We last read Chapter 45, in which Lord Balfort Ladair successfully reinstalls the Bloodstone into its Focus within the Vermillion Enclave, Mavis reconnects with Garson after the harrowing battle on Prince Boripedes's island, Lily and Theo return with the entirety of Boripedes's riches, and Balfort reintroduces the Talking Skull—who is actually the human going by the pseudonym "G"—to his newly-expanded family before officially bringing him into it. In the process, Mavis also reveals that Boripedes's body has been returned to the Enclave as well in hopes of eventually finding a cure for the blood curse, and not-so-subtly suggests that she and Garson conduct some "experiments" to find out what their children will look like, much to his amusement and excitement.
Additionally, to thank Lily for her determination and drive in conquering Wealthusian twice, Balfort arranges to surprise her with a brand-new flute identical in make and model to her first one, which delights her greatly and pushes her to embrace him out of pure gratitude.
The chapter then ended with the present heroes going back to Ladair Castle for a much-needed pause in action, with everything having seemingly wrapped up nicely.
This time, Lily and Theo "celebrate" their victory over Prince Boripedes in their own way, and Red Fang's story ends—for the moment—on a much more unsettling, uncertain, and suspenseful note, as the explorer Cristian Dumitru and his wife Alina Dumitru pay a visit to the Vermillion Enclave three days later to deliver some troubling and tragic news.....
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-Lily Ladair's Room, Ladair Castle, Vermillion Enclave, Transylvania-
Lily Ladair—with the Talking Skull resting contentedly on top of the nightstand on her right hand side—tossed and turned in her bed relentlessly. She had initially agreed to go to sleep along with the rest of the Ladair royal family, but in reality, the sheer rush of her and Theo's victory over both Wealthusian and Prince Boripedes—even though Garson technically finished off the latter—was making her unable to sleep.
She wanted to get back out to the central plaza, re-gather all of the scattered coins, gems, and gold bars, and begin loading them into the Ladair Castle's theoretical "underground treasury".....which still hadn't been dug out yet.
But it would take a long time, and without her secret lover Theo Ladair to help her, there was no telling how much time she'd waste. And the Talking Skull was, of course, a skull now, so he obviously wouldn't be of any help with lifting things.
Suddenly, the door to her bedroom was thrown open and the light came on; on alert, Lily instantly shot upwards out of her bed, grabbed a very bright flashlight from the top of the nightstand, and pointed its light beam at the doorway, making the incoming Theo Ladair immediately recoil and shield his face to avoid being blinded.
"Oh.....it's just you....." Lily muttered as her breathing tried to normalize itself; it, along with her heart rate, had spiked dramatically as a result of Theo's completely unannounced entrance. "Don't scare me like that, you idiot!"
"I'm sorry.....I couldn't rest, and you were the only other person I could think to talk to."
Lily blinked, shut off the flashlight, and set it back down on the nightstand near the still-sleeping Talking Skull.
"Well, speak of the devil," she commented. "Guess who couldn't sleep over here, either. Come in, come in!"
Theo nodded and closed the door behind him before moving around to casually sit in a chair to the left side of Lily's bed.
YOU ARE READING
Red Fang II
Vampire~PARAGON CINEMATIC UNIVERSE: PHASE 3, BOOK 3~ *This novel serves as the 3rd novel of Phase 3 and a sequel to "Red Fang".* "My brother was weak. He favored optimism over realism.....when deep down, he KNEW that wasn't how the world worked. Am I suppo...
