As the water trickled down his scalp, Dravenor's lashes fluttered faintly. He hadn't realized how much tension he carried in his body until her hands worked through it slow, steady, almost reverent. He had needed some sort of distraction so he asked her to wash his hair
He wasn't used to being touched. Not like this. Not without urgency or fear.
Her fingers moved again, this time softer, combing through the strands with care. She didn't speak, didn't rush, as though she understood the unspoken quiet between them
A silence stretched in the bathroom, not heavy, not cold...just there.
Dravenor opened his eyes slowly, tilting his head slightly toward her. "You read the book," he said.
Her hands froze.
"…Yes."
Silence....she lifted her eyes back to the golden plate, her eyes colliding with his. Quickly lowering her gaze she told him
"I'm done"
And dravenor finally opened his eyes "you can leave"
Valerie stood up and walked away, on her way outside the door she saw a read haired human lady...she obviously wasn't a maid considering the extravagant dress she was wearing, the lady walked past her taking in Valerie with sharp eyes... Valerie turned to watch her walk away wondering who she was to roam a vampire's castle - King Dravenor's castle with such confidence
The guards opened the door for her, she walked in and the door was shut
The doors shut behind the woman with a soft thud, but the echo lingered in Valerie's ears. Something about her didn't sit right, not just her confidence, but the way she'd looked at Valerie. Not with curiosity. Not with jealousy. But something colder… territorial.
Valerie walked back to her chambers, hands damp and heart oddly unsettled. She changed into a plain cotton dress, the cool fabric grounding her.
Sitting by the window, she found herself staring out at the dark hills in the distance, but her mind remained in that room with Dravenor, with the strange woman, and with the book.
The Virelya. That word kept echoing like it was tied to her soul. Her fingers reached up to touch her eyes, as if to confirm they hadn't suddenly turned gold.
She stood, walking over to the small mirror near her bed. Her reflection stared back, calm but uncertain. She lowered the candle beside her and watched as her pupils widened… and for a second, just a second, she thought the hazel shifted.
Not brown. Not hazel. Something molten.
She blinked hard, shaking her head. No. She was just tired. It was all the reading, the bathing... climbing back into her bed, she lay on her side wrapping herself in the quilt
__
As always, Valérie followed her routine, arriving at Dravenor's chambers by six. Now, two hours later, she stood at the edge of the training field, watching him spar.
He moved swiftly, effortlessly switching between teaching vampire soldiers and instructing the humans. Today's focus seemed to be long-distance techniques, throwing daggers with precision.
Her eyes followed him as he twisted, dodged, and threw with practiced ease. His bare back glistened under the sun, muscles rippling with every movement. Her cheeks flushed as she caught herself staring, her thoughts wandering somewhere they shouldn't. She squeezed her eyes shut, silently scolding herself.
The moment she opened them—
A dagger was flying at her.
Straight at her face.
Without thinking, without even realizing what she was doing her hand shot up and caught the weapon midair. It poked against her skin just enough to draw blood, a small pool of blood gathered
Her eyes widened. Her heart thundered.
Dravenor was at her side in a blur
__
Dravenor's gaze lingered on her for a moment, the tight line of his jaw slowly easing. He looked down at her hand again, trembling m
"Let me see" He said softly, his voice stripped of its usual cold edge
Valerie hesitated, then lifted her chin, allowing him to inspect the thin cut on her forehead. His thumb grazed the area, wiping off the blood... luckily it was just a slight poke so it didn't hurt
The light caught his red eyes, and for a moment it wasn't just her heart beating, it was something deeper, something quieter... pulling her forward toward him
Dravenor's eyes examined her, he'd have caught the dagger, although maybe after it had pierced her a little...but the moment he moved, her hand had already raised to catch the dagger....a dagger thrown by a trained soldier
His gaze lingered on her for a moment before he turned and called off the training
On their way back inside the castle, they bumped into Orien...it seemed he had been coming to meet them in the field
---
Orien came to a stop in front of Dravenor. He had clearly been on his way to meet them in the field, but something had changed. He bowed slightly, voice holding a hint of urgency.
"You have to see this, my lord" Orien informed Dravenor, bowing slightly, his voice told it wasn't urgent
Dravenor's gaze shifted briefly to Valérie. Just for a moment. Then he gave Orien a nod and walked off without a word.
Valérie stood there, uncertain. She watched them disappear down the corridor, then turned on her heel and made her way toward the library.
She moved with purpose, the path already familiar. Entering the vast room, she went straight to the shelf where she had left the book...Ivoretesk: First.
Pulling it down, she returned to the table and flipped to the section she'd marked the night before
The tale continued
The tale had continued but the rest simply talked about how the vampires had used that loop to come out at night and hunt, but still couldn't touch the elves...the vampires couldn't bear children, well scarcely as the curse had stated
The were lucky to have a baby, once inna decade was considered a miracle, some of them had resorted to breeding with humans but others had despised it as they didn't want to associate with 'contaminated blood'
Wars had followed. vampire against vampire, pure blood against half, humans against vampires
Those who sought preservation of their bloodline and those who took pride in purity
She exhaled softly, going to drop the book in it's shelf, her eyes caught another one... 'Virelya' this was what Dravenor had mentioned as 'the creators'