Dark Hunger

Urhan's Manor

Ixoviya

"Where is Laurel?" asked Urhan to the soldier whom he had sent to the Yelgra forest. He had heard that the king wasn't in the human realm anymore and that he had returned, but his whereabouts were not known. Two days back, Daryn Silver, king's younger brother, had come to Ixoviya on a surprise visit. He had held a council meeting with the werewolves that he had stationed in Ixoviya to run the kingdom in Caleb's absence. 

Daryn's presence in Ixoviya and Caleb's absence in the human realm were too much of a coincidence. He knew that Laurel was already working to get the vampire to the demon king, Edyrm. He had gone to meet Arynn Aramaer in the Fulshire forest and kept his identity under wraps to make a deal. He would give them the location of the vampire queen and in return they had to abduct her and kill her. Laurel would do the rest of the work. With her charms, he was sure that she would seduce the king. The most important part of the whole deal was the Amber Moonstone. If he had that in his possession, he would become invincible and then control all the Ixoviyans. Yes, he dreamt of becoming the king of the powerful sorcerer kingdom. His ambition was to rule the Lore. He couldn't imagine what sorcerers could achieve if they worked together. And he couldn't imagine the kind of power he would have as their king, the kind of wealth and luxury. 

He recalled how after giving the location of the demons, he had gone to meet Laurel who had assured him that she was going to give the queen to Vaden. She had told him to prepare for her welcome and also to be ready to wed her to the king officially. 

"She wasn't found anywhere, m'lord," the soldier replied. "In fact, none of them could be found. We searched for them in the place you had told us." 

Fury rose in his chest. He gritted his teeth. "Then keep searching till you find them!" he barked. 

The soldier cringed and then left the room. He wanted to tell him about yesterday night's encounter when on a regular search patrol, he thought he had come across powerful spells, which he tried to penetrate, but he stayed quiet because Urhan was seething. Not many people knew about the king's activities. And only two soldiers knew about it. King's brother Daryn had come for a council meeting and after that a group of soldiers and servants were taken to the human realm. It looked legit until Urhan asked him to search for his sister and king. 

Every passing minute was heavy on him. Urhan had paced his room until his feet were numb. Where was Laurel? The king had disappeared after the incident with the demons. When he had gone to see the woods where Laurel had instructed him, he saw bodies of two winged demons. He cringed at the site. The bodies were covered with green plants that grew over their flesh. It was as if the plants were eating them up while growing. His mind stuttered because now he was unsure whether Vaden was successful or not. He decided to go to the motel where they were staying and found that Caleb had already checked out. The motel owner knew nothing of the whole group. 

Urhan's tension grew. His stomach twisted in a knot. Until he saw his sister, he would not be at rest. He decided to visit the demon king's cave in Fulshire forest. He waited for the night to fall and as soon as the moon was out, Urhan created a portal to the Fulshire forest. He stepped out of it and rushed to the cave where he had met them the last time. 

"Laurel?" he shouted but only his voice echoed back. It was extremely dark inside. He flung his hand up and a little orb of yellow light burned. The cave glowed in the dull light. However, his color blanched when he saw that the cave was abandoned. There was no one inside. Shocked, he walked to the deepest part of the cave, but he didn't find a soul. The throne was there and there were blood stains around it, but no one else. His body trembled as his lips left a shaky breath. He came back and now he didn't know where the demon king was nor where his sister was. Uncertainty was making him anxious. He had to find out about Laurel soon. The council members who were with him were asking for an update. 

--- 

Northern Mountain

Silver Vales

Vaden backhanded Laurel. She fell to the ground. She had shouted all the way and asked Vaden to stop. She had told him repeatedly that she was Laurel and not Elize, yet the demon hadn't stopped. She was unable to use her magic on him to stop and she didn't know why. Confused, frustrated and angry, Laurel had kicked him and boxed him only to be slapped tightly. The demon had threatened her that he would insert his horns in her chest and kill her if she didn't stop shouting. 

Vaden stopped only when he reached the new location which Arryn had shared with him. It was a cave deep in the Northern Mountains that flanked Silver Vales. Arryn had left a portal open for him to use only once. They had to vacate the cave in the Fulshir forest because Shalia, the druid queen, had come to know about their presence. She had sent a large unit to capture them. Even with all their rogue soldiers, it would have been impossible to defeat the queen. Plus, if they had fought with her, they would have invited unwanted attention of other kingdoms. Arryn had thought of a better plan. She took her father to a cave in the Northern Mountains—one she had known from many years. 

"You bloody whore! You ruined the whole plan. You didn't even come to know that the king had cast a glamor on you?" Vaden's voice boomed in the cave. Laurel cried as she tried to get up, but another slap from Vaden made her fall on the ground on her face. Her glamor was off. "That was one great chance we had to get Elize, but because of your foolishness, we lost it!" He started opening the buckle of the belt of his pants. 

"It wasn't my foolishness," she said, panting and scrambling to her feet. Her cheeks were sore. The skin burned. She was hauled on a demon's shoulder and run through a forest, as the vines and branches snapped on her hips and skin. She was bruised, her clothes were tattered and her hair was a mess. Every part of her body was aching. She heaved and retched, and then whatever food she had eaten, was thrown out. She vomited until there was nothing left in her stomach. Just a few hours back she imagined that the queen would be captured by the demons, and now—now she found herself in their captivity—soiled from top to bottom and reeking of vomit. 

She turned to face the demon and in a hoarse voice said, "It was your fault, not mine.." His belt landed on her body and she shrieked.