The Devil's Warrior Queen
Chapter 87: A Garden Of Thorns And Roses

Chapter 87: A Garden Of Thorns And Roses

Rama stared at him, lips slightly parted in speechlessnes.

"I won’t do anything without your permission." He said with a serious countenance. His crimson eyes swirling with unsaid sincerity.

"That’s thoughtful of you." She whispered with a small breath as she averted her gaze to the roses.

Damien extended his hand toward the arrays of roses, he plucked the white rose with the delicacy of a swan landing softly on a lake.

"You’re like this rose." He muttered loudly, gaze fixated on the rose.

Rama tilted her head to the side, if she was like any of the roses, it would either be the red or the black, definitely not comparable to the white.

"I doubt that." She said.

"Your soul is pure, but dangerous. If you’re being handled carelessly, you’ll prick them with your thorns." Damien said.

"Still, I’m rather comparative to the red or black rose, definitely not the white." Rama argued.

Damien nodded thoughtfully, then suddenly the white petals darkened gradually into a different shade.

Rama at first thought it was the lighting on the rose, until she saw a dark crimson hue slowly creep to the white petals, transforming the white rose to a red one.

As Rama’s eyes dilated in awe at the display, the red rose suddenly became dull, it’s colour turning ashen until the crimson petals turned black.

"I guess I’m not wrong and I picked the right flower then." Damien said with a devilishlike grin. The thorns poking out of the stem dissipated like ash into thin air before he handed the flower to her.

"That’s cheating, you picked the white rose first." Rama implied as she took the black rose, examining it keenly in disbelief, feeling the smooth petals beneath her finger and then, inhaling the scent of the rose.

"There’s no cheating when it comes to the paranormal, it’s either you win or you lose." Damien said, as he unexpectedly grasped her palm in his lightly, drawing light circles on the back of her palm with his thumb.

She would have yanked her hand away from the sudden touch, but she didn’t. After all, if the universe was giving her a second chance, they would be getting married.

Her breath hitched in uneasiness as he continued with his featherlike touch to the back of her palm, as if he was trying to make her get used to his touch.

"Last night.." Rama trailed off, she had thought against telling him about the suspicious dead roses, but she reasoned it was better to inform him, maybe then he could talk to the vampire king and end this hunt of his, or better still, find someone else to hunt.

Damien stayed silent as he listened to her with keen interest on what she was about to spew.

"There was a vase of red roses in the morning when we arrived, but after dinner with you, I went back to the room and they were dead." She said in almost a whisper, as if the culprit would hear her.

Damien’s brows twitched lightly, but he didn’t seem as bothered as her. Sure, he had seen worse, she thought inwardly.

"I felt Draco’s presence, I feel like he’s watching me. He told me he’d never stop hunting me even if I ran." Rama said with an unnerving heaviness in her voice.

"I’ll talk to him then, how about that?" Damien said nonchalantly.

"You don’t understand, I’m not sure he’ll listen. He’s bent on making me miserable, he’ll never stand by and watch me marry you and have a good life, that’s similar to him accepting defeat." Rama remarked.

"He’s probably forgotten about your existence, he’s not one for a human to leave a strong impression on, but I’ll take a detour to the castle and have a long talk with him until I get an assuring response." Damien said.

"Yes, please do, I just want to make sure he’s no longer a problem. I’m grateful for your time and help." Rama said with a faltering smile. It seemed as if a heavy weight had been lifted off her shoulders as she sighed in relief.

At least, Draco wouldn’t be a problem in her life anymore, she wouldn’t have to worry about him and rather live peacefully with Damien and Malika, it was her only wish.

"I understand, I wanted to spend some time with you before I leave, I won’t be back today." He said with a sullen look.

"Oh, where are you off to?" She queried.

He hesitated for a second before replying "It’s not necessary."

She eyed him skeptically, he was probably going to visit his concubines, it wasn’t unanticipated, after all vampires were famous for their numerous sexual partners and moreover, she didn’t care, not even a tang of jealousy pricked her skin. All she cared about was getting Draco off her back.

"My kind might be involved in a lot of sexual affairs, but we dedicate our undying loyalty to the one we mark with the bond bite." Damien said.

"Well, I’m not marked yet and I’m definitely understanding if you go to your concubines." Rama said with a smile and a nod.

"I’m more than pleased with just you." He implied sincerely, making her wonder where he was heading to if it wasn’t to his concubines.

"Don’t worry about that." Damien’s timbre voice broke her out of her thoughts.

"Why shouldn’t I? I think it’s only right that you start telling the truth of whatever secret you’re all hiding." She hesitated for a moment before proceeding.

"I’m going to be your wife soon, you have no excuse to hide things from me anymore." She stated firmly as she kept her persistent gaze on him.

"You haven’t even accepted my confession yet, talk less a marriage proposal, yet you’re certain of becoming my wife already." Damien said with a lazy drawl as he shot her a confused look.

Her cheeks flushed red in embarrassment as she fluttered her lashes.

"I apologise for my abrupt choice of words, I’ve been thinking of...accepting your confession and getting to know you better..." She trailed off and bit her bottom lip, stifling any more words from spewing out.

He was right, she hadn’t accepted his confession yet, neither a marriage proposal yet she was already demanding his secrets to be spilled, she figured she’d wait till they were closer, preferably after he proposed and she accepted.

"I see. Tomorrow evening we’ll have a picnic in the woods, you’ll get to know me better then." He said with a charming smile, pleased at her words.

"Oh, isn’t it dangerous to be in the woods at night?" Rama queried as her intrusive thoughts kicked in, making her cast him a skeptical glance from the corner of her narrowed eyes.

"I’m certain I’ll be the most dangerous being in the woods and also, I can’t stay in the sun for too long." Damien replied with a lopsided smirk.

Right, he was a night creature with inexplicable strength, speed and agility. He could easily take out a wild animal if they were to encounter any.

"I’ll be looking forward to it then." She said with a small smile.

"I’ll be taking my leave now." He said as he brought her hand to his mouth. He planted a soft kiss on the back of her palm before leaving it to drop at her side.

He locked his crimson gaze with hers, a flicker of unfathomable desires stirred in his eyes before he looked away as he proceeded to the exit.

She watched his retreating back layered with firm muscles that was visible even with clothes on, but her intrusive mind rather compared to Draco’s flawless beauty. She smacked it off as quickly as she could.

She knew it felt wrong with Damien, he was charming, kind and thoughtful, so many words to describe his likeable personality, but there were no butterflies in her stomach, no spark between them, she felt utterly nothing and she had never felt more guilty in her life for not being able to reciprocate his feelings.

She was undeserving of his love. He was sincere and his feelings were as genuine as every word leaving his lips, she wondered why it held no effect on her.

She reasoned it was too early to judge her complicated feelings, so she’d give it time to heal and gradually open up to him.

She stared at the black rose in her hand, earning a smile on her face. It had always been her favourite flower.

She exited the garden as she proceeded to her chamber to keep the rose, before she would search for Malika.

She swung the door to her chamber open and her eyes instinctively dropped on the vase, earning a grim look on her face.

Crimson dripped from the petals of the dead, shriveled rose, spilling onto the vase, but she could swear the vase of dead roses had been changed to fresh ones during Lyla’s cleaning.

Her heart thumped loudly in her ears as she scrutinized the empty room, before her gaze dropped on the vase, but this time, it was full of fresh red roses.

What?? She screamed inwardly.