Bride of the moonlight

CHAPTER 8 ✓

"Do you think I'd be stupid enough to bring you to a party full of vampires? Who can't control themselves?" Phoveous cut in, knowing what I was going.

I shrugged, to which he just shook his head, "come on."

"We'll meet you, boys, on the dance floor. Come on Herald,"

Lemiela dragged me and Charlotte onto the dance floor and we began dancing to some acoustic song. I felt guilty for enjoying myself with these people who captured me, but I thought Celine if she was alive, would be annoyed at me for not making the most out of what I currently had, which was: life, safety and a small chance at a happy life away from my parents. I also just wanted to take my mind off everything that was happening to me before! Had some kind of mental breakdown.

I was at the bar drinking when an orange-eyed guy approached me and

smirked.

"I see how can you know how to use your body on the dance floor." He was a little tipsy.

I awkwardly shifted in my seat, not answering the guy. His eyes were seriously unsettling and so was his choice of opener.

"You're not from here, are you, human?"

I shook my head. "No. The prince brought me here."

"Another one of his many slaves?" He sounded amused.

"I don't know. Don't ask me."

"Tch. You look very different, huh. As a slave. And let me tell you this. He never takes them out anywhere. You must be very special." I turned my attention back to my drink and didn't answer the guy.

He wanted me to react to what he was saying, but I wasn't going to stoop that low.

We were in the car on the way home.

Lemiela was asleep on Charlotte who looked very ill from drinking too much. The journey seemed a lot longer than the journey to the party, and the route looked completely different.

"Where are we going?" I finally managed to ask, hoping one of the few sober people would answer me.

"Do you think we can go back home with two drunk friends of mine, and with the Prince of this place and his soon to be wife looking wasted as hell?" Asked Hanz rudely.

"I don't look wasted" I retorted.

"We're going to a good friend of mine." Answered Phoveous.

When we arrived and knocked on the door, the air was fresh and chilly, couldn't wait to get inside. I wasn't at all dressed for this weather. When we got in, Phoveous's friend, Sebastian, lead us to our rooms. He had

one of those large houses with the huge driveway you'd find in the more wealthy areas of some cities.

He had left both me and Phoveous at the same door once I realised my heart began to race. Were we going to have to sleep together? Surely I could've just slept with Lemiela or Charlotte. That would've made sense, right?

"Charlotte and Lemiela are in one room. Hanz and Lanz are in another. Sebastian has his room and his parents have their room.

That leaves just you and me," Phoveous said flatly, taking off his jacket and placing it on the desk at the far side of the room before sitting on the edge of the bed.

I stood there silently for a few seconds before taking in what I had just been told. I barely knew him and I had to sleep with him! There was no way I could possibly do that and feel alright about it. He was so calm, unlike me.

"Can't I just sleep on the floor? I don't mind."

"No way."

"Well, why not?"

"You think I'm going to let my future wife sleep on the floor?"

"Is that the only reason you can think of?" I put my hands on my hips and leaned on the desk in the room, as far away from Phoveous as possible.

"Fine, whatever. You go to sleep first, then when you're asleep, I'll get in."

I shook my head. "No. I'll just stay awake."

"No, I will. You're a human, you need more sleep than I do."

"What? No! Just go to sleep. I don't have any clothes to change into, anyway.."

"Are you scared of me?"

I shook my head again. "I'm just not tired, is all. I can't sleep when I'm not tired."

And it was true. When I was young, very young, my parents would have a tough time getting me to sleep (on the rare occasion they were sober), trying lots of variations, like playing soothing music, reading stories, even online hypnotism! In the end, I just wouldn't fall asleep, so they'd give up, and I wouldn't sleep until I was naturally tired. It was also true that I was afraid of Phoveous. He was still a stranger to me. Did he forget that?

"Hera, don't lie to me." his tone was gentle enough, but it sounded like was being warned.

"I'm being too lenient... It doesn't matter how hard I try with you, you'll find some reason to

sulk, or get angry at me."

"You killed my friend! She's gone."

I finally snapped. "I don't have to like you!

I never will."

He snarled and proceeded to grab my arm and threw me onto the bed.

"Don't even think about getting out, Hera. You don't know what I've been through to get you here." He ordered, pointing a finger sternly at me.

I hit the wall slightly as I landed on the bed at first I felt nothing, but then the pain from being grabbed shot through my body like a tidal wave causing immense pain. I held on to my arm. I stared at him with tears in my eyes and faced the other way. I clenched my eyes shut and kept them that way, hoping

I wouldn't wake up again. I hated him and I hated this place.

My sleep was awful, corrupted with memories of that night before I came

here and the tragedy it ended in. So much red, so much blood and violence.

Everything went wrong in a matter of minutes, and it was my fault. I couldn't

escape my nightmares as they played repeatedly they were so vivid. Celine's scream replayed in my mind over and over again.

Then I wake up, and I have to carry on living in the nightmare. Phoveous was sitting on the chair at the desk, just staring at me. I shuttered as I sat up to glare at the bed covers. I shouldn't have let him throw me around like... like he owned me. I should've fought back, but I was in so much pain; I was hurting both physically and mentally. I got up and was about to leave when Phoveous took hold of my wrist, firmly.

"Get off me before you throw me onto something else." I hissed while jerking my hand free and walking off into unknown hallways of the house we were in. I just wanted to be far from Phoveous.

I actually missed my home and going to school, and doing homework. I especially missed Celine...

"Woah! Hey. What are you doing down here?" It was Lanz, caught me as I stumbled into him while turning a corner.

"Nothing...just wondering around."

"Where's the Prince?"

"Still in the room..."

Lanz eyed me suspiciously as if he could read me like a book, like he knew exactly what I was feeling

"Did something happen last night?"

"That doesn't matter. We're leaving." Phoveous interrupted, he once again took my wrist.

"Don't you dare lay another finger on me again? Do you understand?" I tugged away from Phoveous as I barged past him back in the direction came.

In the car it was silent... that was, until Hanz let out a slight chuckle.

"You could cut this tension with a knife in here. What happened? Did some did somebody die?" He winked at me through the rear-view mirror.

"You better watch what you say to me," I warned. I wasn't taking anyone's s**t today.

"Or what? She's dead now, just forget about her."

That was it. He had cut my last wire. Before I knew it, I was pulling at Hanz's head and punching where I could reach. I screamed and huffed and cursed at him. I hated him! Lemiela and Charlotte were screaming because Hanz was uncontrollably swerving the vehicle whilst being attacked and I still didn't care. Phoveous forcefully pulled me back to my seat.

"Get your hands off me!!" I screamed.

"Take whatever problems you have on me, not on the driver, to kill us all." Demanded the Prince shaking me back to reality.

I stopped and burst down in tears. The death of Celine finally hit me hard. I couldn't stop crying, even when I tried my hardest, and I was getting a headache as I felt myself being pulled into someone's chest for comfort. I listened to their heartbeat as it helped soothe the pain of my loss, and slowly. Drifted off to sleep. I opened my eyes and looked to my left. I was in my bed, back at the castle, in pyjamas. I sighed as I just lay there. I had fallen asleep on Phoveous's chest. His heartbeat was so, so calming. Why did I do that? Why was I so stupid? should've carried on fighting, and crashed the car hoping Hanz would die and I could avenge Celine's death.