The Dark King's Bride (21 page)

             
“You should be careful what you ask for, Radcliff…It might just be the one thing that will kill you in the end.”

             
“I have had enough of this!” Having dealt with the region’s king to the point of burning frustration, he focused on the thick, dark fog in front of him, and lifted his sword above his head once more. He continued to speak in the same manner he had been, showing no kindness to him. “It is time that your kind dies out, and for a human to take the throne of king over this region from the likes of a vampire such as yourself.”

             
Does he really think that a weapon as simple as a sword is going to destroy me?

             
The sight of Lily’s father wishing to kill him with the use of a blade brought a sense of dark humor to resonate inside of his body that dwelt within the massive and thick mist before him.

             
Oh, my poor, pathetic human. I have rather enjoyed the past times that you would cheer me up on your visits to my home, as well as right now with your wishful thinking. However…It is now time to end this little game of yours with me as the victor.

             
Having decided that he had wasted enough time with Lily’s father, Daniel’s right hand reached out from the black cloud, and grabbed onto the blade of his sword with a portion of his fierce strength. He stepped out of the covering he had used as both a shield and a disguise, and revealed himself to the fullest extent. His crimson eyes bore down into Lily’s father’s gaze with an intensity they had never expected to see from him.

             
“How…How can this be?” Radcliff’s voice started to tremble, slightly, from finding the king stepping out of the thick, dark mist, and being in his complete human form with little trouble at all. “There are no reports of any vampire being able to-“

             
“I am much more powerful than any ordinary vampire that any ‘report’ has on them,” Daniel replied, “and I will be your death this night.”

             
“I will not let you have my child!”

             
“Lily is to be my wife, and will join me as my queen once we complete the ceremony that you so rudely interrupted with your gang of thugs.”

             
“You will be dead before you have the dance to do such a thing with her!”

             
A smirk danced across his face from witnessing Radcliff remaining defiant to him about the prospect of Lily becoming his for all eternity. Harboring the look, Daniel shoved Radcliff towards the direction of a wall on the right side of the altar, and watched his body bounce off of it while his words came out of his mouth with deadly intent in them.

             
“Let’s see who the ‘dead’ one is going to be, and who will be walking out of here with their life still intact.”

*                            *                            *

             
Lily, you have to do something!
Her conscience screamed, alarmed at what Daniel had said to her own father.
You can’t just stand by, and do nothing!

             
I don’t know if you were paying attention,
Lily replied, silently,
but my father is wanting to kill me for having relations with Daniel, and he is wanting to also kill Daniel for the fact that he is the one that took me away from my mother and him!
She snapped at her rational side of her conscience out of anger of it wishing for her to stop what Daniel had in store for her father.
He is not wanting to do anything besides causing death and destruction tonight. So…Why on earth should I stop Daniel from ripping him to pieces?

             
Lily, how can you say such a thing?!

             
It is the truth! I am not standing here lying to you! I have no reason to lie about anything to you…You are part of me after all!
              He is your father, Lily, and you need to find a way to resolve this issue without someone getting hurt or murdered!

             
Damn it…It was right. She didn’t like admitting that her conscience was right about something that she didn’t wish for it to be correct on. Lily knew that she needed to do something to keep her father from being killed, and to keep Daniel from getting hurt at the same time.

             
Taking in a breath, Lily moved herself to stand between both Daniel and Radcliff, placing herself in the direct of the line of fire. She looked to both men while keeping a calm, firm tone in her voice.

             
“Just hold it right there, you two!” She exclaimed, attempting to get the point across. Her eyes moved from her husband to her father and back to her husband as she maintained the conversation. “As much as I want to see my father pay a severe price for storming in here with this group of villagers, attempting to ruin our wedding night, assaulting the guests, and taking the step in trying to murder both of us…I am sure there is another way for us to punish my father without him losing his life.”

             
The fierce stare that she got from her king sent chills running up and down her spine without mercy while his voice didn’t really help matters at all.

             
“He deserves the most severest of punishments, Lily.” Daniel said. His tone didn’t make any attempt in trying to hide the unbridled hatred he possessed inside for Lily’s father. “For all that he has done…Radcliff deserves death.”

             
Well…So much for trying to talk Daniel down from his own previous plans of what to do with her father. Lily found herself frozen in time due to the situation she had found herself in. Slowly, she started to formulate an idea in her head, and pass it on to him in her same, calm yet firm tone she had been talking with previously.

             
“Isn’t there any way that we could make his sentence a little lighter, and less harsh?”

             
“What do you propose we do with him…my queen?”

             
Queen. Lily never imagined that she would be addressed as queen in her entire life. Hearing herself being referred to as one for the first instance in her whole mortal life caused her confidence to grow a bit more inside of her curvaceous body.

             
“This is what I suggest, my king.” Lily took her eyes off of her ruler and lover, and moved them to be on that of the very man who brought her into the world, and the reason for all of the emotions of conflict and anxiety to be running through her without mercy. “If Radcliff agrees to surrender, leave with the rest of his men…and never returns to this castle…he gets his life.”

             
From where she stood, she watched a small smile form onto his face, and found it to be a sign of some sort that calmed her nerves down to a degree but not all the way.

             
“That is being too easy on him, Lily.” Daniel disagreed with her decision, not wanting to comply to it. “He should not be able to leave with his life so easily.”

             
“I said ‘if’ he agrees to the terms.” Lily switched her focus back onto Daniel’s face, and spoke to him the exact same way that she had spoken to her father. “Now…If he chooses to not accept the terms…Radcliff will be executed where he stands with no mercy shown to him.”

             
Lily, what in the hell are you doing?!
Her conscience shouted out to her, exposing its complete shock with her for her choice she had presented to him.
You are supposed to keep your father alive…Not murder him with an audience!

             
He will make the choice to live or die on his own. It is life after all…not mine.

             
Feeling confident and sure of herself, Lily turned her attention back onto the face of her father with her back turned to Daniel. She drew in one last breath before her voice issued a question to the man that gave her life.

             
“So, what is it going to be father? Life…or death?”

Chapter Twenty-Five

             
As she stood with a defiant expression on her face towards her father while her lover stood behind her, Lily shivered and shuddered in absolute fear on the inside. Not knowing what her father was planning to say next scared her right to the very core of her essence.

             
Please, Father…
Lily said, silently, to herself.
Please agree to the terms I have made to you, and leave with your life intact.

             
Why are you so concerned about a man who obviously cares so little about your mother and yourself that he actually planned on slicing you in half with that blade in his hand?             

             
The question Daniel proposed to her within the safety and privacy of her mind had a point to it. Radcliff had attempted to use the very weapon within his hand on not only herself, but on her mother and on the very man she was to marry that night before the royal court.

             
Let’s not forget also that his friends and himself have done a number on my luxurious ballroom, as well as on the temperament of the royal court, and it will take time and hard work to replace all that he has done to this place.

             
I understand what you are saying, Daniel,
Lily replied,
but you must understand that he is my father, and it is that reason that makes this decision even more nerve wracking then it should be.

             
I understand quite clearly, my lady.

             
How?

             
If you were asked a question with your life hanging on the line…I would also be very upset and nervous as to what answer you would give.

             
I wouldn’t do anything that meant the end of my life, and any time we have left on this planet to spend with each other.

             
Even if you did…I would fight the devil and god almighty to keep you from dying and leaving me alone.

             
Oh how she did love the way Daniel spoke about her, and expressed his feelings that dwelt deep within being for her. It made her feel special and wanted for the first time in her life when the other times she had just felt as a burden or just someone not really worth the attention of a king such as Daniel Willows.

             
“Lily, I have made my decision.”

             
The sound of her father’s voice brought her out of the mental conversation she had been having with Daniel. Lily placed her focus back onto Radcliff, and listened to the soft tone emanating from his once deathly sounding voice.

             
“I will take my leave with what men I have left, and never return to this castle again.” Radcliff answered, solemnly. “You will never have to worry about me again.”

             
A sense of relief started to wash over her whole body the moment she got the answer she had been longing for. With a smile moving across her face, Lily turned towards Daniel only to find him moving to where her mother had been nestled to fetch her.

             
See, Daniel? I knew everything was going to be okay, and nothing bad would-

             
Without a chance to catch a gasp building up inside of her mouth, she let out a sound similar to that of a child letting out a soft cry once she recognized a strong sensation of pain hitting her in the side of her body that was still facing the direction of where her father had been standing.

             
Lowering her eyes down to the side of her body where the feeling was coming from, her father’s hand was clearly visible on the hilt of the sword that hung to his side, but didn’t do anything to hide the fresh blood trickling from the tip of it.

             
No…He couldn’t have…He didn’t…Did he?

             
Lily looked to her side only to find fresh, crimson blood starting to seep through the fabric of her wedding dress due to the small but deep wound he had inflicted on her in just a matter of seconds. She brought her hands to press against it while she spoke to him in a voice that was becoming softer.

             
“Why father?” She asked. “Why have you done this to me?”

             
Instead of an immediate answer full of sorrow, she noticed an evil smirk replacing the solemn expression on his face shortly before his response made its way to her ears, matching the way he looked at the moment.