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Alina "Papa?" I looked at Erick, visibly stunned. "B-But... how?" "Humans are not allowed inside the Constantium unless you're the bride." He tapped my nose with his index finger. "But no one said he can't come to the castle." I turned around and threw my arms around his neck. "Thank you!" I gasped out. You have no idea what this means to me! Anything for my lovely wife. He chuckled. It struck me anew that we were married now, something I had never thought possible right from the beginning and an idea I had always thought repulsive, especially after that incident. Now, here I am, married to the Vampire Prince on my own accord. I had no idea when I had come to trust him and to like him. But I knew now that I would never leave him, just like I knew that he would never leave me. I broke away from him and rushed over to my father. I fell to my knees before him, placed my head in his lap, and wrapped my arms around his waist. I heard the door closing an instant later and knew that Erick and Kendrick had gone outside to give us some space. "How are you, my little Princess? Why is there blood on your sleeve?" He sounded worried. "It's okay. Don't worry. This was a vampire wedding, remember?" I raised my head and looked at the red stain on the sleeve of my right hand. "I had anaesthetics, and Erick's blood healed me. See?" I pulled down the sleeve to expose clear, unscathed skin. "Everything's fine." "Thank goodness!" He exhaled while looking exhausted. Somehow, he looked older than I had last seen him. "Papa, you should really go back to the hospital. You don't look so well." I took his hand in mine. They were now forming wrinkles all over, and he was only forty-nine. "I will, honey. I really wished I could've been at your wedding and handed you over to Erick myself, but I still got to see you today, all thanks to your husband. Now, I'm at peace." He cupped my face with his hands and kissed my forehead then my cheeks. A knock sounded at the door, and Kendrick entered a second later. I wiped the moisture that had gathered at the corner of my eyes. "Mr. Deluca, it's time to take you back to the hospital," Kendrick told my father. "Yes, I'm ready," he answered Kendrick and then turned to me. "Thank you for respecting your mother's last wish, honey. I wish that you have a long and happy life ahead." With that, Kendrick moved his wheelchair out the room and left the door open on his way out, but not before handing me what I asked him to get this morning. Safely tucking the thing away in the folds of my dress, I turned to wave my father goodbye. It was only after that I had a proper look at the room. It was huge, grand actually, but this appeared to be a bedroom. There was a huge king-sized bed and a large chandelier on the ceiling which illuminated the whole room, casting a golden hue. Several doors were placed all over, and there were magnificent paintings all over the walls. Some showed battle scenes while others held beautiful landscapes. There was one painting of Kenna with a little child held in her arms, but I was unable to tell if it was Athena, Susan, or Erick. There were also some beautiful flowers placed in ornate vases all over the room. Their fragrance was something I had never smelled before though the flowers looked like roses. "Thank you," I whispered, knowing that he would be able to hear me. "I think you already did thank me." His voice came from right behind me. I sucked in a breath and closed my eyes tightly as I felt Erick's hands trail up my arms and stop at the sleeves of my dress where my shoulders flowed into my arms. "Relax," he murmured into my ear, his breath a hot whisper against my cheeks. Taking another deep breath, I fed this wild hunger deep inside of me that had always been aware of Erick's presence even when I had hated him. I leaned my back against his chest and rested the back of my head on his shoulders. I gave into him. Erick's arms came around me almost instantly. We didn't speak for a long while, just letting the silence engulf us into a silent, private cocoon. It was Erick who finally broke the comfortable silence. "I have something to show you." "What?" "Not yet." I frowned but let him continue. "You should change first. I've got some clothes for you in the bathroom." "Okay." What could he possibly want to show me now? By now, I was used to Erick setting up clothes for me. Entering the bathroom after Erick had given me directions, I locked the door after me and leaned against it for a bit. It was late in the evening, and the entire castle was illuminated by thousands of candles and whale-sized chandeliers. Electricity didn't seem to exist here. Then again, in a world ruled by magic, who needs electricity when you could do far cooler things with just a thought?