by Wendy Knight
"The ball last night was harsh. So many evil souls from your world, but I sent them to hell. Elizabeth and Mary granted three a reprieve. I wasn't fast enough in my sentencing. Maybe if there were more princesses to help me…"
She trailed off, and she absently stroked Kaida's scaly back. There were no princesses because the ones Mary had managed to capture and drag back to the Isles of the Damned only lasted a few days, a week at most, before they gave up everything to escape the nightmare that was their new life. And dying in the Isle meant there was no happy afterlife. They, along with the damned souls, went to hell.
Eiress had lasted fourteen years. She said it was because of Landon. He liked to believe her.
"Anyway, the three—the three that made it back. They had evil souls. Very black. They prey on children and worship drugs. Be careful out there." She smiled, but her smile was sad. Changing the subject abruptly, she plopped Kaida onto the bed in front of her and held up her knitting. "I think gray is his color, don't you?"
"Yeah. It's a good color on him. Goes with the black scales very well," Landon said.
"Did you say something, dear?"
Landon jumped, and nearly fell over. The cute little old lady peered at him over her spectacles in alarm.
"No-no ma'am. I didn't realize I was talking out loud."
She blinked at him suspiciously.
"Can I help you with something?" He struggled to his feet, shaking out his legs, wondering how long he'd been sitting there, staring into the mirror.
"I'm looking for a clock. Mine fell off the wall and broke. See?" She held out her hands, showing him the remains of a clock that looked like it had fallen off the wall and then been smashed with a bat two or three hundred times.
Landon nodded, taking her arm. "Clocks are right over here." He led her away, glancing over his shoulder at the mirror as he did.
Eiress smiled, raising one hand in goodbye. Kaida curled his way up her arm and hissed.
****
Her chambers always seemed so much colder when he left. She dropped her knitting, untangled Kaida from her arm, and rolled off the bed, landing lightly on her feet. Clutching up her skirts, she wandered to the balcony, the chains on her wrists clattering with every move, but she'd worn them so long she barely noticed. The nightmares were out, now. The day waned, the bleak yellow-black sun was setting. It was their favorite time of the day, when the new souls arrived to try to fight their way to the castle, seeking retribution.
The nightmares made that as difficult as possible.
Eiress thought by now she'd be used to the screaming. But no. Not ever. It clawed at her heart and sent chills through her blood. She could see some of them, dancing in the shadows below her.
Her land was made up of everything feared. Clowns were common, as were spiders. Monsters and werewolves and vampires. Sharp cliffs in the distance, foaming waves surging below them. Dolls with empty eyes and broken, half-eaten bodies.
The kittens, though, always amused her, as did the butterflies.
She watched them now, fluffy little black things with bright green eyes—the kittens, not the butterflies. They chased the dark souls, and the souls screamed in horror and raced away. The strange thing about her world, though, was no matter how fast one ran, the fear was always right there with them.
Maybe it wasn't so different from real life.
The souls themselves were what really scared her. They roiled in rottenness, like curdled, writhing oil with flashes of their victims' faces, screaming for help. She didn't see their physical bodies—the other princesses could, which is why so many had been tricked into taking the damned souls' places in hell. A pretty face could persuade anyone, it seemed.
But no, Eiress saw their souls. She had no idea what they had looked like before they came to her court. They, more than anything out in her forests, haunted her dreams and caused her to wake screaming.
She shivered, rubbing her bare arms. Lifting her skirts again, she swung away, eyes drifting to the sky and the black, black moon.
The ball would start soon.
Horror washed over her in waves, as always.
And then warmth. He was back.
Smiling, she hurried back inside. The closer she came to the mirror, the warmer she got—it was the only warmth in a world of ice. She could feel his frustration, and she fought to alleviate it. "The kittens are back. They're smaller than before. And fluffier. Maybe Kaida would like a friend." She raised an eyebrow at her dragon and he hissed as he scampered away.
Laughing, she turned back to the mirror. She wondered if he could see her, or if he just felt her presence, the way she felt him. She wondered if—if he could see her—if he thought she was pretty. She could feel his soul, and knew it was beautiful. Was hers, as well? Subconsciously, she smoothed the front of her dress. "You have some odd villains in your world. I mean, all villains are off, you know? Of course. But their fears. Some of them are funny. I saw one who was afraid of a phone. It was being chased by a giant receiver. I almost fell right off my balcony, I laughed so hard. Although the chains would have caught me, and then I would have just hung there…"
Well. That had escalated quickly.
Out of words, she picked up her knitting and settled herself into the middle of her bed. Humming, she started knitting again, praying that his warmth wouldn't leave her.
Inevitably it did, but it returned. Three times before the ball, he left and came back. Only he, in her world of darkness, could chase the shadows away.
But even he couldn't save her from the ball. Nothing could. As the moon disappeared behind the sharp cliffs, she slid to her feet, put her knitting away, tucked Kaida into her armoire so nothing could find him, and opened her jewelry box. The glittering black crown burned her fingers as she raised it to her head. Lifting her chin, she swept out of her chambers and into the hall, chains rattling quietly in her wake. Plush carpets silenced her progress, and she moved like a ghost through the castle and down the turret steps. By the time she reached the second floor, the wailing and moaning was already wafting through the air.
The Damned had arrived.
She reached the doors to the ballroom. They were carved with the faces of the damned, screaming in horror. Mary, in particular, loved this door most. Taking a deep breath, trying to keep the horror at bay, Eiress pulled the doors open.
"Look who's late, as usual." Elizabeth sat on her throne, perfect black lips pursed in annoyance.
"Quiet, Elizabeth." That voice.
Mary.
That voice sent chills down Eiress's spine. It was the first thing she'd heard when she'd opened her eyes here, telling Elizabeth that they would keep this one. That she was special, that she would be their princess. We can't hurt this one, Elizabeth. Her spirit would kill us all.
"She doesn't enjoy this like we do." Mary's smile dripped wickedness. She wasn't beautiful, as Elizabeth was. Her hair was short and frizzy, but her stature, the way she held herself—it was far more terrifying than Elizabeth could ever hope to be.
Bloody Mary. The Queen of the Damned.
Eiress could see their outward appearances, unlike the damned, who were just souls. It was because they still lived, or lived again, rather. Vlad, too. But she also saw their souls, inside, and knew them to be truly terrifying.
"Vlad, let the souls in. Maybe one will catch her fancy tonight." Mary swept her arms wide. As their steward turned to open the wide doors leading outside, Eiress took her spot on the throne between Elizabeth and Mary.
As always, Elizabeth murmured, "We could always kill her. I haven't had a blood bath in ages. My skin is positively gray."
It was true, but no amount of virgin blood could change that. Her soul was rotting her from the inside out.
Vlad turned, his heels clicking. "May I introduce the Queen of the Damned, Mary Tudor, her handmaiden, Elizabeth Bathory, and the Princess of the Damned, Eiress Aziz Reinheit." Then he spread his arms wide and the crowd of souls on the other side flooded the room, pr
imping and preening, trying to get the attention of the three women on their thrones. The music started, slow and haunting—the stuff children heard when they were lost in the forest. The melodies that slid through the night before death.
The crowd of damned surged forward, vying for a dance with one of the women. One dance was all it took to give them another chance at life above. Mary and Elizabeth could dance without sacrificing their own souls, but Eiress could not. One dance with any of these horrific souls would free them, but send her to hell in their place. She'd seen too many other princesses choose that path.
No matter how many times Mary tried to force her, Eiress would not be one of them.
She had her friend. The one she could feel in the mirror. And she had Kaida.
That didn't stop the souls from nearly crushing her though, the evilness slithering through their eyes, smothering their black hearts. Every time they brushed her skin, she was overcome with memories of their greatest sins.
Eiress cringed away, and Elizabeth and Mary laughed at her. They relished her discomfort. They taunted her, trying to drive her to hell, but they would not succeed.
No. They would not.
"Dance!" Mary commanded, and the souls, quaking in terror, chose partners and waltzed through the ballroom. "I so miss this," she murmured to Elizabeth. "Nothing compares to life outside the Isles."
Elizabeth patted Mary's arm, but her eyes strayed to the beautiful young women with rotted souls twirling across the floor below them. "We will escape soon enough. All it takes is one of these souls to find the key."
The key. The only thing that protected the world from Mary's bloodthirsty presence. The key unlocked their chains, and then it was just a matter of pulling someone in through the mirror and escaping out in that poor soul's place.
If any of these souls that Mary and Elizabeth sent back ever found the key, the world would never recover. Every night, Eiress prayed the key would stay hidden for the rest of eternity.
Even if it meant she would never be free.
About the Author
WENDY KNIGHT is the award-winning, bestselling author of the young adult series Fate on Fire and Riders of Paradesos. She was born and raised in Utah by a wonderful family who spoiled her rotten because she was the baby. Now she spends her time driving her husband crazy with her many eccentricities (no water after five, terror when faced with a live phone call…). She also enjoys chasing her three adorable kids, playing tennis, watching football, reading, and hiking. Camping is also big: her family is slowly working toward a goal of seeing all the National Parks in the U.S.
You can usually find her with at least one Pepsi nearby, wearing ridiculously high heels for whatever the occasion may be. And if everything works out just right, she will also be writing.
Find her online
Website: www.wendyknightauthor.com
Blog: www.wendyknightauthor.blogspot.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorWendyKnight
Twitter: https://twitter.com/wjk8099
Instagram: http://instagram.com/wendyjo99
Wattpad: http://wattpad.com/WendyKnight
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Wendy-Knight/e/B00BWU9NBE/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1405620608&sr=1-2-ent
Also by Wendy Knight
Fate on Fire Series
Feudlings
Feudlings in Flames
Feudlings in Sight
Feudlings in Smoke
Spark of a Feudling
Riders of Paradesos Series
Warrior Beautiful
Warrior Everlasting
Gates of Atlantis Series
Banshee at the Gate
Stand-Alone
Shattered Assassin
The Soul's Agent
Star-Crossed Hurricane
(also available in Trouble Enough: A Collection)
Coming Soon
Warrior Innocent
With These Wings
Table of Contents
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
PRINCESS OF THE DAMNED
About the Author
Find her online
Also by Wendy Knight
