Call Of The Dark

Nora was about to snap back at her when Magnus traced back. He was shocked to see his sisters in her room. He narrowed his eyes on them and bared his fangs as if in a warning.

Nora chuckled. "Come on Magnus, we don't want to harm Emma. After all, she is Lazarus's mate. But we have come to tell her of the position she belongs to. She can keep dreaming to be a royal but she never would be."

Before Magnus could say anything, Cora responded, "At least Olya is a royal. If she would have married Lazarus, then surely father would have agreed. But you--" she shook her head. "You are just dreaming." The sisters started laughing.

Emma watched them laugh. They began to leave. Magnus advanced towards them but Emma stopped him. She said aloud, "The fact that you two came here to show me my position means that you both are threatened by me." She crossed her arms across her chest and stood confidently. "Which is good. It is nice to see what Lord Lazarus's siblings think about him and me. It will be useful in the future. Because remember, even if I become his concubine, he will never leave me and he will always choose me over you."

"You--" Nora shot at her.

Emma raised her hand in the air. "You both can leave."

Grinding their teeth, the sisters marched out. Magnus was... stunned. "You did a great job at showing them their position, Emma!" he said with his lips curling up. Emma was a feisty woman and he liked that she could speak for herself.

She shrugged. "They had come to show me my status without thinking what their status was."

Magnus laughed. He held her wrists and then traced to his bedchamber where Olya was waiting for them.

---

In the meeting chamber, King Viktor was waiting for Lazarus. He was pacing the room with his hands clasped at the back. As soon as he saw Lazarus he said, "Are you insane?"

Lazarus raised his eyebrow, puzzled over his father's recent backlash.

"How can you marry a human?" Viktor shouted. "She has no backing. She is the daughter of a rebel and she is not even a vampire. You two are not compatible!"

Lazarus walked to the nearest chair and sat down quietly. "So what do you suggest father?"

"You are the prince of Wilyra. You should marry someone of the same stature. Emma's purpose over here was only to get Maeve's soul in her. Now that purpose is no longer going to be fulfilled, you can leave her back to the village or--" Viktor stopped, his muscles bulging in anger.

"Or?" Lazarus goaded him to speak further as he narrowed his eyes.

"Or you can throw her with the concubines. She can be your special concubine, but she will never become your wife!"

Lazarus remained quiet for a while as he stayed in a staring contest with his father. Moments later he said, "Did you ask your father to marry my mother? My mother was your mate. Did you need permission to marry her?"

"Shut up!" Viktor's voice boomed in the room. "Adara was a vampire. I didn't need to ask for anyone's permission to marry her. She wasn't a human like Emma!"

Lazarus gazed at the necklace his father was wearing. He couldn't help thinking what a hypocrite he was. He was forcing her not to marry Emma only to put pressure on him to release Maeve. "And what about other wives you had? After all, I am not the only child you have. Did you ask for permission to marry them?"

Viktor thumped the edge of the table. It cracked on impact. "You are getting out of line here, Lazarus! Don't you fucking argue with me!"

"I am not arguing with you father," Lazarus replied in a calm voice. "I am merely asking you questions. If you can answer me, it is fine."

Viktor gritted his teeth. He said, "I didn't require anyone's permission to marry my wives. I have a stable mind and am very wise to take my decisions. I don't get swayed by emotions and definitely not by this mate nonsense."

Lazarus's lips curled up in a scornful smile. "That I can see," he replied, his eyes at the necklace his father wore. "You don't get swayed by mate nonsense. And that is the difference between you and me. I can't think of Emma dying because her death makes me shudder. I feel like I will stop living if she dies. I am sure that I will cross the Fade with her. But you--" He wanted to speak it out because those words were like a festering wound in his heart. "You chose to kill my mother and bury her in the blood forest for the necklace that is around your neck. She was your mate and when a mate dies, the other one follows him or her to the Fade, but you live. You lived because of this necklace. Don't you feel anything for my mother?"

"Lazarus!" Viktor bared his fangs.

"Don't you want to be with her? You rejected her but I know that it must be gnawing at you on the inside every day. It's because of this necklace that you are able to live without her so easily. But the irony of the whole thing is that this necklace belonged to my mother and she died for it, for me." Lazarus's chest was heaving as rage bubbled inside him. He wanted to get out of this place, away from his father. And so he got up and walked out of the meeting chamber. "This meeting is over."

"Lazarus!" Viktor shouted. "You will not marry Emma. But I can allow you to marry Olya!"

Lazarus turned sharply to look at Viktor.

"Yes, we sent the message to Naomi and Cain that Olya is with us," Viktor said with a scoff. "They both will be coming here soon. They want Olya to get married to you and I have agreed."