Mated To The Dead Prince
Chapter 43

Chapter 43: Chapter 43

Rose gulped; she knew Cassius could hear her thoughts, so she refused to think.

She slowly removed her face from his hand and looked at Cornelia, "Can I leave? I don’t want to upset the master by lazying around," she asked weakly.

Cornelia glanced at Cassius and sensed his darkening mood, ’Why was he getting upset already,?’ She wondered.

"I haven’t asked for your services, Rose," Cassius reminded.

Rose was quiet; her body wasn’t that weak and hurting; rather, the pain she felt was between her legs, a reminder of how rough Cassius had been with her. However, there was another feeling she had, a feeling that made her want to move closer to Cassius, move into his arms, and beg him never to hurt her again, beg him to love her.

That was the dumbest feeling Rose had ever had, she was never going to give in to such a stupid feeling, no matter how intense it got.

She looked at Cassius, she didn’t know why, but she did. She stared at his forest-green eyes as they looked right back at her.

"Cornelia," Cassius called, not taking his eyes away from Rose’s.

"Yes, Master," Cornelia answered with a bowed head.

"Give her a proper bath and send her up to my chambers," He ordered and stood from the bed.

"Yes, Master," Cornelia replied.

Cassius didn’t spare Rose another glance as he left the room.

Cornelia sighed and lowered herself beside Rose on the bed.

"What do you want to eat?" She asked gently.

Rose shook her head, "I don’t know... I don’t have an appetite," She replied.

Cornelia smiled slightly, "You know? I know just what to bring you." She stood and marched to the door.

"And, Rose?" She paused and turned her head to look at Rose.

"Yes?" Rose answered.

"Please, don’t give up on our Master; I’ve never seen him like this before; I know it’s hard, life-threatening even, but please, be patient with him... you might just be the light he’s searching for," Cornelia smiled and left the room.

Rose scoffed, "Yeah, just like in the novel, they tell the stupid female lead to sit still and endure every bad thing. What is her reward? Love. As if I want anyone to love me. I’m not being patient with anyone; if he can’t sort himself out, it’s not my problem; I have my problems, I’m not his solution, and he’s most definitely not my fucking solution. I just want to go home," She frowned as she spoke to herself.

If she was going to get patient, it would be because she was figuring out how to go back to her world and not because she was waiting for some evil vampire king to fall in love with her.

***

Cassius was walking along his hallway when he saw his uncle walking toward him with his daughter beside him.

He paused, slightly smirking when he sensed the fear from him and the tamed-down anger from his daughter.

"Master," they both bowed as they reached his front.

"What brings you to my castle, Jaroslav?" Cassius asked, ignoring Scarlet.

Jaroslav cleared his throat and placed a hand on his daughter’s lower back.

"Master, we’re here on invitation from the young prince, Dabmond; he’s hosting a welcome ceremony for you in the great hall; my daughter and I have come to honor your return," Jaroslav said in a polite tone.

Cassius raised his brow, "Dabmond? I see. Go along, then, don’t let me keep you," He said and turned away from them.

"Master," Scarlet stepped forward, her fist gently balling beside her.

Cassius paused, not turning, "Speak, Scarlet, I have a ceremony to attend," His voice was calm and even as always.

Scarlet bit her lips, "It’s the human, Master," She said.

Jaroslav immediately held Scarlet’s wrist and pulled her back. "Forgive her, Master, she doesn’t know what she’s talking about," He bowed his head.

Cassius was silent; there was a slight shift in his aura as he slowly turned to face Scarlet; the mention of his human made him curious and eager to hear what Scarlet had to say about her.

"What about her, Scarlet? Speak," He encouraged calmly.

Jaroslav shook his head at Scarlet, "Forgive her -"

"Silence, Uncle, let the girl speak. Come forward, Scarlet," He beckoned.

Scarlet gulped and slowly went forward; she knew she had messed up; no one was allowed to ever mention the Dark Master’s slaves, especially in front of him.

"Master, Forgive me, I was only but curious about my cousin’s new slave, I never meant to pry," her head was lowered as Cassius’ green eyes gazed darkly into her soul.

"Curious?" Cassius watched her face for a long time and nodded.

Scarlet was surprised to see Cassius walking away without another word.

"You stupid child," Jaroslav glared at Scarlet.

Scarlet frowned, "I don’t like her, Father; it’s supposed to be me pleasing him, not some dirty human who can’t even give him an heir; humans are nothing but dirt; she doesn’t even deserve to be his slave," she vented.

Jaroslav sighed, "I raised you to be better, Scarlet. I’ve always taught you never to let your intentions show; if you want her gone, play your card right; acting like a bitch won’t get him to like you. Just lay low for now, your time will come," He said to her and walked out of the castle building.

Scarlet was fuming, "Just wait, Rose, you think you can become the queen of this kingdom, not while I’m undead; I’ll have to kill you first." She smiled evilly and followed her Father out.

In the small study, Cassius stood in front of a shelf, his eyes staring at a book.

He slowly slid it out from between other books and stared at it.

He was holding Rose’s novel in his hands, "Mated to the Dead Prince," he murmured.

He knew this story quite well, as it was the story of his parents and a little of him.

He wondered why and how it got to her in the human world; who wrote about it? How did the humans learn about it enough to put the story into writing?

Maybe it was time he had a chat with his little human; he needed to know who sold her the book.

"Brother, you called for me," Dabmond spoke behind him.

Cassius put the book back on the shelf and faced Dabmond, "You arranged a ceremony without my knowledge," He walked past Dabmond, going out from between the shelves.

Dabmond sighed, "Yes, brother. I wanted to welcome you officially." He followed Cassius out.

Cassius went over to the table and leaned against it, he stared at the space in front of him and recalled when he had Rose kneeling on the the floor, crying.

He blinked, forcing the thought out of his head.

’Why does her tears suddenly bother me?’

He saw his brother stand in front of him and forced his mind to focus on him. "Hosting a ceremony, don’t you think everyone knows that a little human had mysteriously found my secret tomb grave and somehow managed to awaken me? Do you need to announce it all over again?" He questioned.

Dabmond chuckled very quietly. "No, brother, that is not the purpose of the ceremony. You see, you’ve been asleep for so long; respectfully, you’ve missed a huge part of civilization. The ceremony is to appreciate you and not to mock you, brother. Who would dare mock you?" He bowed his head in respect.

Cassius stared at him, his brow slightly lifted, "And what do we expect from it? Is it not the same boring parties where everyone tries to gain my favor? Call it off," He said dismissively and waved Dabmond away.

Dabmond scratched the back of his neck nervously, "Please, brother, I have already sent out invitations; if you look out the window, people are already gathering in the hall, bearing gifts and some bringing virgin demons, fairies, and elves, just for you to add to your slaves. As the king, you deserve more than Rose, an unworthy human, our creatures know how to serve you better in bed -"

"Quiet," Cassius’ chilling voice interrupted Dabmond, his eyes darkening.

"Who decided that I want more slaves?" He asked, moving close to Dabmond.

"No one, brother; we just thought that since you hate her so much, pleasuring yourself with her would be difficult; I’m sorry for thinking that way; I can ask them to send them all away," Dabmond apologized.

Cassius frowned, why was he getting upset because the whole kingdom believed that Rose wasn’t worthy of him? He was the one who gave them that impression, he should be glad that Rose was getting all the hate possible.

And, why was the thought of taking someone else to his bed annoying and irritating him? Rose’s face wouldn’t leave his mind, he wondered how she would feel if he did bring other women to his bed.

A thought formed in his dark mind.

"Let them. Ask Cornelia to prepare Rose for the ceremony," He tapped Dabmond’s shoulder and walked out of the study.

He wanted to see how Rose would react when he took someone else as his slave.

Would she be jealous?