Hell's Consort

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

Vampire King Apollyon

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

It was easy to teleport to this place when one had visited here too many times.

Apollyon became familiar with all the places he frequented in the Faerie Realm.

Prince Aspen was an effective ally and a guide to their Kingdom.

Apollyon had stayed in the Spring Courts for a year at most, so it was easy to navigate places through teleportation.

He would have a hard time using that ability if he wasn't acquainted with the places, which were the limits of teleportation.

Apollyon wasn't convinced if that would work in a spiritual Realm such as Hell unless he found a way to separate his spirit from his body, and Luna would take him there.

The only way to defeat the Archdemons was to become an Archdemon himself while not losing the real him, similar to Luna's.

He would soon figure that out, and no matter what, Apollyon would stick to that plan whether Luna liked it or not.

He already hinted at his plans to his wife early on, and she was strongly against it.

Luna shouldn't be surprised if he managed to do that.

She knew no one could stop him from exacting revenge for Luxen.

He wouldn't tell her, and it would be an auspicious surprise.

Apollyon had closed his eyes and imagined the same position where his favorite sofa at the Will O' Wisp pub, and voila!

He landed exactly on their designated chairs.

Apollyon's eyes widened in surprise when Prince Aspen was already there, seated across the round table with a goblet in his hand, his pretty feminine-masculine features bathed in soft orange lights.

"What brought you here, Vampire King?"

It took longer for Apollyon to reply as he looked over his shoulder.

He glanced around the vicinity, checking for suspicious faeries or, worse, the Spring courts' hired assassins.

A Vampire King could never be too careful because one speculation of his was that the 'Will-O-Wisp Pub'was the only establishment that welcomed Vampiric Fae for secret assassination purposes.

The walls were built in ancient white oak, which was known to kill pureblood vampires.

He didn't know if it applied to the Vampiric Faeries as well.

This wasn't the first time Apollyon entered the Will O' Wisp, an infamous faerie pub for the Spring courts' ruling nobility.

He and Prince Aspen were patrons in this pub where they relax, drink the latest faerie wines, and concocted brew while looking out for odd rumors when both of them were inconspicuously hunting the spring faeries who Lilith's conjurer recruited.

Apollyon admired the Will O's Wisp pub because it served beers, wines, and high-quality spirits, although he couldn't taste their food.

After all, he was a pureblood vampire.

In addition to that, he was already mated with Luna, so his menu only consisted of his wife's blood he stored in his vial he brought every day to drink just in case he forgot how it tasted.

He also avoided drinking from Lilith.

Lilith might have insisted on drinking each other's blood whenever they meet, but he was cautious not to dig a hole in his own grave.

Prince Aspen and the rest helped distract Lilith after Apollyon gave her fake attention through sugary-sweet talks that would make ants swarm in his tongue before making excuses, claiming that he was busy initiating the alliances with the rest of the Faerie Courts.

Lilith was pacified with whatever excuses he made as long as he wouldn't forget to reassure the charlatan how much he loved her and missed her whenever he was busy with the trade agreements he created.

Hungry for his love, starry-eyed Lilith was pleased with just the validation of her existence.

Sometimes, Lilith wouldn't dare seduce him when Apollyon pretended he was tired and would content herself with a kiss.

He took advantage of this role play of hers as an obedient wife.

It made his life easier not to cheat on Luna except for the obligatory kisses he must bestow upon her so that he wouldn't stir the monster within.

The Will O' Wisp also served special wines which can settle in a vampire's stomach.

Apollyon sampled the drinks to quench Prince Aspen's curiosity, daring him to take down liquors presented to some of the Vampiric Fae aristocrats from the Fall and the Winter Courts.

The Spring Courts weren't strict when it came to other nobilities from the Unseelie Courts visiting the pub, but perhaps, the rules might change after the incident at Ostara.

That time, Apollyon added droplets of Luna's blood to the 'White Stag' and took a sip.

The crisp, tangy flavor of blood merging with the sweet and sour aroma of green apples and lemons burst in his tongue, teasing his nostrils with a hint of vanilla.

Anise, green wormwood, purple flower petals, and other unknown herbs floated on the colorless liquid.

That night, Apollyon was in too deep with the wine.

He almost consumed two casks, toasting his longing and sorrow with Prince Aspen before the bastard told him the next morning that it was the strongest highly alcoholic spirit found in their wine cellar reserved for the Vampiric Faes.

Prince Aspen narrated play-by-play what happened at the pub and what they talked about.

Still, Apollyon insisted that the last thing he remembered was him taking a few sips and waking up the next day with the Faerie Prince in the Hanging Tree Forest, where they kept the captured demonic faeries.

He completely blacked out, and he had no memories to fill in the blanks.

Prince Aspen gave him a strange look as Apollyon got up from the forest floor with a splitting headache and told him that he captured fifty members of the conjurer's cult with ease, and Apollyon did it without assistance.

He still didn't know what happened, and Prince Aspen refused to tell him, so he just forgot about it.

It was a mysterious story he could live without.

Apollyon shifted in his seat comfortably, leaned back to fix his gaze at the Faerie Prince, and crossed his legs. "My wife and I fought."