Chapter Sixteen

M r. Whyte frantically waved his arms in the air as soon as he saw the Marquis of Sangre striding past the school gates. "Milord, a moment!" He ran to the marquis, and unused as he was to physical exertion, was panting by the time he reached the nobleman.

"I had just come back from town," Mr. Whyte wheezed. My assistant..."

"Do get to the point," Mihail said impatiently.

"No letter," the steward managed to gasp out. "But...gentleman...called..."

Fuck.

It could only be Sir Isaac, come to finally speak to his ward.

"Where is he?" he demanded.

"The dormitory..." Mr. Whyte had barely finished speaking when the marquis strode off, a look of grim resolve on his face. Lady Eleanor's orders were only for the missives , he tried to convince himself. It was not his fault that a visitor was allowed to see Lady Rhapsody, and besides he had done his best to inform the marquis as soon as possible about it. That should be enough...hopefully.

Mihail stopped dead in his tracks when he saw an unexpected but familiar figure waiting in the dormitory's drawing room. "William Domnescu?"

The earl was about to answer when both of them picked out a strange smell permeating the air.

Fire.

A moment later, they heard a woman's agonizing screams—-

It wasn't Rhapsody , Mihail realized with relief.

But then another sound reached his ears-—

A soft, gasping sob...

Now that was undeniably Rhapsody, and both men moved at the same time and towards the same direction, too. The earl and marquis leapt out of the windows and scaled the walls, both noblemen having seen this as the quickest way to get to Rhapsody.

They crashed into another window as they followed the trail of Rhapsody's scent...and her tears.

The sound of shattering glass had Rhapsody dropping the blood-tipped paper knife in her hand just as a shadow fell over her, and large, strong hands that were slightly shaking cupped her face.

Mihail didn't give a damn about the still-burning corpse on the floor. All he had eyes for was his pet, whose tear-stained face was ripping him apart.

"Are you alright?" he asked hoarsely.

No. I am not alright. They were the words she wished to say, but she simply couldn't do it. To do so would not only be selfish but dishonorable, too.

"I heard you cry."

The words mortified her, and she found herself acting cowardly once again as she sought refuge behind dishonesty. "It was the shock of things." She pulled back stiffly from the marquis, and belatedly realizing that the Earl of Impietri was also in the room, curtsied to the other gentleman.

"There is no need to be so formal," William said gently.

Of course there fucking was, Mihail thought savagely. How the hell did his pet and the earl know each other, dammit?

"I'm not sure if it's her real name—-" Rhapsody gestured to Emily's corpse, now burnt completely black, "but that is Emily Masters, a schoolmate of mine and the vampire responsible for Mr. Walker's death." Among other things , Rhapsody thought, but that would probably more of interest to Lord Erou's than anyone else.

Mihail whitened. "You went against a vampire on your own?"

"How did you survive?" William was equally disconcerted. A human winning against a full-blooded vampire in close quarters? It was completely unheard of.

"She rarely attended our Blood Chemistry classes. I had a feeling—-"

Mihail's head began to pound. "You had a feeling?"

"It was a calculated feeling," Rhapsody clarified.

"But still a fucking feeling," he growled.

"That paid off," Rhapsody said resolutely. "I was indeed correct in my estimation. She was unaware that vampire blood is extremely flammable when mixed with certain chemicals, and it was how I gained the upper hand."

Mihail was torn between wanting to violently some sanity into his pet and sinking to his knees to beg for her forgiveness. She was his pet and heartkeeper, and because he had not fucking bonded her with blood, she had almost lost her life.

"I'm sorry I wasn't able to save you," he said harshly.

But Rhapsody didn't even seem to hear this, and she couldn't even meet his eyes as she asked politely, "If I may be excused, milord?"

"Rhapsody—-" He saw the way she stiffened at hearing him say her name, and he stopped speaking.

"I would like a private moment to compose myself."

Fuck. His instincts told him not to let her go, but wouldn't he be a selfish arse to deny such a reasonable request?

"If you need me—-"

"I truly just need a moment," Rhapsody repeated.

All thoughts of talking to her and telling her the truth were forgotten at the blankness in her eyes. Perhaps it was a familiar look to other people, but it was only then he realized that from the very first moment they met, her eyes had always been vibrantly expressive...until now.

"Alright, milady." He had to force the words out, and his fists clenched against the urge to follow her as he watched Rhapsody leave her room and listened to her steady heartbeat as she descended the steps at a sedate pace. There appeared nothing wrong, but still something persistently nagged at him.

"Mihail."

The earl's icy voice drew Mihail's thoughts back to the present, along with the memory of how the other man had seemed to address his pet in a manner too familiar for his liking. He turned to face William, asking with barely leashed violence, "How do you know my heartkeeper?"

William remained unruffled. "It's strange that you'd make such a claim," he murmured, "considering how I heard differently from Sir Isaac."

RHAPSODY WAS NOT QUITE sure where she was going. All she knew was that she wanted to be alone...and she wished to not see the Marquis of Sangre until she had completely defeated her mortifying urge to cry. If this was Being Normal felt like, then she never wanted to be normal again.

It was a good thing that her old school put much stock on spellwork , Rhapsody thought as she yanked a strand of her hair off and cast a spell to keep the marquis from tracking her. The spell wouldn't last forever, but it should be enough to give her time to compose herself.

Rhapsody's feet eventually took her past the graveyard and all the way up to Amstel Woods. A perfectly morbid thing to do, considering what she last encountered, but—-

Her footsteps came to an abrupt halt.

Surely...she wasn't hearing what she thought she was—-

A-wooooooooooooo!

Rhapsody broke into a run.

Unbelievable!

First, a man had died on her, and now wolves were after her for no reason? Had she unknowingly angered a dead nymph and caused the woods to jinx her?

Rhapsody cast a quick look around her and spied what seemed like silver thistles, which were harmful to wolves.

Finally!

But she had only managed to take a few steps when she heard a loud, rushing sound, and Rhapsody only had time to scramble back with a startled cry when she saw water coming out of nowhere and flooding the passage before her.

Either these woods were truly jinxed, she thought, or someone was Hell-bent on...

A rustling sound from above had her looking up, just in time to see enforcers leaping off branches and landing on the ground in a crouch. They rose up to their full height in impressive and breathtaking synchrony, but what had Rhapsody's jaw dropping was when she saw who it was that broke away from their formation and began walking towards her.

"L-Lord Erou?" Rhapsody actually found herself stammering. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm afraid we have orders, milady," he said gravely.

Rhapsody's confusion grew. "Are you arresting me for Emily's death?" The woman was responsible for Mr. Walker's murder and those women, too. Shouldn't they be giving her a medal instead?

"It's not that." While the earl spoke, a pack of wolves had already loped into view, and maybe it was only her imagination, but they appeared to stare at her for one long moment before releasing a single long howl.

Almost as if they were confirming her location , Rhapsody thought. But that wouldn't make sense...would it? She was decidedly uneasy now and turned to Erou again, asking, "What is this truly about, milord?"

"One man's grand idea for groveling," Erou answered simply, and when Rhapsody's body jerked at this, he knew that the girl hadn't mistaken his meaning. "You've probably guessed by now, but he's asked everyone he could help to track you down."

"So all of you..."

Erou nodded.

"And the wolves..."

"Commanded by the Marquis of Lunare," the earl explained, "and they were the first ones to pick your scent."

Because her spell had been meant to ward off men, she realized, and not four-legged beasts.

She swallowed hard as she heard the now-familiar sound of rushing water approaching them. "I am not ready to speak to him, Lord Erou."

He nearly flinched at the rare and unmistakable sound of pain in her voice. "Just hear him out, milady," he said quietly. "And if you still wish to leave, you have my word—-" He stopped speaking as water cascaded to the ground from a short distance, its waves consolidating to form an icy bridge.

The Marquis of Aquarius stepped off first, and following behind him was Mihail himself.

Green eyes took hers captive, and Rhapsody's heart skipped a beat. The rushing sound of water faded as the marquis strode towards her, and it was only when he reached her and rubbed a thumb over her cheek...

She was crying again , Rhapsody realized.

Mihail's chest clenched. He remembered how Sir Isaac had once told him that he had never seen Rhapsody cry over her mother's death, and even Zari claimed the same thing when Rhapsody had first been accused of murder. Only now did she cry...because of him.

"I am sorry," he said rawly.

"I am not sure if I can forgive you." She could still remember what Mr. Booth wrote, and the memory hurt very badly.

"That time when you tried telling me about the gift—-and I loved it, by the way."

Her lips pursed. "I will not rise to the bait." But... did he really?

"I loved it because you gave it to me, and I loved it even more because I know no one else but you can give me such a gift."

She struggled to remain silent. The marquis was very good at trying to bait her. She would give him at least that. But...what did he mean she was the only one who could give such a gift?

"I know I was also unforgivably cruel and callous that time."

Rhapsody nodded.

"I wasn't able to control my words. It was as if my demon half had taken over me."

She could see in her Master's eyes that this was true, and since she had never known him to lie...

"Are you alright now?" she whispered.

"Only if you say you will never leave me."

Rhapsody couldn't answer, but when the marquis tried reaching for her, she found herself instinctively stumbling back. It was the very first time for Rhapsody to reject his touch, and it was like a knife to her own heart...and his, with the stricken look on her Master's face.

But a moment later, his fingers suddenly curled around her nape, and when he bent his head down—-

She realized with a start what he intended to do.

No! Not now! Not when...no!

Panic struck her, and she tried to break away. But it was already too late, his fangs piercing the fragile flesh of her neck.

It was done, she realized with a shudder.

She could even hear and feel it, her blood flowing out and into his mouth as a bond between them came into life.

Look into my soul, milady.

It was her Master's voice speaking in her mind, his words beating in her heart.

Please, Rhapsody.

His voice was raw with regret, and it hurt to hear her Master plead.

I want you to see those two years that I believed you despised me. It is the only reason why I asked Sir Isaac to do what he can to seek another heartkeeper for you. I did it for you. And last night, when you came to me wearing another man's scent, my demon half took over...it was only when I spoke to the others that I found out that a blood bond was necessary to complete the heartkeeping process.

Why did you never do it, she asked painfully.

I've told myself that I was doing it for you, but now I know. It was for me. Because if you chose to leave me, and we were already bonded by blood...it would have killed me to hear your thoughts about another man, loving someone who was not me.

Her Master's voice turned scratchy with emotions, and because he had allowed her to see into his soul and take possession of his memories, she knew that such a thing had never happened to him before...just like she had never found herself crying until now.

I love you, Rhapsody. That is the long and short truth of it.

Because for both of them, it was as Lady Aurora said.

All I ask is one last chance.

It was love when it hurt too much to be anything else.

"Milord..."

The sound of her voice, frail and tremulous as it was, told Mihail that Rhapsody had made up her mind.

Slowly, he lifted his head. The first thing he saw was her eyes, and the marquis' powerful chest shook when he saw that her gaze was no longer blank. It was soft and lustrous once again, but this time it wasn't merely because of desire. Both of them were done hiding now, and he had no doubt the love in her eyes was reflected by his own gaze.

But still...he had to ask. "You forgive me for being a fool?" Had to be fucking sure, because if she still doubted him the slightest, he wouldn't fucking hesitate to think of more proof to convince her of his feelings.

And when he saw Rhapsody shake her head—-

The marquis whitened. Had he misunderstood her then? Was he only seeing what he wanted to see, and her eyes weren't looking at him with love?

Around them, he could feel the others stirring and shifting in acute discomfort. None of them had probably envisioned him being rejected , he thought numbly, and were now clueless on whether to leave politely or stay on to witness his end.

"Rhapsody—-"

"You were never a fool."

Ah.

"If you were, I would never be able to love you."

His lips compressed to form a straight line, his only way to keep himself from smiling.

"I am not like you, I'm afraid," Rhapsody apologized sincerely. "I am not attracted to what's Not Normal."

The marquis glanced at their audience. They had come to his aid without hesitation when he needed them the most. This was the least he owed them, and so he inclined his head, saying dryly, "It's fine. I won't take offense—-"

Laughter rang out even before he finished speaking, and even the wolves howled with them.

Rhapsody turned curious eyes to her Master. "I must have missed something." Her dark eyes peered up at him. "And it seems you know what it is."

"I do."

"It's funny?"

"Extremely," he said without hesitation, and another round of laughter ensued.

"I wish I could understand what the joke is," she confessed, "so I may try laughing, too."

He pulled her close and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Forget about it. I like you just the way you are."

Rhapsody nodded against his chest. "Naturally." She wrapped her arms around her Master's waist. "That's why I gave you the book, Master."

"What book?" Ilie couldn't resist asking.

"The Art of Being A Pervert," Rhapsody answered without hesitation.

AND THIS TIME, EVEN the marquis' own shoulders rocked with silent laughter. If they had been different people, this story would've likely ended differently. More tears would have been shed, and there would be more pain, too. But because it was his luck to have fallen in love with a girl like Rhapsody...

Normal , he thought, was fucking overrated.