Masked Intentions

Prologue:

Dominic

“Do we have a deal then, Dominic Steiner?” Prince Siayle’s voice echoed in my office, his eyes intently looking deep into my own to trace any form of hesitance or deception – none of which I held. His twin sister – oh, that godforsaken beauty – stood beside him, ready to smite me the moment I defy any of their orders.

“Yes, my lord, we have a deal,” I replied sternly. I extended out my hand for him to shake and he did so, reluctantly, after a while.

“You know what will happen if you defy us, right?”

A chill ran down my spine as soon as his words left his lips. Of course I knew what will happen. Of course I knew they held my family captive in their kingdom and they’ll die the moment I go against their kind. “Yes, your highness. I am very much aware of that,” I replied. As much as I can, I didn’t want to sound scared in front of these creatures. They’re the exact opposite of what our childhood lessons used to teach us about.

“We don’t want the other one knowing about this, understood?” Princess Elysia spoke. I wonder if she held the power of luring the weakness of men, just like how sirens lured those poor sailors to their deaths in the past. Her voice sounded magical in my ears and for a moment, I forgot how to speak. I forgot the whole world existed. All I saw was her.

“Respond, you ignorant human!” I heard a voice said before feeling the stinging burn of a hard slap against my face.

“I beg your forgiveness, my lord and my lady,” I spoke fervently. The last thing I wanted was for them to get frustrated.  “Yes, Princess Elysia. They will not know. I assure you of it.”

She smiled. That smile made her look like the creature she supposedly was. “Thank you, Dominic. Let’s allow them to continue thinking that we coexist with them peacefully to give this damned planet what it needs.”

Yes. This “damned” planet. Their primary concern of those two races is this planet and not its inhabitants. If they can breed a whole new species of humans under their command and kill the ones whose breeds weren’t manipulated by them, surely, they will.

“I guess we’ve gotten to a full agreement, Dominic,” Siayle spoke. He gave me a smile as if his hand didn’t cause the burning spot on my face.

“Yes, Prince Siayle,” I told him.

“Now, I know you’ve been having eyes for my twin ever since we got here,” Siayle said out of the blue. Those words definitely disabled all motion I was supposedly capable of doing.

“Admit it, Dominic. There’s no use hiding it,” Elysia teased. I tried avoiding her eyes – her beautiful eyes that didn’t look anywhere else aside from my own – but it was pointless. Either her natural beauty captured the weakness in me or she had the ability to do so. Siayle seemed to be entertained with the sight before him.

“I leave you to him, my beloved sister. Meet me back in the palace tomorrow morning.” With that, Siayle completely disappeared, leaving me alone with his beautiful disaster also known as his twin sister.

. . .

The following morning, I woke up on my bed with a blanket barely covering my body. On the bedside table were a black rose and a note written with golden ink saying, “thank you for a fun night. Don’t forget where your loyalty is supposed to be, okay? –E.” I stared at the note for a moment as the hazy memories of last night played in my mind. In some unknown way, something happened between me and the princess. I don’t know how and why it happened, but it did. My head throbbed as I tried to recall any significant information or memory, at least, but all I remember is Siayle leaving and Elysia’s smirking face as she moved closer.

I sighed. It was pointless to remember anything about last night, no matter how much I wanted to.

As I got up to face the mirror, I noticed an intricate blood-red mark creeping on the middle of my chest and just as I attempted to analyze what it was, I saw Elysia materializing behind me from the mirror. She was already fully clothed as if nothing happened between us just a few hours ago.

“Do you like the mark I gave you?” She asked me innocently, but her eyes revealed so much more than innocence.

“What have you done to me, my lady?” I asked her. The title came out of respect and out of fear of what she might do if I didn’t show her the respect she thinks she deserves.

“It’s simple, actually,” Elysia replied. She walked with her cat-like elegance and sensuality towards me and embraced me from behind. Her arms – so pale and soft, the way my body remembered them to be – wrapped themselves around my shoulder with the tips of her fingers touching the mark she gave.

“From now on, I own every beat of your heart. It’s easy to stop it from beating once you defy us, Dominic.”