Chapter 98

RYKER’S POV

When I was told that there was another body, I was expecting to see a scene similar to the last ones. When I got there, I was suddenly thankful that I asked Camilla to stay back. It was so graphic that one of the guards threw up on sight. The smell of blood hung in the air and it was so messy that I didn’t even know where to stand. It was clear that unlike the others, this man was killed in the forest.

His head was completely severed off and there was blood everywhere- on the grass and on the trees. There was no way we could hide this one even if we tried. I muttered a curse and ran my hands through my hair as I thought of what we could do. The guards were most definitely going to talk and the family of the boy were not going to accept any bullsh it explanations.

“Your majesty,” one of the guards spoke snapping me out of my thoughts. “What do we do with the body.”

“Right now, leave it. Get the physician here. We can’t risk transporting it back to the palace.”

He nodded and left to do as I asked. While we waited for the physician, I spoke to the guards who had found him. They were lured by the scent of blood and discovered the scene. No one recognized him yet and I was grateful for that. It was easier to deal with the victim as a stranger than someone’s child or father.

It took twenty minutes for the physician to arrive with his son and I saw him flinch when he took in the scene. He muttered something under his breath and went to work analyzing the body. His son looked a little green and if it were another day, I would have suggested that he sat it out but I needed to get to the bottom of things as soon as possible.

“It is the same as the others,” he said as he stood to his feet.

I didn’t want to risk the others overhearing us so I turned to the guards. “Wrap up the body and take it back to the palace. Ensure it is cleaned and made presentable then find out who he is and if he has any family.”

While they scrambled to do as I asked, I led the physician to a corner of the woods away from prying ears. I didn’t know what he wanted to say but I had a feeling that I was not going to like it. He looked around to be sure that no one was listening before he spoke.

“I think it was the same vampire that did this,” he whispered. “It looks more disorganized and the scene is made to look like he lost control and ripped the head off but I don’t think that’s what happened. It was a clean cut.copy right hot novel pub