I lay down in bed and closed my eyes.
Shit.
Shit, shit.
If I had known Thomas would be killed, I wouldn’t have come back. I was sure it was only a matter of time before Alex charged in here, found the boy, and tortured him for information before killing him.
That didn’t make it easier to swallow.
Hell, Thomas was gone. Thea was far away. Alex had been proclaimed Lord of the castle. And I was alone, swimming with the sharks and deprived of my title. I was like any other slave; I just didn’t wear rags or sleep in the slave quarters.
Shit.
I had no time to waste. I wouldn’t let Thomas’s death and my separation from Thea be a waste. I would avenge him, and I would do it fast because I wasn’t sure how long I could take Alex parading around like a king inside this damn castle, committing cruelties like a human changes shirts.
To be honest, I also wasn’t sure how long I could stay away from Thea.
Groaning, I reached for one of the four bottles of blood on the nightstand. I felt weak and disoriented and lost. I would drink blood until I felt stronger and stopped pitying myself.
I needed to act.
I drained the first bottle in three seconds, then reached for the second one.
Soft footsteps echoed inside my chambers. I sat up again and listened. The steps belonged to a woman, for sure, and they were coming my way.
Gritting my teeth, I got up from bed, picked up a shirt from one of the armchairs, pushed my arms through the sleeves, and had enough time to ready for a fight before the door opened.
“Who are you?” I barked.
The young woman stared at me with her hazel eyes. “My Prince.” She bowed her head. “My name is Luana.”
Her cheeks had an unusual golden tint, her long light brown hair had a messy wave, and her heart beat fast. She was human.
“What are you doing here?”
“I was sent to be your new blood slave.”
What the hell? What game was Alex playing? First, he complained that I was a human lover, that I had taken too many blood slaves over the years, and now he was offering one to me? This didn’t feel right.
I scoffed. “Did Alex send you? To spy on me, I’m sure. Well, tell him I’m grateful for the offer, but I’m not interested.”
“Prince Drake, I—”
“I said I’m not interested. Just go.”
The young woman put both her hands on her waist and glared at me. “Believe me, if I could, I would leave right this instant. I don’t want to be here, but if I leave, Lord Alex will kill me.”
Shit. “And I’m supposed to care why?” I suppressed a wince at my words. Of course I cared. I had always cared when humans were killed without cause.
“Because … because I heard you’re a good prince and you help your blood slaves.”
Was she kidding me? “Haven’t you heard my blood slave was killed by Alex a couple of hours ago?”
Her heart sped up and she swallowed. Her scent filled the room, and I wrinkled my nose—her smell seemed tainted. She probably had some kind of poison in her veins. The moment I bit her, which was what Alex wanted, I would fall immobile. Then Alex would come in and finish the job.
“I have,” she whispered. “But he lasted a long time with you. If I leave now, I’ll be killed on the spot.” She paused and her eyes hardened. “I don’t want to die.”
Hell …
I couldn’t take another one under my wing. I couldn’t. They all died anyway. If they weren’t killed by other vampires, they eventually grew old and died. What did it matter if it was today or tomorrow? Or in ten years?
I pressed my eyes shut and berated myself. What the hell was I thinking? I was being cruel and uncaring because I was hurting.
I didn’t want this girl here, but shooing her away wasn’t the answer.
“Stay here tonight,” I said. “Just pick a bedroom and sleep there. And be quiet.” I waved her off. “We’ll talk about this tomorrow.”
“Thank you, my Prince.” She dipped her head once more, and like a quiet mouse, she scurried out of my bedroom, closing the door behind her.
I ran a hand over my face. What the hell had just happened?
This was too much.
I grabbed another bottle of blood and stepped out onto the balcony. I leaned over the stone rail and looked up at the full moon and the many clouds surrounding it. This same moon shone over Thea wherever she was. She should be back at her coven right now, somewhere inside the Silverblood estate.
Hell, I shouldn’t have come back. I should have followed Thea. No, I should have convinced her to send the heart back to her coven and run away with me. I should have let her convince me of that.
Screw the princes and the other vampires and my entire coven. It was stupid trying to be noble. Now, the mess in this castle was even bigger, and I had no idea how to fix it.
I lifted the bottle and gulped the blood in seconds. After having drunk from Thea, these bottles of blood felt plain, tasteless. But it was all I had, and I would need my strength if I were to start a rebellion from inside the castle.
I looked at my chest. The slash was almost closed, a sign that I was recovering and the blood was effective. Soon, I would have only a red line, and later smooth skin.
I glanced out to the maze in the back garden and let my mind roam free along with my eyes.
Movement crossed my peripheral sight and I sharpened my focus. A large, shadowy shape ran on all fours.
It couldn’t be.
I leaned over the rail to get a better look as guards appeared outside the garden.
“We have an intruder!” Alex cried out, barging out from inside the castle.
I still felt weak and dizzy, but I used my super strength. In three jumps, using archways and windowsills and columns, I was out in the garden with them.
The other princes rushed out of the castle, all ready for battle.
“Where is it?” Cain asked.
“What is it?” Dorian cried.
“It’s a werewolf,” I said.
Alex turned around and narrowed his eyes at me. “Since you’re here, this will be on you.”
I blinked at him. “What?”
He crossed his arms with a triumphant grin. “Prove yourself trustworthy again. Hunt the werewolf and bring it down.”
“We should go,” Patrick said. “It’s getting away.”
“No,” Alex said. Was I the only one who could hear the challenge in his tone? “Drake will go. Alone. And he’ll bring its dead body to us.”
I gritted my teeth. “And if I don’t?”
He grinned at me. “Then you’re next.”
5
Thea
My bedroom still looked the same: an open area with a loveseat and a side table holding a stack of books I was reading before I left. Behind the sitting area, my comfy queen bed and its dark blue comforter and my four fluffy pillows. Two nightstands flanked the bed, also covered by books. To the right, two doors: my closet and my bathroom.
However, the man in a skimpy leather skirt standing between the love seat and the bed was a new addition.
“Who are you?” I repeated the question.
The man lowered his gaze. “My name is Keeran, my lady.”
“What are you doing here?”
“I was sent by Princess Morda, my lady.”
I gritted my teeth. “Of course.”
Not only had she ordered us to procreate, Morda ensured we wouldn’t waste time by sending servants to our bedrooms beforehand.
I opened my mouth to send him away, but realized I couldn’t. If Morda found out I sent Keeran away without even touching him, she would punish me and kill him without hesitation.
The man shifted his weight, drawing my attention to him. I couldn’t deny he was handsome with his dark brown hair cut short, which enhanced the sharp lines of his face. His tall figure, wide shoulders, and hard muscles helped too.
He was hot, sure, but my he
art was with Drake. My stomach curled for even imagining myself touching this man.
My stomach tightened more for finally making out the many marks on his chest, stomach, arms, and shoulders. They were scars. And apparently, some had been recent as there was still dried blood caked on them.
I took a step toward him.
He matched my stride and retreated a step. “You’ll have to use magic to force me to have sex with you,” he said, finally lifting his eyes to meet mine. They were a warm shade of brown. “You’re gonna have to rape me, like the other witches do.”
Could I get any sicker this evening? This was ridiculous.
I raised my hands, palms facing him. “Relax, Keeran. I have no intention of having sex with you.”
His thick brows slammed down. “But … Princess Morda said—”
“Never mind what she said.” I gestured to the love seat. “Now, sit down and we’ll take a look at your wounds.”
His eyes widened. “W-what?”
Shaking my head, I walked past him and went to my bathroom. I found the herbs in my vanity and mixed them using the mortar and pestle I kept beside the sink. There was one strong and rare herb I didn’t have here, valerian, but I wouldn’t dare going out to get it now. The salve wouldn’t be as potent, but it would still be much better than leaving all those wounds open and prone to infection.
When I returned, Keeran stood in the same spot, his eyes wide and his stance wary. How could I explain to him that I wouldn’t rape him, that I wouldn’t even touch him like that, in a way he would believe me?
I placed a jar with clean water and a rag on the side table, and I sat down on the love seat, the mortar and pestle on my lap. “Keeran, by all that is sacred, I won’t hurt you, and I won’t force you to do anything you don’t want to. I just want to clean your wounds and apply something to them before they all become permanent marks on your skin.” I patted the spot beside me.
Like a rabbit watching a fox, Keeran moved, his steps slow and measured. I practiced my patience while waiting. If I complained or said something, it would only take longer.
Finally, he sat down beside me, but he kept his gaze down. “Some have been there for years. I’m sure they are all permanent.”
“We’ll see about that.” I wetted the rag and started cleaning the recent wounds. They were all over his shoulders and shoulder blades. “What happened?” He glanced at me, then lowered his gaze again. It hit me that he was young, younger than I first thought. He was probably twenty-one or twenty-two—just a year or two older than I was. And he had suffered so much already. “I hope you realize quickly that I’m not like the other witches, or our situation here will only be harder. For instance, you can look me in the eyes and you can talk freely. I’m not going to punish you for anything you do. Unless you try to kill me. Then, I’ll be forced to defend myself.”
He swallowed then brought his eyes to mine. This man was easily twice my size, and yet he looked at me with terror in his eyes. I couldn’t imagine what the other witches had done to him to make him this terrified.
“I was whipped for resisting Lady Soraya,” he confessed, his voice low.
I pressed my lips together. “She tried to sleep with you?”
“She raped me, before and after whipping me.”
I stilled, unsure what I felt the most—shock or disgust. “I’m sorry.” I dropped the rag and mixed the herbs one more time. “This might sting a little, but I promise it’ll clean any impurities and help them heal faster.”
Keeran hissed and his muscles contracted when the healing paste touched his first wound. I braced myself for a second, sure he would curse or complain, but after that, he took it all like a champ.
“Why are you doing this?”
“What?” I asked as I spread the salve on the last wound right in the middle of his shoulder blades. “Not forcing you to sleep with me, or cleaning up your wounds?”
“Both.”
I finished and set the mortar near the books on the side table. Then, I sighed. “Let’s say I changed.”
Though I had never raped a servant before, I had slept with a couple here and there. It was normal to the witches; it was part of our society, of our upbringing. It had been normal to me. Until I met Drake.
“I heard you came back from a secret mission, one that was supposed to be hard,” he said. “Actually, I heard rumors of it being a suicide mission. Was that what changed you?”
I reined in a grin before I scared him—he was still wary of witches, after all. “Yes, that’s right. It was a suicide mission and somehow I made it. And this mission changed me.”
“How?” He winced and looked down at his feet. “Sorry, my lady. I shouldn’t have asked that.”
“I said you can talk freely. That includes questions. I also said you can look me in the eyes when talking to me.” I paused. “And I’m adding a third rule: Don’t call me my lady. I’m Thea. Call me Thea.”
“I can’t …”
“Yes, you can. At least when you’re inside these walls, you can.”
Keeran returned his eyes to mine. “I feel like I’m dreaming. I have never come across a kind witch, and I’ve lived here for years.”
I frowned, wondering how I hadn’t met Keeran before. Actually, I probably didn’t know the majority of servants in this mansion. I had never cared for them or their fates before.
And now I did.
I stared at Keeran, wondering if he wanted in on the plan brewing in my head. It was risky. If I shared my plans with him and he betrayed me, if he went running to Morda to tell her everything, I was done for. And yet, the shock in his gaze when I was kind to him, when I offered to clean his wound … he hadn’t faked it, I was sure.
“I was always a weak witch, one of the weakest in the coven. I was picked on by more powerful witches, teased. I hated it. I hated being me,” I confessed. “So when Morda said she had a dangerous mission, I volunteered because I wanted to prove to them that my magic was weak, but my soul, my heart were not. I wanted to show them I belonged to this coven as much as they did. That I had a place here and could do more than they thought. To my surprise, I was chosen.” I still couldn’t believe I had made it. “Everyone knows we haven’t had a witch queen in over a hundred years, but what rumors have you heard about the coven’s heart?”
“I …” He looked lost, as if he wasn’t sure he should tell me.
I went to touch his hand, to reassure him I was on his side, but I remembered he had been touched without permission thousands of times. I folded my hands in my lap again. “It’s okay, Keeran. I won’t punish you, I promise.”
“Hm.” He cleared his throat. “The two servants favored by Morda like to talk, but I found out most of what they say are lies, and they said the heart had been stolen a long time ago and the witches were weakening.”
I nodded. “That’s not a rumor; that’s true.”
I told him about my mission. I told him I had been sent to Castle DuMoir, the headquarters of the most powerful vampire coven on this side of the globe. I told him I was supposed to be placed with the other slaves, but ended up as a personal blood slave to Prince Drake, who in the end proved to be more than an arrogant prince. I told him the lord of the castle and a prince were murdered and that Drake was a suspect. I told him someone had tried to kill Drake, but I saved him, revealing what I really was. And that Drake didn’t run away or turn me in or kill me. I told him Drake decided to help me. However, Drake had been caught, framed for the murders, and I was left alone to find the heart. I told him I found the heart—inside the oracle’s chest—retrieved it, and saved Drake from execution. I told him Drake and I ran, but we later realized we had our own missions to finish. I had to come back and deliver the heart to Morda. And he had to go back, help Thomas, and win back his castle.
However, I also told him I became a slave, in some sense. I saw other slaves, how they were treated, how they lived, how they longed for a freedom they knew they would never have.
�
��The servants here are slaves,” I said with a heavy heart. “I just had never realized it before.”
He nodded. “It’s not too bad … until the witches pick you for more than cleaning and hard labor.”
My heart squeezed. I had barely made it a couple of weeks, and I had been treated well, thanks to Drake. I couldn’t imagine living like this for a lifetime. “I’m sorry.”
Shock shone in his dark eyes again. “You’re really confusing, my lady.”
I pointed my index finger at him. “Ah!”
“Sorry. Thea.” One corner of his lips tugged up in a tiny smile.
“Why am I confusing?”
“Witches are cruel and evil and without remorse. You’re a witch, and so far, you have been the kindest and honest person I have ever met. It’s a contradiction.”
His words weighed on me like heavy boulders. So this was how witches were viewed by others. All my life, I had thought witches were strong beings, women to be revered, adored, feared. Because we were so powerful, we knew what was best for everyone. We protected ours, even if that meant being violent toward others. It had always been like that.
It had never occurred to me that others might see us as cruel and evil. I had heard people say before we communed with the devil. I had thought it was ridiculous.
It made sense now. A curtain had been lifted from my eyes, from my mind and my soul. I could see it all now. We protected and fought for our family; we killed for those we loved, for what we loved. Witches loved power. Magic. Status.
Witches were evil and cruel.
Just like vampires were monsters.
Deja-vu.
Drake wasn’t a monster, and I wasn’t evil and cruel. If both of us weren’t, there had to be others that weren’t either. It wasn’t all black and white anymore.
“I guess there are exceptions,” I said, feeling confused too.
Keeran let out a long breath. “Thea, as much as I hate to suggest this, I guess you should consider taking me by force. Because if I don’t sleep with you, Morda will kill me.”
The Witch Queen Page 3