Hell’s Consort

Glancing at him, Luna stood at the throne awkwardly, waiting for the Vampire King's prompting.

She guessed she would have to follow whatever he was doing because she had no experience in being part of the royalty.

Luna didn't pay attention to the protocols either.

Should she let Apollyon take a seat first?

Should Luna do it first, or should she count one to three, and they will do it together?

This was ridiculous.

Good thing that Apollyon bowed in acknowledgment as he gestured for her to sit on the throne before she embarrassed herself in front of the Consortium.

Luna didn't think twice and sat on her the Empress's golden seat comfortably and mimicked Hecate's behavior when she received her a guest after her soul was propelled to her Queendom.

Hwcate had her chin held high and crossed her legs as she leaned back lazily on the cushions.

Luna was giving an air of self-assurance to all the girls in the Consortium that she got this.

She hoped it was effective enough.

The ladies kept their head bowed as they curtsied, their pretty eyes cast demurely on the floor as they steal admiring glances at her husband's physique before glancing up at him to hear what he had to say.

  The Vampire King scanned the crowd steadily, meeting all the audience eye to eye as if he was trying to remember their faces.

"As you have heard from Jon and the confirmation of my military general, I am sure that the head eunuch, Vali, had already informed you of the Annihilation of the Consortium." The Vampire King informed them, his dark, powerful voice booming throughout the room.

The crowd released some high-pitched gasps, murmurs turning to loud noises instantly.

"What would have become of us?"

"We will live poorer than the dogs in the street?"

Luna's palms were sweating, so she clasped each of her armchairs, straightened her spine, and adapted a cold, bitchy look to intimidate the girls.

She needed to be headstrong, facing the adversities and the malicious gossip thrown in her face.

Of course, the Consortium would blame her for this.

Bring it on.

The lady shuddered at the implications of Apollyon's announcement. "Are we going to be confined to another prison?"

"I would choose this fancy cage over a cellar."

Luna narrowed her eyes at the dramatic woman. 

"I don't want to be out and about and be captured as a slave again." 

The girls had turned hysterical as Luna watched the view from a higher angle, looking at them below the dais.

"I am used to the lifestyle of being pampered as a Harem girl, a slave to the pleasure only a vampire could give me."

They had already pressed their scented kerchiefs to their lips, muffling their sobs and murmuring what a terrible pity it was that they would be forever deprived of the Consortium's way of living.

"I don't know other things, either."One consort whispered frantically. "How could I continue such a poor, meaningless existence?"

"My future outside the Vampire Realm was bleak." One girl muttered. "How will we travel home?"

Pretty heads with crowns of blondes, raven, auburn, and different shades of brown hair remained restless in their positions as they nodded and glanced with each other.

Clutching their long, elaborate silky gowns, they formed into a cluster, gossiping and wondering about the future of the Consortium.

"I heard that the Vampire Council lacked in finances to fund our respective trips due to the attack of a dragon creature destroying the outer bailey and the gates."

"Did the Vampire Council of Finance have the budget to fund our way home, or are we all alone to go with or journey, casting us out in the streets like beggars?"

Luna fought the urge to roll her eyes in annoyance that she feared she might roll her eyes too much. She could almost see the insides of her brain.

The assembly had turned into a hot mess.

Some of the girls swooned as they fainted over this distressing news, gracefully falling to the floor.

Luna had gasped when they started to fall together, crumbling in unison.

"What if we die and meet an unfortunate accident before we even arrive at the destination, exposed by the elements?"

She didn't know what to think.

"Who would protect us in our travels?"

Luna arched an eyebrow and grimaced at their words.

Are you going to send all the soldiers just for us and leave the fortress susceptible to invasion from other neighboring Realms?"

It was a unique sight to see them topple over for real without hurting themselves.

She didn't want to be rude, but the debacle looked like a stage play in her eyes.

It looked like a delicate mass hysteria with wannabe actresses as they sniffled gently, crying in sparkling tears without smudging their pink and peach cosmetics on their faces.

They acted like it was the end of the world of all of the females in the Vampire Realm, and Luna just wasn't informed about their doomed fates.

Most of the girls now had posed sexily on the floor with their proper posture still in place as they murmured cultured profanities.

The lovely sunlight streaming from the stained-glass ceiling had served as an impromptu spotlight, and it was disgusting to witness the drama with her own two eyes.

She was ashamed to be associated with these weak-assed girls and to be called a female.

"Husband." Luna shook her head at their appalling behavior as she bit her lip in annoyance. 

Then, Luna whispered her thoughts to the Vampire King to check if their telepathic connection still existed now that Hecate had taken the grimoire from her mind.

'Please continue with your announcement.'

She knew that Apollyon had heard her when he tilted his head sideways and nodded a little, a direct indication that he had understood.

Apollyon addressed the crowd again. "I expect every lady in the Consortium to pack up your belongings."

  The Vampire King's threat was as sharp as a blade. "Only your belongings."

He motioned a horizontal cutting motion below his chin, which meant that he wouldn't hesitate to behead a lady from the Consortium if she wouldn't heed his warnings. "If you brought things or stole something which belonged to the Vampire Castle, you will be hunted down."

Good thing her husband's ire wasn't directed at her. "You may now leave the Castle premises peacefully, especially those who needed to reunite with their families."

"To those girls who fancied to be arranged to the Royal Family, perhaps to close relatives and some of the powerful male vampires of high stature as marriage alliances or concubinage, they can still stay here for a month," Apollyon said.

Luna couldn't turn her head fast enough to Apollyon's direction.

Of course, these pampered Harem ladies wanted to live in luxury, which was their golden ticket to achieve their goals and ambitions.

Who wouldn't grab the opportunity?

Apollyon didn't return her glare and just continued staring ahead, regarding them.

Now, all of the girls inside the Banquet Hall had stopped complaining as they waited for his next words with bated breath, their ears perking up.

"I will be calling foreign visitors from other Realms to introduce my wife, Luna, the new Empress of the Vampire Realm to gain their respect and to strengthen alliances." The Vampire King's expression turned serious. "The visitors will be mostly male who required beautiful, exotic females for their harem collection. If you get lucky, one of you could be hailed as their bride and become queen in their respective Kingdom, like how my beloved Luna had become. They would be the one to pick the lady they wanted."

"Isn't one month a little bit longer for these ladies to stay here when you are already a married man, husband?" That was the jealous voice prevailing in her mind, but if Luna would really think it, one month would make sense. "Let me speak my opinion regarding this matter."

Luna had another important announcement to make.

"I can see that this is a good decision, Apollyon." She held up a warning hand when Apollyon opened his mouth to speak. "I thought about the consorts' safety for this."

Luna didn't want her husband to interrupt her.

"In exchange for delaying the Consortium's banishment from the Vampire Castle, I would also like our visitors--these gentlemen's accommodations to be extended for that entire month also. In this manner, they would be able to get to know the woman they wanted from the Consortium and persuade the lady they picked to return to their Kingdom with them, with consent."

"Consent is the most important thing here, and I would like to emphasize that, my King." Luna continued as she rose from her seat, making eye contact with whoever was brave enough to meet hers. "There would be no more kidnapping, bride-napping, raping, and taking females out of their own will, whatever you call it,"

"I wanted to make sure that these women get the man they want, the dowry, and the life they can provide," Luna said with more conviction than she felt. "Your guests must come here to impress and not treat the ladies like commodities."

After all, the Vampire Realm had spent considerable time, care, patience, and money to mold these ladies to become high-value and good in everything.

Luna decided they might take advantage of that.

"I will see to every escort, consorts, and your concubines' safety that they would never be placed in the hands of a cruel man." Luna slowly lowered her hands as she continued with her speech. "Since you already have organized this as a marriage market, husband, let's turn this into an official one."