The moon began to creep out, giving its light in the darkness. A dark figure was standing under its light, as if waiting for them. Derrick slowed down, gripping Lucie’s hand tighter.
Lucie recognized the man that had sneered at her at the ball the night she was taken. But her eyes wandered past him to the pale woman with ivory hair lying on a strange stone. A peculiar light glowed around her like an energy prison.
“Myra …” Lucie breathed out as she took a small step forward. She felt Derrick pull her toward his back as his eyes darted to the shadows. His thoughts seemed scrambled and were going at lightning speed, but Lucie was still able to follow them. She blinked several times as she saw what Derrick was looking at.
A man with dark hair and ebony eyes stepped into the moonlight. Lucie tried to take another step but Derrick kept her glued to his side, his eyes darting back and forth between the two men.
“Confused? I can see you’re confused, young prince,” Count Basil said, sneering at Derrick.
“Abe, are you okay?” Lucie called out, ignoring Derrick’s insistence for her to stay quiet. He didn’t want to draw any attention to her.
“Quite,” Abe answered tersely.
“The banshee here is quite devoted to the royal family. She wouldn’t accept me breaking the link. It really was quite rude. Ioffered her freedom. Those types of potions are not easy to come by, you know? But she wouldn’t turn on the royal family. Pity. So I figured I might as well collect her essence. Banshees are powerful creatures, you know? And their life essence is worth a lot.” Count Basil turned and looked at Abaas. “Ahh, but a demon servant.” He clicked his tongue and glowered at Derrick. “Demons don’t make good servants. You know why? Because they hold no loyalty. The moment he was offered his freedom, he took it. I was quite surprised to see there was a djinn living inside him, but I guess even a djinn is a demon.”
“But the djinn is bound to Lucie.” Derrick shook his head in confusion. A djinn would never abandon their master.
“I had to weaken the djinn so Abaas’ soul could devour it. Now he is a free soul, not bound to anyone and completely unleashed.” Count Basil looked at Lucie. “So nice to have someone very familiar with you. As your servant, he knows your secrets, and I gave him his freedom in exchange for those secrets.”
“How could you plot against the royal family?” Derrick growled angrily. He wished he could get Lucie out of here. The situation was suddenly feeling more dangerous.
“I would never plot against the royal family. At least not when they’re acting sane. But this idea of taking a wolf as your mate is nonsense. You are weakening our line. I don’t care what you think about her blood. She isn’t pure. We need our strength. We don’t need a treaty with the wolves. Look, everything will be fine, young prince. We will break your blood bond, and we can forget about this embarrassment.” Count Basil held a hand out invitingly to Derrick.
“You are the embarrassment. Having someone like you among our kind. Count Drake Basil, for your crimes against the royal family and by the authority of my father, you are condemned to death.”
Count Basil chuckled and dropped his hand to his side. “Don’t worry, young prince. You’ve been corrupted. You don’t even realize it, but fairies are tricky like that. You’ve been put under their grotesque magic. We will get you all sorted out.”
Lucie stared quietly at Abe, a tear trickling down the side of her face, and she gave him a small smile. “I thought you both were dead. I thought you left me. Thank goodness you’re alive.”
Lucie …Derrick whispered into her mind.
Count Basil laughed loudly. “He doesn’t work for you anymore. You aren’t friends. You were his master.”
“You have too much faith in me, princessssss.” Abe’s voice was clipped as his dark eyes met hers coldly.
Lucie shook her head. “I wasn’t just Abe’s master. We’re friends. And I do … I do trust you.” She gave him a small smile and then her eyes moved to Myra. The banshee looked to be in pain, but she was at least still alive. She was certain Abe hadn’t betrayed them. He wouldn’t have, right? She had to believe in him, because after everything, she had to believe it was more than a master and servant relationship. At least it was to her.
“Aww … such a pathetic creature. We really need to separate the prince from something so weak.” Count Basil turned his head and looked expectantly toward the shadows.
A young woman walked out and handed a few vials to Count Drake. She then turned and looked at Lucie.
“We’ve never met, but I am Beryl.” The name came out like a hiss. “And your family is the reason for my hell. Your mother murdered my grandmother. Destroyed everything. My grandmother was trying to help, trying to stop something immoral from ever existing, and your mother cut her down for it. I promised her, standing over her body, that I would avenge her. What I didn’t realize then was how cowardly your family truly was. Refusing to leave their own pack. Hiding behind thevampires. Letting someone else’s teeth do the fighting they were too weak to do themselves.”
“You teamed up with the witch?!” Derrick growled angrily. They had already assumed this, but he felt even more infuriated knowing it was true.
“Werewolves and vampires shouldn’t be in harmony together. The witch just wanted the Chain family, but she had something interesting. Creatures that killed like vampires, only more savagely. They were the perfect setup to create mistrust among the werewolves. I was hoping it would cause the treaty to fail. But I didn’t take into account you leading an elite army out there in order to protect the mutt you’re taking as a bride. The two species were supposed to end up at war with each other.” Count Basil sneered angrily. “I had to get my hands dirty, all because of your meddling.”
Derrick’s gaze shifted to what the man was holding in his hands. He had a bad feeling about it.
“Beryl … I can’t forgive you for the evil experiments and meaningless attacks you have done to my people. But I also can’t simply kill you. You know, you could have lived a normal life. You could have stayed with your coven and they would have welcomed you. Instead, you went down the path of vengeance. So much that you even promised your soul away for it.” Lucie was fighting for composure so she didn’t rip the witch apart. Her eyes flipped back to Abe, who was still standing there quietly. She wondered what he was thinking right now.This is part of a plan. This is part of a plan,she continued to tell herself quietly.
She felt Derrick rub his thumb over her hand gently. He was trying to give her support, though she could feel his uneasiness rising. They both glanced at the vials, wondering exactly what they would do. Lucie took in a deep breath and turned her complete focus on the witch.
I’ll take care of the witch. Just be careful with whatever he’s holding.
I can take care of them both, Lucie. Please …Derrick pleaded quietly. What was in those potions? He couldn’t risk something happening to Lucie or his unborn baby.
Together, Derrick. We can do this together.
