“Which means you care if you lose or not.”
“You know, when I’m queen, you can’t leave me. Not right away.”
She snickered. “What would I do? I’m old enough that I need some new experiences in my life. And being a queen’s personal assistant would definitely be one. I’m definitely not going back to my jewelry business.”
I blinked. “Wait. You’re doing what this time?”
“Jewelry.” She waved a bored hand into the air. “It helps me express my creative side.”
“You are an amazing artist, my friend.” I sighed and smiled in contentment, resting back in my chair to stare up at the ceiling, pretending I could see the night sky from here. “This is one of the best days of my life.”
Bang. Bang. Bang.
Adelie popped up from her chair. “Hold that thought. That’s not happy knocking.”
I tipped my head, watching as she opened the front door.
“This is for candidate Gwynnore.” An assistant held an envelope out. “She is to read it immediately.”
Adelie grabbed the envelope and merely slammed the door in his face.
She may have a natural creative talent, but you just couldn’t take the snobbish upbringing out of her. Money had raised her, and it showed. Just as it did with me, but I didn’t try to hide it like she did. I figured I am who I am. While she wanted to change who she was—constantly.
Her head of red hair dipped as she evaluated the envelope. “Looks like it’s from the overlords. It’s sealed with their stamp. You probably should read it now.” She tossed it on my lap before flopping back down onto her vacated seat.
My eyes narrowed on the envelope, not touching it. “What do you think it is?”
“Probably another summons.” Adelie shrugged.
I sat up straight in an instant, adrenaline pumping through my veins once more. “It can’t be the next Challenge. Not yet.”
She blinked. “You already did one?”
“Yes, I passed.” Carefully, I lifted the envelope.
“Open the damn thing already,” my friend growled.
I hissed at her, showing a smidge of fangs.
But I did rip the envelope open.
Adelie raced to stand behind me, reading over my shoulder.
My breath caught in my chest as my eyes flew over the clear handwriting. “Oh, my goodness. I’m not sure if I’m ready for this yet.”
The evil redhead chuckled behind me, patting my shoulder. “Maybe they won’t try to push you two together. You never know. They don’t do it to every king and queen. Some are merely business partners in the ruling.”
I dropped the paper and the destroyed envelope onto the desk. I stared down at the words, my forehead crinkling in worry. “I don’t even know what to wear to something like this. I mean, what if I don’t like the King Novitiate? I don’t want to appear like I do.”
“But if he’s handsome, you don’t want to look like a slob either.” Adelie grabbed my left hand and yanked me to my feet. She ordered, “Come on. Let’s just fix your makeup a little. Your outfit is sexy and standoffish. Both will work for you depending what way you sway toward the dude you’ll be stuck ruling with for a long-ass time.”
I snorted and allowed her to drag me to the bathroom. “You inspire hope like a champ.”
Her red brows bounced as she placed me in front of the mirror. “It’s time to pass your next Challenge, Gwen. Time to find the next candidate for king.”
I grouched, “I hate how they do this, though. I’ve heard about it before. They pick the female candidate first, the oldest and bravest, in hopes it will produce the best male candidate for them. All they really give a damn about is him.”
“We are a male-run society.” Adelie grabbed my makeup bag, digging through it, her nose almost inside of the pouch. “But you can start to change that. Have faith in yourself. And don’t allow this male candidate to overrun you. Take charge.”
I stiffened my spine, staring myself in the eye in the reflection.
Take charge. Be the woman. Be the fabulous woman.
I nodded my head. “He’ll probably be some weak-ass guy I end up with.”
“Let’s hope not,” Adelie grumbled, dropping the bag, done with her exploration of it. Too many tools were in her hands. Apparently, she was going to beautify me to her standards. My friend lifted a brow. “Because, like you said, they do take the oldest females first to get a strong male. You don’t want the overlords thinking you’re weak because the males that come to you are weak.”
I groaned long and heavy. “Dammit. This is not helping me.”
She blinked. “He’ll be a rock star. You deserve the best. You’ll get it.”
My black brows rose. “All right, that was better. Thank you.”
“I have my moments.” Adelie winked.
CHAPTER NINE
~ GWYNNORE ~
Lord Otto stepped forward in the too-white office. “No. Absolutely not.”
I crossed my arms and entered the room the overlords were lounging in. “The invitation didn’t say I couldn’t bring anyone. And Adelie is my support system. I want her here.”
“No.” The lord didn’t budge.
My molars ground together, and I stepped in front of my friend, cutting off his glare on her person. I decided honesty might actually get me further in this situation than to lie my ass off. “Lord Otto, when I say she’s my support system I actually mean that. And finding out who will be the possible King Novitiate, and having to meet him…is a little off-putting for me.”
His mouth snapped shut, but he didn’t stop scowling.
I cleared my throat and explained further. “I’m terrible with men for longstanding, personal relationships. Most find me intimidating. And I know this doesn’t have to be a romantic match—which I’m incredibly grateful for—but it will be a personal one no matter what. Having Adelie here as a buffer will help me—and him.”
Lord Otto’s blink was dangerously slow. “That was refreshingly honest.”
Heat flooded my cheeks, painting them pink against my pale complexion. “Yes…well…”
I didn’t mention all my previous boyfriends somehow wound up dead. The only one still alive was Lord Pippin.
I swear, I was a plague in the love department.
I would date. Eventually, it would end in a very bad way—usually with them telling me I was shit-on-a-stick. Then the man was dead. Like a damn curse.
The overlords didn’t need to know that though.
I cocked a hip and continued to hold my arms over my chest. This was embarrassing. My skin heated even further.
I just knew my blush was rising to my hairline, little beads of sweat dotting my brow.
Lord Pippin stepped forward, his eyes cast to the other Lord. “It makes sense. Let Adelie stay. It’s not breaking any laws.”
Lord Otto drummed his fingers against his legs, studying my sullen expression.
“Good grief,” Lord Cato grumbled. “Make up your damn mind. I’d rather not be up all night watching you two stare at one another. Unlike you, I enjoy my sleep.”
Lord Otto flicked a glare in his direction but swiftly returned his regard to my person. He bent forward and hissed, “If she does anything wrong during this Challenge, I will kill her myself. Do you understand, candidate?”
I quickly nodded. “Understood, Lord Otto.”
“About fucking time,” Lord Cato growled. He barged straight between us, heading to the door. Grumpy and irate. Over his shoulder, he barked, “Let’s go, people. I know you can move faster than that.”
I turned and quickly followed after my horrible father.
Adelie leaned toward me, whispering softly, “What pissed him off?”
Lord Xenon answered—directly behind us, “His favorite chattel was taken before we came here. And he doesn’t like using his position as overlord to make a feeding vampire give up his meal just because that blood is one of his favorites.”
“I can hear you!
” Cato bellowed, far down the hallway.
My eyes narrowed on his back. Those actions were of an individual testing their own limits. I knew that game well. I played it all the time with my own willpower.
Bile rose in my throat with the thought that we were anything alike.
Sensing my discomfort, Adelie broke the silence. “Lords, where will the Challenge be held?”
Lord Pippin replied, “In a ceremony room not directly attached to the stronghold. We have to go outside to get there.”
Shoving my queasiness down, I questioned, “What was it like for you guys when it happened to you? Is it just like the compulsion you used on the possible candidates?”
Lord Xenon spoke, no inflection in his words. “It is a thousand times worse for the male. Because we use the female’s blood in the magic. It amplifies a mating response the likes of which can only be reproduced with drugs.”
I blinked as we marched down the grand staircase to the front door. “So, you’re pretty much telling me that every man who comes tonight is going to be horny as fuck?”
The steadfast lord didn’t mince words. “Yes. Exactly.”
Lord Belshazzar added, “It can get volatile. That’s why we started using this ceremony room. If anyone tries to attack another physically, then magic instantly renders them unconscious.”
Adelie snapped her fingers as we hit the tiling. “It’s the old jail!”
The eldest lord snickered. “Indeed. But it’s all cleared out now.”
“This sounds like so much fun.” I swallowed on a dry throat.
Lord Otto grunted. “Don’t pass out. I did let your friend come.”
“I’m not going to pass out!” I exclaimed, catching one of the enormous front doors with two hands to hold it open after Cato’s rude departure. “I’m just…”
“Nervous,” Lord Pippin supplied helpfully, extremely pleased with himself by the smug grin on his face. “You usually suck with men—no pun intended—so you’re nervous.”
I let the door flop back onto his face.
The thud was immensely satisfying.
“Not nice,” he grumbled from behind the thick wood. “Now I understand why you have issues with the opposite sex. You can’t handle honesty about one’s self told from another person.”
I sighed heavily and almost ran to catch up with my asshole father.
Anything would be better than Lord Pippin’s psychoanalysis.
Adelie linked one of her arms in mine, keeping our side against one another.
I peered into her brown eyes. “You always know what I need.”
“That’s because I’m the most amazing friend in the world.” She shrugged.
I opened my mouth and then snapped it shut.
I really couldn’t disagree with that.
* * *
I quieted my steps inside the ominous cavern, definitely echoing inside this space. Magic pulsed in the air, pulling up goose bumps along my flesh. The walls were bare and black stone, only lights hanging like dead tree limbs from the ceiling to light the solid black ground below. Folding chairs packed the floor, all empty, and all facing a raised platform at the end of the cave.
The overlord’s chairs must have been moved here because their fancy seating graced the stage, spotlights illuminating them in a harsh glow. Complete intimidation factor.
My eyes caught on Cato. He was slipping into a hidden door behind the stage.
When the door closed, it appeared just like the rock wall. Even to my eyesight.
“I’m glad I never got into trouble,” Adelie hissed, glancing around as if ghosts were spiriting the old jail. “This is spooky on a different level.”
I nodded once. I agreed wholeheartedly.
The rest of the overlords passed us by, all heading to the same ‘door’ that Cato had entered. Adelie’s arm and mine were still linked, so I pulled her at a fast clip behind them. I certainly didn’t want to get stuck down here. And I was positive Adelie didn’t either.
No one’s shoes clicked on the floor.
We were all silent in this arena.
Apparently, some things even disturbed overlords.
Like the reverberating of vampire hearing.
It was damn near never-ending.
Lord Xenon opened the wall-door.
We entered single file, making it so Adelie had to release my arm from her death grip.
I wiggled my fingers down by my sides, attempting to get circulation flowing.
Stone steps led us up into a dark abyss.
I squinted and kept my hands near my guns.
This place didn’t sit well in my gut.
Lord Xenon opened another door at the top of the stairs.
Blinding white light pierced all of us.
Lord Pippin glanced back at me, stating cheerfully, “If you aren’t supposed to be up here, the magic will kill you when you cross the entryway.”
“That’s…pleasant.” I ignored Adelie’s instant jabbing in my back with a pointed finger. “Who grants access?”
“The magic.” He snorted as if I should have known.
“And that’s comforting,” I mumbled.
But there was no stopping me. I knew what I wanted. And that meant crossing the threshold. I quickly followed the overlords the rest of the way up the stairs and grabbed Adelie’s hand. I placed my other in front of my eyes to shade them from the blinding light, but it wasn’t coming from one particular place. It merely came from everywhere—probably even my own body by the way the back of my hand close to my face only hurt my eyes worse.
Inhaling quickly, I rushed past the entrance.
Dragging a struggling and silent Adelie in behind me.
Neither of us died. Instead, a potent pine smell floated around us. The blinding light died away where we stood stock still.
Adelie and I peered at one another, our eyes roaming up and down each other’s frames checking for any injuries. We were healthy and whole, even if a little disheveled and wide-eyed.
Lord Otto commanded, “Over here.”
Instantly, we peered around the sweet smelling room we were in.
A glass pane covered one wall, looking down on the cavern. The rest of the wall was shaped in a crescent moon curving around to make a lopsided circle. There were stars in the ceiling as the lighting, or at least they appeared that way. Red couches, a wooden table and chairs, a small kitchen and bathroom occupied the edges of the room.
And in the center, there was a cauldron.
An honest to God cauldron.
It frothed white at the top, the mixture inside it scalding. Smoke lifted into the air and disappeared once it hit the ceiling. The smell of forests was coming from the bubbling brew inside the cauldron’s depths. And there was no fire beneath it to even warm a single cup of water. Magic danced around the pot, almost tangible in the air.
A small choked gasp emanated from Adelie’s throat.
I merely patted her shoulder, my eyes on the overlords. Then I came closer to their huddled circle around the black pot.
Their eyes were on me as I stepped into their circle.
Curious, I asked, “What is this place?”
Lord Belshazzar supplied, “It was the guard room. Where they took their breaks.”
I flicked a finger at the magic cauldron centered between us. “And this?”
“Well, that wasn’t here before.” He smirked. “We bring it out on special occasions.”
I jerked, freezing in place, eyes enormous on my face.
Cato had rolled up one shirtsleeve and dunked his hand down into the scalding brew.
“W-what the hell?” I gasped. My eyes flew to his. “Are you suicidal?”
His lips quirked, and he chuckled. His arm was still down in the mixture. “It won’t hurt me. Or any other overlord. But, watch… You’ll like this.”
I blinked, and my attention slammed back down to the magic before me.
My jaw started to fall down, gaping wide as Cato lifted his arm out of
the mixture. His arm was merely wet, but that wasn’t what held my attention. The golden chain he was dragging out of the cauldron did. Because I knew what that was. Every child learned about it at some point.
A blood-red jewel the size of my fist finally surfaced as Cato stretched the chain.
He pulled the necklace free of the cauldron, the jewel twinkling under the stars.
“The Original vampire amulet,” I breathed in awe. I reached out a hand, in a daze of wonder. “May I touch it?”
Cato quickly jerked it back, away from my reaching fingers. He shook his head once, his tone quieting in seriousness. “Only overlords can touch it without dying. Never try that again.”
I dropped my arm, and muttered, “What if I become queen?”
“Only overlords, Gwynnore.”
“You mean, only men,” I clarified. Then I crossed my arms in frustration. “That’s bullshit.”
“And yet it doesn’t change anything.” His head cocked, eyeing me.
I jerked my regard away from my loser father and found Adelie. She was standing off to the side, bouncing on the tips of her toes trying to see the Original vampire amulet. I waved her closer, offering, “Come and look before we begin whatever this is.”
She practically plowed into my back in her haste to take my place. Lord Belshazzar grabbed my elbow, stopping me from taking a header into the cauldron.
I muttered, “Thanks.”
He grunted and released me.
I moved to the side and let her through.
She stood blinking. And blinking. And blinking.
Cato bit his bottom lip and lifted the necklace, gently swinging it back and forth in front of her face. “You are getting sleepy. So sleepy—”
I grabbed her shoulders and yanked her back. I hissed, “What the hell are you doing?”
He tossed the most powerful vampire artifact back and forth between his hands like it was a baseball. “It was a joke, Gwynnore. I wasn’t doing anything.”
“That wasn’t funny,” I growled, studiously pretending not to hear all of the overlords chuckling at his kidding nature—if that was what you called it. I gently pushed Adelie toward the closest couch. “Go sit over there. I don’t know how long this is going to take.”
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