The Sun's Shadow

Chapter Twenty-One

Charles explained his outburst and finally stood, bottles falling from his lap when he did so. "My dear Wylda, I was between a rock and a hard place. Seeing him with those wings made me question everything. About who should truly be up on that throne."

She held a hand to her chest and stated with faltering belief, "My husband deserves to be on that throne. I don't know what you're insinuating, but you have a duty to him so long as he lives and currently, his life is threatened. This can stay between us so long as you save him tonight."

Charles raked a hand through his hair, brushing it off from his face while he thought. Anyone could see he was in no shape to perform any matter of aid, even putting on a bandage. Yet he had to try- If not for his brother, then for Wylda.

He nodded.

She hooked her arm in his to guide him out of the wine cellar and to the courtyard, where they stumbled into a bloody mess. Jyosith, now on the ground, laid there hanging onto his life with a tether of hope.

Charles took in the scene and winced. No weapons were around for use, so he deduced the Prince did all this damage with his fangs and claws. In order to get to his brother and perform a blood transfusion, he needed a distraction.

Limp against the back wall and in total shock was his saving grace.

"Ele! You need to calm Kaanan down." Even as he asked, the Prince fell deeper into the darkness.

Ele struggled- On the verge of fleeing and never looking back, or attempting an impossible task of taming a ravenous beast. She teetered towards an irenic path and, with a calculatory breath, pushed herself from the comfort of the stone wall to face him.

Even in this state, Kaanan sensed her movement and whipped around to whoever dared intrude on his insidious games. The King used his fleeting strength to drag himself closer to his brother and wife, glad to finally be free of his son's wrath. Kaanan let him go. His eyes trained on the faenix as he looked through her thin skin and at the veins pumping her body full of life.

The monster was mesmerized. How could one so weak hold so much power?

Ele didn't need her glow to distract him, only her body and blood. The monster craved not her blood... He wanted her unravelled at his feet. He stalked over to her, forgetting his desire to slay the King, and grasped the narrow column of her throat. His hold wasn't strangling. It soothed her more than any supporting wall could.

The way he stroked her with his thumb told her everything would be okay. For her.

Apologetic eyes shone down at her; visible in the dimly lit courtyard only due to their proximity.

She tried crying out to the Queen and to warn Charles as Kaanan's hand left her throat and he twisted around to ensure her safety once and for all. By putting an end to a tyrannical ruler.

The doctor was so absorbed in performing a shabby blood transfusion. But given his lack of equipment and dedication to save his brother, he used what he could. Just his fangs served useful now as he tore into his own arm and pressed his wound against any open laceration on his brother. Their blood mingled and gave the King all he needed to just survive.

Wylda had a hand on both men, pleading to any gods and cursing them simultaneously, knowing it'd get her nowhere.

Ele had to do this herself- Marking the second time she interfered with royal vampire affairs.

This did not make her brave, it made her foolish. Nevertheless, when she launched forward with no firm knowledge of what she could unleash, she channeled the tenacity of her ancestors and released untapped gifts. The only thing she did know being that she needed to stop him.