Chapter 23 The Heart Wants What It Wants
Lucius didn’t know how and when they left the ballroom and stole into the quiet reading room, but as his mind caught up with the present, they kissed fiercely as he was pushed against a giant desk. He vaguely thought, why could they only have sex when drunk? They were married! They should be allowed to do this anytime they want!
“Bite me!” Lucius whispered into Dorian’s ear, and it was the sweetest command in the world. Dorian growled in excitement. He grabbed the back of Lucius’s neck, holding him in place, and sank his fangs into Lucius’s neck. The rush of pleasure from the venom almost sent Lucius to climax immediately.
Dorian paused for a second, pulled Lucius’s pants down, and unzipped his own, then he lifted the smaller man and put him on the desk, not caring that the papers and books fell to the ground. Lucius curled his legs around Dorian’s waist and pulled him closer, baring his neck for easy access.
The drunken prince had less self-restraint than last time and didn’t have much patience for preparation. Luckily Lucius was already turned on and hard as stone. As Dorian’s cock penetrated Lucius’s entrance, his teeth also bit down on his consort’s neck once more. It was the craziest sensation Lucius had ever experienced, and his toes all curled up. He moaned in euphoria and didn’t care if anyone heard them.
Neither of them noticed that the door quietly cracked open.
Florian had been keeping an eye on Lucius. When he saw that the royal couple had moved away from the crowd, he furtively followed, ensuring the shadow and crowd hid him so no guests would bother him. It took him some time to find the reading room, and that moan caught his attention. Wasn’t sure if Lucius was in any kind of pain, he surreptitiously peeked into the room.
And then the erotic scene displayed before his eyes. Dorian’s half-clothed, sculptural body was like the image of the greek sun god. The dancing firelight from the fireplace glazed a layer of golden honey hue to his dewy shoulder. His powerful waist kept pounding forward, shattering the smaller, slimmer body beneath him.
And Lucius (or Julian in Florian’s mind), the supposedly angelic and chaste high priest, was now blooming like a flower of sin. A delicious rosy color tinged his ivory skin, and his long legs twined around the prince like white snakes, and his head leaned backward, presenting himself like a meal, and yet the expression on his face was...utterly licentious and yet beautiful.
Florian gulped. He knew he should have closed the door and left them the couple to their enjoyment, but he couldn’t turn his eyes.
Dorian paused for a second. And as Florian worried that the vampire heard him, Dorian lifted Lucius up and threw both of them onto the couch. This time, Lucius sat on top of Dorian. He gave Dorian a passionate kiss and guided the crown prince’s huge slick cock with his hand, penetrating himself back on that huge spear with a loud cry. Then Lucius began to ride Dorian’s cock with such enthusiasm. Though slander, he still had a decent amount of muscle and stamina. His plump butt cheeks shook every time he sank down.
Dorian stared at the shameless, lecherous, and breathtaking creature dancing on him like an incubus. His mind was blank for the first time in a long time to the point that he couldn’t recall his own name. And as the pleasure built up to a point, Lucius’s speed couldn’t push it further, so he turned them over abruptly and pounded frantically as if he wanted to break Lucius. But Lucius loved it. He opened his legs wider to encourage it.
However, just as they both were mounting up to the culmination, Dorian said one word. And it broke everything into pieces for Lucius.
“Julian!” Dorian shouted as he ejaculated into Lucius’s body.
A single word was like a full load of icy water spilling over Lucius’s fiery body, and almost immediately, his cock went limp.
Dorian collapsed on Lucius, panting heavily, oblivious of what he had just exclaimed in passion. And Lucius lay there, frozen in shock and humiliation.
“Who did you think you were fucking?“Lucius asked quietly after a long silence.
But Dorian was already half-asleep. He mumbled something indecipherable and probably didn’t even register Lucius’s question.
A pang reverberated in Lucius’s chest, and a pungent sensation rushed to his eyes. He blinked forcefully while taking deep breaths, trying to blink the wetness away, though unsuccessful.
What did you think, Lucius? Of course Dorian had always been thinking about Julian! That was why he only had sex with you when he drank!
Why was he expecting Dorian would for once like him for who he really was? Why does he believe anyone would like him for who he really is?
He should have accepted that he would only ever be the shadow. The cheap substitute.
He wiped this face with the back of his hand and skillfully extracted himself from under Dorian’s body without waking him up. And by the time he stood up and began to dress, his expression was cold as stone, just like his heart.
Lucius pulled the door open and found Florian waiting outside, observing him with a peculiar look. Lucius didn’t try to hide the bite wounds on his neck and collarbones. At this point, he had no strength to feel shame or worry if his human servant saw what had transpired in the reading room.
“Is the party over?” Lucius asked.
Florian said, “many had retired. Some are too drunk from all the blood and brandy to return to their room. Even the guards are half drunk.”
“Good. I will go back to do some preparation and then I will leave for the chamber.” Lucius said evenly, albeit his throat was rough from all the moaning and crying.
He took a shower first and put on some dark clothes that could hide him better. Then he patched the wounds on his neck. It was a bad idea to let Dorian bite him, for the Sleeping Ones may smell the blood. But then, again, he wasn’t really thinking.
When the ritual was undergoing, and most of the vampires were outside, Florian sneaked into the treasure room, where many family heirlooms were displayed, stole several important items that could help Lucius’s mission, and stashed them under the bed.
“Only vampires have the best weapon to kill or harm other vampires because they know all their own weaknesses,” Florian told him during one of their training sessions.
The props Florian brought included an antique knife with some runic engraves and a dried human finger cut off from a hanged man. The former would be used to draw blood, and the latter was used as a lucky charm to ward off evil historically, and it also had the power to make the wearer invisible to a sleeping vampire’s still acute senses.
As he was examining them, Florian entered the room.
“You shouldn’t have let him bite you.” The former hunter said.
Lucius was startled. He didn’t hear Florian at all. The man was stealthy like a feline.
“I’ve patched them up. Will they still smell it?”
“We need to do better than this.” Florian drew nearer and studied the wounds closely. He went into the bathroom and took out the bandages, rubbing alcohol, and antibiotic ointment. He carefully peeled off the two bandages Lucius put on and cleaned the wounds gingerly.
“How much did he drink?” Florian kept inquiring, “are you feeling dizzy?”
“No, I’m fine. He didn’t drink too much since he had been drinking the blood-mixed brandy the whole night. ” Lucius answered, feeling slightly awkward when the other man treated him with such care and gentleness. With another glance, he noticed Florian was carrying a long sword on his back.
“Did you steal that from the display room, too?“Lucius asked, “why? Are you planning to try to run away again after I leave?”
“It’s not stealing if it’s mine.”
“Yours?”
“It’s my sword until they captured me and sold me as a slave. Lilian bought it with me as her trophy.” Florian said nonchalantly as he covered the wound with the ointment, “and no, I didn’t take it back to run away. I’m coming with you.”
“What?”
Florian carefully put on the bandage and then looked into Lucius’s eyes, “my duty is to protect you. I can’t let you do something so stupid all by yourself.”
“But you may die,” Lucius said cautiously, didn’t dare to believe it.
“If I can somehow kill an ancient monster before I die, then it’s worth it.” Florian quirked a smile.
“You can’t kill them with just a silver sword!”
“It’s not ‘just’ a silver sword. It was made by one of my strongest ancestors. To give it the ability to kill vampires, she jumped into the melted silver pound as a sacrifice. It cuts orges and neophytes like cheese, and apostles hurt by it cannot heal for a long time, and with enough damage, it can send an apostle directly into hibernation. The downside is that vampires can sense it if I unsheath it, so to avoid waking up all the vampires in that chamber, let’s try not to use it.”
Lucius gaped at the man in disbelief, “so you are really coming.”
Florian seemed amused by his incredulity, “do I look like the joking type?”
“No...it’s just...“Lucius wanted to say he couldn’t believe someone was willing to die for him, but it was a bit too cheesy.
It was an unbelievably lucky development. With a strong and experienced hunter like Florian by his side, his survival chance was drastically boosted.
“Don’t move. I will put a spell on your bandage to neutralize the blood smell. Hopefully, the old vamps won’t sense it.” Florian tilted his chin higher, pressing the hanged man’s finger over the bandage, and began chanting quietly. Lucius noticed a ring of gold light flashing deep in his irises. But soon, Florian yelped in pain and doubled down as if someone had punched him in the gut.
“Hey! What’s happening? Are you alright?“Lucius flusteredly grabbed Florian’s shoulder, trying to find the reason for his pain. But the hunter only shook his head, “it’s ok. The chip in my head will punish me every time I try to use spells. I’ve built some tolerance over it, but I’ve been acting as if I’m in immense pain when I try to use magic so they won’t suspect.”
Of course, a professional state-hired vampire hunter would know some arcane arts. But Lucius was still astonished, “you know magic?”
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“I thought humans cannot use magic!”
“That’s only your Churchs’ stipulation, condaming arcane force as something unclean and evil. It’s a pity. Because humans can do a lot more than you think.” Florian stood up as if nothing had happened a moment ago. He looked at the still-dark sky outside the window and said, “the sun will rise in an hour. We should move now.”
The next hour everything seemed to go their way. Not many vampires were still sober. And most of the slaves were also passed out, some from losing too much blood, others from the exhaustion of serving multiple guests the whole night. Only one woman slave laying under a snoring vampire saw them passing, but after Florian put a finger to his mouth, she nodded quietly.
Many meat bodies were scattered and piled on the floor, completely drained of even the last drop of blood. The grueling scene made Lucius’s heart shudder in horror and guilty. They were dying there, slaughtered like pigs, while he was enjoying being fucked brains out by one of the worst enemies.
The guards guarding the chamber were two neophytes who were affected by the sun much more substantially than the apostles. And as the first ray of sun burst out of the horizon, they began to yawn and tried to find some umbrage to hide. And as the dawn arrived with full force, they began to doze off.
“Why did they let neophytes guard the chamber, knowing they can’t handle the sunlight as well as apostles? Such a stupid decision.” Lucius mumbled as they skulked in the tickets, waiting for the guards to fall asleep.
Florian said, “because the apostles are too important and precious to undertake such a low-level job. Vampires have even more ridiculous class-related social norms than humans. Also, I suppose normally no person is stupid enough to approach the chamber.”
Lucius glared at the hunter, and the latter winked at him before moving, “come on, those two are already deep in dreams.”
They crossed the pound by the stepping stones without much trouble, and the Sleeping Chamber stood before them in silent menace. An ominous dank smell blew out from the endless void. It smelled like rotten corpses.
Florian said, “last chance to turn back.”
Lucius gazed into the abyss for a second, then turned his head to regard the beautiful and colorful morning sky. He took a deep breath, and stepped into the shadow.