Red as Blood

by Anna Santos

“Yes. Drake said that his men are already here. Everything is going according to plan.”

  “That’s good to hear.” Snow sighed and rubbed her nose against my neck with a giggle. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too.”

  Chapter TWENTY-SEVEN

  Dorian’s POV

  It took me a few more minutes to get dressed and leave the arms of my wife. It was paramount that I returned to the ballroom. My super speed allowed me to travel faster. What greeted me was a strange scenario that I didn’t think was possible. Wherever I looked, the guests were engaging in some sort of sexual activity, either in couples or in groups. The aphrodisiac potion had made everybody insane with lust, and they were doing whatever it took to satisfy the craving.

  I pushed a few women and men who tried to grab me when they saw me coming in. Observing the ballroom, I noticed that Luke and Marlena were nowhere to be found. That worried me. I marched to the table and circled it as I looked around. I wasn’t ready to witness what I saw not too far from the ballroom but in another compartment with a waiting room. Luke was fucking Marlena. My best friend had the queen pinned against a wall with her head bumping against the bricks while he pushed himself between her thighs without bothering to remove her clothes. Her skirts covered their waists, preventing me from witness something more disturbing. Their groans of lust portrayed what was happening if I was still in any doubt. The queen was riding my friend and pulling his hair, asking him to keep going harder.

  When I told him to entertain her, I didn’t think he would be so bold as to take one for the team. I guess I was wrong.

  I stepped back, rested my back against the opposite wall, and waited for them to finish. I didn’t know where to look because the rest of the nobles were also frenzied among themselves. Everybody would have a massive headache the next day, not to mention the embarrassment that would follow.

  By the screams coming from the waiting room, Luke and Marlena were enjoying themselves. I looked at my nails, wondering how much longer they would take. If I knew what was happening, I’d have stayed longer with Snow. Her warm body and enticing lips were enough to turn me hard again. I counted to ten, then twenty, and I continued counting to keep my mind away from lustful thoughts. It wasn’t working. Everybody around me was moaning, and Marlena screamed louder than the rest. Luke seemed to be giving her a great time. I hoped he was coherent enough to put the magical handcuffs on her once they were done.

  I straightened up with a startle once the double doors to the ballroom spread open, and Drake marched into the room. He stopped and looked around with a confused expression.

  Walking to him, I evaded a few more women trying to pull me down and witnessed the werewolf pushing a few others out of his way with disgust.

  “What’s happening here?”

  “Marlena drugged them,” I reminded him.

  He arched an eyebrow and browsed around. “Where’s the witch?”

  I pointed back. “Luke is … distracting her.”

  Drake’s frown deepened. “Don’t tell me they are…” He cleared his throat and rubbed his forehead. “How can we arrest her? Is there something we can give them, so they snap out of it?”

  I shrugged. “We could lock the doors until they pass out and come back in the morning.”

  Drake folded his arms. “And the queen?”

  “I have her,” Luke said from behind us.

  I looked back and saw Marlena with her arms behind her back, her hair undone, and her corset barely containing her breasts. “I thought you’d never finish.”

  “What’s the meaning of this?” she asked, looking at me and then at Drake. “Who let this beast inside? Why are you helping the enemy, my love?”

  “Your love? You just fucked my friend,” I reminded her. “Why would you even think that I was in love with you? Are you so naïve?”

  “You aren’t?” She straightened up and turned to Luke. “Who are you?”

  “The guy who fucked you two minutes ago. Don’t you remember?”

  She pursed her lips and faced me. “I didn’t know what I was doing. You didn’t give me what I wanted.”

  “You’re insane. It’s over, I don’t need to pretend anymore that I’m interested in you.”

  “Pretending?” She raised her voice. “It’s impossible for you not to feel anything for me,” Marlena said, narrowing the distance between us. “I gave you a love potion this afternoon. It only takes a few hours to work. You need to obey everything I say. Kill them and release me.”

  My brows drew together. “A love potion? The drink you offered me this afternoon?”

  She grinned darkly. “Don’t you think I’m the most beautiful woman in the world?”

  “No. Should I?” I sneered at her and folded my arms. “Whatever you did, it had no effect on me. I don’t know if you know this, but once a vampire finds their mate, there’s no potion that can destroy their bond of true love. I love Snow, not you, witch.”

  She growled as if she was ready to become an animal and shred me to pieces.

  Luke rushed to her side and secured her by the arms. “Calm down. No more biting today. You’re going to the dungeons to join the other ones who betrayed the king and his daughter. Your days of evildoing are over.”

  “You won’t be able to hold me for long. These cuffs will lose power, and I’ll break free and destroy you all,” she claimed, her eyes flashing with insanity.

  “Is the mirror broken?” I asked Drake.

  “Yes. The king is free, and my men have stormed the palace and are locking up the servants.”

  “What?” Marlena asked. “You freed the elf in the mirror?”

  Drake nodded with a proud smile.

  Marlena staggered on the spot. All color was gone from her flushed cheeks. “You fools. He’ll destroy us all. What did you do? Who told you how to break the spell that kept him locked in?”

  “Stop trying to trick us with your crazy conspiracy theories,” I warned her. “You’re done. The king is saved, and you’ll be locked up and tried for your sins.”

  Marlena suddenly burst into laughter. “Fools, your days are numbered. I don’t care. Soon enough, you’ll come for me to help you all.”

  “Sure, now come along,” Luke said.

  “You’ll be miserable, my prince. I hope you cry every night. I killed your princess and ate her heart,” she bragged.

  I was about to speak, but someone beat me to it.

  “You’re the one who will cry every night. I’m alive, and Dorian and I married in secret,” Snow said, marching into the ballroom.

  “The werewolves protected you,” Marlena said. “The Fairy Queen used you to enter the palace and free her husband. I should have been more careful.”

  Snow strode to Marlena and slapped her. “This is for what you did to my father.” She slapped her again. “This is for flirting with Dorian and coveting what’s not yours.” She closed her hand into a fist and connected it with the queen’s nose. “And this is for trying to kill me on several occasions.”

  Blood splattered from the queen’s nose, but it seemed that Snow’s hits didn’t cause her any pain, or she was too numb to feel anything. Instead, Marlena grinned and showed her teeth.

  Snow pulled her fist back again, but I rushed to her side and held her arm. “Stop, you’re hurting your hand.”

  Marlena kept laughing. “Look around you. Everybody is fucking like animals. I did this to them. Your nobles are taken with lust, and your precious father can barely get it up.”

  Luke covered the witch’s mouth, but he found out it was the wrong move when Marlena bit him, and he jerked his hand away in pain. “Crazy bitch.”

  “Watch your language in front of my wife,” I cautioned him.

  “He’s right. She is a crazy bitch,” Snow said. “Just take her away and …” She looked around, and her eyes widened as if she was seeing what was going on for the first time. “Get me out of here,” she shrieked, closing her eyes and hiding her head against my chest. />
  I pursed my lips and swallowed the laughter. She was adorable and innocent. Not like the view was something I wanted to see, either. Therefore, I held her in my arms, and we left the ballroom with Drake and Luke dragging Marlena behind us.

  Drake closed the doors and looked at me as if waiting for me to tell him what to do.

  The sound of boots alerted us that someone was coming.

  “Alpha, the servants have been imprisoned with the guards. I sent a group of men to the village to arrest the queen’s hunters.”

  “Thank you, Jake. Please show Luke where the dungeons are and find an empty cell for our new guest.”

  “We should kill her now,” a voice said.

  I looked back, and Snow raised her head to look at the tall elf with silvery hair walking our way. His footsteps made no sound, and he didn’t smell of anything. It was as if he didn’t exist, but he was there, and I could see him.

  “This is Anderhal, the Fairy King,” Drake introduced.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty,” I said.

  He looked at Snow and bowed. “Princess.”

  “Majesty,” she said, releasing herself from my arms and bowing.

  The king studied everybody. “I’m thankful to you all for releasing me. It’s been painful decades since I’ve been locked away.”

  “We had no idea you were trapped or that Marlena was a witch,” Snow said.

  “I know. Your family isn’t at fault. However, I believe that the safest thing to do is to kill the witch. She’s too strong to be locked in a prison made by humans.”

  “Now that you’re free, we were under the impression that her magical powers would decrease.”

  “No. She used me, but she’s strong on her own. Strong and clever. She’ll find a way to get free. One of her subjects will come for her. One of her sisters will try to free her. You can’t let her escape. It’s best if we kill her. I can do this now if you’ll allow me.” He raised his hand as if ready to choke her to death.

  “That’s not the way we do justice,” Drake intervened. “This isn’t my kingdom, but I’ve helped save the king. Although I have enormous respect for your wife, this is not your decision. Marlena will be tried even if I have to imprison her in my village.”

  “You’re making a mistake,” the elf said, folding his arms with a placid smile.

  Snow put herself between the elf and Marlena. “I agree with the Alpha. As the princess, I order her to be locked away and not killed. She’ll stand trial for her sins, and my father will decide her fate.”

  “You’re a good daughter, after all,” Marlena said.

  Snow glanced back with a hard stare. “I’m not doing this for you. You were never a mother figure to me. I’m doing this because everybody deserves a fair trial.”

  The elf moved back without his feet moving. I noticed that he was gliding and not walking. I didn’t see any wings that could explain how he was doing that.

  The Fairy King looked at me and smirked. “I’ll be seeing you again.”

  With those words, his body dissolved into tiny glowing particles, and he was gone.

  “Teleport,” I said in awe. “I’ve heard about it, but I’ve never seen it.”

  “Only the most powerful ones can do this,” Marlena said. “They are also the most dangerous and vicious. You don’t want to believe me, so I’ll accept my fate and let you deal with the consequences.”

  “Take her away. I can’t even look at her face,” Snow ordered and reached for my embrace. She hid her face against my chest and held me tight. “Once Father is better, I want to leave this kingdom and live with you in yours.”

  “We’ll do as you wish,” I assured her, patting her head to comfort her.

  “Belle must be arriving with Celia to take care of the king. Princess, could you tell us where we can sleep? We need to stay here for a couple of days until your soldiers are able to protect you again.”

  “And the court is back to their senses,” I added.

  “We should release a few servants and ask them to throw buckets of cold water on the nobles. It might help,” Drake suggested. “I have no wish to expose my wife to the orgy happening behind those doors.”

  “Snow, we need to talk to the servants before announcing that you’re alive to the rest of the kingdom,” I said to my wife. “I’m sure the majority of them will be happy to see you alive.”

  She raised her head. “How will we distinguish the ones loyal to my family from the ones serving Marlena? We can’t lock up everybody in the palace.”

  “The Fairy Queen said she’d help us,” Drake said. “I hope Belle comes up with a solution now that the Fairy King has left.”

  “It’s going to be a long night,” I said with a sigh.

  Chapter TWENTY-EIGHT

  Dorian’s POV

  We should have all been feeling relieved and happy for trapping the Evil Queen and saving the people of the Meadows Kingdom. Yet, there was an unsettling feeling in the air. A tight knot formed in the pit of my stomach. Marlena’s words kept replaying in my mind, and I couldn’t control the anxiety growing in me.

  Snow sat up in bed, her smooth, dark hair framing her innocent face. “What’s wrong?” Her hand squeezed my shoulder. “Aren’t you sleepy?”

  “I’m tired, but my mind is filled with thoughts. Don’t worry about me. Sleep. You must be exhausted.”

  Her hand caressed my hair away, and her lips pressed against the curve of my neck. “Is the aphrodisiac still in your system? I’m rested now. We can make love again if you want.”

  The right corner of my mouth curled up, and I put an arm around her waist, bringing her smooth skin against the left side of my body. “You’re the love of my life. I’ll never get enough of you. Right now, I’m not thinking about taking off your clothes and making love to you. I’m concerned about Marlena’s threats.”

  “She’s trapped in the dungeons. The magical cuffs won’t let her use her magic. When the Fairy Queen arrives, she’ll have another way of dealing with my evil stepmother.”

  I gently brought her head to rest against my shoulder and kept stroking her hair. “Sleep some more, my love. What matters are these moments when we are together without anything that can destroy our happiness.”

  “You look more worried than happy.”

  “True, but I’m grateful for being here with you.”

  “I’m grateful, too.”

  The sound of a horn announced that something was happening.

  “What’s the meaning of a horn in the middle of the day?” I asked my wife.

  “A royal entourage is arriving.”

  “Belle is already here. Could it be the Fairy Queen?”

  “Will find out in a moment,” Snow said.

  “We should get up then. The king is still in bed, recovering, and everybody else must be sleeping after last night’s events.”

  Snow breathed deeply before raising her head to kiss my mouth. “You’re right. We need to do the honors and hope it’s a friendly visit. I have no idea what Marlena has been planning while I was gone.”

  “Your people know that you’re alive. The messengers were scattered around the kingdom this morning. We’ll throw a party once we’ve dealt with Marlena.”

  “We have busy days ahead of us,” Snow said. “We should have a party once my father is feeling better. I’m sure the population will be happy to know about our marriage.”

  “You can organize that while Drake and I choose new ranking officers to lead the Meadows Army. We also need to dismantle the Elite Hunter Force. They are loyal to Marlena.”

  She kissed my cheek. “I trust that you know what you’re doing. I’m also grateful that Drake will stay behind to help us because we have no idea who to trust. We can’t arrest and execute everybody.”

  “No. It will take months for everything to go back to normal. Until then, we can’t show vulnerability.”

  “I believe the truth needs to be told. The queen has been arrested. The most influ
ential noble families have been drugged. Marlena’s actions and conduct will have serious political implications. My father married a black magic practitioner. People will question his ability to rule.”

  “Snow, the truth is what we want it to be. All that people need to know is that you’re safe. I found you and married you. The king is getting better, and the queen is indisposed. Knowledge isn’t always a good thing.”

  Snow frowned at my words.

  Our conversation was interrupted with a knock on the door.

  The servant outside announced, “King Lavarus Latimer has arrived and is requesting an audience with Princess Snow and her husband.”

  “My father is here,” I said to my wife.

  “Your father?”

  “I’m as surprised as you are.”

  Getting up, I padded to the door and opened it.

  The servant bowed. “What do I tell the king, sir?”

  “The princess and I will receive him in the throne room. Please show him in and request for him to wait for us.”

  “As you wish.” Bowing and walking back, the servant disappeared down the corridor.

  Without delay, we got dressed and descended to the Throne Room to greet my father and his entourage.

  Father was standing in front of a painting, holding his helm under his arm. His guards were in the entrance, standing straight and still as statues in their bronze armor and purple velvet cloaks.

  Strolling to him, my wife held my arm and followed my lead.

  “Father,” I greeted, bowing when he turned around to look at me.

  “Dorian. Snow.” He lowered his eyes in acknowledgment. “I’m glad to see that you are both well.”

  Vampires liked to be straightforward, so I skipped the flatteries. “What brings you here?”

  “I’ve read the news of your marriage.” He stepped forward and analyzed my wife. “She’s a beauty. No wonder you were eager to return for her.”

  “She’s my destinated mate,” I reminded him.

  “What matters is that your marriage made us family. As family, I came here to warn you.”