Free Web NovelInside the castle, everything was different.
In the outer city, people looked at Matt with contempt, confusion, or that annoying mix of both.
No one there seemed to know who he really was.
To them, he was just a man in a ridiculous outfit, walking beside Princess Iris.
Which was true.
But inside the castle…
It was different.
The moment Matt and Iris crossed the first main hallway, several vampire women stopped what they were doing.
Maids.
Guards.
Minor nobles.
Women in elegant dresses with red eyes shining under the lamplight.
All of them lowered their heads.
"Princess Iris."
"Princess Matt."
Matt stopped for a second.
His eyebrow twitched.
'No.'
They kept walking.
Another pair of guards bowed.
"Welcome, Princesses."
'No, no, no.'
Farther ahead, a maid carrying a tray of red-filled glasses quickly stepped aside and curtsied.
"It is an honor to see you return, Princess Matt."
Matt clenched his teeth.
He wanted to correct her.
He wanted to tell her he wasn’t a princess.
That he wasn’t a woman.
That if one more person used that title, he was going to start breaking furniture.
But he was tired.
Too tired.
He had gone more than a day without eating, without sleeping properly, and while putting up with Iris.
That was historic-level torture.
So Matt simply kept walking with a rigid expression.
Iris, of course, noticed.
And smiled.
"How popular you are."
Matt didn’t look at her.
"Shut up."
"They all seem happy to see you."
"They’re greeting a lie."
"A very polite lie."
Matt shot her a hateful glare.
Iris let out a small laugh and continued down the hallway as if the place belonged to her.
It did.
That made it worse.
The castle was exactly the same as in his memories.
Black walls.
Red carpets.
Tall columns.
Enormous windows letting in the faint light of dawn.
Everything was elegant, cold, and far too large.
As if the entire building had been built to make anyone who entered feel small.
Matt hated that.
He also hated that part of him remembered the way perfectly.
The hallways.
The stairs.
The turns.
The doors.
'Disgusting,' he thought. 'My body mind remembers this place.'
They passed through a gallery where several enormous paintings hung on the walls.
Portraits of vampire women with arrogant gazes.
Ancient queens.
Princesses.
Warriors.
All with that unbearable expression of superiority that seemed hereditary.
Matt walked past a painting covered by a dark cloth.
He didn’t need to see it to know which one it was.
For a few months, there had been a portrait of him there.
Or rather, of the body the queen had given him.
Dressed in white.
Long hair.
Red eyes.
A serious expression Matt remembered never authorizing.
'If that thing is still under there, I’m burning it.'
Iris noticed where he was looking.
"We can make another one if you want."
"I don’t want one."
"We looked good."
"I said I don’t want one."
"It’s a lovely portrait."
"It was propaganda."
Iris smiled.
"That too."
Matt walked faster, and eventually they arrived in front of enormous doors. Two panels of black wood reinforced with dark red metal.
Matt recognized them instantly.
The throne room.
Matt’s stomach tightened.
Not from hunger this time, though he was still hungry.
From something else.
Iris glanced at him from the corner of her eye.
"Nervous?"
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Matt did not answer.
Iris smiled wider.
"You are."
"Shut up."
"Your face changed."
"My face is tired."
"And nervous."
Matt slowly turned his head toward her.
"Iris."
"Yes?"
"I’m using you as a shield if something goes wrong."
"How cruel."
"I’m being honest."
The doors began to open.
Grrrrr!
The heavy sound echoed through the hallway.
But before they could enter, something came running out from inside.
Two girls.
Both had blue hair and eyes of the same color, a cold, bright shade that stood out far too much among all the red and black.
They passed by Matt and Iris with quick steps.
One looked annoyed.
The other looked on the verge of crying.
Matt followed them with his eyes.
'Who were they?'
The girls didn’t even look at him.
They only left the room and disappeared down the hallway.
Matt frowned.
Iris watched him.
"Curious?"
Matt looked back at her.
"Shut up."
"You’re in a good mood."
"I’m hungry."
"That explains many things."
"It explains why you’re still alive."
Iris smiled, but did not answer.
The doors finished opening.
The throne room appeared before them.
It was enormous.
Dark.
Far too familiar.
Black columns supported a high ceiling, decorated with red lamps that looked like drops of blood suspended in the air.
On both sides of the room stood motionless guards, all women, wearing elegant armor and carrying long swords.
At the far end, atop an elevated platform, was the throne.
And sitting on it was the queen.
Matt felt his throat go dry.
The vampire queen was exactly as he remembered her.
Long white hair falling over her shoulders, pale skin, and deep red eyes, calm but dangerous.
A black dress with golden details that looked too elegant even for that place.
Her presence filled the room without her needing to move.
Matt hated her.
And that hadn’t changed either.
Iris advanced.
Matt followed, and their footsteps echoed over the polished floor.
When they reached the throne, Iris knelt.
Matt did too.
Not out of respect.
No.
His body did it almost at the same time as Iris.
With unpleasant synchronization.
An old habit.
Matt clenched his teeth as he lowered his head.
'Damn it.'
The queen watched them for several seconds. Then she smiled.
"Welcome home, my daughters."
Matt felt a vein throb in his forehead.
Iris answered first, her voice calm and respectful.
"Mother."
Matt said nothing.
The queen raised one hand.
"Leave us."
The guards in the room bowed.
"Yes, my queen."
One by one, they left in silence.
The doors closed behind them.
Grrrrr!
The sound left the room in silence.
Matt kept his head lowered, though every part of him wanted to get up and run away.
The queen rested her chin on one hand.
"Iris."
"Yes, Mother."
"You completed your mission successfully."
Iris lowered her head a little more.
"It was a pleasure to meet your expectations."
Matt glanced at her from the corner of his eye.
'She acts so well when she wants to.'
The queen smiled with satisfaction. freёwebnovel.com
Then her eyes moved toward Matt.
The silence changed.
Matt felt it immediately, like an invisible hand tightening around the back of his neck.
The queen looked at him.
Then at his clothes.
The black shirt.
The torn apron.
The lace.
The crooked ribbon.
The fabric ripped along the back.
The dried bloodstains.
For one second, her expression did not change.
Then she let out a small laugh.
Soft.
Elegant.
Annoying.
Matt closed his eyes.
'No.'
"I must admit," the queen said, her voice warm. "That dress has a certain charm."
Matt raised his head at once.
"Shut up and get to the point."
Iris went still.
The air tensed.
The queen did not get angry.
That was worse.
She only smiled with more tenderness.
"You’re still the same."
Matt clenched his fists.
"I’m not here to listen to your comments about my clothes."
"How nostalgic," the queen continued, ignoring him. "I remember the first weeks after you became my daughter."
Matt felt his jaw harden.
The queen tilted her head slightly, as if remembering something adorable.
"You refused to wear anything even slightly feminine. Dresses, ribbons, elegant shoes… you even rejected the gloves because you said they looked like doll gloves."
Matt glared at her with hatred.
"Because they did."
"And yet, they looked precious on you."
"I’m going to puke."
The queen let out another laugh.
"When you left, you told me with such pride that you’d never have to wear anything cute again."
Matt did not answer.
The queen gently pointed at his clothes with her fingers.
"And now you return dressed like this."
Matt stood up at once.
Iris looked at him tensely.
The queen did not move.
Matt pointed at his own uniform.
"I’m dressed like this because of my job."
The queen blinked.
For the first time, she seemed genuinely surprised.
"Job?"
"Yes."
The queen watched him for several seconds.
"Why were you working?"
Matt stared at her. Then he let out a dry laugh.
"Because in my world, humans work to survive."
The queen seemed to process the sentence.
Then she began to laugh.
"That’s right," she said, bringing a hand to her lips. "I had forgotten that about humans."
Matt felt his patience wear down a little more.
"Glad you find it funny."
The queen smiled.
"But, dear daughter, if you needed resources, before you left you could have taken all the gold you wanted."
Matt went still.
He looked at her.
Then at Iris.
Iris looked away, as if she didn’t want to get involved.
Matt looked back at the queen.
"Are you stupid?"
Iris closed her eyes for an instant.
The queen raised an eyebrow.
Matt continued:
"It’s not logical for someone who was kidnapped and missing for months to suddenly show up out of nowhere with a pile of gold."
The queen watched him in silence.
"That would raise suspicion," Matt said. "From both the police and my own family. Though the main problem would probably be taxes..."
The queen frowned slightly.
"Taxes?"
"Yes."
"What an unpleasant word."
"It is."
The queen rested one hand on the arm of the throne.
"The human world is unnecessarily complicated."
Matt let out a humorless laugh.
"And yours is a city where kidnapped people get called daughters. Every world has its thing."
Iris looked at Matt with an expression that clearly said he was pushing his luck too far.
Matt knew that.
But he didn’t care.
He was tired and way too hungry.
And he had already endured too many “princesses” in less than a day.
The queen did not answer immediately.
She only looked at him calmly.
Matt hated that smile, so he decided to cut the conversation off before she kept playing.
"How do you want me to deal with those rebels?"
The queen blinked. Then smiled.
"So you did read the report."
"Obviously."
"I’m glad."
"I didn’t do it for you."
"I know."
"I want to go back home soon."
The room fell silent.
Not for long.
Only a second.
But Matt noticed.
Because the queen stopped smiling.
Matt felt a bad feeling.
A horrible one.
His stomach, already empty, seemed to sink even further.
"Why did you go quiet?"
The queen looked at him.
Iris did too.
Matt turned his head slightly toward Iris.
She wasn’t saying anything.
That was a bad sign.
A very bad sign.
The queen slowly settled back into her throne.
"Now that you’re back," she said calmly, "it would be best if you rested a little."
Matt did not answer.
The queen continued:
"You’ll eat as much as you want. I know the trip was long."
"Get to the point."
"Starting tomorrow, you’ll have a great deal of work."
Matt narrowed his eyes.
"Work?"
"And training."
The word fell like a stone.
Matt went still.
"You need to get back in shape before dealing with those people. Your current body is efficient, but you’ve spent too much time in the human world."
Matt felt something inside him shut off.
Then it lit up all at once.
"Wait."
The queen looked at him.
"Yes?"
"Are you planning not to send me back home?"
Iris looked away.
Matt saw it.
And that was enough.
The queen sighed softly.
"Matt…"
"No."
"Weren’t those months enough for you?"
Matt let out a laugh.
First low.
Then a little louder.
It wasn’t funny.
It was a dry laugh, cracked by exhaustion and rage.
"Of course."
The queen watched him.
Matt took a step back.
"So you lied to me."
"Don’t look at it that way."
"You told me you’d let me go."
"And I did let you go."
"You let me go for a few months!"
"That was more than many would normally allow for a princess."
Matt looked at her in disbelief.
"Do you want me to thank you?"
The queen rose from the throne.
The movement was slow.
Elegant.
Terrible.
Iris tensed slightly.
Matt noticed.
And if Iris was nervous, that meant he should be much more nervous.
The queen began descending the steps of the platform.
One.
Then another.
Her steps weren’t loud.
But each one seemed to fill the room.
Matt stepped back.
One.
Then another.
The queen tilted her head a little.
"Why are you backing away?"
Matt clenched his teeth.
"Because I want to keep my distance from you."
The queen brought a hand to her chest, pretending to be hurt.
"How cruel."
"No."
"I only want to give you a hug."
Matt stepped back again.
"Don’t come closer."
"It’s been so long since I saw you."
"No."
"As a mother, it’s only natural to want to give her daughter affection."
Matt felt all the exhaustion disappear beneath a cold rage.
"You are not my mother."
The queen stopped.
Silence fell.
Iris did not breathe.
Or at least, that was how it seemed.
Matt held the queen’s gaze.
The queen smiled.
But this time, there was no tenderness.
"You keep saying hurtful things."
Matt opened his mouth to answer, but didn’t get the chance.
The queen raised one hand.
A drop of blood appeared at the tip of her finger.
Small.
Bright.
Red.
Matt barely saw it move.
Pshk!
The drop shot forward like a needle.
Straight into his throat.
Matt’s eyes widened.
The impact was tiny.
Almost nothing.
But the pain came a second later. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com
Brutal.
As if something had stabbed into his neck and turned into roots.
"Ghk!"
Matt brought both hands to his throat.
He felt blood.
Not only outside.
Inside.
Rising.
Filling his mouth.
Matt coughed.
"Cough!"
Blood spilled between his lips and fell onto the dark floor.
Iris took a step forward.
"Mother…"
The queen did not look at her.
Matt tried to breathe, but couldn’t. His legs trembled, and the world began to tilt.
'Damn…'
Matt tried to move.
Tried to bring out his wings.
Tried to do something.
But his body did not respond.
The queen’s blood was inside him.
And his body recognized it.
That was the worst part.
Not as poison.
Not as an enemy.
As authority.
As an order written directly into his veins.
Matt fell to his knees.
Thud!
More blood spilled from his mouth.
His vision blurred.
The queen approached slowly.
The sound of her steps reached him distorted.
Matt lifted his gaze with difficulty.
He saw her in front of him.
She leaned down slightly and stroked his hair with unbearable gentleness.
"Rest," the queen said. "You’ve had a long trip."
Matt wanted to insult her.
Wanted to bite her.
Wanted to break her hand.
But he couldn’t.
His body was too heavy.
The edges of the room darkened.
Iris remained still to one side, wearing an expression Matt could no longer make out clearly.
The queen continued stroking his hair.
"When you wake up," she murmured, "we’ll talk as family."
