Any Story LGBTQ+ Paranormal/Supernatural Romance

Chapter 3 Charles

The sun beat down on my motorcycle jacket, warming my back. By the time I took it off, the blazing skeleton patch would feel as if Hell itself had taken over. Lord Zarus would despise the expression going through my mind, but I would love for it to be the case. It’d been a long time since a trip to Hell’s part of the Dark Realm allowed me to grace some of the nastier Dark Creatures. When i first began tracking and hunting basket cases creatures most of them took me to Hell and the depths of the Dark Realm. Areas holding pitch blackness with only the lightness of my headlights and flashlights to search for those running for me. Most of the time I forewent those because it gave me away. Still, none escaped me. Most I caught within two hours. Here on Earth Realm, as much daylight as there was, it took me at least three to four hours to catch the basket cases creatures. There were just so many more hiding spaces, and the light provided them tight spots to escape into. Still, the beauty of Earth Realm could never be expressed. The bright colors the sun gave way to each day, the breezy wind that blew the bushy trees each evening, making whispers only people with perfect imagination could hear, was perfect. Being on the back of my bike only intensified the effects of such magical features of the Earth Realm.

“It’s about time you arrived.” Josline gave a sweet smile, even though her frustration came across clear in her tone. “Lord Zarus is going up the wall. Prince Daro has arrived in all his secrecy.”

“That’s why I’ve been called in on my day off?” A prince who never graced the halls of Hancock Castle.

“Does it matter why he called you back?” Josline frowned when she caught sight of my attire. “Could you not have changed clothing?”

“Shove it, witch.”

“Watch it.”

“Or what? You tattle on me. I outrank you if you think about it.” In reality, I’m unsure which one of us would come out on top. Neither of us held an official title.

“Just because you are the one Lord Zarus turns to in dire situations does not mean you outrank the Lady of the House.”

“We can always ask Lord Zarus?”

Josline shoved the messenger ahead of me, fussing at him for taking too long to retrieve me. Explaining how he failed to meet his deadline and Lord Zarus was displeased with him. All facts everyone knew before hand. I, on the other hand, stepped around them both and walked into the front, steel ten-foot-high door with the Hancock symbol of a chicken with swords sticking through it on both sides. Weak animal for such a high and strong Lord that had control of the Earth Realm for over five centuries.

The entryway greeted me with gold floor tiles and a grand staircase of silver stairs. A chandelier of pure diamonds worth a million dollars hung high above the staircase. On each side of the staircase was a hallway that led to different areas of the house. One side took you to the kitchen, dinner hall, and staff area, while the other area led to the war room, throne room, banquet hall, and guest room. I took the hallway that would take me to the war room, because if the prince had arrived, Lord Zarus would be ready to secure the castle and secure his son’s safety inside and outside the walls of it.

The double plated, fire proof doors that would take a metal saw ten hours to saw through opened easy. If only the greeting I got was easy and worth leaving the beautiful sun for.

“Who dares enter . . . Oh, Sire Charles,” Sire? Where did that come from? “You have finally arrived.”

It took me a few moments to respond. Never being addressed in such a high manner threw me for a loop. Sire was putting me as the man who sat at his left hand side on the throne. I’d done so many of times to give him advice, but still it never earned me a title. What was different?

“Lord Zarus, it was my day off. What was the emergency that pulled me in?”

“My son has arrived. He requires your protection.”

“I can set up some guards for him. We have some excellent ones to choose from. None would let anyone near him. I promise. How many do you wish for him to have within the castle and when he leave the castle?”

“None.” A husky, rich voice like I’d not heard since Sire James was sent back to the Dark Realm had me spinning around, all but expecting to see a tall, lanky blonde standing there smiling at me with huge almond eyes.

“Daro, you have to have guards. You are at risk every moment of the day here. It is not like in your sector.”

“I will not be tied down by a horde of guards.” Thin, pink, sexy lips formed a tight expression directed at his father.

“At least give for one guard to remain at your side.”

There conversation registered, but all I could do was take in every inch of Daro’s perfectly manicured body. Think about how I could lay him down and taste every inch of it. How I could maneuver him into positions that would make him feel like the prince he is and the Lord he would be soon.

“Will he be loyal to me?”

Why did he ask such question? Did he not know anything about how being royalty worked?

“He is loyal to both of us.”

Prince Daro’s eyes studied my face, as if debating something more than whether he could trust me with the secrets that would lead to the ruling of the Earth Realm. All of which Lord Zarus provided me each time a new one came up. Soon, he was at my side, leaning in beside my ear and whispering.

“Can I trust you with what I do?”