Chapter 196: The Vision of Death

After she talked with Julian, Lauren continued to examine the book she got from the ship. It was very odd, she thought. The metal clasp and latch were both sturdy and not stained with rust, so she couldn’t guess why it could not be unlocked.

She couldn’t feel any spell binding the book either so it must not have been locked by a spell. She tried to unlock it using different spells until she stopped in exhaustion.

Standing in front of the balcony’s double doors, she looked through the hazy glass and watched the snow fall outside. She glanced down at the book in her hands; a big question was on her mind. She didn’t know any better, so how could she possibly find the answers inside a mystery book that she couldn’t open?

If only she could talk to Eleanor at her whims...

"Wait... maybe Anthony knows!" she blurted out. That elder mage knew a lot of things so he must have had an idea how to unlock an ancient book.

Eager to share her thoughts with Alec, she got a random dress from her closet and left the room. She assumed that he was still in the king’s office talking to Vincent so she went straight there.

She knocked two times before peeking in through the door. "May I come in?" she asked when the gazes of the two men fell on her.

"Queen Lauren, nice to see you again." Vincent smiled at her but she noticed it wasn’t the usual cheerful smile.

Then she looked at Alec’s hard expression, and she knew something was off.

"Hello, Vincent. I heard you came for an urgent matter," she said after closing the door behind her. She crossed the room with calm steps and inserted herself beside Alec.

"Done with your lunch?" Alec whispered to her, putting his hand on the small of her back.

"Yes. I had something to tell you, and I am also curious what Vincent’s urgent matter is, so I came here. I hope, you men, don’t mind my presence?" She gazed back and forth at Alec and Vincent.

Vincent grinned and spoke in a rather sweet voice, "Who would mind such a beautiful queen’s presence?"

Alec hissed, glaring at Vincent.

"What? Was I wrong to say ’a beautiful queen’? I was merely giving the lady a compliment she deserves like what a true gentleman should do."

"Don’t talk to me like that as if I don’t know you, Harrington."

"Oh, please! Don’t defame your friend in front of your wife."

Lauren shook her head at the two. With the serious air in the room when she arrived, she was certain they were talking about something grim, but now she couldn’t help but smile. She was relieved that Alec had a friend like Vincent to balance his life.

"Anyway, I am starving. I left during the dawn and I haven’t had a decent meal since then. The ability to make a portal is really helpful, isn’t it?" Vincent snickered, dismayed that he didn’t have such an ability. "I should go downstairs to eat."

After Vincent left, Lauren turned to ask Alec, "So what did you two talk about before I came?"

"Dimitri had a vision," he answered in a low voice, yet she could feel the weight his words carried, which confused her.

"What do you mean?"

"Dimitri has clairvoyance, but it is not yet fully developed, so he cannot see what he wants to see. He only sees random visions that come to him once in a while."

"And his recent vision has something to do with Evardin," Lauren was sure she guessed it right. "What did he see?"

"Bloodshed on the night of the lunar eclipse."

She sucked in her breath. The yearly lunar eclipse would happen in three nights.

"Dimitri’s vision was vague but Vincent said he was sure he saw Evardin’s castle and a lot of dead people. That’s why he came here to warn us."

Lauren took small, shallow breaths, her eyes wide open. "Does that mean the rebels will attack three days later?"

"Dimitri doesn’t know what group it was that attacked us, but who else if not the rebels? They must have enough power to stage a big attack. We need to be ready."

"Did he see where the rebels would attack first?"

"No, but I think they will attack the castle after they corrupt a huge number of humans. There is no need to be a clairvoyant to know what they are planning. They must have produced their target quantity of that drug they use to corrupt humans."

Lauren’s forehead creased, worried. "What are you planning? We cannot guard everyone in Evardin and we don’t know where they plan to create an army of deranged humans."

Alec’s eyes turned icy cold. "There will be a festival in the town on the night of the lunar eclipse. They will surely take advantage of it."

Lauren’s eyes widened as if realization had just dawned on her. "The lunar festival..."

"No... a lot of people will die. We should just cancel the festival."

"No, the festival should go on. I have a plan for it," Alec said.

Her eyes narrowed at him as she tried to decipher what he could do with the situation to make it to their advantage.

"Don’t tell me... you are planning to make the people the bait?" She gritted her teeth at her own assumption.

One corner of his lips rose, smirking evilly at her.

"You won’t do that, Alec. There’s no way I will allow you."

He shook his head once, still smirking. "Did I say yes? Of course, I won’t do that, you silly. The people are the king’s responsibility."

"So you care about the people now, huh."

"You care for the people so I am trying my best to be a little righteous. I don’t want you to hate me," he said solemnly, his steely orbs looking intensely at her, and she remembered what the man in the illusion told her—how he had grown to love everything his woman loved.

Staring at Alec, she realized it must be true. Alec had been a very giving person to her. Despite how much he disliked scented candles or warm water during baths, he made himself accustomed to her preferences just to give her what she wanted.

"Have I ever told you how good you are?" She asked, earning a puzzled look from him. "Before I met you, I always believed you were a cold-blooded monster beneath that handsome face of yours. But I was wrong, you are a good man, Alec."

His lips twitched like it was funny. "Of course, I was good to you at first because you are useful to me, and eventually I became good to you because I wanted to win your heart. But you are wrong, love," his voice was gentle, but his eyes were grim when he said the next words, "I am no good man."

"You are only saying that because you killed people, but I know you are a good person. Doing bad things doesn’t make someone bad. I know you," she rolled her eyes and pressed her index finger to his lips when he tried to refute her words. "I do bad things, too, does that mean you think I am a bad person?"

"Bad or not, I don’t care. I’ll always accept you."

"I believe that wasn’t the question."

He smirked and lowered his face to hers, planting a feathery kiss on her lips.

"Now, why don’t we talk about what you came here for? You said you have something to tell me."

"Right," she nodded, remembering the book. "It’s about the book. I didn’t sense any spell binding it but there is no way to unlock it. The metal clasp and latch seem to be inseparable. So I figured Anthony must know something about ancient books. After all, he seems to be a collector of strange things."

"Let’s visit him tonight, then."

"So what do you want to do on the night of the lunar festival?" Lauren shifted the subject. She wanted to know what he was planning so she could decide her own course of action.

"Let us push through the festival."

"But-"

"I cannot promise you no one shall be harmed, but I can guarantee it won’t be a great number." He held her waist and pulled her to him, kissing her temple. "Give me some credit, will you?"

The edges of her lips pulled up. She moved away to look at him but he only pulled her closer. He buried his face in her neck, his lips tracing her skin gently.

"You didn’t drink from me for a while now. Did you find a new neck to sink your fangs into?"

He groaned.

He looked at her with furrowed brows. There was a ghost of a smile on his lips, threatening to burst.

"Does the idea make you jealous?"

"I am just curious."

"You look pissed, though. Are you sure it is just curiosity?" He shot his brow up, his knuckles gently caressing her jaw.

"As much as I love your blood, I know your body is weak because of your condition. I am not an idiot to care more about blood than your well-being."

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read