The ceremony of crowning the king was taking place after five hundred years in Ixivoya and every subject wanted to attend it, however, given the circumstances, Daryn had strict orders that no more than fifty members in the hierarchy would attend the event. And he had a condition on top of that also—he was standing on the doorway and had bound them with his magic spells in a way that none of them could use their own magic. While the sorcerer grimaced as he did that, they didn't dare to go against him.

The high priest was chanting prayers to the deities as everybody watched them. They were half way through the ritual and Caleb had begun to be uneasy. Elize hadn't come to the court. They had asked all the servants to make way for her anytime she decided to come. Even though he was looking at the priest, his heart was lying elsewhere. His expressions had stiffened and he was growing edgy with two needs: one to see his mate and the other to feed her. He knew that she might be feeling hungry. Lazarus had already cautioned him about her hunger in the beginning days of transformation.

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Back in the chamber, after taking a long bath, Elize had come out. She had avoided Caleb for the whole time he was there to dress up. The transformation into a vampire was so repulsive for her that it was impossible to accept it. She hated the growing hunger she had for blood. She eyed the glasses of blood that were kept on the bedside table and at first resisted as much as she could from going and picking them up, but the craving was going out of control. The smell of blood was driving her crazy. It took all her strength to resist it for as long as she could. She stared at the glasses and suddenly broke into a sob. She had become a monster—one she loathed right from the time she remembered.

Elize turned her face away from the glasses and looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her skin had become flawless and marble white. Her earlier hollow cheeks had filled and while taking bath she found that her breasts and hips had grown rounder and firmer. But, she hated herself now more than ever, she hated the new color of her eyes and she hated how much the hunger was making her irascible. She picked a crystal bottle of fragrance and threw it on the mirror, which shattered on the impact. She covered her face with her hands because she also discovered that her strength was unmanageable.

"Why did you do this, Caleb?" she sobbed. "I will kill this Lazarus!" Irritation due to hunger was making her unmindful of the consequences that would come if she attempted to kill people around her. "You have not only invaded my privacy, you have invaded the beliefs I had. Had I known this side of yours I wouldn't have agreed to come with you from Yorkshire." Her shoulders shuddered as she sobbed.

She remembered that when she woke up, her senses had enhanced multifold. She could smell warm blood right next, which belonged to Caleb. Waking up from her recent turning had made her crave for blood and she was in a frenzy to drink. Not even thinking once about the repercussions, she had latched on to Caleb's chest and drew in her first blood. It was disturbingly pleasing and satisfying. What had surprised more was the fact that Caleb was so turned and so was she even in her dazed state. She was convinced that she had become a true monster.

Her eyes went back to the glasses as her stomach clenched with hunger. Not able to resist any longer and wiping the tears from her eyes, she rushed to the bedside table and picked up the glass. She glugged the contents but soon choked and coughed them all out of her mouth. Compared to Caleb's, this tasted like mud sledge. "No!" she shook her head. "This can't be!" She stepped away from there. Her internal conflict only increased. She dropped on her knees to the floor and grabbed her head on both sides. "I have to go away. I have no right to live!" The hunger to drink was making her frenzied.

She needed Caleb.

She needed to get away from Caleb.

She would die without him.

She would not live well with him.

He breached her faith.

Elize clutched her hands to her stomach, and when she saw pale red streaks on them, she was aghast. She wasn't bleeding, then where did that blood come from? Suddenly she looked at the blood drops on her thighs. They were falling from her eyes. She was now producing blood tears. "Nooooo!" She let out a muffled sob.

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Caleb's unrest grew, but he had to maintain a solemn look in front of his court. How could he show his weakness at this moment, because if he did, chances were that Elize would face more attacks than usual. Because she hadn't come to attend his coronation, in fact was a sign that they were not that close. It was good, yet it was bad. It had been two hours now and he wanted to feed her. He didn't know that he would transform like this to her changing needs.

All at once from the corner of his eye, he saw her coming quietly in and joining people in the last ranks. Wearing a beautiful maroon silk gown that fell to her feet, she was looking stunning. Caleb gulped. Damn, his woman was the most beautiful. His otherwise stiff shoulders relaxed and a faint smile appeared on his lips. He promised to himself that the moment the ceremony finished, he would offer himself to his mate because he knew that she was hungry… for him.

The priest was in the last part of the ceremony. In the air, he made symbols in front of Caleb, which glowed like fire and traveled to Caleb. They swirled around him and then gathered around his hands. They whirled around his fingers as if kissing them in reverence and then suddenly his skin started absorbing them. Caleb closed his eyes while Daryn's mouth fell wide open as he watched the process.

"That, my liege, is the promise of every Ixoviyan that they would stand by you in the wake of needs. You can think of it as a contract signed and now the signatures run in your body. It is up to you to free the Ixoviyan according to your will. But they are going to remain captive as long as you live," said the priest.

Caleb opened his eyes feeling extremely powerful, extremely safe.

The priest took the crown from Daryn and held it high for everyone to see. The gold crown had finger long spikes at the rim and was encrusted with precious rubies and sapphires and topaz. It glowed brilliantly. Everyone gasped. Slowly the priest took it to him and placed it on his head. He picked up the scepter and gave it to him. As soon as Caleb had the scepter in his hand, it shone and sent out such vivid radiance that the court was covered in the blinding golden brilliance for a few seconds. When the light faded, he heard, "Long live the king!"

His gaze went to the woman he wanted to show himself off to.