Chapter 537 - Old Hag

New Chapter for the Highest Tier (June 2021)

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Archdemon Empress Luna

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Apollyon didn't wait for King Oberon's approval to exit the Great Hall.

Fortunately, no other Summer Faerie Sentinels came running after them as they walked through the threshold and that only meant one thing!

The Summer Monarchs had released them after they figured out the perpetrator.

Let them discuss why the red stone was thrown on the day of Princess Ourania's engagement party.

Luna and Apollyon couldn't care less since it had nothing to do with her.

She didn't have any debts with the God of Fire.

That also explained why Luna couldn't see through his glamour right away.

Gods were stronger shapeshifters than Archdemons.

Apollyon and Luna might not be in the same room as the Summer Monarchs.

But that wouldn't prevent them from talking about the odd occurrences the moment they arrived at the top floors of the gazebo.

Raising her arms in the form of a cross, Luna threw herself to the bed, dead-tired from all the dancing and waiting for their turn during the inquisition.

She landed on her back.

The mattress felt as soft as a cloud, and Luna moaned from the feel of it.

She was in heaven!

"I could not believe that the red stone was owned by the god Hephaestus." Luna said out loud in a mid-yawn, and she covered her mouth. "Now, that I think of it. When you saved me from the explosion, I swear I saw him drag his left leg a little bit." 

"It was merely King Oberon's assumption based from how you describe the stone. The incidents happened  too fast and you were the only one who have seen the stone clearly. He took your word for it." Apollyon replied as his fingers fluttered on her ankles before taking each shoe off and settled them under the bed. 

"What did the God of Fire have to do with the Faerie Realm? I haven't asked King Oberon the exact date when the fire attacks began at the Castle's turrets. Faerie Sentinels have sacrificed their life to find the culprit. And many of the Aristocrats have died from the wildfire this afternoon. I hope this will end soon. I am tired, Apollyon." Luna blinked rapidly, slowly, and then she closed her eyes. "Can't the gods and goddesses bestow me peace of mind as compensation from what  I have suffered in Hell?" 

"Am I not your peace of mind, beloved?" Apollyon murmured in her ear, his voice low and oddly hushed.

Flinching, she lifted her shoulder from the ticklish sensation.

Wow!

Luna didn't notice the corner of the mattress dropped from his weight when he climbed with her. 

Her hand groped for the blankets and covered her lower half as a shield.

Yet, she doubted if it was effective.

"You, as well. You don't give peace." Luna rolled to her side and faced him. "I just want to sleep at night without someone waking me up with his erection buried on my buttocks while you hug me from behind."

"I feel cold when you hog all the blankets. You don't leave everything for me." Apollyon complained as he glanced at her waist. He pulled the coverlet, but Luna kept it in place around her waist. "See?"

Face flushed with warmth, she cleared her throat and spoke. "You don't need the blankets. You are a vampire, Apollyon. You can perfectly withstand the cold."

Apollyon raised an eyebrow at her, staring at Luna with a smouldering gaze. "But you are a Vampire since I turned you. You can withstand the cold."

"The blankets is for my stomach. I like to huddle it around my waist." Luna reasoned out. "It makes me feel warm. I can fall asleep in an instant."

"I can make you warm, though." 

She knew what Apollyon had in mind, but she was tired to do it until dawn. 

"You don't make me warm, Apollyon." She averted her gaze as her fingers curled onto the edge of the coverlet, "You make me hot."

"Hot. And bothered."  His Prussian Blue eyes twinkled with laughter, yet, there was a wild and reckless edge to it.  "My favorite mood of yours."

Her husband never failed to make her squirm.

"Don't start." She pulled away from him, and her husband let her go.  "You libertine! You handsome rake!" Luna playfully punched his chest as she whisper-shouted.

Yet, she can't wipe the smile out of her face. "Those sweet lines will do no good. You can't seduce me."

"Anyhow, I don't need the blankets. I only need you." He caught her fist, and his arms closed around her form, strong and protective. "The blankets will be yours. I will ask the royal seamstress to make you five coverlets with the designs and the textures you want."

Five coverlets?

She frowned. "That's a bit overboard, husband."

"I have heard that pregnant women are very particular about that."

"Well, you heard wrong." Luna replied. His tunic muffled her voice. "Let's just share. I feel guilty for keeping it all to myself."

"I am relieved that King Oberon knew you were telling the truth from the nuance of your voice." Apollyon said."The Fair Folk can't tell a lie as much as they could lie. Some of the Monarchs in the Faerie Courts might not be outright liars. You know how  they can manipulate their words to come out as truth to suit their purposes."

"Like your mother, for example. You are Half-Fae, Apollyon. Can you determine her intentions—whether she was lying or not? I have a lot of questions to ask her if she wasn't such a madwoman."

"She is a madwoman." Apollyon agreed. "If you didn't come into my life, I would have turned into a madman. Sometimes, I wonder who turned my mother into something like this."

Luna pushed his chest so that she could look up at him. "Princess Ourania told us before the Tea Party with the Summer King and Queen. I think it was because of her parents forcing you to marry your father. From what I can get from her side of the story, your father is horrible. He killed the Fae your mother loved and dragged her back to the Castle to marry her right away and turn her into a vampire."

She sighed. "I want to sympathize with your mother, Apollyon. But the way she treated us is disgusting. She can't even be kind for an hour and be civil around us. I just can't force myself to love--"

"Don't force yourself." Apollyon's response was quiet as his arm settled to her ribs. "I'm not telling you to love her when I can barely stand her selfishness. But we should do better when it came to our responses."

"I agree. We should not match how immature she was." Luna nodded, but her heart and mind told her 'no.'" It just pissed him off whenever she recalled the old hag opening her mouth. "She is so frustrating—blaming us for something we didn't even have the heart to care about!" 

Apollyon asked softly."We should not give her power to control our emotions and ruin our lovely days just to satisfy her whims, alright?"