Chapter 65

Chapter 65: Chapter 65

The Hellhound rose to its feet and stretched. It was a horrifying sight, a vision from the Hells.

But Dulce didn’t see it that way... when the Hellhound rose to its full height, it was well over twice as tall as a Demon but he looked at it like it was a waddling puppy.

"Was the stone floor uncomfortable?" He asked with a worried frown, it was mostly why he had turned down Queen Aylin’s invite for dinner a second time. He didn’t want Caedos to have to spend hours lying on the stone again.

The Hellhound couldn’t fit through the tall double door so he shifted, "It was cold." He said approvingly, eager to be gone from the dining room despite that.

Aylin watched them leave with a dark look hidden behind her veil. She had thought that the Hellhound could be permitted but she had clearly thought wrong. She rose to her feet, her plate only half eaten. She had requested a special diet just to sell her disguise and Dulce Montesserat had been so busy feeding his ’dog’ to even notice.

Despite the meal on her plate being made of blood, she couldn’t keep it down, nausea crawling up her throat. She left the room in a gust of wind, her speed impressive.

Asael had left the room as soon as Dulce headed for the door, the strange Vampire Queen posed no threat to them and she was well aware of that.

He thought of the masked Spring Ball, wondering if Aylin made it thus so she could better hide that she was a Vampire from Dulce. It was almost impressive, her commitment to failure, and to what end?

-+-

Dulce stopped the first servant he came across on his way back to his room, "Could you have meals brought to the Queen’s guests and more meat brought to my quarters?"

The maidservant couldn’t decide what to focus on, the soft-spoken noble with the pleasing looks or the strange man on his knees by his side. "R-Right away, Milord." She curtsied and darted off, wisely keeping her curious thoughts to herself.

Dulce turned to Caedos when it was just them in the hallway, "Do you want to try walking again?" He suggested lightly, unable to ignore the concerned looks the Hellhound drew.

Caedos looked completely unwelcome to the idea but he rose to his feet anyway, standing with ease.

Dulce beamed, pleased at the progress. He offered the Hellhound a hand once more, holding on tight when it was taken. "Now, you just put one leg in front of the other, that’s all."

Caedos glanced down at his feet, distrust on his handsome features - it certainly wasn’t that simple. Despite his doubts, he ended up walking back to Dulce’s room.

His first steps were cautious but steady, and with Dulce’s support and guidance, his long legs didn’t tangle like they were prone to.

Dulce was beyond pleased, wearing a smile that Aylin would have done anything to be graced with. At the doors to his room, he casually let go of Caedos’ hand to open the door, walking in without him.

The Hellhound followed after him, walking all by himself. His movements were far from fluid but he got from place to place and remained upright, so it was progress.

"So you kept us waiting to teach a millennium-old Demon how to walk?" Kath’tan’s upset voice spoke from the depths of the room.

Dulce had been too focused on the room to notice the other presences in his room, he whipped around, noting that they were all seated with covered trays of food. "Were you all waiting for me to eat?" He asked, touched by the gesture.

Their silence proved his words, none willing to admit that they had trailed here because they were unwilling to have the Hellhound be the only one to eat with Dulce.

"I apologize for the delay," Dulce went over to take the covered tray of food that had long been brought for Caedos because of how long it took them to return to the room.

"The Queen insisted I stay for the Spring Ball in three days," He went on, taking the tray of food to Caedos, who beelined for the bed without hesitation.

"A ball?" Kath’tan made a face, completely uninterested.

"Yes, it might be nice. Would you all like to attend?"

Asael paused his eating, looking up. He didn’t remember Queen Aylin extending the invitation to them, equally uninterested in dallying amongst Vampires disguised as humans.

"It might be fun," Ruoxi said thoughtfully, the only one barely interested.

"We’ll leave for the east after the ball." He went on to explain, taking his seat by the fireplace.

Kath’tan stared across the room at the Vampire who would journey to his past for his sake, his gaze growing distant.

"I wonder if the Queen would be generous enough to grant us a carriage for the journey," Dulce mused, "It would be better to journey by sea, fortunately, Alderth has a port city."

"I’m sure she would," Asael said dryly.

The topic reminded Dulce that the coachman who had driven them from Fairwyn to Alderth had more or less been abandoned at the temple. He made mental notes to ask after them, certain that they had either returned to the inn or were on their return journey.

He would do his findings in the morning, either outcome was acceptable as the carriage wouldn’t fit four Demons, they would have to find an alternative.

He would also need to show more interest in money, it provided ease and comfort but it hadn’t been a necessity for him. He looked around the room, tucking his knees in close to fit in the armchair. Now, he had a lot of mouths to feed, and he would rather not have to keep relying on the generosity of others.

And to think that he had to accept kindness from his kind and then a the very nobility that had forced him out of his pleasant manor. Dulce was able to dredge up anger at the thought, deciding to be more capable.

It wasn’t just his desert palace, he had journeyed around the world several times over in his many years of living, he had more houses and even more riches... he just had to find them.