Chapter 20 Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty
⚓️⚓️⚓️
Zeke
I studied him for a moment, before turning away. “I'll think about it, Master Ragnarok.” Not wanting to rush into making a decision, I left him hanging on purpose.
“Since that's sorted out, why don't we have a couple of drinks?” He suggested, already leading the way out.
I barely took a step forward, when my heart skipped a beat. An ominous feeling enveloped me as I finally stepped out of the secret library. I couldn't place what it was, yet its intensity was so great that my head felt woozy.
“Are you okay, Your Highness?” I heard Master Ragnarok ask.
I nodded in response, and moved past him. “Perhaps, we can have the drinks some other time. Duty calls.” I massaged my temple, and gritted my teeth.
A disappointed look crossed his face for a brief moment, before he nodded eagerly at me. “Of course, you can go ahead. Darcel can walk you to the exit. Darcel?” He called out to his daughter who miraculously emerged from behind the walls.
She obviously had been following us. She trotted beside me, and in a low voice, “A word?”
Her jaw was set in a determined line. I spared her father who was still looking at us, a glance, and nodded. “Okay.”
We walked in silence to the large door manned by two young vampire guards. They pulled the door open, and bowed. Once we were out in the open night, she turned to me. Her hair was held in a ponytail tonight, and her eyes glittered.
“I hope you aren't running back to meet the human girl?” An insincere smile tugged at her lips.
My eyes narrowed into slits. “I believe it's none of your business, Darcel. You should know your limits.”
She didn't budge. “Oh, it's none of my business, Prince Zeke. I'd let tonight slide, but I can't promise there'd be a next time.”
“Next time of what?” My gaze darkened.
I hated being threatened. I was only a minute away from snapping her neck.
“I'm not a fool, Zeke. I saw the way you looked at her that day.” She looked at me challengingly.
I gripped her neck, damning the consequences. “Know.Your. Limits.” I let go, and rose into the air.
My first stop once I got to the castle was Mirah's room. It was still locked from the outside, yet I could tell something was different.
Her scent.
I unlocked the door, and rushed into the room to meet…nothing.
The world seemed to whirl to a stop. My heart went numb, and my throat flexed. My eyes went to the open window, and my anxiety heightened. Mirah never left the window open. Never.
My leg stepped on something, and I halted. The shiny object on the floor caught my attention. I didn't need to look closely to know what it was. Shaped like a heart, the necklace had been my mother's. I didn't know why I'd given Mirah. Worse still, why I'd kept my mother's necklace even though I claimed to hate her. The more I stared at the necklace, the more my heart constricted. I clenched and unclenched my fists.
She was gone.
“Alex!” I dashed into the throne room, and without hesitation I rushed to where he was seated. I gripped his neck, and lifted him above the ground.
“Let him down this instant, Ezekiel.” My father ordered. I ignored him, and the woman beside him.
Alex's eyes dilated, as he struggled to get out of my hold. “Why are you so angered, Brother?” He choked out.
I tightened my hold. “Where's Mirabella?” I was seeing red. All I wanted to do at that moment was sink my fangs into his neck, draining him of blood to the last drop. But as a rule, royalty never drank another royalty's blood. That didn't stop me from sinking my claws into his chest. He groaned and futilely kicked at me. I felt a dull ache at the back of my head, but that further served to fuel my anger.
“As your king, I command you to let him go this instant, Ezekiel.” My father's furious voice finally stopped me from ending the bastard's existence. I let him go, and he fell to the floor in a small pool of his own blood. He let out a weak chuckle.
“She didn't hesitate one bit when I helped her escape. Do you want to know what she said when I asked her if she had a change of mind?” He taunted.
Even at that, I wanted to know. Wanted to know if she'd changed her mind at the very end. If she'd cared about us. If-
I knew I had no right to think about her. I'd hurt her. But she belonged to me. She was mine.
“Don't you want to know?” Alex continued with a bloody smile. I hovered over him, and threw him a punch which pushed his head to the other side.
“She said ‘never.’ The human girl you're hitting me over didn't even care about you, when she escaped.” He mocked.
‘What pain is worse than emotional manipulation?’ Her words echoed through my mind, and bile crept to the back of my throat.
Her hurt look when she'd found Darcel in my room. Her pained words. They all crashed through my mind, till I thought I'd die from the pain.
Alex was still writhing on the ground, as his wounds began healing up.
“I'm going to bring her back right now. Pray nothing happens to her. Because if she's hurt, get ready to bid the rest of your existence goodbye.” I didn't spare my father and stepmother a glance as I walked towards the exit.
“You'll do no such thing, Zeke.” My father's voice boomed, halting me in my tracks.
I turned slowly towards him. At this point, the last whites of my eyes had receded, letting the darkness cover it. My eyes blazed as I watched him step down from his throne.
“Take one step out of our world, and cease to be a vampire royalty.” He warned.
A sly smile tugged at Alex's lips, while I stiffened.
“You wouldn't dare.” I hissed.
“You don't want to find out. You seem to have forgotten my position as the king of this kingdom.” His words were biting enough to make my blood boil.
“Make your decision, Ezekiel Elliott.” He went back to his throne.
My gaze alternated between his angry face, my stepmother's calm one, and Alex's.
I clenched my fists. Few days ago, I'd been kissing Mirah. Tongue-fucking her, while she moaned into my mouth.
Few days ago, I meant the world to her. Few days ago, I thought everything was within my grasp.
Until I shattered everything.
‘You caused this, so face it yourself.’ My inner voice echoed through my mind.
I looked up at my father, and in a voice I barely recognized as mine, I sighed, “I won't go.”
I walked out of the throne room. She hadn't hesitated when she left, so I shouldn't feel guilty.
I wondered why my heart felt like it'd been shattered into millions of pieces.