by Jodie Pierce
“Yes, you must go, now. It is your time to ride to the Castle and take over the position she holds for you. Do not forget my people.”
“I will never forget you or your people,” Leon promised. With that, Qaletaqei helped Leon up and stepped out of the room, so he could finish dressing. His wounds completely healed and only his head and ribs hurt a little.
“That will go away in a few days.”
“What?” Leon asked innocently.
“The pain in your head and ribs. It is just dusk. Take the horse outside, and ride proudly into the Kingdom,” he encouraged.
Leon grasped the man’s forearm as Qaletaqei grabbed his in the customary clan shake and slid out into the night. He couldn’t wait to tell his Queen all that he’d experienced and done.
* * * *
Dayana
Dayana entered her chambers for the first time as the new Queen. She walked around smelling the fresh flowers, touching the fabrics, and thinking about how she would redecorate. She could not have the old Queen’s tastes overpower her dreams. Yes, dreams. She dreamed about this moment for many, many years. It came to her, the first night, as a vision. One in which she had the chamber redone and was sitting in the oversized chair by the fire. As the dreams kept coming, she saw more and more of the chamber and the events leading up to it. She kept her visions from everyone, as they would think her a silly girl and ignore her, but now, she could no longer be ignored. She called a student body meeting that night between classes to address the students as the new Queen. So many thoughts raced through her head that she missed the quiet cough at her door.
“Leon! You are back, finally!” she gushed.
“Yes, I am back and good as new.”
“Good. You took an awful beating, and I feared for your life. Tell me, how did you get away, and where have you been?”
“Well, the Guardian of the People scooped me up and took me to his hut to heal me,” Leon condensed the version.
“That’s wonderful! I shall call for him to come to the castle for his proper reward,” the Queen said resolutely.
“He will not come.”
“What? And disobey an order from his new Queen?” she asked flabbergasted.
“He’s not like that. He’s Seneca. They are in the middle of processing Tuwa’s body. Plus, he’s not too big on being singled out.”
“So, he’s shy. How humble.”
“He’s very humble,” Leon said, thinking back to the aromas in the hut and the herbs hanging from the wall drying.
“No matter. I have you back, and I’m going to announce you to the new student body as my Grand Master and all that comes with that responsibility,” she said excitedly. Leon blushed. “There’s no time for humility from you. You are now my protector, my warrior, my confidant, and with that comes certain privileges. Ones I’m sure you will come to find to be worth your while,” she smiled at him. “Now, I have a lot of things to get done my first day, so if you’d leave me, I can get going. No disrespect, of course.”
“None taken,” he said, bowed to her, and backed out of the room.
He was such a nice young boy. She made the right decision about making him her Grand Master. Sure, there would be rumblings within the witches and warlocks, but they would have to adapt, just like she did. People started parading through her room, so she had less time to think about it. She was getting measured for dresses, picking out tapestries, chair material, new furniture, colors for the bed chamber, new bedding, and then came the spectacle of people flowing in and out wishing her well, like staff members of the school. She had their support as well. By the end of the procession, she sunk down into one of the oversized chairs near the fire. She sat there and thought about the whirlwind of events over the last few days.
I am the Queen. She liked the way that sounded. Oh, if only her father saw her now. He finally acknowledge her as his daughter. Maybe not! came her mother’s voice in her head. She missed her mother and would have to send away for her immediately with one of the doves. She’d love nothing more than her mother to abandon her father and come live with her. She was the one who encouraged Dayana to pursue her dream and it finally came true. She sat there thinking more until there was a soft knock on the door.
“Come in,” she sang. Caleesy and Kendra entered, and Dayana ran right up to Caleesy and gave her a big hug. “Thank you so much! This has been great!” she gushed. She then looked to Kendra.
“Dayana, this is Kendra,” Caleesy introduced her.
“The Kendra? Like the old Queen’s lover Kendra?” she said mystified.
“That’s right, but that was so long ago,” Kendra tried to remain calm. Dayana threw her arms around Kendra as well.
“Well, thank you too, Kendra. Things have just been so crazy the last couple days…” she explained.
“I’m sure it has,” Caleesy smiled, “but we have further business to discuss with you.”
“Okay,” she said cautiously.
“It’s nothing huge so don’t be concerned,” Kendra said with a smile. Dayana started to soften.
“We just want to make sure your school and Kingdom are run correctly and help in any manner possible,” Caleesy explained.
Dayana sighed a huge sigh of relief. “That’s so exciting, as I’ve been thinking about you two and all I could do to repay you. I would like Caleesy to be my Eminence or Princess in the Kingdom,” Dayana said proudly.
“Oh, my Queen. What an honor that would be,” Caleesy exclaimed.
“Kendra, I would like you to be the Protector of her Eminence and serve her in any way she sees fit. If that’s all right with you, of course?”
Kendra breathed a sigh of relief. She never was one for spotlights and would love to stay closer to Caleesy if possible.
“Sounds excellent to me, my Queen,” Kendra said and bowed her head. “Lover by day and protector by night. I like that,” Kendra said before she censored herself.
“Lover?” Caleesy asked with a smile on her face.
“Well, it’s true. It’s part of the reason I sought you out was I heard of your beauty and had to see it for myself. Once here, I was mesmerized by you and wanted nothing more than to be in your presence. I just couldn’t stay away and knew the Queen needed to be derailed and a new successor found. All of my dreams have come true, and I give my thanks to the two special people in this room,” Kendra said with moist eyes. Caleesy ran into her arms, where Kendra lifted her into the air, and their lips met. They continued to kiss as Kendra placed her back down onto the ground.
“I’m sorry to interrupt,” Dayana said mildly, “But I need my bed chamber so I may get dressed for the student presentation.”
* * * *
As Dayana stood at the top of the giant stone staircase, looking down upon all her new students, she tried to calm her nerves and remember all she wanted to say.
“As you all know, our late Queen was removed from her position by our Goddess Kleos. I am honored to fulfill the new position with pride and guidance from her. I have some people to introduce you to before I start discussing the new rules of the school.
“This is Her Eminence, Princess Caleesy. She is to be contacted when I am not available. You will show her the same respect you would show me. She has a kind heart and will be perfect for the position. To her left is Kendra, Her Eminence’s Protector who will be by her side, day and night, to keep those unwanted away from her. To her left is Leon, our hero. I have given him the title of Grand Master, and he will be my protector. You will see him before you see me privately.
“That’s enough introductions for now. I will call you all together as other positions arise. Next, there will be more integration for each of our differences as far as classes go. All students will be required to take their core classes, but they can also elect to take other classes for each of the different groups without ridicule. I will continue to teach only one class an evening so I may be available for office hours. I will also bring on a Difference Counselor, to whom all of y
ou may speak freely with at any time.
“Lastly, violence will not be tolerated under any circumstances. You will be severely punished for your offenses based on your crime, so keep that in mind when you even think about doing anything unsavory. I hope to serve you well and pray we will all do our best to make the school run smoothly. Good luck, students, and happy reading!”
About the Author:
Jodie Pierce is married to the man of her dreams and lives in Cleveland, Ohio. This will be her sixth published book in the past three years. Before Demise of the Vampire Queen was the original, The Vampire Queen and then The Vampire Chronicles. The publication of this book completes her trilogy of ‘Vampire Queen’ books. Jodie was asked to be part of an anthology as well which was released June of 2012.
She’s guest blogged for others over the past couple years. Jodie is the webmaster of http://www.thevampirequeen1.weebly.com and also the owner of the yahoo group “Sink you fangs into a good book” at http://www.groups.yahoo.com/groups/Sink_Your_Fangs_In.
Visit her blog at: http://www.thevampirequeen1.blogspot.com
Follow her on Twitter at https://twitter.com/vampiregds. You can also reach her at [email protected].
Also by Jodie Pierce:
Condemned by a Vampire
by Jodie Pierce
eBook ISBN: 9781615726486
Print ISBN: 9781615726493
Erotica, Dark Fantasy
Story of 19,738 words
Can a young poet find happiness with a vampire?
A normally introverted girl, poet by day and gothic bartender by night meets her ‘destiny’ man.
At first she refuses him but he keeps coming back attempting to get her to go out with him. Finally they do and she feels things she’s never felt before. However, each time they have wonderful erotic sex a huge disaster hits and they move to get away from it. Eventually he admits that he’s cursed and each of the disasters are his fault. She is furious and has him take her to his homeland in Romania. She runs down his family history and the details of the curse. She ties him up, makes love to him one final time and ends the curse. But how? Will they still be together after he has condemned her to this life?
Also from Eternal Press:
Born to be His
by Wendy Stone
eBook ISBN: 9781615727025
Print ISBN: 9781615727032
Paranormal Romance
Novel of 64,989 words
A handsome stranger, a mysterious land and incredible romance, what more could a girl ask for?
Glenna Pierce has just turned eighteen. This birthday has been one that she has looked forward to since the day her parents told her of the magic that would be hers when she reached her majority and was brought in to the Pierce Coven.
Nicholas Stormbringer is King of his people and ruler of the Fifth Plane. Glenna was his, given to him by her parents to marry when she reached eighteen. He would do anything to make sure of her safety and happiness, even giving her up if that was what she wanted.
When Glenna is kidnapped by a rival clan and spirited away, could Nicholas find her and bring her home? Would she be willing to give up everything she knew here, in this plane, to live in a world of fairies and ogres, to be his wife, his lover to the end of his days? Was she, in truth, Born to be His?