The Vampire King's Pet-Chapter 281: Not Even Death

What did she think? Nothing!

At least nothing she would outright tell Zyren, whose gaze was still focused firmly on her, waiting for her to speak.

A few moments of silence passed between them before Aria finally opened her mouth to speak."If that is what my king wants!" she said with a completely stoic expression on her face, no hint of submission in her eyes as she watched Zyren glance at her from the side with a sly expression in his eyes.

But Aria merely continued to speak."Since there is an alliance and it’s for the good of the people, then there’s no reason why I should object!" she said, although she was well aware that the deal she made with the vampire houses included not using her powers to heal for a limited amount of time.

But refusing made her feel like Zyren would figure out what her plans were.

’He might be able to read my feelings, but as long as I don’t lean into the bond, there’s no reason why he should be able to read my thoughts,’ she thought to herself, aware that such a scenario would be the worst possible thing to happen.

King Jared beamed from where he sat, a smile on his lips, looking extremely pleased even as Zyren, who was yet to drop the cup in his hand, simply went ahead to fill it from the jug before taking a sip.

The smell that reached Aria’s nose jarred her a bit as she realized that it was the first time she had seen Zyren drink blood from a cup—confident that the previous contents of his cup had been wine.

She was not surprised to see a flicker of a frown flash across his face even as he placed the cup on the table, clearly displeased by what he drank, before opening his mouth to speak.

"I did accept the artifact!" Zyren sighed, his gaze on Aria, who struggled to understand what exactly he was up to as she watched him smile and nod his head, even though his gaze still burned with a light intensity of anger.

"Like I previously offered, you do not have to come, King Zyren. Lady Aria would be enough, along with a couple of your men," King Jared said, but he was barely done speaking when Zyren replied.

"Of course, I’ll come with you. I have to make sure that Lady Aria gets back in one piece," he added in a tone that might as well have been a threat.

After it was clear that there was nothing more to be said, King Jared got to his feet alongside Clara, who hurriedly followed behind him, glancing at Aria even as they headed for the door.

Aria didn’t even look at them twice as she heard the door slam shut behind them as they walked out and left, until it was only her and King Zyren that remained in the room.

She was not surprised when she heard him speak to her, turning his face in her direction in a tone that showed how serious he was about what he was saying.

"Do you know the one thing you could ever do that would anger me?" he asked her, even as Aria, who instantly had a couple of options in her mind, simply shook her head.

’Clearly, me talking about killing you is nothing but a joke to you!’ Aria thought to herself as she heard Zyren continue to speak.

"You can try and kill me. You can even hurt me," he said, leaning closer to her, made easy by the fact that their chairs were right beside each other.

Closer until his face was all she could see and his red eyes seemed to bore right into her very soul as he continued to speak."You can even try to be king..." he continued, mirth in his eyes and in his gaze as he went on, "...But the one thing I can’t stand is the thought of you thinking you can ever be free of me!"

He said it in a way that made Aria’s eyes flutter as she struggled not to show more than the reaction she had already shown.

"...You can never be free of me!" he told her, his eyes seeming to burn even redder than before as she moved to lean back, only to have his hand clasp the back of her neck, pulling her much closer to him as he continued to speak.

"You can hate me, you can try and kill me, but unless I say so, you can’t leave!" he told her, even as Aria, no longer struggling to get out of his hold, chuckled as she leaned closer to him, their breaths mingling together even as her eyes hardened.

"What? You can protect me even from death?" she asked him, wondering what kind of delusion he was under. She was human, which meant that her lifespan was already limited compared to his, which could span for centuries.

"Even from death!" he responded with such surety that made Aria’s eyes widen, regardless of how hard she tried to look stoic. Her lashes fluttered as she pulled back, clearly no longer interested in continuing the inane discussion they were having.

But she had just pulled back when she felt Zyren’s hand on her neck tighten, pulling her closer to him even as she felt his lips crush against hers in a painfully aware way that made her heart instantly skip a beat as he went ahead to pull her out of her chair. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

"Is sex all you think about?" she snapped, gasping for breath as she sat on his lap, his arms firmly holding her there as she felt the hardened member between his legs. Worried, as she recalled that she was yet to get the drug from Rymora, just to ensure that she didn’t get pregnant.

But Zyren’s hands were already under her gown, showing his intention without him having to open his mouth and use words.