206

We followed in an SUV behind the King and his entourage. Sorin and the two warriors drove with the King and this trip took us roughly forty minutes to get to the estate. The roads were dark and quiet and none of us said a word since we also had a warrior driving with us.

The run down rounded building came into view and the guard that Milo had knocked out opened the gate for the two cars and then followed us down the driveway. Both cars stopped near the front door and I took a deep breath.

The warrior finally joined us and bowed his head as the King turned towards him. He radiated anger and I could see the fire smoldering in his eyes. His brother’s whole family was dead, all seemingly killed without anyone noticing.

“Speak.”

“My King, I was attacked from behind without warning. There were no scents in the air, no noise. I felt the blow to the back of my head. It happened so fast and when I came to I went looking for Sven and I found him dead. His Highness, Prince Gustav, Princess Consort Marie and all four boys were dead, shot in the head.”

The King’s anger only increased and we all looked at him as he contemplated his next move. “Thank you, Tomas.” The warrior looked up, a frown etched on his features as the King slipped a dagger from his jacket.

The blade went into his throat and came out on the other side, severing his spine. I was surprised at how quick the King had been in his kill. Tomas gurgled something and slipped down to the ground as the King pulled his dagger free.

Nobody blinked and nobody moved. They stepped over his body as they followed the King into the house. Ryder shot me a look and then we entered the house as well. “Don’t touch anything. See if the trackers can get a scent before we enter each room.”

Two men went up the stairs as the rest of us remained down in the foyer. I had no idea what they’d find. We hadn’t been in the rooms long but we also hadn’t opened any windows. My scent was naturally covered because of Marlo’s spell but vampires had a distinct scent that they left behind.

“Wynter?”

“Yes, my King?”

“You were a hunter for the Unit.”

“I was.”

“I want you to go up first, get a sense of what happened and then tell me your ideas.”

“Of course, my King.”

“I want to know which species is responsible for this. Tomas was already tested, he had no gun shot residue on his hands. He didn’t kill my brother but someone did this to send me a message.”

“If you don’t mind, my King. We will walk the outer perimeter while the trackers are upstairs and get a sense of how they got in.”

“Do that.”

The King was formal and I left the foyer with Milo and Ryder and stepped into the fresh night air. We walked to the side of the house, away from listening ears and stopped just inside the trees and looked towards the house. We’d see if anyone approached or tried to listen in on our conversation.

“You killed the King’s brother!” Ryder’s voice was low but angry.

“It was an assignment.” Milo didn’t seem bothered by anything.

“Did you cover your steps when we ran?”

“Of course I did, I always cover them.”

“Good. We’ll need to tell the truth of how we got access to the house and how everything happened. There won’t be anything to point to who did this so that will have to remain a mystery.”

“Why this kill order?” Ryder was looking at Milo, knowing that I had been out of the loop since arriving in Romania.

“The Seer foretold that the children would start a war that would eradicate more than half of the supernatural species. In the future they would own a medical centre where they extracted the DNA from all the species that exists and then they’d create a new hybrid species. This new species couldn’t be controlled and they had no sense of right and wrong. The only factor they could recognize was bloodlust.”

“What kind of hybrid?”

“It was monstrous. Vampire, wolf, fae, elf, nymph and dragon genes all rolled into one. It had no soul because it was created and not born. We cannot let something like that happen, ever. They had to die.”

“And Gustav and Marie?”

“Financial support and with the King’s ear, this new species would’ve become the King’s royal guard.”

“How can they be the King’s royal guard if they can’t be controlled.”

“That’s where they realized their mistake. When half of Romania’s population died along with the Royal Family.”

“Do you know why this training camp was held in the first place?”

“Nothing concrete but my gut tells me that the Dragon King’s raising an army. This training camp was a test to calculate the abilities of dragonkin. If I’m right then the training camps will become mandatory and will expand from what we did here. The training will be modified to everyone’s own strengths so that when the time comes, the King has his own army that doesn’t need any training. He’ll probably be the one to start the war.”

“War …”

“Dad, I won’t let it come to that. The King will be dead before he can start a war.” Ryder looked at me.

“It’s time I tell you exactly what Typhon predicted your future to be.”

“I think you should’ve told me a long time ago but right now we have to get in there and give the King some answers.”

Ryder didn’t say anything else and I started walking back to the front door. I heard him and Milo behind me grumbling in low voices but chose to ignore them. The King looked questioningly at me just as the two trackers made their way down the stairs.

“I believe entry was gained through the back garden. Tomas was incapacitated first and Sven taken out to gain entry to the house, probably also from the back.”

“Any lingering scents?” The King was looking at the two trackers now.

“Nothing my King.”

“How is that possible?”

“Scents usually start to fade after an hour. They could’ve been killed hours ago, we don’t know how long Tomas was unconscious.” I could see the King didn’t like that one bit because Tomas was now dead and it had in fact been about two hours since they had been killed.

“Let’s hope you have better luck, Wynter.”

I took the stairs two at a time with Milo close on my heels. He was literally breathing down my neck and when I stopped suddenly he walked right into me. “Asshole.” I grinned but then wiped the smile from my face so the King wouldn’t see.

I stood on the threshold of the master bedroom and stepped inside. I walked to Gustav’s side and looked at the two dead bodies. “I’d say there were two shooters my King. Even with silencers our senses are much sharper, either could have woken up with the first pop. The positioning of the bullets tell me they were shot at the same time.”

I mimicked my arm downwards with my fore-and-middle fingers pointed towards Gustav, exactly like I’d done two hours earlier. Milo mimicked my stance on the other side aiming his fingers at Marie. The King looked at us and nodded his head.

“Two men makes more sense taking down the warriors …” The King’s voice was a soft murmur as he looked at his brother. I was surprised to see not anger or sadness but … joy? Was he happy that his brother was dead?

“They probably killed them first. It would’ve been a risk to kill the children first, they hadn’t merged yet so their senses were still dull.” King Florin looked at Milo and nodded his head.

“Take all the bullets out and have them analyzed by our lab.”

He turned and left the room with the warriors following him. Ryder walked up to me and pushed me so I moved one inch to the left. “You stood here.”

My head snapped up at him as he moved my arm just a fraction. “How the hell do you know that?”

“I was a hunter too, Wynter, a very good one.” Ryder left the room and Milo grinned at me.

“Damn, he could probably still kick your ass.”

“Yeah, probably. He was only a hunter for two years though.”

Milo and I trudged down the stairs and stopped next to Ryder. The King was drinking whiskey from a tumbler and the two warriors stood to one side, waiting patiently. The two trackers spoke in low voices to one another.

“Go check the outer perimeter, maybe there’s something, tyre tracks or footprints.” The two trackers nodded and left the house.

King Florin watched with amusement in his eyes as Ryder fixed himself a drink and emptied the glass. Ryder was never one to follow the rules and it had rubbed off on me and Milo. We followed his rules, not all of them, but we had grown up knowing that we were better, stronger and faster.

“Who do you think did this?” King Florin was looking at me.

“It’s hard to speculate my King. Was it supernatural? Yes. Humans can’t move as quietly as we do. The fact that there are no scents, no forced entry and no trace left … it could be anything.”

“Who hates you the most?”

“Excuse me?” King Florin looked at Ryder with a shocked expression on his face.

“A King always has enemies. I’m sure you’re brother had his fair share but I doubt his enemies would kill his children too. There are very few people that will kill children.”

“I don’t think you’re just a farmer.” King Florin’s observation had me lock gazes with Milo. He nodded in understanding. Nobody would touch our father, not tonight, not ever.

“I never said I was just a farmer. My father founded the original Unit and I was trained accordingly. He was also a very strong Sire and I was raised as one.” I could see the insult in Ryder’s words even if King Florin couldn’t.

“Your father sounds like an intriguing man.”

“He was, my King.”

“Is there anyone, King Florin, that comes to mind?” Milo had broken their stare-off as the King turned towards him.

“A few people though I never thought they’d have the balls to attack me like this.”

“It’s a good move actually.” The King’s glare shot through Milo and he cleared his throat. “I mean they’d never get to you at the palace, so coming for your brother is the next best thing for them.”

“I suppose that’s true.”

King Florin looked dejected, an emotion I could contribute to losing his brother. If it was me, I’d be on a murderous rampage, tearing people limb from limb if anything like this ever happened to Milo or any member of my family.

It wasn’t something I wanted to think about as the lump in my throat threatened to choke off my oxygen supply. I blinked twice as the King moved towards the front door. “There’s nothing more for us to do here. I’ll have a word with the Police Inspector in charge.”

We got back into the SUV’s and the drive back to the Palace felt more intense than driving away from it had felt. I felt tired suddenly and I could see Milo needed to rest as well, probably feed too. I felt like an asshole as I hoped that Maya had already gone back to her room.

I was in luck, our suite was empty when we returned and Milo headed to the second bedroom after feeding from me. I fell down on the bed and pulled my phone from my pocket. I had no idea what the time difference was but I didn’t care at that moment.

“Wynter?” Her voice made me smile and I could hear that she’d been asleep.

“I’m sorry I woke you.”

“It’s okay. Is something wrong?” Ally was like Nova in that regard, always worried about everyone else.

“Why aren’t you here?”

“Wynter …” It sounded more like a sigh and I wished I knew what she was thinking.

“I’m selfish I know.”

“I can’t watch you marry someone else.” Her voice sounded small, like she was close to tears.

“I screwed up, Ally. This was never supposed to happen.”

“But it happened.”

“Are they treating you well? I’ve never kicked Greece ass before but I will.” Ally laughed and I closed my eyes as I focused on the sound of her voice. What the hell was wrong with me?

“My uncle is a very interesting man. He takes me everywhere and I’ve met cousins and aunts, it’s nice here.”

“I’m glad you’re happy, Ally, at least one of us is.”

“Wynter, I’ve loved you for a long time, not like a sister loves a brother and now I wish that we had bonded that night. It would make things so much easier.”

“What things, Ally?” I was sitting upright now because her voice had changed, sadness laced it now.

“It doesn’t matter, you’re getting married tomorrow. I’ll always love you, Wynter.”

“I love you, Ally.” The line went dead and I looked at my phone with a frown on my face. What things?