by Kayci Morgan
He starred at me wide-eyed as the color drained from his face. "I forgot that you can do that."
"You aren't the first person I've caught thinking of me. Though I must admit, you were rather generous with my proportions. My bosom isn't really that large." I bit back a smile. Teasing some poor human boy, I could almost pretend I was still home.
"I'm going to go sit under a drake now. It was an honor meeting you, your majesty."
I held up a hand to stop him. "Wait! Stay with me for a bit."
He stayed put, focusing as hard as he could on tending to the drakes. His daily routine of feeding, cleaning, shoveling hay played through his mind on repeat. I found it interesting that he wasn't afraid of them. My kind had tried to tame drakes as the ability to fly would have made a huge difference in the war, but every attempt had ended in disaster. Yet this mere human boy had memories of soaring through the clouds.
"Were you born here? You don't seem very familiar with my kind."
He shook his head. "I was born in Kent. Being on the border, we were constantly raided. My dad died in the war, and my mom followed after him a year later when the Deabru attacked, setting the village on fire."
This was why I hated them. Humans were so vulnerable. I didn't understand how the Deabru could so easily take their fragile lives. My kind had ruled over mankind for as far back as the recorded history of the realm. When the Deabru came in with their cold brutality, we did our best to protect what was ours. But we shouldn't have had to. The Deabru's only reason for terrorizing the humans was to expand their borders because they bred like animals.
"I'm so sorry. Every time I hear stories like this I feel like my family has failed all of humanity."
"It was a long time ago. I was four years old wandering The Wastes, lost, starving, alone. Zuriel found me. He nursed me back to health, personally. He's a good man."
"He's not a man," I corrected.
"Deabru can be cruel and violent, but they also can be loving and kind. There is goodness in them, you just have to give them a chance to prove it. Especially, Zuriel. If his father was still around when Shaya was taken, he would have never accepted a truce. He would have pressed harder until the war was won and if she was killed in the process he would have tortured whatever vampires survived. And there is no way he would have taken a vampire wife. Zuriel is different from other Deabru. You need to give him a chance."
While I wanted to give him a chance, all I could think about was how he allowed me to be insulted in my own court without doing anything. He didn't seem much different from the others to me. "Even if I gave him a chance it wouldn't matter, they all hate me."
"That's not true. From what I've seen about a quarter hate you. Another quarter see you as the messiah, come to end the suffering and bloodshed and the rest are undecided. Give them a chance to know you and they will fall to their knees and worship you."
I finished off my spring wine, and sat the empty glass on the ledge. "I'm flattered, but I fear the rest of the court isn't so enamored with me."
He tilted his head to the side. "Do you really think your looks are the only amazing thing about you?"
I brushed the sides of my dress with my hands, not quite sure what to do with them now that I'd finished with my drink. "It's not like you know enough about me to find something other than my appearance appealing."
"I know that you came here willing to die for your people. I know you married a man you hate to protect them. I know you stared him down like a leopard facing a bear."
Now it was my turn to blush. "Like I said before, I don't hate him. I just hate his people. And for good reasons."
Alik nodded. "Both sides have good reasons to hate and they both have good reasons to stop."
I smiled. "How did someone so young get to be so wise?"
Alik returned my smile with a half grin. "Zuriel gets preachy late at night. You'll get used to it."
I laughed. It was getting late and as much as I dreaded it, I had wifely duties to perform. "Speaking of Zuriel, can you show me to his quarters?"
While Zuriel may have been trying to change his dress to please me, his room was very much that of a Deabru king. The heads of beasts he'd probably slain were mounted all over the walls. His bed was covered in thick furs of his kills instead of sheets. His furniture was well-made but sparse. Other than the bed there was only a desk and weapon rack. Not even a fireplace to warm him against the night's chill.
I removed my clothing and climbed between the furs and waited for my husband. Hours passed before he finally decided to leave the festivities. He bust through the door, laughing, a bottle in his hand. He halted at the sight of me. "What are you doing here?"
Was he serious? "It's our wedding night."
He stood there waiting for more.
"I'm here so that we can consummate the marriage."
He shook his head, words slightly slurred. "No, we don't do that. I gave my vow, you gave yours, we're married. And I won't bed a woman who recoils from me."
I tossed off the furs revealing myself to him. "Well, this is how we do things. And how exactly do you expect me to produce an heir if you won't touch me."
He desired my body. I could see the war in his eyes between the man that wanted to win my affections and the one that wanted to just climb on top of me and take what was his. I hoped the latter would win because he wouldn't be able to win my affections and I didn't want to spend the rest of my life pretending like he had them in order to do my duty.
But luck was against me. He backed out of the room and closed the door, leaving me alone in his bed. I buried my face under his furs not knowing which option I hated more, him leaving or him staying.
Chapter 5
The next day I woke up with clarity. I'd made my choices. I'd vowed to honor and obey and I would keep my word. He would reel at how completely I gave myself, subjugating my will to his in every area. I would live for his happiness and pleasure, like my mother did for my father and her mother before her.
I put my dress on and headed to my quarters. Even though I wasn't fully familiar with the castle's layout, it was straightforward and easy to figure out. When I reached my room, Leya and my servants were already waiting for me. She offered a curtsy and the others attempted to copy her. I'd have to eventually teach them the proper way to do that. With a knowing grin, she asked, "Sleep well, my queen?"
Subtle. "I slept fine. I need you to do me a favor. Bring me the dress you think would be most pleasing to the king."
Leya rushed into my wardrobe while the other women worked on undressing me. She came back with the last dress I would have guessed. A leather garment with linen lining, two high splits on the skirt and thigh high boots. It looked more appropriate for riding or hunting than seducing a king. "Are you sure?"
"When he sees you in this, his jaw will hit the floor."
I trusted her judgment. The servants went to task getting me cleaned and ready. Leya convinced me to wear my hair down and to try darker makeup more common in Deabru court.
I looked like a tart, but there was something empowering about my free flowing hair and kohl-rimmed eyes. Once I was ready I turned to Leya and asked, "So where exactly is my husband?"
“Last I saw, he was in the center courtyard with Lord Alaster and Lady Mara.”
I tried not to cringe at the mention of that woman’s name. I wondered how frequently I’d have to see her. “Are they close with the king?” If Zuriel was good friends with Alaster that would explain why he was slow to shut down that shrew of a woman the night before.
Leya nodded enthusiastically.
Well that explained it. He hadn’t wanted to embarrass his friend, who had lost control of his female at court.
“You must understand. The king and Lady Mara have been friends from childhood. She’s only concerned about him, she doesn’t mean to quarrel.”
Quarrel? Was that really what she called it? The woman tried to insult and humiliate me in front of everyone. Yet, she was the kind o
f person the king chose to keep company with. My role as wife and queen seemed to get more complicated by the second. “Center courtyard? I’m sure I’ll be able to find it.”
I managed to find Zuriel with little difficulty right where Leya had mentioned. I approached one of many high arches that separated the hall from the courtyard. Plush green grass met the vibrant dark stone walk way and a large water fountain spewed water rhythmically just beyond Zuriel and the others.
He was shooting targets with Mara and Alaster. The ease with which he spoke to his friends quickly faded as he spotted my approach. But Leya had been right, when my change of attire registered, he stared with his mouth hanging half open.
I strolled over to him and suggestively ran my delicate fingers up and down his bow. “Are you winning?”
“Huh? Wha…?” he asked, still gawking.
I gestured toward the targets with arrows jutting out of the white and brown rings. “I assume you’re competing to see who can hit the target, correct?”
He managed to tear his eyes from me long enough to look where I was pointing. “We’re not keeping score, but I’m the better shot. Would you like to try?”
I laid my chin against his broad shoulder blinking up at him. “I’d rather watch you.”
Mara, who seemed to be determined to undermine me interjected, “Why do you bother asking her? You said she swore to do whatever you told her to. Just tell her to do it.”
My desire to fire the bow increased exponentially, though I had no interest in aiming for the target. I slipped the bow from Zuriel’s fingers. “If it pleases my king …”
I picked up three arrows from their holder, noting their balance. “I noticed you’re no longer referring to me as it, I’m curious what prompted this change.”
She shrugged, her wings rising and falling with the motion. “Aly and Zu convinced me that even if you’re a thing, you’re a female thing, and referring to you as it was needlessly rude.”
I positioned each of the arrows between my fingers and against the bow string. Zuriel took a step toward me assuming I was confused on how bows worked, but the glare I gave him stopped him in his tracks. The idea of Mara calling him by a nickname grated on me. He was a king, the least she could do was call him by his entire name, it was only two syllables. “I suppose you consider the rest of the rudeness needed for some reason.”
“I’m trying to protect my king. Same as you.” Another insult. Zuriel became my king the moment I married him, but she was implying my loyalty really belonged to my brother. But as long as there was peace between the two kingdoms, my loyalty wasn’t split.
I let lose all three arrows at once. Unsurprisingly, they all hit the target, dead center. Both Zuriel and Alaster were impressed. Mara looked irritated. I offered Zuriel his bow back with some advice. “You shouldn’t mistake submissiveness with incompetence.”
“If females don’t fight, why did anyone bother training you anyway?” Mara snapped.
“Due to vampire females’ exquisite grace and tractability, men of other species covet us. Especially those stuck with less delicate women. We are taught to defend ourselves. Being of royal blood, I'm highly trained in several forms of combat.”
“Interesting,” Alaster interjected.
Mara whipped around to look at him. “You can’t tell me you believe that crap?”
“No. But she believes it. Else she couldn’t have said it.”
His wife waved off the idea. “Her species has turned deceiving without lying into an art form. That just makes her more dangerous. You never know what she’s thinking. You never know who you’re really dealing with.”
“Your majesty,” Alaster said, “can you recall a single instance where a Deabru male violated a vampire female?”
I hadn’t thought about it, but he was right. I’d heard stories of Deabru tearing people apart and eating their insides but not a single story of a woman being violated. “No. Why is that?”
Once again, Mara took it upon herself to answer for others. “You don’t understand the first thing about us, yet you hope to rule us? Can I ask you something, your majesty? How many lovers have you had over the years?”
“Mara…” there was menace in Zuriel’s tone, as if she’d finally crossed a line that I had no hope of seeing.
“Six,” I answered not sure where this was going.
“That’s not that many when you consider her age,” Alaster said to Zuriel as if defending me. But I didn’t understand why I needed defending. Deabru weren’t chaste.
“Yes, that’s what? Only one lover every thirty years or so. Given how delicate vampires are, perhaps they all died forcing her to move from one to the next. How many of these men still live?”
While she was talking to me, her eyes were on Zuriel. Was this really something Deabru cared about? “Four of them still live. And it wasn’t one man ever thirty years, I was with Max for almost a century.”
“You abandon a man you’ve loved for almost a century, and are already trying to seduce our king?”
“No. I—” The shock of my own words stopped me. When she asked me if I abandoned a man I loved, I said no. It was pretty obvious that I abandoned him, lost and broken, stuck carrying on while I died, so I must have meant that no, I never loved him. He made me happy, but I always knew the depth of my feelings didn’t compare to his. We deceive without lying. That’s what Mara said. Had I deceived Max for over half my life?
I changed topics, no longer wanting to discuss my past. “I am his wife. It is my duty to bear him heirs.”
Mara grabbed Zuriel by the arms. “Listen to her. She cares nothing for you. Her kind is incapable of love. She just wants your seed because she sees that as her purpose. Are you really considering giving a thing like that your soul?”
Rage radiated from my core, threatening to boil me alive from the inside. This was too much. I couldn’t maintain my composure much longer. I was very close to ripping Mara’s head from her neck and causing the very war I sacrificed to prevent. “Please, excuse me.”
I left them there, debating what to do about me. It was like none of them understood this was my life. I had to win Zuriel’s heart, or my brother’s kingdom would forever be in danger.
Chapter 6
I rushed through the halls of the castle. Every pitch black pillar served to remind me of how desperately far I was from home. For the first time in my life, I was utterly alone among strangers. I’d been arrogant. I thought my appearance and willingness to please would be enough, but whatever attraction Zuriel had toward me was countered by a hatred for my kind as deep as mine for his. How did I think I could live like this? Scorned and mocked by everyone around me.
The walls became shadows, closing in around me. Cutting off my ability to breathe. I had to get out. But that was just one more sick joke. Without the ability to fly, there was no way out of my dark coffin. Laughter bubbled from my throat. Me? The Queen of the Deabru. I was a prisoner in my own castle. The absurdity of it was driving me mad. I should have never agreed to marry him. I should have begged for him to accept my life as payment for his loss. I hadn’t thought things through. There were things far more precious than my life that I could lose— my dignity, my sanity, my spirit.
People stopped and stared as I passed them in the halls. I could only imagine what they saw. Their disheveled queen laughing madly at the gray fog that filled the air. I didn’t feel like myself. A queen, not a princess, with wild hair, strange clothes and my every servant a winged monster from my childhood nightmares. Never had I been so alone. And starving. I had expected to be dead by now, so I hadn’t fed, and had my new husband offered to send for my slaves? No, he’d be jealous of them. Instead he wanted to sustain myself on the black blood that threatened an end to everything I’ve ever cared about. Yes, death would have been a mercy.
Only when I looked up and noticed that I’d wandered into the kitchens did I realize that subconsciously I knew what I needed. The one person here who could possibly grasp ho
w I was feeling. Leya and Tannin had both been kind to me, but this was their home, they wouldn’t understand. “Where is Alik?” I asked one of the women cleaning pots in a nearby sink. “The human? He’s probably in the stables, your majesty.”
Oh yes, he’d told me he was a stableboy. “Can you tell me how I get there?”
The woman gave me directions and I made my way to the northern gate where the drakes were launched from. Of course those vicious creatures that had torn apart so many of my kind were pointed in the direction they were most needed—toward my home.
The stables were a massive stone building that seemed out of place next to the castle walls which shined like glass. The gray stone walls stretched up towards the sky with barred holes cut from the sides for windows and a large lattice iron gate for the door. Inside were dozens of winged reptiles, residing in large stone pens, one floor above another.
Vampires had once tried to domesticate these beasts for our own usage. The attempts didn’t go well. Many of my people lost limbs before we finally gave up all hope of canceling out the Deabru’s air advantage. So being surrounded by them on all sides, whether they were in pens or not, was nerve-racking. But I needed to find Alik, and I had to assume they weren’t as dangerous as the ones we’d tried to tame if a mere human boy was tending to them.
I strode down the center, peeking into each pen looking for the boy. As I made my way through the stables I was met by as set of steely glowing orange eyes. Black scales rippled over its lean muscles alongside prickled spines that ran down the length of its back and tail and horns adorned with shiny metal caps protruded from their skulls. Drakes were menacing looking beasts in general, but the build of this one was far beyond the ones I had witnessed in our attempted training. It sent a chill down my spine at the thought of a fragile human being left with such monsters.