Page 20 of The Princess In A 'Prince' Disguise

"What happened two months ago might have been a one-time thing," Zaiper argued.

"Thirty Urekai were drained of blood, and ten of our females died after being mounted by the beast, not to mention the many humans in between," Ottai countered, leaning back in his chair, watching Zaiper closely. "In twenty-four hours, we lost forty of our people, all because we ignored the fact that even a wild beast still follows basic needs—blood and sex. It’s our nature, and even a wild Urekai beast acts on instinct. We cannot risk more lives when there’s an easy solution."

"What really bothers you about our solution, Lord Zaiper?” Vladya asked. “You don’t care for humans. The way your slaves often end up dead, one might think you hate them even morethan Lord Ottai and I do. So, why do you object? Surely you do not want the beast to escape again and kill more people?"

A heavy silence followed.

Vladya already knew the reason for Zaiper’s objection. The second ruler wanted to take the grand king’s throne for himself and hated that Daemonikai's beast still lived.

As long as the beast was alive, the grand king’s throne would stay empty. Zaiper didn’t care about their people. His only goal was to take full power and rule everyone.

This was one of the reasons Vladya and Ottai had always refused Zaiper’s idea of teaming up to kill the beast over the centuries.

While they might succeed if they joined forces, Vladya and Ottai always rejected the idea whenever Zaiper secretly brought it up. And Zaiper hated them both for it.

"I just don’t think it’s needed, Lord Vladya," Zaiper finally said. His face twisted with pleasure as he reached his peak, and the slave swallowed as expected. Zaiper fixed his clothes and dismissed her. "You know how much I care for our people."

Vladya held back from rolling his eyes.

"Well, that would mean more dead slaves," Zaiper said. "We would need to send a new one into the forbidden chambers every time. After all, it’s impossible for the beast to let them live after mounting them for sex."

He paused, a smirk on his face. "The princess’s screams were pure music to my ears all night. It was almost a shame when she died—the music stopped too soon."

Vladya stayed silent. He felt nothing about the girl's death either.

Maybe he would have felt guilt or something like it if he still had a soul. Sadly, his heart was now an empty space where his soul used to be, and his conscience had died five centuries ago.

Along with his former bondmate. And best friend.

Lord Vladya rose from his chair. "I must remove her dead body from the forbidden chambers. The young prince will go next." His lips tightened in disapproval. "This means Lord Ottai and I must make another trip to the human lands. This time, we will travel across the twelve kingdoms and take all the princesses, even the daughters of the wealthy. We made a mistake bringing back only two. We should have taken at least fifty."

"That course of action could potentially trigger another war," Ottai protested.

"I would not mind one," Vladya deadpanned without emotion. "In fact, I welcome any fight that comes my way."

As always, Ottai tried to keep the peace and gave him a pleading look. "Let us be careful. I believe we can reach our goals without starting a war. I must leave now. I promised Morina I would hunt with her this morning."

A familiar sting of jealousy struck Vladya’s chest.

Ottai had been bonded to Morina for a thousand years and would gladly give his life for her. He may have lost his only son that tragic night, but at least his bondmate was still alive.

Ottai left first, and Vladya followed, heading toward the grand entrance.

"Lord Vladya?" Zaiper called out.

Vladya stopped and turned to face him.

"Our grand throne cannot stay empty any longer."

"I have no plans to challenge or fight Daemonikai," Vladya stated firmly.

Zaiper’s anger rose, and his eyes burned with fury. "I know he was your best friend, but that is not Daemonikai anymore! He is now a wild beast that must be killed!"

Vladya looked at him with a calm, uncaring gaze. "Let me make it clear. I will not challenge or fight the beast."

With that, he turned to leave.

"I will speak to the Elders then. It has been five centuries. I am sure I can convince them to see reason," Zaiper said with determination.

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