It is true when they say, 'Speak of the devil, and he shall appear'. Because it was only a few moments ago when the mistress and maid were talking about him, and now here he was in the flesh.
Jade's eyes widened, and she quickly bowed deeply, seeing who was in front of them. "My lord." She uttered frantically.
Peering from beneath her lashes, Jade sideglanced at her mistress, who was still surprised, and then back to Kione, who watched Belle with a blank stare.
The girl cleared her throat softly to get her mistress attention, and Belle blinked once before curtsying. "Please pardon me; I didn't see you coming." She said confidently but got no response from the man, only a curt nod.
For the shortest moment, Belle gave him a pensive look. With the blank look on his face, it was hard to guess what he was thinking about.
Craig, who had also stopped along with his master, moved his gaze momentarily from Kione to Annabelle.
"We would take our leave first; have a fair day." Offering them a smile before leaving.
When they were out of hearing, Kione ordered, "I want you to find out anything you can about her."
"Yes sire." Craig bowed, obligingly following the orders without questioning.
Giving one last look in the direction the women had walked, Kione turned around to continue his walk, with Craig following closely. "Did you send the information to Fraser?"
"Yes, he said to give him time to check the substance added to the potions."
"What were you able to get out of her?"
"Nothing yet, sire." For a moment, it was only the chatter of people and the movement of carriages that were heard as they continued to walk through the crowded street of Winstol until Craig mentioned,
"If I may ask, sire, how did you find the witch?"
Not too long after Craig had reported to the head of the council that Mr. Kione would not attend the meeting, did he see him dragging the witch inside the council dungeon.
"We shared pleasantries while I was taking a stroll in the forest." He replied simply.
As Belle left, her thoughts were a jumbled mess. 'It was the same man from that night. His eyes were not red...the night had played a nice trick on her, but he did say he wasn't human.'
The thought of standing there in that quiet night alone with a vampire made a shiver run down her spine. What if he had killed her? But he did not. Her inner mind tried to reason with her.
Now, thinking about their recent meeting, it doesn't seem like he cared, or more like he did not see the glow her mother had seen that night. Belle could not help but sigh in relief.
"Are you okay, Ms. Annabelle?" Concern spilled from her voice. When Belle nodded, Jade added, "That was young master Kione. To think that we would meet him here." She shook her head, not believing it herself.
"Kione Reign?" She uttered it in almost a whisper, too dumbfounded at the revelation. "How do you know of this?"
"You already know Lady Philippa works for the council; I happened to have seen him before."
He was a councilman; it was no wonder he was there that night. He did not live in Lasburgh and was only there to carry out council duties. She guessed.
At the same time, in the council building in Bevylore, in the private chamber belonging to the head of the council, two men sat in the room. They were none other than Hurley and Lancelot.
While Hurley sat behind a table as he read a book, Lancelot sat in the other corner of the room, drinking blood from a woman.
"I thought you were not returning until the next season. What changed?" Hurley questioned Lancelot with his eyes trained on what he was reading.
"Finished with the work earlier than planned?"
Dismissing the woman, he turned his attention to Hurley. "Brother, did you know the Councilwoman Philippa had a fair niece?"
"None that I'm aware of. Why?"
Lancelot grinned, remembering the event of that day, before he answered, "I happened to have crossed paths with them when returning."
"And?" he asked, not bothering to raise his gaze away from what he was reading.
"The young woman was a sight for sore eyes."
"That's new coming from you. Planning on settling down now?" Hurley dropped the book on the table to look at Lancelot, meeting his gaze with a questioning look. "A human? Never knew it was your thing."
Lancelot shrugged. "You never can tell."
The head of the council watched him for a second, trying to decipher his true intention, before dropping his gaze back to his book with a simple nod and a hum escaping his lips.
"How has the council work been for you? I heard Mr. Reign helped solve the case concerning the rogue werewolves." He changed the topic.
"Mm." He answered simply as he continued going through the book.
A light knock sounded on the room's door, interrupting the building silence that Hurley would have greatly appreciated at the moment.
"Who is there?"
"Mr. Hurley, it is Councilman Fraser."
"Come on in."
The door opened a second later, and Fraser walked in, wearing glasses, which he adjusted slightly before greeting the two men inside the room with a polite bow.
"Burton said you want me to report the test results in an hour."
"I did." Dropping the book on the table, he inquired, "Is that what you have there with you?"
"Yes sir." Fraser handed him the report papers.
"How has the case been going for Kione?" His eyes scanned the papers, and anyone who didn't already know him would have assumed that he was overly focused and would probably not hear Fraser's response.
"The day he came in to check the case and left the council, he returned with the wanted witch some hours later."
"That I heard of." His voice had a little tint of amusement to it. "It is a wonder how you were able to convince him."
"I had help from Craig."
"Good." Hurley met Fraser's gaze and said, "When he comes, let him know I want to see him. That boy has been doing so well in avoiding my eyes." He mumbled the last part to himself and waved his hand in dismissal.
"A new case?" Asked Lancelot once Fraser had left. Getting a nod in response to his question, he continued, "Why Kione again then?" His brow creased slightly in suspicion as he watched his brother.
"What can I say, brother? He is the only one capable of taking on the case. Unless you are willing?" Hurley's words made Lancelot twist his lips in thought.