"Your Majesty, I know this empire is far too small for soone of your... particular tastes," Roderick began, trying—and failing—not to sound like he was choking on his own nerves.
He was sweating so much he might as well have just stepped out of a bath, and he couldn’t stop squeezing his hand. Saying the wrong thing could get him killed. And saying nothing could get him killed faster.
Had there been even a sliver of true friendship between them, the kind so rulers shared with their most trusted aides—like his father had with the previous emperor—he could have spoken freely.
He could have scolded Kaan. He could have raged about being abandoned without a word, outmaneuvered at every turn. He could have called this madness what it was.
Conquering the world—an ambition so vast, even for him.
To be fair, it hadn’t always been madness. In the beginning, it was a dream, noble and grand. Admirable, even. Roderick had supported Kaan, believing in the grand idea of a united vampire empire. The first of its kind. A legacy written in history.
How thrilling that had sounded.
Roderick had been excited to be part of it—well, as excited as one could be when constantly lurking in the shadows, doing all the boring behind-the-scenes work. His na probably wouldn’t make it into the history books, but he was fine with that. He wasn’t here for the glory.
But apparently, Kaan was. And not the normal kind of emperor glory, either. No, no. He had developed an unhealthy craving for power and authority—the kind that ignored things like morals and laws and basic common sense.
Perhaps Kaan thought he was being discreet. Perhaps he believed his secrets were safe. But Roderick had found the books, stashed away in his study. Thick, ominous tos on dark magic, which, in case anyone forgot, was very much illegal.
Was Kaan just... curious? Maybe he was looking for a spooky bedti story? Roderick sure hoped so. Because the alternative was that the Emperor of Asvaldur had decided that world domination wasn’t quite ambitious enough—he needed a little forbidden sorcery to spice things up.
And that was a disaster waiting to happen.
So now, Roderick was doing his absolute best to redirect Kaan’s attention. Preferably away from world domination and more toward, say, literally anything else.
"But if you think about the world’s balance—" He coughed, realizing imdiately that his words had all the impact of a damp rag. Quickly, he added, "—and, uh, your reputation, I strongly suggest you take several steps back and reflect."
Reflect on your utterly ridiculous ambition and your complete lack of moral compass, please! That’s what he wanted to say. But, unfortunately, self-preservation was a thing, and Roderick liked to avoid being burned at a stake or choked by a sack of garlic.
Kaan said nothing. His expression didn’t change. Was he even listening? Or was he just waiting for Roderick to finish yapping so he could get back to whatever devious, borderline-evil sche he was currently cooking up?
Roderick pressed on. "It would be wise to reconsider whether this is truly what you want. There are other ways. Other thods. Other channels you could explore. With enough preparation, you could beco the mighty emperor Asvaldur deserves."
He braced himself for a response. Probably sothing like: ’Best for whom? For weak, insignificant vampires like you? Don’t be ridiculous, Roderick. You and I are not the sa. Do not lump into the sa pitiful category as the rest of you.’
Or, worse: ’That’s a good suggestion, Roderick, but I think I’d rather dance on the ruins of civilization while sipping a nice glass of expensive artificial blood. You understand, right?’
Okay, that last one wouldn’t happen. Not because Roderick had any faith in Kaan’s moral integrity, but because Kaan had never once acknowledged one of his suggestions as ’good.’
Not in this lifeti, not in the next, and certainly not in whatever afterlife awaited those unfortunate enough to be caught in his sches.
What Kaan actually said, though, wasn’t anything Roderick had expected. Not even close. In fact, it was so far off the rails that for a brief, horrifying mont, Roderick thought, Have I just made things worse?
"I’ve been preparing for years and years, but it’s still not enough," Kaan muttered, almost to himself. His tone was eerily solemn, which was never a good sign.
Then, as if struck by divine inspiration (or sheer lunacy), he turned to Roderick and declared, "Gather the witches and wizards! I will now announce the birth of a commission to study and make use of magic—including forbidden magic. I will personally supervise this special assembly."
Roderick felt like every drop of blood had just been sucked out of his body. His brain flatlined. His soul briefly left for vacation.
Did Kaan... did Kaan really just hear him out and then sprint in the exact opposite direction?
"Roderick?" Kaan’s voice snapped him back to reality. The emperor was waiting, clearly expecting the usual obedient Yes, Your Majesty—which he always got, because no one dared to say no to him. Well, no one except King Valentin, but Valentin also had an entire army and the famous deadly glare.
"Yes, Your Majesty!" The words shot out of Roderick’s mouth purely on survival instinct, more reflex than surrender. But as his brain restarted, he realized he needed to fix this.
"Your Majesty, I must remind you," he said, forcing a polite smile, "that engaging in forbidden magic—whether directly or indirectly—is, well... forbidden."
Because apparently, Kaan needed that spelled out.
"May I ask what you plan to do with it?" Roderick asked, doing his best to sound casual—like he wasn’t currently staring into the abyss of another one of Kaan’s brilliant ideas. "It’s dangerous territory, and we have no way of knowing how the Nightshade Coven will react once they hear about it."
Kaan looked at him, but for once, there was no smug, knowing smirk. No trace of his usual oh, Roderick, you poor, simple fool expression. He looked... tired. Too tired to bother pretending.
Honestly, Roderick wasn’t sure which was worse—Kaan faking amusent or Kaan deciding he didn’t need to fake it anymore. Because that could only an one thing:
He thought there was no one left to stop him.
Not Roderick. Not the Nightshade Coven. Not even his dead father.
Then Kaan said, with all the ease of soone discussing dinner plans, "I’m going to extract the Blood Moon’s power from the Blood Moon child. If I can’t get close to her to kill her, I need to figure out a way to extract it without actually touching her."
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