After what felt like an eternity in the darkness, I finally regained my consciousness.
The first thing that greeted me was a throbbing ache in my head, forcing a quiet wince from my lips. My eyelids were unbearably heavy, but somehow I managed to peel them open.
For a moment, everything was blurred. Distorted shapes, light, and shadows filled my vision.
My body lay against a soft bed, the cool surface soothing my skin. Slowly, my vision finally began to clear, as my eyes took in the view before me.
My gaze drifted around the room slowly.
It was vast.
Far larger than any chamber I had ever seen, the ceiling stretched high above me, adorned with carvings and marks that twisted into strange patterns. Dark, heavy curtains were draped from tall windows, blocking out most of the light and leaving the room dimly lit.
A quiet realization settled in my mind. This wasn't my room.
"Where am I?" I whispered in confusion. I had tried not to assume the worst, but that instant, memories came crashing on me.
The hallways.
I recalled the suffocating grip of the vampire around my throat. My hand quickly flew to my neck as if I could still feel his hold crushing my airway.
I sucked in my breath, realizing I could breathe. But the relief didn't last, because it came next.
I remembered the cloaked figure. The King of Velmont. His suffocating, inescapable presence that had enveloped the entire corridor
That gloved hand had wrapped around the vampire's throat, lifting him like he was nothing.
I recalled that horrible, sickening crack of the vampire's neck. My fingers dug into the sheets, as though I was just hearing the excruciating sound again. I had thought he would stop there, but he didn't stop. He didn't hesitate. Both of his hands had…..
My stomach twisted at the scene that happened next.
"No…" I whispered, my voice shaking. I tried to shut my thoughts, but it forced itself into my mind. I squeezed my eyes shut, but it didn't help.
I could still see it. I could still see the ruthless and gory manner he had separated his head so easily, like it meant nothing.
A strangled gasp escaped me as I shot upright, my body trembling uncontrollably now.
Blood.
There had been so much blood. The way it had splattered and the way the body dropped.
My throat tightened, I felt nausea rising but I pressed a hand against my mouth.
I had never seen something like that before. I had never witnessed death in such a purely malevolent form.
The devil. He was truly the devil.
Only the Devil could do such a horrifying thing. Panic surged through me all at once, but what I didn't understand was how I was still alive and in one, complete piece.
Had heaven spirited me away to this place, before he tried to rip my head off too? Did those silver eyes belong to my savior?
I didn't have a clue on where I was, but I knew I needed to find my way out of here.
Pulling the quilt off my body, my legs trembled but I forced them to hold still. In a moment, I sat upright, my bare feet touching the cold floor. I sucked in a desperate breath, steadying myself to stand on both feet but my body trembled in refusal.
I was weak however, I couldn't stay lying here. My fingers pressed into the mattress as I tried to push myself up again.
"I wouldn't try to pull off that little escapade if I were you, little mouse."
A voice echoed from the shadows. It was cold, calm and far more terrifying than a shout.
My entire being froze.
Slowly, almost like a statue, my eyes lifted toward the darkest corner of the room. A figure stood there, in the darkness.
Their silhouette was perfectly tall, with broad shoulders, he was standing in a way that didn't feel human...and he was watching me.
That person had been here all the while.
Who was that? I dreaded internally and before I could barely blink the figure moved out of the shadow. He began approaching me.
Run! was the first thought that came to my mind. But I sat glued to the bed, like I had been hypnotized.
The candles which were blown out, suddenly lit themselves up, like a gust of ignition had swept past them. My heart skipped at the phenomenon I couldn't grasp.
As he took dangerously slow strides towards my direction, the light hit the figure, slowly revealing him in fragments.
First, a pair of boots appeared in view, then fitted pants worn by two long legs, a leather coat majestically draped around his shoulder that reached to his ankles, golden brooches at the side. Such clothing didn't seem ordinary, it screamed authority. A suffocating kind of authority.
Then without warning, a sharp, chiseled jawline appeared in the light, a perfectly sculpted nose too and then eyes.
Silver eyes. The most enchanting pair of eyes I had ever seen. They were wicked…..but beautiful.
The same pair I had seen in my subconsciousness. Was he really the one who saved me?
His eyes found mine instantly. They weren't looking at me, they were piercing into me in a way that had my hands curl tighter on the sheets. He stopped a few steps away from the bed, it felt too close. I could see him clearly now.
He was…beautiful. Beautiful in a way that was forbidden. I couldn't help the gasp that escaped my lips despite the fear in me.
His features were sharp, sculpted to unrivaled perfection. The way those lips curled up, how strands of his jet black fell over his features in a mesmerizing way and how full and thick his lashes were. But there was nothing warm in them, nothing about him seemed human. His presence alone pressed down on me in a manner that almost made me breathless.
"You faint too easily, little mouse." I heard his voice dangerously curl through the air, snapping me out of my trance.
How could any normal person not faint from the scene I witnessed?
"You…" My voice came out weak, trembling. "W-who are y-you?"
Despite having the intuition that he had saved me, why did I feel that this person was anything but a saviour?
His lips curved at my question. Not in a kind or warm way, as though he had heard something amusing.
"Who am I?" he repeated softly, tilting his head just slightly.
Instinctively, I shrank back when he moved again. In the blink of an eye, he had closed the distance between us. He dropped to a knee before the bed, bringing his face to the same level as mine, that had his eyes meet mine with such scorching intensity, leaving me frozen in place. Our breaths were only inches away.
"You truly don't know?" he murmured. There was something dangerous in how calm, controlled he spoke.
I didn't dare move, I didn't dare breathe. My lips trembled.
"…y-yes."
His lips curved again at my response. This time slower and more deliberate. There was silence for a moment.
Then—
"I am the Devil, Jasmine… the King of Velmont." He paused, letting the words sink in me. "Your worst nightmare."