Fatal love: My last mission

Chapter 3

Seraphina

"No, Your Highness, it's just..." she trailed off, leaving me hanging.

"It's just what?" I asked, my curiosity spiking.

"You're very beautiful. In fact, too beautiful," she said, smiling.

My brows furrowed at her words—they had me worried for a moment. I almost thought a witch had cast the Ugly spell on me. It was a spell used to turn anyone you disliked or wanted to teach a lesson into something hideous. Thankfully, it only lasted 24 hours.

"Beautiful? You mean I'm beautiful?" I asked, my lips curving into a smile without realizing. I knew I was beautiful—many witches had commended me for my beauty—but I'd never had an outsider tell me this.

I had very distinctive features: my hair was completely white, and my purple eyes were incredibly rare. In fact, I'd never seen anyone with the same eye color as mine.

"Yes, Your Highness," the maid replied, still smiling. That's when I noticed something odd—she didn't smell like a vampire.

"Wait, are you human?" I asked, shocked. Could humans actually live here?

The maid nodded, and the other three nodded as well. That was great—this just made things a lot easier for me.

"Alright then, let's go in," I said, regaining my cool.

As we walked through the palace, I could feel some vampire maids giving me weird stares. Now, this was what I was expecting. I knew they all disliked me, and I didn't care, because I hated them just as much.

I wondered what their king was thinking when he decided to take a witch as his bride. They could have just continued to hunt us like they always did. So, what were they plotting this time?

The maids led me to the far end of the hall, and a large door opened. I exhaled deeply, bracing myself before stepping inside. The tension in my chest vanished as soon as I saw what my quarters looked like. The curtains, bedcovers, and nets were all in shades of blue, which happened to be my favorite color.

The design was soothing to the eyes. The candles were dimly lit, spreading their warm glow across the space.

I was instantly charmed.

The maids quickly surrounded me, pulling me out of the spell the room had cast on me by reaching for my gown.

"Wait," I said quickly, stopping them. Back in my kingdom, I never allowed my maids to dress me. I didn't like it and preferred to change myself.

"I'll take care of the rest. You all can leave. I'll call you when I need you," I ordered firmly. Although they weren't vampires, that didn't mean I could trust them completely. I still had to be careful around everyone from this kingdom.

I needed to stay alert at all times. There would definitely be vampires after my blood now that they knew I was in their territory. Good thing I wasn't a weak target—whoever wanted to taste my blood would have to fight me first, and it definitely wouldn't be an easy battle.

The maids nodded, not persisting, and they all stepped out of the room, closing the door behind them. Once they were gone, I heaved a sigh of relief. Alone at last.

I was used to doing things myself, so it didn't take me long to bathe and get dressed in new clothing. Among all the clothes arranged inside the closet, I went for the most revealing.

Looking at myself in the mirror, I felt naked. I'd never worn anything so bold, but I needed to use my charms to survive. If the rumors about the king killing brides on their first night were true, I had to make sure he found me irresistible.

I didn't know anything about the wedding date, but my mind kept reeling with questions about what he might try to do to me tonight.

My mind soon started to grasp the mess I had gotten into. I looked down at my body—there was no way I was letting him find me in this clothing. What if my exposed neck and curves made him want to suck my blood instead?

I quickly rushed back to the closet and picked a better nightgown that covered me properly. This was much better compared to the other one, but it still exposed a little skin.

My stomach growled quietly, and that's when I remembered I was hungry. The maids—I never asked for their names. How was I going to call them now? And I couldn't step out dressed like this. It was just too exposing.

I grabbed a cloak from the closet and put it around my body before heading out. The maids quickly assembled as soon as they heard the door open. They were very diligent, huh?

"Your Highness, how can we help you?" one of them asked, her head lowered. They didn't have to be so respectful—it was starting to feel awkward.

"I'm just hungry," I replied, rubbing my stomach gently. The maid clapped her hands, and several others appeared with trays of different food. What was going on? Was someone throwing a feast? I could barely finish a plate, and they were bringing trays. For who?

"I think there's a mistake. I just need one plate. Is someone else joining me?" I asked as politely as I could. Did I look like a pig who could finish that much food? I was pretty sure I wasn't fat.

"No, we were asked to treat you to a feast as a welcome. These are among the best dishes we have here," the maid said, pointing to the trays.

So the king actually cared to give me a warm welcome, huh? At that moment, my heart almost softened a little, but I quickly reminded myself of the reason I was here.

"What's your name?" I asked. I needed to know how to address her—I could tell she was the head among the four assigned to me.

"It's Irene, Your Highness," she replied politely.

"Alright, Irene. I only need one plate of food. You can take away the rest."

"And who said you were eating alone?"

The deep voice sent chills down my spine. Was that the Vampire King? And how in the world did he get so close without me noticing? I was an assassin—my senses were always alert. There was no way in the world he could have approached without me noticing.

So what in the world was he?