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Vampire King Apollyon

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As he glanced around to where that loud, booming voice came from, Apollyon's brows reached to his hairline when he witnessed Cederic back in his original form.

He had so many questions crowding his mind, taking a minute to sort them out.

How did he manage to remove the curse Lilith had placed on him all of a sudden when they have tried everything to return him to normal in the past?

Had the High Priest done something to him and Luna while he was gone?

Was there a Faerie Doctor who aided his military general and his wife to break their curse?

Apollyon frowned.

Had the Archdemon who the Dark Faerie conjured visited Lilac Manor while Apollyon and Aspen were busy torturing one of their cult members?

But why would they help them when they were out to capture the conjurer and strike a bargain with the cult leader?

Things weren't adding up, and they had unfolded unexpectedly.

He wasn't sure what to make of it.

In addition to that, Luna had dismissed his questions when he asked her how she could return.

Luna told him that the most important thing was that she was back in this Realm, and she had no intentions to go back to the Archdemons.

Of course, Apollyon was glad that he heard that from his wife's mouth, but why did he have this inkling that he couldn't trust those words?

Cederic emerged from the Lilac Manor's double doors as he stalked towards them with wrinkles on his forehead along with an angry scowl.

Apollyon had wondered if his military general had truly seen them because it seemed like he was searching for something.

His aimless actions told Apollyon that Cederic had roamed around the Lilac Manor for a while now.

The bark of the tree had momentarily covered him from Apollyon's angle.

Was he looking for clothes because the ones he brought from the Vampire Realm will not fit him anymore?

Apollyon realized that his military general was stark naked after a few more steps in their direction, his balls dangling with every stride.

He just covered his tool with his hand as if that was enough.

It wasn't.

Cederic had grown his beard back over his chiseled jaw, and his bone structure became more pronounced--strong cheekbones, full lips, and a masculine square chin.

His blond hair had turned a darker shade of gold, and the sun's early morning rays made it appear bronze.

His grey eyes were the only thing Cederic had sustained, whether it was his adolescent form or his muscular adult physique.

Cederic still had those shrewd grey eyes as he narrowed his gaze at Apollyon and Luna, who had her back turned from the irate military general with her eyes closed, still anticipating his kiss.

Good.

Apollyon shouldn't let Luna see other naked males aside from him.

He couldn't believe that his awakened wife wasn't the most shocking thing Apollyon had ever seen today.

Cederic carried a short knife around Lilac Manor like a serial killer as he wore his birthday suit that was determined to go on a killing spree.

"What's wrong, Apollyon?" Luna gave her a questioning glance.

Before Luna could turn her head to follow where Apollyon had been looking at, Apollyon abruptly clasped her chin to with a hand to keep her gaze on him and him alone.

He stared into those deep emerald orbs of hers and whispered, "You shall not look behind us. Do you understand me?"

Luna's eyes glowed before nodding twice.

Giving him a pleasant smile, she glanced down and acquiesced, "Yes, husband."

Apollyon raised an eyebrow at her unusual response.

"How obedient." Apollyon released his hold on her chin when he noticed that Luna had followed his commands without question.

He wasn't used to this because his wife would never follow him blindly without asking questions.

'She must see things for herself.'

That was her attitude.

He raised an eyebrow and smirked, "Who are you, and where is my wife?"

Luna's posture went rigid, but she still kept her gaze on the ground.

There was a silent but deadly pause.

Squinting at the crown of her head, Apollyon wondered if he had said something wrong.

She could tell that what he said was merely a jest, right?

Clearing her throat, Luna finally spoke, "Do you not like it when your wife is obedient. You're Highness?"

"Is something the matter?" Apollyon was too focused on his wife that his head flinched back slightly when he heard another male voice near them.

He glanced upward to witness Prince Aspen standing behind Luna.

Apollyon's arm shot out to grab Prince Aspen.

That way, the charming Faerie Prince would stand beside him and nowhere near his wife.

"Is that the Empress of the Vampire Realm, King Apollyon?" Prince Aspen asked, glaring at Luna's bowed head.

"You can see that the lady had silver hair and had worn a similar blue dress at the Spring Celebration, cousin," Apollyon said sarcastically. "No, this isn't my Empress."

Luna shifted in her seat in discomfort, but she kept her silence.

"I find it strange that you have woken up at the Faerie Realm, specifically in Lilac Manor, for no reason after all these years, You're Highness." Prince Aspen scratched his chin as he regarded her with suspicion. "I don't think this is just a mere coincidence."

Legs planted wide, Apollyon crossed his arms over his chest and replied defensively, "It's called a 'miracle,' cousin. The gods and goddesses must have answered my prayers when we couldn't find out the truth from one of those cult members."

"Gods and Goddesses don't work--"

"So, we are in the Faerie Realm," Cutting the Faerie Prince off. Luna muttered to herself as she clutched the skirts of her gown until her knuckles went white.

She asked softly, "For what reason are we here, You're Highness?"

Prince Aspen shook his head at Apollyon, telling him not to reveal anything about the demonic faeries to his wife.

Clenching his jaw, Apollyon pursed his lips and decided not to--even if he was deeply insulted by Aspen's lack of trust in the Empress.

"We were here so that I could save you." Apollyon moved closer so he could pat Luna's head, "It turned out you didn't need saving after all."

"You couldn't save me. You're Highness." There was a crack in her voice that hinted pain, "I was in the control of the Archdemons. I can either save myself, or the Archdemons had already decided to let me go."

"So was it the former or the latter?"

"The Archdemons had let me go without protest."

Aspen slightly cocked his head and frowned, "I don't believe you, Empress."

A soft whimper escaped Luna's parted lips, and it alerted Apollyon's protective instincts.

"Cousin. Don't be rude." As his pulse quickened, Apollyon's mouth twisted into a tight line as he grabbed his collar with both hands, "Could you just be happy that my wife is back for once?"

Aspen ignored him. "Could you raise your head so that I could see your face clearly, Empress?"

Luna followed Prince Aspen's request and slowly raised her head, meeting his gaze head-on.

Apollyon noticed that his wife had a blank, unemotional look on her face.

"Now, tell me." Aspen ordered in his unnatural deep voice filled with hypnotic charm, "Do you know who I am?"

There was an infinite pause.

"I know that you are a Faerie Prince," Luna lifted a hand loosely with her palm up in a 'Who cares?' gesture. "It wouldn't matter if I know who you are."

Apollyon was about to ask if she had just forgotten the Faerie Prince or if she had lost some of her memories.

In a flash, Cederic had teleported in front of Luna and wrapped his fingers around her neck, forcing her upright and pushing her violently to the bark of the tree.

Apollyon couldn't say if he were grateful that Cederic had found some trousers to wear when he had assaulted his wife out of the blue.

With her green eyes almost bulging out of her sockets, Luna screeched as she clawed at his strong hands.

As his heart speed up painfully for seeing his wife hurt by his own friend, Apollyon could see red clouding his vision as violent rage made him go blind.

"Let's listen to your military general first," Prince Aspen declared, using his hypnotic voice to soothe his rage.

'How can Apollyon listen if the first thing Cederic did was to kill his wife?'

"NO!" Apollyon bellowed as he lunged for Cederic so that he could throw him over his shoulder and slammed him to the ground. "Can't you see that Cederic was the instigator?"

His anger was like flames that threatened to consume him as his fingers frantically grabbed Cederic off Luna, but Prince Aspen had blocked him and pushed him far from them.

"The lady doesn't know me, Apollyon. She is an impostor!" Prince Aspen said as he pointed an accusing finger at Luna. "If something is too good to be true, then it isn't true."

Cederic raised her upwards in a choke and shoved her back to the dirt.

No screams were coming out of Luna's parted lips as her eyes threatened to roll at the back of her head.

Cederic!" Apollyon's voice grew louder, stronger. "Stop it!"

Aspen had pushed him with supernatural strength, but Apollyon could fetch the crossbow he had set aside before he had embraced Luna.

As Apollyon moved quickly behind Cederic for a sneak attack, he was ready to kill his own military general.