Royal shuffle: Vampire's mate

ANDREA

The room fell into a stunned silence as William's accusation hung in the air. Leonidas stood frozen on the spot, his expression a mixture of disbelief and indignation. William fixed his gaze on Leonidas with a smug expression on his face. Something that seemed to anger Leonidas more.

Leo scoffed. "I cannot believe that you would dare open your mouth and accuse my brother of kidnapping your son."

"Well, I did," William replied, shrugging. As though that was the normal thing to say given the circumstances and the weight of the accusation he had just made.

"He loves Adela and Will, he wouldn't do anything to hurt them," Leo countered.

A smirk spread across William's face, a smirk that quickly graduated to a laugh. I shared a look with Leo, telling him with my eyes to not let William rile him up.

"He loves them alright. But he loves power more. While you were here finding the 'kidnapper', your brother was busy scheming how to use Will to lure Adela out. Assuming he hasn't done it already," Willam said, shrugging his shoulders as much as his restraints would let him.

Leonidas, his patience wearing thin, stepped forward with eyes that told how he wanted his hands around William's neck.

"You're out of your mind if you think Leopold would do something like this. We need answers not baseless accusations!"

An exchange between William and Leonidas ensued and soon turned into a verbal clash, each word carrying the weight of their emotions. I struggled to comprehend the words that had been said and the possible truth that could be staring me in the face. What if he was right? No one has seen or heard of him since Will went missing. Could it be...no. He loved those children. I refused to entertain those thoughts. But what if...

I turned to William. "Where is he holding them?"

Leo looked at me in shock, "You don't possibly believe him, do you?!"

"I don't know what to believe. What I know is that I'm desperate to find my child," I replied and reverted my attention back to William. "Where is he holding him?"

"There's an old castle up in the mountains. It's been there for decades. Remnants from the eradication of the witches and claimed by the vampires," William replied, nodding towards Leo.

Leo threw back his head and laughed, his eyes saying that he was far from amused.

"We don't have any property in the mountains. And I know ALL of the properties we own."

William shrugged. "Then you don't know anything."

Leo's hands balled into fists and his eye twitched, he was seconds away from getting physical on William. I couldn't have that, not just yet. I stepped between Leo and William. "How sure are you about what you're saying?" I asked.

"Very sure," William replied.

"Let's assume that you're right, and my brother is holding your son," Leo said. "Why would he do that? What would be his motive?"

"I don't know. My best guess would be that he wants the throne," William replied.

The revelation sent a chill through the room. My mind raced, torn between the loyalty I felt toward Leopold and the need to find my son.

Savannah, who had been quietly observing, trailed behind as we exited the cell. Returning to my office, the atmosphere remained charged with unresolved conflict.

Once there, the argument reignited. Leonidas, vehement in his defense of his brother, stated, "This is impossible. I know every estate and property we own. Leopold wouldn't be involved in something like this."

I, grappling with doubt, countered, "What if we've been blind to something? What if Leopold isn't as innocent as we thought?"

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The room echoed with the weight of uncertainty as the truth dangled just out of reach. The unresolved tension left us at a crossroads, the path forward uncertain, and the shadows of doubt looming over the bond that once held us all together. The heated discussion in my office stretched into the evening, and continued in the morning with renewed vigor from our night's rest. Words were exchanged like arrows, each one piercing the fragile trust that had united us. Savannah, torn between loyalty and uncertainty, observed the turmoil, her presence adding an undercurrent of tension to the room.

Despite Leonidas' impassioned defense of his brother, William stood firm in his accusations.

"I know the castle, Andrea," he asserted. "I've been there." His eyes carrying the weight of a haunted past.

Caught in the middle of the verbal warfare, I struggled to reconcile the conflicting images of the man I loved and the possibility he was involved in such darkness.

"Leopold would never..." I began, but my voice wavered.

Leonidas, his frustration boiling over, slammed his hand on my desk. "This is madness! We're chasing shadows. William has no proof, just wild accusations. Do you think that it's just pure coincidence that he just shows up after years of searching for him?! Claiming to know where exactly Will is being held?!"

The vein on Leo's forehead pulsed, and I wondered how much more of this he could take before snapping...or cutting off William's head. I sighed, and found the nearest seat in the holding cell.

"Because I look where no one else would, that's why..." William countered.

"You don't know what you're saying."

William turned to me. His eyes pleading, "I have a map. I'll show you where it is. If you don't find anything there, you can come back and kill me. I'd die happily."

I looked over at Leo who seemed somewhat shocked at the declaration and then back at William who kept looking at me with a straight face. I massaged my temples, trying to push away the headache that I could feel forming.

"This is what we're going to do," I said. "We'll go up to the mountains and check this mystery castle out. If there's nothing there, Leo gets the pleasure of taking your head."

Leo smirked at my declaration, still very certain that there was nothing up in the mountains.

"I promise that you won't find anything up there," he declared.

"I'm hoping that we don't find anything up there either."

We both smiled at each other, some sort of understanding passing between us. Leo insisted that Leopold would never do anything like that. And deep down, I believe him too. But it's been months, and I'm getting desperate. I would travel to hell if there happened to be a slight chance that he was being held there.

My mouth opened in a wide yawn, the stress and tiredness of the situation pushing my body to its limits.

"When was the last time you slept?" Leo asked, stretching his hand out to me.

I slipped my hands into his, enjoying the warmth of his hands. "Not in a long while..."

"And food? When was the last time you ate?"

My stomach rumbled embarrassingly, and I felt a slight blush stain my cheeks. Leo laughed, and began to lead us to the kitchen. Just as he settled me comfortably into a seat at the counter, Savannah ran into the kitchen, flustered and out of breath. Her cheeks puffing in and out from her fast and hard breaths.

"What's wrong?" I asked, slipping out of my seat.

Savannah's wide eyes moved from Leo to me, back and forth and finally settled on me.

"Adela is gone."