The Vampire Prince's Toxic Consort (BL)
Chapter 22 The Feeding Ritual

As predicted, an invitation for a dinner party arrived at 3 pm the next day when Dorian and Lucius were having breakfast in the suite. They were also welcomed to observe the “Ancestor Worshiping Ceremony.”

Lucius pretended that he knew nothing about the whole feeding ritual and asked as he was buttering his biscuit, “what is this ‘Ancestor Worshiping Ceremony’?”

“Something that the pure blood families like to do. We don’t have to go.”

“Wouldn’t it be rude to refuse it since they have been hosting us for this long?”

“That ceremony involves throwing five slaves into a chamber full of sleeping vampires.” Dorian used the napkin to dab away the blood on his lips while glancing at him, “are you sure you want to witness that?”

Lucius paused for a moment to feign the initial shock briefly before rejoining: “they will still die no matter if I attend it or not. I’m not so faint-hearted.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’ve been splashed my whole face with another man’s blood, haven’t I?” Lucius returned a wry smile to the concerned prince.

Dorian mulled over it for several seconds and nodded, “then we shall attend both.”

As he spoke, Florian brought in a cup of freshly brewed coffee with the exact amount of milk to Lucius’s liking. He laid it in front of Lucius and asked, “is there anything else I can bring you, your highness?”

“No, this is all. Thank you. You can go get yourself some food now. I’ve told the butler that I would appreciate it if he could give you regular servant food rather than the disgusting gruel they feed their slaves.”

“Much appreciated for your kindness, your highness.” Florian bowed slightly and left.

Dorian looked unimpressed, “did you allow him to stay in the suite with you all the time when I was away?”

“Yes? Since he has been given to me, I don’t think it is suitable for him to continue living in the pens.”

“Did you sleep with him?”

Lucius leered at Dorian as anger started to rise, “so what if I slept with him? I thought we are not in any kind of monogamous relationship.”

“You will harm the image of our marriage and weaken our position in the court,” Dorian berated severely, and the darkness in his eyes grew larger as if the sky before a thunderstorm, “I told you to wait! Are you really this...lustful?”

“Of course I DIDN’T sleep with him! What do you think of me? A sex-crazed airhead?!“Lucius snapped.

It was probably a legit concern since Dorian knew about Lucius’s previous reputation. But he’d thought after all these days, Dorian would have known him better.

And what upset Lucius, even more, was the misgiving look Dorian gave him, obviously doubting the truthfulness of his words. He probably deserved that, too, as there were so many lies and subreptions between them. But why was Lucius still hurt by it?

Dorian studied him coldly for a while and stood up, leaving the conversation, “just don’t do anything like this without discussing it with me first in the future. We still have a facade to maintain.”

And then there was only Lucius, fuming alone.

What’s with all these attitudes since Dorian came back?

The ritual started at 11 pm. Almost every vampire in the house gathered in front of the chamber, and even the servants joined as they believed they could share a fragment of the ancestor’s benison.

The slaves were locked into their pens during the ceremony, except for one.

No one paid attention to Florian’s whereabouts.

Albeit the space before the pond and waterfall were crowded with people, no one was making a sound. Each vampire wore a red ceremonial hooded cloak and held a white candle. Flickering flames shone on many solemn faces.

Lucius quietly stood next to Dorian, wearing the same cloak and holding the same candle, blending into the crowd as much as he could, yet he was still one of the most prominent attention spots as he was the first human who had attended such a sacred ceremony in at least a century.

The silence was broken by the slaves’ cries and struggling sounds. Five human slaves were chained together and dragged before Lord Durchville and Lady Durchville. Three men and two women, some of them old, others young. They were howling, begging, but deep in their heart, they knew there was no escape from the doom.

Lady Durchville chanted something as she walked around the slaves hurdling in the middle of a magic circle painted with bone ashes. Every time any one of them tried to stand up, a guard would use one of the oral commands to shock them, forcing them to kneel back. They held each other and wailed in despair; the fear was so strong that it shook Lucius to his core, even though he was observing in the distance.

Lady Durchville took out a curved ritual knife, and she walked up to the first woman nearest to her. Lilian kept chanting, her voice was melodious, yet her action was merciless. She slashed the knife across the woman’s upper arm, letting blood trickle down her sleeve. It was not a very deep cut, but it would not heal soon without proper treatment.

She continued to lacerate each slave’s right arm, and after the last one, the chant ended. Her alluring eyes glided over the reverent crowd and proclaimed, “our beloved ancestor, please accept our sacrifice and bless us with power and strength!”

Her sonorous voice echoed in the night air, and the runes and engraves on the sealed chamber door began to glow. With a long, rumbling noise, the unbreachable darkness behind it spilled out as if it was something tangible and alive.

The slaves were commanded to go across the pound and enter the chamber, and as none of them were eager to die, they didn’t obey immediately. Several guards began to bark punishment phrases to trigger a wide spectrum of excruciating experiences, including the pain of being burned alive, electronic shock, being skinned by a thousand knives, and so forth. The ear-piercing scream filled Lucius’s ear, making his head hurt. The scene made his stomach churn, yet he didn’t close his eyes. He had to remember the scream, brutality, and suffering of those unfortunate souls so that he would not hesitate about his mission. So that he would have the courage to do something stupid and dangerous several hours later and believe his action could make some difference one day. S~ᴇaʀᴄh the Findɴovel.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

The slaves stumbled toward the gaping darkness since it was their only escape from the torture. Eventually, all of them disappeared into the black void. Two guards would stay outside the chamber for another five days to ensure the slaves didn’t come out.

Lady Durchville smiled brightly and announced the dinner party would be held in the ballroom, and she even invited a popular band to entertain the guests. The slaves were released from the pens and herded into the ballroom like a flock of sheep. Some vampires lunged at the meat and drank them until they bled out the last drop of blood and dropped dead on the ground, shriveling and shrinking like a mummy. Others enjoyed drinking and fucking the sex slaves simultaneously.

One day before the dinner party, Lucius implied that he had never seen Dorian drunk before and suspected he couldn’t get drunk. Lady Lilian immediately took the challenge, promising that her vast and exquisite brandy collection surely could achieve it.

As Lucius hoped, the dinner party grew wilder and wilder as time passed. More performers and escorts entered the ballroom, creating another wave of excitement among the guests, and most vampires were half drunk by 2 am.

Many people came to propose toasts to Dorian, and Lucius had been very cautious about his drinking, pouring the brandy into the nearest pot plants any chance he got. Dorian was distracted by all the eager local notability who lined up to congratulate him and didn’t notice his consort’s strange act.

Florian quietly appeared next to Lucius.

“Everything is ready,” Florian whispered.

Lucius nodded as perspiration covered his palm.

It all became too real. In fact, this could be the last few hours of his time on earth. The thought dawned on him, making him shiver in fear.

Why was he even doing this? For the future of humanity? It’s all bullshit...

More like trying to impress his father and mother, who had never believed he could accomplish anything and only saw him as the shadow of Julian.

But wasn’t it stupid? They wouldn’t even care and were less likely to regret sending him here. He was just a regular young man who wanted to be a comic artist, neither strong nor brave. Why was he trying so hard to do something completely out of his league?

Perhaps he shouldn’t do this entirely sober.

Lucius took several big gulps from the glass, letting the pungent liquid burn the back of his throat and the giddiness rocketed to his head. Comfortable and mild dizziness melted away some of his anxiety, and his nerves finally relaxed.

The effulgent light in the grand hall suddenly dimed and was replaced by flashy, colorful lights, and the music shifted into dance music with strong rhythms, mixed by a famous DJ Lady Durchville invited. The crowd exclaimed in excitement and swarmed into the dance floor with drinks in their hands, dancing, jumping, and grinding with each other.

It was obvious that dinner time had just passed, and party time had started. As people began to enter the half-drunk stage, Dorian was finally freed from the siege of local dignitaries. He looked relieved, though a dash of crimson darkened his cheeks.

Lucius chuckled, “congrats, you survived the first wave of the onslaught.”

“I swear to elders, if one more person comes and mentions the word ‘negotiation,’ I will slap their face,” Dorian mumbled as he slumped into the nearest chair.

Lucius laughed, took up the bottle of blood-mixed brandy, filling up Dorian’s glass while bantered, “you were so nice and charming to them, though. If only you were half that nice to me, I would have fallen in love with you.”

Dorian raised one side of his brows, and a hint of grin perched on his lips, “haven’t you fallen in love with me already?”

Lucius knew then that Dorian was half drunk. A sober Dorian would never have said such things with such a flirtatious demeanor. He sat on the table, passing that glass to Dorian, and curled up one side of his mouth, “don’t flatter yourself. You have been hot and cold and unpredictable and sometimes even mean to me. You are lucky that you are pretty.”

Dorian tilted his head slightly, then leaned forward, keeping his eyes on Lucius, “you think I’m pretty?”

“Well, I have eyes. So I can’t deny the objective fact.”

Dorian accepted the glass, though his fingers wrapped over Lucius’s hand and didn’t let him go while he lowered his head and took a sip.

Lucius replied calmly, “are you flirting with me?”

“Maybe. I am a little drunk, am I? I guess I haven’t drunk this much since...” His word trailed off as if wanting to avoid mentioning something heavy.

The light-hearted air was slightly damped, and Lucius wanted to change a topic. Coincidentally the music changed, and Lucius’s eyes lit up when he heard the song.

“This is one of my favorites! Come! Let’s dance!”

Dorian frowned, “I don’t like dancing. ”

“Bullshit, everyone likes dancing! Come on, it’s not hard. Just move your body however you want, and remember, no one is looking. They are too drunk to know who is next to them.“Lucius grinned and grabbed Dorian’s arm, pulling him into the dance floor.

With the cover of the obscure light and the anonymity in a crowd full of drunk and high vampires, Lucius doffed off his Julian personality temporarily and swayed with the music. His moves were fluent, effortless, and even a bit seductive, and his smile was infectious that before Dorian realized it, he was dancing with Lucius.

In a few minutes, both of them forgot about all their secrets and plots and were inundated by the loud, catchy music and a sense of letting go. Their moves clicked as if they had been dancing together many, many times.

Dorian didn’t notice that he stared at Lucius’s slightly parted lips and gleaming hazel eyes for a long time as if he was mesmerized by them. As the music went slower, Lucius danced closer and closer, until their bodies were only less than an inch apart.

“See, you dance well.” Lucius grinned. A dimple showed on one side of his cheek. And that was something Julian didn’t have.

Dorian brushed some sweat-soaked hair away from Lucius’s face, and as if enchanted by some unknown but powerful spell, he leaned in and caught Lucius’s lips.

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