HEART BOUND

BLOOD ON VELVET

(Season 1)

CHAPTER 24

RAHOVNIC CASTLE

The throne hall by mid night.

The air was heavy.

Not with sound.

With fear.

Arokat walked.

Her long black sequin gown dragged across the marble floor, and with every step the hall seemed to get colder.

Her face, once calm and unreadable, was twisted with fury.

A dangerous aura bled off her in waves.

No one dared lift their head.

Every servant, every guard, every traitor in chains kept their eyes on the floor and trembled.

"I hate liars," her voice cut through the silence. Low. Venomous.

"I hate betrayers. Failures."

She paused.

"And most of all... I hate deceit."

The last word made everyone flinch.

"I gave you one job," she continued, voice rising. "One. And I expected _success_."

Her heels clicked.

"But what did you do? You failed me."

A cold laugh.

"Because of a weak, pathetic emotion called... *LOVE*?"

She thundered the word. Placing emphasis on the word love.

She stopped in front of a man hanging by chains.

Bruised. Bloody. Barely conscious.

He’d been tortured for days.

Arokat reached out. Her long, polished nail traced his jaw gently. Almost tender.

Then she drove that same nail straight into the deepest cut on his face.

The man screamed.

Her voice dropped to a whisper that promised horror.

"You already know I don’t give second chances, right?"

She twisted her finger.

His cries echoed off the high ceilings.

No one looked away. They couldn’t.

She wanted them to watch.

This was what happened when you swore to serve her and then broke.

When they knelt and called her Queen, they thought they were gaining power.

They didn’t know they were handing their lives to the mother of all demons.

Maybe even the mother of Lucifer herself.

Arokat had grown far beyond a pure-blooded vampire royal.

The whispers said she hated Tenebrous. That the throne belonged to her.

But in all these years she never struck. Never made a move.

She was silence buried in shadow.

And silence, everyone knew, was always before a storm.

"Bring forth the slut," she ordered.

Two guards dragged a girl in.

And the room seemed to brighten.

She was the opposite of everything in this hall.

Skin glowing. Gray hair like moonlight. Eyes green like a forest.

But they were full of fear and tears.

She’d heard stories about the Dark Queen of RAHOVNIC.

She never thought she’d meet her.

Arokat smiled. Wicked. Slow.

"I can see why you failed," she said. "She _is_ beautiful."

"Please," the chained man rasped. "Don’t hurt her."

He wasn’t afraid to die. He expected it.

But her? He would burn the world before he let anything happen to her.

"I won’t hurt her, dear Luc," Arokat purred. "I just want to give you a show. Be patient. Watch."

She nodded to the men on the left. "Get to work" she said and elegantly walked back to her throne with a wide smile.

The girl was thrown onto the large table in the center.

Her clothes were ripped off, leaving her completely naked.

She screamed. Begged.

Arokat just leaned back on her throne and smiled.

"Please... my Queen... I’ll do anything," Luc choked. He pulled against the chains until his wrists bled.

"stop... Please stop, I beg you please..." she cried tears falling uncontrollably, but it all fell on deaf ears.

Six men stepped forward. Touching her sextually all over her naked body

What happened next, the hall was forced to witness.

Her screams. Her pleas.

Luc squeezed his eyes shut. He couldn’t watch. Couldn’t hear.

But the sound still broke him. He wished he could close his ears to stop himself from hearing her cries and pleas.

The first man strip and roughly went into her like a mad man. No mercy. He thursted like he had been sextually starved for years. The woman screamed in pains as he thursted into her...

By the fifth man, her voice was gone.

She just lay there. Empty.

Her life slipping away with every thrust.

When the sixth man moved, her eyes found his.

She saw guilt there, like he didn’t want to do. Like he wished to be anywhere but there.

But he didn’t stop.

He couldn't. Not when Arokat was watching every single movement like a harwk. Defying her is digging his own grave.

With the last bit of strength she had, she turned her head to Luc.

He was still. Blank. Broken beyond repair.

She gave him a weak smile.

And mouthed, _I love you._

She regretted many things.

But never him.

He was the best thing that ever happened to her.

Her only regret was that they never got the chance.

Never got to tell him... they were expecting a child.

The hall went silent again.

Arokat clapped once. "Clean this up."

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VEX MANSION | LIORA'S ROOM | 9:30 AM

Liora stared at her reflection.

She sat there, in front of her dressing mirror for a long time trying to figure out what had happened the previous night. She doesn't remember anything,

Blank.

Head pounding.

Memory: gone.

How did she get to bed?

Why did her mouth taste like wine and regret?

_Knock knock._

She sighed and opened the door.

Travis stood there, grinning, holding a tray.

Bowl of soup. Glass of lime juice.

"Good morning, miss," he said brightly.

"Morning, Travis. What’s this?" she asked, pointing.

"Oh! Sir Kalen asked me to bring this to you," Travis said.

Liora froze.

_Kalen?_

The same Kalen who acted like she was invisible?

Who told her to stop investigating him?

Who traced one finger down her cheek and then walked away?

Which side of the bed did she wake up on?

Then she remembered. She was drunk last night after Zach and the guys had left. Then Kalen was right there, but after that she didn't remember anything else.

"Where is he?" she asked.

"In his study, I think," Travis said.

She didn’t even take the tray.

She just bolted.

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VEX MANSION | KALEN'S STUDY

The door was half open.

Kalen was inside.

Half-naked.

Sitting in his chair. Eyes closed.

A glass of wine in his hand.

Water dripping from his hair down his chest.

Abs that looked illegal.

Liora’s brain short-circuited.

_Omg. Why is he so hot at 8am?_

"What can I do for you?"

His deep voice cut through her thoughts.

She jolted. She quickly Cleared her throat, but she couldn't keep her eyes off his hot abs.

Why can he just go dress up and stop showing up his glorious body so early in the morning?!!!!

His eyes were still closed. How did he even know it was her?!

"I... what happened last night?" she blurted, face burning.

He frowned. Opened his eyes. Slow. Blank. Unreadable.

"What do you mean?"

"I just want to know what I did," she said, frustrated. "I can’t remember anything."

Kalen took a sip of wine. His expression didn’t change.

"You mean you don’t remember trying to kiss me last night?"

Flat. Casual. Like he was talking about the weather.

"After you drank half a bottle of wine."

Liora’s world stopped.

_She tried to kiss KALEN?!_

Her brain blue-screened.

Her face went red, then white, then red again.

Kalen just watched her.

Blank face. No teasing. No smirk.

But his thumb tapped once against the glass.

The only tell that he wasn’t as unaffected as he looked.

TBC