by Lucy Lyons
What that reason was, Viktoria had no idea.
Chapter 8
The next morning, Viktoria awoke to the sound of piano music.
Very quietly, she got to her feet and started to pad down the hallway. Ever since that stumbling night in the dark when she was attacked, she’d been busy memorizing the layout of all the rooms by touch alone. Just in case.
The music grew stronger as she approached Desmond’s bedroom. Much to her surprise, a single torch was lit, casting a low light over the vampire’s broad shoulders as he sat stiff-backed. His fingers flew with slow grace prancing across the keys as music poured from their tips. Never before had she seen or heard a piano being played in real life, and the sound was far deeper and richer than she had ever thought it would be. Each chord struck resonated in her chest, taking her breath.
She had no idea what melody Desmond played, but it was a deep and brooding song echoed throughout with faint, light notes that could not diminish the grandeur of the mournful main sound.
I know he knows I’m here, she thought. He was expecting me. And judging by the light, he wants me to go in there.
Dreading every footstep because she didn’t exactly know what purpose he had for this, Viktoria walked out from behind the corner and came up behind him. She stood at his shoulder, watching as his fingers gradually slowed to the last note. A faint echo of the song hung in the air for a moment, and then silence fell.
“Desmond?”
“I wanted to wake you, but I didn’t want to alarm you,” the vampire said finally.
She didn’t know what to say to that. “That was beautiful. You have it memorized?” No sheet music stood on the piano’s tray.
“Of course,” Desmond said shortly. “It is my own composition. I have laid out a dress for you. Wear it. We have somewhere we need to be today.”
“Are you finally going to take me with you? To wherever you always go? When you leave me alone in the Sanctuary… with the other humans, I mean.”
He glanced at her sideways, eyes wary and threatening. Viktoria took a slight step back, although she didn’t feel as threatened as she probably should have. I’m getting immune to his behavior.
“How do you know about that?”
Hastily, she held up her hands. “I don’t! Not really. I promise. That’s just what some of the others say, that you’re off doing business. I don’t actually know anything.”
Desmond frowned at her but didn’t snarl. “Yes, I will be taking you there. It is important that you come.”
Viktoria could already tell that this was going to be a very bad thing. If she would have had to guess, she would put a bet on Desmond outing her as a Willow and a hunter so that he could finally be rid of her. She had no choice in the matter though, so she went back to “her” room and got dressed.
This dress was different from the others. It was shorter but also thicker, made of a different material than silk. Instead of shimmering, the colors were muted and flat, blue with streaks of white. Still, it was beautiful and she felt weird in it.
Desmond looked at her as though he was seeing her for the first time, and then he held out his hand. Knowing what that meant, she obediently followed along behind him and let him leap off the edge of the cliff with her.
However, this time, he did not jump down. He jumped up, carrying her right up to the twin towers where the king and queen vampires lived. Between the towers was a flattened area that she had never seen before. It was completely barren except for four marble columns, one at each corner, and two vast marble thrones. Sunlight slashed across the polished surfaces, creating a harsh glare that hid the assembled crowd from Viktoria’s eyes until the moment before they landed.
Just as there had been a gathering on the day she arrived, there looked to be even more vampires standing up here today. The sight filled her with terror and she stepped back, automatically hiding behind Desmond.
How do I know I can trust him to protect me? I still think he’s going to kill me. She realized she doubted that now, though. Looking back, she realized he had never done anything that went against his word. All the harm that came to her was either at the hands of someone else or from her own stupidity. Desmond had never once put her in danger. He had kept her safe, just as he said he would all along.
While she was still reeling from that revelation, she looked up to find that every face was turned in her direction. Even just a few short weeks ago, that sight would have done a great deal more to frighten her than it did right then. Cold trickles of fear ran down her back, and her stomach was in knots, but it was not the overwhelming horror she would have once felt at the sight of all those pale, golden-eyed faces staring her down. She was not afraid just because they were vampires, because she had grown so used to their appearances that she didn’t even notice it. They looked like a crowd of people –who were all staring at her with mistrust, anger, and curiosity. Some faces held all three emotions at once.
Looking around, she didn’t see any other humans.
“Desmond?”
Viktoria looked over at the vampire queen, who looked decidedly unhappy about a human’s presence. “What is she doing here? This is a Swift-only gathering, and you know it.”
Swift-only. Her mind boggled at the sheer number of vampires. She knew that the family name extended only to all the direct “children” of the king and queen, and those that their children turned. The fortress was full of many other vampires, often those who didn’t know who turned them, or who had migrated for one reason or other. For this gathering to be so restricted and yet so immense…
Not even her father had predicted just how many Swifts there were.
“I am a Swift,” Desmond said calmly. “It is my right to be here and I have not yet found any other that I would trust to guard Viktoria, so she has to come with me. I say she is safe here, and belongs at my side.”
The queen gave an irritable snort. “When did my special prince become such a gullible fool as this? That human of yours causes nothing but trouble.”
Desmond’s calm disappeared in an instant. He snarled and squared his shoulders, looking like a wolf about to spring. Viktoria tensed up, knowing that not even he could take on all these vampires at the same time. If he left her side, she would be in danger.
“Perhaps I don’t wish to be governed by the likes of you any longer.”
The queen raised one eyebrow, while her king hovered at her side as though to lend support. “Are you challenging us?”
“I am,” Desmond declared, his voice booming through the thin mountain air. Viktoria grabbed his hand, surprising herself.
“What are you doing?” she hissed.
He ignored her and kept facing the king and queen.
“You couldn’t have waited until after what we were planning?” the queen said, with a sideways glance at Viktoria, obviously unwilling to reveal any information about what exactly was being planned.
“No,” Desmond growled. “I’ll find out later. This has to be done now. I challenge you for the throne.”
“Desmond!” Viktoria said, desperately. He kept ignoring her, and she had a feeling he had all but forgotten she existed in the heat of the moment. “If you leave me alone, I’ll…”
She was cut off by the crowd of vampires in front of Desmond slowly parting, creating a direct path through them to the king and queen. Somewhere nearby, a vampire whispered to a companion, “One vampire against his sires?”
“He’ll never survive,” the other confirmed. “Unless the rumors of his turning are true. I doubt it.”
This is a fight to the death? What if he loses? Also, it had not occurred to her that no one would know if Desmond’s extraordinary powers were because he had been turned by two vampires at once. She had been assuming that it was just a secret kept from humans, but had it been kept from everyone?
Before she could think any further, several things happened all at once.
Desmond leapt up i
nto the air and landed right in front of the queen, jabbing out at her face with one fist. It was like she had been smacked with a brick, the way her head snapped back. While she was still reeling, the vampire prince spun around behind her and roughly grabbed the king around the neck.
Almost every pair of eyes shifted to watch the challenge, but Viktoria saw that many faces were still turned towards her. She swallowed hard, knowing just how vulnerable she was. Then, confirming her worst fears, a female vampire stepped forward with a grin on her face. “Where’s your prince now? Nowhere he can protect you! And when he loses this fight, you’ll wish you were dead anyway.” The woman’s mouth opened, her tongue swiping across her fangs. “It’s best to put you out of your misery now, but don’t worry… I’ll make it quick.”
Shaking, Viktoria brought up her hands to defend herself. The useless gesture made the woman laugh and she reached out to grab onto her prey.
Suddenly, another vampire appeared.
I’m screwed.
But, that other vampire didn’t attack. Instead, it stood in front of her and faced the attacking female. “You can’t harm her! She belongs to Desmond!’
“Get out of the way, Peter!” the female said, sounding annoyed. “Desmond is going to die.”
“We don’t know that!” the vampire called Peter insisted. “The rumors could be true! Desmond could be the One!” His words carried with them an ominous weight, as though that “One” in particular was the most important thing of all.
Confused and afraid, Viktoria struggled to keep tabs on everything going on around her. Desmond was a blur of furious muscle and limbs. Hair flew all over the place. Hard thuds told of rough contacts and just how furiously the king and queen were fighting. Blood splattered against the stone. It was impossible for her human eyes to tell who was winning.
“If you don’t get out of my way, I’ll kill you,” the female said. “That seems to be the way we do things here lately, isn’t it?”
Viktoria tried to back away but the edge of the flat meeting area was right behind her, and if she went any further, she would fall. The female seemed to notice her. “Don’t think you can run!” she taunted, and lunged.
Peter met her in mid-air, grabbing her by the neck with swift, slender hands. Viktoria stared, hardly able to comprehend speed like that. It rivaled even Desmond! And now they too were tangled up in a snarling brawl.
It was too much. She couldn’t keep track of everything. Fists flying and fangs gnashing. She raised up her hands to cover her eyes, wishing she had another pair to cover her ears so she could block out the horrible sounds.
Then, suddenly, it was over. Everything ceased. A soft hand fell on hers and then drew away again. She looked up and was almost disappointed to find out that it wasn’t Desmond who had touched her so kindly. It was Peter. His eyes were very pale in color, signaling that he was very young still, and he looked almost human, with a slender body and a boyish face.
“Don’t worry,” he said quietly. “You aren’t going to be hurt. I protected you.”
It should have been Desmond.
A little surprised at herself, Viktoria looked around anxiously. Where was Desmond?
The first thing she noticed was the shattered and bloodied body of the female vampire, almost torn in two. A little shudder ran through her and she quickly moved on, scanning past the crowd. Her eyes widened with shock. Body pieces littered the area in front of the twin thrones, shards of bone scattered everywhere. There was no sign of Desmond. Had all three of them ripped each other to pieces?
“Viktoria,” a low voice said.
She turned. “Desmond!” she cried, relieved. For a moment, she wanted to run to him but she held herself back, knowing that would cross some sort of boundary between them. He stood there as if he’d never left, the only sign of his absence being the blood covering his body in great, damp splashes, and his unruly hair. Black locks flopped over his face, and he was breathing raggedly. For only a moment, his expression was open and raw, gazing right at her. He had never looked more attractive than right in that moment. She stared into his sunlit eyes and thought she glimpsed concern and worry and a thousand other pure emotions, before his mask came down again and he straightened up, impassive.
“What happened here?” he growled.
The vampire called Peter lifted one hand. He looked slightly cowed by Desmond’s fierce expression. “She was being attacked. I saved her.”
“You?”
“Me,” Peter confirmed.
After a very long pause, Desmond nodded. He didn’t look pleased about it at all but Victoria thought she could see something thoughtful in his hard eyes. “I see. Come with me, Viktoria. And you, Peter.”
“Me?” Peter asked this time. Viktoria looked at him with her eyebrows raised to let him know that she also had no idea of what was going on. Desmond’s hand was firm against hers and she clutched at it tightly, realizing suddenly that she’d come to rely on it in moments like this.
Desmond wove effortlessly through the vampires, their masses parting around him with mystified murmurs and the occasional cry. Whether those shouts were derision or support, Viktoria had no idea. She hated to be so near the strewn body parts atop the fortress, but Desmond turned her around so that they were both facing the crowd. Peter stood off to one side, looking shy and nervous.
“Brothers- and sisters-in-blood,” Desmond said, his proud and powerful voice reaching the ears of all present. “I have challenged my parents, your king and queen. And though they fought valiantly, they have lost.”
No one spoke. Everyone waited to see what this would mean, their eyes all trained on Desmond. Viktoria stared at him as well, unable to stop herself from admiring how fearless he seemed up here in front of all these others of his kind. Despite that, she had a feeling that he would rather not be up there at all. Too much attention was on him. Dark, moody Desmond didn’t appreciate being the center of attention unless he was teaching someone a lesson.
“In accordance with our ancient laws, this grants me the right to take their place. Prince Desmond is a prince no longer. Right now, I stand before you as your king!” On the last word, his voice rose up in a powerful thrum, rippling with supernatural magic. “If anyone wishes to challenge me, they can do so now.”
A few vampires murmured again amongst themselves, but Desmond wasn’t done.
“Before there are any challengers, I must tell you all something. The rumors are true. I am the One spoken of by our legends. Your former king and queen both created me. I am twice-sired, and twice as powerful as any of you, at least. Any challengers now?”
There were none.
Desmond nodded, a harsh glare in his eye as though he approved of their acceptance. “Then, as your king, I promise you that I will make us an even greater and stronger force! None will be able to resist us.”
Viktoria felt dizzy. Did that mean what she thought it meant?
“Before I interrupted, this was to be a meeting about something to be planned? An attack?”
“Yes, my king,” Peter spoke up. He still looked slightly shy but his voice was strong and bright. “To the east, there are reports of a band of savage hunters searching for us. We planned to ambush them.”
A few vampires gathered glanced at each other, clearly wondering if Viktoria should be hearing all this.
“Do we know who they are?”
“We don’t,” Peter said and winced at Desmond’s displeasure. “We don’t know what city they came from, so we can’t identify them.”
Desmond sighed. “Then, we will do this. Lure them here.”
“But Desmond,” Viktoria said. Her heart started to pound. “Hunters? Here?”
He ignored her… but apparently, he had actually heard her, because what he said next addressed her concern. From the looks on the other vampires’ faces, they had no idea what she was talking about. However, she knew that Desmond understood.
But does this mean he�
��s actually been listening to what I say to him, this whole time? He’d answered every request she had, after all. He’d done his best to make sure she was comfortable even though he didn’t have to.
“Out there, they will have the advantage. I want a band of you to lure them here. They won’t stand a chance.”
The rest of the vampires looked hesitant at first, and then excited. Never before had something like this ever happened.
“There’s more. I am appointing a second-in-command. Peter will be entrusted with guarding Viktoria for the attack, and choosing which of you are used as bait.”
Somehow, the young vampire blanched an even paler shade of white. “Me?”
Desmond ignored him, now. “I know all of you witnessed his battle with a challenger of his own. He is worthy. Is this clear?”
Reluctant agreement met his words but apparently, that wasn’t good enough. Desmond let out a low, threatening growl that carried exceptionally well across the distance, all the way to the very last vampire all the way in the back. “Is. That. Clear?”
The agreement was more forthcoming this time. Satisfied, Desmond nodded. “I think we’re done here. Until we come closer to the ambush, I dismiss you.”
The others made very short work of leaving, leaping off down the mountainside. A few turned into bats, as the stories said they could, but most simply jumped. Viktoria observed them for a moment, noticing that none of them were as fast or accurate as Desmond.
She turned back to the black-haired vampire king and looked up into his eyes. He regarded her in return, looking moody, but seeming as though he actually saw her now. “All the times you left me alone, you were looking for someone to guard me, weren’t you?”
“Yes,” he agreed. “Either way, I planned to challenge my parents at some point. It is the only way you would ever be truly safe, especially now I have revealed my secret. No one will ever dare touch you.” Desmond paused and seemed to think. “I didn’t plan on this, but it worked and I am glad. I’m glad I can keep you safe, as I promised.”
