Chapter 192 The Sea King’s Promise

After what happened, Bella was hesitant to pray once more for Dora’s return. She was afraid that thunder was going to strike again much closer. Charles found amusing her pale face and scared expression. He didn’t expect her to be scared by a thunderstorm.

“If you make a wish once more, I will be able to contact Dora directly. This way we won’t lose any time tracking locations.”

Bella took a deep breath and started her prayer once more. “May the King of the Sea help me to find my best friend Dora…”

She shrunk her neck into her blouse expecting lightning to strike above her head but nothing happened.

“…As soon as possible.”

At the end of her sentence the sky seemed to split open by a noise so loud it almost made her heart stop. Bella almost fainted by fear. She collapsed on the couch with her legs twitching involuntarily. Nothing had prepared her for such a scare. She had read in the news several cases of people struck dead by lightning. Believing she was going to be next, she closed her eyes and prepared for the inevitable.

If there ever was such a possibility, it never materialized. Charles put his arms around her to seal her from the terrible sound that came from above.

“Hey! What are you doing?” she asked.

It was obvious what he was doing. He was removing her clothes.

“Don’t take this the wrong way. It’s just that I didn’t have any of your blood today.”

Charles was exhausted by giving too much of his own blood to the Tree of Life. If he was to detect Dora, he needed to replenish his supply. In this aspect, nobody but Bella could help him.

He had been away for two days and Bella had almost forgotten that she needed to feed him. Luckily enough, Charles did not find any faults in her today. If that were the case, he would have deducted money from her salary, or even worse, slam her hard against the wall.

Bella got a tingling sensation at the bottom of her neck as Charles made a small incision. He immediately began to suckle on the blood that trickled down. It was a minor irritation, not much different from an insect scratching her skin. She wanted to tell him to try not tickling her but she held her words. The last thing she wanted was to make him angry.

Bella has started to get dizzy when Charles let go of her. He wiped the stains off her bare skin and helped her put on her blouse. He sat on the table and stared at the photo of Dora. He put his hands over it and closed his eyes.

“Come close to me,” he said.

He wanted to lean his head against her shoulder while searching for Dora. Bella did not quite understand this sort of behavior, but for Dora’s sake did not say anything. If Charles was still tired then she ought to help him feel more comfortable.

“I’m very tired,” he said. “Please stay still.”

She smiled as she thought about the irony of the situation. It was he who was drinking her blood, yet he was acting like the victim of this story.

“Do what you need to do,” she whispered, “but get Dora back.”

It would be impossible for Charles to fail after taking such a large dose of Bella's blood. Thanks to her mermaid genes, it only took him a couple of minutes to detect Dora.

Once he had established contact, he opened his eyes and looked up at Bella.

“I found her,” he said.

“Then let’s go,” she said.

Charles opened the door and asked the guard in the white uniform to contact Ziv.

“Tell him that we’re going out and he’s going to be our driver.”

“Yes, My Lord,” said the guard and immediately rushed away.

They rushed together down the corridor towards the staircase. Charles’s footsteps were too large for Bella to keep up with him. It was very hard to keep up her pace but because nothing matter more than Dora’s safety she would keep on going until she collapsed. Her blood loss was nothing compared to Dora’s happiness.

“Is Dora in danger?” she asked when she managed to catch up with him.

She regretted asking this stupid question right away. Charles could not see Dora, he could only sense her. How could he tell whether she was in danger or not?

“Dora is alive,” said Charles. He must have sensed her nervousness.

Bella immediately relaxed. As long as Dora was still alive, everything would be fine.

Ziv was already waiting for them in the car. Charles sat next to him while Bella sat alone in the back seat. Charles whispered something that Bella could not hear to Ziv. The faithful butler gave a nod and started the car. Very soon, they were on the highway, heading to the outskirts of the city. This place was full of abandoned factories and rubbish dumps. Why had these villains brought Dora here?

At least she was not afraid any longer. Right behind the limo, there was an armed vehicle full of Charles’s personal army.

Just in case things got sticky.

The car stopped outside an old factory with broken windows. The kind of place even a homeless junkie would avoid on a rainy night.

“No matter what happens, I will always stand by your side.” With these words, Charles got out of the limo. His armed guards immediately surrounded him.

From behind the bulletproof windows, Bella watched them storm the factory.

The sound of gunfire reached Bella’s ears. The only part of the action she could see were the muzzle flashes from the automatic guns. She was supposed to wait in the car until the gunfight was over but she needed to know what was going on in there.

She opened the room and rushed in the factory. Before she had the chance to catch a glimpse of what was going on, a flying piece of debris pierced her shoulder. It was accompanied by a burning sensation that was so painful she lost contact with the world around her.

Charles rushed and took her in his arms. He spoke to her in a calm tone as he tried to lead her back to the car.

“It’s only a scratch!” he said after observing her wound. “Now let’s get you back to the car.”

“I want to go to her,” cried Bella out in agony. She was crying not for herself but for Dora.

“I promise you. Dora will be fine.”

Bella stared into his eyes.

She was not sure if she could believe his optimistic words.