The spring sun had shown up early enough to bring people back to the reality that they had been away from at night. With the morning sunrays that tried to penetrate through the thick curtains of the royal palace, some people tried to ignore the light and continued to sleep while others were already up.
Lucas was already up but he was not out of the bed. His head rested on the soft pillow as he stared at the white ceiling and when there was a knock at the door, he did not bother to get up and instead waited for the person on the outside to open it. He was waiting for this day to arrive so that he could see her but it wasn't her and instead it was the headmaid.
"I thought that I told you that you will no longer be serving me."
He said while sitting up such that his head was now leaning against the headboard.
"I'm really sorry your highness but the new maid is nowhere to be seen."
Came Helena's words and when the king did not say anything, she added
"Shall I prepare your bath?" When Helena raised her head, he was right in front of her. His eyes had darkened and there was an unnerving smile on his face which increased Helena's heartbeat but she tried hard to maintain her composure.
Lucas who could tell that the girl was lying due to her uneven heartbeat placed his hand on her shoulder.
At first, Helena became excited with the thought that the king wanted to take her but with every passing second, his hold on her shoulder tightened such that it became unbearably painful causing her to wince. "I am giving you a chance to speak the truth woman. Use it wisely." With that, he let go of her shoulder but not before adding more pressure such that the girl yelped. Her eyes glistened with tears that threatened to come out but she blinked them away.
"Are you going to talk or do you need a special request." This time, Lucas' voice was edgy and when he saw that the girl in front of him was hesitant, he swiftly walked towards her and wrapped his fingers around her neck. Helena attempted to get his hand away from her neck but instead, his grip tightened and her eyes became teary due to lack of air. Before she could lose her consciousness, he pushed her against the wall such that her head smashed the hard wall and she fell on the floor.
Not done with her, Lucas walked to where she was and sat on his heels. "Just because I choose to be ignorant about certain things it doesn't mean that I am oblivious you little witch. I know that you know what she means to me and who knows maybe if you speak I will make your death easier."
The palace walls carried a lot of secrets but in some ways, Lucas knew most of them. Now that he finally found her, he knew well that she was in danger which was why he tried hard to be away from her but with the witches who were so close to him, it would be hard to keep her safe.
He could see fear and shock in the maid's eyes but that was not what he wanted. He wanted to know where she was. His fangs had elongated and so were his sharp nails and he ran one of his nails on the maid's neck leaving a red mark on her pale skin.
"She is in..in the cooler." She finally formed a sentence in the middle of excruciating pain that she was going through and once she uttered those words, Lucas plucked out one of her nails and not taking it anymore, the girl screamed in pain.
The next second that Helena opened her eyes, the king was no longer in the room.
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Hearing that Rose was in the cooler broke any sanity that was in him and not caring that he was still on his night clothes, he leapt with a lightning speed up to the small room in which Rose was confined and truly she was there. She lay there half lifeless on the ice filled floor. Her skin had lost any possible color and her dress had left her feet bare in which it reached her knees. Even though he could hear her heartbeat, he could tell that if she stayed there for another hour, she would lose her life.
His jaw ticked at the thought of her dying Lifting her up, he got out of the room and walked to the closest guestroom and placed her on the bed.
Her whole body was cold and her clothes were wet. She was the girl that was meant for him alone and the thought of what she might have gone through in that room made his blood boil. Those who did that to her would pay dearly. But he had to make sure that she was perfectly fine before he could spill blood.
Placing his palm on her cold forehead, there was a glow and her body returned back it's color and with a snap of his fingers, the fireplace lit up hence making the room warm. When her heartbeat evened, Lucas who had taken a seat next to the unconscious girl gently caressed her cheek that was now somehow warm but not warm enough. This was the second time that the girl lay unconsciously in his presence. "I hope that this it the last time that I will use my ability on you." He stated while looking at her as if she was the most valuable treasure that needed to be protected. He had always thought that he had no one left in this world to care for but when she came along, all that changed and he internally laughed at himself for falling for a woman so quickly. Fortunately or maybe unfortunately she had turned out to be his weakness. He thought while his hand moved from her cheek and rested on the crook of her neck.