“If she was close to Lucian, she must have,” Drake replied. “But that doesn’t change the fact that Lucian was left alone to raise me while the rest of you lived safely inside the City’s walls. If he was so trusted, why wasn’t he offered a place within Summerfeld? Why wasn’t I?”
And that, right there, was the crux of his anger, Quinn thought despairingly. Drake had been abandoned as a baby. He had been an innocent child who had done no wrong, and yet he had been spurned from the very beginning by his own family. It didn’t matter that Enah had wanted him. The point was that she had allowed Eldon to take him away. Lucian, on the other hand, had cared for him like a son. A vampire had shown him more kindness than the Fae ever had. Eldon’s mistake had cost his daughter her only son and it had cost the entire Fae race their most powerful ally.
“My father cared very deeply for Lucian,” Wintyr continued, addressing Drake. “And yet, it was your father’s Hunters who killed him,” Drake sneered. “Obviously Eldon failed to mention that Lucian should be protected.”
“Oh, Drake...” Quinn breathed. She hadn’t known. It was a wonder that Drake even tolerated the Guardians, let alone protected them. It struck her that Drake must truly love her, to consort with the people who had killed his adoptive father.
“My father could not let on how important Lucian was to him,” Wintyr justified. Everyone seemed oblivious to Quinn’s inner turmoil. “Once outright war was declared, sides were taken. It was too dangerous. He had to cut all ties with the vampires. No one was to know about you.”
“Yet another reason I embraced my vampire side,” Drake hissed. “They never shunned me. They never wanted me dead. Your father would have killed me, just like he killed my father. Julian never did anything to Eldon. His only mistake was loving you,” he added, hurling the words at Enah, who flinched as though he had physically struck her.
“My father could have killed you,” Wintyr corrected, and, for the first time, Quinn heard the true power resonating in his voice. Wintyr was the rightful heir to the throne, which made him king of the Fae. “Instead, he showed you mercy. You were never supposed to exist and yet he provided you with a safe haven and a father figure. He had no way of knowing what you would grow up to be. He didn’t know if your bloodlust would consume you and he certainly couldn’t allow you inside the Temple or Summerfeld without knowing.”
“Stop it!” Enah cried, cutting off any further argument. “It doesn’t matter what our father did!” Her eyes pleaded with Wintyr before she turned to face Drake. “You are my son,” Enah insisted. Quinn could hear the desperate need for his forgiveness in her voice. Enah was hurting. Unfortunately, Drake’s compassion didn’t surface.
“I am no son of yours,” he announced coldly. “I am a vampire, through and through.”
“No,” Quinn muttered, coming to stand beside him. “You don’t really believe that.” She searched his face, finding the truth buried deep in his eyes. She was the only one who could reach him and she wouldn’t let his anger destroy him. “You never believed in the Quest. You protected the City. And you didn’t hurt me when you found out who I was.” Quinn recalled that night with crystal clarity. How he had threatened her, but let her live. How he had saved her from Sebastian only a few nights later. How he had helped her find Avery’s killer when no one else would. Even when he had betrayed her, he had never let her get hurt. Charlotte would have killed her in the battle of Summerfeld, but Drake hadn’t let that happen. “
You’re not just a vampire.” Quinn smiled, even as tears sprung to her eyes. She took his hand and squeezed it tightly, trying to convey a myriad emotions through a single touch. “You’re a ward of Summerfeld,” she smiled, reaching up and touching his face. “That’s why you helped us. That’s why you risked your life for this City. You belong with us, Drake. You belong with me.”
Chapter 33
Drake fought the urge to snatch his hand away. He didn’t want to forgive his mother. He didn’t want to forgive Eldon, or embrace Wintyr, because, in doing so, he felt as though he would be tarnishing Lucian’s memory; but Quinn was so beautiful, so compassionate, and her violet eyes shone with unabashed adoration as she gazed up at him. Her hand was warm in his, and despite everything he found himself wanting to return the gesture. He had never expected her to react this way, to choose him, and to take his side over her king’s, because that was indeed Wintyr’s role. He was no longer a prince of the Fae. He had taken his father’s place and would now reign as king of all the Fae, supreme commander of the Guardians. Drake had omitted one very important factor when he had given Quinn his reasoning for not telling her the truth. He had been afraid; afraid that, when faced with the choice, she would choose the Fae over him, and yet she wasn’t angry with Drake for his disrespect. Instead, she stood proudly at his side, facing the others fiercely, prepared to defend him. Quinn had made her choice. The prophecy had been fulfilled. Only her choice had been the right one. In choosing him, Quinn had ensured peace between them and guaranteed the fact that he would fight for her – he would fight for Wintyr. In one thousand years Drake had never known love, not true love, not until now. The bond was gone and they could be together, finally. He had spent his life fanning the flames of his hatred for the Fae who had abandoned him as a baby and left him to fend for himself in a world of violence and anger, but, in the space of a heartbeat, Quinn had torn down his walls and rid his heart of the anger he had carried for so long. Lifting his free hand, he placed it over hers, curling his fingers around her own and squeezing her hand gently.
He wanted to say something, to fix everything that was broken, but the words failed him. Instead, it was Daniel who broke the immeasurable silence.
“Your Majesty, I’m sorry to do this. I know that there are things you need to resolve but we need to get you away from this place. The City is not safe.”
“We will not leave Summerfeld,” Wintyr replied, his head held high.
“Aleksei has taken control of the City,” Daniel explained. “We believe he is still here and obviously he’s not alone. Come nightfall, Summerfeld will be swarming with vampires. I know that there is much to be discussed,” he repeated, casting a hesitant look at Drake, “but there is no time. The sun’s light is already fading.” Drake looked toward the windows, and, sure enough, the day was almost over.
“Then come nightfall, we will fight,” Wintyr proclaimed. Xander nodded beside him, but Drake felt the collective weight of the Guardians’ despair as Quinn blanched beside him.
“With all due respect, your majesty,” Daniel was practically blushing, “King Eldon himself failed to beat Aleksei. What makes you think that you will succeed where your father failed?”
Wintyr allowed himself a small, tight-lipped smile. “I do not think that at all. I cannot defeat Aleksei, just as my father couldn’t. No faery could defeat the king of the vampires.” Quinn’s eyes narrowed in confusion, her expression mirrored on the faces of all the other Guardians. “Only one man can possibly hope to save us,” Wintyr continued, his eyes finding Drake. “One who has all Aleksei’s strength, combined with all the magic of the Fae. You, Drake,” he confirmed, inclining his head at his nephew, “are our only hope.” Drake said nothing, but Wintyr continued regardless. “Our father was wrong and I am truly sorry for the suffering his decisions may have caused you. You may not accept your Fae nature,” he murmured, “but we embrace it.” A look passed between Wintyr and his siblings. “More than that, we understand its importance.”
No one was more shocked than Drake when Wintyr stepped forward, dropping to one knee and facing the room at large.
“I, Wintyr Fairchild, hereby abdicate,” he intoned, sending a gasp of astonishment through the watching crowd.
Drake focused on Wintyr’s face, but, with his extraordinary senses, he was also aware of everything going on around him. Quinn was scanning the faces around her, looking for answers, but each one mirrored her own confusion. Save for Daniel. He was mumbling something inaudible under his breat
h and, in the instant that Xander stepped forward, Daniel smiled, meeting Quinn’s eyes briefly before he turned back to the kneeling prince.
With Wintyr’s abdication, the Fae throne fell to Xander, the younger of Eldon’s two sons, but he didn’t take even a moment to appreciate his new position. Instead, Xander immediately mirrored Wintyr’s actions. He dropped to his knees, his words clearly audible, “I, Xander Fairchild, hereby abdicate.”
Daniel was still muttering and Drake strained his ears, trying to make out what he was saying. It seemed important. Quinn had gone stock still beside him, her entire body rigid with tension as she watched, and, in the second that Enah stepped forward, Drake finally made out Daniel’s words. He was repeating one phrase over and over, as though in a trance. When the balance is restored the war will end. Quinn heard it too and her eyes found his.
“Oh!” she clapped a hand to her mouth, the significance of the text meaning more to her than he could possibly comprehend. “We took it literally,” she mumbled and Drake squeezed her hand as she seemed to stumble under the weight of the words. “We have always taken the prophecy literally, taking it to mean that when the vampire numbers were reduced to evenly match the wards the war would end, but that’s not the case. The balance...” she trailed off, her eyes gazing at him in a new light, “the balance is you.”
Her words made no sense and now, more than ever, Drake wished for the bond. Drake had learned of Eldon’s prophecies but he had never paid them any attention. He couldn’t make sense of what Quinn had finally grasped; the true meaning of a prophecy she had known by heart for a century. The balance referred to a person. A person who was equal parts of faery and vampire; a perfect balance of the two species, representing both sides. Drake was the balance.
“You will be restored,” Quinn said, as Enah got down on one knee and, finally, Drake understood what they were doing. They intended to grant him the throne. They believed that the throne was meant to be his.
“Stop this!” All eyes turned to watch him as he shook his head in disgust. “I don’t want your throne. I don’t want it and I sure as hell haven’t earned it.” Turning to Quinn, he prayed that she would understand. To his surprise, Quinn stepped closer to him, not seeming to care that the sun was going down, or that a veritable army awaited them when it did. Forcing him to look her in the eyes, she smiled, speaking softly so that only he could hear her.
“You don’t have to do this. You are who you are and I wouldn’t change a single thing about you.”
Calmed by her presence, Drake considered his options. “If I don’t do this, who will defeat Aleksei?”
“I will.” Her answer was so simple, but the thought of Quinn going up against the most formidable vampire in existence terrified him more than anything else. “I am the Slayer,” she continued calmly, exposing her wrist and drawing her shoulders back proudly. “They said I would have to make a decision. This is my decision. I choose to love both the wards, and you,” she smiled up at him. “And this is the only way I can protect you both.” She began to turn away from him, to announce her intent, but Drake grabbed her wrist in a vice-like hold and swivelled her back around to face him.
“You are my life. I couldn’t survive without you and I sure as hell won’t let you do this alone.”
Quinn smiled then. A smug, satisfied smile that intimated she had expected nothing less of him. “Together then?” she asked, her eyes alight with love and acceptance.
“Together,” he agreed, lowering his head and kissing her mouth, oblivious to the audience that watched on. When they finally broke apart, Quinn grinned, stepping aside and leaving a clear path to the faeries who awaited him. Enah’s eyes sparkled with unshed tears as her son came to stand before her. Drake was still cold toward her, but, as Quinn squeezed his hand, he relented slightly.
“Before I do this, I want to be very clear about one thing,” he declared. “I do not uphold all of your values. I do not believe in your traditions. If I take the crown, things will change.”
“What things?” Wintyr asked levelly.
“The Taboo, for one thing. I don’t believe in it. It destroyed my parents’ lives and for what?”
“The Taboo was only ever in place to ensure that no species tried to take advantage of our power,” Wintyr said.
“You mean the vampires,” Drake leered. It was common knowledge that only the darkest of the supernatural creatures would ever want to take the Fae’s power for themselves.
“Yes,” Wintyr admitted, adding boldly, “but I wasn’t finished. I understand why my father created the law, but I never said that I agreed with it.”
“Your father made a lot of mistakes, Wintyr. He caused this war and there is no point in arguing that fact because even he himself realised it at the end. I will not make the same mistakes. I will not abide by laws that were created by fools and executed without question. The vampires lived in harmony with all of you before Julian’s death. Lucian is proof of that, and I will honour his memory. I believe we can have that again. I will make decisions that I see fit for everyone concerned, whether you agree with them or not. If you cannot accept this, then I suggest she stays exactly where she is,” he gestured at his mother.
Wintyr smiled and it suddenly occurred to Quinn that he had known that this would happen. He knew that Drake would challenge the old ways and bring about change. It struck her that unlike Eldon and Aleksei, Wintyr wanted peace. He didn’t want to destroy the vampires. He wanted to live in harmony with them as they had over a thousand years before. And he knew, without a shadow of a doubt that Drake was the key to ensuring peace. He was not only the heir to the Fae throne, but also a prince of the vampires. He could bring about peace because he could lead both species, uniting them under his own rule. Nodding at Drake, to acknowledge that he understood and accepted his terms, Wintyr replied.
“There is one other thing you should know. The Fae age infinitely slowly, as you are aware.” Drake had been born over a thousand years ago, but he looked to be in his early twenties. “With the exception of the royal family,” Wintyr continued. “Once we come of age, we do not mature any further. The only threat to our family is a vampire attack, but, should this threat be eliminated, you will live forever, as you are now.”
Drake considered this while Quinn ran her eyes over Wintyr, Xander and Enah. They all looked to be the same age; she would never have known who was the youngest by their faces. She supposed Eldon would have been just as youthful, if he had lived.
“Pity,” Drake drawled after a brief pause. “I think I might’ve looked quite distinguished with a bit of grey in my hair.” He grinned, and Wintyr proceeded more quickly.
“You will also have the full power of the Fae. Our magic is stored within you and fills us all from your unlimited supply. We will never be as powerful as you are, although the three of us,” he gestured at himself and his siblings, “will draw more from you than the rest. It will also take some time for the magic to filter into you. If it were to flow into you immediately, you would be overwhelmed. You might not survive it.”
The thought of Drake - an already intimidating vampire - wielding that amount of power was both awe-inspiring and terrifying. Quinn, however, had no doubts. Drake would never abuse his power. He didn’t answer Wintyr, but nodded humbly instead, and Wintyr took this to mean that they should continue.
“Sister,” he prompted. The look on Enah’s face was so beautiful that it hurt Quinn to look at her. Drake might not have accepted his mother yet, but there was no doubt that she had lived a thousand years waiting for this exact moment. She held the Fae throne for only minutes, but she had held her son in her heart for a lot longer than that. When her words came they were softly spoken, but full of hope, “I, Enah Fairchild, hereby abdicate.”
The Fae throne was now empty, and the crown fell to the next in line – Eldon’s grandson, Enah’s son, and the man Quinn had fallen hopelessly in love with. Drake got to his knees as Wintyr and Xander took their place beside their s
ister.
“Do you accept the position of king of the Fae, ruler of Summerfeld and protector of the wards?” Enah asked, her melodic voice growing in strength.
“I accept,” Drake murmured. The three clasped hands, Wintyr and Xander placing their free hands on Drake’s shoulders and bowing their heads.
“Drake Fairchild Mortaine,” Enah announced and the hair on Quinn’s arms rose as she heard the names of both the royal families – vampire and faery – spoken aloud in this moment that would change history. “Heir to both the vampire throne and our own, we grant you our kingdom, along with all the wisdom and magic of the Fae,” Enah intoned. When she was done, she couldn’t seem to help herself and she smiled with pride and love. “Rule wisely, my son.”
The same light that had burst from the altar spilled from the hands of the three Fae royals, engulfing Drake in a fierce, blinding light. Quinn shielded her eyes, waiting for the glow to subside before she removed her hands to find Drake standing, taller than any of the others. One by one the surrounding Guardians dropped to their knees just as they had done for Wintyr. Quinn knelt, automatically, but her knees had only just brushed the floor when she was pulled upright. Drake stood before her, a frown marring his handsome features.
“You do not kneel,” he growled, “none of you kneel!” his voice rose as he addressed the others. “No Guardian should bow before anyone. You have my loyalty and my respect. We are all equals and we will all fight for a common goal. Except maybe you, Tristan,” he drawled, his eyes finding Quinn’s ex. “You’re fired.”
Chapter 34
In the silence that followed his proclamation Drake winked at Quinn. The playful gesture relieved the tension that had been building in her chest. He was going to be okay, she realised. Drake was not only going to be okay, but he was going to restore the balance and unite the vampires and the Fae. He was going to end this war and she would be right beside him when he did. Still, and even more important to her, was the fact that, despite the momentous occasion, he was also still simply Drake, and his green eyes sparkled with humour as he winked at her. Quinn fought a hysterical urge to laugh, but her amusement died on her lips as a slow clapping sounded from behind the Rose Gate.
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