Chapter 247: Grace

We followed Queen Margaret down the black and white stairs. The party had had some color, but we were back in the usual vampire style world. The steps were marble. At least for the first few levels. The deeper we went, the more the stairs changed. No longer were they marble, but eventually they were wood, and then just simply a ladder.  
Queen Margaret didn’t hesitate, and if I didn’t know any better, I would think she was leading us to our death or something. But Margaret didn’t seem to have any bad intentions. I didn’t know why I was so sure on that, but I was. So sure that I would bet my life on it if I had to. But I didn’t have to, at least not yet.  
When we finally reached the bottom, I fought to catch my breath. I hadn’t been in the Red Blood prison for too long, but long enough for my body to not be quite right. I felt weak and tired, and my lungs burned. But there was no time to think about how I felt. We didn’t have time for that.  
“I’m still not sure about what’s going on.” Queen Margaret made eye contact with each and every one of us.  
“It’s not good, Mother,” Elara said quietly as she jumped off the ladder just behind Maizie.  
“I suggest finding out who’s loyal to you and trying to get as much information from Elijah as you can. Maybe you can help us from the inside.” Rhys told them.  
“He will know we helped you.” Elara answered. “It will no longer be safe for us here.”  
“Then I suggest you come with us.” Rhys responded, surprising me.  
“Are you sure about this?” I asked through the mindlink.  
“It’s the right thing to do.” He replied to me.  
“I can’t leave my people.” Queen Margaret frowned.  
“You won’t do them much good if you’re rotting inside a prison.” Rhys retorted.  
“Mother, we have to go with them...” Elara said calmly.  
“But we have nothing!” Queen Margaret argued.  
Elara shook her head slowly and pulled two bags out from behind a wall. “I’ve been packed for weeks. And I put as many obstacles as possible in his path, but they won’t hold him forever if he gets smart... We have to go...”  
Queen Margaret nodded slowly, and I didn’t know what to think of any of this. I wouldn’t say, I was opposed to them coming with us. Not even a little. I just worried how much we could actually trust them. I trusted my gut, they didn’t seem like bad people. But this seemed like a risk that seemed a little bit too big for my comfort, and the logical part of my brain was screaming another trap, even if I didn’t actually feel that way.  
It didn’t matter though. The decisions were made. Queen Margaret pressed up and down on the wall farthest away from us. I was beginning to think she had totally lost when it moved.  
I jumped backwards, and Rhys squeezed my hand and smiled at my reaction. I blushed, embarrassed at my reaction, but no one else seemed to be paying attention.   
“Keep Iris close to you,” I told Rhys though the bond.  
“Okay.” He answered easily, moving so that Iris would be in front of us. “Did something happen?”  
“Yes and no.” I responded. “It’s complicated.”  
“Isn’t everything?”  
I chuckled out loud and got some weird looks from the others. I just shook my head, and we hastened our pace now down the new tunnel.  
I kept checking behind us, worried that they had found which way we had gone, but I saw nothing. I wasn’t sure we’d even be able to tell if we were being followed. Vampires were notorious for their silence and their speed, but it didn’t stop me from checking every few minutes.  
On the walk, the Queen asked all sorts of questions about what was going on, and I didn’t blame her. She had known that her son had some interesting habits. He had always seemed a little extra hungry, but she hadn’t realized how far he had been willing to go for power. At least that was our assumption of what was happening.  
Elara was oddly quiet. She just observed everything, and I wished I could get to know her. I couldn’t imagine being trapped in a child’s body for forever. That seemed absurd to me, but I could see how there might be some benefits to it. For one, no one would ever suspect her of anything, and maybe that’s what unsettled me the most.  
Eventually, we made our way to a ladder. We had been in the tunnels for hours, and my body was tired. I hated the way my body was ready to give out, and we still had to climb out.  
“I wonder if the Red Blood pack has tunnels like this.” Rhys wondered aloud. 
“They do have tunnels. That’s how Caleb got people out... But they aren’t this extensive. But I have an idea about that.” I told him carefully. “I never really thought about it until tonight, but what if the reason the Red Blood pack is disappearing so easily is because of a combination of powers?”    
 “What do you mean?” Rhys asked as we climbed, and I was grateful that this conversation was just between us at the moment.  
“I mean, Vampires are silent and fast. Witches have powers that we don’t truly understand. All it would take would be one successful kid... And they’d be able to silence and hide the whole pack right in front of us.”  
“You think one kid would have that much power?” Rhys asked.  
“I think the right kid would... Or maybe several together. Maizie mentioned how they used to force shifts on her, and I wonder if there is a way that they harness power and can transfer it between people. Or maybe there’s a drug they use. I don’t know exactly... But I think it gives us something to actually work with... I could be wrong, but after everything that’s happened in the last couple days, I think I’m right.”  
Rhys and I took the stairs slowly, but I hadn’t realized that anyone was close enough to be listening. At least, that is until Elara began to slow clap behind us.  
I turned to face her in confusion, but to my surprise, she wore the same blank expression she had since I’d met her.  
“Congratulations, you are not an idiot Grace Cairstairs. You just might be able to save us after all.”
The Unwanted Daughter's Alpha King
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