by Kayci Morgan
I found him, four pens in, washing the red scales of one of the beasts. As I approached from behind, it hissed at me, causing me to stumble back and alerted him to my presence. My step backwards put me too close to a green and brown one that stretched its neck towards me. I jumped.
“You don’t have to be afraid, they recognize their queen.”
I still kept a careful distance even though the drake did not seem intent on harming me. “Then maybe they should point me out to Zuriel. He seems confused on the matter.”
“It’s only been a day. Give it time. You’ll warm up to each other.” He continued running his brush over the red one’s scales.
“Warmth is not something I see in my future.”
He stopped and approached me. “Are you alright? What are you doing here if you’re scared of drakes?”
I stood in the middle of the stable hugging myself. “Because I feel trapped.” I admitted shamefully. A queen should never be so blunt and vulnerable to a commoner, it made me appear weak when I should be the backbone to my people. But I couldn’t help it. I was at a loss with my situation and I needed someone on a common ground.
He gently took my hand in his own, squeezing it in reassurance. “We’ll just have to set you free then.” It was the first time since I arrived that someone had touched me without being required to and the simple gesture lessened the tension coiled in my shoulders.
He guided my hand over to one of the drakes and placed it on its forehead. I touched its scales, right between its eyes. In response, it closed its eyes and made a rumbling hiss sound. That’s when I realized the hiss wasn’t a threat, the beast was purring. “Treestomper is going to take you for a nice, easy ride, aren’t you girl?”
My eyes shot at Alik. “Ride?” I’d been happy the beast hadn’t chewed my arm off yet.
“Of course, if you don’t want to feel trapped in a sky castle, then you’ll need to learn to fly. Unless you don’t think you can do it.”
My pride answered before my brain could catch up. “I’ve yet to encounter a skill I could not master.”
Alik smiled broadly. “That’s my queen.”
I should have been irritated by the way he spoke to me. But there was something genuine about him that just made my lips curve whether I wanted them to or not. “You know I can toss you clear across this room, right?”
“Really?”
I nodded. “With one arm. Vampire strength and all that.”
“Good to know. I better stay on your good side then.” He said with a sly grin as he saddled Treestomper and led him out into the open field. I followed behind wondering how a mere human managed to do what hundreds of vampires couldn’t. I peered into his mind for some insight, but he wasn’t thinking about riding drakes.
“A vampire brothel would buy you just to sit you in the corner and have you think.”
He blushed. “So what you’re saying is I’m valuable.”
I chuckled. “What I’m saying is you need to focus because if I fall to my death you’ll be hung for treason.”
He knelt down and entwined his fingers offering me a place to step in order to get on the mount, which seemed to be contently waiting for me to climb on. But I didn’t need his help. I grabbed the side of the saddle and hoisted myself up, glad for the long splits in my skirt. Had I been trying to do this in my normal dresses, it would have been much less graceful. The saddle pressed against my bare thighs where my boots stopped.
Alik tried to pull himself up behind me. Realizing what he was doing, I reached down and picked him up, helping him onto the back of the saddle. He wrapped his arms around my waist, starring wide-eyed at my show of strength. He really hadn’t spent much time around my kind. Deabru were stronger, but they were big hulking creatures, their strength showed. I understood Alik’s surprise, but it was strange for me to see a human regard a vampire in this way. After all, my kind ruled over and protected the humans of the realm, our ability to do so was something ingrained in most humans from birth.
“What now?” I asked.
“Have you ever ridden a horse?”
It couldn’t be that simple. A slight tug of the reigns and the drake spread its wings and lifted off into the sky. Figuring out how to guide it was intuitive. The slightest movement, the smallest squeeze of my thighs and the drake responded. “Why does it obey my wishes?” I just couldn’t understand how something so easy for me could be so hard for so many others before me. Had we been able to control drakes, there was a chance we could have won the war.
“Because you’re her queen.”
That was the second time Alik implied the drake understood rank. That couldn’t mean… “Are they sentient?”
At the question Treestomper dove making it perfectly obvious she understood what I was asking and the answer was yes. No wonder they fought us to the death. We sent trainers when we should have sent diplomats.
Alik clenched me tighter as we fell. When we leveled out, I stroked the back of Treestomper’s neck. “I apologize. I didn’t mean to offend.”
That seemed to be enough because we ascended again. Like the Deabru, I was unable to see the thoughts of drakes. Though I would love to see into a mind like that.
We flew beyond the gray fog that obscured the castle from view and out into the bright sunlight. From the distance I could see the lush green plains and valleys of my home. What would stop me from flying all the way to the palace and sitting down next to my uncle as he settled disputes for the day? Well, I didn’t know how far a drake could fly before needing rest, and my people might attack before realizing I was the rider. But if I sent word ahead that I was coming…
Alik had been right. This was exactly what I needed. With the sun on my face and my hair fluttering in the wind, I felt like I could do just about anything. Even handle the madness of court. As I enjoyed the thrill of flight, Alik rested his chin on my shoulder, content in his thoughts. How he cared more about his arms around my waist than cutting through the sky was beyond my understanding.
“We should head back,” I said, regretfully. The last thing I needed was to cause an incident by making them think I ran away.
Treestomper took us back to the same spot we left from. I jumped to the ground and then helped Alik down. He gave me a look for handling him like a child, but humans were fragile, a fall from even that short height could break a leg.
“You realize I do this every day, right? For a living.”
“Not my fault your kind has the constitution of wet parchment.” We were both laughing as we headed back into the stables where Zuriel stood with his full guard preparing to come after us.
Chapter 7
Alik barely had time to get Treestomper back in her stall before Zuriel ordered everyone out of the stables.
“Where did you go?”
“Alik and I just went for a ride. You said that I could come and go as I pleased without asking permission.”
“I meant within the halls of the castle.”
“So I do need to ask if I intend to leave the castle?”
He ran his palm down his face in blatant agitation. “No, you are a queen, you may come and go as you please. But why didn’t you take Tannin with you?”
“It was an impromptu trip.”
His jaw tightened as he struggled with his words. “Was it because you wanted to be alone with the human?”
I laughed. “The human? Isn’t he your ward?”
“I noticed you didn’t answer my question. I know vampires have their appetites, but I will not tolerate disloyalty.”
This was all Mara’s fault. She filled his head with a bunch of nonsense. “If you fear my appetites might lead me astray, why don’t you satisfy them?”
He wouldn’t even consummate his own marriage, and yet he was lecturing me on disloyalty.
“You don’t understand, for us, sex isn’t just recreation, it binds us. How can I bind myself to you when I don’t trust you?”
“But that’s exactly what you expect me to d
o, isn’t it?”
“Why didn’t you tell me about the werewolf?”
“Because it didn’t matter.”
“He’s been your lover for almost a century, how could he not matter?”
“I didn’t say he didn’t matter, I said that it didn’t matter, as in my relationship with him.”
“I don’t understand.”
“What would have happened if I refused your offer?”
“The council would have insisted we go back to war and I would have been inclined to agree with them.”
“Exactly. Maxwell has lost his entire clan defending the kingdom, and he would have also died if the truce ended. An entire line, wiped from existence in service of my house, and it would have been for nothing because the Deabru would have killed every last one of us. There was no reason to tell you about Max because my feelings for him don’t split my loyalties, they make me even more determined to make this marriage work.”
Zuriel backed up against the wall and slid down onto the floor with his face in his hands. “I proposed at the end of a sword. Didn’t I?”
“I assumed that was fairly obvious.”
“I just didn’t want any more blood. I wanted my sister’s sacrifice to mean something. I didn’t mean to do this to you.” I stood there confused. I was in awe of his honesty and of how vulnerable he had made himself. But part of me was still questioning his every word.
“There were worse things you could have done.”
“Come here.” He held out his arms for me.
I hesitated momentarily but quickly pushed my doubts away and slipped into his lap allowing him to pull me into his warm embrace, his wings cocooning us.
“You must be hungry. You haven’t fed since you arrived here.”
“I am.”
He offered me his wrist and I automatically shook my head.
“Why not?” His dark eyes flickered with concern and confusion.
“I don’t wish to drink Deabru blood.” I stated quickly, avoiding my reasoning as to why, as if he didn’t know already. “Can we send for my slaves?”
I could feel him going stiff around me. “You claim to be the protectors of humans yet you keep them like chattel, how do you reconcile those things?”
“It’s complicated. We’re incredibly possessive over our sources of food. They nourish us. It’s hard to be reasonable when it comes to our humans, so for the sake of maintaining our composure we must have complete dominion over them.”
“So if you were to drink from me, you’d become madly possessive of me and unable to stray?”
“I already won’t stray. I gave my word. Doesn’t a vow from someone who can’t lie mean anything to you?”
“It would mean more if you would drink from me. Bind yourself to me, biologically and then I can trust you.”
I sighed. “That’s not how trust works.”
“Fine. Drink from me. I command it. Isn’t that how a vampire husband would handle this?”
My fangs grew in response to his command. The vein in his wrist pulsed like clockwork, inviting me to take a bite. But I found myself unable to move. His arm was only a few inches away, but I couldn’t close the distance. I couldn’t allow myself to drink from the creatures that killed my people.
Hot tears rolled down my cheeks as I sat there frozen.
“Claudia?”
“Take it back,” I begged in a choked whisper.
“What’s wrong?” his voice laced with genuine concern.
“Please, don’t make me.” I pleaded softly.
“It’s fine. You don’t have to drink if you don’t want to.” He pulled my head against his firm chest and rocked me. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” he whispered against my tousled hair. “I just want you to want me.”
His confession threw me through yet another loop. I had grown up being taught how wicked his species was, yet here I was in the most tender of embraces being soothed by their very leader. This was a side I had never been subjected too before and nothing I had ever learned about them had prepared me for it. Something inside of me stirred at his embrace and I couldn’t figure out what it meant.
“If you refuse to believe anything I say for the rest of my days, please believe me when I tell you that forcing your blood down my throat is not the way to win my affections.” I whispered softly against his rugged chest.
We sat in the darkness trying to reach for each other, but lifetimes of pain and hatred stood between us. A chasm so deep and wide I wasn’t sure how we’d ever get across it and reach one another.
Chapter 8
Weeks passed and all I had to show for my marriage was a few more fumbling instances where neither of us would cave. The difference being he could probably go without sex indefinitely, I had to feed sooner or later. The day I'd be forced to choke down black Deabru blood came closer and closer and I could see no way of avoiding it. Zuriel's jealousy wouldn't allow me to bring my slaves here. I couldn't be sure of their safety anyway if they did come.
I dressed for yet another state dinner. This time in a flowing pink gown that was more my taste than Zuriel's, but I didn't care. Delighting his senses wasn't getting my marriage consummated, so what was the point of doing so?
As I entered the dining hall, the jovial discussions turned to low whispers. I walked past twelve lords and ladies with my chin up pretending not to know they seemed to regard me as the killer of joy.
I took my seat next to the king, and smiled softly as he brought my hand to his lips, a gesture meant more for the court than for me but something about his tenderness still struck a part of me, new and confusing. I had to compose myself as I had before. Regardless of my strange feelings it was still fake. If they discovered our marriage was a sham they would rebel, desperate to finish a war that had cost them so much over the years. I had to make sure that didn't happen.
The servants had finally stopped putting a plate in front of me a few weeks back which I was eternally grateful for. The smells alone were too much for me to stand. And their food was at least one thing Zuriel hadn't insisted I partake in. But they did have the good sense to keep my goblet filled with sweet wine.
"So, do you think you're with child yet?"
I didn't even need to look up. I could recognize Mara's voice from anywhere. It was the sound of claws tearing against stone. "No. I do not believe I'm pregnant." I said simply, taking another sip of my wine.
"How strange. Alaster and I conceived our brood on our wedding night. They say a woman's passion plays a part in the chance of conception. No surprise such a cold thing has trouble creating life."
I turned to Zuriel. "Brood? How many offspring do you produce and is that number a function of the male or the female? Because no one said anything about broods." Beastly.
He took my hand in his. "Don't worry. You won't be given more than you can bear."
"Are you sure of that?" Mara interjected. "After all, she's so delicate. Even if she could carry half Deabru children to term, I doubt she'd be able to survive the birth. Maybe she knows this. Maybe she's doing something to prevent getting pregnant and is only playing the role of wife to keep us from decimating her people."
Once again Mara questioned my loyalty and yet Zuriel did nothing to defend me. But he tensed at her words. Something I wouldn't have noticed if he hadn't been holding my hand. He was upset, yet he was holding back? Why?
Then I remembered something he said to me before about having to fight my own battles. These people respected brutality, if they were going to accept me as their queen I had to show I was capable of being as temperamental as they were.
I shot to my feet allowing my pent up anger free for the first time. "How dare you question my loyalty? I am your queen, and until you give me the respect I am due, there is no room for you at my table. You are banished from court! Leave. Now."
Mara dismissed everything I said like I was a bit of foul wind and turned to Zuriel. "Are you really going to let her do this? I've lived at court since I was a ch
ild."
Every eye in the room was on Zuriel. Would he take the side of me or his best friend? I had to give him credit. He didn't even seem to hesitate when he said, "Your queen has spoken. Why you are still here?"
Mara threw her chair against one of the stone pillars, but then she stormed from the room with Alaster following quickly behind after offering an apologetic look to me and Zuriel.
I had done it, finally, something that must have pleased my husband, but also freed me from the constant degradation of that harpy. I sat back sipping my wine and feeling in control of something for the first time since arriving here. And it felt wonderful. I could sense a change in the room. The other lords realized I had the power and resolve to at the very least deprive them of access to their king. To some of them, that was a fate worse than death.
After dinner, Zuriel took my hand again and staring deeply into my eyes asked, "Shall we retire to my quarters?" I couldn’t help but gawk at him for a moment, where had this come from?
I grinned wickedly. "If it pleases you, Sire."
I had no idea how far putting Mara in her place would get me. If it would get me a legitimate marriage that couldn't be annulled, then expelling her from court was the best decision I'd ever made.
My thighs clenched in anticipation. While I still had many hang ups about Zuriel's species, I couldn't deny that he knew how to touch a woman and the experience would be pleasurable if nothing else.
As the door to his quarters shut behind us, I was already reaching for the shoulders of my dress, ready to leave it in a pile on the floor.
"How could you?"
That's when I realized sex wasn't on the table. I readjusted my dress. "What would you have me do? She once again suggested my intentions were treasonous in front of the entire court."
"Why couldn't you break her nose? Why did you have to permanently send her away? She's my oldest, dearest friend."
