The Vampire Queen
Wheel of Crowns book 3
Brandi Elledge
This one is for Cole—
You are destined for greatness. I knew it from the moment I laid eyes upon you. I am proud to be on this journey with you. Now, go amaze me some more.
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
The Demon Queen
The Werewolf Queen
The Queen of Witches
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Chapter One
Clenching my fists, I took several breaths, trying to assess the situation. Where the hell was I? Four walls were covered with floral wallpaper. Whose room was I in? Then the last twenty-four hours hit me like a tsunami. Several different images flooded me at once. There was a meeting that I had no business attending because I was different than the others who were there. I was human. Everyone else was some sort of supernatural. I shouldn’t have been there. I remember a crazy psychic. Keys. My best friend crying. Vampire blood. My death. Oh, shit.
Hours ago I was a vibrant, young teenager, and most importantly I was alive. Then I died just to be brought back to life. Well, not really, I was technically called the Undead now. My stomach clenched at the thought. I remembered how I died. My hands shook as they felt my throat and chest. Ghouls had attacked me: those hideous creatures were the ones responsible for my death. The holes were gone, and my skin felt flawless. The events after that were a little foggy.
Don’t panic. Don’t panic.
Looking around, I took note of my surroundings and let out a small groan. Everything was slowly starting to come back to me. The bedroom I was in was massive with an old, creepy vibe. I loved antiques as much as any true Southerner did, but this… this was overkill. The drapes looked like they belonged to an antebellum mansion from the eighteen hundreds, and the canopy hanging over me in clouds of blue and gold had less of a princess feeling and more of an Abraham Lincoln feeling. The old furniture screamed expensive. I propped myself up in the bed, feeling dizzy, when I heard a knock on the door.
My voice was hoarse as I said, “Who is it?”
“Stephan. May I enter?”
He didn’t wait for a reply. The door swung open, and I immediately recognized the gorgeous man who strolled in. He was nice to look at, but there was something just below the surface that reminded me of a cobra, waiting to strike. Stephan was the one who saved my life or gave me a second chance at life—however you wanted to look at it. Some psychic chick foresaw my death, and Stephan, a friend of a friend—who at the time was little more than a stranger—told me I had two choices. I could either take his blood and come back as something entirely different, or I could die and cease to exist. I didn’t have to weigh my options too long. The psychic ended up being right. I had been attacked later that night, and the only thing that had brought me back was Stephan’s blood in my system. I glanced down at my trembling hands. But now I was different. I survived the most horrific night of my life, but for what? I had no clue what the future held, and the thought left me on the edge of a nervous breakdown.
Stephan sat down at the edge of the bed as his eyes gave me a once over, and everywhere they touched I almost felt the burn.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
“I’ve been better.” I didn’t know what the protocol was for this kind of situation. Did I thank him for not letting me die? Technically, I did die. Or maybe that was the wrong way to look at it.
Before the silence could get any more awkward, he said, “Tandi, I know that when you were a small child you probably didn’t envision yourself as a vampire, and I know the transition will be hard on you, but I’m here to guide you through it. Think of me as your mentor.”
I knew things were going to be different for me now, but I thought I would adjust better at home. I appreciated being on this side of the ground, but I was ready to check out of wherever the hell I currently was.
“Do you remember us leaving your best friend’s house?”
The last twenty-four hours were blurry. “Maybe a little.” That was an overstatement. “Where am I?”
A look of sympathy crossed over his face. “Far from home.”
“How far?” I tucked my trembling hands into the covers to hide them. “Are we still in Louisiana?”
My heart dropped as he shook his head. “You will be staying here with me for a while. This is my home in Athens, Georgia.”
What did he mean for a while? A day? A week? A month?
“Speaking of time… I have four months left of high school, and I’m sure my best friend is worried sick about me. When do you think I can go back home?”
“Do you remember that upon your arising you tried to harm your friend?”
My hand shook as it touched my parted lips. I had? What would she think of me? Did she hate me?
Stephan gave me a small smile. “You girls are thick as thieves. It would take more than a little neck biting to end your friendship. In fact, Charlie has called me several times asking about how you’re feeling and then she threatened to stake me if I didn’t take great care of you.”
I laughed. That did sound like my ride or die bestie. As soon as I got myself together I would give her a call. Through my eyelashes I studied the strikingly handsome man—who looked like he was maybe twenty, but who knew his real age with him being a vampire and all. He seemed— uncomfortable.
“Will I be able to go home soon? I have to finish school and—”
He shifted on the bed. “Tandi, I regret to tell you that you will have to finish your school year with online courses.” At my gasp, he continued, “I took the liberty while you were recouping to send an official letter to your school letting them know you have been selected for a rare opportunity to be an exchange student with a very wealthy family in Germany. I have some online class information. This will be how you graduate, if you choose to do so.”
Choose to do so? WTH?
I clenched the exquisite quilt in my fists. I had to remain calm. This was all fixable. I could be home in my bed by tomorrow.
He was still talking, but I had tuned him out until he said, “I also had a friend go to your parents’ house and convince them they already knew about the exchange program. When my friend left their residence, your parents were happy that you were able to take this opportunity.”
I felt numb. “So, you had someone Jedi mind trick my parents, and I can’t graduate with my classmates. No spring break. No prom. No graduation parties.”
I just died, and yet I was thinking of sparkly dresses and celebrations. One would think that I had lost my ever-loving mind, but in actuality I had lost my life. I was desperately trying to hang on to any part of it.
Truth was I wouldn’t miss my parents, and I was sure they were just fine without me. My family consisted of very pretentious people, and I thought that as long as they believed I was in an exchange program in Germany learning the ways of a different culture, they were content. Don’t get me wrong. They had no intention of me educating myself, so that I could bec
ome an empowered woman of today. They just wanted me to be around the right people, rubbing elbows with the upper crust, so that I could find myself a suitable match, join a country club, and give them at least two grandkids.
But Louisiana hosted more than just my parents. It was where my best friend was. Within the last couple of months, she had found out that she was a witch, and she was going to need me just like I was going to need her.
“You have a new life now,” he was saying. “I am truly sorry, Tandi. But becoming a vampire is a hard transition, and those vampires who don’t have help along the way usually don’t make it.”
“But I would have help!”
“Are you talking about your friend, Charlie, who just learned that she is a witch?” At my silence, he said, “Tandi, you need help from your own kind. Whether you like it or not, you will be staying here until the world is ready for you. And what happens the next time you lose control and try to take a bite out of your friend?”
Could I control myself? And was I willing to take a chance on my best friend?
“To be honest with you that night you showed great restraint. For being newly turned things could have been a lot worse.”
Swallowing the lump in my throat, I decided to change the subject. “What do you mean when you say if vampires don’t have help, then they don’t make it?”
His sigh was heavy. “For the first couple of days, you will not be able to hold yourself back when you’re hungry. A lot of vampires go half-crazed if they don’t have a strong enough sire to help them with their blood lust. In fact these first couple of months are critical in learning how to control the urge you will have when you hear a pulse beating. Not to mention the fact that you have to learn how to get your… supply.”
I cringed at what he was implying. The weight of what it truly meant to be a vampire was starting to hit me.
“Tandi, if I were to take you back to your hometown, it wouldn’t be days until you killed someone by accident, but hours, possibly minutes, before the urge controlled you. You are here to control the urge, not the other way around. The vampires with no guidance go berserk without proper training, and are snuffed out by other vampires in the area. It’s our way of making sure that what we are is kept a secret.”
“I would never intentionally hurt anyone.” But I had already tried to hurt someone. Someone that I love.
He gave me a look. “Tandi, I came in here because I could feel your hunger from the other room—”
A strong pain I didn’t recognize hit me so hard I screamed. Before I could stop myself, I flew at him, half straddling him to get as close as I could to his neck before my new fangs ripped at his smooth throat. My body tingled with a desire not for Stephan, but for his blood. With every swallow of blood, I felt out of this world. Higher than a kite. After a few minutes, my wits came back to me, and I scrambled off of him, looking at the damage I had done. His beautiful neck looked like a chew toy, and his pristine white shirt was now smattered with blood. I heard a dripping sound and when I realized it was his blood running from my chin, I scrambled back on the bed.
I was completely shocked. “What have I done?”
He scooped me up with such gentleness and rocked me in his lap. “Shh. Tandi, this is what I was explaining to you. This... this hunger is not your fault, and this will get easier. I’m actually stupefied it took you almost a week longer than most baby vamps before the hunger overcame you.”
I had been asleep for a week? How was that even possible? I remembered the ghouls attacking me yesterday. I watched as his neck was slowly closing up, and embarrassment washed over me in waves. “I am so sorry that I hurt you.”
“I’m the Prince of the Vampires. You couldn’t hurt me if you tried. Besides, I came in here knowing that you needed to feed. Usually, newbies shred more flesh than you did. I’m truly impressed with your restraint.”
While he rocked me, I cried until his shirt was soaked with not only his blood, but my tears, too. Even my tears were different. They now had a tinge of pink to them, which made me cry harder. After my hiccups stopped, he laid me gently down on the bed, brushing the hair away from my face. I felt something in my chest tighten like a string that was being pulled taut. His eyes met mine and widened in shock. He backed away from the bed, bumping into a chair before reaching for the door.
Gone was the sweet, charming man that had comforted me mere minutes before, and in his place was someone cold and distant. “I have to go, but tomorrow we train, so get some rest.”
My eyes were too heavy with sleep to give too much thought as to what just happened. Yawning, I turned on my side and watched him exit my new bedroom. Everything was changing, but it was up to me how I handled those changes. Before I let sleep overcome me, I had already decided I was going to be a fabulous vampire. I would conquer the hell out of vampirism.
Chapter Two
One week later…
Oh, my gawd! I sucked at being a vampire. Digging my nails into the bark of the tree I currently hid behind, I clenched my eyes shut and mentally let out a string of curses. Why did it have to be a fawn? Why not a mean looking buck that pawed the ground in aggression at any unfamiliar scent? One that wouldn’t mind running me over, so that somewhere in the back of my mind I could claim it was self-defense.
As I peered around the tree, I cut another glance at the spotted animal looking like it had recently just learned to stand. I weighed my options. Technically, the raw hunger wouldn’t overpower me for at least another six hours. I could go back to the beautiful, but slightly outdated, manor house that I refused to call home and pretend like I didn’t see any game. Maybe Greta, the housekeeper, would feel sorry for me and give me a pint or two of Stephan’s supply she kept in the refrigerator. If Stephan could drink out of a bag, why couldn’t I?
My decision made, I turned to head out of the forest when I felt a now familiar tight pull in my chest. The link between my creator and me thrummed with energy, which meant he was close. As soon as I cleared the forest, I saw him leaning up against a tree, his hands hidden in the pockets of his jeans, and his black shirt pulled taut over his ridiculously toned torso. Through his thin cotton shirt, I could see the potential beneath. His shaggy brown hair in need of a trim was the same color as his eyes—the same color of the fawn that I couldn’t kill, which probably explained the lethal look on his face.
Wanting to get this confrontation over with as quickly as possible so I could go watch The Real Housewives of New Jersey, I said, “What’s up, Stephan? You decide to come outside and catch a breath of fresh air?”
“No, Tandi. I came out here to see how well you progressed on your hunting skills.” His eyes narrowed at my empty hands. “Disappointing as usual.”
Being from the South, we were raised to never show our temper. Thankfully, I was blessed with a naturally sweet disposition, so I let that comment fly by me as I continued to the house, ignoring him. That was me. A real class act.
Stephan did that trick I still hadn’t mastered and flashed right in front of me, blocking my path. “I have sired lots of vampires in my time, but you, Tandi, are by far the worst.”
“Listen here, jerk face, no one asked you to make me a vampire, and I sat in those woods for hours. All I found is one freakin’ deer.” I jabbed my index figure into his rock-solid chest. “And it was a baby! I’m not going to kill a sweet, innocent baby just because you insist that I hone my hunting skills.” As my eyes glared so hard they twitched, I realized I might have lied about my temper. Lying to oneself was never a good thing, but in my defense, this asshat brought out the absolute worst in me. Every day this past week had been torture. It was as if I couldn’t do anything to please this man. Power leaked from every pore he had, and I knew that I should be terrified, but I was too tired from this constant dance we did with one another. He would give me a task and when I failed at it, he would either show how disappointed he was with his snide remarks or give me the cold shoulder.
He grabbed the bridge of his
nose, as he mumbled something sounding pretty close to a Catholic prayer. “Tandi, the reason why you only found one animal on my property that consists of more than three hundred acres…” He looked at his watch, “In five hours, is because you wouldn’t keep that mouth shut for long enough. You kept scaring all the wildlife off with your horrendous singing of everything pop. At this very moment, there are probably squirrels heading to the main road in hopes of finding a passing car, so they can commit suicide after your rendition of everything Justin Timberlake.”
In twenty seconds, my head was going to start rotating while pea soup spewed from my mouth, because I was about to go all Exorcist on his hot behind. Counting back slowly from ten, I made it to nine and a half before saying, “So, Stephan, if I started singing every Lady Gaga song I know, and trust me, buddy, I know them all, would you go join the squirrels? Because I can be accommodating when I want to be. Besides, my singing isn’t that bad.”
He scoffed. “There for a while, I had horrible thoughts of doing bodily harm to Bruno Mars for encouraging you to listen to his songs. It’s amazing how you are consistently singing and humming, considering how awful you are at it. The worst part is you don’t just try to sing; you try to perform.”
Refusing to let him get under my skin, I said, “But I’m a terrific dancer, and I need music for that—”
He held up a hand. “Say no more. I will buy you a fantastic iPod if that will help keep the screeching down to a minimum.”
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