The Immortal Vow

by Juliana Haygert

  I offered him a small smile. I had no idea it was so great to watch him this excited about our kid. “I did. I think she wants to give you a high five.”

  He placed his other hand on my stomach. “I’m here, sweetie.” As if she knew exactly where he was touching, our daughter kicked again, directly under his palms. Drake smiled.

  Power bloomed inside me. Feeling it, Drake sucked in a sharp breath. It was slow at first, but it spread quickly. While the power he had used to defeat Morda had rushed through me and out of me and taken some of my magic with it, it was different this time. This magic warmed my core and soothed me from the inside out. My muscles relaxed, the pain faded, the dizziness disappeared. I closed my eyes for a moment and breathed deeply, letting it all refresh me.

  When I opened my eyes again, I felt better than I had in months. I wasn’t pain free, or exhaustion free, but at least I could move on my own without being afraid of collapsing in half a second.

  “What happened?” Thomas asked. He and Drake had a similar expression: round eyes, slack jaw, and tight shoulders.

  I sat up and looked down at my body. “I think she gave me some of her magic.”

  Drake kissed my belly. “Thank you,” he whispered, putting another smile on my lips.

  Then I saw the blood smeared on his ripped shirt. “You’re hurt.” I reached for him.

  Drake opened his shirt and showed his wound to me. “It wasn’t deep and it’s already healing.”

  “But we can still apply some salve on it.” I started to get up, but Drake held me down.

  “I’ll be fine. It’ll be all healed soon.” He looked up at me. “I hate leaving you alone again, but if you’re okay, I should go back to Castle DuMoir and check how things are going. Though, this time you should hide somewhere in the forest instead of being here alone.”

  I shook my head. “I’m well enough to go with you.”

  Drake frowned. “No, no. What if they are still fighting?”

  I took his hands in mine. “All the more reason you might need me there. Besides, Morda is down. The heart is with us. All I need to do is tell the Silverblood witches to stop fighting. We can deal with the ones who don’t agree with me.”

  It took a little more convincing and a few more words, but Drake finally relented. After I changed my shoes to sturdier ones, Thomas, Drake, and I went to Castle DuMoir.

  To our surprise, the fighting had already ended—the Silverblood witches had either been killed or surrendered—but the tension was high in the air.

  The dining room was crowded: Luana stood with the werewolves on one side, some of the princes stood with the vampires in the center, and Queen Sarah and Queen Rosilla were among the witches. All of them were snapping at each other, even the witches, and they seemed ready to start another fight.

  Keeran saw us entering the room and rushed to us. “Thank goodness you’re here. I’ve been trying to keep them calm, but as you can see, it’s been too much.”

  Drake patted Keeran’s shoulder.

  The chattering diminished as people saw the both of us marching to the center of the room. Drake made a point of looking around, at everyone’s face, showing off his power.

  “I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of fighting,” Drake said, his voice loud and clear. The room went silent. “I know we have lots to discuss and solve, but here’s what I propose we do right away: I’ll take Castle DuMoir and rebuild it. I’ll listen to the concerns of the vampires before finalizing a new set of rules and creating a new council.”

  “We don’t want rules,” a rebel vampire shouted from the back.

  “Then you’re welcome to leave right now,” Drake said. “Just be sure to go far away from here, because if I catch any of you around and not following our rules, you’ll be severely punished.”

  Murmurs rose and a handful of vampires left the room. I thought Drake would intervene and try to make them stay, but I thought I understood his main thought. Unruly vampires would only make everything difficult. I just hoped they stayed out of trouble.

  “What about the witches?” Queen Sarah asked. She side-eyed me. “With your daughter being born soon, what do you suggest we do?”

  Drake looked at me. “Thea should become witch queen of the Silverblood coven and the three of you—” He shifted his gaze between Queen Rosilla, Queen Sarah, and me. “—should work together to make sure the covens are united by the time our daughter comes of age and can become the Queen of All Witches.”

  What was he talking about? Why did he want to make me witch queen if I was about to die? We hadn’t found any solution to save me. As far as I knew, I had only a month or a little over to live. If I made it to full term.

  I wouldn’t argue about this with him right now. Not in front of everyone.

  Queen Rosilla wrinkled her nose, but nodded. “I can live with that.”

  “Me too,” Queen Sarah said.

  Drake let out a relieved sigh. “Now for the werewolves.” He turned to Luana. She was wearing Keeran’s leather jacket and her face looked paler than usual. “Luana is now alpha of the Dark Vale pack.” Beside me, Keeran stiffened. “She’ll work alongside me and Thea to maintain peace between the vampires, the witches, and the werewolves.”

  A couple of growls rose from the pack, but Luana growled louder, silencing them. A small smile took over my lips. It would be fun to watch her as the alpha of her pack.

  For a moment, everything was perfect. Drake, Luana, Keeran, and Thomas were all right. We had defeated Morda. The princes were back and supporting Drake. The wolves looked a little tense, but I was sure they would do great under Luana’s rule. As for Keeran, we still had to talk about his role in all of this. As the first male warlock allowed to co-exist with witches, we would have to come up with new rules.

  I glanced around, happy our dream of a peaceful future was within reach.

  Then, my happiness was shattered when my stomach tensed and pain ricocheted down my pelvis and up my back.

  I tried controlling my breathing before Drake could hear it. “I’ll be right back,” I told him in a hush, before leaving the room.

  Where I was going, what I was doing, I didn’t know. I just needed to be alone because maybe if nobody else knew about it, then it wasn’t happening.

  Because it was too early.

  I couldn’t give birth now.

  23

  Drake

  The commotion continued. The witches started bickering among themselves, then some wolves commented about not liking having a female for an alpha, and next everyone turned on Keeran, saying he was an aberration and we should get rid of him.

  I hadn’t thought leading all the groups would be easy, but I thought that everyone would take a breather before going for each other’s throats again. I was just grateful there were only three races involved. I didn’t want to think how messy it would be if there had been more—especially the fae, who were proud.

  Thankfully, I was able to calm everyone down. I told everyone to go home—or stay in case they didn’t have anywhere else to go—and rest for now. We would soon start rebuilding the castle and reorganizing our society. It wouldn’t be easy. It would be stressful, actually, but it would be worth it.

  The dining room cleared and I wondered where Thea had gone. She said she would be right back, so I thought she had to go to the bathroom or grab something to drink, but she hadn’t come back. I was about to go look for her when Thomas appeared in front of me.

  “Thank you for helping out with Morda earlier,” I said.

  Thomas shrugged. “I’ve barely done anything.”

  “You were there. That was enough.”

  He stared at me and he suddenly looked so small for a sixteen-year-old young man. “I forgive you,” he blurted out. “I wanted you to know that I understand what happened and I forgive you. I still consider you my friend, my older brother.”

  My breath caught. “I don’t deserve your forgiveness.”

  “Yes, you do, because I know how
much guilt you feel. I know you’re a good person, and I know hate when bloodlust wins over you.” He sighed. “Now it’s your turn to forgive yourself.”

  This kid … “Thank you.”

  Thomas looked down. “I’m leaving.”

  It took a moment to sink in. “You’re moving on?”

  “Yes.” He returned his eyes to mine. “I couldn’t go before telling you. I knew I would regret it forever if I left without telling you I’d forgiven you. So now I need to go.”

  My eyes widened. “Now?”

  He nodded. “Yes. Right now.”

  I reached for him. Thomas’s hand became less transparent when he grabbed mine. I knew it was hard for him to keep this up for long, but I held on to him as much as I could. I shook his hand with a tight grip.

  There was so much I wanted to tell him. Like how I had enjoyed our late night talks, the way he scolded me when I drank too much blood and slept on the floor, or when I came back from a mission stained in blood and dirt and didn’t wash until I had drank a week’s worth of blood. I wanted to tell him I had enjoyed his company and his jokes and his affection. I wanted to tell him I had been blessed for having a little brother like him.

  Emotion clogged my throat and all I managed to whisper was, “Thank you.”

  A sad smile spread through his lips. “Take care, Drake. Please be good to Thea and your daughter.”

  I scoffed. “I will.”

  His hand became translucent. Then, the rest of his body joined in, becoming more and more transparent until there was nothing there. I waved my arms in front of me, where he had just been, and didn’t touch anything.

  Thomas was really gone. He had moved on. I had to be happy for him as he would finally be in peace with his parents.

  “Drake!” Luana rushed back into the room.

  The pitch of her voice, the rapid breathing, the speed of her heartbeat. I turned to her. “What is it?”

  She stared at me with teary eyes. “It’s Thea.”

  24

  Thea

  Pain cut through my body, but I couldn’t even scream.

  “Hang on,” Queen Sarah said.

  I had tried to hang on, to delay this as much as I could, but nothing had worked. The witches had found me hiding in the garden, trying to disguise the situation. Queen Sarah and Queen Rosilla took one look at me and knew. They brought me to an empty suite in the castle and started giving orders.

  “Bring towels.”

  “Bring water.”

  “Bring scissors.”

  “Find Drake,” I croaked.

  “Stay quiet,” Queen Rosilla said. She put her hand on my forehead and a cold sensation spread through my face, down my neck. Her magic was almost soothing.

  But then another jolt of pain ripped through me, and all I could do was grit my teeth. This wasn’t a contraction; this was torture. It had to be.

  “Thea, stay with us,” Queen Sarah urged. “Keep your eyes open.”

  My eyelids were too heavy, though. My entire body was. If I didn’t have this child soon, they would have to perform a C-section, because I wouldn’t be awake in a few minutes.

  Queen Rosilla slapped my face. “Don’t you dare sleep now.”

  Compared to the pain on the rest of my body, the slap felt like tickles.

  I groaned and widened my eyes, trying to stay awake.

  The suite doors burst open. “Thea!” Drake ran to my side. He sat at the edge of the mattress and took my hand in his. “What’s going on?”

  “What do you think is going on?” Queen Sarah snapped. “Your daughter is about to be born.”

  “But … it’s too soon.” His face paled. “We should have one more month at least.”

  “The baby wants to come now,” Queen Rosilla said. “There’s nothing we can do to stop her.”

  Drake leaned over me. “Thea …”

  I tried smiling at him, but with the pain that cut through me making me want to curl into a ball, I was sure it was more like a grimace. “It’s okay, Drake. Just stay with me until the end.”

  Because this was the end. I could feel it. The pain was just the beginning. By all that was sacred, I hoped I could hold my daughter once before I died.

  Tears filled my eyes.

  “All right,” Queen Sarah said. She covered my legs with a white bedsheet and took position in front of my bent knees. “Next time the pain increases, you’ll push. It’s gonna be a bitch, but you have to push.”

  I nodded, afraid of this moment. Afraid of the pain I might feel. Afraid of hurting my daughter. Afraid that I might push and die before my daughter was born. If I didn’t resist until the end, the chances of her making it by herself were slim.

  Queen Rosilla stood on the other side of the bed, a white towel in her hands.

  The pain started in my lower back and spread down my legs, up my stomach. I gritted my teeth and pushed.

  Suddenly, the world became a blur. My vision darkened until all I saw was faint silhouettes, and even the sounds faded, as if I was underwater.

  “She’s fading away!”

  “Thea, stay with us!”

  “One more push. You can do this. Just one more.”

  The words were a huge jumble, and it all made me more afraid.

  Despite whatever they were saying, I pushed when the pain increased again, because I knew my child had to be born.

  I squeezed Drake’s hand hard, gritted my teeth, curled my toes, raised my shoulders, and I pushed with everything I had left.

  The faint sound of crying filled my ears—the only sound I could hear.

  “How is she?” Drake asked. “Is she okay?”

  Queen Sarah smiled at him. “Your daughter is perfect.”

  All I wanted was to close my eyes and go to sleep forever, but I needed to do something first. “Give her to me,” I whispered.

  Queen Rosilla wrapped my daughter in the white towel and deposited her in my arms. As if she knew she was with her mommy, the baby stopped crying. Realizing I had no strength left, Drake kept his hands around mine. I hugged the bundle of warmth as tears filled my eyes. A full mop of black hair, round, rosy cheeks, and a pink pout. Even though she was small for having been born before time, she was perfect. Completely perfect.

  “Hi, sweetie.”

  Drake kissed her forehead then mine. “I’m proud of you.”

  I looked from our daughter to Drake, fighting the dark dots robbing me of my sight. “I love you. Both of you.”

  “Don’t speak like that,” Queen Rosilla snapped.

  “That isn’t goodbye yet,” Queen Sarah said.

  Both queens placed their hands on my legs and sent their magic into me. I could feel it, but it was like water dripping through my fingers. It was refreshing for a second, but then it was gone. Still, they kept trying. And all it was doing was delaying the inevitable.

  “Stop,” I told them, my voice breaking. “It isn’t working.”

  “We know,” Queen Sarah said as she sent another jolt of magic into me. “But we have to keep trying.”

  “Stop,” I said louder. “Please, stop.”

  The queens pulled back their hands.

  “Thea, please,” Drake whispered. “Don’t give up yet.”

  I didn’t want to give up, but I also couldn’t hang on anymore. I was fading too fast, and I wanted to tell him goodbye before I left for good.

  A tear rolled down my cheek. “It’s okay,” I lied. I wasn’t okay with this. I wanted to live a long life with the man I loved and my sweet daughter. I wanted to teach her magic and see her grow into her powers and become a great, fair Queen of All Witches.

  Drake wiped the tear from my face. “Don’t leave us.”

  What did he want me to say to that?

  My vision darkened more and my head spun. I was losing the fight.

  I placed a soft kiss on our daughter’s cheek. “Please, take good care of her.” I pressed my lips to his.

  “Fight this, Thea,” Drake said, his voice breakin
g. “Please, keep fighting.”

  I laid my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes, trusting he would catch our daughter when my arms failed.

  The doors burst open a second time. “Wait!” a new voice shouted. “Thea, hang on.”

  “You!” Queen Rosilla said.

  “I can’t believe it,” Queen Sarah said.

  I blinked, trying to focus my sight. “Who is it?”

  “It’s me,” the newcomer said. I blinked again and finally saw her. Bagatha stood beside Drake. “I think we can save you.”

  Drake’s arms tensed. “What? How?”

  She glanced at him. “Do you still have the Blood Amulet?”

  He pulled the pendant from under his shirt. “Here.”

  “And the heart of the Silverblood coven?”

  “In my pocket,” I rasped.

  Queen Sarah took it from my pocket.

  “Good. Now follow my instructions,” Bagatha said. Her wand appeared in her hand and she placed it on my chest. “Set the Blood Amulet and the coven heart with my wand.” Queen Rosilla took my daughter from me. I didn’t want to let her go, but there was no strength in my arms. Like a good student, Drake did what Bagatha said. “Say these words out loud.” She showed him a ripped yellowed paper. “Then cut your palm and drip some of your blood on the wand, the heart, the amulet, and in Thea’s mouth.”

  My stomach tightened. “W-what?”

  “Just do it,” Bagatha urged.

  Without hesitation, Drake followed her instructions. He rested the pulsing heart and the cold Blood Amulet on my chest. Next, he took out his dagger from the strap on his leg and cut his palm—a big gash. Blood oozed from his wound down to the heart and the amulet. Then he brought his hand to my mouth.

  I clamped my lips.

  “Thea, please, just drink it.”

  I stared at Bagatha. “You’re not turning me into a vampire, are you?”

  “No, dear,” she said. “I promise.”