A Bastard's Allure-Chapter 135: All Hail The Bastard

Gabriel stood over the debris of the remnants of the Mysthaven gate. Up ahead, the vampires stood in formation ready for another attack. Brandon emerged from the ranks marching to the front, his eyes slightly narrowed at the sight in front of him.

"Is this some kind of trick?" He asked no one in particular.

"We’re about to find out," Tieron replied, emerging from the ranks to halt his horse beside Brandon’s.

Gabriel looked over his shoulder. A better part of Mysthaven was still in ruins. He looked at the window in Elena’s room and there she was, staring back at him. Despite the distance, he could tell she was crying.

Turning his gaze away from her, he stared at the ground for a couple of seconds before his golden eyes met with Brandon’s.

His hand moved to reach for his sword in the back which made the vampires to be high on alert. Brandon held them with a hand gesture, his eyes never leaving Gabriel’s.

Gabriel held his sword, inspecting his reflection in the shiny blade’s surface. He grown attached to this blade for the last few years but now it was time to let go.

"Until next time," he whispered, a wry smile on his lips. He threw the sword on the ground, perfectly landing on its tip before he started walking.

"What is he doing?" Brandon asked, his horse moving a bit as if uncomfortable of Gabriel’s arrival.

"He’s turning himself in," Tieron replied, a grin plastered on his face.

"Impossible!" Brandon muttered. The Gabriel he knew wouldn’t stoop so low to give him the satisfaction he wanted, and to walk to certain death, no less. This had to be a trap.

The vampires snarled at Gabriel as he walked towards them until he stood in front of Brandon.

"What tricks are you playing?" Brandon asked. He was still cautious of him.

"It is me you wanted brother. Here I am. Leave the humans alone," Gabriel explained. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

The vampire king smirked before he alighted his mount. "I never took you for an honorable man," he said.

"I still can’t believe you’re here as my prisoner, mine to do with as I please," he added, holding Gabriel’s shoulders while his gaze traveled his length. "And it’s a lot."

Before Gabriel could process, a blow landed across his face. His jaw ticked with his gaze purportedly forced to look at Tieron.

"Goddamn!" Brandon said, holding his hand in pain. "You’ve got a hard jaw, I’ll give you that. Hold him!"

Two of the vampires grabbed Gabriel’s shoulders and held him in position. Brandon removed his gloves and handed them to his squire before meeting with Gabriel’s cold eyes.

"I always hated your eyes," he revealed. "In some ways, they made you look more like father than I was. But how could you be worthy?"

"He was my father t..."

Brandon landed a punch on Gabriel’s stomach before he could finish. "You do not speak unless spoken to," he said pointing at Gabriel’s lowered head.

And grabbing him by his hair, he said, "Coming here was the greatest mistake you ever made, brother." He released his hair.

"Tie him to a post and give him no food," he instructed. "We’ll live at first light. We’ve got what we came for after all."

Tieron squared his shoulders as his eyes locked with Gabriel’s before he followed Brandon into the camp.

Gabriel was tied in chains and forced to walk the remaining distance as vampires hauled insults at him.

"Got tired of sucking your human’s blood?" One of the generals asked. Gabriel just gave him a deathly stare.

"All hail the bastard," another chimed in.

"Maybe I’ll have a glass of your blood after his Majesty is done with you. I’ve always wondered how a royal bastard would taste."

The vampires burst out in laughter as Gabriel’s anger grew with each passing second. Someone kicked him from behind making him fall flat on his stomach.

He sniffed the dirt on the ground as blood flowed out through his nostrils.

"You’ve just spilled royal blood." The vampires burst out in laughter.

Gabriel forced himself up, lifting his eyes to see the camp a few meters ahead. He knew what he’d signed for the moment he walked out of Mysthaven. There was no escape.

*****

"My Lady?" Jophiel called to get Elena’s attention. "You have to eat."

"I’m not hungry," Elena replied. She stared at the ceiling in despair. The only thing that was crossing her mind at the moment was scenarios of Gabriel’s death. A severed head, his corpse hanged and left in the sun, a feast for the crows. The other possibilities were worse.

"I’m angry," she stated, gripping the fork tightly in her hand. "I’m angry at him. He shouldn’t have left."

"Judging from how I know him, Gabriel wouldn’t have done it if there was another choice, a better choice," Jophiel reasoned.

"He had any other choice in the world but he chose to leave me. Now he’s out there amongst our enemies. God knows what they’ve done with him, or worse..."

"The vampires did not attack and your people are safe on the other side of the sea. His sacrifice..."

"I don’t care about the people," Elena burst. "He was my husband. He’s the only person I had who gave my life some meaning."

Jophiel blinked. Elena’s behavior was unbecoming. The princess who had left Mysthaven a year ago was not the same Elena seated in front of her. She was no longer the insecure human amongst her mortal enemies. Rather, she had grown into a shrewd woman, now a queen of a whole kingdom. To say Jophiel was proud of her would be an understatement.

"I used to love someone just as you did," she started. "I could’ve died for him if need be. But unlike you, he didn’t love me back. I felt used and angry at him. But I was angry at myself the most. How could I be so naive, I thought?"

She sighed. "But then, he started giving me subtle hints. Maybe there’s still a chance, I thought. Maybe he just needed time. I don’t blame you for thinking that about His Highness."

"Unlike you, my lover might never come back," Elena said, more to herself than to Jophiel.