Reign

by Alaska Angelini

  “No.” Marko shook his head, shoving his hands into his suit’s jacket pockets while he leaned against the far wall. “It is like I told the ones before you. Who everyone is seeing is not me. It is Aetas portraying me, and you’re right by what you say. He is trying to destroy our kind. He and I are bonded. Did you know that?”

  Cedric gave a quick shake of his head.

  “We are. His blood is very powerful. Not only with him, but within me. I believe it is the reason he can’t bring me back to him. If he could, I most certainly wouldn’t be here. He knows I’m missing from where he entombed me, and I have no doubts that the enforcers are searching for me even as we speak. That’s why it is imperative I reach out to as many survivors as I can. You all must know the truth. Aetas is not dead. He is very much alive and he’s using me as the face of this war. I assure you, the culprit behind this massacre is not me. I want us to live. When I leave here, you must let everyone know that.”

  “Leave?” Confusion flickered on Cedric’s face. “But where will you go? Who will lead us if you disappear?”

  Marko sighed, glancing over to me. I felt his pain as a natural leader. He wanted to stay. To protect what we’d found of our kind.

  “I must reach out to as many as I can before they catch me. Staying in one place only increases the odds. But we’re going to find a safe place for you all before we leave. During the time I’m gone, I want you to use your own powers and project them as I did. Collect and try to rebuild until I can deal with Aetas. If I am able to overthrow him, I promise you all my protection. If that means moving what is left of us to Axis to provide that safety, so be it.”

  Daisy, one of the first to arrive came forward, clutching her hands nervously. “What if you fail? Aetas is the strongest of our kind. If he’s truly the one behind this, there’s no beating him. Look at what he’s already done. What hope is there for us if he kills you? Can’t you stay with us for a while? We will find a place. We can hide you until our numbers grow. Then …”

  She didn’t continue and I knew why. To speak against our leader was sure death. It was ingrained in us not to do, even in these times of distress. Yet, we all knew what she meant.

  “I wish I could remain here, but I can’t. Trust me when I say that I don’t plan to lose. Aetas may be our leader, but he is not invincible. Anyone can be overthrown. It just takes finding a person who wants it bad enough to win. I am Aetas’ match. Because of him, I am the strongest. I plan to use that to my advantage.”

  “I feel him in you,” Cedric whispered. “I met Aetas once when he visited our city here in Dallas. It was decades ago, but there’s no mistaking his power. You have it. You could win if you go about this the right way.”

  A smile tugged at Marko’s mouth. “You have any ideas that could help me out? I’m not opposed to suggestions.”

  I moved closer to Marko, watching the way the vampires’ faces drew in as they thought. They were looking to him to be their savior, and so was I. He was our only hope. Hunter and I wouldn’t be able to do it on our own, and Marko was so much stronger now than he was before Aetas bonded him. His powers were incomparable to anyone outside of our leader. And if I wanted to be truthful, they were quite possibly matched. Marko felt stronger in the sense of his aura, but I couldn’t be for sure.

  “You can’t kill him. Not if the two of you are bonded.” Cedrick licked his lips, keeping his eyes downcast as he thought. “You mentioned he entombed you. Is it possible to get him in there … to stay for good?”

  Marko let out a sound that I couldn’t quite read. “I’m sure we could manage it. His powers would be useless there. Mine were. But even if I did entomb him, the risks involved go beyond what I’m comfortable with. Someone could set him free. He could overpower me at some point and get out all over again. During the time there, he had to personally feed me to keep me alive. I’d have to do the same with him. It’ll only be a matter of time before he or someone else figures out a way to turn the tables. Then we’ll be right back here, or worse.”

  An older vampire, a male who looked to be in his late thirties slowly eased from the chair.

  “Nelson, correct?”

  Marko’s voice had the vampire nodding. Surprise lit his face almost as if he couldn’t believe Marko remembered. Even I was a bit surprised. I hadn’t recalled his name.

  “I was a doctor before I was turned. I’ve stayed one for our city for the last twenty years. I have a suggestion. One I’m not sure is much better than the entombment, but it’s worth a shot.”

  “Go ahead.” Marko pushed from the wall.

  “The tomb was obviously well shielded by Aetas’ powers. He prevented you from using your own. Once you become leader, it will be up to you to take his place in that. Let’s say you are strong enough to prevent him from succeeding in escape. What if while contained, instead of feeding him the original way, we were to make it intravenous? You told us before that he had a tube in your neck. He obviously thought this though. That was his plan for you. His failure was feeding you weak blood. Probably human, or someone of lower rank. If we were to bag your own and keep him isolated and contained—guarded even in a hospital-type setting, the plan could succeed. Of course you’d have to have trusted guards. And the person switching out the bags would have to be you or someone you confided in so he couldn’t try to manipulate his escape. But it could work if he were completely in lockdown and monitored.”

  “You would bag my blood?”

  “I could, yes. We could set up times for you to donate. Once or twice a week. We could afford to feed him enough to keep him healthy without going overboard to give him too much power. We could study the effects and monitor his output of energy. Ultimately, we could control him by monitoring how much of your blood we provide.”

  “Fascinating,” Hunter breathed out. “But won’t his powers grow as Marko’s increase, too?”

  Well yes,” Nelson admitted. But the king can always be the stronger one by thriving in his life, while … Aetas is only fed enough to survive in a healthy state. It may be a little hard to understand, but I believe it is possible.” He paused. “Aetas will live regardless if the king is to rule. It could work or not, but this way, even if Aetas’ powers are impossible to control, at least the intravenous input keeps Master Delacroix at a safe distance, and Aetas restrained at all times.

  “And in a hospital type setting?” Marko was beginning to pace. I could see that his mind was racing as he went over the possibilities.

  “Yes. Somewhere close to where you’ll take up residence. A place where only you and a select few know of.”

  Marko’s hand came up as he looked around the room. “We’ll talk more about this privately.” He scanned the vampires and I wished I knew what he was thinking. By looking into their eyes, he could see their intentions. Were they good? Did they believe and want to help us? It appeared so.

  “Protect the doctor and you protect yourselves. We will all have a role to play if we’re going to be safe. I need you all—”

  I blinked passed the change in the air. I felt it the moment Marko’s head whipped around to the front door.

  “We are not alone. You all must go and stick together. I will call to you.” Marko’s hand flicked and that was all it took to send the vampires surging to their feet. Some had their fangs exposed while the others’ claws were out, including my own.

  “Come.” I rushed forward, leading them to the back door. My pulse was rising as I jerked to a stop not feet away. Enforcers. One in the back, one in the front. Two. I knew their numbers even if I couldn’t physically see them yet.

  “There’s two,” I announced, glancing at Hunter who was feet away, closer to Marko. “Do we kill them?”

  “Not yet. Just … wait. They’re …” Marko’s lids closed as his head tilted. “They already feel me. They’re confused … and communicating. I can’t hear what they’re saying. It’s just a jumble of broken words, by I can pick up on some of it.”

  My lips separated as I lo
cked my stare with Hunter’s. It wasn’t possible. Marko shouldn’t be able to read their minds without making eye contact. He wasn’t bonded to them, yet he was breaking through the barriers of the impossible.

  “You hear their thoughts? From here?”

  “I hear more than their thoughts, ma minette. I see their lives. I feel their desires. I am everything and everywhere if I choose. Right now, I am nothing. I am not here. You are not here. None of us exist.”

  The last was barely audible as his tone dropped. Tingling vibrated against my skin and true fear developed inside of me as I watched the man I love open his black eyes. Ones that used to only change where the color was. Now they were like mine and Hunters. Even the white part was gone.

  Who was Marko becoming? How strong would he get? Would it be too much—enough to make him lose his mind like Aetas? The thought terrified me.

  One of the males shifted next to me as an almost nonexistent shadow crept along the back wall. On instinct my hand came out to still him. I wasn’t sure what was going on, but I trusted that Marko’s words meant something. If we didn’t exist, perhaps the enforcers didn’t know of our presence.

  Another dark shape became visible from the corner of my eye and I slowed my breathing as I quietly stepped to the side. Marko was still staring ahead as if in a daze. His black eyes were as dark as a void. He was gone, but where I wasn’t sure.

  Hunter’s steps were silent as he made it to my side. The vampires around us were trembling. If we were caught—if Marko was caught—we were as good as dead.

  Darker the shadows became, becoming more visible as they moved in closer to each other. One shot up the stairs while the other stayed rooted not feet away. Marko still stood like a statue, appearing oblivious to what was happening around us. Banging erupted upstairs and Daisy jumped, grabbing to my arm. She seemed to catch herself, immediately dropping the hold.

  “They’re gone!” The shout had the other enforcer turning into his normal, vampire self. He let out a sound of aggravation as an enforcer with a paled out version of olive skin stomped down the steps. His black clothes matched the darkness of his eyes as he scanned the room.

  “I told you we should have been more cautious. The queen probably felt us coming from a mile away. She’ll be long gone now.”

  “That wasn’t just the queen and we both know it.” The blond enforcer turned and studied the room. His mouth was tight and uneasiness was embedded in his features. “We both felt it. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear the king was here. The power … it went well beyond what the queen holds. Hell, my skin is still crawling. Look.” He pulled up the long sleeve black shirt exposing his forearms. “Fucking goosebumps.”

  The other enforcer knock his arm out of the way as he came toward us. “Something wasn’t right, I’ll give you that. But the king … we both know he’s buried away in that fucking room, scouring through all those books. He’s been in there for over a day now. He’s damn near lost his mind.”

  “His mind was gone from the beginning,” the blond said lowly under his breath. “I don’t like this. I don’t like any of it.”

  “Then perhaps you’ll help me.”

  Marko’s head turned in their direction and his eyes were still black. Both men jumped, automatically lowering in a defensive position. Their eyes were wide as they dropped even further to their knees to bow.

  “Your Highness. Please, forgive us. We weren’t aware you had left your chambers.”

  The dark haired one, peeked up, but he couldn’t hide his fear. He was nervous.

  “Stand.”

  Marko blinked rapidly, but never lost the authority he projected as his eyes faded back to normal. I knew he was somehow still keeping us hidden, and the talent amazed me.

  “Your Highness—”

  At Marko’s hand lifting, the blond snapped his mouth shut.

  “Let me ask you a question. It a simple question, but the answer will not be an easy one.”

  At his pause both men nodded.

  “Who am I?”

  The dark haired one looked over at his partner, only to return. “You’re King Marko Delacroix. You’re our leader.”

  Marko smiled but it was far from happy. “Wrong. I am King Marko Delacroix, but I am not your leader. Not yet.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Let me ask you a question, Fernand. You just came from Axis, correct?”

  The dark haired vampire stole a glance at the blond, once again, and nodded. “We did. This is our territory we were assigned to search.”

  “And you say I was in my chambers, reading books. Yes?”

  “Yes, Your Highness.”

  “If I confide something in you, can you keep your word to be honorable to my request?”

  “I can. On my life,” he said proudly.

  “And you?”

  Marko glanced at the blond who eagerly nodded his head.

  “I will. To the death.”

  Marko flicked his wrist and the men’s eyes widened as their heads snapped in our direction. Confusion had their mouths opening, only to close.

  “Fernand. I ask that you go back to Axis and knock on the door you believe me to be in. You will probably get yelled at to leave, but I don’t want you to until the door opens and you come face to face with who you’re speaking with. He’ll ask what you want and I don’t care what you say, but you’re not to speak one word of what you just saw here in this house. After all is settled, I want you to come back to me. So you can believe I’m not playing a trick on you, I want Adam, here, to stay at my side. You trust him?”

  Fernand’s head turned to the other enforcer. “Yes. I trust him.”

  “Good. Now go and tell me who is behind that door.”

  Marko’s hands clasped and Fernand’s gaze came right to mine before he vanished completely.

  “What’s this about? Who’s behind the door?” Adam swallowed hard. “And I thought the queen was missing. But you have her? She’s here, and so is The Black Prince.”

  “Patience, Adam. You trust Fernand?

  “Yes, Master.”

  “Then soon you will know.”

  The blond turned his attention to me. His mouth opened to speak, but he shut it, obeying the king. A minute rolled by, and then two. When Fernand appeared, his paled features were damn near ghostly.

  “Who the hell is that if not you?”

  One of Marko’s eyebrows rose. “Who do you think it is?”

  “No, tell me. I …”

  “Who was it?” Adam’s impatience was thick in his tone. “Fernand, who?”

  “I was there when they put him in the memorial. I saw him with my own eyes. He was dead.”

  “Our leader was never dead. It was me you all put in the memorial, and it was all his doing.”

  “Aetas?” Adam’s head cocked to the side. “Are you saying the king we believe to be you is indeed our prior leader?”

  I forced myself forward, not able to stop the anger dwelling within. “He fooled us all. Even me. What he has done cannot be ignored. Aetas has to pay for his crimes. He is killing us off.”

  “But why?” Fernand rushed out. “I see what he is doing, but why deplete our numbers? Why destroy all that we have worked for? We’ve come so far.”

  Marko shrugged. “Because he can? Because he grows bored and wants to start over? I search through the blood he and I share and all I feel is his need for destruction. For death and meaning of something I don’t understand. And I don’t think he understands it either. All I know is he has to be stopped or else more of our kind will perish. Already our numbers die by the hour. I feel them. I feel us fading into nothingness, and the stronger I grow, the harder it is for me to remain here. Aetas needs to be stopped. I will stop him. But I need your help.

  Chapter 33

  Hunter

  Pitch black was all around as Marko led us through Dallas’ underground city. Where I thought it impossible for us to get in, he’d been here before. His powers grew frightenin
gly stronger by the hour and he was far from the weak state he’d been even a day ago.

  After the vampires and enforcers left, he’d turned to me and Tessa, his eyes darkening all over again. “We must be sure before we leave this place.”

  With that one sentence, we were suddenly here, surrounded by cement walls. Marko’s motivation left him racing forward with no explanation. We knew nothing of what went through his mind. And there had to be a mass of information he was picking up on with his growing intuition. He was distant. Driven as he moved at a speed Tessa and I could barely match.

  The eerie emptiness left my pulse skittering as we went deeper into the tunnels. If anyone was here, they were hiding their powers surprisingly well. We took a left and I felt Tessa’s adrenaline slam into me.

  “There’s humans ahead.” Her hand jerked out, barely able to touch Marko’s arm as he stayed a step ahead. Her breathless voice had him slowing and coming to a stop. “Will we kill them or stay hidden?”

  Marko turned to look back at both of us. With how dark the area was, it was almost impossible to see him clearly.

  “I will keep us hidden like before. We stay quiet and we go fast.” He paused, and I knew he sensed our unease. “Humans aren’t the only ones here. A former member is waiting out his time until they leave, but they have no plans of going anywhere. We need Nico alive. Hunter.” Marko stepped in closer. “This vampire will trust you more than me. We don’t have a good history, but he knows of you, and the plans meant for your future. You must use authority with him. You have to tell him to go to the others and wait for us.”

  “Me? What if he doesn’t listen? You said he’s a member. I am no one.”

  “Yet. You hold great power, Hunter, your mind just refuses to acknowledge the truth. You must remove the barriers set on by the tragedies of your past. You are not human anymore.” He glanced at Tessa, only to come back to me. “You’ve won that battle. You have her and she loves you. The fight is over. Now embrace the new war you’re in and be the vampire our kind needs. The vampire she and I need. We can’t do this on our own. We’re running out of time. With each word I speak, Aetas gets closer to finding a way to take her away from us. His motives are my own, even if I can’t hear his thoughts. He wants her. If he succeeds … what then? How will you fight when you won’t embrace all of what you are? He will kill you when you attempt to save her, and then she will die. And then so will I, because without her, I have nothing left to live for. Our kind will fall and it will be all on you. Rise. Be the leader you’re meant to, right now. You don’t have the time or the choice.”