30__Mr. King who?!

Night was falling fast and the sounds of the darkness were starting to get to Kamilla.
They had been walking through the forest for about twenty minutes now and Viktor was deep in thought, figuring out just which angle he’d rain fury down on Cassius from.
Kamilla heard the sound of crunching leaves in the dark behind her and yelped, practically jumping onto Viktor, her arm hooking around his neck.
He grunted. “Damn, are you trying to choke me?!”
Kamilla was too busy looking over her shoulder, eyes wide. “I-I heard something.”
“You heard nothing but your imagination,” said Viktor as he unhooked her arm and turned to face Kamilla.

She blinked up at him in the dark, focusing on his face as it was illuminated by the full moon. “How far away is the car, Viktor?”

Viktor slowly grinned and Kamilla’s breath hitched. His teeth were perfect and white, looking beautiful against the red blood that coated his chin and smeared his cheek. Damn, the moonlight on him was better than a snapchat filter.
“Why?” Viktor asked softly, his tone teasing. “Is little Kamilla scared? You scared of the dark, baby?”

Kamilla swallowed hard as she stared up at him. She was in the middle of the forest at night and covered in blood. This was *no* time to get turned on. *No* time to get turned on!
Kamilla bit her lip. Too late. Damn.
Ripping her gaze away from him, she hugged herself and walked on.

“Come here,” called Viktor from behind her.

Kamilla stopped and slowly turned. “Huh?”

Viktor sighed. “You’re exhausted and scared shitless. We’ll never make it to the car before midnight at this rate. So come here.”
Slowly, Kamilla walked over to him, wondering just what he would do and wondering even more why she was obeying him so damn easily.
When she reached him, Viktor simply stared down at her for a moment, admiring her big green eyes in the moonlight. How was she so bloody gorgeous?

Kamilla uncertainly touched a hand to her untidy hair. “W-what are you looking at?”
Viktor looked off to the side. “You look a mess. That’s what I’m looking at.”
Kamilla made a face, but before she could flip him the finger, Viktor had spun around and hoisted her onto his back.
She gasped, automatically gripping his shoulders so she wouldn’t fall off.

“What are you doing?!” Kamilla asked, her tone just shy of panic.

Viktor rolled his eyes and turned around to continue their journey. “Just shut up and hold on tight.”
Kamilla frowned and pouted. “Don’t tell me to shut up…”
She felt him shrug one broad shoulder beneath her hand. “Okay, have it your way.”

Before Kamilla knew what he meant, Viktor suddenly began to jog. With a gasp, she wrapped her arms tightly around his shoulders and hooked her legs around his waist, leaning into the crook of his neck. His jog turned into a sprint and before she knew it, the trees were flashing past them.
Kamilla had never seen a Vampire run before, much less a Vampire King, but she definitely had never expected that the trees would turn into a blur. At this point, Viktor was a fighter jet.
The sight became dizzying, so she shut her eyes and just held onto him as he held onto her.

He might have run for an hour or a minute, Kamilla wasn’t certain. She had lost herself in the pleasant feeling that filled her while they moved. The wind rushed through her hair, sending the red locks billowing back like a flame. Surely it was noisy, but Kamilla heard such a perfect silence, a silence splintered by nothing but the sound of their beating hearts.
She held him tighter. How could a Vampire be so warm? Seriously, Kamilla could do away with all her blankets on a winter night and replace them with Viktor.
“Kamilla.”
She sighed. She bet she’d be warm all night with Viktor, Blanket of Onyx.
“Kamilla!”
Kamilla’s head jerked up from Viktor’s shoulder, as she blinked her eyes open.

He was looking at her from the corner of his eye. “Awake now? We’re here. Get off my back, you weigh a ton.”
Kamilla hadn’t even formed a full scowl before he just let go and she shrieked, attempting to land on her feet.

Viktor walked off into the dark of a large clearing in the forest. Kamilla frowned, peering in the darkness he’d disappeared into as she tried to stand upright on her wobbly legs.
A few minutes later she heard the sound of an engine rev. Kamilla could have cried from the joy.
With headlights bright, a black sports car sneaked out from around a dark, square building that was previously invisible to Kamilla’s eyes and stopped right in front of her.
She blinked at it.
Viktor lowered the passenger window and leaned over to look at her. “You pull the handle and the door opens. That’s how you get in.”
Kamilla narrowed her eyes at him as she got in the car. “Ha-ha. Very funny.”
Locking the doors, Viktor took off up the path until they got to the road.
Kamilla sighed, leaning back in her seat as she closed her eyes and drifted off.
***************
Something roughly shook her shoulder. Kamilla shot upright in her seat.
Blinking, she looked around. No. Not her seat. In bed.

Kamilla stared down at the bed she’d woken up in, her face pure confusion.
Blinking, she looked at Viktor who was standing beside the bed, dressed in a dark grey suit, with hands in his pockets and a scowl on his face.

“Get up, will you?” he demanded. “What kind of Queen sleeps for twenty hours?”
Kamilla scowled and scratched her cheek. “Oh, bugger o… wait.” She quickly got on her knees and looked at Viktor with squinted eyes. “What? Twenty hours? That means we’re out of Onyx now… right?”
Viktor raised a brow. “It didn’t take twenty hours to leave Onyx. I’m counting your sleeping hours after we reached London, from the second I laid you in that bed. Rather generous of me to leave out the hours you slept in the car, if you ask—”
Viktor didn’t finish because Kamilla pushed him out of the way and ran for the balcony in the room.

Pushing back the glass sliding door, Kamilla looked out over the city of London in awe.
“Oh, my God!” With a laugh, she clapped her hands in excitement. “People!” Kamilla threw her head back and laughed with joy. She pointed down at the bustling streets. “People! There are *people* everywhere!”
Viktor stared at her for a moment as she hopped about in the unicorn pyjamas he’d put her in and then blinked. “Have you never seen humans before? Were you raised in a cave?”
Kamilla turned around with a huge smile, making Viktor jerk back. “Why’re you smiling at me like that? It’s scary.”

She laughed and shook her head as she approached him. “Oh, don’t be silly! I’m just so happy!” She did a twirl and landed on the bed. “I’m seeing other humans for the first time in long time.”
“What do you mean ‘other' hum—”
“Don’t spoil my mood!” Kamilla muttered through gritted teeth, keeping her mouth curved in a smile. For the first time, she glanced down at herself and gasped, wrapping her arms around herself. “Wait, what happened to my jeans and hoodie? Did you… did you *change* my clothes?!”
Viktor rolled his eyes. She said *change* like it was one of the seven deadly sins. “You mean, your dirty, torn, blood-soaked rags? Yeah, I did. Now do it yourself because we have somewhere to be.”
Kamilla watched him walk nonchalantly out of the room and scoffed. “Where?!”
Viktor didn’t respond.
*******************
They walked into the polished lobby of the tall, fancy building and Viktor sighed, turning Kamilla to face him.
“For the hundredth time, Kamilla. Relax! Nobody’s going to suddenly realize I’m a Vampire and come at me with a stake!”

Kamilla gasped. “Shh! Not so loud! Humans can be heartless creatures. Trust me, I lived with them.”

“So did I! For about five-hundred years!”

Kamilla closed her eyes and sighed. “See, it’s talk like *that* that’s going to get people sharpening stakes.”

Clenching his jaw, Viktor just walked away from her. Kamilla opened her eyes to see him already halfway to the front desk.
Oh, no! What if his eyes switched colors in front of the humans? Kamilla’s anxiety was in full control as she hurried off after Viktor.
She saw the receptionist’s mouth curve in a huge smile as she stood, nodding politely, but by the time Kamilla reached them, Viktor was already turning towards the elevators.
She hurried breathlessly after him, grateful she was wearing her white Adidas kicks. Noticing that most people were using the elevator that Viktor was currently ignoring and heading for the glossy, fancy one, Kamilla realized he was heading for the Exclusive elevator and quickly ran to grab his hand.

“Viktor! You have to use that—”

“Oh, my God,” said a stranger. “Good morning, Mr. King!”

Kamilla and Viktor turned to the man with Kamilla blinking in confusion. Mr. King? She shook her head at the older man. “Sorry, you have the wr—”

“Good morning, Roger,” said Viktor. Kamilla turned to him with wide eyes. What? Mr. King? Last she checked, he was Viktor of Onyx!

Roger was smiling from ear to ear. “Yes, yes, very good morning indeed, Sir! It’s been a few months, Sir.”

Viktor smiled kindly. Kamilla’s eyes widened even further. Viktor was smiling kindly! *Kindly!* Who was he? She squinted. Nope, not Charming. Was this a new personality?
“It has,” said the strangely kind Viktor. “The company’s still standing.”
Roger nodded enthusiastically. “Why, of course! With a CEO like you, no company would fail!”

Kamilla’s jaw nearly touched the floor. First Mr. King?! Now... what? *CEO?!*
She slowly turned and looked at Viktor.
Well, damn.