The Tyrant's Pet

"Don't disturb me," Aries muttered to the maids following her before closing the doors of her chambers. Joaquin occupied her entire morning, and after their visit to the emperor, she returned to her quarters to rest.

Standing behind the door, Aries dragged her feet to the nearest stand. Her trembling hand reached for it to assist herself, almost losing her energy as coldness seeped deep into her bones. The extreme trepidation and fear she hid in front of Joaquin were akin to a bucket of ice now splashed down on her.

"Hah…" she breathed out and closed her eyes, unable to close her gaping mouth at the haunting thought of the emperor. Not just that, but the revelations she sought from Joaquin never crossed her head.

Aries thought of the myriad of other secrets Joaquin had on his sleeve and hid from everyone. It would make more sense if Joaquin had built a secret army under the fifth prince's command. But immortality? Eternal life?

"Hah…" She clutched her chest, feeling her heart pound against her chest. Her breathing grew heavier, sweats breaking out on her back and forehead. Her complexion grew paler with every passing second, rattled to the core.

"That damn… devil…" came out through her gritted teeth, disgusted at Joaquin's delusion.

That man didn't want to be just an emperor. Joaquin's ambition was more than that. He wanted to become a god.

Aries felt like she was driven to the corner once again with this revelation laid on the table. It messed with her head, tiring her brain to think of another way to drag him down. According to Joaquin, his project for immortality was near to fruition because he found a good match. Javier would have to test it first to make sure Joaquin could drink it without morphing into a mindless monster.

It would still take a lot of risk for Joaquin, even if they test it out multiple times. But his chances would increase, at least.

"Ah!" her knees gave way as she slowly fell to the floor, gasping for air. She clutched her skirt in fear, trying to clear her clouded head so she could think straight.

"You can't lose right now, Aries." She shook her head, eyes on the floor. "You have to calm down first."

She narrowed her eyes when her vision zoomed in and out once again. She bit her lip until it bled to keep herself conscious. This was sickening. Surely, it was better if she just blew up just as how she imagined it. Aries wouldn't have to stress over this if she simply slit her throat.

Everything would be over if that was what she did. However… she couldn't leave Abel — not yet.

"You will still listen to how he plays the piano," she told herself under her breath. "He will surely want to hear what you think about it. And you still have to tell him those hands are beautiful…"

Aries remained silent while she calm her breathing. The thought of Abel subsided her fear, knowing she couldn't just lose her mind now. People were in danger. Although Abel, Conan, Isaiah, and Dexter were skilled men, she couldn't help but get worried about them, especially if Joaquin's explanation about drinking a vampire's blood was real.

No matter how skilled those four were, they would be no match against Joaquin.

Suddenly, her brows furrowed the more she thought about those four, especially Abel.

"Immortality…" she whispered. "Youth… survives and takes pleasure in human blood…."

For a moment, Aries froze, and her heart thudded against her chest. Now that she thought about it, somehow… she recalled every 'nonsense' she would hear from Abel and then back when she was in Haimirich.

"Older than your ancestor…" she repeated the words Abel usually told her and what Conan mentioned in passing. In a flash, everything that had happened in Haimirich and until now rewound in her head, leaving her brain in a blank state.

'I want you in my veins…'

'I never had a child.'

'My father is me, my grandfather is me, my ancestor is me, my son is me and his sons will also be me…'

Youth.

Aries swallowed a mouthful of saliva and her cold blood just totally froze. Until now, she had believed Abel's jokes and claims were simply a product of his wild imagination. But the more she thought about it, with Joaquin's confession, a sense of dread shivered down her spine.

"He said… he returned to Haimirich and came here because he missed me…" she recalled Abel's explanation, which he took back because she told him to. She believed Abel didn't go back to Haimirich because it was impossible to go back and forth from Maganti to Haimirich in just a few days. But something crossed her head.

Speed.

And then Aries remembered Abel's injuries that seemed to always heal quickly. It was almost impossible. Although she never saw it with her own two eyes, Abel never — as in, never — whined about his injuries. The stab wounds he inflicted upon himself that night he thought Aries left were enough to make him bleed out. She thought they treated it quickly, so he didn't reach the critical stages.

But now that she thought about it, questions she tossed at the back of her head resurfaced in her mind. Why… did everyone in Haimirich — especially Conan and Isaiah — let Abel hurt himself? No, that wasn't the real question. But how could they let the emperor walk around with such injuries, knowing it could kill the sovereign?

"No…" she whispered, wide-eyed. Aries shook her head mildly and hugged her knees at the dread embracing her. "No…"

On top of the dread about Joaquin's ambition to become a god, Aries started questioning everything about what she knew and what she didn't know. And the more she did, it felt like everything was simply puzzle pieces put wrongly in a place, but now she was getting a proper image of the bigger picture.

Even though Joaquin told her the emperor of Haimirich was human, she couldn't help but question it. After all, if Joaquin met the real Abel during the world summit, then he would surely recognize him Baron Albe.

Aries sat on the floor for hours with blank eyes. "Abel…" she whispered with quivering lips.

"Are you… really human?"