Bride To His Darkness
Chapter 63: Haunted Dreams

Chapter 63: Haunted Dreams

"What are you–?"

"You must stay still, My Lord." Samantha politely instructed when she sensed he was about to peek at his back. "I learnt that it is best to apply when hot - painful, but more effective."

"Thank you but I am not asking for one thousand ways to die. Are you trying to burn my skin? This little lamb! " He asserted, glancing accusingly at the woman who pressed her lips tightly to stifle a laugh, and then he frowned. "Are you seriously laughing?"

"I wouldn’t dare, My Lord." She lied and immediately cleared her throat. "Can you look away? The wax is getting cold and I need to apply it quickly. Glaring at me occasionally will not heal your wound, if I wanted to kill you I would bathe you in hot wax, so please be rest assured."

Ivan simply arched a brow, amused by her audaciousness.

"Burn my skin for the second time and I shall wrap it with yours. I have things to do and you’re wasting my time." He complained, finally looking away with sheer annoyance in his crimson eyes, and Samantha, who wouldn’t want to alter a certain punishment from the angry Vampire, nodded politely before proceeding to apply the wax carefully on his skin.

Dipping the thin brush into the hot wax, Samantha gently smeared the colorless substance on the spot where he had deep gashes and scars. To her surprise, he didn’t flinch at the hotness this time around.

Since he gave no negative reaction to her treatment, Samantha dutifully carried on without pausing. Minutes slowly passed by, and like a curious kitten, she stole a peek at Lord Ivan’s face to see if he was bearing the pain on his demeanor, but what she never expected was to find his eyelids sealed shut.

"He’s asleep?"

Thinking of the possibility, she wondered if it was normal for Vampires to flake-out during treatment. She was so engrossed by his relaxed demeanor that she didn’t realize she was watching him sleep, but when it struck her that she needed to apply the wax quickly before he woke up, the young human immediately resumed duty.

Smearing the sticky wax on the wound that crisscrossed along his shoulder blade, one particular mark still oozed with a trace of ruby-red blood, and the young woman could feel her soul shiver. She couldn’t guess the amount of pain he must be going through, applying hot wax on such nasty wounds, but when she stole a glimpse at his face, he remained sound asleep, seemingly unaffected by it.

When she was done, Samantha blew air to his back, an innocent attempt to make the wax dry up faster so he can take his bath, but her green eyes snapped wide in surprise when she noticed his lower spine contrast inward at her action. When she stopped blowing, his fine body would automatically relax again.

Glancing at his white tunic that he had kept at the end of the Chaise lounge, Samantha quietly picked it up, and her eyes traced the bloodstains that were evident on the inner layer of the tunic, but not on the outside. Samantha could guess they were just a glimpse of the intricate tapestry that made him the Vampire Lord he was today.

Lucy had made mention of how he took his early morning training seriously, and when interrupted for no valid reason, it spikes his anger. It sounded insane, but with what she had seen today, it felt like he was deliberately hurting himself to stay sane.

"How many times have you screamed to be this silent?" Samantha whispered to herself when she noticed his eyebrows crease subconsciously into a frown.

Was he having a bad dream?

—--------------

As the double doors to the orb room creaked open, a haze of mist curled and swirled at front, enshrouding the entrance in an aura of mystery. A faint aroma of ancient books and aged oak permeated the air, mingling with an intoxicating fragrance that seemed to emanate from the figure that emerged from the dimly-lit orb room.

Tall and regal, a young Vampire who looked no older than seventeen revealed himself before the light of the dim-looking orb room. A cascade of raven-black hair fell gracefully to his broad shoulders, and a subtle, malevolent smile curled his full lips as he uttered sinisterly.

"Bring him in." Eamon, the first son of the King Muzan strictly ordered his two brothers who forcefully dragged the limp body of Lord Ivan to where he stood. Sending the injured youngster to his knees, Ivan tried to catch his breath as the air from his lungs had been brutally knocked out by his so-called brothers, and he could barely see a thing.

They had diabolically broken his medicated glasses on the way here.

"Eamon." He uttered the name of his half-brother, clutching to the hem of Eamon’s trouser as he tried to stand up, "tell them... tell them to stop, please." He implored through labored breathing, knowing his two other brother’s, Emeric and Hadrian, will only listen to him if he speaks.

Eamon simply hummed at his request and crouched down to Ivan who had been beaten ruthlessly. His ethereal face had been bashed, and he was presently bleeding from his nostrils, a trail of ruby-red blood ran down his forehead to his chin, and Eamon was enticed to have a taste.

He could hardly believe that someone who was incapable of awakening his Vampiric powers was to be crowned King once he comes of age. The thought of a human taking his place when he was the first child of King Muzan sickened him, and he watched as his human brother constantly struggled to stand up on his own two feet.

When Ivan’s clear blue eyes met the cruel gaze of Eamon, he flinched in fear when the vampire stretched his hand forth to pat his head gently.

"Aren’t you being a little too dramatic, little brother." Eamon took his hand back and whispered softly. "This is how we vampires like to play with our siblings, but look at you, too fragile, too human and too pretty, that just a simple punch can ruin your immaculate skin." Letting out a disappointed tsk, he gently helped Ivan push away his hair from his face, tucking a strand of his soft locks behind his ear.

"Won’t you get up and play with them? Unleash your Vampire spirit little brother. Uhm.... What is that phrase again?.... Yes, be your Father’s son. Let’s go!"

"No!" Ivan shook his head at Eamon’s refusal to help him, his eyes wide with panic. "You cannot continue to hurt me like this! You’ll regret it Eamon! Eamon! Are you listening?!"

Glancing at his brothers who smiled maliciously at the signals he gave them, Eamon candidly stepped back, and with a sharp glint in his eyes, he watched his brothers beat the youngster human till he was coughing out blood on the floor. Since Ivan couldn’t conjure his powers yet, he had been exempted from training, making it easier for the three brothers to beat and treat like a toy whenever they felt like it.

Ivan could hear their insane, merciless laughter’s ringing in his head as he struggled to stay conscious. Everything in front of him was a blur, his eyelids felt heavy, and his breathing was labored.

"Okay that’s enough." Eamon sighed as if irritated by Ivan’s lack of reciprocation. "You can’t even fight back, and the orb thinks you can rule a kingdom?" He scoffed in disbelief as he stooped down to Ivan’s level. "The orb chose you to rule the kingdom, and Father died thirty days after you got chosen. The perpetrator roams the street with our families treasure and that leaves me thinking, what can a weak human like yourself do? Who can’t even fight back and stand his ground? What can you do when you become King? Huh?!!"

"Probably sell the kingdom to the City of Velleity." Emeric, the second prince and son to King Muzan, jeered in the face of Ivan who was still in the middle of standing up, but each time he tried, his knees would automatically give in, sending him back to the floor again.

Everywhere, everything hurts!

"I don’t want your kingdom." Ivan finally mustered the energy to speak as he looked into the eyes of Eamon. "I never wanted it in the first place, but if you want the Palace, then take it!" And then he spat at the face of Eamon who had been thrown off guard by Ivan’s daring actions.

"You Mongrel!" Emeric, enraged by Ivan’s audacity to fight back, kicked him hard in the gut. "How dare you!"

"Stop." Eamon shot his younger brother a glare, forcing Emeric to keep his temper at bay, and when he glanced at Ivan who gritted his teeth in pain, a mild smile curved his lips.

"Now this is the attitude I like. Emeric, Hadrian, hold him up for me will you?"

At Eamon’s command, Emeric and his brother held Ivan up for Eamon, and since Ivan could not see clearly without his glasses, he only noticed a faint glow flash in a blur. It looked like a gemstone, green, but the sharp glint was so small, he could guess whatever Eamon was holding came from a part of the Mystic orb.

"Can you see this? Of course you can’t, your human eyes are weak." Taunted Eamon.

"What are you... what are you going to do to me?" Ivan could sense the atmosphere turning sinister and thick. His heart drummed in his chest when a dreadful feeling ensnared his every being, but what to do??

"We’re testing." Eamon responded subtly before snapping his fingers. "hand me the dagger."

"Dagger? What are you planning to– let go of me!" Ivan struggled endlessly to free himself from their clutches, but his body didn’t have that strength to smartly surpass them, and his three brothers had the strength that exceeded his own a thousand times.

"Where are your manners Ivan?" Approaching Ivan, Emeric and Hadrian tore his shirt, revealing his bare chest to Eamon who smiled with intent before driving the length of the dagger blade into Ivan’s chest. With eyes snapped wide, Ivan felt the agonizing pain from the dagger as Eamon pushed the whole thing into his chest.

He had screamed so much that his heart-wrenching cries echoed within the orb room, but no one heard.

No one could hear it.

Eamon’s crimson eyes sparkled as his gaze followed the blood that escaped from the wound on Ivan’s chest. Still keeping the blade driven in his chest, Eamon carefully shoved the little glowing piece of gemstone, using his index finger to push it in deep into the chest of Ivan, and the pain he was presently experiencing displayed in his eyes as they turned red-rimmed, his veins popping out on his forehead.

"You don’t want the throne, but it’s not so simple to let it go." Eamon still kept his relaxed composure as he continued with his ruthless assault, meeting the teary red eyes of Ivan. "I’ll get the throne, but before that, I need to make you a monster."

He smiled and used the blade of the dagger to shove the gem deep into Ivan’s heart.