Penny who had woken up at the slight rustle of the bedroom in the darkness, woke up to find the bed to be empty. Sitting straight up on the bed, she pushed her blanket to walk outside the patio to only find the wind blowing through with Damien being absent in the room and in here too. 

Where did he go?

Going back in, she picked up the coat to wear and tie the belt around her waist. Picking up the candle stand, she walked outside the room wondering if Damien was outside the mansion or if he was in the study room with Alexander where he mostly spent his time in. 

Walking down through the corridor, she heard a small purr sound coming from the corner to catch sight of Alexander's cat who was taking a nap in front of one of the rooms on the little mat. Walking past the cat, she made her way down to see no one below. The mansion looked empty and deserted at this house of the night. With only a few candles that were lit around, she was glad to have brought the candle stand along with her. 

Before she could reach the study room where she was still a few distances away from it, she heard a thud sound from behind the door and she quickly ran to the door. Turning the k.n.o.b and pus.h.i.+ng it open to see Damien on the couch along with a man and a woman. 

"Hey," came Damien's hoa.r.s.e voice, "Do you think you could get me a jug of water?" he asked. Penny nodded her head, looking at the two strangers before making her way out to get what Damien had asked her for. 

Returning back with the water, she had the butler trailing close behind her as his sensitive ears had picked up the sound coming from the study room as if someone had broken into the mansion. 

No one would dare to break into the mansion as it was not just because it was the Lord's house but also because there were a bunch of vampires living there along with the pureblooded vampires. An intruding thief would only court death by stepping in. 

Penny offered the jug of water where she had also brought the gla.s.s to only hold it as she looked at Damien to finish the water in less than twenty seconds. 

"Are you alright?" she asked him. He looked worn out right now and tired. He had been fine earlier but now he looked tired. 

"Much better now that I am seeing you," Damien grinned that made Penny roll her eyes. 

Penny turned to Martin to ask, "Could you please get another jug of water?" 

"Right away, milady," the butler bowed his head, walking out of the room. 

Damien stood up from the couch, looking at the woman and man who sat there quietly right now without any movement. Hypnotized, doll-like as they stared into s.p.a.ce. 

"Did you kidnap these people?" Penny whispered to him not knowing if the couple could hear her speak. 

"I did. They kept insisting that I drink water. Did you drink anything in there?" Damien asked her not knowing if Penny had drunk a gla.s.s of water this morning when they had gone to meet the magistrates again. 

"No, I didn't. The man did offer me a gla.s.s of water but I didn't take it," Penny answered his question and he let out a relieved sigh of air through his lips. At the same time, he couldn't stop but wonder about what happened a few moments ago. 

When the door to the study room opened, Penny turned around to see Alexander walking through it and then came Elliot and Sylvia. It appeared that the vampires in this mansion had very good ears to listen to every sound. But then the sound was evident in the room. 

"Who is the woman?" Alexander asked, walking around the couch. He already was aware that Damien was going to bring the guardsman home but he didn't expect him to bring a woman too.

"It's his wife. He looked too attached to her," Damien answered his cousin, "By the way, I got to attend a midnight meeting with the Artemis."

"They were in the village?" Elliot questioned with a frown. 

Damien said, "They are controlling the villagers and they are eagerly waiting for lunch. Eating and drinking the food there is a big no. The water is infected. You need to run a check to see who is handling the irrigation. The water that pa.s.sed through from one stream to another is what had turned these people in this state."

Martin arrived back with a jug of water, handing it to Damien and the pureblooded vampire gulped all of it quickly. Like Penny, Alexander noticed the worn-out look on Damien's face.

"What happened there?" 

"The air is stifling. There is this very faint smell of leaves when they are run across the rocks. It makes you feel very thirsty. Enough to make you drink any and everything in front of you."

Alexander turned to Elliot and the man didn't have to be told verbally as he nodded his head and left with Sylvia leaving with him to check the stream. 

"We cannot wait until lunch, Alex," Damien stated knowing well it would only pull in people who were not involved in what was going on, "Whatever it is, it needs to be done tonight. I also found something."

"What is it?" Alexander waited to know what it was. 

"The humans who rioted that morning when Aunt Isabell was killed, they were put under trans similar to what is going on right now," Damien didn't know if he did the right thing by letting his cousin know who was involved in her death as it was a sensitive subject but he believed the man had the right to know so that he could give the justice to her soul.

Penny turned to look at Alexander who didn't react to Damien's words. With what she knew, Lady Isabelle's death had taken the land by surprise. The woman was good to her people, and though there were many who didn't approve of her presence as the lady of Valeria, they still obeyed the word that came from the higher-ups. 

Her death had been a mystery because no one knew why people had rioted for exactly when all she was doing that day was checking in the market with her son, Alexander when he was the age of five.