Chapter Fifty-one

The closer Mihai got, the stronger he could feel her in his heart. It twisted and a hole was dug in by whatever negative emotion he harbored in the poor organ. He crept into the kingdom like a thief in the night and halted a few meters from the palace doors. He poked his head from behind the wall and flitted his gaze from the first guard to the second and he paled at the thoughts of having to kill more vampires to save the love of his life.

He pulled his head back and plastered it on the wall, squeezing his eyes shut before peeling them open again. He couldn't waste their lives, he had a second thought and decided to change into a bat and fly around in search of an open window. Luckily for him, the kitchen window was left open, and he flew in, rested on the window sill, and surveyed the area for anyone. Once the coast was clear, he took off into the house and flew past his mother's room. Instantly, he reversed and transformed into his human form. He pushed the door open with anger flaring out of the nose but immediately relaxed his facial muscles when his mother was nowhere to be found. He turned in an attempt to leave the place before a small shout halted his steps.

"My prince!" A maid ran towards him, bowing at his feet, letting her forehead kiss the floor. "I knew they wouldn't be able to kill you, you're too strong for them."

Mihai glanced over his shoulder, down at the maid who was clothed in a wine dress, complimenting her pale olive skin.

"You knew about this?" Mihai questioned, twisting his body so he could face her properly and she nodded, stealing a glimpse of his face and returning her eyes to the floor. "You may rise."

"I've missed you." She stood upright, lingering her gaze on his lips before closing the gap between them and trailing a finger down his chest.

Mihai clenched his jaw, numb to her slow strokes on his chest.

"Where is Regina?" Mihai inquired, looking over her black hair and focusing his gaze on the giant mirror that stood at the far end of her room.

"Ugh!" The maid withdrew her hand and rolled her eyes, suddenly picking interest at her trimmed nails. She flicked her tongue and made no efforts to hide her look of disdain. "Dungeon. Being tortured by the queen."

"What, why?" Mihai asked with taut in his voice, knitting his eyebrows into a deep frown.

"Ugh! Because she made you kill a vampire and go against her will, blah blah and that's it." The maid explained, rolling her black eyes. "Why don't you just forget about Gwen?" She swung her hips seductively, pressing her body against his and using her thigh to rub his groin. "We could just live in the palace together and be fuck buddies."

"That was a mistake, Sorin." Mihai shrugged, feeling her thighs subtly press his manhood.

"Was it?" She bit her lips, trailing her fingers down his abdomen.

Immediately, Mihai grasped her hand just before she could reach his groin and he squeezed it, inflicting pains in her before saying through gritted teeth, "I don't have time for nonsense."

His strict tone caused her to grip her chest with her free hand as she winced, swallowing the pain down her throat loudly.

Suddenly, both their heads snapped to the right-hand side of the hallway, the place that led to the underground dungeon. Mihai's heart stopped beating as the scream of suffering pierced his heart like a double-edged sword. He stood rigid to the spot with muscles gradually tensing up as they stood in silence. His heart picked up its pace the moment another scream of anguish tore the veil of silence and his heart bled. It was Gwen. He tightened his grip on Sorin's hand and she whimpered, begging to have her hand back.

"Forget about her," Sorin said, shaking in immense pain as the prince continued to squeeze her fingers.

"Never," he whispered with wrinkles of disgust on his forehead before throwing her hand away and shoving her to the floor, he watched her crash on the floor butt-kissing the tiles before he turned to walk away.

"Then you leave me no choice," Sorin growled, ripping her dress apart and fiddling her hair. "Help, the Prince didn't die!"

Mihai widened his eyes, holding his hand over his mouth and gesturing for her to keep shut but she wailed, sounding louder than a siren.

Suddenly, he turned to run away but was knocked down by Ioan. Mihai grabbed his head, still being a little affected by the poison. He stared ahead of him, making out a hazy shape of his cousin.

"The dark lord returns." Ioan grinned, mirroring the cat from Alice in wonderland.

"I'm not here to fight you, Ioan." Mihai retorted, gaining his vision back as he chanced the maid a dirty look of disdain and returned his eyes to Ioan. "I want peace. I'm here for the girl."

"Never!" Ioan snapped, pulling off his shirt and hitting his chest dramatically. "Not on my watch. This time, I'll make sure you die a painful death then I'll have her before-"

Ioan didn't get to finish his sentence because a concrete the size of a mini box made harsh contact with his head, ridding him of his foolishness and consciousness. The concrete scattered on his head, sending his body to hit the ground with so much force. His body was sprawled on the floor, designed by the dirty pieces of cement.

Mihai lifted his gaze and met the innocent eyes of the youngest prince–Stefan.

"I had to shut him up." Stefan chuckled, scratching the back of his head in guilt. "I'm sorry, I was forced into attacking you and kidnapping Gwen."

"So mom is really in this?" Mihai asked, still shocked.

"Yes and she's going to kill Gwen if you do save her soon. Go, I'll take care of the both of them." Stefan gestured at Ioan's body and Sorin who was still seated on the floor, supporting herself with her palms.

Another outcry from Gwen and Mihai groaned, feeling the pain in his bones, he needed to get there fast. They shared a look of understanding, and he muttered a thank you before creeping into the dungeon, making sure he wasn't seen by any of the guards. He turned into a bat and flapped his wings to the ceiling where he hung upside down, watching his mother torture his consort.

The Queen was dressed in a blue royal robe that had the stains of blood splattered over it. She dug a bucket into a big drum and lifted it over to where a naked body was laid on a wooden bed. There was a brown towel covering the face of the human. Mihai worked his eyes down her body and stopped at a scar that mapped her abdomen, hinting at the fact that it was just given to her since it was blazing red and appeared to be fresh. Beside her body were her hands which were trapped under heavy metallic chains and so were her ankles.

"You know what?" His mother sat the bucket down on the floor and took off the towel from her face.

Mihai almost lost his balance at the sight of her face, her eyes were bloodshot, and her face looked like she had stuffed a thousand mush mellows in it. Her lips were swollen and wobbly as weak pleas slipped out of her mouth, "Please, let me go."

Gwen laid on the bed motionless, too weak to struggle.

"When you die, I will." Her evil laugh bounced on the four walls of the dungeon and her wrinkles came into sight. "You see, let me tell you a story."

His mother sat on a stool and crossed her legs, tapping her fingers on her knees.

"I hate Mihai so much because even my husband chooses that bastard over me." She spat, voice taut with bitterness as she clenched her dental bone. "I raised him like my son, never showed him I didn't birth him. His mother was a slut my husband impregnated, and she died. I was being insulted and scorned for not being able to birth a child till I made a deal with the devil."

Mihai squinted his pea-like eyes, feeling a grand piano, weighing his chest down. Gwen breathed heavily, parting her lips a little for oxygen as she watched the queen with lidded eyes.

"To give me children and kill all Mihai's brides on their wedding night." She explained between light chuckles. "I'm so evil." She praised herself, rising to her feet and Gwen's breathing hitched, and her chest heaved.

"But why kill all his brides?" Gwen croaked, sounding like gravel.

"So he will never be king. I want my first son to be King." She shrugged. "Isn't that obvious? Now that he's dead, all we have to do is make it look like an accident. His dad would be coming in today."

"You're evil!" Gwen grunted through gritted teeth, lifting her wrists and making the chains shake.

"I know." She covered Gwen's face and downed the bucket of water slowly, soaking her face and filling her lungs with it. Gwen screamed, trembling under the shackles, shivering as her skin covered itself in goosebumps. "And that's why you're going to join him in hell."

Mihai fumed, jumping down the ceiling and landing noisily on his feet. The queen jolted, ceasing what she was doing and focusing her gaze on Mihai.

"Mihai?" Her brows creased into a frown and the muffled screams from Gwen ended. "Mihai!" Her demeanor changed immediately like she was pleased to see him. "Where have you been?"

"You banished me!" Mihai growled and fat veins popped on each side of his head as he shot stare daggers at her. Speaking of daggers, the moment she turned to place down the bucket, he felt his body for the dagger and dropped his hands when he found it tucked in his belt.

"I know, honey. I'm sorry, I was going to do a search party to bring you back." She grinned sheepishly, using her body to cover Gwen's vulnerable frame.

"Liar." Mihai seethed. "You aren't even my mother, you sent my brothers after me with poison, you killed my wives and now you want to kill her too?!"

Slowly, her smile changed into a snare and her eyes flashed disgust at him, "Ugh! You have no idea how pretending to love you was hard and now, I don't have to. How did you get in?"

"Let her go." Mihai clenched his fists, pulling his eyebrows into crinkled slits.

"Never." She drew each syllable, making sure it was slow enough for him to read her lips.

Mihai stepped forward, carefully shoving her out of the way before throwing the face towel away and sitting her up so he could hug her cold body.

"Regina..." He whispered, brushing wet strands of hair behind her ear.

"Mihai," she said weakly, holding on to the last strand of breath in her. "Is that you?" She felt his face, trembling in fear as tears pooled around her head.

"Baby, I found the way to break the curse, we can be together forever." He announced softly, breaking apart at the bad shape his princess was kept in. "Stay with me, I'm so sorry I wasn't there to save-"

Mihai gasped, feeling a sword pierce through his lower back. He paused, releasing Gwen back to the bed and touching his back. He pulled his hand forward and glanced down at it and his eyes widened when he saw black blood, smeared around his fingers. He turned slowly, feeling the liquid slide down his back. His eyes beheld his mother, holding a stained sword.