A Crown of Blood and Ashes

by Elle Middaugh

  "Darren!" Autumn protested, to my dismay. "We can't just, like, leave her on the side of the road. What if something happened to her?"

  I shrugged. "What if?"

  She cocked her head in disbelief. "I'd never forgive myself. Or you."

  I groaned and stared up at the ceiling. "Are you telling me she's staying?"

  Deidra, who'd remained quiet this whole time, finally spoke up. "I don't like to share my premonitions without first being asked, but... for some reason, I have a feeling the girl should go along."

  "Fuck," I groaned again. "All right. I'm outnumbered; I admit it. Let's just get going."

  I should have known better than to trust three witches.

  Hopefully that particular revelation didn't bite me in the ass later.

  13

  Autumn

  When we arrived at Wells Manor, I let out a long exhale. The place was huge. Though I supposed it would have to be in order to house an entire coven of vampires.

  I glanced around the inside of Darren's Rover. His knuckles were white on the wheel. Behind us, Lyra's knuckles were white on the handles of our bags. Their tension filtered into me, but my fingers had nothing to squeeze, so they remained a healthy peach color.

  Darren pulled the car out back and grabbed both our doors, like a gentleman. I grinned, taking his hand as he pulled me from the passenger seat.

  He leaned down. "I can't wait to get you alone." Then he licked my earlobe.

  Anticipation bubbled through me.

  "I can't either," I whispered back.

  "I just have to report back to my maker and introduce you, then we can get the fuck out of there."

  I took a deep breath and nodded. I’d known this moment was coming, but I still wasn't prepared for it.

  Darren led us inside and up a grand staircase. A few doors down on the left, he stopped. It must've been his maker's room or office. He closed his pretty hazel eyes, rolled his neck, and straightened his posture. When he reopened them, they were all but devoid of emotion. I'd never seen him look so cold—not even on the verge of death.

  "Ready?" he asked me, ignoring Lyra completely.

  He must've seen the sudden panic in my eyes.

  Taking my hand, he placed a gentle kiss on my skin. "Let's just get this over with."

  He rapped on the door, the quick sound jarring me into the stark reality of what was actually about to happen. I was literally moving into a coven of vampires. I was meeting Varek Wells, the ruthless leader who'd killed more witches than I could count.

  "Relax," Darren said, trying to calm me. But with that stoic expression on his face, I wasn't able to get a grip.

  "Come in!" an eager voice said from behind the door.

  My heart soared into my throat. I could hardly breathe.

  Darren put his hand to the middle of my back and gently moved us inside.

  "Whoa, whoa, whoa," Varek said, pointing at Lyra. "Who's she?"

  "The princess's handmaid," Darren spat condescendingly.

  I blinked, unable to speak. I wasn't sure if it was fear of Varek or confusion about Darren. This was not the vampire I knew. He’d never liked Lyra, by any means, but it was always more of an annoyance than pure hatred.

  It was strange though, because I knew in my heart that I'd already met the real Darren Porter. This icy shell of a man was merely a show for Varek. But I wasn’t sure why it was necessary. The man sitting behind the desk with his feet propped atop a stack of files and a cheeky grin on his face didn't seem like the kind of guy who'd require his coven members to be so stoic and militant. But there had to have been a reason for it. I took Darren's lead and tried not to underestimate his leader.

  Varek quirked a brow. Then his eyes landed on me. Immediately they widened, and he rose from his chair.

  "Princess Delarose," he said, extending his hand. "Welcome to Wells Coven." When I slipped my hand into his, he brought it to his lips. "I've seen pictures of you before, but up close you're far more stunning than I imagined." He glanced over at Darren. "Did you know she was this beautiful?"

  He chanced a small smile. "I did."

  Varek chuckled. "No wonder you risked life and limb to win that competition. I'm glad you did. By hand delivering the new Lady of the coven, you have successfully secured your position as heir."

  Darren's jaw clenched. "Excuse me? Lady? I don't quite understand."

  Varek's brows raised. "Oh, that's right. I said you could keep her. Well..." He glanced at me and winked. "I've changed my mind. A woman this beautiful deserves to be at the hand of a man in charge."

  I don't know what came over me, but I suddenly felt brave enough to speak.

  "I don't believe my parents will approve of a move like this. The deal was for a union between a princess and an heir."

  Varek grinned, exposing dimples and perfectly white teeth, the tips of which were razor-sharp. I needed to remember who I was talking to.

  "Surely the king and queen wouldn't oppose a move upward in the chain of command?" He glanced from me to Darren, then back again. "But... if it'd make you feel better, Princess, I'll discuss the matter with them myself."

  I nodded, though I knew he was right. They didn't care about me or the fact that I was falling in love with Darren. All they cared about was their elusive plan. And whatever that was, me being with Varek instead of Darren could only help further their agenda. They'd be on board before the ship could set sail. Blood rushed through my veins, flooding my body with a dizzying dose of oxygen. Even still, I felt as if I couldn't breathe. This couldn't possibly be happening.

  "Sir," Darren argued, crossing his strong arms, "if I may—"

  Varek smiled and cut him off. "No, you may not. I can see why you'd want her for yourself, but my mind is made up. As soon as her parents give consent, we'll be set. Now, if you don't mind showing this handmaid to the servants' quarters, I'll go ahead and escort Princess Delarose to a guest room for the night."

  Darren took a deep breath. His stoic demeanor cracked. "Sir, I really must protest—"

  "Now," Varek commanded with a cutting glare.

  At that, Darren shut his mouth, lowered his fists to his sides, and nodded. Spinning on his heel, he pushed out the door with Lyra trailing reluctantly behind.

  I swallowed hard and stole a peek at Varek. We were totally alone. As nervous as that should have made me, he wasn't looking at me like a piece of meat. The easy grin on his face lent him an innocence that I was sure he didn't deserve. Still, it helped settle my nerves a bit.

  He sauntered around his desk and held out an elbow. "I trust your trip here was all good?"

  Nodding, I hesitantly slipped my arm through his.

  "Awesome! So, would you like a quick tour?"

  I licked my lips, trying to buy myself some time. I had no idea what I was doing. I needed to get back to Darren as quickly as possible, but I had no clue where he was. Maybe a tour of the manor would actually be a good idea? I at least needed to know where the damn exits were in case things went ass up.

  Forcing a small smile, I nodded again. "Yes, a tour would be nice."

  "Perfect! Okay, so we'll start here on the second floor. This is where all the offices are. Pretty boring, actually. But if you ever need to find me or anyone else to boss around, this is the floor."

  I chuckled despite myself.

  Varek's brown eyes twinkled. "Made you laugh! That’s a good sign."

  He led us downstairs to the ground floor and pointed left.

  "So over there is where you'll find the servant quarters." Then he pointed right. "And here is where the community rooms are. We have a pretty big coven, but only the most elite of us live in the manor. Still, there's close to a hundred vampires, and twice as many staff members and servants."

  "Jesus," I muttered, glancing all around. But somehow, we'd yet to bump into anyone.

  Varek gestured to a room up ahead. "This is where we can grab a glass of red and chill out. Maybe watch a movie or something."

  I pe
eked inside and saw some plush leather furniture situated around a massive smart TV mounted on the far wall. A few vamps were lounging in love seats and recliners as an action movie lit the room in shades of ethereal blue.

  "And up ahead," Varek continued, "is, well, I guess a cafeteria of sorts. Honestly, it's usually just stocked with blood, but since I knew you were coming, I had a few of my servants fill it up with some items you can actually eat."

  I sniffed out an almost laugh. "Gee, thanks."

  "Ever the gentleman," he said, puffing out his chest. It was comical. But since I knew he was trying to make me laugh, I intentionally bit my lip and looked away.

  When I did, my eyes found Darren from an entire hallway away. My heart ached, watching him watch me with his maker. This whole situation was totally fucked-up. Maybe my parents would surprise us all and refuse this new deal?

  Darren swallowed, squeezed his fists, and forced himself to keep walking, disappearing around a corner.

  Varek seemed to have missed the whole encounter.

  "And just past the cafeteria there's the pool. It's pretty sweet. It actually flows outside and opens up into a hidden lagoon out back."

  I raised a brow. "A lagoon? Need I remind you we live in the American Northeast? We don't have lagoons."

  He shrugged. "Not natural ones, no. But this one is gorgeous, even if it is kinda sorta fake."

  "Kinda sorta?" I said, smiling.

  I felt extremely conflicted. I was falling in love with this man's heir, a man he'd just ripped me from. But he seemed like such a nice guy, it was hard to justify being rude to him. I just didn't want my niceness to come off the wrong way.

  "You know what?" I said, stopping in the middle of the hall. "I'm actually feeling a little exhausted from the competition and the trip. Would you mind showing me to that guest room, please?"

  He blinked and shook his head as if he'd been under some sort of a spell all this time.

  "Of course! I'm sorry I didn't think of that sooner. I'll go ahead and show you the third-floor rooms now, and while you're resting, I'll make that call to mommy and daddy."

  He winked at me, and we both knew the confidence in his tone and features was completely warranted. My parents were fucking traitors.

  Alone in my temporary sanctuary, I walked to the bedroom window and slumped onto the cushioned seat beneath the pane. This was nothing like I'd imagined. I was supposed to be blissfully bent over Darren's bed right now, not pondering why fate hated me so much.

  Below, moonlight tickled the glowing blue waters of the hidden lagoon. Small waves shattered the reflection, and I glanced over to see someone wading in.

  "Darren!" I breathed in an excited whisper.

  My body suddenly hummed back to life. Rushing to the closet, I found my suitcase tucked neatly into a dark corner. Not many of my gowns had made the cut, but thankfully a bikini had. I stripped and re-dressed quickly, then slipped a light sundress over top of my suit and snuck out into the hall. Varek's office was on the left side of the second floor, so I turned right. There had to be another set of stairs somewhere.

  As I tiptoed down the hall, of course I ended up passing a couple of vamps giving me the eye. I didn't even know what kind of “eye” it was. The “what the fuck are you doing here” eye, or the “I wanna fuck the hell out of you” eye, or maybe even the “I wanna drain you dry” eye. Hell if I knew. Regardless, I held my breath and concentrated intently on the floor at my feet.

  By the grace of all that was holy, they somehow passed me by without a word. I exhaled loudly and started sprint-walking down the long corridor. A narrow side staircase caught my eye, and I quickly darted down the marble steps. When I reached the ground floor, I peeked out into a new hallway. It had a few people strolling through as well.

  Shit!

  I guessed vampires were creatures of the night. It would make sense for them to be more active when I was supposed to be sleeping.

  Then an idea struck. It would also make sense for me to practice shadowing right about now....

  I was pretty sure that, back in Delphina, I’d gotten the concept of shadowing all wrong. It was less calling the darkness to my surroundings, and more pulling the darkness into a cloak around me. Intentionally averting my gaze from any light fixtures, I searched the stairwell for shadows lurking in dusty corners. When I found them, I summoned the magic inside, using it to pull them toward me, enveloping me until I was nearly invisible. My limbs were literally fading in and out of sight. I wasn’t exactly sure why I hadn’t shadowed completely. Maybe I needed more practice? Maybe there weren’t enough shadows around to cloak me entirely? Either way, I was wasting time. I had to get to Darren at the pool.

  Taking a deep breath and holding it, I quickly exited the stairwell. From what I remembered, servant rooms were down the hall to my right, and the pool was up the hall to my left. A few more steps and I'd be fine.

  My body flickered into sight, but then disappeared as soon as I pulled the darkness closer.

  By the time I made it to the pool room and dropped the shadows, I was a nervous wreck. I had to physically force myself to relax. My whole body shook as the tension drained. That was one of the most nerve-wracking things I'd ever done—and all I did was walk downstairs to the pool. To top things off, I wasn't even in the clear yet. Voices sounded from somewhere behind me. If I didn't move quickly, I might end up a midnight snack after all.

  Without much thought, I tore off my sundress and dove into the water. Swimming beneath the surface, I pushed my body until I was literally on the verge of drowning, then came up for air. I was grateful to find that I was officially on the outside.

  But as I peeled my hair from my face and glanced around, there were no longer any signs of Darren.

  Frustration burned in my chest. How was I supposed to survive this place without him? I needed to hear his voice, to feel his touch so badly. How could he have just disappeared? He could have shadowed, I supposed. But why would he do that? Unless... was he avoiding me on purpose? The thought wrapped around my throat like a rope. If his lord laid claim to me, would that be it? Would he concede and move on? Could he even fight it if he wanted to? I had a sickening feeling that he couldn't.

  I closed my eyes, and didn't even stifle the tears as they streamed down my face. So much shit had happened in the last twenty-four hours, and I hadn't had a single second to process any of it. I was overwhelmed and in over my head. I needed Darren, but he wasn't making that an easy option. Hell, even Lyra might've done the trick in that moment, but she too was strangely absent.

  Slowly, I dunked under and allowed the water to wash over me, to cleanse me physically and emotionally.

  When I emerged, the air around me tingled.

  My eyes widened, and I realized...

  I was no longer alone.

  14

  Darren

  I couldn’t stay at the pool knowing she was trying to find me.

  I felt like such a prick for leaving, but there was nothing I could do. Varek had given me a direct command. One that included handing Autumn over to him.

  Son of a fucking bitch.

  Despite the fact that I'd literally just "won" her in a contest, she was by no means a damn object to be tossed around. I hated that I couldn't say that or do a damn thing about it.

  When I entered the pool, one of those vampiric sixth senses had kicked in, and I felt myself being watched. I didn't even need to look to know it was Autumn. Varek would have set her up in a suite, and all the suites faced the back to avoid the most sunshine, giving her a perfect view of the lagoon.

  When the sensation left me and I no longer felt eyes on my back, I immediately hopped out. I knew she'd be trying to find me, and I had no idea how to face the ugly reality now plaguing us. I couldn't just tell my maker no. That was physically impossible. There were ways of skirting around his orders, but this was one of those things that simply couldn't be avoided.

  How did you get over someone you were still half in love w
ith? Avoidance. I had no idea if it'd actually work, but it was the first and best idea I'd come up with on the fly.

  Sprinting around the side of the manor, I entered through a side door and jogged upstairs to Jared's room. I didn't even bother to knock. I just barged right in and started pacing back and forth.

  He wasn’t mad or even surprised. He just casually shut the gaming console off and folded his hands across his stomach.

  "How goes it, mate?"

  I shook my head, staring at the clothes scattered across his floor as I paced. "Not good. Not good at all."

  He nodded. "Is this about your princess?"

  I gritted my teeth and my irritated pace nearly turned into a stomp. "She's not my princess anymore."

  Jared stood. "She dumped you?"

  I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. "No."

  "You dumped her? Then why are you so pissed off?"

  "Because I didn't dump her."

  "All right, mate, you're gonna have to just lay it all out straight for me, because I'm confused as fuck."

  I reached down and grabbed a football that was half-hidden under his dirty laundry. I needed something to do with my hands. My fury and frustration were still contained, but only by a thread. Keeping my mind occupied was my only hope of staying in control.

  "Varek," I said, as if that explained it all. I tossed the ball into the air and caught it. "He decided he wanted Autumn for himself."

  Jared was quiet for a long while. There was nothing he could say to change what had happened or do to make me feel better.

  "Let's hit the pub."

  Except maybe that.

  Drinking my woes away might be mildly beneficial. At the very least it'd give me some distance before I did something stupid—like go back to Autumn in that damn pool. I could only imagine how fantastic she'd look in a dripping wet bikini, eyes hooded, nipples hard in the night air... and Varek sucking on them later.

  Growling, I threw the ball and ripped at my hair. That fucker ruined everything. Even my fantasies.