Serene’s POV

Arlo took my hand in his as we stepped inside the portal. My head spun as we rose in the air and twirled around. He didn’t let go of my hand and held on tight. Finally, our feet touched solid ground and we stepped outside the portal.

Zian and Crimzon were standing there with a few of our royal guards. Zian had a huge grin plastered on his face while Crimzon was holding a bouquet of chrysanthemums a polite smile playing on her lips. As soon as he saw me he rushed toward me and held me in a tight grace. Arlo let go of my hand so I could hug him back.

"I missed you sooooo much, I can’t believe you are here." He finally let go but held onto my shoulders. "Look at you, my my you have become so strong Serene. Although it looks like you haven’t been sleeping much lately." His smile filled me with warmth, I couldn’t even describe how I had missed this schmuck.

"I missed you too and it’s indescribable how I feel to be finally home." I smiled back at him. "I need details, all the small, tiny, minute, mini, micro details. You better not keep anything from me." Zian went on and on when Crimzon came forward and pulled his ear. "Ouch!"

"Let her breathe, she just got here." Crimzon scolded him before handing me the bouquet with a smile: "Welcome! Serene it’s so good to have you back." I took the bouquet and replied: "Thank you so much Crimzon."

Zian’s eyes finally fell on Arlo as he extended his hand: "Heya! what a joyous moment I am experiencing! I never thought I would ever live long enough to see Serene bringing her boyfriend along." Leave it to Zian to embarrass me as I shot him a deadly look. Arlo on the other hand found it rather amusing.

"Heya! I am afraid I am only a chauffeur, seeing she reached home safely." Arlo replied in his soft sexy voice as he shook his hand. "What? Does Institute have such handsome chauffeurs? Why didn’t I apply too I wonder?" Zian acted as if he was lost in thoughts.

"Seriously, Zian? Crimzon is standing right here, stop flirting." I scolded him. "I am not flirting, just praising a gorgeous-looking person. And, I don’t believe for a second someone like him doesn’t give you butterflies. You are lying Serene." Zian never knows when to shut up. I grabbed him by his ear and pulled him away from Arlo before he could embarrass me more. "Keep your mouth shut if you wanna live." I threatened him with an angry expression. "Ok ok, sorry" he smiled at me sheepishly.

"Serene, I should head back home now. My job here is done. I will see you back at the institute." Arlo called me before handing my suitcase to one of our royal guards. "No way, we can’t let you leave like that. You should come to the castle and have lunch with us. And, stay the night so we can properly thank you for bringing Serene home safely." Zian replied promptly.

Arlo smirked at him before replying: "I am afraid your definition of lunch is very different from mine." Zian’s eyes widened a bit at his answer and he looked at me in bewilderment.

"Huh! still find him gorgeous? His favourite kind is Fae too. Maybe you can arrange some for him." I raised my eyebrow at Zian whose face was a tale of horror as he took a few steps back from Arlo. I tried to hold back my giggles but Zian’s face made that feat extremely difficult.

"Relax, not all of us are as evil as fae kind likes to think. Don’t worry I won’t bite." Arlo tried to make him feel a bit at ease while Crimzon and I burst out laughing at his reaction. I was sure Zian had never met a vampire before, as hardly any visited our realm and he had never been outside it.

"Umm.. y..es yes, of course. Any friend of Serene is always welcome." Some colour had returned to his face but he still seemed a bit wary of Arlo.

"We should head to the castle now. Arlo I would like you to stay for a bit. You are our guest," I told him and he nodded slightly as we all began to walk toward the castle.

"How are father and grandmother?" I asked Zian. "They are in good health, although both of them miss you dearly. Your father is away on some urgent trip but is expected to be back by tomorrow." He filled me in.

Arlo seemed impressed by our realm, I could see him looking around and smiling. "Is Wampir Realm similar to Fae Realm?" Crimzon asked him curiously.

"Not really, our realm is kind of darker. As you know vampires are not very fond of light, although it doesn’t hurt us it drains our energy super fast, we need to feed a lot when exposed to sunlight for long hours. So, our realm is situated on the darker side of our world and the sun shines very less over there. Even when it does, it’s not very bright. Therefore, hardly anything grows there because it’s very cold and dark. This realm is stark opposite to ours, it’s bright, glistening with energy and greenery, and above all it’s warm." Arlo explained the differences between the two realms.

"Wow, seems like a creepy place," Crimzon exclaimed. "As a matter of fact, vampires are creepy so it’s a fitting place for them." He smiled.

We had reached the castle gate, "Welcome back Princess Serene," Kilamin had returned. He was the head of Fae’s military forces and was a ruthless warrior. He was only 23 years old but already held such a vital position. He had been away on military exercises when I left. Although I had known him since childhood, I had never liked him because of his crazy ambitious nature. He would use any means to get what he wanted and would kill anyone who would pose a threat to our realm without any remorse or trial.

"Kilamin!" I nodded. He stiffened when his eyes met Arlo. "He is my guest, and under my protection as long as he is here," I explained before he would do something to Arlo. "I see, I hope your guest knows our realm’s rules and protocols." He eyed Arlo dangerously who appeared unfazed in return.

"That’s enough Kilamin, we are tired and would very much like to rest. So if you are done with your interrogation I would like to take my guest inside." My anger was trying to resurface.

"My apologies, Princess Serene. It was not my intention to sound rude to your guest. It’s just if I had known prior that we would be having such a guest. I would have made proper arrangements." He bowed his head slightly.

"Make them now," I ordered and lead Arlo inside our castle across the huge gardens as Kilamin stepped aside. "I never knew you could be so authoritative," Arlo whispered in my ear. "I am the princess of this realm, what were you expecting?" I retorted back and he smiled with a smirk. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Zian and Crimzon were behind us, arguing about what Arlo eats or doesn’t eat, making Arlo smile even wider. "I must say, I like your friends. They are kinda cute like you." I side-eyed him but didn’t say anything. As we reached the inner door and guards threw it open to welcome us, flower petals a thousand of them were thrown at us from the sky. I looked up and fairies and fae were flying in the air throwing flower petals down at us. My heart was filled with warmth at that moment and I inhaled deeply to take in the smells and feels of my realm.

At that very moment, I heard someone calling my name from inside the castle: "Serene..."