The Witch Queen

by Juliana Haygert

  Instead, I gritted my teeth, clenched my hands, and held his defiant stare.

  He let out a laugh. “I see you continue to be no fun.” He patted my shoulder, but I jerked away. “Go feast, prince, before I change my mind and take even that privilege from you.”

  With that, he spun around and jumped, floating to the floor below where the humans awaited their end.

  I stared, disgusted by such a sight. What had Alex done? The potion in the humans’ drinks had to be stronger this time for them to act like that—swaying as if they were dancing, chatting, and laughing as if they were at a real party. And not one bit aware of the massacre surrounding them.

  There had to be at least fifty humans here, and half had already become corpses littering the floor. It was then I realized Alex didn’t intend to leave any humans alive for later. The vampires would kill them all.

  I reached behind me and grabbed Luana’s hand. “Let’s get out of here,” I whispered.

  She didn’t object as I pulled her out of the ballroom.

  The hallways were practically empty, but I could hear Luana’s heart hammering as if it were a church bell echoing off the walls.

  Once we were inside my chambers, I pushed her down on the couch and knelt beside her. “Are you okay?”

  Wide and filled with tears, she turned her eyes to me. “W-was that the legendary bi-annual feast?”

  I sighed. “Yes, but apparently, Alex now wants to make it a monthly occurrence.”

  “That was horrible,” she whispered. “Since I had been found outside the castle, I was put down in the blood slaves’ quarters. I had heard about the feast, of course, but had never seen it.” She pressed a hand against her chest. “I can’t … Those people … Oh, my heart.”

  “I know, I know.” I rose and paced around the living room, too agitated, too angry to settle. “I never liked them. In fact, I hated them.” I had always suggested we do something else for blood. Like the damn hospital bags we bought to fill our bottles. We could live off that, for sure. But no one ever wanted that. They enjoyed the warm blood from humans, even if it was only once every so often. They also enjoyed the thrill, the game, the hunt. But now … now Alex had gone overboard. Once a month? That was too much.

  Luana clenched her fists. She lifted her head, blinking her eyes fast as if fighting tears—and exposing her long neck. Her heart still beat too fast and I could see, and hear, the vein in her beck thrumming.

  Even though I didn’t want to, I couldn’t deny having her in here was too much right now.

  Hell, I needed to get out of here.

  Trying to ignore her odd scent and the sound of her blood rushing through her veins, I turned to the door.

  “Where are you going?” Luana asked, her voice breaking.

  “I … I’ll be back later.” I paused at the door, but didn’t look at her as I said, “Don’t leave. It’s not safe right now.”

  I rushed down to the back garden, and inhaled a lungful of fresh air as I walked away from the castle.

  Shit.

  What the hell had come over me?

  Well, it wasn’t the first time I had been tempted into drinking from a human during a feast—or after in this case. And I hated to admit it, but it happened more often than I was comfortable with.

  I blamed the fact that I had been a pile of anger after talking to Alex during the feast. That and missing Thea. Those two facts put me over the edge, and I was suddenly ready to drink from a werewolf.

  I was glad to see I could control myself and get away from her before I did anything.

  I halted in front of the bench where I had first kissed Thea. I hadn’t even realized I was coming this way, but now that I was here, I could understand why. I missed her. Plain and simple. It had been only a couple of days since we separated, and yet I missed her so much, it hurt.

  I sat on the bench and closed my eyes. Images of Thea and our time together flashed through my mind. I held on to them, willing them to give me strength so I could endure this forsaken mission.

  Why the hell did I feel this immense, painful necessity to make everything right? To bring justice to this place, and save this castle? Why the hell did I care so much?

  The fall of a soft footstep reached my ears, and a few seconds later, I caught a new scent in the air.

  My eyes snapped open, and I went on full alert.

  Who was spying on me now?

  Slowly, I rose and followed the faint scent trail, careful so I would keep hidden and find the vampire before he found me. The scent got stronger the closer I got, and I soon realized whoever was coming wasn’t a vampire.

  It was a human.

  I found the human, a man in his early twenties, keeping to the shadows in the garden and creeping closer to the mansion.

  I came up right behind him. “What are you doing here?”

  Startled, the man turned to me, a knife in his hand. “Don’t come any closer.”

  Could he be a human who escaped the feast? And why was he going toward the castle and not away from it? “What are you doing here?”

  The man’s eyes widened. “I-I’m looking for someone. A vampire. I was told he likes to roam the gardens alone. Drake is his name.”

  What …? How …? My hunger had subsided, but I elongated my fangs for show. “Who are you, and what do you want with Drake?”

  The man’s arm trembled, but he kept that blade poised at my chest. As if that could stop me from breaking his neck. “I have something to tell him.”

  “Who are you?” I snarled, showing off my fangs.

  The man took a step back. “You’re him, right? You’re Drake. I know because Thea told me about you.”

  My fangs retreated and my shoulders sagged. “Thea? What about Thea? Is she okay? Where is she?”

  The man didn’t lower the dagger as he said, “I’m Keeran, Thea’s servant.”

  Thea had a servant? Despite myself, I looked at him with different eyes. The man was good-looking for a human and was wearing nice clothes for a servant. I didn’t like it. “Why are you here?”

  “She asked me to hand you this.” With his free hand, Keeran fished a folded paper from his pocket. I took the paper from him and cradled it in my mind as if it were worth my weight in gold. Groaning, Keeran slapped a hand over his chest. “I need to go now,” he muttered. “I can’t stay away for long or the spell might kill me.”

  What did that mean? But before I could ask, the man walked away.

  “Thank you,” I said, loud enough so he could hear.

  Keeran tipped his head once, and then took off.

  I stared at the spot he had been with my senses focused on our surroundings to make sure no one else, vampire or human, was around. When he was out of range, I glanced at the note.

  Thea had risked the life of her servant to send me this note. It was probably important. And yet, I was finding it hard to open it.

  Instead, jealousy festered in my chest. Why hadn’t Thea told me she had a servant? A male one? A good-looking male servant? Had she been afraid I would be jealous? Be jealous and angry?

  I sighed. Who was I to talk? I now had a new blood slave I hadn’t asked for, and she was pretty for a werewolf.

  This was stupid. I loved Thea and I hoped she knew that. I wanted her to trust me, to trust my feelings for her, so I had to do the same.

  I trusted her.

  With that in mind, I unfolded the note.

  Meet me at the place we parted at midnight tomorrow.

  9

  Thea

  “Are you sure about this?” Keeran asked for the hundredth time.

  “I have to go,” I said as I folded my black cloak over my arm. “I told him I would be there, so I better be there.”

  “What if he doesn’t go? What if he can’t go?”

  “It’s a risk I have to take.” I placed my hand on his arm. “Relax, Keeran. It’ll be alright.”

  “I don’t like this,” he said. Another sentence he had repeated often this even
ing.

  We had talked about the details earlier, and he seemed okay with it, but now he was nervous. I was too—my stomach was tied in knots—but I wouldn’t let that stop me from meeting Drake.

  As agreed, Keeran would stay in my bedroom. If someone came to see me, he would tell them I was in the bathroom, soaking in a bath and didn’t want to be disrupted. If it was urgent or an order from Morda, I would deal with the consequences later. However, I was going out at midnight. The castle would be quieter. Nobody would come to see me until at least tomorrow morning.

  I also promised Keeran I wouldn’t stay away long, so the bond wouldn’t hurt him.

  I turned to the door. “See you later.”

  “Please, be careful,” Keeran said.

  I smiled at him over my shoulder. “Don’t worry.”

  I slipped out of my bedroom.

  As expected, there were a couple of witchguards patrolling, but I was able to dodge them —using magic, of course.

  I was ten feet from one of the mansion’s side entrances when I heard sniffles. I frowned, berating myself for caring, but unable to stop as I stepped closer to the sound.

  Ebby sat in the shadows of one of the narrow staircases used by servants, crying her eyes out.

  When she saw me, she brought her arm up and turned her face so I couldn’t see her.

  The thought of leaving her crossed my mind; she had refused my help before. I also didn’t want to be late to meet Drake, but guilt snaked around my heart and I couldn’t. I could spare her a few minutes.

  I squeezed in beside her. “What happened?” She wiped her face, but didn’t answer me. “I can see there’s something wrong, and apparently, you can’t solve your problem alone. I can only help if you talk to me.”

  She looked at me from the corner of her eyes. “Why do you want to help?”

  I snorted. Good question. “Because I was in your shoes not too long ago.” In truth, I didn’t remember cowering in the corners and crying that much, but I had been teased by the other witches and that had hurt me.

  “You’re popular now,” she said, her voice low. “You’re one of Princess Morda’s favorites.”

  “Can I tell you a secret?” Her eyes widened and she nodded. “My suicide mission? I only got away because I was lucky. It wasn’t skill; it wasn’t because I’m special or powerful, or whatever. It was pure luck.”

  “Then I guess I need a suicide mission and a good amount of luck on my side.” Her tone was lighter, as if she were trying to joke.

  “Please, don’t. Luck is hard to come by. However, we can bring luck to your side.”

  “How?”

  “By making you a better witch.” I smiled at her, hoping it was warm and caring enough. “If you want, I can practice some spells with you. We can start with some basic ones and build up from there. I bet that with the proper practice and a caring instructor, you’ll be a stronger witch in no time.” I didn’t remind her of the fact that the heart was now back, and it would make all of us stronger. She didn’t need to know that. It was better if she believed she was stronger by her own doing. “What do you think?”

  She immediately perked up. “Can we start now? Right now?”

  My smile fell. “Now? I’m sorry, but I can’t. I have … a quick errand to run and I’m dead tired.” I could see her entire body tensing. “But we can do it tomorrow. I promise.”

  “I knew it,” she yelled, standing up. “You’re teasing me like the others. First you reach out to me, get my hopes up, and then shut me down to laugh in my face.”

  “Ebby, no, tha—”

  “Shut up!” She clenched her fists. “And to think I almost fell for it.”

  Ebby stormed off before I could assure her I wasn’t joking. I wanted to help her, but right now? Right now, I couldn’t. I couldn’t even go after her to tell her that I was serious, or I would be late.

  My heart yanked at the prospect of leaving Ebby in that state, but it also yearned for what was waiting for me.

  Letting out a long sigh, I put on my cloak, pulled the hood up, and ran out of the mansion.

  Even though I used magic to make me faster, it took me almost an hour to get to the cottage where I had last seen Drake, but I made it with a minute to spare.

  My hands trembled as I pushed through the front door and entered the place. “Drake?” I called out. The place was dark, but that was to be expected. I doubted Drake would turn on all the lights while waiting for me. But as I roamed the place, I realized he wasn’t here.

  I didn’t let myself consider the fact that he might not come. Instead, I sat down on the couch close to the window, where I had a good view from the front porch and waited, sure he was late because he had a hard time getting away from the castle.

  But as the minutes passed, my heart wilted.

  An hour later, I was fighting back tears. What should I do? Should I wait? Should I go back to my coven before sunrise? Why wasn’t he here yet? Did he have a hard time getting away, or was he not coming at all? If he wasn’t coming, was it because Alex and the others were keeping him busy, or was it because he didn’t love me anymore?

  I shook my head, pushing away those thoughts.

  Drake still loved me. It had been only a handful of days since we last saw each other. His heart couldn’t have changed so fast.

  Still, as I rose and picked up my cloak, I felt my heart breaking. I was so sure I was going to see him, to talk to him, to touch him that the idea of leaving without hearing from him made me sick. But I couldn’t stay forever.

  With my heart in pieces, I wrapped the cloak around my shoulders and stepped out of the cottage.

  And right into Drake’s arms.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” he asked, his eyes boring holes into mine.

  I froze, not believing he was here. I grabbed his shoulders, testing it out. By all that was sacred, he was here. “You came,” I whispered.

  His arms tightened around my waist, gluing my body to his. “Sorry I’m late.”

  Drake’s mouth fell over mine, and while holding me and kissing me, he walked into the cottage and closed the door behind us. He whirled us around and pushed me against the wall.

  One of his hands flew to my neck, the other cupped my butt. His soft lips moved in rhythm with mine, wanting more, asking for every ounce of life and energy. His tongue invaded my mouth and entangled with mine.

  Drake pulled my hair, making me tilt my head back as he traced my neck with his tongue, sending searing twinges through my skin. The heat spread through my body and lodged between my legs. I needed him. I wanted him.

  I brushed my hips against his; I broke the kiss and whispered in his ear, “Take me.”

  Desire flashed in his eyes before his mouth claimed mine again, and I melted into it, intoxicated by his scent, by his touch, by his kiss. In seconds, Drake got rid of our clothes, and with his hands on my hips and his eyes locked on mine, he entered me. I moaned, a merry jolt traveling up my spine, as he filled me and thrust his hips against mine, coming fast and deep and making me dizzy in a sea of pure pleasure.

  “Hell,” he whispered before kissing me again. I sank my nails in his back, pulling him to me, making sure he would never leave. One of his hands slid up my stomach and cupped my breast. With his thumb, he grazed my nipple, stimulating it, making it hard and sending more jolts of pleasure through my body.

  “Yes,” I whispered as he plunged harder, touching me in ways and places I had never been touched before. Could this be possible? Yet, I wanted more of him. I wanted all of him. I raised my legs, twined them around his waist, and arched my back, helping him go even deeper. “Yes,” I cried as shivers ran down my body, making my limbs tingle. “That’s it.”

  Drake’s fingers pinched my nipple, his other hand clasped my butt, making sure I was close, and he bit my lips. “Like that?” he whispered, thrusting more rapidly. And that was all it took. I peaked and trembled in his arms. His thrusts never easing off. I leaned into him, savoring each s
econd of my blissful trance. His grip on me tightened, and after a final stout stroke, Drake exploded. He pressed me firmer against the wall as the ecstasy spams ran through his body.

  With a satisfied smile, I slid my arms around his neck and kissed him. His lips moved with mine, pressing me as if we could melt into each other, until his spams lessened and died out.

  Gently, Drake carried me to the bed, where he laid me down, before lying beside me.

  “That wasn’t exactly what I had in mind,” he said, eyeing the ceiling.

  I rolled halfway over him. “And what did you have in mind?”

  He chuckled. “I mean, of course, I wanted to make love to you again, but I thought we would take it slow …”

  I smiled. “Maybe we were frantic because it was the first time we had seen each other since we were separated.”

  “I think you’re right.”

  My smile faded. “Aren’t you wondering why I called you here?”

  He raised an eyebrow. “I thought the reason was pretty clear.”

  I slapped his shoulder and he chuckled. “Well, there’s more. It’s related to that, but there’s more.”

  He smoothed his hand down my back, and I had to push down the feelings his touch awoke inside me. “Then what is it?”

  I sat up, unsure how he would receive this news. “Morda ordered all our witches to get pregnant.” I paused, hoping it sank in. He stared at me, clearly confused. “Including me. I’m supposed to get pregnant.”

  10

  Drake

  I stared at Thea.

  “Did you hear me?” she asked.

  “Yes,” I said.

  “Do you know what that means?”

  I nodded. “Yes.”

  “Say something else,” she said, her voice gaining a worried tone. “Say more than yes.”

  “You said you have to get pregnant.”

  “Yes! Do you know what that means?” she asked again.

  For a vampire, I was slow processing this, and yet, it all came too fast. A wave of anger built inside me. “Is that what Keeran is for?”