Chapter 15: Hostile Newlyweds

"Husband? You are that bastard prince they were talking about?"

Elysianne was at first confused why he was calling her his wife, but everything slowly came together as she pieced her fragmented memories like a puzzle. From the moment she had tried to escape, to the time she heard royal gossips, up until this very moment.

In terms of legality in the vampire society, he was indeed her husband now. The burning sensation in her arm should be evidence enough to that. Rage boiled in her heart as Elys found herself forced into a marriage she couldn't fight after she was captured by that golden haired vampire knight.

The man who stood in front of her merely cocked his head. His eyes that had been fixed on her face for a while now, traveled downwards and stopped right at the middle of her body. The princess held the glass shard in her hand firmly – she was ready to attack if he does too.

Elys had assumed the bastard prince to be ugly for being shunned by their vampire society. But now that she saw him face to face, it actually wasn't much the case. He was tall, and his eyes were molten silvers with an alexandrite cat's eye pupil.

The bastard prince wasn't ugly from the outside after all. But with regards to his inner beauty, Elys didn't trust it was the same. She could feel a tingling sensation under her skin with the gaze he gave her, and that alone didn't make Elys trust he had good intentions.

The princess bank on her instincts when it came to people. It was inherent to northern warriors to feel if their enemies choose malice over peace in the middle of a battle. Call it a sixth sense, she was sure the bastard prince didn't mean anything nice when he welcomed her as his wife.

"You might want to throw that piece of glass you are holding on to," the man said, "not a good idea anyway. You won't stand a chance against me."

"Tch," Elys couldn't help but feel irritated by the man she was now forced to call her husband, "I see you are one arrogant bastard."

"And I see now that despite your stupid blankness throughout the wedding, you are much more of a pain now that you are fully conscious," he retorted, his eyes condescending, "Such a sassy woman, despite your poor, poor state."

Aleksander moved forward, his shoes clacking as it did when she awoken. The princess felt her heart pound with each centimeter he came closer. The grandfather clock ticked in sync with his footsteps, and Elys found herself tightening her grip on the glass shard, the sharp edge biting down the insides of her palm.

She held Aleksander's gaze, trying to gauge his actions whether she should need to thrust the glass in her hand or not. This was a vampire that was closing in on her, and not just any man as easy as Ugly Pig.

Elys stood her ground despite her pulse quickening. His insults against her weren't going to bring her morale down. She won't let herself be looked down upon by anyone – not even a prince. Especially a prince of the kingdom that pillaged her home.

The princess inhaled and exhaled, her heart slowly adjusting into a steady rhythm as she commanded herself to be calm. Elys had an unyielding nature, something the warriors of her kingdom and her father had hammered into her since childhood.

Even in the face of danger, she must still be in command of herself and her emotions.

The vampire prince closed in, and was now too near for comfort. With a swift movement that Aleksander couldn't catch even if he knew it was coming, Elys pointed the glass shard in front of her, just and inch away from his jugular.

"Stay right there," Elys her scarlet eyes held the melting silvers of her husband.

"I see that you are fast," the bastard prince noted, "I didn't anticipate that."

Elys could not pinpoint what it was that made her doubt what he said. Well, aside from the fact that she wouldn't believe whatever her enemy should say to convince her, Aleksander's tone seemed to be sarcastic in a way that meant he knew what was coming to him.

Aleksander took one last step forward, and the sharp side of the glass had now touched the thin skin that protected the vital part of his neck. A tiny trickle of blood slowly flowed on to the edge, dripping on the front of his pristinely white shirt.

His wife didn't expect him to be too bold, and Elys took a step back, only to find herself impeded by the vanity table behind her. A single droplet of sweat formed on her forehead, and Elys could feel it flow down the side of her face.

"Stay put," Elys hissed at the prince, "or else I will slit your throat open, husband."

"Keh," Aleksander scoffed, "And you think I would do as you say? I think we might need a little bit of a reminder here so you would know where you stand in the food chain."

The vampire prince didn't listen to what Elys told him. Even with the sharp glass to his throat, Aleksander moved in closer – one final and bold step forward – and Elys' eyes widened as she was forced to act accordingly with haste. With a swift flick of her arm, the princess veered the blade across Aleksander's throat.

Blood didn't take long to trickle form the cut. Thick red liquid spurted from the wound, slowly dripping on to Aleksander's shirt. The prince's pupils expanded and he crashed on to Elys.

"I am not as low in the food chain as you think I am," Elys caught Aleksander as he slumped towards her. She traced her lips on the side of his face and whispered in his ear, "I am not the prey, my dear husband. I am the predator."

The two were now drenched in blood, as Aleksander's slit throat continued to bleed. Elys had to let go of the glass shard as she received her husband's body with his broad build crashing on to her. His head hung between her neck and right shoulder, his chest to hers.

Elys caught herself smiling, as she knew no one would survive for long with such an injury she had inflicted. But before she could even laugh out loud, she felt Aleksander's body on hers vibrate. A tiny chuckle escaped from his lips, and the princess paled with the sudden realization.

The vampire prince was playing with her.

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A/N: I'm sorry for the skipped update last week huhu. I just found out your summoning pens yesterday in Inkstone. I hope this chapter will suffice for now. I will try to be a responsible author from now on and keep up with my promises on updates huhuhu (or at least I shouldn't promise if I can't do it in the end huhu pls forgive me)