The Tangled Princess

Chapter Fifteen

Screams echoed around the dark damp basement originating from a room that was present at the end of the dark corridor. I rolled my eyes at her theatrics. We weren't even doing anything to her yet.

"Why did you bring her here?" I asked Conrad.

"It's the interrogation room," he replied, "I can easily use my shadow powers to know the truth. You don't have to come if you're uncomfortable."

"No," I said, shaking my head, "we go inside together, I will weaken her mind for you to enter."

"I can do that without you weakening her mind," he said, raising an eyebrow.

"No," I said, my voice hard, "It will take more energy if she resists."

Sighing, he nodded his head. We turned to traverse down the narrow corridor made of black brick walls that looked like it hadn't been cleaned for years. I wouldn't be shocked if we encountered some ghouls here. Before we entered her room, I stopped Conrad to ask something that was bothering me for quite some time.

"Do you trust Marcus and Daniel?" I asked in order to quench my curiosity.

"Yes," he answered, nodding his head, "we have a blood bond between us. They can't betray me."

My eyes widened when I heard that the reason behind him trusting them was exactly why I always trusted Selene. We had a blood bond between us, a bond that made a soul loyal to another soul. It was physically impossible to betray the blood bond. A soul bound to another by friendship or love was always loyal, no amount of superficial luxuries could lure them into betraying their true comrades.

I opened the door for us to enter when I found the witchling slumped against a dark wooden chair, head lolling sideways. Her previously white hair had turned back to golden but the dark aura still surrounded her along with the ideogram of a snake etched on her skin. I looked around the room that was as dark as her aura, grey concrete walls as cold as the vampire who killed that innocent child. My magic simmered at the reminder, returning my eyes to the witch I walked closer to her.

"Why?" I asked, curiosity bubbling within my heart.

"I won't tell you anything, you bitch!" Cassandra snickered, looking proud at her audacity to call me a bitch.

In a flash, I backhanded her across her jaw making her head sway in the opposite direction. I looked at Conrad who was surprisingly still very calm, standing silently at one corner, waiting for me to have my time before he got involved. He nodded in the direction of Cassandra, smiling, encouraging me to do what I wanted to do. He was one peculiar Alpha, I had to give him that. I looked at Cassandra who was trembling at the moment, her fearless persona vanishing with one slap.

I started to circle around her, making a clicking sound as the bottom of my shoes hit the hard surface. The walls threw the echoes of my footsteps back at us, creating an eerie atmosphere around us.

"Why?" I queried again, shaking my head at her to convey my disappointment.

"And who was the one who aided you?" I continued,"who invited the vampire after you told him how to do so?" I knew we still had more traitors out there, she knew how to invite someone in this territory but it was necessary for a pack member to perform the ritual. It wouldn't work if it was done by an outsider.

I stopped in front of her. Cassandra was furiously shaking her head, refusing to meet my eyes. Her hair erupted in flames making her scream and jump, running across the room to dissipate the flames. Conrad was looking at her as if he couldn't believe how stupid she was, my face probably had the same expression. She was a spell caster, with a simple spell she could have got rid of it.

I sighed. It was embarrassing to see her squeaking because of a simple elemental magic. Stopping the flames, I dragged Cassandra to her chair making her sit on it. I looked at my mate asking him to use his powers on her.

Conrad stepped forward, rolling up his white sleeves he raised his hands in the direction of Cassandra. She froze, looking around desperately for an escape when her honey coloured eyes turned glassy. Her mouth opened and I winced at the chilling scream that escaped her. Conrad was inside her mind playing with her memories forcefully. The witchling whimpered to show how a forceful intrusion inside a creature's mind was always the most painful and vulnerable experience. Her tears started to drench her dirty white dress, her body convulsing in response to what Conrad was doing.

I looked at Conrad who was clenching his teeth, grey eyes glowing in dark like a cat. His body was slumping a little due to the energy being rapidly lost from his body. Shadow witches were always a rare and prized possession of royals. They were the witches who were called at every interrogation, but unfortunately, there were very few left as it required a large amount of energy to break through the mental barriers. They died at a very fast rate with the continuous misuse of their powers by various kingdoms after which they refused to be part of any royal court. Observing Conrad, I could see why they decided to abandon the royals.

Cassandra's body stopped convulsing and she fell on the cold ground, head thumping loudly against the hard surface. I let her stay there, turning towards Conrad who was standing with his nose and forehead scrunched up, looking utterly confused.

"Are you feeling alright?" I asked when he didn't say anything.

Shaking his head, he looked at me with wide eyes. Whatever he saw had shocked him to his core.

"Conrad," I said softly, holding his hand, "who was it?" He looked at me with disbelief explicitly visible on his face.

"Marcus," his whisper travelled across the room reverberating around it.

I looked at him, waiting for him to change his statement. He didn't. I couldn't believe it, there was no way a person with a blood bond could betray his vow to serve. I was certain that there was more to the story.

I opened my mouth to question him when he froze, growling loudly he began to glare at the door when I felt it and my lips stretched to form a big smile on his arrival. A familiar powerful aura hit me in waves giving me fond memories, a wave of nostalgia flowing into my heart. His strong and stark presence couldn't be missed by anyone, especially when he didn't make an effort to hide his presence.

Nicolai Xanthus, the vampire king, had just arrived.

A new character! Trust him or suspect him?

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