A deep, gravelly male voice responded from the shadows of the vault. "Relax, Clara. The Alucard merchants are already waiting at the border trench with the transport wagons. King Luis promised a massive bounty of blood-gems for every ounce of refined silver we smuggle out of the OrionHeart vaults."
"Just ensure my cut is delivered to the usual hidden cellar," Clara snapped. "If the royal guards catch us handling enchanted silver weaponry, Virgil will have our heads displayed on the arena spikes."
Rudy's dark eyes flashed with an amused, dangerous crimson light. He looked down at Niti, a predatory smirk playing across his lips. The palace is completely rotting from the inside, he thought. They are actively funding the Alucard invasion before it even begins.
"Niti," Rudy whispered, his voice barely a breath against the stone. "You know every inch of these lower quarters. Where does the secret route to the eastern gate connect?"
