by E. M. Knight
The energy of the crowd palpitates through the entire room. The walls shake with the strength of the applause.
Never in my life would I have expected such a welcome.
The cheering goes on and on and on. I start feeling a bit uncomfortable at the center of so much attention.
But then I see Raul beaming, from the corner of my eye, and I have all the confidence I need jolted into me to appreciate and savor the moment.
Eventually, though, even as the cheering continues, I know it’s time for me to speak.
I hold one hand up. The vampires below quiet down.
For a moment, I remember the gathering that was held for me when the Queen announced me as her successor in the castle.
Back then, it all felt completely surreal. But now, I’ve adopted the necessary mindset to be Queen. And after all I have seen, after all I have handled, in my brief time as a vampire… I definitely feel a lot more ready for the task.
“Thank you,” I say. My voice doesn’t carry quite as far as I’d like. So, without even thinking about it, I infuse the sound with a little Air and Fire to make it significantly louder. “Thank you all.”
The vampires fall silent.
“I know — I suspect — what all of you are wondering. You were promised a grand succession. A ceremony. That will not come to pass. Morgan Soren, as you’ve already heard, is dead.” A bit of shock ripples through the crowd. I bet they were not expecting me to address the subject so bluntly. “To put all rumor and hearsay to rest, I will tell you, briefly, of the events that led to her demise.”
I pause for effect and then continue. “When I was first introduced to you, it was said I was the child of prophecy. I don’t know about that. But your former Queen, as well as the Royal Family, made it clear that I was brought in from the outside world, brought into your coven, for one purpose above all: to inherit rule.
“Let me say that I did not seek it out. I was ripped from my former life and transferred into a place I knew nothing about.” Murmurs sound among the vampires below. “But the truth is, I discovered great things about all of you. About all of us. We are creatures of the night, that is for sure. At first, I feared you. But now that I have lived amongst you, now that I have seen your struggles, your successes, your fights, I am heartened to know that no, you are not evil. And no, you are not bad. The world may frame you as such, but I have seen the truth, I have been touched by your bravery, your loyalty, your respect and your wisdom. As I said, the Queen promised a succession. But the night it was supposed to happen, she sabotaged me. She took me captive and tried to kill me, only so that she could continue to rule!”
Gasps sound from amongst the vampires. But some of them, I see, are nodding their heads, not the least bit fazed by the revelation.
“She tried to kill me, yet in that she failed. In the process, she destroyed herself. And that is the truth of what happened, of how I survived, and of why I am standing in front of you now with this crown atop my head!”
I touch the tiara for effect. The crowd explodes with a monstrous roar.
“And because I did not ask for this, because I did not want it, because I did not seek it out… because of all that, I will always, always, respect what I was given. I will always respect this position. The one you grant me. I will use it only to strengthen our coven. I will use it to serve you, to protect you, and to make The Haven into the best sanctuary it can be, for all our kind!”
Another chorus of applause.
I smile. I can get used to this.
I take a bold step forward, right to the end of the ledge. “You can always count on me to uphold the law and to uphold justice. Prosperity will come to all our vampires, not just those of The Elite! I vow to you, as your Queen, I will do everything possible to bring our coven into the twenty-first century. I will do everything possible to make The Haven great!”
More cheers, more applause. I savor it for a few moments and then continue with what I have to say.
“My first order as Queen is to set up a tribunal court, of vampires absolutely dedicated to our laws. It will not be my word or my decisions that govern us. It will be the word of the law!”
I pause and wait for one more cheer. But the one that comes is less joyous than I expected. It’s more subdued than any before.
Felix steps in to whisper in my ear, “A noble cause, my Queen, but remember that vampires respect strength most of all. We are not bred for democracy.”
I nod, better understanding the muted response.
I decide to finish off in a different vein.
“In just a few hours I will open the link to the great crystal torrial. I will assume the connection with the throne. And once that’s done, I will resurrect the wards around our land, so that you all can return to your home above the Earth!”
That proclamation is met with the loudest, most raucous cheer yet. Vampires hoot and holler. They’ve been waiting for this for a long time.
“And of course,” I continue with a knowing grin. “It will be celebrated. You have not had a rendition of The Hunt for too long. Tonight, once the wards are up, we will all cheer, and dance, and feast on the blood that you have been deprived of ever since the castle fell. We will rebuild The Haven in such a way that surpasses all of its former glory. This will be the most powerful, most respected, most beautiful coven ever known!”
More cheers, even more applause.
“That I promise you,” I finish. “That I promise you all.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Phillip
The Haven
I rifle through the coarse paper scattered all over Mother’s desk, searching, searching, searching for something that can appease my anger.
I am absolutely livid. I am furious! That good-for nothing, upstart wench went and cast a spell on me—on me—binding me to those empty words, binding me to a promise I had never intended to keep!
I feel the constriction all over my skin. It’s like a plastic wrap wound tight around my body.
The documents all prove meaningless. With a roar of rage I fling all of them off the table. I grasp the edges and let my claws etch long, deep marks into the wood.
My chest is heaving. I’m breathing hard. I look over my shoulder, back in the direction of the stronghold. I can feel them welcoming her now, feel all the vampires failing to line under the usurpative, imposing, murderous girl!
I hate her. I hate Eleira, for what she did to me. I cannot get out of the spell she cast. Not even the magic I wield helps me!
Darkness clouds my mind, covering up all the pieces of me that were ever good. The old Phillip is dead. Mother revealed to me who I really am.
I will stop at nothing to get my revenge.
The darkness, the evil, the malice, whatever it is, it ebbs and swirls and consumes all the parts of me that gave way to weakness. Compassion. Empathy. Even the ability to love.
All of it is being eaten alive by the black that is turning me into a new sort of man.
I cast another look around. Somebody’s been here recently, somebody else stole into Mother’s private rooms in the treetop apartments and went for a hunt.
I’m too consumed by anger and rage to care enough to find out who.
There’s nothing here for me. No secrets that can be revealed. Mother would not be stupid enough to leave them in plain sight.
I dash out the room, a storm brewing in my head, and race for the computer vault where I once made my home.
Of course, all the electronics are off. The generator beneath The Haven, which I helped build, is offline. It’s an ingenious invention, running off a mix of the Elemental Forces, fed into it by a torrial which takes its strength from the great crystal throne.
Until the wards are up again, and Eleira linked with the throne, there is no chance of it being on.
Still, I know the hard drives contain valuable information. And even if the damned oath I’m now bound to prevents me from destroying them, I can steal them, take them away, bring th
em somewhere Eleira can never find.
I stop mid-stride as I catch myself thinking those thoughts. This isn’t me, I consider…
And then, the storming darkness sweeps over that tiny ray of light, and I am utterly committed to my need for revenge again.
I will get Eleira back for this. That I swear. I will get her back for what she did to Mother. I will get her back for what she did to me. If only she hadn’t cast the spell, hadn’t sealed me by those prison bars… I might have been loyal to her.
I would work against her, to be sure, when it better suited me, but I would have still respected her as Queen, and as the more powerful vampire.
Of course, she threw all that away. She showed her childishness, she proved her distrust, and she burned me badly.
Well. The new Phillip will never forget. The new Phillip will fight with every iota of his being to see proper justice served.
I get a sudden, extreme pang of hunger for blood.
Slowly, I turn back toward the stronghold, as a smile grows on my lips.
The humans there are unguarded. Vulnerable and ripe for the picking.
The blood lust flares. Nothing in the oath I gave prevents me from feeding on them.
But it would be a stark act of defiance against the newly-crowned Queen.
I take off, toward the Stronghold, propelled entirely by my thirst for blood.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Raul
The stronghold
I pace through the empty outer hall, contemplating everything that’s happened.
Eleira has come to the vampires as Queen. And they have accepted her.
This should be one of the sweetest moments of my life.
Then why is there such a bitter taste on my tongue?
I know that I’m just worried for her. Concerned that all of this happened too soon, too quick, too fast. Her life was changed completely in a matter of weeks—weeks!—and I fear she won’t be able to—
I cut off with an angry snarl.
Able to what, Raul? I demand of myself. She’s proven capable of every obstacle thrown in her way!
I need to stop treating her like a child. It’s demeaning to me and to her.
But for whatever reason… I cannot. I cannot shake the protectiveness I feel over her. No matter how strong she grows, no matter how capable. I will always view her—at least partially—as the fresh-faced college girl we kidnapped from the university.
I growl again and slam a fist into my open hand. Dammit! Eleira’s a grown woman. Even before she was a vampire, she possessed incredible internal strength, and that is what I have to focus on!
It’s my own damn weakness, my own fatal flaw, that every woman or girl I interact with reminds me of Liana.
Particularly, it reminds me of my immense failure with her.
What a horrible, pathetic, stupid mindset. Eleira is not Liana. Just because I harmed one woman I loved does not mean I will do it again.
But you didn’t just harm her, that voice reminds me. You destroyed her in full, her mind, her body, and her soul. In the end, there was absolutely nothing left.
I spin round in a furious move and slam both fists against the wall. Will I forever be haunted by my failure with Liana? Why can I never find peace?
“It’s the curse of being immortal, brother”, a voice says.
I whip around. Phillip is standing there, quite close, in the hall with me. How he got through the guards on the other side without raising the alarm I’ll never know.
I eye him cautiously. I remind myself that even though this vampire looks the same, he is nothing like I remember of my gentle, placid younger brother.
“What do you mean, the curse?” I ask him, voice teeming with suspicion.
“I heard you muttering her name,” he tells me, as he lounges casually against the wall. “Liana, Liana.” He makes a face. “It’s humiliating.”
“How long have you been there?” I demand.
Am I so incompetent I don’t even notice when I speak out loud?
“Not long,” he shrugs and pushes off. “But long enough to tell the same nightmares are haunting you.”
“You weren’t at the introduction ceremony,” I tell him through my teeth.
“Of course not,” he sneers. “What did I need to see? I gave her the crown. I know Eleira’s Queen.”
“Attending would have shown your respect.”
He laughs in my face. “Respect? You’re going to lecture me about respect? Let’s not forget your Queen was the one who banished me from my post and bound me with witchcraft to a lamentable oath.”
“So you did not mean what you said,” I tell him. “That means Eleira was right to cast the spell.”
“She cursed me,” Phillip snarls. “In a way absolutely contrary to our laws. Then she discarded me like a used napkin and put Felix in my place.” He snorts. “Felix! What right does he have to be Captain Commander?”
“He is the Queen’s appointed,” I tell him. “You’d be wise to remember that.”
“Oh, I’ll remember all right.” He stalks toward me.
Against my better judgment, I feel out and gauge his strength. I nearly stagger back from shock. He’s stronger than before—stronger than he was just an hour ago, when we were last together!
“You’ve fed,” I say.
He smiles without stopping his trajectory. He ends up mere inches from my face. “What gave it away?”
“I can smell the blood on your breath,” I tell him. Sudden alarm rips through me. “The humans!”
Phillip grabs my wrist. “You mustn’t worry, brother,” he hisses. “All their blood has been put to good use.”
I blanch. “You fed on all of them?” I say in a hoarse whisper.
He tightens his grip, yanking me in. “Won’t it be a wonderful surprise when the others find out?”
I pull away. He lets me go.
“You’re a monster,” I accuse.
“No.” He shakes his head. “I am a vampire. What sort of genius thought it a good idea to house mortal humans in a den of immortal bloodsuckers?”
“We fought for those humans,” I say to him. “We saved them from The Convicted army!”
“Yes, just as a shepherd saves his flock from wolves,” he says. “We saved them because they were ours, not because of any love for their humanity. No one forbade me from feeding. Given all that occurred, I thought I was due a little reward.”
“What’s happened to you?” I mutter. “What did Mother do?”
“You already know. She opened my eyes to who and what I am.”
I peer into his eyes. Those black flecks are subdued, somewhat… but never gone entirely.
“She tainted you,” I say. “She corrupted your soul with Blood Magic.”
He strikes me across the face. I am so surprised I can’t react in time.
“Never,” he warns, “speak ill of our Mother’s memory again.”
The vampire inside me erupts. I lose all sense of myself as I attack.
My claws come out, and my fangs emerge. I tackle Phillip to the ground. For a moment, we grapple for position.
His expression shifts from disdain to anger… and then to a tiny bit of fear as he realizes he cannot throw me off that easily.
My hands dart for his throat. He’s quick, though, and deflects the attempts. My claws rake against his skin, leaving deep gashes in his chest, his shoulders, his abdomen.
All of a sudden, a ball of energy explodes from him, and I’m flung back. I manage to right myself mid-flight and land on my feet.
Phillip is now standing, too, and he looks furious. He readies a spell of fire, the streams of it visible even to me as they collect around his hands.
“Come on,” I growl. “Fight me like a vampire. Fight me like a man! Don’t resort to that pathetic bank of magic.”
Something in his eyes changes. He seems to realize what he’s doing, and the streams of flame die.
“Then come get me,” he whispers.
I rush him again. This time we meet head-on. He tries to use my momentum to throw me past him, but I’m wise to the move.
It’s one he favored much too often in years long past when we used to train in the fields.
I anticipate the maneuver and break through it. I catch him, spin, and let him go.
Phillip crashes into the nearest wall.
No sooner than he hits am I on him again, continuing an unrelenting assault. I don’t want to kill him, no. But to maim him, to hurt him, to prove to him that I will not take his disrespect… oh, yes.
He gets more than a few swipes in. I scream in anger when his claws rip across my back. I hit him in the stomach, and as he doubles over I sink my fangs into his shoulder and steal a bite.
But the blood I taste is like nothing I expected. It’s like nothing I’ve had before. It’s thick and hot but also corrosive. It burns my tongue even before it goes down my throat.
I choke, sputter, cry out, release him and stagger back.
He looks at me in utter shock. He examines his shoulder, probing it with one hand.
“You… bit me,” he says.
I spit out the horrible, tainted blood before more of it poisons me.
“Your blood is not pure,” I say.
He looks at me in horrible accusation. “What do you mean it’s not pure?” He pounds his chest. “I am a vampire through and through!”
“No.” I shake my head. Suddenly a very acute fear takes me for the well-being of my younger brother.
If he’s poisoned, as I had been, it means something else is controlling him and forcing him to act this way!
“What are you talking about?” he rages. “If you know something, tell me!” He looks at the marks on his shoulder again and back to me. “TELL ME!”
“Something has a hold of you,” I say softly. I hear the doors slam open behind me. I don’t look back as I feel dozens of vampires rush in, alerted by the fight. “Something is eating away at your soul. Phillip, if we don’t stop it… you will die.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Eleira