"Have they lost their minds?!" she shouted in anger and stood up on the bed.

The space warped around and she appeared in another place several thousand meters away.

It was a wide-open courtyard ending in a domed building without doors. Hundreds of people busily walked about, either tending to the beautiful flowers and trees in the courtyard or cleaning and polishing furniture inside the domed building.

The building itself seemed to be carved out of a single white marble-like rock but it was obviously much more than that. Perhaps a precious stone that had other uses.

The girl appeared in the center of the domed building, in the largest hall with a 'whop' sound. Everyone present fell to their knees instantly, not even bothering to check if it actually was her.

None of them dared to raise their heads.

She was Ceni's mother and the Royal Concubine of the Vampire Lord, the Ruler of the Kingdom of Edda.

Ignoring their existence completely, she walked up to the only seat in the hall that was placed at the very end.

She sat down and snapped her fingers. Every other person vanished as if they were never there.

Resting her head on her right hand, she silently stared at the empty space before her.

If one didn't know any better, they would think she was just an ordinary girl, only extremely beautiful.

She was wearing a loose purple dress, the same color as her eyes. But even through the dress it was easy to make out her curvaceous body line.

She was not overly pale or too tan. Her long hair came down to her lower back, seemingly changing color at will. One second they were black, another dark red, and another second green.

Every single movement she made was seductive and erotic in its own right.

Whether it was a man or woman, just looking at her sitting there with her legs crossed with a light frown on her picturesque face would be enough to rile them up, giving birth to dangerous, almost maniacal feelings of lust and lechery.

Every inch of skin she showed was enough to make a weak-willed man go crazy with desire.

She sat on the throne, completely alone in the hall. One leg over the other, she did not even have any footwear on. Her foot dancing in the air in a strange rhythm.

Less than a minute had passed when the sound of footsteps came from the front of the building and a blindfolded man walked in.

He was tall, wearing a black suit. From a first glance he looked like a model, extremely handsome. He stopped ten meters away from the throne and got down on one knee.

"You called, mistress."

His voice had a claiming effect, opposite to that of Ceni's mother which would only excite others.

And as he lowered his head, a pair of small black horns revealed themselves from within his hair.

"Where is Ceni right now?" displeasure apparent in her tone.

"Taking the exam, mistress. On a planet some distance away, along with all the other students. Is there a problem?" he asked with a kindly smile.

Her foot that had been bobbing up and down till now suddenly stopped.

"Yes, something is very wrong," she looked towards the man, "Someone just tried to catch a glimpse of her fate. Someone powerful enough to escape with their soul intact after undertaking such a thoughtless task."

The man went silent and the smile vanished. His eyes moved left and right under the blindfold and a moment later he stood up.

"Shall I go and fetch the princess?" he asked casually.

If one didn't know any better they would think Ceni was just a room or two away, and not on another planet in the deep space.

A pondering expression adorned her face for a moment before she hesitantly shook her head.

"As much as I want Ceni beside me, I promised her freedom until she turned eighteen. Find out everything that happened since she has left the kingdom. Every little detail. I want to see who is ignorant enough to dare meddle in my affairs!" she relayed her orders and gestured with her chin towards the door.

"Yes, mistress," the man was about to turn around but paused, "Should I inform the master?"

She shook her head, "No need. He is busy with the ceremony. I will tell him when it is time."

"Yes," he bowed and slowly walked out of the hall.

She sat there for a few more minutes before snapping her fingers again.

Everyone that had vanished reappeared all at once in the exact same positions, as if they had never left. But this time they acted as such, or perhaps they really couldn't see her sitting on the throne.

They went about their tasks normally.

One thing to note was their expression. All of them had the exact same expression on their faces.

A twisted grin, wide enough to show all of their teeth. It never left their face for even a second.

The light came in from the multicolored windows casting a shadow behind the throne, a shadow much bigger and much MUCH different than that of the picture perfect Royal Concubine herself.

It did not belong to a human.

Two thin long horns erected outwards with several pairs of wings. Where her legs should have been was a black mass of swirling darkness.

Vague faces and occasional sounds could be heard coming from this swirling mass. The faces were of many different people, but they were all doing the same thing.

Begging. Some for relief, others for death. Their cries for help echoed in the hall but no one else could hear them or if they could, they did not care.

***

Back on the planet, Ceni gently cradled Hao Xuan's injured head in her lap, softly moving her fingers along his nose and eyebrows completely unaware of the two forces that were fighting over her.

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