Henric's study was a vast room with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Carpathians.

Enormous, sprawling mountains shimmered under the moonlight, blanketed in white, hundreds of pine trees heavily weighed down by snow.

Christian could see a few flurries falling still, thinking this would only make escape more difficult.

After all, the way out from the servants quarters led down a slope onto the iced-over river beneath the draw bridge. He knew he would fare alright during the trek but he worried for Aimee and Hannah and her infant daughter.

"I have to say I am pleasantly surprised by this turn of events." Henric interrupted.

With a clink, he set a glass of port in front of Christian, over a coaster on the surface of his red oak escritoire.

"Here I thought I'd have to place a bounty on your head for disobedience."

Christian swallowed down a mouthful of bitter liquid and it was like fire going down his throat.

"I would not dream of disobeying you, father." He said curtly.

The part he didn't say was that he'd had no real choice, not when Henric had threatened his siblings.

Henric chuckled as he claimed a seat on his high-backed, upholstered red chair. He threw one leg over the other, crossing them nonchalantly as he appraised his son over the rim of his glass.

"Tell me how you did it." He said with a grin.

Christian shifted in his seat. "I told her you had sent me to protect her." He said truthfully.

Christian had found long ago that the best lies told always had some element of truth to them. It was always better to stick to the real facts and fill in the parts that were untrue. It was more believable this way.

He'd practiced the earnest look in his eyes a thousand times, had perfected breathing evenly through the lies for years.

Had Henric not been so vile his entire life, and demanded so many unreasonable things, Christian wasn't sure he'd have quite reached this level of treachery to the extent that he had.

In some ways, he owed his father for that.

"What's this about me protecting her family? What family? Her mother is dead."

"Her faerie guardian placed her with a human family after our first attempt to capture her. They went missing shortly after I found her and I promised her that the King of Reader Nation would do everything in his power to help locate them. It was the only way to get her to come with me save brute force and I think it is in our best interest to let her go on believing this. At least for the time being."

"How clever." Henric mussed after a sip of wine. "But I don't see the need to lie to the poor creature. Her stay here will be a short one."

Christian brought his own glass of wine to his lips, in part to buy time to form a response but also to hide the grimace that threatened to break past his lips at those words.

"Perhaps, father, but you have not seen what this woman is capable of. I have."

"And what is she capable of, this abomination?"

"She nearly burned Stefan alive, I can tell you that much. And it was only by mere luck that he was able to escape with his life. Father, she is the most powerful--"

"You encountered Stefan on your journey?

"Not just him but many others that sought her for her power. Among them the Verlacs, who I'm afraid had to be disposed of, though I doubt this news will trouble you much."

Henric grinned a wide, reptilian grin.

"It does not trouble me at all."

"Father, I have to say, I have concerns--"

"It is not your job to be concerned. Merely to bring her to me, which you have done. You can consider your mission over."

"I believe it to be in your best interest to hear me out."

"If you wish to tell me all the reasons why executing her is dangerous, you can save yourself the lecture. I am not interested in your reasons."

"As the commander of your armies, I feel it is my duty to report what I've seen. And what I've seen is that this woman can destroy men with a mere glance. And a King, no matter how powerful, is still just a man."

"Do you threaten me!?" He roared, suddenly slamming his fists onto his desk.

Wine sloshed out of his cup, spilling onto the cherry oak and leaving behind a thin stream of red, like tears of blood that ran down the side of the desk and onto the hard wood floors.

"Not I, father, but her power, certainly."

"All the more reason to squash her down and now."

"Perhaps there is another way..."

Henric was breathing heavy by now.

Christian knew it was a dangerous game he was playing. Antagonizing his father could result in one of two things: him seeing reason or speeding up Aimee's death.

Though he wasn't banking on the former, he still had to try.

"Another way? Another way? Do you know what her traitorous mother did to me?"

"Father, I believe the time for grudges is past, considering that this hybrid won't simply walk to her execution. She will fight back. And I can tell you that war is coming. Stefan has in so many words been declaring it for years and he will undoubtedly seek revenge if you kill his daughter."

"Then we shall be ready."

"I'm afraid that our army is no match for his. But with her on our side, we could wipe him out, you could come out victorious and rule over both kingdoms. Can't you see it already, father? With Stefan gone, all vampire-kind would call you King."

Henric studied him for a long while as his breathing returned to normal and the redness left his face. The prospect of being all powerful held its charm. It was evident in the gleam in his eye but there was something else there too.

Suspicion.

Christian tried to remain impassive, not allowing the carefully crafted poker face to slip from his face, not even for one second.

"What else have you told the hybrid?" Henric asked as he leaned closer.

"Just that you agreed to be her benevolent protector."

"And how do you suppose she'll react when she finds out you've deceived her?"

"With anger, I presume."

"And how will that make you feel, my boy?"

Christian's lips curled at the corners into a sly smile though it took great effort. He knew Henric was searching for a sign of weakness, of a lie in Christian's words, a sign that he felt something other than disdain for the hybrid.

"Triumphant." Christian said and he almost believed it himself.

The king's shoulders relaxed, clearly pleased.

"Alas, you have raised some good points." Henric sighed, standing from his chair.

For a moment, hope bloomed in Christian's chest so much that he momentarily forgot to keep his heartbeat under control.

Henric approached one of the windows, drawing back a heavy, crimson curtain to study the stillness of the mountains across from Dannek Castle.

"But I'm afraid none as compelling as killing the hybrid. Her execution order stands."

"Father--"

"I've heard enough of this conversation. Now that you've completed this task, I have another one for you."

Christian dug his nails into the velvet cushion of his chair, fighting hard to steady his heartbeat.

He knew Grandfather Nandru's charms prevented them from reading each other's minds within the castle walls, but Henric would still be able to read the crazy hammering of his heart.

It took nearly everything he had in him to steady himself. To not lose his mind at the thought of Aimee being killed.

Of course, only he could be blamed for that.

"As you are aware, a string of vampire murders has been ongoing for decades now. This time, a coven of our own. Twelve vampires murdered in neighboring Bulgaria, all in the same manner and now Defenders have been poking their noses into the vampire bureau's investigation. They are requesting our help in solving the murders. Send correspondence to them agreeing to spare a few men for the hunt but no more than that. We have bigger things to worry about here."

"But this is vampire business."

Defenders, whose magically infused human blood had made them proclaim themselves humanities 'protectors' against the supernatural, what could they possibly want with a handful of vampire murders?

The only people they catered to were their creators, the faeries.

"Apparently a faerie couple was also killed. Evidently by mistake as they used a stake to the heart."

"How ironic." Christian muttered.

"Ironic, moronic, what have you. It makes no difference to me, but you know they like to police anything involving those fragile, worthless faeries."

"So, we are to spare a few men for their investigation. Got it."

Henric waived his hand dismissively. "It's simply a formality. Since they were of our kind, they expect us to give a damn. If you ask me, an entire coven cannot defend themselves from stake-wielding fanatics, then they deserved to be killed."

"I will draft the correspondence right away."

"Good, see to it then."

"Father, about the Hybrid--"

"Enough with the Hybrid!" He roared.

Christian's jaw clenched as he stood, one fist shaking slightly at his side.

"Aimee's mother betrayed me and betrayals of that kind demand blood. Her execution order remains and will happen by the end of this week. Have I made myself clear?"

"Crystal." Christian said through clenched teeth.

Christian left the room in even, measured steps. It wasn't until he'd turned down the hallway, far enough away that Henric could no longer hear his heartbeat that he drove his fist through a wall.

He sat in a room adjacent to the one Aimee was being kept in.

He loathed that he'd had grandfather Nandru place a non-exiting charm on it, which he supposed she'd found out about soon enough after he'd left, but it had been necessary, not only for her safety but for his sanity too.

As he drew ink over paper, the words glared back at him, drawn in a messy, cursive hand.

Reader nation agrees to send five men to assist with the Bulgarian massacre investigation. A full report of the findings are expected as well as week to week updates on the whereabouts of my men. All updates are to be sent to Commander Dannek directly.

He studied the raised overlay on the lower right-hand corner, braille for the blind, a hidden SOS message only someone clever could decipher.

Christian knew Defenders were well studied and he prayed whoever lay their hands on this piece of paper would understand its message.

He was careful not to touch the braille now to preserve Grandfather Nandru's magic as he folded the letter into an envelope and sealed it with the wax seal of the commander.

Squeezing his eyes shut, he pictured a Defender opening the letter, stroking the braille and activating the magic that would make the paper come apart into two pieces.

The first would be the message Henric had intended him to send.

The second, if discovered, was surely nothing more than his own execution signed.

Not to mention Aimee's.

If you have managed to decipher this message, at the risk of facing execution, there is a Hybrid trapped inside Dannek Castle. Her execution is slated for the end of the week. Please, send help.

Signed,

C. Dannek.

Beside electronic mail, which he wasn't very fond of, the second fastest way to deliver a message was through bats.

He watched the creature fly off into the night with his SOS message gripped fiercely in its talons.

The nearest defender embassy was a day's journey away which meant he had a day or two at most before all hell descended upon Dannek castle like a festering plague.

Which meant he had work to do.