“So I hope everyone got settled in okay”, the king said and stood to walk around the massive room.

“Ric texted me and said he loves the new place”, Amber said and shook her head, “his wife doesn’t suspect a thing.”

“Good, good”, Minwoo said with a pleased smile that showed his fangs slightly. He turned to Amber.

“Do you need anything else to make your stay more comfortable, little one?”, he walked over to her and put his hand on her shoulder lightly.

“I don’t think so. I mean this place is amazing”, she smiled at him, “I can’t wait to explore a bit more. Maybe Su-yeon could give me a tour sometime.”

Su-yeon nodded,”Of course Ambrosia, I’d love to. We can talk and I can tell you what I know about you history. And you can tell me more about yourself.”

Andy and Dongwan smiled at each other. Dongwan especially happy that Amber would get a chance to learn more about her past.

“So we can go back to business as usual?”, Dongwan asked the king, who nodded.

“Of course. I apologize for making you miss work. There will be people keeping an eye on the shop while you are there, so you, Ambrosia, and Ric shouldn’t worry about anything”, the king said graciously.

“And what about me, your Majesty?”, Hyesung asked, “What will my duties include while I am here?”

“You and all the others that provide us with blood are free to roam as you chose during the daylight hours and you will be free to serve who you chose. Think of it as a promotion”, Minwoo grinned.

Hyesung bit his lip and let his eyes slide over to look at Jinnie, who was absorbed in something on his phone.

“And after the potential crisis is over?”, Hyesung said softly.

“Any that wish to stay are more than welcome. There are advantages to being part of my court, Shin Hyesung and I’m sure you will see that during your stay”, Minwoo said and glanced at Jinnie. He had noticed that the tall vampire had been quiet.

“JunJin”, Minwoo said and Jinnie looked up at the sound of his name.

“Do you have any questions? You seem to be preoccupied”, Minwoo said and went over to him.

“I’m talking to my assistant manager. There have been some new vampires in town and he was just letting me know that we need to increase the amount of blood wine we normally stock. I was telling him to recruit some of the donors from another blood bank.”, Jinnie said, his tone very business like.

“New vampires in my territory? I think that a visit is required. Can you tell your staff that I will be there at sunset tomorrow? But don’t tell the newcomers, the element of surprise is a generals best tool”, Minwoo said thoughtfully.

“Of course you Majesty. I’m glad they thought to mention it”, Jinnie said and turned his attention back to his phone.

“Minwoo? Would you mind if I took a short walk in the garden before we retire for the day”, Lapis said softly.

“As you wish, my love. Would you like some company? I think these guys can do without me”, he said with a gentle smile as he looked at his queen.

“Oh no, I think I will be fine. I just need to have a bit of quiet time”, she said and smiled back at him and stood to go to him and pressed a kiss to his neck. He slipped his arm around her waist.

“Don’t be gone too long….. I will miss you”, he whispered in her ear and kissed her softly. Su-yeon glanced away and tried not to let the ache in her heart show on her face. Lapis pulled away gently and bowed slightly to everyone in the room before she made her way to the gate that lead to the garden. She exited quickly and glanced behind her as she walked quickly to the place she had dropped the phone in the bushes. Thankfully it was still there; she grabbed it and slipped it into the pocket of her robe and started to walk slowly and look around her.

She really did love him but she was here for a reason. Her father was Italian and her mother Korean and she had lived in Korea most of her life but on a visit back home she found out her father had started to work for a man named Ambrogio and when he found out where she lived, he had suddenly become very interested about her occupation as a blood . When he asked her if she had ever met the king she was curious but answered his questions without hesitation; she had fed him a handful of times but hadn’t had much contact with him other than that. That was about 5 years ago and in that time she had moved her way from a simple blood , to his personal one and in that time she fell in love with him. As soon as Ambrogio had learned of her feelings he had decided it was time to take action. He had taken her parents hostage and told her that she needed the king to make her his queen. He had also sent her a special serum that would keep him from finding out why she was really there. He had used something similar to keep Su-yeon from remembering anything about her past. Lapis, in fact, hadn’t known who the beautiful quiet woman that was kept in a small house on the property of Ambrogio’s villa was until the first time she drank from Minwoo. At the sudden realization she became scared and Ambrogio had reminded her that he still had her parents and he would harm them if she didn’t continue according to the plan. She knew would probably end up dead once Ambrogio’s attack was over but she felt she deserved it. Even if Minwoo was able to beat the Italian vampire, she would surely be held accountable for her betrayal. she would do everything possible to help Minwoo but once Ambrogio attacked she feared for his safety. Ambrogio was much older than Minwoo and what he lacked in strength, he more than made up for with his devious nature. Even releasing Su-yeon was part of his plan, he hoped Minwoo would be distracted by the arrival of his long lost love and that would make him less aware of the plans that were being put into action. She had no idea when he would actually attack, he didn’t make her aware of that part of the plan.

She looked up at the sky and saw that there were less stars than when he began to walk; she had been out much longer than she intended. A glance at the phone in her pocket told her two things; that daylight would be here soon and also that she had received a message when she was lost in thought. Ambrogio was the only one with the number so it could only be from him. She opened it and shrieked softly when the video he had sent started. It showed her mother chained to a wall and Ambrogio was beside her.

“Just in case you thought about betraying me, I wanted you to see what was at stake”, he said as he looked directly into the camera and ran a finger along her mother’s neck and let his long sharp nail draw a line in the soft skin. A rivulet of blood ran down her mom’s neck. She didn’t react to the pain; her eyes were glazed with some drug.

“I will not hesitate to kill either one of them if you spoil my plan”, he said in a deathly silky voice and the video ended. Her hands shook as she watched it again; she knew she had to do what he wanted or her