“Demian!” “I don’t know why you act surprised whenever you see me,” he said. I could not see his face, but I could detect a slight hint of something in his voice that I had never heard before. “That’s because you never use the door and you are pinning me down on the bed!” “Firstly, why use the door when there is a window? And secondly, I like to watch your ass move when you squirm,” he said. With that, he slapped my ass. I gasped. “Demian!” “That’s for going to another man’s room at night,” he said. “Your friend couldn’t meet you elsewhere?” So, Demian knew about everything. He seemed to know everything, unlike Alexander. Alexander mostly depended on Demian to give him information. It was obvious Demian kept a lot of things from his father. “How do you know?” I asked. There was no point in pretending when he had already known. “Darling, I keep an eye on you all the time, especially when you have no idea you are being watched,” he said. “And I do it myself. I do not rely on oth
“I knew Theodore had an alchemist who gave him medicine in secret. Father would not approve so Theodore had to keep it a secret,” Demian said. “I also knew it was Leo, but back then, I did not know this Leo is your friend Leo. I realized so after you told me about him. And I also looked into your background, so there is that.”“He is here because of your father,” I said. “Do you know that?”“Of course. I was the one who told him about Leo. Leo also agreed readily because he wanted to see you,” Demian said. “Although Father did not tell me exactly why needs an alchemist.”“And you don’t know why?” I asked.“I do. It’s my job to know things, Sully darling,” he said. It was rather strange for us to talk so comfortably as if we had known each other our whole lives. He braided my hair as he talked, his movements smooth. I taught him how to braid; he was a quick learner.“Won’t you tell me?” I asked.“First of all, what do you know about vampires?” he asked.“Well, that they drink blood, ob
When we made the illegal potions at the academy, we would see it to a merchant named Owl because he had an owl with him all the time. We would never reveal our identity. We would wear cloaks and masks- Leo a fox mask and me a hawk mask. Our secret names were respectively Fox and Hawk. The merchant would then sell it to buyers underground. Like us, the merchant never revealed his identity to us, although we found it out anyway.Once, at home, I made a potion using a full-blood vampire’s blood that I bought from Owl. I made poison for full-blood vampires. In the books, it was said that it was almost impossible to brew a potion that would hurt a vampire, or even kill it. But I made it possible. I was seventy percent sure of the potion’s success. I sold it to Owl on my own since Leo was not with me. I got the most money selling that poison. I never thought it was Demian who bought it from Owl.The specialty of the poison was that it was a slow-killer so you would not even notice something
Sully was okay. It was my first thought upon seeing her. I had not seen her in a while, but she was the same as ever. Sharp crimson eyes and those plump lips that told a lie within a flash and a face that could mimic her lies.Rezef Thorn could never suit her. He was a man of words, brave but not strong enough and a hero. He was hailed a hero. But when I saw Demian Silverclaw with her, oddly enough, I felt that he suited her more than anyone ever could. He was a liar and a manipulator, just like her. There was no better couple than them. And seeing them together, I had no doubt that their relationship as a married couple was not an act, but real, despite the situation that threw them together.Sully explained everything to me.“When asked, tell Alexander that I seem to have some problem with fertility, so you are making me a potion,” Sully said.“Are you really?” I asked jokingly.She exchanged a look with Demian. “I don’t want children, you know that,” she said. I knew that. In fact,
“Your brother wants to take me to the library,” I told Demian after we came back to our chamber. It was good to see Leo, although I was not satisfied; I wanted to get him alone so we could talk. I said I trusted Demian, but not entirely. It was hard, if not impossible and stupid, to trust a Silverclaw. They were too sly for their own good.“Did you tell him to?” Demian asked. He did not believe Theodore suggested it on his own. “I know how much you like books.”“Your brother wants to take me there because I told him I like books,” I said.“How many times did you tell him? A hundred times over the course of a few days so he would be forced to take you there because he is so soft towards you?”It was like Demian could see through me. It never happened before, so I was not prepared for such a forward attack.“What do you think of me, Demian? Do you think I am a vile and sly woman?”Demian smirked. His silver eyes never seemed so warm before.“Not vile, darling. You are rather pleasant. B
I told Demian about the rumor when he came back at night. He said he knew about it.“I know you are not sleeping with him,” he said. “Besides, Theodore is not brave enough to lay his hand on you.”“I think it’s not bravery but insolence to lay hand on his sister-in-law,” I said.“It is, isn’t it?” he chuckled. “Try saying that to Luke.”“It is Luke, not Theodore I’m worried about. Theodore won’t do anything. But never ever be alone in a room with Luke, or Father for that matter.”“What if they summon me?” I asked.“Father might and you have to go if he does. But as I said, I’m keeping an eye on you. I will try not to let anything happen to you, but I can’t guarantee. Try to be with Rose. I talked to Rose and she said she will protect you for the time being,” he said. “But if Luke summons you, you don’t have to go. He is nothing to you that you have to listen to his whims.”I braided Demian’s hair slowly. His hair was straight and soft. My fingers could get through them easily.“Your h
The days were spent with me going to the library with Theodore, having tea with Rose and sometimes with Dela and Rosalia and then seeing my brother Jace in the dungeon every few days. Rose took me down there and showed me a cell that Alexander wanted to give to me.Jace was okay. Rose did not hurt him. But living in the dungeon was taking a toll on him. I could see it in his face. He did not look as lively and alive as before.“I’m fine. Just take care of yourself,” Jace would say every time I cried about his condition.“Demian treats me alright. I don’t have to live in a dungeon like you, Jace. I’m worried you will catch some sickness living in the filth. Rose, can’t you tell your father to move him elsewhere?” I looked up at Rose expectedly.Rose shook her head. “I wish I could, but you know as well as I do that it’s not possible. Father is mad enough that Jace is not dead.”Leo was still here. I had not had the chance to meet him again. I could not dare risk it. We could not let Al
I stared at the window, at the man coming inside my chamber. I lay still, watching him. He was not so tall, but not short either. He was wearing a cloak, perhaps dark green or red. I could not tell in the dark. But I could see the outline of him as he came near the bed towards me.My heart was calm. It was not thundering inside my ribcage like it did when I was anxious.The man bent over my body. I felt his musky breath on my face. I felt his fingers wrap around my throat. It grew tighter with each moment.I raised my hand from my side and stabbed the man in the neck with a dagger. It all happened very fast. He let out a small groan, clutching the side of his neck where I stabbed him. I pulled the dagger out and let him bleed out.It was amusing watching him bleed out on the ground. I sat on the bed, my feet dangling from the side, and watching him. There was blood on my right arm, but I did not care.I watched the life go out of his eyes and thought, not for the first time, who I was
I had been imagining this for so long. I had imagined doing so many things when I would meet Kyle again under the circumstances when I could finally take my revenge.Kyle was inside the tent, his men said. They stopped short when they noticed me. Well, they had not seen me in a while. A little surprise was bound to show on their faces.“Is anyone else inside?” I asked.“Yes. It is an alchemist. His name is…”“Leo,” I said. “I know him. Tell Kyle that I want to talk to him. The alchemist can stay though.”My brother’s personal guard bowed to me and went inside the tent. I knew that man. His name was Ezra Walsh. He had been my brother’s personal guard for the last five years. He was bald and tough looking with a scar on his right eye. I had the suspicion that he was blind in that eye, but never knew the truth.“What do you want to talk about with him?” Rezef asked.“Many things. Do you want to see?” I asked.“If you want me to.”“No, it depends on you. You can watch if you want to. But
There were no ships here. Not a single one. I could not even take a carriage either. The roads were blocked.I was out of the estate of House Star, at least. Currently, I was staying at a brothel. I gave some money and some of my pieces of jewelry to the brothel owner and she gave me a place to stay.It was nasty here and I felt disgusted the whole time, but at least, it was safe. Not for long though. At some point, the brothel owner might want to sell me to his nasty customers. I needed to leave soon.I did not know what was going on with the war. I could not care less about that. What I hated about it was the fact that I could not stay at House Star anymore, if there remained a House Star after this in the first place.I hated everything and everyone now at this point. I did not deserve this. I did not deserve any of this.I did not want to born in that family where I had to do things that I did not want to do. I had to learn how to seduce people at a very young age. It was called t
Sully escaped. Once again. I did not know exactly how she let Rezef Thorn know about her location, but she did do it somehow and that was without my knowledge.That woman was too cunning. She even fooled me.I was pretty sure she was going to use Rezef Thorn to get to Kyle.I had been gone for a long time because of a complication. I needed to defend the estate because part of Jade Star’s men somehow got inside the estate. It had been bloody.My left eye still hurt. There was a cut right under it. One of the men of House Star almost took my eye out.And now Sully was gone. This woman was driving me crazy in all the ways possible.She was now at the camp of Rezef Star. I could not just go there. It was hard to sneak in there. I could get as near as possible, but it would be hard to meet her there.I did not doubt Sully’s loyalty. It lay with me. She did not care about Rezef Thorn romantically. She was just using him to gain her objective.I just hated that she escaped from me again aft
“How is Millie?” I asked.Rezef was mostly ignoring me at this point. Well, at least, he was pretending to.“She is okay.”“Treat her nicely, okay? She is a nice girl,” I said. “Do you know Father used to beat her?”Rezef’s face suggested that he had no idea of this incident. Millie did not tell him for sure. It was not like I expected Millie to tell him either. Millie had always acted like she did not deserve anything and kept her thoughts to herself all the time.Their marriage life was not going okay. I knew that from the look on his face. Millie and he were not okay. If they just ended their marriage, then it would be for the best. At least, both of them could find someone new. It would be hard for Millie, but she would get over it. There was no point in suffering when you could get rid of that suffering.Both of them were unhappy in that marriage, I could tell.“Whenever Father was angry, he would take it out on her. We… We always saw but never did anything. I regret it, but what
My plan was simple. I always had the feeling that there was more to the little vacation than Demian let on. That was why- I started to leave trails behind. I kept the window open and threw purple pearls from the window. Demian did not notice because he had been busy trying to keep his legs from cramping and other times, he was massaging my feet.I had to be very cautious so he would not notice. Demian’s eyes were sharp. He noticed everything.That was why I had the feeling that this plan might not work.There were a lot of guessing involved. I was betting on Rezef’s feelings for me on this matter. He had to be the one to find the pearls because only he would recognize them. I had the belief that he was smart enough to know that I would not be at House Silverclaw.Rezef did not disappoint me.Now, I would have to explain everything to him, but that would have to wait for a bit.I told Rezef not to kill the guards that they took captive.We reached their camp on horses. Rezef wanted to
When I kicked the door open and entered the room at the top of the tower, I saw her for the first time in a long while. She was just the way I remembered her. Brown skin, curly hair and red eyes. But she now had a scar on her face. Did her husband did that? That bastard!I ran to her and wrapped my arms around her. I did not care about anything else. I needed to feel her. I needed to know she was real.My men were watching me, but I did not care. All I cared about was her at this moment.“Rezef,” she breathed. “I thought you wouldn’t find me.”“You left those signs for me to find. How could I not?” I said, pulling back from the hug. That was when I noticed what she was wearing. I averted my eyes from her barely covered body.She did not seem to feel any shame as she threw away the cover and got down from the bed. There was a cuff around her ankle attacked to a chain.“Can you do something about it?” she asked.I told all my men to get out. They did not need to see her like this for lo
I had not seen Demian in ten days. I had no way of knowing how things were going. I did not know if he was safe or not.I was anxious all the time. I ate less. I could not digest anything when my husband was out there in danger.Besides, there was still no sign of my plan working. I lost almost all the hope that I had.So, this was going to be the first time I felt defeat. It was an ugly and disgusting feeling. I hated it.When I messed up my potions, I always got very angry. It took me a long time to calm myself before trying to make those potions again. Unlike me, Leo could calm down soon.Our professor said that it was my only weakness. The frustration, the anger that I felt if something went wrong.“You are too fond of winning. Sometimes, you need to know what losing feels like as well. That way, you won’t feel like you lost everything when you finally lose once. You have patience, Sully, but even with this much patience, you cannot always win. When you lose, it is important to pi
I did not talk to anyone. I was all alone on top of the tower. There were guards outside my door, but there might as well be no one. No one talked to me and I did not talk to anyone. Demian told me not to. If I wanted my plan to work, I needed to do as he told me to.The maids brought me my food in time. They helped me bathe and left immediately. When Shea tried to talk to me, I refused to engage in the conversation much. After a while, she would give up and leave me alone with my thoughts.If I was a believer of luck, then I would say that my plan required a lot of luck to work. But since I was not such a person, I believed in possibilities. My plan would work if a certain person noticed certain things. I knew that person well, so I knew that he would notice them.But what if he did not notice them? What would happen then?Then my plan would fail. I did not want to think about it. I never had a plan that failed. I always calculated the risks and made the plans after that. Until now,
The war had started. Jade Star gave a few conditions.1. Sully Star must be returned to House Star without any physical harm.2. Rosalia Star must be returned to House Star without any physical harm.3. House Silverclaw will publicly ask for the forgiveness of House Star.4. Alexander Silverclaw will be stripped down from the position of the Head.5. Demian Silverclaw will annul his marriage with Sully Star.6. A Silverclaw can never marry a Star again.When I read those conditions, I could not help laughing. Without seeing my father’s face, I knew how he would react.First of all, Father would not agree to any of those. He would never give Sully away. I would not give Sully away. He would never hand over his wife. My father would rather eat shit than ask for the forgiveness of House Star. Besides, how could someone ask for forgiveness when they did not think they did anything wrong? My father did not think he did anything wrong. He took what he could. House Silverclaw would never ask