Chapter 43 Domenic's Slave.
By evening, Lysander came to my room to deliver the news to me. Turns out my gut feeling was right after all. Kate has been taken.
My fist slammed onto my study table in my room and it split in half. Anger radiated through me and my beast ached to come out and destroy everything in sight until I found Kate, safe and sound in my arms.
"Who took her?!" I growled at Lysander. "Who the fuck took my human?!"
Lysander remained calm as he replied. "From what I heard, she was seen walking with Elio. He lead her out of the place, and neither of them has returned since then."
"Elio!" I spat out the name in anger and disgust. Elio is the head of security in the palace after Lysander and Linus. I never liked that man. His blood lust was too horrifying. He would torture his slaves until they were bleeding on the floor half dead. He treated them like animals. I would say he is even worst than Giron when it comes to brutality.
Elio, that bastard! How dare he take Kate?! What does he plan to do with Kate?!
I swear to the goddess, if he hurts Kate, I will make sure I cut his flesh into many different pieces and feed it to the Shadow monsters!
"Find that bastard!" I said to Lysander. "I want him before my eyes as soon as possible!"
Lysander nodded and left my room. Elio better prays to the goddess that Kate remains safe. If he hurts her, nothing but death awaits him. Painful torturous death!
The next morning, Elio was eventually found by Linus, but unfortunately Kate was not with him which made me all the more angry and scared. What could he have done to her?
He was kept in my torture room, and I walked in pleased to see that Lysander had already started the interrogation. Elio's body was covered in burns and bruises. The bruises healed pretty quickly, but the sun burns would surely take a lot more time to heal.
His hands were tied above his head and his legs were not touching the ground. He looks weak and beaten. I was satisfied with his condition, but I wanted more torture to be carried out on him until he tells me where Kate is.
"Elio!" I spat out his name like poison and he opened his swollen eyes a bit to gaze at me. "Where is Kate?" I asked in a dead calm voice.
"Do what you please to me, but I shall never tell you!" He spoke weakly but stubbornly.
I smirked, my eyes shining with darkness. "Be careful of the things you wish for Elio. You're literally giving me the permission to torture you until you tell me what I want to hear, and believe me Elio, what I'm going to do to you isn't going to be pleasant."
Fear flickered in his eyes, but he chose to remain brave. "I'm not scared of what you're going to do to me your highness. How can I let a filthy human slave continue living in the palace freely like she's one of us. Because of her you killed and torture our kind. Whatever I did to her, serves her right!"
I grabbed his chin harshly and spat into his face. "Who do you think you are to pass judgement on Kate?! Who do you think you are to hurt what belongs to me Elio?! Kate belongs to me, and no one touches her with my permission. You signed your own death when you lay your filthy hands on her." I pushed his face away and said in a more calmer voice. "Tell me where she is, and I shall consider sparing your life."
He looked at me, and for a moment his eyes glanced behind me, but then back to me quickly and he growled. "You're a disgrace for a prince Domenic Darkshadow. Choosing a human over your own kind. You don't deserve to be king of the vampires!"
I clenched my jaw and gave the signal to Lysander so he would open up the ceiling. Elio has always been tough, but great pains can break even the strongest of hearts.
A single ray of sunlight was let into the dim lighted room from the opened space in the ceiling right unto Elio's skin. He growled and screamed in pain. The sounds were nothing but pleasure to my ears.
I turned towards Lysander and instructed. "Do not stop torturing him until he tells you where he has hidden Kate!"
Yes your highness." Lysander obeyed just as Linus spoke next to him.
"Your highness, the king as instructed that you come see him in his court room."
I sighed knowing father is definitely going to scold me about punishing Elio, but that's not going to stop me. I have already decided that even though Elio speaks or not, the price for his sins is death.
I left the torture room and headed straight for my father's court. Just as always, he was seated on his throne and the elders of the council were with him. All except Giron who left last night.
"What nonsense are you doing prince Domenic?!" Julio yelled, his red eyes flashing in rage. "You're punishing your own kind for a missing human?!"
"She's not just any human Julio. She's the king's guest and also under my protection. Elio went against the king's orders when he stole her from the palace." I answered calmly.
"She's still a human!!" Julio's powerful voice almost shook the earth on which we stood. "Because of this slave human, you tortured one of our own and took out his hand continuously! You killed one of our own for her sake! You threatened a member of the council, and now you want to kill another one of our own!!!"
"He shouldn't have touched Kate!!" I yelled back at him fearlessly. "I'll kill a hundred more of our kind if they go against me."
"Such atrocity!" Luciana voiced out her displeasure. "Your majesty the prince is going too far with this madness. It seems allowing him to stay in the human world has made him forget who he really is. You must banish him from the vampire kingdom if he insists on going on with this madness. Let him return to the human world and fight for those slaves as he pleases!."
Father remained silent as he continued to watch me with a blank expression. It was difficult to tell what he was thinking, but I know for sure that he is anything but pleased.
"I have one thing to say on this matter." Karina the young beautiful member of the council spoke up for the first time. She never likes to involve herself when it comes to things like this, so we were all surprised when she spoke. "If the human is prince Domenic's slave, it is only right that he tortures Elio. As our law states, no vampire is allowed to touch the property of another including slaves. If she is your slave, then it is normal for you to act the way you do."
"Didn't you hear him Karina?!" Julio growled. "The girl is a 'guest'. I am still going to ask the king this question. Why was she made a guest instead of a slave? We know she has a special blood, but that is not enough reason."
Everyone was looking at father now and I know he doesn't want to tell them what made Kate so special. Thanks to her blood, father has completely recovered. He was stronger than ever. I feared he might give her away, but I underestimated my father.
"Indeed you are right Julio. Kate should not have been made a guest." He took in a deep breath announced. "From this day onward, I pronounce the human Kate as Prince Domenic's slave. Domenic, you shall torture the vampire Elio and make him confess to the whereabouts of your slave. He is yours to do as you please."
My heart filled with warmth at father's decision. He knows exactly what he's doing. "Thank you father."
"Your highness, this is absurd!" Julio argued.
"I have made my decision and I won't go back on it!" Father's commanding voice shut the hall up. Julio and Luciana didn't like his decision. Orion couldn't care less about whatever happens and Karina looks pleased.
Kate is my slave now. Although I don't like referring to her as that, it was the best way to get the council members off my back.
Now I just have to find her and take her away from here, before these cruel vampires would do everything in their power to hurt her.