by Tamsin Baker
I raced around to the front of the carriage to find Alevro, one of my favourite guards, gasping his last breaths, and a brutal looking woman standing over him.
“What is the meaning of this?” I demanded, drawing myself up and glaring at the woman who was most obviously a witch.
Her long, wavy, silver hair blew in the breeze and from where I stood I could smell the dirty garments she wore. They made her look like she was barely surviving on the poverty line, which, for a witch, was simply ridiculous.
Yet I could sense the power in her. The rage. And she hadn’t attacked me yet, so I pressed forward.
“What do you want?”
She obviously didn’t want to kill me, otherwise I would be lying on the ground like the rest of my guardsmen.
The old woman relaxed her posture, pushing her hair out of her eyes and giving me what I assumed should pass for a smile.
“I am Elsie, Queen Alessandra, and you are going to help me.”
I figured as much. Why else would she let me live?
“And how could I possibly help you? It’s obvious you are far more powerful than I.”
I gestured to my fallen comrades, my friends, and my heart hurt. Vampires who had been alive for decades, longer. Strong paranormals whom I’d trusted with my life. And she had felled them in minutes.
She shrugged and said, “I want revenge on the humans, and as you are about to make a treaty with them, you will be my vessel of delivery.”
I almost vomited at the thought.
What sort of vessel?
I straightened, staring hard at the woman. “But why?”
Elsie’s hard eyebrows drew together as the lines in her face became more crater-like, and all of her features became even tighter. “My sisters were burned alive by the king who rules the first of the human kingdoms. It was a slaughter, murder. Neither one of my sisters had ever done anything wrong. They were living together, staying out of the way of humans, and they were murdered as they slept. Someone must pay.”
I could feel the vehemence of her emotions like a creeping fever over my skin.
“I still don’t know why you need my help.”
Surely the witch could cause a lot of havoc herself?
The woman narrowed her eyes and I felt a shiver of unease pass through me once again.
“I am… limited in my magic past these woods. It is why we have always stayed here. I cannot exact the revenge I desire without your help, and you are the perfect tool for such a job.”
She sneered at me as though I were a lesser being than her, and for the first time in a long time, I had the impulse to rip the throat out of the woman before me.
I steeled myself for the outcome that refusing the witch would surely bring.
“No. I will not help you, Elsie. I can understand your need for revenge. I am feeling the same thing in what you have done to my guards, but I cannot… I will not, be your instrument to wield.”
I’d rather die.
Elsie smiled, her yellow teeth making my stomach lurch. All that power and magic, and the woman couldn’t bring herself to look after her appearance?
“Oh, really, Queen Alessandra? And what about Marcus?”
A cool shiver coursed down my spine and I found myself staring at the woman who knew my most intimate secret.
“What about Marcus?” I countered, swallowing hard even though I was trying to look as confident as possible in the face of her threat.
“What will your fellow vampires say when they find out you’ve been fucking a wolf shifter?”
The words made me flinch and the woman began to walk around me as though I were her prey.
“They will disown you… be-head you. The last remaining heir of the Syvim bloodline. A traitor to the cause.”
“Are you threatening to…”
I couldn’t even finish the sentence.
She chuckled, the sound downright evil. “If you don’t do exactly as I say, I will announce your affair to the whole town. To your guards. To the vampire world. Marcus will be hunted down. Your love affair burned alive, as you will be when the sun rises and you’re unable to find your way back into the castle.”
I hissed at the woman threatening to unveil a truth that would destroy me. But if she really thought I was going to help her... “I’d rather die.”
“But would you?” she asked quietly. “You have no heir, nor anyone to rise to your position within your kingdom. There will be war, there will be anarchy. Who will control the masses when they fight amongst themselves? Who will rule your army when your enemies come knocking on your door?”
My eyes slid closed as visions of that exact thing happening flooded over my consciousness.
My kingdom had little in place for such an event as my death.
It would be chaos.
The children… my people… they would all be in grave peril if the hierarchy fell.
I swallowed hard against the bile that rose in my throat.
And despite myself, I couldn’t help thinking about Marcus, too. I could survive being punished for my affair with him, but they wouldn’t hunt him down, would they? I couldn’t live with myself if they did that to him. He didn’t deserve the wrath of my people just because I couldn’t control myself around him!
I took a deep breath. “All right, witch, I will help you. But you are not to go anywhere near Marcus or my people.”
Elsie nodded with a triumphant smile and my heart fell. I’d made a deal with the devil herself and everything in me told me I’d made the wrong choice.
Chapter 4.
I crossed my arms across my chest and glared at the witch who was blackmailing me into doing god-knows-what to the humans I wanted to be-friend.
“So, what is it you would have me do?”
She smiled serenely, as though she held all the secrets in the world. “You’ll find out when you get there.”
“Where?” And why wasn’t she telling me anything?
The old crone began to chant and white light began to bubble from her palms.
“What are you…” I stepped forward to stop her from doing whatever she was doing, but I was pushed back.
Then suddenly I was moving, fast, across the plains, my eyes barely able to stay open as the witch’s magic carried me over the continent border and into the human world.
My feet ground to a halt and I was standing at the bottom steps that led up to a large, grand castle.
Not mine, nor any I had seen before.
Glancing around nervously, I could hear the commotion of a town, of children, and cooking and workers.
I was on the human continent, inside their kingdom. The scent of their sweat and the thrum of the blood in their veins made my fangs ache.
I used all my strength to force them to retreat, not wanting to scare anyone.
A guard trotted down the stairs, a sword at his belt but a smile on his face.
“Can I help you ma’am? You seem to be lost.”
I struggled for the words I needed, my explanation glued to my tongue.
When none came easily, I swallowed hard and focused on the reason I had planned to come here in the first place. “I am Queen Alessandra, Vampire Queen of Syvim.”
“Oh.” The man’s eyes opened wide, but instead of fear filling his gaze, I caught the wave of lust. Keen interest. “Please, come in to the castle. We were not expecting you. Where is your travelling party?”
Forcing a smile to my face, I walked up the stairs after him, nerves filling my belly. “I had planned to arrive by horse and carriage with my attendants, however, we met with an unexpected… enemy in the forest, and I am here alone.”
“Oh, I am sorry to hear that.”
I was surprised that I could explain such a thing. I assumed the witch would control what I could say and do while here.
I stepped inside the castle walls and looked around the town. People were smiling as we walked up the street. I had not expected such a warm welcome. Although we hadn’t had any tro
uble with the nearby human populations for years, it still surprised me that they were so open to my visit.
I looked up at the guard who was escorting me into the residence of the king. “You seem very comfortable with me being here. I had not expected that.”
The guard chuckled. “I have long wanted to meet a vampire. I’ve heard stories, of course, but have never been privileged enough to meet one of your kind.”
Privileged was a strange word for him to use, and intrigued me to ask more.
“How so?”
The guard’s handsome cheeks coloured with blood. “Well, the stories of your bite are legendary, and as no one has died at a vampire’s hands for generations, the fear of your kind has long vanished.”
I smiled in happy memory. “It was my parents who made killing humans illegal in my kingdom.”
The guard grinned. “Well, please thank them for me.”
My smile faltered. “They have since passed… but if I could, I would.”
He stopped suddenly. “I’m so sorry. I hadn’t thought about vampires… dying.”
“It’s all right.” I said, as quickly as possible. It wasn’t a subject I talked about often.
We were immortal, by most human’s reckoning, however there were many things that could end our lives quickly. Sunlight. A wooden stake to the heart. Silver.
“Will you take me to your king?” I asked, wanting to speak to him as quickly as possible.
“Of course. Please, come this way and I will see when he will be available.”
We passed through a door and a strange shiver skittered over me.
“What was that?” I asked.
The guard turned around with a knowing smile. “You can feel that?”
I frowned. “Of course. What is it?”
Did they have some sort of paranormal barriers on their castle? Was it fatal?
The guard shook his head. “Nothing harmful, don’t worry. We have powerful witches within our community that protect our king. There are magical wards placed around the king’s castle that prevent magic from being used inside these walls. You don’t have any magic, so you will be fine.”
My shoulders sagged as a wave of relief flowed through me.
So, the witch would not be able to control me from inside these walls. I was not a danger to anyone, nor myself.
Thank the Gods.
“That’s wonderful.”
The guard looked at me strangely, but dismissed whatever it was that he was thinking and directed me to a large sitting room. “Please wait here while I summon the king and his advisors.”
“Thank you.”
I walked into a room that was laden with food and drink, bookshelves filled with books, and noble-looking humans milling around talking.
Most of the noise and conversation stopped the moment I stepped inside, so I began to walk slowly around, ignoring the interested gazes and examining the room itself.
“Excuse me,” a woman said, and I turned to take in the spectacular redhead behind me.
At home she would have been a favourite amongst our men, with her pale skin and bountiful figure. And as my fangs ached inside my mouth, I had to admit that she smelled pretty tasty as well.
“Yes?”
She swallowed a strange noise that sounded like a squeal. “Are you a vampire?”
I inclined my head and the woman squealed properly this time, before calling her friends over.
“I’m Ava,” she said, reaching out to shake my hand.
“Alessandra,” I returned, shaking the warm hand she offered.
“Oh! Your skin is so cold.” The words were strange but there was nothing except interest in her voice as she stared at me.
They all did, in fact. The whole group of young people. They began to chatter at me, most of which I didn’t understand, but luckily the guard returned to rescue me.
“The king will see you now,” he said, bowing before me.
“Thank you. Please excuse me.” I managed to slide away from the group of young adults and the guard laughed gently as we walked through the hall.
“They were very interested in you, weren’t they?”
I nodded. “Most unexpected.”
He grinned. “Like I said, the pleasure of your bite has now become legend, and with the added bonus of not being a possibly deadly experience, most of the young people in this town would give their right arm to follow you home.”
I stared at him, bewildered at the expression.
He held up his hands and shook his head. “So to speak. Please, come this way. The king will see you now.”
We stopped outside a large door and the guard reached for my arm, then turned me towards him.
“You seem lovely, Queen Alessandra, and as far as I can tell, you pose no threat to my king.”
I rushed to reassure him. “I don’t. I promise you that.”
He nodded once. “I believe you, but please understand that the king will be guarded by two expert swordsman carrying silver daggers and they will not hesitate to execute you if you threaten him.”
Part of me enjoyed the vehemence in his voice. Loyalty to one’s reigning family was a noble quality.
It was a positive reflection of the king himself.
I inclined my head with a smile. “I have nothing but good intentions in coming here and I respect your need to protect your sovereign.”
The guard nodded once and pushed open the double doors.
The doors opened into a very large room, with the king seated on a throne at the very end of the long walkway.
“This is our throne room,” he explained, as we walked up the red carpet.
I laughed. “I understand that.”
I made it to the end of the carpet and stared up at the large king on his impressive throne.
He was flanked by two heavyset guards carrying the daggers I assumed could end my life. Of course, they’d have to catch me to use them. Their human skills would be no match for my vampire strength and speed, but that was only a thought in the back of my mind.
I would never do anything to harm this king. It would undo all the good work my parents had done to repair the relationship between the humans and our kind.
It was because of that work that I was here today.
And if the magical wards held, I would be able to deliver my message without fear of the witch’s revenge.
I reached for the speech within my cloak and one of the guard’s hands slid to his daggers.
I smiled, pulling out the cards. “Tis only my speech I had prepared.”
The man relaxed a little, though his stance didn’t change.
I focused on the king before me, his scarred face and deep-set eyes speaking of a warrior. I liked that.
I bowed my head, then looked up and met the king’s keen gaze.
“King Andrew, I am Queen Alessandra. I’ve come today to continue the work my parents began thirty years ago. They were the ones who outlawed the killing of humans and have encouraged everyone in my kingdom to be peaceful. Since then, we have done all we can to sustain our population on meat and humans willing to sacrifice their blood in exchange for some gain.”
I swallowed hard, wondering if that was something I should have mentioned or not. Either way, it was time to push on.
“I have come here today to talk about a union between our two continents. A bond that would strengthen both our kingdoms in times of war and bloodshed.”
The king stood up and walked down the three steps that had him elevated above me.
The guards followed him down like two shadows, but did not step in to shield him when he stood right in front of me.
He held out his hand. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Queen Alessandra.”
I looked at his big, meaty hand and lifted mine in acknowledgment of the welcome. Even an alpha shifter would have been happy with a hand like that. This man was solid and tall and strong. Everything I would want a leader to be.
“Let’s talk specifics,” he s
aid as he guided me over to a table and chairs and began talks of how we could work together in the future.
He was an amiable, easy-to-like man whom I got along with straight away.
After an hour or so, we’d decided on the first draft of the structure of our agreement and the king said he would speak to his council and draw up the papers.
I couldn’t stop the beam of a smile that spread across my face as we finished up. “This went even better than I had hoped for, King Andrew. Thank you for making it such a pleasant experience.”
Part of me had assumed I would be turned away, or would need to beg and plead to be heard. Instead, I was being welcomed as though I were an honoured guest, and I was well on the way to having the peace treaty that would serve my kingdom for years to come.
The king stood and drew me up. “This is cause for celebration. Tonight, we will hold a feast.”
I nodded in agreement. After all, why not? “I will leave before sunrise as I need to get back to my people.”