Demonic Lycan's Royal Consort

Chapter 10: Bloodline Test

She dusted herself off, standing up. Her eyes swept the surrounding, finding that the man had disappeared. A surge of disappointment filled her heart. She yearned to see that man in the same state as she was, untidy and vulnerable.

It was a petty thought, she knew. She couldn't help it that she also wanted a little revenge.

As the door opened, two silver heads came into sight. They were Edmund and Kairos.

The two seemed to be startled at the condition inside. The pool of blood was bubbling like lava, rolling with oppressiveness toward those of the same bloodline. Even both men could perceive it, the anger. Some places were wrecked, lamps shattered on the floor, and debris of whatever they were before they turned into such unrecognizable things was scattered around.

There were signs of battle everywhere, and the residue of power was still faintly looming.

"What happened?" Kairos opened his mouth first, taking in the sight of Irene, who was wiping blood from the corner of her lips.

The bloodline was repairing her body, but the backlash was still there. She had been unconscious, and it caused slight damage to her consciousness when she forcefully made herself stay awake.

"Irene, are you okay?" Edmund's face was full of concern when he realized what had happened. His was taut, filled with anxiety. The long legs subconsciously walked closer to her, and before he knew it, he had reached out to touch her shoulder.

Abruptly, Irene's pupils constricted. She moved away swiftly, avoiding his touch.

Kairos also walked closer to the edge of the pool, approaching his younger siblings. After she shifted her body away, they briefly made contact before she looked away.

And it happened that she saw Edmunc's expression. His hand was frozen in the air, stunned, not expecting that she'd avoid his touch. The disappointed and hurt look on his face caused what she thought to be a stone heart to feel inexplicable guilt.

"I am still dirty, don't touch me." She didn't know how to coax people, and she could only awkwardly explain to him.

Edmund hurriedly retracted his hands, clasping them behind his back. Shaking his head, he blinked and explained honestly. "You are not dirty. Look, you are hurt."

His words made her guilt deepen. However, she couldn't explain that the real reason why she didn't allow him to touch her was because of the poisonous blood on her body.

No, it wasn't her blood that was poisonous, but that man's. The hateful scoundrel seemed to be so sure she would die. Even more strange was that he uttered these words when he didn't possess any intention to kill her.

At that time, his blood was spilled on her. So, it could be the only reason. And the slightly charred floor on the place where his blood had dripped further convinced her of this conjecture. Hence, she couldn't let Edmund take the risk.

The suppression of bloodline power had been too strong. In the outside world, his blood should be more fatal.

"It's nothing." She responded indifferently, regaining her usual mannerism. The dress had gone back to spotlessly clean, and the pale skin had gotten paler but was even smoother than before.

"What happened?" Kairos repeated, his voice hard.

Edmund's head snapped toward him. The surprise was plainly visible. It was as though he wondered why his usually taciturn elder brother would be enraged.

The silver-haired second prince seemed to realize that his reaction was slightly out of character. He adjusted his emotions. Nevertheless, the way he looked at Irene was still hard.

"What happened here, Ira?"

Edmund was back to the nickname he insisted on calling her. He had told her that it took him a week to think of the nickname he should call her so that it would be different from other people. It had never crossed her mind how he'd come up with such a name. Nonetheless, she just let him.

Without realizing it, her heart warmed up slightly.

Just as her mind worked fast to churn out ideas on how to answer them, Kairos suddenly spoke. "Go back and rest first. There will be another blood test ceremony later on."

That pair of grey eyes gave her a meaningful look. She narrowed her eyes. Her lips curled up in response, stained with slight contempt.

The three disappeared from the room, enveloped in a red mixed with golden light. Seeing this scene, she seemed to have grasped a new understanding. It was the inherent power of bloodline in this place. Kairos was recognized by the bloodline power because he had high potential and dense bloodline concentration. Thus, he could move more freely. Stelian probably did too.

The fact that she was a girl --a never seen the phenomenon before, perhaps had caused her to have a harder time in the transformation process.

Now, her skin looked as pale as the dead.

She had become a pure-born vampire, and from then on, she should start drinking blood...

The resting time in the designated room they had prepared gave her a lot of time to think. She examined the details of the man and the battle in the chamber earlier.

Her nostril flared, and she took a deep breath as she discovered that the noises produced by the devastating battle should have transferred to the throne hall. The king's mind was unpredictable... it was no wonder that she had two other royal children fetching her back.

What was his intention?

As for the nobles, they might have ideas floating in their minds too. She wouldn't be surprised if she found herself being charged with blasphemy after turning the awakening chamber upside down tomorrow.

There was also something bothering her.

Her mind was muddled in the battle earlier. Hence, she didn't notice some minor details. That man seemed to be familiar...

He was the man who fought against her in the Forest of Beasts.

It was a sure fact. His moves were different from the ones used in the Forest of Beasts, but it was inevitable to discard some habits. He would take at least a step forward before he attacked, whether it was close-range combat or they were separated by distance. It was his way of deterring and oppressing his opponent.

That strange, uncomfortably oppressive aura was also present in him. She had only met a few men like that. Fortunately, he was already injured, or otherwise, she, who was also not in full health, would be finished by him within a few moves.

She sorted her mind, erasing the thoughts about that man while silently noting another hatred above the old ones. Now, she had to face the blood test in front of the nobles.

Sarcastically, she thought to herself. After being tempered to the point one breath away from death, how could she not be a royal of this race? Even if she desperately wanted to admit otherwise, facts were laid out bare in front of him.

These nobles wanted to see her making a fool of herself, right?

She took the fruit knife from a plate of fruit on the table, suddenly enveloped in the fleeing sadness at the loss of her sense of taste. Mourning that fact for a split second, she shifted her attention to the knife in her hand, which was under the light, shining with a metallic luster.

In a swift movement, she slit her own wrist. After that, her eyes subconsciously looked down curiously.

The color of her blood...

She wasn't sure about it. Her blood seemed to have turned invisible. The feeling of wetness was an indication that she still had blood. Even after it had dripped to the floor, the color remained transparent like water.

Other nobles or vampires with strong power were usually darker grey. Meanwhile, commoner vampires were red, as they also resembled a human in a way.

As fast as she could feel the blood dripping to the floor, the gaping wound on her wrist healed at a speed visible to the naked eye. In a few seconds, the skin had turned as smooth as before, and there was not even a trace that there had been a wound.

Her lips curled up into a mocking smile. Let's just see what would happen at the blood test later.

The knock on the door interrupted her action. She knew a few hours had passed since she left the awakening chamber. She had cleaned herself earlier, washing off the poisonous blood with the stock of potion given by Reyes. She wasn't sure how far the toxicity of the poison was. Surely, normal water wouldn't be able to wash it off. She had a feeling that if that scoundrel's blood touched the water, the level of toxicity could kill a small city of humans.

"Your Highness, His Majesty is waiting for you at the throne hall." The maid in charge of taking care of her informed her.

The maid's eyes flitted to her body, scanning her appearance from head to toe, seemingly making sure she had dressed right for the occasion.

Irene had driven the maids away earlier and didn't even let them dress her. It came as a surprise that this one maid was worried about how she presented herself in front of the others later. She let her send the discreet look and then walked away.

The maid hurriedly followed her from behind.

In a moment, she arrived in front of the huge door of the throne hall. The guard was rather quick to act as he directly announced her name and opened the door.

Irene could feel many scrutinizing gazes, this time more intense than before. The distinction was that they didn't act as open as before. They had a little more apprehensiveness.

Her looks were indeed vastly different. The pale skin didn't make her look gloomy and withered. Instead, it enhanced her charms. The red lips and pale skin were like the combination of an alluring demon.

Some sons from high-ranking noble houses consciously straightened themselves when she passed them. She walked on the red carpet toward the high platform. After stepping on the stairs, she curtsied at the king and the queens.

"Ceremony exempt." The king said as he instantly rose from his high seat, causing Irene, who was about to curtsy to stop her movement.

She didn't care too much, only following his order.

"Follow me." King Darien ordered again in his deep voice.

She followed him, putting quite a distance between them. They walked toward a podium where a little white bowl could be seen.

King Darien stood beside the bowl, and she stood behind him at what she considered a respectful distance.

"Stand beside me."

She heard his authoritative voice, snapping her out of the reverie. She walked closer unhurriedly until she could see the shape of the bowl more clearly. Her pupils abruptly constricted at the sight.

It wasn't a white bowl at all. This thing was made from bones. The color was darker and slightly yellow, like ivory.

Was that the bones of their ancestor? Her mind wandered slightly.

"Stretch your hand." She did as ordered, slowly stretching out her right hand. She had just scratched her left one, and perhaps with his extraordinary sense of smell, the king could smell it. Not that she was afraid he would find out she had slit her wrist before.

Her eyelashes trembled slightly when the king touched her wrist. His skin was cold, just like the dead. Her mind was instantly blank, wondering whether the temperature of his skin should be like that.

They say that the parents' touch on their kids felt warm, like the light of the sun. Why hers was so cold...

Instantly, she ridiculed herself for thinking like that. Why was she distracted even at a time like this? She didn't want to think about it, but she just couldn't help it.

Of course, her father's touch was cold. The state of his body resembled the dead, after all. It was not just the skin that was cold, right?

His organs, blood, flesh, and perhaps, also his heart.

And, no, she shouldn't call him like that. It was inappropriate and disrespectful. She should have addressed him according to etiquette like everyone else.

She should address him as His Majesty.

She wanted to remember how her mother's touch was. She had only felt it once, or maybe twice... the first time, it should be after she was born. If those evil people had let her, probably she had ever stayed in her mother's embrace even if it was only a few short seconds, right?

The second time she had felt her mother's touch, it seemed like it had been a very long time ago. She didn't remember exactly when. The mind subconsciously resisted recalling such a scene that always made her heart feel like it was stabbed repeatedly and torn to pieces.

Because at the same time, the last touch of her mother was also her mother's death.

In her stupor, she abruptly was awakened when the cold metal collided with her skin, cutting it open that blood instantly spilled. She perceived that the blade was somehow different. It felt like it was burning her skin. However, she didn't flinch.

The king's gaze lingered on her for a moment. She pretended not to notice, and her head subconsciously looked down at the place her blood had dripped.

The cold face remained, unruffled in front of such sight, but turmoil was brimming in her heart. Meanwhile, the nobles seemed to be in an uproar already.