A King's Duty

Chapter 4: Payment

I changed into an all-black outfit, my battle attire, and braided my long hair then coiled it tightly into a bun at the back of my head. My favorite dagger was strapped to my thigh, another dagger strapped to my belt horizontally at the base of my back, three smaller throwing knives strapped to my left arm and a short katana strapped diagonally across my back. I donned more weapons than I usually would, but looking at the sheer number of RVA soldiers in the forest, I wanted backups for my backups.

By the time I was fully dressed and armed, I had already run through most of the possibilities.

I knew I couldn't hide in my home because they would discover it sooner or later. It was also not a good idea to bring Aegeus into this because he was a commander for the Supreme Lunar Council, meaning he couldn't have any links to me, a wanted criminal.

As my elsrae staggered to my room, I snapped myself out of my thoughts and watched as he gripped the doorframe. He stood as straight as he could, trying to put up a tough front, but I could see the fatigue in his eyes.

"Did you," he started, but quickly stopped and narrowed his eyes at me.

He probably saw the soldiers outside and thought that I called them here.

"You're armed to the teeth," he commented in confusion. "What's going on?"

"You're going to get your wish after all." I answered brightly with fake enthusiasm and walked closer to him.

As I stood right in front of him, I had to look up to meet his gaze, something I didn't often do when I was surrounded my kind. I was considered tall for a female vampire and was almost around the height of an average male vampire, but my elsrae towered over me and vastly outweighed me in muscle mass.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

Instead of answering him, I traced to the kitchen and reached for the pouch that contained the vial of blood that Aegeus recently brought over for emergencies.

Opening the pouch, I took out the syringe and opened the vial. Since injecting the blood helps the body processes it faster than when consumed, I pressed the needle of the blood-filled syringe into my arm and pressed down.

Within a few minutes, I felt the energy and power thrumming through my veins, flowing steadily like a river into every part of my body. My eyesight sharpened, I could hear better and my sense of smell increased to the point where the scent of my elsrae was intoxicating me.

With my heightened senses mostly returned, I felt whole again.

I brushed the tip of my tongue over my fangs. There was a slight point, but I was nowhere near bloodlust, so I walked towards the stairs.

My elsrae was already halfway down the stairs when he swayed, unsteady on his feet. I rushed towards him and was able to help him stay upright this time instead of toppling over from his weight.

He let out swift curse in frustration.

"You already took the medicine for the poison. You'll fully recover in a few days, lycan," I assured him and helped him down the stairs. "There's a few RVA soldiers outside. My home is protected by magic, but it's only a matter of time before they find out."

He leaned against the wall next to the stairs and I took a step away.

"There are some vampires that, if they get a taste of your blood, they will be able to trace to your location no matter where you are in the realm. Do you remember if a vampire got a lick of your blood last night?"

He paused. "I don't remember."

I took off the thin, snug bracelet that I always wore on my left wrist, fully ignoring the consequences that came with taking it off. The bracelet was made of silver, forged to be unbreakable and casted by a powerful witch to protect the individual wearing it.