Lilium

VI

I drew in a breath as I stopped in front of a door. Even the air around it felt intimidating. I anxiously bit my lip and raised my hand to knock on the wooden surface. I tapped twice. No response.

I shuffled my foot around. "Vesper? Are you in there? There's something I need to talk to you about," I said as I raised my voice a bit. Did I need to do that? Vampires have heightened senses, don't they? I knocked again.

The door eased open and a breath of air escaped me. I peeked inside. "Vesper?" I called out. I pushed the door open the rest of the way and stepped inside. I gazed around with a look of astonishment on my face. His room was beautiful. "Hello?" I sung.

I sighed, about to leave. That was when my eyes caught onto something. A shadow on the balcony. I took a step closer. It didn't look like Vesper. Said vampire's hair was longer and much paler and he was slimmer than the figure.

As if by command of the wind, one of the glass doors to the balcony opened. A small gasp left me. The man slowly turned around and I was met with purple glowing eyes. I froze in place upon making eye contact with them.

Within a fraction of a second, I heard the glass doors shatter and he was directly in front of me. He gripped my arm and wrist as he displayed his sharp fangs. He quickly began to move towards my neck and I felt them brush up against my skin. My eyes widened and I let out a scream.

Once I felt his hold on me disappear I fell to the floor. I backed away as tears streamed down my face. My hand slipped on a blade of shattered glass and a warm liquid pooled from my palm. I could feel blood slowly glide down to my shoulder from the small cut on my neck.

I felt a hand on my shoulder. "Evangeline!!" A voice exclaimed. I looked up with my teary eyes. Shiva was crouched beside me. His silver eyes scanned over me before landing on my hand. My lips trembled when I saw his eyes flash red. His gaze reluctantly met mine. "What happened?" He questioned softly, but seriously.

All I could do was cry. My heart was pounding in my chest and I couldn't get my breathing to calm down. Without thinking, I threw my arms around his torso and buried my face into his chest. He stiffened at my touch until his hand made its way to the back of my head.

I heard approaching footsteps. "Thought I smelled blood." Vesper. "And in my room no less. Heh, typical." He grumbled. I looked up at him from my place against Shiva and his face shifted into that of mild surprise. His eyes narrowed until he was glaring. "What happened?" He growled as he put his hand on his hip. I was shocked by his sudden anger.

~{}~

I took the glass of water from Shiva's hands as he handed it to me. "Thank you," I mumbled. I was sat on the sofa while Vesper leaned against the lounge room wall and Shiva had sat in one of the chairs across from me.

Vesper let out a breath. "So a man was in my room, he not only shattered my balcony windows, but attacked you as well?" He questioned and I nodded, feeling guilty.

My lips quivered. "I-I'm sorry." I put my head down and tightly gripped the glass in my bandaged hand. "I didn't mean to cause trouble o-or-" I cut myself off as I tried not to let a tear fall from my eye. "I'm sorry," I repeated as my voice cracked.

A gentle hand found its way to my shoulder. I jumped and looked up. Shiva gave me a reassuring smile as he kneeled beside me. "There's nothing for you to be sorry about. It's not your fault, printesa," he stated, rubbing his hand up and down my arm.

Vesper grit his teeth as he closed his eyes. "Obviously there's been an intruder. Again." He reopened his eyes, staring into mine. I frowned. I still felt guilty about that too. "We have to figure out if it's you they were after. And from there, we'll know what to do next," he said in a serious tone.

My brows furrowed. Me? Why would anyone go after-? "A human willingly living amongst vampires is not a common occurrence, printesa. It draws in the attention of everyone," Shiva butt in, interrupting my thoughts.

My lips parted in surprise. "You guys have told people about me?" I questioned in embarrassment as I shrunk back.

Vesper pushed himself off the wall. "No. We haven't. Which means if it is you they were after someone has been watching us." He grumbled, deepening his frown.

Shiva suddenly stood up and took his hand away. Even though his skin was ice cold, my body shivered without his touch. "Vesper, enough. He has no reason to intervene with our lives," the raven haired male said, sounding a little frustrated. He must've read his mind, but who is "he?"

The white haired vampire took a few steps towards Shiva. "As if someone such as him would respect our privacy. You know that when he gets bored he plays with his little toys. We just happen to be two of them." He growled out angrily.

I began to feel awkward. I started this, didn't I? It was my fault. I stood up and fumbled with my words. However, Shiva sighed. "Drop this," he said to Vesper. He then turned to me and I froze awkwardly. "Come on, printesa, I'll take you to your room." He smiled gently.

I glanced between him and Vesper before setting my glass down on the table and walking over to him, keeping my head down. I felt his hand slide around my shoulder and we started walking towards the grand hall to go to the stairs.

I looked back up one more time to steal a glimpse at Vesper. He was frowning in our direction. Although, it wasn't his normal frown. Whatever it was, I couldn't pinpoint it. Dare I say it seemed softer?

I turned back around when I heard Shiva open the doors to the greeting hall. We walked through into the hall and up the stairs. I kept my head down in guilt. Upon starting our walk down the corridor, Shiva's voice startled me from my thoughts. "It's not your fault, printesa. Sometimes Vesper finds it difficult to not expect the worst of people," he explained with a sigh. I looked up at him confusedly. He was just staring ahead of us. "I can't tell you who we were talking about, but it's for your own safety, I promise." He finally looked down at me and gave me a small reassuring smile.

I nodded. I still couldn't rid my mind of what happened only about an hour prior. Without even realizing it, we had made it to my room and Shiva opened the door. He led me inside and shut the door behind us. He ushered me over to my bed and gently laid me down.

He gave me a soft look and leaned down to my level, adjusting my blanket. "Goodnight, printesa," he whispered. He stood up and turned around to leave. However, out of fear, I grabbed the sleeve of his poet shirt. He quickly gazed back down at me.

My eyes watered in fright. "I'm scared. Please," I silently begged. I didn't want to be left alone. What if whoever it was came back? "Shiva." I whimpered out.

His brows furrowed in pity. He gently took my hand in his as he turned back to me. He kneeled in front of the bed and stared into my eyes. Slowly, he pulled something from his pocket. I couldn't see what it was before he took my wrist and I felt something cold brush against my skin.

I looked down at my wrist when he pulled his hand away and kept the other one underneath mine. My lips parted in surprise. "This will protect you from whatever powers the supernatural might possess. I won't be able to read your mind, Vesper won't be able to use his ability on you. Don't ever take it off and you'll be okay," he stated. He stood up and leaned over me. He brushed my hair out of my face and slouched over. I felt cold lips press against my forehead before he leaned back and slid his hand out of mine. "Goodnight Evangeline." He then walked out of my room, quietly closing my door behind him.

Using the moonlight that slipped through the curtains, I studied the jewelry around my wrist. It was silver and had deep red gemstones. I thought back to what he said and the gentle kiss he placed upon me. I just had to believe him. I sighed as I allowed my body to relax. I'd be okay.