His Queen

26. It's You

Aliya's POV

"You're the fucking vampire king. Start acting like it."

Damien laughed, like an actual heartfelt laughter erupted through his throat which made me smile a little more than it should have.

"I like how you're speaking my language," he said, amused.

I mentally laughed at the irony of the situation.

Months ago, he wouldn't miss a chance to remind me that he was the king who could do what his heart desires, and I would find it so annoying. And now, I was the one reminding him that. But I wouldn't have it any other way, I would rather get annoyed by his cockiness than to see him so low and suffering like this again.

Damien's attention shifted towards my position on the floor, so he stood up and brought me along with him, "you're going to get tired sitting like that."

Now we were both standing and facing each other, with him holding onto both of my hands.

"I'm okay," I assured him.

"How can you possibly think I have a big heart after all the heartless things I've done?"

"If I can see it, why can't you? Why is it so hard for you to believe you still have some goodness left in you?"

"Because I don't, that's just the way you are, you always see the best in others even when they did you wrong. It's just your own goodness being reflected back at you,"

"You protected me from Valentino and his minions, that's not something a heartless person would do," I recalled his confession, well almost confession at the throne room.

"What?" He tried to play it off, but I could tell by the way he wasn't meeting my eyes.

"You killed Destiny, broke all those rules the council members were talking about. Why did you do those things, going against everyone for a fight that wasn't even your own? You did it for me."

"I didn't do it for you," Damien let go of my hands, shoving them in the pockets of his pants. His eyes were suddenly very interested in his shoes, as he looked down at them. He was acting boyish, shifting his weight back and forth between the heel of his shoes and his toes.

Why did I suddenly find all his actions to be so darn attractive?

He could be doing the most simplest of things and I would get swayed easily and forget about everything else.

I didn't know if that was good or a bad thing.

"Then who else?" I asked him, "all along I knew something wasn't adding up. I kept thinking about why you killed your brother's mate when he was the one who came after you. But now it makes perfect sense, you put him through the same exact misery he wished upon you. You murdered his mate because he tried to kill yours."

"And I would do it a million times again," the fire that he was holding back emerged through his eyes again, at the thought of Valentino trying to hurt me.

He finally admitted it.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I didn't want a single line of worry on that cute little forehead of yours," not going to lie, but his remark sent a group of butterflies dancing through my stomach.

But then a thought hit me.

"One second you're protecting me from some goons sent by your brother, then the next your drinking my blood like no tomorrow," I joked, recalling what happened after he woke up from his wounded state.