"Is everything alright? Why are we stopping here?" Emily asked as Shadow parked the car in front of a cafe.

They were on their way to the Academy but then her bodyguard received a sudden call. The next thing she knew, they were stopping for a short break.

"Domenic is inside. Let's go!" Shadow told her as he climbed out of the car and walked around to open her door.

Though Emily was quite confused about whatever was going on, she decided to not ask many questions as she followed Shadow inside the cafe.

An old man in his late fifties greeted them and led them towards the back of the room where she found Domenic and Mark sitting around a table.

The smile that was about to bloom on her face immediately died as she noticed the dark expressions on her brothers' faces.

"What's wrong?" She asked as soon as she reached closer to the table.

Domenic let out a soft sigh as he turned to look at her and motioned her to take a seat.

"I'm leaving the city due to some business emergency. I won't be home for the next three days. Make sure to stay away from troubles in the meantime and if you have any sort of problem, just give me a call. Alright?" He looked at her with serious but warm eyes.

"When are you leaving?" Emily asked as she spared a glance at Mark who was just sitting there in silence.

"Within half an hour," Domenic answered as he too passed a quick look at his brother who was sitting at the other end of the table.

"That....."

Emily was taken by surprise as she realized that he would be leaving so soon. She was happy that he made sure to see her once before leaving but at the very same time, there was a weird feeling blooming inside her chest.

"There's something important that I have to take care of. Even if I want, I can't delay it. That's why I've to leave immediately." Domenic explained the reason behind his sudden decision of leaving the city.

Emily nodded her head slightly in understanding. She knew exactly how devoted her brother was towards his business. Even though she was slightly upset to know that she won't be able to see him for the next few days but at the same time, she did not want to create problems for him.

She turned towards Mark as she asked, "What about you? Why are you looking like you are about to murder someone?"

"Why don't you ask him?"

Came the instant reply as Mark spared a quick glare in Domenic's direction which left Emily surprised. Something was seriously wrong, otherwise, no matter how mad Mark would be, he would never dare to disrespect Domenic by glaring at him.

"Nick, what's going on?" She asked her eldest brother. Her eyes kept jumping between her bothers to see which one was finally going to reveal whatever was going on.

"Nothing! He's just overreacting. That's all." Domenic immediately tried to close the matter as he gave Mark a sharp look.

"Seriously, Dom! I'm overreacting? Then what about the others? We all are overreacting, right?" Mark shouted angrily as he slammed the table with his fist, making Emily cringe.

"Mark!"

The inside of the cafe became dead silent as Domenic coldly shouted at his younger brother, making Emily immediately grasp his arm to stop him.

"Guys, please stop!" She pleaded as she looked at both of her brothers. Her eyes were begging them to stop shouting at each other. It was probably the first time she had witnessed them in such a situation.

She was used to Domenic's coldness when it came to educating her and the rest of her brothers but she had never seen Mark speaking to Nick in such a way. Moreover, she knew that Nick was seriously getting angry, like really angry.

Both the brothers calmed down a little as they noticed that their unthoughtful behavior was making their sister uncomfortable.

"He's heading to Direspell." Mark finally whispered as he immediately turned his face towards the windows to save himself from noticing the cold glare of his brother that immediately landed on him.

"Direspell? You mean the city..." Emily trailed off as Shadow, who had been silently standing at a distance observing everything that was going on, finally divided to speak.

"Yeah! It's that exact city that is ruled by dark magic users and several rogue groups. The only humans present there are treated as slaves and that place is known for all the vile creatures and stories. Most importantly, currently, wars and attacks are happening there almost every day as the Supernatural Headquarters and Human Government are finally working together to get rid of that city and its residents."

Emily felt shivers running all over her body as she realized that her brother was about to visit one of the most dangerous places present on the planet.

"Not only that but he's also hell-bent on not taking any guards with him," Mark added as he kept his attention fixed on the windows.

"What? But why?" Emily asked as she turned to look at her eldest brother. No wonder Mark was looking so mad all this time.

Domenic took in a deep breath as he tried to make the girl understand his point.

"The security is needed here the most and they will stay here with you. There's no point in discussing or arguing about this matter because I'm not going to change my mind."

Mark scoffed while Emily looked at her guardian as if he was the dumbest person she had ever encountered in her life.

"I know that you are worried about our safety but what about you Nick? You are taking such a huge risk with your safety. Do you seriously think that we all will not worry about you? Why are you being so careless? There are hundreds of secret guards working for you. Is it really a big deal to take a few of them with you?"

"It is......!" Domenic immediately answered.

"You....!"

"Nonsense!"

Emily and Mark both reacted simultaneously.

"The security team is divided into several units and each unit is assigned to a specific area of the city to make sure that each member of the Alessandro Empire remains safe and sound. Your safety is the most important to me and I'm not going to take any chances with it." Domenic declared as he stood up from his seat but stopped when Emily grabbed his arm.

"Nick, please don't do this. We are just asking you to take a security team with you and that's all. Can't you listen to us?"

She could feel herself panicking as the bad feeling that she had been feeling inside her for some time by now, only increased. Her grip on Domenic's arm tightened as she refused to let go of him.

"Emilia Alessandro, I'm not changing my decision. I'm not a kid and it's not my first time visiting a dangerous place all alone. If I did not have the capability of protecting myself and my people, then I would not have survived this far. You don't have to worry about me. I'll return safely after three days. All you need to do is to take care of yourself." Domenic said in a tender voice as he patted her hands which were gripping his arm so tightly that there were chances he would get to see fade bruises later on.

"Nick...."

Emily refused to let go of his hand as she looked at him with eyes filled with tears that were ready to spill any second.

Domenic pulled her in a warm hug ss he rubbed her head softly to calm her down as he spoke in a soft tone, "Don't worry, child. I'll be alright."

Emily could no longer stop the tears that finally rolled down her cheeks. She tightened her hold around her brother as she rested her head against his chest. Her gaze landed on her bodyguard who was standing near the table next to him. His eyes were trained on him but she could not read his emotions at all.

Suddenly, she pulled away from the hug as she turned her face to look up at her eldest brother as she suggested, "You can take Shadow with you."

Everyone was silent as they looked at the girl in surprise.

"Shadow? But he's your main bodyguard..." But before Domenic could speak any further, Emily decided to cut him off as she started speaking.

"Why not? Since you don't want to take even a single guard with you, then it's fine. We won't force you anymore. But you have to let Shadow accompany you."

She turned to look at all the three men who were standing there in silence. And as her eyes landed on her eldest brother, she knew that very exact moment that he was about to refuse.

"Listen to me first!" She said as she looked straight into Domenic's eyes. The man was stiff for a few seconds but then he finally nodded his head, signaling her to continue.