“Indeed it is,” the disgraced advisor said, unwilling to move within Keiran’s arm reach through the bars.
“Who in the hell are you?” Jerris asked, barely able to make out the stranger.
“Victri Lotain.” The advisor squinted to study Keiran. “You’re the fearsome vampire we’ve all been so terribly preoccupied with?”
“I’m Keiran Sipesh, King of Tordania,” he replied, going closer to the barred wall separating his cell from the next.
Victri immediately took a step back just as a precaution. “I gathered as much.”
“I’m no threat to you,” Keiran said, noticing the man’s retreat and feeling a spike of fear coming from him.
“I have no way of knowing that. With my run of luck, I’m more comfortable taking certain precautions.” The advisor turned his attention to the other men across the aisle. “And you must be the guards we allowed in with the vampire?”
“We? I doubt you had much to do with it,” Kanan said, unimpressed with the whole ordeal and going to sit on the mattress against the back wall of his cell.
“It was my plan.” Victri’s anger gave him the nerve to move closer toward Keiran’s cell. “My ungrateful queen tossed me down here not long before your arrival. Nice that she finally took a small measure of my advice, though it does me no good now.”
“And why are you down here?” Keiran asked, studying the man.
“I protested bringing you here, and it was enough to knock me out of favor.” Victri shook his head and sighed. “I’d imagine I’ll be executed at some point or simply left here to rot. Adira is awful at making tough decisions on her own. Her usual course of action is to tuck things away and hope they simply vanish from reality.”
Keiran fell silent for several moments, trying to sense more from the man. After seeing what a corrupt royal advisor could do back home, he needed to know where Victri stood. The emotions within the man were jumbled badly, however, and most of what the vampire picked up was anger and frustration—two reasonable reactions to being imprisoned.
Jerris was paying close attention and had caught something. “Who else has the queen locked away and hoped would vanish?”
Victri turned his eyes toward the guard, something sparking behind them. The edges of his mouth curled up slightly. “Oh, I think you might be very, very interested to learn that detail. There are certain things Adira willfully left out of her little monologue to you.”
“Such as?” Keiran asked.
“The source of your mother’s insanity, for one.” Victri dared to take another step closer.
Keiran quirked a brow. “You know?”
“Of course, I was there.” Victri shrugged. “Adira was, too.”
“Then what was it?” Keiran asked, moving closer. Something hadn’t added up in Adira’s story, and if this man really had answers, Keiran wanted them.
“Keiran, be careful, he might just be blowing smoke,” Kanan grumbled out from where he’d landed. “You know how desperately you grasp for straws.”
Victri scowled. “I have nothing to gain by making up tales to tell you. In fact, what I relay here will certainly garner you a strong reaction from Adira when she comes down to see you next. It will be proof enough, I’d imagine.”
“I want to hear him out.” Keiran glanced at his elder guard. “There are no rash actions I can take for the time being, no matter what he says. We’ll have ample time to discuss it.”
The advisor crossed his arms over his chest. “As I was saying, Ilana’s slide into insanity did start when she was fourteen, but it didn’t come out of the blue. I was young and just beginning my service in the palace, but I remember it clearly.”
Keiran nodded toward the man, urging him onward. “What was it?”
“One early spring evening, there was a terrible commotion from Ilana’s quarters. Guards rushed to her door to try and gain entry, but it wouldn’t open. They even tried hacking at the door with axes, the girl’s pleading and crying within continuing on,” Victri said, closing his eyes to remember. “Eventually, the screams trailed off into sobs, and the door finally opened as though it had never been locked.”
Keiran felt the back of his neck crawl.
“Ilana was inside, cowering in a corner. There was no other way into or out of her room, but there wasn’t anyone else inside. She’d been beaten severely.” One corner of Victri’s mouth twitched upward. “When she was asked what had happened, she refused to give any detail. In fact, she refused to speak at all to anyone for months following.”
“And no suspect was found?”
“None. By summer, however, the fact she’d been raped and conceived became obvious enough,” the advisor said. “Still, with no suspect, plenty of rumors went around. Several said she was carrying the illegitimate child of a palace guard or the like. No one was certain.”
What Adira had said earlier about Athan’s drive for revenge against the Aviatrovs echoed in Keiran’s mind, and he hung his head knowing what had taken place that night. “Athan Vercilla was the one. He could have gotten into her room and then vanished like that. I’ve seen his tricks plenty of times.”
Victri quirked a brow. “At the very least, it was someone with the sort of power they say he possesses, yes.”
That was enough to get Kanan’s attention, and he rose up from where he sat. “Ilana never said anything about another child. What became of it?”
Victri turned to face the older guard. “He was born and then sent off to be raised outside of the castle. Ilana wasn’t mentally healthy enough to raise the child herself. She was too traumatized.”
“What became of him?” Keiran asked. “If he was fathered by a vampire, was he one himself?”
“No one knew, but after Ilana left for Tordania, the boy grew ill. Not wanting the responsibility of the young man’s death on their hands, his foster parents brought him back here,” Victri said. “He continued to fail health-wise, but he seemed otherwise normal. The palace physician struggled for years to diagnose him.”
Keiran shifted where he stood, recalling how he’d ailed as he’d neared adulthood from his own condition. It had been torturous to live like that.
Victri noticed the Tordanian’s discomfort, and it elicited a faint smile. “Shortly after Adira was crowned, Garhan was diagnosed with vampirism, and she had him imprisoned. It was a needed precaution to keep him from spreading it. She didn’t have the nerve to simply kill him, though, it would have been the cleanest solution.”
Keiran hung his head and sighed. “If he was locked up and never given blood, he would have eventually died anyway.”
“One would have hoped, and I think Adira did hope for that, but…” Victri shrugged.
Keiran was struck by a strong, sickening feeling from Victri, and he lifted his head again. “But?”
“I haven’t lain eyes on him myself in years, and neither has Adira as she’s written him off. However, there has been no report of his death as of yet,” Victri said.
“He would have to be nearly forty years old by now,” Keiran whispered after doing the math in his head. Knowing how ill he’d already been by twenty-three without drinking blood, he couldn’t fathom how anyone could make it that long. “Where is he?”
That was the question Victri had dearly hoped to hear. “Close by and I will take you there if you can find a way to get us out of this dungeon.”
“There it is, I knew he wasn’t giving you this information to be a humanitarian,” Kanan scoffed. “It’s probably all a lie. Again, Ilana never mentioned having another child to either me or Corina.”
Victri winced and put his hands on the sides of his head, falling to his knees. There was a horrible, cracking pain within his skull, and his ears began to ring loudly.
Keiran didn’t respond to Kanan’s words, and stood fixed in place, staring at the advisor. He was reaching out as hard as he could, looking for the deception within Victri’s claim. After being led into Aleria under false pretenses, he was unwilling to ta
ke any more chances.
“What in the hell is wrong with him?” Jerris asked, pointing an arm between the bars toward Victri.
Keiran continued to pry, his body rigid and unmoving.
Victri, meanwhile, fell to his side, blood starting to run from his ears. He gave out a tortured scream, certain he was dying.
Kanan pulled his attention away from the fallen man and looked at Keiran, realizing the vampire hadn’t moved or responded at all to Victri’s sudden collapse. “Keir! Stop it!”
The vampire didn’t hear Kanan and took a step forward. Keiran was pushing his reach beyond his prior limits. He was deep within the advisor’s mind, hunting down validation of his claim about his supposed half-brother. He’d given in to his instinct to push until he found out what he wanted.
The advisor continued to writhe on the ground, his body wracked by a grand mal seizure.
Kanan and Jerris looked on, the redhead picking up what his father suspected. The younger man pulled his attention away and looked around, spotting a metal drinking cup setting on the floor of his cell. He raced over and grabbed it before turning around to hurl it.
It sailed through the bars of Keiran’s cell, striking the vampire in the side of his head. Shocked at the sudden contact, Keiran retreated from Victri’s mind and spun to look at his guards. He’d gotten lost in the advisor’s mind and had been consciously unaware of what he was doing to the man.
Victri’s seizure ended, his body going limp against the stone floor. His eyes stared upward, dazed, a whimper escaping his lips.
“What in the hell were you doing?” Jerris asked, his voice shrill.
Keiran looked over at Victri then at his guards. “I had to know if he was telling the truth, but I lost track.”
“Is he alive?” Kanan couldn’t tell from his vantage point.
Victri managed to roll onto his side and struggled to get further away from Keiran. His mind was too scrambled to make a coherent statement, a jumble of grunts escaping him.
Keiran felt guilty, and he slouched as he turned away from the advisor. “I apologize.”
Victri shouted out something unintelligible in response, moving to sit with his back against the opposite wall of his cell.
Kanan sighed, deciding the advisor was probably going to live, though he might suffer long-term effects. “Well, Keiran, for all of that, please tell me you at least know if he was trying to deceive you.”
In the end, Keiran had gotten a single visual of the man Victri had spoken about.
…and it had horrified him.
He leveled his gaze on Kanan and gave a slow nod of his head. “Aye, he’s real, and we have to do something.”
“Where is he being held?” Jerris asked.
“I don’t know,” Keiran replied. “We will need Victri for that.”
Victri sputtered out several more disorganized words before he managed a sensible phrase. “You almost killed me! To hell with you! I’m not helping you now!”
Keiran turned around slowly to look at the advisor. “Either you take your chances and help us find him, or you spend the rest of your life in here or get executed. With the way you’ve abused the women in this palace, including the queen herself, I doubt you will ever see the outside world again.”
Victri’s lips parted, and it took him a second to respond. “What?”
“I saw clearly enough, Victri. I know what kind of man you are, and if I had killed you just now, it wouldn’t have been a disservice to the world.” Keiran moved closer to the bars separating their cells. “Now, you can redeem yourself to some small degree by helping me find my brother, or I can go ahead and rip your head open from the inside. These bars can’t protect you. Which is it?”
The advisor stared down at his hands, noticing the blood upon them from his ears. “Leave me be, and I will take you to him once we’re out. Leave me be until then.”
“Fine.” Keiran turned back toward his guards.
“You…gathered why he was in here during that?” Jerris asked.
“It was rather prominent on his mind,” he replied. “But I did see Ilana’s first-born son. At least, I saw what he looked like the last time Victri laid eyes on him. I just don’t know where it was.”
Kanan and Jerris looked at one another. While they were both mutually horrified by what Keiran had done to the advisor, they were impressed with the amount of information he’d garnered.
“What?” Keiran asked.
“Have you ever gotten that much information from someone before?” Kanan’s eyes narrowed. “You’d said previously you only picked up emotions.”
“I must be getting better at it,” he said, glancing back at Victri.
“Well, just don’t jelly our brains,” Jerris added, frowning.
* * *
The following morning, Stepan strode into the throne room, finding Adira sitting within. She had been interviewing new advisors to replace Victri but had taken a small break. Upon seeing Stepan, she offered a smile.
“Good morning, Stepan. Have you completed your morning rounds and roll call?” she asked out of formality.
“I have, and there is nothing out of order, but that’s not why I’m here.” He stopped right before her and gave a small bow.
She raised a brow and cocked her head to the side. “Is that so?”
“It is.” He lowered his voice. “I need to speak with you about events yesterday.”
“They went well. The vampire has been contained with no casualties and no spread of his curse.” Adira dropped her gaze to the side.
“That is true, but you weren’t honest with me about what was going to happen. As the head of the guard, I should have been informed of your intentions.” Stepan shook his head. “I know you feel you acted in the best interest of Aleria by doing what you have, but my honor was put into question. I assured the Tordanians when I picked them up yesterday morning that they would be returned to their men in the evening.”
“They aren’t Alerians, so you haven’t lost your honor to anyone who matters,” she said back.
“I make no distinction between lying to foreigners or Alerians, Queen Adira. Withholding information is one thing, but outright lying I cannot stand.” Stepan lifted his chin a little, trying to keep his emotions in check.
“And that is a noble trait you have, but the greater good is paramount here. I’m sorry if you feel disrespected in some way, but at the end of the day, I have to have the country’s best interest in mind, not the honor of an individual citizen.” Adira frowned and her posture stiffened.
Stepan hesitated. He’d never been one to question the queen before. “But why not let me in on the plan? I wouldn’t have disagreed with it. You must have let other guards in on it. There were dozens of them already staged around when I arrived here with the Tordanians.”
“I went to the guards directly,” Adira shrugged. “I didn’t want to bother you with those details. I needed you to simply bring the vampire here.”
“It would have been simpler for me to organize them with your orders,” he replied. “I’m the one tasked with doing that. Why keep me out of it?”
“Stepan, I don’t have to explain myself to you nor my motivations for doing it how I chose to.” She rose to her feet. “After my troubles with Victri, I’m rather weary of delegating tasks that I can simply do myself. Again, I know what is best for this country. Not you or anyone else.”
“Then what purpose do I serve?” Stepan’s complexion began to pale, but he wasn’t willing to stand down.
“I can think of one, Stepan.”
* * *
Keiran looked up from where he sat on his mattress. There were guards hauling someone by force down the stairs and toward the door to his cell.
“Dear God, why are you doing this?” Stepan screamed, struggling against the three other men actively restraining him.
They gave no answer as Keiran’s door was momentarily opened, and Stepan was hurled inside. The door was slammed shut again before K
eiran had a chance to react.
The vampire stood up quickly and looked at Stepan cowering before him, his back pressed against the door.
Adira appeared after the guards parted, coming to stand before Keiran’s cell.
“What’s this about?” Keiran asked.
“Just an experiment out of curiosity. Stepan felt as though he wasn’t of enough use to me, so perhaps he can be of some use to you,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest.
Keiran looked over to where the other man was. “Stepan?”
The man’s eyes were wide in fear, his arms raised in a somewhat defensive gesture. He made no attempt to speak back to Keiran, too terrified to do anything.
The vampire turned his attention back toward Adira, a brow quirking. “Dare I ask what kind of experiment?”
“To see your reaction when facing someone who betrayed you. No one will stop you,” she said, her expression remaining neutral.
“I didn’t lie to you!” Stepan cried out, eyes brimming with tears.
Keiran took a small step forward, shaking his head. “Stepan, I know. I saw that you told me what you believed was the truth. It was Adira who did the lying.”
She looked thoughtful and nodded. “You can read minds?”
Keiran looked past Adira to see his two guards watching. He gave them a specific look, silently asking them not to interject into the conversation about to take place.
“It’s rather hit and miss,” he admitted, motioning vaguely with his hands. For the moment, he tried to tune out Stepan’s horror and focused in on Adira. “Now, about this first-born child of my mother’s you are holding prisoner…”
Her eyes widened, and her head snapped to the side. “Victri! What have you told him?”
Victri, still suffering a migraine after Keiran’s dig into his brain, didn’t move from the floor of his cell. He looked over and squinted in the dim light.
“Perhaps he simply read my mind, Adira,” the advisor grumbled back, every noise in the dungeon sending an electric shock of pain through his skull.
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