Aliya's POV

"My lord," the guard named Anthony appeared in the doorway, "the guests have started to arrive. Princess Emma and her fiancé are making their way towards the ball room now."

"I'll be there shortly," Damien ran a comb through his hair, styling it to perfection like always.

"I ordered some guards to take care of Aliya's safety tonight, where are they?"

He set the comb down on the table and turned around, questioning the guard who nodded and replied, "they are waiting at the ballroom entrance, sir. I've chosen two of my best men for the job, they will meet you there. The rest of us will also be on high alert tonight, just like you wanted."

Satisfied with the response, Damien dismissed him and started to put his watch on. I took a moment to take in his final, completed outfit. Although I was used to seeing him in suits, something about his look was different. Perhaps it was the soft, velvety material of the black tuxedo he was wearing, it made me want to reach out and trace the smoothness of the jacket with my fingers.

Underneath, he wore a plain, white shirt that fit his body like a glove. When he shifted, the coat moved from its position but the shirt didn't budge. Tracing my eyes up, I noticed the black bow tie around his neck and the white pocket square tucked in his suit jacket.

The only thing "blingy" about his plain black and white outfit was the watch on his wrist, which stole the show with it's flashy, golden color.

I just remembered what he talked to the guard about.

"You ordered some guards to look out for me tonight?" I asked him.

"Yes, don't want to repeat yesterday's incident. Although nobody would dare to touch you under my roof, everybody knows you are our guest. But I couldn't risk it, who knows if they decide to break in somehow?"

"They? So you know who tried to kidnap me?"

Was he hiding something? He was missing for the whole day today, maybe he had managed to track down who tried to hurt me.

"Yes, but I'll take care of it," he simply said and made an attempt to walk towards the door.

I stopped him, "who is it? Tell me."

"You don't have to worry about it, I have it under control."

He gave me a look which made me believe he wasn't going to tell me anytime soon. But why?

I sighed, realizing there was no point arguing with him about it.

"I don't like this, I hate feeling like I'm in danger somehow and not being able to do anything about it. Believe me, I'm grateful for your attempts to keep me safe but I can't just walk around with bodyguards for the rest of my life. You won't always be there and I can't even defend myself."

Maybe he was right all along, maybe I was just a weak human who never stood a chance against these new enemies I seem to have made.

"You're not as weak as I thought," Damien frowned, "you have this inner strength that just needs a direction. You're fierce, you just need to put your anger towards something more powerful and destructive. You can take down anyone who stands in your way with proper guidance, you just need to believe in yourself."

His words shocked me, I didn't know he ever noticed me this closely until now. He's always called me incapable of competing against him or his species, but there he stood, telling me the complete opposite now.

"Who's going to guide me?" I asked, sounding defeated already.

"I can teach you," he said after a moment of silence, "I've trained some of the best fighters in this world. Don't expect me to go easy on you though, your cute and innocent eyes won't be able to save you this time."

I must be dreaming, did the vampire king just offer to train me on how to fight and defend myself?

"Okay, like you said, I have anger in me that needs to be directed towards something, and what is better than being able to take it out on you. You're like the root cause of it," I joked, but I knew part of it was true.

It was natural for me to feel angry towards him, it was the only emotion I was introduced to and held onto for years growing up in this castle.

He shook his head, forming a firm line with his lips.

"Alright, now before every vampire here starts to barge through the doors looking for their king, let's head down to the party," he held his hand out in front of me.

I took a final glance at the mirror and placed my hand in his, only because the nervousness was eating me alive, I didn't think I could make it down the stairs on my own.

When we made it to the ballroom, I was greeted by a closed door and two guards who stood there patiently.

"My king," they bowed to Damien, then turned towards me, "lady Aliya."

I gave them a small smile as it was all I could manage at the time.

"Aliya," Damien stole my attention, "this is Leo and this is Zain. I don't plan on letting you out of my sight tonight, but they will be here to protect you should there be any mishaps."

After what happened at the last ballroom party I attended and after last night, I was beyond grateful for such safety measures that Damien took upon, just for my sake.

I gave him a smile and squeezed his hand which was still wrapped around mine, "thank you."

He gave me a nod and told the guards to open the massive doors, which would expose us to every member present inside. My stomach turned slowly as the doors opened, revealing a view that almost knocked the breath out of me.

It took some time for my eyes to adjust to the lavishing ballroom that stood before me, everything about it seemed right out of a story book. I didn't know what to look at first, the enchanting chandeliers that hung above the crowd and offered the perfect amount of warm light, giving the place a romantic ambiance. Or the huge archways that surrounded the room with drapes falling from them, giving the place a majestic vibe.

There were rows of long dining tables with numerous chairs situated around the room, with a few circular tables in some corners. Some people stood around chatting, with a drink in their hands, while some occupied the dining areas with appetizers and drinks. The tables were decorated with candles stands and peach colored flower bouquets.

It was truly magnificent.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, please rise for King Damien of the Vampire World, accompanied by his gracious friend, Miss Aliya Aster," the announcer to my left said, greeting Damien and I with a smile.

I mouthed thank you to him and offered a smile in return. Damien took a step forward into the room and I matched his steps. I noticed Emma wasn't anywhere in sight yet. She must be on her way.

Everybody stood up and bowed gracefully to their king. The room was filled with beautiful people who were fancily dressed to match the theme of the party: glitz and glamour.

A few people came up to greet Damien and shook his hand, while his other hand stayed glued to mine. I wondered if he would ever let go throughout the event. Based on the fact that he was holding on so tightly, I doubted it.

I politely smiled and shook the hands which were offered to me, there were too many people and names for me to keep track of.

Until I came across a familiar face.

"King Nicholas," I recalled his name rather quickly, making Damien look at me in surprise.

"Hey, Aliya," Nicholas took my hand and brought it to his lips and placed a small kiss on it, "I am thrilled to see you remember me."

Of course I remembered him, he was the only person who actually talked to me at the winter royal ball. Damien and I went there in his private jet and then he abandoned me at the party where I didn't know a single soul. King Nicholas was kind enough to introduce himself to me and even asked me for a dance, which was cut short by ever so furious looking Damien who dragged me away from him.

We all know how that ended up, with Damien also stealing my first kiss that same night.

I snapped back to reality when Damien cleared his throat, rather loudly. He held his hand out to Nicholas to welcome him but his eyes seemed more interested in the ceiling. Basically anywhere but the person right in front of him.

Remembering the time when Nicholas had mentioned him and Damien were practically rivals, the situation made perfect sense. Damien was trying his best to be a good host and put their differences aside. I knew this was the best he could do, at least he wasn't glaring at him to drop dead. At least not yet.

"Well, I'll be around," Nicholas said to me, "let's catch up later."

I nodded at him, as a promise to find him later.

Another person came into my view who I could've sworn I had seen before, but couldn't place my finger on the memory.

"Brother," his icy blue eyes greeted Damien as a smirk played on his lips.

Then it finally hit me.

It couldn't be, I assured myself. It couldn't possible be the man who had made an attempt to kill me and pretended to be Damien. It seemed almost too long ago, but the memory was now fresh in my mind. I had bumped into him and spilled my drink on his shirt at Damien's birthday party, we then went upstairs so I could give him a clean shirt to change into. I don't remember much about how our conversation went but I recalled he called himself a prince, said he was a prince once.

Later on, when Emma showed me a picture of him and told me the whole truth about Damien's innocence, I couldn't believe my eyes.

It was all a part of his plan, to distract me and get me away from the crowd. 

Damien let go of my hand and instantly took a hold of his neck, "what the hell are you doing here?!"

The people around us gasped and stepped back in fear.

Valentino coughed once before saying, "I would be careful if I was you, you don't want to kill the rightful heir of the vampire world for a mere human, just because I stabbed her."

Damien seemed to have tightened his grip on him, "who said you're next in line? The throne will never be yours, for as long as I shall live."

"You don't have to die for me to have that power, brother. I know about the deal."

What was going on? What deal was Valentino talking about?

It must be something far more serious, because as soon as he said that, Damien let him go.

Valentino adjusted his shirt and collar, as if Damien's threats had no effect on him. There was clearly something on his mind that I was not aware of or couldn't pin point.

"The court members invited me here," he narrowed his eyes at Damien, "I don't think you'd want to upset them by killing off their only hope of continuing this legacy, me."

He held his hand out to the side and a woman placed her hand in his, stepping into our view. She was dressed in a satin, emerald green gown with a high slit on the side, showing off her long leg. Her brown eyes seemed soft at first but then quickly turned devilish as an evil smile took over her face. She blinked a few times as she looked at me.

I had never met her in my entire life, but why did it seem like I was somehow associated with her?

Why did it seem like this woman could change my entire fate with a mere look in my direction?

Who was she?

"Destiny," Damien answered my unasked question.

We heard the doors open again for the stars of the evening, I could hear Emma's voice behind the door talking to Eric due to the pin drop silence that had taken over the ballroom. Everybody had frozen to look at Damien and his brother bickering, with Damien on the brink of ripping his head off.

"You both are lucky it's my sister's wedding, I do not wish for any bloodshed on such an occasion. Do me a favor, enjoy the festivities while you can, because once this is all over, I am going to have you both begging me for mercy and wishing you never showed your faces here again," Damien whispered harshly so only the four of us could hear.

"One wrong move and you'll be buried ten feet under, right below where you're standing right now," was all he said before his attention turned towards Emma.

There she stood, in her beautiful silver dress that was nothing less than a show stopper. Her eyes scanned the room as she threw a smile in every direction, her hands holding onto Eric's arm who stood beside her.

They looked like the perfect pair with their coordinated outfits as Eric's suit also had some silver accents on it.

As they walked into the room, everybody quickly recovered from the earlier events to cheer for the soon to be wed couple.

They shared a few hugs and hand shakes before I let go of Damien's hand and went up to hug her while telling her how gorgeous she looked. She was taken back by my outfit as well, saying something about giving Athena a raise because she deserved it.

We were talking for some time when I realized I lost track of Damien, I looked back and searched the room only to find him talking to a guard in a corner. The guard nodded while Damien threw orders at him. He seemed calm, yet serious.

I hoped everything was okay.

We definitely did not expect Valentino to show up like this, I had to be extra careful not to be anywhere near him, not even by mistake.

As we sat down on one of the circular tables, Emma introduced me to some ladies. I remembered her friend, Princess Tanya, from the last time I was here.

"Hi, Aliya," she shot me a smile, "so nice to see you back in the vampire world again. How is the human world?"

"It's nice to see you too! The human world isn't much different from here. Besides the fact that it's run by humans, it looks almost identical. At least so far since I haven't gotten the chance to explore much yet, with classes and also the flight restrictions," I tried to explain.

"I heard they were in the middle of a global pandemic," another girl whose name I believe was Mira spoke up.

"Didn't it originate from a bat?" Another girl chimed in, curiously.

"Funny, because we are technically bats," Mira shrugged, "better watch out Aliya."

Her hazel green eyes found mine and I held her gaze, staring back at her. Her remark was uncalled for. What did I ever do to this girl?

"Mira," Emma dragged out her name to get her attention, "I don't appreciate you being rude to my friend, apologize."

"Chill, Emma," Mira fixed the off-shoulder sleeves of her dress, "I'm just playing around, she knows that. Don't you, Aliya?"

Before I could say anything, I heard a voice as somebody slid into the chair right beside mine.

"Mind if I join you ladies?"

It was King Nicholas. As soon as he sat down with us, all the girls shifted in their chairs as if they had just woken up, all their attention now on him.

I could say he was a handsome man, he looked pretty young to be a king, probably around 23 or 24 years old.

"Emma! Congratulations," Nicholas reached over to shake Emma's hand while keeping an arm on my chair since I was sandwiched between the two, "I'm happy you found your mate, I just got spoke to Eric, he seemed like a great guy."

"Thank you, yeah he's everything I could ever wish for and more," she thanked him.

"So what were you ladies talking about?" He turned towards the rest of the girls.

"Oh, we were just about to play a game!" Tanya said.

Were we?

"Yes, everybody grab a drink because we are going to play 'never have I ever'," Mira, the girl who seemed to dislike me for some reason, claimed.

"The rules are simple, we are each going to say something we have never done in our long lifetime, and if you have done it you take a sip of your drink," she went on to explain how to play.

Although I had never heard of the game before, it seemed pretty straight forward.

What could go wrong?

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