The Fallen Queen: (Gods & Monsters Book 2) (The Gods & Monsters Trilogy)

by Janie Marie

  “He will take good care of them.” Arthur motioned for Gawain to leave. “I must inform you both about what to expect when we land.”

  Jane waited even though she didn’t want to know what was coming. As much as she benefited from knowing everything, she often put off learning or addressing matters she’d stress over until the last minute. That was usually the best way to get something done.

  “Well, I’ll start by telling you that many of the myths you believe hold some truth,” Arthur said. “However, we are a unique group, created to protect mankind. I won’t go into all the details, but I will admit that while I say we are good, we are still dangerous. We have to be in order to do our job: kill those who harm mortals. As I told you during our talk earlier, Jason, it is necessary that we drink blood to live. There are those who have extra abilities, and they need more than we do. Jane is one of them. Due to her incredible power, she requires more blood than the rest of us. That doesn’t mean she is bad, just different.”

  “You say you kill those who harm mankind. Do you kill humans?” Jason asked.

  “Only immortals who do not follow God’s laws.”

  Jason nervously looked around the plane. “You keep mentioning Jane and David being different from the rest of you . . .”

  “I’m afraid I cannot go into details about either of them,” Arthur said. “This is a matter that even my men are not fully aware of.”

  “All right,” Jason said. “Where are you taking us exactly?”

  “My home. It’s in a very remote part of northern Canada. I rule over both humans and immortals there. They follow my rules in exchange for life and safety. Any who do not are banished, or worse. I do not tolerate insubordination.”

  Jane stayed quiet during the conversation. She heard Arthur, but she didn’t care.

  “So the other immortals, which are like vampires—are used to humans?” asked Jason.

  Arthur sighed. “Yes and no. The castle is occupied by my men and our wives, but there are a few other guests, more like uninvited visitors who also stay there. Most of the others live in homes around the estate. The other vampires there are not like us; they feed more and tend to be more aggressive. This is why you will be staying in the castle. Jane and your family are of great importance to me, and I will make sure everyone is aware of that. I will also make clear inappropriate activities will not be permitted with or around any of you.”

  “But you have rules . . . How aggressive do they have to be in order for you to consider them inappropriate?” Jason looked at him in actual fear now.

  Arthur stared at him for a moment before he spoke again. “As I said before, we are the exception. Although these immortals have sworn themselves to me, they are not safe for mortals to be around. The humans who live there have been born into this environment. The behavior you witnessed with Jane is everyday to them, but even they have not been around an immortal as strong as her. That is also why she will not be allowed to stay with you and the children.”

  “There’s no way that she’s being separated from me,” Jason said as he looked between her and Arthur. “I said we’d come, but that meant Jane would be with us.”

  Arthur remained calm. “Jason, I also informed you that you were to follow my rules. I am not doing this to anger you—it’s for your protection. Don’t worry, she will be close by.”

  “She’s not going to hurt us!” Jason snapped.

  Jane silently asked Arthur to explain the situation better.

  Arthur smiled, patting her leg. “She is the most dangerous of any created immortal, Jason. Her hunger and power is unstable nearly all the time. That is why I stressed David’s and Ryder’s importance. They are the only beings capable of controlling or overpowering her. I am sorry, but you can’t stay together.”

  “This is absurd,” Jason said.

  “She’s attacked some of my men already,” Arthur said.

  Jason swallowed. “Who did you attack?”

  Jane immediately sought out Gareth. The younger vampire winked in her direction. It helped, but she remembered how awful the entire episode had been. She could have killed all of them.

  “I nearly killed Gareth,” she said, meeting Jason’s wide eyes. “And I overpowered David with my mind. I didn’t mean to, but Arthur is right—I’m not safe. I can’t stay in the same room and hurt any of you. I’m sorry. I didn’t even consider that before.”

  Jason finally tore his eyes from Jane before staring at Gareth for a long while.

  “I told you she’s different,” Arthur said to Jason.

  Jason shook his head. “If she overpowered David, how is he able to control her?”

  Arthur held his curious stare before he spoke. “Jane, you need to eat or else you’re going to grow weak.”

  “I’m not hungry. I’ll eat later.” She didn’t know why he suddenly changed the subject, but she was too down to even consider eating. The reality that she wouldn’t be with her children crushed her. She watched, heartbroken, as Gawain played with them for a few seconds, but the sound of a plate being placed on the table caused her to look away.

  She glanced at the plate of food in front of her, then back up as her heart pounded. David.

  “Jane, you need to eat,” David said. “You don’t want to have to drink more than you already need to. Please eat something, sweetheart.”

  She bobbed her head quickly, making him smile at her, and unable to help herself, she smiled brightly. She almost cried at the sudden warmth that filled the invisible hole in her chest.

  “It’s a bit more than that,” Arthur said, pulling Jane’s and David’s attention away from each other.

  Jane saw Jason glaring at Arthur. She figured, by the way both of them held each other’s irritated stares, that Arthur must have been responding to Jason’s thoughts. Her moment of happiness with David vanished, and she realized Jason had watched her and David doing exactly what he had just said he couldn’t stand to see.

  She stared at the table but still saw David’s hand clenched into a fist. It would only make matters worse if David got angry with Jason, so she looked back at him in hopes that her eyes would convey she needed him to calm down. If he became upset, she knew she would follow soon after.

  David darted his furious gaze away from Jason, and she almost smiled when his rage disappeared.

  He took a deep breath and visibly relaxed even more, then addressed her husband. “Hello, Jason.”

  Jane quickly shot Jason a look but found his death glare was still in place. She turned to Arthur for help.

  However, David continued, “I wanted to apologize for our initial meeting. I should not have behaved that way. Perhaps, for Jane’s sake, we can start over?”

  They waited for Jason to respond or show some acceptance of David’s offer, but his angry expression didn’t waver. Jane turned away. The small hope they’d perhaps get along as David and Death had with each other was obviously in vain.

  Arthur reached out to hold her hand. “Jane, why don’t you go spend some time with your children? I will fill you in on everything later. Take your food with you.”

  Her gaze wandered to Jason, and she sighed because he looked more irritated than before. She glanced up at David before she could stop herself, and her insides warmed under his concerned gaze.

  “Okay,” she said, moving to stand.

  David was behind her quickly, and he pulled her chair out. She melted at the gentlemanly gesture and gazed into his eyes until Jason scoffed.

  She sighed, trying to figure out how she was going to avoid these moments between her and David, but all she wanted was to grab him and never let go.

  David smiled, but she saw how forced it was. It broke her to know that she wasn’t the only one devastated. David didn’t deserve to be disrespected, but she understood Jason’s anger.

  She averted her eyes from David’s, but before she could scurry off, he grabbed her arm.

  “Take your breakfast, Jane.” He held out the plate for her.


  It was the first time she really noticed the meal he’d given her. His waffles looked much more appetizing than hers. He had even cut up strawberries and arranged them on top in the shape of a flower.

  She reached for the plate and savored the heat spreading through her arm where David held her. It settled in her chest where her heart was, and she realized the heat was pulsing to match his heartbeat. It was part of him.

  Sighing, she closed her eyes and smiled. “Thank you, David.”

  “You’re welcome, Jane.” He released her, taking away the life his presence gave her.

  She opened her eyes, back in her prison where she could only sit there and watch the things she wanted as they remained out of reach. The emptiness seeped back in as she pulled the plate from his hand and stepped around him, but not before inhaling his scent. She needed it to soothe their separation. She knew he heard her, and she peeked up at him, sighing at the more sincere smile spreading over his lips.

  “Be brave,” he whispered. “I’m still here.”

  The sound of multiple zippers reminded Jane of all the times she’d packed and repacked their bags during the plague. She frowned. This was no time to start feeling so pathetic again. She was trying to be better for everyone.

  She glanced up at Nathan as she squatted in front of him. He was confused, but he wasn’t stressing out like she had expected him to. Jane smiled softly as she caressed his chubby cheek. For some reason, she felt that Nathan understood every emotion she was experiencing, and she didn’t want him to worry. If he could adjust to something that normally frightened or overwhelmed him, she could too.

  Jane bit her lip as she pulled his puffy jacket tighter to finish zipping it. He huffed as he tried to move and gave her a frustrated look. She knew the layers must be bothering him, but she had no other choice than to bundle him like this if she wanted to keep him warm.

  Arthur had said they were flying to the Yukon Territory, and it would be well below freezing when they got there. November in Texas was nice, warm even. Their coldest winters were nothing compared to what she expected upon arriving in Canada.

  The warm and almost nonexistent Central Texas winter had also given Jane little reason to invest in cold weather gear. The last decent jackets she had for them were from the previous winter, and they were way too small already. So, when she packed, she got as many of their largest long-sleeved shirts and sweaters, then added her own zip-up hoodies to top them off. Jason was the only one who had a good jacket because he did work outside often.

  David chuckled, and Jane shot a sideways glance over at him. He must have felt her stare as he quickly made eye contact with her. That smile she loved spread over his lips, and again, she smiled back. She caught herself before she could get too wrapped up in him, though, and quickly shifted her eyes away.

  Jason was only a few feet away from her, helping Natalie bundle up, and she didn’t want him to get upset again. Still, she couldn’t stop the heat from spreading over her cheeks. David just had that effect on her.

  Jane was actually getting frustrated with her reactions to David. It was one thing to be like this without her family around, but another entirely to act like a lovesick schoolgirl with her kids and husband in view.

  She blew out a breath to help remove her flush, but he chuckled again. That darn laugh of his always sent her body into overdrive. She was beginning to feel like a cat in heat around him. All she wanted to do was rub herself all over him.

  Images of her rubbing her face all over his muscles popped in her head . . . Get a hold of yourself! She wiped away the sudden perspiration on her forehead before fanning her hot cheeks, hoping to get the mental picture of her being a cat while David was her owner out of her head.

  Jason made a face at her when she accidentally made eye contact with him. She tried to play it off by moving her gaze around the plane; there’d be no peace if Jason knew what she was thinking. Hopefully he just found her weird and overlooked that David simply being David got her all flustered.

  As Jane really looked at the others, she bit her lip because their jackets were more insulated than the ones she had put on her kids. Well, all the knights except David. He was putting on a long-sleeved shirt and nothing else, it seemed.

  She frowned, wondering if David had left his jacket in Texas. It was possible since a lot of their supplies didn’t make it. Even if it wasn’t much, she was lucky she had the old hoodie she was wearing.

  “Jane,” David called softly behind her.

  She looked at Jason first and sighed. Of course he was glaring at David.

  Jane pressed her lips together to keep from saying anything mean and turned her head. She was still crouched in front of Nathan, so her vampire was towering over her, but it was what he held out to her that had all her attention.

  “Here,” he said, offering her a jacket. “It will keep you warm.”

  She stared at the jacket he held out, realizing now why he wasn’t wearing one; he was giving his to her.

  “David, you need it.”

  “No, sweetheart.” He quickly cleared his throat, briefly glancing at Jason before continuing in a firmer tone. “No, I want you to be warm. Just put it on, all right?”

  Despite his harsher tone, she warmed a little at hearing him call her sweetheart again. It was pointless to get used to it, though, because when she heard Jason scoff, she knew any sweetness from David would only lead to heartache.

  “Thank you, David.” Her fingers brushed against his, and she yanked it from his hand to avoid grabbing a hold of him. If her overreaction bothered him, David didn’t show any disappointment.

  After quickly putting on the jacket, she looked down in frustration; it swallowed her. Jane huffed as she took in how it fell to her knees. She lifted her hand, frowning because her fingertips didn’t even stick out.

  Sighing, she glanced up and watched a grin spread over his lips. “It’s not funny, David.”

  “I didn’t say anything,” he said, still smiling.

  She tried, unsuccessfully, to push her hands through. “Will you just help me?”

  He chuckled as he knelt down and rolled her sleeves the best he could, and she allowed herself a brief moment of calm.

  A small groan pulled her attention away from David, and over to Jason. He was sitting on a cot with his elbows resting on his knees as he held his face in both hands. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” His words were soft, but she figured Jason may not realize how well they could all hear. She did, though—and so did David.

  She slowly looked down at her vampire. It warmed her that he didn’t look upset. In fact, he smiled and snuck his hand under her sleeve, then gently squeezed her wrist. His thumb caressed her skin for only a second before he let go and stood.

  These little acts of affection had been something she had desired so many times from Jason, but he never gave them. It devastated her to see the contrast between David and Jason. All David showed was love, and he tried to get her to see something good in herself. Jason, on the other hand, only reminded her how much was wrong with her, and any affection he gave was offered with the expectation of sex in return.

  Her stomach rolled as she thought of spreading her legs for Jason again. It took all her mental strength to avoid letting her mind go down that path.

  She grabbed Nathan’s hand, removed all signs of how she felt about anything off her face, and stepped back. “David, what will happen after we land?”

  In her peripheral vision, she saw Jason lower his hands and look at them. The relief he let flit over his face at the sight of her emotionless one broke her. All he cared about was her not showing any happiness or acceptance of David’s love.

  A fierce gleam shone in David’s eyes, and she knew it was due to her blank look. As though he wanted her to feel how he felt, she watched him empty all emotion from his face too. Jane hated it, and it gutted her to listen to the indifferent way David spoke to her now.

  “We will land at a private airport soon. There will be a car
avan expecting us there. Once we transfer everyone over to the vehicles, we will depart for the estate. It should only take twenty minutes to get there, but it will be getting late. Since the sun sets sooner than it does in Texas right now, your family will need to be moved to their room quickly to avoid confrontation with the other immortals.

  “There are some who will be there to greet us with the wives, but they should not be a problem. Tomorrow, we can make announcements to the entire kingdom about Arthur’s expectations regarding the treatment of your family.

  “While we set Jason and the children in their room, meals will be prepared and brought so you can dine in. We can make sure it’s something the children will enjoy, then I will leave you to rest in your room.”

  Jane felt nervous suddenly; she didn’t want to be alone.

  David seemed to know what worried her and quickly added, “Your room is across from mine, Jane. Your family will be next door to me. Don’t worry, everything will be fine. The wives are very agreeable women—and my sister, Guinevere, will be thrilled to meet you.” He smiled at the end, finally showing emotion at the thought of his sister.

  Jane, however, was horrified. “Your sister?”

  David stopped smiling. “Yes. Arthur is my brother-in-law through marriage to my sister.”

  “Oh, I forgot,” she mumbled.

  David frowned and spoke in a softer tone. “She’s going to love you, Jane. And I am certain everyone will eagerly welcome your children. None of the men have children, remember?”

  “Yeah.” She couldn’t believe it was only hitting her now that there were others involved with David and the knights. It wasn’t like she thought she was the only person, but it was real now, and she was about to come face to face with an entire group—a kingdom—of people who would judge her and her family.

  “No one knows about you coming,” David said. “But I know they will be happy to meet you. You don’t have to worry about meeting everyone just yet. There will be a group of servants along with the wives, and maybe a few other guests there to greet us. The men will most likely leave with their wives right away.” He watched her chew her lip for a few seconds. “Jane, if you ever feel overwhelmed, just tell me and I will take you straight to your room. Don’t let yourself get worked up.”