Okay, I know it seems a bit weird that I'm holding a knife to Eli's throat but I have my reasons.

"The Queen of the Royal Nightshade family is about to walk through that door. Eli, I need you to listen to me, okay?" I whisper.

He nods in agreement. Thank God, that Eli isn't as stupid as he looks.

"Here's what we're gonna do..."

.....

The large doors fly open as Eli drops to the floor, into a puddle of drying blood.

The petite woman, that is the queen, stands by the doors, her eyes examining the room before landing on me. Picking up her velvet gown, she strides over to me, stepping over Eli's body. Intimated, I take cautious steps backwards, which she follows. Her pigmented green eyes, watch me with piqued curiosity, "and you are?" She asks.

"Elouise Hills, your majesty," I squeak, letting the weapon fall out of my hand as I drop into a low curtsey.

"Rise child, I haven't the time for this," she fretted, bringing up a hand to rub her temples, "what happened here?" she says, after a moment, gesturing to the room full of dead guards.

I begin to ramble up an excuse, "well I'm a new maid, you see," I gesture to my uniform. "Prince Asher hired me, he asked me to get something for him, and I got lost, then some guards stopped me-" I'm cut short when the Queen lets out a sharp gasp. Eli twists his knife deeper into her back and lets her collapse on the floor beside us.

"About time Eli, sweet crab cakes I was running out of an excuse," I say, chiding Eli.

"Sorry, but it was funny hearing you struggle. Seriously, a prince hired you, is that all you could think of?" He questions while walking over to me. "And where did you get that uniform," he laughs as we head towards the exit.

Suddenly, the sound of slow claps echos throughout the room. "What a great show," a low voice chuckles with humour.

Prince Asher walks into view, below the threshold of the hall. "Really Elouise. That was a great game," his eyes never leave mine as he uses his speed to appear before me.

His hand brushes over my cheek as he tucks a strand of hair behind my ear, his touch leaving a trail of tiny sparks. Leaning closer to me he coos, "you lost, by the way, I won our little game."

I don't know what to do, other than stand still like an idiot, pulling away he smiles. A warm feeling spreads through my body, stupid bond, I mentally scorn myself.

"I see you found your friend, happy that my hint helped," he gestures over at Eli, who, reflecting myself, stands frozen with a confused expression. "Elouise, as my mate, you should know that I couldn't let you get away."

Eli let's out a quiet gasp. "Mates? Woah, I thought vampires didn't have human mates, let alone a pureblood Prince. Awe, my little Elle snagged a prince as a mate, although he is a vampire." Eli's thoughts ring clearly within my head, as he works through his conflicting emotions.

Did I mention that? Demons can attain the ability of telepathy, the louder an individual's thought, the easier it is to hear.

I feel my blood boil and clench my fists as the anger begins to bubble up inside me. Snapping out of my motionless state, I retort, "mates, how funny?" I ask rhetorically without any humour. "Get this through your thick skull, I'm a demon, we don't have mates! It would never work between us," I argue, glaring at Asher.

"Demon? Elle's a demon?! Damn, why did I not know this?" Eli muses over his thoughts. I calm down slightly at his silliness, forgetting my own troubles I push my own thought into his head, "Hey, I promise to explain everything later." His eyes widen, looking at me, he gives me a short nod, "promise," he thinks, I smile in return.

Asher breaks up our moment, once again, "but you do have a mate and it's me and luckily for you, I don't give up that easily. Now, get back to our room, you can take it with you," he commands while gesturing at Eli.

"No. We're leaving," I challenge.

"And I have a name, it's Eli. Asshole," Eli taunts with a smile.

Asher hisses at Eli, making him drop his smile, before facing away from us and walking slowly towards his mother's body.

"Wait, where are you going?" I ask, confused. What is he doing?

He glances back at me, flashing a handsome devilish smirk, before talking to the corpse on the floor, "Mother I don't know how long you're going to keep this facade up but will you please get up. It's embarrassing."

"Oh, you ruin all the fun!" Giggles the queen, acting out in a totally different persona. Picking herself up, she pulls the knife out of her chest and drops it to the ground.

The sound of the knife clattering against the ground sent chills throughout my body.

Within one beat of a heart, Asher's face is in front of mine, he presses a soft kiss to my lips before apologising, "again I'm sorry beloved."

Something sharp pricks my arm, not again, I think as everything blurs and fatigue takes over, once more I fall into darkness.

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Short chapter this week, sorry. Thank you all for the reads! 61!! And 40 in beloved!! Thanks you guys!!

You know the drill, chapter 5 will be our next week.

Enami out ;-)