DUSK.
I gasped in horror as I looked at the man lying on the ground. He was one of the potential warriors, and his throat had been torn out badly; his eyes were wide open, and he had a look of horror on his face.
His last moments had been horrifying.
As more people came to witness the scene, more screams rang out, as no one expected to see a dead body lying in the kitchen.
After hearing the screams and probably receiving the news, the guards came running.
"We need everyone away from here now!" The head guard said as he pushed through the crowd.
Even I was pushed away roughly.
The guards looked shocked as they looked at the body on the floor.
"Please, you need to leave." The other guards said as they tried to push the crowd back so he could close the large doors.
Everyone began to murmur and whisper, and then the head guard threw open the doors once more, and with a menacing look, he addressed the crowd.
"Word of this dies here. If rumours circulate in the town about this, I'm coming back for you all." He said to the maids. Immediately after his eyes touched mine, he switched from me to the others.
Then he shut the doors with a loud bang, and the crowd dispersed.
I saw Seline watching from the second landing with Athena, and when she saw me, she waved.
I climbed up the stairs to meet them, and Seline hugged me.
"I saw it. I saw the body." She said and drew back. "It's horrible." She said, and I nodded.
"Do you think whoever murdered this man also murdered the king?" I asked, but she shook her head.
"The King's heart was pierced countless times, but this man had his throat torn out." She explained, looking bitter, and I sighed.
"Who could have done this?" Athena said, still looking at the door, that the head guard had closed.
"Lucius is going to be so worried. All these things happened when he just got coronated." Seline said, and I thought about it; truly, Lucius was going to be worried.
~
LUCIUS.
I had rushed to the physicians' quarters the moment I was notified of what had happened. I could not tear my eyes away from the man. He was one of the warriors and was good at fighting. I looked at the horrible way his throat was torn out and closed my eyes.
"Clean him up." I said. I was unable to tear my eyes away from the body.
"Who could have done this?" Ethan asked, and seriously, it was a question I was also asking myself.
“Alpha Lucius.” A servant bows to me. "Alpha Rafael from Atramis is here."
"Alpha Rafael?" I asked in disbelief.
"What's he here for?" I asked, and the servant shook his head.
"I could not ask him, sir, as I'm not in a position to; he only gave me orders to alert you to his presence, and I carried them out." He said, and I walked away from the physicians and out of their quarters.
Alpha Rafael was the leader of one of our allies. I had sent a letter to him concerning the death of my father, but he hadn't even bothered to show up for the funeral rite or even explain his absence.
He was an ally, but my father always said I'd be a fool if I trusted anyone. I wasn't to trust friends or foes. My fear was that he would find out what had just happened.
A murder happening when I had just been crowned Alpha didn't speak well of me.
I went to find Dusk first and found her in the garden with Seline and Athena.
"Come with me, please." I told her, and she stood up. "Seline, Athena, I'll need both of you to warn everyone not to say a word about what happened earlier today because we have a visitor." I said, and they nodded and left.
"Is there anything you need me to do?" Dusk asked as she glanced at Seline and Athena, who disappeared quickly from the garden.
"I need you to act as my Luna. There's an Alpha from an Ally Kingdom; he's come for a reason yet unknown. But I need you to be there; it doesn't look good for an Alpha to be without a Luna." I said, and she seemed to hesitate a while before looking up at me.
"He doesn't know you don’t have a Luna? Will he find a fault in you not having a Luna? I thought he was an ally." She said, and I shook my head.
"I can't trust anyone." I said, and she nodded, although I could see it wasn't wholeheartedly.
We both went to meet Rafael, and he smiled when he saw me. He hugged me and patted my back.
"My condolences. I wasn't around at the time you sent the letters; I was away. I only got back two days ago and made the journey here as fast as I could." He said, and I nodded.
"I understand," I said, and he looked at Dusk.
"This is your Luna, I suppose." He said, and I nodded, and Dusk smiled and curtsied.
"How did my dear friend pass away?" He asked, and I sighed.
"He never woke up." I said, and a look of sadness crossed his face.
As we walked around the palace, Rafael made me discuss how I planned to handle the kingdom, asking difficult questions and watching me intensely as I answered them.
He asked if I had encountered any challenges, and I shook my head.
As I, Rafael, and Dusk walked around the palace discussing plans, I spotted a man. His hands were shaking, and he kept on looking around. On the cuff of his clothes near his wrist was something that looked like blood. I looked at his face, only to find a smear of blood near his ear.
He saw us, and as he bowed and greeted us, his voice shook, and he passed us by quickly.
If there was blood and someone had been found dead, it only made sense that...
He could be involved.