Page 46 of The Golden Rose Of Valenul

The Crowe, a dastardly monster who many considered to be the king of the dhemons, held jurisdiction over the Keonis Mountains until last year. Then, the Crowe disappeared, and Ehrun, his dhemon army’s general, took his place.

When Loren took up the mantle as General, the Crowe was gaining ground in the war against the vampires. More and more villages fell to the raiding parties and hundreds of Rusans died in each attack. Keeping up with his incessant movements was taxing at best, impossible at worst.

Until it all came to a sudden halt half a year before Ariadne’s abduction.

“He targeted my family due to my position as the General at the time.” Markus shook his head with a scowl. “I vowed the same fate would not reach my new wife—my new family. Then Jezebel was killed and Ariadne, tiny as she was, escaped by the tip of her fangs.”

Loren frowned as Markus went silent. “Pardon me, my Lord, but how does this connect to Tenebra remaining in your service?”

“In order for my personal guards to maintain the appropriate level of security,” Markus explained, “I believe it to be necessary for them to understand the full history of my family. Not only does Tenebra know about Mariana and Jezebel, he has been briefed on the details of Ariadne’s disappearance.”

So the bastard knew all of this before Loren. The thought soured, and Loren could hardly contain his disgust.

Markus continued before Loren could speak, “He has sworn an oath to remain quiet. If he is released, he may choose to forgo the oath to undermine me.”

“To break an oath such as that holds greater consequences than what he has already done. Why would you entrust him with such information?”

“Because I trust him explicitly.”

Loren scoffed. “What could a half-breed bastard have done to gain such loyalty from the Princeps?”

With a cock of his eyebrow, Markus studied him for a long moment. “He assisted Madan Antaire with Ariadne’s rescue.”

“That is absurd.” Loren could not stop himself. “By the gods, how was he involved?”

“As Mister Antaire explained, Tenebra provided a safe haven after he escaped with Ariadne,” Markus said simply. “Madan specifically requested Tenebra to join him this Season due to their mutual connection to that event.”

Loren could not believe what he was hearing as secret after secret poured out before him. From Markus’s first marriage, to his family being hunted by dhemons, to Azriel fucking Tenebra’s involvement in Ariadne’s rescue—it was all too much.

And he knew that one outburst would do little to cast the bastard from the Harlows’ employment.

Fuck.

Then he would have to make the half-breed suffer in whatever way he could.

“Well,” Loren said with a shake of his head, “now that I understand why Tenebra will continue as your personal guard, shall we continue on to determine the discipline appropriate for his behavior last night?”

“Lead the way, General.”

They continued on in silence through the next set of doors, this time unguarded. The room they entered, however, had soldiers stationed at each set. It was a wide room with high, barred windows where the prisoners were allowed to move farther than their cells provided. Loren did not approve of it, and therefore, very few vampires roamed through.

Soldiers unlocked the next set of doors, and they entered a long corridor lined with the small, dark cells. Most prisoners within the dark confines awaited trial or their final sentence; others merely waited for the final payment to be made by their families to free them from the prison once and for all.

Azriel sat on the floor of his cell halfway down the corridor. He looked up, appearing relatively at ease in the prison. Probably not his first time behind bars.

“Mister Tenebra,” Markus said. “How do you fare?”

The bastard stood and bent at the waist. “To be quite honest, my Lord, I am in prison and therefore not faring well.”

To Loren’s surprise, Markus chuckled. “Do you understand why you are in that cell?”

Those cold eyes slid to Loren. “Indeed. My sincerest apologies, General. I’m ashamed of the way I lost my head last night.”

He would lose far more than that if Loren had any say in the matter. As it were, the very public offense would not be seen as a crime punishable by death in the eyes of the Society. To give the bastard such a sentence would reflect poorly on Loren.

“I am not here for apologies,” Loren said coolly. “We are here to inform you of your punishment.”

The corner of Azriel’s mouth quirked up. Loren would punch him right in that smirk if he could.

---