Fated - Book 2

Chapter 6

The jug was empty and bone-dry. I turned the nozzle toward the ground and shook it gently. The clay pot that held the sweet wine I ached for was empty."Lord Aziel."The boys' voice was a buzzing irritation in my ear as my eyes darted around the room. The elves always kept their wine jugs filled for their guests, but there was not a single glass bottle in sight, Caleb.I loved the man, but he was driving me mad by hiding the bittersweet drink from me."Lord Aziel!"His whisper was louder, slightly pulling my attention towards him. No, nothing—not even something small hidden behind the annoying stable boy."What? Im busy"I whined as my feet moved on their own towards the bed; he might have hidden the jugs on the side table."It's the prince."Now my attention was pulled away from my hunt, and it landed on the small boy. Why the hell was there a stable boy alerting me about the prince and not one of his guards?"He's missing, sir, and so is the princess."A growl left my chest; on its own, the beast in my mind was scratching at the surface to claw its way out."How can he be missing? The man can barely breathe, let alone get off his bed, and what do you mean she is missing as well? She was seen with King Novus last."I stalked towards the shaking boy; once I was a breath away from him, I leaned in and growled under my breath."And why the hell are you letting me know? Where are the guards?"His heart was pounding in my ears as I leaned in closer to hear his weak, raspy whisper."The guards, they heard a dragon and ran ran off sir, and when once they returned, the prince was gone, and and no-one has seen the p-princess since, since yesterday afternoon, s-sir."I froze as the boys' words settled in my mind—a dragon reacting like that without reason, Neim; something made him upset, and now both of them are missing, the only two in this whole kingdom I have tasked all dragon knights to watch with their lives."Go, boy."I growled once he stopped whimpering, and just as quickly as he had appeared, he vanished, running away from me as fast as his skinny legs could carry him."Where the fuck are you, Artemis?"The words left my lips on their own as my mind raced. If he was acting on instinct-driven thoughts filtered to him by Neim, he should be where the princess is; the only problem is that the last time anyone had seen her was yesterday, with King Novus.My feet moved on their own, aiming towards the heavy wooden doors and brightly lit passageways. My ears twitched as my heart slowed down, and my eyes pulled and sharpened as my beast took over my basic senses.My nose flared as I drew in a sharp breath. A familiar spice filled my nose. There, as white as a ghost, was Caleb, using the wall as support as he tried to wobble his way towards me. My heart skipped a beat at the sight of his wide eyes and pale skin."King Novus' chambers, and hurry; I left three riders there to keep others out; just go."His heart was pounding; there was a slight tinge of blood around him, but it wasn't his; no, this was elf blood, and it was fresh. After a slight pause and him chasing me off, my feet took on a life of their own, and I was sprinting down the brightly lit halls.I zipped around the castle's staff and residents as I made my way towards the king's hidden chambers. Just as pale as Caleb were the three riders; they were all bent forward, gasping for air, trying to process what was hidden behind those large gold and white wooden doors.My nose twitched as the stench rolled through my nose—elf blood and a lot of it."It's Neim; be careful."He choked on his breath as he tried to breathe through his mouth; their eyes were all shifted into strange colours and even odder pupil shapes; their dragons were linked, all because the prince was beyond those doors, bonded with his most dangerous beast.My feet froze as my mind raced and yelled for me to turn and run away from what I was about to face beyond those doors. Despite the fear in my body, I pushed forward, my shaking hands pressing hard against the door, forcing them to push what was behind them out of the way.Is that a hand?There on the white tile was a severed hand soaked in its own blood."Artemis?"I growled his name as I entered the brightly lit room. I was expecting the usual gold and white, which annoyed me, but I was faced with something a whole lot more frightening.A large sea-green eye was looking through a massive archway; it was hovering and sluggishly moving around, studying the rooms occupants.On a chair was Novus; his fingers were digging into the armrests where he sat; his eyes were wider than those of those I have seen; his normally tanned skin was pale as snow; and his proud uniform was caked in fresh blood.Was he dead? No, I could hear his heart pounding heavily in his chest. What a pity. His eyes were locked on the shadow on his bed, not the large eye watching him. Neim's eye followed me as I slowly walked into the room.My sandal sank slightly as I stood in something wet and slightly warm. My eyes darted down to see the thick pool of blood under me, and quickly my head snapped up. That's what was odd about the usually clean and bright room.On almost every eye-level surface, there were puddles, no pools of blood. It was slashed and splattered over the walls, caking them with their bright stains. Slowly my mind eased as my eyes focused on the scene before me. I counted four, maybe six heads.One head was ripped in half and thrown into opposite corners of the room. There were multiple limbs, chunks of organs, and pieces of flesh scattered around the room; they were all soaked in blood.The bodies the blood belonged to were no longer capable of being put back together; even if we spent days doing so, none of their bodies would be whole ever again, not a single one of them.I took a step forward and gagged slightly as I stood on something hard hidden under the blood. Slowly, I raised my foot and scanned under my blood-soaked shoe to try and see what was stuck there—is that a tooth?"Really, even their teeth?"I was met with a growl from the shadow wrapped around something whimpering and shaking at the centre of the bed."Neim, don't unbind, not until we get healers to tend to those wounds you re-opened."I looked over at the large, glassy eye watching me; this time the dragon responded with a puff of his heavy, rotten breath."I want his head."His voice was a broken whisper in my ear. I slowly angrily rolled my head towards the elven king, who was trying his best to stand on his feet, but his knees were too weak and unable to support his weight."I want Prince Artemis executed for the deaths of my royal guards."He tried to bark the order at me. I could only roll my eyes at the man and turn my attention back to my prince. He was the shadow holding onto something for dear life. I jumped as a bright blue eye suddenly darted towards me. Neim wasn't in control; Artemis was."Kill him."The man's body was unscathed; not a single new wound was placed on his body. The only fresh blood I could see was that of the lashes on his back, but they were slowly healing as his dragons lent him their magic to heal his aching wounds."Reason?"He was sitting at the centre of the messy bed, his back facing the rest of the room, with his legs propped up to shield the bundle hidden between his knees and his blood-soaked arms. The missing princes, I recognized her cries and weak scent.She was crying in her husband's arms; she was nude and covered in what I could only assume to be bite marks and possible cuts from a small blade.He finally broke his silence with a growl that made my hair stand on my neck."Touching her."