The Vampire Prince's Toxic Consort (BL)
Chapter 8 The Classes of Vampires

Lucius was still shaking when Dorian took him back to their room and put him on the couch. His heart was thumping frantically, and no matter how hard he tried to breathe, the air refused to stay in his lungs.

“Look at me.” Dorian’s authoritative command pulled him back to his presence. Lucius focused his wild eyes on the vampire’s unreadable countenance.

Dorian stared into his eyes and his soul. An indomitable beam of power pierced Lucius’s chaotic mind and transmuted into a cool mist of calmness, gingerly encompassing his thoughts like a shroud of protection. The panic subsided quickly, and Lucius was finally able to breathe again.

Every inch of his body was in blazing pain, and his left cheek was swollen from the blow. Dorian tilted Lucius’s chin and looked at the two terrible bites on his neck. His frown deepened.

“I will call a physician to check on you.”

“No!” Lucius finally spoke, “I don’t want them!”

“Your wounds need to be treated, or they may get infected.”

“Just...just give me some time...” Lucius struggled to take a long deep breath, “I just want to be alone for a moment, and then I will be fine...alright?”

Dorian studied him for a while and nodded. He stood up as if about to leave.

“Don’t go!” Lucius shouted in alarm.

Dorian looked at him in perplex, “I thought you wanted to be alone?”

“Except for you, obviously!“Lucius’s voice broke a little. He cleared his throat awkwardly, trying to collect his composure, “Can you...can you just stay with me for a sec?”

Dorian raised one side of his eyebrows but turned back and sat next to Lucius. He didn’t say anything, and he wasn’t particularly nice to Lucius, but his presence strangely calmed Lucius’s nerves.

“Why were you there?” Dorian suddenly inquired.

Just one question, and it strangely got on Lucius’s nerves again. He snapped, “Are you seriously going to blame this on me?”

“Your guards should have stopped you from going anywhere near that party.”

“I didn’t want them to follow. I want to be alone for just a few moments!” Lucius retorted, “am I your consort or a prisoner?!”

“So you lost them on purpose?” Dorian squinted his eyes, “You haven’t answered my question. What were you doing there?”

“I lost my direction after I came out of the labyrinth.”

Lucius knew Dorian didn’t believe him, which was probably judicious on his part. But still, shouldn’t his “husband” show more sympathy rather than interrogating him right away after he was almost violated and killed?

“This will happen again, you know.” Lucius turned his face away from the crown prince, trying not to let the vulnerable emotions engulf him, “If you want to divorce me, may as well just do it now and get it over with. I’m sure you can find a proper excuse.”

“Who said I want to divorce you?“Dorian frowned.

“Everyone.“Lucius scoffed coldly, “They have already been planning which slave house I should go to. ”

“Don’t be ridiculous! You were well protected. If you just do as you told and don’t do stupid things like you did today, no one could have harmed you.”

“And why was it so easy for me to lose your guard?” Lucius pressed on, “Why was your insubordinate brother so eager to defile your consort without qualm or hesitation? You never appear in public with me. Never even came to see me or try to introduce me to the court. You lived your normal life pretending that I didn’t exist. I’m a human. A slave or livestock in vampires’ eyes. You don’t need to divorce me. All you need to do to get rid of me is give people the idea that you don’t want me anymore, and they will rip me apart.”

Dorian glared at him, “You are saying this is my fault?”

“I’m just trying to understand what you want and what I am to you.” Lucius said quietly, pulling the jacket around him tighter as if trying to look smaller, “I know we tricked you, but why haven’t you exposed me?”

Dorian stood up, went to the bar table nearby, and poured himself some drink, mixing it with a small portion of blood. Ere long, he replied, “I don’t want to continue the war.”

“But why? The werewolves’ insurrection?”

“Partially.”

“Or...is it because of my brother?”

Dorian’s movement paused for a long moment. He raised his eyes and leered at Lucius.

Lucius pressed on, “When did you two meet? He never mentioned anything. Not even to me.”

“It doesn’t matter.” Dorian answered offishly, “But I admit that I’ve been neglecting your situation. You are my consort, and I should have treated you as such.”

That was what Lucius wanted to hear. He exhaled in relief and felt pain from the scratches rose again. He groaned in agony as blood soaked the jacket. Dorian called the physician and hesitated before asking, “I can relieve it a little.”

“How?” Lucius winced. Every tiny movement worsened the pain.

“My venom.”

“Hell no!”

“I won’t drink your blood, and you will feel better.”

“Bite me and don’t drink my blood? How ignorant do you think I am? You wouldn’t be able to help yourself.”

“It requires a great deal of restrain. Not all of us can do that.” Dorian leaned against the armchair as his eyes lingered on the moonlight spilling near the window, “and it’s probably wise for you not to trust anyone who tells you that, though.”

Lucius knew he had no reason to trust Dorian, especially when the latter left him all alone in this cold, forbidding castle and showed no interest in his wellbeing until today. However, he also treated him with a degree of respect. He had every right to drink from or abuse him, just like everyone else around him wanted to do, but he didn’t.

And...he looked unnaturally beautiful under the moonlight...The glisten in his deep-set eyes looked almost...gentle.

“I guess what can be worse, right?” Lucius muttered, “ok, I trust you. Just do your thing.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. I don’t want to be awake at this moment, to be honest.” Lucius inhaled shakingly, “If possible, I don’t even want to remember tonight.”

Dorian regarded him profoundly as he drew nearer. His alluring eyes mesmerized him even before he touched him.

“Then I should give you something better to remember, I suppose.“Dorian’s deep voice echoed in his brain like a chanting. He sat next to Lucius, putting one long arm around him and the other hand gingerly landed on his chin, tilting his head to one side. The prince’s hot breath brushed against his skin, slithering into his ear.

It almost felt like an affectionate embrace, and Lucius suddenly realized that he had never been embraced like this before.

He had put on a charade of a rakish brat to give his parents some childish headache, but he never had the guts to follow through. All those quick dalliances and flirting were empty and pathetic, and he always wanted something more.

“Archie will pay for what he did to you,” Dorian whispered before he bit down.

The initial piercing pain quickly dissolved in a rush of dizziness, and that strange itchiness once again commenced spreading through his veins. It was like tiny feathers were growing under his skin, raising goosebumps and a sweet, tingling sensation.

All the pain that plagued him was eased into that eerily erotic warmth. Lucius widened his eyes, and the world environed him was glowing. An irresistible pleasure was rising in his stomach, and he could tell he already had an erection.

And then everything was foggy and distant. Lucius sat on that couch calmly and let the physician examine and treat his wounds. Dorian was always quietly present somewhere near, giving him a sense of security.

Afterward, he fell into a long and deep slumber, and when he was awake, the wounds were almost gone. Even the worst ones were barely visible.

Lucius was reluctant to leave the room for a few days. The thought of encountering another vampire was too dreadful. He supposed it was only normal after the terror of that night. He was already in much better condition than he anticipated.

And one morning, when Lucius settled himself in the bed ready for sleep, hoping not to be plagued by nightmares, the door opened, and Dorian stepped in.

They stared at each other in awkward silence. The moment Lucius lay eyes on that beautiful, dark and dangerous man, the sensation of the intoxication came back in full force, and he hoped the light was dim enough so Dorian wouldn’t see his blushing.

Lucius berated himself silently. Why was he acting like a young girl in a crush? It was not like they slept together.

Dorian opened his mouth, “I can sleep on the couch.”

“Ok...“Lucius mumbled.

Dorian took off his shirt and went into the bathroom, and hearing the showing sound, Lucius couldn’t restrain his imagination of how water was trickling down the curve of each muscle, caressing his sculptural, beardless chin and dampening his rich, raven, lustrous hair...

Lucius quickly buried himself into the comforter and shut his eyes as the sound of water stopped, pretending to be asleep. He heard Dorian open the door and turn off the light, setting himself down on the couch.

“I want to take you on a trip.” Dorian’s voice disrupted the quietude.

Lucius opened his eyes, “what?”

“There will be a negotiation with Nocturne happening in Aetherfort. But before that, I need to pay Lord Durchville a visit. He has been holding up the werewolf attacks for months now. You will be kept safe in his castle, but it will benefit us if people see you go to the frontline with me.”

Lucius sat up abruptly, “you want to take me to war?”

“Only if you want to.”

Lucius pondered for a while, “what do I need to do? I know very little about...everything.”

“I can teach you.” The voice from the darkness was flat, and Lucius couldn’t guess his expression.

“Ok. I want to go with you.”

“Great.” Dorian turned over on the couch and no longer spoke.

For the next several days, Dorian kept his word and spent most of his time with Lucius in his study, introducing the ten oldest vampire families, their descendants, and the division of different classes. Sᴇaʀch Thᴇ (ꜰind)ɴʘvel.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Vampires are known for their strict and fixed social stratum as their level of sentient and abilities are tight with their classes. The lowest class is called “the ogres,” which are more similar to beasts rather than sentient beings. They are strong, fast, nocturnal, bloodthirst all the time, and are driven by primal instinct rather than rational thinking. Their life span is usually around two hundred years, and their exceptional cell regeneration rate makes them immune to regular physical attacks. However, they will burn in the sunlight and can be hurt lethally by silvers and werewolf teeth. They cannot make any other vampires but can infect creatures they bite with a deadly madness similar to rabies. If they mate with each other, the offspring will also be ogres.

The second class is called “the neophytes.” They comprise the majority of the vampire population. They possess all the preternatural abilities that ogres have and more. They are capable of hypnotization, hyper-olfaction and night vision, hyper-speed and often inherit one or two distinctive gifts from their makers. Their appearances are the same as humans except with two long retractable fangs. They are immortal unless killed by starvation, fire, dark arts, werewolf attacks, high concentrations of UV exposure and some direct-energy weapons. Daylight will weaken them but won’t harm them. The only kind of vampire they can make is ogres, and the offspring they reproduce are neophytes.

The third class is “the apostles.” They are the nobles of the vampires, direct offspring of the ten oldest Elders. Except for the first generation, who were made by the Elders, all were born vampires, and none were made. They often inherit many supernatural traits like shape-shifting, mind-controlling, invisibility, teleporting, etc. Many of them are masters of dark arts. However, their gifts are greatly affected by their Elder bloodline. Sun does not affect them though they would prefer night over day. High concentrations of UV beams or some types of direct-energy weapons could burn and slow them down but would not kill them. They can withstand long periods of starvation but would eventually fall into hibernation. And the only way to completely end their life is when their body is completely shuttered into dust, preventing them from resuscitating. Their offspring will also be apostles, and the vampires they make are neophytes.

The last and the highest and also the most enigmatic class is the “Elders.” The first ten vampires were cursed into eternal damnation. They were powerful angels of God in the immemorial beginning of the universe but were punished for their pride and insubordination. Their existence has gradually faded into legend as no one had seen an Elder for more than three centuries. They made the First Generation of apostles, yet they seemed unable to produce any offspring. They were the ancestors of all vampires.

“So, which Elder is your ancestor?” Lucius asked with great interest.

Dorian turned some brittle pages of the giant, archaic tome and pointed at a beautiful figure with raven hair and golden skin, three pairs of giant black wings spreading behind him.

“Azreal.The Angel of Death. The one who harvests souls.” Dorian said reverently.

“He is beautiful.” Lucius admired, “so...he actually exists?”

“As real as you and me.”

“But how do you know that if no one has seen an elder in centuries?”

“Because as our maker, every vampire is attached to them. And if they are harmed, we will all feel the pain.”

Lucius blinked, “So hypothetically, if one of the ten elders is dead, what would happen?”

“I don’t know. Some believe they cannot be killed. But if they can die, maybe one-tenth of us will die with them.” Dorian said nonchalantly as if it was no big deal.

Lucius widened his eyes, “what?! Aren’t you worried that your life is attached to someone you don’t even know where they are?”

“It’s a burden all vampires have to bear. Just like you, humans all will age and die, yet you still live your life as if it won’t happen.”

That was...strangely and philosophically making sense.

Lucius tilted his head and studied Dorian curiously, “so...what’s your family’s special ability?”

Dorian was about to answer, but a knock on the door interrupted their conversation.

“Your Highness, the King requests your presence.”

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