BXBX NOVEL Chapter 123 - Not Another Apollyon
Chapter 123 - Not Another Apollyon
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Vampire King Apollyon
The Ivory Tower
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The Vampire King had dematerialized into thin air to get back to his Empress only to find her dead.
Red silk sheets puddled around the Empress' hips, baring her slender legs and her exposed breasts.
A man couldn't look upon such legs and not envision them wrapped around his hips.
Her areolas were on full display, beading when the cold breeze from the ivory tower's small window entered their space.
Even if it was an inopportune time to even divine such sensual thoughts when he wasn't certain if the Empress was alive, Apollyon fought the urge to feel arousal as he tugged the blankets on top of her body to shield her from his gaze.
Seeing the Empress lying on the stone-cold floor beside the bed with the manacles attached to each wrist pricked his conscience, stirring his conflicting desires to protect and possess.
The four pillars of the bedposts were annihilated, and the bed tester had also collapsed.
The room inside the ivory tower was a mess, the silk sheets were everywhere and what used to be the velvet cloak which covered Luna was in tatters.
Apollyon went to his wife's side right away, cradling the crown of her head gently.
The Empress barely breathed, and perhaps, Luna was merely unconscious.
As the Vampire King checked out the tiny wood pricks embedded through her skin like needles, he wondered if Luna had finally met her death when she had attempted to escape from the bonds, almost severing both of her hands when she jerked the chains out from its support.
Apollyon shook his head incredulously.
If this were the Empress' one last breath, then he would have followed suit, too.
The Vampire King was sure beyond faith that he had driven her to abandon him tonight and perhaps, his Empress would never return to him again.
Apollyon moved the silver strands--similar to the veil of webs--out of his wife's face with care, tucking it behind her ears.
"Wife. Did you rather enjoy playing the dead Empress in front of me, aren't you, Luna?" Apollyon eyed her warily just in case his wife had heard him and opened her eyes, telling her that everything was all a jest.
"Would you like me to kiss you and take your consciousness back just as you did at the underground shelter? "When you successfully sent back the Archdemons to Hell—to where they belong?" He moved her to a sitting position. "You have coaxed my soul out from hiding inside my dormant body."
There was no response.
The Vampire King envisioned invisible hands gaining access to the Empress's thoughts, but he had encountered a block instead.
Apollyon already knew that the walls of her mind were already invincible as before because of her constant practice of raising her hackles whenever Apollyon was near her.
Luna was too determined to deter him from any attempts of breaching--even fighting the blood bond for as long as she can.
She already knew what she can and can't do.
The Empress was good at observing what worked against him despite losing Hecate's magic.
Luna fortified her brainpower and strength, not allowing any disadvantage against him.
Honestly, the Vampire King was angry at her actions for antagonizing him every step of the way, but now he realized the importance of Luna's individuality, especially his privacy.
Apollyon would not dare repeat the patterns of his masculine ancestors, just like what they had done in the past--just like what he had done to Luna in the past.
He shouldn't treat his wife as an object; neither should he treat her as something he could control because the truth was, a wife was a different person, not an extension of him.
Apollyon didn't own his wife's entire mind, body, and soul, just like how his father, his grandfather and his great-great-grandfather might think of their wives and women in general.
He must strive to be different, or Apollyon and his Empress would suffer the same fate as them.
Apollyon raised his wife's upper body towards him and murmured huskily in her ear. "Luna wake up for me, please."
Not even a twitch in her eyelids or a tiny movement of her fingers.
The Vampire King breathed heavily in panic when the Empress didn't respond to his inquiries.
He swallowed audibly and calmed himself down, shoving the horror and anxiety deep inside him.
Apollyon must remain in control of his emotions.
He wouldn't allow himself to break down in fear just because his wife hadn't heard him clearly.
He was strong enough as a powerful magician.
He would bring her back to the Vampire Realm.
Perhaps, her soul had just wandered from too much agony because of her numerous escape attempts.
Apollyon would move the highest Heaven and the deepest pits of Hell to possess his Empress again.
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Archdemon of Gluttony
First Circle of Hell
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"Had the Feline King struck a chord in your memory?" The Archdemon of Gluttony raised an eyebrow in both curiosity and fascination. "I hear you seem to favour Kings as your lovers."
Luna's mouth parted in response, but her voice faded to a yelp when Ravin slammed into her and locked his arms tight around her body, turning her towards the bed.
They fell together.
Luna landed on top of him with her hands on his well-defined chest.
Ravin's one hand was at the back of her head, and the other one was clamped around her waist.
She jerked from his arms and tried to scramble away from him, but it was too late.
The Archdemon of Gluttony had already locked his arms around her, preventing Luna from escaping.
Hugging her tighter, Ravin shoved Luna's face to the hard muscle of his shoulder which sent Luna to thrust the sharp points of her claws into his gut in surprise.
Snarls filled her chest when Luna felt her body wasn't her own anymore.
She couldn't control herself.
Luna had no choice but to let her head fall against the smooth expanse of his moonbeam chest.
She couldn't…
Luna tried to wriggle out of his embrace, but she couldn't lift a finger.
What is happening to her?
"I called you with the help of the Archdemon of Envy because I wanted to be in your presence even if it was just the Realm of Dreams for now." The Archdemon of Gluttony stroked her wavy silver strands in adoration, combing it with his claws and inhaling the scent of her hair. "The Princess of Hell had a binding contract with a powerful witch in the Human Realm, so the witch had no choice but to do her bidding."
"The Archdemon of Envy had a debt with me, you see. I requested for your soul as the payment, reinforcing our blood bond and making it stronger than your other husbands. " Every muscle in Luna's body let go as wave upon wave of soothing relaxation rolled through her exhausted limbs.
"The moment I felt you near, I could finally calm down as I could sense our golden cords thickening the moment you stepped foot in my Kingdom." The Archdemon made a sound-- a deep rumbling hum of pleasure in his chest---as he lovingly stroked her face. "If you come back to the Vampire Realm, I would be bored and restless that I would fancy torturing some unsuspecting lower-ranked devils and innocent souls at the pit for fun."
Ravin smiled as if he was discussing the weather.
'Killing his own Kingdom's lower rank devils and torturing innocent souls for fun?'
He talked about it with nonchalance as if his hobbies weren't something brutal at all.
That's just the kind of cruelty the Archdemon of Gluttony would do.
Luna wouldn't be surprised if he did that in his own Kingdom when that was his modus operandi back at the Vampire Realm while he possessed the body of the Vampire King.
She was about to shake her head in disapproval, but her limbs had frozen, and her joints had locked itself thanks to the Archdemon's magic similar to Cederic.
"Now that you lost the High Priestess magic you had acquired from Hecate; it became easier for me to retrieve your soul when you had no protection from any goddess, Amare." Ravin murmured huskily as he gestured to the playful winds which constantly buffed the tent, sheltering the luxury bed as it occasionally drifted in to ruffle his soft ink-black hair. "I've been lonely waiting for you all this time.? I want you tonight."
Luna felt the heat of his gaze, touching her everywhere, stripping her, and her hands shook with the force of anxiety without the presence of her husband.
She would not cheat on Apollyon even if the bastard hurt her feelings multiple times.
The Vampire King had tried in his own way to love her even if it was kind of twisted.
They need to work out a lot of their issues.
Apollyon cheating on her on their honeymoon with a concubine will not justify her choice to cheat on him tonight, even if the said man had claimed to be her other husband without proof.
"Please, let me go." Luna protested.
The Archdemon of Gluttony's lips pressed together, providing only a tight slit for his words. "Don't make me chain you to bed."
Insulted, Luna forced to lift her head and glare directly into Ravin's reptilian gold eyes—pouring all her hatred against men in general to him-- even if it hurt to do so because of the Archdemon's magic. "Do you think that would be fun on my end?"
Did these bastards had any other threats than tying women up as punishment?
"You really want to chain me to the bed like what the Vampire King had done?"