The Sun's Shadow

Chapter Twenty-Nine

"Watch me." The Prince vowed.

Prince? No... King. He waltzed over to the mantle once more, this time to fetch the crown on display tucked in a blood-red velvet box. When he placed it on his head, he caught Ele in his peripheral who now came to him willingly.

"Love, don't be afraid of me. This is the last time my other side will surface. Today it served its purpose and now we're free to mate."

At the utterance of 'mate', he noticed how she shrunk back from dread. The last male to claim her almost killed her. Somehow, he had to convince her that he would be different. Until he discovered how to break her weak bond with his cousin, she would simply stay by his side at all times.

Charles worried about the faenix girl who pined for the wrong vampire. Now that his nephew was freed upon the world to unleash unthinkable terrors, would Roman be able to pick up the pieces and take the place of the Prince in her heart?

'Kaanan?' She signed his name meticulously, as a question.

"Yes, love?"

She hesitated before delivering the catastrophic blow.

'I'd like to go home.' Ele prayed the kindness he once swore to her still remained and he'd honor her request.

He pretended she meant it for other reasons. His lip twitched. "Of course, love. How else would we tell your mother?"

Then he walked away before she had the chance to ruin everything he worked for.

"Sepulchre needs to be enlightened of its new ruler. We'll throw a ball, one more magnificent than any before, and we will open it to all the creatures in the Kingdom, not just vampires and dhampirs. It's time we expand our borders and we'll need the help of the individual villages to do so. Ele, I trust you will convince the faenix council to attend?"

Unsure of how she'd even do so, she forced a nod to go along with his whims. It would serve her right to obey his every command. Even if they hovered on the line of insanity.

Wylda craved to rush to her decapitated husband, but she knew that'd be unwise.

Even more unwise was the guard who rushed into the room and announced, "Sire, I couldn't find the girl. She wasn't-"

When he spotted the Prince with his back turned and then noticed the body of his King, he realized all too late that he dug himself an early grave.

"What were you saying?" The shoulder blades of the Prince flexed.

An assassin had been sent. His father hadn't lied. Somehow his clever girl managed to break free from the bed he cuffed her to. He looked down at her wrist and fetched the key from his pocket to toss her way. Ele caught it and freed her hand that started to ache.

"I don't know who's more lucky. You or I." He mused to the guard who now trembled.

Kill. Kill. Kill.

Kaanan fell upon the unsuspecting guard who hadn't the time to flee. Not lucky enough but he made it a quick death seeing Ele stood, unharmed, in front of him. A quick snap of his neck did the trick. If bodies were going to drop like flies, he'd need a maid in here pronto.

Then he completed his thought to the man who could no longer listen. "You're lucky you didn't succeed, and I'm lucky to have caught you. See, Ele? I can be reasonable."

Oh gods, the once gentle boy she knew had gone insane.

"Mother, I need you on your best behavior when the council comes questioning me. They need to think the King had gone mad and the only way to stop him was for me to swiftly end him. So, what shall the lie be? You love to weave your tales, don't you?" While he left her thinking on that, he turned to address his uncle once more. "And you will see to it that Roman remains out of the castle. If I see him, I don't know what I'll do. After you warn him, come back here to protect Ele. I'll be all around the castle today and I need her watched by someone I trust."

Without another word, he left them to stare blankly at each other.

"What. The. Fuck." Charles spat. He looked at his brother's body and closed his eyes at the foul stench filling the air. Good gods, someone needed to get in here and clean it up. Although he and his brother never saw eye to eye, he felt pity for the widow he left behind and mourned for her.

"He needs to be stopped." Wylda's statement fell on agreeing ears.

None of them could muster a 'how'.

Unable to stay in the room a moment longer, Wylda left to seek a meeting with the vampire council and also informed a maid along the way that the office needed a deep-cleaning.

Charles brought Ele along with him to find his son and deliver the warning. Roman would be wise to comply but one look at his mate would send him spiraling. That's precisely why Charles dragged her along... So she could escape alongside his son before the new King caught on.