Call Of The Dark

Seething with rage, Lazarus traced back to Magnus's room. He hated the way his father ordered him to marry Olya.

Olya and Emma were sitting on the bed, discussing what happened at the dinner when Lazarus appeared. He began pacing the room as rage bubbled inside his chest. Magnus came into the room with his wine glass. Lazarus snatched it from him and drank it all in one go. Magnus watched him pacing the room. He knew that every time Lazarus met with their father, he was riled up. So he waited patiently for Lazarus to calm down while he went to sat on the bed where Olya and Emma were.

Emma was already flustered after her encounter with his sisters and so seeing him moving in the room with tension on his face, made her feel all the more anxious. In the end when she couldn't take it anymore, she said, "Lazarus, please sit and tell me what happened. You are making me nervous."

Lazarus stopped instantly. He walked to her and sat down beside her. He made her turn around and pulled her back against his chest. He buried his face in her neck and inhaled her scent to calm down. She brought her hand to his hair and stroked him gently.

"I am sorry to make you anxious. It's just that--" he sighed. "It's just that my father is constantly playing games. I am fed up. Sometimes I feel like giving up and taking you with me to some remote area where just the two of us are going to live. Do you think that is possible?"

Emma smiled softly. "It is possible."

"No, that is not an option," Magnus intervened. "I can't see anyone on the throne except Lazarus. Anton is too impulsive and has proven time and again that he couldn't be trusted with the throne because he puts his needs above the needs of the kingdom. As for other brothers, they are mostly indulging themselves. They want my father's money and after that they are not interested. As long as someone keeps giving them all the money for their indulgences, they would be fine with it. The main reason why they support Anton is because Anton secretly keeps giving them gold every now and then. And the best part is that the king doesn't know anything about it. The kingdom of Wilyra is flushed with so much gold that whenever my brothers are given money, it is like removal of a drop from the ocean."

Magnus's words brought memories of Maeve asking for gold from Lazarus and how he used to give her so freely. He was sure that she was giving it to Ailill. He shook his head. "I know..."

"Then you can't speak those words again, Lazarus," Magnus said. "You are Wilyra's hope. Don't back down ever."

Lazarus lifted his head and chuckled. He looked at Magnus with sheer admiration. "We have to discuss things. Father is up to it with a fresh strategy."

---

Naomi and Lord Cain came to Wilyra in two days. After they went to meet the king in the courtroom, Naomi went straight to meet her sister while Cain came to the guest room. He was too tired to go anywhere unlike his wife. Because of Olya he had to send his soldiers around to find her and he also went to hunt for her. He had recently come from a search when King Viktor's messengers informed him that Olya was at the Wilyra Palace and that she was found by Magnus. Though he had breathed a sigh of relief, he was too annoyed with her and didn't wish to see her. Had it not been for the piece of land that would come in his hand after Olya got married to Lazarus, he would have been least interested in her.

"Olya!" Naomi burst open the doors and entered the room where Olya was. Olya was sitting at the table by the window. She got up, her heart thundering in her ears. The two sisters looked at each other and then Naomi closed the gap between them, running. She hugged Olya tightly. "Where were you, Olya?" she cried. "I had gone mad finding you everywhere!"

Olya hugged her sister too knowing that Naomi was genuinely crying for her. Over all the schemes that she had in mind, her heart was constantly loving her younger sister. They remained in that position for a long time. When Naomi pulled away, she said, "I am so happy to see you. Running away like that was the worst thing you could do. You are supposed to marry Lord Lazarus. What if he starts getting suspicious of you? It would be terrible. Why do you want to ruin your chances of becoming his wife?"

Olya bit her lip, hating every word that came out of Naomi's mouth. "I told you that I don't want to marry him, Naomi. That was the sole reason why I ran away and you are pushing me in the same direction."

"Oh hush!" Naomi scolded her. She looked around and walked to close the doors. She came back to Olya, grabbed her wrist and took her to sit on the bed. "You can't speak like that. Do you know that the king has also agreed to marry Lord Lazarus."

"But Emma is his mate. He will be marrying her, Naomi," Olya pointed out. "You can't push me into a marriage which will be a marriage on papers and nothing else."

"Olya!" Naomi snapped. "Don't you understand the dynamics at all?" She searched for some logic in her sister. "Something big is about to happen. We came to know that Maeve was locked in a crystal mountain in a temple in the palace. Now that she is gone, the king is looking for a royal match for his son. And Emma is a human, a village girl who happens to be his mate. King Viktor doesn't like her at all. And that's where you come in the picture. He wants Lord Lazarus to marry you. Can you imagine? You will become the queen of Wilyra!"