Crimson Born

by Amy Patrick

  “What if we have trouble getting back out again?” Kelly asked as we entered our soon-to-be-former home.

  Heather shrugged. “I don’t think anyone cares if we leave. Our training is done. People come and go all the time. Robbie wasn’t even working the door tonight, and the guy who was just waved us through.”

  “Me too,” I said. “I think we’ll be okay. I hope.”

  “Do you want to wait outside?” Kelly asked me. “I could go to your room and pack all your stuff for you if you’re worried Imogen will try to keep you from going.”

  “Thanks for the offer, but I have to find Reece. Now that we know there’s a real alternative—that there is a place for us—I know he’ll come with me.”

  As long as he hasn’t pledged himself to Imogen for eternity.

  34

  Vows

  It was strangely quiet in the caverns as I made my way to the Bloodbound barracks.

  The Bastion’s residents must have been tired from the combination of last night’s ball and tonight’s Inception Ceremony because there was almost no one out in the public areas.

  As I neared the barracks, I prepared myself for an argument or at least a bunch of annoying questions from the guard on duty. But when I reached them, I was surprised to find Kannon himself standing watch at the entrance.

  “Abigail. Where have you been? Everyone was worried about you.”

  “Everyone?” I asked, darting my eyes around his broad form to peer down the hall where the warriors’ rooms were located.

  He ignored my obvious reference to Reece. “Imogen was in a lather when you didn’t show up for the ceremony.”

  I nodded in an I know I know way and tried to move past him toward Reece’s door. “I’ll deal with her. First I need to speak to him.”

  “Reece isn’t here.”

  That stopped me cold. “What? Where is he?”

  “He’s with Imogen.”

  My heart liquified and drained out the soles of my boots. “Where?”

  Please don’t say her chambers. Please don’t say her chambers.

  “In the throne room. She’s elevated him to her personal guard. It’s a position of high honor.”

  I sagged in relief. “As long as his position is nowhere near her royal bed.”

  Kannon gave me a shocked look, and I said, “I know how it is. You don’t have to pretend with me.”

  Now he had the decency to blush. “Hey, it’s a tough job but somebody’s gotta do it.”

  “Well, at least Reece won’t be doing it.”

  “What do you mean?”

  For a second, I debated whether I should answer his question. Then I decided to just tell him.

  Sadie had assured me Imogen couldn’t tamper with my free will, and I would be leaving here tonight no matter what she had to say about it—and taking Reece with me.

  “I’ve found a way out for us. I’m going to work for Sadie Aldritch at the Vampire-Human Coalition.”

  Kannon’s jaw literally dropped open. “The VHC is the opposite of everything we believe in. You can’t go work there.”

  “It’s the opposite of what Imogen believes in. I believe in what Sadie and her organization are doing. It makes sense to me. A whole lot more sense than what I’ve been hearing and learning here for the past few months. You’re welcome to come with us if you like. You deserve more than to be Imogen’s servant and occasional boy-toy.”

  “To break the Bloodbound vows is certain death,” he said. “Anyway, there’s nothing left for me out there.”

  “Well there is for me. I want to be part of a solution—not a war. I’m not a soldier, Kannon. Neither is Reece.”

  A strange expression passed over his face. “You’re wrong about that. Abigail... Reece took the vows tonight.”

  It felt like a sledgehammer had struck me in the chest. “What? How could he do that? He promised me he’d wait.”

  His lilac eyes clouded, the thick blond brows knitting over them. “Imogen summoned him to a private audience before the ceremony.”

  “What did she say to him? You’re the captain of her guard—you must know what’s going on.”

  “I’m afraid not, squirt. He’d indicated to me earlier in the night he might not take the vows, said something about second thoughts. But then he met with Imogen. When the ceremony started, there he was, front and center.”

  Someone else was supposed to have been front and center at that ceremony tonight—me. Imogen had wanted me to be there and turn a human with a single bite, thereby proving my queen potential and living up to my heritage as her daughter and heir.

  Had my absence put Reece in the spotlight, ruining his chances of escape?

  “Wait. Did he... did Imogen make him turn someone tonight?”

  If she’d forced him to bite a human at the ceremony and he’d succeeded in turning him with a single bite, then she’d consider Reece a true son, her heir.

  She’d never let him leave.

  Kannon shook his head no, and I let out the breath I’d been holding.

  “Then it’s not too late. He can still come with me.”

  His voice sounded harder than I’d ever heard it. “No, Abigail. He’s Bloodbound now. The vows are for eternity. Imogen will kill him if he breaks them—or order me to do it. I’ll have no choice but to follow her order.”

  “You wouldn’t. Kannon, you... you couldn’t. He’s your friend.”

  Turning away from his apologetic face and telling silence, I marched toward the throne room with digging strides, angrier than I’d ever been in my life.

  Imogen had done this on purpose. To prove something.

  She had stolen Reece’s freedom to punish me for wanting my own.

  What’s more, by forcing him to take the Bloodbound vows, she’d ensured Reece would never take a mate.

  He’d never be with any woman other than her—whenever she felt like dallying with him—for at least the next several thousand years.

  She’d stolen him from me in a crude display of her sovereign rule and absolute power.

  Well, she wasn’t the only strong woman in the vampire world. Sadie was just as powerful in her own way, and I’d made up my mind—that was the kind of strength I wanted to embody someday.

  With an eternal lifespan in front of me, maybe someday I would.

  For tonight, I had to find a way to pry Reece from Imogen’s clutches and get him away from here before it really was too late.

  When I reached the throne room, two of her personal Bloodbound stepped together in front of the doors to block my entry.

  Imogen’s voice came from inside, clear as day and hard as a diamond. “Let her through.”

  The guards stepped aside and opened the doors.

  The instant she saw me, my “mother’s” red lips split in a smile of satisfaction and triumph. She was glad I was back, but not because she’d been concerned about my safety.

  She wanted me to see her victory.

  Reece kneeled beside her throne, stone-faced even as she ran her long-taloned fingers through his hair and over his shoulder in a possessive and lascivious caress.

  “My daughter. I missed you. Did you have a nice outing?” she asked in feigned ignorance.

  “You already know where I was, so there’s no point in pretending. I appreciate you saving my life that night, Imogen, but I can’t stay here anymore. I’m leaving. And I’m taking Reece with me. And before you try to deceive us into believing otherwise, Sadie already told me that even as your children, we still have free will.”

  Her laughter filled the hall and echoed off its stone walls.

  “Oh darling... I guess you don’t realize it since you ‘missed’ the ceremony tonight, but when the Bloodbound take their vows, they’re actually bound... by my blood.”

  At my blank look of shock, she continued. “That’s right. Each new drone takes a sip of his queen’s blood. My blood. From that point on, my will becomes their will. Your sweetheart couldn’t disobey me even if he wanted t
o.”

  Now she turned to Reece and purred against his ear. “But you don’t want to, do you darling? You’ll never leave me, will you?”

  “No, my queen,” he said almost robotically.

  “Good boy,” she said. And then she licked his cheek.

  I nearly retched, but Reece showed no signs of disgust or even disapproval. His eyes were a deep void.

  Fighting to speak through tears, I said, “How could you do this to him?”

  “Do what?” she asked in an innocent tone. “Elevate him to a position of honor and privilege? Give him a purpose and a family? Give him something to focus on other than the fact that you left him behind?”

  I let out a gasp. “You did this because I left?”

  “No, my dear. I did it so that you’d stay. Now that your precious Reece is one of my Bloodbound, he’s mine to control. Mine to promote, to employ as a weapon... to take as a lover if I choose to. Mine to kill if I see fit.”

  Her menacing words took all the blustery fight out of me. We were on her turf. She did have all the power here—over life and death.

  Over Reece’s life and death.

  She had won, and she knew it.

  35

  Impossible Choice

  “Please don’t kill him,” I pleaded for the second time in our lives. “You’ve made your point.”

  Imogen’s lips pursed in an expression of mock-sympathy. “So sweet. The two of you almost make me long for my newly-turned days when I was still capable of feeling ‘love.’”

  Her tone turned disconcertingly bright. “I’ll make you a deal.”

  “A deal?” A chill chased down my spine.

  “Yes. If you agree to the test... to turn a human and become a true daughter of the Crimson Court, then I will release your paramour from the vows of the Bloodbound and give him to you—as a graduation gift.”

  She continued to pet him as she spoke. “I won’t claim my rights with him as I do the other drones. No one will ever have him but you, and someday when my reign ends and you sit on this throne, he will be your captain of the guard. Or your lover. Or both—whatever you prefer.”

  It was an impossible choice—one would cost me my heart, the other, my soul.

  I looked at Reece, so docile under her unwanted touch, and remembered the happy, charming boy I’d met the night of the blood moon. The guy who’d spoken of wanting greatness. Of destiny.

  I couldn’t let this be his.

  “Okay,” I agreed. “I’ll do it.”

  “No.”

  The quiet voice made both Imogen and me jerk our heads in Reece’s direction.

  She laughed. “Excuse me, drone? I didn’t give you permission to speak.”

  Reece’s response was low but distinct. “No. Deal.” His eyes came up to lock with mine. “Tell her no, Abbi.”

  My mouth hung open in shock. He was defying Imogen by speaking out of turn. But how?

  Did the blood bond not work on him the way it did the other Bloodbound drones? But then why was he kneeling at her side, allowing her to treat him like a dog on a choke chain?

  “But Reece... she’ll free you from your oath,” I said.

  “And you’ll be breaking yours. I remember what you told me about that locket you wear. The ashes inside are from your old friend in the village, the boy you turned. It didn’t escape me the chain is made of platinum, which weakens us. You’re still punishing yourself. I know you Abbi—I know how it hurts you. You swore you’d never turn another human, and I won’t let you break that promise for my sake.”

  “You’re worth it,” I whispered. “I can’t let you spend eternity as a slave.”

  “I deserve it. I belong here after what I’ve done.”

  “What? What are you talking about? Of course you don’t deserve it. No one does, no matter what Imogen said to you today before the ceremony. Let me do this for you, Reece. I want to.”

  He did not respond, only dropped his gaze to the floor in front of him.

  Imogen stood and closed her hands together in front of her chest. “Excellent. Let’s get on with it then. Guards—bring in the candidate.”

  The doors opened, and a young man entered the room, escorted by two Bloodbound warriors. He didn’t look scared exactly, but he didn’t look comfortable either.

  His fingers trembled, and his wide eyes scanned the room, taking in the blazing torches and the spikey knife-like crystal-rock formations that comprised Imogen’s throne. I wondered if he was second-guessing his decision to be turned now that he’d gotten a look at the reality of the vampire world.

  “Abigail, this is Marc,” Imogen said. “He’s a virgin—when it comes to vampire bites, that is. Marc, this is Abigail. Your maker.”

  Inhaling deeply, I stepped toward the human, pressing my fingernails so hard into my palms they broke the skin.

  I can do this. I can do it. For Reece.

  A dagger whizzed through the air in front of me and landed point-down in the floor between the man and me.

  “I said, ‘No.’” Reece’s voice was sharper than the blade and twice as cold.

  The Bloodbound guards started toward Reece then stopped and turned back to Imogen, obviously at a loss for what to do next since he was already on his knees by her side.

  “What is the meaning of this?” Imogen asked. “Do you not want to be released from your oath then?”

  “No.” His jaw clenched around his next words. “I’ve made my choice. I’m Bloodbound for eternity. That’s what I want.”

  “Reece, you don’t mean that,” I argued. “You’ll never leave this place. You’ll never have a mate.”

  More quietly I added, “You’ll never have me.”

  His stony expression remained unmoving, his words coming out like each one stabbed his tongue.

  “That was never going to happen. I don’t... feel that way about you. I never did.”

  “You’re lying,” I said. “I know you care for me. You admitted as much last night at the ball.”

  His chest expanded with a deep breath then he swallowed before answering. “That was an effect of your pheromones. Without that... without that, all I feel for you is a desire to protect you... as I would protect anyone here at the Bastion.”

  “I see. So I’m just like anyone else to you then? Nothing special. What about the night of the bonfire? What about destiny?”

  “Destiny doesn’t exist.” Reece sounded defeated and extremely tired. “The night of the bonfire, I recognized right away you were out of place and vulnerable. I followed you to the parking area and sat with you that night to keep you out of trouble while your friends were busy. I felt... sorry for you.”

  The sharp intake of my breath hissed between my teeth.

  “I’m your friend, Abigail. That’s all. And someday, when you ascend to the Crimson throne, I’ll be your servant.”

  He got up and walked forward, retrieved and sheathed his dagger, and bowed to Imogen before resuming his place at her side.

  Loud laughter peeled through the room, echoing off the walls. Imogen clapped wildly.

  “This is the most fun I’ve had in a hundred years. Maybe two.”

  Rising from her throne, she strolled slowly toward the quaking human man, her fangs sliding from between her lips in hungry anticipation.

  “What a truly delightful evening,” she purred. “I do so love surprises.”

  She jerked the man toward her and sank her teeth into his neck. As she continued to drink, he struggled then went limp, realizing too late she had no intention of stopping.

  His wish to become a vampire would not be coming true tonight.

  Unable to stand the sight of it or of Reece’s impassive expression, I spun and ran for the doors.

  Imogen called a warning after me. “If you leave now little one... you can’t ever come back.”

  “I don’t intend to,” I said more to myself than to her.

  My “mother” laughed again, the bone-chilling sound of it following me out of the throne
room and into the dimly lit corridor.

  36

  Parting Gift

  It was harder than I’d expected to say goodbye to the Bastion.

  Not the place—the people. How could I leave them all there under Imogen’s wicked reign?

  But even if I stayed, there was nothing I could do about that. The best thing I could do for everyone was to go and offer my help to Sadie. Her work would hopefully make the world a safer place for vampires and humans alike.

  Then we wouldn’t need vicious authoritarian leaders like Imogen to protect our interests. We wouldn’t need Bloodbound warriors.

  Heather, Kelly, and I made our way from our chambers to the front cavern entrance, stopping along the way to say goodbye to people we’d grown close to.

  As we neared the ramp to the exit, my eyes bulged at the sight of the vampire waiting at the bottom.

  It was Reece.

  My heart fluttered up to my throat, blocking it for a moment. I nodded to my friends. “You go on to the car. I’ll be right there.”

  Heather grinned at me. “Not alone this time, I hope.”

  When they’d gone, I walked up to Reece. My hands and voice shook with adrenaline. “Hi. I’m surprised to see you here. Have you changed your mind? Are you... coming with me?”

  “No. I’m staying.”

  He swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple traveling the length of his throat. “I only came to see you off.”

  The fluttering stopped, and all my hope plummeted in a death spiral. He was only here so he could report back to Imogen—his queen—once I was well and truly gone.

  “I see. Well thank you very much.” I lifted my chin and took a fortifying breath, fighting tears and forcing words through a throat that felt suddenly swollen shut.

  “Have a nice life.” My tone expressed my doubt that it was even possible under the circumstances he’d chosen. I couldn’t help adding, “And take care of yourself.”

  I started up the ramp, but he pulled something from his shirt and held it out to me.