Chapter 69
I sighed as I leant against the hard, wooden headboard behind me and let my brain jumble together with my many thoughts and emotions. The last two days had been a blurry haze of trying on dresses, eating cake, tasting copious amounts of exquisite dishes, and sniffing endless amounts of bouquets. Tomorrow was my big day and the day I would marry my prince. Would it go to plan without a hitch, or would Carlton and Davina show up unannounced?
The whole Palace was on lockdown. Human guards and shapeshifter wolves all poised around the Palace walls, with one specific order. To kill anyone who tried to get into the Palace that wasn’t invited. Kieran was due back today for few days until he would have to leave again to finish his tour. I wish he would hurry up as I had missed him terribly and the tour was dragging beyond belief.
As I sighed happily, a cool breeze behind my head caught my attention as it tickled the hairs on the back of my neck teasingly. Frowning, I swung my legs off of the bed and turned to face the stony wall that the bed was pushed up against. In the dim light, I noticed a small crack in the wall that grew to resemble a very well hidden door in the cool rock. Groaning with all my might, I shoved the bed away from the wall, its legs scraping noisily over the wooden floor so that I could examine the wall further. Panting heavily, I placed my delicate fingers on the cool rock and pushed hard. Gasping in surprise, the rocky door swung inwards, revealing a dark, spiralling, stone staircase descending into the murky depths below. Did Kieran know about this secret passage? Where did it lead too?
Grabbing a candle filled torch and holding my bump protectively, I stepped on to the stone steps and slowly descended down into the cooler air. What I found astounded me. It wasn’t a secret passage leading to a hidden part of the castle, but a secret room! In the murky light, I could see an old wooden bed and a wooden night stand alongside a rickety desk, all covered in a thick layer of dust and cobwebs. This would make a good hiding spot I thought, as my mind darkened to the oncoming threat of Kieran’s brother. Making a mental note to mention this room to Kieran and have it cleaned, I quickly climbed back up the stone steps as muffled voices above me alerted me to visitors. As I cautiously entered the bedroom once more, the excited voices of Hollie, Brooke and Rosa rang out to greet me as they all sauntered into the room, their eyes scanning around for me.
“Ahh there you are!” Brooke exclaimed loudly, as she walked over to the wooden desk before slamming a large book heavily down on the surface. “Hollie was right. There was a book in the library about Vaewolves! And why is your bed hallway across the room?”
“I found a secret room behind the bed,” I shrugged as I turned my attention fully to Brooke. “So what did you find out? Are we doomed or are we able to kill this thing?”
“A secret room?” Rosa murmured as she eyed up the wall behind me beadily. “I wonder if Kieran knows about it?”
“I don’t know,” I shrugged, grinning at Rosa apologetically, eager to change the subject. “But I’ll be asking him about it anyway when he gets back. So what did you find out?”
“Vaewolves aren’t invincible but they are strong,” Hollie warned as she began flipping hurriedly through the pages. “They are incredibly strong, actually. So we are going to need to come up with a plan and work together to destroy it.”
“And how do you propose that we destroy it?” I pressed on impatiently. “Strength in numbers or just pure luck?”
“Fire will kill the vampire element of its soul,” Brooke read out loudly, as her finger delicately skimmed over the words. “But to kill the werewolf part, we are going to need strength, numbers and possibly silver.”
“Well silver is a no no,” I pointed out. “We can’t touch the stuff or go near the stuff. And no human soldier will ever be strong enough to take on a Vaewolf, No matter how many of them there are!”
“No, exactly!” Brooke agreed as she looked at Rosa smugly. “Hence why me and Rosa, our warrior princess here, has come up with a plan!”
“And that is?” I replied dryly, glancing across at Rosa who was perched on the edge of my bed and listening carefully.
“We need to separate the Vaewolfe from Carlton,” Rosa began matter of factly. “It’s obvious that Carlton will keep him close to enable his success in destroying us all. There’s one thing the Vaewolfe can’t deny himself and that is human blood!”
“So you’re saying that we need someone to lure him away as a sacrifice!” I gasped in horror. “I can’t ask a human to do that for us! That’s suicide for the poor human!”
“Not as a sacrifice, but as bait,” Brooke butted in. “It only needs to be a small cut. The smell of human blood will drive the Vaewolfe insane. If we can lure him away from Carlton and his army and into our waiting trap of shifter warriors, we will be able to destroy him.”
“That could work actually,” I murmured, chewing on my finger thoughtfully. “Once the Vaewolfe is out of the equation, Carlton and his army should be no threat at all!”
“We still have his band of loyal whores and Davina, don’t forget,” Hollie chimed in. “Guaranteed that they will be sworn to oath to do anything to protect Carlton and ensure his success!”
“Well they won’t be nothing!” Brooke snorted loudly in disgust! “We will quite easily be able to take them down one by one. And as for Davina, I want her demise to be slow and painful!”
Before anyone could agree, the sound of many celebratory trumpets rang out around the Palace, making me frown in surprise. Who had arrived at the Palace? Was it my Kieran or someone equally as important? I watched as Rosa walked towards the window and gazed out before turning to face me excitedly, with her hands on her hips.
“Hmm. We have a special visitor! Looks like your lover has returned, Elena!”