The Royal Series 0 - A Royal Archive

Chapter 2

† Elex †

When Elex heard footsteps in his sleep, he instinctively reached across to the bedside light – another vampire convenience – and flicked it on to check the time. Seeing the hands pointing out half past nine in the morning, he groaned and threw back the cover.

It was far too early to rise for the day; the library did not open until two in the afternoon, once the noon sun had fully disappeared. And since they catered to both humans and vampires, he had to adopt the latter's sleeping habits in order to serve them. Which meant not rising until half past eleven in the morning. Two hours from now.

"Norman?" he called quietly, as he lifted the dressing robe from the back of a chair and headed towards the spiral staircase where he heard the footsteps descending. He could not imagine what had come over his son. There was no need to use the staircase to reach the kitchen just feet from his bedroom door.

Perhaps he had left an important piece of homework in the library? He had been good enough to do his school work after enjoying their hot chocolate and biscuit. Which had given Elex some time to finish his cataloguing work before they retired to their apartment for the evening.

Risteph had closed up the library once all the patrons had left at three o'clock, then headed home to his husband.

"Norman?" he called again, as he stood at the top of the spiral staircase and looked down. There was no light on, which was irresponsible. Norman was just a child and was probably half asleep as he attempted to retrieve whatever he had left downstairs.

"Papa?"

Elex turned, his blood frozen in his veins as he spotted Norman standing in the open doorway of his bedroom, yawning. "Norman?" he asked, though he recognised his son perfectly well, as he had left his own bedroom door open and the light from the lamp shone through.

"Is something wrong, papa? I heard you call on me," his son replied, looking so innocent in the faint light.

Panicked, Elex turned and shut the door leading from their home to the spiral staircase. Once secured and the lock flicked into place, he grabbed the large side table by the corners, dragging it in front of the door to ensure that no one could open it from the other side. Only then did he back away and turn towards their living area.

"Papa?" Norman sounded so confused that he could not help but lift his head and meet his soft, dreamy gaze.

"There is someone in the library, noodle. We must call the guards and remain very quiet," he explained calmly, though he felt anything but. "Come sit by me as I call for help, okay? It will not take long for the guards to arrive; their barracks are very close and I do not think the intruder has left yet," he reasoned, trying to remind himself that there was nothing to panic about, yet.

Thankfully, unlike a lot of businesses in the area, the library had its own telephone system. Mostly due to being vampire owned, but also because Spencer was their best client, for both personal novels and professional texts.

Elex thanked the Gods that he was such a good customer, as he lifted the telephone from the table. "Hello, I need to be put in touch with the City Guards immediately. There is an intruder within the library and my son is with me," he explained to the operator, who understood the urgency and promised to have a guard dispatched right away.

"Someone will be with you shortly, sir. Please remain where you are, as long as you are safe. Stay quiet and calm. A guard is just around the corner and will be sent to you immediately. He will announce himself before requesting that you open the door," the woman explained calmly.