Darkfell vampire clan bo.., p.23
Darkfell Vampire Clan Boxset, page 23
I melted into him as his hands stroked gently up and down my back.
“You will do the same,” he told me, iron in his voice. “You will allow Deston to train you until your magic feels as natural to you as another arm or leg. You will practice with your shadows until you can control them as easily as Luthor can.”
“I don’t know if that’s possible,” I admitted quietly. Somehow, it was easier to tell him the truth since I wasn’t looking straight at him. “When I don’t know if I actually believe in magic.”
“Close your eyes, Fina,” Cyrus urged, his soothing tone so hypnotic that I did. A tendril of Cyrus’ magic reached into me, wrapping tightly around my own like a warm, fluffy cloud.
“Feel that? That’s my magic encasing your magic. If you were weaker, I could take control of your magic. But you’re already stronger than me, even with no training.”
A thrill of fear went through me. “You could control me, just like that?”
“If you were weaker. But you aren’t. Now, try to escape. Wiggle out of my grasp, as if you were struggling against a chokehold.”
It took me a second to get a feel for what he was telling me to do, but I forced my magic to move, and it pushed out from under his, like molasses seeping out from beneath a cold heavy stone.
I never knew magic had its own character, but Cyrus’ did.
His was ancient and weighty and kind of fluffy, as if I could punch and kick it, yet not put a dent in it. Mine, on the other hand, felt heavy in a different way.
As if it was waiting for something.
“Now.” He repositioned me so I wasn’t directly on his arm. “Attack my magic, see if you can capture it.”
Again, it took me a minute to figure out what that might feel like, but eventually my magic clumsily wrapped around his like a tattered, holey blanket. “Okay, I think I did it.”
“Now squeeze.”
Another few minutes passed while I struggled with the unfamiliar task of making something almost undetectable bend to my will. Cyrus let out a low groan as I compressed his magic, feeling it condense down and down and down until…
“Fina.” He gasped. His face was pale, his lips blue, and I reared back, my magic snapping loose like a rubber band.
“Cyrus, what the hell? You never said I could hurt you.”
“Sorry, I should have mentioned this. Our magic is tied to our physical selves, but you have to learn somehow.” The color was coming back into his cheeks, his eyes sparkled. “Remember what that felt like and, next time, try to create a thicker layer of magic, one that has no holes or tears.”
“I’m not doing that again, I…” My words died in my throat as Cyrus caught my magic in a death grip, strangling me.
I fought back, this time more out of fear than instinct, and finally managed to slip from the grip of his magic.
“That’s it.” He kissed my cheek, but it was the awe in his voice that made me realize I’d actually controlled my magic for the first time.
“This is the deal, Fina.” He pressed his forehead against mine.
“I know you don’t want any part of what’s happening. I know all of this is scary and intimidating and strange. But Deston was right. You have to get better at everything—your magic, thinking like a vampire, building up your strength—if you want to survive.”
I made a dismissive sound.
“This is your reality now, and Luthor and I…” He went tense beneath me. “We will not allow you to fail. We will ensure you become stronger, but in the end, it will come down to you and Viktor, face to face, where only the strongest will win.”
“You make it sound like derringers at noon.”
“More like magic at midnight.” He laughed, but it sounded hollow.
“So eventually, Viktor and I will fight, like we just did, magic to magic?”
“Blood to blood, actually, since your magic is bolstered by your guard’s magic, which is transmitted through the blood. Kind of a critical mass sort of scenario.”
There was a low hum in my body that had been building since yesterday. The more I fed, the deeper and more profound it became. “Drinking from you and Luthor makes me stronger.”
“And when we feed from you, it makes us stronger. There is a cumulative effect to the magic. It grows as we feed from one another, but there’s only two of us. When you take more...” His voice trailed off, and he turned away.
“Take on more guards, is that what you mean? More than just you and Luthor?”
“Deston’s magic, the power to create things from nothing… is a powerful talent.” He didn’t seem happy about it, and I wasn’t happy with what he was suggesting. “I’ve seen him erect entire buildings overnight, create defenses during battle. Escape routes through the side of a mountain.”
It did sound useful.
But this was Deston we were talking about.
Just the thought of allowing him into our circle… I felt a little sick.
“No,” I decided. “Not now. You and Luthor are good for me, and Deston is poison.”
“Deston is a skilled strategist, he has ties with all the royal houses, and they all owe him favors. Favors we might need to call in, should Viktor catch up to us.”
“You mean, when, don’t you?”
He hugged me closer. “That’s right, Fina. When Viktor catches up to us, we will need to have an escape plan. Preferably one that doesn’t involve me staying behind and taking Viktor on again.” Yeah, I don’t want that either, I thought as I traced my finger along his scar.
“I will not leave you behind to fight my battles for me. I’ll fight them by your side.”
“As will I.” Luthor’s voice was sleep-rough, but his huge hand rubbed my shoulder, and I felt like a weight had been lifted off me. We had an army of three, but at least we wouldn’t be constantly watching our backs.
Or wondering who would betray who first.
40
CYRUS
I left Fina and Luthor asleep in the enormous bed and found my disgruntled cousin straightening up his gardens after my Queen’s outburst yesterday.
“You shouldn’t have pissed her off,” I commented, noting Deston looked especially bitter when he lifted the moon goddess’s head from the ground and placed it back on her shoulders. “Don’t you think all of this is overcompensating just a bit?”
“You are certainly enjoying the accommodations to their fullest, cousin.”
He waved a hand, and the hedges repaired themselves into an impenetrable wall of green. “I can’t use too much magic. I’m saving myself for Seraphina’s training today.” His acetic expression turned into a predatory grin.
“If you hurt her…” I warned him. Deston was a lot of things—older, craftier, had better clothes—but I was stronger, well trained, and knew I could take him. If he didn’t drop a tree on me first.
“Calm down, mon cherie. I simply want to be at my best since I’m starting from scratch.” With a thought, he healed the crack on the goddess’s marble neck, and I rubbed my own, wishing I was as easily fixed.
Deston had been Lyra’s advisor for eons, until Vane Carpathian had forced him out. A week later, they’d assassinated her. I sometimes wondered how different things would have been if Deston hadn’t allowed himself to be outmaneuvered.
“It’s been a hundred years, Cyrus.” Deston finally turned to look at me, and I noted new lines around his eyes. “I believed you and Fontaine dead. Or worse.”
“He only turned the royals into revenants. I believe it pleased him to reduce them down to animals.”
“It would.” The end of Deston’s cane sank into the soft ground as he put his weight on it. Not all for show, then. “I have a proposition.”
Luthor and I had discussed, at length, what Deston would want from Seraphina.
Joining her court as a founding member would be high on his list, as would instructing her to use her magic, which would place her squarely under his control until she mastered it.
There was also the chance he’d truly gone insane and wanted her dead, if only to ensure the status quo remained the same.
“Go on,” I prompted, keeping my tone even and aloof.
“First, I have a question. How did you know I’d help you?”
“Because some things never change.” I shook my head. Remembering this part of our conversation as well.
“Especially old, crafty vampires who know nothing about family loyalty.”
“Hmmm.” He poked at a snapped-off lily blossom. “Something I suppose you and Luthor stick-up-his-ass Fontaine know all about?”
“We do,” I said pleasantly, staying well out of range of his cane. The thing was deadly. “I knew you’d help us because you’re conniving, and you know Seraphina’s your best chance at getting close enough to Viktor to kill him. Which means I know precisely why you’re helping us. But you don’t know anything about Seraphina, so I’m here to tell you how this arrangement will go.
“One. You will mold her into the strongest queen our clan has ever seen. Two. You will not touch her, not so much as a fang or a finger. Three. You will not so much as taste her blood, and if we suspect you’ve slipped a drop of yours into her drink, we will end you.”
“What do I get in return?”
This is where my stomach twisted in disgust, both at what I was offering, and the fact I had to do so in the first place.
“A place in her court. As her advisor, it is plausible you appear by her side, and the fact that you are…” God, I hated having to make this bargain with the devil. “Will sew doubt throughout the other houses. If you’ve joined forces with this new Queen, the royals will wonder why.”
“You actually think I will bring respectability to Seraphina’s court?”
“Not respectability, no.” I grinned. “But you bring an element of fear with you that will make the others sit up and take notice. I assume you have kept your back channels open?”
Deston inclined his head.
“Then we expect you to use them. Feel out each house, assess their loyalty, or lack thereof. Figure out who has the most to gain with a new queen on the throne. Who has the most to lose… once Viktor is gone?”
I shook my head in mock dismay when I felt him probe my mental shields. “Really, Deston? Do you think I survived prison without being able to protect myself?”
He simply stared at that broken flower for a moment before his eyes flew to mine.
“I agree to your terms. But I have one request of my own.”
We’d expected this.
He’d want a title, most likely, or a share of the plunder once Viktor was gone.
Or both.
We were prepared to give these to him. It was what one did in politics. Formed alliances with people you despised. Then waited for them to stab you in the back.
“If she so chooses on her own, with no interference from me, to take me as a lover, then neither of you will stand in my way.”
My lips peeled back, my fangs punched out, and before I knew it, Deston was pinned beneath me while I snapped at his throat like an animal. The only thing keeping me from reaching him was the cane he had braced across my chest.
I’m going to kill him.
His flesh was chilled where I grasped his shoulders, his face so pale it was white. I barely felt the long, narrow knife—the one he kept hidden in his cane—sink into my side as blood sprayed the both of us.
The move allowed me an opening, and I sank my fangs deep into his throat and ripped, heard flesh tearing.
My hand grappled with his hatefully perfect face, and I pressed my thumb into his eye socket, feeling the softness of his eyeball crush beneath the pressure. I’d blind him then I’d kill him, then I’d…
“Don’t you dare kill him.” Luthor heaved me off my cousin, and I landed on my back in the dirt, wiping the taste of him from my mouth. “We need his connections, remember?”
“I was merely telling Cyrus…” Deston coughed wetly. “My counteroffer.”
“No fucking way.” I grunted, my chest heaving. “Over my dead body.”
“Easily arranged.”
“I would kill you myself, de’Rayne.” Luthor mock-sighed. “But we need you.” He gave me a hand up, and I bent over, hands braced on my thighs, fighting to get my composure back. “Your cooperation now buys you a seat at the table. But our patience only goes so far. I’m sure Cyrus laid out our terms in a way even you understood?”
“Fuck, Luthor, he wants…” I was immediately cut off by his warning glare.
Which meant Luthor already knew what Deston wanted.
Hell, even I’d known it, practically tried to convince Fina he’d be a logical addition to our court. But hearing the words come out of Deston’s own mouth? Yeah, not happening.
“It’s really just a matter of a yes or no, Deston. In or out? It matters little to Cyrus and me, and we can train Seraphina ourselves, though it will take longer. You are merely an accelerated means to an end.”
Deston was already healing, and blood had stopped dripping from my side when he answered.
“I am in.” He shot me a meaningful look.
“But my terms stand as well.” This time he was smart enough to ward himself before speaking. “Seraphina will make up her own mind about me, and neither of you will stand in my way once she does.”
“Done,” Luthor said, no trace of anger in his voice. “I’d shake on it, but I like to keep my hands clean.”
I’d broken Cyrus and Deston up just in time.
I needed both of them alive and at their best—although with Deston, his best was questionable—to teach Seraphina the ropes and make sure she was ready for anything. Once she was prepared, I planned to bring in two more guards, minimum, to protect her.
Once I knew she was in good hands… I’d be gone.
It was killing me to shield my feelings and thoughts from her. Killed me, every time she turned those big golden eyes my way and reminded me that we’d sworn to not hide things from each other.
But I was acting in her best interests by making sure she’d be ready to face Viktor when the time came. Once that happened, she wouldn’t have to waste precious resources protecting me. Because I couldn’t do much more than defend myself and did a half-assed job of that.
“Which houses can we expect support from?”
Deston play-acted, considering my question, as if he actually had to think it through.
“This is how our arrangement will work,” I told him, stepping close enough to his personal ward that electricity sparked against my skin.
“We don’t have time to waste on our usual games. I ask a question, you answer it. You teach Seraphina as much as she can manage every day, until she is ready. I estimate we have three days before Viktor Carpathian’s soldiers come sniffing around.”
This time, when I smiled, my shadows tore through his wards and wrapped around his still-healing throat. “Which houses will support us, and which won’t?”
His eyes grew comically wide before I loosened my shadows. “House Gauthier and House Dubois have never shown any sign they are dissatisfied with the Carpathians. Which means he has the military and intelligence in his pocket. He controls the bank as well, since House Bouderaux will protect their financial interests by remaining loyal. They’d never throw their support behind an untried queen.”
I pulled my magic back and waited.
“House Cormier has enough of a foothold in the human world they have leverage against Viktor—in that he cannot touch them without drawing attention. But they have a history of remaining neutral.”
He gave a slight bow. “House de’Rayne, of course, will be loyal to the new Queen.”
“House Marvelle and Fontaine are down to one member each,” I offered dryly. “But count us in.” Surprisingly, Deston didn’t laugh; instead, he looked thoughtful.
“House Cormier… Hugh and Lilliana’s eldest daughter Contessa barely escaped Viktor’s attentions. They have two more daughters they are eager to protect, so I expect they will be loyal to a new regime, but we are not on speaking terms.”
“So, Houses Carpathian, Bouderaux, Gaunthier and Dubois versus Houses Marvelle, Rayne and Fontaine, possibly House Cormier, if we can convince them the risk will be worthwhile.” I shook my head. “What do those odds look like?”
“With House Bouderaux against us? Two thousand against ten thousand, if my calculations are correct.” He didn’t hesitate as he added, “If you can bring House Cormier on board, that’s an extra seven hundred, plus connections to the old guard of Europe.”
“Cyrus. You used to have ties to Hugh Cormier, correct?”
“He was a friend, yes.”
“Get cleaned up and make a visit. If memory serves, there’s a back way into the Cormier Mansion, and I expect it’s still there. Talk to Hugh. See if his hatred for Viktor outweighs his fear of the bastard.”
“Yes, Commander.” Cyrus left without another word, leaving one more thing to address.
“I know you want Seraphina. I even know why.”
I let the shadows leech from my fingers, as both a warning and a threat.
“You will not have her. You are unstable, ill-suited for a young court, and bring nothing with you except bitterness and Machiavellian scheming. You serve one purpose, and that is to make Seraphina invincible. She’s blessed with powerful magic. You will teach her how to hone it into a blade to cut her way to the throne.”
I bit back my smile because I was above gloating.
“After that, we shall see what our Queen wants to do with you. If I were you, I wouldn’t hold my breath about that advisor position.
“And you’ll never scheme your way into her bed. Or her heart.”
41
SERAPHINA
“No, no, no. Seraphina, tu dois faire plus d'efforts.”
I wiped sweat from my burning eyes as Deston yelled—politely—for me to try again.
“Yeah, I’ve been trying. And trying, and trying,” I yelled back, not nearly as politely.
