The Witch Queen

by Juliana Haygert

  I caught up with her and we returned to the castle. My chest was lighter, though, as it seemed I was a step closer to defeating Alex and taking back the castle.

  13

  Thea

  My hands trembled as I rushed to the main hall. I had told Keeran to stay behind, but he said he wanted to be there, just in case.

  In case of what? As if he could protect me if something happened.

  Twice, fear overcame me, and I stopped in the middle of the hallway, considering running. Right now. Just grab Keeran’s hand and run. We couldn’t go to DuMoir Castle right now, and I had no idea how Drake’s dealings with the werewolves were going, so I couldn’t ask refuge from them either.

  Keeran and I could hide in the cottage for now, until Drake was able to meet us and came up with a solution. Because there had to be another way, right?

  “Thea,” Keeran whispered from behind me the third time I stopped. “We have to go, or you’ll be late.”

  “Late for what?” I snapped. “My death?”

  Because surely, I wasn’t pregnant after sleeping with Drake only a few times. Especially because he was a vampire. If he had been human, I would be more hopeful.

  I still wasn’t sure about bringing a child into this crazy, violent world.

  “Princess Morda might make an exception for the current hero,” he said. “But if you don’t show up, then she’ll hunt you down.”

  He was right.

  I held on to the hero card, ready to play it the moment she checked me and found out I wasn’t pregnant.

  In the main hall, Morda stood in front of her chair, watching with eagle eyes as the witches entered the room and lined up in several rows. Keeran stayed with the other servants by the walls and I rushed forward. I found a place right in the middle, and Ebby stood beside me.

  “How are you holding up?” I asked her. She looked as nervous as I felt.

  “Not well,” she whispered. “I … I haven’t t slept with a servant lately.”

  My eyes widened. “But … she’ll find out. What are you—?”

  “It seems you’re all here.” Princess Morda’s voice boomed through the hall. The last time I checked, we were over two hundred witches. Were all of us here? I glanced around and gasped at the crowded room. “Stay in your places. I’ll go around and use my magic to detect any pregnancies.”

  When Morda moved to the first line of witches, the tension in the room was palpable. She placed her hand on the stomach of the first. Three seconds later, she grinned. “Well done. You’re pregnant.”

  The witch’s shoulders dropped in relief.

  I could see the second witch in line shaking from where I stood. Morda rested her hand on her stomach. This time, it took five seconds, but finally Morda announced, “You’re not pregnant yet, but I can sense male seeds inside you. Well done.”

  I thought the young witch would fall to the ground when Morda moved to the next witch.

  Wait … Morda could sense the man’s sperm inside a witch? We didn’t have to be pregnant yet?

  The hope flaring inside me was short-lived.

  Drake was a vampire and chances were he was sterile, like the vast majority. There would be no sperm inside me.

  Holy …

  My hands trembled more with each passing minute, and I only noticed I had started fidgeting with the skirt of my gown when Ebby slapped my hand, getting my attention.

  To stop the nervous habit, I put my arms behind my back and entwined my fingers together. Tight.

  Then Morda was on the line before mine, checking the witch right in front of me. So far, all the witches had passed the check.

  “I can’t sense a baby or a man’s seed inside you,” Morda said, her voice rising with a biting edge. “Carlyn, you’re sentenced to the bloodbone ritual.”

  I gasped.

  Two witchguards appeared beside a wide-eyed Carlyn and took her by the arms. They started carrying her away from the other witches, when Myrna, another witch who had already passed the test jumped out.

  “No!” A black flame appeared in her hand, and she threw it at Morda.

  Morda didn’t even blink. She swept her arm to the side and the flame faded. Then she pointed a finger at Myrna.

  The crack of several bones breaking echoed through the hall.

  Her body fell to the floor.

  Horror filled me.

  “No!” Carlyn yelled, finally waking up from her shock. She thrashed against the witchguards. “Myrna, my love. No!”

  Whispers began somewhere in the back and spread.

  “They were lovers.”

  “Carlyn refused to lie with a man.”

  “But Myrna did it for them.”

  “And now both will pay.”

  My heart sank.

  Without ceremony, Morda walked to the end of the hall. The two larger glass doors opened inward, and she went outside, followed by the witchguards and a screaming Carlyn.

  “All of you, move, now,” Soraya snapped.

  Falling out of formation, the other witches and I rushed to the large stone patio outside and gathered in a circle around Morda and Carlyn.

  With a wave of Morda’s hands, two stone pillars jutted from the ground. The witchguards chained Carlyn to the pillars, then stepped back, returning the show to Morda.

  “Pay attention,” Morda said, her voice ringing in our ears.

  A long hunting knife appeared in her hand and she began. Morda dragged the knife from Carlyn’s collarbone to her pelvis. At first, Carlyn screamed and jerked, but when Morda repeated the gestured on her arms—from the shoulders to her palms—Carlyn went silent.

  I turned my face away.

  I could hear the blade as Morda continued her cruel work, cutting Carlyn open while keeping her conscious with magic. I didn’t need to look to know what happened next. We all had heard the stories, the tales. Although, I had never seen it, had never heard the chilling screams, then the terrifying silence.

  Next, Morda pulled out Carlyn’s organs one by one. She put them in a pile and set them on fire. Then, it was time for the bones. Morda ripped out Carlyn’s bones. With magic, she twisted the bones until they snapped.

  Only after that was done did Morda drop the magic keeping her victim alive.

  Carlyn whimpered one more time.

  The chain loosened and her limp body fell to the ground.

  I forced myself to look up as Morda, with blood on her hands, arms, gown, and face, turned and looked at us. “Carlyn and Myrna were lovers. I don’t care as long as they followed my orders. Witches who aren’t performing their duties to the coven will be considered traitors, and treachery will not be tolerated.” She wiped her hands on her gown, but I wasn’t sure which one was more bloodied. “That’s enough of a show for tonight. Those of you whom I haven’t checked yet tonight, consider yourselves lucky. You have a couple more days to try again.” She waved her bloody hands. “Now go.”

  The witches around me hurried inside the mansion as if afraid that, if Morda caught them, they would be next.

  But I couldn’t move. I couldn’t breathe.

  Two witches had died here, two witches who loved each other, and despite the gruesome punishment, everyone would be returning to their normal lives in a matter of minutes.

  By all that was scared, when did we become so cruel, so heartless?

  Ebby caught my arm and tugged. “Come before Morda notices you.”

  What if she did? What would she do? Perform the bloodbone ritual on me because I was appalled?

  I wanted to see her try.

  I clenched my fists and felt the magic rushing through my veins.

  “Thea,” Keeran muttered somewhere behind me. “Please, let’s go.”

  What would happen to Keeran if I died? Would the bond break or kill him too? I let out a long breath. I couldn’t be this careless.

  Reality crashed over me like a waterfall. I inhaled sharply.

  What was I doing? I was weak, even with the heart’s magic around.
I couldn’t take Morda by myself.

  “Yes, let’s go,” I whispered, finally turning and following Keeran and Ebby back into the mansion.

  Morda wasn’t kidding. If I was caught looking the wrong way, I could also end up a victim of the bloodbone ritual.

  There was too much to do to be caught and killed just yet.

  14

  Drake

  Since coming back from the meeting with the wolves a week ago, I had been on edge. More than usual.

  Alex kept me in the dark, and princes I had once considered allies—Cain, Phelps, and Gray, especially—wouldn’t tell me anything out of fear of the new lord of the castle. I had thought about contacting them and asking them for their allegiance, but since they were avoiding me now, I decided to wait. Luana, who was sound asleep in her bedroom now, didn’t tell me why she wouldn’t look at her alpha and what he had said to her before we came back, even though I had brought the subject up twice now. Thea hadn’t sent me messages to meet her, or to let me know she was all right. I hated that.

  I stopped pacing the living room and reached for the bottle of blood on the coffee table. It was empty, damn it.

  A deep, dull tug started inside my chest. I knew this tug. I had felt it before. It was Thea. It was my longing, my feelings for her. It was the crazy bond between us.

  I had to see her.

  Right now.

  I had no idea how I would reach her inside her coven, but I had to try.

  Determined, I turned to the door.

  I halted when a murky, shadow figure appeared in front of me.

  The hair on my arms stood on end and I took a step back.

  What magic was this?

  “My Prince,” a faint voice said.

  I frowned. Where had I heard this voice before?

  The murky figure gained the shape of a person. A young man.

  Realization downed on me right before his face came into focus. “Thomas!”

  He bowed his head to me. “Hello, my Prince.”

  I stared at him, mouth hanging open. “A ghost? How …?”

  “I’ve been trying to contact you for a few days now, my Prince, but it wasn’t easy to get a hold of this form. Being a ghost is harder than it looks.”

  Though I knew ghosts existed, I had never seen one before. “But I thought … why are you stuck here?”

  “It seems I have unfinished business,” Thomas said. The shock of seeing him as a whitish, semitransparent form still hadn’t passed. “I confess that when I was alive, something bothered me, and I think once I solve it, I’ll be allowed to move on.”

  “And what is that?” If there was anything I could do to help him, I would.

  “I need to find out who killed my parents,” he said. If I had a beating heart, it would have stopped. “A vampire killed my parents that night, my Prince, and I need to find out who it was. Once I find out, I’ll be able to go on. I’ll be able to be reunited with my family. Since you’re the one who saved me, I’m hoping you will help me find out who killed my parents.”

  “Thomas …”

  “I know, my Prince. I know you’re busy dealing with Alex, and nothing would please me more at the moment than seeing you take him down. It would feel like revenge, and I’m sure I would have some peace with that, too.”

  “Yes, Alex …”

  “Now that I seem to have more control of my form, I vow to be a faithful servant. I’ll spy on Alex and the other princes for you and find out anything that can be used against them.”

  I clenched my teeth. “That would be good,” I muttered.

  “I’m running out of strength to hold on to this form, my Prince,” Thomas said, as if he had been a ghost for decades and knew how it all worked. “I’ll lurk around Alex and tell you all I find out once I’m able to contact you again.”

  “Yes, but—”

  Thomas’s ghost blurred and faded like smoke.

  I stared at the spot where he had been a moment ago, still shaken.

  I plopped on the couch as guilt and shame rushed through me.

  I didn’t know how Alex was conducting the feast now, but before it was rare that entire families were invited to the castle. Usually, it was one person per family. But a fourteen-year-old Thomas had come with his parents.

  That night, I had had an argument with Alex that left me seeing red. Despite my will to gain control over my rage, I snapped. Fury took hold of me, but as I was about to take it out on Alex, I smelled the blood coming from the ballroom.

  The warm, sweet blood.

  I had no control. I jumped off the balcony and took the first human who crossed my path.

  I only stopped when I tripped over a young boy curled in a ball in the middle of the ballroom. So small, he had been missed by Dorian and Albert, who loved to feed on kids. I was about to walk away when arms wrapped around my legs.

  “Please, help me,” the boy said, burying his head on my knees.

  It broke me.

  It all broke me.

  The control snapped into place along with the same guilt and shame I still felt now.

  I carried the boy away from the ballroom and treated him like a son, like a brother, for two years.

  Until he was killed last week by a crazy vampire.

  Only I could end Thomas’s curse and send him away, but how could I tell him that I had been the one who killed his parents?

  15

  Thea

  Ebby kicked a rock, sending it straight into the lake. “I can’t do this.”

  “You have to focus,” I told her for the thousandth time.

  “Easier said than done,” she mumbled.

  We had been at the edge of the lake on the coven’s grounds for the last couple of hours, practicing magic. A week had passed since the first pregnancy check and the bloodbone ritual, and I still couldn’t sleep.

  Thankfully, there had been no more pregnancy checks, though Morda kept saying it was coming, and we were given a respite. But the tension inside the mansion was palpable. It made me sick to see servants being ordered from bedroom to bedroom.

  Concerned about when Morda would perform pregnancy tests again, I cast a simple cloaking spell on Keeran and sent him to deliver a message to Drake twice—and twice he couldn’t get near the castle. Vampires patrolled the estate, and a few werewolves ran through the woods. The cloaking spell hid Keeran’s scent too, but the vampires weren’t fools. Witches and their magic were one of their many enemies. Apparently, there were now new wards preventing anyone with magic from getting too close.

  Trying to speed things up, I had requested a meeting with Morda. I had no idea what I would tell her yet, but somehow I had to convince her to attack DuMoir Castle. However, she still hadn’t granted me the honor of meeting with her.

  Meanwhile, Ebby, Keeran, and I liked to spend our days outside. We talked about escaping and the future, and we practiced magic.

  “I know,” I told her, feeling like a hypocrite. I asked her to focus when even I couldn’t do it.

  My nerves were shot between not seeing Drake, fearing Morda’s wrath, and planning to run away.

  “Can we take a break, please?” Ebby asked. She didn’t wait for me to answer. Instead, she sat down beside Keeran under the shade of a tree.

  I inhaled deeply and looked to the blue sky. I loved Drake and would gladly adapt to his night schedule, but I couldn’t lie. I had missed the daylight. Nothing like the warmth of the sun kissing my skin to make me feel reinvigorated. If I closed my eyes and conjured an image of Drake and me hiding in the cottage forever, I could almost believe it.

  “What are you thinking?” Keeran asked.

  During this last week, he had changed a lot. At least when alone with Ebby and me. He was becoming confident and speaking freely, like a real friend. I also thought he was less afraid, but I knew he still feared one thing above all others. Because of the damned bond, I couldn’t run away without him, but he hadn’t mustered the courage to escape Morda’s clutches. Keeran feared her
punishments.

  We all did.

  Though I researched and tried the spells I knew, I still hadn’t found a way to break the bond. For now, Keeran was tied to me as a fish was tied to the water.

  I approached them, but remained in the sun. “About life after this …”

  Ebby tilted her head. “This what?”

  “This …” I gestured toward the mansion in the distance. From here, it looked like a sprawling stone castle—erected to last several millennia. “This place, this rule, this torture. We’re afraid of our own shadows here. I hate it.”

  “Are you really sure your plan will work?” Ebby asked.

  I crouched down. “I barely have a plan. Right now, I have a wish list.”

  “But we’re working on a plan, right?”

  “Yes. Hopefully, we’ll find one soon.” I hoped. We couldn’t live like this much longer. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t right.

  And yet, it was the only way the witches knew.

  If only I could show them a different way …

  They would never hear me. If they heard me, they would laugh in my face, then kill me outright for having such thoughts.

  No, that wasn’t part of the plan. We had to be smart about this.

  A loud crash came from the mansion and I stood, suddenly on alert.

  “What was that?” Ebby asked, coming to my side.

  Screams rang through the air.

  “I don’t know.” I stepped forward, but was stopped by a firm grip on my wrist. “What is it?”

  Another crash.

  “Something is wrong,” Keeran said, holding me back. “Don’t go.”

  “I have to find out what’s going on,” I told him, prying his fingers from my arm. “Stay here and hide.”

  He lowered his head as if I had given him an order. That hadn’t been my intention. I was merely suggesting . As a human servant, he didn’t know how to fight and he didn’t possess any magic to help us, so it was better if he stayed out of the way.