The Love of a Dark Prince

Chapter Three

       “What do you mean he cast you out!”

        Baylor bowed his head from the anger being forced towards him and his fist tightened at his sides.

       “He is the Prince by law and rite I must obey him. I tried my best… my liege.” He nearly gagged on the words as he said them through clenched teeth.

        Shawn stalked over to the huge stained glass window that was behind his desk and looked out into the night seething.

       Keegan had bested him and taken nearly everything. He was tired of living in his brother's shadow, being the black sheep of the royal family. But no matter, he would right the wrong soon enough.  

        “You said that he would think of you as a friend!” Shawn exclaimed as he turned back to Baylor and stormed over to him. “You said that you could get in and get rid of him!”

        Baylor desperately fought the urge to retrieve his special made .45 at his side and send a round of ultraviolent bullets straight through Shawn’s heart. But he knew that Shawn’s life would be dealt with by Keegan, Baylor’s best friend, the true and the rightful Prince.

        “I will try to do better my liege.” He replied and Shawn dismissed him with the flip of his hand.

        Baylor did a quick bow and exited into the hall.

        As he desended the main staircase, Ingrainia passed by him.

        She gave a slight nod of greeting as she smoothed back her raven hair. He returned the gesture, but his soul ached for her.

        The poor unseeing thing, she was so unaware of how powerful her lover was.

She had been barely nineteen when she had been changed by a young rogue and left for dead.

Shawn had stumbled upon her chasing after a rat, as he was on his way back to the McKenzie estate.

        Her body had become so thin that her bones shown from beneath her skin and she fed on the rat in a gluttonous starving hunger.

       Shawn had tried his best not to startle her, but she scampered back quickly, like a skittish stray, when she caught sight of him.

“Hush, hush, my dear. You are a fresh one. The grave soil still on your hands.” He said to her as he took hold of her hand and examined the dirt and cuts on her fingers. But she quickly snatched it back as she receded further back from him.

“Shh, now darling. So your sire fed then left you did he?”

Ingrainia found that she couldn’t understand what he was saying as he had spoken in English. Shawn saw the confusion in her eyes and asked the same question in Gaelic.

She slowly nodded as she crawled towards him and wrapped her arms around his ankles.

“Please,” She cried in the ancient language, “Please help me.” And so he had helped her by taking the role of her sire, then later becoming her lover.

        She was so loyal to Shawn, had felt that she had to be in order to survive, but as the years passed her loyalty had brought her to completely fall in love with him.

      Baylor knew that Ingrania's heart was good, but Shawn's influence held too hard a grip over her desicions.

      He glanced back at her ascending form then turned to leave.

      Time was of the essence, and he had work to do.

* * * * *

        “Ah, Ingrainia. Did you at least succeed my darling?” Shawn asked as she entered through the massive oak door. She hung her head slightly causing her dark hair to curtain her lovely face as she neared him.