Chapter 229

Chapter 229: Chapter 229

Ruoxi was surprisingly the first to get over the startling changes in Dulce even though he had been thrown against a wall earlier. "That’s futile. Tell me, who is going to fulfill all the promises and agreements you made?" He asked, a strange light shining in his eyes.

The Vampire had already wrenched his heart from his chest, a heart that he once thought nonexistent. Dulce changing would not change the fact that he still held his heart, but it did change the Vampire’s complete dispassion towards him, even though it was currently all ire.

The color had yet to fade from Dulce’s face, it crawled down his neck, adding vibrancy to the anger he wore. He fumed silently, he wasn’t the kind to renege on a promise because he never made promises.

Even after being told that Ruoxi had been sent through a stone wall by Dulce, Kath’tan closed the distance like a moth drawn to light. His obsession with seeing color fill Dulce’s skin was beyond satisfied by the changes in the Vampire, his expressive emotions an added bonus.

Dulce was about to offer an arrangement that would bring him closer to what he wanted, their separation, when he was pulled against a hard body, his lips claimed.

His eyes widened in surprise, they were in his memories, but it was another thing to experience it fully without being fractured in two. The Fiend kissed violently, dominating his mouth.

Dulce’s surprise cooled, his gaze growing sharp as he bit down hard on the Demon’s lip, realizing only a moment later how terrible an idea it was.

Kath’tan caught the Vampire when he fell against him, grinning despite the stinging pain. This felt more right.

Dulce’s heavy-lidded red eyes were spitting daggers up at Kath’tan who met his anger with a blinding smile.

"You haven’t fed in over a fortnight," Kath’tan was saying, his good mood unshakable. "We had an agreement."

Dulce pushed away from the Demon, falling to the polished wooden floor at the feet of four, his body completely wrung of strength. Not only were the aggravating Demons persistent, they were equally hard of hearing.

His eyes drooped at the corners, but he stubbornly fought off the encroaching trance. He leaned heavily against the wall, he had only tasted a little blood, yet he seemed to be more affected than he had been in his memories.

Despite fighting it off, it took everything he had not to completely succumb to a trance from nothing but a few drops of blood. His body desperately rebelling against being completely vulnerable.

Dulce used the wall to support himself to his feet, his anger at odds with his drowsy expression. "Do not follow me." He ordered coldly, but he might as well be speaking to slabs of stone because his words were met with dogged disapproval.

He sighed, forced to concede. "I’m not leaving the cottage... yet." He grudgingly admitted, reminded against his better wishes that he couldn’t leave the cottage without one or all trailing him.

With a last burst of energy, he left for his room, barely locking the door and falling on his bed before his eyes slipped shut.

The measly lock on the door was useless against Demons who could appear and disappear at will but his options had been limited.

Behind the locked door, black mist coalesced into a thoughtful Shadow Demon, the other three catching up a bit slower.

Ruoxi yawned, leaning against a wall. "Of all the things I predicted about Dulce’s past, not once did I consider this." He murmured.

He already knew that the Vampire possessed an almost unheard of strength, and the loss of his memories was caused by a severe circumstance... but his heart being separated from his person was even far worse. Not to then mention, his complete change in attitude.

"Moreau didn’t steal Dulce’s heart from his chest," Asael said, still deep in thought. He wanted to gather more information about the High Coven but was unwilling to leave the Vampire’s side just yet.

Kath’tan was back to pacing, occasionally eyeing the door like he was growing closer and closer to ignoring Dulce’s words and just barreling through.

"Then who did?" Caedos asked calmly.

His hazel eyes were lowered; Dulce’s emotions were once a calm pond, soothing. But now, it was a frozen ocean with a storm raging underneath.

"The High Coven?" Kath’tan stopped abruptly, purple fire spitting from his eyes.

"I don’t know," Asael replied flippantly, heading to his room. Even if it were the ’High Coven’, he doubted that Dulce would be pleased about their interference.

They had yet to truly be on the receiving end of the Vampire’s strength, and Asael intended to keep it that way.

Ruoxi was the next to leave, the Incubus seemed to have gotten an exponential increase in his ability to curb his hunger, stretching out like a big cat as he left.

Kath’tan was faced with the broken wall of his room again, scowling. He almost instinctively went to Dulce’s side before remembering that he had more or less lost that privilege.

His mood soured even further, but he still remained polite, he didn’t even storm over to kick in the walls of Ruoxi’s room - it was still Dulce’s cottage after all.

Soon only Caedos was left behind standing outside Dulce’s room. The HellHound’s gaze was still lowered even when he got comfortable on the polished floor.

He sat quietly as the morning grew late and the afternoon went by, paying no attention to the servants fixing the broken wall as quickly and quietly as they could.

When the sky started to turn red, the quiet sound of the lock turning broke the serene silence. Caedos didn’t move from where he was seated, but he lifted his head when the door opened.

Dulce paused at the unexpected figure waiting outside his room, growing more and more uneasy about the Demons’ persistence. They were prideful creatures and had always been, and they had barely been bound to him for a year, he didn’t expect them to endure this many dismissals and yet, still stick around.

"Will you keep me company while I sleep tonight?" Caedos asked, his calm tone no different from before.

Dulce was so baffled by the request that he didn’t reply for a bit. "No." His response was cold, final.

Caedos’ eyes dimmed but his composed expression didn’t show it. "Not even if I shift? I’ll sleep by your feet."

The Vampire was even more horrified by this suggestion but for a completely different reason. Unable to comprehend why anyone would demean themselves to do that, not to mention a Demon of royal bloodline.

"Fine," He muttered, more surprised than Caedos by his acceptance.

Dulce hadn’t meant to say that, but he couldn’t help but picture the Demon in his Hound form and his resolve shook. He looked away from the Hellhound’s vibrant eyes, already regretting his words.

"Sitting on the ground in that manner is pathetic," He tagged on, redeeming himself from his moment of weakness.

Caedos rose to his feet fluidly, the Demon was tall and imposing. His cold expression at odds with the vulnerably honest words he often said. "Are you worried about me?"

Dulce clicked his teeth at the genuine way the question was asked, ignoring it and the Demon who had asked it.

"Can you still eat?" Caedos stopped him before he could leave.

Dulce glared up at him only to find his anger slipping away in the face of the Demon’s serious patience. "Yes-"

"You’re not a Vampire," Caedos cut in, seeming to see right through him.

Dulce found that he could barely hold the gazes of any Demon, their eyes held a confusion that bothered him, silently cursing the problem that he had been saddled with.

"What I am is unimportant." He said coldly, barring any further conversation on the topic.

"It’s almost time for dinner." Caedos moved on quickly.

Dulce was already braced to refuse to join them for dinner but what was the use? He still needed to eat, and it was evident that avoiding the Demons wouldn’t be enough to get rid of them.

"It is." He said instead, walking up to the next door. "Open it." He directed Caedos who had trailed him from a short distance the entire time.

The Demon did as he said without hesitation or question, unwittingly closing the distance between them.

"It’s dinner time." He announced coldly to the room at large. "I don’t care what you choose to do."

Ruoxi was in front of Dulce as soon as the Vampire’s last words fell, wearing an aggrieved expression. "Are you going to keep treating me so coldly from now on?"

Dulce was forced to lift his head to speak to any of the Demons, it was a minor inconvenience that greatly irked him. The Incubus truly looked upset, his lips were turned down, tired dark pink eyes misted over.

He turned to the side, grudgingly making the effort to be less curt. "You haven’t eaten for well over a day, you might as well come for dinner." He said dismissively, walking away to kick Kath’tan’s door in.