23: Can I kiss you?

It was all a blur after Sebastian had slapped me. So much so, that I had not the foggiest idea how I'd gotten to where I was at the moment- standing on the balcony, overlooking the flowers in the backyard which were visible under the floodlights. I had no idea why Sebastian thought it was a good idea to hit me, but instead of feeling hurt or sad, I felt more angry than anything. Yes, I disobeyed him, but I was Sebastian's 'bad girl' most of the time, and his 'good girl' only some of the time.
I wondered if he'd come out to find me, given that I probably did storm out of one of the most important meetings of my life. I was really not giving the Vampire Council, Sanguis, a good impression of myself. But to be fair, they were really not giving me a good impression of them either, and I still had no idea what the Game of Successio was. Perhaps storming out was not my best move for the night.
I contemplated going back inside for a moment, knowing full well the humiliation I would be facing and preparing myself to face it. Slowly, I turned around and began making my way to the entrance of the balcony, but was soon stopped when I saw Liam making his way through the entrance. He smiled at me when he saw me and said, "I thought you'd be here. You alright?"
I returned his smile, truly happy to be seeing him. "I don't know... I'm still trying to process what actually happened. Sebastian is no doubt out looking for me already, and if you've found me, I'm sure he's not too far behind. I should head back to the meeting-"
"Actually, the meeting was adjourned shortly after you left." Liam said, now in front of me. His face looked so gentle and soft, replacing his classic flirtatious expression he always carried.
I looked up at him, confused, and uttered out, "Adjourned, already? What was the verdict?"
Liam paused, looked around and then smiled softly. "Why don't we go somewhere else and talk about it?"
I hesitated for a moment and began playing with my fingers, nervously. Liam picked this up and took my hand gently in his. "Don't worry, I'm not trying to eat you alive. I just thought you'd like to hear it from me and not Sebastian."
He wasn't wrong there. In fact, I planned on not hearing anything from Sebastian for quite some time. And so, after some thought, I nodded. Liam chuckled and then squeezed my hand reassuringly before tugging me along.
"Where are we going, by the way?"
"Shh, it's a surprise. Somewhere Sebastian will definitely not find us."
And as he spoke, he began leading me up the stairs at the ends of the corridors. We climbed flights and flights and flights until eventually, not even I knew where we were. Once we'd made it to the last flight, Liam led me into the corridor. It was seemingly normal- dim-lit and filled with doors on either side of the passageway- until we reached about mid-way. There, in the roof was a small attic door. Liam tugged at the latch of it, allowing a flight of stairs to unfold.
"This is my special place, I created it a few years ago and since hardly anyone comes up here, it's been left untouched ever since."
He then held out a hand for me as he began to climb the stairs. I took it and followed him up. Once inside the attic, Liam closed the door and turned on the light revealing a very spacious, now well-lit room. To the end of it lay sheets covering what seemed to be many canvases peeking out from under them. Paints were placed against the walls and more canvases as well, these completed and beautiful paintings of the garden outside, the scenery of the beach, a quaint little cottage, a lake and beautiful paintings of vast and colorful fields of flowers.
"Welcome to my art studio." He said, leading me towards one of the corners of the room, where a few sofas and couches stood.
"Woah! This is... spectacular. You... created this place?"
"Mmm hmm. Years back when I was staying here. I figured it was a good place to waste away my days.
He motioned for me to sit next to him on one of the sofas, and I did so, but could not take my eyes off of the beautiful paintings. Each stroke, each colour... it was all pure perfection.
"You are so good at painting." I uttered.
"Thank you, when you've lived for as long as I have, you pick up a few things here and there."
And when he said that my mind reverted back to why we were here. I turned back towards him and sighed before asking, "What did they decide?"
His face fell immediately, the first indication of bad news, and then he sighed, the second. "Unfortunately, what Meera says is law, and despite most of the second-generation of nobles arguing against it, the Game of Successio will take place a month from today."
"W-what is the Game of Successio, and why is everyone so... against it?"
Liam fell deadly silent for a moment, and I had gotten complacent with the idea of him refusing to tell me anything, forcing me to get information elsewhere when, suddenly, he cleared his throat and sighed deeply. "The Game of Successio is basically a 'reset button’ for the nobles. One which they only attempted to use once before. It is a serious of games, deadly, deadly games which the nobles claim is aimed at finding the ultimate monarch. If you can survive the games, you can survive anything. But this ideology is false and misleading, just as it was back then. No one can win the Game of Successio... not a single person.
“It also has stages. First, the elemental stages: fire, water, air and earth. Each element has a different deadly challenge to face, one more lethal than the other. After the elemental stages, we move onto the two realms most influential: the celestial realm, more commonly known as heaven, and the demon realm- hell. The survivors thereafter need to then engage in a few final survival rounds in which they are required to kill off each other until only a single victor survives. Now, Sanguis did promise that during the elemental stages and realm stages there'd be less fatalities and more injuries. Those injured will be disqualified from the games meaning more second-generation nobles left to create the third generation. I, however, suspect that there could be a great deal of foul play involved so as to preserve only the nobles the council thinks are in line with their insane ideals. So, what I'm trying to say is, the further in the games you get, the more of a threat you are to the council and the more likely you are to die."
I gave Liam a moment to recover, and a moment for myself to recover and process the gravity of it all before I asked another question. "Did that happen back when you and Xavier were playing?"
Liam's eyes shot towards me, horrified for a moment and I could tell the events of the Game of Successio playing in his mind. He took a moment before answering.
"Yes, and no. That time he and I were the biggest threat to the council, yes, but unlike today, the vampire population was so badly diminished, they had no choice but to let us survive."
"And why were you two a threat?" I asked, knowing that I was definitely pushing my luck.
"Because we wanted to organise a peace treaty with the werewolves. We were the only nobles, aside from your mother and her brother-"
"I thought you and Xavier were the last of the true second generation." I said.
Liam nodded his head and said, "Yes, we were. Your mother and uncle were third generation vampires, the only of their kind. Their mother died when they were just infants, that was when the games were established."
"Then, does that mean that I am a fourth-generation vampire?"
Liam nodded, "Yes, and you, dear Phoenix, are the greatest threat of them all to Sanguis."
My heart thudded at the mention of this. I was the only fourth generation vampire, and to make it worse, I was a hybrid. The Game of Successio would therefore not be a game leading me to the crown, but a game leading me to my very own slaughter.
"So, what you're saying is... I'm as good as dead?" I muttered softly.
It was then that Liam realised what he'd said, and immediately, his eyes softened, and he took his hands into mine. "I'm sorry Phoenix, I didn't mean to scare you like this. And no, you are not as good as dead. I don't intend on letting you die... not like your mother."
This was the second time he'd mentioned my mother and it had me wondering how close he was to her.
"Did you know her well?"
Liam stayed silent a while before smirking and saying, "Your mother was, aside from Xavier, one of the closest friends I've ever had. You remind me a lot of her." He said, reaching up and taking a strand of my red hair between his fingers.
I, however, could not get over the fact that Liam and Xavier had been friends, and I wondered why they weren't anymore.
"What is the deal between you and Xavier?" I asked.
"That is a story for another day. One that, again, involves your mother." He said. He then tilted his head and inspected my face. He reached up, and touched the side of it, and I winced.
"This should have healed by now. Perhaps you're a little weak after all of today's shenanigans. Speaking of, what happened between you and Sebastian. I could tell at the dinner table that there was something... wrong between the two of you. Lovers quarrel?" He asked. But I could tell the question was nowhere near as innocent and out of curiosity as he expected me to believe. Nonetheless, he'd answered my questions, and now I was inclined to answer his. The only problem was how much of information I was actually willing to give him, especially with the entire situation being so insanely embarrassing.
"Well... I... um..."
Liam immediately sensed my reluctance to answer him and slowly, he began rubbing reassuring circles against the skin of my knuckles. "You can tell me. I'll take it to my grave, quite literally, if needs be."
I looked up into his brown eyes and inspected them for a moment. There was no malice, no trickery, no wishes of bad intentions. Instead, all I could see was dire curiosity and maybe, just maybe, the smallest traces of jealousy.
And so, with a heavy sigh, I began telling him the nightmare that was the relationship between Sebastian and me. By the end of it all, my face had developed a deep, red blush and I'd let go of Liam's hands and looked away from him in shame.
"Outrageous," *Oh dear, he thinks I'm an idiot*, was what I thought, the second he said that. But I was proven the contrary when he stood up suddenly and shook his head violently. "Sebastian is such and asshole! Who the hell does he think he is? Tricking you and abusing your feelings for him, that's just low, even for Sebastian."
It seemed Liam was more angered by the situation than I was, and the thought was quite amusing. My smile, however, disappeared when he looked down at me with the most intense look I'd ever seen in my life. It had me hot, bothered and blushing more than I was before, and for a moment, I wondered why he'd spare me such a glance.
"How could he ever just pretend to have feelings for you, Phoenix. He gets to have you within a heartbeat while some of us have to adore you from afar."
I was speechless, to say the least and could only whisper out his name in disbelief after he'd said that.
Liam gulped and began nearing me slowly, still with that look on his face. When he was right in front of me, he knelt in front of the couch so he could be on my level and then reached up to touch the other side of my face. The entire time, I just stayed there, frozen, encapsulated by his eyes which had now softened and become desperate.
"Can I kiss you?" He asked breathlessly, staring up at me.
---
Steamy chapter up next!
Stay safe! Stay healthy! Sending my love!
The Hybrid's Mates
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