Page 31 of Potion of Deception (Potion of Deception #1)
UNDER THE VEIL OF A DREAM
V iolette opened her eyes – only stone walls around her and darkness of an empty room.
Standing up, she looked around. Her eyes found a door and as soon as she took a step in its direction, a heavy sigh followed by a sob reached her ears.
She snapped her head at the way the sound came from.
At the darkest corner was a man sitting on the cold floor with his head down.
Violette froze on the same spot and looked closely at the stranger.
The dark reigning over the room and the twilight outside made it difficult to see his face.
But then her heart quailed. This stranger actually seemed very familiar.
She took a step closer. It was only an assumption but…
“Dante?” she breathed.
He raised his head and a deep exhale, filled with a heavy burden, left his lungs.
The horror swept over Violette’s face. She tripped over her own leg as she faltered back but someone’s hands caught her before she'd hit the ground.
She turned her head around – the familiar vampire with the mask on his mouth was looking at her, his gaze piercing, framed by furrowed brows.
She bolted a glance at the other vampire still sitting at the wall.
Instead of the mask, his mouth and chin was covered in blood, down to the neck…
his collar stained in burgundy stains. His tortured appearance shocked her to the deepest of her soul but the blood on his face was not his at all.
And there was something peculiar in his eyes, similar to pain .
“You never listen, right?” Dante snarled, still holding her .
Violette finally stood on her own feet.
She stared at him for a bit with fully rounded eyes. He must have taken the powder too after she knocked out but to see two of him at once seemed like a shocking experience, especially since one of them didn’t have an imprisoned mouth.
“We have to go,” he said, ignoring his other-self on the ground.
Violette jolted her head to the vampire on the floor again. His face looked horrific and yet…looking at him her heart faltered. He looked so exhausted and sad, almost frazzled.
“Are you going? We have to find the witch.” Dante already stood near the open door leading to the hallway. He took a step out of the room. Violette’s eyes lingered on the vampire at the wall before following him, a strange pang pierced her chest.
The corridor they walked through looked like a big hall decorated with portraits in golden frames with intricate patterns. The green long carpet on the floor was leading them to the wall with an arched pass.
“How come you know the way?” Violette suddenly asked, nearly whispering, still startled by the witnessed picture in the room.
“I was there, as you could notice,” he said coldly, rushing himself through the hall like he wanted to escape this place as soon as he could. Well, she partly understood why…This place didn't hold great memories for him as she saw.
But that didn't explain him knowing this place so well.
“You seem to know this place a little too well,” she said, her eyes gliding over the walls and its oil paintings.
Dante didn't say a word, keeping striding forward.
Violette wanted to inspect the paintings, the surroundings, to find out what kind of place they were in.
But Dante was in too much of a hurry, and they didn't have much time, but everything seemed so interesting and unusual.
She'd never seen such beautiful decor and exquisite sculptures.
Without noticing it, she slowed down, studying the portraits.
Here hung images of great nobles, at least that's the conclusion she came to.
After a few more steps, her eyes rose to a huge gilded portrait of a beautiful woman, starting almost at the floor and ending nearly at the ceiling.
She was struck by a strange feeling like she'd already seen this woman once, something familiar was in her features.
Her gaze rose to the lady's eyes and then to a gorgeous painted crown in her hair, a glorious stone flaunted with blue tints in the middle.
She stared at the painting fully enchanted until Dante's hand grabbed her.
“We don't have time, Little Witch. We can wake up at any moment.”
“Yes, you're right. Sorry,” she blurted, rushing through the hall.
Finally they reached the archway. Violette looked up – the twisted staircase led into absolute unknown, so high that she finally wondered how high they were already.
They'd walked quite a bit when the echo of female voices entered the air. The higher they rose, the louder they became, and finally, they came across their owners – two women in identical outfits, apparently maids.
“I don't think it's a good idea,” said one of them. “It's not a good time.”
“I don't know, it seems the Queen and King want to cheer people up a little bit with this ball,” the other commented.
The woman frowned, her voice filled with bitterness, “Yes, while people are dying because of some monster.”
“I think they are fully aware of this, Charlotte. Anyway, we have a lot of work before the event. Did you see Loisa?”
“No. Actually, I haven't seen her since breakfast. She was supposed to work in the East Wing today.”
Violette noticed how Dante immediately lowered his eyes to the floor. He looked different, like he– Oh… The realization hit her. They were in the East Wing today. The blood. The vampire on the floor. They will not find Loisa…or will find her gutted somewhere in the castle.
She raised her gaze again to Dante but his attention was already taken by something else.
He was looking through a door crack as the voices of servants were fading, echoing from the walls down the stairs.
Taking a step, he carefully squeezed through the door as if he was scared to interrupt something. Or someone.
Two voices, one soft and gentle, and the other – deep and much sharper, slipped through the doorway. Violette followed Dante to the room and unlike her curiosity, his face was drawn with surprise, however he'd tried his best to not show much emotion.
“I don't like it,” the man in the chair said.
His short brown beard was already streaked with silver strands and wrinkles at the corners of his eyes suggesting he was old enough to live half of a human lifetime.
His appearance, his clothes, his voice, everything about him was regal and quite majestic.
The same goes with a woman whose beautiful deep brown hair to the waist cascaded down her back.
Her sumptuous long cobalt dress embroidered with a gold tracery over the trim and sleeves, mirroring the tracery on the man's coat, swept behind her as she crossed the room.
“Quite the opposite,” her hand approached the man's shoulder, “it's a perfect time to show everyone that our family is doing alright. People are lost, we have to show them that we are still there for the kingdom and not afraid of new…issues.”
“Throwing a ball while there's a monster outside killing innocent people is madness!” He stayed unbreakable.
“People already have questions, Ornard.” The woman's tone turned sharper. “They want to see their King and Queen and to see the prince. He is an heir to the throne, we have to show whatever happens – he will take care of the kingdom.”
The man wearily drew a sigh, leaning deeper in the chair. “It's a terrible idea and you know it.”
“Everything will be alright. I will take care of it. We have to bring hope to people and this ball is a nice opportunity for it. Please, stop overthinking it. We must pretend we have everything under control.”
“But we don't!” he seethed from the chair. “Everything is falling apart, Orienela, our family already did.” His shoulders slumped, brows wrinkled above his eyes, tired and hopeless.
“But they don't need to know that. That's it, I have to prepare things for the ball. Please, try to look at it as I see it.”
He shook his head in despair and closed his eyes, lost deep in his mind.
Violette's gaze, meanwhile, followed the woman leaving the room.
She jolted her head to Dante.
“Are you going?” she asked, raising a brow.
Dante stiffened on the same spot, eyeing the old man. His gaze was disturbing, she wished she could read his mind but there was no time to ask unnecessary questions.
“I'll catch up with you in a minute,” he said thoughtfully.
Pursing her lips, she rushed to the door. Since others cannot see her, she could assume that she could pass through the walls .
A moment later, without even feeling anything, Violette again found herself at the entryway.
Her eyes caught a glimpse of the cobalt dress eloping above and she hurried in that direction, hoping to not lose the witch.
Or rather to say…the Queen? It hit her just now that the woman they saw wasn't just a witch but a queen, the same one on the portrait with a beautiful graceful crown, the same portrait she'd seen in the crypt.
It was always right under her nose but she'd never really thought about it.
It gave her a new perspective to the situation, what Dante did to the Queen ?
The one answer begged to escape on the surface and she didn't like it at all.
Anyway, she should pay more attention to the memory and look for the clues.
Steep steps led her up to a spacious room. Crossing the threshold of the royal chamber, Violette carefully scrutinized the premises as if danger could lurk in its corners. Her presence has been greeted by bright moonlight pouring from the open balcony.
Reach your eyes to the moon, flowed through her mind like a light breeze, reminding her why she was here.