She followed my order without hesitation but kept stealing peeks at the jewel.
Who wouldn’t? It was magnificent and awe-inspiring.
And I didn’t feel any power coming off it at all. Weird.
My attention snared on the overlords. “What happens now?”
“For this Challenge, you must bleed on the amulet. We will then combine our powers to bring forth the men who are a possible match for you,” Lord Xenon issued the Challenge. “We don’t believe it will take long because most vampire bachelors of a certain age have already traveled to the castle in anticipation of this. Those doors will flood with males and will be unable to leave unless we allow them to.”
My lips pinched before I growled, “Do I even get a say in who will be my king?”
Lord Xenon explained patiently, “Remember, Gwynnore, he will not only be your king, but he will be the king of the entire vampire race.”
My eyebrows shot up. “So that’s a no?” Give me a damn straight answer.
I had been honest in this Challenge so far.
They could give me the same courtesy.
“Yes, you do have some say in it. In fact, you have the final word once we’ve narrowed down the candidates to five individuals.” His eyes roamed my features. “Overlords tend to pick well. There haven’t been any bad matches in over two thousand years.”
The righteous anger flooding my system dissipated—a little. “Fine.”
He blinked. “Fine? No argument?”
“There’s nothing I can say right now that will change any of this.” I shook my head slightly, my jaw grinding together. “This is currently the law.”
His head cocked. “Currently?”
I snapped my mouth shut. Too much information.
Lord Xenon stared, his gaze unflinching. “Candidate, you would do well to know that there have been plenty of queens in the past who have tried to change the law. But it never passes. And do you know why?”
My eyes narrowed, not speaking.
He answered anyway. “Because the magic won’t work if the law changes. And every vampire is made up of magic. Meaning, our race would be annihilated. So it is in your best interest to flush any ideas you have to change the law down the drain. If you don’t, you’ll only be setting yourself up for disappointment.”
I could only stare.
My heart was breaking.
My chest physically ached.
He didn’t move to console me. He simply waited for me to come to terms with it.
Eventually, I sucked in a mouthful of oxygen. “You’re lying.”
“I am not. You have my word on it as overlord.”
I shook my head rapidly. “There has to be something—”
Lord Xenon held up an instant hand, cutting off my words. “While these laws cannot change—the Original laws—there are plenty that…may…need updating. Laws that were enacted by Kings, not the Originals, long ago that are still in place.”
“How many are there against women?” I probed immediately.
“Too many to count.” His eyes roamed my features once more. “Do you wish to continue as the Queen Novitiate?”
My chest pumped hard with all these secrets coming to light.
But my answer was simple. “I do, Lord Xenon. I want to rule the vampires.”
The lord nodded, and the Original vampire amulet was placed in his palm. He simply held it in front of me, his direction easy, “Bleed on it. One drop will do.”
My fangs descended.
I pricked one of my fingers.
I held my finger over the amulet, careful not to touch it.
Ping.
One drop of crimson blood splattered its surface.
“Please move away, candidate,” he ordered—not unkindly. “We must work now.”
I stepped back until the backs of my knees hit the couch Adelie sat silently on.
She grabbed my hand and held it tight, both of our nerves raw.
Our dreams were crashing down on us.
But perhaps that was where new goals began.
If many laws still hindered women, I would handle those once I took the crown. One by one, I would change them. I would alter the future for women in our society.
I would be their advocate.
Their knightress in shining armor.
My knees gave out as magic suffocated the room.
My ass landed hard on the couch.
The overlords were working, their heads bent together over the cauldron. Whispers filtered in the air, but they were only wisps on an unseen breeze. I couldn’t catch them no matter how hard I focused. They were bringing the future king here…
CHAPTER TEN
~KIMBER~
S’Kir had lit up, the joy diffusing through the city as the announcement was heralded.
Elex had come with a team that had gone back to the cave to confirm that the new cavern was there and just as magnificent as we had reported.
The masters had made the trek out themselves the next day, with Elex and me in tow.
The cave was larger this time. Deeper, and there were more exposed crystals. They danced with light and once again when I laughed, the light tripped through them brightly.
The light also liked Lunella’s laugh, as well as most of the other twelve masters and Elex.
The exception was Dorian, who didn’t even try it.
Stick in the mud that he was.
But everyone was satisfied with my report, and with what Elex and the others had reported, as well.
I didn’t have time to breathe, and Elex and I could not find a moment to steal to see each other.
Mere days went by, and there were huge celebrations in the planning. So many parties erupted throughout the city, and we weren’t even in more than the planning stage for the largest celebrations.
My position at the temple changed, as well. I was expecting that I would be back in the classroom the next week, but when I arrived that first day, there was a new teacher.
I thought Dorian had me removed, and I would have no reason or purpose there anymore.
I didn’t need to worry.
Lunella was waiting outside the class for me, grinning broadly. “You are not meant to teach anymore, my dear. Your powers have expanded beyond your small lessons, and I will now be taking on your magical education. Tymon will be helping me, as well. There are parties to plan, and you’ll be helping Mistress Danai with those.”
“Mistress, will I never teach again?”
“Oh, you’ll teach again when you’re an accomplished high druid, my dear.”
I tripped over my own two feet at that one.
“High druid?”
“Of course, my dear. You’ve been chosen by the magic of S’Kir to be a part of the key that unlocks our world and borders. While teaching our young ones is certainly a noble calling, you have been called elsewhere now.”
I was both intrigued and terrified by the potential.
The next weeks were a whirlwind of lessons, learning, planning, parties, decisions, dresses, and formal audiences.
I could barely tell which way was up.
At the same time, everything was exhilarating. I was talking to people, high ranked officials, magic users, defense force leaders, educators, leaders of the people of S’Kir every day.
The biggest shock for me was discovering I was being moved from my lovely little apartment near the market to the biggest of the dormitories on the temple campus.
Not just the biggest building, but I was being given the biggest of the apartments.
I didn’t have enough to furnish it. Most of the rooms were empty, and that was equal parts sad and exciting. Instead, I was excited until Lunella came to tell me that I had to have a receiving room.
“What on S’Kir for?”
“My dear.” She took my arm and walked me through the foyer into the back of the apartment. “You are becoming a very important person if you haven’t noticed.”
“I have, excellency. I�
��m not sure I understand it.” Pausing, I added, “I’m not sure I’m ready for it, either.”
Lunella’s grin was indulgent. I was still a child in her eyes. “We are never ready, Kimber. Millennia, two, five… we are never ready. But the magic has chosen you, and you are a piece of the puzzle—the puzzle we have been working for all these thousands of years.”
The woman managed to even sit elegantly on the worn chaise I had in the corner. “I am not sure of your role in the Breaking Times. But the magic called you to the mountain, and that means that you are a part of this. Not everything is revealed to us, but we have to trust that we are being guided toward a purpose.”
Danai took over my days soon after. The list of tasks to accomplish was stunning, but she was a driven woman, and she pushed through everything. If something needed to be done, she would persist until it was done.
I was exhausted.
Days before the first of the large, public celebrations, the Breaking Fire was lit in the inner courtyard of the Temple Masters’ residence. Eleven of the twelve masters were there, along with Elex and a few elders of the city.
It rose from the pit with a thousand dancing sparks and burned a bright white and yellow, throwing heat against the chill in the air. We stood silent, watching the steady flames as they settled into their home. The fire was oddly beautiful.
And lasted approximately two minutes before Master Dorian swept out of the building and extinguished it with his magic. No one should have been able to extinguish the fire, even the powerful Master Dorian.
“I have allowed this to go on long enough!” His voice split the air around us with anger and impatience.
Lunella, Danai, Tymon, Hedregon, and two more turned to see where he was approaching us. Elex pulled me against his side, protective of me around Dorian.
Elex witnessed one of the master’s rude and awful outbursts at me during a lesson earlier that week and had been angry with the ancient master ever since.
“You have allowed nothing, Master Dorian,” Tymon said, stepping toward him. “You have hidden like a coward and tried to destroy our celebrations. You have belittled and berated…well, everyone gathered here. You act worse than a spoiled child, and we are all exhausted from fighting against you.”
“You cannot stop the Breaking Time, Dorian,” Danai said.
“Don’t you know it’s not a celebration?” His head whipped around, pinning each of us with his burning gold eyes. “Don’t you know that all this ‘good news’ bullshit is what happens to facts when they are infused with myths? There should be no joy in this! There should be no celebration! This fire”—his finger whipped out and pointed to the embers—“signals terrible change.”
Steady and angry, he parsed the group with his gaze, and I bore the brunt with a hard, unwavering stare.
Trying to keep the fear of him down, I straightened my spine and spoke. “It is time for change. We have been stagnant for thousands of years.”
Without a rustle of his black and green robes, Dorian was in my face, looming over me.
“You are an infant. You have no idea what the Breaking Time will bring. Your joy and effervescence are out of place and out of line with the truth. You will suffer the most out of all of us for your naïveté and innocence, and I pity your existence in the face of the magic and the mountains falling.”
Elex yanked me back from the imposing figure and dared to challenge him. “Gods and stars, Dorian! She’s a grown woman! You terrorizing everyone here will never change what has to be!”
Dorian glowered at Elex for moving me away from him, but it didn’t stop him from grabbing my wrist and pulling me into his circle of influence again.
“You will rue this day, child. I would have spared you this.” Lifting his head and sweeping his eyes around the gathered crowd, he raised his voice. “I would have spared all of you this! But fine! Have your celebrations and bonfires. Welcome the coming days when our world falls. Fools.”
Releasing me, but not unkindly, he spun on his heel and threw a hand at the fire as he marched away.
The fire roared to life again, but our joy had been stolen.
Until the moment I had mounted the review platform for the first of the parades and celebrations that Danai and I—mostly Danai—had planned.
Elex stood across from me. I could scarcely believe how handsome he looked in the formal dress. Seeing him on the other platform, smiling, his place among the Guilds assured now, allowed relief to flow through me.
He’d been so angry with Dorian. I was afraid he’d do something foolish. Elex’s magic was strong, but not as strong as the oldest of the Temple Masters.
I didn’t want Dorian pissed off at him.
I didn’t trust Dorian.
The thoughts about the master slipped away as the parade began to file by.
The ribbons intrigued me, shining in the midmorning sun. These twirlers must have practiced for dozens if not hundreds of hours, and it would be a good bet most of that had been since the announcement.
Floats, bands, troupes of dancers, entertainers, gymnasts—they all moved by us, showing off and showing each other up.
There was laughter and bubbling joy all around. Magic was abundant, and to my delight, wound through the crowds, both in the parades and in the spectators, indulging in the happiness.
I learned magic loved life. It loved joy, laughter, friendship.
It loved love.
It thrived on love.
It glowed with love.
It bubbled and danced around Elex, beckoning me over.
Danai’s voice, however, sliced into my pining. This is all so wonderful, Kimber. So wonderful. Everything is going off without a hitch. Have you decided where you are going to go this evening? There are so many different celebrations. There’s the temple, the city square, the mountain, several smaller ones. Wherever you go, make sure you let the guards know.”
She scrutinized me for a moment, and I tipped my head to look up at her. A slow smile spread across her face.
“You know exactly where you’re going after the feasts, and it has nothing to do with another celebration.”
I felt my own slow smile show. “Maybe.”
Her words were close to my ear. “Whoever it is—make sure there are guards at the door. Your place or his.”
The bright red blush heated my cheeks.
Catching my eye, she followed my gaze.
“It’s that handsome Elex, isn’t it?”
There was nothing shy about my smile. “Perhaps.”
“He’s a good choice, my dear. Handsome, loyal, and clearly keen on you. I am sorry that we haven’t left you two alone long enough to… get acquainted.”
“Elex has been my best friend for years. I didn’t realize there was or even could be anything between us.”
“And now you can’t wait to find out.”
My nod was short and sharp.
Straightening her chair, she also gave a short, sharp nod. “I will fix the seating arrangement at the banquet tonight.”
“No, Mistress Danai, you don’t have to—”
A pointed glance at me cut the words off. “Please. You can see the magic…You see how it works. I always do my utmost to accommodate and feed the joy and love that magic likes.” Her head tipped, and she found someone on the platform across from us, the magic flaring around her. I drew a quick breath as she found me again and smiled.
“Just wait until you’re in bed. Better than any fireworks show.”
* * *
Elex’s face was full of concern when he saw his seat had been changed. The moment he saw I was sitting next to him, he relaxed completely and headed over.
The formal dress was doing it for me. So much.
He slipped into the chair with a nod of his head toward me.
“Good evening, Lady Kimber.”
“Good evening to you as well, Lord Elex.”
The titles were new. I still felt odd when people used them, but in his delightfully
deep baritone voice, I found myself really liking it.
Pressing a kiss to my hand, he triggered a mad cascade of electricity through every part of me.
How had we never seen this? And why had we let everyone keep us so far apart for the past weeks?
When he placed my hand back on the table, he didn’t let go. Instead, he trailed his thumb back and forth along my knuckles, and it very much felt as though he had no interest in letting go again.
“You look lovely tonight, Kimber.” His voice was just loud enough to carry over the din of the room. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in anything quite so… bold.”
I gave him a shrug. “Oh, this old thing?”
Chuckling, his head shook.
I had never, ever owned a gown like the one I currently wore. A rich, deep green, it sparkled with a thousand small crystals. The heavier fabric had a high cut neckline, and beyond my shoulders, the sleeves were a sheer material, also laden with the same crystals.
Naturally, Danai and Lunella had dragged me to the shops when they saw my ‘shades-of-beige’ wardrobe.
I really couldn’t argue with them. I was a ‘shades-of-beige’ kind of person until now.
Danai’s face was between us quite suddenly. “It’s an excellent color for her, don’t you think, Lord Elex?”
“I do like it on her,” he agreed.
Danai patted my shoulder and moved on. Elex watched her go and leaned over to me.
“I’d like even more to see what it looks like on the floor of my bedroom.”
With a heaving, false gasp, I whipped my head to him. “Sir, I am scandalized!”
“I can scandalize you even more when the dress is on my floor.”
This time, I just laughed. “You’d better make me regret keeping you at arm’s length, Elex.”
His chin landed on his fist, pretending to think. I slapped his arm and turned back to the table.
“How are your lessons coming along with the immovable boulder that calls itself Dorian?”
Sighing deeply, I rolled my eyes. “About as well as you’d expect. He’s…a boulder. He’s also brilliant, and I’m delighted he agreed to teach me. Still. He could be just a bit nicer.”
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