Dark Dominion

53. Holding On

Prince Isaac watched the line of vehicles depart down the palace drive, carrying away King Luther and any chances to repair their now-tenuous alliance. He'd better get ahold of Chief Erina and Alexei. They must be made aware of Luther's heinous accusations against them.

King Luther was planning something, Isaac knew, and it must be big.

Isaac turned to Ian, ever-dependable and always at his side. "Send the meeting transcript to Lord Alexei, and let him know I'll be contacting them soon."

"Yes, sir." Ian then disappeared into the palace, efficiently carrying out orders as always.

Isaac took a moment to breathe the oppressive summer air. Even as the sun set, it was sweltering hot. How Juniper could enjoy his days outside like this, Isaac would never fully understand. But the thought brought a near-smile to Isaac's lips.

Thinking of Juniper, there were more immediate problems to contend with than a deceptive king. Director Simms had sent the toxicology report on the dead prisoners, but he hadn't had the chance to look at it.

Isaac walked back into the palace, pulling out his phone. There were two notifications now. Simms had sent another report while Isaac had been seeing Luther off. The second one was titled "Vase."

Walking through the maze-like palace on auto-pilot, Isaac opened the toxicology report. His two prisoners had indeed ingested poison, a most unpleasant one at that. Ena root powder dissolved well in liquids, only giving off a mild sweetness, barely detectable. Quick acting, it caused pain and vomiting, and ended with heart failure.

Unfortunately, because the poison posed no threat to vampires, it was not a restricted or regulated substance. They couldn't track down the culprit with that information, but it had to be someone with easy access throughout the palace, which Isaac had already surmised.

Isaac clicked out of the report, frustrated at the dead end. He turned right down the next corridor towards his office. Going left would have led to his room, to Juniper. Though he longed to turn around and hold his sweet boy in his arms, he had work to do in order to keep him safe.

When he was at his desk, Isaac pulled up the second report Simms had sent on his computer. A photo showed the vase found in the deceased prisoners' apartment. Ornate and solid gold, it wasn't something the slaves could have paid for, ever.

Simms had tracked down the distributor and retailer where the vase had sold two years ago. A specialty flower shop in Chicago. And attached to the report was an order form and scanned receipt for the vase and one hundred red roses delivered to Palace Black – ordered by Secretary Ian Shaw.

Isaac stared at the computer screen.

Two quick raps on the office door brought Isaac's head sharply up, and Secretary Ian Shaw, his reliable Ian, entered the room with his usual refined poise.

"I got in touch with Lord Alexei and sent him the transcript." Ian moved into the room to stand before Isaac's desk. "They'll look it over, then await contact from you, sir."

Isaac hardly heard what Ian said. He looked at his secretary, who he'd known for seven years, a very short time for a vampire. Isaac remembered Sten, the king's former secretary and Ian's sire, an honorable vampire. Sten had introduced them. With such fondness, the old vampire presented Ian as Isaac's new secretary. Ian had bowed to his prince, then shook his hand with confidence and self-assurance. It was no matter that Ian was smaller and prettier than most vampires; he was determined to excel, to impress. And he always did.

Secretary Ian Shaw was not a part of this insidious plot to harm Juniper.

"Are you alright, sir?" Ian asked.