Chapter 109: Inheritance

“Stop.” Eden’s eyes flashed with golden light like the sun.
The air shook and Laurel felt something shimmering in the air. The general and the vampires who were going to attack him froze in place.
“Kill each other,” He sneered with another flash of his eyes. “Painfully.”
The general turned first, cutting through a man who was just beside him. The vampire holding Laurel gasped and started to tremble as her stomach churned at the sight. They hissed and cried out as they attacked each other. Blood splashed through the air, pooling around the bodies. They drove their swords through each others’ chests, stabbing until the bodies grew still and silent. They severed each other’s heads and tore at each other until only the general remained alive, swaying on his feet.
A head rolled towards her. The eyes looked up at her, the expression was twisted in horror.
“You…” he choked out and turned toward Eden. “I…”
“Kill yourself,” Eden said with another flash of his eyes.
The general cried out and plunged his sword into his chest, choking and falling over. His blood pooled around him in a slow-growing puddle. Laurel swallowed, unable to look away from the carnage.
Eden glared at the pile and a soft flame began to rise from the center of each corpse before engulfing the entire group. The vampire holding her gasped and released her as Eden lifted his gaze to look at him.
"You will obey me or end up like them. Laurel is not to be harmed.”
“Y-Yes. I understand, sir.”
Laurel didn't know what to say as the fire engulfed all the bodies and burned the blood to ash that sparkled like flecks of sunlight in the air. Soon, the bodies had vanished and the fire stopped as if it had never been and the ashes drifted away in the wind.
Eden crossed the clearing to her as the sound of horses and carriages came closer.
“Are you alright?” He asked, searching her gaze.
She nodded stiffly. He took her by her arm and led her towards the unoccupied horse.
“We’ve gathered everything,” one of the other vampires said.
“Good, we leave now.”
Eden lifted her onto the horse and climbed on behind her. He looked at the vampire.
“Get on a carriage.”
He nodded stiffly and hurried to climb into a vacant seat before Eden led them further into the forest. She had no idea which direction they were headed, but she guessed it had to be towards the vampire queen’s lands or at least towards the neutral territory.
“How did you do that?” She asked, trembling a bit in the cold. Eden removed his cloak and wrapped it around her. “You didn't… you just ordered them to kill themselves…a-and the fire?”
“It is one of the only gifts I have from the vicious woman who birthed me and the father who gave his life for me,” His voice was cold. “Her ambition bore fruit though she does not know it.”
Laurel swallowed. She thought back to all of their conversations and realized that Eden had never spoken about where he was from or his parents.
“Let me know if you get cold. We are heading north once we pass over the border.”
Hope blossomed in her chest. She knew that Adolf had closed off the border ages ago subjecting it to hard checks for any traveler. Getting through with random werewolves was much easier than trying to take her across the border, so what was his plan?
They soon reached the mouth of a cave. Eden sent a ball of light ahead filling the cave with light and led the caravan through it. She heard water dropping and echoing along with the rattle of the caravan. She could barely see a few feet beyond the orb of light ahead of them.
“The vampires you left behind won't be enough to stop at all from coming after me. It doesn’t matter how far you go. He’ll find me.”
Eden chuckled, “ I am counting on the king coming after you. I'm also counting on his fury to lead him straight over the edge.”
“The edge?”
“The existence you call a rogue is caused by two things: the breaking of a mating bond that leads the survivor into inexplicable madness or succumbing to a blood aura.”
Laurel’s heart lurched in terror.
“Vampires and vampire descendants like me can't see or smell a blood aura. Werewolves can. His display at your last wedding got me thinking about his mental state and the source of his formidable power. He had all the signs of going rogue. For now, your bond is enough to keep him from falling right over the edge easily, but he is still in danger of it.”
Laurel wasn't sure if she should believe him or not, but Eden had no reason to lie to her now that the truth of his betrayal had been revealed. If he was right, Adolph was in danger of going rogue at all times. Maybe the words of the priestess about her being his shield had been literal: a shield against the darkness that was always threatening to take him.
If she could just reach him, she could keep him calm and give him some sort of warning, but she couldn’t feel him more than the fact that he was alive.
How was Eden doing that? She didn't know anything that could block a werewolf’s mating bond like this. She looked down at her wrist and a bolt of fear went through her.
“The shackles?”
“The distance, the panic, the worry, and anxiety of not knowing anything more than you are alive. He probably thinks I work for the vampire queen and I’m taking you to her. He knows of the woman’s cruelty better than most. He'll lose his mind long before he can manage to get to you.”
“Then what?” Laurel asked.
“The ministers, in all of their magnanimous corruption, will insist that he's unfit for the throne. The ministers you fired will be reinstalled within the fortnight. Basil will be installed as king within a few more weeks. After that, the werewolf kingdom will be as defenseless as a newborn.”
Defenseless, she thought. It sounded like he planned to attack the kingdom again. What about the army? Even if Adolph couldn’t lead them, they weren’t a force easily defeated. He had a bigger plan involved or some greater power up his sleeve.
“...I suppose your queen will be very happy about that."
Eden chuckled, “I’m sure, but she won’t live to see it.”
Laurel flinched at his cold tone.
*That vicious woman who birthed me…*
Adolf had always described the vampire queen as vicious and cruel. Was Eden her son?
She looked back at him thoughtfully. He looked at her, meeting her gaze from the corner of his eye, and smirked.
“It's a shame that we didn't meet first.”
“You realize that if Adolph dies, I will be affected, don't you?”
“I do, but I have a feeling I won’t have to worry too much about it. They say that the bond starts to dissolve if one person falls into madness before they die. I have plenty of time. Adolph’s death doesn’t need to be quick.”
She shuddered, “Why… do you think that I’ll be happy to be with you knowing you’ve killed my mate?”
Eden’s lips twitched, “I am only orchestrating his devolving into madness. Besides, you may hate me, fear me, want to kill me, but you are devoted to the werewolf kingdom, aren’t you? At the least, you will cooperate.”
“Cooperate?”
The idea frightened her greatly. Cooperate with Eden after he led Adolph into insanity? There would only be one reason to cooperate with him after that: the well-being of the werewolf kingdom.
Was he planning to take over the werewolf kingdom? Taking advantage of Basil’s ineptitude and the corruption of the ministers to overthrow the Raymond regime?
She shuddered at the thought and the realization that their meeting had just been happenstance and a stroke of luck for him to ease the way if this had been his plan all along.
She was luna now. Basil knew nothing of war and he was married to Delia. Basil barely knew enough to be a prince. If the king died or lost his mind, it wouldn’t take long for the people to realize that Basil was inept. She would be almost forced to take over for the sake of the citizens.
Eden was planning to start another war with the werewolf kingdom, but they could have peace if they married and united the lands. No one would think it a bad decision with their warrior king dead, their prince disgraced and the memory of how much they’d lost in the last war still so fresh.
What was his plan before they met? How long had he been scheming? Had she been alive as Laura and his schemes were already at work? How had her actions as Laurel affected his plans? Had they affected them at all?