Alex looked like he would rather chug a cup of poisoned blood, but Raduta conceded. "Sure, we'll tone it down."
"I won't," Alex cut in. "Where you go, I go. There won't be another library incident while I'm around."
Victoria chuckled. "Well, I suppose I shouldn't have expected anything less."
Ω
There was to be a trial, Victoria discovered, for the attackers that had been found in the Viata Castle library.
And they wanted her to be there as a witness.
She was one of the few vampires who had seen what happened, and they believed that it would help prove their case against Frumos.
"What case?" Victoria asked. It wasn't her mother who told her this time. Instead, it was Peter who was the bearer of bad news. "They caught wizards and witches in Viata Castle. Unless there was some weird diplomacy tour that no one told me about, it was without a shadow of a doubt them."
"It's not that easy," her uncle explained. "They're claiming enchantments, saying that someone had controlled them through black magic to do what they did. They're even saying they can't remember any of the time leading up to the event."
"They're lying!"
"You know that, and I know that, as well as your parents, but not everyone is convinced. It's Terrarum law that everyone gets a trial—"
"Even terrorists?"
"Even terrorists, which is why we need your testimony there. Your mother and I, along with that bodyguard of yours, will be there with you. We'll bring along an army if that makes you feel better about it, but if you don't show, there's a chance they could be freed."
Victoria growled. "The court couldn't possibly release them if they believed their story, could they?"
"They might."
Victoria sighed. "Alright, I'll do it, but I'm not happy about it."
"Believe me, Victoria, no one is."
"I don't like it," Alex said around a mouthful of food at dinner the next evening. "It could be a trap set up by whoever is pulling their strings, likely Nicolae Blake. Even if he did enchant those wizards and witches, he could have let them live knowing there would be a trial just in case the bomb failed. I don't think you should go."
"I really don't want to, but what if they're deemed innocent? If they weren't enchanted, then they'll just come back."
"Victoria and Peter are right," Albert spoke up. "With Nicolae Blake so closely associated with black magic, it's very likely that the court will believe their story. If Victoria can give a bit of insight, that could change their minds."
Alex shook his head. "I hate the idea of you going back to Teren City. I must admit that I'm also not too thrilled to be there."
It was true that Teren City had been the one thing on her mind since she agreed to go. The last time she was in Teren City, she was watching her brother get murdered by the same kind of people that she would be testifying against. Everything about the situation spoke of history repeating itself in the cruelest of ways.
"Try not to become a slave when you go," Albert said to Alex. Alex glared at him.
"Why would Alex become a slave if he went to Teren City?" Raduta asked.
"There are no laws in Teren City," Adrian explained to her. "Slavery is allowed there and is in high practice when it comes to the arena. The most desirable slaves are gargoyles because they are believed to be the ultimate warrior race of Terrarum. There's an arena there where blood sports and gladiator fights are highly celebrated. There are lots of gargoyles who go to Teren City only to get trapped there."
Raduta looked disturbed. "Are there a lot of arenas around Terrarum?"
Adrian just shook his head, but Albert spoke up answering her question. "Only two to my knowledge. The one in Teren City and another more lucrative and illegal one in the Underground. Both spell death for any slaves that get caught up there."
"Looks like I'll just have to keep a close eye on Alex during our trip," Victoria said.
Ω
Victoria was terribly hungry. That was all she knew.
It was a starvation that gnawed at the inside of her and turned her mad.
She was savage.
All she knew was that she needed to eat.
Her fangs and claws had elongated as she wandered through a forest, searching.
At last, she smelled it. That sweet, metallic aroma that called to her, bringing her ever closer. She ran towards it at the speed of light and didn't even question the source this time. A child sat in the brush. Her dirty face was streaked where her tears fell. She held her side where blood flowed through her fingertips in a river of red. A wand lay idle at her side.
She knew her eyes had turned black. They always did whenever she fed like this. In the distance, she heard wolves crying as they found their prey. But she had her own prey, and didn't bother with them.
She was animalistic in her attack. Though the girl had no way of defending herself, Victoria was merciless. She clawed and ripped and slashed until there was nothing left but an unrecognizable corpse before her. Her hands were covered in the young witch's blood and she licked them greedily, eager to taste every last drop.
This was who she was. It was something she could feel deep down. Not weak and pathetic, but a force of nature.
Victoria was a monster.
Ω
"Victoria!" Blair was shaking her violently as she came to from her nightmare. Behind Blair, Raduta looked at them with concern. Realizing she was now awake, Blair let go and sat back on the edge of Victoria's bed. "How many times are we going to have to do this?"
It had been the third time this week that one of Victoria's roommates had been forced to wake her up from that nightmare. She didn't know why she was having it. She just knew that she hated the tremendous amount of joy she felt whenever she ripped someone apart and ate them. The plot was always the same, but the people were different. The first night, it had been her brother. He had always made an appearance in her nightmares, but this time, it had been different. After that, it was what appeared to be a member of the lesser faeries. Her skin was made of vines and leaves, but her blood had tasted just as good as the others. Now, a witchling she had never seen before.
Sweat dripped from Victoria's forehead as she tried to shake the nightmare off.
"Sorry," she breathed. "I guess I'm still a little rattled from what happened in the library." Not entirely a lie. "The upcoming trial hasn't exactly been calming my nerves either. It will get better, I promise."
They were both frowning at her with varying levels of belief.
"I don't know," Raduta spoke up. "Maybe you should talk to someone about this. If not us, then a professional."
"No!" Victoria cried. Raduta jumped at her protest, so she did her best to settle down again. "I'm fine. The shock of everything will wear off soon, I swear. Let's all just go back to bed." Victoria turned away from them and covered herself back up in her blankets. She wouldn't be sleeping today, she knew, but she would rather let them think that she was in order to get away from their worried faces. Lately, everyone had been looking at her as though she were made of glass, prone to breakage under immense stress.
After a few moments, Victoria heard Blair and Raduta shuffle back to their beds.
She didn't sleep through the rest of the day.
Ω
Anxiety had been Victoria's constant companion since the explosion in the library. Despite her worries and her fears, there was also a wicked kind of anger that bubbled just below the surface. Victoria had always felt a kind of wildness in her bones, but now, it was savage. With the threat that now seemed to be always looming over her head, she found herself not just scared, but angry. She was angry because she still felt helpless, not just because of her lack of powers, but also her lack of knowledge.
Every time that Victoria thought that she had any answers, it turned out that all she had was more questions. A criminal breaks out of prison and wants to kill a siren queen? That was fine. She couldn't exactly blame the guy since she didn't particularly like
the Barbie with fins, either. For whatever reason, it had affected the Speranta family enough for members of the Mancator court to visit. Victoria just believed it was her parent's paranoia that had caused such a stir during Stransura.
But then that same criminal came after Victoria, and she had no idea why. Her mother had said that she and her father were taking care of it. Peter had said to leave it all to more capable people. If everything was in such capable hands, then why had Victoria nearly been killed?
Months ago, Victoria would have never questioned her mother's authority. No matter how you dress is up, a wolf is still a wolf, and will attack if threatened. However, things had changed. Victoria wasn't the scared little princess locked up in her tower anymore. She had friends who would back her up.
And she now knew how dangerous ignorance could really be.
These were all of the things that she told herself as she sat opposite of her mother, two pairs of aggressive sapphire eyes staring into each other.
"I told myself that ignorance was bliss, that I was fine with not knowing and letting others take care of everything for me," Victoria began. "But then I almost died." Victoria leveled an angry look at her mother. "And I don't even know why."
"Victoria—"
"What are you hiding from me? You tell me that there's this horrible criminal who has escaped from prison and that he's kidnapped the queen of Mancator, but how is this all supposed to be relevant to me? Why am I in danger?"
"Victoria, I can't—" her mother began to deny again.
"Tell me!" Victoria cried. "For once in your life, tell me the truth."
Her mother looked at her in a new kind of way. Her mother was always keeping secrets from her, holding things back. Victoria wouldn't stand for it anymore, and as her mother looked at her daughter as if she were a completely different person than the one she knew before, Victoria knew that she would finally get what she was looking for.
Victoria's mother was calm as she spoke up, "As you know, ten years ago, the Council of Templaria decided that it would be in the best interest of Terrarum that the Tenebris be purged from society. Your father, Artur, and Cenric were the ones who lead the purge. A lot happened then, a lot you wouldn't understand, but Nicolae Blake lost some people during the purge. He blames us, the monarchs, because we allowed the Council to tell us what to do."
For a moment, Victoria stared at her mother blankly. That was it? That was what all of this secrecy and plotting was about?
"But you have to do what the Council says. Doesn't he know that?"
"I'm sure he does, but that doesn't change what happened."
"So, he wants me dead, because of what the monarchs did?"
"He wants to punish us. For us, losing you would be justice for him losing his family."
"This is all certain? He definitely wants me dead?"
"It was only a guess at first, but we didn't want to take the risk. After what happened in the library, now we know." Alina looked her daughter in the eyes as she said. "It was your father, Bruce, and Artur who ended up capturing him in the end. It's just a matter of time before he comes for us all."
CHAPTER TWELVE
A Matter of Time
The trial came upon them faster than everyone would have liked. Victoria's injuries had only just fully recovered as her mother began micro-managing and making plans for their trip. Victoria's father was also to be in Teren City at the time, but she wouldn't get to see him. She never saw him.
Victoria wondered if her father would have more light to shed on the subject of Nicolae Blake than her mother did. Despite her mother's brief explanation, everything still seemed a little too shady. There were always secrets, but secrets had a way of jumping on you when you least expect it, and Victoria didn't want to be a casualty in the war her parents were fighting against their own inner demons.
The problem was that her mother's excuses had been too neat. Victoria knew there had to be more. She just didn't know when or even if she was going to get it.
It was the night before Victoria and Alex were to leave for Teren City, and she and her friends sat together quietly in the Dining Hall. Victoria swirled the blood in her cup around and barely picked at the food in front of her. Next to her, Raduta blew out a long breath having not touched any of her food either.
At last, Adrian spoke up, "This whole situation sucks, but all you have to do is make it through tomorrow night. Even if the trial goes on for a while, you only have to be there while Victoria gives her testimony."
Victoria put her cup down. "That is true, I guess." She shook her head. "I just can't stand the idea of going back there."
"We know," Albert spoke up. "I wish I was able to go there with you."
"Me too," Adrian added. Raduta nodded in agreement.
"Don't worry. I'm sure I can handle taking care of Alex all by myself." Victoria winked at her bodyguard and gave him a wry smile. The corners of his mouth arched up a little as though he were fighting against the urge to smile. "Dead set on brooding now, are we?"
"How can I, when you're all here doing your darned best to make me laugh."
"And just like that, the spell is broken," Raduta said with a wave of her hands.
"And I didn't even have to tell him one of my knock-knock jokes," Victoria teased.
They all chuckled, well, everyone except for Albert who seemed wholly unwilling to participate in lightening the mood.
"Why are you so grumpy, hot stuff?" Raduta asked him.
He raised an eyebrow at her, but then let out a sigh. "I wasn't there last time to protect you and Antonius, and I won't be there now. It's killing me that I can't help, somehow."
"You were ten the last time we went to Teren City. There's no way you could have done anything."
He shook his head at her. "Even then I was beginning to be trained in a way that most vampires aren't. I just want to be there for you, not just as your betrothed, but as your friend."
Victoria grabbed his hand. "None of the bad stuff that's happened to me was preventable. You know what they say, Fate always finds us, no matter how much we run from it."
"You think Fate is trying to prepare you for something?"
Victoria hesitated. "I don't know. Maybe. It could be that Fate has found me after all of my years of hiding, or it's just regular Speranta royalty stuff. What I'm saying is I can't run from my destiny anymore. It scares me, but bravery is a part of being queen, right?"
Albert nodded at her and gave her hand one last squeeze before letting go. "We'll still be there to see you two off, and when you guys get back."
They all nodded and murmured in agreement. She cast a glance at Alex who was now smiling. She wondered if this was how his friendship had been with Dmitri and Charlize.
She banished the thought from her mind. Who they were didn't matter. All that mattered to her was who was sitting at that table. Comparing herself to those gargoyles certainly wouldn't benefit her for tomorrow night, so rather than dwell on what saddened her, she enjoyed the company her friends, who were gradually becoming her new family, and imagined how bright a future with them would be.
Ω
Albert had been true to his word. He, Raduta, and Adrian walked with she and Alex as they departed for the train station. Victoria could have sworn that her mother and Uncle Peter made a face when they saw them, but she didn't care. When they walked outside of the castle, that same carriage that brought her here was waiting for them. Raduta and Adrian marveled at the Abraxus Horses who impatiently blew fire out of their noses.
"They're beautiful," she said and pressed her hands into the side of her face. "I want to pet them, but I can't."
"Here," her mother said and grabbed Raduta's hand. Her mother's hand was now lit with flames and Raduta let out a small squeal. "As long as a fire-breather such as myself is with you, you can pet them." Raduta was indeed petting those flaming horses. She smiled more widely than any of them had ever seen and her violet eyes glowed as laughter escaped her.
Victoria looked over at Albert who seemed just as confused by what was happening. He looked over at her and shrugged, both of them surprised by the queen that evening.
The queen and Raduta stepped back from the horses and Victoria's mother said, "You might want to put a damper on that light." Raduta was indeed emanating a pale blue light, the sign of a Planes walker. "It's dangerous to walk through a door without knowing how to walk back. Not to mention, you never know what might end up following you out."
Raduta nodded as that light faded. "Yes, ma'am."
"I'm sorry, but there's not enough room for your friends," Peter spoke up from where he was halfway through the carriage door. He didn't seem too deeply saddened by it. Generations of serving as the monarchs' right hand had given him a rather obnoxious air of superiority.
Victoria turned to her friends and hugged them. "With any luck, we'll be back before too long."
"You won't need luck," Adrian said. "Everything will be fine."
Victoria smiled at him. "Thanks."
It was only when they were in that carriage and heading for the train station did the fear begin to settle deep within Victoria.
Ω
"I've never been on a train that travels across the ocean," Alex said later after they had seated themselves. "Is there a super long bridge that we go over?"
Victoria chuckled. "You'll see." She watched Batara blur past her as they left the place that had become her safe haven. The city blurred into the country and then they were crossing the Wolvstaire River. The houses that vampires lived in on this side of the river could hardly be called houses. They were all so small and falling apart. Victoria couldn't believe that anyone lived in them.
"It's hard to believe that he's from here," she said still staring out the window.
Alex was looking out the window, too, and sighed. "It's even sadder when you think about his family situation."
"Do you think his father will come for them?"
Alex frowned. "It's hard to say. On one hand, that would be the first place authorities would think he would go, on the other hand, they were the ones who sold him out. I just wish Victor Tradat were still behind bars."
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