Elys wanted to refute the prince’s comment regarding humans, but she knew all too well that what he said wasn’t entirely incorrect. No matter how evil the vampires were to the human eye, she couldn’t deny the fact that humans themselves can be destructive.
War wasn’t just limited to the people who wield unsurmountable powers. Even before these creatures of magic had spawned, since the start of time, man had found themselves on opposite ends.
"You turned quiet," Aleksander crossed his legs and grinned, "did what I say hit a nerve or something?"
"Don’t be too smug," Elys replied, "just because what you said about humans is true, it doesn’t prove you vampires any better."
The prince chuckled, "We all have demons inside of us." His eyes slowly traveled towards Elys’s eyes and added with a hint of sarcasm, "Even you have your demons too, right?"
Elysianne didn’t like to discuss the things that had caused her pain, for she didn’t want to look weak. Instead of answering the prince’s question, she veered off to continue their previous topic. She then cleared her throat.
"Anyways, as far as I know, the Eastern Kingdom sits high on cliffs and overlooks a dense forest where they let werewolves roam free. If I was to guess, they might have struck a deal with those werewolves to protect their borders too," she said.
This time around, it was the prince’s turn to raise an eyebrow.
Aleksander noticed that all throughout the course of their travel that whenever he mentioned something that might get too personal, she immediately switched the focus into something else.
He had been frustrated he couldn’t read her mind, whereas her maidservant as well was very much guarded mentally. Not many humans were that hard to read, to which only convinced the prince that she and her maidservant weren’t normal people.
This was specifically the reason why he had opted to trick her to see the vision he created in her head. That glow she had emitted during her subconscious state was his answer, but he needed to know more.
With that in mind, the prince decided to change his tactics with her. She was strong and stubborn, if she wouldn’t bend by force, then he will get her to spill through other means.
"You think they had made a deal with the werewolves to keep away enemies from entering their borders?" he repeated her opinion.
"Yes," Elys said, her eyes turning grim as another howl echoed in the darkness, "it is highly possible that they did. What else would be the reason those werewolves are left alone to do what they do in the first place?"
"It does seem plausible," Aleksander pondered.
After some thinking, the prince opened his window and called out one of the knights that flanked the carriage as they traveled.
"Yes, your highness?" the knight obliged as Prince Aleksander beckoned for him.
"Remind everyone to be vigilant of wolves," he told the knight.
The man seemed confused for a moment, "Not the werewolves, per se?"
"We don’t know entirely if these werewolves that live in the Eastern Forest borders are merely shapeshifters or children of the moon," he said, "it is best to be on guard. We believe that they are in cohorts with the Eastern Queen to protect the borders."
Just as Aleksander finished his sentence, the carriage suddenly stopped.
"Fuck! What was that for, Henry, Cordelia?!" the prince asked as he slammed the compartment to speak with the two who were driving the carriage.
"Sir Teo suddenly vanished, your highness," Henry said, his voice shaking.
"What do you mean he just vanished? Did the two of you imbeciles sleep while driving this?" Aleksander demanded.
"We don’t know, Prince Aleksander!" Henry replied, "He just vanished from thin air. I swear he was just a few yards ahead. When I blinked, he wasn’t there anymore!"
"We had been following Sir Teo this whole time. What should we do? The road ahead is forked, your highness," Cordelia asked.
A strong wind passed by, rattling the carriage windows and in turn, causing Elys and the prince to be on high alert.
"Move, now!" Elys spoke.
"To which road?" Cordelia and Henry said in unison.
"You decide!" Elys said.
"What? Why?" Aleksander asked, confused why she had ordered them to move.
Cordelia who still had the reins in her hands immediately whipped the horses to go forward. With no time to think it through, she veered the carriage to the right.
The momentum of the carriage caught both Elys and Aleksander off-guard, and the prince bared his fangs in irritation. Before he could even complain, the princess grabbed Aleksander by his collar, her eyes crazed and visibly concerned about something.
"You said it yourself that you didn’t like Teo. I don’t want to agree with you about a single thing," she whispered in a rush, "but this must be the time I should. Teo could be a traitor all along, we either stay still and be sitting ducks, or we continue moving."
"Dammit!" Aleksander cursed.
She was right. The idea regarding Teo’s sudden disappearance made sense if he considered that feeling of apprehension he always had with the knight.
The carriage lurched forward, the knights right behind them as they rushed to catch up. Howls echoed as the carriage and knights pass by dense trees. The canopies covered their view of the skies, and with it light was limited to that of the carriage’s lantern.
The vampires had no problem with seeing in the dark. Although Cordelia had trained herself in situations such as these, she still had second thoughts whether they were in the right path. Driven by instinct and adrenaline, she pushed forward and drove them further into the forest.
Hopefully, they were in the right part of the Eastern borders. There were no signs just yet of the Eastern gates, nor had they seen people or at the least animals at that.
It was as if the forest itself was void of life except that of the notable wolf howls.
Henry squinted his eyes, a flash of movement up ahead gaining his attention, "What is that?" he pointed.
Cordelia followed the direction of his finger, and dread crawled under her skin.