Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
DAKATH
Being back in this empire was an ordeal I never thought I would have to face. It was dredging up horrible memories, ones tainted with the emotional anguish of watching my parents being killed by the ruthless Emperor Malakai.
All because they stole a few loaves of bread to get us through a harsh winter when our crops failed. It was our only source of income, so they did what they had to do to provide for our family.
They didn’t make it far after taking the loaves, the shop owner reporting them to guards stationed around the marketplace as they tried to leave.
I was running around the marketplace, playing with the children off to the side of all the shops when I heard the uproar.
At my mother’s sharp cry, I ran into the main square, screaming as I saw the guards dragging my parents towards the drawbridge.
My parents pleaded with me to not come forward; they told me to stay back in the crowd. Every night in my dreams, I wondered if I could’ve made a difference. If I could’ve saved them if I would have done something other than stand there crying as Malakai was summoned to handle their crime.
You’d think as the Emperor of the lands, he’d be too busy to handle such a small crime, but no, the fucker was a sadistic bastard that loved to dole out punishments.
I would never forget the way my mother’s head rolled to me after it was severed from her body, stopping right before my feet. Her eyes stared up at me lifelessly, her mouth opened in a scream, forever cemented on her face until she turned to dust.
My dad’s screams as he watched this happen haunted my nightmares as well.
Sometimes I couldn’t tell if they were his screams or mine that woke me up in the middle of the night.
I would forever be searching for a way to silence the horror, to silence the demons buried in my soul searching for a way to break out.
“Dakath, are you listening?”
Elijah’s voice pulled me back to reality.
After refusing to drink the blood of Malakai’s Thrall, who had finally slumped unconscious against him, the Emperor informed us that we would be expected to be first in line for her blood at his next party.
I could tell that he was suspicious of us, but his attention was quickly swept into the orgy that ensued where the line previously was.
An orgy, right in the middle of the room—as if no one was here outside of themselves—using blood as lube while it fell down their naked forms. I suppose it should’ve been appealing, but between the echoes of screams in my ears and my feelings towards the Emperor’s Thrall, I wasn’t focused on them.
I couldn’t be without feeling unparalleled anger.
Plus, the way they moaned Malakai’s name as if he was the one bringing them pleasure made the contents of my stomach threaten to escape my body.
“No. In truth, I’m trying incredibly hard to not listen to anything happening in this fucking room right now,” I hissed as we attempted to casually exit the throne room.
As much as the scene disgusted me, I was grateful that it so easily pulled Malakai’s focus away from us, as we had quickly fallen into a situation that could’ve seen us killed if he’d asked questions of our Lordship.
My hands had wanted to clench into fists the entire time we were in front of him. It had taken every ounce of control I possessed to not look like I wanted to spill his blood and paint the walls crimson with it.
While my disgust with him was palpable, the rage that I felt as he yanked on the beautiful woman’s chain and spoke about her as if she were a scrap of meat for him to do with as he wished was nearly my undoing.
When Elijah had stepped toward her, I knew he was going to go through with it in order to keep our cover. His motivations were always crystal clear—our mission and our empire came before everything else.
But the way she’d pleaded with Elijah to not bite her, desperation filling her voice, had brought the entire situation to a full stop.
It was the first time she’d asked someone not to bite her.
The way she looked at us, exhausted and anguished, like we would be the ones to finally break her after a long fight of trying to keep her head held high…
It was the first time I’d seen Elijah falter and change his mind. While I was quiet, observant, and serious most of the time, Elijah was steadfast and hard-headed. Kolvar and I had never been able to change his mind before, especially once a plan was in motion.
I thought at first that I was being irrational with my pull towards the Thrall and the desire to break those chains surrounding her delicate skin.
I suppose it was irrational, but it didn’t make the pull any less real.
I wanted to take her home to my bed where I’d make sure she was always protected and cherished, where the wounds from her treatment could heal completely.
Where I could make her forget what she had been through and replace it with moments that covered the dark, shadowed corners of this existence.
The moment Elijah changed his mind, I knew that there was something more to this woman. Kolvar was the lighthearted one of our group, but since she had come into view, I could see the storm brewing in his eyes as he fought the urge to wage war for her safety.
She was utterly bewitching, and we were all under her spell.
We found ourselves standing around a table back in the grand foyer that was deserted now that the Emperor had summoned a guard to take his Thrall back to her room.
I barely suppressed the feral growl that threatened to escape as the vampyre had swept her into his arms. I didn’t want any other person, let alone another male, to touch her again.
I wanted it to be my arms wrapped around her.
I wanted to see her head fall into the crook of my neck for comfort.
I wanted her to wake up feeling my warmth surrounding her.
“I was saying that we cannot let ourselves be derailed from the mission because of that woman.”
My hackles rose at his tone, but it seemed I wasn’t alone. Kolvar went eerily quiet, his body stilling as his head turned slowly to hold Elijah’s gaze. “If you call her ‘that woman’ in that flippant tone again, I’ll make you regret it.”
Tipping my cup of blood up and taking a large gulp, I considered our situation. This was beyond complicated. We’d never come to a head over a woman before.
Chuckling as I placed it down on the table, I raised an eyebrow and tried to prod at Elijah’s true feelings. I knew he had them deep down… They just happened to be buried under ten feet of concrete, wrapped in barbed wire, and blazing with hellfire to keep him away from them.
Placing my elbows on the high table, I leaned forward with my chin resting in my palms. “So, you’re telling me that if he brought her back out right now and offered her blood up to the remaining vampyres, you wouldn’t feel any type of way about it?
You would just stand there and watch, completely unfazed? ”
The thought of that happening made me want to flip this table over and slice the heads off of every vampyre here. I had no issue with killing my own kind, especially the pieces of shit that seemed to inhabit this empire.
The rumble of anger from Kolvar echoed that sentiment once more.
While Elijah was a master at wearing a mask at all times, the tell-tale tick in his jaw gave him away. He could act unaffected all he wanted, but I knew that his feelings didn’t align with his words.
“I don’t think anyone should be treated that way,” he responded diplomatically between clenched teeth.
I wasn’t going to let this go. Not when it was so clear that there was something special about this woman, for her to call to each of us in such a brief time of seeing her.
“You told the Emperor you weren’t going to drink her blood after he demanded it. You were willing to wage war with those words, Elijah. Admit it,” I demanded, a smirk on my face.
Before we could hash this out further, we turned at the sound of approaching footsteps. The guard who took her away appeared in the arched entrance to the room, spreading his hands and looking beyond pleased. “Ah, just the men I was looking for.”
We all went on high alert, standing to our full height, and I couldn’t help the way my body naturally tensed to fight. I had been on edge since entering the empire, and after training for so many years, the instinct to always be prepared for battle was ingrained.
His silver eyes flashed with something that looked strangely like respect as he took his time closing the distance between us. “I love to see that fire in your eyes. We’re going to need it if we’re going to succeed, and failure isn’t an option.”
Elijah stepped forward, folding his arms across his chest in what I’m sure he thought was an imposing stance. “What are you talking about?”
If this man was the guard of the Emperor’s precious Thrall, there was no way he was to be trusted.
He walked around us in a circle, sizing us up before stopping and holding his hands behind his back. “I don’t recognize you, and the manner in which you held yourself back from the Emperor’s Thrall doesn’t reflect the characteristics of a Lord from these lands.”
Fuck. We were going to have to kill him. Then we were going to need to get out of this damn place before anyone suspected us of doing it.
As I stepped forward to handle him, Elijah stuck a hand out, holding me back. “Wait.” His eyes still on the guard, he demanded, “If you have something to say, simply say it. Or are you too scared your own cover will be blown?”
Wait, what?
The arrogance of the guard faltered, and shock flitted through his eyes as his lips thinned. “It appears I’m not the only observant one in this empire after all.”
That sounded a lot like praise, and it only served to further bewilder me.
Kolvar and I exchanged confused looks, but we allowed Elijah to take the lead, as this was his mission appointed by our ruler.
“We could dance around the topic all night,” the guard said while running a hand through his short, messy white hair. “Listening to my gut has allowed my family and I to survive this long, so I’m going to continue to do so.”
None of us responded, waiting for him to explain further.
“Kyella felt a pull to the three of you. She said there was something different about you, and I’m inclined to agree.”
Kyella? Was that the name of the enchanting woman? She felt a pull to us as well?
The sentiment made my heart swell at the same time my cock did.
“After observing your body language as the Emperor tried to force you to feed from her, paired with how you didn’t show up with your own Thralls…”
Damnit. I knew our excuse for not having Thralls was as weak as a wall made of paper.
Taking a deep breath before blowing it out loudly, I saw the moment he decided to finally spit out the truth of the matter.
“I want the three of you to help me break her out of here—out of this prison she’s been trapped in for years.”
My heart beat loudly at that as I tightened my fists, trying to not think too hard on how long she’d been here and what she’d gone through.
Elijah didn’t take the bait. “And why would we do that? Why would we put our necks on the line for her? We’re Lords with lands and titles.”
The guard let out a deep laugh and crossed his arms to match Elijah’s stance. “Tell me the name of the city you rule over, the taxation percentage you owe to the empire, and the names of all of your Thralls. Please, be my guest and prove to me that Kyella and I are wrong about you three.”
The way he matched Elijah’s energy and called him on his shit made me inclined to give him a pat on the back.
I liked the guy, and that was saying a lot.
By nature, I disliked everyone until they proved to me why they shouldn’t be, and the way he challenged Elijah so casually was reason enough. Not many had the balls to do that.
“Does Kyella want us to help her escape?” Kolvar asked, drawing a scowl from Elijah and a smile from me.
“She does.”
My heart soared.
“But where would you take her?” the man asked. “I’m not letting you take her on a suicide mission. She deserves to live a life of fulfillment and happiness, and I won’t entrust a group of morons with her safety.”
I wasn’t sure whether to be offended that he thought we could be morons or pissed that he felt he had such a say in her life.
What was their relationship? I think in part I felt jealous over the simple fact that he knew her better than I did.
I was possessive over the woman’s name—Kyella—so I shouldn’t have been surprised.
Elijah’s shoulders heaved as he took in a big breath before exchanging questioning gazes with Kolvar and me, silently asking what we wanted to do.
With nods from each of us, he faced the guard and extended his hand in greeting.
“My name is Elijah. We’re Lords from the empire across the Cursed Divide, and we can take her back with us. ”
A smug smile pulled the guard’s lips up as he shook Elijah’s hand. “I’m Tristan, and I’m glad to hear that, but you won’t be taking only Kyella with you. You need to take myself, my wife, and my daughter as well.”
“We’re already putting ourselves in enough danger by trying to take Kyella,” Elijah argued. “There is no way we can risk taking four people.”
His features sharpened as he gritted out, “If anything happens to Kyella, the Emperor will kill my family. That is what he holds over my head in order to keep me compliant. If you take Kyella, he will kill them before killing me.”
Memories of my childhood rushed to the surface, and I immediately made the decision that I wouldn’t let another child suffer in this empire like I had.
I wouldn’t let another child watch their parents be slaughtered.
Stepping forward and yanking on Elijah’s arm, we stood toe to toe as my breathing stilled, tensing for an argument.
“We’re not leaving them behind to be slaughtered. ”
To my utter shock, Elijah’s green eyes scanned my face before a crack of empathy shone through. Heaving a sigh, he turned back to face Tristan. “This is a fucking death wish for us all, but fine. We’ll take you and your family as well if we can manage to get to the boat.”
Between changing his mind about drinking Kyella’s blood, and now this… I was wondering who the hell this version of Elijah was. It was just further proof of how much Kyella truly affected him, whether he was ready to admit it to himself or not.
A genuine smile pulled at Tristan’s lips. “Then let’s steal the Emperor’s prized possession, shall we?”