Chapter 16

Trisha’s P.O.V:

The world disappeared around me and I instantly felt nausea churn inside my stomach.

Everything around me was pitch black, or did I just lose my eyesight? I wanted to ask Damien what he’d done to me, but it felt like if I did speak, I’d just throw up everything I’d had for dinner.

And just like how the world had gone out of focus, everything came rushing back; sights, smells and colors…and the nausea.

“The toilet’s that way.” I felt Damien turn me in the direction of a toilet as he helped keep me steady and then I was running towards it and pouring my guts out. Damien even held my hair back.

It did take a bit of time to register that the King of all landforms was holding my hair back while I emptied my gut…but then it did register. Too bad I was too sick to care. I didn’t know vampires could puke until now.

When I was done throwing up my dinner, I felt Damien press a cold towel to my forehead and I took it from him and wiped my face with it before I looked back up at him. His expression was the same nonchalant one he always wore, but he did just see me at my ugliest and didn’t even frown. “Why did I just throw up? I thought I couldn’t get sick anymore.”

“You can’t.” Damien got up from his crouch and held out his hand for me. “First time teleportation usually doesn’t sit well with anyone. You’ll be fine the second time around.”

Even thinking about the second time made me feel nauseous, but Neema was alone with an entire pack of wolves on the watch and I needed to get back within a couple of hours. I placed my hand in Damien’s outstretched ones and he pulled me up to my feet. It took a few seconds but my orientation was back to normal. I looked around the humongous bathroom we were in; black and dark green marbles made a beautiful pattern all around me and even the walls were a dark green color that looked almost black. “Where are we?”

“My room.” Damien told me before he let go of my hand and walked to the door and twisted the knob. “Stay here.” He told me over his shoulders before exiting the bathroom.

Normally, I would have followed behind him, but I was too busy collecting my lower jaw from the floor.

Did Damien Vandolff just say that he brought me to his room? No one even knew where his room was and I couldn’t believe that I’m standing right in his bathroom! Wait…if no one knows about his room, then how is this place so clean? There must be someone who knows…

“Here,” Damien was back inside the bathroom and this time, he held a box in his hand. “Get changed as quickly as you can.” He handed the box over to me and left the bathroom once more, closing the door behind him.

Curious, I placed the box on the counter and took the lid off. A gasp escaped my lips as soon as I saw the contents inside. It was a dress; a gorgeous dress in red and black. Damien had just given me a dress! Fuck!

Why was Damien being nice to me all of a sudden? And why was I still not over this fucking one-sided love?

I took out the floor length dress and took my time admiring the beautiful red on red design that was very similar to the one Damien was wearing. The bodice was red while the sleeves and the skirt was all black with red roses embroidered all over them. I had worn many gowns in this lifetime, but this one held a special place in my heart.

I quickly took off the night gown I’d changed into and washed up real quick before putting on the dress. I wish I could take a shower before wearing such a beautiful gown, but I didn’t have the time. The dress however, was a perfect fit. How did Damien know my size again? I then quickly braided my hair in a loose fishtail braid and knocked on the bathroom door.

“You can come out.” Damien’s voice sounded from the other side and I turned the knob and stepped out into a fairy tale.

“Wow.” I breathed.

The room was just…humongous. The ceiling was a huge dome shape with life like paintings of angels carrying humans in their arms as demons reached out with their clawed hands from the fiery pits of hell. Just below the paintings hung a large crystal chandelier with white and blue crystals and candles that were alit at the moment, creating a golden glow all over the room. Several vintage candle stands stood in several corners which added to the golden hue. The furniture was all antique mahogany and the room was draped with dark blue and gold silk curtains. Dark blue seemed to be the theme of the room. A single king sized bed stood at the farthest corner and it made me want to roll around in the soft cushion and never get up. This place seemed to have been frozen in time even as we kept advancing in ages.

“You need to hurry up if you want to get back in time.” Damien said from right behind me, making me gasp as I turned around to face him.

“But how can I go out like this? Everyone will instantly notice me.” I told him. “And besides, Lucas will know about it as well and then I-“

And then, just like that, everything became crystal clear. “That’s why you brought me here, didn’t you? So I can find out who Lucas’s spies are?”

Damien remained silent and that gave me all the answer I needed.

I felt my chest constrict with a sudden pain. I knew it wasn’t a physical blow, but Damien had broken my heart. For once, I’d thought that maybe, Damien was trying to get close to me…that maybe he reciprocated my feelings. He came to me so I could attend the Summer Solstice ball; he gave me this gorgeous gown that had suddenly lost the impact it had on me ten minutes ago. I was so stupid to think that Damien would do anything that didn’t benefit him in return. Why did I even get my hopes up? Hasn’t he already hurt me enough?

I closed my eyes and took several deep breaths to calm myself. It wasn’t until Damien wiped his fingers across my cheeks that I found out that I was crying.

“Trisha, I didn’t bring you here so I could hurt you. You have to be in hiding and I’m unable to do anything for you yet, but you need to understand certain things.” He told me, his warm breath fanning the side of my cheek. “Lucas only helped you because he has some kind of motive behind it. I don’t know what those motives are and I’m not asking you to find out either. I just want you to be cautious. If one of them enters our ranks and calls an attack, several vampires will die too. Trisha, you’re one of my best, in fact, you’re my best weapon. You should be aware that people, especially our enemies, don’t just help us out because of the goodness of their hearts.”

I nodded my head. Yes, I understood that loud and clear. Damien was my King, and even though I’m on the run from Vandal and his men, Damien had still kept my hiding a secret. I guess I can trust him on this one. Especially since Lucas had in fact made his agenda clear. He wanted a one-on-one meeting with Damien and I was his best bet. I was also a fugitive on the run and relying on Lucas for help.

“What do you want me to do?” I asked him, finally opening my eyes to look at his gemstone orbs.

“Put on this wig and mask, and we’ll be ready to go.” He handed me another box and pointed towards the direction of the vanity where a large floor length mirror was kept surrounded by several candle stands.

I hurried over to the mirror and unboxed the shoulder length wig that was in a midnight black color. Since I’d already tied my hair, it was easy to put on the wig and I instantly looked like a different person. The mask that went over my eyes was in a ruby red color with tiny red crystals along the sides in the same pattern as the embroidery on my dress. I looked in the mirror once I was done and even I couldn’t recognize myself.

“I’m ready, let’s get going.” I told Damien while turning away from the mirror and found him standing right behind me. “Whoa!”

Why did he keep doing that!

“Turn around.” He said to me before once more turning me towards the mirror and then he placed a gold chain around my neck which had a small ruby pendant attached to it. The necklace was small but it was beautiful and it fit the curve of my neck perfectly as the pendant came to rest at the valley between my breasts. “It’s for you. Don’t take it off.”

“Thank you.” I traced my fingers on the ruby and it sparkled brightly as it caught the candle light.

Damien touched my shoulder once again but this time, I closed my eyes tightly so I don’t lose my vision. It took even less than a second and I was swarmed with music and laughter and the sounds of the festivities in full swing.

When I opened my eyes, I had to blink several times so that the bright lights didn’t sting my eyes. Damien had already donned a black mask very similar to mine and he stood with his hands in his pant pockets, a few steps away from me. But no matter how much he tries to hide his identity, the sheer power of him was too hard to conceal. I could see people backing away from us almost instantly.

We were in the palace courtyard and everything was decorated with fairy lights and hanging lanterns in different colors and there were waiters serving up bottles of blood and wine, and sometimes, both mixed together. Thousands of people had gathered from around the world and they were all in bright colored clothing with a mask to hide their identity. Summer Solstice Ball was one opportunity for commoners to mix with Royalty. It was one of the times where there were no social or species barriers, which was why it’s one of my favorite holidays. The night air was cool and crisp so it helped keep everyone cool. I started walking in no particular direction and soon came across a violinist playing a romantic note as several couples danced to his tune. Damien followed wordlessly by my side, taking in the festival.

“Is that Gusto?” I asked him pointing towards the Violinist. “And Roan?” I motioned with my head at the man with blonde hair who was dressed in all white and sat at a table next to where people were dancing.

Damien looked from the violinist with his glittery jacket to Roan with his all white attire and turned towards me. I didn’t even need to see through his mask to know that he had his eyebrows raised at me. “Interesting choice in lovers.” Damien commented at last.

I narrowed my eyes at Damien and was just about to reply but someone called Damien’s name from right behind us and my answer died down in my throat. Because there was no way I’d ever forget the sound of that raspy voice that seemed to make my body freeze in place. Damien placed his arm on my lower back as he turned us to face the man because of whom Neema’s life was in danger.

Vandal Rudolf.