The Vampire Prince's Toxic Consort (BL)
Chapter 29 Do You Trust Me?

Lucius felt like he was in a peculiar dream as Dorian and he went to the garage, picked a most humble car that was easy to blend into the street, and drove it past the gate. Dorian cast an illusory spell over everyone they encountered, taking advantage of the fact that none of them were on guard of being fooled by their Crown Prince. As a result, the servants, guards, and even the Head Steward didn’t try to stop them or inquire where they were going and why there were no bodyguards following them. By the time they return, they probably wouldn’t even notice their absence.

After several turns on the street, Lucius finally realized that for the first time since he arrived at Eternia, he was out of the golden cage of aristocrats, servants and guards. He relaxed a little and chortled in excitement, “I can’t believe we actually did it!”

Dorian, who was driving, pulled his lip corners up, “I used to do this a lot with Silvan when I was younger. My illusory arts improved greatly because of our sneaking out routine.”

“With Silvan? I thought you two were sworn enemies.”

Dorian’s taciturnity lasted for a few moments, and before Lucius started questioning if he asked an inappropriate question, he said, “we are brothers, and before my mother and I were exiled, we used to be good friends as well. But then everything happened, and it changed our relationship.”

“Yeah, tell me about complicated sibling relationships...” Lucius leaned his head against the window and took in the fanciful nightlife of the ancient city. It looked almost identical to the streets of Tranta, the capital of Anthor, but with a bit more character and taste.

They arrived at the seashore at around 10:30 pm. Many shops and restaurants were decorated with splendid lights, pushing the darkness of the night away from the district. To vampires, it was like mid-day. Many people strolled on the silver beach, playing beach volleyball or frisbees, swimming, sailing, and little vampires ran around screaming like regular human kids.

“What if someone recognizes us?” Lucius asked as Dorian found a parking spot.

“They won’t,” Dorian replied confidently.

“Don’t tell me you are going to hypnotize the whole beach of people.”

“No, but since no one expects to see us, I can just put a simple spell on ourselves, and most people won’t be able to associate us with the faces they saw on the news or the internet.“Dorian opened his palm, “give me your hand.”

Lucius did as he was told. Dorian interlaced their fingers as he stared profoundly into Lucius’s eyes. His dark irises glistened a mesmerizing red hue, drawing Lucius into an alluring trance.

“Ok, done.” Dorian’s words finally snapped Lucius out of it, and he felt a bit bashful as he was just lost in Dorian’s gaze like a schoolgirl. Lucius quickly withdrew his hand and got off the car.

The night was clear, and the moon was full like a silver plate. The endless ocean undulated like black silk, and the dapples of light were thousands of diamond shards. The sand was white as snow under the caress of the moonlight, scattered with shells and seaweeds.

Lucius stood on the water’s edge, where the sea foams rushed up to the wet sand wave after wave. He looked into the horizon, the starry sky, and the sleeping sea and let the fishy and salty smell fill his body and mind. He couldn’t help but smell and took off his shoes, letting the warm water brush against his feet.

“Do you know how to swim?” Dorian asked.

“Yes, I love swimming. But I’ve never swum in the sea before.”

“Then let’s go.” Dorian took off his shoes and started unbuttoning his shirt. Lucius goggled at him, “but I didn’t bring my swim shorts!”

“I didn’t either.” Dorian left his shirt and jacket on the beach with only a pair of pants on. The neo-light and moonlight danced along the contours of his muscles as if they were part of him. He took a few steps into the water and looked back at a hesitating Lucius, “come on. I will show you something.”

Lucius decided that not swimming when he finally had a chance to come to the beach was just stupid, so he quickly took off his top clothes and ventured forward, letting the salty water soak his pants.

As the seawater slowly enclosed his body, a strong upward force pushed his body up. He spread his arms, kicked his legs, and swam through the coming waves. Dorian was right in front of him, leading them away from the shore. After a while, when they were further than most other vampires in the water, they paused, rose and fell with the tide like two rootless kelps. The buzz from the beach muffled into a white noise, and the lights from the shops blurred into a colorful mist. The moon was on top of their head, and around them was only water. It felt as if they were the only two people in the whole wide world.

Lucius thrust out of the water, squirted a mouthful of water on Dorian’s face, and then laughed loudly. But his laughter was interrupted by a much more powerful full-face water bomb attack.

“What was that!” Lucius exclaimed, “is your mouth a cannon or something?!”

Dorian smirked, “vampire super strength.”

“That is so unfair,” Lucius complained lightheartedly. He looked up at the sky while a rare feeling of calm and peace washed over him, and suddenly he was at a younger age again, with a simple and easily satisfied heart.

“Do you want to dive?” Dorian suddenly asked.

“Dive? You mean like this?“Lucius asked incredulously, “No way! I can’t dive into an ocean without any proper equipment and training.”

“Well, all you need is me,” Dorian replied smugly. His iris glowed again, and Lucius felt something intangible pass through him, similar to when one stays in a sealed room for a long time and suddenly enters the outside world. The air changed and yet not changed.

“What are you doing?” Lucius asked with a tiny bit of skepticism.

“I just created a tiny realm around us, slightly bent some rules of reality.“Dorian said cryptically, “do you trust me, Lucius?”

“Um...I guess?”

“You guess?” Dorian rose one of his brows.

“I mean, you did leave me alone in that forest for a really long time when we were attacked.”

“I was busy fighting werewolf assassins!”

“Alright, alright. I trust you, happy?”

Dorian scantily accepted Lucius’s amendment and continued, “now, try to take a breath underwater.”

“Excuse me?! Are you planning to murder your consort?”

Dorian swam closer to him, and his voice rich and soft like black velvet, “I thought you said you trusted me. You won’t drown, I promise.”

Lucius began to suspect that Dorian put some sort of enchantment on him because he felt like he couldn’t say no. He gave in, took a deep breath, and sank below the water. He was supposed to breathe underwater, but instinctual fear prevented him from opening his eyes, let alone breathing in the salty seawater and letting it fill his lungs.

Azrael’s bloodline has some powerful vampires who could create a realm in which they had full control and could even alter the rules of reality, and he also saw Dorian use it when fighting that werewolf criminal, but he had never experienced it firsthand. Was it even possible to make water breathable?

But then, for some unknown reason, he exhaled the breath he stored in his chest and breathed in.

He didn’t choke, didn’t drown. The water rushed into his body, and he felt...nothing. He felt as if he was breathing in the air.

He opened his eyes abruptly in disbelief, and it was not complete darkness before him. He could see clearly each floating tiny alga, rising bubbles, and even a hint of the pattern of the water’s movement. Moonlight danced and rippled like layers of silver chiffon. Not far away, a school of small fish was hovering and twirling around, and right below him, two jellyfish ruffled their skirts like the spirits of the ocean.

It was a dream-like scene, and Lucius opened his mouth in astonishment, only realizing that he could hear his own exclamation. His voice traveled in water just as it traveled through the air.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Dorian’s voice whiffed into Lucius’s ear. He was floating behind him with such ease that one could mistake him for a merman.

“This is amazing!” Lucius cried out aloud, “we are like fishes!”

The smile in Lucius’s eyes was brightly ingenuous, and the dimple looked almost childish. Before the vampire even realized it, he wished that he could put that smile on Lucius’s face more frequently, and a warm sensation of accomplishment and satisfaction brimmed Dorian’s chest.

“Come on, let me show you the coral reef.”

They flew through the water like two soaring birds, and the coral reef sat like an island on the bottom of the ocean. The giant kelps were the forest, and the florid anemones were the flowers. As they passed, the soft tendrils of those sea flowers gently caressed their skin as if they didn’t want them to leave. Many small fishes with bright colors and little crabs flew out of the bushes and drifted around them curiously.

Lucius couldn’t stop making a silly tourist-like gasping sound as he took in all the little wonders hidden from the world by the ocean. They quietly existed in the warm darkness, not caring about anything above them.

Suddenly a long, profound, and beautiful singing rippled through the water and caught their attention. They raised their heads and saw three orcas approaching from afar, singing to each other in some conversation that was oblivious to men.

Lucius had always been fascinated by orcas and knew well that though given the scary nickname “killer whale,” they never harmed any human if unprovoked. In fact, they were especially friendly to humans for some unknown reason. Therefore he was not spooked when the orcas discovered them and headed in their direction. They drew nearer gingerly, circling around them with curiosity and making all sorts of cute noises.

Dorian said, “they are discussing between themselves if we are dead or not since we don’t usually appear underwater.”

Lucius widened his eyes, “you can understand them?!”

“I can sense animals’ thoughts and emotions pretty easily. Soul magic.”

“You are like a Wisney princess! Do you also have magic hair or something?” Lucius bantered with jealousy, “what else are they saying?”

“They are debating if they should rescue us. One argues we are alive since we are making sounds. The other says it could be just some reflex.”

“Well, we must reassure them that we are fine then.” Lucius extended his hand toward one of the orca tentatively, and that one studied him for a while, then swam even closer, using its slim mouth tip gently nudging his palm.

Lucius was so excited that his mouth opened into an “o.” He couldn’t believe he was touching an orca!

“This is the best birthday of my life!!!” He exclaimed.

Dorian smiled softly as he saw the artless happiness in Lucius’s eyes. He found those hazel eyes so beautiful when they were filled with joyful glistening, and he couldn’t look away. A strange yet overwhelming feeling rose from the bottom of his heart, and he ventured forward, gently tilted Lucicus’s face toward him, and pressed a tender kiss on Lucius’s lips.

It was their first kiss without pretension or the effect of alcohol. And it was so slow and delicate. Their arms slowly wrapped around each other’s bodies as faint moonlight showered and orcas swirled around them, and it was perfect.

“Perhaps not a good idea,” thought Lcuius faintly. But at this moment, he really didn’t care anymore. He had to admit an obvious fact that he had denied to himself for a long time.

He was falling in love with his vampire prince.

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