Curse Of The Desert Sun ⚜ Ch. 7

Late one night, Aten was feeling particularly hungry. The forest was starting to learn of his threat, and animals were getting harder to find. It had been months since his last deer. He needed blood, but he wasn't certain that he could get it.

He paced in his room, his roommates asleep, wondering what to do. His thirst was so strong, he had to leave the room, wandering down flights of stairs. He missed all of the guards, waiting for them to pass by and take their intoxicating scent with them.

After a while, he found himself at the doors of the dungeon. No one ever went down there, but he'd heard the doors were unlocked. Testing this theory, he pulled on the handle. The heavy door creaked open. He slipped inside, and started down the stairs.

But then he stopped, realizing that he wasn't alone.

Someone was down there, breathing raggedly. There were rattling chains and groans.

Reminding himself that he wasn't entirely human anymore, he cautiously went down the steps. At the end of the dungeon was a nobleman, his shirt torn, trying to free his wrists from the chains - or maybe keep them chained, he wasn't sure.

"Get out of here," he snarled. "I'm dangerous."

"So am I," Aten said. Stepping into the moonlight from one of the grate windows, he revealed his fangs.

The nobleman shuddered, his back arching. "I can't... He's not here yet..."

"Who's not here?" he asked.

"Prince Ivan, I've been looking for-"

Aten turned to see the same redheaded wizard from the library.

"Oh, it's you. What are you doing here?" the boy asked nervously.

The prince stepped back. His blood was particularly sweet. "Probably the same thing your friend is."

"Olek..." the chained prince whined.

"It's okay Ivan, breathe. You can fight it." The redhead looked worried. "I'm so sorry the potion I gave you has worn off. If only I were a better wizard, you wouldn't be..."

The two standing at the base of the stairs watched as the prince transformed into a werewolf, snarling and biting at his chained paws.

"I'm sorry..." Olek whispered. Looking to Aten, he said, "I'll go keep watch. Try to not kill each other."

Aten wrinkled his nose. "Don't worry. His stench will keep me away."

The redhead nodded and climbed the stairs, leaving the two princes to have a long and lonely night together in the dungeon.