Stone Cold

Chapter 60

Little flecks of red dancing in his eyes coalesced to form a deep sea of crimson that spread over his irises rapidly until only a rim of green was left untouched. It didn’t just stop there. Soon, the voracious ocean of crimson started morphing into a darker shade, swallowing the pupil that came into its path as well. Soon enough, his eyes were looking like a pair of onyxes. There seemed to be no light left in them. The green of his eyes had caught fire.

Despite the pain radiating in her scalp, she couldn’t tear her gaze away from the king’s terrifying presence. She thought she had seen Ares angry before but nothing came close to what she was witnessing at that moment. From the root of his hair to the tip of his expensive leather shoes, everything was drenched in all black, the underside of his lips included. His complexion seemed to have turned paler as well, causing the nexus of green blue veins running under his skin to become more visible, more so around his face and neck. He had looked like a porcelain doll the last time she had seen him but now, sitting cross-legged on his gilded throne, he truly appeared to be a predator on top of the foodchain. His eyes, set on his prey, held the intent to kill.

“Those eyes, do they not belong to The Hunter?”

She blinked back as she turned her gaze away from Ares to look at the person who had broken the thick silence in the room.

She watched as a vampire with jet black hair stepped down from his seat on the left row, raising his hand towards her face as he approached her with slow careful steps.

“Stop right there.”

Even though it was not a warning directed towards her yet the king’s resonant command made a cold shiver pass down her spine.

“Why, my king?”

Listening to his king’s command, the elder vampire who had been approaching Faith turned stiff, stopping in his tracks to look inquisitively at Ares.

“She has the king’s scent on her.”

Another deep voice chirped from one corner of the room, causing her to whip her head in its direction. She had expected it to be someone old but the voice belonged to a fairly young man with platinum blond hair. He was sitting comfortably on his chair on the right side, much closer to the king. One leg draped over the other, he had his bemused ruby eyes trained on her figure.

‘He seems bemused.’

“Athan speaks the truth, my fellows.”

The moment Cyrus affirmed the blond vampire’s statement, all elders shifted their attention towards Ares who was still busy glaring at Cyrus with utmost hatred.

“This is your current queen, a mere hybrid arriving from a lineage tinted with the blood of the former vampire queen. This!”

As he said this, Cyrus pulled harder on the chunk of hair he was holding from Faith’s head making her grit her teeth in pain.

“I said LEAVE HER ALONE!”

The force disappeared as soon as it was applied, making her tumble forward. Her knees hit the ground painfully before she caught herself in time from meeting the ground headfirst.

‘What happened?’

Through the small windows created in front of her eyes by her scattered hair, she witnessed Ares, no longer resting on the throne, was grasping Cyrus’ neck clutching it with enough force to snap the bark of a tree.

Cyrus on the other hand didn’t seem much affected by it. He was grinning in Ares’ face like a madman.

“Betraying flesh for a hunter, my dear nephew? Seeing the king so possessive over our sworn enemy, I worry for the future of this kingdom.”