Abaas chuckled. “Well, we might as well get along since you’ll be my new master soon too. Look I can’t do anything unless one of the royals commands it. I can only act based on their will. I won’t excuse my past, but I would like to work toward my penance.”
“You’re different from what I expected.”
“I am different.” Abaas looked away and shook his head. “I was poisoned before and blinded by power and greed … well, that’s not important. In a way, when your aunt killed me and the vampires claimed my soul, I was saved. I see things differently. I’m no longer blind, and despite being bound by servitude, I feellike I’m really living now. I am different. I’m not that person, and I want to prove that to you, since it’s your lineage I’ve harmed the most. I won’t ask for forgiveness since it isn’t something I can ever dream to obtain. Just an acceptance of my existence.”
“I guess time will tell who you truly are.” Lucie wasn’t interested in adding a psycho demon as her new BFF. But maybe she could use him. “What skills do you have?” She watched a smile slither over his face. “Can you hide my presence so I can’t be found?”
Abaas frowned and furrowed his brows. “I can, but I can’t allow you to leave here. If you stay here, I can do that for you. However, Derrick’s orders are for me to keep you safe here until you leave.”
“I’m not going anywhere. I just don’t want to be found right now.”
“It’s done,” Abaas said effortlessly. “You know, about that woman, Stella …”
Lucie glared at him. “Don’t. No matter what you say, I can’t believe a word that comes out of your mouth. So just don’t talk.” She watched as Abaas nodded his head in understanding. “You’re still strong in this form, aren’t you? So why can’t you just pop in there and kill this witch?”
A dark chuckle resounded from the half-demon. “I’d love to. The most I can do is protect and shield. I can even do damage, but I can’t kill. If I kill someone, I will basically die all over again. One of the rules I am bound by. Guess most don’t want to contract a demon soul and allow them the ability to kill.”
“Makes sense,” Lucie said with a faint smile. If this was true, then he was pretty harmless. Self-preservation was a driving factor for him, especially if he’d agreed to an eternity of servitude.
Whatever. Soul-bound servant Abaas wasn’t a concern right now. She leaned back on her hands, pressing them into the coolstone around the fountain. The whole situation was actually a mess, whether there was truth to it or not. If there was truth … oh, there was going to be some casualties on the vampire side. And if it wasn’t true … when Derrick announced himself as the real prince, the people would think the prince was fooling around. It was a rumor that would circulate quickly, since this Stella seemed to love showing their pictures together to everyone. Which made her doubt the integrity of her story. However … the why continued coming back.
Stella didn’t know Ryan was the prince, so what would she gain by lying? She said Sabrina was her cousin, so she had plenty of opportunities to meet up with “Ryan” and get to know him. But … hmmm. Sabrina insinuated that she wanted to get with “Ryan.” Would she still think that way if her cousin was dating him? There was that Freja logic seeping through again. Logically, it didn’t add up. Her mother had taught her to think and analyze all the evidence.
She trusted Derrick. End of story. She believed him, and she would keep having faith in him. On top of that, it didn’t make sense. Tonya had said that Ryan wasn’t with anyone and was faithfully waiting for his mate. All signs pointed to this Stella lying … but she wasn’t sure why. Maybe she had a crush on him, and she asked him for the picture?
Now she had to figure out how to deal with the deceit without blowing Derrick’s cover. She inhaled deeply and looked up to see Abaas watching her thoughtfully.
“What is the best way to deal with something that could soon become a vicious rumor but without exposing the secret itself?”
Abaas smirked. “Quite impressive. You are more clever than your predecessors. The solution is more clear than actually reaching the truth. I am curious as to how you deduced what was a lie and what wasn’t.”
Lucie looked up at Abaas, annoyed. “What is the solution?”
Abaas clicked his tongue. “Jasper. He will handle the rest.”
Lucie froze and furrowed her brows. She didn’t want to tell Jasper. She was honestly worried about how he would react. It wasn’t like the girl knew she was doing this against the prince, though, so maybe it would be okay. The sound of Abaas’ laughter snapped Lucie from her thoughts. She lifted her gaze to him.
“You’re afraid of what Jasper might do.” Abaas smirked and shrugged. “It’s the easiest and most simple solution. It really is the killer choice.” He snickered at his own lame joke.
Lucie rubbed her head slightly as a weird pain washed over her. It came and went quickly. She looked up to see Abaas’ eyes grow darker as he watched her.
“Where is your guardian, princess?” His low growl rippled out angrily.
“He’s still being trained. How did you know I would have a guardian?”
“It was my life’s mission to search for the fairy princess. I recognize your scent like my own …” He sighed. “You’re going to need a guardian with you. You’re still waking up, and without a guardian, the pain will be severe.”
“We’re planning to leave this evening to go to the dragon kingdom.” Lucie waved her hand dismissively. “But I need to figure out how to solve this issue first.”
“I already told you how to handle it.” Abaas then frowned. “Sorry, princess. I can’t ignore orders.”
Abaas vanished for a moment, only to return a minute later with Jasper.
“You can teleport with people?!” Lucie was immediately thinking of Derrick and teleporting to him.
“Only short distances, so what you’re thinking can’t work.” Abaas laughed. “Well, I guess this is where I leave you for now.” He looked at Jasper’s dark eyes and bowed slightly before he vanished.
“Lucie, what happened?” Jasper’s eyes were almost black as he approached her. “Why did you have Abaas hide your presence?”
