I looked at her in surprise.
"Darling, I have been with your parents for centuries. I know their secrets. Tell me, have they found her?"
"You mean…?"
"Your sister."
I couldn't believe that she knew. "No, not yet. They have some more…steps to complete first."
Mattie nodded. "How many…steps have they gone through so far?"
"Just the first one."
She nodded again. "I used to be your sister's watcher when she was little. You always reminded me of her, except that your wild streak was filled with innocence and wonder. There was always a certain deviousness about Ida. I'm sure you'll see that when you meet her."
"You've been with my parents that long?"
She nodded.
"Are you not a vampire?" I whispered. "I mean, if you were around to be my sister's watcher, I don't see how you could be."
"No, darling. I'm of your mother's kind. They had me shape shift along with them when they took on their new identities."
"Don't they plan to let you go? I can't believe that they've let you waste away down here all of these years!"
"After living for thousands of years, a decade and a half is nothing. It hasn't been fun, but I know that they'll let me out when everything is in place. They have an image to uphold until then. Once they're ready, they'll let me out and I'll be of service once again. They know whom they can trust. You should go, dear. I'm sure they'll be looking for you."
"Isn't there anything that I can do for you?" I asked.
"No, I'm just waiting to be let out."
"It's just not right that they let you waste away down here."
"It could be a lot worse. They've taken very good care of me over the centuries and have spared me many other hardships. I'm doing well enough; don't worry about me. I do appreciate that you care. I thought that you might have forgotten me since you grew up around the humans."
"I did forget everything for a while, but once I saw Cliff everything started to come back."
"That boy was always so good to you. Be careful though."
"Why?" I asked, surprised. "Why would I need to be careful of him?"
"His parents are not what they seem."
"I've already figured that out. Why would I need to worry about him, though?"
"Parents are very influential over their children. He may be able to retain his pure heart, but he might easily be swayed by them. Just be careful, my dear. I don't want to see anything happen to you. Remember what you really are, that you're much stronger than he is. Don't forget that."
"He wouldn't hurt me!"
"If he's still the same as he was as a boy, I believe it. He would have gone to the ends of the earth and back for you. But, as I say, the influence of parents can be very strong."
"Why does his mother hate me so much? I don't get it. If I'm supposed to be their ticket to the throne, I'd think that she'd be a lot fonder of me."
Mattie shook her head. "That Francine is extremely power hungry, as I'm sure you've figured out. She wants to wipe you and your parents out as soon as her son is on the throne. I've always been able to see that in her eyes. Once he's king, and your family is out of the way, she would then be queen. I'm certain that she has someone else ready to marry her son once she's gotten rid of you and your parents."
My head was spinning. It made sense, but I couldn't believe that she was planning to kill us. It also made sense that she wouldn't want me to be near Cliff. "Do you know who she wants to marry him?" I choked out.
"I always thought she was a little too fond of that Samantha."
"Samantha? But, they're not in line for the throne! Her mom is a common vampire."
"Yes, but her father would be king if he hadn't married the common vampire. She is his eldest daughter. There are those who believe that his is the rightful line, regardless of him marrying a common vampire." She laughed and then whispered, "Just think what Francine will do when she finds out that your father isn't even the vampire he claims to be."
I flashed back to when I had traded places with Cliff. Samantha was trying to seduce him and convince him that she'd get him eventually. Why was she always going after the guys that I cared about? Were Samantha and Francine working together? Is that how Samantha knew where I was when she targeted Tanner? I already suspected that Francine was working with the werewolves. I wouldn't put it past her to work with Samantha, too.
"I can see your wheels spinning, dear. You know I'm right."
"I wonder if Francine would like me more if she knew who I really am. That's a lot more prestigious than where Samantha stands."
Mattie laughed. "That's a good point. You may suddenly become her best friend." Her face suddenly became dark and serious. "Don't ever trust that woman. Ever. Promise me that."
Eyes wide, I nodded in agreement.
"You should go. Thank you for visiting me. You don't know how glad I am to see you again. Guard!"
The guard opened the door and escorted me out. The servant that had brought me down there was waiting for me, and he took me back to my room.
As soon as he was gone, I waited a minute and then opened my door. I peeked out and looked down the hall in both directions. I didn't see anyone, so I went out, closed my door and walked quietly down the hall. I wanted to find Cliff, but I didn't know where his room was, so I was going to have to explore.
I went down a few hallways, holding my breath and staying out of sight. When I came to a hall that I hadn't been down, I quickly took it. As I was taking in the magnificence of everything, I heard Francine's voice. My heart sank, but I decided to see what she was up to. I tiptoed in the direction of her voice and stopped just before a doorway that was slightly ajar. She probably didn't even realize it was open.
"Wes, have you made any progress with Toby?" she asked and then paused. "You need to try harder! Do you understand? He's much too influential with your kind. We need him on our side."
I strained to hear what Wes was saying through the phone, but couldn't make out any words.
Francine continued, "I know he thinks he can make strides by befriending Alexis. You don't have to tell me that! He wants peace for his species, blah, blah, blah. I know. What you need to understand is we need him on our side. Do whatever it takes! It's becoming increasingly clear that I will only become queen by planning a war. We need Toby on our side. I can still hurt your family."
I heard the sound of a phone hanging up and jumped. I looked around and ran back to my room. Toby had to be Mr. Foley, and Francine had to be planning a war against us—with the werewolves.
TWENTY SEVEN
I rolled over, feeling extremely rested. I must have slept for a long time because I remembered being so tired from the long day I had had. I stretched and opened my eyes. I nearly fell out of bed when I saw Cliff sitting in a chair across the room. He was reading a book.
I calmed myself and stared at him, enjoying the sight. No matter how many times I saw him, I never failed to be amazed at how alluring he was. He looked up from his book and his face lit up when he saw me.
"Finally, you're awake."
"Was I asleep for a long time? I feel so refreshed."
He smiled and set his book down. "You should. You've been sleeping for nearly a day. That's almost unheard of for a vampire."
"How long have you been sitting there?"
"A few hours. I wanted to make sure that you were okay. You had me worried."
I sat up. "I'm sorry. I was so tired."
"I understand, my princess." He stood up, walked over to me and gave me a kiss on the top of my head. "I'll let you get up and get ready now. We can meet for something to eat in the dining room."
I was so happy to be back in the same place as he was. "Stay. Please, don't go. I missed you so much, Cliff. Just stay here with me." I sounded so needy, but didn't care. What was wrong with me? I had never wanted to turn into a clingy girlfriend.
It didn't appear to have put him off. He brushed a wisp of ha
ir behind my ear and said, "Our passion has been like a growing fire. It's all consuming and I don't want to fall into temptation here in your room. I'll see you when you're ready." He kissed my hand and was gone.
I got ready as quickly as I could, wearing pants and a hoodie. I hoped that would be okay to wear in the castle. I figured that if it weren't, someone would surely tell me. I went to the dining hall and Cliff was there, talking with some vampires that I didn't recognize.
He came over to me, grabbed my hand and walked me over to them. He introduced me to them as some leaders from the Far East. We exchanged pleasantries, and then Cliff and I sat down. Servants immediately arrived with food and placed it in front of us.
We ate and then as the servants removed our plates, Cliff said, "My parents have me running an errand this afternoon. I told them I would not be running any errands for them that would take more than a few hours. I don't know why they're so intent on keeping us apart, but I won't let them. Even though they're my parents and my superiors."
I hesitated. Should I tell him why they were so against us?
Cliff looked at me and immediately knew that I was holding something back. He grabbed my shoulders and suddenly we were out in the hall. "What do you know?" he whispered.
I looked around, and then looked at him. "I met with Mattie yesterday and she was able to fill in some details for me."
"You can't believe her. She's the one who sent you to live with the humans."
"My parents are the ones who allowed me to stay with the humans. Mattie's been with my parents for…a very long time. A lot longer than you would think. She told me that your parents want to restore the 'real' order of the throne."
He looked at me intently. "What do you mean?"
"They want you to be with Samantha. They believe my uncle to be the true king, and they want you to marry me only to get you on the throne. Then they want to kill my parents and I—to have you marry her."
"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!"
I raised an eyebrow. "Is it really, Cliff? Think about it."
"Do you know that you're accusing my parents of treason?"
"Look, I'm not accusing them of anything. I'm stating the facts."
He scowled. "I know they desperately want me on the throne, but they're not in on anything with your uncle. He's happy living quietly with his wife. They've been madly in love for centuries, and happier not dealing with all the drama that comes with the throne. I've spent time with them and I know he has no desire to be involved with it."
"You don't think it's possible that they're in cahoots with Samantha? She's so desperate to get on the throne she joined the Moretti's and played a vital part in my abduction. Remember that? She even set me up to fall in love with Tanner by giving him that ring with the spell on it."
I could tell that he was processing everything that I'd just said.
"Seriously, Cliff. She has a star tattoo on her neck. She got a tattoo so that she could pretend to be the Sonnast. What does that tell you?"
His face flashed with anger. "You're right—you've got to be. I need to talk to them and find out what's really going on. First I need to carefully plan out what to say. I'm sorry, my princess. I was going to spend some time with you, but I need to take care of this now."
I nodded. "I understand."
He kissed my cheek and disappeared again.
I barely blinked before Alrekur was standing next to me. "Finally, you got rid of him. He's persistent."
I sighed. "What do you want?"
"I have a surprise for you. Come with me."
"A surprise?" I asked.
"Follow me." He started walking in the direction of his wing and I reluctantly followed. He took me to a different part of the wing than we'd been in the night before. We went into a very large room, one with an enormous fireplace and animal skins all over the walls.
He saw me looking at the skins. "You like the animals? I killed them all myself. What's amazing is that even after all of these years, the fur is still as soft as it was when I left."
I was disgusted by them, actually, but then realized that I shouldn't be. I had fed on, and killed, my fair share of animals. Not to mention people.
"Come and feel this one," he said, rubbing the fur of a white animal.
I walked over and rubbed the fur. It looked like it would be rough and course, but it was shockingly soft. "What is it?"
"This is a unicorn. He tried to kill me, but you can see who killed who. But you don't look impressed. I forgot that you're not used to most of the world's creatures. Unicorns are one of the most difficult creatures on earth to kill; only a few have ever been killed. They usually die naturally."
He walked to the next animal. "This was a werewolf who was determined to rid the world of all vampires." He laughed, petting the fur.
"Are all of these animal furs from magical creatures?" I asked.
"No, there are regular wildlife pelts in here too. I've got a polar bear rug over there," he said, and pointed to a massive white rug in front of an enormous couch. "That guy really gave me a run for my money. I'll have to tell you the story someday."
"So, what's my surprise?"
"Oh, yes, the surprise." Alrekur turned to some servants that were in the room. "Bring him in!"
Him?
Two servants walked in, dragging someone who was furiously fighting to get away. I couldn't see his face.
"Leave him here and shut the door on your way out. Stand guard."
The two servants threw the guy on the floor and closed the massive door on their way out. The guy stood up, dusted his clothes off and looked at me.
"Tanner!"
"Alexis! You're alive!"
"Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?" I demanded.
"Everyone said that you'd been eaten by wolves. I thought the werewolves got you!"
I'd momentarily forgotten about Amanda telling him that story. "Everyone told you that? Is that what people think?"
"Yes. Everyone at school, your parents, and even my mom. Everyone."
I was confused. I'd talked to Natalie after arriving at the castle and she'd said that everyone thought I was away as a foreign exchange student. Apparently I'd had quite the going away party too.
My father walked into the room from a different entrance. He had a wide smile on his face. "Darling," he said to me, "I overheard you telling your friend that you wanted this boy to believe you'd been eaten by wolves. I did you a favor and controlled his mind to hear 'eaten by wolves' every time someone told him you left to be a foreign exchange student."
"That was a trick?" Tanner exclaimed. "That was horrible! I would say something about Alexis and people would say that she'd been eaten by wolves—like it was no big deal! I would yell at them about their cruelty and they just told me to chill. They said it was no big deal. At least now it all makes sense now." He folded his arms and scowled.
I tried to hold back a giggle, imagining it.
Alrekur smiled at me. "I always have liked your father."
"Why did you bring Tanner here?" I asked him.
"I need to get rid of my competition."
"Your…competition?"
"You love this human and I can't have that. We're destined to be together."
Tanner raised an eyebrow. "I thought you were destined to be with Cliff."
"Yet you still love her," Alrekur said to him with a smile. "No, she's not destined to be with that son of Halldor. That's a fable you've all been fed."
"He's not a human anymore," I said. "I turned him. You don't need to kill Tanner."
Alrekur smiled, and even though it was an evil smile, I found myself drawn to him. He was breathtaking, even when he was being a jerk. I couldn't take my eyes off his beautiful face. "This gets more and more interesting," he said with that gorgeous but devious smile. "Did you happen to change him with your blood?"
"What if I did?" I asked, surprised at my rising rage. How could I feel so drawn to him and so angry at him
at the same time?
"Definitely interesting. Look at him and tell me that you don't love him."
I glared at Tanner. "The way that he was behaving when I last saw him, I'm pretty sure he doesn't love me."
"Was this insignificant human treating you poorly? I can make him regret that."
"No. Just let him go. I promise you that he's nothing to me."
Tanner looked wounded. "Alexis, I'm sorry for what I did to you. I didn't mean it. I was mad at you—because I love you."
Alrekur looked at me. "Tell me that you don't love him too."
I looked away from Tanner. "He means nothing to me. Just let him go."
Alrekur looked directly into my eyes. "That's not what I said. Tell me that you don't love him."
I thought of him kissing Hailey and glaring at me. "I don't…he's not your competition."
Alrekur moved right in front of my face. "Say the words! Say you don't love him." He grabbed my chin and forced me to look at Tanner. "Say it."
I shook my head and tears started running down my face and onto his hand.
"I knew it," Alrekur and Tanner said in unison.
Alrekur let my face go.
"What are you going to do?" I asked, still crying.
"I'm going to get rid of him."
"Get rid of him?" I demanded. I looked at Tanner. I'll distract him and you get out of here. Run through the wall and just go. You don't want to mess with him. He's the most powerful vampire ever.
"I'm going to kill him," Alrekur told me.
"Don't hurt him," I begged. "I do love him, but I'm done with him romantically. He's like a brother to me."
"Brothers betray. That's why I killed two of my Fyrsturae brothers, darling Sonnast," he snarled.
Tanner ran to the far wall.
Before he could get through, Alrekur saw him. Standing still, Alrekur outstretched one hand towards Tanner. "Stop!"
Tanner fell to the ground, clutching his neck. "Let…me…go!"
"Stop!" I pleaded. "What are you doing to him?"
Alrekur glared at me, but put his hand down.
Tanner got up, gagging. He stared at Alrekur and ran towards him.
Alrekur put his hand out again and Tanner froze in place.
The Transformed Box Set: Books 1, 2, 3, 3.5 Page 64