"This?"
"The two of us thinking the same thing and knowing that it is so."
"I truly do not know." Mihail was not lying. "Heartkeeping still remains a mystery to most of us."
"It's strange," Rhapsody murmured. "It is our first time to see each other, but it does not feel that way. It is as if my soul...knows you."
And the fact that she could say such a thing without feeling frightened...well, that was probably also the strange magic of heartkeeping at work, too.
Generations of otherworlders had often likened him to the Grim Reaper (or as the the scythe-holding immortal was known in their ancient circles, the fallen angel Azrael). Of all the Galeré, Mihail was said to be the fiercest and most intimidating. He was not princely and elegant like Silviu, not wicked and charming like Ilie, or gentle and kind like Adrijan. Women wanted him as a lover, even a Master, but as a husband who would be by their side every moment of their lives?
The idea had always been too daunting for the kingdom's womenfolk, and yet here his pet was, claiming with utter sincerity that her soul soul knew his.
"Are you not afraid of me at all?" Mihail questioned.
Rhapsody shook her head. "Should I be?"
"Extremely so," he answered without hesitation.
"But I am not."
"Obviously."
"Maybe it's because I'm not normal?"
The marquis rejected the answer outright, saying decisively, "It's not that."
"Then?"
Naivë as fuck, Mihail thought. She was too innocent to even realize she should be scared of him, and it had the marquis wondering what other things his dark-haired temptation of a pet could be just as naivë about. A thought nagged him then. There was something else he should be talking to her about, something that had greatly angered him—-
"Master..."
His blood heated. There was something bewitchingly provocative in the way she said the word, and he fucking loved the way her tone lowered ever so becomingly whenever she called him that.
Rhapsody decided it was time to speak of her plans, but before anything else an apology was in order. "I sincerely apologize for my earlier conduct, milord. It was most unbecoming of me to receive you in such a manner."
His pet was now speaking as if she were delivering a eulogy. Charming as hell, the marquis thought, and for some reason, his cock also found it interesting enough to start swelling behind his pants. What. The. Fuck?
"If you would care to instruct me on how you wish to be welcomed..."
Mihail was now cussing up a storm in his mind. This girl would be the death of him, with the way she carelessly threw out the most suggestive words in his presence. How did he wish to be welcomed? What if he were to tell her he wanted her to welcome him by flipping her skirts up and spreading her legs wide open for his cock? Would she truly do so?
Rhapsody stopped speaking when she noticed her Master looking suddenly savagely...ravenous. "Is everything alright, Master?"
Mihail started swearing in a dozen languages.
Sex had never been more than a physiological activity for him, and just as he consumed blood only when his body required repleneshing, he had fucked only when his cock was in need for release. But where his pet was concerned, nothing was obviously normal. He only had to hear her call him Master, and he found himself craving for the feel of her like he had been starving for it for centuries.
Rhapsody was starting to worry about her Master's condition. He would look in severe pain at one moment and furious enough to throttle someone the next. "Is there anything I can do for you?"
Fuck. There she fucking went again, asking so many fucking questions that only had images lurid as fuck flooding his mind. And in all those fucking images, his pet was fucking naked, moaning - nay, she was fucking pleading, begging him to do all sorts of fucking dirty, lewd things—-
Mihail breathed hard, but it was no use.
Mother of Hell, how he wanted her covered with his cum. How he wanted her to be his, and if any other man—-
The marquis stiffened, his mind finally recalling what it had forgotten.
Rhapsody nearly stumbled back when the marquis' gaze snapped back to her without warning, and this time his green eyes were harsh with anger.
"You were here with another man earlier," the marquis asked coldly. "Were you not?"
Rhapsody blinked in surprise. "I was, and..." She picked her skirts up. "I must show you something, Master."
Mihail was incredulously when his pet suddenly spun around and ran away. He cursed under his breath even when he went after her. She was running in the directions towards the woods, and he had no fucking idea why.
His pet suddenly came into a stop. "Here, Master."
And indeed, the scent he had detected earlier was once again tainting the air around her, and when he reached his pet, she immediately gestured towards the ground—-
His gaze followed where she was pointing.
Shit.
The marquis' head began to pound.
What the fuck was it with his pet that she kept stumbling over dead bodies?
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