“I remember stumbling through the streets, bumping into the structures I was using to support myself. At that point I had accepted my life was over. I welcomed the end. I was merely passing time, taking in the sights I’d come to love and hate throughout my years.”
Her head dropped toward the podium. “That’s when he and Percival came to me. Child, Aetas said. Do you not fear death so much?”
“All I could do was stare up at the most handsome man I’d ever seen.”
Fantaza smiled as her head lifted. “I thought he was an angel or a God, come to take me home. Somehow I managed to finally speak.”
“I fear nothing, I told him. Death is but my home. Death has always been my home.”
“Then I will make it so, he had said.” The smile faded. “Percival took me then, biting me right in front of Aetas as he watched. It was right there on the dark streets of Florence, amongst the dead bodies and stench of illness. I can still remember the sounds of my screams as Aetas took me from Pecival and held my dirty, frail frame in his strong arms, whispering about how he had given me a new life. One I could be proud of. He had always been a God to me. Even in those terrifying moments, he kept me strong. His death … it will forever leave a piece of me missing. My only hope is—”
Footsteps pounded in the back of the room, echoing throughout the large space like thunder rumbling through the sudden silence. The multiple enforcers were paired in two, swallowing the aisles with their large, black-clothed frames.
“What is this?” Fantaza hissed.
Whispering erupted, followed by the rustle of fabric as vampires shifted in their seats.
“Fantaza Rossi, Hector Yubara, Rochester Phillips, Jackson Bastrop, step forward.”
Fantaza, along with the other high members addressed threw glances at each other. The men on the other side of the aisle stood from their seats, but didn’t walk forward as instructed. Enforcers circled around from all sides, their black eyes focused—their arms rising to outstretch in front of them, ready to fight.
“What’s this about? I demand an explanation for interrupting our leader’s ceremony. You should be ashamed of yourselves!”
“Marko?” Tessa leaned over, grabbing my hand as I pulled us to our feet.
“It’s okay, ma minette.”
I tried to hold in the smile as I felt the high member’s power flare. Their faces were filled with worry.
“Under the orders of King Aetas, set date, four days ago, you are all under arrest for treason, sentenced to immediate death.”
“Treason!” Fantaza flew around the podium, skidding to a stop and jerking her palm up to face the enforcers who were edging in. “Aetas would never charge us with treason! This is a mistake. This is not true!”
The main enforcer lifted a paper to face her. “The orders he sent to Master William Mason was discovered, hidden in your room. His signature is right here, for all to see.”
Long red hair swayed along the enforcer’s back as he made a slow circle, displaying the evidence to the crowd.
“It’s forged. It’s not real,” Fantaza yelled. “Someone planted it. Someone …” she scanned the remaining members along the first row on the other side of us. “It was you, wasn’t it, Maribel. You did this! You’ve always been jealous of me.”
Maribel flew from her chair, baring her fangs as one of the enforcers rushed in to grab her.
“You dare accuse me? I bet the paper is true! I bet you and the others accused killed Aetas!”
Gasps reined through the room as she spit in Fantaza’s direction.
“How dare you!”
Chaos broke out as Fantaza rushed toward Maribel. Enforcers crowded in, tackling down Hector, Rochester, and Jackson as they tried to push through the vampires and rows behind them. The air began to swirl, electrifying as Fantaza’s powers stirred with in her. At the screaming, I knew the enforcers were slicing through their necks to remove their heads.
Vampires were crowding through, anxious to see the carnage of our royalty being decapitated. I didn’t move. Didn’t do anything but wrap my arms around Tessa and pull her closer into me as she held to her stomach, groaning in pain. I wanted to smile. To bask in this moment of what I knew she was feeling, but not saying.
Had the member’s betrayed me? Committed treason? Of course they did. But only in their minds. They were all guilty. Every single one in this room. At one time or another, they had wanted my throne. Dreamt of it. Relished in the fantasies of taking it. It was enough for me. I had wanted blood. To shake the very foundation of what we were, and I had accomplished that. But I was far from over and Tessa was feeling it firsthand.
More enforcers rushed in, whispering amongst their partners as the news spread. When the lead enforcer, Colin, nodded, I was ready for the news. My heart was racing from the excitement.
He walked to the front, brushing back the red strands that were becoming loose from his ponytail.
“We have just had news. The cities are under attack.”
“The cities? Which ones?” Mistress Belle Lamore of Reno pushed through the second row behind us to come to a stop in the aisle.
Colin’s shoulders drew back. “All of them, Mistress. Humans have paired up with some of the rogue vampires we’ve been trying to track down. Their plan was orchestrated flawlessly. They all attacked at the same time, hitting every major city, in every state. We have put a shield around the perimeter of Headquarters as precaution. It is as we feared. War is upon us. War is here.”
“Oh God,” Tessa breathed out, twisting from my grasp. “We have to go. We can still get back in time. We can help our city.”
She was already trying to move around me. Her fear perfumed the air and I locked around her waist, pulling her back.
“Did you not hear him? They have set up a perimeter, ma minette. We cannot leave.” I closed my eyes, shaking my head. “I feel it now. It’s already too late. They’re already all dead.”
“What?” She jerked against me, still making sounds of pain. “What do you mean, all dead? Who’s all dead?” The shrill tone was on the verge of hysteria. Tessa was fighting harder, desperate to break free of my hold. She knew, whether she wanted to admit it to herself or not.
“The majority of our city. Some live. They have fleeing, but … Demetrius, Anastasia.” I opened my eyes to look into hers. “Marie. All of our members. They’re all dead.”
“No,” she gasped, slamming her fist against my chest. “No! How did you not know? How did you not feel our city’s need? We could have left in time. We could have saved them. You should have felt the threat. I would have felt it, Marko!”
“Calm. We’ll figure something out.” Hunter stepped closer and his hand reached for her, only to retreat at my stare. His face was pained at his mate’s anguish.
“Take her and do not let her go. Someone has to take control of this mess.” I eased Tessa into his hold, stalking toward the podium, just in front of my throne. Enforcers’ gazes snapped to me, cautious as my energy exploded to heights I knew they hadn’t felt before. Even as leader, I rarely had to display my position, but here, in front of them all, I’d take what was already mine. Just as someone else—as The Black Fire King.
Eyes followed me as I took a step up. As I moved behind the podium, the enforcers grew closer. They watched, not sure what to do, or what to think of my power.
“From here on out, all of you will answer to me, King Marko Delacroix—you’re new leader. If there are any objections, feel free to speak out. But know that if you do, you better be prepared to defend your rejection.”
Maribel pushed around the enforcer who had previous held her. Her eyes were narrowed and her steps turned hesitant the closer to got. “You try to take what is rightful not yours? I am next in line! Not you. You aren’t even apart of Axis. Aetas would have never allowed you to tarnish our table, nor would he approve of this atrocious claim you’re trying to stake.”
“That sounds like an objection to me,” I said smiling.
My hand rose and my energy shot through the internal shield she used to protect her gifts. As I grasped around her core, she held to her stomach, cutting her gaze up to mine in horror. A cry fell from her lips as I projected Marko’s fire to inflame her stomach. The black smoke still in me from Tessa and Marko’s mixed blood ignited, and the fire I placed within her left the thick black substance pouring from her mouth as she let out a blood curdling scream. The heat bubbled and blistered her skin as it worked its way up her chest and throat. She was clawing at her herself, spinning in circle through her agonizing death.
“Anyone else object?”
A blue ball of light exploded against my shield, followed by multiple colors and forces of random vampires throughout the crowd. I laughed, reaching for the energy of the instigator of the attack. The ruler of New Mexico’s body slid inches away from my feet and I jumped down, flipping him over as the enforcers held their ground just feet away. When my hands rose, his body lifted until he was levitating just below my face. The black fog rolled from my opened mouth, crawling over his face, and down his throat. The toxic poison only increased as I covered him in it. Skin began to melt down his face, revealing the muscle and bone underneath. I thrived in my new powers. Twisting them and trying everything I could to learn more about the way they worked.
Blood and chunks of his form flew toward the crowd as I blasted the body with all the strength inside of me.
“Is that all you are capable of, rulers? Is this what we have come to? Weak, pathetic powers? You all are nothing without me! I asked once again. Is there any more of you who object to me ruling?” My fangs were down, ready to bleed them all dry. Tessa’s energy neared and my eyes shot over to her inquisitive, terrorized stare. I immediately composed myself. I had to get control. I had to stop acting like myself and be more like Marko.
“I see the decision is final. I am your new leader. Cross me again and you’ll be charged with treason and dealt with accordingly.” I turned my attention to the enforcers. “Your orders come from me now. Get these vampires out of here. Let them leave and go back to what is left of their cities, and then lockdown the grounds. After that, everyone who takes residence here is not to leave. I’m sure you know what to do. Aetas had trust in you. I do as well.”
“Thank you,” Colin said, bowing. “We’ll carry out your orders, Your Highness.”
I forced the anger to fade from my face as I turned to Tessa. She was staring at me like a stranger. Like she didn’t know me at all. I had to make this right.
“It had to be done,” I said, softening my tone. “There would have been a bloodbath here if I wouldn’t have stepped up. Everyone wants the throne, but we all know who it belongs to rightfully. It’s mine,” I whispered. “I’m the strongest here.”
Tears came to her eyes and she nodded, slowly. When I held out my arms to her, she blinked rapidly.
“Ma minette, come.”
The pause had me clenching my jaw as I battled these new emotions. I had to convince her better. To play Marko’s part. I didn’t want to push her away. Not after I’d waited so long. I just wasn’t sure how to act, yet.
Tessa eased into my arms, stiffening as I wrapped around her. The crowd was thinning out as the members rushed to get away from me. Their fear excited me, but was vital. They needed to be cautious, to respect me, and not think they had a chance to rise against my rule.
“You must be exhausted. Let us go to our new room and lie down. I will hold you. Feed you,” I purred, nuzzling the side of her head.
“It has been days,” she said, weakly. “I just don’t feel the need to feed at the moment. I wish to see Aetas.”
My head drew back. “You want to go to The City of the Dead?”
“Yes. Alone.”
She stepped back, a tear sliding down her cheek as she turned away from me. The black lace dress she wore trailed the floor behind her, the train, swooshing with the sway of her hips. My old crown sat on her head and the black curls held back by pins cascaded down her back. The elegance, the bravery, she was every bit the queen she was titled.
And now she was mine. Here, in the place she was meant for.
Chapter 16
Tessa
Silence met me as I stepped off the glass elevator that opened up to the large underground city. As I’d ridden down, I couldn’t stop the awe and sorrow at the sights. What I was faced with was nothing short of breathtaking. The tall statues littered throughout, the designs carved into the elegant monuments—the large steeple in the center. I knew that’s where Aetas was. He’d be in the best, and from what I could see as I lowered through the tall drop, it was beautifully done in white marble.
I lifted the bottom of my dress as I followed the wide, stone path that led me through the center. The walk was going to be long, but I didn’t care. My mind was racing, bombarded with so many questions that I didn’t even know where to begin. It was as though I were walking through a thick fog that was swallowing me whole.
How could this have happened? How could Marko have not known of our city’s fall?
Perhaps his mind was closed off. The events that had taken place during the ceremony were enough to distract anyone, but I would have felt it. I would have never of turned my attention away from what I was meant to protect. It wasn’t in my nature when I had led. My instinct had solely focused on what was mine.
My clicking heels merged with the thudding of my pulse and I let my emotion to the man I was mated to by vows filter through. Maybe my retreat from him was due to our broken bond. It was quite possible. After all, where Marko once filled my thoughts, Hunter was now there. His emotions, and his need of me, overpowered everything.
Even now, I could feel his worry. He wanted to speak to me. The pressure of his concern weighed against my mind. But he didn’t speak. He gave me distance, even though he didn’t want to. It had me embracing the idea of him even more. When I needed to be soothed, he was the one doing it. When I needed to talk, it was him coming to me. Not Marko. At least, not like he used to. He was becoming a stranger, and yet oddly familiar in another way. It made no sense, but nothing did right now.
My head rose and I watched Aetas’ memorial grow closer. My heart was beginning to race. Sweat was starting to cover my skin, despite that it was cold down here. The hum of energy to this place was downright exhilarating. It made the hair on my arms stand on end. I felt alone and yet surrounded by power.
Black marble aligned the path. Small towers of previous enforcers were on both sides of me and still in death, I could feel their protective nature. It had my lids dropping the slightest amount as I let my own aura flare out.
I was with them, and they with me. I respected them. We were all one here, and I opened myself to them completely as a sign of my loyalty and praise for what they have sacrificed during their life. They had kept us safe. Kept us on track in a world full of greed and violence. But that was no more. The lives of us, vampires, were spiraling out of control and if Marko didn’t make the right choices … we were in serious trouble.
I continued on, my mind going back to my grief. As I neared Aetas’ temple, I slowed, taking in the grandeur of the large structure. The door to the front was black metal and didn’t hold a door handle. There was no way to get in, and I didn’t think my powers would work. The energy around it was like a life force of its own. I was trembling as I stopped at the bench just feet away of the entrance. My legs nearly gave out as I collapsed to sit down.
“Aetas.”
Just saying his name brought tears. My heart ached to a magnitude that I had never felt before. I clutched to my hands as I let the new droplets fall to my lap.
“Aetas, we are lost. I am lost. You do not know what you have done by leaving us. Or maybe you do. We are in so much trouble,” I sobbed. “We need you back. I … need you. Marko, he’s not the same since he took your blood. He is a stranger to me. What were you doing attacking us like that? I should hate you. I should despise you for all that you did, but look at me. I
mourn you like I would a lover. Like a best friend. My h-heart—”
Sobs tore from me as I slid from the bench to rest on my knees. My head bowed and harder I cried. When my palms flattened on the dirt, I broke through the surface with my claws.
“Why have you done this to us? To me? You weren’t supposed to die. You made me promises. You broke them. I demand you to come back! I …”
Harder I dug into the dirt. Words were gone. All I could do was cry as my heart pined for a man who had continuously put me through hell. But not just him. All three men had hurt me at one point or another. Now I was uncertain of what to do. I knew in their own way, Aetas, Marko, and Hunter had loved me. And in my own way, perhaps I loved all of them as well?
Aetas. My feelings toward him were a mystery to me. How had I never seen it before? He hadn’t been all bad. There were times when I softened toward him—the moments when he praised me or healed me. There was a look he’d give. One that pulled at something within. What did that say about me? Who the hell was I to allow myself to connect with three different men like that? I was broken in so many places that I just didn’t know anymore. The word lost kept coming. Was it for me or all vampires in general? Both?
“Jeremiah 50:6” My voice cracked but I forced the prayer to come, regardless that it scalded my throat. “My people hath been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they have turned them away on the mountains: they have gone from mountain to hill, they have forgotten their resting place.”
“Where do I rest within this mess you have created, Aetas? What do I do to find myself? Where do any of us go? What is my purpose anymore? Tell me.” My lip pulled back in anger at the barrage of questions. “You will not tell me because you refused to be strong enough to stay and face what you did. But I don’t need you to show me the way. I will tell you my path. If all I am cannot be saved, I relinquish this soul to the devil who loved me most. The devil,” I spat. “Not the men in my life who do his deeds. He’s the one who lured me to this point. To you, Marko, and now this new Hunter.”
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