by Emily Shore
Suddenly, something under my skin, somewhere past my blood…began to gnaw at me: the power of the blood bond. Struggling for breath, I dug my fingers into the duvet cover on my bed, willing myself to endure as pain coursed into me, tempting me to shift into wolf form to wrestle with a baser, more physical pain than this mental one. Either they were killing him or he was putting up a futile fight. But I was not alone…
Raoul stood outside my window. Concern creased his brows as he surveyed my eyes, which undoubtedly showed my pain. A flutter of my fingers across the glass, I motioned for him to wait, tiptoed down the stairs to join him.
“Going somewhere?” Heath startled me so much, I had to grab hold of the banister to keep from falling. He stood outside my door. How much had he seen? Was he watching while I’d swiped at my tears?
I pointed to the front door. “Just need to get some air. Take a walk.”
Instead of trying to stop me, Heath embraced me instead. “I won’t tell you time heals all wounds or any mushy stuff.”
“No,” I managed a smile, but my voice cracked, my eyes blotted red. “Far be it from my diplomatic, regal brother from getting mushy.”
“If I did, no force in the universe could stop me.” Heath’s posture was prickly. Maddening rage mounted in his royal blue eyes.
“Why?”
Heath wiped a hand down his face, frustrated knuckles tightening, turning whiter than pearls. “I’m a telepath. I should have known. For months, I should have known. I didn’t protect you.”
“Don’t.” I touched my brother’s arm. “We might never have any answers as to how he deceived us. I spent the most time with him. I would be as culpable as you even if I’m no vampire. But what matters most…” I squeezed his forearm in reminder and finished, “…you found me. Beneath all that earth and stone and wood and metal, you found me when no one else could. You saved me.”
Heath shook his head, rubbed his eyes. “I think we all know you saved yourself down there. Only you could save yourself, save everyone by dying.”
“Almost dying.”
It was the truth even if I did feel reborn.
“How did you do it?” I wanted to know, referring to his finding me.
Heath shrugged, dipping his hands into his pockets. “I wraith-shadowed. Probably crossed damn near every mile of Le Couvènte. And when I got to the ruins, I just…heard you. Felt your dread. Your terror. Your struggle, too. Guess we share a telepathic connection now.” He reached up to trail a hand through his hair.
“Or you’re just so empty-headed, anything would get through,” I quipped, but Heath surprised me by pulling me in for a hug. Warm currents streamed into my skin, my elemental mimicking the emotion in my heart.
“You really think I’m regal?” Heath asked after a moment and I punched him light on his chest before embarking down the stairs.
“Hey, Rin…” he called once I’d reached the bottom. “If you ever have another homicidal maniac obsessed with you in the future, we’ll kick his ass together.”
I beamed. “Deal.”
Talking with Heath had helped. Leaning into Raoul, holding his hand as we walked helped even more.
“You’re beautiful, Raoul.” I murmured, my head nestling into his shoulder. “I’m sorry I’ve never told you in the past.”
“Thank you.”
Raoul didn’t embarrass me by commenting more or even chuckling. He just maintained a steady hand on the small of my back. Walking helped, too, especially in bare feet. Everywhere we went, my feet left a trail of roses growing from the earth. All white. No matter that Skip’s calling card were roses. He wouldn’t negate my love for them. But I still couldn’t summon up the courage for red.
A thorn nicked my palm when I plucked one. This time, a teardrop of blood dove out of the sight, leaving a tiny red and silver tail. I still needed practice. But Raoul didn’t. No sooner did I sense the blood, no sooner did I smell it than he collected my hand and pressed his thumb to the site of the prick to stem the slight trickle.
“Is this your idea of aiding a damsel in distress?” I joked, remembering our one conversation beside the fireplace.
He chuckled. “Only if she doesn’t mind every now and then.”
Tilting my neck, I strove to study him more. No trace of a flush in his pupils. No dilation. No flaring of his nostrils. Nothing. How convenient that Raoul was the only vampire in the world who could withstand the temptation…even more than Heath. Fate simpered, twirling its ironic moustache at the ill-conceived choice I’d made not two days earlier.
I pulled back the cobweb of silence between us. “It's going to take some time, Raoul.” I loved to say his name just as much as he did mine.
Raoul nodded, knowing what I referred to, but he continued walking. “Was it his persuasion?” I couldn’t fault him for the question.
“For all those months or the Masque choice?”
“Both.”
“There was some persuasion along the way. But by the night of the Masque, everything had built up.” Months of manipulation. Of psychological and emotional torture from the nightmares he’d woven. Of him saving me. Of him battling me and healing me in training. Of him overwhelming me. But on the night of the Masque, it was still me. So, I confessed, “It was my choice.”
“Do you regret it?”
I paused when his fingers lighted on my arm. I settled mine on his chest, sensing the still slow heart behind his ribcage. Always even compared to my chaotic one. The scent of the Redwoods and rains from the previous night hearkened to my senses. His steady inhale and exhale. The bronze touchstone of his eyes.
Standing on my tiptoes, I kissed him, closing my eyes when he returned the kiss, his mouth overlapping mine. For the first time, he didn’t retreat, but I went further. Today, I didn’t hold back but gripping onto his shirt, fisting it, my lips intruded through the door of his, tongue invading. His fingers disappeared from my arm, but I felt them on my neck a moment later. And his own tongue rose to the occasion, conquering mine. My heart swelled, tempo faster than an inferno. Raoul shuddered. My body followed. If this didn’t end soon, both our wings would erupt. As much as I wanted to continue, Raoul was still waiting.
So, I pulled back, heels descending back to earth, and confessed. “No.” I can’t begin to imagine what choosing Raoul would have done. From what I’d seen inside Skip’s mind, nothing good would have come of it. Only blood and pain and death.
Raoul nodded as if understanding, but he pursed his lips. I could sense the lingering question there and I squeezed his hand, a silent implore for him to ask.
“Do you love me, Reina?”
Reaching for his hands, I interlaced all my fingers with his to proclaim, “Yes. You, Raoul William Kelley are the choice of my heart and soul. You never give up, and I never look back. I will keep my promise to you. I will keep you, Raoul, if you keep me.”
And Raoul kissed me deeper than ever, sending fire power exploding inside me. Our roots coiled together, united. I was a sunset welcoming his dusk. Together, we were intimate as smoke and fire. When he kissed me, he wrote his signature on my heart, and I branded it there with my flames. Immovable and indispensable as sequoias and secrets. Ineradicable.
It was past midnight. Skip’s sentence was carried out.
“Welcome, Reina Caraway.” Enton Carolton greeted me as I stepped into the great assembly room of Le Couvènte’s city hall. My entrance up the grand formal staircase was escorted by dozens of Guardians stationed on each side. I channeled my inner Queen Elizabeth as I reveled in the sight of the French Renaissance architecture from the gilded dome to the arched windows to the iconic columns―meager forerunners to the soaring interior rotunda.
When I returned home, a more important update awaited me: the Council had taken an emergency vote for the next Queen and wanted to meet with me. Heath hinted that it was just a formality, but I still needed to suck in my apprehension. Surely, the vote wasn’t unanimous.
My parents stood on the opp
osite side of the grand table. Normally, my mother would sit with the werewolves and my father with the vampires, but since they were former rulers, they remained side by side. Brian and Heath stood as witnesses while Raoul remained as a Guardian in the outer circle.
Frederick Abbott, now Queen Caroline’s widower, approached me and took my hand, kissed it in greeting. “Thank you for meeting with us, Miss. Caraway. Today, we convene to discuss your blood claim. Despite having received more than one hundred claims to the throne, yours is the one we chose out of three candidates.”
I held my breath. Three candidates.
“However, I recently uncovered an official document when opening the Queen’s safe deposit box,” he continued, gesturing me to the table, but I did not take my seat yet. “It appears she has selected you as her successor.”
Some Council members stiffened upon that knowledge. Instead, I raised my chin, confident, but pursed my lips, overwhelmed by the vampire Queen who’d placed so much faith in me. I would never forget her words: how I could bring something to the throne that Le Couvènte had not witnessed in a queen since the days of our founding: passion. I now recognized it was my passion to unite both races.
“As you know,” Frederick continued, his words hollowing a chink in my hopes as he reminded me, “The Council must also vote a majority. Though Caroline’s nomination will be considered, the Council wishes to observe a display of your abilities. Please do us the honor.
They wanted a demonstration.
I could read their thoughts. Some still doubted my creator ability. Blood fire inside me beamed. Inspired by the notion and driven by their skepticism, I closed my eyes, heralding my father’s knowledge skill. I weeded out each and every Council member’s abilities: the ones who leaned forward with their fingers steepled, expectant and longing: the ones who leaned back in their seats, indifferent, not expecting much: and even the ones whose posture was tighter and harder than vampire bones.
“Miss. Caraway?”
“Lady…” I corrected Enton, raising a finger, already enthroned in the spirit of a queen. About one more minute…
Ultimately, I opened my eyes and in the same moment, I conjured electricity between my hands while unleashing my wings. The lightning bolt thrilled my fingers, charging the sensations in my nerves. Only a few at the table flinched from the ability, though Victor Steele didn’t care for my adopting his ability judging by his glare.
The next required more concentration, but I appreciated the necessary creativity in designing elaborate tattoos out of thin air, weaving the ink into decorative rose designs ― an inside joke as I’d inevitably conquered the Rose Killer ― before projecting them within an inch of every Council member’s neck. The tattoos would react like acid with contact. Most members began to lean back with only a few contenders remaining still and unflinching.
One member’s ability was far too dangerous to demonstrate. Not without an eraser ability. Fortunately, my father possessed that key power. So, I took one step to the side, squeezed my father’s hand to signal him, then with no qualms, I roused the disease. Narrowing my focus on all the members, I kindled a first dose of boils and sores to rise, marveling at Alexa’s deadly yet alluring ability and how it rose in stages. Only stage one for today. It was more than enough.
“That’s enough, Lady Caraway!” Enton growled, and I nodded to my father, who shut down the process. I couldn’t admit it, but I loved the way the title sounded. I just wish my ascension to the throne hadn’t followed a trail of bodies, of silver and wolf and human blood alike. But I reminded myself every time, that was not on me. No matter how much Skip orchestrated everything with my downfall in mind, it was his choice. His revenge. His blood lust. I was his pawn. Now, I was determined to become Queen.
I curled my wings around my sides but did not retract them into my shoulder blades. Unlike before my eighteenth birthday, it had become all too natural to maintain them. No tiring. No exhaustion following training. Pity that Enton stopped me. It would have been…interesting to try the separator power. But I wasn’t certain I was ready for automatic limb separation. Undisputed, that would come in handy for a battle. No one could cut me or tear me even if the thought of dividing my human flesh was sickening.
Once I descended to the floor, my father was the first to rise and speak on my behalf. “My daughter's powers are unlimited and extreme. They are powerful but also raw and new and seasoned by her humanity. Unlike most, she is somehow still human with a beating heart while bearing the long-lasting life force of the vampires and the transformation of the wolf. Because of this, she will need more training than usual. And I would like to nominate myself to train my daughter alongside Enton Carolton.”
I glanced at my father and beamed at him in appreciation. Any opportunity to train under him just as Heath had done for years was a thrill.
Frederick, now at the head of the table, folded his hands and expressed, “Reina Caraway, the Council wishes to know what your first act as Queen would be.”
I’d spent the past few nights considering this. An idea I’d toyed around with. It wouldn’t change Le Couvènte overnight. And marriages like my parents were still unlikely for a time. No, I couldn’t destroy the racism, the bad blood between the races that had built up for generations. But I could redirect the division between the packs and the clans. Give them a vision instead.
Keeping my hands fixed at my sides, I sucked courage from my mother and my father, from my two brothers standing in support behind me. I listened to their heartbeats, listened to my own triplet blood united as it pumped in my veins. And lifting my eyes, I passed my gaze across every Council member like a current, ending with Frederick. “My first act would be to pass a new edict that prohibits any clan or pack from denying a new member based on race.”
At once, the rippling of voices protesting alerted me as to the challenges of such an edict. The wolves roared loudest at the notion of a vampire running with their packs, hunting not just in their territory but hunting with them. Only my mother and father remained silent, eyes sweeping across one another, and their two hands joining, coupling with chins lifted in pride. For too long, we’d grown into an uncomfortable house divided. One that only fostered contempt. Contempt that had grown into prejudice. Left unchecked, it would grow into racism and then hatred. Hatred I had felt that night in the train station. Hatred for my mother’s people, for my mother’s race. Hatred that had led to corpses discarded like flesh debris all over Le Couvènte. And riots at every election time. It was time for a change.
Enton Carolton chose to spoke above the braying of both sides of the table, to stem the outrage. “Reina’s intent has merit.” He gestured for me to continue, and I nodded, grateful that he did not speak for me.
“We will no longer be divided as packs or clans,” I announced and rounded the corner of the table while all eyes roamed across me, respecting me enough to listen. “Instead, we will be the circles.”
I raised my hands to conjure the symbol of two circles, two rings locked together. In anticipation of such a question, I’d spent hours practicing this with a little help from my brothers since I couldn’t fully create this…at least not yet. One circle was of silver vampire blood thanks to Heath’s donation and one of wolf blood―a flush red tinged with gold undertones.
“Vampires and werewolves united forever. Stronger together. Just as Aurora and James, your former rulers,” I gestured to my parents who still clasped each other’s hands, “have grown stronger. Like infinity rings, they each bring the power of their bloodline and lifeforce. Apart, they may live forever. But together, they will last forever as a legend, a powerful mark in our history. An echo to defy time and history. It’s time for more to join them. It’s time to leave the clans and packs to the past and embrace the future of the circles.”
And I would be the center where they overlapped. The eye of both. Perhaps someday, I would figure out my symbol. For now, this was an expansion of inclusion. Growing pains were a necessary evil
.
Frederick approached me even as I continued spinning the blood in two never-ending circles. One moment longer and I returned the blood to my hands, to the small glass bottle I’d brought with me. No qualms about mixing them.
“I have never met another with the capabilities that you bear. And as my late wife shared with me, you have proven your zeal and dedication to Le Couvènte.” He meant my sacrificial lamb moment. “But your passion and impulsivity could become your downfall. You may be mentally and physically ready, but are you emotionally ready to take on this responsibility?”
I remembered my family at my sides and a Guardian shapeshifter standing behind me. Only a fool walked alone and expected to remain emotionally stable. Most of all, I intended to use my emotions. All my passion, all my zeal, all my righteous rage, all my love for Le Couvènte. I remembered the former Queen’s words. “More than anything I've ever done or ever will do in my life.” My voice echoed in the great chamber followed by nothing but silence and steel gazes. But most of the members now leaned closer, postures eased, tension depleted.
“Is the Council ready to vote?” Enton opened the subject.
The ballots were secret. I waited outside the hall for the final verdict, admiring the scrollwork of Founder crests on the pillars on each side of the doorway. Once Frederick opened the door, his expression and thoughts were my confirmation
I expressed my gratitude to the Council by creating royal purple roses, gilding them in gold and floating each one toward each member. Something I’d practiced ever since my father alerted me I’d be meeting with them tonight. “Thank you for your support and your faith in me. A near unanimous vote is very encouraging.” Only one detractor.
“Caroline wished to do this, but the task has fallen to me…” Frederick approached me, ready to help me fulfill my oath to Le Couvènte.
