Reign

by Alaska Angelini

  “Wait. You’re telling me you went behind my back and tied with a man that I hate. That I want to kill. All because of what? You didn’t trust me when I said I’d take care of it!”

  “You didn’t take care of it. Besides, I don’t want him dead anymore. My main objective was to be tied enough to watch him. To know if he ever changed and decided to attack us. I wanted to prepare for his betrayal. I thought if we connected like that then he’d have second thoughts when the time came. Or … I don’t know. It was right at the time, but it was pointless. Aetas had us tie anyway. Now we hold two ties.”

  “Just as me and Aetas.” I cursed, walking in a circle as I tried to lift the fog that kept my brain so confused. “You’re forgiven. Never lie or do something like that behind my back again.”

  Tessa frowned. “I won’t.” She stepped closer. “Do you think they want more from us? Do you think they’re calling us back to—”

  “No,” I rushed in. “No.” The denial, my denial, left me repeating the word.

  “Can you read his mind? Maybe you can see what he wants?”

  My head shook. “He’s too powerful. I can only get random words scattered throughout. Nothing that makes sense.”

  “What about Hunter?” I asked.

  “Hold on.” Her eyes scanned the floor, but I knew she wasn’t seeing the cement before her. “He.” She stopped and looked up, growing tense.

  “He what?”

  “He’s just excited to see me. That’s what his thoughts revolve around.”

  I rolled my eyes, reaching over and sliding on my jacket. “Of course. And here I am, about to lose you to them—Hunter and Aetas. I can’t believe you offered yourself up for more lessons. You can’t take that back, ma minette.”

  “I know,” she said, pained. “That was before. Before …” Her words trailed off and I walked forward, pulling her into my arms. “We can’t keep talking about this. We have to focus on the future. About what lies ahead. You’ve dealt with Aetas before. You’re stronger than you were, then.”

  “Did you not see what he did to all of us? To a room full of thousands of vampires? I am but one, Marko. He hides the extent of his powers well,” she said, looking up at me. “I have so much to learn. If I don’t go, I’ll never stand a chance against him or anyone of his caliber. I have to. I have to prepare for Hunter. To see his powers and what he’s capable of.”

  “And so you will. Every few days I will come to see you. Or you, me. Whatever is allowed.” She nodded while I led her to the door. “Things have been rocky the last few days, but you know I love you, yes?”

  “Yes. And I love you. This is nothing we can’t get passed. Our love is stronger than this.”

  I kissed her lips, leading her over the threshold. The tunnel was dark and I couldn’t stop the bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. Before I could knock on Aetas’ door, he opened it, gesturing for us to enter. My skin tingled at his nearness and I tried to ignore how I felt the air thicken around us.

  Hunter was sitting in a chair toward the back of the room, his hands clasped, his head down, but those eyes. They ate Tessa alive, begging for things I wouldn’t let myself think on. Tessa. What had she done by secretly tying herself to Hunter? Had Aetas known? Is that why he tied himself to me? What were the reasons? None of this made sense. The questions ate at me as I glanced down to see Tessa’s indecipherable stare aimed at her former best friend.

  My poor Tessa. She lived in a hell of her own creation. She was the queen and I was the demons that fed her fiery depths. Maybe this was my fault. Maybe I should have gotten it over with and killed him instead of sparing his life for a crown. Oddly, I wasn’t so sure I wanted him dead either.

  Aetas’ presence behind me had me turning and putting my back against the wall.

  “I see the two of you are having a hard time accepting the events that happened during your coronation. I have to admit, I’m a little surprised how it played out, myself.” Aetas walked past to sit on the edge of the bed. “I got a little carried away.”

  “A little?” One of my eyebrow’s rose and he twisted his mouth.

  “Okay, maybe a lot, but what harm came from it? We were all enjoying ourselves, were we not?”

  I shifted uncomfortably, as did Tessa.

  “What are your true intentions for these ties?”

  “I’ve already told you. I’m letting go of the past and looking toward our futures.”

  “That’s bullshit. I feel you, remember? You’re up to something.”

  Aetas smiled, half amused, the other half filled with that of a darker nature. “Is it so wrong to want to be bonded with such power? You have amazing gifts, Marko. I can’t help but be jealous of them. If that means my greed matches your own, then so be it.”

  “Bond?” Shock filled Tessa’s tone. “I thought we were talking ties. To bond to Marko, that would mean …”

  Deviousness crept into Aetas’ eyes. “My bond would erase your own. I’m aware of that. But you’re his concubine. Is that not bond, enough?”

  My jaw tightened. “You can’t break mine and Tessa bond. My leader or not, I cannot consent to that.”

  Aetas pushed from the bed, looking between me and Tessa. “You could have the world at your fingertips, Marko. King. Does that not appeal?”

  Of course it did, but my greed didn’t outweigh my connection to Tessa. I’d fought for it when I thought it was out of reach. I had died inside when I thought I lost her. To throw that away for more power, it wasn’t worth it.

  “Appeal, why yes. But I’m afraid I must decline.”

  Aetas’ face turned hard. “Then I’m afraid you leave me no choice.”

  Tessa was ripped from my side so fast that by the time I turned to reach for her, Aetas was already on me. Hunter was pulling her further away, locking her arms to her sides as she screamed and kicked. Fire sliced into my neck and as I searched for my powers, they were nowhere to be found. The wall I hit was not one of my own, but one of Aetas’.

  “No!” An explosion shook the room and in what looked like slow motion, Tessa was running toward me. Hunter was right behind, tackling her down to the ground so she lay on her stomach. His head shot down and she cried out from his bite. Blood sprayed across the floor as he sliced his wrist. The events were so unreal and in sync that when he shoved his wrist under her mouth, it was as though he did it to mine. But it wasn’t his. It was Aetas’ and his blood was pouring into my mouth. My head couldn’t shake. I couldn’t bite down to tear into his flesh. We rolled and the blood was choking me as he attempted to drown me in it.

  “Now, you and I are one,” he whispered in my ear. “If I die, you die. You’ll never take my thrown, Marko Delacroix. Never!”

  Sounds left me and the truth had me feeling sick. I gagged as more blood forced its way down my throat. The electrical currents that followed zapped me with the force of God, himself. A roar left me and my body convulsed, jerking violently as his essence and power decimated my bond with Tessa. The hollowness that followed was like nothing I’d ever felt before. What replaced love was something so dark, so unexplainably vile, my mind couldn’t grasp it. Even in the worst times of my life—human or vampire—never had I been filled with such hatred. Such need to destroy. And it was coming from Aetas’ blood.

  Tessa’s echoing sobs faded out. My body was still thrashing. Bowing. Yes, I felt as if I were twisting every way but the right way. Acid was crashing through my veins in a wild flood of fire. I could feel every pathway that weaved throughout my form bulging with my leader’s strength.

  “Fuck, God.” His voice broke through and he was crumbling down next to me, laughing crazily as he pulled me in closer to his side. Arms wrapped around me, one behind my head, the other around my side, cradling me like a lover. His lips pressed into mine and we both jolted at the new rounds of agony merging us together.

  “I have to be truthful, Marko Delacroix. I do believe a part of me has fallen in love with you. I want to be you. I want to take over your li
fe—your wife.”

  A guggling was coming from my throat as I tried to get words to form.

  “Hunter and I will pick up where we left off at the coronation. With them bonded, and you locked away, feeding me your powers, no one has to know that I’m not you. They all saw us tie. If they sense me it would only make sense since you carry my blood.” Again he laughed. “The leader everyone knows is about to die, my king, and the world is going to fall to the ground around us. There will be chaos in the streets with which the world has never known. And only when it is all over with and we’re hanging on by a thread, will I rise again. After all, there has to be a hero in this story. Who better than the villain our people believe I have become?”

  I managed to suck in a breath as ice began to accumulate in the pit of my stomach. My core rippled and Aetas face began to change, wavering with a darker tone. My features took shape and his fangs shot down. I could see my hand on his chest. The pigment was lightening, changing color as I began to take over his appearance.

  “No,” I breathed out. “N—”

  “Shhh. Now you will sleep. Sleep, my king. You will not awake until you are entombed in my final resting place, but do not fear, I will make it so you do not perish. After all, I wouldn’t want to hurt myself.”

  “Tess….Te…”

  Darkness was pulling me under. In my mind I was screaming. Crying out and begging for someone, for anything to happen, to stop this. It was pointless. Something was happening to me and there was nothing I could do about it. I was going to be just as dead as Aetas would appear to our kind. And the world … it was doomed.

  Chapter 14

  Tessa

  Before I could force out another scream, Hunter was scrambling off of me, staring around the room wildly. He blinked as if he were confused. With the newly formed bond we had, I felt his thoughts barrel into me out of nowhere.

  God, where am I? What happened? The room registered and he stopped, looking down at me. Jesus, did I do that to her? Aetas.

  His head whipped over and mine followed. Marko was scrambling to his feet, stumbling away from Aetas’ unconscious body. Or …

  The energy had me clawing my way to stand.

  “Oh my God!” I couldn’t stop the scream that left me as I rushed to Aetas’ body. Regardless of what he had planned, breaking our bonds and replacing them with others, he was my leader. The loyalty my vampire felt for him could not be mistaken. “Aetas.” I turned his head back and forth and reached down searching for a pulse. All I could hear was the heavy thudding of my own. Panic was setting in. And grief. I couldn’t stop the overwhelming emotions that were causing the anxiety. They were so out of place and yet, they felt right. “Aetas, please. No, no.”

  My head jerked to Marko as a sob escaped. “What happened?”

  His eyes were wide while he took deep breaths. “I don’t know. We were bonding and I felt it go through and then … he stopped breathing. He just, stopped moving.”

  “That can’t be right. You should be dead if that’s the case.”

  “I don’t know,” he repeated. “I don’t know what happened.”

  “Aetas!” My hands were shaking his lifeless body. As I brought my claw up to cut through my wrist, I noticed how bad I was trembling.

  “Don’t.” Marko’s arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me away.

  “Don’t save our leader? Are you fucking insane?” I thrashed, breaking free to spin on him. “Without him we are nothing. Do you not see? Our world as we know it is doomed. He didn’t prepare me good enough yet, and Hunter is far from ready. We need him, Marko.”

  Dark hair fell over his forehead as he pulled me in. “He is dead, ma minette. Giving him your blood will not bring him back. We have to do this rationally. We have to contact the members of the high circle. They will know what to do.”

  The door crashed in before I could so much as say a word. Faces I recognized, others I didn’t, came rushing in. The horror they held was all too clear. Aetas was dead.

  “I was just about to put out the call.”

  “What happened? A woman I recognized came forward. She had short hair and I knew her from the coronation. She had been the one holding the crown. She was Aetas’ second. Shit …

  “Look into my eyes, I will show you.” Marko walked forward and she met him half way. When she gasped, I couldn’t stop my hand from pressing to my stomach. This wasn’t right. Aetas … he couldn’t be dead.

  “Impossible.”

  Marko’s hands rose at a loss. “I don’t know what happened.”

  The woman’s covered her mouth and she crooked her finger, calling over three others. They took turns looking into her stare. Their faces grew paler as they broke away.

  “What does this mean?” I swallowed hard, wiping away the tears that were still coming. All I wanted to do was rush to Aetas’ side. To hold him and break down. Why?

  “We hold a ceremony. There will be a new coronation. I will lead.”

  “You?” One of the men stepped closer, his face full of anger. “Just because you were his second doesn’t mean you lead.”

  “Of course it does. Aetas is dead. I was in line to take his place. I lead.”

  Arguing started between the members, growing louder as they became more aggressive. Out of nowhere, something inside of me snapped.

  “Do you disrespect your former leader so much! This is not the time to argue like adolescents. He’s not even cold and you sit here bickering over who will lead? You should be ashamed of yourselves. I am ashamed at which one of you will lead us. None of you will come close to filling his shoes. You are weak. Do you hear me?” I yelled louder. “Weak!”

  My body was vibrating at the power that was coursing through me. My vision was black from my vampire and I wanted to fight. I wanted to tear these pathetic excuses for vampires apart. They were not real leaders, and not much stronger than I was, if at all.

  “Enough.” Marko’s low voice whispered next to my ear and his arm wrapping around my waist did little to calm me. “Please,” he said louder. “Excuse her. You can clearly see she is upset over our leader’s death. But she is right. Now is not the time to argue. I’m sure you can all come up with his replacement later. Now, if you’ll excuse us. I need to calm the queen. We’ll be going back to our room. Please, feel free to relay any messages you have for me to Demetrius.”

  Marko turned me, leading me to the door when he stopped. “Hunter, come.”

  “Come? To our room?”

  An array of different emotions passed over his face as Hunter came closer, looking just as confused as I felt.

  “The two of you are bonded, love. Let’s just say that right now is not the time to fight over what has happened. Let’s all just go to the room and we can discuss what we’re going to do. I don’t know about you,” Marko said, switching to French, “but I don’t want to let him out of my sight.”

  “Right.” I nodded, glancing at Hunter as Marko opened the door and we headed down the dark hallway. The entire length, I couldn’t believe the turn of events. Aetas … dead. How was any of this possible? And death from bonding?

  As Marko shut us in, I narrowed my eyes, really looking at him. “Is your blood so strong that it could have killed him?”

  “No.” His head shook. “It had to be a negative reaction or something. It doesn’t make any more sense to me than it does to you.”

  Hunter was taking deep breaths, rubbing his hand over his head as he started to pace the far end of the room. I focused on Marko, trying to push away the pull to the man who confused me the most.

  “Negative reaction? I’m not so sure. I mean, we’re talking about Aetas, here. Most powerful vampire known to man. He’s done things that no living thing could ever do. Man, vampire … only a God. Maybe deep down I believed him to be truly immortal. How many others has he primed to take his place? Marko, something is not right, I feel it in my soul. Aetas can’t be dead. He can’t. I refuse to believe it.”

  A pain expression tur
ned into one of sympathy. “Ma minette, he was just a vampire. Just like any of us. He could not escape death. It would have found him at some point. Today just happened to be that day.”

  My head shook, my mind still not able to consider the possibility.

  “Come here, let me hold you. I haven’t seen you this upset before.”

  I sighed, walking forward, and wrapping my arms around his waist. The lack of sensation had me stiffening. Our bond. Tears streamed down my face and a sob couldn’t be held in.

  “What is it?” He lifted my chin and all I could do was hold on tighter.

  “Bite me. Let’s exchange blood and rebond. Aetas is gone. You can bond with me again.”

  The tenderness on Marko’s face hardened into what looked like uncertainty. “We have to give it time. His blood is still in me. It might not work yet. Let’s wait a few weeks.”

  “Do you not want mine tainting his?”

  I couldn’t help but be offended. Marko would have drained me every single day trying to strengthen our connection, wouldn’t he have?

  “Tainting his? Don’t be ridiculous. If you want inside of me, I’ll be more than happy to feed from you. I just think it’s too soon to work. Would you like to try? Would it make you happy?”

  My hands slid down his back as I put distance between our bodies. “No. Later.” I let my hands drop as I stepped out of his arms. I suddenly felt so cold. So alone, and I couldn’t figure out why. I wanted Aetas back. I felt lost. Fear of the future had never been a concern. I thought I had had time to prove myself. Now, the leader I was once feared, yet looked up to, was gone. And with his departure, I felt as though I were roaming through a room of unfamiliar strangers.

  Well, that wasn’t true. Hunter didn’t seem that different. The appeal for him was there. But I couldn’t go to him like I wanted with Marko standing just feet away. Or at all. I was married. Devoted to the king. My king. Why did that feel wrong to think? It had to be the missing bond.