Seventy-two

— LORD PITER BENNET!

Her piercing voice vibrates in the four corners of the castle, causing everyone present in the lobby to turn to her, their bodies shivering.

Piter "Damn it, man!"

— What did you do, Piter? — whispered concentrated on the Queen.

When the last touch of his heel hammers the ground, the boy contracts his abdomen feeling chills in his stomach. At that very moment, positioned in front of the two with four more security guards at their posts watching, she raises her right arm handing the leaves to the boy.

— What is it? — asked taking the documents.

— I, Mila Clifford, Queen of Dallnalia and leader of the Supreme Council, in the use of my powers, hereby inform you of the suspension of your activities at the Royal Palace!

— WHAT? — he screamed.

Thomas skips his gaze at the boy, shocked at what was happening and even more impressed by his wife’s authority.

— BUT WHAT WAS IT THAT I DID? — he asked angry.

— We ask for your understanding and warn that violation of this requirement will not be tolerated!

— You cannot suspend me! — he said challenging her. — Nor warn me, much less resign!

— Piter! — he tries to talk.

— You are not the King!

— In accordance with the legal provisions in force, his Majesty’s contempt will be the cause of his final judgment!

— Tell her, Thomas, you hired me, not her!

— I cannot object to this!

— How is it? —said surprised. — You are the King, has more power than her!

— No, he has not! — he said, pausing his formality.

— Since when is that?

— From the day I put her on the board!

— Are you playing with my face? — said angry. — That meeting became a battlefield and no one will accept her orders!

— Leader or not, I’m still your queen!

— And I keep my word never to oppose it!

— What the fuck have you become?

Out of his mind, he begins to coerce the King, annoyed by his decisions.

— Before you were known as "So fearsome King Thomas," now more like her chihuahua!

— Chihuahua?

What an insult.

— If you do not leave the palace right now, I will have you arrested!

— It will not be necessary! — reported arriving on time on site. — Come on, Piter!

— I’m not going with you, I’m not leaving my job! — he insisted.

— Shut up and come on, damn it!

Studying the focus of her husband, Mila repairs the way that Thomas was fixated on the other vampire, he even blinked his eyes.

— This will not be so! — warned being pulled by the blonde woman.

— You want to die imbecile?

— Get the fuck off me!

— The penalty for contempt of authority is the gallows!

— Are you crazy? — he said scared. — She would never do that to me!

— I don’t know if you noticed, but Mila’s not doing so well now. I’m sure she wouldn’t think twice about killing you!

— What difference does it make? — he asked. — If she doesn’t kill me now, Benjamin will!

----------------------------------------------------------------

— You want to talk about it?

— No! — is direct and clear.

— Why didn’t you tell me you were coming back? — He asked. — I would have come for you!

— Piter must have told us why he brought us here so urgently!

— He said you "blew up" a bomb in Benjamin’s house...

It’s just like Piter to say those things.

— I pissed off Benjamin’s wives, the other two!

— How did you get angry?

Not wanting to go deeper, she changes the subject.

— I’ll take a shower! — he said going to the stairs.

— Mila! — called. — Please, I need you to explain to me what happened.

She stops at the first step, felt with his concern.

— My grandfather told me about these "other two". Iris and Kaila. If they really are what he said and you really pissed them off, then I need to protect you!

— I threatened them...

Faced with the truth, Thomas is filled with fear, hoping that the worst would happen.

— Shit! — commented.

— The...what exactly did Piter say to you?

— That’s all it was!

— C—right...

— You’re not gonna tell me there’s more to it, are you?

— No. It doesn’t!

— And its creator, why did he not accompany you?

— He had to deal with his wives!

— It must have been pretty ugly for him to let you come back alone!

— Where... where is your grandfather? — she changes subject unusually. — I know it has nothing to do with it, but by now he would be here reprimanding my actions.

It’s really very strange.

— In the basement, he said he needed to see something!

— And what about James?

— Traveling!

— You gave him a vacation?

— He actually went on business!

----------------------------------------------------------------

— Iris, put that bag down!

She had run into the basement, frustrated.

— I have been with you for centuries, Benjamin — you spoke with hatred. — I know you long enough to know that this girl will be a permanent problem!

— I told you she and I don’t have shit!

— YOU WOULD NEVER HAVE BETRAYED ME, IF YOU HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH HER! — he shouted throwing his clothes in the bag.

— Where are you going? — I try to close the suitcase, but it stops me. — Talk, damn it. Where are you going?

— I’ll SOLVE SOME FUCKING PROBLEMS! — He shouted closing the zipper.

— Okay, I’ve packed my bags!

Kaila walks out the door of her room, dragging the wheels of her bag on the floor.

— Are you kidding me?

— Don’t worry, my love. This is just a temporary trip, you won’t get rid of us so easily!

— What do you mean?

I know her well enough to know that she would never forgive me, or let things go as they are.

— I’m spending a few days at my family’s house!

— You hate your family, only go there when —

"Shit!"

I understand your move.

— He’s going to see Eleonor!

— Who knows? — He laughed. — It would be great to see my grandmother!

As you all know, Iris was the granddaughter of the famous Eleonor, one of the most powerful witches in the world with powers very similar to Hector’s.

— I won’t let you out of here!

— What did you say?

---------------------------------------------------------------

RINGING PHONE

— One second, don’t leave here, I’ll just take that call!

— Okay... said sitting on the stairs.

The King walks away answering the cell phone. As the dialogue ran, he also moved away, with an unsettling expression.

— I WILL EAT SOMETHING! — shouted warning.

He nods and she goes to the pantry, looking for the cook.

— Greta? — Called.

No answer.

— Hi? — called again opening the refrigerator. — Damn, there’s nothing here!

I did, but what filled the fridge wasn’t exactly the kind of food she was looking for.

As some remember, in the basement in the same hallway where the servants' room used to be used to store some pieces of the palace. Very old pieces.

— There must be something in the freezer!

She slowly walks down the stairs with her hands sliding down the walls, worried about the snoring of her stomach.

This is one of those moments when we walk aimlessly, thinking about a thousand things without knowing where we are going and what we are doing.

— Look! — I said stopped at the door. — I see you found my stock!

— Sovereign! — said surprised. — Do you take this crap? — mocked.

— That "crap" is actually Benjamin’s blood! — he replied. — It will not serve you as you want!

— Benjamin? — questioned releasing the bag of blood at his fingertips. — What disgust!

— What are you doing here, Mr Clifford? — he asked, meters away from him.

— I came to see a little thing! — said closing the freezer. — And you? — complained. — Did you come to finish your job?

— You mean the beating I gave you? — It echoed fearlessly. — I don’t feel right to continue that fight today, maybe we should finish it another day!

— I agree! — he participates in the irony. — I’m not feeling up to it either!

— And have you found your "little thing"? — she won’t take her eyes off the camera.

— If you think I have an interest in this fake blood, I make it clear that I prefer the real one... —delighted the words.

— I get it...

— Perhaps your Queen does not remember the taste when it is taken straight from the neck — —spoke trying to provoke it. — But it is sweet and the temperature is so hot that it dissolves in the tongue...

She feels her mouth water, as if she really felt the taste that the old man described. He even swallows dry, imagining pulsating veins and fluid filling his body.

— I know you prefer the natural! — he said, bobbing his footprints to her. — grabbed by his fangs and torn with his teeth...

Her breathing accelerates until the red takes over her green.

— Stop! —ordered. — Do not take another step!

She fills her lungs with oxygen and releases the air little by little as the adrenaline went down.

— It’s very easy to mess with you baby!

— Don’t call me that!

He smiles sideways and goes back to the freezer.

— I’ll show you my secret! — he puts the cane on top of the metal and analyzes the shelf on the side, from top to bottom. — I just need to find the key!

— Key?

— Exactly! — confirmed. — It’s a golden book cover. Can you help me?

Suspicious, she searches the shelf looking for that book.

— It didn’t have to be so hard!

— Is that it? — he asked pointing to the work.

— That’s why I like you, because you’re smart!

Lucian takes his cane and then pulls the book steady the shelf, making the tall wood bend before their faces. There a secret room is revealed, leaving the Queen gaping.

— COME! — cried on the other side, turning on a light.

— I’m not going in that hole with you!

Deep down she corroded with curiosity.

— If I wanted her dead, I’d be long gone!

Indeed, his strength was unmatched. Mila would have no chance against his power unless Falkor was with her.

Mila "To hell!"

— Come soon Mila, or I’ll come and get you! — threatened.

Suddenly, her hand stretches out to the outside of the hole offering help to her.

— Get that hand out of here! — Stressed, she slaps his hand, at the same time as she goes through the crack.

— Calm baby! — showed up with his two hands raised. — I said I will not hurt you!

She examines the place, seeing it as a simple square with no exits, holding two huge objects that were covered by a dark blue cloth.

— I’ve asked you not to call me that! — Remember. — Now tell me what the fuck?