#Chapter 41 - A Matter of Time

Adam’s POV

Although the idea alone sounded outlandish, the arrogant werewolf king didn’t even give me a chance to explain myself before bursting into a laughing fit. It was like listening to nails scratching against a chalkboard.

I let out an irritated sigh. “Douglas, my dear friend.” I hated calling him that. “I know going against my own royal family isn’t going to be an easy task but–”

He interrupted. “Don’t forget that the blood of humans runs through your veins. Your powers pale in comparison to your fully-fledged vampire counterparts.” Douglas stated with a smirk on his face.

I bit the inside of my cheek and drew blood. Oh, how I wanted to wipe his face clean of that smugness.

I cleared my throat. “As I was saying… I have a plan that’s already set in motion that will help me gain the power I need to contest them. All I need from you is a little cooperation.”

Douglas tilted his head to the side. “What exactly do you want?”

“I’ve spared a countless amount of my men for your crusades to expand your borders. Perhaps you can do me a fair return by allowing me to… collaborate, with 5 of your best.” Although I would be commanding them and making them my soldiers, I knew I needed to choose my words carefully around Douglas.

It was easy for Douglas to be “blunt” and “honest” to others but his ego was far too fragile for anyone to be honest in return to him.

Douglas raised an eyebrow. “While I would love nothing more than to help you with your family affairs, I can’t simply relinquish my own from their duties. Not especially with my insufferable nephew roaming around…”

“But…” He continued. “Follow me to the royal dungeons. I may be able to spare some who would be more than willing to follow your crusade.”

The dungeons of Royal City were surprisingly less desolate and depressing than I originally thought. Many of the cells had a nice bed, a nightstand, a bookshelf, and even a small bowl of fresh fruits.

He guided me further past the prisoners who seemed all too comfortable in their cells and went past a heavily locked iron door. As soon as I stepped into the room, I had immediately known what this place was meant to be.

The smell of blood and broken spirits was unmistakable. We were in a torture chamber.

Many of the prisoners were freshly bloodied and bruised, no doubt having been at the mercy of guards who wanted to vent their frustrations. Douglas took me to the back of the room–I couldn’t even see the door we had just entered from moments before.

In an especially large cell, there were 5 men. Each of them was similarly built and looked relatively healthy. However, deeper scars and bruises decorated their bodies and faces–theirs were more brutal than the others I had just seen.

I looked to Douglas with a questioning look. “What’s their story?”

“Former subordinates and captains that served the Leonard family.” Douglas grinned wickedly.

I shot my eyebrows up. “I’m surprised you’ve kept them alive.”

“They were invaluable to ensuring my success with expanding my borders a few years back. They liked to think themselves loyal but…” Douglas smirked. “Nothing some beatings, cuts, and threats to their family couldn’t solve.”

“What makes you think they won’t just run away at the first sight of freedom? They’ll probably hurt me and go back to Xavier.”

Douglas took the keys out of his pocket and unlocked all of the chains from the 5 men. He steps out of the way of the door and motions for them to leave.

Instinctively, I bore my fangs at them to show that I wasn’t going down without a fight.

However, the prisoners simply rubbed at their wrists and remained sat in their spots.

Douglas smiled at me. “You’ll find them to be suitable companions, soldiers, or slaves. Whatever the case, they’re willing to do anything for a slice of freedom. As long as they have someone to follow.”

“Such obedient dogs,” Douglas added slyly.

“Up,” I commanded.

They stood up immediately.

“Sit.”

They followed that order, too.

“I, Prince Adam of the Vampire Kingdom, hereby take claim to your pathetic lives. You will serve me until death claims you. You will fight for me and no one else. My words are absolute and your weapons are drawn in my name.”

The bloodied men knelt before me.

I suppressed the excitement that threatened to form on my face. Now it’s all a matter of time.

—––––

Eloise’s POV

The bright light of the midday sun woke me up. I sat up and looked around the room to see it as quiet and still as ever. I guess Xavier’s meeting is going on for a bit longer.

I got up to go the bathroom and start my day as usual. With the usual everyday dirt and grime that I washed away, I also cleansed myself of the emotional baggage I experienced this past week.

I let out a heavy sigh just thinking about all that happened with Liam and Xavier.

It was still hard to wrap my head around the fact that Liam fell in love with me after just a few short interactions. Sure, he was a nice man and all, and I don’t doubt that we could’ve been good friends.

What bugged me was not having Xavier trust me. Despite what we went through and what we had, it still seemed like his prejudice and dislike against my family were stronger.

He couldn’t trust my family, which meant he couldn’t trust me either.

Xavier’s emotional insecurities are starting to wear me down. I need to conserve as much energy as I can and prioritize strengthening my powers. There’s not much time left…

After I got dressed and had a light breakfast, I went to the rose gardens to study. Just like I’d been doing. It was nice having another place at the castle that wasn’t constantly being watched by Xavier or his men.

Ever since I started to practice ancient magic more, I’ve been able to feel the effects of my body getting used to handling longer study sessions. Because of this, I also haven’t been as weak afterward as I was once. I could tell that I was also getting stronger.

I couldn’t even tell you how much time had passed but I thought that I had studied enough for a bit. With a wave of my hand in front of the mirror, I was able to summon Mona.

Mona smiled at me and floated out of the mirror. “I’m so incredibly proud of you, Eloise! You really have been improving on your ancient magic studies!”

I smiled back at her. “I know! I can’t believe how much power I’ve been able to summon. Hopefully, it won’t be too long until I awaken my true powers from within.”

“You’re a completely different witch from when you first visited and proposed to Xavier. It’s only a matter of time until you’re finally able to rid the world of Xavier and save your family!”

A painful string tugged at my heart when Mona brought up killing Xavier. All I could do was smile at her words.

In my mind, I knew that I had to prevent the prophecy from happening and that I needed to protect my family but after getting to know Xavier so well… I wasn’t sure now if I’ll have the strength to do it when the time comes.

It’s not like I love him or anything but–

“Hey, Eloise!” Mona waves her hand in front of my face. “Are you going to get back to studying or just keep staring off into the sky?”

“Huh?” I said with a dumbfounded expression on my face.

Mona rolled her eyes. “You need to get back to your studies, Eloise! I don’t know if you heard me while you were busy daydreaming but your next plan should be to study divination magic.”

“What good is that going to do me?”

Mona smiles. “Quit asking questions and just do as I say! You’ll see how beneficial it’ll be to you soon enough.”

I nod my head and intently look into the mirror.

Mona floats over me. “Now, just picture a bunch of souls walking around inside of the mirror. It doesn’t matter what the place they’re walking in looks like. It can look like the cosmos above, a fiery hell, or just a plain white room. What matters is that you envision people walking around.”

I nod my head again and picture different people walking around in the mirror. Some short, some tall, some adults, some children. I even think about the old Wisdom guard dog my family had when I was just a child.

It’s not long until I see silhouettes of souls wandering around inside of the mirror. For a few seconds, it startles me. I didn’t think I was going to be able to see them before me so quickly.

“Mona?” I asked alarmingly.

“You really are a quick learner, Eloise!” Mona squeals. “You’ve already managed to manifest the Realm of Wandering Souls in this mirror! This is amazing!”

My smile was wide as I looked back into the mirror to see all of the people who were walking aimlessly before me. Although I felt sad about how their souls never really moved on, it made me happy to know that I was able to tap into their world.

However, it didn’t take long for my smile to leave my face as I saw someone familiar.

They looked back at me with widened eyes and ran up to me like they were going to jump out of the mirror. As they got to the invisible barrier of the glass, they started to pound on it desperately.

“Lady Eloise?! It’s me, Mia!”