with their mother''s condition, demanding the Faerie doctors to heal her with Fae Magic.

    If they assumed that she was too weak to heal herself with Fae Magic and she could still be saved with potions, brews and salves, then they thought wrong.

    Apollyon wasn''t going to say anything either.

    Let the Summer Faeries assume and try their hardest to bring her health and vigor back.

    It would be an impossible feat to do considering what Sloth had done.

    Luna was right.

    They were running out of time, so they had to persuade them as soon as possible.

    Apollyon sought audience with Princess Sapphire in secret and told her about Hecate''s mission.

    He wasn''t done exining, but the spymaster readily agreed to go with them to find the Tree of the Four Seasons.

    It was too good to be true how she fitted so easily in their ns to search for this mythical tree no one from the Faerie Realm had ever seen before after the Great Faerie War, which made him suspicious.

    Princess Sapphire shared in a hush-hush voice that the Goddess had visited her in a dreamst night and filled her in with the details, so she found no need for Apollyon to borate more. Apollyon was relieved that the discussion was short.

    Now, the only thing Princess Sapphire must do was to get Xerxes on board.

    It would be easy since those two were attached to the hip.

    They always travel in pairs.

    Both were loyal to each other simr to his rtionship with his mate.

    After that, Apollyon returned to the royal infirmary to discuss his wife''s prize to the Summer Monarchs.

    Before he and Princess Sapphire entered the threshold, Apollyon didn''t miss the Summer King and Queen''s wrathful conversation about hunting the two Ghoul Princes and killing them as revenge for their daughter''s predicament.

    The instant Queen Titania saw them, the Summer Faeries inside the royal infirmary went eerily silent as if a god had entered, and they had to shut their mouths to avoid punishment.

    Then, Apollyon nced around them and spoke with confidence, telling King Oberon and Queen Titania politely that their group would be leaving the Summer Courts tonight to avoid any trouble and to forget about the horrendous sight at the colosseum.

    Nobody asked for an apology since it was obvious that the winner was fair��even if the opponent attempted to cheat�� and nobody could refute that as false.

    He requested the Summer Monarchs that his half-sister should be the one who would bring the damned paintings to them which Princess Ourania owed Luna as the winner.

    They would meet t the location they had agreed upon.

    The King and Queen of the Summer Courts had no choice but to grant their request and honor Princess Ourania''s end of the bargain.

    When the negotiation ended, Princess Sapphire and Apollyon parted ways so that they could prepare for their journey.

    Apollyon also rummaged a few light clothes for his wife from their bed chamber''s closets in the? Summer Castle, for himself and for their Archdemon Familiars.

    He shoved those clothes in a drawstring bag just in case they needed another set of dry clothes during their travel only to find the Archdemon of Gluttony hugging his wife as she belonged to her which made him ballistic.

    He attacked the arrogant devil, and Apollyon was smug when Ravin couldn''t fight back because of his wife''smand.

    Apollyon beat him to a pulp without breaking a sweat, and Ravin deserved every punch.

    It turned out that Luna never seduced Ravin when Apollyon was gone to tie up loose ends in the Summer Castle!

    The bastard only did that to make him jealous when the Familiar saw himing!

    These devils were testing his patience!

    He toned down his outrage the instant his wife did something about them by putting the Archdemons to sleep.

    If he could wield Luna''s power of? controlling these damned Archdemons, his first order would be to kill themselves over and over.

    When the apiary had gone silent, Luna defended herself and cleared up the misunderstandings.

    He made her swear her loyalty to the mating bond.

    Yet, why was he discontented?

    Why was there a little part of him holding back, telling him not to trust her so that he wouldn''t get hurt in the future?

    Nevertheless, Apollyon felt like a burden was lifted from his shoulders after telling his wife about his doubts and receiving her seemingly honest reassurance.

    Now that his wife made her Familiar''s wishe true, Luna woke Ravin and Sloth again from their slumber and ordered them to keep their mouth shut until they arrived at the next location.

    The four of them left the apiary after his short brawl with Ravin and traveled back to the mountains to meet Princess Sapphire and Xerxes.

    This was the first time their group had stayed in the forest after nightfall to meet them by the waterfalls.

    As a vampire, Apollyon always prefer the night to the day.

    Fireflies of glitter and golf hovered around the trees'' canopies

    It was magical how the ancient trees'' gnarled limbs reached high into the dark sky as its leaves danced in the soothing breeze, making them appear like they were brushstrokes of a painting.

    Apollyon raised his head towards the heavens and watched the white-gold beauty and grace of the moon casting a warm milky glow in this clear night.

    He became absorbed in the music of the crickets as he allowed the sound of the waterfalls hitting the pool to wash over him like nature''s gentleughter.

    He watched his wife sleep as he let her rest her head in hisp.

 Chapter 648 - Backfired

    <h4>Chapter 648 - Backfired</h4>

    This chapter and thetest chapter were rewritten because it was so ugly I am sorry for publishing that abomination it is fine now. start of volume six on the next chapter.

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (August 2021)

    ***********************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ***********************

    It was a clear night but a bit cold which was a surprise considering they were in the Summer Courts.

    The bright moon shone its silver beams in the quiet night.

    Owls hooted on the branches as a wolf howled in the distance.

    He observed his wife''s chest rise and fall with every breath as new white-puffed clouds emerged from her lips.

    Apollyon''s sensitive ears perked up at the soft crunch of somebody''s boot stepping unto dried leaves.

    Why did it feel like someone was watching them?

    There was a soft rustle from the bushes? before they heard a child-like murmur, "Brother."

    Apollyon couldn''t move abruptly, or else he might disturb his wife''s sleep, so it was the Archdemon of Sloth who was the first to move to check who they were.

    "Beloved. You must wake up." Apollyon whispered as he caressed her cheek. "Xerxes and Sapphire are here."

    He even pressed his palms on her ears to shake her gently, but her eyes were still closed.

    Sloth had peeked behind the trembling shrubs and spoke aloud, "Who are those two brats?"

    Finally, princess Sapphire revealed herself from her hiding ce."I''m not a brat Prince, whichever Kingdom you belong to."

    "Insolent brat." Sloth clicked his tongue, "If you do not introduce yourself this instant, you are a brat in my eyes."

    "Who are you?"

    "I am the Prince of Ghouls." Sloth said proudly, "I thought everyone would know me by now after the duel."

    "Sapphire," Apollyon called out.

    He gently cradled his wife''s head and lowered her to the grass so that she would sleep a bit longer and Apollyon could talk to his half-sister properly instead of Sloth,? "Is Xerxes alright?"

    "REEEEEEEEEEEEEEE~" The whelp squealed when Apollyon teleported in their circle in an instant.

    "He is. He had enough strength to stand up and meet all of you with me." Princess Sapphire''s gaze ricocheted to Ravin and Sloth as she cradled Rere in her arms. It was fortunate that she didn''t forget to bring the whelp. "Where did these? two men came from?"

    "Trust me. You don''t want me to answer that, little girl." Ravin smirked.

    "Princess Ourania''s paintings?" Apollyon gave Xerxes'' wolf eyes a questioning nce as it glowed in the darkness.

    His gaze fell to his hand, which held a poor sack that looked like he had dragged it across the mud, "Did you bring our reward as what the Summer Monarchs told you to deliver?"

    "We, Summer Faeries, always honor our agreement, brother. But you should know that I''m not alone." Princess Sapphire stepped forward, and Apollyon froze.

    The rest of the creatures in hiding followed suit.

    At this moment, it felt like Apollyon had exchanged ces with Luna in the arena instead of the forest.

    Torches surrounded them while the rest of the sentinels were isted against the inky ck background covered by the trees.

    "You must surrender the Ghoul Princes to the Summer Militia, Vampire King!" The Fae General roared.

    "My wife and her second won the duel without any magical aid in front of thousands of spectators in the colosseum. It was about time you leave us alone."

    "REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE~" The whelp screeched like it was its own battle cry.

    "We will leave you and the Empress alone if you hand the second over!"

    "We led the Ghoul Princes to the Summer Castle as our guests, General, so it would make sense that theye with us the moment we got out of here," Apollyon said calmly.

    "Then you left us with no choice but to do it by force. This? will be thatst location? that the four of you will be��"

    Apollyon turned his head towards his half-sister and shed her a sardonic grin,? "I couldn''t believe you lured the Summer Militia into this, Princess Sapphire."

    "Of course, I would." Princess Sapphire held Xerxes''s hand as they walked closer towards Apollyon and Sloth.

    She spun around and faced the Summer Militia while wearing a wide grin, "I am on your side."

    "You are a traitor to the Summer Courts!"

    Apollyon snapped a finger, and a ring of mes shot out, surrounding them in an instant to protect their group from the Summer Militia''s attacks.

    It felt like a public execution all over again, and he couldn''t wait to fight back from all this pent-up frustration inside him.

    He finally had an outlet.

    Apollyon teleported behind the Summer General to decapitate him before he gained the upper hand.

    As Apollyon circled one forearm across the Fae General''s shoulder in a tight headlock while his other hand sped the hilt of his sword, a hint of alcohol infiltrated his nostrils when he pressed the edge of the de on his neck.

    Princess Sapphire gave him a knowing look. His gut told him that the young spymaster must have found a strategy to get some of the sentinels drunk.

    "One wrong move from you, and I will let this sword decide."

    Apollyon scowled at Luna when he saw her standing in front of the General as she held another de on his chest.

    "This is treason!" The Fae General turned his head towards Apollyon and exposed his neck, making him even more vulnerable.

    His weapon was as clear and decisive as his mind.

    Apollyon didn''t waste time.

    He took hold of the general''s dark hair,? separated his head from the torso, moved it slightly to the right, and slew him.

    His wife stepped backward immediately before the blood could ssh on her dark blue dress.

    Her countenance was a mix of determination and repulsion, as if she was trying hard not to vomit. The impact on the remaining soldiers as they watched theirmander''s gruesome death was dramatic.

    Their mouths hung open in shock.

    Frozen.

    The choice was made.

    All else had fallen away, including the general''s head as it rolled to the grass.

    "REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE~"

    Rere jumped from Princess Sapphire''s arms and flew over their side to catch and eat the General''s soul in its mouth.

    "This sword had shaped the destiny of the Vampire Realm and the Summer Monarchs." Apollyon dered, "I will give you five minutes to vanish in this forest if you don''t want to suffer your poor general''s fate."

 Chapter 649 - You, Sick, Sick F*ck!

    <h4>Chapter 649 - You, Sick, Sick F*ck!</h4>

    Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (August 2021)

    ********************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *********************************

    The bonfire was lit in the center as the five of them gathered around it, bathing their grim countenance in such a golden light amid the darkness simr to the sun in the night.

    The mes warmed the air and got rid of the chills in their bones.

    Then Luna realized that they weren''t five but four. Sloth was nowhere to be found.

    What was he doing?

    Maybe, her Familiar had slept somewhere?

    "Where is Sloth?" Luna nced around, looking for the Archdemon.

    Her eyes widened in shock when she found her Familiar emerging from the woods with his one hand carrying the Fae General''s head by the hair.

    He froze when he heard his name, raised his hand and shed her a? tight-lipped smile.

    "I am here, Lune."

    Luna scowled and pointed at the head in question, "Could you stop carrying the Fae General''s head as if it belonged to you? It''s not a toy!"

    "I''m not ying with it." His pinched lips morphed into a cute pout, "It''s a war prize."

    Oh Goddess, help her!

    Luna shook her head.

    Sloth was more problematic than Ravin!

    "Well,? you weren''t the one who killed him, so it''s not your prize!"

    "The men-at-arms in charge of the colosseum took Sir Tristan''s head with them, so I need a recement."

    "Throw it away." Luna hugged herself forfort.

    Instead of helping her to make the Archdemon understand, Apollyon''s smoldering blue eyes stole a peek at her plump breasts, which created a nice cleavage

    She asked herself why she made Sloth her Familiar.

    Luna should have sent him back to Hell, "It makes me nauseous."

    "No. It must be the pregnancy making you nauseous."

    This time Sloth''s smile showed pearly white teeth.

    She finally snapped as her breaths made a mist in the air. "It isn''t the pregnancy, you sick fuck."

    "It''s just blood dripping from its neck. A vampire can handle it. There is no stench, and it? isn''t rotten." He insisted, "If the stench offend? your senses in the future, I can use magic to get rid of it when I carry��"

    Luna gritted her teeth, "Will you insist on carrying that every day?"

    "If I could wear it as a ne, I would." Now, the Archdemon proceeded to swing the detached head back and forth as the blood had gushed out of his neck unto the forest floor,? "I loved the sheer terror evident in the eyes of our enemies. Make them scream? and run in the opposite direction."

    She averted her gaze in disgust while she covered her mouth with a palm just in case she vomited in front of their small group.

    Luna couldn''t handle this anymore.

    She had watched the beheading twice in front of her eyes, and no, it wasn''t lovelier the second time around.

    This would be the first time she would admit to herself that the Archdemon of Sloth, whom she considered harmless from the start, was capable of this indifference, just utter disregard for other creature''s lives.

    Wait, she had seen this in Hell before when Sloth killed the imp for no reason!

    It scared her how her Familiar could do something ruthless such as beheading Sir Tristan and piercing his ck armored chest, was enough to do the task. Yet, thezy Archdemon chose to traumatize her more by eating the courtier''s eyes as punishment for turning a blind eye about Fae Magic used in the arena that? Sloth assumed the royal adviser might as well be blind.

    Sloth wasn''t satisfied and even paralyzed Princess Ourania and infected the Summer King with a slow and fatal disease.

    Luna bit her cheek.

    Honestly, her husband had a simr attitude, but she med the Archdemon of Gluttony''s influence�� the Blood Beast''s possession��for that.

    She would have liked to delude herself that Apollyon was too warmhearted to be an Archdemon.

    Hopefully, the gods and goddesses wouldn''t give him chances to turn into one.

    "Imand you to throw the Fae General''s head right now, Sloth!"

    Sloth stomped his foot towards the waterfalls and casually dropped the Fae General''s head there like a rebellious kid.

    Speechless, Luna decided not to bathe in those waters ever again!

    +++

    Xerxes threw the wooden sticks he had gathered from the forest floor into the zing fire.

    It rose like a flower opening heavenwards, which sent glorious sparks into the starry ck.

    "Are we moving to another locationter at dawn?"

    "No. We stay the night here." Apollyon said.

    "And the Summer Militia?"

    Luna remembered how? Apollyon had beheaded the Fae general in front of her, and she shivered. "If the headless body of the Fae General wasn''t enough? to send them a message to leave us alone, then I had no idea what is."

    "No. The Summer Militia wouldn''t dare chase us if they informed the King and Queen." Princess Sapphire brought her arms closer to it to warm her cold skin.? "We are leaving the Summer Courts, so it doesn''t matter."

    "What would your mother think if she found out you areing with us?"

    "Well, our mother can keep on thinking. I will do what I want, and nothing can stop me." Princess Sapphire whispered as she gathered? her legs closer to her body while she leaned her head to her knees, "In addition to that, I can''t refuse Hecate''s request when she took the time to show herself to me and exin the things I need to know regarding Hephaestus and our mother."

    "The goddess told you everything?"

    "Yes. All of it." Princess Sapphire''s dark brown eyes were dangerously bright as she stared nkly at the mes reflected on her pupils, "The Goddess spoke the truth, and I finally understood. It was the first time that confusion hadn''t clouded my mind. So I decided to go and leave the Kingdom. The instant I became the best spymaster in the Kingdom is the moment they lost their authority over me. I also felt safer if Xerxes is around. I don''t know if my Queen Titania would appreciate her granddaughter for bringing her adoptive son with me."

    "The Queen had taken me in as your protector, Princess Sapphire. Not the other way around." Xerxes reminded her. "Are we even prepared for this journey?"

    "Let''s see Princess Ourania''s paintings first." Apollyon answered, "Those things might give us some clues on how to proceed."

 Chapter 650 - Obey Me

    <h4>Chapter 650 - Obey Me</h4>

    Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (August 2021)

    *******************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    *******************************

    Xerxes had pulled each of the paintings from therge sack which Apollyon had witnessed him carry around the forest.

    "We know what we are looking for, but we didn''t know the exact location of the Garden of the Four Seasons. Unfortunately, the Summer Faeries don''t have much useful information we could gather about it. It had existed way before the Faerie Realm was divided into Four Realms, and that was long ago when the Summer Monarchs weren''t born yet in this world."

    Saying the words out loud made him see the gravity of the situation. This mythical garden is going to be hard. Yet, there was no sense inining.

    They need to figure out how to get around this problem.

    "If the Goddess Hecate hadn''t informed us of its existence, I would have assumed that King Oberon and Queen Titania were just telling us an ancient legend," Apollyon told Xerxes as he assisted the shapeshifter as he carefullyid them out on the ground far to their bonfire but just close enough for the mes to shine a light on the images.

    It would be disastrous to let them burn since these paintings will also help them uncover the secrets of the Heavens.

    The Summer Monarchs recounted that this mythical garden was heavily guarded by the strongest cherubims��the same angels who hid the Ark of the Covenant from the unseen evil forces��while angels, gods and goddesses used to protect the creatures on this Earth.

    Xerxes agreed in silence as he proceeded to each corner and ttened the curled edges of the parchment with his hands.

    His wife straightened her dark blue skirts to get up and leave herfortable seat at the bonfire, but Apollyon paused.

    Holding arge canvas in his hands, Apollyon scowled when his beloved strode towards him. Confused, she halted in her tracks and raised an eyebrow in question.

    He gestured his chin towards Princess Sapphire, who fidgeted in her position once Luna''s Archdemon Familiarsid their eyes on his tensed half-sister.

    The Summer Princess brought her knees closer to cover her round face as if the strangers'' gaze on her made her vulnerable.

    She cleared her throat.

    She gave the Archdemons across her a long nce and asked, "Why are you staring at me like that?"

    Ravin shed him a cold smile which matched his deep golden eyes, "You were the one who is staring at us, little girl. But, of course, we are just staring right back."

    "Haven''t you heard about us in the Summer Courts?" Sloth blinked slowly and stared into space.

    Apollyon could tell that the Archdemon had reached his limit from all the pursuits he had done today.

    His wife had mentioned that Sloth loved to sleep since he easily gets tired from spending his energy too much.

    "You have seen what happened earlier." Sloth added, "I had a notorious reputation."

    "I believe you." Princess Sapphire''s tone was sarcastic. "You are sought after by the Summer Militia."

    "We have heard, alright, but we weren''t there at the colloseum to witness the infamous duel." Xerxes responded as frown lines marred his forehead,? "The Princess was upied with--"

    "I have watched over this boy at the infirmary." She pointed at Xerxes, whose cheekbones had turned red.

    "That''s a young man, little girl." Sloth squinted at Xerxes before returning his gaze to Princess Sapphire, not knowing that Xerxes was her werewolf guardian, "Do you want me to kill him?? You are too young to have a lover."

    Apollyon snorted.

    Sloth was looking for excuses to kill someone.

    "--and I am too young to kick your behind. " Princess Sapphire retorted with a determined look on her face. His half-sister had no idea she was threatening an Archdemon." We aren''t properly introduced, and I can feel that I don''t like the two of you already."

    "Princess Sapphire. You should stop telling them that, or they will dedicate their lives to make? your worst nightmarese true." Luna warned.

    "I am the Empress'' second during the duel with your..." Sloth trailed off as he peered at her beneath his long eyshes, "Is Princess Ourania your mother, then?"

    "Yes."

    "I made her immobile for the rest of your life." He? informed her with scary politeness, which made Princess Sapphire shiver as if she had caught a chill in her spine despite the warmth of the bonfire, "If you are not careful around me, you will be next."

    "Sloth." Luna folded her arms, "Stop threatening Apollyon''s sister ande help my husband with the paintings!"

    The blond bastard had the nerve? to whine, "Your champion is tired and desired to sleep, Empress."

    "No sleep for you as punishment for your mischief, youzy devil." Luna returned to her seat just as Apollyon intended her to do. Let her Archdemon Familiars do the work since she was pregnant.? "Ravin, you too. You must help Xerxes and my husband to decipher the paintings. We need all the brains we can get. I will apany Princess Sapphire instead of the both of you."

    The Archdemon of Sloth slowly dragged his lethargic feet as he stood beside him while the Archdemon of Gluttony apanied Xerxes.

    They had this silent agreement to stay as far away from each other, and he approved of it.

    The four of them nced down and observed the paintings.

    Xerxes positioned a torch above them so that everyone could see each detail and pigment clearly.

    Apollyon pursed his lips in thought.

    Only one of all the paintings was ced on a wooden panel, and it was heavier and older than the rest.

    It had shown cracking and warping on the wooden surface and the paint itself, which made him conclude that termites might have ruined it from the inside.

    Not even Fae Magic could seal the paintings and protect them from damage.

    Nevertheless, he was optimistic that this particr painting exposed to the weather and insects would not be destroyed as long as they gave this panel special attention.

    +++

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 Chapter 651 - Out Of The Bag

    <h4>Chapter 651 - Out Of The Bag</h4>

    Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (August 2021)

    *********************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    *********************

    Since the painting on the wooden panel was thergest and the most unique of all, Xerxes brought the torch closer so that the four of them can focus on each artwork individually and ponder about it together before moving on to the next.

    Apollyon thought this painting on the wooden panel might be the most urate depiction of the Garden of the Four Seasons, even if he hadn''t seen it before.

    Cracked circr stone paths trailed towards the domed roof gazebo, made of white marble at the centre.

    The beautiful structure glowed like it was a miniature version of heaven as flower carvings embellished the surface of the walls.

    The gazebo was situated behind thick foliage and light purple and orange blossoms that almost covered half of the columns, and it served as the focal point of the portrait.

    Long palm fronds hang at the edges of the painting.

    The white sky above the garden had bluish undertones, making the rainbow bird stand out at the left side of the image with its retrices akin to pink and green ribbons behind it.

    With her eyes closed, the angel was the embodiment of nature as pink light surrounded her presence.

    Tiny grapes and cherries cradled on top of a bunch of leaves crowned her long blonde hair while her small lips hovered a pan flute.

    "It''s an angel." Xerxes bent his neck to get a better look and pointed out,? "Princess Ourania had painted this angel at the foreground."

    "Hmm."

    "Ravin," Apollyon demanded, and it came out as a growl. "Do you recognize this angel?"

    He didn''t mean it truly, but maybe, his outrage for the bastard will never be appeased until eternity.

    The question had captured the shape-shifter''s curiosity, "How could a Ghoul Prince recognize an angel from a painting straight out of Princess Ourania''s imagination of this mythical garden?"

    "This mighte from Princess Ourania''s imagination, but we couldn''t ignore the fact that my mother was Hecate''s oracle," Apollyon said dryly.

    "Hecate''s Oracle?"

    Princess Sapphire got up from the bonfire and stood across them in an instant. "Yet, Princess Ourania had failed the test. I told you about my dream, Xerxes. It wasn''t a jest."

    She might have the image of the artwork upside down, but that didn''t stop her from giving Ravin a calcting gaze in which he had no qualms on returning its intensity��golden eyes to her dark brown ones.

    Luna''s head was turned in their direction as she narrowed her eyes at him, awaiting his response.

    There was? long, tensed silence before Ravin replied, "I don''t recognize that Archangel."

    "How did you know that it was an Archangel?"

    "Ravin." Luna''s voice was as sharp as a sword. "Imand you to tell us the truth!"

    "They call her the Lion of�� God." Sloth answered before Ravin could even open his mouth. "Archangel Ariel."

    "You know her?"

    Well, of course, they should know who their enemies were!

    "She is one of the Archangels I recognize. The Archangel Ariel is a patron of wild animals, supervising the realm of nature''s spirits or the Fair Folk. It would make sense that we could find her in the Faerie Realm. She isn''t that ancient as the Fallen Angels. The Gregori."

    "What do you know about the Gregori, Sloth?"

    "The Gregori were angels who watched over earth''s inhabitants. They had turned into Fallen Angels after having sexual congress with females in this Realm. In exchange for the pleasure the females made them feel, the Gregori taught them magic, thereby breaking their covenant with the Creator. It was against the Law of the Heavens, so they were punished. In Hell, we call the Gregori the First-Made Archdemons. These females involved with the angels on earth birthed giants��who were powerful and superior to the creatures in this Material Realm. When they figured that out, the creatures living in the Material Realm hunted the giants and slew them, making the? Gregori''s offspring even stronger now that they had turned into spirits��demons. Thus, they were called the First Born Demons."

    Apollyon knew about it since he had also read the Ancient History of the Fae and the Summer Kinga and Queen also told him specific details during the Faerie Tea Party.

    All the information he had gathered proved to be useful.

    "I find it amusing that in every ancient History I have heard in the Material ne,? it was always women who tempted the men to break the promises to whomever they swore to," Ravin remarked, and that earned a re from his wife.

    "Women were always med for every sin men had done. Don''t men had a mind of their own?" Luna refuted that statement as she scowled at him with hatred. "Do they only think with your tools between your legs?"

    Smirking, Apollyon liked that the Archdemon was digging a hole in his own grave in front of his wife.

    The Archdemon will never be close to stealing Luna with his insensitivity.

    Apollyon could have never been happier!

    "If men are so easily controlled by women if they used their libido as a weapon, then I would say men with no self-control are weak. "

    Luna was right.

    Apollyon was weak for her, and she took advantage of that which he liked.

    His wife could use his body to her satisfaction.

    Her pleasure was also his.

    "But since these weak men, no, man-child, couldn''t take responsibility for their actions then, I would me the Archdemon of Lust for driving them to sin." Luna tipped her head back as she raised her chin haughtily.

    Her striking emerald eyes glittered with streaks of gold.

    "Why would you bring us to the picture?" From his snarl, Apollyon could tell that his wife''s opinion had rubbed the bastard the wrong way. "Our temptation is a just mere suggestion. You still had the power to ept or refuse. It depends on how strong a creature''s willpower is."

    "You had the power ofpulsion that only a few can resist." Apollyon seconded.

    "Of course, we, Archdemons, are hard to resist." Sloth shrugged. "Archdemons can offer a creature''s greatest desire in a silver tter in exchange for the person''s downfall."

    "Archdemons?" Princess Sapphire''s jaw dropped. "These two Princes from the Ghoul Kingdom are demons?"

    "Well, I guess? the secret is out of? the bag."

 Chapter 652 - I Dont Want To Do This Anymore

    <h4>Chapter 652 - I Don''t Want To Do This Anymore</h4>

    Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (August 2021)

    *********************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    *********************

    Princess Sapphire''s chubby cheeks turned into a darker shade as it shed horror, fear, then disgust all in one second.

    Apollyonuded her ability to control her expression by abruptly shifting into an imprable mask when she regained herposure.

    It was a surprise to see his half-sister react quite strongly against the Archdemons.

    Apollyon thought she had seen everything as the youngest spymaster in the Summer Courts, and nothing could shock anymore.

    Seeing Archdemons in front of her shouldn''t faze her at all.

    Yet, Princess Sapphire was as disgusted as his wife when the Archdemon of Sloth held the Fae General''s decapitated head.

    The Archdemon hummed a creepy tune as he swung it around in circles.

    Its bloody gash on the neck had sttered blood everywhere.

    It turned out that he had given her too much credit.

    Apollyon abhorred the smell of the blood because it didn''t belong to his mate, but the sight of it made him very aware of where his wife was seated.

    As his senses turned hypersensitive, Apollyon''s nostrils red when she caught a subtle scent from his mate��warm vani and crushed berries.

    His mouth watered.

    He gave his wife a quick sideways nce, wondering if she noticed that he desired her blood right then and there.

    As if she had heard his thoughts, his wife got up from her space in front of the bonfire and approached him while theyid out the paintings.

    The hem of her long skirts shimmying in the breeze exposed her pale thighs.

    It made Apollyon''s heartbeat quicken.

    Apollyon licked his lips and swallowed hard.

    It seemed like it was a long time since hest drank his beloved''s blood.

    He realized it was just yesterday, and it made him feel pathetic.

    Apollyon aimed to wait for the duel to end, so he endured his hunger a little more.

    After both of them made love at the underground chamber, Apollyon offered his blood to give her new strength, but his beloved rejected him.

    He didn''t show his disappointment on his face.

    Apollyon wouldn''t admit this, but his feelings hurt a little from his refusal.

    He let out a long exhale as his temples throb with an ache that wouldn''t just leave.

    Apollyon''s hunger intensified as he massaged his brow with his fingers.

    If Luna came near him�� he might do something he would regret.

    His dangerous craving mixed with anger and lust might lead him to hold his beloved''s arm and drag her to a nearby tree to have his wicked way with her like a savage.

    His frustration made him lust for her blood as if he was possessed by the Blood Beast all over again.

    He longed to bite her neck and w at her dark blue dress to expose her pale chest as scarlet ribbons trickled from the punctured wound of his fangs.

    Apollyon held his breath as he fought the urge to do exactly that.

    He understood that they were taking too long at the Hypogeum while Princess Ourania and Sir Tristan waited for them in the arena.

    His primal instinct whispered in his mind that maybe, his wife did not require drinking his blood anymore after she transformed into an Archdemon.

    Now that the dust had settled, a hideous thought had crossed his mind.

    Luna could live without drinking his blood to survive while he, a pureblood vampire, remained dependent on her.

    If his Familiar decided to steal her away or if she went with the bastard wholeheartedly, Apollyon had no hold on her other than the fact that she could drink no other blood other than his.

    Well, she could still drink Ravin''s if she longed for the taste.

    Unfortunately, Apollyon hadn''t found ways to cut their blood bond.

    From what he had witnessed at the Massacre at Krinoniapolis, Luna can devour souls to sustain her and give her nutrition.

    The unfairness of it made him grit his teeth.

    No.

    He wouldn''t let that happen.

    His wife had briefly mentioned that an unknown Archangel had aided her in cutting her soul cord tying her to the Archdemon of Lust.

    It was sessful.

    This was also the sole reason why this Archdemon shifted in Apollyon''s form and defiled her.

    For revenge.

    Maybe, this Archangel Ariel on his mother''s wooden painting, this new Guardian of the Garden of the Four Seasons, which Sloth had talked about, can help them break Luna''s blood bond with Ravin.

    This gave Apollyon hope.

    It would be like killing two birds with one stone.

    If they sessfully found this mythical garden, he could meet Archangel Ariel and asked for her help regarding his wife''s soul cord with her Familiar and get rid of Lilith living in her wife''s body with the special fruit.

    He would save his heiress and his beloved at the same time. It was something to look forward to.

    When he unclenched his fists, he willed his tense posture rxed.

    He was d that Sloth and Ravin'' antics of bullying his half-sister urged Luna to return to her seat to apany Princess Sapphire instead.

    Yet, his relief wasn''t for long.

    Instead of decoding these important paintings, the Archdemon Familiars casually revealed their true identities to Princess Sapphire and Xerxes as if they were discussing the weather.

    It was the first time Apollyon saw the fourteen-year-old princess'' brown eyes turned to steel.

    "This must exin the Ghoul Princes behaved like uncultured swine earlier." Her cold gaze scanned? them from head to toe maliciously, "You, Archdemons, don''t choose whom you decided to torment."

    Ravin seemed to enjoy this exchange. "Don''t worry about that, little girl. We equally hate everyone. I can''t wait for all the Archdemons in Hell to move here and dominate this Realm."

    "Brother." Princess Sapphire''s tone was polite, but she might as well aimed a knife on his rib, "Can? you exin? to me why we are working with Archdemons?"

    "I thought the Goddess Hecate told you everything?" Luna asked, confused.

    "Well, the Goddess forgot to mention this one tiny little detail." Princess Sapphire said, "I apologize,. But I? want Xerxes and me to return to the Summer Courts."

 Chapter 653 - Picky Little Girl

    <h4>Chapter 653 - Picky Little Girl</h4>

    Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (August 2021)

    *********************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *********************

    What did she mean about not doing this anymore?

    Princess Sapphire must be out of her damned mind.

    "How could you say that you want to return the Summer Courts after you just watched me kill the Fae General? Do you think the Summer Monarchs would still ept you after you made it clear to the Summer Militia that you are on our side?" Apollyon scowled at his sister. "You must think it would be easy to get back on the Fair Folk''s good graces if they witness the headless body of the Summer Fae General the next morning!" It was the first time she saw his frustration about the little Princess'' decision. "If you go back now, you would be used of treason."

    Apollyon might not consider the girl his real sister, but she knew he was only looking out for her.

    "I am the Summer Realm''s Princess. They would be lenient of me and forgive me after doing that. Queen Titania and King Oberon had protected my reputation as the youngest spymaster, and that would never change. The Summer Monarchs might be cold, but we still stick up and never betray one another. I know you know that my mother had done worse than that, but neither was she thrown into the dungeons nor stripped of her title and banished from our Kingdom." She reasoned out.

    "Listen, Princess Sapphire."Ravin crossed his arms over his chest and tilted his head at her,? "As this infamous spymaster, have you tried killing someone yet?"

    "I haven''t."

    "Well, youngsses��No. " Ravin shook his head, correcting himself, "��princesses like you could kill someone and im it was an ident. No one would bat an eye."

    "People would never me you." The Archdemon posture''s straightened as he looked down his nose at her, "When you are young, thedies and gentlemen always assume you knew nothing."

    "I haven''t killed someone!" Princess Sapphires'' hand gestures were wild from her outrage of the Archdemon''s implication as if that would prove her innocence.? "I prefer not to have someone''s blood on my hands."

    Xerxes circled the paintings to stand behind Princess Sapphire, who stood across them, "I kill them myself, Archdemon. I am Princess Sapphire''s guardian."

    "Yet, you saw the Fae General''s decapitation, and you didn''t even flinch," Sloth noted as Princess Sapphire''s dark brown eyes sparkled with unshed tears, and he took advantage of the little girl''s distress to break her will down. "You must have seen this guardian eliminate other creatures like it was nothing for your safety."

    "That is my? job, Archdemon." Xerxes said calmly, "I am hired to be Princess Sapphire''s guardian to protect her at all costs. Her life muste first above all else."

    "I demand Princess Sapphire to stop ying around." Not once did Sloth broke eye contact. "This mission isn''t just a game."

    "I''m not ying around." Her voice was loud and shrill as she insisted, "I would never work with this group unless you remove these Archdemons out of the picture! I have the right to change my mind if this mission doesn''t align with my morals!"

    "Morals..." Sloth clicked his tongue. "Did you know that witnessing a murder and not doing anything to help the victim can also be considered as a killer? The Demon? Kind called these evil souls the silent murderers." He stared at her, giving her a slow, calcting smile. It was the kind of smile before he decided a useless creature for being a waste of space. "There is a special ce for you in Hell, Your Highness."

    "Shut up! I did not kill anyone!" Princess Sapphire spat out.

    "And are you proud of that?" Sloth continued to taunt her in an acerbic tone without breaking eye contact. "The more you tell me about your prestige as the youngest spymaster in the Summer Courts made me think that you got that position in the Summer Militia because of your status as the Princess and your connection with the Summer Monarchs."

    "I got the position in the Summer Militia with my own talents and skills!"

    "Are you sure about that, little girl?"

    It was the second time Luna saw the Archdemon of Sloth moved so fast that even her vampire vision couldn''t catch when he closed the remaining distance between them.

    He shoved Xerxes to the ground as he grabbed Princess Sapphire''s hair, forcing her to tip her head back, "You know what happens to entitled princesses? They get paralyzed��"

    "Enough, Sloth!" Luna shot up from her seat and appeared behind him to curl his fingers on her Familiar''s arm.

    She tiptoed and whispered in his ear, "I thought you are sleepy and exhausted, bastard. It seemed like you are having fun taunting Apollyon''s sister." Then, with gritted teeth, she snarled, "Now, listen to me and get away from her."

    Luna was grateful that Apollyon helped her drag Sloth back to their side and left Xerxes and Princess Sapphire alone.

    "Didn''t you tell us that the Goddess Hecate had visited you in your dreams? That you told her that you are ready to fulfill her mission?" Luna demanded, "You forget that we are saving all the creatures in this Realm if we found this mythical garden!"

    Breathing hard from Sloth''s abrupt assault, Princess Sapphire answered,? "Well, the Goddess never told me why. She only informed me that Xerxes and I shall aid you to find this special tree that bears fruits that would save all the creatures in this Realm from demonic possession. Furthermore, eating its produce will protect souls from corruption."

    "You are helping the Fair Folk survive the evil and the dark forces. Are you wavering now just because you are in the presence of Archdemons?" Apollyon''s near snarl made it clear that he wasn''t in the mood to y games. "Princess Ourania and neither the Goddess Hecate nor me could help you if Hephaestus decided to return and steal you away to trap you into a volcano. Now, are you going with us or not? Keep in mind that I will never ept no for an answer. If you say no, I would put you to sleep. Just consider it as an abduction."

    "Brother!" Princess Sapphire howled, "I don''t want to go if those two Archdemons tag along!"

    Eerie silence.

    Princess Sapphire''s lids fluttered closed.

    Xerxes caught her limp body before she dropped to the ground.

 Chapter 654 - Family Drama

    <h4>Chapter 654 - Family Drama</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (August 2021)

    ***********************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ***********************

    Eyebrows drawn together with concern, Xerxes smacked Princess Sapphire''s cheek gently with his palm as he tried to wake her up by calling her name and stroking her long curly hair but to no avail.

    He was on his knees as he tried to prop up Princess Sapphire''s unconscious form.

    Sweat trickled from his forehead and hopelessness was evident in his grim countenance.

    When he realized that nothing happened, he halted his poor attempts and shifted his attention to her husband��the Vampire King.

    Wrapping an arm around Princess Sapphire''s back to support her weight, the young shape shifter''s green eyes glittered with fury? as he snarled, "What did you to her, Vampire King?"

    "I am his half-brother." Apollyon''s features were smooth and expressionless. "I had the right to keep her safepared to you, Xerxes. Remember that."

    "I am not challenging your authority as Princess Sapphire''s older brother but you can''t just force us to keel over if you don''t want to ept the Princess'' decision to go back!"

    "Xerxes. Don''t worry. My husband had only put her to sleep." Luna reassured Xerxes kindly, "Apollyon would never hurt her."

    "Empress! The Vampire King can''t just treat us like this if we don''t go ording to his ns." Xerxes narrowed his eyes at her as his voice rose in volume, "The Summer Monarchs were right on his identity. He was a tyrant ruler in the Vampire Realm."

    "Xerxes. It wasn''t like we killed her. Please understand that putting her to sleep was for her own good." Luna grimaced when she realized that she used the exact same words Ravin told her to justify Satan and the Grand Torturer''s abuse. All for the sake of power and to groom her into something the Demon Kind needed��a Portal Creator!

    Nevertheless, Luna continued to convince Xerxes that what Apollyon did was right. "She was throwing temper tantrums that Apollyon had to diffuse this situation down. If Princess Sapphire is a smart spymaster like she imed to be, she had to reflect on her choice after weid out the facts before both of you return to the Summer Courts. Each of our actions had consequences. Let''s not be rash about this, alright?"

    "It''s not that I can not ept her choice, Xerxes. I am doing this to protect her from Hephaestus. You might think that Princess Ourania wouldn''t do anything to her just because she is permanently immobilized from the battle." Apollyon clicked his tongue in disappointment. "I did not believe her apology to Luna at the arena one bit."

    Luna was surprised that she and Apollyon had drawn the same conclusion.

    That incident at the arena with Sloth will fuel her more in her thirst for revenge.

    Wasn''t it this the reason why the Summer Militia told them that they would leave Apollyon and Luna alone to go on their merry ways if they handed over the Ghoul Princes to them��especially Sloth who yed as her second and the one responsible for the tragic event at the colloseum?

    "It had been centuries since Ist saw my mother when she vanished from the Vampire Realm. In all these times I have observed Princess Ourania''s behavior around the few people she engaged with at the Summer Castle. She never learned to cultivate her guilt and conscience. Reserve them for the people that truly matter. Selfishness was her motivation. Resentment was the fuel that kept her hatred burning. What made you think that she wouldn''t make Princess Sapphire miserable in the Summer Castle simply because she was suffering? What made you think that our mother would protect her if Hephaestus got his filthy hands on her?"

    "Let me tell you what happened before Princess Ourania did before she pushed my wife down the stairs and stabbed her? in the back, piercing her heart in the process." Apollyon added further, "Princess Sapphire had an argument with our crazy mother at the royal infirmary in front of Summer Faeries who visited while you were unconscious. It was after Hecate and Hephaestus'' battle. Princess Sapphire became more outspoken as she rebelled against our mother, especially since the curious crowd had gathered there��"

    "��sounds like something Princess Sapphire should do." Xerxes interrupted him but Apollyon went on.

    "In the first ce, it was Princess Ourania who caused a scene but she hated that Princess Sapphire had humiliated her by her manners. Our mother threatened to kill you with her sharp crystal spears as they appeared out of nowhere." Apollyon''s hands locked into fists as he stared at him with a cold, hard gaze. "The same weapon she used to almost kill my wife, afterward."

    Xerxes stiffened in shock as he muttered under his breath, "Princess Sapphire didn''t tell me about this."

    "That''s because she didn''t want you to worry. That she got it under control and prove that she was capable of protecting you." Luna exined,? "Do you understand now why we are being careful?"

    At this point on, Xerxes'' response might change the course of their destiny.

    "Yes, You''re Highness." Xerxes finally agreed as he bowed his head in respect, "I apologize for our behavior." "I will tell Princess Sapphire when? she wakes up."

    "Yet, I had another question which boggled my mind." Xerxes'' gaze remained on the floor as if he was afraid to look at them in the eye, "If Princess Ourania had sessfully pierced Empress Luna''s heart, why didn''t she die? As far as I remember, that could turn a vampire into ashes."

    Silence.

    The crickets seemed to pick up the danger cracking in the atmosphere and stopped chirping.

    The Archdemon of Sloth burst into suddenughter as he pped his hands in amusement.

    Everyone blinked as if the Archdemon had broken a spell that had fallen on their group.

    "Well, this personal theatre in front of me was interesting to watch. Please do answer the question, Vampire King." His Familiar''s green eyes lit with an inner glow of mischief. "If Xerxes and Princess Sapphire decided toe along with us in this journey, they need to know why we aren''t ying everyone on sight like they expected us to do."

 Chapter 655 - Coward

    <h4>Chapter 655 - Coward</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (August 2021)

    ****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ****************************

    "Please do answer the question, Vampire King." The Archdemon of Sloth''s green eyes lit with an inner glow of mischief. Yet, he wasn''t looking at her husband, who stood between her and Ravin. Instead, his? cold, calcting gaze rested on her. He might have called the Vampire King by his title, but Luna knew that the statement was addressed to her. "If Xerxes and Princess Sapphire decided toe along with us in this journey, they need to know why we aren''t ying everyone on sight like they expected us to do."

    "I decided that I am not ready to answer your question yet, Xerxes. Neither will I disclose anything about Ravin and Sloth, nor would I bite to their bait if Princess Sapphire hadn''t woken up yet. I don''t like to repeat myself, you see?" Luna answered as she ground her teeth like how his dare had rubbed against her annoyance, "Would that be alright with you, Xerxes?"

    Ravin''s words might be inaudible, but she swore she heard him mutter, "Coward."

    "You, of all people, know I''m not a coward, Ravin!" She shot back.

    "Expose your true identity to Princess Sapphire and Xerxes right now, Amare. Sloth and I are only looking out for the juveniles in our group. Keeping secrets and revealing them at such an inopportune time will be a hard concoction to swallow. They deserved to know the truth."

    The bastard had the nerve to chuckle, "You and your secrets, Lune."

    The Archdemon of Sloth was really testing her patience with his thoughtlessments.

    Luna would havemanded his Familiar to shut up and make his wishe true.

    Didn''t he just tell her that he was tired and exhausted to decode the artwork?

    If the Archdemon of Sloth wasn''t an intelligent schr, she wouldn''t waste his time.

    Luna would shut him up and put him to sleep like Princess Sapphire as he wanted a long time ago.

    Luna narrowed her eyes at Sloth for too long that her husband''s fingers had sped her wrist like it was a manacle, as if he was worried that she had fallen from her Familiar''s obnoxious and non-existent charms.

    ck butterflies fluttered in her stomach when her Familiar shed her an innocent smile.

    Luna broke eye contact with her Archdemon Familiar to shift her attention back to her husband.

    Apollyon still appeared glorious even at night�� but there was only one problem.

    Why was the Vampire King felt suddenly awkward and dead quiet around here?

    He never spoke to her that much ever since the men began to haul Princess Ourania''s paintings from Xerxes'' muddy sack.

    Apollyon had tapped his foot to the ground like a restless vampire on blood withdrawal as he watched the two paintings were drawn on linen stretched across a wooden frame.

    They were easier to carry around instead of the wooden panel.

    The three remaining paintings��sketches of people--were the smallest in size since they were created on parchment.

    These drawings were the easiest to handle.

    After looking at them, they could just roll them and shove them inside their makeshift drawstring bags for safekeeping.

    She also had a hard time meeting her husband''s gaze after the earlier ughter, just like how she couldn''t bear to look at Sloth''s face when Sir Tristan''s decapitation ensued at the arena.

    Perhaps,? her husband had understood why she was aloof, so he decided to be distant as well.

    Earlier, he had withdrawn from Sloth, Apollyon and Ravin for the meantime that she could get her emotions under control.

    Witnessing Sloth''s antics as he frolicked with the detached head of the Summer Fae General made her mind recall the bloodshed over and over until her stomach heaved.

    Yet, Luna swallowed her saliva before she would vomit in front of these men.

    Apollyon seemed to be on edge tonight as his vicious aura crackled with electricity.

    She tilted her head curiously to one side and pursed her lips.

    Was he mad at her for something she hadn''t figured out?

    She had a few seconds to take one good look at him to see how he was after Apollyon had beheaded the Fae General with his sword.

    His dark hair was as messy as a bird''s nest, which covered his dark and stormy blue eyes.

    Dried blood stained his grey tunic.

    Luna felt a slight tremor on his fingers as he held her forearm.

    No. Maybe, she got it wrong. Her husband wasn''t irritable and exhausted.

    Yet, Luna could tell that his mood had a sudden change.

    "Wife." The Vampire King''s deep male voice was seductive as one sharp fingernail trailed across her soft skin. "Is there some secret that the Archdemons know that I don''t?"

    Luna''s posture straightened because the question sounded close to a menace, and her body became too hypersensitive to her husband''s next move.

    "No. Nothing, husband. I already told you everything." Luna bit her lower lip. Her blood boiled deliciously, and it made her shiver. "I swear to the mating bond that I am not hiding any secrets from you anymore."

    "Good." Apollyon growled low as he squeezed her wrist firmly, "I would rip out someone''s throat if you still lie to me."

    "Princess Sapphire and I would rather trust the Empress and the Vampire King than listen to the ramblings of Archdemons." Xerxes reply was sarcastic as he caressed the Summer Princess''s brow. "We can wait. Please tell us everything once Princess Sapphire rises from her slumber."

    He settled his free hand under both of her thighs and lifted her body up, and carried her towards the makeshift beds where Luna had dozed off before the Summer Militia disturbed them.

    Rere, the whelp, was already there, snoring peacefully with its wide-open mouth and twisted torso,

    "I? am? a bit grateful to the Vampire King for putting the Summer Princess to sleep." Xerxes told them as he put Princess Sapphire down, "Her mind and body were exhausted after taking care of me while I was sick. She was too stubborn to listen to me that she needed to rest. Youpelled her to do that."

    +++

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 Chapter 656 - Offensive Portrait

    <h4>Chapter 656 - Offensive Portrait</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (August 2021)

    ***********************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ***********************

    Now that the threat to their journey had been contained, Apollyon, Luna, Sloth, Ravin and Xerxes continued to decode the painting on the wooden panel.

    They hadn''t moved on to the next artwork yet since Princess Sapphire''s suddenint about Sloth and Ravin''s presence had distracted them from their task.

    At least his little sister was asleep, and they could continue to examine the details of the portraits.

    "Ravin. The herald of Hecate told us that you are the only one who can help us find this hidden mythical garden lost in the Realm of the Fae. This is why we summoned you here in this Material Realm and pulled you out of Hell." Luna said.

    "I can''t say I am grateful if I don''t have you for myself."

    "I reckon you wanted my wife to render? you immobile while I beat the shit out of you, Archdemon." Apollyon slightly raised an eyebrow, but other than that, he didn''t retaliate with violence like it was a reflex. "You must like pain."

    "It must be the Empress who likes pain, Vampire King. Why else did she want to stay with you unless she liked to get hurt over and over again?" Ravin nced at her with eyes of beaten gold, "Even if she knew her husband is bad for her, Amare is the kind ofdy who is so nice she refused me so that she coulde back wanting you even more than me."

    "Don''t act as you know me, Archdemon. I am merely somebody that you used to? know." Apollyon growled, and his Prussian Blue eyes were as cold as the Arctic desert. "I have changed since I am mated. You can''t im? that you can read my mind because only my Empress can do? that."

    "I had possessed your body for a long time. I was the first one who imed her first. I was the one who established your mating bond in? that physical vessel of yours." Ravin''s words were pragmatic as the gold in his eyes became even lighter. Hisrge pupils were reduced to thin slits.? "I know who you are? what kind of man you are from the inside and out."

    "There are still some people who pretend to know me who couldn''t move on from the past because their mind is so fixed from what used to be," Apollyon told him as he ran his fingers through the dark strands of his hair. "You must think you can manipte me to adapt to your perception like what Princess Ourania did."

    "You sound pathetic, Ravin. " He spat, "Arguing with you is a waste of saliva."

    Luna nodded and muttered with sarcasm, "I''m d that you finally realize that he is only doing this to aggravate you, husband."

    "Now for my question. Ravin." Clearing her throat, she made her voice louder and asked, "Looking at this magical garden in this painting, can you confirm that this is the Garden of the Four Seasons?"

    The Archdemon of Gluttony pinched his lips together, refusing to answer.

    "You told me yesterday night that you have seen it before, but you don''t know where it is." Brows? furrowed, Luna prompted further, "So is it a yes or no?"

    "Yes," Ravin replied.

    "Where��I mean, how did you saw it if you didn''t know its exact location in the Material Realm?"

    Ravin pulled the blue feather ne he wore over his head and handed it to Luna to see it for herself. "I saw this mythical garden in a daydream when Rere gave me this feather as a random gift.? It was surreal. I saw angels in that ce, but they couldn''t see me. I heard their discussion, but then, I forgot what it was all about. I don''t understand what they are doing there."

    ''This blue feather appeared as if it belonged to an Archangel, and it is quite simr to the same feathers we have seen in the Hypogeum except for the colour. '' Luna mused as she allowed it to rest in her hand. She frowned. ''How did Rere got hold of this thing?''

    "I find it odd that this wooden panel had a particr smell, wife."? Apollyon inhaled deeply, and Luna unconsciously did the same, "Was I the only one who noticed it?"

    "You are not wrong. It is very faint." Luna agreed as she closed her eyes to focus on her sense of smell. "The wood smelled sweet like sugar and honey, but I don''t understand."

    "The more I focused on the aroma. It made my mouth water even it was far from the scent of your blood. Instead, it smelled like flowers and the scent of ripe apples after a strong rain." Apollyon described.

    "This next painting is interesting." Sloth said out-of-the-blue.

    Intrigued, Luna opened her eyes to see what caught her Familiar''s attention.

    It was a family portrait of King Gywthyr, who stood near Princess Ourania''s armrest while sitting on the throne in a colourful gown with a mix of light blue, gold and purple with a five-year-old boy sitting on herp.

    The familiar toddler had sleepy blue eyes as he wore a contented smile on his chubby face.

    Hands trembling with anger, Apollyon bellowed.? "Throw? that disgusting thing away!" Yet, he appeared like he couldn''t keep his gaze away from it. "My mother is really insane. She wanted to have this feigned happy family when she was cold and distant in real life!"

    "Apollyon." Luna held the right side of the wooden frame,? "Don''t."

    The Vampire King grabbed it from her, "This painting will not help us in our journey to the Garden of the Four Seasons.? It will be a waste of strength to carry this around."

    Shaking her head in refusal, Luna tugged the artwork to her side. "It''s just a painting, Apollyon."

    "A painting that offends me. Don''t fight me on this wife!" Apollyon growled, "I do not want it here."

    ++

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 Chapter 657 - Raindrop

    <h4>Chapter 657 - Raindrop</h4>

    Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (August 2021)

    ***********************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ***********************

    "Apollyon. It wasn''t like you aren''t strong enough to carry this!" Luna reasoned out,? "Don''t tear��"

    The wooden frame broke into splinters, and she? wailed, "Husband!"

    The Vampire King tore the canvas from its wooden frame brutally and held it in his grasp as he stormed deeper to the woods.

    She didn''t try to chase him because his rigid posture told her otherwise. Luna stood there with her toes slightly touching the bottom of theid out paintings.

    Frozen in ce, her wide eyes could only trace Apollyon''s broad back as she covered her open mouth in shock.

    She couldn''t believe that her husband would actually destroy such a harmless painting, but Luna knew the reason why Apollyon had a strong reaction.

    As she watched from a distance with an ache in her throat, Luna wanted to reach out to Apollyon andfort him.

    It was because of the residual resentment in his heart.

    The sight of it must have ripped the unhealed scar open, so he saw the need to dispose of it. Princess Ourania tried to kill Luna and their baby, and both of them couldn''t forgive that.

    Nevertheless, she agreed that the family portrait was ironic and could only exist in a parallel world where Princess Ourania was a kind and caring mother and King Gwythyr wasn''t a ruthless chauvinistic pig.

    Her husband would have a lovely childhood and grow like the gentleman he should be.

    No, actually, she should take that back.

    If the Vampire King were raised as a gentleman a long time ago, Luna wouldn''t be able to marry him and be his beloved Empress.

    Startled ravens cawed as they stretched their wings in flight while squirrels squeaked as they scuttled down the tree trunk.

    Apollyon had unintentionally disturbed the animals preparing for their slumber.? He had thrown the piece of woven linen cloth through the nearest branch it could find.

    Every loud step he took as he returned to the bonfire felt like iron weights were circled his ankles by how heavy his footfalls were.

    Then, it started to rain.

    Raindrops soaked like liquid magic against their chilled skin as well as the ground and trees around them. Then, squeezing her eyes shut, she lifted her head to the midnight blue sky.

    The pitter-patter of the rain soothed her soul.

    This was the first time Luna had witnessed rain in the Summer Realm.

    The gods and the goddesses might have wanted her to see it before they left.

    This will be herst day in the Summer Courts.

    When a little girl with faerie wings attached to her face and a werewolf had visited their mountain cabin, where Prince Aspen temporarily hid them from the prying eyes of the Spring Monarchs, Luna was sceptical when Princess Sapphire revealed that she was Apollyon''s half-sister and she and Apollyon''s mother was alive and well.

    They wholeheartedly believed that Princess Ourania desired to see them out of longing.

    In the past, she thought that seeing Apollyon''s mother, a Princess in the Summer Courts would be an honour.

    Unfortunately, her wish that took a darker turn.

    A horrible nightmare.

    Meeting Apollyon''s mother had left a bad taste in her mouth.

    The rain grew stronger, which made their clothes drenched even more.

    Xerxes approached her and informed her urgently, "We need to move and find a shelter, Empress. There is a cave behind the waterfalls."

    The cave was a good sanctuary during the storm to continue examining the remaining paintings.

    "Does it have enough space for the six of us?" Luna mumbled as her lower lip tasted the rain trickling down her face.

    "Yes. It is rather spacious in there."? Xerxes said out loud as he stalked towards Princess Sapphire, who slept on the makeshift bed with Rere. "We need to move our things to the cave. Please hurry, Your Highness."

    Luna turned her attention to her Archdemon Familiars, "Sloth, take Rere with you and help Ravin carry all the things we have to this cave."

    Sloth rubbed the moisture of his face and gave her a sharp grin, "I shouldn''t have to carry them myself if you would allow us to summon our demon servants."

    Luna shook her head, "Servants do not have servants, Sloth."

    "Move, and I will allow you to rest after we have settled on the caves."

    "I will be in charge of other paintings, wife."

    Luna? turned her head towards her husband, who was busy putting all the paintings in the? sack, "��and don''t you throw everything away."

    Apollyon''s countenance showed frustration. "If I see one more family portrait, I am going to do just that."

    "Husband. I will honour your wish��"

    ''--because I love you.'' Luna finished in their mind link.

    "Thank you. Now shut your beautiful mouth and go to the cave first." Apollyon scolded her and pointed at the waterfalls, "I''m the only one allowed who can make you wet, alright?"

    +++

    True to his word, Xerxes led them to the hollow, cave-like structure behind the waterfalls, which he called the rock shelter as he carried Princess Sapphire in his arms.

    As she went deeper into the caves, Luna realized that they could go further that the huge cascades couldn''t reach.

    All of them can actually rest and spend the night there since the floor wasn''t that wet.

    The stone walls were bumpy with fingerling of tree roots growing through.

    At the mouth of the cave, the loud yet pleasant roar of the waterfalls was a majestic luby to the ears.

    The rock shelter itself was filled with dirt, twigs, dirty leaves, either tracked in by animals or blown by the wind, but it was alright.

    Five out of six��

    No.

    Four out of six��

    No.

    Three out of six people in their group can use magic to clean all this mess.

    Apollyon had already put her sister to sleep.

    Ravin and Sloth hadpleted their tasks to carry all the makeshift beds by transporting them inside the caves in a snap of a finger.

 Chapter 658 - Curb Your Spite

    <h4>Chapter 658 - Curb Your Spite</h4>

    Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (August 2021)

    ***********************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    **********************

    Like Apollyon, the Archdemons had the ability for teleportation, too, but only if it was rted to their missions and obeying hermand as to their Master.

    Most of the objects they brought from the Summer Castle were drenched, but they can still be utilized if they ced them near another bonfire to dry.

    mes crackled at the centre of their camp as the men did their best to clean the floor and arrange their things to make the ce seem warm, cosy and personal.

    Sloth can hear no moreints from Luna for his silliness since the Archdemon Familiar had shut down.

    His eyelids fluttered shut as he allowed himself to fall next to Princess Sapphire and the snoring whelp as he sumbed to his first love��sleep.

    The only people left who were wide awake were? Apollyon, Ravin, Xerxes and her. She didn''t have the heart to wake herzy Archdemon Familiar up since he had been through a lot after the day of his binding.

    He was forced to be a champion-- killing Sir Tristan and making Princess Ourania and King Oberon suffer for their insolence against the Seventh Prince of Hell��in exchange for ying with bees.

    Goddess!

    The bastard even concocted a? ridiculous story about being one of the Ghoul Princes visiting the Summer Courts to justify his behaviour of eating eyeballs in front of the spectators in Colloseum.

    What was worse than that story is those Summer Faeries believed they were true.

    Luna could only shake her head as she recalled today'' events.

    They all had it tough, and this simpleton deserved rest, so she might as well give him that as a bribe for his loyalty.

    Animal scat,? clumps of fur and chewed bones loitered around the cave that Luna assumed that a wild animal had lived in this ce based on the animal tracks and the w marks on the stone.

    Hopefully, it wasn''t a bear or a mountain lion.

    Luna still hadn''t returned the blue-feather ne Ravin gave her as she coiled the cord around her hand, still confused about what the Archdemon of Gluttony had told her.

    She was well-aware of the fact that Archdemons didn''t dream.

    If she followed that logic, that would mean? Ravin''s consciousness had seen the real thing.

    She bit the inside of her cheek as she leaned her back to the stone walls.

    The Archdemon imed that he saw Archangels he couldn''t recognize, but the Archangel drew in Princess Ourania''s artwork, Archangel Ariel, which Sloth had spoken about, wasn''t one of those heavenly beings.

    If Ravin imed that his daydream took him to the Garden of the Four Seasons when he came in contact with this blue feather, howe that it didn''t happen to her?

    Did it choose Ravin specifically as what Hecate''s herald told them--that he was the only one who could lead them to this mythical garden?

    Frowning, Luna threw Ravin a sideways nce as she pondered about him overhearing the Archangel''s discussion and that he couldn''t remember them afterwards.

    There should be something else that he hadn''t revealed to her yet.

    Ravin caught her throwing nces in his direction.

    He? angled his head at her like a wolf and asked, "Don''t you have any ns to return that ne to me, Amare?"

    "Here. This is yours." Luna tossed the blue-feathered ne in the air, and Ravin tossed it. "For a while, I''m trying to replicate the daydream you have, but nothing happened to me."

    "Maybe, I was special. That is why Hecate sent me to help you, right? I like the notion that I am useful to you." He rested one hand on his hip as he looked down at her with arrogance. "You would never try to dispose of me or send me back to Hell no matter what I do or say."

    Luna''s lips curved upward, wondering where the Archdemon gathered this audacity from. "Don''t be arrogant, Ravin. You know how I have the habit of doing the exact opposite of what you want."

    "This is why I like you, Amare. Your unpredictability is both the poison and antidote to my life. You kept me on my toes."

    It was Apollyon''s turn to snort as he sat down next to her while he faced Ravin, "My wife could easily freeze you while I rip each of your toes from your feet."

    "Apollyon. Apollyon." He gave them a thoughtful nod as if he agreed with the threat and would even revel in it to spite his husband. "You never fought fairly since I only see you hiding from Amare''s skirts just because she is our Master." Whenever Ravin tried to make Apollyon jealous, her mind just desired to fly off somewhere. She just wished her ears would block his shameless words before they even reached her. "You can''t hurt me."

    There was a short re of outrage at the back of her mind before it vanished.

    That was definitely her husband''s suppressed emotions.

    Apollyon didn''t want to fall for his bait again.

    He wasn''t stupid, but then again, Apollyon was incredibly pissed.

    She apuded Apollyon''s self-control when her husband shrugged it off? as if he dismissed the Archdemon as delusional,? "Keep on dreaming, Ravin and never wake up."

    "Who would have ever thought that the one evil creature you were trying to get rid of in the first ce was the first one who could help you find the cure to rid you of another Archdemon? The Archdemon of Envy?"? The Archdemon of Gluttony put his hands behind his back as he continued to taunt her husband.

    Luna was tempted to roll her eyes because this sh*t was getting old!

    Exhausted with their banters since she couldn''t figure out if they were yful or serious, Luna rested her head on her husband''s shoulder.

    "How do we trigger Luna to make Lilith take over her physical vessel and push her back down when needed?"

    As she lifted her head and straightened her posture, Luna''s half-hooded eyes were now awake and alert.

 Chapter 659 - Hurt Me More

    <h4>Chapter 659 - Hurt Me More</h4>

    Who gave me three summoning pens? Lord, now I have to prepare a mass release.

    Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (August 2021)

    ****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ****************************

    "How do we trigger Luna to make Lilith take over her physical vessel and push her back down when needed?" Ravin asked.

    Luna lifted her head and straightened her posture.

    Her half-hooded eyes were now awake and alert.

    That question did catch her attention!

    Despite Ravin''s effort to make him go berserk, Apollyon kept his temper and his tone even as he sat, cross-legged, on? the nket theyid out, "You are ying with fire with that proposition, Ravin."

    "Yes." The bastard saw no need to deny it. "Yet, the question here was... did I really want to help?" Even if the Archdemon was talking to Apollyon, his golden hawk-like gaze followed Luna''s form, which made her nce down.

    Every time he licked his lips, Luna swallowed hard and squirmed in difort.

    Ravin didn''t care at all whether her husband was there or not that she was starting to get suspicious.

    "Being an Archdemon Familiar had its perks." As expected from an Archdemon. "Since the time that I have been summoned and bounded to Amare, I haven''t gotten bored yet." There was a dramatic pause. "Except, the sex."

    So the bastard wasn''t done yet?

    A low growl was heard in the air currents, and it made him wince.

    Yes, that was Apollyon.

    "That''s really sad for an Archdemon, Ravin." Luna mockingly nodded in understanding. "No sex for you."

    "I can see the Empress'' erect nipples from here." Ravin began, and she let out a short gasp.

    Luna nced down at her chest with wide eyes before she crossed her arms over them.

    For the first time tonight, she agreed with the Archdemon.

    Drenched from the rain, her bloodstained blue dress turned into a lighter colour, thinner, exposing exposed her cleavage, her generous breasts, her rosy nipples.

    Goddess, maybe Ravin had even seen her soul!

    Ravin added in a honey-sweet seductive baritone. "I liked the way how the off-the-shoulder bodice exposes her elegant corbones and pale shoulders." "Either way, no sex is eptable since I get off on that idea alone." He waved his hand in dismissal. "Amare''s blood will be enough aspensation."

    "I''m not sharing my wife with a ve, Archdemon."? Apollyon got up from the ground and moved to Luna to hide her from the Arhcdemon''s sight.

    Luna immediately opened their mental link just in case her husband would get the wrong idea again. ''Apollyon.? I''m yours. Please know that I am going to stick with you for the rest of my life.'' How many times was she going to say this while the Archdemons were here in this Realm? ''Don''t ever take Ravin seriously.''

    ''I''m so close to losing my shit every time he opened his mouth, but I can endure if you tell him to shut up. But, unfortunately, it would mean that I had lost. My pride as your husband is on the line here.'' As he grabbed the hem of his tunic top, Apollyon rolled them up until his glorious abdominal muscles were exposed.

    Her lips were parted as her eyes feasted on Apollyon''s god-like physique.

    Hismands to raise her arms in the air so that she could wear his clothes were short and abrupt that Luna thought her husband was incensed that he didn''t notice Ravin gawking at her chest.

    Apollyon had already seen all of her. That must be why his mind had assumed everything was normal.

    ''Husband. You have nothing to prove to me and everyone else. Stop thispetition? you made on your own.'' She continued to project her words unto him as she pulled the edge of Apollyon''s tunic top to cover her baby bump and her thighspletely, ''Consider all of Ravin''s words as ramblings of a crazy old man who was obsessed with a pregnant woman!''

    A few seconds earlier, Apollyon eyebrows were knitted in a scowl.

    She sent a silly image in their mental link, and the wrinkles on his forehead vanished.

    He let out a dark chuckle which made her sigh in relief.

    Apollyon returned to her side and sat down while Luna was muffled by how big his clothes were.

    She inhaled deeply, loving the smell of the Vampire King''s scent��dark forest and rain with a hint ofvender and woodsmoke--enveloping her in his tunic top as she tried to ignore the Fae General''s blood on the front.

    "What''s funny?"

    Stifling augh, Luna''s reply was a sarcastic bite. "Nothing, Ravin. You really know how to push my husband''s limits. Keep it up until it doesn''t work anymore."

    "If it doesn''t work, that would be the moment where I rece him. If the Vampire King wouldn''t get jealous, that meant he doesn''t love you anymore." The Archdemon matched that with a sarcastic grin, yet Luna knew there was a grain of truth to something he had said. "We need to know what are Lilith''s triggers in your physical vessel so that we can prepare ourselves and act ordingly."

    "We can''t experiment on my beloved''s life like that." Apollyon shot his suggestion down, followed by a cold, cold gaze. "We are not ready for the dire consequences that can follow."

    Ravin shook his head. "How would we know that we can keep in the Archdemon of Envy in control if we don''t? try?"

    From his sober expression, Luna could tell he was dead serious.

    "If we were indeed sessful, how are we sure that my wife''s soul can sessfully acquire her body again after Lilith had pushed her back?"

    "As I said, we would never know the answer unless we risk it." Ravin shrugged, "It was part of the thrill of not knowing."

    "This isn''t a game, Archdemon."

    "Of course, this is a game." It was Ravin''s turn to scowl. "There is something at stake here. You could either lose or win."

    "You insist on asserting your role as my husband, Ravin, but you never cared about me." Luna snapped at him, "It''s the truth."

    Ravin''s face turned to stone, but she still couldn''t believe that he was offended by that.

    He appeared hurt by her usations, and it surprised her.

 Chapter 660 - Archdemons Love

    <h4>Chapter 660 - Archdemon''s Love</h4>

    Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (August 2021)

    ***********************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

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    Ravin''s jaw was clenched as his gazended on her and her husband.

    His fingers were locked into fists, and his broad chests were puffed as he breathed hard in anger.

    Luna''s rules for her Archdemon Familiars proved to be a curse rather than a blessing.

    Ravin''s aggression and the underlying grief behind it made her stomach harden in nausea.

    It wasn''t just because of the quick shift of his arrogant smirk, which turned into a furious scowl before it settled into an imprable mask.

    It was also because of the swirl of dangerous emotions she could sense from her Archdemon Familiar at the back of her mind that she wished she could ignore it��

    Yet, she couldn''t.

    The Archdemon''s jealousy affected her as much as Apollyon''s emotion can do.

    She couldn''t believe that an Archdemon can suffer from mental pain and suffering from the loss of love that it was almostughable.

    It was a love so dark and intense and overwhelming that scared the wits out of her.

    It was too hot to handle, simr to the eternal mes of Hell.

    It became clear to Luna that Ravin did love her from the stark possession in his light yellow eyes whenever he saw her with Apollyon.

    It was real.

    She was at a loss for words!

    He loved her the only way he knew how as an Archdemon.

    Luna was reminded of her past with Apollyon when they just got married��when he couldn''t figure out how to love her the way she needed.

    His was a love so selfish and savage which threatened to consume them.

    Now the tables had turned.

    "Think whatever you want to think. You don''t care about whatever I say or do either. I am only going to say this once." Ravin''s lips twisted in a cruel frown when he looked away, and Luna almost missed his glower on her arm, snaking around Apollyon to restrain her husband''s rage over the Archdemon. "I care about you, so I am going to tell you my spection why Lilith had taken control over your physical vessel? for hours, as you said." Luna gasped at his unexpected confession. "One thing I am sure of is that Lilith was able to do that because your soul was weaker when you were almost killed by Princess Ourania. Demons can only possess bodies they can overpower, and that also applied to you. So at that point, she was stronger than you because of someone''s else''s help."

    Her fingers? tightened on Apollyon''s arm, and Luna didn''t have anything to say except a small "Yes."

    Luna''s simple agreement must have ignited his rage as if it was flint to the stone he had in his heart.

    "Where are you going?" Luna asked shakily as she watched Ravin went further into the cave as if he was looking for something.

    He found a huge boulder protruding from the floor, lifted them with his bare hands and threw them to the stone walls, smashing them into pieces.

    It was good that it wasn''t strong enough to crack the stone walls, or the waterfalls woulde crashing down over their heads.

    "Ignore me over here while I get rid of my frustration." He gritted his teeth and hurled anotherrge rock. "I realized that I already told you I love you a lot of times than I should have thought you would never take me seriously after that."

    She wasn''t listening at all.

    Luna held her breath for the longest time, expecting the Archdemon to throw them at her and Apollyon out of wrath.

    Nevertheless, she wasn''t hurt from the jagged rocks bouncing off the caves because Apollyon had moved his palm in front of him, protecting them with his transparent barriers.

    Ravin lifted another and did the same thing.

    Squeezing her eyes shut, Luna cringed before the crashing sound reached her eardrums.

    They would lose their rock shelter, and their group would be sleeping in the rain.

    Opening her eyes to re at Ravin, Luna covered her ears when the crumbling rocks from the ceiling rained on them.

    "Ravin! Are you out of your mind?" Luna screamed at him a she got up, but her husband had pulled her back to her position.

    "You stay here, wife." Apollyon said harshly, "If you go to him to try and calm him down, I would consider this as a betrayal."

    Luna stayed still and obeyed.

    She and Apollyon already agreed in their mind link that beating Ravin senseless had no point.

    It would only frustrate her husband more if he heard Ravinughing like a maniac as his wounds heal in front of their eyes.

    She was also worried that her husband had forgotten about the conditions of the binding rites.

    Hurting her Archdemon Familiars would put a strain on her strength.

    She recalled how the contract had taken effect when shemanded Ravin not to move while Apollyonnded powerful blows on his gut.

    At that moment, she was grateful that Sloth was an attentive Familiar.

    He stood right behind her, and he noticed that she was fainting.

    Thezy bastard must have cared about her because of their Master-Familiar rtionship between them, but what if this particr bond turns into something sinister?

    A re of adrenaline fired her brain to think about their other advantages over her Familiars.

    The Archdemon of Gluttony imed to love her just now.

    Was this the reason?

    Luna''s heart raced.

    She was afraid that Sloth would mistake that same bond as love like what Ravin did.

    Perhaps, Apollyon was right.

    It was time to put that to the test.

    Xerxes abruptly cleared his throat, and everyone awake in the rock shelter paused.

    They turned in his direction as if they were reminded for the first time that the shapeshifter was there listening to their entire conversation.

    "I have pulled the sketches on the parchments for our scrutiny." Xerxes began. "I am surprised to see they were portraits of Apollyon and the two Archdemons."

 Chapter 661 - Ravins Sketch

    <h4>Chapter 661 - Ravin''s Sketch</h4>

    Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (August 2021)

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    Archdemon Empress Luna

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    "I have pulled the sketches on the parchments for our scrutiny." Xerxes began. "I am surprised to see they were portraits of Apollyon and the two Archdemons."

    Arctic silence followed Xerxes'' statement as all of them stared at him in disbelief.

    Princess Ourania had drawn past sketches of the Vampire King, the Archdemon of Gluttony and Sloth before she even met them at the Summer Courts?

    How?

    Luna looked away from the shapeshifter as her gaze ricocheted to Ravin''s golden eyes before he raised an eyebrow at Apollyon.

    Her mind refused to process that information because of how impossible it was.

    Now, she was afraid to look at them and see if they were real.

    So, the Goddess Hecate was right about Princess Ourania being the oracle who would guide them to find the Tree of the Four Seasons.

    However, the Summer Princess failed the Underworld Goddess'' mission because of her involvement with Hephaestus.

    Their secret affairs bore fruit in the form of Princess Sapphire who would also help them in their future journey to avoid demonic possessions in the Material Realm.

    It would also benefit Luna to lead this undertaking herself and get rid of the Archdemon of Envy inside her physical vessel.

    Everyone''s eyes��except for Sloth and Princess Sapphire��were on Xerxes as he stood over theid-out faded yellowish parchments.

    They were so old and fragile due to the cracks at the sides that the one who had touched them must handle them with care.

    The Archdemon of Gluttony''s limbs froze as his gaze fellnded on the smallest of Princess Ourania''s artworks.

    She nced at the Vampire King who gave him a questioning stare.

    It was an effective diversion to the Archdemon''s suppressed temper.

    Like his Master, Luna can simply tell his seething Familiar to stop persecuting the heavy boulders and the stone walls inside their rock shelter since they did nothing wrong to him.

    Xerxes had sessfully caught Ravin''s attention!

    His breathing slowed as he uncoiled the tension on his muscles.

    Then, he rested his arms on his side.

    Yet, she appreciated the fact that at least, those boulders weren''t aimed at her or her husband even if it was clear as day that they were the reason that their conversations had led to his rpse.

    As she witnessed Ravin loosen up,? Luna didn''t realize how stiff she was when she closed her eyes, heaved a sigh of relief and rxed her posture.

    When she caught herself doing that, she opened her eyes in rm.

    She wondered if some of the emotions she felt were also dependent on her Familiar''s mood.

    That can''t be!

    The notion alone made her legs weak.

    It might destroy her autonomy and this Master-and-Familiar rtionship will affect her in the long run.

    Nevertheless, Luna was Ravin''s Master.

    He was a mere Archdemon Familiar but his vtile nature can still scare her when there was no need to be.

    Sloth''s whims can surprise her, yes.

    However, Luna could already anticipate thempared to Ravin''s capriciousness��or was it because her mind had spiraled into confusion when she found out that Ravin had loved her for real and unfortunately, this time she could feel it?

    Oh, goddess!

    The Archdemon bastard can''t fall in love with her.

    What he offered wasn''t pure like her husband.

    What if the Vampire King found out that Ravin wasn''t merely taunting him with their blood bond to infuriate him but rather he was speaking of his real desires to be with her?

    Her hands trembled in disbelief and her husband didn''t miss a single thing about her.

    ''Luna. Your mind is a chatterbox and your hands are shaking as well.'' He looked at her as his blue eyes darkened into a deadly stare, ''You think too much but I can''t make sense of it.''

    ''No. You don''t have to make sense of it.'' Luna pressed her lips together as she gave her husband strong eye contact while they talked to the mind link.

    She found herself ridiculous!

    She was an Archdemon herself and her husband was at her side, ready to protect her from danger with his thick and transparent barriers.

    He was always there��always prepared to defeat their enemies--with hisrge hand interlocked in hers.

    Her hand flew to her heart that her palm could feel every thump of her heart.? ''Let''s see the paintings, shall we?''

    ''I am in control. I am in control over Ravin.'' Luna reminded herself. ''I am invincible.''

    ''I only caught the name, Ravin.'' Apollyon told her and Luna controlled any slight reaction on her face that could affirm his spection.

    This wasn''t the time to ruin her rtionship with Apollyon when the Archdemon Familiars had sown serious mistrust among their group.

    ''Now, don''t lie to me and tell me what you think about your Archdemon Familiar right now.'' He tilted his head and gave her a prating nce as if that would give himplete ess after she blocked him out from her more exclusive ideas. ''Your thoughts about him shouldn''t contaminate our mind link.''

    ''I will only tell you one thing, husband. If the Archdemon of Gluttony imed that he loved me again, don''t believe any of it no matter what.'' Luna replied. ''Archdemons aren''t capable of taking love seriously as we do. His pronouncement shouldn''t protect you that much. They use that as a weapon and a tool to use the woman they desired.'' Even if this was a lie, Apollyon had to remember this so that Ravin could never incite him to violence especially if he was pumped up for a fight with the tiniest provocation. ''It was a proverbial carrot he dangled on me thinking I would be stupid enough to be tempted but I won''t be. Ravin will not be a threat to us unless we allow him.''

    Luna decided if she should think about that twice when he saw Princess Ourania''s sketch of Ravin the first time.

    The Archdemon of Gluttony had had blue angel wings behind his back.

    It was the same blue feather on his ne.

 Chapter 662 - Must Be A Mistake

    <h4>Chapter 662 - Must Be A Mistake</h4>

    Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (August 2021)

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    Archdemon Empress Luna

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    "Ravin wouldn''t be a threat to us unless we allow him." But, unfortunately, Luna had spoken way too soon that she was forced to swallow her own words.

    There were no more words to describe this tremendous sphemy against the Creator''s Archangels that Princess Ourania had unwittingly chosen Ravin, out of all Archdemons, as an instrument.

    Luna felt like she couldn''t breathe as she crouched alongside Apollyon as they observed the first sketch.

    Her vampire eyes could make out what the drawing looked like, but her problem was the details and the colours.

    Leaning closer, she instructed Xerxes to shine some light from the torch in his grasp, but her husband beat him to it by summoning the golden orbs around her.

    Blue wings.

    She bit her lip.

    So, she wasn''t mistaken.

    Luna''s jaws hung open, and until now, she couldn''t bear to shut it.

    She couldn''t take her eyes off the image of Ravin imprinted unto the damp scroll.

    The wrinkles on Ravin''s brows appeared like they were going to stay there for good.

    He was as bewildered at this image as she was that they even rubbed their eyes in unison, making sure that they had seen them clearly.

    "Is that me? That old sketch resembled my face too much that it looked like the Summer Princess had seen me before."

    "That''s not you. You are an Archdemon, Ravin." Instead, it was Apollyon who shattered any delusions Ravin had with his savage response. "If you forgot that, I would take it as my responsibility to help you remember."

    Why did the Archdemon of Gluttony have glorious angel wings of every blue shade instead of the dark and leathery bat-like wings behind his back?

    Was this a sign that Princess Ourania''s intuition had gone incredibly haywire that she couldn''t distinguish an Archdemon from an Archangel?

    Were they even certain that this was indeed Ravin when they could only a sketch of his upper body as he stood with his back turned away from the viewer?

    The ''Ravin'' drawn on the parchment was a great copy of the real Archdemon of Gluttony as he turned his head and looked over his shoulder to stare at them with his bright golden eyes.

    His pupils turned into familiar reptilian slits.

    Even his high cheekbones and sharp chiselled jawline was urate and drawn to perfection. Apollyon''s mother was a talented artist, but it didn''te closer to the real thing.

    "Princess Ourania must have thought that I was an Archangel in disguise." Ravin smiled at her in amusement, "What do you think?"

    Luna replied as she gritted her teeth in annoyance. "I think that she got it all wrong, and she simply made a mistake."

    "How can you exin the blue feather attached to my ne then?" Ravin showed her the ne as if it wasn''t visible enough. "In this sketch, I owned the feathers of the same colour."

    "It''s a mere coincidence." Apollyon''s tone was final.

    From his glower, Luna could tell he was close to ripping Ravin''s parchment into pieces if he said another word about being an Archangel. "You said it yourself that Rere had given you that item. It didn''t belong to you in the first ce."

    She could sense a dull ache in her temples.

    Princess Ourania had done this sketch before she knew about the presence of Archdemons in the Summer Castle.

    Luna shook her head about how confusing this was while her husband was quiet as he rubbed his chin in contemtion.

    Maybe, Apollyon wasing up with theories or hidden meanings he could think of.

    Luna recalled at the Faerie Tea Party that Queen Titania and King Oberon have recognized how Luna and Apollyon looked like because of these paintings, which she hadn''t seen yet.

    Her gaze skimmed on the next two pieces. to get rid of the goosebumps on her skin vanish from staring too much at Ravin''s angel wings.

    Princess Ourania had drawn Apollyon intricately as if she had spent a long time with itpared to the others.

    He was the focal point of the parchment who buried a ymore on the snow-covered ground of the Vampire Realm.

    Her husband had worn thick and heavy metal armour while his dark hair and his purple cape came flying to the right, indicating the direction of the arctic winds.

    A falcon settled on his shoulder te, and a sole winter tree stood behind him.

    His Prussian Blue eyes were a shade darker than his mother.

    On thest parchment was Sloth, wearing a loose and long-sleeved tunic, a cloak and a hat which matched his dark green eyes as he carried a goblet in his hand.

    Sloth''s blond hair was noticeably longer than the present, but his face was still the same.

    How can Princess Ourania draw her husband and the Archdemons well even if she hadn''t met them yet at that time where she created these artworks?

    What other things was she capable of as Hecate''s failed oracle and what if she made this under Cano''s influence?

    She could ask that question herself a thousand times and she still couldn''t answer it.

    Her lips pressed together in a slight grimace when her thoughts kept bringing her back to Ravin.

    The implications that this Archdemon could be an Archangel bothered her.

    She thought of when Ravin saved her and took her to his Castle in the First Circle of Hell.

    How else can he survive licking the potent Angel''s Dust all over her skin without getting sick by the poison?

    Hypothetically, if Ravin used to be an Archangel before he became an Archdemon, then that meant he had a few immunities against them.

    Was that it?

    She thought of another angle to exin this situation.

    Yesterday, Princess Ourania hadn''t weed the three of them at the Summer Castle except for the King and Queen.

    Luna already half-expected that the Summer Princess couldn''t bear to show her face after her attempted murder.

 Chapter 663 - Kill. Kill. Kill. But I Cant.

    <h4>Chapter 663 - Kill. Kill. Kill. But I Can''t.</h4>

    Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (August 2021)

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    Archdemon Empress Luna

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    Unfortunately, the highest royals couldn''t recognize Sloth and Ravin as they shadowed behind her and the Vampire King.

    Maybe they have seen all of these artworks, but the Archdemons'' faces didn''t register.

    She introduced them as Princes from a faraway Realm.

    King Oberon and Queen Titania even agreed to let them stay after being kicked out of Vinca Inn for destroying Henry''s establishment.

    All of them exchanged pleasantries with the Summer Monarchs, and that was it.

    Nothing.

    No suspicion.

    No sudden recollection.

    None at all.

    From that situation, Luna concluded that no one from the Summer Courts knew that Ravin and Sloth were Archdemons.

    The summer Monarchs didn''t care about other strangers unless they belonged to the Royal Family or ruled a massive, powerful Kingdom.

    Like the Spring Monarchs,? they already had this assumption that Queen Titania and King Oberon nned to nurture an alliance with the Vampire Realm.

    The royalties courted other stronger royalties to gain ess to their resources for free after earning their trust.

    The only difference was, the Summer Courts thought that they could use the family narrative as leverage.

    They would care about anyone they can use as a pawn for their sick twisted game of politics in the Faerie Realm.

    Yet, the Summer Monarchs miscalcted because Luna and Apollyon weren''t ying the game after Princess Ourania tried to sabotage Luna in secret.

    Because of that,? their wicked schemes fell through, and they were even lucky to take Princess Sapphire and Xerxes with them.

    Nevertheless, they still had to keep them in line just in case they act up.

    The Vampire Realm had burned bridges with two of the Faerie Courts like it was nothing, and she had no regrets.

    Luna realized that if Apollyon'' so-called family couldn''t be trusted, how were they supposed to trust anyone else?

    She epted that notion earlier on, but now she had another problem to deal with.

    She sensed Xerxes standing behind her as he peeked over her shoulder while she was crouching to see Ravin''s painting in detail. "No one can answer your questions about the paintings aside from Princess Ourania, Your Highness," Xerxes whispered abruptly, and her heart almost skipped a beat in surprise. "Do you want to go back there so that we could interrogate the Summer Princess before we travel?"

    Ravin tilted his head and nced at her before shifting his gaze to the werewolf shapeshifter. "Perhaps, you were the only one who wished to go back to the Summer Courts, Xerxes, to fulfil your Princess'' wish." He smirked. Luna slightly turned her head to witness Xerxes'' knitted brows and set jaw before he dragged his green eyes away from her.? "If you want to make her feel more secure since we aren''t going to hurt a child in the presence of my Amare, tell her that there is only one Archdemon in this group. And that one is toozy to kill unless he is bored or he wasmanded by the Master."

    Ravin might have diverted the subject to Sloth, but she couldn''t help but scowl when he implied that he could be an Archangel every chance he got just because he had that blue feather in his possession.

    It was getting on her nerves, and it wasn''t only her.

    Her husband was incredibly pissed.

    Apollyon looked up from the paintings and snarled, "You are not an Archangel, Ravin."

    "If I am��." Ravin''s small smile turned into a wide grin as the rings of his eyes glowed on Luna, "--would? you promise to revoke my our binding rite as a ve and recognize me as your husband with full rights over? you and your body?"

    There was a long pause before Luna responded, "No."

    She couldn''t believe the chance Ravin might be an Archangel, but she just couldn''t bet their binding rites over such a serious matter�� because what if it was true?

    A burst of crisp, good-naturedughter followed her reply, and she narrowed her eyes at him.

    The Archdemon of Gluttony was amused by her doubts.

    "You sound afraid of the possibility, Amare. I like it when you take me seriously." Ravin stared at her, and Luna was forced to meet her gaze. "As I said, if I were your love ve, I would be more epting of my task. I don''t mind sharing as long as I can touch Amare and have her for myself in a schedule. What if the Vampire King and I took turns taking care of you like what Luxen and I did in Hell? Your husband and I can adjust as long as you do your wifely duties well."

    She could no longer discuss the subject at hand.

    "What is he talking about, wife?" Apollyon''s fingers sped her nape, and she turned stiff, afraid that her husband would choke the life out of her before she could exin. " Luxen and Ravin taking turns?" His tone was deadly soft as she felt the jagged edge of his anger, "Of what? Fucking you?"

    "Ravin. Have you ever fucked me when I was in Hell?" Luna made her voice louder to make it known once again that she hadn''t cheated on her husband. She would never do that on purpose. "As your Master, I demand you to answer the truth to clear things up. Yes or no?"

    "It depends on what type of fucking we are talking about�� but I would answer ''no'' so as not to make your husband mad." He said huskily, "Because I love you."

    "Don''t y with me, Archdemon," Luna answered him with a frustrated scream.

    If Ravin weren''t her Familiar, she would have attacked him with her ws and fangs. "If you do love me�� so what?? I have a husband, and I am pregnant. How many times have I told you that? Couldn''t you find someone else to mess with?"

    "You forgot that you are my Archdemon Mate just because? you have turned me into? your ve."

    "No! That is because she can survive on your own, Archdemon." Apollyon''s countenance was those of a feral wolf. "You can''t give her anything that I can''t provide, and she already chose me."

    He hauled her back to his side when Ravin began to inch closer.

    "If she already chose you, then why do you feel so threatened?"

 Chapter 664 - It Never Ends

    <h4>Chapter 664 - It Never Ends</h4>

    Newest Chapter in Highest Tier (August 2021)

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    Archdemon Empress Luna

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    "Oh." Ravin''s lips formed a small ''o'' as he asked softly, his grin smug as he leaned closer to look at Apollyon in the eye. "If she already chose you, then why do you feel so threatened?"

    Apollyon''s fingers on her neck grew into ws, and she could feel the sharp points of his nails slightly prickling her skin.

    Hunching her shoulders forward, Luna closed her eyes and shivered from the sensation of his warm touch massaging the back of her neck.

    Her husband''srge form emitted a dark and dangerous aura beside her as Ravin''s upper arm brushed against her off-the-shoulder sleeves.

    Both males inched closer towards her and pressed against each side as they crouched over the paintings.

    Warmth flushed her skin when she couldn''t ignore both of her mates'' delicious scents anymore, especially when they were so near her needy flesh.

    How easy would it be to lunge at them and devour their fresh blood?

    As she swallowed her saliva forming at the inside of her cheeks, Luna licked her lips, and her eyes widened abruptly.

    What the hell was she thinking inappropriately at such a strange time?

    "I''m not threatened." Now, Apollyon''s hand was stroking the strands of her hair even if some parts were matted with dried blood.

    Apollyon never broke eye contact with Ravin�� not even once�� as he added further, "I''m trying to protect and dere what''s mine, and you keep crossing that line."

    Ravin''s lips curved upward. "Because I can. It might be the Archdemon of Lust''s mission to bring discord between couples like you, but I wouldn''t shy away from sowing discord here and there."

    Apollyon''s eyebrows raised in mock confusion.

    "That is an Archdemon''s true nature, and you are proud of it. So why do you want to be an Archangel now when you don''t have what it takes?" Apollyon pointed out.

    "You haven''t thought about the possibility that I used to be an Archangel, Vampire King. If I manage? to figure out how to break? my ve contract with Archangel Magic, I could kill you."

    "Go ahead and? try, ve."

    Apollyon shrugged as his blue eyesnded on her, his gaze glittering with sexual hunger, making his scent stronger than Ravin�� more intoxicating.

    She could almost taste his chocte musk in the air that she craved so badly.

    Luna peered at her husband''s carotid between hershes.

    Maybe,ter.

    Not here where everyone can watch them and hear her moan just in case Apollyon might do something.

    Sometimes, she would like to fantasize that Apollyon liked to win an argument against Ravin because the idea of other males lusting after her made the intensity of his dark passion rise to newer heights.... but that was just a guilty pleasure of hers.

    "I might be Amare''s ve for now, but she will be an Archdemon I could easily defeat in the future if I turned out to be an Archangel. I might thank her for breaking out two Archdemon Realms from Hell and bringing them to the Material Realm, but I must demand payments for these binding rites. And you, Vampire King, you will be nothing but a pest."

    The insult broke the erotic spell Apollyon had brought with his touch as his mouth dropped open.

    "Me? You were the only person who had the audacity toe in between us." Apollyon dered, "Wait until I turn into an Archdemon."

    "That is? impossible��"

    "��as you bing an Archangel, Ravin." The Vampire King cut him off. "The chances might be slim. But if you based the truth on a sketch done by a mad Summer Princess, then I might turn into an Archdemon as well in the future."

    "If you look closely at Princess Ourania''s sketch��." He pointed at the parchment in front of him, which showed Princess Ourania''s painting of? Apollyon as the King of the Vampire? Realm. "I had small horns growing on the top of my head." The pad of his forefingernded on the head of his sketch. "The very same horns you have without the mour."

    Luna gasped when she noticed them.

    Apollyon was right.

    "He had the same length of the horns I have when I was but a fledgling," Luna whispered slowly and nodded as if her brain had processed what it had just seen.

    Her husband had expressed his great desire to be an Archdemon, but she never believed it would happen.

    Nevertheless, she only agreed to help him be one so that he wouldn''t be upset and she would be able to show her full support as his wife.

    If Princess Ourania predicted that Ravin would be an Archangel at some point in his indestructible existence, will Apollyon be an Archdemon too?

    Ravin reached out a hand as if demanding Apollyon to give the parchment to him for a closer look, and Luna passed it to his Familiar when he allowed him to inspect it himself.

    "There is a huge difference, Vampire King," Ravin said after looking at the sketch. He returned the parchment to Apollyon with narrowed eyes. "You don''t possess the curled and leathery bat-like wings we Archdemons have. You will not be an Archdemon like Amare. Like us."

    "This also applied to you, bastard. You only had one blue feather with you. You don''t have the pair of Archangel wings simr to Princess Ourania''s sketch, so if you want me to give up on trying to be an Archdemon, first you must shut your mouth." Apollyon said as he shed him a sardonic grin. "ve."

    Ravin fisted his side as he mirrored his sardonic grin back. "I will get rid of you before you be an Archdemon, Vampire King. You don''t belong in our Kind unlike me and my--"

    "Enough," Luna yelled as she watched Ravin with a heated gaze. "If these arguments continue for the next three days, I might treat every conversation as friendly banters. Both of you�� All of us here are allies with the same goal."

    "We aren''t your allies." Ravin corrected her with gritted teeth. "We are ves forced to do your biddings!"

 Chapter 665 - Really Shady

    <h4>Chapter 665 - Really Shady</h4>

    Newest Chapter in Highest Tier (August 2021)

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    Archdemon Empress Luna

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    Apollyonughed freely for the first time tonight as he regarded the Archdemon Familiar, "Finally, you know your ce in this hierarchy, Ravin. Your acknowledgment is my sweet victory."

    It seemed like Apollyon liked to taunt Ravin as much as he would like to taunt her husband until he perished with jealousy.

    It served him right.

    Ravin''s golden eyes shed, and he could only bare his teeth in anger.

    The Archdemon knew better than to mock her husband to a verbal argument.

    The Vampire King was as stubborn as her, and he had no intention to lose over a Familiar over this because his masculine pride didn''t allow it.

    Luna could only shake his head.

    From Ravin''sck of wittyebacks, she can assume that the vexing exchange was done.

    Luna decided to take control of the situation by grabbing the back of Apollyon''s hand from behind her neck and put it down on one of her knees.

    Apollyon didn''t remove his palm, and she allowed it to rest there since he had that privilege as a husband.

    "We couldn''t really hurt each other here, do you understand?" As she gave Ravin and Apollyon a determined look, Luna stated that she wouldn''t ept anything less than respect as a woman.

    Ravin and Apollyon''s war of words might be slightly ludicrous at first will not be treated as an object to be fought over by these men any longer.

    A sudden yet intriguing thought crossed her mind, and it made her glower at the stone walls.

    Of course, the Goddess Hecate had seen her suffering in dealing with these Familiars before she performed the binding rights ceremony, and she didn''t even bother to warn her about the consequences?

    "I can easily punish you, Ravin, as my Familiar, but? I chose not to," Luna told Ravin bluntly. "I still need? your opinion even most of the things thate out of your mouth are as unwanted as trash."

    Turning her head to the left side, Luna brought her lips closer to his ears.? "You there, husband. I already told you what I need to tell you now is to sew your own lip shut. Let''s see thest three paintings and call it a day. I''m jealous of Sloth and Princess Sapphire snoring on? the makeshift bed."? She murmured. "I''m exhausted."

    "I apologize��-Amare."

    "I apologize��-for being inconsiderate, beloved."

    Both of them said in unison, and when they realized that, Ravin and Apollyon red at each other again for speaking the same words.

    She clicked her tongue at how much they couldn''t stand each other.

    Why can''t they bear coexisting in the same Realm for a few months for the sake of the journey when they had already experienced coexisting in the same body before for a millennium?

    It wouldn''t take Hell to be frozen to ice before the Vampire King and the Archdemon settle their differences against each other.

    +++

    Xerxes picked up the sketches of Apollyon, Ravin, and Sloth, rolled the yellow parchment into scrolls, and stored them back to the sack, recing them with thest two paintings drawn on canvas andid it out in front of them.

    The moment her gaze scanned the image, her eyes widened even more.

    Now, this was even more shocking than Princess Ourania''s scandalous artwork on her own son turning into an Archdemon and her urate depiction of the two Familiars except for someone whom she altered into an Archangel.

    Because of this, Luna already dismissed Princess Ourania''s skill as Hecate''s oracle, and she already considered her a sham.

    The mind-boggling sketches were the ultimate affirmation as a failure, but then this changed her mindpletely.

    It turned her world upside down.

    The first canvas is a realistic painting of Luna scrambling on her knees as she pulled the Archdemon of Lust''s cloak while positioning herself between Jon and him.

    The Archdemon of Lust was the artwork''s focal point, along with the Goddess Hecate, who stood behind him in her stunning gown,rge curly rings of dark hair embellished with a beautiful crown.

    At the same time, her silky and glowing caramel skin was adorned with golden snake-like arm cuffs.

    She had to prove herself worthy as the High Priestess of Hecate who can summon the Magic of the Underworld to save the Vampire King from the curse of the Blood Beast��the same Archdemon who was seated beside her in a scowl.

    The irony of having their enemy as an ally to saving this Realm wasughable!

    Sometimes, she thought if all her sacrifices were worth it to have the Vampire King as her mate, or was everything already orchestrated by the most powerful?

    Can she really trust the Goddess of the Underworld after this?

    What was her n that she made Luna bring Ravin over the Material Realm?

    Goddess Hecate and Luxen were drawn like specterspared to her and Jon, indicating that she was the only person who could see and touch them.

    Nobody could see Jon and Luna''s faces because their backs were turned while the Goddess and the Archdemon faced the spectator.

    Even if the art viewer couldn''t see her expression, Luna felt that exact moment as the flood of memories came rushing back to her.

    It was during the Initiation to be the High Priestess after the Blood Moon Banquet.

    It was a test she needed to pass inside the tunnels under the Valley of Kings.

    She and Jon were chased by the Naginis, and she was able to survive that only to fight for her life when she met? Luxen for the first time��the devil who shapeshifted into her husband��and ordered a demon to possess her body just because she made the mistake of disturbing his stroll.

    The Archdemon was ruthless as everyone else, and even if he imed to be her mate in the past, he never really changed.

    For the goddess'' sake, Luxen tried to ruin her rtionship with Apollyon.

    The bastard was even in cahoots with Lilith''s wicked schemes to destroy her!

    "Was this the first time you saw the Archdemon of Lust?"

 Chapter 666 - Secret Portal From Hell

    <h4>Chapter 666 - Secret Portal From Hell</h4>

    Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (August 2021)

    ************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ************************

    "You are the King of the Vampire Realm, husband. I thought you were aware of the fact that an Archdemon had roamed under the tunnels of the Valley of Kings."

    Apollyon tilted his head as his blue eyes narrowed at her, "You got it all wrong. I have no idea of that devil''s existence."

    "But Jon told me��"

    "Monsters from different Realms get trapped there for some reason. Not Archdemons. There is a portal in there somewhere, but nobody hadn''t figured out its location. Finding the portal used to be Jon''s task before he took the position as my right hand. This is why Jon was the one who apanied you during the High Priestess Initiation because he knew more than anyone else." Her husband responded in a steady, lower-pitched voice. "��aside from me. The caves under the Valley of Kings presented a huge mystery in the Vampire Realm for a long time, and I was the one who started the exploration before I was possessed by the Blood Beast."

    Ravin''s lips curved upward in amusement when he heard the name coined to his existence inside Apollyon''s physical vessel. "Yes, that''s me."

    "I had only seen the portal only twice. Despite Jon cing all the necessary marking on the walls where we found the gateway the first time, we aren''t able to pinpoint the exact ce anymore when we tried searching for it the next time." Apollyon added further, "We found this elusive portal after two years and drew the necessary markings to guard them. Yet after careful nning to avoid? mistakes, the portal also disappeared the next day despite following the exact instructions carved on the stone walls."

    Luna''s eyes widened in surprise as she recalled her time inside those caves where Jon kept telling her that he didn''t remember, and she thought that his purpose was to scare her.

    It turned out he told her the truth after all.

    "��After years of hard work to investigate the damned portal, it convinced me that��"

    Luna snapped a finger when the realization hit her. "There are no multiple portals under the Valley of Kings--"

    "��but the portal is moving from one ce to another around the tunnels." Ravin finished with a smirk before his countenance switched into something somber,? "So, the Archdemon of Lust had found a gateway in the Ninth Circle of Hell and didn''t even bother telling the Demon King about it." He muttered, "If he did, we didn''t have to wait for a long time to train Amare to be a Portal Creator!"

    Who created that portal, and how many portal creators existed in the Material Realm?!

    "As you said�� the portal is moving from one ce to another. So even if the Archdemon of Lust found it, he wouldn''t be able toe across it the second time to show you. There is also this barrier at the mouth of the cave itself. Creatures from the outside can enter the cave''s entrance by diving for a couple of feet underwater, diving through the barriers, andnding on the dry rocks and soil. Yet, trapped monsters in the tunnels couldn''t escape from there unless it was the portal they went through. That is what makes it more dangerous and more effective as a training ground for magicians and priestesses to show their hidden talents." Apollyon exined.

    "Well, your right-hand man didn''t do a good job of protecting me from this dangerous ce! "He would either beat me up to obey him when I became too rebellious for his taste or feed me to the monsters first to save his own hide. Not only was he a flirt with that erotic vampire scent he had in his arsenal, but your right-hand man was also chivalrous that I wish I had killed him if you didn''t find me first." Lunained about gritted teeth as her fingers curled into fists when she was reminded once again of Jon''s stupidity�� and hers if she was honest with herself.

    If she just ignored the Archdemon of Lust and pretended she didn''t see him like she should have done, then she wouldn''t have to involve herself and be mated to these Archdemons in the first ce, goddess!

    "��but you saved Jon despite his behavior."

    "��because I couldn''t leave the right-hand man to die!" Luna replied bluntly. Guilt and the promise of a future reward made her do it. "Jon might be a? cold, savage brute, but I did it to gain favor. He had a high status in the Vampire Hierarchy, and I want him to pay me a life debt--"

    She pursed her lips in thought.

    Luna guessed she didn''t need something like that when she got the Vampire King to fulfill it instead.

    "From the beginning of your proposition to be the High Priestess, you were already after our status, Amare. How clever." He offered her a bemused smile, "I guess you are not that innocent as I think? you are."

    She snorted and lifted her chin proudly. "I never made you think I was an innocent littlemb for you to devour, Ravin."

    "Does it make you feel honored when a King from the Vampire Realm and a Prince of Hell are fighting for? your hand?"

    "Of course, Ravin." She said sarcastically as she raised one silver eyebrow. "Gaining power is the only way for a woman not to suffer in? the Consortium." The status of a Monarch and bing the Vampire Realm''s Empress meant nothing to her. "The crown. The money. The powerful husband that came along with it��." Luna shrugged, "--if I managed to snatch the rank out of all the concubines in the Consortium, indeed."

    Otherdies prioritize security in this harsh Realm they live in while she had valued something else.

    "Nothing else mattered to me except for freedom�� and if gaining power over others is the only way to achieve that, then I wouldn''t hesitate to fight others to attain that level of control. This is why I don''t want to be trapped in Hell with the rest of the Archdemons, Ravin, and this is the stark difference between you and Apollyon. Even if you bestowed the entire Kingdom of Hell and you swore to make me your Queen, it would never appeal to me." Luna jerked the edges of her hand below his chin and forced him to look up at her sternly. "I didn''t be the Empress in front of you now if I didn''t desire the Vampire King for myself. Remember that before you tell me you love me."

    ++

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 Chapter 667 - What Is The Truth?

    <h4>Chapter 667 - What Is The Truth?</h4>

    Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (August 2021)

    ************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ************************

    Luna released Ravin''s chin from her hold, and her gaze immediately flew to Apollyon''s warm blue eyes as she peered at the quirk of his lips.

    Instead of getting angry, her husband lifted his chin in arrogance and ran his fingers through his dark hair, looking smug.

    Biting her lip, Luna nced at the floor quickly before she returned him a smile of her own.

    Maybe, she should do this more often.

    Her husband wouldn''t feel upset by Ravin if she shut the Archdemon down right away before the Vampire king could open her mouth to reiterate his ownership.

    Mm-mm.

    Luna should express her burning desire for her husband by letting him know that she chose him over anything else.

    Luna brows knitted together when she analyzed Archdemon of Gluttony''s statement regarding the secret portal -which Ravin imed that the Archdemon of Lust had found.

    She guessed that Luxen had entered the tunnels by ident.

    As far as she could remember,? that grey-eyed scoundrel told her that he had no idea why he got there at the Valley of Kings and expressed his surprise to see Luna there�� to see a person who could see him��aside from the monsters moving around the underground passages.

    Strangers were supposed to shake hands once they met someone new, but her experience with Luxen was an exemption.

    The Archdemon of Lust had summoned a demon to possess Jon andmanded him to kill her. But, instead, he found enjoyment in controlling alliedpanions like puppets and watch them attempt to eliminate each other.

    Nevertheless, Luxen''s n backfired because Luna quickly took advantage of a loophole by killing herself.

    There was no point in Jon--the demon-possessed ancient vampire-killing her if she was already dead.

    Thereby freeing the possessed Jon from the demon.

    Luna clutched her arms in her chest and whispered in anguish, "Who controlled these portals if it wasn''t an Archdemon?"

    Ravin said tly, "It was that Goddess Hecate you served as the High Priestess. Who else?"

    That''s right.

    Hecate was associated with boundaries, doorways, crossroads and the realms in the mortal and immortal spheres and beyond that.

    She was the guardian of the entrances and the holder of the keys that can unlock the gates of other realms, including Hell and the Underworld.

    "The Goddess Hecate was equally powerful in both Heaven and Hell, Amare. Out of all Archdemons, Satan had chosen you because you had the most sess to be a Portal Creator. After all, you were associated with the Goddess. It''s not a secret? that you and Lilith used to be her High Priestesses before you involved yourself with the Vampire King but seeing you fulfil her given task without question just confirmed my doubt that you are still one until now."

    ''What if it was Hecate whopelled the Archdemon of Lust to cross that portal in Hell and enter the caves for the sole purpose of killing myself so that Hecate could finally meet me?'' Luna thought.

    Unfortunately, creatures like him will forever be confined at the tunnels unless they got out and return to the moving portals they entered.

    All Archdemons were trapped in Hell if there was no High Priest/Priestess who can deliberately summon them and then strike a bargain.

    She suddenly had difficulty swallowing from the ache at the back of her throat.

    ''Wouldn''t it feel like the Goddess of Magic and the Underworld was the one who ruined her with poison and gave her the same antidote to cure her and make her feel grateful?''

    The Archdemon shook his head in frustration. "Don''t you see Amare? Everything is going ording to her n. You couldn''t deny that Hecate was the one who orchestrated this entire catastrophe any longer. What if she was the one who convinced Lilith to summon me in the first ce? Lilith was the First High Priestess of Hecate. There must be some agreement between both of them." Luna''s posture stiffened as her jaws clenched from the notion Ravin had given her. "Everything was fated leading up to this point. Have you thought about the fact that all creatures in the Material Realm had no free will, and all of your decisions are helplessly influenced by the whims of the gods and the goddesses? Who is the real enemy here? Do you think it was the Demon Kind?"

    He stared at her with golden eyes that were too intense for her to handle.

    From the tone of his voice, she wasn''t sure if he was frustrated or amused in perceiving her as ignorant,? "Are we the one enving other creatures'' minds, making them pawns in a twisted game of chess when most of us are trapped in Hell? Do you still want to continue looking for that? Garden of the Four Seasons and face your inevitable doom? Nothing ever goes right when you involve yourself with that particr Goddess, Amare. Just look at Princess Ourania. Hecate must have made her condition worse while she was trained to be her oracle."

    "I don''t believe--" Apollyon began, but he was cut off by Ravin''s persistence.

    "Our influences are limitedpared to the gods and goddesses, but at least, we make our conjurer''s wishe true.? We are only manipting them to fulfil ours. You told me that your true essence relied solely on your freedom, and I also do. I want the Demon Kind to be free from the prison the Creator made for us. You should bring the Demon kind in this Realm, Amare so that you will find out the truth. Who do you think is the most powerful in all of the Realms. Who will prevail?" Ravin let out an impatient sneer.? "Princess Ourania has done a great job hinting at the true nature of your enemy. It was the Goddess Hecate who stood behind the Archdemon of Lust at the first one. Now, if we move to the second one��." Ravin trailed off.

    Luna followed Ravin''s gaze at the farthest corner and witnessed another canvas that disturbed her out of everything she had seen.

    It was an artwork of her looking at the golden mirror hanging on the wall.

    The image on her reflection was�� the red-haired Lilith.

    The Archdemon of Envy.

    +++

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 Chapter 668 - The Goddess Confirmation

    <h4>Chapter 668 - The Goddess'' Confirmation</h4>

    Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (August 2021)

    ************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ************************

    The outside world might be covered by the waterfalls at the mouth of the cave, but Luna''s sensitive hearing could differentiate the sound of rainfallpared to the cascades.

    She could tell that the heavy rain was reduced to a drizzle until the dark sky would stop weeping.

    While Xerxes deposited thergest wooden panel where the Garden of the Four Seasons was drawn, old sketches of Apollyon and her Archdemon Familiars and the two canvas which showed Luna and Jon at the Valley of Kings where she first met Hecate and the Archdemon of Gluttony andstly, the one where Luna had stared at the mirror with the image of Lilith��the Archdemon of Envy reflected on it.

    Until now, she couldn''t believe that Apollyon''s mother must have known of the past High Priestess of the Vampire Realm in her own physical vessel.

    Looking back, Princess Ourania never confronted her about this.

    Was this also why she decided to kill her out of the blue as her personal attempt to get rid of Lilith?

    As she strengthened her resolve to seclude herself so that she would have enough time to think, Luna got up from the ground, and Apollyon did the same, which he shouldn''t have.

    She wanted him to stay here to watch the Archdemon Familiars and the rest. Luna squeezed her eyes shut as she rubbed her face.

    When she opened her eyes, her cold, hard gaze zeroed on its own ord to the Archdemon of Gluttony''s curious nce as he faced her.

    As she cleared her throat, Luna''s strong, calm voice demanded respect when she uttered, "Imand my Familiars, Ravin and Sloth, not go outside the rock shelter? until early morning."

    Luna created distance from her Familiar, and Ravin''s hand raised in a palms-up gesture. "Wait��"

    Ravin sounded as if he had something more to say when he stepped towards her, but Apollyon quickly held her hand and pulled her behind his back to protect her from Ravin''s persuasion.

    Both of the men''s postures were stiff, and their broad shoulders radiated tension.

    As she peeked at their chiselled faces, she found them glowering at each other to intimidate and show dominance.

    They even lifted their chins with arrogance to add to their height and their menace.

    Apollyon and Ravin almost have simr physiques, but Archdemon''s height won by an inch due to his velvety dark hair, while Apollyon was bulkier in terms of his build. She leaned forward to erase their distance.

    She was grateful that her husband was shirtless since he took a piece of that clothing off and forced her to wear them earlier, preventing Ravin from having a visual feast over her breasts.

    She felt warm tingles sweeping her face.

    Luna could see Apollyon''s sinewy back from her view, and her hand couldn''t help but reach out to caress the muscle where his future wings would have sprouted.

    Apollyon was still the best work of art she had everid eyes on.

    "Apollyon, you can stop showing off with the Familiar," Luna whispered behind him as she let her fingers trail down the deep ridge of his spine from all that solid muscle on his back.

    Her husband''s puffed up chest rxed after hearing her request, but he tensed up once again when she added, "Stay here and get some sleep. I will be back soon."

    Apollyon whirled to face her, and the suppressed fury in his blue eyes made her freeze and thought twice about her n.

    He seized her wrist and asked quietly, "Wife��." He seemed to be gritting his teeth as he summoned what was left of his patience, "--where do you think are you going?"

    "I crave peace in my mind." Unfortunately, the whole day is too chaotic that her mind couldn''t wrap around the eventspletely.

    She needed to get a grip and stew on her emotions from all the things she discovered tonight to decide how to proceed from here.

    The still and quiet she had this afternoon after the duel wasn''t enough.

    In addition to that, Apollyon was there with her. Now, she didn''t want him to be present while she talked to the Goddess Hecate.

    This was the reason why she preferred to be alone. Luna averted her gaze and stared at the ground, "Don''t follow me."

    "Don''t be rash, Luna."? Apollyon pleaded as he held both of her hands in his warm grip, "You are not going anywhere without me."

    Luna exhaled a sigh as she raised her head to meet his gaze.

    She couldn''t stand hearing her husband beg and make him upset, but she had to do this. "I need solitude, Apollyon. Just do what I ask of you. Trust me that I will be back."

    Tiptoeing, Luna caressed her husband''s jaw and pulled his face down to give him a light kiss.

    Apollyon froze, stunned at the sudden disy of affection, and his jaw clenched.

    She turned and began to stalk through the cascades to exit the rock shelter.

    "That''s the thing, wife. I don''t want to trust you. Thest time you said that was when you were almost killed by my mother, and I had to deal with Lilith." He growled, and Luna could tell that he would go after her no matter what she said.

    "Please do not speak those words ever again."? His voice broke at thest word. Luna stopped walking.? "I will go wherever you go."

    "She isn''t going far, Vampire King. If you are too clingy with our wife, she might leave you for me." Ravin told her. "She will find a secluded ce to talk to the Goddess Hecate and confirm everything I have told her about. It is too crowded in the rock shelter, after all. She wouldn''t appreciate me listening to the conversation. Never mind, Amare will never acquire answers to ease her heart because Hecate wouldn''t care enough to reply. Let her do it, and she will return in a few minutes."

    "You had no right tomand me, Familiar." Apollyon snapped.

    "Not amand but a mere suggestion."

    Luna looked over her shoulder and gave Ravin a haughty look. "Imand you to shut up and sleep, Ravin. I had enough of your big mouth."

    +++

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 Chapter 669 - Sorry, No Answer

    <h4>Chapter 669 - Sorry, No Answer</h4>

    Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (August 2021)

    ************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ************************

    Luna didn''t look back and hurriedly exited the rock shelter, not caring whether her husband followed her or not.

    She just wanted to talk to Hecate as soon as possible if the Goddess allowed.

    Her chest felt tight after hearing Ravin''s pronouncement of the goddess'' true nature.

    Everything he said made sense--somehow valid---and she was afraid that he was right.

    Luna would really take it personally if she were ignored.

    She deserved answers from Hecate, and she wanted them now�� or else she would be deeply hurt, and her heart would explode from resentment.

    If she followed Ravin''s line of logic, all of her sufferings had originated from Hecate and bing her High Priestess.

    Therefore, it was the Goddess who had to jeopardize her life in the first ce!

    Heat flushed from her skin from the intensity of her anger.

    At this moment, she was afraid that Hecate would abandon them and throw them to the wolves halfway through.

    The others might misunderstand her reasoning, but this wasn''t about being powerful as an Archdemon and a Portal Creator, who had Archdemon Familiars to order around and a Vampire King who doted on her.

    Luna might encounter horror-filled surprises along with their travel, and she had to make this clear with Hecate that she should warn her about the dangers early on if she was a real ally of hers. Not just letting them figure it out by themselves without a map to follow.

    Come to think of it, the Goddess never told her anything about her ns and kept her in the dark, never giving her exnations, and she obeyed her crypticmands without question.

    She gathered Apollyon''s clothes to herself and crossed the strong cascades falling over her head in a second so that she wouldn''t get wetter.

    The cold shouldn''t have bothered her when she was a Vampire, but being an Archdemon got her used to the warmth of the mes.

    When she nced up, a few stars in the night sky had returned after the rain all poured down from the thick clouds.

    "Speak to me, Hecate and tell me the truth. I want to hear you answer me. I''m sure that you are just around the corner�� watching over our group and protecting us so that we could fulfil your wishes without fail. Is it true that you have already snared me to suffer in those situations from the start?" Luna muttered under her breath as she resumed her stroll towards the forest.

    She waited, expecting an answer, but no one was there. "Don''t you want me to ask? You could, at least, reward me for my loyalty, Hecate." No soothing response in her mind tofort her, but she wouldn''t give up. Not yet. "Why? Why are you silent? You must be guilty of doing this to me. Either that or you are hiding something? from me."

    She remembered to quicken her pace before Apollyon could change her mind and chase after her.

    It seemed like he believed the Archdemon of Gluttony about what she was attempting to contact Hecate.

    Her feet lead her to a tree that was isted from the rest, and she halted.

    A small voice at the back of her mind told her to light the tree on fire.

    She gave it a focused re and willed her mind to fulfil her wish.

    Next, Luna closed her eyes and raised her hands to the sky as her consciousness flowed to the Mark of the Triple Goddess on her chest.

    "I call you, Hecate. I call you now, Maiden, in your unbounded potential. I call on you, Mother, in all the divine power of your womb. I call on you, Crone, in your wisdom of the dark and light. It is I, Luna Pris. High Priestess of Hecate and a vessel of the Triple Moon Goddess'' power." She began to pick up the sound of wolves howling in the background. "I pray to you from the moment? I wake up and from the moment I fall asleep." She clenched her fists in resolve and continued further, "I shall honour your three forms for as long as I shall live, Dark Maiden, Mother and Crone. Goddess of Magic and the Underworld. Keeper of the key to the door between worlds. I summon you to the Material Realm to discuss something with me!"

    The strong winds had picked up, but they suddenly stopped blowing.

    Luna opened her eyes only to be disappointed.

    There was no Goddess in front of her.

    "Hecate! Please give me a sign, oh Goddess! A reassurance that I am trusting the right person. That all my efforts to heed you as your High Priestess would not be in vain!" Luna refused to lose hope. Once again, she squeezed her eyes shut as she began screaming in desperation.? "Show yourself! I want to see you."

    She felt someone''s presence behind her and she fervently hoped that it was the? Goddess Hecate until she quickly realized that it wasn''t her.

    Apollyon grabbed her and spun her around to face him and she gasped when she felt his ws digging on her skin. "Do not dare to challenge the Goddess at this time, wife." Apollyon''s eyes were a deep blue, but this time it had a strange glow. "We need her help."

    Luna shook her head as she pulled at her forearm in his grasp.? "I can''t, Apollyon."

    What if Ravin''s usations were true about Hecate��that the Goddess did all of this to set a trap on her from the start?

    "I need the Goddess to answer my questions. Vanquish the dangerous doubts Ravin had nted on my head. If she wouldn''t respond to me now��." Luna trailed off, nced at the burning tree and looked at him in the eye. "--I was so desperate to prove the Archdemon wrong! Yet, Hecate never cared about me as her High Priestess." Luna sobbed and went into his embrace. "I did everything for her husband, but she never respected me enough to do something simple as appearing in front of me."

 Chapter 670 - Parched

    <h4>Chapter 670 - Parched</h4>

    Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (August 2021)

    ************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ************************

    "I did everything for her husband, but she never respected me enough to do something simple as appearing in front of me."? Her thoughts about Hecate spun, forcing her to focus inward.

    Trust was important to her, and she realized how valuable it was through her mating bond with Apollyon.

    She needed to know if she could count on the Goddess to ensure their group''s safety during their mission.

    She hated wasting her and other people''s time and endangering their lives��especially Princess Sapphire and Xerxes.

    Her tears clouded her vision, and her lungs constricted from her sorrow, making it hard to breathe.

    It wasn''t that she had failed with the magic incantations.

    The Goddess Hecate didn''t want to materialize andmunicate with her, and she couldn''t understand why.

    It was a sense of betrayal which rocked her mind to the very core.

    Apollyon''s stance remained unmoving as he let out a huge sigh.

    She could sense his hesitation as if he weighed down his words so as not to hurt her, "Don''t do this anymore, beloved. We can''t call a god or goddess and expect them to answer right away. They are different. She isn''t one of your Familiars that would immediately answer your beck and call, do you understand?"? Onerge hand rested on the small of her back as he kissed and murmured at the crown of her hair.? "She saved you from the Archdemon of Lust and helped you get out of those tunnels without Jon''s help. You drew upon her magic to separate the Blood Beast''s curse from me. I saw the Goddess defend Princess Sapphire and Xerxes from Hephaestus, and at that moment, she had earned my respect."

    "This isn''t about how she was always there in my time of need, Apollyon." Luna cried brokenly despite agreeing with Apollyon''s observations. "She did everything on purpose for her hidden agendas!" She buried her damp cheek on the hard warm muscle of his chest, and the sound of his heartbeatforted her. "She should at least tell me what they were and give me a peek of her inner thoughts to make me understand."

    "Being Hecate''s High Priestess doesn''t give you that entitlement, wife.? Hecate sent her herald to our royal chamber at Vinca Inn when she couldn''te to speak to you in person. She only visited in Princess'' Sapphire''s dream and nothing more. Maybe, this is her limit of interference." As she continued shedding tears, Apollyon low voice rumbled in her chest as he hugged her tighter.? "The Goddess also bestowed you her Witch''s Grimoire. It helped me get rid of Lilith when she exploited your weakness, taking control of your physical vessel. "

    An image of a dark brown leather envelope on top of her vanity table at her chambers shed across her mind.

    Se quickly figured out that she left the Witch''s Grimoire at the Summer Castle.

    "I forgot about it." Luna blinked her tears away in rm, wondering if she should risk returning to the Summer Castle to get them. "Do you know where is it, husband?"

    "You should really pay attention to the gifts the Goddess had given you, wife, and learn to be grateful." Apollyon touched the ne with the blood-red ruby pendant he had given her the night after their marriage. "��but I am d that you never discarded the one gift that I gave you."

    Luna slightly pulled back from the embrace so that she could look at Apollyon in the eye.

    "Out of all the trinkets I had, this is the only thing I cared about, Apollyon." She sniffed. "It represented the unique bloodline you belonged to."

    "This ne is proof that you are mine. That you belong to me."? Apollyon gave her ne a thoughtful nce before his eyes returned on her face.

    Her husband smiled a little as he picked at the delicate strands of hair sticking into her wet face. and tucked them behind her ears. "About the Witch''s Grimoire, I didn''t forget to shove it in the drawstring bag I carried around with me. I trust that the Goddess would either send us her Herald again to deliver the message at the right time, so don''t force yourself anymore." Apollyon said softly,? "You are here, High Priestess, Luna, and I know that your heart still believed in her after Ravin''s usations. You can still connect to the Mark of the Triple Moon Goddess on your chest, and you can still ess Underworld Magic, so she never left��"

    "��but she owed me an exnation!"

    "Well, I do not think your concern is about Hecate''s? failure to materialize in front of you, wife." Apollyon''s mood turned bleak as he squinted at her in confusion, "What is your real problem?"

    Luna chose her words deliberately. "I''m just afraid that Hecate doesn''t trust me anymore, Apollyon, because she heard about my doubts about her. This must be why she never showed herself to me because she was angry that I have considered Ravin''s words true. "

    "You are making a mountain out of a molehill." Apollyon''s blue eyes appeared dark and serious. "Don''t be afraid because I can protect us. We could protect each other even if Hecate decided to desert us halfway during the journey��." A grim twist in the mouth. "��and I think this scenario doesn''t make sense at all. You still have those two Familiars. Don''t think twice about sacrificing those devils. You told me yourself that the Archdemons'' every word aimed to manipte."

    "If we must pick for the lesser evil, then I would rather believe in the Goddess rather than that bastard." Apollyon lifted her chin with a finger and gazed down at her,? "Now, I will ask you. Do you want to stop looking for that damned tree, beloved?"

    "I don''t want us to stop looking for the Garden of Four Seasons," Luna admitted.

    "This isn''t a trap, wife. Lilith is still within you." He said in a quiet reassurance. The way he stood was unnaturally still, and she was starting to get worried.? "We will find the fruit to save our baby and get rid of her whether Hecate is our ally or not--"

    Apollyon wasn''t able to finish his sentence when his eyes fell shut, and he fainted in her arms.

 Chapter 671 - Lustful At The Wrong Time

    <h4>Chapter 671 - Lustful At The Wrong Time</h4>

    Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (August 2021)

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    Vampire King Apollyon

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    In an instant, Apollyon''s limbs felt heavy for no reason.

    He felt like someone had struck an ax behind his head and cracked his skull into two.

    His muscles weakened, his heartbeat slowed, and time seemed to stop.

    The left side of his cranium throbbed than the right side, and the waves the pain made him stagger forward into his wife''s arms.

    Luna let out a gasp as she tried to shake him awake.

    God''s blood!

    Apollyon lost his consciousness for a second there.

    "Husband," Luna whispered urgently, and her voice broke as if she was about to tear up. "Are you alright?"

    Tiny ck and green orbs danced around the corners of his vision, and he blinked them away.

    Luna tried to soften her shrill cries in his ear, but she failed miserably.

    He swallowed hard, and his lips parted to amodate his short, harsh breaths.

    Apollyon winced as he tried to keep his eyes open.

    She knew his beloved was worried about his sudden copse, but he would have preferred her husky moans and little whimpers in his ear as he pounded his cock inside her.

    Why was he having inappropriate thoughts about his pregnant wife when he just fainted?

    His lips curved slightly upward when he realized this was a blessing in disguise.

    At least, his wife had stopped shedding tears over her perceived betrayal over the Goddess Hecate and focused on him instead.

    "Apollyon." She asked uncertainly, rubbing his back to soothe him, "What are you amused about?"

    Luna had an idea of what he was feeling right now, but she failed to know what he thought.

    Apollyon was getting better at controlling the mind link of their mating bondpared to before.

    Honestly, if it were smart for a Vampire King to feign sickness all the time to get his wife''s full attention in the presence of other males in the rock shelter, he would do it.

    Yet, those Archdemon bastards might taunt him for being delicate as a flower.

    His small smile halted before it could form into a smirk.

    That can''t be good.

    His nostrils red as he picked up a delectable scent in the atmosphere��so sexual and intoxicating��that it sent his hunger into overdrive.

    Ah.

    He could almost taste the musk of his woman.

    But why was he feeling like this out of nowhere?

    Apollyon tried to get himself together.

    Unfortunately, this wasn''t the time to fuck the wife, but the devil in him reasoned out that he was a healthy sexual vampire in his prime despite living for millennia, and he needed to prove that. Apollyon always showed his mate his best self and how strong and fine he was as a husband so that the stubbornss would rely on him instead of those Archdemons. He clenched his fists. If he only showed Luna his finest attributes, she wouldn''t have to pay attention to other men.

    Luna''s question abruptly echoed in his mind, ''Why do you want to prove yourself to me when I already chose you?''

    The truth was he wasn''t really proving himself to Luna.

    He was proving himself to Ravin and crush that Familiar''s arrogance.

    Why did it have to be a man''s nature topete for his woman for no reason?

    Was there even apetition, or was he falling for the Blood Beast''s trap to make him miserable?

    How weak��

    Groaning, Apollyon''s eyelids fell shut as his long, bulky arms hung over Luna''s slender ones.

    "Do you want to sleep from exhaustion? Are you hurt anywhere?"

    Luna tried to help him stay upright by wrapping her arms around his hard torso as she allowed him to settle his chin on her shoulder.

    Eyes closed, Apollyon reveled in the sensation of her slender fingers stroking his oblique muscles.

    It made his warm body more heated��and it had nothing to do with Luna setting the nearby tree on fire�� as the hair on his nape stood on its end.

    Was it Luna''s touch that made him hot like he caught a fever, or was there something else?

    His stomach growled.

    He was vaguely aware of his ws growing longer and his fangs elongating of their own ord.

    As he returned his weight to the balls of his feet, Apollyon pulled back slightly and made sure that she saw her lick his lips,? "I am hungry." He peered at her with half-hooded eyes. "I''m so close to devouring you."

    Luna''s voice turned smaller, "You fed on me yesterday."

    "Not enough for me," Apollyon whispered with gritted teeth. "I''m angry at Ravin, goading me every chance he got."

    He couldn''t do anything about it because he is her Familiar.

    "His presence made me anxious. I would have preferred the other one. Sloth." Apollyon dragged one sharp w downward in a painstakingly slow motion, ripping the button of the shirt he let her borrow. Luna froze as she held her breath. " I am certain that he was less of a threat that we should have dropped Ravin in the first ce."

    "He was able to recognize Archangel Ariel in the painting too," Apollyon added thoughtfully. "That one is intelligent."

    "Don''t allow Sloth''s appearance to fool you because that''s what he wanted you to believe in the first ce," Luna replied."You don''t know him."

    "And you do?"

    Luna narrowed her eyes at him, but she didn''t release him, "Don''t hate Ravin too much, or you will lose the battle of wits."

    "Wife. I didn''t like it��."? Apollyon separated the shirt she wore and pulled down the bodice of her blue dress to expose her breasts, "when I offered you to drink my blood, and you refuse it.? I''m extremely offended that you don''t need me anymore to give you strength." It was painful to admit the truth that he had to spat out the words. "I loved to drink from you all the time, but I tried to stop myself from doing so to prove that I? am strong and disciplined."

    "I apologize for making you feel that way."

    "If you are really sorry, then let me do whatever I wanted to do to you tonight."

 Chapter 672 - Fifty Shades Of Pregnancy

    <h4>Chapter 672 - Fifty Shades Of Pregnancy</h4>

    Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (August 2021)

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    Vampire King Apollyon

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    Apollyon said in a low voice as he moved closer to erased their distance. "If you are really sorry, then let me do whatever I wanted to do to you tonight."

    Luna''s emerald eyes were filled with heat as if she desired to take him on his offer.

    The erotic fantasies he had in mind made his fingers tremble in bittersweet anticipation.

    He was too aroused that he originally nned to find a secluded corner to stroke himself before sleeping with his wife.

    They were too many people inside the rock shelter��including his half-sister�� and it would be strange to attempt something naughty in the girl''s presence.

    In addition to that, he had no ns to have sexual congress with his wife while the Archdemons watch them.

    Apollyon wanted them to be jealous, yes, but that would be too f*cked up!

    He was voyeuristic in the past, but his mate had changed him entirely that Apollyon would rather gouge their eyes out.

    Apollyon jaws clenched before he opened his mouth and sank his fangs to her neck.

    She released a long, pleasured moan as he drank the blood in huge gulps as it flowed from the wounds.

    The addictive scent of her blood was an exhrating blend that he craved.

    Lips parting, he slurped her scarlet essence as if he would run out of them.

    Whenever the torn skin sealed itself shut because of her quick healing abilities, Apollyon just had to bite her over and over again.

    He was sure that his wife would never protest because she loved it whenever he rubbed the tip of his tongue in a circr motion in any of her slits, whether he caused it or not.? His precious tongue contained the vampire''s saliva, which can drive his mate crazy, especially when he used it to taste the sweet and tart ambrosia between her legs most of the time--to bring his Archdemon wife to Heaven. At least she would get a taste of it since entering that Realm was out of the question.

    After drinking an ample portion of blood on her neck, Apollyon retracted his fangs a bit just in case he hurt her for that unexpected bite.

    Luna panted as she subconsciously thrust out her chest to rub her nipples against his.

    When his voracious appetite was finally satisfied,? Apollyon''s tongue lowered to the lush ripeness of her upper breast just below the Mark of the Triple Moon Goddess before he bit her flesh hard. Apollyon''s sexual need grew more intense that one muscled knee of his parted her legs.

    The primal part of his brainpelled him to rip her clothes off and bury his shaft between the warm, wet spot of her core as her inner walls squeezed him, milked him until her slit gushed with cream from her orgasm, and then he would pour his seed into her.

    He held her close.

    He had no ns of releasing her, even if she told him no.

    Apollyon thought he wouldn''t have another chance for a sexual congress with her Archdemon Familiars following them around.

    This was his chance to make his dreams turn into reality.

    His hands were too tight on each side of her hips that he loosened his grip a little so as not to frighten his wife by his wild lust.

    He was d that she stayed still and didn''t wriggle out of his grasp like a good obedient wife... which Luna rarely was.

    His lips quirked in an amused smile as it hovered lightly on her torn skin like a butterfly before he slightly disengaged to look at her from head to toe.

    It took him a few minutes to give her curves the attention it needed before he was satisfied.

    His gaze returned to her upper body, and he realized that the ribbons of blood dripping on the punctured holes on her neck wererger than her upper pearl-smooth breasts.

    Apollyon''s eyes widened.

    Apollyon must have bitten his wife a little too hard.

    He gave her an anxious nce, worried that his wife wouldn''t respond to his mating call because of his recklessness.

    He then noticed that Luna had pressed against the defined muscles forming adder on his abdomen and desired to grind her body against him. Still, she couldn''t act on her arousal because of the baby bump. Nevertheless, it dispelled his fears and made his tense shoulders rx.

    He was determined to make her experience better.

    Apollyon didn''t want Luna to think that carrying his heiress wouldn''t be a nuisance.

    He looked over his shoulder and scanned the forest as a precaution, just in case someone was watching them have sexual congress at night.

    Of course, no one from the Summer Militia would daree back if the Faerie Sentinel didn''t want to be returned headless to his family like their General.

    He couldn''t detect any movement or disturbance, so he proceeded with his initial n.

    Smirking, he peeled his shirt jacket off herpletely, and she acquiesced as her little tongue darted out to lick her lips.

    Apollyon exposed the damp blue dress underneath that shirt, which he already pulled down to her hips to expose her chest to his gaze, which only had the privilege to witness.

    His heated eyes scanned all over her bare chest.

    Apollyon could tell that Luna approved his seduction as she squeezed her own breasts in anticipation.

    Soft pink flushed her cheeks as silver hair curtained her lovely heart-shaped face.

    He finally acquired the reassurance he was craving from Luna that she was still his.

    As he lifted her chin with a finger, Apollyon smiled as he stared into her dted emerald eyes full of passion as it reflected his dishevelled image. It made him think that his Empress'' love was only dedicated to him and no one else.

    Both of them just had to get away from a crowd and go to a ce where nobody knew them and treat them like Monarchs��a safe sanctuary where only the two of them existed as husband and wife. After that, the world would all away, and Apollyon will stop caring about other people''s opinions. Except hers.

    "Do you want me as I want you now?"

 Chapter 673 - Leave A Hickey

    <h4>Chapter 673 - Leave A Hickey</h4>

    Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (August 2021)

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    Vampire King Apollyon

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    "Do you want me as I want you now?"

    "Yes, Apollyon." Small puffs of mist came out of her mouth as she breathed with parted lips. "I''m ready."

    Short and sweet.

    She didn''t say anything more.

    The Empress of the Vampire Realm''s beauty was unparalleled in every Realm he had visited.

    She didn''t own the most peerless face in this world, but her appearance was unique.

    In addition to that, she was his mate, and he carried his heiress.

    There was no one like her, including her personality, attitude, and how her brain operated.

    Both of them might be immortals in this Realm, but�� she wasn''t perfect.

    He wasn''t, either.

    She taught him how to be a little vulnerable.

    His ultimate goal as the Vampire King was to discover everything her Empress was hiding from him. Luna and her secrets��

    His chest tightened as he pursed his lips.

    It irritated him that she had to be mysterious despite her promise, to be honest.

    He couldn''t pick up some of her thoughts that he was tempted to practice hiding from her too. Luna limited a few things that he could ess through the mind link, but�� well, it wasn''t like she was lying to him again.

    That was why she did it, was it?

    She was a powerful Archdemon who had full control of her mind, and she couldn''t help but be guarded.

    It was a natural defence mechanism, and he understood.

    Maybe, their freedom about how much they could ess each other''s mind link really had nothing to do with love and loyalty.

    It was about preserving their own identity in the mating bond.

    Sometimes, reserving the air of mystery can keep the mes of love burning for a long, long time.

    Apollyon pushed her against the nearest trunk, and she stepped backwards, yelping in surprise.

    She threw the branches above them a panicked nce, and he did the same.

    He just remembered that Luna had set the top of the tree on fire as one of the methods to call on the Goddess of Dark Magic.

    The orange cinders and ashes from the burnt leaves floated into the ethers along with the smoke rising into the dark heavens.

    The fumes from the fire infiltrating his nostrils didn''t bother him at all.

    Hopefully, the Archangel of Nature and the Guardian of the entire Faerie Realm would attempt to rescue her ward and confront them so their power can overpower the Archangel and force her to lead them to the Garden of the Four Seasons herself.

    Yet, that was wishful thinking on his part.

    Apollyon towered over her as he settled each of his arms at the side of her head.

    Eyes fluttering closed, Apollyon inhaled the scent of her blood deeply and drew it into his lungs before he exhaled.

    How much more if her breasts were exposed in the night breeze, making it pucker in his direction as if they were begging to be kissed?

    After years of Luna''s disappearance, the smell of his mate''s blood became linked with his most important memory.

    It evoked the strong desire in him like an aphrodisiac.

    Apollyon didn''t want to admit this, but as the Vampire King, he had certain expectations of his woman.

    After drinking his mate''s blood, sexual congress usually followed.

    He growled in anticipation as he heard the pulse of his heartbeat throbbing in his ears.

    His mouth watered in unconscious response as he nced at her breasts for the hundredth time.

    Luna''s skin was too pale that he could see every delicate vein on the side of her breasts, and he examined them with care.

    He couldn''t get enough of it.

    Apollyon''s ws moved behind her upper back so that she couldn''t escape from his sensual onught.

    He startedpping at droplets of blood trickling down her nipples.

    His wife''s moans aroused him by how seductive it sounded, turning his erection as hard as a diamond.

    His tongue gave her one long lick before he murmured against her sensitive skin. "Tell me what else you want me to do with my mouth."

    Luna''s slender fingers digging on his scalp halted from steering his nose unto her breast and pulling him back at her will.

    She stuttered in a rush, her voice unnaturally high-pitched. "You are already old enough to know what to do with your mouth, Apollyon."

    Apollyon pulled back and saw her frown, "I know what to do with my mouth, wife, but I want you to tell me what you want. I will be your ve tonight."

    Apollyon stroked her nipples with the back of his hand, and she shivered from the contact.

    He looked at her in the eye as one hand of his clutched the hem of her skirts and lifted them to touch her legs and caress her thigh.

    Luna bit her lip to keep herself from moaning.

    His other hand was upied with ying with her right breast, pinching that nipple between his thumb and forefinger. "Do you want me to massage your slit with my mouth and make youe?"

    His Empress blushed as red as a tomato. "I��"

    Apollyon didn''t wait for an answer due to his impatience.

    His lips returned to her mouth to cut her off--kissing, pecking, biting��all the while stroking her shoulders and arms.

    Apollyon''s mouth was gentle and firm on her lower lip, but he didn''t only focus there.

    His erotic kisses strayed to her neck, behind her ears and the side of her jaw.

    Sometimes, he made little nips and bites here and there,? leaving red blotches that wouldst an hour just enough to let Ravin see his mark of ownership over the wife he imed.

    Like the Archdemon said, if a man really loved someone, he would be terribly bothered by another man putting love bites over his beloved''s skin.

    He shall put his fake love to the test.

    Apollyon wished this would drive the Archdemon of Gluttony to mad jealousy like what he did to him.

    It was time for the bastard topensate for his rage with rage.

    "Wife. Show me where you want my hands." Apollyon finally pulled her undergarment and let it slid down her legs, dropping it to the ground. "You have to tell me, or I would let you suffer and stop this."

 Chapter 674 - Sneaky Little Snake

    <h4>Chapter 674 - Sneaky Little Snake</h4>

    Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (August 2021)

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    Vampire King Apollyon

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    "Wife. Show me where you want my hands." Apollyon finally pulled her undergarment and let it slid down her legs, dropping it to the ground. "You have to tell me, or I would let you suffer and stop this."

    He touched her sex and sensually massaged her entrance slowly with two of his fingers, tracing it with the pad of his fingers upward and downward.

    Luna whimpered by how sensitive her body felt from the delicious thrill he made her feel.

    "I would turn you on so much before we return to the cave, and you will spend the night tossing and turning, wishing that I have fucked you tonight." He growled with passion. "ept my proposition,"

    Apollyon swore that he could sense her pulse throbbing inside her core as her slick entrance mped on his digits.

    Her entrance might be less tight, but she was dripping wet down there.

    Luna squirmed as he pushed her groin towards the heavenly motion of his fingers, finding treasure spots that would stimte her better.

    Whenever Apollyon slowed his thrusts down, the more her sexual appetites turned voracious, and she became desperate to ride him.

    Luna was an open book, and every nuance of her expression made all the blood in his veins flowed to the south, engorging his cock.

    Her scious whimpers almost made his cock leak with pre-cum, but he held himself back. Apollyon slowed down as he summoned every ounce of self-control deep within him.

    Her entire muscles tensed, and her breathing got faster as she held the back of his hand and pushed his fingers deeper. Her eyes? squeezed shut as she keened softly, "Here, Apollyon."

    "You want them there?"

    Luna moaned in pleasure as he slid his fingers upward and continued rubbing the hood of her clitoris in a circr motion.

    Her skin was flushed, and the nipples on full breasts became erect. "Do you like when I insert my middle finger and rub at your little bud-like this?"

    "Ah!"

    His body was jolted out of their sexual y when his wife''s concerning gasp pierced his eardrums.

    He knew right away that it was far from the sound his wife usually made when she reached her climax.

    Apollyon scanned her face if something was wrong��if his blunt digits were pumping too fast inside her inner walls, which caused abrasions--but then he quickly realized that it wasn''t his three fingers inserted in her quim, which caused her distress.

    Fiery twigs from the tall tree Luna used to call the Goddess fell to the crown of hair.

    Apollyon nced upon what should have been a tree canopy.

    Now, it was reduced to a snag as the mes injured the living tissues out of its crown, foliage, branches down to its trunk.

    His body still felt impossibly hot.

    His carnal need was so potent that he couldn''t even think straight.

    He should have paid attention to his surroundings and stop acting like he couldn''t care less. Apollyon had recognized the smoldering wood beforehand, but he expected the ze to die down after Luna failed to call the Goddess of the Underworld.

    Yet, the expectations didn''t match the reality at all.

    The mes were still there.

    With his fast reflexes, Apollyon immediately grabbed his wife''s elbow and distanced themselves from danger.

    The moment Apollyon released her, her small hands flew to her hair as she patted at her hair in random spots, "Can you put out the mes? It''s singeing my hair."

    "I thought you are impervious to mes."? Apollyon reminded her.

    Both of them were still sexually charged, standing on the edge of the precipice with imperceptible tingles on the expanse of their skin before they could finally let go.

    "It doesn''t hurt, but I want them gone." Face still red from his fingers, Luna''s brows furrowed in concentration, "It felt heavy for some reason."

    "It''s not going away."

    Apollyon gave his wife''s hair a second nce, and his eyes widened in rm.

    He was mistaken.

    It wasn''t a burning twig on her hair but a snake with red eyes with fire on its dark green scales.

    Apollyon had to snatch the slithering creature from on top of her head and threw it to the side with nonchnce.

    "It was a snake, wife. It''s gone now.'' He raised his chin proudly. "I got rid of it."

    Luna turned towards the thick shrubs as if she was about to look for the snake he discarded in the dark.

    It turned out that his hunch was right.

    When she stepped in that direction, Apollyon''s fingers were like a manacle to her wrist.? "We need water for that for the poor thing."

    His wife gave her a pleading look, and he shook his head no.

    He even faked a flower for his stubborn wife for good measure.

    "I had to put out the mes, too." She mused. "Maybe, a simple water spell will do since we are near a waterfall."

    Apollyon just stood there in a daze, looking unperturbed, as he watched her decide the best course of action.

    "Husband." Luna''s frown of concentration turned into a pout.

    As his cool gaze fell to her lips, he suddenly recalled what that thing could do��possibly better than magic.

    Hopefully, he can test that again tonight.

    "Husband. Apollyon." Luna repeated.

    He was too distracted that it hade to the point that she had snapped her fingers in front of him to jolt him out of his sensual daydreams.

    Nevertheless, he was grateful that his wife was also upied reading his mind.

    "You aren''t doing anything except looking at me." Luna chided as she crossed her arms over her chest.

    "Right. I''m too distracted by that mouth." He leaned closer and pressed a kiss on his furrowed brow. "I''ll make it rain in? this forest if? you kiss me twice." He murmured huskily, and Luna nted her palm on his chest.

    "Don''t. I''ll do something about this. I made the fire, so I will be the one who is going to put it out."

 Chapter 675 - I Can Make You Feel Good

    <h4>Chapter 675 - I Can Make You Feel Good</h4>

    Newest Chapter For the Highest Tier (August 2021)

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    Archdemon Empress Luna

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    "Don''t." A shake in the head. "I''ll do something about this," Luna told him as she tugged the bodice of her dress upwards to cover her tits.

    Apollyon frowned at her delicate corbones before his gaze went back to her determined countenance.

    Would this be thest time he would ever see those twin�� pink rosebuds?

    The blue fabric barely clung to the valley of her breasts that Luna had to press her palm over them all the time to avoid more exposure.

    Apollyon gave his wife an apologetic look after destroying such a lovely gown.

    Oh, well.

    He would rather take that regret back.

    It wasn''t like this was the first time he had done this.

    His wife didn''tin until his ears fell off, so he took that as a positive sign.

    The only difference was that his wife had one less decent clothing throughout their journey while the Archdemons were around.

    That was the problem.

    "I made the fire, so I will be the one who is going to put it out."

    If Summer Faeries had witnessed this from down below, it would appear like a floating bonfire in the inky darkness of the mountain forest.

    Luna made Archdemon Magic look so easy she put out the growing fire from the tall tree.

    She only had to close her eyes in silence.

    With a simple flick of her hand, she summoned formless water spirits from the cascades falling unto the pool who threw themselves to the crown of the tree, raining freshwater droplets around them. At least, they weren''t close enough to get. Apollyon couldn''t tell what type of Archdemon spell was used since he wasn''t one of their kind.

    The only thing he could do was watch her naked spine ying peek-a-boo with her long silver hair--from her nape down to the small of her back��in fascination rather than thinking about how to be an Archdemon in the quickest way possible.

    Apollyon was a hopeless husband.

    It was either he was too enamored by his wife that he started to wonder if Luna had put a spell on him aside from the mating bond, or he desired to be seen as more powerful than her by turning into one of their Kind.

    After his wife finished dealing with the incident, she spun around and walked towards him with a satisfied smile.

    When she stood in front of him, he asked with eyes feigned with innocence, "Did youe?"

    Caught off guard, Luna''s eyes widened from his query before they narrowed her eyes at him, pursing her lips as if he should know the answer to that.

    "You want me to��"

    His wife cut him off with a heavy sigh as she hugged herself, trying to keep her tattered blue gown together.

    "It will take a lot of work and��" She peered at him beneath hershes, "-- I had lost my mood from the fire."

    Apollyon''s smile grew. "You must be underestimating my skills, wife."

    "The fire just reminded me of what I was supposed to do here, and that isn''t��." Luna stuttered, blushing, "��that isn''t��" She shook her head, "This isn''t it."

    "Are? you still angry about the Goddess?"

    "No." Luna''s gaze went past his face to look behind him--straight to the waterfalls. "We should return to the rock shelter before Ravin does something crazy to Xerxes and Princess Sapphire."

    "What if I don''t want to?"? Apollyon tilted his head in a challenge.? "And why do you always care about what the Archdemon would do when you aren''t around?"

    He crossed his arms over his chest.

    "Ravin and Sloth aren''t going anywhere. They wouldn''t hurt anyone." He told her, but he wasn''t really certain what those two can do with their master''s spoken boundaries.

    Never mind.

    It was time to distract his wife from finishing their ytime.

    "I want to be inside you," Apollyon said boldly, making it known that he didn''t like that it was cut short. "I apologize about earlier if I hurt you."

    "I was not in the right state of mind." He traced her arm with his fingertips and murmured, "I will be gentle."

    She acted like she didn''t want more, but she leaned closer to him, "You didn''t hurt me, but right now, your face doesn''t look like you are going to be gentle."

    Apollyon let out a good-natured chuckle. "What''s with my face?"

    "You look like a rogue vampire gued with blood lust that you might as well be an uncouth young male with? his tongue lolled out, stalking a young female in heat? in mating season."

    For a moment, Apollyon stopped to think her implication.

    Did his countenance make him look like a rogue vampire ridden with blood lust?

    That''s��.

    That''s��

    His wife will be the first and thest woman who can insult him like this.

    "I don''t want to hurt you and the baby, Luna." He said, offended. "What kind of father and husband do you think I am?"

    He cared about her more than that�� Archdemon bastard!

    "Are you still hungry for blood?"

    "No, but I''m hungry for something else." He cleared his throat and puffed his chest out while cing both hands behind his back, "Sexual congress will put you in a good mood, so it''s also good for the baby."

    Luna shook her head, and her expression looked like she was trying hard not to burst outughing, "Are you sure that you didn''t faint with just hunger, Apollyon? Because your words aren''t convincing me enough."

    "It''s not like I am desperate to do it, wife, believe me." He refused to meet her prating gaze as he continued exining, " It''s some sexual medicine. I don''t know how to exin this, but I had a discussion with Prince Aspen about this before."

    "Prince Aspen?"

    "Yes. The subject came up, and I forgot the reason." Apollyon lied. This time he was confident enough to give eye contact, "He must be asking other men so that he could apply the knowledge in case Lady rence bore him a child by ident."

    "Right." Luna nodded slowly.? "If you really insist, I can make you feel good."

 Chapter 676 - I Need A Magic Bed. Anytime. Anywhere.

    <h4>Chapter 676 - I Need A Magic Bed. Anytime. Anywhere.</h4>

    Newest Chapter For the Highest Tier (August 2021)

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    Archdemon Empress Luna

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    "Right." Luna nodded slowly.? "If you really insist, I can make you feel good."

    She averted her gaze before she peered coyly at him beneath hershes.

    As her hands clutched the fabric of her skirts, Luna dropped to her knees in front of him without breaking eye contact.

    Her nerve endings seemed to hum with feminine power, and she became strongly aware of her own heartbeat.

    Apollyon''s eye twitched as he nced down at her, and she couldn''t figure out if he didn''t like her suggestion.

    She didn''t want to admit this, but she still ached for him as her core had flooded with warmth from her husband''s touch.

    This position can speak for itself on what she was about to do.

    Her husband desired to feel good, so she must give that to him the fastest way she knew how.

    Luna guessed that she didn''t have to speak because she had done this before at the celebration of Ostara in the Summer Courts.

    Thest time she remembered, Luna did it to him in the dark alley when she got so mad with jealousy about that Princess��

    Princess��

    The corner of her lips curved slightly upward.

    Her memory of that pathetic Spring Princess trying to steal her husband away while her soul wasn''t present in this Realm was supposed to rile her up, but in the end, her amusement that she couldn''t even remember that girl''s name won.

    The Spring Princess'' name was so unremarkable that her brain deemed it as trash and deleted it from her mind forever.

    Luna smirked.

    Nevertheless, Luna''s memory about that night shifted its focus to that delightful scene at the dark, narrow alley in Krinianopolis.

    She wouldn''t forget how Apollyon''s eyes glowed like blue orbs in the dark.

    Despite this unnatural calmness, he would project on the outside, his entire muscles had tensed with anticipation, and she could tell that he could barely hold himself back.

    Her fingers shaping and stroking his cock made him groan and bite his lower lip before she unfastened his belt and pulled his trousers.

    Apollyon''s angry, red prick springing into action was a lovely sight she would like to witness again.

    Even though her position showed her submission by kneeling, ironically, it made her feel more powerful and in control of her husband''s desire.

    He watched her with a smooth, expressionless face, recing the light-hearted, sensual air around them earlier.

    He didn''t smile.

    He didn''t frown.

    Luna''s heart stopped.

    Apollyon''s pursed lips made her nervous.

    "What are you doing?" He demanded in a low growl.

    She reached out to him and grazed the back of his thigh, "Kneeling to the special god I? only im to worship."

    "Didn''t you hear what I said?" Apollyon''s eyes widened as if he couldn''t believe what he just heard. Then, he crouched down in an attempt to lift her. "You will hurt your knees!"

    It was up to her husband to decide whether he was up for it or not.

    Well, he was definitely up for it if she might say so.

    His hands were settled behind his back, and his muscled thighs were parted slightly as he stood in front of her, exuding an aura of masculine dominance with silent confidence that still made her feel safe.

    Apollyon was her husband, after all.

    The scorching heat of Apollyon''s gaze threatened to melt her in a puddle of goo as he glowered at her knees in disapproval. "Get up."

    Luna didn''t listen.

    She cupped a hand over his erection, outlining his penis through the fabric.

    Apollyon ground his hips against her hand, and she considered that a victory.

    Then, she unfastened his belt and pulled down his pants.

    She grabbed his long, hard shaft.

    The pad of her thumb rubbed the tip until his seed started to dribble out from it.

    "You can guide my head and lead me to please you better."

    Luna opened her mouth wide to devour him whole and coat his shaft with saliva to reduce friction.

    Hopefully, that would be enough to lubricate him.

    The delicious taste of salt and earthbined with that special blend of his chocte musk exploded in her tongue.

    Apollyon shuddered every time the tip of his cock hit the back of her throat.

    Then he dug his fingers to her scalp to clutch at her hair, urging his cock balls-deep into her mouth.

    A few seconds passed by. Finally, Luna squeezed her eyes shut and gagged from the pressure.

    "No." Apollyon groaned.

    Apollyon wrapped her long silver hair around her wrist and tugged her head back, forcing her to release him.

    "I lose control when you use your mouth."

    "Do you think my hand will do?"

    Apollyon covered her hand on his hard cock and showed her how he would like to be stimted.

    Her strokes began slow, and the pressure was light.

    As she circled her fingers around his shaft, Luna began to pump him just as he liked without his assistance.

    She didn''t have to practice on him all the time since she was a quick learner when it came to his pleasure.

    She can pick up on his bodynguage and cues.

    Luna usually had an inkling of what he felt at the moment because of their mind link.

    He was her teacher, and as his eternal student, she was a wife who was eager to please.

    She sped his shaft with both of her hands, interlocking her fingers to contain his cock.

    His breathing began to change rapidly, and his cock began to throb.

    Luna also paid attention to his balls as she massaged and cupped them along with stroking from the base of his shaft and its length, twisting it up and down with her fist.

    Few seconds of sustaining that fluid motion, he allowed her to lead him and finally released his hand over hers.

    Luna was the queen here, and she set the pace.

    She ramped up the intensity of his rhythm, and he let out animalistic grunts with every jerk of his pelvic bone.

    Nevertheless, Luna kept going.

    " Enough!" Apollyon''s voice was harsh as he suddenly backed his pistoning hips away from her grip.

    His cock slid from her hands, and she tilted her head curiously at him, "Don''t you like it?"

    "I want to be inside you." He tipped her chin with his finger and looked into her eyes,? "Let''s move away from here."

 Chapter 677 - Switch

    <h4>Chapter 677 - Switch</h4>

    Newest Chapter For the Highest Tier (August 2021)

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    Vampire King Apollyon

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    "Let''s move away from here."

    Luna nodded in agreement. Apollyon didn''t think twice about moving her to another location and continue their sexual congress.

    He didn''t mind creating another bed made of grass to cushion his wife''s back and make herfortable solely for this recreation.

    Crouching with her hands and knees on the bed, he had Luna bend over while he was positioned behind her buttocks.

    Apollyon gripped his member with trembling hands and inserted it inside her quim.

    Luna arched her back as she let out a long moan, giving him a better view that he couldn''t help but give one cheek a gentle p.

    The moment Apollyon impaled her back and forth in desperate rapid strokes, the globes of her ass started bouncing back against the base of his shaft.

    Eyes falling shut, he groaned while he gripped his beloved''s hips and adjusted the angle of his pration.

    She whimpered with every hard thrust, and he gave her everything he got as long as she could take it.

    In a snap of a finger, Luna''s limbs went limp as if she was someone''s puppet who had her strings cut.

    Apollyon halted and caught his wife before her stomach could press against any hard surface underneath the makeshift bed.

    His posture stiffened as his blue eyes widened in surprise, followed by confusion.

    ''Did I fuck her too hard?'' Apollyon asked himself.

    A pained growl rolled in his throat when he rammed his rock-hard erection inside his breeches and quickly fastened his belt.

    If his beloved never wake up from this, then it was none other than his fault.

    "Wife. Are you hurt anywhere?" Apollyon refused to panic as he carefully flipped Luna over so that he could cradle her back.

    Her eyelids were closed, and her pale lips were slightly parted.

    The pink flush on her ivory face was a tell-tale sign that she was alright, but he still hovered his palm to feel the airing in and out of her nose.

    Apollyon heaved a sigh of relief when he realized that his wife was still breathing.

    Nevertheless, he wasn''t given the time to celebrate that because Luna had regained her consciousness almost immediately, and the tiny jolt of his arm renewed his hope.

    The moment her emerald eyes opened to blink at him, a rock of ice had settled in his stomach as chills ran down the length of his spine.

    He halted before he said in a disbelieving voice. "You are not Luna."

    "You got that right, Vampire King."

    He was the King of the Vampire Realm who had no idea what sheer terror felt like, but his observations about other weak-minded people confirmed his current emotion.

    His heartbeat thrashed in his ears as his sensitivity to the crackles of power in the atmosphere increased.

    Lilith''s dark aura seemed to stifle him��encasing him in this invisible dreadful box he could barely fit.

    He was feeling terror for the first time��horrified that Lilith would do something to hurt Luna and the babe in her stomach.

    Apollyon spent his life being detached from other creatures that had no use for him.

    He would admit that he used to be selfish and narcissistic.

    Of course, he wouldn''t do anything that didn''t serve himself and his Kingdom.

    That was before.

    Now, he had already changed drastically.

    Apollyon didn''t have any fears unless it was something rted to his mate.

    Conflicts rted to his wife''s safety drove him to turbulent rage, and he would just about attack anyone who triggered that.

    This was how he operated��his defence mechanism.

    Yet, the presence of his wife''s Archdemon Familiars taught him how to hold back unless it was necessary.

    Hurting either Ravin and Sloth will do more harm than good.

    The choice tosh out was taken away from him since he couldn''t hurt Luna and their baby just to get back at the Archdemon of Envy.

    Lilith had taken advantage of that and taken his wife and the baby hostage.

    Apollyon released Lilith and hurried to get up and get away from the Archdemon of Envy.

    When did she manage to take over Luna?

    Was it during or after the deed?

    He stared at his hands in a dazed shock.

    He could not, for the life of him, ept that he had fornicated with this awakened Archdemon by ident!

    She rolled her eyes and gave him a sarcastic smile as sheid on the makeshift bed on her side. "You don''t have to act like I vited you, Apollyon." She had her head propped by her elbow before she rose with elegance.

    Lilith gave him a look? which radiated superiority. "��but I admit I would have thoroughly enjoyed your cock for the first time if you gave me the chance."

    ''The switch didn''t happen during the sexual congress, then.'' Apollyon thought.

    "You aren''t a good actress, Lilith." Apollyon nostrils red as he clenched and unclenched his fists, looking for someone''s slender throat to wrap his hands with until their pale face turned a sickly green and mottled red.

    With every stride Lilith made as an attempt to invade his space, Apollyon would step away from her without meeting her gaze just in case she would use that to control him.

    He decided to teleport sixty meters away from where she stood.

    It was very far from within touching distance like Lilith obviously wanted, but they could still hear each other.? "You can''t fool me twice." He muttered, "I''m not an idiot."

    "That is a quite a skill you got there, Vampire King." Lilith sneered in his wife''s countenance as she crossed her arms over her chest.

    Keeping his distance, Apollyon could only scowl at her because as much as he hated this woman, he didn''t want to hurt his wife and his baby if something Lilith said triggered him to kill. "I still don''t understand how? you can still recognize that I''m not your wife anymore with just one look at my face. Every. Single.. Time."

 Chapter 678 - Confrontation

    <h4>Chapter 678 - Confrontation</h4>

    (edited this chapter and the previous one because i find it ugly)

    Newest Chapter For the Highest Tier (August 2021)

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    Vampire King Apollyon

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    "Something about my personality must have given it away even if I tried my best copying that bitch." Lilith tossed her silver hair back and shook her head. Apollyon didn''t know why but he could tell the difference between two women even if they shared the same body.? "Unfortunately, your wife can''t even differentiate her husband from a shape shifter when she should have. That would have been more obvious than me taking control of her vessel. Not only was she stupid.? It meant that she didn''t adore you as much as I do that she couldn''t even be bothered to examine whether she was having sexual congress with her real husband or not."

    Apollyon bellowed. "SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

    How dare she insult his wife like this?

    Lilith clicked her tongue and regarded him with mock pity. "You should know that when you love someone more, Apollyon, you lose."

    He can clearly envision Lilith''s alluring face in his mind ovepping Luna''s countenance like a mask. If both women were flowers, he would describe Lilith''s beauty as Venus Fly Trappared to Luna��his wild Lily of the Valley.

    Of course, he would notice if the Archdemon of Envy had taken over his wife''s physical vessel.

    As the King of the Vampire Realm, he was taught to observe the mood in every room he walked into and read everyone in it��every nuance of their expressions, the tone of their voices and their bodynguages��to create the best deals and negotiations with people--especially aristocrats and monarchs--where he surely got the upper hand.

    He might be blind when it came to Lilith''s possession of his wife if not for his military general and Prince Aspen.

    Yet, now he knew better than letting his sexual desires prevail over his logical and objective mind.

    "I remembered��" It was Ravin who just told him the same thing back at the cave, but he wasn''t about to tell her that because Lilith might use that knowledge as an advantage"��someone told me what you said just now. Our love isn''t a game. It''s not about winning or losing. It doesn''t matter to me even if I give her more? than what she was willing to give, take less than what she had taken? me. Our love for each other is mutual and reciprocated. We don''t need to count every little thing. When I learned how to love, I love freely without holding back a part of me because I trust that she loved me too." Apollyon exined to her, but he doubted the Archdemon of Envy would understand.

    She can''t evenprehend a simple word like ''NO''��or was she too full of herself that she couldn''t ept his rejection as the Vampire King when all of the aristocrats in the Vampire Realm��including his Father, King Gwythyr��was charmed by her charm and ''intelligence''?

    Perhaps, it was just the fulfilment of her role as the Vampire Realm''s Virgin High Priestess purely for a vampire male''s fantasy��a special and untouched source of magic blood.

    Most of the men in the Vampire Realm ced her on this pedestal and boxed her identity into this false innocent image�� a mask she couldn''t keep up for long.

    Lilith raised a questioning eyebrow at that. "Sometimes, I wish that you were an idiot like your father so that I can seduce you with my charms without breaking a sweat. I only have to bat my eyshes and then you would do everything I say."

    "I wish you would shift your obsession to King Gwythyr until his death so that you would leave me the fuck alone!" Apollyon snapped at her.

    Her green eyes were feverish and bright as she pped her hands in excitement, "Can''t you see that you are meant to be, Apollyon?"

    Lilith''s desperation added fuel to the fire raging in his veins, and all he could see was red when he said in a guttural roar.? "Go back to whatever hole you have crawled out of and return my wife!"

    "Why would I?" Tucking a stray strand of silver hair behind her ear, Lilith asked coyly, "When I want to thoroughly enjoy your cock for the first time?"

    Then, she tilted her head and smirked. "From our clothes I could tell we just did something interesting?"

    That question gave him enough reassurance.

    The switch had happened after his wife had fainted.

    He was grateful that he hadn''t attempted sexual congress with the Archdremon of Envy without his notice.

    Still, he was so close to seeking vengeance as he moved slowly and deliberately towards her like a predator.

    "You disgust me."

    "Ah-ah." Lilith, inside Luna''s body, wagged a finger in front of his face as she gave him a hard smile.? "It''s just the same quim? your wife possessed, Apollyon."

    She leaned in aggressively as if to challenge him and winked, "It''s nothing to be disgusted about when Luna and I share the same physical vessel."

    Gritting his teeth, Apollyon squeezed her arm to the point of bruising. "You don''t have the? right to utter her name!"

    "Say that again and I will kill the babe." Lilith stroke one palm over her baby bump, drawing his attention to that spot.

    "Husband." She emphasized the word the way Luna used to call him as she waved a hand in dismissal. "Try me."

    Apollyon kept his face nk as his lips pressed into a grim line.

    His mounting frustration over Lilith controlling his wife''s body almost caused his thoughts to nk.

    What should he do?

    Well, hurting his own wife''s body was out of the question.

    It wasn''t like he could destroy Lilith without destroying Luna.

    He scowled at her in suspicion.

    There was something mind-boggling about the Archdemon of Envy not running away from him and attempting an escape.

    What did she want from him?

    He felt angry at himself because he couldn''t do anything more except extract information from the Archdemon of Envy while she was still in the mood for a conversation.

 Chapter 679 - Epitome Of Delusion

    <h4>Chapter 679 - Epitome Of Delusion</h4>

    Newest Chapter For the Highest Tier (September 2021)

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    Vampire King Apollyon

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    "You wouldn''t be able to kill the baby because your soul''s anchor in my wife''s body is tied to hers." Apollyon''s lips curled as he bared his teeth at her.

    The grip on Lilith''''s bare arm tightened with this deadly intent to break bones.

    He held his strength back and loosened his grasp.

    If he couldn''t keep his emotions in check, Apollyon would be his wife''s own enemy when he should be protecting her.

    His cold hard gaze returned to his wife''s green eyes.? "You can''t fool me with that bullshit, Lilith."

    "Where did you even hear that ridiculous notion?" Luna asked.

    For a few seconds, her countenance looked serious for something she considered ridiculous. Giving him a half-shrug, she raised a curious eyebrow as one corner of her lips turned upwards.? "You know me, Vampire King." She snorted, "Do you think I would be that stupid to attach myself to our future heir?"

    His eyebrows had shot up to his hairline, and his ears couldn''t have heard something more ridiculous than this one. "Our future heir?"

    Nobody else from this Realm could reverse the effects of Archdemon Magic if? that person had no idea what? spell we used in the first ce." Lilith exined further about the magic she used to remain in his wife''s physical vessel. " I hate to break this to you, but you will never get rid of me even after the babe is born.? "

    Everything went quiet from the inside and outside of him.

    Lilith hadn''t figured out yet that the Archdemon of Gluttony and Sloth had turned into her Archdemon Familiars to keep her under control.

    She would be surprised to discover that they could contain these evil creatures from wreaking havoc in this Realm.

    He also out a few pieces of information about Lilith from Sloth after spilling some of her secret spells to upy Luna''s body.

    He refused to believe these lies.

    "Fuck you, Lilith. Why are you doing this?" Apollyon demanded in a harsh growl.

    He brought the arm he clutched closer to him until they were face to face that he could almost hear her panting.

    "No. Nevermind." Shaking his head, Apollyon turned away from her and shoved her backwards. "Don''t answer me because I already know. You are already out of your mind long before we even met for the first time." He couldn''t bear to look at her. "You are sick in the head and there is no cure to that."

    "You know what��no��." Lilith paused, weighing down her next words before she went on, "��you do realize who is the cure of my sickness, Vampire King." He could sense the pain in her tone, but maybe it was just his imagination, but she still knew the answer. "It''s you."

    Keeping his head down, Apollyon''s arms shook, and his knuckles went white from clenching his fists too hard. "I don''t want to love you."

    "I am willing to be a good person for? you, Apollyon.? If I can have you, I would give you the world�� any realm you wish to possess�� I would help you take over these Kingdoms and stay by your side as the Empress of the Vampire. With myplex knowledge of Archdemon Magic, we will be unstoppable." Lilith-Luna promised as she rested her hands on his broad shoulders, stroking him with this false familiarity that felt like spiders were crawling all over him. "I have been an Archdemon for a long timepared to that Luna." He froze and stayed still as shivers ran down his spine. "I am better than this girl. I promise that I will be the most obedient wife you will ever dream of."

    "I will cater to your every needs without fail." Her husky murmurs in Luna''s voice was potent seduction that he liked to steer clear from. "I will dedicate my immortal life to bing the perfect wife and the rightful Empress of the Vampire Realm."

    If his wife could hear Lilith''s promises, she would probably p this she-devil to Hell.

    "You just don''t understand, do you?" Apollyon held her gaze as he slid his hands from Lilith''s wrists down to her arms before jerked them away from touching any part of his skin.

    Lilith was getting bolder with her touches just because she wore Luna like a bodysuit.

    She wasn''t a shapeshifter, but she might as well be.

    Where did she get all this shameless ease of stealing someone''s husband?

    It was astounding that Apollyon spected that she already did this before without remorse. "If I want you I would have chosen you the moment you sneaked into my chamber the night you summoned Ravin to ruin my life for declining your offer."

    Lilith gave him a t look as if she was offended that she was offended by her touch.

    "This is what I don''t understand at that time, Vampire King." She crossed her arms over her chest, and she kept her hands to herself. "Why do you ept other women from your father''s Consortium in your bed when you are so quick to dismiss me when I am more alluring than them? Every Vampire wanted me--even the your father King Gwythyr--except for you."

    "Did you forget that you are were hailed to be the High Priestess of Hecate? A pure maiden who will be the vessel and source of Underworld Magic for the Vampire Realm?" Apollyon began just in case she already forgot because it happened a long time ago. "I don''t want anything to do with you after I heard that you were involved with King Gwythyr." He gritted out. "How can a mere human rise from out of nowhere managed to achieve a higher status in the Vampire Hierarchy if not for your charms which captivated the Vampire King?"

    All of the aristocrats whispered about it behind their back, and he had no desire to touch his Father''s favourite consorts and concubines.

    ''Then, if I didn''t be the First High Priestess of the Vampire Realm, would there be a chance that you would want me?"

 Chapter 680 - Stubborn

    <h4>Chapter 680 - Stubborn</h4>

    Newest Chapter For the Highest Tier (September 2021)

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    Vampire King Apollyon

    ************************

    ''Then, if I didn''t be the First High Priestess of the Vampire Realm, would there be a chance that you would want me?"

    This must be how Luna felt when Apollyon required her total obedience at the start of the marriage. It turned out that he didn''t want a wife like the one Lilith promised.

    He might have that kind of preference in the good old days when he used to own the Consortium. But, in the present, Apollyon wanted a wife equal to him��one who wouldn''t cling to him everywhere and follow his everymand like a trained animal.

    Why did she keep asking this over and over when she knew the answer?

    "No." For the hundredth time tonight,? Apollyon exhaled an irritated sigh.? "I still wouldn''t want you."

    Now, Apollyon understood why Luna was furious at him because he was about to explode from this... next level of stupidity��even more than Ravin and Sloth.

    He couldn''t believe that Lilith pretended she didn''t hear that and just continued as if his words were blown away by the night breeze, "I told you before that your wife had fornicated with? another male Archdemon and you didn''t believe me when I only spoke the truth! If I was your mate I would have known its you right away, Apollyon, just like how you have known that it was me." Lilith spat. "I am loyal than this bitch."

    Apollyon''s chest tightened when he was reminded of the demonic event he tried to banish from his mind.

    "I find it unfair that you can still forgive this whore for cheating on you when I only summoned the Archdemon of Gluttony to possess you." Lilith trembled from the force of her anger. "I already paid that sin with my life! What more do you need so that you will ept me?"

    This woman was as persistent as? Ravin, trying to seduce his stubborn wife to im him as her first husband.

    She wasn''t even his mate, so what drove her to chase after him after millennia of being trapped in Hell?

    He recalled that moment in the past when Luna had expressed immense hatred for him for forcing his will against her, ignoring her ''NO'' as a valid answer.

    The previous Apollyon will not reject his wife because it didn''t make sense to him when they had the mating bond.

    Little did he know that his marriage to Luna would give him this rude awakening, making him realize that the mating bond didn''t give him the entitlement to treat his woman like a ve concubine and whip her to submission.

    He became aware of Luna as a separate entity with a mind of her own��who had goals to achieve and a mission to aplish for herself that had nothing to do with him.

    Apollyon didn''t want to be like his father��King Gwythyr.

    From Princess Ourania''s extreme animosity to his father, he spected that his father had ruined the Summer Princess'' life in this manner, extending her contempt to her own child and the people around her who did nothing wrong.

    "Before I attempted a spell on my own, I made sure to stay in Luna''s physical vessel forever. I know deep in my gut that you would choose me in the end if you just give me a chance and prove myself."

    This was the same script Ravin kept telling his wife at the rock shelter.

    Apollyon wondered where these Archdemons pulled out this dedication to ruin them.

    "F*ck you, Lilith!" He lowered his chin to look down at her with contempt. "I am already married. I have a wife and a future heiress!"

    They kept going around in circles, and it vexed him.

    Lilith never talked about anything that would give him important clues except her confession of her undying love after he already made it clear to her that he wasn''t interested.

    Well, unless she would help him be an Archdemon.

    "Don''t fret anymore, husband. I stole her physical vessel so it would be easier for you to get used to who I am if I look like your wife. And even if the heir didn''t belong to who I am and my core essence, I would take good care of our baby because it came from this physical vessel��my body��if you offer me your love and undying devotion instead of that Luna."

    Heat roiled at the pit of his stomach as his blood pressure rose to new heights.

    Now, this delusional Archdemon wouldn''t stop staking her im on things that didn''t belong to her.

    Her husband?

    Their baby?

    Her body?

    Apollyon''s posture was tensed and alert as he red at Lilith.

    Let her say that again.

    He will torture Luna''s physical vessel until Lilith releases her hold on his wife''s consciousness.

    "I would rather you kill the baby if that would happen, Lilith. I don''t care." Apollyon said out loud with false bravado. His fists rested on his hips, and his elbows and stance were wide.? ? "Just kill it if you want. I''m not going to stop you." He saw her flinch, which gave him more confidence that Lilith wouldn''t act on the dare.

    "You can''t do it, huh?" He baited her even more. "Your strange reaction just proved that my theory is true."? She was, indeed, using his heir as her anchor in this Realm! "You are using my heiress for your wicked schemes!"

    Will Lilith remain in Luna''s body if his wife finally gives birth, or would she possess his daughter instead?

    A slight tremor in her voice. "I�� I nned to kill your heiress, Apollyon��"

    What did her hesitation mean?

    "Hah. You are lying!" Apollyon interrupted her with an uglyugh. "Only an Archdemon like you can stoop this low. Aren''t you ashamed of yourself? Using an innocent unborn baby to manipte me?" He clicked his tongue and shed her a cold, mocking smile. "It had been a millenium, Lilith. Haven''t you forgotten about me already after all the Archdemons you have met? Which of my constant rejection of your love not clear to you?"

    "It''s not really a rejection if I haven''t believed it as is."

    That was thest straw.

    The cave behind the waterfalls exploded when Apollyon wrapped both of his hands around Luna''s slender neck.

 Chapter 681 - Make Love To Me

    <h4>Chapter 681 - Make Love To Me</h4>

    Newest Chapter For the Highest Tier (September 2021)

    ************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ************************

    The rock shelter where Princess Sapphire, Xerxes and the Archdemons had rested for the night sted out of nowhere while Apollyon''s hands were wrapped around Luna''s slender neck.

    The rock debris was crushed into jagged pieces, pelting him from the back.

    Still, holding his wife by the throat��this time with one hand,? he risked looking over his shoulder to make sure that the explosion dide from the secret cave behind the waterfalls.

    Who else around this mountain forest could destroy a part of nature in the blink of an eye unless if it was a creature who could ess magic?

    No one from the Summer Militia woulde for them in the middle of the night for the sake of revenge after they sent the headless body of the Fae General back to the Summer Courts.

    It must be an Archdemon''s attempt to escape the rock shelter but for what purpose?

    Was it because Ravin and Sloth felt Lilith''s presence in Luna''s physical vessel?

    Is this eruption a silent demand to be released from the caves so that they could fulfil Luna''s ultimatemand from their binding contract with their Master?

    Will they be able to perform their duties as Archdemon Familiars and keep Lilith under control when thetestmands Luna had uttered to them was to sleep and stay at the rock shelter until early morning?

    Now, their only way to escape was to delete these waterfalls'' existence from the mountains.

    Apollyon highly doubted they would even think twice about removing it from all the Fae-made terrain maps of the Summer Courts.

    Well, it wasn''t like he needed Ravin and Sloth''s help so relying on them was out of the question.

    Nevertheless, he was astonished that the impact of the st was so powerful that it reached their location despite their distance from the waterfalls themselves.

    Apollyon''s makeshift bed was approximately a thousand feet apart from the rock shelter.

    He nched when he felt raindrops drizzle on his dark mane and the expanse of milk caramel skin.

    Apollyon threw a quick nce towards the night sky and frowned when she found them to be clear and tranquil.

    A smattering of stars began to wink at him after the storm clouds diffused in the atmosphere.

    The series of cascades from the waterfalls should gravitate towards the pool but they spritzed in all directions instead, making him think that the clouds weren''t done shedding their tears for the second time.

    "Apollyon. Help me." Luna gritted out and Apollyon''s gaze immediately returned to his wife.? "Why are you choking me?"

    As he witnessed the colour draining her face, Apollyon loosened his grip on her throat by reflex only to constrict them when he remembered how maniptive Lilith was. "You know damn well why I am choking you, Lilith."

    "This is me, Luna." She gasped and her mouth fell open to respond, "Your wife."

    Her trembling fingers clutched his wrists, urging him to release her.

    "I. Don''t. understand. Let go of me." Shaking her head, Luna choked down a sob and her glower was full of usation. "I can''t breathe."

    Apollyon insisted but his resolve seemed to weaken when he realized that he was hurting his wife. "You are not my wife."

    "I am. Apollyon." Hunching over, Luna swallowed hard but she made no move to fight him. "Release me. Please. It hurts. You. Are. Killing. Me."

    "Connect with me in the mind link." Apollyon barked.

    "I. Can''t." Her legs were so weak that she couldn''t stand anymore. "Lilith. Is trying��" Luna''s breath hitched as she staggered towards him, "--to take over my mind again."

    "How many people are there in the cave before we left?"

    There was a short silence followed by an, "Aww~ That''s unfortunate." Lilith straightened her posture, cocked her head to the side and pouted,? "I can''t pretend I know the answer to that, Vampire King." She huffed her annoyance as if she wasn''t really struggling from her strangtion, "I''ll be honest because I don''t know."

    Apollyon snarled, "You fooled me!"

    "You got fooled, husband? That''s nice." Luna''s eyes danced as she peered at him beneath hershes.

    Her voice was light and yful when she added,? "I consider that as apliment. You just told me earlier that I''m not a good actress." Lilith rocked back her heels in amusement while she had his wrists in her grasp. "Do you appreciate how fast I have improved?"

    "You bitch!" Apollyon pped her in the face but he held back his vampire strength or else he would make his wife lose her fangs.

    Her cheeks reddened and blood trickled at the corner of her lips when she faced him.

    "HA-HA-HA." Lilith threw her head back andughed, exposing her neck. "Don''t forget that you are pping your beloved''s face and cutting off her cirction, Apollyon." Her cheekbones raised as she grinned from ear to ear.? "You might as well kill your own heir."

    "Lilith!"

    "Ahh~" The Archdemon moaned as she pressed a palm over the juncture of her thighs covered by her blue skirts, "I can still feel the wetness between my legs and the soreness around my buttocks. You must have pulled my undergarments down and left it somewhere, carried me to this makeshift bed, lifted my skirts up and? then rammed your cock behind me hard and fast. I should have taken the reins of this vessel during our sexual congress--"

    "I made love to my wife. My mate. Not you." Apollyon interrupted her with bared teeth, "Don''t reduce our pure and passionate intimacy with your delusions��assuming that I also made love to you just because you share the same body."

    "Isn''t it not the same?"

    For a few seconds, Apollyon heard a clicking sound in his ears.

    Groaning in pain, his body crumpled in on itself and he stumbled back a step.

    Then, he felt something crack in his hands that he was forced to release Lilith''s throat like his palms were on fire.

 Chapter 682 - The Wifes Impostor

    <h4>Chapter 682 - The Wife''s Impostor</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (September 2021)

    **********************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    **********************

    Then, he felt something crack in his hands that he was forced to release Lilith''s throat like his palms were on fire.

    Lilith pushed him back towards the grassy makeshift bed, and hended in a soft thud.

    Squealing, she jumped on top of him and straddled his hips in a crazy delight.

    Leaning closer to his face, she whispered in Apollyon''s mouth, "Should I force the Vampire King to make love to me?"

    "I will kill you��"

    "��but you can''t. Poor. Poor. Apollyon." Lilith''s cold hands clung to his broad shoulders as she nodded in understanding, "I can''t believe this bitch''s behavior had rubbed on you for the short time you have been together. You are all talk and no action."

    Apollyon''s eyes narrowed at her as she continued, " That''s sad��." This false sympathy had gotten on his nerves, making his skin crawl and shiver in disgust. "--but I don''t really empathize with your struggle, Vampire King."

    He was right about her.?"I never said I expected empathy from an Archdemon."

    "Ah~ It must be hard to realize that it isn''t just me you are hurting. It is also her body you feel murderous to." Lilith whispered as she lightly stroked his jawline with her finger.

    His teeth gritted from the immense effort of trying to lift a finger, but he couldn''t.

    Unfortunately, the Archdemon of Envy hadplete control over him with her Archdemon Magic. "To be honest, choking me earlier doesn''t even hurt me that much since you did not enforce any killing intent. This is why I have pulled one over you and controlled your body before you do."

    Now, Lilith''s wandering forefinger trailed down to his left nipple and moved the pad in a circr motion.

    An aroused groan almost escaped from his throat as he kept his face nk.

    He closed his eyes since he couldn''t bear to see Luna''s beautiful countenance while Lilith attempted to stir his erotic desires.

    "So, how does it feel?to be helpless, husband?" Lilith began to grind against hisid member using Luna''s body.

    He feared his slow gyrations had begun to take effect when he felt this heavy warmth in his groin.

    "I gave you the choice to love me for me, didn''t I?" She let out a mocking sigh. "I don''t want to see you suffer because of me but at the same time, I only wanted to do bad things to you so that I could ask you if it hurts, just like it hurt me."

    "It gives me this rush of power to control you and have the upper hand that it almost felt orgasmic. Aahh~" Lilith closed her eyes and dragged out a high-pitched moan from her lips. "Loving me as your real mate will make your immortal life easier or... you might?go insane like your mother. Just ept this new reality between?the three of us. If you hate me too much you will learn to hate your own mate''s body as well."

    "You im to love me and insult me on the next breath."?Apollyon''s face tightened from his incredible will to break free from Lilith''s magic that he actually managed to lift his heel an inch above his makeshift bed.

    He threw her a nce to make sure that she didn''t notice what happened behind her back and growled,?"Hell will freeze over before I choose you over my wife, Archdemon!"

    "Kill me, then, if you can. That would solve all your problems." She cupped his cheekbones with Luna''s hands.?"I challenge you to kill me, your wife and your heir. It''s simple. Where?did your blood lust ran off to?"

    "It''s pretty obvious that you can''t do it. What did the ruthless King from the Vampire?Realm had be?" Lilith asked gently as she gave him a sad smile, "You couldn''t do it no matter how many times I taunted you, hoping one insult of mine can?push you over the edge."

    "Yet, you just can''t and I find it hrious." Her grin widened. "If King Gwythyr was with us right now he would be ashamed that you are his son."?Lilith said as her fingers rubbed against his lower lip while she watched him as if he was her prey. "Can''t you see that your mate had be?your weakness? You shouldn''t have involved deep emotions for this girl. It''s your fault that you have found?yourself in this predicament." Apollyon''s jaw tensed in irritation as she went on, "Yet, I will help you correct this mistake. Our destinies are intertwined and it brought me back to you.?Even if we were separated in two different Realms, fate had found a way to entangle us. Our connection isn''t over yet, Apollyon. Now that I am here, I wouldn''t give up on that love."

    Scowling, Apollyon pursed his lips in thought.

    Lilith already assumed she was better than Luna, and this must be the thing that gave her hope to keep going until Apollyon gave in to her irrational demands.

    How ironic that he could understand Archdemon of Gluttony a littlepared to Lilith, with whom he hadn''t shared any bond.

    His wife was right.

    Archdemons in Hell always insisted that they understood love and how it felt but what they actually know was the sick version of their twisted fantasies which only suited their needs.

    "Hmm." Lilith stroked the muscles on his broad shoulders as she kept eye contact with him.

    Her hands massaged the length of his arms as if she couldn''t wait to have them wrap around her back while she rode on top of him against his will.

    "All these talking while I am on top of you?turned me on. I''m in the mood for another round of lovemaking." Lilith''s emerald eyes shone before it softened as she lowered her head to brush her lips softly against his.

    Apollyon strongly shook his head in protest.

    "I ache for you, Vampire King."

 Chapter 683 - Remorse

    <h4>Chapter 683 - Remorse</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (August 2021)

    **********************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    **********************

    "I ache for you, Vampire King." Lilith said in a low, seductive voice.

    Apollyon would rather be deaf again than hear the Archdemon of Envy made use of her wife''s voice to get to him,pelling him to sin.

    As her palms slid from his shoulders to rest on his pectoral muscles, Lilith leaned unto him and lifted her hips and sat on his member, rubbing against him in a motion that felt good for his manhood but not for him.

    "Ah~ I like this position so much. I can see that you can make a woman happy with just the shape and length of your member, Apollyon. I can feel it." Lilith continued moving on top of him. Her long silver hair curtained her blushing face as she murmured in a breathy moan. "How much more will it grow if you became rock-hard after I stimted you enough?"

    He would not let this bitch think that he was consumed by her sensual stimtions just because she owned Luna''s body at the moment.

    It will never work.

    Lilith was never the source of a carnal desire, and he would show that through action.

    He didn''t need to say much.

    Even if he almost reached his peak, he will force himself not toe at all.

    Nevertheless, the silky thin skirts of Luna''s dress glided over his abdomen, and the delicious friction on the fly of his breeches was something he absolutely hated.

    Yet, his erection told him otherwise, and the sensation even made the hair rise on his arms and nape.

    He didn''t wish any of these things, and he made that known as he tried to keep his face expressionless��as if it didn''t affect him.

    There was no point in telling an Archdemon to stop since they would only do the opposite. So Apollyonid on his back and pretended he was a dead log.

    Feeling unclean, Apollyon gritted his teeth as she continued to tease him with his wife''s body.

    She raised sexual tension between them by positioning him between her legs, urging him to thrust back, but it wasn''t something Apollyon would like to do with the enemy.

    He was still in the right mind, and he will never betray his wife with another even if they had the same face or used the same body.

    He made that mistake once, and Apollyon had paid the full price.

    Biting back a groan, Apollyon kept his breathing even and closed his eyes to avoid ejaction.

    He quieted his mind when he realized the goal.

    ''Focus.'' Apollyon told himself.? ''Think about bad thoughts that will never happen and will put a hamper on your arousal.''

    Apollyon had witnessed many horrible things in his life, so he guessed this challenge was too easy if he thought about it.

    He, then, imagined himself numb from the waist down like what Sloth did to his mother at the duel, and he visualized how Luna''s future death would be to distract himself from the present.

    One particr image burned at the back of his eyelids.

    It was a vision of his wife in Hell.

    The sight of it made his fists clench so hard his knuckles must have turned white.

    A long bridal veil with the color of blood covered her face and the length of her hair as it trailed behind her while she walked down the aisle.

    It was the Archdemon of Gluttony who intercepted her at the end.

    Ravin held out his hand, and Luna lifted hers to settle it into his open palm.

    Apollyon''s vision clouded with red when he saw the Archdemon bend his neck towards his wife, cupped her jaw, and gently kissed her.

    Without warning, Apollyon materialized behind Ravin and stabbed him multiple times until dark blood poured over the punctures he made with the knife in his grasp.

    Where did he get this knife?

    His eyes widened in surprise when Luna and Ravin suddenly vanished.

    That was when he remembered that he was inside his imagination.

    His made-up world began to spin before it slowed down.

    The moment he opened his eyes, he was brought immediately returned to the present.

    Breathing hard, Apollyon met Luna''s emerald gaze, but the devilish glint in them screamed Lilith.

    The Archdemon of Envy was still rubbing herself against him like a cat in heat.

    A man can sense a woman''s desperation from a mile away.

    He snorted. ''How pathetic.''

    Apollyon realized that he could detach his emotions from this anytime and even mock Lilith in the throes of her passion��a passion that she only enjoyed.

    He was an expert at that.

    "Do you find this pleasurable, Lilith?" Apollyon felt the heaviness in his limbs, and he rxed.

    What was the point of struggling if he didn''t care at all?

    "Do you find pleasure in a sexual partner who doesn''t want to engage and respond?" He deadpanned.? "From your actions I would think that you had an affinity for f*cking with corpses."

    "You should should know that you don''t have to cooperate with me so that I can reach��"

    Lilith couldn''t finish her sentence when her body jerked forward as if she had been stabbed in the heart.

    Then, as she lost all the color from her face, her head swayed for a moment before she passed out, her body falling�� falling into him.

    At once, Apollyon''s limbs broke free from the invisible shackles of Lilith''s Archdemon Magic which kept him frozen while Lilith attempted sexual congress without consent.

    He shot up from his makeshift bed to catch her and he allowed her to rest her chin on his shoulder.

    Visible tremors coursed through his body from the force of using his power to break Lilith''s control.

    As the Vampire King, he realized this was the first time he was treated like an object.

    This must be how the females in the Consortium felt when used by vampire aristocrats in the past.

    It was truly fortunate that he listened to his wife''s suggestion regarding the women.

    It didn''t feel good to be forced to pleasure someone.

    "Apollyon."

 Chapter 684 - Passed The Test

    <h4>Chapter 684 - Passed The Test</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (September 2021)

    **********************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    **********************

    "Apollyon?" A soft, hesitant rasp near his left ear made him jolt because she sounded like she never used her voice for days.

    Startled, he froze in silence, waiting for her to speak again, but then he remembered something he regretted.

    He witnessed Lilith fainting in front of his eyes just now, but he didn''t notice a damn trigger.

    He needed to uncover the mystery behind it because that would give them the upper hand in dealing with the other Archdemon.

    If he confessed about what Lilith had done to him in that short period she was identally awakened, his wife would never forgive him if she found out.

    Now that he thought about it, it was better for Luna to found out because that only meant she had to take charge of her own physical vessel and wake up.

    Apollyon still believed that she would return to him no matter what.

    Nevertheless, Apollyon already observed enough to conclude that losing consciousness indicated a soul switch between Lilith and Luna��unless the Archdemon of Envy sought to deceive him again with her acting.

    He will not fall for it again, even out of pity for his wife.

    As the Vampire King, he had to be strategic not to be taken as a fool.

    Once was enough.

    It was best not to let his guard down.

    Apollyon might not be certain who he was with this time, but one of his arms was wrapped around her back while the other clutched her hips to secure her just in case she might escape as Luna''s warm body straddled him on the makeshift bed.

    "Apollyon." Straightening her spine, Luna pulled back so that she could look at him in the eye. "Husband."

    Tilting her head, she squinted at him. "You are silent."

    His heartbeat seemed to stop when he saw the bewilderment in her gaze, but he held himself back.

    He hated to raise his hopes, but he couldn''t help but ask, "Lu��na?"

    Her brows furrowed in confusion. "It''s me, husband. Your wife. Luna."

    If this was Lilith, she didn''t seem to be afraid of him now that he was free from her control, considering that she almost tried to use him for her own selfish reason.

    "Why do you look like you have seen a ghost? You look suspicious of me." Her hands circled her neck so that she could caress her nape to soothe him. "Did I do something?"

    Was this woman in front of him really his wife?

    In an instant, Apollyon was released from his paralysis as this woman took the reins of the physical vessel.

    It could only mean two things.

    Either this woman lifted? Archemon Magic from his limbs, or she didn''t use them at all.

    Perhaps, this was another one of Lilith''s ploys to pretend she was Luna after he fell for the trap once.

    Lilith thought that he was just a lovesick simpleton for the Empress.

    Then, this assumption gave her the confidence��arrogance��to y with his feelings using her terrible theatrics.

    "You are not Luna." Apollyon said with conviction. "You can''t fool me anymore."

    "Why can''t you believe me?" Her tone had pitched high in her frustration, but then she caught herself.

    "Wait a second." Lilith settled a forefinger over Apollyon''s lips as if she wanted him to keep quiet while she figured it out. "Why am I on top of you��" She trailed off in a daze as she nced down at their position in a daze,"--when you are supposed to be behind me?"

    She knew what happened before Lilith took over her physical vessel!

    "Luna." Apollyon searched her countenance. "Is this really you?"

    "Why are you making sure if I am myself, Apollyon?" She let out an awkward and nervousugh. "Maybe, the sexual? congress felt so good that I lost my name and my memory in the middle of it?"

    He wished that was the case because that would stroke hisrge ''ego'' as Luna''s mate.

    Unfortunately, the truth was nothing of the sort.

    This wasn''t the time to mess around.

    He scowled at her.? "If you are Luna and not Lilith, you have to answer my question."

    Apollyon saw the exact moment in her warm emerald gaze where it finally sunk into her brain that the situation was grave, and she had no choice but to cooperate.

    "Did Lilith take over me?"? After finally putting two and two together, Lilith began to massage her temples as if she had a massive headache going on. "I lost consciousness and I don''t remember anything? that happened before this."

    " I don''t care who you im to be. I want you to answer my fucking question!"? He repeated harshly, and Lilith flinched from it.

    Maybe, she wasn''t used to his sudden impertinence towards her�� if she was who she imed to be. Apollyon didn''t bother faltering from his curses due to his anger about Lilith.

    If this were indeed Luna, perhaps it would be better not to take this frustration out on her.

    Yet this woman still had to answer correctly so that he can trust her. "How many people are there in the cave before we left?"

    "Four."

    "Have you heard about the explosion from the waterfalls?"

    "What explosion?"? She ran a hand through her long hair and stuttered,? "I--I didn''t h-hear any explosion."

    Apollyon sped his hands on her hips and squeezed, "Channel your thoughts with the mind link. Now."

    She sighed, and he finally felt her reach out andmunicate with him through the mind link, ''You are incredible in bed.''

    Apollyon was almost relieved, but he was taken aback by the statement and didn''t know how to react.

    This kind of humor had cemented his notion and chased away his doubts.

    He wasn''t supposed to smile at that when he was almost vited by his wife''s impostor. "God''s Blood, beloved!"

    His wife passed the test.

    "I''m telling the truth, though."

    "Lilith had taken over your consciousness for a few minutes." Apollyon hugged her so hard that she couldn''t breathe.. "We must prepare ourselves because she might do that again."

 Chapter 685 - Heroine Complex

    <h4>Chapter 685 - Heroine Complex</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (September 2021)

    **********************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    **********************

    "Lilith had taken over your consciousness for a few minutes. We must prepare ourselves because she might do that again." Apollyon hugged her so hard that he didn''t care if his beloved can still breathe.

    He closed his eyes as he relished the feel of Luna''s warm body against his.

    This was his wife��the beloved mate��that he knew.

    "I hate to admit that Lilith had more power over me since she was a f*cking Archdemon. She used her Archdemon Magic on me first and I couldn''t move before I could cast even more vicious spells on her so I was hesitant to hurt? you, wife." Apollyon murmured as he stroke her hair gently.? " I hate that what she said was true.? I can''t destroy her once when? you and our heir are in their way."

    "In the way, huh?" Hopefully, he didn''t make it seem like he med her, and it was her fault. Luna''s voice was muffled as she buried her face on his chest. "It must be hard for you to deal with me and the baby, Apollyon."

    That sounded like an apology for their existence, and that didn''t sit well with him.

    As he tucked her head under his chin, Apollyon sniffed the crown of her head andmitted her scent into memory.

    It was only for a few minutes that Lilith controlled her consciousness, but he missed her so much he didn''t know what to do.

    "You got it all wrong." He exhaled a breath as tears began to blur his vision, but he didn''t let it leak from the corner of his eyes.

    Vampire Kings like him never shed any tears for anyone��for any woman-- before he met his wife. His previous solution was to kill the people who made him feel negative emotions at once.

    Then, everything will be alright.

    He was a changed man now.

    That tactic couldn''t be applied anymore because he had to learn how to deal with those feelings.

    The Archdemon of Envy spoke the truth that Luna was his weakness.? "I love you too much to sacrifice our family? and eliminate that Archdemon for the sake of my peace of mind. But, I can''t do? it since it''s you."

    Luna pulled back to see his expression, and he saw green eyes darken with mncholy, "Would it help this Realm? if? Leo and I were to die for the greater good?"

    "Don''t you dare even say that." He said in a low growl.

    That serious question seemed to w him from the inside out.

    Doom and gloom hang heavy in the atmosphere.

    It was like a dark cloud hovering over their heads that refused to go away.

    "There is no such thing as greater good, beloved. If you die to keep this Realm safe, I would drag everyone down with us to Hell." His beloved''s death will crush him, making his heart bleed for the rest of his immortality. "I would rather die along with you. Remember that. I? still hadn''t given up on bing an Archdemon."

    "Husband." Luna cupped his jaw as he stroke his raven hair away from his forehead with gentle hands. "I have a hunch that Archdemon of Sloth''s assumption was true."

    Apollyon nodded, "You have told me about this. I talked the Archdemon of Envy about this when she had taken over your body."

    Her eyes widened in surprise. "You told her about our spections?" She frowned in disapproval, "You shouldn''t have or she will have notions on what are next move was."

    "I didn''t reveal much but this time I want to see her reaction." Apollyonbed the strands of her hair with his fingers. "I was hopeful? that I can gather hints of her weaknesses and? triggers."

    "What did she say then?"

    "At first, she told me that I will never get rid of her even after the babe is born. It led me to ask myself the real purpose of why she was keeping our heir alive in the first ce. She was a ruthless Archdemon��. I know Lilith would either use our baby to threaten us and make me do what she wanted or either kill her while it was still early to instill fear in me." Apollyon exined, and Luna''s eyes and ears were on him. "Then, I pretended not to care and I challenged her to kill it right now if it didn''t make a difference. Lilith flinched a little as she pursed her lips."

    Frown lines marred Luna''s forehead, and Apollyon continued, "I sense her arrogance dwindling. I allowed my muscles to rx as I added that I wouldn''t stop her. Yet,? I was ready to choose violence if she pushed through with it. I waited but nothing happened. I noticed a slight tremor in her voice when she said that she only nned to kill the heiress at the right time."

    "Very suspicious, indeed, " Luna remarked as she scrutinised the moisture from the corner of his eyes, and she wiped the evidence with her hands.

    He was surprised that his beloved had a hawk-like gaze when it came to him.

    However, it didn''t escape her notice, and he was grateful that his wife had paid attention to little things about him.

    Luna watched her with pure love when she asked, "Can you promise me something, Apollyon?"

    "Tell me." Apollyon said.

    Shoulders hunching in defeat, Luna sighed before she began, "About Lilith''s attachment to my baby, we need to endure for about five months until I gave birth. The moment I had the babe in my arms, we must prepare for the moment where the Archdemon of Envy is most vulnerable."

    "We don''t know what she will do if? her anchor in my physical vessel is removed? but I predicted that she will be an infernal machine if shecked stability inside me." Luna smiled to diffuse the gravity of her condition.. "If we failed with the mission and there was nothing we can do with Lilith, I think it would be better if? you would annihte me along with her."

 Chapter 686 - I Think Im Losing My Mind

    <h4>Chapter 686 - I Think I''m Losing My Mind</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (August 2021)

    **********************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    **********************

    ��but if we failed with the mission and there was nothing we can do with Lilith, I think it would be better if? you would annihte me along with her." Luna said softly as she allowed her arms to drop. "I can finally see the reason why Hecate insisted that I ate the fruit from the Four Seasons to purify me of evil influence because there might be a chance that Lilith will still stay with me."

    He was appalled that no sound came out when he opened his mouth.

    Nostrils ring,? Apollyon abruptly pursed his lips as he expressed this deep-rooted anger in his countenance.

    She let out a? short gasp and averted her gaze, ncing down at where their bodies connected, instead.

    He was silent for a few seconds as he focused on his every breath.

    It was better to dwell on this rather than being furious at his wife and say something he might regret.

    When he finally calmed down, Apollyon said with all the patience he could muster,? "Can you stop this line of thought, Luna!" Yet, he couldn''t help but snap at her out of frustration. "For the love of the gods." He released a string of curses that put pirates to shame. "You don''t need to sacrifice yourself when there is no need to. You might be an idiot but I didn''t marry a martyr." One hand sped her jaw as he forced her to look at him, "If you are still determined to die, who do you think would control your Archdemon Familiars now." He snorted, "Me?"

    "All of us Archdemons will be sent to Hell��including Lilith." Her fists clenched and unclenched as she continued, "��and I will find a way to return into this Realm without a physical vessel."

    "��if you can."? Apollyon cut her off with a snarl.

    " I wouldn''t stop until I get what I want. I will remain strong until the moment I give birth to Leo." Her tone was resolute and full of power.

    Apollyon can tell that she was serious and that even pissed him off more.

    His rage over his beloved''s tactless words threatened to give him a headache.

    The pressure he felt was akin to hotva being poured all over his head.

    He shook his head and sighed when she said, "If? I die from this struggle, you must endure the pain of losing a mate and live, Apollyon. Live for the sake of our heir. You must take care of her in the Vampire Realm for me." Tears pricked her eyes and Apollyon couldn''t bear to look at her. He longed for the day where his beloved will never know what sorrow felt.? "Can you promise that?"

    It was time to change this subject.

    It wasn''t like her.

    She already thought that they would lose.

    Apollyon wanted his beloved Empress to simmer in anger rather than turn into this helpless woman in front of him, wishing for her own death by sacrificing her life for the ''greater good.

    He didn''t mean that kind of anger that runs through her bloodstream like poison and cloud her judgment.? Apollyon thought about the kind of anger that motivated her. Something that would make her act toward something to achieve their goal.

    "Where are you, Luna?" Luna eyes widened, taken aback. "Where was thedy he loved that would never give up? The one who had an immense fighting spirit? The obsession to win at all cost?" He asked in a cool emptiness as he remembered the past they shared.

    Biting her lower lip, Luna kept silent as she tried hard not to cry.

    Deep down, he knew Luna can be petty sometimes that she just had to channel that and not hold it back just because she was pregnant.

    Maybe, she was having a hard time finding herself recently because was put under so much stress with Lilith, the Archdemons, Princess Ourania and the Summer Monarchs in general that it was taking a toll on her mental, emotional and physical well-being. But that didn''t mean they were going to fail Hecate''s mission.

    It wasn''t like she was an oracle that can see the future so she had no right to tell him that his mate was going to die.

    It was selfish of her to decide that by herself.

    They must focus on the solution rather than the problem and achieve a win-win oue no matter what.

    "Well, since you already pissed me off, I would also like to tell you something as my revenge. " Anger was more useful than sadness and despair. He will fight fire with fire. Hopefully, that will help her cope up if she discharged all the toxic tension in her limbs and calm her nerves. "Lilith almost��"

    That caught her undivided attention. "She almost what, Apollyon?" Luna tensed as her dted pupils darken in suspicion, "Tell me!"

    Apollyon paused and she decided to fill in the nk. "Did she��" but he wouldn''t let her.

    "She tried to seduce me when I couldn''t��"

    "That bitch tried to seduce you?" Luna demanded angrily, "What else did she do?"

    "Lilith forced your lips? on mine and ground your quim against my erection. I couldn''t stop her because of her Archdemon Magic." He replied bluntly.

    "That bitch." She muttered. Breathing hard, she wed at his shoulders as the narrowed slits of her eyes simr to a snake''s glittered at him, "Did? you like it, husband?"

    Apollyon froze.

    His brows furrowed in confusion, "What kind of question is that?"

    "I asked you if you liked it?" Luna gritted out and she looked like she was ready to bite his head off.

    What?

    Apollyon wondered if someone hit her in the head.

    Her hostile gaze was like des when he rified, " Of course not. I am disgusted by her actions towards me by using you but I will never be disgusted of your body itself."

    "Good." Luna''s tone abruptly changed into a huskier one.

    Apollyon saw the right moment when her face turned ashen and pallid when it changed into Lilith''s.

    That was an indication that it wasn''t his beloved anymore.

    "Lilith." Apollyon said as he used his Fae Magic to keep her in ce, "How did you manage to take the reins of Luna''s consciousness?"

 Chapter 687 - [Bonus ] Runaway

    <h4>Chapter 687 - [Bonus ] Runaway</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (August 2021)

    **********************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    **********************

    "Lilith." Apollyon said as he used his Fae Magic to keep her in ce. "How did you manage to take the reins of Luna''s consciousness?"

    The Archdemon of Envy had returned in his beloved''s physical vessel.

    This bitch was like a disgusting little cockroach that refused to die.

    Did his n to make his beloved wife angry backfired on him?

    Was it a stupid thing to do?

    Did Luna''s anger feed Lilith''s awareness toe back to the surface?

    Was Luna''s anger part of Lilith''s triggers?

    Her legs tightened around his thighs as if she was prepared to run but she couldn''t but unfortunately, she couldn''t move.

    "It''s a secret, husband." Lilith replied. He found it a bit strange that her natural arrogance had vanished. Sweat trickled down her forehead and to be honest, her face didn''t look too good.? "I''m not going to tell you that."

    Was she afraid of something?

    Nevertheless, he wouldn''t keep his guard down.

    He couldn''t kill her so being alert and vignt would help.

    Lilith stayed still as she straddled hisp but he could sense the raw Archdemon power emanating from her aura as they looked at each other.

    From this rapid switch between the two personalities, Apollyon thought that being Luna''s wife would make him go insane like his mother.

    He was reminded of the past events and unpleasant memories with him and the Blood Beast and it stirred this outrage and injustice inside him that his blood lust for Lilith intensified.

    He felt like losing his mind.

    Apollyon''s jaw clenched as he tried his best to contain her strength while she ground her teeth in frustration.

    He could sense psychic energy desing from her as she poked holes around the expanse of her skin.

    Apollyon smirked when he realized she was testing the weakest area of Fae magic he used to nket over her pores.

    She was smart, he would give that to her, but he wouldn''t let the Archdemon of Envy outwit him again.

    As the Vampire King, Apollyon knew he was powerful but he couldn''t quite reckon if he can defeat a maniptive Archdemon--whom his wife and his heir depended their life on��with Fae Magic.

    This battle will determine the victor and he was eager to win��unlike his beloved who had lost her hope.

    Apollyon was more calm, cool and calcted so that he wouldn''t endanger his beloved.

    He remained silent and unyielding while Lilith''s Archdemon? Magic continued to probe around his enchantments.

    When she could no longer prate through the strong barriers he reinforced over his enemy''s paralysis, he noticed Lilith'' eyelids had pressed shut as her body went limp.

    As she swayed to the side, Apollyon captured her and allowed her to rest on his shoulder.

    A minute had passed and Luna? called his name under her breath,? "Apollyon."

    The inflexion of her tone sounded simr to his wife and he immediately assumed it was Luna.

    There was no way Lilith could copy the way she spoke. "What just happened?"

    "Lilith." Apollyon responded and he didn''t feel the need to borate.

    "I don''t know the trigger but I think if I kept this up, I can overpower Lilith''s will for a longer period." Luna panted as she wiped the sweat dripping on her face.

    Apollyon panicked when he witnessed her pupils almost rolling at the back of her head but he didn''t let it show.

    He anticipated Lilith to take the reins of this body again.

    The knowledge made his stomach feel rock hard. "She is strong but the more she used Archdemon Magic, I became more and more aware of her presence inside me. I cked out but I know she was there. I can pinpoint her now if I wanted to fight and struggle for control."

    Apollyon held his breath as he instructed her in a gentlemand,? "Focus on your consciousness hard so that you can return to me. It wouldn''t matter how long it will take." He reassured her. "I will wait for you."

    "Oh Goddess. Just tie me up, Apollyon." Clutching her stomach, Luna let out an uncontroble whimper.? "Use your Fae Magic. I can''t hold on? to myself any longer." Her chest hitched,? "Lilith will take over��"

    The switch happened for the third time.

    Apollyon came prepared and he didn''t think twice.

    He used Fae Magic on her and wrapped it around her like a fortification.

    "This��This can''t be!" Lilith cried out as she struggled to break free from his restrictions, "How can Luna forced her mind to resurface when I should still be in control?"

    Apollyon gave her a smug grin. "It only meant one thing, Lilith. She was learning to observe what you do, pick up the patterns of your brain activity and mastering it until she got it right. My wife is getting stronger and when ites to that point, we will sessfully exorcise you out of her physical vessel."

    "No!" Lilith screeched like a banshee. "She wouldn''t be able��"

    There was silence for several minutes.

    "Apollyon. It''s h-hard but I''m t-trying." It was Luna this time and not Lilith.

    Heartbeat racing, Apollyon opened his arms to embrace her as he patted her in the back.

    He was d that he can differentiate her from the enemy easily with just the speech and her face.

    Her body shook all over as if she had been zapped. "If I hold on, I can win this battle inside of me."

    "Wife. Call on your Familiars and revoke yourmands about them staying at the rock shelter until early morning before it''s toote! We had to restrain Lilith for good before she did something stupid." He let her hear both anger and rm in his growl. "The Archdemons can help us with this. This is the reason why the Goddess Hecate sent them to be your Familiars in the first ce!"

    "Imand Ravin and Sloth to��"

    Luna fell against him she kept her head down, shoulders hunching over.

    "Freeze, Apollyon, Freeze." Lilith was able to control him with Archdemon Magic. "This is bad.. I''m running out of here."

 Chapter 688 - Hunters Hunt The Empress

    <h4>Chapter 688 - Hunters Hunt The Empress</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (August 2021)

    **********************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    **********************

    "Freeze, Apollyon, Freeze." Lilith had quickly ensnared him with Archdemon Magic, and he snarled at her in frustration.

    Now, he was the one who couldn''t move!

    "This is bad. I''m running out of here." Lilith muttered breathlessly as she shoved him back to the makeshift bed and scrambled on her knees to stand over him.

    Her green eyes glimmered as the clouds revealed the crescent moon shining tinum gold amid the starlit heavens.

    "Wait. Wife." Apollyon gritted out as he forced himself to get up, but he couldn''t. "Come back to me. Don''t go." It might be Lilith who held the reins of Luna''s body, but these words were intended for his beloved. He hoped that Luna can still hear him even in her subconscious.? ? "I''m afraid we wouldn''t see each other again."

    She slowly stepped backwards away as she faced him.

    Apollyon''s eyes tracked his movements.

    It seemed like she was going to the east side of the forest, and she was headed to the highest summit in the mountain��the highest, most dangerous cliff.

    It was a literal dead-end.

    "You shouldn''t have found out my secret in the first ce, Apollyon. That way, I wouldn''t have to go." Her voice rose in volume the farther she got.? "There is no point in staying with you when you can tell the difference between us in an instant."

    His neck and muscles tensed as he bellowed, "Lilith. You admitted that there is no point in staying yourself. Then, leave my wife''s physical body at your own will!"

    "You told me that I don''t know how to act but you don''t know how to pretend either." Lilith said cryptically, and Apollyon scowled at her.

    What did she mean by this?

    Did Lilith want him to pretend that everything was alright? That as a husband, he didn''t have the right to make sure if he had the right woman��his beloved��by his side and not some insane impostor who only knew how to bring chaos in their midst?

    His hands locked into fists as he narrowed his eyes at her.

    What did she take him for?

    An idiot?

    The Archdemon of Envy blew him a flying kiss.

    "Goodbye." Then, she turned his back on him, "Catch me if you can, Apollyon."

    Thest thing he saw was her silver hair floating in the breeze, which turned the branches into dancing silhouettes before she escaped from like a thief in the night.

    "Goddamn it!" Apollyon cursed as he tried to shift his body from side to side, but he couldn''t break free from Lilith''s Archdemon Magic.

    He didn''t expect Lilith to dupe him like this and vanish, bringing his wife and his daughter with him.

    He took a pained breath and closed his eyes.

    The bed of grass behind his bareback was supposed to be warm and soft as it served as a green cushion for lovemaking, but this unfortunate event with Lilith and his beloved left a bad taste in his mouth.

    Now, each tiny green de prickled the length of his broad back instead of tickling him.

    The gentle winds ruffled Apollyon''s dark hair calmed him a little.

    "Brother." Princess Sapphire appeared from the thickets as Xerxes trailed behind her.

    He knew the exact moment his sister had caught sight of him lying on his back when she paused in shock, mid-stride.

    Concern etched in her features as she ran towards his side and dropped to her knees to check for injuries.

    He didn''t deserve a caring sister like Princess Sapphire after putting her to sleep in just a snap of a finger.

    Apollyon winced when the Summer Princess clutched his hand and raised it.

    It didn''t hurt, but he just felt numb.

    When will his strength return?

    He stayed still and remained quiet.

    One thing was for sure.

    Lilith will release him once she was far enough from their group, and he could not allow that.

    "Where are the half of your clothes, brother?"

    Apollyon refused to answer the question but said, "You are awake."

    Princess Sapphire nced around the surroundings and stared at him afterwards, "Where is the Empress? She isn''t with you?"

    "Help me find her, Sapphire. Xerxes." Apollyon told them with an emotionally charged voice. "We need all the people we can get."

    She tilted her head to the side.

    Xerxes hovered above him and asked, "What''s wrong with the Empress, Vampire King?"

    "She ran away. I had to bring her back to me."? As he informed them, Apollyon was able to move one finger, and it strengthened his resolve.

    Lilith''s power was getting weaker by the minute.

    Apollyon asked, "What happened at the rock shelter?"

    "I woke up from the sound of the explosion that I thought the Summer Militia hade back to attack us." Princess Sapphire replied.

    "��and the Archdemons?"

    "The Archdemons slept with us on? the makeshift beds and everything was alright since didn''t try to attack and harm us in some way. But for some reason, they just woke up out of nowhere and chose violence. They didn''t say anything at first and just sted the mouth of the cave." Xerxes said. "We didn''t know why they were acting strange and Princess Sapphire gained the courage? to ask them, Ravin replied that we need to get out of the rock shelter because they couldn''t. I don''t understand what he meant at first but he threatened to kill us if we didn''t do as we say. Now, we are here."

    Her teeth sank unto her bottom lip as her gaze darted around them, looking for any signs of trouble, "Did something happen to Empress Luna? Was she hurt?"

    "Ask questions,ter. Please." Apollyon replied briskly.

    He was relieved that he can finally lift his arms by himself.

    Princess Sapphire''s? brown eyes widened as if that was the first time she heard the Vampire King say? the word ''please.''

    The Summer Princess nodded in understanding.

    "I will help you, brother." She stood up in a strong posture and said, "Xerxes. Shift into your werewolf form." Then, shemanded, "We will hunt the Empress Luna down."

 Chapter 689 - Archdemon Invasion

    <h4>Chapter 689 - Archdemon Invasion</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (September 2021)

    ***************************************

    Archdemon of Envy

    (High Priestess Lilith)

    Princess of the 3rd Circle of Hell

    ****************************************

    Lilith ran swiftly in long strides with gritted teeth, jumped high when she came across high boulders, and untangled herself from vines coiling around her legs.

    As she moved one with the wind, Lilith frowned when she noticed that she became heavier while she was in Luna''s body.

    In the beginning, she thought it was because the Vampire King''s wife was just fat, and she couldn''t be bothered not to drown in blood lust.

    Lilith''s eyes widened in recollection as her hands hurriedly shielded her bulging stomach from thorns, sharp branches, jagged stones, and snakes hanging from the branches.

    Anything that was in the way, she would get rid of it.

    Lilith realized that she was pregnant, and she needed to take good care of this small creature inside her.

    It would be detrimental to lose her only anchor in this world, and she didn''t want to risk it.

    Lilith couldn''t believe how in the world the Vampire King had caught on to her tactics.

    How?

    Maybe, someone from Hell tipped Luna, and she took this theory as truth.

    Scowling, she dodged the hindrances she encountered on her way to the summit.

    Did the Archdemon of Gluttony aim to sabotage her ns when he realized that Luxen was involved?

    Of course, Ravin would have figured out about Luxenwhen he shape-shifted into the Vampire King and even warmed his mate''s bed.

    It happened in his own Castle. He wouldn''t dare miss something that important.

    Lilith sensed a slight chance that Luna carried the Archdemon of Lust''s child along with the Vampire King.

    Yet, this was mere spection that she would like to keep to herself.

    Lilith had no other way to confirm until the moment she will give birth.

    When that timees, she will use Luxen''s baby to further her maniption and make her wretched soul permanent in this physical vessel.

    She smiled in anticipation.

    The higher altitude she climbed at that particr mountain, the colder it got.

    Chills ran down her spine as if icicles had hung around the atmosphere.

    Every time the wind blew, the crown of the forest trees shook, after which the raindrops clinging to the leaves will fall to the ground as if the clear, cloudless sky that night had another drizzle.

    Lilith advanced so fast that the dewdrops from the canopies couldn''t drench what was left of her blue dress.

    She didn''t want to care about this body at all since both of them��she and Luna��were immortal Archdemons.

    Unfortunately, that only applied in Hell.

    Their souls were powerful and indestructible in a sense--unless stronger Archangels from the Heavenly Realm were adamant on extinguishing their existence.

    She admitted that being an Archdemon will not experience the death of the soul, but it wasn''t entirely true.

    The Demon Kind had the ability to heal fast, especially if their enemies were weak and couldn''t inflict much damage against them.

    Yet, if the Archdemons were against someone stronger than them, they will not disappearpletely.

    Still, their most primal essence��just a charred ck soul goo with a consciousness-- will be trapped in the eighth and ninth circles of Hell, forgotten by the Archdemon civilization, which was only focused on defeating demon princes and princesses in the hope of taking over a specific Kingdom during Satan''s tournaments.

    They would stay like that for centuries until the Archdemon gained his strength back enough to morph into the appearance they desired.

    Mostly, powerful Archdemons mimic humanoid forms since this was the most powerful shape they could take, and it would take a lot of Archdemon Magic to keep it.

    It pissed her off that she couldn''t use her Archdemon wings to fly upwards and scrutinize the entire realm to gain information about the territory.

    At least, she recognized that she was in the Summer Courts and not at the previous location.

    Lilith didn''t think that most enemies knew this fact since Demon Kind was good at keeping their weaknesses a secret.

    The Demon Kind considered other creatures, weak in general, except for their real enemies in the Spiritual Realms��beings of Light residing in the Heavenly Realms and the Gods and Goddesses walking between any worlds they pleased.

    Any creature that didn''t belong to these ssifications was considered a lower life form.

    Lilith just hated that some of the critters the Archdemons called ''lowlife'' can still be useful.

    A tool for their freedom.

    This was where the High Priestesses came in.

    Luna might be an Archdemon in the present, but she still thought that the girl was lower than the lowlife�� and had a small chest to add.

    It wasn''t like she was envious... but for the life of her,? Lilith couldn''t understand what the Vampire King loved about these mediocre looks.

    She recalled her time at the Spring Courts where Apollyon, Prince Aspen, King Zephyr, Cederic, and the High Priest Fei were there with them under the basement in Lc Manor-- including the demonic faeries he and hispanions had painstakingly gathered to exorcise her without her knowledge.

    The captured prisoners were spring faeries under her demonic influence due to the cult her conjurer had started.

    The beautiful young Fae practiced summoning Archdemons on her own from an old spell book, believing that Archdemon Magic was superior to the Summer Monarchs.

    Now, Lilith had no idea where she got this forbidden spellbook.

    Maybe, it was a grimoire passed down from her Fair Folk ancestors to their descendants for all she cared.

    Lilith was aware that these ancient spells and witchcraft books were scattered all over the Material Realms to open portals from Hell and summon Archdemons and their legions.

    It was obvious that the Fallen Angels and the First Archdemons have started this.

    The ambitious conjurers from the Realm of the living will be used until the Archdemon bled them dry of their essence in exchange for a drop of Arhcdemon Magic.

    Tonight was the night she would y as one of the conjurers.

    When Lilith reached the edge of the cliff, she called for assistance from evil spirits around her.

    It was time to summon the Archdemon of Lust.

 Chapter 690 - Missing Luxen

    <h4>Chapter 690 - Missing Luxen</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (September 2021)

    ***************************************

    Archdemon of Envy

    (High Priestess Lilith)

    Princess of the 3rd Circle of Hell

    ****************************************

    It was the time to summon the Archdemon of Lust.

    Lilith''s lips curved upward into a smirk until her face split into a wide grin.

    She was summoning ancient evil spirits that reside in this mountain, and she couldn''t help but curb her giddiness.

    Who said an Archdemon couldn''t summon a fellow Archdemon?

    Lilith was the first High Priestess inside thest High Priestess'' body.

    Of course, it was possible.

    She didn''t need assistance from Hecate''s grimoire since she retained every spell in her mind.

    She even tore the forbidden pages and burned them herself so that her predecessors wouldn''t be able to use them.

    Lilith was the only person who had ess to these taboo spells, and not even Luna could do something to reverse it if she decided to apply it to her loved ones as an experiment.

    Giggles bubbling inside her almost escape her throat as she chanted into an old demonguage that only Archdemons knew.

    As the evil spirits floated around her while she stood at the edge of the highest cliff, four more disturbing figures emerge from the shadows.

    From afar, these demons might wear white masks, but in reality, their eyes were gouged out from their eye sockets.

    Their presence tainted the soil at their feet, dyeing it ck.

    Contrary to popr belief, not all existing was trapped in Hell.

    Some were able to escape the pits of inferno if they came across a random portal.

    Most portal creators Lilith knew were gods and goddesses and Archangels.

    She also spected that Archdemons could also do it if they weren''t bound by the Laws of Heaven and Hell.

    Most Ancient Archdemons can match God''s Archangels in strength and power since they were cut from the same cloth as the Beings of Light.

    The only difference was that they were tempted by pride, lust and greed.

    They chose to fully embraced the dark side, which led to their capture and imprisonment, separating them from their Creator.

    The Fallen Archangels had be Archdemons.

    It was a crystal clear division between good and evil.

    All Archdemons��including the First Made Archdemons (Fallen Angels), First-Born Archdemons (Fallen Angels'' Offsprings), Turned Archdemons (who won Satan''s tournaments and defeated the ruler of a Circle of Hell),? the Demonic Legions up to the lowest Hierarchy of imps and evil souls from the Material Realm who crossed the afterlife still had to act within the boundaries of the Highest God''s decree.

    These magic portals didn''t have to be strictly in Hell since these gates can pop up anywhere and be opened and closed anytime by whoever created it, to begin with.

    The only thing they could do was search for loopholes, break the Creator''sws and be punished for it, their darkest essence sent into the most dreaded eighth and ninth circles of Hell.

    Lilith hadn''t heard of a Fallen Archdemon who was reduced into a puddle of goo return to their most powerful form and rose to the surface from the deepest pits of hell.

    It would take a long time, and their capabilities weren''t the same as the previous one.

    If they returned to challenge a ruler from the Higher Circles as a fledgling Archdemon, they would be squashed like a small bug.

    At least, they risked their essence for the sake of the Demon King and Satan''s knowledge.

    The trees around her creaked as the dust whipped up into the air, blinding her eyes as she looked to the dark creatures across the mountain.

    The evil phantoms joined forces with four disturbing figures as they grew into something which almost appeared like dark banshees with extremely long hair, cloaked with darkness itself.

    Smoke swirled around where their feet should have been if they were human�� but they weren''t human.

    Fourrge heads with wrinkled faces floated in the sky and red down at her.

    Their long, dark mane was parted as they danced like tentacles in the air.

    A few secondster, the atmosphere surrounding the ghosts glowed a sick green and yellow,

    They gathered, turned their back on her and violently rotated around each other instead,? forming their own circle and spinning around like a tornado which tousled long silver hair.

    Lilith''s eyes fell shut as she lifted her arms stretched them to reach the storm of shadows.

    For a minute, she could hear the sound of high pitched whistles akin to a gusting chorus sung with confidence as the air pressure popped in her ears.

    "I summon you thee, Archdemon of Lust. Luxen. The Second Prince of Hell." Lilith breathed.

    The strong winds stopped, reced by the soft breeze as fine as silk when it touched her mmy skin.

    That husky voice, smooth as water, roused her to wakefulness and her ears savoured it well.

    She didn''t want to admit this, but Lilith missed the sound of his voice.

    It felt like a long time since shest saw him.

    Lilith frowned as she scolded herself, ''Did she just admit that he missed the Archdemon of Lust?''

    She opened her eyes, and the dark tornado made of demons disintegrated in the air. "Well, fancy to see you here��. Lilith."

    Yet, the slight hesitation made her squint at him in ire. "You thought I was Luna, Luxen?"

    "Not really. I needed to think for a second just in case I was mistaken. You do have the pretty face that I like." As he beat his Archdemon wings, The Archdemon of Lust moved closer and reached out to caress the side of her jaw. He smirked and kept his grey gaze on her as if he couldn''t bear to look away.? "My eyes need a moment to get used to looking at you as my consort."

    Nevertheless, she appreciated that Lilith didn''t struggle from summoning Luxen.

    "How ungrateful." Lilith pped Luxen''s hand away from her when she realized it was Luna''s features he was enamoured with and not hers. "You are my consort, Luxen. Not the other way around."

    He shrugged, "Suit yourself."

    "Whose Archdemon Legion would you want me to��"

    Lilith''s eyes widened when she felt Luna taking over the physical vessel again.

 Chapter 691 - Everything Was A Lie

    <h4>Chapter 691 - Everything Was A Lie</h4>

    EDITED (I inserted Lilith''s past)

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (September 2021)

    ***************************************

    Archdemon of Envy

    (High Priestess Lilith)

    Princess of the 3rd Circle of Hell

    ****************************************

    Lilith suddenly dropped to her knees due to the severe headache splitting her skull while she ignored the jagged rocks rubbing against her skin.

    She would likely heal from the cuts, anyway, but what made her clutch at her skirts, searching for thatfort, was the strange sensation of cold, invisible hands touching her mind, probing, as if it was a tight box that someone was trying to open.

    It sent shivers down her spine.

    She knew it wasn''t her doing this, but she couldn''t seem to stop it.

    That was all she wanted.

    As she took deep breaths to calm herself, Lilith kept her panicked gaze on the ground while one hand clutched to her chest to keep her shredded bodice in ce.

    "Everything alright, Lilith?"

    She flinched a little when the Archdemon of Lust gently patted the crown of her head.

    Luxen was not capable of concern, so she didn''t understand why he even asked in the first ce.

    Her eyebrows were drawn together until she realised that he was mocking her for her ns from the smile she heard in his tone.

    From an outsider''s perspective, she made it seem like possessing Luna''s physical vessel wasn''t working out smoothly.

    Lilith hated to appear as she regretted it since she still thought it was the most brilliant idea she hade up with.

    One another sarcastic remark, and she would tell him to screw himself.

    "This bitch really knew how to take control of her physical vessel at such an inopportune time." Lilith said under her breath.

    "This bitch? Luna?" The Archdemon of Lust sounded surprised by her words, but his mirth didn''t vanish. When she nced up at him, Luxen nodded his head slowly, "Oh, she came back to share that physical vessel with you? That''s interesting." He smirked, and the dimple on his right cheekbone showed itself,? "So the rumor that she escaped Satan''s dungeons was true. I wonder what my brother, Ravin, would think."

    "I haven''t heard of her whereabouts since I was already at the Spring Courtsat the time of her punishment but I already know how she managed to do return here." She bit her lip when her beautiful memories with her husband--while they lived at a Fae Prince''s Lc Manor-- shed in in her mind.

    Lilith thought she had pretended to be the Vampire King''s Empress so well that he wouldn''t be suspicious of her.

    Yet, she still failed even if she was careful of her every move.

    Lilith believed that Apollyon would never found out as long as she kept the ruse.

    It turned out that he had unravelled her identity with the help of Cederic on the first day, and it made her feel like a fool.

    She felt so damned oblivious that she didn''t suspect their tactics earlier.

    Lilith had this innermost desire to have more time with her husband since she missed him so much.

    It had been such a long time since shest saw him, and y-acting as his wife gave her the privilege to be in his personal space, turning him into this starry-eyed woman.

    She knew it was pathetic for a scheming Archdemon--who won one of Satan''s Tournaments which led her to rule the Third Circle of Hell--to behave like a hopeless romantic, but she couldn''t help it.

    Lilith loved Apollyon, and she didn''t care if other Archdemons��Luxen and Ravin, for example��mocked her for it.

    A long time might have passed but she knew deep in her heart that what she felt for Apollyon was love.

    She wasn''t interested in anyone else aside from him.

    The men she allowed to enter her life and she had given ess to her body were based on nothing but lust.

    Sometimes,? Lilith found it easier to be with someone she couldn''t love than to admit that she loved someone she couldn''t have.

    Now, Lilith can fully express her emotions to her husband without fear because what was impossible��someone she couldn''t have��had now be hers.

    Hers.

    The Vampire King was hers��mind, body and soul��as long as he didn''t find out who she was.

    The Archdemon of Envy.

    This time, Lilith wouldn''t be that envious woman anymore, driven by this broken despair.

    She was determined to fulfil this passionate craving to love and be loved by a mate she coveted for herself, living happily ever after.

    She can hang around Apollyon''s vicinity without his cold indifference and outright disgust since it was the first time he didn''t react like that around her as he used to when she turned into the High Priestess of the Vampire Realm.

    This will also give her a chance to establish a new mating bond for herself and the Vampire King, just like how Ravin and Luxen bonded Luna with their Archdemon blood and tied a soul cord on her.

    This was the purpose why she possessed Luna in the first ce.

    She aimed to get closer to Apollyon and steal him away from Luna herself.

    The following days had turned into weeks, which had swiftly turned into months in the Spring Courts.

    Apollyon only returned to Lc Manor once in a while since he was busy with the Fae Prince, the Military General, King Zephyr and the High Priest Fei, iming that they needed to aplish them in secret for the safety of the Faerie inhabitants in the Spring Courts.

    He told her not to interfere, and she respected his decision to focus on his task because she didn''t want to be a distraction.

    She loved him, so she realised that she shouldn''t get in the way or else Apollyon might hate her.

    Every time Apollyon and others came home to visit her, Apollyon told her plenty of times that he valued her obedience and that he loved that about her, always praising her for being a good wife.. Everything was a lie.

 Chapter 692 - Choosing Between Ravin And Luxen

    <h4>Chapter 692 - Choosing Between Ravin And Luxen</h4>

    Edited (I included Lilith''s past and polished the chapters)

    (please refresh if you are confused)

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (September 2021)

    ***************************************

    Archdemon of Envy

    (High Priestess Lilith)

    Princess of the 3rd Circle of Hell

    ****************************************

    Everything was a lie.

    He never stopped murmuringpliments in her ear about her as the best wife and Empress, turning her into an addict for his sweet nothings.

    This should have been a tell-tale sign which sent warning bells on her head, but she refused to listen.

    At that moment, Lilith should have gotten the notion that Apollyon was avoiding her because he already knew she wasn''t Luna.

    Yet, she was so blinded by love that she continued ying their game and falling into their trap, which led to her failed exorcism.

    Honestly, if someone would ask her right now if she still loved Apollyon after all that rejection and betrayal, she would still answer that as a ''yes.

    Lilith already spoke to him about this while she and her husband were in the forest.

    She clenched her fist in determination.

    Lilith was stubborn and adamant about her devotion to him as his wife, and she would never ept rejection from him even if he said it to her face.

    She promised to cling to him like he was her lifeline, squash Luna''s consciousness in her physical vessel so that she would not rise to the surface ever again andpel Apollyon to choose her as his mate, his wife and caretaker of his heirs.

    Forever.

    She might have the upper hand now, but it can change at any time.

    Lilith must be prepared for that.

    She hated to admit it, but Apollyon''s im held a grain of truth in it.

    Her life would have been easier if she had spied on her more so that she could imitate how she moved and behaved around her husband before possessing her.

    Lilith was toote to realize this, so she just had to make do with what she had in the present and untie its ribbons.

    Who knew what it would bring to her?

    If she told him all the problems she encountered while she possessed Luna''s physical vessel, she wouldn''t allow the Archdemon of Lust to tell her, "See? I told you so.".

    Luxen can be an irritating smart ass, sometimes, that it might drive a calm Archdemon to violence.

    Lilith wasn''t calm.

    Shaking her thoughts from the past, Lilith cleared her throat and resumed, "The Vampire King brought Luna back by manipting my Fae conjurer and ughtering the cult she created through blood sacrifice. Unfortunately, I was so weak from the exorcism and since my Archdemon soul was attached to the baby, my consciousness was deadlocked inside her for a long time until? I awakened by Hecate''s renegade." Luxen''s inscrutable expression slightly changed into curiosity when she mentioned the renegade. Still, he didn''t interrupt, "--Luna was able to take control of this body again every time she gained strength and I always tried to push her back."

    "Like right now." Lilith said with gritted teeth as the faraway whispers in her mind grew louder, unbearable, and she was certain it didn''te from her ears.

    The high-pitched voices which sounded eerily close, a thousand sirens singing in unison in her mind. She covered her ears to shut them off, but just as she thought, it didn''t help.

    Lilith closed her eyes and screamed. "Look how stubborn she is!"

    A thousand voices of sirens wreaking havoc in her head seemed to hear her roaring plea, and they collectively shut up.

    Good��f*cking��riddance!

    Lilith sighed with relief and opened her eyes to gaze at Luxen.

    He stared at her with this predatory instinct which made her feel like her heart just kicked her ribs.

    Did the Archdemon of Lust consider her easy target now due to her condition?

    No.

    Luxen should always keep in mind that she was his equal so that she could still order him around.

    There was a silent pause before Luxen said huskily, licking his lips in anticipation, "Ah, her iron persistence is really admirable that I? want to kill? it."

    How can this Archdemon talk so easily about killing their own kind in a deep, dark masculine voice that was oh-so-delicious?

    If Luxen wanted to kill Luna, then he would also kill Lilith in the process!

    Did he forget about that?

    Lilith clicked her tongue as she wagged a finger in front of her. " You don''t want to kill an ally, Luxen. "

    "Ally, huh? When Luna can easily turn on me if she realized that you had summoned me in this Realm?'' He snorted. "��and you overlooked the things��unforgivable things��I had done to her body for your spells. Luna is in the same vessel you are using right now, and you didn''t have the utmost control over it. You think she and her husband wouldn''t kill me first if she found out?"

    "You see��I''m trying hard so that she didn''t even have to know!" Lilith said.

    "I apologize that I couldn''t help you in that matter." Luxen gave her a mocking bow. Then he rose and straightened his posture, "You are putting me in danger and��." He smiled, "--you know I like to y with danger."

    "Luxen. You are confusing me. Do? you want to be involved in this or not?" She snapped. "Maybe? I will make Ravin the King of the Material Realm instead of you."

    "If you involve the Archdemon of Gluttony in this,? he might follow you around and try to encourage Domina to regain control of her physical vessel since she was his Archdemon Mate." Luxen warned her, "Ravin is smitten with the girl more than I am because of the blood bond they had. My blood bond with Domina was already destroyed so even if I am still interested, it doesn''t drive me to lose control of myself. I am perfectly capable of choosing where my priorities lie with logic.. It is highly possible that his loyalty would lie to his Amarepared to you."

 Chapter 693 - Merge

    <h4>Chapter 693 - Merge</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (September 2021)

    ***************************************

    Archdemon of Envy

    (High Priestess Lilith)

    Princess of the 3rd Circle of Hell

    ****************************************

    "Ravin is smitten with the girl more than I am because of the blood bond they had. My soul tie with Domina was already destroyed so even if I am still interested, it doesn''t drive me to lose control and I am perfectly capable of choosing where my priorities with logic. It is highly possible that Ravin''s loyalty would lie to his Amarepared to you." Luxen''s lips curved upward when he saw her scowl at the notion. "As your trusted ally, I just wanted to tell you this niggling suspicion I have." There was a long pause as he scratched at his cuticles, appearing a bit bored. "Ravin will only ruin your ns and work with his mate to get rid of you and return you to Hell. "

    "Well, you should consider your previous mate dead, Luxen." Lilith narrowed her eyes at him just in case the devil changed his mind and stabbed her in the back.? "You spoke the truth and I had also drawn the same conclusion. Bringing the Archdemon of Gluttony here would only make matters worse."

    What would be the probability that Luxen would help Luna regain control of her body instead of her?

    She shouldn''t forget that Luxen was Luna''s, previous mate.

    The Archdemon of Lust was surely unpredictable.

    There was no telling what he would do if he nned to get back into Luna''s good graces.

    Nevertheless, Luna hated the Archdemon of Lust anyway.

    That was the reason she made an Archangel cut her soul cord with him, didn''t she?

    There was no love lost.

    Lilith didn''t think Luxen would do something like that if he just wanted someone to have sex with this bitch.

    Aphrodite''s curse was still present in Luxen''s system, and he already used his seed on Luna once.

    The Archdemon of Lust couldn''t prate her again.

    Luna would be useless to him.

    That was it.

    If he seduced Luna and urged her into sexual congress because he liked it the first time��

    Her eyes widened in surprise.

    Not only would it kill Luna, but it would also kill her.

    As she took calming breaths, Lilith was resolute that she kept herself pure for Apollyon as his wife.

    There would be no more fulfilment of Luxen''s sexual needs even without pration in the name of their alliance.

    There were many men and women around in this Material Realm where he would lose himself and not care if they died from his seed.

    Then, Lilith muttered, "Now, I just need to get a better grip on how to suppress her and snuff out every time she want take the reins o f her physical vessel. This bitch is really making my life harder than it is by her intrusion."

    "Intrusion?" Luxen didn''t miss that as he erased the distance between them. Then, tilting his head, he gave her a sardonic grin,? "Was she the really the one who intruded in somebody else, Lilith?"

    "I told you��." Lilith was ready to tear Luxen''s face to shreds with her Archdemon de in her hand when he approached, "--to be careful, didn''t I?"

    "Woah. Woah. Woah." Luxen flew backwards quickly and avoided her quick swipe, "Calm down, Lilith."

    He raised both hands in surrender as his gunmetal grey eyes didn''t leave her weapon, "''I can''t believe you don''t have enough? patience to deal with me when I was the one who made your possession a sess. How ungrateful!"

    "As if you didn''t enjoy this body, Luxen?" Her sarcasm made him crack a Cheshire cat smile. "Don''t worry. If all of this is done and I already buried Luna''s soul and lock her consciousness away, you will have another shot at me and that would be the time where we be the new Kings and Queens in this new world. HA-HA-HA!" She threw her head back and burst into peals ofughter as she wiped the tears leaking at the corner of her eyes. "Isn''t it fun?"

    "One thing that? you had inmon with Domina is your spunk and the boldness to say what''s on your mind." The Archdemon of Lust rubbed his chin in contemtion as he observed her, " When you are in that disposition, I can''t deny that? your attitude match with Domina''s facial features."

    "Luxen.''" In a split second, her jovial expression shifted into a glower. "Don''t even make the mistake ofparing this bitch to me." Lilith''s tone was as sharp as the edge of her de as she pointed it at him, "I''m the true Empress of the Vampire Realm and an Archdemon Princess of the Third Circle of Hell." Raising her chin haughtily, Luna uttered with arrogance, "She is nothing but an ant I could step on."

    <<An ant, huh?>>

    Lilith''s eyes widened in shock.

    Who was this person talking back in her head?

    Was it Luna?

    <<How?>>

    How was she able to creep into her consciousness now when they were two separate souls sharing one body?

    This was impossible.

    Dangerous.

    <<Stay away from my thoughts, you�� you��>>

    Lilith bit her cheek as she searched for the right barbs that would make Luna feel like they were daggers in the chest.

    <<Can''t think of any insults other than bitch, you ugly dimwitted redheaded old hag?>> Lilith could sense the arrogance in her words reverberating in her mind. <<Any more of your words will infect my brain of idiocy.>>

    <<Shut up and get out of my thoughts, idiot.>> If Lilith''s thoughts were a shout, this was it. <<You don''t belong here!>>

    <<You don''t belong here!>> Luna shouted back.

    Did she know that she summoned the Archdemon of Lust?

    Was she able to spy on her conversation with Luxen?

    "Are you alright, Lilith?" Luxen''s query interrupted her thoughts.

    The devil''s tone was amused and not at all concerned, "I reckoned that you are an insane Archdemon but talking to yourself in front of me will take my suspicion to the next level."

    <<Shut up, bitch.>>

 Chapter 694 - [Bonus ] Ambitious

    <h4>Chapter 694 - [Bonus ] Ambitious</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (September 2021)

    ***************************************

    Archdemon of Envy

    (High Priestess Lilith)

    Princess of the 3rd Circle of Hell

    ****************************************

    <<Shut up, bitch.>>

    Clenching her fists hard, Lilith''s stomach churned in paranoia when she suddenly felt too hot and cold, making her limbs tingle.

    Lilith couldn''t allow Luna to hold the reins of her consciousness while Luxen was here, so she pushed her out of her mind with all her might.

    When Luna''s mental hands prying her open vanished, Lilith heaved a sigh of relief.

    It was a sess.

    She had to hurry up and the Archdemon of Lust his purpose.

    "So, what''s? the n, Lilith?" Luxen asked, and his silver gaze was so intense that he might as well chew her and spit her out.

    Her entire body went taut when Lilith sensed Luna''s consciousness skirting around the edge of her thoughts as she informed Luxen, "I just realized that the evil spirits around here are residual energies of demons with mediocre strength. They aren''t going to inflict serious harm on our enemies even if we merge them with another." Can Luna hear what she was talking about? "It wouldn''t be enough."

    "Hmm." Luxen rubbed his chin in contemtion as he nced down at her,? "Please continue."

    "I will summon your Demonic Legion instead of mine so that you have demons to order? around during our invasion in? the Material Realm."? Determined, she continued further, "I want the President of? your Legion to lead the piging of the Kingdom we will own in the future while you follow the Vampire King on our journey, investigate who ourpanions are and where we are going."

    The Archdemon gave her an incredulous as if he couldn''t believe what he just heard, "You want me to spy on you and your group while my Legion is preupied on conquering Realms?"

    "Yes."

    "What is this journey you are talking about?"

    "I could not figure out where we are going and I don''t how many members are in this group. The only thing I know was that�� it was so important that the Goddess Hecate had to be involved to make this mission a sess." Lilith exined, and her scowl deepened as she slightly pulled down her bodice to show him Luna''s tattoo.

    In the past, Luxen had spoken to Lilith about the Mark he found just below her cor bone when he made love to her the night he nted his seed for the ritual.

    Both of them found it strange but now that she was here in the Material Realm, everything started to make sense, "I? already spected that they are trying to get rid of me in Luna''s physical vessel since she had returned to being Hecate''s High Priestess from the this mark I had on my chest."

    "You are talking about our future Kingdom and my Legion?" Luxen raised an eyebrow and smirked, "Does this mean that you had no ns summoning the Demon King and the rest of the Archdemons in Hell?"

    "Don''t you think the entire Material Realm is small for the two of us?" Lilith''s lips cracked into a seductive grin. If she were a smart Archdemon, she would do no such thing. The entire Material Realm is hers and hers alone. Archdemon Kingdoms were hers to create and hers to destroy. "Think and advance to the location we are headed and destroy anything that would remove me? from Luna''s body. Assassinate Luna''spanions while you were at it."

    "I had another question that I want you to address." The Archdemon of Lust must be tired of beating his Archdemon wings that he flew closer to her--his feet treading lightly--before hended at the very edge of the highest cliff.

    She scrambled backwards to amodate him, but it seemed like he didn''t need it in the first ce when he stretched his Archdemon wings so wide to keep his bnce.

    Luxen was the type to court danger.

    He knew perfectly well that he was invincible as an Archdemon Soul in the Material Realm.

    Lilith wished she had the same courage but being in a pregnant vampire''s body prevented her from risking her life.

    She was too vulnerable even in the presence of another Archdemon like Luxen��most especially from the one who never gave up trying to steal her control over this physical vessel.

    And ff she lost her footing here, she might plunge into the abyss and embed her heart with a random wooden stake from below.

    "You said that you wanted to be Queen of the entire Realms while I be the King. What would happen to the Vampire King, then?" Luxen sped his hands behind his back, gazing down at her with his moonbeam gaze while she was on her knees. "��or was this just another ploy so that you can have someone? to push about��until the time you and the Vampire King decided to be rulers without breaking a sweat, sitting on a throne I worked so hard to prepare?"

    Lilith paused for a minute as she weighed down her words to reassure him.

    "I would never do that." She said.

    It seemed that both of them had simr concerns, and it truly made sense.

    She was an Archdemon calling another Archdemon asking to ask for help.

    Sometimes, if the bargain seemed unfair, they would double-cross each other halfway unless a binding contract had been drawn.

    Most Archdemons refused contracts from another Archdemon because of their fear of very and imprisonment from the other. "You helped me a lot so that I can possess this body, Luxen, so believe me when I promise you that I? wouldn''t dare throw you away if I don''t need? you anymore."

    "I''m pretty useful to you that was why you summoned me, huh?" Luxen crouched down in front of her, grabbed her arms and pulled her upright. "Good to hear that."

    Lilith''s muscles were strung tight when he brought his face closer to her and murmured, "Based from the fact that the Vampire King performed an exorcism on your physical vessel to get Luna''s soul back, did this mean that he already figured out that you are an impostor?"

 Chapter 695 - Just A Kiss

    <h4>Chapter 695 - Just A Kiss</h4>

    Please refresh. This will be my final rewrite of this chapter because it was ugly yesterday.

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (September 2021)

    ***************************************

    Archdemon of Envy

    (High Priestess Lilith)

    Princess of the 3rd Circle of Hell

    ****************************************

    Lilith''s muscles were strung tight when he brought his face closer to hers and murmured, "Based from the fact that the Vampire King performed an exorcism on your physical vessel to get Luna''s soul back, does this mean that he already figured out that you are an impostor? Am I right?" She couldn''t deny that the devil had deduced correctly, so Lilith nodded in agreement. "---but did he know? that the exorcism was a failure��" Lifting a hand, Luxen caressed the side of her cheek, "--and that you were fighting with Luna in this battle for consciousness?"

    "Unfortunately, The Vampire King knew the truth but Apollyon made no move of hurting me because I have held Luna''s soul and his heir hostage in this physical vessel."

    For a few seconds, Lilith closed her eyes to savour the warmth of his touch against her cold vampire skin.

    Next, she settled her palm at the back of his hand and squeezed it so hard so that he would be forced to drop it.

    When she opened her eyes, her lips curved into a smirk, "If he? tried to kill me, I would die along with the only family he had."

    "Maybe, the reason why the Vampire King figured you out easily is because you didn''t satisfy him in bedpared to my Domina." Luxen carefully remarked as if he had no intention of offending her but by doing that��

    Cheeks burning, Luna red at him as she fought the urge to stab him with the Archdemon de in her hand.

    She took a deep breath.

    "I have sampled her and I did not get over it."? Luxen watched every nuance of her expression, mesmerized by her beauty, "I want to taste her again. But I don''t want her to die, not yet, so I can only dream of our lovemaking some nights when I yearn for her."

    "Shut up, Luxen!" Then, as she stepped backwards to increase her distance from the delusional Archdemon, Lilith said sharply,? "I know you? are obsessed with this Domina of? yours. But why do you insist that I met your sexual needs if you even think I''m not good at it?"

    "That''s because I can ess you for free when I couldn''t find anyone else. It''s pretty convenient." Luxen gave her a half-shrug as he told her oh-so-casually.? "I also appreciate that you also invented new methods to stir my passion, working around Aphrodite''s curse on my libido." She clenched and unclenched her fists in annoyance, and it pained her to hear thating from her supposed ally. "I don''t have to work hard when ites to you. Why would you make it difficult for me when we both have the same goal?"

    She enjoyed having sexual congress with the Archdemon of Lust despite Aphrodite''s curse because it gave her the challenge she needed so that she wouldn''t get bored in Hell.

    Yet, did he have to make it sound like? Lilith was his personal whore or something?

    "You shouldn''t tell someone who possibly carried your first baby something like that, Luxen."

    "My first baby, huh?" Luxen chuckled darkly, "I almost forgot that Domina was the first woman I had sexual rtions with that I didn''t prate twice to effectively kill her and the babe."

    Aphrodite had cursed Luxen to loathe lovemaking whenever he did it with the same person twice.

    Not only that, but the woman would also die, but it seemed like the Archdemon of Lust was determined to make Luna be an exemption.

    "Perhaps, having a child together will bring her back to me and be my mate once again."

    "Why are you still hung up on Luna, Luxen?" Luxen''srge hands on her breasts and the feel of exquisite skin against her ownid unbidden in her mind. Her eyes widened in panic when she realized that those raw images didn''te from her.

    "I already had her physical vessel."? Her fist clenched the hilt of her de so hard that she took another calming breath and flexed her fingers when she almost broke it into two. "There is no way in Hell that she woulde back to you and be your blood mate�� unless you want to be with me, instead."

    "We never know. You haven''t even seeded exorcising Luna in that body yet." Luxen''s gazended on her Archdemon de for a second before he shifted his attention back to her features. "I am waiting in anticipation whether she will carry my heir or not after that special night but I dare you not? use that against me, Lilith. You don''t want? to see what I''ll do if you disappoint me."

    "Like I said, your wish is impossible. However, I will offer my heart and soul to the Vampire King so that he would love me. I belong to him now whether he wanted me or not? so don''t expect anything from this body after I give birth to your child along with the Vampire King''s heir!" Her teeth gritted out in response as her voice shook from the force of her anger, "I wouldn''t kill Apollyon''s child with Luna bso that I can use that babe to manipte him to do anything I want."

    "My goal will also depend on your abilities to conquer my Domina''s physical vessel, Lilith. If she managed to get rid of you first, I would not hesitate to steal her again from the Vampire King. My brother, Ravin, is not here in the Material Realm so no one else can hinder me except yourpetence as a powerful Archdemon. Are we clear?"

    "Only if I fully take control of Luna''s body and get rid of her��." The tension in her shoulders rxed, and Lilith nodded her head, "I think that is reasonable. I am confident that my soul would win over hers. You should go now, Luxen, before I p you in the face for this insolence."

    Lilith only blinked once, and then she felt warm fingers curling around her wrist.

    Luxen said softly and lifted her chin up with his free hand,? "Not without a kiss from Luna''s mouth, Lilith."

    Luxen''s mouth crashed on her lips, and Lilith suddenly lost her grip on Luna''s physical vessel.

    Her consciousness was buried in oblivion.

 Chapter 696 - Disgusting

    <h4>Chapter 696 - Disgusting</h4>

    Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (September 2021)

    ******************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ******************************

    If there were one thing Luna could describe the experience of her mind and soul being dethroned from her physical vessel as if she had no right to be there, she would say that it felt like she was holding her consciousness the way someone would hold a golden key in their hand, standing the darkness with nothing but hundreds of closed doors with knobs that wouldn''t turn in front of her.

    Unfortunately, she was left to wonder which of these doors she would choose because she felt like she had the worst life in the universe.

    These damned doors�� was a puzzle that could be only be solved through trial and error, Luna realized.

    That was the only way to find them.

    She scratched the back of her neck in frustration.

    So, her task was to insert this golden key of her in each keyhole.

    This might be her chance to find the right door and take control of her body once again, instead of the Archdemon of Envy.

    This ugly bitch was getting toofortable using her body in the Material Realm that she had to give her presage by shattering her hopes and dreams to be Apollyon''s wife.

    But, what if Lilith triumphs in deceiving the Vampire King?

    Her stomach hardened at the notion.

    Right now, Luna acknowledged wholeheartedly that she might be trapped in her own delusions.

    It was a different world that was separate from the Material Realm and the Spiritual Realm.

    It was a world that had no concept of time and space.

    It was the world Luna created on her own where she only existed in her mind.

    She was certain that she wasn''t in Lilith''s because she might have a little influence over her own body if she did.

    It was also highly likely that she could steal it from her.

    This little world Luna built around herself was like this tangible thing inside her own body, separating her consciousness from Lilith''s.

    She didn''t know what Lilith was up to while she got the upper hand in their fight to control her body, but some of her archnemesis'' thoughts had spilled, reverberating into her own little world, that Luna couldn''t help but respond to some of them as a repartee.

    Later on, it registered that Lilith could actually hear Luna mocking a few snippets of her inner monologues that never made sense in a loud voice.

    The first time she heard Lilith''s response to her insults, Luna''s eyes widened in surprise.

    It was followed by suppressed giggles bubbling in her throat.

    As she continued to distract Lilith, Luna didn''t stop walking towards random doors with unique auras around her,? slipping the golden key into every keyhole and praying to the Goddess Hecate that it was the right one.

    She didn''t need someone to tell her that the golden key in her hand was special, so of course, the door it would open would be more special, as well.

    The ornate top of the key''s bow appeared like it was crafted with ancient magic and the sunshine from the way it shined.

    The special entree was her way to escape this fragmented version of her mind and help her return to her real self.

    Blinking rapidly in surprise, she paused when her golden key fits the keyhole she had chosen at the moment.

    When she turned it, the lock mechanism worked, opening the doors of every part of her body.

    That was when she felt like she had almost achieved victory.

    Butterflies fluttered in her empty stomach.

    The little object managed to open the door, and she passed through the threshold like the devil was at her heels.

    In an instant, Luna felt like her head was submerged underwater, which made her thoughts and speech in disarray.

    She couldn''t move her limbs, and neither could she see or hear anything.

    It felt like her awareness was trapped inside her body��as if someone had ced her into a state of sleep where no dream existed except the pitch darkness at the back of her eyelids.

    This must be how being buried alive would feel.

    Luna never expected to kiss soft lips the moment she tried to push back Lilith''s consciousness and take control of her physical vessel.

    From out of nowhere, she was impaired in her ability to feel pleasure.

    She didn''t have any emotional response to the kiss, but she did open her mouth to give the man more ess to her tongue and y with it.

    It took her a few seconds to let what the man did sink into her befuddled brain.

    Her thought process just stopped that she couldn''t even tell if she hated or liked the kiss.

    When can she think and act like herself again?

    The next minute, her own query answered her concern that she couldn''t prepare when another wave of sensations bombarded her until it crippled her mind.

    In the middle of the kiss, Luna felt the darkest volumes of passion burst from something so pure and vulnerable inside her and transcended into this bright explosion of a supernova, threatening to consume her from the inside out as if it was gasoline running like blood through her veins.

    Luxen''s mouth was like a strike of a match that set her limbs on fire, and she brought her face even closer.

    She had this strong awareness of her own heartbeat and her breath quickened with every moan.

    As her knees weakened, Luna had million lustful thoughts circling in her head as they all condensed into this single moment, and she felt like she would die if she wouldn''t do something about it.

    Later on, she realized that this wasn''t what she truly felt, but it was Lilith''s.

    She was able to merge with the Archdemon of Envy''s thoughts and emotions before her consciousness, finally and irrevocably, held the reins of the body that she rightfully owned.

    The damned kiss with Luxen�� it was too unbearable that bile rose through her throat, and she shivered in disgust.

    She opened her eyes, and her voice was in a low snarl, "Luxen."

 Chapter 697 - Overdramatic

    <h4>Chapter 697 - Overdramatic</h4>

    ******************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ******************************

    She opened her eyes, and her voice was in a low snarl, "Luxen."

    Luna raised her gaze and she met his intense silver eyes.

    The Archdemon of Envy had the chance to summon the Archdemons of Lust in this short period that Lilith had repressed her?

    This was almost impossible.

    Yet, the evidence stood before her in such a proud posture as he widened his stance and thrust out his chest.

    Luxen wore a gray long-sleeved dress shirt made of silk underneath a burgundy waistcoat with golden buttons lined up at the center.

    A red muslin cravat was folded borately and tucked into the inside of his coat..

    It was feasible that both of them were in cahoots with each other.

    The devil must have assisted Lilith to possess her body as revenge when he found out that their soul cord was cut by an Archangel and their blood bond had vanished.

    Luxen appeared like this big, deadly predator in front of her and she was nothing but a butterfly with her colorful wings caught on a spider''s web.

    Seeing this particr Archdemon so close knocked the breath out of her lungs and Luxen seemed to suck all the avable air in their vicinity.

    As she held her breath, Luna stayed still and froze in ce.

    She told herself over and over not to show distress because he might treat that as a sign that he could overpower her easily if he chose to.

    His presence made her feel a myriad of toxic emotions in the first few seconds of awareness in her own body.

    Her heartbeat raced and she felt it in her throat.

    The Archdemon of Lust was supposed to be this living breathing aphrodisiac but the tempting sensuality oozing from his aura only repelled her and make her tremble in disgust.

    Before this, Luna had this notion that Lilith had spoken to Luxen through her,? iming her as her possession to do with as she pleased. Luna''s tion over defeating Lilith''s control should ovep the rest of her negative feelings but instead, she was haunted by shame and guilt, reminding her of her sin with her husband.

    What did she do to deserve this��standing in the same space as her abuser?

    "You have be a powerful Archdemon, Domina." Luxen murmured apliment, treating her like she was a caterpir wrapped her into the cocoon of his arms.

    Their bodies were too close forfort.

    Her agitation was profound that it inmed her desire to kill the bastard for using her husband''s form to take advantage of her longing while she was in Hell. "You sessfully contained Lilith in just a short period of time even if she had imed that she was more powerful than you."

    She gritted her teeth and struggled to break free from his embrace, "Release me this instant!"

    At her sudden outburst from his unwarranted touch, Luxen gave her a piercing nce and drawled, "You have to make me."

    Then, his hard countenance quickly morphed into amusement, " Ah it felt so good to kiss? two women''s lips at the same? time while they are in the same form. I don'' think I will ever experience something like this again." In the blink of an eye, his voice turned gentle and coaxing and her pulse against his palm spiked strongly as his fingers held her as tight as an iron manacle. Raising his chin, he gave her a satisfied nce. "What would your husband think if I tell him about this?"

    "��If you are still alive at that point because I will make sure? to destroy you." Luna clenched her fists, and she noticed a bitte that she was already holding the hilt of Archdemon de in her hand.

    Lilith must have been holding this weapon all this time to threaten Luxen after she summoned him and she didn''t even know.

    She bit her lip in frustration.

    Having Lilith sharing her physical vessel made her feel like she wasn''t herself anymore.

    She was losing memories at an rming rate along with her awareness in the real world. Nevertheless, she was determined not to cross the boundary of insanities like Princess Ourania and Lilith.

    Without warning, Luna concentrated her entire Archdemon strength in one area and forcibly jerked her wrists to free herself from Archdemon''s hold.

    She used the Archdemon de to attack and close in, cutting him in the face.

    Luxen ducked and she almost stabbed him in the head but he crouched even lower and moved to his? right.

    Her eyes could barely track his movements but she was quicker and smart enough to maneuver around his blocks.

    Luna thrust towards him in a? swift calcting motion until the edge of her de was able tocerate his pale skin, injuring his wrist and arm.

    Luxen had no weapon but he was able to parry with her de despite her incredible speed and she increased the force of her blow when it was clear that she dominated him.

    She noticed that the bastard absorbed his every attack but he never struck back.

    It made her scowl in confusion.

    When she found an opening, she stabbed him on the left side of his torso.

    Pulling the de out, she jumped backward before she fell down the cliff with him.

    Their forms stood stark in thisndscape, and she knew that it wouldn''t be difficult for her husband to find her when she was at the highest cliff with Luxen, effectively drawing the eyes of all the creatures present in this mountain.

    Chest heaving, Luna blinked back angry tears as she spat in his direction, "This is what you get for stepping your foot in this Realm after what you have done to me in Hell, you shameless, thick-skinned Archdemon!"

    The Archdemon of Lust groaned from the pain and dropped to his knees but she noticed something else.

    Instead of making her ecstatic that she had managed to hurt him badly, in her ears, it sounded overdramatic to the point of ridicule.

    It was such a terrible insult.

    It appeared that Luxen never saw her as an enemy or her equal with this silly behavior.

 Chapter 698 - Blade Versus Sword

    <h4>Chapter 698 - de Versus Sword</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (September 2021)

    ******************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ******************************

    Chest heaving, Luna blinked back angry tears as she spat in his direction, "This is what you get for stepping your foot in this Realm after what you have done to me in Hell, you shameless, thick-skinned Archdemon!"

    It appeared that Luxen never saw her as an enemy or her equal with this silly behavior��just mere spection of hers.

    "Well, you are not supposed to know I am here."? Luxen might have kept his head down, but she swore she could hear him smirk, "I guess the secret is out."

    Shoulders pushing back, Luna nted her feet in a wide stance as she got ready to drive the de on his skull, "What did Lilith want? you to do?"

    He chuckled darkly, "Why would I tell you?"

    Caught off guard, Luxen disappeared from his kneeling position on the ground, and her psychic sense had already perceived him standing behind her before she turned around and pounced.

    Muscles filling with tension, she slipped in close and attacked him with her Archdmemon de a few more times until he finally had enough..

    She saw the perfect de suddenly materialized in his hand.

    Even in the moonlit night, she could see the ancient demonguage carved on the fuller on his sword when the moonbeam shone upon the broad silvery metal.

    ck and red electric sparks wrapped around the weapon. It was forged from the power of evil��a conduit of ck magic derived from the wielder himself�� with the Archdemon of Lust as the rightful owner.

    His wicked intentions alone were enough to sustain its magic.

    On the other hand, Lilith''s Archdemon de was formed from her fury of all things Luxen''s weapon represented��greed, selfishness, and the vanity of this egotistical, obsessed, and power-mongering Archemon Prince from Hell!

    Results were the most important thing.

    She crouched solidly in readiness.

    Luxen was her conquest, and she wouldn''t give up until she triumphed over him.

    Luna''s knife was razor-sharp, but Luxen''s sword was powerful when she swung it at her.

    The length of his weapon offered a longer reach than her de, giving her a huge disadvantage in the fight.

    The Archdemon was supposed to hit her with all his might when she couldn''t, but why was he allowing her to cross the distance and strike him?

    Her chest felt tight, and she ignored the sensation since she couldn''t afford to be distracted.

    Raising his sword from his shoulder, Luxen attempted to cut her with it, but it was too slow for some reason.

    The Archdemon had missed a beat, and his bodynguage was too open.

    What was he doing?

    Her brow furrowed in confusion.

    Did he want her to kill him?

    Did he actually think that she would never inflict damage on him or had enough skill to destroy him?

    Her countenance scrunched up in annoyance, but she released her facial muscles, trying to regain calmness.

    It would be impossible for her to get in and out without getting hit, even if she was strong and skilled with her weapon.

    Maybe, it was true that he wasn''t on guard, and he never saw her as a? threat.

    This battle might as well have been a stalemate.

    As her fist tightened on the de, Luxen had tried to disarm her a couple of times, but she didn''t allow her Archdemon de toe close within his grasp.

    Luna shut off his attack by shifting her de horizontally, effectively catching his de, with her other palm as support.

    Lips curling in irritation, Luna absorbed the shocking blow but noticed that the force he was using wasn''t enough to cut her into two.

    Pushing it upward, she moved it out of the way in a jump andnded another kick before she moved to stab him again.

    Luxen was able to anticipate the movement of her de and the angle of her thrust, so he moved his sword across his body and disced her thrust.

    He covered himself and intercepted her de, and at the same time but he chose to withdraw from her space abruptly and flew backward.

    The Archdemon of Lust stayed out of reach, and it was unfortunate that Luna had no Archdemon wings to use in this vampire form of hers.

    As she narrowed her eyes, Luna noticed that he was trying hard not to hurt her by being sneaky with his sword and movements, focusing more on defending himself aggressively while she attacked him.

    At this point, Luna was worn down, but Luxen''s breathing was still calm.

    It didn''t bother him that he had taken a few cuts, kicks, and two fatal stabs, even if it took him longer to heal because of her Archdremon de.

    He put his sword down and didn''t attempt to kill her.

    "You are getting quicker and more dangerous but I''m not using even a minuscule of my strength because I don''t want to hurt you." Luxen said in a steady, lower-pitched voice? as he watched her with an alert gaze, "You know I only value pregnant women who carry my seed."

    "Damn you, Luxen." She spoke through her teeth with forced restraint, "I don''t carry your seed. You and Lilith never learned how to stop deluding yourself."

    Herst-ditch was to throw the dagger at his forehead to wound him.

    The Archdemon of Lust raised kept his sword close to his face in the blink of an eye, and it merely bounced back and fell to a dark abyss.

    Not giving up, she wanted to run and chase him in the wind, but she couldn''t fly unless she manipted the evil spirits flying around them.

    Luna didn''t remember calling these lost souls, so the Archdemon of Envy was her only culprit.

    She might as well use these creatures right now before they decided to return to where they came from and keep themselves hidden somewhere until another Archdemon awakened them.

    When Luna summoned more evil spirits hiding in the mountains, she wasn''t surprised when Luxen summoned his own army of ghosts.

 Chapter 699 - The Fall

    <h4>Chapter 699 - The Fall</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (September 2021)

    ******************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ******************************

    When Luna summoned more evil spirits hiding in the mountains to add to the number of floating phantoms around them, akin to the semi-transparent fabric of ck veils, she wasn''t surprised when Luxen also summoned his army of ghosts.

    With his long arms outstretched, The Archdemon of Lust focused on his summoning spell as he uttered in his deep baritone, "By this demonic power within me, I call you in my presence, terrifying creatures of darkness.? Be my servants and stay in my circle of safety."

    It wasn''t his demonic Legion from Hell that he had gathered around as she half-expected.

    The same ''evil spirits'' Luna could summon in this Material Realm to protect herself from Luxen.

    It gave her the confirmation that she had, indeed, abruptly taken over Lilith when she caught herself kissing Luxen before Lilith could usher more demons from Hell.

    She figured out that was Lilith''s n from the beginning.

    Her awful experience during that switch wasn''t in vain!

    Where was their Demonic Legion?

    Where was the Demon King and Queen?

    Perhaps, Luna had switched with Lilith''s mind too early, and she wasn''t able to pull that off!

    Thank the goddess if that was the case.

    At least, she only had the Archdemon of Lust to look out for aside from Lilith.

    She doubted that Ravin and Luxen could add more problems to her te.

    Now, both of them had this unspokenpetition to gather trapped souls in this Material Realm that hadn''t entered the Spirit World.

    These spirits were trapped in the Material Realm because they didn''t cross over when they were given a chance to cross the portal to the Spiritual Realm.

    Maybe, some of them chose to remain here because of unresolved issues with the living people.

    Perhaps, they feared the Light because they didn''t know what was on the other side and the unknown future.

    Earlier, everything was a mere child''s y until ck-hearted spirits were involved.

    Nevertheless, the bastard was too eager to outss her swarm of lost souls as he rallied his shadow troops as a shield.

    She also realized that both of them were on equal footing in this battle except for the weapons in their hands.

    Luna held a dagger in her fist while Luxen swung his sword at her without injuring her, only to intimidate.

    She already suspected that Luxen never took her seriously as his opponent just because she was pregnant--what else?��and also, Lilith''s Archdemon soul shared a physical vessel with her.

    He wasn''t stupid enough to destroy his aplice in conquering the Material Realm.

    Luxen might behave as if he cared about her, but he was still a demon--a demon who can feel absolute joy when they torture.

    Like vultures, they feast on the toxic emotions they bring out from their victims.

    The Archdemon of Lust was only acting out of character to surprise her.

    She could hear faraway voices in her ears, speaking of the pain and anger they couldn''t articte, but she knew that they were near.

    Most of these trapped souls were vicious rather than loving.

    They had turned evil from being exposed too long from their sins and the sins of those they had left behind��watching and waiting for the right time--before they could attach themselves to weak bodies like what Lilith had done to her.

    The suffering of this world had locked them inside this prison, which drove their inner desire to imprison others too in this Realm.

    The ghostly apparitions surrounding her solidified to the form she wanted--just how she was able to morph the souls of the Demonic Fae her husband had sacrificed for her return after she had eaten them at the Celebration of Ostara.

    The ghost might be spectral in the Material Realm, but they were very much real in their existence.

    For her, everything can be real as long as her consciousness is present and she is in it.

    In here.

    Since she could hold them and tell them what to do at her will, they were now capable of moving in this world.

    Luna rode the evil spirits she controlled, which had merged into this massive avian spirit with the long wingspans akin to an eagle.

    Her winged monster approached as Luxen''s group of apparitions merged to secure Luxen while the rest of them attacked her.

    Abruptly, she heard the sound of a terrible echo, and the loud noise was akin to the angry booming voice of God before it registered to her that an explosion had seared the air.

    Her vision was clouded with nothing but soft grey smoke, and she couldn''t see a thing.

    Someone had used Fae magic in the eerie quiet of the mountaintops, casting a of spells around her and Luxen to keep them there.

    Where did ite from?

    Before she could turn her head to see the culprit, she felt another bright golden orb pass over her head before it exploded above the Archdemon of Lust.

    The culprit almost sted Luxen''s head off and killed him.

    Luna couldn''t hear anything except this constant ringing in her ears before a rush of noise inside her head told her a little too loud,? "Goodbye, Domina. Don''t tell your husband about us."

    The Archdemon''s arm shot out and grabbed the ne the Vampire King had given her during the wedding night.

    It was essential to her, and she didn''t want to lose it.

    "Luxen!" Coughing the smoke from her lungs, Luna screamed while she blindly tried to grab hold of his cor, "Give that ne back!"

    The Archdemon of Lust never stopped pissing her off with his foolish antics.

    Did her ne offend the devil in any way?

    "I will see you when I see you." He drawled.

    Luxen had this rapacious wit about him which always drove her to violence.

    Another ball of light appeared so fast in their midst, and all of their dark apparitions evaporated into the fog.

    She knew the bastard had escaped and vanished for good.

    "Luna!" She heard Apollyon''s voice as she dropped from the sky from the loss of her phantom bird.

    "Apollyon!" Luna screamed back and reached out her arm towards him as she descended to the abyss.

 Chapter 700 - The Hunt

    <h4>Chapter 700 - The Hunt</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (September 2021)

    *************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    *************************

    Apollyon, Princess Sapphire, and the werewolf moved into the dawn forest to look for the Empress.

    Unfortunately, he wasn''t fully released from Lilith''s Archdemon Magic, keeping him immobile.

    It pained him even to take a step, and sometimes, he stumbled, but he endured.

    He didn''t want to show anyone his weakness aside from his wife.

    The more she increased their distance apart, the more her hold on him loosened.

    He didn''t think it was a good idea..

    At least, if he noticed himself slowing down then that meant Lilith was near.

    It took him a moment to adjust his movements without faltering, and he slowly gained coordination in his limbs.

    He didn''t say much about why they were chasing after Luna except that he told them that it ''appeared to be''��Apollyon used the subtle term to indicate that it was mere spection of his��that his wife had been possessed by a demon from the woods and ran away.

    He thought that it was brilliant, for he implied his uncertainty of Luna''s condition, gaining Princess Sapphire and Xerxes'' trust from the start.

    For sure, his sister and her werewolf guardian would help them without having second thoughts.

    Apollyon already knew that Princess Sapphire abhorred engaging with the Archdemons.

    That was the reason why he put her abruptly to sleep against her will so as not to cause problems. Now, what would she do if she found out that not only was the Empress of the Vampire Realm an Archdemon, which confirmed the rumours spread by the Spring Courts, but also another Archdemon had shared her physical vessel?

    Apollyon never considered his sister a coward with her stubborn refusal to cooperate with four Archdemons in her midst.

    Still, he knew that she was afraid of what she might do under their extreme influence and persuasion for the sake of helping them.

    Taken aback by his admission, Princess Sapphire had perpetual frown lines marring her forehead as their light, and brisk footsteps kissed the earth.

    Deep in thought, the Summer Princess chewed on her bottom lip as her brown eyes nced around the surroundings, looking for the Empress'' trail, as she held unto her werewolf''s white silver fur on hid neck--long, glossy, and thick.

    She didn''t dare ask Apollyon the question that was niggling in her mind.

    He didn''t have to be a mind reader to know what her doubt was. Apollyon couldn''t exin how this ''supposed'' demon inside Luna''s body escaped his strong presence effortlessly.

    The obliviousness of a King from the Vampire Realm was an empty excuse.

    He saw the exact moment when he could see the cogs turning in his sister''s head when it finally hit her��that the demon who possessed Luna was an ordinary demon but a powerful one��even powerful than him and his wife.

    Now, she was starting to ask him questions.

    Apollyon prepared vague answers in his head in case it was a piece of information he didn''t want to divulge.

    "Brother." Tilting her head at him, she squinted to see his countenance. "What were you doing outside with the the Empress before this incident?"

    "It''s none of your business."

    "Why do I feel like you are deliberately hiding information from us?" She crossed her arms over her chest and pouted at him, taking offence, "How dare you when I am only trying to help? You see, it might help us predict the demon''s next behavior."

    "You are not an adult."

    "I am an adult, alright?" He knew he had struck a nerve. One of Princess Sapphire''s weaknesses was always fighting and proving how capable she was when her ''age'' was brought up. "As the youngest spy master of the Summer Courts, It is my job to spy and see it all." She emphasised. "Everything."

    His sister didn''t seem to perceive what angle of the conversation they were heading towards, so he replied bluntly, "We are doing adult things."

    "Oh."

    That shut her up.

    Clearing his throat, he tried changing the subject. "I would like?to apologize for putting?you to sleep."

    Clenching her fists, Princess Sapphire was forlorn when she couldn''t bring that dead discussion back to life.

    "Thank you for reminding me and pissing me off for the second time, brother. Never mind." She waved a hand in dismissal. "I will forget about it and move on but you still owe me a favor for that."

    Apollyon inhaled, and all he could smell was pine aromas and fresh flowers. Lilith was smart to scatter Luna''s scent in inconsistent directions.

    There was no way he could find Lilith as quickly as he wouldpare to Luna.

    The mating bond could have given him that advantage.

    In the moonlight, Xerxes might appear as a regr wolf, but the sheer size and the way he moved were different.

    His bright golden eyes were filled with intelligence.

    As a young werewolf,?there was no doubt that his shifting shape was muscr, and his stance was confident.

    All at once,?the wind died, and the leaves seemed to rustle.

    When the three of them sensed a disturbance in their vicinity, all of them stayed still and scanned for any movement.

    There was none.

    In the next few seconds, Apollyon could hear pained moans reverberating around the forest before dark apparitions emerge from the ground, heading to the cliff''s direction.

    He already knew that Archdemons could control spirits.

    These phantoms must have been summoned by Lilith.

    The three of them took flight into the trees as they followed thousands of ghosts.

    Sprinting through the bushes and trees, Apollyon raced after Xerxes'' pale tracks in the wooded gloom as the rocks in their path giggled from the movement of their soles.

    The werewolf gave him a fleeting nce as if telling him to hurry up further up the mountain cliff as he ran with Princess Sapphire.

    Xerxes'' movements were fluid and easy, and he gritted his teeth, insulted.

    It wasn''t that he was slow.

    He didn''t know where to teleport because he hadn''t been to the summit before.

    When he reached the end of the mountain path at the top of a cliff, he saw several silhouettes of dark monsters.

 Chapter 701 - I Have A Pair Of Wings

    <h4>Chapter 701 - I Have A Pair Of Wings</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (September 2021)

    *************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    *************************

    Too horrified to see the Archdemon of Lust in a battle with his wife''s silhouette monsters up in the air, it was toote for Apollyon to realise that Princess Sapphire had lifted a hand and formed this golden ball of light which she appeared to derive from moonbeams.

    It slowly grewrge in her open palm, and his sister aimed it into his wife and the Archdemon of Lust.

    It was toote to stop it that he could only gasp as he came alive from his frozen stature when a series of explosions followed.

    "Stop." Apollyon snarled as hisrge hand circled on her leg in reprimand, "We couldn''t trace what they are doing with our eyes from all of these smoke, Princess Sapphire."

    Brows furrowed in confusion, Princess Sapphire slid from the werewolf''s torso and aimed another bright orb above Luxen''s head. This time, the only difference was that Apollyon could feel his sister''s sincere intent not to harm Luna.. "You just exined to us that she was possessed by a demon."

    Apollyon heard his wife''s scream, and he hated the Archdemon''s name on her lips��lips that only belonged to him. "Luxen!"

    Heart and mind racing, he was petrified at Luxen''s presence in front of his beloved.

    The Archdemon could choose to kill her if he wanted to, and the kn0wledge turned him into stone.

    For a few seconds, all he could think was how to kill him as revenge for what he had done to his wife.

    "Luna." When all of the ghosts under her control broke free from it due to Princess Sapphire''s light shattering their forms, Luna fell from the sky, and Apollyon called out his wife''s name as he ran to the summit of the cliff.

    "Apollyon!"

    He didn''t give himself time to feel fear for the sake of his wife and child.

    He wasn''t scared of heights, but he was more terrified of what Luna might have felt in that few milliseconds while she was suspended in the air, falling like a tiny leaf that had released its hold on the branch and drifting unto the ground.

    The ghosts Luna had summoned had dispersed because of Princess Sapphire''s Fae Magic, consisting of fire and light.

    The Summer Princess might have inherited this from his father, the God of Fire, Hephaestus.

    Her golden orbs were enough to ward off the lost souls in these mountains.

    Even Luxen, the Archdemon of Lust, didn''t see thating.

    Apollyon had already witnessed the spy master''s abilities when her father attempted an abduction.

    As he looked at the bottom of the cliff, which seemed like a chasm, Apollyon didn''t think further as he stood at the edge of the precipice.

    He jumped down and followed Luna as she fell into the void.

    For a moment there, his vision went dark as if he was blindfolded, and that made him panic, thinking that it was either he had gone blind or he fainted out-of-the-blue.

    It turned out that it was due to the clouds going thicker and darker as they neared the trees.

    Then, suddenly, Apollyon felt wings of summer mes shoot out of his back.

    From that moment, he recalled something important.

    From the variety of books he got his hands on during his study of the Faerie Realms, Apollyon had read somewhere that every Fae Monarchs work hand in hand with witch doctors and nursemaids to conduct heavy Fae rituals around the highest cliff in their territories during the season their Kingdom represented every year.

    This tradition was for the sole purpose of helping young Faeries acquire their set of wings while their parents, themselves, push them at the steep of the mountain, plunging their children to their deaths.

    It was a test of courage for the children of the Fae, which exempted no one whether it was a child of royal blood, aristocrat ormoner.

    Children who participated in this test numerous times and still failed before they turned fifteen could either choose to be another ve for noble families inside the Faerie Realm or be exiled outside where they could genuinely belong��a Realm where a pair of wings wasn''t a requirement to be respected and not treated as aughingstock in the society.

    Most of the time,? these young boys and girls will bid their parents goodbye before they are sent to the Human World or stay in the Realm where their bloodlines had closely descended from.

    It was Fae''s exnation as to the source of these children''s abnormalities.

    At least, he aplished the challenge he unwittingly took part in flying colours.

    Meanwhile, he found it ironic that he could still sense the hum of overprotective magic around these peaks as if it was safeguarded by Mother Nature herself.

    However, it was heavily gued by spirits.

    Perhaps, the Summer Monarchs weren''t oblivious at all when it came to human sacrifice?

    With his fiery wings, Apollyon descended in the sky unhampered.

    He discoveredter that beating his new pair of Faerie wings at his will was taxing, and it threatened to overwhelm him.

    It was indeed a problematic yet exhrating experience--as if he was a young Fae who just learned how to fly.

    Knowing that he had wings all along and using them for the first time made him feel like he was on top of the world��free and ready to break the rules.

    He was like an old man who had been reborn to rediscover youth and enthusiasm.

    Who would have thought that a moment woulde that he would be grateful for his heritage as one of the Summer Monarchs?

    He couldn''t believe that he owned Faerie wings despite living his identity as the Vampire King for a long time.

    As Apollyon floated and soared through the sky, he quickly shifted his direction in a split second when he recalled that he was a dashing hero who had a damsel in distress to rescue.

    Withser-like focus and determination, Apollyon swooped in fast, caught his wife in his arms and found them a safending.

    Surrounded by flowers under the sliver of the moon, Apollyon embraced her beloved wife as he consoled and reassured her that everything would be alright.

 Chapter 702 - This World Is Mine

    <h4>Chapter 702 - This World Is Mine</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (September 2021)

    *************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *************************

    Sunshine began to peek through dew-bright leaves, and the subtle shifts in light patterns caused by the clouds floating in the bluebird sky fascinated her.

    The beautiful flowers��red roses, yellow lilies, marigolds, cornflower, andvenders--surrounded her, bursting off their true colors inside this garden that she momentarily forgot everything else.

    It was a well-tended, well-plucked garden that had well been taken care of and a safe environment her mind had generated for her from her memories.

    A particr white flower caught her eye.

    Luna paused to pluck it from its stem, inhaled its sweet flower perfume, picked out each of its satiny petals, and allowing it to dance in the strong breeze rustling the leaves and chilling the skin.

    The trees remained rooted on earth��stoic andposed.. Luna bathed her senses in the fresh grass and the dampness of warm earth beneath her soles.

    As she strolled in her personal paradise, Luna gave herself time to enjoy the beautiful scenery her mind had provided for her and contemte the recent events in silence.

    Yet, her fists had clenched in fury when the memories of the earlier events shed in her mind.

    The Archdemon of Envy had sessfully brought the Archdemon of Lust from Hell.

    Unfortunately, the filthy bastard had escaped from her clutches before she could exorcise him back to Hell due to the golden orbs exploding on them out of nowhere.

    Luxen even stole her ne, and she had no idea why.

    For what purpose?

    Was it so that Luxen could track her group easily throughout their journey?

    If so, she shouldn''t have worn that in the first ce�� or maybe Luna could use that to her advantage.

    A confident smile slowly built on her lips.

    She might use her own ne to track Luxen''s whereabouts if he carried it every second with him.

    Brows furrowed, Luna pinched her lips together as she nced down at the beetles and ants meandered on the soil.

    Birds sang, and the bees buzzed as they crawled through pollen in the yful wind.

    A monarch butterflynded on the blue skirts of her gown and rested there for a second before it fluttered to a nearby floret.

    She realized this was all a dream��a part of her consciousness.

    Thest thing Luna recalled was when Apollyon attempted to rescue her when she lost her avian spirit and fell down the chasm.

    She drew a nk, and she was sent here, afterward.

    The only conclusion she coulde up with was that--she was dead, and this was her own version of heaven.

    Yet, she couldn''t ept her death, not with Lilith inside her physical vessel.

    She hated to admit this, but they had one thing they had inmon.

    That was their stubborn refusal to die without getting what they wanted��her physical vessel she owned.

    In addition to that, two Archdemons inside a vampire''s body are strong enough to survive the drop unless her head was cut off or someone had wed her heart out and stabbed her chest with a wooden stake.

    She frowned because it was improbable that a forest down below could do that to her.

    Nevertheless, Luna had the golden chance to exorcise the devil from the Faerie Realm, but the opportunity had slipped away as if she was catching water in her hands.

    She didn''t know where he went, but she was certain that the bastard was in the Material Realm.

    She was lost in her thoughts, but when she heard feet stepping unto branches and twigs, her alert gaze scanned her surroundings.

    Unfortunately, her bad luck, literally, wouldn''t just leave her alone and continued to stalk her.

    The ''eyesore'' appeared, uninvited, behind the bushes where blue and white hydrangeas, purple cones, and fragrant lc grew.

    Luna might as well have been in the barren wastnd of clumped weeds right now if that meant she would be alone from this nightmare incarnate.

    "Lilith." Luna muttered under her breath as she scanned the Archdemon up and down for weapons in her hand, but there was none.

    The impostor, who used Luna''s face as her own mask, wore a revealing red dress with thin straps hanging on her shoulders. Luna discretely widened her stance, ready for a fight. "Even if this appeared to be a peaceful dream,? why are you still determined to ruin my life?"

    "Because you don''t deserve a life in this physical vessel." Lilith replied.

    Luna could only blink once in surprise.

    "Why?" She smirked, and her long silver hair fluttered as the wind blew. "Speechless?"

    Luna drew back her head andughed out loud.

    "Why are youughing?" Raising an eyebrow, Lilith wasn''t fazed by her strange reaction, but her smug grin dropped a little.

    Settling one hand on her hip, she said, "You are really pitiful, Luna, but I can understand that? you have already epted your fate��that I shall be the one to devour your soul."

    Luna snorted onest time before she crushed the flower in her hand and released it. "Who said so, Lilith?"

    "Me." Lilith shrugged as her fingers drifted on the roses near her, and she winced when errant thorns caught her flesh."Why don''t you just make your consciousness disappear and lock yourself up in this physical vessel and never wake up?" She tapped her foot in impatience as she cocked her head at her. "If you don''t want me? to make you suffer in this body, you could always choose to return to Hell."

    Luna shook her head and answered calmly. "No, Lilith. Hell is the only rightful ce for you." She had gone through this discussion with her multiple times.

    How many times did she need to repeat herself before it sank into that stubborn skull of hers?

    "Don''t project your insecurities unto me, Lilith." Luna used to be furious about this before, but now she would only limit herself to rolling her eyes. She would not stoop down to this level of insanity again, " Just because we share my body, I would never take responsibility of what you have done. We are not one and the same."

    "It''s not my goal to be simr to you, dimwit!" Lilith replied with gritted bloodshot eyes and gritted teeth. Honestly, anger didn''tpliment Luna''s porcin face. "It is my desire is to steal your identity and make it my own without losing myself! It wouldn''t be long until I am powerful enough to ess all your memories and steal all of them after wepletely merged."

 Chapter 703 - Quicksand

    <h4>Chapter 703 - Quicksand</h4>

    (edited this and past chapter I can''t move on if I''m not satisfied with it)

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (September 2021)

    *************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *************************

    "It is my desire is to steal your identity and make it my own without losing myself! It wouldn''t be long until I am powerful enough to ess all your memories and steal all of them after wepletely merged." Lilith calmed down a little when her perceived victory reassured her. Yet, when she spoke again, her voice went deeper the more as another demonic high-pitched voice at the back of her throat joined in, "I want to know how to act ordingly that the Vampire King couldn''t even tell the difference between us. The fact that we interacted in this same consciousness gave me this notion that we are still on the early stages��"

    Raising her chin haughtily, Luna challenged her, and she took the birds squawking loudly over her head as the support of the divine, "You can try if you can. It''s not like? I would let you."

    "Never mind." Lilith waved her hand in dismissal, and Luna could tell she was changing her tactic. "Since I am a kind-hearted Archdemon who looks out for fledglings like you, I could give you another option.. If you make yourself scarce, you are doing your husband a favor."

    She walked, and with every step closer towards her, Luna prepared herself.

    "How many times have you hurt him from all the secrets you have been hiding in here?" Lilith tapped a forefinger in her temple, which indicated her mind. "If you really love him do him favor, love, and go back to Hell!"

    "Creatures like you, Lilith��." Luna clicked her tongue as she regarded her the way she would look at trash. "I wonder where all of enemies you get all that audacity from? Tell me where your source is so that I can destroy them. Who are you to decide if I should stay or go in my OWN PHYSICAL VESSEL?" Luna''s voice grew louder and harsher with every word.

    Exhaling a sigh, her voice softened but still full of threats, "Remember that you had no control over me, Lilith, and wanting to control someone who you can''t. Wouldn''t? that make you feel powerless every single moment? I know you are doing this sad tactic but your defeat is already decided from the start."

    Lilith''s primal scream was a pain in the ears, and it had the raw intensity that spoke of urgency, of desperate need.

    Breathing deeply, Luna regarded her with a feigned mask of sympathy.

    Lilith had to resort to screaming like a child on a temper tantrum that must have hit home.

    All that emotions Lilith couldn''t cope with and express in words came out as she acted like a desperate and violent child.

    The bright blue heavens darkened to graphite, and Luna raised her eyes upward.

    Streaks of bold lightning electrified the atmosphere and illuminated a pathway above.

    It seemed like Lilith was showing off her powers in her own world.

    Luna remained calm and waited for her enemy''s logic to return��like how one would search for a? lighthouse when one is lost on stormy seas--but her lips quirked into an amused grin when she realized that she got the better of her.

    "See here." She pped her hands to get Lilith''s attention, but she wouldn''t stop to listen, so she continued to speak over her so that she could still understand from all that stormy chaos inside her, running amok. Luna''s arrow of truth must have hit her straight through her heart. "Isn''t this the best evidence that you are losing control? You think I am an obedient idiot who would believe everything you say? I am an Archdemon like you, Lilith, with magic that had the potential to surpass what you have. The biggest mistake you will ever do is underestimate me." Suddenly, the vines in this wild garden climbed to her limbs, and the ground beneath? Lilith''s feet became muddy and wet. With just one snap of her finger, Lilith lost her ability to speak when? Luna''s Archdemon Magic sewed her lips shut.

    "Right now, you are using my own face while you talk to me. Do you think that would intimidate me?"Make me doubt who I am and what I want to achieve with my own physical vessel? " Luna narrowed her eyes at her, making the sweat gather on Lilith''s brow.? "I''m not going to fall for it because I''m not your victim."

    Unfortunately, Lilith didn''t seem like she could put up much of a fight as she started sinking the muck when she tried to struggle and lift herself with Archdemon Magic.

    It wasn''t effective against Luna''s.

    Lilith''s mouth opened in a silent scream as her form rebelled against the quicksand, but no sound came out.

    "You should choose a weaker target next time, Lilith." Luna nced at her cuticles, looking bored as she witnessed Lilith''s arms submerge the more she attempted to lift them out of the quicksand, "This body is mine and in this territory, I reign as the queen. The Empress of the Vampire Realm and the rightful mate of Apollyon. "

    Luna loved the look on Lilith''s face, even if the enemy was using her image as her mask.

    Lilith''s terrified eyes moist with unshed tears were the sweetest thing she had seen all day.

    Well, it wasn''t like she would help her enemy.

    No words can ever convince Luna, and Lilith knew that.

    That was her fault for arriving in a world where Luna was the one pulling strings.

    As she crossed her arms over her chest, Luna stared at her with a cold gaze while her enemy descended up to her neck.

    Lilith was caught in her trap, and Luna didn''t think about how long this quagmire wouldst as long as she was able to contain the enemy''s consciousness for now.

    When the dirt reached up to Lilith''s nose, and she could hear her pathetic whimpers, Luna straightened her spine to move around the garden, looking for arge rock before she returned to the quicksand.

    Luna smiled and threw it in Lilith''s head.

    There was no sign that she was there.

    Dusting off the powdery dirt in one''s palms, she mumbled. "Sleep well, Lilith."

 Chapter 704 - Husband Is Sweet

    <h4>Chapter 704 - Husband Is Sweet</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (September 2021)

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ****************************

    When Luna''s eyes fluttered open, a man, tall and well-built, with beautiful Fae wings of fiery orange, captured her vision.

    Lips parting in amazement, she pinched one of her cheeks to make sure if it was really her husband who had his broad, muscr back facing her.

    It appeared simr to the monarch butterfly''s wings she just saw in her dreams when she finally contained Lilith.

    She did not doubt that the Archdemon of Envy would be back and try to take over her physical vessel, but it wasn''t going to happen anytime soon.

    Luna had found a way to gain control of a world where she shared consciousness with Lilith, and she took advantage of what she quickly learned.

    Lilith was too slow to understand that a creature''s physical vessel in the Material Realm, multiple ''consciousness,'' can exist simultaneously..

    Luna just found out that she could control it twice through her experiment since she was the rightful owner of her physical vessel.

    There is a whole universe to be unlocked inside a physical body.

    A powerful consciousness can create a world of their liking, what to do with that world, what the world would be made of, and what it could contain.

    Unfortunately, that had a price to pay.

    A? powerful consciousness will seek to create the perfect world in their own mind��a utopia��whether in a dream state or reality.

    If a creature gets so caught up between the two, can they even tell the difference?

    Few creatures who ventured out and pushed their consciousness a little too far will strive to create a fantasy replica of the Material Realm where nothing ever went wrong; where everything a creature ever needed was just one step away or one reach of a hand; where everything was under the control of consciousness no matter what.

    It was the literal example of creating one''s own reality.

    But if every consciousness sought to be gods in their own little world, would they have any reason to stay in the Material Realm?

    This is where the problem of multiple ''consciousness'' starts.

    Demonic possession can feel like one was having an alter ego ��whether it was temporary or permanent.

    If too many evil spirits or demons were attached to the body, it could be viewed as multiple personalities from an outsider''s perspective.

    Maniption can be inevitable.

    The conscious reality of a person''s mind can be bent upon the creature who had the strongest mental capacity.

    Would a creature choose to be buried and locked away in their made-up fantasy world inside their physical vessel only to be fooled by the rest of the hidden consciousness��inner demons��who wants toe out and y without their knowledge?

    One thing Luna was certain of was that she was no fool.

    Luna noticed that both of them were in the middle of a woond wildflower garden.

    It was different from what she created in her shared consciousness with Lilith that she felt a little bad for ruining the flowers by crushing them with her form.

    The Vampire King''s ears must have sensed her moving her limbs on the grass that he immediately spun around to walk towards her and knelt by her side, "Wife." He growled, staring at her. "You didn''t tell me you already woke up. You are not making a sound." Frowning, he gave her further admonishment as he settled a palm on her forehead, "You should holler at me the moment? you opened your eyes."

    Luna couldn''t help but crack a smile at her husband''s worries. "I apologize, husband.? I guess I dropped my jaw around her somewhere." Luna made a point to nce at the flowers where Apollyonid her to rest, recuperating from the evil spirits she summoned. If she died, this would be a good ce for a funeral.

    As she reached one Fae wing of his and gently stroking it,? Luna gave her husband a dazzling smile and murmured, "You are so beautiful, Apollyon."

    At herpliment, his eyebrows raised to his hairline before he grinned from ear to ear. "Aren''t I?" She liked that childish giddiness on his face. He knew that her appreciation was true and free. "I don''t want you to be smitten with me that you couldn''t think straight."? She must have made his heart flutter when he looked away and his cheekbones darkened.

    "Wait a minute." Flustered, Apollyon fake-coughed and cleared his throat. His eyes darkened when they returned to her, giving a pretentious scowl, "So you just realized that I''m beautiful when I just had Faerie Wings, then. Not before." Apollyon cupped her cheek with a hand and squeezed them, making her face appear like a pufferfish, "How awful!"

    She let out a giggle, and she could tell that herugh soothed him.

    It was nice of her husband to indulge in teasing banters when she was in no condition to talk about what happened to them tonight with Lilith and Luxen and how she managed to evade them.

    Even if her battle with the Archdemon of Lust was cut short, her limbs were so tired and spent that she could barely lift them.

    Maybe, she shouldplement her husband more to elude further interrogation.

    Luna was determined not to talk about these horrible Archdemons.

    It would just ruin the remaining time she had to rest before daylightes.

    She locked her fingers on his wrist and pulled his hand away from her face so that she could speak, "You are always beautiful to me, Apollyon.The Faerie Wings just increased your handsomeness."

    "Are you still attracted to me?" Luna was taken aback by that sudden question because the answer to that was obvious. Yet, she didn''t think that this would take a strange turn. "Don''t? you think it makes me look�� feminine?"

    "Feminine?"

    Luna kept her face nk so as not to offend the Vampire King with a single snort.

    "Feminine...like Prince Aspen."

    Oh.

    So that was what he meant appearing feminine in her eyes!

    Luna nodded in understanding,

    "Flying is an awesome feeling but I would have preferred to have demon wings instead of this." He looked over his shoulder and grumbled, as he exined in a deep baritone that made her stomach warm and fuzzy inside.

    She put her palm over her baby bump and gently caressed it.

    Their heiress must have liked the sound of her father''s voice.

    "The positive part is, I could always pull them back into me and keep it out of sight if I want to and I can also push it to materialize behind me. I still doubt if my enemies would take me seriously with this pair of wings during battles." He exhaled a sigh, and she found it amusing that he would add this to the number of worries he had.

    "Hmm." She bobbed her head up and down in agreement, "It didn''t matter what wings you use or whether you look cool with it or not as long as you love flying itself."

    Luna was about to ask him why Apollyon wouldn''t will his orange Fae wings to return inside his body if he was bothered by it but he replied with, "I also found my wings beautiful so I made sure I have them behind me? to mesmerize you with the patterns."

 Chapter 705 - Map

    <h4>Chapter 705 - Map</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (September 2021)

    *****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ****************************

    "I also found my wings beautiful so I made sure I have them behind me? to mesmerize you with the patterns." Luna giggled softly at that.

    Her husband was too shy to admit that he liked his Faerie wings anyway if his blush and the way he scratched his chin was any indication.

    Hisst resort was to clear his throat awkwardly and slid one forearm around her shoulder and back to lift her body slightly.

    As she clenched her jaw, Luna pressed her lips in a tight line to keep herself from moaning in pain due to sore muscles.

    Apollyon positioned himself near her head and squatted, making hisp her pillow.

    She sighed with relief when Apollyon finally stopped moving and lifting any part of her.

    It hurt so bad but still, her heart melted at her husband''s consideration even if she insisted that her flowerbed would suffice.

    He didn''t take no for an answer as he kept her head elevated.

    "Is there anything I can help? you with?" Apollyon asked as his chiselled face hovered above hers.

    Luna closed her eyes to reduce her headache from looking at her upside down.

    His Prussian blue eyes narrowed at her with both suspicion and concern, "I think you are too talkative for someone who just used too much energy fighting an Archdemon inside you."

    She opened her eyes and raised a hand to point a finger to the sky, "Last? time I recalled I was free falling from that top of the cliff up there. Did you identally grow Faerie wings just so you could fly and save me?"

    "Yes. My birthright as a Summer Monarch had saved you. You should know that this will be the first and thest time I will be grateful for my mother''s bloodline since I will never forgive her for trying to kill you while my grandparents tolerated her behavior without punishment even if she is in the wrong. We had nothing to go back to in that Kingdom, Luna." Apollyon''s blue eyes glittered dangerously before he changed the subject. "Here. I gathered flowers for you."

    Luna barely noticed that Apollyon was holding a bunch of flowers in onerge masculine hand of his until he ced a foot over her face.

    Perhaps, Luna was too focused on her husband''s new Faerie wings that she didn''t notice the oddity of a ruthless Vampire King handing out flowers he carefully picked for his wife.

    Apollyon was, indeed, different from all the Kings in the Vampire Realm.

    "Every time you see a garden full of beautiful flowers, you pluck some of them and give them to me."

    "Always."

    Apollyon picked what he thought were the best florets of the colourful bunch and slid the stalk behind each ear.

    "Thank you. They are beautiful, Apollyon. But next time, Just leave them be." Luna said, "I told you about this before."

    He grinned, "I did make you happy, didn''t I?"

    As she nodded her head, Luna knew intuitively what her husband would ask her next when his countenance grew sombre.

    "What did Lilith do, Luna?"

    She sighed. "Lilith had summoned the Archdemon of Lust to help her while I buried her consciousness somewhere deep where she would find it hard to return. Yet, I can''t guarantee its sess. So I am still watching out for her and remaining vignt."

    The wrinkles of? Apollyon''s forehead increased as he rubbed his chin in contemtion. "She must have seen thising and executed her secret n right away the instant she figured out that I wouldn''t buy her act anymore."

    "That is true." Luna exhaled another sigh of regret. "Then, Lilith gathered enough strength to force? a switch between us. My mind was so disturbed about the sudden events that I had allowed her to distract me."

    Little did Lilith knew that when pushes to shove, Luna will always get the long end of the stick during their mental brawls, but that didn''t mean that she had no moments of weakness.

    There will be times when she will struggle.

    The Archdemon will strike at her like a predator she was, and then she would take the reins at the right time where everything on Luna''s side goes wrong.

    "Apollyon, sometimes��" Luna trailed off as she weighed down her words, "I think it''s hard for me not to me myself when I am in this predicament."

    As his hand gently cradled the back of her head to raise her mouth against his, Apollyon bent his neck and kissed her.

    Her eyelids fell shut when her husband nibbled her top lip.

    She opened her eyes to gaze at him when her husky murmur seduced her ears, "You don''t have to think about ming yourself right now, wife."

    "Brother." Luna''s eyes widened the instant she heard Princess Sapphire''s voice, and her head snapped in the direction of where it came from.

    Meanwhile, Apollyon stopped giving her yful nips and a look full of love and longing before he raised his head to regard the young Fae.

    "I''m sorry to ruin your moment with the Empress but I just came back from the cave like you told me to do." Princess Sapphire said as she stood within their hearing distance with a wet canvas in his grasp.

    Droplets of water dripped onto the grass that Luna was tempted to grab from the shapeshifter so that she could squeeze the sogginess out of it.

    Thest time she saw these two was when both of them stood at the edge of the cliff and watched her, horrified, as she plunged from the sky.

    The Summer Princess added further,? "I want to inform you that the Archdemons are still there for some reason."

    "Good." Apollyon said.

    Princess Sapphire scowled at the Vampire King, hoping he would exin, but he kept his mouth shut.

    "I don''t understand why these demonic creatures couldn''t get out by themselves if they are as powerful as they say they are. It wasn''t like the rock shelter had no exit. All of us entered at the same time but why can''t they get out of there except us?" Now, her hand gestures grew more dynamic as her frustration increase as if she was disturbed by sight.

    Luna bit her lip.

    She could understand the spy master''s concern.

    It was all Luna''s fault formanding her Familiars to stay there and not leave until the morning came, and Princess Sapphire had no idea.

    "They sat there like willing prisoners, waiting for the two of you to return and fetch them and the paintings." She added further, "To be honest, I was tempted to show them the way out just to be sarcastic about it."

    It was no wonder Princess Sapphire found two docile Archdemons creepy because if she were in the girl''s ce, she would.

    Unfortunately, Luna was the Master who coerced these two Archdemons into a binding contract, and it was a secret where she and her husband agreed to keep.

    "ording to what Xerxes told me on our way back, it seemed to him like the Empress of the Vampire Realm could issue verbalmands to the Archdemons. Is it true?" Princess Sapphire crossed her arms over her chest, and she didn''t even give Luna a second nce as she focused solely on Apollyon, "I hadn''t seen this personally when you knocked me out cold."

    The majestic white werewolf��which owned a stunning coat an observer would want to stroke for hours--padded closer to Princess Sapphire and positioned himself in front of the girl as if he was shielding her from Apollyon''s potential wrath.

    Apollyon merely turned his head towards Luna that he might as well dismissed his own sister at that moment.

    As he peered at her beneath hisshes, Apollyon said, "Yes."

    Xerxes''rge head butted against the wet canvas in the spy master''s hand, sessfully drawing Apollyon and Luna''s attention.

    "But I found something else." Princess Sapphire said as her fist clenched on the wet linen cloth. "The portrait that my mother created about her first family with the Vampire King and you��. It was drenched from the rainfall and it emitted this sickly sweet scent that even I could detect and I had to find out what happened? to it. Some colors of that particr painting hade off only to reveal a map��." Princess Sapphire paused dramatically, "--with the Fall Courts as the starting point."

 Chapter 706 - Mates

    <h4>Chapter 706 - Mates</h4>

    Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (September 2021)

    **********************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    **********************

    Apollyon demanded that he saw the wet canvas in Princess Sapphire''s possession without moving from his position.

    Intrigue was evident in his beloved countenance, too, that she raised her head carefully from Apollyon''s folded legs despite needing more rest.

    Luna protested when he pointed that out, iming that she got enough rest that her neck muscles had grown sore.

    Apollyon narrowed his frosty eyes at his beloved in a silent reproof, but her sudden puppy-eyed look paired with a cute pout changed his mind, so he let it slide.

    As Princess Sapphire and Xerxes walked closer towards them,? a sh of a brilliant white light covered Princess Sapphire''spanion.

    In the blink of an eye, the shapeshifter had turned into a human.

    Without ncing at the young man''s naked form, Princess Sapphire slid one cord of her leather backpack, opened it to pull out her guardian''s clothes, and threw them to the side, and Xerxes caught the items perfectly in the air.

    The motion was quick, efficient, and as natural as a river flow.

    Apollyon could tell these two had done this a hundred times before whenever the boy shapeshifted.

    Of course, they know the drill as partner-in-crimes every time they had a mission for the Summer Courts.

    Yet, the more he observed, Apollyon couldn''t help but specte that something was going on between the two of them.

    From an outsider''s perspective, Princess Sapphire and Xerxes mirrored each other''s movements most of the time.

    When they were together, both of them talked with their eyes tomunicate.

    It was simr to the way he talked to Luna, whether he used their mind link or with just a simple nce.

    He didn''t like how Xerxes sometimes looked at his sister when the Princess wasn''t paying attention.

    She was too young to be a spymaster, but she was also too young to fall in love with a boy who was six years older than her.

    Some of their interactions weren''t normal�� or perhaps, he was reading too much into it.

    Circumstances bringing them together as partners during spy missions for a long time weren''t a valid reason�� or maybe, he was just too overprotective as a brother?

    Maybe, they weren''t fully aware of it themselves, but Apollyon could swear that both of them��summer faerie and an orphan werewolf shapeshifter��move as one person.

    Apollyon came to ept Princess Sapphire as his sister in his heart even if they shared only half of the Summer Fae blood that he hated very much.

    To him, it didn''t matter anymore.

    If Princess Sapphire and Xerxes gave him any indication that they would be future mates as they grow older, he would nip that dream in the bud while it was still early and do everything to tear them apart.

    He shouldn''t forget that Xerxes was still a rogue werewolf, and he might turn out to be harmful to his sister.

    He was only looking out for his sister''s safety.

    Symptoms of his dark, uncontroble rage might not be evident now, but something would trigger him when the time came.

    As an adult rogue, Xerxes would simply ckout, and when he woke up, he had already killed Princess Sapphire by ident.

    The shapeshifter might be his sister''s guardian, but who knew how long that wouldst?

    Hearing a short and familiar gasp, Apollyon turned to peek at his beloved wife in front of him, who sat on the grass with her legs crossed, and see where she was looking at.

    Just as he thought!

    Apollyon scowled at her while she held her breath.

    Luna''s spine was straight as she sat, frozen in shock, like how a deer would react whether to fight or flight in the presence of a lion.

    It was either that, or she had turned into a statue.

    The sight alone should have scared her, considering Xerxes still had the body of a young adult, and it would have been better if she yed dead instead.

    Her emerald eyes were wide as her hand covered her mouth in surprise.

    "Um��" Luna said hesitantly but to be honest, she didn''t have anything to say at that moment.

    Luna did this to fill the void of ufortable silence before it turned into this massive ck hole.

    She kept her gaze on Xerxes'' countenance, and Apollyon could tell that Luna tried hard not to lower her gaze below eye level.

    Yet, she didn''t seem to realize that keeping eye contact with the shape shifter''s gaze was more awkward, forgetting that she had a choice to avert her gaze from the young man.

    It riled him up that he got Luna''s attention.

    Unfortunately, it would be wrong to beat Xerxes up for this when the shapeshifter did his best to put his breeches and his shirt on in a hurry while both of them watched him without shame.

    That made Apollyon press his palms over Luna''s eyes and shielded her from the werewolf''s indecency.

    As a husband, it was his responsibility that his wife wouldn''t see at any male''s body��even those of a young man--except his.

    Apollyon kept his hands off his wife''s vision after Xerxes had donned his garbspletely.

    Luna''s eyes blinked to adjust back to the darkness and looked over her shoulder to give him a sheepish smile.

    Her adorable smile spread warmth across his chest and made him feel as light as a cloud.

    At that instant, Apollyon realized he would do anything for Luna��even be a fool for her. Nevertheless, Apollyon squinted, pinched his lips together, and didn''t smile back.

    He had to act brooding and sulky so that he would keep his wife''s attention.

    "Come over her, Princess Sapphire." Apollyon beckoned a finger at his sister, and from her sour expression, he knew she didn''t like that.

    But did he care?

    No.

    "You, Xerxes, you are too slow with getting dressed. Could you move faster than that?" He pped his hands to get everyone''s attention as Luna moved backward to give the two some space. "Let''s gather around in a circle. Hand that canvas over so that I can understand what you are talking about."

    +++

    I was nning to time jump in this chapter, but I can''t.

    Not yet, but almost there.

    The author is fine now, back to writing two to three chapters.

 Chapter 707 - Secret Language

    <h4>Chapter 707 - Secret Language</h4>

    Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (September 2021)

    **********************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    **********************

    Princess Sapphire wasn''t lying when she said that the family portrait he had singled out from all the paintings they examined that night and thrown it away in the forest had vanished from the canvas itself.

    The princess and the werewolf watched them in a daze close to boredom, allowing Apollyon and Luna to inspect the wet cloth.

    Perhaps, their curious eyes already had their fill.

    Perhaps, back at the forest, the pair had a lot of time in their hands to decode this mysterious item--while Apollyon and Luna rested in this wild garden--before they gave it to them.

    Luna flipped the artwork from front to back, over and over, as if she expected the family portrait to magically return over the map she had no idea how to interpret.

    Few seconds had passed by, and the wrinkles on her forehead deepened as she frowned in confusion..

    He and his wife had the same reaction as they glowered at the wet canvas.

    It continued to drip more droplets of water unto the forest floor, and most of them hadnded on his wife''s torn dress��which he tried hard to make it look decent--that Apollyon was tempted to wring the canvas dry but, he was concerned that he would destroy it, so he left it be.

    Apollyon noticed that some of the darker colours had washed away from the rainwater, and a new image had emerged.

    It was a hand-painted drawing of a map with the gate of the Fall Courts as the starting point.

    It was the only thing he could figure out from this unknown map since he only learned a few essential words from the ancientnguage of the Fae.

    An idea had shed like a lightning bolt in his mind.

    "Princess Sapphire." He recalled that Princess Sapphire was required to study the oldnguage as a Monarch.

    As the King of the Vampire Realm, asking his sister to read it for him might be embarrassing, but he shouldn''t care about such things now that the Archdemon of Lust was free to roam in this Realm to make their dreams of world dominatione true.

    "Do you think you can understand what''s written on the rest of the map and tell me about it?"

    The Summer Princess shrugged. "I don''t know much about the ancientnguage of? the Fae."

    "Aren''t you a Summer Monarch?" He held the top corners of the painting and showed it to her in? a challenge, "You had an advantage to learn thenguage over me."

    From Princess Sapphire''s scowl, Apollyon could tell she was about to open her mouth to fight a perceived insult with an insult, but he quickly ced a forefinger over her lips before she could say something.

    "I''m sure you are going to point out that I belonged to the Summer Monarch as well when I don''t live in the Summer Castle." Apollyon said sarcastically and moved his hand away from her face, "Howe? you didn''t know how to read this?"

    "I don''t study, alright?"? She raised her hands in front of him, palms up, as if in surrender. "I don''t like studying so why would I waste my time poring over ancient history texts of our people."

    "Hmm." Apollyon trailed off as he tapped his chin to scrutinise her brown eyes until she looked at him with fear that she hid so well.

    Apollyon''s thoughts made him smirk, ''Not so brave, are we?''

    A? young spymaster who shouts her skills to everyone who might care to listen but didn''t know how to read��." Apollyon shook his head slowly and clicked his tongue. "Interesting."

    The young princess pursed her lips.

    "Apollyon." Leaning closer to his ear, Luna circled her arm towards his and whispered,? "Stop teasing the little girl, will? you? Don''t tease her how you tease me. She will take you seriously but I don''t."

    "Please spare? the princess from humiliation, Vampire King."? Xerxes implored with calm.

    Princess Sapphire''s chocte cheeks darkened at Xerxes'' words and averted her gaze from Apollyon.

    ''So, his sister had a little crush on this werewolf brat, huh?'' "The more you say that, the more she will be humiliated,shape shifter."

    "If we don''t understand anything that was? written here in this map, we might waste our time finding the Tree of the Four Seasons." The map disguised on the family portrait was a creative idea only a genius woulde up with.

    Yet, there was a fine line between the two, and his mother had crossed that line.

    He wondered if Princess Ourania did this on purpose to send them in a wild goose chase.

    Apollyon hated wasting time the most, so he had to ensure that the symbols and glyphs around this map weren''t gibberish.

    "I just want to find the god-damned tree so that my wife and my heiress can be free from these demonic attachments." He growled in frustration.

    "Is this why you were searching for that tree urgently brother?" Princess Sapphire asked, "Because there might be a chance that the demon who possessed the Empress wille back?"

    "Oh. She wille back but I had contained her for now." Luna replied with a sigh. "It will be a long while before she recovered from the trap I made for her inside my body but the chances of her returning increases if I don''t eat the magic fruit that special tree bears as soon as possible."

    "I am in charge of decoding ancientnguage, signs and symbols for Princess Sapphire, Vampire King. I do recognize the majority of the symbols used in this map and they belonged from the Fall Courts." Xerxes took the canvas from him and exined as he pointed at a small image of a Kingdom, "It is written here that the Fall Courts will the starting point to find this mythical garden over here at the top left.The Fall Courts are very secretive about their ancientnguage. Nobody had ess to its interpretation except their brightest schrs. We need the Empress to fetch the Archdemons from the cave with us so that we could leave this ce at once."

 Chapter 708 - Determined Eyes

    <h4>Chapter 708 - Determined Eyes</h4>

    Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (September 2021)

    **********************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    **********************

    Apollyon decided to follow Xerxes''s suggestion to leave the forest of the Summer Courts at once, even if he was against it at first.

    There was a high probability that the Summer Militia were already in their group''s tracks after he beheaded their general.

    Their group will also be med for Princess Sapphire and Xerxes'' defection, iming that the spymaster and her guardian were either brainwashed or coerced to join them.

    The return of the Military General''s decapitated body was a massive blow to their ego��especially to the Summer Monarchs.

    Simply leaving them alone to do what they wanted without exacting any form of revenge was out of the question.

    Well, unless the Summer Monarchs had learned their lesson at the Colloseum..

    They will experience a repeat of pure and pain and torture from the Archdemons if they don''t have a n.

    The Summer Faeries were known to be rash and impulsive whenever their burning resentment was concerned.

    Yet, if they genuinely desired retribution, the Summer Militia would learn to respect the collective power of their group and study them from a distance before they strike.

    Xerxes and Princess Sapphire had done their best to stay on their guard, and the two had disclosed the presence of their Kingdom''s best trackers had surrounded their vicinity, using advanced magic tools to spy on them and hear a few of their conversations.

    They were far enough from their location that Xerxes'' sense of smell could barely detect their scents.

    Then, Princess Sapphire revealed a military secret that these small, almost invisible, Summer Faeries lurking at them from afar had bathed themselves with the ''petrichor''��the earthy scent produced when rain fell on the dry soil��and blend their forms in nature.

    All of them were now aware of the eavesdropping Fae creatures.

    The entire forest had its eyes and ears on them, waiting for their next move with bated breaths. Apollyon, Luna, Xerxes and Sapphire instinctively lowered their voices as they discussed how to arrive at the Fall Courts as soon as possible.

    The exchange of ideas went well until he dered that his Empress needed more rest, leading to an argument with his beloved.

    It was his bad luck that it hade to that, yes, but Apollyon didn''t mean any harm, nor did he want to put an emotional strain between them on purpose at such a difficult time.

    Luna insisted that she was alright��that she had taken care of? Lilith''s consciousness after gaining enough mental power and stability.

    She had released Lilith''s hold on her mind and body by force, and she had no idea when it was going tost.

    Luna told him that they should leave this ce as soon as possible before Lilith woke up again.

    ording to her, she made sure that switches wouldn''t ur for about half a month.

    Apollyon massaged his temples as he listened to every single word.

    Honestly, Apollyon didn''t believe this, and straight-up assumed it was a lie due to her stubborn nature.

    He disliked that his beloved''s mood had quickly shifted from lighthearted to sad, then to utter panic after she had woken up from her peaceful slumber.

    Apollyon frowned, shaking his head in refusal.

    Sometimes, his beloved wife didn''t know how to stop, remove herself from the situation and catch her breath unless he demanded her to.

    She shouldn''t have to live in constant survival when he had a husband to rely on who will conquer the threat.

    All Luna desired was to fight and climb her way through every obstacle when some ''mountains'' weren''t worth climbing, no, fighting for.

    Like any good husband and expecting father should, Apollyon admonished her for her bidding.

    Of course, Apollyon wanted to hurry up and solve their problems��in a snap of a finger, if that could be possible--but he wasn''t going to let Luna sacrifice herself and their child''s well-being.

    His wifees first.

    Always.

    No matter what happens, their group will be doing the mission at the Empress'' pace.

    Apollyon even borated that she will never be a dead weight to the group, so rest assured, Luna can rest all she wants for the rest of the dawn without duress.

    If she were hurt and in pain due to Lilith controlling her body, Apollyon would carry her burden.

    The Archdemon of Gluttony had been attached to his physical vessel before so he could understand his wife''s struggle.

    Every time he resisted the switch, he couldn''t do anything about it in the end since Ravin would take control, anyway, since he was stronger.

    After the bastard had thoroughly used his body from drinking blood, eating souls and f*cking women at his Consortium, Apollyon''srge body felt sluggish and sore as if seven giants had beaten him up and stomped on him while he was unconscious.

    Then, he would wait for his immortal body to recuperate before he resumed his duties as the Vampire King.

    To his surprise, Instead of being relieved of her reassurance, Luna told him bluntly that she was slighted by his words��that she never intended to be a liability.

    She expressed that she was alright with travelling this instant, and she wasn''t pretending about being well for the sake of not being dead weight.

    Apollyon decided to raise her chin with his hand, meet her gaze head-on and take one good look at her without prejudice.

    Indeed, his beloved had looked healthier, and a beautiful shade of pink had returned to colour her pale vampire cheekbones.

    Her speech was short, a little snappy and alert when she tried to reason with him.

    The determination glittering in her furious emerald gaze informed Apollyon that she was telling the truth.

    He turned ballistic when Luna revealed that the Archdemon of Lust had snatched her ne so that he could track her better.

    Why did these devils keep on stealing possessions that didn''t belong to them?

    Were they that envious and deprived of their childhood?

    Apollyon, Luna, Xerxes and Princess Sapphire fetched Luna''s two Archdemon Familiars from the rock shelter she had unwittingly trapped them with her verbalmands.

    Then, they began travelling to the gates of the Fall Courts for three days and three nights.

 Chapter 709 - Autumn Courts

    <h4>Chapter 709 - Autumn Courts</h4>

    Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (September 2021)

    **********************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    **********************

    Luna was an Archdemon, but she couldn''t use her demon wings to fly with them because her soul was still in her physical vessel��unlike Ravin and Sloth.

    They didn''t have to rely on any of the Archdemons for transportation.

    Apollyon abhorred relying on Luna''s Archdemon Familiars for anything except for what they came to do here in the Material? Realm. That was to protect his Empress from Lilith and locate the Garden of the Four Seasons.

    The Goddess Hecate specified that the Archdemon of Gluttony could help in the hunt, but Luna still couldn''t figure how.

    He was somehow d that he grew Faerie Wings as a Summer Monarch so that he could carry the Empress in his arms.

    He would be in charge of her safety while they traveled in midair, following Xerxes and Princess Sapphire below.

    Of course, it would make sense that they knew all the shortcuts to arrive at the gates of the Fall Courts faster.

    The princess and the werewolf had spied all over the Faerie Realm to gather top secret information about their political enemies.

    If some creatures proved to be hindrances, it would be easy to get rid of them through ckmails and y upon their weaknesses.

    Unfortunately, the Fall Courts were hard to defeat.

    Rumors had it that the Fall Courts were the most capricious Fair folk in the entirety of the Faerie Realm, bringing terror and mischief in their wake.

    They were beautiful yet cutthroat--highlypetitive than the Summer Monarchs, more maniptive than the Spring Courts, and more sneaky than the Winter Courts, so it would be hard to pin their ulterior motives down.

    The Fall Courts didn''t allow just anyone to enter their Kingdom since the fortifications surrounding their Kingdom were tall, strong, and full of concealed traps.

    Anyone who attempted to infiltrate and climbed their cursed walls will die a gruesome death.

    Meanwhile, Apollyon couldn''t use his teleportation magic for his beloved''s convenience since he was unacquainted where the Autumn Courts were located, and Xerxes and Princess Sapphire''s memory of the Kingdom were too vague to be used as a reference since their mind had no strong attachments there.

    Both of them only recognize where the portcullis of the massive gates could be found.

    Apollyon and Luna also discussed through their mind link that she would not create any portal in front of Ravin and Sloth so as not toplicate things.

    They might use that valuable information in the future and tell the Demon King Lucifer and Satan that the Demon Kind were sessful in forcing her to learn that unique ability as gods and goddesses can do.

    As time went by, these Familiars had be too much of a liability with their unnecessaryints.

    They almost seeded wearing his Empress down as they stood at the entrance of the Fall Courts.

    The fortress of the Fall Kingdom was atticework of gold, brown, and green, symbolizing the fade of the summer''s light and the vitality waning before the season turned into winter.

    The autumn colors were so vivid that the Empress and his sister couldn''t help but gawk and gape in front of the Fall Kingdom as if it was an enormous jewelry box that women were so fascinated about.

    On the other hand, Apollyon could see Ravin dusting the invisible lint off his brown robes.

    He paused when he noticed his old hands for the hundredth time the moment they arrived, "I am confused on what disguise I should shift into to be considered normal in the Faerie Realm. I don''t think I can be considered normal with this."

    Frowning, Ravin settled his hands behind his back and began to walk, pacing back and forth in agitation.

    "I want to return to my humanoid form earlier." Ravin said out loud, but he didn''t address anyone, so it appeared like he was talking to himself, "Why would I even try to be normal in this disguise when I am going to stand out anyway?"

    Princess Sapphire grabbed the chance to avenge her reputation as a spymaster when the? Archdemon mocked her capabilities at the bonfire.

    Scanning Ravin up and down as he strode, the little girl gave him a slight smirk, "Give it up, old man. You should follow the Empress'' requests if she told you to use that disguise."

    Ravin waved a hand in dismissal,pletely ignoring the Summer Princess'' words.

    Princess Sapphire knew that the Archdemon had heard her insult perfectly, and giggles bubbled in her throat.

    With ring nostrils, the Archdemon of Gluttony turned towards Luna and uttered in a weak, stringy voice of an old man,? "I don''t want to put my entire form in this mour, Domina." He sighed in regret upon hearing his mored voice, "The Faerie wings should have been enough? to rece my demon wings."

    "Ravin." Luna''s tone was a warning as she glowered at him.

    Apollyon didn''t interfere and enjoyed the scene as he folded his arms over his chest.

    It would be interesting to see Luna tearing Ravin to shreds with her sharp tongue and have his ass handed back to him.

    He kept his mouth shut, but the corner of his lips slightly curved in amusement.

    That would be his highlight of this journey!

    Even if Ravin narrowed his eyes at her, he still lowered his head in a respectful bow, "I apologize for theint, Domina, I can''t stand to looking like an oldmoner like you requested me to be."

    "Your brother, Sloth, seemed to be alright with it."? Luna pointed out as she gave the Archdemon of Sloth a fleeting nce.

    After hearing his name being mentioned, Sloth turned his head towards Luna and smiled with my innocence. "This is my first time to be an old man. Look at my wrinkled hands." He raised and showed them the back of his hands. "This is interesting."

    He was fascinated by the new experience, unlike Ravin.

 Chapter 710 - The Queen Of Autumn

    <h4>Chapter 710 - The Queen Of Autumn</h4>

    Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (September 2021)

    **********************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    **********************

    "If a Faerie identally bumped into me and I fall into the ground, they would think I die from the brittle bones I have."

    "If this Archdemon spends most of his life sleeping--" He pointed at the Archdemon of Sloth with a forefinger, all the while giving Luna an annoyed nce as if telling her, ''Don''t lump me in with that bastard.'' "-- then his appearance would be thest thing on his mind. I would like to be treated as the royalty that I am if I use my true face." He said calmly, "Handsome looking men had privileges wherever we go."

    She raised a curious eyebrow, "��and you are used to those privileges, huh?"

    "To be a tempting Archdemon one must wear the most angelic of faces." The pupils of his golden eyes darkened, and Apollyon witnessed how it sent shivers down her beloved''s spine.

    "Allow me to show the face? I have which you fell in love with to the Autumn Courts, Domina." Luna averted her gaze from the Archdemon so that she wouldn''t fall under the devil''s hypnosis. "Not this one century old human disguise you told us to use."

    Luna snorted at the old man.? "Isn''t this obvious to you that this is a punishment? It''s not like your magic couldn''t handle? them."? Her reply might as well be a subtle dare for Ravin to see if he could stomach such a terrible disguise for a long period without breaking from his character, "Archdemon Magic is too strong for these Autumn Faeries to see the mour."

    "What do you think the Fall Courts would think about our group with two Vampire Monarchs, a young Fae with wings instead of ears, a werewolf shape shifter, and two old and decrepit grandfathers trailing behind?" Ravin''s countenance betrayed nothing but Apollyon scowled at his admonishing tone, "Have you ever thought of that?"

    Apollyon realized that he did have a point, but his wife wasn''t going to change her mind on his punishment just because it crushed Ravin''s ego.

    She shouldn''t forget that she is their Master��the only one in control of her Familiars.

    "You shouldn''t care about something so shallow, Archdemon. Your task here in this Realm is to keep my wife safe every? time Lilith takes control of her physical vessel. You and Sloth are supposed to contain the menace while we search for the Garden of the Four Seasons." Apollyon glowered into Ravin''s golden eyes, and the longer he kept eye contact, the more his pupils narrowed into dangerous slits. "You only had one job but you f*cked it up." He didn''t feel the need to shout because Ravin''s ipetence as a protector can speak for itself, "You couldn''t even save Luna when she is in danger."

    "Whose mistake do you think it is, Vampire King? My brother and I wanted to save her when we sensed that she was in danger but we can''t get out of the cave no matter how hard we try." Ravin held his elbows wide from his body, thrusting his chest out to provoke, but Apollyon knew better than to fight him in front of Luna again. No more unnecessary violence. "You saw how the entrance to the rock shelter looked like when you got back. We destroyed half of it with multiple explosion? but the barrier where the entrance was supposed to be wouldn''t budge. I suggest that Domina released our true names from the bindings because it it too powerful. This way,? the restriction wouldn''t happen again."

    "Do you think we are stupid, Ravin?" Luna asked him with a searing nce, "We aren''t letting go of your true names from that one ident just so you could do everything you want."

    "The mission that the Domina had given? to us during the binding ritual is a conflict of our interest but we had no choice but to follow it even if we are against anything that will send demons Lilith had summoned over here back to Hell." The Archdemon said as he wore a stubborn expression, and Luna only shook her head. "We are upholding our part of the contract as her Familiars and what happened isn''t our fault. Next time, the two of you should stick to the group. Don''t leave us out."

    Apollyon growled like an animal as his grip on his beloved''s waist grew tighter when Ravin tried to approach her.

    "The Fall Courts is eerily silent as a graveyard. Now, this is a ce I would like to live in the Material Realm." Slothmented out-of-the-blue.

    Everyone listened and watched what he was staring at in a daze.

    The vivid autumn hues kindled in the treetops as acorns and leaves tinged with red and gold deserted their lofty branches.

    They fell like gifts on the ground, adorning it with transient beauty as a few dead logsid upon the grass.

    They allowed this moment of silence to enjoy nature as the light spread over the horizon.

    The first rays of the day lit the Kingdom, shining through a thinyer of grey clouds.

    Yet, this wasn''t where their mission would end since they still needed to journey onwards and move ahead as they searched for possible paths in the Fall Courts to the mythical gardens.

    The portcullis of the fortress began to rise, and the first creatures they witnessed were dryads and nymphs exhibiting the colors of autumn��mostly green, gold, red and brown-- in their features.

    "Someone ising." Xerxes whispered as he treaded on the dried leaves and weary twigs, making them crunch, "The Queen of the Fall Courts had opened the gates for us."

    Chill mixed with the scent of apples and roasted chestnuts under crackling fires permeated in the air.

    From the gates, The Fall Queen emerged with beauty and grace and Apollyon didn''t know how she looked since she wore a mask.

    There was something about her smile that Apollyon couldn''t quite put the finger on, causing this unexined sense of fear niggling at the back of his mind.

    Hidden terror might lurk behind this warm and calming demeanor, or perhaps, he was reading too much into their natural charm.

 Chapter 711 - Two Old Men

    <h4>Chapter 711 - Two Old Men</h4>

    Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (September 2021)

    **************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    **************************

    Luna spected that the Queen of the Autumn Court was perhaps a bit older than Queen Gloriana from the Spring Courts and Queen Titania from the Summer Courts.

    Her skin was made of porcin, and her small facial structure was as delicate as fine china.

    Her hair was as lighter than Sloth''s as flower gands crowned the top of her head.

    Her thick and curly ringlets were so long that they almost reached the ground.

    Her Faerie Wings was gossamer thin, so the pair was almost transparent while thin, detailed veins of emerald and russet grew from the roots on her back to every cell of her fore-wing and hind-wing.

    The Fall Queen''s pair of wings might be unique, but Apollyon''s orange wings still felt more superior to her since it felt like it would belong to an offspring of a phoenix and a monarch butterfly.

    The Queen of the Fall Courts had brought a basket full of nuts and apples while a few dragonflies rested on therge skirts of her deep blue gown made of silk.

    One small red fox and two glorious peafowls followed closely behind her made her assume that these three were her pets.

    As her gaze returned from her royal garments to her countenance, Luna aimed to carve her image into the stones of her memory but�� no matter how she squinted at the Queen''s fox mask,? she couldn''t determine the colour of her eyes from afar.

    Some mour prevented her from seeing her face clearly, and she had seen Apollyon did this trick to keep them hidden from their visitors during that Ball.

    She could very much see in the dark like a vampire, and the sun had risen in the east here��

    East!

    The knowledge hit her mind like a bolt of lightning.

    All the information was literally in her face.

    Luna finally understood how Xerxes and Princess Sapphire were able to locate the Fall Courts.

    All of the Courts in the Faerie Realm divided their territories based on the Four Cardinal direction.

    The west is the Summer Courts, while the South is the Spring Courts.

    The territories of the Fall Courts was located in the East, where the sun rose from fertile valleys and jade streams ending in foothills that leapt into the grey, snowcapped mountains of the Winter Courts.

    Luna didn''t bother asking the pair for more information at the start of their journey since Apollyon forbade her from thinking too much.

    Yes, thinking!

    It frustrated her that every time she wanted to engage him in a long conversation��whether through the mind or by speech�� he shut all of her attempts to chatter and demanded her to sleep on mid-air.

    She was bored with thefortable silence between them as her husband carried her in his arms while he flew in his Fae Wings the first time.

    She wasn''t asking for trouble, but she would have enjoyed that special experience more if her Summer Fae Prince wasn''t brooding and paranoid at that moment.

    Those two moods in him wasn''t a goodbination.

    Every time her memory brought that up, her nostrils just red in ire.

    Perhaps, her husband might suggest that she shouldn''t breathe next time.

    She can understand where her husband''s fear wasing from, but she just found it ridiculous that ''thinking''-- using her brain might induce Lilith toe back and steal the reins of her physical vessel from her.

    The Vampire King had gone too overprotective with her and their heiress, and no amount of argument can make him retract his decision.

    Luna didn''t want to waste any more of her saliva since they already argued enough the entire dawn, so she conceded that�� Apollyon was right.

    The Vampire King''s words are thew��one that she must follow as his Empress.

    It was bad to deplete energy over such a useless cause as quarrelling with him when it came to decision-making.

    She knew that her beloved didn''t want to hurt her. Goddess! Maybe, Apollyon, even though this was what was best for her.

    Luna will let her controlling husband be at the helm for now until he calms down.

    She was also pressed to perform in front of the Archdemon Familiars as the Vampire King''s wife and show them her best behaviour--that their marriage was close to perfection.

    She refused to give Ravin the idea that he could still have her and rece Apollyon as her husband if he witnessed just one misunderstanding.

    Everyone knew that the mating bond couldn''t be that shallow, but she still tried.

    Apollyon''s patience with Ravin was already on thin ice, and she needed to do something so that Apollyon would feel more secure.

    The Vampire King feel more secure with her obedience, so she would dly give him that.

    Sometimes, the Archdemon of Gluttony never stopped poking holes on Apollyon''s defences since he already figured out his weakness as the Blood Beast. It made her wonder if she could handle all this chaos and keep herself together when she was in the eye of the storm.

    The Fall Queen''s voice was as sweet as sun-warmed apples, and it startled her,? "What brought all of you here, Vampire King and the Empress of the Vampire Realm?"

    Frowning, Luna cocked her head at her with suspicion and folded her arms across her chest.

    The light around the Fall Queen''s aura kept shifting about.

    What was this woman hiding from them aside from the upper half of her face under that fox mask?

    "You know who we are, Your Highness?"

    "The Fall Courts is the most isted Kingdom but that wouldn''t stop me from knowing what is going on to the rest of the Realm, your Highness." Hidden terror must have lurked behind the Queen of Autumn in a warm and calming demeanour, or perhaps, she was reading too much into her natural charm.

    "Those two old men?" Luna stiffened when the Fall Queen asked. "Are they human?"

    Neither made the High Lady move in her position nor pointed a finger at Ravin and Sloth.

    Their group knew exactly who she was talking about, "Why did you bring them along with a little fae princess and a rogue werewolf?"

 Chapter 712 - Lets Play A Game

    <h4>Chapter 712 - Let''s y A Game</h4>

    Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (September 2021)

    **************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    **************************

    "Why did you bring them along with a little Fae princess and a rogue werewolf?" The Queen of the Fall Courts asked pointedly, appearing rxed as she leaned one slender hand against the stone wall. Her tone might as well be as sharp as a de.

    "Domina. I told you this was a bad idea, didn''t I?" Ravin muttered under his breath.

    As she turned her head towards him, she was surprised to see his mischievous grin stered in his wrinkled face.

    Was he pleased or pissed off? "You should know by now that our identity would be the first thing they would ask. It just doesn''t make sense that we are here."

    It was also quite peculiar that his golden eyes matched the age and wisdom in his appearance.

    Maybe, it was because he was an Ancient Archdemon who had seen it all.

    Luna initially ordered them to do this mour as a punishment, but the Queen''s fixation on how suspicious it was made her regret it.

    The Fall Queen heard that and addressed him, making Luna bite her nails in anxiety, "Who are you?"

    Sloth spoke out loud as he extended his arms in a grand gesture all of a sudden. "Let''s get acquainted first, shall we, Your Highness?"? He cocked his head and gave her an expectant smile, "Do you want to y a game?"

    "Sloth, what are you nning?"

    Luna was about to leave Apollyon''s side to advance towards the crazy Archdemon, but Apollyon pulled her back to him, urging her to stay in ce.

    He kept his smile hidden from the Fall Courts as he whispered in her ear, "It''s kind of boring, answering questions while we stared at each other with distrust, don''t you think?"

    "Apollyon." Luna whispered shouted.

    ''Leave everything to that old man, Luna. You have to make thezy one feel useful.'' Her beloved spoke in the mind-link. ''That would give him purpose as your Archdemon Familiar.''

    "You asked us if we are human. Can''t a Fae Queen tell if someone is using mour or not?",? Sloth began, his dark green eyes twinkling, "I thought the Fair Folk are the masters of illusions and mour. Now I would respectfully ask the question back to you, Your Highness." The Queen of the Fall Courts straightened her spine at his challenge, "Do you think I am human?"

    The Autumn Queen''s lips were pressed in a tight line as if she was deep in thought.

    She stood by the archway with her royal pets and the curious autumn dryads and nymphs, throwing them curious nces during the exchange.

    Suddenly, three Fae Sentinels had materialized behind the Queen, and she let out a short gasp when she saw them there when these men weren''t there, to begin with.

    Luna held her breath when she met one sentinel in the eye and quickly averted her gaze.

    Heart racing in apprehension, she snaked her arm around Apollyon forfort.

    Her husband didn''t react to her squeezing his wrist, so maybe, those three didn''t catch his attention yet when everyone was too focused on Sloth''sv riddle.

    As her heartbeat slowed down, hundreds of thoughts raced through her mind.

    She swore that the three weren''t there in the first ce.

    Perhaps, their movements were too subtle for her to pick up, or maybe they were ghosts.

    In that quick peek, Luna could recall that one Fae��who she stared at her calmly--had short, messy blond hair and gilded wings to match while the other Fae seemed older with long ginger hair and long facial beard.

    Luna was unsure whether they were Faerie Sentinels like she thought they were since the fabric of their uniforms was neat and expensive to be worn by soldiers, and she didn''t mean to sound judgmental with this observation.

    They seemed like male Faeries whose skin would only recognize luxuries such as silk, velvet, and fur.

    Another thing was, those male Faeries wouldn''t look like someone who would follow orders.

    Their appearance told her the opposite.

    These men seemed to be the people who would uttermands aside from the Queen, that is.

    Who were they if they didn''t belong near the top of the hierarchy?

    High-ranking officials?

    Were they aristocrats?

    Fall Monarchs?

    Consorts?

    What kind of individuals would be allowed to stand so close to the? Queen when the rest of her people had given her distance?

    From what Luna can understand from their movements, it appeared like the Fall Courts didn''t see them as a threat, and that realization calmed her down.

    Not one weapon from the nymphs and dryads was aimed at them.

    Her eyebrows squished together when she figured out that they weren''t carrying swords, knives, or arrows simr to the Spring and Summer Militia.

    She stole another glimpse from the unknown male Fae and found out that each of them sped a long wooden rod.

    This was the first time she had seen something like this, and she had no idea about its purpose��especially how it could protect them.

    Can their wands channel immense magic from the Fae themselves to attack the enemy, or can they do other things?

    Should she make Ravin and Sloth a bait so and quench her curiosity?

    Nevertheless, the Fall Courts had lifted the portcullis with no intention of letting them inside.

    No one, not even the Queen of the Fall Courts, dared to cross the threshold as she continued the conversation with them.

    It was unfair that the Queen desired to know everything about them when she couldn''t respect them enough to show her face.

    Luna''s gaze examined how the structure of the gate and the front walls of their Kingdom.

    There must be an invisible barrier at the gate that would prevent outsiders from entering by force like how Apollyon had done to the Vampire Realm.

    Unfortunately, no one knew the magic word.

    Like the Vampire Realm, Princess Sapphire had mentioned once that they keep to themselves.

    "How strange." The Queen of the Fall Courts finally answered with confidence, "Both of you are old humans but I can sense that the two of you would live longer than the rest of your Kind. I can attest to that but what made you think that? I would let the Vampire King, the Empress and the rest of you in my Courts this easily?"

    "You see, Your Highness." Ravin smirked, "We are not humans."

 Chapter 713 - The Real Owner

    <h4>Chapter 713 - The Real Owner</h4>

    Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (September 2021)

    **************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    **************************

    "You see, Your Highness." Ravin smirked, "We are not humans."

    Spine turning rigid, the Queen''s soft voice turned into a snap, refuting his ims.

    "Lie." There was a harsh and freezing bite to it. It was obvious that the Queen had taken that as an insult to her abilities as one of the? Ancient Fae who ruled her Court. Her pitch rose and echoed through the trees around them that had shed their leaves from the visceral power of the Fall Courts.? "You should never lie in front of a Queen if you wish enter this Kingdom."

    Out of all the people in their group, only Ravin dared to advance closer to where the Autumn Fair Folk stood.

    "Can''t a Faerie Queen like you differentiate a lie from the? truth just from the tone of our voice?" He cocked his head at her, "I''m going to tell you again, Your Highness."

    Luna winced as her hand tightened on Apollyon''s arm.

    Her husband gave her a warning nce just in case she was crazy enough to interfere with the Archdemon from mocking the Autumn Queen, and she shook her head at him ''no''.

    Never.

    "We are not humans." Ravin emphasized as if he was talking to a dim-witted child. Hopefully,? that could still pass as a jest to the Lady, but that probability was close to nil. "Can you hear the truth ringing in your ears or do you hear lies?"

    "Lie." The Queen replied, and her tone was final.

    "Well, you just embarrassed��"

    "Ravin." Luna interrupted and called the bastard out before he could say something to her that they could never take back. "We will respect the Queen of the Autumn Courts if we wished to ask for her help."

    "Empress." The Queen of the Fall Courts shifted her attention from Ravin, who mored himself as an old man, to Luna, and rested her gaze on her face.

    Despite the fox mask hiding most of her features, her stares were so intense that it felt like two burning coals were almost resting on her skin.

    Her hand motions seemed a bit flighty when she asked her, "Can you repeat the name you just mentioned?"

    Luna threw a nce at the three suspicious male Fae behind the Queen before she answered quietly, "His name is Ravin."

    "Ravin. Ravin." The Queen murmured on repeat, snapping her fingers in impatience as if that would aid her as she searched her memories. Her movement was jerky as she paced back and forth, muttering to herself? like no one was watching her, "Why does the name sounds familiar to me?"

    Ravin''s lips curved upward in interest, "The name is prettymon, don''t you think so, Your Highness?"

    Was the bastard flirting as he longed to be recognized by an Ancient Faerie Queen he just met?

    As he halted, the Queen proceeded to point a trembling finger at him, "Are you, Ravin?"

    Ravin ced a clenched fist over his chest and bowed, "It is I, Your Highness."

    This time,? the Archdemon of Gluttony''s fascination by the Queen''s regard was genuine.

    Luna never really thought the devil was capable of giving an ounce of respect if he wanted to.

    "Your Highness!"

    Everyone from the Fair Folk''s side shouted when the Queen of the Autumn Courts crossed the threshold and advanced to Ravin.

    What is happening?

    The Queen was afraid to venture out from the safety of their barriers beforehand, but now, she just walked outside their gates like she didn''t perceive them as an enemy from the start.

    Meanwhile, Ravin seized the chance to meet the Queen halfway and stood in front of her, face-to-face, without hostility.

    She admired that the Queen had taken all this risk to have a closer look at Ravin and Luna grew more curious about the Queen''s reason.

    Did she know him somewhere before all the Archdemons were trapped in Hell?

    "Your eyes. You said you are not a human?" The Queen asked as she scrutinized Ravin.

    Nevertheless, she still kept a distance where Ravin couldn''t just grab her and use her as a hostage to enter her Court.

    The three mysterious men from earlier had disappeared from her sight, and Luna had no idea where they had gone when her eyes only left them for a few seconds.

    Everyone, most especially the Fair Folk, observed their exchange with rapt attention.

    "Even from up close, I can not see any mour from you." She lowered her head like something from Ravin''s neck caught her eye. "That ne." The sight made her freeze as she forced herself to say, "Where did you get this from?"

    Ravin''s fingers caressed the blue feather of his ne and said, "This is mine."

    "That isn''t yours." The Queen''s hand flew towards the leather cord of Ravin''s ne and pulled it.

    Some nymphs were too overdramatic, and she heard a collective gasp of shock, fear, and anticipation.

    The Queen of the Fall Courts was the first who initiated contact, and she pondered whether the Archdemon of Gluttony would attack the Fall Queen in that instant.

    It was the Ancient Fae who crossed Ravin''s boundaries first.

    Holding her breath, Luna blinked rapidly, and she swore everyone did the same after the Queen dered that Ravin''s possession belonged to her?

    Did Ravin steal the ne from the Queen of the Fall Courts?

    How--when he imed that Rere, who was sleeping peacefully in Sloth''s basket in his back, had given it to him?

    What was the Queen of the Fall Courts up to?

    Oh, Goddess!

    ''What would Ravin do?'' Luna thought as she scraped a hand through her long silver hair.

    Should she attempt a rescue the devil from the Ancient Fae''s clutches?

    Apollyon always knew what she was thinking about because he stopped her again by holding onto her hand.

    Ravin stared at the woman and shackled his fingers around her slender wrist, "You can read my voice and understand that I am not lying, Your Highness."

    "Where did? you found this?" Her breathing was noisy as she? yelled at him, "I am certain that this is not yours, human, because this belonged to me!"

 Chapter 714 - Trouble Trouble

    <h4>Chapter 714 - Trouble Trouble</h4>

    Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (September 2021)

    **************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    **************************

    "I am certain that this is not yours, human, because this belonged to me!" The Queen of the Fall Courts insisted with gritted teeth and made no attempts of releasing Ravin''s ne.

    The Archdemon of Gluttony''s gestures seemed like he didn''t want to back down either.

    As Luna''s worried gaze alternated between her Familiar and the Queen,?her instincts told her that the tension would escte, and she was right.

    Eyes protruding in frustration, the Queen snarled,?"I demand you to answer me where you got this."

    "See here, Your Highness." There was an edge in Ravin''sughter as he tried to back away from her, "You can''t go around iming other people''s items?the first time you meet them because that''s not how it works."

    The autumn leaves on the ground rustled as the strong winds around the Queen and Ravin created a small tornado, "You don''t know how easy it was for us to make that im, old man." The blond Fae with the transparent?golden wings had stepped out and took shape behind the Queen of the Fall Courts, "We can just kill you��." He drawled, "��and then our Queen would own that ne if she?desired."

    Nobody initiated to talk.

    From the corner of her vision, Luna swore she witnessed another hazy and transparent muscr form exit the portcullis earlier and intercepted Ravin just in case he would attack and put the Queen in danger.

    Luna could hear no sound when the other male Fae with the long auburn hair and beard appeared next to the blond Autumn Fae.

    Can these mysterious men materialize and vanish at will, or can they teleport like Apollyon?

    Maybe, their magic allowed them to camouge and separate themselves from the crowd of onlookers to surprise them.

    Apollyon never left Luna''s side, but he tugged her along as they advanced closer to Ravin, preparimg for the ensuing chaos.

    Princess Sapphire, Xerxes, and Sloth also moved closer until everyone who wanted to get involved in this fight were all within reach.

    As Ravin looked over his shoulder,?his lips curved upward when he met Luna''s eyes before he?returned to speak to the Queen, "No. We demand you to let us enter?the Kingdom of the Autumn Courts."

    Ravin''s posture straightened as he stood his ground.

    "You are now surrounded by our group." He released his hold on the Queen''s wrist and settled his hands behind his back. The sight of them positioned near him must have given the Archdemon confidence. "One wrong move and we will take you down."

    "Is this another bloodshed?"?The Archdemon of Sloth danced in ce as he waved an Archdemon dagger in his hand, "How exciting!"

    There was no warning before the lethargic Archdemon threw his dagger and aimed it at the?Queen''s temples in the middle of his happy dance.

    "Sloth!" Luna screeched as she ran towards Sloth to stop him from killing the Queen, but her husband was faster.

    Apollyon teleported behind the Queen which made the men step backward, locked his forearm around her neck, and pulled her, dodging Sloth''s dagger as it whistled past her forehead.

    The sharp edge prated a trunk of a tree.

    "Your Highness!"?Luna called out to the Queen as she grabbed Sloth by the arm and hoped she was alright.

    In the blink of an eye, the Fall Queen''s men moved and aimed his wand at her and Sloth when they realized that the Vampire King had their Queen in their chokehold.

    "One wrong move and my Cadre will kill all of you." The Queen swore.

    Luna''s mouth was as dry as a desert during the summer, and she swallowed hard.

    "Kill my Empress and you get killed." Apollyon threatened back and added mockingly, "Your Highness."

    Luna figured out that they had to make a deal with the Queen quickly, or they might dere war against the vampirekind in that instant.

    Honestly, Luna half-expected the Fall Courts'' disposition to be a little warm during their first meeting since the Vampire Kind could consider them��Vampiric Faeries��as distant cousins.

    The fragile peace was over before it had the chance to take root.

    If this conflict wouldn''t end soon, it was going to make her sick.

    "I never intend?to hurt a pregnant woman, Vampire King. I will release both of you for saving my life from yourpanion if you release me first." The Queen promised, but Apollyon wasn''t falling for her trick.

    The Queen''s men never left her and Sloth alone, either.

    Luna stayed still and pinched Sloth''s arm when he attempted to escape from them,

    "From the?speed these old men had moved, it''s clear that they aren''t humans. I will let you enter the Fall Courts in exchange for that blue feather that ne." The Queen added.

    "I find it strange, Your Highness, that you decided to meet us outside the gates of your Kingdom instead of your Cadre escorting us in and out of?your pce in peace. There is no borate traps before this." Princess Sapphire spoke to quell the rising tension between all of them, "Why are you treating us differently from?the past royalties who visit the Kingdom?"

    "I can''t tell you more but this era?is a dangerous time for royalties who didn''t have an alliance to the Fall Courts to visit us."

    "What if the Vampire Realm wanted to make an alliance with your Court?" Ravin proposed.

    The Queen of the Fall Courts took a deep breath and inquired, "For what reason are you forming an alliance with us out-of-the-blue? Was the Vampire Realm attacked by demons which had escaped from Hell?"

    Demons?

    Luna''s eyes widened in shock.

    Did she know?

    "We will tell you more if you let us enter the Fall Courts, Your Highness." Luna responded, and Apollyon threw her a knowing nce, "We had a lot of things to talk about that we would rather you keep as a secret. A proper, respectful discussion can''t be done outside the fortress of the Kingdom."

    "Are?you going to be a threat once you infiltrated the Fall Courts?"

    "What can a Vampire King, an Empress, a princess, a werewolf shape shifter and two old men can do to the thousands of inhabitants behind that strong fortifications?" Sloth grinned, and the bastard didn''t show any remorse from starting trouble at all, "We are basically outnumbered, unless you can''t defend?yourselves from a small group of people?"

 Chapter 715 - Never Ending Tests

    <h4>Chapter 715 - Never Ending Tests</h4>

    Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (September 2021)

    **************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    **************************

    rmed, Luna told the Queen of the Fall Courts not to take Sloth''s statements seriously and that he never meant that as a challenge.

    It was truly hard work making excuses for an Archdemon.

    It felt like convincing other people that the devil in front of them was an angel.

    And here, he thought the Archdemon of Sloth was more manageable than Ravin.

    Goddess!

    Luna felt another ache pulsing in her temples as she massaged them.

    Nobody knew about Luna''s strong desire tomand her Familiars to keep their mouths shut so that they wouldn''t dig deeper holes on the graves they were going to bury themselves in.

    Yet, she decided against it.

    She didn''t want the Autumn Fair Folk to know their secret early on when they hadn''t passed through the gates of their Kingdom.

    If Luna followed through her dark impulses and sealed the Archdemon''s lips shut, what would the Autumn Queen think if she addressed a question on Ravin and Sloth and they couldn''t answer her?

    Luna admonished Sloth with a death re, and the devil responded with a mischievous smile as if he was a child and she was a parent who caught him stealing cookies from the cookie jar.

    That bastard''s careless tongue would bring them misfortune in more ways than one.

    The Queen''s male Fae Guardians��which she referred to as Cadre the same way her husband called Jon, Cederic, and the High Priest��were already wary of Sloth when he threw his dagger at their Queen without provocation.

    It seemed like the Cadre had singled him out and considered him a menace out of the six of them��next to Ravin.

    Ravin was the closest to the Queen, and they even had an altercation over his ne, but Sloth desired to kill their Queen without reason aside from the fact that he thought it would be fun.

    "If it is true that both of you are not human��." The Queen trailed off, and awkward silence hung in the air.

    She mentioned that twice and despite the Archdemons'' evidence, she still couldn''t believe it.

    As Ravin stood in front of the Queen, he rubbed his wrinkled face with his spotted hand in frustration and said, "It is true? and we have proved it to you with our strength. I don''t think you wish to show you more of what we are capable of."

    "You have strong magic but it was something I''m familiar with a long time ago." The Queen said, "I couldn''t quite put my finger on it."

    "You don''t have to, Your Highness." The mour of Sloth''s eyes was so heavily lidded and weighed down with wrinkled folds, making him appear like he was talking in his sleep, but he was quite alert.

    The Queen''s blond protector ced the end of his staff under the Archdemon''s chin and forced to raise it, pressing the weapon hard to his throat at the same time.

    Sloth''s muscles were rxed as if he didn''t mind the? Fae''s suppression.

    These days might be the longest time where the bastard had been too active since they had traveled for days straight with no rest. "It is still a part of the game and you are still ying. It''s fun, isn''t it?"

    "Vampire King." The Queen''s eyes twinkled as she stared at Luna. "I am certain that you have mated with your Empress based from my observation on how you interacted with each other."

    "Yes. My Empress and I are mated." Apollyon said in a low growl.

    "Is that? union out of love and not forced?"

    "The union is out of love, Your Highness." She looked back at her sensual face and her exotic fox mask. "I was just oblivious of what I felt for the Vampire King before but I am certain that I love him."

    "Mm. I can see that the Vampire King''s aura have simrities with? the Empress and your soul cords are attached to each other but why do I feel like these two old men have a connection with the Empress that is simr to that bond?" The Queen asked, and it felt theoretical to Luna when she didn''t wait for an answer. "I don''t understand."

    "I might not see your true forms behind this mour but I noticed something else which interested me." The Fall Queen lifted a hand to cling unto Apollyon''s forearm around her neck, but she made no move of hurting her husband. "Are you mated with these two unknown creatures, Empress?"

    "No."

    The Queen chuckled darkly, and the sound scared her, "You know what creatures who can create illusions better than the Fair Folk?"

    Luna knew what she meant.

    Demons.

    It was toote to nce up from the sky when another one of the Queen''s Faerie protectorsnded near her and Apollyon, "Your Highness."

    "Kotari." The Queen of the Fall Courts acknowledged his presence, and Luna found that the Fae who spoke to her nonchntly had a white owl settled on his left shoulder.

    "I am here to inform you that there are no sentinels from the Fae Militia, soldiers from the Vampire Realm and other strange creatures trailing after them in a quarter mile vicinity."

    The Queen exhaled a heavy sigh. "Then, it is time for me to give our visitors a little test."

    Tilting his head, Sloth ran his fingers through his blond hair while the rest who weren''t Archdemons could see an old manbing through his bald and molted scalp saved with a sparse fringe of white. "What test?"

    "Sylvain." It was the man who had a long auburn hair and beard who straightened from his wide fighting stance and bent one knee as he awaited the Queen''smand. "Tell the maidservants and the soldiers to bring the bathtubs and the concoction out here for me. We will know if they had pure intentions or not if they got burned by the liquid I am soaking them with. If you passed the test, you can enter my Court."

 Chapter 716 - Truth Elixir

    <h4>Chapter 716 - Truth Elixir</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (September 2021)

    *********************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ***********************************

    "Everyone, let''s just follow what the Queen required us to do." Luna said as she narrowed her gaze at the light-haired woman. She could witness how the Queen''s eyes glittered behind her fox mask as she offered Luna a tight smile which meant that there was nothing they could do aside from following her conditions. "In order for us to enter the gates of her Kingdom, we needed to pass this test whatever it must be,"

    "We are in need of her assistance, that is why we are here, aren''t we?" Luna added further as she nced at Apollyon--who had his arm wrapped around the Autumn Queen''s neck-- and Ravin, who had their heads turned toward her while their jaws were set and their glowers were frosty.

    Princess Sapphire, Xerxes, Sloth, and the Queen''s guardians hung unto her every word. Thankfully enough, the Autumn Fae-- the blond one who Sylvain, the one with the long auburn hair had entrusted her and Sloth to--allowed her to address her allies without shutting her down with his magic wand--or whatever its purpose was--under Sloth''s chin. "Now, Sloth and Ravin, these two old men, you Faerie guardians hated for their..." She trailed off until the right word spilled from her mouth, "yful--"

    In his fighting stance, the blond Autumn Fae whispered in a deep voice, "They were never yful, Empress." His whisper was devoid of emotion as his gaze cast downward on her, "These two were rather sarcastic and mocking."

    "--But we don''t im things that doesn''t belong to us." Ravin added a smirk in his drawl.

    Wincing, she cleared her throat and told the Autumn Fae, "Ravin and Sloth will not speak unless they aren''t spoken to. From now on, they will y nice to everyone including the Queen, her Cadre and the inhabitants of the Fall Courts." Luna continued in a louder voice to make it clear to them that it was amand, "Are we clear about that Sloth? Ravin?"

    Ravin''s golden eyesnded on her, "Well, yes, as long as you don''t regret a thing, Amare."

    Sloth shrugged, and his lips quirked slightly in a grin, "Let this test of our intentions begin."

    Luna almost didn''t notice that Ravin had moved closer to the Autumn Fae in front of her.

    What a good predator!

    His muscles rxed as he stood, so maybe their enemies couldn''t tell the difference.

    The Archdemon was preparing for rescue all along against the Queen''s protector while they were distracted.

    It was three Archdemons against one and a losing battle for the nameless blond Fae.

    "Apollyon." Luna paused for a moment before she dered, "Release the Queen of the Fall Courts."

    Her beloved lifted his chin with arrogance, "Not if those two Autumn Faes doesn''t release you first."

    The air grew thick in nervous anticipation as her lips pursed in his refusal.

    "Don''t be stubborn, husband. The Queen had already spoken." Blood rushed to her face as she tried to convince him in front of everyone else, "She is more interested in the test of our pure intentions rather than holding each other women who belonged to the Kingdom hostage."

    He scowled at her, "No."

    "Apollyon. The Queen meant no harm. If the Autumn Fae leaving Princess Sapphire and Xerxes alone wasn''t enough to convince you..."

    Apollyon frowned a little as he gave it a thought.

    Then he released the Queen after a few seconds of staring contest with her, "Alright."

    "Thank you, Vampire King." The Queen said, and she was abruptly pulled by Kotari to safety--the Autumn Fae with the white owl on his shoulder.

    "Jora." Luna figured out that it was the name of the blond Fae with an impressive physique.

    "You can leave the Empress and that Sloth alone." The Queenmanded, and he immediately retracted his long staff from Sloth''s chin to retreat to the Queen''s side. "I can see that they didn''t want to cause more chaos when these old men made no move to attack you or force? you to release her, despite Sylvain returning to the Fall Pce."

    "That''s because of Kotari as well, Your Highness." Luna straightened her posture as Sloth, Ravin and Apollyon nked around her like her personal guardians, simr to how the Cadre acted around their Queen. "You are at close proximity to my husband but you didn''t attempt anything dangerous--something that could kill him--to set yourself free. You know how powerful a creature can be when they are backed into a corner and their only driving instinct was to survive."

    "I have been in that situation a lot of times, Empress. Yet, no one attempted to harm anyone with this intense killing intent that I am usually familiar with when ites to our foes."

    "So based from your intuition, you can already determine our resolve to the Fall Courts?" Princess Sapphire''s brows furrowed in confusion, "Then,why didn''t you let us in the first time we asked?"

    "Your envoys are already suspicious from the start. Not all of you are Vampires, and I don''t know what to make of it. You are different from my usual court visitors, considering we don''t have any of them since we kill those who failed my tests. And also, these old men..." The Queen paused as she scrutinized Ravin and Sloth specifically, "-- who insisted that they aren''t humans, are testing my strength and magical abilities. It''s a surprise and a challenge I am willing to take on."Ravin and that blue feather around his neck that I own interested me enough."

    "Your Highness. What will happen if some of us don''t pass in this test of your pure intentions?" Xerxes inquired as sweat trickled down his forehead.

    The Queen raised an eyebrow and let out a breathyugh, "Not so confident, aren''t we?"

    "You aren''t going to kill anyone that is going to be left, aren''t you?"

    "Is that even a question, Princess Sapphire? You know the drill of the Fall Courts and how merciless we are." The Queen smirked as her fingers casually fixed her crumpledce cor and her ring skirts. "If you got burned by the truth elixir my alchemists had made, then you are just giving us the permission to destroy all of you."

    Luna''s skin heated in concern that she could barely breathe.

    "That''s too harsh, Your Highness."'' Princess Sapphire''s nervous pitch raised to a falsetto, "What if one of the truth elixirs your alchemists made is wed and judged an innocent creature wrongly?"

    "Well, it wasn''t like the wronged creature will live long enough to tell others about it."

    The atmosphere shifted darker in contrast to the early morning autumn breeze, which seemed warm and gentle to the soul.

    "Look." The Queen pped her hands as six golden bathtubs passed through the portcullis one by one and settled them on the leaf-covered ground.

    The maidservants poured each one with gallons filled with boiling green acidic substance to the brim.

    "The bath is ready." The Queen announced happily. "All of you should get in the tub and soak in the truth elixir."

    "Five."

    "Four."

    "Is she counting?" Luna panicked as she nced around her and herpanions strode towards their chosen tub while the rest of the Autumn Faeries watched them with mischievous glee.

    "Three."

    "Two."

    Luna chose the unupied bathtub and jumped.

    "One."

 Chapter 717 - Pure Intentions

    <h4>Chapter 717 - Pure Intentions</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (September 2021)

    **************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    **************************

    Luna was so afraid that the Queen of the Fall Courts would find out about her, Ravin and Sloth''s true identity as Archdemons as all of them jumped towards the ''truth elixir'' filled bathtub in quick sessions.

    She couldn''t help but think that the Queen mightmand her protectors to have them beheaded as punishment for their insolence�� that their intention to enter the Fall Courts was to wreak havoc and destroy its inhabitants��if the truth elixir will strip them their concealment off.

    Luna swore that Princess Sapphire had mentioned once that a few of the Vampiric Fae from the Fall Courts could siphon psychic energy to fuel their powers, but she hadn''t witnessed that from the Queen and her Fae protectors yet. But then she had to keep in mind that the Fall Courts didn''t have a ruthless reputation in the Faerie Realm for nothing!

    Luna, Apollyon, and the others would probably escape before one of the Queen''s guardians captured them and ced their necks under their guillotine for execution.

    Nevertheless, Luna was determined to ally with the Fall Courts despite the Spring and the Summer Court''s betrayal.

    She needed to encourage Ravin and Sloth��well, her husband shouldn''t be excluded from this��to get through the truth elixir..

    After that, ''ordering them to be on the best behavior in their territory'' will be simple.

    Aside from the big sshes they created and hitting some of the maidservant''s clothes who should have known better than to stand close to their bathtubs, nothing monumental happened at all.

    Luna rose to the surface and rubbed the hot liquid off green liquid off her face.

    She nced at the rest of herpanions to see who else rose from their bath and whose expanse of skin had been scorched by this Hell��inducing liquid, ording to the Queen.

    The bottom of the bath was cold and smooth to her legs which set off the warmth of the concoction her alchemists had made.

    Its texture felt familiar, and she realized that the bathtub was made of ceramic painted in gold.

    It was quite unexpected that the truth elixir didn''t burn Luna''s skin like the Autumn Queen expected her evil visitors to suffer from--the instant they soaked their bodies in it.

    ''The Queen of the Autumn Courts hadn''t given them time to remove a piece of clothing,'' Lunained in her thoughts, and Apollyon nced at her as if he heard that through their mind link.

    His eyebrows knitted in concern, and he didn''t hesitate to induce the Queen''s wrath by asking, "Are you alright, wife?" He blinked at her in rm, and she met his deep blue gaze, "Is the baby alright?"

    "I''m alright, husband." Luna replied breathlessly, "The baby is too."

    Thank the goddess! No one from their group screamed in pain like a banshee because it might wake up all the wild animals in that beautiful scarlet and gold forest!

    Luna exhaled a huge sigh of relief after seeing Princess Sapphire''s and Xerxes'' confused and a bit disoriented countenance.

    At the same time, Ravin and Sloth cracked a wide satisfied smile as if they were cats who got their canaries.

    The Familiars'' ''old-men-mour'' were pretty much intact over their appearance, which also became a testament to her strong Archdemon Magic as their Master.

    mours were used to lure potential prey, making the enemies think that they were harmless.

    Nevertheless, Luna couldn''t see why the Queen had to wear a fox mask to hide her identity when she could follow Ravin and Sloth''s lead and use a disguise.

    The fox mask wouldn''t repel them.

    It would only scare children and not grown creatures.

    Ravin and Sloth waded their arms happily as if the bathtub was their hot Spring in thefort of their own home.

    She was d that these old men enjoyed the overall experience and no other creature got hurt.

    It was just too bad that Rere, who was sleeping peacefully in Ravin''s straw basket in his back, had a rude awakening when the Archdemon of Gluttony hopped into the bathtub at the start of the Fall Queen''s countdown.

    The whelp was drenched in the truth elixir, as well, but since it kept its childlike innocence, its intentions to enter the Kingdom will never be put to question.

    In the past, the whelp had eaten souls for his nutrition and the Archdemons��Well, the Demon Kind was rotten to the very core. But why did the truth elixir not affect them despite their evil nature?

    Of course, she would be eternally grateful for this reprieve, but maybe,? the Fae alchemists had made a mistake.

    Tilting her head as her fingers clutched the rim of the tub, Luna observed the Queen''s response in hopes of solving this puzzle.

    The Queen of the Fall Courts stood, unable to speak at first in shock, as her foot tapped up and down the dried leaves on the ground.

    She sank her teeth on her bottom lip.

    The way she responded to the situation made Luna think that there was something urgent about the result.

    There was no pleasant birdsong despite the early morning, and the forests had gone quiet.

    Still, Luna waited for the Queen to consider them.

    "I see that everyone weren''t scalded from the truth elixir that it surprised me quite a bit.The magic concoction had passed its judgment on the visitors and deemed them worthy to enter my Kingdom. Here." Luna''s gaze fell on the basket she showed her and wondered how the Queen of the Fall Courts hadn''t dropped anything from it yet despite the skirmish from earlier.

    "I brought a basket of apples to eat for those who weren''t Vampires." The queen''s sweet smile offering them anything tempting might be a curse waiting to be unleashed, simr to this boiling and sickly green acid. "From the Vampire Realm, you traveled through the Summer Courts and consequently traveled from the West to the East. Some of you must be dead tired from the journey. Let my servants get you some dry clothes before I usher you inside. "

 Chapter 718 - The Fall Courts

    <h4>Chapter 718 - The Fall Courts</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (September 2021)

    **************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    **************************

    Autumn has a unique beauty, but there was a certain harshness to its atmosphere.

    The temperature changed every hour, and the leaves were quick to shift their colour as they fell.

    It was apparent that Autumn Faeries used spells and incantations because their air turned a salmon pink and deep orange.

    The breeze was fresh and calm with a fragrance of homeliness.

    She smelled the season in her every breath as their group walked in this cosy hearth.

    It was well known that the Autumn Court was equally evil to the Winter Courts..

    They usually keep to themselves simr to the Winter Courts.

    If another creature challenges their pride, then they could turn vicious in the blink of an eye.

    The Winter Courts were colder and more calcting than the Autumn Courts.

    They showed no emotions, and they resort to maniption and underhanded tactics.

    However, Luna can tell that they had a more excellent side than any other Fae when returning great favours, especially now that the Queen had epted them and ushered them inside the gates after proving that their intentions were genuine.

    The Fair Folks of the Autumn Courts were influential right now since the Summer was about to end and the Autumn season was about toe in.

    They passed through the marketce on the way to the Autumn Pce.

    Every Autumn Faeries lowered their heads in greeting the instant they saw the Queen and her Cadre.

    They also extended that same level of respect to their Apollyon, Luna and their envoy.

    The heady aroma of nature flowing in her lungs back and forth energized her, anchoring her feet to the ground and propelled her mind to the sky at the same time.

    The Fair Folks were dressed in vibrant hues as carnival clothes, matching the trees around them.

    Luna felt blessed to have seen such beauty.

    Her eyes loved seeing the bold and homely colours of small viges and shops, and the Kingdom''s skilful artisans were masters in their chosen crafts.

    Most of them specialized in hearth magic and potions.

    Lovely garments for men and women disyed in fancy shopping boutiques were mostly knitted more than woven and sewn to protect them against the cold.

    The preserved food on their jars had several enchantments on them to make it stretch.

    A hearty soup could turn into a potion and moonshine doubly so.

    The Autumn Fair Folk were known for their distilleries over the Faerie Realm, including their vampire blood wines.

    It was the only refreshment that a Vampire could drink aside from biting someone''s neck and nuzzling the warm ichor straight from the carotid.

    Nevertheless, they should be careful about what they eat or what they ingest in this Court and take whatever the Queen offered them.

    Of course, this will only apply to Princess Sapphire and Xerxes since Luna and Apollyon will feed off each other. At the same time, the Archdemon Familiars, along with Rere, can either snack on stray souls or drink or whatever they want.

    They should better Not cooking and baking all the time also allowed the Fae to focus on work more quickly.

    Most of the Autumn and Winter Courts creatures were mostly Vampiric Faeries, but Luna figured out that their diet wasn''t strictly blood.

    They could still eat solid food, sometimes simr to the Summer and Spring Faeries if they craved it.

    It didn''t make them sick like how Apollyon would��considering he was a Vampiric Fae like them��but the lifestyle he had grown up was that of a vampire.

    She knew Apollyon would rather die than eat cake as the Autumn Faeries do.

    Luna thought that Sir Tristan--Princess Ourania''s fiance whom Sloth just beheaded recently during the duel at the Colloseum��would fit in this Court and if the mysterious bastard truly belonged here.

    Where did Princess Ourania meet that strange Fae, anyway?

    Did the Queen of the Fall Courts even know who he was in the first ce?

    What would she do if she found out that Sloth had beheaded an Autumn Fae and a knight at that?

    Cold sweat trickled down her back as she clung to Apollyon''s arm while their group followed the Queen''s lead.

    If the Queen found out about this or Sloth might reveal it by ident, their days in the Fall Courts were numbered.

    The Autumn Pce, a sprawling castle built in trees and rocks with its uppermost levels only visible above the ground while the bottom was tunnelled a few stories into the stone, was located at the centre of the Autumn Court.

    It was toorge and spacious that they could probably walk from one end of the hall to the other and take half the morning to aplish.

    Layers and circles of sentries rang around the entire Court itself. Yet, it was more powerful around this Pce and its nearby trees and gardens, atop the moss coated shingles and the stone blocks which the pce was made of.

    No enemies can approach the Fall Kingdom without the Queen''s knowledge, and none can leave without her permission, either.

    The Queen of the Fall Courts introduced herself as Queen Morgan.

    ording to what Luna heard while Princess Sapphire and Apollyon exchanged their information at the Summer Courts, Queen Morgan was known to delight in meddling into other creatures'' affairs often to humiliate them--especially nobles and royalties--if she was sure she was capable of winning.

    She was the epitome of Autumn herself.

    Luna also noticed that the Autumn Fair Folk coulde off as intense, mystique, eerie, devious, captivating, all the same as what she could figure out from Queen Morgan''s Cadre, who trailed behind them in silence with their long staffs in their grasp.

    Three of these wooden staff were positioned horizontally around them as if their group consisted of animals who needed to be caged for the Autumn Faeries'' safety.

    ''Apollyon.'' Luna called her husband through their mind link to initiate a conversation.

 Chapter 719 - Mind Link

    <h4>Chapter 719 - Mind Link</h4>

    (please refresh for the edits)

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (September 2021)

    **************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    **************************

    ''Apollyon.'' Luna called her husband through their mind link to initiate a conversation.

    The Vampire King took an agonizing minute to reply that Luna pondered whether he had shielded her thoughts from her.

    When he finally responded with, ''What is it, wife?'', Apollyon pursed his lips as he nced at her before staring at Queen Morgan''s back while their group continued to follow her in these long-winded hallways.

    They didn''t even know where the hell the Autumn Queen would lead them to.

    It could be to the dungeons for all they knew.

    From Apollyon''s narrowed eyes, he concentrated on figuring out whether the Queen could read someone''s mind or hear snippets of it.

    They still never know the full extent of her powers.

    Her Cadre��the three Autumn Fae protectors--positioned themselves behind their group, acting all high and mighty as if the three of them could enclose them in a manageable space. Yet, at the same time, they held out their long wands to block any escape attempts.

    When he was confident that Queen Morgan wasn''t using any psychic powers, her husband added, ''I am d that you are reaching out to me in our mind link first before I could barge? in? to yours.''

    ''You are free to project? your thoughts whenever? you want, husband.'' Luna responded.

    As he strode in the hall with his fingers intertwined in hers, Apollyon''s tone in her thoughts was matter-of-fact. ''So, you have fully let your guard down from me.''

    That made her raise an eyebrow, and she almost stumbled on her wool gown from that implication. ''Whatever are you? talking about?''

    Stumbling on the hem of her borrowed gown would be so udylike for an Empress.

    It was fortunate that Apollyon caught her and pulled her close before she nosedived and made a fool of herself in the presence of the Queen and her Cadre.

    Luna blushed and looked up at her husband''s countenance as he towered over her with a shuttered expression.

    Without breaking their strides, Apollyon''srge hand on her elbow slid to her arm and naturally threaded his fingers against hers as if they belonged there.

    '' I can say that our mental connection is even better now despite the presence of your Archdemon Familiars in this Realm. However, I couldn''t shake off the fact that these diabolical creatures were a threat to our marriage especially that, Ravin.'' Apollyon exined further.

    Luna''s eyes widened, surprised to feel the intensity of Apollyon''s frustration that her free hand had flown to her chest to clutch her aching heart, ''At least, the bastard had the decency to stopped insisting that he was your Archdemon husband in my face.''

    ''That was because we are upied with a lot of things during the journey. Believe me when I say he wasn''t that brainless to distract you with that bullsh*t every second. I also made sure that I stick to you every time.'''' Luna reassured him as the prickly thorns around her heart was reced by this sweet, sweet warmth like how fresh honey would taste if she ced it at the tip of her tongue.

    Her husband fitted that their mind link had intensified even more after she felt every nuance of his emotions.

    Apollyon might appreciate her thoughts, but that didn''t mean his paranoia about her involvement with the Archdemon was assuaged.

    ''Good. You make my existence bearable. I can''t handle that inevitable truth between? your blood bond with Ravin every time I nce around to see him here with us.'' Apollyon thought in a growl, and it seared more of her skin when he added, ''It makes my blood boil.''

    ''Apollyon��''

    Apollyon''s boiling interrupted her of what she was trying to say. ''It''s like a p in the face.''

    Then, his mouth was drawn into a thoughtful purse. ''Nevertheless, if we are sessful with creating an alliance with Autumn Queen, we can strike a bargain with her in secret and see if she and her alchemists could find a way to destroy your blood bond.''

    Luna bit her lip as she squeezed his hand in concern. ''The truth elixir made by Queen Morgan''s alchemists did nothing, husband. I had some doubts that the liquid was simply made out of water and then,? they just tinged it with green to scare us from entering the Fall Courts.''

    ''If that was the Queen''s original n, don''t? you think that truth elixir would make us back off when we made it clear that we will follow through Hecate''s mission no matter what happened?''

    ''Like Queen Morgan said, she would only allow creatures who she deemed as worthy to visit our Kingdom? after discovering our true intentions. Isn''t that the purpose of the truth elixir?'' Luna finally asked since she was truly curious about Apollyon''s take on this.? ''If it had truly served its purpose by finding out the truth, why didn''t it burn our skin or worse,? reveal Ravin and Sloth''s mour?'' The notion sent little trickles of fear down her spine. ''Archdemons like us weren''t known throughout the Realm for our pure intentions.''

    ''As much as I would like for the Archdemons to reveal their true identities, that might also include you and I don''t want to see you hurt.'' Apollyon''s muscles tensed as if he could pick up her difort over Apollyon''s hatred over her Familiars. He reasoned out. ''Let''s not question the potency of that concoction anymore.''

    Luna nodded her head a little. ''I agree.''

    ''-- And don''t ever think that you have sessfully changed the subject about Ravin because I noticed that you don''t want to talk about him whenever I bring it up.'' Apollyon added.

    He scanned her briefly before his gaze returned to their path.

    Luna was tempted to groan. ''My husband never misses a thing.''

    She would have liked to keep that thought to herself, but her husband''s smirk told her that he heard it.

 Chapter 720 - Dont Look At Anyone Else

    <h4>Chapter 720 - Don''t Look At Anyone Else</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (September 2021)

    **************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    **************************

    ''I can ept Ravin being your familiar along with Sloth but I had enough of him iming that you are his. If I hear another word one more time��.'' He let that threat hang in the strained silence.

    Apollyon''s thoughts resonated and bounced back to the corners of her mind before he continued, ''He needed to be stopped, Luna. Don''t expect me to? just stand still and ept whatever he dishes out like I always did at the Summer Castle and back at the caves.''

    ''Apollyon.'' Luna exhaled a sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose, ''I know you are frustrated that you can''t beat him up or kill him like you want to because you are afraid of? the effects it might have on me as their Master but you have to endure some more.''

    His jaws clenched at that..

    Another thing��no, it wasn''t a thing, but an Archdemon��which irritated her was the welt of Sloth''s shoe stepping on the train of her dark orange dress.

    As she gritted her teeth, Luna was tempted to look over her shoulder and find out what was wrong with him because the bastard had done this multiple times��until she realized that Sloth was bored.

    Giving him attention might encourage this childish old man to annoy her more.

    ''Everything wille to an end soon now that we have entered the Fall Courts.'' Luna promised. ''Reserve that grudge after we find the Tree of the Four Seasons. We are one step closer? to our goal.''

    '' I couldn''t wait for that? special day to?e when his soul cord was cut from yours.''

    ''You see, husband, you had no reason to be jealous because I already made myself carry that responsibility to not make you jealous.'' She replied. ''Ravin can do whatever he wanted but my eyes will never wander even if I am surrounded by a lot of these men. In a sea of people, my eyes will always look for you.''

    He cocked his head at her and narrowed his gaze,? ''If? your beautiful eyes stray to even one of? Queen Morgan''s Cadre, I will give you a punishment you wouldn''t forget.''

    ''A punishment I wouldn''t forget?'' Luna blinked and met his blue, blue eyes and curled her fingers into Apollyon''s hand.? ''You wouldn''t dare, Apollyon.''

    An arched eyebrow from him, and Luna winced. ''I already saw you do that once, Luna.'' His nostrils had red as he watched the nuance of her expression. At first, Luna had no idea what he was talking about until he borated, ''Don''t even think I didn''t see you scrutinize that blond Fae with wings that is a bit simr to mine while he stood near Sloth and you.''

    ''I was merely surprised at his close proximity, alright?'' She said defensively. ''He was part of Queen Morgan''s Cadre and I wanted to assess what he was capable of as I scanned him from head to toe. I wasn''t making goo-goo eyes at him and admiring his physique. ''

    ''How about that long silver-haired Fae named Kotari walking behind us?'' Apollyon shot back in her thoughts, and Luna frowned in his direction. ''You looked at him for too long when he arrived to report to Queen Morgan if we had Fae and Vampire reinforcements waiting for our signal.''

    Luna blushed furiously at Apollyon''s unfounded usations, ''I admit that I only looked at him because of therge white owl hooting on his shoulder in broad daylight. Like I said, you are still the best from everyone I have seen so you have to stop being jealous because it doesn''t help us in the mission.''

    I can''t help it since I am mated to you, Luna.''

    She opened her mouth as if she was about to argue with him verbally, but she quickly shut her mouth when she recalled that they were secretly discussing in their mind link.

    Queen Morgan, her Cadre, Archdemon Familiars, Xerxes and Princess Sapphire might discover that they were talking behind everyone''s back.

    The only thing that stopped Luna from doing precisely that was the fear lingering at the back in her mind that didn''t feel like hers.

    It was from her husband''s.

    Apollyon shed her an apologetic look.

    ''I wasn''t supposed to be like this but it felt like something had weighed me down, sending me all these thoughts which triggered my envy. I am now telling you so that I could get it out of my chest and feel better about it.''

    ''Envy, huh? It made me think that this was Lilith''s doing all this.'' Luna surmised. ''It would make sense that she amplified those feelings of envy on a person and trigger them so much��

    ''��it left them bothered that they couldn''t think straight.'' Apollyon finished for her.

    ''Is that how you feel, husband?''

    ''Not that it mattered. Now, that we have arrived at the Fall Courts to fulfill our mission,? I couldn''t wait to get rid of your Archdemons and send them back to Hell after all of this is done. They are determined to make the alliance with Queen Morgan difficult with their stupid stunts. Sloth''s boredom will not be an excuse will ept next time.''

    ''Mm-mm.''

    Apollyon''s words seemed rushed as he gave her an honest confession, ''I half expected our rtionship to go downhill the moment the Blood Beast was involved in Hecate''s mission.''

    You should know that I am open, and I''m not hiding anything from you, Apollyon. Don''t be pessimistic about our mating bond. It is more vital than you think. We will stand the test of time. If you expect that our marriage will go downhill and you allow yourself to descend into the proverbial slope, I would hold you by the neck and drag your ass back and climb to the top.'' Luna shouldn''t have thought about that? ? savage yetical imagery, but it made her smirk in satisfaction, ? ''It might be an uphill battle, but if you don''t want to fight for our heir and me, I''m going to make you.''

 Chapter 721 - HELP

    <h4>Chapter 721 - HELP</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (September 2021)

    **************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    **************************

    ''It might be an uphill battle but if you don''t want to fight for me and my heir, I''m going to make you.''

    ''So, feisty. I like that.'' Luna can sense his amusement and her cheeks turned heated in chagrin.

    Luna didn''t skip a beat. ''This isn''t the time to jest with me, husband.''

    He turned her head and gave her an intense stare. ''As long as you promised that you wouldn''t pay attention to the Archdemon Familiars and any one from Queen Morgan''s Cadre, that would be enough for me.''

    That was another subtle warning.

    Luna shook her head and brushed it off in hopes to tone down Apollyon''s overwhelming aura emanating over his head like a scattered and broken purple halo.

    ''You are incorrigible. How many times have I told you that no men in their right mind would steal a pregnant woman from another man��much less a mate to the Vampire King?'' She rattled on.

    Her husband had told her many times that she was stubborn, and recalling that made her purse her lips in displeasure.

    Who was more stubborn between them now? ? ''Not every man we will meet throughout our lifetime will be after me. I''m not that much of a prize that men needed to get their hands on.''

    "Luna. You are my prize. My only mate. A valuable one." Apollyon murmured, and she could only blink, wondering why he spoke out loud for everyone to hear.

    Queen Morgan heard that, and she slowed down to eavesdrop some more to which her husband wouldn''t allow.

    There was a few tense minutes of silence before Luna replied to Apollyon, ''Yes and only a man who does not respect himself and other people will try toe between us and break us apart. Only Archdemons are crazy enough to do that but even my familiars are under my thumb.''

    ''You forgot that Lilith had summoned the Archdemon of Lust in the Material Realm.''

    ''We are not tied to each other by blood since our cord was already cut.''

    ''Luxen is as insane as Lilith.'' Apollyon sharp response felt like a quick slice of a double-edged sword. ''I wouldn''t be surprised if he tried to steal? you away from me while everyone is distracted with this god damned fruit.''

    ''That is why you, Ravin and Sloth are here to protect me. It''s three against one, husband, and the good thing is neither did Lilith and Luxen know that I have made Ravin and Sloth my Archdemon Familiars.'' Luna''s lips curved upward. ''They are our dark horses. If Luxenunched a surprise attack on us, catching them off guard will turn the tables and give us the advantage.''

    Luna caught Queen Morgan looking over her shoulder from the corner of her eye, and she gave her a small smile.

    She must have thought that she was subtle when their eyes met.

    Luna shrugged and jutted her chin in confidence.

    ''All we have to do is find that Tree of the Four Seasons? here in the Fall Courts before Luxen does something stupid.'' Her husband agreed. ''Should I try and charm Queen Morgan to aid us then?''

    Her smile tightened as she gave his vibrant Prussian Blue a murderous look. ''Say that again I would kick? your behind? so hard that you will return all the way back to the Vampire Realm next week.''

    Apollyon chuckled darkly as they continued to walk the empty corridors.

    Queen Morgan stopped and turned around to regard them. She looked so regal with her hands sped together. "Is something funny about the Fall Courts, Vampire King?"

    "I apologize, Queen Morgan." Apollyon nodded at Luna quietly before shifting his gaze to the Queen of the Fall Courts, "There is nothing funny."

    Apollyon nced around the coral walls of the pce and the beautiful tapestries as if it was more interesting than talking to Queen Morgan itself, "I just want tough to see if I broke a rule about making noises here."

    The Queen looked her over once and averted her gaze afterwards, saying, "There is no such rule, Vampire King."

    "Nobody?ughs around the Autumn Queen for no apparent reason especially if everyone was silent the whole time--except you, Your Highness." Someone from the back said.

    Unfortunately,? her husband was too unbothered to turn his head to glower at? Jora, the blond Fae with golden wings who was one of the Queen''s protectors.

    At least, Apollyon acknowledged that he heard him clearly by saying, "Well, at least I made history in Queen Morgan''s Courts. Though, I admit this is the first time that I have been here in behalf of the Vampire? Realm."

    "What do you think so far about the Kingdom?" The Queen asked.

    He tilted his head at her as he clutched Luna''s fingers, "Beautiful but it''s not something I would like to own for myself if that is what you are asking."

    The Autumn Queen was amused as she let out a huskyugh. "It''s good that you know your ce, Vampire King. So, you are serious of forming an alliance with us, Empress." Then, her golden gaze fell on Luna, and she found it rming that she could correctly see her clearly despite the fox mask,? "I wonder for what reason, though. Who do you need to defeat that you require our help?"

    Luna stepped forward and leaned closer to the Queen without releasing her grip on Apollyon''s hand. "I was supposed to exin more the instant all of us sat down on the Council Room but to give you an idea, I will tell you that we need your help in destroying an Archdemon."

    With one hand settled the corner of her mouth, she whispered, "Before that, we need your help in locating a mythical garden. Are you familiar with the Tree of the Four Seasons?"

    "Hmm.." The Queen pursed her lips before adding, "I should have known that this ce is what you are looking for."

 Chapter 722 - Trick

    <h4>Chapter 722 - Trick</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (September 2021)

    **************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    **************************

    Queen Morgan halted in her strides, and everyone stopped as well when she swiveled to the left and faced the door.

    As her long fingers lingered on the door handle, she scanned Apollyon and Luna from head to toe with a frown.

    When she was satisfied by whatever she had seen in them, her eyes shifted to the Archdemon of Gluttony.

    His grip tightened on the sack, which contained Princess Ourania''s paintings their group had hidden earlier behind the bald cypress trees, and dragged it all the way here.

    After her intense scrutiny over Ravin''s blue feather ne that she coveted, her gaze skipped Sloth to give Xerxes a long and deliberate stare while he carried the sack where Apollyon had shoved all the angel wings he stole from the Hypogeum.

    Xerxes'' posture straightened and raised his chin, exuding confidence while meeting Queen Morgan''s gaze head-on.

    The shape shifter''s face expressed that he wasn''t hiding anything, but the way he tugged the dirty cloth behind him told them the opposite.

    Princess Sapphire had worn the straw basket on her back to watch over the whelp instead of Ravin.

    Rere whimpered like a newborn babe when it had sshed on the truth elixir along with Ravin, but thankfully, Princess Sapphire was able to calm it down and put it to sleep.

    Finally, Queen Morgan nodded once at her protectors at the back, opened the double doors, and entered a room Queen Morgan called the Council Room.

    The windows in the Council Room was significantly more extensive that it might pass as entrees to a non-existent balcony that plunged non-winged creatures to death.

    Luna released Apollyon''s hand and wandered to look at thendscape outside the Autumn Pce.

    The trees appeared like small gands of red and golds scattered all over the sleepy Kingdom.

    Chills had produced mist over the local moors.

    Her eyes caught the shafts of sunlight passing through the soft clouds to kiss outstretched Faerie wings and lovely structures of different sizes.

    An ancient oak with red, russet, yellow, and purple leaves stood in its whole grandeur in an open meadow not far from here.

    Her eyes returned to the Council Room, noting the pink-colored walls and the paintings in them. Luna''s eyes strayed on the flowers at her left and attempted to��-

    "Empress." Luna felt hands touch her upper arms, and she stiffened when she recognized that it was Jora--the blond one from Queen Morgan''s Cadre. "You should not touch everything so casually here in the Council Room."

    "Really? Your forbidding an Empress to touch flowers?" Luna countered, narrowing her eyes at the chrysanthemums and stopping herself from touching them, "How petty can the Fall Courts be?"

    Jora was forced to release her when she spun around and stepped backward to im her personal space. "You shouldn''t touch things that shouldn''t belong to you especially since you are in. It''s for your own safety as well, Empress."

    "What you are seeing in front of you might be simple chrysanthemums but you never know if the petals have toxic substances that might poison you and the babe in your stomach. "He squinted at her, assessing her quietly. "You should know that the Autumn Courts also specialized in poison. Be careful next time if you value your life."

    "Wife." Apollyon''s voice sliced through the conversation.

    Worried that her husband would get the wrong idea, Luna made a beeline towards her husband and embraced him. "Apollyon."

    "What are you whispering about in the corner?" Apollyon asked as he brushed her silver hair away from her face, all the while shooting suspicious nces at someone behind her.

    "Sir Jora exined? something interesting about the chrysanthemums in the council room. He told me that they are different and the petals might contain poison. So I needed to only observe them from afar and not touch anything that might endanger me and our heiress." Luna exined.

    "That''s right, Vampire King."

    Apollyon directed his attention at Jora, cracking his neck as if he was preparing for another fight, "It was good that he was kind enough to warn you, Luna, but he should know beforehand that he better not to touch you while giving you that warning." Apollyon pinned her with his deep blue gaze, "The Empress is my flower and I forbade you to touch her so easily, Fae. Be careful next time if you value? your��"

    Sloth approached them and stood close to Luna''s side, wearing a sphinx-like grin as he faced her.

    Folding her arms across her chest, Luna frowned in confusion as Sloth just stood there in silence.

    A few secondster, the Archdemon held both of his fingers up, syed them, and then closed.

    Slightly intrigued, Luna raised an eyebrow as the people who gathered around them waited for some trick.

    Sloth brought his clenched fists over his mouth and blew.

    Luna screeched when the bastard threw a spider on her chest out of nowhere.

    "Ahh!" Luna screamed as her hands swiped frantically at her chest. "Get this insect away from me!"

    "It''s an arachnid, Empress." The white-haired Fae guardian corrected her and Luna didn''t care about its kind at all.

    She would only calm down if her husband would st his magic mes over this minuscule demon!

    Nevertheless, Apollyon sessfully caught it and hurled it to the wall.

    "Apollyon." She muttered under rapid breaths as she noted Apollyon''s strange reaction.

    "Apollyon." It wasn''t her husband''s chest whom Sloth threw the spider to but he appeared traumatized, "Are you alright, husband?"

    "That scared me." Apollyon''s Prussian Blue eyes felt like they were made of sparking fire when he confessed, "That spider reminded me of�� her and what she had done to me."

    "Sloth." Luna gave the bastard an icy glower, "What is the matter with you?"

    "Nothing." Sloth wiped both of his hands on his beige pants as if he was ridding himself of the dirt and said, "You addressed me a question like I wanted."

    The Archdemon''s dark green eyes lit up like fireworks. "Finally. It took half an hour." He chatted excitably, grinning from ear to ear.. "It pained me not to talk to anyone."

 Chapter 723 - Queen Morgans Council

    <h4>Chapter 723 - Queen Morgan''s Council</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (September 2021)

    **************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

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    "Nothing." Sloth wiped both of his hands on his borrowed beige pants as if he was ridding himself of the excess cobwebs and said,? "You addressed me a question like I wanted." The Archdemon''s dark green eyes lit up like fireworks as he regarded her. "Finally. It took half an hour." He chatted excitably, grinning from ear to ear. "It pained me not to talk to anyone."

    Luna remembered that her earliermand as their Master was very much present, controlling their whole being.

    Her Archdemon Familiars can''t talk if they weren''t addressed in a question.

    If no one ever attempted, Ravin and Sloth will remain muted for the rest of the day.

    This was the cause of Sloth''s mischievous behaviour�� so that he could say what was on the tip of his tongue.

    "Damn you, Sloth." Luna spat angrily, "Don''t you have other things than to do this shit?"

    "Hmm." The bastard''s eyebrows squished together, pretending to think, but then he smirked. "No."

    Apollyon grabbed Sloth''s cor and growled, "Sloth."

    The Autumn Queen walked with regal ease as she sat on her chair with slow grace.? "Let us sit down before the council meeting started."

    The door opened to reveal another group of Fae who came in with cloaks of orange shades dark enough to obscure their identities.

    Chairs creaked as Queen Morgan''s Council masked council sat on their chairs.

    All the Queen Morgan''s Council members and her Cadre were now open to discussion and ready to contribute.

    Luna could already hear the gurgles of liquid as some of the council members had poured the aromatic blue tea into their cups, so Luna tugged her husband''s hand so that they could sit next to each other.

    Sloth stretched his arms before he sat down to an empty seat next to Ravin.

    Comfortable chairs circled arge rectangr table with a quill, papyrus and a teacup with a saucer ced on each empty seat.

    A dozen pitchers of butterfly pea flower teapot and lovely deciduous bonsais were scattered strategically around the area.

    ording to Jora, the Council Room was filled with flowers that Luna wasn''t allowed to touch, but she could inhale its alluring scent.

    The materials needed for gathering information, nning and brainstorming inside the Council wereplete for those involved in the Autumn conve. Luna thought that if the Fall Courts would go to war, they would surely win it based on going to great lengths for the preparation.

    The Council Room had bright magic lighting over their heads when the illumination from therge windows didn''t do enough.

    At least, the windows made up for the picturesque view of thendscape.

    "What are these people doing here?" Apollyon asked in a deep baritone as his blue eyes examined each hooded member of Queen Morgan''s Council, "And here I thought you would honor our request to keep this private."

    "Not when you mention Archdemons and the Tree of the Four Seasons in the same breath." Her voice turned a higher pitch as her hand thumped against the table in frustration, "They are members of my Council and they are older? than you, Vampire King." Queen Morgan glowered at her husband with the confidence of someone in a high position of power, "Please show some respect to our Elders."

    "We also brought two of our Elders here so let us respect each other." Queen Morgan said in a loud voice whichmanded everyone''s attention.

    Luna thought their discussion was turning heated.

    "Yes. We also ask you to respect the spider, Vampire King, and not to hurt them by throwing it to the wall. The Autumn Courts had a long standing tradition to treat cats and spiders with reverence? since the presence of these two special creatures served as? important omens." Queen Morgan said as her gaze focused on the Archdemon beside her, "Where did you find it Sloth?"

    "I found that spider nearby at the corner. Near the door. I wasn''t the one who hurt it, Your Highness." Sloth smiled as if he was d to have a chance to talk, "It was the Vampire King who smacked the poor thing to the wall."

    Luna tapped her fingers on the table and flicked her eyes heavenward, "You forgot the important part where? you threw it at me."

    Tantalizing heat moved over her skin when she felt someone''s forearm brushed against hers on purpose.

    As she turned to the right, she was surprised to see that it was Jora.

    What was this suspicious Autumn Fae up to?

    Did Jora want to die in her husband''s hands?

    She glowered at him, and the bastard''s face was nk when he shrugged.

    Across the table, Luna could feel Ravin and Sloth''s scrutiny boring holes into her forehead.

    Wait until Luna tell her oblivious husband, who was busy pulling answers straight from? Queen Morgan''s mouth!

    What do spiders mean as an omen, Queen Morgan?"Apollyon demanded, "Do you think it is good? Because I don''t think it is from my experience."

    "The presence of a spider in our vicinity is a warning? that the dark forces are near." Queen Morgan replied, "It would be a matter of time before they can reach us here inside the Fall Courts."

    "You don''t consider us as the ''dark forces'', aren''t you?" Luna asked as her gaze were fixed on the materials while her fingers slid over the rough texture of the papyrus.

    "All of you weren''t burned by the truth elixir when some of my previous visitors from other Realms had perished from it. The darker the intentions of a creature, the more the truth elixir? reached its boiling point and kill? the person with its acidic properties. I am well aware that you are not the group which the spider warned us about--"

    "��yet, you haven''t answered the question if you know where to find the Tree of the Four Seasons, Queen Morgan." Apollyon pointed out.

    "I apologize.. I wouldn''t answer that question unless that old man with the golden eyes tell me where he got the ne so I will give you the chance to exin everything to me and the Council from? the start."

 Chapter 724 - Discussion

    <h4>Chapter 724 - Discussion</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (September 2021)

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    Archdemon Empress Luna

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    Apollyon narrated Queen Morgan everything in front of everyone��well, not really everything��since he was smart enough to leave the important part that might put their group in danger, such as the fact that they were three Archdemons in the Council Room.

    Would it be toote for them to figure that out when they were already given permission to enter the same premises?

    Nevertheless, it would be better to keep that a secret.

    This mishap was proof that the Demon Kind was far more superior than the strongest and the devious of the Faeries that they can only consider fellow Archdemons who belonged to the Higher Hierarchies and Archangels as worthy opponents.

    It really made her mind stew on the subject of the truth elixir because it considered her, Ravin, and Sloth pure��including her ruthless husband who had thousands of creatures who had died in his hands in one lifetime.

    Queen Morgan and her Cadre weren''t aware of this and Luna wondered if they would ever will as she threw their countenance subtle nces.

    Unfortunately, the only faces she could see were the people in her own group and Queen? Morgan''s Cadre. But even Jora, Kotari, and Sylvain��who were supposed to be powerful Fae since they had taken the role as the Autumn Queen''s protector --were oblivious to their true identities.

    Luna''s lips were pressed together in disappointment.

    Will no one ever notice and just continue?

    Well, it wasn''t their loss so Luna must let it be. It was the Fall Courts'' problem to deal with.

    Not hers.? If they failed to notice who and what their allies are before they signed agreements, nobody can call it a betrayal as long as Ravin and Sloth behaved until then.

    The Fall Courts wouldn''t be able to change their minds.

    The Queen and the hooded Council Members had half of their faces covered for some reason. Luna bit her lip, rested her forearms on the armrest, and leaned back on her plush chair.

    Mysterious beings who cast shadows on their faces saw the need to shroud their identities in the dark to give cause fear and doubt to their enemies.

    She smoothed and re-smoothed her clothing and pretended to brush the lint off it.

    It was an old tactic to establish dominance over the other party since it appeared to them that Luna and Apollyon were there desperate for an alliance from the Fall Courts.

    Her hands briefly clenched on the wooden armrest.

    It felt like the Fall Courts were going to betray them soon.

    It would be worse than what the Spring and the Summer Courts had done to them when no Monarchs from those Courts had worn a mask or covered their faces except for King Gwythyr. But then, he was forced to reveal his true face as their time in her Summer Courts grew longer.

    The Council''s schemes would backfire on themter since their distrust had sown negativity on their future alliance,pelling her husband to withhold important information than necessary.

    The Fall Courts didn''t realize that they would receive the exact same energy they were putting out into the world. Mistrust will breed mistrust in the Council, itself.

    And, another thing. Luna tilted her head to the side and gave Jora a fierce look that could kill.

    Hopefully, her half-a-minute eye daggers would do the job of rying a death threat.

    If the bastard grazed the side of his hairy and muscr arm for the third time they sat beside each other on the table, she would straight up and elbow him so hard in the rib that it would poke a hole on his olive skin.

    Yes, it was a brutal notion but Luna was under a lot of stress this past few days.

    She wouldn''t be surprised if she did follow through with her unspoken ultimatum.

    This Fae, Jora, was even worse than her Archdemon Familiars.

    She hadn''t done anything to deserve this except for paying attention to the flowers at the corner!

    Jora had done it on purpose and she didn''t know what his deal was.

    She crossed her arms over her chest in annoyance.

    Why do the men in her vicinity love to y with their lives by testing the mood swings of a pregnant Archdemon possessed by an Archdemon?

    Her husband noticed this and he was pissed off, as well.

    This was the cause of their mental argument from earlier where Queen Morgan had led them at long-winded corridors.

    Frown lines still marred her forehead as she averted her gaze from Jora and returned to observe her husband, focusing on the subject at hand.

    Thankfully, Apollyon hadn''t caught her staring contest with one of the Queen''s cadres since he was too busy exining their mission to Queen Morgan the reason why all of them had gathered at the Council Room at that moment.

    Her husband informed the Council that the Goddess of the Underworld had given them a mission to thwart a dark prophecy where Archdemons had managed to escape from Hell to rule the entirety of the Material Realm.

    Apollyon left out the fact that it was actually Luna who initiated the prediction since Lilith��who was the Archdemon who summoned Luxen from Hell--had used her as a physical vessel and to counter that, Hecate made her summon two Archdemons and make them her Familiars to fight on the good side.

    Her husband didn''t tell Queen Morgan that specific detail to prevent the Fall Courts from turning her into a scapegoat.

    The Faerie Courts were experts in finding people to me based on her experience so far.

    Apollyon admitted that Hecate had bestowed Princess Ourania irvoyance when she agreed to be an oracle in the past only to fail because of her own greed and that they brought Princess Ourania''s paintings with them when she used to be a seer and offered to show them to the members of the Council.

    Her husband never faltered the whole time and he came in prepared.

    If it was Luna who exined their circumstances to the Queen, she might make a grave mistake.

    Apollyon was careful, only saying what Queen Morgan should know so that they can find the Tree of the Four Seasons.

    That''s all.

    Luna smiled proudly.

    The Vampire King was the best.

 Chapter 725 - Flasher

    <h4>Chapter 725 - sher</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (September 2021)

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    Archdemon Empress Luna

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    "Any proof that your group came here to share Hecate''s message and not some other creature who can shapeshift pretending to be her?" Queen Morgan averted her gaze and fixated on the cold condensation of clear ss in front of her instead.

    Luna''s smile tightened as she held back from speaking an insult when it was clear that Queen Morgan didn''t believe Apollyon''s exnation despite his best efforts.

    Since her Archdemon Familiars weren''t addressed in the discussion, not even once, the two Familiars proceeded to glide their quills on the papyrus, writing gibberish and drawing doodles of strange monsters in the slightly rough surface which Luna hoped was anything but demonic.

    "That shapeshifter would either be a Fae or a demon, Your Highness, but I''m sure we can determine a sense of wrongness if it was an impostor," Apollyon replied, rubbing the spot where his neck and shoulder had connected as if the muscles in there had gone stiff.

    His response also made Luna tense.

    Cold sweat trickled down her back, and she suppressed a shudder.

    Her husband might as well admit that Ravin and Sloth, who morphed into the shape of two old men, might either be one of the Fair Folk or a Demon.

    Since the Queen of the Fall Courts couldn''t see past the mour despite being given too many chances, her Familiars might as well proim their identities in front of the Council without having to open their mouth��but enough of that!

    Still, Queen Morgan and her Cadre had no idea that Luna had the Mark of the Triple Moon Goddess on her chest.

    After she forced them to drench themselves with the truth elixir, the Queen assigned them private rooms to change into, and maidservants to hand them dry knitted garments to wear as per the Autumn Queen''s order.

    They could choose to ask for a maidservant''s assistance, but her husband convinced her that he would aid her in dressing up first and then she would assist him in his turn like they always used to do.

    She had worn an off-the-shoulder salmon pink gown that fit her chest snugly and became looser at the stomach to amodate her growing belly.

    It was a perfect and lovely gown for a pregnant woman, which amodated her fertile shape.

    Apollyon''s silk shirt he borrowed from the Autumn Courts was too small for his size, tightly stretching over his shoulders that might rip at the seams anytime if he moved too quickly.

    It cemented her firm belief that Apollyon was a kind and attentive husband that every woman would kill to have.

    To end this Council Meeting earlier than expected, she decided to shut?Queen Morgan''s suspicion down when she sensed Apollyon''s rising ire stewing at the back of her mind.

    Luna was determined to show them her tattoo and do her husband a favor.

    "Luna. No." Apollyon growled as if he had divined her thoughts. "Don''t even think about exposing yourself to��"

    "It''s alright." She straightened her posture and settled a palm to the back on hisrge hand on the table to reassure him. "It''s not like Autumn Faeries haven''t seen a woman''s chest before."

    Luna waved a hand in dismissal, and this pissed her husband off.

    He made the veins of his muscles flex when he fisted his hands.

    "Luna��" He began in a carefully, controlled tone.

    She cut her husband''s protest by pulling down her bodice and exposing her cleavage to present Hecate''s mark on her as proof of her servitude as the High Priestess.

    "Wife!" He bellowed. "That''s it."

    Apollyon moved behind her so fast, her chair rolling behind them from the impact, and clutched her upper arms before it slid to her upper breasts, pulling the salmon pink bodice upwards.

    "That''s enough." He admonished in a whisper. "I bet everyone had seen even your heart and soul after you shed them."

    Luna closed her eyes and exhaled a hopeless sigh. "I didn''t show them any of my breasts�� nor my tits, husband. Just the Mark of the Triple Moon Goddess on me." She corrected him as tingles swept up the back of her neck and across her face. "You don''t have?to almost fling the chair to the wall like what you did to?the spider so that they don''t have to see me."

    The Queen of the Fall Courts regarded her thoughtfully for a moment.

    "I never expected you to do that in front of the Council, Empress." Queen Morganmented as she leaned her elbow towards the table and propped her head with a hand.

    Luna''s stomach dropped, but she collected herself, met Queen Morgan''s gaze, and lifted her chin haughtily, hiding her chagrin.

    "Please show that again, Empress," Jora said, looking so pleased with himself after uttering those deadly words. "I haven''t seen it enough."

    Her eyes widened at Jora''s audacity, but?Apollyon should have ignored him when he was teasing them on purpose.

    Jora was like a hound that could scent the instability of her husband''s emotions at that instant.

    Apollyon''s eyes protruded in anger as his deep baritone rumbled in his chest.?"What did you say?"

    He ignored her husbandpletely and nced up at her, "I said I haven''t seen the Mark of the Triple Moon Goddess when I am seated next to her." Jora repeated and a sudden burst of energy prickled through her fingers. It was such an odd sensation, or maybe, it was her strong desire to throw the bastard out of the window, "I would like to see it again if your husband won''t mind, Empress."

    "No."

    "Apollyon." She raised a hand in the air, palms up, to alert him that she would take charge from that point.

    "Let me." She pretended nonchnce as she gave Jora a long side-eye. "You will be thest person I will show the tattoo which the Goddess had bestowed on me, Fae."?As she flipped her silver hair behind her back, Luna turned towards the Autumn Queen, "You have seen the Mark right, Queen Morgan?" She demanded through gritted teeth, "Do you believe me now? I?didn''t know if you know but I am the High Priestess of the Vampire Realm before I became the Vampire King''s Empress."

    "From what I know only virgins are allowed to be the High Priestess. And you are clearly pregnant, Empress."?Queen Morgan''s golden gaze red, and she deliberately lowered her head to stare at her belly, "You can''t carry a child and serve the Goddess as her High Priestess at the same time."

    "��but I did!" Luna strongly insisted. "After our wedding night��."

    "��The night I took her virginity away��" Her husband interrupted her, and she almost forgot what she was about to tell them.

    "Yes." Wincing, Luna interrupted Apollyon before he divulged too much information about that night and disturbed everyone with their bedroom knowledge, "Hecate had taken the gift of Underworld Magic she had bestowed upon me?when I was her High Priestess only to return it to me afterward through this Mark of the Triple Moon Goddess."

    Princess Sapphire stood up from her chair abruptly and said, "If you still didn''t believe the Empress, Your Highness, I just want to ask if it?ever cross your mind what a young princess from the Summer Courts is doing?here."

 Chapter 726 - The Tables Have Turned

    <h4>Chapter 726 - The Tables Have Turned</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (September 2021)

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    Archdemon Empress Luna

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    "If you still didn''t believe the Empress, Your Highness, I just want to ask if it? ever cross your mind what a young princess from the Summer Courts is doing? here." Her high-pitched child-like voice stood out and caught everyone''s attention.

    The Summer Princess looked around, and she noticed that multiple pairs of eyes were on her.

    Her dark brown eyes slightly widened in fear when they made contact with hers.

    Luna nodded once to give her confidence.

    It was her signal to keep going despite her young age.

    Her lips curved upward when Apollyon''s sister nodded back with determination etched on her features.

    The Summer Princess might be the youngest speaker in the Council, but her voice deserved to be heard in the name of their cause.

    "I can attest that the Goddess had visited me? and spoke to me in the dream world, asking me to apany the Vampire King and the Empress, Your Highness. She told me herself that this mission was urgent." Her light, airy tone turned slightly deeper to mimic the voice of an adult who demanded respect, "They needed me and Xerxes'' aid in their journey to find this mystical garden. We must acquire the fruit needed to save every creature from possession of even stronger demons."

    Tilting her head, Queen Morgan hummed as her lips pressed into a tight line.? "Stronger demons?"

    "Archdemons." Princess Sapphire rified as she threw Ravin and Sloth a nce. "Someone had set them free this Material Realm. If we don''t locate that garden in? your Courts, the world will burn at the Archdemons'' feet." She added urgently, and some of the Council Members bristled on their seat in difort upon hearing the uing threat, "The Material Realm will be the new Hell and all the devils will be conjured here."? Princess Sapphire locked gazes with Queen Morgan. "This is the Realm that I live so I will protect it withst breath."

    Luna could tell from her posture that the Queen was more engaged over what ideas Princess Sapphire tried to sell her.

    The girl''s words had piqued her interestpared to her husband.

    Luna''s eyes were downcast as she scowled at the Queen seated in her embellished throne-like seat as the Head of the Council.

    She still stood next to Apollyon, who had risen from his seat after the stupid stunt she pulled, exposing her cleavage, which she didn''t regret.

    "Here. I have the map Princess Ourania made to find mythical Tree of the Four Seasons."

    Princess Sapphire pulled the rolled canvas from her drawstring bag.

    The cloth had a red ribbon tied around it.

    It also had gone limp as a noodle due to its dampness.

    Without warning, Princess Sapphire tossed the map in the Autumn Queen''s direction, and her long, sharp orange nails encircled around its body.

    Queen Morgan seized it perfectly with her fast reflex and hawk-like gaze.

    How she still managed to be graceful as she shot up from her seat despite being caught off guard, Luna had no idea.

    "You don''t have to help us every step of the way, your Highness, but you can give us ess to the restricted areas of your territories." Princess Sapphire amended. " Please have a look at the map and see for yourself. Princess Ourania concealed this map underneath a family portrait for a long time but we had no idea when she painted this except the fact that this had already existed even before I was born."

    She gestured at it, and the Council Members'' peered at? Queen Morgan as she set it on the table.

    "Nobody had figured it out until recently. The Vampire King had thrown it on a tree branch one night because the family portrait offended him." Princess Sapphire''s lips quirked in amusement when she looked in their direction.

    Luna wondered why and her question was answered when she turned her head to see her husband''s hurt sh across his face before it turned into a scowl, sending his sister a clear ''wait-until-I-get-my-bloody-hands-on-your-neck'' message.

    Princess Sapphire''s statement must have truly offended him.

    Apollyon''s family was still a sensitive topic.

    Luna never crossed her line as his beloved wife and just let her husband''s tight-lipped nature slide.

    Every time Luna prodded him for more information, he told her bits and pieces about his mother and father--information that she couldn''t quite connect--before Apollyon dismissed it and changed it to his favourite subject--sex.

    It wasn''t surprising at all!

    Whenever this discussion was brought up, Luna just went along with what he wanted and allowed him to lift her skirts to have his wicked way with her.

    He was predictable like that, but he tempted her so.

    Nevertheless, his sister had done the opposite and rubbed a pinch of salt to the wound in front of the Autumn Courts.

    Hopefully, Queen Morgan wouldn''t demand Apollyon to borate on his issues with his family in the Summer Courts in front of the members of her Council.

    This must be Princess Sapphire''s payback after Apollyon had put her to sleep when she challenged his directive.

    Luna smirked.

    The spymaster had desired to return to the Summer Courts when she discovered Ravin and Sloth''s true nature as Archdemons.

    Still, it? appeared like the six of them had miraculously gotten along during their journey to the Fall Courts.

    Their group was cohesive and ready to cooperate with less resistance.

    Xerxes and Princess Sapphire had no problem with Luna''s Archdemon Familiars except the asional annoyance whenever these two devils insulted her age and her capabilities as a spymaster, mocking her for being a spoiled brat like Princess Ourania.

    Ravin and Sloth get into her nerves, but she handled it quite well.

    Princess Sapphire must have grown up facing constant ridicule in her early life as Princess Ourania''s daughter and as the youngest spymaster in the Summer Militia.

    The Archdemons didn''t faze her anymore.

    Luna thought it was the calm before the storm when Princess Sapphire executed her revenge on Apollyon like it was nothing.

    It was smooth and subtle, and Luna''s? Archdemon Familiars will be next.

 Chapter 727 - Mysterious Claims

    <h4>Chapter 727 - Mysterious ims</h4>

    (sorry I made edits, please refresh)

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (September 2021)

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    Archdemon Empress Luna

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    Princess Sapphire continued to speak as she nced down at the table to brush invisible dirt on the table with a restless hand. "After the rain, there was a sickly sweet smell so strong it permeated around forest. I located it only to find that the family portrait was gone to be reced by a map in the ancientnguage of the Autumn Courts."

    "It''s dripping wet." The Queen of the Fall Courts wrinkled her nose as she tugged at the red strings, holding it end-to-end, and stretched them to reveal what was drawn on the canvas.

    "��from the truth serum, Your Highness. A canvas can''t change clothes like us." Apollyon said sharply, and his tone was filled with sarcasm, "If we left it on the sunlight to dry, we feared that it it will get stolen by one of the Autumn Faeries and sabotage us and our mission before we are given the chance to exin in front of you and your Council. We couldn''t afford to fail now that something important is at stake.? It is one of our prized possessions along with the paintings."

    "We are here to form an alliance to fulfill the Goddess'' mission but we would never let our guard down around the Autumn Fair folk unless we make this alliance official one. With an oath." Apollyon enunciated. "I also demand that everyone here in the Council Room must swear their loyalty and their willingness to assist each other''s Kingdom."

    "We must also keep Hecate''s mission a secret in order not to incite panic across the entire Realms." Luna added.

    "Not only? that." Apollyon said as he rested his palms on the surface of the table. "Archdemons will not be able to figure out our ns unless there would be a traitor in this room. We can easily narrow that person down but to make matters easier, everyone must swear on our life to keep this private." Her husband''s gaze focused on the hooded Members of the Council. "If one tells another that isn''t here on this room right now, he will face death in that instant. Do you agree, Queen Morgan?"

    The silence was her only response.

    Jaws clenched, Queen Morgan''s golden gaze fixated on the canvas.

    Luna was almost certain that she saw her swallow hard.

    Like what Princess Sapphire had told Queen Morgan, there were no faces in a family portrait that was evident on the cloth.

    The rainwater had melted Princess Ourania''s enchantment away as the map of the Tree of the Four Seasons was brought to life.

    Luna could see the title, direction, legends and symbols and distances.

    The basicponents were clear andbelled properly in ck and red ink, but how can they locate the Garden in the Fall Courts if they didn''t understand thenguage?

    She was convinced that the Queen of the Fall Courts had interpreted something in the map that disturbed her mind.

    Her aura, a mix of red and yellow, had shifted into an intense red-orange��simr to the hues of volcanic magma and firework sparks around her.

    Apollyon noticed her distress and saw that as a signal to continue, "You can see that in the map Princess Ourania created, Your Highness. She had drawn the entrance to the Fall Courts with the exact same position? where your portcullis was situated. Nothing had changed since then."

    "I am certain that the rest of the structures in the Fall Courts? are still standing, untouched, as what was reflected on that map to preserve your heritage and protect your hidden treasures." Apollyon''s chin jutted with confidence that might be perceived as arrogance if he wasn''t careful. "Your schrs are adamant that you do this and those same people are here, infiltrating this meeting, as part of the Council."

    The inaudible murmurs began to rise from a few of the hooded Council Members as if on cue.

    The schrs had already spoken among themselves, and this made her husband sh her a mischievous smile before his attention went back to the Queen of the Fall Courts. "Isn''t this the reason why you are the most secretive out of all the Faerie Courts?? It is cited the Fall Court''s symbols that I am sure you are familiar with."? Queen Morgan''s hand clenched at each side of the canvas as if she desired to tear it to shreds, but she contented herself with examining the map in a wordless stare. "Not much had changed since then."

    Meanwhile, Apollyon''s expression abruptly changed, and she could see the exact moment where gears whirred in his head as he returned to his seat and leaned forward, "Aren''t you curious why a Princess from the Summer Courts knew about all these things when you of all Faeries knew? that the Autumn Fair Folk keep to themselves?"

    Apollyon moved closer to the Queen, and the motion disconcerted her enough that she cleared her throat and leaned her back on her gem-encrusted chair.

    It was the first time she saw her twitch in difort when Luna arrived at her Kingdom.

    Her eyes squinted at Queen Morgan''s pinched expression and observed every nuance of it.

    It was hard to miss, although half of her face was hidden.

    Maybe, her husband was too close to the Queen, and he was invading her personal space!

    Luna pressed her fist close to her knuckle in agitation.

    Should Luna pull him back to prevent the Queen from feeling threatened and avoid trouble?

    "Princess Ourania had visited? the Fall Courts and stayed in my Castle for a few weeks, asking for my blessing to marry one of the? ex-members of my Cadre." The Queen of Autumn admitted as she adjusted her fox mask awkwardly.

    ''Wait a second!'' Luna''s eyebrows knitted in confusion until Queen Morgan''s statement finally sunk in.

    Luna had gasped, her mouth dropping in surprise.

    What did she mean about her ex-Cadre?

    Was Sir Tristan, Princess Ourania''s fiance, a member of her Cadre simr to Sylvain and Kotari who sat across them with Ravin and Sloth, including this annoying blond Fae named Jora settled next to her?

 Chapter 728 - The Demoted Member Of The Cadre

    <h4>Chapter 728 - The Demoted Member Of The Cadre</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (September 2021)

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    Archdemon Empress Luna

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    Was Sir Tristan, Princess Ourania''s fiance, a member of her Cadre simr to Sylvain and Kotari who sat across them with Ravin and Sloth, including this annoying blond Fae named Jora settled next to her?

    Luna and Apollyon''s muscles grew tense as Ravin and Sloth had stopped scribbling on their papyrus to nce at Queen Morgan.

    Now, they appeared interested instead of their earlier behavior, acting like they couldn''t care less.

    Oh, they were listening, alright, but they had nothing to add to the discussion anyway if nobody addressed them.

    It seemed like all of them knew who she was talking about.

    Queen Morgan meant that it was Sir Tristan, and the Archdemon of Sloth just killed him four days ago.

    The Queen of the Fall Courts must not know what they had done to him, or she might kick them out from the Kingdom!

    Luna, Apollyon, Xerxes, and Princess Sapphire, Queen Morgan, and her Cadre knew better not to start anything with the troublemakers in the form of old men.

    She was the only person who could see past their mour since she was an Archdemon just like them.

    Even the Queen of the Fall Courts couldn''t figure out how these Archdemons looked despite her power.

    Luna had no idea who was stronger, but it made sense that Apollyon''s gaze couldn''t also prate through Ravin and Sloth''s true forms any more than Queen Morgan could have done it.

    The memory of his beheading during the duel at the Colloseum was still fresh in her mind that it felt like the Council Room had reeked of spilled blood.

    Folding her arms, Queen Morgan peered at her beneath hershes and spoke. "I''m sure you know who I am talking about."

    "Yes, You''re Highness." Apollyon rasped with nonchnce. "I think I might know who you are referring to."

    He returned to Luna''s side, rested one hand on her knee at the mention of Sir Tristan, and squeezed her thigh, persuading her to be silent.

    Well, she wasn''t crazy enough to admit to the Queen of Autumn what happened to the Knight.

    "I know that you have visited the Summer Courts to acquire this camouged map from Princess Ourania beforehand. You even include Princess Sapphire and Xerxes as a part of your group." Queen Morgan cocked her head to the side and informed them, "It would be strange if you haven''t seen Tristan at all, right, Empress? Princess Ourania and Tristan are so in love with each other that they are basically attached at the hip."

    Lifting the hand on her thigh, Apollyon settled his arm at the back of her chair and smiled, "Did thatstment also targeted me and my wife, Queen Morgan?"

    "No, I? didn''t mean the Empress and the King of the Vampire Realm even if you fit in the description." She smiled husband''s obvious jest coyly.

    It was good to know that the Queen hadn''t lost her sense of humor.

    "Princess Ourania are inseparable that I asked Tristan a question that will change his life as part of my Cadre."? In an instant, her golden eyes sparkling with amusement turned into frost. "I asked Tristan if he would choose me over the Summer Princess and he desired Princess Ourania." "He chose his lover over the Queen of the Fall Courts."

    "Were you angry?" Luna whispered, watching her expression carefully because it seemed so��or was she imagining it?

    Queen Morgan shook her head ''no''.

    "I am always prepared to set them free anytime they wish."

    Why did it seem like her words didn''t align with her actions?

    "He dropped out of my Cadre and I demoted him to a Knight of the Fall Militia." Her tone was a bit harsh, as if she wanted to snap at Luna for even asking. "He wished to quit so he had to return the magical gifts I bestowed on him now that he isn''t part of my Cadre anymore. He will not be able to derive her strength from me now that he had a new Monarch to serve."

    "You made it sound like you did this to punish him, Queen Morgan." Apollyon had joined in the interrogation.

    Luna''s lips curved upward.

    They had turned the tables without meaning when they should be the ones who must face judgment in the Council Room.

    "Not really, Vampire King. That is an important rule that the members of Queen Morgan''s Cadre must follow. Tristan knew what he was getting into before he became one of us." Sylvain was the one who replied instead of Queen Morgan.

    His deep baritone almost jarred Luna from all the questions in her mind that she couldn''t wait to ask.

    "Yes. Tristan''s rank was lower than Sylvain, Jora and Kotari who held a simr position of Military Generals from the other Realms." Queen Morgan said, and Luna''s gaze returned to her. "I can only call upon the Faerie Knights during a war with other Realm. Or if the Realm we had alliances with asked for our help to increase the number in their own Militia.? Our Kingdom only had a few associations with other Realms. Nobody had yet to ask for our assistance in a war throughout this century since the visiting Monarchs are far more interested in trade and the things we produce to sell acrossnds and seas."

    Luna nodded her head in understanding.

    Somehow, getting more information from the Autumn Courts soothed her to her surprise.

    "The Cadre��" Luna trailed off, weighing her words, "Aren''t they allowed to fall in love and marry the woman who stole your heart while being the Queen''s protector at the same time?"

    "No, I am the Queen so I should be their utmost priority. Every Autumn Fae who aspired to be my protector knew that." Queen Morgan answered proudly, "Many of? the Male Faeries in the cities and viges had coveted the position. It would be so easy to find a recement.. Jora was the newest addition to the Cadre, recing Tristan."

 Chapter 729 - The Autumn Queens Past

    <h4>Chapter 729 - The Autumn Queen''s Past</h4>

    [edited this and thest chapter. I forgot to exin who Sir Tristan was and Queen Morgan''s past. So please refresh and read because it is important.]

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (September 2021)

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    Archdemon Empress Luna

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    "Jora was the newest addition to the Cadre, recing Tristan." Queen Morgan paused as her gaze seared right past her frown before it settled to the Fae right next to him.

    It seemed like he was Queen Morgan''s favourite of the three, talking about him fondly as if she was her son who was close to her heart or worse than that, the Fae was treated like one of her prized collections. "He is quite a young Fae in terms of immortality and that is why he is more yfulpared to Arial and Sylvain��-"

    "��and a truedies'' man as well." Sylvain finished before his muscr hand lifted his dainty teacup from the table and took a sip of the blue liquid. "Alldies except Queen Morgan are careful when he is around the vicinity."

    ''All females should.'' Luna surmised.

    A Cadre member who flirted with women as if there was no tomorrow and one who wasn''t allowed to fall in love with a woman due to his responsibilities to Queen Morgan?

    Jora was a walking, breathing heart breaker on the loose that Luna should avoid while her husband hadn''t noticed what the Fae was up to yet.

    The immature Fae was ying her earlier.

    Jora must have thought that he could handle the Vampire King just because he became part of Queen Morgan''s Cadre.

    He hadn''t crossed a line yet, but Apollyon will put him in his ce sooner rather thanter.

    "I hope I didn''t make you feel ufortable, Empress."? Jora murmured under his breath as the skin on his forearms brushed against hers.

    The Fae was smart since he did it from an angle where her husband couldn''t see.

    Tempted to grab his hand and twist his wrist in eager glee, Luna ignored himpletely by asking the Autumn Queen, "Don''t you think the Cadre are simr to Consorts?"

    Queen Morgan raised an eyebrow, "Like your husband have?"

    "Well, he used to but I got rid of them when I told them to."

    The Autumn Queen nodded in agreement, "That''s good but I don''t mix business with pleasure. I'' m not interested with pleasure for a long, long time." She added grimly.

    "There must be someone who hurt you badly."

    "No one."? Queen Morgan''s half-hidden face contorted in pain, and it confused Luna even more. Perhaps, the Queen was in denial. "I''m not interested? in being intimate with a man."

    "I thought the same as well before I met Apollyon." Luna rasped to sympathize with the woman who hadn''t experienced true love, "Maybe, you haven''t found your mate yet."

    She pulled in a long breath and said, "I have found my mate a long long time ago before I became the Queen, Empress, but I lost him and our child." The Queen''s lips pressed into a tight line she brushed the small tears streaming down her cheeks. "They vanished one day and never returned to me."

    Queen Morgan abruptly shifted the subject into something else. " if Princess Sapphire was telling the truth, under what circumstances did the Goddess return her gifts to you when you are clearly carrying a baby bump, Empress?" The Queen blurted from out of nowhere, and it made Luna nervous. Now, the spotlight was on hers instead of the Queen, "Please make this clear to me."

    "��definitely not a virgin��" Kotari, the Fae with the owl on his shoulder, murmured as if others couldn''t hear him in another one of those awkward silence.

    In that instant, she realized something that made her frown, and her resentment for the Autumn Queen kept building up.

    Luna couldn''t believe that Queen Morgan was still doubtful of her after they went to such great lengths to make her understand.

    It was evident that the vampires were discriminated against in the Fall Courts despite their Kind being almost cousins.

    They told the truth, but Queen Morgan dismissed their struggles quickly like it was nothing.

    Unfortunately, her take on things can influence the Council if they collectively make their decisions.

    Faeries trusted no one in the Realm, and this can even extend to their Kind unless an oath was made.

    Their inner prejudice must have told them that their fellow Fae was the lesser evil between those who weren''t.

    "I can''t tell you the reason why she took me back." Luna muttered, and she thought that her reason was good enough to sidestep any mention about it. "The secret is between me and the Goddess."

    "You must think you are special, then, or you have offered a sacrifice that you aren''t willing to reveal?"

    "That''s right, Your Highness. Aside from a few personal secrets we are keeping for our own safety, we aren''t hiding anything from you." A smirk took over Apollyon''s face as if he was a cat who got the canary. "You must understand where we areing from when you weren''t ready to share a few secrets of? your own too. Before we answer your query about where Ravin? got the blue feather on his ne, in what circumstances did you lost this item when you kept insisting that it belonged to you?"

    He was able to make the perfect bait, and the Queen was caught in his trap.

    Face twisting in fresh anger, Queen Morgan''s fists were coiled atop the table.

    She was controlled and collected, with the fox mask concealing her features.

    When it was obvious she had no ns to tell them why she was iming Ravin''s ne, Xerxes asked the Queen in a loud and impatient voice. "If you still don''t want to believe us after all those? testimonies, would you wish to see the rest of the paintings then?"

    "No need because I have my own oracle to consult." Queen Morgan got up from her throne and replied evenly before she called her Cadre''s notice. "Kotari, Sylvain and Jora. Imand you to remove all the pitchers, sses, teacups and teapots from the table and put them inside the cabs for the meantime.. It''s? time to discuss this with our Seers while the Council is present."

 Chapter 730 - Three Fates

    <h4>Chapter 730 - Three Fates</h4>

    [Author''s Note] {I am writing this on the first part so that nobody could skip this announcement}

    Hello. It is September 30, 2021! I have a long letter from your ancestors for the Top 3 People who gave me Golden Tickets for you. As you know, I am a part-time tarot reader. :) I will be not be reading your future (it depends on your request. Tell me in thement section), but I will tell you the words you need to hear/see right now. I told you I would be giving gifts, didn''t I?? So, I will be keeping my promise about rewards. I was supposed to provide customized resin nes of Apollyon and Luna, but the international shipping costs from a third world country is very expensive. VERY EXPENSIVE HUHUHUHU:,( I can already buy a silver wristwatch from the price alone. I was supposed to give out personalized nes, and 100 grams of organic flower and loose tea leaves every month to my Top 3 GT contributors if I reached Top 25 in FL, but I think that is impossible now since I am far from the rankings, but it''s alright. Perhaps, in my next book, it would be possible for all the people who gave me golden tickets. Thanks for your support. I am Rank 118 in the overall rankings for September 2021. I love you guys. To my Top Golden Ticket Contributors, if you can send me your email address in thement section below.

    1. Ginger Burns =19 GT

    2. Leslie Cox =13 GT

    3. Womp_Jonesy = 9 GT

    It''s almost Halloween. Please give me your email address and prepare to be spooked about what I am about to reveal.

    P.S. Sorry for the edits. It''s annoying, but I had to put loose information out there before the plot twist.

    Thanks for Understanding and for your patience.

    If you read the chapter, you will realize why I kept extending it until all of you see it.

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (September 2021)

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    Archdemon Empress Luna

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    "No need because I have my own oracle to consult." Queen Morgan got up from her throne and replied evenly before calling her Cadre''s notice. "Kotari, Sylvain and Jora. Imand you to remove all the pitchers, sses, teacups and teapots from the table and put them inside the cabs for the meantime. It''s? time to discuss this with our Seers while the Council is present."

    Her chest tightened, and butterflies fluttered in her stomach as she waited.

    Her foot tapped on the floor with impatience.

    ''Seers? What did she mean by Seers?'' These thoughts rushed through Luna''s mind as she looked at her husband seated beside her, and Apollyon also mirrored her questioning nce. Luna also turned to stare at Ravin and Sloth, but it seemed like the two had no idea what the Autumn Queen was talking about from their half-shrug. Did Queen Morgan have Oracles in her Court simr to Princess Ourania?

    If so, where did she get them from?

    As Queen Morgan said, Luna peered at the faces around him, especially those who wore their hood, waiting for the Seers to reveal themselves.

    After Queen Morgan''s Fae protectors did her bidding to put the set of crockery into the wooden cabs at the side, the elliptical surface of their table, which was made of ss, vanished as if they dissolved into the water which reced them.

    "Oh my Goddess!" Hand flying to her chest, Luna squealed and almost catapulted herself and the chair backwards when three yellowish faces rose from the pool that had formed in front of her. "That scared me."

    To her surprise, the oblong table had turned into a small pool by magic as the dark liquid sloshed around its golden rim of the mysterious creatures'' every movement, floating leisurely with just their heads exposed.

    She vaguely noticed her husband behind her.

    His arm was wrapped around her waist just in case Luna would run and break the wall to escape the Council Room because of her fear of these floating heads.

    They were moving, alright, but why weren''t these creatures opening their eyes or, worse, talking to them?

    Holding her breath, her legs weakened in both fear and anticipation.

    Perhaps, it was for the better.

    Luna didn''t want to deal with them at all.

    All of the Council Members, Queen Morgan and her Cadre, appeared calm and collected as they peered into the unknown creatures swimming in the dark blue water with their��

    Still, Luna couldn''t see these creatures'' limbs.

    Frown lines marred her forehead as she came closer to figure out if they were just detached heads and how can they move in that situation.

    It appeared as if everyone except their group had already witnessed this abomination.

    They must have gotten used to their oracle''s dramatic method to make themselves known.

    Biting her lip, Luna bent over slightly without touching the table and letting her hair fall onto their wrinkled faces as she rubbed her chin in thought.

    Another thing that didn''t make sense to her was that these three Faeries withrge and hooked noses and long white hairs was locked under the table all this time after the ss surface suddenly broke and dissolved by magic.

    Luna recalled that it wasn''t only her that jumped out of her seat, muttering a few curses because Apollyon, Xerxes and Princess Sapphire did it as well.

    Nothing surprised the Archdemon Familiars as they nced down at it with mild interest,pletely unfazed.

    Maybe, they had witnessed stranger things in Hell other than these three faces.

    Luna''s brows knitted in confusion.

    The thing that made these floating heads even more horrifying was that they appeared very much alike when it came to their faces.

    She hadn''t seen their limbs yet, and the dark and murky water made it even worse than it was hard to decipher what their body looked like underneath when she couldn''t even see past their neck.

    When would they open their eyes and talk?

    Well, that was if they could even talk.

    One of the seers that were close to her opened her eyes, showing midnight ck pupils, and spoke in an eerie feeble voice, "An unstoppable chain of events has been set into motion. A destiny that can''t be avoided."

    She shed her a smile full of pity, and Luna didn''t know what to feel.

    Her heart was painfully caught in her throat.

    What are they even trying to tell her with all these cryptic statements?

    The next one followed, and Luna met the other Seer''s gaze as she told her, "What goes up muste down."

    What goes aroundes around." Thest one uttered, her expression was one of doom.

    "What are these creatures?"? Luna didn''t dare to avert her gaze, afraid that she might disrespect the Seers without meaning to.

    If Queen Morgan was still doubtful, perhaps, they could ask for help from the three and convince them about the fulfilment of Hecate''s mission instead.

    "They are the spinners of the wheel of fortune, weaving the fabric of a creature''s life. We call them Moirai. The Apportioners. These are the three daughters of Nyx." Queen Morgan answered softly as if she was careful not to scare these floating, talking, yellow heads to prevent them from swimming back underwater. Moirai, huh? She felt a kick in her stomach and thought that it was her heiress who did it. Did Leo think it sounded familiar too?

    They were the ones who needed these creatures'' help so it would be best to get in their good graces.

    "The role of the Moirai was to ensure that every being, mortal and divine, lived out their destiny as it was assigned to them by thews of the Heavens, swearing their oaths together with the Erinyes on the River of Styx found in the Underworld." Queen Morgan faced her while the three Fates listened to her, wearing a tight-lipped smile of agreement.? "Destiny can span their entire lifetime for mortals and immortals who are vulnerable to murders and diseases. Each creature is represented as a thread spun from a spindle. Clotho spun the thread of life, Lachesis measured its allotted length, and Atropos cut it off with her shears.. They had the power to give life and? take it away, so it would be best if you don''t piss them off, Luna."

 Chapter 731 - The Prophecy

    <h4>Chapter 731 - The Prophecy</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (September 2021)

    *******************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

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    Queen Morgan faced her while the Moirai listened to her, wearing a tight-lipped smile of agreement. "Destiny can span their entire lifetime for mortals and immortals who are vulnerable to murders and diseases. Each creature is represented as a thread spun from a spindle. Clotho spun the thread of life, Lachesis measured its allotted length, and Atropos cut it off with her shears. They had the power to give life and? take it away, so it would be best if you don''t piss them off, Luna."

    Luna kept her head still as she gave the Autumn Queen sidelong nces. "Please excuse my ignorance but I haven''t seen the Three Fates before." Then, she narrowed her eyes and asked her suspiciously, "Are you certain that these creatures are the Moirai, Queen Morgan?"

    The Queen''s posture straightened, and her golden eyes seemed to sparkle, "Well, yes, they are, Empress."

    Luna quickly nced at the Three Fates before looking away to? watch Apollyon''s reaction about all of this, "You called them Seers so? I was expecting a Fae soothsayer or an oracle from the Fall Courts like Princess Ourania."

    A dark chuckle.

    "Don''t you think it is better to hear the prophecy you are talking about from the Fates themselves and see if the Goddess Hecate wasn''t sending you into this wild goose chase, Empress?"

    "Why are they even swimming in this ck water instead of weaving and spinning the thread from their spindle?"

    Luna''s lips almost curved upward in amusement.

    Herees her husband to the rescue and asking all the right questions!

    That was her thoughts exactly, which had flown out of the window at how bizarre this was.

    Queen Morgan was unperturbed. "It seemed like I caught them at such an inopportune time."

    "��and howe you have ess to the Fates?"

    Apollyon''s head was cocked to the side as his Prussian Blue eyes narrowed at her.

    "I was blessed to have the power of a psychopomp? running in? the blood of my ancestors. Autumn Fair folk rules fertility as well as death and decay. Fall is both the time of enjoying the bounty of the harvest as well as the dying of light before the winteres. Death and Rebirth." The Queen exined further, "I can make someone older with magic, guide spirits for a safe passage in the afterlife and detect demonic creatures."

    Luna strongly opposed thetter, but she wasn''t about to ask why Queen Morgan couldn''t detect what Luna, Ravin and Sloth were and willingly expose themselves to danger.

    "Nevertheless, A creature''s fate will always be terminated at his or death and the goddesses of fate will turn into the goddesses of death." Queen Morgan finished.

    "Goddesses of Death?" Apollyon raised an eyebrow. "I thought these old women belonged to Zeus, the known leader of the Fates."

    "We belong to? no one, Vampire King. We don''t belong to anyone but ourselves." One of the Moirai deadpanned. "We don''t allow gods and goddesses to control and influence the prophecies even if Hades, the God of the Underworld or Hecate, the? Goddess of Magic would ask that of us. We would also refuse our Master, Zeus."

    "Well, if Zeus wants to do something about the prophecy and change it, that is his decision. He knows that we will always wash our hands about any oue��whether or not it had remained the same or it had changed." The second head floating on the water appeared thoughtful. "We? allow him to deal with what he had done."

    "From our time immemorial , Master Zeus had tried to dissuade us to do his bidding when it came to the lives of his favorite lovers. Yet, he never had thought of fighting against the threads of Fate if we don''t follow his requests."

    The old woman fluttered her long and curly eyshes and shed her an innocent smile.

    "Empress Luna, is it?" One of the Moirai asked.

    It was such a shame that she couldn''t differentiate one from the rest.

    Luna had no idea if she was speaking to Clotho, Lachesis or Atropos, but she realizedter on who it was if she solely relied on the wordsing out of their mouth.

    Luna concluded that Clotho would only speak about the past, Lachesis for the present, while Atropos only told the future.

    Now, that would make them easy to distinguish.

    She rxed.

    Then, she allowed herself to let her fingers glide on the rim and drum the tips across the surface of the water, creating small sshes.

    Luna heard Lachesis exhale a heavy sigh, "You shouldn''t have shown your face in front of us, dear, because I have no choice but to say what you needed to hear even if it hurts."

    Her brows lowered, and her body tensed again, "What is it?"

    "The Vampire King must hear this."? Lachesis said, and the entire muscles of her husband tensed as she stood right next to her.

    Unfortunately, Apollyon felt the opposite as he pulled Luna away from the edge of the table, "I prefer that I don''t hear this, wife."

    "Tell me." Luna''s hands clung to the rim, trembling in fear, but she? still gained enough courage to ask what it was all about, "Is this a misfortune?"

    "Your vampire body will perish from childbirth. The baby you will give birth to is fatal to you because one of them is the daughter of a demon." Atropos didn''t hesitate to inform her grimly.

    Luna and Apollyon were taken aback by their shock that their tongue was tied.

    Xerxes and Princess Sapphire gasped.

    Her Archdemon Familiars didn''t appear surprised by the news as if these bastards already knew in the first ce.

    At the same time, she lived in La-Land, thinking that everything was alright and that she had sessfully turned a new leaf with Apollyon after what happened with Luxen.

    Teary-eyed, Luna''s body shivered as if she was drenched in icy water.

    Apollyon''s grip on her waist tightened as he shook his head in denial.

    +++

    [sorry for the edits I feel like when I write it the first time the shock factor and emotions seemscking it''s better now]

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 Chapter 732 - Hard-Headed

    <h4>Chapter 732 - Hard-Headed</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (October 2021)

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    Archdemon Empress Luna

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    Apollyon''s grip on Luna''s waist tightened, shaking his head in denial, while he regarded Luna with a ssy stare.

    It was the most vulnerable Apollyon she had ever seen.

    Atropos had rendered everyone speechless, but it crippled Apollyon and Luna''s thoughts more with her vicious tongue, which she imed as prophecy.

    It wasn''t only the Autumn?Queen who was shocked as her small mouth hung open in shock from the revtion.

    The Queen of the Autumn Courts slowly got up from her seat to stare at Luna in shock, "You are housing a baby demon in your womb?"

    "H-How?" She stuttered in disbelief that she barely got her words out from her lips from her empathy or their shared pain. Luna didn''t know.

    She could only bring a shaky hand through her forehead in distress and let out an uncontroble sob as her husband hugged her from behind, resting his chin from the crook of her neck.

    "This does not concern you, Queen Morgan."

    "Was she raped by��" The situation felt like it triggered the Queen''s darker memories from her disturbed countenance. "I apologize." She repeated in an inaudible murmur, hugging herself forfort. "I apologize."

    She appeared like she had a trip down to memory line as her thick white-blonde hair covered her delicate face.

    Luna gagged when the memories of having sexual congress with Luxen, who shape-shifted into Apollyon, resurfaced in her mind, feeling like she was about to vomit.

    Apollyon noticed and acted fast as he held each side of her upper arms and pulled her backwards, lifted her chair upright t that had tumbled earlier with just a wave of a hand and guided her to sag unto the fluffy cushions to rx.

    "Are you alright, wife?"

    Luna shook her head sadly as she stared at the floor with a zed look.

    Answering yes or no to that question wouldn''t matter.

    Apollyon and Luna weren''t prepared at all.

    It hit them like a boulder had dropped out of the sky, squashing them on the spot as their vampire flesh and bones scattered on the ground and turning them into dust.

    As goddesses of fate, the Moirai must have known about her and Apollyon''s future, but Luna didn''t expect them to reveal it out of the blue.

    "You are fear-mongering, Antropos." Apollyon stalked?towards the pool to avenge her and spat back with more venom than what Atropos had given them, pointing at her with an using finger, "You are a false prophet."

    "Antropos is telling you the truth." If a head could shrug then, this must be what Lachesis showed them at the Council Room. "You will have to choose to sacrifice something to save your Empress, Vampire King. If you want her to live,you will have to find a way?to get rid of the demonic baby as soon as possible before she sucks her mother''s life force and create a physical vessel for her own soul. If your Empress managed to live by some form of?miracle, then that baby demon will take over your heiress and your real daughter would disappear for good."

    "But how?!" Apollyon''s face contorted with anger as he put his hands underneath the table. He looked like he was about to flip it over and throw the three heads to the cold hard floor. "How the Hell would that happen?!"

    "Apollyon, you must calm down!" Luna gasped as anguished tears streamed down her face, and she brushed them away herself. It was agonizing over talking him out of his helplessness when her mind was so desperate to grieve for her future daughter so bad, "Don''t destroy the table or you might hurt the Moirai."

    "No." Apollyon shouted, but what made Luna breathe a sigh of relief was when he put the table which carried the Three Fates down before he hurtled it to?the wall and smashed them into pieces, "I will not deem this prophecy as truth told by a bunch of floating heads in a table."

    "You never, ever, shoot the messenger, Vampire King, or you might regret it." Antropos matched her husband''s fury.

    Luna could feel Apollyon''s thoughts like magma flowing in her veins through their mind link, and her jaws clenched in anxiety when Apollyon settled hisrge hand on her forehead.

    He asked too quietly, "Is?there anything worse that you can do than what just said, Antropos?"

    Antropos merely gave them a big smile that reached her ears. "All of you shall face the monster?you have created."

    Suddenly, Queen Morgan was back to her feet from her throne as she told him in an authoritative tone, "Vampire King. The prophecy of the Three Fates will appear like it wouldn''t change no matter what you do. Even the stronger divine beings must bow to their words and submit. The Moirai are independent in directing fate and watching it assigned to every being. They followed the sacredws of the Heavens taking its course without obstruction. The Fates don''t just determine the lots of the mortals but they will not abruptly interfere in the affairs of the living."

    "They only availed themselves of intermediate causes with the help of the Erinyes��the Furies who will punish karma and evil deeds. Though, it is not absolute and only conditional." She was determined to make him see reason instead of getting worked up over a bad prediction. "Your freedom will exercise a certain influence upon them. There is always a slim chance to defy the odds."

    Queen Morgan had also given them what they needed and what they should be looking forward to. Hope.

    A chance to save their heiress Leo from the demonic babe that the Archdemon of Lust had sired from that worst mistake she had ever done.

    Clenching his fists hard until his knuckles turned white, Apollyon replied with growing resentment, "There will be no defying the odds if I don''t believe everything she said in the first ce."

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 Chapter 733 - Good News

    <h4>Chapter 733 - Good News</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (October 2021)

    *******************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

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    Clenching his fists hard until his knuckles turned white, Apollyon replied with gritted teeth, "There will be no defying the odds if I don''t believe everything she said in the first ce."

    "And what if there is a possibility that the Three Fates said the truth, what would you do if you only take the action when it is toote?" Queen Morgan demanded. She didn''t wait for his response and continued as the people in the Council Room observed in silence. Why would they join if it had nothing to do with them? "The gods and goddesses who favored the two of you will do everything in their power to save even those who were already on the point of being seized by their fate. You told us? that the Empress was still Hecate''s High Priestess, isn''t she? If what the Moirai said was true, then? you can ask Goddess Hecate to save you for seeding in your mission. That''s the least thing she could do while endangering her High Priestess and a pregnant one at that."

    "This is the first time I have witnessed the Three Fates with my one eyes and the instant they opened their big mouths is to talk bad about my wife and child?! They had nothing good to offer the world if all they do is bring misfortune to others with their big mouths spouting nonsense that is full of doom and gloom!"

    Apollyon couldn''t stop his anger as he argued, but he couldn''t.

    Sadness will rece anger, and he would feel naked and unprotected without his violent armor. It was a defense mechanism.

    His survival mode could either be in the form of outrage or cold and indifference.

    If he attempted thetter, it might hurt his wife to have an irresponsible husband who didn''t give a damn about her and their future children.

    That was not the image that he would like to paint for himself.

    He was determined not to be his mother or father.

    "The Three Fates usually speak of dark prophecies specially if they saw the utmost need to inform the individuals who will y a major role in it. Unfortunately, I wasn''t even given the chance to ask them if the Goddess Hecate''s mission would be a sess!" Queen Morganined as her deep, husky voice rose in ire, "Having the ability to call upon the Moirai does not give me the permission to control their words, Vampire King."

    Apollyon shot back. "If I were you, Queen Morgan, I would have stitch each of their mouths and forbid them? to speak again."

    As shepletely ignored Apollyon''s statement,? Lachesis made eye contact with him and asked,? "You want to hear a good news then, Vampire King? What do you think, sisters? Should I tell him a good one so that he would be convinced that we are only trying to help them with the warning?"

    Klotho squinted at him with dark eyes full of resentment and said, "We should have told him the good news first if he was going to act like an arsehole."

    "Let us forgive him, sisters." Lachesis nced to her left and right to persuade Klotho and Antropos in a cating yet almost mocking tone. "The fool had forgotten that we are goddesses in our own right."

    At that instant, he swallowed his rage down.

    It felt like his saliva was made of fire until it grew and grew into a dragon and blew its destructive mes onto his stomach.

    "I will let you off the hook, Vampire King, because I know how you and your cursed bloodline will make? you suffer in the future." Atropos said.

    Kloth blinked at that, "Sister. You shouldn''t have told the Vampire King about it because there is nothing that can be done. It is their destiny to be separated in this life."

    The words she spoke about his cursed bloodline triggered something inside him.

    "I can''t!" Apollyon bellowed as fear overwhelmed his mind, and the mes in his stomach had turned into a firestorm. "I wouldn''t ept this."

    "I hope you can ept the good news I am about to tell you, though, as my apologies, Vampire King. I admit it is still my fault that I made you angry and caused immense distress on your pregnant wife." Antropos began to speak of another future prophecy, "You don''t have to worry about the Lilith. Luna knew her own physical vessel best the most. If she continued ying her cards right and be alert at all times, Lilith would never be able to take over the Empress again if the Archdemon wouldn''t catch her off guard. Don''t make her feel weak and nourish her with your blood everyday because two demons had been taking advantage of her right now. Drinking Ravin''s blood will help make the Empress resistant to Lilith''s surprise possession."

    "Possession?!" Queen Morgan''s breaths were like cyclones as she swayed a little, "The Empress is possessed?" Kotari appeared beside her to support just in case she fainted from her terror, "I couldn''t feel the demons inside her."

    "That''s because she is dormant, Queen Morgan." Luna replied quietly as if she had lost all her strength.

    Apollyon didn''t take himself as a coward, but he couldn''t even look over his shoulder to check on his wife and look her in the eye.

    He was too guilty since it was all his and his bloodline''s fault why their family suffered like this.

    "You can''t feel the demon unless she had taken over, Queen Morgan." Klotho stared at the Autumn Queen, and she answered for Luna''s sake, "The Empress did a good job on securing her position as the owner of her physical vessel after a couple of their internal fights.. She had sessfully proven that she was the dominant soul between Lilith and her but she must maintain it and drink the Vampire King''s and her other mate''s as well."

 Chapter 734 - Karmic Debt

    <h4>Chapter 734 - Karmic Debt</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (October 2021)

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    Vampire King Apollyon

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    The Moirai praised her and affirmed Antropos'' earlier advice about Luna''s need to maintain her strength and drink his and her other mate''s as well.

    Apollyon forced himself to meet Ravin''s silent gaze as he tried to discern the meaning behind his grim expression.

    Should he even allow his wife to drink blood that wasn''t from him when he was her one true mate?

    His chest tightened, and the thought felt like his cold heart that beat just for his Empress was wrapped in thorns.

    It was unadulterated agony to think about it, but Apollyon wouldn''t want to be too selfish about his mate to the Archdemon of Gluttony.

    He didn''t want topromise the safety of his wife and his heiress for the sake of something stupid as male ego, even if it killed him to share for the third time.

    If Apollyon truly loved her, it was the least thing he could do as her loyal husband.

    "What about my heiress?! I don''t understand." Luna sounded both terrified and furious, but he would rather choose thetter as her current emotion. Being furious meant that they still had hope��that they wouldn''t give up and fight for her and their heiress'' right to live. "Why would she be a demon when she was conceived by parents who aren''t?!"

    "There are actually two of them, Empress. One is a vampire and the other one is a demon. One must die to preserve the other." Antropos exined further, "Not only will the Empress'' physical vessel deteriorate if she tried? to keep both but both of these daughters will siphon each other''s power and will face the consequences of dying at such a young age."

    Apollyon''s imagination supplied him the image of a white-haired, blue-eyed ghost who visited him at the top of the tower while he watched over his sleeping wife''s form.

    The girl had imed to be Luna''s daughter, but she told him she had no idea who he was.

    She didn''t call him father during that quick visit��not even once.

    Was that the child Luna had given birth to who travelled to him from the future?

    Was that the Archdemon of Lust''s daughter, then?

    If so, why did she have Apollyon''s Prussian blue eyes?

    Was Luna even alive from the era where the kid hade from?

    If only he could turn back the time to go to that past where he had met Luna''s daughter, he should have asked her important questions.

    The answers of that particr child would have mattered now, erasing all of his doubts about Luna''s life being numbered by the Moirai.

    It was toote for regrets.

    He should have asked that child, so he didn''t have to spend his perceived immortality living in paranoia.

    Lilith and the bastard were almost sessful, but Luna and Apollyon refused to let go of each other because they were mates and they belonged to no one but each other.

    Even if they separated, it wouldn''t be long before they chose toe back to each other.

    It was a pity that his mate had fallen in love with someone who wasn''t good for her. But, even if it hurt, Apollyon wouldn''t stop going back to his mate.

    Living happily ever after with the Empress in the Vampire Realm?

    It made him snicker with bitterness.

    It was wishful thinking on his part.

    His shoulders slumped, and Apollyon ran a hand through his hair as his shoulders.

    After falling into the proverbial cliff of hopelessness, what came next was the weakness in his muscles.

    His mind felt empty and numb.

    "This will be your ultimate test, Vampire King, as the descendant of the Selcis Bloodline."? Apollyon''s stared at the Moirai''s floating heads on the table in a daze as Klotho said,? "All of your ancestors had long lists of karmic debts by the Erinyes? that needs to be paid especially from the ghosts of the women who loved them. These precious women had died, staining their dirty hands with their blood.? You should be honored that you will be the one to break this cycle so that the ghosts of the murdered will leave your future heirs alone." Klotho slightly tilted her floating head back and closed herrge eyes, "What are you willing to sacrifice?"

    He was trapped between two difficult decisions.

    Who should he sacrifice�� his precious wife or his unborn child who had a baby demon clinging unto her like how the Archdemon of Envy had attached herself to Luna''s physical vessel?

    Apollyon slowly rubbed a hand over his face, not as an expression of dilemma.

    He had to inconspicuously hide the tears leaking at the corner of his eyes while everyone''s attention in the Council Room was on him, waiting with bated breaths on what he would do next.

    Apollyon felt like a clown��a circus performer��and he was prepared for the ridicule that would soon follow if they found him unstable.

    He couldn''t believe that he had to make a hard choice between two conflicting ideas that his emotions couldn''t handle to deal with for too long.

    The Archdemon of Lust not only touched her, but he was sessful at impregnating her after he vited her using Apollyon''s form. Apollyon''s nostrils red in recollection as his stance widened.

    He wouldn''t be surprised at all if the Archdemon of Envy had assisted the Archdemon to do it to her while they were in Hell to break them up and ruin their marriage.

    It devastated him when Luna told him about the secret she had been keeping for months while she smiled in his face, not knowing what she had gone through.

    He grounded his teeth together when he remembered that.

    She had refused to answer his questions and told him half-lies until she finally decided not to keep him in the dark too long.

    Apollhyon''s fingers flexed once again on the rim of the tub as he glowered at them, "So, this is the revenge of the Furies to make our blood line pay from all their wrongdoings by taking my mate away from me. Do you think I would just do stand and allow them?!"

 Chapter 735 - His Parents Tragedy

    <h4>Chapter 735 - His Parent''s Tragedy</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (October 2021)

    *******************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

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    Apollhyon''s fingers flexed once again on the rim of the tub as he glowered at them, "So, this is the revenge of the Furies to make our blood line pay from all their wrongdoings by taking my mate away from me. Do you think I would just do stand and allow them?!" He allowed the Council Room to feel the chaos of his anger as he bellowed, his eyes almost protruding as he glowered at Klotho''s head. "Why should I be the one to suffer from the sins of my father?!"

    "That was the exact question of your ancestors'' victims, Vampire King, the moment they arrived in the Underworld. What have they done wrong to suffer in the hands of their husbands? I have seen some of? these good and loyal women and witnessed almost felt their painful memories as we removed them. They believed that loving a man from the Selcis bloodline is a sin. A slow, agonizing dance of death. A misfortune they had brought upon themselves." Klotho paused for a second as if she wanted Apollyon to imagine that situation and let it sink in.

    Why would he sympathize for something that had happened in the past, and it wasn''t even his fault?

    Apollyon''s teeth were bared.

    If his ancestor''s karmic debt had been passed down to him, then where was his karmic justice?

    "Hades had? given them immortality as apensation and now they are living peacefully in the Elysian Fields as a reward for their suffering."

    "Well, I thank the God of the Underworld for rewarding the innocent for their suffering." Apollyon snarled, "But how about me?"

    "You are not exactly innocent, Vampire King." Lachesis smirked, and he was so tempted to pick her head up and throw the goddess against the wall.

    Unfortunately, his Empress had asked him for the world, expecting him to behave even if it took everything in him to keep himself still as he red at the murky surface of the water.

    "Your mother who you thought was insane had a grain of truth in her words, you know? Not only were? you cursed by the Blood Beast by your High Priestess, but all those misfortunes you experienced are what you deserved from? the Selcis'' karmic debt. The Empress should have known better before she involved herself with you." Klotho''s dark eyes reflected pity which made Apollyon grit his teeth and averts his gaze because he couldn''t stand it.

    This must be what his mother had told him about and insisted on multiple times, but he didn''t believe her.

    Not one bit.

    He let her words which he considered the ramblings of an insane woman, go in one ear out the other.

    Princess Ourania had always med his father, King Gwythyr, for what she had be as a person-- an insecure, childish mother who only thought about herself.

    Apollyon was getting tired of it.

    God''s Blood!

    Apollyon''s throat closed up.

    His mother was a grown adult who could take care of herself.

    She should learn to be responsible for her actions, but unfortunately, she had aged in reverse.

    Princess Ourania was a caterpir who hadn''t sessfully broken out of her cocoon to be this lovely and nurturing butterfly�� an immortal who was full of wisdom and maturity.

    Still, she chose to keep her self-image as an eternal child instead.

    Princess Ourania had insisted that King Gwythyr turned into this empty and superficial Fae��one who couldn''t deal with her overwhelming emotions of hatred that she had gone insane.

    No, she wasn''t even satisfied with that.

    His mother was determined to make everyone suffer around her as if that was the only way to have her peace of mind in the Summer Courts.

    Princess Sapphire wasn''t exempted from this that she had to grow up fast and excel in the Summer Militia at such a young age to earn recognition from the other Fae.

    It was a form of validation and sincere support that Princess Ourania hadn''t provided for her.

    In that instant, Apollyon also realized the reason why his mother attempted to kill Luna.

    It was because out of sheer jealousy for his beloved Empress that had married someone from the Selcis'' bloodline who truly loved her as a mate.

    Princess Ourania also desired to avenge herself from all the torment she had suffered in King Gwythyr''s hands by inflicting pain on her son, whose only sin in her eyes was that he found his one true mate.

    The reason was too shallow that his mother should be ashamed of herself!

    His mother wanted him to drown in agony and resentment, living day by day wishing for his death after the loss of his Empress and their heiress so that they could share something inmon.

    Princess Ourania''s mind was too sick and twisted�� but Apollyon still refused to me his father for his mother''s behavior, even if that was what the three Fates told him.

    PrincessOurania didn''t see the value in herself, so how could she expect Apollyon and others to see it?

    His mother was the one who put limitations on herself and not others.

    She can''t seem to realize what she had done wrong no matter how many times they reasoned with her.

    She had always yed the victim, and it was impossible to change her behavior.

    Apollyon had wondered if his mother was this kind of person from the start before she met his father.

    But at this moment, Apollyon spected that his mother had experienced years of abuse from King Gwythyr with no one to help her.

    No one was kind enough to notice her suffering.

    No one brave enough to fight against King Gwythyr''s tyranny like a knight-and-shining armor and save her��the damsel in distress.

    Apollyon had turned a blind eye because he never cared about Princess Ourania.

    He never took the initiative to seek her out, see if she was alright in Scleranthus and find out what was wrong because he didn''t have any emotional bond with his mother when he was a child.

    How could she me him when she had already washed her hands on him a long time ago?

 Chapter 736 - The Queens Sixth Sense

    <h4>Chapter 736 - The Queen''s Sixth Sense</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (October 2021)

    *******************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

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    "I don''t want to hear? any of this." Apollyon growled before he spun around and advanced towards her.

    His cold, hard Prussian Blue eyes were like an assault to her senses when their gazes met.

    "Wife, Let''s go." Her husband whispered and bent one knee in front of her, which kept their eye level. He gently held her hand and lifted it to his warm lips, kissing each of her fingertips. Apollyon valued her so much. "I had enough of this useless meeting."

    The murmurs in the Council Room were relentless.

    Apollyon rose and bent towards her as he wrapped her in his embrace.

    She let him sp herrge hands around her waist and pull her to stand.

    Hand sliding from her elbow to forearm before their fingers interlocked with each other, Apollyon and Luna set their course to the front door only to hear her beloved curse when the golden doorknob didn''t turn.

    "It''s not opening." He gritted out, but he never let go of her hand even as he twisted it from left to right. Right to left. "Let me open the door right now, Queen Morgan, or I will destroy it!"

    He was getting impatient for sure that Luna wouldn''t be surprised if he used explosion magic to send it flying.

    She wasn''t in the mood to scold him.

    Neither was she in the condition to scold her husband for his attempt to break the Autumn Court''s property nor was she in the mood to open her mouth after what the Three Fates had told her about carrying the Archdemon of Lust''s baby.

    Shoulders drooping, Luna bent her neck to stare at the floor listlessly.

    Apollyon''s grip on her hand tightened while she kept her fingers limp and lifeless.

    Sloth had already told her about this spection while both of them were feeding Rere with souls from Obsidian Lake.

    Ravin even hinted at this possibility, but she still didn''t take heed, thinking that it would be too cruel for fate if she were forced to carry the Archdemon''s child who made love to her without consent.

    It was a burden that she didn''t want anything to do with.

    Well, she did consent to it because Luxen had used Apollyon''s likeness to have sexual congress with him under pretenses.

    She hated to admit it, but it did count as r*pe.

    Yes, she had been vited.

    Her legs weakened in humiliation.

    Her husband''s forgiveness didn''t erase the fact that she was already dirty in his eyes, and she couldn''t turn back the time.

    She always thought that she didn''t deserve Apollyon''s mercy.

    Yet, it wasn''t her fault either.

    The Archdemon of Lust had no right to bury his shaft and left his seed to grow into this demonic parasite, stealing her heiress'' life force simr to how Lilith had done to her!

    It was so wrong and disgusting that it made her skin crawl.

    Luxen couldn''t even use the excuse that they were mates any longer after an Archangel had cut their soul cord.

    At that moment, all Luna desired to do was to drive these horrible memories out of her mind because she never asked for this.

    "We aren''t done yet, Vampire King. Please return to? your seat." Queen Morgan faced them grimly. Luna leaned to theforting smell of the strong woodsy and earthy aroma of the door, which was made of high-quality oak, "The Moirai wasn''t done with their prophecies yet. Maybe, they had something else? to you."

    There was a pregnant pause as the Council Room fell silent.

    Apollyon''s lips were pursed to quell his rising frustration. "I don''t want to listen with whatever those three hags are trying to exin." Now his nostrils had red. "If you want us? to stay then let us move on to form the alliance."

    "The alliance, huh. That''s all you are concerned about. It had be your obsession." Queen Morgan shook her head in disappointment as she clicked her tongue. "I am tempted to? turn? your group down and drag you outside of my Kingdom. Do you think I would be stupid enough to create an alliance with you and the possessed Empress, forcing me, the Cadre and? the Members of My Council? to swear their name in a binding oath?"

    "You are so focused on dominating us that you failed to realize that this isn''t a? one-sided alliance, Queen Morgan. Don''t forget that we will swear our loyalty to the Autumn Courts too. Everyone have heard from the three Fates that my wife''s physical vessel is in danger." Apollyon''s voice rose as he demanded in disbelief. "All I wanted to do was fulfill Hecate''s mission as soon as possible and? interpret the god damned map with your schrs'' help. Is it that hard to consider?"

    Luna could only grimace at Apollyon''s honesty.

    There was no use in beating around the bush, but the Autumn Courts insisted we y the game.

    "We aren''t begging you or your Cadre to go with us to wherever this garden is hiding in your territory." Apollyon pointed an using finger at her and her Cadre in his ire. "Trust me, Your Highness. Deceiving you for the purpose of showing who is more powerful is thest thing on my mind." He let his hands fall as the volume of his tone decreased.

    "I want my wife to live." He said softly.

    Those few words were uttered with so much emotion that it almost made her eyes hot from the tears.? "I know you know that? the fruit of the Four Seasons will help her and drive away these demons inside her."

    Queen Morgan dodged the subject for the fifth time as she cleared her throat, "Earlier, I have ordered your group to bathe in the truth elixir to test whether or not your intentions in the Autumn Courts are pure and by some unexpected miracle, all of you had passed the test.. Yet, something had bothered me for the whole duration that Ravi and Sloth are here."

 Chapter 737 - We Admit It

    <h4>Chapter 737 - We Admit It</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (October 2021)

    *******************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

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    "Earlier, I have ordered your group to bathe in the truth elixir to test whether or not your intentions in the Autumn Courts are pure, and by some unexpected miracle, all of you had passed the test. Yet, something had bothered me for the whole duration that Ravi and Sloth are here." The Autumn Queen tried hard not to look at the people she was talking about as they sat on the chairs closest to her. "They clearly aren''t humans and I doubt they are Fae."

    "Now, I will be asking another specific query." Her golden eyes zeroed on Luna, "Are Ravin and Sloth, Archdemons?"

    Luna blinked rapidly from Queen Morgan''s question, but she should have seen thising.

    Queen Morgan didn''t be the Queen of the Fall Courts if she was stupid.

    She had picked up subtle hints from them and deduced correctly without heavy evidence.

    How did she figure that out quickly?

    Luna could only squeeze Apollyon''s hand because she had no idea how to respond to such truth.

    She stood there, frozen in shock, as her husband straightened her posture.

    The Autumn Queen''s sharp sense had caught him off guard, as well.

    Queen Morgan must have paid close attention to Ravin and Sloth''s movements and sensing their auras even if she appeared like she wasn''t looking.

    Both of her Archdemon Familiars were seated next to her across Luna and Apollyon''s seats for easy observation.

    Luna''s eyes widened slightly when it finally hit her.

    It was a simple trick.

    Was it her belief that a powerful Queen from the Fall Courts couldn''t see past their mour?

    Her wild guess was the Queen''s method to salvage her pride.

    What other creatures in this Material Realm could outsmart an Ancient Queen from the Faerie Realm with their mour?

    The beings in her list were small, only consisting of what she thought were worthy opponents.

    Beings who she thought were stronger than her.

    Nevertheless, Luna and Apollyon must have given it away with their words and the nuance of their expressions since both Archdemon Familiars were silent in the Council Room most of the time, strictly answering questions if their name was mentioned while scribbling on their papyrus.

    The chance to reveal themselves was all too rare.

    Luna bit the inside of her lip.

    Did their strange indifference to the discussion make Queen Morgan suspicious��as if Ravin and Sloth couldn''t be bothered by the dark prophecy mentioned by the Three Fates because it didn''t concern them?

    Archdemons were cold and heartless.

    Death didn''t matter to them because they were strong immortal spirits who could return to Hell to regenerate if destroyed.

    They had little to no weakness except demon and angel des.

    From an outsider''s point of view, it appeared like Ravin and Sloth were only forced to join their group, and that was true.

    The Goddess Hecate had told her to use Ravin, specifically, for whatever reason.

    He was summoned in the Material Realm and Sloth to protect her and help them fulfill Hecate''s mission, but deep inside, they couldn''t care less whether she lived or died even if Ravin imed they were Archdemon Mates.

    They were tasked to keep her safe from Lilith''s control while the rest of their group worked hard to acquire the divine fruits from the Garden of the Four Seasons.

    Her Archdemon Familiars couldn''t prevent her death from childbirth except if she drank Ravin''s blood�� which she wouldn''t allow.

    Her pulse sped up in anger, and heat shed through her stiff body.

    She had been touched by the Archdemon of Lust so she wouldn''t humiliate her husband by letting him taste her Familiar''s blood when he drank from her.

    Now that she thought about it, Ravin and Sloth''s countenance throughout the council discussion was pretty nd,? even if the agony of sacrificing her own life to let both of the babies live made her want to cry and scream in despair.

    She gave the back of Ravin''s head an irritated nce.

    Ravin talked so much about loving her and stealing her from her husband when the Archdemon wasn''t even capable of feeling simple empathy.

    ''What a funny clown!'' Luna sneered in her thought.

    Luna didn''t know what to do with this parasitic baby.

    The Autumn Queen spoke again when Luna nor Apollyon gave her more clues to sink her teeth into, "I would have known immediately? that the Vampire King is a half Fae with just one look�� but I can''t seem pinpoint your Kind." Now, Queen Morgan found the courage to make a show of surveying her Archdemon Familiars. Their muscles tensed with alertness while they remained seated. "Ravin and Sloth weren''t good at pretending to be human grandfathers from? the way they stood straight and the way they move with precision."

    Luna frowned as she mused, ''Weren''t good at pretending? You forgot that we have fooled youpletely.''

    "Aside from the Fair folk, the only magical creatures who are masters of mour and illusions are Demons. Keep in mind that? the truth will greatly influence my decision. I will not be held ountable by the effects of my alchemist'' true serum if you lie." She warned. "If you tell me that both of you are Archdemons, I had no choice but to refuse an alliance between the Vampire Realm and the Autumn Courts. We don''t want to be allied with? double dealing fiends."

    "You are an Autumn Fae, Queen Morgan. I bet you realize that your kind is infamous for double dealing in the entire Faerie Realm." Apollyon said tly.

    The Autumn Queen''s pursed her lips as she regarded Luna, "I will notpel you? to take those disrespectful words back but I will promise that we will be dedicated in helping you find the Garden of the Four Seasons without the alliance. Do you ept this agreement?"

    Luna gave the Queen a small nod as a sign of eptance.

    "Ravin. Sloth." Her voice raised tomand them. "Tell Queen Morgan who both of you really are and introduce yourself."

    "I am Ravin the Archdemon of Gluttony, Your Highness."

    "I''m Sloth."? He admittedzily.." Archdemon who wants peace�� peaceful sleep."

 Chapter 738 - The World Tree

    <h4>Chapter 738 - The World Tree</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (October 2021)

    *******************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

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    There were a few outraged gasps and shouts throughout the Council Room.

    "So, both of you are Archdemons." Queen Morgan closed her eyes and exhaled a heavy sigh.

    In that instant,? Luna noticed that the Queen held her breath for a long time as she waited for Ravin and Sloth''s response.

    Her shoulders had slumped from the realization that her hunch was right.

    She opened her eyes to scowl at her Archdemon Familiars. "It is a mistake to allow you to enter my Court and to have seats in the Council."

    "Queen Morgan, we must get rid of these Archdemons including the Empress who was possessed with one!" A hooded member from the Council said.

    Sylvain pursed his lips as he dragged his fingers down to the length of his thin, brown beard, which went past his chest. "They are a threat to your loyal subjects, Your Highness. It is dangerous that we couldn''t see their true forms. Ravin and Sloth can shape shift without detection and fool us all they wanted. "

    Ravin narrowed his eyes at Sylvain. "Like we said we meant no harm, whoever you are."

    Sloth ignored Sylvain and beamed a toothy grin at Queen Morgan.

    Yes, it was a poor attempt to get in her good graces, but at least he appeared as harmless as a lion with his blond hair and green eyes.

    "Ravin and I are pure and innocent Archdemons. That is why we got inside the Fall Courts in the First ce unless--" He paused and gestured to the rest of the Council Members. This time, Sloth had a mischievous sparkle in his gaze, "--you are basically proiming that your alchemists who made the truth serum deserved the execution for their failure to determine our intentions."

    "Some of the Members in this Council are alchemists, Sylvain." Another hooded member of the Council admonished one of the Cadres.

    Sylvain winced a little and apologized.

    Luna nced at Sylvain and the Council Members back and forth, carefully observing their interactions.

    It seemed like the Members of the Council had a higher statuspared to being one of the Cadres, which proved that seniority still existed in the royal politics of the Autumn Courts.

    "Why are Archdemons here in the Material Realm?" Another council member, seated beside Xerxes from the back, asked,"The Archangels from the Kingdom of Heaven had sent them to Hell during the Great War?"

    "You still remember? that, Endre." Queen Morgan addressed the one who just spoke about the Great War.

    It made Luna wonder how Queen Morgan could distinguish these twenty Ancient Fae covered in their cloaks by just the sound of their voice without showing their face.

    "Yes, Your Highness." Endre, who was seated on Jora''s row, replied. "If you remember, I was one of the first people who joined your side during the uprising when the past ruler couldn''t care less about his people."

    Luna frowned, and she could only fix her gaze on the Cadre''s mouth because that was the only thing she could see in that angle when the Council Member talked.

    Everyone from the Council was worried that Ravin and Sloth were shape-shifters yet, these old men wouldn''t even dare expose their faces.

    To her surprise, Princess Sapphire was the one whomented, "Queen Morgan didn''te from a royal bloodline?"

    "No." There was a hint of a smirk on the Queen''s lips. "I? am one of the Knights of the Fall Militia who served the past ruler before me."

    "A female Knight?"

    Luna never meant it as an insult, but somehow, it came out as exactly that.

    Kotari took offense by her question when his nostrils red slightly, even if she had no intention to underestimate the Queen.

    "She might not be of royal blood to you but she was a heroine to the Autumn Courts." Kotari told her in a nasty tone as he shot her a pissed-off re.

    Her husband tensed beside her, taking it as a tant disrespect from Queen Morgan''s Cadre. Feeling anxious from the rising tension strain between them, Luna forced Apollyon to release her hand so that she could snake her arm around his to stop him from assaulting Kotari.

    She had a soft spot for the patient''s owl on his shoulder, and she didn''t want it to get hurt.

    "I saved the Fair Folk from demonic possession using the magical fruit from the Tree of the Four Seasons during the Great War to prevent the Archangels from killing the innocent." Queen Morgan said as she sank back to her throne, and she seemed to be morefortable as if she had told this to others a million times before.

    Apollyon''srge hand glided upward to clutch at her elbow, pulling her to return towards the table when he heard something that interested him��a whole damn lot! "You do know where the god-damned Tree is!"

    ''Now, they were going somewhere!'' Luna mused.

    She didn''t know how it took so long for the Queen to mention the Tree of the Four Seasons when all of them had exhausted themselves from the journey waiting for her to get to this point.

    Queen Morgan looked up at them and exined. "The Tree of the Four Seasons is a sacred tree of the Highest God. Legends had said that this mythical garden existed in the Autumn Courts. But it wasn''t originally in our territory from the very beginning.? I had a spection that it was moved here, instead. Fae Seers from all over the Faerie Realm had told me about this and shared it with the rest without evidence, iming that a female Archangel had spoken to them in their dreams.

    "Their strange prediction was confirmed by the Moiraiter on after I found out about my new ability to call upon these three from the Underworld." The Queen gestured at the Three Fates.. "You know how magical abilities surprise us as Faeries grew more ancient with their immortality."

 Chapter 739 - Failure

    <h4>Chapter 739 - Failure</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (October 2021)

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    Archdemon Empress Luna

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    "There is a grain of truth in this myth where the Tree of the Four Seasons is known to open portals." Lachesis'' head floated smoothly on? the dark murky waters while Klotho and Antropos closely followed while crossing to the area where her Archdemon Familiars'' were.

    Luna and Apollyon stood behind Ravin and Sloth as their curious gazes rest at the oval table which appeared like a cursed ck mirror.

    They held their breath as they waited for more secrets to be revealed, "The creatures who passes in this? portal could either ascend to the nine circles of Heaven and descend to the Nine Circles of Hell. The same goes for the souls on the other side. They are allowed to get through this portal to enter the Material Realm."

    Luna licked her lips as she and Apollyon stared at each other in doubt.

    Did everyone in the Council Room hear it right��that there was another portal in the Autumn Court simr to the one in the Vampire Realm?

    How many portals are scattered throughout the Material Realm connecting the Spirit Realm?

    Maybe, this was the reason why the Material Realm was full of spirits, ghosts, and a variety of demons who had broken free from their conjurers after these diabolical creatures had tricked High Priestesses into a binding contract with them, overpowered them with Archdemon Magic, and then, ate their souls.

    It was fortunate that the Tree of the Four Seasons was powerful enough to prevent the Archangels from Heaven and, most specially Archdemons in Hell, from gaining ess to this Realm and wreak havoc so as not to repeat the Great War.

    Nevertheless, all of them weren''t excluded from chaos and destruction, now that the Archdemon of Lust was here in this Realm, hiding somewhere while clutching the ne, Apollyon had given to her with his dirty hands.

    Just imagining Luxen sitting on the throne of a Kingdom he had conquered with his demonic legion made her muscles twitch from her fiery anger.

    "I doubt Archdemons and Archangels can use the same portal to enter the Material Realm because the Magical Tree forbade it." Klotho saidzily as if she was starting to feel bored. If Klotho could show them her an arm Luna could just imagine her checking her cuticles. "We had already mentioned this in front of Queen Morgan in the past��-"

    "��and I will repeat it again." Antropos interrupted Klotho as she wore a grave expression. "If the Tree of the Four Seasons die, the entire Material Realm will copse. All the creatures will die here and the effect will bleed to the Spirit Realm."

    "We used to tend the roots of the Tree of the Four Seasons in the Underworld, watering it from Hades'' Well of Fate to keep it strong." Klotho said.

    Hades'' Well of Fate?

    Luna was reminded about that particr well in Ravin''s Kingdom.

    The Archangel who helped her cut her soul tie with Luxen instructed her to jump on it so that she would be able to return to the Vampire Realm.

    At first, she had turned into a ghost when she arrived in the tall tower where and she found her husband standing by the window, waiting for her toe back.

    It was such a heartbreaking sight, seeing her husband mncholic over her loss.

    "��and here I thought your true form is reduced to three floating heads in the water." Princess Sapphire was sarcastic.

    Lachesis let out a dryugh. "This isn''t our true form. My sisters and I share one eye back in the Underworld and we use that? to weave destinies of creatures in this Realm." Her smug smile faded as she exined further, "The tree is not only sacred but it is moral. It needed a divine caretaker who is protective andpassionate. Archangels were the only divine beings who could be trusted with it."

    "The Material Realm is very much alive and present including all of us here as its inhabitants. That only meant that the Tree of the Four Seasons still existed along with the Archangel who took care of it." Queen Morgan supplied as she looked up to look at Luna and Apollyon. "Somewhere."

    "Oh. It is alive but I can assure you that some parts of it have decayed or have been damaged? from old age." Lachesis affirmed grimly. "The Archangel should never neglect his or her duties in the garden. It is so easy for rogue demons who were conjured in this? Realm to pretend to be a malicious animal and dismantle it."

    "The Highest God had transfered Garden of Four Seasons the Autumn Courts but it is now hidden from the people since the Great War had ended. We know it is here but we don''t know where it is in our territory." Queen Morgan released a tensed sigh and dragged a finger on her lower lip, absently looked into the water. "We tried to find it but we couldn''t. We stopped looking for it for thest century."

    Apollyon''s jaw clenched.

    "Oh, really?" He narrowed his eyes at the Queen of the Fall Courts as he moved closer to her. "Then, swear it on your life that you are telling the truth."

    "I swear it on my name, my immortality and the entirety of my Kingdom." Queen Morgan uttered right away with a shrug as if it was no big deal. "Hopefully, this map in my hand that Princess Ourania made with the Goddess Hecate''s consent will help."

    "How were you able to procure the produce of that Magical Tree in the past, Queen Morgan?"

    "I had some help��" Averting her gaze, Queen Morgan replied cryptically as sheunched upright, concluding the meeting with just one graceful move, "--but I doubt? your group can find it when you have Archdemons as yourpanions."

    Luna''s heart fell to her stomach in distress. "What do you mean, Queen Morgan, when the Goddess Hecate had specifically asked Ravin to locate it for us?"

 Chapter 740 - Luxens Legion

    <h4>Chapter 740 - Luxen''s Legion</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (October 2021)

    *******************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

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    "What do you mean, Queen Morgan��" She faltered for a few seconds and halted, allowing her unfinished question to hang awkwardly in the air.

    Luna''s heart fell to her stomach in distress.

    She pursed her lips as her pale, trembling hand rested on her baby bump, hoping that the warmth she felt in her palm would soothe her frazzled nerves.

    Despite the thick, knitted fabric separating her hand and the stretched skin of her abdomen, Luna was conscious of her baby��babies, she corrected��moving inside her womb. Her brows knitted in confusion.

    Maybe, the distress she perceived was something else entirely.

    Right now, a hundred butterflies seemed to flutter in her stomach.

    During their journey to the Fall Courts, Luna had experienced hunger pangs a lot of times.

    The moment she realized that she had made Apollyon weak and exhausted from craving his blood like a starving wild animal, Luna tried to control her appetite so that both of them would arrive at the Fall Courts safely.

    Apollyon was adamant that he would be the one to carry her as they flew high into the sky with his zing Fae wings.

    At the same time, they followed Xerxes and Princess Sapphire''s trail on the forest instead of her Archdemon Familiars��to which Luna insisted it was alright because they were supposed to be her servants.

    Yet, her efforts of pretending that she was full were in vain.

    Apollyon still forced her to drink his blood every time he heard her stomach growl.

    Luna didn''t want him to get in trouble.

    They even argued about it, but her vampire instincts had won, which made her lose the battle.

    Deep inside her heart, Luna was grateful that he had a mate who epted her��a? husband and a soon-to-be father who was sensitive about her pregnancy.

    Not even once did he make her feel like she was his burden to carry, even if she already felt like one.

    The Vampire King can be gentle, loving, and thoughtful even if he can be too overbearing and possessive for her at times, treating her like she was his unique ss figurine that could break anytime if someone, other than him, made contact with it.

    The Vampire King wasn''t perfect, but he did his absolute best to get her needs met, supported her through it, and never left her side.

    He didn''t make her feel ugly as she went through the physical changes of child-bearing, cherishing her existence and worshiping her body like she was the only goddess he had known.

    Apollyon was still powerful, and she understood that his weariness was the effect of his intense anxiety from the mission Hecate had given them to find the Tree of the Four Seasons, the existence of the Archdemon of Envy lying dormant in her physical vessel, the Archdemon Familiars'' presence who Apollyon both hated, the Queen of the Fall Courts and her Kingdom while he was looking out for his pregnant Empress and his half-sister''s welfare.

    His mate had it hard.

    Of course, it was understandable that Apollyon was agitated.

    Luna''s womb began to twitch again.

    This time it was more robust, forcing Luna to release a silent gasp as these two pebble-like unborn babies had tumbled over each other.

    Her difort didn''t escape her husband''s watchful Prussian Blue eyes when he tilted his head at her, making the silky strands of his dark hair covering his forehead as his muscr build angled towards Luna.

    She wasn''t the only one who needed nourishment, and Apollyon had two unborn babies to feed with his ichor.

    Did this little demon in her womb staying with her baby Leo deserve her mercy?

    She can get rid of Luxen''s offspring in her stomach without harming her true heiress by eating the magic fruit since its purpose was to drive away the demons who possessed the living creatures in the Material Realm.

    Hopefully, by then, it wouldn''t be toote before Luxen''s offspring could form her flesh or take over her and Apollyon''s daughter instead.

    Finally, Luna and Apollyon were ready to defy the Moirai.

    She will live.

    Her rigid form rxed bit by bit as Luna pressed her side against his mate''s torso.

    Apollyon didn''t say anything when his attention returned to Queen Morgan, all the while not forgetting to make Luna and her heiress feel safe and protected by pulling her closer with hisrge hand resting on her hip.

    The tender touches Apollyon gave when he brushed his hand over her womb was an unconscious thing between mates.

    The musk of sandalwood and fresh pine mixed with the hint ofvender permeated her nostrils when she inhaled her mate''s scent.

    She got herself together and exhaled.

    Apollyon''s presence gave her to courage to ask again.

    "What do you mean when the Goddess Hecate had specifically asked Ravin to locate it for us?"

    Queen Morgan paused as she let her words sink in, nced up at them, and blinked.

    Her mouth was slightly open in surprise.

    "The Goddess Hecate had told you that this Ravin would locate the Tree of the Four Seasons..." She scowled at Ravin, who sat next to her throne. "Why he of all creatures? Why did it have to be an Archdemon?" She demanded with gritted teeth only to stare at the Moirai, shaking her head in refusal. "No. Maybe, it was Goddess Hecate who had given that ne to Ravin so that it would remind me of the past. Her sole purpose was to taunt me." She muttered under her breath in a panic as she buried her face in her hands, "I should have known."

    "Now we had told the truth about Ravin and Sloth, Queen Morgan,it is time for you to fulfill your promise to help us so that I can save my wife from her tragic fate." Apollyon reminded her, demanding the Fae to fulfill her promise.

    "I find it interesting that you believe us now, Vampire King." Lachesis abruptlymented in amusement. "We don''t mean any harm but it is what it is."

    Klotho smirked, "You should be grateful that Atropos had told you beforehand so that you and the Empress can prepare for the prophecy."

    Sylvain''s loud voice rattled everyone in the Council, "What is? that by the window?"

    Demons.

    Luxen''s Legion had arrived in the Material Realm.

    +++

    Hello to anyone who was wondering who Sylvain is. It is Arial.? I changed it after my intelligent reader Leslie_Cox had pointed it out. Keep in mind that Archangel Uriel is different from Archangel Ariel. Ariel is female, and she is the new guardian, Archangel of the Garden of the Four Seasons. Sorry for the confusion. I will update one chapter today. A lot of people have been asking me for a tarot reading. I guess many people have a lot of problems right now. And I will try updating two to three chapters per day this month if I can so I can end this earlier but this needs a lot of research.? Sorry for the broken promises. I got sickst month I just couldn''t.? I want to end this arc, to be honest, to go to the family stuff and pregnancy.. I''m tired of this toxicity too many problems Apollyon and Luna had to deal with. :(

 Chapter 741 - The Beginning Of The Apocalypse (edited)

    <h4>Chapter 741 - The Beginning Of The Apocalypse (edited)</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (October 2021)

    ***********************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ***********************

    Sylvain''s loud voice rattled everyone in the Council, "What is? that by the window?"

    All of their heads turned towards the direction Sylvain''s finger had pointed.

    He had gestured at the far horizon just above their line of sight from where they stood at the Council Room.

    The Council Room was ced at such a high elevation in the Summer Pce.

    The lovely quilt of red, orange, gold, and brown sweeping through the Fall Courts had abruptly turned upside down when everyone''s eyes rested on it.

    Earlier, these towering trees had blossomed like me foliage as they raised their branches like hands reaching towards the clear blue skies.

    In the blink of an eye, everything had shifted. The vibrant colors of Autumn were reced by the ck heavens.

    At first nce, Luna didn''t understand what Sylvain was talking about because she couldn''t see anything.

    Her furrowed brows had raised to her hairline in shock when she finally saw it after focusing hard and using her Archdemon sight.

    Apollyon''s hand sped her hips tightly, but his strength didn''t reach the point where he would break her.

    Luna''s fingers rested on Apollyon''s stiff abdominal muscles, slowly clutching the soft woolen fabric of his borrowed clothes in dread as if they had this agreement to hold on to each other.

    Luna felt paranoia ate at the corners of her mind when she didn''t realize that these flying creatures obscured by clouds were monsters the first time she had set her eyes on them. What was happening to her?

    And what about the others?

    Did they quickly recognize their true forms too?

    How about Apollyon?

    His husband appeared stunned as he stared at the horizon.

    Luna was about to ask if they had seen the same thing, but she got startled when Apollyon turned his head towards her without saying anything.

    He must have heard her in their mind link, but he didn''t attempt to discuss this in their thoughts.

    His Prussian Blue eyes boring into her were hopeful as if she held the answers that everyone couldn''t solve at that moment.

    Well, it was unfortunate that she was as clueless as anyone else.

    Streaks of bold lightning came out of nowhere which lit the charcoal sky in a wispy silver, followed by a crack of thunder.

    Luna swore she had seen a winged serpent with golden feathers, an extended body, and a scorpion-ic tail,? emerging and returning from the thick, dark clouds as it moved like a gigantic wave.

    At the same time, harpy eagles with wings made of fire and an extra head and beak on their abdomen surrounded it.

    The lightning seemed to sh from the eagles'' beaks which illuminated the winged serpent''s path in the darkness, and the rolling of thunder came from its fiery wings.

    From out-of-nowhere, she heard ringing in her ears before her vision of her surroundings faded into ck. It unsettled her, making her feel blind, but she chose to calm down and rx.

    She knew she was protected because she could still feel the singe of energy between her and her husband.

    Luna unconsciously fell into a hypnotic trance as she stood there in a daze,pletely ignoring what was happening in the present.

    Her soul seemed to be catapulted out of her body without actually leaving it as her mind traveled beyond the barriers of the Fall Courts.

    It gave her a clear look at their enemies.

    She could see the rest of the demons trailing behind these colossal monsters in her mind''s eye as if she was having a daydream.

    "Wife. I can''t feel the mind link anymore." Apollyon''s husky voice whispering in her ear sent a hot bolt of awareness in the present, and it distracted her.

    "Apollyon, wait. I can see the enemies clearly." Luna murmured as she shut her eyelids tight so that she wouldn''t get lost while the demons hadn''t detected her presence yet.

    The demons had empty eye sockets, and their heads appeared to be a hybrid skeleton of a deformed wolf and a smander.

    Their red scales were full of boils and sores, aiming to bring fatal diseases in the Fae Realm to increase Death''s reap.

    Famine followed disease in its wake, and then, as the different Realms collide, the war woulde after it.

    Of course, Luna knew.

    Luna was relieved that these demons couldn''t enter the Fall Courts quite yet.

    These evil monsters hovered within half a mile from the peak of the tallest structure in the Fall Courts, the Summer Pce, because of the barriers and sentries in ce created by Queen Morgan, protecting the entire Kingdom from sinister invaders.

    Well, the Faerie Realm might think they were just a bunch of monsters with reversed feet, but they were demons.

    Luxen''s demonic legion had arrived in the Autumn Courts.

    Luna floated with the rest of these demons as she advanced closer to the winged serpent to observe.

    "Describe them for us, Empress." Luna heard Queen Morgan say.

    Luna opened her mouth to describe these monsters in detail, but no words came out.

    She pursed her lips and confessed, "I can''t.? I can''t seem to bring the words out of my mouth but I see them." She grimaced when she tried again and failed. "Something is preventing me from telling you in this instant."

    "Don''t force yourself to tell us, Empress." Jora said urgently. "Stay calm and tell us after you spy on the enemies and return here."

    "Wife." Apollyon growled. "Whatever you are doing, you have to stop."

    "The Empress had unlocked her ability to soul travel and this isn''t the first time she had done this."? Klotho informed her husband. "She got her abilities under control even if it was so sudden."

    This was also the reason that this experience thrilled Luna. It was true that she had done this before but not while she was wide awake. She was either dreaming or unlocking someone''s memories.

    "You have to trust? your mate, Vampire King." Lachesis seconded.

    +++

 Chapter 742 - Hurricane

    <h4>Chapter 742 - Hurricane</h4>

    [sorry guys, I edited the past chapter. I promised to refrain from editing but can''t]

    back to two chapters today!

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (October 2021)

    ***********************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ***********************

    Luna got closer to the winged serpent''s head by ident and saw one of itsrge eyes blinked.

    Its pupil was ck, horizontally elongated, and had aplex keyhole-like shape.

    The eye stared straight through her as if it could see her floating by its side along with the other demons, and the sight chilled her blood.

    Surprise jolted her awake from the trance like the thunderbolt striking from one of the harpy eagles'' beaks.

    Now that she thought about it, those demons were close to how Cano,? Princess Ourania''s harpy who helped Lilith take over her physical vessel in the past, appeared like.

    "How did these creatures look, Empress?" Queen Morgan pressed, interrupting Luna''s thoughts.

    Luna wondered why the Queen didn''t seem bothered by these monstrous creatures while she remained seated on her throne as the Head of the Council.

    Perhaps, she had no idea what they were and what these creatures looked like except for her!

    Of course, it made sense!

    Luxen''s demonic Legion was so far from the Council Room, and the Autumn Fae''s sight must be too limited, but they could perceive it with their intuition.

    "I can feel their evil aura emanating from this group and there are too many to count." The Queen had blinked rapidly, and frustration was evident in her tone.

    ''It must be hard to feel one''s limitations when? you are a powerful Ancient Fae.'' Luna thought.

    "There was one creature? that was a behemoth, like a dragon, but I can''t determine what they are since they are hidden by the dark clouds."

    Frown lines had marred Jora''s forehead as he got up from his chair and stalked towards the window along with the curious onlookers, "What are these spirits doing here? Why are the evil spirits roaming in the Fae Realm when the thinning of the veil hadn''t even begun!"

    The Fae, Jora, must be talking about Samhain.

    It was the time of the year where the days got shorter and the nights stretched longer.

    It was a sign that the veil between the Material Realm and the Spiritual Realm is at its thinnest.

    Evil spirits and possibly, demons can easily cross over, enter their world and walk among the living.

    The trapped souls in the Material Realm who were ready to move on will find a portal and prepare for their exit.

    Sylvain rolled up his sleeves up in preparation, and it was tight around his muscled forearms. "We haven''t even celebrated the Mabon Festival yet."

    Luna rested her gaze on Sylvain, "Those aren''t merely evil spirits but demons. Can''t you see what they are?"

    "Not everyone can see them clearly, beloved. Some of these demons must be powerful than the average ones who were trapped in the Material Realm." Apollyon responded, and the rings of bright orange glowed around the irises of his eyes.

    Luna didn''t know what that entailed.

    "Demons?"

    "Ravin and Sloth."? Upon hearing their names, they looked over their shoulders and awaited her next orders, " Imand you to talk freely now to exin to Queen Morgan who they are." Luna said out loud.

    "You learned how tomand Archdemons after being possessed by one?" Queen Morgan crossed her arms, and her gaze on her was full of suspicion, "What kind of power do you have?"

    Sloth cleared his throat after gaining control of his speech. "Those monstrosities looked familiar, though. They appeared like I have taken care of? them in my dungeons before."

    "Sloth, do you think they are yours?"

    "Hmm." Sloth ran a hand through his hair, and it fell into messy blond waves past his shoulders, giving him that wild look,? "I believe these are the creatures I have given to Luxen as a gift."

    The Queen raised an eyebrow. "A gift to another Archdemon by the name of Luxen?"

    Nevertheless, she didn''t wait for an answer.

    "You can now return to the underworld, Klotho, Lachesis, Antropos." Queen Morgan regarded the Moirai as she waved her hand in dismissal. "I am grateful for the important prophecies you shared with us today."

    "As you wish, Mer--"

    "Lachesis."

    It was a warning.

    "Forgive me, Queen Morgan. It was a slip of tongue." Antropos said, and Luna saw her dry lips curve upward. "No harm done. We will now return to the Underworld."

    The winds strongly howled that her hair whipped with violence on her face, and her eardrums threatened to pop up from the Moirai''s high-pitched screaming or... perhaps,? were theyughing about their situation?

    The golden orbs illuminating the room flickered from the Moirai''s quick departure as they dipped their head in the dark, murky waters before the ss on the surface of the table returned to its original state, releasing a bright spark of vibrant rainbow hues.

    It was fascinating, yes, but this wasn''t the time to be amazed.

    The flickering lights turned into a steady beam after the? Three Fates had vanished from the Council Room and returned to the Underworld.

    The quick change from day to night made her feel like her bloodstreams were infused with adrenaline.

    The thick dark clouds moved towards the Fall Kingdom,pletely covering the sun.

    The trees'' limbs strained to bend backward from the ongoing onught.

    The beams and foundations of the Autumn Pce creaked and shook.

    Everyone in the Council Room scattered faster when the force of the hurricane shattered the windows into glittering shards.

    All of her senses had overloaded her mind that she didn''t know what to do.

    Once again, Luna shut her lids and covered her sensitive ears when the ss broke as if it had been smashed by one of the monster''s fists.

    The wind was so loud but that some of the Council Members had to cow with their hands over their hoods to prevent themselves from exposing what they looked like despite the turbulent hurricane picking up speed.

 Chapter 743 - Whats Next

    <h4>Chapter 743 - What''s Next</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (October 2021)

    ***********************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ***********************

    Luna''s eyes closed from the dust-filled gale that she could barely see what had happened.

    Goddess, she could hardly even breathe.

    Her muscles quivered in anxiety as she eyed the possible exits.

    Even if she could open her eyes, she wouldn''t dare.

    Some of the cloaked members of the Council had scrambled unto the floor in their surprise as if they expected demons from the outside of the Kingdom''s barriers to capture them in that instant.

    All of them had retreated from the open window and huddled at the front of the Council Room, closer to Queen Morgan''s throne, to avoid getting pummeled by the fat raindrops outside.

    It would be difficult for a winged creature to fly outside and defend the Fall Courts in this condition.

    When Luna nced up to watch her surroundings, she noticed that some of the things inside the Council Room had flown into the air as the winds continued to scream.

    There wasn''t only a storm, but a hurricane had visited the Autumn Pce!

    All of them had prayed that the tempest wouldn''te their way, that it would leave the Autumn Courts alone. But it had to go somewhere since Luxen''s legion had sent it to them��toe right at them--as an offensive attack before they attempted to conquer thend.

    The shattered ss joined the broken vases on the floor when it crashed from the erratic winds outside.

    At first, nobody in the room moved so that it wouldn''t damage their soft soles except those creatures who could heal their blood with magic.

    She watched the tiny shards sink into her husband''s pale skin before he brushed them off like it was nothing.

    Luna was forced to take few involuntary steps to the side when Apollyon ced hisrge hands on her shoulders and stirred her there in silence to avoid the ss fragments from flying into her face.

    He pushed her back against the wall and lifted both arms to settle on either side of her head.

    The wind was so loud that some of the Council Members had to cow with their hands over their hoods to prevent themselves from exposing what they looked like despite the turbulent hurricane picking up speed.

    It seemed like some of the Autumn Faeries were too fearful around strangers.

    Sir Tristan, who was Queen Morgan''s ex-Cadre, dealt with Luna and Apollyon with distrust the entire time both of them came across him and Princess Ourania.

    Not once did he remove his helm and armor, so nobody in the Summer Courts had seen his appearance except for his mother.

    Unfortunately, Luna had never actually seen his true face until his death because his decapitated head and his headless body were sent straight to the Hypogeum for the men-at-arms to deal with.

    Sir Tristan was buried without his dignity and honor intact as a punishment for losing the duel.

    Hopefully, Queen Morgan will never figure out what Sloth had done to him.

    Queen Morgan''s behavior around Sloth and Ravin was almost hostile when she found out their real identities, but she could control herself since she had already promised help to find the Tree of the Four Seasons.

    Still, Luna couldn''t stop thinking about what Queen Morgan had mentioned earlier--that the Goddess Hecate had taunted her of her past by giving Ravin the blue feather to haunt her.

    What did she exactly mean by that?

    Luna felt faint and nauseous as she paid close attention to her heartbeat.

    It got to a point where Apollyon had to hold unto her, hugging her hard and stroking the back of her hair so that she wouldn''t get sucked by the strong winds and blown away.

    Behind their over-sized hoods and colorful animal masks, weaker Autumn Faeries have gritted their teeth so hard as they clutched their fellow Council Members'' limbs, sticking to those people--who weighed heavy and who can keep their feet nted to the ground--so that that the destructive hurricane wouldn''t suck them into their whirlwind chaos and storm surge.

    Luna could tell that there are Elders present in the Council Room based on how they slowly moved-pared to the rest of the Members of the Council.

    The gap of their strength was even more expansive inparison to Queen Morgan''s Cadre.

    These Elders could either be schrs, magicians, alchemists, and healers.

    They were Ancient Faeries who used their knowledge and wisdom to contribute to the Council.

    The rest of the Autumn Faeries had searched for a particr spot where the smithereens hadn''t reached them so that they could justy on that area and curl into a fetal position, covering their forms with something sturdy that hadn''t been taken by the hurricane yet.

    No one had fled the scene because it might be more dangerous for them to separate without Queen Morgan''s orders.

    Xerxes had done a great job protecting Princess Sapphire. Kotari, Jora, and Sylvain were calm and collected as if they had been trained all their life on how to react during disasters.

    The Cadre surrounded Queen Morgan, holding her limbs to keep her standing firm and erect.

    Luna''s Archdemon Familiars were the only creatures in the ruined Council Room who were unbothered by the presence of Luxen''s demonic Legion outside the barriers of the Autumn Courts.

    Their reaction to the hurricane was nk, as if they had already seen thising.

    The pitter-patter was as loud as thousands of little feet running around the hallway along with the creaking of the trees that she could barely hear what her husband was talking about.

    Closing her eyes, Luna flinched at the sound of thunder while Apollyon continued to whisper words offort in her ear.

    The double doors of the Council Room burst open, and it banged against the wall in chaotic booms.

    Apollyon had to crane his neck and squint at the door to check if someone other than the Council Members and the Cadre barge in.

 Chapter 744 - Earthquake

    <h4>Chapter 744 - Earthquake</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (October 2021)

    ***********************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ***********************

    Apollyon had to crane his neck and squint at the door to check if someone other than the Council Members and the Cadre barge in, and Luna followed suit.

    After witnessing that no one was there��no demons��Luna exhaled a sigh of relief.

    She felt this underlying dread that the Autumn Courts would be overpowered by the dark forces today, and the knowledge overwhelmed her.

    Her desperation began to set in as her fingers twitched in rm.

    It made her feel like her heart was about to burst simr, reminding her of the time in the past where she called Apollyon''s name in her mind by reflex, asking him to save her from the evil clutches of Princess Ourania-- but there was no answer.

    Luxen''s Legion ising straight towards them in a primitive struggle of dominance over the Fall Courts.

    It felt like a fight they couldn''t win�� or was this fear causing storms in her thoughts?

    Yet, there was no option for a strategic retreat when they needed to defend Queen Morgan''s Kingdom from the demonic beasts.

    Where else would they run to safety when they don''t have time left?

    They had no choice but to face them and expect this demonic Legion to raise Hell in the Autumn Courts.

    "Wife." Her husband stared her down? as his deep baritone became more intimate, "Are you alright?"

    Luna blinked a couple of times before she couldtch onto her husband''s words which were constantly interrupted by the constant howling of the winds.

    "Yes." Luna replied in a high-pitched voice as she settled her palms on her stomach to protect her unborn babes. "Thank you for keeping me safe here, beloved. I didn''t see thising."

    Apollyon was resolute as he observed her with a clenched jaw.? The blue rings on his eyes seemed to intensify when he said, "The Dark Prophecy of the Three Fates is correct. That you are getting weaker as the babies in your womb grew."

    Luna''s mouth opened to respond to Apollyon, but the walls and the floor of the Council Room shaking with tremors interrupted her.

    "Hold on to me, tight, beloved."? As soon as Apollyon had spoken, the earth tremor shook the ground underneath in an explosive force.

    The Autumn Pce shivered and convulsed up and down with turbulent strength.

    Her back was shoved to the wall multiple times, and Apollyon decided to settle a hand on the curve of her hip to keep her from tumbling sideways, simr to the Council Members.

    At first, she thought they were just mild disturbances.

    But it was wishful thinking on her part.

    There was no such thing as mild when demonic beasts were involved.

    It wasn''t only the hurricane that made things fall out of the tables, cabs, and shelves in a loud bang, but they quickly realized that the earthquake was at fault��that it was the one to me.

    Ravin and Sloth hadn''t alerted her either.

    Not yet.

    That will not change the fact that the horrid winged serpent had sent them an earthquake after the hurricane!

    Apollyon''s worried eyes dropped from her eyes to her chest, and then, it wandered to her baby bump before turning into electric blue.

    "It''s fine." Her husband continued to reassure her as he tried hard not to grind his solid abdomen against her baby bump by caging her in with his outstretched arms on either side of her head. "The foundations of the? Autumn Pce was built upon the rock to keep us safe."

    Apollyon insisted that she stand with her back against the wall while he covered her delicate form to prevent her fromnding in an unceremonious heap on the floor as he shielded her from the

    hurricane and stabilize her from the earthquake.

    The ground and the wall continued to move in ripples, butter, it started making a circr motion.

    From the intensity of this earthquake, Luna wouldn''t be surprised if somend areas in the vige have raptured from losing their strength, tilted and swallowed by the hollow pits that had opened up from out of nowhere.

    It dide true.

    Unfortunately, thergest bridge in the Fall Courts that their builders worked on had fallen apart without warning as it gave in from the deluge.

    Most of the people in the? Council Room could only witness the tragedy in the open window.

    The copse of the bridge had damaged the river dams, which caused flooding unto the drnds.

    It was also heartbreaking to watch the stone-built structures at the city square��the heart ofmerce in the Autumn Kingdom-- disintegrate before her very eyes when it came crashing down.

    Luna recalled how Queen Morgan''s told her with pride that all of their buildings were strong enough to withstand disasters.

    It was unfortunate that fate had quickly proved her wrong.

    The rain from the gaping window began to pour so thick that Luna couldn''t see what was on the horizon.

    Heavy dark clouds hang low where only a sliver of light promised a little hope.

    The change wille into the? Material Realm.

    Hopefully, the universe will go out of its way to tip the scales in their favour in exchange for helping the Fall Courts.

    All of the council members present in this meeting will contribute to the sess of their mission given by Hecate.

    After all, Luna and Apollyon weren''t doing this for selfish gains.

    If their group find the Tree of the Four Seasons, and the Queen and her loyal subjects would allow them to pluck its produce and give out controlled rations to the rest of the Realm''s inhabitants, then that strategy itself had already thwart seventy-five per cent of the Moira''s Dark Prophecy.

    It also increased their chances of defeating Luxen''s Legion by ruling out demonic possession as the cause of death of the Autumn Fair Folk.

    "Kotari, announce to the entire cities and viges in the Autumn Courts that the uing Mabon festival we had been preparing for months now will be canceled."

 Chapter 745 - Deterioration

    <h4>Chapter 745 - Deterioration</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (October 2021)

    ****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ****************************

    "Kotari, announce to the entire cities and viges in the Autumn Courts that the uing Mabon festival we had been preparing for months now will be canceled." Queen Morgan ordered the silver-haired Fae with the white owl tucked securely underneath his arm while he stood like a tall post in front of the Autumn Queen.

    His opal wings with ck outer margins covered the nocturnal bird so it wouldn''t get blown away from the violent winds.

    "Yes, Your Highness." "Kotari ''s response was barely a whisper as he stalked towards the window.

    For a second, the owl-man made sure that his Faerie wings didn''t hit the jagged edges of the broken ss before he jumped, stretched his wings mid-air and glided down, down, down to the ground safely.

    Thank the goddess!

    The hurricane hadn''t ripped Kotari''s faerie wings apart and flung him outside the window to fall to his death.

    Jora and Sylvain remained with the rest of them, nking Queen Morgan with theirrge forms and using Fae Magic to shield her from the debris.

    Her Cadre kept her in ce during the hurricane without exerting physical effort.

    The strong tremors waned, and several aftershocks followed, and it seemed like the Autumn Pce was too distant from the epicentre of the earthquake.

    Maybe, Luxen''s demonic legion had stopped their aggressive attempts to destroy Queen Morgan''s barriers.

    This wasn''t the real thing yet.

    This was a mere warning or a dangerous greeting from their enemies, showing what they were capable of right off the bat.

    Luna nced around to check up on everyone and was d to find them alive.

    The Members of the Council might be old, but they still could heal themselves from injuries with Fae Magic.

    The hurricane was still in their vicinity, but it had changed directions after it broke the windows, destroying things like a thief in the night and leaving shattered fragments in its wake.

    Weak trees were blown off since they were too exhausted to keep their roots on the ground.

    It was still raining in the Autumn Courts, and the weather hadn''t cleared.

    Their initial reaction to the shock of the catastrophe had dissipated.

    Every time Luna took a step, aftershocks continued to haunt them.

    Luna took a chance to move closer to the window and nce down along with the curious Autumn Faeries in the Council Room.

    She gasped, her palm covering her mouth in shock.

    The ground at the bottom hade undone.

    She also found a couple of sinkholes in the courtyard.

    How much more of these sinkholes will she see in the viges or at the marketce?

    Hopefully, no Autumn Faeries had died during this incident.

    Every Autumn Fae might think that Luna had brought Luxen''s demonic legion here, herself, to conquer the Fall Courts when it wasn''t true at all.

    In addition to that, every Fae in the Council Room knew that Luna was possessed by a demon who had another two Archdemons as herpanions.

    Klotho, Lachesis and Antropos confirmed it in front of the Autumn Council.

    Perhaps, the only thing that prevented Queen Morgan frommanding her Cadre to kill them on the spot was because of her alchemist''s truth serum.

    It had effectively proved their groups'' innocent intentions, including her Archdemon Familiars.

    Hecate''s mission to find the magic fruit to save Luna from Lilith''s possession, the blue feather on Ravin''s ne, which the Autumn Queen hadn''t stop iming her ownership with it and the map Princess Ourania made to find the Garden of the Four Seasons that Queen Morgan had stopped searching since thest century would be enough to let them escape from their impending doom in the Fall Courts.

    Each of them had a lot of questions in their mind that needed to be answered by the other party.

    Perhaps, this reason was valid enough that the two parties wouldn''t turn into each other at such a wrong time��-in the presence of another demonic Legion that had nothing to do with them.

    These evil monsters were the Material Realm''s real adversaries.

    Their group didn''t want to inflict any harm, although Luna, Ravin and Sloth were entirely Archdemons who escaped Hell.

    Another debris from the hurricane crashed towards the Council Room like a demon''s flying weapon in the wind, and Luna didn''t have the time to react.

    Her husband caught the branch before it hit her in the face, and it disintegrated in his clenched fist in just a blink of an eye.

    Most of these items were made of wood, ss, bricks, tree limbs, and such, and it hurt her to admit that even her reaction time to peril had gone weaker��that she required Apollyon to rescue her from them.

    Luna''s worries died in her throat.

    She didn''t dare to tell her husband, so she settled for bracing her palm against Apollyon''s chest.

    Not in front of these strangers.

    Maybe, the Three Fate''s prophecy about her and the demonic offspring was true.

    This was also why Princess Ourania was able to push her down the stairs the minute Luna had her back turned on their way to the women''s parlour.

    Her senses had grown dull.

    This disadvantage wasn''t good for them in times of the apocalypse.

    She needed to get rid of Lilith and Luxen''s offspring from her womb as soon as possible before they ruined her and her true heiress.

    "It seemed like you have brought unlikely friends along with you, Vampire King." Queen Morgan threw them a furtive nce. "Empress Luna."

    Apollyon brought her infinitesimally closer as his warm hand was cinched at her waist.

    The statement was a passive-aggressive jab, but Sloth answered as he took a step closer to them.

    "That''s not our friends, though. At least, not now." He faced Queen Morgan with a nk? expression, "There is another Archdemon who just got here in this Realm." Luna bit her lip and swallowed hard, forcing herself into a state ofposure.. "He is the real enemy."

 Chapter 746 - Stay Here

    <h4>Chapter 746 - Stay Here</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (October 2021)

    ***********************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ***********************

    "That''s not our friends, though. At least, not now." The Archdemon of Sloth faced the Autumn Queen with a nk expression. Queen Morgan squinted at him and pursed her lips as he continued, "He is the real enemy."

    The Autumn Queen knew that an Archdemon stood in front of her instead of the old man Sloth used as a mour.

    From Queen Morgan''s stoic and unfriendly countenance, it was apparent that she was so close to demanding Luna''s Archdemon Familiars to show their actual appearances. But she didn''t attempt anything of the sort.

    She was cautious as she should.

    In the Queen''s shrewd gaze, Sloth and Ravin were unpredictable Archdemons who can be one way or another depending on their mood��amiable creature at the moment and then a killing machine the next.

    Queen Morgan had no idea what Ravin and Sloth could do.

    That was why she was meticulous whenever she engaged with them after figuring out their true identities.

    Luna could almost pick up Queen Morgan''s swirl of conflicting emotions from her guarded aura. The Autumn Queen had built tall walls around her, and Luna didn''t mean Jora and Sylvain were standing beside her left and right.

    She watched the Queen eye Sloth warily when he stated,? "There is another Archdemon who just got here in this Realm."

    Luna bit her lip and swallowed hard, forcing herself into a state ofposure.

    Should she allow Sloth to reveal the Archdemon of Lust''s identity to Queen Morgan?

    Was this the perfect time to tell her, or would it ruin the trust their group had built with the Autumn Queen?

    "Tell us now, Archdemon." Queen Morgan persisted as she looked over Sloth briefly before bringing her attention back to Luna and Apollyon. From the way the Autumn Queen quickly averted her gaze from the Archdemon, Luna assumed that she was, indeed, intimidated by his presence. He was the Archdemon who had the gall to kill her outside their Kingdom, after all. "I believe this situation will get worse when the portals between two worlds is wide open. The veil is wearing thin. Mabon Festival is looming in and the Samhain is two weeks away before the Winter Season begins." The corner of her mouth curved downward. "I just remembered what the Three Fates had told me a long time ago that I didn''t think we would find relevant until now."

    Apollyon pressed on, "What? did? the Moirai say, Queen Morgan?"

    "The dead will rise, the gates of heaven will open and there will be no further separation between heaven and earth."

    Luna winced when she heard another dark prophecy by the Three Fates uttered by the Autumn Queen herself.

    It reinforced her belief that the apocalypse in the Material Realm was near.

    Destruction was inevitable if? Queen Morgan''s power weren''t enough to keep these demons at bay with her substantial barriers.

    Of course, she would need help from Luna''s Archdemon Familiars.

    Luna can turn them into helpful and heroic creatures who want to be of service to their Master.

    It would be too easy topel them to fight their kind and win it for the sake of peace, love, and throughout thend, living in a utopia without greed, corruption, and misery.

    The Cadre and the Council were loyal to Queen Morgan and Luna, Apollyon, Princess Sapphire, and Xerxes were humble and kind enough to devote themselves to a worthy cause such as saving the Material Realm from demon domination. But would it be possible to align the Realms and to unite all different species after the apocalypse?

    The Archdemon of Envy had set the Archdemon of Lust free in this world after taking over her physical vessel for an hour.

    It made sense that Luxen would include other strong Archdemons to y in this Realm, especially the Ancient Ones when Lilith was in no condition to do so after Luna had contained her and buried her consciousness through her abilities in Archdemon Magic.

    The world will still turn into a battleground with or without Lilith''s cooperation.

    No one can give them salvation except Archangels.

    Unfortunately, Luna didn''t know how to call upon those creatures, so more battles might be lost before the second great war could bring victory.

    She hadn''t even figured out who the leader of Luxen''s Legion was when she couldn''t feel the bastard and his president''s unholy presence during her soul travel near the Fall Kingdom''s barriers.

    Not everyone can see their opponents.

    Most of them were left to imagine who their adversaries were and what they were truly fighting for.

    Queen Morgan''s Cadre and the Autumn Militia were embattled warriors determined to protect their turf, and the Fall Queen already promised that she would help them find the Tree of the Four Seasons as soon as possible.

    In turn, Luna and Apollyon''s group must cooperate with the Fall Courts to victory over Luxen''s Legion.

    How will they be able to find the Tree of the Four Seasons if Luxen''s Legion was determined to wipe the secret garden in Princess Ourania''s map?

    They must be prepared to stand their ground, and they need to think about valuable and strategic ns.

    Even if it was an uphill battle and they were outnumbered by Luxen''s legion, the Fall Courts should fight in a position of power, especially when Luna had Ravin and Sloth at her beck and call.

    It was time to give these demons what they wanted��a battle between good and evil.

    Luna took a ragged breath when Apollyon said out-of-the-blue, "You, wife, are not going anywhere." Her husband kept his gaze on Queen Morgan while the hand on her waist fell away. Her heartbeat raised in rm when he added, "Stay in the Autumn Pce with Queen Morgan."

    "But��"

    "There are no buts." Apollyon raised a forefinger near her mouth as if to silence her and growled low,? "Don''t fight me on this.. This isn''t the time."

 Chapter 747 - Chariot Of The Sun

    <h4>Chapter 747 - Chariot Of The Sun</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (October 2021)

    ***********************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ***********************

    "I''m not going to fight. I will stay here, husband, for the sake of the babes." Luna replied. It was a relief to hear that, but her following words, not so much. "I will let my Archdemon Familiars fight for the safety of the Fall Courts."

    Apollyon wholeheartedly agreed with his wife''s first statement, but thetter was a suggestion he disliked even if he would do anything to keep Ravin and Sloth from Luna.

    Unfortunately, today wasn''t the right time to let his unfounded jealousy distract him from winning the battle with Luxen''s demonic Legion.

    "That''s a bad idea." Apollyon shook his head and grimaced. "They can try to defeat the enemy from here. I don''t want these two to be seen by Luxen''s Legion."

    "You are right." Luna blinked in realization as she dragged her beautiful emerald gaze up to his.

    ''That''s s good tactic, husband." She snapped her fingers once, and he straightened, puffing his chest out, from her beloved''s praise. "We had to keep our cards close to our chest, but I''m not sure if Luxen''s Legion can feel Ravin and Sloth''s presence in this Kingdom when they can''t get through Queen Morgan''s barriers. Nevertheless, this element of surprise will be our advantage."

    Apollyon''s hand dropped down from his beloved''s waist.

    Turning to face his half-sister and the werewolf, Apollyon stepped forward, "Please, watch over my wife, Princess Sapphire, Xerxes."

    "Apollyon, wait."? As Luna grabbed his muscled arm when he began walking away, she hugged him from behind and buried her face on her back. "Be careful. I love you."

    For some reason, Apollyon''s heartbeat in excitement.

    It was the wrong time for his body to respond to his wife''s scent of sweet summer rain as it washed through his senses.

    One inhale of this calming drug made the tense muscles on his shoulders loosen up a little bit.

    Sloth crossed his arms and tilted his head at her. "Where is my hug?"

    Luna released him from her warm hug and scolded the bastard.

    "Do? you want me to kick you?" The nasal tone almost made Apollyon''s lips quirk in amusement. "You heard Apollyon. Both of you are not going anywhere."

    His wife''s hand falling away from his waist made him mournful.

    "So Ravin and I don''t have to defeat our Kind?" Sloth''szy smile broadened, "That''s great!"

    Luna cleared her throat and ordered, "Ravin and Sloth. You stay here with me."

    His smile turned into a pout, "You are not a fun Master."

    Luna gave him a half-shrug as if telling the Archdemon ''Do-I-look-like-I-care?'' gesture.

    "Let us summon dark spirits in thefort of these four walls and support my husband from afar." She finished.

    "Kotari . Jora. Sylvain. Fly to your positions and reinforce the barriers with the Knights and Fae Sentinels assigned to your fleet. To the Fae Magicians in this Council. Remove all your cloaks in private? before you head outside of this Pce to go to the front lines."? Queen Morganmanded as she regarded her people grimly, "You will follow while I head to the north."

    "Husband, support Queen Morgan if you can." Luna''s voice was barely a whisper, but Queen Morgan had caught it.

    "I was just about to ask him that." The Autumn Queen looked at him and stated, "Jora, give the Vampire King, the Chariot of the Sun."

    Sylvain''s eyes widened in surprise.? "Isn''t that special to you, Your Highness? A precious offering in honor to the son you have lost in the past?"

    "The Chariot of the Sun is precious to me. But it must be returned to its rightful owner. It was Princess Ourania who gave it to me as a gift when she announced her engagement to Tristan. There might be no alliance between our Kingdoms but I will trust the Vampire King to keep it safe." Queen Morgan exined, and the name of the Chariot itself burned the surface of his skin fiercely.

    What if this Chariot truly belonged to him in the first ce?

    "I still have the Chariot of the Moon. It is enough for me." The Autumn Queen added, "The rest of the Autumn Militia will use the Pegasus since are dealing with flying monsters here."

    Hopefully, there will be no unicorns harmed in the Apocalypse.

    "What if the Autumn Faeries get possessed during this battle, Queen Morgan?" Luna asked, and Apollyon could hear the quiver in her soft voice.

    Right.

    That made him all the more anxious.

    They shouldn''t forget the fact that they were going to face demons.

    What would happen if the Celebration of Ostara repeated itself?

    "I''m sure you have an idea who was responsible for the Massacre at Krinoniapolis."

    "I have heard of it. So, it''s? true. It wasn''t just baseless rumors, then."Queen Morgan rattled on as she flipped her floor-lengthed white-blonde hair behind her shoulder.? "You were responsible of it in some shape of form since you are possessed by this Archdemon named Lilith, right? Evil spirits seemed to be attracted to stronger demonic entities so that they could feed from their auras. Don''t worry. The Autumn Courts are immune to possession and I made sure of that, Empress." Her bloody red lips stretched into a bemused grin. "I paid the price."

    Apollyon stretched his zing Faerie Wings and jumped from the broken window of the Council Room to follow Sylvain and Jora.

    These two were tasked by the Autumn Queen to guide him to the Chariot of the Sun, which she asked him to use to battle with the demons alongside the Autumn Courts.

    While he was airborne, Apollyon saw Autumn Faeries in their wet clothes, and he quickly realized that these creatures must have worked outdoors during the hurricane and the earthquake.

    Until now, their hands still held unto the tree trunks during the aftershocks, clinging for their dear life.

    Some Faeries were trapped inside the city buildings screaming in panic as they headed towards the exit in a hurry, causing a stampede.

 Chapter 748 - Aftermath

    <h4>Chapter 748 - Aftermath</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (October 2021)

    ***********************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ***********************

    The sky was thick with dark clouds, but ever since the hurricane had shifted direction, the sliver of sunlight had passed through the cracks.

    As he flew with Queen Morgan''s Cadre, Apollyon heard panicked screams from below, whichpelled him to nce down at the Autumn Faeries trapped inside the city buildings. Every winged creature had headed towards the exit in a hurry, causing a stampede.

    The rest of the Fae who were trapped in there had struggled since they were consumed by too much fear, fighting hard to escape from the rubble of the destroyed establishments.

    Tiny mushroom-shaped houses on the viges were wrecked, half-missing, and the walls and the roof had copsed.

    Lovely autumn trees had been uprooted andid on their side, and their roots were in the open air.

    He did not doubt that the Autumn Fairfolk were good with magic, but it appeared like the cracked streets and roads wouldn''t be repaired anytime soon.

    The healthy and edible crops Apollyon saw with his wife on their way to the Autumn Pce had ttened, and the Faerie Orchards were destroyed.

    He heard Sylvain and Jora curse under their breath when they passed by the acreage, muttering to themselves that the Mabon Festival��celebrating the Harvest Moon at the start of the Autumn Equinox-- might as well be cancelled.

    The Fall Square, the Autumn Courts'' centre of trade andmerce, was flooded with stunned people.

    Children cried and screamed while their mothersforted them that everything would be alright��that everything would get back to normal��not knowing the possibility that today might be the end of the world.

    The Apocalypse was predicted by Princess Orania as Hecate''s Oracle, and the Fates and the Furies had begun.

    Apollyon was used to creatures��strangers��die in front of him, and most of them had perished with their blood on their hands, but he couldn''t even care less.

    In the past, Apollyon had no remorse whether he had killed an innocent because he was the Vampire King.

    For him, that was enough of a reason.

    No one would dare to stop him except the gods and goddesses.

    He refused to believe that these divine beings existed, anyway, since they refused to show themselves to him as if they had some kind of a moral high ground over a Vampire King.

    They let him do what he wanted.

    He could dere himself as a god if he wanted.

    The Blood Beast even helped him establish this identity.

    Apollyon and Ravin, in their shared physical vessel, made them the false god in the Vampire Realm,? devouring ck souls who they deemed as unworthy.

    Criminals.

    Most significantly, he relished the experience of ughtering creatures he perceived as soulless and evil in his reign.

    He was the judge who controlled the women''s lives in the Consortium and offered them as gifts to their guests, treating them like objects.

    No one had batted an eye until he realized that the Goddess Hecate had spoken to him through his wife--the High Priestess who saved him from the curse.

    Of course, he had shed out from that god-awful skin of being a misogynistic tyrant after meeting his beloved Empress.

    But other than that, something was different about him now.

    Why was he feeling like this?

    The war between the demons and the Faeries hadn''t started yet, but it looked like a war zone.

    The Autumn Courts smelled like hellfire mixed with the rotten stench of sulfur and blood.

    Streets had been torn in the middle, and it opened up the earth to swallow unfortunate Faeries and other things.

    The heart-rending sight made him clutch at his chest when it shouldn''t have been.

    Why did it feel like someone had stabbed him with a knife and twisted it in his gut?

    His cold stare quickly turned into a deep scowl as unbridled anger heated his skin and made his blood boil.

    Apollyon''s vindictive hatred wasn''t aimed at the Autumn Faeries.

    No.

    Not them.

    His fingers clenched into fists in frustration.

    He was riled up by the appearance of Luxen''s Legion in the Material Realm.

    Isn''t it too early for these fiends to be here?

    Maybe, the Archdemon of Lust couldn''t wait to im his beloved with his filthy hands.

    Three days and three nights hade and gone in the thick mountain forests, and Lilith had taken over his beloved''s body to escape from Apollyon.

    At that moment, his initial thought of Lilith''s departure was that she was afraid of what Apollyon might do once he got his hands on her, but Lilith did it for the sole purpose of summoning Luxen.

    When Apollyon, Xerxes and Princess Sapphire encountered Luna and Luxen fighting toe-to-toe with all the evil spirits they summoned at the top of that cliff, the Archdemon of Lust had the nerve to evade their ming orbs,? stole his beloved''s ne and disappear.

    At first, he wondered what made the Archdemon steal Apollyon''s wedding gift.

    It turned out that the devil had used them so that his Legion could easily track their whereabouts.

    Wasn''t it too early?

    Couldn''t Luxen wait for them to settle in the Autumn Pce and give them more time to look for the Tree of the Four Seasons?

    Nostrils ring, Apollyon swore to himself that he would never allow the bastard toe close to his wife again.

    That horrifying notion med his outrage, giving him the motivation to beat his fiery orange wings faster than hispanions.

    Apollyon had preceded Sylvain and Jora, and both of them had taken this as a challenge��a race--, and now, the three of them soared at the speed of light.

    Apollyon matched the pace of the youngest member of the Cadre, Jora.

    He could have surpassed the irritating blond Fae who wore that perpetual smirk that Apollyon longed to knock off his chiselled face.

    The only thing that stopped him was that Apollyon didn''t know where Queen Morgan had ced the Chariot of the Sun for safekeeping.

 Chapter 749 - Tunnel Systems

    <h4>Chapter 749 - Tunnel Systems</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (October 2021)

    ***********************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ***********************

    The only thing that stopped him was that Apollyon didn''t know where Queen Morgan had ced the Chariot of the Sun for safekeeping.

    He just had to stick with Queen Morgan''s Cadre, especially this sneaky little weasel, Jora, while? Sylvain followed behind them as he tried to keep up.

    He admitted that he had a not-so-hidden grudge on the Fae for paying his unwanted attention to his wife to test his patience.

    This male Autumn Fae might be a bit older than Xerxes from what he had perceived from Jora''s yful nature.

    It might be true that the bastard didn''t mean any harm.

    Apollyon could also sense Jora''s wholesome intent, but this wasn''t the time to pull off such silly stunts around the King of the Vampire Realm, who was also an expectant father and a protective husband.

    Apollyon''s heart felt like it was about to burst while his worries raced in his mind, pondering about what would happen to his beloved if he wasn''t there with his pregnant wife at the Autumn Pce?

    What if something happened to her while he was here and the Archdemons tried to hurt her?

    He tried to talk himself out of his paranoia, trusting that his beloved could manage those unruly Archdemons on their own.

    Hmm.

    Ever since Ravin and Sloth had arrived on the Material Realm,? Apollyon realized that both of them never attempted to hurt his beloved.

    Instead, they targeted others, especially when someone had pissed them off.

    That knowledge had reassured her, and he was able to sigh in relief.

    As long as Queen Morgan''s Council and Luna''s Archdemon Familiars ensured her and his heiress'' safety, Apollyon will fight like it was thest day of his life.

    He will get what he wanted from the Autumn Courts and have the divine fruit of the Four Seasons in his hands or die trying.

    Nothing can stand in his way ��not even hellfire or eternal damnation.

    Maybe, Apollyon was having the dreaded separation anxiety��the way a child might feel when separated from his mother.

    Apollyon and Luna were always together, so he wasn''t surprised to discover that he had grown dependent on his wife''s presence.

    He should get used to it once in a while.

    This simple weakness might cripple him during a war that he couldn''t think straight.

    From a bird''s eye view, the Male Faeries from the cities and viges, appearing like ants, had marched to the exact direction where? Sylvain and Jora led him to

    All of them must be headed to the headquarters of the Autumn Militia.

    Yet, for the life of him, Apollyon couldn''t see any infrastructure which housed their artillery.

    Apollyon''s brows furrowed in confusion as he beat his Fae wings.

    Maybe,? it was simr to the Summer Courts'' Hypogeum, where many of their weapons were hidden underground.

    Later, he found out that the Fall Courts had no Colloseum simr to the Summer Courts.

    So naturally, their Kingdom had no space to position a Hypogeum underneath the ground.

    But that wasn''t the best part.

    Apollyon, Sylvain, and Jora safelynded on the ground to walk towards��what appeared to be a huge forest full of huge snags with soaring heights that almost rivaled half of the Pce'' peak.

    Still, the Autumn Pce, which stood proudly at the center of the Fall Courts, was the highest edifice in the Kingdom.

    The red, orange, and gold leaves on its gnarled branches were reced by smoke and dense fog.

    It would be difficult for the demons positioned above the wild, thick and decayed forest to see the modest trapdoor underneath thickyers of damp hay where the? Imperial Military Base of the Fall Courts was hidden.

    The thing that fascinated him the most was theplicatedwork of underground tunnels where Jora and Sylvain led him.

    Everything was organized and systematic that it closely resembled an ant colony.

    It must have been created by someone who had a brilliant mind and valued the Autumn Fairfolk.

    Aside from being the second home of the Fall Militia, all the tunnels on the left side of the underground camp served as storage for food and livestock for the winter.

    The right side was where their weapons, artilleries, and their chariots were regted.

    They didn''t have the map, but Queen Morgan''s Cadre knew exactly where they were going as if they had memorized the ce by heart.

    What boggled Apollyon''s mind was when he noticed that the underground tunnel and the knights and Fae sentinels who were there during the earthquake seemed to be unaffected by it.

    The walls and the ground were intact, and nothing was cracked and destroyed.

    What kind of Fae Sorcery was this?

    It appeared stronger than the Autumn Pce, which was made ofrge marble blocks and polished boulders.

    Curiosity made him stroke the growing beard on his chin in contemtion.

    Sylvain introduced him to the Fae Sentinel in charge of Queen Morgan''s prized chariots.

    He had provided him with effective weapons to which the sentinel imed was that it could effectively kill malevolent devils when it made contact with their skin.

    Frowning, Apollyon pondered if the Autumn Courts truly had something this advanced in their arsenal.

    But then, he remembered their discussion at the Council Room about Queen Morgan''s rare skill of a psychopomp.

    She could send the departed souls from this Material Realm to Hell, and the Underworld like most goddesses can do.

    How did she get this ability that no other Fae in this Realm had?

    Apollyon had no idea.

    They did ask her about it when she brought it up, but the Queen of the Fall Courts had pursed her lips and told Luna and him vaguely that her Fae magic got better with time the more she aged in centuries.

    Perhaps, the Autumn Fairfolk had first-hand experience warding off spirits and demons roaming around their Kingdom whenever the veil wore thin between the Material Realm and the Spiritual Realm.

    Apollyon decided to trust the Fall Cadre and its Militia on what kind of armament they would give him.

 Chapter 750 - Vulture Demons

    <h4>Chapter 750 - Vulture Demons</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (October 2021)

    ***********************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ***********************

    The Chariot of the Sun that was given to him was fast and light.

    It was an open carriage with two wheels at the back, drawn by two ck Pegasus, swifter than the eagle, hitched side by side.

    Apollyon had adjusted well as a charioteer as sparkling golden rays surrounded the Chariot Queen Morgan had granted him.

    He had no qualms about it, nor did he ask the Fae Sentinel what made him choose to give the silver bow and arrow as his weapon.

    One Autumn Fae offered to help steer the Chariot of the Sun while the Fae''s other handheld an impressive bronze shield to protect both of them from the enemies.

    Suddenly, Apollyon heard more noises than he thought he could never have imagined, asrge feathered wings beat loud in the sky.

    From a distance, Apollyon could catch raspy and drawn-out hissing sounds along with grunting noises simr to barking dogs.

    ncing up, Apollyon was slightly taken aback when he witnessed a kettle of bald, harpy eagles approaching the Autumn Kingdom, trying to break Queen Morgan''s barriers first, but all their efforts were in vain.

    These birds of prey must have anticipated future dead bodies they could devour on the battlefield that they couldn''t wait to get in.

    ''God''s blood!'' Apollyon cursed in his mind. ''These ravenous scavengers were even more impatient than the demons.''

    He paused as he squinted at them in suspicion.

    In the first ce, should he call these creatures who sought dead bodies to feed on--harpy eagles?

    He should call them ''vulture demons'' instead!

    Nevertheless, Apollyon wondered where the winged serpent, which Luna found hard to discuss at the Council Room.

    Maybe, they had saved the ''beast'' for thest.

    The Fall Militia had turned him into an archer in charge of attacking the demons hovering outside the barriers.

    Luxen''s Legion formed clusters close to the barriers in eerie silence, and these friends didn''t necessarily touch it.

    Apollyon had no idea what they were getting at or what was up with their disconcerting war tactic.

    It''s hard to figure them out when everyone in the Fall Militia was ready to defend their Kingdom, but their enemies hadn''t initiated the first attack just yet.

    They must be waiting for that one brave Fae to offer himself as a sacrifice and step out of the barriers so that their Legion could tear that poor creature to shreds.

    Apollyon looked at them, and their ck beady eyes full of hunger stared back at him.

    Indeed, these kettle of vultures might be dangerous after that second nce.

    At first sight, they didn''t look like they could bring down their victims in the blink of an eye.

    Apollyon assumed that these demons could hit hard and attack very fast based on how quickly they moved.

    The Knights and Sentinels might find it challenging to target them while in flight as the giant harpies circled above the Fall Courts, waiting for Queen Morgan''s protective barriers to crack so that they could swoop in to kill and consume dead Faeries that crossed their paths.

    These demons might be easier to kill one-on-one, but if a person took too many at once and received the first hits, they could meet their unexpected fate against a pack of these things at close range.

    Apollyon wrinkled his nose.

    He found the demonic birds offensive, so Apollyon used Fae Magic and ced it over Queen Morgan''s protective barriers to reinforce them and block their entry.

    Once these monsters came into contact with his barriers, Apollyon would vanquish them and set them on fire.

    As he kept his eyes on their razor-sharp beaks and their piercing talons.

    To him, they didn''t seem to look that dangerous, anyway.

    Famousst words.

    First, blood hadn''t spilled on the ground yet, but the scent of death had already permeated the atmosphere of Queen Morgan''s Kingdom from the collective smell of these foul creatures alone.

    Apollyon attacked the enemies first, goading them to fight back as a way to test their enemies.

    Force them to prate Queen Morgan''s shields around the Fall Courts.

    He wanted to see if he could set these pathetic birds on fire if he managed to get their scarlet scales to touch the firstyer.

    Were they just devilish phantoms who can shapeshift into the real thing, or were these birds real, controlled by someone else?

    Keeping his grip firm on the bow handle, Apollyon pulled back the string with his index finger of the pulling hand under his chin, and it touched its nose and lips.

    He closed his left eye, looked down the arrow, and aligned it right on target.

    Its dark blood --which seemed almost purple--exploded in the air.

    Apollyon''s arrows passed through the barriers as they ascended through the clouds, piercing two of the hybrid harpy eagle and vulture demons by the heart as they screeched in agonizing pain.

    Its poisonous ichor sttered unto the eyes of its fellow vultures and rendered them blind while the rest washed over the Fall Courts like acidic rain showers.

    He smirked.

    Apollyon was able to kill the two bird creatures, saw the shapeshifters turn into their original phantom guises before the shaft burst into silver mes, sending them straight to the deepest pits of Hell to regenerate in a thousand years as a pathetic imp.

    The? Fae Sentinel controlled the reins, moving as fast as the whirlwind.

    They aimed to confuse the Legion with the chariot''s unpredictable motion.

    The Chariot of the Sun, drawn by beautiful horses of fire, had flown to the heavens, but Apollyon didn''t let it cross the barrier without Queen Morgan''s orders.

    The Queen might be a female who will lead them to war, but Apollyon wouldn''t let his prejudice hinder them from their conquest.

    He will respect the Ancient Female warrior and let Queen Morganmand her Cadre and the entire? Autumn Militia without his interference.

    His opinions and suggestions about war tactics will be unwarranted since he wasn''t the one in control here.

 Chapter 751 - Not The Time

    <h4>Chapter 751 - Not The Time</h4>

    [edited please refresh including thest]

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (October 2021)

    ***********************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ***********************

    His opinions and suggestions about war tactics will be unwarranted since he wasn''t the one in control here.

    A King''s fragile ego festering at this challenging time might lead to more confusion when there was a need to be united and move as one.

    Suddenly, Apollyon gave the vignt charioteer a signal to approach their enemies closer when he found the right timing.

    He had aimed his silver arrow at a difficult angle, preparing to hit four frantic vulture demons in a single bolt until he saw that one creature he didn''t realize that he was genuinely looking for.

    He paused as the strong winds up there caused the thick, raven hair on his head to cover half of his eyes.

    Apollyon ignored the loud, ugly squawking around them and narrowed his gaze at the creature''s bizarre head.

    It had worn the humungous skull simr to the vultures and harpy eagles around him.

    With just one look, Apollyon could tell that the creature of darkness was the ringleader of Luxen''s Legion.

    The Archdemon of Lust was nothing but a coward.

    That bastard was too scared to show his face in front of him and the Fall Courts.

    He had unleashed a battalion of demonic soldiers akin to a gue of locusts, and then he would rely on his servant to do the nasty job to threaten the existence of their entire world.

    Apollyon clicked his tongue.

    It seemed like Luxen was evenzier than Sloth.

    Apollyon''s first impression of the strange creature was that it was trying too hard to intimidate them.

    He had stretched his limbs��with long reddish-purple feathers attached to them--to a great extent, making him appearrger as he glided in arcs.

    Compared to an Archdemon, the only difference he had was that the creature had smaller wings.

    Apollyon didn''t know how to address this man-vulture hybrid, so he put his bow and arrow down to observe it in the meantime.

    Apollyon had no fear since these infernal entities were still spirits, and Queen Morgan''s barriers had kept them at a distance and prevented their demonic attacks.

    Fortunately, none of their magic coulde through and strike at them except the hurricanes and aftershocks.

    Was ''he'' and ''it''? Or was ''it'' a he''?

    Well, it shouldn''t matter anyway since they were determined to send them all back to the eighth and ninth circle of Hell��to the Abyss��where they had to wait thousands of years to regenerate as a demon only to start from the bottom of the Hierarchy as a mere imp.

    Anyhow, Luna must not have seen this diabolical devil at first because she hadn''t mentioned this ''frightening specter'' along with the winged serpent at the Council Room when Queen Morgan asked her to describe the opposition.

    It even took his beloved a while to get over her speechlessness.

    The president''s magic blocked her throat, stopping her from speaking.

    To Apollyon, this also affirmed the Moirai''s prophecy.

    Luna''s Archdemon abilities had dwindled because of that devilish child in her womb who was determined to leech of his beloved''s life force and steal their heiress identity as the true Princess of the Vampire Realm.

    His raging temper was a sword he had forged for himself to protect his loved ones because he was so sick of getting stabbed.

    He was so sick of how easy it was for these Archdemons to walk all over him and his beloved.

    At that moment, he swore to get rid of that baby devil in any way possible.

    From the corner of his eye, she noticed Queen Morgan crept up behind him in eerie silence as two charioteers steered her Chariot of the Moon.

    She waste than he expected.

    The Autumn Queen was the one who told him to meet her in the North of the Fall Courts where the gates of the Kingdom were positioned.

    Queen Morgan''s Cadre was in charge of the south, east, and west direction of the Kingdom to reinforce the Queen''s protective barriers after deriving their power from her in case the devils assembled in the North was just a simple decoy to the actual creature lurking at the other corners.

    It didn''t hurt them to be careful since these demons had scattered above their dome shields like a sprinkle of ck stars.

    The dark clouds and skies helped hide their presence as if the gods and goddesses had supported them in their evil endeavors.

    Nevertheless, it was an honor to meet Luxen''s Legion in their fancy carriage hauled by war Pegasi and hand them their demise before they could even take a step towards the Queen''s territories.

    "What do you want from us?"? Queen Morgan had asked Luxen''s president as she stood in her Moon Chariot while hovering at the entrance of the Fall Courts without crossing the magical barricades she created.

    As he turned his head to regard the Queen, Apollyon scanned Queen Morgan from head-to-toe. She had worn a figure-hugging ck leather armor corset paired with diator skirts which emphasized her feminine curves in contrast with the warrior-like impression. Apollyon nodded his head unconsciously and abruptly averted his gaze when Queen Morgan caught him looking. Then, clearing his throat, he returned his attention to the devil wearing the skull of a vulture in front of them.

    If the Autumn Queen was a vain woman, she might think that he was attracted to her.

    Never.

    After the tension and conflict with Luxen''s Legion, Apollyon reminded himself to buy and give his beloved the ''ck armour/corset'' that the Queen had worn today, including the same thigh-high diator sandals as a gift.

    God''s Blood!

    He would offer toce the ribbons on his wife''s legs himself so that he could see Luna in them.

    He paused for a second as his eyes slightly widened in realization.

    Apollyon shook his head to get his perverted thoughts in order.

    This wasn''t the time to be thinking about his wife in those appealing regalia.

    He was in the middle of a potential war.

 Chapter 752 - Angel Sword

    <h4>Chapter 752 - Angel Sword</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (October 2021)

    ***********************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ***********************

    This wasn''t the time to be thinking about his wife in those appealing regalia.

    He was in the middle of a potential war.

    From that nce, Apollyon was able to recall other things about the Autumn Queen.

    Her transparent Faerie wings had shifted into ck, blending with the color of her war clothes.

    The color of her white-blond hair during their first meeting had turned as ck as midnight.

    Queen Morgan''s skin was even paler than after changing her appearance.

    This new golden mask obscured half of her face with small white feathers arranged neatly on each side to replicate angel wings in flight, recing the fox mask she had from earlier.

    Apollyon didn''t throw another nce her way so that it wouldn''t make him suspicious.

    As he relied on that quick sh of memory, Apollyon wondered if thisdy--with the long and straight jet-ck hair fluttering in waves behind her back from the cold and violent winds --was Queen Morgan''s proper form... or was this just a mere mour to throw Luxen''s president off?

    Well, what if her earlier appearance from the portcullis and during their discussion at the Council Room was her natural mour?

    What if Queen Morgan morphed into multiple forms because her sole aim was to confuse her opponents with her inconsistent identities?

    Apollyon had no idea.

    Yet, he admitted it was a clever tactic if the Queen did it on purpose.

    Ancient Faeries��especially Kings and Queens��were the best shapeshifters in the Material Realm.

    Her blood-red lips were pressed into a thin line as she waited for the president''s response about his purpose.

    They needed to know what these Legion wanted when these vulture demons hovered outside the Fall Court''s barriers, just expecting the Queen to let them in with just a singlemand.

    Did Luxen''s Legion think that the Autumn Faries possessed only half of a brain?

    Apollyon''s unblinking gaze also scanned the ck heavens, searching for the winged serpent his beloved had warned them about, but there were no signs of it.

    That was odd.

    His Empress missed Luxen''s president during her soul travel, but she saw that dragon-like serpent instead?

    Perhaps, Luna had imagined it because there was no winged serpent among therge kettle of vulture/harpy eagle hybrids surrounding the Kingdom.

    "Simple." The president said as he stretched his arms wide as his purple wings attached to them followed suit. "My Master wanted to own this Kingdom." Apollyon could tell it was a different kind of demon since the dark purple feathers were connected to his bare arms.

    It didn''t look like it belonged to an angel, but it was simr to the feathered monsters in his aerial troops, "I need your word and your allegiance in honor of the Archdemon who sent me."

    "Which Archdemon?" The? Queen smiled as she casually held her long, thin sword with one hand on the hilt with its tip facing down.

    Queen Morgan''s posture was straight, but she appeared calmer than he thought, acting as if the presence of an Archdemon''s President intending to invade the Kingdom she worked so hard to build and reign never scared her.

    She wasn''t jesting when she told them at the Council Room that she used to be a lowly Knight before she rose to power and evolved into this Autumn Queen that she was currently known for.

    "Your tone made it appear like you are acquainted with a lot of Archdemons in your lifetime, Your Highness." The president said in sarcasm. "The precious white feathers you have plucked from an Angel''s wing for your mask can''t protect you like you thought it would just because you have stolen it from a Watcher."

    ''A Watcher?'' Apollyon thought as he racked his brain where he had read about them before. ''Why did it sound familiar?''

    Tilting her head, Queen Morgan''s free hand traced the fuller of her sword and changed the subject, "Who is the Archdemon you served, president?"

    "My Master is the Archdemon Luxen." He replied with a self-satisfied smirk that mirrored the Queen, "The Archdemon of Lust."

    "Hm." The Queen hummed as she picked the dark strands away from her mask. "That name had be familiar to me just recently."

    ''Recently'' was an understatement.

    Luna and Apollyon just informed her at the Council half an hour ago.

    "Great. My Master didn''t have to introduce himself." A dryugh escaped from the president as he pped his hands in excitement. "His name is already infamous to creatures who hadn''t met him yet. Which Gregori were you acquainted to that he had given you her most prized possession, Fae?" Luxen''s president persisted, and the Queen''s smirk dropped as her lips parted in shock. Apollyon didn''t know who ''Gregori'' was, but he spected it was a Fallen Angel. "You should be aware by now that? the primordial Angel Sword in? your hand wouldn''t intimidate us at all like it used to."

    The Queen''s response was a silent gasp.

    "You forgot to tell me that you had Angel de in your possession, Queen Morgan." Apollyon growled as his hands clenched into fists in frustration.

    Why didn''t she share such a vital piece of information if they needed to trust each other to triumph over evil?

    "You are an Ancient Fae who had lived long enough and had seen the wicked things the creatures of this Realm are capable of. Some of them can even rival an Archdemon''s actions so I can assume right away that you are the Queen." Luxen''s president focused harder on Queen Morgan. "It wouldn''t surprise me if you stole that sword so you don''t have to answer me." Queen Morgan shifted from one foot to another in difort while she stood in her carriage. "The previous Archangel who owned that is neither an Archangel or a Fallen Angel since he had already ceased to--"

    "��about the Fate of the Fall Courts, it wasn''t like we are going to hand over my Kingdom to you in a silver tter just because you said so.." Queen Morgan abruptly cut him off in a harsh tone before borating about the Archangel or Fallen Angel he told them about.

 Chapter 753 - High Priest Fei

    <h4>Chapter 753 - High Priest Fei</h4>

    [Please refresh on the library. I don''t find itcking anymore. tnx for your patience]

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (October 2021)

    ***********************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ***********************

    "��about the Fate of the Fall Courts, it wasn''t like we are going to hand over my Kingdom to you in a silver tter just because you said so." Queen Morgan abruptly cut him off in a harsh tone before borating about the Archangel or Fallen Angel he told them about.

    "I understand." The president shrugged as he faced Apollyon. His sharp curved beak that wasrger than his head protruded over his entire face. "Will this change your mind?"

    The president pulled something tied behind him and threw one whole arm in Apollyon''s trajectory, and he caught it with his hand without thinking too much.

    The detached arm in his hand seemed to have frozen into this parting gesture, and the emerald rings in its purple and green fingers looked familiar.

    He gritted his teeth while his jaw was clenched when it finally hit him.

    "You look stunned. Don''t you recognize it?" Luxen''s servant asked in a mocking, sympathetic voice, "Your High Priest who had looked out for you would be disappointed when he arrived at the Underworld."

    "You killed him." Apollyon bit out, and every word was a guttural sound.

    "Yes , I did." The president''s tone was a matter of fact as he jutted his chin proudly. "I killed the weakest in your Cadre." Two vultures moved closer to the powerful dome-shaped shields around the Fall Courts to showcase the corpse of the High Priest like it was their trophy.

    Their sharp talons dug unto the deteriorating flesh of Fei''s shoulders made Apollyon''s muscles and veins strain against his skin as if they were about to burst.

    It was a tant case of overkill.

    No logical murderer would go to such lengths to disrespect a frail old man like this.

    Apollyon could imagine the High Priest sprawled into the pool of his blood after the president had repeatedly struck him with a mace club full of spikes on his battered head and wrinkled face.

    Fei''s corpse was almost unrecognizable except for the signature cloaks he usually wore at the Vampire Realm.

    Multiple daggers stabbed his front body based on the wounds he had witnessed.

    Some of these knives were still embedded deep inside his rotten flesh, ripping his clothes to shreds. These demons didn''t even bother pulling them out before Apollyonid his eyes on his High Priest��a member of his Cadre.

    His corpse continued to dpose in front of him while the rest of the vulture-harpies pped theirrge wings, moving closer to his dead friend.

    Their noses red as they cawed in excitement, reveling in the stench of death.

    His eyes full of wisdom about Fae Magic became hollowed eye sockets.

    The High Priest hade from a long line of descendants rooted back to a masculine Fae who had mated with a human from the Vampire Realm.

    Apollyon had spected that the High Priest''s Fae ancestor was either blue blood or a powerful magician, but he was banished by his Kind for cavorting to what they considered as low life.

    Fei''s ancestor can choose any Realm he decided to live and settle down with��anywhere except the Faerie Realm.

    The High Priest had stood as Apollyon''s second father for as long as he could remember.

    King Gwythyr, the Vampire King, wasn''t there for him, and it was simr to what his mother did.

    The past Vampire King provided him with everything he needed��anything to do with material things.

    He was present throughout his life, but he was emotionally absent.

    Apollyoncked love, care, support, and attention from his parents when he was a child.

    That didn''t turn out well, considering how pathetic he had treated his wife from the beginning of their marriage.

    His mother, Princess Ourania, had failed to save him from turning into the sinful creature he was now.

    The only person who ever showed him what love looked like and what it meant was his Empress.

    The High Priest Fei was the third person he had established a close bond with next to Cederic.

    He was the sole mentor who taught him the Fae Magic he had learned from his Fae Ancestor centuries after Apollyon identally killed his father when the Blood Beast forced him to turn into a berserker.

    Fei had lived in the outskirts of the Vampire Realm like a hermit, living in his tiny hut, which Apollyon used to visit before Lilith had cursed him with the Blood Beast.

    No other Fae will since they weren''t allowed to share their knowledge with others except their Kind.

    Both of them had shared their love for History and Literature of the Material Realm, sorcery and magic, and collecting forbidden grimoires.

    Now, the High Priest is dead and gone.

    Apollyon only had Jon and Cederic as members of his Cadre and his own beloved Empress to rely on.

    He felt like he was about to tear up and release a guttural roar, but he held it in, swallowed hard, and kept his face nk so as not to show any weakness.

    A dark thought crossed his mind that he was determined to dispel like some demon

    What would he do if Luna''s midwife presented him with his beloved''s urn containing her ashes after she died from childbirth and he was left with two babies��one was his heiress, and the other one was a demon child��like what the Three Fates had told him in the Council Room?

    Would he survive after hearing the Moirai''s Dark Prophecy?

    The Master had praised me when I suggested that I would cut off this man''s arm as a proof, and then, I would bring his dead body to you." Luxen''s president admitted in an exhrated scream as he flew around in a frenzy while forming this repetitive infinite symbol in the sky.. "He just wanted me to be the news bearer initially, but I wanted him to praise me even more if he found out that I had brought the Autumn Courts to their knees."

 Chapter 754 - Not A King Anymore

    <h4>Chapter 754 - Not A King Anymore</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (October 2021)

    ***********************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ***********************

    The Master had praised me when I suggested that I will cut off this man''s arm as proof? and bring his dead body to you." Luxen''s president admitted in a triumphant roar as he flew around in a frenzy, forming this repetitive infinite symbol in the dark sky. "He just wanted me to be the news bearer initially, but I wanted him to praise me even more if he found out that I had brought the Autumn Courts to their knees."

    Apollyon''s eyes were alert.

    He didn''t take his gaze off the demon as he appeared and reappeared in the smoky fog.

    Luxen''s president was too easy to spot among the clusters of vulture demons due to the vibrancy of his purple wings.

    Apollyon was grateful for this because he would have no reason to miss such an obvious target when he was asking for it from how he asked for Luxen''s permission to provoke him.

    He also suspected that the silver arrows inside the quiver in his back wereced with the most potent poison to kill vulture harpies.

    The bow and arrow were given by the Faerie Sentinels from the underground camp base who were in charge of their Militia''s weapons.

    Luxen''s president imed that the Fall Queen had an Angel Sword in her grasp after stealing it from a ''Watcher''.

    A ''Gregori''.

    A ''Fallen Angel''? all the same.

    The Autumn Courts must have hidden a lot of things from him, or�� perhaps, the time they had left to discuss their mission at the Council Room was cut off short because of the appearance of Luxen''s Legion.

    Queen Morgan''s aura had exuded utmost confidence��dark and intense because her Kingdom''s weapons and artilleries could defeat demons.

    She was able to quickly regain herposure when Luna confessed that she was possessed, as revealed by the Moirai and the presence of two Archdemons in her Council that might endanger the Fall Courts.

    Now, they had to handle the invasion of another Archdemon''s Legion.

    So far, she had handled the situation well with the appearance of five Archdemons fixated on her Kingdom.

    Queen Morgan slowly nodded her head, "Bringing my Kingdom to its knees, huh?" She snorted, and sarcasm followed, "That''s great."

    Apollyon''s grip loosened on the silver arrow and Fei''s decaying arm in his hand.

    The corpses carried by the vulture-harpies'' ws, the putrid smell permeating into the atmosphere, had infiltrated his sensitive nostrils.

    Blowflies had started to gather around him, but these insects hadn''te close to him because they feared the fiery glow of his Sun Chariot.

    He had no time to grieve the loss of his Cadre, his mentor and his friend.

    He felt the need to ept that the High Priest had crossed unto his subsequent life in this Realm.

    He will have another life in another Realm that he had no ess to, and that''s alright.

    The cold skin of this sickly, white detached arm was nothing but a corpse.

    Fei''s spirit had already passed on.

    The sound of their annoying yet fun and harmless bickering when he used to be the old man''s student. Fei taught him the Magic of his��no, their�� ancestors in the ssroom.

    At that second, the sound of their good-naturedughter yed in his heart and soul as he recalled the deep set of lines ofughter on his elderly face.

    No more.

    Apollyon silently prayed to the gods and goddesses to take care of his old man.

    He hoped that someday, fate would bring them back together in some other time and ce.

    He released the old man''s arm and allowed it to drop to the ground��back to the earth��where it belonged.

    "You picked the wrong Kingdom to mess with, president." Apollyon said with gritted teeth.

    The president, who appeared like he had gone insane from all that aerial stunts, had stopped midflight when he heard Apollyon''s challenge.

    "It was a mistake? that you left your own Kingdom with no one strong enough to take care of it, Vampire King." He advanced closer to the Fall Court''s barriers and faced Apollyon within a distance of fifteen feet. "My Master was curious about what you are doing here instead of returning to the Vampire Realm as he expected."

    The president smirked as his purple wings synchronized with the same beat as the two Pegasi tugging on his Sun Chariot, "The Archdemon of Lust was surprised when he didn''t find you there when he arrived at the Vampire Castle so he decided to invade the Realm and conquer yournd and your subjects. The Master can do it by himself but the Military General was? stubborn, refusing to surrender."

    From the brutal method that this demon had killed his High Priest., Apollyon had already expected this to happen to the Vampire Realm.

    Nevertheless, Apollyon tried to wear a stoic mask of indifference even if all the muscles in his frame had tensed in his suppressed outrage.

    At that moment, he wished he wasn''t the only person who hadn''t worn a mask in this confrontation? Negotiation?

    He didn''t even know what this was all about!

    Jaws clenched, Apollyon asked calmly, "Did you kill Cederic?"

    Tilting his head, the president chose to be ignorant, "Who?"

    "My Military General." Apollyon enunciated slowly as if he was talking to a dim-witted child.

    His wrathful eyes protruded in his impatience, and? his weapons almost snapped into two, "Cederic."

    The leader of the vulture demons had the nerve to let out another mockingughter, and Apollyon was so close to killing him, but he couldn''t.

    Not yet.

    They needed more information from this one, and he wasn''t about to shut him up by testing if the arrow worked on him.

    The president had loved his job as a news bearer a little too much that he had revealed important information about Luxen''s activities and whereabouts.

    "It didn''t matter since you are going to follow his footsteps.." Apollyon''s nostrils red when he dered, "You are not the Vampire King anymore, Apollyon."

 Chapter 755 - Impatience

    <h4>Chapter 755 - Impatience</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (October 2021)

    ***********************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ***********************

    "It didn''t matter since you are going to follow his footsteps." Apollyon''s nostrils red when the Luxen''s president dered loud enough for everyone in the vicinity to hear.? "You are not the Vampire King anymore, Apollyon."

    What did he mean that he wasn''t the Vampire King anymore?

    Was he able to kill his Military General, or should he call the president''s bluff?

    Cederic was a formidable vampire to kill, especially now that Lilith''s curse on him had been removed and he finally returned to his original form.

    Apollyon wouldn''t believe the president not until he presented him with one of his Cederic''s ashes in front of his own eyes.

    The demon didn''t stop with just that announcement.

    He stretched his purple winged arms and soared a bit higher than? Apollyon as if his flying height would determine his imagined superiority over him.

    Next, the demon threw his '' gigantic vulture-skull wearing head'' andughed so hard that Apollyon wished he choked and fell to his death.

    How could Apollyonpel this bastard to talk faster so that he could spill more details?

    Then, Queen Morgan would give him, and the rest of the soldiers positioned at the bay and hidden underneath the embrasures a signal to start shooting at these demons with their magical arrows.

    Now, she just had to say the word.

    Apollyon also sensed the thousands of gazes of Faerie Sentinels and Knights of the Autumn Militia that Queen Morgan had gathered to defend the northern entrance of the Fall Court boring holes behind his back.

    The Fall Queen''s armed forces had turned up to support them in this uing battle.

    "The Archdemon of Lustmanded me to tell you this wonderful news but I am sad because it looked like you didn''t like it."? The demon shook his head and clicked his tongue mocking disappointment, "The impression you have made on me was that you left your own Kingdom defenceless��" He pointed an using finger at Apollyon and switched it to the Autumn Queen, "--while you are here with this other woman protecting this small territory that didn''t even belong to you. How selfless and admirable for the Vampire King to do something that? A true gentleman or you are just stupid, Apollyon? "

    Apollyon didn''t fight back, or he would lose this first war of nerves, so he continued to replicate Sloth''s nk expression.

    "You didn''t care about the Vampire Realm when it''s under siege, I am certain that you aren''t taking care of your pregnant? Empress too. Where is she?" The president even nced around and even squinted behind his Sun Chariot, expecting for his pregnant wife to sit there on the cushions, "Wait until my Master find out about your neglect as her husband."

    Apollyon noticed that the demon had worn the ne Luxen had stolen from her recently, "You are wearing her ne��"

    "��so that? I could better track her with her scent and the energy she had imprinted on this item." He exined with a wide grin. "Anyhow, wiping out both? human and vampire poption in your Kingdom is? the best time our Master had in a long while. The Archdemon of Lust was happy that the Empress had brought him here and he was able to escape Hell for the second time."

    He mused that Luxen had told his servant a bald-faced lie or maybe, he couldn''t differentiate his bitch who had attached herself to Luna''s physical vessel from Apollyon''s beloved.

    "Master Luxen didnt want to waste the second chance he had been given so he looked for a Kingdom he could call his own. You unwittingly handed the Vampire Realm in a silver tter and we hoped you would do that as well with the Fall Courts."

    "It is my Kingdom, president, so the final decision will be up to me!"

    "My aim from the start wasn''t to give you any options to decide on, Queen Morgan."

    She pointed her Angel Sword at him and said darkly, "Say that again once your Legion gets inside the Fall Courts."

    "Here, Apollyon." The president gestured at Fei''s corpse hanging in the air like he was a newly washedundry by two demonic maidservants, appearing to be monstrous vultures, "I will give the rest of the High Priest''s corpse as a gift that I hope you will ept. I hade so from a faraway Kingdom just to send the rest to you."

    Apollyon abruptly shouted out, "No!"

    "He''s already dead, Apollyon. Don''t worry this is just a weak physical vessel." His words were meant to reassure him, yet his hand told him a different story as he waved it in dismissal. "If we saw each other in the Underworld, he will thank me for doing him a favor."

    Luxen''s president snapped his fingers, and the two vultures'' ws released their hold on the High Priest''s thin and bony shoulders, indicating that he was tortured and starved before he died of stab wounds.

    He had been disrespected so much by this devil, being treated like an animal.

    Fei was made to look like he got mauled by hungry monsters as if he deserved it just because he was one of Apollyon''s Cadre.

    Apollyon was about to jump out of his Sun Chariot, stretch his Faerie wings and swoop down to collect what was left of Fei''s torn, decaying flesh.

    Instead, the Fall Queen''s words made him pause, "You don''t have to grovel at the demon''s feet, Vampire King. Allow the Faerie Sentinels to catch it for you."

    Wincing briefly, Apollyon figured out that Queen Morgan''s message was to keep his pride as the Vampire? King until the end��whatever might happen.

    After that sudden drop., Apollyon straightened his posture and stayed still, not looking down to check if the Fae sentinels behind them had caught and kept all of Fei''s parts intact.

    "The Master would also like to send a message to his beloved Empress Luna that he apologized for having sexual congress with her in Hell by shapehifting into your form."

 Chapter 756 - He Thought Wrong

    <h4>Chapter 756 - He Thought Wrong</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (October 2021)

    ***********************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ***********************

    "The Master would also like to send a message to his beloved Empress Luna that he apologized for having sexual congress with her in Hell by shape-shifting into your form."

    One of Apollyon''s eyebrows raised at that. How ridiculous!

    An apology, huh?

    Archdemons were not capable of apologizing because it was a straight-up acknowledgement that they had done something wrong, that they were aware of their wicked deeds, and they would do it anyway.

    Wasn''t it toote to do that, or was Luxen mocking him again due to Apollyon''s ipetence of being Luna''s mate?

    At the same time, the devil had run around the Material Realm like a madman, protesting that his soul cord with her was cut unfairly by the Archangel because he was one of the Fathers of his Empress'' child?

    Luxen''s audacity floored him more than his brother, Ravin, and it left a bitter taste in his mouth.

    At least, with the Archdemon of Gluttony, Apollyon knew what to expect.

    All the bastard had done so far was to annoy him with his taunting words and made-up scenarios about him being Luna''s real husband, which made Apollyon jealous of him and his wife.

    Ravin never attempted anything more than that because he couldn''t. Luna cut Ravin off and shut down every one of his one-sided flirtations.

    His wife''s constant reassurance of her love soothed his wounded heart like an earthy, healing balm.

    Her passionate kisses, loving caress and the sweet taste of her blood infused warmth in his bloodstreams.

    Luna''s sunny child-like smile had brightened his weary days and gave him the energy he needed to find solutions to problems.

    Apollyon was grateful for it.

    Her womb might be already soiled by the Archdemon''s filthy seed in another man''s perspective.

    Still, Apollyon never thought that his mate was dirty--that she needed to be disposed of for her betrayal for tupping with an Archdemon��not even once.

    He didn''t care about what the other Kings would think about him if they found out, judging him for keeping the woman he loved.

    His face twitched as angry heat flushed through him.

    He would execute them if these imaginary critics didn''t die from the apocalypse.

    He would rather throw his ego away than losing the love of his life.

    Luna had told him over and over how much she loved him and would never look at anyone else until these words had taken root in his mind.

    It made him trust his beloved more.

    His wife can control him as her Familiar.

    Yet, the only difference was that Luxen''s sinful actions made his chest tight and hollow.

    His tensed muscles had rxed, only for them to be numb secondster.

    He felt like he was floating in the air instead of standing in his steady Sun Chariot.

    "Unfortunately, the Archdemon Empress isn''t around to listen." The demon frowned in regret, and it quickly morphed into a smirk when he added, "--but please pass this message if you may, Apollyon. If the Master travelled back in time in that particr moment, he would seize that chance and do it again."

    God''s Blood!

    The Archdemon of Lust even knew that he had made Luna pregnant while she carried their heiress.

    It reinforced the notion Apollyon had that Luna was never at fault.

    Lilith and Luxen had nned this from the start to escape Hell and bring these demons from the Material Realm.

    He couldn''t bear the horrible thought of Luxen assaulting his wife for the second time that his mind nked in itself.

    Apollyon didn''t have a chance to talk to that Archdemon of Lust, but if they ever meet again, that would be thest time because Apollyon would return him to the Abyss.

    His jaws were clenched as he glowered at the leader of Luxen''s vulture demons.

    The president had this shit-eating grin stitched to his face that Apollyon longed to punch, as well as stab him with angel knives all over his shape simr to what he did to the High Priest as revenge.

    Did this news bearer think that Luxen''s confession about his disgusting lust and obsession to im his mate amused him?

    The Archdemon''s servant must have gotten off on watching creatures suffer from the horrible news he carried from his Master, Luxen.

    That''s what the president of the Legion aimed for, didn''t he?

    Make Apollyon go ballistic?

    He controlled every nuance of his expression��especially grief and outrage��because these evil creatures feed on negative emotions, making them feel superior over his faculties.

    He kept his mouth shut and didn''t react, pushing his feelings aside.

    He wouldn''t give them the satisfaction.

    "He expresses his giddy excitement over the uing birth of his first offspring." The president added.

    All Apollyon could hear was the constant ringing in his ears as well as the slow pounding of his heart.

    It appeared like the winged serpent Luna had described in the Council Room was nowhere to be found.

    There was no sense in allowing the demon to insult him and his wife any longer when they couldn''t gain an advantage in negotiating with power-mongers.

    Summoning all his calm and focus, he set his feet shoulder-width apart as his muscles tightened in preparation.

    Apollyon raised his bow, nocked his arrow into the string, drew the bow back with his fingers, aimed his silver arrow at the president''s chest, and released it.

    Thest thing Apollyon saw was the wicked gleam in the president''s eyes behind that massive bird skull he wore over his head.

    In an instant, he gathered thick dark clouds around his form, covering himpletely, that Apollyon couldn''t see what had happened to him and his silver arrow.

    The vultures and the harpy eagles quickly beat their wings too fast to flee away from their leader when he started to shoot lightning sparks.

    It hadpletely vanished in the mayhem, and Apollyon didn''t know if the bullet point was able to pierce the president.

    He had thought wrong that the president was the leader of the vulture demons because he had transformed into a winged serpent.

 Chapter 757 - War Siege

    <h4>Chapter 757 - War Siege</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (October 2021)

    ***********************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ***********************

    Apollyon had thought wrong that the president was the leader of the vulture-harpy demons because he had transformed into this colossal winged serpent.

    His wife was correct.

    It was actually none other than the president of his Legion.

    She had seen this dragon-like serpent with the birds-of-prey advancing towards the Fall Courts.

    It was simr to what Luna described in the Council Room during her spontaneous soul travel��a serpentine body, a dragon''s head, reptilian golden eyes, scaled skin, two wed forelimbs on each side its body with purple feathers attached to them.

    His lengthy form preferred to slither like a snake in upward and downward ''U'' motions when its desire was to advance.

    The president moved from side to side to evade attacks from Queen Morgan''s troops when they followed Apollyon''s lead.

    The archers of the Fae Militia started shooting at the Demonic Legion from the castle towers cred at the top of the Autumn Castle as well as those tall pirs punctuated around the walls of the entire Fall Courts which featured arrowslits, creating a strong defensive parameter.

    Fae Arbalists hid between shelter garrisons while the rest were positioned close behind Apollyon most especially near Queen Morgan whom the Fae Militia needed to protect with their life.

    Siege engines were also mounted on top of the structure to hit the demons withrge rocks which simply had no effect since they simply passed through the demon''s form.

    Apollyon recalled the first moment when he felt the spirit of the Blood Beast attached himself to his physical vessel.

    His body fought so hard, rejecting the idea of something foreign soul intruding his personal temple against his will.

    The Blood Beast, the Archdemon of Gluttony whom Lilith had cursed him with, grew even stronger.

    It felt like Ravin''s coerced possession had taken Apollyon to Hell and back.

    His cold, reptilian skin had heated up to a boiling point as if his physical vessel had cooked from the inside, pushing him to keel over.

    It was a bittersweet memory of his past, turning into this berserker who killed his own father, the Vampire King, Gwythyr.

    Now, this very same berserker was in front of him, determined.

    He wasn''t an ordinary feathered dragon-serpent monster.

    He was sentient and intelligent, as well as, brutal and cold-blooded with no regard for life itself��like all demons should be.

    Luxen''s president could transform himself into a humanoid simr to Ravin and Sloth.

    He wasn''t to be underestimated.

    The creature was capable of practising magic just like the rest of the demons near the top of the Hierarchy. He didn''t be the president of Luxen''s Legion if he had no such tricks up his sleeve.

    In his true winged serpent form, the president hadrge wings thick with shades of blue and purple.

    His huge vulture-like wings made a great leathery sound as he pped them in a rhythmic beat. Their wide wingspan was enough to cause strong winds, simting another hurricane simr to the one these Legion sent earlier to the? Autumn Castle as a greeting.

    Their bodies glimmered once a bolt of lightning strike at its wings only to be reflected back into the storm clouds brewing in the atmosphere.

    The feathered dragon-serpent also hadrge talons.

    Squinting, Apollyon focused on the dragon''s face and it answered his question about where his silver arrow went.

    It was embedded on its wide forehead, effectively piercing his scales that should have been his armour.

    His wound bled with purple blood from his be down to his ring nostrils.

    Uh-oh.

    The monster was mad as hell that his weapon got him good.

    Maybe, he didn''t expect Apollyon''s arrow to work and injure him just like he thought that Queen Morgan''s Angel Sword she acquired from a past Gregori had no reaction to him just because it was Ancient and made up of materials that wouldn''t ruin him.

    What was special about the Fall Queen''s weapons?

    Why did they have the capacity to destroy the Legion?

    Who was the mysterious cksmith who forged them?

    His wife confessed that the winged serpent had felt her spectre flying with their Legion high up in the air, spying on them.

    The monster even opened its eyes and met her gaze, making her flinch and forcing her consciousness to return to reality.

    It must be a coincidence since the president hadn''t mentioned anything to Apollyon about meeting Luna''s spectre.

    Good.

    They could still use soul travel to their advantage as long as no one will found out.

    It had prepared them for their adversaries when it was too far and blurry to make out their shapes and too small for their vampire sight to see.

    The Autumn Militia grew more confident and moved forward with Apollyon in the same firing line. They continued their assault to wipe out the harpy vulture demons and the president.

    These sinister creatures were capable flyers, able to move with great speed and stealth, but there was beauty in their raw, loud screeches echoing in the Fall Courts as they fell to the ground one by one.

    Apollyon, Queen Morgan and her troops had witnessed the feathered dragon serpent''s scales turned from bluish-purple to orange-red, appearing like it had bathed its feathers, body and forelimbs in Hellfire in just a span of seconds.

    Its serpentine form had generated intense heat��hot enough to melt metals like iron and incinerate anything it touched.

    Eyes wide, everyone held their breath for a moment when the president arced his outstretched wings and catapulted his entire body to break through Queen Morgan''s barriers.

    The winged dragon-serpent roared.

    Along with it was his dragon breath,? reacting with the ambient air and generating blue vtile mes.

    It felt like he was close to invading the Kingdom despite all the silver arrows stabbing him into his scales.

    He had incredible physical strength and it felt like he could overpower Queen Morgan''s Fae magic through sheer brute force until he was able to smash a hole with its head in the defencesrge enough for the rest of the Legion to pass through.

 Chapter 758 - ALMOST

    <h4>Chapter 758 - ALMOST</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (October 2021)

    ***********************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ***********************

    He had incredible physical strength, and it felt like he could overpower Queen Morgan''s Fae Magic through sheer brute force until he was able to smash a hole with its head in the defencesrge enough for the rest of the Legion to pass through, leading to this energetic silent explosion.

    Apollyon had to close his sensitive vampire eyes to the blinding white light.

    His ears started ringing but it was actually the Fall Queen''s high-pitched screams.

    Since they were rtively smallerpared to the president''s berserker form, the vulture-harpy demons could enter the energetic hole the feathered dragon serpent made, attacking the Autumn Militia.

    These monsters had the same size of armoured Faerie Sentinels so they can capture them easily.

    Unfortunately, they caught the Fae Warriors battling? Luxen''s Legion at the front lines.

    Four of these demonic birds helped each other in ripping their Pegasus'' wings to shreds with their beaks while their talonstched unto their helm, crushing theirvictims'' heads in a single squeeze until? their skull cracked and their brain fluids and matter spill all over the visor.

    As they plucked the dead Faeries out of their saddle with their ws on their heads, these monsters soared higher, dropping them to a freefall until their dead bodies sttered to the ground of the Autumn Courts.

    At that point, the Autumn Militia had resorted to fighting fire with fire and will continue to fire at Luxen''s Legion.

    The winged dragon serpent continued to breathe purple-orange unto the Fall Courts, creating huge bonfires? against? the inner palisades that would rival the celebration of Ostara.

    Yet, it didn''t destroy the entirety of the Kingdom since fire had little effect on stone castles.

    The dragon''s breath caused forest fires, igniting mmable objec it had reached, but not to a great extent.

    Apollyon had visited the lofty and fortified Castles of? the Spring and the Summer Courts but some? parts of their castle''s Architecture were made of wood.

    Autumn Pce was built different.

    Everything was made out of stone blocks cut with an obsessive precision.

    Their? catapult''s previous attacks were cumbersome and only offered limited damage so the Fae Sentinels within the towers of the Autumn Pce had changed tactics, setting the useless boulders on fire.

    Did it made a difference?

    Did it disrupt their enemy lines mid flight?

    The Fae warriors twisted their ropes as tightly as possible, released their arms and threw the ming stones to the winged dragon-serpent to prevent another attempt of infiltrating the Kingdom.

    The new weapons were angled and projected to hit the demon army in an arc but slightly far from the opposite side of the fortifications so as not to ruin the Fall Courts with their own artilleries.

    Undeterred, Apollyon and the remaining? Faerie Knights in the front line carried on with shooting silver arrows on the vulture demons, wreaking havoc.

    Queen Morgan quickly recovered from her shock, muttering the necessary Fae? incantations to cover up the holes of the dome-shaped barriers with Fae Magic while six Faerie Knights surrounded her for her own protection.

    With the help of her Cadre from the south, east and west, the barricades were stitched almost immediately after the president''s sessful attempt of dismantling it.

    Even Apollyon couldn''t believe that Luxen''s president was able to prate through the second barrier he created.

    Everyone had sighed with utmost relief after they had sessfully kept the president out while Faerie Knights fought the vulture-harpy demons that had gotten inside the Fall Courts.

    The war wasn''t done yet.

    The fire had spread down on the woonds below.

    Autumn Fair Folk living near the forest fires were forced to evacuate from their houses to save themselves.

    Just being immortal wouldn''t save them from death caused by the catastrophe.

    Apollyon nced up at the dark gray clouds and felt that another storm was brewing.

    As he wiped the sweat of his forehead,? he realized that he had to induce the clouds more with Fae Magic so that the fat raindrops would put out the fire, aiding the Autumn Fair folk.

    The end was so close.

    At that moment, Apollyon had already decided if they had managed to survive this siege.

    He was determined to find out how to kill the cursed baby in his wife''s womb with magic just in case they couldn''t find the fruit of the Four Seasons before her childbirth.

    There was nothing magic can''t do or solve.

    He feared that if Luna''s physical vessel turned into ashes, she would return to Hell as an Archdemon, bringing Sloth, Ravin and Lilith with her while all the Leaders in the Material Realm fought Luxen in another Great War.

    Luxen will conjure Lilith back from Hell to the Realm to rule the world as? the new King and Queen with thousands of Demonic Legions and possessed living creatures at their disposal.

    Their godless tyranny would summon all the Archangels in the Heavenly Realm down to Earth to cleanse and purge all demons while Apollyon grieved alone from the loss of his mate and stuck with taking care of two babies.

    Apollyon would have no Kingdom toe back to after being stripped of his title as the Vampire King by Luxen''s invasion.

    He hated that oue the most and his paranoia had made him think too far into the future.

    Luxen will conjure Lilith back from Hell to the Material Realm.

    To rule the world as the new King and Queen with thousands of Demonic Legions and possessed living creatures at their disposal.

    It would be impossible for him to let his beloved go just like that if Moirai''s prophecy of Luna''s death came true.

    His mate''s presence brought him unconditional joy and losing her would kill him from the inside out.

    Abandoning his daughter to chase her mate in Hell would be out of the question.

    He would never be like his own mother, Princess Ourania, and father, King Gwythyr, who abandoned their child whenever it was convenient for them.

    Apollyon was not a selfish father so he needed to figure out how to be an Archdemon fast while keeping his physical vessel.

 Chapter 759 - The Walking Dead

    <h4>Chapter 759 - The Walking Dead</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (October 2021)

    ***********************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ***********************

    The destruction caused by Luxen''s Legion sent chills down Apollyon''s spine after the winged dragon-serpent had almost snaked its way to the Fall Courts.

    The dangerous situation almost escted to something irreversible.

    The Fall Courts had extreme luck for responding quick enough to turn the tables and avoid the impending doom, literally escaping from the devil''s clutches.

    Yet, every Fae hovering near the invisible barriers to protect the Kingdom can feel the heat from the forest fire.

    The licks of its mes grew at an rming rate, rising above what is pleasant to a searing temperature.

    It scorched the heat of their victims'' skin as they moved out of the affected vige houses right away to outrun the forest fire, gathering their families and leaving out belongings.

    Apollyon''s head turned to the side and threw Queen Morgan a nce.

    She had put her Angel Sword down.

    Her fingers trembled as she covered her parted lips, looking down at her own Kingdom in shock while the charred ck stumps glowed orange.

    They watched the fire burn like a temper, and Apollyon would usually feel nothing but apathy.

    From all the tragic situations he experienced with his wife, he found it increasingly difficult to be cold without feeling sinful.

    It might bete, but being around his mate had influenced him to be aware and to have a conscience.

    The orange mes felt so alive and aggressive as they leapt with terrible rage towards the Fall Courts, moving swiftly as they do without apology.

    The wildfires had sent billows of ck smoke into the atmosphere that it became hard to see and breathe.

    The air had smelled and tasted like a bonfire.

    All of them remained in their position, covering their mouth and nose like their own mask.

    Finally, Apollyon''s raised his free hand to the heavens andpelled the sky to rain upon them.

    Queen Morgan had trusted him enough to deal with the wildfire and focused solely on the barriers as the president and his Legion attempted to break them again.

    Everyone had worked endlessly to defend the Kingdom from the siege, and a battalion of Fae sentinels from the Autumn Militia had been called to support them against the Legion.

    The president was too strong that Queen Morgan''s exhaustion made her drop to her knees that two Knights had to catch her before she fell from her Blue Moon Chariot.

    She was losing her strength as well as the Cadre who served her.

    And here he thought that Luxen''s Legion would give up since they could defend the Fall Courts, but it wasn''t over yet.

    Some of the vulture-harpy demons had also switched tactics.

    Apollyon should have expected them to do what they do best: to possess bodies they could find.

    Few of the vulture-harpy demons who managed to slip through the Fall Courts were zealously hunted by the Fae Knights before these monsters could do something worse to the inhabitants and to the Kingdom itself.

    The Autumn Militia were meticulous and efficient Faeries.

    They made sure that the Legion''s chances to possess living creatures were close to nil.

    Apollyon remembered that a Summer Monarch��he didn''t recall whether it was King Oberon or King Titania��once told them that the Garden of the Four Seasons was settled in the Heart of the Faerie Realm in the past and those people who had eaten it had the power of seeing both worlds��the Material and the Spiritual Realm��in their naked eye.

    Their unique ability was passed down unto their descendants until their bloodlines had diluted due to gene ipatibility between their parents and their ancestors.

    They had to mate with someone who had eaten the fruit to retain the gift, but it was impossible.

    Only royal families do that kind of thing.

    Perhaps, this is why Fae Monarchs are immune to demonic possession unless Archdemon Magic is done to them.

    Nevertheless, Apollyon wasn''t sure if that also applied to the entirety of the Autumn Fair Folk.

    Queen Morgan had confirmed that to Luna and Apollyon, after all.

    The Three Fates'' lips were sealed shut when it came to the Garden of the Four Seasons.

    The Fall Queen must have asked the golden question to Klotho, Lachesis and Antropos about its location but haven''t gotten anywhere.

    If they did, they would have found the garden early on, distributed its yield once they got their hands on it.

    Queen Morgan wouldn''t be shocked at the map Princess Ourania had drawn after their group presented it to them.

    The blowing sound of the horns caught everyone''s attention, announcing the waves of the dead and the buried rise from their coffins and graves under the ground.

    Apollyon had no idea that the lovely forests surrounding the stone fortifications of Queen Morgan''s Kingdom were graveyard sites.

    So, that was why Queen Morgan had powers of a true psychopomp.

    Autumn Fairfolk were known to be ruthless, so he wouldn''t be shocked if she was the one who executed these bodies and threw them outside their Kingdom.

    It was her fault that she hadn''t disposed of the dead bodies miles away from the Kingdom''s walls. So now, the Autumn Faeries would suffer from being eaten alive by the very same creatures they killed.

    The living dead had attacked the castle and climbed the walls with their rotten limbs, slowly at first. Then, they climbed over their predecessors until they reached the castle walls, screaming for blood.

    Apollyon could see the simrities between these zombies and rogue vampires except for their appearance and speed.

    The Faerie Sentinels guarding the stone walls stood bravely on their firing tform, shot the zombies with silver arrows, picked up stones,unched them to their lolling heads, and poured boiling oil on the walls to make them slicker.

    Then, it would be easier to push these zombies out with forked sticks while they attempted to scale the walls.

    The rugged terrain outside the Fall Courts slightly hindered the attacking force due to the moat around the Kingdom.

    The main gatehouse, the most robust structure of the Kingdom with the thickest stone walls, was locked and safe from the continuous efforts of the defenders.

 Chapter 760 - Birth Of A Giant

    <h4>Chapter 760 - Birth Of A Giant</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (October 2021)

    ***********************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    **********************

    The current scenario had given him disturbing shbacks during the Celebration of Ostara.

    It seemed that wildfires were as obsessed as the Archdemon of Envy, hell-bent on following him everywhere he and Luna went.

    The rain Apollyon brought forth from the thick, dark clouds had touched and soothed the earth with its coolness, bathing the entirety of the Fall Court in newly bequeathed rain.

    It was simple liquid Fae Magic that he had done before.

    Queen Morgan also aided him in this endeavor because she also had the power to control the weather.

    Most Fae Monarchs can do it.

    Yet, some of the blue blood had rarer abilities more exclusive to a specific type of Fae. Calling upon rain wasn''t one of them.

    He even felt Sylvain, Jora, and Kotari supporting Queen Morgan and him from their positions in their towers with Fae Magic.

    The fiery orange and red of the mes had cooled to ck.

    The trees that sheltered the Autumn Fairfolk with their gorgeous canopy of red and gold were now dead, broken trunks of charcoal as if the Winter Season had visited the Fall Courts.

    Grasnds were scorched, and the smell of the smoldering embers lingered throughout thend despite the pelting cold rain, and the soft earth air was rendered damp by this gift.

    Hopefully, this ce would soon be a gateway to rebirth after the state of dposition.

    Queen Morgan was extremely upset that her lips had quivered.

    The lovely trees she adored were gone.

    Despite the mask hiding half of Queen Morgan''s countenance, it was clear that she was mourning for the loss of the Kingdom''s dappled shade of the gorgeous red and gold woonds, the noises from the creatures who dwelt there, and the mammals that graze on the grasses.

    Grey mist began to surround her and her protectors, and he? squinted at her when the haze in the atmosphere cleared up.

    Apollyon swore that he could see a single teardrop glisten on her cheek.

    The Faerie Knights suspended in the air, riding their respective Pegasi, were too upied with defeating Luxen''s Legion with their silver arrows.

    They were counting on the Faerie Sentinels deployed on the ground to deal with the undead and to help the female and children Fae from escaping this hell on earth the president had brought to the Fall Courts.

    Some of the Autumn Fairfolk weren''t able to survive the inferno.

    Hellfire had caught their colorful and vibrant Faerie wings after trying to rescue their loved ones themselves and attempted to flee from the fatal scene, but they couldn''t manage.

    Everyone knew that Queen Morgan was gifted with the power of a psychopomp who could guide lost souls to the Underworld.

    It must have hurt her to deliver her loyal, loyal subjects herself as she chanted a spell��a sorrowful prayer��for the spirits of the Autumn Faeries dwelling near the burning forests who died an agonizing death.

    Dead Fae Knights whose skulls got crushed by the ws of the vulture harpy demons were retrieved by the other Faeries and ced at the Autumn Square for their families to mourn over.

    The family, suffering the death of their loved ones, had clustered in the wide space of the Autumn Square, bowing their heads and standing there in eerie silence.

    They give themselves time to face the cruel reality and process their mncholy and grief.? Apollyon also prayed to the gods and goddesses that the other Autumn Faeries in danger was safely rescued.

    Just when Apollyon was d that he had sessfully put out the fire with the rain he brought forth with Fae Magic, another problem arose.

    He had taken advantage of the storm clouds to produce the fat raindrops that had turned into ice from the sudden cold winds.

    A mix of hail and snow had abruptly rained on the Kingdom from out of nowhere, which caused winter storms.

    The surprising thing was, the hail wasn''t Apollyon''s doing.

    Apollyon sensed that the Material Realm had gone insane.

    The sun had disappeared, reced by these dark clouds as if the ball of fire had been eaten by Luxen''s president.

    Strong hurricanes and a series of aftershocks followed when the Demonic Legion arrived.

    Everyone tried their best to defend the Kingdom from the siege.

    Yet, nobody had prepared them from the snowstorming uninvited, and it seeded with infiltrating the Fall Courts without the demons'' help.

    Queen Morgan''s energetic barriers were destroyed all over the Fall Courts, but the Queen and the Cadre tried to fix it with Apollyon''s aid.

    Vulture-Harpy Demons and the living dead were alling at them at once from different directions, both from the ground and the heavens.

    He also concluded that Queen Morgan''s barriers prevented unknown, evil spirits and demons from entering the Kingdom unless she acquiesced them with words.

    In addition to that, having no physical vessel on their own reduced their chances.

    Ravin and Sloth just got lucky because they were Luna''s Familiars.

    At that moment, Apollyon had wondered whether Luna and her Archdemon Familiars had figured out how to help the Autumn Militia.

    What was her wife doing with those two bastards?

    Will Queen Morgan and the Autumn Militia not receive any help when they need it so bad?

    The creatures they were up against weren''t simple spirits, and it was difficult to defeat them with weapons that had little to no effect on them.

    Well, it did have an effect, but it was taking too long, and they were bing exhausted.

    The feathered dragon-serpent refused to give up on poking another hole on the aerial barricades even if the arrows on his serpentine form would rival those of a hedgehog.

    Those bastards didn''t identally kill Luna from whatever creature they were trying to summon to ensure their victory, did they?

    His instincts had told him toe back to the Castle to check up on his wife if she was safe since they hadn''t given any reinforcements yet, only to find out a minuteter that a giant had invaded the Fall Courts.

    And that monster didn''t belong to Luxen''s Legion.

 Chapter 761 - War Room

    <h4>Chapter 761 - War Room</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (October 2021)

    ******************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    Queen Morgan had ordered four elder members present in the Council Room to escort them in a safe ce before they go and do their Queen''s bidding.

    Each of them was responsible for specific tasks that they hadn''t told them about.

    As they climbed through the never-ending spiral of staircases on the way to their assigned room, her Archdemon Familiars didn''t stop harassing the Faerie Elders like bored maniacs while the three of them followed their leads.

    Her lips had curved in amusement when Ravin had tugged at their dark red velvet hoods while Sloth''s hands had sped the back of their cloaks in attempts to remove their concealments.

    una had let them because she was curious about what they looked like too.

    It got to a point where the Faerie Elders got fed up with their mischief that one of them who had looked over his shoulder and snapped at the two devils, demanding Luna, Ravin, and Sloth to walk ahead while they barked directions for them to follow.

    After a long-winded journey to the top of the tower, they finally got to enter this special room with light pink walls adorned with white tapestries full of Fae Symbols.

    The area was too big that her eyes took a minute to take the new environment in.

    Somethingpelled her to nce up.

    The ceilings were so high that Luna initially thought that a god or a goddess had lived in this tower''s spacious room.

    Hell, this could also be a fighting arena if Queen Morgan wished it to be but without the cheering audience.

    The interior''s ornaments were of deep red and purple hues.

    Luna had to squint because it simply hurt her eyes to look at these things for too long.

    When she spun around to look at Ravin and Sloth who appeared confused as well, Luna realized she wasn''t the only one who was bothered by the colors schemes.

    She didn''t feel the need to voice out her opinion to her Familiars when Sloth had raised his palms upward in level to his chest��a universal gesture conveying that he had no idea what these Fae Elders were about, bringing them there.

    Ravin was silent as his suspicious gaze examined the ce.

    Luna lifted her skirts a little before she crouched down to the ground to get a closer look at the marble floors.

    Her fingers traced the hand-painted geometric shapes of circles, stars, triangles, and squares along with unknown Fae symbols that Luna swore she had seen on Princess Ourania''s map.

    The ground had no visible cracks from the earthquakes and it made her think that this particr space was heavily protected with Fae Magic among other parts of the Autumn Castle.

    Why then?

    Why is this particr ce protected and for what reason?

    As the cloaked Fae Elders walked across the room to advance towards the scarlet curtains, the four of them chanted a spell.

    They parted the red curtains from the center, pushed each of them aside, and fastened the heavy cloth with golden ropes to keep it in ce.

    It revealed anotherrge window simr to the Council Room but it was more gigantic than the one that had shattered from the strong hurricanes at the Council Room.

    No.

    Luna narrowed her eyes.

    She was wrong about this being a window.

    They couldn''t see anything through it!

    If this was indeed a window, why couldn''t she see what was happening outside during the siege?

    Her brow furrowed in confusion.

    It wasn''t a window but an obsidian ck mirror that was attached to this space from the ceiling down to the floors.

    Where was Queen Morgan, her husband, and the Autumn militia fluttering their Fae wings in the dark, gloomy atmosphere?

    Should they go back to the Council Room?

    It might be unsafe to return there but at least, she could monitor everyone during the War, especially her husband.

    She had to be certain that nothing bad had happened to him.

    Apollyon had expected a lot from her Archdemon Familiars to support them in defeating the Legion and they hadn''t started summoning anything yet.

    Her teeth sank to her bottom lip in concern as she straightened her spine.

    The Vampire King would be mad at her for wasting their time.

    Ravin stood at her left while Sloth was at her right like they were her own personal Cadre as they faced the Council Members.

    The Faerie Elder at the farthest left who stood near the curtain interlocked his hands, settled them in front him, and began to speak, "This is the War Room, Empress, where Queen Morgan gives birth to her brilliant ns and war strategies. This is the ce where the Royal Monarch can clear her head and have a good perspective on the battle. This ck mirror in front of you--" The cloaked Elder gestured at the ck mirror which she thought was a window and continued, "--will allow you to oversee what is currently happening during the siege. You just have to tell it what you want to see and it will show you. It''s not thatplicated." Her jaws slightly dropped in surprise. Wow, this was more convenient than soul travel. "There? is no need for incantations--"

    Sloth inclined his head and crossed his arms, "Let us say if the Empress is in the bathtub and I tell this mirror that I wish to see her naked, would this thing show me her naked form?"

    It was a hypothetical question that made Luna''s cheeks heat up and p the Archdemon.

    Yet,? she couldn''t deny that it made her curious too so she waited for the Fae''s response with bated breath.

    The Fae Elder almost choked at the question but he settled with clearing his throat thatsted longer than what was necessary, "I will pretend I didn''t hear that."

    This obsidian mirror might be easy to abuse.

    That was why Queen Morgan had secured this mirror so well.

    Was it a good idea for the Autumn Queen to entrust them with this room considering that her Archdemon Familiars were also here?

 Chapter 762 - What Was Luxen Up To

    <h4>Chapter 762 - What Was Luxen Up To</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (October 2021)

    ******************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    Was it a good idea for the Autumn Queen to entrust them with this room, considering that her Archdemon Familiars were also here?

    Maybe, the Council Members had already deemed them half-innocent after the truth elixir had approved of them.

    "Queen Morgan seldom leads the War itself but today''s events required her to be there---" The Faerie Elder exined? as if the inevitability of it all was expressed with his grimace, "--to strengthen a specific part of the barriers where it was constantly attacked with the aid of her Cadres whom she stored, shared with, and siphoned her energy from."

    "So, those three Faeries were vessels for her power, hm?" The sparkle in Sloth''s forest-green eyes remained. Yet, in that split second, his pupils had bled to ck when he focused his gaze on the ck mirror�� or was it a mere reflection of it?

    Was there something demonic about it, or was it influenced by other kinds of dark magic?

    He raked his hand over his short blond hair, damp from? the rain, and? nodded slowly, "That''s interesting."

    As? Ravin rubbed his chin in contemtion, he drawled in perfect cadence. "Are you sure it is safe for you to share this with us?"

    There was an underlying threat hidden between the lines.

    Honestly, she didn''t have to turn her head to see the bastard smirking at the Elders.

    "Ravin," Luna said in a warning.

    She gripped the solid muscle of his forearm, giving it a painful squeeze.

    The Archdemon showed no visible reaction.

    It was either she hadn''t dug her ws on his skin enough, or Apollyon was correct, and she was losing her powers the longer she carried Luxen''s offspring in her womb.

    "I apologize on behalf of the Archdemon." Luna clutched her dress as she attempted to give the Faerie Elders a curtsy, but Ravin thwarted that by putting a palm underneath her chin that she was forced to raise her head back up.

    Luna huffed in annoyance, released the heavy fabric of her skirts, and red at him.

    Ravin didn''t say a thing, but she knew that he hated her paying respects to the Members of the Council because of her status as the Empress and their Master.

    In their eyes, dropping to a curtsy meant that the Archdemons were subservient to the Fall Courts, diminishing their pride and notoriety of the Demonkind.

    Nevertheless, she had no strength to deal with this.

    Exhausted from all that walking and climbing the stairs, she didn''t ask permission from the masked Council Members and proceeded to sit in the nearestfortable chair.

    Sloth took five full steps before he took his seat on the other side of the ss table, which strangely looked like an aquarium.

    The chessboard pieces were properly arranged in their respective squares, waiting for the second yer to sit across Luna and challenge her to a game.

    "There is even a chessboard here?" Sloth pped his hands in excitement and said,? "Niiiceee~."

    All the furniture in the War Room was made of ebony wood which made it so unique.

    Yellow and orange goldfishes were swimming underneath the ss.

    It was a mystery how Queen Morgan enclosed all of these living creatures in a ss table without them dying fromck of suffocation.

    What are the other things the Autumn Queen''s Fae Magic was capable of?

    Luna didn''t stop staring at their swimming motions����

    A muscr hand appeared in front of her face and snapped his fingers, making Luna flinch from the abrupt sound.

    It sounded loud to her ears, giving her the sensation that she had woken up from a strange dream.

    It took her half a minute to realize that Ravin had just jolted her out from a subtle trance these unassuming creatures had created.

    ncing up, she met those bright golden eyes and saw the concern sharpening his handsome features.

    She quickly averted her gaze, grimacing at her carelessness, but she was grateful for Ravin''s quick thinking.

    At least, her Archdemon Familiars were looking out for her as they should.

    Ravin settled hisrge body on the couch and stretched his long legs, taking up the entire space.

    Why did this Archdemon suddenly feel sorge when he slid one foot of his underneath thecy trimmings of her gown?

    He picked up the ''Knight'' piece on the chessboard and formed an L to the left,nding on the dark square of the checkerboard. "Have you heard, Lune, that Ravin and Luxen? had yed in a game of chess using their respective Legion to decide where you will stay next after you visited the Seventh Circle?"

    Luna''s eyebrows were raised, and she frowned. Hmm, that definitely sounded familiar, though. Sloth added, "The Archdemon of Lust took you from my bed which means��"

    Ravin interrupted him before Luna could protest about her being in Sloth''s bed, "I lost on purpose because I had another ns in mind��"

    "��to steal her away afterward, isn''t that right?" Sloth finished for Ravin paired with an evil grin.

    The Archdemon of Gluttony looked away, and he didn''t bite at his brother''s bait.

    Ravin didn''t respond to Sloth''s usations which made Luna assume that it contained truth.

    If Ravin was so obsessed with her and given a chance, would he try to shapeshift into Apollyon and fool her as Luxen did?

    Instead, Ravin casually picked a small nket hanging at the back of her seat and carefully dried her damp silver hair with it.

    Next, he settled the scarlet fabric around her shoulders like a shawl to keep her warm.

    The bastard must have sensed that she was trembling a little from the cold.

    Nevertheless, Luna thanked the Archdemon for the kind gesture.

    It was so unexpected that it had sent chills down her spine.

    "You can leave us, Fae Elders." Luna finally said when he noticed that the Fae Elders were as still as statues and blocking? their views from? the ck mirror, "We can manage to help the Autumn Militia from here."

    "Two of us will remain to watch over the three of you, Empress." One of the Council Members informed them, and the three of them nced at the news,? "If that''s alright with you?"

    ''Can we say, no?'' Luna bristled at the thought of them hearing their private conversations.

    These old Autumn Faeries might jump to the wrong conclusions.

    She was relieved when Sloth told them what was already on her mind. "We don''t like to share our secrets you know that? Don''t be a masochist, old man." Sloth''s soul was so ck that he felt the need to add emphasis on the word ''old men,'' rubbing? the salt to the wound,? "If? you stay here, I will rip off that mask on your face and then, I would peel the skin of your wrinkled��"

    "Sloth." Luna cut him off before he could finish with his threat.

    They weren''t here to alienate themselves from their allies.

    "It would be so easy for me. That way you wouldn''t betray your Queen." He continued as he shrugged with lethargic nonchnce,? "You wouldn''t reveal your face from creatures who didn''t belong from the Fall Courts if you didn''t have a face anymore."

    As their knees trembled with fear, all their lips were pressed in a tight line as they scowled at the three of them, "We will leave." Hopefully, these Faerie Elders wouldn''t tell on Queen Morgan about kicking them out of her War Room, "We will leave, Archdemons! "

    One of the Fae Elders let out a sigh of surrender, "We will fulfill your requests, Empress."

    Sloth grinned smugly. "That''s better."

    Ravin shared a long stare with Luna before he showed the Council Members the door as if Queen Morgan''s War Room belonged to them now.

    +++

    Apollyon must have wondered what Luna and her Archdemon Familiars were supposed to be doing.

    Well, her husband had expected her to summon their army of evil spirits in the Autumn Realm that she couldmand to aid the Autumn Realm from the siege, but she hadn''t done anything of the sort.

    Not yet.

    Ravin and Sloth suggest spying on Luxen using Queen Morgan''s ck mirror in her War Room.

    Half of her brain told her that such a desire would lead to something dangerous and might require her to take a risk that she couldn''t turn her back on while the daredevil in her told her that she should do it.

    Surely, it wouldn''t take long to know why Luxen wasn''t here to lead his Legion.

    Where was his president tomand that winged-dragon serpent?

    She had to think this through, but the more she twisted her fingers together and stalled��-

    What else could go wrong?

    It wasn''t like this ck mirror would suck the three of them into a vortex back to Hell.

    It wasn''t like? Luxen could see them back if sh, Ravin and Sloth watched what he was up to from this magical device.

    This was just a short test of this magical object''s capabilities.

    They were going to see what he was up to, that''s all, and then, the three of them would start summoning spirits.

    "It wouldn''t be that hard, wife," Ravin murmured and replicated what he did earlier by raising her chin with his palm.

    It triggered something inside her because only her husband, Apollyon, was allowed to call her that.

    The bastard felt like he now had the freedom to touch him just because her husband wasn''t around.

    "Stop, Ravin." Luna moved her head back when he grazed her skin.

    She hated it when her nerves began to tingle and expressed that with a glower.

    He was testing her patience. "If you say that one more time, I will have this belief that you hate yourself so much that you wanted to be him."

    "I don''t want to be him but I want you." Ravin''s hand fell away and rested on? the ss table, "Yet, I never attempted shapeshifting into Apollyon to impregnate you and ruin your life with him."

    Luna bristled at the past she tried so hard to forget, but she? tried not to show it, "Am I supposed to thank you for it, then, Ravin?"

    "I never said that, Amare. I would never do that to you if it was me." He corrected her and matched her scowl,? "You stayed in my Kingdom��"

    "Ravin, admit it." Sloth let out a sigh as he lifted his hands, ced them behind his head, and leaned back to his chair, "You would do the sameter on if Luxen didn''t shapeshift into the Vampire King first and have his wicked way with her."

    Ravin aimed his angry outburst at Sloth, whose attention was now fixated on the chessboard. "I want to win Amare''s affection fair and square��"

    "��but that also means you will not allow me to leave and trap me in the First Circle of Hell!" Luna pointed out.

    He didn''t miss a beat and replied bluntly, "Yes."

    His admission made Luna''s eyes widen in surprise.

    "At first, I was frustrated at what happened with? you and Luxen. My brother made that choice to fool you? and you fell hook, line and sinker. I had done nothing to protect you when the bastard visited you in the Pleasure Room." His golden gaze wandered over her face as he continued, "I was supposed to sleep in the same room with you but I valued your request of privacy. I already epted that fact.? I will only responsible for the things I did."

    "��but, those Moirie said Lune''s going to die from childbirth, anyway." Sloth licked his lips nervously as he reminded them.? He couldn''t even manage to say the Three Fates'' names correctly."If her physical vessel turned into dust..." He shook his head in denial, "I don''t want to return to Hell. I like it here."

    "We will find those magic fruits for you," Ravin promised.. "Now, let us see where Luxen is when he is not here to apany his Legion."

 Chapter 763 - A President Against A President

    <h4>Chapter 763 - A President Against A President</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (October 2021)

    ******************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    Luna had reckoned that she, Ravin, and Sloth were going to spy at Luxen in just a short period while they were seated in theforts of the War Room in the hopes that the knowledge of Luxen''s whereabouts could be a gamechanger.

    They just had to figure out what Luxen''s current ns were and what his next move would be so that they could counter that and ensure their victory.

    When it was also time to take revenge on him and his Legion, of course, the three of them would know where to find this Archdemon rat bastard and force him toe out of the hole he was hiding from.

    In the few minutes that she ordered the mirror to show her Luxen''s location, Luna had changed her mind.

    She regretted her Archdemon Familiar''s suggestion almost immediately when the Vampire Realm appeared in front of their eyes.

    It was like she had been hit by a lightning bolt.

    What was the devil doing in the Vampire Realm?

    Luna''s eyes were wide with shock.

    The first thing she felt was pure unadulterated fear that seeped down to her bones.

    It made Luna straighten her spine, and Luna tried to ease the muscles on her shoulder by rolling them a bit.

    The Archdemon of Lust didn''t n to conquer it, kill everyone that stood in his way and dere it as his own, leaving Apollyon and Luna with no Kingdom to go back to, did he?

    Her slow heartbeat throbbed in her ears as cold sweat trickled down her back.

    Was Luxen sessful in stripping them of their title as the Vampire Realm''s Royal Monarch?

    The chalk-white, grainy image of the Vampire Castle stood in stark contrast with the obsidian backdrop of therge mirror fixed on the wall.

    A few secondster, Luna realized that the home she and Apollyon had missed for a couple of months wasn''t just a single picture but a series of images, moving like an animated silhouette.

    It showed them a real-time bird''s eye view of the Vampire Realm.

    All of the towers in the Vampire Castle wereplete, and not a single thing was out of ce.

    She swallowed hard and exhaled a deep breath she had been holding.

    Maybe, it wasn''t toote. Well, not until Sloth specifically asked the looking ss to manifest what room the Archdemon of Lust in.

    ''Oh goddess!'' Queen Morgan''s mirror exhibited the Archdemon of Lust having sexual congress with human women in what Luna remembered as Apollyon''sir, located on the other side of the Valley of Kings.

    The sight of Luxen''s glorious naked form thrusting against a moaning woman''s quim like his life depended on it reminded her of what dirty things the devil had done to her.

    The shbacks at the Pleasure Room disgusted her so much that she had to close her eyes.

    Tears had leaked at the corners when she recalled the images of other human women around the Archdemon of Lust.

    Few of them were already dead, lying beside him with their ssy stares on the ceiling and their limbs bent an unnatural angle.

    The women Luxen had used appeared like lifeless, broken dolls.

    Humans were too fragile.

    They couldn''t win on Aphrodite''s curse on Luxen after he was done.

    These women fell for his otherwordly silver beauty andpulsion, and they paid the price with their life with just one intercourse.

    It made her feel like her mind was spiraling out of control, so she tried to shift her attention to other things.

    "Mirror. Mirror on the wall." She began. "Show me Cederic."

    Luna saw the military general, in his adult body, experiencing the fate of the blood ve.

    He was chained in the dungeons and Jon while demons controlled their minds to torture themselves until they went insane.

    "Checkmate." Sloth said as he picked the ''king piece'' from the checkerboard and ced it gently on the ss table.

    Luna squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head, "I don''t want to see this anymore."

    Her hands were shaking as her hands clutched onto the scarlet shawl Ravin had wrapped around her shoulders.

    It was a poor recement for the warm embrace she needed from her husband at that moment. Unfortunately, the Vampire King was too upied with helping the Autumn Militia to win the siege.

    It would be too selfish for her to ask for that kind of support.

    However, her Familiars'' sce for the tragedy she had seen in the ck mirror was freely given.

    Yet, not without their mocking tone that came along with it that she would rather not hear.

    Talking to Princess Sapphire and Xerxes about the Fate of the Vampire Realm was out of the question.

    Both of them made sure that the maidservants had stored all of the paintings, their drawstring bags, and the straw sack containing the white angel wings in a safe ce��a ce where they would remember.

    Luna hoped that Rere wouldn''t panic when it woke up after it had been put to sleep.

    Even if these Archdemons did offer her some sympathy or reassurance, Luna didn''t want to be touched right now after what Luxen had done.

    Her fists clenched so hard that her knuckles had turned white.

    If she continued, she would fracture her bones and bleed. An Archdemon did this��

    Luna gritted her teeth as she fought the hopelessness and despair she felt.

    An Archdemon dared to invade the Realm, and she had never thought Luxen would do.

    Was this for revenge?

    Luna fought the stupid tears blurring her vision and held it in. She had to be strong for their heiress.

    "Show us the the war siege." Luna said.

    The ck mirror showed Apollyon and Queen Morgan facing the demonic Legion and--

    "Isn''t that the president of Luxen''s Legion?" Sloth blurted out before Luna couldment on the weird creature.

    Luna couldn''t see any difference between him and those harpy-vulture demons not until he shifted into a winged-dragon serpent when Apollyon aimed his silver arrow at him.

    "The entirety of the souls we would gather in the Autumn Realm will be too weak, Lune.. It wouldn''t be enough but I had another suggestion. Why don''t we summon my own president from Hell?"

 Chapter 764 - Haunted Doll

    <h4>Chapter 764 - Haunted Doll</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (October 2021)

    ******************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *****************************

    "Sloth." Luna murmured, blinking at the horrible thing she had summoned as per Sloth''s instruction.

    The three of them stood around the circle while staring at the ugly thing with absolute judgment.

    It wasn''t positive and certainly not the horrifying president she expected from Archdemon''s suggestion.

    "This creature��" Luna trailed off and let out a huge sigh.

    She couldn''t deal with this, not when too many things were at stake.

    How dare this Archdemon to have the gall to pull a prank on her?

    Luna expressed all her outrage in a single glower as she turned her head towards Sloth.

    Her hand gestured wildly at the harmless thing at the center of the summoning circle, but she still kept her voice low despite wanting to screech at him, "Is this the creature you wanted me? to summon Sloth?"

    Sloth nodded once, and his bow-shaped lips were pressed into a grim line. "Yes."

    The bastard was severe, and she couldn''t quite believe this.

    Luna couldn''t help it, but her voice had raised its volume as she pointed at the thing. "Are you telling me this is the president of your Legion?"

    "Yes?" Now, Sloth sounded unsure as he frowned at her in confusion.

    Maybe, the clueless Archdemon did not understand where her outbursts wereing from.

    Luna pointed out the obvious, stomping her foot on the floor in her frustration. "Well, it''s not moving!"

    "Of course, it isn''t moving." Ravin lifted a hand to tuck the silver hair strands that had curtained the side of her face as if it was a significant inconvenience. He didn''t want her hair to block his view of her. "It''s a doll, Amare."

    What she witnessed on Queen Morgan''s obsidian mirror about Luxen and the Vampire Realm had zapped her bloodthirst on their war with Luxen''s Legion, but this was more�� ugh.

    Luna didn''t have the energy to argue with these ridiculous bastards.

    pping the Archdemon of Sloth''s pretty face and that annoying longshes of his��even longer than Luna''s��required so much effort.

    No.

    She winced, shaking her head.

    Not today.

    She asked again, feeling hopeless, "I asked both of you to draw the summoning circle for this useless fucking doll?"

    "That doll isn''t for fucking." Sloth''s tone was matter-of-fact as he bent down, picked the ugly doll up, and brushed the invisible lint out of its snow-white dress shirt.

    Luna was tempted to p her palm against her forehead, but when her gazended on the creepy-looking doll, she felt an inky cloud of dread hanging around the atmosphere.

    She nced at Ravin and Sloth to see if it affected them, but it seemed like she was the only one who could feel the nauseous headache it brought.

    Was Sloth''s president this powerful when it can evoke such anxiety in its unmoving presence? Maybe, she had concluded that it was futile too early.

    Luna observed the doll in Sloth''s hand some more, giving it a chance.

    She examined the doll up close and personal while Sloth held the supposedly dangerous creature for her to see.

    It had a circr head, ck, beady eyes that moved from right to left to right, following their movements, but finding it hard which person to focus on.

    Sloth''s doll had red circles painted on its cheeks, wearing a slightly mischievous grin simr to Sloth.

    It had tiny distressed cuts all over its body and some things that resembled bruises.

    Seven w marks shed its left eye down to the right side of its jaw, which unsettled her.

    The doll also had a long carrot-shaped nose.

    It wore a red hat that appeared like an upside-down bucket with a red scarf wrapped around its non-existent shoulders.

    "Hmm, speaking of f*cking, I wished to see more of? Luxen and those human girls in Queen Morgan''s magic looking ss."

    "Uh-Sloth." She reminded him before another discussion distracted them to the point of no return. "This wasn''t the time to talk about that."

    Sloth''s sleepy gaze had wandered back to Queen Morgan''s ck mirror, showing them the real-time events at the North of the Fall Courts where Apollyon and Queen Morgan fought Luxen''s Legion.

    Fortunately.

    They tried to keep the magical barriers together simultaneously time.

    "It was a fascinating sight I don''te across often but you don''t wish to see them anymore."

    "What is even fascinating? to you, Sloth?" Breaking their formation outside the summoning circle, Luna stepped back away from the Archdemon as if she wanted to run away from these madman''s presence. "Human women dying?"

    Her movement caused the red lights outlining the geometric shapes to vanish.

    She had already checked out as one of the sources of Archdemon Magic.

    The Archdemon of Sloth also didn''t miss her moving away from them.

    It was a grave mistake to drag her eyes back to his forest green ones.

    "I also wanted to see those men being tortured by our Kind. It? makes an Archdemon feel confident and powerful��" Sloth''s following words were lower, almost intimate, and had a certain rasp to it as he nted himself near her, not allowing her to escape. "--but? you don''t want that, either."

    Ravin''s warm hand had wrapped around her wrist like a manacle and pulled her back to the summoning circle as the president''s conjurer.

    In that instant, Luna figured out that Ravin didn''t want her to lose her ce on the Devil''s Pentagram, or she might find it challenging tomand Sloth''s president if he wasn''t acquainted with her demonic energy.

    "Sloth. You had never been there but the image that the ck mirror had shown earlier is the Vampire Realm--" Ravin began without taking his golden eyes away from her face, and she could feel his intense stare burning the surface of her skin. "It is the Kingdom, Amare ruled as an Empress and? where I once ruled as King while I possessed the Vampire King''s physical vessel when the Archdemon of Envy had attached my Archdemon soul to his."

    Sloth''s lips formed into a small oval. "Ohhh."

    "The Archdemon of Lust had chosen to conquer the Vampire Realm while we are distracted with the Garden of the Four Seasons?" Sloth''s eyebrows had reached up to his hairline in shock. "That''s sick and evil!" But then, he nodded in agreement after thinking about it, "Nevertheless, one I would expect from an Archdemon who sought revenge."

    ''So, all this? time, the slow Archdemon didn''t understand the situation that Queen Morgan''s ck mirror had shown until now?'' Luna thought as she ran a shaky hand through her silver hair.

    She shook her head in sadness.

    ''Should she even expect something out from this president he had been talking about?''

    "Alright." The Archdemon of Sloth decided. "I will respect and be considerate of my Master''s pain so I wouldn''tmand the ck mirror to show the heartbreaking scenes again. But, then, he paused, "--even if I wanted to."

    Luna narrowed her eyes at him.''Well, thank? you, you f*cked up Archdemon.''

    "Now what do we do with this, president?" She prompted Sloth in a hurry, determined to move this forward. "Are you even sure this is the one?"

    Luna was d that she didn''t have to painstakingly make a summoning circle in the War Room since the geometric shapes she had required drawn for her in advance as if Queen Morgan''s foresight already knew what they were trying to aplish or��? was this the exact purpose of the War Room here in the Fall Courts?

    To summon any beings that would be willing to help in exchange for a prize?

    Sloth inclined his head, "You have a problem with? it, Lune?"

    "Maybe,? I made the mistake and I summoned the wrong�� thing."

    Well, what she did during the conjuring ritual wasn''t wrong, though.

    Sloth and Ravin already assured her about it.

    Ravin had the nerve to click his tongue with impatience as his thumb stroked the inside of her wrist to get her attention, "You know the more you doubt, the more we waste our time."

    "Sloth!"Her nostrils had red. "Goddamn it, please!" As the seconds ticked by, Luna''s lips? had curled as he gnashed his teeth in frustration, "My husband and? the Autumn Militia itself is in trouble as we speak."

    "Now, tell me what do we do with it." She demanded with gritted teeth.

    "I don''t know. I''m not really sure how to use him since my Legion just existed in the seventh circles of Hell without me giving themmands." Sloth exined. "To be honest, I attached each member of my demonic Legion into these small dolls Simone had made for me inside my ss cab so that they wouldn''t grow restless in my Kingdom and cause chaos in the other Circles. I am tozy to go to war and I don''t like getting tired." A hint of a smirk formed at the corner of her lips. Yes. This was Sloth they were talking about. "--But, I will help you this one time since I felt like this president of mine had been itching for a fight ever since he existed."

    "Sadly, I''m too passive to fulfill his dream of demonic pride and violence." Sloth frowned, but it quickly shifted into an excited grin, acting as if the siege was just another game bored demons y, "Today I will make his wishese true and make him defeat Luxen''s president for me."

    Perhaps, dolls weren''t just made as children''s toys.

    The Archdemon of Sloth just proved that they could be powerful vessels for demonic possession or attachment aside from living bodies in the Material Realm.

    Dolls were vital conduits of magic, serving as links tomunicate to the Spirit Realm and attracting evil spirits and were brought forth in a dangerous ritual.

    Sloth''s president was a puppet made of stuffing, containing bones and green fabrics crumpled and shoved inside its body.

    ording to Sloth, he had bound the soul of his president into this doll, but she still couldn''t imagine what it could do.

    "Alright." She agreed.

    "Queen Morgan, her Cadre, and the Vampire King will not be able to defeat that winged serpent alone, so Sloth''s president will do. We must release him along with the evil spirits that we will call to support the Autumn Militia. But this decision is entirely up to you, Amare."? Ravin said as he breathed an irritated yet regretful sigh. "I offered you the entirety of my Legion to summon in the Fall Courts, but you refused to since you only wanted a president to lead our ghost army."

    "I will take full responsibility of my Archdemon Familiars, Sloth''s president, and our army of evil spirits to help the Fall Courts. With this, I am certain of our victory." Luna hissed as she shook Ravin''s hold on her and turned her back on the two Archdemon Familiars, "No need to summon your entire Legion, Ravin."��or Luna might get into extra trouble than she asked for.

    She shouldn''t bite more than she can''t chew.

    "I think we have seen enough in this War Room." Ravin''s urgent growl rumbled in his chest, "We need to get out of here to unlock the doll''s full potential, Sloth."

    He nced around the War Room, looking for something. "I don''t see any window around here."

    Maybe, the window is hidden behind one of those curtains, simr to this ck mirror.

    Luna proceeded to part all the curtains with a single snap of a finger.

    "Found one." She informed them.? At least, her Archdemon Magic can do such a simple trick which meant she hadn''tpletely lost her touch of magic. "Now what?"

    "This president will be too strong once we released him. He had been squeezed in such a small vessel." Luna heard Ravin mutter with conviction before she felt someone touch her shoulder.

    She turned around to figure out who he was.

    "I will wake him up from his long slumber, Lune." Sloth''s forest-green eyes glowed as he watched her.

    She swore the doll had changed its expression into a tiny frown when Sloth presented the haunted doll in her face.

    "Here.." His hand on her shoulder fell away as he handed the doll ugly doll over to her, "Whisper yourmand into my president''s ear, throw it to the window and watch it grow into a giant."

 Chapter 765 - Defect

    <h4>Chapter 765 - Defect</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (October 2021)

    ******************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    *****************************

    Apollyon''s eyes widened when he witnessed a gigantic figure of a man from the Autumn Castle.

    His brows knitted in confusion.

    He had to blink five times and rub his eyes for good measure, but the giant was still there, not allowing anyone to stop him in his tracks.

    The Autumn Fae were too busy rescuing their fellow Fae to give it attention.

    The giant was so far from where he was, so Apollyon couldn''t see what it looked like unless he approached it.

    No.

    Maybe, Apollyon should wait a bit for it toe closer.

    Unfortunately, he could only make out its shape and form from its silhouette, so he wasn''t sure what it was.

    Somehow, the creature seemed to be heading to the North where he, Queen Morgan, and her Knights were in a while attempting to defeat the winged serpent and his avian minions.

    Was it another one of their enemies?

    Apollyon masked the fear and rm he felt, not for himself but his wife, and buried it deep within.

    Nothing good woulde out of it if he dwelled in panic.

    Did Luxen''s president bring another demon from the South, effectively distracting them from their natural enemy who sessfully infiltrated the Kingdom?

    What happened to Queen Morgan''s Cadre, designated in the West, East, and the South?

    Were they killed by this mysterious giant without their notice?

    But, how did that happen when they heard no explosion?

    The Autumn Fair folk couldn''t miss the giant due to its sheer size, so why didn''t the Cadre send a messenger to alert Queen Morgan?

    Was it toote for them, and their soldiers were all wiped out while Apollyon and Queen Morgan were too upied dealing with Legion the North?

    Or was this the creature his wife promised to help them win the siege?

    Hopefully, it will be thetter.

    The colorful leaves falling out from the surviving trees of the wildfire shook from the power of the giant''s loud footfalls.

    Still, Apollyon couldn''t feel its power since he was airborne, overlooking the Faerie Realm to vanquish the wildfire while manipting the storm clouds.

    These storm clouds didn''t only produce a rain so heavy, but it felt like someone from the heavens had poured buckets and buckets of water to the Earth that Apollyon had a hard time seeing things.

    He had to rub his face constantly, wiping the water off his face andshes, as he narrowed his gaze unto the vague shape forming in the fog.

    Its bodynguage and aura didn''te off as aggressive, so Apollyon decided to deal with it afterward.

    As he intensified his efforts to rid Queen Morgan''s Kingdom of the mes while both its citizens and the Autumn Militia dealt with the external threats, the more it wasn''t easy to p his zing orange Faerie Wings in the rainstorm.

    Lightning shed on his face, and thunder came in next.

    His Fae Magic had gone awry, causing the fat raindrops around him to turn into hail which he tried to adjust�� or else Apollyon will damage his allies with his ice pellets poking holes into their beautiful Fae wings while battling the harpy-vulture hybrid demons.

    Apollyon realized that the Fall Courts didn''t need more rain when the forest fires were manageable.

    Now, Apollyon quickly shifted all of his concentration in stopping the hail and the rain before the crazy weather covered the entire Kingdom with white, forcing Queen Morgan''s Kingdom to merge with the Winter Courts.

    The winged dragon serpent shifted back into its half-humanoid and half-vulture form and released a monstrous growl, "Swear your allegiance? to the new Demon King here on Earth. You must relinquish your authority to ensure the entire Kingdom''s safety in favor of My Master. The Archdemon of Lust. You must only hail the Archdemon of Lust as the most High, Queen Morgan."

    ''So, Luxen escaped Hell to reign as the Demon King here on Earth and be the second Lucifer.'' Apollyon thought angrily. ''Ridiculous.''

    "Never! You will never be sessful."? Queen Morgan shouted back.

    It sounded close to a screech, resonating in the Fall Courts, despite the loud whooshes of thousands of arrows simultaneouslyunched towards the avian demon spirits, the groans of the possessed corpses outside the stone fortifications,? the loud thuds of fiery boulders hitting the ground when they were catapulted in the air,? and the nging of the swords.

    "The gods and goddesses are watching your every move, demon."

    "You are right." Luxen''s president nodded his head in agreement, smirking, "The gods and goddesses will watch but they would do nothing. They already expected this to happen. They are the first beings who were informed of the Dark Prophecy made by the Three Fates a long, time ago. Nothing can be done even if they tried hard enough.These divine beings had already washed their hands off the creatures in here. Isn''t it obvious why they keep themselves hidden this recent centuries, showing themselves only when it was urgent and simply appearing in dreams?? It''s because they didn''t want anything to do with this Realm since they already have their own to care for. In fact, they look forward to purging all the Monarchs who had grown powerful with time since they have considered the ancient immortals as their true rivals. The gods and goddesses don''t pick out heroes to do their dirty job like they do before."

    "You are on your own, Queen Morgan, and the rest of the beings living in other Realms. They don''t give a flying f*ck what will happen to all of you unless it fits their agenda." He raised his outstretched arms and gestured at the Fall Courts as a whole. "Who would?? The creatures in this Realm also attempted to turn into little gods and goddesses in their own right. Not because you idolize the divine beings but you want to rece them yourself."

    "My Master is giving you a chance to defect." The bastard offered, and Queen Morgan''s spine straightened, turning into steel, "Your barriers are weakening since you couldn''t keep up with my demon strength, Queen Morgan.. Five more attacks from the my dragon form and it will be destroyed."

 Chapter 766 - Capture The Dragon

    <h4>Chapter 766 - Capture The Dragon</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (October 2021)

    ******************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    *****************************

    My Master is giving you a chance to defect." The bastard offered, and Queen Morgan''s posture on her Moon Chariot tensed, "Your barriers are weakening since you couldn''t keep up with my demon strength, Queen Morgan. Five more attacks from my winged dragon form, and your Kingdom? will be destroyed." Luxen''s president growled with conviction. "I will destroy creatures who do not worship my Master."

    Queen Morgan jutted her chin and challenged the demon. "If you can really do it, then. Go ahead."

    The president''s face wrinkled in confusion as if he didn''t understand where their stubbornness came from. "You are close to losing, Queen Morgan.? Apollyon."

    "The world had gone mad as well. You must decide which side you wanted to be on." He tried to convince them to defect and failed miserably. It wasn''t just about pride. Demons rarely keep their promises. "You are not the only people I promise to spare all of your life and stop the siege if all creatures in the Faerie Realm? keep? their word."

    "We aren''t losing, president." Apollyon''s charioteer finally caught up with their conversation and positioned the Sun Chariot beside the Autumn Queen.? "Just look around you."

    Apollyon gestured at the giant behind them, with the height of more than five hundred feet, walked with giant strides while still moving with deliberate care as if he was afraid to step on a living being and kill them.

    It must be Luna who summoned him from Hell into this Realm.

    The giant followed her orders quite perfectly.

    From his actions,? The Autumn Faeries seemed to recognize that the giant was a? friend of the Kingdom.

    They made it a point to adjust around his footsteps as they hurried out of his way in a rush.

    When the thick mist from the rainfall mixed the residual smoke from the wildfire, Apollyon finally got a good look at the colossal ogre.

    Yes, he was tall, and Apollyon even banked on the giant to have a thick torso, but he didn''t have one. Instead, his eyes were entirely white.

    The expanse of his grey skin and his face resembled those of an ancient tree.

    Even his limbs were branch-like, and his hair had hung around his forehead like vines.

    Luna and her Archdemon Familiars could call on their very own avian demonic spirits to support the Fall Courts, simr to the harpy-vulture demons of? Luxen''s Legion.

    At first, Apollyon thought that these murder of crows came here to assist the opponent.

    Since he witnessed ite from one of the tallest hexagonal towers in the Autumn Courts, he guessed that these spirits his beloved wife had sent to help them.

    Yet, there was something insidious and nasty about their presence when all of them approached Apollyon, Queen Morgan and the Faerie Knights flying in the air with their Pegasi and assembled in the front lines.

    As they soared close to them while emitting long human-sounding shrieks like an omen of death, Apollyon realized these strange half-crows and half-humanoidbinations were more grotesque to look at more than Luxen''s Legion.

    The birds were taller and more terrifying, especially when they had two human legs, two wed hands and topped with the head of a crow.

    Their beaks were arced into a long, sharp point which Apollyon approved of.

    His wife had summoned the perfect Legion who would fight with them.

    He didn''t think that Luna was the one who summoned these creatures herself.

    God forbid that these spirits were demons from Ravin and Sloth''s Legion Luna had summoned from Hell.

    The giant behind themmanded in a voice so low and deep that Apollyon barely understood. "Attack? the enemy Legion."

    The murder of crows scattered throughout the Fall Courts and ventured outside the magic barriers to protect the Autumn Faeries and attack the members of Luxen''s Demonic Legion.

    Luxen''s president shifted back into its winged serpent dragon form, but it was toote.

    He had stalled from destroying Queen Morgan''s energetic barricades around the Fall Courts, iming that he was giving them a chance of salvation because his Master, Luxen, was a good Archdemon.

    Only stupid and spineless people will fall for that trick.

    The giant that Luna and her Archdemon Familiars sent raised both of his arms towards the dark heavens.

    Vines shoot out from its fingertips, asionally darting from side to side as if preparing to strike, seize and pierce any creature within its reach.

    The president''s mockingughter was instantly strangled down into a gurgling moan when the vines reached the presidents'' limbs brutally until itsplete vulture-humanoid form was wrapped around him fold after fold, tightening with cruel swiftness and with the tenacity of a cobra fastening upon its prey.

    He even forced himself to return to his berserker form and be a winged dragon serpent.

    s, all his efforts were in vain!

    With the fury of starved green snakes, his long vines had stretched even longer with every thrash. His tendrils grew small, sharp teeth, fastening upon the mighty winged dragon serpent in sudden coils round and round his face, body and up to his tail to prevent him from escaping his clutches.

    At that moment, Apollyon, Queen Morgan and the Autumn Militia didn''t have to do anything.

    With just a nce, it was clear that Luxen''s Legion was losing from this one Nephilim and the other evil creatures Luna had summoned from Hell.

    In-flight, Apollyon and the rest of the Faeries could only watch the giant in awe as he devoured the winged dragon serpent like it was made to sacrifice itself for the giant.

    The horde of harpy-vulture demons could only shriek and cry out in pain.

    Savage demon crows tore them with their ws and beaks the same way they did to the Autumn Faeries when a few of them managed to enter the hollow the winged dragon serpent made earlier.

    A few of Luxen''s demons attempted to save their president in a panic, crowding around him and pecking at the giant''s slender and delicate vine-like fingers while he was sped and mummified with leaves.

    One touch of their beaks and tongues against any part of the giant made them hiss and vomit purple liquid, proving that the giant''s vines were so poisonous.

    These harpy-vulture demons release an awful scream followed by a violent shiver before they fall into Queen Morgan''s barriers and disintegrate into nothingness.

 Chapter 767 - Burnt

    <h4>Chapter 767 - Burnt</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (October 2021)

    ******************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    *****************************

    In a few minutes, Luxen''s Legion of harpy-vulture hybrids were utterly annihted.

    His wife''s murder of demon crows did a fantastic job that Apollyon, Queen Morgan and her Fae Knights didn''t have to lift a finger and shoot their silver arrows at them.

    The demon spirits Luna had summoned gave the opponents zero chances to possess living Faeries in their Kingdom and turn them into their physical vessels.

    The cold and mangled corpses resting in peace outside the stone fortifications of the Fall Kingdom were disturbed earlier by the harpy-vulture demons who still had the spirit left in them.

    Not only did they possess such useless bodies, but a skulk of fox spirits had also chased after them, dragging their limbs down while attempting to climb the top of the curtain walls.

    These shape-shifting spirits appeared more of a beast than the regr fox due to their sheer size. The sound they made sounded eerily simr to crying babies.

    It surprised Apollyon as he nced down at the outer walls of the Kingdom to observe the demonic spirits in the action of obliterating each other.

    It was interesting to watch as a spectator when their group had a dispensable army at their

    disposal. Nomander would care whether these demons would vanish into the ethers since they would be returning to their home��Hell��in their most basic form of matter, regenerating for hundreds of years to climb once again in the Demon Hierarchy.

    The Faerie Sentinels had sessfully pushed the moving dry bones that were barely intact with overstretched muscles,? ligaments and with the bit of rotten flesh clinging of it, to the moat surrounding the Fall Courts until the harpy-vulture of Luxen''s Legion was forced to release its hold on it.

    After the demons escaped from the drowning carcasses, the fox spirits'' jaws had dropped, opened their mouths, devoured the problematic fiends and swallowed them whole.

    The wild fox spirits didn''t give them time to wriggle out of their teeth.

    From up above,? Apollyon could see that their heads were thrown back inughter at the enemy''s sad fate.

    How naughty!

    Queen Morgan''s foxes managed to trick Luxen''s demon, which gave them a hearty meal and provided them with magical powers.

    Apollyon believed that fox spirits were controlled by Queen Morgan and formed a telepathicmunication with them since he had seen her wear a fox mask during their first meeting in the forest.

    Perhaps, it was a symbol that represented her as the Queen of these magical fox spirits.

    Queen Morgan had the powers of a psychopomp, sending lost spirits and the souls of the dead from the Fall Courts to the afterlife, and that was why she could control earthbound spirits simr to what Luna could do as an Archdemon but Queen Morgan''s powers.

    On the other hand, the giant took its sweet time sucking the winged dragon serpent dry, and until now, Luxen''s president wasn''t destroyed yet.

    Was he that mighty to withstand the Nephilim while it sucked his demonic energy with snake-like vines while he attempted to escape from his tight sp?

    Luxen''s president just refused to surrender, and it was starting to piss Apollyon off.

    Clenching his fists in frustration, Apollyon watched the face of the giant then, to therge square folded at the end of his vines back and forth.

    Do they wait for the Nephilim, or should they do something to finish them once and for all?

    It seemed like the Fall Queen had divined his thoughts when her Moon Chariot advanced to the president, who was positioned outside the protective dome of the Fall Courts.

    "Queen Morgan, do not get out of the barriers!"? Apollyon''s Sun Chariot followed close behind, "Let the Nephilim finish the president hiself."

    "It'' taking too long, Vampire King." Queen Morgan responded in a shout, "I will use my Angel Sword to finish him."

    He understood that she had to keep the Fall Courts at ease as soon as possible and make them feel safe, but it was too dangerous.? "Queen Morgan. Please be patient. We don''t know what the winged serpent can��"

    Apollyon heard the muffled voice of? Luxen'' president inside the box where the Nephilim had? trapped him, "If I? perish and return to the deepest pits of Hell,? I will drag you down with me."

    "Queen Morgan!" Apollyon bellowed but to no avail.

    ''Stay back, husband.'' He heard his wife''s soft voice in his head, ''Don''t go.''

    The Queen''s Moon Chariot already went past the barricades.

    She gripped her Angel sword backwards and threw it straight, simr to a spear, impaling the Nephilim''s trap.

    There was no warning of any sort.

    A bright light shed in the entire Kingdom, causing temporary blindness.

    Scorching heat radiated against his skin.

    Apollyon heard a strong st, and it produced this constant ringing in his ears that wouldn''t stop.

    He raised a hand above his head and created a strong, protective bubble around him, his charioteer and his two Pegasi, effectively covering them from the sudden detonation.

    Apollyon smelled this acrid odour in the atmosphere, which smelled like sulfur��the kind of scent that lightning strikes give off.

    A minute felt like itsted in an eternity.

    As seconds went by, he felt the unbearable hotness of his face.

    Apollyon closed his eyes and covered his head with the bow in his hand but it didn''t alleviate the burns.

    The strength of the explosion had intensified.

    His vampire skin was too sensitive to be exposed.

    It felt like the most prominent celestial body seen from this Realm had shone its fiery rays as if it was just right in front of him.

    At that point, Apollyon turned his back from the source of the st and hid behind the iron and bronze material of his carriage.

    As a pure-blood Vampire, Apollyon can handle a little sunlight as long as he remains in the shade of the tree canopies.

    He always kept in mind not to stay outdoors for too long, but this situation was challenging to handle.

    Each cell of his body felt like he was set on fire.

 Chapter 768 - Fire And Brimstones

    <h4>Chapter 768 - Fire And Brimstones</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (October 2021)

    ******************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    *****************************

    Each cell of? Apollyon''s body felt like he was set on fire.

    Steam had started to fizzle from the expanse of his pale skin despite the light armour that the Fae Sentinel in charge at the Autumn Militia''s underground military base camp had given him.

    It was good that his charioteer still had his wits about him and steered the two Pegasi of his Sun Chariot away from the explosion caused by the winged dragon serpent.

    Until now, Apollyon wasn''t confident if it was, indeed, Queen Morgan''s doing, and there was nowhere to confirm that when his eyes were squeezed shut.

    Apollyon endured the itchiness burning at the back of his lids.

    Yet, he had growled and muttered a string of curses when tears had leaked from the corners of his eyes.

    It might make him look less of a man, but it alleviated the irritation.

    His strong hands gripped the pole brace at the side of his carriage tightly while the Sun Chariot moved to somewhere safe.

    The ride to that ce was rough, frantic and almost impossible��which would make sense��since the charioteer will have a hard time navigating in the winds when they couldn''t even bring themselves to use their god-given eyesight.

    Both of them had turned their backs from Queen Morgan and the trapped dragon serpent as they trotted in the air as if the devils were on their heels.

    The loud male screams of pure agony heard from the Autumn Militia fluttering their wings in the air resonated throughout the Kingdom.

    Apollyon felt like it was rehearsed�� or was it his shouting from his own throat?

    Apollyon grimaced, hissing in difort. It felt like invisible ws were tearing his muscles apart while his bones creaked from trying to adjust into a manageable position.

    At the same time, his legs dangled perilously on the edge of the carriage.

    At the same time, he kept the protective bubble he created around the Chariot of the Sun and made it stronger with Fae Magic.

    Unfortunately, the giant bead encasing them grew thinner as the boiling temperature tried to close in on them as well.

    This magic bubble might have safeguarded them from the looming threat, but it was close to prating the surface.

    If this unexinable fever in the Fall Courts didn''t stop from radiating this extreme heat and light, Apollyon and the Charioteer would die if they didn''t escape from the sky fast enough.

    The only thing preventing Apollyon''s instant incineration was his age and the magical properties of his royal blood.

    The majority of the Fair folk from the Autumn and Winter Courts were Vampiric Faeries.

    Like him, these Vampiric Faeries also could withstand the effects of direct sunlight exposure.

    Right now, their tolerance to it was being put to the test by the eruption of the supernova.

    The intense heat and the length of exposure to it wasn''t just a severe inconvenience, and it left Apollyon with nasty burns to his handsome face.

    He shoved his silver arrow back to his quiver, dropped his silver bow on the Chariot without thinking and stroked his chiselled jaw and cheekbones.

    His brows had furrowed in concern when his rough palm felt his skin tissues split open intoyers around the bumpy swollen area of glossy sheen at the centre.

    Exhaling an impatient sigh, Apollyon wondered why the injury on his face didn''t heal fast enough.

    He was an Ancient pure-blood Vampire!

    What the f*ck was happening to his ability to heal his wounds and permanently removed the scars?

    At that moment, he wished he could ess a mirror or a reflective surface to see if it was as horrible as he thought.

    Was it vain for him to be fear that his wife wouldn''t love him anymore if this blemish turned out to be irreparable?

    Apollyon gritted his teeth.

    It might be a stupid question but also one that he already knew the answer to.

    His beloved would still love him unconditionally no matter how he looked, and he would also do the same.

    Yet, he found it extremely important to jump from this Chariot in post-haste and return to his wife at the Autumn Pce.

    If he couldn''t do that, he should look for a river to see his reflection.

    A sense of urgency made his heart pump more blood as adrenaline rushed through his bloodstream.

    He desired to see his beloved so bad to make sure she was sheltered from this never-ending chaos, Luxen''s Legion and Queen Morgan be damned!

    He tried to stop Queen Morgan from passing through the barriers, but thedy still insisted on killing the president with her angel sword.

    It might be true that she had finished him off and sent him to Tartarus, but she had to look at what they had to deal with now because of her actions!

    Was she even still alive after all that?

    There was another st wave so strong that it caused burn injuries all over his physique.

    He would bet his life that it also caused multiplecerations to all living beings who couldn''t seek shelter on the ground.

    Apollyon and his charioteer were still airborne, but from the strong smell of smoke and burnt wood in his ring nostrils,? he realized that the Chariot of the Sun was close to the ground.

    He thought that he had already banished his worries and concerns at the back of his mind, but now they popped back again at the forefront as if demanding his attention.

    Apollyon''s new burns weren''t healing quickly as he hoped as the first one, so he didn''t even bother touching them.

    It might get worse.

    His lips curled into a frown.

    He already expected this oue, but he kept his cool.

    When he sensed that it was alright for him to open his eyes,? he changed his mind almost immediately.

    Maybe, it was too dangerous, and he had to wait for some signal from her Cadre.

    God''s Blood!

    Apollyon should be the one giving the Autumn Fair Folk a signal due to their Queen''s absence.

    e promised his wife that he would look out for Queen Morgan, and he wasn''t about to break that.

    Apollyon allowed himself to squint a little bit.

    He saw that some of the structures below were damaged from the st, bringing ancient trees and fallen debris toe crashing down to the ground.

    He crouched side by side with the charioteer as he led the Sun Chariot behind a small, worshipping temple in what seemed to be at the corner of open rice fields.

    It was amazing how the Autumn Faerie had kept his eyes closed throughout the quick travel and didn''t cause idents to their winged horses and send them straight to Hell with surprise idents.

    "Charioteer, did? you see what happened to Queen Morgan?" Apollyon rasped.

    The charioteer turned towards the sound of his voice, but he still had his eyes closed.

    "It was too bright in there that I couldn''t see the the entire scene, Vampire King. I tried my best to steer us here." Hispanion responded calmly as the winged horses neighed and stomped their hooves in the background. "But one thing I can tell you is that the winged dragon serpent had disappeared along with the Nephilim. As if? the two weren''t here in the first ce." So Luxen''s president hadmitted suicide and brought Luna''s giant with him. That was the only usible conclusion he coulde up with unless a witness tells him otherwise."Thest image I saw was that? the demon spirits were nowhere to be found around the Fall Courts while? the rest of the Autumn Faeries are looking for a safe structure to cover themselves from? this heat."

    Apollyon nodded and asked, "Do you think it is safe for our eyes to look now?"

    The charioteer shook his head no before he slightly opened his eyes.

    His pupils weren''t ck but greyish, but it appeared almost white, blending with his scleras.

    His posture seemed to be angled towards his direction, which meant Apollyon had caught his notice.

    Strangely enough, the Fae had that zed look in his countenance which closely reminded him of the Archdemon of Sloth.

    He narrowed his eyes at the Fae as he kept in mind not to damage his sight, brought his face closer to get a good look at those whites and greys.

    The Autumn Fae''s dark pupils had disappeared entirely, and he didn''t notice his sudden proximity.

    Neither did he flinch nor move his head backwards to avoid his inspection.

    Apollyon didn''t want to admit this out loud and turn it into this horrible self-fulfilling prophecy but did hispanion go blind from the light?

    "I don''t know, Vampire King." He replied as he settled his hand over his brow, vigorously brushing his palm against his eyelids from left to right. "I tried looking at the explosion of light and I couldn''t find Queen Morgan. So I sacrificed my eyesight for that quick examination."

    "You have gone blind?"

    Apollyon''s charioteer''s entire body tensed, held his breath and nodded in confirmation.

    Did utter shock make him more epting of his new circumstance?

    Maybe, it hadn''t sunk in yet.

    Goosebumps broke out of his skin from the sudden chill he felt.

    Apollyon clenched his fist as his expression shuttered into something stoic.

    He must not let hispanion''s state affect him.

    ''He needed? to be rewarded'', Apollyon thought as he kept the detail safely tucked at the back of his mind.

    The brilliant Fae had led them to a safe ce by memory.

    He must reward this man''s sacrifice and bravery.

    His helpful efforts were not a waste.

    But Apollyon remembered he had other things to do, "I need to return to my Empress. I want? to make sure if she is safe with her--" Archdemons. "panions."

    "Not yet, Vampire King." The blind charioteer raised a hand, gently touching Apollyon''s forehead even if he initially aimed for his shoulder. "Please save our beloved Queen. Find out what happened to her when she fell from the sky."

    "How can I?" Apollyon growled, "With? what''s happening right now?"

    Apollyon watched how the sulfur stone almost hit him on the crown of his head.

    Itnded on the ground, and it slowly melted down before it burned up and burst into orange mes.

    A massive hailstorm of fiery rocks and balls of sulfur were now falling on them, dissolving the wings and the flesh of the Autumn Faeries.

    The stone buildings and houses from the city and the vige were now full of holes caused by the ming balls of fire, terrorizing the Autumn Fair Folk with the certainty of destruction.

    The devouring mes were a scattering storm of hailstones.

    Queen Morgan''s Kingdom will be reduced to ashes with the brimstones and hellfire falling from the Heavens.

    It wasn''t only the Autumn Courts who were targeted when it rained down and destroyed the region.

    It also targeted the entire Material Realm.

    The end was near.

    Was thisst attack administered by the winged dragon serpent to ruin the Kingdom for not bowing their heads, kneeling on their knees and swearing their allegiance to the new Demon King of the Earth or was this the Highest God''s divine punishment for summoning the Archdemon of Lust here and allowing him to escape from his eternal prison in Hell?

    The Autumn Faeries on the ground, who were slow to find shade from the heat, was quickly burned up and turned into ashes.

    Apollyon derived his courage from his blind charioteer and risked looking at the heavens.

    The blind charioteer told the truth.

    It was a suicide attack from Luxen''s president.

    He had destroyed himself by bursting into mes and eradicating Luna''s giant as the fire flowed through the vines that had wrapped around his body.

    In that instant, Apollyon looked to the left and saw Queen Morgan with her ck diator dress falling headfirst from her Moon Chariot.

 Chapter 769 - I Saw An Angel

    <h4>Chapter 769 - I Saw An Angel</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (October 2021)

    ******************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    *****************************

    Luxen''s president had destroyed himself when he burst into mes of his own will, eradicating the Nephilim Luna had summoned.

    Hellfire had flowed and scattered through the giant''s arms of thick, cumbersome vines.

    The Nephilim''s fingers had plenty of microscopic spiked teeth simr to rose thorns tightly wrapped around the president''s serpentine form.

    It drove the president to create thisrge and destructive yet silent st of light and heat.

    Maybe, it was the winged dragon serpent''s first time being trussed up like a turkey.

    He was wrapped like a pretty little gift before the Nephilim drained all of his demonic energy. Apollyon had suspected that the giant took his time to weaken his meal before he devoured it whole. It was the only reason he was too slow to end the president''s life because he was preparing his food.

    Seeing demons eating other demons and souls were a horrid sight for sure, but at least, they did a great job of ridding the world of this menace.

    He had witnessed a simr scenario at the celebration of Ostara. Luna had done it to rescue the Spring Monarchs and the Faeries.

    His beloved had thought it was a win-win situation��feeding on weaker demonic spirits to strengthen her and satisfy her Archdemon nature.

    In the end, she was used of summoning these stray demonic spirits to invade their Kingdom when in fact, Luna and Apollyon were doing those pathetic creatures a favour.

    On that fateful night, Apollyon found out what powerful Archdemons were truly capable of.

    Queen Morgan didn''t understand this, and she had allowed her irritation to get the best of her.

    Apollyon saw that cunning giant had prepared to open his big mouth before the impatient Queen took the initiative to end the president herself, which led to her untimely demise.

    Hopefully,? his assumptions about Queen Morgan''s death was false, and she had survived that high-energy explosion.

    His charioteer was correct.

    The president''s suicide was the final act to ruin every living creature in the Fall Courts.

    The winged dragon serpent couldn''t escape the Nephilim''s clutches no matter how hard he tried to break free from the vine trap he put him through. Hence, he decided to kill Luna''s giant first, even if it meant he had to sacrifice his existence in this Realm and drag the Nephilim back to Hell with him. Unfortunately, the president''s surrender prompted both of them to perish at the same time.

    Earlier, Luxen''s Legion had called the darkness to creep on the skies above the Fall Courts.

    All of that was now reced by this brilliant white light.

    He forced himself to look up at the atmosphere.

    It still burned his vision but eventually, his eyes had adjusted to the intense heat.

    His eyes widened slightly when he saw millions of dust suspended in the air.

    It seemed to berger than average.

    Squinting, Apollyon realized that these weren''t dust, but small and weak rocky sediments could easily break.

    Maybe, these things were sand, silt and y�� or perhaps, these were the ashes of the Nephilim and the winged serpent when the explosion shattered their monstrous sizes to pieces.

    Luna''s Legion��her murder of demon crows�� and Queen Morgan''s fox spirits also vanished.

    Apollyon tried to protect his chariot by keeping their protective bubble in ce while they hid behind the temples as the fire continued to bombard its roof and foundations.

    Apollyon stood up from the Sun Chariot, determined to find the source of this cmity and stop it.

    Was this even a natural urrence, or other powerful Archdemon had caused this hellfire and brimstones to rain?

    Straightening his posture, Apollyon raised a hand to shield his sensitive eyes from the re as he observed some more.

    The answer to that mystery struck him like a bolt of lightning.

    The rain of fire was triggered by the collective pieces of soot and small rocks in the airspace.

    The longer it stays in the ethers, the residual remains of the annihted demons will generate a chemical reaction with the sweltering temperature from the ongoing heatwave.

    The torrid winds had fueled these dark rocks rapidly in the atmosphere, which led tobustion. Next, when the air currents couldn''t carry them anymore, they dropped from the sky and ravaged Queen Morgan''s Kingdom.

    Now that he figured out where this strange phenomenon came from despite the eradication of their enemies, he had to get rid of the��

    In that instant, Apollyon looked to the left and saw that Queen Morgan''s Moon Chariot was empty. The two Pegasi drawing the carriage seemed at odds with each other as they trotted wildly in the air without the charioteer to steer them in the right direction.

    He saw Queen Morgan''s Cadre��Sylvain, Kotari and Joraing to the North to search and rescue their absent Queen.

    Apollyon inspected the crowded atmosphere of Knights as they carefully navigated through the rest of the Autumn Militia while avoiding the burning coals hanging in the air.

    Like him, they were also searching for Queen Morgan, and they couldn''t find her.

    Apollyon caught a glimpse of a female of white feathered wings embracing a woman in her ck diator dress from the ground.

    The angel had released her as fast as she appeared. In the blink of an eye, the angel evaporated into thin air.

    Nobody from the Autumn Militia was aware that the Fall Queen had appeared out of nowhere, falling to the ground headfirst at an rming rate while they were too preupied with the balls of fire not hitting any part of them.

    "I saw your Queen, charioteer." Apollyon told hispanion without removing his gaze from Queen Morgan. "Remain in the protective bubble of this chariot. I will fulfill my request to save her."

    He estimated the specific area and the perfect timing to meet Queen Morgan before he teleported her to safety.

    He caught the unconscious Queen in his arms.

    Her mask--which the president imed were made of angel wings��were ripped off her face.

    Something else boggled his mind.

    Why was Queen Morgan''s hair red?

    Was this her actual appearance?

    Where did the angel who saved here from?

 Chapter 770 - Archangel Uriel Breaks The Rules (Merles Arc)

    <h4>Chapter 770 - Archangel Uriel Breaks The Rules (Merle''s Arc)</h4>

    Newest Chapter of the Highest Tier (October 2021)

    Night arched protectively over the Faerie Realm, serving as a barrier between chaos and the order of the universe.

    The bright lights had blessed these dark heavens and it made her feel at home.

    Merle settled her head on the crook of her lover''s arm as her half-lidded eyes watch the night-covered stars in a daze.

    Archangel Urielzily rubbed the little red hairs near her forehead with his thumb and forefinger.

    Time slowed whenever Merle was too present in the moment and that was what she felt around him.

    There were times when Merle thought that Archangel Uriel had fallen asleep just as soon as she felt hisrge digits flutter and rest over her eyelids.

    As he continued to trace the center of her brows in an upward massage up to her hairline, Merle bit her lip at how good it felt.

    "Mm-mm." She hummed and she caught herself before she released out a soft moan.

    Delicious warmth settled in her core.

    The desire had run thick in her veins that she was close to madness.

    A forbidden thought raised unbidden in her mind.

    Swallowing hard, Merle squeezed her eyes shut and focused on the soothing croaks of the crickets croaking and the sweet fragrance of roses and sharp wood with a spicy, floral and peppery undertone that was masculine andplex.

    As shey on the bed, the linen sheets covering her vulnerable form felt smooth upon her skin.

    Just the healing power of an Archangel''s touch made all the tied-up tension in her limbs loosen up. Hopefully, this Archangel will be someone that Merle could fully im as hers after she achieves her aim to rescue every Fairfolk in this Realm from demonic possession.

    After establishing a physical and emotional connection, the Watchers��the Angels who were tasked to watch over the living creatures in the Faerie Realm��had truly fallen in love with the women here.

    Some were seduced to partake in the pleasures of the flesh after being seduced by bold young women who found the Angels more exotic than their own Kind.

    These girls were smart to pick curious angels as their target and they didn''t have to jump through hoops to convince them to try and taste what these divine spirits had been missing all their life.

    Few Angels felt they were too superior.

    They didn''t see the women as creatures who deserved to be respected and made the choice to rape them for their refusal.

    The love forming between the Watchers and female Faeries had gone out of control in the Faerie Realm but what happened to her, specifically, felt like it could only ur once in a blue moon.

    It was a one in a million chance that she would treasure this in her immortal life.

    She never thought that she will actually find love when she wasn''t interested in any male Fae before.

    Maybe, she was only attracted to Archangels.

    No.

    Merle frowned.

    It was something about Archangel Uriel as she got to know him more due to the time they spent together in the Garden of the Four Seasons.

    It was one experience of both futility and eternal hope.

    Yet, their situation seemed like she was willingly sinking deep into the unknown waters and she didn''t know how to swim.

    It was tricky to navigate and the chances of her dreaming true was close to nil.

    Merle was certain the Archangel would save her if she got in trouble, though.

    It was in his nature to be responsible and y as a hero of light in this Realm.

    As, the servant of the Highest Good, the Angel Kind was strongerpared to the DemonKind and the Fair folk.

    It was also their obligation to protect the creatures in the Material Realm.

    Nevertheless, both of them were dancing around the subject about their future.

    She didn''t tell Archangel Uriel about this but she already considered him a lover the instant they kissed in the rain at the Garden of Four Seasons.

    Merle pressed a hand to calm over her churning stomach caused by rattled nerves and slowly fisted the fabric of her dress in desperation.

    She would not give Archangel Uriel any excuse to deny that there was something between them but that would have to wait after the chaos brought by the rebel Angels��the Watchers��ended. Too many races were involved in this matter.

    The cool air abruptly shifted into winter when it shouldn''t have been.

    It was the type of coldness that reached into her bones and her teeth chattered from winds.

    Fortunately, Archangel Uriel was an endless supply of steady warmth simr to a hearth in a cozy home.

    Their small, roofless hut was situated near the top of the mountain with some of the branches of ancient white Oak trees covering their view.

    Every square inch of the wooden floor was filled with grass and they turned it into a cushion of the bed they shared together.

    Archangel Uriel couldn''t make the hutrge enough to amodate his wings.

    At least the space wasn''t too cramped that he had no reason toin every time he turned twisted and turned to his side.

    Merle had this fleeting wish to sleep outdoors like she used to do with Archangel Uriel in the Garden of the Four Seasons but now that both of them weren''t there anymore, he wouldn''t allow it.

    He was afraid that he would catch a cold when in reality, Merle just wanted to experienceying down on the grass under the star-filled nights reflected in the mistyke.

    She let her heartbeat to its steady rhythm in the silence.

    The Archangel seemed to be disinterested in nature, insisting that he had seen this ever since the Highest God created this world.

    Faeries weren''t created yet at that point.

    There was nothing special about it in the first ce.

    "Merle." Archangel Uriel abruptly whispered in her ear.. "I am not sure what we are doing here anymore."

 Chapter 771 - Swayed (Merles Arc)

    <h4>Chapter 771 - Swayed (Merle''s Arc)</h4>

    Newest Chapter of the Highest Tier (November 2021)

    "Merle." Archangel Uriel abruptly whispered low in her ear. "I am not sure what we are doing here anymore."

    Her lover''s words were like unexpected arrows stabbing her straight to the heart when he told her that all of a sudden.

    Did that reallye from Uriel or was it just a disembodied voice of her fears whispering her own doubts in her mind?

    Merle''s soft smile froze in surprise that she didn''t know how to react except to twist her linen sheets against her knuckles.

    It was so abrupt that she couldn''t believe what she just heard.

    Did he regret leaving the Garden of the Four Seasons in Archangel Lucifer''s care for the meantime to be with her?

    Earlier, she was so ecstatic that her heart felt like it was about to burst with happiness that she ended up smiling like an idiot andughing too much in his presence.

    Maybe, he was annoyed that she talked too much that was why he couldn''t wait to tell her that he wanted to leave her as soon as possible?

    He made it sound like Merlepelled him into this��into breaking his covenant against his God�� as if she had seduced him!

    Her lips twisted into a grimace.

    Well,?she did seduce him but it was out of her desire to be with him.

    They hadn''t even done it yet.

    Merle was careful to keep her sexual longing under wraps.

    She would even wager that Archangel Uriel couldn''t feel it too.

    She hated to be separated from Archangel Uriel so she was being considerate of revealing her skin to him.

    Merle had always covered her slender arms with long sleeves and her form with floor-length garbs.

    It wasn''t just her disguise to prevent her fellow Knights from catching her as per one of the Fae Monarch''s orders.

    These royal bastards just wanted to get their hands on the magic fruits from the Four Seasons to persuade all the Fae they could get to side with them and swear their allegiance under his rule.

    Merle might be one of Prince Balthasar''s lowest ranking female Knights but that didn''t mean that she was agreeing to kiss his ''fat arse'' and be one of his pawns that he could easily get rid of.

    She had Uriel��an Archangel, at that��to protect her so there was no need to y nice with anyone.

    She was invincible with Uriel by her side.

    It wasn''t just the fact that he was a?high-ranking cherub who was tasked by his Highest God to watch over the Ark of the Covenant, the Garden of Eden, and the Fruit of the Four Seasons.

    Love also made her feel like she can do anything.

    Archangel Uriel didn''t have to do anything as long as he stayed with her.

    Merle was alone and she couldn''t protect herself so she very much appreciated Archangel Uriel''s offer to be in her presence that she wished it would be forever.

    Archangel Uriel had returned to the vige with her to assist her in distributing the magic fruits to the Faerie Realm''s inhabitants and prevent mobs of greedy idiots from stealing these magic fruits left and right for their own political agenda.

    Merle opened her eyes and craned her head to stare at Uriel''s otherworldly irises.

    She paused, slightly hesitating if she should confront him about him having second thoughts, doubting her and themselves, but Merle was transfixed with?Uriel''s handsome face, momentarily sucked by the deepness of those fascinating twin pools which threatened to mesmerize her that she almost forgot what she was about to tell him.

    His insulting doubt was followed by disbelief and resentment on her part.

    It was a mistake to think that Uriel was a man.

    Her man.

    He wasn''t a man, really, but an Archangel.

    Maybe, it was wrong of her to think that love would be enough to change an Archangel''s true nature.

    Did he even want to be in herpany because he loved her or did he just want to be certain that she was safe during her travels out of the goodness of his heart because that was what Archangels do?

    "I fell for the illusion of a passionate love that quickly ran out of bnce."?Archangel Uriel admonished her further as if everything was her fault, "We should not let our lust get the best of us, Merle."

    "Lust?" Merle echoed, her voice sounding hollow as panic surged in her chest.

    She swore she could see fear in Uriel''s eyes as if he was afraid of feeling vulnerable and giving her a glimpse of it.

    Archangels had no weakness but were Uriel, right?

    Did she tempt him to be with her even if he didn''t want her?

    Flustered, Merle blushed but she didn''t dare look away from Uriel''s intense scrutiny.

    Archangel Uriel had rendered her speechless and it wasn''t in a good way.

    As hisrge wings filled up the space, Archangel Uriel stretched his arms and his angel wings expanded.

    Arm crossing over her stomach, Archangel Uriel wrapped her within his safe cocoon, she could feel her own soul as delicious sparks flew when their skin made contact, sending shivers down her spine.

    "Was this love or was it lust that is happening between us?" He murmured as he brought his face closer to hers, his gaze eliciting prickles of awareness on her lips when he nced at it.

    In that electrifying instant, Merle realized was a fool for him.

    All of the rehearsed arguments she prepared in her mind to use against Archangel Uriel were thrown out of the window

    Instead,?her mind had nked and all she thought about was how Uriel''s glorious sinewy physique warmed her more than a nket would.

    The sensation was the most serene andforting thing she had ever felt. "I couldn''t keep my hands off you when we are together.." But it quickly turned erotic. "Did this mean I am too focused on earthly pleasures from this physical urge I''m having?"

 Chapter 772 - What Is The Problem (Merles Arc)

    <h4>Chapter 772 - What Is The Problem (Merle''s Arc)</h4>

    Newest Chapter of the Highest Tier (October 2021)

    "Did this mean I am too focused on earthly pleasures from this physical urge I''m having?" There was a perpetual scowl in his countenance as hisrge hand settled over her fingers engrossed in fiddling with the fabric of her dress.

    Her gaze fell on Uriel''s light blond hair can rece a bird''s nest.

    Just like that, his words caught him off guard and it made her smile in amusement.

    How can he disappoint her one second and seduce her the next with those words only a mischievous demon cane up with?

    The Archangel had a newfound talent that needed to be protected.

    Merle should be the only woman who sees this side of him.

    "Oh," Merle emphasized the ''oh'' along with a slow nod in the head.

    She kept her eye contact with him and Archangel Uriel raised his chin in a challenge, paired with a tiny hint of a smirk.

    Merle had wondered if she imagined the whole thing? when she asked, "--so this is the reason why you have gotten cold for the past three days because you are harping about this urge too much?"

    "I can''t control myself around you."? Archangel Uriel''srge hand over hers lifted towards her face and stroked her jawline lightly. "I hate it." He closed his eyes and exhaled a deep sigh. "I don''t want to be a Fallen Angel and put you in danger."

    Merle swallowed the lump in her throat. " Don''t speak it into existence, Uriel." She hated to think about it every time it crossed her mind.? "You? told me that the Watchers are continuously being hunted by your? Kind at the moment."

    Her heartbeat slowed down and her entire muscles rxed.

    Frost grew like tiny white mushrooms over hershes.

    Uriel watched the ice crystals umte for a while before he cinched them out himself with his fingers.

    Merle remained still from Archangel Uriel''s attention and she focused on the rhythm on their own breath until they be synchronistic.

    She was truly engaged at the moment. Merle observed the beauty of the moon with the pure ck velvet as her stage while Archangel Urielid down beside her.

    The softness of its glow called her body and brain to rest and it was the best reward for her weary soul.

    "I can''t promise that you will be a virgin if I remain in your presence for another month, you understand me?" His forefinger rested on her chin to raise it,pelling her gaze to return to his.? "I want to return to watch over the Garden of the Four Seasons and rece Lucifer in the post that I should be in charge with."

    Her mouth had gone ck over the angel''s sudden deration. "So, it''s my fault now." Uriel was so unpredictable that she didn''t expect this at alling from him.

    Merle had to ask him, "Tell me honestly." Her fingers curled on Uriel''s shoulders.

    His white shirt lost its cor after it was torn in arge ''V'' at the center, exposing the rock-hard muscles in his stomach,"Do you want to be with me?"

    Archangel Urielid on his side and fully faced her as he propped an elbow to support his head. The thin linen nket they shared together had slid down from his chest down to his chiseled abdominal muscles and she had let out a soft gasp without meaning to.

    The tantalizing sight took Merle''s breath away and she quickly reminded herself to inhale and ignore this unsolicited distraction.

    Yet, she couldn''t.

    Merle sighed.

    Archangel Uriel didn''t miss her reaction and his eyes had shed in concern.

    He tilted his head and raised a winged eyebrow, wondering what he had done to evoke this kind of response. It wasn''t the Archangel''s character to feign innocence.

    Uriel can be clueless about his own feelings most of the time so it was expected that he was also naive about other creatures in the Material Realm.

    Didn''t the man realize that she also felt the same way about him?

    The Archangel''s dark, seductive scent permeated through her senses that she found herself licking her lips.

    Merle identally bit her lower lip hard until she tasted her own blood and she winced a little.

    It wasn''t because she wanted to lick him even if he smelled like roses and sweet vani.

    Yes, right. Who was she fooling?

    Of course, she wanted to kiss him again but she wasn''t going to say that out loud.

    Merle could only give him brief nces so as not to make it obvious.

    Archangel Uriel''s confession was andmine she didn''t want to step on.

    Heart fluttering inside her chest, she couldn''t hold the two conflicting emotions in her chest--excitement and nervousness--back when? Archangel Uriel leaned his face closer to inspect her mouth.

    They were almost touching and breathing the same air.

    Merle had kissed him once and he tasted like heaven.

    She couldn''t get enough of him and she loved it when his masculine musk coiled around her like a snake that had no intention of letting her go.

    "Uriel, I will ask you again if do you still want to be with me." Merle repeated and the Archangel replied with a swift ''yes''.

    Instead of making her jump for joy, his certainty irritated her. What was he up to with all these mixed signals?

    "Then, what is the problem?"

    Archangel Uriel''s white tunic was shredded with holes, rips, and tears which exposed his glorious upper body due to the physical work he had done to build their own hut in just a quarter of an hour.

    Merle had requested him not to attach the roof because she yearned for the first rays of the morning sun to hit her face, promising her another day that would bring her more joy and excitement instead of danger and chaos.

    She grimaced when she realized her days were filled with those.

    She was grateful that Archangel Uriel acquiesced with her strange plea.

    It was strange but he didn''t argue and focused on constructing their temporary home in the ominous mountains of the Faerie Realm where no one could touch her.

 Chapter 773 - Go, Sleep (Merles Arc)

    <h4>Chapter 773 - Go, Sleep (Merle''s Arc)</h4>

    Newest Chapter of the Highest Tier (October 2021)

    Uriel made sure that Prince Balthasar''s Faerie Knights couldn''t trace their whereabouts to avoid their fruits from getting stolen.

    He must have realized her frustration about giving out the necessary portion of the fruit of the Four Seasons so that there would be enough for everyone.

    Prince Balthasar, who Merle had served before she got her hands on the Fruit of the Four Seasons, had hunted the young Nephilim children�� the offspring of a rebel Watcher and female Fae��and overpowered them with arge number of his Fae Knights, isting their family unit from the rest of the Watchers and killed them with ease.

    Evil Knights raped women who had involved themselves with the Watchers as per Prince Balthasar''s decree, iming these female Faeries were already soiled in the eyes of the creator.

    Therefore, they are punishable by death formitting such an act.

    It was the ultimate betrayal of the Fair Folk''s safety.

    Merle had heard rumors that the Archangels hade down on the Material Realm in secret to hunt the Fairfolk who harmed the Female Faeries involved with the Gregori.

    This situation wasn''t the females'' fault.

    The Angel Kind was right about ming Gregori for theck of self-control.

    Nevertheless, the Angel Kind''s mission was to eliminate the sons and daughters of the Nephilim. Unfortunately, Prince Balthasar''s men had interfered, throwing the poor babies they stole from their Fae mothers into the air, skewering the soon-to-be giants before they could grow and invade this Realm which made matters even more.

    These stubborn Faeries were killing the sons of the Watchers without the use of angel des despite the Angels'' warning.

    These vengeful Faeries thought they were doing God''s work by killing these half-angels and half-faeries without using the proper weapon.

    Well, the joke was on them.

    This was the reason why the dead Nephilim turned into the First-Made Demons.

    It was a tough and never-ending cycle made by stubborn races who did what they wanted.

    Hopefully, this will encourage her more to help protect the Fairfolk from the affliction that had run rampant in the Faerie Realm.

    "This morning." Archangel Uriel began,? "I almost��"? He paused for a few seconds? before slipping his hand on her waist under the covers, "I almost made you pregnant when I woke up."

    Her brows furrowed in confusion.

    Merle loosened her hold on his shirt, "Who is almost pregnant, Uriel?"

    It was just an embrace.

    She and the Archangel didn''t take off any pieces of clothing.

    Yet.

    "I felt something." Archangel Uriely down his back, sped her hand, and settled them on his groin.

    "What the��" Merle''s eyes bulged out of their sockets and she also lost the ability to speak.

    He inconspicuously motioned her small hand to cup the bulge of his erection and gently squeezed them.

    "I had�� I had��" Warmth spread through her cheeks from the embarrassment and Uriel''s ears were red, as well. "I felt it here."

    "Don''t��" Merle sucked in a breath from her shock and lifted her hands off his erection immediately.

    Her gaze was transfixed on her open palms in a shocked daze.

    Next, Merle showed her open palms awkwardly in front of Uriel''s grim countenance after she recovered from what he had done.

    "Don''t let me touch you like this, Uriel." She whispered. Merle knew where the boundary was and she wasn''t about to cross the line. However, she found this level of naivete suspicious as she gave her a curious nce, "What is wrong with you, Uriel?"

    "I noticed it bes hard when it grazes any part of you every time wey side by side."? Archangel Uriel struggled to find the right words but he shook his head, giving up. "I can''t exin it and I don''t know what to call it."He finally admitted but for some reason, he sounded more nervous than frustrated. "I had never encountered any Watcher for me to ask about this because they had kept themselves. Their family was in hiding after the Highest God had delivered an edict to the Angel Kind to hunt them down ."

    "Alright. It''s alright." Merle agreed as she attempted to end this conversation that had taken a strange turn. "You don''t have to know about the rest."

    She didn''t want to say it out loud either.

    "You know what this feeling is?" Archangel Uriel asked. "Do you think I am close to bing a Watcher if we go this particr route?"

    His fingers started ying with her hair and his pupils had gone dted that the ck had taken over the entire whites all of a sudden.

    It didn''t scare her but she understood that conflicting forces had emerged in? Uriel''s soul.

    He found it hard to understand what a shared bond between a man and a woman meant.

    If this situation happened to someone Merle knew personally, she would have been amused.

    s, she couldn''t have a goodugh.

    It hurt to have this kind of dilemma between logic and emotion��were following his heart meant that he ismitting a sin to his Creator.

    On Archangel Uriel''s part, his brain was trying to bridge the gap between Heaven and the Material Realm.

    "No." I don''t know." Merle told the truth as she waved a dismissive hand, determined to change the subject. "Not really."

    "You should get some sleep." Archangel Uriel told her.? "We need to wake up early tomorrow to go to the next vige and give the magic fruits to those who caught the demon''s affliction."

    It seemed that both of them had an unconscious understanding to just drop it. Merle had preferred it this way, though.

    The Archangel''s wish is hermand.

    Sleep, it was!

    Merle burrowed into Archangel Uriel''s body heat.

    Uriel wouldn''t refuse this kind of intimacy between them because it was a requirement for her to survive.

    Of course, she had a reason but she didn''t have to tell him about it.

    The gentleman was born to live with his sense of obligation.

    "Sweet dreams, Archangel." She murmured as her eyes fell shut.

    Merle allowed her brain to be empty--contented to exist as she counted sheep to fall asleep.

    She had no business being aroused when both of them will have a busy day tomorrow.

 Chapter 774 - Life Of A Cross Dressing Knight (Merles Arc)

    <h4>Chapter 774 - Life Of A Cross Dressing Knight (Merle''s Arc)</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (November 2021)

    Archangel Uriel woke her up early this morning and his imperious hawk-like nose rubbed against the tip of hers.

    For some reason, it was his own way of waking her up. He didn''t shake her shoulders or whisper her name in her ear.

    It was strange but he was consistent. She had already gotten used to this, though.

    Being a cross-dressing knight had trained her to be a light sleeper.

    A fellow Knight in Prince Balthasar''s Militia had begun to suspect her gender and her identity that he almost tried to rape her just because she looked a bit feminine.

    That Fae Knight got the shock of his life when he realized that she was a female.

    The Knight attempted to use that secret against her and threatened to tell theirmander, Prince Balthasar, at that time if she didn''t consent to the sexual congress with the pathetic Knight.

    He bargained about using her body anytime he pleased while both of them traveled with the Prince and his Militia but she refused.

    Merle was very careful about keeping her own secret from Prince Balthasar''s Militia after passing the recruitment by showing her superb skills in swordsmanship.

    Now that her real gender had been discovered by this oaf, she had to leave the Prince''s Militia as soon as possible.

    There was no reason to stay in the Militia. Her false pretenses wille out and reach Prince Balthasar''s ears.

    It was either be a prostitute for these Fae Knights or kill this pervert without telling a soul. Thetter was the ideal option but it wasn''t going to be easy.

    However, he quickly recovered from that fact and dragged her deep into the forest against her will so that he could vite her far from the military camp.

    Nobody could hear her cry for help in that ce. Her final scream would be ignored if the Fae struck her to death after the assault.

    The Militia would simply mistake her screeches as those of a wild animal.

    From the cold arrogance in that Fae Knight dark and empty gaze filled with lust, it was clear that the male Fae who tackled her in the wends had abused and raped men before since he had fewer chances to snatch a woman in the wilderness.

    He must havemitted this crime many times and his victims in the Militia were forced to stay silent out of humiliation.

    Merle quickly realized Fae Knight can''t afford to appear weak in Prince Balthasar''s troops since theirmander��Prince Balthasar��had demonstrated his power over them in the past.

    If that Fae made that mistake, that poor soldier would be the subject of mockery for everyone''s amusement.

    Prince Balthasar was known in the Fae Realm for having ruthless soldiers.

    If he saw that one of his Fae Knights became an object of ridicule, trust that? Prince Balthasar would keep an eye on him, searching for that one logical reason to punish the Fae with death as the ill-treatment continued.

    If themander would signal that the weak Knight''s immortal life ended at that moment, that Fae would be kicked out of the group after beating the sh*t out of them, leaving them for the wild animals to feed on.

    No dead bodies were recovered beloved families, waiting for the coins they have earned as Prince Balthasar''s Knight��that one job where everyone in the vige looked up to which isn''t that much, to be honest.

    All of a sudden, they ceased to exist and no one heard from these poor Knights ever again due to this livelihood.

    The heartless prince had shown them how easy it was for him to dispose of them when and where he wanted to.

    The choice was pretty extreme.

    All or nothing.

    Live or die.

    That was how cruel he was!

    The moment he found out if his Knights in his Militia weren''t aligned in his dangerous goals of uniting the Fairfolk and aiding him in bing the sole King of the Faerie Realm, he ordered the other Knights to destroy them, weeding out all the trash while it was early.

    There was no fear in the rapist''s eyes��only desire�� because the pervert already figured out what to do so that he wouldn''t get caught.

    It was either that or he had banked on the other Knights to turn a blind eye on his nasty behavior.

    Merle''s memories had returned in full force and she couldn''t stop it.

    She felt powerless as hatred and desperation burst like an unstoppable flood full of dark emotions.

    As she squeezed her eyes shut, Merle''s mind tried to anchor herself to the present and cling to the sense of normalcy.

    But the image of that damn bastard was more stubborn.

    Her mind had transported her back to that horrible situation where she had watched him lick his thick lips as his free hand ripped her shirt and ran his knife on the tight bandage she had worn around her chest.

    He allowed the tip of his de to stroke her neck, to her sternum, her t stomach, and down to the spot between her legs when she sped both of her wrists with his other hand to the ground.

    Merle was breathing rapidly as if she needed all the air she could take with every inhale.

    Panic made her feel like her head was pounding hard.

    The tightness in her chest felt like someone was squeezing her heart until it burst.

    Fear rendered her frozen in the bed as the scenario continued to sh in her mind''s eye.

    The dizziness in her head intensified and her fingers started to shake as well.

    Merle struggled to defend herself from him as they brawled near a dirty swamp, rolling around in the mud with all her might.

    Neither of them wanted to give up.

    She wasn''t about to yield her virginity to this ugly, green-skinned Fae while she fought hard to make him surrender his life.

 Chapter 775 - Unlikely Savior (Merles Arc)

    <h4>Chapter 775 - Unlikely Savior (Merle''s Arc)</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (November 2021)

    +++

    She wasn''t about to yield her virginity to this ugly, green-skinned Fae while she fought to make him surrender his life.

    The bastard was physically stronger than her but she would never agree to fornicate with the disgusting pig and even pretend to moan for him.

    Adrenaline shot through her body in outrage and she was able to set one of her hands-free andnded a strong punch from the increased strength.

    It had no effect against the bastard and the male Fae justughed it off as if her blows only tickled him.

    Hie seized the hand that punched him and squeezed her wrist hard that she could hear her bones crack from the pain.

    She pressed her lips together so that the bastard wouldn''t hear her cries.

    These power-hungry creatures be intoxicated hearing the cries of their victims.

    Fingers trembling, the muscles around that specific arm weakened as she tried to move them but it had gone numb.

    Merle was in Prince Balthasar''s Militia to earn coins to buy whatever she needed.

    She never asked for this abomination to happen.

    He thought he could gain leverage over her just because she was a woman?

    The Fae Knight must have forgotten she was the best swordsman��well, swordswoman��in that camp aside that could rival the Prince himself.

    Merle hadn''t killed anyone with her sword but she was determined to make an exception that night.

    Unfortunately, she was nothing without the double-edged sword in her hand.

    Both of her arms were raised above her head as the brute pushed her down while his rancid, strong body climbed on top of her.

    Air whooshed out of her lungs at how heavy he was and Merle could barely breathe from carrying his weight.

    The unrepentant predator had bound her wrists together with just a single hold.

    Her heartbeat raced as she felt the tears leaking at the corner of her eyes.

    At that moment, Merle had no weapon within her reach because the Knight hadmanded her to throw all the possible weapons she can use.

    It was the first thing he spoke during their first encounter, snatching her out-of-the-blue while she walked down the trail back to their camp after relieving herself in secret.

    Things had moved too quickly that her brain couldn''t keep up.

    Out of fear for her own life, Merle initially followed his orders like a mindless machine before she got a hold of herself.

    Merle could be so many things but being stupid wasn''t on the list.

    She kept a few hidden throwing stars attached to her upper arm but the glint of the small dagger in the moonlight caught the bastard''s eye and confiscated them at once, ripping the tiny leather straps with the tiny daggers like a savage the way he ripped her clothes off.

    The?Knight had the nerve to p her in the face for her disobedience.

    In her thoughts,?she had already practiced the precise motion of cutting and stabbing him on the side of his throat with the throwing stars and losing the secret ammunition she had made her shoulders sag in hopelessness.

    All she could think about was the rapist''s end game ��death.

    Blood trickled at the corner of her mouth as she spat her broken tooth, hitting him in the eye.

    She didn''t regret it but another strong pnded on her cheek.

    Merle''s pain resistance heightened from her desperation to escape.

    Her repeated ''disrespect'' didn''t just make her lose a tooth but more blood had dripped on her nostrils along with the metallic taste in her mouth.

    The third time was a charm.

    The bastard raised her hand tond another smack in the face.

    From the glint of insanity reflected in his eyes, the intention to crack her jaw was obvious.

    Merle had prepared herself for the worst.

    Fortunately, the worst turned into the best.

    A stray Archangel who happened to roam around that forest had materialized behind the Knight and helped her kill the idiot with a sword stabbing the back of his neck at the base of his skull.

    She must be a warrior Archangel tasked to hunt the sons of the Watchers and kill them with Angel des so that their avenging souls weren''t bound to the earth.

    It was instant death and he deserved it.

    The divine being had heard Merle''s prayers.

    She stared at her with her mouth wide open in shock.

    Merle couldn''t thank her enough for her divine intervention despite the pool of crimson dripping from the sexual predator''s mouth unto her naked and vulnerable flesh.

    Her teeth had gritted in disgust as the blood gushed thick and strong, flowing through her fingers.

    Deranged Fae Knights--like the one who attempted to rape her--snatched women and f*ck them when their lust to overpower the weak hits them.

    These misogynistic bastards were too delusional, expecting a ''thank you'' from the women after defiling them.

    As she cupped the warm and thick fluid, Merle moved it over her hand as it continued to leave his rapidly paling flesh.

    The defiler''s pulse became slower and weaker until his soul left his stocky form.

    She couldn''t feel her left arm since the bastard broke her wrist.

    Grimacing, her hands sped the Knight''s broad shoulders and managed to push him off the side.

    Merle didn''t feel sorry for him at all when she sat up, wiped the blood off her hands, and rubbed them against the tufts of grass underneath her.

    She would have torn a part of the dead Knight''s shirt to clean her hands off his ichor but she was cautious not to touch any part of the demonic bastard.

    Her bloody nostrils red in anger.

    Merle would rather be dirty thane into any further contact with this dirty pig.

    The Archangel who helped her kill her tormentor reached out a hand to assist her in standing up.

    As she repeated her thanks and appreciation, Merle sped her slender hand willingly and pushed the earlier traumatic events at the back of her mind.

    The Archangel gave it a light squeeze of reassurance that she was safe in her presence.

    It was the first time she came into contact with a female Archangel and the woman revealed her name to be Ariel.

 Chapter 776 - Good Morning Merle (Merles Arc)

    <h4>Chapter 776 - Good Morning Merle (Merle''s Arc)</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (October 2021)

    +++

    It was the first time she came into contact with a female Archangel.

    The woman revealed her name to be Ariel and her?main task was to preserve Nature and the save Fairfolk.

    In exchange for saving her life, the female Archangel asked her a favor that she was more than pleased to fulfill.

    Merle thought she had nothing to go back to in Prince Balthasar''s Militia.

    The only person who knew she was a cross-dressing Knight was already dead but then, she realized how vulnerable she was if another Faerie Knight discovered that she was a female and put her in a dangerous situation.

    She couldn''t deal with constantly looking over her shoulder and watching her back just in case someone had attacked her and assaulted her again.

    It was fortunate that Merle had left Prince Balthasar''s group to pursue her own mission and look for the Tree of the Four Seasons like the Archangel had told her to.

    Ariel exined that the magic fruits would help the Fair folk protect themselves from demonic possession after the dead Nephilims came back to haunt them, exacting revenge on the Faeries who destroyed their material bodies.

    Prince Balthasar''s Militia would be one of these demons'' targets.

    As a humble low-ranking Knight who rarely shows her swordsmanship to avoid Prince Balthasar''s invasive attention, Merle took part in cleaning up the dead bodies of the Nephilim--the children of female Faeries and the Watchers�� after the High Ranking Knights were done with their hunt.

    She was grateful that the Archangel warned her of the future beforehand, forcing her to change her goals and direction, or else she might be included in the ughter fest for trailing along with that group.

    Archangel Uriel also gave her own feather as a gift so that she could gain a supernatural sight that could see past mours of ces and creatures made by these spirits.

    With the fruits of the Four Seasons in her hands, Merle was one of the obstacles Prince Balthasar needed to get rid of before he bes the King since she was the only person, aside from Archangel Uriel��who can help the Fairfolk avoid the demons attempting to steal their bodies and use them as physical vessels.

    Prince Balthasar wouldn''t seed with his self-serving dreams of power and grandiose.

    She wouldn''t let him.

    Merle''s muscles tightened in readiness as if she was experiencing the same tragedy all over again.

    Archangel Uriel touched her shoulder and squeezed it gently, "Are you alright, Merle?"

    He might think that she was still groggy after sleeping sote but she actually did her best to keep her eyes open after feeling a bit faint and nauseous from her recollection.

    "I''m alright." Merle blinked slowly. "I just had a shback that bothered me."

    Archangel Uriel let her silently fidget for a few minutes before breaking the tensed silence. "You are distressed." He murmured as he plucked the red hair strands covering her face and lifted it behind her back. "Scared."

    Inhaling deeply, Merle counted from one to five and exhaled through her mouth.

    Archangel Uriel settled arge hand on her hip and she flinched from the contact.

    The Archangel was too considerate and he immediately got his hands off her so as not to upset her.

    "It already happened a long time ago but I��-" Merle paused, hesitating, as she contemted whether to tell him about what convinced her to search for the Tree of the Four Seasons.

    She hadn''t brought it up in a conversation before. Did Archangel Uriel have an idea of the Goddess Hecate''s mission for her and how it was going to affect the Realm of the Heavens and the Material Realm?

    "I just need a moment to calm down."

    "It''s in the past." Archangel Uriel said calmly as his gaze focused on her golden eyes as if he was trying to hypnotize her.

    "Remember that you can always choose to remember what to feel." His voice was so soothing that her frustration dissipated when his fingertips began to caress her forehead.

    "Yes, I have the power to choose what to remember and feel." Merle parroted, hoping it would help her say that out loud in her own voice, and believed it.

    Merle strongly suspected that he had used Heavenly Magic on her without her consent.

    Nevertheless, she didn''t fight him about it and epted his blessing with grace.

    The knowledge did alleviate her anxiety somewhat and she sighed with relief.

    "I can take care of you." He added softly without breaking eye contact.

    "You are right. I am here with you. I''m not powerless." Merle said as she rose in her bed Smiling, Merle nced down at him while he was lying there, "Thank you, Uriel."

    He mirrored a brilliant smile at her that could rival a hot cup of chocte in the morning.

    He appeared as if he found her adorable but he wasn''t sure.

    "I just want to tell you that don''t have to talk about it if you don''t want to."

    A dryugh escaped her lips.?"Yes."

    Merle had longed for those words toe out of the Archangel''s mouth.

    Unfortunately, these loving expressions from the Archangel were reserved when she was feeling sick and tired which wasn''t really that often.

    The angelic bastard knew that his words could provide her with overflowing energy like some kind of herbal potion and he took advantage of that.

    He would never allow her to get used to this treatment.

    They spent a few minutes gazing into each other''s eyes.

    Perhaps, Archangel Uriel couldn''t get enough of her, or was there something else he was contemting about?

    He always gazed into her eyes as if he was trying to see right through her soul every time he wakes her up in the morning.

    Was this how the Archangel showed his love?

    Merle blinked in the silence and the early morning ritual made all the tension in her muscles rx and open as theyy right next to each other.

    The long stares turned awkward and silly that she burst into a fit of giggles.

    What an awesome way to start the day withughter!

    "Good morning, Merle."

 Chapter 777 - Dont Leave Without Saying Goodbye (Merles Arc)

    <h4>Chapter 777 - Don''t Leave Without Saying Goodbye (Merle''s Arc)</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (November 2021)

    +++

    Archangel Uriel lifted a hand to cup the side of her jaw before he let it drop back to the bed. "Good morning, Merle."

    Grinning from ear to ear, Merle knew how amazing Archangel Uriel was in that instant.

    "How can you look so handsome early in the morning?"

    It was a hypothetical question that she came up with when her mind somewhat cleared from the past memories.

    Nothing mattered except that slight smirk on his otherwise serious face.

    The Archangel smiled sometimes but his deep, low chuckle onlyes out once in a blue moon.

    Yes! She had lived for this sound.

    Her lover rarelyughed.

    The bedhead he hadst night was now fixed as if he hadbed his hair with his fingers.

    "I don''t know." Archangel Uriel shrugged as he kept a straight face. "You smell good, though."

    Merle wasn''t immune to the Archangel''s charms.

    She asked herself multiple times whether she was the only one who was ufortable with sleeping with him when she was too arousedst night.

    These were the times where Merle had thought whether Archangel Uriel''s confession yesterday was a lie and he did it so that he could stroke her ego.

    Howe the Archangel didn''t feel anything?

    The Archangel even fell asleep earlier than her, snoring in a matter of seconds, while all she wanted to do was touch him.

    He can''t control himself when he was around her and he can''t keep his hands to himself because of his physical urges?

    Well, where was this physical urge he was talking about because she can''t feel it?

    What happened that night was the exact opposite of what he said and it embarrassed her a little.

    Archangel? Uriel was sound asleep, without feeling a bit strange around her close proximity as if he only saw her as a tree trunk and not a woman.

    It wasn''t like she wanted something naughty to happen between them under the covers but Merle, at least expected him to be aware of their sexual tension.

    Mayhap, he was pure and innocent as most of the Archangels and she was the only one who had dirty thoughts.

    Was she the only one who felt desire then, every time she fidget under his intense gaze?

    What about Archangel? Uriel?

    Was he just a willow in the wind��one who only goes with the flow every time she suggested something romantic?

    Now, she was starting to doubt him as her eyes narrowed at him.

    Did he really love her at all?

    Damn, that Archangel was a bastard if that''s true.

    Maybe, she should demand a specific exnation about his feelings.

    Merle was starting to feel that she was a minor inconvenience to the Archangel''s life and he never took the initiative because he didn''t really like her that much.

    Was Merle was just a delusional girl who projected her own feelings and ideas to the man even if he didn''t want anything to do with it?

    Well, Merle didn''t really need this pathetic piece of cloth called nket, that the vigers had given them out of goodwill, with the Archangel here.

    A few minutes had passed byst night and she had felt the opposite, fanning the mes of her passion to fever pitch in one of these ice-cold nights.

    It was a contrast she would dly experience if this man wasn''t an Archangel.

    Merle ignored it for both of their sakes and that was the reason why she was suffering this morning because she was thinking too much about how the hard and muscled lines of the Archangel''s physique made her feel hot.

    Who knew what Uriel would do if he found out?

    It must be better if she thought about other things other than lust.

    As he rolled to his side,? Uriel folded an elbow and settled it underneath him to rest his head against it and his mouth quirked up as he watched her watch him.

    Maybe, he knew the effect he had on her and he was simply pretending that he had no idea.

    Feeling her cheeks redden, Merle cleared her throat in chagrin.

    Uriel was handsome and wless before he could even say a word.

    Merle shook her head to banish these thoughts away when she realized she had no business thinking about touching the moving rod in his breeches as he forced her to do yesterday.

    Yawning, she stretched her arms towards Uriel and she almost hit the left side of his chiseled cheekbone.

    Uriel avoided one of her fists by moving his head back and she noticed him stealing a quick nce on the strap of her nightclothes falling over her shoulders before he brought her gaze back to her eyes.

    Merle can''t help but do the same, allowing her eyes to wander all over the perfect muscles on his ivory chest.

    "About yesterday, thanks for telling me about your concern. I appreciate it." Merle began as she observed her coyly beneath hershes. "At first, I thought you are going to say something hurtful. I noticed you have been strangely silent these days as if you don''t want to talk. It turned out that you were thinking about that."

    "I apologize that I was answering you with one-word responses recently, Merle." His deep baritone got into her bones as it reverberated in his chest.? "I was worried and anxious. I don''t want to put your life in danger just because you are involved with me."

    As she wrinkled her nose, Merle asked quickly before she could stutter over her words, "Uriel." It was a question she was most scared to ask but curiosity got the better of her. "Are you happy that you are here with me right now?"

    It was better to throw caution to the wind and let it out instead of constantly guessing.

    If Merle was a mind-reader, that would be convenient.

    "Yes."? Archangel Uriel''s eyes were beautiful��full of honesty, gentleness, and innocence--that she didn''t care what shade it was as long as she could drown in them forever.. "Very much."

 Chapter 778 - I Need Money (Merles Arc)

    <h4>Chapter 778 - I Need Money (Merle''s Arc)</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (November 2021)

    +++

    "Yes."? Archangel Uriel''s eyes were beautiful��full of honesty, gentleness, and innocence--that she didn''t care what shade it was as long as she could drown in them forever. "Very much."

    However, those glowing irises reflected pain in them. "But I''m afraid that this ��" He gestured at the both of them and whispered, "--something wouldn''tst."

    She let out an uneven breath and settled a palm on his massive chest.

    Urielid on his back to face her while she sat beside him on the bed, "No one can hurt me when I''m with you. If you want to keep me safe, don''t leave me? without saying goodbye." Merle managed to tell him as she nced into his sweet eyes.

    The truth hurts but she will have to face the inevitable in the future like what Archangel Uriel implied. "Being in the face of danger isn''t new to me but I am grateful for your protection, Archangel."

    "I will let you know if it''s time for me to leave."

    "It''s not the time yet." Merle corrected him and she backtracked the rest of her speech the instant she realized she sounded too desperate.

    Archangel Uriel settled his hand on the fingers she had settled on his chest, "Yes."

    Merle asked him if he was going somewhere and he said yes and the Archangel Uriel had tried to exin his ns for the day to her.

    Merle nodded her head in understanding as she clutched the hem of her nket forfort.

    He offered to distribute the fruits of the Four Seasons to the nearby vige instead of her to keep her safe.

    Walking around in public using her usual mour��the woman with silver-blonde hair and amber eyes��would get her arrested by the ruling nobilities slowly establishing their own armies,? for the uing war.

    The Watcher''s existence abolished the royal family who wanted to rule the Faerie Realm.

    Most members of the previous Fae Monarchs were all hungry for power.

    Now, that no one was sitting on the throne, evenmoners with strong influence canpete for the glory of bing King and Queen. Well,? Merle could if she wanted to.

    Currently, she was the most wanted criminal in the eastern part of the Faerie Realm because of Prince Balthasar''s orders.

    Merle wasn''t scared of the other old creep��Prince Balthasar-- searching for her to get the magic fruits in her possessions.

    The precious fruits were in Uriel''s hands now.

    He insisted that he would be the one to dispense it to the nearby vige the instant news had broken out that Faeries were in hot pursuit.

    She didn''t think that Archangel Uriel would make this initiative.

    Merle never told him what to do but she will be eternally grateful if he did this favor.

    "You should go to the next vige now. They needed you there. I heard the situation there had gotten worse. The demons seemed to multiply from all the creatures trying to kill the Nephilim like they were pests��"

    Archangel Uriel cut her off by circling a huge arm around her waist and pulling her towards his massive frame.

    He brought her even closer as her forearms leaned on either side of his head.

    His half-naked body was warm against her chest and stomach.

    His unique scent was like milk, pinecones, orchids, and sandalwood washed over her senses, making her mouth water.

    Merle desired to get a taste of his skin but s, the Archangel was a forbidden fruit that wasn''t worth the risk.

    A soul only seeking pleasure will never be happy, always searching for what was out there��bigger and better options and experiences.

    She prayed that this obsession wille to pass because this was so wrong.

    "Are you going to be alright while you are alone?" Uriel murmured and she felt his heavy exhale caressing her cheek.

    Merle nodded her head or else she might say something stupid.

    "I''ll be quick."

    Merle waved him goodbye as he climbed out of the bed he made for them and pped his white wings.

    It was sorge that the thick gorgeous feathers of white and gold cramped the two of them inside the hut before Uriel flew into the sky.

    +++

    ''How did Merlee to love Uriel even if the Archangel didn''t tell her his feelings outright?''

    That thought abruptly crossed her mind while she poured grapefruit wine in a male aristocrat''s goblet.

    Her brows had furrowed in concentration.

    It wasn''t because of her guest''s satisfaction but to indulge her perfectionism, making her appear like she had life by the reins even if in reality, she was losing every ounce of control.

    She hated messing up.

    This anxious obsession made her breathing elerate out of nowhere.

    And here she was along with the rest of the Faeries and she was forced to watch her control slip past their fingers.

    It was the worst feeling ever.

    Merle currently worked as a serving girl in a cozy and luxurious tavern catering to the rich--especially the ruling nobility.

    Curse these stuck-up noblemen''s existence!

    She tucked the stray strands of her dark hair behind her ear or else some of them might fall on the snobby, unscrupulous aristocrat she was currently assisted.

    Therge hat had covered the nobleman''s entire head that she could barely see his face.

    He refused to nce up at her, either, no matter how long she boreholes in his shirt with intense stares to get his attention��to get him to show his face.

    Merle''s lips pressed into a white sh as she tilted her head a little to get a good look at this nobleman''s features but to no avail.

    He wore a long sleeves silk shirt and a ck tie underneath a light blue vest with golden buttons lined at the center of his t stomach.

    A light yellow jacket with the same color as his breeches covered his broad shoulders.

    Merle had the most expensive wine she had in her grasp.

    She had to be attentive in handling this decanter or she was going to pay the innkeeper with her life.

    Well, if she got in trouble, maybe, her Archangel could help.

    Her jaws were clenched, her posture was stiff,? her muscles were rigid and the smile stered on her face was nd.

    Merle wasn''t used to this kind of job.

    All her early life she was training to be a high-ranking Knight only for some lustful pig and a conceited prince ruin her chances of earning more money.

    Now, she resorted to bing a serving wench in a tavern.

    She did not understand how can this useless establishment thrive in these trying times when some members of the Fairfolk��especially females and children��had nothing to eat at this point.

    Merle''s eyes fell inconspicuously on the upper half of her customers'' physique, observing the way he dressed because that was the only thing she could see from her angle at the moment.

    The male Fae was silent yet she knew his eyes were fixated on the wine bottle in her hand as his fingers had tapped the wooden table with impatience.

    Merle released a soft sigh of relief, knowing that he didn''t make her squirm in difort like most of the entitled men of higher status when they visited this tavern.

 Chapter 779 - You Messed Up (Merles Arc)

    <h4>Chapter 779 - You Messed Up (Merle''s Arc)</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (November 2021)

    +++

    The tavern she worked for was full of fancy customers who had extra coins to spend.

    It reeked of money in here from all the gold motifs, bright lights, thick and dark wooden furniture crafted with brilliant hands, and expensive century-old wines disyed on the shelves across the bar table.

    Merle knew the man she served had watched her movements carefully even if he couldn''t see his countenance.

    His head didn''t move at all.

    Neither did his head move nor nce up to meet her eyes.

    She felt prickles at the back of her neck as if an invisible hand had caressed them.

    As she raised a hand to rub the spot awkwardly, chills ran down her spine that the fingers holding the wine bottle shook.

    She was too nervous around this mysterious stranger that almost spilled a few of its contents.

    Merle raised the rim of the sk, picked up the cork, and pressed them to prevent herself from spilling some more. The owner almost caught her making a mistake.

    That wasn''t good.

    Even if it felt like she had everything she needed, Merle might find the money useful during emergencies. It was for survival''s sake.

    She can''t possibly ask Archangel? Uriel to steal from people in the vige.

    His principle as an Archangel was simr to hers.

    Money and food were getting more scarce and it? became more difficult to acquire with the war brewing between Archangels versus Watchers and the Nephilims while the Fair folk were caught in between.

    Faeries iming to have royal blood running through their veins wanting power decided to take advantage of the situation.

    Faeries were usually self-sufficient and independent.

    Their sustenance could easily be found in nearby forests and vegetation.

    There was no reason for them to work in this kind of livelihood since the Realm itself was an abundant provider.

    Buttely, the Fairfolk had suffered from theck of natural resources around them when the powerful Faeries in the Kingdom assumed their ''so-called authority'' over the weaker Faeries, abusing them on purpose.

    It was another form of maniption to limatize the weaker Faeries with tyranny, punishing them for taking unnecessary space in the Realm.

    Make them believe the ill-treatment from the strong Faerie Magicians was normal.

    Some of these cruel Faeries came from the bloodline of the true Monarchs? that had disbanded and fell apart due to the existence of the Watchers, infiltrating the ruling nobility with their promises of teaching them Magic.

    Archangel Uriel had told her that the Creator forbid the Angel Kind from teaching Magic from the Heavens.

    s! It had spread like wildfire.

    The Watchers originally aimed to teach the Fae women they were involved with this magic so they could protect themselves from the Archangel Warriors who came after them and their offspring.

    In the end, these women betrayed their oaths and just went ahead, sharing these newfound abilities with their loved ones, family members, and friends of friends.

    It was toote.

    The Watchers shouldn''t have done this in the first ce but they were in too deep.

    These creatures dug their graves the moment their sexual tools prated the core of their women''s parted legs in the Faerie Realm.

    Merle spected that a quarter of the poption already knew how to use them, applying their skills in their daily life.

    She wasn''t about to ruin Archangel Uriel in the eyes of the Highest God if she asked him to teach her Magic.

    +++

    The only time that both of them had talked about their feelings for each other was when Merle asked Archangel Uriel about the traits he liked about her.

    The corner of his lips curved upward when he replied what a bold and courageous woman she was.

    He asked where she got the audacity to pretend to be a Faerie Knight of a horrible prince so that she could overthrow his reign of terror even before he could be the King of the Faerie Realm.

    Merle took matters into her own hands so that she could prevent that and shatter Prince Balthasar''s far-fetched dreams.

    Archangel Uriel also told her that he had admired her ambition and drive to save the Realm of the Fae with the magic fruits from the garden even if the odds were against her.

    ording to him, she was a warm and passionate soul but he also admitted that he disliked how impulsive she can be.

    Merle couldn''t deny the fact that Archangel Uriel was right.

    She was, indeed, impulsive.

    The Archangel also asked her what she thought about her but she didn''t think he was interested in her responses.

    Nevertheless, Merle talked about how conscientious, steady and reliable he was as an Archangel.

    He was a responsible cherub who protected his ward.

    The only downside was that... Archangel Uriel had recently shirked his responsibilities to the Garden of the Four Seasons after shepelled him to go with her into the vige.

    Merle would take full responsibility for this.

    Yet, to her surprise, Archangel Uriel didn''t need that much convincing.

    He broke his covenant with the Creator by epting Archangel Lucifer''s offer to rece him there for a week without the Highest God''s permission.

    The agreement was in a week''s time but that got Archangel Uriel paranoid.

    Merle remembered how her head shook in disbelief as she clicked her tongue at him.

    How many times did she let him know that this minuscule rebellion will help the Fair folk and his entire Creation in the long run?

    Archangel Uriel should not feel guilty.

    If the Creator was really kind and forgiving like the Archangels said about him, then, He would let this slide as long as Merle and Uriel didn''t do something stupid such as conceiving a cursed Nephilim.

    It hurt her that she wouldn''t ever have children with the man she loved.

    This way, both of them didn''t have to add to the terrible chaos.

    She was contented with his attention and presence.

    But then, what will happen if these things weren''t enough in the future?

    "Wench." The aristocrat spoke and his low voice sent chills down her spine.. "My cup is already full."

 Chapter 780 - Another Archangel (Merles Arc)

    <h4>Chapter 780 - Another Archangel (Merle''s Arc)</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (November 2021kind )

    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    Merle and Archangel Uriel Story Arc

    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    "Wench."? The aristocrat spoke abruptly and his low voice sent chills down her spine.? "My cup is already full."

    She didn''t mean to instantly recoil from the deep baritone as if his gruff voice was too harsh for her ears.

    Yet, there was something in this man''s presence that stirred something inside her, making her retreat three steps backward away from him as if he was a leper.

    Merle was all too familiar with that husky voice.

    This kind of raspy tone usually belongs to a tall, dark and handsome Fae with arger physique than average.? It was the kind that made females swoon by just hearing it only once.

    "Wench." The nobleman called her again and it startled her yet he still refused to meet her intense stares.

    Irritation red in her gut as her hand fisted on the neck of the wine bottle while its bottom rested on her palm.

    She disliked being called that name in this tavern considering what it implied.

    Merle was determined on treating these haughty aristocrats like walking, breathing trees.

    It was the proper treatment they deserved.

    She wouldn''t forget that she was also a victim of their assumptions��that all serving girls in this tavern were wenches eager to make money and they had a right to treat them like prostitutes.

    His gaze was still transfixed on the rim and she wondered why he couldn''t give her the time of day to show his features.

    For the first time, Merle had noticed that the luxurious wine had overflowed the rim and the spilled liquid of the fermented grapefruit was dripping on the wooden table.

    Mouth forming a surprised ''I-messed-up!'' oh, Merle''s eyes almost protruded out of her sockets when she witnessed how much she had botched her service in the tavern.

    "Oh. My!" A gasp escaped her lips.

    "In case you didn''t know, you had flooded the tavern." He drawled and Merle could hear the smirk in his voice.

    She scowled at the man''s yellow chaperon hat and the soft blue fabric hanging around it like a? fluffy tail, hoping she would catch a glimpse of this arrogant man.

    This situation wasn''t something to be amused about.

    She only had one job and she can''t even do it right.

    If the owner saw what she had done, she would lose this trade.

    Merle would have a difficult time searching for another work that would earn her the same amount of money she received here.

    Looking pretty and batting theirshes on the aristocrats was easierpared to being part of a cavalry serving a mad Monarch even if she wasn''t used to it.

    This should have been fairly simplepared to burning dead bodies of Nephilim children like what Prince Balthasar usuallymanded to a Knight of her status.

    This was the reason why she didn''t want to show off her skills of swordsmanship to the Prince to escape the Higher Ranks in his Militia.

    The gold wasn''t worth killing the Fae''s offspring with the Watchers.

    These Nephilim babies had no sin except for being born in this world only to be reborn as demons after their death.

    Merle moved from side to side in a hurry, searching and grasping for something that escapes her mental clutches.

    ''What was it that she was looking for again?'' She muttered under her breath as her thumb and forefinger pinched her lower lip in contemtion.

    She quickly remembered to settle the wine bottle on the table with a careful thump so that she wouldn''t drop the expensive container.

    If that happened as well,? not only will the owner kick her out of the establishment but she also had to painstakingly pick every broken ss on the wooden floor so as not to endanger the affluent punters��their moneymakers.

    Her anxiety shot to the ceiling as she envisioned this nobleman going to the innkeeper''s office and telling him about the mess she made.

    Like a lightning strike in her panicked brain, her jumbled thoughts arranged themselves and barked at her to open the cabs underneath the table and search for the piled-up rags.

    It was just three weeks ago when the owner told her where to find them.

    Nobody from the serving girls dared to make the same error as her because the cost of every ounce of wasted excellent wine will be deducted from their daily wages.

    At that point, Merle felt like crying.

    "I''m sorry. I apologize, my lord." Frantic, Merle bowed her head repeatedly as she wiped at the table at the same time.? "Please if you could just��"

    ''Shut up and don''t tell anyone.'' Merle finished in her thoughts.

    "No harm done except the tavern you are working for." He reassured her as if he heard the concerns racing in her mind.

    Merle exhaled a sigh of relief but she also noticed something else.

    The Creator had gifted this aristocrat with a clear luscious voice that could haunt and arouse a woman''s senses but she quickly noticed that there was something inherently wrong with it.

    She couldn''t pinpoint what it was about him until he stood up from his seat.

    Merle sucked in her breath at how handsome and delectable the nobleman appeared.

    He even had a simr height to Archangel Uriel that she had to nce up, up, up until her gaze mmed into the darkest pupils she had ever seen.

    The twin dark pools were beautiful and hypnotizing against the dark brown of his skin.

    She couldn''t help her nce to linger a bit longer in his masculine yet feminine profile: cheekbones chiseled to perfection, sharp jawline, and the upward tilt of the corner of his eyes.

    He was too perfect and symmetrical that he was almost as unreal as Archangel Uriel.

    If the other serving girls weren''t upied with the rest of the punters then they would be eager to scoop him up and convince him to be their benefactor.

 Chapter 781 - He Doesnt Belong To You (Merles Arc)

    <h4>Chapter 781 - He Doesn''t Belong To You (Merle''s Arc)</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (November 2021kind )

    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    Merle and Archangel Uriel Story Arc

    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    If the other serving girls weren''t upied with a few of the punters then they would be eager to scoop this nobleman up and convince him to be their benefactor.

    Merle rarely saw these kinds of men nowadays��the kind of men whose appearance can cure sore eyes once your gazended on them��and her jaw refused to close from her amazement so she settled with blinking at him slowly like an idiot.

    When the Highest God decided to create these people, He didn''t hold back on showering them with gifts and blessings, leaving the rest of the creatures with nothing crumbs.

    As much as she could remember, Merle didn''t have another reaction this strong in the past except meeting Archangel Uriel in the past.

    Now, this creature had a beauty that could rival an Archangel.

    The chances of a creature to eclipse the allure of an Archangel was close to nil unless he was an Archangel herself.

    However, there was no sense in looking at other men when she already had one in her bed, living and sleeping together with him without sumbing to temptation.

    It was a foolproof arrangement that worked for both of them.

    At this point, no one from the opposite gender could attract her unless that Fae could surpass her lover''s beauty.

    Shaking her head to wake herself up from the visual intoxication, Merle got herself together, strode towards the pantry, and inconspicuously shoved the wet rag behind the tes and the utensils before she returned to the man, hoping that the owner wouldn''t find it there before her work ended in the evening.

    She nned to take that wine-soaked cloth home to their hut and wrung it dry since it was dangerous for her to throw this just about anywhere.

    No one can point usations at her as long as no one saw the evidence of her clumsiness�� except this aristocrat.

    Merle''s gaze narrowed at the man who had taken off his hat and ced it on the table to rake his fingers on his shaggy ck hair.

    "You have to mop the floor as well if you don''t want the owner to find out." He said as he continued to hold her gaze without feeling difort.

    Merle wanted to scoff at him and jut her chin to challenge the nobleman but she changed her mind and yed it safe.

    She whispered, averting her gaze. "Are you going to tell him?"

    "I wouldn''t. But if the owner noticed, I can''t do anything about it."? He said bluntly.

    "Let me solve this for you, beautifulss.''''

    Unexpectedly, his clear voice made her blood heat but it also made her nauseous that she had to clutch her stomach to keep it down. "

    Her eyes roamed the tavern and she noticed that there weren''t many gentries around since it was too early in the morning for them to overindulge in wine.

    Now,? if this man attempted to seduce her like they always do then she was prepared to say turn him down and say no.

    ''I can solve this on my own, my lord." She said tly, immediately shutting him down. "Your shoes aren''t soggy by any chance around you?"

    cing her palms on the wooden bar table, she tiptoed and peered at the floor at the nobleman''s side while she gave herself a thousand reasons why it couldn''t be that bad.

    Yet, her thoughts halted when she spotted a puddle of purple liquid beneath his feet.

    Groaning, Merle rubbed a hand over her face in disappointment instead of cursing out loud.

    It was there for the world to see but she didn''t want to acknowledge it and the fact that she was going to lose money tonight.

    "I''ll clean it for you in just the blink of an eye."

    In an instant, the aristocrat snapped a finger and the puddle was gone.

    The floor was squeaky clean as if Merle just didn''t waste half of the expensive wine''s contents and allowed the tavern floor to taste it.

    He was telling the truth and now, he had her undivided attention.

    "Thank you." She leaned both of her elbows on the wood and gave him a suspicious nce, "But how did you do it?"

    If this was a Watcher, then it would be impossible unless this was a disguise.

    The Watchers/Gregori, who betrayed and broke their covenant with the Highest God by indulging their spirit in fornication, couldn''t wander in the Faerie Realm without being haunted by Archangels and the rest of the influential Faeriespeting for the throne.

    "Call me, Lucifer."

    "Who is watching the Garden?"? Merle interrogated in a whisper-shout. "You said you are��"

    "Where is Uriel?" He interrupted her as he nced around the tavern as if expecting Archangel Uriel to show himself with just a mention of his name. "I had something to talk to him about but he made himself invisible. "What was he up to?"

    Should Merle tell him where Archangel Uriel''s whereabouts when Archangel Lucifer just broke his promise to him about watching over his ward?

    She realized how he changed the subject so smoothly and Merle raised a curious eyebrow. "Is it something urgent?"

    "You are suspicious of me." He started mirroring her gestures by cing his elbows on the table.

    Then, he abruptly leaned forward so close that he could almost kiss her.

    "Not really." Merle immediately moved her head backward and retreated away from him.

    Now, that he said that out loud made her think that he was doing something that she should be suspicious of.

    But, Merle isn''t going to tell him that.

    "Why don''t you tell me what this is all about so that I can tell Archangel Uriel for you."

    Archangel Lucifer inclined his head to the side, his warm eyes going cold, "Do you think Uriel belonged to you?"

    First off, Uriel might be an Archangel but she already considered him a lover.

 Chapter 782 - Wish Come True (Merles Arc)

    <h4>Chapter 782 - Wish Come True (Merle''s Arc)</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (November 2021 )

    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    Merle and Archangel Uriel Story Arc

    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    No one--not even Lucifer--can tell her otherwise until Uriel drew the line.

    She trusted that Archangel Uriel already liked the idea of being with her.

    He never asked her to stop and draw a boundary against her behavior and, in fact, Uriel seemed happy and contented about the dynamic of their rtionship.

    They do what lovers usually do when they were together.

    Merle thought that she didn''t have to ask him about it.

    He was there with her instead of watching the Garden of the Four Seasons, isn''t he?

    When she found that she wasn''t afraid of? Lucifer''s nearness anymore, her feet took two steps toward the bar table and returned to the same position she had before Archangel Lucifer surprised her with the proximity of his sensuous mouth.

    Merle swore her upper lip had grazed the scruff that darkened her jaw at that moment.

    As she bit her lips in recollection, she already knew that the mischievous Archangel did that to intimidate her and she wasn''t about to back down from that kind of challenge.

    Propping her elbows back close to the edge of the wooden bar table, she rested her chin on her interlocked fingers and she saw her reflection on his burning, dark gaze.

    From his serious expression, Merle realized she was getting to him and it made her smirk.

    Her smirk was short-lived when the bastard gave her a sarcastic grin and stated, "It''s crystal clear that you couldn''t answer my question."

    "That''s between me and him, Lucifer." Her gaze hardened like gold diamonds? as she gave her a half-shrug, "Our rtionship had nothing to do with you so stay out of it unless��" She trailed off and whispered her next words breathlessly while her forefinger stroked his nose without warning,, "--you want to join, that is."

    Lucifer seemed to be caught off guard by her change of behavior and his nostrils red.

    In Merle''s mind, she was already cackling from Archangel Lucifer''s reaction.

    Archangel Uriel responded the same way when she teased him with abrupt caresses.

    She was right to assume that Archangels were helpless squires in front of bold women who took the first step.

    They appear so innocent that she wanted to corrupt them.

    Now, she understood why these female Faeries were too excited to give the Angels on Earth their first sexual awakening.

    These men can suddenly turn sweet and adorable when their ears started to redden.

    Unfortunately, she couldn''t do that with the Archangel she loved.

    He cleared his throat and stared at a spot behind her. "If that notion about your rtionship makes you sleep well at? night then? go ahead." Perhaps, he was trying to distract himself with the sunset painting on the wall. "I''m not stopping you."

    "What are you doing here?" Merle didn''t know him very much and she never interacted with strangers in these times of danger.

    Why was she making an exception with this man?

    "Are you sure you are one of them, though?" Merle muttered under her breath so that Archangel Lucifer will be the only one who can hear her. "Archangels? Archangel Lucifer sounds very awful in my ears."

    "You should know that I abhorred being challenged. It doesn''t matter what kind it is." He said tly but his dark eyes seemed to reflect fascination. which Merle didn''t want to evoke from him. Just because she conquered Uriel''s heart, Lucifer had taken an interest in her average features? Impossible.

    "So you are going to kill me, Archangel?" She gave him a look of disappointment.? Now, a Watcher might kill her, though, if she was a threat to their rebellion against the Creator. Merle clicked her tongue, brought her face closer, and whispered, "That''s not a very angelic thing to do."

    "Just tell me where he is so that I can locate him." His teeth were gritted in annoyance.

    Merle was proud of herself but she tried hard not toe across as smug when she lowered her head and allowed her dark hair curtain around her face to hide her expression.

    She wouldn''t stop irritating him until he left her.

    "No. You are a��" Merle let her statement hang in the air and she shook her head, not daring to say the word, ''Archangel'' out loud.

    Merle had no idea if someone was listening to their conversation but she had to, at least, be careful.

    She pointed a finger at the Archangel.

    "You belong to the same Kind so you should have no problem looking for him."

    His fingers tapped on the wooden bar table with impatience. "It seemed like Uriel was hiding from his own Kind like? how the Gregori had been doing for the recent months, Merle."

    The sound of her name on his lips made the hairs on her skin stand up.

    "That''s not my name here, Lucifer." Her words were a harsh hiss.

    Folding his arms, Archangel Lucifer''s posture straightened with arrogance.

    He must have thought that he caught her in his trap.

    "I can see that are hiding from people as well. I swear that I have seen a drawing of your peerless face stered on the ''Wanted'' board in every vige. You must be preparing your future with Uriel and live like a vagabond just in case he made you pregnant."

    ''Don''t jinx it, idiot.''

    "Shh." Her forefinger pressed unto his lips to shut him up. "This isn''t the ce to be talking about this."

    "Want to go outside with me, then?" He murmured huskily in her finger and she quickly pulled it back and hid her hands away from his sight.

    "I''m currently working as a serving girl in this tavern--"

    "��which you failed miserably." He let out a low chuckle and continued, "What would happen to you if it wasn''t me whom you spilled that grapefruit wine?"

    She abhorred that reminder so she switched the subject.

    "Uriel wants to be undetected from your Kind for a reason. He is upied for the whole day so don''t disturb him unless he wanted to be seen." Her soft words were clipped and cold as she red at him. "You must leave me alone? too or you will get me into trouble." .

    "Want to bet?" Lucifer asked as he nodded towards the left side of the room. Her gaze followed his and she saw the owner of the tavern talking to another male guest. "I will give the owner of this tavern five bars of gold and he will willingly let me abduct you in broad daylight."

    Merle''s lips parted in shock.

    "Where is this gold he was talking about, then?

    He should give it to her instead of him because that way she didn''t have to work.

    "In any case, what I''m going to tell Uriel is a subject between Archangels. Unfortunately, you aren''t one. My message to Archangel Uriel can wait. The discussion must be safeguarded for both of us." A warm, rough hand caressed the back of hers and she quickly pulled away from his touch. "I''m here because I have something important to tell you too."

    Onerge hand flexed on top of the bar table and long, sharp ws grew instead of nails.

    Merle''s eyes widened in surprise.

    "You want to be with Uriel didn''t you?" He asked.. "I found the perfect solution for your wishes."

 Chapter 783 - Where Do You Live? (Merles Arc)

    <h4>Chapter 783 - Where Do You Live? (Merle''s Arc)</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (November 2021 )

    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    Merle and Archangel Uriel Story Arc

    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    To Merle''s dismay,? Archangel Lucifer only charmed her with interesting discussions once both of them had stepped outside of the tavern but he didn''t keep his promises.

    He didn''t tell her anything monumental��something that would change Merle and Uriel''s connection for the better and bring them two different species without disastrous consequences��as he told her about inside the tavern, piquing her curiosity enough that she was willing toe with him and listen to what he had to say.

    Unfortunately, Archangel Lucifer was more interested in letting her speak about herself as he pried her life and her motivations open but she wasn''t going to spill it to this stranger.

    And here she thought, Lucifer was here to inquire about Archangel Uriel?

    It was actually a ruse to get her attention and she fell for it.

    From the first meeting, Merle was apprehensive of his behavior and she always found herself squinting at him in suspicion.

    If she thought Archangel Uriel was unsure of his choices, Lucifer was an Archangel who can''t keep his word.

    He left the Garden of the Four Seasons in the heart of the Faerie Realm as if it didn''t matter to him whether or not Prince Balthasar and his Militia would find it by chance.

    These bastards had heard a rumor from the grapevine��probably the Faeries who had seen her enter the Forbidden Forest and came out alive--that she had acquired it there.

    Merle must be wary with everything that came out of that mouth.

    Not everything will be true.

    Well, scratch that.

    She would go whichever quiet ce Archangel Lucifer decided on so that they could talk in private. She decided that this was herst day working in that tavern so she didn''t have to care about the lone dirty rag in the cab.

    But,? she still had conditions that he must strictly follow.

    Merle wasn''t ashamed to voice them out.

    Her first condition was, Archangel Lucifer must not lead her to a brothel without her knowledge, drag her to a private room and force her to undress and have his wicked way with her just because he gifted her all the gold bars instead of the tavern owner like he originally nned.

    She kept her face nk when Lucifer frowned in her direction, iming that he didn''t understand why she had drawn such a strange conclusion.

    The heat had crept up to her neck and warmed her cheeks up as she was forced to borate the reason.

    To her chagrin, she stubbed her toe on a rock''s jagged edge but Lucifer caught her elbow and pulled her upright instead of eating dirt.

    With gritted teeth, Merle had exined the expectation of a ''male creature in the Material? Realm'' to him��especially those who brought serving girls from the tavern outside after giving them something of value.

    From that, the frown lines marring his forehead morphed into a scowl of disapproval.

    Looking straight into her eyes, Lucifer expressed his tant disinterest in fornication and material indulgence since he was an Archangel�� a High ranking cherub in the Angel''s Choir�� who stood by his beliefs and principles.

    He had other goals in mind and pleasures of the flesh weren''t one of them.

    He also added that the Watchers/Gregori who indulged in breaking the rules for something that can perish��physical bodies in this Realm��are too weak.

    ording to him,? all of them deserved to be hunted by the rest of their Kind and have their offspring killed since it was the material manifestations of the sins they havemitted against the Highest Creator.

    Truth or lie, that reassurance made her breathe a sigh of relief.

    Nevertheless,? Merle still made it clear to him that she wasn''t a wench or a prostitute but she was delighted to receive the gold bars as long as she didn''t have to give him something in exchange. Archangel Lucifer nodded his head in agreement and that made her smile at him with honest gratitude.

    Now,? she and Archangel Uriel can benefit from this, sell it to a Monarch in an exorbitant amount and share the blessings with the rest of the vigers.

    Archangel Lucifer had given them a blessing from the Heavens--

    "In case you didn''t know, I stole the gold bars."

    What?!

    "Why did you do it?" She snapped at him and she ced her hand underneath his chin as if to choke him.

    Since he is my friend, you be my friend as well. I did it for you so that you would stop working in the tavern. It''s too dangerous and I feel like you will be hunted next��Fairfolk or Archangels alike." He purred and it sent shivers down her spine.

    Lucifer''s charms would never work on her even if his voice felt like music to her ears.

    She made it crystal clear that Archangel Uriel was the one and only man of her life to which? Lucifer snorted�� in disbelief of her audacity to dere love to an Archangel out loud?

    The mockery that it will nevere true?

    She had no idea about his implication behind that snort but that earned him a scathing glower from her golden cat-like eyes.

    While they continued walking side by side in the narrow, maze-like alleys of Moon Square, the heart of the upper parts of Cave Town, with no definite destination in mind,? Merle still couldn''t shake off the unspoken insult from that snort.

    The swaying arm which constantly rubbed against her elbow flew and her hand clutched his wrist and push him against a dust and grime-covered wall. "You had no right to mock me."

    "Mermaid. you just announced to the whole world that Uriel, an Archangel, is your lover. What would the Highest God think?" Lucifer raised an eyebrow as his gaze continued to scan her face. " It was either He had already seen everything and what everyone was doing, He was busy about something else or he was waiting for a person to initiate that unstoppable chain of events that would set everything in motion.. Now, in exchange for the gold,? I want to have ess to where you lived with Uriel."

 Chapter 784 - What Is Yours Is Mine (Merles Arc)

    <h4>Chapter 784 - What Is Yours Is Mine (Merle''s Arc)</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (November 2021 )

    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    Archangel Uriel & Merle''s Arc

    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    Archangel Lucifer had convinced him to meet the rest of the two hundred Watchers who betrayed the Highest Creator''smand.

    This conve was between Lucifer, him, and the rest of the Watchers.

    Lucifer rified that the meeting must be kept secret and that he shouldn''t tell anyone, especially the Archangels hunting them and their offspring��the Nephilims.

    Lucifer must have forgotten that they had to kill the Nephilims with their Angel des and send them to Tartarus before they could turn into vengeance-seeking demons.

    These cursed bairns, born of the ''sons of God'' and the Watchers of Men'', can grow quickly into giants in just a matter of weeks.

    It was the Archangel''s responsibility to nip this chaotic evil in the bud.

    In turn, These bedeviled Faeries had turned into their own worst enemy,? eliminating their own Kind and increasing the death rate of the immortals in the Faerie Realm.

    As he rubbed his chin in contemtion,? Uriel stood in front of him,? listening to his fellow Archangel exin as little as possible.

    Sandals suspended in the air,? Uriel fluttered hisrge blue wings in ce while? Lucifer had his feet nted to the ground and his purple feathered wings had disappeared from his back.

    He must have strolled around the cities and viges this morning that Lucifer had to retain his mour so as not to alert the Fair folk of a powerful Archangel in their midst.

    Lucifer''srge physique had blocked his path and his view to the hut at the top of the mountains that he had to tilt his head a bit to the side to see if their home was still the same since he left it.

    The suspicious thoughts that kept circling in his head had increased as Lucifer continued to talk about the Conve, Uriel''s possible involvement in it, and the attendance of another powerful entity he had met that the Watchers had introduced.

    Archangel Lucifer had imed that it was even powerful than the Highest God but sadly, it had no form and it had a disembodied voice.

    Frowning, Uriel disliked the wordsing out of his friend''s mouth.

    Where did this another false gode from?

    Yes, there were gods and goddesses existing in the Earthly Realm who had simr magical abilities and supernatural strength that would rival the angels in the Heavenly Realm but none of these divine beings im that they were powerful than the Omniscient One who created all of the creatures and the realms they lived in.

    Something else intrigued him as well.

    Howe Archangel Lucifer was able to gather these Angel defectors when he should have alerted the rest of the Archangels of their locations and ended these defectors?

    Why did his brother want the Angel Kind to be oblivious about this?

    Did Lucifer n to protect the Watchers from the Wrath of God?

    Uriel returned his gaze into Lucifer''s dark eyes and observe him warily.

    Did he n to defeat the enemies himself and he didn''t want to share his tactics just yet?

    He wasn''t so certain that the Creator had an inkling of what Lucifer had done after bestowing himself an impermissible time off here on Earth when he should be watching over the Throne of God in the first ce!

    He hadn''t sensed an interference from the Highest God but it was impossible that He had no idea what his Archangels were up to.

    Maybe, the Highest God had trusted them too much with their free will and left them be before they crossed the line simr to the Gregori who had challenged the Highest God with their wild rebellion.

    If the Creator could see through the wickedness of the living creatures he had made right now, his heart would be filled with pain and that inevitable grief might cause the Great Flood.

    Archangel Uriel couldn''t see the big picture and the motives behind this conve.

    recing his post in the Garden of the Four Seasons.

    His friend''s visit gave him this sense of foreboding and he immediately regretted that he epted Lucifer''s offer to rece his post in the Garden of the Four Seasons considering the fact that he was here.

    Every time, Lucifer went to see him, things would never end well and it made him want to return to his angelic post at once.

    Unfortunately, Archangel Uriel had to wait until this conversation was over since he had to see hisdy love after this.

    He had not basked in her wondrous presence and wrapped her in a tight hug for three consecutive nights and he was already lovelorn.

    Suffering from the symptoms of his fancies, Uriel couldn''t wait to get to Merle while he watched over the vige at that moment, protecting the Fair folk from the demons roaming the Earth before the fruits worked their magic and cure them of possession.

    As time went by, Archangel Uriel''s pointed questions had gotten more specific about the Watchers and both of their roles in that Conve but he simply shrugged in refusal.

    So, he wasn''t going to say anything more?

    His friend simply gave him a tight-lipped smile before instructing him to go to Mount Hermon to meet the Watchers if he was that curious about it.

    Archangel Uriel disliked that the Archangel had kept him in the dark and his hands briefly clenched in annoyance.

    The Nephilims were prophesied to perform deeds of exceptional evil.

    These adult giants will murder all the living creatures here on Earth on a massive scale, devour what they perceived as a lesser race and exploit the weak to very.

    Did Archangel Lucifer want to support the Watchers instead of killing them like they weremanded to do?

    Was he nning a rebellion against God?

    Uriel shook in frustration as his blond hair fell over his forehead.

    Lucifer''s unwanted presence in the mountains where he and Merle lived close in their roofless hut had also put him on edge.

    Were Archangel Lucifer and Merle together while Uriel was too upied cutting small cube-like portions from the magic fruits and distributing them to the ailing vigers or�� did Lucifer just happen to know where he lived despite toning down his aura and didn''t bother engaging with Merle?

    An unidentified and uncontroble disease had swept up in the vige and it took him three days to deal with it to help them.

    Unfortunately, aside from that, Lucifer had another unfortunate message for him.

    Suddenly, Archangel Lucifer went quiet, stared at the ground before he admitted in a whisper, "The Watchers had destroyed the Garden of the Four Seasons, Uriel, and I wasn''t able to stop it."

    With his jaws clenched, Uriel''s dark eyes rested on Lucifer as he inclined his head, appearing a bit contrite.

    From the subtle confidence in his gestures and straightened posture, Uriel knew that it was all an act and he shouldn''t buy it. "I was also here to tell you that I couldn''t protect the Tree of the Four Seasons."

    Archangels never cursed but at that moment, he was tempted to.

    Uriel prowled closer, jabbed his finger in his face, and bellowed, "You let them destroy my ward without even alerting me!"

    Lucifer was a powerful Archangel and the Highest Ranking Cherubim at that.

    He could defeat all the Watchers if he wanted but he chose not to.

    Why?

    "Now, who do you think will get punished?" Muscles and veins strained against his skin as he heard a pounding in his ears. Well, Archangel Uriel was going to be punished for being with a Fae, anyway, so why was he ming everything to Lucifer when it was he who made the decision to leave the Garden? "It is I for trusting that you would keep the Tree of the Four Seasons guarded."

    He raised his head and looked at him squarely in the eye.

    Lucifer''s guilt had evaporated into the ethers as he swatted Uriel''s hand away from him.

    "I arrived here in the mountains three days ago and even stayed with the ''Mermaid'' in your love nest to inform you." His lips curved into a smirk. "She doesn''t even know where you went because she trusted that you wille back that night. I believed that too."

    Nostrils ring, Uriel''s pulse was in his throat as he felt his anger make his adrenaline rise in violence. "What did you do to her?"

    At that moment, Archangel Uriel realized that his love was a perpetual ebb and flow of gain and loss as an emotional tsunami swept over the good and caring emotions he had for Merle, turning his skin hot and trapping the air inside his lungs.

    Lucifer had used Merle as a weapon against him... but for what purpose?

    "You had? taken my ward for granted and now you are stealing what''s mine?!" He growled with gritted teeth.

    "I''m not interested in sexual debauchery like you, Uriel. Keep that in mind. I am not interested in bing a Watcher or a Fallen Angel." Lucifer responded in a dark murmur.

    Still, all he could see was red in his peripheral vision.

    "I? did a kind gesture and kept herpany. Gave her gifts to use in that small hut of hers. That''s all." Lucifer never broke eye contact with him and Uriel felt himself slowly calming down from his sincere words."I am extending my care to her when I couldn''t do the same for the Garden you were in charge of."

    Closing his gold-tipped blue Archangel wings, Uriel nted his feet firmly to the ground.

    His tunnel vision could see nothing but the hut and he bumped Lucifer''s shoulder hard that the other Archangel almost lost his bnce when he took a step forward.

    "Leave, Lucifer." He snapped angrily and looked at him over his shoulder. "I don''t want you anywhere near our home or Merle, for that matter.. She doesn''t need? you here."

 Chapter 785 - He Was A Monster (Merles Arc)

    <h4>Chapter 785 - He Was A Monster (Merle''s Arc)</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (November 2021 )

    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    Merle and Archangel Uriel Story Arc

    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    Her real name was Merle.

    ''How many times had she told him that?'' She always threw the bastard an irritated nce every time Archangel Lucifer called her ''Mermaid.

    Of course, Archangel Lucifer knew it irked her to no end and it was one of the disadvantages of owning an expressive face.

    She had no idea how he knew it was her back at the tavern.

    He saw past her disguise when she had never seen him before.

    Yet, that was the least of her problems.

    Uriel never introduced this Archangel to her either.

    Archangel Uriel didn''t show up in the mountains for three consecutive nights.

    She was getting worried and frantic that she found herself pacing on the wooden floor of their hut until dawn.

    The only one stopping her from spiralling out of control was Archangel Lucifer''s casual visits in her roofless hut for the past three nights, iming that he pitied her solitary figure in the mountains and that he wanted to keep herpany since he was lonely as well, waiting for Archangel Uriel to return.

    The bastard still hadn''t told her the secret of how to set Archangel Uriel free from his obligations with the Highest Creator withoutpromising his Covenant with him.

    Lucifer also said that those females in the Material Realm were their test of loyalty to the Highest God.

    It was all or nothing.

    Archangels couldn''t choose to carry both duties.

    She could imagine the difficulties the Watchers''? had faced after eloping with their families.

    The ''Watchers'' weren''t torn with two responsibilities anymore since they already threw the other one��their allegiance to the Heavens with their own free will.

    The sight of Archangel Uriel''s blue wings hovering in the air made the tense muscles on her shoulder rx as she met him outside the door, wearing the thick grey wolf skin fur Archangel Lucifer gave her that night.

    He said that his gift would keep the warm every time she was outdoors, waiting for Archangel Uriel to arrive.

    Snow had started to fall in the Faerie Realm even if it wasn''t Winter Season yet.

    It seemed like the seasons had gone awry from the presence of the Watchers along with the demons and Nephilims infesting this Material Realm��a pce where these creatures didn''t belong.

    Well, that can also apply to all of the Angel Kind but it was the Watchers and their offspring who had destroyed the bnce of this world.

    It was her and Archangel Uriel''s mission to help in getting rid of them.

    Archangel Lucifer offered to watch over her while he sat on the small chair beside the bed which he could barely sit it since the bed almost upied the entire wooden floor.

    Merle wanted to ept that offer since she trusted him anyway.

    She also made the decision just the simple fact that Lucifer was an? Archangel who couldn''t care less about anything in this Material Realm and what the creatures here do.

    She could hear this unmistakable arrogance in his insistence as if he was above inparison to them that he might as well call them lowlifes.

    Maybe, it was simply her assumption but she had this idea that Lucifer had this superiority ingrained in his mind.

    That a powerful cherubim, like him, were on a whole other level than anyone else in the Material? Realm.

    From his hubris alone, perhaps, this Archangel also thought that his magical and heavenly abilities would help him defeat the gods, the goddesses and the Angel Kind if he desired it.

    Nevertheless, Merle changed her mind and turned Archangel Lucifer''s offer down because she needed Uriel��Archangel Uriel and not him ��more than everything to calm her racing heartbeat.

    The moment she curled up into his strong arms?

    That was when she could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

    She would rather feel Uriel''s thick feathers in her fingers.

    His muscr torso against her soft flesh.

    In the end, Merle stood, barefooted, outside the door, waiting for a goddess to free the sun from the far horizon and watch it give birth to the morning.

    There were times when Lucifer left her alone to give her personal space so she wouldn''t feel like his tall and muscr physique was crowding her inside the hut as well as the outdoors.

    It was a request of hers after the Archangel had positioned himself near her many times, standing so close than what was normal, which made her ufortable.

    Ever since a male Fae had tried to take advantage of her, she didn''t feel ufortable being around them.

    If a man was an Archangel who didn''t want to turn into a Fallen Angel, she could try to be lenient since she felt safe but if it was a forceful Archangel like Lucifer who seemed ignorant of the strong walls and boundaries she tried to circle her thoughts and her emotions,

    It was a miracle for her that the zealous Archangel like him still respected her wishes and she was d about it.

    At Archangel Uriel''s arrival outside their little home, Merle caught sight of the dark heavy clouds covering the brilliant white stars suspended on the dark velvet nket of the universe.

    She ran towards Uriel and hugged him but he was unresponsive.

    He kept walking towards the hut in his impassive countenance as she bombarded him with questions, "Where have you been? What happened?"

    He took another step and paused to snap his emotionless gaze back at her, "What were you doing with Lucifer by the time I wasn''t here?"

    "Nothing." Merle''s voice turned small as she hunched her shoulders in surprise,? "We were waiting for you toe home to our refuge."

    "You said it yourself. It is ''our'' refuge." He enunciated the word ''our'' with an eerie calm that sent rm bells in her head, "You shouldn''t have brought him here."

    Merle quickly positioned herself in front of Uriel with her hands, outstretched. "I thought he was your friend?"

    "Well, a friend who betrays a promise is a friend no more. You know what this entails, Merle." Uriel''s teeth were gritted and his fists were clenched. This was the first time she saw him furious and her lips parted in surprise,? "If he is here for three days with you, then who is watching the Garden of the Four Seasons?"

    "D-didn''t he tell you that he was here to tell you something important?" She stuttered but she acknowledged that his concerns made sense. " I think he wille back to the Garden of the Four Seasons as soon as possible after your discussion." She nced behind Uriel but no Lucifer had trailed after him, "I don''t see him anywhere which means he isn''t with you."

    "He isn''t going back to watch the Garden for me, Merle." Uriel exhaled a heavy sigh old fingertips traced the side of his jaw in the gentlest of touches. The wide smile splitting her face froze when he added, "I need to leave you and return there since the walled enclosures wouldn''t be enough to protect the Garden and keep the magic fruits safe."

    "Leave?"? Her voice was hollow and it felt like she was hit by the lightning when it shed into the dark night.

    She felt a myriad of emotions in just one minute��denial, anger, and bitterness��and she couldn''t ept that this exact moment was the farthest they could go.

    ''Can you stay here a bit longer, Uriel?'' She thought but she couldn''t say it out loud.

    Her tongue was tied and her eyes burned from the tears which threatened to fall.

    "What did? you talk about with the other Archangel?" Merle asked softly.

    Archangel Uriel refused to look at her but at least, he regarded her in his peripheral vision. "I can''t tell you."

    "You don''t trust me?" She demanded in a shrilly voice.

    Both of her hands reached out to one to him but Uriel deprived her of physical contact by pulling his hand from hers.

    She heard that penny drop as her spine stiffened from the abrupt rejection.

    Merle had never prepared for this scenario��Archangel Uriel breaking her first on purpose.

    Not even in her imagination.

    She thought that they would find a way to be together but she wasn''t really in a hurry.

    The loud p of thunder was followed by a sh of forked lightning.

    Soon, the heavens would sympathize with her sorrow and the rain will fall like her tears.

    "I never trusted you, Merle, and the three days that I was away, I realized that I don''t love you either."? Archangel Uriel said.

    She couldn''t believe what she just heard because it was clear that he still loved her from the intense stares his beautiful eyes had given her apanying that brutal deration.

    Female Faeries who have experienced heartbreak always tell the youngerdies that love hurts but what hurts the most is careless betrayal, thoughtlessness, apathy, indifference and of course, falling for the wrong person Loving an Archangel was the biggest mistake a young, naive romantic Fae can do.

    Wasn''t this the very same reason while the Faerie Realm was in chaos in the first ce?

    Swallowing hard, Merle stood in front of Archangel Uriel��a beautiful picture of heartbreak and overwhelming grief-- trying to hold back her tears but she didn''t want him to remember that she was emotionally weak. This living, breathing heart inside her ribcage filled with blood and capable of supporting life, he stabbed her with razor-sharp swords, encircled them with thorns,? threw it to the ground, and watched it shatter himself.

    As if her bleeding wounds weren''t enough, he trampled on her love like it was nothing and Merle had wondered if her life was still worth living.

    Young star-crossed lovers in the Faerie Realm usually search for shooting stars to fall so that they could wish for their happiness.

    If only it was that easy and true, then she should have done that a long time ago.

    It was her fleeting wish to be reborn an Archangel so that she could be with him forever.

    But then, the pent-up resentment in her chest rose to the surface when she recalled Uriel''s brazen lies.

    If she wasn''t a Fae in the first ce, would they even have a chance to meet out of so many Archangels in the Heavenly Realm?

    If she could wish upon a shooting star, Merle would pray that the Highest God would allow her to travel back in time where Archangel Ariel didn''t rescue her from the ravisher and she could have avoided Uriel and the Garden of the Four Seasons.

    Fate had some other ns.

    "How��How can you hurt me like this, Uriel?" Lips trembling, Merle hissed as tears started streaming down her face, "Is it something that I said?"

    Deep inside her heart, she knew that this separation was predestined and that their love wasn''t permanent but why was it so hard to let him go?

    She couldn''t but her mouth wanted to utter the exact opposite.

    She will be lost if he left her alone.

    "You really know how to kill me with just words. Have you lost your mind? Did you forget the moment you told me you loved me first?"? "I was never desperate for you. I was prepared to leave your damned Garden but you chose toe with me." She shot back as she repeatedly punched his solid chest with her all her might with her small fists. It didn''t hurt him at all because he just stood there, taking every hard punch he can without wincing."and I never forced you to into anything, you bastard!"

    Archangel Uriel appeared like he had a halo of heavenly light above him when he said, "You seduced me and like an idiot�� like all those Watchers we have been hunting, I fell for your trap."

    The lover in front of her wasn''t an Archangel.

    He was a monster.

 Chapter 786 - Give Me Your Body (Merles Arc)

    <h4>Chapter 786 - Give Me Your Body (Merle''s Arc)</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (November 2021 )

    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    Archangel Uriel & Merle''s Arc

    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    "Trap? Am I just a trap to you, Uriel, as if I seduced you on purpose?" If she was stronger, she would have mmed him to the ground but instead, she was here, clutching at the fine cotton of his blue tunic and strongly shaking him back and forth. "For what? You are not a child, Uriel. You must take responsibility for your actions. Don''t be like the men in this Realm,? insisting that they were forced to make a decision because of the so-called ''feminine wiles''. I never cried seductively in your ear to get you to do the things I want." She sobbed as she poured all her hatred into him. It took Merle a few seconds to realize that she was a hypocrite who was doing the exact same thing but she carried on anyway, "I had never known you as a shallow Archangel so why are you acting like this? The Watchers are even better than you."

    Where did he get the audacity to me her for everything?

    Who was this Archangel in front of her?

    Was this really? Uriel?

    Merle''s lips parted in shock at the sudden realization as she felt her stomach drop.

    Perhaps, Lucifer was right that Archangels were ruthless and detached despite the strict moral codes they lived by.

    "At least, they know how to protect their women and prepare themselves for the consequences." As her voice echoed back and forth in the mountains, she continued to wail loudly like a petnt child and she didn''t care how ugly she appeared in front of Uriel from the snot forming on her nose. " What do you think is the reason that I chose you? You are special to me! I thought you are worthy of my love,? you bastard! And here you are insulting me, not knowing that you are also insulting yourself!"

    She saw him grimace and that gave her a sense of satisfaction.

    Perhaps, finally, she got her point across into that stubborn skull of his.

    "Women in this Realm wants the thrill of something new. You must think as if the Angels walking here on Earth are here to be your pets."? He countered icily while his hands circled her wrists, forcing her to let go of the fabric of his tunic. "An exotic toy you could y with."

    "Pet? Toy?" She yelled incredulously as her entire being was wrapped in sadness. Merle was so close to pping him but she stopped herself.? "How low can you think of yourself, Uriel, when I have considered you in a high regard and respected who you are."

    Uriel''s eyes widened slightly, reflecting a little hint of both confusion and surprise in that stoic mask of his.

    Yes.

    Their rtionship was tooplex since they were two different creatures who lives in twopletely different Realms.

    Their minds operate differently on how they view the world.

    Despite that, the give and take in their attraction and their opposition were well-bnced.

    Male and Female.

    Faerie and Archangel.

    Material and Spirit with only a veil separating Heaven and Earth.

    Chaos and Order.

    It was true that opposites do attract.

    The longer she interacted with Archangel Uriel, the more Merle realized that Archangels weren''t that perfect as they portrayed themselves to be.

    As lovers, an ongoing cycle of conflict and reconciliation was pretty normal.

    It was their choice to be with each other but enforcing that bond with sexual intimacy will have severe repercussions that might ruin their descendants.

    Uriel can be agreeable to keep the peace between them but that didn''t mean that he was someone she could push over and she knew that.

    She thought that they were on the same page the whole time.

    It turned out it was just an illusion.

    As she blinked at Archangel Uriel slowly, Merle realized that she felt too broken and weak.

    She didn''t think she would ever recover from this.

    "You think you could live without me? Forget about me so easily? I hope you are happy with your decisions, Uriel."? She gave him the ultimatum. "If you leave me tonight, you will have nothing toe back to."

    There was no point in trying to change his mind when he already decided to leave but? Merle wasn''t about to let him go that easy.

    She shed him an innocent smile and he appeared like he hadn''t expected that from her.

    She already had a n in mind.

    Tonight, Merle desired to be in his arms again.

    She had no intentions of allowing him to leave their home even if she had said otherwise.

    Archangel Uriel wasn''t the only liar here.

    She would stay by his side and cling unto him for a little while longer and then she would seduce him and break his heart as the bad Archangel did her for making her mad.

    She wanted him to cry just like how she cried for him.

    Merle was determined to make the monster cry for him as her final revenge for the pain and hurt that she had endured.

    After that, she would let him go��ready or not.

    Maybe, it would take her an eternity to grieve but surely, a time woulde where she would ept that he was gone.

    A part of her would think that he would never see him again and his blue wings tipped with gold, outstretched, as he hovered above the blue skies with a hint of a smirk on his handsome face.

    "You know too much about me and the Angel Kind, Merle." He murmured and his eyes darkened as he watched her. "I don''t know what you want with me, but before I leave, I can give you anything except my heart."

    "No heart." Merle released a mirthless chuckle.

    Archangel Uriel had no heart, indeed.

    ''Sumb in a momentary temptation, Uriel, and I hope you will lose everything that you hold dear.''

    It wasn''t like she was one of them, was she?

    It was a doomed rtionship from the start.

    But should she allow that to stop her?

    "Then give me your body tonight."

 Chapter 787 - I Cant Ignore You (Merles Arc)

    <h4>Chapter 787 - I Can''t Ignore You (Merle''s Arc)</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (November 2021 )

    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    Archangel Uriel & Merle''s Arc

    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    "Then, give me your body tonight."

    Now,? she was determined to take a risk and tempt fate itself.

    He sucked in a sharp breath.

    Archangel Uriel''s eyes had widened slightly, but he didn''t show how much that statement affected him.

    His posture had stiffened, and he allowed his hands to fall back to each of his sides as he shed her an irritated look.

    The woman regarded him with a careful stare on her own.

    Her request was too ridiculous for him that he had brushed it off as a joke but talking to her made him want to stay a little longer for thest time.

    He wanted to see more of this new reaction aside from the sobbing and angry Merle from earlier.

    Archangel Uriel didn''t want this to be hisst memory of her every time he looked back on the times they were together.

    "I have no body. I only have a spirit in the Material Realm. I am not one of those Watchers who can feel lust." Well, who was Uriel lying to except Merle and himself? "I am an Archangel. "He murmured as he stretched his dark blue wings wide, preparing for flight. He didn''t p them near their hut, or the gusts of wind might make their new roof made of dried des of leaves woven together soar into the starry-filled sky andnd on the ground.

    However, he couldn''t help but scowl at it when he realized that there was no way Merle did this herself.

    It must be true that Archangel Lucifer had assisted him to improve her living space.

    His friend had done an excellent job, but it should have been Uriel who did it.

    Jutting her small chin at him, she folded her arms. "You sound like you are convincing yourself, Uriel. You look pathetic."

    He winced.

    Pathetic?

    That was the first direct insult she had hurled at her from all the times the weeks they had been together, living in harmony, and that had ended just now.

    There was nothing to me but himself because he made Merle feel like crap.

    She must have thought it was only proper to hurt him, like how much he pulled her with his rudeness.

    "I am here with you because I have allowed my emotions to get the best of me," Uriel replied will all the apathy that he could muster.

    His only wish was to keep Merle safe from him.

    His future as an Archangel was unsure, and he didn''t want to include her in this mess.

    She titled her head at him, and the pupils of her golden eyes turned into dangerous slits.

    "What kind of emotions, Uriel?" She examined him as if she could see through his heart and soul. "Do you feel hatred and disgust towards me?"

    The vulnerability he felt in that single moment made him want to take off from the upheaval that she was.

    At that moment, he knew that Merle had the power to destroy him.

    "I�� need to go."

    "Then, go ahead and leave me here!" She challenged, her eyes shing with anger.

    The fiery-tempered Merle had shown herself yet again.

    She was the woman who wasn''t afraid to show her aggression and frustration even if it threatened to consume her.

    Obsession can do that to a person.

    Raising her chin at him, Merle stepped closer and scanned his face with her probing gaze if she was attempting to read her mind or she was just a clueless moth drawn to a me.

    She stood straighter with pride as she put herself in front of him.

    He observed the crown of her shiny redhead as his eyes moved lower to her soft and red parted lips, tempting him to sink his teeth into them and take a bite.

    "I just can''t ignore you." He didn''t mean to say that out loud, and it was toote for him to realize, but he did.

    Who said that he wasn''t obsessed with her too?

    Archangel Uriel was aware that he was ying with Merle''s emotions in a never-ending tug of war where he constantly pushed and pulled at her heartstrings.

    Yet, he couldn''t seem to help it, and it became the source of her frustration as his indecision would hurt her even more.

    As an Archangel, he wanted to push her away when she got too close to him in his fear that he would lose her and himself from and clinging to the futility of it all.

    When he didn''t overthink his actions, he gravitated towards Merle and pulled her back towards him.

    In his defence, he still had this strange flutter in his chest, which he could identify as sheer and absolute terror from the possibility of being alone while Merle was happy with someone else.

    He hated his lover''s interactions with Archangel Lucifer, and none of them even crossed a boundary, but it made him so jealous that it threatened to drive him mad.

    Was this how it felt to be a living creature in this Realm?

    If he nned to leave her alone and let her live her own life, then he had to ovee this.

    It might be not easy now to be stable and mature, but Uriel will get there.

    He will be his sanctuary from the storm that was her.

    Even if watching her mncholic form from afar enticed him so much, he promised himself that he wouldn''t disturb her after they had separated their ways amicably.

    A heavy dark sensation choked him by the throat as he watched her beautiful features, knowing that she would never see him again. "You already told me that you would return to the Garden of the Four Seasons��"

    "��But I had no ce to return to, Merle." Archangel Uriel interrupted her since it appeared that Merle didn''t understand it the first time. "Nothing."

    She responded with a curt nod and a whisper.. "You don''t."

 Chapter 788 - The Ultimatum (Merles Arc)

    <h4>Chapter 788 - The Ultimatum (Merle''s Arc)</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (November 2021 )

    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    Archangel Uriel & Merle''s Arc

    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    Cupping her face with his hands, caressing her shoulders and her arms would be too dangerous for him.

    Archangel Uriel was afraid that he couldn''t let go when it was time.

    Merle stood in front of her like a moonlight goddess in a nightgown that matched her silky red hair that he longed to stroke and make the thick strands flutter in his fingers as he enveloped her into a warm embrace.

    If he could make his spirit into hers and be one, then maybe, he could be with her forever.

    Unfortunately, it was merely a hopeless dream of his.

    His fists had clenched as he longed to imprint the glorious scent of rain,vender, and the grapefruit wine she had used to serve to male Faeries in the tavern so that she would money for her own��money that can buy the material things he couldn''t provide for her��-as he should as her man.

    A? man she could be proud of.

    Hissing out a breath, Uriel felt his chest tighten as if someone had pinched his heart.

    He hated that it was one of the fears that he needed to conquer.

    The Highest Creator said that everything a living creature needed in the Material Realm could be found in nature and His creations, but Uriel hadn''t anticipated something like this while living with Merle.

    Hisdy didn''t know that he had stalked her to that tavern and watched her greet the strict owner she had worked for every day scold her when she made a mistake.

    Was this the life she was going to live if they were together?

    Uriel always kept an eye on her from the tavern''s ss windows without fail except these past few days.

    He didn''t want her to constantly change her appearance back and forth because someone might still recognize her despite disguises he helped her maintain.

    These were the times when he didn''t have anything to do at their hut in the mountains except keep it clean like she wanted, stretching his wings to fly every hour and wait for her to return in the afternoon.

    He didn''t wander very far, but it felt like he knew what it meant to be a housewife, and for him, it was moreplicated than working in the tavern.

    Watching Merle without her knowledge was his favorite pastime, but now, it''s not going to be anymore.

    Archangel Uriel was determined to leave before it was toote.

    Yet, why was he shaking her head at her right now, still trying to exin his side?

    "You don''t understand." Uriel stared in her amber eyes deeply that it had threatened to drown him. Then, breathing deeply, he gathered his words before they scattered and insisted,? "Lucifer had told me that the Watchers had located and destroyed the Garden of the Four Seasons. Since they were too many of them, he was powerless? to stop them."

    "That had nothing to do with me anymore, right?" Her tone was a jagged de. "You don''t have to exin to me. Now, give me your body or leave this ce!"

    Archangel Uriel realized where she was heading with this, and it wasn''t good.

    All he ever wanted was to show and express how much he loved Merle.

    But, it was better to cut ties so that she wouldn''t have to suffer with him.

    The woman he loved would live her life peacefully and forget about him.

    She would heal through time.

    Giving up, Uriel growled in response. "I can''t just ignore you like this, Merle, when you are asking for an impossible request."

    It was pure torture to admit that, but at least he got rid of the prickly thorns tightening around his heart.

    Archangel Uriel just wanted to reconcile with her before they separated tonight.

    They didn''t have to agree with a single thing.

    It was alright if they weren''t on the same page as long as both of them understood where they wereing from.

    Was it hard for Merle to listen to his concerns, or were his words too harsh like she said?

    It was a difficult decision for Archangel Uriel.

    He had to choose between two conflicting thoughts, ideas, and emotions.

    It was one over the other.

    If indecision were a decision itself, he would instead not do something about the Garden of the Four Seasons and stay with Merle while pretending that the destruction of his ward didn''t bother him that much.

    Uriel wasn''t a good actor.

    What did that make of him if indecision was also against the principle he lived by?

    Both of them need a moment of peace or at least a temporary ceasefire during these times of war between Archangels and the Watchers and the Nephilim.

    The worst-case scenario would be that the Archangel Lucifer had nned to salvage the Watchers and help them return to the Highest God.

    +++

    It would be a blessing from the Highest God if Merle didn''t feel anything at all because, at that moment, she was confident that these tears wouldn''t stop.

    Whenever something reminded her of him,? grief would return like a severe storm over and over, ruining her life until she was nothing but emotional rubble with nothing else to recover.

    She had already lost her strength when Archangel Uriel told her that he would leave her but this hurt even more as if a snake had constricted her throat and her lungs, making her breathe in little gasps.

    She thought that the hatred inside her would help alleviate the pain and soothe her shattered pride as she convinced herself that it was justified.

    Instead, it was more fuel to the mes of her anger, but she wasn''t in the mood to drop all these negative emotions and heal from them.

    Merle would like to hold on to her hatred and let it fester, to let it take root and grow into this uncontroble green, envious monster cursing Archangel Uriel''s existence.

 Chapter 789 - Un-Love Me (Merles Arc)

    <h4>Chapter 789 - Un-Love Me (Merle''s Arc)</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (November 2021 )

    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    Archangel Uriel & Merle''s Arc

    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    Merle would like to hold on to her hatred and let it fester, to let it take root and grow into this uncontroble green, envious monster cursing Archangel Uriel''s existence.

    She would let the ugly thing prate underneath her skin and pump dread unto her bloodstreams, rather than feeling empty and weak, and she wholeheartedly believed that if she kept this resentment close to her heart, she could escape death.

    +++

    ''You deserve to be the reason why a person''s heartbeat, Merle.''

    ''You deserve someone''s everything, but that someone isn''t me. ''

    ''I do not deserve you.''

    Archangel Uriel didn''t say his thoughts out loud, or else he might not stop telling her that she was the most remarkable woman he had ever met.

    He loved the feel of her arms around him, her sensual caresses that were more seductive than innocent to make him fall asleep in a second.

    It didn''t make him sleep like she guaranteed it should.

    It kept him wide awake instead, and his entire body felt like he was on fire.

    Archangel Uriel felt himself harden even more, especially down there.

    Merle told him that he shouldn''t touch it again every time it jolted inside his breeches, insisting that it would make matters more.

    Sometimes, he was tempted to let her touch that strange spot again so that he could see the feminine blush on her lovely cheeks instead of her tears.

    Did she allow Archangel Lucifer to do that to her as well while he was gone?

    Self-preservationpelled his brain to stop his assumptions about Merle and Lucifer, but he needed to satisfy this burning question or else��

    Archangel Uriel sped her elbow, and he paused for a few seconds to process the sensation.

    The abrupt contact made him feel Merle''s hatred which glittered with wild power, and it already bled to her aura.

    Uriel didn''t know what to do, so he ignored it and focused n Merle''s interrogation.? "Doesn''t it make the hairs on your skin stand on end when you allow another Archangel toe inside the house I made for you?" A fire had run through his bloodstreams as he pulled her closer, but she resisted it by pulling at her arm right back. "For us?"

    The twin orbs of luminous gold on her face twinkled dangerously as she replied, "Well, that another Archangel told me he could have done a better job than you and that you really didn''t think about me when you made this house in a hurry."

    Archangel Uriel aimed a scowl at her, and he had to think twice whether or not this was true or a mere bluff.

    He really can''t tell.

    Maybe, Merle got better at keeping a straight face.

    "I have been talking to him for three days. " She added with a shrug. "He kept mepany while you were gone."

    "You look smug. So you think you know him in just three days?" Merle appeared like she was one blow away from breaking, but he might lose her forever if he went with this jealousy route.

    Mouth heavy at the corners, Uriel wouldn''t withdraw from this confrontation. "You even allowed him to call you, Mermaid?"

    "He is your friend for I don''t know how long but you should have known what type of Archangel he was from the beginning. Then, you could have avoided the destruction of your ward instead of ming it on me." Merle admonished him. "You are too petty if you are angry over such a stupid name calling. That Archangel seemed like someone who would not ept defeat, Uriel so I wouldn''t believe that. Maybe, he let the Watchers win on purpose, anger the Highest Creator and pin you with the Garden''s ruination. That sounded like something he would do when he got too bored. The Archangel? relished the chaos due to his boredom in the Heavens."

    He didn''t grow up as a coward but witnessing Merle''s trust wane from her bright golden eyes made him run and avoid this confrontation because it hurt too much that he couldn''t stand it.

    Archangel Uriel suppressed the strong urge to pull her close in his fear that he couldn''t push her away in their final goodbye.

    It took him his bravery to let him himself go and allow himself to be loved by another like what Archangel Lucifer had suggested back at the cliffs.

    It was selfish of him to agree with it.

    Blood pounded in his ears as he reflected on the imusible statements he said, and it killed him that he couldn''t embrace her anymore.

    ++

    "Do you think you can live without me, Uriel?"

    If Merle would close her eyes and allow the emptiness to take over her shattered mind and just shut down for good, she would lose the willpower to live as it ate her happiness like poison.

    In herst breath, she would smile just in case Archangel Uriel watched her in secret as she ended her life after that fateless separation.

    Would they go to the Realm and be an angel if Faeries died?

    If not, she had to continue hating Uriel and make that unforgettable emotion herpanion to get her through the night.

    Her brain would start ticking and start counting.

    She would float and be nothing.

    There would be no point in eating and sleeping in the future.

    Why was she still breathing?

    +++

    His words were boomerangs he had thrown in her direction as a malicious attack, but it came back to him tenfold.

    He could see it in her golden eyes that he had cut her deep, but his wounds were deeper.

    He even pondered if his scars would ever heal.

    If only he were created by the Highest God as a Fae instead of an Archangel, he would be ready to die for her.

    Nevertheless, he gave in to his desire and pulled her into his chest to feel her heartbeat.

    He sped his hand on her neck possessively and devoured her lips.

    With one hand on her hip, he took her hand and kissed it with reverence.

    "I still want you, Merle." A tear fell down his cheek. His medicine, the woman who made him love life in general, had turned into this toxin, and no antidote could cure him of her. "I can''t imagine you gone but I must un-love you for both of our sakes."

    Hopefully, Merle would follow his sensible advice and try to un-love him.

    Right now, her heart might be bleeding, but he knew her to be strong.

    "I will promise not to love you too. I realized that the Archangel I considered as a lover never really cared about me." Merle replied grimly as if she had already given up on them, and every word made his brain repeat them in an infinite loop of self-hatred. "Don''t worry. I would close my heart and never wait for your return, Uriel."

    "You are going to be alright, Merle."? Archangel Uriel murmured as he caressed the hand on her elbow upwards, resting on the spot between her neck and shoulder.

    Merle stood still.

    Her pulse fluttered against his palm as his fingers gently scratched her swan-like neck. "You can move on from me."

    An eerie silence fell between them as both the snow and the drizzle of rain began to fall.

    "Who do you think you are, Uriel?" Merle tried to shove his chest away from him, but he didn''t release her.

    "Do you really think I would do the things I told you just now?" She let out a sarcasticugh. "You can''t speak for me and how I must feel because you aren''t me! Don''t tell me what to do."

    Merle was a gentle yet snarling creature who was ready to gut him from the inside out with her narrowed gaze.

    He caused the emotional pain that scarred her, and even if he couldn''t see it, Uriel was aware of it.

    "You said it yourself that you don''t love me and I will ept that." Uriel slightly grimaced, hearing his utterance hurled back at him like a sharp de.

    Both of their feelings were involved.

    Archangel Uriel never took pleasure in betraying her love that nurtured his soul.

    "You said it yourself that you don''t have anything to return to since the Garden of the Four Seasons is gone. You will be punished by the Creator, Archangel Uriel. I can promise not to love you�� not to need you anymore. But we can just fool around if you want?" Merle raised an eyebrow. "Don''t worry you wouldn''t turn into a Watcher as long as you keep your clothes on while I remove every article of my clothing."

    She had already implied this, asking��

    no, demanding for his body as if she had the right to own him, but it still caught him unaware. Merle settled both of her hands on his chest, and he swallowed a groan.

    Uriel wasn''t innocent anymore.

    "I will not have your heart, but I will enjoy your body while I can. I will ept everything you can give to me.'' Merle told him as the wintry wind blustered the expanse of their skin with icy chaos.? "After this, we don''t have to see each other again."

    Jaws clenching, Archangel Uriel''s muscles tensed at the sensual promise in her husky voice, but his mind kept telling him to let go of her and leave the mountains��to run away from there as far as possible.

    "It''s not like I would chase you and make you mine.." She closed her fingers around his chin. "Make this experience worthwhile for me, shall we,? Uriel?"

 Chapter 790 - Squirrel In His Breeches (Merles Arc)

    <h4>Chapter 790 - Squirrel In His Breeches (Merle''s Arc)</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (November 2021 )

    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    Archangel Uriel & Merle''s Arc

    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    "It''s not like I would chase you and make you mine." Merle closed her fingers around his chin. "Make this experience worthwhile for me, shall we,? Uriel?"

    The Archangel tilted his head to the side and her hand fell from his jaw.

    The subtle movement made her eye twitch in irritation.

    How many times did the Archangel reject her when it was obvious that he was tempted and so enamored by her that he couldn''t even bring himself to look away?

    The Archangel looked so pathetic.

    She already told him that.

    No need to tell him twice.

    Would he just stand there and look down at her with that knowing look in his blue eyes that burned with a repressed desire?

    Merle raised an eyebrow at him with her awkward arm pressed to her side. Archangel Uriel''s intense gaze never left hers as he kept flicking a nce at her mouth.

    She slowly licked her lips.

    His pupils grew dted as they trailed to the motion of the tip of her tongue as if he thought to lick her with his tongue himself.

    No.

    Her head shook a little to wake herself up from her delusions.

    Maybe, she was in denial about Uriel.

    All the conclusions she hade up with the moment he uttered the words ''I love you'' were just based on assumptions about how much he desired her.

    Perhaps, she was living too much in her fantasies when it came to him.

    She really had to check herself with this erotic narcissism just in case she got overboard with it.

    At least, the Archangel did a great work in shutting her confidence down with his constant refusal to the point that she felt shameless.

    With fisted hands, Merle pursed her lips and squared her shoulders.

    The magnitude of their love for each other was different.

    It made sense that they weren''t on the same page.

    Merle discovered that she loved Uriel so much that she was willing to sacrifice everything just so they could be together.

    It turned out that they didn''t share the same sentiment.

    His love for her was never enough to make him stay no matter how hard he tried to convince him.

    She didn''t see thising.

    Uriel was incapable of putting her first.

    He did it once by passing his responsibilities of the Garden of the Four Seasons to another Archangel and he can''t do that anymore for the second time.

    Uriel didn''t hesitate to tell her that he regretted everything that happened.

    If Uriel was strong, it would be easy for him to walk away but he was still here.

    Why?

    His words never matched his actions.

    His warm palm covered the back of her hand and removed them from her chest.

    She frowned at losing the feel of his heartbeat but she didn''t insist on touching him anymore.

    Nevertheless,? Merle shed him a sphinx-like smile when she witnessed the conflict in his handsome features from the way his jaw had clenched.

    It was obvious that his mind told him to turn around and leave but both of his feet were nted to the ground and set farther apart to amodate his growing erection.

    It wasn''t an assumption.

    She had seen it herself that she had wanted to ask if the Archangel was hiding a squirrel under his tunic.

    ''Uriel was big... or so she thought.''

    She still considered herself innocent when it came to mating but if shepared her mind to the Archangel, hers would probably be scandalous.

    Her knowledge of the sexual act was overwhelmed her the first time.

    Merle had learned it from the knights and soldiers talking andughing about it during the campfire whenever their group was assigned to stay up all night to guard their base camp.

    Uriel would be surprised by how much she actually knew��well, assumed was the correct term.

    If Merle was going to try something scary and jump to the unknown--to the point of no return, then she might as well throw caution to the wind.

    Uriel''s blue wings were closed which meant he had no intention to fly out of here.

    His pupils were covered with longshes that were longer than hers.

    How much did he want this?

    The Archangel watched her hooded eyes.

    Merle just had to do that one thing that tip his desire over the edge. S

    he yearned to make him go mad and make him lose control.

    Archangel Uriel told her earlier that he was leaving her but he actually couldn''t... which meant that he could not ignore her request!

    No male Faeries in the Material Realm had ever driven Merle crazy like how Uriel did.

    She hated to think that he had that much power over her when the Archangel couldn''t make up his mind.

    As powerful cherubim of his stature, Uriel had spouted such a weak excuse, refusing to take responsibility since he could choose only one.

    ''He wanted to have both, huh?''? It was her verdict of his ambiguous behavior. ''What else was new?''

    Merle would force his hand to choose one in her favor, ruining him like how easily he betrayed her.

    Carrying a Nephilim he sired might teach him a lesson but it wasn''t like she would follow through with it.

    +++

    Archangel Uriel watched her golden eyes and he knew that Merle''s anger was nothing but a shield of pain.

    Merle had built thick walls around herself the moment Uriel told her that he had to leave her and their home.

    In truth, Archangel Uriel didn''t know how long but he wanted it to be temporary if it was possible.

    Yet, he didn''t want to promise her anything when he wasn''t certain about their rtionship.

    What if the future oue he had perceived about the Material Realm was going toe true? Despite not promising anything to Merle for the whole duration of theirpanionship, she never hesitated to voice out her disappointment over his inevitable departure and even called him a liar!

    He exhaled a heavy sigh.

    "Merle." Uriel said coolly and it took him a lot of effort to dismiss her repeatedly, knowing that her not so sweet andpliant Merle would never give up. "I can''t do it with you."

    +++

    Sorry to my readers, I think you noticed like there are two new chapters where it got extended from the current ones. Yes, I am editing like hell for four chapters it gives me a headache but I have to. I really can''t move on if I find itcking.? Like I am not sure if you noticed the chapter before this, I have added 600 words just this afternoon. I keep on adding stuff from the past chapters that''s why you think I am not writing but I''m actually writing but not on the next chapters.? My past chapters seem tock information. To me, it sounds clinical and likes people are floating. I don''t see that much movement. Just dialogue. Thoughts and feelings. So, I''m bncing it before I move on to the next.? I am not burning out tho. I mean I have ideas but it will take me time to form. It''s kinda sad. But I will try.? My schedule is ruined. :,( I am also establishing my own tea business so it''s pretty hectic. I hope you understand. I forgot to reduce the privilege for this month because I got so busy.. I also hired someone tomission lock screen wallpapers for Hell''s Consort so I think you could look forward to that in December. Thank you for your patience

 Chapter 791 - The Passion Fruit (done)

    <h4>Chapter 791 - The Passion Fruit (done)</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (October 2021 )

    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    Archangel Uriel & Merle''s Arc

    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    "Merle." Uriel said coolly, and it took him a lot of effort to dismiss her time and time again, knowing that her not so sweet-andpliant Merle would never give up on this mission.? "I can''t do it with you."

    "But, I know you want to? " The statement had sounded like a question as she purred at him.

    Clenching her teeth in displeasure, Merle still managed to sound forceful rather than seductive.

    Yet, she might try to keep it under wraps by shing him a slight conspiratorial smile, but he wasn''t buying it.

    "No." He met her bewitching gaze head-on, and the brilliant twin suns threatened to sear him with inner mes.

    Folding his arms across his chest, Archangel Uriel glowered at her face and scanned her from her head down to her toe, then back to her countenance.

    Herdy-love might assume she was doing him a favor with her sexual innuendos without realizing it was making things worse.

    Had she used this ruse to Archangel Lucifer so that he would give her the giant grey wolfskin she had been wearing right now?

    Anger crackled like an ember in his veins, and he imagined himself pouring buckets of icy water over his mind to resist the inviting allure.

    It was dangerous for him to perceive fiercer emotions than what was necessary for an Archangel.

    Did Merle think he wouldn''t notice her wielding this tactic like a weapon while she worked at the tavern when her every movement was inspected by the male gaze who watched her in their peripheral vision?

    For once, Merle''s roaming hands didn''t seek to touch him again.

    She already sensed his difort over the skin-to-skin contact, making him feel hotter from overthinking how a woman''s skin felt so soft.

    "Aren''t you curious about it, Uriel?"

    Uriel could easily pick up the slight nuance of her voice.

    "I��"Archangel Uriel''s mouth opened and closed as his agitated mind grasped at the respectful thoughts scrambling away from him.

    He was clutching at straws here.

    "I told you, Merle. I will not break my covenant to the Highest Creator." Archangel Uriel scoffed as he tried to talk some sense into her. "I will not turn into one of the Watchers and sire Nephilims! Demons." He enunciated. "The very same creatures everyone abhorred in the Material Realm due to the chaos their existence had brought."

    He loved her too much to put that burden on her, and here he thought that both of them were against this!

    It was insane how she could change her mind this easily!

    Maybe, she felt so abandoned, needing hispany for thest time.

    Merle just had to tell him if she needed a hug to soothe her fears.

    He could do it if she told him honestly as long as she epted that he would be gone by sunrise.

    Still, it would help if they separate rather than see each other suffer and choose to make it worse.

    Archangel Uriel was as lonely as her, but he was dead set on being cruel rather than kind.

    It took so little time for him to decide to turn her away from him that she had to beg him like a desperate woman.

    She was a beautiful woman has a beautiful soul.

    God, Merle was as captivating as a goddess.

    His ray of sunshine radiated from the inside out like a sunflower.

    She cared a lot about him and did it with such ease.

    Merle wasn''t difficult to love.

    She was the most astonishing girl he ever met, having this rare desire to help the world, her loved ones, and those who needed her love.

    Living with her was a pleasure.

    She was easy to talk to, fun to be around, and she never judged him for being an Archangel.

    Not until now.

    She could easily detach from the good memories��the smiles they have shared that flooded her with warmth�� if she could find a man.

    With her golden eyes, moonlight skin, delicate jawline, and dark red braid hanging over her left shoulder, it wouldn''t be hard for men to snatch her up and steal her away from him with those naturally elegant curves.

    But did he want that?

    Fingers yed with the ribbons of her corset. Merle fidgeted in her ce. "What if I tell you that we can try and do it but not quite?"

    Heart in her mouth, her golden eyes expected a good response.

    Wide-eyed, Archangel Uriel shrugged, perplexed about her implication.

    "I don''t know what you mean." He muttered with a good shake in the head.

    Frown lines marred his forehead.

    She started ncing at the ground for a second before she brought her gaze back to his eyes.

    Now, that made him even more suspicious.

    It was a ssic gesture used by beautiful female Faeries ustomed to getting what they wanted, especially when he passed by at the brothels out of sheer curiosity.

    Uriel contented himself with people watching, observing the pairs'' bodynguage and sensual gestures��primarily male and female-- outside the establishment.

    It was amusing to see the couples'' interactions before they could even enter the house of ill repute.

    How much more if Archangel could peek behind closed doors?

    Archangel had spied on these couples only once, and he didn''t do it again, already satisfied with the information he gathered from the lovebirds outside the premises.

    What would Merle think of him if she found out?

    He wasn''t even sure if they were couples since he recalled that Merle had taught him about males in the Material Realm using prostitutes to ''relieve the itch,'' exining that this strange ''itch'' was called Lust.

    That was what she said, exining that ''Love'' and ''Lust'' were poles apart.

    Merle had asked him about this specific scenario.

    Uriel would feel the desire to mate from out-nowhere, and she wasn''t near.

    Would he seek out another woman without minding who it was and just decided in that spur of the moment to bury his shaft into her with her consent?

    Uriel found that so ridiculous that he answered ''no'' before Merle could finish the question.

    He remembered Merle''s satisfied smirk after his resounding ''no'' and smacked her lips in his mouth.

    That stolen kiss had caught him off-guard, and he kissed her right back��long and deep.

    She cleared her throat.

    "I will teach you, Uriel." She whispered as she kept her eyes on the ground. "Maybe,? I can? teach you how to do it."

    Shrugging the wolfskin fur off her back, Merle let it fall to the ground before she began taking off her clothes.

    First, she pulled on the ribbons of her corset before throwing them aside.

    Peeling the thin, lc dress out of her skin in just one go, her bodice followed, and itnded on the ground in a graceful heap.

    "I will give you a taste of what you have been missing."

    The cool white of her skin had blinded Uriel that he didn''t bother covering his eyes, but he quickly recovered from it.

    rmed, Uriel had never been more conscious of his surroundings as he looked around their vicinity.

 Chapter 792 - The Woman Who Devours (Merles Arc)

    <h4>Chapter 792 - The Woman Who Devours (Merle''s Arc)</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (October 2021 )

    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    Archangel Uriel & Merle''s Arc

    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    rmed, Uriel had never been more conscious of his surroundings as he looked around their vicinity.

    Snow continued to fall but he used his magic to cover both of them and their hut in grey fog just in case Archangel Lucifer or a lost Faerie might be lurking in the mountains while Merle was here, standing naked before him.

    "Merle." Archangel Uriel growled, not taking his eyes off herrge breasts, as he bent down on one knee to pick up her rumpled dress on the grass.

    This wasn''t the first time he saw what bare chests looked like but the sight was too foreign for him to process when it came to Merle.

    Her dusky nipples hypnotized him,pelled him to keep looking while he rose as he straightened his posture.

    He shouldn''t be thinking about Merle''s beauty in terms of lust in the first ce.

    It was a poor replica of what love was supposed to be.

    She wasn''t a piece of meat and his feelings for her were never based on a physical desire to conquer.

    She should never see herself as that creature just because the male gaze had been ingrained in her mind while she was a child growing up.

    His goddess'' allure hade from within and it was the kind of beauty that wouldst for a long time.

    True lovees from the heart and soul, not from something as shallow as appearance.

    Yet, was she insisting on tempting her with her body?

    What was she trying to prove?

    "Put that dress on again."? His frustrated words came out as a mumble while the rest of his notions betrayed him, telling him that those little grapes were forbidden fruits that he should taste.

    "I don''t think so. You never noticed things I do everyday, making an effort to cover myself from head to toe.? I was trying to be more considerate for you so that we can stay together for as long as I wanted. I didn''t want to elicit lust on you because I cared about you. About us. " Archangel Uriel stiffened at her confession.

    He could discern the pain in that shout, taking offense to his request to put on some of her clothes again.

    "I covered myself up so that you don''t think or look at me that way while we lived in the same space. I was afraid too that you might do something would regretter." Merle lowered her head in regret.? "The things I do so that we won''t be separated, Uriel. You gave up? on us too easily! No more."

    She shook her head from side to side, sending the strands of her hair float like red threads.

    Merle was getting blurry in his vision so he withdrew the fog around them and made it scatter.

    "It doesn''t matter, Uriel." Her low usation might as well be loud from how deep she pierced him. "You already threw me away like I was a toy you were done using just because you changed your mind about us!"

    He didn''t reply.

    Archangel Uriel''s emotions had turned upside down which made his insides tight that he felt like throwing up.

    What had he done?

    Archangel Uriel was simply looking out for her safety as her former lover if she actually cared enough to listen.

    He had learned how to hide both his pain and rage because Angels like him learned to be stoic at such a young age.

    It was one of their angelic duties to be objective and bnced in their judgment and detach themselves from the situation.

    Other creatures might think their attitude stood at the thin line between apathy and empathy but the Angel Kind considered it as normal.

    Because of this, Merle must havee to the conclusion that they were cold as ice.

    That they didn''t care about anyone and anything that wouldpromise their morals, beliefs, and values they lived by.

    Every Angel, including him, grew up with discipline.

    "Merle,? I really don''t understand what''s going on in? your head right now but don''t make me tell you twice."

    As she swallowed down the lump in her throat and pushed it into her belly, Merle remained cool but she would rather be inside the hut and lie on the bed, shaking with grief that bled from her bones, rather than being rejected by this bastard over and over again.

    Emotional ache seeped into his words and it physically hurt to hear them.

    She could barely lift the corner of her lips to give him a resigned smile before they dropped.

    She had to keep in mind that it was Archangel Uriel who betrayed her.

    Well, he should have been the one who felt bad instead of him.

    "We can''t." He repeated apologetically.

    If he wasn''t an Archangel, perhaps, he could think about it.

    Arm outstretched, Uriel handed her the dress she had taken off but shepletely ignored it.

    He held it out to her again but she neverid her eyes on it.

    Should he assist her in putting the lc dress back on then?

    Nevermind.

    Uriel will not be responsible for what he might do if his innocent hand would graze the smooth globes of her breasts.

    Her lips curled in contempt and he couldn''t resist but throw another jab at her for making his life difficult. "If devouring me is part of your fantasy, then I don''t want to be a part of it."

    The vile words he swung and stabbed at her like a weapon made her shatter and break into a million shards while she tried to hold on to her.

    She let her sadnesse out and she hadn''t prepared herself for the onught.

    "Tch."

    Did she just�� try to curse an Archangel?

    "Aren''t you ashamed that Archangel Lucifer might be in the vicinity? Aren''t you ashamed that he might see you?" Uriel asked and his tone had no inflection.

 Chapter 793 - I Had Enough (Merles Arc)

    <h4>Chapter 793 - I Had Enough (Merle''s Arc)</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (November 2021 )

    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    Archangel Uriel & Merle''s Arc

    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    "Aren''t you ashamed that Archangel Lucifer might be in the vicinity? Aren''t you ashamed that he might see you?" Uriel asked, and his tone had no inflection.

    Merle felt the chill in her blood, and the coldness brought her brain to a standstill. "Then, I''m going inside the hut. That way nobody had to see me including you."

    If he left her to suffer then, he could have easily done it, but he chose not to.

    It was his betrayal that made her weak, devastating her mind.

    Still, Merle was adamant that she wouldn''t lose him��that he would stay away from her life--after all they had been through.

    At least this attention was better than cold indifference.

    He held her so close only to stab the proverbial knife into her ribcage deeper as he whispered how much he loved her.

    Her ears were full of sweet empty words, and she was tired of it.

    That was all she had.

    Her grief came so strong it felt like she was being swept away from it.

    Instead of fighting against the current��fighting to keep their forbidden love alive��she would finally stop and surrender to the waves of sorrow crashing on her.

    She realized all her efforts were futile when it was clear that Uriel had no desire to give the same steps back.

    "You can either follow or leave." She exhaled a resigned sigh as she crossed her arms to rub her palms on the light bluish hue of her skin from the gust of wind and the snow falling over her head. "It''s getting cold outside."

    Merle always said the exact opposite of what she truly wanted, always convincing him to leave the mountains, as if it was easy for him to do.

    She didn''t have to do this��giving out ultimatums and acting like a wench with her borate schemes of seduction.

    He would never fall for them.

    Fat tears fell on her chest, and Uriel''s eyes widened in rm, taken aback.

    Merle quickly turned her back so that he wouldn''t have to see them and feel burdened by the emotions that overwhelmed her.

    She felt the wetness of her palms as she wiped them away from her cheeks.

    "Merle, don''t you dare turn your back on me!" He yelled as he tried to reach her with his free hand, but she could avoid it. "I want you to put on these clothes right now."

    "No."? Her small yet snarky response quivered from her disappointment.

    Her teardrops demanded to be felt as they continued to emerge, dropping incessantly from her open eyes.

    Of course, the Archangel on the feminine wiles, wouldn''t he?

    He already mentioned this before.

    Uriel saw it as a form of maniption, forcing him to do things when he didn''t want to.

    He had no one to me so that he would put them on her.

    Merle." He called her as he took a step forward, extending his arm to curl his fingers around her wrist, hoping that she would listen.

    He imagined this scenario where he would tell her lies to make her feel better about them.

    If he did and they arrived at this point, Merle would not see the logic and might even have a worse reaction than this.

    "Mer��"

    Wrinkling her nose, she let out a sneeze and sniffed.

    She bent over, and it was s a poor attempt to keep herself warm and entice Uriel with her back, her butt, and her curvy shape.

    "Why don''t you bring my clothes? as a keepsake when you return to the Heavenly Realms?" His lover cried out without turning to face him, and all Uriel could view was her exposed behind.

    Her anger was palpable, which also made the rage and bitterness inside of him had awakened that he felt like he was about to explode."If you can''t have me, then at least have something to remind you of me."

    Mncholy drained him, and all he wanted was to surrender to her.

    Surrender to her body.

    "Listen to me��"

    Shoulders hunching over, she whimpered, "Goodbye, Archangel. Never tell me that you didn''t have a choice when ites to me. It gets old." She fought a sob to escape from her throat. "I don''t have any expectations from you anymore!"

    Archangel Uriel went silent.

    Merle haunted him in ways that he couldn''t exin.

    It was a stubborn love he could never shake off.

    Her heart was priceless, but she gave it to him for free only for him to make her feel cheap.

    Wretched and cold trash.

    The love she had for him quickly turned into hate, and it swallowed her whole.

    Archangel Uriel could only ept them, thinking it was for her good.

    He wanted to reach for the heavenly light, but Merle was like a siren, pulling his ankles down into the deep and taking him into the abyss where he wouldn''t be the same anymore.

    She had put a love spell on him--got him so blinded--that he couldn''t see what was right or wrong when she was involved in his decisions.

    Merle was already defensive after his words cornered her.

    Not only was Merle scared for her life because she was lonely and desperate without someone to watch over her.

    At the same time, she traveled from vige to vige by foot, carrying the magic fruits in arge drawstring sack behind her back.

    She also gave him this unspoken pressure to live and be with her as one of the? Fallen Watchers. Sire her a child as proof of his love.

    Next, they would run away from the rest of the Angel Kind, hide, and live? happily like normal Fairies do as if they were the only creatures left in this world.

    Was that what she wanted?

    Nevertheless, Uriel finally has had enough.

    "Look at me, Merle.." From her? wrist to her upper arm, Archangel Uriel''s fingers slid upwards and spun her around to face him.? Why don''t you obey me?"

 Chapter 794 - I Changed My Mind (Merles Arc)

    <h4>Chapter 794 - I Changed My Mind (Merle''s Arc)</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (October 2021 )

    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    Archangel Uriel & Merle''s Arc

    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    "Look at me, Merle." From her? wrist to her upper arm, Archangel Uriel''s fingers slid upwards and spun her around to face him.? Why don''t you obey me?"

    As he scrutinized the faint lines of tiredness under her? golden eyes, his ire abruptly lessened.

    When he looked at how beautiful Merle was, time seemed to stop.

    He closed his eyes, not wanting to see her face and the golden eyes that had lost their spark.

    The emptiness in them scared him.

    Unfortunately, the sight of her beautiful chest and corbone made his heart rate get faster and his breathing got shallower.

    Nostrils ring, he turned his head to the side and avert his gaze from Merle''s naked form but what was he to do if it was directly in front of him?

    He changed his mind and eyed her generous breasts, instead.

    Isn''t this what she originally wanted?

    It was bewitching and deserved to be admired with or without clothing. He was disarmed at how she looked like as she watched him with a vulnerability in her gaze that he couldn''t resist yet she stood without shame nor modesty as if she knew the effect she had on him.

    "You are not my master." Her smile was condescending as she jutted her chin with feminine arrogance.

    A visceral part of him had reacted to her challenge.

    In the blink of an eye, he dropped the dress he picked up from the ground.

    Lips curling in chagrin, his fingers sped the back of her neck as hepelled her to tilt her face upward by slightly tugging her red hair.

    He did not realize what the Angel kind had been missing�� Until now.

    He can feel what these Watchers have felt the first? time they saw such art. The Highest Creator deserved to be praised.

    Uriel couldn''t wait for what Merle would do next so he surprised her and himself next. Hisrge hand touched her exposed breast and squeeze.

    A small gasp came out of her mouth.

    Merle''s breasts were as soft as a feathered pillow and he found that out after he released her hair and touched the other.

    Her nipples puckered into his palms.

    Both were warm and so responsive to his touch that Uriel couldn''t resist groping the two as he rubbed them and pinched them in circles.

    ''Not this again.'' Uriel grimaced that he had done exactly what Merle tried to achieve and that was to get an erection out of him.

    The sexual tension was thick and tangible in the air without them speaking a word.

    Fear shed in her wide gaze and it was gone in an instant that he thought he imagined it��until he understood.

    Uriel had watched her with the eyes of a predator��the eyes of a Fallen Watcher--and it was the first time she had witnessed an Archangel''s desire to eat her up like a rabbit.

    For once, Archangel Uriel had reveled in this fearful response and he wanted to see more.

    The wheels had turned and he wasn''t on the receiving end of her attempts of seduction.

    He will not be her willing participant if he let her have a taste of her own medicine.

    Circling around her well-rounded hip, Archangel raised her body upwards and carried her in his shoulders without warning.

    She was too stunned by his sudden action that he heard no screams of protest as he opened the door,? stalked towards the hut, and set her gently on theirrge bed that upied almost half of the floor.

    Her lovely breasts with the rosy nipples bounced as she scrambled to get up while her elbows supported her.

    She was really perfect without clothes but he preferred that she had them on instead of lying on the grass outside the hut.

    His eyes traveled from? her golden eyes, to her lips, to her delicate corbones then to her breasts. Archangel Uriel sat lower and moved close to her body.

    His gaze didn''t linger too long since he got interested in something else.

    Hands-on his hips, Uriel towered over her while she sat, naked, on the cushions.? "You really want to test my patience, huh."

    "You want me then? This?" He gestured at his body before he let pulled the opening off his cor and allowed his tunic to fall from his broad shoulders.

    He didn''t remove his clothespletely or else... he didn''t even want to think about it.

    It would make him retreat.

    A flood of loneliness swept over his chest and the rain began to pitter-patter outside the roof.

    Archangel Uriel felt like he was dying inside.

    He wanted to shake off the anxious thoughts about Merle saying that he didn''t matter to her and that everything was a lie just as he lied about his feelings toward her earlier.

    All of those insecurities disappeared when he saw Merle''s countenance seeming like she wanted to see more of him.

    Thankfully, he hadn''t lost her yet so he made another promise that he hadn''t intended on keeping. "I would give you what you want."

    Golden eyes locked into his own with a focus that was so intense that it made him growl low in his throat.

    Uriel let his hands roam against her skin with his permission as the moonlight from the window cast a soft glow behind her.

    As he crouched down to cover her small physique with his own, their bodies became more sensual as they ground their body against each other on top of the bed.

    His tongue slowly traveled through her neck down to her chest and her suppressed little moans made his erection harder.

    Something inside him had changed into something more desperate and he didn''t know how to satisfy it.

    All he knew was that he was desperate for something that was within his reach but Uriel had no idea what to do and how to achieve it.

    His horror of impregnating Merle with the Nephilim babies he had sired because of his carelessness led him into biting at her shoulders hard with his teeth to stop her from producing those arousal-inducing music in his ears.

 Chapter 795 - Stuck With You (need More Dirty Details For Seggs)

    <h4>Chapter 795 - Stuck With You (need More Dirty Details For Seggs)</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (October 2021 )

    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    Archangel Uriel & Merle''s Arc

    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    His horror of impregnating Merle with the Nephilim babies he had sired because of his carelessness led him into biting at her shoulders hard with his teeth to stop her from producing those arousal-inducing music in his ears.

    Merle yelped and shoved his chest away from her to stare at his inscrutable face. "That hurts, Uriel!" She looked at him like he had gone mad, which he thought he was.? "Please be gentler. You don''t bite my shoulder." She whispered as her fingernails curled in his solid chest. "You suck."

    "I apologize." He leaned closer and leaned his forearms on either side of her head, keeping her t on her back.

    "Seriously, Uriel." She insisted, rolling her eyes at him as she endured the painful throbbing of the mark his teeth made.? "This isn''t about biting my flesh and leaving marks."

    "I think I saw a? man with a woman. He bit her? in a secluded area and she yelped like you did. " He exined without hesitation, and his face appeared like he didn''t regret it, expecting her to say, ''You are right.''

    Yet, he still did it wrong.

    Merle dug her fingernails deeper. "Well, I think biting is also included too but you bit too hard that it might have crushed my corbones."

    "I��" "I''m not good at this. We should stop if you wouldn''t like what I''m doing." He angled his head at her in concern. "You already thought of me as pathetic."

    Eyes wide, Merle''s panic moved through the surface, and she wrapped her hands around his back immediately. "We should start slow. Why don''t you hug me?"

    +++

    Archangel rolled off her, moved to the side, and faced her to cuddle her hard. He nuzzled her hair while she stroked his broad back. "You are naked as the day that you were made by our Creator."

    Merle''s cheeks had turned red, and he added, "I like the way you blush."

    "Kiss me more, Uriel."

    Archangel Uriel kissed her deeper, touching her body as if he couldn''t get enough of the feel of it.

    However, he promised himself that he wouldn''t take too much.

    "You are too dangerous for me, Merle." The way Merle touched him while he held her in her arms sent chills down his spine. He should be frightened, but why wasn''t he stopping himself from kissing her? He had to control himself.? "You aren''t good for me." He narrowed her eyes at her. "Do you want really want me, Merle?"

    +++

    ''Archangel. There is no way you could forget about me.'' She kept her oath to herself. ''Before you return, I will keep you up all night.''

    She was determined to fulfill every fantasy she had with him from when they met as long as Uriel wouldn''t prate her.

    Uriel felt so hot, and his raw power roared with the lightest of touch.

    +++

    "What is with that mysterious smile?"

    "Nothing." Merle pursed her lips to hide her smile. "I can''t believe you are asking me now." I told? you it didn''t matter."

    Sighing, that made her wonder even more, but this wasn''t the time.

    "After tonight, Merle.? Don''t ever change. Even if we separate, you are still mine. Even if you decided to be with another man after I leave,? you are still mine. You belong to me. You are not the only one who don''t want to forget this thing between us but I can tell you that I will love you from afar.? I apologize for hurting you earlier. It''s the only method that I know to set you free. To free you from this binding�� a binding that wasn''t supposed to be there in the first ce."

    Archangel Uriel knew that he had loved Merle very much because he realized it was so difficult to say goodbye.

    It wasn''t like both of them didn''t try to make it work to the point that it stole their peace of mind.

    It would hurt Merle''s pride to beg him to stay with her twice.

    Merle started crying, and he didn''t stop her so that she could let her anguish out until she had enough.

    Merle was well aware that the moment? Archangel Uriel got out of this hut, he couldn''t return.

    She was like the north star, and his shaft was like apass was only pointing towards her.

    Merle felt so deep, and it wasn''t just about their attraction.

    Falling in love with a Faerie was the sanest kind of madness.

    His attraction to Merle intoxicated him, and he wanted to protect her fiercely.

    If he couldn''t control himself, he would be the evil creatures they were fighting against.

    Her sweet lips seemed to melt in his mouth from how soft it felt, and Uriel didn''t want it to end.

    Suddenly, Merle withdrew and pushed him back to whisper something in her ear.

    "If you want me, Uriel, we can take it slow."

    His brows knitted in confusion the way someone would wake up from a strange dream.

    Archangel Uriel would let Merle take the lead and cherish this night.

    He looked so good, and his skin tasted so good, like honey on her lips.

    Gaze burning with a deep, dark need, Merle sat on top of his shaft with gritted teeth.

    Forbidden passion strained against her skin, and she cried out in pain when she felt her quim almost tear from hisrge, thick size.

    She grabbed Uriel''s hands tight as their bodies intertwined in this erotic dance.

    Crouching, she started to move.

    All the futile worries vanished as Uriel watched his shaft disappear into her.

    He couldn''t understand himself.

    Uriel wanted Merle to move slow, but it was he who was moving too fast,

    He didn''t want to go too fast but--

    It was toote.

    Now, he was taking the lead.

    He was the only one who could stop and break them apart to save both of them, but it killed him to do it.

    This physical desperation they both share and mirror---

    He had to reach this peak with this delicious frenzy inside of him that was akin to how a hungry Fae needed as much food and water.

    "Uriel. Stop!" Uriel had closed his eyes, and Merle''s voice seemed to wrap around him. "If you do��"

    He was in an infinite spiral where he didn''t know where to start and where to begin.

    His climax was instant, exciting him and calming him at once.

    He came inside her, and he couldn''t turn back the time.

    He hated to admit this, but Uriel didn''t want her to stop.

    It was the kind that almost pushed him over the edge and soothed his soul at the same time.

    It was everything he ever needed and wanted, but it still made him panic.

    Archangel Uriel thought he had already conquered his desire to stay with Merle.

    That was why he took this risk because he thought he could recover.

    He tried, but he couldn''t run from her anymore, even if he thought it was safer than being with her.

    In truth, he was stripped of every chance to run now that he possessed her body and soul.

    He could never keep hisposure when it came to Merle.

    They will depend on each other from now on.

    At this moment, Uriel decided that he didn''t want to part with her anymore.

    He loved her, and he would do everything to prove that he could be trusted.

    Panting as loud as Merle, Uriel opened his eyes to meet her gaze and it stayed there, "Merle? Are you happy now? I can''t leave you anymore.." He murmured harshly, "You are stuck with me and our child until the end."

 Chapter 796 - Mask Falling Off

    <h4>Chapter 796 - Mask Falling Off</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (November 2021 )

    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    BACK TO THE PRESENT��

    QUEEN MORGAN OF THE AUTUMN REALM

    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    As she fell headfirst to her own Kingdom, her long hair floated around her like a cloud.

    The thick strands of her hair were all over the ce, and she noticed a little toote that the silky tresses on her head that she concealed with ink-ck had returned to their normal color.

    Eyes widening in shock, Merle felt like buckets of ice-cold water were poured onto her skin as the strong winds around her acted like whish.

    Gravity had pulled her short leather skirt upside down and exposed her long shapely legs that she tried her best to cover with her hand.

    With gritted teeth, Merle squeezed her eyes shut and muttered spells of Fae Magic under her breath to reinforce her disguise and turn her red hair back to ck.

    That way, no one from the Ancient Elders she had gathered for the Council, aside from Endre, would recognize who she used to be. In the current times, Merle was Queen Morgan.

    The rightful queen.

    Unfortunately, her Fae Magic couldn''t keep up with the disguise while she managed to strengthen the protective dome around the Fall Courts.

    As her efforts stopped working, she finally released the mour on her appearance.

    It was all in vain, so it was better for her to give it up.

    Merle suspected that all of her energy and life force wasmitted to strengthening the barriers to prevent the Archdemon of Lust''s Legion from infiltrating the Fall Courts.

    The inhabitants were more important than the fact whether someone from the ancient Faeries her age would recognize her or not.

    In the Fair folk''s eyes, Morgan was a legendary heroine who saved them from demonic possessions during the Great War.

    Queen Morgan was the face she showed to the world for the longest time, so she couldn''t possibly change now.

    With the fox mask she always wore the instant she got out of her royal chamber, Merle had be what she had pretended to be, and Queen Morgan of the Fall Courts was her new identity.

    She had always insisted that she wasn''t Merle anymore��the low cross Knight who withdrew from Prince Balthasar''s Militia and tempted an Archangel to sin��as if that would cover the errors that she made in the past.

    Merle and Archangel Uriel had taken such a dangerous leap andunched themselves to the unknown.

    Of course, there was no other direction but to fall. She dared to follow her primal instincts of having Archangel Uriel to herself without any thoughts and consideration of the consequences.

    Fear of missing this chance to be with the one she loved haunted her.

    Their love was once in a lifetime, and it will nevere again.

    The knowledge she had about the Angel Kind had unraveled for the worse.

    The horrible disillusionment turned her world upside down, and the only thing she could do was to watch it crumble to the ground.

    It shattered her dreams and hopes of beating the Highest God to change her and Uriel''s destiny. The future she had perceived during that time was a dream.

    Queen Morgan shook her head to release the prolonged grief in her thoughts that wouldn''t vanish.

    She was airborne and had yet tond in this never-ending descent.

    For some reason, she couldn''t use her Fae Magic, but why did her brain choose to distract her with something that had already happened?

    She was holding on to what was no longer best for her.

    Everything had changed, and she couldn''t stay the same.

    The past was only a memory, and the way to achieve peace from it was eptance.

    If she would continue inducing her mind to silence, then her heart would be more fulfilled.

    No one in this world satisfied her soul as Archangel Uriel did.

    All the tension in her muscles loosened up when she rxed.

    What wille next?

    Will her world end, or will she keep falling with no future at all?

    Someone jolted her awake, and she opened her eyes to nce up at one of her Cadres, Sylvain seated on the chair beside her bed in the Autumn Realm to watch over her frail form.

    Jorah and Kotari were in her chamber, too, standing guard by the door and not letting anyone in despite the Elders'' insistence to see her and make sure she was still alive.

    The Cadre was the only Faeries who knew about her actual appearance��the unique red hair she possessed that made her stand out like a sore thumb, making her enemies easier to hunt her--and kept it a secret.

    At first, her brows knitted in confusion as she tried to make sense of her surroundings.

    The dream she had earlier had brought her back in time where she lived in the small hut at the top of the mountains with Uriel, so it jarred her to suddenly see all these finest silks and fabrics of her pillowcases, nkets, and gilded tapestries.

    Yes, she was Queen Morgan. Not Merle.

    Taking a deep breath, she inhaled and exhaled a huge sigh of relief.

    She just had toy back in this bed, rx and observe as she relinquished the past and listen to what her Cadre had to report her of the current situation of the battle.

    Sylvain exined that Queen Morgan had sessfully killed the President of the Demonic Legion. Unfortunately, the impact was so strong that she had vanished from their sight, and they had to look for her while ming balls of sulfur formed from the dragon''s ashesy suspended in the air for a few seconds before it started raining fire in the Realm.

    It was the Vampire King who saw her fall from the sky, unconscious, and helped them with the rescue.

    Sylvain also added that they informed the Vampire King beforehand not to tell anyone what she looked like without her fox mask since it disintegrated during the attack.

    "Please call the Vampire King over here, Kotario.. I have something to tell him."

 Chapter 797 - A Questionable Reward

    <h4>Chapter 797 - A Questionable Reward</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (November 2021 )

    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    QUEEN MORGAN OF THE AUTUMN REALM

    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    "Please call the Vampire King over here, Kotari. I have something to tell him." Morgan told herself that she should call the Vampire King by his name, Apollyon.

    The Vampire Realm was seized by this Archdemon called Luxen. Yet, she still believed that the vampire couple still had the power to take their Kingdom back, just like how the Vampire King helped her defend hers.

    As she lifted herself with her elbows, Queen Morgan moved back to lean against the headboard and groaned from the soreness of her body, "I will give him a reward that he and the Empress deserved."

    Kotari, who was the closest one to the door nodded, stepped outside her royal chamber.

    It took him ten minutes to return to her chamber with no Vampire King in tow.

    Even Sylvain and Jora had to peek if someone stood behind Kotari before they realized that no one was there when he shut the door gently.

    Loud noises can irritate Queen Morgan, especially if she already had this throbbing ache in her temples from waking up too soon.

    ."Queen Morgan." Kotari inclined his head towards her with his hands behind his back, "The Vampire King wouldn''t allow to speak with you alone without the Empress."

    ''Oh right.'' She pped once from the realization. ''How silly of me!''

    She cleared her throat and said evenly,? "Call the Vampire King and the Empress here in my chamber."

    "Yes, You''re Highness."

    The Vampire King and the Empress came in, wearing perfect clothes as if both of them didn''t have a first-hand experience of the siege''s aftermath.

    As the three of them pretended that her Cadre was ''air'', Morgan, Apollyon and Luna had a short conversation as her protectors listened to them in silence.

    She gave the alliance the Vampire King wanted from the start along with a temporary position in the Autumn Monarchy so that this couple would have a bit of power greater than her Cadre over the Autumn Militia just in case Queen Morgan wasn''t fit to lead them while she rested.

    King Apollyon and her wife proved themselves to be reliable after saving her from the president.

    This was how she showed her immense gratitude since she? had no husband or descendants to pass it unto for the meantime.

    Well, she felt no pressure at first.

    It wasn''t like she would die soon.

    Unfortunately, today''s events had changed her mind.

    The Empress didn''t argue unnecessarily or ask too many questions.

    As the Vampire King, their countenance was neutral, but the twinkle in their eyes made her think that they were d and relieved.

    The Empress told her onest thing before they exited her room.

    Empress Luna had promised that they would take back the Vampire Realm from the Archdemon of Lust after they found the magic fruits, and Queen Morgan''s offer to give them a portion of her cities to rule wasn''t needed.

    Yet, the silver-haired paledy had curtsied, said ''thank? you'' and ''get well soon'' messages before shing her with a gracious yet humble smile.

    After that, the Empress clutched her husband''s hand, and their fingers interlocked with one another as they got out.

    She frowned.

    It reminded her of how Uriel had held her hand on theirst night.

    She nced at Archangel Ariel''s feather she had preserved inside a small dome-shaped piece of amber on top of her bedside table.

    This will be thest time she would reminisce about what happened between her and Archangel Uriel.

    Maybe, her mind had taken her back to what happened at the Great War between Archangels and the Fallen Angels because history had repeated itself in the current times.

    She was ready to move forward and rescue the future from the sinister demonic legions, like how she had saved the Faerie Realm in the past.

    "Queen Morgan, aren''t you giving them too much of a reward?" Jora straightened his posture. "If you want to reward the people who saves you, who constantly have your back, don''t you think that we are more eligible to be elevated as part of your family and be one of your Monarchs instead of them?" His tone was firm, and it made her think that the youngest member of her Cadre had no ns in holding anything back, "Why don''t you just give everyone a reward to those who had worked hard during the battle? What had the Vampire King done to gain much favor for you that we hadn''t done yet?"

    That made her raise an eyebrow.

    "You don''t understand Kotari. I can do anything as your Queen." Queen Morgan said tly as she glowered at his audacity. "Being part of my Cadre doesn''t give you the right to question me. There would be no such thing as reward if all acquired the same thing. We can''t possibly make everyone in the Autumn Militia have a higher status than? lords unless you are born with the royal blood. This is my test of excellence of who can protect the Kingdom better. Victory would never belong to us without their help. In addition to that, you haven''t experienced losing a Kingdom that you have built for millennia in the blink of an eye. This is my way of sympathizing the pain and shock which apanied that realization that those creatures had nothing to return to."

    "But don''t you think it was too much?" Kotari seconded.? "What if it was a trap to gain our? trust?"

    "No one would risk their lives for the sake of a perfect trap��"

    "��but we will never know the extent of what Archdemons can do, Sylvain." Kotari growled.

    It appeared like Queen Morgan couldn''t make everyone happy.

    "Kotari." She rasped, moving a little forward so that she could lie back to her bed. "You better stop counting what the Queen had bestowed upon you andpare it with the Vampire King and her Empress. You have been with me for a specific period of time so the three of you knew that I never yed nice. You can be disappointed all you want but I don''t want to give my Cadre illusions about who I am. Listening to the three of you isn''t fair for myself either when I should be resting.." Her hands clenched on her nkets as she regarded each of them with a frosty nce, "All of you can make yourself scarce now."

 Chapter 798 - The Drawing Room

    <h4>Chapter 798 - The Drawing Room</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (November 2021 )

    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    Luna''s hand sped the doorknob to the drawing-room where she and Apollyon left her two Archdemon Familiars the instant Queen Morgan called for them in her royal bedchamber for a short discussion.

    Queen Morgan had initially asked for Apollyon but as the Empress of the Vampire Realm, she disliked being excluded from things so she requested? Kotari politely to ask the Fall Queen for permission.

    As she risked appearing conceited in front of the Queen who hadn''t even fully recovered, she wanted to remind her that she was as important as her husband without being rude.

    Nevertheless, the exchange went well in that it brought a smile to her face on their way back to the drawing-room.

    Apollyon had to turn twice and pass by six corridors from the Fall Queen'' suite to get there and it was the perfect ce to wait for further news about Queen Morgan''s health condition when it came to distance andfort.

    The drawing-room wasn''t a ridiculously long walk to arrive there from Queen Morgan''s bed-chamberpared to the one she had endured from the Summer Pce when Princess Ourania almost led her to her death.

    From that unfortunate event, Luna had developed a fear for drawing rooms and staircases just in case someone pushed her and stab her to death.

    She should have been suspicious of Princess Ourania from the start with her constant deflections every time she asked if they had almost arrived at the women''s parlor room until the ident�� No.

    It was an attempted crime that went down but she still gave her the benefit of the doubt because she was Apollyon''s mother.

    Yet, Luna couldn''t believe that she almost lost her babe when Apollyon''s mother tried to kill her due to her jealousy.

    Apollyon''s mother might have apologized for her sins after the Archdemon of Sloth paralyzed her but Luna would never forget about what she did.

    As much as possible, she wouldn''t be caught dead near that bitch again.

    Apollyon agreed with her as well, swearing he would never im that he and Princess Ourania had the same blood running through their veins.

    Whenever Princess Ourania was mentioned during one of their talks, his blue eyes gave her such a cold, imprable look while murderous ck cloud loomed behind him.

    It never failed to send chills down her spine and flinch.

    She knew that the silent vindictive anger wasn''t aimed at her but she immediately regretted bringing her name up by ident.

    Luna couldn''t believe that she could elicit such a blood-curdling reaction from her loyal husband. The man would probably kill his own mother if she asked him to.

    That horrible thought did cross her mind but Sloth had already done enough to make her suffer for the rest of her life.

    She would never forget the first moment where her loss of strength had triggered Lilith toe out with the help of? Hecate''s treacherous fury, Cano.

    If she was sarcastic about the whole situation, Luna would thank Apollyon''s mother for stirring Lilith''s dark soul so that they would find a scheme in how to deal with her dark soul, shoving it away froming close to her consciousness before it was toote.

    That was the advantage of problems unfolding early on.

    Now, they can focus on their mission and keep the rest at the back of their minds, never forgotten but tackling one subject at a time.

    The Material Realm might be crumbling right now but everything that happened was ording to n.

    Luna hadn''t even finished with opening the door wide to see what her Archdemon Familiars were doing in the drawing-room the moment Luna and Apollyon were out of sight when a bored yet curious voice drawled from the other side, "What did that Queen called you for?"

    It was the Archdemon of Gluttony seated on a fancy couch near the firece with his right ankle resting on his left knee as he spread his legs apart as if he was amodating some space for something big between them.

    Her eyes trailed from his hooded golden eyes as they dropped to his broad chest down to something dangerously low.

    Luna caught herself before Apollyon witnessed her sinful gaze from resting on Ravin''s groin.

    Well, Apollyon couldn''t really me her for this when the arrogance in the bastard''s bodynguage was screaming at her to notice the way he was seated as if he was offering himself and his tool in a silver tter just to get her attention.

    Cheeks heating in chagrin, Luna cleared her throat averted her gaze, and fixed them to the carpeted walls with floral designs and damask-like textures.

    She could tell that the walls consisted of dark wood molding and cornices.

    The drawing-room seemed finer than the rest of the spaces in the Autumn Pce.

    It was decorated with light blue, green, and purple in which the paintings, work of art, and flowers followed the same floral scheme while the furniture was made with darker hues the light tones.

    The dark wooden floor was soft and carpeted to match the walls and Luna and the rest of them were surrounded by a variety of lush, patterned rugs.

    She had been in this room with Apollyon and her Archdemon Familiars for a couple of hours but she still couldn''t get enough of how decorative and colorful the floor tiles were every time she nced down at the bold reds, creams, green and ck.

    The dining table wasrge and round with pedestal legs and topped with marble bs. It could fit a dozen people if they were to eat their meals together.

    As he stood behind her, Apollyon settled his shoulders behind her to push her forward instead of awkwardly standing there with her lips pursed.

    "Queen Morgan said she will agree to an alliance for saving her." Apollyon replied at Ravin''s question dismissively as his warm fingers intertwined with hers, dragging her along to the leather couch of his choice.. "That if we managed to find the Garden of the Four Seasons in the Fall Courts, then she would give us a position in her Court and be one of the Monarchs."

 Chapter 799 - New Royalties

    <h4>Chapter 799 - New Royalties</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (November 2021 )

    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    As he stood behind her, Apollyon settled his hands on her shoulders to push her forward instead of Luna just awkwardly standing there with her lips pursed.

    "Queen Morgan said she will agree to an alliance for saving her." Apollyon dismissively replied to Ravin''s question as he positioned himself beside her and slid his hand to caress her arm and intertwine his fingers to hers. "That if we managed to find the Garden of the Four Seasons in the Fall Courts, then she would give us a position in her Court and be one of the Monarchs."

    ncing to the right, Apollyon pulled her decisively towards the seat of his choice, and she went along with it.

    The fabric of her long-sleeved and knitted rich sapphire blue gown was a disadvantage.

    The weight of it and the thick underline ofces and silk confined her movements, making her legs sweat from the difort.

    For the sake of fashion, Luna endured the vexing restriction as Apollyon released her hand to usher her thedy''s chair and waited for her to settle down before he sat on the empty armchair beside her, which appeared simr to a throne.

    Apollyon wore a deep brown tunic with goldcework and rich embroideries.

    Ravin had donned a forest green colour while a gold robe matched the highlights of Sloth''s blond hair.

    Fancy belts held their trousers in ce. Rare gemstones embellished their cloaks, carrying the coat of arms.

    It was simr to Queen Morgan to differentiate them from the rest of the Fair folk.

    Yet, only her husband was given the honour to wear a special surcoat that matched the coat of arms representing the coat-of-arms.

    The clothes, which the castle handmaidens made them wear, were created of the finest silk yarn, fox fur and other expensive materials.

    Jewellery rings, gloves and bracelets adorned their fingers, including her Archdemon Familiars.

    Luna initially wondered why Queen Morgan, her Cadre and the Fae Elders allowed them to put on such special garments as if these Faeries already had this unspoken agreement that Luna, Apollyon, Ravin and Sloth were now part of Autumn Courts.

    However, it? seemed like the Fall Queen wanted to follow through with this n and their conversation at her royal bedchamber cemented this belief.

    This would also encourage the rest of the Autumn Faeries to treat them like royalties and follow their orders all the same.

    The maidservants must not be used to interacting with other Monarchs aside from Queen Morgan from the way they panicked around their presence.

    After both of them had removed their ''old men'' mour for all the Autumn Faerie, her Archdemon Familiars had dressed like the Vampire Kings.

    Now everyone had the chance to see who they were.

    Ravin and Sloth didn''t have to open their mouths to proim they were royalties from Hell.

    From their mere aura and appearance in a single nce, the Fae handmaidens could already tell.? These flustered women run from one room to another to cater to her Archdemon Familiars'' every request, just as how they scamper around to serve her and Apollyon.

    Luna didn''t bother correcting these handmaidens'' assumptions and allowed Ravin and Sloth to enjoy this small luxury.

    They deserved it for their hard work for summoning Sloth''s president from Hell and the army of evil spirits they could manage to gather during the siege.

    Both of her Archdemon Familiars epted the womens'' attention and did not let it get to their heads.

    Maybe, it was a good choice for her to reject Queen Morgan''s suspicious offer at the royal bed-chamber to get them to seed her throne even if it was by ident.

    This three-sixty degree turn bothered her, and she wondered what changed the Queen''s mind this intensely.

    Luna didn''t have to listen to everything the Queen had to say while she rested in her bed before she simply dismissed her words as the product of brain fog.

    She had no idea what Queen Morgan had nned since she proved to be so unpredictable.

    Perhaps, Luna had given her too much credit, and the Queen was just befuddled.

    The first thing they did when their small envoy arrived in the Fall Courts was to ask for an alliance.

    They had epted? Queen Morgan''s rejection graciously, only for her to take her word back after they helped depend on her Kingdom during the short siege of Luxen''s Legion.

    At the moment, Queen Morgan must have realized how good their presence could be to her right now.

    Of course, there must be a selfish reason behind that selfless offer that even Apollyon was tempted to ept.

    The Autumn Queen had held them in high regard in her Kingdom that it was difficult for them to return to the Vampire Realm and take their Kingdom back from Luxen when their priorities were at odds with each other.

    However, Apollyon said that staying at the Autumn Courts to find the Garden of the Four Seasons would be easier since they were already there.

    In addition to that, Luna and Apollyon had gained the Queen''s favour after her husband''s heroic act of saving the Queen and the well-deserved victory during the siege the Fall Kingdom had achieved with their assistance.

    This must be why Queen Morgan wanted to keep them there as long as possible to protect her and her Kingdom from the demonic invasion that would follow.

    This wasn''t thest time they would see demons.

    This was just the beginning.

    Luna was confident that Luxen could summon other presidents and legions to create this infinite chaos over the Material Realm.

    The drawing-room wasrge enough to amodate animal trophies from animal skins which were initially prepared, stuffed and mounted to achieve this life-like effect.

    Busts in honour of the gods and goddesses, ceramic figurines,rge flower arrangements in vases decorated the tables.

    Velvet curtains were trimmed with borate fringes while the swags were roped with tassels, adding a casual yet sophisticated note.

 Chapter 800 - Confusion

    <h4>Chapter 800 - Confusion</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (November 2021 )

    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    Velvet curtains were trimmed with borate fringes while the swags were roped with tassels, adding a casual yet sophisticated note.

    Faerie paintings were embellished with gold frames.

    Dwarfed autumn ze maple trees with pink leaves were preserved in ss cases using Fae Magic.

    Her lips curved upward in amusement.

    Luna was grateful to the gods and goddesses that the maidservants the Queen had picked to aid her were observant enough not to coax her into wearing tight fashionable gowns simr to the Queen.

    They knew better than to suggest it because they would have to answer to her proud yet menacing husband, and it wasn''t like they were too blinded to see that she was pregnant.

    Her gown was loose around her stomach to amodate her growing belly.

    Apollyon and Luna were royalties from the Vampire Realm.

    Still, she had no idea if the maidservants treated them the way they would treat a Fall Monarch out of their own free will or maybe it''s because these women had witnessed her husband as a conquering hero returning from the battlefield.

    In the face of Apollyon''s loss of wealth and power in the Vampire Realm, that didn''t change that her husband had strong leadership abilities no matter what kind of army he led.

    Queen Morgan had seen him in action, establishing a stronghold over the energetic barriers like her, and she considered that an asset if he remained in the Kingdom.

    Luna and her Archdemon Familiars were just the icings to the cake.

    A sea of cheering crowd followed him in a triumphant parade while he carried Queen Morgan in his arms, covering her head with the fabric he tore from his cloak when he caught her from that deadly fall.

    Luna,? Ravin and Sloth were seated on their wing chairs as they watched the scenes unfold from the obsidian mirror at the tower.

    Queen Morgan must have been unconscious, and her fox mask had fallen off from the ident.

    If the Queen were awake at that moment, maybe she wouldn''t appreciate having her loyal subjects see the Queen in such a vulnerable state while Apollyon held her as if she was one of the spoils-of-war.

    She recalled how Ravin had asked her if she was jealous at sight.

    Luna answered ''no''.

    The Queen of the Fall Courts'' beauty was otherworldly, but she wasn''t threatened at all.

    She had briefly exined to the Archdemon about women''s instincts.

    Luna could feel if someone was interested in her husband with their burning desires to seduce them and steal them away, but she hadn''t perceived that with Queen Morgan.

    Therefore, her emotions were secure, which kept her jealousy in check.

    Ravin nodded his head, epting her response.

    Even if she was surrounded by the striking members of her Cadre, Luna thought that the Queen wasn''t interested in males at all.

    From the close interactions she had witnessed throughout the Council Meeting, the Queen was never tempted by their charms and well-proportioned physiques.

    She found no physical attraction between the Queen and? Sylvain and neither Jora nor Kotari despite standing close to one of them.

    Her Cadre can freelye and go to her bedchamber without one Fae Elder raising their eyebrows at how improper it appeared to outsiders.

    Well, it wasn''t like Luna was the best person to lecture them about propriety when she, an Empress, allowed her husband, the Vampire King, to flung himself to her like a sexual beast during the night.

    It was a shock to find out that the Autumn Courts had no King and no heir to seed the throne.

    There was no Monarch aside from Queen Morgan here, and her Cadre was the highest generals in the Hierarchy of the Fall Militia.

    The Fae Elders in their Council had served as Queen Morgan''s advisers for a long time.

    During the meeting, Luna could hear their awe, respect, gratitude and concern towards her even if some disagreements were inevitable.

    Everyone knew their role in the Queen''s selection.

    All of their Council Members were aware of their boundaries, and no one had dared to go overboard with their opinions and suggestions in how to solve the problems their Kingdom had encountered.

    Queen Morgan was an Ancient Fae, the heroine who saved the Autumn Fair folk from the Great War.

    She had risen to power with her incredible strength,plex magic and her unwavering loyalty to protect her people.

    Ravine reclined against the couch with needlepoint pillows ced behind his back to make himfortable.

    The Vampire King gave the blue veil pinned to her high ponytail onest stroke while a cascade of red ribbons extended past the length of her silver hair before his sharp blue eyes rested on the Archdemon of Gluttony.

    It appeared like the Vampire King was ready to set aside his differences with the Archdemon to discuss Queen Morgan''s recent decision that surprised even her Familiars.

    They all must have derived simr conclusions from that shocking reward she nned to give her and Apollyon.

    "If Queen Morgan followed through with giving you the status of royalties in the Autumn Courts, what would happen if she perished?" Ravin asked as he casually massaged the downward sh of his brow with his forefinger. Meanwhile, his stoic expression gave nothing away as he stared at Luna. "Do you think she would want you to seed her throne in this Kingdom?"

    For once, Ravin''s tone wasn''t flirtatious but factual.

    Her self-proimed Archdemon mate didn''t sound like he was trying his luck to get her attention in front of her husband.

    "To be honest, I don''t think she was even thinking at all." Apollyon rested his hand on top of hers as she settled it on the armrest.? "It was impulsive of her to decide that? the instant she woke up since she was unconscious for almost two days. We were there at the royal infirmary when the Witch Doctors said? that she wasn''t harmed from the free fall before I caught her."

 Chapter 801 - Resist

    <h4>Chapter 801 - Resist</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (November 2021 )

    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    "To be honest, I don''t think she was even thinking at all." Apollyon rested his hand on top of hers while she settled it on the armrest.? "It was impulsive of her to decide that? the instant she woke up. She was unconscious for almost two days. We were there at the royal infirmary when the Witch Doctors said? that she wasn''t harmed from the free fall before I caught her."

    "Are you sure she didn''t get a concussion?" Luna tilted her head towards him and her husband did the same, giving her an expectant look, "I am confused about her decision, as well, but I made sure to tell her before we left the Queen''s bedchamber that we didn''t need to turn into Monarchs. Neither does she need to give usnds and be lords anddies of the manor, overlooking towns and cities of her Kingdom."

    The offer was too-good-to-be-true and it made her bite her lip in suspicion.

    Maybe, she had a surprise condition after they epted it.

    They might not know it yet but It was a scary thought to contemte.

    Luna thought that rejecting Queen Morgan with words of sincere gratitude will make her sleep better at night.

    "You turned the offer down and threw our pot of gold in the river."? Apollyon noted in amusement.

    Shaking her head, Luna corrected him. "No, husband, I didn''t turn it down. I graciously implied that if that did follow through." Determination made her voice stern as she clutched on the armchair.? "I want it to be temporary because I am confident that we would im the Vampire Realm back from the Archdemon of Lust."

    "I agree. Faeries who lived long from the era of the Great War wouldn''t just blurt things they don''t mean. You know how they are careful with their oaths." Apollyon''s blue eyes darkened while the outer rings of his irises lit with mischievous me, "I don''t think it was a lie, either."

    "Lie or not, husband, I don''t really care." Luna shed him a? wide smile that exposed her sharp fangs. In an instant, her countenance had turned grim when she was reminded that they wouldn''t stay here in the Realm of the Fall for too long anyway, "Our home isn''t here."

    "You are right, wife."? Apollyon said with a nod.

    "I still think it was too impulsive of her to do it. Maybe, she wasn''t in the right mind yet when she woke up from her rest." She replied, flipping her long silver hair behind her back. "I am giving the Queen a leeway to take back what she promised without humiliation."

    "Still it doesn''t make sense to me." Ravin''s voice sounded a bit harsher in her ears. "It wasn''t like both of you are Fae from this Kingdom so I can imagine a bacsh from her people if they found out."

    Apollyon''s burning gaze traced the slender column of her throat before he brought his gaze back to her eyes.

    She watched how his Adam''s apple bobbed up and down.

    It made her wonder if he was thirsty for his mate''s blood but didn''t bother saying anything about it since the Three Fates at the Council Meeting told him not to drink anymore unless he would agree to let her drink Archdemon'' blood to regain her strength after the demon child drained her of her power.

    Apollyon was known to be a prideful and possessive King so she wasn''t certain if he would approve of it.

    She will have to wait for the future.

    The Vampire King loved her too much to endanger her life but he would never let Luna''s mouth anywhere near Ravin''s blood. Over his dead body.

    The worst-case scenario would probably be Apollyon''s forced abstinence from his mate''s blood. How long would his resistance to this sweet temptationst?

    The Vampire King was as stubborn and resilient as her so he might endure until he felt like he was about to go mad from blood lust.

    Luna winced a little at the nasty scenario.

    She didn''t want to get her husband to that point of no return and push him over the edge of insanity.

    She should give him something to drink the instant she got him were alone, preferably after this discussion.

    Perhaps, Apollyon was weakened from the fight during the siege after he utilized too much Fae Magic and he just disliked admitting it.

    She hoped that it wouldn''t get to the point where her husband would loathe himself for asking for her for nourishment.

    It was only natural for a Vampire to do so. Apollyon shouldn''t feel guilty.

    An ufortable silence fell over them and the atmosphere seemed to be charged with animosity.

    Ravin watched Apollyon''s hand holding hers beneath his longshes and he frowned at it as he massaged his knitted brows.

    After a few weeks,? Ravin still had a problem with Apollyon showing physical affection in front of them.

    She didn''t think that Apollyon was doing this on purpose though since he was naturally like this with or without the presence of the Archdemons.

    However, if the Vampire King was marking her as his territory then it was effective.

    The Archdemon of Gluttony was silent but his jaws were clenched in frustration as if he was a wolf who desired to hunt her down, pin her underneath him and bite at her.

    Nervous Luna changed the subject back to Queen Morgan before Ravinined about such a simple gesture.

    Clearing her throat, she stared at Ravin to address him, specifically, so that he would stop noting every territorial touch that her husband made with his cial glowers.? "The members of her Cadre were present she announced that in her chamber and their faces didn''t look too good. If the atmosphere wasn''t that serious I would haveughed." Yes, it was none of their business but Luna should choose peace and harmony over these petty issues.. "Queen Morgan appointed us to be part of the Monarchs since she wanted to give us power so that the Fall Militia would listen to ourmands if a situationes where she was, otherwise, indisposed."

 Chapter 802 - Chillin

    <h4>Chapter 802 - Chillin''</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (November 2021 )

    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    "The members of her Cadre were present when she announced that in her chamber." Luna scratched her chin awkwardly and continued, "Their faces didn''t look too good. If the atmosphere wasn''t that serious I would haveughed. Queen Morgan appointed us to be part of the Autumn Monarchs. She wanted to give us power so that the Militia would listen to ourmands if a tough situation arose in the Fall Militia where she was, otherwise, indisposed."

    "She is the Queen who saved the entire Kingdom during the Great War and she earned the Autumn Faerie''s loyalty." Apollyon added. "In their eyes she could do no wrong."

    "Can she just appoint anyone to be a Monarch with just her word without consequences from her people?"

    Luna blinked.

    Her gaze searched the drawing-room,? wondering where the familiar voice came from.

    She knew Sloth was there with them, but he was too silent even to remember his presence there. His unnecessaryments about Queen Morgan and her surprise reward were never uttered, perhaps, until this moment.

    Settled near the bookshelves, the Archdemon of Sloth was seated in the overstuffed leather chair behind the dark mahogany table. At the same time, stained ss windows disyed the ornate historical scenes of the first Great War over his head.

    The Archdemon of Sloth was a picture-perfect, studious blond prince waiting for her princess to arrive in the drawing-room to discuss and read the book he had picked so that he could read it out loud for her.

    Wasn''t it convenient that the man also wore chained spectacles resting on his long patrician nose? It was a shame that there was no princess in sight.

    Sloth was nothing but her ve.

    He might be the seventh and the youngest prince of Hell, but he, along with his brother Ravin, wasn''t allowed to live like royalty in the Fall Realm like them.

    Well, not on here on her watch.

    These Archdemon Princes might get used to the treatment and forget what they came for.

    Forest-green eyes never left the thin, brown page he was focusing on, Sloth murmured as he held a book in his right hand. "I heard that Morgan became Queen of the Autumn Realm because she was appointed by the very same people she had led to victory. Because of her, the Autumn Faeries was able to im a territory of their own despite dealing with such powerful enemies like the Kings and Queens from the other Courts."

    Luna nodded in agreement.

    Faerie Monarchs weren''t easy to defeat, which was why she convinced her husband to avoid confrontation with them if they could.

    It wasn''t like Luna and Apollyon were cowards afraid to lose against these Kings and Queens.

    She was more than sure that they would win but at what cost?

    They would never hold back in battle, but Luna and her Archdemons might end up destroying the Kingdom if they weren''t careful.

    Half of the Fall Kingdom was in shambles, and the? Autumn Pce had given the inhabitants a few days to mourn for the death of their loved ones before they started rebuilding the shattered structures once again.

    Their collective grief was spent on something productive, working hard and distracting themselves from the tragedy, and they didn''t seem to mind.

    They weed it.

    Honestly, the casualties weren''t as horrible as Luna expected since they were quick enough to send reinforcements to the Fall Militia.

    At least, they managed to prevent the worse that could happen.

    "Would the Fae Elders and her Cadre protest against the Queen''s decision?" Ravin''s question was business-like.

    His lips quirked in amusement as if he was looking forward to a civil war or a rebellion.

    Luna shook his head ''no'' and frowned at his smirk. She wondered which side was he on. "We will see if the news began to scatter all over the Realm."

    Apollyon raised his chin with confidence which almost appeared a tad arrogant. "It''s either they ept us in the Kingdom or kick us out. That will force us to return to the Vampire Realm and defeat Archdemon of Lust with the four of us��-"

    "Don''t leave us behind, brother!"

    It was the sound of Princess Sapphire''s excited voice as she opened the door and proceeded toe inside the drawing-room.

    Her sun-kissed skin was taut around her cheekbones from how the maidservants fixed her thick, curly hair into a high ponytail.

    Xerxes, who had worn fancy tunics that also befits an Autumn Monarch simr to Ravin, Sloth, and Apollyon, followed closely behind Princess Sapphire in silence.

    Queen Morgan must have told her servants to take good care of them in exchange for their service.

    Princess Sapphire''s tone was contagious, and she was d to catch that happiness and im it for her own.

    "Xerxes! Sapphire!" Luna eximed as she carefully stood up from her seat--with her husband''s quick assistance--to give these two children a warm hug.

    Her husband might be cold towards the children, but she wasn''t ashamed to show them affection and longing just because he was like that.

    Princess Sapphire hugged her tight, appreciating their sweet reunion while her husband watched them with an odd gaze.

    "Thank the goddess!" It was the first time Luna saw them personally after the siege instead of observing them from Queen Morgan''s obsidian mirror. "Both of you are alright from the siege."

    The summer princess and her guardian were busy instilling order in the chaos at the castle walls.

    Now, they had sought refuge in the drawing-room after performing the rituals needed to strengthen the Kingdom''s fortress with Fae Magic as what Apollyonmanded them to do.

    Apollyon admitted that he was tired, emphasizing that he wasn''tzy, but he let Xerxes and Princess Sapphire handle the barriers with his hand-written instructions instead of him.

    Maybe, they had already finished their obligations, left the rest to the Autumn Militia to clean themselves up, and visited them afterward.

 Chapter 803 - Loyal Hearts

    <h4>Chapter 803 - Loyal Hearts</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (November 2021 )

    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    "Last thing I heard about this discussion is you leaving the Fall Kingdom so that you can return to the Vampire Realm and reim your Kingdom?" Princess Sapphire''s question hung open in the air as she waited for Luna''s response.

    "Yes. That should be the n." Apollyon replied as he stared his sister down with his nonchnt gaze.

    "Not really." Luna said and the fabric of Apollyon''s sleeve brushed against hers. "You forgot about the magic fruits we are here for."

    "Ah, yes." That. "It''s a hard choice."She muttered under her breath. "Choosing between our own Kingdom and the safety of the entire Material Realm."

    As she lifted her feet off the ground, Apollyon''s sister swung her legs in the air merrily before Luna put her down.

    Next, Luna approached Xerxes and wrapped her arms around her loosely but he just stood there, frozen in shock.

    She didn''t have to slightly bend to match his height like she did with Princess Sapphire since the boy was too tall for his age.

    The poord�� He acted as he had never been embraced before.

    Feeling awkward, Luna released him immediately and withdrew from him.

    Curiosity made her search his countenance.

    Ears turning red, Xerxes quickly averted his gaze under her scrutiny.

    ''Why would an Empress? demonstrate affection this suddenly?'' Xerxes must have thought and the realization made her embarrassed as well.

    What happened next proved to be more interesting as the Vampire King clutched Luna''s elbow and pulled her to stand behind him while he made a rather poor imitation of a hug towards the children.

    Apollyon hunched and touched shoulders with his half-sister and Xerxes.

    From the way their eyes widened like saucers, Luna could tell that the ruthless King''s affection petrified them more and it made her giggle.

    Once they finished with the greetings, Princess Sapphire and Xerxes sat on the same leather couch Ravin was seated but these two made sure that their positions were as far as possible.

    Apollyon and Luna went back to their seats to continue their earlier discussion.

    Taking a deep breath, she began to share her ideas with everyone. "I initially wanted to suggest that Ravin and Sloth woulde with me to the Vampire Realm to defeat��"

    "Luna." His tone? sounded like the de cutting air that made her stiffen,? "Have you gone mad?"? As Apollyon pinned her with his blue? gaze, his entire form faced her as his seat could allow,? "You are out of your mind to even suggest this."? Her face prickled from how intense his stares were and it made her blush. "What you just said make me angry!"

    She folded her arms. "What about it?"

    Without warning, Apollyon switched into their mind link and replied with a scowl, ''I don''t want us to be separated. You never learned from the past. We are not separating. I still don''t trust these bastards with you. There is no way in Hell I would entrust your life with them again.''

    ''Well you just did. Nothing happened to me, though. I''m still in one piece. Anyhow, I was merely contemting about this husband. I don''t think the three of us could be of any help when Queen Morgan told us at the Council Meeting that Arch demons can''t locate the Garden of the Four Seasons.''

    ''We will follow what the Goddess Hecate had told us.'' He reminded her and his cold hard gaze softened,? ''So, don''t ever talk about separation again.''

    "Hello, everyone we are still here." Princess Sapphireined as she punched her small fists on the couch in frustration.

    "Both of you fighting in front of everyone made me think that this pairing is vtile."

    "We aren''t fighting." Apollyon almost growled at Ravin for thatment. His pupils narrowed into dangerous slits,? "I am merely expressing my frustration over these stu��" He cleared his throat, "��senseless suggestions."

    "The longer I observe in silence, the more I realized that Luna and the Vampire King aren''t good match. This isn''t a good time to say this, Empress, but I will tell you that I will be here waiting for you if you decide to separate with the Vampire King."

    "Oh goddess, please." Luna groaned.

    Of course, the Archdemon would never let her forget that he was still her mate.

    "How about me?" Sloth chose the exact moment to close the book he had been reading and join the conversation fully, " I wanted to be a lord too."? Now, he had everyone''s attention as everyone turned their heads towards him to listen.? "I sacrificed my Nephilim? to get rid of Luxen''s president. Do I not have any reward? I want to be a lord as well."

    "No,Sloth." Luna burst the bubble at once. "No reward for you."

    Apollyon leaned close to her side profile and whispered, his lips almost touching the shell of her ear, "I never saw it as a reward. She is underestimating our ability to take our own Kingdom back? from Luxen."

    She bit her cheek and waved her hand in dismissal, "You are blowing such a kind gesture by blowing it out of proportions by assuming it as an insult. Let''s just be grateful that we were allied to the Autumn Courts for the meantime."

    He straightened his posture, "If we reim the Vampire Realm, Lune, can I be a lord there?"

    Luna closed her eyes and sighed.

    "No," Next, she opened her eyes to give him a frosty nce, "I would send you back to hell."

    Sloth leaned back to his chair in dejection but it looked like he epted her threat, "Aight."

    "I was also surprised to see Queen Morgan without her mour." Her husband said out-of-the-blue as he rubbed his chin in contemtion.? "I think she must be too weak and tired to keep it up when she just woke up from her slumber. She had long red hair and her golden eyes. For some reason, her beautiful face had an eerie resemnce to Ravin, though."

    That made Ravin raise an eyebrow.

    He opened his mouth as if he was about to say something when Kotari knocked on the other side. Xerxes jumped towards the door to let him in.

    The member of? Queen Morgan''s Cadre informed them that the Autumn Fair folk were going to celebrate their victory against Luxen''s Legion at the Great Hall.

    Luna told Kotari that it was just the beginning and it was too early to celebrate to which her husband announced that he wished to celebrate with her alone while he nuzzled at the side of her jaw.

    Blushing, she had to push his chest away from him before Apollyon started to embarrass her in front of the children.

    Kotari had asked if the six of them preferred to stay in the Autumn Pce or live in a manor in one of the Queen''s luxurious estates.

    It was thergest vineyard in the Fall Courts, producing the finest of wines in the entire Faerie Realm.

    He also told them that Queen Morgan gave it to Luna and Apollyon as a special token, praising them for their loyal hearts, and she wouldn''t take their ''no'' as an answer.

    It appeared like Luna''s speech about wealth, privilege and theforts of material security being temporary were useless.

    Yawning, Sloth stretched his arms and said, "We should go.. I''m getting bored but I don''t want to sleep yet."

 Chapter 804 - A New Fixation

    <h4>Chapter 804 - A New Fixation</h4>

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (November 2021)

    ************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ************************

    It was true that the Queen of the Autumn Courts never took their ''no'' for an answer.

    Queen Morgan hadmanded Kotari to show them the estate she had talked about when they called Apollyon and Luna in her royal bedchamber, hoping they would change their mind when they get there and fall in love with it at first sight.

    Apollyon and Luna agreed to ept her offer to move to the Queen''srgest vineyard estate and live in the Hazelnut Manor as her vassals.

    It was a ce where Apollyon could let his wife rest away from the prying eyes of the Autumn Fair folk as well as hide Luna''s two Archdemon Familiars there without him worrying when these bastards would get bored in the Autumn Pce and start attacking the innocent.

    After all, his wife could get them in line.

    He shouldn''t forget that Ravin and Sloth had the same capabilities as Luxen, who could easily turn the entire world upside down if they wanted to, just like what had happened now.

    It appeared like the second Great War wasn''t that impossible to happen.

    Everyone in the Autumn Realm would have to wait for all the Archangels to descend from the sky so that they could help them.

    Despite her exhaustion, Queen Morgan made an effort to change into a white ball gown during the victory celebration and announce that Apollyon and Luna were the newly appointed prince and princess of the Fall Realm in public without caring if her news would be well received.

    Her loyal subjects'' jaws had dropped in shock.

    For all Apollyon knew, their jaws might have reached the floor when he wasn''t looking.

    That night, Apollyon''s eyes were fixated on his wife as he watched Ravin and Sloth try their luck with their pathetic ruse to get closer to his wife with the flimsy excuse of being her Archdemon Familiars.

    He would never make the mistake of taking his gaze off his wife ever again unless someone needed his help during a siege.

    However, if Queen Morgan had disregarded the rules that a Monarch should follow andmitted a social faux pas with their appointment, then it wasn''t his problem anymore.

    Like his wife had said, Apollyon should graciously ept the blessing, be grateful for the honor, dignity, leadership, and authority Queen Morgan had granted to them over the inhabitants of the Fall Courts.

    A few minutes had passed, and nobody spoke a single protest.

    The moment of silence that fell over that party seemed too long before a hooded Fae from the Council that Luna and Apollyon couldn''t recognize pped their hands in eptance.

    Soon, the rest of them followed suit and murmured congrattions which made him smirk in amusement.

    The short minute of attention made Apollyon straighten his spine and stand taller, towering over the Faeries and nodding at them in acknowledgment with humble pride.

    The increased respect for these creatures, whom he didn''t trust at first, made him feel proud of himself for being their hero in their times of crisis.

    It inted his ego a bit�� but not in a bad way.

    Apollyon always coined himself as the viin in this story, but with the presence of Archdemons in his and his wife''s life, he had considered himself the antihero.

    In the past, he was the antihero with a ruthless streak who had be a strong, reliable, and trustworthy hero in the eyes of the Fall Courts.

    For once, it felt great to be that person, even if it wasn''t the truth.

    After that, the Autumn Fairfolk proceeded with the merry-making as if they didn''t care about who was in the seats of power as long as the newly appointed Monarchs could keep them safe.

    Apollyon would take that responsibility next to the mission the Goddess Hecate had given them, but finding the Garden of the Four Seasons and acquiring the fruitse first.

    Those things would make their problems disappear in an instant.

    Time had flown so fast, and he didn''t see iting.

    It was already Winter season.

    The demons in the Material Realm outside the barriers of the Fall Courts had multiplied even more. Yet, at the same time, Apollyon, Ravin, Xerxes, Queen Morgan, and her Cadre continued searching for the Garden of the Four Seasons.

    With the help of the entire Fair folk, it was fortunate that they were able to take turns with the Queen in strengthening the barriers of the Autumn Courts.

    They were prepared to share a part of their life force every day to help them protect the Kingdom.

    This was why they could keep these demons at bay with minimal effort.

    Apollyon never doubted the Fall Court''s reputation for winning their battles.

    It wasn''t because they were cold, calcting, and maniptive, but Faeries were a tight-knitmunity who were extremely loyal to their Queen that they were willing to defend her until theirst breath.

    He had no idea how the other Realms were faring, though?

    Not every Realm had creatures blessed with magical abilities to defeat these evil entities easily.

    With Apollyon''s help, Luna had uttered hundred specific restriction spells on Ravin so that the bastard wouldn''t create trouble while their new group located the mystical garden.

    There was no room for Archdemon ruination.

    So far, Apollyon thought the incantations he created with Luna had worked perfectly on Ravin''s temperament.

    He didn''t want to recognize that their interactions now weren''t that hostilepared to before when the two of them were left alone.

    Every ce seemed to be a verbal battleground without his wife''s presence.

    Those altercations had disappeared into thin air, which made him even more suspicious.

    He shouldn''t let his guard down.

    Yet, there seemed to be a subtle change in Ravin''s behavior.

    Because of this, Luna''s Archdemon Familiars had convinced his brain to trust them a little and leave Luna to one of them, making that unconscious suggestion dangerous.

    Apollyon and the Archdemon had traveled back and forth from the Hazelnut Manor to the Autumn Pce to meet and brainstorm with the Autumn Faeries.

    At the same time, Sloth, Princess Sapphire, and a Fae birth attendant took care of Luna during her pregnancy.

    The Archdemon hadn''t created unnecessary trouble for him, but there was a new situation that was stranger than that.

    Lately, Ravin seemed suddenly interested with Queen Morgan, constantly asking her questions, watching her face carefully while she answered, and involving himself more in nning stages of locating the garden with the portraits they possessed that it was almost creepy.

    Did he forget about Luna and decide to shift his attraction to Queen Morgan?

    Well, wasn''t that lovely?

    After falling in love with the Autumn Queen, Ravin would work in his favor, and the bastard would finally start forming this one-sided love with his wife.

    As he returned from the Autumn Pce, Apollyon admired how private and peaceful his journey was to Hazelnut Manor as he rode on the ck stallion bestowed by the? Fall Queen.

    It was their home away from home, and it didn''t take long for them to settle down as if they had lived there their whole life.

 Chapter 805 - Bedridden

    <strong>(A/N: I got so used to narrating sh*t scene by scene that I was so confused about my writing whether what I have actually written is BS or not. Hopefully, I will be cured of this analysis paralysis.)</strong>

    <strong>Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (November 2021)</strong>

    <strong>************************</strong>

    <strong>Vampire King Apollyon</strong>

    <strong>************************</strong>

    From the haunting yet unfinished symphony of Luxen''s hoard of newly summoned demons attacking the other Realms, the first day of winter had arrived in the Fall Courts in an icy serenade.

    The coolness was the contrast to the crackling ze of the hearth in every room in the Autumn Pce.

    The Kingdom had anticipated this since the Fall Courts, and the Winter Courts were neighbors.

    This should have been the day where the Winter Faeries'' Magic should be the strongest.

    Yet, in these current times, Apollyon couldn''t tell anymore.

    The seasons of nature themselves would assist them in increasing their power during the winter solstice.

    Still, the demonic legions attacking them might prove to be a setback after inflicting a lot of damage.

    Every Kingdom in the Material Realm had faced a simr predicament, but it would be up to the Monarchs'' strengths and capabilities to lead their people to victory.

    Despite encountering multiple sieges, the? Winter Fair-Folk would be in for a treat once they realized that most of these fiends couldn''t be destroyed with Fae Magic.

    If these demons managed to possess the faeries like what happened at the Spring Court''s Ostara, then it would be toote.

    All the Kingdoms had no reinforcements from the other Realm except themselves.

    If the Autumn Courts had survived their first siege, then they coulde back stronger and easily get through the rest of the battle with careful and strategic nning. But, unfortunately, it seemed like the Winter Courts wouldn''t celebrate ''Yule,'' after all.

    As the tension between Luxen''s demonic legion and the rest of the creatures in the Material Realm escted, Apollyon decided to rely on the female Archangel who saved Queen Morgan as theirst resort for their safety if the war tactics they made were all ineffective.

    Her split-second appearance in the Autumn Courts exposed the truth about the Garden of the Four Seasons'' existence.

    Apollyon didn''t think that Queen Morgan realized that the female Archangel had saved her while she was unconscious.

    Nevertheless, he told her the truth in private to narrow the names of Archangels she had met to identify her identity.

    Slipping Queen Morgan a handwritten note, Apollyon indicated the time he would meet her in one of the watchtowers in the Autumn Pce to avoid eavesdroppers who might be secretly allied to the demons.

    The instant she ascended to the long-winded staircases, he specifically instructed the Queen to leave her handmaidens behind while her Cadre watched over the Archdemon of Gluttony and Sloth.

    He was grateful that the Queen agreed to his request and followed his conditions, and it showed that she still respected him as the King of the Vampire Realm even if he had temporarily lost the Kingdom to Luxen.

    From there, Queen Morgan had confessed a revtion she hadn''t mentioned before.

    Why did she tell him that she recognized the Archangel in Princess Ourania''s painting they showed her during the Council Meeting?

    Why now?

    This new character, Archangel Ariel, was such a vital piece of information!

    She was the Archangel who led Queen Morgan to the Garden of the Four Seasons to distribute the magic fruits through the entire Faerie Realm with her brown feather as her guide to find the mythical Garden.

    Queen Morgan admitted that she was the sole owner of the blue feather that Ravin had worn around his neck in a hushed whisper.

    The Fall Queen had begged Apollyon to ask Ravin where he got it.

    It was the first time he witnessed the strong warrior Queen, looking as if she was about to cry.

    Nodding his head, Apollyon swore to ask Luna''s Archdemon Familiar the moment he, Xerxes, and Ravin returned to Hazelnut Manor.

    Luna and Apollyon''s new vineyard estate had four acres ofnd, one elegant Manor at an elevated spot that overlooked the valley of undting hills, two cottages near the vineyard itself, and four dozen efficient Faerie servants from the vige scurrying around their new home to help them adjust.

    Not only were they in love with the Hazelnut Manor at first sight, but Apollyon and Luna were also mesmerized by the picturesque rural surroundings and the potent, sweet promise of an endless supply of vampire wine, mixing it with his mate''s blood.

    Since each person in Queen Morgan''s estate understood the specific roles in the household, Fae serfs managed the grapefruit harvest and the wine distilleries with little management.

    The weather in the Autumn Courts had gone insane as if it couldn''t choose between rain and partially melted snow, so the thick dark clouds above the vige had decided to do both.

    Frowning, Apollyon had no idea if the undetected demons outside the barriers had something to do with it.

    The winds felt like frozen, delicate silk on his exposed face while his body felt warm underneath theyers of his winter coat and woolen hat.

    Apollyon urged his ck stallion to move faster by squeezing its nk with his calves.

    As he passed by the still river while the water flowed under the thinnest of ice, Apollyon''s breaths rose like vapor when he got off his horse and allowed the pages to deal with the precious animal.

    He couldn''t bear to leave Luna with the Faerie servants in the Hazelnut Manor, but it seemed like he made the right decision.

    The servants had done a good job maintaining cleanliness in the whole house, especially Luna''s room.

    Winter-blooming flowers greeted him when he entered their royal bedchamber.

    Maidservants had carefully selected carnations, chrysanthemums, and lilies before putting them on vases and disying them on the table.

    It would be a crime to ignore the fruity, honey-like vani fragrance.

    Apollyon breathed in deeply and let the pretty blossoms flood his senses, wondering if the gift inside the small leather bag he had would beat the aromas of these winter flowers.

    Since everyone who attended the Council Meeting knew about the tragic fate Luna would face, Queen Morgan had handed Apollyon a gift to cheer Luna, up but he realized that it wouldn''t make a difference when his wife was bedridden.

 Chapter 806 - Tragic Pregnancy

    <strong>Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (November 2021)</strong>

    <strong>************************</strong>

    <strong>Vampire King Apollyon</strong>

    <strong>************************</strong>

    Since everyone who attended the Council Meeting knew about the tragic Fate Luna would face, Queen Morgan had handed Apollyon a gift to cheer Luna up.

    Later, he realized that it wouldn''t make a difference when his wife was bedridden.

    Hopefully, the scent of autumn flowers in this vial would make her feel better and produce some progress in her hopeless condition, even if the Three Fates had predicted the future.

    For a long time,? the freezing winter nights had encouraged the Autumn Fair Folk to wear scarves underneath their cloaks along with so manyyers of garments so that they could handle the seasonal transitions well.

    Apollyon had felt the winter solstice''s toothy bite outside Hazelnut Manor, but it was one he could endure.

    He had a vampiric Summer Fae in his blood, but it wasn''t the Kingdom he had grown up in.

    Apollyon and his pureblood ancestors had lived in the arctic tundras of the Vampire Realm, so the seasons didn''t bother him as much as the Spring and the Summer Faeries would be if they were here.

    Luna, his wife, was a different story.

    The sight of her being healthy during her pregnancy would have brought warmth and joy to his heart, elevating his spirit like a sun in the bright sky, but what happened was the exact opposite.

    It hurt to see her like this.

    He would rather stand where she couldn''t see him right away when she opened her eyes.

    Apollyon''s vision blurred as his fingers curled into fists.

    He stood beside her bed, fighting from the tears that burned his eyes.

    He couldn''t bear to show Luna how weak he felt at that moment.

    It was fortunate that Luna was asleep.

    Her closed eyelids had formed silver crescents on her pale, gaunt cheekbones that were once vibrant with her blush every time he showered her with surprise kisses in the morning.

    Now, the expanse of her smooth pearly skin was grey and pallid, as if a demonic parasite had slowly sucked the life out of her.

    It was true, though.

    Apollyon''s eyes widened slightly at what he had seen, yet he also noticed another thing, shifting his reality into its axis.

    Her stomach was too big from the usual pregnant women he had seen around the Vampire Realm, which affirmed the three Fate''s prophecy that she was going to birth twins.

    One was a vampire babe, and the other was a demon child.

    His fingers clutched his wife''s nkets and lifted them so he could check out what was underneath.

    Like him, the maidservants made sure that his wife was warm.

    The sight of her wrapped in multiple silk nightgowns worn over the other made him purse his lips.

    ''There shouldn''t be a need when we are both vampires.'' Apollyon frowned at the thought.

    His eyebrows raised on the wool mittens that clutched the duvet loosely.

    It was peculiar that Luna wore a coat and a hood despite lying in their canopied bed.

    ''Couldn''t she stand the chills any longer?''

    Apollyon nced around the royal bedchamber, and on the right side, he found a wide firece almost the size of a child''s coffin, lit withrge logs.

    He shook his cor to prevent the shirt from clinging to his sweaty chest.

    God''s blood!

    This must be the reason why it felt stuffy in here.

    A sliver of light shone unto his wife''s growing belly from the heavy curtains by the window.

    Apollyon had settled his palm lightly on top of it to feel its warmth, but the rest of Luna''s body was as cold as a tombstone.

    Pregnancy was supposed to be this beautiful miracle of life.

    Disturbed by the million regrets he had, Apollyon exhaled a harsh breath.

    Because of the Archdemons'' doing, creating his wife had turned into this grieving process.

    He released the nket and let his clenched fists fall to the side.

    Despite the pain that slowly turned into bruises, difort, and the challenge that came with it, Apollyon was determined to nurture and care for his pregnant wife and their child.

    Luna was still here in the Material Realm, wasn''t she? They still have the power to beat the odds.

    To beat ''Fate'' itself.

    It must be challenging to endure feeling two small creatures grow within her and not have the opportunity to raise them just because of the Three Fates.

    Luna had suffered because of him.

    What can he do to make up for it?

    She was drinking his blood for three.

    As a responsible husband, he couldn''t ask to feed on her because he valued her health rather than his thirst.

    As he licked his mouth, Apollyon savored the taste of liquor in his tongue before he bent his head down to kiss her lips.

    A few passive kisses stirred his desire to live and made him erect.

    His passionate emotions surged as his loving thoughts danced around the evergreen forest of his mind with delight.

    Luna didn''t tell him anything, but when he kissed her, he would be fooling himself if he believed that his wife didn''t notice him chugging wines in the Autumn Courts to quench his thirst before he went home to her.

    Awoken by his passionate kiss, Apollyon drowned into the emerald eyes of his sleeping beauty.

    "The skin around you your nape and shoulder is taking its time to heal, beloved." Apollyon murmured as his fingers caressed the said area as if she was made of fine china. It was never his intention to make her bleed so that she would suffer from these horrible sores. "I should have never drank your blood."

    "I think�� I can manage." Luna croaked, her dry blue lips cracking from the effort. Her eyelids were hooded. Not because she was trying to be seductive, but she couldn''t open her eyes for too long. "I just feel tired from the pregnancy, that''s all."

    "I don''t know how you can say that you are merely tired from the pregnancy when you look like death, itself, wife."

 Chapter 807 - Youre My Medicine

    <strong>Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (November 2021)</strong>

    <strong>*************************************</strong>

    <strong>Archdemon Empress Luna</strong>

    <strong>************************************</strong>

    <strong>"I don''t know how you can say that you are</strong> merely tired from the pregnancy when you look like death herself, wife." Apollyon said gruffly.

    Death? She blinked as her mitten-ed hand slid down the warm, soft mattress.

    It was a nice feeling to set her sights on her husband the moment she woke up from her slumber, but it seemed like the Vampire King had returned adamantly from the Autumn Courts to her so that he could scold her like this.

    It took her a while to understand if it was meant to be an insult, a jest, or was she telling the truth.

    Maybe, she would agree with her husband''s statement once she got a hold of a mirror.

    What would be Apollyon''s reaction if she told him that she hadn''t seen her reflection for the past three months?

    Her thin arms settled on each of her sides, with her palms facing down.

    She would rather not because that might make her feel more insecure than thest month.

    The Vampire King might not admit it, but he was romantic by nature just from the way he flirted with her when Apollyon was in a sensual frame of mind, but tonight, he was more concerned about her and their heiress'' wellbeing.

    Apollyon didn''t care about how she looked as long as she was perfectly well.

    He often told her how she was the most beautiful woman he looked at, whether or not she made extra efforts to make herself presentable�� but not this time.

    Instead, Luna shouldn''t think about that and focus on why her throat was parched.

    She licked her lips, but it did nothing to alleviate this eternal thirst, making her feel like someone had poured burning acid into her chest.

    She couldn''t lift her hand to touch her husband''s handsome face.

    If she wished to be honest with Apollyon, she should tell him that every cell in her system had altered into something she couldn''t recognize anymore.

    Her body had transformed to amodate two babies.

    Was this still her body, though?

    Because it eerily felt like Lilith had taken over her, and she was just there to watch herself paralyzed from this heavy round rock on top of her stomach.

    Giving birth was different than carrying the child, and it scared the living daylights off her as a vampire.

    She was relieved that Apollyon had secured her hand in marriage even if it wasn''t easy for him.

    At first, neither of them was willing to enter into this unbreakable contract.

    In the past, the blood bond that Ravin had done with her and Apollyon before his reverse exorcism was enough as a problem.

    Both of their characters would have never taken marriage lightly, but the mating bond and the rest of the previous circumstances demanded to decide in an instant.

    Now, that quick decision had turned her life for the better�� or, perhaps, worse.

    It was a good thing that their unstable love had evolved into a solemn and maturemitment.

    She didn''t want to waste all those precious memories just because the Fates foretold her death.

    Browse furrowed with concern, Apollyon''s blue eyes were wild as he gazed down at her with his thick sensual lips parted in disbelief.

    The instant her ears caught the crack at the spasm of her neck, Luna paused and slowly adjusted her gaze to face to face the ceiling.

    She quickly regretted turning her head from side to side in an attempt to loosen the muscles around her neck and shoulders.

    Groaning in pain, the sudden motions had caused her temples to pulse like a butterfly''s wings.

    Three minutes had passed, Luna released all the tensions knotting on her vulnerable form.

    Her husband''s presence seemed to boost her health every time he returned from the Autumn Courts.

    His alliance with Queen Morgan''s Militia, along with Ravin and Xerxes,? to find the Garden for the Four Seasons had evoked intense focus in his willpower so that he could obtain those magic fruits.

    Luna didn''t want to distract him and turn into this inconvenience.

    "It was a mistake. It''s just this perpetual cold seeping deep into my bones that bothered me, husband." This torture didn''t end, andining wouldn''t help, either. "I was determined to stay here in Hazelnut Manor with you.? I don''t want to hear your unnecessary concerns. It makes me feel worse than what? I feel when you leave me in the estate." Luna said softly as she feasted her eyes on the Vampire King''s physique when he took off his thick cloak made of fur and that hat he wore.

    She never expected her husband to take his silk shirt and the breeches off as the mes cast mysterious shadows on his naked chest and pectoral muscles before he threw all of his garments casually on the carpeted floor.

    Finally, he slid under her duvet to lie down beside her.

    "I apologize but I just can''t help but give voice to these worries, wife." His deep baritone was her medicine.

    It was a soothing balm that gave him the reason to stay and fight for her life.

    She wouldn''t leave yet.

    The babies in her womb had to endure a little longer so that they coulde out safe.

    Then, Apollyon cradled her head with hisrge hand and lifted her so that she could rest her head against his chest. "You know? that vampires like you��no." He paused for a few seconds to look her in the eye before he continued, "A Vampire Archdemon like you shouldn''t feel cold. It is the? winter in the Faerie Realm but it didn''t affect that much in the Fall Courts��"

    "��but it did, Apollyon." Of course, her husband didn''t have to point that out because it made her feel like she was blind..? Nevertheless, a thin-lipped smile yed upon her cold lips as her fingers clutched the duvet, "As an Archdemon and Vampire, Winter shouldn''t affect me but it did even if the rest of the creatures around me is functioning well."

 Chapter 808 - Its Winter Season

    <strong>Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (November 2021)</strong>

    <strong>*************************************</strong>

    <strong>Vampire King Apollyon</strong>

    <strong>************************************</strong>

    "��but it did, Apollyon." But, of course, her husband didn''t have to the point that out because it made her feel like she was blind.

    Nevertheless, a thin-lipped smile yed upon her cold lips as her fingers clutched the duvet. "As an Archdemon and Vampire, Winter shouldn''t affect me but it did even if the rest of the creatures around me is functioning well."

    As much as he would love to see her happy again, that smile never felt right.

    As resolute anger strained against his skin, Apollyon watched every nuance in her expression to see if she forced herself to do this for his sake in hopes that he might divert his worries into something else.

    Was this a trick to make him feel better?

    He could see right through it, and this false optimism only made him feel worse.

    Apollyon immediately told his wife not to smile if she didn''t feel like it.

    Why would she torture herself if she didn''t feel happy at all?

    Despite suffering from an extremely low body temperature and anticipating her slow death, Luna still thought she was the luckiest woman in the world just because she could still speak.

    ''Was there any other way to improve this inner affliction with magic?'' Apollyon mused as he stroked her hair gently, recreating that air of intimacy between them after his days of absence from the Hazelnut Manor.

    Of course, there was none.

    Upon his wife''s request, their royal bedchamber had turned into a miniature version of Hell.

    Apollyon could even feel how hot it was due to therge firece from his side of the bed.

    But, unfortunately, it did not affect Luna, which led him to the grudging conclusion that it was either Lilith or the demon child who had caused this.

    He would wipe that twisted smile off her face with a warm and affectionate embrace to battle the coldness she felt inside, making her feel what she was going to miss out on.

    Since her womb prevented her from turning sideways to face him, Luna''s entire body��from her head down to her toes��moved closer until she was clinging unto him.

    In her search for shelter in his lovely heat andfort,? Luna erased the smallest distance between them as if she was a demoness who desired to possess him and turn both of them into this one person.

    There was quiet but fierce desperation when she pulled the wool mittens clumsily from her hands so that she could settle her frozen hands on his bare chest.

    Perhaps, a fewnguid kisses could stir his Empress back to life.

    His passionate emotions surged as his loving thoughts danced around the evergreen forest of his mind with delight.

    Apollyon fulfilled her silent wish to connect with her on a primal level as his bare skin brushed against her thick clothes.

    That way, she would never feel alone again.

    In reality, she wasn''t alone in their royal bedchamber while he was in the Autumn Pce, leading a group of Faerie Knights in a search party on the thick, wild forests they had yet to explore in this Kingdom.

    He needed to be there and leave his wife on the Estate.

    Queen Morgan had postponed the pursuit of the location of the Garden of the Four Seasons a century ago, so they needed to get their investigations back on track as soon as possible and bring as many as people to help them.

    Until now, everything he had done was for her good, so she shouldn''t feel alone.

    Sloth and Princess Sapphire never forgot to visit her along with the whelp that wasn''t a whelp anymore.

    In addition to that, Luna was surrounded by her maidservants.

    Her beloved husband didn''t fail to devote once a week despite Hecate''s mission.

    "Here you are. You still had the strength to argue with me when you should be closing your mouth." rmed, Apollyon sensed that she was too cold to the touch the longer he talked to her after she traced the bright red cheek with the tip of his finger.

    All of her movements were slow��from her heart rate, her every inhales and exhales, and the blood flowing under her skin that the green and bluish of her veins were visible.

    "Conserve your energy for me, wife." A deep frown.

    He had settled a hand on her growing belly, and Luna winced while his eyes widened in surprise.

    In that second, both of them had felt something kick.

    The thought of being a single father for his heiress terrified him.

    Highly strung, Apollyon paused for a moment to calm his unusual nerves before he began, "We are trying our best to look for that magical garden that Archangel had watched over. I know the Archangel? was nearby. I told you three months ago? that I have seen that Angel save Queen Morgan. Both of them appeared out in the clear blue sky before the angel disappeared and let Queen Morgan fall, unconscious. Everything happened too? suddenly but I swore that the Creature I saw hadrge white wings with my own two eyes. At first sight, I can immediately tell that it was a woman. It gave me the confidence? to believe that it was the Archangel in one of Princess Ourania''s paintings we had won from the duel."

    "Husband. It''s been three months and the condition in the Material Realm had gotten worse. If we can''t find that Archangel by the next two months before I give birth, I''m afraid that we cant do anything with the garden anymore. You will have to give up on? those magical fruits if it''s already toote to take care of the babies." It was a sluggish response as she burrowed unto the crook of his arm. "I know that? you will insist that you find them even if I''m gone to appease your conscience."

    "Once you have it, the guilt and the shame you feel will fester and then, you would only me yourself." Her eyelids were half-closed as if she was about to fall asleep.

    Lethargy hit her hard.

    Shivering, Luna whispered, "At that point, I may have gone to the other side. Even if I lose my physical vessel, I will still try my best toe back to you as an Archdemon so you must do everything in your power to take care of our child."? Her hands had stopped caressing his abdominal muscles as if she had gone numb, and it stayed there. "I would create infinite chances for myself to return to you? just as how Luxen summoned these infinite demons for his Legion. It seemed like Hell was a bottomless pit of demon army.? They created a lot of trouble to those Kingdoms that weren''t protected with barriers to prevent these evil monsters froming in."

    As he leaned his elbow against the cushions, Apollyon kissed her temple to let her know that it was alright to rest as long as she coulde back to him.

    Always.

    "Even if you are sick right now, trust me that I can change your future into something good. You will experience the best day of your life if you could just stay with me after this.." He promised.

 Chapter 809 - Not Letting Go

    <strong>Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (November 2021)</strong>

    <strong>*************************************</strong>

    <strong>Vampire King Apollyon</strong>

    <strong>************************************</strong>

    "You have pointed many times how ruthless I can be but did you know that? your blood? on my hands scared me to death?"

    Luna had squealed in protest at the loss of his warmth as he shifted his body away from her.

    Yet, her yelp died in her throat when he leaned one forearm at the side of her head so that he could look deep into her eyes as he stared down at her.

    Luna had gasped upon seeing his face, and he realized that his cold, hard eyes had bled to ck.

    His other hand stroked her pregnant belly with both affection and unbending possessiveness.

    Their heiress was the living symbol that he had staked his im.

    Apollyon must fulfill his promise with Luna and protect their child with all his might. "Even if you are sick in this moment, you still have good memories to look forward to and we must cling? to that hope. Trust me in that, wife, and stay with me."

    He would wait for an eternity.

    It wouldn''t be that hard because he had done that in the past.

    Luna''s lips started trembling when he held her close.

    Her tears started falling from the corner of her eyes down to her temples, only to disappear from her once shiny silver hair that had lost its luster.

    Thinking about Luna''s condition and their baby''s safety had messed him up in the head that he was starting to feel like he was turning into this nervous wreck.

    She was this mysterious light from out of nowhere to shine unto his cold, dark world.

    He always felt different when he was with her.

    Their disposition had mirrored each other that they had no choice to face themselves and change their behavior instead of trying to change the other person.

    Their growth and maturity inclined them to be patient and understanding with each other''s words and actions.

    She was everything he had ever wanted that waiting for her appearance and finding the one he loved was worth it.

    Apollyon looked at her, and she averted her gaze from him shyly as if she had regressed into this virgin bride on their wedding night.

    Mischief had bloomed in his smile as he lifted his forearm to hold her hand and interlocked his fingers with her swollen ones.

    The butterflies in her stomach wouldn''t stop her from falling for him.

    Even if she felt sick and exhausted, as if she couldn''t go on anymore, Apollyon had promised to take care of her.

    His memory of her as they danced in the balcony under the moonlight will forever be ingrained in his mind.

    Thedy might as well wave the red g. As his heart thundered in his ribcage, he leaned his face closer until their nose touched.

    Luna''s eyes fell shut.

    "Don''t cry anymore, wife." Apollyon said as he indulged in the feel of her wife''s curves covered in nkets right up against him. "You will not leave me with our child because I can change our future."

    He already marked her and took her as his.

    Apollyon wouldn''t allow anyone to stand in his way.

    "But��"

    Apollyon ced a forefinger over her parted lips, and her half-lidded eyes had widened, stunned.

    At first nce, her sparkling emerald gaze had captivated him the way the moon and the stars in heaven did.

    Apollyon''s Empress was his love and obsession.

    It was nothing he had ever felt before.

    "You talk too much, Luna."

    Lowering his head, Apollyon crashed his lips unto hers.

    The slick slide of their tongues tasted like fire as he caressed, yed, and flicked it with his own, nting the seed of his love and pouring all his emotions through her parted lips.

    As his fingernails dug into her skin with desperation, Apollyon wouldn''t forget the happiness and relief it brought him to finally kiss her as much as he wanted after a tiring week in the Autumn Pce.

    Luna gave him as much as he could give her, but she pushed him away from her abruptly, catching him off guard.

    His shallow breathing matched hers as she tried to catch her breath, but she lost it when he started kissing her again.

    Luna immediately broke the physical contact between them, which almost tempted Apollyon to snarl for its loss.

    Apollyon''s grip tightened, and Luna pulled her hand from his with force.

    Her fingersnded on his shoulder before she managed to push him off her due to his sudden aggression.

    Apollyon narrowed his eyes at her wife, whose forehead was now dotted with perspiration despite admitting that she felt so cold earlier, his gaze straying to the pulse he heard thudding in her neck.

    It made his fangs grow that his palm flew to his mouth to cover them.

    He shook his head and groaned. ''Did he do something that she didn''t like?''

    God''s blood!

    Scaring her wasn''t part of the n.

    That shouldn''t happen.

    Apollyon cleared his throat before changing the subject.

    Heid back to the bed, eying the knotted mess from the numerous hems of the nkets and scarves around her neck and shoulders and hoping to untangle them.

    "By the way, we should cut your hair, Luna." Apollyon suggested softly.

    He didn''t want to do anything so drastic and chop her hair up to her neck with his dagger, but he would have liked toyer them short enough that it wouldn''t be messed up.

    "Why?" Luna had wriggled to the edge of the bed slowly to create distance. "Don''t you? you like them anymore?"

    It was clear that her answer was no.

    "I thought it was my silver hair that caught you attention when we first met and now you wanted to cut it?"? Luna asked in a harsh whisper.

    Her head was still turned to the side as if she couldn''t bear to see him suffer in his blood lust.

    Even her ears had turned red as well, and it made him confused.

 Chapter 810 - A Pregnant Wifes Impossible Wish

    <strong>Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (November 2021)</strong>

    <strong>*************************************</strong>

    <strong>Vampire King Apollyon</strong>

    <strong>************************************</strong>

    Luna''s ears had turned red as well, making him confused.

    As he covered his naked body with the nkets, Apollyonid sideways and faced her with his propped elbow while cradling his head.

    Maybe, it''s because her body was still adjusting to the cold by increasing her body heat even more�� he didn''t know.

    What was she embarrassed about when he should be the one feeling ashamed for acting like the Archdemon of Lust?

    He shouldn''t go overboard with his sexual desires when his wife had only two months left to give birth to their child that might lead to her death.

    It seemed like a heavy, thick fog had lurked over their heads as the awkward silence ensued.

    It frustrated him that he couldn''t read her mind at this moment.

    Oh, right.

    What were they talking about?

    Ah, yes.

    The silver hair she had that he loved from the first time he saw her.

    Apollyon almost forgot since his thoughts had quickly scattered after that short, fervent kiss.

    Hebed his fingers through his dark hair, feeling relieved that his insatiable thirst didn''t make him mistreat her��that his predatory vampire instinct didn''t make him force himself on her.

    "Your hair had created abrasions on your skin. It is time to cut it off." Apollyon said tly. "Your neck bleeds and the texture of your hair isn''t helping."

    Luna sighed before she tried to face the wall of their royal bedchamber as she was able with her back slightly turned on him.

    Every passing second made him drown in shame and regret, tempting him to curl into a fetal position as if that would make him disappear.

    Apollyon stayed still and watched her back with aser-like focus with a matching frown, willing her to turn.

    Luna rasped in response, and he could sense that her mood had changed. "As? you wish, Vampire King." Her shoulders were hunched over in a kind of submission that rmed him. "Do what you will." However, that rm disintegrated into the ethers when she added, "Now that I have done your bidding, it is time for you to do to listen to my request. I want to go outside."

    "You can''t."

    There was no reason for Luna to ask this because his response would always be no.

    Apollyon had no idea what made him do this, but his hand clutched the back of his wife''s hair and pulled them, wondering which length suited her.

    "I want to see what is happening around the Material Realm." Luna''s voice went smaller, as if she already knew that he would refuse no matter how many times he rephrased the question. "I feel good now that you are here."

    At this moment, Apollyon had already scooted closer to her side of the bed so that he could wrap an arm over her chest. "No."

    "Apollyon. Please. Just let me." Luna pleaded, but Apollyon didn''t think that going outside was urgent for his pregnant wife.

    Maybe, she was trying her luck on him so that she could feel in control of her life and surroundings.

    It seemed like his wife was rebelling against him, being picky and unreasonable with her request. "It is my wish to see the world after being cooped up in this room for so long." He scowled with every soft word Luna uttered. "I want to see the sun shine."

    "It''s raining." Apollyon snapped.

    He didn''t lie, though.

    Luna would figure out if he would take her to the close balcony and let her take a peek, but he wouldn''t let her move that far while she was heavily pregnant.

    "Perhaps, taking a bath will help improve your condition and invigorate your spirit." Apollyon suggested once he recalled what Queen Morgan told him.

    She said that pregnant women felt like ripping their skin to shreds the moment their uterus began to expand and their stomach''s skin stretched.

    The Winter Season might persuade them to have hot baths, but that would be dangerous for his wife''s womb.

    Rubbing soothing oils to moisturize his wife''s dry skin as she bathed in warm water would be better.

    Apollyon made it his mission to let his wife enjoy every second of it.

    To make up for the lost time he wasn''t by her side due to their true mission in the Autumn Courts, he will see to it that his wife is pampered.

    Luna took a long breath, then another, before her shoulders shivered. "It is too cold."

    "I will tell the servants to use warm water. It should be quick." After dragging his raven hair that had fallen across his forehead to the back, Apollyon hugged her tighter. "I asked the birth attendant Queen Morgan had assigned to you told me? that this warm bath should be less than ten minutes so as not to harm the baby. Yet, I have heard that you still refused to let the water touch your skin. You don''t have to do anything because I will carry you."

    "If I take a bath, will you take me outside?"

    Apollyon''s shoulders tensed when she brought the subject up again.

    Why did she keep on insisting?

    Perhaps, he would have to find a way to fulfill the strangest yet impossible wishes of a pregnant wife.

    "I can''t take you outside the estate but I will apany you to sit by the chair in the balcony and hold the umbre for you." Finally, he gave in but maybe, he could divert into something else enough to give her some time to change her mind.

    "I also had a gift for you." Releasing her from his hold, Apollyon turned to reach for the perfume bottle he had deposited on the bedside table after taking his clothes off and hopping on the bed. "It''s from Queen Morgan."

    "What is it?" She asked, and the stunning shade of her emerald eyes was reced with dting pupils.

    His wife wasn''t different from most women when it came to this.

    It appeared like she liked receiving gifts and surprises just like them.

 Chapter 811 - Drinking Her Mates Blood

    Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (November 2021)

    *************************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    ************************************

    It appeared like she liked receiving gifts and surprises.

    mping his lips together, he let out a dark yet almost soundless chuckle so that his wife wouldn''t feel insulted.

    It wasn''t like he wasughing at her.

    The excitement she kept under wraps was contagious to anyone who might sense it.

    Curious, Luna looked over her shoulder, and she winced a little when Apollyon caught her watching.

    The moment she reverted to staring at the wall, Apollyon turned to the side to collect himself and announced, "It''s perfume."

    "Perfume? Is it because I already look like a corpse and I will smell like one in a couple of days?"

    Apollyon flinched, and all his muscles had turned rigid from the insensitivement.

    It wasn''t aimed at him but did Luna have to be rude to herself, which insulted his husband in turn?

    Hand freezing on the cork bottle in hesitation, Apollyon clenched it into a fist and settled his arm back to the bed, abruptly deciding not to give the gift to Luna and try the scent out.

    He spoke through gritted teeth. "You must have noticed that I don''tugh at your jests, Luna."

    "Perhaps, I''m not funny anymore." It was a long-drawn-out breath that he could practically hear her grimace. "I don''t see you smile often around me."

    "Your condition is serious." He shook his head in disappointment.

    Didn''t his wife realize how nasty and inconsiderate that sounded to the people who loved her very much? Him? "This isn''t aughing matter."

    "I don''t want myst memory of my husband in this Material Realm to be this irritable."

    So, it was Apollyon''s fault now, then?

    His jaw clenched.

    "I don''t want myst memory of of you to be like this, either." Never mind the perfume then. Apollyon should immediately skip to what he hated the most, but he can''t dy them anymore if he cared about his wife. "I can''t postpone this anymore. Even if it hurts my pride to ask help from these Archdemon bastards, I will allow you to drink Ravin''s blood for you to gain your strength." He grabbed the leather canteen standing next to the perfume, rolled back to her side of the bed, and positioned it in front of Luna''s face. "Here. Drink this. I mixed this with my own blood so that you wouldn''t forget how mine tasted."

    "You have prepared them." She sounded surprised.

    "Of course." He replied, a matter-of-fact.

    Apollyon didn''t want her Archdemon Familiar''s neck around her.

    He and Ravin had discussed Luna''s condition at the Autumn Pce before their group was set to return to their Estate.

    The Archdemon seemed to be mature about it as if he was willing to do anything, even agree with whom he considered as an enemy who wanted to im his mate.

    Nodding his head at the right points, Ravin had listened to him intently as if he cared whatever happened to his wife.

    It would have been better if the selfish bastard didn''t care for her aside from the fact that she was their Master.

    Ravin inclined his head as he rubbed his chin in contemtion.

    "Why don''t you just let her bite me in the neck? You don''t have to conduct this borate ceremony, you know?" Ravin told him. His fiery voice seemed to be wrapped in ice. "You could have spared yourself the humiliation, Vampire King."

    Apollyon''s jaw tightened and kept his face nk.

    The Archdemon knew that his brother, Luxen, had invaded the Vampire Realm and reced him as King, but he still didn''t drop his title�� which was suspicious, but it made him appreciate the spoken gesture.

    For now.

    These Archdemons'' methods were indeed sneaky and evil, especially that bastard, Luxen.

    If they couldn''t defeat the Faeries who possessed stronger souls, his demonic Legion would murder them and take over the dead and the dying to make more bodies avable for minions.

    Even if the odds for the Material Realm''s sess were overwhelming, Apollyon and their group would work with the Autumn Courts to defeat demons and fight these demonic forces.

    Ravin must have trusted Apollyon to im the Vampire Realm back from Luxen for the Empress'' sake. In the Archdemon''s eyes, Luna will always be the first Archdemon Empress in the Vampire Realm, and that wouldn''t change.

    Nevertheless, he didn''t object when Apollyon handed him a leather canteen to let his Archdemon blood drip on the container.

    +++

    Luna groaned from the tender aches she felt on her body as she tried to gain enough strength to get up from the bed and face him.

    His fingers cupped her shivering hand on the leather canteen so that she wouldn''t spill its contents by mistake while he wiped the thin vampire saliva trickling at the corner of her bluish lips.

    Luna drank his blood mixed with Ravin''s in huge gulps until thest drop, without even allowing herself to enjoy the scent of his blood like she usually does out of habit.

    Blood had almost reached the rim of the leather canteen that it almost overflowed, but it was gone in just a few seconds as if a thirsty woman, lot in the desert for hours, had slurped it away.

    Apollyon snaked one arm around her back to guide her and help her get up from the bed.

    Then, she returned the leather canteen to him.

    "This tasted divine, Apollyon, but it tasted different." Luna said breathlessly as she licked the blood dripping at the corner of her mouth.

    As the corner of his lips had curved upward, Apollyon feltforted that his wife could tell the difference between his blood and the rest.

    Apollyon was truly special to her, and he wouldn''t tire of giving her these little tests.

    "You haven''t drank from my blood in three months, though." He felt Luna touch his arm when she pointed that out.

    She was keeping track, huh?

    +++

    [A/N]

    Theptop isgging.

    The author is writing on a typewriter before transferring everything in this space.

    I apologize for the slow updates

 Chapter 812 - Stop Hiding From Me

    <strong><i>Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (December 2021)</i></strong>

    <strong>**********************</strong>

    <strong>Vampire King Apollyon</strong>

    <strong>*********************</strong>

    "You haven''t drank from my blood in three months, though." He felt Luna touch his arm when she pointed that out.

    She was keeping track, huh?

    "I don''t want to make you feel worse that it is. You forget that I am a pure blood so I can keep my thirst under control for as long as I want to." Apollyon said as he stared into her dark green eyes that were so deep and full of desire that they could go on forever.

    The sight didn''t fail to arouse him. "You don''t have to worry about me."

    Now that she got up from the bed without difficulty and felt like she was frozen in her room, Apollyon could easily cut her long silver hair before he called for the maidservants to prepare her bath.

    The sight of her flush and rosy cheeks as she nced down at the rumpled sheets over herrge tummy made his heart expand and exhale with relief.

    From the death gray shifting to the vibrant silver moonbeams reflecting on her smooth pearly skin every time he traveled with her under the night sky, Apollyon could see that her natural pallor had returned.

    The improvement of an Archdemon-Vampire, drinking ichor that belonged to her Archdemon Mate, which Apollyon disliked to admit, mixed with his was incredibly drastic that he considered it a miracle.

    His eyes had slightly in disbelief when he saw Luna so sick and fragile earlier as if she was in her deathbed, appearing like her physical vessel had given up on her.

    Apollyon swore that his beloved looked like she would deteriorate into ashes at any given moment.

    It scared him so much that the fear made him set his ego aside to prioritize her and allow the Familiar to help.

    Yet, by just drinking his blood mixed with Ravin''s, she recovered so quickly, looking as if every cell in her body had regenerated in a year and then, fitting that into a single minute.

    He acknowledged it humbly to himself that his blood, alone, couldn''t cure Luna as fast as this, and he was grateful for Ravin''s existence even if he would offer every gold he owned just for that once-in-a-lifetime chance to get rid of this bastard from his beloved''s life.

    Yet, if it wasn''t for their mating bond, Ravin and Sloth can rely on the binding contract as her Familiar to help Luna with their Archdemon blood but not to this great extent.

    Strong blood bonds and mental links between mates can move mountains.

    He doubted that a god or a goddess could perform this phenomenon.

    He canpare Luna''s swift healing with the unique blood magic�� abination of multiple mates of different species.

    If the concerned Fae maidservants in Hazelnut Manor could see their Princess'' initial condition as opposed to now, they would surely faint from shock the instant they entered the room to serve her.

    Most of them were well-aware of the curse that had fallen on her, as mentioned by the Three Fates.

    They knew the gist, but other than that, they had no further information.

    As much as he hated relying on the Archdemon for help, Apollyon was d he did it.

    No regrets.

    His left arm stretched to return the leather canteen to the bedside table to keep Queen Morgan''s gift there.

    Next, he climbed out of bed.

    Midway through the process of clutching one of his beloved''s multiple nkets and wrapping its hem around his waist before fixing them into ce, Luna''s fingers hang unto that thin, snug space between the nket''s material and the abdominal hair close to his pubic region.

    Flinching at the sudden unexpected contact when her fingernails brushed against his thickening shaft, it didn''t take his manhood to stand in attention.

    Unfortunately, there was nothing that could be done about this.

    Having sexual congress with a pregnant wife of seven months expected to give birth to two babies might send his wife to an early death.

    ''No. No. No.'' Apollyon thought in panic. ''That shouldn''t happen.'' Then, as his eyelids closed shut, he prayed for the gods and goddesses to give him self-control despite the unbridled lust he felt deep in his bones.

    Luna asked him where he was going, but he only managed to rasp a throaty response while her mischievous hand slowly moved downward, cupping his hardening rod with her palm.

    From out-of-nowhere, Luna was in the mood for this? Apollyon was surprised at how quick his wife could change her attitudes like the moon phases, blushing like she was this shy girl around him all of a sudden and being clingy the next.

    He reassured her that he wouldn''t leave her side and stay in bed with her for a few minutes before calling for the maidservants.

    As he watched her with hooded eyes, they proceeded to talk about unimportant stuff that wasn''t rted to the dirty things they had started doing.

    Groaning, Apollyon had pushed his erection against her palm in slow thrusting motions that he had longed to do inside his wife''s sweet tight quim.

    Since Luna had gotten pregnant along with the demon invasion in the Material Realm, there was no sense in thinking about pleasure or where he could acquire the next sexual gratification because he was preupied with a lot of things, making him forget that he was a man with lustful needs.

    With this prolonged abstinence, Apollyon would assume that he might identally revert into a virgin.

    Fingers circling her wrist, Apollyon stroked and scratched her soft skin with his thumb as if urging her to do more of this.

    Luna tilted her head at him teasingly. "Do you think I should put this in my mouth, Apollyon?"

    Something told him that this wasn''t going to end well because there was a high chance that he wouldn''t be satisfied even if he finished in her mouth.

    His cum dripping in those scarlet lips would drive him mad enough to make the mistake of pushing her down and driving his cock inside her.

    +++

    Apollyon gave her a long, piercing gaze as he pulled her hand from the nket that had almost dropped down around his waist, forcing her to let go. "This isn''t the time."

    "I didn''t realize you were naked in bed until you aren''t anymore."

    "I know what you are doing." He squeezed her hand, released it, and he raised her chin with a finger. "You are trying to distract me because you don''t want to take that bath."

    Luna averted her gaze but not without catching her emerald eyes almost turning jet ck with want."You don''t want me to continue, then?"

    It shocked him, reminding him of his sexual craving reflected in that sensual gaze.

    There was a pause before he ground out, "No. Let'' get you out of those nkets."

    Apollyon expected his beloveddy to protest the loss of the hoarded nkets she had buried herself in like the corpse she insisted she became.

    Still, it seemed like Luna could deal with the cold now as a typical vampire should.

    Good.

    He began to pull the thin veils that were tucked inside the scarves around her neck. She didn''t seem to mind as she turned her gaze away, but Apollyon had to be careful.

    Even if she looked healthy,? Luna was still sick from the inside because Lilith''s soul was still in there somewhere.

    She might have figured out how to curb the Archdmemon''s presence from taking over her physical vessel, but these cloths she had swaddled herself in like she was a newborn baby weren''t armors that would prevent her from falling apart.

    She was in her hell, and Apollyon wanted to be her salvation.

    It appeared like she already realized that this collection of quilts and scarves didn''t make a difference anymore.

    His wife was wonderful now, and she hadn''t caught any chill from outside since the funeral pyre at the corner had served its purpose.

    Apollyon tossed the sheets, the veils, and the scarves to the ground until she was bare.

    His wife was a beautiful goddess who had her hand over her protruding stomach while the other cradled the bottom protectively.

    Her thick silver mane was parted over her shoulders to cover her perfect chest��breasts that he was the only man allowed to see.

    The image made him suck in a breath, rekindling his libido over and over that he wanted nothing more than pressing them against his chest.

    Since it was impossible to do that,? burying his nose at that generous cleavage would do. Apollyon''s gaze left her chest to examine her serene countenance��from her silver winged eyebrow, dark green eyes, aquiline nose, to her scarlet lips panting with need.

    His scrutiny skipped the reddish clots and bruises on her neck that his fangs had caused.

    It was a pity that he couldn''t risk temptation, especially if Luna were right in his face, looking like a full-course meal handed to him in a silver tter.

    This was also the reason why he agreed on staying in the Autumn Pce for six agonizing days, only to return to Hazelnut Manor on the seventh to meet his wife once a week.

    Then, he would return to Queen Morgan with Xerxes and Ravin to aid the search of the Garden of the Four Seasons.

    He abhorred enjoying pleasure at his wife''s expense.

    He found that it was best to avoid Luna than to see her and tried to resist her allure.

    It also made his life difficult to see her suffer and he couldn''t do anything about it.

    Now, he could.

 Chapter 813 - You Arent Fat, Just Pregnant!

    <strong>Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (December 2021)</strong>

    <strong>**********************</strong>

    <strong>Vampire King Apollyon</strong>

    <strong>*********************</strong>

    It also made his life difficult to see her suffer, and he couldn''t do anything about it.

    Now, he could.

    Perhaps, Apollyon can start drinking Luna''s blood again once she fully recovered after drinking his and Ravin''s blood some more.

    Apollyon took a deep breath and paused before exhaling.

    Luna''s mouth-watering scent hit him again, and his nostrils red.

    Without meaning to, Apollyon had licked his lips in anticipation, wondering where he could get his next hit of that drug.

    Later.

    Later��

    He shook his head, getting a hold of himself.

    As he drew closer, Luna let out a short gasp when he raked his fingers through her scalp before he closed his eyes, bent over, and kissed the crown of her head.

    The bristles of her hair tickled his jaw, making his lips quirk.

    His nose caught the delightful and sweet aroma of citrus squeezed on autumn flowers and grassy meadow after rainy dawn on her hair, and he breathed her in.

    This must be what heaven smelled like, and he didn''t expect it.

    He nodded in approval, wishing he could stay in her embrace innocently without feeling ravenous.

    The Fae servants of Hazelnut? Manor had done a great job convincing his beloved to clean her up despite her cursed illness and her extreme fear of the cold.

    After their battle with all the demons in the Material Realm, he would remember to give each of them a raise.

    Apollyon saw that bathing wouldn''t be an obstacle anymore, so he raised one knee and then another, climbing back to the bed, settled himself behind her.

    He also fluffed the pillows and leaned them against the headboard to recline his broad back and rx while he aimed to cut her silver hair properly.

    He wanted to get Lunafortable first before seeing her bath in front of the birth attendants.

    Apollyon didn''t care at all if they wanted him out.

    He was the Lord of the Manor.

    If the head birth attendant insisted this was a ''women-only endeavor,'' Apollyon would dismiss thedy and tell her to pack her bags and leave the premises.

    This wasn''t the time to follow stupid and strict traditions when his only goal was to protect his wife fiercely while he was here in the Estate.

    The bath wasn''t an exemption.

    The bed had creaked when Apollyon lifted her by her arms so she could move her forward a bit to give him more space.

    His wife had be heavier, but he had no problem with her weight at all.

    He was just d that this fact had proved that the babies were healthy and his wife''s womb was good enough to house them.

    He knew how sensitive women could be from gaining weight no matter how obscure it was, so he never made any passingment out loud.

    In his imaginary vampire husband''s handbook, it was a crime to irritate a pregnant wife with talks of even the slightestment about appearance.

    "Apollyon." Luna had to look over her shoulder to narrow her dark emerald eyes that he guessed had turned almost demonic. "I swear I heard you grunt when you when you lifted me up."

    His beloved figured out that he was too silent��that he was mulling over something in his mind.

    Had she connected to their mind link without his knowledge?

    As he felt his nape prickle, Apollyon realized he was going to face some female trouble, so, in the blink of an eye, he abruptly kept his imprable mask in ce.

    Her eyes reverted to a vampire.

    The scowl on her face shouldn''t have made him snort, but he found her pout cutely that he wanted to kiss and bite that insolent lip of hers.

    God''s blood!

    She seemed to forget that her husband was a strong Vampire!

    Why would he grunt when he didn''t even make a sound�� much less gasp?

    Yet, there should be nothing to worry about.

    His beloved''s beauty wouldn''t fade over something this trivial.

    The Harem Girls in the Consortium were only as vain because they had lived their whole life being conscious of his perusal.

    His wife didn''t have to adhere to these ridiculous standards because she already owned his heart, body, and soul.

    This way of living was mandatory for harem girls in the Consortium.

    Male vampires'' approval was solely based on their sensual appearance and how well they could pleasure and serve the men who bought them to gain their favor and live afortable life.

    However, his wife didn''t have to adhere to these ridiculous standards anymore since he had already left his image of owning a Consortium in the past.

    Apollyon''srge hands traced the bones and massaged those parts, where her Archdemon wings should have been if he witnessed her in Archdemon form, in a circr motion, before his palm slid into her arm to hold her slender fingers.

    She finally spoke after a deliberate moment of silence, which made him chuckle softly.

    "You are as light as feather and you will always be. I already told you about this before, Luna." His free hand caressed the underside of one breast that grew heavier and her nipples to darken with each passing month. "Be reassured."

    When the mes of the firece had danced at the expanse of her skin, Apollyon could see the tiny green veins branching underneath her moonlit flesh despite the darkness of the room.

    "You can carry me outside for a little sight-seeing then." She pressed on.

    Luna was as pale as a sheet, so there was no doubt his wife could perfectly blend in snowy surroundings if he fulfilled her wish to go outside.

    Luna might vanish if she sneaked out recklessly despite his warning.

    But, of course, the lovelydy would have to wear white, wouldn''t she?

    "Later." Apollyon brought her hands to his lips and kissed it reverently. "��after I cut your hair."

    "This will be quick, beloved.? After this you will take a bath and then we would take a walk at the vineyards if you are able.." He released her hand, and it stayed limp on the bed. "If you can''t��"

 Chapter 814 - The Cut

    <strong><i>Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (November 2021)</i></strong>

    <strong><i>**********************</i></strong>

    <strong><i>Vampire King Apollyon</i></strong>

    <strong><i>*********************</i></strong>

    "This will be quick, beloved.? After this you will take a bath and then we would take a walk at the vineyards if you are able." He released her hand, and it stayed limp on the bed.? "If you can''t��"

    "Then, the balcony, it is."

    "Yes, my love." Luna blinked when he put his hand on her shoulder and poked her cheek with his forefinger.

    However, that didn''t stop her from staring in his direction.

    "Luna?" Apollyon gave Luna''s breast a slight squeeze, and all his muscles tensed the second he felt something wet leak out of her hardening nipples.

    As chills ran down his stiff spine�� and erection, Apollyon feared that it was blood.

    Maybe, he identally pricked it with his sharp nails!

    He didn''t lengthen his ws by mistake, didn''t he?

    Apollyon immediately got his wrongful hands of her as if he was electrocuted by that skin-to-skin contact.

    Luna flinched when he demanded what it was, but when she nced down at her breasts to check it, it turned out it was just�� milk.

    She leaned against him so that he could see them with his own two eyes before she quickly straightened her posture and returned to her original position.

    Well, it looked like milk when he gave it an incredulous stare, getting ready for their baby''s arrival.

    She wasctating.

    Because it simply looked like it.

    Apollyon had never dealt with a pregnant woman before since he never nned on bing a father for a long time after experiencing a terrible childhood.

    Hence, it took him a minute to recognize this other change in Luna''s ripe body.

    He was genuinely regretful that he couldn''t monitor every little detail when he was busy at the Autumn Pce so that he could find the cure for Luna''s curse.

    A flush of adrenaline tingled through his body, but he felt a sudden coldness at the pit of his stomach.

    He didn''t know how to feel when it finally sunk in his brain that he was going to see these children in two months while Luna ced her life on the line to allow these babes to live in this Realm.

    Searching for the Garden of the Four Seasons seemed like a bad dream when racing against time.

    They still had two months left, so he allowed his mind to wander a bit.

    I wondered if this had a taste.'' Apollyon mused.

    He didn''t even wait for his brain to reply because the next thing he knew was that his hand was already in her mouth as he began licking the wetness on his fingers.

    For the vampire life of him who had lived in the Material Realm for millennia, Apollyon couldn''tpare it to anything that closely resembled its taste because he had been drinking blood and blood-mixed wine made by vampiric Faeries, but that''s about it.

    Warmth exploded in his chest as he savored the unique taste in his tongue.

    Nothing could have reced Luna''s blood as his maximum nourishment, but this vampire milk might dangerouslye in second.

    Unfortunately, it wasn''t for him but the babies in her womb the moment they got out, and Luna was still alive to feed them as their mother.

    If he wasn''t raised as a vampire, then what he tasted right now was probably milk since it had a simr color to what the Faeries usually drink as a beverage.

    That sad thought made Apollyon frown.

    So what?

    Those babies wouldn''t arrive in about two months.

    He could directly drink from the source, and his wife would even produce more because she was healthy now.

    If he couldn''t drink Luna''s blood, at least the breast milk would somehow make up for it, especially if they were dripping there, waiting for that tongue to lick the nipples clean.

    Of course, Luna wouldn''t mind, would she?

    Apollyon peered at her to see if she would glower at him for ying with her nipple and squeezing the milk out of her breasts yfully.

    He swore he heard a slight moan from her even if all he could view was his alluring back.

    If he massaged them harder in circles, would she notice?

    Apollyon waited for a few seconds for her to react after groping her, but this time, Luna had yelped and turned her head towards him, who still hadn''t cut her hair as he promised.

    "Did you cut them already, Apollyon?" She asked with an impatient re. "Because you are abusing my breasts instead of doing that."

    His beloved''s breasts were leaking some more milk just as he wanted, and he licked the rich white liquid in his fingers.

    Well, isn''t that great?" Apollyon smirked as he crossed his legs on the bed. "It might help you if I suck your breasts. Maybe, it will get lighter once the leak stops after I emptied it and consumed every drop."

    "I want? to help my wife to make the pregnancy easier." His tone was business-like as he threw her an innocent look, but Apollyon didn''t think it worked.

    One of her eyebrows was raised in suspicion, but other than that, Luna''s countenance was unreadable, but she was trying hard to purse her lips to prevent herself from erupting into peals ofughter.

    Finally, his wife replied with a straight face, "What a gentlemanly thing to do to have a husband suck his wife''s breasts to make them lighter. Such a kind and considerate husband that deserved to be praised." Luna sighed dramatically and pped, "I shall allow you to do what you can do to help. It isn''t fair for a pregnant woman to only carry this heavy burden on our shoulders."

    "I agree, Your Highness. It is only right that I contributed something." Apollyon yed along as he murmured against her skin. "A good husband is always wiling to help and? be of service as well as share the burden."

    "Honestly, I feel really ugly right now, husband." Luna admitted in a shaky voice. "I had never felt fat in the entirety of my immortal life."

    She had mustered all the courage she had to utter these insecurities, and he couldn''t have been more than proud of her. "I don''t even know if cutting my hair would make a difference in my appearance." She seemed to have buried her face in her hands from the muffled sound. "Why do you still want me after seeing me at my ugliest and weakest state?"

    "You are beautiful just from the fact that you carry our child. I didn''t tell you this just because you are my wife or anything." He brought himself closer and gathered her long silver hair in his hands.? "In addition to that, a new look might make you feel more powerful and confident as we celebrate the next chapter of our lives." Next, he bent his neck tond seductive kisses on her shoulder and neck.? "I am determined to have aplete family in the next two months so you must try, beloved."

    Apollyon thrust one hand underneath her long silver hair tob it before he lengthened his ws and shed an inch above her slender shoulders.

    "Are you ready?"

    "Mm."

    That sounded nomittal, but he would take that as a ''yes.

    Apollyon retracted his ws, rolled the entirety of the silver mane around his wrist, and put the thick strands in the drawer.

    "It is done, beloved.." He gave her short silver hair an affectionate pat before sending them into glorious and wild disarray.

 Chapter 815 - Order Of The Selcis

    <strong>(A/N) To those who are confused, 812-815 is edited</strong>

    <strong>Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (December 2021)</strong>

    <strong>*************************************</strong>

    <strong>Vampire King Apollyon</strong>

    <strong>************************************</strong>

    He walked towards the housekeeper to ask if Ravin had arrived at the Manor out of Luna''s earshot.

    As much as possible, he wanted the Archdemon and his wife to have fewer interactions.

    Well, he hoped that these familiars wouldn''t meet her anymore if she liked to keep her power and dignity intact.

    They shouldn''t see her this fragile.

    Her Archdemon Familiars might steal this chance to take advantage of it and break their binding contract.

    Ha! It wasn''t like Apollyon would allow them.

    This was the reason why he left the Archdemon of Gluttony in the Autumn Pce without saying goodbye, riding the ck stallion Queen Morgan owned and allowed him to use her and left the bastard in the dust.

    It was a miracle that they were civil with each other, but that didn''t mean that he had treated the bastard as a friend and considered him as his wife''s second mate.

    The irritation he felt made him want to explode and fantasize about violence.

    The Archdemon was nothing but a Familiar.

    Ravin was Luna''s servant and nothing else.

    He had clicked his tongue in his realization that every Archdemon he met, except his wife,? was simply delusional.

    It wasn''t a coincidence that these insane demons couldn''t see reality.

    Apollyon had refrained from using teleportation since it would no longer work because of the protection spells ced around the Kingdom.

    However, it was considerably stronger now.

    The Autumn Fair Folk had ced its life force on the line to increase the stability of the shields and improve its resistance from the demons and evil spirits attacking at what they had perceived as weaker spots on the dome-shaped barriers.

    Queen Morgan had done this on purpose.

    Apollyon wasn''t the King here, so he had no problems following directives from a Monarch who had earned his respect aside from his wife.

    Apollyon can be a firm ally or a powerful enemy.

    It was up to the people involved with him to choose.

    In just a short amount of time, Queen Morgan had dered him and Luna as temporary prince and princess of her? Kingdom to entice the Fair Folk to trust them and follow their orders; Apollyon became an authoritative leader andmander to a group of Knights from the Fall Militia which he called Order of the Selcis.

    He always made sure that each intelligent decision was based on solid logic.

    The Autumn Queen and the Fae Elders had also provided him with wise counsel during their meeting, praising him for his keen mind.

    Honestly, Apollyon had anticipated a negative sentiment that hearing those words made him raise an eyebrow.

    The Council had collectively valued his seasoned experiences on the battlefield as a? ruler of the Vampire Realm.

    In the throne''s name, he was ready to defend the Kingdom and conquer the enemy.

    Apollyon was imposing during the daily Conve, leaning forward on the same ss table with his clenched fists resting on the ss surface where the Three Fates showed themselves to answer the Fall Queen''s Queries just in case these old Faeries in full-faced masks and velvet cloaks which covered them from head to toe, couldn''t hear or understand him.

    He had worn a full suit of chained armor topped with a blue tunic, a red cape, and a scowl that made his handsome face be sterner.

    Apollyon was ready to stand up and make his point as he clutched the hilt of his heavy sword and pulled them from its sheath.

    The strange realization Apollyon had--that it was better to discuss their ideas and get other people''s opinions--surprised him.

    At first, Apollyon thought that sharing his view about the infestation of demons in the Material Realm with the Faeries would never work since he was treated poorly by the Spring Courts.

    Despite being the Vampire King and having a friend and a distant cousin and ally there, Apollyon and his wife dealt with discrimination after they witnessed what his wife could do at the Ostara Celebrations.

    Nothing to see there.

    At that moment, Luna was just an Archdemon-Vampire disying her rare ability to eat souls to save the Kingdom.

    Her golden heart had earned her attempted persecution, and there was nothing left to do but flee to the Summer Courts.

    The Kingdom where the Fae blood running through his veins came from wasn''t a pic, either.

    Apollyon didn''t want his brain to recall what happened from the moment they had plunged themselves to the deep crystal pool at the waterfalls and ended it with the brutal beheading of the Summer General.

    He was used to this kind of bloodshed, so it didn''t phase him at all, but Luna''s disgust made him aware of his apathy and detachment of other people''s lives aside from the ones he had genuinely cared about.

    From the way Jora, Sylvain, and Kotari scowled at him when he had the chance to give them a sideways nce, he wondered whether Queen Morgan''s Cadre was jealous of the power she bestowed upon him.

    Even the Archdemon of Gluttony noticed how they bore holes on his clothes with their eyes the instant he turned his back.

    Ravin observed him when the Cadre who visited their camp was out of sight after delivering Queen Morgan''s message.

    Xerxes warned Apollyon to be more alert around the? Cadre if these Fae Generals would persuade the Fall Queen to take her power back and strip Apollyon and Luna of their temporary title.

    These men have pledged to protect her with their lives, but politics and hierarchy still existed no matter how many times they expressed their loyalty to their brave and heroic Queen.

    When he seeded his father''s throne and lived long enough as the new Vampire King, Luna quickly learned that creatures in the Material Realm will always be greedy in the face of gaining dominion over others.

    Well, Apollyon admitted that he was one of those people if he was honest with himself.

 Chapter 816 - Preening

    <strong>Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (December 2021)</strong>

    <strong>**************************</strong>

    <strong>Vampire King Apollyon</strong>

    <strong>**************************</strong>

    Apollyon, who was hailed as a Vampiric Faerie Prince in the Autumn Courts, for goddess-knew-why the Queen decided on it in the spur-of-the-moment, had challenged the status of the Queen''s Cadre with the mere space he took in this Monarchy when he shouldn''t have been in the first ce.

    From their snide behaviour and the slight change of their treatment with them when the Queen was around,? even Ravin could tell that Queen Morgan''s most trusted Grand Knights��or mercenaries, perhaps?��had acted out of character from their usual portrayal to the rest of the Autumn Fair Folks.

    With an arrogant smirk, Ravin reminded Apollyon during their private discussion that he was a veteran in recognizing that dark urge inside some of the Ancient Fae Elders'' and the Cadre Member''s hearts to have some control over the Kingdom.

    Xerxes also agreed on this.

    Xerxes had spotted the special treatment while separated from Apollyon''s Order of Knights to work the Kingdom''s best trackers.

    These Faerie ''trackers'', whom Xerxes considered almost simr to spies,? were the shortest and the most agile out of all? Knights in the Militia.

    These creatures were sent first due to their familiarity with the thick, wild forests in the Autumn Courts. In addition, they were predators in charge of chasing, hunting and trapping prey, especially those creatures who were on the run after managing to escape from the dungeons.

    The instant these Fae silent ''trackers'', who excelled in cryptic colouration out of all the Faeries who tried to join this unique unit,? discovered that Xerxes was the infamous werewolf spy from the Summer Courts along with Princess Sapphire, they immediately made Xerxes as the leader to keep an eye out on what cool tricks he could do as well as criticize him behind his back.

    At first, no one from the Autumn Militia knew about his true identity except for the Cadre and the Fae Elders during the Council Meeting, but for some reason, the secret was out.

    They figured out his identity, which Xerxes thought had put him at a major disadvantage. Nevertheless, they couldn''t help but anticipate the kid to mess up like the rest of the Knights expected Apollyon to do.

    As their group travelled with the Order of the Selcis, Xerxes donned his werewolf form to track the scents he picked up from Princess Ourania''s paintings just in case it had given some clue.

    These Fae Knights had acknowledged him as a vampire of noble blood and a new addition to the Fall Monarchs while Ravin stood as his second-inmand.

    Every Faerie Knights and Sentinels in the Autumn Militia had treated Apollyon''s Order of the Selcis differently��reverently and grudgingly��as if they had this unseen and unspoken elevated status over the rest shining as bright as the sun rays behind them.

    These Faeries were resentful, but at least they tried so hard to repress out of sheer respect for Queen Morgan.

    But, who knew how long this perceived unity wouldst with Apollyon and Luna''s presence from another Kingdom whom they already considered as a threat to the throne?

    Apollyon shook his head to drive away from the ns their group had established along with the rest of the Autumn Fair folk from the Pce in search for the Garden of the Four Seasons lurking invisibly in the Fall Courts.

    This wasn''t the time to think too much of the future.

    He can''t believe that he allowed their mission to invade his private life again instead of focusing on the naked body of his lovely wife in therge tub.

    The butler led the pages to fetch the wooden tub and positioned it on the other side of the door while he used his Fae Magic to carry it inside.

    Apollyon wouldn''t let any man enter the royal bed-chamber and see his wife naked like this.

    The female attendants brought jugs and pots of warm water to fill them while one maidservant set the mood into a romantic one by setting the blue, orange, purple and green faerie lights loose in the dark room.

    For some reason, the scent of the winter flowers on the vases emitted a stronger floral yet spicy scent that Apollyon liked.

    Luna hadined many times that her back ached a lot.

    From the bed, Apollyon carried his beloved in his arms so that she didn''t have to exert effort on walking or standing with therge baby bump she was lugging around.

    The instant the tub was almost full, Apollyon had already ced his hand on the water to check the temperature himself, so he was confident to carefully put Luna down on the tent-like cloth on the bottom of the bath.

    He knew that the bathwater felt great from the way Luna had moaned in pleasure once he straightened up.

    "Goddess." Luna closed her eyes and sighed as she leaned against the wooden bathtub while her arms hang on the rim. "That felt good."

    Shifting from foot to foot in difort, Apollyon scratched his jaw awkwardly as a dirty thought crossed his mind.

    It sounded so close to the way she screamed his name when she was about to reach her climax.

    His hands clenched briefly and then released it after admonishing his hard cock to stop twitching with such a small sexual trigger.

    Luna had no idea how her voice alone could seduce him like this in front of all these busy women in the room.

    <i>Did she do this on purpose?</i>

    Clearing his throat, Apollyon''s hand adjusted his cock, hiding underneath the nket he wrapped around his waist, but the inconspicuous motion brought the maidservants'' attention to his crotch instead.

    It wasn''t on purpose, but he brought this upon himself.

    Was she trying to get him embarrassed and allow these female faeries to watch his male pride shatter and be thrown to the floor because of her sweet seduction, or was she showing off that he was hers?

 Chapter 817 - Harp

    <strong>Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (December 2021)</strong>

    <strong>**************************</strong>

    <strong>Vampire King Apollyon</strong>

    <strong>**************************</strong>

    Oblivious about what was happening around her, Luna''s gaze followed him when he erased the distance between them.

    Apollyon watched as her entire muscles had loosened as if the warm bath was immediate pain relief.

    Luna seemed more active in the tub as she moved her legs and squatted her bum at the bottom.

    Also,? Herrge form was less encumbered.

    "Feeling good?" A slow smile built on his lips as shebed her fingers through her short silver hair. The look suited her, making her sharp and exotic features stand out��especially her arched brows,rge green eyes tilted at the corners and her slightly rounded face.

    "Perfect then."? His palms settled lightly on her big bump as if it was his personal property. Well, she and the child did belong to him, though. "Are youfortable in the water?"

    He scanned her fuller breasts,? rounder hips and voluptuous figure with appreciation. "Nothing hurt, right?"

    He didn''t care if she thought he was asking too many questions.

    Apollyon just wanted her to let her enjoy being pampered.

    She peered at his erection boldly, unbothered by the other female gazes fixed on his broad shoulders and abdominal muscles as they continued with their work diligently.

    "Mm-mm." Yawning, Luna stretched her arms in the air, which unconsciously brought his gaze back to her breasts."I am sofortable that I might consider falling asleep here." Without warning, she dropped her hands into the water, creating this ssh that made some of the birth attendants squeal.

    It seemed like his wife was determined to be a troublemaker.

    So, the tables had turned.

    Tilting her head to the side, Luna leaned her temple against the rim and fluttered her eyshes. "What do you think, husband?"

    "Don''t." He lowered his head to whisper in her ear. "Or I shall punish your personally."

    "I see my husband had gotten strict when he couldn''t get what he wanted." As she gave him a casual nce, Luna cupped her breasts in front of him with her hands and gave him a small smile. "Now, the maidservants wouldn''t have to fear about me, throwing a temper tantrum and forcing me into one of these baths? that I used to hate before I drank your blood. I''m happy? that you''re here to watch over me."

    Apollyon smirked. ''My presence always makes things interesting to you, wasn''t it?''

    He felt the babies kick twice underneath his palm.

    To his surprise, Apollyon abruptly lifted his hand just in case he was hurting the baby with his palm pressed against it.

    Both of them were startled at how these babies moved and did somersaults inside his wife''s stomach.

    It was an incredible moment.

    They shared a smile as he lost himself in her eyes, oblivious to the sight and sound outside of them.

    "Care to join me, husband?"? Luna reached out, and her wet fingers caressed his jawline.

    "Don''t drive me insane, beloved,? if you still want that lovely walk in the snow." He murmured, but her shining emerald eyes never lost their sparkle. "Ten minutes, remember?"

    The maidservants began to light aromatic candles, and Apollyon called for a talented Fae to y music near them.

    The pure, bell-like sounds produced by dexterous fingers rapidly sliding on the adjacent strings of the harp resonated in the royal bed-chamber.

    Birth attendants poured a small bag of salt crystals on the bathwater and dissolved for fifteen minutes.

    Thesedies imed that it would help the Lady of the Manor ease her sore muscles.

    No essential oils and herbs were included in the bath except for the pink and red rose petals. Apollyon trusted the women'' s decision.

    The instant these reliable women stepped foot in? Hazelnut Manor, he had interrogated the birth attendants Queen Morgan had sent for almost an hour.

    They didn''t cower while he cross-examined their knowledge.

    Not even once.

    If they were irritated with him, they never showed it in their faces.

    Maybe, they thought that Apollyon was too overprotective and controlling with every bit of detail his wife had to deal with during her pregnancy, but thesedies answered his questions with grace and expertise.

    "I love you so much, husband." Luna slightly parted her legs, and Apollyon nced down at the delicate flesh between her shapely thighs. "��but I want the birth attendants gone for a few minutes��but I guess it depends?"

    "No. It''s their job to monitor you during the bath." He replied sternly without removing his gaze away from that pinkish spot.

    Apollyon was well-aware of his heartbeat, and his fingers ached with the need to touch.

    Would the wetness in her quim gush even more if he f*cked her with his tongue after this?

    ''��I told you I want to put you in my mouth.''

    Taken aback, he coughed at the thought she sent on their mind link.

    In an instant, Apollyon''s face became hot that he covered his nose and mouth so as not to make the blush evident in front of these strangers.

    God''s blood!

    Why was his wife teasing her this time with that innocent look on her face as if she desired to see the wild animalistic desire in him?

    Honestly, he can make her wet dreamse true, but it just felt strange to have sexual congress with a wife that was about to give birth.

    What if he identally hurt the baby and caused a miscarriage?

    Then, Luna''s remaining life might end on short notice.

    Flustered into silence as the rising sexual tension made the atmosphere even more heated, Apollyon asked one birth attendant for the soft sponge she had in her hand so that he could wash Luna''s arm with it instead of her.

    The blond, short-haired fae opened and closed her mouth, unsure of what she was going to say, but she left it at that and let Apollyon do what he intended with his wife.

    He rinsed her short silver hair with adequate warm rose water before he began scrubbing the sponge on the expanse of her skin.

    "Tell me if something is ufortable for you."

    Apollyon dipped the sponge into the water and brushed it lightly against her clitoris.

 Chapter 818 - Shifting Moods

    <strong>Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (December 2021)</strong>

    <strong>**************************</strong>

    <strong>Vampire King Apollyon</strong>

    <strong>**************************</strong>

    After arguing with Luna over keeping her on the balcony rather than showing her the vineyards in the Estate during the first day of winter just like he promised earlier,? she finally gave in to his reasonable conditions.

    Scowling at him, Luna jutted her chin proudly and stated that she had no intention of visiting the garden anymore because soaking in warm water made her want to sleep.

    "Then, if you agreed with my decision, why do you have to pick a fight with me, beloved?" Exasperated, Apollyon folded his arms, pinning her with his spective gaze. At the same time, the maidservants dressed her up efficiently in a long-sleeved gown with an empire waist to amodate her enormous bump.

    From the way she unconsciously cradled her stomach with both hands, Luna replied confidently that she had weed her uncontroble urge to argue with him for argument''s sake because she felt like it.

    Apollyon''s brows knitted in confusion when he asked her why but she just gave her a nonchnt shrug and caught each of her birth attendant s'' eyes as if she expected them to side with her instead of him.

    Wow.

    And here he thought that his wife had finally gotten over this vexatious trait of her!

    He sighed and rubbed a palm across his face.

    Now, he had figured out that his wife was secretly ying games with him.

    Queen Morgan had warned her about this��that pregnant women can be sometimes incorrigible.

    Apollyon thought that Queen Morgan was giving these women a bad reputation, but he couldn''t quite believe that there was an ounce of truth in it.

    Sometimes, these overwhelming emotions might drown a pregnant woman''s logic.

    However, Apollyon must be understanding since the pregnancy was a challenging endeavour that people with cocks like him wouldn''tprehend.

    There might be times where their request didn''t make sense at all, and the only way to survive was to do what they said, no matter how ridiculous it was.

    ''As long as nobody was hurt.'' He repeated that like a mantra in his head.

    Was this what a pregnant woman usually do when she was resting on the bed for the whole week without her husband, and the instant he returned, he would have to deal with the result of her boredom?

    Luna was well-aware that it was such awful behaviour since he didn''t hold back from telling her what he thought of her excuse.

    Still, she med her irritation on the pregnancy instead of informing him that the orgasm he had given her at the bathtub was pleasurable, but it made her breasts and quim too sensitive that it was almost painful.

    Nevertheless, Luna told her that she had no ns on doing that again, and Apollyon agreed.

    He used to be a voyeur with the harem girls from his Consortium, but he wouldn''t attempt doing that with his wife in front of these strangers again.

    It was fortunate that the maidservants he gathered in the royal bed-chamber were all women!

    Now, two female Faeries inserted one green ribbon on the eyelets from her shoulder to her forearm on each bell-shaped sleeve and adjusted it ordingly so that they wouldn''te loose with just a tiny movement.

    One maid dried Luna''s short silver hair with a cloth and fashioned them to curl around her jawline with ab, framing her face with elegance.

    Not a single strand was out of ce.

    Despite the ache in her back, Luna straightened her spine as he watched her naked and ripe, feminine figure with a long and deliberate stare, hoping to unnerve her, but she stood there in front of him.

    There was a subtle smugness in her countenance that made him smirk.

    After what they had done earlier, she must have thrown her modesty out the window for her to act like this.

    Her attitude made her appear like a snake shedding its old skin once in a while.

    Hopefully, this beloved wife before him wasn''t Lilith.

    From how this provocative woman moved, Apollyon was sure this was his wife.

    Luna.

    His Vampire-Archdemon Empress had this wild chaos that excited her mind, body and soul.

    No one else in this Realm couldpare to his mate.

    Other women seemed to fall away from his sight the instant he fixates on her and those pretty emerald greens, Apollyon knew he was done for.

    Apollyon was not a Vampire Monarch in his beloved''spany but simply a man with tunnel vision.

    With sweat trickling down their forehead, the maidservants tended his wife''s appearance to look perfect in his standards as if their lives were on the line.

    Well, Apollyon might have turned into an Autumn Prince in this Kingdom, but he rarely cared about how he looked like in other creatures'' eyes as a Monarch ever since he became married to his wife.

    He had a crystal clear vision of what was important to him, and it was the safety of his future family.

    The Vampire Realm came in second.

    He only cared about what Luna thought of him, and he was confident that she was never concerned about other people''s opinions.

    She would follow her heart, and Apollyon was also her heart, wasn''t he?

    Even his Apollyon''s face, whom she imed she was so in love with, triggered her fight and flight response.

    Now that the dust had settled, Apollyon carried her and stalked towards the rocking chair to let her sit there, and he ordered one birth attendant to fetch the umbre at the corner of the firece since the snow had started to fall.

    Blushing furiously,? she lowered her gaze as if the floor caught her interest more than him, acting as if it was a crime to look him in the eyes.

    Apollyon couldn''t me her after what he and his wife had done in front of the maidservants.

    He took the umbre from her hands before she hurried back to the room with the rest of the attendants.

 Chapter 819 - Users

    <strong>Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (December 2021)</strong>

    <strong>**************************</strong>

    <strong>Vampire King Apollyon</strong>

    <strong>**************************</strong>

    Apollyon opened the umbre and held it over their heads so that he could protect his wife from the swirling snow.

    He thought he was doing a good job being patient and understanding of her predicament so he let her do what she wanted except for the things he deemed as dangerous.

    His woman couldn''t even? stand on her own longer than ten minutes without other people''s assirstance.

    Luna''s skin had reddened from the salt that the maidservants had scrubbed against her body to make them smoother, letting her absorb the minerals, to soothe her tired muscles.

    From the recent months, Luna? had slept in limited positions that werefortable for pregnant women.

    She was always cautious with every detail of her actions and she listened to the birth attendants well so that she couldn''t harm their heiress without knowing it.

    Apollyon had had enough.

    Luna shivered from the freezing chilly air that touched their skin as the droplets it carried, soaked her eyshes.

    Apollyon had to go back? to the royal bedchamber and fetch? the fur cloak he had worn during his travel and hung at the back of the chair to ce put them? on around her shoulders.

    Meanwhile, Apollyon didn''t bother putting on clothes since he wasfortable with the nket wrapped around his waist.

    It was good that Luna halted her ns to seduce him on purpose when he already beat her to it.

    As Apollyon held her hand to remind her of his warmth, both of them watched the glistening snowkes fall from the sky which painted a white dreamy canvas while they waited for the servants to return the tub to the storage room, put out all the candles and leave.

    Finally, they were alone.

    Yet, he couldn''t shake off the feeling that time was ticking.

    His mind kept being stuck into the future instead of? focusing in the present, enjoying his day with his wife while itsted before he returned to the Autumn Pce to continue? the hunt of the garden''s specific location.

    The few autumn leaves bejeweled with frosts left on the branches swayed with a graceful poise which exposed their strength in surviving the four different seasons in the Faerie Realm.

    They stared into the naked winter trees lining up into the horizon,? he was in a hypnotic daze with nature that he didn''t realize that the sun was about to set.

    Soon, the silver moon would appear and illuminate the icy ck night.

    They didn''t miss the shadowy form that had pushed through the fog, riding a brown stallion gantly as if he was here to save the princess.

    A princess who already had a prince who stood beside her. It was none other than the Archdemon of Gluttony.

    Luna squirmed in her seat in difort.

    Apollyon didn''t expect Ravin to return so soon from the Autumn Pce since he had tricked him and Xerxes that the three of them wouldn''t be able toe home.

    This was the reason why he fooled her Archdemon Familiar that their group had more work to do wih Queen Morgan When his only aim was to? have Luna all to himself.

    Ha!

    It was payback for the infuriating insult he told him when he asked his blood for? Luna to drink...

    And now, Ravin had th audacity toe here rushing to see his wife?

    His anger with Ravin''s presence in the Estate momentarily vanished as he diverted all of his attention into Luna.

    He had never seen her so grim that day until the Archdemon of Gluttony appeared.

    From his angle, Apollyon could see her side profile and he couldn''t take her eyes off her.

    The wind blew her short silver hair into a gorgeous mess.

    Frown lines marred her forehead as she watched Ravin''s? breath rose in thick puffs, joining into the dove-grey washed sky while his brown horse he rode, trotted, in the direction of Hazelnut Manor.

    The bastard, who clearly saw the two of them? watching him from the balcony, lifted his head to the wind and had the nerve to wave his hand at them despite the distance.

    Ravin had donned a ck winter coat, making him stand out in contrast to the sparkling white of nature.

    Apollyon''s hand clenched the umbre stick and it almost snapped into two from his contempt.

    This Archdemon shouldn''t even be here this early in time.

    Ravin should have arrived here in the Estate with Xerxes in about five hours.

    God''s Blood!

    "Husband." Luna stopped the gentle swing of her rocking chair as she nted her? feet firmly to the ground. "I know you hate Ravin but��." There was a disconcerting pause.

    He was tempted to bark at her to spill it out but Apollyon waited and observed him warily when she pressed a hand over her heart. "I don''t know what I just felt when I saw Ravin but I swore my heart skipped a beat." She continued in a nervous whisper. "��as if? I was in love with him or something. It wasn''t'' t on purpose but it felt like it was the same reaction every time I see you."

    Apollyon felt cold terror tingling at his nape, rmed at why her wife had abruptly held her breath and that made him more suspicious.

    It might hurt but he had to find out if his theory was true.

    Did drinking Ravin''s blood unwittingly strengthen their mating bond?

    "Is it because you drank his blood that you became more attached to him?"

    "I''m scared, Apollyon." Luna started twisting her fingers on her skirt nervously as? the pitch of her voice rose in a panic,? "We shouldn''t have done what the Three Fates suggested."

    Apollyon was unfortunately right and it made his blood boil.

    "As long as you know your limits as my wife, Luna. We will have no problem." Apollyon said, biting back a growl, as his hand clenched on the back of Luna''s rocking chair to keep it in ce.. "I will keep an eye on you at all times so let''s just use him for his Archdemon''s blood to keep you healthy."

 Chapter 820 - Ditched

    <strong>Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (December 2021)</strong>

    <strong>++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++</strong>

    <strong>Prince Ravin of the First Circle of Hell? </strong>

    <strong>The Archdemon of Gluttony</strong>

    <strong>+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++</strong>

    Apollyon had told him false information about remaining in the Autumn Courts after six days.

    Ravin knew it was a lie but he still believed him�� or was he just preupied with looking into Queen Morgan''s secret right away the moment Xerxes told him that Apolloyn left them to fend for themselves in the Council Meeting without his power and authority?

    Seeing her familiar face bothered him because he swore that he had seen it before��especially the apple red hair she possessed and those golden eyes that reflected his.

    Didn''t she im that she was the owner of the blue feather ne she had worn at their first meeting outside the portcullis?

    The Vampire King was actually here with their mate, enjoying their alone time, while the bastard left him there without notice.

    The injustice he felt made his hands tighten on the reins while he gritted his teeth in frustration.

    The brown stallion sensed his darkening mood and slowed down, agitated, so he exhaled all his grievances about the selfish King''s betrayal in one go.

    It wasn''t good for an Archdemon to spook the horse.

    He didn''t fly around the Autumn Courts in his demonic wings even if that might make him considerably faster because the Fairfolk might consider him as an enemy.

    Because of the uing Great War, everyone here couldn''t trust an Archdemon, proiming he was an ally of the Autumn Queen as it was, so he decided not to show who he was without the mour.

    Never mind that.

    He will think about that mysteryter.

    First, he had to tell the Archdemon of Sloth about the past memory he picked up the first time he acquired the blue feather from Rere and then, he would ask for his opinion.

    His brother was really smart if he wanted to be seen as such.

    It was possible that Queen Morgan was the female who was involved with the Archangel�� Uriel.

    He suddenly recalled that cherub''s name after thinking about it for weeks the minute he saw Queen Morgan''s true appearance for the first time.

    Ravin travelled to the estate as the first snow began to fall.

    The Vineyard Estate was well-known for the production of ice wine wherein the grapes used to produce them must be frozen to the vine.

    The sugars and other dissolved solids inside these grapes will not freeze except for water so the winemakers could develop concentrated, very sweet grape juices, mixing them with sweet blood for the Vampiric Fae''s delectation.

    Ravin didn''t bother asking the Queen where the fresh blood they mixed came from since he already anticipated the Queen telling him that it was a secret.

    Most grapes here were mostly harvested during Autumn but these ice wine grapes were harvested during the middle of winter until they went stiff.

    Out of curiosity about thend his mate had inherited, Ravin had struck a conversation with Queen Morgan about it so that he could also gather more information about the Autumn Queen but, he found out other information as well.

    He had never drunk wine and tasting it never interested him but at that moment, Ravin had pretended he was engrossed in the discussion with the Autumn Queen as he witnessed the ever-changing colours of burnt gold that reflected his eyes.

    For some reason, everything about thedy intrigued him but not in terms of attraction.

    He still had an Archdemon Mate he desired to steal, but the Autumn Queen''s existence just triggered this unexinable suspicion that had risen from dormancy.

    Ravin tried not to let his scrutiny of her every move show in his countenance.

    Even if their brightly coloured autumn leaves of vibrant, yellows, oranges and reds to brown had begun to fall to the earth, the vineyards circling the Hazelnut Manor was very much alive and the trunks, canes and the grapefruits of the vine remained.

    He didn''t expect that the Winter Season was perfect for the Estate''s needs.

    Nature always had a way to sustain the creatures'' necessities in the Material Realm.

    The winemakers were also diligent in protecting the vines from the harsh weather, covering the base with earth and straw.

    In the distance, Ravin could barely see the Hazelnut Manor as trellised grapevines surrounded the Estate like a security fence.

    It was a sign of wealth and privilege to the Faeries who lived there.

    After Queen Morgan surrendered her ownership of the Estate and proimed Apollyon and Luna''s position as Autumn Monarchs, she gave it to them as their early inheritance.

    These Vampire Monarchs seemed to have a history of putting themselves in the right ce at the right time.

    Despite the demon invasion in the Vampire Realm, Apollyon and Luna were still surrounded by wealth, luxury and thefort of material security.

    Theing harvest will also assure the Autumn Fair folk''s continued prosperity in the Estate and all the tenants will have wine and fruit for their bread during the winter.

    The Manor House stood as proud as a winter lily in full bloom at the top of the mountains with such a timeless grace as the mossy forest floor embraced the ground floors with its loving arms.

    There was a century-old mountain oak at the right side and small cosy cottages were built near it to protect the Faerie''s homes.

    The walls were made of grey and brown where the ancient stone had the power to reflect the sunlight.

    As he sat forward, pick up the reins and brought his calves closer to the horse''s nk, Ravin urged the stallion to gallop into the meadow faster and it kept going until he passed through the fog.

    Ravin caught sight of the tall ss doors of the balconies growing from the walls of the Manor which was adorned with a patina of beautiful ocean bluish-green hues, giving a wonderful view of the horizon but then a lovely woman dressed in a softvender sitting on the balcony drew his gaze.

 Chapter 821 - Rere Is A Grown Up Now

    <strong><i>Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (December 2021)</i></strong>

    <strong><i>++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++</i></strong>

    <strong><i>Prince Ravin of the First Circle of Hell? </i></strong>

    <strong><i>The Archdemon of Gluttony</i></strong>

    <strong><i>+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++</i></strong>

    Ravin caught sight of the tall ss doors of the balconies growing from the walls of the Manor, which was adorned with a patina of beautiful ocean bluish-green hues, giving a wonderful view of the horizon but then a lovely woman dressed in a softvender sitting on the balcony drew his gaze.

    When he looked to the right, the Vampire King stood stiff beside her with his hand clutching possessively on the rocking chair.

    Where was Luna?

    Ravin''s eyes searched the terrace doors, and both were open.

    Even the Vampire King and this new girl were out in the open for all the Faeries and maidservants to see.

    <i>? Aren''t they afraid that? Luna would find out?? </i>

    <i>Was the bastard searching for another recement now that his wife was bedridden and fated to die just because the three Fates said so?</i>

    Apollyon wanted to be with his wife as much as possible while they still had a day left for them to be together before returning to the Autumn Pce. Hence, he obviously ditched Ravin in the Autumn Pce to get rid of him and hog all their mate''s attention like the greedy bastard he was after he gave him Archdemon blood.

    <i>Was this the price he would pay after telling the Vampire King to beg and grovel?</i>

    The Vampire King was as fierce as a snarling tiger when it came to her, but he couldn''t process that anger every time Ravin entered the picture.

    He enjoyed how his mere presence could turn the Vampire King livid every time he opened his mouth.

    Their mate was obviously his weakness, and Ravin tried to take advantage of Apollyon''s jealousy and self-damaging rage.

    Ravin might be the Archdemon of Gluttony, but at least he knew how to share a woman from the start of the connection.

    Once he started getting attached, he would never let go, but he was always willing topromise.

    If Luna weren''t pregnant, Apollyon would have done the deed all night long while he consorted with her all day until he exhausted what was left of her energy.

    Now, that sounded like him.

    Shaking his head, Ravin clicked his tongue and muttered. "That''s too bad."

    Ravin would never make the mistake he did if he had the chance to have Luna.

    Apollyon needed more time with their mate, but his thirst for her blood would never be quenched.

    How lustful must he be for her blood could if he kept this up?

    The Vampire King was aware of his trickery, alright, but he kept falling for the toxic trap that only damaged himself and his rtionship with Luna.

    No matter how Apollyon tried to keep his face serene and calm, he was a warrior who used his emotions as a weapon to destroy and subdue his target.

    '' What a pathetic King! '' Ravin mused.

    +++

    Wait a minute.

    Why was Apollyon talking to thisdy while they stared at him?

    It was clear that the two were literally talking about him rather than behind his back.

    He narrowed his gaze at the short-haired woman, noticing toote that her hair was silver after Apollyon raised the umbre enough for him to see what she looked like.

    As he focused on her face, that was when he realized it was Luna.

    Her otherworldly beauty can stand out from afar.

    Ravin assumed that his mate would be prettier with her new image up close enough to charm the Archdemon of Lust as well.

    Luna wielded her powerful feminine energy like a mighty sword, clearing all the obstacles in her way, and it worked.

    The evils of her life that she was after��Lilith and Luxen''s greed to own the Material Realm.

    At that moment, Ravin decided that he would never stop until the woman became his.

    He was extremely patient than that Vampire King.

    If Apollyon kept up with his domineering attitude with Luna, then Ravin wouldn''t have to seize Luna from him since he would lose Luna of his own ord.

    His mate would grow tired of that good-for-nothing King soon.

    Ravin waved his hand to ensure his mate had actually seen him.

    <i>? Was it just a coincidence that both of them were looking in his direction?? </i>

    From their postures alone, he was certain that Apollyon and Luna had seen him riding the brown stallion from this distance.

    At first, he had wondered what made their mate tense with just the sight of him when she should take this short chance to rx and take the first snowfall from the easyfort in her rocking chair.

    The Vampire King gave him onest glower before he kissed the crown of Luna''s head.

    Apollyon was always with her��protecting her, watching over her and keeping her from harm''s way.

    His heart melted as warmth spread through his chest.

    As her mate, Ravin would have done the same.

    She didn''t have to ask because that was part of his responsibility.

    When Apollyon asked him for Archdemon''s blood to mix with his, Ravin didn''t think twice about nourishing his mate.

    He only acted with hesitation to make the Vampire King feel like he owed him one.

    Both of them wanted the best for Luna, so they must put their pride aside and move past this.

    A white fog enfolded him, and he and his stallion rushed before the snow turned into a blizzard.

    Deep grey clouds had rolled at the sky, and it looked like a painting.

    The winter trees danced and shivered into the wintry winds, with their light and lean branches appearing like wands with their warm brown trunks standing starkly in the white background.

    The vibrant colour of Autumn was now reced with whiteyers.

    In the pale half-orange light of the sunset transitioning into the twilight, Ravin could see that the pine trees had turned into ckish-green silhouettes.

    He could also see the snowy mountain peaks of the neighbouring Winter Courts.

    As his horse slowed down the thin forest, he couldn''t help but extend an un-gloved hand to feel the icicles forming unto the naked branches and autumn leaves.

    Sometimes, he would raise his head towards the heavens to catch the snowke with his tongue.

    It felt like he was staying in this magical Winter Wondend of pure white and heartwarming browns simr to Luxen''s Kingdom.

    He bet if Luxen figured that this existed here, he would invade the Faerie? Realm right away��specifically, the Winter Courts��like how he invaded the Arctic Tundras of the Vampire Realm.

    The shadows stretched their arms to bring the night as the sun fell behind him.

    The day was done.

    As Ravin revelled in the glory of silence and the awe of nature, something came out of the blue, speeding towards him like a boomerang thrown by the enemy.

    He covered his head with his forearm and let it deal with the impact, but there was no collision, nor did his demon blood spill into the snow.

    It surprised Ravin that the whelp could actually use his scaly wings despite its youth.

    How smart of him to learn it quickly on its own that it was almost impossible!

    "Rere."? He called it in a low voice and beckoned the whelp to fly closer to him with a finger. You flew outside to greet me." Hmm. This was interesting. Rere kept up with his stallion''s pace, and that was even more amazing. "Sloth must have trained you really well while I was busy at the Autumn Pce. I should have? watched my mate instead of? the sleepyhead, but that Apollyon wouldn''t allow me to."

    "REEEEEEEE~"

    "Shh." He ced a forefinger over his lips. "Be quiet, Rere. You don''t have to scream." He whispered and grabbed Rere while it was flying in mid-air so that it could rest in the horse''s neck. Fortunately, the other animal didn''t mind the small dragon and continued trotting in the dark with little to no guidanceing from him. "You will wake up the entire Estate for nothing."

    "REEEEEEEEEE~"

    "Where is the Archdemon of Sloth?" He petted its wrinkled head. "Is he sleeping?"

    "REEEEEEEEEE~" Rere screamed, escaping from his clutches and returned to the air if saying ''This way!'' and finally led him to Sloth.

    Ravin followed the whelp, and he witnessed the Archdemon of Sloth lying on the snow like azy star with his eyes closed and outstretched limbs.

    Dried, unidentified bones rested beside him.

    He got off his horse and let his sandals touch what was left of the grass, uncovered by snow underneath, while pebbles crushed with his every stride.

    He had draped his body with the wolf fur and put its head behind his back, but he found no good reason to wear this since he could withstand extreme cold and heat as an Archdemon, but he did it to humour the Queen whom she had been curious about.

    Queen Morgan gave it to him as a gift and muttered that this ancient item was returned to its rightful owner.

    His response was a nonchnt shrug.

    Ravin didn''t know how to react to a Queen obsessed with giving gifts nowadays.

    He recalled that the Queen had handed a? perfume to the Vampire King, and he had no idea what to think of it.

    <i>What had his brother done now?? </i>

    Princess Sapphire answered him after the whelpnded on her arm as she stood in a well-manicured garden. "He fell asleep."

    Then, she ordered it to jump on her leather-gloved hand as if she had trained the whelp herself.

 Chapter 822 - Boredom

    <strong>Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (December 2021)</strong>

    <strong>++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++</strong>

    <strong>Prince Ravin of the First Circle of Hell?</strong>

    <strong>The Archdemon of Gluttony</strong>

    <strong>+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++</strong>

    Standing in a well-manicured garden, Princess Sapphire answered him after the whelpnded on her arm. "He fell asleep."

    Next, the youngdy ordered it to jump on her leather-gloved hand as if she had trained the whelp herself.

    Sloth isn''t dead, is he, Archdemon?" She asked in a soft, high-pitched voice that made him want to set something on fire.

    It wasn''t that he was deeply annoyed.

    Ravin just abhorred this little girl''s voice since he wasn''t used to dealing with children who spoke to him with disrespect.

    Archdemon, huh?

    Without any royal title attached to the name, he had used.

    "No." His deep baritone made the chill in the breeze colder than before. "He wouldn''t die unless an Angel tried."

    Heart on her chest, Princess Sapphire sighed with relief.

    It appeared like Ravin''s exnation immediately calmed her down.

    As he shifted his attention on the Vampire King''s half-sister, he gave her a nce from her head down to her toes only to find out that she wasn''t wearing the proper outer garments for the Winter Season here in the Autumn Courts.

    Princess Sapphire had ck floral patterns on her pleated ball gown skirt, and her long-sleeves and the tight, jewelled bodice were adorned with intricate details of ck and white diamonds.

    A headband of bright turquoise feathers kept her long, mahogany waves in ce.

    His narrowed eyes turned into a scowl as he regarded her dark brown features.

    The difort was evident in her countenance as she tried her best not to shiver under his intense scrutiny.

    Indeed, the dress suited the Princess, but it wasn''t suited to the weather and the activity she had just done.

    <i>What if, for some reason, the demons outside the barriers protecting the Autumn Courts had been destroyed, and the Princess had to run back to the safety of the Hazelnut Manor in that pathetic gown of hers?</i>

    Well, why should he care about thisdy when it wasn''t his responsibility, to begin with?

    He should care about his brother, Sloth, instead.

    Being an Archdemon Familiar was starting to make him feel things that he shouldn''t.

    Closing his eyes, he rubbed a palm across his face to recover from the embarrassment this realization had caused.

    He shouldn''t forget that he was an Archdemon.

    In addition to that, the Vampire King need to keep his sister in check to avoid bing a piece of baggage to their group.

    Still, it seemed like Apollyon never cared what she was doing, either way, despite his promise to her werewolfpanion to take care of her when he wasn''t there in Hazelnut Manor.

    Honestly, the bastard only cared about their mate, and his obsessive regard left no room for Ravin to insert himself to make sure Luna was alright without getting scolded, thrown out of the room by his mate and a fierce brawl from the possessive King.

    It turned out that co-existing in peace was impossible.

    +++

    Rere was a young dragon and a hunting weapon that was notoriously difficult to master ��and she handled the demonic creature with such natural grace and ease.

    He wouldn''t be surprised if she could surpass his and Sloth''s ability to train a dragon from Hell. Likewise, he admired Princess Sapphire''s rare ability to make an infamous rogue werewolf spy from the Summer Courts behave like she was merely training a gentle and precious pet when in fact, the creatures she had befriended, so far, were cold-blooded monsters and soul eaters.

    How fearless!

    There must be something about this youngdy that Ravin was missing.

    Despite the girl''s absence in the Autumn Pce after their group had been split into two, Xerxes had never transitioned into a werewolf due to his anxiety about his princess'' separation.

    The early afternoon was an exception when a messenger had announced that Princess Ourania and the God of Fire, Hephaestus, had arrived safely in the Autumn Pce.

    Apollyon had no idea what happened since he had already sneaked out of the Kingdom to go to Luna.

    At the same time, Xerxes and Ravin were kicked out of the?Throne?Room before Queen Morgan could receive the unlikely visitors and have a secret conversation with them.

    It was the reason why Xerxes didn''t return to Hazelnut Manor.

    Xerxes aimed to spy on their whereabouts, discussions and investigate their purpose for their visit.

    How could they travel Realm after Realm when the Material Realm itself was infested by demons?

    He turned his head to look at the terrace to check if Apollyon and Luna could see the three of them from this angle, but he couldn''t see them anywhere.

    Unfortunately, the trees were taller in this area despite the wide spaces while its long branches were raised towards the sky,pletely covering the view from there.

    ''Why was she in the snow with his brother when she should be inside?'' Ravin pondered as he inclined his head and glowered at her with menace.

    Dark, intense shadows had emerged from his sinister aura,?assuming the spirit of a wolf from the skin that he had worn,pared to the spirit of the wildcat she represented, cowering in his presence.

    He was wearing all ck, including the wolf skin.

    Nevertheless, it was quite a shock to see Princess Sapphire alone in the garden in the middle of the woods, enjoying the solitude and then�� BAM!

    When he nced down, Ravin realized that she wasn''t alone, and he spected that nothing could even be scarier than how he looked right now.

    The bastard must have been bored in the Estate with nothing to do since all the action was in the Autumn Pce and the restricted forests in the West side of the Autumn Courts.

    Settling one hand in his hip, he sighed and shook his head in regret.

    The Archdemon of Sloth was hopeless that it appeared like he hunted birds, plucked their feathers so hard that he ripped their flesh apart and buried it in the snow until he grew tired of the screeches.

    Ravin scrunched his nose as the scent of fresh animal blood filled his nostrils.

    He was right.

    "Sloth. Wake up." He nudged the Archdemon''s shoulders with his foot and growled. "I have something to tell you."

    He saw Princess Sapphire flinch, and he suddenly recalled that she was still there with them with Rere''s ws resting on her forearm.

    Why did the youngdy still stay with Sloth without feeling traumatized? ''He wondered with a frown in her direction.

    "You , Princess Sapphire." Ravin pointed a finger in her bewildered countenance. "Return to the Manor."

    Her brown eyes widened as her hands shivered in panic.

    "W-why?" She tried to make her voice even despite the stutter, searching the environment for threats. "What''s happening?"

    "I wanted to talk?to Sloth so you have to leave us alone."

    It almost took her a minute for that statement to get through her fuzzy brain.

    "What secrets are you hiding that you don''t want me?to know about them?" Princess Sapphire''s posture straightened as she jutted her chin at him. It was a poor attempt to show courage. "Does my brother and the Empress know? Xerxes is not with you."

    He closed the distance between them and snarled, "You have too many questions, youngdy." Ravin''s fingers sped her tiny arm, and Princess Sapphire screamed in fear. "Should I kill you?"

    "Stop." Princess Sapphire gestured one hand in the air, her palm facing him. "I''ll go."

    After making sure that Princess Sapphire was gone from his sight in a flurry of bothersome skirts, he pulled a sword from the scabbard behind his back and pointed it at Sloth.

    "Brother. Stop pretending to sleep while wearing that smirk on your face." Then, as his hand clenched on the hilt of the Archdemon sword as he let the tip touch his brother''s throat, he whispered.. "I think Queen Morgan had consorted with a fallen angel before."

 Chapter 823 - Broken Record

    <strong>Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (December 2021)</strong>

    <strong>**************************</strong>

    <strong>Vampire King Apollyon</strong>

    <strong>**************************</strong>

    "What brings you here, Archdemon?" Apollyon snarled as he burst through the door. He only made a single stride from the hallway to enter the parlour room but he was prepared to interrogate the Archdemon like a f*cking criminal.

    He might be Luna''s familiar turned second-inmand but Apollyon wouldn''t trust the Archdemon to make good decisions for the Order of the Selcis.

    Hell, he couldn''t even trust the bastard to steal his wife away from him the moment he got her alone.

    As both of them monitored the war games side-by-side,? all Ravin did was talk about his delusions about Luna that he was starting to sound like a broken record.

    There was no cure to his obsession but Apollyon can''t help but feel threatened every time his mindless chatter filled his ears.

    The Archdemon of Gluttony had shared a physical vessel with him before so he should get used to his thoughts being spoken out loud but it was just unbearable.

    It was truly a different kind of Hell.? Yet,? it never failed to get a zing rise out of him that he gave him a flying kick in that smug face without warning.

    In the end,? both of them joined the war games and split the Order of the Selcis into two to justify their barbaric brawls and indulge their thirst for each other''s blood�� and it wasn''t in the vampiric kind.

    They were unstoppable in the arena.

    For once, Apollyon was d that Luna was seven months pregnant and she didn''t have to witness it.

    Her pregnancy had made her squeamish with the sight of spilt blood during fights, making her vomit. It was dangerous to offend her delicate sensibilities.

    Apollyon and Queen Morgan had already spoken about this matter but it appeared like the Autumn Queen trusted Ravin and dismissed his suggestion.

    He might as well be wasting his own saliva.

    He began to wonder if Ravin had put Queen Morgan under his spell or was Queen Morgan was lenient on him.

    Apollyon found out that the scoundrel had told her about the binding oaths he swore to Luna as his Master.

    What kind of discussions had they partaken behind the scenes?

    He did not fail to notice that the Archdemon had a fixation on Queen Morgan''s movements and whereaboutstely. What secrets was the bastard hiding with the Queen?

    Apollyon was determined not to be indisposed during the final battle between him and Luxen.

    Hopefully,? the Second Great War between Faeries and Demons wouldn''t push through.

    If they managed to get the Archangels'' divine assistance, then the battle wouldn''t evenst an hour.? The Demonic Legion summoned from Hell will bepletely obliterated.

    From Hecate''s silence, Apollyon can already tell that she was risk-averse to changing the course of Fate.

    The Gods and the Goddesses will watch from the sidelines while the demons wait for the right time to invade the Autumn Courts.

    The new demons flewzily outside the barriers like massive shadow birds were waiting for something to happen but he didn''t know what and why they weren''t attacking yet.

    Perhaps, once the Autumn Courts made the mistake of letting their guard down, then the second wave of the siege will ur.

    The Autumn Fairfolk should find no reason to worry for the entire spring Militia were armed with not only artilleries but with military tactics that they had practised over and over.

    "Vampire King." Apollyon''s hands hardened as he watched? Ravin seated on a chair while crossing his legs. His hands rested on top of his knees confidently. "Don''t you find it awkward? to ask me that question? when I live with here?"

    This man had the audacity to return to Hazelnut Manor after he made it clear that he wasn''t needed in the Estate.

    ''He and Xerxes would be better off resuming the hunt of that damned Garden.'' Apollyon thought with gritted teeth as his hand clenched on the knob before he fully closed the door and leaned against it.

    Time was running out so he should spend that more with Luna as long as he was able.

    "You appeared like you already killed me a thousand times in your head."? Ravin''s smirk turned into a thin, sinister line.? "It''s unfortunate that you can''t enact that bloody fantasy you have of me."

    "Now, that you couldn''t have Luna, are you giving up on her love to choose Apollyon instead?" Perplexed, Apollyon raised an eyebrow as his gaze searched where the voice came from.

    He had no idea that Sloth was there in the parlour room if he didn''t speak up behind the tall nts that he had watered at the small indoor garden behind the couches.

    Every leaf seemed pretty rare when Apollyon nced at them.

    The des of grass had grown abnormally long from the pots they were ced in.

    Well, Sloth implied it first.

    There was always that one individual who can turn a brutal threat into something lewd.

    It was only right that he make his brother suffer from his awkward remark.

    "You aren''t funny, Sloth." Ravin glowered over his shoulder and said out loud in the ufortable silence. "Don''t even suggest such an abomination." The Archdemon still talked as if Apollyon had simply camouged through the walls and turned invisible. "Possessing the Vampire King seemed to be such a brilliant idea before but the only reason I am here because of Amare."

    "You are more intimate with him since you have been inside his body." Sloth pointed out.

    Caught off guard,? Apollyon''s eyes widened at how ridiculous that sounded.

    He almost erupted in a guffaw but he pursed his lips and covered his twitching mouth with his palm.

    Apollyon should be fuming from Sloth''s random and idioticments but he would dly choose this any time of the day than hearing Luna''s name mentioned in Ravin''s dirty mouth.

    He didn''t want to admit this but Apollyon was getting used to his taunting yet empty words but the moment he mentioned Luna��

 Chapter 824 - The Witch Of The Summer Courts

    <strong>Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (December 2021)</strong>

    <strong>**************************</strong>

    <strong>Vampire King Apollyon</strong>

    **************************

    He didn''t want to admit this, but Apollyon was getting used to his taunting yet empty words when he mentioned Luna��

    "No, Sloth." Incensed by the sight of his brother''s dazed expression, Ravin turned his head to face Apollyon again, watching him warily, "What I meant was? if the Vampire King kills me,? he knew that I don''t die��"

    "Because you are eternal, h h." Apollyon rolled his eyes and folded one knee to let his soul rest on the bottom of the door.? "You know, Archdemon?"? He crossed his arms and tilted his head at him. "The only moment where you brought me joy is when you''re not here."

    Ravin tapped the mahogany surface of the armrest on his chair and shed him a smile. "I''m d to ruin your remaining hours with our mate."

    Maybe,? Ravin was just jealous, and he didn''t want to miss the opportunity of seeing their mate''s condition.

    God''s blood!

    No.

    Even Apollyon can entrust Luna to the Archdemon of Sloth, and that was saying something.

    Of course, the devil''s grin grew wider, amused about seeing him furious about his appearance in the Estate.

    Why did he agree to summon this bastard in the first ce?

    If it weren''t because of Archdemon''s blood and Hecate''s mission, he would do everything in his power to ban Ravin from setting his foot in the Material? Realm.

    "You? tricked me into believing that he wouldn''t return in the Hazelnut Manor today but you ditched Xerxes and I the instant we turn our backs and got busy with work." From that point on, his smile turned dim, and his sarcastic words wereced with venom. "You are very fit to be an Autumn Prince like what Queen Morgan had though" His countenance turned grim as he raised his chin in a challenge. "I think you are a coward, shirking from you responsibilities."

    Ravin stood up from his seat, strode towards him so that both of them were eye-to-eye as if that would make them equals. "I am not just your second-inmand or an Archdemon Familiar. Like you, I am also your wife''s mate. I deserved to know if Amare��"

    "��Luna��" Apollyon corrected with a growl.

    "Amare can? take my blood down without any adverse effects." Ravin insisted strongly as his fingers locked on his throat.

    Apollyon let him because, after today, he wouldn''t give him any other chances to do so.

    He was trying to be merciful because he didn''t want Hazelnut Manor to see such violence when his pregnant wife was under the same roof as them "I do have the right to know as her mate and I care about her well-being even if she was pregnant by whomever��"

    His rage was like a stick struck against the match before it skyrocketed.

    Apollyon''s fist connected with Archdemon''s stomach.

    CRASH!

    He was thrown to the wall across him with such force that the nymph paintings, which served as a partition between one room and the next, were reced with just one colossal hole.

    The rubble had also destroyed some of the nts which Sloth had taken care of.

    "Don''t disrespect the Empress honor and dignity, making her sound like she was amon whore!" Apollyon''s deep baritone was edged with savagery, making the unppable Sloth cringe a little. "You are not her mate."

    Lunging at him so fast, Ravin roared back. "Then, why would you ask me for my blood if I wasn''t��"

    "This constant repetition of denial is driving me crazy." Then, in an attempt to stop Ravin from retaliating, Sloth picked two chairs and fearlessly threw them in his brother''s direction while shouting, "It is what it is!"

    Yes!

    Why couldn''t Ravin just let that thought sink into his daft head?

    Still, Apollyon widened his stance to prepare for the fight as he glowered at Archdemon''s stern, piercing gaze. "Both of you are Luna''s mate and that''s a fact."

    Wait.

    What?

    bbergasted, his gaze flew to Sloth''s face with burning wrath.

    He couldn''t ept that!

    "I wish I could join the club but it''s already overcrowded and I easily get tired with these never-ending arguments. it''s giving me a headache that killing random living things would be my only cure."

    "What did you say, Sloth?" He jumped over the couch and stalked closer to them in a few swift strides while the two of them stepped backwards.

    Sloth raised his hands in surrender and shrugged. "I apologize but I have only hunted wild animals so far." Apollyon''s brows furrowed at that.

    So, he was killing creatures here, and the Autumn Faeries in this Estate never batted an eye?

    Sloth''s arms went limp so that he could bury his hands deep into the pockets of his coat. "Can we talk about Princess Ourania and Hephaestus is in the Autumn Courts to fetch Princess Sapphire?"

    "What?"

    At this moment, Apollyon had nowpletely ignored Ravin, who caught the chairs Sloth had thrown at him to focus on the other less dangerous one.

    He hadn''t asked a question yet, but the knob had turned and opened abruptly, revealing Luna in her beautiful long-sleevedvender gown.

    "What is happening here?" Her startled gaze and pale facelifted raised to meet his narrowed eyes.

    "Wife. I told you to stay in your room." Apollyon snapped and gently sped his fingers around her wrist to remove his pregnant wife from the peril. "You said that you would? obey me."

    "I am fine now and I can walk." Her insulting scowl told him that her utter obedience would only happen in his dreams. "The servants are with me on the on the other side of this order. What is this I hear about Princess Ourania? Did I miss anything? that happened in the Autumn Pce while I was here in the Estate?"

    +++

    After the critical discussion, Luna ordered her two Archdemon Familiars to get out of the Parlour Room and call Princess Sapphire to inform her about the news regarding her parents.

    "I don''t want to see them!" Her hands were fisted with sparking anger.

    Apollyon nodded his head in agreement as he positioned Luna at the corner of the couch.

    "You don''t have to because I am not interested in seeing my mother''s face again." If he saw that his wife was already seven months pregnant, that witch would find a way to ruin their future family.

    That was her usual course of action.

    Even if she didn''t have anything left to ruin after Fate decided to f*ck them up, Apollyon wasn''t that stupid to expose Luna like that after what happened in the Summer Courts. "She would perfectly understand why we? wouldn''t be there."

    "Vampire King. Are you just going to let my mother take me from here?"

    "No. As long as you are here, you are under my wing." Apollyon finally said as he wrapped a protective arm around Luna''s back. "But my only condition is, you must talk to them first and see if they could provide information regarding the demons outside the Kingsdom."

    Wincing, Princess Sapphire said sourly as she squirmed restlessly on her seat. "I don''t want to be with them. I like to remain here where it is safe."

    "I know." Luna whispered as she stroked the child''s hair with sincere affection.. "Just pretend you were there in the Autumn Pce to listen what they have to say as their daughter."

 Chapter 825 - (1) (countdown For The s I Made After Typhoon)

    Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (January 2022)

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    Archdemon Empress Luna

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    ''Faeries and their unhealthy obsession for festivities��'' Luna desired to click his tongue and shake her head in apprehension.

    Instead, she settled for a slight? wince when she heard about this unique tradition in the Autumn Courts.

    Two weeks earlier, a small Fae messenger in a winged horse had arrived in Hazelnut Manor, informing them that Queen Morgan''s Envoy would visit the Estate she had given them.

    Of course, Apollyon and Luna? wouldn''t be able to escape her specific queries about how they have handled their newfound status as part of the royal family.

    Maybe, the? Queen had desired to be there to inspect the Estate herself and see if Luna and Apollyon were treating her handpicked servants well and to enjoy the transformation of frozen grapes into this celebratory ice wine.

    Nevertheless, she caught herself smiling a little, prepared for the Autumn Queen''s interrogations.

    Luna had looked forward in seeing the Autumn Queen once again, catching up with her about thetest news in the Autumn Pce and the what she and the Council of Elders had found out about the ongoing hunt for the Tree of the Four Seasons.

    ''It was almost three months when theyst saw each other.'' She mused as she sat on the edge of the mattress while the two maids brought a white gown they had fetched from Queen Morgan''s gigantic closet that was connected to the royal bedchamber.

    The Autumn Courts were the top distributor of unique wines in the entire Faerie Courts.

    They were the only Kingdom who had discovered? the concoction of mixing wine with blood that was drinkable by pure and half-blood vampires in Apollyon''s Realm.

    Since the North and the East of the Faerie Realm''s poption consisted of Vampiric Fae, it wasn''t really a surprise that their alchemists were able to figure out the exact portion of these two differentponents that was safe for Vampiric Fae to drink and enjoy its taste.

    Apollyon? told her with a scowl that he wasn''t fond of creating these parties like he used to revel in the blood moon festivities before��definitely not in the middle of a crisis and his wife''s pregnancy.

    But, Luna still insisted that their Household must do it to uphold traditions as new Monarchs.

    Luna would also like to attend the Wine Tasting Ceremony and she would never dare miss it for the world.

    "It was just a harmless party, Apollyon." Luna said as she leaned on the threshold of the door to their bedchamber while she watched her husband take off his long-sleeved ck uniform as the General for the Order of the Selcis.

    Even if Apollyon found it ridiculous at first, he acquiesced a littleter when she hinted that she wouldn''t shut up that night if he didn''t agree.

    Lying down on the bed to the side, Apollyon groaned as he ced a pillow over one ear and covered her head, hoping that would muffle her voice that repeated her wish every chance she got.

    Her husband finally relented, thinking that a peaceful sleep was more worth it.

    Luna recalled herselfying on her back and staring into the ceiling while she caressed herrge bump, waiting to hear her husband''s soft snores after a minute of silence.

    Apollyon was already exhausted at the heavy burden of responsibility weighing around his shoulders--to find the Tree of the Four Seasons.

    It didn''t escape her notice how Apollyon did everything she wanted these days that she almost assumed that his first refusal was merely an act, to find out for himself if he could resist her wishes.

    Apollyon knew he would give in eventually and it amused her to no end.

    Now, her husband need not be told twice what she actually needed from him.

    He had turned her into this pampered, spoiled and needy pregnant wife that she almost couldn''t recognize herself, much to her dismay.

    Queen Morgan was the one who suggested the event and it mighte across as disrespect if Hazelnut Manor wouldn''t adhere to such a simple wish, fulfill her expectations.

    Since Apollyon and Luna were part of Queen Morgan''s family now, it was part of their responsibility to honor this invisible standard she had set and if the Queen shall be direct about it, the less problem it was for them.

    They must fulfill the duties as the new Lord and Lady of Hazelnut Manor.

    It was not only necessary because of the Queen''s bidding but also to showcase their? faerie tenants'' hard work in producing thousands of barrels of ice wine despite the literal threat of demons looming over the protective shields of the Autumn Courts.

    Still, Luna thought it was rather less fortunate for Hazelnut Manor to serve as a host for this year''s special festivity in such a dangerous time, keeping the entire Household momentarily distracted from handling the real problem.

    It was the perfect opportunity for their enemies to take advantage of the circumstances and the idea always gave her a sinking feeling at the pit of her stomach but she admitted that it was a well-deserved reprieve from the minor demon attacks as ofte.

    It was best for her to make space for all these wonderful things to happen instead of focusing on the bad and staying up at night, sweaty from all this crippling fear.

    The Kingdom''s fortifications might be stronger but that was the least of their concern.

    The Autumn Courts had too many things to worry about but Luna couldn''t do anything to help.

    She was rather indisposed due to her pregnancy so she let her husband and her Archdemon Familiars do all the work.

    Involving herself where she wasn''t needed would only get her into deeper trouble with her husband.

    If she desired everything to run smoothly? then she should better get out of their way.

    "It was for her own good." Apollyon would tell her over and over.

    It was effective.

 Chapter 826 - (2)

    Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (January 2022)

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    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ********************************

    Luna had given up mulling over the the demonic Legion while she focused on the babes'' nourishment. There were?times when she refused drinking Ravin''s blood out of guilt for her true mate.

    Yet, it was Apollyon who forced her to, sticking the small mouth of the leather canteen to her parted lips while one of his arm circled around her back to elevate her head.

    Her husband didn''t waste time, making it clear that he would only provide her with two choices.

    Either her nose and mouth would drown in their mixed ichor while she dealt with an autocratic male nurse?who snaps at her or�� she would swallow the concoction and end her suffering.

    She felt like a?naughty little girl suffering from the ire of her father, being forced to take her medicine before bedtime.

    It was strange that she had conjured that image when she had no memory of the one who sired her.

    Apollyon aimed to make her stay out of bed since it wouldn''t be good to her physical vessel.

    ''Honestly, I wouldn''t really say that it was hard to consume��'' Luna managed to convince herself after the third time Apollyon forced her to drink it.

    It just taste too good that she had feared that she hade to love it too much that she became dependent on it.

    "In this royal bedchamber, I would be the ruler��a leader--when it came to your health." Apollyon demanded that she shall simply follow his directives, no questions asked.

    Luna pointed out that a pregnant woman''s word would rule above all else��anywhere and anytime, reminding Apollyon that he stated that before.

    It was a mistake to do that because he had snapped at her. "That statement��" He emphasized with a growl, "��shall not be counted. It''s for your own good, beloved." The sharpness of his tone was like a p that she had gone stiff in his arms.

    Luna had gasped in shock while her protest died away in her thoughts, buried and forgotten.

    If she didn''t surrender to his will, Luna would risk his displeasure.

    Her husband''s lips were already pinched into a disapproving frown as he hovered over her.

    Luna realized, with a sense of foreboding, that she was hanging by a thread before he exploded.

    She feared she had already expired to see it if she pushed him to his limit�� or maybe that was an exaggeration.

    ''Poor Apollyon!'' A wave of concern for her husband almost brought her to tears as her fingers stroked the hard angle of his jaw. ''How long will he suffer from the consequences of her transgressions?''

    As her husband sensed her distress, the obvious impatience in his countenance disappeared as if he was never even angry at her, couldn''t bring himself to.

    Without another word, Luna decided to listen to him and swallowed the delicious liquid��a secret pleasure that she wouldn''t admit even to her husband.

    If it weren''t for Ravin'' Archdemon blood, she would be dead by now.

    Honestly, it was very shameful for her to be in this predicament since the Archdemon in her was starting to crave Ravin''s blood than Apollyon like she was an addict.

    Apollyon let her drink his blood mixed with Ravin''s once a day from the container, beforehand, and she used to recover within an hour, regaining the healthy colors on her cheeks.

    Not only did Ravin and Apollyon''s blood turn into this magic drug which made her fragile bones and sagging flesh return to normal in just a snap of a finger, but she couldn''t get out of bed and take a step across the room without drinking that heavenly concoction.

    As the time went by, the threshold of her satisfaction of had risen to rming heights.

    Instead of once a day, the frequency of the past dosage had increased by four.

    Apollyon had to assist her throughout the day,pelling her to consume the concoction every six hours.

    It got to the point where drinking from a leather canteen would not suffice since the urge to take it fresh from the veins made her vomit from desperation. With her husband''s permission, she drank ichor from both Apollyon and Ravin''s wrists but she savored the delicious taste of Archdemon blood in her tongue more.

    On the other hand, Luna had swallowed Apollyon''s blood hard,?pretending to be enthusiastic about it while praying to the goddess that she would never get caught.

    Ravin''s blood made her feel something she hadn''t felt in months than she would care to admit.

    Good. Stronger than ever.

    Head-in the-clouds kind of ''happy''.

    Her rational mind have rejected that positive effect and reced with insistent warning bells ringing in her head but her body had expressed the opposite.

    Apollyon''s blood tasted good, but it felt like it couldn''t bepared to Ravin''s.

    Perhaps, it was the soul of the parasitic baby demon inside her that made her feel like this?

    Luna could clearly differentiate them in her taste buds even if Apollyon had already mixed them together and she badly wished she wouldn''t.

    Because in Apollyon''s eyes, that would imply that Ravin was special to her and that might just be thest straw that break the camel''s back.

    Luna never thought it was physically possible for Apollyon to catch her morning sickness, too.

    He started vomiting whenever she offered him to drink her life essence.

    Did he not like her blood anymore because she was drinking Ravin''s ichor, and it disgusted him to do so?

    Even if she couldn''t do anything about it, this was all her fault.

    If she kept this up,?her mating bond with Apollyon would be overpowered by Ravin, and her physical vessel might reject Apollyon''s blood.

    The birth attendant told them that they were very rare instances where the husband would experience this mdy especially when his every waking thoughts and emotions were too involved in his wife''s pregnancy.

 Chapter 827 (3)

    Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (January 2022)

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    Archdemon Empress Luna

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    The birth attendant told them that they were very rare instances where the husband would experience this mdy especially when his every waking thoughts and emotions were too involved in his wife''s pregnancy.

    The rest of the women reluctantly nodded their heads in agreement after Luna confirmed that they were mated with the blessing of the gods and goddesses.

    Luna also mentioned the mind link as well which exined everything.

    It supported the birth attendant''s assumption and Luna believed it wholeheartedly.

    Apollyon refused to drink her blood and the fact still wounded her.

    Maybe, she did deserve to feel this miserable.

    An eye for an eye.

    Was this her husband''s revenge for preferring Ravin''s blood to his?

    Luna wondered if Apollyon had also arrived at the same conclusion based on how he acted as ofte.

    It seemed like her husband had gone a little cold after she started drinking from Ravin''s flesh under his supervision.

    Apollyon must have witnessed how her skin had flushed with warmth, her tongue darting out to lick the blood trickling down the corner of her lips while she watched Apollyon with a heavy-lidded gaze.

    <o>,m Didn''t her husband notice how her eyes hadshone, glossing over and softening with desire as her fangs sunk into Ravin''s wrist?</o>

    How all of her muscles suddenly lost its tension while her legs parted without meaning to?

    Was Apollyon mad at her or mad at himself for their circumstances?

    Luna wasn''t certain and she was also afraid to ask and risk Apollyon''s ire.

    Her husband refused to talk about the subject but Luna knew he resented her for showing the kind of face she should only make in the presence of a lover. It was supposed to be reserved for the bedroom with him.

    Unfortunately, the Archdemon had seen it even if the overwhelming desire she felt wasn''t for his benefit but an unconscious reaction to the blood.

    If Apollyon found out that she was truly aroused by Ravin himself and not just because of his demonic essence, that would only confirm the niggling suspicionhe had.

    Even if she convinced her husband that she never loved the Archdemon as his mate, Apollyon would, no doubt, treat it bitterly as an irrevocable truth.

    He will take out his bitter frustrations on the Archdemon, attempting to beat him to a bloody pulp.

    His outrage would sow discord in Hazelnut Manor and he wouldn''t care if someone got hurt.<sub> </sub>

    Head will roll and hot tempers would rise.

    But, broken furnitures and holes in the walls that their builders tried so hard to repair still wouldn''t change the fact that the Archdemon Familiar was his mate.

    Luna should know better than to give a reaction of any kind to this new sustenance or her husband might use that against her and used her of cheating.

    His possessiveness will lead to aggression but he wouldn''t really aim it at her but towards the Demon Kind.

    ''Apollyon would never hurt her. His behavior would most likely lean towards ''protective'' but she wouldn''t like to test that assumption if someone challenged her of its validity.''

    She pondered with resolution as she slightly leaned her weight to her maids'' forearm when she offered to help her stand, sping her elbows firmly in her grip so that they could start with the dress-up.

    Apollyon already warned her that her pregnancy might increase his territorial tendencies than normal so she must be prepared of what her husband might be willing to do.

    ''I would kill and die foryou.'' These words remained unspoken but she knew deep in her gut that Apollyon meant it.

    Her maidservant''s soft, bewildered voice interrupted her from her reverie, asking if she had done something wrong or did her fingers held her arms too tightly that Luna had paled from the hurt.

    Luna shook her head and quickly reassured the girl with a shakyugh that nothing was amiss.

    As her husband, Apollyon found no other choice but to agree with this arrangement since Ravin''s blood was the only thing that would stop her Archdemon soul from knocking at the gates of Hell.

    +++

    Aside from celebrating the good harvest which will hopefully encourage the goddess of luck to bestow them with fortune and victory over their enemies, titleddies and gentlemen will scamper, frolic and dance around the Great Hall tonight, each raising a goblet of wine over their heads and engaging in flirty banters with Faeries of the opposite sex.

    Their new Household would celebrate the first ice wine harvest with the ruling nobilities which Queen Morgan and her Cadre would attend.

    The Council and theAutumn Militia will remain in the Autumn Pce to protect the heart of the Kingdom.

    Despite the siege that had happened two months ago including the mini-attacks in the area that had brought minimal casualties, their own servants had adorned Hazelnut Manor with style and it didn''t escape Apollyon''s watchful eye.

    He ordered his butler to gather all the people who helped with the decoration in the kitchen and he didn''t hold back in giving them well-deservedpliments. Luna wasn''t there with him while he praised everyone for their impable taste.

    She had heard the story from one of her maidservants who assisted her with the white gown that showed off too much cleavage as she would have liked every time she straightened her posture.

    The edge of the bodice was just one inch away from exposing her tits.

    Sadly, the simple act of exhtion was a chore for it made her breasts bounce, bringing more attention to the area that she wished to cover.

    Frowning at her provocative decolletage, Luna wouldn''t think that her husband would approve.

    If he saw her like this, he will have an apoplectic fit or�� she could ask him to simply ignore it after a passingment or two.

    If Apollyon didn''t find it strange in the first ce, the guests would follow suit.

    In addition to that, she had also worn gowns that were more provocative than this.

 Chapter 828 (4)

    Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (January 2022)

    p ********************************</anda>

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ********************************

    Resigned, Luna finally removed herce-gloved hands on her sternum. Compared to those, this white gown was nothing. In the past, Luna had wished for bigger breasts to increase her appeal as a consort after Cederic had dered her as one. Now, that her breasts were toorge because of the pregnancy, she prayed to the goddess to give her her small pair of hills back.''Be careful what you wished for oryou just might get it.'' Luna had thought grudgingly as the maidservant tied the ribbon loosely behind her upper back and fixed the empire waistline just above her navel where herrge bump began.

    The other girl crouched at her feet to expose the seashell embroideries at the hem of her skirts. She nced down at the willowy form of her maidservant wistfully, wondering if she could get back to her original figure if she managed to survive the childbirth.ording to her one of her maids, the male servants had removed their hats and cloaks, bowing their heads at her husband to showtheir utmost respect. The rest ofthe girls curtsied in an angle lower than necessary, sporting a proud smile as they basked in her husband''s praises. Indeed, Queen Morgan had hired the best staff to keep her favored Estate runningwithout her supervision. Apollyon, like the Autumn Queen, had given the servants the same freedom and they had enjoyed it with immense gratitude.

    It also seemed like her husband didn''t hold back in spending thousands of gold coins from this extravagant and expensive banquet. Apollyon told her that it might appear like they need to store a lot of food during the Winter Season��that they need to do that now more than ever--after the threat of Luxen''s demonic Legion. The probability of war wasn''t that impossible between the Material Realm and Hell, so they had to develop brilliant strategies to keep their temporary castle safe. Still, the peasants who worked hard to harvest the foodid on the long tables for their guests needed to have spare gold coins to feel secure.Apollyon added even further that he wouldn''t give their Estate''s tenants money for free. In exchange for the gold, they had to work hard for it to learn instead of growingzy from how easy they could get money from doing nothing.If he made that mistake, these Faeries might throw away their pride and resort to begging for scraps. Luna nodded her head in agreement. Once Apollyon formed an opinion, he wouldn''t change it easily.Her husband was trying to be kind yet reasonable.He also wanted to portray an active, confident and courageous Monarch, and was the best at embodying that character.Luna smiled at her husband as her heart swelled with pride from the information her maids had ryed to her while her birth attendants fussed over her stomach and her clothes likemother hen, making hawk-like inspections.<sub> </sub>

    Apollyon had improved greatly as the King of the Vampire Realm and put his leadership to good use after Queen Morgan proimed their new status in the Kingdom. He wasn''t selfish anymore after acquiring this small yet fragile empathy for the people who worked for them in the Estate.

    She was determined to protect the little humanity her husband had developed for being with her.

    The squires of the kitchen were in charge of various provisions, including choosing, purchasing and setting food aside for emergencies. In the Winter and the Autumn Courts, blood was a luxury only rich Vampiric Faeries could afford unless they had their one true mate to share their life essence with to which not everyone had the luck to encounter. They also had another alternative presented to them by searching healthy blood donors if they could. Noblemen sought out mistresses they could run to if they didn''t have a mate or a wife yet. Some men were perfectly satisfied with the arrangement, carrying a vial of blood with them everyday and wearing it as a ne no matter who and where they came from. Wasn''t it ironic that they kept the precious ichor close to their heart as if they had cherished who it belonged to? Her husband had done the same as well.

    At her oldest birth attendant''s request, Luna gathered her voluminous skirts and twirled around to please the six matrons whom Apollyon had hired to monitor her aches and pains every time shein about it. The maidservants also showered her withpliments while they applied some light make up on her face. It didn''t take long for the girls to finish dressing her since the gown was easy to slip on andtake off by simply untying therge red bow fastened around her body and resting at her back.

    Afterbing her hair with oiledfingers making her strands more lustrous and fragrant, the maids helped her rise from her cushioned settee in front of the vanity table and ushered her towards the door andto where Apollyon had waited for herat the bottom of the grand staircase. That was not right. He didn''t wait for her to descend like a beautiful white cloud of long and fluffy gossamer skirts billowing at her heels.

    Apollyonhad raised a hand and gestured at her to stay at the top tform, scanned her from head to toe and gave her a slow, appreciative smile. Luna smiled back, coyly fluttering hershes. When she returned her gaze on his face, Luna locked her fingerstogether and settled them in front. Apollyon was a delicious in his ck and white attire with a waistcoat made of leather so that he could blend in with the vampiric faeries. Faeries from the Unseelie Courts were different from vampires in that regard since they preferred to be warm whether they could withstand the weather or not. The instant he reached her Luna would thank her husband for not allowing her to make a fool of herself by stepping unto the edge of her skirts and tripping by herself with no viin to me for such clumsiness.

    asionally missing content, please report errors in time.

 Chapter 829 (5)

    Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (January 2022)

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    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ********************************

    The instant he reached her, Luna would thank her husband for helping her not to make a fool of herself, stepping unto the edge of her skirts and tripping by herself with no viin to me.

    Suffering from embarrassment that hadn''t even urred yet, Luna would have buried her face in her hands in disdain if she couldn''t find an excuse for such clumsiness.

    Staircases had given her enough of a trauma as it was with Princess Ourania trying to kill her child because of her jealousy towards her.

    Apollyon''s mother the perfect embodiment of insanity.

    How can she stoop so low, ming them for the love she didn''t get from her own husband?

    Her twisted mind thought she was stealing Apollyon''s love and attention from her when Luna already had Apollyon''s loyalty in the first ce.

    She paused.

    Closing her eyes, Luna exhaled a sigh when she realized, once again, that she had given her resentment to Apollyon''s mother, power over her train of thoughts.

    ''This wasn''t the time and ce to be trapped in the past.'' Luna told herself, clenching her fists on the fabric of her skirts with determination and then releasing them.

    Satisfied with her inner pep-talk, she opened her eyes and heard Apollyon catch a sharp intake of breath.

    As the scent of grapes and sandalwood wafted through her nostrils, Luna slowly looked up from his shiny leather shoes to fix her gaze on the Prussian Blue of his gaze.

    His midnight hair was a trifle too long than Apollyon would have allowed it but the man still looked as dashing as ever.

    His jaw was chiseled to perfection, his cheekbones high.

    The small scar near the edge of the dark straight line of his left browmade him even more charming, in a ruthless and maniptive way, and yes, she meant it as apliment.

    Apollyon carefully tucked the straight locks of her short silver hair behind her ear, one corner of his lip curled into a smirk.

    Until now, she still couldn''t believe how her cruel fate had given her this imperfectly perfect man , only to try and take him away from her in the near future, separating them into two different worlds that would never meet.

    Darkness colored her every thought and her heart was a stato of panic.

    Gloom shrouded her like a dark cloud and morphed into anger all too soon, making her want tosh out but not at her innocent husband who wasn''t a worthy target.

    Luna suppressed the negative feeling.<sub> </sub>

    Sensing her anger, Apollyon pulled her closer to him without saying a word.

    Luna who was alsoeager to close the distance between them stepped forward, her skirts rustling as they brushed the floor.

    It seemed like the world had fallen silent around them the longer she was cocooned in her embrace. Releasing her, his hands separated hers, clutching her fingers in his palms and kissing the back of her hands with sweet adoration.

    Her cold heart had felt a stab of longing his mere presence had melted the ice around it and filled her ripened body with sensual heat.

    "Husband." If Apollyon wouldn''t stop raining kisses on the inside of her wrists she would swoon like a damsel-in-distress.

    Luna''s gaze lowered to his feet and her eyes widened when she realized that Apollyon''s heels had stood at the edge of the highest step.

    Luna quickly pulled her hands from his, wrapped them around his waist to save him without crushing therge bulge of her stomach and eximed, "Watch where you are goingor you''ll fall��"

    "��fall in love with you is more like it." The needle-like point of his white fangs seem to to glitter like diamond stars underneath the chandeliers while he swayed back and forth from his precarious position with utmost control. "You look delicious tonight, beloved, that it''s making me nervous."

    The Vampire King?

    Nervous?

    Since when?

    The statement can make ady roll her eyes from how ridiculous that sounded but since it came from her husband, maybe, she could forgive himforthat.

    If he was an actor in a romantic y, he wasn''t ying the part well.

    "Lies." She brushed him off but toote, a short giggle had escaped from her throat. "You are teasing me with this push and pull tactic, hoping that it would drive me crazy." Luna couldn''t help but lift a mocking eyebrow at him. " Am I right?"

    When he noticed that Luna''s ample breasts were thrust against his chest while she started swaying with him at the edge of the stairs, Apollyon halted his daredevil antics so that he wouldn''t endanger the only family he had.

    "I think it''s working quite well,beloved." He whispered conspiratorially.

    When she saw the mischievous glint in those blue orbs, Luna pinched the flesh at the side off his stomach to teach him a lesson but all she could cop was the hard muscles and braen over his ribs.

    Well, what made her expect something else rather when she had seen the Vampire King naked multiple times?

    "Your beauty drives me crazy that it made me want to curse." Luna had witnessed Apollyon''s masculine pride shining through in his evil grinthat was akin to a predatory shark. "��but for your safety, I will adhere to the birth attendant''s advice not to engage in sexual congress when our child is about to be born."

    "Yes. It can be done." Luna was eternally grateful for caring about her while she was weak and pregnant.

    Her husband was forced topromise a lot of times to ensure her survival.

    Her debts to her husband had piled up but she never gave up on her mission to find ways and make it up to him. "I wanted to rewardyou for your efforts but you wouldn''t ept them for reasons you wouldn''t disclose." She reminded him patiently. "You have no right to seduce me and not follow through with it."

 Chapter 830 (6)

    Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (January 2022)

    ********************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ********************************

    As he inclined his head at her, Apollyon''s hardened gaze seemed to have gone a little too cold that she swore the outer rings of his pupils had turned silver, "As your husband, I have full rights over you and you have no say in this matter." Apollyon sped her chin, leaned his mouth closer and spoke a hairbreadth away from her parted lips. "I alreadytold you to stop talking about your little rewards. I have no need of them while you are pregnant. It will be an inconvenient to the both of us."

    "inconvenience?" She squinted at him, probing each nuance of his expression. "You call my heartfelt gratitude inconvenient?" Her voice was dangerously soft but her pitch had gone a little too high.

    Luna just wanted to help him ease his aches but he refused to drink his bloodtime and time again.

    Why?

    Does it not have an expiration date?

    She recoiled from him but Apollyon had sped her arms, keeping her in ce. "You must think me disgusting, Apollyon, but you keep on denying it!"

    "No. Not disgusting at all." Luna tore her gaze away from him and his fingers lost their hold on her face, having no desire to hear his pathetic excuses but something in his deep baritonepelled her to give him a chance. "It just isn''t the right time to do that now that you only have a month before you give birth." He bent his head down to murmur in her ear. "I might be a cold-hearted rake in your eyes because of what happened in the past but believe me, I am perfectly capable of being celibate for my wife." Soft pink infused her cheeks and Luna couldn''t resist searching the intensity of his blue eyes. "Why do you always insist on this even if I have told you many times that it wasn''t? Your effect is exactly the opposite. The idea of you having our child is the most arousing thing I have ever imagined." Luna''s blush deepened to red when Apollyon dug his fingers in her scalp to pull her hair back,pelling her to meet his gaze for a charged moment. "Your belly and breasts all swollen and heavy from my seed made me want to take care of you. I''ll be damned if everyone in this celebration hadn''t realized that you belonged to me."

    The ceilings and the wall tapestries painted with empty branches filled with autumn leaves and flowering vines of the Great Hall for tonight''s Wine Tasting Ceremony.

    The guests had worn cloaks, scarves, boots and gloves as the snow piled over their heads and shoulders and they watched in awe at the simple yet elegant decorations of berries, pine cones and maple leave in their path on the way to the Great Hall.

    Stepping to the side, Luna peeked at the curious purebreddies down the grand staircase who had stared at Apollyon''s back with an intensity that Luna could recognize in her own��hunger.

    Hot jealousy red up in her chest.

    From the way the way they fluffed their hairs and rubbing perfume on their pulse points, Luna could tell that they were too eager to be introduced to her husband.

    Of course, Apollyon wouldn''t notice since she had her husband''s undivided attention at the moment.

    It was clear that a few of thesedies in their fancy pastel ball gowns and borate hats were attempting to get a good look at him from such a distance.

    "If one of those noblewomen offered to spend the night with you, would you ept them, husband?" Her gaze also narrowed at their bodices that were cut as low as hers.

    And here he thought, Apollyon would see hers but he didn''t even bring it up.<sub> </sub>

    Her husband must have gone blind or he simply didn''t care? It seemed like she was worried for nothing.

    "They look like they are willing to expire in your arms if you slip from my sight and visit their beds."

    Without looking over his shoulder to see what she was mumbling about, Apollyon quickly realized that Luna had tested him with what he considered a trick question where the obvious right answer could be considered as wrong. "I have a woman with me right here and if they respect us as the new Lord and Lady of the Manor, they would do no such thing." He reassured her, determined not to fall from it. "They can look but they shan''ttouch."

    "Of course, that also includes me." She said stonily and her delicatelyced fingers almost slid from his grip like water.

    Apollyon was quick to hold the gloved hand before it slithered away to hide.

    He casted a confused nce at her and Luna gave him a slow blink that made his forehead sweat.

    "This will be thest time I would offer, husband, mark my words."

    God''s blood!

    What kind of game was his wife up to?

    Apollyon definitely fell for that but it wasn''t good to for them to argue before the Wine Tasting Ceremony.

    He should be more tactful with his words.

    "I will make it upto you once the babies are out and you lived through the childbirth." Apollyon managed to say but a small ''harrumph'' was her only response.

    As Apollyon sped her fingers in his palm while her free hand held the banister to prevent nasty idents, he inclined her to wave her hand to the guests as he led her down the stairs.

    The action rewarded her with a round of apuse from the crowd.

    Apollyon reminded her gently to stand taller, with personal power and confidence.

    ording to him, these were the positive feelings she was supposed to derive from her new look.

    But, it had little to no effect.

    All she did was shrink in the ruling nobilities'' gaze, hunching her shoulders over that it almost touched her jawline.

    Luna never felt so vulnerable.

 Chapter 831 (7)

    Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (January 2022)

    ********************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

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    From a far, a mysterious woman with ck and red feathers attached to her paper-thin sleeveless gown clinging to her like a second skin watched them with a straight face.

    It felt like she had forgotten to bring a knife to a brawl just from the mere inability to hide her face, cocooned in the silver curtains her locks could have provided.

    If Apollyon had cut them to his perverse satisfaction, Luna would have been d to wear a mask like how Autumn Faeries usually do.

    Tonight''s celebration was an exception.

    Never mind.

    There was nothing she could do.

    The women became more smitten, their elfin faces flushed and their eyes sparkled, as Luna and Apollyon neared thest step to join them into the Great Hall.

    As she took careful steps while her hand cradled her stomach protectively, her brows knitted in annoyance when she heard collective feminine sighs from the female guests as Apollyon entered their vision.

    His arm circled her back to sp securely on her hip while his long legs matched her small strides.

    Thedy in pink primrose dress stood up from her seat and arranged her skirts while the rest of thedies scampered towards the bottom of the staircase just to get closer and draw Apollyon''s attention on their person.

    Her muscles went rigid.

    A youngdy, who wore a baby blue gown the same coloras her eyes, had plucked her jetbs from her tight chignon had shook her head from sideto side and let her light blond waves fall gracefully around her shoulders.

    As her twinkling stares fixated on her husband, Luna glowered at the group of giggling women at the front.

    It seemed like they hadn''t figured out yet that the man they had currently used as the object of their fantasy had a pregnant wife standing beside him.

    Did someone just turn her invisible without her knowledge or their desire to steal her husband made them blind to their surroundings?

    She gave her husband''s bicep a slight squeeze as her arm clung to him.

    These purebreddies were too shameless ormaybe, they didn''t have their own husbands to concentrate all of their wayward desires in.

    Well, her husband was already taken, thank you very much.

    Apollyon gazed at them without expression and Luna wondered if he did that on purpose or he was truly oblivious of their admiration.

    Pages were busy chopping wood at the corner for the firece to battle the cold.

    Shesmelled the faint smokeing from the coals and hearth, ventted by a hole in the roof, the guests began to remove their cloaks and handed them over to the maidservants who guided them to the Great Hall.<sub> </sub>

    The warm temperature inside the Castle was perfect for the Faeries who weren''t ustomed to the cold.

    The servants did a great job to keep the Great Hall heated that Luna found no need to wear a cloak since she already drank Archdemon blood.

    A smiling butler stood on the dimly lit entrance of Hazelnut Manor along with the maidservants who curtsied to the remaining aristocrats of the Autumn Courtswho just arrived at their Estate and entered the threshold.

    Even if it was for the sake of tradition, nobody was allowed to wear their mask to cover their faces.

    The Autumn Fair Folks had this strange reputation to do exactly that so her husband made a rule to ban them from entering the premises.

    Before the Hazelnut Manor allowed their guests in, he personally told the butler and the maidservants to watch out for those who wore masks inside the luncheon and bring them to him so that he could tear their fancy masks to shreds, bite their heads off and kick these entitled bitches and bastards out himself for not following the rules of the Household.

    He was already a strict savage before the pregnancy so she was already used to it.

    Apollyon desired to maintain utmost protection and security for her who insisted on attending the festivity even said woman wasn''t allowed to touch any of the food on the table.

    The number of times he used to curse during the day had multiplied, too, and she let it be since she also yed a part in it.

    His and the Archdemon blood were Luna''s only option and she never asked for more.

    It was never her intention to hurt her mate.

    It was Fate and the hunger pangs caused by Luxen''s offspring that made her do this.

    <o>,m Apollyon and Luna were literally joined at the hip when hepelled her sped hand to slide off his arm so that he could wrap it around her waist.</o>

    Winged performers in ck and red corsets and rainbow-colored skirts spun around like tops, weing the Lord and the Lady of the Manor as they made theirst step.

    The aristocrats had given them a wide berth as if both of them might explode anytime, unsure of what to make of them, but it was clear they knew how dangerous the were.

    They must have heard about their rumored exploits from the Spring and the Summer Courts.

    The majority of their own guests regarded them with both apprehension and grudging respect.

    Luna didn''t miss thedies'' admiring nces cast in her husband''s direction.

    No further discussion were made regarding their eligibility as honorary members of the royal family.

    Their heroic deed at the demon siege was spread far and wide throughout the Autumn Courts.

    There was no room to ask about who they were and why they were there.

    These aristocrats should be ashamed of themselves that Vampire Monarchs from a Hermit Kingdom, simr to the Autumn Courts, were the people who had Queen Morgan''s back during the demon siege when these men should have assisted her and the Autumn Militia.

    Queen Morgan had forgiven her own people, anyway, because even if they genuinely wanted to defeat the enemy, time constraints had prevented them from doing so.

 Chapter 832 (8)

    Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (January 2022)

    ********************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ********************************

    From afar, a mysterious woman with ck and red feathers attached to her paper-thin sleeveless gown clinging to her like a second skin watched them with a straight face.

    But, if one look closely, subtle disdain had marked the corner of her lips as if she thought that neither did they deserve their newfound status nor the adoration of their society.

    Their Kind weren''t supposed to mix with the Autumn Faeries and everyone in the Wine Tasting Ceremony knew it.

    Tonight was a good chance to show their true power if someone from the gentlemen challenged them with veiled insults.

    Perhaps, they were one of the subjects who thought Queen Morgan had gone insane.

    They could forgive their Queen for her entricities but not the outsiders.

    Them.

    Thedy-in-red straightened her spine when her dark eyesmoved from her husband to hers.

    Luna froze as the the twin orbs almost threatened to pull her into a bottomless pit of nothingness that terrified her.

    She was the first to look away, not before she had scanned the woman from head to toe so that she would have something to contemte aboutter.

    In her whole life as Apollyon''s mate, Luna might have felt threatened by this particrdy''s exotic feline beauty.

    She would have stood out from the rest if not for the dark patches underneath her sunken eyes as if she had a rough sleep.

    Aside from that one w, Luna could see that she carried herself like royalty.

    She also had the air of a performer, her artful fingers fluttering about like a fairy in the middle of a magic spell.

    A ck rose pendant rested on her vicle, tempting a man''s gaze to stray on her decolletage and remain there until the wine tasting ended.

    Luna scowled at her chest in disapproval.

    She wasn''t informed that women in this society could wear something this indecent.

    They weren''t setting a good example for the babe in her womb even if the heiress hadn''te out yet.

    Luna couldn''t help but think about whom they had worn it for.

    Certainly, the effort was not for her or for the rest of the lords'' benefit.

    These women were informed thatshe, thedy of the Manor, was expecting a child.

    They had dressed whatever they liked without the dress code.

    No one would doubt that she had donned something far more respectable than half of the noblewomen here.

    She just couldn''t shake the feeling that something was strange about her aura.<sub> </sub>

    Could she be a singer or actress that Queen Morgan had sent from the City of Gentian,the closest city in the Autumn Pce?

    Luna remembered that her husband had mentioned it briefly during the preparation for tonight.

    She felt Apollyon''s thumb stroking her inner wrist as he urged her to walk and move forward but he couldn''t budge her.

    When she kept her t shoes nted to the ground, Apollyon had given her a questioning nce.

    Her cool gazended on the dark-haired woman, who stood in theforting circle of her group, as a silent response.

    Her husband understood and followed her stare.

    As if on cue, the womanpuckered her lips and sentApollyon a flying kiss in her scarlet-gloved hand before she gestured to the faeries behind her.

    They were circus performers, Luna realized, as both of them scrutinized herpanions.

    Well, Luna had assume they were at the sight of a man, wearing a pink jacket over a vested white shirt with pink breeches to match.

    As he lifted his pink hat and put it on his chest to greet them with a respectful bow, everyone had gasped, awestruck, when he turned the said hat over and a hundreds of feathered wingspped.

    White doves rushed out of the hat as if they were driven by a strong force.

    Neat magic trick, she thought drily, until these sted birds shit over the guests'' heads and their open mouths or worse, on the scrumptious food the Hazelnut Manor had prepared and ruining the prized wine each of the Manor had brought for the celebration.

    Ladies would shriek and scream while the gentlemen would me her husband for letting these barbarians in when it was Queen Morgan who approved these performers'' entry.

    ncing up at the ceiling like the others, she waited patiently for the birds to do their worst.

    ''Only use the Autumn Queen''s name as shield after careful consideration and the problem will solve itself.'' Sloth had told them in jest.

    It turned out that her concerns were unfounded when a glimpse of steel shone at the delicate edges of the pigeon''s wings the instant light had hit it.

    These birds wouldn''t be be shitting anywhere without their permission because they weren''t animals but automatons!

    Sheexhaled a soft breath, relieved.

    They appeared so life-like that it would take a moment for a person to realize that these creatures were made of metal with a clockwork heart inside each of them.

    She only knew one individual who can create something like this, assembling pieces of metal to life. Was there a possibility that the god, Hephaestus, was here?

    Ravin broke the news with Princess Sapphire at the parlor room that they wanted her back inthe Summer Courtsto keep her safe in theirpany.

    How did the god, Hephaestus and Princess Ouraniae about? Luna assumed they hated each other''s guts after Princess Ourania''s betrayal.

    Was it because Sloth had killed Sir Tristan so she reignited her love life with the past beau?

    How disgusting!

    Yet, Luna wasn''t the one to insult when she had Ravin in this Realm, her Archdemon mate and familiar,eatingat the palm of her hand.

    And if this nightmare hade true, where was the god of fire and Princess Ourania?

    Her Archdemon Familiars, together with capable butlers and muscled footmen, were in charge of all the guests who entered the premises.

 Chapter 833 (9)

    Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (January 2022)

    ********************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ********************************

    If this nightmare hade true, where was the god of fire and Princess Ourania?

    Her Archdemon Familiars, together with capable butlers and muscled footmen, were in charge of all the guests who entered the premises.

    It would be a miracle if Hephaestus had slipped into doors and windows from the rooms and managed to get in after Apollyon and her familiars used good ol'' magic to secure the ce.

    The bncer, who erected himself at the top of a long stick that had stretched upward to the ceiling, smiled cheekily at her, all the while holding a tray of teacups while his other hand was poised to pour tea from a spout.

    A sunflower was tucked on his left pocket while a bouquet of red roses reced what should have been a hat, the fresh blooms attached to hisrge head.

    The crowd had snickered at the foolish sight.

    Luna thought that the band hadn''t performed yet as per Apollyon''s orders but it certainly looked liked it. Apollyon mistook her fascination with the performers was the reason why she couldn''t bring herself to walk. Apollyon released her so that he could slip behind her, cradled the back of her legs and back with his arms and carried her like his queen.

    ''Oh, my goddess! Not in front of these strangers!'' Closing her eyes, Luna kept her head down as herced fingers kneaded her husband''s shoulders in embarrassment. ''Tonight wasn''t the wedding night.''

    Everyone had been looking at her stomach but for some reason, Apollyon''s presence somehow failed to make her feel safe.

    Goddess, she hadn''t known.

    She shouldn''t have forced Apollyon to agree with her wish to join the Wine Tasting Party.

    Slowly, she turned her head to nce at the guests who stared at her and she felt like a sissy general positioned in front of the enemy line.

    It appeared like she wasn''t brave enough as she thought.

    Luna wiped the mmy sweat on her forehead as Apollyon made their way towards their designated chairs on the long tables in which their most efficient butler had arranged.

    Apollyon lowered her buttocks to the cushions of the high-backed seats above the dais.

    Some guests who just arrived Hazelnut Manor had begun to upy the white chairs surrounding their rectangr table.

    The arrangement were so close to each other and it encouraged them to have close interactions and rub elbows with the rest of the nobles.

    The higher the chair was, the higher they were ranked ording to their titles.

    Winter-blooming trees were also brought inside the Great Hall as decorations.

    A grand piano was also ced on the right side if someone from the guests wanted to y music.

    Not only would it create a cheerful atmosphere, but the performance would give a good impression to that special someone they had dedicated it to.<sub> </sub>

    The finest pieces of gold and silver were used during the buffet.

    The foodid out on the long tableshad bowls full of with pomegranate seeds and sugar plums with fresh drops of blood to make the taste more distinct to the Vampiric Fae''s palette.

    Smaller pies surrounded a huge pie at the center, forming into this fancy crown to celebrate Apollyon and Luna''s promation as new Monarchs in the Autumn Courts.

    After finishing the Wine Tasting Ceremony, jellies, creams covered with fennel seeds, cheese in slices, strawberries braised in rose water, butter, figs, and other fruits were served on the on the other longtables for their distinguished and honorable guests.

    Vampiric Fae had a rather different diet than Vampires who strictly driank blood and indulge in the asional blood wine.

    The Manor''s Cook had exined it was a staple during Fae Celebration during the winter.

    Even if Luna wouldn''t eat any of them anyway, she was curious about how it tasted and if Apollyon figured out that she was entertaining the idea niggling at the back of her mind, he might felt insulted.

    He was already disconcerted from the fact that she was drinking Ravin''s blood like it was the most natural thing when it shouldn''t be.

    In the gods and the goddesses'' eyes, Apollyon was the only one, her one true mate.

    Her husband had tried to see the good in the situation but it appeared like his patience was wearing thin.

    Every time Ravin''s name was brought up in the conversation, Apollyon had a murderous glint in his eye while cold, silent fury possessed him like some kind of demon.

    The Autumn Season was an important time to preserve the harvest for the winter nights ahead and the Fair Folk had collectively agreed to celebrate Yule if the demonic Legion outside the Kingdom''s protective barriers made no move to attack them in a short span of two weeks.

    Now, it was in the middle of winter.

    Time had flown quickly, indeed.

    The inhabitants of the Autumn Courts had permitted themselves to let their guard down while the Autumn Militia bore the pressure to protect the Kingdom.

    At the same time, Fae aristocrats will celebrate a cozy wine tasting party in Hazelnut Manor to wee Apollyon and Luna as the official Monarchs-- princes and princess��-in the Autumn Courts.

    It was a week of reprieve from the tension between Faeries and Demons.

    That was how Luna imagined it to be, but she knew that some expectations didn''t match reality, so she wouldn''t be surprised if backstabbing, resentment and gossip would re among groups of aristocrats here.

    <o>,m Luna had no friend here in the Autumn Courts, so she already braced herself from the awkwardness of small talk and discrimination after Apollyon told her that this celebration wouldst all night.</o>

    Never mind.

    She would rather stick with her husband or anyone from their group.

    She tried her best to talk to a man, who imed to be a duke, on her left side.

    He seemed to be older with his silver hair parted to theleft side In a cowlick.

    His silver beard was bushy, his suit was all ck andhis cravat was the same shade as the woman inthe scarlet gown.

 Chapter 834 (10)

    Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (January 2022)

    *******************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *******************************

    Her husband didn''t like it when she was just merely followed specific etiquette rules that Apollyon''s new Fae valet informed them follow��to make small talk to the man at her left side.

    A man that wasn''t her husband.

    Was Apollyon never tired that she was the only woman he would pay attention to��see and talk to��from the moment he woke up in the morning and fall asleep at almost midnight?

    Because of her pregnancy, she had lived like a hermit and forgot how to socialize.

    Herees her husband, ruining her every attempt of her practice.

    This was the first timein a long while where she was out and introduced to society, her stomach asrge and round as a full moon in the night sky.

    "Wife." Apollyon whispered and she felt his lip brush against her ear while his chin rested on the crook of her neck, sending delightful shivers down her spine.

    Her eyes widened and she was as surprised at her husband''s behavior as the duke.

    Apollyon seemedto have twisted his entire body so that he could lean and drape the warmth of his broad chest on her upper backthat was a little bare because it was cut too low simr to the front.

    She wore no sleeves.

    Herrge breasts and the ribbon circlingaround her abdomen was the only thing that had fastened the gown together.

    Luna smirked.

    It seemed like Apollyon was bored shitless, acting like a jealous little child trying to steal all of her attention.

    It wasn''t like she was his favorite toy that had beentaken away by a ymate.

    It seemed like he didn''t give her much of a choice when he interruptedtheir conversation by calling her name over and over again.

    Tilting his head, the old, silver-haired duke''s wrinkled face reflected difiture as her husband began to pepper her shoulders with nibbles.

    As he flicked his gaze at him and returned to her face, he hinted to end their conversation about�� goddess!

    Her thoughts were in turmoil.

    She couldn''t remember.

    Not when her husband''s hand went under the table and squeezed her inner thigh.

    Turning her back onthe other man, Luna looked at Apollyon helplessly.<sub> </sub>

    "What do you want now?" Luna asked crisply but she already knew what he was doing.

    Apollyon had seduced her with in public but he had no guts to follow his actions through in private.

    Such a cruel libertine!

    "You are wearing something indecent." Her heart was beat was wild and anxious as Apollyon''s scrutiny fluttered at her creamy white breasts before resting on the nape of her neck. His voice growled, adding, "I mulled it over twice but I can''t let it slide that your bodice was cut too low and the duke seemed to be too focused on something other than your beautiful face.

    "There, I said it. " Atouch of red flushed his high cheekbones that was chiseled to perfection. "In addition to that, the white gown is as pale as you that I fear you have be transparent as a ghost." Luna frowned slightly for what he said was the exact opposite of the admiring gaze he was currently giving them.

    Either, Apollyon was jesting or he was as domineering as ever, hating the fact that she was showing off her goods�� or maybe, he just couldn''t resist her charms.

    One possessive arm rested on her armchair and he leaned in to stroke the snow globes of flesh with a forefinger. "Maybe, you should return to the royal bedchamber instead of weing our visitors, wife."

    His hand drifted on herrge stomach and Luna interrupted himbefore he couldment further, "Apollyon." cing a palm over his mouth to quiet him earned her a scowl that drew his dark brows together overthe scorching blue of his eyes."No one is trying to seduce a pregnant woman��" She trailed off in a small voice, embarrassed.

    How many times had she told him that no one else in interested in snagging her away except for Ravin, perhaps?

    Focusing on her, Apollyon stared without remorse."I will say what I must say or do to keep you safe. Don''t test me. I will lock you inside the room if I have to." Her stomach plummeted when his muffled wordsreminded of something that happened in the past." I did it once and I will do it again."

    He had simply changed the setting of her confinement��from an ivory tower to a quiet country manor��and gave her abit of freedom.

    Did he have this strange fantasy of locking her in an empty room, tying her up in chains, working her upand then leaving her afterward to pine after him, wondering when he woulde back and bring him to climax?

    Luna shouldn''tbe shocked considering how he participated in those bed games as the Vampire King.

    "Apollyon. " Her tensed muscles betrayed the lilting voice ofughter she faked for the peers when they started to nce at their table with invasive interest. "I thought you promised not to do that again, beloved!" She managed to say, reining her disappointment.

    Luna withdrew her hand from his parted lips as if she was scalded by his statement but the problem was, her husband''smoist tongue has pushed against her palm in along lick, leaving a trail of wet fire in its wake.

    Oh my goddess! Her husband had turned into a ''snake man.

    Luna''s posture straightened as she struggled to regain herposure.

    Please no!

    Maybe, he was feeling amorous tonight.

    Her husband took advantage of her shock andced their fingers together before he kissed the back of her hand.

    His thumb stroke the side of her finger while he watched her drowsily.

    He must have been possessed by the spirit of the debauchery like what the housemaid warned her about.

    Luna frowned.

    Since, they already figured out what usually urs during Fae celebrations, these kind girls gave her a subtle advice about not taking her eyes off her husband.

 Chapter 835 (11)

    Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (January 2022)

    ****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ****************************

    Since, they already figured out what usually urs during Fae celebrations, these kind girls gave her a subtle advice about not taking her eyes off her husband.

    It appeared like the Ladies of the Manor were infamous in scrutinizing new targets��men who had the misfortune to enter their peripheral vision--like how an eagle would prey on a chicken.

    Well, Apollyon was usually the hawk in this kind of situation but he only had his eyes on one chicken and that would be her.

    If she caught his gaze straying to other women''s breasts or bottoms, then he would gouge his eyes out with just two fingers without warning.

    Her mind painted an imaginary scenario and a giggle rose in her throat like champagne bubblesdo in an aristocrat''s flute.

    This was the reason why she insisted on attending the Wine Tasting Ceremony to make sure that her husband wouldn''t search for other womento fuck.

    From her earlier observation at the staircase, Luna had considered it already as a fact.

    Despite theck of evidence, these purebred noblewomen who prided themselves with their extremely proper manners had examined her husband from head to toe, as if hewas a good piece of meat in a butcher''s shop.

    It was a relief to realize that it wasn''t paranoia and her attendants had called it as woman''s intuition.

    '' The Lords were willing to turn a blind eye on their wife''s affairs because they also had their own mistresses to deal with. Also, they relied the women to look the other way'', her maidservants exined further and Luna''s scowl had deepened.

    ''What had these supposedly civilized men and women turn into?

    Autumn Faeries who dared to call them savages were a gaggle of bloody hypocrites!

    IIf anyone made the mistake, she would ask for Queen Morgan''s permission to hang them on a tree.

    Not to tie them by the neck but to hang them upside down in for nine straight days and nights.

    Hopefully, that would teach them a lesson.

    "You weren''t this pregnant at that time so that promise will have exceptions, of course."

    ''Apollyon and his wicked schemes'', Luna sped her fingers on his wrist.

    Hewanted to y''devil''s advocate''while she was determined to star the role ofan angel, chained into this web of illusion.

    Apollyon didn''t have to tell her thesethreats.

    Why didn''t he just do it instead of waiting for his approval?

    Was he waiting to be challenged?

    Luna could speak the truth into powerif she willed it to.

    Nobody dared to confront a royalty like Apollyon because they couldn''t speak freely to him because of his status.

    As a creature of the night, Apollyon was more primal and barbaricpared to the vampire faeries in the Fall Courts.<sub> </sub>

    Because of Lilith''s curse, he was even more exposed to the dark side of sin and temptation which made her think that he would suit better as an Archdemon rather than her.

    Specially now that in her eyes, he was acting like one.

    "Do not ce your will over another." Luna replied with gritted teeth when she didn''t receive the constion she expected from him."Control yourself."

    Motionless, Apollyon swallowed hard before stating gravely, "I will not control myself."

    Silence fell on the two of them and the seconds ticking in the clock felt like an eternity.

    Did the bastard just talk to her like a crude pirate who must get his wish?

    Well, he might as well dietrying if he never felt guilty or ashamed about it.

    +++++++++++++++++++++

    Vampire King Apollyon

    +++++++++++++++++++++

    When it came to Luna''s safety, nothing shall stand in his way and he would resort to intimidation if he must.

    He stared into the crowd and looked from one face to another, watching out for suspicious visitors instead of waiting for her reaction.

    Of course, they could sense the Lady and the Lord of the manor weren''t in a jovial mood.

    "You had no right." Apollyon heard her whisper. When his cold, hard gaze returned to her, Luna shook her head and whisper-shouted. "Don''t be controlled by your impulses, you domineering oaf!"

    He blinked slowly before he uced their fingers, withdrew his hand where it wasn''t appreciated and drove it through his long raven hair which made it even messier.

    Apollyon felt like his authority in Hazelnut Manor and as a husband was being challenged by none other than his wife.

    She had represented all he wanted in a woman and his wife was the sole source of his erotic pleasure.Apollyon can get easily get drunk from the sensual haze of unbridled desire she had evoked in him.

    So far, it was the third of her best attributes next to being his female counterpart, her mate, her equal and the love of his life as well as being the mother of his child.

    Later, he realized that it wasn''t just that and the months both of them had endured during her pregnancy was theproof.

    Seed retention was new to him but Apollyon managed to live day by day to keep his hands to himself, too damn literally.

    She never forgot to bring that up every day and every night which caused him such intense arousal.

    There were dawns when he had woken up from an almost wet dream just to deal with a hard cock.

    He couldn''t bring himself to allow Luna to touch him and make hime on her mouth if she couldn''t get him inside her like she crazily suggested.

    It was one of the subjects where she wouldn''t dare drop.

    Unfortunately, it was his obligation to put up with the mind fucking, witnessing a lovely feminine''s body parts in bed that he absolutely like but not let himself to feel, kiss, stroke, fondle and lick every inch of her it out of fear.

    Once he started, he would find it hard to stop.

    Luna would oblige him to do more and might risk a miscarriage.

 Chapter 836 (12)

    <strong>Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (January 2022)</strong>

    <strong>********************************</strong>

    <strong>Vampire King Apollyon</strong>

    <strong>********************************</strong>

    The birth attendants had never failed to provide them with the necessary instructions on how a husband would care for the pregnant wife.

    If something happened to her due to negligence, it would be his fault. He could have done anything to humour his precious wife if it didn''t concern Ravin but this was one of those moments where he would draw the line.

    Bold and red.

    His mate was the bravest woman he had ever known but also as stubborn and prideful as him. From this union, Apollyon would like to think that he had gained self-awareness from staring at this mirror for the times they had been together.

    Someone who wouldn''t cower from him or for anyone else including handling Archdemons.

    But that golden merits had a price.

    Nostrils ring, he wished he could say she should go to Hell figuratively but that curse might cost him his wife and his heiress.

    Despite the outrage, Apollyon pursed his lips when she went on, "Just be cold and calcted like you used to be."

    There must be something in his face that caused her fear and Apollyon tried to soften his expression and brush the stray hair from her cheek and his Prussian Blue eyes slitted like a cat. "I will never be cold and calcted when ites to you."

    No matter how angry he felt, he would never hurt her that way as much as she would like to assume.

    A wave of sympathy crashed through him, uninvited.

    Well, he couldn''t me her since she had witnessed him engage in violence many times.

    With the enemy of course. Perhaps, she had always wondered if she would be the next victim.

    " You know how territorial I can be." He murmured calmly, holding her face in his hands. "Ravin''s presence in our Estate is a big threat. How much more if you are here for all the strangers to see?"

    Women constantly ask about what their mates felt but when their husbands shared it with them, no holds barred, they get defensive and sometimes offended.

    Would it have been fine if he simply shut up? Damned if he did, damned if he didn''t.

    "At least, think about our child." She reminded him wistfully. "Don''t expose our heiress with your jealousy."

    The night was full of snow underneath the dark grey sky and for the first time as a vampire, he felt unbearably cold deep inside.

    He willed it to disappear so many times but it didn''t go away.

    "You call my protectiveness, jealousy?" His expression shuttered and he nced down, hisshes veiling the hurt reflected in his eyes from her usations.

    So, it seemed like she was using their unborn child now as a weapon to bring him to heel. Apollyon carefully released her and leaned his back on his chair, facing her.

    "Don''t even start with our heiress when she wasn''t alone in your womb.<sub> </sub>

    That demonic baby you have with Luxen is killing her by eating her life force, Luna. We aren''t sure if she wille out alive. You are her mother so your body will be inclined to help this other daughter which would make that demon baby strong enough to survive." He said curtly. "It is hard for me to choose between you and our daughter but you insisted on us picking the babe--"

    Suddenly, Apollyon imagined his daughter''s encircling her mother''s neck, white delicate hairs settling on her back as her weight settled in herp and he felt a twist in her chest as she watched him with reservation.

    Panic built swiftly inside him and he badly wished he could get away from here, hole himself up in his study and numb it down with liquor.

    <strong>********************************</strong>

    <strong>Archdemon Empress Luna</strong>

    <strong>********************************</strong>

    Luna didn''t know how to address the other girl''s existence--whether or not she was in her womb with her baby Leo for real.

    If her poor health was any indication, she can''t deny that the Luxen''s offspring was there inside her stomach, kicking the walls around her stomach with much enthusiasm.

    Despite the clear signs, she couldn''t wrap her mind around the idea that she was carrying Luxen''s child.

    If she saw how this babe looked like and heard her wail once she and Leonore got out of there, perhaps, Luna might be convinced that the reality of Apollyon raising twin babies without her was closing in on them.

    Would she even live long enough to see this demon offspring?

    Luna''s hand trembled as she caressed her stomach.

    Should she decide on a name for it?

    If she asked Apollyon for suggestions, no doubt her poor husband would fume in a silent rage.

    He was already jealous of her drinking Ravin''s blood and extending her life.

    If he didn''t allow that to happen, she might not have the energy to have an ''easy'' and ''fun'' conversation with the married Fae women who had their eyes set on Apollyon because she would be busy living like a bedridden, shivering, old hag.

    Despite therge bulge on her stomach, Luna was prepared for a catfight.

    Always.

    How much more would Apollyon have to deal with this repressed anger if he was reminded of Luxen''s sins?

    Anyhow, two weeks had passed from the first day of Winter, and the babes in her womb almost celebrated their eight-month.

    The Archdemon Lilith had never resurfaced from her thoughts ever since she found a method to contain her soul and separate her consciousness before she effectively suppressed them.

    Now, Luna can confidently assume that she was in control of her mind and body--that she was prepared to shut the b*tch down if she would attempt tomunicate.

    The Archdemon would have to say one word in that nasally, high-pitched ''damsel-in-distress-but-I''m-actually the-viin'' sort of voice and then she would finish her so that she could regain ownership of her physical vessel.

    Every time Luna fought for her right to upy what was hers, Lilith would be weaker than before�� so weak��that she would cease to exist in this body and this Material Realm.

 Chapter 837 (13)

    <strong>Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (January 2022)</strong>

    <strong>********************************</strong>

    <strong>Archdemon Empress Luna</strong>

    <strong>********************************</strong>

    Every time Luna fought for her right to upy what was hers, Lilith would be weaker than before�� so weak��that she would cease to exist in this body and this Material Realm.

    As long as she gathers her strength and does not lower it down to Lilith''s current level, it would be easy to make Lilith dormant like the other baby in her womb.

    She closed her eyes, repressed a frustrated sigh and opened them again to gaze at her husband. "I thought we already made peace about what happened between me and Luxen."

    At this point, she wasn''t even mad.

    It was just in exhausting when he kept bringing that up.

    She sincerely apologized and he epted. "How dare you bring it up again and me me?" What else was she to do? "I will not reassure you any longer. Feel whatever you want to feel I wouldn''t stop you."

    Even if her chair wasrge and heavy, she still managed to drag it closer to the table so that Apollyon''s insistent arm of ownership would drop unobtrusively from the back of her chair.

    Then, she would tell him she didn''t mean it and give him an innocent smile that would linger just enough for him to know that she wanted him to stop.

    "I am secure as your mate but I hated to be in this mess. This whole thing." He said quietly and gestured at them who were forced to attend the wine tasting ceremony only to argue in whispers. "It''s frustrating, wife."

    It actually did nothing to solve their problems and it was sad that they were arguing in the middle of happy Faeries of noble blood.

    At her failed attempts of maniption, wetness had tangled her eyshes as if she was about to cry. A part of the Archdemon Lilith must have convinced her to see if it worked on her husband. "-"A-are you angry at me, Apollyon?"

    "I am not angry at you but I am mad at this situation. The predicament that got us stuck in here." He replied.

    ''Well, that was a relief.'' Luna pondered. ''Powerful men always remember to stay calm on the battlefield but maybe, that wouldn''t apply regarding the wife?

    "It makes me feel powerless." Apollyon hesitated before adding in a hushed voice, "I apologize if you think I am taking it out on you."

    ''Again.'' But Luna only pursed her lips since she didn''t have the heart to say that in his face.

    Well, he could tell that to the birds and to the bees or he could shove that up in his ass because it wasn''t only him who was frustrated!

    Gathering her wits, she wiped the tears leaking at the corner of her eyes and replied with a forced smile. "You can''t control your anger about Ravin." Her trembling hands arranged her skirts deftly because she didn''t know what to do with them. "Would you be happy if I just died, then?"

    When he found an opening, he raised her chin and bent his head down to kiss her upper lip but she gave no reaction. His piercing blue eyes went alert as he looked at her. "Before I answer your question, we need privacy."

    *******************************<sub> </sub>

    Vampire King Apollyon

    *******************************

    Don''t you dare cry here and make me look bad." Apollyonmanded in a low voiceced with glintingughter. "We had to make a good first impression, at least."

    "Where��" He heard her ask with hesitation.

    Luna''s wary gaze met his but he had already decided to whisk her away from the Great Hall to the balcony by sping her arm with caution and pulling her to stand.

    To avoid furthermotion, she got up from her seat but one thing she didn''t anticipate was her weak knees. They wobbled as if he was about to copse at any given moment.

    An impatient growl rumbled in his chest as he carried her again like a caveman who found a willing woman to ravish.

    Yet, his true goal was to unseat her as the Lady of the Manor from the long table and finish their conversation somewhere else.

    The spacious and extravagant room was absent of strong odours and strange smells from the food that had been prepared for the Fae Aristocrats.

    All the windows were closed except for the terrace so that it would provide a good airflow inside the Great Hall. Earlier, Apollyon had asked her if she was fine with it being open for the guests to venture out there and have a great look at the vineyard and she reminded him that she wasn''t that sensitive to cold anymore unless she skipped with drinking Ravin''s blood.

    Luna was mildly surprised that there wasn''t a lot of Autumn Faeries there.

    They passed by a nobleman who inquired about where they were headed when they had just been introduced to society but her husband didn''t reply, his gaze shooting through the terrace as if he was an arrow who was aiming for the bull''s eye.

    It was a shame that out of all the few parties she attended in this Realm, Luna still wasn''t used to the art of socializing and involving herself with others.

    She didn''t actually think that her husband had also managed to catch the same w.

    Well, would it be really hard to act normally?

    The guest waited in the middle of the dance floor with them so Luna only replied two words��''fresh air''��out of respect.

    She was sorry that she didn''t have the time to grace him with a full conversation but the unknown lord nodded his head but not without a sardonic smile on his face.

    ''The man wouldn''t think that she and Apollyon would��''

    Luna''s skin had turned crimson from head to toe in chagrin.

    It was a little embarrassing but it gave her interesting ideas.

    Not letting go of her hand, Apollyon led her to a secret doorway found at the left side of the dark terrace.

 Chapter 838 (14)

    <strong>Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (January 2022)</strong>

    <strong>********************************</strong>

    <strong>Archdemon Empress Luna</strong>

    <strong>********************************</strong>

    The dark surroundings brightened up as sconces on the wall lit up with blue fire as they strode in the long hallways.

    Luna''s pulse raised.

    She was starting to get dizzy and ustrophobic with every step. It wasn''t wide as she would have liked despite the distance between the walls.

    Goddess, it can perfectly amodate them enough even if her husband stretched both arms and walk together side by side.

    The only thing that kept her grounded was the warm hand that had enveloped hers and the light, affectionate scratches of his thumb on her cold skin.

    Something else boggled her mind as well.

    Unknown Fae couples had greeted them with discreet bows and curtsies as the lovers enter and exit these strange rooms.

    Were these pair who visited these avable rooms, husband and wife, like Luna and Apollyon?

    She guessed not. Perhaps, these aristocrats were intimate with other people, exchanging their life partners for someone else as if they were objects that had been used well and given away.

    After ncing around to see if Fae aristocrats were out of earshot, Luna mused softly, "It seemed likemitment was never taken seriously in the upper ss, Apollyon."

    Thesedies and gentlemen made ''cheating'' and ''having trysts'' a casual affair.

    They didn''t care about the scandal as if there was a written rule that it wasn''t for the married individuals.

    It was frowned upon but they can participate in it all they want without being torn to shreds with bacsh but malicious gossip will definitely be part of it.

    Sneaking around these secret rooms, afraid to be caught by their wife or husband, must be a prettymon urrence.

    At least, Luna was having a rendezvous with her mate and not anyone else as they traipsed around the ce.

    She jutted her chin haughtily when she realized she had nothing to feel guilty about and ashamed about being here.

    "Yes. The absence of morality in these halls is astounding but should you be the one to judge and point fingers."<sub> </sub>

    <o>,m As her lips parted in astonishment, Luna hesitated, wondering if she had misunderstood before asking,</o>

    "And your point is?" She tugged at his hand impatiently, forcing him to look into her eyes. "That I am also immoral like them just because I carried another child within me? You still hadn''t moved on from that?"

    Finally, Apollyon looked at her after what seemed like an eternity for he was staring at a point in the distance before that. "Nothing."

    Almost snarling, she pressed on. "What are you really trying to say?"

    "Let''s not talk about that anymore, wife." His tone was final.

    "You better answer me properly, husband, or I will force myself to give birth right here, right now, just to spite you." Loosening her hold, she pulled at her hand while the other one sped Apollyon''s wrist in her wish to break them apart. But her husband was stronger than her. "These pointed usations offend me. It will never end until you stop." She said through gritted teeth. "And you dare to tell me it''s nothing when you angered me so?" Her voice rose with every spat as she stomped her foot. "You will seed to make me feel guilty at first in bringing that up but now, I just want to leave you here."

    "You''re stuck with me forever so shush now, beloved." He pulled her close to his chest and bent down to kiss her forehead to pacify her ming emotions. "If you think I am being rude, I apologize."

    She buried her face in his chest as he continued to stroke her head and back.

    Every inhale of hisvender and pine cone scent on his ck-leather coat relieved her stress��the stress that her husband caused just now.

    It would only be right for him to provide a cure to the poison. "Don''t stomp around that violently or you will drop our heiress on the floor, wife."

    +++

    Luna and Apollyon had passed by a suite of rooms until he stopped at thest door, which had the crest of Hazelnut Manor and the crown insignia carved on it, at the end.

    Apollyon opened it with a set of keys he carried in his pocket.

    The floor was covered with rugs woven in shades of gold and gunmetal grey.

    A massive mahogany bed with carved posts of deities was ced at the centre.

    Exhausted from walking while carrying arge bump in her stomach, she left her husband, who had locked the doorknob just in case someone interrupted them in the middle of the conversation, while she sauntered across the room and sat at the edge of the bed.

    "I had no idea that these secret rooms like this exist from that small door near the terrace." The atmosphere was spiced with candle wax, flower-scented perfume and the spice of cedar wood which made her assume that Apollyon had unwittingly shown her a high-ss brothel. It also reminded her of Apollyon''s Consortium in the past.

    Luna heard a satisfying click on the lock before Apollyon stalked towards her the way a lion would when he saw a gazelle. "We had a lot of rooms like this in the Vampire Realm from the women at my Consortium."

    Her response wasced with sarcasm. "And it never crossed your mind to tour the Empress in your own Castle?"

    "It''s not important." Apollyon knelt in front of her and removed the t shoes she was wearing to massage her feet. "I don''t have the Consortium." Closing her eyes, Luna almost moaned from how good it felt. "I am perfectly contented in devouring you in myir. " He drawled as his hands moved deftly on the heel of her left foot with sheer expertise. The circr motions of the pad of his thumbs sent her to heaven. "If you wish a different scenery for sexual congress, I will adhere to it after the childbirth."

 Chapter 839 [Bonus Chapter] 15

    <strong>Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (January 2022)</strong>

    <strong>********************************</strong>

    <strong>Archdemon Empress Luna</strong>

    <strong>********************************</strong>

    "That''s too long." When she opened her eyes, she can already picture him naked. "How about now?"

    "Live for me after giving birth and ask me the same question again," Apollyon replied grimly and the naughty scenarios in her head shattered like broken shards of ss. "You should know that I am not going to lose you and the baby. Many lives had suffered, sacrificed and died so that you can be here?" He observed her withshes slightly lowered. "Here you are, epting what life had dished out on you?"

    Wincing, Luna shook her head."No.I refuse to ept that this is going to be my life. I shall not listen to what the Three Fates told me the life that I wouldhave to live, the life they told me that would lead to my death."

    We must help Queen Morgan''s Kingdom get through this difficult time as payment for her kindness.Both of us already agreed that we don''t want to be indebted to an AutumnFae. She is hard to read even while Ravin and I worked with her at close proximity to find the damned Garden. I still think the rumours about the Autumn Faeries still had a grain of truth inthem." Apollyon said derisively while his feather-like fingertips moved upwards to her legs."Three months had passed and the Angels did not fall from heaven to help us. They simply didn''t care if the world was about to end."

    She bit the inside of her lip before saying, "Let''s turn the pain we experience into power. That would help us in the future. You have to be willing topromise. Always.Do it for me, will you, Apollyon?" She tilted her head at him, her glowing emerald eyes wide and pleading. "You still love me no matter what, right?"

    He paused from the massage to scowl at her. "Compromising is difficult for me but how long would I keep hurting from doing it, Luna?" She opened her mouth to argue but he interrupted,"You are lucky that I love you though." He exhaled a sigh and continued to massage her thigh. "If you aren''t returning to your room as I told you before then I would respect that but I would rather keep you here."

    "No."

    "I want to make sure that the remaining guests outside the Manor take off their mask," Apollyon growled and she merely stared at him nkly.

    "A peculiar feeling settled over me that I can''t exin." He borated.

    She crossed her arms over her chest as challenge lit her green eyes. "No."

    "What?"Apollyon''s gaze narrowed suspiciously.

    From the inscrutable mask his wife had worn, he had the gut feeling that Luna wanted to steer things up.

    Luna was determined not to be bribed with these physical touches even if she was hungry for it.

    She gave him a half-shrug and kicked her leg slightly to stop him from massaging her.

    "I said, no. I wouldn''t let you go especially if you are alone." She shot back at him.

    "Alright. I''m giving up on this." Apollyon said curtly as he released her foot to stand up in front of her. "Don''t make me repeat myself when we returned to the Wine Tasting Ceremony, wife. Don''t let your guard down with the guests and always be alert as the rest of us. We will have no excuse, your Archdemon Familiars andI if I lose you to Luxen. Don''t get toofortable just because we are here." He put his hands on his hips as he glowered at her."Don''t go anywhere without me if you are determined to return to the party. Be responsible. " Apollyon''s mouth was strict."Don''t get too reckless or you will endanger everyone including the baby."

    She pursed her lips as her husband continued to admonish her.

    She was feeling testy tonight but did Apollyon have to imply that she can be a bad mother to the child in her womb when they should be celebrating?

    If she caught Apollyonparing her to his mother, Princess Ourania, in his mind then she would box his ears if he thought that both of them were cut from the same cloth.

    "Yes. Yes." Luna grabbed his cor, forcing him to bend down and kiss her.

    Apollyon''s shoulders tensed before his pinched expression turned soft.

    As his teeth caught her bottom lip, his hand cradled the side of her jaw.

    Apollyon''s tongue quickly switched the innocent smack into a deeperscivious one that she couldn''t resist returning them with the same fervour.

    His hard body couldn''t help but try to get close but Luna pushed him off her.

    Luna pulled back before she embarrassed them both with this scandalous disy, pawing at each other like newlyweds.

    Earlier, she had noticed that this luxurious room had distinct, coloured holes in the walls as if it was modelled to a cheese. But she didn''t ask her husband, scared to hear the answer.

    Was it just the interior decoration or was it for other��. sexual purposes?<sub> </sub>

    ''If somebody was watching them on the neighbouring spaces��'' Luna flushed as red as a tomato. ''How kinky!''

    She clutched Apollyon''s hand that had rested lightly on her baby bump, allowing her thoughts to slide, but she couldn''t.

    ''What if noblewomen were currently peeking at them on the other side?'' Luna scowled at the holes, hoping to intimidate all of them if thedies she had seen at the Great Hall was there.

    Apollyon was too handsome and his striking face attracted female gazes so easily like bees to a honey pot.

    Luna wouldn''t allow them to see him naked even if she wanted to undress the man so bad.

    "You shouldn''t worry about men being taken with me, Apollyon, even if it trigger your possessive instincts. I should worry about women around us trying to get your attention while your eyes are too fixated on me. You don''t even notice your curious admirers at the Wine Tasting Ceremony." Luna unbuttoned his leather coat and pulled at the hem of his dress shirt.

    Eyes flickering in amusement, His brows lifted in an apprehensive arch at her statement and he looked impressed by her.

    "Perhaps, they want to y with fire?" She had set her hands on fire with Archdemon Magic but it didn''t burn her un-dead flesh.

    Ravin''s blood, running through her veins, had given her strength to be able to use magic once again without the baby demon draining her. Apollyon shifted his stare back to her face when she added, "If they wanted to sample the male prowess of the new Autumn Prince of the Vampire Realm then they would have to y with me first and win. I will show them what Hell is like. Do you understand?" In the blink of an eye,the blue-orange me was snuffed out and she smiled sweetly. "Remember that you also have a moody pregnant wife, Apollyon. I can choke you with my possessiveness if you still chose topete with me."

    Her legs buckled as she knelt on the floor.

    Shocked, Apollyon held her and helped her up, thinking she was lightheaded.

    There was no turning back now.

    Arms circling around his hips, Luna began to unfasten his belt.

    "Are you that greedy for me, Luna?" An odd look crossed his face as if she had left his fate in her hands, literally, and she took it as a sign of resignation.

    "Aren''t you the same?" She assessed him from head to toe but then her gaze darkened when it went back up to see the huge snake in his breeches.

    Silence.

    "Well, just keep denying until I finished ying with you."She said so casually as she traced the outline of his shaft underneath the fabric.

    Apollyon cursed silently, his voice bing deep as gravel wrapped in velvet. "What am I to do with you beloved?"

    "Nothing, Apollyon." "You just have to do keep standing and do nothing else but enjoy the pleasure I am about to give you."

    His breeches drop the floor and his naked thighs weed the cold air.

    Apollyon couldn''t speak as he dragged his shaking fingers in her skull.

    Tugging at the strands of her short silver hair, he wounded them loosely around his fingers as she took him in her mouth that had moved forward and backward in long, wet strokes.

    He wanted her to move that pretty red lipsfaster so that he can reach that elusive climax that he had avoided for so long.

    He thought that he would expire if he couldn''t get his hands on his mate.

    Well, good thing that he was born immortal.

    He leaned his head back and grunted with pleasure and pain when the tip of his cock deliciously hit the back of her throat.

    ? Apollyon thrust in desperation while she moaned, the corner of her mouth was already dripping with cum.

    He came in less than a minute and it was the shortest record he ever experienced in the art of lovemaking. With every deep inhale and exhale, telltale blush darkened hischeekbones from the exertion.

    His outstanding virility had made Apollyon quickly recover and he couldn''t have imagined his cock growing harder after what happened but it did.

    "We must return before I do something bad."

 Chapter 840 (16)

    <strong>Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (January 2022)</strong>

    <strong>********************************</strong>

    <strong>Archdemon Empress Luna</strong>

    <strong>********************************</strong>

    Apollyon''s lips pressed into a mulish line as he contemted in his seat with silence.

    What got him in this awful mood?

    He should be wearing a satisfied smile right now after what she had done to him earlier.

    From his grim countenance, it felt like the reward she had given him didn''t help it.

    Did she make the situation worse?

    Honestly, she wasn''t used to this type of cold treatment.

    Now that they had returned from their talk at the balcony, she thought that everything was already fine.

    Was it just her imagination or as the time the childbirth goes near, their close intimacy had grown farther and farther apart?

    Should she ask him about what he thought instead of probing his mind without permission?

    Would her husband get angry or did he does this on purpose to evince curiosity in him?

    Eyebrows are drawn together, Luna''s gaze flitted around the Great Hall to find anything that he might possibly be frustrated about.

    Anxious, her hands fisted on the table napkin in front of her.

    She wouldn''t do that anymore.

    Apollyon hadn''t done that either even if he had told her many times that he was curious of her internal musings.

    In addition to that, she had made efforts to answer every one of them.

    No more secrets.

    Luna learned to respect their rtionship and Apollyon had instilled that in her mind.

    Mercilessly.

    Both of them had promised to honour the privacy of their thoughts which improved their verbalmunication�� or not.

    Why did Apollyon stop asking altogether, oh-so-suddenly?

    Hisrge hand cupped the stem of his goblet, fiddling with it.

    Why was it hard for her husband to look her in the eye and address the tension in the atmosphere that made her squirm in her chair?

    It seemed like the progress she had witnessed before had regressed.

    Now, they were square to one.

    Not only that.

    Wasn''t he interested in her any longer?

    Something was wrong.

    Hiding her furrowed brows from her irate husband''s view, Luna bit her bottom lip and nced down at herrge womb while she let her short silver hair cover the side of her face.

    No.<sub> </sub>

    It must be her appearance.

    Her protruding stomach made it seem like Apollyon had married a whale despite insisting that he didn''t care at all.

    Men were very particr about that.

    He must have lied so that he wouldn''t hurt her feelings.

    Still, it hurt.

    She was forced to walk with her chin upon the Great Hall as if she was an abducted arctic penguin forced to parade herself in front of the woond creatures.

    If not for her pregnancy and her husband''s broad build, the guests in the Hazelnut Manor might have wondered which of them was the female.

    Their manes��silver and ck��were almost of the same length after Apollyon, which to her chagrin, persuaded her to cut her hair so that they wouldn''t get in the way of wrapping a scarf around her neck to keep her warm.

    For someone else, it will seem like her husband was, indeed, making mountains out of a molehill.

    But delirious Luna, who was gued with an incurable fever��a growing hellfire trapped in her chest that she desired to w out and get rid of it--could see the conflicted storm in his Prussian Blue eyes before he convinced her to cut her hair at their bed chamber so she agreed to let him do it.

    Apollyon admitted that he loved her long silver mane as it was no secret that it caught his fancy the first time he had seen it at the Blood Moon Banquet.

    Not many male Fae in the Autumn Courts had kept their hair longer than their broad shoulders.

    The female Faeries were the opposite.

    As if thew required their thick, healthy mane to drop past their hips.

    The inky tendrils curled like whispers of silk on Apollyon''s nape that Luna desired to brush her fingers with as much as she would like to press her lips on his mouth if she had the privacy to do so.

    His vampire husband''s ivory skin sparkled and stood out even more from the ck-and-white ensemble he had donned in the Wine Tasting Party.

    Unfortunately, Luna couldn''t say the same for herself.

    Luna''splexion was tinged with a grey-ish pallor and the beautiful white gown she wore wouldn''t let her ignore the fact that she was still a sick woman whose days were numbered.

    The peers can easily notice little things like that.

    She recalled that some sensitive Faeries in her vicinity had given her rming nces which quickly shifted into something pitiful.

    Their hushed voices in the background while they whispered among themselves sounded like whining mosquitoes in her ears.

    She heard them mention her name multiple times.

    If not for her husband''s presence, thesedies would walk towards her direction and ask questions about her condition, pretending to be concerned.

    Perhaps, some of these guests considered that she already died and she was simply there in the Great Hall of Hazelnut Manor as a Household ghost because she couldn''t let go of her mate.

    She dismissed the thought.

    Luna wasn''t about to wallow in sadness while she stewed on this self-fulfilling prophecy of hers.

    If Apollyon had spied on her thoughts for a second, her beloved would give her a severe tongueshing�� and it wasn''t the good kind.

    Well, there was no harm in asking him about this, right?

    Frowning, she realized her husband''s behaviour was more unbearable at this moment.

    Why was Apollyon the mercurial one when she should be in that mood due to the pregnancy?

    The birth attendants assigned to her with Apollyon''s permission said so.

    Lifting her hand, she settled it on Apollyon and squeezed, "Apollyon. Do you have something you have to tell me?" Her husband flinched before he nced down at the small hand that gripped his. "Are you still angry at me?"

 Chapter 841 (17)

    <strong>Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (January 2022)</strong>

    <strong>********************************</strong>

    <strong>Archdemon Empress Luna</strong>

    <strong>********************************</strong>

    She slowly nced up at him with what she hoped was guileless innocence. "I worry about you, husband. About us. Was it toote to ask for your forgiveness?"

    Her beloved watched her beneath hooded blue eyes but he didn''t reply.

    Perhaps, he wanted her to take a guess?

    What was this game he was ying now? Apollyon looked mad but he didn''t supply her with the reason for the cold shoulder.

    Ravin''s blood was the only thing that came to mind.

    The next thing to do to dispel the awkwardness was to nce down and pretend she didn''t say anything at all.

    Letting out an inaudible sigh, Luna removed her grip on Apollyon and curled her fingers on her own armrest.

    Luna''s eyebrows knitted in annoyance.

    He better speak up now before she matched his immaturity.

    She had felt a re of heat in her core. When she nced down at his crotch, Luna didn''t expect him to sport a sudden erection and he didn''t make any move to conceal it.

    After a minute, Apollyon noticed that his wife''s muscles had tensed all over.

    Her shoulders were hunched as if curling unto herself and reclining on the back of herrge cushioned chair would fuse them into one, making her invisible.

    When Apollyon couldn''t stand them anymore, he turned his body towards her, giving her an intense stare that all Luna could feel was this scalding heat roaming her face with a mix of rage and concern.

    Fortunately, that concernpelled him to answer her earlier question.

    Mission aplished.

    "Nothing to worry about, wife. My mind was just upied by the Wine Tasting Party.

    I want to be certain that everything is under control from what I have nned with the butlers, the cook and the servants." Luna was caught off-guard by his gruff response.

    She didn''t miss how Apollyon''s hooded gaze strayed through her breasts spilling out of her decolletage before he brought his attention back to her eyes.

    Again.

    Charmed by his first experience, the ancient pureblood vampire made no attempt to hide his desire to drink milk straight from her breasts.<sub> </sub>

    Was he this possessive of her that he would like topete before her child was even born? ttered by his undivided attention, Luna was still d to know that her husband''s sexual interest hadn''t waned one bit.

    She can still get him hard in a minute and it made her feel like she was the most powerful woman in this Realm.

    But the man wouldn''t drink her blood in fear of making her weak and causing her to crave Archdemon''s blood, even more, to satisfy her rather than her mate''s.

    It was no secret that her husband had hated her being dependent on Ravin.

    "I''m not used to managing a party before," Apollyon admitted and she knew he was telling the truth.

    Unfortunately, his mind was too upied for he was allowing his sexual awareness of her to control him.

    Well, he couldn''t me her for asking questions when he was the one who refused intimacy after she offered to suck him the second time in one of the secret rooms.

    He didn''t even have to do all the work when she was determined to make her mouth do the magic.

    Meeting her mate''s needs will also be her greatest pleasure as long as he wouldn''t look at other women but her.

    "I''m sorry." She gave her a sullen stare. "It should have been my responsibility as the Lady of the Manor but I''m��"

    "��pregnant. You don''t have to feel guilty. Xerxes and Princess Sapphire are brilliant in providing input that I could take into consideration. They have observed enough celebration in the Summer Courts to know what to do and what iscking." Apollyon responded as he held her gaze. "I gave them the authority to order the servants in case they have suggestions on anything that I possibly have missed. Your Archdemon Familiars are also good at following instructions."

    Casting a furtive nce at her plum-coloured lips fresh with vitality, Apollyon tucked the wayward strand of her silver hair behind her ear. "You think?"

    Apollyon aimed a smile at her for the first time that day. "Yes. I can''t wait to get rid of them. I also think we are close to finding the Tree of the Four Seasons too."

    "Really?" She pped her hands together in anticipation. "That''s good news. When you find it, I also wanted to go."

    "You mean while you are lugging around that weight around the Autumn Courts?" Apollyon clicked his tongue with a slow shake in the head. "This is why I have been putting off my decision of telling you because I don''t want you to say idiotic things like this."

    The tone he used made it seem like she just hurt her feelings which made her feel guilty even more.

    If he hated it, it wasn''t like she was going to insist.

    Luna wasn''t that bad of a mother.

    She believed that Apollyon and her Archdemon Familiars will protect her.

    "Not again." He groaned. "You often forget that the babies are due in about a month so you just have to stay put while I pluck them out and deliver the damned fruits to you. Do you understand?" His mouth inched closer to her ear so that she could whisper the secret he intend to share. "I gave my most trusted Knights from the Order of the Selcis something to fulfil this theory of mine. Remember those angel wings we stole at the Hypogeum?" Luna nodded. "I ordered Xerxes to pluck each of the feathers and distributed it to everyone andmanded them to turn it into a ne, simr to the blue feather resting on Ravin''s neck."

    "It''s the one that Queen Morgan had imed to be hers, isn''t it?"

    Apollyon appeared to consider whether or not he would tell her the truth."Yes. Wearing the ne gave them the gift of sight."

 Chapter 842 (18)

    <strong>Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (January 2022)</strong>

    <strong>*****************************</strong>

    <strong>Archdemon Empress Luna</strong>

    <strong>*****************************</strong>

    Apollyon appeared to consider whether or not he should tell her the truth. "Yes. Wearing the ne gave them the gift of sight. We can see what these angels could see." His hand gestured to his chest as if he had concealed his own feather ne underneath but, why was Luna focusing on the open cor and the mesmerizing veins on his throat, instead? "��and hopefully, that would include the elusive Tree of the Four Seasons. The female Archangel must be the guardian who had kept it hidden from in sight that is why it was hard to find."

    Her husband had informed her that the angel feathers they stole worked like magic which gave him and his own Knights the gift of sight, Luna''s eyes widened at the sudden revtion and brought his gaze back to her face. "Did you tell Queen Morgan about the feathers?"

    Luna nced around in vignce as if expecting Queen Morgan to materialize in that instant from the mere sound of her name.

    "I hadn''t told anyone except you. I made the special Knights I have chosen to swear a binding oath not to tell anyone of their use." Apollyon was so close and she could feel his puffs of breath on her forehead, stirring a few silky strands of her hair. "Now, do you still want to visit the Tree of the Four Seasons if we find it?"

    "Only if there are no demons infiltrating the Autumn Courts. Who knows I can survive with just feeding Ravin''s blood to nourish Leo and the other baby demon?" Luna inclined her head and Apollyon'' lips brush against her hair. "Eating the fruit will just serve as a supplement, don''t you think?"

    "Nevertheless, we shouldn''t rely on Archdemon Blood alone. The Three Fates have spoken. I''m not going to sacrifice your life for the sake of proving that the prophecy is wrong." Apollyon told her in a deep yet harsh tone while he caressed her cheek.

    "I don''t understand." Her brows drew together in confusion. "How about Ravin''s purpose in finding it as Hecate had told us?"

    "True. I saw no purpose including Ravin in this mission, except that it was what the Goddess Hecate instructed us. If not for the blue feather she was in possession of which Queen Morgan imed ownership of, what else could his purpose be?" He asked, frustration evident in his tone.

    No wonder Apollyon had done everything he could to get rid of Ravin faster because he didn''t like the bastard near her and her babies.

    The number of loved ones he had to protect just increased which made him constantly on edge.

    "I don''t know who to believe. The Three Fates said it was impossible for Archdemons to go near the Garden since the Heavenly Magic prevented them from doing so. Why does Hecate require the Archdemon to help?"

    Luna scanned the room, searching for Ravin and she met those golden eyes of his. The Archdemon stopped, mid-stride, in the middle of the crowded Great Hall, facing her direction.

    His being was focused on hers while he ignored her husband and the rest of the Autumn Faeries waltzing on the dance floor.<sub> </sub>

    The friendly chatters erupting among the peers blended with the stringed instruments ying in the background.

    She couldn''t quite catch what Ravin had uttered when he opened his mouth but after that, he winked at her and gave Apollyon a mock salute.

    Luna''s eyes lost him when he proceeded to the string of Fae aristocrats, performers and servants.

    Ravin and Sloth were tasked to detain any suspicious people in the Wine Tasting Party and dump them in the dungeons for interrogation.

    They never really know if they had possessed noblemen and noblewomen in their midst.

    Who else would be better at determining demons and ying the evil creatures themselves?

    Her husband''s muscles had tensed, witnessing the quick exchange.

    The guests had started drinking in order to feel the mild euphoria buzzing through their alcohol-fueled veins. "Ravin is riling you up and I just made the mistake of meeting his insolent gaze. Don''t react to it, husband, or you will fall right through her trap."

    Apollyon didn''t respond.

    "Husband. Are you alright?"

    She flinched, startled when he reached out to put her hands on her shoulders.

    She thought that it would never end but finally, he was done ignoring her.

    "I think you already know what I''m feeling right now without saying a word. You are here with me but why are you looking at Ravin? There is something else that I have noticed about you and him that I need to mention. Why do you always include Ravin in our conversation, wife?" One of his hands slid to her elbow so that he could pull her closer. "Does drinking his blood made you long for him rather than me? Was he more delicious, Luna? If you don''t stop paying him attention tonight, I would��-" Apollyon paused while she drowned in his unfathomable gaze. Those arresting blue eyes made her lose her speech.

    "Can you just stop? You are driving me on edge. If both of you keep throwing secret nces at another, maybe--" His fingers sped her chin, forcing her to look at no one but him. "After drinking his blood, you have changed Luna." His tone was grudging and her vision began to blur with tears from his next words. "How many times have you said just his name today? Why are you giving him importance instead of me and our child? I''m tired of being angry that I think I have gone past that emotion. Don''t you think I didn''t notice you asking me when you can drink his blood while you grew interested in what I have to offer?"

    Luna''s lips trembled with guilt while her hands clutched her armchair as if doing so would magically take her to her bedroom and escape her husband''s usations.

 Chapter 843 (19)

    <strong>Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (January 2022)</strong>

    <strong>********************************</strong>

    <strong>Vampire King Apollyon</strong>

    <strong>********************************</strong>

    She couldn''t help Ravin from wing into the deep recesses of her heart that only belonged to Apollyon in the past.

    Ravin''s Archdemon blood allowed the bastard to make space for himself and take root there.

    She was defenceless.

    Luna had lost the argument before she even realized that she was in it.

    She didn''t even bother to deny it, afraid that what she believed about the truth would actually be a lie.

    She would still be a liar in Apollyon''s eyes. "You are the same, Apollyon. You never look like you are interested in drinking from me. Why is that?" She pointed out as challenge coloured her voice.

    Apollyon wasn''t able to answer her question when he heard a littlemotion at the entrance and both of them ignored it.

    Ravin and Sloth had it under control.

    He hadn''t realized how many times he thought about this but he had enough.

    How many times had his wife insulted him, leading him by the nose and ordering him to stop controlling his wife and what her Archdemon Familiars are only limited to do with her in their Estate?

    It was wrong for Luna to scold her husband for a crime he didn''t do in favour of the Demon Kind. ''Preposterous!'' Apollyon thought.

    Blue eyes bold and teeth gritted in a hard smile.

    ''I can damn well do as I please with a pregnant wife who must depend on me for everything ad, not anyone else.

    Apollyon was the Lord of the Hazelnut Manor and he had the right to act as one.

    Tonight at the Wine Tasting Party with his rakish insolence, he will show her who was the one in control.

    Something in his countenance must have spooked Luna, for she averted her gaze from his to fix those twin emerald orbs, a gorgeous pair that Apollyon thought their heiress would inherit, as her tremble hands cradled them.

    Did she fear him now when he shed her a look ofscivious intent or did his wife mistake it for something murderous?

    Well, let her own confusion be her own punishment for torturing him every day with this jealousy eating away the remnants of good that was left of him.

    He was a ruthless man capable of vengeance but he must utilize all that hatred in defeating Luxen and iming back the Vampire Realm as well as save his wife from imminent death.

    Yes, all of that and more after he did this.

    Apollyon''s hand reach out to stroke his wife''s smooth yet hollow cheek and slid them to mp under her chin and tip her face upwards to catch his open-mouthed kisses he will likely shower on her frowning lips.<sub> </sub>

    He knew she was caught off-guard from the sudden kiss not when they just argued about Luxen, Ravin and what happened in the past that should have been forgotten with each of their apologies.

    But Apollyon, in Luna''s annoyance, just can''t help but bring it up every time he encountered unpleasant situations regarding these Archdemons. Perhaps, he still hadn''t moved on from it?

    No. Apollyon was certain that Luxen''s deception didn''t matter even if the bastard had sired a demon child in Luna''s womb because he had already given pardon to her sins.

    But if she kept on taking Ravin''s defence and me him for being too overprotective even if he had that sole right as her husband then he would fight her all night long until she waved the white g��fight her by giving the tongueshing she deserved.

    He liked the way how her emerald eyes were wide with shock yet the more he watched her as she touched her lips with his own, the more those orbs burn with dark fire.

    Luna closed her eyes as she took what he could give her while Apollyon did the same and prolonged the kiss.

    As he opened the dam of emotions to set his impatience free, the pressure of his mouth on hers increased, seeking more of her tongue.

    He let out a groan of pleasure when he heard her sign of surrender.

    An iron-willed wife who wouldn''t resist her husband''s attention was a blessing in disguise from the gods and the goddesses no matter how temperamental she can be.

    Here Apollyon was, trying his best to resist hers. Luna''s slender fingersbed and yed with the raven locks tickling the back of his nape while her tongue mirrored the intense way he plundered hers.

    Apollyon thought she was angry at him but now she was taking the lead in front of these aristocrats?

    His wife was shameless in offending the rules and proper decorum that nobles must follow.

    This wasn''t ancient times.

    These Faeries had prided themselves for being civilized while he and Luna had gone backwards, staking ims on each other, without fearing the censure of their peers.

    He wanted to be in control so that he wouldn''t be a danger to the woman he adored so much.

    Autumn Faeries were known to be cold and wouldn''t allow the mes of passion to hinder their abilities to take calctive risks.

    That emotion was reserved for machinations of power and maniptive tactics.

    Perhaps, his pregnant wife was using her feminine wiles on him too without his knowledge. Apollyon pushed her shoulders gently away from him and forced her to lean back, his breath uneven with suppressed lust.

    He swore not to f*ck Luna until she give birth to avoid inducing contractions that will hasten the childbirth.

    He loved her too much to cause her and the babe with early death.

    Once again, Apollyon cleared his throat, stood up from his seat after waiting for his monstrous arousal to subside and cool off.

    Luna tried to be stubborn but all that cool facade broke down as she squirmed his embrace, making him look like an uncouth marauder in the puzzled eyes of their peers.

    It seemed like his wife was still seething and couldn''t bring herself to kiss him back.

 Chapter 844 [Bonus Chapter] 20

    <strong>Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (January 2022)</strong>

    <strong>********************************</strong>

    <strong>Vampire King Apollyon</strong>

    <strong>********************************</strong>

    Luna tried to be stubborn but all that cool facade broke down as she squirmed his embrace, making him look like an uncouth marauder in the puzzled eyes of their peers.

    It seemed like his wife was still seething and couldn''t bring herself to kiss him back.

    Annoyed, Apollyon released his hold on her and looked down at her expressionless face as she wished. But, the corner of her pursed lips curved into a slight frown.

    Her cheeks were flushed.

    It amused him that she was trying too hard not to be affected, not to give in to his charms. "You wound me, wife." He tapped the tip of her nose and it crinkled from the slight touch. "You kissed me like a dead fish to prove such as idiotic point."Apollyon secretly confessed it was an adorable fish, though, and that made him smile despite being pissed off with her eye contact with Ravin, just minutes ago. "

    "Wasn''t the punishing kiss done to prove your point as well?" Luna asked, one sceptical eyebrow arched.

    As if on cue, his cheekbones warmed guiltily while he thought of a usible reason to counter that.

    He cleared his throat and began, "Didn''t you also do the same when we got inside one of those secret rooms? Don''t tell me you forgot about that?" Apollyon smirked.

    While his wife was staring deeply into his eyes, he inconspicuously plucked one hand resting on her thigh to shape her fingers on the rigid, engorged length of his arousal. "I can''t understand how you can suck me and swallow every drop of my seed and then act like you don''t even want to kiss me on the mouth?" Luna let out a gasp and quickly withdrew her hand as if she was electrified by the feel of him. "And don''t give me a century-old reason that you don''t want to make our guests in this party ufortable��"

    Luna made a faint scuffing sound as she crossed her arms over her chest. "You know that I will not back down on my opinion, Apollyon. These insults you inflict on me will not only wound you but our heiress. You kissed me to establish your dominance in front of everyone. Admit it."

    Leaning closer, Apollyon whispered brusquely in her ear as the loud chatter in the Wine Tasting Party returned to normal now that he became aware that they weren''t the only people in this world. "There is no need for that. If you prefer Ravin over your husband, make him sit here and watch over you. Come on. Spite me if you want." He goaded her while he wore a derisive smile. "Make me angrier than what you have already done."

    "No."

    "You might think it''s alright because I am used to it. But the time wille where you will go too far and I am at my limit--"

    "I want you." Luna protested and a growing sense of unease gued her and froze her fingertips. "What are you talking about?"

    "Hmm."

    Apollyon left it at that and he was back to observing the guests in silence.<sub> </sub>

    <strong>*******************************</strong>

    <strong>Archdemon Empress Luna</strong>

    <strong>********************************</strong>

    Luna trailed behind her husband while a servant stood beside him, pouring him a ss of the wine he chose to taste first. cing her hand on his hips, she asked, "Teach me how you taste wines with the rest of the guests, Apollyon."

    Looking over his shoulder, Apollyon narrowed his eyes at her in suspicion, "I already told you that you aren''t allowed to drink, didn''t I?"

    "I am merely curious, husband." She exined as she moved closer to hug his back without squeezing therge bump on her stomach between them. "It looks rather fancy the way thedies hold the stem so delicately with their pinky fingers up��" Luna trailed off.

    Turning around to face her, Apollyon drawled as the back of his fingers inconspicuously caressed her aching nipple until he dropped them. "Cupping a goblet the way an aroused male would test the weight of a woman''s breast would smear fingerprints over all over the clean ss."

    You described it so well that I have no excuse to misunderstand." She replied with sarcasm. "Exin to me what you are doing so that on the next Wine Tasting Party, I can do some testing on my own when we visit this Estate again."

    Tonight, different bottles of wine were served brought by each of their guests so that they couldpare vintages and unique varieties, creating such lively discussions between the invited lords anddies living in the neighbouring Manors to show off their best wine from their century-old cers.

    All the wines that the visitors had brought to contribute to the wine tasting party were ced on a metal box full of ice the stable boys had picked from the frozenke.

    Magnificent crystal chandeliers and candbras lit the long tables at the centre of the Great Hall and the lighting grew dimmer near the wall tapestries to keep the Wine Tasting Party mysterious and moody yet still bright enough to see the wine.

    Guests were refrained from wearing cloying perfumes or scented lotions so that it wouldn''tpete with the wine''s aromas just as how Apollyon avoided decorating the Hall with scented candles and aromatic flowers.

    Some of the aristocrats were poured a small ss of bubbly to rx them before the Wine Tasting Party started with a light aperitif, carefully setting the vibe.

    It was freezing cold in the mid-winter of January but they had assembled a diversebination of wines to taste.

    It would be a shame if these wines weren''t chilled.

    It was called an ice wine tasting for a reason.

    Corkscrews and decanters of bubbles, light whites, rich whites, roses, light reds, bold reds and dessert wines graced the fancy table specifically assigned for wine drinking as wine pourers and servants littered the Great Hall.

    Everyone was happy at the moment, and she wasn''t allowed to join in and drink since her husband forbade it too.

 Chapter 845 (21)

    Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (January 2022)

    ********************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ********************************

    Everyone was happy at the moment, and Luna wasn''t allowed to join in and drink since her husband had forbidden it too.

    She thought he was just as usual��a paranoid husband--but the birth attendant had warned them against drinking any alcohol since that might make her lose the baby as well.

    Neither of them wanted to sacrifice their child''s life, so Luna listened to these women carefully and followed every one of their strict rules on what to do and not to do.

    As a new mother destined to die, Luna couldn''t risk harming the baby.

    She was determined to make her lips stay away from goblets'' rims now. Butt the Wine Tasting Party wasn''t helping at all as a subtle yet seductive temptation kept whispering in her ear.

    p Hazelnut Manor served as a warm andfortable refuge to the outside world.</anda>

    Yet, she had this gut feeling that this was simply the calm before the storm.

    Luna took Apollyon''s outstretched hand, grateful that Apollyon had listened to her request so that she wouldn''t feel left out in this aristocratic jungle where ''civilized'' predators in velvet coats, wigs, elfin ears, colourful wings, suits and gowns size each other up with covert nces.

    If they had deemed themselves weaker after theparison, they would stalk potential prey to exercise their power on them.

    Like demons, ruthless Autumn Faeries would feed their ego from other people''s fears hey and make themselves feel better.

    Apollyon, the offspring of a pureblood vampire and a mentally unstable vampiric Fae, could have done that to her with ease, considering the earlier arguments they had.

    In addition to that, her husband was a bit adamant that she would return to the royal bedchamber, hide her in one of those secret rooms or just basically any ce that would remove her from the public eye.

    But he hadn''t resorted to dragging her there as if she was an ill-mannered child in front of the guests.

    They simply assumed that they were having a quick rendezvous inside that tiny door at the corner of the terrace.

    She might have fanned the mes of her husband''s ire but at least, he was allowing her to enjoy the celebration.

    "I am loving the future you had envisioned, beloved and this wouldn''t be the first and thest Wine Tasting you have." As he circled an arm around her waist, Apollyon guided her to stand behind him. Her lips cracked a dazzling smile at him, appreciating the fact that her husband still made efforts to include her. "You should know that I will never let you go alone if that happened." his warm Prussian Blue eyes crinkled at the corners as he searched her face while wearing a Cheshire Cat grin. "I will teach you since it was getting obvious that you are bored with the celebration." Both of them nced down at the various choices of wine on the long tables. "Hopefully, that might encourage you to go back to our royal bedchamber with me and leave everyone here to enjoy the wines?"

    ''Again?''

    So the Vampire King still hadn''t changed his mind about that?<sub> </sub>

    And, here Luna thought he would finally stop coaxing her to do what he wanted. Instead of being riled up, Luna covered her mouth as she gasped softly.

    "Oh my." This time, her mild reaction was infinitely better and Apollyon seemed surprised.

    She wouldn''t harm the babes if she stopped her blood pressure from rising. "Such a naughty host you are." Luna pped his upper arm and proceeded to stroke the sinewy muscles she felt underneath the fabric. Then, she clung to his arm and slightly pulled him so that she could whisper in his ear. "Dream on, husband."

    Recovering from her initial shock, Apollyon let out a deep chuckle. "Well. I was hoping I could persuade you��"

    From the drowsy yet intoxicated look of his gaze, it seemed like her husband was in his cups.

    He already had quite a few drinks for himself and he looked like he was prepared to seduce her again.

    Her previously irate husband was now eager to banter.

    How mercurial!

    His wine-scented breath smelled delicious and magical, awakening deep feelings inside of her that was long since buried.

    It reminded her of the past where she and Apollyon would make sweet, passionate love with each other without a care in the world, without minding the growing seed in her stomach.

    Sometimes, Apollyon can be an animal in bed.

    An insatiable lover who desired it hard and rough that Luna could barely match up to his libido.

    Yet, he never forced her if she wanted to rest, never treated his wife badly as if she owed him one just because she was his mate.

    Apollyon can be like the devil when it came to the art of seduction.

    His lips and tongue usually did all the persuasion and he didn''t even have to say a word to get all those drawers dropping on the floor.

    She still loved that side of him and considered it as a challenge to tame such a wild beast, to wrap him in her arms without resistance.

    He was weak for her, Apollyon told her that.

    There were moments where she was tempted to see how far he was willing to go before he drew the line and cut her off.

    Or perhaps, it was her Archdemon side that had spoken. It was rming how Lilith appeared to have influenced her way of thinking.

    Sometimes, the charming rake can turn into a doting husband who made love to her slowly and gently as if she was as fragile as a diamond-cut rose that he kept in his study at the Vampire Realm.

    Her sensitive nose continue to inhale as much as she could before it was toote before she lost the elusive desire that her mind and body could barely recognize now that it was too fixated on Ravin''s Archdemon blood.

 Chapter 846 (22)

    <strong>TELL ME IF THE COIN CODES WORK: AB9UYFD3NDVFFAVFA</strong>

    <strong>Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (January 2022)</strong>

    <strong>********************************</strong>

    <strong>Archdemon Empress Luna</strong>

    <strong>********************************</strong>

    "Persuade me to sleep just so you could refuse my sensual advances and count my every breath while you watch over me, instead? No thank you." She gave him a half-shrug smiled graciously. "I''m staying here. Queen Morgan might arriveter and give us some news about the hunt for the Tree of the Four Seasons. I don''t want to miss a single thing."

    Luna observed how her husband swirled the red liquid in his ss before he drank the rim touched his lips.

    After he took a sip, she asked him about it.

    Apollyon had exined that swirling the contents in its nce will let the wine interact with air.

    It will enhance the vour more.

    ording to him, he had allowed it to ''breathe'' as if he was talking about a real person here.

    He washed his ss with water on the small metal bucket on the table to prevent the vours from mixing with each other.

    She hadn''t known that a wine tasting celebration had such intricate rituals.

    The corner of Luna''s lips quirked up. "You must have indulged in vampire wine too much before you met me that you feltfortable enough to share some of those secrets."

    She also noticed that her husband hadn''t spat the wine out like the rest of them on this strange device that was shaped like a funnel and she guessed that this thing would prevent the guests from getting drunk and creating more trouble.

    The slow ssical piano started ying in the background as well as the opera singer in the red gown performed her best song.

    Luna swore she heard Apollyon snicker softly as if he found it interesting�� but that was it.

    He didn''t look at her and it felt like he had done it on purpose.

    His growing interest had moved into the wines and she simply had to ept that. Her husband started with the lighter ones and work up to richer, darker selections to show her how Wine Tasting was done.

    Apollyon appeared as if she had swished it around his mouth to get a better idea of its texture. Luna continued to engage him in a conversation as they approached the untasted wines that followed.

    "How can you tell the age of a wine, Apollyon?"

    "By, its appearance and scent.'' His tone was matter-of-fact. "The darker the wine it appeared to be on this clear ss, the older it is."

    A lock of raven hair fell on his forehead and Luna tiptoed and reached out a hand tob it aside with her fingers. "How about the taste?"

    After fixing his hair, she withdrew her hand.

    It will be more intense than the wines that came from new bottles." Luna followed his gaze as they hovered over the array of wines on the long tables. "You are quite a novice to wine tasting so dry and sweet samples would be suitable for you." He remarked the instant his Prussian Blue eyes returned to her. "Drop a tincture of my own blood from the vial that you should carry with you all the time. Indulge all of your senses before you take a sip. Smell the blood mixed with the wine for a minute to enjoy it more. Bloodletting during a Wine Tasting Party would be strange but if you wanted it, I will do it for you. As long as you are pregnant no more." He didn''t hesitate to add.

    Luna gave him a pleasant smile. "How does my Archdemon blood taste with the wine, husband?"<sub> </sub>

    He appeared to think it through as he rubbed his chin. "Fruity. Heady and potent. I told you it''s like a drug."

    He bent his neck as she faced her so that he could sniff the top of her head.

    Then, he pressed his warm lips on her scalp.

    It seemed like her husband was being touchy despite promising that he wouldn''t do it again.

    To put it crudely, he was afraid of harming her because of his uncontroble need to rut.

    Also, cheating with another woman never crossed his mind. Apollyon was a good husband and bad mates like her didn''t deserve her.

    That was why Luna would never let his mate go because it was her fate that brought them together.

    "If I was a god, this would be what ambrosia tasted like." Lifting his head, a manservant poured his empty ss and he drank it. "Ah." He sighed in appreciation. "This wine had aged well. The blood wine had a subtle scent of oak."

    Luna looked at it closely. The wine had such a nice colour and the shades are even all throughout the surface, unlike the others.

    An older man appeared at Luna and Apollyon''s side alongside a brown-haired Fae in an expensive-looking gown clutching his arm.

    "This is our best wine, Prince Apollyon. You are right. This wine had sat for a decade in casks made of oak."

    Luna nodded her head in agreement.

    She believed that the lords anddies who owned vineyard estates made sure that they selected the best for tonight''s celebration and she was grateful for every one of them for not sabotaging them as neers.

    Perhaps, these Faeries weren''t really antagonistic towards Apollyon and Luna''s appointment in the royal family or they just didn''t want to risk Queen Morgan''s wrath with just the slightest disrespect towards them.

    "I am Lord ckthorne and this is my wife, Your Grace." The man introduced himself and bowed while Lady ckthorne curtsied and made goo-goo eyes with her husband to which he ignored.

    His actions made her smirk a bit. Apollyon really know what was good for him when he didn''t offer to kiss the back of thedy''s hand.

    Even Lord ckthorne never attempted to kiss her hand.

    Afraid of the man''s life, she didn''t even bother to offer.

    He must have heard rumours regarding Apollyon''s jealous streak which can be unreasonable at times. One mistake he made in this Wine Tasting Party and his entire Household would be ostracized from society.

    That was the extent of Apollyon and Luna''s power in the Autumn Courts after winning Queen Morgan''s favour.

    "It''s a pleasure to be your acquaintance." The four of them seemed to murmur in unison.

    "My husband thought it tasted marvellous��" Luna said with a bemusedugh."��but you are not supposed to tell that since we are supposed to guess which Manor in the Autumn Courts produced it. "

    "I can''t help but beam with pride when the new prince of the Autumn Courts appreciate it. The vineyard Estate in the Autumn Courts are the fewest when it came to the Faeries'' means of livelihood but I have never heard of a Manor who had offered a bad bottle in the entirety of my attendance in a Wine Tasting Party." Lord ckthorne replied.

    "Lord ckthorne. Even if we had just inherited Queen Morgan''s vineyard estate who she had taken care of personally, my servants and I knew better than keeping wines that smell like raisins and moulds. A vampiric Fae such as I who just acknowledged my lineage in the Summer Courts never lost my sense of sight and smell when I ascended into someone who belonged to the royal family ��-."

    Suddenly, lightning strikes and sparks flew everywhere. Glitters dove headfirst from a bolt of lightning as it zigzagged in the atmosphere before everything went ck.

 Chapter 847 (23)

    <strong>I''m sorry. I got sick. I always get a nasty stomachache every month. :,(</strong>

    <strong>Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (January 2022)</strong>

    <strong>********************************</strong>

    <strong>Archdemon Empress Luna</strong>

    <strong>********************************</strong>

    The ck-out happened all of a sudden, and even in the dark, Luna''s sensitive vampire eyes couldn''t see a thing.

    There should have been an improvement in that area, considering she had transformed into a healthy Vampire Archdemon after drinking Ravin''s ichor religiously.

    Apollyon''s blood was mere icing on the cake.

    "Husband��" She began, but Apollyon didn''t even let her finish.

    "I''m here, my love."

    His manly scent washed over her, covering her body with his own after his protective instincts had kicked in, just in case the incident was another demonic siege.

    However, Luna believed that thetter was totally impossible since the barriers around the Autumn Courts were strong enough to withstand Archdemon Magic.

    Queen Morgan, Apollyon, Ravin, and Sloth made sure of that.

    After Luna and Apollyon established an alliance with the Autumn Queen, Luna''s Archdemon Familiars were now obliged to help the Autumn Fair Folks gather energy to keep it together whether they liked it or not.

    They weren''t given a choice since Luna was their Master.

    As the babies in her womb developed, leaving Luna was easily depleted and, otherwise, indisposed.

    To her husband''s delight, her authority was now extended to Apollyon while they continued the group continued their mission in the Autumn Pce.

    The Fae couldn''t sign up any Archangels'' assistance except when someone saved Queen Morgan when she fell from the sky, unconscious.

    They were only met with eerie silence from the AngelKind, so it was only right for her Archdemon Familiars to fulfill that role.

    Yes, it was ironic, but these Heavenly Beings practically left the people in this Material Realm to fend for themselves.

    They need to gather all the people they can get. It was a fair y��fighting fire with fire. Archdemon Magic with Archdemon Magic.

    Ravin and Sloth would put the odds in their favor, increasing their chances to annihte the enemies.

    They would also act as decoys while Apollyon led his Knights to the Tree of the Four Seasons.

    Yet, what if this ck-out wasn''t a mere ident but also a decoy for the Archdemon of Lust to swoop inside the Great Hall undetected and steal her away from her mate''s hands?

    Chills ran down her spine as she wiped the sweat that broke off her forehead.

    Come to think of it, did her Archdemon Familiars scrutinize every one of their guests and their mour, or they actually did, and she was being paranoid?

    "Wife. I can sense you sinking into despair by the second. You should really calm down, or you might identally give birth."

    Luna had no idea whether her husband was serious and whether she should take this as a funny rambling of an expectant father or take it as it was�� a damn good insult.<sub> </sub>

    As she nced around her surroundings, Luna squinted so hard she was afraid she had developed crossed eyes.

    Confused, her fingers tightened on her husband''s shirtsleeves, and she could feel his solid chest rise and fall in her palms from him breathing too hard.

    Was the Vampire King as nervous as her?

    There was a chance that he had lost his vampire sight, as well.

    Her gut feeling told her that something wasn''t right.

    Luna tried using Archdemon Magic to bathe the Great Hall in a warm orange glow, hoping the guests would let the mishap slide and the wine tasting celebration would return to normal.

    Still, nothing happened, no matter how many times she snapped her fingers and mumbled a spell.

    Luna stared at him, bewildered, before she exhaled a huge sigh and replied, "I am perfectly cool, calm, and collected. I am not panicking, so stop being anxious over that. I think the lights will be back soon."

    "I''m not in a panic." He said, denying the obvious. "Don''t make unnecessary movements, or I might identally release the goblet in my hand."

    "How considerate of you. I shall promise my obedience but only until the lights go back on."

    "I will do something about this, wife, but it seemed like my magic was a little faulty. "

    ''Same, Apollyon.'' Luna wanted to tell him that, but she didn''t want to make him even worried and make something out of it aside from just a temporary loss of power.

    Yes, that was the only reason.

    The Archdemon of Lust can''t possibly be here without Ravin and Sloth warning her about it.

    Maybe, her Archdemon Familiars and Luxen were in cahoots with each other?

    The darknesssted in a matter of seconds, even if she originally thought it would be permanent in Hazelnut Household at first.

    The aristocraticdies'' loud gasps and the gentle men''s gruntssted half as long when all the bright lights in the chandeliers and candbras returned.

    She had buried her face in Apollyon''s broad chest, but when she pulled back, she swore that she had witnessed a tiny Fae��No.

    It was a pixie with the same size of five bugs sitting on top of each other that went past behind her husband''s head.

    Where did the pixiee from?

    Luna tried to think if she had seen the pixie before, with her dark chocte curled around her jawline and an exotic flower tucked behind her ear.

    Her gaze caught the familiar white blossom on her head, and she was pretty sure that it was a rare orchid that only grew in the maze garden in the Summer Castle.

    She had visited there many times with her husband that she hadn''t forgotten what it looked like. ''What was a faerie from the Summer Courts doing in this party unless��.'' Luna''s eyes widened in realization, ''��unless she was with Princess Ourania and that God Hephaestus?''

    The pixie made the mistake of looking over her shoulders and meeting her gaze.

    Her eyes were wider than hers, well, proportionally, and she looked stricken.

    Her thin transparent wings fluttered as fast as a hummingbird as she made a beeline towards the open doors of the terrace.

 Chapter 848 (24)

    <strong>Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (January 2022)</strong>

    <strong>********************************</strong>

    <strong>Archdemon Empress Luna</strong>

    <strong>********************************</strong>

    The faerie''s thin transparent wings fluttered as fast as a hummingbird as she made a beeline towards the open doors of the terrace.

    Luna jerked and pushed Apollyon away in desperation while his hands sped her wide hips a little too tight for someone who had a pregnant wife in front of him.

    For some inexplicable reason, Luna''s body swayed from the gesture as if her half-dead body was floating in the middle of the ocean.

    It made her feel dizzy and ustrophobic that she had to close her eyes to get her bearings once again.

    The urge to throw up was strong and she swallowed really hard to repress it.

    It would be bad for the guests to see her vomit blood--the only thing she can consume as a vampire��and witness the messy puddle on the floor with wide eyes when some of them hadn''t even eaten yet.

    Too distracted with the ck-out, the guests collectively sighed in relief that Luna doubted if anyone actually noticed the creature much less the red wine staining its leaf-like garment.

    Well, what was Luna going to do about it anyway, chase after the peculiar creature while lugging around this additional weight?

    She wouldn''t go that far and the Fae must have probably disappeared by the time she reached the metal banisters.

    Well, she should try, at least.

    "Release me, husband." Shemanded, her eyes shing at Apollyon in defiance.

    His expression hardened and she quickly realized that he didn''t appreciate the imperial tone she used on him.

    She pursed her lips.

    It wasn''t like she could take it back.

    Luna waited, expecting him to obey, pronto, but it seemed like she had forgotten that she married someone as stubborn as her.

    "And, where do you think you are going?" Apollyon growled menacingly and her ears turned red, indignant from his strange suspicion.

    As she looked over Apollyon''s shoulder, her eyes could only trail after the faerie when her limbs couldn''t until it was nowhere to be found.

    Luna closed her eyes and moaned in both agony and regret. ''It was toote.''

    Unfortunately, even the simple gesture sent her mind into a downward spiral.

    "Luna��"

    "Apollyon." Leaning closer to the warmth of his body, which was the only stable thing she could hold unto, she muttered irritably as she clutched at his biceps, "Can you please stay still?"

    To which, her husband responded with, "I am as still as an inanimate object, wife. What is the problem?"

    He caressed her back and that calmed her a bit. Yet, her surly mood didn''t change.

    The pulsating throb in her head and her womb seemed to be connected and it became more and more intense.

    Catching how rude she sounded from earlier, she gritted her teeth and said, "It felt like the world is spinning and I can''t��'' She paused helplessly, "I can''t bring it back to normal."<sub> </sub>

    "Wife." Apollyon''s brows furrowed with concern as he cupped her jaw carefully and made her look up at him, staring deep into her eyes as if he was trying to figure her out. "You are still Luna, right?"

    Her eyebrows lifted sardonically, "What kind of question is that?"

    "Just answer me and don''t argue with me any further." He enunciated patiently but his tense posture was nothing but the opposite of it.

    Her eyshes fluttered close and she breathed, giving up, "Yes, it''s me."

    "Alright," Apollyon grunted and she was relieved of his quick eptance.

    If they had another long argument about this because he didn''t believe her then perhaps, she should just faint to get out of the situation.

    There was no need to do that, though.

    Still, Luna expected him to contest her word a bit longer just in case she wasn''t herself but tonight wasn''t the time.

    Not when she was feeling out of sorts but she tried to get herself together.

    "Are the babies still there?" Apollyon nced down and narrowed his gaze at her bulging stomach. "By chance. They weren''t snatched during the ck-out, right?"

    Feeling a bit defensive, Luna felt the need to protect them from his intense scrutiny so she immediately covered it with her hand, "Do you see my stomach deting?"

    It took Apollyon a moment to respond.

    cing a small palm on her tummy, he waited until he felt the tiniest movement as if that would reassure him that they weren''t stolen from the ckout.

    Luna knew that her babies were still inside her but nobody had any ideas about the limitations of dark magic especially if Archdemons were involved in it.

    Apollyon was terrified at the possibility, it seemed.

    Suddenly, both of them felt a rather powerful kick from where her husband''s palm had connected to her stomach underneath all the white fabric of her gown.

    Doubling over, Luna gasped in both pain and surprise.

    It felt like some spoiled brat had punched her with her little fist and it hurt so bad.

    Her fingers curled unto Apollyon''s forearms to keep herself from falling face t on the floor.

    Now, she felt like vomiting.

    "There is no doubt that the babies are still with us and you are still here with me, wife." Apollyon grinned in satisfaction before he hugged her. "Thank the gods."

    Luna stopped the urge to roll her eyes while she caressed her bulging stomach in an attempt to self-soothe. "I''m still alive and well, husband."

    Apollyon''s Prussian Blue eyes were tender, almost close to devastation, "I was so scared that something had happened to you." ncing around to see if anyone had listened in to their conversation, he switched the conversation in their mind link, ''Do you think you will give birth tonight? Tell me the truth or else��''

    Luna didn''t want to return to the royal bed chamber not after what she saw earlier.

    She needed to tell him something important.

    ''Husband. I should tell you about something that I have seen.'' Luna told her urgently.

    ''What is it?'' Apollyon inclined his head curiously before he took a swig of the wine in his free hand, ''I think I need this drink to prepare myself.''

    "Servants, lock all the exits in this Household!" Someone shouted.

 Chapter 849 25

    <strong>[A/N] Author had applied for a job and got epted. And until now, we still had no wifi. The inte isn''t stable, so I had to look for work that would not need it. Prices of privilege will be more affordable, and I should have done this way earlier, but the typhoon had stopped me from doing so. I apologize. Starting in February, I will only update one chapter a day. I will ce another free coin code tomorrow. At the end of the book, I will give gifts to the top 3 fans as a giveaway, so hopefully, at that point, you can share your address so that I can send it to you. It''s going to be good good good. <3</strong>

    <strong>Tier 2 will be 699 coins with a 50 percent discount every chapter (25 chapters)</strong>

    <strong>Tier 3 will be 1249 coins with a 99 percent discount every chapter (50 chapters)</strong>

    <strong>That''s it.</strong>

    <strong>Thanks for reading.</strong>

    <strong>Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (January 2022)</strong>

    <strong>********************************</strong>

    <strong>Archdemon Empress Luna</strong>

    <strong>********************************</strong>

    "Servants. Lock all the exits in the entire Household!" Someone shouted as the double doors of the Great Hall opened, mming the walls in the process.

    The paintings, ornaments, and tapestries rattled from the sheer force and the urgency of the voice.

    Of course, it sounded familiar.

    The tone might be more demanding than his usual sleepy drawl, but from the Apollyon''s raised eyebrows, he knew that was none other than the Archdemon of Sloth.

    Luna and Apollyon turned their heads in unison with the guests as if they practiced the particr dance step all along.

    They found themselves waiting for his following words with bated breaths.

    Unfortunately, no one breathed, and no one uttered a damn sound.

    "Sloth?" Her light pitch floated into the air, and it echoed until it reached his reddening ears. "What is going on?"

    Luna nced around the rest of the people who stood behind Sloth, breathing hard.

    Ravin, Princess Sapphire, and Xerxes, whom Apollyon had designated to be in charge of Hazelnut Manor''s security, was there with him.

    Even from afar, their expressions didn''t look too good. Ravin, with his dark hair looking messy as if his fingers had dragged it back a hundred times out of his frustration, searched the guests in the Great Hall with a menacing scowl, and it made the structure of his cheekbones more refined.

    He was too distracted to notice the admiring nces of unmarried and married women thrown in her way.

    Despite being positioned farther behind, Ravin managed to snag all the female''s appreciation than Sloth did, even if he was the one who called their attention.

    The bastard wore ck, like her husband, and his forefinger kept massaging his left brow in a weak attempt to calm himself down.

    Never in her life had he seen Ravin trying so hard to hide his panic but fail in it miserably instead.

    Folding her arms over her chest to soothe the strange burning sensation close to jealousy, her muscles tightened as she observed their otherpanions.

    Xerxes was in his formidable werewolf form while Princess Sapphire kept shoving the brown curls from her wandering honey-colored eyes.

    Sloth''s arms were outstretched as if he wouldn''t allow anyone to go in and out of ce without facing him first.<sub> </sub>

    Well, there was no chance he could have prevented it because his wingspan was too short of reaching either side of the door frame unless he switched into a berserker form. But that would destroy the precious Manor they inherited from the Autumn Queen, herself.

    Apollyon cleared his throat and dered, "I see no need to create this incite more chaos. It was just a sudden ckout."

    "Empress Luna." Princess Sapphire approached them in the middle of the dance floor, and the guests had stepped backward to give her a wide berth. "Something had happened."

    Who were they looking for?

    What did they do?

    Who was the culprit, and how dangerous were they?

    So, many questions were left unanswered, and she wanted them immediately.

    She would wee any bizarre scenarios as long as it wasn''t the Archdemon of Lust who managed to infiltrate the Household and hid in here before ying the most brutal peek-a-boo in her shortened life.

    This was hardly the time to do that since they weren''t prepared for it.

    They were in a Wine Tasting Party, for the goddess'' sake.

    Yet, when it rained, it poured.

    "Can you just tell me what it is?" As she narrowed her gaze at Apollyon''s half-sister., Luna whispered when she stopped in front of her. "Stop stalling Princess Sapphire."

    She tilted her head to the side, she mouthed. "I don''t think it would be proper for the guests to hear what I am about to say."

    "What are the two of you whispering about?"

    Gesturing at Sloth to finally put his arms down and step aside, Ravin interrupted her husband as he strode towards the same path that Princess Sapphire had taken to stand beside the little girl.

    "Let''s get out of the Great Hall first and leave the rest of the guests behind, Amare." He said, addressing her, and Luna wondered in apprehension, ''What made him think that Apollyon, her real mate and husband, would just hand her over to his rival without any protest?''

    If Apollyon did that, Luna would be more than worried.

    Her Archdemon Familiars hadn''t even borated what the fuss was about.

    Then, Ravin had the nerve to nce at Apollyon, and his voice lowered into a baritone. "Vampire King, you must remain here."

    Luna and Apollyon''s mouths parted in surprise.

    At this point, Luna assumed the Archdemon had gone crazy, ordering Apollyon about as if their roles had been reversed. Where the Hell did he cultivate all this audacity?

    It must be from Hell, of course.

    "Your absence might rm your guests even more. Leaving Amare here and dragging you away from here, instead, to inform you of the events that had transpired earlier will leave her vulnerable to the enemies. We had no idea if they were here, hiding underneath an borate mour that even Archdemons find it hard to detect. The Great Hall is toorge, and there are too many strangers to sift through. " Ravin continued with gritted teeth. "I did not know how the thieves had sneaked inside the Manor when we examined every single one of the guests for weapons and tested their magical abilities like what Amare had told us. Since this is our responsibility as her Familiars, Vampire King, we will quickly handle the issue. A safe pregnancy for her is my utmost priority."

    "Safety?" Apollyon stepped forward and rammed an insolent finger on the Archdemon''s chest. "You don''t do it enough as her Familiar. Being such a failure is the only thing you are good at, Ravin." She could hear the smirk in his tone. "That is why you aren''t chosen as her mate."

    "Apollyon��"

    Ravin half-shrugged and replied coolly, "��but she had now chosen my blood, and you can''t deny that, either."

 Chapter 850 26

    <strong>Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (January 2022)</strong>

    <strong>********************************</strong>

    <strong>Archdemon Empress Luna</strong>

    <strong>********************************</strong>

    Ravin half-shrugged and replied coolly,"��but she had now chosen my blood, and you can''t deny that, either."

    That rendered her husband speechless.

    The public would misunderstand this and blow things out of proportion.

    Did Ravin, the general who led the Order of the Selcis, have to imply that�� thatLuna had cuckolded the husband who made her pregnant to choose another man?

    She could see the wide expanse of Apollyon''s back, and she didn''t miss the slight flinch before his shoulder muscles tensed.

    Apollyon, not saying anything, would imply that it was simply the truth.

    Disconcerted, Luna blinked slowly at the situation before shutting her eyes tight and massaging her brows.

    She could sense another wave of a headacheing.

    Yet, she wouldn''t dare swoon in front of the guests that had inconspicuously formed their groups to gossip as they watched the tableau with wide, curious eyes.

    When she noticed that all eyes were on the Ravin and Apollyon posturing in front of a pregnant woman, Luna immediately huddled closer.

    She pulled at her husband''s forearm so that he wouldn''t add fuel to the bonfire that had the potential to reach up the ceiling, lighting everyone up with a potential explosion of rage.

    The veins on his arms flexed as he clenched and unclenched his fists.

    The more she became more anxious, the habit of biting her nails became more frequent.

    Her stress had increased due to brooding about the future most of the time, but she couldn''t seem to release these concerns.

    That affected her mind as well.

    The urge to solve everything by simply eliminating herself and the babies from the equation was strong to end all their suffering.

    But Apollyon loved her too much, so he would probably hate her for that.

    ''Goddess, please!'' As she pulled at her husband''s arm, she gave him a pleading look when he finally nced down. She hoped Apollyon would brush the challenge off and let it slide.

    No, perhaps, he wouldn''t.

    He would grab every chance he would get so that he could get back at Ravin and humiliate him.

    Her husband was too prideful to let that opportunity pass.

    At the same time, Ravin had taken pleasure in goading him, and as long as they were in the same space, that would never end.<sub> </sub>

    She had no idea why she even thought she couldn''t trust him to shield her from this.

    Trust.

    All she needed was to trust him, but she couldn''t help but feel that things were about to break down into pieces. A sharp breath was caught in her throat, and she found it hard to breathe.

    The sound didn''t escape Apollyon. He turned his head to look at her, and all of a sudden, tears ran down her face.

    She shook her head and turned away from her husband''s gaze, trying not to feel and push her emotions into the dark basement of her mind and collect some dust, but it was like a broken dam that couldn''t be stopped.

    Unfortunately, it was impossible.

    She could barely hear everyone''s concerned gasp from her loud, beating heart.

    "Wife." Apollyonfaced her andasked in rm."Why are you crying?"

    A moan of distress trembled on her lips.

    She tried to twist away so that she could bury her face in her hands so that no one would see.

    However, his hands already had a tight grip on her elbows."I guess my emotions are too over the ce." Giving up, Luna replied weakly. "I apologize for being weak."

    "You are not weak. You are just pregnant, and you are trying to keep your mind, body, and soul together for the babes." Apollyon said gently as he settled a palm in her cheek, his thumbs brushing every pearl of tears that fell on his skin.

    Her head came to rest on his chest, and he found herself caught up in his strong arms when his legs weakened. "Crying will help release all that tension and stress that had built inside you right now. Let it out, and don''t suppress it."

    Luna clutched her arms around Apollyon''s neck as she sobbed harder and shuddered.

    "It''s the after-effects of your mind living too much in the past and being too desperate about the future. It''s a sweet, heavy chain of your own making, Lune." She heard Sloth say.

    As usual, thatzy Archdemon didn''t make sense, but her mind seemed to agree to that even if it wasn''t clear to her just yet. "You are doing great. You will give birth to healthy babies because you are healthy yourself."

    "Do not worry about this, Amare. We will handle everything for you." Ravin said softly, but his following words turned her insides hollow. "Doyou want to return to your room?"

    Did everyone around her have to treat her as if she was a damned child they could imprison in a room at their convenience?

    "No." She whispered while her husband wiped the tears staining her cheeks. It was just a momentary weakness, a chip in her armor. It wouldn''t happen again. "I will see this through."

    "Brother,make sure to stop everyone from escaping while Princess Sapphire and I inform the Empress that--"

    "No need." Apollyon brought her to his side so they could face the Archdemon together. Then, he sped a possessive arm around her waist. "She isn''t going anywhere with you, Archdemon."

    "Then, if you wouldn''t allow her and insist on being stubborn despite the danger, I would like to ask for her permission so that I canmunicate directly in her thoughts." Ravin stared darkly at her.

    Luna nced at Apollyon to see if he would be alright with it so that they could get this over with.

    "Go ahead, Luna. Allow him to do it. I wouldn''t be petty this time." Apollyon sounded amused that it scared her a little. "Just do the talking in front of me." He told her, but his blue eyes never left Ravin''s. "No sneaking around with other males that I don''t trust aside from your husband."

 Chapter 851 27

    <strong>Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (January 2022)</strong>

    <strong>********************************</strong>

    <strong>Archdemon Empress Luna</strong>

    <strong>********************************</strong>

    "Go ahead, Luna. Allow him to do it. I wouldn''t be petty this time." Apollyon sounded amused that it scared her a little. "Just do the talking in front of me." He prompted, and his blue eyes never left Ravin''s. "No sneaking around with other males that I don''t trust aside from your husband."

    The statement earned a chuckle from the Archdemon. "How controlling, Vampire King."

    Tilting his head at him, he drawled and gestured at her. "You think women like that particr trait in their mates? Women like Amare value respect and their freedom very much. She had told me so when we used to be��." He paused as if hesitating whether he should reveal something more and irk Apollyon even more, but it ended with, "��together."

    "She isn''t like another woman. Don''t lump her in with the women you have known because she is one of a kind." Apollyon''s hand was on top of her head as he petted her like she were his cat.

    It wasn''t proper to touch her like that as purebreddies and gentlemen gaped at them, but she had no objection.

    She would never shy away from her husband''s touch.

    "My destined mate only belonged to me. If she loves me and still considers me as your mate, then she should be fine with it." ncing down at her, his warm hand continued to massage her head, "Right, wife?"

    She was too exhausted to prove him wrong. "I am fine with it."

    Ravin''s mouth curved into an arrogant smirk. "Continue scaring her and driving her away with this possessiveness so that she will run towards me."

    Apollyon was silent for a moment before he replied coolly, "No woman will settle for the second option if they had the best of the best."

    "If you say so." Ravin gave him a half-shrug before he switched his attention to her.

    << someone attempted to kidnap Princess Sapphire, Amare..>>

    Oh, my goddess!

    <<Was it Hephaestus?>> She prompted, and she hoped that her desperation wouldn''t show as she tried to keep her face nd.

    It wasn''t the bad news she had expected, but it was better than weing the Archdemon of Lust to their doorstep.

    Luna didn''t want her husband to worry about the little things when he had a lot on his te right now.

    <<I initially thought it was him, but ording to the girl, it was a female. >> Ravin''s mouth pressed into a tight line.

    Meanwhile, her brows ha furrowed in confusion.

    <

    ><sub> </sub>

    <<"It crossed my mind, but it was impossible. You forgot that Sloth had made her invalid.>> Ravin continued to project his thoughts. <<She couldn''t stand. Much less abduct a strong twelve-year-old girl.>>

    Luna nodded in agreement.

    Narrowing her eyes at him, she had to ask him again to be sure. <<You told us that she had visited the Autumn Castle with Hephaestus after Apollyon went home early from the Autumn Pce, right?>>

    <<Yes, and I stood by that truth. I have seen her, but I didn''t get the chance to talk to her.>> Ravin affirmed, and Luna noticed that their group''s silence seemed to assure the guests that everything was alright and nobody was in actual danger. They just resumed dancing, eating, drinking wines, or to whatever they were doing before the quick ckout. At least, nobody had tried to escape and followed Sloth''s order in peace.>>

    << How did she manage to arrive her safely?>>

    <<I had no idea how Hephaestus brought the crazy woman here, but I am confident that she wouldn''t be able to stand after what Sloth did. I saw her in a wheelchair before she went to a private room to talk to Queen Morgan, and I don''t think that was a pretense.>> Ravin replied patiently.

    <

    >

    <<That seemed to be the only logical exnation.>> The deep baritone echoing in her mind had jarred her a little that it took her a few seconds to figure out that it was, indeed, her husband.

    Her head immediately whipped to the side, and his hand fell from the top of her head so that she could stroke her short silver hair.

    <<Apollyon! Were you eavesdropping on the conversation all along?>>

    <<I am your mate, so I should be part of these meetings of the minds. I am offended that you are shocked. Ignore me and continue.>> Apollyon was a natural in moving the conversation forward. <<So, does this mean that Hephaestus and Ourania weren''t able to infiltrate the Household? Are we facing another unknown enemy here?>>

    <<Well, that unknown enemy we are talking about here almost stole your grimoire, but she just tore a page, only one. >> It was Sloth who answered Apollyon''s question, and she scowled at him when he stepped forward a little.

    How was he able to join this discussion without her permission?

    Maybe, it was because they had a connection through the ''master-familiar'' bond.

    <<How did that person manage to open it when it was locked? I sealed it with the Underworld Magic that Hecate bestowed me.>> At that moment, Luna realized something else. <

    >

    << In that particr box in your closet were the maidservants folded your lingeries and undergarments.>> His words came out in an ashamed rush.

    <<How did you know where it was exactly if you hadn''t been rummaging there?>> Apollyon had his priorities as a husband.

    He always asked the right questions.

    <<Don''t get me wrong. My Archdemon senses just told me it was there. I ignored the thin ckces and ribbon drawers and never imagined you wearing them. I don''t think it would suit you.>> Luna didn''t miss the telltale flush on Sloth''s cheekbones as he tried to change the topic. <<We had no idea how someone could get past our defenses. My brother and I were cautious and monitored each face of our guests andmitted it to memory. We will know if someone has gone missing..>>

    Well, there was someone she was suspicious of.

    Luna opened her mouth to speak. "The opera singer seemed to have disappeared after��"

    She didn''t finish her words because someone had attacked her from the side.

 Chapter 852 Take Her Away From Here

    <strong>Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (February 2022)</strong>

    <strong>********************************</strong>

    <strong>Archdemon Empress Luna</strong>

    <strong>********************************</strong>

    She didn''t finish her words because therge handced with hers squeezed her so hard before Apollyon''s knees dropped to the floor beside her as if they had given up on him all of a sudden.

    Before she could ask what was wrong with him, Apollyon raised his head, looked at her with Prussian Blue eyes that had turned into glowing rubies.

    His ws grabbed her by her legs and she cried out when she fell with him.

    Her knees hurt from hernding since she didn''t want to hurt her babies in any way now that she felt so close to giving birth.

    Luna could feel it in her bones.

    Holding her jaw, Apollyon brought her face close to her and she squirmed against his grip.

    His expression didn''t seem to look like the husband she knew from the start.

    It wasn''t obvious but through their link, wrath and blood lust flooded his mind to hers likeva.

    In that moment, everything she knew about Apollyon.

    His devouring gaze raked underneath her gown andrge paw savagely tore the the front bodice of her gown.

    A sound of distress escaped from her lips as she quickly folded her arms over her chest to cover her exposed nipples in front of the guests.

    Yes, he was her husband but would she really nod in affirmation if he wanted to rape her in front of everyone just because his lust for blood had ailed her out of the blue?

    Apollyon didn''t seem to care as his bloodshot eyes tracked her slight movements.

    His wine scented breath wafted from her nose. His lips cracked into a sinister grin before his snarling fangs bit her neck.

    Upon seeing this, Ravin quickly shot forward that he almost appeared like he was teleporting in mere seconds.

    He grabbed her arms immediately from her rabid husband and forced her to stand before he flung her to the side so hard that Luna already braced her huge, pregnant form to shatter the floor to ceiling windows from the Great Hall.

    A shiver of panic went through her.

    Closing her eyes, she gritted her teeth to brace the impact.

    Her scream wasn''t quite released from her lips before the hard ss came close to touching her.

    Luna heard an almost silent p of Archdemon wings.

    In a split second, she felt a solid chest and stomach cushioning her back.

    Peering over her shoulder, she glimpsed the Archdemon who held her in such a secure andforting grip.

    Sloth arrived just in time to catch her from Ravin''s seemingly aimless throw.

    Frantic, she held on Sloth''s shoulders for dear life while he carried her in his arms and carefully descended back to the ground.

    Sloth might have felt her shame and difort for her exposure and he acted fast, settling her upper body as gently as he could on the marble floors so that she could lie on her back.

    Hunching in a ball to protect her naked flesh, she found a huge shape looming over between her and Apollyon and Ravin, blocking all the light in her vision.

    She couldn''t see anymore.<sub> </sub>

    She also didn''t notice that she lost her consciousness for a second there.

    His sinewy arms stretched towards her so that he could help her secure whatever was left on his gown.

    Luna stirred when Sloth''s cold hands cradled her ripe body as he whispered in her ear to wake the fuck up.

    The mind link with her familiars weren''t broken yet and Sloth''s concern made fearful prickles on her head.

    She was certain that the intense emotions weren''t hers.

    Ravin distracted his insane husband from killing his pregnant wife and fought him.

    Seizing her husband with both hands, Ravin tackled him in hopes to pummel him to death. Apollyon quickly rolled his back as fast as possible so that he could stand upright.

    Confused, she had no idea who to side on in this brawl.

    She would have chosen to support her husband above all else but how could she when Apollyon tried to hurt her and their unborn baby?

    It was Ravin who managed to save her from the Vampire King''s insanity.

    What was wrong with her husband?

    Seeing her from the corner of his eye, Apollyon stalked towards her and Sloth but Ravin stopped him from advancing further.

    She gasped.

    From Ravin''s glower, it appeared like he was ready to snap her husband''s neck into two.

    Luna wanted to stop him before it''s toote.

    Ravin grappled with Apollyon t to his back and he did it without breaking a sweat.

    Apollyon was strong but his half-hooded eyes seemed to hint at intoxication.

    Perhaps, it was one of the wines brought by the guests that made him feel like this.

    They continued fighting to the floor and attempting to take over each other, crashing a lot of things on the process.

    Ravin put all of his strength in his fists before inflicting a massive blow to his handsome face.

    His iron knuckles hit his jaw and a steady flow of blood trickled down from the corner of his lips.

    The strange thing about this was that Apollyon seemed to beughing the whole time as if he was enjoying himself. Her husband had lost his mind.

    Every furniture and adornments at the Great Hall was already in shambles.

    Tables were overturned, the flowers inside the vases were strewn across the floor and wine sses and bottles had shattered.

    Icy tension filled the air and the shrill screams around her sent chills down her spine.

    Ravin lifted her husband from the ground and hurtled him across the room tond against the old aristocrats screaming like a sissy.

    Luna heard shouts of rms everywhere that didn''t make sense to her because her blood was too busy roaring in her ears.

    Her frightened scream seemed to overwhelm his mind and jar him from the dangerouspulsion.

    Ravin finally paid attention to Luna''s terrified cries as he let out a menacing growl.

    "Take her away."

 Chapter 853 He Is Not Your Husband

    <strong>Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (February 2022)</strong>

    <strong>********************************</strong>

    <strong>Archdemon Empress Luna</strong>

    <strong>********************************</strong>

    He finally paid attention to Luna''s terrified cries as he let out a menacing growl. "Take her away."

    Lightning fast, Ravin pounced on him again, and feral growls ripped Apollyon''s throat.

    "But she is going to be weak without you!" The instant Sloth''s voice came through, his fierce eyes cleared as if he was getting a hold of himself.

    "Then, let her drink your blood so that she can quickly regain her strength. Go!" He said urgently. "Too much of her blood from his bite had already dripped on the floor!"

    Her gaze flew quickly to his clenched fist and in that split second, he noticed that the back of his hand had gone purple.

    The horrible condition rose to an exposed muscr arm of his.

    There was a moment during the battle where Apollyon had used his magic on him.

    He might have dodged the attack but it ripped almost half of his princely long-sleeved shirt in the process.

    Ravin wasn''t supposed to punch and rearrange her drunk husband''s handsome face like this because he was bound to an oath.

    No matter the circumstances, he was not to injure the Vampire King, his Master''s beloved, or they would be hell to pay.

    The more he hurt Apollyon, the more he was going to hurt himself.

    It had already begun when his demonic ichor had bled from the corner of his eyes, his ears, and the curve of his mouth.

    She made the mistake of inhaling his scent in the air and her mouth watered.

    Horrified, she quickly realized that it wasn''t Apollyon''s blood that she was craving.

    It was Ravin''s and tonight''s brawl had proven that.

    As the two powerful beings grappled viciously, Apollyon gained the upper hand this time and m Ravin against the wall.

    His back collided on the hard surface so strongly that it had copsed and sent him to another empty next to it.

    For good measure, he seized the table and threw it at him.

    Ravin used his Archdemon magic immediately and the wood crumbled into pieces before it even reached him.

    He leaped to him and held Ravin''s neck with both hands in a cruel grip.

    Yet, she couldn''t stand seeing her familiar hurting the one she loved.

    Throaty snarls and loud screeches filled the room.

    Ravin''s hands closed around her husband''s throat.

    Apollyon''s narrowed eyes were the only evidence of the pain he felt.

    Their faces were full of cuts and wounds but hurt never crossed their countenance or perhaps, both of them simply ignored it as if they were automatons.

    "Apollyon! Apollyon! What happened to you?"

    Luna wanted to run to her husband''s side and pry her Archdemon familiar away from him but she didn''t have the strength.

    Filled with rage, Apollyon shifted to the left and brought his blood-soaked fist to punch him in the nose.<sub> </sub>

    Ravin''s Archdemon blood exploded on the fabric of his clothes.

    "Amare. You can see it with your own two eyes that he had gone feral!" Ravin bellowed with gritted teeth. Groaning, Apollyon struck back and aimed for his stomach and ribs but that didn''t deter the Archdemon from crushing his windpipes. "He can''t recognize you!"

    "If you just allow me to move closer so that he could see my face, he would recognize me as his wife from my scent alone��"

    While Ravin shoved Apollyon out of the way, he paused when he heard the word, husband, from Amare''s lips.

    Ravin''s fingers dug into Apollyon''s shoulder as he incited his fury all the more.

    From what the Vampire King had done to their mate, nothing less than murder would have sufficed.

    Sloth hauled her back when she attempted to go to Apollyon and force him to recognize her.

    "Brother. Get her away from here! If you think this feral dog will recognize you, you are out of your damn mind." Tears flowed down her cheeks as Ravin''s roar assaulted her ears with the irrevocable truth. "Sloth, take her away to the Autumn Pce."

    Her eyes widened and she couldn''t take his eyes off them as they delivered blood-sttering blows to each other.

    "I can''t. The binding oath will prevent me. If shemanded me that we are not going anywhere, then I must follow her orders whether I liked it or not."

    Wanting to stop the two from hurting each other more, she tried to bolt around her Familiar but he grabbed her so hard that his hands bruised her arms and shoulders.

    "Oh, no you don''t!"

    It appeared like Ravin had given him to Sloth that he could fight Apolllyon without her standing in the way.

    The Archdemon Familiar would protect her and prevent her interference at the same time.

    He twisted her arms behind her back.

    "Would you just stop struggling, Lune? You are already hurt enough!" Sloth hissed as he mped an arm around her to haul her tight against him when he tried to pull away.

    Yet, she was determined to go to Apollyon.

    Sloth cursed at her and held her tighter. "Don''t strain yourself or you are really going to give birth right here right now."

    "Convince her! She can''t think straight with her head lolling around from that huge gash on her neck." Ravin shouted.

    Luna forgot that Apollyon had almost ripped her throat.

    The skin around her neck had mostly gone numb except for the sharp needles prickling on the wound itself.

    Perhaps, the abundance of Archdemon blood in her body helped her to heal, albeit, slowly.

    It was good that Ravin had reminded her since her mind was going in and out of consciousness.

    "Do it fast, Sloth. Please."

    She lurched forward as she sobbed, terrified at the scene she had witnessed at the Great Hall.

    Sloth held her by the arms and he pulled her backward as they hid into the corner, turning invisible.

    Chandeliers had fallen from the ceiling and the wine ss and bottles shattered on the floor.

    "Lune. If you want to keep the baby safe from her father, we had to go. He hurt you tonight. You need to wrap the idea around your head that the man who fought Ravin is not your husband. He is afflicted by blood lust. Since the rogue vampire recognized you as his mate, you possess the blood that he could only drink. Do you know what that means? The three of us are all going straight to Hell while your husband carries off your dead, heavily pregnant body so that he could drain you from your life essence. Exciting, isn''t it? I can''t wait for us three to go home. You are going to meet Lucifer and Satan again and they are going to torture the hell out of you for escaping Hell. Do you want that?"

    "No. You and Ravin had to keep your promise. It is in our binding oath that you will keep us alive."

    "Well, not unless you remove Ravin from his oath about not harming your husband in any way. That order of yours is now doing more harm than good. Ravin is a strong Archdemon with Archdemon Magic at his disposal. The oath you forced him to swear is stopping him from taking him down, Lune."

 Chapter 854 [Bonus Chapter] Get Out Of Here

    <strong>Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (February 2022)</strong>

    <strong>********************************</strong>

    <strong>Archdemon Empress Luna</strong>

    <strong>********************************</strong>

    "If you die tonight, it will be your fault�� and the Vampire King. Do you think he will ever want to live after he returns to normal and finds out about the tragedy he had brought upon his family? Do something about it, quickly, before the Vampire King gets to you. Make up your mind, right now, Lune." Sloth''s mouth was set into a grim line. "To be honest, all of your orders sh with each other, and it was close to driving us mad. Madder, I mean. I''m not someone that you can define as sane."

    "You can take him down, Ravin. You can hurt him until he goes unconscious, but you are not allowed to kill him." Her voice wavered when she added, "He must remain alive."

    "That would be difficult for my brother, Lune. Amend it." Sloth barked orders at her, and she ignored every single word.

    The bastard had no right to order her around when she was her Master while he was a mere familiar.

    "You want me to approve of Ravin killing my husband?" Her head ached, and every inch of her skin felt bruised. "My head is aching from your nonsense, Sloth."

    "It should have been your neck or your whole body that should be aching. Not your head."

    Her stomach was knotted with contractions.

    She opened her mouth and shrieked her lungs out, but before the cry burst out from her lips, she mped her palms over them to not rm the two men who were fighting to the death.

    When she took her next breath, shudders racked through her.

    Her weak legs gave out, and she found herself kneeling on the floor again.

    "Shut up. My stomach hurts." She closed her eyes and let out an unsteady breath, trying to amodate the multitude of pains that assailed her. "I feel like I''m about to give birth, Sloth."

    "I had no experience with assisting births, Lune. Except monitoring dragons as theyy their eggs. Unfortunately, you are not a dragon, and you don''ty eggs." "Please don''t do it in front of me. Suck the vampire babies inside and hold it for now."

    Breathing heavily, he slid a hand over her bulging stomach in a weak attempt to shield her babies.

    Blood seemed to trickle between her legs, staining the white gown she wore.

    It seemed to disarm the Vampire King a bit.

    His body stopped in mid-motion and jerked his head up.

    He seemed to search the crowd in the Great Hall from where she and Sloth stood a the corner.

    ? He knew that something was wrong with her other than her desire to talk to a vampire who had suddenly gone rogue.

    Apollyon''s gaze shot in her bulging stomach.

    Everyone turned to pause.

    Did he remember her now?

    Unfortunately, this turned into an unwee distraction.<sub> </sub>

    From out of nowhere, an Archdemon dagger materialized in Ravin''s hand.

    Luna shrieked when he stabbed her husband''s back so deep that she could see the sharp tip going over his chest and ruthlessly withdrew the long knife, which left a gaping red hole near his heart.

    Luna desired to hand her husband a weapon to make it even, but Apollyon had lost all his sanity and control, his face only belonging to that of a ruthless savage.

    At first, Luna thought that Ravin had killed him for good with the fatalistic dagger, but his vampire body only jerked from the attack before he pivoted and kicked the hand that clutched the hilt of his dagger.

    It fell to the ground and Apollyon was able to snatch it from Ravin because his knees suddenly gave out after the severe injury he had inflicted upon the Vampire King.

    Ravin must find it hard to work around the new binding oath because she refused to amend it.

    She wanted to let out a sigh of relief but Luna''s breathing turned hot and ragged.

    Luna released another piercing scream from the agony of invisible giant scissors shing inside her womb.

    She cried out from the physical pain.

    It hurt like hell and she couldn''t make sense of her surroundings except for the things that we''re currently happening inside her. She heard another earth-shattering scream and she realized it came from her own mouth.

    "Oh goddess, help me!"

    Luna''s frantic hands reached for him and she wrapped her trembling hands around his neck.

    She could feel another spurt of blood flowing on her thighs helplessly and it rmed her that she found no alternative but to beg her Archdemon Familiar to make her feel better.

    Sloth inched closer to her as he soothed and stroked her gently until she begin to rx a little.

    Her tears soaked his shirt.

    "Bring one birth attendant with you and leave, Sloth. I ept Amare''s newmand."

    He immediately did his bidding with lightning speed and Apollyon followed Ravin right behind him.

    This time, Xerxes, who was protecting Princess Sapphire from the side tried to help Ravin defeat Apollyon at the young princess''smand.

    He lunged at Apollyon from the back while Ravin continued to swipe at the Vampire King from left to right and back again with his ws, leaving streaks of blood across Apollyon''s chest, arms and face.

    Still, he was able to tear at Ravin better with the stolen dagger.

    Apollyon might be immortal but the wound in his chest had slowed him downpared to Ravin.

    She stared, terrified at him and for her husband. At this rate, this battle would never end if the other one wasn''t dead.

    "Xerxes, scent thedy who almost took your princess and scrutinize each faces carefully just in case the bitch switched to another mour. I know they are still here." The Archdemon denied his help and gave him another mission instead, iming that the huge werewolf was getting in his way. "We can''t let them get away with the page they tore from Hecate''s grimoire."

    Xerxes gave a slight nod and reverted back to his human form.

    The rest of the menservants caught up with Xerxes as they spread out in search for the missingdy.

 Chapter 855 Childbirth Is Hell On Earth

    <strong>[A/N] My beloved cat diedst Saturday and until now my sister and I are traumatized. RIP Minggoy. Until now, there is a lingering shame and guilt I felt from my cat''s death since I dewormed him again after a week when I should have waited after two-three weeks ording to the inte. I just want him to get better since he was suffering from diarrhea and the man where we bought the dewormer told us to let him take it after a week. Now, he is dead because of me and it''s my fault. I would never forget the fear in his eyes when he knew that he was going to die that day. I also had a booster shotst Monday and my arm hurts so bad since the vine booster was injected on my dominant arm. My fingers were all swollen and numb and I was a bit fine today. All the events that happened in February weren''t conducive for writing. I apologize and thanks for waiting.</strong>

    <strong>****************************</strong>

    <strong>Archdemon Empress Luna</strong>

    <strong>****************************</strong>

    "Stop squirming or I might drop you." Sloth nced down at her with what used to be forest green eyes but now it had bled to ck.

    His eyes were as dark as the night sky as they flew, traveling from the Hazelnut Manor to the Autumn Pce.

    At that point, Luna knew that the Archdemon wasn''t concerned about removing his mour and exposed his Archdemon wings in in sight.

    It was either he lost his concentration out of sheer panic or he had simply reached the point of not caring at all.

    Faeries might assume that he was one of the demons outside who managed to infiltrate the Autumn Courts.

    Opening her eyes, she nced around the atmosphere in case a Fae had encountered the two of them and alerted the rest.

    There was no one in the starry night except them and she found no other reason to be rmed.

    Luna already had contractions multiple times in an hour earlier at the Wine Tasting Party but it didn''t just end there.

    Nevertheless, she found herself strong enough to manage it while she suffered throughout the ordeal, still clutching Sloth''s shoulders hard as if it was her lifeline.

    "Put me down." Shemanded with gritted teeth and Sloth''s arm behind her thighs and her back tightened. He had no ns of letting him go. "I need to return to Apollyon."

    For some reason, she couldn''t bring herself to utter Sloth''s name to force him to do her bidding.

    She just couldn''t. Did her Archdemon Familiar put her in some kind of spell?

    "You are hurt," Sloth muttered under his breath as he brought her closer to his chest. "I need to get you somewhere safe forbor."

    "I''m alright." She insisted as she clung to him like he was her lifeline.

    "It''s still not going to happen even if you tell me you are alright." Raising his head, Sloth stared nkly onto the distance and grumbled, "I''m tired from moving around the whole day. Yet, for you, I''m trying my best. You better give me time to sleep after all of this is done. I don''t want the three of us to get Hell yet. I have been there since forever."

    "Sloth��" Luna only managed to groan when she felt this sudden sensation of lightning hit her crotch, making her legs cramp.

    The unbearable difort in her lower body made her want to scream and she already passed out before she could hear what Sloth was about to tell her.

    "I will have to stop you if I have to. You are staying with me until we return to the Autumn Castle." Sloth said brusquely and in that instant, he could feel her entire muscles rx all of a sudden as if she was dead to the world.<sub> </sub>

    "Lune. Are you still alive?" His horrified gaze fastened to her parted blue lips before it fluttered to her closed lids.

    "Wake up. WAKE UP! Wake up for me, Lune." He shook her but not that hard that her brain might be dislodged from her head. "You had to be conscious during the childbirth or the babies might get trapped if you don''t push it out!"

    His loud voice almost destroyed her eardrums that it brought her back to this realm at once. "I thought you wanted me to suck them back to my stomach! I''m trying hard right now. Now stop shouting at in my ears." She responded irritably. "Let me calm down and rest."

    The wrinkles on her forehead and her furrowed brows eased when she started to doze off after the worst of her contractions ended.

    Sloth allowed her a long moment of reprieve before he encountered another problem that he couldn''t solve on his own.

    "The barriers. Wouldn''t. Let. Me. Pass." Sloth uttered each word and paused between the next as his broad shoulder pushed against this invisible barrier hadn''t encountered yet.

    He tried to hit a specific area lot of times until it breaks from his strength but the power of these barriers was too potent.

    Sloth followed Lune''s instructions carefully about not venturing this far as her Archdemon Familiar but he never expected this phenomenon to happen.

    It was none other than the effect of the binding oath, what else? "Lune. Luna." Sloth scowled at her seemingly innocent sleeping face and shook her again to wake her up, "Did you just pass out or just asleep?" He just had to make sure. "I want to sleep too. But, no one can help us when we are already this far. I am the only one responsible for you. I mean, for four souls."

    At that moment, Sloth realized that he was talking to himself so he decided to descend to the forest to rest.

    His sister-inw must be simply exhausted from the earthquakes he sensed on her bulging stomach. It was good that she gave him reassurance that she was alright half an hour earlier.

    He would know if something was wrong with her if he witnessed her turn into dust and go into the ethers.

    <strong>**************************</strong>

    <strong>Archdemon of Sloth </strong>

    <strong>Prince of the 7th Circle of Hell</strong>

    <strong>**************************</strong>

    Sloth gentlyid the Empress he had carried on the grass bed that he made in a hurry while he sat by a bonfire to keep them warm��no, not warm��but at least it gave them light from the pitch-ck of their surroundings.

    He sat casually on a dead log near her makeshift bed and chewed on a leaf he picked up from the ground out of boredom.

    It had been a long time since hest ate a dark soul and he wished an entity would get lost enough to approach him there in the forest so that he could simply devour it without leaving the Empress''s side.

    He continued to stare at the dancing mes reflected on the huge skirts of her white gown stained with blood but the piercing sound of a banshee screaming broke him out of his reverie.

    It seemed like Luna had rested well enough before the contractions started again.

 Chapter 856 Coward No More

    <strong>Highest Tier for the Newest Chapter (February 2022)</strong>

    <strong>**************************</strong>

    <strong>Archdemon Empress Luna</strong>

    <strong>**************************</strong>

    Her lower abdomen tightened and the strong contractions took her breath away.

    All of themsted longer than a minute and it felt like her heart was about to explode out of fear.

    Luna hadn''t experienced something like this before as she realized that she finally reached the peak of hypersensitivity.

    She also experienced a dull ache in her back as it moved to the front to wrap around her abdomen and pelvis.

    The pressure had be too intense that only crying and thrashing on her makeshift grass bed could make it bearable.

    Yet, Luna had never considered giving up.

    She was determined to sessfully give birth in this world.

    She didn''t want to let her daughters think that she didn''t fight for their existence until thest minute even if the angel of death hade knocking at her door.

    She would not give up on the precious little life inside of her.

    Their daughter will represent thest hope and love she had for her mate.

    Their heiress, Leonora, was the final proof of her promises to Apollyon.

    "Sloth." She wailed his familiar''s name but she was too distracted to realize that he was already there beside her on his knees.

    Sloth raised her head so that he could cradle her in his arms. It took her a lot of courage to admit her weakness to the Archdemon Familiar.

    Luna swallowed hard and moaned, "I hurt very much."

    "Again?" The Archdemon''s eyes widened and then his brows furrowed. "Calm down. Breathe." He said as he took several deep breaths which Luna feltpelled to follow as she nced up at him.

    "I don''t know what to do with a pregnant woman." His hands made several gestures above her as if he had no idea where to put them. "What in the hell�� Please don''t let me handle this." He shook his head in denial and turned his head away from her in his guilt. "Not tonight."

    It was Luna''s first time to see him so rmed and panicky just because she was about to give birth.

    It was such an interesting sight to see her Familiar like this but not when she was pregnant and suffering from these damned contractions.

    She felt like everything in her was swollen and her back ached and Sloth''s behavior made her want to gauge his yes out to keep her head cool.

    He was terribly fortunate that her clenched fists didn''t feel inclined to leave her huge belly as they clutched the fabric of her gown.

    Sloth''s expression looked queasy and she had never felt insulted in her life.

    "Fuck you." She screamed as beads of sweat and tears trickled to her hairline. "Just go and leave me alone then! Why are you even here with me?"

    "What nonsense? I''m your familiar!" The color drained from his delicate yet chiseled face when her pregnant self attempted to get up without his assistance despite the aches.

    Crouching like a cat, Luna positioned her palms on the ground and both her knees on the dirt. "I don''t want you to see me like this. I''m too weak. I don''t deserve to be your master."<sub> </sub>

    "You still had the energy to think about your pride? You can throw that away now." He barked at her.

    Sloth''s frustration must have reached his limit.

    "Release me please." Luna choked on a sob as she proceeded to crawl away from him on all fours as if that would keep her dignity intact. "I can��can give birth on my own. You don''t have to deal with me. Go away, Archdemon." She persisted stonily as she bit her lip when another contraction came and went��sometimes weaker or stronger. "I can handle this."

    Luna had felt the power shift between them and she surrendered to it.

    She couldn''t do this on her own, not when her husband had gone ballistic and Ravin was trying to subdue him.

    Walking and moving around with this belly can be exhausting but as long as her husband was by her side, she could endure it.

    Unless, if she was really thirsty.

    Luna''s throat was so parched that Ravin''s suggestion to drink Sloth''s blood began to appeal to her very much.

    Her eyes shed at the pulsing carotid on her Familiar''s neck and she immediately closed her eyes to stop her train of thought.

    Entangling another Familiar in this ''mate'' business was going to cost her her sanity if she ever survived this childbirth.

    Behind her, the Archdemon hurriedly stood up in a huff, sped both of her triceps, picked her up, and carried her back to the grassy bed in the following order.

    "Lie still, Lune. " Sloth said as his eyes shed in determination. "I think I have a little inkling on what to do."

    <strong>**********************************</strong>

    <strong>    Archdemon of Sloth </strong>

    <strong>Prince of the 7th Circle of Hell</strong>

    <strong>**********************************</strong>

    This was the first time Sloth had heard a woman who had moaned, screamed, and cursed in one breath.

    For some strange, perverted reason, he felt quite turned on by the sound of it. He still couldn''t get rid of the wondrous sensation of goosebumps on the expanse of his skin.

    The screams of pain and suffering sent chills running down his spine in a good way.

    It was an Archdemon''s instinct to consider it as music to his ears��like a siren calling out his name from the depths of the dark and vast ocean��until he remembered that the sweet song was also his downfall.

    Her cries started to hurt his heart if ever he had one.

    This was Lune he was talking about.

    His Mistress.

    If she perished in this world, he and Ravin, the babies and her womb, and possibly Apollyon will all go to Hell and live happily ever after.

    All of their presence mixed with the rest of the Archdemons will turn Hell upside down but at least it would be fun.

    As he thought, he was already getting bored there.

    Sloth had seen the birth attendants allocate her an hour of massage every single day for thest week so he removed her ts and started massaging her foot, moving up to her legs and thighs, to alleviate her affliction.

 Chapter 857 Forgetful

    <strong>Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (February 2022)</strong>

    <strong>*************************</strong>

    <strong>Archdemon Empress Luna</strong>

    <strong>*************************</strong>

    Sloth must have seen the birth attendants allocate her an hour of massage every day for thest week, so he removed her ts and started massaging her foot, moving up to her legs and thighs, to alleviate her pain.

    Maybe, these experts had sensed that the birthing event was close, and they needed her to warm her muscles up until doomsday arrived.

    He hoped that this would somehow ease her birthing.

    As his hands stroked her belly to soothe her, hemented oh-so-tactlessly that the skin around her round belly was wounded so tight.

    It seemed to agitate him that it would rip sooner rather thanter, and the Sloth''s words scared her more.

    What if her stomach explodes from all these vigorous movements?

    Luna agreed that her stomach appeared like it was going to burst, making her intestines, along with the babies would,e out.

    She gripped a fistful of his shirt, but the seemingly slight movement made it worse.

    She slowly shook her head in disbelief.

    She shouldn''t believe him just because shecked the knowledge behind it.

    Childbirth has always been dangerous.

    It might be natural for a married woman to be pregnant, but it is also very realistic for a mother or baby not to make it if she didn''t have strong willpower to believe that she will see it through.

    What if there was a loophole in their prophecy?

    It made her doubt herself so much, but she shouldn''t forget that her endurance and resilience as a mother were something that she should be proud of.

    Unfortunately, the Three Fates had foretold that she wouldn''tst long in this Realm after she gave birth, but they didn''t borate much.

    Sloth broke her thoughts that helped her disassociate from reality with an inappropriate question.

    "Do you want me to massage you down there as well?"

    She wasn''t in the mood to engage in his antics. "Fuck you!"

    "Ouch! You don''t have to choose violence." He groaned when she aimed a punch and a kick at him. "Seeing that you are already in pain and you think that my unnecessary urge to help is useless, I forgive you."

    Suddenly, she felt an intense pain that she would have never imagined was possible, and it seemed tost forever.

    The breathing exercises Sloth made her do and the warmth he felt from Sloth''s palms as he continued to rub her stomach made a difference.

    The maximum threshold she could handle kept changing with every contraction, and an invisible knife seemed to twist her stomach into knots.

    One thing was for sure.

    The mental, emotional and physical torture she had suffered in the past, especially in Hell, made her feel like the earlier contractions were nothing she couldn''t handle.

    The only minor hup was that her affliction was as unpredictable as the Grand Torturer, making her belly so tight it had caused her abdominal area difort.

    Her emotions, along with the intense sensations of her mind and body, were like a tidal wave that gave her thrilling highs and gut-wrenching lows.

    At least, it seemed temporary at the beginning.<sub> </sub>

    This sheer disy of strength wasn''t for the weak.

    The contractions caused by her unborn babies seemed to move in the opposite direction as if both were determined to either separate or tear at each other part.

    At that moment, Luna knew that she would give birth to twins who weren''t the same kind.

    "I think I forgot something��rather it was someone," Sloth told her.

    <strong>*********************************</strong>

    <strong>     Archdemon of Sloth </strong>

    <strong>Prince of the 7th Circle of Hell</strong>

    <strong>*********************************</strong>

    "I think I forgot something��rather it was someone."

    Ravin had told him to bring the birth attendant with him, but his brother seemed to forget that he only had two hands. It was time to call her�� no, Sloth meant ''them''.

    Sloth formed an A-shape with his index and middle fingers, ording to Princess Sapphire.

    She was tasked to take care and train Rere if ever Sloth got tired of caring for the dragon.

    He was a big boy now, and the Empress allowed Princess Sapphire to handle the creature, saying that she wouldn''t find it a problem.

    She had tamed a rogue werewolf, and she couldn''t ask for a better guardian with Xerxes.

    Rere, the dragon, wouldn''t be any more different since both were wild, yful, but loyal.

    Ravin had the responsibility to get the dragon under control after the Empress and Rere had acknowledged her brother as his father.

    He took care of the whelp after Lune''s disappearance in Hell.

    But, since he was busy leading the Vampire King''s warriors Queen Morgan specifically picked from the Autumn Militia, which they called the Order of the Selcis, Sloth was left with Princess Sapphire, Xerxes, and the Empress with nothing to do except but to sleep and take turns with training Rere with Princess Sapphire.

    <o>,m Sometimes, he watched over the Manor from the above to get a better look at the faerie tenants and the neighboring Households just in case something or someone was acting suspiciously.</o>

    Demonic possession, for example.

    Hopefully, his previous status as the Archdemon Prince from the Seventh Circles of Hell would scare the Demon kind enough for them to stop trying to prate the barriers with their dark and evil energy.

    Either the lower-ss demons from Luxen''s Legion would run away the instant they saw him, or they could be giggling at the fact that the mighty Prince of Hell had resorted to being a servant of a beautiful Archdemon Vampire.

    Honestly, there was no need to sugarcoat it.

    Along with his brother, he was now an enved person bound to a contract with their Mistress.

    He had lost his well-deserved sleep in the past few days.

    What was he supposed to do again?

    Bah.

    He had to whistle to call Rere so that the useless, perpetually cheerful dragon would bring the birth attendant to him and take care of Lune.

    Drawing his lips back to cover his teeth, he pushed his tongue back into his mouth and blew.

 Chapter 858 Male Gaze Not Allowed

    <strong>Newest Chapter for the Highest Tier (February 2022)</strong>

    <strong>*****************************</strong>

    <strong>Archdemon of Sloth</strong>

    <strong> Prince of the Seventh Circle of Hell</strong>

    <strong>*****************************</strong>

    Drawing his lips back to cover his teeth, Sloth pushed his tongue back into his mouth and blew, producing a resounding whistle powerful enough to catch the demonic beast''s attention outside the Kingdom''s barriers.

    He wasn''t disappointed by the skill Princess Sapphire had taught him when the dragon responded with an ear-splitting "REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE~"

    Sloth flinched at the pathetic roar before he shook his head in amusement.

    The whelp might have matured into this majestic creature but he still hadn''t shed his distasteful signature screech.

    As he scrambled to get up from the Empress'' side, he raised his head heavenward, his hands resting on his hips in anticipation.

    Rere lit up the dark night in this burning plume of fire.

    The dragon''s shiny green scales underneath his leathery wings were as bright as stained ss, making him appear more glorious to look at in the winter sun.

    Rere soared heavenward to gain momentum before he descended with aser-like focus on their location at the forest floor.

    As he grew closer, the dragon''s big, round eyes were as innocent as an angel but his appearance was as frightening as a demon.

    Hisrge red wings were spread so wide as it beat into this urgent rhythm.

    Rere might not understand the recent events that had transpired at Hazelnut Household but Sloth could tell that he was excited and eager to follow them around and fulfill theirmands to the best of his abilities.

    At that moment, Sloth was alsopelled to check up on her sister-inw to make sure the massage he did for her did its magic.

    Lune had calmed down but for the most part but she was still breathing hard as shey on her back with her legs parted and knees bent underneath the skirts of her blood-stained gown.

    She made small pained moans that were louder than the crickets chirping at night.

    It was hard to read her emotions from her expression since she had covered her eyes with a forearm.

    Yet, she immediately lifted them from her brows upon hearing the loud ps of Rere''s wings.

    Her tear-filled eyes widened in shock when she saw the midwife''s shoulders clutched by the dragon''s ws.

    "Rere." Sloth panicked a little when he saw the panic in her eyes when she gave him an using scowl. "Drop the��I mean, bring the birth attendant beside the Empress!"

    Rere affirmed themand with a loud purr that was closer to a growl and all of a sudden, she released the old matron in the air.

    He was about to catch the grandmother in his arms but she used her transparent Fae wings immediately to help hernd on her feet.

    The birth attendant didn''t seem fazed as she righted her clothes in front of him while Sloth stared her down.

    She simply shrugged, wiped the cold sweat off her leathery face, and gathered the long silver-white hair in her wrinkly hands that had escaped from its ties.<sub> </sub>

    Rere had managed to snag a birth attendant who must have left her youth at Hazelnut Manor.

    He remembered that this woman was the oldest among the group.

    So this was how old people look up close.

    They were so different from Archdemons who can be as young and fresh as the spring petals.

    They can also have the freedom to appear quite mature to gain the respect of their fellow Archdemons.

    The Archdemon Kind was truly a superior lotpared to Fae but here he was, ving himself just so he could stay in this Realm and live happily with Lune.

    Fair folk was immortals but they could still age depending on the intensity of the Fae magic they possessed.

    Can this birth attendant do her job properly with those rickety bones?

    She might be knowledgeable and well trained in childbirth but should Rere have dragged a younger woman from the female midwives?

    "You,dy." Sloth pointed at her. "Please do something about the creatures inside her. They are acting up and kicking their mother to death with their little feet."

    "Yes, my lord." The birth attendant had warm grey eyes and the sight of her face seemed to put Lune at ease.

    She walked so�� slowly towards her that it made him irritated, reminding him how slow he could bepared to this grandma.

    "Make her feel better right now, quickly, or I''ll cut your head off."

    Women were always destined to suffer during childbirth and there was no way of escaping that fate unless they died before the babies coulde out.

    At least, Lune''s chances would increase after he brought the birth attendant like his brother had told him to.

    "Yes, my Lord." The birth attendant examined her. Sloth stayed by their side the entire time while the woman checked under her skirts to see if one of the babies managed to get out. "The slit had begun to dte but not quite. She is not ready yet since it would open and close by itself. The Empress is preparing for the main event."

    He had no idea what she was talking about but he simply nodded so as not to expose his ignorance.

    "My Lord, you shouldn''t be with her while she is having contractions." The birth attendant''s voice was cool and calm as if she had seen everything there was to witness about births as nature intended and ones where not everyone had survived. "Childbirth is not a good sight to see for a lord like you."

    "Don''t worry my delicate sensibilities will not be offended and I would like to keep my eyes open for what I''m about to see."

    "My Lord. It is improper."

    "Let me. I haven''t seen anything like this before."

    Out of nowhere, Sloth could sense Princess Ourania around the boundary between the territory of Hazelnut Manor to the next.

    Well, isn''t it lovely?

    It was time to make their presence known unless Queen Morgan knew that they were hiding in the forest.

    "Alright, I''m going somewhere to give both of you the privacy from the male gaze," Sloth announced. "If she somehow dies or just even one of the babies when I return, I''ll kill you with the Empress as well. She will need her own servant in Hell and she needed to stop doing things on her own."

 Chapter 859 Decapitated

    <strong>[A/N] It took me a whole day to finish this. I mean 7 hours. TT^TT This FANTASY GENRE gives me a writing block. I keep changing my mind about what will happen next. I will write Contemporary next time. I apologize, and thanks for reading.</strong><strong></strong>

    <strong>Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (February 2022)</strong>

    <strong>***************************************</strong>

    <strong>Archdemon of Gluttony</strong>

    <strong>Prince Ravin of the 1st Circle of Hell</strong>

    <strong>***************************************</strong>

    ''We can do this all day if you want to continue this route, Vampire King.''

    The instant Ravin was able to get closer to bite Apollyon in the shoulder, his jaws grew sharp, and he used that to tear his throat.

    He was careful enough not to rip his entire flesh.

    Ravin injected demonic venom at the tip of his needle-like fangs.

    That should weaken him and cause his hallucinations in an instant.

    The results might disappoint him since Apollyon''s strength as a rogue vampire was unpredictable.

    The toxin dripping in his teeth was a deadly curse that had the power of turning the Vampire King into a demon but not quite.

    Ravin didn''t do it enough to send him over the edge of death.

    It was the only way he could subdue him without sending him to Hell.

    Apollyon''s ws lengthened, and Ravin''s fangs quickly released his shoulder and retreated so that he couldn''t inflict more damage.

    They continued to beat each other down.

    When the Vampire King advanced towards him, he noticed that he seemed to stagger a bit like he was a drunkard.

    Yes, Luna might be against his method if she knew, but the Empress had given him a mission to stop the Vampire King from destroying the Hazelnut Manor.

    He hated ying the role of a savior, but so many Faeries had already died in the process.

    Hellfire had med the Castle in blue, ck, and white.

    Most columns from the Great Hall alone had crumbled into pieces of rubble since the curse fires weren''t able to confine the Vampire King.

    He was slippery as a snake and very difficult to catch.

    What was once a grand edifice had turned into thisplete ruin that the Fae would no longer recognize.

    Of course, it was difficult to prevent this chaos without killing Apollyon, but as his Amare''s mate and familiar, he must honor her wishes.

    The tiny Kingdom they inherited from Queen Morgan was already destroyed beyond repair.

    With their hands and the air, Ravin couldn''t care less about these servants, screaming and running around with no apparent direction.

    Any royalties living in the Material Realm could bestow the Vampire King and the Empress with infinite gold, rare and valuable books, and such grand properties.

    Still, Ravin could trust that either one of them to destroy these gifts in a few weeks or months.

    Their unique ability to dismantle things was noteworthy, and they can do it easily without breaking a sweat.

    Ravin shouldn''t even forget about the unborn babies Luna was carrying.

    If she wasn''t the careless one, now it was her husband, the Vampire King, who had attacked his wife for no reason.

    The bastard promised to protect her and take care of her!<sub> </sub>

    The Vampire King said that to his face all the damn time, acting all high and mighty that Ravin almost trusted him, but then he couldn''t even pull it off.

    Such a bloody hypocrite!

    He could hear the arguments in his head regarding Luna, and once again, Apollyon''s words had provoked him into a rage.

    The Vampire King didn''t deserve her.

    It should have been him.

    If he weren''t bound to a blood oath with Luna, then he would have absorbed him into his form and eaten his soul.

    Just merely possessing the Vampire King''s body wouldn''t be enough for Ravin.

    The Vampire King seemed to mirror his hurt and anger, and Ravin fed off his negative energy to make him stronger, fueling his hate, resentment, and jealousy.

    Growling, He grew more violent and destructive with every Hellfire he threw at him.

    He had inflicted life-threatening wounds on Apollyon, but unfortunately, the Vampire was as strong as an Archdemon.

    He couldn''t believe why the bastard was still standing and moving, avoiding his attacks.

    In the blink of an eye, he managed to crush the windpipes of two Fae guards when they made the mistake of stabbing him with their bronze swords from behind.

    As an Archdemon, Ravin appreciated the helpful gesture even if he didn''t need it.

    This was the first time the creatures in this Realm considered him their ally, even at the cost of their own life.

    Ravin smirked. ''Well, thank you and goodbye, idiots.''

    If he were sent to Hell again with Amare, he would make an effort to recognize the two Fae souls if they happened to be there.

    Almost all of the guests during the Wine Tasting Ceremony had left the Great Hall, and only a few of the servants remained to witness until the end, using mour to conceal themselves and blend into the�� no, there were no walls.

    No more background��only devastation.

    The rogue Vampire King hadn''t lost his murderous instinct inside of him.

    His red cat-like eyes between his unusually colored scleras were focused on his every move while pointed ws had continued to sh unto Ravin.

    Hourster, Ravin had grown weary even though he couldn''t be like that.

    A powerful Archdemon like him can exert himself in battle without tiring since they had limitless stamina and vitality.

    What made Apollyon able to match his strength?

    Did he drink any drug that wouldn''t make him feel fatigued and that triggered him to be a rogue vampire?

    How can he take his onught of attacks as if they were nothing��as if they didn''te from a powerful Archdemon prince?

    Was he bing weak because his Master, the Empress, was on her deathbed right at this moment because Sloth couldn''t keep her alive?

    Images of her giving birth and then disintegrating into ashes shed through his mind.

    Heartbeat racing, Ravin felt his adrenaline spike, but the obstructive thought had elicited another wave of anger in him, distracting him from the fight.

    Apollyon didn''t waste time and disappeared from Ravin''s line of sight.

    Using his teleportation ability, he moved in a split second and managed to chop his arm off with a single swing of the bronze sword he had stolen from the Fae he had killed earlier.

    He released a pained groan not until his severed arm dropped to the floor.

 Chapter 860 Hell Knights (Edited)

    <strong>[A/N] If you see me not updating, please know that there is something wrong with me. The author is not beingzy, just sickly. I went to the doctor the other day and was diagnosed to have PCOS (Polycystic ovary syndrome) since I didn''t have my period for thest six months and I just got the courage to go to the gynecologist. I had to drink medicine for six months to train my ovary to bleed again. After five months, my period started yesterday and I feel like hell. I apologize for the inconvenience and please don''t buy privilege anymore so that you don''t waste money on slow updates:,(</strong>

    <strong>Newest Chapter for the Highest Tier (February 2022)</strong>

    <strong>*****************************</strong>

    <strong>Archdemon of Gluttony</strong>

    <strong> Prince Ravin of the First Circle of Hell</strong>

    <strong>*****************************</strong>

    Ravin released a pained groan not until his severed arm dropped to the floor.

    Yet, that was the least of his concerns. The Great Hall was soon flooded with his blood.

    The weaker fae servants who had stayed with them in therge room might get exposed with demonic ichor, turning into demons themselves.

    That might also include the Vampire King if he wasn''t in control of his faculties.

    All of his muscles tightened as his alert gaze fell on Apollyon''s dazed eyes.

    He appeared like he didn''t care at all if he turned into a demon-like Ravin and their mate.

    Due to the properties of Ravin''s blood, he could heal any sort of physical injury in mere seconds, including deep cuts, organs, chunks of flesh, and even a severed head as long as the weapons used weren''t angel des coated with their sacred blood.

    Demons didn''t have the heart to debunk the fact that cutting their heads off could destroy the forms they had assumed on earth because their Kind''s pleasure was derived from watching the horrified eyes of those who tried and failed.

    It made the Demon Kind shiver with glee to eliminate such people.

    The Vampire King might have sliced one of his limbs but Ravin was able to repair it immediately the same second he sliced his arm off faster than the bastard could react to.

    As Apollyon continued to use fae magic spells on him while ignoring the venomous bite he had inflicted, Ravin could somehow feel that his earthly form was bleeding from the inside.

    His binding oath with Amare was acting up again. Muttering a string of curses from the affliction, Ravin willed his body to heal in a short time and advanced towards him with the Archdemon de in his bloody hand.

    He clenched his teeth as he continued to swipe at him while he dodged every attack.

    The Vampire King wasn''t to be underestimated. He had been drinking Amare''s Archdemon blood for months but as the child-birthing neared, he had tried to lessen his urge.

    As an Archdemon Familiar, he knew he had no say in things regarding his mate''s decisions with his husband.

    He was just there to pick up the pieces, just in case, their mating bond was cut off.

    All Ravin did was observed his surroundings and fulfill his mate''s every wish except leave her alone.

    Ravin was aware that Apollyon didn''t want Luna to be weak��His eyes widened in understanding.

    At that moment, Ravin had a sudden realization.

    Not only was Lilith and the babies were making her weak, but the Vampire King was also one of those people who was killing her slowly.

    Maybe, Apollyon had caught unto it and allowed Ravin to sustain Amare with his own Archdemon blood despite his outrage and resentment.<sub> </sub>

    While the others stood there, watching fallen charred metal, shattered ss, wall tapestries, ragged cloaks, and torn fabrics shrink and melt into thick, ink-ck streaks as theyy on the ground, Ravin decided to summon Hell Knights of his own.

    It was bing clear to him that he couldn''t do this alone��not when he still felt like the binding oath Amare had forced him to promise crippled him so bad.

    Hell Knights were a unique breed of lesser demons born from Hellfire.

    Well, he could just increase the number and make them cling their ming tentacle limbs on the Vampire King''s body and burn him that he might as well have sent the bastard to Hell.

    Would he still get around it if his Hell Knights were to kill the Vampire King?

    It wasn''t like he would be the one who will end him since his Hell Knights would do the dirty job.

    Still, he almost hesitated since he was afraid that he would be punished severely by his mate if she survived the childbirth and found out about it.

    A mighty roar of mes spiraled upwards.

    Before Ravin could change his mind, Hell Knights emerged from the zing Hellfire licking the pile of bricks, walls, and ceilings that had copsed on the cracked floor.

    He had merely entertained the idea but it seemed like his demonic servants understood him without a word.

    It almost appeared poetic how the forked mes formed into soldiers, moving as fluidly as water.

    Apollyon continued to teleport while the Hell Knights moved in supernatural speed.

    Their fiery-orange colored eyessered on the Vampire King before their tentaclestched unto him.

    Their menacing aura evoked fearful, heavy, and thick dark red miasma to shroud them, causing the servants to bend over and curl inward from the physical pain.

    If Ravin couldn''t rein the Hell Knights he summoned, they might start possessing these creatures and create havoc in the Autumn Courts and if the Vampire King was a high-ranking angel or possessed by an Archdemon, he could physically overwhelm the Hell Knights.

    Sometimes, Ravin wondered why the Vampire King couldn''t just lose his consciousness with a simple Archdemon spell he used.

    Why did this madman have to put up a bloody fight?

    Maybe, he had the resilience of a weed.

    The Vampire King halted from the intense collective gazes of the lower-ranked demons.

    Like him, the Hell Knights also have incredible regenerative abilities far superior to the Vampire King because of what they were made of.

    Apollyon screamed as his pale skin burned in Hellfire.

    Hopefully, he wouldn''t die and this would be enough to subdue him for yea��months before he could fully recover.

    However, Ravin tried another angle and attempted to manipte the Vampire King''s mental state if he could.

    He would just like to see if some of his brother, Luxen, had somehow possessed Apollyon.

    Of course, a powerful demon like him could notice if the Archdemon of Lust was cloaked, somehow, unless he had tricks up his sleeve that he didn''t know about.

    He was certain he could evict Luxen from his host and banish him to Hell if pushes to shove.

 Chapter 861 Wisteria Blossoms

    <strong>Newest Chapter for the Highest Tier (February 2022)</strong>

    <strong>*****************************************</strong>

    <strong>Archdemon of Gluttony</strong>

    <strong> Prince Ravin of the First Circle of Hell</strong>

    <strong>*****************************************</strong>

    He was confident he could evict Luxen from his ''host'' and banish him to Hell if push came to shove.

    There was no way that the Vampire King had gone rogue without any warning.

    Unseen forces should have alerted Ravin before the Wine Tasting Ceremony even started because he could read the atmosphere and every individual guest just fine without any difficulty.

    Yet, why did Ravin fail?

    The Hell Knights ignored the invisible Faeries standing at the sidelines at hismand.

    Yet, the Hellfire had gotten so strong for some of the weak fae servants to handle that they all screamed as they dropped to their knees.

    The atmosphere had turned bitter when he scented their flesh being burned to death and the nauseating stench of burning hair.

    He got used to it quickly, though.

    They could have escaped, but they chose to be there.

    Out of loyalty or out of curiosity?

    Ravin had no idea.

    He nned to alter the Vampire King''s mind by controlling them and shutting him down, but something else caught his attention.

    He hurriedly stalked towards the balcony after smelling a specific scent from there that made him want to cover his human-like nose when he got near the hand railings.

    ncing around, he just noticed that his heightened senses had grown dull before they sharpened again because of the sickly sweet fragrance in the air.

    Ravin couldn''t ignore it.

    It was akin to the stench of rotten fruit.

    It appeared like it had finally lost its magic and couldn''t be hidden anymore after an hour.

    Ravin''s nose wrinkled in disgust when another whiff of the scent triggered a powerful memory.

    It connected him back to its source.

    He couldn''t find the rare blossoms on the balcony, but he knew that their pollens were poisonous to demons, blocking their extrasensory senses if inhaled.

    These nts grew only in realms where gods and goddesses lived to protect themselves against the Demon-kind.

    If this deadly and highly potent mixture was ingested, it could quickly kill the lesser demons'' small dosages.

    Ravin knew that someone had prepared this beforehand. He could now discern that a god had been here, specifically, the god of fire, Hephaestus.

    The old gods could conceal their presence very well and could overpower any demon.<sub> </sub>

    The only ones who could beat them in a fair fight were Archdemon Princes like him and, of course, the Demon King and Satan as well.

    When Ravin returned to the Great Hall immediately to check up on his mate''s mate, the rogue was still iling around.

    He had removed his cloak around his shoulders and threw his weapon to the floor.

    A lot of things were on his way as he batted the shape-shifting mes that came at him at once like a massive swarm of bees.

    Sweat began to leak out of his minuscule pores as if he was ice melting under the sunlight.

    He wasn''t called the king of the Vampires for nothing if he died from Hellfire in just a few minutes.

    Ravin surmised it would take him a minimum of an hour and longer if the Vampire King were feeling particrly powerful and stubborn because of the blood lust-inducing potionced on his wine.

    At this point, the Vampire King was beginning to look unrecognizable that which kind of made him delighted but a little rmed at the same time.

    Thrashing about from the agony, Apollyon staggered backward with his eyes closed, and they got to the point where he had stepped into the red puddle��not a puddle but a pool��that had spilled from the shattered bottle of wines.

    Ravin didn''t make his Hell Knights burn Apollyon so intensely that it could obliterate the entire Kingdom and spread across the whole realm, but he wasn''t about to demonstrate that.

    Arge enough amount of Archdemon Magic can kill any supernatural being and destroy their body.

    Yet, Ravin merely siphoned a small me of Hellfire.

    Not the entire dimension, but still, he prevented the wild vampire from gaining an advantage and killed a few faes with it.

    Just a few. In addition to that, they were mere servants he hadn''t known.

    He couldn''t care less if they died.

    It was all their fault for their inability to protect themselves from threats.

    No matter what status, the Fair folk were arrogant to think they could rely heavily on fae magic as their shield when faced with Hellfire.

    Their perceived immortality was useless.

    The searing heat had turned them into an unrecognizable object of charred meat, wood, charcoal, and steel even after Ravin had withdrawn his Hell Knights.

    The more vital fae servants who survived witnessing all the events in the Great Hall would never forget the smell of burning corpses for the rest of their lives.

    The Hell Knights began to overpower Apollyon, but unfortunately, they were sent straight back to Hell.

    The Hell Knights, who went down with him when he fell, howled in unison and turned instantly into dust, leaving foul traces of sulfur in its wake.

    Ravin''s eyes narrowed at sight, and it took him a moment to move from where he stood, watching everything unfold.

    That situation, right there, had affirmed his suspicion.

    ''Not only did someone scattered the pollen of Wisteria Blooms on the windows and the balcony, but someone had also ced a dangerous, potent drug on thetest wine that the Vampire King had drunk.'' Ravin guessed it was a trap to make Apollyon ballistic during the Wine Tasting Party.

    The perpetrator''s aim was for the Vampire King to kill the pregnant Empress by ident.

    Ravin had no idea why Apollyon could fall such a simple trick or�� maybe he hadn''t recognized the concoction because his vampire senses were also blocked.

    But, the Wisteria flowers only worked on demons��. unless the Vampire King was already a demon before he lost his mind and attacked Amare?

 Chapter 862 Lady-In-Red

    <strong>Newest Chapter for the Highest Tier (February 2022)</strong>

    <strong>****************************************</strong>

    <strong>Archdemon of Gluttony</strong>

    <strong> Prince Ravin of the First Circle of Hell</strong>

    <strong>****************************************</strong>

    But, the Wisteria flowers only worked on demons��. unless the Vampire King was already a demon before he lost his mind and attacked Amare?

    He threw that thought out of the window.

    Ravin didn''t want to dwell on the fact that the Vampire King was slowly turning into an Archdemon because he had drank Luna''s blood and his, though, indirectly.

    Who owned the blood that his wife was drinking fromtely?

    Maybe, this was the reason why the bastard was a bit impervious to Hellfire even though the Archdemon and the Vampiric Fae in him were fighting for domination.

    At least, he was still alive��but barely breathing.

    Suppose the Vampire King would ever turn into a demon. In that case, the small fraction of his demonic venom might aid him to transition properly since Amare''s blood had already prepared his body for this�� or the juice of the divine wisteria blooms mixed on his wine would prevent him from doing so.

    There might be a chance that this could be thest straw that would break the camel''s back�� and kill him.

    Ravin hoped it would be thetter, but unfortunately, that particr oue wouldn''t be good for him either because if that happened, he and Sloth would be subjected to eternal suffering if he broke the oaths.

    Ignoring the destruction his Hellfire had caused in the Great Hall, he focused his attention on the Vampire King once more and attempted to wake him up, but he was still unconscious.

    He was in utter disbelief that Amare would choose such a weakling over him no matter what he did. Nevertheless, it appeared like the poison he had injected into Apollyon''s shoulder had kicked in.

    His paleplexion had darkened a little.

    The tips of his raven hair had turned silver.

    Dark markings hade in various patterns across his skin after being burned by Hellfire.

    It was toote for Ravin to realize that the Vampire King was already too exposed to Archdemon blood.

    Still, Ravin wished that Apollyon wouldn''t turn into a full Archdemon and give him the edge to overpower him.

    He tried to keep his face neutral and rx the tension in the muscles.

    It was nothing to be concerned about because the concoction which Apollyon had drunk in his wine will do the trick.

    Ravin''s senses had grown dull again, and he could gradually feel the consequences of biting an infected half-demon on the shoulder.

    Ravin moved the Vampire King''s head to the side with the pointed shoe of his boot so that he could better look at his darkened face.

    The Vampire King was bleeding heavily, and the expanse of his pale skin was peeled off along with his burning clothes.<sub> </sub>

    Since the mes were extinguished by the puddle of liquid from the wines, the bastard survived despite Ravin desiring the opposite.

    All was well that ended well.

    Ravin licked his lips to wet his mouth that had gone dry from ingesting the drug from the Vampire King''s bloodstream.

    "The threat had been subdued��" Ravin announced to no one in particr as he jutted his chin, staring down at Apollyon''s scorched limbs sprawled on the ground. ''--and killed the rest by ident due to my carelessness.'' Yet, he wasn''t about to admit that out loud.

    Others may not seem to listen or care about what he had done to save these people, but his words will ring true forever in their minds, soothing the wounds of despair and violence in this Kingdom.

    He might not see the rest if he wouldn''t examine their mours too closely, but he felt a swelling tide of emotion around him.

    The faeries finally felt safe enough to remove their mour and cried tears of grief, sadness, and despair for the future of the Hazelnut Manor.

    They allowed themselves to be held andforted by the nearest fae they could find.

    Ravin had no idea that ying a savior could inte his ego like this.

    The excellent experience had moved him to the core.

    Ravin only noticed that fae aristocrats had remained. Indeed, he couldn''t differentiate them and the servants because their fancy clothes were in tatters from the Hellfire that wouldn''t let them escape.

    Closing his lids shut, Ravin took a deep breath and exhaled, expelling nausea and weing the cold air from the outside.

    When he opened his eyes, he turned towards the faeries who remained in ruins.

    All of them stepped backward and returned his scrutiny with fearful stares as if they expected Ravin to kill them next after he was done with the Lord of the House.

    A minor loss of control washed over Ravin, and he didn''t like it.

    He had to sit down and think for a while before solving the problem.

    He had no one to talk to because all hispanions had left except for the remaining servants who had heavily relied on his decision.

    So, he decided to talk��no, ''interrogate'' was the word�� to them and demanded more information regarding the visitors. Of course, they were grateful, but the lesser faeries couldn''t help but be anxious.

    "We thought the ckout was part of the magician''s stage, but it turned out to be real." A brave maidservant blurted out, her arms shaking with dread.

    Everyone was afraid of him, but they still replied out of respect.

    Sometimes, he gave them some breathing room after all that pressure and this was what he found out.

    Their enemy had disguised himself really well and they had their patters down cold.

    It turned out that a lot of circus performers had gone missing after the ckout as if it was part of a disappearing act.

    The opera singer in red robes was the prime suspect.

    ''She had stopped singing after the lights had turned back on��'', ording to one and several witnesses he asked also affirmed this, ''��and then she was nowhere to be found.''

 Chapter 863 Cave Of Crystals

    <strong>[A/N: I wanted to end this so bad, but brainstorming to piece all this plot together is so damn tricky. I swear this is my first andst fantasy romance. All these stories about vampires and archdemons had consumed my life force hahahaha huhuhuhu. I will continue the best I can. Thanks for reading. #notamasochist</strong>

    <strong>Newest Chapter for the Highest Tier (February 2022)</strong>

    <strong>*****************************</strong>

    <strong>Archdemon of Gluttony</strong>

    <strong> Prince Ravin of the First Circle of Hell</strong>

    <strong>*****************************</strong>

    ''She had stopped singing after the lights had turned back on��,'' ording to one and several witnesses he asked also affirmed this, ''��and then she was nowhere to be found.''

    One maidservant confessed that the particr seductive woman had paid close attention to Luna and Apollyon the whole time.

    Her eyes appeared full of envy and hatred as if she silently wished for the couple''s demise.

    A few judgmental butlers, maidservants, and pages had noticed the evil eye and assumed that thedy was jealous of the fairy-tale rtionship.

    Now, Ravin had spected that thisdy-in-red was, in fact, a sorcerer who wanted to unleash darkness using the page she had torn from Hecate''s grimoire.

    Then, she would open up the Kingdom''s barriers until all the devils were here.

    He realized a little toote that the opera singer had no lingering scent and that, itself, should have been a warning.

    The entire act was rehearsed, and the people involved had mastered the art of misdirection.

    Despite their rules on not allowing their guests to wear masks, they still couldn''t decipher their intentions to perfection.

    Unfortunately, Ravin was also too distracted at ogling the Empress even to notice.

    The execution of making the Vampire King ruin their party had gone smoothly as if they had countless hours perfecting the theft of a page and using the host their decoy.

    Apollyon would never live this humiliation once he got himself back.

    Could Princess Ourania and the opera singer be the same?

    That woman always had a trick up her sleeve.

    Ravin''s jaws were clenched the instant he saw Queen Morgan enter the tumultuous scene from the balcony,nding as gracefully as a ballerina with wings, along with the other fae soldiers.

    His eyes turned cold and hard the longer he observed Queen Morgan stroll towards him.

    Like the Empress, the Autumn Queen had worn a voluminous white gown and fur cloak that made her appear like the Winter Queen, blending into the thick snow in the shadowy forests outside the castle, waiting for her dark Knight��the fallen Archangel she had fallen in love with that Ravin had seen in the vision the blue feather had shown him��to make himself known.

    ? Her glossy hair was apple-red as the first time he saw her in the dream.

    Herrge eyes reflected the golden flecks he had every time he made the mistake of gazing into them.

    It was eerily familiar, and it sent chills down his spine.

    "Take the Vampire King to the Cave of Crystals." Queen Morgan ordered the soldiers that went with her.<sub> </sub>

    Ravin didn''t protest when the four men began to carry the Vampire King outside the Great Hall.

    He couldn''t care less where the Queen wanted the soldiers to take Apollyon as long as he got rid of him.

    Stopping a couple of meters away from him, Queen Morgan exined that the Cave of Crystals in the Autumn Courts was a ce of potent power��a sacred space for demonic purification.

    ording to the legends, it used to be a portal from another realm in the past.

    His brows furrowed the more he listened, and he hated that the Queen had considered him as a threat.

    "The exposure to these crystals could be beneficial to weak vampiric faeries." Queen Morgan added further.

    Nevertheless, the Autumn Queen had assured him that Apollyon woulde back to his true self if he settled in the hollow ce that was as dark as night.

    The only light source was the dim luster of light grey moonlight crystals created by nature for thousands of years.

    The near-transparent wide and thick columns of selenite from the floor to the ceiling grew within the dark confines of the cave.

    It also had the magic to purify possible demonic possession and the decent amount of wicked venom Ravin had injected upon him.

    Hopefully, the effects of wisteria juice in Apollyon''s bloodstreams would vanish as well.

    Ravin wondered if the cave was effective in genuinely getting rid of it.

    Since he didn''t know what to do with the Vampire King, he let the Autumn Queen deal with it.

    "You arete to the party, my Lady." He changed the subject.

    "I don''t see any party here. Only death and ruin caused by the congration." Her tone was matter-of-fact. Queen Morgan didn''t look troubled at all.

    She was grim but riveted as she nced around her surroundings, appearing as if she had already expected this to happen.

    The ruins didn''t possess a resemnce of the Hazelnut Manor that she owned in the past, and Ravin wondered if she was disappointed or outraged that she was rendered speechless. "I see that you look proud of what you have done to overpower what you have considered a threat. Are you ready to take responsibility for the oue if the Empress��"

    "��if she figured out about this." Ravin cut her off and enunciated each word as if it was a weapon he could use to threaten him. "There wouldn''t be a problem if you wouldn''t tell anyone, My Lady."

    Ravin threw a dagger out of the blue, and the Autumn Queen didn''t fail to catch it.

    "You have guts, Ravin, to disrespect me in front of my people." Her tone was flippant, and it made him smirk.

    "Of course.Of course." He folded his arm across his chest as he nced down at her. "Out of all the creatures who existed in this Realm, I think I am the only one who knew about the past you have hidden from everyone."

    She tilted her head, and her wise eyes shed dangerously. "I don''t know what you mean."

    "If you don''t want to talk about it, you don''t have to." He shrugged, and his countenance grew severe. "Now, tell me about Princess Ourania and Hephaestus'' whereabouts. We have to hunt them down before they feed us to the wolves. I don''t want to waste time."

    "Well, we have some other pressing matters to attend to."

    "So you think that there is more pressing matter than what I have told you about what Princess Ourania and Hephaestus had stolen from us?"

    "Yes. I think we have found the Tree of the Four Seasons, but we couldn''t get in there." Her golden eyesnded on his chest. "I need you to give me the blue feather around your neck."

 Chapter 864 Impostors Everywhere

    <strong>Newest Chapter for the Highest Tier (March 2022)</strong>

    <strong>*******************************</strong>

    <strong>Queen Morgan of the Autumn Courts</strong>

    <strong> ******************************</strong>

    For whatever reason, the Archdemon of Gluttony refused, and she already expected this.

    She didn''t force it but will try againter after the Vampire King had recovered.

    p Perhaps, Empress Luna could persuade him if he would apany her back to the Autumn Pce.</anda>

    Of course, he would.

    The Archdemon was loyal to his Master and considered her his mate.

    The Vampire King be damned!

    Queen Morgan looked up at him, and she saw some resemnce to Archangel Uriel that she had immediately shaken off.

    She ignored the chiseled structure of the Archdemon''s jawline, which painfully reminded her of the love she had lost. Queen Morgan focused on Ravin as he narrated what happened in Hazelnut Manor in great detail before she, her Cadre, and the rest of the troops arrived to help them neutralize the threat.

    The Archdemon had talked about his inevitable victory over the rogue Vampire King, whom she had ordered her soldiers to be safely deposited to the Cave of Crystals as if it was something he loved doing.

    It was clear that the man didn''t need anyone''s assistance based on the fae servants around him who tried to make themselves invisible.

    His arrogant grin showed that if given another chance to humiliate Apollyon like this with the Empress ''permission,'' he wouldn''t think twice of doing it again as revenge.

    One of her eyebrows had raised in disapproval.

    Archdemons can be merciless, and tonight''s events just proved that Archdemons still couldn''t be trusted as even as familiars.

    She filed away that valuable information in her memories in case an ugly suggestion of having powerful Archdemon Familiars crossed her mind.

    Nevertheless, this wasn''t the time to judge because even she, a Fae Royalty, could do just that without fearing the consequences.

    Ravin continued to discuss the wine made explicitly for transitioning demons in the purpose of driving them wild that they would rather kill themselves than suffer.

    Apollyon had identally drank the juice squeezed out from divine Wisteria flowers.

    Hephaestus must have ordered someone to mix them into Apollyon''s wine secretly.

    Unfortunately, no one had caught anyone in the act because Ravin and Sloth''s heightened senses were severely blocked after unwittingly inhaling the fragrance of these cursed nts.

    He was the only god reported to have visited the Autumn Courts so far, no one else.

    Ravin told her this was the reason why the Vampire King had gone rogue, hurting the Empress in the process.

    Queen Morgan knew that the Vampire King had lost his mind since she had met the Empress and her other familiar while the two were stranded in the borders.

    Queen Morgan had understood their side of the story and immediately provided them ten faerie soldiers to escort them to the Autumn Pce so that the Empress could give birth safely.

    It appeared like her contractions had gotten worse.<sub> </sub>

    It worried her because it was evident that the Empress needed more assistance from birth attendants at the Pce.

    However, this was the first time Queen Morgan had found out that the Vampire King had Archdemon blood in his system, and it was acting up from the poison Hephaestus had used on him.

    It wasn''t that impossible to believe if she knew that the Empress was an Archdemon.

    Queen Morgan had no idea how the Demonkind could turn another creature into a demon without possessing them first.

    These secretive devils keep their family secrets well.

    Nevertheless, she knew that demon blood had an integral part in the transformation.

    ording to Ravin''s theory, the Vampire King wanted to drain his mate''s Archdemon blood out of desperation so that he could turn into a full Archdemon and overpower this potent drug that had crawled underneath his skin.

    Perhaps, Apollyon was aiming for this route all along.

    A strong Archdemon like Ravin would only lose extrasensory perception if he were exposed to the scent of divine wisteria flowers.

    He wouldn''t lose control or die from it as the weaker demons do.

    Ravin had thought that biting Apollyon with Archdemon venom would turn him into a demon under his control, but unfortunately, his binding oath with Luna might prevent that.

    Ravin''s Hell Knights had attacked him, but in the end, they were destroyed by a pool of wisteria flower-infused wine on the cracked tiles.

    After that, Apollyon became unconscious.

    Ravin also added that the venom had caused Apollyon''s infernal nature that had been lurking in the shadows to resurface even more.

    Now, Queen Morgan was determined to cleanse him of the demonic energy so that he wouldn''t be a full Archdemon.

    She was sure that the Empress wouldn''t like that oue.

    Queen Morgan had little doubt that the Cave of Crystals could quickly cure the Vampire King affliction.

    However, Ravin had also informed her that the amount of demonic venom running through the Apollyon''s veins wouldn''t be that damaging to him and others if it didn''t fail topletely wipe out the harmful substance��the liquid extract of the wisteria flowers, which only grows on holy ground�� from his mind.

    Half an hourter, Xerxes and Princess Sapphire had returned from the hunt with their soldiers without gaining clues or results.

    The circus performers from the Autumn Castle and the opera singer, thedy-in-red that Ravin had referred to, were nowhere to be found.

    They searched across the nearby manors, viges, marketces, roads, and forests while Xerxes clutched a red cashmere fabric torn from Princess Sapphire''s kidnapper.

    It was supposed to guide their whereabouts, but it led them to nothing.

    Everyone had assumed they vanished into thin air.

    It got even more sinister when Queen Morgan told them that she couldn''t recognize the circus group Xerxes and Princess Sapphire had just described.

    Her brows furrowed in confusion, her scowl deepening with every word.

    The circus group she had invited to the Wine Tasting Party was traveling with her that night.

    The entertainers who arrived early during the Wine Tasting were impostors!

 Chapter 865 SHOTS FIRED!

    <strong><<THANKS FOR BEING HERE!>></strong>

    <strong>Newest Chapter for the Highest Tier (March 2022)</strong>

    <strong>*******************************</strong>

    <strong>Archdemon of Gluttony</strong>

    <strong>Prince Ravin from the First Circle of Hell</strong>

    <strong> ******************************</strong>

    The entertainers arriving early during the Wine Tasting Party, who allowed entering the premises, were impostors!

    Queen Morgan stepped aside and showed Ravin the circus group she had brought.

    These diverse performers, including clowns, acrobats, woond sprites, musicians, aerial dancers in long flowing costumes, and jugglers in unicycles, scrutinized him with a mix of terror and curiosity.

    Indeed, this group was different from the ones that had arrived earlier.

    Ravin clenched his fists as he stared back at them with gritted teeth.

    How could the guards allow the previous and in based on Queen Morgan''s flippant invitation?

    During Apollyon''s conversation with the Queen, her circus group was merely mentioned thrice at the most with no boration.

    No names.

    They could have easily prevented such life-threatening blunders if they had been extra careful.

    Ravin was certain that necessary precautions were taken to keep Amare safe, but he failed.

    It frustrated me even more.

    How did these fraudsters figure out that Queen Morgan offered to bring entertainment with her and decided to rece them?

    Ravin wouldn''t let it go.

    ''Princess Ourania and Hephaestus had something to do with it.'' Ravin spected.

    An unknown woman had tried to kidnap Princess Sapphire yesterday��Princess Ourania, specifically.

    Apollyon''s little sister swore the sweet scent of perfume belonged to a woman.

    "��a familiar one." Princess Sapphire emphasized, ncing to her right as she tried to recall the memory before it faded. "The first whiff reminded me of gold yet calm summer day. As if she was inviting the people around her to stroll in an enchanted forest full of wildflowers and sweet-smelling citrus fruits in her presence. The longer I was around the woman, the more I feel like her deceitful scent had a drug-like quality to it."

    She wrinkled her nose as the Fairfolk gathered closer around them and paid rapt attention. "

    I could tell that she was a powerful Fae from the intensity of her charm. I almost lost consciousness if Sloth and Xerxes didn''t notice something was amiss with me. I just knew that the woman was here to seduce, but I don''t think it was a scent that belonged to Mother!" She said briefly, and Xerxes settled a hand on her trembling shoulder to calm her down.<sub> </sub>

    Princess Sapphire took a deep breath and exined, "She usually opts for something subtle, delicate, and feminine like jasmine and rose. I noticed it was her signature perfume whenever I had the misfortune to be around her at the Summer Castle."

    "You should have ripped the hood of her cloak andmitted her face to memory," Ravin growled as he gave Princess Sapphire and Xerxes an using nce.

    "She wouldn''t let me! Thedy was too quick and strong." Now, her hand gestures became frantic, and the pitch of her voice rose with paranoia. "In addition to that, she had allies everywhere."

    "I know we had no evidence to point fingers at Princess Ourania and Hephaestus, but they were the persons-of interest so far," Xerxes spoke solemnly, and Ravin nodded in agreement.

    Because who else would attempt this insidious thing aside from these two��like stealing a teenage girl that didn''t want anything to do with them anymore?

    What were the bargaining chips they had offered to each other?

    What could Princess Ourania possibly get from tearing a page from a goddess'' grimoire aside from the magic that it contained and the fact that Cano, her dark and loyal harpy, got trapped in there?

    "I also suspected that the opera singer was Princess Ourania in disguise. Yes, she was supposed to be paralyzed from the waist down because of what the Archdemon Sloth had done. But I noticed that the female assant''s lower half had smelled like rust. Iron. Metal."

    "Xerxes. Are you implying that��"

    Raising her head at the Archdemon, Princess Sapphire replied with conviction. "We think that Hephaestus was capable of making our mother walk again if he wished to. You and Sloth weren''t there, Ravin, but we did witness the god''s automatons in full motion beforehand."

    Ravin rubbed at his throbbing temples when he realized that this possibility wasn''t far from the truth.

    Still, he refused to believe it.

    "That didn''t make sense." He replied. "I saw that she was in a wheelchair when she visited the Autumn Pce with Hephaestusst time."

    Arms folding over her chest, Queen Morgan''s brow had lifted when she asked, "Did you see her legs, Archdemon?"

    "No. The skirts of her gown were too long," Ravin replied gruffly and shrugged, "It wasn''t like I can barge in your meeting and lift her skirts to make sure she was still crippled��"

    "That would be rubbing salt to her wound. An Archdemon shouldn''t risk the ire of a little god, especially if he had an inkling that you were here." Queen Morgan admonished as she smoothed her skirts awkwardly.

    It made Ravin scan Queen Morgan from head to toe before his brows furrowed in confusion.

    She had no business being self-conscious when she hadn''t exposed her true identity to the Fair folk.

    She was determined to keep up with her self-image of a heroine rather than the traitor who fell in love with a Fallen Angel.

    Ravin thought he would let her resume living that dream.

    The face she used was still false, but Ravin could see right through her with ease.

    He nced down at her and gave her a boyish smirk. "I doubt that this ugly little god even cares. Hephaestus was just here in the Autumn Pce because he was Princess Ourania''spdog."

    ording to what Ravin had heard from Amare and the Vampire King, Princess Ourania and Hephaestus were mortal enemies before he and Sloth had arrived in this Realm.

    He tilted his head and ced a hand on his hip. "I know her history with Hecate''s protege. My mate had kept him informed. He was nothing but a whipping boy." Queen Morgan gasped at his rude words. "��and Hephaestus is too much of a coward to fight me and defend his non-existent honor."

 Chapter 866 Archdemons Arent Father Material

    <strong>Newest Chapter for the Highest Tier (March 2022)</strong>

    <strong>*******************************</strong>

    <strong>Archdemon of Gluttony</strong>

    <strong>Prince Ravin from the First Circle of Hell</strong>

    <strong> ******************************</strong>

    What could she possibly get from tearing a page from a goddess'' grimoire aside from the magic that it contained and the fact that Cano, her dark and loyal harpy, got trapped in there?

    The sound of pitter-patter floated on the cold breeze, and rain began to fall on the ruins of Hazelnut Manor, gently beating down on the surface that the Hellfire had ravaged.

    The plethora of ghostlike demons watching them outside the Autumn Courts had released disturbing and unholy snarl in the night.

    It made the lesser Faeries cower in fear.

    Together with the rainclouds and the trees standing as tall and as proud as the knights, thousands of demons had blocked their glimpse of the moon and the stars like a murmuration of birds, whirling and changing patterns at a moment''s notice.

    Other than that, the tranquility in the deep dark woods seemed to rx the remaining Fairfolk after the earlier chaos.

    All of the survivors had gathered and exited what was left of Hazelnut Manor, evacuating to a preferablyrge area to amodate many people.

    The crowd traveled in silence as they passed by frozen clumps of bushes, dead tree trunks, and pine trees stretching up like arrows in the sky, leaving padded footprints along their path.

    The trails were almost invisible in the thick velvet of snow, but Xerxes and the trackers in the Fae Militia were exceptional.

    Ravin could hear the asional howls of wolves and owl hoots in the background.

    As the Vampire King''smander, Ravin was now in charge of the Order of the Selcis.

    He had to discuss with Queen Morgan their next goals as the servants and the soldiers were busy setting up tents in their outdoor camp.

    Ravin also noticed that one of her three loyal Cadres was missing, but he didn''t bother asking since he forgot the Fae''s name.

    As the Autumn Queen said, they had a lot of matters to attend to.

    Everyone was waiting for the Vampire King to recover inside the Cave of Crystals before returning to the Autumn Pce and checking up on Luna and his brother.

    The footmen stomped out a t spot and constructed a tform of logs so that the fire would rest directly on the deep snow.

    Lighting the bonfire had producedrge shadows from the trees.

    Queen Morgan''s musicians had brought to perform on the Wine Tasting Party had used their skills to make the atmosphere light-hearted to break the tension.

    Some of the pages and maidservants have gathered a group of sweet forest animals for them to y with.

    A daughter of one of the maidservants from Hazelnut Manor, a girl of seven, had stared at him with curious, innocent eyes and approached him boldly with her horrified mother''s protest.

    She had tried to make friends with him without knowing his true nature.

    From what she must have heard, Ravin was a hero who defeated a rogue Vampiric Fae.

    The chubby child nced up at him and raised her little arms as a silent demand to lift her to his chest.<sub> </sub>

    Since he had nothing else to do aside from wait for the Vampire king to get better, he bent down to pick up the girl like she was made of fine china.

    He was careful not to crush her with his Archdemon strength---not when the girl''s mother watched them looking as if she was about to pass out from the sight.

    He cradled her short thighs and spread a hand behind her tiny back to support her.

    The child cupped his face, and he allowed its gentle touch to soothe him.

    Five minutester, the girl had fallen asleep, and her mother ran up to him and immediately snatched her away from him as if he was a predator.

    If Ravin and his mate''s daughter from another man managed to form such a thin and fragile bond, would they also do the same?

    Capable fighters in Queen Morgan''s Militia had practiced sparring with their fellow soldiers with their Cadre''s leadership.

    Everyone was determined to learn how to defend themselves, learn new abilities, and train the young ones while they were at it.

    This Realm is changing, and it wasn''t for the better.

    The Fae also tested their abilities in shapeshifting and mour, taking a variety of demon forms as a way to test their skills.

    They must understand the inner workings of the enemy.

    Queen Morgan strolled the forest in her white cloak with silver peacock feathers around her shoulders.

    <o>,m The white rose crowns overhead while beads of shiny pearls flowed through her hair.</o>

    Even in a tragedy, the Autumn Queen was the epitome of opulence.

    She appeared so out of ce when she stood near the fae cksmiths to infuse magic in their weaponry.

    cksmiths were busy forging civilians just in case they were needed in the war.

    Ravin couldn''t sleep that night, and Queen Morgan took advantage of that.

    She continued persuading him to hand over the blue-feather ne she owned. Ravin ignored her plea.

    He was fully aware that Queen Morgan and Merle were the same and that she was the rightful owner of this blue feather that her Archangel had given her in the past.

    Yet, Ravin wanted to cling to the item with his ws for some reason.

    Hecate wanted him to have it, so it belonged to him unless that witch goddess told him otherwise.

    It must spill from her own lips that Queen Morgan owned the ne before he would give her permission to have it.

    His whelp was the one to find it, so of course, he should be the one who kept it.

    Her fault.

    Not his.

    Queen Morgan had taken revenge, refusing to borate about how they stumbled across the Tree of Four Seasons if he didn''t give her the ne.

    If no one wanted to give in to another due to unreasonable pride, this mission was doomed to fail at the cost of other people''s lives.

 Chapter 867 Apollyons Dream

    <strong>Newest Chapter for the Highest Tier (March 2022)</strong>

    <strong>*********************</strong>

    <strong>Vampire King Apollyon</strong>

    <strong>*********************</strong>

    Apollyon swore he was in a fever dream.

    He knew he wasn''t physically there, but he did exist.

    He couldn''t bring his hands in front of his face, and he couldn''t see his limbs, too.

    It felt like he had no form, to begin with.

    Even lost souls had this ghastly appearance, which resembled something, but at least his mind was conscious.

    He was only aware of his vicinity in his mind''s eye.

    It seemed like the sun was about to set from the white, gold, and orange hues from the far horizon. It was a stunning work of art��so beautifully painted by the Hand of God.

    He usually didn''t dwell on sunsets that much since he had witnessed more than thousands of them since he was born.

    Yet, there was something in this particr dusk.

    He didn''t know it yet.

    Hands-on his hips, he decided to wait some more until things began to show themselves.

    Apollyon didn''t have to suffer for long.

    Indeed, a phantom boat with hulls curved like crescent moons emerged after the bright sunset had faded into this pale bluish-grey.

    Night had fallen, and pitch-ck had quickly spilled through the natural canvas.

    He saw that the phantom boat had taken shape, and he also acquired his appearance back at that moment.

    His hands became visible first, followed by the rest of his body covered in a dark brown tunic.

    This time, he found himself standing at the riverbank, hisrge bare feet digging unto smooth, cold pebbles and sand.

    He immensely enjoyed how it felt like velvet underneath his soles, and he forgot the phantom boat for a while.

    A strong gust of wind blew in his direction, and the tie around his clothes almost came undone around his waist.

    Apollyon''s amusement vanished.

    A scowl reced his slight smile as he nced down at the little waves touching his toes at the riverbank.

    A few secondster, the fine-grained sand sticking unto his skin turned rmingly red.

    Was the river water poisonous?

    He immediately withdrew and stepped away from the murky waters.

    But then, something in the phantom boat caught his eye.

    Raising his head, his eyes narrowed at therge, thirty feet long wooden boat and its contents.

    Three golden coffins were arranged neatly in the middle.

    One was longer than the rest as if it was meant to amodate a dead adult, while the two remaining coffins could fit the size of infants.

    Now, Apollyon could feel and see the thousands of lost souls wandering the shores around him.

    It felt like most of them also wanted to cross the river and get on the other side, but they couldn''t.

    His brows furrowed in confusion, wondering if he was as dead as these creatures.<sub> </sub>

    Now, this scene seemed familiar.

    Was he standing at the bank of River Styx along with these ghosts?

    To quench his thirst for knowledge, he pushed one lost soul to the waters on purpose.

    His victim''s loud, piercing scream rang through the quiet night until he dissolved into nothingness.

    Despite knowing that he was the culprit, the lost souls who remained on the riverside nced at Apollyon in indifference as if they expected it to happen.

    They couldn''t care less about his sin.

    At least Apollyon figured out that if he swam into these waters, he would vanish as well.

    Everything except the magic boat.

    Having one less soul to worry about, these souls were more concerned about meeting the mysterious ferryman and getting on his boat instead of being trapped in the riverbank.

    Then, his vision blurred and focused on the ferryman slowly rowing the boat which carried the mysterious coffins.

    It was Sloth who had a reddish-brown cloak over his shoulders.

    Apollyon could see his face as he rowed on the water with his right hand.

    Why was he acting as if he was the ferryman of the dead when it should have been Charon''s responsibility?

    A dragon was perched at the bow as if it had appointed itself as its guardian, helping the deceased transport their soul from life to the afterlife.

    He got a closer look at the monster and realized it was his mate''s pet dragon.

    Chills ran down his spine when he spected who was inside those coffins.

    One adult.

    Two infants.

    Apollyon tried using teleportation to get to the boat and prayed this skill would work in the Underworld. Fortunately, it did.

    He didn''t even nce at the ferryman and find whether or not Charon was pretending to be the Archdemon of Sloth when he stood at the hull.

    He bent over and quickly lifted the lid of the most giant coffin and pushed it aside.

    He braced himself just in case he discovered it was Luna''s soul inside but�� nothing.

    His eyes widened in shock.

    Unnerved, his trembling hand opened the two coffins which Apollyon assumed were for Luna''s twin babies.

    No newborn souls weren''t trapped in there.

    Apollyon exhaled a sigh, not knowing whether he should be relieved or furious for being treated like a fool.

    He was about to wrangle the shape-shifting ferryman''s neck without a word but angel feathers began to fall from the night sky, turning the ck waters of River Styx into the red as if it was wine.

    Before he could even think about something significant about this particr wine, he saw his wife standing beside the rumpled bed.

    Her eyes were sunken from the dark circles underneath them.

    What was left of her white gown from the Wine Tasting Ceremony was all bloody.

    Apollyon could see that her face was battered and bruised.

    The long deep gash that hadn''t cured itself on her neck became more evident when she pulled her bodice down below one breast.

    He couldn''t ept that Luna had breastfed one silver-haired child in another man''s presence.

    The Archdemon of Sloth rocked the other silver-haired infant in his arms to shush her, keeping her upied while she couldn''t get her turn yet.

 Chapter 868 What Have You Done?

    <strong>Newest Chapter for the Highest Tier (March 2022)</strong>

    <strong>*************************</strong>

    <strong>Vampire King Apollyon</strong>

    <strong>? ************************</strong>

    The Archdemon of Sloth rocked the other silver-haired infant to quiet her, keeping the securely swallowed bundle upied while she couldn''t get her turn yet.?

    Apollyon didn''t even know what to feel at that moment.

    ? He was bombarded with all kinds of emotionsa���pure happiness and excitement to downright concern and anxiety--as he stood there as still as a sculpture, watching the tableau in front of him.?

    Warm tingles shot through his soul as he thought about having his daughter born into this chaotic realm.?

    Tears of joy blurred his vision, and he tried to stop them from flowing.?

    ''Why was he feeling this way?'' Apollyon thought as he wiped his tears,pletely erasing the evidence of his weakness.

    ? He couldn''t care less about Luxen''s spawn, and he was afraid that Luna woulde to love her more than their daughter.?

    At first sight, he couldn''t distinguish his real daughter between them because both have the same color of their mother''s hair.

    ? He should approach those funny little things closer to see their reddish faces and the color of their eyes.

    ? Perhaps, that would give them a clue.?

    Not taking his eyes off Luna and the baby in her arms, he took a step forward but then he hesitated.?

    He was so overwhelmed with love at the sight of his mate and his daughter that he thought his heart would explode.?

    ? Her mate was too distracted with the baby in her arms as she brought the tiny, fragile thing closer.?

    Her free hand held her breast so that she could guide her nipple towards the baby''s open mouth.

    ? After the baby''s tiny, red lips finallytched on, her chubby cheeks began to move back and forth as she fed on breastmilk.

    Baby Leonor made low-pitched smacks and swallows, and Luna couldn''t stop a giggle from bubbling up her throat as she nced down lovingly at her.

    The sight of the baby seemed to amuse her to no end, making her green eyes sparkle like emeralds under the sun.

    From the way her mate appeared, Luna was exhausted by the childbirth, but she didn''t let it deter her from lovingly cooing the newborn.?

    He remembered when Luna confessed that she would make such a horrible mother because her maternal instincts were non-existent after being an Amazonian maiden for a long time.

    ? Their daughter began to suck milk out of her mother''s breasts.?

    ? It was a sight to behold.?

    Yes, he had seen a mother nursing her child, but he was detached in the past because he didn''t give a damn about family in general.?

    Now, this vision was life-changing.

    On the other hand, Apollyon guessed Sloth was taking care of the other Archdemon child.

    ? Of course, prioritizing Baby Eleonor than the other one made sense.

    ? If Luna was a good mother, she should attend to their precious daughter first before she could look after? Luxen''s spawn.

    All he ever wanted was to keep his family safe.

    At that point, Apollyon questioned himself if he was capable of being a good father or if he could be someone that his wife and their child wanted him to be after this ended.<sub> </sub>

    Would his rtionship with his wife change after the babies are born??

    Now, his past tion had mixed with rising fear before it grew into full-blown panic.?

    As a new father, he wanted to be a role model for his daughter. But he recalled the horrible things he had done in the past.

    Apollyon realized that he, regarding his mother as mad, was like a pot calling the kettle ck.

    ? He wasn''t exactly a good person because he had taken after his insane parents.?

    Apollyon was a mess, a massive contrast to Sloth''s behavior, leading him to feel somehow inadequate and ipetent as a father.?

    The Archdemon could be as ruthless as him, but he seemed alright with babysitting as if he had been doing this for countless lifetimes.

    Seeing him get along with the other baby was extremely disturbing when Apollyon recalled that his brother raped his mate.?

    ? Suddenly, he felt lightheaded, and his heart felt heavy and tight.

    He recalled some snippets of conversation he had with Luna about the Archdemon of Lust when they used to hide at the mountain cabin in the Spring Courts.?

    It triggered his anger and jealousy like a keg of gunpowder thrown at a bonfire.?

    Apollyon had enough of feeling left out.?

    Still, he didn''t want to cause a scene in that room.?

    Well, it wasn''t like they had paid attention to him even once.

    He doubted that Sloth and Luna had noticed that he was in the same room with them.?

    Apollyon just wanted to rece Sloth and help Luna care for the newborns.

    He had never felt useless before, and he started to question if this was the real deal.?

    Had his mate already given birth, or was he merely peeking into the near future?

    ? Could this be a hallucination that his mind had created to fill the gaps in his memory?

    ? He couldn''t even remember what happened to him before this vision.?

    Just when he was about to make himself known to them, he witnessed someone move behind Luna.

    ? From out of nowhere, a gleaming de had punctured her deted stomach as blood dripped from the stab wound into the fabric of her blood-stained white gown.

    Luna let out a pained groan despite the hurt while holding her baby tightly.

    Apollyon was too stunned to speak.

    Sloth tried to destroy the assant, but he quickly realized it was toote to save her.

    Instead, he reached out to protect the baby in Luna''s arms before she passed out onto the floor.

    When Apollyon raised his head from Sloth''s rescue and Luna''s injury, he froze in shock upon seeing the face of the culprit.?

    It was him who stabbed Luna.

    Dark shbacks came at the forefront of his mind.?

    What had Apollyon done to her?

 Chapter 869 Entitled

    <strong>Newest Chapter for the Highest Tier (March 2022)</strong>

    <strong>**************************</strong>

    <strong>Vampire King Apollyon</strong>

    <strong>? **************************</strong>

    Luna''s vibrant green eyes dulled and rolled at the back of their head.

    Before Apollyon could catch his mate and the babe, he also staggered backward.

    His mind swirled and his breathing was shallow.

    What had Apollyon done to her??

    What if someone else had controlled him to do that abomination??

    Everything happened so swiftly that he found it hard to understand.

    Yet, his chest felt tight, suffering from guilt and humiliation.?

    He wasn''t even sure what was true and false but he had these memories nted in his mind that he couldn''t remember doing where he had physically hurt her.?

    But, he knew he did something based on the emotions evoked from the shbacks he had.

    His insides turned into this bottomless pit of dread.?

    Harming his mate was also simr to harming himself.

    ? He just realized that striking at her, he might as well have struck himself.?

    Where was she right now if he was trapped in this dream?

    Then nausea he felt crept up to his head and the world went ck.

    ? How much did she have to suffer because of him??

    All he wanted was to release this pain and agony that had already built up inside his heart.?

    Like her, he crumpled like a puppet whose strings had been cut before he fell into a heap on the floor.?

    ? <<The Fates are right. I''m going to end up dead, Apollyon. You almost killed me.>>

    Upon hearing Luna''s voice ringing in his head, he opened his eyes to see moonlit crystals hanging from the ceiling.?

    Apollyon couldn''t move his limbs yet.

    It was as if his body was trapped underneath a huge boulder.?

    With clenched fists, he gritted out. "This isn''t true. You aren''t her."

    Apollyon breathed. "Lilith."?<sub> </sub>

    The Archdemon chuckled darkly.

    "I see you''re still delusional--"?

    <<a���and you, Apollyon, still couldn''t protect the one you love.>> She cut him off smoothly. <<You are pathetic.>> Her tone was now a mix of pity and amusement and he tried to stop his emotions from ring up so that the wench couldn''t use it against him.? <<You almost killed hera���usa���with your bare hands.>>

    "I didn''t. You are lying!" His wife had found a solution so that? Lilith couldn''t take over her consciousness. Luna told him so.?

    She promised him that they wouldn''t bother them anymore.

    Why was she able to return?

    "Howe you are the one talking to me instead of her?"

    <<We have already established that she is weak. I guess that her Archdemon Magic was too drained since she wasn''t drinking Ravin''s blood for the past few hours. Now, I had the power to ess the mind link you have with her. It''s just that, you know it''s already me and there is no use in pretending. The good news is you can''t hurta���>> Apollyon interrupted her by sending a psychic attack through the mind link.

    ? Her whimpers echoed in his mind as if she had been struck by lightning.?

    ? <<Apollyon!>> Lilith gasped. <<You are hurting your wife''s vessel.>>

    "At least, she wasn''t the one feeling the pain." He smirked in satisfaction.

    Lilith''s pain was music to his ears.?

    "Where is my wife?"

    <<Your wife is so weak from trying to expel the babies out of her stomach. I''m taking over and preventing them froming out somehow.>> She said a matter of fact.

    Lilith felt no guilt and remorse for trying to destroy his familya�| as he should expect from an Archdemon.?

    <<There is no point in stopping it. Whether the childbirth is a failure or sess, your time in Luna''s vessel is over.>>

    <<a���so is your wife, Vampire King.>> Lilith snarled powerfully in his head that he almost flinched. <<I would dly go down with her if the inevitable happened.>>

    "What made you think that I would just stand by and watch you ruin us?" Apollyon growled back.?

    << I wonder how I could hold these baby girls in. Luxen''s spawn desired to see this Realm so bad while her Father was busy burning it to the ground.>> She exhaled a mocking sigh and clicked her tongue. <<All of us are going to see each other in Hell after all of this is done. It''s up to Luxen if whichever Realm he chose to reside. I couldn''t care less about returning to Hell when I can''t have your heart, mind, and soul no matter how hard I trya���>> Did he hear it right? Had the crazy priestess given up on him? <<-- but no one else shall covet even the things I have discarded.>>

    ? "Your sense of entitlement knows no bounds, Lilith."

    << I''ll drag this ugly chit and your daughter to Hell with me. No one is allowed to be happy while I''m all alone and miserable!>>

    <<You and Luxen''s spawn have benefited from my wife''s energy and clung to her like a parasite so that both of you could survive and be brought into this world. For what other purpose are you doing this?? I would understand if you tell me that you wanted to rule the Material Realm with Luxena���>>

    <<Stop acting as if you have no idea, Apollyon. I have told you so many times but you refused to acknowledge it!" Now, she had started screaming in the mind link that he wished Lilith would burst a vein on her forehead and clocked out so that his wife could rece her.? <<I did all of these sacrifices because Ia���>>

    <<Whether Luna existed in this realm or not, you know deep in your heart that I would never love you back. You are just one insecure spoiled little brat who refused to grow up. You couldn''t even handle a simple rejection because it hurts your fragile ego.>> Apollyon''s said calmly as if he was talking to a child. He was aware that it would frustrate Lilith to no end that he wasn''t mirroring her hysteria. <<You think you are too precious to be abandoned? This is why you do everything in your power just so the false image you have carefully crafted for yourself wouldn''t shatter. Get off your high horse and stop chasing after me, Lilith." Now, his voice had switched to dangerously soft. " You don''t have respect for yourself and for other people. From what you are doing so far, I think you deserved to be alone. No one loved you and no one would look for you when you are gone. No one.>>

    <<I''ll make your wife suffer and die from stillbirth for your insolence.>>?

 Chapter 870 Between A Rock And A Hard Place

    <strong>Newest Chapter for the Highest Tier (March 2022)</strong>

    <strong>********************************</strong>

    <strong>Queen Morgan of the Autumn Courts</strong>

    <strong> ********************************</strong>

    Queen Morgan headed to theke.

    The two members of her Cadre, Sylvain and Jora, offered to row the boat for her.

    They weren''t allowed to use their faerie wings because there is aponent in the atmosphere above theke that prevented them from doing so.

    Their delicate wings might form holes and melt into nothing as if someone invisible had pressed a firece poker while they flew.

    She already spected that it was due to the high concentration of iron from theke water.

    Next, the three of them headed due west until they reached the bottom of a mountain which was close to the boundary they had with the Winter Courts.

    With her Cadre''s assistance, they descended under a thousand feet until they arrived at their destination.

    The opening of the Cave of Crystals was shaped like a horseshoe on the outside.

    Massive milky white crystals towered around them.

    Honestly, Queen Morgan wouldn''t be surprised if it served as a temple a long time ago before her Fae miners discovered them.

    She ordered Sylvain and Jora to stand guard and remained outside.

    When she entered alone, luminous beams of gypsum just half the size of the columns in Hazelnut Manor, nearly forty feet long and three feet wide, gleaming in the dark, jutting in all directions from dirt-brown walls, floors, and ceilings made of limestone.

    These crystals were effective in cleansing auras and energies, restoring the possessed individual''s mental state after being overwhelmed by demonic energy.

    The cavern might be spacious but it didn''t take long for her to find Apollyon since he was the only living creature that she had trapped there just in case Ravin had turned him sessfully into a demon.

    The Vampire King was in a sitting position but he was breathing hard as if it took a lot of effort to keep upright.

    His eyes were closed while his back leanedfortably on a huge selenite column.

    He looked like Hell but at least the magic crystals had helped him heal his injuries faster.

    Only a festering wound in his shoulder remained and she guessed it was the demon bite Ravin had told her about.<sub> </sub>

    "Apollyon. We need you in the Garden of the Four Seasons now that you are free from any demonic influence."

    p She whispered, crouching to a squat while her heels were nted to the ground. Perhaps, he was a safer choice to enter the ce than an Archdemon.</anda>

    "Yet, Ravin''s pride wouldn''t let him give up the feather ne." Apollyon''s fists tightened on a gypsum flower nearby. "We can''t enter the Tree of the Four Seasons if you can''t persuade him to give it to me."

    "How did you find the Tree of the Four Seasons? You said you have tried searching for it for centuries. Why did it show up now after all these years?" Apollyon spoke evenly but the tremble in his deep voice felt like he was close toshing out. "It''s impossible that the Archangel from Ourania''s painting just thought that yesterday was the perfect time to show herself and her ward. Why hadn''t allowed you toe in?"

    "I caught the Order of the Selcis carrying the white feathers that belonged to an Archangel in secret." Smirking, Queen Morgan tilted her head and settled her forearms on her bent knees. "You think I didn''t realize what they were when you weren''t doing a good job hiding it. Where did you get it?"

    There was a long pause before he said, "We found them at the Summer Court''s Hypogeum. I thought you were also hiding the same things."

    "We only have a single blue feather. The Archangel who helped me in the past thought it was enough for me to lead my people in winning the rebellion and im territory for the Autumn Courts."

    "Who is this Archangel you were talking about?"

    Queen Morgan changed the subject immediately. "You and Ravin had used a different strategy to fulfill the mission without telling me about it."

    "I''m not aware that we have to ask for the permission with every move we make, Queen Morgan. There are many ways to skin a cat." He continued to speak with his eyes closed. "We chose the quickest way to achieve the oue."

    "Like what you said, the Order of Knights I have given you were still fast and effective." Queen Morgan knew she hadn''t given them the best of the best from the Fae Militia but with a calcted n and exceptional leadership, they were able to execute their tasks sessfully. "The Order of the Selcis found the Tree of the Four Seasons. They sent one of them to the Autumn Castle and report it to me."

    "Traitorous bastards!" Apollyon cursed and punched the floor, leaving cracks on the crystals. "I told them toe to me first."

    "This isn''t just about loyalty, Vampire King. They came to me first because I was the nearest to the location." He was too far away, distracted from thepany of his pregnant mate whom he only saw once a week. Everyone knew that he needed the time to be with her or else he might go insane. "Yet, when we arrived at Hazelnut Manor to deliver the good news, we found that you have encountered another trouble."

    In that instant, Apollyon opened his eyes and the Prussian Blues in them had turned to red.

    Queen Morgan''s eyes grew wide when he grabbed her arm and pulled her closer until their faces were at a level.

    Gaze narrowing at her, he demanded, "Exin it to me. I don''t remember much but I have a few shes of memory where I have bitten her so hard that the tip of my tongues could touch bone!"

    She knew that he felt guilty.

    He did the worst, demonic thing a husband could do and that was to hurt his wife.

    He patiently waited for Queen Morgan to borate but she didn''t.

    Queen Morgan stared hard at him before she pushed him off her and withdrew, "If you are feeling alright, we must hurry up and go to the Tree of the Four Seasons to get the fruit." She got up gracefully and arranged her skirts. "Ravin and I will tell you the rest of the details when we get there. You have a wife to save."

 Chapter 871 Baptized By Hellfire

    <strong>Newest Chapter for the Highest Tier (March 2022) </strong>

    <strong>*****************************</strong>

    <strong>Archdemon of Gluttony</strong>

    <strong>Prince Ravin of the 2nd Circle of Hell </strong>

    <strong> ****************************</strong>

    When Queen Morgan, Jora, Sylvain, and Apollyon returned to their camp in the woods, Ravin wasn''t convinced that the Vampire King was alright.

    He was skeptical that the Cave of Crystals got rid of the Archdemon energy in himpletely.

    Ravin narrowed his eyes at the venomous bite he inflicted on his shoulder that hadn''tpletely healed yet as tendrils of dark and red miasma emanated from the eye-shaped center.

    He had observed the Vampire King from the corner of his eye while pretending to y with a few fae children around him in silence.

    These poor little kids would be baptized in hellfire soon if the Archdemon of Lust surprised them with another demon siege.

    He imagined these young faeries getting eaten by the Legion, leaving a bitter taste in his mouth.

    Their mothers'' dispositions seemed to warm up to him a little after he used mour to make the most harmless version of him possible.

    Ravin shook his head because the Fair folk forgot that he was also an Archdemon.

    Maybe, his interactions with Queen Morgan the other night regarding the blue feather ne made them perceive their non-existent rtionship wrong.

    The Autumn Queen never dismissed him entirely, even if he was rude.

    At least, Queen Morgan didn''t feel the need to assert her cold-blooded reputation on him despite his refusal to give her the ne.

    He was currently seated on arge, t, and smooth stone.

    He didn''t care about the fae children''s little hands clutching at the fabric of his cloak like they wanted to tear it apart and focused on Queen Morgan''s conversation with another Fae General instead.

    She ordered him to prepare all the Chariots they had used to arrive at Hazelnut Manor.

    It made sense.

    Those vehicles would get them to their destination faster. Apollyon wouldn''t be able to use his teleportation abilities if he didn''t know the exact location of the Garden of the Four Seasons.

    Hands folded over his chest, Ravin waited for the small group to approach him while seated under a pine tree.

    For some reason, Ravin could read the Vampire King''s aura and his current emotions��fear for his mate''s condition, guilt, and shame for what he had done to her, and of course, revenge to the perpetrators.

    Ravin scowled. ''This must be the effect of the demonic poison I have injected unto him.''

    What would he do if he found out that his mother and Hephaestus had done it?

    Now, it wasn''t mere spection after Princess Sapphire and Xerxes had gathered enough evidence.

    Upon seeing the adults with grim faces, the little faeries ran away in fear and made themselves scarce.

    When he finally came face to face with Queen Morgan and the others, he expected the Vampire King to explode in anger and me him for all the circumstances he found himself in, but he didn''t.

    Ravin''s gaze scanned him from head to toe and made it a point to snort.

    Mocking him didn''t work.

    p His face was expressionless, his stare was even, and he exuded a quiet arrogance as Queen Morgan, Jora, and Sylvain took a seat around Ravin to form a circle.<sub> </sub></anda>

    It crept Ravin up that the bastard didn''t even pick up a fight for what Ravin had done to him at the Great Hall.

    Perhaps, the Vampire King still couldn''t remember what happened, or he was conserving his energy, somehow, to punch himter.

    He realized that Apollyon wasn''t fun, so he switched his attention to Queen Morgan.

    She had talked about the Archangel in one of Princess Ourania''s paintings.

    "This is why the Order of the Selcis can see the garden, but they couldn''t enter it. The Archangel won''t allow it if he thinks the searchers weren''t worthy." She exined patiently before throwing Ravin a nce. "Perhaps, the blue feather will help us get in."

    He observed her reactions closely when Apollyon mentioned the female Archangel who rescued her when she fell in mid-air.

    ''The feathers in her wings weren''t blue, though." Ravin interrupted, and it earned him a glower from the group.

    Apollyon assumed that she was the new caretaker of the Garden of Four Seasons, and he wondered if the Order of the Selcis could affirm this.

    Queen Morgan straightened her spine and replied, "I don''t know yet because I haven''t checked, Vampire King. I told you I have to bring the news to you first."

    He nced at Queen Morgan and suggested, "You don''t have to do it personally, Queen Morgan. You could have asked the messenger or a member of your Cadre to do the job."

    He could see panic crossing her pale face before it turned as hard as granite.

    "How could you��" Sylvain was about to rise from his sitting position to teach him a lesson, but Queen Morgan raised a finger to stop him.

    Ravin smirked, already expecting this to happen.

    Yet, he was surprised that Sylvain and not the Vampire King interfered.

    He usually forced him to appear as docile as amb in front of the Autumn Queen.

    "Stay away from this, Sylvain." She said calmly without removing her gaze from Ravin. "I''ll handle him myself."

    Sylvain pursed his lips and remained seated on the dead log.

    "I will do what I want without your permission, Archdemon." She rested her hand primly over her the skirts of her white gown.

    Perhaps, the trouble he wanted to stir wasn''t grand enough.

    "Do you know an Archangel Uriel, Your Highness?"

    A pregnant pause.

    Her countenance was now devoid of emotion.

    A nk te.

    Queen Morgan''s reaction was too suspicious for her good.

    She tilted her head curiously. "What about him? I haven''t met an Archangel by that name."

    "I saw a vision of you and him when I got this feather ne from Rere."

    Her golden eyes shone so brightly, and sharp they almost appeared like ss.

    She scooted closer and whispered low, "What have you witnessed?"

    Queen Morgan''s intense gaze made him feel like they were the only ones there.

    Clearing his throat, Ravin gave her a half-shrug. "Nothing much. Just a star-crossed love between a fallen angel and a Fae."

 Chapter 872 Almost An Archdemon

    <strong>Newest Chapter for the Highest Tier (March 2022) </strong>

    <strong>**************************</strong>

    <strong>Vampire King Apollyon</strong>

    <strong> *************************</strong>

    Apollyon breathed heavily as he bent over and rested his hands on his knees from this strange exhaustion.

    He nced around the arctic wastnds.

    It had no signs of life aside from the Fae Militia gathered in this location.

    Visible puffs of air came out of their mouths as the strong winds howled andcerated their thick cloaks.

    It was strange for a powerful vampire like him to feel sluggish.

    Was it because he just turned into a rogue vampire, or�� did cleansing himself of demonic energy in the Cave of Crystals leave him weak because his system had relied too much on his mate''s Archdemon blood?

    Yes.

    What he did to his wife was unforgivable: death was the only punishment he deserved.

    Apollyon never took his gaze off of her, and he was in his wife''s presence the entire time before he turned into a rogue vampire.

    Everything was great before they encountered problems he, at least, dismissed as irrelevant.

    With Hephaestus'' help, Princess Ourania almost snatched his step-sister in Hazelnut Manor. Honestly, he couldn''t care less if Hephaestus and Princess Ourania seeded in taking her away and forcing her to return to the Summer Courts for her safety.

    Nobody could deny that his half-sister belonged to her birth parents.

    In addition to that, both Autumn Courts and the Vampire Kingdom were positioned in the eye of the storm, where demonic activity was the strongest.

    Apollyon had no right to stop them except that it was Princess Sapphire''s wish to remain here with Xerxes.

    It was also his soft-hearted Empress wish for his half-sister to stay with them in Hazelnut Manor, using Hecate''s words as an excuse.

    Due to extremepetition for the Vampire King''s love, his wife had no female friends ever since he met her in the Consortium.

    Lady rence, Prince Aspen''s fiance, and Luna were close enough to call each other acquaintances.

    Yet, Princess Sapphire was the closest girl his wife could rely on whenever she felt alone without him.

    His wife was fond of the girl, and it was a huge mistake when he chose to humor her instead.

    ording to Ravin, his sister''s presence in Hazelnut Manor had caused troubles, heartache, and agony to all the people involved.

    However, Apollyon had no way to confirm Archdemon''s lies.

    He hadn''t even reached the point where the Fae soldiers he ordered to disperse around the area were able to catch the culprits.

    Apollyon was aware that Hephaestus and Princess Ourania were not to be underestimated�� but why did these two choose to inflict violence on the innocents at such an important event?

    Thest thing they did was drink wine, and then he cked out.

    ''There must be something about that f*cking wine!'' Apollyon thought with gritted teeth.<sub> </sub>

    G*ddamnit!

    How the hell didn''t he manage to scent the foreign substance before the rim of the goblet could touch his lips?

    He clenched his fists so hard that his hands trembled from his frustration.

    Ravin did tell him that there was something about the wine, but he didn''t care borate.

    He raised his head a little to watch him p his leathery bat-like wings from afar.

    The urge to strangle the Archdemon intensified

    The Archdemon only told him to me everything that happened to Hephaestus and her mother and not think about it too much.

    They couldn''t afford to be distracted now when they were just a step closer to having ess to the Garden of the Four Seasons and stealing the fruit right out of the Archangel''s nose.

    He could no longer hold back his anger.

    Apollyon shook the sweat off his forehead and straightened his spine. "It''s empty out here," Apollyon growled loud enough for everyone to hear, and a string of curses followed. "I don''t see any entrance, much less see the damned garden!"

    Upon hearing hisint, everyone in his vicinity whipped their heads in his direction.

    They need to get the fruit of the Four Seasons before their mate loses her physical vessel.

    Lilith''s Archdemon soul had gotten stronger in Luna''s body, and her interference over the childbirth could either hasten or slow down their ends.

    A Fae soldier with bluish hair flew towards him and responded urgently, "We swear it on our life that we saw it, Prince Apollyon. It''s around here somewhere but the moment, all of you arrived--"

    Of course, a massive ce like the Garden of the Four Seasons wasn''t hard to miss unless it suddenly turned invisible.

    The soldiers had already walked in circles for a few minutes with no Holy Garden in sight.

    There was nothing to see there aside from vast piles of pristine white snow almost reaching their thighs, forcing everyone to hover above or drag their feet. Fortunately, the snow had stopped falling for the night.

    "There is an Archdemon in our midst." Apollyon muttered under his breath before he shouted aloud, "How do we expect to find it easily if you are here, Ravin?!"

    "Now that we are here, do you want us to return to Hazelnut Manor, then?!" Ravin shouted even louder.

    The poor blue-haired fae beside him covered his ears, and Apollyon''s sense of smell could already scent blood dripping from the holes.

    He forgot that Faeries had sensitive hearing.

    Hands-on on either side of his waist, Apollyon scowled at the Archdemon in disbelief and bellowed. "You''re not making sense!"

    Apollyon had heard him loud and clear, but he didn''t understand why the stupid bastard would suggest they go back to where they came from!

    What was he even up to?

    The speck of an Archdemon with colossal bat wings hovering at the end of the pale horizon disappeared.

    He blinked his heavy lids thrice, and Ravin materialized in front of him.

    "I doubt that I''m not the only Archdemon around here. When you attacked your wife at the Great Hall, you thought you turned into a rogue vampire out of the blue. But what if I told you that you almost awakened the Archdemon blood running through your veins?"

 Chapter 873 Time Running Out

    <strong>Newest Chapter for the Highest Tier (March 2022)? </strong>

    <strong>*********************</strong>

    <strong>Vampire King Apollyon</strong>

    p <strong>? *********************</strong></anda>

    "Isn''t this the reason why you refrained from drinking Luna''s blooda���" Ravin began to lower his body so that they could see each other eye to eyea���" because she is drinking more of mine to sustain herself than yours?"

    "And here I thought you wanted to be an Archdemon like me so that you can level the ying field." He folded his hands over his chest and he wanted to punch the smirk off his face. "Luna''s blood will not turn you into an Archdemon entirely because she is your mate. But with my helpa�|" The Archdemon of Gluttony threw his head back andughed while everyone around them paused and fell silent, listening in on the conversation. "You got your wish, Vampire King, because of me." He bent his neck closer and whispered,? "An Archdemon Prince will help you turn into one."?

    ? One corner of Apollyon''s lips curled upward when the Archdemon straightened his posture.

    He knew better than to bite when Ravin tried to bait him."Queen Morgan had sessfully cleansed me in the Cave of Crystals." He gave him a half-shrug.? "I feel calm and at peacea�| so different from an Archdemon." It was far from the truth. Yet, Apollyon continued to stare straight into Ravin''s golden eyes to throw him off. "Don''tpare me to the likes of you."

    "We''ll see. We''ll see." Ravin nodded and pped his hands together as if it was a cue for the rest of the soldiers to keep searching for the Garden of the Four Seasons instead of eavesdropping.

    From his peripheral vision, Apollyon could see the Autumn Queen and her Cadre flying to their spot.

    As if Ravin had immediately sensed Queen Morgan''s aura behind him, he threw the question oh-so-casually, "We shall go together." Then, he turned to look over his shoulder and added, "right, Merle?"?

    ''Merle?'' Apollyon scowled at the Archdemon.

    What the hell was he calling the Queen?

    The Autumn Queen''s arm shot out and clutched the ck cord of Ravin''s ne when he faced her, "Give me the ne now, Ravin!"?

    Raising his chin, he shed her an arrogant smile, "Why don''t you just attempt to cut it again if you wanted it so badly?"

    Queen Morgan''s response was a slight frown.

    Apollyon did see her attempt it multiple timesa���secretly at first until her frustration drove her to cut it in front of his face boldlya��� like what she was actually doing right now.

    Unfortunately, the ne had strong protection spells around it that the cord and the feather can neither be separated nor destroyed.?

    Her fingers held unto it tightly without showing any intention of letting it go.

    From her countenance, the Autumn Queen seemed determined to have it if it meant sending Ravin back to Hell.

    "No." Ravin''s hand circled the Queen''s thin yet strong wrist and squeezed hard if he wanted to snap her bone into two.? "I will hold unto this tightly until I see this garden myself."

    It seemed like Ravin still thought that the Garden of the Four Seasons, not epting an Archdemon Prince like him to enter such a divine ce, was a poor excuse they created to leave him out of this.<sub> </sub>

    Why did he insist on going to divine ces where he didn''t belong??

    Without warning, Jora moved stealthily behind Ravin and plunged the iron de-- with fae magic carvings on it--behind his back.

    The Archdemon didn''t react except for a little flinch and a wince, proving to them that a Fae''s weapon can''t hurt such a powerful being.

    Well, at least it made him release the Queen''s wrist.

    "Queen Morgan had already informed us that Archdemons weren''t allowed near the garden''s entrance. Will you still keep insisting on leading us here in a wild goose chase just because the Goddess Hecate said so, Ravin?" Sylvain asked.

    As dark blood continued to trickle from the Archdemon''s wound,? Jora pulled the dagger out when he noticed that the fae symbols brought no significant damage.

    The Archdemon merely grunted as if he felt no pain. "Yes."?

    Jora scowled at the deep puncture on Ravin''s back as if he couldn''t stand its audacity to heal right in front of his eyes.?

    "She didn''t specifically tell you that you can enter the Holy Garden. You told us during the Council Meeting that she will aid you during this mission. I think that you''re just supposed to y a role in it." Queen Morgan said as she rubbed the bruised marks on the delicate skin of her inner wrist.?

    ? Apollyon nodded in agreement. "Maybe, you were just tasked to carry that blue feather with you because Rere had it before you got your hands on the item. Stop being stubborn or you will endanger my wife, Ravin!"

    He imagined his mate taking just one bite of the Fruit of the Four Seasons to make his dream of establishing a family woulde true.

    Apollyon could feel his muscles strain from the tension.

    He had longed to rescue her like the mate he should be.

    Kiss her honey-sweet lips like he was a fairy tale prince who wanted to bring her back to life even if the earlier events at Hazelnut Manor had forced her to be wary in his presence.

    She was his wife.

    His lover.

    The mother of his child.

    In his dream of the future,? Luna would gaze at him lovingly for several moments while she carried their beloved daughter in her arms before she was fully awakened.

    "The moment you are in the vicinity, everything will disappear from us." Apollyon continued as his hand gripped Ravin''s shoulder. " Do you want to keep the Empress alive or not? She''s also important to you, wasn''t she?"?

    "Yes. I want to rescue her myself because she is precious to me." Ravin replied bluntly with his broad back was still turned against him.? "I will only withdraw and give the ne to Queen Morgan until what you said is proven to be true."?

 Chapter 874 Such A Neat Trap

    <strong>Newest Chapter for the Highest Tier (March 2022)? </strong>

    <strong>*********************</strong>

    <strong>Vampire King Apollyon</strong>

    <strong>? *********************</strong>

    ''Why was Ravin too fixated on Queen Morgan and that damned feather on the ne?'' That thought made him shake his head in irritation.

    ? "I doubt you will also be able to step a single foot on the Holy Ground. You still had that bite on your shoulder." Ravin''s broad shoulders rose and fell as he tried his best not to show everyone that the stab wound in his back utilized all of his strength to knit them together at that moment.

    Ravin was vulnerable because Apollyon, Jora, Sylvain, and Queen Morgan had him surrounded. He couldn''t really run if he wanted to.?

    The Archdemon of Gluttony wouldn''t give up!?

    ? Apollyon stared at the ck blood darkening Ravin''s cloak before ncing at Jora.

    Will he kill Jora for this?

    ? Luna might not be here to stop it, but at least his oath could have prevented that ouea�| unless it changed?

    Chills ran down his spine, and he stood there, frozen.

    His eyes widened at the realization.

    He suddenly recalled Queen Morgan telling him that he was sent to the Cave of Crystals because his body was stained with demon blood, and he had to get rid of the dark miasma.

    His heart felt like it was about to explode, and Apollyon held his breath.

    Was Ravin the one who bit him on the shoulder to stop him from hurting his wife after he turned into this rogue vampire?

    Xerxes and his sister also informed him that Hephaestus and? Princess Ourania were nowhere to be found after hunting their trails on the neighboring Manors all night with the Fae Militia.

    Queen Morgan and the Fae Militia came in toote. A heavy feeling settled in his stomach.

    What if this damned Archdemon Familiar was the one who protected her from him?

    For the life of him, Apollyon couldn''t remember.

    Jora met his disapproving gaze before Apollyon quickly looked away to search Queen Morgan''s expression.

    Was it right for a Cadre member to act out of impulse without her given orders?

    Not that Apollyon would want to defend the ticking time bomb in their midst, but all of them were supposed to be allies here.

    It was fortunate that Apollyon was quick enough to get out of the Fae General''s way when he made that sneak attack.

    What if her Cadre betray him in the same way for whatever reason?

    Jora sensed that Apollyon''s ire was now directed at him, so he moved further away from him.

    ? His nails lengthened into ws, and it dug into Ravin''s flesh. "Lilith had taken over Luna, Ravin. She even essed the mind link earlier and talked to me." Apollyon whispered urgently.

    Snarling, Ravin jerked his shoulder forward and took a step towards Queen Morgan to remove Apollyon''s painful hold on him.<sub> </sub>

    Apollyon watched his open palm and observed Archdemon''s blood drizzle on his fingers.

    He wiped his bloody hand on his wolf fur cape and growled, "We don''t have time to y your silly games because her time is running out."?

    Queen Morgan had told him at the Cave of Crystals to trust the Archdemon of Sloth in caring for his wife''s well-being.

    The Archdemon Familiar was as clueless as a child to take advantage of a pregnant woman.

    Apollyon was certain he wouldn''t hurt her.?

    ? In addition to that, he would be the type of Archdemon who could best handle Lilith.?

    "I don''t even have time to be angry at you." Apollyon crouched a little before aiming a strong, hard kick at the healing stab wound on Ravin''s back.?

    With a panic-stricken flutter of her transparent Fae wings, Queen Morgan retreated to avoid getting hit from the impact.

    At the same time, Sylvain and Jora positioned themselves in front of her for the Queen''s protection.

    ? Ravin let himself fall at the thick snowy ground in a crunch, buried in what appeared to be an almost seven feet long human-sized hole.

    ? Yes, it wasn''t that deep, but if this Archdemon were Fae, the depth would be enough for Apollyon to bury the bastard alive so that he wouldn''t have to deal with him and his problems anymore.

    From his peripheral vision, Apollyon saw Princess Sapphire and Xerxes rushing to their small group to see what was happening.

    ? Brows knitted together in a scowl, he stayed like that for a while before trying to get up with his hands and knees only to turn himself over and plop back down to the snow deposits.?

    Apollyon nced down at him with his hands folded over his chest.?

    "What''s up with you, Ravin? You are not acting normal."?

    Ravin pursed his lips in a tight line, refusing to respond.

    The Archdemon Familiar looked so done with his life in this Realm.

    It was strange not to see him fight back when Apollyon was the one who attacked him first.?

    The devil had also taken his time lying with his back on the ground, and it tempted Apollyon to stomp the heel of his boot on the chiseled jaw.

    Perhaps, he was conserving his energy to prepare for the real fight.?

    Defeating Archdemons might not be a big deal to him, but seeing Archangels up close in the Gardens of the Four Seasons might disturb him for the rest of his immortal life.

    His golden glowers never failed to let Apollyon know that he med him for turning him into an outcast at this moment.

    After realizing that he was about to be exiled soon, Ravin sighed a hopeless sigh before he removed the ne and tossed it in Xerxes'' direction.

    As the werewolf neared their location, he stopped in his tracks when he saw a glint of royal blue thrown in the air, and he caught it perfectly in his hand.

    "Ouch!" Since Princess Sapphire didn''t pay much attention, she bumped her little nose on Xerxes'' back.

    Then, Princess Sapphire''s fearful gaze ricocheted between Apollyon and Ravin who remained on the ground, unmoving.?

 Chapter 875 You Are Coming With Me

    <strong>Newest Chapter for the Highest Tier (March 2022) </strong>

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    <strong>Princess Sapphire of the Summer Courts</strong>

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    Then, Princess Sapphire''s fearful gaze ricocheted between Apollyon and Ravin, who remained on the ground, unmoving.

    Her breath turned shallower as a small fog surrounded her dark brown curls in this wintry night.

    She immediately snaked her arm around Xerxes and clutched his sleeve as tightly as how he held Ravin''s ne between his fingers.

    Xerxes continued to examine the blue feather in wonder.

    Why did the Archdemon throw it to him out of the blue instead of entrusting it to Apollyon or Queen Morgan?

    What was their conversation about that drove them into making this decision?

    Princess Sapphire''s mouth went dry.

    She didn''t have a good feeling about this.

    "What''s going on here, brother?" Princess Sapphire asked anxiously, her deep brown eyes brimming with unshed tears.

    As soon as the question left her mouth, she realized that Ravin had chosen Xerxes as bait.

    Why would he give the blue feather to Xerxes if Queen Morgan had offered to meet the Archangel so that they could enter the Garden since the other night?

    Something might go wrong if Xerxes were to meet the Archangel in charge of the Garden of the Four Seasons.

    Baits were usually the first to perish if they didn''t know how to protect themselves.

    Princess Sapphire scrubbed a hand over her face.

    She knew that her friend would never say no to responsibility, and she hated it.

    Too bad, she was also determined to keep an eye on her partner and go wherever he went.

    She could not afford to separate from him.

    She also pondered what Hephaestus and Princess Ourania''s reaction would be if they found out they were in danger.

    Queen Morgan and her Cadre''s bodynguage had screamed danger as well.

    All of their shoulder muscles had tensed up, their hands inching closer to the hilt of their swords.

    Jora held a dagger in his grip.

    ck blood trickled from Apollyon''s ws and disappeared into the powder-white snow.

    The Autumn Queen nced down at Ravin warily behind Sylvain''s shoulder.

    Ah.

    She winced.

    It seemed like the five of them were fighting a war and their only mistake was to join them out of curiosity.

    Wow.

    The Vampire King pursed his lips and avoided her gaze, making her blink fast.

    What the hell?

    Was she talking to air?<sub> </sub>

    She and Xerxes still deserved an exnation!

    Princess Sapphire cleared her throat, but her voice still cracked from the distress. "Brother. Please do something about this." She pleaded and pointed the finger at the Autumn Queen. "Tell Ravin to hand it over to Queen Morgan."

    "Ravin was too petty to entrust his ne to Queen Morgan," Apollyon replied without looking at her because he was still busy ring at the Archdemon. "He was scared that she wouldn''t return it to him anymore, you see?"

    She did im it multiple times that it belonged to her, and I can''t risk it." Ravin shot back.

    Princess Sapphire was about to mention that he could let her brother, Apollyon, have the blue feather for the meantime, but he already addressed it without being asked.

    "It''s obvious why I don''t trust the Vampire King. He always had a habit of stealing something that originally belonged to me. I don''t want him to take the glory of saving our mate, either."

    Princess Sapphire and Apollyon snickered at the same time.

    They look at each other in understanding before they give Ravin a sympathetic look.

    Abnormal creatures with reptilian brains were the worst to deal with.

    She had never met an Archdemon who wasn''t selfish!

    "Why? Is Xerxes afraid? Are you speaking for him, little princess? You must have seen him put his tail between his legs." Ravin burst into a mockingugh.

    Nobody in his vicinity chuckled at his poorly made jest.

    Xerxes just stared at him nkly, ignoring the pun altogether.

    Sensing the other''s disapproval, he sighed, "An Archdemon will only ask a favor once in your lifetime, Xerxes. Just fulfill it once, and it will never happen again."

    ''Of course, it was never going to happen again!'' Princess Sapphire thought angrily. ''Perhaps, Ravin wanted them dead.''

    "I can''t ept this." Princess Sapphire dered, fearing for herpanion''s life. "Queen Morgan shall have it if I tell Xerxes��"

    Still, Ravin raised his head upwards to search the Autumn Queen''s face on the ground. "Don''t take it from Xerxes, Queen Morgan, when you hadn''t told us everything yet."

    Was Ravin implying that Queen Morgan was keeping secrets from them?

    Everyone stared at Queen Morgan, waiting for her to reveal something.

    Anything.

    "The secrets I keep don''t concern anyone, so stop throwing those usations on me, Ravin. I''m alright with Xerxes having the blue feather, and I promise not to take it away as a sign of respect. Faerie''s oath." Queen Morgan replied coldly, and a huge fork of lightning struck at the distance.

    "But, Xerxes��"

    Xerxes shook his head at her as if telling her to give it up.

    Queen Morgan didn''t allow Princess Sapphire to interrupt. "Now, you have to go far from here, Ravin. We will release a signal once the garden appears."

    "You will stop once you see us shoot a fiery arrow in the sky," Sylvain added.

    "We will raid all the fruits we can to protect our people." Queen Morgan turned her back against them to stare at the far horizon, and Sylvain and Jora followed suit.

    With that said, Ravin got up and ran his fingers through his dark brown hair to get rid of the snow on his head.

    "Go, Ravin. What are you waiting for?" Apollyon''s jaw was set as he maintained eye contact with him. "You are dying the entire thing."

    "Don''t think you aren''ting with me, Apollyon."

    Ravin didn''t wait for the Vampire King to respond as his muscles tightened in readiness.

    He already grabbed him by the arm and dragged him towards the direction where the chariots were held on standby.

    "Xerxes. Don''t give the ne to Queen Morgan, or I''ll bury you and Princess Sapphire alive." Ravin bellowed without even looking at those they left behind.

 Chapter 876 Among Us

    <strong>Newest Chapter for the Highest Tier (March 2022) </strong>

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    <strong>Princess Sapphire of the Summer Courts</strong>

    <strong> ************************************************</strong>

    "Xerxes. Don''t give the ne to Queen Morgan, or I''ll bury you and Princess Sapphire alive." Ravin bellowed without even looking at those they left behind.

    Xerxes nodded and wore the ne over his head before the blue feather settled on his corbone without protest.

    Princess Sapphire closed her eyes and covered her ears just in case the item was cursed.

    "Nothing happened, Princess," Xerxes murmured close to her ear.

    The instant she opened her eyes, she checked his body parts to see if they wereplete and hunted some nasty bruises.

    She sighed with relief when she found nothing.

    It turned out she had nothing to worry about.

    Her best friend was safe from the wrath of Hecate.

    The ne didn''t harm Xerxes, so Hecate must have allowed anyone to wear it other than Ravin.

    Princess Sapphire frowned as she stared at Ravin''s back and folded her arms over her chest.

    That demanding Archdemon didn''t have to make all this fuss and antagonize the Autumn Queen just because of a ne.

    Rain raised a hand to give everyone a small wave of farewell as he marched out of there with quick strides.

    The creatures in the arctic wastnds, who were busy looking for the Garden of the Four Seasons, watched the two with hidden amusement.

    The strange interactions between the Vampire King and the temporary General broughtughter to the Fae Militia.

    ? So this was the n Ravin had in mind.

    Princess Sapphire guessed that the Archdemon wasn''t as stupid as she thought.

    Someone from the Order of the Selcis even shouted a suggestion to use their god-given wings to get to the chariots faster, but Ravin didn''t listen.

    Princess Sapphire also doubted that Ravin would want to carry the Vampire King if he wanted to drag his feet.

    Literally.

    Apollyon kept looking over his shoulder as if he was waiting for anyone to stop him from going further from their initial location with Ravin.

    The confidence in his jutted chin withered away as the seconds ticked by.

    When the Vampire King nced at Queen Morgan, she avoided his gaze without a word, but Princess Sapphire could sense her guilt.

    If the Vampire King had expected someone to jump in and tell him to remain here, he would be waiting for the crows to turn white.

    Nothing would be aplished.

    He would have a lot of regrets afterward if he denied the fact that he was the one wasting everyone''s time.<sub> </sub>

    She thought it was her responsibility to tell him the truth as a sister.

    She brought her gloved hands to the corners of her mouth and shouted, "Don''t fight the Archdemon, brother. You have to go with him. Please do it for your wife. Luna. Hurry up and teleport."

    "If the Garden of the Four Seasons wouldn''t appear despite my absence, someone has to pay for this gamble when I get back," Apollyon responded out loud, and it echoed in the eerie stillness of the cial desert.

    "I will pay for it, Vampire King." Queen Morgan dered and waved her hand to dismiss him. "Now, go. You aren''t needed here." Queen Morgan whispered thest sentence. Offended, her brother''s cheekbones had turned red as if he was tempted to explode, but when the Queen added the word ''YET,'' he calmed down almost immediately.

    His Prussian Blue eyes glowered at them with using eyes.

    In the past, Princess Sapphire had assumed that it was challenging to rile her cold-hearted brother up, but now, she could almost memorize every reaction to the triggers.

    Her brother''s intuition might have told him not to be as stubborn as Ravin, so he allowed the Archdemon to lead in the meantime.

    In the blink of an eye, Ravin and Apollyon disappeared for an instant.

    She gathered that they weren''t that far enough from the invisible Garden of the Four Seasons because it hadn''t appeared yet.

    Twenty minutes had passed, but she still trusted that both had tried their best to move as fast as possible.

    Fortunately, the colossal dome-shaped garden began to emerge like a hazy mirage when Ravin and Apollyon''s Chariots had covered enough distance.

    It appeared close to a snow globe, as if the mythical garden was covered in thick transparent ss.

    Everyone didn''t dare move from where they stood as they witnessed the divine working on its magic.

    ck-jawed, their round eyes had also widened in amazement.

    Princess Sapphire sucked in a quick breath at the beautiful sight, and Xerxes gently grabbed her arm to stop her from running towards it like a madwoman.

    Even if they were heavenly divine beings, archangels were still dangerous if they chose to.

    Queen Morgan and the rest started to see a beautiful angel with enormous wings, but the vision began to disappear when Hellfire surrounded them once again.

    The urge to let out a panicked scream was palpable in the atmosphere and a few other soldiers did, but the loud, visceral shouts quickly died down.

    "This isn''t Ravin''s doing." Queen Morgan muttered as she nced around them.

    A harbinger of death in the shape of a colossal owl had arrived, and all of them quickly realized that it was Kotari''s pet animal that appeared in front of them.

    Princess Sapphire had no idea why but her stomach roiled at its lousy timing.

    Was Kotari about to bring them some awful news?

    Of course, the owner made himself known after a few seconds.

    Jora withdrew his sword from the scabbard behind him. "Kotari!" He called out angrily at how irresponsible he was as a part of Queen Morgan''s Cadre. "You just got here."

    Why are youte?" Sylvain asked suspiciously."What were you doing?"

    Kotari pped his Fae wings without responding to Jora''s query.

    Princess Sapphire had noticed that Hellfire, simr to what Ravin had summoned at the Great Hall, had burned Kotari from head to toe.

    She doubted that every living creature there could ignore the fact he was so calm when he should have tried everything to put it off.

 Chapter 877 Arrow

    <strong>Newest Chapter for the Highest Tier (April 2022) </strong>

    <strong>*******************************************</strong>

    <strong>Princess Sapphire of the Summer Courts</strong>

    <strong> *******************************************</strong>

    She doubted that every living creature there could ignore that he was so calm when he should have tried everything to put it off.

    Yet, to everyone''s astonishment, it didn''t seem to hurt him.

    Kotari moved closer within hearing distance and said calmly, "Thank you for leading us here, Merle." He peered at Queen Morgan between hisshes. "I appreciate it."

    Merle?

    Now, that seemed familiar.

    Princess Sapphire had heard that name before from either Ravin or Sloth.

    Did she refer to Queen Morgan as Merle, then?

    "I doubt you Faeries could defeat the Dukes that the Archdemon of Lust had sent to help me destroy this Kingdom." He added.

    All of them nced up.

    They didn''t expect Kotari and the unknown demons with him to destroy the barrier quickly when they could have done it way earlier.

    The Autumn Queen, her Cadre, and the Faerie Militia stood there doing nothing except wallowing in collective dread.

    At least Xerxes still had the good sense to pull her and hide her behind his back.

    Perhaps, Kotari and these Legions had waited for the Autumn Courts to put their guard down.

    Princess Sapphire was sure that Kotari had brought high-ranking demons than the ones they had seen and destroyed during the siege.

    She remembered the blood-red eyes of the demon who led Luxen''s Legion in contrast to these white-eyed devils.

    Ravin and Sloth exined that that demon was called a ''President,'' and he had a higher rank than the rest of the soldiers with him.

    How?

    Unless the Archdemon of Lust found a way to turn their ally into a demon?

    How could Kotari betray Queen Morgan when he was the Cadre member that had been with her the longest?

    Kotari must have prepared for this event a long, long time ago.

    Yet, she still had so many questions that couldn''t be answered.

    "Kotari! Since when have you cavorted with our enemies?" Jora demanded as he pointed the ck iron sword in his direction.

    Kotari replied with a smirk as the giant owl harpies clung to his forearm.

    With every flutter of Kotari''s faerie wings, the mour shattered into pieces and floated into the ethers before he could show his true colors.

    The monarch butterfly wings were reced by the leathery skin of a bat''s wing.

    Kotari, one of Queen Morgan''s Cadre, was a demon all along.

    <strong>*****************************************************</strong><sub> </sub>

    <strong>Queen Morgan of the Autumn Courts</strong>

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    Queen Morgan recognized Kotari''s humanoid form a little bit.

    She spected that he looked like the fallen angel she had seen before.

    Beelzebub.

    He had yed the part of a high-rank demon well with his glowing pale blond hair, strong cheekbones, and a mouth made of pure sin.

    Judging from his purple-colored eyes, she realized that the Fallen Angel had turned into a Marquis.

    A Marquis might be a rank lower than the Dukes he was with, but this lower rank was very rare and had a specific purpose.

    These were past fallen angels or Archemons from Hell who were destroyed by their fellow Archdemons and thrown into the Forgotten Realms��the eighth and the ninth circles in Hell��that had random portals.

    They had turned into the simplest, lowest form of demon��sheer dark energy��that wasn''t threatening.

    Beelzebub had slowly trained in this Realm to build his rank back up and gather intellect and watched over all the hidden entrances exits from Hell, eating unsuspecting weaker demons than them until they became strong enough.

    Beelzebub was one of Lucifer and Satan''s cohorts who have hunted her and Uriel while they hid from the Archangels at the same time.

    At that point, Archangel Uriel had already transformed into a Fallen Angel when he got her pregnant.

    Queen Morgan had suspected that he helped kill Uriel and his son after deciding to side with the Archangels at thest minute even though Uriel had already fallen.

    "So the whole time you have been gone to monitor the movements of the remaining demons inside and outside the Kingdom, you were spying on us all along for the enemies'' sake?"

    "You were my real enemy here from the very beginning, Merle." Queen Morgan clenched her fists. She didn''t want to hear that name again, for it reminded the darkest of her past.

    Beelzebub scanned her face as if he wanted to see through her mour.

    When their eyes locked, that was when she figured out that he knew all along. "It just found it sad that you couldn''t recognize your son when he was right in your face."

    She hadn''t dwelled much on hisst statement because they were too disturbed by the next thing they had witnessed.

    It wasn''t just the new Legion of new demons that had infiltrated the Autumn Courts after the siege they had sufferedst year.

    A fright of ghastly dark souls began to rise from the ground.

    "How did all these demonic souls manage to enter our territory? I thought��"

    "You were sessful in driving all of them away during the siege? That the Empress and the Vampire King had it all under control?" Beelzebub looked like he was suppressing a wicked grin. "You thought wrong. I have imprisoned their souls to the ground without your knowledge so that I could release them on this fateful day."

    So Beelzebjub had hidden all these demons in the guise of doing his job as a member of her Cadre?

    Queen Morgan had made such an awful mistake that she didn''t think her pride could recover.

    She always wondered when Kotari disappeared, but she didn''t think any of it since he had a different role in the Cadrepared to Jora and Sylvain.

    How could she let the enemy know all their ns?

    These new Archdemon Princes had nothing on me. It''s either they were too distracted by other things or they were just in stupid. Greater power in an Archdemon alwayses with tenacity and age. Don''t worry. We do have a semnce of a friendship along with your Cadre so I''m not going to kill you myself. I had another matter to attend to. I will see you in Hell, Merle, once I take back my throne as the Archdemon of Gluttony."

    Sylvain didn''t waste time and aimed his crossbow heavenward, shooting a ming arrow in the sky.

 Chapter 878 First Kill

    <strong>Newest Chapter for the Highest Tier (April 2022)</strong>

    <strong>***********************************************</strong>

    <strong>Queen Morgan of the Autumn Courts</strong>

    <strong>******************************************</strong>

    Beelzebub suppressed an evil grin as his knowing gaze followed the arrow flying upward like a skyrocket.

    It reached the apex of its ascent with a loud whistle and exploded outward, leaving bright glitter trails in its wake.

    That single arrow and the hellfire demons chasing after it turned the heavens momentarily orange.

    It felt like they witnessed the sunset for the second time that day until the lights gradually vanished.

    Tilting his head, Beelzebub addressed Sylvain, a member of Queen Morgan''s Cadre and Kotari''s previousrade.

    "Are you asking for someone''s help or asking these people toe and die with you here?" He asked dryly, but she could detect the curiosity underneath.

    Sylvain pursed his lips when their eyes met, and she slowly shook her head.

    In that tensed moment, Queen Morgan could sense that all eyes were on her��both faeries and demons--as if they wanted her to respond on behalf of Sylvain.

    Her trembling hand clutched the hilt of her sword too tightly as she lowered her head and squeezed her eyes shut.

    It was too painful to look Kotari in the eye after revealing his true self.

    She had to think of a way out of this, or the Autumn Courts would be wiped out from the Faerie Kingdom.

    Now that Kotari had openly betrayed them after iming that he was part of the demonic Legion, she couldn''t tell if he still had the heart to spare her, his fellow generals'' lives, and the Fae Militia.

    What if he was here to turn the tables around and help them defeat all these demons?

    Perhaps, it was wishful thinking on her part to assume that Kotari hadn''t allied himself to the Archdemon of Lust.

    Yet, her heart was still stupid enough to hope.

    Did he simply forget the times they had ever since he became her firstpanion after she was hailed as the Queen of the Autumn Courts?

    Did the friendship and loyalty they had built with her Cadres for millennia mean nothing to him?

    She swallowed hard.

    Her limbs almost weakened at the thought.

    Of course, it meant nothing to him.

    Kotari just exposed himself to be a high-ranking demon, Beelzebub, and he was also a Fallen Angel who might have killed her husband.

    Queen Morgan was so conflicted that the sweat on her forehead had dripped on the thick snowy ground.

    She could only stare at it the instant she opened her eyes because she had no idea what to do.

    She was used to iming victory and winning wars that led her Militia at a severe disadvantage made her spiral into confusion.

    She should start focusing on what Beelzebub wanted in a tant bid for more time.

    Why hadn''t hemanded the Dukes and the demonic Legions he brought here to y them away instead of engaging them with threats?<sub> </sub>

    Her brows furrowed.

    Queen Morgan didn''t know what to make of the Marquis'' unpredictable nature, and indeed, she didn''t want to create trouble for her group when thousands of demons practically surrounded them.

    "Who are you sending a signal, Sylvain?"

    A long moment of silence.

    Veins seemed to emerge from Beelzebub''s forehead out of irritation.

    "Answer me!" He shouted so loud that it echoed throughout the arctic wastnds.

    Beelzebub might as well be alone because nobody in this ce--even she--didn''t want to answer him.

    Beelzebub shook his head and clicked his tongue in disappointment.

    "It looks like you aren''t afraid of me, Sylvain. You think I''m not capable of killing you just because we are friends?" He folded his arm across his chest and nced down at Queen Morgan. "I''m not part of the Cadre anymore. Which means I can do whatever the hell I want."

    The Dukes of Hell''s monstrous faces wrinkled before they elongated and grew intorge snouts. Their white eyes almost bulged out of their sockets.

    Every faeries'' eyes had widened, and nobody dared to move from their position in fear of being targeted.

    The three of them stretched their tree-trunk-sized arms to the side before they attacked Sylvain and separated him from Jora, Queen Morgan, Princess Sapphire, and Xerxes.

    The high-ranking demons pulled him back to the sky as he struggled to escape.

    Their white fangs bit at him like he was a piece of meat.

    Sylvain wasn''t even given a chance to let out a terrified scream when the Dukes tore his clothes and limbs apart with their root-like ws before they chewed on his flesh.

    The Dukes of Hell separated his skin from the bones as if they merely stripped him of the thin whiteyer of clothing he had worn that night.

    The smell of fae blood filled the air as it spilled on the snow-covered ground.

    The powerful demons had already consumed Sylvain''s organs in less than a minute as if they were a hungry pack of wild wolves who had devoured their prey with satisfaction.

    Queen Morgan covered her hand over her mouth in shock, and she couldn''t take her eyes off what she had witnessed.

    Even if Sylvain was already dead, the Dukes continued to pounce on the corpse until nothing--not even bones--remained.

    <o>,m Her throbbing temples made her dizzy, and chills sent goosebumps all over her skin.</o>

    There was an ache at her throat as if she had swallowed thorns.

    She felt so many sensations in that short time that she didn''t know if she wanted to vomit, pass out, or die.

    Queen Morgan had never seen something so vicious in her life.

    Her hand clutched her caving chest as if she had been stabbed by hundreds of knives in the heart.

    It was too difficult to breathe, and she almost didn''t notice that her cheeks were wet with tears.

    "Kotari! You, traitor!" Queen Morgan screeched.

    He shrugged without remorse. "Who says I''m not?"

    "Anyone who tries to interfere will die." Beelzebub stretched out his arms in the air as if expecting to be hugged for the job well done. "The fact that all of you are here surrounded by the Legion, it must beforting to think that you are already dead at this moment."

 Chapter 879 Looking Inward

    <strong>Newest Chapter for the Highest Tier (April 2022) </strong>

    <strong>***********************************************</strong>

    <strong>Queen Morgan of the Autumn Courts</strong>

    <strong>**********************************************</strong>

    The bastard had the nerve to smirk as the Dukes flew back and positioned themselves twenty feet behind him in front of his Demonic Legion.

    Queen Morgan fought back her tears as she watched the torn pieces of Sylvain''s ck clothes as they fell over their heads like snow.

    She raised one arm in the air to catch a tiny scrap of fabric and stared at the speck of fresh blood that stained it.

    A roiling heat settled at the pit of her stomach.

    Her fist tightened at the material, and when she unclenched her hand, it was reduced into ashes.

    At that moment, it became clear to Queen Morgan that Beelzebub was telling the truth.

    The Marquis calls the shots here while the high-ranking demons follow his lead.

    Still, Queen Morgan couldn''t believe that Beelzebub didn''t even have to open his mouth and utter a singlemand over the Dukes of Hell to do his bidding.

    Can the Marquis control their minds?

    What if those powerful demons killed Sylvain of their own ord due to hunger?

    Queen Morgan didn''t expect Sylvain to be eaten alive before her until he ceased to exist.

    They knew they couldn''t leave this ce alive after Beelzebub and the Dukes demonstrated their power.

    After lowering his head in an exaggerated bow, Beelzebub pped his hands together in excitement. "The Dukes didn''t expect to be fed this early because they know that I don''t want to indulge them yet. Still, I am grateful for Sylvain''s sacrifice."

    ''He called that a sacrifice?'' Queen Morgan thought angrily. ''It wasn''t like Sylvain agreed to offer himself of his own free will to spare the rest of them.''

    Her rising blood pressure made her neck and jaw stiff, but she still shut her mouth.

    Beelzebub dropped his smug grin and said in a deadpan voice. "I think his soul suited their taste. Hopefully, the rest of the Fae Militia would be enough to fill their stomachs. They had been hungry for a long time."

    Everyone was as silent as a tombstone.

    The Fae Militia watched their Legion-like statues while waiting for the Autumn Queen to issue a suicidalmand.

    Queen Morgan continued to endure the Marquis'' mockery.

    She felt so crippled because she couldn''t do anything to save a member of her Cadre.

    She only had a few instances in her immortal life where she was humbled��that she wasn''t as strong and invincible as she thought she was just because her beloved Archangel, who turned into a Fallen Angel and made her pregnant, taught her the magic of the heavens.

    That ability helped them im their territories against the rest of the Faerie Courts and protected them from the war between the Archangels and the Fallen, but that also made her lose Uriel and her son.

    They vanished out of her life, never to be seen again. It happened a long time ago.<sub> </sub>

    To ease her sorrows, she assumed they had been killed by either the Archangels or his fellow fallen Angels he had betrayed in favor of the Heavenly Realms.

    After all the sacrifices they both made to be together, all their efforts were vain.

    Because in the end, she had lost all her loved ones.

    Queen Morgan''s thoughts were filled with revenge.

    She couldn''t afford to be seen as weak by their enemies and all the Fae soldiers she had to lead.

    Even if thousands of beings surrounded her, why did she feel so alone?

    Perhaps, it had stemmed from this gut feeling that she would die next to Sylvain if she said the wrong thing.

    She had tried to live for a long time as the Autumn Queen despite her loss because that was what Uriel wanted her to do, but she would be grateful if she could see Archangel Uriel once in the afterlife, whether in Hell or the Underworld.

    She wanted to see what had be of him and their son, but she didn''t want Sylvain''s death to be all for naught. Her muscles tightened in readiness.

    She was determined not to die that soon.

    Sheughed to suppress her outrage and made sure Beelzebub heard it. Let him know he wasn''t the only crazy person around here. "Are you happy now, Kotari?"

    Beelzebub''s brows furrowed from the name she used to call him. "What?"

    "Are you happy with what you have done to Sylvain? Did it make you feel good to kill someone who trusted you and considered you a brother?"

    Beelzebub smiled a smile that didn''t reach his eyes. "It''s unfortunate I didn''t consider him as one."

    She might be the Queen of the Autumn Courts, but she still considered Sylvain her friend.

    All her Cadre knew what they were getting into when they entered her circle.

    Their responsibility was to protect her from danger and not the other way around.

    They had already epted the truth that their death was imminent long before these legions of demons invaded their Kingdom once again, especially Queen Morgan.

    Yet, why did her heartache so painfully that it felt like she was about to explode in fury and grief?

    Queen Morgan sneered. "You must be thinking how stupid he was for believing in you. me us for our na?vet�� instead of your betrayal."

    Beelzebub didn''t respond.

    "I never knew a demon''s existence could be this pathetic." The Autumn Queen added. "Even if Sylvain is dead, he would still be in our hearts. But you, Beelzebub, Kotari, or whoever you are--" She pointed an using finger at him and shouted, "You are nothing because you don''t mean anything to anyone!"

    Beelzebub''s expression turned grim.

    "It would be a lie if I told you that I don''t care, Merle, but I am content with all of your hatred directed towards me. I rejoice in your pain." He whispered.

    ''I will bring this devil to his knees.'' Queen Morgan swore.

    "Since no one wanted to answer my question, I think it would be great if that signal were for the Archdemon and the Vampire King. I don''t see them around yet, so I will have to wait for them here so that I don''t waste my energy."

 Chapter 880 Plans

    Newest Chapter for the Highest Tier (April 2022)

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    Princess Sapphire of the Summer Courts

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    ? All faeries brought here in the artic wastnds, who were tasked to find the Garden of the Four Seasons and defend the Autumn Kingdom, stayed close to the ground and hovered just a couple of feet above the snow.

    Every Fae in this mission were trained not to make a sound everytime they fluttered their wings so as not to alert their enemies.

    But it was already toote, wasn''t it?

    Afterall, thousands of demons that had entered their boundaries'' cracks were clustered in the night sky, monitoring every single movement of the faeries down below as they waited for Ravin and her brother to arrive.

    It was also rare to find the Autumn Queen in a passive and quiet role and she couldn ''t really me her.

    She was responsible of keeping the majority alive for as long as possible and that was the reason why she wasn''t risking the Marquis'' ire.

    Provocation will lead them seconds away from ambush.

    Princess Sapphire grinded her teeth in impatience as she stealthily moved closer to Xerxes.

    She had to tell him something important.

    She slowly raised her head and took a quick nce at Beelzebub and the white-eyed demons behind him to see if they were keeping tabs on her.

    She stiffened when one of the Dukes'' head turned slightly in her direction.

    Gods and Goddesses!

    She had no desire to be their next victim after what they just did to Sylvain!

    Princess Sapphire lowered her head and fixed her gaze on the ground.

    "Xerxes." Princess Sapphire took Beelzebub and his Legion''s idleness as a chance to whisper at Xerxes low enough that he could only hear her. "There are too many demons around here. It isn''t possible for the magic garden to show up like before. What Queen Morgan told Ravin and Apollyon earlier was right."

    It is believed that the Garden of the Four Seasons wouldn''t show up in the presence of demons. Either one or the two of them had hindered the mythical garden''s appearance and wasted their time.

    Perhaps, this was also the reason Queen Morgan couldn''t find the garden for centuries because Kotari, a member of her Cadre, was also present during the search.

    All this time, he had made the Autumn Courts look like a fool. The traitor must have had the time of his life,ughing behind the Fae Militia''s backs from all the efforts they put in.

    "The garden is around here somewhere, but it vanished. I wonder if we could finds a way to enter the ce and ask the Archangel for protection." Xerxes whispered back.

    "I think that Archangel is already aware of our current situation. If she isn''t helping us, it means she is choosing not to." She might not want to put herself in danger and alert her exact location to their enemies as well. "Afterall, it is one Archangel against the four high-ranking demons including their Legion."

    Did the Archangels even nned to help them them out of this?

    She was still hoping for that one since the Highest Realms hated imbnce of power in the Realms below them.

    "I guess all of us will die here then."

    Raising her head, she narrowed her eyes at her bestfriend.<sub> </sub>

    Xerxes'' statement didn''tfort her at all.

    ''If Ravin and her brother ended their arguments quickly then they would have the magic fruits in their hands by now and protect themselves from demonic possession. This wouldn''t have happened in the first ce.'' She scowled at the thought. ''The demons wouldn''t be even in their vicinity if all of them had eaten a bite out of it because they couldn''t stand its magic.''

    "Perhaps, we could use this blue feather, somehow. I think there is an important reason why Goddess Hecate sent us here with. your brother. I''ll... I''ll find a way whatever it may be. I will do everything and force the garden to show up at the right time--"

    "--if there ever was a right time." Princess Sapphire finished grudgingly. "If you try to use it right now and they figured out that you have it, they might destroy it and the Garden if it showed up. Do you understand?"

    The blue feather was useless as long as these Demonic Legion remained.

    If only they could find another way to send them back to Hell---

    "The question is if they even recognize its purpose." Xerxes murmured calmly. "Look, Princess, if I don''t attempt at least something, this spot will still be my deathbed."

    Princess Sapphire sighed.

    How can Xerxes talk about their impending doom so lightly?

    Nothing will change if we do nothing so let''s try anything."

    "Alright, so what do you suggest?"

    "Let''s add fuel to this fire."

    "What the hell?"

    Was Xerxes out of his mind?

    "We had to distract them." He rified.

    She snapped in a whisper-shout. "You had a death wish, werewolf?"

    "All I know is that staying as still as the Autumn Queen makes us vulnerable targets. I respected that she wanted us to appear like weak and submissive victims to make these demons feel powerful. They might not attempt to kill more of us but it''s not advantageous if we are close too close to the ground."

    Princess Sapphire nced up at the Legion before nodding in agreement.

    Xerxes had a point there.

    Some of the Fae Militia really had to be high up in the air so it will be harder for them to rain hellfire over our heads.

    They didn''t have to soar upward like an arrow and make it obvious.

    Everyone just had to show some idle movements until they get there.

    She doubted that Beelzebub would order his Dukes to kill them for simply moving when they haven''t started attacking them yet.

    Something in her gut told her that Beelzebub wasn''t just waiting for Ravin to arrive before they turn this white desert into blood-red.

    She was sure that they were also waiting for someone else.

    Perhaps, they were waiting for the Archdemon of Lust?

    "We shall initiate our ns once we made everything a little chaotic."

 Chapter 881 Tell Us Your Secrets

    Newest Chapter for the Highest Tier (April 2022)

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    Princess Sapphire of the Summer Courts

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    Making things a little bit chaotic, huh?

    She thought that it would be easy to do if their life wasn''t on the line.

    If she and Xerxes weren''t careful, their names would be on the Dukes'' kill list next to Sylvain.

    However, Princess Sapphire believed that Beelzebub''s legion would think twice about angering a divine being''s daughter.

    "Leave this up to me, Xerxes." She whispered.

    Xerxes noted the confidence in her face and nodded with reluctance.

    The Archdemon of Lust was the highest-ranking demon among their enemies and she was certain that he had specific orders for Beelzebub which, hopefully, might also include not messing with the God of Fire.

    Afterall, the bastard just visited the Wine Tasting Ceremony at Hazelnut Manor and almost made all the Archdemons present to kill each other. Those kind of news could travel fast.

    Yes, they could pass the time by making their leader talk and reveal more information.

    Harmless conversations prevailing over massacres is always a good sign.

    If the battle with swords hadn''t begun, maybe Princess Sapphire could start a war with words.

    And if Beelzebub was the Ancient Fallen Angel he said he was what would be of him if he would lose his cool in front of his Legion and the entire Fae Militia just because of young fae''s seemingly innocent questions?

    "I dont understand, Queen Morgan. Kotari had been with you the longest in your Cadre but you don''t even know who he truly was? Don''t tell me that nobody in the Autumn Courts noticed that he was a demon?" She demanded loudly for everyone to hear in the highest pitch she could muster.

    Xerxes frowned at her, probably not liking the ''spoiled-brat'' character she was trying to portray.<sub> </sub>

    That question was supposed to be addressed to the Queen but just as Princess Sapphire thought, it was Beelzebub who responded.

    "A Marquis is the best when it came to mours. I might not as powerful as a Duke to catch Merle''s attention but I''m also not that weak of a demon to blow my cover up easily and reveal myself. After I exited one of the portals from the deepest circles of Hell, I have assumed this character for most of my life here in the Autumn Courts that the mask had be my identity. A Fallen Angel like me is also undetectable to the demons who were created after me." He grinned as if she had praised him.

    Princess Sapphire raised her head to look the Marquis in the eye. "Queen Morgan can easily detect any activities that were rted to demons and souls. Her magical expertise is closer to death and Underworld. I find it also impossible that she wasn''t able to sense these dark souls trapped under the ground of the Autumn Kingdom when she had the ability to banish them herself."

    Queen Morgan kept quiet as she waited for Beelzebub to spill his secrets.

    It took him a moment to answer as if he was choosing his words carefully."Good question, demigod. The longer Queen Morgan was exposed to my presence, the more convoluted her intuitive abilities be in differentiating a demon in their mours and those who were not. This was also the reason why she couldn''t see through Sloth and Ravin''s mour at first. It took her a while to realize they were Archdemons after the Vampire King and the Empress told them the truth to gain their trust."

    So, he was determined to find a way and make it seem like everything revolved around him, huh?

    "Why can''t Ravin and Sloth find out who you are?" She folded her arms over her chest. "Both of them were Princes of Hell. Was it really because your mour is foolproof?"

    He gave her a patronizing smile. "Because I am smart and careful when it came to dealing with them just like how I dealt with the others."

    Beelzebub must have engaged in this discussion because he already knew they were going to win.

    After all, they already thought that all the Faeries present here will not be able to live and tell the tale.

    The anger setting her heart aze made her voice more powerful. "I also doubt you know who they were if they hadn''t reveal themselves during the Council Meeting. You were there to witness it as Kotari. You also had no idea who they were in the beginning."

    Princess Sapphire thought it was time to nt some seeds of doubt in Beelzebub''s mind.

    "Perhaps, Ravin and Sloth had figured you out but they simply dismissed you because you are way below their league. You''re just a Marquis. As you said, you aren''t that powerful so Ravin, Sloth and the Empress didn''t want to waste their time on you when they noticed what you are." Interacting with Ravin and Sloth made her aware that demons weren''t keen on others poking at their pride.

    On that note, not only did these predictable demons didn''t want their ego attacked with thoughtless words from their enemies, most demons would always steal an opportunity to brag and she decided to end that. "They weren''t sure you were a threat and you hadn''t done something rming as a member of Queen Morgan''s Cadre to make her suspicious of you. That was the reason they let you be so as not to risk Queen Morgan''s ire. They probably assumed that you are an insignificant lower-ranked demon that the Autumn Queen had tamed."

    There was a dangerous glint in his purple eyes as he nced down at her. "You shouldn''t underestimate any types of demons no matter what rank, Sapphire. You don''t know what they are capable of."

    Princess Sapphire swallowed hard.

    Beelzebub''s cold, hard expression on that angelic face made her legs weak but once she started with pissing someone off, it didn''t seem right for her to stop without having thestugh. "We all know that hierarchy is there for a reason. You said that a Marquis rank lower than these Dukes. What did you do to make them act like your puppets?"

 Chapter 882 Replacement

    <strong>Newest Chapter for April 2022</strong>

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    <strong>Princess Sapphire of the Autumn Courts</strong>

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    Beelzebub''s cold, hard expression on that angelic face made her legs weak but once she started with pissing someone off, it didn''t seem right for her to stop without having thestugh.

    "We all know that hierarchy is there for a reason, Beelzebub. You said that a Marquis rank lower than these Dukes." She tried her best to appear cool, calm and collected while all eyes were on her. "What did you do to make them follow you like they are your puppets?"

    Princess Sapphire continued to ask no matter how scared she got.

    Sensing her unadulterated fear, Xerxes grabbed her elbow and pulled her slightly behind him.

    Unfortunately, that didn''t escape the Fallen Angel''s notice.

    Now, Beelzebub''s sight had zeroed in on him instead of her.

    "I am different from the rest of the Marquis, little girl. Yes, my rank is lowerpared to these Dukes. But none of them had forgotten that I used to be an Archangel."

    "A fallen angel, Beelzebub." Queen Morgan reminded him.

    He smirked as his purple eyes were fixed on Queen Morgan. "These demons can still recognize a fallen Archangel, Merle. They wouldn''t dare forget who I am."

    Queen Morgan nodded.

    Her expression seemed resolute as if all the exnation she needed had spilled out of Beelzebub''s mouth of his own free will.

    They didn''t even have to torture the Marquis.

    Princess Sapphire jutted her chin while suppressing a smile.

    "They aren''t stupid to serve a Marquis like you. Like Princess Sapphire said, Hierarchy is important in every race."

    "I never expected the Queen of the Autumn Courts to repeat a child''s words as if it mattered." Beelzebub snickered. Yet, his amusement didn''t reach his eyes when he nced at Princess Sapphire. "You should start telling the Princess to stop picking fights she couldn''t win instead of letting her interfere."

    "Aren''t you afraid of Ravin, Marquis? You said that you would challenge him despite your rank." Xerxes asked from out of the blue.

    Princess Sapphire''s eyes widened in surprise.

    She didn''t expect him to join the conversation at all.

    "These new Archdemon Princes had nothing on me. I am an a Fallen Angel who doesn''t get easily distracted by unessary things."

    "One rank lower means you are still weaker than them." Queen Morgan reiterated with gritted teeth.

    Beelzebub didn''t say anything but one of the Dukes of Hell behind him, whom she recognized was the one who devoured Sylvain, moved forward as if he just beckoned it closer.

    An Archdemon de materialized in the Marquis'' hand and in one swift move, he punctured through the Duke''s thick armours andyers of demonic energy.

    In the blink of an eye, the ghastly monster who looked like a hybrid between a bat, a feral wolf and an gnarly ancient tree shattered like ck shrapnels in the air before they disappeared into the ethers.

    The remaining Duke and the Legions didn''t stop him as if they couldn''t be bothered to care.

    His supposed ally didn''t even make a sound just like how that same Duke erased Sylvain''s existence.

    Princess Sapphire scrutinized at the weapon Beelzebub used to kill the Duke.<sub> </sub>

    The cylindrical de appeared like it was made of steel engraved with glowing-red runes.

    The dangerous weapon derived from his evil spirit was slim and forty inches long with a tapering needle point.

    Princess Sapphire wasn''t satisfied of Beelzebub''s reason that he used to be a Fallen Angel.

    How can a Marquis kill a higher-ranked demon this easily?

    It''s just impossible to do.

    Princess Sapphire had seen Ravin lend the Empress his strength by letting her drink his blood and she assumed that only happened between mates.

    He must have borrrowed powers from someone else.

    Ravin was an Archdemon Prince while Beelzebub was a destroyed Fallen Angel who turned into a Marquis.

    He was the only one capable of defeating him with the Archdemon de he possessed.

    Princess Sapphire wished that Sloth and Rere were here with them.

    As he straightened his spine, Beelzebub casted a nonchnt nce at Jora. "Are you done insulting me Merle or should I kill Jora, too, to make a point?"

    Queen Morgan and Jora stiffened at Beelzebub''s threat while Xerxes and Princess Sapphire exchanged shocked nces at each other.

    Did he think this was all a f*cking game?

    After killing Sylvain and his Duke, he was going to kill Jora as well?

    "You should have tried to kill me first and foremost if I did you wrong. Why are you taking it out on Sylvain and Jora instead of me?" Queen Morgan fluttered her monarch butterfly wings and started soaring into the sky.

    The rest of the Faerie militia followed suit and the demonic Legion positioned themselves to have thempletely sorrounded.

    Princess Sapphire and Xerxes remained on the ground.

    This was what they were aiming for.

    Now, they were preparing for battle and it was rming that Ravin and Apollyon weren''t back yet.

    How far did those two go?

    ''The Vampire King knows how to teleport.'' Princess Sapphire thought. ''They should be here by now.''

    "What else are you waiting for? Why aren''t you attacking us?" Queen Morgan shouted in fury.

    "My reason is simple. You are most beautiful when you are in pain, Merle." Beelzebub shrugged. The pping of the Legion''s demonic wingsbined with the strong wind tousled his blond hair, making him appear like purple-eyed madman. All that glittered wasn''t gold. "Don''t worry. We do have a semnce of a friendship along with your Cadre so I''m not going to kill you myself. I had another matters to attend to. Perhaps, we would see each other in Hell once I take back my throne as the Archdemon of Gluttony."

    Kotari��

    No.

    Beelzebub wanted to rece Ravin as the Archdemon of Gluttony?

    Was that why he was waiting for him to arrive and postponing the blooshed for the meantime?

    You looked confused, Merle. It''s alright if you didn''t understand. You don''t need to concern yourself with how the Hierarchies in Hell work." He grinned from ear to ear and it never failed to creep Princess Sapphire by how cold he appeared. "Weren''t you really aware that he was your son? Didn''t his golden eyes and his resemnce to Uriel gave him away?"

 Chapter 883 The Autumn Queens Son

    NEWEST CHAPTER OF HIGHEST TIER (APRIL 2022)

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    Princess Sapphire of the Summer Courts

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    "Weren''t you really aware that he was your son? Didn''t his golden eyes and his resemnce to Uriel gave him away?"

    Princess Sapphire''s eyes went round and she almost snorted at that absurd statement.

    Was this some kind of sick, twisted joke?

    Like, who exactly was he talking about?

    Did he mean that Ravin, the Archdemon of Gluttony and the Prince of the 1st Circle of Hell, was the Autumn Queen''s long lost son?

    How could that be possible?

    Was that actually true or had the Marquis gone insane?

    Well, Ravin was the only golden-eyed Archdemon she recognized so far.

    Frowning, Princess Sapphire turned her head to look at the Queen''s reaction and she looked stunned.

    "Wh-What do you mean?!" Queen Morgan shouted in both disbelief and outrage.

    The Marquis jutted his chin and smirked, "You''re acting dumb, Merle. Perhaps, you couldn''t ept the fact that your son had turned an Archdemon."

    Princess Sapphire had heard Beelzebub addressed the Autumn Queen as Merle multiple times as if they knew each other before he disguised himself as a member of the Cadre.

    These Ancient Faeries who had existed before and during the Great War seemed to have recognized a lot of these Fallen Archangels in the past.

    If Queen Morgan had a son who turned into demon in that era, then had she fornicated with a Fallen?

    Now, Princess Sapphire was confused.

    Then, why didn''t the Archangels destroyed her as well?

    Any living creatures in the Material Realm were forbidden to love angels who were tasked to watch over their Highest God''s creation.

    Beelzebub had dropped yet another revtion and no one in that gathering was ready for it.

    Not even the Queen of the Autumn Courts.

    Merle.<sub> </sub>

    Finally, Queen Morgan had exposed the weapons she had been hiding all this time. Princess Sapphire prayed that those two obsidian swords she had pulled frrom the ancient scabbard forming an ''X'' behind her back could destroy Beelzebub. Unfortunately, the dagger that Jora had used against Ravin only wounded the Archdemon Prince. His wounds had healed fast, inflicting no significant damage at all.

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    Queen Morgan of the Autumn Courts

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    "Satan and Lucifer destroyed Archangel Uriel in Hell as a punishment for revealing their ns to the Archangels. Your beloved also took your child with him to die so that both of them will go to Hell and leave you behind. It was the only thing he could do to keep you safe from Archdemons, Archangels and the Fae. They epted their fates and sacrificed themselves for you." Beelzebub said.

    She gasped in shock when she finally heard the painful truth behind her lover''s and her son''s disappearance.

    So, these Archdemons were aware that her husband betrayed them in favor of the Highest God.

    In the end, her beloved was brave enough to consciously choose the light despite the evil darkness eating him from the inside and out.

    All she ever wanted in that moment was to curl up into a ball and cry her heart out but she was determined to keep her grief inside.

    Queen Morgan had to remain strong for her people.

    "Like me, I think he might be trapped in the eighth and ninth circle of Hell but I haven''t seen him there. I am lucky to have stumbled upon a portal here in the Autumn Courts."

    A few demons who were reduced into dark energies after being sent to the eighth and ninth circles of Hell felt lucky enough to stumble across portals in the Autumn Courts.

    It was true that the Autumn Courts had lots of random portals here and there because their Kingdom was closely connected to the Underworld which was close to Hell in itself.

    Honestly, Queen Morgan wouldn''t be surprised if all these portals connecting Hell to this Material Realm had increased its numbers.

    In addition to that, the Divine Creator had chosen to move the Garden of the Four Seasons at their territory, just near the boundary between the Unseelie Courts, without her knowledge.

    The Autumn Kingdom was literally the eye of the storm and she couldn''t do anything but ept the inevitable.

    "The Demon King didn''t spare your son. His physical vessel in this Realm was reduced to ashes and he became a demon before he could grow into a giant to be a part of Lucifer''s army. New fledglings had a primal desire to possess and terrorize all living creatures and Ravin had done exactly that. But, he was too young to remember the atrocities he hadmitted to the kind you tried so hard to defend. You gave birth to him, Merle. You do realize that you unwittingly killed your own people, right?"

    Until now, I couldn''t believe that the son I had lost thousands of years ago really did be a demon at that time.'' Queen Morgan thought weakly. ''Ravin. The Archdemon of Gluttony is my son all along. That''s why I thought he closely resembled Uriel.''

    "The Archangels had descended from the Heavens to wipe out Fallen Angels and Demons in this world, trapping all of the demonic spirits inside a box and dumping them all in Hell." Beelzebub began.

    Archangel Uriel had told her about His Creator''s ns to establish Hell and imprison Gregoris and Fallen Angels like him who dared to rebel against His reign.

    Powerful demons can only stay in the Material Realm if they had been summoned by priestesses and dark witches.

    Your son, Uriel and I were captured by these Archangels and sent us all to Hell. Lucifer adopted your son and treated him as one of his, making him the new Archdemon of Gluttony at such a young age. The tournaments to fight over territories in Hell didn''t exist back then. Like Uriel, Lucifer casted me aside to the deepest pits of Hell when he thought I had done something to betray him! "He bellowed as his pale face reddened with wrath. "It''s so unfair how he favored Ravin, a traitor''s son, rather than me who stayed by his side from the beginning until the end of the rebellion he led and it turned out to be a f*cking failure! Ravin didn''t do anything to deserve to be an Archdemon Prince and I am here to take my revenge."

 Chapter 884 Not Everything

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (April 2022)

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    Queen Morgan of the Autumn Courts

    ***************************************

    "It''s so unfair how he favored Ravin, a traitor''s son, rather than me who stayed by his side from the beginning until the end of the rebellion he led which turned out to be a f*cking failure! Ravin didn''t do anything to deserve to be an Archdemon Prince and I am here to take my revenge!"

    Queen Morgan was close to breaking down.

    Why did Archangel Uriel didn''t fight for their love and their child until the end?

    Did she be too much of a burden that he decided to leave her behind?

    Did he regret everything before the Demon King destroyed him?

    Her lips had quivered from the effort to stop herself from shedding tears but she couldn''t hold them back anymore.

    A single teardrop fell or two but the rest of her remainedposed.

    It wasn''t obvious to her that Beelzebub had a score to settle with the Archdemon of Gluttony, her long lost son that her mind couldn''t wrap around.

    He hadn''t expressed that hatred enough in his face.

    Kotari remained unbothered in all of his interactions with Sloth and Ravin which just showed how good of an actor he was.

    He didn''t care about anyone or anything else''s .

    She kept herself cold and detached but Beelzebub''s revtion made her so anxious she found it hard to breathe.

    Emotionally distraught, Queen Morgan''s vision blurred and her Fae wings stopped fluttering out of its own ord.

    Queen Morgan raised her head to look at her rescuer in a daze.

    She swayed from side to side and she didn''t even notice that she was falling until Jora grabbed her elbow in mid-air.

    "I apologize but please get yourself together, Your Highness." Jora said under his breath and gave her arm a little shake. "This isn''t the time to faint when the fight hadn''t even started yet."

    It took a lot of effort for Queen Morgan to clear her mind and flit her wings again.

    *******************************************************

    Archdemon of Lust

    Prince Luxen of the Second Circle of Hell

    *******************************************************

    It felt good to steal away the things that were important to the Vampire King but it was unfortunate that he hadn''t witnessed the destruction he had caused.

    Luxen wasn''t able to take immense pride in it unless he raze the Autumn Courts to the ground.

    Apollyon lost everything in the blink of an eye and the bastard deserved it.<sub> </sub>

    No.

    He still had the Empress by his side and that woman was everything to him.

    He was in a better mood just a second ago but that thought made his blood boil.

    As Luxen drummed his fingertips on the armrest of his chair, he pondered about how he could steal his Domina''s heart.

    He heard from his spy in the Autumn Courts that the Empress was about to give birth to his child.

    Well, he could use that to manipte her.

    Luxen had already invaded Apollyon''s Kingdom and killed everyone except Cederic and all the women--humans and vampires.

    A hot-blooded Archdemon like him would neverck the nourishment he needed.

    He heard from Kotari, a member of the Autumn Queen''s Cadre and an ex-Fallen Angel, that the Queen made Apollyon and his Domina, royalties in her Kingdom.

    Luxen spent a few tedious hours stripping them of their titles in the Vampire Kingdom and now they regained their new status so easily as if it just fell into theirps?

    The two were demoted into Prince and Princess in the Autumn Courts but that scenario was better than beingmoners.

    He initially wanted the Vampire King to be his ve and Luna his whore but he guessed it was wishful thinking on his part.

    He would only admit that he miscalcted until the day he was sent back to Hell.

    Luxen''s president and his Legion might be gone but he was still powerful enough to summon more high-ranking demons.

    All he had to do was engage in carnal feasts with promiscous women until their souls were devoured.

    These women had no idea that devouring fragmented spirits of Jezebel they had cultivated inside of them only made him stronger.

    The day before the second siege at the Autumn Courts, Beelzebub came to talk to him in his throne room after Luxen handed the limp woman he just used to pleasure himself over to his new military general, Cederic.

    Luxen stated his expectations first to show the Marquis who was the one in charge.

    "Don''t forget the bargain we made, Kotari. I did help you get stronger despite you having the rank of a Marquis."

    "It''s the least you could do from what your father did to me." Kotari replied before he shifted back to his demon form.

    Perhaps, he hated to be called by the Fae identity he created in the Autumn Courts now.

    Luxen smirked as he waved his hand in dismissal. "Yes. Yes. He thought you wanted to steal his position as the Demon King, h, h, h."

    His past victimhood had made Beelzebub narrate this tale to him a thousand times after he showed him his true colors and it''s getting boring.

    "I would have sworn my life to kill a pawn of Lucifer with my bare hands but I still have honor left in me despite his betrayal." The statement was questionable that it made Luxen raise an eyebrow. "I trust that you wouldn''t be anything like him, Prince Luxen, unless you see a Marquis like me as a threat."

    "Even if you take my brother''s ce as the Archdemon of Gluttony, I still wouldn''t see you as a threat. You should also know that I am capable of punishing you whenever i want like what my father did. I could send you to back to the ninth circle if I caught you doing something devious." Luxen lifted his arms to stretch them upward before leaning his back against his throne. "After what you just did to Queen Morgan, I''m still on the fence about your loyalty and you can''t me me for that."

    "We had amon goal to kill Ravin. You can have your much-awaited killing spree while I''m off to destroy the him during the tournament. I am binded by my oath to return the favor and serve you forever as the new King of the entire Realms."

 Chapter 885 The Archdemon Prince

    **************************************************

    Queen Morgan of the Summer Courts

    **************************************************

    "Where are they?" Queen Morgan heard a whisper over her head as the creature gradually descended to her eye level.

    Her eyes widened in shock.

    That voice didn''t belong to Kotar... to Beelzebub at all.

    She would have either yed this enemy with the obsidian swords she held in her hand or retreated away from him so fast before he could say another word but unfortunately, she didn''t do any of these things.

    She couldn''t move as she stared on his pointed shoes, the bottom hem of his silver-grey cloak flitting around him as he pped his demon wings, and the fine adornments on his waist and broad chest.

    Bones. Faerie bones to be exact.

    Jagged.

    The white Iivory was stained with fresh blood.

    The grisly stranger had the guts to have Fae spine wrapped around his waist in exchange for a built, broken skeletal fingers that didn''t belong to him hanging around his shoulders and a bison skull on top of his chest as if it was a ne.

    This evil creature was as savage as the Dukes from the Legion positioned behind him.

    The difference was that he was proud of what he had done and considered them as a trophy.

    From his aura alone, Queen Morgan knew that the demon who just materialized in front of her was an Archdemon Prince.

    It was none other than the Archdemon of Lust.

    He reeked of dried blood, orgasm and death with every one of her inhtions.

    It took her a while to raise her head and meet his eyes.

    The bastard was almost as pretty as a woman especially with his long, smooth hair that went past his shoulders.

    She tried kept her face nk when she saw sshes of dried blood on his brow and left cheek as if he just murdered someone before he went there.

    The wicked smile he showed her indicated that it wasn''t much of a struggle.

    The Fairfolk had their fair share of darkness in their history but none can perform bloodbath the way the Demon Race do.

    They didn''t have reasons for their foul actions.

    This wasn''t even about revenge against the Fairfolk.

    Torturing other people with theirplete disregard for life was their only source of enjoyment.

    It shouldn''t be that difficult to identify which being in this Realm was possessed or not.

    "It seemed like I waste to the party." The Archdemon Prince drawled ''oh-so-casually''. "I''m looking for Apollyon to give this funerary urn to him, Merle. I have gathered all of the dust I have collected from killing all the vampires in His Kingdom." He proceeded to show arge funerary urn almost half the size of his torso with pride. "The Vampire Race would soon be extinct after I killed all the Vampiric Fae from the Unseelie Courts. Will you allow me to start with the Autumn---"

    Luxen released the urn without warning.

    "Oop. My hand must have slipped." He said innocently.

    Fooled, Beelzebub swooped in to catch but it had already turned upside down in mid-air.<sub> </sub>

    The urn didn''t break since itsnding was cushioned by the snow.

    It''s just that... all of its contents had poured out as it got carried by the wind.

    The Faeries covered their faces to prevent the dust from entering their nose and eyes.

    "Oh. It''s a shame that we can''t differentiate the scattered ashes from the snow now." Luxen clicked his tongue and said regretfully. "Nevermind. I hope they rest in peace." He stared at her, a dangerous twinkle in his gunmetal grey eyes. "In Hell!"

    Their distance was too close that he could grab her by the neck and squeeze the---

    Luxen must have divined her thoughts because they tturned into a self-fulfilling prophecy.

    It was toote to withdraw from him.

    Queen Morgan felt like she was going to faint as Luxen throttled her, stopping the blood from flowing into her in brain.

    ck and green spots dance at the corner of her vision.

    She wed her fingers at his hands to dislodge him when his nails sunk deep into her throat.

    It was strong enough to dislocate her neck from her spine.

    "Release her!" Jora shouted, attacking Luxen to save Queen Morgan.

    From the corner of her eye, she could see Beelzebub was already on his tail.

    After Sylvain---

    She closed her eyes shut and let out a painful moan.

    Her consciousness was slipping away and she couldn''t find out what happened to the youngest of her Cadre.

    If this continued, she might never wake up again.

    Perhaps, the Archdemon would let her go if she pretended to faint.

    When Queen Morgan stopped thrashing and rxed her muscles until her arms went limp, Luxen released her and she dropped to the ground in a thud.

    Small ragged gasps demanded to escape from her mouth but she tried to even her breathing so they wouldn''t know she was still alive.

    She lolled her head to the side and swallowed hard but it felt like ss shards were stuck in her throat.

    Luxen had already damaged her throat she could barely speak.

    From the grunts and screams she heard, everyone was already lost in the chaos.

    Before she became the Autumn Queen, Merle had acquired power after her forbidden love affair with Uriel, giving her the ability to fight demons and evil spirits easily so that she could ascend the throne.

    She had brought some of these demons to their knees and manipted them for her own gain while she sent the others back if they were too troublesome to handle.

    It was her responsibility to guide lost souls to the afterlife in exchange for having ess to Hecate''s powers but now, she couldn''t control even a single demon in this Legion.

    It appeared like they only had one Master to answer to and that wasn''t her.

    She couldn''t ept that she, a powerful Autumn Queen, was reduced to someone who is powerless.

    Why did the Goddess Hecate deserte her?

 Chapter 886 I Saw An Angel

    <strong>Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (May 2022)</strong>

    <strong>*************************************************************</strong>

    <strong>Archdemon of Lust </strong>

    <strong>Prince Luxen of the Second Circle of Hell</strong>

    <strong>*************************************************************</strong>

    "The Garden of the Four Seasons disappears in the presence of demons. You did a good job keeping Merle from finding it herself, Beelzebub. But at least we know that it is located where we are. All the Rules of the Heaven were determined to keep the demons out and alienate us." Luxen scowled as he continued, "If the Archangels decided to show up around here, the collective energy of these beings will hopefully reveal this Garden through their presence, giving the caretaker an illusion that she and her ward is safe."

    "Then, we will destroy it afterwards." He folded his arms over his chest and jutted his chin with arrogance, "The Demon King had done it before. I can do it as well."

    "We had amon goal to kill Ravin, Prince Luxen, and that is my priority. You can either destroy the Garden of the Four Seasons to prevent the Heavenly Realm from interfering with your ns to make this Realm yours or you can kill the Vampire King first and take your mate back from him. Do as you please." Beelzebub, then, turned his head to the side to look him in the eye. "You have to let me destroy Ravin in the tournament in Hell first and foremost. I am still bound to my oath to return the favor you have done for me and serve you forever as the new King of the entire Realms. You can start with your world domination without me for the meantime."

    Luxen smirked. "You are stronger than the Dukes we have brought here. I''m sure it''s enough for you defeat my brother and take his throne."

    As if he sensed something strange in the atmosphere, Beelzebub paused to look around.

    Frown lines marred his forehead.

    "Ravin is near but I sense another angel around ying hide-and-seek."

    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    <strong>Princess Sapphire of the Summer Courts</strong>

    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    Xerxes sped up and caught Princess Sapphire when she tried to Queen Morgan''s side. He grabbed her elbow and spun her around to face her. "It''s time to get out of here, Princess Sapphire. We must stick to the n we had, do you understand?"

    Frustrated, he squeezed her elbow so hard that Princess Sapphire winced from the pain.

    Xerxes nced down at the hand that held her arm and quickly released her.

    She didn''t have to examine her skin to realize that Xerxes'' had left a bruise.

    The look of desperation, the shock then followed by remorse in those few seconds was enough.

    He stood still and lowered his head.

    The blond hair covering his forehead and the hood of his cloak almost hiding half of his face made his expressions unreadable.

    "I apologize, Princess, but you must keep your word."

    Xerxes raised his head to re at her before pulling her closer.

    From the way his insolent arm snaked behind her back and on the back of her thighs on the other, it appeared like Xerxes was determined to toss her over his shoulder like a caveman and carry her out of there.

    Princess Sapphire pushed him off her to thwart his ns.

    "But we must save Queen Morgan!" That is what she was aiming for. "She is hurt."

    "She can recover. She isn''t the Queen of the Autumn Courts for nothing. We must escape."

    Princess Sapphire caught something in her peripheral vision but it wasn''t the female Archangel--the Tree of the Four Seasons'' caretaker-- from her mother''s painting.

    She blinked.<sub> </sub>

    Was she mistaken?

    She swore it in her life that it was a male Angel floating behind Xerxes.

    A few white feathers had fallen everytime he pped his beautiful wings.

    Why was he here at such an...er... inconvenient time?

    Did he bring his kind to help them get out of this sticky situation?

    She nced at her sorroundings in search for the rest but no other Angels were there except for him.

    Will selling him out make him speak?

    The feather-winged angel smiled as if he could read her mind.

    Her eyes went round with shock as they continued to stare at each other.

    "Xerxes! Behind you!" Princess Sapphire shouted as she pointed a finger at the Angel flying behind him.

    "Don''t resort to some petty tricks, Princess. It''s not the time." Xerxes said tly.

    He was tired of dealing with her crap.

    "No. Really." She kept her narrowed eyes on the blond-haired angel who seemed apathetic to the bloodshed around them.

    Maybe, the Heavenly Realms had washed their hands off any kinds of responsibility in the Material Realm.

    But weren''t they suposed to stop their Archnemesis from destroying their Highest God''s Creation?

    "Don''t take me for a fool. You''reing with me no matter what."

    "I told you that there is an angel behind you."

    "An angel? You''re lying." Nevertheless, Xerxes finally gave in and chose to believe her.

    But when he looked over his shoulder, the angel vanished as if he wasn''t even there in the first ce. Princess Sapphire shook her head doubtfully when he faced her again.

    He ced his hands on her shoulders and whispered,"There is no one behind me but snow and lifeless Fae Knights with broken wings, bones and dreams."

    Princess Sapphire made the mistake of tilting her head to the side to peek at what had be of them.

    She swallowed hard.

    If she and Xerxes weren ''t careful, they would be next.

    He tucked a finger below her chin and urged her to look into his eyes. "I already told you not to fool around."

    Unfortunately, she couldn''t bear to leave Queen Morgan behind.

    She will be a vulnerable target if the demons found out she was ying dead.

    It seemed like she wasn''t even that important to both Beelzebub and that Archdemon of Lust.

    These High-ranking demons were more interested in Ravin, her brother and wiping out the Fae Militia''s numbers so that they could take over this Kingdom with ease.

    Jora was leading the Fae Militia by himself and that wasn''t enough to win this battle.

 Chapter 887 Mysterious Disappearance

    <strong>Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (May 2022)</strong>

    <strong>++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++</strong>

    <strong>Princess Sapphire of the Sumnmer Courts</strong>

    <strong>++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++</strong>

    Jora was leading the Fae Militia by himself and that wasn''t enough to win this battle even if they were heavily trained to follow orders.

    Queen Morgan must have been shocked from all the revtions blowing up in her face which also affected her abilities to recover.

    The knowledge that Ravin, the Archdemon of Gluttony, was her son must have disturbed her mind and made her weak against Luxen.

    The Demonic Legion attacked and the Fae Militia tried their best to defend their territory even if their enemies were adamant to turn their Kingdom into Hell.

    The lower-ranked Knights in the Fae Militia are the weakest in mind, easier to kill and possessed by the demons.

    They slit their throats immediately if a demon seeded in owning them.

    That way, their vessels wouldn''t be used to kill their fellow Knights.

    Before this second siege, Ravin had helped them cultivate mental strength by summoning evil spirits and stray demons in the Material Realm to forcefully possess them.

    Hidden anxiety and fear was palpable in the atmosphere with every act of violence.

    Each of the victim''s bodies were mutted, dehumanized and debased.

    It was an image that would drown out all of her good memories.

    Growls and agonized screams wil soon be the stars of hernightmares.

    Princess Sapphire made it a point to numb herself like she used to do everytime she felt like her emotions would make no difference in the situation.

    They would either fight and die or do nothing but still die.

    The strong, icy wind biting her exposed skin made her teeth chatter.

    In that moment, Princess Sapphire realized that she must show her true power.

    She had hidden it long enough to keep Beelzebub talking.

    "Xerxes, I want to call on Hephaestus... to help us." Princess Sapphire felt like throwing up if she forced herself to adress the god of fire as her father after the bastard tried to kidnap her twice and caused trouble for the Empress and the Vampire King. "If he wanted to force me toe back to the Summer Courts with my mother, he might as well help save us from all these demons!"

    She nced at Xerxes and their eyes met. "You aren''t going to stop me, aren''t you?"

    Xerxes gave her a half-shrug as if telling her to suit herself and Princess Sapphire nodded her head.

    Her partner had stopped caring at this point and that made her a little scared.

    Nevertheless, she was prepared to stand her ground.

    Then, she raised her hand in the air to produce a collosal fireball that was a brighter and hotter than the sun.

    "Good."

    "Ah. There is no use arguing if a princess had already decided on something."

    It was an indirect way of saying he was stubborn.

    "All you have to do is protect me." She told Xerxes confidently and aimed for Beelzebub and clusters of demons behind him.

    Her fireball reached them in the blink of an eye.

    The demons scattered like cockroaches in the night as the light shone upon them.

    Not only was she able to kill some of Beelzebub and Luxen''s demons but she also sent a damn good signal to Hephaestus.

    Only a blind parent couldn''t see his child''s call for help from miles away.

    When the demons who examined the ground for the source of that massive, fireball hitting hundreds of demons in their Legion realized that it was Princess Sapphire who did it, they descended to the ground to attack them.

    Unfortunately, the Marquis got there first.

    They halted in their tracks when they saw Beelzebub raise his hand.

    Those demons ignored the three of them instead and left them in favor of killing the other Fae soldiers.<sub> </sub>

    It was like there was an unspoken rule that Beelzebub had staked his im to kill us himself.

    "Ah, as expected of a demigod." Hands on his hips, the bastard examined her from head-to-toe. "I have never seen the true extent of your power."

    "Well, thanks for thepliment." She replied sarcastically.

    Apollyon and the Archdemon Princes had trained them well for this battle.

    "I usually see Xerxes showing off his tracking and fighting abilities while you stay in the background like a spoiled princess, doing absolutely nothing."

    It hadn''t even sunk into her brain yet that thepliment had turned into an insult.

    One minute, Beelzebub was standing a couple of feet away from Princess Sapphire like a casual observer and the next, he was already charging at her.

    It took her a moment to realize that the Marquis'' aggresive face got clearer and clearer the quicker he separated the distance between them.

    "Sapphire!" It was Queen Morgan who saved her and furiously attacked Beelzebub with her obsidian swords that glowed red whenever she began casting spells.

    She was more than ready to take her revenge.

    She didn''t expect the Autumn Queen to recover fast after all the things Beelzebub had told her.

    At least, her wrath made her calcted and didn''t turn him into an emotional wreck.

    Princess Sapphire and Xerxes fought Beelzebub and she was able to inflict damage on him with Queen Morgan''s help.

    The magic circles with figures and symbols inside them had resisted the Marquis'' strikes.

    She continued to sh at her target and seeded in injecting poison into the left side of the Beelzebub''s torso.

    A pained grunt escaped his lips.

    His purple eyes darkened when he realized that the Queen he had underestimated had bathed her swords in melted selenite.

    That particr crystal was poisonous to demons since it had the ability to slow their movements down and weaken their demonic energy.

    If she could just stab this traitor multiple times---

    Queen Morgan didn''t finish her thoughts as hundreds of winged metal behemoths appeared poured out from the hole in the Autumn Kingdom''s barriers.

    The Dukes of Hell morphed into monsters to match them.

    Xerxes, Hephaestus must be around!" She announced with both fear and exhration.

    "I don''t see him anywhere!" Princess Sapphire heard him cough as he tried to find her while navigating through the fog from another one of her explosions. "Beelzebub had disappeared too."

    Both of them nced at the sky.

    As if on cue, Ravin and Apollyon appeared out of nowhere, riding their chariots while blue sparks of light sorrounded them.

    Their presence was like a signal to the Demonic Legion to go all out.

    All the demons in Luxen''s Legion charged at Hephaestus'' automatons without hesitation.

    It was a relief to see Apollyon and Ravin''s flying chariots heading towards Luxen.

    "RAVIN!!" Queen Morgan screamed.

    In that split second, the Marquis had materialized in front of Ravin and ced his palm on his forehead.

    Once their skin made contact, erratic bursts of red light sorrounded them.

    It almost blinded everyone.

    Even if Apollyon had no idea what was going on, he hurriedly grab Ravin away from the stranger while the Archdemon of Lust forced him to withdrew from the ckhole he used to summon more demons.

    Luxen didn''t want the Vampire King to interfere with his brother and his servant''s business but another being who wasn''t supposed to be there got into the mix.

    It was toote.

    The five of them had been sucked into this other dimension.

    Xerxes ran to her side and murmured, "I think I just saw this Angel you were talking about."

 Chapter 888 Arrival

    <strong>Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (May 2022)</strong>

    <strong>***********************************************************</strong>

    <strong>The Archdemon of Sloth</strong>

    <strong>Prince Sloth from the Seventh Circle of Hell</strong>

    <strong>***********************************************************</strong>

    "Rere. Stay here and kill any demons who are near the vicinity." Sloth made an effort to scowl at the dragon so that he would appear more serious to him and get his point across.

    It nodded, growling low in its throat.

    Rere lowered his muzzle near Sloth''s head before affectionately munching on his blond hair as golden as the wheat field surrounding them.

    Rere had taken good care of the old birth attendant, and not once did he drop her during that flight.

    The dragon made sure that itsrge talons had secured the back of the old woman''s garments and held unto it tightly beforending her somewhere safe.

    If this stubborn old hag continued to insist that she used her Faerie wings during the travel, they would have arrived in the Autumn Courts next week and not in just a couple of hours that night if he agreed.

    That�� or he couldmand Rere to show her the Gates of Hell in advance by releasing her and forget about her existence afterward.

    Unfortunately, that would also turn him into the Empress'' birth attendant, and he had no desire to see something that horrifying.

    The birth attendant approached Rere and beckoned the dragon to move his head closer to her face.

    After kissing Rere on its cheek, he reacted happily by purring loudly.

    Then, they left him there and headed towards another secret entrance located at the back of the Autumn Pce.

    Frowning, Sloth shook his head as he walked.

    After a couple of minutes, he paused in his tracks to lift the unconscious Empress a bit and adjust her position.

    He was d that the motion relieved the numbness in his arms, but that positive feeling failed to suppress his irritation with the beads of sweat trickling on his brow.

    Sloth had med hisck of endurance for not exercising during his free time.

    He tried to hasten his steps, but he encountered another problem when he looked over his shoulder.

    Sloth took pride in living a quiet and passive life in the past as the Archdemon of Sloth.

    He didn''t have that privilege of an Archdemon Prince anymore when he turned into a Familiar.

    But if he and the birth attendant entered apetition of who was the slowest, this woman would have won over him by a razor-thin margin.

    "Madame," Sloth called the old woman loudly, frustration evident in his tone. Yes, she was that far. "My mistress is having a hard time. Could you move a little faster?"

    "Where are you going?" The hag shouted back as she turned to the left. "You are going the wrong way, boy!"

    +++

    Luna''s childbirth made his entire muscles tense up, his facial expression stiff, and he was getting exhausted.

    Yet, he still carried on because he was the Empress'' Familiar.<sub> </sub>

    Sloth was starting to get bored in this Realm if not for Lune, Princess Sapphire, and Rere.

    But he soon became excited at the thought of the Empress giving birth to daughters because that would mean he would have small animals he could raise and y with.

    Sadly, the twins'' fates were tied to whether Lune would fight to the death to protect them or will Lilith be able to drag her to the dark side and slip into the Empress'' guise by refusing her children the right to be born?

    It would be a shame if Luna were sent to Hell after suffering from stillbirth.

    Maybe he could take him to hisir where nothing could touch her if that happened.

    He did have a lot of monsters in the Seventh Circle of Hell.

    They passed by a garden full of white, red, and yellow tulips, and it reminded him of a vast and soft-as-a-cloud cushion.

    Carrying his sister-inw was troublesome enough.

    How much more if she was already squirming before they even reached their destination?

    "Stop squirming, Lune. We are almost there." He whispered low and added reluctantly, "I think."

    Frown lines marred her forehead.

    "This terrible pain drives me mad." Her fingers clenched at his shirt as if she was a cat kneading its paws on his broad chest. "It makes me want to kill someone."

    Sloth agreed with a grimace.

    The kneading motion became too painful to handle when a long fingernail scratched a nipple underneath.

    At that point, he couldn''t care less if he wasn''t heading to where they were supposed to go.

    The sweet torture that his mistress had inflicted on him��the constant friction between her fingernails and her palms rubbing over the fabric of his shirt��made his blood hot for some reason.

    It was wrong on so many levels, especially if the woman involved was pregnant.

    Sloth swallowed hard and moved like the devil was at his heels.

    "Well, I can offer this birth attendant''s blood if that would suffice. Unfortunately, she was the only person who could help you get through this." He replied in jest.

    Upon hearing that, the birth attendant clicked her tongue and muttered, "Kids these days don''t know how to respect their elders."

    "I''m probably older than you." Sloth shot back, relieved that the old hag had followed him from her shoes'' ''click-ck'' sound.

    Using his gut instinct, the path he had traversed was probably the right one.

    A lopsided grin spread across his lips.

    Luna tolerated herbor pains in silent whimpers as they hurried past the floral and herbal gardens, which had fae symbols on every portion of thend.

    He assumed that these Fae Magicians and Healers had nted their ingredients here to create their magical potions.

    That short conversation must have drained all of her energy that she passed out again.

    Sloth could sense that a Demonic Legion had infiltrated the Autumn Courts, and it was strange that he couldn''t see any disturbing evidence in the night sky yet.

    He wondered if his intuition had gone awry because his Mistress was in bad condition.

 Chapter 889 [Bonus Chapter] Bish~ You Deserved It!

    <strong>Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (May 2022)</strong>

    <strong>***********************************************************</strong>

    <strong>The Archdemon of Sloth</strong>

    <strong>Prince Sloth from the Seventh Circle of Hell</strong>

    <strong>***********************************************************</strong>

    When they came across each other in the forest, Queen Morgan had promised that she would send for Ravin and Apollyon as soon as possible once they got themselves together.

    ? But so far, it hadn''t been fulfilled yet.

    He couldn''t feel Apollyon and Ravin around, and Sloth was getting impatient��which was so unlike him.

    He was used to living a snail-paced routine in the seventh circle of Hell, and now he was forced to do these unnecessary things?

    He hadn''t even had a good night''s sleep yet.

    Sloth was close to fainting, but he kept staggering like a zombie while carrying a woman who couldn''t appreciate what he had sacrificed for her.

    All she did was bombard his ears with never-endingints.

    What was he supposed to do if the Empress'' stomach hurts?

    Killing the babies was the only method to end her suffering, but all of them might be sent back to Hell.

    He can''t win in this situation.

    Sloth exhaled a heavy sigh and decided to wait for them while he followed the birth attendant''s orders.

    She was the superior one in this scenario.

    It would be better for him to get on her good side.

    The Fae grandmother had a lot of experience helping women give birth to tiny, ugly, and wrinkled creatures.

    The night sky seemed darker than before.

    The full moon had faded except the crescent shining on the right side.

    He didn''t notice that the color of the sky had changed to yellow and purple as he and the birth attendant continued to walk to their destination��albeit slowly.

    Sloth didn''t even know where they were going, and he didn''t bother asking thedy.

    Suddenly, folded pieces of paper flew over their heads as doves continued to drop them on their spot.

    "There must be news from Her Majesty that the Fairfolk needed to know." With one hand settled at her lower back, the birth attendant slowly bent over to pick one up.

    The doves had rained too much parchment on them, and Sloth bet that it continued the same message.

    She didn''t say a word for a few seconds, and Sloth wondered if the letter''s contents were too long to read or if the grandmother''s poor eyesight couldn''t see them. He watched her back stiffen with concern.<sub> </sub>

    "What does the letter say, grandma?" Sloth slurred gently.

    The birth attendant wanted him to address her as grandma, and he humored her�� but only now.

    She turned to face him and said, "Here. Read it. If I reread it, I might have a heart attack."

    Sloth''s eyes narrowed at the contents of the letter as her gnarled hand showed it to him.

    "DEMONIC SIEGE. SAFEROOM. NOW." He read aloud.

    "Oh, alright." He shrugged. "Please don''t have a heart attack." Sloth closed his eyes shut, exhaled a sigh, and opened his eyes again after deciding toe clean. "I''m a demon as well. You will be safe from them as long as I''m here."

    "Whadidyousay?" The old woman demanded so fast that each word sounded like they were tumbling over each other until she got her tongue twisted.

    "The Princess in my arms is also a demon too. Her Majesty epted our identities just fine. There is no need to worry." Sloth tried to reassure her, but the clearer he tried to speak his ideas, the more that the crow''s feet around her eyes wrinkled in suspicion. "My Mistress and I are High-ranking Demons in Hell. We are Archdemons." He exined further. "We used to be royalties there."

    "Wha��"

    "Sloth, do you think that information would help us right now?" Lune asked with her eyes closed.

    Was she moving in and out of her consciousness, or was she eavesdropping on them without being too obvious?

    Sloth nced down at her pale face as her thick silvershes formed half crescents on her lids. "I thought you were unconscious."

    "To be fair, I don''t want to regain my consciousness and wake up to this conversation either," Lune whispered hopelessly, sounding like she was already on her deathbed. "You always want to f*ck things up."

    "Please help us, madame. We are on Her Majesty''s side. She wouldn''t make this woman into an honorary Princess in the Autumn Courts if she didn''t trust us." Sloth announced proudly as he looked the birth attendant in the eye. "We helped her win the demon siege the first time, so she did that out of gratitude. She owed us a lot of favors, and so do you."

    "Don''t threaten thedy, Sloth," Lune warned as she worriedly caressed her moving stomach that was too busy screaming bloody murder inside.

    "Could we head to the safe room now, please?"

    "Argh!" She squirmed again and screeched in agony, "Thebor pains are driving me crazy! "

    ''You deserve it, bish~'' He thought as he fixated his gaze on the soul mate ring that her husband had given her. ''I hope you give birth to more babies.''

    "Make it go away, please," Lune begged as she began wing at him again. If he weren''t Lune''s Archdemon Familiar, he would stop putting up with this and drop her without hesitation. "You make my headache every time you open your mouth!" Sloth would only shut up if she kept quiet first, but he wasn''t going to tell her that. "I wish there was a way for someone to suffer on my behalf."

    Sloth pursed his lips after that.

    There was a way to pass all that agony to an Archdemon Familiar, and he wasn''t going to tell her about it.

    Lune forcibly released an arm stuck between her body and his chest and propelled her body upward a little so she could circle them around his shoulder.

    Then, she turned her head to the side and bit him on the shoulder hard without warning.

    "Ouch! What had I ever done to you?"

    She gave him a death stare and murmured, "Move and do what the birth attendant tells you to do."

 Chapter 890 The Birthing Room

    <strong>Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (May 2022)</strong>

    <strong>***********************************************************</strong>

    <strong>The Archdemon of Sloth</strong>

    <strong>Prince Sloth from the Seventh Circle of Hell</strong>

    <strong>***********************************************************</strong>

    The birth attendant''s face was devoid of emotion but the sparkle of amusement in her milky eyes gave her away.

    In that short period, Lune had exposed a side of her that he hadn''t seen before.

    The Empress was clingy and demanding, crying a flood of tears after screaming to vomit her insides out while kneading his chest nonstop as the huge boulder in her stomach continued to squirm and tremble.

    Sloth understood that she was anxious and overwhelmed but the Vampire King should have suffered all of these instead of him.

    Every time Luna felt another stabbing pain, she would tell him that every minute that passes by increases her desire to choose death.

    He knew she was being dramatic but he was more that relieved when she lost her consciousness.

    Finally, some peace and quiet.

    They passed through numerous corridors and hallways before climbing through flights of stairs.

    Every time he asked the birth attendant if they were close, the old hag pretended she didn''t hear him.

    Sloth resorted to gritting his teeth instead of pushing the woman off the stairs out of anger.

    Finally, the old woman led Sloth to a tidy and sterile birthing room furnished with a wide, low-post bedstead with pristine white sheets and pillows over them.

    She closed the door immediately after he entered, exining that the room must be shuttered up to imitate the darkness and calm of a woman''s womb.

    The birth attendants believed that a womb is a portal for any souls from the Spirit Realm��a moment when an unborn soul will enter into a physical form.

    The chamber had no windows for some reason and the birth attendant told him of old superstition that demons might steal a baby''s soul out of the window.

    During the great war, a lot of nephilim babies��the offspring of a male Gregori and a female Fae��were murdered this way to turn them into demons.

    When the birth attendant started a fire to the hearth, Sloth could see that the surface of the walls, the floor and the ceiling and even the bed were coated with emeralds.

    Unfortunately, the purifying crystals was a double edged sword.

    It might be effective in weakening Lilith but it also made Sloth feel more lethargic than ever.

    Sloth shook himself and his heavy eyelids awake as he felt his demonic energy slowly being drained away.

    He had no idea that the Autumn Courts had crystals they could use to fight off demons.<sub> </sub>

    Maybe, the Archdemons in Hell weren''t aware of it because the Autumn Fairfolk had hidden their secrets very well.

    "Can it be used as a weapon to defeat demons like the Archangel de?" Sloth asked as he gently positioned the sleeping Empress at the center of the bed.

    "The crystals break easily into small amounts so it wouldn''t do much." The birth attendant replied as she plucked a clean undershirt and a long skirt from the closet.

    Then, she proceeded to remove Lune''s soiled garments efficiently. "Emeralds and selenites are not as strong as steel. However, being stabbed with swords coated in them could slow down a demon''s regeneration. But it still depends on how strong that demon is and the thickness of the melted crystals around the weapon. Being in contact with weapons that had high concentrations of these crystals can paralyze a demon the way poison would."

    Sloth''s eyes bulged out of his sockets when his gazended on his sister-inw''s huge naked breasts.

    Panicked, he immediately took his gaze off those pink nipples and faced the door with his hands on his back.

    He cursed the old hag in his thoughts.

    She should have warned him before she pulled down her bodice.

    Baphomet''s blood!

    He was so distracted that he even forgot what they were talking about.

    Was he even listening to the old woman''s words?

    Oh, right.

    He recalled her saying that the entire curtain walls surrounding the Autumn Courts were covered in melted selenite.

    Sloth cleared his throat and improvised, "Why didn''t the Queen build the entire pce with these crystals? Focusing on the curtain walls is not enough. The coverage is too wide that it spread its magical properties too thin. It wasn''t like Autumn Courts'' territory is small. If it were me, I would have focused on a smaller concentrated area rather than the fortifications."

    He heard more rustling as the birth attendant continued to dress Lune.

    "These gems were so rare that it had already be instinct. The Queen had used almost all of these resources on the curtain walls around the Kingdom to strengthen our barriers and protect us from demons." She replied.

    "But if the demonic energy from Luxen''s Legion were stronger because of their number, the crystals might not be enough to siphon protective energy from your Fae Magicians or wherever it came from. The weak areas in the barriers will be easier to crack."

    "Creating this birth room alone killed thousands of miners andborers. Mining huge amounts of these crystals and those who didn''t handle them carefully were all cursed to death. It was clear that someone powerful was behind this, warning Her Majesty that it was too much and she wasn''t allowed to use them anymore. Her Majesty did try to lift the curses with dark magic but it wasn''t effective. She loves her people enough not to try it again."

    As a precautionary measure, the Vampire King had briefed all the birth attendants to carefully observe the demonic entity inside Luna that woulde out if she bes too weak.

    The birth attendant knew that the Empress was possessed by a demon but she would have been oblivious to the fact that Lune was also an Archdemon if he hadn''t told her earlier.

    At least, she wasn''t afraid of them and continued to do her job.

    In fact, she was curious about how it came to be, but he was too tired to exin something thatplicated.

    All that mattered was that she knew how to protect Luna.

 Chapter 891 Emeralds

    <strong>Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (May 2022)</strong>

    <strong>***********************************************************</strong>

    <strong>The Archdemon of Sloth</strong>

    <strong>Prince Sloth from the Seventh Circle of Hell</strong>

    <strong>***********************************************************</strong>

    All that mattered was that she knew how to protect Luna.

    Sloth paced the chambers with his head up high that he didn''t notice that he almost stepped on a huge green python lying on the floor.

    He yelped in surprise when its sharp fangs attempted to strike at his left leg.

    He might be slow, but at least he was quicker to p his demon wings and withdraw from the serpent.

    The emerald snakeskin had sessfully camouged with the birthing room except for the white irregr zigzag stripes that appeared like lightning bolts on its back.

    "Why is there a python in here?" An Archdemon de materialized in Sloth''s hand so that he could neutralize the threat.

    He could feel her wizened gaze on him before moving to the snake.

    "Don''t kill it. Just leave it be. That emerald python is tasked to protect any pregnant woman thates here."

    Sloth glowered at the disgusting creature as it slithered close to Lune''s bed. "Wouldn''t this creature pose any danger to Lune and the babies?"

    "You should get out of here if you had no intentions of helping me, boy." She scolded him.

    "You intended to turn me into a birth attendant?" He snorted, waving his hand in dismissal. "No thanks. I refuse."

    Sloth was sure that he wasn''t cut out for the role she had given him.

    Perhaps this situation was no different from helping the monsters he raised in the Seventh Circle of Hell give birth.

    He just had to treat the little girls like small animals and be done with it.

    Sloth thought he had given the birth attendant ample time to put some clothes on his sister-inw, so he permitted himself to look over his shoulder to check.

    That nce felt like he had witnessed everything he wasn''t supposed to.

    He blushed and diverted his attention back to the wall at the speed of light.

    The pristine white undervest was even less modest than her bodice earlier since it only covered her breast.

    Nothing else.

    Lune was supposed to wear this long skirt that the birth attendant had fetched earlier.

    He had no idea what the old woman was thinking, tantly exposing her lower body to him like this.

    It wasn''t like his Mistress begged him for attention, so it was still his fault in the end.

    He collected himself and tried to act like a gentleman for the second time, giving the two women some privacy.

    Sloth had turned his back on them while staying away from the python as far as possible.

    "Then what are you waiting for? Wait outside the door. Males were forbidden to help or even watch the childbirth." She said, a-matter-of-fact.

    "No. I''m staying here."<sub> </sub>

    His decision was final even if his Mistress didn''t look too modest from the few articles of clothing she wore, making him feel ufortable.

    "You make the air foul just by breathing. It is unfit for the Princess'' respiration."

    He clenched and unclenched his fists.

    As an Archdemon Prince, he didn''t consent to the old crone throwing him some savage insults, but he tried to take it all in stride.

    Sloth kept his feet firmly nted on the ground even if it felt like the emerald crystals were sucking his demonic energy from his soles.

    Forgetting Lune''s existence, Sloth turned to face the old woman again and asked calmly. " What if that snake decides that she will eat the babies out of the blue?" He made a good show of twirling the Archdemon de between his fingers. "Would you take responsibility?"

    "The emerald python had a prolonged metabolism. We only fed him several months apart with frogs and rodents." She replied without faltering.

    It was a birth attendant''s pet in the birthing room.

    "What other purposes did this python have aside from protection? Tell me one good reason, or I''ll kill it."

    "Its venom will make her body numb and slow down her healing abilities even more if I had to take the babies out as ast resort��"

    "��and the antidote to this poison?" Sloth cut her off.

    "The antidote is in that drawer." She pointed at the table drawer next to the closet. "I don''t think I need it yet."

    Finally, he gave in. "Alright."

    He didn''t miss the birth attendant''s exaggerated sigh when he relieved her of the interrogation.

    Sloth decided to trust the woman a bit, willed for his Archdemon de to disappear, and turned his back on them again.

    He heard the birth attendant jerk the nket.

    Perhaps, she realized her mistake that a man was there with them.

    She hadn''t covered Lune to Sloth''s satisfaction, so she made up for it.

    Sloth saw the old woman carry a cast-iron cauldron and slowly approached the small earthenware jars gathered in the hearth.

    He spected that it contained clean water, and she proved him correct when she used adle to fill it up to the rim.

    She crammed some unknown delivery instruments made of high-grade steel inside the cauldron to sterilize them forter use.

    Sloth, who had nothing better else to do instead of stand there and avoid Lune''s impropriety, pried the cast iron cauldron from her wrinkled hands and settled it above the fire.

    The birth attendant murmured her thanks with a small smile.

    After that, the old woman went beside Lune, lowered the nkets to expose her belly, and began to massage her stomach.

    The sweet scent of autumn clematis oil permeated the closed chamber.

    Sloth didn''t wait for the birth attendant to ask him to carry it to her when the water had boiled and began to overflow from the cauldron''s lid.

    Sloth grimaced.

    It was hot enough that it scalded his skin.

    He shouldn''t be surprised that it took longer than usual to heal the burn just because he was in the birthing room surrounded by emerald crystals.

 Chapter 892 Act As The Father

    <strong>Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (May 2022)</strong>

    <strong>***********************************************************</strong>

    <strong>The Archdemon of Sloth</strong>

    <strong>Prince Sloth from the Seventh Circle of Hell</strong>

    <strong>***********************************************************</strong>

    Sloth tried to fix his gaze on the emerald floor as he put the smoking cauldron down next to the old woman, who was busybing her wild-grey hair with her fingers and gathering them up into a ponytail.

    Consequently, the old woman picked up a small cloth from the Empress'' bed, soaked it in hot water inside the vessel where all her birthing tools were submerged, and then wrung it out.

    He watched the droplets of water trickle past her slightly red, wrinkled fingers.

    She moved the nkets covering Lune''s body even lower, cleansing herrge abdomen and thighs, and Sloth didn''t even want to mention it by delicately scrubbing it against her pale, dry skin.

    Next, shethered her hands with a different oil she got from the drawer that looked like a clear, odorless gel, making her inner thighs and groin smooth and slippery��-

    Clearing his throat, Sloth looked away from her opening and closed his eyes in shame.

    Why was he even watching this again when he wasn''t supposed to?

    Was he interested in bing a birth attendant?

    ''Just don''t look at your sister-inw and focus on what the birth attendant was doing just in case she hurt Lune.'' Sloth instructed himself before opening his eyes again.

    After setting a couple of things up, the old woman positioned Lune on her back so that she would face the ceiling.

    The birth attendant started caressing Lune''s stomach, and Sloth asked about its purpose with suspicion.

    She replied that her touch might help calm the babies during these falsebor pains and turn them back into the correct positions.

    '' Hmm.'' Sloth nodded his head as he listened attentively. ''So these women could check the babies'' cements just by feeling around the Empress'' stomach.

    She also borated that they just wanted to move around the womb, fighting for space, especially if the babies were twins.

    "But that didn''t mean they were ready to see the world yet." She added.

    Sloth gestured at the boulder in Lune''s stomach in utter disbelief, "So these spoiled brats do these things to make her suffer?"

    Ultimately, his Mistress'' suffering would extend to him since she liked to use her Archdemon Familiar as a punching bag?

    He massaged his temples immediately when he felt them throb from the stress.

    Childbirth is tooplicated.

    "Would you like to give it a try?'' The old woman suggested. "I think you would do well--"

    "��since I look bored and you seemed tired to continue the job, huh?" He paused to re at her.

    For an old Fae, this one seemed to have a cheeky grin.

    The fire within her soul burned so brightly.

    "It will be a great experience. The babies'' father is truly missing out."

    He raised a hand, his open palm facing her. "No, thank you."

    The birth attendant gave him a half-shrug, and he dropped his hand to his side.

    She proceeded to drag a floral cushioned chair from the desk like a snail, ced it next to the unconscious Empress, and sat on it.

    Envious, Sloth nced around the emerald chamber and found no other seat he could use�� except that.<sub> </sub>

    Sloth scrutinized the old woman seated on the chair again with a pout.

    It was good that the old woman feltfortable while he stood there like a tree, rooted on his spot.

    He was an Archdemon Prince who must demand respect from the low lives.

    Sloth should have taken that seat beforehand while that woman was busy tending the Empress.

    The more frustrated he thought about it, the more exhausted he became.

    Sloth took off his cloak, spread it across the floor, and sat down��away from the emerald python, of course.

    If it were there to protect males like him from Lune, it would be in everyone''s best interest to remain.

    Besides, he realized that sleeping on the floor with a python slithering was better than sleeping on a chair.

    "I wonder when those two wille." He muttered to himself.

    Sloth didn''t want anything to do with this childbirth, but that was the least he could do as an uncle.

    When he caught himself yawning, he decided that he should at least try before he fell asleep.

    He sighed in resignation. "I think I want to try touching Lune''s belly. If I encounter problems, it will be your fault and not mine."

    After checking that the Empress'' lower belly was shielded from his straying gaze, he rose from the cold emerald floor.

    He appeared next to the birth attendant as her bony fingers guided his left hand to rest lightly on her belly button.

    Sloth''s entire body tensed when the earthquake inside Lune''s stomach began.

    He wanted to remove hisrge hand as if Lune''s skin had scorched her, but the birth attendant prevented him.

    Baphomet''s blood!

    His head jolted to the old woman in panic. "The babies are back at it again."

    Their mother would wake up in a few seconds and give his ears severe trauma from all that screaming.

    Lune whimpered, wailed, and screeched as if she had been chained and whipped to death.

    He withdrew his hand away from all that thrashing and squirming.

    Yet, nobody in the birthing room had tortured her brutally.

    Sloth and the birth attendant might as well have melted in the background.

    "Should I tie her up?" He caught himself saying his thoughts out loud.

    It wasn''t like she would fall off the bed unless she rolled to the side like a ball.

    The grandma became quiet suddenly, and Sloth thought this might be the calm before the storm.

    "You should talk to the babies as the father." She whispered. "Perhaps, they will listen to you."

    Slothughed nervously.

    ''As if!''

    He could tell that Lune''s daughters were as stubborn as their mother, even if they were still in the womb.

    "Ch��children. Don''t give your mother a hard time. Please stop."

 Chapter 893 I Love You But It Isnt True

    <strong>Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (May 2022)</strong>

    <strong>***********************************************************</strong>

    <strong>The Archdemon of Sloth</strong>

    <strong>Prince Sloth from the Seventh Circle of Hell</strong>

    <strong>***********************************************************</strong>

    "Ch��children." Sloth stuttered helplessly as he caressed her moving stomach. "Don''t give your mother a hard time. Please stop."

    Sloth winced from the ridiculous statement spilling from his mouth.

    He thought he only had to fill in the role as the birth attendant''s assistant.

    Now, he had to act as the father of the babies he hadn''t even sired.

    If Lune was consciously listening to him, he would use the old woman as a scapegoat.

    "Oi! Children, listen to me." He had no idea why he was scolding them like they were adolescent girls. "I am your uncle."

    "Mother is hurt and alone. Your father is not here. I will tell you when he arrives so that the two of you cane out safely. Mother will die if you keep moving around like this." He thought his authoritative tone sounded convincing. Lune even whimpered at the right time to support his words. "Do you want your mother to die and stay there forever?"

    Unfortunately, they refused to listen while their mother''s mmy hand gripped his forearm.

    He allowed her to hold him tightly even if it meant she could rip them into two.

    The contractions intensified that both his and Lune''s forehead broke out a sweat.

    "Why don''t you tell the babies that you love them?" The old woman suggested casually while applying warmpresses on her sweaty face, neck, and chest. "Maybe, that will encourage them to listen to your request. The future fathers who apany their pregnant wives here usually do that."

    He narrowed his eyes at Lune, the smooth boulder he was trying his best tofort, and the old hag.

    How many times had he told her that the Vampire King was the father?

    "I��" Sloth pried the hand on his forearm so that he could hold it and squeeze it gently. "I love you, Lune. " He coughed. "I love you and the twins."

    Sloth let out a low growl before scowling at the old woman. "Is that enough for you, Madame?"

    His Mistress''s face turned ashen and she looked deathly ill that it was hard for him to act stoic.

    Come to think of it.

    Not a lot of things made him wring his hands and ce a curled knuckle against his mouth.

    Only the Empress could evoke such strong emotion in him that he wondered if he was still an Archdemon.

    Tendons stood out on Lune''s pale neck and all of her being was too focused on the sheer agony thatsted for a minute.

    Later, she blew out a series of short breaths with her eyes closed as if to gain control over her suffering and calmed down.

    After uttering the magic words, the unborn babies finally quelled their rebellion.

    There was no point in hurting their mother if they weren''t even ready to see her.<sub> </sub>

    At that moment, Sloth remembered how to breathe again whereas the old woman checked Lune''s opening to see if her opening had dted.

    What the hell?

    He was panicking but the birth attendant acted like everything was fine and dandy.

    Satisfied at his unnecessary performance, the birth attendantmanded him to get two extra towels neatly folded at the bottom of the closet and tie them to the bedpost.

    He wasn''t able to use his brain properly afterward and just followed the old woman''s orders like a robot.

    The old woman got used to him constantly asking her questions earlier that she felt the need to rify that the towels werebor support to assist her in pushing.

    "Labor support?" He asked as he wiped Lune''s sweaty brow using an extra cloth, hoping that she will feel a bit refreshed so that she wouldn''t wake up cranky.

    "She will have to hold unto these towels once she felt the urge to push at the peak of her contractions." The birth attendant informed him.

    Sloth nodded absently, pretending to understand all the useless information bombarded on his brain.

    While he was massaging Lune''s limp hands so that he could at least have something to do, the birth attendant spread the Empress'' legs wide open and stretched her woman tissues with the clear slick gel on her hands to lubricate her passage.

    She promised that these would help Lune not to suffer so much during the delivery.

    He sat on the nearby chair while the old woman wasn''t using it and observed the��uh��sticky procedure.

    Now, his sister-inw''s lower belly down to her knees appeared like she was f*cked by a strange monster who ejacted transparent slime.

    Sloth felt like a criminal after pulling that unsolicited graphic image out of his mind.

    If the Vampire King found out he had seen her like this, he would kill him.

    What he had witnessed here must remain here unless the grandma wanted to snitch on him.

    For the first time, the birth attendant became concerned when she saw the look on his face.

    "You don''t have to panic. The falsebor pains had stopped momentarily and the Princess is fine." She reassured him. "You should take a rest."

    That wasn''t what he was thinking but he wasn''t about to tell her or she would think him a pervert.

    "But��"

    Sloth paused when he could sense that something else had taken over Lune''s body.

    It was so subtle that he would have ignored it if he was distracted as before.

    How did she manage toe out?

    "Madame. Please tie the princess'' feet to the bedpost while I take care of her arms. I will exinter."

    Without waiting for her to fully regain consciousness and control the Empress'' faculties, Sloth stood up from his seat and hurriedly tied her wrists to the towels attached to the bedpost.

    The Fae also noticed the change in Luna''s demeanor that she immediately backed off from the bed and did what he told her---no questions asked.

    "Sloth. What are you doing here?"

 Chapter 894 Give Me A Break!

    <strong>Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (May 2022)</strong>

    <strong>***********************************************************</strong>

    <strong>The Archdemon of Sloth</strong>

    <strong>Prince Sloth from the Seventh Circle of Hell</strong>

    <strong>***********************************************************</strong>

    "Sloth." Nostrils ring, her sharp green eyes glowered at him first. What are you doing here?"

    The Archdemon of Envy had possessed his sister-inw!

    Sloth refused to answer since he didn''t want Lilith to know that he had turned into Lune''s Archdemon Familiar.

    His ego refused to admit that the silver-haired woman, who had two husbands, had cheated to conquer him and turn him into a servant.

    His brother, Luxen, hadn''t known either, and he wanted to continue using that advantage.

    "The emerald in this entire room must be a myth." Sloth rubbed his chin in contemtion. "It isn''t working."

    The old woman raised her head to look up at him. "It is. The princess couldn''t use her strength even if she tried."

    Perhaps, the crystals made Lune too weak that Lilith could control her vessel.

    Lilith nced around her surroundings with interest, figuring out where she was while tugging at her restraints.

    He didn''t even tether her wrists that tight, so it was puzzling that she couldn''t break free from it.

    Both Archdemons were as weak as humans in this room.

    He couldn''t believe that towels were enough to do the dirty job.

    Sloth could see the exact moment when she realized that she was contained in a room with walls and ceilings that glowed green in the dark, and their only light source was the small fire at the hearth.

    He bet she hadn''t seen the emerald python creeping on the floor.

    Lilith brought her attention back to him again and said, "You are not supposed to be here!"

    ''Not supposed to be here, huh?'' The corner of his lips curved upward at her using tone. ''Did she mean to discriminate him from traveling through different Realms just because he belonged to the deepest pits of Hell?''

    "Release me this instant, or I will stop these children from seeing this world!" Lilith snarled at him with bloodshot eyes, her ample chest bouncing every time she strenuously pulled against the towels tied at her wrists and legs.

    He shook his head and rubbed a palm on his face in frustration.

    If she kept this up, she was going to hurt herself��

    No.

    Lune.

    Now, Sloth was confused.

    Her attitude switched from desperation to arrogance real quick.<sub> </sub>

    "They will stay here in this womb until they rot!" Lilith chuckled, her green eyes sparkling with delight. "Neither will these two see Luxen nor Apollyon?"

    Sloth shook his head at how absurd Lilith was.

    She was jealous of Lune for stealing the stone-cold heart of the Vampire King, and she was also mad that Luxen was ready to destroy realms so that he could have her.

    ''Once the babies are out, Lilith will be gone, just like how it would kill Luna like what the Three Fates had warned us about.''

    The Vampire King had told them about Lilith''s tactic.

    He wouldn''t allow himself to be fooled.

    "Your attempt to distract us is futile." Sloth observed every nuance of her facial expressions.

    They didn''t fit well on his sister-inw''s face.

    He wanted her gone as soon as possible.

    "My Archdemon soul could cling to either one of her daughters." Her lips stretched into a wide grin.

    "Why are you trying your best to prevent it, then? Even you don''t trust yourself that it would work." Sloth leaned a hand close to her head and moved his face closer to see eye-to-eye.

    Lilithid her upper body back on the bed in dismay while her long silver hair fanned against the white cushions.

    "You have run out of creative ideas this time that it''s boring us, Lilith." His face was cold and hard as he searched her eyes. "Why don''t you do everyone a favor and return to Hell?"

    "I''ll do what I want in this vessel. I. Own. Her." Lilith spat out every word.

    Sloth stared at Lilith in disgust. "Only for now because Lune had depleted her energy."

    "You and the Vampire King can''t stop me. You are always slow to catch up, Sloth." She whispered with gritted teeth.

    Sloth raised an eyebrow and smirked.

    "Quit barking like a dog using the Empress''s face. It doesn''t suit her." He raised his hand from the bed to tilt her chin up and moved it from side to side to inspect her, "You''re doing a disservice against this woman''s beauty."

    "This woman you are showering praises is already ugly in the first ce." She growled from the insult.

    Taken aback, Sloth''s eyes widened a bit before he threw his head back andughed.

    "If that''s what makes you sleep at night, then continue believing that�� but know this, Lilith. I wouldn''t be staying by her side if she was as ugly as you said. You should ask yourself why the Vampire King had rejected you after pining for his love for more than a millennia." He whispered as his eyes bored into hers. Every time she tried to avoid his gaze, he forced her to look at him again. "Instead of ming someone who met the Vampire King a thousand years after he met you, why don''t you take a look at yourself?''

    Someone cleared her throat, and Sloth forgot that the old woman was still there for a moment. "Is this the Archdemon that the Vampire King had warned us about?"

    "Yes." He turned her back on Lilith and faced the birth attendant with hands on his hips. "I cannot tolerate this kind of noise for long because I need to sleep. I guess the crystals are getting to me. Is there a way for us to knock her out aside from using the python''s venom?"

    "Help a fellow Archdemon, Sloth. I would have expected Ravin to chase this bitch to the ends of the world, but you? This doesn''t make sense." The Archdemon of Envy dared to change her tune.

    Sloth and the birth attendant ignored her.

    "I think covering her mouth with a cloth would do it."

    "Let''s do that." Sloth pped his hands together excitedly. "I had enough of her talking down on me. I would only allow the Empress to treat me as a ve."

 Chapter 895 Sloths Dream

    Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (May 2022)

    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    The Archdemon of Sloth

    Prince of the 7th Circle of Hell

    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    It was twilight in the--

    Sloth had no idea what Court he was currently in but he swore that he was in the Land of the Fairfolk.

    ncing around, Sloth tried to pinpoint his location and he appeared to be in the middle of the forest, riding a stallion he wasn''t familiar with.

    "I couldn''t remember climbing on this horse''s back." Sloth muttered to himself as he scrutinized the reins in his hands.

    Who had put him in a ce that didn''t spark any recognition in him?

    Sloth''s mind must be ying tricks on him because this looked like a dream.

    Bright green was the dominant color in his vision.

    He was sorrounded by tall, verdant trees possessing wide and sturdy branches and gnarled roots buried deep into the soil.

    It was so vibrant, healthy and so full of lifepared to the beautiful decay of gold, red and browns portrayed by the Autumn Courts.

    Wasn''t it supposed to be Winter Season, still?

    He pouted and shrugged. ''Not his problem, wasn''t it?''

    Sloth appreciated thezy atmosphere and watched the warrens and rabbitse out slowly to y and graze as they go as if there were no predators around.

    From the way these animals acted in the forage, it was clear that Sloth wasn''t in trouble or in a dangerous ce.

    Well, it wasn''t like he couldn''t defend himself if he wanted to but being wary in a new enviroment always helped.

    Sloth hummed in thefortable silence as the branches along with the leafy canopies above him swayed in the wind.

    The moon and the stars whispered at these beautiful trees to turn into dark, graceful silhouettes.

    Wait.

    Did Sloth just heard the sound of rushing water ovepping someone ying the harps?

    There seemed to be a body of water nearby.

    Sloth descended slid from his horse carefully to check it out.

    The night seemed more magical when the mushrooms on the ground glowed in the dark, the crickets began singing their goodnight song and the fireflies danced in a heady swarm of light.

    Bored, Sloth decided to follow where the fireflies went and stumbled upon their frozen firework explosion above theke.

    Theke reflected the image of the moon and the mysterious woman like a mirror.

    Was this woman standing under the light of the moon a Goddess?

    Sloth would know if the dozen of pixies in their floral tunics and gands, who were assisting the woman in her bath, would take the long veil she had worn so that he could take one good look at her.

    The diaphanous light blue veil over her head had shimmering pearls and jewels on cloth.

    It had the same material as her night gown, making her appear ethereal. as if her garment was a gift from the sirens and the mermaids.

    The slightest movement could make her long silky skirts flow like water on a deep pool.

    Sloth could see the shape of her waist down to her toes but it wasn''t transparent enough that he would have liked.

    Since the tree canopies were so low from where he was peeking at, the seductive image she portrayed began to flicker in and out of his view that his feet stepped forward of their own ord so that he could see her up close.

    He lifted the canopy with his hand without taking his eyes off her, afraid that he might miss something.

    At first, he didn''t care if he startled them with his presence but quickly decided against it.

    Sloth wanted them to be oblivious so that they could keep doing what they are doing.

    What else would these creatures do next if they assumed they were alone in that forest?

    The corner of his lips curled upward.<sub> </sub>

    He was looking forward to that.

    Would they continue with their business if he saw him watching from afar?

    When the faeries behind her finally took her veil off, Sloth watched the silken cloth slide down to her long silver hair before it revealed his Mistress.

    It was none other than Lune, sorrounded by yellow irises blooming close to the shore.

    She was about to submerge her right foot into the water when the fallen leaves and the twigs cracked underneath his footsteps.

    He gazed at her and when their eyes met, he swam into those hypnotic green depths which evoked such wonder and amazement in him.

    Sloth just had this uncontroble desire to keep looking at her the way a man would admire a masterpiece not to possess one.

    Something inside him seemed to have broken.

    Yes.

    His heart broke into two, allowing attraction, longing and the sadness of unrequited love to fill his heart until it overflowed.

    In that seemingly innocent moment, the way he saw his rtionship with Lune was broken.

    She was his sister-inw and his Mistress.

    The connection started as tonic but why did his heart insist on seeing it differently now?

    What happened in betweeen?

    Did the birth attendant''s orders tricked him into thinking he loved her after saying that to her and the babes?

    He wasn''t suffering from love starvation!

    As the Fae attendants continued to rid her of her clothing, Lune had that fearful gaze in her eyes that made him turn his head to the side to make her feel at ease.

    His heart beat slowed and Sloth clutched his chest to protect it and his body refused to move from his spot.

    Lune''s countenance seemed threatened as if she couldn''t recognize who he was and he wanted to correct that.

    ''Don''t be afraid.'' He wanted to tell her that.

    Sloth raised his head to stare at Lune again at the wrong moment.

    The gauzy light blue gown dropped to her feet to reveal her hourss-shaped figure but that wasn''t the most shocking thing of all.

    His Mistress wasn''t pregnant.

    There was no boulder in her stomach like he had seen her in the Emerald Room.

    He gasped in surprise and covered his mouth. ''This couldn''t be real.''

    Lune looked down at her bare chest, nced up at him and covered them with the palm of her hands in chagrin.

    When she realized that her lower body was still exposed to his delectation, she jumped into theke without any warning and sshed water on her Fae attendants.

    Sloth was supposed to be in the Emerald Room sleeping.

    This was wrong.

    The situation he experienced earlier must have created this strange fantasy.

    That''s right.

    Sloth was too distracted to perceive that someone had crept up behind him, slid their forearm, lodged it under his chin and wrapped his neck.

    "Sloth." The guttural growl came from a familiar voice but one he didn''t expect. "How dare you watch my wife, naked?"

    "This�� is a�� misunderstanding." Sloth tried to choke out but but the Vampire King wrapped his arm even tighter around his neck not just to hold him ce but an attempt to cut off his head with his brute strength.

    "I don''t believe you. I never suspected that you had your eye on her that I allowed you to stay by her side for too long. Having you as her Archdemon Familiar is a mistake." He said in a whisper shout.

    He felt a bit lightheaded when his feet began to lift from the ground.

    Sloth stuck his hands on his side in an attempt to pacify him. "I had let my guard down and watched Ravin like a hawk when I should have kept my eye on you all this time."

    "I told... you." He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. Lune would hate him if Sloth wouldy a finger on the Vampire King. "She just happened to be there while��"

    "I will kill you for this, Sloth." Apollyon growled. "You will never see her again."

 Chapter 896 Casual Observer

    <strong>Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (May 2022)</strong>

    <strong>***********************************************************</strong>

    <strong>The Archdemon of Sloth</strong>

    <strong>Prince Sloth from the Seventh Circle of Hell</strong>

    <strong>***********************************************************</strong>

    Sloth''s pleasant dream got cut off abruptly after the Vampire King ''supposedly'' separated his head off his neck with his bare arms.

    His heartbeat raced and a heavy feeling settled in the pit of his stomach.

    The pain from the sudden decapitation was too vivid that it disturbed him a little.

    Sloth couldn''t me his sister-inw''s husband.

    If he was interested in having a mate for himself,he would have done the same to whoever man he caught watching her while she was bathing naked in theke with the Faeries.

    Unfortunately, he was toozy to pour effort into a romantic rtionship and he wasn''t that much of a bastard to let the other one do the work.

    He would spare her from the frustrations of the expectations he wasn''t about to meet.

    Sloth was contented with being an Archdemon Familiar, anyway, despite being forced into situations.

    Sometimes he didn''t like it but, at least it was bearable.

    Now, he was floating into this pitch-ck darkness and he had no idea how to return to that Emerald Room with the real Lune and the birth attendant.

    Yet, at the same time, he had this strange awareness of every sensation his body can feel.

    He frowned.

    Should he force himself to wake up after this?

    Sloth rxed his furrowed brows and exhaled a heavy sigh.

    He was aware that this was a dream and what urred earlier didn''t happen in real life.What Sloth hadn''t anticipated next was that he would be a casual observer of the bloodshed and destruction of his dream.

    Sloth feared that what he just witnessed in front of him was not the Autumn Court''s impending future but the current one.

    The Three Fates just strengthened their reputation for prophecy.

    The evil force had risen after the Great War which would ruin the Material Realm all over again.

    First and foremost, their aim was to wreck the Garden of the Four Seasons and burn all the arbors of fruit-bearing trees.

    Without the existence of this Holy Ground in the Autumn Courts, all the creatures in the Material Realm will have no protection against the Demons in case they decided to upy a vessel permanently.

    Queen Morgan had used everything in her power to banish as many demons as possible with the help of magicians blending into the Fae Militia.

    As per the Autumn Queen''s orders, the cabal of magicians had spread magic circles around the area to attack and defend themselves from the minion of beasts invading the Kingdom.

    Capable warriors in the Fae Militia had used iron swords that could effectively kill a few percentages of low-ranked demons in Luxen''s Legion.

    Even if they couldn''t defeat high-ranking demons with conventional weaponry, the Fae Knights tried to make up for it by using their physical strength, speed, and the set of selenite-coated metallic armors they wore to increase their resistance against demonic possession.<sub> </sub>

    Queen Morgan infused Hecate''s magic on the Knight''s shields, providing them more defense.

    It was clear that their skills in swordsmanship had improved after training with his brother and the Vampire King beforehand.

    The Fae Knights hit weaker targets urately with their des which made it hard for demons to recover.

    The bodies of the lesser demons melted when they perished.

    They also learned how to dodge faster every time a demon attempted to take their beating hearts out with their sharp ws.

    Sometimes, he couldn''t believe that Ravin had shared their well-hidden secret with their enemies.

    Now, everyone in the Material Realm had figured out a demon''s weakness--including theirs.

    The highly critical part of a demon''s soul was at the center of their brow, neck, eyes, and chest.

    Ravin justpletely disregarded who he was and the life he lived after being mated.

    The Archdemon of Gluttony was hopeless.

    ''Oh. The things his brother did for Lune...'' Sloth clicked his tongue and shook his head in regret.

    If the rest of the Archdemons knew about how outrageous Ravin had acted as the Vampire King''s General in the Fae Militia, they would simply dismiss it as a lie.

    He was only d that Ravin wasn''t insane enough to procure a demon de for each Fae Knight.

    That act would make him a traitor to the Demon Race.

    Queen Morgan tried her best to control masses of demons and steal them from under Luxen''s control after her selected wizards performed the stun effect.

    She and the wizards had performed this advanced type of magic that might cost them their lives if they had no idea how to estimate the number of monsters she could manage.

    She was a true ruler who wanted to safeguard instead of just nurture the Kingdom like the rest of the Faerie Queens does.

    She led the Fae Militia with courage, fulfilling her promise to protect the weak and the helpless until her death.

    Princess Sapphire helped by producing light orbs to trap and destroy these beasts, countering theArchdemon''s Hellfire.

    That particr attack had a huge effect on the enemiespared to thebined efforts of the Fae Militia.

    Princess Sapphire could be the next Queen of the Summer Courts with that amount of power.

    The young demigod shouldn''t be underestimated.

    The Fallen Angel, whom Sloth hadn''t recognized yet and simply assumed he was Luxen''s new president, noticed the damage that Sapphire had done that she and Xerxes found themselves face to face with him.

    They tried to end each other with the power of light and fire.

    He had produced brilliant white lights while Princess Sapphire''s orbs shone as fiery orange as the sun, leaving more deaths in its wake.

    The two were rather reckless with their abilities as if they didn''t care whom their wide-range explosives hit at all, increasing more casualties and decreasing the number of their opponents as possible.

    Demons and Faeries alike had learned to move and get out of the way before their own allies kill them.

 Chapter 897 Archangel Of Death

    <strong>Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (May 2022)</strong>

    <strong>*******************************************</strong>

    <strong>Archdemon of Sloth</strong>

    <strong>Prince From the 7th Circle of Hell</strong>

    <strong>********************************************</strong>

    Archers had inflicted high amounts of damage to the Demonic Legion with their long-range attacks.

    Their special arrows were enchanted with dark curses that were sure to send them to the deepest pits of Hell.

    He didn''t see Hephaestus in the area but it appeared like he had sent his clockwork monsters to protect Princess Sapphire while she and Queen Morgan with Luxen''s president and his minions.

    He frowned when he noticed that Xerxes was gone.

    His sharp gaze searched for him on the ground in his human form but it didn''t ur to him to look for his werewolf form.

    Xerxes'' huge size shouldn''t be hard to miss but the snow cover was too thick.

    Sloth almost realized toote that Xerxes was there, religiously digging something underground with his mouth and paws.

    He had no idea what he was up to.

    All the Faeries had either hovered close to the ground or flew so high to fight the Demonic Legion.

    He scratched his cheek in confusion.

    Was this even the perfect time to hu--

    Sloth narrowed his eyes when he caught sight of the blue feather between the werewolf''s canines.

    First, why did Xerxes have the blue feather that Hecate had entrusted to his brother?

    Second, why was he trying to bury it when his paws finally reached the ck soil?

    Unfortunately, that didn''t change the fact that they were still outnumbered by these devils.

    In just a few minutes, their defense lowered as the Higher Ranked Demons disfigured the Faeries in an instant.

    As a casual observer, this felt like a losing battle for the Fairfolk and the Material Realm, entirely.

    The ravaged arctic wastnds appeared more deste and the Autumn Kingdom looked awful from all the torn holes in the ground caused by Hellfire.

    Despite being gued with impending doom, everyone in the Fae Militia continued to fight until theirst breath.

    The deady on the wintry ground with their blood flowing over the frosted white.

    Luxen''s new president only had to stare hard at a weak Fae and they would bleed internally through their eyes, nose, and lips until they turn blue.

    Their heads would explode, spraying fountains of blood on the other warriors, before dropping dead on the snow-covered ground.<sub> </sub>

    A lot of Faerie Knights also made the mistake ofing in contact with the poisonous blood of specific demons that they immediately died each time a single drop would ssh onto their eyes and lips.

    The de warriors had to set these toxic demons apart from the rest and choose their enemies carefully before they allow those creatures toe at them nearby.

    No one could save the other Fae Warriors and Magicians when the Dukes of Hell turned into shadow wolf berserkers that tortured them and ripped them into pieces.

    The Dukes of Hell devoured them the same way they did with Sylvain, leaving no crumbs.

    The surviving demons in the Legion and the remaining warriors for the Autumn Courts roared their battle cry and it went on and on.

    Sloth didn''t expect to be relentlessly bombarded by the sights and noises of war when he was supposed to be sleeping right now.

    He noticed a pair of angelic wings in the middle of chaos and the halberd in his grip looked familiar for some reason.

    The ''Halberd'' was the most powerful weapon an Archangel can hold because it was the only arsenal that could harm the Demon King himself and y the rest of the Greater Demons with ease.

    Was that... Archangel Azrael?

    A hard p on the cheek didn''t wake him up from this dream but it did hurt.

    What was the Archangel of Death doing here?

    Sloth knew that Archangel Azrael meant serious business when he decided to show up here and wave the divine weapon on their enemies'' faces.

    It was also possible that the demonic energies in the area were too dark and intense that they could barely feel Archangel Azrael''s presence there.

    If the Archangel utilized divine stealth, only beings who had peace in their mind will be able to detect them.

    Sloth suddenly recalled all the moments he had witnessed in the past when Lucifer and the Demon King tried their best to persuade him in joining them in Hell and help them rule all of the Realms.

    It was a shame that no temptation that the Archdemons had offered in this world had made him change his mind.

    Azrael''s responsibilities as an Archangel were almost close to the jurisdiction of Demons since he was the one who fetched millions of souls and delivered them to Hell, himself.

    Sloth also heard that the Archangel Azrael had the power to duplicate himself so that he could be in multiple ces in specific time frames to either clean up or leave the fuckeries, a dead person had done, alone.

    If he was always a hundred steps ahead of anyone else next to the Creator, the Three Fates might have considered him the enemy of the Three Fates.

    All they do is spin tales and determine the life characters, giving life and taking it away.

    Archangel Azrael worked under the Highest God and had no other Archangel who had a Higher Rank than him to answer to because he was a Seraphim.

    He had a reputation of being the most powerful Archangel--even more powerful than the Demon King Lucifer who used to be God''s favored Archangel but rebelled against him instead.

    Until now, Sloth had no idea if it was true because they had no proof and they hadn''t seen him in action.

    Was it just a rumor the Archangel had created for himself to taunt their father and poke at his pride?

    Every Archdemon Prince in Hell would assume he was a Demon or a Fallen Angel if the white feathers in his wings didn''t give him away but as usual, they didn''t really care as long as Azrael never bothered them.

 Chapter 898 Archdemon Tournament (EDITED)

    <strong>Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (May 2022)</strong>

    <strong>*******************************************</strong>

    <strong>Archdemon of Sloth</strong>

    <strong>Prince From the 7th Circle of Hell</strong>

    <strong>********************************************</strong>

    Every Archdemon Prince in Hell would assume he was a Demon or a Fallen Angel if the white feathers in his wings didn''t give him away but as usual, they didn''t care as long as Azrael never bothered them.

    The Vampire King and the Archdemon of Gluttony entered the scene like a crusader who skillfully rode their chariot.

    Everyone was so busy fighting their own battles that they didn''t notice his... or more like, their presence.

    Archangel Azrael appeared next to Luxen, Ravin, Apollyon, Luxen, and Beelzebub and vanished with them before hosts of angels arrived.

    The length of their flowy white tunics went past their feet and their waists were girded with golden bands.

    All these Heavenly beings had a skin color that looked like well-refined brass.

    Each of the seven Archangels, who led these white-haired fiery blue-eyed angels, held a straight and narrow bronze tube resembling a trumpet and they blew on their mouthpiece to their heart''s content.

    Holy Fire mingled with Archangel''s blood was thrown to the Material Realm and effectively put out the Hellfire that burned the Fae''s wings and bodies.

    Sloth recognized Archangel Gabriel at the front lines. Hemanded hundreds of thousands of angel troops mounted on chariots with horses that had lion heads and multiple tails moving like serpents in an angelguage that made him sound as if he was underwater.

    Their mouths exuded holy fire, smoke, and brimstone that could easily kill demons even if the contact was minimal.

    The Autumn Courts shook rock and throbbed from the devastation of this war as the relentless Hellfire continued to rain down on the Fair folk.

    Before Sloth would have reveled from the sound of screaming found the explosions awesome.

    He could have partaken in it if he wasn''t tired all the time.

    Now, that he was an Archdemon Familiar, he was already singing a different tune.

    The Hellfire surrounding the Hallowed Ground was extinguished when it started raining hard.

    "Ouch." Sloth frowned and rubbed at his skin as the rain scalded him.

    It didn''t affect him that much but he could hear agonized screaming from the Lesser Demons before they melted like butter in the air.

    It appeared that Archangels manipted nature to rain holy water on the Legion.

    The heavenly rainstorms blessed by the Highest God helped repel these demons when the Garden of the Four Seasons showed up.

    The presence of Archangels in this War turned the tables around and this sudden rehearsal will force the Legion to fight the Archangels rather than the Fae.

    Now that the Archdemon of Lust and his president were nowhere to be found, the Dukes of Hell took it upon themselves to lead the Legion against the Archangels and execute their leader''smands at all cost.

    The Highest Ranked Demons in the Legion called upon a vast amount of souls, evil spirits, and the rest of the Legion to form this giant shadow tentacle monster.

    At this point, they were killing machines.

    No Master or Summoner couldn''t stop them now except the Heavenly Beings who came to the Fairfolk''s rescue.

    *********************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    *********************************

    Apollyon couldn''tprehend what was going on.

    At first, he could only see behind the pitch ck of his closed lids but he continued to pry them open when he heard a cacophony of creepy voices ovepping against each other.

    Why did that buzzing noise make it seem like he was in a burning hot arena while a crowd of spectators watched him from above?

    His brows furrowed while his ears strained to hear conversations that would give him clues about their whereabouts.

    Was it wrong to pull the Archdemon of Gluttony away from Luxen''s new president?

    If he didn''t stick his nose where it didn''t belong, Apollyon would have one less husband of his wife to deal with.

    The blond-haired, purple-haired man seemed more dangerouspared to Luxen who flew next to him, because of his appearance.

    Apollyon had only nced at him once, but the ck feathers in his wings had made him act by impulse.

    Despite living in the Vampire Realm for a thousand years, he hadn''t confronted those kinds of creatures before in person.

    That was the first time he had seen a Fallen Angel.

    This man could have been one of the oldest immortals that ever existed.

    The pure white wings they possessed in the past were simr to a dove''s but now, each feather was tainted with sin.

    The stranger had dark wings simr to a raven while the rest of the demons around him had leather bat-like wings.

    Apollyon finally managed to open his eyes and saw all kinds of demons surrounding them, seated on a long wedge-shaped section above.

    The scorpion-tailed warhorses who possessed a man''s face, lion''s canines, and locust-like wings particrly caught his attention.

    They were the most bizarre creatures he had seen closest to the battle arena.

    Their long hairs were adorned with golden crowns and iron breasttes.<sub> </sub>

    Apollyon immediately assumed they were High-Ranking Demon Guards who had to make sure that no rules were broken.

    He couldn''t see the rest of the demons clearly due to the thick smoke darkening the air and blocking what little light they had.

    He could see the shock in the Demon King and Queen''s countenance at the Royal Box as if they had never expected the four of them to be there.

    Nevertheless, the two Highest Archdemons in Hell quickly regainedposure.

    They had no choice but to hold the tournament and be witnesses to either hail the new Archdemon Prince or celebrate the victory of the current Archdemon Prince who had sessfully defended his rank.

    The Royal Archdemons also had no time to waste and ask for an exnation of how this came to be.

    Apollyon also doubted whether he could understand the Archdemons outside the tform to even have a proper conversation with them because all he could hear was gibberish.

    A goat-headed demon official suddenly materialized at the upside-down pentagram at the center of the arena. "Wee to the royal tournament in Hell."

    Apollyon tilted his head to the one who announced. "Tournament?"

    Was this the tournament he had to participate in to be an Archdemon?

    "I don''t think we need long introductions. All you have to do is defend yourself from Luxen. Your fault foring with me when Beelzebub dragged me to Hell." Ravin muttered under his breath as if he didn''t want anyone else to hear.

    Apollyon straightened his spine and growled, "How do we return, Ravin?"

    This wasn''t what he had in mind to turn into an Archdemon like Luna. All these obstacles were deliberately contrived to test and challenge him.

    Yet, ultimately, bing an Archdemon, he realized, was never his true goal. "I had to return and give that divine fruit to my wife--"

    "Our wife." Ravin turned his head to correct him for the hundredth time but Apollyon still had the same reaction.

    His fists were clenched as he scowled at him. "It''s simple. Defeat the Archdemon of Lust and you will take his ce as the Prince of the Second Circle of Hell. We will get locked here in this dimension if our opponent didn''t perish."

    So, it was a fight to the death like his wife had told him before.

    The four who joined the tournament could only use the Archdemon de and their sheer strength and those who broke the rules in this dimension will immediately be considered lost.

    "I don''t want to stay in Hell." Apollyon''s tone was casual as he cracked his knuckles to prepare for the fight.

    He anticipated that this battle would be a walk in the garden and it wasn''t just self-grandeur.

    The Wisteria juice and Ravin''s venom lying dormant in his system made him feel strong bursts of energy that he could almost mistake as more power and aggression.

    The intense demonic energies around him activated its side effects and it was fortunate that staying in the Crystal Cave had helped him handle the supposed insanity that went along with it.

    He wasn''t obsessed with ying demons as much as possible like he used to before.

    Apollyon had almost killed his pregnant wife during that time.

    Ravin nodded his head in agreement and muttered, "You should know that this isn''t Hell yet. Not even the Demon King or Queen coulde here and kill us because the arena is out of their sovereignty."

    "So the Demon King wasn''t the one who made this system to establish Hierarchy in Hell but the--"

    "Best of luck to you, Vampire King." Ravin cut him off.

    Apollyon quickly remembered that Archdemons didn''t like to address the Creator in any way that would show how powerful he was than the Demon Race.

    "I hope you die and rot in the Ninth Circle." The Archdemon continued.

    "In your dreams. I f*cking tried to save you, you bastard." Apollyon replied with gritted teeth.

    "Tch." Ravin snorted as he tried to move away from him in annoyance. "It''s not like I need your help. I want to return to Amare and tell her that you''re gone. And then I''ll be the only one he had left." He liked that idea from the way he smirked. "Don''t worry I would take care of yours and Luxen''s child unless she wanted me to dispose of them."

    "Luna isn''t that type of woman to abandon her child." Apollyon shook his head in both irritation and disappointment. "You don''t know her at all."

    The goat-headed official interrupted their discussion and gave each of them a golden chalice that they have to drink from as acknowledgment binding them in this fight.

    Apollyon winced at the awful taste of the purple liquid that the golden chalice had contained.

    He spected that it was either Lucifer or the Demon King''s blood.

    None of their ichor tasted good except his mate''s but he refused to waste a single drop even if he wanted to vomit on the floor.

    This might be Apollyon''s first andst chance to be an Archdemon.

    "I see that you are still feeling sour about the position that my father had given me, Beelzebub, that you tried your hardest to raise your rank." Ravin began to have a little conversation with their opponent as he returned the chalice to the official. "But, what do we do if you are still a Marquis?" He jutted his chin smugly and shrugged. "You couldn''t possibly challenge an Archdemon Prince and expect to win."

    "We will see about that, brother." The Archdemon of Lust drawled and Apollyon''s blood boiled upon hearing his voice.

    Apollyon''s head snapped in his direction but he still tried his best to keep calm as he faced the one who vited his mate.

    He drew slow, steady breaths as he kept his eyes on the Archdemon Prince, reminding himself that he should covet his rank in Hell as if he had gone mad with blood lust.

    This wasn''t the time to lose control because that weakness will be detrimental to his victory.

    Victory over the Archdemon of Lust will need his strength, courage, and endurance.

    "Do you need forces to this traitor, Luxen?" Ravin gestured at Beelzebub before ncing at the pedestal where Lucifer was seated. "Do you not care about what the Demon King would think?"

    Luxen chuckled darkly and replied, "No. I would be the Demon King anyway."

    The Fallen Angel tilted his head and smirked. "If I killed you in this challenge, you will never have the chance to see your birth mother again, Ravin. But at least you will stay in the Ninth Circle with your father."

    Ravin narrowed his eyes at him. "What do you mean?"

    "You are not the spawn of Lucifer. You are the son of the Fallen Angel, Archangel Uriel, and the Queen of the Autumn Courts. The one who you just considered as your father right now is the person who killed the real one."

 Chapter 899 Friend Or Foe

    <strong>[A/N: The author is not cking. The author is busy writing. Unfortunately, the one I have written was closer to the ending than this one, so it took me a long time to upload because I''m still writing the current and sorting out the order of events. The end is near. We also voted for the President of Our Nation the other day, so things got hectic. I apologize. I will be uploading two chapters tomorrow.]</strong>

    <strong>Newest Chapter of The Highest Tier (May 2022)</strong>

    <strong>*************************************</strong>

    <strong>PRINCESS'' BIRTH ATTENDANT</strong>

    <strong>************************************</strong>

    Lightning struck inside the dimly lit space, creating zigzag shes everywhere blue.

    The birth attendant gasped and jerked out of her seat that she nearly broke her hunched back.

    As she grimaced from the ache, she covered her face with her hands�Cas if that would hide her from the enemies�C while stealing wide-eyed nces at the glow-in-the-dark ceiling.

    ''Where the hell did thate from?'' She thought while observing the blue streaks crackle and sizzle.

    The lightning bolts hit the walls and bounced like toys until the stuffy air in this overcrowded chamber snuffed out itsst sparks.

    Closing her eyes, she sighed in relief and unclenched her fists.

    It turned out she was holding her breath all this time.

    The control she had over her muscles eased as well.

    If she weren''t careful and allowed fear to make her panic, these things would be her death before she could fulfill her trade as a birth attendant.

    Her reputation was on the line here.

    After enduring these Archdemons, she would demand a handsome price for her excellent service.

    Yes.

    That''s it.

    The birth attendant nodded in agreement.

    She opened her eyes again to nce around the room with vignce, anticipating the thunderbolts-of-unknown-origin to return to trace the magic back to its wielder.

    She was aware that this type of magic didn''te from a Fae in the Autumn Courts.

    Her narrowed eyes darted from the ceiling to the green walls and then to the slithering green snake before her gaze settled on the Archdemon''s back.

    The tiny Fae Symbols engraved in the Emerald Room made him sleep for more than ten hours.

    He slept peacefully over the expensive cloak he had spread unto the floor while facing the wall.

    The man had argued with the princess earlier, and she quickly understood that his name was Sloth.

    She also heard from the grapevine that the Archdemon was a Prince--in Hell, she assumed--but all the royal birth attendants who Queen Morgan tasked to take care of the Princess wondered why this Sloth and the other man he called his brother were acting like servants around her.

    Only her.

    Maybe, all of it was just an act?

    It was a strange dynamic that the other women couldn''tprehend.

    The most puzzling thing was that... the Vampire King seemed alright with the arrangement.

    Yet, some of the Princess''sdies-in-waiting witnessed the new Autumn Princesh out with anger and frustration from the brothers'' presence as if he didn''t want them there, but he had no choice but to keep them to make her happy.

    It became apparent that the Princess of the Autumn Courts wasn''t satisfied with just one man.

    Perhaps, the new Princess wanted to hide the fact that she had three husbands for fear that Queen Morgan would demand that she return her royal title and all the properties that came along with it.

    The Autumn Fairfolk valued monogamous rtionships between soulmates, and the princess unwittingly broke the long-standing tradition.

    ''Wait. I forgot to check up on her when she was the most dangerous.''

    The birth attendant scrambled to her feet, bent over the pregnant woman--while each of her pale limbs was tied to the bedpost--and scrutinized her face to see if she was feigning sleep.

    The Archdemon Prince did warn her that the Honorary Princess��the former Empress of the Vampire Realm��was possessed by a female Archdemon.

    He and the Female Archdemon had a hostile discussion that persuaded her to listen and shut her mouth.

    Sloth knew better than to feed into this deranged woman''s bitterness.

    He had slept before he saw her faint from the increasingbor pains she suffered, the wasted efforts to escape her restraints, and the loud and infinite screams their ears had to endure.

    Nobody gave in to the other female Archdemon''s temper tantrum until she was exhausted.

    The birth attendant was thest conscious person in the Emerald Room and won through her patience and experience.

    She a wrinkled finger on the Princess'' smooth, pale cheek and urged her head to turn to the side.

    Still, her breathing remained even, and she didn''t wake up.

    Unfortunate or not, nothing simr to the event earlier had urred.

    The birth attendant even paused to examine each of the suspects for a long time.

    Did she be senile that her mind wanted to y tricks on her?

    She straightened her spine and paced back and forth with a scowl.

    She was sure that those sudden lightning bolts didn''te from her, the Archdemon, the Princess, or the emerald snake.

    That python was her friend ever since she started working as a royal midwife at a young age, but she never witnessed that fork tongue spit lightning or white sparks jump from the zigzag pattern on its skin.

    How could the lightning enter when there wasn''t even a single window where light could pass through?

    The only entrance and exit were closed shut.

    Yes.

    A powerful being must have done it.

    She had no way of knowing what time and what was going on in the Autumn Courts, and she had no guts to venture outside.

    However, she could ask Sloth to look outside for a few minutes and report back here immediately.

    Unfortunately, thezy Archdemon might kill her if she woke him at the wrong time and the man who apanied the princess through here was useless.

    There was another moment of crisis that she had to deal with.

    The lightning bolts were more potent when they returned to hit the hearth.

    The mes jounced in all directions that the edge of the nket, the closet, and one of the bedposts had caught fire.

    Was this an omen that the Demonic Legion entered the barriers and invaded the Autumn Courts again?

    The birth attendant screeched for help when she heard a loud bang.

    The door to the Emerald Room had opened.

    .

 Chapter 900 Introduce Yourself, Intruder

    [Author can''t publish twice I spent half of my day being worried about my broken phone and sending it to repair center today. I dropped it from the table unto the floor and the screen is all ck. I even waited for four hours in the mall to have it repaired instead of writing my ass off. MERCURY RETROGRADE IS FUCKED UP. I will continue writing for the remaining time I have.]

    Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (May 2022)

    ***************************

    Princess'' Birth Attendant

    ***************************

    The birth attendant screeched for help at the sight of tall men in white robes invading the Emerald Room in a rush.

    Stepping backwards, she decided to shut her mouth and duck underneath the Princess'' bed but, there was no point in doing that when these strangers had already seen her, isn''t it?

    Arge hand clutched her elbow firmly and pulled her upwards.

    All she wanted was to run away but she had no destination in sight since they were trapped in the Emerald Room.

    She winced and straightened her spine.

    The insistent squeeze of his strong fingers on her fragile bones told her that he wouldn''t take no for an answer.

    She held back her scream as her limbs shook in fear.

    No matter how much she had shaken it off, the grip wouldn''t budge.

    She dreaded looking over her shoulder. But when she did, her blurred vision caught a broad-shouldered man with thick silver-blond hair and skin with a shade of gold and bronze.

    He had lowered his head to look at her, searching deep into her aging eyes for the secrets that he desired.

    His perfect symmetrical face was devoid of emotion when he directed, "Tell me the things I have to know about the Princess."

    For a second, her gaze shed at her other Archdemonpanion sleeping on the floor.

    After all her efforts to make noise and wake him up, he still hadn''t realized that intruders were present.

    Weren''t Archdemons supposed to be sensitive when their immortal enemies were near?

    Instead of freeing herself from his touch out of desperation, the birth attendant went still when she glimpsed the beautiful angel wings spread behind the stranger''s back.

    She could only blink and gape when the Archangel ced his hands on her shoulders and forced her to turn around.

    A Female Archangel stepped forward to stand next to the silver-blond Archangel while the Three Cherubims had assembled a bit far behind them.

    She quickly realized they weren''t enemies.

    Heartbeat almost exploding, she took a breath and exhaled in relief.

    As she tilted her head curiously at the Cherubim standing at the left side, her mild interest quickly shifted into dread.

    The Cherubim seemed to be have a familiar person''s arm around his shoulder, helping him to stay upright.

    Bitiung her fingernails, the birth attendant dared to ask. "Is that the Vampire King?"

    ? The Cherubim simply nodded with pursed lips.

    The torn parts of his shredded garment were wrapped in white cloths to cover what-appeared-to-be acid burns, bloody wounds, andrge purple welts on his ghastly skin.

    The awkward angles of his unconscious form made it seem like he broke his bones.

    She quickly turned her head to the side to avoid examining the Vampire King too closely and wiped the silent tears trickling at the corner of her eyes.

    Feeling cold, she folded her arms around her body forfort and to protect herself.

    She was fond of the new Fae Prince and the Princess in that short period that it would break her heart to ask whether or not the Vampire King could still survive.

    Archangel Azrael froze in his tracks when he caught sight of the emerald python''s body shaped like an ''S'' close to the Princess'' bed.

    It seemed like the snake didn''t like them one bit.

    The serpent''s body was wound up tight while its dark elongated pupils in its diamond-shaped head had watched him with a predatory gaze.

    It even propped its tail upwards, moving from left to right on repeat, as if the Archangel''s presence annoyed him and he was waiting for the right time to attack.

    The male Archangel scowled at it and assumed that the emerald python was a threat.

    Without warning, he set it on fire before it could lunge and give his feet a nasty bite.

    Her eyes bulged in terror and for a moment, she forgot how to think as she watched it hiss and squirm to death.

    The birth attendant raised her hands with her palms facing the Archangel in a cating gesture. "I beg you not to kill the snake, Archangel." She said carefully, bowing her head to fix her gaze at the floor. She was afraid to offend the servants of the Highest God but the emerald phython was essential in her line of work. "This serpent''s venom had been used by our Fae ancestors to numb the pains of childbirth."

    She locked her fingers together as she settled it in front of her.

    "As long as the serpent learns how to stay out of my sight, I wouldn''t see that as a problem." The Archangel walked towards the Princess'' bed and leaned down to caress her silver hair with his fingers. "You should be aware that the Highest God had created ''women'' to tolerate this level of pain. It would be more natural for the Empress not to need the serpent''s venom." He continued to patronize her while paying attention to the sleeping woman on the bed. "I assume she is strong enough to withstand it. Any chemical reactions might make matters worse during birthing."

    The Archangel put out the holy fire from the phython''s green scales in just a snap of a finger.

    Terrified at the her friend''s thwarted murder, the birth attendant crumpled and sank to the ground to throw emerald python to the other side of the chamber away from Archangel Azrael with magic.

    Fortunately, the two Cherubims were already at it.

    She didn''t have to waste her time and energy on his grievances but still raged burned inside her at the Archangel''s insensitivement.

    He should try engaging in a sexual intercourse with a Fae woman and give birth to their offspring in her ce, then.

    When the Archangel slowly returned to stand in front of her, she cleared her throat and began, "Lightning just came inside the Emerald Room before you arrived. Where you the one who sent it to alert me?"

    "Yes, it is I who sent it."

    "Would you care to introduce yourself and the reason why you are here, Archangel?"

 Chapter 901 No Kiss

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (May 2022)

    ***********************

    Princess'' Birth Attendant

    ***********************

    "Would you care to introduce yourself and the reason why you are here, Archangel?"

    Widening her stance, the birth attendant jutted her chin and folded her arms across her chest.

    The Angels were surprised at the sudden confidence in her behavior when all she demanded was self-respect.

    Archangel Azrael seemed to misunderstand that.

    He had raised an eyebrow at her and mirrored her movements, and it made her feel nervous at her own false bravado.

    Her lips pressed into a white sh.

    Were they mocking her for demanding the truth?

    The birth attendant tapped her foot in annoyance, waiting for their response.

    She brought it upon herself to step forward while pushing Archangel Azrael again to the side.

    "I am Archangel Ariel and this is Archangel Azrael." Archangel Ariel settled a hand over her chest before gesturing at her wingedpanions. "These three Cherubims are with us. There is no need to be suspicious." She told her gently but it failed to assuage her suspicion.If they keep insisting that one more time, she wasn''t going to believe them anymore. "We are here to help the woman." Archangel Ariel kept eye contact with her and she could feel her sincerity more than the male Archangel.

    When she raised her eyes to look at the smoke twirling silver-blue above their heads, she initially assumed that it came from the fire on the hearth.

    Yet, when her gaze followed the source, her mouth fell open when she realized it came from the Vampire King.

    She wrinkled her nose at the slight acrid odor of burning flesh from his bandages.

    He looked half-dead and it worried her.

    "The Vampire King doesn''t look good." The cherubim had finally voiced out what she wanted to say. Frown lines marred his forehead as he nced down at his ward. "Smoke ising out of the bandages I had wrapped around him despite the angel magic I used."

    Was it dangerous for everyone in the Emerald Room to inhale this mysterious smoke?

    Her fingers touched her parted lips.

    What about the Princess and the babies'' safety?

    "We must leave the Vampire King outside." Archangel Ariel turned her head to speak to Archangel Azriel in a tone that made her sound like she was asking for permission. "He is still a fledgling Archdemon adjusting to his physical vessel." Her grey eyes almost bulged out of her drooping eyelids. Had the Vampire King turn into an Archdemon? "His spirit is warring with his body right now. The Emerald Room might slow down his transformation."

    "No. Just let him stay here. I promised the Vampire King before the tournament that I would bring him to his wife no matter what his condition was." He replied. "Hearing that from his own mouth made me think he was determined to win over Luxen with or without my help." The corner of Archangel Azrael''s lips curled into a small smile.He does have the right to be here as the Empress'' husband."

    The Cherubim who had Apollyon''s arm around his shoulders nodded in agreement. "I think it is better for the Vampire King if we slowed down his transformation on purpose. That way, he could hold unto himself long before he turned into a full-fledged Archdemon."

    Did Archangel Azrael, the Empress and the Vampire King know each other?

    He was speaking about them fondly as if he shared some form of camaraderie with them.

    What had happened to Archangel Azrael and Apollyon before they arrived here?

    Archangel Azrael ced an arm behind the Empress'' back and hoisted her up.

    "How is the Empress before she passed out?" He asked the birth attendant as he tried to open her closed lids with his thumb and forefinger.

    "She isn''t herself." The birth attendant faced him and replied bluntly. "The Archdemon controlling her body also promised that she would do everything in her power to stop the childbirth."

    "You are talking about Lilith." The Archangel''s tone was a matter-of-fact as he nced down at the princess.

    She hesitated before speaking as if she weighing down her words.

    "Can you do something about her?" The birth attendant clutched the long sleeve of his white robe until her knuckles went white. "She is putting the Princess in danger."

    " I will do my best." Archangel Azrael gripped her gnarled hand and squeezed it gently before she released him.

    As he carefully adjusted her upper body, Archangel Azrael brought the Empress close to his broad chest which made the birth attendant scowl.

    Did he know exactly what she was doing?

    She was tempted to protest at his actions but she also wanted to trust him.

    The Archangel moved the hand on her back to hold her nape and tilt her head back to part her lips with his free hand.

    The birth attendant''s body had perked up in vignce.

    Her wary gaze had focused on his face and his wandering hands. "What are you trying to do, Archangel?"

    Archangel Azrael held out his hand towards Archangel Ariel as if he was asking for something.

    The female Archangel provided him what he needed by cing the fruit of the Four Seasons in his open palm.

    "This is the fruit from the Gardens of the Four Seasons." Archangel Azrael moved his hand from left to right when he showed it to her. "This will help exorcise the foreign Archdemon inside the physical vessel."

    Archangel Azrael took one small bite on the fruit and chewed on it properly but instead of swallowing it, his mouth swooped down tond on the Princess''s lips.

    "That is improper!" The birth attendant''s voice was shrill as she barreled towards the insolent archangel.

    Archangel Ariel pulled her back when she tried to stop Archangel Azrael from defiling the pregnant princess. "We want her alive, Madame."

    "I hate to break this to you when you are just trying to help but it''s getting too crowded in here. Too much blood and grime. You can''t convince me that kissing the princess is conducive for childbirth!" She fought the urge to throw and kick things at them.

    "It is my responsibility to limit the people in here!" She screeched so loud that spittle had build at the corner of her lips." If you wanted the Vampire King to stay then I suggest the rest of the Angels who had no contribution to get out. And, no more feeding through the mouth!"

 Chapter 902 Wake Up Sleepyhead! (1)

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (May 2022)

    ************************************

    Archdemon of Sloth

    Prince of the Seventh Circle of Hell

    ** **********************************

    At that point on, Sloth had already epted what he had seen in his vision as the truth.

    He already assumed earlier in this game that the war between Archangels and Archdemons was the most likely oue in the near future.

    Lune and the Vampire King were fortunate that the Heavenly Realm still cared about the affairs in the Material Realm enough to interfere at such a huge scale.

    Sloth smiled with his eyes closed.

    ''Wait. Did I just smile?'' The corner of his lips curved into a frown when he realized he found joy in knowing that the remaining Archangels will wipe out Luxen''s Demonic Legion without a hitch. ''We still had to be prepared if we came across them.''

    He, Lune and his brother were Archdemons so why the hell would he think that the Archangels had it in their hearts to spare a few of their kind?

    it had been more than a thousand years since the Fairfolk had set their eyes on Archangels after the Great War.

    This was also the second time the Angel Race had visited the Material Realm.

    Hopefully, this would best since he didn''t like being surrounded by angels at all.

    Just when his dream was about to reach an exciting part, someone whacked him on the chest so hard that he gasped while his body jolted and rose by reflex.

    If he was human he would have coughed out a lung.

    Groaning with his eyes closed, Sloth stretched his arms andid back down on the fur cloak he had spread on the cold hard floor.

    When the tension in his muscles had eased, Sloth sighed with relief.

    Hisrge hands clutched the fabric of his cloak from each side before he swaddled himself like a newborn baby with it and turned so that he could lie on his side.

    The corner of his lips curled upward.

    He wasn''t interested in finding out who had hit him without warning.

    Moreover, his mind was too clouded that it could barely register a female screeching like a banshee in the background.

    If that was Lilith acting like a feral zombie searching for some fresh kill to eat, Sloth couldn''t care less.

    He would rather convince himself to get some sleep so that he could go back to his dream.

    ''Baphomet.'' He cursed with furrowed brows and his eyes were still closed. ''I didn''t even see the Archangels win when they rescued them and witness a happy ending for the Empress and the Vampire King.''

    Regretful.

    "Sloth. You have to wake up now." He heard a familiar rasp.

    As he recalled the familiar voice from his addled brain, another hard pnded on his cheek he swore those rough fingers left a mark.

    "Sloth. You ordered me to tell you if something had happened to your princess. It appeared like you are too exhausted to care. " The familiar voice of an old woman whispered in his ear. "The Archangels are here with us. You must help me deal with them."

    He did hear her but his mind had slept too deeply that it took him forever to understand.

    "Archdemon. You must help us. Lilith had woken up again and she''s trying to spit the special fruit that the Archangel had fed her." She squeezed his cheeks together and shook it vigorously from left to right.

    His head spun and he felt like vomiting.

    "She even tried to trick him him after gaining a little consciousness by throwing him coquettish beams here and there. I already had my doubts since I did see her act like a fool earlier from all that screaming. Now that she had seen angels surrounding her, she suddenly turned into one?" The birth attendant snorted. "Impossible."

    "This other Archdemon waspletely different from the Princess, you see?" She went on. Archangel Azrael was good at extracting information after just asking her a couple of non-threatening questions. He caught her lies with ease. Unfortunately, Lilith refused to swallow the fruit and it''s taking a long time for the exorcism to take effect."The birth attendant''s voice cracked in distress after finishing her exnation. "I don''t think she was faking herbor pains this time. A few more minutes without any progress might lead to the babes'' death."

    Sloth nned his next move thoroughly.

    Should he ask this Archangel Azrael to get rid of Lilith''s Archdemon soul from Lune''s vessel if he could?

    He was afraid that if Lilith stayed too long in Lune''s body she might turn into an exceptional actress and it might be more difficult to differentiate the two.

    Then, Sloth heard a couple of back and forth exchanges from voices he wasn''t familiar with until now.

    "Azrael, stop! Don''t waste it on her anymore. She is resisting the fruit!"

    That was the biggest sign that Lune wasn''t acting like herself.

    Who in their right mind would reject aplete cure for their affliction.

    Deep, patient breaths filled the awkward silence.

    "Don''t tell me to give up on her." The man announced, determined.

    "Nobody had told you to give up. From all that Hellfire raining down on the Garden of the Four Seasons, consider this fruit as thest thing that we could get our hands on."

    The female insisted grudgingly. "Save it forter."

    "Would you rather I kill the babies to save the Vampire King''s mate, then?" He asked frostily. "The Archdemon is holding them hostage! I can let this woman drink my blood but that might destroy all of them from the potency alone."

    "Did the Vampire King tell you who you would save if he had to pick between his wife and his child?" The other woman asked skeptically. " I don''t think that was part of the promise---"

    Sloth heard light footsteps as if someone had anxiously paced around the chamber.

    "Is there something else we could do about this?" The male voice demanded. "What do you suggest?"

 Chapter 903 Wake Up, Sleepyhead (2)

    [A/N: It took me two days to edit this because I was so busyst week. I had appointments to the doctor, the screen of my phone broke and need to repair it, had to attend three whole day seminars for my profession and had to deal with a couple of tarot clients. I apologize. I will not ck off on my end and will continue to write what I can]

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (May 2022)

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    Archdemon of Sloth

    Prince of the Seventh Circle of Hell

    ** **********************************

    "We could cut her bulging stomach open repeatedly with an Archangel''s de and take the babes out before the wounds seal on their own!" Someone eximed as if he had just shared and uttered the most brilliant idea ever. "Archdemons heal slowly if our weapon made contact with their spirit. Then, we use the serpent''s venom to numb both Lilith and the Empress like the birth attendant had suggested."

    Sloth was cursing again in his mind.

    ''What kind of gibberish were they talking about?'' His heart pounded in his ears. ''That was supposed to be thest resort!''

    The discussion he overheard was too rming that it awakened his entire being.

    He will not agree to this.

    Hating to have anything that belonged to that serpent in her Mistress'' system, Sloth opened his eyes and immediately got up from his makeshift bed like a limp puppet who had its strings pulled all of a sudden.

    After waking up, Sloth got himself together and ran his fingers through his messy blond hair while smoothing and resmoothing his clothes.

    Sloth could see the group of Angels just standing there in his peripheral vision, watching him in a mix of confusion and interest.

    He thought he had to at least look powerful and presentable in front of their enemies so he wouldn''t appear lesser than them.

    When he turned his attention towards his pregnant sister-inw, Sloth was shocked to catch the scandalous Archangel in the act of feeding the fruit he just chewed--through his mouth to hers.

    The Archangel didn''t even notice that Lune''s lower body was exposed.

    It appeared like the thick nkets had dropped to the floor when he eased her into his arms.

    How dare---

    "You." As he shook thest remnants of his lethargy, Sloth staggered next to Lune''s bed to pick up the nkets and cover her bare legs with it.

    Then, he faced the impudent Archangel and jabbed a forefinger in his apathetic face. "You have no right to feed her as a husband should. You are an insidious one, Azrael."

    The male Archangel merely threw his head back a little to avoid his touch but he didn''t release his hold on her. "I can see that the rumors were true. This is evidence that you don''t know how to conduct yourself as an Archangel. Your King is ying favorites."

    He mped his lips together, suppressing a smirk. "I see that the Archdemons are still jealous of the freedom I have. The Demon King could never willfully visit Heaven and Hell and travel to the Spiritual and Material Realm back and forth without any restrictions. Since you are an Archdemon Familiar, the only hindrance you have is your oath to this woman in my arms."

    Sloth followed the Archangel''s gaze and nced down at Lune, who could barely open her eyes.

    Did she faint from the effects of the magic fruit he tried to feed her by mincing them with his teeth?

    Was Archangel Azrael even aware that Archangel saliva can finish off a weak Archdemon as well?

    The male Archangel tilted his head as he stared him down with cool blue eyes. "Would you rather have done it, Archdemon?"

    "Done what?"

    "Feed her the fruit of the Four Seasons yourself? You do recall that you don''t have a physical vessel in this Realm to save you." He rified.

    Sloth found his slow blink unsettling that he dropped his raised hand to the side. "You will be sent straight to the Ninth Circle-like your brother."

    Sloth''s brows had furrowed. "What brother?" His stomach roiled when he asked. "Was it Ravin?"

    "Luxen."

    He fought the urge to let out a relieved sigh in front of Azrael. "Luxen is not my brother right now. Is he gone?"

    "For good."

    "How about my real brother, Ravin?"

    "He still existed as the Archdemon of Gluttony after ruining Beelzebub''s dream of taking his ce. He had safely returned to the battlefield to aid Queen Morgan in wiping out the Demonic Legion." Archangel Azrael answered as one of his hands clutched Lune''s nket and tugged the hem higher to her chest.

    He caressed her head onest time and lowered her back on the bed.

    Sloth scowled, not missing the gesture. "I also wanted to tell you that the Empress'' husband is unconscious so he can''t feed her himself. He is still adjusting as the new Archdemon of Lust."

    New Archdemon of Lust?

    He shook his head in disbelief when Sloth''s eyes had strayed on the unconscious Vampire Kingying with his back on the floor and he didn''t look good.

    Sloth had overlooked one of the Cherubims behind Archangel Azrael who had carried Apollyon and settled him carefully on his makeshift bed.

    "Was that the price he paid for defeating Luxen?" Sloth said softly as he scrutinized the bruises and wounds marring his pale skin and face.

    "I think he would find that his initial goal wasn''t worth it."

    Sloth looked at Archangel Azrael and began, "In my dream, I saw that you had sneaked in behind everyone when Beelzebub had dragged my brother to the Archdemon Tournament. The Vampire King tried to pull him back but Luxen had stopped him from doing so. The magic mechanism running the entire circles in Hell must have thought that the Vampire King had issued a challenge against Luxen simr to what Beelzebub had done and included the them."

    Archangel Azrael nodded.

    "Were you the one who killed Luxen?"

    "No. But I did help the Vampire King weaken the Archdemon of Lust in the Royal Tournament. He was the one who gave him the finishing blow."

    "That''s impossible. Sloth''s tone was brusque as he glowered at him. "The Kingdom of Hell had rules of its own that no one can break." Except for Archangel Azrael, maybe, since he could go to Hell without constraints. He might be the Archangel of Death but--- "An Archangel can''t fight on behalf of the challenger."

    "I appeared out of nowhere in the middle of their battle and intercepted the Vampire King''s de." Archangel Azrael slightly yanked the neckline of his robe to expose the deep, reddish puncture of his chest that hadn''t healed yet. "My Archangel blood on his weapon had killed Luxen."

    Everyone in the Emerald Room flinched when they heard the Empress let out a raw and primal scream.

    He had begged Sloth and the birth attendant to to save her from Archangel Azrael, iming that he had attempted to vite her while she was all tied up.

    They knew better that her statement was no differentpared to her previous lies.

    What sick Archangel would vite a pregnant woman?

    Sloth was an Archdemon but he would be in Azrael''s side in this situation.

    All that screeching must have strained her internal organs.

    Now, her red cheeks were wet with tears and her bright green eyes filled with terror when she experienced strong contractions in her stomach.

    Upon hearing Lilith''s desperation in Lune''s groans and whimpers, Sloth grimaced and turned his head to avoid seeing her in pain.

    He couldn''t stand hurting her himself, either, since she was still inside her Mistress'' physical vessel.

    Both souls were connected.

    He narrowed his eyes at her. "I wonder if she was doing this on purpose or if the babes had caused her immense agony."

    Archangel Azrael must have divined his thoughts because they had shared a simr sentiment.

    Sloth should remember that the crafty subus wasn''t ashamed to wield that advantage like a weapon.

    Emotional indifference was the only appropriate reaction for an attention-seeking demon like Lilith.

    Since Lilith was adamant to possess his sister-inw at her weakest, she had borne the brunt of gut-wrenchingbor pains as punishment for her greed.

    Yet, why did her agony felt like it was boring holes on the surface of his skin?

    Sloth was an Archdemon who must feel no empathy.

    Breathing hard, Lune''s sweaty face contorted as she wailed at the top of her lungs from thebor contractions.

    "I dare say that it''s thetter this time around." Sloth replied with a scowl. "Something is seriously wrong with Lilith when she is no longer singing her own praises, gloating and shouting impossible demands when she is talking to us."

    "I shall bring the the Empress back as soon as possible."

 Chapter 904 It Didnt Work

    Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (May 2022)",

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    Archdemon of Sloth

    Prince Sloth from the Seventh Circle of Hell

    ***********************************************

    "I shall bring the the Empress back as soon as possible." He promised as he returned the fruit of the Four Seasons for Archangel Ariel to hold.

    Archangel Azrael didn''t hitch the ends of the long, thin cloth at the back of her head, he just untied earlier from Lune, like what the birth attendant told him to do.

    Instead, he covered one of her open-mouthed screams with the palm of his hand and slightly pushed her head back to the pillows.

    Bending over her from the side of the bed, he brought his lips closer to the hand that shielded her mouth, looked her straight in the eye and murmured an angelic incantation.

    Locking his hands together in contemtion, Sloth casted a suspicious nce at what-was supposed-to-be the most darkest Archangel in Heaven.

    Why did his every movement around Lune appeared so delicate and graceful with exquisite deliberation---as if the sole aim of his visit in the birthing room was to seduce--- or did the Archangel of Death would naturally look this beautiful to earn the dead souls'' trust before bringing them to the afterlife?

    That would make sense.

    Archangels and Archdemons'' true forms were a sight to behold when it came to horror but the Archangel of Death''s four thousand wings, a body which consisted of billions of eyes and mouth and legs that served as razor-sharp bridge that divided Heaven and Hell was on another level.

    The Three Fates must have tasked this Archangel to take Lune''s soul back to Hell like they had predicted!

    Archangel Azrael straightened his spine and slowly raised his hand, emitting beams of yellow shades that was closer to color of ''cream'' rather than gold over her swollen pink lips.

    Lune''s green eyes turned ssy and dull as if she had lost the light in her eyes.

    He couldn''t move.

    He couldn''t speak.

    The only sound he could hear was his heartbeat thrashing in his ears instead of her voice.

    For a second there, Sloth had thought she had ebbed away.

    It tore his guts to watch her like this.

    The sweat trickling down his back made his body lean forward and scrutinize the Empress'' paler skin and limp figure.

    Assuming that the Archangel Azrael took Lilith''s soul out of annoyance and extracted his sister-inw by mistake, Sloth was about to fly out of his seat to check up on her but it turned out he didn''t have to.

    Lilith opened her mouth to scream again but no noise came out.

    Sloth and the birth attendant shed Archangel Azrael a questioning nce.

    On the other hand, Lune''s eyes had almost bulged out of her sockets with every silent word she uttered.

    Archangel Azrael made her mute.

    Every sound she made had been sucked into an invisible ckhole.

    If Lilith had indeed screeched like a banshee on purpose because that was the only thing she could do after losing half of her Archdemon strength in the Emerald Room, Sloth was more than grateful that he did it.

    The Archdemon of Envy might not be aware that hurting powerful creatures'' eardrums might drive them to kill.

    "I told you. We must exorcise Lilith before feeding her the magic fruit. That way, she wouldn''t have the chance to spit them out. Expelling her from the Empress'' vessel will take effect immediately."

    Archangel Ariel didn''t wait for Archangel Azrael''s approval and urged the rest of the Angels to step back away from her and the Empress.

    After finishing the outlines of Archangel Circle she had drawn over Lune''s body, it glowed purple.

    A soft whistle went past their ears, making them jolt in surprise.

    The Archangel Circle burst into Hellfire and forcefully pushed her back.

    How could Lilith produce Hellfire despite being sorrounded by Archangels inside this room?

    Archangel Arie would have hit the wall if herpanions had slow reaction time.

    The birth attendant''s re in his direction was full of usation.

    What the hell?

    Sloth blinked, shrugging with nonchnce, "I didn''t do anything."

    He was just there to listen to the conversation and minding his own business while makins sure that Lune''s alive!

    The old woman showed him a universal gesture that said, ''I''m watching you.''

    "Archangel Azrael. It''s not working." Coughing, Archangel Ariel had clutched the one of the bedpost for support while the Cherubim behind her had caught her elbows. "Perhaps, you should. Try it yourself." She breathed heavily as she nced up at Archangel Azrael with trembling knees. "I must have done. Something wrong."

    He caressed the female Archangel''s sleeves thrice in his effort tofort her.

    It was an Archangel''s nature to fear mistakes due to the high moral standards that they expect themselves to reach.

    Archangel Ariel closed her eyes and angled her head to rest against the Cherubim''s shoulders.

    "The Emerald Room amplifies the magic of the Heavens." Archangel Azrael stared at Lune as if her scornful gaze hold all the answers. "It''s impossible that a weak Archdemon like Lilith can fight against it."

    When Archangel Azrael performed the same exorcism ritual Archangel Ariel had done, he had lost all speech.

    Like Archangel Ariel, he had failed to banish the Archdemon of Envy.

    He had only caused the dark clouds of smoke to envelop them after the second explosion.

    Archangel Azrael had entered and exited the Archdemon Tournament, unscathed, even after breaking a lot of rules.

    Not rules.

    Probably, loopholes.

    He had helped the Vampire King destroy the Archdemon of Lust but he couldn''t even expel a female Archdemon younger than him?

    If Archangels have pride, that must have been a huge blow to the ego.

    Archangel Azrael announced calmly. "I can''t do it. Nothing had happened to my magic circle, either."

    The Archangel''s words made Sloth''s eyebrows raise, considering that it was his job to separate souls from their physical vessels ever since he was created.

    He pursed his lips as he watch them struggle, suppressing a smirk. ''What a good time to be an innocent bystander.''

 Chapter 905 Liliths True Archdemon Form

    [A/N: Until now, I am still editing the remaining chapters I made. I had 1200+ words here. Where is my two chapters a day? *cries*]

    Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (May 2022)

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    Archdemon of Sloth

    Prince Sloth from the Seventh Circle of Hell

    ***********************************************

    Sloth pursed his lips as he watch them struggle, suppressing a smirk. ''What a good time to be an innocent bystander.''

    He had rested his back against the cushioned chair not far from the hearth, watching the mes'' shadows under the cauldron dance on the walls and on the Angels'' grave expressions.

    Did he even hear that correctly?

    This was the first time he had heard not one... but two Archangels admit that they couldn''t do anything.

    Should he be rmed because of this?

    He just didn''t expect them to admit that they weren''t able to drive Lilith out of Lune''s physical vessel.

    The Angels never asked him for help or any input regarding Lilith''s exorcism.

    Sloth''s hands tightened on the armrest as he scowled at the virtuous, snobby beings who just casted him aside and treated him like air.

    Well, he was alright with it as long as they can do something about Lilith that he and his brother couldn''t.

    They had tried to expel Lilith from Lune''s body back at Hazelnut Manor everytime Apollyon and Ravin returned after their military exercises with the Autumn Militia every week.

    Unfortunately, each attempt to break the Archdemon of Envy''s msyterious spell was unsessful.

    Lune and the Vampire King just decided to give up and stop endangering the twins further as her stomach grew bigger to amodate them inside.

    That was a month ago.

    The babe''s safety was more important than sending Lilith back to Hell.

    Archangel Azrael''s unmoving stance made Sloth think that the cogs were already turning in his head to figure out a solution.

    Why don''t we all try it altogether?" Archangel Azrael gave each of his fellow angels an expectant nce.

    The Seraphim didn''t have to say anything more when the rest of the Cherubims sorrounded Lune''s bed to follow his lead.

    "Shall we?" Archangel Ariel prompted.

    Lilith had feared for her life the instant she saw the Angels create their most powerful magic circles and align each purple rings from her head down to her toe.

    As her hands mped on the towels tied at her wrists to the bedposts with vice-like strength, she continued to thrash her legs and scream without noise.

    Lune''s beautiful face became unnaturally contorted as if a demon had tortured her on purpose.

    When she turned to face Archangel Azrael, patches of her pale skin were covered with thin, dark hair.

    Her pupils grewrge,pletely taking over the green in her eyes, and bled into ck.

    Suddenly, long spider legs with small spikes covered in tiny hairs extruding from it shot out from her back.

    He could see that its deep dark hues close to her back had switched into lighter organic bands at the ws, simr to the color a tortoise shell.

    Sloth hadn''t seen Lilith''s true Archdemon form yet so he kept his eyes wide open so that he wouldn''t miss anything.

    Her additional limbs moved and swayed as if she was testing if she had them under her control.

    The ws on the spider''s forearms emerging behind Lune had dripped with venom as it preyed upon the nearest Angel.

    Fortunately, Archangel Ariel was fast enough to dance out of her reach but the hands she used to keep a steady flow of Archangel Magic unto the glowing circles shook with tremor.

    Despite being restrained, Lilith had leapt from the bed and lunged at Archangel Ariel.

    Her venomous fangs were bared as she aimed for her throat.

    Archangel Ariel wouldn''t allow her to contaminate her pure Archangel Blood.

    She assumed that Lilith''s venom wasn''t potent enough to turn her into an Archdemon.

    When an Archangel de materialized in Archangel Ariel''s hand, Lilith made a split second decision to pull back and bury her consciousness to escape them.

    Afterall, she was outnumbered and overpowered... but she still insisted on remaining inside Lune''s vessel.

    Archangel Ariel''s aim to was to defend herself from Lilith''s attack and not ''kill'' but the sight of the sharp point must have had spooked the Archdemon all the same.

    The mood in the atmosphere had turned bleak as the Angels coughed from the grey smoke forming inside the Emerald Room.

    Archangel Azrael cleared their Angelic Circles when it lost their efficacy.

    The frustration in one of the Cherubim''s tone came rushing out. "I swear that we almost captured her soul and sent her back to Hell!"

    Archangel Azrael massaged his furrowed brows with his thumb and forefinger.

    He hadn''t experienced being this frustrated in the past because he was so used to the fact that he could handle everything.

    The Archdemon of Envy must be getting on his nerves.

    "We shouldn''t have joined angelic forces against the Archdemon." He paced shortly and changed his direction mid-stride to examine her face. Her eyes were closed after she fainted, yet, again. He sighed inwardly. "Now, she had withdrawn herself and hid her consciousness so deep it would be hard to make her force her out again."

    Other Cherubims they had brought in the Emerald Room shook their head in regret.

    "She must have done a strong Archdemon spell to anchor herself like this to this woman''s physical vessel."

    "I know that our collective magic had caused her immeasurable torture worse than giving birth itself. Yet, I wondered why it wasn''t enough to drive her soul out? What kind of sorcery is stronger than the Magic of the Heavens in the entire Realms?" Another Cherubim asked to no one in particr.

    "Nothing is stronger than the Magic of the Heavens because we have the Highest God on our side." Archangel Ariel said.

    At that moment, Sloth decided to speak instead of just keeping his spections to himself. "No. She hadn''t anchored herself to this woman''s physical vessel. I think she is linked to one of her offspring. You should all focus on that instead of Lilith''s connection to Lune."

 Chapter 906 Sliced Up

    Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (May 2022)

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    Archdemon of Sloth

    Prince Sloth from the Seventh Circle of Hell

    ***********************************************

    Archangel Ariel snapped her finger when she finally got his point.

    "Maybe that is the reason she wasn''t leaving her body despite feeding her the fruit by force!" She eximed, exchanging nces at everyone present in the Emerald Room as if willing them to agree with her, except for the Archdemon of Sloth.

    Sloth glowered at the female Archangel with gritted teeth. ''These Angels were ignoring him again.''

    "We should stop and think about this for a while." Archangel Ariel went on. "Now, that Lilith doesn''t pose any danger to the Empress for the meantime, perhaps, we should switch into pulling the babies out instead while she is unconscious."

    "I think it would be possible for her to wake up while we sliced her stomach open. Once she did that, we will feed her the magic fruit immediately and get rid of Lilith." He said darkly before adding a snide remark. "That Archdemon is cowardly and had no tolerance for pain."

    Sloth cleared his throat and decided to join in on the conversation. "What if she wouldn''t wake up in the middle of it?"

    Leaning his elbow on the armrest and resting his chin on the palm of his hand, Sloth''s gaze flitted to the Angels present in the Emerald Room so that he would know who to kill if all of them tried to run away from their responsibility over Lune''s life.

    Archangel Azrael met his scowl and replied without any hint of arrogance. "She will. I am more powerful than the Three Fates."

    ''Did he truly believe that as unbridled truth?''

    Azrael''s confidence was astounding.

    The Archangel of Death couldn''t even expel Lilith by himself and resorted to asking his fellow Angels for help?

    Sloth snickered.

    Pathetic.

    The birth attendant standing with her back against the wall and arms folded over her chest, stepped forward and pushed the Angels aside so that she could look after the Empress.

    The Angels had tried what they could but it was all in vain.

    "I agree with the female Archangel. What she just repeated was my n from the beginning. I just waited to see what kind of tricks you, Archangels, can pull to save the Princess. I can''t believe that you lots weren''t able to exorcise the foreign Archdemon." She shook her head and clicked her tongue. "I can say that I am thoroughly disappointed."

    Swallowing hard, Archangel Ariel avoided her gaze to stare at the floor.

    Archangel Azrael merely sighed.

    Who in their right mind wouldn''t be dismayed by the oue when even an Archdemon like Sloth had expected the Archangel Circles to

    work on Lilith?

    "Now, that the Archdemon is out of the way, we shall no longer postpone saving the babes any longer." Maybe, the birth attendant had realized it was her chance to seize the reins and take over the childbirthing event. "The clock is ticking."

    One of his legs shook with impatience.

    The birth attendant''s voice had changed when she made hissing and humming noises in one breath.<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    His brows furrowed in confusion, at first, but then he finally understood.

    Just as Sloth had thought, the emerald python had followed the old woman''s path after she summoned it with the vibrations her throat had produced.

    The Angels gave the emerald python a wide berth when it made its way towards the Princess.

    Even if Archangel Azrael had expressed his loathing at the emerald python, it didn''t care at all as it slithered near him, unafraid of his presence.

    Sloth''s posture had stiffened when the snake''s triangr head and upper body rose in little waves before it struck and bit Lune''s arm with its long, sharp fangs.

    Then, the old woman calmly offered the Angels, who wanted to help Lune give birth, with a basin full of whiskey to wash their hands as if that damned snake didn''t just inject the venom to paralyze her.

    She was very particr with sanitation that she didn''t even allow the Vampire King, the Empress'' husband, to lie on the floor close to Lune''s bed just because he looked as if he was on the verge of death.

    Even, the sulfur-scented pus stuck on his bandaged wounds had already taken a brownish hue instead of bright red.

    Physical damages acquired from demon attacks using Archdemon weapons, magic and Hellfire always smelled like that.

    Sloth nced down at his feet where the Vampire King hadid on his back, arms limp at each side.

    The birth attendant hadmanded Sloth to heal him instead since he was adamant on not helping her with extracting the babes out of Lune''s stomach.

    As Lune''s Familiar, Sloth had no choice but to take responsibility in repairing the Vampire King''s severe injuries he got from Luxen''s de and he did it.

    For a few moments, the old woman''s thoughtful gaze rested on Lune before she waited for the venom to work its magic.

    He pursed his lips as he watched the sanitized birthing instrument that the old woman had prepared inside the pot she had boiled earlier, posed no resistance when she sliced Lune''s stomach open.

    Archangel Ariel ced her hands to the sh that the birth attendant made and Lune''s blood had gushed between her fingers, oozing under her hand.

    Sloth couldn''t bring himself to just sit there and watch Lune bleed as it spread into the damp nkets.

    Archangel Azrael''s countenance was devoid of any emotion as he watched them.

    Meanwhile, Sloth was the opposite.

    He had turned his head away to avoid looking at them.

    He didn''t think he could go through with it.

    Feeling restless, Sloth had sat and stood up from his seat while taking deep breaths at the same time.

    It would have been fine if he watched it happen to someone he didn''t know at all.

    Sloth tried to remain as stoic as possible but he had failed miserably.

    His anxiety made time itself be irrelevant.

    Everyone had stopped what they were doing when they sensed demons around the Autumn Pce''s vicinity.

    It appeared like thousands of demons had found their hideout and nned to attack.

 Chapter 907 Dont Break My Heart

    Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (May 2022)

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    Archdemon of Sloth

    Prince Sloth from the Seventh Circle of Hell

    ***********************************************

    It appeared like thousands of demons had found their hideout and nned to attack.

    Sloth paused from his manic pacing to look at Archangel Azrael and gestured at the door.

    "Can you sense that?" He whispered alertly, feeling the adrenaline rushing inside of him.

    As she tried to weigh the level of danger in this situation, Archangel Ariel closed her eyes as if she was trying to tune into something.

    In that few seconds where she had pursed her lips in concentration, golden marks of swirls, sacred geometric shapes and angelic symbols glowed in her pale face, neck and hands.

    She mustmunicating with her fellow Angels, trying to figure out what had already happened outside.

    "The demons are trying to burn down the Autumn Pce with Hellfire and bury us here." Archangel Ariel informed everyone as he wiped the sweat trickling in his brow.

    He was already feeling the heat of the Hellfire roasting the room from the outside if that strange burning smell was an indication.

    The birth attendant remained silent as she coaxed Lune to bend her knees and spread her legs before adjusting the drape over her abdomen.

    "How did the Demonic Legion found us?" If Sloth wasn''t mistaken, Archangel Azrael told him that Beelzebub and Luxen were defeated in the Archdemon Tournament. Why? "Did Lilith manage to control the remaining Legion now that Luxen was gone?"

    It must be a coincidence. There is no way that Lilith could have summoned these demons when she was trapped in the Emerald Room."

    Like him, Archangel Azrael had to do a double take at the Empress, who had her arms strapped down to a T-position away from her sides unto the bed post, to make sure that the sedative had made her unconscious throughout the procedure.

    "She didn''t even had the strength to untie her wrists from the ropes." He noted. "She wasn''t in control now."

    Hopefully, she wouldn''t feel any pain from this and Lilith wouldn''t just wake up out-of-the-blue and interfere.

    "The Dukes of Hell were next to the Demon Hierarchy. Maybe, those high-ranked demons have caused this." Archangel Ariel said.

    Groaning as if he was the one in pain, Sloth closed his eyes shut and winced when he made the mistake of ncing at Lune''s direction again.

    Nevermind.

    It was toote since he had already seen what the birth attendant had done next.

    After the initial incision the birth attendant had expertly made on Lune''s lower abdomen, the sharp scalpel in her hand carefully shed a second incision to open her uterus.

    She had used a variety of these instruments in cutting through multipleyers of her body--skin, a bit of fat, abdomen and the uterus--to reach the babies.

    She had taken great care not to injure the fetuses now that the princess'' membranes had been ruptured.

    Out of concern, Sloth had positioned himself near Lune''s head so that he could provide support by offering a drop of blood for her to drink from a cut on his fingertip to prevent excessive bleeding.

    He must have done the right thing because Archangel Azrael didn''t stop him from doing so.

    The emerald floor throbbed, their legs shaking from the sudden earthquake.

    Some of the Angels had hovered even if the birthing chamber could barely aodate the span of their wings.

    Sloth had heard the thrumming noise from the ceiling.

    When nced up, he spotted a long crack that was about to copse and fall over their heads in a minute.

    "We must hurry. Ariel! Encase the walls with ice so that the Hellfire wouldn''t melt the precious emerald crystals. I will attempt to feed the Empress with the magic fruit again once your ice magic bes stable."

    Archangel Arielnodded.

    She raised her arms at shoulder level and the air temperature inside the Emerald Room lowered.

    Through sheer angelic power, she manifested extremely thick, rigid and durable ice walls around them to defend them from Hellfire just like what she did to the Garden of the Four Seasons.<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    The atmosphere sorrounding Lune''s limp figure remained cool, keeping her tissues moist from the enemies'' heat.

    "Cherubims. Help your fellow Angels outside in defeating the stray demons. I only brought a few of you with me here so as not to draw attention--"

    Sloth cut him off. "Not that effective, aren''t we, Archangel?Your carelessness must have led them to trail after you." The insult was deliberate on Sloth''s part. "You have endangered Lune''s life."

    "Shouldn''t you do something about that as a Familiar instead of ming me?"

    Wide-eyed, Sloth pointed at himself innocently. "You mean, me?"

    "Yes, You. I have Angels from my Legion stationed outside to guard the Autumn Pce. You should help the Cherubims in destroying those who wish to harm your Mistress even if it''s your own Kind."

    Sloth''s voice rose in anger. "Just because you told me that, doesn''t mean I should do it."

    Where does your loyalty lie? You had a blood oath with this woman that you will keep her safe." Archangel''s response was cold.

    Sloth had kept Lune safe the whole time he had been with her as an Archdemon Familiar.

    This Azrael had no right to judge and attack him when he just got here.

    "You do know a lot of things, Archangel. Why are you even doing this to my sister?"

    Archangel Azrael paused just to turn his head towards him in frustration. "This isn''t the time--"

    "Tell me just one thing why Lune''s childbirth required an Archangel''s interference." Sloth began. His aim wasn''t to distract the Archangel and endanger Lune. He only wanted for his questions to be answered and he thought it was the perfect time to ask. "The Three Fates had already predicted she would die."

    Do you want her to die?"

    Sloth''s eyes went wide. "Of--of course not."

    The Emerald Room was busy as one Angel assisted the birth attendant by handing over the birthing instruments she needed, the other had stretched the incision to either sides wide enough to pull out the newborn babies while the remaining one had to separate the abdominal muscles before holding the uterus open with his finger to protect the any part of the twins from unintentional injury caused by the sharp tools.

    Suddenly, Sloth had heard suctioning and immediately checked where the sound came from.

    Archangel Azrael had suctioned some yellowish liquid from Lune''s stomach by manipting its flow with the palm of his hand, transferring it to another empty container, to make enough room for the birth attendant''s hand to extract the newborns.

    "It''s more important to me that this woman''s babies are born and that she is alive." He replied as he focused on his task. "Will that be enough as a reason?"

    Do you know her personally? Have you met before? Are you to help her and what are you to her?" He fired so many questions at him that his words tumbled over each other. "What are your motives?"

    "You should go outside." Archangel Ariel, the caretaker of the Garden of the Four Seasons and the female angel from Ourania''s painting, interrupted them with gritted teeth.

    Sloth turned to smile at her, finding her irritation amusing. "You are not my master."

    "Suit yourself." Archangel Azrael sounded bored yet disappointed. "If I wasn''t so busy here, I would have--"

    "Azrael! Be careful with the fluids!" Archangel Ariel warned. "You almost spilled them back inside."

    Archangel Azrael''s lips had pressed into a mullish line

    Sloth couldn''t use his magic in the Emerald Room, anyway.

    Should he kill his fellow Demons and make himself useful?

    Without his knowledge, Lune had changed him for the worse and all he wanted was to return at that particr moment where he wasn''t a Familiar yet.

    It was time to act like he didn''t give a f*ck just like what he used to do in the past.

    "My bad for distracting you. I shall go outside and leave."

    Archangel Azrael told him for thest time. "Announce to my Angelic Legion that you are the Empress'' Familiar."

    Compelled to deliver thest word, Sloth had to turn around to face him. "Do you get a kick out of annoucing my very to the Angelic Race, Azrael?"

    Azrael couldn''t be bothered to respond so he just gave him a half-shrug.

    "I am leaving my Mistress'' life and the children entirely up to all of you." He opened the door before giving them a graceful bow, "Please don''t break my heart."

 Chapter 908 Luna Wakes Up

    [A/N: Author not cking. Author busy editing chapters I made in advance. It''s a headache because sometimes I get confused in what scenes I need to include or delete to wrap this up. The word counts are longer this time. 1500+ words)

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (May 2022)

    ********************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ********************************

    She swallowed the syrup that tasted like ambrosia and savoured the calming coolness flowing inside her mouth.

    The juices from the pulp she had beeen fed with was delicious to the core that it held her in a happy trance.

    Ever since Luna turned into a vampire, she had forgotten how her favorite fruit--oranges and raspberries-- had tasted like.

    And, she had already given up in discovering that again a long time ago since any food except for blood held no appeal to her.

    But, this golden sweetness in her tongue just reminded her of the summer wildflowers and fruits she usually gathered in the Goddess Temple where she came from.

    Its sweet, fruity aroma permeated inside this cold room and she had never smelled a fragrance so divine. Unfortunately, her current reality had started to sink in.

    She felt groggy, nauseous and sore while her stiff fingers itch to scratch her lower abdomen.

    It felt like someone had cut her stomach into half.

    "Finally." Someone murmured in her ears and Luna''s eyshes flickered open. "You are awake."

    The voice was unfamiliar yet pleasant that it beguiled her to talk to him.

    Unfortunately, she had to find herself from the deepest recess of her own mind to drag her consciousness forward and return to the present, use her voice and open her eyes.

    It had taken a couple of minutes to adjust yet she had already lost the ability to respond.

    The best thing she could do was to convert her current thoughts into inarticte sounds that even she was confused of.

    She winced, disoriented from the constant spinning of her vision, so she tried to rx and shut her eyes again.

    When she tried to stretch her muscles, she realized that her wrists were tied to the bedpost and her limbs had gone numb.

    "What''s going on?" Her question sounded like a croak in her ears.

    Her throat was parched so she chewed on the remaining soft smush in her mouth and swallowed the remaining juices stuck in her throat in desperation.

    "I need... blood." Lune caught herself saying as she breathed hard.

    She had no idea what the stranger had forced her to drink but the sweet ambrosia had quickly turned into a trail of liquid fire from her tongue down to her esophagus only to settle heavily at the pit of her stomach.

    She could barely remember what happened before this after losing her consciousness from thebor contractions.

    It was as unbearable as her Archdemon soul being tortured in Hell.

    Lilith must have possessed her body earlier and returned immediately since she couldn''t deal with it either.

    Luna attempted to shift in her bed from the difort and her frustration caused her to whimper she could barely lift her fingers.

    Did the fruit she just eat paralyzed her from the waist down like what Sloth had done to Princess Ourania?

    Was this her karmic bacsh for ordering her Archdemon Familiar to punish her when she actually deserve it?

    When Luna opened her eyes to face the Angel looming over her, the corner of her lips curved into a frown.

    The tall, androgynous-looking, muscr man with wavy, long, blond hair, blue eyes that were so deep they seemed ck, prominent cheekbones and the ivory skin decorated with golden tattoos, seemed familiar... but she couldn''t quite ce him in her memories.

    Not when she felt like she was sick to the stomach, cold, and confused at the same time.

    Her fearful eyes nced around what she could see in her angle, looking for something familiar to hold her gaze unto aside from these five winged Angels but there was no one to be found.

    The birth attendant doing strange things on the other side of the nkets draped over her bent knees didn''t count since it didn''t make her feel safe and secure.

    "Where is Sloth?"

    Never in a million years had Lunae to expect that she would rely on thatzy Archdemon and think of him as her rock--her solid foundation to keep her from spiraling out of control.

    "Outside. Eating his fellow demons so that he can fight and win against me." The Archangel smiled as he pulled the dark sleeve of his robes back with his free hand so that it wouldn''t drop on her forehead when he began caressing her hair the way a father would do to his child. "Your Familiar doesn''t like me that much."

    The abundant feathers on his stormy-grey wings made him look like a Fallen Angel but his cream-colored aura had told exactly the opposite.

    Perhaps, this was Archangel Azrael.

    The Archangel of Death.<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    Standing next to him, was another Archangel with a pink, feminine aura.

    A woman who looked youthful and attractive with long, brown hair, hazel eyes, full lips and light olive skin.

    It was the Archangel in Princess Ourania''s painting and the caretaker of the Garden of the Four Seasons.

    "Are you in pain?" Archangel Azrael inquired softly, hisrge hand never leaving the side of her face.

    She didn''t tell him that the agony hadn''t arrived in waves but the numb parts of her body was starting to feel again.

    As the time went by, the throbbing pain gets worse that her chest hurts from breathing.

    From the look in his eyes, it seemed like he knew the answer without even asking her.

    "Although you might feel a slight pressure, you shouldn''t feel anything." His tone was a matter-of-fact.

    Archangel Azrael straightened up without leaving his gaze off her face.

    His fingers lightly trailed from her left shoulder down to the skin on her forearm and stopped on the snakebite.

    Archangel Azrael caressed her hand before lifting it up to inspect it up close.

    Squinting up at him, Luna saw him nod when his dark eyesid his eyes on it. "The puncture wound from the emerald python''s had healed faster than expected. The Archdemon''s blood must have helped you recover fast."

    For some reason, Archangel Azrael didn''t sound relieved.

    "Isn''t that good for me?" Luna asked nervously and she had a feeling that it wasn''t.

    Her body was slightly shivering from the coldness inside this freezing green chamber but weirdly enough, the entire expanse of her dry skin felt hot and mmy.

    Her cheeks were flushed, too.

    "It''s not good." He said bluntly. "I shouldn''t have allowed him to do it."

    When Luna suddenly remembered the love of her life, she gasped and demanded to see him no matter what.

    "Where is he?" Luna tried to get up and about but Archangel Azrael pushed her back down to the bed. "Where is my husband?"

    "Do not panic. He is here in this room with you."

    Her lips had quivered when she asked, "Alive?"

    "Unconscious." He rified.

    She stared at him with resigned terror. "Is some thing wrong with him?"

    "Nothing is wrong with him. He is weak from his fight with an Archdemon so he needed time to recover." The Archangel''s tone was sincere but it had a ring of finality to it as if he didn''t want her to question him about Apollyon any further.

    "I want to see him. I need to make sure he is alright." Luna insisted as she moved to get up from the bed but the cloth tied to her wrists had stopped her.

    "My husband. Please, Archangel!" She begged without caring how desperate she seemed. "My husband must wake up."

    "You forget that you are giving birth. Focus on that and care for the Vampire King, afterwards. You could barely take care of yourself."

    She was already giving birth?

    Howe she just figured it out right at this moment?

    As if on cue, intense pain had dominated Luna''s entire being.

    ? "It hurts, Archangel!" She screamed as if she had been stabbed by multiple Archangel des at the same time.

    The vertical incision in her stomach was the thing that made her whimper.

    "You move too much when you shouldn''t have, My Lady." Archangel Azrael said gently as he settled his palm over her eyes, preventing her from seeing through his ns. "Don''t push yourself too hard or we are not going to finish this. I apologize but we have to do this again."

    These few seconds felt like minutes and the minutes had turned to infinity until there was nothing else.

    It was hard to pay attention to these strangers who tried to talk and soothe her with their touches when shewas unwilling to re-engage with anything outside what her own body felt.

    Then, sharp tiny fangs bit her in the forearm and she was aware that those didn''t belong to vampire.

    As Archangel Azrael squeezed her weak, slender fingers that clutched his, he asked her name but she couldn''t reply anymore.

    Luna''s eyes became hooded as she fell into deep sedation.

    She was on the verge of falling asleep and losing the memories of this event but she fought it.

    Even if she couldn''t move, Luna was determined to be awake and see this through.

 Chapter 909 Babies Are Out

    Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (May 2022)

    ***********************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ***********************************

    Luna held her breath when she felt the hot stretch of her flesh and let out a guttural grunt.

    She could feel a bit of pressure around her pelvis as if her babies were moving in that area.

    When the old woman maneuvered their little forms back and forth to help them emerge fully, she was d that it didn''t feel painfulpared to earlier.

    The birth attendant had affirmed her assumption when she sensed a bit of tugging and pulling before she lifted one after another.

    The moment was brief but intense that she tasted a sour tang in her mouth after fighting the strong urge to throw up.

    She realized it was all worth it after she saw their heads covered in her blood.

    The Angel, who assisted her childbirth by pressing the upper part of her abdomen to keep her in ce, waved his free hand near her children''s faces to suction the fluids that got into their nose and mouth and perform a short purification ritual after the sessful endeavor.

    The babies drew their first breath and the cool air in the Emerald Room, regted by Archangel Ariel, had moved into their lungs.

    Their loud cries were to be expected but she didn''t think she would shed tears along with them too.

    "I''m d that this onlysted for about half an hour." The birth attendant said. "Unfortunately, this is only the beginning."

    After that, she briefly showed Luna''s babies over the drape on her open stomach before she cut the mped umbilical cord near the navel, ending the babies'' dependence on oxygen and nutrition from the centa.

    The old woman had checked anyplications in them but found nothing.

    Then, she held each held the babies upside down and counted their fingers and toes to check if nothing was missing.

    The centa was removed next, followed by sealing the single sh made in the uterus and the numerousyers that had been cut through to get through the baby.

    Afraid that her babies would disappear in the blink of an eye, Luna never let them out of her sight after their sessful extraction out of her womb.

    The moment Luna''s children were born, it was as if only sunshine existed in the world.

    As if the Autumn Kingdom was already ushered into harmony.

    Her limbs tingled with warm excitement and all the tension in her muscles seemed to have rxed.

    It turned out that her brain didn''t hold unto that pain because her heart overflowed with happiness as she watched the little girls.

    Closing up everything was the longest part of the operation since the emerald phython''s venom made the process even slower.

    They had to wait about an hour and half for it to wear off so that her vampire skin could stitch her open flesh close.

    In the end, the long hours of enduring such a harrowing experience merely turned into a few minutes in their memories.

    "You did well." Archangel Azrael ced her slender hand on her cheek, wiping her tears away.<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    Thepliment made her heart burst out of happiness that her chest felt like it was expanding.

    Luna begged weakly with her eyes closed, "Please. Let me. Hold. Them."

    The least upied Cherubims in Archangel Azrael''s group cleaned them of blood and dried them with a cloth before waddling each baby into their respective nkets like the perfect little bundle of joy they were.

    That should prevent them from feeling too cold.

    Since Archangel Azrael was the one closest to her, the Cherubims transferred the twins to him one at a time.

    He ced onerge hand under the baby''s head while his other forearm kept their little form close to his chest before he handed them over.

    Archangel Azrael''s hands were steady while his movements was cautious as if he was carrying something fragile.

    Two tiny arms from her left and right reached out for her love while their hungry mouth rooted for milk.

    Luna wanted to feed them right away but the old woman told her to do itter.

    She could only nod in agreement.

    In the seconds that the twins were there, she looked into those set of brand new eyes so pure and perfect that she couldn''t close her mouth in awe.

    The babies'' eyes twinkled, a purity in their innocent gazes.

    In that precious moment, the words ''I love you'' had spilled from Luna''s lips.

    ''If someone came to harm the both of you, I would defend your lives with mine.'' She thought inwardly.

    She would do anything to protect her children since her love for them was as vast as the universe and as solid as a mountain.

    Luna was now a mother and would always be.

    Her daughters had brought a brand new start for her and the Vampire King and both of them will be the ones to guide and embrace them with their kind, loving hearts.

    All Luna wished was that they would grow up and love them in return---that their judgments of their parents'' past will fall away only to be reced bypassion.

    She will show each child how precious they were and make them understand the true belief of their own worth.

    The love and connection she felt from the simple physical contact made her shed joyful tears again.

    It was a good reason to rejoice when the Archangels had helped her ept the new sacred gift of heaven.

    When herbor was over, the bloody drape covering her lower abdomen and thighs was removed.

    While Archangel Ariel and the birth attendant assisted her in putting on a clean nightgown, the male Archangels turned their backs on her and took care of the twins for a few minutes.

    After Archangel Ariel had announced that she was all dressed up, the rest of the Angels faced her again to return the babies back to her.

    Yet, there was something else that made her mind ufortable and it needed to be addressed.

 Chapter 910 Soul Contracts

    Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (May 2022)

    ***********************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ***********************************

    Yet, there was something else that made her mind ufortable and it needed to be addressed.

    "Is there any way for me to wake my husband up?" She patted both her babies'' backs gently as theyid with their stomach on her chest. "I feel sorry for him that he couldn''t witness the birth of his daughter like he wanted to."

    Her children''s father had missed out on a lot of things.

    The Vampire King would probably hate himself if he woke up and found out that he was toote.

    "We have to wait for him to wake up, My Lady. Archangel Azrael said carefully and switched the subject right away. "If you don''t mind, would you allow me to hold the silver-haired baby for you?"

    "Yes. You can." Luna was still uncertain of the Archangel''s motives. Nevertheless, she gave him him permission, hoping that he wouldn''t make her regret it. "It''s hard to carry two babies in my arms."

    Luna cuddled Leonora for a while before she decided to hand her over to Archangel Azrael''s capable arms.

    All three members of her own family might belong in the Demon Race now but she still ced huge trust in this Archangel for helping her give birth.

    "You''re beautiful as always, Leonora." Archangel Azrael mumbled as he cradled her in subtle rocking motions.

    The twin''s adorable smile exposed the dimple in her round cheeks as if she had heard something that amused her.

    Upon hearing the name of their child which she and Apollyon had decided, her eyes narrowed at the Archangel in confusion. "How did you know that we meant to give her that name?"

    Archangel Azrael stared lovingly into Leo''s eyes and kissed her forehead before answering. "She had the color of your hair. And her father''s deep blue eyes."

    Luna pursed her lips.

    She wasn''t satisfied at his evasive response at all.

    The thin, silver-haired, newborn snuggled into the Archangel Azrael''s warmth, turning her into a spoiled little vampire that didn''t want to be put down, not even for a minute.

    Just when they thought that Leonora had fallen asleep, she would let out an rming scream every time the Archangel Azrael tried return her back to her mother''s arms.

    It wasn''t like she was hurt or something terrible had ured yet the wail didn''t fail to make a new mother paranoid.

    "You know something, Archangel Azrael." Luna cocked her to the side as she observed how the Archangel of Death was treating her precious daughter. "You being here in the Emerald Room and helping me give birth isn''t just a coincidence."<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    Not only that, Luna had spected that the Archangels had fed her the fruit from the Garden of the Four Seasons since Archangel Ariel, the woman from Princess Ourania''s painting, was here.

    "This one is your child with the Vampire King." Archangel Azrael told her when he nced at the babe he was holding.

    Then, he leaned closer to her so that he could observe the other twin sleeping in her arms. "That girl is the spawn of the Archdemon of Lust. The color of her hair is lighter, almost close to white."

    Luna was silent for a while.

    "You are right." Luna nced down and peered into the twin''srge grey eyes. "She is the daughter I got after the bastard deceived me."

    Archangel Azrael asked softly, "What are your ns for her?"

    She cleared her throat before answering. "I will ept her as mine despite the tragic history behind her conception. She was the proof of the mistake I have made with the Archdemon of Lust. My sin. The living embodiment of the guilt and shame I felt on that fateful day Apollyon had looked at me after I told him the truth."

    "This child carries my blood." Luna jutted her chin proudly. "And, that is enough of a reason for me to love her even if her presence triggered the haunting of my past.The only thing I couldn''t fully control is how the Vampire King would treat her but I trust that my husband will do the honorable thing. That is, if he still considered me as his mate."

    "As for Luxen, I wouldn''t pin his crimes on our daughter." Her lips had curled in anger and she couldn''t help it. Just mentioning that Archdemon''s name drove her to violence. "I''d rather put all that time and energy in destroying him than ming this faultless little one."

    "The Vampire King had already avenged you. I helped him kill Luxen during the Archdemon Tournament." He informed her in a nonchnt attitude that sent shivers down her spine.

    "What?" Luna nced up to focus on his face. "Why are you doing this?"

    He adjusted Leonora a little so that he could rest her small head on the crook of his neck.

    "I wanted the Vampire King to fulfill his goals of bing an Archdemon as a gift."

    "No. You are misunderstanding me on purpose." She spoke with her teeth in forced restraint. "You aren''t leaving me if you couldn''t answer my question. Why did you help us, Archangel?"

    Hepletely masked his features and assumed a nk expression. "It''s tooplicated to exin."

    "I''m all ears." Luna retorted with a scowl.

    Archangel Azrael''s jaw was clenched, appearing like he was trying to piece all the thoughts in his head.

    "I risked helping you despite losing some of my memories." He began. "It was a consequence of traveling time and space through angelic portals��"

    Frustrated, Luna drew a deep inhale and released it before asking, "So, what you are saying is... I should just be grateful that you broke too many rules possible in the Heavenly Realms as an Archangel for my sake?"

    "Not just for your sake. But for Leonora''s. She is destined to be mine. After the duration of the punishment the Highest God had given me, I will collect her when I see her again. "

 Chapter 911 Trouble In Paradise

    [A/N: This had 1600 word count]

    Newest Chapter of the Highest Tier (May 2022)

    *******************************************************

    Archdemon of Sloth

    Prince of the Seventh Circle of Hell

    *******************************************************

    Archangel Azrael had lied to him when he said that his Angelic Legion needed help in defeating his own kind.

    In fact, the Guardian Angels were doing well for themselves,

    Yes, they had it all under control and his presence weren''t required.

    Sloth nced up at the red sky, viewing one Duke of Hell producing one monster after another.

    The Duke of Hell realized that the Angels guarding the Autumn Pce could easily wipe them out if he didn''t raise the number of demons in the abandoned Legion and increase their lethal capacity at an insane level.

    Still, Sloth assumed it was a losing game anyway.

    Archangel Azrael''s Angelic Legion wasn''t underestimated.

    Every demon in Hell is aware that these scythe-holding, grey-winged angels in ck robes calling themselves the Messengers-of-Death, were the best demon assassins out of all the Angelic Legion and they also work under Archangel Azrael''smand.

    Sloth had no idea if Luxen''s Duke was aware of it but he didn''t even stand a chance.

    Now, that Beelzebub and Luxen was out of the picture, the Duke must have pushed himself to lead the rest of the Legion to victory.

    Yet, one thing Sloth had noticed was that... all new creatures summoned from Hell were just one rank lesser than the Dukes.

    He shook his head and clicked his tongue. ''Typical Demons.''

    Sloth wasn''t even surprised how predictable the Duke vwas.

    Honestly, he didn''t even have to lift them a finger to do something about them.

    How could they win this battle?

    ''Not smart enough, aren''t we?'' He smirked and settled his hands on his hips.

    Of course, they had no desire to be overpowered.

    The Duke were capable of calling more demons in the Material Realm to aid him in this battle... except for the Archdemon Royalties.

    It wasn''t like he was underestimating ArchangelAzrael''s Angelic Legion.

    Sloth had sensed the Duke''s enormous greed of not wanting to be controlled by an Archdemon who would just thank him, im all his hardwork in invading a Kingdom and throw him to the Ninth Circle of Hell after he was done being useful.

    To prevent all that, the Duke just increased the Angelic Legion a chance to defeat them with ease.

    Archangel Azrael must have simply found him bothersome and made some believable excuses to throw him out of the Emerald Room.

    The stupid part was Sloth had believed them.

    It turned out that he was only there to watch the Messengers-of-Death show off their true power.

    Sloth sat upon the grass and leaned his back against a tree trunk, monitoring the battle between Archangels and the Demons above the dark the red sky, while creating some gands for Lune as a gift, congratting her motherhood.

    Sloth idled past the garden and caressed each flower petal before plucking them out.

    It might appear like he was being impulsive but he suddenly remembered the interesting dream he had about her sister-inw bathing in theke.

    When thedies-in-waiting helped her take off the veil over her head, her long, thick hair had tumbled in winter hues under the moonlight.

    The soft breeze made each strand look like silk ribbons.

    Rose blossoms woven into invisible threads were ced on her forehead. That was the look that Sloth had fallen in love with, in his dream.

    It took him that long to realize that she became more beautiful everyday as the babies grew in her stomach grew. Heat radiated through Sloth''s chest from the recollection.

    He couldn''t exin what he felt but he wanted to replicate that moment in real life.

    Perhaps, he was just d about bing her children''s uncle.

    That''s it.

    Sloth whistled happily as he wove such vibrant gands simr to the dream he had of her.

    He was also satisfied at the subtle and calming fragrance of the flowers he chose.

    When Sloth had returned to the Emerald Room, he had tightly gripped the door upon opening it after seeing Lune''s physical vessel began to disappear from his eyes.

    Sloth''s wide grin changed into a gasp, his mouth falling open in shock.<novelnext></novelnext>

    He had dropped the rainbow-colored floral wreath of from his hand instant he saw the ck halo around her head and the zed look in his eyes.

    What is happening here?" He demanded.

    The twins must have sensed the dark energy manifesting around Lune''s aura that they weren''t able to recognize their mother anymore.

    When the newborn babies started shrieking and crying, the birth attendant immediately separated. them from Lune.

    "Lilith happened. All of a sudden." Archangel Azrael responded shortly, pulling the birth attendant from the bed to keep the babies as far away from Lune as possible.

    Sloth had returned to the Emerald Room after observing the War between Azrael''s Angelic Legion against the Duke''s demons and arrived to this?

    His cold hard eyes were full of usation as he regarded them.

    Sloth could see Lilith''s Archdemon Spirit forcefully separating itself from his Mistress'' physical vessel against her will.

    It was clear that the Archdemon of Envy was attempting to possess Lune again from the frightening expressions she wore but both Archangels couldn''t even manage to finish the job?

    Lilith still refused to give up even if her leather-like bat wings had spread on its own, demanding to be free from captivity.

    She, herself, must have been unaware that her consciousness had refused to be trapped any longer in another physical vessel who continously fought for its dominion.

    Lune, only wanted one, and only one thing.

    Autonomy.

    Sloth assumed that giving birth was thest danger that Lune would endure, it turned out that the Archdemon of Envy had returned once again to screw her over.

    Archangel Ariel and Azrael''s formidable power and strength had spread in the Spiritual Realm far and wide and Sloth ha d begun to think that their astounding reputations were mere exaggerations to intimidate the Archdemons ruling their own Circle of Hell.

    ''Such shameless heavenly beings!'' Sloth thought as he clenched and clenched fists. ''What more does Archangel Azrael need to aplish the job after tricking me to go outside? Had he done something dangerous to Lune while he was gone?''

    At this point, hot steam must havee out of his ears.

    "What have you done? I told you to keep her alive." Sloth had made sweeping arm gestures out of frustration. "You even bragged that you are powerful than the Three Fates, Azrael."

    Archangel appeared dumbstruck.

    "There is nothing i could do about this. The fruit of the Four Seasons had singled her out despite being the owner of the physical vessel. Not only was it trying to eliminate Lilith after the Empress'' physical vessel had continuously rejected her. It''s also kicking Luna out of her own body." Archangel Azrael exined, his countenance smooth and expressionless.

    "You forget that this woman was still an Archdemon." Archangel Ariel reminded him.

    Sloth wanted to run towards her and hold her hand but shock had made him stay in his ce as he watched the person he loved the most slowly deteriorated into nothing.

    He clenched his jaw and shook his head in denial, dreading about their future.

    For some inexinable reason, pain and sadness had merged into one inside of him.

    It forced him to turn around and leaned his back against close the door, staring down at his hands.

    Lilith had gritted her teeth as she tried to cling to her until the end.

    The pain was too deep yet he couldn''t muster any tears for this kind of emotion.

    This strange grief was tooplicated for him that he would rather freeze it into ice, let it go until it shattered into pieces.

    It will cease to exist--both Mistress and his grief--and then he could move on from it.

    If Sloth could have spared Lune''s soul for his, he would have taken her position in a heartbeat.

    Perhaps, it was also time for him and Ravin to also disappear.

    No.

    He had to think about saving her first and seek other alternatives in case they could do something about it.

    Sloth got a hold of himself, opened his eyes and entered the Emerald Room again.

    He closed the door shut and faced the Archangels head on.

    "Everytime I tried to touch the Empress, sheined that it hurt so bad." Archangel Azrael nced down and added. "The Empress hadn''t reacted like this before when we helped her get through her childbirth."

    It was the first time Sloth had witnessed him looking a bit guilty.

    Archangel Azrael''s movements might seem functional and precise when he offered to take the silver-haired baby from the birth attendant so that he could carry her himself but his dark eyes seemed unfocused.

    The Archangels had attached her wrists on the thin towels tied to the bedpost so that she wouldn''t break her bones from having a go at breaking them into unusual angles.

    An Archdemon at its weakest will be distressed from being sorrounded to Heavenly Beings in this closed chamber.

    "Yes." The birth attendant nodded in agreement as she rocked the twins expertly in both arms. "Her previous reaction wasn''t this extreme."

    The old woman''s maternal gestures seemed so natural as if she had been looking after babies for centuries.

    She didn''t even require any help from the rest of the Cherubims who kept themselves upied by cleaning up some vomit on the floor as well as changing the bloody sheets with pristine ones.

 Chapter 912 Please Send Help

    Newest Chapter of the Highest Tier (May 2022)

    *******************************************************

    Archdemon of Sloth

    Prince of the Seventh Circle of Hell

    *******************************************************

    The Angels tried to ignore her moans, groans and agonized screams, hoping that Lune would return to normal at any given moment.

    Archangel Ariel examined the special fruit she had plucked from the Tree of the Four Seasons with a look of disappointment on her face.

    After carefully munching and feeding them to her, Archangel Azrael had returned what-was-left-of-it to her the instant Luna had woken up.

    "This must be what the Three Fates had talked about when they said that the Empress would die." Archangel Ariel''s current countenance made it appear as if betrayal was expected. "We had mistaken her poison for the cure."

    "I had never thought that this would happen because in my mind, the possibility was close to nil." Archangel Azrael rubbed his chin as he regarded the rotting fruit in Archangel Ariel''s palm before ncing down at Lune. "Lilith must have some kind of hold on her."

    "Lilith had never run out of tricks from her sleeve." Sloth muttered under his breath, hands folding over his chest. "She was that determined. I thought she would ceased to exist once the babies were born." Sometimes, Sloth had this uncontroble urge to shake Lilith in Lune''s physical vessel, throw her to the ground and send her rolling to dirt... or better yet, he could strike her hard enough that it would send her to the Ninth Circles of Hell. "We had formed another spection that she was--in fact-- connected to one of them from the start. Not Lune."

    As Sloth approached the bed, he had pushed Archangel Azrael aside so that he could cradle her in his arms.

    She didn''t move.

    He hadn''t picked up anything else except the sound of her breathing and the twins'' loud cries.

    He lifted one hand underneath her head, scrunching the wild waves of her hair.

    The silken strands were greasy and disheveled from sweat.

    A few of them were even stered on her forehead.

    "Lune. Hang in there." Sloth softened his tone so that he wouldn''t sound anxious to her ears. "Don''t let Lilith drag you back to Hell."

    "Sloth. Why did you leave me alone?" As Lune rested her head on his shoulders and encircled her arms around his neck, she went on, whispering. "ording to these Archangels, my husband is unconscious, lying cold on the floor and resting close to the hearth."

    "No one could wake him up because he had to do it on his own. In addition to that, You and Ravin were missing." She told him weakly. Her eyes were shut and her cheeks were stained with tears. "Do you hate being my Familiars that much?"

    Sloth had stiffened before replying, "I will do my job properly as long as you don''t leave us here. Promise me."

    "I---" A wheeze had bubbled from Lune''s throat before her dark aura inmed the atmosphere, choking them again with the strong smell of sulfur that Archangel Ariel had to clear time and time again.

    The arteries in her slender neck became more visible and if he concentrated enough, he could practically hear her heartbeat.

    Worried, Sloth to ce his index and middle finger on a soft hollowed area beside her windpipe.

    His breathing had turned shallow when he found out that her pulse had soared at an rming rate.

    "Don''t move her around like that, Archdemon." The birth attendant gave him a judgmental stare. "Her wounds weren''t fully closed yet."

    "My Archdemon blood might make her feel better." He aimed a friendly smile at the old woman in an attempt to gain her approval only to be shut down by a stranger who. hadn''t known any better.

    "No." Archangel Azrael couldn''t mask his frustration in that single word. "That is not an option."

    The expanse of the Empress'' skin had flushed in a minute and turned pale the next.

    Sloth had wondered why he had to stop his sister-inw from punching his chest and pping him in the face with hand so loud it might be heard from outside the door until her movements tore the sealed incisions on her stomach open.

    He, soon, realized that they were Lilith''s efforts to break free from his grasp.

    She fought so hard to gain control of Lune''s physical vessel, spouting hot, delirious nonsense that sounded like incoherent spells.

    "Let go of Lune, Lilith! You are only hurting yourself"

    "Never!" Lilith screeched, fisting the nkets before throwing the covers off.

    Nobody in the Emerald Room weren''t supposed to hear her since Azrael made it so.

    Sloth thought that the Archangel''s magic didn''tst long.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Every time she demands that her voice be heard, the more she released agonizing screams as if her soul was burning in the Holy Fire.

    Her physical vessel had turned into a house too holy for parasitic Archdemons to live in.

    It was close to being reduced to ashes.

    Her heavy-lidded eyes rolled back, unfocused and wandering, before they fell shut. Sloth tried to rouse her many times but she didn''t react as he continued to speak to her.

    Sloth turned his head towards the Archangel of Death and asked, "Do you have another way of banishing just Lilith alone without harming her?"

    "I had no problems destroying Lilith but she is forcing the Empress to join her. Everything we had done so far while you were gone had exposed her to Archangel Magic. If I do something other than feed her the fruit of the Four Seasons, this might get worse."

    Sloth sighed inwardly.

    He shouldn''t have removed herself from the Emerald Room earlier like what the Archangel had told them to do.

    He had wasted all that time making flower gands instead of observing Archangel Azrael, Archangel Ariel and the Cherubims if they had done something suspicious to Lune.

    Sloth nced at the Apollyon and almost of all his wounds were healed.

    If he wasn''t unconscious right now, maybe he could find a way to save Lune.

    These Archangels were useless.

    "If you can''t do it, maybe I could." Sloth allowed his gaze to wander at the angels inside the Emerald Chamber before issuing threats. "Don''t stop me."

    "Don''t do it." Archangel Azrael insisted with a scowl. "If her body turned out to be extremely resistant to Archdemon Magic as well, she will return to Hell fast if you head towards that direction."

    "Let the Empress fight Lilith. Wecould wait for her to kill that parasite herself. I''m sure she can do it." Archangel Ariel suggested eagerly as she switched her gaze from Sloth to Azrael back in forth.

    Cherubims around him had brought their hands together and pped their hands in excitement.

    No.

    It appeared like they were actually praying for his Mistress'' soul.

    "The Empress had ovee challenges that tested her resilience. She still had an advantage because she had controlled her physical vessel for a long timepared to Lilith." Archangel Ariel continued.

    Right.

    It was easier said than done.

    "I might find something if Hecate granted me the permission to see her grimoire." Sloth replied with an uncertain sigh.

    Hecate was the Goddess of the Magic and the Underworld.

    Her grimoire had recorded various unknown and forbidden texts of dark magic spells from different Realms that had already existed ever since and each manuscript was painstakingly written in inks made from the creator''s blood.

    The contents had even included nefarious rituals which needed blood and life sacrifices that only a High Priestess of Hecate can perform, the true names of Archdemons and instructions on how to control, raise and bind them to a soul contract.

    Frown lines marred Archangel Azrael''s forehead. "Do you actually think that you can put such a divine being at your beck and call?"

    "The Empress is a Priestess of Hecate and I am her Familiar, an Archdemon Prince of the Seventh Circles. It ismon courtesy that the Goddess would at least hear me out even if she considered us evil."

    "How are you going to repay Hecate if she did have the power to help you?"

    Archangel Ariel was talking about a deal that the the Goddess of the Underworld would need in exchange for the wish.

    "No. Not me." Sloth carefully guided Lune toy back down to the bed. "The Vampire King would pay that price the instant he wakes up." He dropped his arms before cing them behind his back. "I''m sure he will agree."

    Sloth had shed Archdemon blood from his shed wrist to prepare a small ritual circle inside the chamber.

    Next, he ced the ck candles with Hecate''s sigil carved on them at the tips of the pentagram.

    The angels had stepped back and observed him in silence as he lit each candle with hellfire.

    He took his time to clear his mind and focused on his purpose of evoking the goddess.

    Then, Sloth stated with confidence. "Hecate. Goddess of the Magic. I call you from the Depths of the Underworld."

 Chapter 913 Paying The Price (Part 1)

    Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (May 2022)

    ***********************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    *******************************

    The Threee Fates had already predicted his wife''s death in the Material Realm.

    No immortal being was powerful enough to nullify his beloved''s cursed fate��not even the male Archangel who suddenly appeared before him in the middle of his battle at the Archdemon Tournament.

    Apollyon assumed it was Luxen who made that first move that he deliberately swung his scythe at him with all his might and hit him in the chest.

    The Archangel''s blood, zing the weapon that Satan had given, had helped him win against Luxen in just a short period paired with short, erratic yet calcted incursions against his enemy''s careful attachs.

    After defeating Luxen and sending him to the Ninth Circle of Hell, the floor of that special arena copsed and dropped him into the ming pits of Hell.

    A few minutes before he was burning in Hellfire, Apollyon heard a calm whisper in his head, saying, ''Get used to your physical vessel as soon as possible, Vampire King. Your body must be strong enough to contain the Archdemon in you. For the meantime, I will have to watch over your wife and offspring as your soul begins to adjust.''

    ''Apollyon guesssed that the voice must have belonged to the male Archangel who threw himself in his swinging scythe so that he could make use of his blood to defeat Luxen.''

    He confessed that he found the Archangel''s assistance strange and suspicious.

    The Archangel had appeared in the right ce at the right time and he made the oue easier for Apollyon to deal with as if he had seen his future.

    His blood sacrifice was a calcted move that would benefit Apollyon in the long run.

    Why was he doing this and what did he want in exchange for this favor?

    Did the male Archangel set this trap to stop Luxen from destroying the Material Realm and thought that Apollyon was the most convenient choice to end him... or did he have another agendas he didn''t know of?

    Apollyon had no time to dwell on that--not when his brain felt like it had been shredded from the inside.

    His entire being had been preciously upied with enduring his painful transformation, flowing out of his every pore.

    +++

    Nobody from the Three Fates had informed him at Queen Morgan''s Council Meeting that he would rece Luxen in his throne as the Prince of the Second Circle.

    Those clever little goddesses even failed to tell him that a powerful Archangel would assist him in achieving his whimsical goal of bing an Archdemon like his wife.

    The Three Fates must have known but didn''t care to tell him at that moment, refusing to give the shocking secret any importance.

    In addition to that, Apollyon wasn''t interested about his future that didn''t have Luna in it.

    That important event in his life must have been inevitable whether he knew about it or not.

    It was also ironic how Ravin, the Archdemon he hated and one he considered to be his rival in love, had also helped him turn into devil without a hitch.

    His demonic venom had helped him to adjust well during in his transformation and the catastrophic power that came along with it.

    Nevertheless, he wouldn''t go so far as thanking the bastard.<novelnext></novelnext>

    The Three Fates also tried their absolute best to remain neutral for the sake of the entire Realms which made them such tough nuts to crack.

    Even, Apollyon was surprised of the oue.

    He had no expectations that he could aplish such an impossible dream---that someone from the Heavenly Realms would actually help a vampire royalty he considered lower than himselff.

    Apollyon had initially thought he was lucky that day but it didn''tst because he had to pay a huge price for bing an Archdemon.

    What''s the point of turning into one when Apollyon couldn''t even protect the people he loved? The people who mattered the most?

    Pain had entered into his new life.

    Both didn''t havemon decency to ask for his permission.

    Apollyon wasn''t there to witness his wife giving birth to their children while she suffered from another female Archdemon''s mental and physical abuse.

    It was a shame that neither he nor the Archangel, who promised to stop his beloved from dying, were able to find a solution that would make her survive that tragedy.

    He hadn''t fully epted Luna''s Archdemon Familiars but Ravin and Sloth coudn''t protect Luna from Lilith, either.

    What had been Sloth doing all this time instead of alleviating Luna''s suffering altogether?

    Apollyon sighed.

    He admittted that his excuses had sounded pathetic in his mind.

    At this point, Apollyon should stop ming others for his ipetence as a husband, a father and a King.

    No matter what happened, he should have been the one who stayed by his beloved''s side,forting her whenever she needed him,m instead of someone else.

    If there was nothing Apollyon could do to prevent Luna''s destiny from urring, then he should take this chance to intercept his wife at the River Styx.

    No one could stop him now that he had be the Archdemon of Lust.

    Once he set his mind to it, it wasn''t a hard decision to make as.

    Apollyon could manage traveling in the Spiritual Realm as long as he stayed within that boundary between Heaven and Hell.

    The Highest God had drawn the line in the Underworld and Apollyon was fine with it.

    The instant he saw his wife again after being separated with her for a few days, raw emotional pain had gripped his heart like a vise.

    It went on and on like eternity.

    It was sweet sorrow to witness his wife lying inside this funerary boat with her limp hands ced neatly over her deted stomach.

    His eyes had widened in shock upon discovering that her baby bump was gone.

    His mate must have given birth to the twins withoutplications�� except for her survival.

    Gritting his teeth to suppress his anguished screams in silence, Apollyon sat down next to her and touched the silver obol on her forehead with utmost reverence.

 Chapter 914 Paying The Price (Part 2)

    Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (May 2022)

    ***********************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    *******************************

    Gritting his teeth to suppress his anguished screams in silence, Apollyon sat down next to her and touched the silver obol on her forehead with utmost reverence.

    His shoulders were slumped as he examined her in a fine, strapless turqoise dress that hugged her curves.

    Despite her greyish skin, her blue lips and theck of the usual pink in her cheeks, Luna was bewitchingly beautiful.

    She looked like she was simply taking a nap that made her lose the spark that she once had.

    He knelt beside his wife stiffly, uncertain whether he shouldugh or cry from his family''s misfortune.

    Yet, he couldn''t stop himself from reaching out to squeeze her hand and feel its softness once again.

    Apollyon recoiled when he only felt ice.

    Without warning, his stomach hardened at the realization that he wouldn''t be able to experience the love andfort her cuddles and kisses had provided.

    Apollyon gripped the gunwale in hopes of easing the violent tremors in his body as he summoned more strength to get through his destion.

    He would never forget how gentle her caresses were.

    It will be forever ingrained in his memory, helping the sparks in his soul to continue burning bright for the sake of their children.

    As he recalled the good times they had spent together, Apollyon allowed happiness--the warmth of her smile while she told him sweet and silly things--to flood into his brain in hopes to lessen his grief.

    Sadly, it had an opposite effect of what he truly desired because these seemingly happy memories had threatened to break him even more, change him beyond recognition.

    The sound of herughter was hauntingly vivid in his mind that hot, silent tears streamed down his face.

    His chest felt like it was about to burst and his heart sank unto the bottom boards he had knelt on.

    Apollyon thought he had gone insane since he was the only one who could hear its music.

    He nced up to the dark skies to recite a prayer to the gods and goddesses who cared enough to listen, wishing for them to take this despair somewhere else.

    He wanted everything to melt away and dissolve around him except his beloved but it was impossible when someone else was in her funerary boat.

    "You should leave, Vampire King." Apollyon heard an old man'' rasp in a voice that sounded like he hadn''t used it for centuries.

    He immediately wiped his tears with his palms before looking over his shoulder.

    As he gained the courage to hold Luna''s hand to ground him in this current reality, he squinted at the gaunt old man d in the same reddish-brown garb that Apollyon had seen in a fever dream while he was in the Crystal Cave.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Sometimes, he wondered if what he had experienced there had happened for real.

    Queen Morgan had deposited him there to get rid of any demonic influence from Ravin''s venomous bite.

    "Have I met you somewhere before?" Apollyon asked as he scrutinized the old man from head-to-toe, swearing to himself that he was teling the truth.

    The old man gave him a half-shrug.

    "Maybe?" He looked away from him and focused his attention on rowing the boat, instead. "You tell me."

    His brows furrowed.

    This wasn''t the time to jest.

    He seemed familiar and Apollyon couldn''t quite put a finger on it.

    Apollyon''s suspicious gaze also took its time to regard that long pole in the stranger''s right hand.

    Whern Luna''s physical vessel had turned to ashes in the Material Realm, this old man must have fetched her soul at the shore to take her somewhere else--a ce where he thought she would belong.

    Charon was the ferryman in charge of transporting souls of the dead across the River Styx into the entrance of the Underworld.

    ''''Why isn''t she awake, old man?" Apollyon couldn''t conceal his anxiety when the hand that gripped her icy fingers quivered. "I would understand if this was her physical vessel but it is not." He pressed a salty kiss at the back of her hand in a valiant effort to soothe his own fears. "Is her soul sick?"

    "No one is allowed to intercept and talk to her unless Hecate sees her in the Underworld first." Charon watched him carefully, his bluish-grey eyes fierce as if he finally saw him as a threat. "That is what the Goddess told me. I am required to follow that directive."

    What did Hecate want with Luna?

    "Why was she demanding my wife to meet her in the Underworld alone while I am here suffering, willing her to wake up so that she could talk to me for once?"

    "Perhaps, the Goddess wanted the woman to stay in the Underworld with her instead of Hell." Charon replied. "She was her Priestess, afterall."

    pping his Archdemon wings, he leaped in front of the ferryman to fist his rumpled cor.

    "You should turn back the boat to the spot where you had fetched my wife---" Apollyon growled while attempting to snatch a pole in his hand. "---or I will burn this boat down."

    He wanted to row the funerary boat back to the shore but the old man refused to budge and let go of it.

    They stood there at a stand still.

    Apollyon thought twice about overpowering him and pushing him to the River Styx.

    The consequences might be too severed for him to handle since he wasn''t aware of all the rules in the UUnderworld.

    However, he would like to hear about the truth from Charon''s mouth.

    "If you burn this boat down, it''s not like I will be the only one in hot waters. You and thisdy couldn''t get out of River Styx as well."The cracks on his dry skin became even more visible when the corner of his lips curled into an smirk. "All three of us will be poisoned from the miasma emanating from this waters." Charon''s sagging cheekbones and wrinkled brow made him look wearier. "Any soul who will attempt to harm me will drown here for eternity."

 Chapter 915 Paying The Price (Part 3)

    Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (May 2022)

    ***********************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    *******************************

    "Any soul who will attempt to harm me will drown here for eternity."

    Apollyon knew that the old man had told the truth.

    His posture was straight and his muscles were rxed without signs of aggression.

    The ferryman acted like he was capable enough to bring him down with him.

    Charon threw a quick nce at the hand clutching his cor. "Have it ever crossed your mind that perhaps, I''m tired of rowing boats for these souls?" He looked up at him straight in the eye and tilted his head. " I would be thankful if you do something to get me out of my curse. It will be my pleasure to see you try and get punished for it."

    If the Underworld was the boundary between Heaven and Hell, River Styx was the boundary between the Material Realm and the Underworld.

    With his jaws clenched, Apollyon released his grip on his cor and the long pole.

    "So it''s really you, Charon." Apollyon dropped his arms to the side before cing his hands behind his back. "We have met before."

    The old man neither affirmed or denied it.

    He simply cleared his throat.

    "You should know the set of rules I have." He began while fixing his rumpled tunic. "You are in my boat but no one here or from the other side had paid for your safe passage."

    He gave a slight nod of his head.

    Apollyon and her Archdemon Familiars where the only adult people that would qualify as her loved ones.

    If his beloved mate had a silver obol on her forehead, Hecate must have paid for her safe passage.

    The Goddess of Magic needed something from his wife and from Charon''s tone, it appeared like Apollyon wasn''t invited.

    He was painfully aware that he needed to pay the ferryman a toll so that he could safely arrive at the entrance Underworld without being separated from his beloved.

    If he couldn''t pay Charon the fee he required, he wouldn''t be able to cross this river.

    Instead, he would wander around this bleak ce for a thousand of years until someone set him free.

    "I could get rid of you in this funerary boat, you know?" Charon grinned and a sh of anger crossed his countenance.

    It wasn''t easy to let the bastard''s callous remark slide as a fledgling Archdemon but he had to.

    ? Lashing out and putting his wife in danger wouldn''t help them right now.

    "You are also aware that I almost delivered you to the Underworld. It turned out it wasn''t your time yet." Charon went on.

    The people in your Realm had tried their best in bringing you back there. I apologize that you can''t do the same to your wife."

    Apollyon turned his gaze away from the old man and muttered. "So, that wasn''t a dream."

    Charon chuckled lightly. "I will take the this woman to Underworld and you can''t stop me. It was clear that this female Archdemon belonged to Hell but I will let Hecate will decide what to do with her."

    "Take us back to the shore, Charon." Apollyon stepped forward, invading the ferrryman''s personal space to intimidate him. "I want her soul to stay in the Material Realm with me."<novelnext></novelnext>

    Apollyon didn''t want to be an Archdemon for nothing.

    "I can''t do that---" Charon had trailed off and Apollyon assumed that the decision wasn''t final.

    It wouldn''t have to be if Charon wished it so.

    That distinctive pause felt like the ferryman was giving him a chance to plead his case and negotiate.

    Apollyon clenched and unclenched his fists.

    He was getting anxious the more he talked to the ferryman.

    If he carried his boat further down the next river called Acheron, the longer they would have to travel.

    Apollyon was afraid that Charon would drop them to the Fifth Circle of Hell without him noticing it.

    The soul that went past to River Acheron would have to undergo the most severe punishment than the gravity of the sins they hadmitted.

    He straightened his spine and glowered at him. "Just tell me your conditions. I will do everything as long as I have it."

    Charon scratched his unkempt beard in contemtion. "Your existence is the cause of her suffering whether it was good or bad. I''m sure Hades and Hecate would approve if I tell you about an alternative."

    Apollyon forced the unwee despair, sadness and regret to switch into coldness and anger.

    His existence caused his mate to suffer?

    His heartbeat pounded with suppressed rage.

    Where was Charon getting at?

    Was he about to help him in this predicament by suggesting that he take her ce in the funerary boat and meet Hecate instead?

    He would agree to that if Charon would take his wife back to the shore.

    That way, it would be easier for him to try and summon her back to the Material Realm once he returned to his physical vessel.

    Still, Apollyon wanted him to rify.

    There was no room for misunderstandings when striking bargains in the Underworld.

    "Did you intend to take me to the Underworld in exchange for her?"

    Apollyon''sugh had an edge to it.

    It was a good idea but that wouldn''t satisfy him.

    He didn''t have the advantage.

    Negotiation should be win-win scenario to both parties.

    If he simply epted that, then it was obvious he wasn''t winning.

    "I refuse." His voice was dangerously soft when he asked, "Is there another way for me to take her back with me in the Material Realm?" Apollyon needed her. Their daughters needed her. "I couldn''t ept that the gods and goddesses could y with my beloved''s life like this."

    "The Three Fates were kind enough to warn you about this so you could prepare for this tragedy. You are not in the position to demand---"

    "---yet, you gave me an opening to negotiate." Apollyon cut him off with a growl. "Are you raising my hopes up for nothing, then?"

 Chapter 916 Paying The Price (Part 4)

    Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (May 2022)

    ***********************************

    Vampire King Apollyon

    *******************************

    "---yet, you gave me an opening to negotiate." Apollyon cut him off with a growl. "Are you raising my hopes up for nothing, then?"

    So, the old man really wanted to y with fire, huh.

    Apollyon willed his Hellfire to appear by magic and poke holes on his wife''s funerary boat.

    His aim was to make the ferryman sweat a little so that it would be easier for him to call his bluff.

    "I assume you are already aware that I am the Archdemon of Lust. I will not repeat myself once again." Apollyon stated in the most authoritative voice that he could muster. "Is there a way for my mate and my children to be with me in the Vampire Kingdom?"

    "There is. But you have to offer your memories left of her to the River Styx."

    Apollyon breathed hard, his anguished soul had demanding that he bled an ocean through his eyes.

    He didn''t want to oblige.

    He made his blue mes disappear in a snap of a finger.

    "Let''s hope that your sincerity will reach the Goddess of the Underworld and ept your offering." Charon added with nonchnce. "That is the only thing you could use as a payment if you want me to take both of you back to the shore."

    Apollyon wanted to rage inside, finding it unfair that he was sacrificing his memories.

    Yet, he was aware that it is infinitely better than being separated for good.

    As a crafty Archdemon, Apollyon had nned other alternatives and one of them was to visit his mate in the Underworld once he figured out how to return to his physical vessel in the Material Realm and travel back to the Spiritual Realm.

    But what about their children?

    Who would look after them when both Ravin and Sloth were sent back to Hell the instant Luna had lost her body?

    It was too dangerous to bring such fragile babies anywhere and he didn''t trust himself to take care of both.

    He couldn''t leave them to Queen Morgan''s care when she had a lot of things on her te.

    "No, I can''t." Apollyon blinked slowly as he turned his gaze away from the ferryman and observe the moon at the far horizon in mind-numbing sorrow. "Losing my memories of my mate is equivalent to death."

    "That was the whole point, Vampire King."

    Apollyon admitted that the sacrifice made sense.

    Losing his memories of her will feel like his beloved had died... or she really didn''t exist in the first ce.

    "The payment that the gods and goddesses require is a much better option. You will only be oblivious of her at the start but the mating bond will always be there. If you forget her, that special connection would already solve half of your problems."

    Apollyon shook his head in frustration, not fully erasing the posibility that it was all a trick. "Don''t make it sound easier than it seemed."

    Apollyon still couldn''t figure out if this bargain had other traps that he couldn''t pinpoint yet.

    He didn''t know Charon well but he was a suspicious character, he would give him that.

    "You will fall in love with her again and create better memoriespared to the past." Indeed, Apollyon agreed that some of the memories he had in the past were full of hurt, wounds and scars and he wished there was a way he could forget them.

    Was this the chance he needed?

    "Both of you will rebuild the new Vampire Kingdom with your daughters and live happily ever after." Charon added he paddled the long pole in his right hand and steered them to the left side of the river.

    "Will, Luna..." Apollyon turned away from the ferryman so that he could look at his wife for thest time. He desired tomit her image to memory, hoping against hope that a miracle would happen and he would recognize her after losing her memories. "Will my wife forget me as well?"

    ''No. She will make the effort this time and keep the family together and take care of the children." Charon replied. "That would be her sacrifice to bear after I had returned her to shore and let her live again in the Vampire Realm with no physical vessel."

    Apollyon faced the ferryman again with a glower. "How do you know that? It wasn''t like you could predict the future that the Three Fates had nned."

    ''The Three Fates wouldn''t have a final say in everything." His tone was a-matter-of-fact. "We still had to make our own choices that had nothing to do with them."

    Yes.

    ''We are the one in control of our fates.'' Apollyon thought. ''Not those three old hags.''

    He ran one his fingers through his dark hair. "So the burden will be entirely up to her."

    "That would be the worst case scenario if the Vampire King who had no memories of her, refused to ept her as his wife even if he felt the mating bond."

    "That wouldn''t happen." Apollyon was certain about that even if he had known himself to be unpredictable as the Vampire King before he met his wife. "Both of us hadn''te this far for nothing."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "The gods and goddesses will be so impressed of your sacrifice and will choose to protect your love for eternity----"

    "---or maybe, these promises are false and you find it amusing to see an Archdemon fall for it." Apollyon interrupted.

    The old man assumed an innocent expression and gave him a half-hearted shrug. "Well, if you believe that, then please continue. Who am I to stop you?"

    Now he was confused and it must have been evident in his countenance.

    Charon noticed the face he made and spoke, "I am not trying to confuse you. I also ask that you don''t let yourself be persuaded by my words so that you couldn''t me me if things go wrong."

    Apollyon folded his arms over his chest. "So, you want to trick me."

    "That all depends on your perception. Everything is entirely up for you to decide. The River Styx is also called the River of Oaths. If you want to, I will swear an oath that I am telling you the truth. That is, if you still nned to offer your memories to the god and goddess of the Underworld."

    "Apollyon had thought about doing it but he had another problem.

    "What is bothering you, Vampire King?" Charon inquired nosily.

    He rubbed the back of his neck. "My wife had another mate."

    What if Ravin found a way to remain in their Realm and steal his wife away from him because Apollyon wasn''t the man she used to love in the past?

    "Do you trust her?"

    He couldn''t bring himself to answer that question.

    Apollyon simply stared at him in silence.

    Deep down, he really didn''t know if he still could trust her after Luxen, the past Archdemon of Lust, tricked her by using his image.

    It was divine retribution that he was able to be an Archdemon Prince with Archangel''ss help.

    He didn''t n to rule the second circle and neither will his wife stay there as his princess.

    if Apollyon would push through with this sacrifice, he would live peacefully in the Vampire Kingdom with his wife without knowing that, right?

    Ignorance was bliss.

    Annoyed, Charon waved one hand in dismissal while the other one rowed Luna''s funerary boat faster. "If you don''t trust her to stick to you, then there is no point in discussing this further. We are almost there."

    Trust.

    So, all of this shall boil down to blind faith.

    Apollyon was d that Luxen got stuck in the Ninth Circle of Hell.

    His bastard child with Luna was his sole responsibility now as the new Archdemon of Lust.

    If he also forget all of his past memories that involved with his mate, perhaps, he could take care of their daugter without anger and resentment.

    Luna and Apollyon will have the happy family they wanted as long as those Archdemon Familiars know their ce.

    "I---" Apollyon opened his mouth to speak but close them when he thought about his life-altering decision for a minute.

    As he closed his eyes again to focus, he allowed his demon wings to ease out and spread, reminding him of what he had be.

    He had transformed into a type of man who had sacrificed everything to keep the love of his life.

    He wasn''t the same Vampire King before he had met Luna.

    Perhaps, losing his memories would be good for all of their sakes.

    Change is good because it had given him the chance to turn over a new leaf.

    Apollyon would have this rare chance to be reborn.

    Then, he will have to present the best version he could be in front of his wife without carrying the baggage of the past.

    Apollyon finally opened his eyes and said. "Please turn the boat around."

    "Are you ready to ept the conditions?" Charon prompted impatiently.

    He still had hopes that tommorrow would be better for him and his beloved even if today felt like Hell.

    There was no guarantee that their future would be perfect but he wanted to be with his beloved with or without his memories.

    Apollyon exhaled a sigh and answered the ferryman. "Yes. I ept your conditions."

    [A/N: Hello, my readers. This is the end of my story followed by an EPILOGUE. The next chapters will be side stories about Luna and Apollyon''s family life with the Archdemon Familiars. Thanks for reading my story. Atst, I finished it. I hope you enjoyed it. If you don''t like the ending, sorry for the disappointment. I''m just happy that it ended and I can finally rx]

 Chapter 917 EPILOGUE

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    THE GODDESS OF DARK MAGIC AND THE UNDERWORLD

    HECATE

    ***********************************************

    Luna''s physical vessel wasn''t really gone.

    When the Archdemon of Sloth used her most ancient grimoire to summon her in the birthing room, Hecate''s power had kept her priestess'' body together by freezing it.

    She had purified it from Lilith''s dark energy before she could turn into ashes.

    Yes.

    Hecate had aplished all of that without going to the Material Realm.

    At first, it might seem like Sloth turning into an Archdemon Familiar was a mere coincidence.

    But, Hecate believed that Fate had yed a part in it so that Luna could still be saved without Apollyon and Ravin''s help.

    "The Empress was never meant to stay in Hell forever." Hecate muttered to herself as she paced around her bedroom.

    Also, Hecate wouldn''t allow the Empress to be used by either Satan and Lucifer if her Archdemon soul gets pulled back there.

    Her dignity and reputation as a powerful goddess had already been dragged through the mud when she couldn''t protect her most favored priestess from Satan''s machinations and the Grand Torturer''s idea of training Archdemon fledglings.

    Just finding out what the Empress had gone through in Hell made Hecate grimace.

    Hecate waited for patiently for the right time---the perfect timing--where not even the Three Fates could do anything to flip the oue they had decided to match their stupid expectations.

    Her grimoire had proved itself to be useful, of course, since the hard leather cover wrapped in peeled human skin had a fragment of her.

    Between those pages, was an unseen portal, where she could unleash her power despite not leaving the Underworld.

    That would only happen as long as she was summoned by those who possess the magic of the Dark Priestess.

    In the Empress''s case, it was the Archdemon of Sloth who demanded Hecate''s appearance in the birthing room, followed by a bold deration that whatever payment she required in exchange for her help, the Vampire King would be required to pay all of it once he became conscious.

    And, not him.

    She paused and her feet were nted firmly in ce.

    Hecate raised a curious eyebrow.

    Since the Goddess Hecate could only hear the voice of the one who held her oldest grimoire, she could just imagine this Archdemon waving one hand in dismissal as he fixed his gaze at the empty wall.

    There was nothing to look at because she wasn''t there.

    "It would be the Vampire King''s highest honor as a mate to make the sacrifice and save Luna himself. He might me me if I steal his opportunity to prove how much he loved this woman." Sloth exined calmly as if was the most logical thing he had ever preached.

    Hecate wasn''t surprised that the Archdemon had already washed his hands and refused to take responsibility for summoning her.

    "Don''t you love this woman as her Archdemon Familiar, Sloth?"

    The Archdemon sighed and pretended he didn''t hear that question. "You can find Apollyon in Hell. No. Perhaps, his soul might be hanging around in your backyard right now, don''t you think?" Sloth guessed. "The mind link must have helped him sense that Lune''s physical vessel had deteriorated."

    Hecate had also perceived powerful Archangels surrounding Luna in the birthing room and she couldn''t quite believe that the Heavenly Beings hadn''t done anything to solve this problem.

    Weren''t they supposed to help?

    What was their purpose in there aside from a quick exorcism after sessfully eliminating Luxen and Beelzebub?

    And, can they really call it an exorcism if the owner of the physical vessel was an Archdemon too?

    Hmm.

    Maybe, doing so might break their Creator''s rules and in turn, they would be casted out from the heavens and turn into Fallen Angels!<novelnext></novelnext>

    The Priestess should have lost her daughters during childbirth but with the help of the Archangels, they were able to fight for their right to live.

    In exchange, Lilith, who was attached to Luxen''s offspring, had no choice but to retreat.

    Realizing that the Archangels had tried the best they could do, Hecate promised Sloth that she would fetch the Empress'' soul to finish the job and cleanse her of Lilith''s magical influence before returning Luna in her frozen vessel.

    Hecate decided to collect the Vampire King''s debtter once everything was settled.

    No divine being--not even the Three Fates--could use her of her interference when she didn''t even jump Realm to another.

    That thought amused Hecate to no end.

    She wanted Charon to deliver Luna''s Archdemon soul to the Underworld by crossing the River Styx with his boat.

    That way, Hecate could rightfully untangle Lilith''s hold on her priestess and finally get rid of the spell that she had used on her.

    She was the only one who could since she had created it herself and the Archangels had weakened the Empress'' soul enough.

    Furthermore, she appreciated the extent of Apollyon''s sacrifice because it had bnced the scale of his wish and strengthened Hecate''s dark magic even more, which she liked.

    As the new Archdemon of Lust, losing his memories will also dampen his desires towards his mate and that would give the Empress a moment''s reprieve.

    Luna needed it badly because she just gave birth to twins.

    ***********************************************

    QUEEN MORGAN OF THE AUTUMN COURTS

    ***********************************************

    "Long live the Queen of the Autumn Courts!"

    Queen Morgan rode in her chariot in front of a cheering crowd at the Autumn Courts, parading their triumph as they returned from the battlefield close to the Tree of the Four Seasons.

    Not only did they finally located it and see how it looked like, the Archangels had descended from the Heavenly Realms toe to help the Fairfolks.

    She tilted her head to look up at the blue sky.

    The assistance was unexpected but the winged creatures were always wee to save the day.

    Queen Morgan was honest enough not to take the entire credit for achieving their peace.

    Autumn Faeries, that had survived the second wave of demonic attacks from Luxen''s Legion, continued to support their Queen with their loud chants and songs of praise.

    The cheers among the vibrant crowd sounded like a roar of emotions as they flowed and swirled around her and the Fae Militia.

    The overwhelming respect, honor and recognition they bestowed upon her wasn''t the only thing that brought tears to her eyes.

    Her one and only son with Archangel Uriel--- whom she had lost along time ago--was with her right now, puttingurels over her head.

    The moment her son smiled back at her, she realized that he deserved power and prestige in the Material Realm despite being an Archdemon.

    Ravin was next in line to the throne of the Autumn Courts.

    Ravin assisted her bloody arms to fit into the loose bell-shaped sleeves of her royal robes.

    At first, she couldn''t believe that it was Ravin all along but her happiness upon learning the truth about was enough to make her levitate.

    Queen Morgan also asked Ravin to wear the same robes she wore and he epted her request without a fuss.

    Warm giggles rose from her throat like bubbles of champagne.

    Her precious son held her slender hand, their fingers intertwined as their horses trotted at the pace of the crowd.

    The crowd continued to move like sea waves, celebrating the heroes'' return, as hooves pounded on the concrete road.

 Chapter 918 [Side Story] 1 [All Covered Up]

    Newest chapter of Highest Tier (June 2022)

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    ARCHDEMON EMPRESS LUNA

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    Luna frantically brushed the invisible lint of her floor-lengthed skirts as therge loose sleeves on her arms fluttered in the air like wings almost covering her hands.

    As she stood at the entrance of Apollyon''s brand newir, Luna stretched her arms in front of her to check if her robes were fastened in its proper ce.

    She guessed she was just going to have to rely upon personal inspection because since she had no mirror to check if she still looked presentable.

    ''Spotless.'' Luna exhaled a huge sigh and allowed her hands drop to the sides. ''I had to be perfect in the eyes of my mate.''

    She wasn''t used wearing to these types of fabrics and heavy ornaments in a long time.

    Her luxurious robes looked extremely beautiful fitting Empress of the Vampire Kingdom and it felt good to be herself again without other Archdemon possessing her physical vessel for their

    own agenda.

    Unfortunately, her Archdemon familiars had insisted that she dress like a forbidden woman--a virgin--so that she wouldn''t incite the Vampire King''s sexual desires and provoke him to expose his sinful nature.

    Hands on his hips, Sloth drawled as he scanned her from head to toe with his hooded eyes. "That''s what you get if your husband had turned into the new Archdemon of Lust."

    Luna asked him to borate but he merely drove his fingers to his light blond hair and shrugged as if that half-hearted response was enough.

    She folded her arms over her chest and scowled at him until he spoke but she hadn''t expected the man to turn his back, lift his right hand in a wave before heading towards the door. "You look good with the clothes my brother had picked for you tonight. I''m sure the Vampire King would appreciate----"

    "---my bright green eyes, you mean?" Luna cut him off in a sarcastic tone.

    Her garments had covered her entire body, her head and her face leaving only a narrow slit for her eyes.

    "----our efforts for protecting you from your mate''s Archdemon nature." Sloth finished before he rushed to the exit of her dressing room.

    He walked so briskly as if he couldn''t wait to get away from her presence while muttering, "You would thank us if you got out of the Vampire King''s room alive without him forcing himself on you.".

    Scandalized, she opened her mouth to throw onest retort but no words hade out.

    Toote, Sloth had already mmed the door with a loud bang.

    ''How crude!'' Luna thought furiously as she paced around the room.

    The five fae maidservants, that Queen Morgan had gifted them before they returned to the Vampire Kingdom, cast her some furtive nces as they folded the discarded gowns she had put on earlier to choose the best gown to wear for her reunion with the Vampire King.

    ''How did Sloth and Ravin even came up with the conclusion that her husband would hurt her that way?''

    What did she even to offend him?

    Ah, yes!

    She paused and snapped her finger in realization.<novelnext></novelnext>

    She had disturbed Sloth''s sleep, after all.

    Even if her Familiar''s words didn''t make sense at that moment, she decided to follow Sloth and Ravin''s advice just to be on the safe side.

    ''This long gown was her shield from the Archdemon of Lust, then.'' Luna frowned. ''I might as well be wearing lemon colored nkets.''

    Would her husband still going to be the same even he had turned into a Vampire Archdemon just like her?

    In the blink of an eye, dark thoughts had hovered around her head like gloomy clouds.

    Unshed tears had blurred her vision and when she lowered her head, teardrops started to fall.

    A year had already passed since shest saw him awake.

    Apollyon was unconscious so she couldn''t talk to him like they used to.

    ''Was this the karma that she had to pay for leaving him in the same tower just like what she had done in the past?'' She sniffed, wiping her tear-stained cheeks with clenched fists.

    Luna had attempted to wake him but the Goddess of the Underworld had warned her not to do anything and let time run its course or else his sacrifice would be ruined.

    Now, she had no idea what sacrifice the Goddess was talking about and not even the people present during her childbirth knew about it.

    She could only specte that it was the number of days that he had to be asleep and miss his precious daughters'' growth.

    Luna refused to dwell on something moreplicated than that.

    When she sensed that her mate was awake and moving at the other side of this door, her nerves turned jittery that she had to shake her trembling hands to get rid of the panic bubbling in her throat.

    Hecate had also revealed recipes of anti-aphrodisiac potions written in blood on the nk pages of her grimoire to quell the Vampire King''s libido and she trickled the liquid on her husband''s parted lips every mid-afternoon and midnight without fail.

    Luna doubted that those things could turn her husband as celibate as a priest but she hoped that it could, at least, make him loyal to her as a mate.

    Give him enough self-control that he wouldn''t f*ck the first woman that caught his eye.

    Apollyon was already lustful before he even met her and she would be damned if she had to handle someone a thousand times worse than that.

    The situation was unpredictable that even she, had no idea what side of Apollyon will she meet.

    As long as he wouldn''t try to kill her and their children, she would tolerate whatever he had be.

    She took a deep breath in and out and herself together.

    Luna had survived being a single parent to mischievous twins while curbing her Archdemon Familiars'' desires to conquer this Realm in one year.

    ''You should be easy to handle, husband.'' Luna mused with a small smile.

    Luna knocked thrice.

    Without waiting for an answer, she opened the door and entered.

 Chapter 919 [Side Story] 2 [Amnesiac]

    ************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ************************

    After closing the door shut, Luna turned around to face Apollyon and leaned her back against it.

    She could tell that the hard steel surface rubbing against the thin fabric of her clothes was coated with Archdemon Magic.

    It didn''t belong to her, though.

    It appeared like her two Archdemon Familiars had kept their promise in taking turns to keep her husband here in this tower, imprisoning him for the meantime.

    The surge of familiar energy behind her back felt warm which meant that they had infused this entire tower with Archdemon Magic everyday without fail.

    Ravin and Sloth seemed convinced that her husband, Apollyon, would break free from those obsidian chains binding his wrists and start raping every women he felt like.

    It made her scowl underneath the cloth covering her face. Sloth had imed that the Archdemon of Lust would do as a daily sport.

    "There''s no way Apollyon would do that." She mumbled shakily, shaking her head.

    Honestly, The Vampire King might have done that before but he had already changed for the better.

    She bit her lip to suppress the anxiety rising to the surface.

    That was just a side that she used to know.

    The room was pitch-ck for a while after she entered but that had changed when the thick, bluish-grey clouds had moved aside to reveal the full moon.

    At that moment, faint moonbeams had passed through the window, providing the small chamber with some light. Everything in this room--especially the furniture''s arrangements--was exactly as she they had left it in the past except for a few additions.

    Emerald crystals---simr to the Emerald Room in the Autumn Pce where Luna had given birth---had taken over the walls within the room to weaken an Archdemon''s abilities to perform magic.

    Mining emeralds in the Autumn Courts was already forbidden.

    These crystals were on the verge of extinction ever since the Great War began. Ravin, Queen Morgan''s missing son, had made this happen for Luna.

    The Autumn Queen had spoiled him so much, fulfilling all the wishes he had in this Material Realm without question to make up for lost time.

    Ravin was too shameless not to take advantage of the Fae''s maternal love and she, in turn, had exploited her familiar''s high status in the Autumn Courts.

    Ravin still hated her husband''s guts but the Archdemon seemed more amicable without Apollyon''s presence.

    Luna had to conjure glow lights just to make sure she wasn''t seeing things.

    Sloth had horned owls with saucer-like eyes, watching over her husband tied up on the bed without making any sound.

    Yes, she could see their sharp talons clutching the wooden headboard perfectly but she needed more light in this room out of habit.

    These creepy statuesque creatures looked like dead animals preserved in a life-like state.

    Perhaps, these were the same creatures who reported to Sloth such long-awaited news that Apollyon had stirred a bit.

    Unfortunately, he wasn''t fully awakened.

    Yet.

    The hem of her yellow skirts swished against the cold marble as she took a few careful steps towards the bed.

    The glow light followed her all on its own, casting shadows on her husband''s exquisite side profile.

    Apollyon''s head was tilted as he faced the wall across her.<novelnext></novelnext>

    The chiseled square in his jaw and his straight nose became clearer.

    His eyes were still closed.

    His sensuous lips were slightly parted.

    The solid muscles on his upper arms and broad shoulders were all bunched up.

    He was shirtless.

    It made her swallow hard as she continued to imagine what his body looked like underneath the thick nket.

    Well, just in case she had forgotten it.

    It had been too long since thest time she was able to caress him leisurely without simply being methodical about letting him drink Hecate''s chaste potions as well as changing the bedsheets.

    Her paranoia wouldn''t let other women--especially maidservants-e up here even if she had to clean this ce herself.

    She had no problem being a ve for her own mate since she could also ask for her Familiars'' assistance anytime.

    ''I was lucky to be your mate, Vampire King. But I had no idea how you would act as an Archdemon.'' Luna thought as she observed him outside his grabbing distance despite his limbs being chained.

    Luna wanted to be as far away from the Archdemon of Lust just in case he would drag her to the bed and have her wicked way with her.

    That was possible.

    Of course, Luna still loved Apollyon but if he was going to act like Luxen---to which she was still skeptical---he might make her feel sick to the core.

    She didn''t want to be reminded by what that bastard had done in the past but toote she had already retched twice, her stomach twisting into knots from utter disgust.

    She swallowed again as her brows furrowed at the manacles.

    Luna wasn''t too sure that the sorcery in his entire tower was enough to subdue an Archdemon fledgling.

    What Sloth had told her earlier suddenly crossed her mind.

    "Not many people are still the same after a creature''s soul would transform into an Archdemon. Me, for example. I had no past memories unlike Lilith."

    Sloth shed her an innocent smile.

    He must have assumed that she hadn''t caught on his ns to piss her off now that her physical vessel was free of that monstrosity.

    "Right." She glowered at him, expressing hatred every time Lilith''s name was mentioned. "That bitch wouldn''t have been that obsessed with my husband if she didn''t remember him."

    Unfortunately, Luna was determined not to be touched unless Apollyon would learn how to control his urge around her.

    She had high hopes that he would still be the same.

    When his longshes started to flutter, Luna burned anti- aphrodisiac incenses and essential oils in a hurry to keep Apollyon''s mind calm and appease his inescapable sin.

    Thest thing she wanted to do was to incite a lustful Archdemon''s sexual desires.

    Luna saw the familiar Prussian shade of his pupils when he opened his eyes.

    She cleared her throat before greeting him. "You are awake, Apollyon."

    His response took forever and Luna waited with bated breath.

    "Who are you?"

 Chapter 920 [Side Story] 3 [Not A Servant]

    Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (July 2022)

    **********************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    **********************

    "Who are you?"

    The question rendered her speechless and made her take a step backward.

    She snickered and ced her hands on her hips in apprehension.

    Was this a jest?

    It was the first time she had ever seen him awake and that was the first question that spilled through his lips?

    There was a dangerous glint in his Prussian Blue eyes when Apollyon turned his head to look at her.

    His eyelids kept falling shut, still heavy from sleep.

    His sexy, slow blinks made her ufortable that she had to look away from him and twiddle her thumbs.

    Yet, Luna could still feel his gaze boring holes in her garments, slithering like snake scales on her skin and sending goosebumps down her spine.

    "I asked you, woman. Why don''t you answer my question? Can''t you speak?" He whispered dangerously soft.

    Apollyon might have smirked at her but his amusement never reached his stone-cold eyes.

    The color of his pupils had turned blood-red before narrowing into slits.

    Luna had convinced herself over and over that it shouldn''t affect her at all.

    Her husband had used this tone every time her actions peeved him so it shouldn''t be that big of a deal.

    There was nothing to fear.

    She could be petty sometimes but Apollyon always forgave her because they were mates.

    She didn''t answer and simply folded her arms over her chest.

    Apollyon followed the movement before his peculiar eyes searched her face.

    Could he tell that she felt so vulnerable in front of him?

    "If you truly recognize who I am, you know that I don''t like to repeat myself."

    His eyes were merciless, colder and emptier than she had ever seen.

    Her body trembled from the shock but she tried to steel her spine and stood up straight.

    Now, that she could finally have him wide awake, could she still keep her mate even if he had turned into this?

    A person without memories?

    At least, Apollyon hadn''t made her wait for a decade.

    If that did happen, she would assume that Apollyon was mad at her somehow and he was now taking his revenge.

    He might as well be simr to Satan who had ordered another Fallen Angel to torture her over and over---emotionally rather than the physically.

    Luna knew that their rtionship got back to square one but the realization was like a poisonous arrow straight to the heart.

    Yet, she wouldn''t break down in front of this stranger.

    "Where is the High Priest?"

    Her lips pressed into a tight line as she sighed.

    Luna couldn''t bring herself to answer this question, either.<novelnext></novelnext>

    It turned out that she wasn''t the only one that Apollyon had forgotten.

    He had also forgotten that Luxen''s president had yed with Fei''s corpse in front of him.

    "How can I---" His countenance looked like he was grasping for something that he had lost, "When did---I don''t remember anything. What happened yesterday?" Apollyon blinked fast as if he was trying to make sense of his foggy mind. "I can''t seem to piece everything together."

    How can her husband rule the Vampire Kingdom like this?''

    Luna raised her hands close to her chest and said gently. "Take it easy or you will hurt yourself from thinking. What is yourst memory about, Your Highness?"

    Apollyon''s gaze turned distant as he tried to recall. "I remember I was about to pick a concubine from the Blood Moon Banquet."

    She flinched at that.

    Oh my goddess!

    ''The Blood Moon Banquet?'' She massaged at her wrinkled brows in an attempt to soothe her racing mind. ''That memory happened a long time ago!''

    "Who are you? Did you get rid of my curse? Is that why I''m here with you?" He growled these usations as he scowled at her.

    Luna clutched at her stomach and retched.

    She felt like she was about to throw up.

    "Why can''t you---" She asked in a high-pitched voice but she couldn''t bring herself to continue. Shaking her head, she stared at the ground and said, "Nevermind. I...I should go." Luna wasn''t fit to deal with him when all she did was get upset. "I''ll be backter."

    "What had happened to me?" With gritted teeth, he began pulling his restraints to the opposite direction in his effort to break the chains rather than the manacles. "Release me this instant."

    If he kept this up, he would have torn his own arms from his shoulder sockets to set himself free.

    She nced at him in a panic. "I can''t."

    Luna doubted that Apollyon knew the effects of emerald crystals and obsidian chains on an Archdemon.

    Using Archdemon Magic or regenerating torn limbs was basically useless here.

    "Are you a servant?" He demanded harshly.

    Luna clenched her fists, suppressing the urge to throw furnitures over his head and help him remember her identity.

    Sh could feel a vein twitching under her left eye as she glowered at him.

    From the seeding questions she had heard from Apollyon, this was thest straw.

    Her husband, Apollyon, had messed up big time.

    Couldn''t he remember her at all?

    She had waited for her to wake up for almost a year and this was how he called her?

    A servant?

    As. if he had witnessed the outrage in her countenance, he backtracked and said in a low voice, "Tell me who you are, beauty."

    Her lips had curled before she let out an incredulousugh. "Beauty?"

    Even if he she missed that voice so much, Luna pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at her husband.

    Did he throw thispliment to manipte her, expecting her to throw herself at the Vampire king''s feet?

    Or was he simply flirting with her, a ''supposed stranger'', when he should have exerted all those efforts in remembering his forgotten wife?

    He must remember who she was.

    She wasn''t patient enough to give him infinite chances.

    Not when their daughters had grown in the recent months without experiencing the love and care of their absent father.

    "---or you could get out of this room and return here after you decided to stop ying hard-to-get."

 Chapter 921 [Side Story] 4 [The Devils Playground]

    Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (July 2022)

    ********************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ********************

    "---or you could get out of this room and return here after you decided to stop ying hard-to-get. But before all of that, why don''t you untie me?" Apollyon added as he became more manic, those Prussian blue orbs glowing into red and bleeding into ck then back to blue in a matter of seconds.

    Luna''s eyes widened in surprise the instant she saw it and her breath hitched.

    "No." She replied breathily, her heart pounding hard from the intense, hypnotic quality of his gaze. "You just have to get used to being tied up---"

    ''---Because I wouldn''t dare release a menace in this world.'' Luna finished in her thoughts.

    She wondered if the Vampire King could still read her thoughts through the mind link.

    From thatment alone, she guessed he didn''t.

    Apollyon snarled at her words.

    One of his arms shot out to reach for her, his long ws swiping at her clothes.

    He was demanding to be released.

    Fortunately, she was agile enough to jump away from that unexpected attack and retreated close to the exit.

    She fumbled around for the doorknob behind her as she kept her gaze on Apollyon and when she finally took a hold of it, she let her fingers rest and curl around the metal.

    If Apollyon threatened her again like a wild animal, she would be out the door before he could utter his next words.

    For a while, Apollyon kept reaching for her desperately and when he finally realized that he couldn''t move further than his chains allowed him to, he dropped his arms on his muscled thighs as he sat there, chained on the bed.

    More naked this time.

    His chest wasn''t covered anymore and his abdominal muscles looked like squared shapes chiseled to perfection.

    Luna''s gaze lowered to his ribs, trailing to the sharp wings of his iliac crest.

    The nkets barely covered his hard---

    The covers didn''t exist anymore for it had fallen to the floor as he struggled to free himself.

    She shouldn''t look at it or Apollyon''s lustful Archdemon nature might assume that she wanted to do it with him which might fuel his sexual desire even more.

    She cleared her throat loudly and jutted her chin at the golden-patterned sheets he had dropped and she had considered it a miracle that the Vampire King immediately understood what she meant.

    Luna covered her vision with her free hand for a moment to give the Vampire King some privacy.

    She heard a soft rustle of heavy fabric being lifted from the ground and when she unblocked her eyes again, the Vampire King had just leaned his back against the headboard after flumping the nket over his torso.

    Did the Vampire King just followed her request without knowing it was his mate?

    This can''t be!

    What if he would simply acquiesce to another woman''s request without thinking twice?<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Satisfied?"

    Apollyon raised an eyebrow as he scanned her from head to toe, his intense scrutiny hanging around her tender breasts and wide hips for a tad too long.

    Blushing hard, Luna paused and brought her gaze upwards to nce around the thin smokeing from the anti-aphrodisiac incense permeating the atmosphere.

    Oh no.

    It was sad that the anti-aphrodisiac potions and incenses had little effect on the new Archdemon of Lust.

    He looked away from her and muttered. "You act like this is the first time you have seen someone naked."

    "Not at all." Luna stared at the tiny emerald crystals on the wall as she shuffled from foot to foot. "I just don''t like it."

    She wasn''t telling the truth.

    Luna had felt the exact opposite but she didn''t want to admit it.

    "Mm-mm." The tone of his short hum sounded simr to ''whatever''.

    As the tension in his muscles rxed, Apollyon continued watched her the way a predator would wait for his prey to make a mistake.

    It appeared like he had no intention of giving up at all and neither did she.

    She wouldn''t dare move closer.

    She was more determined to stay in her ce and talk to her husband to get more information.

    His hand rubbed at his chin in deep contemtion as he peered at her beneath hisshes.

    Then, Apollyon began. "I think it isn''t fair that I''m the only one naked here while my limbs are chained to this bed without any logical exnation. You." He pointed an using finger at her, the chains attached to his wrists nking against each other. "Do you know who I am?"

    "You are the Vampire King, Your Highness." She replied sarcastically and even lowered her head in a bow.

    "I see that you aren''t that hopeless." He spread his legs and folded one. There was a dangerous glint in his eye as he gestured at her clothes. "Take your clothes off right now."

    "What?"

    "I will let your insolence slide if you take your clothes off." He shed her a knowing grin. Apollyon might as well be dressed up in his royal garments as he sat on his golden throne from that sheer arrogance he was exuding. "I know what you are doing, My Lady. You might have done the exact opposite of what I want. Believe me it''s working. I can''t make out your shape underneath those nkets but I can''t wait to unwrap you like a present."

    Luna grimaced.

    Apollyon''s animalistic desire might have increased his primal need for procreation.

    Lust.

    The Vampire King just told her a bald-faced lie to get her to raise her skirts.

    "You''re crazy. Perverted. Forget everything you had in my mind because I wouldn''t let you."

    "You''re the crazy one. I don''t provide my harem simr to the one you are wearing. If a woman came to see me, she would either wear something sheer to please me."

    "I''m not your woman." Luna replied with gritted teeth, her fingers twitching from the urge to choke Apollyon''s throat.

 Chapter 922 [Side Story] 5 [Flirt With Me]

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (July 2022)

    ***************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    **************************

    "I''m not your woman." Luna replied with gritted teeth, her fingers twitching from the urge to choke Apollyon''s throat.

    She never expected that her mate would insult her like this the way the previous Vampire King would.

    That particr bastard had no respect for women.

    "I know that you don''t want me to see your face, either. Did youe here to kill me? Are you an assassin?"

    Now, he thought she was an assassin just because she was all covered up?

    She shook her head. "No."

    ''--but if you don''t keep your mouth shut at the right time, Apollyon, I probably would.'' She thought.

    "I''ll let this slide as well. Perhaps, you aren''t that confident with how you look." He tilted his head and studied slitted eyes. "Of course, any woman would feel insecure in the presence of someone as great as me."

    Luna was too stunned to speak.

    "Did you just imply that... I''m ugly, Your Highness?"

    This bastard.

    How dare he call his own mate ugly?

    He wouldn''t have nted his seed inside her if he thought her unbearable.

    Luna rubbed a hand across her face and exhaled a heavy sigh.

    "How frustrating." She muttered.

    She would make sure he would pay for these statements once he recognized her as his mate.

    "I should go."

    "Don''t. If you had no intention ofing closer, I might as well flirt with you some more."

    Her beloved had proved himself to be witty, flirtatious and romantic but he had also showed how he can also be short-tempered and impetuous.

    She knew that the Vampire King just told her a bald-faced lie to get her to raise her skirts.

    Yet, she still wouldn''t give up on him because she knew deep in her heart that he could still be healed.

    "If you''re flirting, you''re doing it so horribly, Your Highness. You have done nothing but insult me since I entered the room."

    "I wanted you to respond and I knew damn well that I have seeded. Talk to me and answer my questions or else..." Prussian blue eyes met hers, glowing brightly. "I will feel insulted."<novelnext></novelnext>

    Luna''s gaze fell on his palm rubbing against the nket over his muscled thigh in a heroic effort to soothe himself somehow and keep his hands to himself.

    Everything must have appeared like a shock to him because he had no idea what was going on or it could also be that he was already feeling the effects of animalistic burning inside of him, increasing his primal need for procreation.

    She had no idea if her husband was aware of this but ever since she entered his vicinity, he couldn''t seem to stop sizing her up.

    Luna''s scowl never left his handsome face as she walked towards the nearby table to pull a chair.

    She twisted its back rest roughly before she plopped her ass on the seat, crossed her legs and folded her arms over her chest.

    She was showing him that he had his full attention this time.

    "Who are you, really? You don''t respect your King''s order. And you''re not acting submissive for a servant. i''m not familiar with all the women from my Consortium. Are you a concubine that Cederic had picked that I had knowledge of?" His Adam''s apple bobbed up and down his throat as he scanned her again from head to toe. "You should know that the love I can give to my concubines are infinite."

    "You might not be aware of it yet but there is no domestic tranquility between me and your concubines." She replied in a low voice.

    Luna forgot that the Vampire King used to abuse his power on unsuspecting women.

    She couldn''t believe that she would encounter who he used to be in the past in this present moment.

    Her words must have cut through the core because it had perfectly reflected in his expression for a few seconds before it turned back into that inscrutable mask he always wore in front of an enemy.

    "I changed my mind, then. I would never make a woman like you my concubine if you couldn''t even follow the absolute rules I have set for them."

    Where did Apollyon get the audacity to speak to his wife like this?

    Did he really have no idea who she was right now and the children that Luna just gave birth to?

    Before she knew it, Luna got up from her chair, stomped her feet towards his bedside and pped him in the face.

    The quick and sharp sound was simr to the cracking of a whip.

    "Is this how you are going to act the instant you wake up, Apollyon? Have you no consideration of what I might possibly feel for the past several months where I don''t know what''s wrong with you?" Her chest had risen and fallen as she sucked in more air to breathe and her outrage had surged even more. "What had been done to you in the Underworld? Did a divine being steal all your memories of me? You should be the one answering my questions after sleeping in this tower for a year!"

    Sparks of lightning seemed to crackle as they watched each other, wide-eyed.

    Both of them were taken aback.

    "How dare you p a Vampire King, woman?" His voice had deepened in anger as he covered her stinging handprints on his cheekbone.

    Luna had paused to process everything that happened and she could hardly believe what she had just done: pping her own husband, who was also a powerful Archdemon fledgling, in the face.

    She couldn''t believe that she would lose control of herself in argument with Apollyon that she might as well have injured herself from the guilt and shame.

    Yes, it was impulsive to p him so hard and it was even more stupid of her to think that it would wake him up and send him back to the present where he truly belonged.

    Why else couldn''t he remember her, then?

    Luna suddenly heard rattling of chains before it shattered into pieces.

 Chapter 923 [Side Story] 6 [Not A Concubine, Either]

    Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (July 2022)

    ****************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ****************************

    Luna suddenly heard rattling of chains before it shattered into pieces.

    She watched, horrified, as the tiny metals sizzled after they struck against the emerald walls, producing smoke that smelled slightly like rotten eggs.

    The Vampire King had broken the manacles attached to his left hand while his other hand clutched her wrist so hard that if she wasn''t an Archdemon, he could have easily snapped it like a twig.

    The arm that he held trembled in fear as she stared into Apollyon''s blood-red eyes.

    Luna''s silver eyebrows shot up in surprise as she tried to recoil from him.

    Touching him had caused electricity to jolt through her and she knew she wasn''t the only one who felt it.

    It had been a long time since she had to calm him down whenever he became too wild.

    He wasn''t the man she used to know in the past.

    "You! You aren''t getting out of here not until I see your face."He growled as he concentrated on her. "You want me to know who you are but how can you expect me to recognize you when I don''t know how you look like?"

    "My voice should be enough for you to recognize me." She replied weakly. Luna was starting to lose strength simply by interacting with Apollyon. "Please release me."

    He tested the restraints against his remaining arm and legs but it didn''t budge.

    Apollyon gathered his strength and did it again but nothing happened.

    He winced in disappointment.

    "Why can''t I destroy the rest?'' He cursed under his breath. Apollyon had shoot daggers with his eyes and Luna had willingly epted them. "I can''t let you go but I promise I wouldn''t hurt you. I''ll set you free if you set me free."

    Luna shook her head in regret. "I can''t."

    "Then, stay with me until someone else finds us here."

    "Please don''t force me like this, Apollyon." She pleaded in a whisper.

    When his free arm circled her hips, Luna''s arms iled in the air as Apollyon lifted her body swiftly.

    She ended up straddling his waist as heid in bed, her thin legs tangling against his long muscr ones.

    Panicked, Luna scrambled to move away from him but Apollyon pulled her even closer that her breasts were resting against his chest.

    His bulky biceps kept her imprisoned in his constricting embrace that all she could do was hold unto his shoulders.

    He hadn''t even recognized who she was but he had dared to take liberties with a supposed stranger when he already a wife.

    Yes, she was the wife he couldn''t remember but the Vampire King had really pushed this too far.

    Apollyon''s warm lips grazed against the shell of her ear. "I feel.... there is something about you. Your scent. The sound of your voice tugs at my heartstrings."

    Silence---thefortable kind---stretched in the atmosphere.

    Apollyon''s pale skin underneath her fingertips felt warmer than normal.

    As she inhaled his wonderful masculine scent, her breathing turned shallow from its drugging effect.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Luna made the mistake of resting her ass against the ridge of his hard cock underneath the nkets because she was tired of holding herself up.

    However, she tried her best to stay put, suppressing the urge to tease him by rubbing her quim against his prick.

    "What kind of link do we have between us?" Apollyon''s suspicious gaze had turned colder yet the handzily tracing the curve of her spine was warm.

    Upward.

    Downward.

    Upward.

    Before his sensual caresses drove her nuts, Luna tried to grasp their mind link to see if she could but it snapped every time she did.

    That was another wild guess from Apollyon.

    The fact that she wasn''t able to connect with him through it meant that he had no idea what he was talking about.

    She tilted her head and chuckled.

    "You don''t really know who I am." She said hoarsely as her long fingernails gently scratched one of his exposed nipple. "You are just pressing for more information."

    His sculpted cheekbones had darkened and it made her wonder if it was from arousal or it was because he was still flustered from the p earlier.

    Luna wasn''t going to tell him who she was until he realized that himself.

    "Stop the charade and tell me who you are, My Lady."

    His gaze was full of heat this time.

    She knew it wouldn''t make a difference but she tried, anyways.

    "You should know that I''m someone special."

    "Well, I don''t remember you."

    He was frustrated even as he said it.

    Still, she wasn''t prepared to hear that blunt response.

    "We had children together. I had given birth to them on the day I had lost you. I couldn''t find your soul anywhere. I tried every solution I coulde across to wake you up." She insisted as she swept his dark hair from his wide forehead. The dark strands felt thick and silky between the space of her fingers. "I didn''t think that anything I did so far could bring your missing memories back."

    "I--"

    "I''m sorry for being such a useless mate."

    Luna''s hand on his hair slid to the cheek where she had pped him earlier.

    She caressed it tenderly before resting her hand back to his chest.

    She looked away from him, her tears glistening like pearls at the corner of her lids.

    Anger rolled off him like waves as if her presence in this chamber had caused a huge disturbance.

    "Don''t cry." Apollyon murmured as he lifted her chin with his finger, urging her to look at him again. "I don''t want to see you cry."

    Apollyon gently pressed his hand against the cloth covering the lower half of her face to dry the tears running down her cheeks.

    "I apologize but I can''t seem to believe all the things you said just now. There is no way I would find my mate without my knowledge. As far as I remember, I am not interested in picking an Empress from my collection of concubines."

 Chapter 924 [Side Story] 7 [Put Him To Sleep]

    Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (July 2022)

    *********************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *********************

    "I apologize but I can''t seem to believe all the things you said just now. There is no way I would find my mate without my knowledge." Apollyon''s brows furrowed in confusion. "As far as I remember, I am not interested in picking an Empress from my collection of concubines."

    She blinked rapidly in disbelief.

    "Would you believe me more if I told you that I''m your Empress as well?"

    Apollyon studied her expressions closely and her face tensed up. "No Empress will keep a Vampire King chained to the bed and treat him like a rogue while she talks to him from a distance, all covered from head to toe. I couldn''t even make out your shape underneath those nkets---"

    She leaned forward and Apollyon''s intense stare fell the space connecting her neck and shoulders.

    His tongue darted out to lick his lips before he brought his gaze back to her eyes.

    Luna lifted herself better so she could stare him down.

    "You seem to savor every moment, holding me like this, Apollyon. You make me want to change my mind." Luna pushed against his chest so that she could get up and untangle himself from his embrace. "I don''t want to be recognized by you anymore."

    Apollyon''s sharp fangs began to grow as his hand on her hips tightened.

    Did he want to feed on her now?

    Was he even aware that he didn''t need to feed anymore since he had turned into an Archdemon?

    He allowed his anger to build until his fury showed in his searching gaze.

    You''re the only woman who dared to disrespect me. I''m not done talking to you."

    Was that another implied threat?

    The corner of her lips curved upward in amusement.

    "After a couple of close calls since we had been together, I guess you have finally lost your mind. Apollyon."

    Without warning, Luna punched her errant husband in the chest.

    Apollyon let out a short gasp before he clutched at where her surprise attacknded, coughing through the pain.

    She was sorry to hear that his loud groan sounded like she had sted a hole in his heart when she didn''t even use half of her strength.

    Maybe, he was weak because he just woke up from his nap.

    Nevertheless, hurting her husband had given her a chance to get off him and hurriedly run towards the exit.

    Before Apollyon could get to her and inflict some sort of revenge, she heard the sound of footsteps approaching and the door suddenly opened.

    She yelped when someone swiftly snatched her out of there.

    When she nced up, she realized it was Sloth who whisked her away from her forgetful husband''s wrath.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Luna''s back immediately pushed the wooden surface hard to close the door shut.

    Breathing hard, she fixed the yellow cloth covering her face and hair to keep it in ce.

    "I told you not to get in hisir if you don''t want to get raped out of the blue." Sloth said calmly as he stood there, watching her fidget and pace around outside their own Emerald Room.

    She paused in the middle of her pacing just so she could correct him. "Raped? An exaggeration."

    "Not at all. If your husband is the Archdemon of Lust." Sloth gave her a nonchnt shrug which caused her to re at him, arms crossed. "They say patience and presence of mind is needed to tame the lion." He nced down at her with hands on his hips. "You must have done something wrong."

    Luna shook her head and exhaled a heavy sigh.

    "He doesn''t seem to remember me, Sloth." She whispered.

    "Shouldn''t you be happy?"

    "Should I show him my face?" Luna asked back.

    He raked his gaze up and down her body simr to the way Apollyon had sized her up earlier.

    However, Sloth''s was less intimidating.

    This sleepyhead was harmless.

    "I say... no. It''s too dangerous. By the way, Leo is calling for you. The child says I''m ugly. I''m positive that she is Apollyon''s child."

    Luna knew that Sloth was the master of changing the subject so she couldn''t help but watch him warily.

    Upon reading her expression, Sloth seemed encouraged to continue. "I burned that cute little brat in Hellfire to examine whether she had Archdemon blood or not."

    Luna sucked in a breath from the shock as if she was the one who had been punched in the chest.

    She grabbed him by the cor with both of her hands and brought his face closer.

    "Have you gone insane, Sloth?" Pain squeezed her heart. "Don''t ever do something like that!"

    "Or what? You are threatening to send me to the Ninth Circles? You hadn''t even allowed me to exin." The emerald-eyed Archdemon ced both his hands on her shoulders as if that would prevent her from lunging and biting him out of anger. " I doubted she had Archdemon blood like Celestria but I found out she was also impervious to Hellfire."

    "Do you have to find it out using this method? The twins aren''t exotic animals that existed to amuse you, you bastard!" Luna pped his upper arm multiple times out of frustration. "You should have asked for my permission if you are going to do something like this."

    "I''ll say yes if it makes you feel better." He said as he waved a hand in dismissal.

    "Promise me."

    "Why would I? Are you doubting my loyalty? I have taken care of these brats for a year as if I was their sire." He whined. "You already know that I would do anything for the sake of their wellbeing."

    Promise me as my familiar, Archdemon of Sloth."

    He looked heavenwards in a hopeless gesture before his gaze returned to her.

    "Fine. You always cheat by using my name to order me around. " Sloth clicked his tongue slowly as he regarded her in malicious delight. "Anyway, I think I noticed a small, pinkish handprint on Apollyon''s cheekbone and a fadingrge bruise on his chest when he was about to hunt you down. It surprised me that those didn''t put him to sleep until the next decade."

 Chapter 925 [Side Story] 8 [Who Had More Experience]

    Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (July 2022)

    *************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ************************

    "Anyway, I think I noticed a small, pinkish handprint on Apollyon''s cheekbone and a fadingrge bruise on his chest when he was about to hunt you down. It surprised me that those didn''t put him to sleep until the next decade."

    When he noticed that Luna didn''tugh with him, Sloth stopped and masked his features into a nk.

    She glowered at him.

    "You--"

    She raised her arm as if she was about to smack him as well but he got a hold of her hand and twirled her into a dance instead.

    Luna''s mouth formed into a small ''o'' as Sloth spun her in ce once before releasing her with a smile.

    "You should look after yourself, Lune. You can''t go around pping men''s handsome faces and expect them not to retaliate." He teased as his fingers clutched her hand again, hauling her out of that narrow passage.

    Her brows had furrowed in protest at his statement but she still allowed him to tug her along as if she was a dog in his leash.

    Luna couldn''t say this out loud but she expected these men to retaliate, of course.

    She wouldn''t hesitate to teach them a lesson if they provoked her without any valid reason.

    Anyhow, was it toote for her to say that she cared about Apollyon when Sloth suddenly brought it up?

    She hadn''t pped and punched him too hard, didn''t she?

    Could he take the pain despite the---

    Oh right.

    The emerald crystals had also prevented him from using his power which included healing those injuries in a snap of finger.

    If the Vampire King saw her again without her making amends over this incident, he was going to cut her head off like thest Empress he had a long time ago.

    "I should go back." She said her thought out loud.

    "Are you sure?" He tilted his head. "If you really want to, I wouldn''t stop you if you go the second time."

    Luna changed her mind as quickly, muttering, "I better not."

    ording to her judgement, Apollyon wasn''t acting like a lustful Archdemon would.

    He didn''t try to kiss her or grind against her.

    It felt like her husband just wanted her close enough but he didn''t appear to be satisfied with talking though.

    But who knew their earlier physical contact would escte into something more... sinister?

    ? Luna didn''t want that to happen.

    She will just be confirming Ravin and Sloth''s assumptions that her husband had seduced her into having sexual congress with him to feed off her lust and make himself strong enough to escape the tower.

    As she matched Sloth''s pace, Luna looked over her shoulder to see if Apollyon wille bursting out the door and chase after her so that he could catch her, carry her over one shoulder and keep her in his bed.

    Fortunately, there was no sign of her Archdemon husband escaping his perfect prison.

    It was funny how she had imagined this ridiculous scenario earlier where she had tripped forward by herself as she ran away from him.

    Her face was already nted on the floor by the time Apollyon broke the remaining manacle on his wrist.

    The lustful Archdemon inside him would seize that chance to grab one slender ankle of hers and yank her backwards the way a sex-deprived criminal would.

    She would do whatever it took to sink her sharp ws on the marble floor as she screamed like a banshee throughout the night.

    Then, a crackle of lightning will be heard from a distance as the Vampire King punished her explicitly however he saw fit.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Shaking her head vigorously from side to side, Luna''s free hand pped her cheek to wake her up from the nightmare.

    "Why are you stalling, Lune?" Sloth checked up on her when she suddenly stopped walking.

    It broke her out of her reverie and she had never been more grateful for the timing of his interruption.

    Her imagination was running wild.

    Too wild.

    "Don''t worry the emerald crystals will keep him there. He wouldn''t be able to bother you unless you choose to enter his room again." Sloth said between breaths as both of them began to walk faster.

    It was unfortunate that they couldn''t use teleportation here to get to their desired destination because it had no effect.

    The Archdemon magic spell that Ravin and Sloth had religiously implemented everyday in the tower''s upper level would feed from the energy that the spell caster had used and provide the tower with more strength, nullifying all kinds of demonic sorcery to keep their prisoners and most prized possessions locked in.

    Obviously, this magic wouldn'' t work if a divine being from the Heavenly Realms would attempt a jailbreak.

    When they reached the uppernding, the careless bastard lost his bnce and almost sent both of them rolling down like a pair of tumbleweeds in the desert if they weren''t holding each other''s hand.

    She had a traumatic experience with staircases because of Apollyon''s mother and she had no intention to relive that awful memory again.

    It was a good thing that she was quick enough to pull Sloth back to thending and he ended up stepping on her toe.

    It didn''t hurt but whether it was idental or not, it put her in a bad mood.

    "Slow down, will you?" She squeezed his hand back until she could hear his bones crack, urging to let her go.

    It was an honest plead to exclude her from unnecessary mishaps.

    However, Sloth was stubborn and didn''t let go of her hand no matter how many times she pulled at her wrist.

    He was that determined to include her in another clumsy ident.

    "How did you get here, anyway?" Luna asked him as they started climbing down the circr staircase. "You shouldn''t have left Leonora and Celestria at their crib."

    "Rere is there to guard them. I have already put them to sleep."

    If one of her Fae attendants told her that, she wouldn''t bat an eysh.

    The statement sounded ominous if it came from Sloth himself.

    He hummed a creepy melody along with their echoing footsteps bouncing off the walls.

    "Did you use the sleeping incense again?"

    "Hm."

    She glowered at his back.

    What was that supposed to mean?

    "I told you not to use them with the babes, didn''t I? Have you forgotten the time when they were asleep for five days straight?" Her voice pitch raised even higher out of concern for her children. "I thought Satan had taken them because you burned too much incense."

    "I burned some lc and sandalwood oils in the nursery room like you told me---"

    "Then, you should have said so!" She cut him off.

    Luna cried out her relief instead of throwing a fit.

    "You didn''t even let me finish what I was about to say."

    "Never mind."

    He almost gave her a heart attack.

    "Not my fault but I''m d you have recovered." Sloth said with sarcasm. "Just trust me on the children, will you? I have more experience of taking care of babies more than you."

    "Baby monsters from Hell, you mean?"

 Chapter 926 [Side Story] 9 [Out Of Affection]

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (July 2022)

    **************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    **************************

    The nursery room was close to her and Apollyon''s marriage suite, making the nightly feeding more convenient.

    There were times when she slept on the nursery room ''s chaise lounge so she could watch over her babies better.

    Once Luna and Sloth arrived at the nursery room, she immediately checked up on her daughter''s cribs.

    She made a beeline towards Leonora first before going to Celestria.

    Leo''s tiny arms were raised over her head as sheid her back on the cushions.

    She stroked the thin silver hairs on her forehead gently before sliding her pinky into her open hand.

    Sloth and Luna watched her little fingers curl around it as she slept on.

    Her sleeping princesses lookedfortable in their carriage - inspired magical crib.

    However, some of their toys were scattered all over the floor when they should have been ced inside their chest trunk.

    She was about to tell Sloth about the eyesore but the instant she nced at him, he had already lifted them off the ground with magic and cleaned it up the mess without her saying anything.

    When he was done, he noticed her looking at him and raised a curious eyebrow.

    As they stared at each other for a few seconds, she wondered if the Archdemon could pick up her thoughts.

    She looked away to watch her babies and murmured, " You did a great job tucking them in."

    "The nanny and the nursemaids Queen Morgan had sent to assist you did most of the dirty jobs. But I would dly take the credit if you want." Sloth replied cheekily as his fingers sped the crib''s barrier.

    He was right though.

    The Fae nursemaids tidied and maintained the nursery room well.

    They did theundry, light the firece tobat the coldness of the Vampire Kingdom, and carried hot water to bathe the babes.

    Like Sloth had said, Rere had stayed at the walk-on balcony most of the time to keep an eye out on winged intruders-- Fairfolk, Archangels and Archdemons alike-- who wished to capture her babies for some fucked-up reason.

    She couldn''t careless if she came across as a paranoid mother as long as Leonora and Celestria are safe.<novelnext></novelnext>

    When she visited Celestria, tiny toes peeked from Celestria''s nkets and Luna lowered it to protect her feet from insects.

    She couldn''t deny that she was more emotionally attached to Apollyon''s daughter.

    But she made a promise to herself that she would take care of her Luxen''s daughter equally even she found it difficult.

    She can''t fully forget the past but she c an certainly choose to ignore it.

    Her Archdemon Familiars had mocked her for this, thinking she had done this out of pity to atone for her past sins.

    Theyughed at its irony, saying that it was something no Archdemons would do.

    Ravin even added that there was no need to pretend to be kind---that if she wanted to kill the Celestria out of contempt for Luxen, they wouldn''t mind.

    They would turn a blind eye on it because they couldn''t really me her for it.

    "Think of it as revenge for whatever pain he brought you, Amare." Luna could hear Ravin whisper in her ear as he stood close behind her like a devil on her shoulder. "If the time shoulde when Luxen was able to regain his strength at the Ninth Circles of Hell , gain sentience and climb through the demon ranks again, he will be d to know that his spawn had lived."

    "He will do whatever it takes to snatch Celestria away and ruin you again." Sloth added for good measure.

    Fed up, Luna turned around to face them, her voice wavering when she said, "What kind of Archdemon Familiars are you if you can''t even protect me and the children?"

    Ravin threw his head back and let out an incredulousugh.

    "Protecting? That''s what Archangels do, Amare. How about you call those creatures for help? Especially, that one who''s obsessed with Leo." He smirked. "I heard from your birthing attendants that he and his choir helped you give birth safely."

    She frowned at him, finding his suggestion ridiculous. "No Archdemons are capable of summoning Archangels, Ravin."

    "I bet Leo could once she started learning how to speak. That Archangel Azrael did promised to fetch her when she reached adulthood." Sloth made weird gestures with his hands as if his fingers were tickling the air. "Creepy."

    "As if you are one to talk." Luna scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Please, Sloth. Don''t mention those divine beings anymore." Or they might get in trouble with them. "I don''t know if they hear us every time their names were mentioned. One thing I''m sure of is that if they wanted to be here, they will be here. I don''t want him to take Leo away from me so both of you must do whatever you can for my child."

    "We are only supposed to protect you."Ravin tugged at his cor in annoyance. "Do you not care of our reputation as Archdemon Princes? Why do you have to make us do these unnecessary errands for people other than you?" Scowling, he jabbed a finger at her with every word. "It''s bad enough that we already made an exception for your husband. As your mate, I couldn''t stand seeing you suffer."

    She watched him calmly and rasped. "Toote. You are part of this family now. The least you could do is shield us from harm."

    Upon hearing the word ''family'', their eyebrows shot up in surprise.

    They hadn''t expected Luna to consider them as family, thinking this was strictly a master-servant rtionship.

    "No family would dare order an Archdemon Prince around like you do. You should be d that I got used to it by now."

    Luna opened her mouth to speak but Ravin interrupted her, "I''m not doing these things because I have no choice as an Archdemon Familiar. I''m doing all of this for you. Out of affection. Remember that."

 Chapter 927 [Side Story] 10 [Family]

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (July 2022)

    **************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    **************************

    "I''m not doing these things because I have no choice as an Archdemon Familiar. I''m doing all of this for you. Out of affection. Remember that." Ravin''s steady gaze softened as he looked deep into her eyes. Luna didn''t dare look away. Not when he was being sincere. This fleeting moment would only happen once in a blue moon."Think of my service to you as gratitude, Amare. Upholding our soul binding contract had led me to meet my real mother. Because of you, I have separated the lies from the truth of my origin."

    He didn''t seem angry at her now for using him as a Familiar however she pleased and it made her feel a bit guilty.

    Ravin closed his eyes, took a deep, pained breath and opened them again.

    "Even if I wasn''t able to fully win your heart because you had sent me to Hell, my loyalty belonged to you whether I am your Archdemon Familiar or not." He reached for her hand and caressed it tenderly."I didn''t regret everything that happened. In my eyes, you are still my mate even if you already belonged to another man."

    "Then, you can give all of your affection for my children and leave nothing for me and my husband." She urged.

    "Yes. I promise to protect them." Ravin released her hand so he could drift his fingers through the strands of her hair. " I''m d to be considered as part of your family."

    Luna noticed that a thin red bangle had materialized on each of Celestria and Leonora''s left hand while they slept peacefully on their cribs the instant Ravin uttered that promise.

    Sloth suddenly cleared his throat which made her shift her attention towards him.

    "I a-apologize t-that I h-hadn''t prepared such t-touching w-words for Lune l-like my brother d-did." Sloth was flustered, blushing hard in chagrin. "Ipromisetostartathousandlovelettersaboutmyappreciationforyoutomorrow. We are family, right?"

    Finding his words iprehensible, Luna shook her head in confusion. "You don''t have to."

    "Oh, but, I will." Sloth promised as he wore a mischievous grin."I would disown you from our family if you stop me."

    "Fine. Do what you want."

    ***

    That was the end of the the three''s recent conversation about Leonora and Celestria in the Nursery Room.

    She was rather confused whether she should be irritated or apologetic by that discussion regarding Celestria since it had started stupid and ended up being wholesome.

    Did those bastards think she had what it takes to act ''kind'' instead of being ''kind'' or were they just being extreme as usual?

    Most of their words should fall unto deaf ears from how absurd they sounded.

    Well, it wasn''t like she was crazy enough to follow such a heartless advice.

    Looking at Celestria and being reminded of what Luxen had done to her in Helll.. it didn''t seem to hurt that much.

    The child wasn''t at fault.

    It was her father''s choice to shape shift into Apollyon and it was Lina''s own error to believe it was her husband.

    The best thing to do was take responsibility because that was what adults do.

    As she looked at her twins, she suddenly had the urge to cuddle them in her arms.

    But since they were sleeping, she realized it was best not to disturb them.<novelnext></novelnext>

    She couldn''t stand seeing them cry their hearts out.

    In fact, she never had affinity for children in general after living as a maiden for a long time.

    Her utter dislike would probably remain for other women''s children except for her own.

    She adored her twins so much that she would die for them.

    Was this true love or was this just what nature had referred to as the maternal instinct?

    Luna didn''t hire wet nurses and breastfed the the twins herself.

    That was the least she could do when she was stripped off her other responsibilities except for taking care of the babes who had different time clocks than her.

    It was her first shot at motherhood and she was already overwhelmed by her twins'' dependence.

    The babies usually wake up approximately around three hours to be fed, changed, andforted.

    Her husband''s presence and emotional support would be very much appreciated in this hard time.

    Apollyon need not share the burden because her Archdemon Familiars could do that for her.

    The only thing he had to do for her was to remember who she was and if her husband could aplish that feat, she would finally get her appetite back.

    She rarely feel hungry due to stress and that was why she didn''t drink any blood from her mate.

    It was clear that Apollyon''s inevitable condition hadpletely messed up her recent mood throughout the year.

    She often feel gloomy and tired.

    Her patience had worn thin, as well.

    Luna lowered her head and sighed her exhaustion away.

    Perhaps, she was asking for the moon and the stars.

    Yet every time Leonora or Celestria bestow her a sweet smile, she felt bursts of strength in her system that could power her through centuries.

    Luna walked towards a seating area and Sloth followed her there.

    The wall tapestries andyers of curtains had fruity patterns of tangerines and grapes in them which made them look even more sophisticated.

    They were surrounded by round tables and porcin dolls seated on their little chairs, ready and waiting for future teatimes and role ying games under purple chandeliers.

    Sloth initially wanted to summon spirits from the Seventh Circle and put them inside the dolls so that Celestria and Leonora could have some harmless demon servants to talk to and y with but Luna refused the crazy idea and threatened to make the Archdemon dance all day for a week by using his true name.

    She was relieved that it was scary enough to make him give up that n altogether.

    "Where is Ravin?" Luna asked Sloth.

    "upied with doing your sleeping husband''s duties to this Kingdom."

 Chapter 928 [Side Story] 11 [Experiment]

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (July 2022)

    ********************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ********************

    upied with doing your sleeping husband''s duties to this Kingdom."

    "And, how many Demonic Legion had he summoned to rebuild the fortress?"

    Luna pulled the light yellow silk covering her nose and mouth and dropped them on the golden-patterned cushions before taking a seat.

    The carved chaise lounge was long and spacious enough for two people to lie down next to each other so it confused her why Sloth had to sit right beside her, angling his body to look at her face-to-face.

    She had gotten used to Sloth''s strange habit of wanting to be near her every time they had a conversation but that didn''t mean she didn''t feel a little awkward about it.

    What would her husband think if he saw them?

    Pain and loneliness seemed to break her heart into two.

    Well, she guessed he probably wouldn''t care because he couldn''t recognize her at all.

    Luna noticed a subtle shift in Sloth''s demeanor when he replied, "Only one Legion with a thousand lower-ranked demons like you requested. They were simply immortal ves that wouldn''t shy from hard work like living creatures do."

    Luna arched an eyebrow at that.

    Sloth shed her a cold smile and continued, "Perhaps, some of these demons were vampires who had perished in this Kingdom after Luxenpletely wiped them with Hellfirest year."

    Fisting her skirts, she sat up straighter and summoned the courage to dere that Ravin must cut the number of demons down to five hundred.

    "I don''t want Ravin to have dreams of dominating this Realm and instilling paranoia to the neighbors." She added further.

    "If they are afraid, it''s their fault. Let them handle it." Sloth replied nonchntly. "It wasn''t like we have harmed the surrounding Realms." He avoided her gaze and muttered. "Well, not yet---"

    "--Because we are not nning to. Our mere presence terrorizes them." Pissed off, Luna peeled the veil covering her silver hair and dropped that on the chaise lounge as well. "Because of Luxen''s carelessness, I wouldn''t be surprised if they just attacked us out of the blue, thinking that we are the one at fault . I could feel that they wanted to get rid of us."

    "Let''s not talk about that anymore."Sloth waved his hand in dismissal. "You know what is interesting?" He met her gaze eagerly, bringing his face closer to whisper in her ear. "Cederic is helping him for the meantime, kidnapping women."

    She suppressed the strong urge to scream or else she would wake up the twins.

    Of all ces, why did Sloth even think it was alright to disturb her mind in the her children''s nursery room?

    "Kidnapping women?" Luna whispered back with clenched teeth.

    "Ravin wanted to have a Consortium again." He shrugged. "He said he missed having them."

    What?

    "Anyway, you and the Vampire King can''t call yourselves as rulers, if you don''t have any subjects to lead. The Vampire Race had gone extinct because of what Luxen had done. You and Apollyon aren''t even vampires anymore. If you don''t want the rest of the Kingdoms to feel threatened, we had to have vampires in this Kingdom. A lot of them."

    "And how are we going to achieve that?"

    "Good thing that you asked, Empress." Sloth snapped his fingers for good measure as if he was ready to share his brightest idea." You see? Ravin and Cederic had originally nned to bring back the vampire refugees that had escaped from the Vampire Kingdom due to the devastation Luxen had caused---"

    "---that is if they still managed to survive--"

    "The Vampire King had sessfully turned you into a vampire because of his pureblood, am I right?" Sloth interrupted her. " If we don''t have enough female vampires to breed with the males, Cederic can turn the women we captured from other races into vampires."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "And then what? You''ll breed these newly turned female vampires with the males to keep the vampire bloodline strong and pure pure?"

    The frown lines marring her forehead seemed to deepen with every word Sloth had uttered.

    "No. Once these women undergoes transformation, will set them free and make them run amok."

    "Run amok? " Luna held the bastard''s gaze intensely to make sure he wasn''t being sarcastic. "Are you talking about rogue vampires with bloodlust?"

    "Yes, it is the fastest way to turn as many vampires as possible. Male. Female. Children. Adult." His forest green eyes had an unholy glow in them when he smiled at her. "It is a bold message, encouraging the neighboring Kingdoms to mind their own business."

    Had Sloth even thought about how many people would die from this just from these rogue women''s aggressive feedings?

    Kidnapping women was pointless if they didn''t survive the transformation in the first ce.

    And, contemting about the idea didn''t mean she would agree.

    "I think wild rogues would scare the neighboring Kingdompared. to Ravin''s Legion."

    "I thought you wanted a lot of vampire subjects to cover up our intense Archdemon energies, Lune." His brows furrowed in confusion. "I assumed that the rest of the Kingdom still had no idea what you and Apollyon had be. If thousands of demons caused these royalties to fear, a thousand of newly turned vampires would be bearable , don''t you think?"

    She could only shake her head while massaging her temples at the absurdity of it all.

    Luxen''s Demonic Legion had just invaded the Material Realmst year, inciting a lot of chaos that almost prevented her from giving birth sessfully, and now Ravin and Sloth wanted to perform the kind of stunt that Luxen and Beelzebub would do?

    "Whose n is this again?"

    That Archdemon was both insane and stupid.

    These traits must be required to be one.

    "Mine. Do you think it''s brilliant?" Sloth yfully bumped his shoulder against hers and she glowered at him. Did he expect her to praise him now? "I''m amazing, aren''t I?"

    Luna felt a tingling sensation at the back of her head as the headache began to build up.

    Archdemons were truly a menace in this world.

    "I don''t want to be a part of this." Luna had no time to handle this one because she was upied with raising the children on her own. "Tell Ravin to do what he likes as long as his mother knew and approve of it."

    Hopefully, the Autumn Queen would help that Archdemon stop with this sinister breeding experiments.

    "Oh, yes. Queen Morgan agreed. She sent us some gifts from their dungeons."

    "Vampiric Fae prisoners?"

    "Yes. The Autumn Queen is very kind and dotes on her son very much. We can use them to breed with the women." Sloth nced up at her when she was about to stand but the sudden wave of dizziness forced her to sit back down.

    Goddess, she needed to sleep this headache away!

    "Sloth, make Ravin and Cederic to return. Now." Luna ordered with her eyes closed.

    She needed to p the sh*t out of them.

    +++

    <A/N. Tired and numb author is sorry for the slow updates. I know it''s kinda strange but THANKS FOR READING. I want nothing more than to finally finish this arc.>

 Chapter 929 [Side Story] 12 [Not Here]

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (July 2022)

    ************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    ***********************

    Luna had a nightmare that night.

    She had woken up with a start and bolted upright from the king-sized bed, breathing hard.

    She was surrounded by inky darkness and she was all alone in the marriage suite.

    She couldn''t remember what her dream was about except the fact that it was all about Apollyon.

    Her tears had welled up and her throat had also felt sore from crying and pleading for the anyone to save her husband.

    She knew Apollyon was with her in that dream but for some reason, she couldn''t seem to look him in the eye. Luna kept turning her back on him every time he tried to face her and she couldn''t understand why she did it.

    Did her dream self feel shame and humiliation every time she faced him?

    She had no idea why she was avoiding him in her dream when she should have been so desperate to be with him every chance she got.

    Luna shook her head to clear her mind of the anguish, covered her face with trembling hands andid her back down on the bed.

    Half-an-hourter, her quilt were all rumpled from all the tossing and turning she did as she tried her best to sleep again.

    Toote, ominous thoughts had continued loom over her consciousness.

    She pondered all of the horrible fates that could possibly befall on her mate, her twin daughters and the Vampire Kingdom and it had kept her awake for another half hour.

    She kept convincing herself that these fears weren''t real.

    That these were just figments of her imagination.

    Yet, hours ofbatting sleep deprivation had turned her worst fears into monstrous proportions.

    At this rate, it was impossible for her to sleep again.

    She climbed out of bed, approached the window and parted the curtains brought it to the side.

    It appeared like the dawn hadn''te out yet.

    The night was as dark as her soul and Apollyon''s absence had caused it.

    Luna realized that Apollyon was right.

    She recalled the times when she had just returned from Hell to the Material Realm after uncontroble forces had forcefully separated the two of them.

    Compared to her, the Vampire King had endured far more.

    This was what he originally wished and fate had been cruel to them.

    Apollyon didn''t want her to suffer than he had already experienced but him, losing his memories of her, was the worst punishment.

    It made her lose hope and faith of the goddess she served.

    Sadly, she had no one--- no Apollyon---tofort her and keep herpany.

    It was a difficult year of enduring loss and grief for her mate and feeling guilt, shame and dread for her daughters that had almost sent him into a downward spiral.

    Yet, she couldn''t afford to go insane and leave Leo and Tria in her Familiars'' care.

    Those Archdemons weren''t sane, either.

    "I need to get out of here." Luna muttered as she pulled the curtains towards the center.

    Perhaps, discussing urgent matters in the Vampire Kingdom with Ravin would do.

    Hopefully, that Fae Prince would have returned at the castle by now after a harrowing day''s work of fixing the structures and bridges that had been destroyed due to Luxen''s invasion.

    Sloth told her that Ravin worked hard in taking over Apollyon''s responsibility temporarily and she was truly grateful for his efforts.

    However, that didn''t mean her Familiar was the better option now just because her husband had lost his memories.

    +++<novelnext></novelnext>

    Luna knocked thrice.

    Then, she dropped all reservations and straight up hammered the wooden surface like it was her enemy.

    "Ravin. Let me in." She called out as she pressed one ear on the door, trying to pick up subtle movement on the other side. " Are you in there?"

    Someone opened the door and her knuckles almost knocked that person''s windpipe if she hadn''t stopped herself.

    "Sloth?" Her brows furrowed as she dropped her hand to her side. "It''s you again."

    It wasn''t who she expected at all but she suppressed the urge from going back.

    "Oh?" After rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Sloth perused her face, the column of her throat, her low neckline and her bare feet peeking from the hem of her night gown in a daze. "You don''t look happy to see me."

    Of course, she wasn''t happy to see him.

    They just saw each other at the Nursery Room a few hours ago before they went on to separate ways.

    "What are you doing here?" Both asked the same question in unison.

    Luna briefly noticed that the silk shirt and breeches he had worn this afternoon were unbuttoned.

    He must be toozy to change into thefort of sleeping garments so she kept her gaze strictly on his face. "Did you sleep here?"

    He must have had before she bothered him.

    Sloth leaned his forearm against the wall and nced down at her. "I was about to. I''m waiting for my brother in this room to pass your message but he hadn''t arrived yet."

    "Where do you think he is?"

    "The Legion must have continued stacking magic bricks on the remaining areas of the fortress that had been knocked down. He had to monitor them so I assume he will return by morning." He replied, dragging his fingers through his messy blond hair that looked like a bird''s nest. "I''ll be staying here to wait for him, though. You did tell me that you wanted to talk to him as soon as possible."

    "Do you think it''s almost done?" She asked, biting at her finger nail.

    "Yes. He wanted to finish it as soon as possible." He tilted his head and watched her carefully. "You still didn''t tell me why you''re here."

    She avoided his gaze and muttered, "I wanted to talk to him."

    "As you can see, he''s not here." Sloth even opened the bedroom door even wider to prove that. "If it''s urgent, why don''t you summon him back here using his true name?"

    Silence reigned.

    Should she?

    "I''m sure he wille to you if he knows you need him."

    "No. No." She looked at him, waving a hand in dismissal. "It''s not that urgent anyway."

    It wasn''t like she was asking Ravin to help her sleep.

    In addition to that, the bastard might get the wrong idea.

    She sighed, whispering, "I should go."

    He arched an eyebrow. "Are you sure you don''t want toe in?"

    "I''d better go back to my room." She lied.

    Luna actually nned to go outside the castle to see what Ravin had been doing all this time.

    She turned to the left and started walking along the corridors when she felt a cold hand on her shoulder.

    She gasped in surprise.

    "That isn''t the direction of your room, Lune. "

    When she nced behind her, she realized it was Sloth.

    "Are you a ghost? I didn''t hear you at all."

    She couldn''t believe that her senses had dulled when it came to her Familiars.

    "You look sick and pale." He pinched the dark circles beneath her eyes with his fingers and added, "You can''t go there alone. Let me get a cloak for you before we take the Pegasus from the stables to visit him."

 Chapter 930 [Side Story] 13 [Reckless]

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (July 2022)

    **************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    **************************

    Three hearts made its way through the starlit night---Luna, Sloth and their horse.

    The stallion that Sloth got from the stables seemed to move like a fiery whirlwind as if he was putting his own heart on the line on this mission to meet with Ravin.

    It didn''t seem to have a problem carrying two Archdemons behind his back as the strength of his limbs moved forward, his four, steady hooves meeting the earth in its full glory.

    He must be Apollyon''s best war horse or something.

    "Lune. Why are you in a hurry? There is no one chasing after us." The Archdemon of Sloth was already soft-spoken but Luna could hardly hear what he was talking about due to the pounding in her ears and the adrenaline rush coursing through her veins.

    Luna refused to listen and the poor Archdemon looked like he had no patience left.

    She couldn''t care less whether or not Sloth thought that both of them were one careless gallop towards danger.

    His hands on her shoulders tightened.

    Next, he pulled her back against his chest so that he couldin some more. "What do you want to tell him anyway?" He asked, loud enough for his words to touch he eardrums. "Is it really this urgent?"

    As the corner of her lips curled into a smirk, Luna chose not to respond.

    Instead, she loosened her hold on the reins and squeezed the horse''s body with her calves and heels, urging the it to pick up speed.

    It felt like she was dreaming all along as the horse carried her and Sloth past petal-covered little gardens surrounding clear watered pools and limestone buildings.

    Since she was inside the heart of the Vampire Kingdom, which Apollyon''s vampire subjects had previously deserted due to Luxen''s conquest, the arctic tundra she was usually familiar with near the borders never crossed her sights tonight.

    Luna was certain that Ravin wasn''t there anyway.

    Still, there was no way this could be a dream.

    Her eyes were half-open due to the harsh, cold windsshing out like short, invisible whips on her face but she knew she was perfectly awake.

    The sensation felt good, however.

    Her spirit had never felt so free.

    She liked this feeling quite well and she wanted to enjoy this ride longer.

    "Heyy." At this point, Sloth decided to rest his chin on her right shoulder and enunciated as loudly and slowly as if he was speaking to a dim-witted child."Slow down, will you? No one here is trying to kill us."

    "I know." She drawled back the exact way he did.

    As she looked slightly over her shoulder, her gaze fell on his pouty lips before she brought it back to his forest-green eyes.

    "Just grab my shoulders if you''re so scared of falling off the horse." She added with a satisfied smile.

    Immediately sensing that the stallion wanted to move faster, Luna shook off Sloth''s grasping hands on her shoulders, shifted her weight ordingly and leaned towards the horse''s neck.

    A sense of urgency charged the hot atmosphere around them as they continued to ride at full speed.

    It wasn''t like they had enemies to scatter but if they kept on riding faster than the wind towards an aimless destination, the three of them would turn into one and simplybust.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Slow down!"

    Sloth shouted as he hurriedly parted the silver hair behind her back from the middle.

    Then, the bastard wrapped his hands from the nape of her neck around her throat.

    Luna yelped, her eyes widening in surprise.

    She couldn''t believe Sloth was choking her from behind as the horse''s hooves continued to kick up a storm of rock and dust while their cloaks billowed behind them.

    "Are you out of your damn mind, Sloth? Why are you choking me?" Luna screeched as she tried to jerk the horse''s reins towards her to halt its movements but to no avail. The sheer effort almost threw them backwards as the horse reared out of control and neighed in protest.

    "If you don''t want to hold unto my shoulders, at least, hold my waist. Not my neck, you bastard!" She forced those words angrily out of her constricted throat as the horse settled his forelegs back to the ground.

    Sloth had the good sense to release his hands on her immediately but not before grabbing a fistful of silver hair and pulling at them gently as revenge.

    "Ow."

    "You should have slowed down at the beginning when I asked you to." He whispered with clenched teeth.

    When she turned her head to glower at him, a sh of lightning zigzagged from a distance followed by a p of thunder as if a storm would break at any given moment.

    Meanwhile, the horse had stopped on its own ord.

    He must have sensed them squirming and struggling on his back as if they were about to have a fight.

    In the end, both of them agreed to get down for everyone''s sake.

    Sloth went first.

    He lifted one of his legs and slid down from the horse.

    Luna followed afterwards.

    "The horse seemed a lot calmer now." Sloth remarked as he moved closer to the stallion.

    As he raised his hand to rub at its nose, Luna stood next to him and replied in asn imperial tone. "You made the horse panic."

    He looked at her nkly and studied her face. "Tis not I who keeps squirming around."

    "We were riding just fine and he liked it. Didn''t you enjoy it?"

    He clicked his tongue in disappointment.

    "No. The speed is unnecessary. I just don''t want you to be reckless for the sake itself."

    Luna pursed her lips.

    She didn''t want to fight anymore so she left it at that.

    Then, they strolled side by side as the horse walked behind them.

    When Sloth began to walk briskly that all she could see was his back, Luna tried to sneak a kick to the back of his leg.

    Unfortunately, Sloth turned around to face her just in time so her mission had failed.

 Chapter 931 [Side Story] 14 [Mr. Steal Yo Girl]

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (July 2022)

    **************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    **************************

    Unfortunately, Sloth turned around to face her just in time and she immediately straightened her spine after creeping behind him.

    She flipped her silver hair behind her shoulder to hide her intentions.

    Her mission had failed but he was d he didn''t seem to notice it.

    "What''s wrong with you, Lune?" Sloth asked her as he walked backwards, his arms swinging to his sides. It looked like he wasn''t angry anymore but he sounded rather curious of her mental state. "Ever since Apollyon woke up, you''ve been impatienttely. I am aware of your reckless streak ever since I met you but tonight, you seemed a bit strange." Frown lines marred his forehead. "You are being stubborn and insufferable for no reason. I shouldn''t havee... so that I don''t have to deal with it first hand." He muttered thest part but it was loud enough for her to hear.

    ''Yes. You shouldn''t have.'' Luna thought, biting her lip.

    A year of loneliness without Apollyon felt like hell but she managed with just a tiny ray of hope that he woulde back.

    Was Sloth tired of being her Archdemon Familiar?

    Should she break their binding contract so that she could send him back to Hell even if he already told her many times how much he actually wanted to stay here?

    That would be a good punishment for him.

    Luna could do the exact opposite of what he wanted.

    Comfortable silence ensued between them as she nced up to the heavens.

    She had never felt so alone with another Archdemon aside from Apollyon in this vast space under the dawning sky.

    There were no signs of Ravin''s Demonic Legion up there.

    They couldn''t have been that far because she could feel their presence but it was rather faint than she expected considering their formidable numbers.

    How in the world did Ravin manage to hide a thousand demons in his Legion after knowing that the the neighboring Kingdoms feel threatened by their collective malevolent energies?

    Even, she, had a hard time finding them as she nced around, hoping she could see just one of them.

    Where were they?

    Luna raised her hand close to her chest to pull her cloak together, inhaled the cold air deeply and exhaled.

    As the towering war horse slowed down behind them as if dragging his hooves, she nudged it with the lead rope and guided him through the seemingly empty ghost town.

    Suddenly, Sloth cleared his throat and murmured. "You know that I care a lot about you, don''t you?" He nced at her face. "As a familiar, I mean."

    She felt butterflies in her belly which meant she was about to vomit.

    "I... appreciate." She nodded slowly, all the while avoiding his gaze. Then, she waved a dismissive hand. "Now, go home before my mood gets worse."

    "You aren''t a goodpanion."

    "Like I said...nobody told you toe with me."

    Despite the fact that she was refusing to look at him, she knew him well enough that he was scowling at her.

    He might not know this but when he pouted, Sloth looked like an adorable child.

    This particr Archdemon had a younger appearancepared to her.

    He looked just a bit older than Xerxes.

    Come to think of it.

    Luna wondered what Princess Sapphire and Xerxes were doing.

    They were supposed to visit her on the first week of next month.

    "What''s wrong with you, Lune? Just tell me so that we could talk about it and move on." He insisted so strongly that Luna swore Sloth hadced a hypnotic quality to his deep baritone.

    How many times did he have to ask what was wrong with her when there was nothing wrong?'' Luna thought with gritted teeth.

    Sloth was frustration incarnate.

    His calm voice sounded like it was a devil on her shoulder.

    If a mind wasn''t strong enough, Sloth could probably convince someone to do the most heinous crime.

    "You can tell me your secrets and hidden thoughts and no one will know. Not even me." He gestured at himself. "I would probably forget it the next morning."He admitted softly. "Just let it out so that you can get over it."

    She shook her head vigorously in refusal because Sloth was eerily close to sounding like he was trying tofort her at the lowest point in her life.

    And she knew that wasn''t true.

    Whether it was unintentional or not, Luna was determined not to spill her secrets--her weaknesses--to someone other than Apollyon.

    "Just go and leave me alone." It was a whisperedmand. A dangerous warning. "I''m going to find Ravin myself."

    "I should have held your head and snapped it backwards while we were riding that horse instead of wrapping your hands around your neck." He threatened in a sing-song voice, moving his hands randomly like a conductor in an invisible orchestra.

    "I heard that." She red at him, disliking his jest.

    Sloth never failed to act like a madman in a conversation--singing his future victim a song like a siren before he killed someone.

    "You aren''t in a good space to ride a horse." Sloth eximed as his green-eyed gaze moved up and down to her form. "See? Your entire body is shivering."

    Yes, she agreed with the shivering.

    Luna was shivering out of anger.

    Her fists were now clenched, ready to punch the annoyance in front of her.

    "Are you cold, Lune? We aren''t supposed to feel cold."

    Without warning, Sloth stretched his arms out and ran towards her.

    It was so sudden that it caught her off guard.

    All she could do was stand right there with her fingers clutching the lead rope as he enveloped her into a warm embrace.

    Of course, she was stupefied by Sloth''s behavior but she couldn''t help but inhale the scent of lc and sandalwood on his clothes.

    The rxing fragrance reminded her of her children''s nursery room.

    Wait a minute.

    Why was she feeling sleepy all of a sudden?

 Chapter 932 [Side Story] 15 [Expectations]

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (August 2022)

    **************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    **************************

    Why was she feeling sleepy all of a sudden?

    "Are you alright?" If her eyelids would just stop falling off as she rested one cheek on Sloth''s solid chest, she would have detected the amusement in his soft voice.

    This was bad.

    As her consciousness blinked in and out, it became a constant struggle to pry her eyes open.

    Her fingers released the stallion''s lead rope of its own ord.

    Now, all she could see was ck.

    She was five blinks away from oblivion.

    As if on cue, both of her arms wentx and they dangled like empty swings swaying from the breeze.

    She vaguely felt the muscles on his forearms flex when he pulled her waist even closer to support her weight.

    Luna couldn''t bring herself to care as long as she could continue to lean against this warm and tall pillow willing to catch her when her knees gave out.

    "I feel so sleepy now." She mumbled, burrowing her nose against the rough fabric of his cloak. "I don''t know why I had a hard time sleeping earlier."

    Her head on his chest moved slightly up and down when he inhaled deeply and exhaled.

    After clearing his throat, he asked. "Do you want to sleep with me?"

    Luna''s annoyance made her limp hand gain a bit of strength to clutch at his loose garment.

    "You''re asking for a p." It was a warning that she could fulfill if he pushed too far. "Again."

    "I mean... I will have the maidservants arrange afortable bed for me on the floor while you sleep on the bed. You don''t even have to pay attention to me." Sloth rified as if those statements were enough to persuade her.

    He seemed unafraid of her, thinking it was a threat made by a kitten instead of a lion.

    In fact, it made her even more suspicious.

    "If you allow your powers to weaken, I can make you sleep and wake up until next year like your husband did." His voice deepened.

    She swore she could almost imagine that cheeky smile on his face when he said it.

    Sloth''s murmuring lips on her hair felt like butterflies had barelynded on top of her head.

    Luna wanted to lift her chin and glower at him but she couldn''t do so out ofziness.

    She contented herself with doing that in her mind''s eye and pped him hard on the back, instead.

    "Stupid Archdemon!"

    Sloth''s body jerked forward and the sudden force almost knocked her backwards, too.

    "Ouch. My back hurts."

    The horse swished its tail in agitation as it snorted in the air.

    "What are both of you doing? Bickering, in the middle of the road?"<novelnext></novelnext>

    That opened her eyes quick.

    Luna heard the unique ent she had been quite familiar with but didn''t expect.

    Both of their heads turned to the direction where it came from.

    "Cederic." She breathed.

    Sloth released her immediately as if he had been scalded or maybe, he just didn''t want someone else to see them hugging each other like they were long-lost lovers.

    Weak-kneed, Luna almost fell to the ground but quickly regained her bnce.

    She gritted her teeth, swearing her Archdemon Familiar would pay for shoving his Master for no reason.

    Cederic raised an eyebrow as he watched her and Sloth with interest.

    "So, a year of the Vampire King''s absence shifted your attention to this rascal easily? Really? After all, you''ve been through?" He moved closer to them but not within Sloth''s striking distance.

    He examined the Archdemon standing beside her from top to bottom as if assessing whether he could defeat him if he challenged him into a duel or not.

    "You might regret it once the Vampire King awakens." Cederic added rather nonchntly as he stared at her.

    Well, now that Cederic just reminded her of the problem at the top of her list, she wondered if he alreadt knew that Apollyon had awakened at the Tower Room.

    Did somebody from the castle inform him of this shocking news?

    "That''s right." Sloth bobbed his head up and down as he stared at Cederic. Then, he circled an arm over her shoulders and pulled her beside her. "The absence of Lune''s mate had caused her to fall in love with me. It''s a one-sided love so you don''t have anything to worry about." Sloth drawled, his voice dripping with both nonchnce and sarcasm.

    Luna elbowed Sloth in the elbow hard enough to dig a hole in the ribs.

    Ouch!"

    Now, he was forced to separate himself from her to preserve his safety.

    She understood that this particr Archdemon was yful but that attitude should onlye out at a specific time and ce.

    "I''ll never trade a diamond to a rock, Cederic." Luna told the skeptical vampire with conviction so that he wouldn''t believe the nonsenseing out of Sloth''s mouth.

    "Did you just call me a rock?" Sloth asked with a grona as he rubbed the pain off his right side.

    It waste for Luna to feel awkward after Cederic had seen her hug Sloth due to a sleeping spell she hadn''t anticipated so she stirred the subject away from them and focused on another thing. "Anyway, Cederic. Have you seen Ravin?"

    The ancient vampire began to inch closer now that Sloth was far from her.

    Feeling cornered from his earlier usations, it made her want to run from him.

    Yet, she hugged her cloak around her like a shield and stood her ground.

    "Are you loyal to Ravin now that the Vampire King is indisposed?" He inquired, maintaining eye contact with her.

    "What do you want me to do? Hover around him like a ghost in his room for a year?" Her voice quivered with suppressed anger.

    Clouds had covered the moonlight, making Cederic''s grey eyes glitter in the darkness.

    "That''s what you are supposed to do, Your Highness."

    She was tempted to just that but she still have to live her life for their children.

    Then, Cederic continued with a sincere smile. "In all honesty, I had no problem with you looking for Prince Ravin so you don''t have to put your guard up. He ordered me to return to the Castle just in case you were looking for him."

 Chapter 933 [Side Story] 16 [Back To You]

    Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (August 2022)

    *************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *************************

    "That''s what you are supposed to do, Your Highness."

    Luna clenched her fists, feeling somewhat defensive.

    ''What did he mean that that was what she was supposed to do?'' She thought with gritted teeth.

    Cederic might not have known this but she was tempted to do just that.

    Yet, she still have to live her life for their children.

    She chuckled for a good minute and the sudden switch from indignation to amusement made Cederic''s eyes widen and his spine to straighten.

    Unnerved, Cederic clenched his jaw and inconspicuously settled a hand at the sword on his waist.

    Luna folded her arms over her chest and jutted her chin.

    "You already know I''m not good with orders since the first time we met, Cederic. You can''t tell me what to do. Remember who I am. " She assumed an imperial tone.

    As if sensing the ire from her aura, Cederic raised both his hands in a cating gesture. "Of course, Your Highness."

    He lowered his head and bent his upper body into an exaggerated bow.

    When he raised his head to stare at her, Cederic shed her a sincere smile which revealed the dimple on his right cheek. "In all honesty, I had no problem with you looking for Prince Ravin so you don''t have to put your guard up, Your Highness. Prince Ravin ordered me to return to the Castle just in case you were looking for him."

    She narrowed her eyes at him.

    Luna still couldn''t get over the fact that Cederic was now calling her Archdemon Familiar a Prince.

    What would that make her if every aristocrat in this Realm realized the son of the Queen of the Autumn Courts was her personal servant?

    Well, she didn''t want to dwell on that.

    Luna nodded her head at Cederic once.

    "Take me to him." Relieved at the change in his mood, Luna approached him immediately and stood next to him before facing her other Familiar. As she turned, her dark purple cloak floated in the breeze for a moment before gravity pulled the hem down. "Sloth, you have beenining the whole ride that you are tired, didn''t you?" She suppressed a smirk before shooing him with a dismissive hand. "Go home now."

    She nced up at Cederic beside him and his grey eyes bled to ck when he met her gaze.

    Then, she turned her attention towards Sloth. "Apollyon''s general will take me there."

    "After hugging you andforting you, how could you ditch me so easily?" Sloth said under his breath as he turned his back on them to search for the stallion''s lead rope.

    Luna shouted behind him in a teasing manner. "Did you say something, Sloth?"

    "I''ll take my leave." Sloth snapped back.

    His shout was less louder than Luna but still, it didn''t fail to amused her.

    When he faced them again, Sloth''s pink lips turned into a pout as he clutched the stallion''s lead rope in his hand. "Hope you have a good night sleep after talking to Ravin."

    +++

    Luna saw a familiar silhouette floating in the night sky with the full moon as his background.<novelnext></novelnext>

    From her perspective down below, the moon seemed bigger and brighter right now even as the dawn approached.

    She witnessed the leathery scales of his demon wings pping loudly in the silence glitter from the glow of the silver moonlight which caused the heavens to appear midnight blue.

    It appeared like Ravin was incessantly monitoring his demonic beasts and low-ranking demon servants from his Legion, making sure that they were doing a great job with repairing the damaged structures in the Vampire Kingdom despite working non-stop.

    Luna soared towards Ravin without asking permission from Cederic.

    As she abandoned the non-winged vampire on the ground, his rough swears drifted through the wind and reach her ears but she simply rolled her eyes and ignored them.

    She hadn''t even reached Ravin yet but it appeared like he already saw hering when he asked her, "What''s the matter, Amare?"

    Still dissatisfied with the distance between them, Ravin fluttered his demon wings faster to propel himself forward and met her halfway.

    "Are you sure you don''t know why I''m here, Ravin?" Luna said as they neared, circling around each other as if they were ying a game of tag.

    The strong winds caused the silver strands of her silver hair to whip against her face.

    When Ravin paused in front of her, she decided to stop ying and hovered in s well.

    "Let me guess." His golden eyes twinkled against the tannedplexion of his handsome face. "Because you miss me and you want me home immediately?"

    Wrong.

    Luna snorted.

    She would never get used to this absurdity.

    Unfortunately, she knew of another ridiculous thing that should beat the record.

    She wasn''t known for beating around the bush when it came to this injustice.

    "I heard from Sloth that you''re trying to kidnap women."

    "Ah."

    The mono-sybic sound was rather short, dry and empty.

    The awkward silence was a few seconds too long.

    "Don''t do it." Luna added quickly, her words spilling over the other.

    O"Afraid I''ll be devoted with someone else?"

    Ravin''s usual brilliant golden eyes seemed pale right now that it made her slightly nervous.

    Her Archdemon Familiar might be three heads taller than her but she shouldn''t find Ravin intimidating at all.

    "You and Sloth are free to take lovers that suits you as long as you don''t force them and you are still able to following my orders." She said faintly.

    "Well, I don''t know about Sloth." Ravin''s eyes shed with warning as if he wanted her to quit talking about this. Nevertheless, he still forced himself to continue, "But if I want to have another lover, I don''t want to be bound to you...unless you get rid of our soul-binding contract."

    "If I did, would you choose other women?"

    He swallowed hard.

    "I could. But I could always get back to you. You are still my mate, afterall."

 Chapter 934 [Side Story] 17 [Testing Me]

    lNewest Chapter for Highest Tier (August 2022)

    *************************

    Archdemon Empress Luna

    *************************

    "I could. But I would always get back to you. You are still my mate, after all."

    Luna noticed him sounding rather monotone and to that, she responded in a sharp whisper. "Then, be miserable for the rest of your life here. There''s no guarantee that you will not do what Luxen had done if I don''t put you on a tight leash."

    Her Archdemon Familiar chuckled for a hot good minute for being regarded as an idiomatic dog.

    She wasn''t sure if it was sarcastic, amusing or he had already epted the fact that he was her bitch whose power she could use whatever she wanted.

    "You are so full of your yourself, Amare. You should know that I already sorted my feelings about you. "The corner of his lips curled into a smirk as he tilted his head at her. "Don''t worry. I''m not going to burden you with them anymore. Just don''t get attached to me too much or I might be forced to break that promise."

    Ravin moved closer until they were toe to toe while they hovered in the air.

    Startled, Luna slowly flew backwards just in case something would possess Ravin to... hug her out-of the blue just like Sloth did.

    Her newly awakened husband must not catch her cheating while he was gone.

    Over her dead body.

    When both of them tell awkwardly silent, Ravin''s demon servant took this as a good opportunity to interrupt his master''s conversation.

    The servant didn''t say much when he soared almost to their level but he still floated at a lower elevationpared to them.

    The low-ranking demon curtsied before stretching his thin twig-like arms to hand over the thing his Master had asked him to get.

    Ravin massaged his thick furrowed brows before he snatched the artfully arranged bouquet from his servant''s ws.

    From the years that she had known him, he would usually act like this when he was feeling rather shy.

    Yet, she was also aware that being shy didn''t exist in Ravin''s vocabry at all.

    The white-eyed, goat-headed demon bowed his head at them as greeting before he made himself scarce.

    "Here." The bunch of flowers in his hand shot out like a striking cobra. "Take these flowers----"

    Luna swatted it with her hand,pletely cutting him off mid-sentence.

    "I don''t need it." She jutted her chin as if daring him to say something.

    Ravin''s golden eyes sharpened in surprise.

    For a few seconds, he stared at her in disbelief before his dazed attention moved towards the explosion of pale orange flower petals falling midway to the ground.

    Even Luna had no idea why she did this.

    Perhaps, she just wanted to see him loseposure now that she wasn''t feeling emotionally stable because of Apollyon.

    She knew she was being petty this time but she didn''t expect herself to apply too much strength that made him drop every single stalk.

    Guilt gnawed at her heart but Luna wasn''t going to apologize and make up for it.

    She was already suspicious of Ravin''s secret n to conquer this Realm following Luxen''s failed attempts to do so.

    Ravin leveled his hands to his chest with his open palms facing down.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Time seemed to stop but that privilege was specially reserved for the salmon-colored flowers-----which actually infused a sweet and fragrant scent in the air but it had a hint of sulphur that could make humans nauseous and suffocate babies----suspended in the dawn breeze.

    Ravin allowed them to float in the sky as his narrowed re on her face glittered with usation.

    Well, if he was scowling at her to make her reflect on her sins, he was doing a damn great job at it.

    Luna bit her fingernails in the ufortable silence before he gathered all of them back with Archdemon Magic.

    Ravin brought the messy bouquet to his nose and inhaled deeply.

    Then, he exhaled a loud sigh that was clearly an exaggeration.

    "Do you know how difficult it is to grow these nts, Amare?"

    Wide-eyed, Luna could only stare back at his hardened countenance.

    "These flowers aren''t for you." He said with gritted teeth and he paused for a moment before he finally revealed, " They''re for Leo and Tria ."

    So, those gifts were for her daughters, huh?

    Honestly, knowing this fact worried her even more.

    "Where did you get them?" She probed with a frown.

    "I had one of my servants collect these from Hell in secret. It was good that I quickly recovered from my initial shock and saved these rare blooms before they got destroyed." Ravin wrinkled hisrge, straight nose at the bouquet and continued, "I initially wanted to ce these flowers in the nursery room so that the children can enjoy its unique scent. I really find it strange that you rarely bring them outside. Is it because you don''t want them to see the Legion?" He asked as he slightly adjusted the wolfskin draped on his shoulders with his free hand. "Those two needed to get used to surrounding themselves with demon scents so that their senses wouldn''t have any adverse reaction to it. Especially when they are thousands of them here."

    She caught her intense gaze and murmured, "This Kingdom belongs to vampires, Ravin."

    Luna didn''t sound too convincing even to herself.

    Ravin shook his head slowly and smirked. "Not anymore."

    She pressed her lips into a tight line as she suppressed the urge to argue with him.

    Fortunately, Ravin decided to change the subject himself.

    "How is it with Apollyon? I am not certain if the reason why you are here is to distract me from the tasks you wanted me to finish as soon as possible." Ravin scratched his chiseled jaw in interest. "Tell my why you are here, carrying that awful mood of yours."

    Luna swallowed hard.

    She held her hands together and squeezed them tightly as a way to reassure herself.

    It took her a while to speak but she still managed to spill the truth out of her mouth.

    "He doesn''t remember me, Ravin."

    He let out a dark chuckle.

    "Ah, Amare." His husky murmur made her shiver. " You shouldn''t have told me something that would make me happy."

    Ravin reached out to clutch her forearm and pulled her closer in an instant.

    Before she could pull away from him, Ravin bent his neck and angled his head for a kiss.

    His lips brushed lightly against hers and it made her eyes widen in shock.

    Luna pped a man for the second time in less than twenty-four hours.

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