Hellbound With You

"I, I'm fine… I'm just… I'm fine." Wasn't he as far as he could be from her, just a second ago? Didn't he want to stay away from her? Why did he suddenly come near her again? 'Ugh!! He truly is going to be the death of me!!' Lilith groaned inwardly, feeling her mind reeling from his erratic behaviour.

Rising to his feet, he reached down to grab her wrists and pulled her upward without warning nor permission. Lilith could only widen her eyes and took a second to regain her composure before rolling her eyes at his high-handedness.

He led her towards the kitchen and poured both Lilith and him two glasses of water. They both sat on the chair next to each other as Lilith gulped down the glass of water as it had been almost a day since she last had a drink.

After a long silence, Kyle spoke again. "Is it really that unbelievable to like someone the very first time you saw her?" he asked in thoughtful voice, supporting his head with his palm while his elbow was on the table.

…

Lilith bit her lower lip. For some reason, she was starting to feel something strange. Usually, she'd just laugh or divert the topic if someone brought up certain topics that she was uncomfortable discussing or threw her off. So why can't she react like usual? Was it because she actually didn't find this uncomfortable? Or was it because she didn't dislike it?

She found herself nodding at him as she peeked at him over her glass, at the same time observing his reactions to her response.

He looked thoughtful again for a long while. "I see…" was all he uttered, and Lilith found herself waiting for him to talk again. But this time, he didn't. He rose from his seat and opened the fridge that was right behind him. He reached out for something and put it on the table.

"Have some first before we go." He said as he offered her a cake and some juice.

"Whose house is this?" Lilith could not help but feel that he was a little too familiar with the things and layout of this place for it to be a random house they just landed into.

"This used to be my grandmother's house. My mother's mom. She's not a royal so she died quite early." Though he mentioned it in a light-hearted voice, she caught a glint of sadness that flickered in his eyes for a moment that faded away too soon.

"I'm sorry to hear that."

He smiled. "Grandma said 200 years is a pretty long time. She said she didn't need any more than that because she's already more than satisfied with her life. She died without regrets."

Listening to him, Lilith didn't realize that she smiled. She also had a grandmother that died years ago and she remembered how her grandma too, had told her that she had lived a fulfilling life and that it was time for her to go. Her heart warmed at the thought that those loved ones, even though they were gone, could still bring smile to the people they had left behind. Lilith never thought that vampires were just like them even though they lived much longer lifespans compared to them witches.

Lilith was momentarily lost in her own thoughts again that she didn't see how Kyle's eyes lit up at their brightest ever at the sight of her smile. That was the first time she smiled that day.

And then, something soft landed on her lips that seemed to have sent electric shocks all over her, jolting her back to the present. Her eyes widened, realizing that the royal vampire's lips were lightly pressed against hers. She froze on her seat as time seemed to stand still.

He pulled away quickly and he looked as shocked as she was at what he did, as if he was not the one in control of his own actions. Their eyes met and their heartbeats began to drum in their ears. But that moment didn't last because before they could even process what just happened, Kyle suddenly pulled her towards him and held her in a possessive but protective manner.

Lilith felt something powerful suddenly surging from deep within Kyle that made her catch her breath.

"I'm sorry Your Highness but we have to take you back to the castle." A deep voice echoed and when Lilith looked up, she saw three vampires – scary ones – standing at the threshold. They were not as scary as the other two she saw in the Reign's castle earlier, but they come a close second. These three were still scarier than any other vampires she had ever met before.

"Raven, I will return to the castle on my own a little later. I am not a child. I didn't leave the country or wandered into the witch' forest. I know how to head back without getting lost." Kyle's voice wasn't loud, but the intensity and graveness were clearly heard.

"His Highness Ezekiel ordered us to escort you back immediately."

"He still has not left? I thought he's –"

"He's back, Your Highness. You must be the reason why he's delaying. So please hand the girl over to me and head back to the castle. I swear I will personally bring her back to the Black Forest and make sure she's safe." Raven said but the moment he moved a step to approach the youngsters, it was as if something snapped within the young vampire, he bared his teeth, and his eyes turned red.

The next instant, the table flew towards the three 'intruders' and glasses shattered. The youngsters were gone by the time the table and glass landed on the floor.

"Go after him." Raven ordered and the chase began. They chased after Kyle who had escaped along with the girl in his arms.

Kyle was as fast as a bullet, but the vampires still managed to catch up with him obviously because of the girl in his arms. He had grabbed a sword from a store as he was running off so once the vampires had cornered him on top of a building, he was already armed.

He had let Lilith down, but his chained arm held her tight against him as his free hand pointed the sword to the other vampires.

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AN: Yes, guys. This volume will be mainly about Zeres and yes Alicia and Zeke included. ^^ Just remember that there's always a reason why I am writing about other characters. <3