Chapter 182

Charles

Grace didn't call back. I had a feeling I wouldn't hear anything about it until this evening, but as we arrived at Silverlight, I pushed those thoughts out of my mind. I stepped out and headed into the building where we were keeping Ryon for interrogations.

The pair of vampires who had joined the patrol nodded at me stiffly. The Enforcer who was running the interrogation opened the door, looking grim.

I braced myself for the worst.

"Well?"

He shook his head.

“We’ve asked him over and over again. The kid’s a mess, but he hasn’t been able to say anything… but the same thing over and over again.”

“And what’s that?”

“Lycans have no business in a treaty with vampires,” he said and waved vaguely. “It was all pretty sickening to hear, worse to have to clean up the vomit and listen to him sobbing.”

I took the report, thanked him, and headed inside. I shuffled through the pages. I didn’t want to listen to the recording, but I knew I would have to eventually. None of this was looking good. Honestly, it might have been easier to just execute him and put him out of his misery or ask Eason to try and break the compulsion on him, but I didn’t want to do that.

Ryon deserved a chance to be free of his family, one way or another. I headed into the room where Ryon was curled up on the floor, shuddering and ashen. His hair was wet with sweat. I could smell the sickness setting in as I approached him. It felt barbaric, but to put him on a bed, in a room comfortably, would have sent the wrong signal to Lucian. I crossed the room and crouched down.

“Ryon,” I said softly. He flinched, whimpering. He was cold to touch, and his eyes were barely open.

“Can you hear me?”

He nodded stiffly.

“I’m going to ask you different questions, all you need to do is try to answer, alright?”

He nodded. Tears surfacing in his eyes. I pulled at his collar and grimaced at the black veins creeping up his back.

“He’s going to die.” I didn’t look back at Lucian as he swept into the room.

“You understand that I don’t want that, Ryon?”

He whimpered, but he nodded.

“It’s going to hurt, likely, but I need you to try.”

“…can’t.”

“You can.” He shuddered. “How do you know about the Heart of Dracula?”

His eyes widened. He blinked and blinked again.

“Lord Redwood.”

I set my jaw, narrowing my eyes. It sucked to be right.

“Which Lord Redwood?”

“Nathan… the Elder.”

“You’re doing well.” I took a deep breath, pushing through the anger. I stroked his hair. “Did you find it?”

He shook his head, another ripple of light went over his skin. I held my breath, hoping against hope.

“…Lie.” I narrowed my eyes, not entirely sure what that mean, but I couldn’t afford to push him.

Another rippled went over him.

“Were you told to kill anyone?”

“Yes,” he gasped.

“Did you?”

He shook his head. “Couldn’t... Couldn’t…”

“Why couldn’t you?” I asked, narrowing my eyes.

Ryon, while not having been treated with the proper respect in his family, was plenty strong.

“Promise,” he gasped out. “Promised.”

“Who did you promise?”

He sniffled, his eyes going bleak. “Eva…”

I frowned. I didn’t know an Eva. I looked back as Lucian stepped forward. He crouched down beside me.

“Eva who?” Lucian asked.

“Eva…” He whispered softly. “Eva…”

His eyes flashed red. I narrowed my eyes, listening to him repeat the name over and over again.

“Eva who?” Lucian hissed. His voice grew tense.

I tugged at Ryon’s shirt collar as a soft light started to grow. My eyes widened. I pulled out a knife and cut through the fabric, trying to see the shape the light took more clearly, and I couldn’t believe it.

Lucian clearly didn’t know what was going on, but I knew it.

Ryon had taken an oath long before this compulsion had been placed. I narrowed my eyes at the shape the light had taken across his chest.

A mate mark, not yet consummated but it was there and pushing through the compulsion

“What did you promise Eva?” I asked. “Where is she?”

“Safe,” he whispered, closing his eyes. “Eva… Safe.”

“What did you promise her?”

“No killing,” he said. “Never harm unless self-defense… vampire… witch…never…”

The light pulsed. His eyes filled with red light.

“Do you have a way to contact Eva?”

His voice turned dreamy. He smiled softly. “Always.”

“Does your father know?”

He shook his head.

“… Does Chief Redwood know?”

He shook his head, and a bit of the tension eased out of me. At the least, I wouldn’t have to destroy the current family, maybe just a branch of it. Chief Redwood would likely choose to step down.

“If you can… ask Eva to come to Silverlight.”

He shook his head.

“She’ll be perfectly safe, you have my word, but she might be able to answer questions that you can’t.”

He opened his eyes, glowing with alpha red light that gave me hope.

“You have my word that no harm will home to her.”

He swallowed then he nodded and closed his eyes, relaxing into something like rest. I stood.

“Eva who?” Lucian asked. I looked at him.

“It seems we’ll find out soon enough. For now, I think we should speak. How about half an hour from now in the meeting hall?”

He narrowed his eyes and nodded stiffly before leaving. I sighed, rubbing my head as I looked down at Ryon. Would all of Devin’s contemporaries cause me so much stress?

I pulled out my phone and called the one person who would for sure help me.

She was, after all, Lucian’s relative.

“Charles, this had better not be a sorry I can’t make it call.”

I laughed. “I would never simply call for something like that.”

“You sound grave… things going sideways with your paramour? Should I send her lingerie?”

“No,” my lips twitched. “I don’t think she’s ready for that yet. This is a King call, Lady Noir.”

She went quiet for a moment. “You have a witch problem?”

“An information problem.” I sighed. “The Elders have been playing games and involved your in-law, Lucian.”

She hissed. “So you do have a connection to that attack?”

“In a very abstract way. I need to know what the Heart of Dracula is and why the hell the Elders would send a young alpha lycan after it under compulsion.”

“How strong of a compulsion?”

“It’s killing him, but he’s fighting it.”

“A strong one.”

I smiled. “I think he’s found his mate in a witch with vampire blood.”

“I do so love a good underdog couple…” She sighed. “The Heart of Dracula is a stone that’s said to grant immortality and power.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Said to?”

“That’s the myth.”

“Are you violating husband-wife rules by telling me?”

“If it will keep my cousin alive, no.”

I frowned. “Your cousin?”

“Well… more like brother-in-law.”

My eyes bulged. “Lucian… is Set’s brother?”

“Yes.” She chuckled. “You didn’t know?”

I bit my lip. “The lycans were sent to steal it, but they didn’t succeed. Apparently, it was a lie.”

She sighed. “The Heart of Dracula is… the heartstone of the vampiric race.”

My eyes bulged. “Like the Elder Tree for Elves?”

“Yes.”

“For fuck’s sake,” I growled, starting to pace. “Of course, those fuckers do nothing by half. What else can you tell me?”

If it was anything like the Elder Tree, attempting to steal it would be like threatening the entire race with death.

“For now, that’s all. I don’t know all the details. Set never… Well, he had no reason to tell me about it since Lucian took over. Nothing more than the basics. I can look into it for you.”

“I think… you’ll have to. I have to go and convince Lucian I had nothing to do with this and that I’ll rend the heads of everyone actually involved… Do you have any idea where it is? If it’s been moved.”

“If I did, it wouldn’t be there.” She sighed. “No one knows where it is, not anymore.”

I frowned. “What do you mean?”

She hesitated. “You… Well, your reach is a bit longer than mine.”

I chuckled. “A bit.”

“Seth told me once that it was connected to the fountains of Dracula’s castle. It’s been missing for decades.”

“Missing?”

“The castle itself has been missing, and… just last year, the fountain ran dry. I took the pilgrimage with Set’s coven.” Her voice trembled. “I thought… maybe it would help…”

For fuck’s sake, this couldn’t get any worse. I bit my lip.

“Astarte… I’m going to have a lot of questions for you soon, would you… Clear some time for me.”

“You only need to call, love.”

“Thanks.”

I hung up and took a deep breath, turning it over in my mind, but there was only one viable option, and I had to take it.