The Masked Vampire King's Accidental Bride
Chapter 325: The second lock

Chapter 325: The second lock

"Elliana, dear." Elliana heard a voice in her sleep, and she turned around on the bed, hugging the sheets closer to her body, the loss of Mr. Marino’s presence, making her heart feel empty.

"Open your eyes, sweetheart. I have come to take you. To take you away from this cursed world. I have come to take you back to the world where you belong. The world which is your home," Elliana heard the same whisper in her ears, and her brows furrowed.

"Mmmm," Elliana moaned in displeasure.

"Are you not going to wake up? Should I force you then?" The sound suddenly changed, more sinister and dark, and Elliana shuddered.

She was more conscious now. She wanted to open her eyes, but it was almost as if some invisible kind of weight was weighing her eyelids down, disabling her to open her eyes.

"Listen to me, Elliana, and listen to me very carefully. This love that you are feeling towards that leech, that pathetic prince, get over it soon. This isn’t your destiny. Witches like us don’t fall in love with those bloodsucking monsters. So you better get it sorted. I won’t do anything to you. I technically can’t, but I can’t promise anything good to him," the voice hissed in her ears.

Elliana’s heartbeat picked its pace at the thought of something happening to her husband.

"Who is it?" She whimpered, feeling helpless, as she tried to get up, but some kind of power pushed her back into the mattress, making her flail her foot left and right. She felt powerless and feeble.

"Who am I? Does it even matter? I don’t think so. You will meet me soon anyway. Say hi to Azura from my side. Tell her, I wish her well in another hell. So she can leave this world and die, just like her husband died. Wait. Did he really die?" The voice whispered to her.

Elliana whimpered, her face being forced into the mattress, her hands pinned down above her head now.

She felt something crawling up her legs.

"No!" Elliana struggled, trying to lift her body as hard as she could, but to no avail did her body move.

"Miss Zoya! Miss Zoya!" Elliana shouted at the top of her lungs, cursing the soundproof walls around her for the first time.

No one would hear her. No one would...apart from one person.

"Nathaniel!" Elliana screamed, feeling the metallic taste of her red liquid in her mouth, her mind going into a panic state when she felt someone’s hand nearing her face.

"Cry. Cry like that. I like it when you cry. This is your destiny, sweet Elliana," The voice said, but no one touched her, making her wince even more when she felt something prickling her wrists instead.

"No! No! Stop! Nathaniel!" Elliana shouted as it almost felt like someone was tearing a part of her heart.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaa!" Elliana’s back arched upwards as she screamed in pain before she was pushed back on the bed. She felt something tearing into her flesh in her hand, and she gasped loudly.

The pungent smell of her blood wafted through her nostrils, and she shut her eyes even tighter to bear the pain.

She didn’t know what was going on. If this was even reality or just a dream, another nightmare she was seeing.

All she knew was that it was painful.

Painful beyond comprehension, and all she wanted was someone to free her from all this pain. Even death looked easier than what she was feeling right now.

Nathaniel, on the other hand, who was lying on his bed with his eyes closed, thinking about everything happening around them, sighed.

Something was wrong with Arizona. He wasn’t able to pinpoint what it was, but his gut feeling was telling him, that she didn’t tell him the entire truth about what happened nineteen years ago.

The story was too clean, too perfect. Everything matched perfectly, and all of it made sense, but even after that, a part of him was screaming it was too good to be true. He has been thinking about it ever since. It was like a routine. Thinking about it daily until you fall asleep.

How come there was no villain in this story? How come everyone was a victim of situations? No. He has heard too many stories and seen too many witches in his lifetime to believe it.

There has to be something she has been keeping. Was it really all because of love she got ready to raise not one but both of King Eros’s kids? Or was there a truth bigger than anything they could even fathom?

"Damn it!" Nathaniel turned in his position, feeling restless. Why was everything turning so complicated?

He felt it was better when he did not know any truth. And as disgusting as it sounded, he would’ve been happy with Elliana as his wife too.

He was happy that he got another family member and a sister whom he didn’t even know he had, but he got her at the cost of losing his 18 years of love. And the loss was bigger than anything anyone would be able to imagine.

Nathaniel turned on his back and looked at the ceiling with a sigh.

’Elliana, what was she doing? The dean said she had little incident with her welcome. The poor girl has to go through all of them alone. It was the part of the training,’ Nathaniel closed his eyes again.

It feels like, seeing her in his dreams was the only time he would be so close to her. And though the world would hate him forever for loving his own sister, he was helpless when it came to her.

He was trying hard. No one should tell him that he wasn’t, because he was telling himself day in and out that she was his sister now. That they shared the same father. That she has the same genes and blood running through her veins as him.

’Why does it have to be this way, Elliana? I would’ve kept you happy too. And I am sorry that I miss you and want to hold you even when I said I would take care of my love. Please forgive your brother for it,’ Nathaniel gulped, thinking about her smiling at the silliest things, letting sleep take over him slowly.

’Nathaniel!! Please!’ He heard a faint scream in his head, and his eyes immediately opened.

"Elliana!" He shouted, looking around restlessly.

This scream. Was this... he quickly stood from his place and grabbed his shirt before clicking his fingers to appear where Elliana was.

He appeared right in the middle of her room, and seeing her panting and sweating, Nathaniel’s pupils dilated.

"Elliana, what’s wrong baby girl?" He rushed to the bed, completely forgetting about his shirt.

"Elliana look at me. Open your eyes," Nathaniel sat on her duvet, patting her cheeks softly.

"Elliana, oh my - who did this to you?" Nathaniel’s eyes widened in pure horror when he saw so much blood collecting on the mattress near her hand.

He looked at her hand, and the weird cross sign on her hand and his heart skipped a beat.

"Elliana! Open your eyes damn it! It’s just a dream!" Nathaniel slapped Elliana across the face as hard as he could, making her open her eyes in shock, looking directly at him.

And Nathaniel fell backward in shock.

Her eyes... her eyes were glowing a light shade of purple. The purest form.

Nathaniel looked at her hand before he gritted his teeth.

Who was here? Who could’ve done this to Elliana? Was it Azura? No. She won’t risk things like that. Nathaniel sat there as Elliana looked at him before her eyes changed back to the amber-soft color he was used to.

"Nathaniel," Elliana looked at him helplessly before she broke into a sob.

"Sssshhh, I am here,"

Nathaniel sighed and pulled her in for a hug, holding her hand up and kissing the cross on her skin, his lips burning at the touch.

Someone had unlocked the second level of the lock, and it wasn’t a good sign.

It only meant one thing. Someone apart from Azura and Arizona knew about Elliana’s ten-lock system, and if the words spread out, things would become worse in a way that no one would be able to handle them.

"Thank you for coming. Thank you, Nathaniel," Elliana clung to him for dear life, and Nathaniel sighed.

"I had to come for you, my baby girl. I will always come for you," Nathaniel kissed her forehead, patting her head softly until she fell asleep.