The Vampire Prince's Toxic Consort (bxb)

Chapter 22 The Feeding Ritual

As predicted, an invitation for a dinner party arrived at 3 pm the next day when Dorian and Lucius were having breakfast in the suite. They were also welcomed to observe the "Ancestor Worshiping Ceremony."

Lucius pretended that he knew nothing about the whole feeding ritual and asked as he was buttering his biscuit, "what is this 'Ancestor Worshiping Ceremony'?"

"Something that the pure blood families like to do. We don't have to go."

"Wouldn't it be rude to refuse it since they have been hosting us for this long?"

"That ceremony involves throwing five slaves into a chamber full of sleeping vampires." Dorian used the napkin to dab away the blood on his lips while glancing at him, "are you sure you want to witness that?"

Lucius paused for a moment to feign the initial shock briefly before rejoining: "they will still die no matter if I attend it or not. I'm not so faint-hearted."

"Are you sure?"

"I've been splashed my whole face with another man's blood, haven't I?" Lucius returned a wry smile to the concerned prince.

Dorian mulled over it for several seconds and nodded, "then we shall attend both."

As he spoke, Florian brought in a cup of freshly brewed coffee with the exact amount of milk to Lucius's liking. He laid it in front of Lucius and asked, "is there anything else I can bring you, your highness?"

"No, this is all. Thank you. You can go get yourself some food now. I've told the butler that I would appreciate it if he could give you regular servant food rather than the disgusting gruel they feed their slaves."

"Much appreciated for your kindness, your highness." Florian bowed slightly and left.

Dorian looked unimpressed, "did you allow him to stay in the suite with you all the time when I was away?"

"Yes? Since he has been given to me, I don't think it is suitable for him to continue living in the pens."

"Did you sleep with him?"

Lucius leered at Dorian as anger started to rise, "so what if I slept with him? I thought we are not in any kind of monogamous relationship."

"You will harm the image of our marriage and weaken our position in the court," Dorian berated severely, and the darkness in his eyes grew larger as if the sky before a thunderstorm, "I told you to wait! Are you really this...lustful?"

"Of course I DIDN'T sleep with him! What do you think of me? A sex-crazed airhead?!"Lucius snapped.

It was probably a legit concern since Dorian knew about Lucius's previous reputation. But he'd thought after all these days, Dorian would have known him better.

And what upset Lucius, even more, was the misgiving look Dorian gave him, obviously doubting the truthfulness of his words. He probably deserved that, too, as there were so many lies and subreptions between them. But why was Lucius still hurt by it?

Dorian studied him coldly for a while and stood up, leaving the conversation, "just don't do anything like this without discussing it with me first in the future. We still have a facade to maintain."

And then there was only Lucius, fuming alone.

What's with all these attitudes since Dorian came back?

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The ritual started at 11 pm. Almost every vampire in the house gathered in front of the chamber, and even the servants joined as they believed they could share a fragment of the ancestor's benison.