Hell's Consort

********************************

The Vampire King Apollyon

********************************

"He wouldn't allow me to marry if he would disapprove of my chosen princess, and that was the best part. The Consort I brought from here was the best choice I have ever done." Prince Aspen let out an arrogant laugh. "You should have seen the King's face when I told him he was part of your Harem and a human at that. It was the best day of my life."

"I didn't know who you brought from my Consortium," Apollyon asked. "Who was it?"

"Lady Clarence."

"Ah, I don't mind a woman that isn't my wife, but I remember she is my wife's acquaintance." Apollyon bobbed his head slowly in recollection. "She mentioned her before."

Then, he glowered at the rakish Prince. "Treat her well, Prince Aspen."

"Of course, I will!" Prince Aspen exclaimed, flabbergasted that Apollyon had to suggest that.

It was common sense at its finest.

"She is my four-leaf-clover in the Spring Courts where I don't have to be tied down by any mating bond." He continued in an amusement. "The lady had agreed with my conditions as long as I leave her alone on her daily hobbies as she liked to learn new things."

"She is interested in the Fae for now. The human can do anything. She is always busy, and I like it." There was mischievous lint in his eyes as he talked about the human. "When my father is around, she can be a legitimate actress. I don't even have to marry and do whatever Father said if I keep this ruse up."

"Good for you, then," Apollyon said blandly as he shrugged with nonchalance.

He hoped that the Faerie Prince would fall hopelessly, irrevocably and foolishly in love with that human Lady Clarence so that Apollyon could get back at him for encouraging him to forget Luna and get a new Empress.

Blood mates weren't that easily replaced, and even if Apollyon tried to, it would be useless when he couldn't be free from these shackles unless he found someone who can break these bonds that were deeply embedded to his mind, body and soul.

Nobody in these Realms could probably do it, and he doubted that a god or a goddess could because the soul tie was created for a reason.

"You have an aversion to endings. Accept that nothing is permanent, King Apollyon. Even if we can be immortal and live for thousands of years, we aren't impervious to our weaknesses. We can still die, and the rug can be pulled out underneath us anytime." Prince Aspen said gravely. "Heads can roll, grounds can open up, and the castles can crumble in a split second. All we can do is hold on for the ride instead of walking the path of self-destruction. The Empress is your Achilles' heel, and if you wouldn't quit moping around, you will end up dead, and when it's time for her to come back finally, you wouldn't be here in the Vampire Realm anymore."

Apollyon clenched his fists in anger for he despised the sympathy in the Faerie Prince's eyes.

No one in this Realm could understand his plight at all.

Those who talked about the blood bond like they were secret experts made him want to punch them in the gut.

These bastards weren't even mated with a lady approved by the gods and the goddesses.

Apollyon closed his eyes and breathed noisily throughout the sermon to calm himself down.

Clearing his throat, he changed the subject. "Are the unicorns still intact when you found them dead?"

Prince Aspen had sensed his darkening mood, and he responded a quick, "Yes."

"Now, that's really peculiar," Apollyon observed. "If they were hungry for power, they would have extracted anything from the unicorn that was of use. Every creature knew that unicorn horns have uses when it comes to healing injuries and bringing back strength and it's the same with the unicorn tears and its tail."

He turned slightly away with knitted brows, thinking hard. "So if everything was intact except for the blood—"

"Everything is intact except for the blood, King Apollyon."

"What else can the blood of a unicorn do?"

"As far as I know, the blood of the unicorn will keep someone on the verge of death alive but for a terrible price—a cursed life. Slaying something so pure and defenceless for the sake of greed and power." Aspen shook his head and tutted, "Nobody in their right mind would dare to commit such a crime."

"The killers weren't in their right minds." Apollyon agreed before adding, "I heard the gem at the end of the unicorn's horn can also detect poison and dark energies. Do you think they can exorcise servants of evil with the unicorn horns?"

"I haven't tried doing that, Apollyon. We don't really know if we haven't tried." The Faerie Prince glowered in his direction and shook his head. "I can be rebellious but not to that point of breaking the law and hurting innocent creatures. "

"You don't have to be offended, Aspen. I'm telling you that I consider it very suspicious that those horns were still intact when you found them. I wonder why the killers had deemed them useless. They can extract everything useful from the unicorns and sell them, but they didn't." Apollyon clasped his hands loosely at the back and gave him a direct gaze. "Something was definitely wrong. When I used to be possessed by the Blood Beast Archdemon, I have a theory regarding that."

"Did I hear that correctly?" The Faerie Prince was taken aback by his confession.

Apollyon had witnessed his ginger eyebrows almost rising to his hairline, "Did a Prince from the Summer Court just confess to a Faerie Prince of the Spring Court that he had thought about killing unicorns?"

"It was before I got rid of the Blood Beast who possessed my body. Apollyon lifted his palms in surrender at the accusation. "It was just a mere thought, alright?"