The Vampire King's Possession
Chapter 751. Never There

Chapter 751: 751. Never There

"There is no sign of the Paler," Louis announced.

Gasps resonated through those unaware of this, and whispers flowed through the hall.

"Not even ashes," Louis added when Jael didn’t respond.

Jael tore his gaze away from Louis. "Are you sure you weren’t hallucinating about the Paler, and it could just be a burnt tree?" Jael asked mockingly.

Instead of getting angry, Louis simply said, "You might be right, Sire, but at least that would have been there when we arrived. There was nothing, not even the burnt patch on the ground. It was like it was never there to begin with."

Louis’ response prompted the vampires who had accompanied him outside to nod and whisper in agreement, and all their attention turned to Jael as they waited for his response. Louis knew Jael wanted nothing more than to never have to deal with this issue anymore, but he had no intention of letting it go, even if all he would ever get was a partial agreement.

He turned to look at Mauve, who had just quietly eaten her meal during the exchange; she met his gaze. It was a little hard to read her expression, but Louis could tell she didn’t have good news. He turned back to Jael, but Jael wasn’t the one who spoke first.

"Shouldn’t that solidify the fact that it is indeed a Paler, as Palers disappear in sunlight, leaving almost no trace of themselves?" Danag suddenly asked.

It was like the air in the room was suddenly sucked out and then almost immediately poured back in. Silence, but only for a moment before questions arose from each corner, all directed at Jael. Someone was whispering, a few were nodding, and the questions were never-ending.

Jael had to flee the dining hall with Mauve as the questions didn’t stop. This was not something that would pass easily. He also knew it wouldn’t be long until word got out of the castle. That’s if it wasn’t already out.

"Are you good?" Mauve asked as they went up the stairs to her room.

Jael looked down at her clinging to his arm. "Yes," he replied.

However, that didn’t ease Mauve’s worry, and she just clung to Jael tighter. They soon got in front of her room, and he opened the door but didn’t step inside.

"Don’t leave your room," Jael said, his expression stern.

"I am not a child," Mauve pouted.

"I am serious, Mauve," Jael said.

"I know," Mauve replied and rubbed her arms. "I won’t leave my room."

"Good," he said and pulled away. "Mill should be here soon."

Mauve nodded, and he slowly closed the door before heading back the way he came. He walked towards the stairs to see Louis at the foot of it. Jael’s gaze narrowed, but Louis simply bowed and stayed at the foot of the stairs. The worst part was he wasn’t alone.

He planned to check on the Paler himself and how far the fire had spread, as he wasn’t able to check it the night before, but he never assumed he would have this much of an audience while he did so. Jael fought the urge to knead his temples as he got to the foot of the stairs.

"I will lead you to where the Paler was found," Louis said a bit too obediently.

Jael’s brows dipped. He couldn’t avoid this, and Louis wasn’t helping matters. He was indeed fanning the flames.

"Sire," Danag and Damon said. They had also joined the crowd.

Jael barely acknowledged their greeting before he headed for the front door. The guards bowed and opened the door for them to step out of the castle. The walk to the field was mostly quiet. The only conversations were between the vampires, and they refrained from asking Jael more questions.

They got to the location, and Louis immediately started to explain. "After the fire was put out, we were looking around, and Corbin..." Everyone’s attention turned to Corbin, and he puffed his chest in pride. "...drew a strange-looking burnt object to my attention. I could tell it was a Paler at first glance, and it lay here." He pointed to the ground, and Jael’s gaze followed.

"Yes," one of them said. "We had seen it."

"It looked like a Paler, just shriveled and black," another explained.

"We didn’t touch it; there also wasn’t much time to inspect it further, and there was no way he could take it into the castle, even if it was obviously dead. However, it was completely gone by sunset."

Jael dropped down and touched the earth, wiping a finger and bringing it in front of his face. All he had was a finger of earth. It smelled like smoke but nothing that could indicate the presence of a Paler.

He stood to his feet and wiped his hand on his clothes. "Check around," he said to no one in particular. "If you find anything useful, bring it to my attention. I will have a look around myself."

"Yes, Sire," echoed through the night, and most of the guards dispersed, leaving just Louis, Danag, and Damon with Jael.

"Anything specific you’d like us to do?" Danag asked.

Jael narrowed his eyes. "No, you two should search too, and let me know if you find anything."

Danag and Damon nodded before withdrawing, and Jael turned his attention to Louis. "What’s your plan here?"

Louis was genuinely taken aback more by the timing and setting of Jael’s question rather than the question itself. He was sure a question like that wouldn’t surface until there was no chance of someone eavesdropping on the conversation.

"Nothing," Louis answered, but his response came a little too late for Jael to believe him.

"Good, because whatever you think is going to happen, it won’t."

Louis opened his mouth to plead his case, to tell Jael that this was the only chance they had had in centuries. His parents had died because of these monsters, their parents too, but Louis didn’t say any of that as he knew he was not the one Jael should hear that from. It would only piss Jael off and harden his mind.

"I know," he said instead. "I will also look around; if I see anything, I will let you know." He was gone before Jael could reply.