The Vampire Empress: Blood Queen & Her Kings

It was Wang Shu who asked the question. At the same time, the other two Princes also seemed curious to know the answer.

"As you already know that the completion of a mate bond is divided into four different stages. The first stage is the weakest of all and it's the stage that connects two souls on an initial basis. The second stage is stronger than the first. Not only it creates a more powerful connection between two souls but it also provides some other benefits." Silver stopped when he noticed Jiang Ying Yue raising her eyebrows at his choice of words.

'Benefit' was probably not the best choice of word but at the same time, he could not find another word to explain what he wanted to tell the Princes. So he just ended up shrugging his shoulders in response to her questioning look. Thankfully, she didn't hold him accountable and just returned her attention to her food.

"What benefits?" It was Qing Shan who questioned this time. After all, he was the one who was sharing a second-stage bond with their mate.

"The pull between your souls gets stronger. You can feel each other's presence just in a second. You can sense each other's emotions and can tell if your mate is in trouble or pain." Silver told the First Prince and watched as realization dawned over the latter.

"Then... what about the third stage bond?" Wu Xie asked next and he seemed curious to learn more about the soulbonds. Ironically, he was the only one among the four men who still had not formed a soul connection with Ying Yue.

"At the third stage, you can always find her location because the connection between your souls becomes even stronger. You can read her emotions way better. You can get glimpses of her thoughts whenever her guard is down. You can even wander through her memories sometimes. You can tell when she's lying to you or keeping something from you." Silver answered as he looked at Jiang Ying Yue with a soft look in his emerald eyes.

"And what happened at the fourth stage?" Wang Shu asked next. It seemed like the Princes were really curious to know more about the soulbond thing.

"Well... that's a hard question to answer. I know about the first three stages because I have experienced them on my own. As for the last and final stage, I have only heard about it from others. People say that once mates complete their soulbonds, their souls become one. After that, they experience everything in life as a single pain. Whether it's happiness or sorrow, pain or joy, ups or downs of life, they experience all these things as a single being."

Silver stopped to take a sip of the wine before he continued, "Once a soulbond is finalized, the two people and their souls get bound to each other for eternity. One can't possibly live without the other. But I've also heard that a soul bond can't be completed unless you love your mate with all your heart. In my case, I have loved her for hundreds of years. I'm just waiting for the right time to arrive." 

The silence that followed next was not filled with awkwardness but a serene feeling that descended over the five of them as they all sank into their own world of thoughts while enjoying the delicious food.

Every time Jiang Ying Yue was reminded of how much Silver had suffered through all these years, she always felt a sharp pain in her heart. If instead of her, he had fallen for someone else, he would probably haven't wasted so many centuries after her.

She felt a hand coming to rest on her elbow and she didn't need to look up to know that it was Silver. Of course, the man was still prying into her thoughts.

"I'm thinking about learning the basics of cultivation to cultivate this weak body of mine. It's been nearly over two months since we came to this world and I'm still as weak as I was on the very first day of my arrival. This can't keep going on. I think cultivating through spiritual energy will help me strengthen my body." She told them as she tasted the soup that Wang Shu had prepared.

Seeing that out of four, three of her mates were pretty good at cooking, she felt very happy. At least she won't have to worry about food in the future. 

"That doesn't sound like a bad idea. But why not try learning spiritual cultivation till the very end?" Wu Xie asked as he added a chicken wing to her bowl.

"Though the essence of spiritual energy is nearly the same as the essence of our magical energy, I'm still not sure if the two of them can be merged or if they can be built simultaneously. Besides, I'm pretty content with my original powers." Jiang Ying Yue answered as she gulped down the food.

Just thinking about her powers returning to her body after such a long time was making her filled with excitement. She could not wait for the day to strive when she would finally be able to use her vampire powers and spells that she had spent years learning back in the supernatural world.

"Since that's your plan, we will help you with it." Wang Shu told her with a soft smile before he resumed eating.

Jiang Ying Yue was more than aware that none of the Princes really needed to eat mortal food considering that they were not mortals in the first place. However, seeing them making the effort to have a meal with her and Silver really warmed her heart.

She was especially happy to see their behaviors towards Silver. At first, they indeed kept their distance from him but within the last few weeks, she had come to notice that the Princes had started warming up towards him. As long as the four of them could stay together in harmony, she was content with everything.

By the time they finished their dinner, it was already half-past eight o'clock, and the night sky was filled with countless stars while the moon still had to make its appearance.

Wang Shu invited all of them to follow him to the topmost floor of the west wing of the manor and when Jiang Ying Yue found herself standing on a huge balcony set up with blankets and pillows, she finally realized why he brought all of them there.

"Are you suggesting a sleepover?" She asked him while trying her best to not let her excitement show on her face.

"Sleepover?" Wang Shu repeated the word that made no sense to him. He first looked at the woman who kept staring at him as if waiting for an answer, then he turned his attention towards Silver who just gave him a wink and a little shrug of his shoulder.

"I don't mind at all. The view seems pretty." Silver commented as he moved to lie down on one of the fluffy blankets.

"I don't mind either." Jiang Ying Yue spoke next as she too moved to rest next to Silver. Her instincts were telling her to stay close to her insecure mate for the time being and she was someone who had learned to never neglect her instincts.

She watched as a beautiful warm smile made its way to his lips when Silver noticed her approaching him. Her decision of listening to her instincts was definitely not wrong.

The three Princes also moved to take their positions on the blankets and in the end, Wang Shu ended up on her other side. In a way, she was sandwiched between the Second Prince and Silver.

"Sleeping in our day clothes ain't really comfortable." Silver whispered next to her ear as he moved to wrap one of his hands around her belly.

Jiang Ying Yue nodded her head immediately as she was also missing her loose night pajamas that were left behind in the supernatural world. Why she was not given the option of picking some of her stuff before she was pulled to this new world? It was definitely not a fair thing to make her lose all her expensive, pretty but also comfortable possessions that she had bought with her hard-earned money. 

"Let me help you then." She found Silver whispering again as he nuzzled his nose against the crook of her neck. 

She felt soft tingles running all over her body and it took her a couple of seconds to realize that they were caused due to the spell that Silver had just cast and not because of his touches. 

She was about to ask him what he was doing when she found her tight dress loosening before a soft velvety pajama set took its place. The cool night breeze that grazed her legs made her realize that she was wearing shorts and not pants.. But that wasn't the real problem.