A Bastard's Allure-Chapter 125: Gabriel: The Damsel In Distress

Darion joined Gabriel in the hallway after he had come out of another room. They had ransacked the whole castle but still no whiff of her.

"She’s not in the garden either," Darion reported.

The other search team appeared on the other end of the hallway with forlorn looks on their faces.

"She must be here, somewhere," he refused to give up. He hadn’t caught her scent either.

"Maybe she left," Darion suggested.

"She wouldn’t do that without telling me." And turning to the knights, "Ask around the capital. Find if anyone caught sight of her."

A sudden wave of pain suddenly hit him in his head. It was like a migraine, a sharp one that sent him kneeling on the floor. He could feel Darion’s hands all over him and his concerned voice as background noise.

Veins popped on his forehead and neck as if he was being bound to a covenant he never asked for. His gums itched before his fangs materialized, an inch longer than they used to be.

"What’s happening to him?" The knights around asked but none of them dared to step closer apart from Darion. In fact they had drew their swords, ready to kill him if anything turned haywire.

"I don’t know! I’ve never seen him like this!" Darion replied. He held him tightly to prevent his head from hitting the cold floor.

And then it stopped. It was as if it never happened in the first place. Gabriel was just staring at the ceiling trying to process what had happened.

His eyes traveled around to see the wary faces of the knights before settling on Darion.

"What just happened?" He asked. The last thing he remembered was standing and the next, he was cradled in Darion’s arms like a helpless baby.

"I have no idea," Darion replied. He held his arm and helped him to his feet.

"What?" Darion asked the frozen knights. "Get back to work you sons of whores!" The knights dispersed quickly leaving the two in the hallway.

"It must have been something scary to make them that alert. Did I grow wings?" Gabriel couldn’t help but ask.

"For a start, your fangs are still out," he pointed. And only then did Gabriel feel it. They were more sharp than ever, grazing his lips. He tried retracting them but nothing!

"I’d be scared too if I were human," Darion added with a hint of sarcasm. "Retract them before you scare the whole lot in the palace." He started walking but Gabriel stood rooted at the same spot. Darion halted in his tracks and turned to look at him.

His usually golden eyes had slightly dimmed now and filled with dread. His fangs, still long, had grazed his lips to draw a fresh line of blood. Their eyes met.

"I can’t!" Gabriel deadpanned.

"What do you mean you can’t?" Darion asked. It was well known that bastards could display and retract their fangs at will, the only positive trait they possessed at least.

"I’ve tried," he said, his gold dimming further.

Darion knew that if the humans saw him like this for another ten minutes or longer, they’d take him for a vampire. The earlier scenario had just proved that right. They had left him for dead in the battlefield. He didn’t want to imagine what they would do to him if he turned out to be the creature they despised.

He walked towards him and pushed him to the wall just as a couple of knights walked by.

"Why would you do that?" Gabriel asked. Darion’s closeness didn’t settle too well with him.

"They’ll kill you if they find out what you’ve become," he replied.

"I’m still me," Gabriel said.

"Will you shut up for once and let me save you?"

"I don’t need saving," Gabriel retorted.

He dragged the unwilling bastard along, blending into the shadows.

"Remind me again. Why do we need to hide?" Gabriel pressed. At this rate, Darion felt like knocking him out.

"If only you could shut up," he said, looking across the empty hallway.

Gabriel tried sealing his lips but the fangs were too long. "Unfortunately, I can’t," he replied but Darion was already on the move to catch the joke.

They made it to Elena’s chambers without being noticed. But there was no one else inside.

"Now what?" Gabriel asked, his hands dropping to the side.

"Do you know how ridiculous you’re looking when you make that face."

"I’m handsome?" Gabriel asked. He turned around to meet with Elena’s full length mirror and a completely different creature staring at him.

Now that he saw his own reflection in the mirror, he realized Darion was right. His usually golden eyes had lost there color into a vivid red that was growing stronger with each passing second. His skin had turned paler and his fangs longer than he had anticipated.

Even he was scared of his own reflection. His hands traveled across his face softly caressing the fangs.

"My handsome face!" He mourned.

"I wouldn’t be worried about my face if I were you..."

The door suddenly flew open to reveal a handmaiden with a basket of sheets in her hands. She halted in her tracks when she noticed two people present in the room. Her gaze flew to Darion and to Gabriel, her heart racing when her eyes locked with those bloody red ones.

Instinctively, the basket fell from her hands, her chest heaving heavily. Darion knew she was about to make a stupid decision, just like every other human.

"Don’t," he said, his hand stretched in a halt gesture. But the maid sprung into motion, ready to evade the scene and report to the higher ups.

"Fuck!" Darion cursed before he chased after her. Just before she could take the corridor that led to the main hallway, he jumped, getting hold of her by the hem of her dress. She struggled against his grip but he wasn’t taking any chances.

His hand covered her mouth and held her in a standing position until she calmed down. And just when he thought it was over, she bit the palm of his hand before slipping away.

Darion held his bleeding palm and resigning himself to a fate he was yet to accept. If they were to execute one bastard, why would they spare another?