His Worry
The urge to finish off the woman before him gripped Rafael like chains. His hands clenched tightly, with his claws digging into his palms. They urged to be used on the Queen in a deadly way. But he couldn’t. His little foolish wife was watching.
How stupid was she to not only come to the imperial castle without his permission but also try to dine with the enemies? He’d warned her several times to stay the hell away from his family, to walk in the opposite direction when she sees them coming. But as always, she proved to be stubborn.
“Ra…Rafael.” He heard her tiny voice call from behind. “What are you saying? She wouldn’t.”
He cocked his head to the side. And then he noticed. She didn’t fit into the hall. In the hall filled with creatures that emanated evil, death, and blood, his wife stood like a sore thumb. She shone brightly in the hall, even though dressed in black. Bright, humanly, innocent. Everyone paled in comparison to her.
“Someone, get me a raven,” he commanded.
Draven nodded and disappeared out of the hall and after a few seconds, he returned with a raven in his hand.
Returning his spear to his side, Rafael strode over to the raven and made it consume the contents of the cup. Unbelieving gasps filled the hall after the raven slumped and died only ten minutes later.
When his dark eyes glanced back at the Queen, she gasped and began to step backward as he took slow steps toward her.
But before he could reach her, a figure swept in between them. Elora peered at him and shook her head from side to side. “Th…this is a funeral. Let us keep it that way. Please,” she cried. “It is bad to disrespect the dead.”
“Move.”
“I… I’m hungry. I want to go home.”
He clamped his eyes shut for a second and when he opened them again, he managed to stare at her. Seeing her pleading eyes, the eyes he couldn’t say no to, he grunted, weaved his hand through his hair, and agreed with a nod.
He snatched her hand and pulled her to his side. Without a last look at the eyes surrounding them, he began to lead her toward the door. But just before they could get there, he paused and turned. With his eyes moving from the Queen to the silent king, he spoke.
“This is not over. We will settle scores soon.”
With that, he held her hand tighter and led her out of the hall. It reigned silence between them as they passed through the hallways and the numerous rooms in the mansion. His steps were fast and rough and she ran behind him to keep up.
“Ra…Rafael slow down.”
He ignored her and continued his fast angry strides. Only when they reached the mansion’s artificial garden did he roughly let go of her hand after pulling her in front of him. Her foot almost lost its balance but she managed to stabilize herself again.
“You can’t be careful at all, can you? How stupid can you get to want to eat anything or drink anything in this damn place!” His voice was raised and his body trembled in anger, his thoughts filled with only one question. What if he had not shown up right on time? What if he hadn’t discerned their plan sooner?When he’d heard that the princess was at the funeral dining hall, a single thought had run through his mind. The royal family would do no such thing as provide food and drink for a human. He knew the Queen would never. And when he walked into the hall, he knew he was right. There was only one reason that might make the Queen provide food for her.
“Who for heaven’s sake brought you here?”
“It would have been disrespectful if…if I didn’t come.”
“It wouldn’t.”
“There was a funeral. I had to pay respects too.”
“And then you decided to dine?”
“I thought it was a mandatory burial rite.”
“And what if you’d drunk that tea, tell me?”
Elora let out a deep sigh. Afterward, she dropped her head and fiddled with her fingers before letting out a low, “I…I’m sorry.”
And just like that, his anger dissipated. He threw his fingers into his hair for the second time and shut his eyes for a second. How could he remain angry at her after that look she’d just given him? It was almost impossible.
“Are you hurt?” He questioned, his eyes slowly scanning her body for any trace of injury,
She shook her head.
“Then come here let me take you…”
Elora swept closer to him even before he could finish his words and her action didn’t go unnoticed by him. He bit back a smile and scratched the corner of his eyes with a finger. Was his little princess finally getting comfortable with him? Normally, she would protest and insist on leaving the same way she came when he asked to carry her home.
Before he could lift her, she suddenly took a step backward as if a lantern had lit in her head. “Rafael, the third princess's death," she began.
“What about it?”
“I think it’s sus…suspicious. Arielle thinks so too. Don’t you think it is strange for the princess and her baby to die just like that? Plus vampires are really strong. I heard vampires don’t die unless their hearts are pierced or pulled out.”
“What do you mean?”
“I… we think you can find out what went wrong.”
He raised a brow. “Are you insinuating that the princess was killed by someone?”
Her eyes widened and she rushed to him and closed her hand around his mouth immediately. “Don’t say such a thing out loud,” she scolded. “Someone could be listening.”
She turned to look around them, her eyes searching the halls and around and when she found no one watching, she sighed.
“That…that might’ve been the case.”