Chapter 72: Chapter Seventy-two: Damien’s Story XII: Don’t you dare.
"Alex!" one of the men called out upon seeing the king approaching with drooped shoulders. Dawn was already breaking and the desert was kit in a soft, orange hue.
Alex walked till he was in front of them and stopped moving.
The men looked at him in wonder.
"Your majesty...?"
"Let’s head back."
"What? What happened out there?"
"I said let’s head back." he said, looking up at them with hard eyes. "I’ll explain when we get back."
With that, he diverted his gaze and walked past them towards the exit of the border.
The three men looked at each other in hesitancy. He hadn’t even bothered asking them if they were alright from that intense fight. Since he left them at the front, it seemed like the number of those beasts only kept increasing the more they vanquished them. They had nonetheless kept the fire burning until at last, they were all gone.
Although relieved, they were still anxious, seeing that their king hadn’t yet returned. They had wondered among themselves if he had actually managed to get rid of their production. But they decided not to celebrate yet till he returned and gave them an update.
Now here was the man who they had been eagerly expecting, glaring at them like they were the cause of a great misfortune. Honestly, they were quite offended by his actions but at the same time still tried to reason with him. There was no way he would be like that if there was no reason attached to it. Hell, this wasn’t his first rodeo. They quietly followed behind him and when they were out of the desert, jumped back to the palace in silence.
By the time he got back to the palace, he went straight to his study and locked the door after the rest of his men were had already gotten in.
"Something’s not right." He started immediately, not wanting to beat about the bush.
"And what is that?" Ezra, his right hand man asked with a raised brow. Ezra had been with Alexandria right from his days as a young lad. He was his number one confidant and had never gambled with him before. Ezra was a largely built man with bulging muscles and a toned body. He crossed his arms over his chest and waited for the king to speak.
Alexandria looked at Ezra then traced his eyes slowly to the last man. The room fell deathly quiet as everyone waited for his next statement.
"One of Xeranthis sons isn’t a vampire."
The words tumbled out of his mouth like a bombshell, leaving his companions reeling quietly in shock.
"How do you know that?" Ezra asked first.
"I fought with him."
"At the desert?"
"In a pyramid."
Ezra looked at him with a straight look. A pyramid?
"It sounds ridiculous but it is true. His name is Xavriel and he has this power in him that is just...not for a vampire. It was nothing like I’d ever experienced before."
Ezra shook his head, unfolding his arms from his chest.
"Let me get this straight. You fought a prince who isn’t a vampire? In a pyramid? At the middle of the desert? That about it?"
Alex’s expression changed instantly. "Are you finding this amusing?"
"Does it look like I am?" Ezra retorted, giving him a hard look although he was teasing him a little.
"Guys." another man spoke up. "What are we going to do about this?"
"So what about the creatures you went to investigate? How did you stop them?"
Alex frowned slightly. "I didn’t stop them. I didn’t even get a chance to see where they were produced from."
"Ok what is happening here?" the last man said, standing up.
Ezra stood up from the table he was leaning on. "An hour after you left, the creatures stopped coming so we thought you already took care of it... didn’t you?"
"Well I didn’t. That bastard kept me occupied all through."
"Then we have to go back to the pyramid you saw."
"You can’t."
"Why?"
"It’s no longer there."
Everyone fell silent again.
"What?"
"Towards the end of the fight, I think that Xavriel guy used a massive amount of energy to disappear. By the time I opened my eyes, the pyramid was gone like it had never existed." Alex said, focusing his gaze on his companions.
Ezra let out a deep sigh. "This is gonna be harder than we thought."
Alex bowed his head and entered into deep thoughts. Just what was he after that he had to make such abominable creatures?
He thought hard about it on the way to the palace but still couldn’t give an answer. He was still trying to gather his head together when a small reminder popped in his head.
Mira!
Alex stood up abruptly. He hadn’t checked on her all day!
"Give me a second." he said without waiting for their reply.
He ran out of the study, through the hallways and into their chambers. When he got there, he opened the door but the room was empty. Strange, he thought.
He walked towards the kids room that was directly opposite theirs and pushed it open and found it empty too. Alexandria began to panic.
"Jenelle!" he shouted loudly from the staircase and the young girl came running at the sound of his voice. She fell to her knees with her head touching the floor.
"Where is your mistress?" he asked grumpily.
"Your highness. Her grace attended the banquet being held in Veylar with the two princes." Jene answered smoothly.
Alexandria looked like a bomb hit him hard. "On whose command?!" he bellowed, his anger exploding within him.
"Par...pardon? You...you ordered them—"
"I gave out no such order!"
Jene started to shake like a leaf. He hadn’t commanded it?
"Get me the butler this instant!" he yelled out and Jene scrambled down the stairs as if her shoes were on fire.
Once the butler arrived, Alex grabbed him by the collar and shook him violently. "When did I give an order for the queen to depart the palace?" he asked him dangerously low.
Instead of an answer, the butler only chuckled menacingly. Alexandria shoved him away to the side, eyeing him with contempt. But the butler only kept on laughing and laughing and laughing till he burst out into a pool of dark liquid.
"Ahhhh!!!" Jene screamed out at the top of her lungs, covering her mouth with her two hands as the butler sat in a pool of black, shiny liquid. What in hell was happening?!
The rest of his men rushed out at the sound of the scream. They paused once they took in the situation.
Ezra walked towards the small pool of black and touched it with the tip of his finger.
"Manipulation." he said dryly. "The butler was manipulated."
"What? How is that possible?" one of the men asked in awe.
"It shouldn’t be...there’s a rat among us."
They turned to look at Alex who hadn’t said anything since. Things were getting really serious.
"Your majesty?" Ezra said, shaking him lightly.
"How...how was he even...when..." he stammered out. If this was truly manipulation, then this whole thing had been a trap!
The outbreak of the creatures had been a move to lure him away from the palace so he wouldn’t have been around when the queen left with the princes! Whoever had done this had carefully planned out each and every single detail perfectly.
"We were tricked." Alexandria uttered out, absentmindedly staring at the liquid body.
"That Xavriel is one hell of a bastard. How did he manage to get into the palace?" the second man asked.
"He couldn’t have unless through a medium." Ezra answered with all seriousness. This was beyond bad. The queen and the two princes were missing.
"Only a witch is strong enough to conjure up such magic. The butler isn’t a weakling too you know." he continued slowly.
Ezra turned to the king. "What are we going to do? If he has the queen—"
"Don’t." Alex said, cutting him off. He knew what it meant once anyone who wasn’t human captured the queen. She was a witch, just like the one who had tried to bewitch him in the pyramid. A descendant of the pure ones for that matter. That meant she had power far beyond what normal ones could ever possess. If that bastard manipulated her the same way, he could suck out her very essence and create something far worse than anything they had ever dealt with.
"Get me my horse."
"Your highness, we can’t just barge in—"
"So am I supposed to just sit down and do nothing?" he asked darkly. Ezra pressed his lips into a thin line. He knew how madly in love he was with the queen and how he would go to whatever extent in destroying whoever messes with her.
"We don’t even have a plan. What if we go there and meet something we’re not ready for?"
"I don’t bloody care!" Alexandria growled out. He grabbed Ezra by the collar and mutters through seething teeth. "That is my wife and the mother of my kids. If I have to raze down the world to find her, them damn right
I will."
Alex released his collar and pushed him backwards.
"If it’s a fight he wants, I’ll give him one..."