PRINCESSES OF THE NIGHT
a
ROYAL BLOOD
NOVEL
TERESA FUENTEZ
&
TICH BREWSTER
This Book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re -sold, duplicated, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior written consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
© Text Copyright 2017
Teresa Fuentez & Tich Brewster
Cover Designed by: Desiree DeOrto Designs
Formatting by: PAFD
Edited by: Amanda Wimer
All rights reserved.
This is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed in this novel are fictitious and are products of the author’s imagination and any resemblance to actual events, or locales or persons, living or dead are entirely coincidental.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank our families, especially our Moms and Dads, for all their support. And of course, we want to thank all our friends and fans. Without the support of all of you we wouldn’t have anyone to write for.
Mom, thanks for putting up with me while I ignored everyone and allowing me to sit up at night and write. Thank you, Chumeica, for always being there for me and being supportive of my writing. You’re a great sister and friend. We love you to pieces.
A special thank you goes out to Amanda Wimer for all the editorial help you gave us. You’re a Rockstar.
Thanks to all the fans who have been with us every step of the way, without you guys we wouldn’t be able to pull it off!
Teresa Fuentez
Nothing happens by chance. We have all been given a destiny.
Some will follow in the steps set out before them and make their creator proud.
Others will follow destruction and try to tear down that which is good.
princesses
of the
NIGHT
Royal Blood
Chapter One
It was the end of a long workday when Tanya stepped out of the bookstore, keys in hand, and breathed deeply of the brisk night air. Fall was her favorite time of year, the air was crisp and the leaves on the trees turned fantastic shades of red, orange, and yellow.
A big, goofy smile formed on her face as visions of the new guy in the apartment complex filled her mind. Much to her delight, he moved into the apartment directly below hers. Late at night when all was quiet, she could hear him playing his guitar. That man is a living, breathing version of Tanya’s dream-guy. I, definitely need to find the courage to run downstairs and speak to that man.
Flipping through the keys on her keyring, she found the one that would fit the lock to the bookstore. Just as she was about to stick the key into the lock, a blood curdling scream pierced through the wooden door. “What on earth?” Whipping her head around, Tanya’s eyes scanned the parking lot before her, surveying her surroundings. There was nothing out of place, and no one was lurking in the shadows.
Stuffing the keys into her front pocket, she shoved open the door, not caring that the heavy wood banged against the interior wall. She’d be surprised if there wasn’t a dent in the sheetrock from the force, but that would be something to worry about at a later date.
Another scream had her running toward the back of the building, in the direction of the managers’ offices. The smart thing to do would be to call 911 and get to safety, but she couldn’t. Someone was in her store and needed immediate help. Regardless of the danger she was putting herself in, she had to come to the rescue of this poor woman.
Racing past bookshelf after bookshelf, Tanya’s toe hit a metal rack, knocking it over and spilling magazines all over the floor. The screaming continued, causing her heart to pound painfully in her chest.
With the employee entrance in view, she picked up speed. Some innocent woman was in danger, and she had to know who the woman was.
Pushing open the swinging doors, Tanya came to a stop at the first office door. Grabbing the doorknob, she turned it slowly, opening the door as quietly as possible. Nothing. The office was just the way she’d left it.
Inching along the wall, she stopped at the second door on the left side of the hallway. It was as though electricity was flowing through the air, causing the hairs on the back of her neck to stand on end. The danger was behind this door. She could feel it like a snake coiling around her body threatening to choke the life out of her.
Reaching out to grip the doorknob, she took a deep breath and proceeded to open the door as slowly as humanly possible. With no windows inside the office, the room was pitch black, and it took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the darkness.
Slowly but surely, shapes and shadows came into focus. Squinting, she made out two figures. It appeared to be a tall, slender woman pressed against a rather bulky man. Sadly, with it being this dark, she couldn’t see their faces.
The light switch was to her right. Moving her arm, she flipped the switch up with her elbow. There was a click as the lever tapped against the plate, but nothing happened. He must have cut the power to the store.
He chuckled. “You’ve already lost.”
It was so dark, she could barely see. Remembering there was a lamp in the corner with a clap-on, clap-off setting, she clapped her hands. Nothing. Oh, right. No power. Using the flashlight app on her phone, she shined it toward them but it wasn’t enough. He pulled the woman to the other side of the room, into the shadow of a large filling cabinet.
Wrapping a muscular arm around the woman’s waist to hold her in place, he brought the knife he was holding in his other hand to the base of her throat. Dear Lord, what was going on in this store? Who was this man, and who in the world was this poor, defenseless woman?
Needing to know her identity, Tanya took a couple of steps in their direction. The woman’s short, dark-brown curls moved where her captor’s breath was blowing next to her ear. She shined her light at the frightened young woman. Big, bright-blue eyes were staring back at Tanya, pleadingly.
Taking another small step forward, Tanya gasped. “Danny, is that you?” Dannika Wile, Tanya’s cousin and best friend, was the one in danger, and there was no way Tanya could save her from this crazed maniac.
At Tanya’s advance, the intruder pressed the knife into her cousin’s throat a little more, and a droplet of blood formed beneath the blade. As if smelling the tinny odor, he smiled at Tanya in a manner that reminded her of a lunatic.
Tanya was struggling to breathe as she whispered, “Oh jeez, mister.” She wanted to advance and help her cousin, but she knew it would do more damage than good so she stayed put. “Look, just let her go. I’ll give you whatever you want, just let her go.”
The shadows concealed him well enough she couldn’t see his expression, but his laugh said it all. The fear coursing through Tanya’s body amused him.
Surely this was a nightmare and she’d awaken any moment. At a last attempt to save Dannika, she said, “Hey, I have access to the safe. I mean it, whatever you want, it’s yours.”
“You have nothing that interests me, little girl.” In one swift movement, he sliced through Dannika’s neck.
Dannika’s eyes meet Tanya’s briefly, and the terror there was enough to make Tanya scream. A split second later, Dannika’s body fell limp. �
��No,” Tanya screamed at the man standing before her.
“You’re next,” he growled. Cackling, he brought the knife up to his mouth and licked the blade clean.
***
Shaking uncontrollably, Tanya sat straight up in bed, sweat pouring off her body in waves and soaking her sheets. “Danny!” The sound of footsteps racing toward her startled her, and she whipped her head in their direction.
Before she could react, the door swung open with such force it knocked a picture off the wall. Still wound up from her recent scare, the sound of shattering glass made her grip her bedsheets and squeal. A mass of blonde hair waved through the air as Regina Thompson entered the room with a baseball bat in hand. Her sea-green eyes roamed every inch of the room before landing on Tanya’s scared face. “Tanya, what the heck is going on? Are you okay?”
“Re…Regina?” Tanya managed to croak out.
Now that she had assessed there was no burglar in the room, Regina relaxed her hold on the bat.
“What…” Tanya started, wiping sweat out of her eyes. Looking around, she realized she was not back at the bookstore, she was at home and in her own bed. “It must have been a nightmare.” Thank God for that because losing Dannika was not something she’d be able to handle. Finally, her heartrate began to slow, and she could feel the color returning to her face.
Regina pursed her lips, clearly not impressed with the disturbance. Walking over to the window, she pulled the curtains open to let in the afternoon light. “That must have been one heck of a nightmare to cause you such a fright.”
It was clear by the look in her eyes Regina was curious about the dream, but there was no way in hell Tanya would divulge she had dreamed of Dannika’s murder. Her lips were sealed shut on this one.
“Yeah, I suppose it was.” Tanya pushed the blanket off her legs, anxious to get in the shower to wash the sweat from her body. “Fortunately, I don’t remember any of it.”
Regina placed her hands on her hips. “Um hum.”
“Seriously.” Tanya swung her legs over the edge of the bed, letting them dangle.
Regina tossed her hair over her shoulder. “I don’t believe you, but I have things to do.”
“Thanks.” Tanya grabbed her cell phone from the nightstand to check her notifications, three texts from Mark and two voicemails. “Are the others back from their morning classes yet?”
Tanya lived with four of her best friends, and each of them attended classes at the local university. Serienna and Makinzee take morning classes four days a week while Dannika, Regina, and Tanya take night classes two nights a week.
“Not yet, but they should be home any minute now.”
“Okay.” Lifting her arms above her head, Tanya stretched her aching bones. “Well, I need to shower and start getting ready for the party tonight.”
“Yes, you do.” Regina gave her an evil smirk then closed the door while whistling the tune to Ex To See.
Chapter Two
The ding from Dannika’s cell phone let her know she had a new text message. Picking up the device, she opened the message from her mother.
Your costume finally arrived. I’m dropping it off at the apartment now.
“It’s about time.” She had gone shopping for her Halloween costume three weeks ago. She’d visited every store in town, and only one had a fairy outfit she loved. The only problem was they didn’t have one in her size so she’d had to place an order.
Thanks mom, love you.
Love you too.
Standing, she tucked the phone into her back pocket. It was Halloween, and the bookstore was the last place on earth she wanted to be. Besides, the store had been dead all day. Turning to her co-worker, she said, “Antonia, I’m going to step into the office and handle some paperwork. Will you be okay running the front for a little while?”
Okay, so she fudged the truth a little. There was no paperwork that needed her attention. She was just bored out of her mind and kicking back listening to music sounded better than sitting on a stool all day waiting for a customer to walk through the door.
Antonia blew a bubble, popping it with a loud smack. She finished wiping the counter with her antibacterial wipe before looking up. “Yeah, go ahead, I’m good. I’ll let you know if we suddenly get swamped.” Halloween, like Christmas and Thanksgiving, were dead days.
Dannika’s lips turned up in a smile. “Alright.” As she was heading to the back of the bookstore, she called over her shoulder, “Maybe we’ll close shop a little early tonight.”
At Antonia’s mumbled, thank God, Dannika smiled.
As the swinging doors closed behind her, a shiver ran up her spine. Something was off. Trying to shake the creepy feeling, she continued toward the managers’ offices. The closer she came to them, the more that shiver prickled her spine.
Breathing rapidly, she placed her hand over her heart where it was beating wildly. Fear coiled around her, and she didn’t understand why. Looking behind her, she checked for an axe murderer lurking in the shadows. There wasn’t anyone around, yet she felt like someone was watching her. “Dang, get a grip.” This was ridiculous. Taking a deep breath, she let it out slowly. “I really need to stay away from those horror flicks,” she whispered to herself.
Continuing down the hallway, she passed the first office door on the left and stopped at the second door, her door. The fear coursing through her veins caused sweat to form on her upper lip. It took her a minute to realize her door was ajar. “Now, I know I shut that door.”
Instinct told her to run back the way she came. She knew deep in her core danger stood on the other side of the door, but instead of retreating she reached out to push the door open.
There were no windows in her office so it was pitch black inside. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she flipped the light switch. The bright light illuminated the room. Much to her surprise, and relief, her office was empty. No creepy stalkers sitting in her chair waiting to attack, and she just felt silly for even thinking someone could be lurking in the shadows of her office.
She let out the breath she’d been holding. “Good grief, get a grip. You’re acting like a terrified toddler.”
Closing the door, she moved toward her desk. The sound of soft footsteps stopped her in her tracks. Before she could turn around, an arm wrapped around her waist, and a hand slapped over her mouth. She tried to scream to alert Antonia, but her abductor’s hand was pressed too tightly against her lips.
Chapter Three
The shower felt good, the warm water helped to relax the tension in Tanya’s shoulders. Now that she knew that horrendous act had been nothing more than a nightmare, she could loosen up and enjoy her day.
Hushed voices drifted toward her as she made her way to the kitchen. Rounding the corner, she spied Regina standing in front of another blonde with her thumb pointing behind her, in Tanya’s direction. Great, they were talking about her. She purposely walked a little harder so they’d know she was there.
Regina turned, her eyes growing wide at the sight of Tanya standing just a few feet away. “Oh, hey.” The look in her eyes still showed her curiosity. “Are you sure you don’t remember your dream?”
Tanya crossed her arms at her friend’s persistence. “Positive.”
“Hum.” Regina narrowed her eyes. “Still not buying it.” She gave Tanya a kiss on the cheek. “We’ll talk later. For now, I have to run. I have a hair appointment.”
“Have fun at your appointment.” Tanya waved as Regina left. The sound of ceramic scraping along the kitchen table reminded her she was in desperate need of, coffee.
Serienna Edmonds carefully slid a steaming mug of coffee across the table toward Tanya. “Well, good morning, Sleeping Beauty.” She took a sip from her own mug as she read the text that came through on her cell phone.
“Yeah, how was class today?” Ti
pping her mug, Tanya moaned at the taste of chocolate truffle flavored coffee. She sat back and propped her feet up on the chair next to her as she waited for Serienna’s answer.
Serienna was one of Tanya’s roommates. She’d graduated high school before Tanya and the rest of the girls, not because she was older but because she happened to be a total nerd. The girl loved school so much she started Med school immediately following her high school graduation.
Serienna pulled her hair into a loose bun. “Today was amazing.” She leaned forward in her chair. “We got to practice cutting open cadavers.”
Tanya covered her mouth to prevent coffee spewing from her lips. Cadavers? Really? That was not a subject she wanted to discuss so soon after waking up. Especially after the nightmare she’d just had.
Wiping the corners of her mouth from the near coffee spewing disaster, Tanya said, “Eww, never mind.” She waved her hands in front of her face in a never-mind gesture. “I don’t want to know. I do, however, want to be able to hold down my breakfast.”
They both turned at the sound of approaching footsteps. “Oh, good grief, was she going on about her stinkin’ lab?” Makinzee Patterson swiped her bangs out of her eyes then looked at Tanya with a gagging expression.
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