"Where have you been?! The Emperor is giving the guards a hard time in finding you!"
That was Lawrence Alister, the youngest wizard of De Viantis Empire, who was immediately bought by the royal family because of him being a prodigy amongst others.
In other words, he was the lackey of the Emperor. Subjected to conduct countless experiments, some that almost took his life.
Until Theon bought him from the Emperor.
Now he lived in a tower, one of Theon's many properties. Although trapped in there forever, he was living the life any wizard would want. To be able to study to their heart's content without disturbance…or having to pay rent.
"I took a detour," Theon said dryly, perched on the lone windowsill at the top of the tower.
Lawrence ran a hand through his curly brown hair, which looked no better than a bird's nest. With his honey-brown eyes, hazelnut hair, and scrawny build, he had all the makings of perfect vampire prey.
Except he wasn't.
As a wizard, Lawrence was exempt from being considered food under the laws of vampirism. Anything deemed too valuable was forbidden from the hunt.
And Lawrence was valuable.
A prodigy by the age of ten, he belonged to a dwindling handful of wizards left in the world. Most had been wiped out for working alongside witches—a reviled, vermin race that every other kind despised, and eventually united to eradicate.
There was nothing good about witches.
Five years later, Lawrence is still the best at the game of wizardry. That was the only reason Theon decided to buy him.
He had proved to be of great help in Theon's investigation on artificial corruption. Something that had been going on for a year within the Empire, yet had only reached the court days ago.
"Incompetent…everyone…"
What the hell is he mumbling about? Lawrence's face twisted in an ugly grimace as he tried to make sense in Theon's whispers but gave up a second later. It's not like he was a vampire with supernatural senses.
Theon was fond of mumbling to himself, something Lawrence had noticed over the years. It was one of the many feats that made the crowned prince unapproachable.
"Have you heard anything lately?"
"I've heard a lot…be specific"
"The court sent two vampires to investigate the massacre caused by corrupted vampires in one of the human villages at the eastern border"
That piqued Theon's interest, as he finally looked up from the silver ribbon tied between his fingers he had been fondling since he got to the tower.
A piece of Anwen, who gave it to him before she departed as a token of gratitude.
He lifted a brow, "Who are they?"
"Duke Dorian and Councilman Lucian. The Valdemar brothers. The hearing was kept under utmost secrecy, it's a feat that I found out about it" There was a hint of smugness in Lawrence's tone but it only made Theon smirk.
"That's why I bought you…not so?"
Lawrence gritted his teeth in annoyance, deciding to ignore the snarky remark, he went on. "It's almost the end of the month, meaning the feeding season is near. As expected, they'll leave for the village right after in claims of visiting another Empire"
Once again, Lawrence proved to be useful in gathering information that an average person wouldn't be able to acquire. He had his ways that Theon had zero interest in, all he wanted was results.
Aside from information, he was also good at deciphering runes, languages, and elements. He even had a book of spells of his own.
Truly, a worthy investment.
"Very good. I'll tell the guards of the tower to provide more power crystals for you—"
"Really?!"
"IF you conduct a research on the Fae race and everything there is to know about them"
I should've known. This cruel Prince never did anything without asking for something in return, whether good or bad.
"Why the sudden interest in Faes? Don't tell me you came across one…" Lawrence scoffs.
A daunting silence came from Theon, who smiled coyly as he brought the single ribbon he had been holding all this while, up to his lips, grazing past his fangs.
The sight of that alone ran a chill down Lawrence's spine as one thing was certain. Something or someone had caught Theon's interest.
And he looked very intrigued.
"Where…how…did you find a Fae? They have been extinct for decades. E-Even if you were to find one, it definitely wouldn't be in the land of vampires. That's absurd"
"You must've heard the rumours…" Theon leaned against the window sill, "Duke Dorian recently adopted a child, despite having an heir capable of taking over. The child is a Fae girl…her name is Anwen Valdemar"
"This is a secret that stays between us! Don't speak so loudly about it. There could be more corrupted vampires out here!"
A smile creeped up Theon's face as Anwen's voice echoed in his head. She's doing a good job at keeping her identity a secret, not even her family knows of it.
Aimes is way over his head to suspect a thing, while Remington who's suffering from identity crisis, won't be able to tell the difference between two races. But Duke Dorian…he's different from the rest. Surely he must have his reasons for adopting her, it won't be a surprise if he knew what she was—
"Are you…smiling?!"
Lawrence couldn't believe his eyes, he pinched himself to check if it was just a fever dream but the stinging pain made him realize that the prince actually had a subtle smile on his face and it wasn't a dream.
Theon's next words shocked him even further.
"Yes. But I have a good reason for it" He was practically beaming but his smile dropped faster than his lightning in a heartbeat. "You will conduct research secretly, and the talk about Anwen being a Fae must not slip past the walls of this room. Else…"
Theon shifted his gaze to the human skeleton hanging on the wall. "...You will join your dear friend who looks lonely hanging up there"
A tyranny indeed.
Lawrence must've been out of his mind thinking, even for a moment, that the prince felt any sort of emotion except the urge to kill.
The look on his face when he mentioned the Fae girl's name—priceless indeed! He looked like someone who was smitten.
Or maybe Lawrence had imagined it.