by Erin R Flynn
At least, that was how I took it. Not sure how that got them invited to the bachelorette party, but oh well. I still planned to have fun. The after dinner and shooting part with drinks and a pool would be a smaller group, Trisha assured me.
Plus, there was a bit of safety involved as they had buddies set up to blur away the shifters and I if things got too dicey.
More of Nora, Matilda, and Hanna’s “ladies” showed up with the last of the food and then it was time to party. So they partied with their handmaidens? That was a court thing, right?
Aides? Maybe they were aides and could be friends. I sort of like the idea then.
“The dresses you chose are lovely,” Nora complimented as she flipped through the phone Hope used to keep it all straight.
It took me a moment to remember what I’d decided on last month. I sat on the ledge of the roof with my loaded plate and nodded.
“White just seemed tacky given the time we’re doing this, plus I’m not getting into all the pure as white virginity stuff as I’ve taken two oaths, even if they say I’m all pure. The deep, blood red seemed the right statement, especially given we’re growing the tree as well.”
“One is a bit more casual than the other,” Hanna said cautiously as she looked next.
I nodded again. “Cerdic’s family is here. He’s going first and it’s a whole thing. Kristof isn’t as into it as much and would prefer to skip the ceremony part.” I rolled my eyes when Lara snorted. “I didn’t say he’d skip the witnesses or having people watch his exhibitionist ass, just the ceremony. I like that he’s laid back. So’s my Zen master, but he wants to do this right.”
“You’ll like it better after you see them dressed up,” Maggie teased me, fanning her face. “We’re always in tactical gear or work clothes. Even if we’ve dressed it up a bit, we wear sweater dresses or nicer jeans. It was truly a moment to see them all cleaned up and wearing suits.”
I opened my mouth but then closed it, shaking my head. “I’ve never seen a man in a nice suit. I have no memory of that. Only a few a year into the apocalypse and honestly, they were beat to shit and not worth trying. Same with military uniforms. They were always so beat to shit and not the fancy ones.”
“You liked seeing it in movies,” Lara pushed. “You’ve been thinking about how they’ll look.”
“Yeah, I have,” I admitted. “Eventually, we’ll figure out military sort of coven guard uniforms and I get distracted by that too.”
Trisha snickered. “Yeah, my brother looks damn good in his uniform.”
“I wasn’t thinking only of James,” I grumbled, shaking my head when she opened her mouth to say more. “Leave it, Trisha. He made it rather clear he would never want a princess for more than play. We’re not worth the baggage and how things work. I’m not interested in that.”
“And when have you stuck to any traditions?” Olivia added, wincing when we shot her an array of looks. “It wasn’t a judgment against you. Him. Men are idiots. You have not stuck with much tradition at all, so to assume for some reason you would now that he was your knight? That seems silly and an excuse only.”
I blinked at her. “That’s the first thing we’ve agreed on. Huh.”
“We looked into the situation in Texas and you don’t have only an overpopulation of wild hogs, but an alarming amount of them and across a few states,” Nora told me.
I sighed, thinking how I wanted to handle that. “Same deal for that settlement; they get one of every twenty-four you take. I’m not inclined to help them except the good ones we’ll get out. And the rest we’ll split in half dead.” I glanced at Hanna. “Wild hog is good for sausage?”
“Exceedingly so, as it’s got a sweet and smoky taste that raised pigs and hogs don’t,” she answered.
“You want my half and give me half back?” I offered.
“Of course, thank you,” Hanna accepted.
“That’s it?” Olivia asked. “That’s your master negotiating skills? Halfsies? You could have gotten more out of that deal.”
I shrugged. “Why? Why be greedy and wring out every drop from each deal? All you get is people remembering that and getting upset I act that way. That leads to someone getting salty and trying to ‘pay me back’ later. That could mess up all the other deals because someone was bitchy I was a brat and stole some of the raiding stuff.”
She sighed, shaking her head at me. “You assume everyone else won’t still do that. You’re naïve to think people will play as fair as you do.”
I leaned back in my chair and studied her. “No, Olivia, that’s where you’re wrong and missing the vital piece of the puzzle you’re trying to put together.”
“Oh?”
I nodded. “I don’t play with anyone who doesn’t play that way. It’s not about playing the game best, but finding the best players to play with. Hanna’s played fair with me, so I’ll keep playing with her and making deals. Others I haven’t because they pull shit. I’m not a fan of ‘don’t hate the player, hate the game’ because I hate both the player and those games. I play other ones with better players.”
She seemed to still think I was naïve, but I saw the slight traces of doubt in her gaze and left it at that, focusing back on my food.
The others were talking about all the details, from drinks that would be offered to the flower arrangements to the setup in the courtyard. It was a rather large courtyard, so we’d done more of an outdoor wedding reception vibe with access to indoors if it got too hot.
Which it would, but there were windows to the courtyard along with something I’d demanded if I was going to do this—a partitioned off area for the house of Wessex.
Yeah, I wasn’t going to do everything dirty with Cerdic while they could watch. It was bad enough I was letting Nora see, but at least it wasn’t Jaxon.
I actually had history on my side as that was how royals used to consummate marriages behind the curtains with the families on the other side of it. Good, now it would be the other way because of the tree, but still, I couldn’t do it otherwise.
I was mortified enough they would hear it all as gagging myself wouldn’t go over well.
“No booze?” someone asked as we kept loading up plates.
“Not with weapons, no matter how high our tolerance is,” Trisha answered, several of us nodding.
No way. I didn’t trust some of these people to even know how to use a gun.
I really wasn’t going to feel safe letting them near it after they’d been drinking.
“I’m surprised Kristof and Cerdic were so involved,” Matilda admitted.
Hope snorted. “They were arguing on flowers at one point and what Inez would like better.”
“It was extra funny since she didn’t care at all,” Trisha teased me.
“I do care, I do, it’s just…” I sighed, gesturing to the corrupted that were headed our way. “We have other things besides the flowers. I think all flowers are pretty. We have limited options growing wild since there aren’t florists anymore. Just get whatever, simple. We’re doing lavish all over the place. I mean, how many weddings have an array of wine options from the vineyard barrels?”
“They do spoil you,” Nora agreed.
“I spoil them,” I defended. “Plus, they get this court stuff more than I do, and while I don’t care if people are petty, they get upset if people say shit about me. It leads to less chance of me shooting someone and causing trouble.”
“Plus, Kristof never thought he would do this, so he’s nervous he’ll do it wrong and make you regret it,” Maggie confessed, nodding when I gave her a shocked look.
“Idiot,” I sighed. That wasn’t like me at all. Fine, I wasn’t all that forgiving, but I would be if people earned my trust back or worked for it. Sometimes I let things go quicker than I should, but other times I didn’t, and to me, it all balanced out in the end.
If only that worked right then with Darius.
I was glad it was time to get to the shooting when everything with him f
illed my mind. I really and truly had no idea how to handle that situation. I didn’t. One minute, I just wanted to forgive him and have him back, and then next, I couldn’t see ever letting him near me again.
Funny how the heart could be just as confused as the rest of me at times.
Nora moved up next to me and I bit back a chuckle, the centuries-old, ridiculously elegant, and refined princess wanted to fire the grenade launcher. Her lips twitched as I didn’t poke at her for it, simply showing her how to kneel behind the tripod and to fire it.
I picked up a rifle with an extended fifty-round mag and started taking out baddies. Trisha took it from me when I was out and showed they’d brought my sniper rifle.
Now we were talking. I went over to the table it was set up on and got into place. I shot down the line, leaving dinner for corrupted and the front of the packs for them to handle.
“How did you learn to use that?” Olivia asked me as I turned to get more rounds.
“Trial and error,” I chuckled. “I had no memories and no idea if I’d ever fired a weapon before, but I learned fast. There was lots of tripping along the way, like realizing some guns didn’t have safeties and almost shooting myself because of it. Or how to handle a jam and not blow my damn face off while not getting eaten.”
She stared out at the distance. “They really come for you like this always?”
“No, it wasn’t like this before because I didn’t feed and was weak, starving half of the time. But they always found me.” I let out a shaky breath as I opened another box. “I had no idea what I was, who I was, or what the fuck it all meant, and it got bad. A lot. And I had some douche nobles stalking me for a reason I didn’t understand until later.”
“Mother said they knew you didn’t know.”
I nodded, giving her a look, but then shaking my head and focusing on the scope.
“What were you going to say?”
“Something I’ve not told your brother, so I don’t think it’s right I tell you first.”
“Will you ever tell him?”
“No, I don’t think they need to know how badly Clarence and the others terrorized me. They’d go looking for the ones that ran off.”
“What could they do worse than hunt you?”
I lifted my head and met her gaze. “Played with me like a mouse in a trap that had cats waiting at each end. They weren’t just hunting me, they were tenderizing the meat and making sure I was broken. They could have caught me more times than I can count, Olivia.”
Her eyes flashed shock. “They were waiting for you to surrender and give up like the reptile that bites with poison and waits for them to die.”
“Yeah, five years of that, and let’s just say that sometimes my overblowing situations and bouts of paranoia are pretty damn valid.” I let out a shaky breath. “Once, they all came into a building I was hiding in and just went to sleep.” I glanced at her. “They knew I was there. I figured that before I knew about the whole vampire thing. They fucked with me to that extent.”
“Why not shoot them?”
“I was out of ammo. I assume they knew that too. I couldn’t bash in one head without waking the others. Same with knives or swords. Believe me, I considered it all and I didn’t know how fast they were. They fucked with me like that just to let me get away and a head start.”
“I had no idea it was anything remotely like that,” Trisha said from behind me. “No one does.”
I shrugged. “I’ll show you all my scars if you show me yours, Trisha. It’s always about me and I hate that. We’ve all suffered. I just want to try and keep us from suffering anymore.”
“You do a fucking damn good job of that, kid,” she said gently, leaning in and kissing my hair. “Olivia, you want a turn on the grenade launcher?” She gave her a look to not even bother correcting her and a miracle happened.
Olivia didn’t, instead accepting the offer.
“This is rather fun,” one of the other probationary vampires said as she reloaded a different rifle. “Though nothing beats a well made sword and clueless prey.”
“I love my short katanas, but I’ll let you know when I’m as fast as you,” I teased her.
“That was rather fun,” Olivia admitted after she was done, Matilda and Hanna agreeing.
“Incoming,” Lara called over. “No more foreplay.”
I nodded, rolling off the table and catching a loaded machine gun from her. I didn’t hesitate, flipping off the safety and shooting into the large packs coming. They had boxes of loaded mags ready to go. I went through three before showing Nora how to use it. I went over to one of the bigger boys and got to work, completely tearing up the area they had set up.
Trisha whistled to hold off, and I went and got the gun from Nora when I realized I didn’t show her the safety and only how to change mags. She thanked me, her fangs out and eyes shining with fun and the hunt.
“Up in the chopper when you’re strapped in and just fucking everything up with the minigun is even better.”
“I believe you now,” she chuckled. “That was titillating.” She moved away to check out something else and one of the women of Safie’s coven came towards me and set down the weapon she’d been using.
“I never said this and I know many want to, but worry of upsetting you, but thank you.” She met my gaze and nodded. “Thank you for saving us that night. I know what you did scares you, but we didn’t want to die and certainly not because of Safie’s greed and insanity. Thank you for saving us that night from her and from the corrupted.”
“You don’t blame me people got hurt?”
She didn’t hide her shock well. “No, Princess, anyone with a brain blames her. She brought it all onto us, and while most forgave her lots as she saved us when most of the Middle East died in bombs, that didn’t give her the ticket to risk us whenever she wanted. She did enough wrong that saving us still won’t keep her out of whatever hell there is for people like her.”
“You’re welcome,” I said after a moment, weighing that in my mind and feeling it lift off of me. I assumed they were angry I risked them. It seemed not.
“All clear,” Trisha called out. “Alright ladies, that covers the food and misbehaving of the evening. Next we have the getting hammered part. Who’s leading?” She held up the navigator and gave it to Hanna when she offered.
“I thought we were going swimming at my vacation house?” I asked.
Trisha huffed. “As if I wouldn’t do better than that. You insult me, wound me deeply.”
“I’m taking back the present you didn’t register for,” Lara teased. “Your men have been going for all the big labels and ‘good stuff’ according to them, so we did some investigating of our own. Besides, you let us have first dibs on anything people find for you. You’ve got huge stores of everything under the castle and a fully stocked bar.”
“Yeah, and they’re hiding more somewhere. I don’t think it’s all for me given I don’t drink that much.”
“We are tonight,” Trisha chuckled.
Yeah, we were. It was funny how our minds were alike, but I’d thought of it for the guys, not us.
We started at a distillery in Arkansas that was completely untouched. The outside looked like a run-down school which they must have purchased for the space and probably for cheap. It was gutted on the inside though. Nothing open at the bar for tasting would still be good, but there was a large display area with a range of vodkas, rums, whiskeys, and bourbon.
“How you still have any of this left astounds me,” Nora murmured as she plucked a bottle of rum off a shelf. “And every time you turn around there’s another one.”
I shrugged. “I’m not picking on Ireland as I thought it was great when I was there, but it’s three hundred miles from longest tip to tip? We have states bigger than that. My four states I’m apparently claiming as mine are way over double that. New York City had almost double the population of your whole country.” I winced as I glanced at Trisha. “Sorry.”
She nodded. “It’s fine. It’s been years, but I still wince when I even hear someone say that.” She had a bottle of whiskey open and let out a shaky breath before tossing some back. “Maybe someday I won’t ache when I see it on a map. It just hurts to think I joined the Navy to help protect America and it all went so to shit. We blinked and New York was gone, my whole clan with it.”
“I met your grandmother once,” Matilda told her, nodding when Trisha gave her a surprised look. “A rather feisty woman I see when I look at you, but she was rougher around the edges and I don’t mean that as a slight. She had grit.” She took a drink of the bottle Nora offered her. “And a hate of princesses, most vampires as well. My word, that woman hated us.”
“She had reason to,” Trisha defended.
“I’m sure, but I did not deserve to be on the receiving end of her opinions like that,” she said, taking another drink and handing me the bottle. “But fear and past hurt clouds our vision. You’ve seen the other side of it now how many—even your own brother—treat Inez. None of it is easy, and the moment we don’t act complete bitches, someone pokes at us, thinking us weak.”
Trisha snorted. “I hate to burst your bubble, but that’s not being a princess, that’s being a woman.”
“You’re not wrong,” she agreed.
I took a swig and coughed as it burned going down. “Damn, that’s good whiskey. Shit, yeah, we’re raiding all of this.”
Next, we went to a moonshine distillery that had twelve flavors and stockpiles of the stuff.
“We saw this store in Nashville, but it was almost completely cleaned out,” Matilda said before trying some of the peach. “Oh, this is surprisingly nice.” She glanced at the group that were probationary coven. “Why don’t you ladies grab a few cases and take it back to the castle to share? Let the others know we’re heading to Inez’s vacation home for the small after-party.”
I gave her a questioning look when they were gone, but she simply chuckled.
“You have very loose lips when you drink,” Nora reminded me. “You don’t know they’re staying as your coven, so they don’t need to know anything they shouldn’t.” She boxed up a case, one of each flavor, and handed it to one of her ladies. “And I think it best you get out whatever it is going on with you before more guests arrive.”