Chapter 0138
Rainer
After trying to rack my brain for hours about how I know Willow, I decide to ask Kane if he knows anything. He’s always had a better memory than me. He has a good head for remembering the smallest details, I’ve always been more of a bigger picture kind of guy.
I wait until after dinner to get Kane alone. We go to his room, and he pours us both a glass of blood mixed with whiskey. We have done this plenty of times before, so we don’t rush into talking. We sit on the chairs by the window and are halfway through our drinks when I bring up the woman.
“Do you know the new librarian?” | ask.
“The one that replaced old Gaius?”
Gaius had been the castle librarian before either of us had been born. He had practically been part of the wallpaper with how much of a staple he was in the castle.
“Yes. The pretty brunette. Kind of flighty. She likes to hide herself in the library.”
Kane takes a sip from his glass. “I believe her name is Willow. Why are you asking about her?”
“Do you know where she came from?”
“Willow was part of the staff. She earned that position, Gaius had named her as a successor in case anything happened and he had to step down from his duties. Which my father saw to, as you know.”
“And who was she before she was one of the staff?”
Kane stares at me. It feels like his blue eyes are penetrating straight into my soul. He asks, “You really don’t remember?”
1 wouldn’t be asking you if I did,” I reply. “I can’t remember anything significant I may have done to her.” He puts down his glass on the table. “Rainer, she came to the castle a long time ago as a feeder. Her father had sold her off to pay his debts.”
“Human feeders aren’t that valuable compared to shifters. Why was she considered substantial enough?” Most human feeders don’t last long in the dungeon. They can’t heal like shifters, and there is a greater risk of them being turned into a vampire by mistake. It’s why we mostly have wolf shifters as feeders now. They can’t be turned even if we try.
“I have no idea. The deal was made with my father. He had a fondness for oral contracts which makes keeping track of every deal he made impossible.”
This is a problem we don’t talk about enough. The older vampires are set in their ways. They like to do things the old–fashioned way, no matter how impractical they may be. Kane is considered a progressively modern king by our kind’s standards even if the other species still see us as archaic. King Peter is part of the old guard, which is a problem.
If King Michael would have made sure to leave a paper trail for all his contracts, life would be easier. If not more convenient whenever we have to look something up.
+25 BONUS
Chapter 0138
“But I do remember Willow because she was turned accidentally,” Kane explains. “This was when my father was trying to control overpopulation within our species. He wanted to have her executed, but my mother pitied her and said that it wasn’t Willow’s fault she was turned,”
Since most vampires can’t procreate naturally aside from a few royal bloodlines, we add to our numbers by turning a human into one of us. It’s not a complicated process, but it does make overpopulation a possible problem. King Michael was especially strict about who had the privilege of being turned into a vampire. Because of how long we can live and how we are superior in strength and speed compared to the wolf shifters and humans, a single vampire can cause a lot of damage, particularly if they have a weak personality to begin with.
“Queen Agatha saved her life.”
Kane nods. “After that, Willow became part of the castle staff. Gaius took a shine to her and made her his unofficial apprentice.”
“There’s something you forgot to mention,” I point out. “What happened to the vampire that turned her? Were they executed?”
“You don’t remember that either? Don’t you remember that time my father almost killed Lex because he turned someone into a vampire by mistake? It was Willow he turned.”
The dots are connecting in my mind. I remember King Michael’s fury at Lex for his carelessness. Lex had been a young vampire, barely in control of his thirst back then. Most vampires that disobeyed King Michael’s rules were executed without mercy. Lex got off with a slap on the wrist due to royal nepotism. Being a prince, even the spare son, does have its privileges.
