The Vampire Prince's Toxic Consort (BL)
Chapter 26 Return to the Citadel

It only took Lucius and Florian another one and a half hours to get out of the cave and steal back to the manor. Miraculously, none of the vampires showed up on their way back, and the whole chamber fell back to dead stillness.

Florian took off to return the “borrowed” items before anyone noticed their absence from the display room and took care of the security camera recording from last night. Lucius didn’t know exactly how Florian would do it, but given that he had been a government agent for most of his life, he should have his way.

Lucius quickly returned to his room. To his relief, Dorian hadn’t been back. He peeled off his blood-soaking shirt and examined the wound on the shoulder. It was deep and definitely needed some sewing, but luckily the knife was sharp, so the cut was neat.

“How am I supposed to hide it from Dorian...“Lucius grumbled in frustration as he tried his best to clean off the blood. He didn’t know how to sew a wound, so he used almost all the gauges and bandages he could replace to staunch the blood, making a huge mess in the bathroom. At the end of it, he was feeling dizzy and exhausted from losing blood and had to sit down for a while so he won’t faint.

Too many things had happened, and he had no time to process any of it. His mind was as blank as a piece of white paper, couldn’t focus on any thought.

“I have to clean up...Dorian will come back at any time now...” He vaguely thought but just couldn’t pick himself up from the floor. He dozed off for a short minute until a knock on the door startled him.

“Are you alright?” It was Florian’s muffled voice.

“I think I need some help.” Lucius struggled to get up and unlock the door. Florian was by his side at once, ruffling through the first aid kit and replaceing the needle and thread.

“Let me.”

Lucius sat on the bathtub’s edge and let Florian sew his wound close. He took some painkillers beforehand, but it still hurt like hell that he had to bite his lips hard not to cry out.

Florian saw how pale he was and tried to distract him with some conversation, “so, do you play any sports?”

Lucius glared at him, “are you serious?”

“I assume priests still play sports sometimes, right? Thinking of something that gives you pleasure can ease the pain. Trust me, it works.“Florian never stopped while talking, and Lucius hissed in pain as the needle pierced the skin again.

“Alright, um...I like climbing sometimes, but not super hardcore, just the regular gym route climbing and bouldering, that sort of stuff.”

“Never tried outdoor climbing?”

“No, never got the chance...Ouch!”

“You know, there is a very nice outdoor climbing site near my hometown Elkwood. The cliffs are not too high but have many interesting and challenging structures. Maybe one day we can go there, rent a cabin, have some bbq, and just have a climbing vacation.”

A climbing vacation...renting a cabin in the woods...bbq...it all sounded like things from another life. Especially considering Utharia had fallen, who knew what happened to those small towns. But it was a hopeful and conforming prospect, and Lucius smiled, “I sure am looking forward to it.”

“All done.” Florian cut the thread, wrapped the bandage on top of it, and then put a spell over the bandage so that it would seal the smell of the blood from vampires’ acute olfactory senses, “this may leave a scar.” He remarked after finishing everything.

“I need to replace a way to explain it to Dorian...” Lucius scoffed flatly, “or just never have sex with him again.”

Florian gave him a strange look, and Lucius realized that he had let too much of himself resurface, as Julian would never say the word “sex” with such ease. Even though Florian never knew Julian well, it must be weird to hear an ex-priest talk about sex so plainly. He cleared his throat and looked at his bloody shirt, “how should we get rid of these?”

“I will handle it. You just go back to bed and rest.” Florian quickly gathered everything stained with blood and left the room.

Lucius changed into a nightshirt and slipped back to bed. He was so exhausted that he fell asleep the moment he touched the pillow. The dreams that came to him were chaotic and bizarre, in which many snakes surrounded him, twisting around his naked skin, yet he wasn’t bothered by their clammy slithery bodies.

“Lucius?”

Someone nudged him. Lucius opened his eyes grumpily and grimaced as the pain from the shoulder wound flared. He focused his groggy eyes on the person sitting on the bed next to him.

It was Dorian.

Lucius jolted awake immediately, “hey.”

“You have a fever.” Dorian’s brows furrowed in concern. For a person who just woke up from an all-night carousal, the prince still looked dashing and collected without many traces of a hangover. Perhaps one of the vampires’ superior abilities?

“Probably just too much drink last night. Just need to sleep it off. I will be fine.“Lucius pulled the cover higher, trying to look as composed as possible, “it’s just me being a human, ya know.”

“I never heard fever is a symptom of a hangover.“Dorian regarded him skeptically.

“Well, you are not a human expert, are you?”

Dorian leaned in and sniffed, and that made Lucius all tensed up.

What was he smelling? Could he sense the blood?

“Did I drink too much from you last night?“Worry crept up the prince’s dark eyes, along with a tinge of guilt.

“No, no. It was all good. Don’t worry!“Lucius tried to give Dorian a smile, but apparently, it was not convincing enough. Dorian looked even more apprehensive than before, “I should get a doctor to give you a check.”

“No!” In a panic, Lucius snapped, and his voice went a little too harsh, “can you stop fussing over me? Is this some sort of guilty reparation for calling my brother’s name when you were fucking me?”

And that successively shut Dorian up. The crown prince widened his eyes in shock as if he didn’t remember what happened, but then something came back to his recollection, followed by realization and mortification, “I...I didn’t...”

“Don’t even try to deny it.” Lucius rolled his eyes, unsure why his supposedly pretended anger and dismay felt so real, “now, just leave me alone!”

Lucius turned his head to the side and shut his eyes, pulling the cover over his head. After a while, he heard some shuffling sound and a click when the bedroom door was closed. He let out a long sigh and peeked out from under the cover.

Dorian was gone.

Lucius sat up slowly, trying not to strain the wound. He put his face in his palms, giving himself some time to feel the bitterness biting his heart. He thought that after all the ordeals in the Sleeping Chamber, he shouldn’t care about the little incident with Dorian anymore. So what Dorian called Julian when they were making love? He knew all along that Dorian didn’t love him. So why was he feeling like shit?

He needed to stop to have all these stupid expectations.

Lucius rested in bed for another two days before they had to return to Emberton. Dorian didn’t try to talk to him on the plane, though Lucius could feel his lingering gaze from time to time.

The court received them with great ovation and fanfare, though the King never showed up. Lucius suspected that Cosmos was irate with Dorian. He read about the result of the negotiation in the news in the previous two days. Apparently, Dorian admitted wrongdoing on the vampire’s part and agreed to reserve ⅓ of the Crown Council seats to werewolves in the upcoming election.

Many right-wing vampires were enraged by Dorian’s “weakness” and “cowardice” facing werewolves’ threats, yet many others, including the army, were very happy about the cease-fire. They had been fighting for too long, first humans, then werewolves, and the soldiers were suffering. Too many vampires died or were wounded in the strife with werewolves, and though it looked as if in its zenith, Eternia was bleeding out slowly. Most generals had wanted to end the war for years but didn’t dare to go against Cosmos’s will.

However, admitting wrongdoing means acknowledging Cosmos’s mistreatment of werewolves. The diminishing Vampire King wouldn’t like it at all.

Lucius had long suspected that Dorian, in fact, resented his father for his mother’s death. Perhaps now, with the support of the army, Dorian was no longer completely under the Crown’s power, and he was finally ready to shed his filial and complaisant veneer.

The court was agape when hearing Lucius brought back a human sex slave, though the slave wore servants’ clothes and acted like he was the same as other vampire servants. And the once timid and skittish consort returned a different man. He carried himself with much more confidence and assuredness, as if he was no longer afraid of being the vulnerable human among the predators.

One day, three young royal members loitered in the garden when Florian passed by with a jacket for Lucius, and the three young apostles decided to mess with him. One of them knew that slaves from Durchvilles were all chipped and could be compelled to do things with the right verbal commands. Though some of the commands only work with the owner’s voice, many of the verbal commands were open to any vampires.

“Kneel.” The vampire, Earl Keaton, commanded. And Florian, though involuntary, kneeled before them immediately. He glowered at the three vampires with a sharp gaze that could cut diamonds.

“This is an untamed one. He looks like he wants to kill us!“Other vampires got excited and encouraged, “try one of those punishment commands!”

“You sadistic bastards.” Earl Keaton chuckled amusingly, “alright, alright. Acid Burn!”

Florian’s body began to shake violently, and though he wanted to repress, a low, excruciating groan escaped his throat. He felt like a bucket of sulfuric acid was pouring over him, and his skin was melting away from his muscle and bone. Before long, he collapsed to the ground and went into a spasm.

“Cease!” A voice broke through the vampires’ laughter, stopping the cruel, unprovoked torture. Lucius strode toward them seethingly. His delicate features were shadowed with a cold solemnity.

The three vampire earls greeted him sloppily and obviously didn’t see him as someone who had a higher rank in court.

Lucius stood before them, his eyes slowly roving from one to another and fixed on Earl Keaton, who gave the verbal command, “Who gave you permission to punish MY servant?”

“I’m sorry, your highness. The slave was being insubordinate. We were just giving him a lesson.” Lucius didn’t miss the sardonic tone when the earl addressed him.

“Insubordinate?” Lucius smirked, “so you agree that insubordinate behavior should be punished?”

“Of course! These humans have to be reminded of their place at all times.“Another viscount jibed and regarded Lucius smugly.

“Very well. Then tell me, what is a proper punishment for someone insubordinate?” Lucius squinted his eyes, “I would love to put the person in question into his place.”

“Perhaps fifty whips?“The third earl suggested playfully.

“Guards!” Lucius suddenly raised his voice, and two guards that Dorian arranged for him immediately came to his side.

Lucius pointed at Keaton, “whip them. Fifty times each. Start with this one.”

All the noblemen and servants around them stopped talking and looked at them with curiosity. Some astonished gasps quietly dissolved into the low murmuring floating about the observing crowd.

Earl Keaton widened his eyes in shock, “you are joking, right?”

“You punished my servant without my permission, did not bow to me as you should, and showed me no respect. Tell me, if such behavior is not considered insubordinate, what is?”

“You can’t punish me for a worthless slave! Do you know who I am?!”

“I know perfectly who you are.” Lucius showed him an acrimonious smirk, “but do you know who I am?”

One of his two guards grabbed Earl Keaton’s shoulder without hesitation, and the other took out the whip hung on his waist. And soon, the cracks of whipping followed by the earl’s cry echoed in the courtyard. The other two noblemen ran away with tails between their legs.

And Lucius stood there watching all fifty whips with a glass of wine in his hand. His eyes glanced across the faces surrounding him, and one by one, the eyes on those faces lowered.