43: Do you love my son?

The water of the shower felt warm and soft against my skin. I bit my lip, absently thinking back to my encounter with Demetri. We hadn't done anything in particular to have me fantasising about him in the shower, but the more I thought about him, the more I pictured his body. I could practically feel his skin under my fingertips, and as I remembered the sensation, I dragged my fingers against my arms, wishing his skin was against mine. It was clear my lusty instincts had grown worse over the duration of my stay here. I suppose I had Xavier and Liam to thank for that.
I still couldn't believe what Demetri had said before he left so abruptly. He'd implied it before, yes, but saying it out loud just made it feel so real. It was yet another reason for me to go and find out the truth, to find out about Diana and how she and I were related. Perhaps knowing who I was, and who she was to me, would make this a little easier. Perhaps it would make me braver, because at this point, I was too afraid to love anyone.
And so, when I finished my very sensual shower, my first task- after getting dressed of course- was finally reading Primus. I sat in the comfort of my bed and ran my fingers along the smooth surface of the black cover, causing a sense of deep excitement within me.
I slowly opened the book up but was surprised to find that contrary to the title, the book was written in English, and not Latin.
**Property of Diana Alessia Lorenzo**, it read on the first page in large, inked letters. It seemed this book didn't belong to Xavier's family. It belonged to mine.
**The Art of Soul Magic, discoveries made by Diana Lorenzo: Sebastian gave me something today to celebrate our union...**
But as I started reading, the words seemed to lift off of the page and float around me, allowing the black ink to smudge against my vision. *Great, after a long day of... intimacy, another vision was clearly what I needed right now.*
And as the ink doused me, I felt my lids begin to close against the darkness I was surrounded by. It was silent for a while, and then suddenly, the faint noise of footsteps began to sound from behind me. My eyes opened immediately, and I found myself breathless at the sight before me. Sitting on two golden thrones were the grandest vampires I'd ever seen in my life. A young, beautiful woman sat on the left. She had long, beautiful blonde hair, the same colour of Sebastian's and cold, calculating blue eyes which pierced right through me as she stared at me, contradicting her plastered on smile. Next to her sat her husband- I assumed- in his grand handsomeness. His facial features were similar to Sebastian's, sharp and absolutely stunning, and when he smiled, it reached to his soft brown eyes which peeked beneath shoulder-length black hair. His parents, clearly.
Eventually the source of the footsteps appeared next to me, panting heavily.
"Ah, Sebastian. What was it you wanted to talk to your mother and I about? And why have you dragged young Diana into it as well? I hope you aren't going to try to use her to get me to give into one of your outrageous requests. The poor girl has enough on her plate." He said gently. I already liked his father.
Sebastian turned towards me and took my hand in his cool one, making my heart thud erratically beneath my chest.
"Sebastian, don't do this," I whispered beneath my breath.
But Sebastian only shook his head and held my hand tighter before returning his gaze to his parents. "I want to marry Diana."
Trust Sebastian to be blunt and to the point. His father became silent and began to sink into a state of deep contemplation. His mother, however, began to redden, and her cold eyes became colder, on the brink of freezing over. What the hell did Sebastian just get Diana and me into?
"Marry her?" His mother spat. "No, marry *it*! How could you even dare to think of such a thing. And I suppose after marriage you'd want to mate with *it* too, so you can destroy our royal bloodline?"
Diana was not wrong to fear Sebastian's mother. The coldness of her glare as she stared at me was something utterly horrifying. In fact, I wished I'd have just woken up then and there.
Sebastian growled out lowly and pulled me closer to his side. "Her name is Diana. She's not some *thing*. I love her and I will marry her. And yes, we *will* have children. Lots of hybrid children."
I could feel a soft blush creep on my cheeks as he said this, and I felt the corners of my mouth perk up into a gentle smile. Sometimes Sebastian knew the right things to say, and although it was in a completely different situation with a completely different person, I still found it endearing.
Sebastian's mother, however, did not, and immediately, she stood up from her throne and stormed up towards me.
"What have you done to my boy you whore!" She yelled. Her hand was in the air, ready to strike me, but before the blow even struck, Sebastian's hand caught her wrist and his father yelled out, "That's quite enough Katherine!"
She froze for a moment, startled and returned her gaze to her husband. "But Johnathan-"
"Silence." He growled out and she almost whimpered. I thought Sebastian got his 'terrifying' quality from his mother, but I was wrong. The handsomeness of his father's face distorted into a piercing gaze of anger, and I wondered if he'd try to strike me too.
"You want to marry Diana, am I correct?" He asked, now a little calmer.
"Yes father, I want to marry her." Sebastian said, letting his mother's wrist go and then snaking his hand around my waist. His father stayed silent for a while, again, retreating into a state of deep contemplation.
"She is engaged to someone else though, am I correct?" He asked.
I bit my lip before clearing my throat and saying, "Yes, King Johnathan, I am engaged."
"Do you love the man with whom you are engaged?"
"I hardly think that matters!" Sebastian's mother scoffed, earning her a glare from her husband.
I stayed silent for a while and turned my gaze to Sebastian who had the softest look on his face. One of reassurance and comfort. Just seeing him so sincere was enough to make me brave.
"No King Johnathan, I do not love him."
"My son is offering you a marriage proposal because he loves you. Do you love my son?" He asked sternly.
My heart was aching as Phoenix in anticipation, for the next words which I knew would leave her lips. Although I felt connected to Diana, I still couldn't quite come to terms with the fact that Sebastian had loved her. But I made myself listen, nonetheless. I had to.
"Yes. I love him." I uttered. And for a moment, it felt as though I were truly saying those words too. As though I'd just confessed my feelings for Sebastian, ones I knew I should not have had.
When the words left my mouth, Sebastian reached for a hand of mine and brought it up to his lips where he kissed at the back of my palm.
"Well then there's only one solution," his father began. He then stayed silent, gazing between the two of us, only making me more nervous. "You'll just have to marry my son, not Malcolm.”
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Stay safe! Stay healthy! Sending my love!