Lord Belshazzar stated, “All previous Original laws are now void for the druids and vampires living on Earth.”
The amulets pulsed.
Lord Belshazzar stated, “Belshazzar of Ota’ano is now the sole ruler of the druids living on Earth.”
The amulets pulsed.
Lord Belshazzar stated, “Gwynnore of—”
I held up a quick stopping hand, cutting him off. “I’ve changed my mind.”
Everyone froze…their eyes wide on their faces.
My lover’s eyes were the widest.
Oh shit. I should have clarified.
Lord Xenon snapped out of his shock faster than the rest and quickly raised his hand. “My lord, I’ll take the job.”
I shook my head and chuckled. “That wasn’t what I meant. What I meant was I no longer want to take my grandfather’s name. I was born here. I wish to be known as Gwynnore of Japri.”
Lord Xenon’s hand dropped to his side in defeat.
My father’s eyes…fuck…they glistened.
Lord Belshazzar’s chest heaved in relief.
Chester chuckled. “I’m happy I got to see that. I’m pretty sure we almost had a fight for the crown on our hands.”
“Chester?” I stated, keeping my eyes on my lover.
“Yes, your majesty?”
“Shut the fuck up.”
“Yes, your majesty,” he drawled, still snickering.
Fucking prick.
Lord Belshazzar cleared his throat, the amulets still pressed together and glowing. “Gwynnore of Japri is now the sole ruler of the vampires living on Earth.”
The amulets pulsed.
I sucked in a harsh breath. My smile grew so large my cheeks hurt. I peered up at my mother’s portrait, and then looked over at my father. My blood family was watching this epic moment. And my father’s happiness was as loud as mine was with his own grin plastered on his face.
One day, I would need to speak with him.
I looked back to my lover, unable to stop beaming.
His lips curved up at the edges in a private smile meant solely for my eyes, the amulets’ glow reflected in his eyes. He stated clearly, “Only a child born of Belshazzar of Ota’ano and Gwynnore of Japri together, and of their descendants, may be a ruler of either the vampires or druids living on Earth—never ruling both the vampires and druids living on Earth. The current ruler of the vampires or druids living on Earth will decide who takes their place as sovereign.”
The amulets pulsed.
Lord Belshazzar broke the connection, pulling the two amulets apart…then he tossed the Original vampire amulet to me.
On pure instinct, I caught it. Still smiling.
No old Original laws. I could hold this bastard.
I stared down at my hands that held so much power—
“Um, I have a question,” Chester stated offhandedly. “So, only your kids or their kids and so on can rule? I didn’t think that was part of what was going to be said or maybe Lord Cato skipped that part? I thought you two were it…like, forever.”
My head snapped up, and my smile vanished.
Wait… I was too excited. What had he said again?
Lord Xenon growled deeply, “It wasn’t part of the plan. Lord Belshazzar, what the fuck do you think—”
“King Belshazzar,” my lover interrupted, correcting him. But he never turned away from my shocked and confused gaze, staring me directly in the eyes. “I added something to the new law. It is no different than a succession in a typical monarchy. It will merely be our children eventually who take our places if we wish it.”
“Uh…” I blinked and tried to understand. “Did you say our children? As in, you and I having babies together?”
“I did say that.” King Belshazzar pocketed the Original druid amulet and then crossed his arms. “We can talk about that later.”
My mouth bobbed. “I don’t understand. We aren’t together in that way. I mean, we obviously care for one another and enjoy each other’s intimate company, but we are nowhere near a stage of even discussing children. We aren’t even together-together right now.”
He shrugged his left shoulder. “We should talk about this later, Gwen.”
I stared, and babbled stupidly, “I don’t want to have children.”
“I don’t either right now.” He gazed down at me pointedly, his mere size dwarfing mine. “Gwen, let’s talk about this later in private when you’re no longer in shock. In private. All right?”
I snapped my mouth shut. My eyes darted to each of the men standing around us in a circle, all wearing varying expressions with their feelings blatantly displayed on their faces. I cleared my throat and turned my attention back to my lover, and mumbled quietly, “Yes, in private would be best. Sorry.”
King Belshazzar’s lips twitched. “I thought you might see the reasoning.”
Chester laughed deep and clear. “And so begins their reign as king and queen. This should be damn entertaining based on what I’ve seen so far.”
I snapped my attention to him. “Chester?”
“Yes, your majesty?”
“Shut. The. Fuck. Up.”
“Yes, your majesty.” He kept on laughing.
Bastard.
Lord Otto shook off his stunned shock, and stated, “I believe we all need a small drink to celebrate, don’t you think? After all, King Belshazzar lied to all of us—including the woman he apparently wants to hump until babies spit out of her spread thighs.” He went straight for the sidebar. “Or maybe a large drink, anyone?”
Lord Pippin flicked a hand in the air. “I’ll take my usual, double scotch.”
“Then come and get it,” Lord Otto retorted. He grabbed a beer from the mini-fridge and turned around to glare daggers at the other lord. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed you slacking on picking up duties. I had to field nine calls yesterday that should have been yours, and Lord Cato picked up half of the emails you were supposed to respond to.”
Lord Pippin’s eyes narrowed. “I was tired.”
“As are we all,” Lord Cato grumbled, jarring the other lord’s shoulder as he passed by him to the bar. He grabbed a goblet and poured blood into it. “But we’re still doing our damn jobs, and I didn’t appreciate that yesterday.”
“My apologies. To both of you,” Lord Pippin grudgingly stated as he headed to the sidebar. He poured his own glass of scotch and took a sip of it. “Your majesties, when will you create the rest of the new laws?”
I swung the Original vampire amulet around and around by its golden chain, stating, “When we get back from S’Kir with the Breaker. No outward changes will occur for the vampire faction until we’re back. They couldn’t handle it. They’re barely handling seeing our troops amass around our strongholds. And when you send out the news that war is coming with the humans, it’s going to be even worse. The four of you have enough on your plates to shove more shit on it. We’ll tell them when they need to know.”
King Belshazzar grunted. “Perfectly stated. It will be the same for me.”
Lord Pippin peered straight into my eyes, his concern for me flashing in his brown gaze. “Be safe in S’Kir. It’s been thousands of years since anyone on Earth has been there. You don’t know what could be waiting—”
The Overlord grunted and stopped speaking.
His dark red brows furrowed over his eyes.
Lord Pippin cleared his throat, rubbed at his head, and tried again, “What I mean is—”
He snapped his mouth shut and massaged his throat, his eyebrows lowering even further over his eyes. The Overlord shook his head hard and placed his glass of scotch down onto the bar. His eyes widened on his face, and in a burst of movement, he leaned over and stuck his finger down his throat.
I stopped swinging the Original vampire amulet, my head jerking back in shock, as the lord proceeded to make himself vomit.
Blood and his dinner from last night poured out of his mouth onto the carpet in a sickening splatter as his body convu
lsed. He swayed hard and dropped to his knees, then jammed his finger back down his throat, repeating the process.
Lord Otto grabbed Lord Pippin’s shoulders, demanding roughly, “Someone call a damn medic. He’s been poisoned.”
Lord Xenon yanked his cell phone out of his pocket, even as I rushed forward toward Lord Pippin.
But the vomiting suddenly stopped.
As did his racing heart.
It no longer beat at all.
Lord Pippin’s body slackened and slid out from under Lord Otto’s hands. He fell to the side in a graceless heap, his massive body smacking the floor with a thud. His head bounced on the carpet, and then lay still, his arms under his chest at an odd angle and his legs on top of his own vomit.
I stopped breathing and stood in place right next to his head, staring down at the unmoving Overlord. Unable to believe the truth lying at my feet, I whispered, “Pippy?”
Lord Xenon dropped his arm down to his side, his cell phone crushed inside his brutal grip.
I quickly squatted and started running my fingers frantically through his wavy red hair. “Pippy, this isn’t funny. Open your eyes.”
My old love didn’t move.
“This isn’t happening.” I patted his cheek as my eyes burned. “I said open your eyes, damn you!”
Lord Cato murmured gently, “Gwen, look at me.”
“No! He needs to wake up, dammit!” I bent over as wetness started to coat my cheeks and pressed my mouth to his ear. My scream was tortured, “Pippy! Don’t do this! Wake up!”
King Belshazzar grabbed me under my arms and lifted me to my feet. He held my squirming frame tight as I struggled against him. My crown fell to the ground as he jerked me around to face him and seized my shoulders in a bruising grip, and still, I batted at his arms and tried to return to the man I’d once planned to marry. Through gritted teeth, he hissed, “He’s gone, Gwen.”
“No!” I wailed and beat at his muscular chest with my fists, the amulet swinging madly between us.
“He’s gone,” King Belshazzar growled. “Look at him, Gwen. He is dead.”
I flashed my fangs, and snarled, “You are a cruel man.”
He showed his own fangs and his eyes turned blood red. “Yes, I can be.”
A sob broke past my lips as I stared into his eyes, not one ounce of sympathy in his brutal scrutiny. But I slowly turned my head and looked down beside us to the vampire on the floor…dead. Another sob tore through my body, my shoulders jerking inside King Belshazzar’s hold.
“He’s dead,” I whispered.
King Belshazzar stated, “He is.”
“SOMEONE POISONED HIM,” I CHOKED ON MY PAIN.
King Belshazzar murmured, “Perhaps. We don’t know that for sure yet.”
“We do.” Tears tracked down my cheeks. “I’m the Black Widow.”
King Belshazzar released my shoulders slowly, watching to make sure I could stand on my own. He ran his fingers down the side of my face, tracing one of my tears, his black brows lowering over his eyes. My lover jerked his hand away as if it burned him, and then he turned to face the others.
He ordered, “While we’re gone, run a full autopsy on him.”
Lord Otto’s hands fisted in his blond hair, elbows high and out to the side while he stared down at the dead. But he nodded his head. His voice was gruff and clogged. “It’ll be done.”
I wiped under my eyes, flicking my tears away.
Lord Cato stood off to the side, one of his hands rubbing his forehead and his lashes hooding his gaze.
Lord Xenon pointed at the glass of scotch on the bar. “We need to test that, too.”
“And the vomit,” King Belshazzar stated. “Everything needs to be done properly, including anything he has in his room.”
Lord Cato added quietly, “This is another death we need to cover up for now. Our people will want the queen to make a statement on television, and she won’t be here to do it.”
My attention snuck to the lone druid in the room.
The silent man trying to make himself disappear by standing in the shadows of the bathroom doorway.
I swallowed my misery down. “Chester?”
“Yes, your majesty?”
“You’ve shut the fuck up.”
“Yes, your majesty.” No sarcastic tone this time.
About time.
“Why don’t you come out here and join us, instead of wishing you hadn’t been dragged out of your bed this morning.”
“Yes, your majesty,” Chester repeated. He walked forward into the room and stopped next to me…only for King Belshazzar to yank me to the other side of him, placing himself between us. Chester smartly knew when not to make a joke, as he asked, “Did you need me for anything?”
I waved a hand at the man lying at my feet. “I don’t know much about your magic, but you work on the dead. Is there anything you can do here?”
An instant shake of his head. “I can’t resurrect the dead, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“Can your magic do anything to help us find his killer?”
“No, your majesty. My magic specifically deals with the power of the dead. It wouldn’t help you here in any way.”
I swallowed and nodded once. “All right. You can go hide in the shadows again, if you wish.”
“Actually, I thought I’d leave. I shouldn’t be here listening in on what you discuss confidentially.”
I quirked one eyebrow, not feeling much of anything right now. “Afraid you’ll overhear something that makes you dead, too?”
“Something like that, your majesty.” He dipped his head to me and then bowed deeply to the king standing between us. “My king, may I leave this death trap?”
All right.
He didn’t always know when to keep his mouth shut.
“You may, but sign that document on the bar before you run. It proves you were a witness to the new laws.” King Belshazzar flicked his wrist. “And be out of this stronghold by tonight.”
“Yes, your majesty.” The druid signed his name quickly on the sheet and then shut the front door silently behind him as he left.
Out of the corner of my eye, I peeked at my father.
He swiftly jerked his eyes away from King Belshazzar and back down to the dead. His lips thinned, but he didn’t speak again.
I turned to face him. “Lord Cato, who are all of the individuals who have seen that list you created of my lovers?”
My father’s mouth thinned even further. “Only the people in this room. And Joshua.”
I inhaled slowly and turned to my lover. I peered up into his cold, cold ice blue gaze. My eyes ticked back and forth between his, waiting for…anything.
King Belshazzar merely stared down at me.
And it was his lack of emotion that told me the truth.
Anytime I was upset, he comforted me.
This time…nothing. If anything, he’d been gruff.
I asked, “Why?”
One word. Such a simple word to say, too.
But it was never so simple to answer.
King Belshazzar’s lips pulled away from his teeth, and he flashed his fangs. There was the emotion. He snarled with wrath, “You aren’t ready to know yet.”
My eyes perused his furious features slowly. “And that pisses you off?”
“No, I can wait for you to be ready,” he hissed. “You crying over Lord Pippin pissed me off.”
I stared, seething.
He peered down his nose. “And there will be no evidence linking me to his death, either.”
Proud. He looked fucking proud.
“Well, your secretive behavior is pissing me off! I’m trying to be patient and wait for you to talk to me, but you still haven’t said anything about…” I stuck two pointer fingers up near my forehead in a quick jerk—horns—and then dropped my arms. With the chain of the Original vampire amulet still in my hand, I swung the blood red jewel down at the lord who I had cared a great deal for—a man who was now dead
. “You fucking murdered him, Bel. I need to know why.”
“Dammit, you’re not ready to know yet!” His nostrils flared in fury. “I’m sorry, Gwen. But I’m not going to screw it up by telling you too early.”
I tapped my fingers on my legs. “Screw what up?”
King Belshazzar growled at me.
“Goddammit!” I shook my head and rubbed at my forehead with my free hand. “I am so goddamn mad at you right now. You make my head spin.”
Another growl.
“Growl all you want. I’m fucking furious with you.” I started pacing back and forth. “You’re damn lucky you voided those Original laws.”
My lover snorted. “Do you really think I’m the first person to kill a Royal and live afterward?”
Under my lashes, I tossed a glance at my father. Only he could see it with the way I was turned, but see it he did. His eyes narrowed slightly at the implication I silently threw his way. I turned and paced back in the other direction.
I shook my head. “I’m sure it’s happened before.” I pointed at the other lords. “But no one blatantly says they did it in front of others. So, yes, you’re lucky the law doesn’t exist anymore for instant beheading by the queen or king.”
He hummed. “It was good timing for him to have a congratulatory drink for us with his preferred scotch.”
In the silence of the room, I kept moving.
A single tear slipped down my cheek. I swiftly wiped it away, and argued, “You said you were an honorable man.”
“I am an honorable man.”
“Killing an innocent man is not honorable.”
He snorted. “How many of us are ‘innocent’ in this room? Everyone here who shouldn’t be charged at least once with a death sentence, please raise your hand.”
No one moved.
My lover lifted one lone eyebrow. “None of us are innocent, Gwen. We wouldn’t have made it to our positions in life if we were.”
I narrowed my eyes and demanded again, “I need to know why you did it. Fucking tell me! No more secrets.”
King Belshazzar hissed in frustration, and stated very, very slowly, “You aren’t ready to know the truth. I won’t explain it right now.”
“You do realize that I’m now the sole ruler of the vampires. And Lord Pippin was a vampire. Mine. You have unashamedly told me that you killed one of my people.”
Death of Gods (Vampire Crown Book 3) Page 27