Crimson Flame ~ Book 1 - The Royal Blood Collection

Chapter 13

The odd little man was stuttering his sycophantic gratitude, trying to avoid looking at the dead bodies. I thumped him against the wall, growling at him.

"Enough or I will change my mind."

"Yes, of course."

"What time tomorrow?"

"Midnight."

"And now that Hendrick is dead, who will be the person that confirms the new ruler?"

He winced with an uneasy smile.

"There is a meeting at midnight tomorrow, the province leaders will convene and those in contention for the rule are expected to present themselves. The other leaders will confirm the details and if they believe it to be the truth, they will place Alaric as the leader of this town."

"Is there anyone else that could present themselves?"

"There is only one bloodline that is the true ruler but that means nothing anymore. Hendrick proved that. He displaced Maelan easily and has ruled ever since."

"What's your name?"

"Ilsen."

"And what was it that you did for Hendrick?"

"I was his advisor."

"Great, you're my advisor now. If you piss me off or advise me incorrectly, you know what's going to happen to you, don't you?"

He glanced at the dead bodies and nodded.

"How many could turn up tomorrow?"

"Countless."

"And they could all try to claim the rule?"

Ilsen nodded.

"What would get Alaric to the top and not anyone else?"

"If there was more than one, the other leaders would expect a fight to happen. It's a fight to the death so there would be no more issues. If it was one person, Alaric would go against them, if it was more than one, they'd fight each other until only one remained alive."

"Why did Alaric tell me that he needed Hendrick alive?"

He shrugged, giving a confused and still very uneasy smile.

"I don't know."

"Because he knew that no one would go against Hendrick."

I turned to Silas who was standing at the doorway.

"That is true," Ilsen added. "But no one would know if you don't say anything. Hendrick didn't have any appointments for the afternoon so his death can remain unknown for as long as you like."

Silas looked at the room, his gaze swung back to me. Silently, he gestured for us to follow.

Ilsen was a few steps behind me as we walked up the stairs to the guest quarters and in particular to the main bathroom. Alaric and Nisha weren't here, just one bathroom that was destroyed. Ilsen stared in shock.

"We've seen a few human turns in our time in this world and I can honestly say that I have never seen anyone do what you have done here. You climbed the wall, Emmeline. You punched a hole in the wall and dragged Hendrick through it. How did you know he was there?"

I shrugged, glancing at him briefly.

"I could smell blood and it was moving so I followed it."

"Alaric said you scared the crap out of him. Also said something about buying a suit of armor to sleep in if you plan on sleeping in his coffin tonight."