A Bastard's Allure-Chapter 34: Allicent

The king’s study was dimly lit with only a few candles. Thoron was leaning on his chair, his face peaceful with his eyes closed. Yet, his vampire instincts kicked in when he heard the slightest of noise coming from the block of shelves. He shot his eyes open and looked at the stack of books on the shelves.

A frown settled on his face when he spotted a shadow in the shape of a human a few blocks from where he sat. And just when he was about to stand, the shadow moved, completely disappearing out of sight.

Thoron stood and walked towards where he’d seen the shadow. But to his dismay, there was no one there. He trained his eyes on the slightly dark line of shelves and saw a woman cross. And for once in his life, his heart skipped a beat!

"Don’t be afraid," he heard someone whisper from behind. Her hand rested softly on his shoulder but that was enough to send Thoron to unseen heights of fear.

He turned slowly to meet with those black eyes he dreaded the most, one’s he used to swoon in the past twenty years. She was just as he could remember!

"How - how did you manage to get out?" He asked, his voice wavering at her presence.

She caressed his cheeks, her long fingernails grazing his skin. Her lips were painted black, and when they parted, her white pearls shined, defying the darkness in the room. And how could they not when she was the mother of darkness!?

"That’s not important now, is it? Do you want to lock me again in that stinking cell? Twenty years, is it?"

"I only did it to save our son!" He said, his voice firm.

"And how is that turning out for him? A Demonpyre, alone in the world! Does he even know what he’s capable of?"

"His abilities are best inactive than active. We both know it!"

"That seems impossible now with his mate by his side. Your portions will never work on him again once he gets a bite," she said, her nails slightly piercing Thoron’s cheek. A line of blood formed on his skin but he remained stoic despite his heart racing. She smirked. "You’ve always been an excellent actor. Your heart is racing yet your face is emotionless!"

"Yours is a talent," he replied, and only then did she withdraw her hands. "What do you want to do now?" Thoron was afraid she’d do something stupid. For twenty years, he’d held the realm together by keeping Gabriel’s true identity a secret. And now that peace was about to be jeopardized.

"What you’ve failed to do all these years," she replied, staring daggers at him. "Be a mother to him! You took my son away from me to protect him but what have you done? You’ve left him alone, bared him for the world to prey on!"

Thoron’s fear grew to unseen heights, the very thought of Gabriel’s full potential unleashed taking court in his mind. "We both know what he’s capable of. Please don’t do something that will make him regret."

"You better explain that to your wife," she said and looked at the end of the shelf. Thoron turned to look that way but saw nothing.

"There’s no one..." His words froze when he found no one there apart from himself. He bit his lower lip hard, his hands clenched into tight balls that his knuckles hurt.

"Who are you talking to husband?" He heard someone ask and when he turned towards the direction of the voice, he found Jessica standing at the other end of the shelf, her hands wrapped around herself in the cold wind.

Two women now, each hellbent to have their sons on the throne! One, a daredevil who would go to extreme lengths just to have the same son she was fighting for, including bedding a king, and another, a queen filled with despise and hatred for Gabriel, and a full court to back her up!

He didn’t say a word! Instead, he walked past Jessica and disappeared into the dark of the night. Disappointment took the better part of Jessica’s face before she walked back to her room.

Allicent materialized in Gabriel’s chambers, her heart melting instantly when she spotted him lying on the bed. Twenty years ago, he was taken away from her arms, and now he was a man grown. Her hands rested on her chest, a single tear falling from her eyes. Would he even recognize her?

She walked over to the bed, her eyes still fixated on his radiating face. The moon shone over him like one kissed by the gods. He looked so peaceful. His tussled hair rested close to his eyes and she instinctively stretched her hand to remove the stray strands.

But her hand froze mid air. No, she didn’t want to wake him up. Not now. Tonight, she was going to watch over him as he slept peacefully.

Oh, how she wished to hold him, touch him. But instead, she was just lying in a cold floor watching as her own son suffered in the hands of imbeciles. And they’d pay, truly!

Gabriel frowned in his sleep catching Allicent’s attention. Was he having a bad dream! Her hand moved quickly to touch him, console him, hold him on her lap and tell him everything was going to be alright. But again, she halted and ended up keeping her hands to herself. Gabriel’s face turned peaceful again.

In his sleepy state, Gabriel noticed someone’s presence but thought it was Elena spying on his handsome face as she always did. It was moments like this he’d feign sleep until he felt her hands on his lips. He wanted it badly today especially after she barred him from kissing her.

But unlike the other days, there was no touching, no close breath, nothing... Just silence. He frowned when she was close to touching him but refrained. At this rate, he was tempted to open his eyes! He could feel her hands close before they were withdrawn unceremoniously.

Unable to retain his curiosity any longer, he shot his eyes open and spotted a blurry figure of a woman come into view. He blinked twice but she was quick to disappear as fast as he’d seen her.

He moved to his side and spotted Elena sleeping soundly by his side. A frown settled on his face, a train of questions racing through his mind. Or maybe it was a dream!?