CHAPTER 340: RESEARCH

ADAM

Restless. That’s what I’d been all evening.

The moon hung somewhere behind the clouds, its faint light slipping through my office window and glinting off the pile of books scattered across my desk. Some were ancient, their spines cracked, pages yellowed with age. Others were newer, filled with recent research from scholars who barely understood what they were writing about. But all of them had one word in common—vampires.

Creatures that had no business being here. Not in this land. Not after nearly a century of absence.

My fingers drummed against the table as I stared at the words swimming across the open page before me. The ink blurred; my thoughts didn’t. What were they looking for? What did they want from my lands?

The reports from the colonies hadn’t been exaggerated—I’d confirmed the evidence myself. Two dead, both drained dry. The scent of blood had lingered thick in the air when my men arrived. And the bodies—those had been the worst part. No claw marks. No burns. Just... punctures. Surgical. Clean.

I’d sent a message to my father immediately after confirming it, detailing everything—the attack, the suspicion, even the panic it was already sowing among the outer towns. That had been days ago. No reply.

Typical.

Instead, word came this morning that he and the queen were returning from their damned cruise. Probably sipping blood-orange cocktails while their kingdom flirted with disaster.

Still, I couldn’t ignore the knot of relief that tightened in my chest at the thought of their return. Not that I’d say it aloud.

My father—before he’d handed the throne to me and my brothers—had always been a complicated man. Cold, cunning, commanding. And I had inherited more of that than I cared to admit.

I’d convinced him to sign over the crown on his supposed deathbed three years ago. The healers had said he was weak, and I’d let them believe he was dying. Truth was, I’d known he’d recover. The illness had been real enough, but not fatal. Still, I’d pushed the narrative.

A dying king. A grieving son. A reluctant heir stepping forward to take the burden.

He hadn’t fought it. Not when he’d seen me standing there with the papers, my face shadowed with just the right amount of sorrow. He’d been too tired to question, too trusting of his eldest.

A small lie for a greater good, I’d told myself.

And yet... as the pages before me blurred again, I wondered if that "greater good" was now unraveling before my eyes.

The sound of my office door crashing open cut through my thoughts.

Daniel entered first, a thick tome under his arm, followed by Noah, who carried another that looked older than our family name itself. Both of them wore the same grim expression I’d been feeling for days.

"Find anything?" I asked, closing the book in front of me.

"Too much," Daniel said, tossing his onto the desk. It landed with a thud. "And none of it good."

Noah took the chair opposite mine, flipping through his pages until he found a sketch—a pale figure with fangs and sunken eyes. "They’re stronger than before," he said. "This isn’t the old strain that plagued the outer realms a century ago. These are organized. Intelligent. The kind that plan."

Daniel leaned against the wall, arms crossed. "They used to rule the dark lands before the great purge. If they’re back, it’s not by mistake."

The unease in my stomach deepened. "You’re saying someone invited them?"

Noah didn’t look up. "Or woke them."

I sank back into my chair, pressing a hand to my mouth. The thought wasn’t impossible. Forbidden magic had been seeping back into use since the last ten years or thereabouts. Mostly for curing sicknesses.

Who’s to say they haven’t been diverted to extreme things, when there’s no one regulating the uses?

"What about their weaknesses?" I asked. "Any confirmation on what still works?"

Daniel shook his head. "Fire, sunlight, silver—they’re still vulnerable, but not as much as before. Some of the newer accounts mention they’ve adapted. They can walk in the dusk now. Even use glamours to pass as human."

Perfect. Just what we needed. Monsters evolving.

"What are they after, though?" I asked, more to myself than to them. "They don’t feed randomly. They choose their targets. If they’re this deep into our lands, they’re after something—or someone."

"Or testing how far they can go before we react," Noah said quietly.

A heavy silence settled over the room. The kind that only bad news could create.

Finally, Daniel exhaled, breaking it. "We need to reach out to the southern kings. If this turns into a war—"

"War?" I cut in. "You’re getting ahead of yourself."

"Am I?" he snapped. "The colonies are already panicking. The moment word spreads, half the realm will barricade themselves. The other half will run."

Before I could reply, a sharp knock rattled the door.

"Enter," I said.

One of my guards stepped in, saluting quickly. "Your Majesty," he said breathlessly. "They’ve arrived."

For a second, I didn’t process it. Then it clicked. My parents.

I pushed back my chair and stood. "Prepare the meeting room," I ordered. "Tell the servants to bring refreshments."

"Yes, Alpha." He left, closing the door quietly behind him.

When I turned back, both my brothers were watching me.

"Well," Daniel said with a smirk that didn’t quite reach his eyes. "Let’s see how the old man takes the news."

–

The main hall was already lit when we arrived. Warm light, but it did nothing to ease the tension twisting in my gut.

They entered moments later—my father first, tall and broad-shouldered as ever, followed by the queen, his second wife, whose presence had a way of softening even the coldest room.

"Father," I greeted, stepping forward.

He regarded me with a measured expression, eyes scanning me as if weighing how much I’d changed since he last saw me. "Adam," he said at last, his tone even. "You look... tired."

"Busy," I corrected with a small smile that didn’t reach my eyes.

We embraced—if you could call it that. His arms barely brushed mine before he released me, turning to Daniel and Noah for the same brief exchange. It was all stiff, awkward, familiar. We weren’t exactly the affectionate type.

The queen, however, smiled as she pulled me into a hug that lingered. "You’ve lost weight," she said lightly. "Are they feeding you well here?"

I found myself smiling back, genuinely this time. "As well as ever."

When I pulled back, I noticed how her hand slipped into my father’s. Their fingers twined easily, her thumb brushing the back of his knuckles. It was subtle, but telling. The trip had done them good. He looked softer beside her, less the iron-willed monarch, more... a man.

I almost envied it.

"You should rest," I said after a moment. "You’ve been traveling for days."

"No," my father said firmly. "We’ll rest after you tell me everything." His tone left no room for argument. "Start from the beginning."

I exchanged a glance with my brothers before nodding.

We led them to the meeting room. The air there felt heavier than usual, as if it knew the weight of the discussion to come.

As we entered, my father paused by the window, staring out at the dark horizon. "Vampires," he said at last, his voice a low rumble. "I never thought I’d hear that name again in my lifetime."

Neither did I.