I lowered the assassin down without any issues. Nobody had seen or heard us, so I warned him about Tommy and returned to the shrine, as I needed to provide my lord a warm shirt, too. You know, just in case. The guards, drilled by the duke, let me pass without any objections, and no wonder. The best and the brightest weren’t there, but guarding Lavinia, the duke, his children, and would later go into the dungeon.Those here were the worst of the bunch. It made sense, too—leaving smart people in the same house as a vampire wasn’t a good idea. Soon enough, you’d get tired of hiding the bodies. So, I was praying hard, Tom went to the assassin, and outside, chaos erupted.The assassin was gone!Naturally, the duke dropped by the church, and I immediately threw a tantrum. The prisoner has escaped?He’ll kill me, for sure!Assign me a guard duty!To the church, my chambers, even my horse! What if he kills the horse, too? I wouldn’t be surprised if the duke wanted to kill me, too, but he man

As hard as Tevarr was trying to earn my favor, it was as cold as my homeland of Radenor was toward me upon my return. One more scene from a classic tale of chivalry.A procession approached, and king and queen, dressed all in black, fell on their knees before Andre’s coffin without deigning to look at me.“My son...”“My dear child!”Crocodile tears in their eyes, or at least in Abigail's. Her hope for ruling the country was gone, even if Rene had informed me that powerful life mages had been summoned to the castle.I really didn’t like it. A powerful mage meant a practicing mage, and who knew what they would discover? Yes, I was half-human, but sometimes, my demonic nature awoke inside me, and chaos reigned.During such moments, I couldn’t control myself, and I had no intention of announcing my half-demonic nature. Fine. Let them come, and I’ll find a way to deal with them. Maybe they won’t even accept the invitation.Rudolph did portray himself as the Templars’ loyal son, and they w

The court was buzzing with wedding preparations. I was busy as well. I had to leave the capital for two days to chase the Riolonian ambassador. I didn’t really have any choice; when the coffin with Andre’s body was delivered to Alethar, Uncle went into a frenzy.He obediently ate the bullshit he was fed and declared war on the Riolonians. The ambassador heard him out, tried to purge Riolon of suspicion, got a vase thrown at him, managed to dodge it, and ran away. He made the right call, really.Enraged, Rudolph could easily attack him with a sword. I caught up with the “Riolonian schemers” in two days’ journey from the capital.My horse could barely move, but that was worth the cost. The eyes of the Riolonian ambassador upon seeing me were enough to compensate me for all my misery, including my butt, sore from riding in the saddle.They were huge and wide with shock. Without thinking twice, I threw the reins to a servant and sat down near the campfire.“I come on business. Or will you

“Alexander! Glad to see you, my boy!”Holy crap... Mikael himself!Wonderful!Did the king of Tevarr have enough gall and belief in my stupidity to lead the army himself?But no. His next words explained his coming.“I hoped that my son would head the army, but alas, Kristof broke his leg!”I nodded, sympathetic. That’s right, his eldest son was a bit older than me, twenty or twenty-two. The youngest wasn’t even fifteen yet, a snotnose.Would Mikael really entrust a duke with his army? What would keep that duke from using it later, at home, thinking that the crown became him...No way.The army was something that a smart king couldn’t lose hold of. A prince, on the other hand, could very well sit on the throne while the father was at war. It wasn’t that complicated, and he would have to gain experience and independence.I chuckled, thinking that I even felt some pity

“Alex!”Tom saved my life, pushing me away from a blow. Those creatures weren’t as dumb as they seemed. The devourers knew who had summoned them, and had no desire to leave.To remain in our world, green and full of people, the food for their fangs and claws, full of power—wasn’t that a demon’s dream? While I was busy with the second pit, the tentacles from the third one got to us.Tom pushed me aside...and took the brunt of the blow. He tumbled along the ground and stopped motionless, lying like a broken doll.“No!”I didn’t even realize at first that it was me who had cried out.Was he dead?No, his soul wasn’t flying away! And even if it was, I would get it back.I was a necromancer, dammit.Rage and desperation flashed inside me, and my other half got the upper hand. Instead of banishing the devourers with my necromantic power, I immolated them with a stream of scorching flames. It didn’t really matter anymore, though.The second pit closed up with a moist slurp, and I burned the