“Let’s just keep our hands down and eyes forward. Let’s not give them any excuse,” Keiran replied, loud enough for Jerris to also hear.
The elder guard nodded and kept moving. For all of their worry, the Alerians hadn’t disarmed them. Perhaps they were just delaying doing so to keep suspicions lower. However, the number of guards present clearly gave their distrust of the Tordanians away.
The trio was led into the main building on the property, the entryway immediately opening up into a vast throne room. The polished, black marble floors amplified every sound their boots made. The noise then echoed back from the stonework that made up the walls and ceiling above.
Once inside the throne room, the heavy doors to it were closed behind them. The entire perimeter of the room was covered in yet more armored guards, all standing shoulder to shoulder. There was another line of them before the dais the queen’s throne rested upon.
There, Keiran laid eyes on his first blood relative other than his father he’d ever seen. Even sitting motionless, Adira exuded a certain grace. Though her years showed, it did very little to diminish the fact she was an attractive woman. Her graying auburn hair had been put up, held in place by a jeweled circlet.
She slowly rose up to her full height, nearly as tall as Keiran. Her green eyes narrowed, thin brows tipping inward as she inspected her nephew for the first time. The corners of her mouth hinted at a frown as seeing Keiran reminded her clearly of her long-dead sister.
“You must be King Keiran Sipesh,” she said, her voice monotone as she wrestled with assorted emotions running through her.
“Aye, I am,” he replied. “I’m honored to meet you.”
Adira glanced over at Stepan before setting her sights on Keiran once more. “I trust your journey was uneventful?”
The vampire quirked a brow. “For the most part, yes. We’ve been under awfully heavy guard since crossing into Aleria. I gather your people are worried.”
“As they should be. We’ve had more than our share of trouble with your kind in the past,” she said, dismissively.
Keiran tried to reach out with his mind. Kanan and Jerris being so close to him didn’t help as they muddied the air with their particular worries. Still, something came through from Adira over all of the other people in the room. While she was scared, she most certainly didn’t feel as though she was overwhelmingly touched by seeing a vampire.
“And what trouble would that be?” Keiran asked. “I have to confess my father had all mention of Aleria and my mother erased from the castle following my birth. I’ve only begun to learn, and my knowledge of your history is extremely limited.”
Adira looked down at him, wondering how much truth there was in his claim. She slowly lowered her body back into her throne, drawing in a long breath. “Our country, just a few generations back, was overrun by vampires. They seized control for a number of years until my grandfather overthrew them and reclaimed Aleria for her rightful inhabitants.”
Keiran gave a small nod. “I’m of no threat, I assure you.”
“Even if you aren’t, Keiran, who’s to say what those you might infect would do?” One of her brows rose. “We have eradicated vampirism from Aleria, and we are determined to keep it from spreading.”
Keiran was struck with a profound feeling of dishonesty in her words, but what she’d said gave him his opening. “Then why invite me here if it is such a terrible risk to your nation?”
“Because I need to keep you from being a risk to the rest of the world,” she replied.
With that, Jerris and Kanan instinctively reached down for their swords, but no fewer than a dozen archers standing in the room immediately drew back on their bows. The sounds of their weapons creaking got the attention of the two guards instantly and froze them in place.
Keiran felt the ache of his fangs descending, and he leered at the queen. He stayed in place, however, not wishing to get his companions killed. “What in the hell do you think you’re doing?”
Adira didn’t smile or look pleased at all. She took no joy in what was transpiring, but she thought it necessary to ensure the safety of the known world.
“She’s going to have all of us killed,” Jerris growled under his breath.
Adira’s hearing was sharp despite her age, and she overheard the redhead’s comment. “I intend to do no such thing, unless you decide to make it so.”
“The others you had us leave behind this morning, are they all right?” Kanan asked, their well being of great concern.
“Indeed they are, and nothing shall happen to them. Once I have things taken care of here, they will simply be ushered back out of Aleria. If they intend to fight, then they may very well all be killed, but I’m hoping that’s not going to happen. I don’t wish to harm anyone.” Adira rose up. “I need to carry out my family’s duty and protect the world from being overrun by vampires. Even as one, Keiran, I’m sure you can understand.”
Keiran’s fangs were clearly visible, and he locked gazes with his aunt. “You don’t want to harm anyone, but you won’t let me leave or rule Tordania? Then what is your plan for me?”
“I’m going to have to hold you here, Keiran. I regret having to do so, but there is no other way except to kill you. In honor of my sister, I can’t do that,” she said.
Stepan looked up at the queen, shocked. She’d lied to him about her intentions. He turned back toward the Tordanians, focusing on the vampire. If Keiran managed to escape this, the guard believed his life would be in danger. Though, he’d acted with the best intentions and had been honest.
Kanan studied the archers around the perimeter of the room. They weren’t aiming at Keiran, but rather at him and Jerris. Still, there were simply too many in the room for even Keiran to fight off. If he’d been as powerful as Athan, he might have stood a chance, but he wasn’t that gifted.
Adira felt a spike of fear upon noticing Keiran’s fangs, and she broke eye contact with him. Something writhed within the back of her mind, however, it was still out of Keiran’s mental reach.
“I’m going to ask you to go peacefully with my men, Keiran,” she said. “I will come to see you shortly to talk further. While I can’t allow you to leave, I am willing to at least give you some of the answers you came here seeking.”
“For all the good they will do me if you intend to hold me here indefinitely,” the vampire replied, his head tipping forward.
His mounting anger made his ability to see into the queen’s mind more clouded. He ached to reach down for his rapier, but he’d noticed the same thing Kanan had. If he made any move, it would be Kanan and Jerris who died first. In only allowing him to bring a small number of men, the queen had ensured he would only bring the ones closest to him; the ones he’d hesitate to put in danger.
She was clever.
He remembered what Kanan had said many times before about his anger making him careless. Though it was profoundly difficult to keep his rage in check, for the sake of his two companions, Keiran struggled to do just that.
He drew a long breath, knowing he’d have to figure a way out of the situation by other means. He glanced back over his shoulder and gave a small nod to his companions, letting them know he was going to cooperate.
“All right, get me situated however you feel is safest for us to talk, Queen Adira. I’d ask you to at least let my guards go,” he said.
“They will also stay for now but later they may leave,” she said. “You have been watched since my entourage first met you in Tordania. I know these two men are very close to you and removing them from the situation would take away my leverage.”
She paused and watched Keiran’s expression. His worry over the two men with him was obvious enough. That told her something about his personality. “I worried you would be as corrupt and evil as your father or Athan, but I can see that is not the case.”
“Then let me go!” Keiran countered, looking toward her again.
“Time will eventually turn all vampires evil, Keiran. You k
now that as well as any of us,” she countered. “Please, Stepan, lead them to the holding area.”
Stepan tensed visibly at her order, but he had to obey. He offered her a slight bow and moved closer toward Keiran and his men. “Follow me, please.”
“Lying bastard,” Jerris growled as they moved to fall in line behind the guard.
Stepan’s shoulders rounded a bit. He didn’t like being deceived by the queen, and he didn’t like having his own honor put into question as a result. Still, this wasn’t the time to argue, and he kept moving forward. Most of the guards within the room followed suit, keeping the Tordanians enveloped completely.
They were taken out of the throne room and through a few passageways until they came to a narrow flight of stairs. At the bottom of it, the light level was considerably dimmed, and Jerris and Kanan had a hard time seeing, but Keiran fared better. It was a dungeon, but far cleaner and spacious than the one resting under the castle back in Tordania.
There was a corridor lined with cells on either side. Kanan and Jerris were pushed into one, Keiran into another directly across the aisle from them. The doors were locked behind them, and several of the guards retreated at that point, though, a number of them remained at the end of the corridor.
Jerris laced his arms through the bars of his cage and looked over at the vampire. “Well, this is just about perfect.”
Kanan sighed and moved to sit down on the stone floor next to where his son stood. “We’re not dead, so all is not lost.”
Keiran began to pace the length of his cell immediately. He’d been confined by his cruel father a few times in his life, usually for acts he was falsely accused of doing. Being locked up made his aggression flare up worse, his fangs refusing to abate. He remained silent, trying to let his mind work to find a solution to their problem, but his anger was so great it was impeding his ability to concentrate.
About an hour after being deposited in their cells, Queen Adira came down the stairs, flanked by more guards. She moved to stand in the center of the aisle, safely out of reach of the Tordanians on either side of her.
She looked at Keiran as he halted and turned to face her. “You do look much like your mother.”
His expression was deadpan, but his lips were parted with his fangs still obvious. “I suppose that’s better than looking like Turis Lee.”
Adira drew a long breath, wishing desperately Keiran could see the need for her to do what she was doing to him. “Scores of Alerians were slaughtered when the vampires overthrew our country, including dozens of members of our own family, Keiran.”
“And I was not one of those vampires,” he shot back, stepping forward to wrap his hands around the bars of his cell.
“I’m aware of that, but the consequences were so grave I can’t allow it to happen again, even if Tordania isn’t my nation. We vowed to prevent any more countries from falling to vampiric rule,” she said, looking sad. “I’m doing this for the common good.”
“Why do leaders always use that as an excuse for unjust or immoral behavior?” Keiran shook his head. “It’s not as though I willfully or unjustly overthrew Tordania. Turis Lee died of his own accord, and I was the only one there to take over. Trust me, I would have given plenty to have been born to different circumstances.”
“I wish you had been.” Adira sighed and waved off a few of the guards. “Your mother… it is for the best she didn’t survive to see you turned into what she most hated.”
“I can understand your people’s distrust of vampires if they caused so much trouble in the past, but again, I’m not seeking to overthrow anyone. I’m trying to better the state of the country I’ve inherited. If I don’t go back, who’s to say what sort of anarchy Tordania will fall to?” Keiran felt his heart rate steadily increase. “Thousands in my nation will die if it erupts into warfare. You are putting countless lives at risk by holding me here.”
“Tordania will learn to cope with your absence. It isn’t the first time a country has needed to reestablish a government. I regret the short-term future of Tordania, but it is a better price to pay than allowing you to spread your curse and rule there. Who knows what Athan will eventually talk or coerce you into?”
“Nothing! I hate Athan for doing this to me in the first place!” Keiran’s hands went white from the tightness of his grip on the bars.
“Athan is the one who organized the vampires within Aleria and ordered them to kill my ancestors. While he didn’t actively participate, we know he is the one who set that horrible massacre into motion. Thus, knowing he has been involved with you is what makes you so dangerous,” Adira said. “He wants all the countries of the known world ruled by his own kind. Aleria was simply one of his earliest experiments.”
That grabbed Keiran’s attention. “Is that to say making me what I am was just another of his experiments in placing vampires into power?”
Adira looked to the side and thought for a moment. “I suspect as much. That and revenge.”
“Revenge?”
“For my grandfather killing all of his minions and taking back Aleria. What better punishment for that than corrupting Dante Aviatrov’s own bloodline with the curse of vampirism?” she asked, tears forming in her eyes.
“Dante Aviatrov, that’s my great-grandfather?” Keiran asked, his curiosity piqued enough to push back his anger slightly.
“He was.”
“And if the vampires who overran Aleria murdered the royal family, how did he survive?” Keiran loosened his grip on the bars, willing to take the opportunity to learn as much as he could.
“As the vampires moved toward the palace, the sitting king and queen realized the inevitable. They sent their only child away to a foster family, hoping they would hide him, so his life would be spared.” Adira stared down at the floor. “The king and queen were killed afterward as were their other family members who’d refused to flee the coming invasion. Dante was the only one to survive.”
“So how did a child living in exile come to push out all of the vampires?” Keiran asked, feeling the conversation relax him and help to clear his thoughts.
“He lived in hiding for many years, but when he was just fifteen, he vanished. There were those who thought he’d been killed or simply fled the country to keep from being found,” she said. “Ten years later, tales of a man able to kill vampires began to emerge from the southern end of the country. It was Dante. He’d spent the years learning everything he could about fighting vampires and put it into practice.”
“And he was able to do it alone? That’s quite impressive,” Keiran replied, doubtful.
“Oh, not quite alone. He taught others as he went. Once the Alerian people realized most of the vampires didn’t possess much in the ways of magic and power, they had the confidence to fight them. Dante busied himself going after the ones who were stronger. He had a pair of swords specifically designed for the task.” Adira met Keiran’s gaze as she said that, seeing recognition pass behind his eyes. She took a small step forward. “You’re aware of the swords?”
Keiran didn’t know how much he should say, and he opted to hide the truth. “Mythical swords are fairly common in folklore, but I have no knowledge of the swords you speak of.”
Adira didn’t believe him. “Strange. As it would turn out, my sister stole one of the two swords when she left to marry Turis Lee. I had suspected it would have been passed down to you or taken by Athan Vercilla.”
Keiran decided to deflect her and mine for more information. “I don’t know what happened to it. But it brings up a question I’ve had. Why would she volunteer to marry Turis Lee Sipesh if everyone knew what a tyrant he was?”
When she spoke again, her voice was hushed. Twisting pain and emotion roiled in her mind. “My dear sister suffered from madness. It set in when she was merely fourteen, but it progressed. A sort of depression, perhaps. Nothing seemed to help her. Eventually, the petition for a wife came from Tordania, and it was the first thing to spark her interest in years. Our parents
gave their blessing, and she left. She stole that sword, however. I imagine she had some fanatical, deep-seated belief she would be able to kill Athan. Obviously, that never came to pass.”
The young king tried to see deeper into Adira’s mind as she spoke, but he didn’t have Athan’s level of skill yet. There were terrible emotions within the Alerian queen, but the specifics eluded him.
Keiran let his hands fall away from the bars, realizing she was done with her story. “I see. My poor mother had a tragic life.”
“Yes,” Adira agreed. “I will come see you again tomorrow. If we seem to have your cooperation, perhaps I’ll be able to let your guards go free.”
“We’re not leaving without him!” Jerris snapped from behind the queen.
She spun around and considered the redhead. “Doing something foolish and getting yourselves killed will not help your king’s situation.”
Kanan moved from the floor to stand beside his son. “We’re not saying we will fight, but we will gladly remain here as long as Keiran is held prisoner.”
Adira rolled her eyes and turned away, heading back toward the stairs. “Then you will be here a very long time, indeed.”
Keiran continued to linger near the front of his cell after Adira had departed. Though he was still profoundly upset, the conversation had cut through at least some of his anger, leaving his mind clearer. He looked at his two guards.
“She intends to just keep you locked up forever, then?” Jerris asked.
“That seems to be the gist of what she’s getting at,” Keiran replied, shaking his head.
“It wouldn’t be the first time.”
All three men stopped and turned to look down the corridor into the darkness. There were other cells past their own, but it was hard to see who was down there.
“Is that so?” Keiran asked loud enough for his voice to carry.
Victri was in the cell next to Keiran’s, but he’d remained in the shadows, listening to all that had been said between the Tordanians and Adira. He pulled himself up from the straw mattress on the floor, moving so the others could see him.
The Lost Duke Page 10
