by T. S. Ryder
Trailing her fingers over the front of the dress to smooth out any wrinkles, Alice regarded herself in the mirror as Lindsey helped her brush out the tangled mess that her hair had become. It took a while to tame her unruly mane, but eventually they managed to get it to look presentable.
“I’m impressed. I can’t get it to behave most of the time.” Alice ran her fingers through her hair, marveling at the softness that Lindsey had managed to coax out. “Thanks. Now I’ll look good when I chew out the king.” She smiled, earning a soft sigh from Lindsey.
“He’s really not a bad man,” Lindsey said, helping Alice stand and smiling softly. “I think you might actually like him if you get to know him.” She shrugged, chuckling when Alice pulled a face.
“You know, I tend not to fall head over heels in love with people who kidnap me,” Alice pointed out firmly, hugging Lindsey gratefully before sliding out into the main room where the other members of Matheus’ harem were.
Moving up to Matheus’ door, she took a deep breath. She would not allow the man to seduce her. She would not allow him to flirt. She would make it very clear that she did not belong to him, and he was going to have to deal with it.
Closing her eyes, she knocked on the heavy wooden door, putting a stern look on her face as she waited for it to open. She was about to find herself face to face again with the same forest green eyes that had made her heart flutter before. Matheus’ smile might look innocent, but she knew that he was far from the sweet, gentle man he’d like her to believe he was.
When a call sounded for her, granting her access into the room, Alice sighed. Pressing inside, she braced herself for whatever it was that the king had planned for her.
Chapter Five
The king’s room was beautiful and far more conservative than the gaudy main hall. Draped in rich, warm crimson and gold, the bed at the center of the room drew her eye. The dark oak panels were carved with handsome designs of deer, bears, and wolves.
The rest of the room was warm and plain. It was simply furnished with bookshelves, a table and a large wooden desk that was carved to match the bed. Only the soft gold trimming on the curtains and rugs held any sort of glamour.
Matheus himself was seated at a small table in the corner. On the table was a vase filled with tiny yellow and pink roses not much larger than Alice’s thumbnail. Bread, wine, fresh fruit, and cheeses were resting on silver platters, spread out in an appetizing fashion.
“Come on in, Alice. Make yourself comfortable,” Matheus smiled, gesturing to the table she assumed he had set up for her. “You know, you didn’t tell me your last name if you’d prefer for me to refer to you that way.” He gestured for her to sit down on a couch and crossed the room to a bar in the corner. “Anything to drink?”
“No, thank you.” Alice shook her head, her hands resting on her knees as she sat down. “And I don’t have a last name. Last names give power to other witches and wizards. I haven’t used my last name since I was a child. There’s nobody alive who knows my last name, and I’d like to keep it that way.” She hummed, trailing her fingers through her hair.
“Very cryptic,” Matheus chuckled, pouring himself a glass of what appeared to be blood before sitting down at the table across from her. Noting her tense position, he smiled. “Relax, I won’t try anything, I promise. I just want to get to know you.”
“I’ll believe that when I see it,” Alice said, her eyes focused on his face. The man didn’t seem bothered by her aggression at all, and instead seemed to be genuinely enjoying her company. “I’ve met men like you. Men of your status tend to do whatever they can to get what they want,” she pointed out firmly.
“I admire your resolve, but I promise that I mean you no harm,” Matheus insisted, holding up his hands in a submissive manner before smiling back at her again, his eyes sparkling with amusement.
She wasn’t sure what was going on, but as she watched him take a sip from his drink and wink playfully at her, she realized that she might be in trouble. The man was actually flirtatious and charming and seemed to be intelligent too. She would have to keep her guard up if she was going to keep herself out of his grasp. She knew how vampires worked and she didn’t trust him farther than she could throw him.
He might play a good guy, but deep down, he was a man whose only desires were power and status. She couldn’t allow herself to fall into his carefully laid trap. Trusting people had never been her strong suit and she wasn’t planning to trust the man whose mother had ripped her away from her home.
“I know that you don’t trust me, but I’d like you to know that I am not my father,” Matheus began, when he realized she wasn’t going to willingly take part in a conversation with him. “My father was not so much a king as he was a warlord whose goal was to conquer and destroy. It has ruined our civilization and left us on the brink of destruction. Our species were mistrusted before, and now, after so many years of war, we are seen only as monsters.”
Alice nodded, agreeing with the man. The creatures of the dark had been fighting with the beings of the light for centuries under the leadership of men like Matheus’ father. She had never tangled with Matheus’ father herself, but she had heard of him. Alexander Lindgern had been one of the last of the vampire kings attempting to take over the races around them. A stubborn and ruthless man, there had only been one way to stop his rampage.
His assassination had marked the beginning of the end of the war. With one of the most powerful heads of the Vampire Empire gone, the others began to crumble at the feet of the opposing kingdoms. The end of the war had been bloody on both sides, but the light had won. She was proud to have served in it.
“I never met your father. I would be a poor judge of whether or not you are like him,” Alice noted, taking a sip from a glass of wine before relaxing a little.
“I understand. I suppose that means that I have a clean slate?” Matheus asked, chuckling when she raised a well-groomed eyebrow at him. “I’m not a monster. I think that you’d actually like me if you got to know me,” he insisted, his gaze wandering over her body slowly.
“You just want to add me to your list of conquered women,” she said, not willing to let the other woo her. “I’m not a prize to be won.” She glared at him, lifting a piece of bread up to her lips and chewing pointedly.
“I never said that you were. None of the women in my harem fascinate me as much as you do. You’re different. You’re callous, independent, and powerful,” Matheus explained, his hand reaching out to touch her slender fingers. Lifting them up to his lips, he pressed a fleeting kiss to her knuckles. “I want a woman like you as my queen. Someone who will rule and not just passively allow herself to become a figurehead.” Alice’s lips pursed at this and she looked up at the man through her lashes.
“You expect me to agree to marry you after you kidnapped me?” she asked, her nails tapping against the table slowly.
“No, I expect you to agree to marry me once I’ve won your heart,” Matheus hummed, reaching out and trailing his fingers over her cheek.
She didn’t know why, but she didn’t pull away from his touch. Whether it was to preserve her pride and show she had no fear of the man, or because she was legitimately curious about the man’s intentions, she remained still and allowed him to trail his fingers over her cheeks and lips. What she did not expect was the fleeting kiss that he pressed to her lips. His pale lips were cold, but soft and pliant against her own.
She pulled away before he could deepen the kiss, but made no move to scold him for the gesture. It was a sweet, innocent kiss and responding would just give him what he wanted. Instead, she merely continued to pick at her food, allowing herself to be dragged into his stories about life growing up in the vampire coven.
Despite her best attempts to keep her heart hard, Alice could feel a few cracks forming as she listened to the king speak. Deep down, she could feel an unfamiliar warmth flood through her each time his hand moved closer to hers. She wasn’t sure how to explai
n the deep longing she felt when his eyes locked with hers, but she did know that whatever was causing it was something far stronger than any magic she had ever known.
Maybe he wasn’t a monster after all.
Chapter Six
Moving into the dorm room where the rest of the girls were kept later that night, Alice looked relieved when Lindsey rushed up to greet her.
“Your bed is over here! Did you like him? He’s sweet, right?” Lindsey beamed, taking the other woman’s hand and leading her over to a bed in the corner, by a small window that looked out over the manicured yards. “Are you going to marry him?” she asked softly, glancing over at a group of women in the corner.
“It’s a little early for me to make a decision about something like that,” Alice smiled softly, sitting down on the bed with a sigh and freeing her hair from the tail that Lindsey had trapped it in. “He was not the monster I expected him to be, though, so I have no reason to hate him except for my kidnapping.”
Pouting, Lindsey sighed and nodded, looking disappointed that Alice hadn’t agreed to marry the king on the spot. Sitting next to Alice, she leaned against her side lightly, much to the surprise of the witch. She didn’t push the blonde away, though, instead gently wrapping her arm around Lindsey’s too thin shoulders.
“You must be the new girl,” a silky voice said and a slender form slid into Alice’s peripheral vision. Glancing up with a sigh, Alice regarded the new speaker with a frown.
A vampire with alabaster skin, dark curls of black hair that cascaded down her face and curves that most women would kill for stood in front of her. Based on the small pack of humans, Fae, and vampires standing behind her, it was easy enough for Alice to determine that this was the woman giving poor Lindsey grief. She would have to make sure it was understood that the childish antics were done with as long as she was living in the coven.
“Alice, and you are?” Alice asked, moving to her feet and calmly regarding the woman in front of her. She made no move to shake hands, waiting to see if the woman wanted to be friendly or not. She was not going to play their little game.
“Veronica,” the woman said, eyeing Alice slowly and pursing her lips. “I didn’t think that the prince would be interested in a portly little thing like you.” She smirked, earning a chuckle from Alice.
“Unfortunately, I don’t know the prince well enough to know his type. Certainly, though, if he were into women without a little meat on their bones, it seems he would have already selected a mate.” Alice smiled back at the woman, retaining her nonchalant stance.
She had dealt with women like Veronica for years and she had learned that the best way to get under their skin was to stand firm and not give them any power. Veronica was clearly a young vampire and had none of the experience that the women at the witching academy had had. There was very little she could say or do that would get a rise out of Alice.
“And you think that he’s going to choose you?” Veronica demanded, her lips twitching in obvious irritation. Alice shrugged, sitting down on the bed once more and glancing out of the window.
“Whether or not he chooses me, it’s my decision. He’s already made it pretty clear that he’s interested in pursuing me,” Alice pointed out, glaring back when the woman in front of her glared and seemed to bristle with anger.
“Why would he ever want to marry someone like you? You’re a peasant; you’re useless,” Veronica spat, trembling as she glared at Alice, her companions tittering nervously behind her.
“Useless? Well, I don’t believe I’m useless.” Alice smiled, her hands on her knees. “Then again, you do not know who I am, so it makes sense you would make assumptions in order to make you feel better about yourself.” She sighed, looking up at the woman with a knowing grin.
Veronica’s eyes flashed crimson as she moved closer to Alice. Since her verbal taunts appeared to be having little to no effect, she was growing more and more aggravated. That was exactly what Alice wanted. The best way to conquer any society was to go for the head, and she was going to take Veronica down now before she ever had the chance to try to gain power over her.
“You aren’t welcome here,” Veronica glared, grabbing Alice and pulling her off the bed. Her fangs flashed dangerously, her mouth opening to bite down on Alice’s shoulder dominantly.
“Consto.” Alice couldn’t do much magic with the repressor around her neck, but she had enough power to do basic spells and put the brat in her place.
Instantly, Veronica froze, her body going rigid as Alice moved to her feet and pressed her finger to the terrified vampire’s forehead. Smiling as Veronica let out a muffled, terrified noise, Alice leaned in close to the woman.
“Now you listen to me,” Alice began, her silver eyes locked onto Veronica’s. “Your reign of terror is over. From here on out, I don’t want to hear about you speaking unkindly to any of the other women here. If you do decide to cross me and speak ill of any of the women here, I will make sure that you remember who is in charge.” She growled before pulling her finger away from the other’s forehead. “Eximo.” She pulled away as the woman slumped back with a gasp, the spell dissipating at her command.
“Y-you’re a witch!” the woman squeaked, letting her followers pull her back. Alice nodded, crossing her arms over her chest with a smile.
“That I am,” she agreed, moving over to the bed again and sitting down. “Now, I’ve had a long day. I would appreciate being left alone so that I can rest.” She smiled up at the terrified looking women.
“Of-of course!” Veronica gasped, rushing away from the bed and leaving Alice and Lindsey sitting alone in the corner.
“That was amazing!” Lindsey gasped, holding onto Alice’s arms. “How did you do that? I’ve heard about witches, but I didn’t realize how powerful they were!” Alice chuckled at the girl’s excitement, leaning back against the bed with a sigh.
“That was nothing. A quick spell like that is easy to use and maintain even with my powers as low as they are,” she explained with a chuckle. “One of these days, maybe I’ll teach you a thing or two. Magic is inside everyone; it’s just a matter of learning how to harness it.” Lindsey seemed thrilled at the idea and beamed as she hugged Alice tightly.
“I’d love that!” Lindsey said, pulling away from Alice before moving into the bed just across from her. “You should get some sleep. I’m sure the prince has something fun planned tomorrow to win you over.” She grinned, pulling off her dress before slipping into some silky pajamas.
Alice nodded, sighing at the idea of the prince going out of his way to woo her. She would give him one thing: he was persistent. Despite her misgivings after being kidnapped, she decided that she would give the man a chance. It wasn’t his fault that his mother was trying to find him a mate. She hadn’t been out on a date in years and it might actually be a nice change of pace to have someone attempting to win her over.
Curling up in bed, she was just pulling the blankets over herself when she heard a little scratch. Looking up, she frowned, only to beam when she saw who was sitting just outside the small window. Pulling it open, she allowed a damp, exhausted-looking Talon to leap into the room.
“You’re ok!” She pulled him into a hug and laughed as the cat let out a huff and nodded.
“Alive, but very sore,” he muttered, pulling back and shaking out his fur. Starting to vigorously lick himself clean, he looked up at the woman and hummed. “I’m glad that you’re unharmed.”
“I’m alright.” She nodded. “Things have been strange, but I’m not in any danger here.” She pressed a kiss to the top of Talon’s head and earned a huff from the exhausted cat.
“Great. I’m glad to know that I braved the wild just to find you relaxed and pampered,” he huffed, though he didn’t seem to truly be upset. Instead, he nuzzled against her shoulder and curled up in her lap.
“I’m so sorry. I’m just glad to have you back,” Alice whispered, trailing her fingers slowly through the cat’s f
ur. It was reassuring to know she had a friend to watch her back in the coven.
Talon didn’t respond. Instead, he curled up into a tighter ball and within a few moments had fallen fast asleep with his face pressed against her stomach. Smiling, Alice rubbed at his ears gently before lying back against the sheets and closing her eyes, allowing the quiet sounds of the harem to soothe her mind while she curled around her oldest friend.
Chapter Seven
Adapting to life in the harem was something that Alice found to be more difficult as time went on. She hadn’t foreseen the consequences of putting Veronica in her place. Now leaderless, Veronica’s followers had chosen to go to Alice for guidance and decisions about how the harem should operate. Despite her best attempts to convince them to leave her alone and make their own decisions, the women were set on bothering her with every little argument between groups.
Thus, whenever she got the chance to escape from the harem, she did, disappearing into the house and settling in one of the many rooms to read, study, or even nap.
She was settled in the library, her mind lost in the pages of one of the vampire’s history books when she suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder. Gasping, she jerked to her feet and spun around, her hands sparkling faintly with magic, while Talon hissed and glared at the intruder who had dared to disturb his nap.
“Relax, I’m not one of your followers. Lindsey told me you would be hiding from your adoring fans,” Matheus laughed, holding up his hands defensively, regarding the cat at her side with a raised eyebrow. “I didn’t realize you had a cat.”
“I do. His name is Talon.” She smiled and sat down again, pulling her companion onto her lap and kissing the top of his head. “Can I help you with something, your majesty?” she asked, setting her book on the table after properly marking her place.