Page 103 of The Demon King's Destiny

“That’s odd. Wolves are strong and can swim. Was she dead before she went into the water?”

“No. It is believed Dmitri killed her, possibly hypnotized her to take her own life.”

“I’m sorry, who?” Evelyn interrupted.

“My apologies, I’ve gotten ahead of myself. Agatha is dead. Drowned in shallow water. No markings were on her body so there was no evidence of a struggle. The scent of the vampire the wolves found in Burghard, when King Edward was attacked? They found the same scent in the dwelling the she-wolf was inhabiting, deep in the woods of Prajna. Viktor confirmed it was Dmitri, an advisor he believed had died a century ago. Both Agatha and Dmitri’s scents were all over the shelter. It was obvious they were there together.”

“Dmitri,” Marrok sounded out slowly, as if the name made him ill.

“It makes sense, my lord,” Favin said. “In the memory, Caleb had started to say the vampire’s name. It sounded like it started with a D, and he didn’t appear keen to have his name said aloud. If he needed Viktor to think him dead, Dmitri would have to be cautious about such things.”

“Memory? What memory?” Hale asked quizzically.

“I’ll write a message for you with the information Theron may need. The short of it is Evelyn has dreamt of members of Sephtis Kenelm. One was a vampire we did not recognize. It might be this Dmitri.”

Marrok rested his hand on Evelyn’s knee, squeezing it in reassurance. “Unless there are heirs to the others in the group, Dmitri is the last one alive.”

“Which brings me to the second part of my message,” Hale told them. “Dmitri might be dead, as well.”

“Mightbe?” Marrok pressed.

“Viktor’s brother, Luka, managed to get an iron manacle on Dmitri’s wrist, which would prevent him from teleporting.”

Marrok leaned forward. “And just how did he manage that?”

“I don’t know. I was told Dmitri showed up at Castra Nocte, took Viktor’s mate—”

Evelyn gasped, covering her mouth.

“Your sister is fine, my lady. I should have led with that. I apologize. Again. I’m usually carrying written word, not memorizing a thousand words to regurgitate.”

“Continue with the message, Hale,” Favin instructed, noticing Marrok was distracted by Evelyn’s reaction.

“Yes, well I was told only that Dmitri had taken Eden, Luka slapped on the iron manacle, and Dmitri couldn’t port away. It’s not clear how, but he fell from Diavol Crest. It’s the highest cliff in Prajna, overlooking a dangerous whirlpool that all vampires are warned away from. If Dmitri couldn’t port and he got caught in the whirlpool, it would eventually kill him.”

“Without his body, no one can be sure, right?” Evelyn asked.

“Right. Viktor has men scouring the beaches. If the ocean killed him, it will likely spit him back out on shore.”

“And if it didn’t?” she whispered.

Marrok clasped her hand. “Then we will be ready. We’ll continue on as we have. I’ll not leave anything to chance when it comes to your safety, little mate. Hopefully, if the traitor lived, the vampires will still find him first since he’ll have to swim to shore.”

“Only if he still has on the iron cuff. Otherwise, he could teleport to anyplace he’s ever visited in Imperium,” Favin interpolated.

“Then it’s a good thing he’s never been inside the palace,” Hale declared, visibly relieved.

“Unfortunately, it seems he has,” Favin corrected the vampire. “The meeting in the vision took place in a room next to the throne room. We don’t know what other spaces here he was able to visit, if any. At the very least, he could get into that wing, quite easily.”

Evelyn turned to Marrok.“The male is likely Dmitri, I want to assume he did not survive the fall, but ...”

“We’ll assume nothing,” Marrok spoke adamantly. “I’ll not risk it. We’ll block off that section of the palace. It’s on the opposite side of the building and there’s no need for us to be there. We’ll remain diligent. Nothing changes until we have confirmation he is dead.”

Marrok almost hoped Dmitri wasn’t, only so he could kill the vampire himself. If Evelyn could be safe in the palace on her own, he’d already be out there searching.

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