Chapter 50
Chapter 14:
Trisha’s P.O.V:
The next morning, the four of us stood in Rosanna’s office, around a large world map trying to find out the best possible way to take care of the dire situation in front of us.
“Trisha, before we start, mind telling me why are these two here?” Damien asked, pointing towards Lucas and Rose.
“How ungrateful.” Rose puffed up her cheeks childishly, her long red hair flowing down to her hips, grabbing everyone’s attention while Lucas just raised an eyebrow at Damien saying, “You’re the one that dragged me into this.”
“Damien,” I touched his hand lightly. “This is important. They’re here to help. You’re the King of all vampires across the globe and if something happens to you, it affects all of them too.” I urged him to look me in the eye so he could understand. “You can trust them. I do.”
Damien sighed, closing his eyes for a moment before he reopened them and nodded his head. “Fine.”
We both turned to the rest of the team and I spoke up. “Rose, Lucas, please remember that what we discuss here today cannot go out of this room. Ever. A lot is on stake right now and we’re here to find a solution that will resolve this once and for all. Will you guys give us your word on it? Please.”
Lucas was the first to answer. “I swear on my honor.” He held a hand over his heart.
“On my honor.” Damien and I said at the same time.
Rose looked around the room before shrugging and placing her hand over her heart. “On my honor.”
“Thank you.” I said as everyone removed their hands before letting them know the biggest secret. “Damien isn’t late King Dominic’s son. He…he’s the biological son of Queen Maya and Vandal Rudolf.”
The room was utterly silence for a few seconds as everyone absorbed the shock, before they exploded into questions.
“Holy cow!” Rose shook her head. “No wonder you kept that pig alive for as long as you did. What did the Queen ever see in that asshole?”
“This is what you didn’t want to tell me from before, isn’t it?” Lucas said, finally connecting the dots. “This is why Damien didn’t want to take action against Vandal? Shit!”
“Yes.” Damien answered for me. “My relation to Vandal was kept secret for a long time, so long that even I had no idea who he was to me for centuries, until he assassinated my father and I took the throne. Vandal only showed me the truth when his nobility was under question since he was a turned vampire and the Wipeout required all strong leaders to take control. I had to stay quiet to prevent rebellion in my kingdom but then again I was held back because he held much more power over me than I let on.”
“But the Elders have now been told about whom I really am and they want me removed once and for all. I need Trisha’s help to fight my trial for me, as that is the only way left and right now, since I am desperate, I need all the help I can get.”
“So, they’re just going to ignore the fact that you helped end the Wipeout and that you’ve been holding world peace ever since then?” Rosanna asked through gritted teeth. “What kind of shitty motherfuckers are they?”
“The Elders are very old-school, Rose,” I tried to reason with her. “They are set in their ways. In their eyes, you only become King if you are the son of a King or if you’ve killed one. No one has ever been able to change the rules ever since the elders implemented it.”
“Which means, that they’re probably going to get Damien killed by someone who they think is fit to be the next King?” Lucas asked. “So those sons of bitches are just going to play a stupid political game while the rest of the world watches and no one gets to say anything?”
“The rest of the world considers them Gods.” I told him. “That’s why I need to win the trial by hook or by crook.”
“Trial?” Rosanna frowned as she looked at me and then Damien. “What trial?”
“The Elders try to deal with the problem subtly at first, which means sending in highly trained assassins to eliminate the problem. But if that fails, which it did in my case,” Damien pointed out. “They send in a notification of trial where a court is held and proof are gathered against the guilty and once the crime is proven, they execute the criminal publicly. The only disadvantage we have is that the Elders court has the best lawyers in the world and they have had eons to perfect their skill.”
“Fuck!” Lucas ran his hands through his hair in frustration.
“Which is why, we will need to prove that Damien is Queen Maya’s biological son, who had also been royalty before marrying King Dominic. Because there are several rumors that King Dominic himself had placed about Damien being born from a court maiden, the Elders are suspecting that he might not be of royal blood at all.” I pointed out before turning to face Damien. “We need to prove the truth that you do have royal blood in your veins even if it’s from your mother’s side. Damien, which family did your mother belong to?”
“The Royal Avestenin family.” Damien said. “From Spain. But I doubt we’ll find anything there. The entire city had been destroyed by bombs during the Wipeout and those who came to New York had absolutely nothing that belonged to my home. None of my relatives had survived and they cut ties with us centuries ago.”
“Evidence isn’t that easily concealed. We will find something.”I insisted. Or at least I was hoping to. From what Damien had told me and from what I’d hear from the royal records, all of Queen Maya’s belongings had been destroyed right after she had died and whatever was left of hers had been lost over time. Some of it had been purposely done to keep Damien’s lineage a secret, but now I needed something that had her DNA on it so I can match it with Damien’s. Either that or some kind of hidden record of Damien’s birth. It’s the only option I could think of right now.
“Damien, how many times has a vampire been proven not-guilty in the Elder’s court?” Lucas piped in.
“That’s the problem,” Damien said, still looking at the map. “Never.”
I felt a chill run down my spine at Damien’s words. What if….No! I shook the thought out of my head. “Where do we need to go?”
“Here.” Damien pointed out a spot on the map. “This is where the Avestenin Castle used to be. The entire place is in ruins now, but I guess it’s worth a shot.”
“Yes, it is.” There has to be something there! “Rose, we’ll need to leave soon. How fast can you arrange a ship for transport?”
“I can arrange for one in two days.” Rosanna said. “It might take about eight days by ship but I’m guessing we’ll need to pack up fuel and food for a ride to God knows where the Elders are in case we need to-”
“There no point in taking an entire crew and wasting our time.” Damien cut her off. “I had been to the castle a few time as a child when I was taken there for my maternal grandfather’s funeral and then my uncle’s. I have a visual of the place and I could try to teleport in. I’ll need to go alone first, in case there is any trouble. I’ll take the rest of you once the area is secure.”
I clenched my hands at my sides, knowing well that if I tell him not to do so would mean questioning his abilities as the King. But how could I tell my heart not to worry?
“Be careful.” Was all I was able to tell him past the lump in my throat.
Damien nodded and then teleported out of the room, simply vanishing into thin air.
