Vampire Queen

Chapter thirty five

It's been forever since I saw the sea. The quiet sound of the waves carried across the land. I swam in the sun's rays shimmering on the sea surface. It was cold and the water was icy. But I liked the feeling of the cold stabbing my body and stealing my breath. I let the waves play with me. Now I was a puppet in their power.

My eyes fell on a figure on the shore. He arrived. He found me.

I swam to the shore. Water flowed from me. I sat down next to him in the sand. I was shaking. Just because I can't die doesn't mean I'm not cold. Cassius took off his coat like a gentleman and threw it gallantly over my shoulders. I snuggled into it and immediately felt warmer.

We sat there next to each other, silent. We were looking at the distant horizon. Time passed slowly.

"How did you find me?" I cut through the heavy silence between us.

"When times are tough, we all always go back to where we began," he replied.

"You didn't know where I grew up," I remarked. "I didn't tell you."

"First I looked for you at your father's house. He refused to tell me, but Alexei willingly revealed it," said Cassius. "I'm sorry I couldn't come sooner. I have had many dealings with traitors in the palace, of whom there seem to have been many."

"Did you come to finish it?" I asked him.

"Finish what?" he didn't understand.

"Punishing traitors," I replied. "I tried to kill you, and that's punishable by death."

"You tried to save your brother and even risked his life to find a way to save me," Cassius objected.

"I knew about your son, about your brother's plans and about the traitors on the court. I kept a secret before you that I have the dagger. I planned your death."

Again there was silence between us, broken only by the sound of the waves lapping the shore.

"I want you back, Dragomira," Cassius spoke first this time.

"Is that an order, Your Majesty?" I said.

"I'm asking you to come back," he said.

"Quite unusual for you to be asking instead of ordering," I said.

Cassius opened his palm, clutching the ring and my necklace. "Why did you also return the pearl from your mother?" he asked me.

"All black pearls rightfully belong to the king," I replied.

"And his queen," he corrected me.

"I'm no queen," I protested.

"At least you are the queen of my heart, Dragomira," he said.

Those words made my heart smile, but it didn't show on my face.

"Why did you decide not to kill me?" he asked me. "It would definitely be easier."

"Because I don't feel like a monster with you," I replied.

"Because I'm a worse monster?"

"Because when I'm with you, I feel like it's okay to be a monster," I corrected him.

"Come back, Dragomira," Cassius demanded.

I rested my head on his shoulder. Cassius looked at me in surprise. I looked at him. Our eyes met. He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me closer to him.

"What if I refuse?" I said.

"Your brother has already volunteered to bring you back willingly or unwillingly," he said with a mischievous smile.

"Traitor." I laughed briefly.

"You once asked me if I had ever loved anyone. I made that mistake once."

"And who was the unfortunate one?"

"You, Dragomira," he said. "Don't expect any love letters or amorous nonsense from me."

"I would never have expected that," I said.

"But be sure that I will burn the whole world for you. Come back to me."

I took the ring from his hand, turning it over in my fingers. Cassius took the ring and put it on my finger.

"We belong together, Dragomira," Cassius said. "Only a monster can understand a monster."

"And you and I are monsters even among monsters," I said. "I belong to you, Cassius. I know it. I can feel it."

Maybe this is what love really looks like. It's not the butterflies in my stomach that tell me I love him, but the cruel, stabbing pain in my chest. Because love is not beautiful. It is hideous. We hurt each other, but at the same time, only we can heal each other from that pain.

We were created from the same darkness.

"I love you, Cassius," I said.

"I love you, Dragomira," he said.

And I would always rather choose the monster, even though the heart doesn't choose who it will love, because the hero would sacrifice me to save the world, but the monster will destroy the world to save me. And I will do the same for him.

Like a beautiful rose, he dug his thorns into my heart and will never let go of his grip.