Zhulong's brothers had grim looks on their faces, he could see the displeasure etched on them as Azure spoke about her unfortunate encounters with the monsters.
"Summon the other clans, it'll be securer if they're together and on our surveillance." Wenglei spoke with an air of authority, but not directly to anyone as he tilted his head slightly towards Ying and Ying moved out, presumably to send messengers out to summon the other clans prior to Wenglei's commands.
"Thank you, though it won't be easy to kill them." Azure said with a low small voice beneath her breath.
"Couldn't say the same for you." Wenglei replied in a clipped tone ass he averted his gaze from the girl in a nonchalant way.
"It was an unpredictable attack but I would have undoubtedly been competent enough to slay it, well did you?" She snapped with glaring jade eyes at Wenglei.
It appeared like the two already grown a disliking toward each other.
"That's enough, it's not the time for us to pick a fight." Zhulong chipped in while Lei snorted a laugh. It was weird but he always went into defensive mode around her.
"She wouldn't survive it if we did." Wenglei's voice rang darkly as he replied shortly with a stoic expression before turning to leave and Lei followed after him.
"I'll see you at dinner then." Zhulong said shortly casting her a glance before setting off to leave. He couldn't comprehend how, he had never existed in this world before, but she felt vaguely familiar, her twinkling jade eyes felt so vivid in his memory, he knew who she was but how or where?
He could feel her sharp jade eyes on him as he turned his back to leave, he was narrowly an inch away from the door when her voice halted him in his steps.
"Zhulong." She called with a low voice and he felt a weird sensation go through his body like a spark, her voice sounded so familiar and when she called his name, he could feel a slight strain in it.
He veered around slowly to meet her jade blue eyes that swirled with longing?
"Yes?" He replied, waiting for her response as he struggled to remember who she was, it was evident she had known him or maybe they had known each other, but he couldn't seem to recollect whatever memories they might have had, and it made him restless.
"Uhm... I...I misplaced something of mine in the forest, I just wanted to ask if you've come across it by any chance or you saw it?" She stuttered with hesitation in her jade eyes and a feeling of doubt.
Zhulong figured she could be lying, he could see the emotions building up in her eyes but she quickly covered it up with a veil of lies.
"What did you misplace?" He queried, maybe if she really did lose something, then he was probably just over thinking and if he found out she didn't, then he was right.
"My charm pendant." She replied almost immediately and he nodded.
"I'll search for it in the forest." He replied, a blanket of pressure weighed heavily in the air around them, unspoken emotions, vivid but unreachable memories that blurred his mind.
The memories were flashy in his head like clips, yet he couldn't seem to reach them as they felt like waves of memories clashing into each other, he couldn't unlock them to solve this enigmatic puzzle, what was the relationship between them, was it a one sided love? Love triangle? Childhood friends? Or romantic partners?
He found himself pondering over what their relationship was, if they had one in the past or present, but why wasn't she saying anything? Why was she being an enigmatic puzzle impossible to decipher?
"Thank you." He heard her say with a straight voice before retreating to stand at the window side, staring out of it with her back facing him as if she was hiding the emotions in her jade eyes from him or she couldn't bear to look at him anymore.
Just how much of an impact had he made in her life, was it a good one or a bad one?
He pondered before exiting her room. Walking through the corridors that seemed vaguely familiar, but unlike her, he could easily reach out to the memories his body had in the place if he concentrated well enough.
He could see a smaller version of himself running through the halls, his brown hair with golden tips danced with the wind behind him as he skipped through the hall playfully with a wolf cub running beside him.
He could reminisce on past memories, yet he couldn't reminisce on a single thing about her or maybe he was just overreacting, well time would tell. He'd go to the forest and search for the charm necklace he hoped wasn't there.
He crossed the exit of the palace, servants sauntered in the large courtyard as usual, carrying out their daily tasks and he wondered if they never stopped working, although it was menial tasks like fermenting of herbs or tending to the garden.
They all felt familiar, though he hadn't fully retrieved the body's memories especially that of Azure, it was blank.
With a deep sigh of exasperation, he strode into the forest and took the same path they had taken earlier. The forest also felt vaguely familiar, like he had been there a thousand times, so it wasn't a hassle for him to find his way to the carriage.
The broken carriage still lay on the floor, acting as an obstruction on the road trail.
He shoved the carriage out of the way with an effortless movement, while turning it to the right position to pave access to the interior. His eyes screened the floor before it stopped on the carriage.
A piece of something glimmered underneath the cushion inside the carriage, out of curiosity, he picked it up, only to realize it was the charm pendant she had told him about, a jade dragon pendant and he bit down on his lower lip hard enough to draw blood and he licked it off but he almost spat in disgust, it didn't taste as good as others.
So he was blatantly wrong and he was just over thinking, that answered why he couldn't recollect any memories about her, he didn't know her but still, he felt a weird sensation, or maybe she used her charm pendant to cover up whatever emotion she kept hidden....for him.
If she did, and they knew each other, why couldn't he remember her? Why did memories of her seem so distant yet so close? Maybe he knew her for a split minute, just a glance, once or twice.
He stopped pondering as he felt his head was about to split open in two and he retreated back to the palace.
He gave a soft knock on her door and within a second, it creaked open with her standing behind it, jade eyes widened in suspense as she moved aside for him to come in.
"Well? Did you find it?" She asked with anticipation hanging on every word that rolled off her lips.
Zhulong felt disappointed that it was nothing more but a pendant, they had no special relationship or memories as he had thought.
"Here it is, is it important?" He said as he gave her the pendant which she quickly got hold of and unhooked the pin ready to wound it round her slender neck before she replied.
"Yes, it's very important. It's a symbol of our clan passed down to every offspring of the dragon clan, every clan could only produce one offspring to keep the flow of power balanced." She explained and he nodded, his eyes watching her frustrated expression as she struggled to hook in the necklace with grunts.
"Let me help.." He said as he watched her grunt in frustration.
"If you don't mind." He added as she halted, her jade eyes staring at him and he could see a flicker of emotion swirling in her eyes.
Was he perhaps wrong? Did she know him? Or they knew each other? What kind of relationship did they have then?
"Sure, it's a hassle, the hook's really hard." She replied almost in a frantic manner, eyes blinking in nervousness.
The air grew heavy with tension as he proceeded to stand behind her, his figure towering above her as she had a petite one.
He could see her shoulder blades become stiff as he wound the pendant round her slender neck and swiftly hooked it, his knuckles brushed her skin lightly and he heard her swallow even though it was faint, perks of being a vampire. So he had an effect on her.
"All done." He said with a short chuckle beneath his breath, but it sounded so dark he regretted it. He forgot he was a villain and everything he did emanated darkness.
"Thank you." She said with a small timid voice and he gave a slight smile before preparing to exit her chambers.
Whew! That was intense.
Nothing could make him challenge his suspicions that they had a sort of relationship but what sort? How passionate was it? He'd find out but for now, he felt like he needed his full concentration, they were strange creatures arising from the realm of monsters and causing havoc in the mortal realm, attacking the four clans.
It felt like the beginning of an adventure, but what the future held in store for him was still unpredictable.