Darkfell vampire clan bo.., p.56
Darkfell Vampire Clan Boxset, page 56
“You don’t trust me to handle him?”
“I don’t trust him,” Luthor said flatly. “Caden vouched for his sire, but Renard provided the soldiers that overthrew Lyra during the coup. Let’s just say, I’m not entirely convinced.”
“Understood.” I couldn’t help it. I squeezed his hand. “I like you being here. You’re nice to look at.” He frowned at the compliment, and I jabbed him playfully in the side. “What? You can be handsome and useful at the same time, just so you know.”
“Oh, I know,” he said slyly, waggling his eyebrows at me. My throat burned from the tears threatening to burst free. We were a team again. No secrets between us, just like we’d first promised, and my heart soared.
“I love you too,” I told him softly.
“Likewise, my Queen.”
“Renard Gauthier, my Queen.” Sebastian shot me a warning look, and I nodded back. I already distrusted this guy, and I’d never even met him.
Renard was burly, wide-shouldered, and densely muscled, and he moved confidently, owning the room as he made his way toward me. “My Queen.” There wasn’t a hint of deference in his tone, his clever eyes scanning every inch of the room before they settled on me.
If he was part of Lyra’s murder, I should kill him right now and be done with it.
Listen to what he has to say, Seraphina, Luthor counseled gently. Renard moved the same way as Caden—sharing the same dark hair and bottle-green eyes—but he lacked Caden’s easy grace. This man bulldozed his way through life.
“I have been waiting to meet you for some time.” Renard’s tone was imperious, not ingratiating. I respected that, after all these kiss-asses I’d had to endure. “When I heard of your existence, I was quite encouraged.”
“Encouraged enough to hunt me down and try to kill me.”
His face clouded. “Yes. I did send Viktor to Albita Springs. I knew you’d escape him, given Fontaine and Rayne were with you. Which you did.”
“Barely. Only because my grandmother bought us time to get away.”
“Et pour cela, je m'excuse humblement.” Renard bowed his head, and the contrition in his voice seemed real enough. “I was only trying to save my son, his friends, and the woman he loved.”
That explanation lined up with what Tessa had told me. Viktor had captured them, brought them to the palace, and nearly fed them to the revenants. Renard had not only saved their lives but covered up their trail so effectively, Viktor never even discovered they’d escaped.
I could use someone like that.
He’d done terrible things. We all had.
No doubt, we’d do even more terrible things before this was over.
I may also be stepping over the straight line I’d set down for myself. The one between good and evil. If I filled the court with too much gray, I’d end up with the same thing as before. A court bloated with the morally compromised. I wanted to create something different.
“Would you do the same to me?” I was trying hard to read him, but Renard’s inscrutable gaze gave nothing away.
“Save you, my Queen?” There was a wrinkle of confusion between his brows.
“No. Would you betray me to save your son?”
Renard hesitated. Enough that I knew his next words were a lie. “I would remain loyal to you.”
“Is that really true, though?” I asked pointedly, holding his stare. “Doesn’t blood always win out?”
He inclined his head until I couldn’t read his face. “You put me in an impossible position, my Queen.”
“I’m putting you in a position you’ve found yourself in before. All I’m asking for is the truth, and it’s pretty simple. Would you choose your son over me?”
This time when he raised his head, his defiant green eyes were unblinking when he answered. “Yes, my Queen, I would. Every single time.” Beside me, Luthor’s hand went to his weapon, Sebastian closed ranks, and I sensed Cyrus nearby, ready to join them if this interview went south.
“That was all I was looking for. The truth.” I could use this man. He brought a lot to the table, and with Houses Dubois and the Bouderaux firmly on the other side, I needed allies. Badly.
“If you can speak the truth, every time, then you belong in this court. If you cannot, then take your leave.”
“Clever and fair. I should have expected it, being Claire raised you. You shall do well in the Darkfell clan.” His smile turned frighteningly cunning. “Very well, indeed.”
But he still hadn’t said yes. “Your answer?”
“I shall serve you, my Queen.” For such a big man, he dropped gracefully to one knee, crossed his arms, and bowed his head. I would never get used to this. Even though all eyes were on him, I felt like the spotlight was on me.
Luthor stepped up. “Say the words, Renard.”
“I swear fealty to Queen Seraphina, her house, her court, and to this kingdom. I shall keep her from harm and shall be faithful to her cause. May her reign be long.”
Renard rose in one, smooth movement. The hint of defiance was gone, the lines on his face relaxed. He was relieved. I was, too, just a little.
One step at a time, I’d build my court. I’d make the best decisions I could, and I’d rely on Luthor and Cyrus to steer me when I didn’t know the way.
“Thank you, Lord Gauthier. I expect we shall have a long working relationship.”
EPILOGUE
DESTON
Romania was odious, as I knew it would be.
During my rare periods of lucidity, I tried to recall what Seraphina smelled like, tasted like, before those memories were stolen away by the soul bond.
I’d wake with bloodstained hands, the stench of death around me, and I’d know Katarina had used me to carry out some heinous execution, most likely in public, for all to see.
This was one of those times. I’d already washed dried blood from my family ring, dressed myself in the beautiful clothes Katarina provided—she did hate me looking shabby—and went for a walk. Brasov castle sat high on a craggy outcropping, the foundations built into the granite, the entire mountain saturated with Katarina’s corrupted magic.
Nothing grew here, nothing natural anyway, although I caught the furtive movements of revenants skulking from shadow to shadow. I hated this place. I’d thought never to return.
Yet here I was, staring out over the same ghostly landscape I’d once escaped.
I’d been a fool to believe I’d be able to kill Katarina. For weeks, I’d clung to that hope, as desperately as I’d wanted to stay with my mate. But my moments of clarity were rare, and here, on her mountain where a thousand years of magic imbued every stone, she was invincible.
No, I’d never escape because she already had everything she wanted.
There was no mate to kill, no kingdom to infiltrate, just enemies to be eradicated, like so many rats. I was little more than her exterminator.
One shaky exhale while I considered what little more meant.
The soul bond was good for one thing. I didn’t have to remember the press of her flesh against mine, her tongue in my mouth, her teeth in my neck. Yes, I woke up well used and bloody, but—I suppressed my shudder—I didn’t remember any of it.
I’d been barely twenty, Seraphina’s age, when she’d bound me to her in the fifteenth century—nearly two hundred when she’d set me free—although that, too was a lie.
I took a deep breath and touched my finger to the mating mark. On the other end, I sensed Seraphina’s emotions as clearly as if she was right in front of me. Determination tinged with a bit of annoyance, which meant she was safe and things were normal.
I’d sent Fontaine one final message before Katarina recalled me to her side, and I expected he’d honor it.
Do not allow her to find me. Ever.
The directive would both keep Seraphina safe and Fontaine happy, I expected, as he and my cousin would have no rival for her affections.
I breathed in the oily scent of shale and old blood, the dirty stench of revenants, the desperation in the air. This was my present. My future. I’d die here, and I deserved this fate.
I was at peace with that ending because, for the first time in my existence, there was something I wanted more than my own survival.
Across the ocean, my mate would live. She would be happy. Love others, who would love her back. I expected a stab of jealousy with that thought, but there was none. Something to think on, the next time I got my mind back.
Seraphina would rule a kingdom, the greatest in the world.
And someday, when her powers truly matured, she would rise.
And become something this world had never seen.
I only wished I’d be there to see it.
PROLOGUE
SERAPHINA
My dream was always the same.
Deston seemed real when I ran my fingers down the sharp planes of his face and felt the rough burr of his whiskers. When I tasted the faint trace of my blood on his lips. Felt bones jut out of his too-thin body as I hugged him closer, trying to keep him warm.
His prison cell was little more than a rock shelf overlooking stark mountains and craggy snow-dusted ravines, where the stench of brimstone and black magic corrupted the air. His dark, staring eyes devoured me, nuanced with warning and anger.
But despite everything, when I was inside the dream…
I never wanted to wake up.
“I told you not to come back here, Seraphina. I meant it.” Deston’s voice was little more than a hoarse whisper, as if he’d been screaming for hours.
And perhaps he had. Katarina’s mountain held too many horrors to count. Oftentimes when I visited him in my dreams, my mate was bloodied, as if he’d been warring with the beasts that roamed the crevices and crags of Brasov Castle.
“And I told you, you’d never keep me away.”
For one second—the blink of an eye—he closed his eyes and leaned into my touch, let me cup his bruised cheek, run my thumb over his lips.
Before he pulled away.
It was funny how illusion felt this real when you missed someone enough to hurt.
“There has to be some way to break the soul-bond, Deston.”
I didn’t know how many times I’d said this before. Thirty? Once for every miserable night we’d been apart? “I have more resources now. An army. Let me break you free.”
He pulled away, and I curled my empty hands into fists.
“I thought we agreed not to speak of this anymore, mon amour?” His tattered voice turned rougher. “There’s not a chance en enfer of you getting within ten miles of this place without Katarina knowing and killing you.”
“Deston…”
“And if you so much as mention this again, Seraphina”—his voice turned silky—“I will slit my own throat to stop you.”
I assessed him, saw that he was deadly serious. This was how things had gone, ever since Katarina took him away.
Me, insisting on a rescue attempt.
Him, saying the most awful things to deter me from coming after him.
“Really? You would do that to me?” I asked softly, resting my arms on his shoulders, the planes of his body hard against mine. “You’d leave me alone for the rest of my life, under the guise of keeping me safe?”
“I would freely give my life to make sure you live out yours.” But he couldn’t help reaching up, running his hands down my arms, the curve of my hips. “Katarina is too strong for you to face, Seraphina. Give me more time, ma petite. I swear, if there’s a way, I will return to you.”
Then all I embraced was a wisp of dark smoke, my eyes wide open and staring at the ceiling in my bedroom.
Deston was right. No matter how strong I became, Katarina would always be more powerful.
Soul-bonds were unbreakable. The only way to sever one was for the controlling vampire to die. Even if I did rescue my mate, Katarina would only call him back. So, between Deston’s cruel warning and the fact my attempt would be pointless, I’d done what any smart woman would do.
Find a loophole. After four weeks, I was still looking.
On the surface, I had everything a woman could dream of.
I was Queen of the most powerful vampire clan in America. My two best friends warmed my bed at night. I had a royal court filled with friends and allies. Powerful magic that did my bidding.
Most of the time.
But I could never kill Katarina.
But there had to be a bigger monster that could.
1
SERAPHINA
“Ugh. Remind me again why I decided this was a good idea?” I backed away as the rat-like creature darted toward me, opening up a mouth full of jagged teeth.
“Stay inside the circle, Seraphina,” Cyrus warned softly, and I pulled my toes back into the ring of light cast by the LED lamp positioned near the door. “Most likely, their bite is venomous.”
“Fabulous.” After weeks of slogging through my royal duties, I'd volunteered to help Luthor and Cyrus clean out the lower levels of the dungeons. Well, not so much volunteered as strongly insisted.
After winning the heated, over-my-dead-body argument with my males, I regretted my decision. The little monster skittered back into the edge of the shadows, revealing black, scaled skin beneath the clumps of gray fur, its naked tail—same texture—waved like a broken needle.
Rat-fiend hissed and I clearly saw those needle-sharp teeth.
Double ugh. Whatever this thing was, it seriously needed to die.
“What do you think it used to be?” I asked Cyrus, gathering a bit of magic at my fingertips and trying not to breathe. Besides the mold, the stench down here was unbearable. “You know, before it got corrupted by dark magic?”
“Hard to say.” Cyrus tilted his head, trying to get a better look at the thing. “Bigger than a rat. Cat maybe?”
“Oh God, please don't let this be someone's pet,” I prayed aloud, even though that meant I had to sneak in a breath. “It has to be a rat.”
I could kill a rat. Especially a rat-fiend.
The thing lunged out of a corner, nothing but churning, stumpy legs and gnashing, flesh-colored teeth. I jumped back into the circle of light, and it scuttled away into the darkness that rimmed the cell.
“The ankle biters are the worst,” Cyrus said, perfectly serious. “Look out, it’s heading your way.”
The little monster was coming for me, and this time, bright light didn’t deter its mad dash.
Come on magic, don't freeze on me now.
Faster than I could see, the thing circled behind me and sank its teeth deep into my calf. Cyrus winced but made no move to help me.
“The only reason you’re here, is because you swore you wouldn’t hesitate,” he reminded me before kicking the thing away. Sharp teeth tore out a chunk of flesh before it landed in the shadows with a wet squelch.
“Yet here you are, love. Hesitating.”
“What if it was someone's pet?” I hedged. “Like a fluffy little kitten? Or a golden retriever?”
“Does that look like either of those to you?” His green eyes danced with humor. “If you want to keep the nasty thing as a pet, we’ll take it back to the palace, buy a little monster bed, and it can sleep in front of the fire.”
The smile fell off his face. “It’s corrupted with black magic, and we have to kill it, Fina. Just like everything else in this place.”
“Yeah, no shit.” I twisted around to get a better look at my bloodied leg.
There was a horrible snip snip snip sound coming from the shadows. It sounded juicy. Teeth gnashing together. Lots and lots of little, sharp teeth.
“Cyrus,” I whisper-screamed. “There’s more.”
“Like I said, the ankle biters are the worst.” He gathered his long hair into a tight tail. “Get ready. They usually hunt in packs.”
“Remind me again why I volunteered for this?” I muttered.
“Because you thought you were missing out on all the fun,” Cyrus joked, but he’d shifted closer, ready to take the brunt of whatever attack the little monsters launched. “What do you think now?”
Little glowing dots began appearing in the shadows, one pair at a time.
“Honestly? I think I would rather exterminate vermin down here, than talk to them up there.” I hooked my thumb toward the ceiling, where they were preparing for my coronation celebration. Tessa and I had laughed until we peed over that ridiculous rhyme.
“Why do you think I volunteer to come down here every day?” Cyrus explained patiently, widening his stance. There was a dry shuffling from the darkness as the lizard-rats solidified their positions, ready to charge.
“Don't screw around, Seraphina.” He had a deadly knife in each hand, and he was fast enough to exterminate the whole room in seconds. “One controlled burst should do it. Not too hot, or you’ll scorch my beautiful eyebrows right off my beautiful face.”
“We wouldn't want that, would we?”
There were hundreds of eyes now, watching us from the dark.
“You know how much I hate this part.” My magic worked with gruesome efficiency, and I hated it. “You might want to look away.”
Like an old, soiled carpet being rolled out, innumerable feet crept from the shadows, covering every inch of the stained floor. They didn’t stop, and I couldn’t figure out how there could be so many, until one fell from the ceiling, clawing a chunk out of my nose on the way past.
Cyrus kicked the lamp on high with his toe, revealing the walls around us, completely covered with lizard-rats, funneling down from the ceiling until they completely surrounded us.
“Now would be a good time to stop dithering about, Fina,” he suggested calmly. As they closed in, the stench turned septic-level gross. He spun until we stood back-to-back, and I blanketed one side with my magic. Like a well-oiled machine, we turned together, and I took care of the remainder, my magic a star-filled shadow that spun up the walls, then overhead.
