Counting Stars at Dawn

16: A Vampire's Heart

When Artemis was safely returned to Sapphire by Hades, they settled into an agreement. When it came to how they would interact during the day, Artemis allowed Hades to be his shadow, and if the room was empty, then he could materialize. In addition, if Hades wanted to sleep during the daytime, he was more than welcome to.

However, when Artemis returned, he was quickly met by a worried handmaid. Dia had lied to the guards and the elders when he disappeared, saying Artemis was sick, but she demanded an explanation, which Artemis wasn't so convincing at.

It had been two days since he returned from Lamia and he couldn't be happier. It gave him such joy to be close with Hades. He found that his company was most enjoyable and that he wasn't just pleasant in bed. Hades was caring, loving, and his usual joking self. It felt so right to Artemis to live like this, yet he always trembled at the thought of being caught.

Currently, Artemis was working in his potions laboratory while Hades had opted to sleep today. The elf prince was close to finishing the moonlight harvesting potion he'd been working on and was now only filling several vials. He had to take a full crate of them to the elder alchemists as his last duty for the day.

When Artemis finished, he carried the crate in his arms and went to the east wing of the castle.

The elders of Sapphire were the most knowledgeable and experienced alchemists. They hardly took part in governing the kingdom, as that was the prince's job, but they were indeed responsible for training him in the magical arts.

As Artemis walked to their study, he remembered the strained ties he had with them. When Artemis was a child, his training in magic began, and he had a reputation to maintain as his father, the previous prince, was in fact the most advanced enchanter of his time.

When he passed away due to disease along with his mother, Artemis was only five. He was immediately crowned and started on magical practices and theories, but Artemis never had the discipline for it. He could never focus hard enough on conjuring spells and that led him to several scoldings from the elders.

Artemis tried and tried but he just couldn't focus his mind or life force into spells, it was unnatural to him.

The elders were disappointed and perhaps even offended their prince couldn't be at the same standards as his father. They silently considered him a failure and a weakling. The only reason he wasn't dethroned was for his excelling diplomacy, intellect, and talent in potion making. So, even if he didn't turn out to be what he should have been, there was at least some use to him.

Artemis knew all too well his relationship with the council was delicate. One wrong move and he would be on their bad side, making his life near impossible. That was one of the reasons he wanted to sever ties with Hades at first. Now, as long as he was careful, no one would ever know.

Artemis reached the study of alchemy and knocked on the door politely before opening it. Inside, the golden light of the sunset streamed into the room and made the walls of crystal sparkle like gold. One of the elders was meditating in an altar to Luna.

"Ah your majesty." The elder spoke in his gruff voice. "The moonlight harvesting potions are ready, I presume?"

"Yes, heily Nebula." Artemis replied.

The word "heily" was an honorific granted to alchemists that dated back to the start of their culture and language centuries ago.

The elder stood up, his pale blond hair gleaming, and went to pick up the crate from Artemis. However, his green eyes paused at his neck when he saw a specific arrangement of scar tissue.

"What has occurred to your neck, your highness?" Nebula asked as he set down the crate on a table.

"My neck?" Artemis asked confused as he touched it.