Lady Rosamund and her son Mark had arrived back from the hunting to pick up Sophie. Sophie had to continue to act as if her ankle had been hurt which went in vain and no matter how much she limped, Calhoun had not bothered himself in picking Sophie up, and all he did was give her words of encouragement. She didn’t need words from him!
Sophie had planned to direct his attention to her, but it had backfired quite badly, leaving her with Theodore who was the King’s right-hand man but in her eyes, he was nothing but a servant who didn’t stand in the same status as King Calhoun. Since she had come to be of age, Sophie had made sure to play her cards right. Calhoun had bedded many women before, and she didn’t care about it because she was still learning her ways in the castle, knowing well they were nothing but women who were used and thrown away for his pleasure.
Once she would become his queen, there would be no need for it.
“What happened to your leg, my dear daughter?” asked Lady Rosamund in worry as she saw Sophie limp while having her hand around a maid who was a weakling. The woman turned to Calhoun, “How did this happen?” demanded the vampiress.
“I am alright, mama. I just happened to trip and twist my ankle,” Sophie assured her mother, but her mother couldn’t stop fretting over her daughter limping. She didn’t know that her daughter was faking it.
Calhoun looked at Sophie and then turned to look at his aunt to say, “It is good that she didn’t go to the hunting with you both. She would have possibly killed herself,” he laughed at the end, but Lady Rosamund didn’t find it to be funny.
“You are supposed to take better care of yourself, Sophie. You are a vampiress to trip in the air,” the Lady chastised her daughter, “And my King, please take care of her,” the woman wanted to demand him and have him look after her daughter, but even though she was older to him, their position right now didn’t allow her to speak rudely to Calhoun.
“I can take care of myself, mama,” Sophie said half-heartedly, waiting to hear Calhoun say he would but he didn’t. Instead, he said,
“Sophie is no child, and I don’t think there is any need to coddle her. Surely she can take care of herself. Right?” Calhoun raised his brow to question her, and Sophie nodded her head.
“Yes, brother Calhoun,” and she bowed her head to show her respect for him.
Lady Rosamund had to force a smile, and she said, “I have asked the servant to take the meat that we hunted so that you can enjoy it,” Calhoun gave her a nod, “We should get going now. My King,” the woman bowed, and she left the courtroom.
Sophie looked unhappy that she was leaving the castle as her mother took her out of the room. She had planned to stay in the castle for the night, but her mother had come to take her along with her, back home.
Calhoun looked at Sophie walk, his eyes staring at the family leave and he then heard Theodore ask, “Wasn’t she supposed to have healed by now?”
The King’s lips twitched, “Seems like little Sophie forgot that a vampiress wound heals faster that includes a twist in the ankle in a few minutes,” it wasn’t that he didn’t see the act, but he used it for his enjoyment. Who was he to stop when they wanted to play clown to amuse him, “Have someone taste the meat as usual. The vampires who are in the dungeons would be a good test subject. I am sure they will be very thankful for it.”
Calhoun didn’t trust people because they didn’t give him a reason to believe them. His father was a worthless man. Therefore he didn’t see why he should trust the others who he didn’t even care about. It was customary to have the kitchen staff taste the food themselves before it was served to the King, but lately, there had been news of how different elements were being used to affect a vampire.
“I will have it tasted,” obliged Theodore, bowing his head.
“What time is it?” asked Calhoun, standing up from his throne and stepping down to be quickly followed by Theodore.
“It is past five,” answered Theodore and after a pause, he said, “Do you think the Lady has got tired and is lost in the maze right now?” it was not usual that people were able to get out of the maze quickly, especially not on their first time. The King had his quirks which he didn’t question.
“Who knows,” Calhoun said, starting to walk out of the court and the other people who were in the court bowed their head to be dismissed by the King, “The maze was a wonderful thing to keep her mind occupied. She keeps thinking a lot. After today’s little adventure, she will be able to fall asleep quickly and have a sound sleep.”
Calhoun had strange ways of taking care of the woman who he was interested in, thought Theodore to himself.
Theodore had been working for Calhoun since from the time he had been appointed as the King of Devon. He knew the man since they were young and he had turned out to be the King’s loyal servant. When he was asked to find out about the girl, he had thought it was just for curiosity, but he had been surprised when the King had invited the human girl’s family to the castle.
The girl was simple in appearance. The King’s debauchery with women had no bounds, but with the way Calhoun was treating her, he could tell that Calhoun was very interested in the girl like he had never before with any woman.
Calhoun stepped out with Theodore walking behind him as they made their way to the hedge maze of the castle.
