by Erin R Flynn
I loathed Safie and her bloodline, but the rest of the coven were mostly innocent and just as trapped as I was.
The longer I watched Inez, the more I realized she might be more than my salvation, but the coven’s as well. She was fierce in all she did, especially how she loved. I’d never seen a vampire love as she did, much less a noble, and certainly not a princess. I always had to stay far away enough so no one felt me, but that also meant I couldn’t hear conversations.
However, a lot could be said without saying a word. I watched as she knelt for Kristof and pleased him. How she would have let him break her body if it meant his pleasure she loved him so much. All of them.
I pieced together some of the puzzle, knowing I was missing huge gaps.
And I even saved her from the first attack the coven in Canada made after their princess died. I learned later a second one got through, and she handled it, but I protected her, and not because Safie wanted her, but because I did.
I wanted Inez.
Finally, I couldn’t stall anymore, Safie losing patience and threatening to start killing members of her own coven she was sworn to protect if I didn’t bring her the treasure she desired. It was sick and twisted on so many levels, but she truly only saw Inez as a prize, never a person.
I couldn’t even blame her bloodline or what she’d been through as a child. People had suffered worse and managed to hold onto themselves. I had suffered worse, and thousands of years of it, and yet I still wasn’t the psychotic monster bitch Safie was.
I nabbed Inez, but then I didn’t want to let her go. I could finally touch her, and yet I had to lock her up. She wouldn’t even look at me, smart enough to realize she had no clue of our powers or gifts. I wasn’t surprised to find she’d freed her friend, the leverage Safie had demanded I grab as well.
I was just glad it worked out that she was with a shifter who turned into a small cat and could escape, instead of the lion who would have died fighting for Inez. Aether definitely was smiling down on that moment.
But she was never scared. Inez never showed an ounce of fear, pushing every one of Safie’s buttons and demeaning her in a way her pride would never allow. Inez was genius.
I knew what she was doing with her blood, as I’d spied enough to see it. Safie didn’t know though, and neither did her spy, who was weeks outdated. The fact that Safie was so arrogant and full of herself that she never even asked for what I knew was just another sign she was completely insane.
Half of the world was dead or infected to become corrupted, and all she did was gleefully laugh that now she was champion of those gods of the covens that fell.
I couldn’t even figure out how that was logical in her twisted brain. But that assumed boost in power, and clout was her downfall.
Thank fuck.
Inez played her perfectly, down to the last moment where she took Safie’s life. Relief filled me. The house of Darbandi was no more. No more being tied to that insane bloodline.
I wasn’t even worried when she turned every corrupted attacking the coven to ash. They crumbled before our eyes as she once again saved the coven, first from Safie and now the corrupted Inez felt guilty for bringing.
“What do we do now?” Lloyd asked me, annoyed I stopped him from taking action against her earlier.
“We serve our new princess,” I answered easily.
He grabbed my arm and gave me a death glare. “Are you kidding me? I’m not letting that brat just take over. I loved Safie. She killed the woman I loved.”
“No, you loved Safie’s great-great grandmother, and you just pretended Safie was her,” I argued with a hiss. “This princess is infinitely better than Safie. Do not betray our coven because of your personal feelings when we are all so on edge.”
He released me, shooting me an accusatory look. “You knew she would do this. You knew this princess would kill ours.”
“I hoped she would.” I shrugged when he couldn’t hide his disbelief. “Safie was never my princess. I was a shield passed down that she treated like a dog. They all did. Safie brought this on herself with her insanity and greed.” I got in his face when he tried to turn away. “But I will protect this princess, so do not go against me, Lloyd. I would bath in your blood before I even let you have a chance to hurt her.”
“Maybe it’s you who has lost his mind. We were Safie’s court.”
“And yet I never swore an oath to her, and neither did you,” I reminded him. Once he nodded, I focused on everyone else, noting no one was listening to the nobles that weren’t hers. “Group up and the strongest take the youngest. We don’t know if we’re still safe here. Our new princess has offered us shelter and safety, and we will be grateful for that. Or challenge me.”
No one did. I was a few thousand years older than the oldest noble there, and no one would dare challenge me. I ordered Lloyd and a few others to make sure everyone of the coven got out before following after Inez and where her nobles took her.
Only to find them making love to her. Safie’s blood was too much for someone as young as her, even after she used so much of her power. All she could think of was her nobles, not the coven she now folded into hers, not the assets she’d acquired. No, it was all about them and their love, comforting each other and caring everyone was safe. I couldn’t have looked away even if I’d wanted to.
In the end I had to, as she ordered us away, my heart sinking as she said she wouldn’t keep any of us. I had never even considered she’d free us.
No princess ever did that. Princesses directly killing princesses was fairly rare, even over a long history of court madness, as alliances and bonds with other courts kept princesses from ever risking the fallout. But never in all the thousands of years I’ve lived had I ever heard of a princess releasing nobles from their oaths. That was… I didn’t even know the word for it.
I met up with the coven at the resort and helped them get situated as best as we could. People were freaking out at the electricity, running water, and all the luxuries we’d been without for so many years.
“You knew they had all of this and you never told Safie?” Lloyd hissed at me, getting the attention of too many others.
I gave him a glance of warning. “I tried to, but she didn’t listen to her dog. Instead, she took the advice of a previous coven member who ran from her and only came back to betray his friends. He clearly didn’t know a fraction of what Princess Inez could do, but Safie had figured out the direction that power could take, as she wanted it as hers.”
“Where is he?” Lloyd asked, glancing around as if having some choice words for him.
“Dead. I made sure of it.” I nodded when his eyes went wide. “He betrayed Inez once, I won’t give anyone the chance to do it again.” I glanced around the room. “She is our princess now. We serve her. Obey her orders and enjoy that our coven has more than we could ever have dreamed of with Safie.”
I left them with that, done with the pushing back. This was the way things went. We had no one to blame but Safie. Inez hadn’t tried to invade us or hurt us. Safie had started all of this, and other princesses might have punished us all for that.
Instead, the next morning, Inez freed us all, disbanding the coven. I couldn’t even hide my shock. And then in the next breath, she threatened us.
Magnificent.
“And for any of you who might go the path of offering to spy for our covens, we suggest you don’t,” Sebastian O’Cleirgh said firmly. “We don’t want it, we’re not interested, and we’ll be paying attention and suggesting to Princess Inez if we feel anyone shouldn’t be allowed to stay. Our princesses have made deals our covens need and value. None of you are worth risking that.”
One of the nobles from a Wessex coven snorted. “My princess would rather kill you all instead of take a risk that Princess Inez was hurt and couldn’t help us.”
“No killing,” Inez groaned. “There’s no reason to kill. Over half the world is dead; let’s just all behave and grow into better people.”
“If Princess Inez had not handled the situation so swiftly and with such genius, our princesses would have come with their courts and have destroyed you all. So not only should you thank Princess Inez for setting you free, but for saving your lives. You now have a chance for better lives with her. She requires very little of people. She says it all the time. Don’t be assholes and move your asses to help.”
Inez shrugged. “I’m not feeding people who don’t work. If you’re injured or recovering, there are light duty jobs, but anyone can sit on their ass and help the kitchen.” She pointed to a map behind her. “Now, we picked this area because of all the grouped together resorts and hotels, as the coven isn’t built yet, but this is close. We’ve taken over four here, as you’re not our only guests.
“We have three more right here and six just down the road. There’s also vacation cabins and townhouses all right here we can get running if we need the space, or people want to spread out, but only if people are working. You are not a guest as in hotel guest. You are a guest we’re allowing to share our resources. Earn it or I’ll shoot you.”
“With your permission, we’ve all agreed that we not raid today but help get things going,” Sebastian interjected. “My coven has been here long enough to know how to help, and can divide up those who wish to stay to keep progress going. We can split to those who know how to cook, those who were cleaning staff of the coven—”
“Wait, just because she ordered them to clean doesn’t mean that’s just their job forever,” she argued, shocking all of us again. “If people want to do it to help, fine, but there are more than enough jobs to go around. List the jobs, and people can sign up for what they want. Maybe the people she forced to be maids want to go hunt turkeys for dinner?”
“As you wish, Princess,” Sebastian agreed, looking seconds from laughing. “We need some who are willing to clean and open up the resorts so they’re livable again. Those with children might be best, as they can keep watch of them then. We need an array from there; some to hunt, others are installing solar panels to keep the electricity going, others are raiding and we can show you how that works.”
“Aye, whatever ya say, Da,” she said in her best Irish accent, looking amused when his lips twitched.
“That’s me lass,” Jaxon purred quietly.
The problem was, people were at a loss at what to do with their new freedom. Leaving sounded terrifying, but staying sounded like it was too good to be true, almost like it could be a trap. I interjected, knowing the coven would trust me.
“For now, I plan to stay and see what Safie was so jealous of and learn more of the princess that fourteen other princesses and covens would put their faith in her.” I dipped my head to Inez. “Use me as you see fit, My Princess.”
She flinched. “I’m not your princess; I just said you’re all free. And honestly, you abducted me and Simon, so help if you want but far away from me.” She glanced around. “Wait, where’s that guy? You said no one died but—”
“I handled him for betraying you and your friends,” I promised her. “No one innocent was hurt, as the rest of us were under orders or threat. He betrayed you for his own gain and that cannot be allowed.”
She studied me and slowly nodded. “Good, yeah, I wanted to make sure he didn’t slip out and start more shit.”
“Any more crazy gestures or ways to shit on tradition and laws we hold dear?” Lloyd mocked, not being all that quiet about it.
Inez didn’t ignore him or shy away. “Well, I’d prefer nobles and vampires were able to just use your powers and gifts, as they could be helpful to the rest of us busting our asses, but unfortunately, your beloved traditions and court ways made them into trading cards that princesses collected.” She narrowed her eyes at him when he opened his mouth. “Have doubts if you want, but don’t try and start a riot or mob.”
“Enough, Lloyd,” I warned. “Leave or get to work; the princess of this coven we stand in has spoken.”
He snorted. “The dog is just looking for a new master. Are you going to fuck all the women of this coven too, since the princess doesn’t want you in her bed?”
“Shut it,” Kristof snarled. “Bicker like idiots on your own time. We have much to do and more people to save if we can. People are taking time from their needs to help you. Do not disrespect that, or we’ll kick you out to be on your own.”
That worked, people nodded and hurried to eat, ready to get the best jobs, or at least ones they would like.
“Lloyd and the others are with me,” I declared of Safie’s court. “We’ll be paired up with the princess and her nobles who can keep a close watch on some of us.”
“Already planning to,” Tian said, watching Lloyd like a hawk and not happy with what he was finding.
“I swear the old, old guys are just as big of babies as the kids,” Inez grumbled. She started plotting out with her nobles and several of the visiting ones, letting the “adults” take the lead as she said, unless she saw a problem with an idea. It was so different from what I was used to, so normal and idyllic compared to the insanity I had spent thousands of years living with.
Everyone got to work and I stuck with Inez, finally getting to see up close and hear what I’d only seen from such a far distance. The other nobles of Safie’s court joined us, getting the intro “shtick,” as Inez declared it, which was sort of the show of what no one would believe without seeing. Along with a lot of explaining of how she got to this spot and the progress they’d made.
“Impressive,” Petre said at a volume few could hear from next to me. “I see why you believed she would save us. Safie would never have seen one so young as a threat, and yet Aether’s champion herself freed us. That gives me hope when I thought I had none left.”
I nodded, feeling the same. He was the next oldest after me; thousands of years spent in Darbandi courts hadn’t broken him either. Well, not completely.
We were both pretty broken though.
The ghosts started, and I went with as they took her to a special room to help keep them at bay while she worked through them. They whisked her off to the resorts she got back online and fixed everything blown from the EMPs. All the while, she kept eating while wearing earbuds. This was the part I could never see as I would have had to get too close.
“We’ve got new lists of places ready for Inez to convert to energy beads,” a shifter told Cerdic who was staying with Inez.
“Show me. I can do the same,” I told him.
Cerdic’s eyes flashed shock. “That’s a rare gift. I’ve only known a few who could do it.”
I swallowed loudly. “It was common in my bloodline, as water manipulation is in yours.”
He nodded, clearly not getting what was going on or who my original house was. Things might have been better left in the past. The shifter showed me a map and where to head to. They were marking buildings ready to be taken down with “TI” for Team Inez, but with two different colors so there were no mistakes. Smart. I then had to tell the clan in charge of the area it was done so they could suck it all up.
Interesting. So they had people who could convert the energy beads into materials. Good. We had several that could do that as well, and would be of help then, and Inez was strong enough to accept that. Safie hadn’t let anyone ever outshine her, so if she didn’t have the gift, it wasn’t smart to ever use it where she could know.
I easily did all the areas marked off on a few of the maps, informing those I needed to before returning to the group and informing the shifter it was handled. He gave me a shocked look and just nodded, sharing a glance with Cerdic. Good, I would be of use
, and someone they wanted to keep around then.
“Come with us,” Cerdic told me as he went for Inez again. I nodded and followed. He brought us a to a car dealership in Salt Lake and told me to turn them to energy beads.
So I did. All of them.
Inez blinked at me with wide eyes. “Holy fuck. I thought I was the only one, and you don’t even look winded.”
“I’m very old,” I told her, repeating myself louder when she shouted she couldn’t hear me.
I watched the miracle up close this time as she converted all the energy beads she could into electric semis and electric engines for her engineers to put into farming equipment. When the ghosts were all done, Kristof showed up and they whisked her off to feed and have fun.
She yanked off her clothes and jumped into his arms, biting him the moment he offered his neck.
“I’m still grounded,” he told her.
“Grounding over. I was kidnapped and we had sex yesterday.”
“I’m more dedicated to my princess than that,” he argued, handing her over to Branko, who held her legs wide as she looped her arms back around his neck. She shivered as Kristof knelt before her. “This is my place. This will always be my place before my princess.”
She licked her fangs and stared at him. “Damn right. Eat me and beg for more.”
He moaned and did, bringing her fast and she loved it. She kissed Branko and let him touch her, and I wanted nothing more than to take his place. Kick both their asses and take her as mine. Cerdic joined in and took her in a way she enjoyed, and my hands itched to act, putting me on edge, as now I could have her. I was free to have her.
Hell, I was bummed I wasn’t her noble, for once wanting to be passed on to a new princess. It agitated me but I squashed it down, accepting I was lucky that they didn’t tell me to leave.
“Now that’s what I call an afternoon delight,” she purred when they were done, stretching and teasing them with the way she laid and angled herself. “What will we do when there’s no more corrupted or I’m not a baby anymore to get all freaked out over blood?” She frowned, realizing that might really be a problem.