Bride To His Darkness
Chapter 57: Royal Mews On Fire

Not bothering to waste his time on senseless arguments, he turned his back on Nichole, quietly taking his little lamb with him with their fingers still intertwined. When the door closed shut, Nichole barely knew if he needed to laugh or yell his anger out, he felt so infuriated he could punch through a wall, but one thing was for sure, there was more to that maiden than what meets the eye, and he was going to figure out what it was - what was she to Ivan? The fact he came all the way here to get her, or was there something going on between the two?

Following the Vampire Lord silently without daring to utter a single word, Samantha has readily assumed the reason he held her hand so intimately was to prove a point to Prince Nichole, but presently, he was leading her down the corridor and still refuses to let go of her hand. The warmness of his palm pressing hers so firmly made her feel unusually strange, and shockingly, it wasn’t in a way she disliked.

Glancing at the Prince from time to time, Samantha pressed her lips together as she felt the urge to say something, but was unaware of how she would start. How did he find her? He practically disappeared on her after their little conversation and he just shows up at Prince Nichole’s doorstep looking more like a devil’s incarnate than a hero. Was she in trouble? Why hasn’t he said anything yet? Fear mingled with exhilaration as she tried to keep up with his unnaturally swift pace.

"Lord Ivan, I wanted to--" her breath immediately escaped her lungs the instant she felt her back being pressed against the cold wall, and her green eyes went wide when she gazed into the oceanic blue eyes of Ivan. She wasn’t sure what scared her most, his eyes that reminded her of a glacier, his presence, or the ominous atmosphere that enshrouded his every being.

"Tell me this, are you that dumb, or were you born ignorant?" Questioned Ivan as he had the young woman trapped against the wall, and Samantha shook her head with immediate effect, her quivering lips finding it difficult to say a word. The way his piercing eyes bored into her soul, it made her heart pound in her chest like a captive bird desperate for escape.

"I leave you for a few hours and you blindly walk into a dragon’s den? How did you end up here in the first place?" His narrowed eyes gleamed darkly, "is he your brilliant idea for another escape? What are you planning?" His pale marble-like features displayed an unsettling mix of curiosity, and those cold eyes had kept his writhing jealousy frozen, hidden.

"I... I never went in there for such reasons." Samantha shook her head at his plain allegation, summoning the courage to answer. "He said he was.... Interested in me, and I cannot explain the depths of another’s heart, but ... .but perhaps it is simply a connection that transcends our understanding?"

"Ahh, yes, connection indeed." A twisted smile curled upon the lips of Ivan, revealing his fangs that had appeared due to his seething ire, and he took a step back from the delusional human. "Drop whatever idea it is you’re thinking. Love serves little purpose when compared to the thrill of dominance, and that fool, he was practically driven by lust, not love. Be careful of how you interpret a man’s affection."

Eyeing the young woman, he turned away from her and wondered to himself if she was just fatuous or too innocent for her own good. He hated that he bothered about her, he should have left her to suffer in the hands of Nichole but right now his mind still burned with unsatisfied fury. The image of Nichole already at the brink of kissing his little lamb had messed up his mind, and he found it bothersome cause he got affected a little too deeply than he had imagined, he needed to vent this anger on something - something that mattered to Nichole.

Samantha silently watched Ivan make different reactions on his face, and it disturbed her. All of a sudden, his blue eyes twinkled with cruelty, and then he laughed. His laughter echoed throughout the corridor, a chilling sound that sent shivers down her spine, and without warning, he stopped and began walking ahead.

"Has he gone mad?" Samantha quietly asked herself as she watched him take a turn down the corridor. "And where is he going?" Not having a good feeling about the malevolent mood he was in, Samantha immediately followed him, sprinting all the way to his side, but then the Lord Ivan was a fast walker, cause by the time she successfully reached his side, she had stepped out of the winged Palace.

Entering the royal Mews where all the guest Carriages were kept, Samantha halted at the entrance when she found Ivan setting Nichole’s elegant carriage into flames, and her pupils dilated in shock. All it took for the Vampire Lord was to snap his fingers, and the beautiful carriage, adorned with lavish decorations immediately burst into flames. His actions had rendered Samantha numb, cause all he did was snap a finger, and the carriage was....??!!!!

"I must be dreaming!" She whispered self-consciously.

As if that wasn’t enough, he grabbed a wood that was placed at a corner and wanted to hit the carriage with it, but Samantha immediately came to stand in front of him, stopping him from going anywhere near the escalated fire he had caused.

"What are you doing?!" Stupefied, she questioned Ivan who could no longer mask his irritation. He found solace watching Nichole’s favorite expensive carriage burn in front of him, and he looked down at the young woman who was mindlessly hugging him as her own tactics to stop him going anywhere the fire. Strangely, her actions had cooled his inner fire down a bit.

"Are you concerned about the carriage or me?" He taunted, tilting his head slightly at the young woman who felt her face burn in embarrassment, but before she could respond, they heard a male voice yell from the outside.

"I see smoke over there! The Carriages are on fire!!!"

"Oh no! We’ll get caught!" Samantha immediately panicked when she heard running footsteps approaching the Royal Mews.

"Come with me." Whispering alarmingly, Ivan grabbed hold of Samantha’s wrist, and he pulled her into a corner when he sensed the guards approaching the royal Mews. To Samantha’s surprise, Ivan pulled her into a narrow passage between the walls, and they stayed there, hiding away from the royal guards.

"What are you--?!" Samantha’s eyes widened when he covered her mouth with his palm, stopping her from saying a word and exposing their hideout. He took a peek and saw about four guards had gathered around the carriage, wanting to put out the fire with water. His actions had created a ruckus, but the Vampire Lord had no regrets as he watched more guards gather around to stop the fire.

Samantha tried to speak through his palm, but Ivan shushed her up with a glare. "Quiet, or we’ll both land in trouble." He whispered, and not long after the incident happened, Nichole also appeared when the news of his carriage on fire had reached him.

The painful grimace on his face had Ivan holding the laugh that bobbled in his chest, and Samantha remained quietly still as she gazed at Ivan. For the first time, she saw a different light in his eyes. They were standing so close to one another, and when Ivan looked away from the scene to meet her emerald green eyes, their extremely close proximity had come as a surprise to him.

They remained that way, unintentionally lost in each other’s eyes. Those alluring green eyes of hers, they were indescribably green, and if Ivan could think of anything, it reminded him of a deep unfathomable mountain lake - the kind that leaves a shimmering feeling on his skin without any physical touch.

Averting their gazes at the same time, Ivan stole another peek outside. The guards had put out the fire, but the damage had already been done. He could hear Nichole’s angry voice question the guards on who had started the fire, and it was a drama he didn’t want to miss.

Samantha felt left out and tried to steal a peek herself, but a guard suddenly looked in their direction at the same time, forcing the two hiding individuals to shift deeper. Samantha had subconsciously placed her slender arms round Ivan’s neck to stabilize herself, whilst Ivan had to wrap an arm around her waist, accidentally closing the gap between them.