Chapter 86 - The King's Bite

Allegra felt like she was in some sort of fever dream. They had said goodbye and were at the private airstrip within the hour of her phone call with Aidon. Even the flight itself was surreal. The atmosphere was tense and Vladislav was on his phone the entire time. She had no idea who he was speaking to, but she suspected it was Branek. They were trying to review footage of the estate to see how Cilla had left because they were now certain that she was no longer on Kalitsk Castle grounds.

The Duchess’s stomach was a ball of nerves and Vladislav tried to comfort her with his touch, but it really was not working all that well with the stern voice he was using to address the castle’s security team. She could not help, but blame herself. They knew this was a possibility, so they should have increased security around Cilla, but they had all assumed that Cedai and Zallius were more than enough protection. She felt frustrated because throughout the entire conversation she had overheard, not once had the obvious culprit’s name been brought up. Vlad was still not convinced his ‘old friend’ was capable of this.

A sudden urge of feeling the need to do something came over her and she snatched the phone from Vlad mid-sentence. She knew he let her because, even if she had surprised him, he could snatch it back in a heartbeat.

“Branek?” she said urgently into the phone.

There was a slight hesitation before his voice came through. “Yes, Your Grace?” he responded.

“I know there are a fleet of you and you can’t all be surveying camera footage. I need some of those on your team to find Rafael. Pinpoint his location and, when you find him, find out what he has been up to in the past seven hours.”

The other end of the line was dead silent and she understood why. She was still the Duchess of Gratha. She had not yet been sworn in as Queen, so they had not sworn their fealty to her. Allegra had no power over them, particularly not for an undertaking so large. She swung pleading eyes to Vladislav, willing him to let his men help her. His grey eyes surveyed her tensely and she was starting to regret snatching the phone away. They had been getting on so well before all this, she should have trusted him enough to just ask for it. His gaze softened as he took the phone back from her hand.

“Do it,” he ordered tersely, much to his wife’s relief.

For the first time since they had boarded the jet, her vampire cut the phone and she stiffened, pretty sure she knew what was coming.

“I’m sorry, alright?” she said before he could say anything. “It was instinctive and I didn’t like the fact that he wasn’t being mentioned even though he’s an obvious suspect.”

“Allegra, you and I are married now,” he said in a deceptively soft tone as he took her hand. He held it so her ring showed clearly. “That means we are a team. You do not ever do what you just did in front of company, physical or otherwise, because we are to present a united front. Do you understand?”

Her eyes narrowed at his condescending tone. “Don’t talk to me like I'm a child, Vlad. You may be in denial, but everyone and their mothers know that bastard is behind this. I had to get the message across somehow.”

“And was that the correct way to do it?” he asked.

Allegra sighed, letting go of her righteous anger. “No. Again, I'm sorry.”

“I want you to be able to trust me. I thought I had made that clear, but obviously not, if you think I would easily dismiss what you have to say just because I disagree with it.”

“I do trust you, that’s why I looked to you when Branek was waiting for an official order,” she said honestly. I’m just really panicked about this entire situation.”

“I understand how nerve-wracking it must be,” he said as he placed a kiss on her ring and stroked her fingers to calm her down. “She is your sister in every way, but blood. You must be terrified.”

She smiled sadly at this just as his phone rang yet again. This time he put it on loudspeaker.

“Your Majesty, Duchess Elanora has checked out of her hotel as of this morning,” Branek said. “We are still searching for Raphael, but Zallius has done a preliminary mental scan of the entire island.”

“Has he found anything?” Vlad prompted impatiently.

“No. We will keep searching physically, but according to him, the Duchess, Raphael, Priscilla... none of them are in Nefolktu.”

***

Cilla groaned as she woke up. She lay there unmoving for a moment as she tried to remember where she was. It took her a moment to even recall the last thing she remembered and then it came to her. She had gotten a message from Cedai to meet her in the gardens for some meditation. It had been a while since they had done it, so she was all up for it. Ever since her cleansing ceremony on the mountain, she was able to communicate with Cedai mentally. Even though she thought it was awesome, the fae did not indulge in it often at all.

Cedai said mental communication was an act too intimate to use frivolously, and that she was only comfortable doing it with Zallius on a regular basis. That was why they were often just seen sitting silently in each other’s company. The redhead dropped it because she understood to some extent. So, it was a great shock to have the fae reach out to her that way, but she supposed it made sense since their days of silence were still ongoing.

Upon her arrival to the garden, she realised she had not stepped foot in them since the wedding ceremony and she got a weird vibe from just being there. It almost felt like she was being watched, and if she had learned anything from her time in Drausia, it was to trust her gut feeling. She immediately turned to exit the gardens, but before she could, a portal opened up before her. Unlike other portals she had experienced, however, she did not plan to go anywhere near it. The thing had a mind of its own, because as she wearily tried to step away from it, it sucked her into its mysterious depths. That was the last thing she remembered.

Now, she sat up groggily, realising that she was on a soft bed. When she looked up, she was completely unsurprised to see Rafael. He was seated beside the bed in an armchair with one leg crossed over the other with his head resting on his steepled fingers. He looked beyond satisfied with himself and it was all Cilla could do to not to lunge at the vampire violently.

“Jesus Christ, you’re pathetic,” she said as she sat up straighter. “What’s the matter, Raf? The sex slaves just aren’t cutting it any more? You needed to kidnap someone that can’t stand the sight of you to get off?”

Her goading did nothing as he rose to his feet with that infuriating smile still on his face.

“One of my favourite things about you is that vicious tongue of yours,” he said as he stepped even closer. “The first thing we’re going to do is teach you how to control it.”

He reached a hand out to touch her in some way. Cilla flinched backwards weakly, but his hand never made contact. Instead it was stopped by what looked to be a luminous orb surrounding her. When it was not being touched, it was completely invisible, but now it shimmered in the weak sunlight of the room. Rafael whirled around in fury.

“What the hell is this?” he demanded.

For the first time, Cilla noticed the other presence in the room. It was Azil. She should have known. It was obvious fae magic had played a part in trapping her here. A small part of her had feared Cedai had betrayed her, but now she saw that Azil had replicated her aura to get her to go to the garden.

“We had a deal, vampire,” Azil said as his eyes dispassionately rested on her before moving back to Rafael. “You secure me those troops and then you get the girl. I have proven I can hold up my end of the deal. It is time you did the same.”

“You fool,” Rafael spat. “We’ve already left Nefolktu. My absence will soon be noted. Do you truly believe I can deliver my end of the bargain if Vladislav prohibits those under my command from travelling?”

Azil did not look at all empathetic to the vampire.

“Well, if that is the case, then you had better get a move on,” said the old fae indifferently. “The King is still on his honeymoon and you have time to change the tide, as well as the help of the Duchess’s sister. I suggest you use it. Until then, you will not lay a finger on the girl”

Rafael’s eyes flashed a dangerous red as he spat what were obviously insults in Nuicun at Azil before he strode out of the room in a huff. Azil looked at her again then. She saw no feeling whatsoever in his eyes. She was just a means to an end. He exited with a slight nod in her direction. Cilla clenched her fingers in anger at hearing that Elanora was somehow involved in all this, but she knew she could not focus on that right then. For the time being, Azil stood between her and Rafael. So long as the vampire’s goal was not achieved, she would remain relatively safe from his clutches.