by Lora Edwards
Victoria looked down at the bright ball that had formed between her hands and imagined it growing. The ball grew brighter and expanded. Flushed with triumph, Victoria expanded it again and again, and soon it encompassed her whole body.
She looked at Teagan with such elation. Teagan brought up a ball of her own power, a dark purple signaling her royal status, and lobbed it at Victoria’s protective barrier. Victoria concentrated hard. She could feel Teagan’s power like a physical blow when it hit her shield. She pulled on the magic inside of her, and though the shield wavered for a moment, it held fast.
Teagan stood, clapping and smiling. Victoria let the protection shield down, her body shaking from the effort of holding it for those few minutes.
“You did it!” Teagan ran over and hugged her.
“I only was able to hold it for a few moments.”
“You were able to create it, expand it, and have it withstand a powerful burst of magic. I call that progress, and the end of our lesson for today. You’re doing well, Victoria. It’s coming along nicely, and it’s like any muscle—it strengthens as you use it. Practice the spells you have learned today and we will try again tomorrow.”
Victoria looked at her friend. “Thank you so much, Teagan. I have no idea what I would do without you to help me through this.”
Teagan smiled and rubbed her arm. “It was not all that long ago that I was in your place learning these things, myself acclimating to an entire new life, an entire new world I didn’t remember even knowing existed. You’re doing well, and the next time you come face to face with the countess, you will be stronger. She’ll be expecting you to cower and back down, so you will have the advantage of surprising her.” Teagan patted her hand one more time before walking out of the room, presumably to check on the twins.
Victoria had just enough time to feed and replenish her strength before her next session with Ovidia .
Chapter 28
Victoria lay on the mat, sweating and hurting all over her body. “Don’t struggle with it, vampire. The moves will come more and more naturally to you.”
“Thank you, Ovidia.” She said the words automatically, although they weren’t sincere. After the hard session with Teagan and then the disappointing session with Ovidia, she was ready to just throw in the towel. Maybe she wasn’t cut out for this life after all. Victoria swung open the door to the ballroom and with one more wave to Ovidia, who stood frowning in the middle of the room, she let it swing shut behind her.
“You look like you could use a break.”
Victoria looked over and smiled at Delphine leaning against the wall outside the ballroom/training room. It had been a particularly brutal day working with both Ovidia and Teagan. She hadn’t made much progress, and she was frustrated.
“It has been a day,” Victoria replied.
“Why don’t you go shower and get into something comfortable then meet me in my rooms when you are finished. No rush and no hurry, no expectations, just some downtime.”
“That sounds amazing. Just give me a chance to shower and change and I will be right there.”
“No hurry, just come over when you’re ready.”
Delphine turned and walked back toward her suite of rooms, and Victoria felt tears well in her eyes. How did Delphine know she just needed someone to talk to, to vent about the frustrations of the day with? She could have gone to Armand, but she didn’t feel their relationship was quite there yet. Besides, he would feel the need to fix it, being as he was, and she didn’t need it fixed; she just wanted to be listened to.
She hurried through her shower, pulling on the soft leggings Teagan had presented her with when they had started training. She had mentioned to her friend how much she had enjoyed the first pair, and Teagan had produced a second pair upon her arrival in France. These ones made Victoria giggle and feel warm every time she wore them.
They were covered in little stakes and cartoon Draculas. She wondered how Vlad felt about his image being used in such a way and imagined him rolling around in his coffin. He was a traditionalist and actually slept in a coffin, or so rumor said. She could have asked Armand as they were acquainted, but she didn’t believe it to be polite.
She topped the leggings with the garment modern people called a hoodie. It was a gift from Delphine and said This vampire doesn’t sparkle. When Victoria asked about it, Delphine had told her about the film and book series that had been made about vampires that glittered in the sun. She had watched the films and read the books. They had been hilarious and a good diversion for her.
Sufficiently decked out in vampire gear, proclaiming proudly what she was, made her giggle a bit as she walked down the hallway to Delphine’s rooms.
She knocked, and when Delphine opened the door, she took in Victoria’s outfit with wide eyes.
“You said casual—does this not work?”
“No, no, you look fine. It’s just odd to see you in such informal attire and…well, you have to admit the combination of your hoodie and leggings is hilarious.”
“As Ovidia told me, wear it proud and loud. Pronounce to the world what you are even if they won’t believe it, even if you have to declare it on a hoodie, of all things.”
Delphine laughed. “That sounds like Ovidia.” She motioned Victoria inside.
“I hope you don’t mind that the children are joining us. Drake and Seraphina are here to play with Esme—it gives Teagan a bit of a break.”
Victoria looked over to where the three children were playing quietly on the floor. “No, not at all. They are so sweet.”
Delphine rolled her eyes. “Don’t let their looks fool you—they can be hellions when they put their minds to it. Hey kiddos, how do you guys feel about some beach time?”
The children immediately stopped playing with their toys and toddled over to where the women stood.
“Wow, that is a magic word.”
Delphine smiled. “It is with these three.”
“Vic, you come to the beach,” Esme asked.
Victoria smiled. The little girl had trouble with her whole name so she called her Vic. She had been adopted by Delphine and Flynn on their last mission. Her mother, a Siren like Delphine, and her father, a mermaid, had been killed by the society Delphine, Flynn, and the others had stopped on their last mission. The society had been bent on trying to eradicate supernatural beings.
“Yes, little one, I will come to the beach with you.” She turned her smile at Seraphina and Drake, who smiled back, their little teeth a bit pointy, a gift from their dragon father. Their ears were slightly pointed, a gift of their fae ancestry, and she had heard tell of the powers they wielded from their witch ancestry.
“Fae, witch, dragon twins—no wonder Teagan needed a rest.”
Before Delphine could answer, the twins put a thought in her mind of Teagan running around their rooms and magically putting out fires the twins had set, catching floating priceless antiques, and just generally looking harried.
She chuckled. “You two are a handful. You should be nicer to your mother.”
The twins frowned then showed her a picture of Teagan snuggled in an oversized rocking chair, reading to the babies as they fell asleep, both telling her through her mind that they loved her.
“I know you love her.” Victoria snuggled the two children in. They and Esme were the only children she had spent much time with. She wasn’t sure what to make of them some of the time, but they didn’t recoil from her cold touch and generally appeared to like her, so she thought she must have been doing something right.
“To the beach,” Delphine called, opening a door to the side of the sitting room. Armand had thoughtfully placed an ocean room off of Delphine’s rooms as well as the playroom. Immediately, the relaxing sound of rushing waves filled the air, and the children toddled toward it, Victoria following them.
It still awed her, even though she had always known the capabilities of magic, to see the ocean in the middle of wherever Delphine resided. Being a Siren, she was m
ost comfortable near the water. She didn’t need it as she had been given a gift by Odin during Ovidia and Erik’s wedding that allowed her to be away from the water without it having an effect on her. Still, even without the physical need, she had told Victoria before that she still needed it psychologically, and if she hadn’t changed into her Siren form for a while, she became crabby.
They settled in the sand and watched as the children played. Esme immediately changed into her other form, her sapphire blue tail winking in the sun.
The other little ones followed her out. Victoria looked over at Delphine, not knowing if the twins could swim, but she seemed unconcerned.
“Don’t worry, they learned long ago a spell to turn themselves into mermaids as well. Their powers appear to allow them to create spells to fit their needs. They are the talk of the institute.”
Just as the words left her mouth, a sparkling red tail and a sparkling pink tail popped out of the water.
Victoria felt her jaw drop as she watched. “That is amazing.”
“Teagan almost died the first time they did it. They think it is tied to their shifter magic. They shift into the cutest little dragons as well.”
“Do they shift into other forms?”
“Not that we have seen, but they are still small and feeling out their powers. Between the dragon-shifter magic from Bran and the fae-witch powers from Teagan, no one has any idea what all they are capable of.”
“That is a bit frightening.”
Delphine shrugged. “Yes, but Bran and Teagan have several communities to help them figure it out.”
“Is Esme still tied to the water as you were before your blessing from Odin?”
Delphine turned to her friend and grinned. “I forgot you have been in France. She recently celebrated her third birthday, and when she woke up that day and came into our room, she told us her arm felt funny. There on her little arm was a tattoo just like mine. Odin had given her a birthday gift. I guess he thought if she was going to be ours, he would bless her as he did me.”
“I think the warrior god is a bit sweet on you, Delphine.”
Delphine blushed. “I think he just sees something in us and admires the qualities of the warrior. Anyway, I didn’t bring you here to talk of the children or about me. How are you doing with all of this, Victoria? You seem worn out and a bit defeated, if I am being blunt.” Delphine sat back and rubbed the small bump that was forming on her stomach.
Victoria briefly wondered about the powers of a shifter-Siren child and then turned her mind back to the task at hand.
“I don’t know if this is for me, Delphine. It feels like I can’t control my magic. My training with Ovidia and Teagan is coming along, but I am slow and clumsy with my body, even with my vampire strength, and also with my magic. Maybe I should go back to the time I came from, resume my duties, and let Armand and Victor go after the countess.”
“What nonsense that is. You need to quit feeling sorry for yourself and realize these things take time,” Delphine told her friend in a firm voice.
Victoria stared at her. The tone and the words were so unlike the gentle woman she knew.
“I’m sorry to be so harsh, but they are words you need to hear. I came to the institute as a princess. I had responsibilities, yes, but people catered to me my entire life. I had to learn a lot of hard lessons, as did Teagan. She was an academic with no memory of her life at the institute as a child. She learned to harness her magic, to fight and take down a dragon. You have it in you, Victoria. You just need to trust yourself.”
Victoria looked down at the sand and contemplated her friend’s words. The sting was there, but so was the truth. She needed to let go of the self-pity. Teagan and Ovidia had told her she would get better. Was she really thinking about quitting before she even got started? Did she really want others to fight this battle for her? The answer was no, she did not. Delphine was right; she needed to stop pitying herself and just let the process happen.
“You are right. It took someone else telling me to really see that self-pity was what I was doing. I can do this. I will get better, and I will defeat the countess, because if I let someone else do it for me, it will always haunt me. I know it will.”
Delphine gave her a decisive nod and then a sly smile slipped across her face.
“Now that we have that out of the way, what is going on with you and Armand?” Delphine wiggled her eyebrows.
Victoria sat straighter and looked out to where the children laughed and played, avoiding eye contact with her friend. “I don’t know what you are talking about,” she said in her most prim Victorian voice.
Delphine just rolled her eyes. “Really? Anyone who’s in the same room as the two of you can feel the sparks flying. Has something happened since the two of you left the institute?”
Victoria’s pale face reddened as she blushed, thinking of the moonlit walks and kisses they had shared.
“It is new, and I am not sure where it is going to go.”
Delphine let it go. She had gotten everything she needed to know from the blush on Victoria’s cheeks. They would be planning another wedding soon, she thought.
They talked and laughed for the rest of the afternoon, and then Victoria helped Delphine put the children down for a nap, excusing herself to let Delphine have some peace and quiet. Their time together had been exactly what she needed.
Chapter 29
The following weeks flew by, and there was no sign of the countess, no clue to her whereabouts. The strange deaths had stopped in France, and there were numerous articles in the human newspapers. The investigation had stalled, and the case had gone cold. They came to the conclusion that it may have been a transient serial killer, and they were more right than they knew.
Victoria found herself getting stronger and stronger in her magic and in her fighting skills. Her superhuman strength was backed up by the actual strength and agility of her body as well as a growing confidence in her ability to defend herself.
“All right, vampire, are you ready to go to the next level?” Ovidia raised an eyebrow at Victoria as she came in for her training session.
“You know it, Valkyrie.” Victoria wanted to wipe the smug look off of Ovidia’s face.
Ovidia looked at her friend with what looked like compassion and a bit of sorrow.
“Your skills have come a long way, but we need to work on your psychological reaction as well as your physical. I had a mage come by and set up something up for me. I have the same setup at home, and it allows us to create scenes in which to practice.”
Victoria felt a warning shiver crawl down her back. “Like the old west scenario you did with Delphine?”
Delphine had made her laugh when she’d told Victoria of the training she’d done with Ovidia, one of the scenarios being a bar fight in an old-timey saloon.
“Similar to that, yes, but your scene will be with the countess.”
Victoria found her heart beating and her hands getting clammy. She looked down and little red beads had formed on her palms. She wiped them down the sides of her black exercise pants, thanking herself for wearing a dark color that day. Taking a deep breath, Victoria just nodded.
Ovidia stood in the middle of the room next to her. “Ballroom, countess,” she said in a firm voice.
The room wavered around them and changed into an elegant ballroom. Well-dressed lords and ladies danced around them, oblivious to the two women standing in their midst.
Victoria looked down: her spandex was gone, and in its place was a ballgown. She looked over at Ovidia, and she was dressed similarly.
“Now I know it is impossible to fight in all these layers of fabric. I insisted to Armand that for any more fancy dress events you attend, the dresses need to be provided by Mrs. Bloom, as she provides a special trick.”
Ovidia reached inside the voluminous folds of her gown and showed Victoria a ribbon that matched the garment. Pulling on it, Ovidia suddenly stood with her skirts at her feet, dressed in a corset and pan
taloons made a bit more tight-fitting than what was strictly necessary.
The dancers around her gasped and stepped away, women giggling and whispering behind their fans.
“Nice touch, mage,” Ovidia grumbled as she looked around at the people in the ballroom. Ovidia pulled up the skirts once more and reattached them, glaring at the imaginary people that surrounded her. “Start from the beginning,” she growled at the room. It wavered as before, and the staring gossiping people were once again sweeping across the floor in a popular dance.
“You will mingle. You can dance, and they will feel as real as you and me. They have been programmed to make small talk. The countess is programmed into the scenario and could come upon you at any time. When that happens, the scene will change. Once you pull on your ribbon, you will be back in your normal clothing. Then you will fight her.”
Victoria nodded and smoothed down her skirts. She was comfortable in such attire as it was not dissimilar from what she wore in her own time.
She did as Ovidia instructed and stood on the side of the room, sipping punch until one of the imaginary men asked her to dance.
As they glided across the floor, Victoria tried not to laugh at the inane conversation the man was programmed with. Her shoulder blades itched with the feeling of being watched, and she tensed at each whisper of a dancing couple behind her.
The song ended and the man escorted her back to the side of the room. She surveyed it with her eyes, seeing no sign of the countess in the crush of people that filled the ballroom.
Just as she felt herself start to relax, a cold hand brushed the back of her neck and she felt lips at her ear. “Hello, darling. Miss me?” The voice of the countess, low and surly with just the hint of her exotic accent, had Victoria freezing in place.
“Snap out of it, vampire,” Ovidia yelled from across the room.
