Deva remembered going to sleep at a reasonable time, but figured her muscles were too sore for her to get up and start a new day. When Amy came in with breakfast/lunch at about noon, she announced that the princes were requesting all the girls' presence in the study room.
Deva lazily got up and yawned. Her stomach cramped, and she blamed the stupid corset for caging her in. Throwing on whatever was in first sight in her closet Deva walked out of her room with a biscuit in her hand.
Like usual everyone was already in the study room basically waiting for her. She just waltzed right in and went for the comfy couch, throwing herself on it and closing her eyes.
"Good morning sleeping beauty," she heard a chipper prince call to her.
"Sleepy is right. I'm too exhausted to even stand."
"Would you like me to hold you up love? I promise my arms are more comfy than that couch."
She could picture the grin on Marcus' face. Was it him last night? She had to wonder. Deva stretched out her arms like a baby and challenged him. "I'll be the judge of that."
Marcus was instantly by her side, lifting her body easily in his strong arms. He held her bridal style and very close to his chest. Deva snuggled her head in the crook of his neck, not caring if the room was filled with envious girls.
"Comfy?" He asked.
Her eyes were still closed. "It's tolerable."
"Shall we begin?" She heard a rather impatient and annoyed low voice ask. Deva opened her eyes to see Lucian looking her way with narrowed eyes towards his brother.
"By all means my prince," she replied sweetly hoping it would calm some of his nerves.
He turned to the other girls, not even bothering to glance at her. "My brothers and I are here to announce that we will be absent for a few days. Our presence is needed elsewhere in our kingdom. So you will not be seeing us much this week."
A few sad 'awww's were said from the girls.
"We promise not to stay longer than necessary."
"How big is your kingdom?" Julia asked.
"It's bigger than Europe and Africa combined." Darius replied.
"That's a lot of vampires," Deva whispered in Marcus' shoulder.
"To keep yourselves occupied our mother has suggested a talent show for you all to have when we return. This will give you enough practice for whatever talents you have without us here to interrupt you." Lucian tried to gain back their attention.
"No, Red; applying too much make up does not count as talent." Deva couldn't resist adding. The other girls started to laugh while Red just glared at her.
"At least I have a talent," Red said as she twirled her hair through her fingers.
Deva raised her hand and pointed to Red. "Off with her head!".
Julia and Evie were loud with laughter while Marcus' chuckles rocked Deva back and forth.
"Deva," Lucian called.
"What? I'm just trying to save us some future trouble."
He shook his head but she could see the hint of agreement in his eyes. "Well ladies any questions and concerns before we leave you all?"
"When do you leave?" Deana asked.
"In an hour."
The girls stood silent, and Darius ended their meeting. "We will miss you all, and we can't wait to see what talented performances you will present us with when we get back."
The girls came forward hugging the brothers individually except for Marcus because he didn't want to put Deva down. The girls practically clung to them before the brothers had to pull themselves away. Julia was the only one not clinging to one probably because the brother she wanted to say bye to had his hands full. She wished them farewell, and they were all out.
"Marcus, do you have to go? I'm too comfortable to let go now." Deva confessed.
"I told you I was comfy."
"Yeah, yeah. So what exactly are you guys going to be up to?" They never elaborated.
"There was a lycan sighting towards the border of one of the sea banks."
Deva dropped her legs to the floor so Marcus let her go. "I thought they were extinct in this kingdom."
Darius moved closer crossing his arms over his chest. "They're supposed to be, but some villagers supposedly saw one. We are going down there to see for ourselves."
Worry and concern crossed over Deva's face. Darius smiled with warmth and caressed her face with his hands trying to smooth down her worried lines. "Why do you look so troubled?"
She frowned as she stared into his eyes. "You guys can get hurt."
"Nothing will happen to us. I promise sweetheart. We are hundreds of years old; our strength is ten times that of a lycan's. They can't harm us."
"You're lying."
He sighed and wondered how she could always see through him. "They won't even get close to us. We have Lucian on our side."
It did give Deva some relief to know that, but she remembered reading that a lycan bite could potential kill a vampire.
"They better not hurt you guys."
"And what would you do if they did?" She turned to Lucian's curious face while still in Darius' hands.
"I would personally kick some lycan butt before scolding you for lying to me about your safety."
Darius leaned in and kissed her forehead. "I'm going to miss you every second of every minute." He said with a laugh.
Lucian came up from behind and pulled her into an embrace. "Behave while we're gone."
"Of course I will. You can always teleport back to see me."
"Is that an invitation?"
She nodded. "Yup but that's only if you come with gifts."
"Whatever you want baby."
"Ok enough my turn for good bye," Marcus cut in. "I promise to make my good bye unforgettable."
She giggled as he stood in front of her. Marcus knelt on one knee and held her hands as if he was going to propose.
"Oh gosh. Please don't tell me you have a ring too."
"He better not." She heard both Lucian and Darius mutter a little angered.
Marcus rolled his eyes at their outburst. "Deva, dear divine Deva. Will you please wait for my return? Because knowing a beautiful maiden such as yourself is waiting for me to come home would only give me strength when I feel weak, fill me with hope when I feel helpless, make me brave when I am frightened," he was exaggerating every word. Deva put her hand over his mouth to silence him.
"Thank you," Darius said from behind.
"If I say yes will you stop," she giggled.
He nodded under her hand. "Then yes dear handsome prince of my dreams I will wait for thee." Marcus got up and she hugged him. "Just don't go kill yourselves."
Marcus loved playing around with Deva. It was easy to joke with her and the fact that it made his brothers a little jealous was definitely a plus. There was one person he just had to see before leaving.
Marcus found Julia by the open window listening to music with her headphones. She didn't hear him getting closer to her. Marcus sat right in front of her and she finally turned his way. She looked a little sad and he wondered if it was sadness she was carrying for him.
Julia took her headphones off. "Still here?"
Did she really think he could leave without saying goodbye? "I needed to see you."
She frowned. "And now you have."
He scooted closer. It wasn't something he did often. He wasn't the kind of guy to express his feelings. It was hard for him to open up and actually admit something. Marcus raised his hand and traced the planes of her worried face with his thumb as if his touch would sooth her weariness.
"I'm going to miss you."
Julia doubted him. "I'm sure you'll miss all of us." Julia wasn't sure what kind of relationship he had with Evie but she could see there was something between them.
Her denial was eating away at him. Marcus leaned in and she was forced to look at him. He couldn't find the words. When he was with Julia he was always at a loss for words. Marcus knew there was only one way he could express his feelings for her.
He gently captured her lips in a sweet kiss. He had to prove to her he was definitely going to miss her. There was no doubt about it. The kiss felt like it lasted a lifetime.
"There is no doubt that my thoughts will be of only you." His final kiss was soft and unforgettable. "Goodbye Julia."
He got up and Julia was too shocked to even function. There was no doubt in her heart now. She was desperately in love with Marcus.
It took Deva a whole day to figure out what she wanted to perform at the talent show. At first, she wanted to skip it completely, but decided otherwise when the Queen came to help the girls with choosing something. Deva figured playing the cello was suitable enough. She hadn't played for a year, but she knew it would all come flooding back to her.
She spent most of her days in the music room where she first saw Lucian play. Luckily there was a cello already waiting for her. She wondered who else knew how to play the instrument. She practiced various songs she knew from memory.
It had been three days since she had seen the princes. A part of her wished one of them would come back or write so she knew they were okay. The Queen would reassure them that the princes were fine, but Deva secretly wished Lucian would teleport just so she could see it for her own eyes.
After spending so many hours practicing the cello, Deva had to take a break. She could only play so much before it all sounded the same. She sat on her window seat in her room and began reading a book she found in the royal library. By the hundredth page, she heard her door bang open. Darn she thought, right when the book was getting interesting. She figured it was Amy coming with orders from the Queen or perhaps Julia but she never expected Darius.
He looked furious and raged as he paced her room watching out for all the furniture. "I can't believe him. He never listens to what I have to say."
Deva silently watched his tall irritated figure walk back and forth not even bothering to give her a hello.
"My thoughts and ideas are unworthy he says," Darius kicked a chair straight across the other side of the room. It broke into a few wood pieces.
"Your father?" She figured he was the only one Darius would be talking about in that manner.
"Yes!" He ran his hands through his thick black hair looking as if he was about to pull it all out. "I can never do anything right in his eyes. He tosses me and my ideas to the side as if I wasn't even his son." His eyes grew dark, and Deva noticed they only turned that dark whenever he was mad and losing control of his emotions.
Deva placed her book down and moved to stand in front of him. She just stared at him, studying him and he did the same. He watched her still form and forced himself to calm down. He didn't want to scare her.
"What are you doing here Darius?"
"I don't know."
She pushed again. "Why did you come here, to me?"
He sighed as he shook his head. "I don't know. I shouldn't have come and bothered you. I'm sorry." He turned to leave but Deva couldn't let him leave when he was still upset.
"Wait."
He stopped, and she walked over to grab his hand. He was warm which made Deva relieved he wasn't hungry. "You're obviously upset Dar. Come sit with me for a while."
She pulled him towards the couch and he didn't try to stop her. She pushed him down towards the middle before sitting on the edge herself so she could force his head down onto her lap. Darius felt her fingers running through his hair, and it made his muscles relax instantly. He closed his eyes and took in her vanilla lavender scent he had missed from his time away.
"I believe he treats you that way because he wants to push you to do harder and work better."
"How long does he plan on carrying it out for?"
"As long as it takes."
He shifted in her lap so he could see her face. Her face was beautiful and full of knowledge. "As long as it takes me to become what he wants me to be."
She began to trace his facial features with a gentle touch. "He wants you to be the best you."
"I doubt that."
"Why's that?"
"Because my father can only see his way of doing things. That is why he and Lucian get along so well. Lucian thinks just like him."
It was silent for a moment. "You want your father's approval." She questioned as a statement.
"No," he tried lying.
"There's no use in lying my sweet little muffin." She said the last part in a baby voice.
He turned in her lap, facing her stomach and playfully bit down. She flinched away laughing. "Don't eat me just because I can see right through you."
He smirked with delight. "I'll eat you because you're my sweetheart."
"Remember I bite too muffin."
He laughed with his head on her stomach and it made her laugh too. "Oh I remember sweetheart. I don't think I could ever forget."
They sat in silence. Not caring to speak, but just enjoying the feel of each other's company and presence.
"I'm glad you came. I was worried about you," she finally confessed.
He rose up on his elbow, now level with her face, and kissed her quickly and softly on the lips. "We're fine just like we promised. Thank you sweetheart. You always know how to turn things around for me."
She stared deeply into his eyes, all playfulness had melted away. "I don't like seeing you troubled Darius. Your father only does what he does so he can have you prove yourself. I think he has more faith in you then he leads on."
"He has no faith in me." Darius corrected.
"That's not true. Secretly your father loves the fact that you don't think like him. He's just afraid of change and someone trying to tell him how things should be done. Just give him time."
Darius stared at her with pure admiration and affection. "If you say so sweetheart."
She placed her hands on both sides of his face. "I do, so you have to listen to me. I may be your queen someday." She joked, and he found her tone too cute and appealing.
He leaned in barely brushing his lips against hers. Deva felt her heart sink at his sudden movement.
"Yes my beautiful enchanting Queen," he said before pressing his impatient lips onto her soft teasing lips. Electric shocks tingled throughout her body awakening all her senses. Her arms instinctively wrapped around his neck as he pushed himself up to be better formed onto her body. She felt his hand traveling down her sides going from her neck line down to her shoulders, hips, and then thighs. Warmth spread throughout her body where ever his hand touched.
His kiss was harsh and demanding, and she forced herself to give him a fight. After all, why make it so easy for him. When she refused to yield to his urgent rushed lips, he gently bit down on her lower lip. Her teasing was getting the best of him. She still refused to let him in. He groaned slightly pulling away to rest his forehead against hers.
"Sweetheart play nice and stop torturing me," his voice was winded.
"Why should I listen to you?"
"Because," he used his vampire speed and strength to spin Deva's body on the couch so she was now completely under him. His large body was so closely hovering over her she felt her heartbeats kick up a notch. "Dear Deva you have forgotten I am a vampire." He began tracing kisses along the line of her jaw till he reached her ear. "I always get what I want. And I want you." His voice was low and sexy.
How did he win back control? She thought to herself, stupid vampire abilities. She seductively ran her hands up his back to his hair and got a good grip before pulling it back from her face. With her legs wrapped around his waist she used all her strength to turn him over so she was on top.
Thanks to her surprise action he didn't fight her. She smiled with satisfaction at his baffled expression. She was straddling him as she released his hair only to grab his arms and cage them above his head. He could have easily thrown her back down to take charge again, but he was honestly enjoying her feisty, controlling behavior.
She lowered her head to his face and trailed her luscious lips down to his earlobe where she began to tease and provoke him. Her deep kisses on his earlobe were practically the spot of his weakness. She heard a low sexy moan escape his lips, and she smiled smugly before whispering into his ear.
"You can't always get what you want princey."
He growled, and she felt a quick breeze surround her. Before she knew it he was back on top. His eyes were dark with lust and a hidden hunger. She should have been scared because she did provoke him, but somehow she wasn't. She knew he wouldn't hurt her.
His lips came crushing down on hers and this time she didn't dare refuse him. Her lust was just as built up as his was now. The passion they shared in the kiss exploded into a million pieces of pleasure as it spread into their veins slowly warming and building them up. The kiss was so deep and surreal Deva had to pull away so she could breathe.
She felt his smirk on her cheek as she tried to level her breathing back to normal.
"Denying me will only provoke me more to get what I want sweetheart."
"Yes but provoking you leads to defying you. Something I rather enjoy doing."
He shook his head. "I'm Prince. You're not allowed to defy me."
She pushed him back, and he sat straight. "I'm Deva, and I really could not care less if you're a prince." She sat up too, facing him with a playful smile on. "Do you want a cookie for being a prince or something?" She patted his head, and he caught her hand, kissing it gently.
Darius stayed quiet while watching her from the other side of the couch. It looked as though he was staring at her but, she knew better. She sensed his held back feelings as if they were her own. He was still thinking about his father.
Deva took his hand and stood up. His puzzled look didn't stop her attempt to get him to stand.
"Come on muffin. I want to take you out." She could tell he didn't want to so she quickly spoke again, "Darius come with me." Her brown eyes melted with compassion and warmth, and Darius found he couldn't refuse her.
He got up and easily towered over her. Deva laced her fingers through his and led him out of the room and down the halls to the garage. She went straight to the back where she knew she saw the dirt bikes were located.
"What are we doing?"
"We," she said while getting on the green bike, "are getting away from here."
It had been so long since he had ridden his dirt bike on the planes of the outstretched countryside. Darius positioned himself on the blue bike, and they both kicked the engines to life. Deva was first out of the garage, but Darius soon caught up. They rode down the old dusty paths that he used to walk on as a boy.
Deva was fearless when it came to jumping over objects or trenches. Darius was a little skeptical with her bravery, but knew if anything were to happen he would be there in a second to protect her. They rode for miles letting the wind pass them as well as their wondering thoughts.
Soon enough they came across some old beat down ruins of a castle that also had a small playground settled next to it. Deva slowed her pace and stopped in front of the swing sets. She was not expecting to find a playground in the middle of nowhere, but then again this place was always full of surprises. She took off her helmet and slowly made her way to the swing set before sitting down on one side. Darius came over and began to gently push her.
"What is all this?" She had to ask because curiosity was killing her.
"The ruins are the castle of where our last home stood. This is where I was born and where I grew up."
Deva was literally fascinated at this point. It was so crazy and incredible to think of how old this place was, or how many stories it had to tell.
"And this playground?"
He smiled like he was thinking of a memory. "This is where my brothers and I spent most of our time. It was like our haven as kids."
Deva also smiled at the thought. She could just image the whole thing in her head.
"Why did you want to get me out of the house?" He spoke softly it was almost hard to hear.
"I guess I wanted to distract you," Deva confessed.
He stopped pushing and maneuvered his way around her so that he was now right in front of her. He held the swing up so their faces were level.
"Thank you," he responded sweetly, and she felt her heart melt.
"You're not the hard candy you try to make yourself out to be. I know down inside you're just a mushy chocolate tootie roll. Why don't you let anyone see it," she asked hoping to find the answer in his eyes.
"It is only for you to see, sweetheart."
"Why?" She raised her hand to his cheek without really realizing it.
"Because you're special Deva...to me." His deep blue eyes were still and very serious.
And for a moment she let herself believe it, but then reality struck her. How could she let herself fall again? How could she be so stupid?
She hopped off the swing and ignored his confused expression. She wanted to scream at the stupidity and ridiculousness her life was becoming.
"You shouldn't lie to me Darius. I hate lairs."
His face turned stern. "I'm not lying Deva."
She shook her head and laughed with no humor. "Is that the line you tell all the girls? 'You're special to me'," she mocked. She was disgusted with herself for almost falling for it too.
Deva let herself forget what kind of person he was because to be honest when he was so sweet it was easy to forget he was a womanizer. The feelings that were building inside of her were real and thinking now she knew they were all a lie, he was a lie.
"Deva-"
Her anger cut him off. "I can't believe I let myself fall for it, for your lies. I mean nothing to you. You've been with several different women a day and now you're trying to convince me I'm special to you." She took a deep breath. "You sicken me."
She was so blind. How could she let it get that far?
"That's not all true Deva. You do mean a lot to me. You are special to me," he tried to reason.
"Stop, just stop," she shouted, but he continued anyway taking a few steps closer to her.
"No Deva. You are the only one that gets me. You are the only one that understands me." He could tell she was fighting herself. "Deva those other girls could never compare to you. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for ever hurting you." He closed the small distance between them and cupped her face as she closed her eyes to the feel of his touch. "I never meant to. You are the last person I ever want to hurt."
A small tear escaped her lashes and he caught it with his thumb. "Deva, why did you do it? Why did you possibly risk your life at the party when you defied me?"
"I don't know," she said weakly.
"Don't lie to me Deva."
"Because I knew you wouldn't hurt me."
He leaned in closer. "What else?"
"I had to prove your father wrong." She opened her eyes so he could see the warmth she held. "He wanted so badly to believe you were all bad, but I didn't. I couldn't believe that Darius. I knew there was more to you. I had to find the good in you."
He softly kissed her forehead. "You bring the good out of me."
Looking at her weak smile, he knew he had to convince her some more. "Deva those girls mean nothing to me. I've done a lot of things and regret most of them. You believed in me when no one else did. I know I mean something to you. I know it."
She pressed her forehead against his, not wanting to say anything.
"I also know how it is to be away from your family. I'm sorry for that. I truly am, but I can't describe what having you here has done to me."
He closed his eyes. "Let me show you how grateful I am to have you in my life."
Darius began to tap into her fondest memories of her family, and he replayed them for her. His ability even let him find her hidden or forgotten memories that she might have lost.
He felt more of her tears run down her face, and he silently kissed them away. At this moment, he felt like she was the only one who cared. His whole life he felt like he had to prove himself, but with Deva he didn't have to. She believed in him and stood up to his father for him. This was the only way he could think of that would bring her some sort of happiness.
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