The Vampire Prince's Toxic Consort (BL)

Lucius gawked at Silvan incredulously, “Why are you here?! This is...my dream!”

“Perhaps you just dreamed of me because you secretly desire me?” Silvan rejoined jestingly.

“I desire to punch your cheeky face. Will it come true in this dream?” Lucius retorted acidulously.

Silvan chuckled, “You can try.”

Lucius remembered Silvan was a scion of both Azreal and Lilith, and the latter was the Elder of Pride and Envy and was believed to be the most beautiful of the ten. And her line mastered the art of manipulating desire and weaknesses.

“So, is this your Lilith line’s ability? Creeping into other people’s dreams? A bit voyeuristic, don’t you think?” The consort jibed.

Silvan laughed sonorously, and as he took a few steps toward Lucius, his appearance became shifty. His hair and eyes changed color with each step, and a dreamy aura glowed beneath his skin, making him more gorgeous and attractive than ever, “it is much more useful than you would have thought. Dreams are the highways to your deepest desire and secrets. I can plant thoughts and desires in people’s minds through dreams, making them obsessed with things they didn’t care about before, driving them mad with random anxieties. Moreover, people can lie when they are conscious, but they can rarely do that in their dreams. ”

“Oh really? You think I can’t lie to you here?”

“You have become Lucid, which makes matters more complicated... Some humans and vampires, like my brother, are trained to resist such magic as they easily become lucid in their dreams. But you...you seem to have something different in you...something alerted you when I entered.” Silvan strolled around, taking into the hellish scenario from every direction, “but what a scene! I’ve seen some fucked up dreams, but this one is among the top five. Wait, this place looks familiar...isn’t this the St. Primus Cathedral of Anthor?”

Silvan pointed at a half-collapsed building afar. The unique crown-like silhouette of the five pinnacles and a giant half-broken rose window was unmistakably the holiest institute in Anthor and the symbol of God’s authority on earth. And now it was wrecked to the extent that Lucius didn’t recognize it at first in his dream.

Why the hell was he dreaming of his homeland’s destruction? And why did he feel...good?

His expression must have betrayed his thought, and Silvan grinned toothly, “I had my doubt about your identity because if you are truly the innocent angel of God they said you to be, you wouldn’t have lasted this long. Besides, it was almost unthinkable that Anthor would agree to give up their beloved prophecy and head of Anthor Churches just for a respite.

“And then I remembered that you have a twin brother, so I wondered if Anthor has played a trick on us. And this time, I finally got a chance to take a peek at your twin brother, who claimed that he was the more...hedonistic Lucius Rosenfield, albeit wearing overly casual clothing that was completely different from Lucius Rosenfield’s usual flamboyant dressing style. And I wonder, what will happen if I speak to the King about my speculation? I’m sure he would be elated to find a way to end the treaty.”

Lucius clutched his hand into a fist behind his back and tried to maintain his composure, “so why haven’t you, if you are so sure about your groundless speculation? And where is your evidence? Merely my brother didn’t dress well enough this time?”

“Even if I have any evidence, I wouldn’t have let you know, would I? Besides, now that we are on friendly terms, things may not have to go that far. And if everything is settled as we have agreed, you will be able to go back to your country and reunite with your family.”

“I’ve given you the photos of the scroll. What else do you want?”

“The content is not enough. I’ve had my enchanters attempt to decipher it. It was encrypted with blood magic, so it has to be a member of the Aslani family to use it and open the door. However, after you enter the sanctuary, everything will be more straightforward.

“The guide you found is working for me. He will hand you an enchanted dagger. You will wait until Dorian procures the blood. Now, I know my brother will not consume the blood in the sanctuary because he wouldn’t want to be vulnerable in an unfamiliar place, so you will stab him with the dagger when you find a chance. He won’t die, obviously, but the enchantment on it will demobilize him for some time, and you will take the blood and deliver it to me. I will be waiting outside of the Sanctuary.”

Of course, the only guide who knew how to the sanctuary would be corrupted by Silvan...Lucius thought irritatedly.

“He has three bodyguards. If I try to stab him, they will end me instantly. ”

“You don’t need to worry about the bodyguards. Because one of them also works for me. He will take care of the other two before you know it.”

Lucius crossed his arms, not even surprised anymore, “you seem to have many friendly relationships?”

“I have a knack for it, can’t you see?” Silvan winked at him.

“Ok, I will do it. But first, I want my Durchville Witch blood back.”

“You have some nerve to ask for it.” Silvan eyed him with amazement, “Why should I return something that Anthor may use to harm my kind to you?”

“Because you need me.” Lucius said calmly but firmly, “And I don’t care if you tell Dorian now that I am a traitor because your brother only trusts me, and he would never have thought I’d betray him. Without me, you can forget about the Elder blood and the throne of Eternia.” Lucius paused for a second. Seeing Silvan contemplating the options, he added, “With Elder blood, you will be as powerful as a first generation, practically a demigod. You can destroy Anthor before we can even utilize that blood for anything. I want it because I need it to return to Anthor and get my family out of it.”

Silvan shrugged, “fine. I will give it to you after you deliver the blood.”

“No, I want it before we enter the Labyrinth.” Lucius crossed his arm, “who knows whether you will keep your promise after you get what you want? Give me the blood or no deal.”

The vampire clicked his tongue exasperatedly, “It’s a shame that you are not a vampire. You would have done so well in our society, seeing how treacherous you are.”

Lucius rolled his eyes, “yes or no?”

“Fine. The guide will give it to you along with the dagger.”

“How do you contact the guide without Dorian noticing, though? Are you very close to us now?“Lucius asked curiously.

“Don’t forget I am also a scion of Azrael and grew up with him. I know his tricks. The guide will come to me in his sleep, and no one will be alerted.”

“Fine. And don’t try to fool me. I have one of the best vampire hunters with me. He will tell me if the blood you gave me belongs to some random neophyte or ogre.”

Silvan’s form suddenly flashed; the next moment, he was mere inches from Lucius. He roughly grabbed Lucius’s chin and stared deep into his eyes, “I will hold my end of the deal, but you better not let me down, ‘Julian.’ Otherwise, I will make your life worse than this dream.”

And then Lucius opened his eyes. He was staring into the top of the tent, and a sliver of sunlight dragged a long golden line on his sleeping bag. He realized that he was covered in sweat, even though inside the tent was relatively cool.

Dorian was sitting next to him, reading the symbols on the scroll. He said without raising his eyes, “Nightmare?”

Lucius unzipped the sleeping bag and sat up, wiping the sweat from his forehead and mumbled, “Great...I’m all wet, and there is no water for me to shower.”

“The guide said the labyrinth has that effect on people. The closer one is, the worse the dream will get. And eventually, people begin to hallucinate once they enter it, seeing things that are not there. Some even went mad and got lost in it forever. Locals avoid that place like the plague.”

“That sounds like some eldritch horror shit I read online. Are you sure that is where the sanctuary is? It doesn’t sound very safe or relaxing, which kinda defies the purpose of a sanctuary...”

“It’s not as bad if you are a member of the Aslani family. Besides, we have the map, so we won’t walk into some trap. You don’t have to worry. It’s probably just going to be some bad dreams for us.”

“I’m not an Aslani.”

“Have you forgotten?“Dorian glanced at him amusingly, “You are my bride. And that makes you an Aslani.”

“Oh...” Lucius blinked blankly, “That counts?”

“Of course!”

“But like...how does it know? It’s not like it has a registered center that checks our marriage certificate?”

“You are unbelievable.“Dorian stared at him as if amazed by how clueless he was, “just accept it’s all magic. Want some water?”

Lucius accepted the water bottle, took a big gulp, and asked, “Why are you not sleeping?”

“Too many things on my mind. Besides, I reckon the dream won’t relax me anyway.“Dorian sighed and put down the scroll, rubbing his eyes.

Lucius played the water bottle between his palms and inquired attentively, “Buck said all Asmoidan’s first generations were ‘eliminated.’ Is it true?”

Dorian frowned, displeased, “I forgot he was a hunter sometimes...Yes, he was not wrong. The sanctuary was built in case the Order decided to extend their ‘purge’ to the second generation or even further down the line.”

“Why? And why didn’t Asmodian do anything to protect them if he is truly so powerful and horrible as you all suggested?”

“Because the other nine Elders sealed him out of this world first. The Order was only following their Elders’ instruction to cleanse his influence in this world.”

“What did he do that pissed off all the other Elders?”

“More like...they feared him and what he was capable of. All the other nine Elders, albeit defeated or condemned by God and exiled out of the Elysium Realm, still wanted to live in this world and try to make it work. But not Asmodian. His hatred toward God and his followers was so profound and abysmal that he wanted to ruin this world, making it his own burning realm to mock God.”

“And yet he can still communicate with his scions?”

“All the Elders live through their scions. Their blood runs in each vampire’s veins, and each drop of blood we drink, each breath we take, the scenes and people we see, the scent we smell, they can all feel and sense to some degree. So Asmodian still has some connection with this world through scions like my mother and me, though his ability to affect this world is greatly limited. However...if his scions become too powerful, he can break through the seal and return to this world.”

“And that’s why your mother renounced his ability after she had you. She was a powerful scion, and she didn’t want you to live in a ruined world.“It all made sense to Lucius now. Why Dorian was so hesitant to come to the sanctuary, and why the former vampire queen didn’t use her gifts to save herself. Though it was still amazing how much love a supposedly damned lady had for her son and this world. Were he in the same situation, Lucius doubted he would have been so selfless.

Dorian didn’t answer, though a streak of sadness quietly climbed up his eyes and brows. He was still hurting from his mother’s death, and that was why he couldn’t forgive his father and Devina. “Someone has to pay for her death.” He said coldly as hatred flashed in the depth of his stare. Lucius quietly interlaced his fingers with Dorian’s, and that softened Dorian’s countenance. He gently kissed Lucius on the lips and whispered, “Thank you for being here with me.”

“Always.” Lucius smiled as he promised.

As Dorian said, the three bodyguards didn’t look so good as they emerged from their tents. Their faces were pallid, and their eyes haunted as if they saw something horrifying in their dreams. And Florian was even worse. He didn’t talk for the rest of the day, avoiding eye contact with Lucius.

On the next day, Lucius had the same dream. The burning capital of Anthor, the melting people, the squirming, distorted figures, the pleading, the crying, the ecstasy of witnessing destruction and suffering...He felt like he was not himself anymore.

“You will find me. You will come to me. And eventually, you will be mine.”

Familiar words sibilantly crawled into his ears and licked at his mind. Whose voice was it? Rich, burningly hot, honey-sweet, and magnetically drawing at him. Why did he have an impulse to follow it, fall for it, and be seduced by it?

On the third day of their journey, some jagged shadows similar to broken teeth lined the monotonous horizon, slightly shaking in the hot, rising air. And the moment they lay eyes on them, a strong boding feeling blanketed each person’s heart.

“We are here.” Dorian said solemnly, “The Labyrinth of Mahoraga.”