Chapter 54

Chapter 54: Chapter 54

Dulce was fretful, he had hoped to leave the capital without drawing the Queen’s attention, but he had run right into her almost immediately.

"We can do the summons right away when we get to the castle," Moira tried to lift his waning spirit.

Dulce accepted, left with little choice in the matter. He drifted to the Demons, "What do you presume we should do?"

"Enjoy the Queen’s generosity," Ruoxi voted without hesitation, practically beaming. He no longer had any fears hovering over him, he had the rest of his life ahead of him.

Asael had to curb the urge to trail after the strange Vampire Queen, curious. Not to mention, they had gotten most all the answers they came seeking. The outcome of the Fiend’s pact mattered little, Dulce had already paid his debt of death.

"There is no reason not to," He shrugged.

Dulce frowned, not expecting them to be so lax about the danger. "But what if she finds out my true nature?"

"There is no need to worry about that because she is-" Kath’tan began, about to bluntly reveal what they had found.

"Why don’t we head for the castle?" Moira cut in, walking over to take Dulce’s wrist, effectively ending the conversation. "Her Majesty has prepared carriages specially for you."

Kath’tan stared down at the witch, pulling her away from Dulce by her arm. He no longer attempted to reveal the Queen’s true nature, picking up on the curious undertones, but the distrustful witch clinging to Dulce was a displeasing sight.

Dulce immediately went after her, frowning at the bruises Kath’tan’s claws left behind on her exposed skin. Moira, on the other hand, was unbothered about them, shivering with excitement at getting to touch a Fiend - regardless of how that had been achieved.

"I apologize for that," He muttered, feeling responsible.

"There’s no need to," Moira said, walking out with Dulce. "He’s welcome to grab my neck next time."

Kath’tan’s disgust couldn’t be plainer, keeping a wide berth between himself and the odd witch.

"Queen Aylin arranged a special carriage for you three," Moira said to the Demons, not sharing the Queen’s opinion of them, despite seeming to be on the Queen’s side.

She looked like she would like nothing more than to ride in the carriage reserved for the Demons, reluctantly getting in the same carriage as Dulce.

Dulce lingered outside the carriage, worried. "I don’t mind riding with them. It might be better to." He demurred, already turning to walk over to them.

"But the Queen herself specially picked out this carriage for you," She tried to win him over. "It’s a short ride, it’ll be over soon."

Sighing, he reluctantly got into the carriage, a frown stubbornly clinging to his pale features.

The Demons were less bothered by this arrangement, it was even bigger than the carriage they had ridden to Alderth in.

Ruoxi was the first in the lavish carriage, his horns making an appearance before he even sat down. "At least the Queen knows how to treat the companions of her interest."

"It’s a wasted effort. Dulce despises Vampires." Asael said blandly, taking a seat.

"Perhaps that is why she intends to keep that a secret from him." Ruoxi idly noted, half leaning out the wide window with his horns in plain view.

"Dulce will leave after he gets his precious Hellhound." Kath’tan said with confidence.

"Aren’t you worried about his hound?" Ruoxi pulled his head back into the carriage, nearly smashing the wood in his haste to make trouble. "You are both mistakes."

Two sets of disinterested gazes stared down at him.

"You seem convinced that you’re not." Asael said dryly.

Ruoxi pretended not to hear him, "Surely, he won’t be able to split his attention further, especially when a Hellhound was his only goal."

All he got was more disinterest, no one saying the obvious that the Incubus’s obnoxious presence had also split the Vampire’s attention.

Asael focused his attention on Kath’tan, knowing that Ruoxi thrived on petty disputes, his words held no weight this time. No one could stop Dulce from doing what he set his mind on, the Vampire surprisingly stubborn for one so pliable.

"Dulce asked to outbid your father," He said to the Fiend. There was no reason not to mention it, Dulce was no doubt scared to tell the Fiend himself, not knowing that Kath’tan would never be able to bring himself to wring his neck again.

Kath’tan wrenched his gaze from the view outside, his burning gaze fixed on Asael. "He did what?"

"Your father is safe, don’t worry." He said shortly.

That had been the last thought on the Fiend’s mind, "How does the foolish Vampire plan to pay?"

"With the treasures in his desert palace." Asael indulged him.

Kath’tan fell silent, his gaze drifting out the window again. There was no sense in asking Asael why he agreed to it, he was no longer resigned to death. Defeating the Shadow Demon was also completely impossible, Dulce had quietly saved him again.

The castle drew closer, tall spires reaching for the blue skies, its white walls blinding enough to rival the midday sun.

The drawbridge was lowered as soon as the carriages approached, and they were allowed into the inner walls without a single stop. It was clear that the Queen herself had given them clearance to go in, the royal crested carriages passing quietly through the gatehouses.

Dulce hadn’t lost his frown throughout the entire journey, more bothered than he had been about anything since he set out to make his first summoning attempt. He hoped to leave as soon as he had his Hellhound, but he could sense that it wouldn’t be that easy.

"I heard a precious possession of the Queen was stolen," He brought up, less curious about the stolen item and more worried that they would be under suspicion for the theft.

Moira shrugged, "I haven’t heard of it."

Dulce didn’t know if he should be reassured or not by that reaction, there was no way to tell if the rumors were simply that, rumors.