My body still weak and trembling something severely, I obeyed him, and my eyes fluttered open.
I dizzily looked around me, seeing seven masked faces.
Once I managed to gain some sort of sense back, I realized that all seven lords were watching me intently, as if they could really see me for the very first time.
I continued to heave, breathless and out of sorts, my body hot and wet, my head in a daze. I groaned and licked my lips as I moved in Felix's arms.
I asked, my voice weak, my lips dry, "What happened?" It was then that I noticed a tremendous bright light surrounding me in the form of glittering dust particles floating about me.
"Alfie," Lord Geoffrey's voice came my way. "You're a woman."
I was confused. Of course I was a woman. Why was he making such an odd statement?
God, I simply wanted to crawl into a comfy corner, close my eyes, and sleep the night away. I felt that weak. I felt that exhausted and dead suddenly. And that pain? What was that? I had felt like my whole body was on fire, burning and scorching.
I clutched Felix's arms, which were still wrapped tightly around my middle. I raised my face to look at the man and said, "Thanks for holding me a moment ago. I truly have no idea what that was there. But it was very painful and..."
My speech came to a stop as I realized that Felix wasn't listening to me. He was staring at me—at my face and then my breasts and then back again...
Suddenly, I paled.
Felix's eyes had turned a deep purple, not mauve, as was his usual color, and his hair was now a crimson red, the length reaching his shoulders. He also had fangs, just like a vampire. He isn't the usual Felix anymore.
My body trembling, I turned my eyes to Caleb, who was right in front of me, inches away from me. He was also staring at me hungrily, as if he were ready to devour me. His eyes, I noticed, were dark—not gray—and he also had fangs. His hair had turned even darker, if that were possible, with the length reaching his shoulders.
I began to panic as I realized that something wasn't right.
I shifted my gaze to Lord Ethan. He, too, was staring at me with that dark intensity. His sky-blue eyes had turned a paler color that looked like blue ice, while his gold mane was longer than usual. And yes, he had fangs just like Felix and Caleb.
Aaron, too, was looking at me as if he were about to pounce on me. His blond hair had turned even paler than normal, while his emerald-green eyes had turned dark and intense.
They all had changed. They weren't normal anymore.
What is happening?
I turned my attention to Lord Geoffrey, seeking help. When I saw him, I sighed in relief. He still looked like the normal Lord Geoffrey, though his gaze on me was hot and intense. The same went for Lord Noah and Victor.
Then it dawned on me. Lord Geoffrey had asked me if I was a woman a moment ago, hadn't he? When I was supposed to be a boy.
Shit!
The necklace.
It was the necklace that had the magic illusion protection spell. When Caleb had taken it off me, the spell itself was lifted from me as well. Now, all seven lords could see clearly that I was actually a woman.
The fact that I was right here, embraced tightly in Felix's arms, with my breasts bare and exposed for all to see added a massive punch to the effect of my true gender being unveiled.
My face burned hot with embarrassment. I moved, struggling in Felix's arms to make the man let me go so that I could somehow cover myself for decency's sake. But of course, the man wouldn't. God, I felt so vulnerable with seven men ogling me like this.
I begged weakly, "Felix, please let me go."
He didn't respond. If anything, his hands around me were even tighter. Then, slowly, I felt his head moving closer to my neck. Not to mention the hotness of his breath on my skin.
Lord Geoffrey snapped, "Felix, get ahold of yourself."
Felix growled like some wild, crazed animal, which scared me shitless as he squeezed me tightly against him, his large hands moving up and cupped my breasts. Once he captured them, he squeezed my breasts so hard that a gasp escaped my lips as my body trembled. Then he pinched my nipples between his fingers and thumbs like he couldn't help himself.
My body reacted. A burst of hot pleasure shot through me like a raging, erupting volcano, which made my head spin. Then I felt Felix's lips on my nape, his mouth opened wide.
Caleb's reaction was quick and brutal. In a flash, he bashed Felix in the face with his fist, causing Felix to release me as the man stumbled back. I fell out of Felix's embrace and then sideways in the process, half falling into the pool.
I was confused as to what was going on when I felt another pair of hands around my middle, lifting me out of the water and half gliding in midair toward the exit. I realized that it was Lord Geoffrey, who miraculously had swiftly put a robe on without me seeing.
He said over his shoulder, his voice loud and urgent, "Noah, Victor, get those four under control."
Lord Noah and Victor shouted in unison, "Got it!"
Behind me, I saw them start chanting magical words as they released their qi from within their bodies, the energy bursting all around the hot spring pool, water rising and exploding everywhere in the process. Meanwhile, Felix, Caleb, Aaron, and Lord Ethan were wildly attacking each other—powerfully emitting their dark qi as if their lives depended on it
As we exited the bathhouse, I clutched my arms around Lord Geoffrey's shoulders as he raced across the garden at almost the speed of light, his eyes dark.
Still utterly confused and scared as to what had just happened, I stayed silent in Lord Geoffrey's arms as he headed toward what looked like the central administration building, which resided in the center of the palace, acting as the headquarters for the kingdom.
I had personally never been in there before, but I had heard that it was the main hub for the Acaedien Kingdom, which was where the seven lords worked when dealing with national affairs.
When we entered the residence, Lord Geoffrey took me straight to the lift. Still without even a word, he pushed the seventh-floor button, which I saw magically appear as if out of the blue along the side wall. I didn't know there was a seventh floor in this building, or any buildings in the palace for that matter.
A moment later, the door dinged open and he took me out, rushing along a series of lavish maze-like corridors until we reached a double door made of some very sturdy wood and designed with gold and silver, full of swirls and patterns.
He pushed it opened, then carried me inside. Here I noticed that the place had sofas and armchairs, along with a grand fireplace. This, I assumed, was a sitting room.
Passing this chamber, Lord Geoffrey swiftly took me into the next one, where he kicked that door open as if he were pissed off or something, and then headed toward the large four-poster bed. There, he dumped me onto the soft mattress as if he couldn't bear to hold me longer.
My hands covering my bare breasts, I asked, "My lord, what's going on?"
Lord Geoffrey stared at me darkly for a moment and then swore, "Fuck!"
I noticed that his hands where trembling when he touched his temples as if he had a very bad headache.
Suddenly, he turned around and presented his back to me as he said, "No questions now, Alfie. Stay here. It's the safest place for you."
With that, he headed toward the door. Was he determined to just leave me here like that?
I hopped off the bed and came running after him. "My lord, please wait. I don't understand."
"Don't come any closer if you don't want me to throw you on that bed and fuck you until you're—" He stopped himself from going further and then growled as if he were so damned pissed and frustrated and in agony. Then he took a deep breath. Once he managed to calm down, he said, "Don't. Just don't come any closer, Alfie."
When he crossed the threshold of the door, he turned and said, "Don't pass through this door until I tell you."
I frowned. "Why?"
"It's for your safety." Then he said in a commanding tone, "Sage Protective Barrier. Level seven. On."
A loud hum followed those words, which surprised me. Then a hue of blue light in the form of a shield appeared, surrounding the room.
A barrier? Is he locking me in here?
Panicked, I begged, "My lord, please don't leave me."
Lord Geoffrey chuckled, though the tone sounded sad. He looked as though he wanted to fall to his knees.
"Don't look at me like that, love. You're about to break me. Do you know that?"
Break him? What does he mean by that?
He turned on his heel then and said, "I'll contact the girls. They'll aid and protect you. Rest assured that you're not being left alone in an emergency like this. You'll be safe here."
An emergency?
He shut the door then, leaving me.
In the distance, I heard his footsteps heading away as he said, "Aria, I have an assignment for you. Protect Alfie at all cost. She's in the gold room. Bring Leona and Brenna along." Then I heard him banging the next door shut.
Dazed and confused, I buckled onto the floor as my mind reeled at what had just happened.