He held the daggers and glared at me angrily groaning. I didn't know what to do or say. "I, I, I didn't know, yeah, I didn't know they were there" I stuttered. He looked at me more this time but without an ascertained expression. "Well, warrior lady, you won't be needing them in my castle" He smiled and threw them of the balcony. I nodded and managed to put a fake smile on my face.
"I still can't help but wonder why you have come to my kingdom" he said. "Can't you tell?" I asked him surprised. He just smiled and I continued. "I need your help king Luther of Draven. My kingdom is in chaos or something worse than that. I can't do anything to protect my people. My husband has been poisoned. We can't fight this battle on our own" I explained pleadingly. "And you think we are the best ones to help you?" He sighed "Has your husband ever told you what happened between us?" He asked.
"No. He never talks about it" I simply responded.
"Torren, your husband, the lord of Darca declared himself an enemy of the Dravens, his kind. He preferred to rule and protect humans. He left his responsibility here in Draven and fled to Darca and he didn't let us ever get in. I tried to reach out to him but he banned me from ever getting close to him. Even the love of his life tried to reach out but...." At this point I cut him off. "Did you say love of his life?, Torren loved a woman? Who is she?, is she still in existence?" I asked. "You ask too many questions Diana" he replied then continued "They were in love but they never talked about getting married for over forty five years of their relationship. The moment they finally decided to get married, Torren disappeared. His love was in grief for over Twenty years before she got over him, so she claimed but I don't think she's over him yet"
"Who is she? And who are you to Torren?" I asked.
"Her name is Aurora. Leader of the strongest forces in Draven" he replied. "You mean the Aurora that brought us to you?" I asked in surprise. "Yes. That very Aurora" he responded. I got jealous within my heart, Aurora was a very beautiful vampire girl. Honestly, more beautiful than I am. "And you, who are you to Torren?" I asked quietly. "His brother. His younger brother precisely" he replied looking at me in the eye. I couldn't believe it. Torren is actually king Luther's brother? And Aurora is his first love? What other secrets does Torren have? I wondered but I worried more about king Luther's intentions for telling me this.
"Why are you telling me this?" I asked Luther. "Aurora was human. She was a human who became a vampire for Torren's sake but he left her" he replied. "I'm sure he had his reasons" I tried to defend Torren but deep down inside, I was worried. Will Aurora kill me?, why did Torren leave her?, what happened to his other brides and who or what has been protecting me. King Luther glared at me for some time with a cold expression "why did you marry him?, for power?, fame?" He asked me. "With all due respect king Luther, I have not come here for a chitchat, we can do that some other time but right now my kingdom needs me, if we waste time I may have no kingdom to go back to, I'm the hope of my people. So tell me, will you help me?" I stared at him to get an answer.
"At what price?" He asked. I didn't respond so he walked away from me and I went back to my companions.
"What does he want?" Kahlan asked eargerly. I sighed in defeat. "He didn't say" I turned to sir Magnus "do you think we can trust king Luther?". "If Vampires get a fair deal, they can be trusted. If we are willing to pay the price, then yes, I think we can trust him" he replied. "And that Aurora girl?, what do you think of Aurora" I asked again.
"Well I think she is bold, strong spirited and worthy" a voice replied as someone entered the palace. It was Aurora. "I think it's rude and suspicious to talk about people right where they have authority over. Come I'll take you to your chambers" She said.
"Chambers? We need to leave as soon as possible. We can't sleep in your chambers" I replied.
"Then would you prefer the dungeons?, king Luther will see you at dinner. Don't worry, we have enough human food for you"
We followed her and she showed us to our rooms. I got a room with Kahlan while the two knights got a room. After that, I followed her outside.
"Aurora?" I called her out. "Yes?". "Do you still love him?" I asked calmly. Aurora sighed "I see king Luther gave you a little history about Torren. How's he doing?" That didn't answer my question but I assumed her answer would be positive.
"He's not doing well at all. Queen Qarinah is doing everything possible to take him down" I was worried.
"Take Torren down? It won't be that easy for her. But you must be careful, Qarinah is getting more powerful as time passes. If I could single handedly help you, I will, but my magic is too weak to face Qarinah" she put a hand on my shoulders "stay strong for Torren. You are strong but you get scared easily. I want to assure you, you can win over Qarinah. Louisa is inexperienced but Qatinah is no match for her" hold on, how did she know about Louisa? "You know Louisa?".
"We all do. Louisa is powerful but then Qarinah seems more powerful because of her combined magic and dark forces. Diana, you are courageous, let the fear go. That's the only way you'll win. And as for Torren, don't worry, he won't die from the poison. It's only a matter of time" she said and turned to leave but I stopped her.
"Do you know what happened to his other brides?, why didn't he marry you?" I asked. "I don't know what happened to his brides. And I don't want to talk about my relationship with Torren" all that said, she walked away.