by G. Bailey
"You may dress Winter whenever, Alex," he says.
"I told you so," she laughs. The door to the left of ours opens and Leigha walks out. She looks every bit the vampire in a tight, black dress, it stops mid-thigh and covers her arms. The top half is open to show her shoulders. When she turns to shut the door, I see her mark on her shoulder. Its looks a little like a bird, made up of dozens of swirls. It covers the top of her arm and over her shoulder, where the birds head rests.
“Let’s hurry, I want to get this stupid thing off,” Leigha crosses her arms and walks ahead of us. I glance at Alex, who is trying not to laugh.
Drake wraps a hand around Alex’s waist, and they walk after Leigha. We follow them down an endless number of corridors and stairs. Weirdly, we manage not to pass anyone else. The place reminds me of a haunted castle of one of those ghost shows because the dated corridors are quiet and mainly dark, apart from the small, wall lights.
"Where is everyone?" I ask Wyatt.
"The humans use back passages, and the vampires are all called to court to meet you," he replies.
"Oh, no pressure," I respond. I have to remember to thank Alex later for dressing me. I couldn’t turn up in front of hundreds of vampires wearing jeans with a hole in them. They would never take me seriously.
"None at all. They will love you," he replies. Our eyes lock together for a second before we both turn to see where we’re going. I only needed that second glance to fill myself with a false sense of safety, a safety I only feel at Wyatt’s side.
“Does the king have a mate?” I ask.
“He has turned ten female humans, but he never calls any of them a mate. They usually die when he gets bored of them and doesn’t let them feed on any other vampire or himself. They may wear his mark, but he has no respect for them. That was my mother’s title,” Wyatt says with little emotion in his words.
“I didn’t realise you could turn more than one person,” I say.
“It’s not advised, but yes, you could turn endless numbers. Most people see it as an insult to do that. Sometimes the turned don’t survive, or they go a little mad,” he tells me. It's a scary thought that his kind could just go around turning people.
We walk up to large, stone doors, with three guards standing outside looking at us. Three have dark skin and black eyes that match their uniforms. The red crown is stitched over their hearts, and they put their fists to their hearts as they bow.
"Open the doors," Wyatt says, and they quickly do as he asks. I didn't feel him use his power, but he makes you want to do as he says anyway. I have to remember he is a prince here.
The door swings open to the throne room. Hundreds of eyes stare at me from their seats on both sides of a long path towards the throne. I don't look at them as my gaze hits the famous vampire king. He looks like Wyatt, with his light-blond hair, but his has a bit of grey on the roots. He has a big build like his son, filling out the gold throne he sits on. The king is wearing a black suit, a few buttons are undone on his shirt, and he looks casual compared to the vampires in the room. Next to him, on the left, are four vampires seated next to each other in small gold chairs and a long wooden table stretched out in front of them. Harold is the first I see and then an older, stern- looking woman with short, grey hair, and she gives me a slightly distasteful look as our eyes meet. The other two are familiar, the one with the red crown tattooed on his head smirks at me. The seat next to him has the common, greasy- haired man he was with when he came to get me from Wyatt months ago, who also is looking very happy. I try to ignore the three wine glasses full of a dark-red liquid. I know its blood, but I’m going to pretend its wine. Yep, it’s wine.
I press closer to Wyatt as we walk, and he squeezes my hand once in support. I glance around the room, seeing all the vampires. They look like they’re waiting for a supermodel contest as not one of them is bad looking. It’s intimidating because they are all stick thin, pale, and mainly blonde. There are a few dark-haired people in the crowd but not many. I catch a glance of a little boy in the seats, his white hair standing out compared to the light-blondes in the room. He looks around Freddy’s age, and he smiles at me. I pull my gaze away as we get to the end of the path. The massive, gold throne stands on its own at the front of the room, and it’s made of solid gold by the looks of it. It’s big enough to put the queen of England’s throne to shame. There are four large, glazed-glass windows behind the throne; they have a red tint in them, making the room almost seem like it’s glowing red.
The king stands up, his thick, red crown shining in the light from the large windows. Though, the king is difficult to look away from, I feel drawn to look at the crown. The top looks made out of smooth thorns, and has four large red stones encased inside it. I can sense its power from where I am standing. It's like my insides are telling me there’s something different about the crown.
"My son has returned and with a human mate," he says, looking happy, but it's clear it's an act. His fake eyes meet mine like he knows what I'm thinking as Wyatt stops before the three steps that separate us from where the king is standing. You wouldn't think he was evil. In fact, he almost looks like an average guy. One you would expect to pass on a street as he goes to his nine-to-five job at an office. Except he is the monster under the bed, instead.
"Father, this is Winter Masters," Wyatt says respectively and slightly bows his head.
"Winter. Come here," the king holds out his hand. Wyatt’s grip tightens on my hand as I try to let go to move forward, and the king laughs.
"You are not letting me near your new mate. I don't blame you son. I only wish to greet her." He laughs, and the crowd of vampires laughs with him.
"Fine," Wyatt says and lifts my hand to place a kiss on it before he steps back next to Alex and Drake. Leigha is standing at my side, and she bows before stepping back. I walk toward the King, and he offers me a hand. I place my hand in his, and a wave of sickness fills my body. I quickly pull my hand away, and the feeling goes away.
"Winter. You look so familiar to me," he says, and he moves closer as I take a step back.
"We haven't met," I reply, making him laugh.
"I'm sure we haven't," he replies staring down at me. He is as tall as Wyatt which makes him far more intimidating as I look up to meet his eyes.
"Oops, wrong timing," Atti’s voice says behind me, and I turn to see him walking down the middle of the Throne room. Atti looks every bit the prince, he told me he is. Wearing a black shirt, and black trousers under a long black cloak that hits the floor. A small black crown sits on his head, and his hair has been cut shorter. It now hits his eyebrows and is a lot shorter at the sides. It suits him. I nearly trip when I see the white and black tigers that walk next to him. Atti is extremely tall, and these tigers are half his size. The white one has white and grey striped fur, a tail made of sharp looking spikes mixed in with soft fur. It has two massive teeth that make it seem like a Sabertooth tiger. The black one is a little smaller, with large eyes and bigger ears. A shiny coat covers its whole body, with large black spikes running from its neck to the end of its tail. They both have bright grey eyes, just like Atti’s grey eyes. Atti moves between Drake and Alex as they step aside. He stops next to Wyatt.
"My Queen has sent me, we have things to discuss." Atti bows slightly.
"You are welcome witch prince," the king replies with an amused look in my direction.
“Looking as hot as ever Winter. Seriously, the dirty things I’m thinking of doing to you in that dress,” Atti says in my mind, and I cough to hide my shocked laugh.
I move slightly away as the king moves closer to me and takes my hand again. The sickness is overwhelming, and I can just barely stand up, as he offers my hand to Atti, "May I introduce Winter Masters. My son’s new mate and our new princess."
Atti takes my hand and presses a little kiss on the back of it before he lets go. A look of disgust fills his face for a second as he looks at me. He hides the emotion so quickly that I can't be sure it was there.<
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"A human mate?" he asks Wyatt, who moves closer to me and pulls me to him.
"Careful, witch," Wyatt spits out. If I didn’t know better, I would be convinced these two hated each other. It’s a little upsetting to see, and weird to watch. I guess they must have had years of perfecting it.
"Boys, now, now. You are starting to sound like his dead father and me," the king points at Atti, and a feral-sounding growl comes from the white tiger as Atti stands straighter than before.
"Be careful. You are not my king, and you will not speak of my father like that," Atti warns. The king just nods, a calculating look on his face as he returns to his throne. I move to stand next to Wyatt, who holds my hand.
"Come here, human," he says, and I think he means me until I see a girl around seventeen running across the room from where she was standing by the wall. Her clothes look worn and stitched in many places. Her hair is pulled up in a tight bun, her skin is pale, but she is still gorgeous, though way too thin. The king pulls her roughly onto his lap the minute she gets near and bites her neck. She moans in pleasure, but her voice withers away as the king feeds from her. I watch in horror as he feeds, my hands crawling into Wyatt’s arm as he holds me to him. No one does anything as he kills the girl, and her body falls the ground.
"Does your mate need a feed?" the king asks as he steps over the body. I stare at her empty eyes, feeling my anger rising beyond control.
“Winter I know Love, I know. Your eyes are changing, and I need you to be strong. The king is a bastard but strong with many secrets. We can’t just kill him, the vampires would avenge him, and they love him.”
Atti must have noticed how upset and angry I am, as he whispers in my head, and I turn to him to see him shaking his head a little, and I close my eyes.
"No. Winter developed a new power, and we will be using the training rooms to work on it," Wyatt replies.
“Ah, what power does our princess have?” the king asks.
“My mate can move thing with her mind, a form of telekinesis. Much like my uncle had, if I remember.”
“Yes, a compelling gift indeed,” the king says, but I keep my eyes on the floor.
"You’d best teach our new princess how to fight and use her powers. I expect to see you at the council meetings,” he tells Wyatt.
"Yes, father."
I open my eyes, just to see the king smiling at me. An evil smile.
“Miss Leigha Sokolov, what a beautiful vampire you have turned into. My council will be finding mates for you soon,” he says, and Leigha steps to my side.
“As you wish, my king,” she bows her head and glances at me when she turns around. The panic on her face is enough to let me know she needs this deal as much as I’m going to.
“I always expected Wyatt to take you for a mate, perhaps when he is bored of this one,” the king waves a hand at me.
Wyatt doesn’t say anything but squeezes my hand so tightly I’m scared it’s going to snap off. Leigha’s eyes meet mine, and she only looks down.
I quickly put my eyes to the ground as I feel a wave of dizziness.
Wyatt turns with me by his side and walks out the throne room with Alex and Drake following us. Leigha stays near my side, and I look back at the girl’s body on the floor in front of the big, gold throne. Such a waste of a short life, she is so pretty, and the king had no regard for her life. Like she didn’t matter, when she did. I don’t think I'll ever forget her empty, blue eyes.
“Look away, this can’t be changed, Love,” Atti whispers in my mind, and I turn away as Wyatt walks us out the door.
Chapter Ten
Winter
We walk straight back to our rooms and get changed into something more comfortable. Wyatt tells me he has to see the council, and that Drake, Alex, and Leigha will take me to training. Wyatt doesn’t bring up what happened in the throne room, and I know it’s because he can’t protect me from his kind and their ways.
I walk next to Alex, and yet, what I'm used to seeing doesn't happen. Every set of eyes we see is staring at me and not Alex or Leigha. I don't get it, they are far prettier than I am.
"Why are they all stopping and staring?" I ask when we walk through an archway into a massive, stone courtyard. The snow has been swept away, and despite the fact it should be freezing in my sweatpants and long-sleeved top, I’m not cold. There are boxes of weapons on one side and around twelve vampires fighting each other. Each one stops when they see me.
It's creepy.
"They’re curious about their new princess. Many have heard about you," Leigha tells me, and Drake nods next to her in agreement.
"Why are they still staring then? It's getting awkward in here," Alex says, and I hear a chuckle from one of the vampires in front of me.
"They want Winter to say hello," Leigha says to us like it should be obvious.
It isn't. "Hello!" I say and try to do a little wave as I step forward. Unfortunately, I'm way too clumsy to be princess and trip on a stone after two steps. I manage to stop myself from falling, but everyone saw.
Alex just bursts into laughter next to me. Leigha even laughs a little.
"Very princess-like Win," Alex finally says, and every one of the guards bows at me, with their one hand in a fist on their chest before straightening again. I want to stop them, but I know it’s likely rude.
"Leigha will be training me," I tell Alex and Drake who look at me like I've grown two heads.
"Are you sure? Leigha is–" Drake starts, but his sister interrupts.
"Is happy to help my princess," Leigha says, and Drake narrows his eyes at her. "So, Princess, what can you do?" Leigha asks me with a dare in her eyes.
“Not sure, I managed to move things once when I got mad. I’m good with a crossbow and throwing daggers,” I tell her, and she nods.
“Hand to hand combat?”
“I’m alright, I had some training but more at a human level,”
“Come,” she waves a hand, and we walk through the men training, who quickly move out of Leigha's way. I’m glad it’s not just me she scares. She opens a small, wooden door, and I quickly follow her. Inside is a gym, like nothing I’ve seen before. It looks more like an army, training camp. There’s a big structure in the middle, it’s made of wood and ropes. There are several large, metal barriers. I watch as someone blows a whistle, and two vampires run down the marked track towards one of the biggest ones. The metal is tall and smooth with nowhere to put your feet to climb. The monsters jump about three feet away, one looks like he’s flying as he jumps over, and the other just gets to the top but manages to pull himself over.
“This is where young vampires are trained. I did a summer here once, vampires have the speed and strength to be able to do most things, but you need to learn how to use them. Your other powers we will work on when you find out how to complete this whole course in five minutes. That’s the average time.”
“That tall metal wall?” I ask.
“Yes, and you will,”
“You will see a Winter-sized shape in the wall.”
“Try not to hit it then,” she says with a smirk. I have a feeling she’ll enjoy seeing me run into that wall. The door opens as Drake and Alex walk in. Alex’s eyes widen as she looks around the army camp. Yes, I’m calling this the army camp room, or torture room. I haven’t decided yet.
“Alex will be doing the same training as you, but not all of it. I will deal with her combat training,” Drake says.
“You have to be joking?” Alex glares up at him.
“No, I am not joking.” he says plainly, and Alex groans.
“You best have a big bath waiting for me at the end of this.”
“I'll even join you,” he replies, and she leans up to kiss his cheek.
I glance back at Leigha who is watching the room. “Where do we start then?” I ask her, thankful for the new trainers I’m wearing.
“Follow me,” she says. Alex comes over and walks next to me as we follow Leigha up to what I’m guessi
ng is the start of the course. The first part looks like a simple, wooden climbing frame, and thankfully, there are steps. I’ve never climbed anything like it in my life, so I don’t know how she expects me to do this part.
“Go,” Leigha waves a hand and checks the watch she’s wearing. Alex and I take off for a run, and I stop when I get to the wall. I manage to pull myself up the first few without too much trouble, but it’s hard. I glance at Alex who’s using her strength to propel herself off each one and to the next. I guess I could try that, I push down and try to jump up to the next holder as Alex did. Except I have no control and I push down too hard. I fly up with a scream and land on top of the tower with a giant thud.
“Holy crap,” I mumble. I rub my sore shoulder where I landed and crawl to look down the wall at Alex’s shocked face. I wait for her and help her up the last part.
“How did you do that?” she shouts.
“Didn’t mean to,” I reply.
“Less chatting, that took you three minutes slow coaches,” Leigha shouts from the bottom.
“I dislike the army brat,” Alex says as she pushes a stray red hair out her eyes.
“She’s your sister- in- law,” I reply.
“Still a brat,” Alex laughs, and we both stop when we look over the other side of the tower. There are five nets, I guess you have to jump from one to the other because the wood connecting them is too small to walk on. The distance between them is vast, and the wooden floor underneath is far away. Falling would hurt.
“After you,” I wave a hand, and Alex just looks at me with an ‘I’m not that stupid’ look.
“Fine,” I say and walk to the far side of the tower. I run for it and jump, I fly through the air as everything slows down. I can see myself landing with my right foot on the net. The net bounces my foot back up, and I push harder with the next step on the net. Everything seems easy when it’s so slow, and the next thing I know, I’m at the last net which is attached to another tower. I climb, using the holes until I get to the top.