by Ariel Marie
“Arabella, put your dagger away. He is not our enemy,” the queen hissed, glancing in their direction. “A fool, but not our enemy.”
* * *
~Bella~
Bella slid her dagger back into a thigh sheath that lay hidden beneath her dress. She could barely take her eyes off the prince. His ice blue eyes morphed into a deep crimson as he felt her blade at the base of his neck. She’d had to squeeze her thighs together as her core literally pulsed at the sharp look he had given her.
Her heart pounded in her chest as she continued to sit at his feet. She couldn’t believe that she was having this type of reaction to him. Never before had she reacted to a male like this. One look from him almost had her forgetting her sacred vows.
It was a sign of respect from the future leader of Aphadore to be humble enough to serve their guest. She had served plenty of her mother’s male guests before and never had she reacted this strongly to one of them. There was something about this one. She hadn’t previously encountered anything that could bring the feeling of fear out of her but this vampire had her scared out of her wits.
“Researching our people and realm can’t be the reason you are here, Prince,” her mother stated. “So why don’t you go ahead and tell me why you are really here,” her mother asked.
“We are at war with the necromancers.” His voice was chilling as he wiped away the small drop of blood drawn out by the tip of her blade.
He told of a story where the necromancers exposed themselves in the Terra realm, the Earth realm, as they called it. The necromancers killed humans, trying to draw attention to the vampires. The tale he spun described his sister being kidnapped, her friend’s kidnapping, and the killing of the necromancer prince, Xalak, by his older brother Nicu.
Bella was captivated by his tale. She glanced around the room, finding her sister Shea’s attention focused on the prince, while their mother’s eyes darkened as the prince spoke of the necromancer prince searching for a hidden dark magic witch.
“Has she been released by her prison?” the queen interrupted.
Bella knew that the person that the vampires now searched for was that of a mutual enemy of the valkyrie, the most powerful black magic witch to exist. She had no doubt that her mother would commit the valkyries to this fight. This was the day that she and every valkyrie had been waiting for, to hunt down the witch who caused chaos in their realm centuries ago. She sat up straighter, knowing that she and her warriors would soon be called into action.
“Yes.”
The room drew still at the prince’s one word answer.
“The valkyries will commit. I will send my warriors to aid in the search of Rowena Frost,” the queen said as she walked slowly toward him. “I have but only one request.”
“And that is?” the prince asked as he shifted in his chair.
“Rowena Frost is to die by the sword of a valkyrie warrior.”
Chapter Three
~Teague~
Teague held in a groan as he watched Arabella with her warriors during their training exercises. The sight of her in black leathers, handling a sword did nothing more but add to his fantasies.
All night, the blonde hair, gray eye beauty haunted his dreams leaving him in a state of frustration. He fought to keep his fangs from descending as he watched her swing her sword, fighting off one of the warriors.
Bunule Dumnezeu! He swore under his breath, in his native language, as he continued to watch her.
After the meeting with the queen, Arabella had shown him to his room. He closed his eyes briefly as the memory surfaced.
“I shall show you to your sleeping quarters,” she said, her gray eyes meeting his.
He was unable to get words to form so he just nodded instead. After bidding good night to the queen, he followed her curvy frame from the solarium.
“What is your name?” he asked, walking alongside her.
“My name is Arabella,” she said, not looking at him.
He wracked his brain as they continued to walk through the castle in a comfortable silence. He searched through the information he had learned about the valkyrie before coming to their realm.
Arabella Kaldana was the daughter of Queen Sira. She was one of the queen’s daughters and the fiercest warrior ever to led the queen’s valkyries into battles. From what he could remember, the queen had over twenty children, all of which were females.
The women of Aphadore only produced females. They were very sexual in nature and took many lovers from all of the realms. All except the valkyries. The valkyries were maiden warriors.
His throat constricted just thinking that this beauty, whom he began to think was his destined mate, had never been touched by another male. A growl vibrated in his chest at the thought that a male would one day touch her. Her eyes snapped to his, as her hand hung loosely by her right thigh.
So that’s where she hid the dagger.
For the first time in his life, Teague was unsure of what to say to a female. He had definitely never had this problem before. His brother and sister had recently found their mates and he could see the change in them. The big bad-ass Toma seemed to have settled down now that he was mated to Anika. He remembered speaking to Nadira about how she felt when she first realized Cooper was her mate.
“When a person meets their mate, it hits them here,” she had said, slamming her palm against her chest.
He turned his eyes back to Arabella. “It’s nice to meet you, Arabella. I’m Teague Olaru,” he said, stopping to offer her his hand.
She paused, looking down at his hand before her smaller one grasped his. An electric jolt rushed up his arm as his larger one enclosed hers.
She’s the one.
His mate.
“Yield!” a sharp voice called out, breaking Teague from his daydream. He looked over, finding Arabella standing over a female lying on the ground with Arabella’s sword at the woman’s throat.
He was definitely impressed by what he had witnessed on their training fields. Each area held different training stations; female warriors of all stages mock-fighting, running, and even some gathered around their teachers receiving lectures.
“Good job, Cora,” Arabella said, helping the female off the ground. “Since no one has yet to beat me, you know what that means.” Arabella started to walk in his direction. “Kitt, do you mind?”
“Suicide track, ladies!” Kitt yelled, leaving her post against the fence and walking in the directions of the trainees.
“What is happening?” he asked the woman standing nearest to him. He had learned that these women made up Arabella’s squad.
“Each day after practice, Bella allows one of the trainees, no matter what level, to challenge her. If she wins, then they will have to run the suicide course,” the female named Saida said with a smirk.
“What happens if they win?” he asked, turning away to watch as Arabella spoke to Kitt for a brief moment.
“They would get a weekend off from training,” Saida smirked.
“Has anyone ever managed to beat her?” he asked, as he watched Arabella walk toward him.
“Let’s just say she started letting them challenge her about a year ago,” she said chuckling. “And the trainees haven’t had a day off from training since.”
* * *
~Bella~
She took a deep breath as she walked toward Teague. He was dressed in a black short-sleeved t-shirt with dark blue jeans. Her hungry eyes roamed his body, committing every hard plane of his body to memory. His intense ice blue eyes stared at her as if he could see right through her.
“So I hear that you’re pretty tough to beat,” he said as she stopped next to him.
“Excuse me?” she asked taken aback by the statement.
“Your squad members told me that a trainee has yet to beat you,” he repeated as he folded his arms in front of him.
“No, no one has beaten me,” she said frowning.
She didn’t understand why he would be concerned ab
out the trainees. This was something that the trainees took as a challenge to help improve their fighting skills for when it is their turn to fight for Aphadore.
“I challenge you,” he said.
Her nipples tingled, as his eyes roamed her body, from the tips of her feet and finally settling on her eyes. She tried hard not to the shift in her body show how much his erotic assessment of her had left her wanting to melt to the ground.
“And what would be the prize?” she asked, her head tilting to the side as she sized him up. He was taller and more muscular, but she was sure she was much faster than him.
“I win and the trainees get a day off,” he said with a grin.
“And when I win?” she asked. Her team members drew silent as their eyes bounced back and forth between Bella and Teague as if they were watching one of those tennis matches that the humans played.
“Oh, when huh? Someone’s cocky,” he laughed, stepping closer to her. “You win and you get a kiss.”
“A kiss?” she repeated, trying to keep her voice from squeaking.
Was he flirting with her?
Her eyes drew to his lips and she instantly wondered what it would feel like to have his lips pressed to hers, for him to trail his lips and tongue down the side of her neck. Her eyes widened at the thoughts that ran through her mind.
She looked to her friends standing behind him and they all nodded their heads quickly. Katri drew her pointer finger across her neck as if to signify a knife cutting her neck. End him. Not as in kill him in real life, but show him what a valkyrie warrior was made of.
“You don’t have a weapon,” she pointed out.
“Don’t need one,” he said, rotating his neck and rolling his shoulders.
“Fine, let’s do this,” she said, unbuckling the strap that held her back sheath in place. As it slid off her shoulders, she passed it and her sword to Ulrika. Then she looked to Teague, finding a large predatory grin plastered on his face.
Viva let loose a high-pitched whistle, signaling to Kitt who had almost made it to the suicide track. Viva quickly took off running in Kitt’s direction.
Ten minutes later, Bella and Teague circled each other, sizing each other up. All of the trainees surrounded them, and even more spectators, once word got out that the vampire prince challenged Arabella in a mock fight.
“You sure about this?” she asked, not taking her eyes off him as they continued to circle each other. “The suns are not down yet. I have heard rumors that vampires were weakest during the day. I wouldn’t want this to be an unfair fight.”
She almost wished the suns would hurry and go down. She would love to test him at full strength once it became dark. The competitor in her wanted to win a fight fair and square.
“Don’t you worry about me, warrior,” he said with a smirk, his eyes seeming to darken. Her heart fluttered slightly. The intensity of his eyes made her feel like a prey being stalked by a predator. “Your twin suns will go down shortly but I’ll let you have this handicap.”
The chatter of the crowd drew louder as everyone waited in heightened anticipation for the first blow. Bella, being a true warrior was not afraid to strike first.
So she did.
She swung her right hook, knowing that he would block it. She followed with her left and he barely ducked back enough for the blow to miss. They danced around each other as they tested each other. He would block her, and she in turn would block him. Surprisingly enough, they were quite evenly matched.
Bella’s eyes narrowed on him as the warrior instincts in her demanded that she win. This was different than fighting a trainee; he was a seasoned vampire warrior, a member of the Dark Shadows. She knew of the reputation of the Shadows and knew that this vampire in front of her was extremely deadly.
She used her speed, ducking him and finally landed a punch on his jaw. He didn’t even flinch. He finally grabbed her arm, but she was able to twist herself away to summersault over him, landing behind him. She kicked out her foot, landing in the middle of his back.
He stumbled for a second, before righting himself. Before she could blink, he had turned and was tackling her. Bella’s feet were knocked out from under her, and she landed on her back, with him above her. He pinned her arms to the soft grassy ground.
The crowd drew silent in shock.
“Do you yield?” he asked with a wide grin, her attention captured by his sharp vampiric fangs.
She stared into his crimson eyes, angry with herself for being caught off guard. She’d underestimated how quick he was, forgetting that vampires had super speed. She tried to buck him off her, but he rested his full weight on top of her, making her struggle useless as he tightened his grip on her wrists.
She gasped, surprised again at how her body reacted to his, as she felt his hardness press into her stomach. Deep down inside she loved the feel of his weight on her. She wanted to spread her legs to bring him closer to her center. She bit her lip, mesmerized by his scarlet eyes.
“Yield,” she said, her voice strong and clear for the crowd, which she had almost forgotten was watching them.
The audience gasped. He nodded before pushing off her and strangely enough, she instantly missed the weight of him on her.
What in the name of Adros was wrong with her?
Chapter Four
~Teague~
Teague grinned to himself as he walked through the castle to meet with Queen Sira one last time before he and the valkyries would return to his home. He was sure beyond a doubt that Arabella was his mate. He wouldn’t do as his brother did and torture himself by waiting years before acting on this instinct.
Hell no.
A vampire could grow crazy and even die, from not claiming his mate once the bond began between the two of them. Teague didn’t care that the vampire laws and council demanded that he mate with a vampire; he would claim his destined mate.
A few months ago, the vampire council demanded that the Olaru heirs secure the throne. This meant that the children of the king and queen needed to mate and work on producing heirs of their own. There was one catch. The council demanded pure vampire heirs.
The council was not too happy when they found out that Toma had mated with Anika, who was human. They demanded that he at least turn her into a vampire, but he refused. At least for Nadira, she did not have a choice when she turned Cooper. He had been on the brink of death and it had been the only way to save him.
The king was in negotiations with the council, trying to persuade them to change their minds on the mating rule. The king demanded that the vampire nation revert back to the old way of life where the royal vampire family was allowed to mate with their destined mate, as fate and the Gods had designed.
Teague made it down the castle stairs to find Arabella waiting for him in the atrium. The hall was busy with people, but he had eyes only for her.
She was perfect.
His eyes took in her off-the-shoulder pale yellow dress that hugged her body flawlessly. The wide gold belt emphasized the swell of her hips, feeding his fantasy of what she would look like without any clothes. His incisors threatened to descend as he stalked towards her, stopping just inches away from her. Her gray eyes widened as he reached out and brushed her hair behind her ear.
“Hello, Arabella,” he murmured, fascinated as he watched a blush creep into her cheeks.
“Prince Teague,” her voice was soft as she searched his eyes. His heart swelled a little when she didn’t back away from him.
“Just Teague,” he said, not wanting her to feel she had to be formal with him. He wanted to throw formality out the window.
“Bella,” she breathed, nodding her head. A small frown formed on her face. “Do you feel this thing between us?” she whispered.
“Yes,” he said, his fingers itching to touch her again. He watched as sadness clouded her eyes. She blinked a couple of times before nodding.
“Follow me please,” she said, turning away from him abruptly. “I need to show you something. Ho
w much do you know about the valkyrie?”
“I’ll admit, not as much as I probably should since your family and mine have been allies for centuries,” he admitted as he followed her down a hallway and out a side door of the manor. They strolled down a cobblestone path, away from the manor, in a comfortable silence.
He was still amazed at the old world charm of Aphadore. It was unbelievable how they blended the past and the future in this realm. They came upon a beautiful brick building with artistic stained glass. She pushed the door open and he followed her inside. He looked around, getting the feeling that they were in some kind of a religious building.
“Where are we?” he asked.
“The Honor Sanctuary,” she said with a soft voice. “This is where we come to honor those who have passed on, who made the ultimate sacrifice for Aphadore.”
He nodded in understanding of honoring those that died fighting for what they believed in. It wasn’t that often that vampires die, but when they did, they were honored by those they left behind.
The room was spacious with a stone table in the middle. She walked past the slab table and motioned for him to follow her.
“When a valkyrie dies in battle, she is brought here and prepared for the afterlife,” she said, pointing to the stone table. “It is with great honor that we serve Aphadore.”
At the front of the room was an altar with a row of twelve candles. He watched silently as she lit six candles and left the other six alone. She closed her eyes, murmuring in another language as if she were praying.
He slowly walked around the room, giving her some privacy, as he took note of the paintings on the wall. One painting depicted a group of twelve female warriors. His breath caught in his chest as he found Bella in the painting. His eyes went back to the altar at the six lit candles then back to the painting.