Chapter 42
Michael was on his way to the dungeons; he had some questions that needed to be answered by his two new guests. He also thought he would do some searching down there to see if the guards missed anything while looking for The Wraith.
He was almost to the entrance when two of the elite council members flagged him down. He let out a sigh; he wasn’t in any mood for this bullshit right now, but there was no getting out of it. It was coming sooner or later anyway. He turned to face them and smiled when he saw their faces of uncertainty. They were always intimidated by his smile. He had been told that it caused a look on his face, almost like evil glee.
He loved smiling at them and watching their reactions, and he knew it always caught them off guard. He never dealt with them unless he had the upper hand.
They gave a bow in greeting…
“Your Highness, we wish to address the issue of your daughter.”
“Your Highness, she isn’t a vampire, and she isn’t anything else either she is an inferior mutt. She can’t rule over us. It would be an insult, and you know it!”
Michael smiled even wider he had needed an outlet for his anger for some time, and it was very gracious of them to offer it. When they noticed his smile, they backed away in fear.
In one swift movement that neither council member could see, he had them both by the throat and up against the hallway wall. He squeezed their necks, slowly applying more and more pressure as his face went from smiles to rage.
They tried to squirm their way out of his hands, but it was to no avail he held them firm.
“Listen closely the both of you; I will not repeat myself to the likes of you; spread this around all your filthy little circle of friends. DAISY MARIE COLLINS IS MY DAUGHTER AND HEIR TO MY THRONE; THE LAWS FIRMLY STATE THAT IT IS MY CHOICE WHO GAINS MY CROWN WHEN I STEP DOWN. IF YOU CALL HER MUTT TO MY FACE AGAIN, I WILL CONSIDER IT A THREAT AND AN ACT OF TREASON, AND YOU WILL BE DEALT WITH ACCORDINGLY.”
Michael looked at them and noticed that their necks were getting bloody, and they slid down the wall like the slime they were as he released them.
“She is the rarest of us all, you idiots, and if you took a half a moment to investigate it, you would see that she isn’t just fit to rule; she is the rule of all. She is also the mate to a very powerful Tiger shifter, and their children will also inherit the kingdom.”
“The old days are over, gentlemen. Whether you like it or not, it is time you let them go, or you will fall into the shadows of the past and be forgotten.”
“Now, if you will excuse me, I have more important matters to attend to than dealing with your stupid shit.”
With that, Michael turned and entered the dungeon and slammed the door behind him. He did feel a little better, but he still had a lot of rage to go around if anyone else decided they wanted to discuss their ‘issues.’
Making his way down into the dungeons passing several guards as he went till finally, he was at the big double doors; they were throwbacks from a different time and place. He left them here to give those brought here a sense of foreboding.
They were made from an unknown dark heavy wood with symbols, skulls, and iron fittings. It was quite the sight and took three guards to open it.
As they swung open, he smiled. It was time for the stupid and greedy to know of their crimes and to feel the weight of the punishment that would follow.
Michael noticed that since he had Daisy with him now and went through the past grief with Clara and losing her, he was changing a little. He was no longer choosing not to see things and taking responsibility for not taking the notice he should have.
He also felt all his old powers and strength coming back to him. He felt like his younger self again. It was time to fix what could be improved and get rid of what couldn’t or wouldn’t change for the better.
Michael came out of his thoughts as he came up to the first barred door in it was the countess, but she wasn’t all polished and elegant as before; now she was dull and ragged looking the truth was finally willing its way out.
“Well, I see that the outer image finally matches the inner. How are you enjoying your stay here in my dungeon, countess? I trust that you have been given enough of the things you need to stay alive?”
“YOU’RE A DESPICABLE BASTARD!”
“I HAVE NOTHING DOWN HERE, AND YOU KNOW IT!! WHEN MY FATHER HEARS OF THIS, HE WILL SKIN YOU ALIVE!!”
“Tsk, Tsk, showing such disrespect towards your King will only add to the charges against you; as for your father hearing about all this, he already has, and he tried to buy and bribe you out of here at once.”
“After I pulled him aside and had a little chat, I’m afraid that he found out about all the charges against you and all the things you were doing with the money he had given you that he had decided it was best to retire to his country estates to avoid all the shame that will be brought upon the family name.”
She let out a low wail of a moan and shrunk back into the shadows in the corner of her cell, using the wool blanked she had been given like a shield. Michael left her to go to the other guest residing here.
When he stepped in front of the bars of Raymond’s cell, he wasn’t surprised to see that he was sitting on the mattress in his cell. He was not as dull or ragged as the countess was, but then he always knew how to keep up his appearance. It was like a mask he kept on so no one could see the stupid behind it.
With a snide look on his face…
“Your Highness, to what do I owe the honor of your presence this wonderful evening?”
“Well, I see that you are in a better mood tonight, Mr. Delsaries. I have come to explain to you the charges that are against you and what you shall expect in the next few days as your trial begins. You know you have the right to representation; there will be an assistant down here tomorrow morning for you to make your arrangements with.”
As for the rest, well, I want you to know that your plans for making more Elixir are over. You will never obtain the blood you need from my daughter. Also, I would like to inform you that the Elixir that you have made has a rather nasty side effect.
It has this side effect because you didn’t read all the text of the tome and because you didn’t, you never found out that to make the true Elixir, you must have the permission of the pureblood that you are taking the blood from.
You, sir, in your stupidity and greed, have turned these females into ancient demons and made it possible for them to roam freely again on the earth. This, to me, is the worst thing anyone could ever do, and for that, I am calling for the harshest of punishments.
At that moment, Michael got a feeling of being watched and an ever so slight feeling of the power lurking in the shadows around him. He smiled to himself. Well, well, it looks like I have another guest down here.
He didn’t know why but he decided that he was going to let the Wraith stay there. For now, he was going to put up magical barriers, though, so The Wraith didn’t have full access to anything. He felt that there was more going on here than he realized and that it had to do with Raymond.
Michael decided to wait and see what happens; perhaps they will not have to go through a trial and execution after all.
With a smile that gave Raymond the chills, Michael turned on his heels and went back out of the dungeons on his way to protect his castle and to see how his daughter and son-in-law were doing after their exciting night. He chuckled to himself. Perhaps he should have warned them, but he also wanted grandchildren, so he decided to pretend he forgot to tell them.
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Garett Mathews was always the picture of decorum, but he seemed to become a bumbling idiot every time he was around Enid. Not only that but just this morning, she had dropped a recipe card, and it went under the table, and she got on her hands and knees to fetch it out.
He came around the corner to see her round, heart-shaped ass in the air as if in invitation. He almost reached out to touch it when he realized what he was doing and pulled back his hand just in time as Enid stood back up and put the card back on the counter.
It wasn’t only this incident either, there were times when he would be staring at her as she was busy doing things, and his fangs would extend on their own. It was like he was a newly turned vampire or a young human teen coming into his sexual maturity.
When it came to Enid, Garett knew he had no control. He knew that he was falling in love with her. He didn’t know how receptive she would be to his love for her. After all, she was human; she did have knowledge and experience of his kind.
Still, it wasn’t the same. He decided that he would take it slowly for now, but if he came around the corner with her bent over again, he wasn’t sure how long he would last; her perfect ass was way too much temptation.
Not to mention that she was so beautiful and intelligent, she also had a backbone made of steel. Every day he was finding more and more he loved about her.