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Seven Years Ago
day 303 since capture
On an unusually chilly morning, Devon made his way to his brother’s office for their weekly check-in. He paused at the door, as he always did nowadays, waiting for that familiar chill creeping over the top of his brain to pass.
He hated walking through Drake’s wards, as necessary they were.
Not only did they alert Drake of everyone’s movements around the estate, they also kept out anyone that wasn’t welcome into certain areas. The ones around his private quarters were the most unpleasant, but at least the invasive feeling didn’t take long to dissipate.
Surprisingly, the office was empty when Devon stepped inside. For a second, he just stood there, looking around like a lost puppy.
Then, all of a sudden, he felt another sensation in his head, though this one wasn’t unwelcome. It was Drake’s magic, tapping on Devon’s mental shields to request access into his mind. Devon willingly let him in.
‘I’m in the dungeons,’ his brother’s voice brusquely said. ‘I’ll be there soon.’
Fearing the worst, Devon raced down there as fast as he could. His heart sped up the closer he got, but it was only as he reached the main door to the dungeons that he suddenly stopped.
Sounds from behind the door didn’t carry far, but he could hear them well enough; the screams. Grating, unrestrained, terrified.
Drake was torturing someone. Multiple someones. At the same time.
Gulping, Devon hovered at the door, for once too terrified to move.
But then the screams stopped.
Devon braced himself, expecting something to happen. Yet, he still jumped back when Drake came out, looking like a vengeful angel. For the first time since his ascension, he was wearing his vamphyr robes, their deep, wine-colored fabric contrasting with the angry flush in his face.
“What are you doing? That wasn’t an invitation to come down here,” Drake rebuked, his voice not really matching the severity of his words.
“B-brother?” Devon uttered, a word he hadn’t used since they were kids.
For a moment, Drake blinked, seeming confused. “What’s wrong?”
“What... what are you doing?”
A strange look came over him, like he was just now realizing that Devon was standing in front of him. “Wait, did you hear...?”
Gulping, Devon simply took a tiny step back. He tried to steady his voice as he spoke again. “Why are you in the dungeons, Drake?”
A pained look crossed the latter’s face, but he quickly put on a mask of indifference. “Go back to my office, brother. I’ll meet you in a moment. Right now,” he added when Devon attempted to protest, his tone leaving no room for discussion.
That was his master of the estate voice. He’d never used it on his own brother before. Devon was smart enough to recognize the warning, so he turned around and did as he was told.
As he paced around the office, he tried to calm his racing thoughts down. Once the initial shock wore off, he started to make sense of what he’d just walked in on.
Drake had sworn to protect humans. He wouldn’t punish them like that, even if they broke the rules. But he also hated pain. He would never torture supernaturals without cause. Something terrible must have happened, something Devon didn’t know about.
There wasn’t much time to ponder what it could be before Drake came in, looking stricken with guilt. “Dev, I am so sorry. I swear, I didn’t mean for you to witness that. Are you alright?”
“That depends,” Devon replied, crossing his arms. “Who were you torturing? What did they do? And why haven’t you told me about it?”
Drake’s shoulders slumped in relief, and he leaned his body against the desk. “Don’t scare me like that! I thought I just drove you away.”
That elicited an eyeroll out of Devon. “I’m not afraid of you, brother, but I am mad. I thought we didn’t keep secrets from each other!”
“I wasn’t trying to keep anything from you. The cause of this is just too recent.”
“Then tell me now. What is going on?”
Taking a deep breath, Drake fully sat down on the desk, facing his brother without looking at him. “You know how Shiloh’s been sleeping in my room these past few days?”
“Yeah,” Devon replied with a frown, his dread building. He hadn’t really thought much about that. Drake and Shiloh were together, after all. Of course she’d sleep in his bed every once in a while. But now that Drake brought it up like that...
“It’s because the vampires were plotting to kill her,” the latter confirmed. “I figured it was safer for her to stay with me from now on.”
Devon’s heart dropped. It wasn’t entirely unexpected given everything that had happened lately, but it was terrifying nonetheless.
“She doesn’t know anything,” Drake went on. “I uncovered their plan before they could carry it out. But I didn’t know which of the elites were behind it until last night.”
“What happened last night?”
“One of them ran away.”
“What? Who?”
In his mind, Devon sifted through the faces of Benjamin’s children at the estate, but he didn’t really know much about them.
“The one who’s always wearing fluorescent nail polish,” Drake answered.
The detail stirred Devon’s memory. Beatrice. She was Benjamin’s oldest living child at the estate—or had been. The only reason Devon remembered her was because she was the one who had interviewed him and Drake when they first volunteered.
“How did she get past your wards?” Devon asked, alarmed.
“The only way she could have is by jumping from one of the windows in the mansion.”
Shit. That was a long fall. The mansion stood on the border of the property, right on the edge of a cliff that overlooked the desert.
“She would’ve survived,” Drake added, “but she’s probably injured. I’m sending a couple of werewolf squads to track her scent and bring her back.”
“So you’re torturing the elites for information on hers,” Devon guessed.
Drake’s face hardened at the reminder. “Oh, they gave her up hours ago. The ones still down there are her accomplices. They’re being punished in her place.”
It all made sense now. This was an act of blatant defiance. If Drake had let it slide, the vampires would think they could walk all over him without repercussions. There had to be consequences.
But the torture wasn’t just for punishment or to let them know he was in charge. It also sent a message clearer than anything he could have said with words, letting everyone know that Shiloh was off limits.
It was an impressive show of strength. In a weird way, Devon was proud of his brother.
“So what now?” he wondered.
“Now, dear brother,” Drake said, a confident smile growing on his lips, “we finally get the vampires under control. As soon as word gets out that the elites are being punished by my hand, the rest will quickly fall in line. By tonight, I’ll have them come to me one by one and swear loyalty. It’ll be an oath bound in magic, so they’ll have no choice but to obey me from now on. And once that’s done, it’ll finally be safe for us to leave the estate.”
Devon gasped, not letting himself believe it just yet. “You mean...?”
“Exactly.” Drake stood up, placing both hands on Devon’s shoulders. “It’s time to pay a visit to a certain vamphyr.”
