In fact, I would go banging on Alex’s door.
But, as I was going down the stairs, I heard rapid footsteps and rushed words. Several guards rushed past me.
What was going on?
I turned, sensing Prince Dorian coming this way. “What happened?”
He paused beside me. “We’re under attack.”
“W-what?”
No, it wasn’t time yet. This was wrong.
“Well, we’ll be soon,” he said. “Werewolves are coming from one side and witches from the other. They will be here in a matter of minutes.” He frowned, puzzled. “It seems like an organized attack.” Without another word, he ran down the stairs, probably to meet the other princes and organize our defenses.
Hell … So much for planning and trying to be prepared.
I went back a few steps, and after making sure I was alone, I called upon Thomas.
His shape took form in front of me. “My Prince,” he said, sounding out of breath. “I was just coming to warn you—”
“The werewolves and witches are coming.”
“Yes.” He tilted his head. “Wasn’t Thea supposed to let you know about that?”
“She was,” I whispered. My chest constricted. “Something must have gone wrong.” I could waste time worrying about that, or I could act. “Call the rebels ,” I told him. “It’s time.”
He bowed and said, “Yes, my Prince,” before disappearing again.
New sounds filled the castle—the rush of footsteps, the yell of orders, the clanking of armor.
I could join them and pretend to be on their side, or I could slip out of the castle and join the werewolves or the witches. Perhaps I could find Thea and stand with her.
Or I could go looking for Alex and finish this quick.
I took a step down the stairs when I felt him—Alex was coming.
I stood tall atop of the stairs and waited for him.
Not ten seconds later, he was standing at the base of the stairs. Hands curled into fists, he snarled at me. “I don’t know how, but I’m sure you’re to blame for this surprise attack.”
I shrugged. “What if I am?”
Alex bared his fangs. “I will kill you.”
“I would like to see you try,” I snarled.
I lunged down at him and he jumped up at me. We met halfway in the air. Alex had his hands up to grab me, but I curled my knees into my chest and pushed my legs out, kicking him with both feet in the chest. Alex went careening back down the stone steps.
He groaned but came right back at me. And I went at him.
I punched him hard—and he did the same.
We exchanged blows, and all I could think of was how much I wanted to break his nose, break his chin, break him. Even though I was raised to be a prince, a general of sorts in Lord Reynard’s army, I avoided fighting if I could. How would we have a peaceful and harmonious society if we kept fighting, and fighting among ourselves?
I had fought a lot in my long life, but it had been because I had to.
Just like now.
I had to fight Alex. I had to kill him. Otherwise, he would forever drive our society down a rabbit hole, where it would be impossible to rescue it from.
Unfortunately, Alex wasn’t like the rebel vampires. He was as old as I was, and well fed and healthy. Our strength and stamina were almost the same.
Baring my fangs, I punched him hard in the jaw. Alex’s head snapped to the side with a loud crack. Red rage flashed in his eyes before he pushed me back hard against the stone wall.
“How about we repeat the other night?” Alex snapped his teeth at my face. “How about being my bitch again?”
“In your dreams.” I shoved my hand in his chest, and dug it in.
I would have buried my fingers in his body and carved out his heart if he hadn’t retreated, eyes wide.
A loud boom resonated through the castle, and a moment later, the walls shook.
“They are here!” someone yelled from downstairs. “Get ready!”
If it had been the werewolves, or the witches, or both, who had arrived, I didn’t know. And right now, I didn’t care.
All I cared about was finishing the poor excuse for a vampire in front of me.
I took advantage of the distraction and jumped at Alex. He didn’t see it coming and was completely taken aback when I landed several good hits to his face. He retreated again, but I went with him, until he was pinned along a tall built-in shelf with lots of decorations.
“Get off me,” Alex roared, slamming a picture frame over my head. Then a vase, next a jewelry box, a marble ball, and other things. Until he grabbed the shelf and broke off a piece of wood. First, he broke the wide board on my head, making me dizzy, then he grabbed a smaller piece and pointed at me like a stake.
Panic rose into me as he took advantage of my dizziness and pushed me down, stake in hand.
He knelt on top of my chest and leaned into me. “Goodbye, Prince Drake.”
He raised the stake. I readied myself to push him back, to throw him away, to punch him, to fight back, damn it. But before I could react, magic rushed over the stairs like an electric current, and Alex flew across the stairs.
I propped myself on my elbows and saw one of the most beautiful sights of my life: a blond witch with brilliant, long hair, wearing a black gown, coming up the stairs.
Thea was here.
23
Thea
When I saw Alex on top of Drake with that damn improvised stake in his hands, my heart stopped. Rage and magic filled my veins, and I blasted the bastard off my love.
“Thea …” Drake shot up to his feet.
I ran to him. He opened his arms wide, and when I bumped into him, he wrapped his arms tight around me. He rested his face on my neck and inhaled deeply. “I’ve missed you.”
“I missed you too,” I whispered.
I pulled back and glanced at him. There were wounds on his face that were already healing, but I wanted to kiss and heal each of those bruises myself.
“Bitch,” Alex shouted, coming at us.
I had almost forgotten about him.
Almost.
I raised my hand and the bastard froze in place. Before, this spell would have been impossible on a powerful vampire like him, but since finding out my connection to the coven’s heart, I was nearly unstoppable—something that scared the daylights out of me.
“Nice,” Drake said, glaring at Alex.
“You bitch!” Alex jerked against my power, but he could do nothing now. He glanced from Drake to me and back to Drake. “I knew there was something going on. I knew she hadn’t spelled you. I knew you two were working together.”
“What do you want? An award for being smart?” I asked, remembering how much I hated this man.
Beside me, Drake chuckled. “Hell, I love you.” He pressed a soft kiss to my temple.
Alex gagged.
I lifted my hand, and my power wrapped around his neck, making him gag.
With a sigh, I let go of Drake. I picked up the stake from the steps and handed it to Drake. “Here. Finish this.”
Holding my gaze, Drake took the stake from me and nodded. He turned to his nemesis.
Alex jerked more as he realized what was about to happen. “Drake … no,” he croaked. “Please.”
Drake stood in front of a helpless Alex. “Now you beg?” He glanced at me over his shoulder. “Drop him.”
I knew what he wanted. He didn’t want to cowardly stake Alex. He wanted to give the bastard the chance to fight back. So be it.
I pulled my magic back and Alex fell to the floor, slamming his knees on the stone steps. Drake grabbed Alex’s hair and pulled his head back. “Any last words?”
“I’ll see you in hell,” Alex muttered.
“I’m sure you will, but in several thousand years.” Fast like lightning, Drake pierced Alex’s chest with the stake.
The vampire let out a gasp. His eyes rolled back and his head lolled forward.
; Drake stepped back, letting go of Alex. The body fell on the steps and Drake stayed there, staring at it. I stepped to his back and wound my arms around his waist, resting my cheek on his shoulder.
“It’s over now,” I whispered.
Drake inhaled deeply. “This part is.” He spun inside the circle of my arms. “But there’s still the chaos in the rest of the castle for us to deal with.”
The sounds of the battle were everywhere. Soon, we would have witches and werewolves and vampires all around us.
Drake unhooked my arms from his waist and slipped his hands in mine. “We should go out there and see what the damage is so far.”
I didn’t want any more battles or blood, but I knew he was right. We had started this; we needed to end it.
Hand in hand, Drake and I went down the three sets of stairs and found the first level of the castle in complete chaos.
Witches and vampires and werewolves fought each other—no allies.
Drake tugged on my hand. We ran to the right, toward the main ballroom. On the way, we dodged some fights and had to throw some punches to get through. We halted by one of the side doors and surveyed the area.
It was incredible how everyone was focused on attacking; they didn’t even see us standing here.
I wondered if my power would allow me to create walls and separate the groups behind them, so we could talk like mature creatures. Even if I could, I was sure they didn’t want to talk.
They wanted blood.
Drake pulled me to the left toward a group of werewolves. A few of them hadn’t turned yet.
“Ulric,” Drake said, approaching a tall guy with leather pants. From his stance and powerful mien, I was sure he was the alpha. “We need to talk.”
Ulric smiled at Drake. “Prince Drake! Where have you been?”
“Dealing with Alex.”
“Oh, so the Lord of the castle is gone.”
“Yes.” Drake squeezed my hands. “Listen, I might have a plan to push the witches back.”
Ulric tilted his head and narrowed his eyes at us. “I don’t care about your plans right now, Prince.”
“Then what’s your plan?”
Ulric stalked to us, followed by two big men whom I assumed were his betas. I channeled my magic, keeping it at my fingertips in case we needed it.
“I’m done with you, ” he said. “My wolves and I are on our own. We’ll take the castle for ourselves.”
Drake tensed beside me. “That’s not what we agreed on!”
Ulric shrugged. “I advise you run before I send my wolves after you, too.”
Drake’s gaze shift to a young woman standing several feet behind the alpha. “What’s going on, Luana?”
So that was his new blood slave. She looked pretty. Jealousy blossomed in my chest, but I pushed it away.
Luana looked down. “I’m sorry, Drake. I’m loyal to my pack.”
Drake gritted his teeth and curled his hands into fists. I felt his muscles coiling, his body getting ready to attack.
Careful, I hooked my hand on his arm. “Don’t, Drake,” I whispered. “We can find another way.”
Then, a weird group of vampires invaded the ballroom.
I frowned, watching them. Messy hair, crumpled clothes, rough expressions, wild shine in their eyes.
“Come on,” Drake said, tugging my arm.
In the blink of an eye, we were on the other side of the ballroom facing two of those vampires.
“Get out of our way,” a black vampire said.
I felt Drake’s chest rumbling with an inaudible growl. “Not you too.”
“Whatever you’re saying, just stop,” a blond vampire said. “And get out of our way.”
“What about our deal?” Drake asked. He was holding back his temper.
The black vampire smiled wide. “You took out Alex. Congratulations.”
“Now, we’re satisfied,” the blond one said. He opened his arm and gestured to the room. “This is just how we like it. No rulers, no rules …”
“If you don’t want to become vampire food, I suggest you move out of our way,” the black vampire said with a snarl.
Sure he was about to fight those vampires, I grabbed Drake’s arm and pulled him back. “Let’s go.”
“Where?” he whispered to me, though he was watching the weird vampires creeping around the room. “If they don’t support me, I can’t win.” He finally looked at me. “I can’t win alone.”
I placed a hand on his cheek. “You’re not alone. You have me. Forever. But I think this battle might be lost. We need to get out of here before it’s too late. We’ll come up with a new plan. We’ll—”
A new boom shook the room.
We all stared at where the explosion came as Morda and her witches marched into the ballroom.
She was staring straight at me, an evil glint in her eyes and a wicked smile on her lips.
She had the coven’s heart in her hand.
The floor went out from under my feet, and I felt like I was falling in a black abyss.
No.
How? Where? When?
Ebby appeared at her side, smiling as wickedly as Morda.
I took a step forward, trying hard to fight the truth of the sight in front of me. “What’s going on?”
“Oh, dear Thea …” Morda’s voice carried through the room, sending a shock wave through me. Through everyone. The fighting had paused for her. “The moment you came back alive from your suicide mission, I knew something was wrong.”
“How could a weak witch such as yourself survive a lair full of vampires?” Ebby said, her shrill tone sending a chill down my spine. This was not the Ebby I had come to know.
Question was: Had I really known her?
“Because of my dear Ebby,” Morda continued, “I’ve known about everything since the beginning. I know about your vermin vampire lover—” She wrinkled her nose at Drake. “—about your escapades to meet him, and about your plan to overthrow the castle and use my coven to help you.”
Feeling like a part of my innocent heart had been ripped from me, I glanced at Ebby. “Cheers to you for fooling me so well.”
Ebby shrugged. “It was fun. And now because of you, I’ll be in Princess Morda’s inner circle.”
For some reason, I didn’t believe that. Morda was using her, promising her beautiful lies she didn’t intend to keep. But that wasn’t my problem.
“Thea Harrington,” Morda said. “For your treachery, I condemn you to death … by my own hands.”
I stood my ground and lifted my chin at her. “You cannot kill me.”
Morda scoffed. “And why is that?”
I lifted my hands and channeled my power. The heart’s power. In Morda’s hand, the heart thrummed and shone. Red light spilled from it like a spiraling snake, coming to me. Morda gasped as the light became blue halfway and gathered at my open palms.
The snake coiled around my wrists and arms and shoulders. It blend into my skin, filling me with power I never imagined I would one day possess.
Morda’s face blanched.
I smiled at her. “Because I’m the Witch Queen.”
24
Drake
The horror and surprise in Princess Morda’s face was almost comical. However, the knowing grin on Thea’s lips sent a chill up my arms. I knew she was playing here, trying to intimidate Morda by pretending to be as insane and evil. Nevertheless, I didn’t like to see her like this.
“That’s … that’s impossible,” Morda muttered. “You can’t be the witch queen.”
“Why not?” Thea summoned a small blue flame to her hand. She tossed it from palm to palm, playing with it. “Because you’re supposed to be?”
Morda opened her mouth. Then, she snapped it shut and curled her hands into tight fists. “I’ll prove you’re not the witch queen.”
A black spark shot out from Morda’s hand directly at Thea.
As if a play button had been pressed, the fighting in the ballroom resumed. The va
mpires, the werewolves, and the witches attacked. It was chaos as everyone fought for themselves. No allies, no sides. Just survival.
I wanted to help Thea with Morda, but I was kept busy by fighting the other witches, who were trying to interfere in the big fight dominating most of the room.
With half of my focus on Thea’s fight and half on my own, I was sure to get hurt in no time.
But I couldn’t stop watching them.
Thea looked every bit a true queen while she fought Morda, matching the princess strike for strike.
Still holding tight to the coven’s heart, Morda shot black sparks at Thea.
Like a boss, Thea waved her hand and the sparks faded into smoke. Gritting her teeth, Morda cast black flames and threw them at Thea. Thea conjured a faint blue shield in front of herself. The flames exploded on the shield and went out—and the shield held strong, even when Morda cast flame after flame and continued sending them Thea’s way.
Morda took a step back, struggling with Thea’s newfound power.
I smiled.
Tired of being on the defensive , Thea dropped the shield and cast a flame of her own. Morda barely had time to react. She scurried out of the way, and the flame whooshed an inch from her head.
Morda let out a shriek and threw her hands out. A dark wave appeared from the ground, rising high and going for Thea.
Thea joined her palms, then opened her arms wide. The wave parted and continued rolling past Thea, washing over the vampires and werewolves and witches behind her—and burning them.
Morda stared, her mouth hanging open.
Thea acted. She threw blue flames at Morda, who cast a shield in front of herself, but when the third flame exploded into it, the shield broke.
“That can’t be,” Morda uttered. Was she finally coming to terms that Thea was the witch queen? Or would she keep denying it?
Morda squeezed the coven’s heart. She wasn’t the witch queen, but as a Silverblood witch, she could still use the heart’s power.
Morda’s eyes shone red and a wicked grin appeared on her lips. She held her hand up and red sparks flew out of her palm—thicker than her black ones. It was the heart giving her strength.
The Witch Queen Page 14