CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
~Author’s POV~
The sunlight bled lazily through the tall, arched windows of the dining hall. A golden glow kissed the edges of the long mahogany table, laid with silver cutlery, blood-red goblets, and porcelain plates. But despite the lavish setup and fresh aroma of food, no one touched a single thing.
They were waiting.
Lucien sat at the edge of the grandest chair, his presence unmistakably dominant. He looked… different. Paler, darker under the eyes, dangerous. There was a haunting shadow cast over his usually polished elegance. One hand rested on the armrest, the other tapping faintly against the wood. Everyone could feel it—the storm brewing inside him.
“Why are we not eating?” Ana complained, shifting in her seat, her voice laced with irritation. “This is ridiculous.”
Lucien didn’t even look her way. His eyes remained fixed on the entrance. Cold. Unbothered.
Jae glanced sideways, a slight sneer on his lips. “You should know by now. Nothing starts without his human boy.”
Nyx leaning back comfortably with a smug grin, let out a soft chuckle. “He’s really wrapped around that boy’s little finger, isn’t he?”
Lucien didn’t respond. His jaw tightened, his fingers curling slightly. The only thing anchoring his storm of exhaustion was the anticipation of seeing Elias again. He didn’t go back to the room last night but this morning—Elias was nowhere to be found. He had gone back to the second floor.
It was soul-crushing.
Finally, footsteps echoed down the hallway, drawing closer. Every eye turned.
Elias stepped in.
He looked fresh but quiet, dressed simply in a loose shirt and pants. He didn’t smile. Didn’t greet anyone and one dared to question him. He simply walked toward the table, eyes unreadable. And just as he pulled out a chair at the far end—
Lucien’s hand shot out.
Without a word, he pulled Elias onto his lap, arms wrapping around his waist, holding him firm. The room fell into an uneasy silence.
Elias didn’t react. No surprise, no complaint. He simply sat there, cold, composed, and distant.
Lucien leaned closer, murmuring just near his ear. “You smell like sleep… Did you rest well?”
No answer.
He brushed his fingers over Elias’s hip, trying again. “Still upset?”
Still no response.
Lucien’s expression twisted into subtle frustration, but he kept his composure. His fingers tightened just slightly around Elias’s waist, desperate to feel something—anything.
Nyx cleared his throat, trying to defuse the tension. “So, Ana, how is the human world treating you? I hear you are now managing a bookstore. Very fitting.”
Ana glared at him. “A punishment is what it is.”
“You sell vampire romance novels?” Nyx added with a grin.
Ana rolled her eyes. “Rot in hell.”
Jae pushed his goblet forward and spoke flatly, “You look like a ghost, Lucien. Where did you go last night?”
Lucien didn’t answer. His focus hadn’t shifted for a second. He leaned toward Elias, tilting the boy’s chin slightly. “Say something. Anything.”
Elias turned his face the other way.
Lucien felt his control slipping. The silence from Elias was louder than any scream, more painful than any injury. He had no idea how Elias was affecting him this way.
He was new to those emotions.
Desperate to break the silence, he pulled Elias’s face to his and kissed him—deeply, possessively. The room gasped.
It was the first time Lucien was being intimate with someone publicly—not to talk of a human….
Ana swore under her breath as her face scrunched up. “Is this really happening right now?”
Nyx responded, “What do you think?”
Lucien didn’t stop. His lips moved over Elias’s mouth like a starving man but he made sure to go gentle and soft this time. And Elias…. didn’t move. Didn’t melt into it like he usually does. Didn’t kiss back. He just let it happen, his eyes open and blank.
When Lucien finally pulled back, disappointment lined his features. “Still nothing?”
Jaw folded his arms. “You are starving. And you have a war tonight. You are in no shape to fight.”
“I’m fine,” Lucien growled.
“You are not,” Jae replied. “Drink his blood or you will fall apart.”
At that, Lucien’s eyes dangerously flickered. He looked toward Elias—and immediately shook his head. No. He wouldn’t hurt him again. He was not as weak as Jae thought. Yeah, he looked like a devil and that was because he fought so many supernatural beings overnight.
But he was still perfectly okay.
After a long pause, Lucien signaled to the side. A maid appeared promptly.
But before anyone could guess what was happening, Lucien blurred in motion.
Within a blink, he was on his feet. His hand gripped the maid’s throat as her feet lifted off the ground. Elias tensed.
Lucien’s fangs gleamed under the morning light as he bared them and sank into her neck savagely, his other arm still wrapped protectively around Elias’s waist, pressing him close.
The room went still.
Not because Lucien was drinking directly from a maid as that was the usual thing for him. But ever since, he found Elias, no one saw the need for him to drink from another.
He could easily just drink from Elias anytime.
Blood dripped onto the floor.
The maid whimpered softly, eyes fluttering shut.
Elias felt his own heartbeat roar in his ears. He had never seen Lucien drink like this—in front of everyone, with that much rage behind it. It was brutal and animalistic. Terrifying much. And yet, even as he watched, Lucien held him like he was the only thing tethering him to sanity.
He was drinking violently and yet cradling Elias with reverence.
What was he?
When Lucien finally pulled away, blood stained the edge of his mouth, he dropped the maid gently, letting a guard take her away.
“That was uncalled for, Lucien,” Ana chimed in, “You could have asked for my blood.”
It was as if she didn’t just speak.
Lucien turned to Elias and whispered, “I’m trying to behave. You are making it hard.”
“Please…..say something.”
A whole king? Begging?
Elias just stared at him—eyes wide, heart torn.
A chill swept through the hall, and nobody spoke.
Until Nyx finally muttered under his breath, “God help us all.”
From the hallway, a sudden gust of dark wind blew the door open.
A servant rushed in, eyes wide in panic.
“My Lord… They are here. The witches.”
Lucien didn’t move—his arm still around Elias, his gaze dead ahead.
“Let them wait,” he said darkly. “I will be there after I finish breakfast.”
Nyx spoke up almost immediately, “Why don’t you go now?”
Lucien raised his brows, “What will happen if I don’t? By the way, Elias is not done eating.”