NIGHTS OF HALLOW

Perdita slowly opened her eyes, feeling her head throb together with her beating heart that haven’t calmed down since Marco entered the room with the witches.

She slowly sat up on the bed feeling her body arch all over. She shivered because of the coldness of the room. The open window caught her attention at first, followed by the man who stood near it making her heart skip a beat in fear, but then relaxed when she saw the striking long red hair of the man. Sthena.

”You are awake,” Sthena spoke without turning to look at her. Perdita rubbed her arms with her palms, constantly shivering from the cold that came from the open window. From the window, she saw the white flakes falling in gentle drops.

”Why did you open the window? It is cold.” Perdita spoke with a frown as she continued to create friction using her palm on her arms.

”Yes, it is,” Came the nonchalant reply of Sthena, still staring out of the window.

Perdita approached him with a confused look. She stopped midway, feeling as if something was amiss. But then, things had been amiss since the day started.

”Is everything alright? How is Marco doing?” Perdita skeptically inquired now standing beside Sthena. She couldn’t see him as he had his face turned away from her.

”He is fine,” Sthena’s answer came out curt, and oddly, his voice sounded strange, unlike his usual self where he would go all the way to reassure her.

”Okay, but why...what are you doing here?”

”Instead of staying to watch over your brother?” Came the next question of Sthena and Perdita could detect the humor in his voice. What was happening?

”Y—yes,” Perdita responded, slightly finding it strange to talk with Sthena. Maybe she should go back to addressing him as the king if he thinks she was too informal with him.

Perdita cleared her throat, still rubbing her hand on her arms to warm up. If it had been before, Sthena would have closed the window and made sure she was comfortable, but now, he was acting like a stranger to her. Had she been thinking too much about his kindness all this while? Was he doing all those things so he could get what he wanted in the end?

Perdita couldn’t help the questions that swirled in her head while she waited for Sthena’s reply that never came. She took a deep breath and began to speak, ”Your Majesty,” She called and immediately heard the clicking of Sthena’s tongue showing his displeasure over her calling him by his title.

”Back to being formal, are we?” Sthena spoke, finally turning his head to look at Perdita.

Perdita swallowed a lump in her throat, feeling like she did something wrong. She noticed the gleam in Sthena’s red eyes and then something else. An expression she couldn’t pinpoint that marred his face.

”I...I,” Perdita stuttered to speak only to be silenced by Sthena’s cold palm cupping the side of her cheek making her shiver more from the cold that had already enveloped her.

”You don’t have to,” Sthena interrupted her with expressionless red eyes staring into her green ones. He continued speaking while rubbing his cold thumb on Perdita’s jaw. ”You don’t have to force it if you are not comfortable calling me by my name.”

Perdita swallowed another lump in her throat. She felt the need to talk but was again cut off by Sthena. He said, ”Your brother is where he is meant to be now.”

His answer got Perdita confused for a while, she quizzed, ”What do you mean? Did Serena already cure him? I want to see him.”

”No,” Sthena declined. His answer brought more confusion in Perdita’s head. She asked, ”What do you mean by no? I can’t see him? You said he is where he should be. Where else should he be if not in his room? What exactly do you mean? And where is my brother? You are scaring and confusing me.” The words all came out burning inside her throat as she wanted to get the answer to her questions immediately.

Sthena turned to fully look at Perdita, his hands now inside his robe pockets. He watched Perdita for a while before answering her, ”You will find out soon.” He smiled at the end of his words.

Perdita blinked at first, her eyebrows furrowing deeply into a frown. Just then, she saw Sthena’s red eyes start to change to another color. Green? But that was not the only thing she noticed, his face too started changing, slowly morphing into another person’s face.

What was that?!

Perdita took a cautious step back. Her eyes widened in fear. What was happening?

”You are scared,” Sthena remarked with a smile that looked creepy because of his changing face. Even his voice sounded different, to be precise, it was strange.

Perdita blinked and instinctively took another step back, the fear now evident on her face, coupled with the cold seeping into her bones.

”What are y—you doing?” Perdita’s voice cracked at the end of her question, showing how scared and worried she was beginning to feel.

Perdita took two more steps back, and this time, Sthena followed her. This continued until Perdita was trapped with Sthena’s body against the wall, his face doing the horror of slowly morphing into what it was changing into.

”You have always been a strong woman. What happened now? I can’t deny that I haven’t come to love you for who you are and everything about you.”

Sthena’s hand cupped the side of Perdita’s face while the other hand circled her waist making sure to keep her close to his body. He took the strands of her hair this time and brought it close to his nose and sniffled the scent of it.

Perdita stilled. Her heart skipped a beat when the now green eyes of Sthena gaze into her confused and scared ones. She still couldn’t comprehend what was happening and why Sthena was changing the color of his eyes and his face too. She heard him continue to speak with his face an inch away from hers.

Sthena continued, ”From the tips of your hair, your face, your lips, the curves and swell of your body has been imprinted in my brain that I can’t seem to hold myself from staying near you or touching and kissing every part of your skin.”

The words that left Sthena’s lips felt like a hot caress and at the same time warming every part of her body. Places she couldn’t bring herself to think about.

Her heart skipped an uncontrollable beat when his soft lips grazed her ear, moving down to her neck and he pressed his lips deeply into her skin.

Perdita heard Sthena hum in approval on her skin before he slightly pulled away to only close the remaining space between them with his body pressed against her body as if he was trying to merge them together.

A gasp escaped Perdita’s lips when she felt something hard pressed against her belly button followed by Sthena’s lips that resumed to kiss her neck, sucking it in the process.

”You drive me crazy, Perdita.” Sthena husked against her skin with his body still pressed into her as he slightly rubbed himself against her earning him a not-so-quiet moan from Perdita as his skillful lips continued to work on the soft spot of her neck.

Perdita seemed to be losing herself in the sensation Sthena was making her experience for the first time. Having not experienced something sinful yet alluring before, she couldn’t help but feel scared.

Her hands moved towards Sthena’s chest to push him away, but he caught them before they could touch his chest, swiftly pinning them on the wall. He rubbed his body against hers again, erupting another moan from her lips.

”Ahh,” Perdita winced in between the moans when Sthena bit the tender flesh he had been sucking on. Before long, his fangs sank into her neck, drawing blood into his mouth and he hummed in approval, the sound vibrating on Perdita’s chest.

Perdita couldn’t control the moans and sighs that escaped her lips each time Sthena sucked on her neck while using his body to rub on her. She could feel the heat of his hardness on her skin even though there were clothes between them.

Sthena continued to suck the sweet blood of Perdita that awakened every nerve in his body, her moans fueling the desire in him.

Perdita felt lost in the sensation and ministrations of Sthena’s lips and at some intervals, he would grind himself on her.

Wait!

Something seemed to click in Perdita’s head as her eyes quickly snapped open against the wish of her body to fully succumb to the warmth of Sthena’s body.

”Sth...ahh. Please wait!” She managed to voice out and this broke the warm lips of Sthena on her neck, but he didn’t release her from his hold.

Sthena lifted his head to look at Perdita who noticed the lust and desire hooded in his now green eyes she didn’t know how it came about.

”W...we shouldn’t be doing to do this. My brother, I want to see him now.” Perdita said trying to appear brave in front of Sthena’s changing face and demeanor. She noticed how a frown was quick to appear on his face.

Sthena sighed and stepped away from her with a dangerous glint replacing the lust that had been in his eyes a while ago.

”Your brother—” Sthena paused as if deep in thought before he resumed to talk, ”—It’s where he should be and you will soon follow him there too.”

”What do you mean?” Perdita questioned with a frown. Before she could question him more, his face finally morphed into what it had been changing into. The long red hair also changed, finally revealing who the person was. It was not Sthena!

There was an evident shock and horror on her face as she exclaimed, ”Y—YOU!”