SWORN TO THE ALPHA KING

[14. 1] A KINGS SERVANT

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THE LOST WORLD:

Regions of the world lost after the Fang War. Largely inhabited by The Damned.

Archives of History

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[GRAYDON COLLINS]

STANDING BEFORE the large golden engraved door, intricately designed in the Royal wing, my body was a stiffened icicle. I had met the Young Prince a few times over the years, but always in passing and from a distance, never for an actual conversation.

To be honest, I had never seen him converse with anyone outside his family, in the rare instances that he did make an appearance.

For who would stop the Tribrid heir even just for a friendly greeting?

He certainly could not be considered approachable in many ways. As the Tribrid beast he was, adorned with all three blood lines of royalty, an impossibility in himself, he felt like suffocating blur of power

He was likened to a god amongst our kind because of what he was and what he could do, and gods simply did not mingle with those beneath them.

To even stand before him, asking him to be his Select, his second in command felt like treason.

How was I to represent a god?

The halls in the royal wing were quiet and airy, with a coldness within them. As a Vampire, I preferred the comfort of the cold but this kind chilled me in ways I couldn't explain.

Only singular guards were posted in long intervals, all warriors from their perspective covens and packs.

No humans were allowed in this wing, not even maids.

I was never one to be standoffish, and yet standing in front of the doors of the Tribrid prince quarters, the future king of the Fang, destined to change the Fang race simply for being the miracle that he was, I couldn't help but stall, breathing low, fingers stiff and unable to knock.

First impressions were what mattered in the race of the King's Hand. I had to make a good first impression and the man whom I was to impress was right behind these doors.

I had no idea why he sent for me, but I certainly hoped it was for the better. Plucking courage, I aimed to knock when the door suddenly swung open to my surprise.

I had not even heard his footsteps approach the door to be ready- I noted.

It happened all too quickly, caught unaware, staring into the mystical depths of the Tribrid prince's saltwater gaze, cold and lifeless.

He did feel like a blur of power, his scent was different, nothing that could be exact.

He did not smell like a vampire, yet my immortal recognized its familiarity and also recognized its superiority. I couldn't hear his heartbeat, and I wondered if it was because he had an undead heart like mine even as a Tribrid.

It took me a whole 3 seconds to recover from the shock, immediately dropping to my knees, removing eye contact, and replacing it upon the space before my feet.

"My King. I am here to serve as you please," I bowed, eyes resting on the ground, a hand laid abreast as I knelt before him, trapping a needless breath in.

I could feel his sharpened gaze on me.

"I would have turned into a corpse and rotted through before you knocked."