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“Where is the dragon?”
No one in the throne room dared to breathe. All eyes were on their king and the unfortunate investigator. The investigator had returned to report to the king while he was holding court.
Raphael didn’t want to wait for court to end to hear the man’s news. He had ordered his servants to bring the man before him immediately.
The investigator paled at the whispered words. He looked around, seeking support from the supernaturals that circulated. None would even look at him, fearing to draw the Mad King’s attention to themselves.
“I believe the shifter is in Faerie. Specifically, in the land of the Dark Fae.” The investigator’s voice cracked, betraying his fear. “We went to apprehend him at the location where he was last seen, and the family wasn’t there.”
Raphael’s eyes bled from their normal, dark brown to a pale yellow as his ire got the best of him. His fangs extended, and his nails grew into claws. He stood up from his golden throne and stepped down from the dais.
“How did he escape?” His voice remained soft, the opposite of his face, which showed his rage. The combination nearly had the investigator passing out from fear.
“I don’t... don’t know. We had the house under surveillance for forty-eight hours before we moved in.” The man stepped back a pace or two before continuing. “No one visited the family during that time. Once everyone was in place, we stormed in.”
The investigator wished he had never accepted the contract for this job. He also wished he had never heard of the Nightshade. His greed for the enormous sum of money would be his downfall. He had ignored his gut that said to refuse the contract.
“What makes you think the dragonling is in Faerie?” Raphael struggled to keep a leash on his temper. It had taken him years to find the dragon that had the right powers and bloodline to use the artifact. There were less than twenty in the entire world. They were protected by their conclaves, and they were too powerful for him to control.
“A member of the raiding party said that he could sense the remains of a portal. And that it smelled of Dark Fae magic.” The man looked down at the ground briefly before looking back at the king. “We couldn’t follow them to retrieve the boy.”
The unspoken part was that they wouldn’t have, even if the chance was available. No one went into Faerie uninvited. The few who tried didn’t survive the trip. The fae were vicious in defense of their land.
Taking a deep breath, Raphael forced himself to calm down. He had to think about his next steps. There was another dragon in the United States. She was young but not a child. He had wanted the young boy because he would be malleable. It would be easy to bind the child’s loyalty to his cause.
He motioned for the man to approach him. The man reluctantly crossed the distance between them and stood in front of the king. Sweat trickled down the human’s face. Raphael could smell the fear on the man. He wrinkled his nose in disgust.
“Since you failed in the one task that I paid you for, you must repay me.” Raphael looked around at the members of his court. Most looked down at the ground as his gaze swept across them. Only his guard continued looking up, constantly checking the room for any hidden dangers.
“Sire, I will refund you all of your money.” It took the man a couple of tries to get the words out without stumbling.
Raphael shook his head in mock sadness. “It’s too late for that. You only have one thing that I need.”
“What’s.... that?”
The king’s fangs grew even longer, and his eyes started glowing. The man’s muscles clenched like he was trying to run, but nothing happened. Raphael disliked chasing his prey, so he used a quick mental command to prevent him from moving.
“Your blood.”
A scream echoed through the chamber as he ripped into the man’s throat. It turned into a gurgle as he drained the man’s blood through the wound in his throat. No one in the throne room even blinked an eye at the violence.