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“In the most merciful way possible,” he said. “Harsh measures are taken so many others don’t suffer the repercussions.”
“You made these laws?”
“Someone had to. Otherwise, the laws of nature would take over, and I would remain the only one standing.”
“Your people are lucky to have you as their ruler.”
“Don’t forget your place is on a throne next to me,” Gabriel said, kissing me on the cheek. “Now that everything is settled, what does my queen have in mind?”
“Well, I’m suddenly very hungry. What about you?” I asked.
“After yesterday’s treat, I’m good for a while. I hadn’t drunk from the vein in years. What would my love like to eat?”
“A steak sounds great right about now,” I said.
“Carnivore much?” Gabriel teased me.
“I believe it’s befitting when living next to a sanguivore,” I said.
“Sounds reasonable. And after?”
“We can go to the hotel. But I’d like to go to Seattle tomorrow. I might still catch Mei at the UW campus.”
“Plane or car?”
“It’s like a four-hour drive,” I said.
“Then?”
“Car. Definitely, car.”
“Car it is.”
∞∞∞
With Gabriel in the driver’s seat, the car trip didn’t feel exhausting at all. I asked him to ditch the limo, pick a simple car, and drive us to Seattle. And by simple car, he went with a black Mercedes. But I wasn’t about to fight him over his choices. I just jumped in, and on the road, we went. The high level of comfort these lux cars had was still new to me, especially after two years of horse riding.
For a short time, it felt like we were just a normal couple on a car trip: talking about nothing in particular, laughing, taking pictures in a flower field, and stopping at gas stations to buy the unhealthiest treats and soda. For a while, I could pretend he wasn’t the king of the undead, and I didn’t have to time-travel for us to be together. On the outside, we were just a regular couple, enjoying normal things, though the tip of this iceberg did not betray its depths. The fun we had made those four hours passed like four minutes, and suddenly, I wished for the car trip to be longer.
Once in Seattle, we drove straight to the UW campus coffee shop, where we planned to meet with Mei. When we entered the shop, Mei’s squeals resounded across the entire café. Good thing everyone knew her there, so most didn’t even flinch.
“I feel like I haven’t seen you in ages,” Mei said. And she wouldn’t be wrong.
“I’ve missed you so much, you can’t even imagine,” I said and hugged her tightly.
“Since when you’re so outward with your emotional expression? Before, I felt like I had to drag it out of you and look at you now,” Mei said.
“A few things happened while I was away,” I said shyly.
“I see,” Mei said and looked at Gabriel.
“This is Gabriel, my hus––, I mean my fiancé,” I said.
“Nice to meet you, Mei,” Gabriel said in his usual confident manner.
“Wait, wait, wait. Fiancé? What does that mean?” Mei asked, visibly confused.
“You know, he’s my affianced, my betrothed, my husband-to-be,” I said.
