Pirate's Curse: Division 1: The Berkano Vampire Collection
Page 20
And the people—human, witch, and vampire—followed her.
When she arrived at the port, she stood on a stack of crates and addressed the people.
“We will rebuild,” she said. “And everyone—human, witch, and vampire—will find safety in the NOLA Division.”
The crowd cheered, but some of the people had concerns.
“The vampires are monsters!” one man called out.
“The humans only want to hunt us down,” a witch cried.
“What are we to eat?” a vampire asked.
“I know it will be difficult at first,” Catheryn said. “But we will find a way. Together, we will learn how the three races can co-exist. But it will take time. Have faith in me, and we will find our way through the storm together. Trust me, I’ve guided through worse!”
The people cheered again. They believed in her, trusted her.
“Three cheers for Queen Catheryn!” someone called out.
Slowly but surely, the whole crowd joined in calling for Catheryn as their queen.
Catheryn bowed to the people, acknowledging her acceptance of the title. That sent the crowd into a near frenzy of joy and excitement.
Rainier helped Catheryn down off the crates.
“Eva,” she said. “I need your help.”
“I know,” Eva said. “I’ll take care of it. My people will work on establishing order through the city and act as an emergency police force. But it will only be temporary. You’ll need to appoint a council with members from every race to advise you on how to move forward.”
“Hold on,” Catheryn said. “For my first act as queen, I want to appoint the queen’s official consort.” She gave Rainier a sly smile. “Will you accept? Will you marry me and be my king?”
Rainier laughed. “I will!”
They kissed, and the crowd cheered again.
When Catheryn and Rainier separated, they couldn’t stop smiling. Finally, Catheryn turned to Eva. “Okay,” she said. “Now you may rally your temporary police force to establish order.”
“Aye-aye, ma’am,” Eva said, giving her new queen a salute and running off to do her bidding.
“There are still many concerns,” Rainier said. “The waters are rising. There is a food shortage, for humans and vampires. The world is still fractured.”
Catheryn nodded. “I know. I have no doubt that my rule will be plagued with problems, some too large for me to fix. But we will take it one day at a time.”
They linked their fingers and walked back toward the guild house.
“But what about you?” Catheryn asked. “Can you really live as a human? I know you loved your life on the sea.”
“I don’t imagine I will stay landlocked forever,” Rainier said. “If you can establish peace in the city, who knows, maybe that peace will extend to the ocean as well. One day I will return to the water, with you by my side as my pirate queen.”
“And you, as my hoodoo king,” Catheryn replied.
The two embraced, never to be parted again.
The End
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About Leigh Anderson
Leigh Anderson has lived in Asia for many years, which inspires her to write romances set in ancient China. Her friends and family have no idea what she writes in the dark hours of the night, when sleep eludes her. She keeps her fantasies safe within the confines of her writing….for now.
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About Rebecca Hamilton
NEW YORK TIMES, USA TODAY, AND WALL STREET JOURNAL bestselling author Rebecca Hamilton lives in Georgia with her husband and four kids, all of whom inspire her writing. Somewhere in between using magic to disappear booboos and sorcery to heal emotional wounds, she takes to her fictional worlds to see what perilous situations her characters will find themselves in next. Represented by Rossano Trentin of TZLA, Rebecca has been published internationally, in three languages.
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