by Ciara Graves
“Why not? No one cares about me, not really. Not even you.”
“That is not true.”
“Oh, no? You came to me for these.” She held up her left hand, wiggling her fingers with the rings. “Tell me differently.”
“Things change.”
“Not that quickly, they don’t. You only stopped trying to kill me because you figured out what I was before I knew.” She spun the ruby ring around on her finger, lost in thought. “There’s evil in me, Draven. I can feel it trying to claw its way free. I’m not strong enough to fight it from taking me over and kill Rudarius. I’m not.”
“Yes, you are.” I took her hands in mine, holding on tightly when she attempted to get away. “You can’t run from the path you’re on. For too long, you’ve been unable to let out your anger, to get your revenge. Now is your chance, Seneca. Forget about me or your brother or your sad excuse for parents. Think of yourself. He broke you, so break him back. Make him pay.”
Her brow furrowed, and I thought I’d reached her until she twisted my hands.
I cursed in pain, forced to let go of her.
“You say those words, and yet all I see in your eyes is your desire to use me, just like the rest of them. Marlie only came after me because Macron said they needed me. He only rescued me because some force somewhere in the world said I was important, but you know what? It’s not me everyone wants.” She slid the rings off her fingers and held them out to me. “Here, take them.”
“I don’t want your rings.” It was true, as much as it surprised me to hear myself say it.
“Yes, you do. It’s why you’re with me right now.”
“Don’t do this.”
She stepped closer when I made to walk away. “Take them. Use them as you wanted. You and Marlie can team up together then and achieve whatever great destiny awaits you.”
“Seneca, I can’t use them,” I reminded her. I shouldn’t have said a damned word.
She widened her jaw, her fangs glistening pure white in the darkness, then bit down hard on her wrist. She tore through the skin easily, and her blood dripped in a steady stream onto the ground at her feet. “My blood, take it. Take all of it, for all I care.”
“Enough.” I lunged for her arm and wrapped my hand around the wound to staunch the bleeding.
“This is what you wanted, so take it.” She tried to tear my hand away, but I held on.
“Have you lost your mind?” I put more pressure on the wound, waiting for the blood to stop flowing.
She growled and fought to get free, but I squeezed harder, nearly breaking her arm in my grip.
“I’m on your side here, and the sooner you understand that, the more I can help you.”
“You’re lying. You’re just like the rest of them.”
The hit came out of nowhere, and I staggered backward, shaking out my head, in time to have a second one collide with the side of my head. I fought the instinct to hit her back and simply defended myself from her hits as she yelled at me.
“Fight me.” Her kick struck me in the hip. “Just get it over with.”
“I won’t do it.” I ducked under another punch then managed to whirl her around, trapping her in my arms and pinning her against my chest. “You’re angry, I get it, you’ve been angry for a long time, but you can’t let your emotions control you like this.”
“Why the hell not? Everyone else gets to.”
“You’re not like the people you’ve killed. You’ve got good left in you.”
“Where, huh? Where is it?” She slammed her head back into my face, and I grunted, my arms loosening enough for her break free. “What happened to you?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“Yeah, you do. You were a vicious killer, days ago. Now you’re what, one of the good guys?”
“I wasn’t always like this. Rudarius has changed more than just you, created more monsters than you know of.”
“If that’s true, then why are you afraid of me?”
“Not afraid of you,” I corrected softly. “Afraid for you.” I willed her to see it was the truth. “I want Rudarius dead, and I admit I’ll do anything to see it done, but I would rather see you get your revenge and be at peace than turn into the weapon he wanted to have all those years ago. You can’t let him get to you. Not now.”
Multiple footsteps hurried through the trees, coming toward us from the camp. Seneca hissed at them as she slipped her rings back on her fingers, the wound on her arm healed, though she was covered in blood.
“Too late,” she whispered as the fae guards led by Marlie surrounded us. “Too damned late.”
Marlie stepped between me and Seneca, nodding his guards forward. “We grew concerned when you didn’t return. And one of our scouts returned from the castle.”
“Don’t worry. I wasn’t going anywhere,” Seneca assured him sharply.
“Either way, we are going back to King Raine and Queen Karina. I want you to hear what the scout has to say, and perhaps it will be enough to convince our parents that you are here to help. All of you.”
“So they can just arrest us all over again?” Seneca snarled at the surrounding guards.
“I won’t let that happen. You have my word. Back to camp. Find the other vampire,” Marlie ordered
We were forced to march back to the fae camp, this time not bothering to hide who we were. Shane was dragged over to us once we reached the royal tent. He glanced at me worriedly, but there was no way to know what would happen once we were thrown before the King and Queen again.
“Inside.” The Prince ushered us through the flaps, and he followed along with his guards. “Mother, Father, we’ve returned.”
“What is the meaning of this?” Karina was on her feet looking more than ready to order our arrest as Seneca had predicted. “I do not want that disrespectful woman in my presence!”
“Our scout has returned, and I think we all need to hear what he has to say. All of us,” Marlie emphasized to his mother.
The cloaked fae who stood before the King and Queen seemed uncertain, but the Prince waved at him.
“Please, your report, if you would.”
The scout bowed then said, “The castle is gone, your majesties. The vampires have obliterated it. The dead number far higher than we first assumed. Most in the town did not escape Rudarius’s army, and they have taken prisoners. Many, many prisoners.” He swallowed hard and had trouble continuing. “More vampires arrived as I was leaving. His army is growing. I would guess he will maybe wait a couple of days before he makes his next move.”
“Anything else?” Marlie held the hilt of his sword as if he was going to go after Rudarius right then. Idiot would get himself killed.
“Yes. There were mages there,” the scout said.
Seneca sucked in a sharp breath no one else seemed to notice.
The scout continued, “I couldn’t see their faces well enough to know who, but the sigils on their cloaks designated them from one of the fallen houses.”
“Were they there willingly or as prisoners?” Raine asked this time.
“Their hands were bound by chains, King. What Rudarius wanted with them, I can’t say. They were taken away.”
“Thank you. You are dismissed. Get some rest.”
The scout bowed again and exited the tent. A tense silence fell over those who remained. as Raine tapped his fingers on the arm of his chair, resting his chin in the palm of his other hand. Like Karina, he too appeared to struggle with not letting his eyes slip to his estranged daughter.
“If Rudarius’s forces are growing,” Marlie said, breaking the silence, “then we have no time to waste. We must go to the Middle Kingdom, ask them for aid. Surely they won’t turn us away once we tell them what has happened here.”
Raine held up his hand, and Marlie fell silent. “Thank you, son,” Raine said, and Seneca visibly tensed beside me. “It has come to our attention that we were rash to assume you are the enemy. The guards say they saw you slaughter s
everal of your own while at the castle. You helped others of our kin escape. Is this true?”
“Yes, and they’re not the first of our coven we’ve killed, with help from your son, of course.”
“And yet you both belong to the Black Hawk Coven, is this true?”
“It is,” I answered honestly. “Or was.”
“Why do you turn against your master?” Karina asked this time. “Why should we trust you, if you would betray him in a time of war?”
My jaw dropped as I hissed viciously. “He is not my master.”
“No? Explain yourself, now,” she demanded.
“I am the rightful master of the Bleeding Crown Coven.” I said it with pride, because despite what Rudarius might believe, my coven was not dead, not as long as I lived. “He betrayed my father, tried to wipe us out, much as he’s doing to your people right now. I will do everything in my power to stop him from succeeding.”
“Why didn’t he just kill you?” Karina held the arms of her chair so hard her knuckles turned white. Her green eyes were locked on me, but I sensed she was fighting an internal battle to not look at her daughter.
“He wanted to use me, twist me into a killer for his purposes.”
“From what I hear it worked.” Raine tugged on his small red beard. “I know your reputation in the human realm. Word travels of those you’ve killed for your new master.”
“I killed to prove myself to him,” I confessed, “but it was so I could gain his trust and get close enough to learn of his plans, which I have done. I know how he’s causing this endless night, how he destroyed your castle. I will admit I don’t know what he plans for the mages, but he’s wanted them out of the way for a long time. Sounds like he’s succeeding, because no one here bothered to report mages were disappearing and their houses falling to darkness.”
Raine looked guilty, but it was Karina who huffed, as if she had more important matters to deal with than the mages. The races these days seemed to forget how powerful they were and what they protected within their houses. If Rudarius was not merely taking out the mages to get them out of the way, I dreaded to think what he was doing with whatever magic he uncovered in their keeping.
“I planned on working with Seneca to stop Rudarius. Since your son brought us here, we can help you defeat him before it’s too late. If we don’t fight back, Otherworld will remain in darkness, forever. Is that what you want?”
“No,” Raine said with a sigh, “but you must understand our hesitation to trust you.”
“Don’t trust the vampire I am now. Trust who I used to be.”
“Yes? And who was that? A murderer in life as you are in death?” Karina said harshly.
“I am a soldier, and I was loyal to my general to the very end. Loyal to the vampire who turned me and took me in as his son. I never once left his side when the vampire civil wars broke out after I was first turned. I protected those of my coven who fought alongside me, was willing to give my life for theirs. I will do so again to fight against Rudarius.”
A rush of clarity washed over me, and I looked around the tent with new eyes. I could’ve sworn my father was there with me. The hold Rudarius had over me all these years shattered with every action I took against him. The evil fog that clouded my mind lifted, bit by bit. As it did, I began to see just how close Seneca was to destroying the tiny bit of light left in her.
“I do not trust you, yet,” Raine was saying. “However, since you were so close to Rudarius, it would be foolish of us not to use you against him. You three will remain with us, aiding us in this war. Captain Lark? These three are in your charge at all times.”
Captain Lark crossed his arm over his chest. “Understood, Majesty.”
“Good, then I suggest all of you turn in for a few hours. We have a long couple of days ahead of us to reach the Middle Kingdom, many wounded to transport, and heaven forbid if that bastard sets any vampires on us.” He reached for Karina’s hand, but she withdrew and stormed into the rear of the tent, behind another set of flaps. “Leave us if you please,” Raine said then followed his wife.
Seneca was the first out of the tent. I stayed right behind her. Shane fell in line with me. Captain Lark brought up the rear of our little party. When we headed back to the tree we’d stood at since arriving, Marlie stopped us.
“The princess will share my tent, seeing as she is a royal.”
“The hell I will.” Seneca moved away from him. “Not a princess, remember? The ground is just fine with me.”
“You are not going to sleep outside under a tree,” he argued.
“You going to drag me kicking and screaming into your tent? I’d rather be outside with people I trust. Not you.”
I couldn’t hide my smile at her words. She trusted me over her brother. That had to hurt.
Marlie lifted his chin, clearly annoyed, but let us be. We continued to our tree, and Seneca plopped down right there on the grass. She rested her back to the trunk as Shane mumbled about using the nearby boulder as a pillow. He winked at me as he moved away, leaving me alone for the most part, with Seneca. What was he playing at? I cleared my throat, trying to dislodge the lump that formed there, and took a seat on the other side of the tree from Seneca. Captain Lark stood a couple yards away, eyes watchful. Was he really going to stand the entire time we slept? Poor guy.
Seneca muttered to herself as she resituated her back against the tree.
“Can’t get comfortable?”
“What do you think?” She grunted again and then sighed, giving up. “Draven?”
“Hmm?”
“If you’re lying about all this and you decide to turn on me in the end, just tell me so I can make it easy for you.”
I shifted around the tree and faced her. “I meant what I said. I want to work with you and the others. I’m done being the villain Rudarius turned me into. I don’t want that reputation. All I want is him gone, and a chance to get my coven back.”
Her eyes searched mine intensely. “I want to believe you.”
“But you’ve been betrayed too many times. I get it.” My hand found hers in the grass, and I squeezed it. “I won’t be like them. I swear it on my life.”
She gently removed her hand from mine and shut her eyes, pulling the cloak around her body. “You and I are still going to have that serious discussion.”
“About what?”
“About why you suddenly care about me.”
“Told you, destiny.”
“Screw destiny,” she murmured as exhaustion claimed her. “There’s nothing in my future but darkness, Draven. You should stay away from me.”
“Never going to happen,” I replied, certain the words came from someone else.
As she slept, I remained watchful. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust the nearby fae guards not to decide to attack us if we did sleep, but I worried if I closed my eyes, Seneca would take off. Or she would somehow fall even more while she slept and dreamed.
The first time I saw her, the bags under her eyes and the haunted look on her face were enough to tell me she did not sleep through the night. I waited for the nightmares to start, but a strange, almost peaceful look came over her face, and I leaned back against the tree, our arms touching.
As my eyes closed, her head fell onto my shoulder, and I froze. She stayed asleep, and as I dozed off, my cheek came to rest on her head as if this was the most natural thing in the world for two enemies to do.
Chapter 4
Seneca
“If you want food, you might want to wake up,” a voice whispered in my ear.
I frowned, wondering what my head rested on. My back ached from being against a tree all night, but when I shifted my shoulder, it brushed against something a bit more malleable than a tree trunk. Just a little bit. An arm?
One eye opened, then the other, and I tilted my head back to find Draven looking down at me. My head was on his shoulder. When had that happened?
I scooted away quickly, shoving my hair from my face as I wait
ed for this to be a dream.
Except it wasn’t. Night had truly fallen in Otherworld now, judging by the stars and crescent moons hanging in the sky.
“How’d you sleep?”
I waited for the echoes of my usual nightmares to slam into me, but my mind was quiet. I strained to remember any dreams at all, but for the first time in months, years even, I was completely rested. There’d been no nightmares at all. At least, none I could remember.
“Good,” I said, surprised. “Really good, actually. Sorry about your shoulder.”
“I didn’t mind. You looked too peaceful to move.”
“Right, well—uh, thanks for that then, I guess.” I got to my feet and sniffed the air, heavy with the scent of cooked meat. “Do you and Shane need blood? Not that I can offer you any, but… hmm.”
Draven smiled easily. “We’ll find some elk in the woods. Don’t worry about us, unless Captain Lark has an issue with our hunting?”
“As long as it’s only elk, vampire,” Lark replied. “Get moving, then. The camp is going to be broken down once everyone’s had a chance to get some food in them. Move.”
“Good. Starving,” Shane whined, running his tongue over his fangs.
Lark’s lips twitched in disgust, but he walked away with the two vampires, dragging several more guards with him, I supposed, just in case. In case what? No clue.
This was one of those times I was thankful I didn’t have to rely on blood for sustenance. Trying to avoid causing a disruption, I pulled the hood of the cloak up again and went to find some food.
Venison stew was being handed out, and I mumbled my thanks as I took a small portion and returned to my tree. Several eyes watched me, but if they had any issues with me, they kept quiet, at least to my face.
The whispers were easy enough to tune out, but there were a few other voices that grew louder, complaining about having monsters in their camp. How could they trust the vampires? How could they trust me?
I ate quickly then went to take care of other business before returning, only to find Marlie waiting for me at the tree.