THE DEVIL'S HANDMAIDEN DARK REALM SERIES BOOK 1

Chapter 8. ASCENSION

As the soft, tranquil music plays, for Allesandra, it seems to melt into the background along with all the other people bustling about. She gets lost in the moment, as she gazes into the stormy blue eyes of this mysterious man behind the velvet mask. She tries to keep up with his perfect footwork and it's as if, time is standing still for them. As he pulls her in closely, she is overcome by his seductive cologne and as he swings her away from him, keeping perfect rhythm with the beat of the song, her eyes almost beg him to pull her in closely again. He is very charming and a magnificent dancer and it's times like this, she wishes she would have taken more dance lessons so she could keep up with him.

She gives him a flirty smile every time he glances her way and doesn't miss an opportunity to lock eyes with her sexy new dance partner every chance she gets. After dancing together for several songs, the music suddenly stops and Blaze gently pulls her hand up to his lips and softly kisses the back of it. He then bows to her with his hand folded behind his back like a real gentleman. Allesandra admits to herself that she is quite smitten with this handsome man and isn't quite ready to call it a night, just yet. "Would you care to accompany me for a walk around the palace? Blaze asks with a smile. "I could show you around and introduce you to the others, if you'd like." Allesandra quickly takes his arm and tucks hers tightly inside of his and eagerly replies, "Show me the way, kind sir."

As he takes her on a tour of the Dark Palace, it suddenly occurs to her that he may have an ulterior motive. Why has he taken such an interest in me so suddenly? She asks herself. She starts to feel like he is the first of many that are going to try to gain her trust but have other plans for her in mind.

"Allesandra, it's truly been a night I'll not soon forget. I had an amazing time with you and I would really like to see you again. Can we meet again tomorrow, perhaps for Breakfast?" Allesandra is shocked at his proposal and any doubts she was just having about his motives are quickly dismissed. "I would actually love that, so much!" She quickly responds and then nervously looks away, a bit shy to look him directly in the eyes again. "Fantastic! I'll make all the arrangements and don't worry about my father. I'll take care of that.

"Blaze, when do you leave to go back to...umm, I'm sorry, I don't even know where you're from." "No, it's ok. I rule the city of Drokken which everyone has jokingly nicknamed The City of Dark Souls." "Are all the cities the same?" She asks with a curious smile. "No, they each have a different type of umm, population. My city holds the most dangerous souls of all. The ones, who have taken people's lives. It's up to me to decide if they are useful to me and if so, they stay there for eternity or if not, I send them back here." "Oh," Allesandra exclaims, sounding a bit surprised. "What happens to them if they come back here then?" "Umm," he starts to explain, but looks distracted by something. He stops and pulls out a beautiful gold pocket watch that's connected to a chain from his jacket pocket. He clicks it open with his thumb, glances down at it in his hand with a very endearing look, closes it and returns it back to his pocket. After seeing that, Allesandra can tell that he's reluctant to talk about all of this. "It's ok Blaze, we can change the subject. I was just curious is all." "No, really It's fine. I don't mind at all," he continues, "I'm sure you have lots of questions and I'll try my best to answer them all. But first, let's enjoy the rest of the evening together. We have plenty of time to go over all of that at your upcoming tour of the cities."

After a very long walk through the grounds, they come to a beautifully landscaped garden. Blaze takes Allesandra's hand and leads her over to a bench near a solid granite, courtyard fountain that overlooks a garden with perfect rows of sparkling black roses with bright red stems. "This is just breath taking!" Allesandra shouts out as she starts to slip her high heels off, pull her gown up and prance over to the fountain. "I wouldn't go in there if I were you," he stops her. Stunned by his sudden warning, she quickly turns to him for his reasoning and their eyes meet again. This time, she feels as if she's in a trance and can't seem to take her eyes away from his.