Luke’s POV:
Reaching the spare room on the ground floor which only had a couch and a small table with a chair, I placed Lillian on the couch so that she could rest until I came back for her. I touched her face, my fingertips trailing the side of her cheek.
These past few days must have been too stressful for her mind to handle and today’s incident only triggered it all more, getting the deep buried feature from her.
Retreating my hand from her, I stood up and made my way to the door.
"Where are you going?" her friend, Marc, asked me with his eyebrows furrowed.
"I need to have a little talk with the king and the person who was behind this mess. I’ll be back in an hour until then," I said turning the knob of the door, "Stay here. I’m leaving my woman in your care until I return and be on your guard."
"I’ll make sure nothing happens," he said glancing towards Lillian, "We’ll be leaving after this right?" he asked me and I nodded before stepping out of the room and closing the door behind me.
I heard a bark from a distance and turned to see Jamien and Dozer coming towards me. Dozer was much eager to see me as it crashed my leg, yipping and wagging its tail. I bent down to scratch his ear. The dog I had gifted Jamien as his birthday present was more of a guard than a pet for a show to fill the castle.
"I should have known she was related to you when Dozer behaved childishly sleeping on her lap," Jamien said coming to stand in front of me, "You know one of these days he’s going to run away from me so that he can meet you."
"Dozer knows well that I wouldn’t approve of such thing when he has duties here. Right boy?" And Dozer let out a bark as though agreeing with what I said, "Where is your brother dearest?"
"Sorting out the mess," Jamien replied looking around, "He’s waiting for you at the high tower, come on."
There were fewer maids and more guards I noticed as we walked down the halls. The news did spread like a fire set in a dried forest here. How could Jamien’s brother not know of something like this going right under his nose. Had the physician earned his trust so much that he believed him blindly? There were so many possibilities. On the way to the high tower, I saw Jamien open his mouth many times to speak but saw him shut it immediately.
"You’re annoying me, Jamie. If you have something to speak, then speak," I said bluntly due to which he threw me a glare and pressed his lips tightly.
"Is it true?" he asked in a whisper me after few seconds making me smile.
"About what?" I asked tilting my head at him.
"That you are taking the crown once you marry?" he asked staring at me and I nodded, "That means she’s the one you were talking about years ago?"
"Yes, she’s the one I have been looking for," I replied.
"Why didn’t you tell us? We could have protected her with more guards. I know you don’t believe brother Victor but you could have told it to me," he said with a slight disappointment in his voice.
I ruffled his hair and he swatted my hand away. Jamien was the only one who knew about my past here.
Syrian was a country that was mostly known for their mistrust and when I met young Jamien I knew with his nature he wouldn’t survive. Though he was a brat back then he was innocent and harmless. He needed more than a push to head in the direction where he could handle situations. He would probably claim to love to kill me for all the tricks I pulled at him but wouldn’t want anyone else to have that opportunity. After so many passing years he was still a child.
"I brought a decoy as my fiance," I pointed at him and heard him huff.
"I knew she wasn’t the real one, Lucian," he answered folding his hands across his chest, "But now everyone knows who your fiance."
"That shouldn’t be much of a problem, it’ll save the time of sending invitations to people," I laughed, the wedding was close by and we had other problems to worry about than these silly things, "How are you holding up?" I asked later.
"I’m surviving," he replied looking away. With the little differences, Jamien was mostly angry on one particular reason and that was me not visiting him after his mother’s death.
"You know you are always welcome in my kingdom," I offered him and he shook his head.
"And you know I wouldn’t leave this place," he said with a sigh.
"Who told you to leave this country, brat? I was asking you to visit my kingdom not to build a home next to mine," I raised my brow at him.
"Bastard, I knew you were just being meanly polite," he cursed at me and then stopped in front of a room, "I’m going back where I met you," with that he turned back walking.
Pushing the door I saw Victor standing in front of two men who were hung on the wall by the help of rusted chains, one of them who was supposedly curing Marc and next to him was the man named David. I chuckled thinking about the silly lie he had spun, truthfully it was quite laughable. But then he was only hundred and fourteen years old, not even half the match for me. By the looks of it, he was unconscious.
"I can’t believe you misused your position for your own use," Victor said tightening the chain around the physician, "You know how I hate it when someone lies to me." Well, look who’s talking, I thought amused.
Victor, the king of the Syrian and half-brother of Jamien was someone whom I didn’t trust completely. He was more like a chameleon who changed colors with the people around him. Charlie stood at the wall looking at the situation with a passive expression, now he was someone to rely on.
The physician laughed gingerly and I saw him lift his head to look at Victor, "Someone like you who doesn’t give a damn when you wipe out the entire city to conquer it has no right to speak. We are all same," he said spitting the blood from his mouth, "We all strive to go up and survive to stay up in the food chain. What is that- survival of the fittest. I have already created something down there which should be here now," he said.
"What the fuck are you talking about?" demanded Victor with his eyes narrowed but the man only laughed. Victor pulled his collar up, "Answer me!"
"The ones I have been working on all these weeks, they are finally going to rise from the dust," he said laughing now.
"I don’t think so traitor," I said stepping forward while Victor moved from where he stood so that I could look at the man in a closer view, "If you are talking about the ones with the resurrecting crossbreeds they are already dead. Sad that such intelligence is going to be wasted and be removed from this world," and I saw the man’s eyes go wide in fear now.
"T-that cant’ be," he stuttered with a little amount of shock, "My creations doesn’t fail and will relive again. Nobody can stop me!" he screamed as I raised my hand to trace his bound hands with my long nails as it dug the skin, drawing blood out of it.
"They are dead, Jose," Victor deadpanned.
Pulling my hand away I turned back, walking a few steps ahead and turning back to face him.
"So," I drawled as I blew air to my fingers, "we can do this easy way. You answer a few of my questions and we’ll see what we can do to lower your punishments. Or we can just kill you. Aye? Good," I said not waiting for his answer, "Are you working alone or are you working for someone? Were you under orders?" I asked him as I went to pick a chair from the corner and place it in front of him.
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