CHAPTER 435: SIMPLE ANSWERS

Only the echoes of his footsteps filled those dungeons as the sole of his shoes clacked against the harsh stone tiles making the floor beneath them.

The more Lauden neared her cell, the louder her coughing became. Like music to his vampire ears, it reached him just fine from a long distance.

The sight of Allegra curled up onto herself, sweating every drop of water in her body delighted him further.

"These dungeons were put to good use once upon a time," his hands held behind his back, the man glared down at her shivering figure, "By humans, no less," Lauden nodded.

The rattling of the chain wrapped around her neck blared all of sudden when she tried to turn her face away.

"Now that is ill mannered of you," he chuckled, "I would have thought Persephone raised you better since you know... Your father wanted nothing to do with you until he found a good way to use you," when his words garnered no reaction from her, he pressed on, "You can drop the act. Your heart speaks volumes more than words could ever do,"

Indeed, her heart worked very slowly, pumping blood through her body with a lot of strain due to nothing other than the large quantity of Yuniper extract coursing her veins. At the mention of her father however, there was a spike in its pace that yielded more irregularities as time went on.

"Not once did I ever suspect that such a strong bond linked you two together," his grin everlasting, his knees bent, allowing him to crouch down as his eyes never left her once, "But then... That one time where you put your hair up came along," yet another chuckle escaped him, "For all the years I’ve seen you around in those ridiculous gatherings, I don’t believe you’ve ever put your hair up like that," he shook his head, "Oh, don’t bother trying to speak! Your throat is still saturated with Yuniper and it will continue to be for as long as you have that collar around your neck," his index finger pointed at the metal entrapping her windpipes.

At those words, her features twisted further, earning her the most devastating of frowns. That expression caused something to shift in Lauden.

His face turned sterner as though the scene was no longer to his liking.

"But you will still have to answer my previous question. Why did you stop reporting to your father on that night? What was it that actually happened?" he practically hissed, bringing his face closer to the metal bars separating them, "The last thing Edna told us was that Arabella had been attacked to death so how come she’s the one breathing still?"

The mention of Edna clearly did not leave Allegra indifferent. She blinked one too many times as her heart rate spiked again.

Lauden’s head tilted slightly to the side, "You do know something, don’t you? You were the only one that knew about her connection to us so... Was it you? Did you kill her?"

Allegra, of course, did not make a sound aside from some choked up sobs and coughs, but Lauden took that as an answer of its own.

"Did you or did you not kill Edna?" he growled, his voice carrying through the dungeon walls.

In reply, all that she seemed to manage was a feeble headshake.

"Right... I am going to have to speak to her about that collar... It needs to be dialed down so that we can have a normal conversation," after a short pause, a third chuckle came from him, "Well, as normal as this can be, but for now, let me carry on with my story about these dungeons,"

His legs straightened him up to a standing position as his eyes explored the place surrounding them, "So many of our own perished here," he opened his arms to gesture around, "See, these cells were specifically built to contain vampires whereas the section next door was built to hold our dear friends, wolf folk. Not only the chains were cursed to keep us... Tame but the walls too were designed to keep our voices from escaping their bounds. So, the point I am trying to make is, no one will hear you scream for all you try... Not that you can," his irises flickered back towards the collar keeping her tethered to the wall, "And abandon all hope already because no one will think twice about looking for you here. Places like these were erased from the maps. It took me a moment to find one that was old enough to list these encampments. Well, the ones that weren’t destroyed in the war, of course,"

Much like he had come, Lauden sauntered out of there, leaving her alone with the sound of her own inner voices as a sole companion.

It was such a lovely night to walk undisturbed and best of all undetected.

Having several creatures walk right by him without the slightest clue of his presence birthed a rush of warm tingles across his chest.

Power! That was the word that fit best to describe it... In his hands, he carried such power over those people. Over their lives, their secrets should they voice any, hoping the night would be their most loyal confidant.

Then again, there was a reason the saying walls had ears in Umbraria went around.

How many people turned to magic in order to conceal their presence? With such power, Lauden could only wonder how many abused it and how many got to walk away without any repercussions after their deeds.

Whatever it took him to reach the answers he so desired, he would do. Years of servitude to the same man and never was the need to rise above it, to give everyone their due, so strong.

What was it that lit that fire under him so suddenly?

Lauden had the answer... It was as simple as day, but it was just too simple for his taste. There had to be a better one somewhere out there, waiting to be unearthed.