Chapter 25 Lucian’s request
The answer was evident; Evyths wanted more, but the words on her lips sat at the tip of her tongue—like a curse.
“Yo- your highness,” she managed to say, her voice so faint it sounded like writing on sand. “This is… wrong!” she added finally.
Valerio’s small, sinister smile faded as he gently pulled away from her, retracting his cold fingers.
Suddenly, a heavy knock on the door interrupted the moment, bringing an instant, unusual silence.
“Rio? We have to talk!” Lucian’s voice sliced through the air, the weight of it frightening Evyths.
Valerio stared at his frightened pet, his sharp jaw tightening.
“I will see you very soon—perhaps when you finally wake up. Hagwcsome rest. It has been a long night…” His cold, expressionless baritone lingered in her ears, and his words sank into her mind effortlessly.
Evyths nodded weakly as Valerio vanished from the room in a second.
It did not take more than two seconds. She heard the men’s voices erupt into an argument.
It did not sit well with Evyths. The urgency in Lucian’s voice earlier had not been nothing.
Evyths instantly jolted out of bed, grabbing a white, furry shawl that Prince Valerio had given her.
She leaned on the wall next to the door, her sharpened senses picking up every wave of sound like the movements of spiders high above her head.
“You, of all, should not lay with the hound. It defies our ethics and what you stand for,” Lucian scolded his half-brother, the Prince.
“How did you know that I laid with her if you did not lurk behind the door?” Valerio sounded uninterested and unfazed.
Lucian scoffed, a ripple of frown striking his face. “I do not care what your intentions are with your hound. All I care about is our father’s legacy. Leave the hound alone—”
“That same hound is my pet—absolutely mine. Keep your observations to yourself, and if you have nothing valuable to tell me after interrupting, I would rather feed my horse…” Valerio stated profoundly, turning on his heel to leave.
The Prince’s words Bio while Lucian interrupted calmly.
“Father wants us to discuss the kingdom and your ruletship,” Lucian stated, and that made Valerio pause, turning his gaze to Lucian.
“Why is that?” Valerio asked, his brows wrung to the sky.
“I have no answers to give,” with that, Lucian walked away while Valerio remained still for a second, sensing the urgency and uncertainty of the matter.
His good fingers balled and loosened at least thrice. An expressionless gaze rested on his face before he proceeded.
Meanwhile, Evyths could not shake the feeling of yearning to hear more and what the king had to tell his sons so urgently. Was he about to die? She contemplated in her mind.
…
The king's sons stood across from him like towers of an impenetrable castle. Their faces were stoic and cold, their gazes unfazed and distant, each of them carrying a thought that could either destroy them or spare them another lifetime.
The room smelled like the crust of earth. The air was freezing, its temperature between cold and frozen.
The king lay silently in his coffin, adorned with rare gems discovered over two decades ago.
“They are here, brother…” Astaroth, the king’s brother whispered to the silent king.
King Bathory had been in that position ever since Valerio broke the deathly news about the Queen’s betrayal.
“I feel their presence; chaotic and bitter…” The king’s old, gray eyes slowly opened.
“How do you fare, father?” Valerio finally spoke up, his baritone voice was still and distant.
Bathory coughed as Astaroth, who had been sitting beside the king, patted the king. And when Valerio and Lucian attempted to assist their father, Astaroth stopped them immediately because the men were still not at peace with each other, or even close to mending their estranged relationship.
“I will say this once and really quickly,” The king began, as fierce as he sounded, he had barely some time to live more than he had. On the other hand, Valerio was struck by the familiar words of his father, his thoughts hung in a shaky balance. Was this the last time?
He also wondered. Although each vampire in the room smelled death, they hated to admit when the king would finally pass away.
“The reason I have called you both is for obvious reasons…” the king continued, feeling his nerves weaken at every word spoken. “I have reached my limit, I have fought and won battles, raised and ruled kingdoms, I have tasted true happiness and despair. I have lived lavishly with heavy secrets that tear me apart each passing day. The time has come, the moment of reckoning has come, in a little while, I shall go to meet Great Dracula. But…” the king paused, and so did everyone’s thoughts.
“Are my sons ready to pave this path?” he asked as Valerio’s jaw tightened.
His father was right, was he ready to rule Ravencroft? He asked himself.
“Lucian, I admit, we have not mended our relationship as we ought. At some point, it felt like I abandoned you—”
“YOU DID!” Lucian’s hoarse voice interrupted instantly, behind gritted teeth. “All you had to do was impregnate my mother, abandon her, and run back to make amends with a bloody manor and some acres…” Lucian snapped angrily, revisiting the pain and grief he's carried for decades.
“Keep calm, Lucian…” Astaroth snapped, his gaze narrowed directly his furious nephew directly.
“That is all you have said to me but the truth stands, if the king cared any better, hiding his true love and her son in a manor does not equal it…” Lucian added.
“All you have said, I agree. I want to make peace. Already, Valerio is the crowned Prince, it cannot be revoked but—”
“But what, father? What do I get? Just a manor?” Lucian’s face squeezed even more, his veins popping up whole his blood flowed his adrenaline that carried stark anger and resentment.
“If you truly want to make up for the lost years that you have enjoyed while I died inside —all the pain and agony you forced on me—make me King!” Lucian stated, his gaze darted to Valerio who remained completely comported and expressionless.
While the king and Astaroth remained silent.
What Lucian had asked was beyond it.
A/N: Sorry for the late updates, I will update frequently starting from the first of January.
Love you all a lot❤️