Chapter 227

Chapter 227: Chapter 227

"Vampire hearts are dead." Asael said quietly, his expression uneasy as he kept his worried gaze on Dulce.

The Vampire was unchanged despite the strange, magically shielded heart sinking harmlessly into his body. He seemed to be in a trance, his pale lashes fanned over his cheeks.

Mildrede immediately sneered, unperturbed by their unease. "I’ve returned what belongs to him, take him with you and leave." She dismissed them coldly, lowering anguished eyes to Aylin.

"Is this the important item of Dulce you claimed to possess?" Caedos addressed the injured Vampire who brought them there.

Moreau kept a wide berth from everyone, his red eyes distrustful as he scanned the crowd in the foyer. "It is. Lord Montesserat should wake up soon. He’s more suited to answering any questions you might have."

Even though he was the one speaking, all four Demons were fixated on the unresponsive Vampire. Their unease was born from uncertainty, had the Vampire been missing his heart this entire time? Regardless of whether it beat or not.

Mildrede just tuned them out, the magical shield thickening enough to obscure the figures inside. They wouldn’t be getting any more out of the Vampire witch.

Kath’tan appeared behind the injured Vampire, slamming a hand on his shoulder threateningly. "You’re coming with us until he does."

Moreau actually looked somewhat relieved by his words, keeping to his words about not explaining anything by staying silent.

They warped back to the cottage, the carriage already sent off before they even entered the dark manor. Left behind in the bloodstained foyer was the dead Vampire Queen and her grieving companion.

Moreau was once again thrown into the cellar although it was night and there was no danger if he remained in the cottage.

For the first time, they weren’t in the leisure room, instead they all crowded into Dulce’s bedroom. The Vampire was laid out on his bed, his peaceful expression contrasting with the thick tension in the room.

"Do you think this has something to do with his lost memories?" Ruoxi spoke for the first time, the drowsiness gone from his eyes.

The Incubus was seated at the edge of the bed, dim pink eyes focused on the unaware Vampire. His black hair was bound back, a rare occurence, his waistcoat fully buttoned up.

Asael had brought a chair over so he could sit close to the bed, his expression composed. Speculations were pointless, they could only wait for Dulce to rouse.

Kath’tan had been the last to step into the room, having gone to the cellar first to drop off the injured Vampire. He paced the length of the room, antsy. "And would he remember us after he recovers?"

Caedos was seated on the bed next to Dulce, his disquieted gaze dropping to the fiery mark standing out in stark contrast on the Vampire’s pale neck. The questions asked were a reflection of the person’s thoughts, they didn’t expect answers because none of them knew the truth.

It was an endless night; Kath’tan paced long enough to quell his restlessness, ending up bringing a chair over to sit next to the bed as well, his expression dark.

Hours dragged by, silently, oppressively. And through it all, Dulce slept peacefully, his chest rising and falling unnaturally.

It wasn’t until the first rays of light spilled into the room that there was a noticeable change.

The sunlight seemed to fill the Vampire’s skin with color, and not quite the color he got from feeding either. It wasn’t a healthy flush but rather a pale gold dusted over every inch of skin, it highlighted just how unnaturally pale the Vampire had been before, his pale skin like glass.

The color seeped into his hair as well, it began from the roots, going down to the tips. His hair turned a gold blond, even his lashes fanned over his cheeks were suffused with color.

It showed just how much color the Vampire lacked before, and not just in his skin like Vampires all did but the entirety of his person was once devoid of all color.

Just as the tense silence reached its breaking point, Dulce’s brows furrowed, his lashes fluttering. He had been lying on his back the entire night, but now he rolled to his side, his eyes flipping open.

He made eye contact with Caedos who was right next to him, his silver blue eyes the only part of him remaining unchanged... mostly.

Caedos’ question died on his tongue at the look in those eyes. Dulce’s open, peaceful eyes were gone, now those eyes were cold and dangerous, and completely unrecognizing.

Dulce opened to his eyes to a confusing scene, being surrounded by Demons in an unfamiliar bed was a first for him. He moved before completely processing the scene, moving faster than any of the Demons could react.

He stood in a corner of the room, his back to the edge as he faced off the unfamiliar occupants in the room. He put a hand to his head as if in pain, a confused frown on his face.

The Vampire had lost the dazed air he always carried around, even his expressions were sharper, his cold eyes calculating.

"Dulce?" Caedos was the one to break the silence, recovering first. He got off the bed and slowly approached, his mental alarms blaring. "How do you feel?"

The Vampire swept his gaze impassively over him when he spoke, reaching out behind him to rip off the ties binding back his gold blond hair, his tousled hair framing his face. His memories were rearranging themselves in a blur of scenes, his expression growing graver the more he remembered.

Without so much as a word to the Demons who had all risen to their feet and were cautiously approaching, he held out a hand.

Just a few hours ago, the Vampire could barely properly cast foundational elemental spells, and now he shattered all four contracts at once without any effort.

He remained impassive to the calls of his name as three of four Demons were taken away by summoning circles.

The lost look on Ruoxi’s face made him hesitate for a moment, a red flush on his features as he looked away from the Incubus who was no longer bound to him.

"You’re free to live in the cottage for however long you wish," Dulce muttered, walking to the door.

He remembered that the Demon had lost the chance to hide with his kind for his sake... among all the other things the Incubus had done to him.

How mortifying, to think that even ripping his own heart out wasn’t enough to incapacitate him completely. He had been wandering around without his memories for almost half a century and had managed to get himself into the most peculiar situation without any awareness.

Dulce left the room without another word, he needed to speak with Moreau. He needed to know who dared to interrupt his sleep and steal his heart.

He undid the cravat around his neck as he walked, reminded of the mating bite he wore when his fingers brushed over the still sensitive mark. Dulce’s expression darkened when he was reminded of it, cursing under his breath.

He would deal with the matter of his complicated relationship with four Demons much later, for now, there were more important things to attend to.

-+-

"Your Highness!" Captain Ardan called out in a mix of disbelief and excitement, running over to where Caedos had suddenly appeared out of a strange glow.

"Did you come to pay us a visit?" He asked with bright eyes, so grateful he had decided to go on a run in this area. It meant he was the first to see Caedos. "But why didn’t you go directly to the castle?" He kept speaking, glancing down at the royal Hellhound’s feet for an explanation about the strange glow that had brought him.

Caedos didn’t reply, his gaze distracted. He had lost a connection with Dulce, the Vampire had truly severed their bond.

Even though he was standing at the very spot he had almost been captured in, it took the aching emptiness he felt for him to believe that Dulce had broken the summoning contract.

Without acknowledging Ardan, he created a portal and stepped into it. Dulce definitely remembered them if he knew to undo their summoning contracts, heartless or not, he was going back to his mate’s side.

Ardan was thoroughly confused by Caedos’ strange attitude, not knowing that the Hellhound hadn’t even registered his presence, much less his words.

The encounter was so short that he was almost convinced that he had hallucinated the Crown Prince’s return. Shellshocked, he returned to the castle to narrate his story to anyone who would listen.

Ayred outrightly laughed in his face and none of the other captains believed him. General Urien stoutly refused to hear anything about the runaway King who abolished the crown, Lady Dilya the only one who believed him.

"Maybe he had a spat with his mate," Dilya teased, pleased to hear a confirmation of Caedos’ wellbeing, regardless of how trustworthy or untrustworthy the source might be.