by Cege Smith
“Let’s go.” Angeline’s voice floated to his ears.
Malin looked around uneasily. Then he started to move. Connor stayed back a fair distance, not wanting to bump accidentally into either one of the women. It also allowed him to do a sweep of hallways around them as they passed each one. He was on the lookout for any signs of trouble. They traveled down two flights of stairs and into another hallway headed toward the other side of the palace. It wasn’t until he saw Malin enter the courtyard that he realized he had a problem.
He had no way of knowing if it was Malin’s intention to separate the group or if he had simply forgotten. Nonetheless, there was no way that Connor could enter the courtyard with them. It was bathed in the bright glow of the early morning sun.
“Dammit,” he hissed under his breath. Malin was already on the far side of the courtyard. Connor tried to reason out what to do.
“I’ll be there as soon as I find a way around this courtyard,” he said to Angeline.
“We can wait for you,” Angeline replied.
“No, the sooner you get out of public sight the better. Theodora might decide to have some sport and have you reappear in front of a group of nobles.”
“There is a covered pathway on the second floor that you can follow. It will take you straight to the men’s wing. It takes a few minutes longer that way.”
Connor watched Malin begin to climb the stairs on the other side of the courtyard. Malin looked back across the courtyard at Connor, squinting in the sunlight with a small smile on his face. After that, Connor had no doubt that it had been intentional. So the games had already begun.
Connor turned and dashed back up the stairs to the second floor. As Angeline described, the long corridor wound around the courtyard, although there were several dips and twists that took it into the inner hallways before creeping back out the courtyard. Connor was three-quarters of the way around when he felt a pinprick in the back of his mind.
His first inclination was to push it aside and forget it. Sometimes he forgot to keep his mind closed, and when he did the thoughts of those around him seemed to thumb into his head unexpectedly and out of nowhere. Elvry taught him how to close his mind so that he could find some peace. But then he felt it again, and he realized that it was a much more deliberate attempt to reach into his mind.
He felt cold as he closed his mind down completely. But he knew that it was too late. Whoever was prying at his walls already knew he was there. He had just enough of a peek into the mind scratching at his to understand why it felt so familiar. His feet stopped altogether. He couldn’t go to Angeline now. He risked leading his enemy right to her. He needed to fall back and regroup. He had to trust that Angeline and Malin would take care of Theodora and Sophia Robart.
Connor’s contribution would be finally to put to rest the person who had turned his life upside down.
Monroe still lived, and he was inside the palace walls.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Angeline wondered when she stepped from the portal if time had somehow sped up. She didn’t have time to think. It was time to act, and hope for the best outcome possible. The first thing she saw when she emerged back into the palace was Malin’s surprised face. Then he smiled at her, and she caught herself smiling back before she could stop herself. It felt as if a huge weight was removed from her shoulders just by being home.
But his smile disappeared into a look of shock and horror when Theodora emerged behind her. Before she could even think, he had dragged her body behind him demanding to know what Theodora was up to. Angeline still didn’t trust him, not knowing that he played some part in her father’s demise, but she felt the fierceness of his protective streak for her. He said he loved her, but Angeline didn’t think that Malin knew how to love anyone but himself. For the moment though, her kingdom appeared to be in one piece, and she owed Malin a debt of gratitude for that.
She wasn’t pleased to hear Connor’s reminder that he was unable to follow them across the courtyard, and she cursed herself for not thinking about that sooner. She should have chosen a location on the east wing of the palace, but she thought that Malin’s chambers were the best option at the time.
They reached his rooms without any further incident. Angeline followed Malin through the open door to his rooms, and a few moments later, she, Theodora, and Malin faced each other once again.
“Connor should be here in a few minutes,” she said. “He had to take an alternative route.”
“Clever, son, clever,” Theodora said with a smug smile.
Angeline wanted to smack the smile right off her face.
“What happened to him?” Malin asked with a confused look between them.
Theodora rolled her eyes. Since leaving Tanagor, Angeline thought the older woman grew more immature by the minute.
“You took us through the grand courtyard in broad daylight,” Angeline said. “I hope that you didn’t do that on purpose.”
“Why would I do it on purpose? It was the quickest way here.”
“We’re here to talk about Sophia Robart,” Theodora interjected. “And we better figure it out quickly. I assume you don’t want her showing up in the chapel tomorrow wearing the Queen’s face. Tell me everything that you know.”
Angeline felt the tension in the air as Malin looked at his mother with such a look of disgust that she almost felt bad for Theodora. She was starting to understand that Malin told people his mother was dead because he wished that it was reality.
Malin turned to Angeline. “Your Majesty, I will advise you on what has transpired here since you left for Tanagor. Then we do need to decide what can be done to take care of the situation before the wedding. As my Mother has so thoughtfully pointed out, time is of the essence.”
For the first time since taking the throne, Angeline felt as if she were in perfect sync with Malin, which was exactly what was needed in the relationship between a queen and her primary advisor. “Salient points only will suffice,” she said, nodding for him to continue.
At Theodora’s huff of impatience, Angeline held up her hand. “You agreed to play by my rules in Brebackerin.”
Theodora stalked across the room and sat down gingerly on one of the chairs. She stared into the fire, but Angeline knew that she was listening intently for what Malin was about to say.
Malin regarded his mother for just a moment before letting out a long sigh. “Much has happened. I didn’t know that Sophia was posing as Corrinda, and in turn posing as you, until last night.”
“Has there been any disruption to the Ascension ceremonies?” That was the reason Angeline and Connor compelled ‘Corrinda’ to begin with. They didn’t know how long they would be gone, and there were public functions that required Angeline’s attendance. She couldn’t disappear for even a day without there being questions that she didn’t want to answer about her whereabouts.
“The disruption wasn’t from anything that Sophia did,” Malin replied. “The vampire Elvry’s extracurricular activities, however, were discovered and publicized among the nobles which did cause an uprising during the Ascension Ball.”
“Do they know that was vampire work?” Angeline’s heart pounded in her chest. If the people found out that vampires still walked among them, there would be widespread panic.
“No, not yet,” Malin replied. “Although Rhone wants to tell them.”
“What does Rhone have to do with this?”
“Rhone captured Elvry,” Malin said in a rush. “She was about to tell him about you, but I cut off her head before she could do so. Your secret is still safe.”
Angeline digested the fact that the vampire wench had come back to cause a ruckus. She also caught Malin’s unspoken question. “Thank you for taking care of that, Malin. Unfortunately, my time with the Clan proved futile to resolving the wraith issue, so it is something that we will continue to have to guard.”
“Rhone also revealed that he is a Blood Guard. He used Griden root to dispose of Elvry’s body. It was…i
mpressive.”
Angeline knew that she should be surprised, but that was one revelation that made perfect sense. “He’s been looking for vampires all along,” she said. “Then I’m surprised that I’ve been able to escape his detection.”
“That is where Sophia has been most problematic,” Malin said. “Since she revealed herself to me, she has started acting erratically and out of character for you. Rhone is suspicious of me for now, but we need to continue to divert his attention away from you.”
“Why would he be suspicious of you?” Angeline questioned.
“Because he’s Clan,” Theodora said in a bored voice. “The Blood Guard always blamed the Clan for the war, instead of the vampires. They don’t trust anyone that isn’t human. That’s not a good situation for you, Your Majesty.”
“So Rhone thinks I’m acting strangely because of something you are doing to me,” Angeline said slowly. It made partial sense, but she felt as if she were missing some important part of the information.
“It doesn’t matter,” Malin said. “You are back, and we’ll take care of Sophia. Rhone will never be the wiser.”
“Why is she here? What does she want?”
“That is a difficult question,” Malin replied. “I think that she’s little more than a lost soul. She’s also completely insane.”
“I would like a moment to speak to my son alone,” Theodora said standing. “It is critical for me to know what mischief this girl has been up to speaking on behalf of the Clan.”
“Is there a reason I can’t hear that conversation? What are you hiding from me?”
“It is Clan business,” Theodora said coolly. “I don’t insert myself into your affairs of state, and I expect the same courtesy.”
Angeline wanted to argue with her that Theodora did, in fact, interfere with her affairs, but she needed to check on Connor. She had expected him to arrive by now. “I guess I’ll step outside then.”
“You can’t do that,” Malin said quickly. “No one can see you.”
“It’s fine,” Theodora replied. “Step over here and I will ward us from eavesdropping. The Queen can do as she pleases. Your Majesty, I will let you know when we’re done.”
Angeline turned on her heel without giving Theodora the satisfaction of her agreement. She went to the door and cracked it to look outside. The hallway in either direction was empty. She closed the door and rested her forehead against it for a moment. She didn’t want to let on how rattled she was about his sudden disappearance.
She told herself that he must have gotten turned around. He would arrive soon. Connor wouldn’t desert her, not after everything that they shared. But then again, she had all but said that she intended to marry Malin the next day as planned and that was a conversation they had been dancing around since he reappeared in her life. They needed to talk about it, and she needed to explain everything. There had to be some way still to be part of each other’s lives, but she couldn’t see it yet. That didn’t mean though that she was going to give up on finding that loophole if it existed.
But first things first. She had to deal with Sophia Robart, or let Theodora deal with the situation. Either way, they had less than a day to resolve the issue. Her wedding day would also include the most critical negotiation of her life. She chuckled mirthlessly. Her father once told her that the majority of her time as queen would be spent mediating pointless feuds between the noble houses and listening to endless budgetary concerns related to the financial health of the kingdom. He made the entire job sound boring and mundane. In her first official few days as queen, Angeline felt as if she would welcome such a life. She already had more excitement and intrigue than she thought she could handle, and the surprises and secrets seemed endless.
Now that she had come to terms with the fact that she would marry Malin, she found that she was curious once again about her betrothed. Since she was sequestered to the other end of the room, and Connor still hadn’t arrived, she decided to occupy her time by studying Malin’s chambers.
Even though Malin lived in the palace with her for eight years, it was the first time she had ever seen the inside of his rooms. There was never an occasion to visit, and nosing around the men’s quarters would surely have raised some eyebrows. When she was fourteen, her friend Elise double dared her to use the servant tunnels and sneak into his room to play a prank. That was around the same time that Angeline was becoming aware of Malin the way a woman looks on a man. The year before, she wouldn’t have hesitated to take Elise up on her dare, but that day, Angeline got cold feet. Her friend teased her about it for days.
The first thing she noticed about the main room was that it was starkly decorated. There was a large writing table in the middle of the room, which given the amount of books and paperwork sitting on top of it was likely where Malin spent the majority of his time. Before she knew that the Clan or vampires even existed, when she was a moonstruck naïve girl with her first crush, she loved watching Malin work from afar.
Her father thought it was her own interest in learning more about the inner workings of the kingdom that caused her to ask more and more often to sit in on his advisory meetings. Although she took careful notes and did study them later, Angeline actually spent the majority of the time watching Malin.
He was always a serious, studious youth, but he grew into a thoughtful, intelligent man. Angeline knew that many questioned his appointment to the Chief Advisor role at such a young age after his father died, but she never had because she knew how diligently he worked to know everything about everyone and every event happening in the kingdom. It didn’t take long before her father leaned toward him to hear Malin’s thoughts on almost every decision affecting the kingdom. From her corner, Angeline watched it all.
The far wall of the room held several tall bookcases. The shelves were overflowing with books. In the corner, a small table held several bottles of what looked like expensive spirits. Other than the sitting chairs next to the fire, the only other pieces of furniture in the room were a neatly made four-poster bed on the far wall, a clothes cabinet, and a table covered with papers and books. The whole room felt cold and sparse, and told her nothing that she didn’t already know about the man who occupied it.
Angeline saw that Malin and Theodora were having a rather animated discussion, but she wasn’t close enough to read their lips. She felt restless and made her way over to the table with the liquor. She poured a small glassful of brandy and held it up to her lips. Although it smelled divine, she felt a nagging in the back of her mind that called for something thicker, something closer to blood. Shaking that thought from her mind, Angeline took a long draw from the glass and then set it back down. She refilled it.
She wandered over to the table and absently started looking at the paperwork and books stacked there. One in particular caught her eye because of the familiar name on the cover. She knew what it was. It was one of Alair Robart’s journals. Her ancestor was a noted historian, and over the course of his lifetime amassed a stunning amount of journal pages. During the course of her studies, she thought she had read hundreds of them.
Of course, she knew now that it was only the sanitized versions that were allowed into her hands. She began to flip through the book, wondering if there was anything within its pages that might be useful. Her brief review turned up nothing more than notes about updates within the noble houses and the tracking of some unusual weather patterns throughout the kingdom that were affecting crop outputs.
Angeline went to the front page and saw that the dates of the journal were from right before the end of the war to several months afterward. She thought it odd that despite the obvious turmoil of that time that Alair’s recorded thoughts were so normal and mundane. She set the book back down and let her fingertips drum across the cover. A quick glance at Malin and Theodora’s body language told her that the conversation was only getting more heated as time went on. She had to give Malin credit. He didn’t seem to have any issue challenging his mother, and that wasn�
��t something Theodora would be used to.
Her throat felt scratchy, so Angeline took another sip of her drink. Even though the liquid burned going down, she found that it did nothing to quench her true thirst. Then she remembered the vial that still rested in her pocket. Taking it out, she moved her body so that neither Malin nor Theodora could see her hands. They trembled even as she rolled the vial across her palm.
Blood was definitely what her body craved. She thought that she had the bloodlust under control, but it was still a delicate, day-by-day process. Angeline had no intention of ever drinking blood again, but she reasoned that what was in the vial wasn’t human blood. Surely it couldn’t be that bad if she had just one drop.
She didn’t even realize that she had taken the top off until she found herself tapping the vial against the top of her glass. Her mouth watered as she watched one fat, red drop fall into the brandy. Quickly she capped the vial again and put it in her pocket even as she swirled the glass.
Angeline told herself it was just a little smidge to take the edge off. She needed to keep her wits, and couldn’t afford to be distracted by anything. She swallowed the rest of the drink in one gulp. She let her eyes close, and enjoyed the hum of warmth that spread through her body. It was delicious. She immediately wanted more but tempered that urge. Bad things happened when she drank Immortal Blood. She wanted to avoid another Kallie situation.
She opened her eyes, and they fell back on Alair’s journal.
“Really, Alair? You couldn’t have written anything of use?” She shuffled through the pages again and almost dropped the journal when she saw the words changing before her eyes. Every page, every word disappeared only to be rewritten over again at lightning speed.
Angeline looked back over her shoulder, wondering if the change was Theodora’s doing, but Theodora still appeared locked in verbal combat with her son. Angeline let her hair fall down to form a curtain like barrier between their eyes and the book in her hands. She went back to the first page.