Bound to the Shadow Prince

Chapter 18: Walker

When I awakened, it was still dark. I slipped out of bed. Quietly, I approached Torrin sleeping silently in his bed. He had a shirt on now, but his relaxed face made him appear more like a man and not so much as a tyrant king. He had one arm resting above his head. The other was over his stomach as his chest softly rose and fell.

I thought about the previous day when I had asked if anyone had ever questioned the Dark Kingdom what their why was. Suddenly, I wondered what Torrin's why was.

Why this obsession with eliminating vampires? Why this goal?

His features softened when he slept, as if hidden inside there was a gentle part of himself.

But, after seeing the vampire village he had massacred, I didn't believe he had a gentle side.

I felt a whoosh as if a force was pulling me through the window, away from Torrin, and away from the castle. I felt light and weightless. After a few blinks, I realized I was standing by the mass grave inside the borders of the desolate village. The ruined houses and broken supplies were scattered across the main part of the village. Slowly, I walked through the streets. These houses looked remarkably similar to the houses in Fildira. Bedrooms, kitchens, small gathering areas, and even gardens. How little we actually knew about vampires and the way they lived. If only there was a way I could show the people of Fildira that vampires were similar to them, they were just slightly different.

Torrin was scouting for another vampire village. I became worried about Elithor. Hopefully, he had not found Elithor.

Again, a whooshing feeling came over me as if a force was pulling my body and I didn’t have a say about it.

I found myself at the front gates of Elithor. It appeared like their rock wall had been completed. Men and women stood in the watchtowers and along the border. I entered the gate, but not one person looked at me.

As like the night I had visited Elithor with Erevus, the whole community was buzzing about. People were moving about in their daily lives of shopping, gossiping, laughter, and work. Many children were in the gardens alongside their parents helping. As I continued further in, I saw cattle ranchers feeding and watering their herd. It still amazed me how these people worked throughout the night, as if it was daylight for them.

It was interesting how not one person even looked my way or even acknowledged me. I glanced down, wearing my nightgown and the amulet that gave me the appearance of a living. Wouldn't someone have been suspicious or attacked me?

Entering back into the market, I saw the same mother with her pale infant on her hip. I smiled, walking towards them intent on saying hello to my little friend. When I approached the woman, she strolled past me.

“Hello? Excuse me.”

She acted oblivious to my presence. How strange. She was so friendly days earlier. The little infant, however, raised their hand towards me as if the child somehow saw me. I waved back, and the child grinned, bouncing in his mother’s arms. I smiled back.

Erevus entered Elithor. He observed the people with the same indifferent look I had grown used to. His eyes scanned around the people, his shoulders relaxed. I took a few steps forward, drawn to his relaxed form. A ball rolled towards Erevus. He smiled at the children and softly kicked the ball back. The kids grinned and giggled as they retrieved the ball and continued with their game.

Erevus strolled through the marketplace. His observant eyes carefully monitored everything.

I took another few steps forward, raising my hand to get his attention, when a man approached him. I recognized the man as the one who had stood outside the castle discussing the mine.

“My King, I have just received word from the Coven.”

Erevus immediately stiffened. Gone was his relaxed form.

“Tell me, Stefen.”

“They are meeting together in three days… all of them, My King.”

I could tell the news made Erevus anxious. He stood quietly, thinking.

“You don’t suppose they have already discovered her?”

“Perhaps,” Erevus whispered.

Stefen grew rigid himself. I was curious who the her was. Why did I get the feeling her was me?

Now curious and wanting answers, I approached him, but he didn’t see me.

“Erevus.”

Still, no movement towards me.

Stefen said, “My King, what should we do?”

“You will do nothing, and proceed with the plan. The next mine. We don’t have much time. Fildira is preparing for war with Torrin as their captain.”

Stefen put a hand to his head, fear written across his face.

Erevus said, “They will be wanting as much silver in the next week or so as they can get to make their weapons. The more mines we take, the more it would frustrate their timeline. We should also expect to find a shipment making its way to Fildira from Kilgindore from their weapon masters. We must learn what we can about that. The least amount of silver they have, the better our chances.”

“Yes, My King.”

Stefen left. But my heart sank. Not another mine. Not more people homeless and starving.

“Please, no Erevus.”

I put my hand on his arm. Immediately, Erevus looked down at his arm where my hand was and then up right at me. Though I didn’t feel like he was looking at me rather than through me.

He closed his eyes as he bowed his head. He hit his hand against his leg, obviously upset and perhaps a bit frustrated.

I tightened my grip on his arm, wondering what was the matter. He tilted his head in reaction to my firmer touch.

He said, “Dream walking. That’s one of your abilities, Isadora? And so soon?”

I didn’t understand what he was saying. I could tell he was biting the inside of his cheek again.

He whispered, “You are making things so complicated. I wish...” He opened his eyes and looked in my direction. Again, I didn’t feel like he could see me, but rather sensed my presence.

“Time to go back, Isadora. Dawn approaches.” When I didn’t move, his voice grew firm in a command, “Go back!”

Back where? To the castle in my bed? Suddenly, I felt that same sensation overcome me as I was being dragged away from Elithor and Erevus to the castle. Suddenly, I was standing in front of myself lying in my bed. The chain was still shackled to my ankle. However, when I looked down at myself, I didn’t see any shackles holding me to one place. Torrin still slept on the bed.

This was very confusing. Why was I standing here, looking at myself lying in a bed? I touched my arm, and instantly I got sucked into myself.

I gasped awake. Quickly, I sat up in my bed. My shackle clinked under the blankets. I looked down at my hands and arms. I felt like myself again, not this weightless being drifting, but walking.

Erevus said something about dream walking. Was that all a dream I had, or was that real? But how could it be real when I was here in my bed? I put my hands to my face, confused by the whole situation. What happened to me last night?

When I glanced up, Torrin was standing at the foot of my bed.

His hair was rumpled, and his eyes were still a bit dazed. His features were softened by the morning light and his still groggy state.

Quietly, he spoke as if a harsh word would scare away the morning rays. “Did you dream?”

“Yes.”

“What was it about?”

My head spun at what I had witnessed. I scrunched my brows in concentration. “Something about a Coven. They are meeting soon. What’s a coven?”

I glanced up at Torrin. He sat at the edge of my bed. “They are the purebreds of the vampire world. There are five of them.”

Erevus called me a purebred.

“And they make up the coven?”

“You can say, they are the leaders of the Dark Kingdom.”

“Higher than the king?”

Torrin tilted his head. “Yes. How did you know the Dark Kingdom had a king?”

I pulled my lips in not realizing whom I was talking to and the mistake I had made.

“It was in my dream.”

“Did your dream tell you where they were meeting or when it was happening?”

I shook my head. “No. It was fast and short.”

It unnerved me how Torrin held onto my every word over the idea of a dream. Did he know something I didn’t? Did he suspect me?

Torrin became occupied with plucking straw off my robe. It must have gotten dirty when I dropped it in the stalls. I gulped, daring if I should breathe.

But soon, he smiled softly, kissing me on the temple. “Keep dreaming, my bride of the dawn.”

Hours later, I was walking down to the Master Tutor’s office with, as usual, Sinara and her love interest behind me.

I knocked on his door. I was in desperate need of a distraction. The Master Tutor opened his door and quickly bowed deeply.

“Good morning, Master Tutor, I would like to see your scrolls on astronomy today.”

He hesitated. “Those are part of my forbidden section only given to those of male royal blood. You know where to find your section, Your Highness.”

I drew my lips in. Erevus said I had the ability to hypnotize. I locked eyes with the Master Tutor. They say the eyes are the window to the soul and mind. I tried to go further into him. Suddenly, I felt like I was opening a door. As I opened the door, I was introduced into the Master Tutor's mind. Inside, I could sense the vast knowledge he had and the continual knowledge he wished to learn and possess.

Erevus told me that I could convince someone of what I wanted as long as it aligned with their beliefs.

In his mind, I searched for a shred of belief that could help me convince him. Suddenly, I found it.

I spoke to him in his mind. “You wish for the King to be well versed and educated, for that is the only way a kingdom will profit from their sovereign. I am the next Queen and I wished to use knowledge to better the kingdom. You will allow me full access to your astronomy books and scrolls.”

I felt the mental door shut, and I felt myself get kicked out of his mind.

The Master Tutor stared blankly for a few moments then blinked a couple of times.

“Your Highness, I am pleased you have come searching for knowledge. Let me escort you to the astronomy papers.”

As he turned, I smiled triumphantly. I had hypnotized him. Erevus would be proud of me. My smile fell, no, he couldn't know that I did this.

Truly, it was amazing. It gave me a sensation of power.

The Master Turor left me with the scrolls and books. Sinara and the guard contented themselves in a corner whispering and stealing kisses when they thought I couldn’t see them.

I took out a paper and spent the afternoon studying and reading. Towards late afternoon, I had found something that thrilled me to my core.