In War, There Is Love

Possessive

If Maya could have avoided the celebration of her sister and brother-in-law’s birthday, she would have. Just so she could continue to ignore them—alongside her husband—but instead she had to walk to her throne with a smile on her face as he held her black gloved hand in his, and didn’t let go of it until Maya basically drew it back with a little too much force.

Her husband just grinned at her and went with his speech as his people looked at him with basically hearts instead of eyes, but Maya was too busy thinking over and over the words in her father’s letter.

She had to find a way to murder him fast. Silas knew Demetrius was preparing for war, although she hadn’t been the one to tell him. Jeremiah had most probably told his Queen, however.

Right after what had happened in the Council Room just two days ago, with the anger and shame still bowling in her veins, Maya had gone searching anywhere she could think of. His chambers, the guest rooms, the hallways, the gardens. But it was harder searching for something you didn’t know the shape and origin of. You didn’t know it existed in the first place.

And now, as she saw Demetrius sitting down on the throne next to hers, Maya felt something that resembled a lot to guilt inside her chest. Despite her brave facade, if he wanted to, he would have hurt her the second she stepped foot inside this castle.

Don’t, don’t! she told herself. He’s manipulating you.

Even what had happened between them... it had simply been manipulation from his side. To silence her. To have her by his side.

Hadn’t it?

She had absolutely nothing to feel guilty about.

“May I have this dance, Your Grace?”

Maya’s eyes widened when she saw Anthony in front of her. She had been so lost in her thoughts she hadn’t even noticed him walking towards her. But now she could feel everyone’s eyes upon them, the surprise written in them.

It was his and Lilith’s birthday, so everyone, including Maya, had expected them to have their first dance together. And if it was his way of apologizing, it clearly wasn’t enough.

Her petty side wanted to tell him no, they couldn’t dance together. Not if he claimed to be her friend, her family, and then go behind her back, but what good would it bring?

Demetrius would always come first to them.

“With pleasure, my Prince.” She placed her hand on top of his, and saw as he grimaced at her use of his title. They had used each other’s first names since the first time they had met, and it sounded strange to her own ears as well.

Anthony took her to the center of the ballroom and they carried on with their traditional dancing, one hand on their back and the other arm raised, palm opened and facing the other’s, but not really touching as they circled one another.

Demetrius and Lilith had begun waltzing as well.

“From a scale from one to ten, how much do you actually hate me, Maya?”

Maya thought of it for a second. “Nine,” she lied, “considering the ten is special only to my husband.”

As if he knew they were speaking about him, Demetrius’ bottomless, amber eyes met hers. Shameless. Dangerous. Attractive.

Anthony winced again, looking actually guilty. “And how can I lower it to at least five without my brother having my head?” This was such an Anthony thing to say, she almost smiled at him, everything else forgotten.

And wasn’t it so easy to forget? Being among vampires who had actually started to make a place for her made this stupid war feel sometimes pointless.

She was their Queen. Some nights this felt truer than other nights.

“When does he not want to?”

This time his chuckle held hope. “Do you really hate me, though?”

Why wouldn’t her husband just stop looking at her? Life would be so much better if they just pretended nothing had happened between them.

But Maya switched her attention to her brother-in-law once more, looking him right in the eyes as she spoke, his black eyes somehow comforting although they shouldn’t have been. “You’re the Hand to the King. Your duty is to put him first.”

“My duty is equal to my Queen.”

Maya wished that had been true. “Queen Consort,” she corrected.

“You and I both know you’re more than that.”

Maya avoided his eyes and they kept dancing in silence. The worst was that it felt like he meant that.

She wished him a happy birthday and excused herself with a curtsy. Others had joined them on the ballroom floor, however, the atmosphere had already changed. The room was darker, glasses of wine everywhere, the music less traditional to a royal ball and more... slow... seducing.

Blood.

That was when she noticed vampires drinking from one another. First one couple, the male’s lips on the female’s neck as he drew the blood off her slowly as they danced in each other’s arms. At first it looked nothing more than a kiss. What gave it away was the expression on the female’s face.

Suddenly Maya knew she had looked no different when Demetrius had touched her, drank her blood.

It was a shock at first, looking at the guests suddenly growing more relaxed as the time went by. Males and females having drunken conversations and laughing at each other’s jokes. Lords and ladies of the clan with high position in this Court dancing and touching and seducing like there were no rules to follow, like they weren’t in the presence of the royal family itself.

Panic overtook her for a second when she noticed a few faeries joining the ball. Young, more females in number than males. They practically offered themselves and their blood, like it was their salvation instead of their ruining.

Memories flashed through her mind for a split second. But they weren’t captives here. They were here by free will, and maybe things weren’t as black and white as some faeries made them out to be.

If her father had seen this, he would lose his damn mind. But he wasn’t there. And Maya could feel her blood thump in her ears, feeling suddenly lighter and freer although she had barely drunk half of her cup.

She could feel his eyes on her. Sharp. Following her every step, but suddenly Maya didn’t want to know where he was. She liked being chased.

Just for tonight.

“Join us, Your Grace.” It was Lady Alani who spoke, one of the Council’s members Maya respected the most.

Maya didn’t hesitate. Not for once. She didn’t even stop to consider if it was poisoned. She took the cup of wine that was offered to her and drank its contents in one big gulp, hearing as the group cheered and joined her.

They spoke above one another, half of them already drunk, laughing and dancing and feeding off each other, but Maya could feel the thrill of it in her bones. No boundaries, no expectations. No differences. They liked her. They cheered her name and called her their beloved Queen as she drank from the bottle itself and joined their nonsense conversations.

Was this how it felt to belong? Even if it was for one night, Maya didn’t want to let it go, not yet. Not when she could have this, even when they weren’t drunk, even when they were discussing political matters.

But damn it, her eyes still went to find Demetrius’ across the light-dimmed room, sitting at his throne and radiating power just like he always did. Like he was above them all, the God that played with their lives as if he had the strings attached to his fingers.

Except there were no strings in his fingers. It was Lady Gia’s wrist that he brought to his lips as she sat on the floor beside him, looking almost triumphant.

His eyes never left Maya’s as he drank from her veins, not changing to red once. Challenging her and the last words she had said to him.

Maya knew he was doing this on purpose. It was a game of cat and mouse to him. But for the life of hers she couldn’t stop the fist of possessiveness that gripped every single one of her senses, almost turning her blind. A slave to her own reaction.

Maya barely controlled her powers before they were able to slip away.

He was feeding off another woman.

He was her husband.

He was hers.

Demetrius grinned against Gia’s wrist like he knew exactly what he had done to Maya.

“This is the respect your husband says he has for you?” she heard Jeremiah ask, and before thinking it through, she took his cup of wine and ended it too.

“It’s a good thing he is my husband just in the papers, isn’t it?” She knew what she was suggesting. And she knew Demetrius was following her every move too. “I don’t think you’ve had the pleasure of dancing with me tonight, have you, Jeremiah?”

The Wizard knew what she was doing as well. Perhaps he liked the drama too much, however, because without warning, he slipped his arm around her waist and drew her to his body.

“The music is just right, as well,” he said with a smirk.

This one was not a traditional waltz. It was more like moving slowly around the dancefloor, but she loved the open stares a little too much. The drunken vampires had already started whispering between each other, and she didn’t have to turn and look at her husband to know he was staring at them.

“He got rid of that female,” Jeremiah told her in her ear. To other people, it could possibly look like he was whispering a lover’s words.

“I don’t care,” she whispered back.

“You don’t?” He raised a brow at her.

“This is just a game, Jere,” she told him. “One I’m going to win.”

And just like that, Maya raised herself on her tiptoes and left a soft kiss on his cheek. It was more of a brush of her lips, sensual, but it served the purpose.

After that, she separated herself from his arms and walked towards her empty throne. Lady Gia was indeed gone. And yet she couldn’t get it out of her head.

Maya dared to look at him only when she was sitting down on her throne, trying to wear a look of pride despite being half drunk and mad and possessive.

They stood in silence for minutes, but it felt like eternities, as the still-sobber-enough vampires walked and bowed down to them, before leaving to their chambers.

“What did he say to you?”

“Who?”

They spoke but they kept looking ahead of them and giving their greetings to the last people that left the room.

“Wife,” he hissed in a warning.

“Nothing that concernes you,” she answered at last.

His chuckle sounded as cold as he was. “Nothing that concerns me?”

“That’s what I said.” Maya gathered the fabric of her black gown and rose from her throne once everyone was gone. And only then was she aware that they were completely alone and he was looking at her with an intensity that set her skin crawling.

She should have been afraid.

Yet she wasn’t.

“You kissed him.” It was a statement.

“I did.”

“He had his hands on you.”

“He did.” Maya held his gaze the entire time as they spoke. Her heart threatened to get out of her chest, and in this heavy silence she was sure he could hear it too.

“I could have his hands sent to your bedchambers. In a box, wrapped with red ribbons. A precious gift.”

The shiver that went down her spine was almost visible. Anyone that was right in their mind would plead with him not to do it, but Maya would rather die than beg. “Empty, empty threats.”

His pale face that contrasted with his black clothes and the darkness of the room was all she could look at. His voice was low, deep and soft like velvet. “I remember your other lover’s blood on my floor too well. You don’t?”

How could he threaten to kill for her and her body react that way to him? It was infuriating, but she was aflame, flushed and breathing hard. “I do, but I don’t remember any of your lovers’ blood on the floor. Yet.”

His face split into a satisfied grin. Slowly, his fingers wrapped around her neck, but she did nothing to stop him. “Possessive much, aren’t we?”

Denying it would mean nothing. He could read it all in her face.