Dark Hunger

The moment Elize turned to leave, her gown swishing behind her, he fisted his hands into balls and stared at her with hatred. The only thing that was in his mind was… revenge. Anger replaced his fear and his heart throbbed with hatred. He pulled it out, funneling it in his hands to use magic to kill her but he remembered that Norhall Castle would never let him go against its queen. So, he used another type of magic. He closed his eyes, drew back his hatred and thought of every good thought with his parents and sister. Filled with euphoria, he reformulated his sorcery. In order for the spell to work, he needed Elize's attention, and so he clapped his hands twice. 

Elize turned around to look at him and that one moment when their gazes locked, he chanted the spell and clapped twice more. The spell emanated from his palms sending a gust of air to her. The next moment, Elize was clouded with magic so potent that she felt as if she was drugged. There was something that blocked all her reasoning and after that she thought that she was floating in the air. 

Minutes later the guards and the servants saw the queen walking with Urhan beside her, his hand on the small of her back as if he was guiding her to walk. "You are unwell, Your Highness," Urhan muttered. "Please come this way. I will take you to the healer." Not a single person dared to interfere or ask the priest as to what was he doing, because the queen was walking with him, consciously. Her soldiers surrounded her. When they reached the healer's room, the soldiers stood out while Urhan took her in. Since the healer wasn't there, it was easy for Urhan to get out of the castle along with the queen. All it took for Urhan was to cast yet another spell and he disappeared with Elize. "I will teach you a lesson vampire," he whispered to her as he traced with her to a derelict building. When he reached there, she was still dazed. He leaned over her and whispered, "And then I will teach a lesson to your husband."

--- 

Caleb returned to his bedchamber when it was time for lunch. He didn't find Elize over there. It was odd because she usually didn't get out of the room because of daylight. She stayed inside the room where he had put heavy curtains which didn't allow the lights to pass. But knowing Elize, he thought she must have gotten bored and gone to take a walk around. He loosened his collar after tossing his cape on the chair and relaxed on the bed, but he grew antsy by the minute. He jumped from the bed and then walked out of the bedroom. He asked the guards stationed outside, "Where is the queen?" 

"She has gone to meet Urhan in the council room," said one of them as he bowed to the king. His stomach roiled and twisted with anxiety. He rushed to the council meeting room, forgetting that he could use magic to trace there. When he remembered, while running he traced and the guards saw him vanishing in the air with a whiz. Caleb appeared in the room. He placed his hands on his waist, his chest heaving with anticipation, his brows lined with sweat. The room was empty. He stabbed his hands in his hair as nervousness buzzed through him. "Guards!" he shouted. The doors of the room opened immediately and two guards stepped in. "Where is the queen?" 

They bowed, surprise flickering through them. One on the right said, "She has gone to the healer's room with the High Priest." 

"What? Why?" Red blasted in his vision. He started walking in the direction of the healer's room. The guards followed him. 

"The High Priest said that she was unwell," the guard informed. 

Caleb frowned. She was perfect when he left her. What had Urhan done to her? "When did this happen?" His heart seized with… fear. 

"An hour back." 

Ground slipped beneath his feet. "Fuck!" This couldn't be. "No, no, no, no!" He darted towards the healer's room and the guards followed him, but the king traced away within a second. Being used to this kind of a thing, the guards just traced after him. 

The healer's eyes widened when Caleb appeared in the room. He froze on the spot, seeing the king's dark demeanor. 

"Where is Elize?" Caleb asked as he prowled close to him. 

The healer shook his head. "I— I don't know," he squeaked. 

Caleb grabbed him by his neck and peeled his lips back from his fangs. "I am going to snap this neck off your shoulders. So, you better tell me where she is." He lifted the healer with his hand off the ground. 

The healer choked and coughed and grabbed his wrist. "I don't know! She never came here." The guards had appeared by that time. Caleb narrowed his eyes and it was easy to see that the healer was speaking the truth. The old man was shivering with terror. Caleb left his neck and the healer dropped to the floor in a pile of mess and sniffles and shudders. He turned to look at the guards and barked, "Where are her personal guards?" The guards looked at each other blankly. So, Caleb turned to the healer again. "When did you come to this room?" 

The healer rubbed his neck and in a hoarse voice said, "I came a few minutes back. I was late today…" 

"And what did you see upon entering? Were the queen's guards there?" 

He shook his head. "N— no." 

"When you came inside, there were no guards and there was no queen?" 

The healer shook his head again, tears running down his wrinkled cheeks. 

"What about the High Priest?" 

"Even he wasn't here!" 

His chest vibrated and he roared so loud that the castle shook. He pounded his hand on the shelf behind him and it disintegrated into small pieces, its bottles and potions flying out and shattering on the floor and the wall. The guards cowered and the healer balked as he scrambled to safety. "Check every damn room and passageway inside the castle! Now!" he yelled at his guards.. "Ready a unit of soldiers. I am going to meet Urhan!"