Chapter 87-Acting spoilt

Chapter 87: 87-Acting spoilt

"Are you insane? How can you throw yourself at me like this?"

Varitreya’s mind went strangely quiet. Her arms remained around Maisa almost by instinct, keeping her steady while she stood there, utterly speechless.

The anger she’d carried with her hadn’t disappeared, but it had been pushed aside by something she didn’t quite know how to name. For once, the princess who always seemed to have an answer for everything found herself completely at a loss for words.

Slowly, Varitreya’s hand settled against Maisa’s back. "You really are something else."

Maisa didn’t move. Her grip only tightened. She was holding on for her dear life.

Kayden stood several feet away, watching the reunion with an expression that gradually changed from amusement to something quieter. He looked around the forest as though suddenly realizing that he had become an unnecessary spectator.

He was catching a glimpse of a secret that she would wish to keep buried.

Varitreya patted Maisa’s back. "For a redblood, you have more backbone than most of my subjects."

Maisa gave a tiny, shaky laugh against her shoulder. It amused her to get a compliment that wasn’t really a compliment from the princess. It broke the tension of the moment.

"Get down," Varitreya continued, her voice leaving little room for argument. "We’re leaving before Professor Primrose discovers you’ve disappeared again and decides to..."

"No."

Maisa’s stubbornness surfaced before Varitreya could finish. She tightened her hold for another moment, almost as though she had forgotten that she was supposed to be embarrassed by what she was doing.

She had never been allowed to act spoiled with her family. There had been no room for childish demands or dramatic displays of affection beneath the stern gaze of her matriarchal mother, nor with a father who believed emotions were weaknesses best kept under control.

Even among her siblings, affection had rarely been expressed through soft words or comforting embraces. They competed, challenged one another, and measured themselves through victories and ruthless determination rather than tenderness.

So perhaps that was why Maisa couldn’t bring herself to let go yet. For once, she wanted to be selfish. She wanted to hold on to the one person who had actually come looking for her, even if it was only for a little longer.

Varitreya paused. "No?"

The single word left her mouth almost absentmindedly, as though she were genuinely trying to understand what she had just heard.

She wasn’t accustomed to being defied, especially not so casually and directly. Most people knew better than to challenge her once she had made a decision.

As a princess, she was used to obedience, and she had expected Maisa to fall into line the moment she gave the order. Yet, strangely enough, the defiance didn’t bother her.

If anything, she found herself almost amused by it. She should have been irritated. A small part of her even expected the familiar spark of annoyance to rise in her chest.

Instead, she simply stared at Maisa, realizing that hearing that stubborn little "no" from her didn’t feel like an insult at all. For the first time, someone had openly refused her without fear, and Varitreya discovered, to her own surprise, that she didn’t mind it.

"I’m not getting down," Maisa declared stubbornly, tightening her hold and wrapping her legs around Varitreya’s back.

Varitreya barely had time to react before Maisa clung to her even more securely, leaving the princess with no choice but to reinforce her hold with her other arm to keep her steady. The sheer stubbornness of it all tested a very particular nerve in Varitreya.

Maisa had practically attached herself to her like a koala refusing to leave the safety of a tree.

Varitreya stared at the top of her head in disbelief, her expression caught somewhere between exasperation and reluctant amusement.

She had entered the Dark Forest prepared to drag Maisa out by sheer force if necessary. Somehow, she hadn’t accounted for having to carry a stubborn redblood who had apparently decided that she was leaving no stone unturned to be carried by her.

Kayden’s mouth twitched. Varitreya stared at the girl clinging to her. "You do realize where we are, don’t you?"

"I don’t care."

"You’re standing inside the vampire prison... and here you are acting like a spoilt brat."

"I know... then, spoil me."

"And you would prefer to remain here?"

Maisa shook her head. "I want to stay here... forever."

Varitreya’s eyes narrowed. "Here?"

Maisa nodded.

Silence fell upon them. Kayden looked away, deciding that this was no longer his business and regretting not taking the offer to remain outside and give them a chance to be alone.

Varitreya exhaled slowly. "Don’t tell me I ruined the purity of my white boots by entering this miserable place to rescue you, only for you to decide you’d rather become a permanent resident here."

Kayden reached over and lightly pinched her arm. "I think she means staying your arms forever, not the prison."

Varitreya blinked. "Oh."

The relief in her voice was so genuine that Kayden actually laughed.

Maisa finally lifted her head, and for the first time since entering the forest, her expression softened.

Varitreya looked at her properly, the dirt on her clothes, the scratches on her skin, and the exhaustion in her eyes, not to mention the dried blood.

The fact that this girl had been surviving inside a place designed to break vampires apart made her expression hardened. "We’re leaving."

Maisa nodded.

Varitreya adjusted her hold. "Close your eyes."

Maisa hesitated. "Why?"

"Because we’re going to move very quickly, and I don’t want you getting distracted by the scenery or having dirt in your eyes."

Despite everything, Maisa smiled faintly. She closed her eyes obediently and clung more tightly to the princess.

Varitreya glanced toward Kayden. "Ready?"

"Always."

The princess turned to leave, but before she took the first step, she stopped. Her expression changed.

Something had entered the edge of her senses. She felt the aura of another presence, another white blood that wasn’t her or Kayden.

Varitreya’s eyes narrowed. The aura was faint, buried beneath the prison’s oppressive magic, but unmistakable. Someone else of her bloodline had been inside the Dark Forest or was still somewhere within it.

Kayden noticed the change immediately. "What is it?"

Varitreya said nothing. She simply memorized the direction and the sensation. Later, there would be time for questions and investigations.

For now, she had found Maisa, and she intended to get her out of the prison. Varitreya tightened her hold around Maisa.

"Hold on."

Maisa obeyed and didn’t let go. The next instant, the forest blurred. Trees became streaks of darkness. The ancient paths disappeared beneath their feet.

Kayden followed effortlessly behind them as the three figures tore through the prison at a speed the ordinary inhabitants of the forest could never hope to match.

And somewhere deep among the trees, hidden beneath the roots and shadows, Nersus emerged. "Everything seems to be going according to plan."

A cloaked figure appeared behind him. "It was risky appearing before Maisa, my lord," her voice sounded female.

"Even with the unforseen interruption of those three vampires by sending Maisa in here. It still worked in my favour as it has brought Maisa and Varitreya even closer," he smiled.

He turned towards the cloaked figure. "Keep a closer eye on my True Heart. Before her full potential is unleashed, she is not too harmed, and anyone who dares have bad intentions towards her... kill them!"